Dr. Sun Jin Moon’s Keynote Address at the GWPN Southeast Launch in Washington DC
Editor’s Note: This is the keynote speech given by WFWP International Vice President Dr. Sun Jin Moon at the launching of the Global Women’s Peace Network in Washington, DC (read report here).
Beloved, esteemed, and exemplary women leaders! WFWP colleagues and global change-makers, Welcome to the GWPN 2019 conference, here in the great capital city of Washington. DC.
We gather here today as part of an inspiring and transformative movement for peace, a movement led by women who live for the sake of others, and at a time in history when women can be “the turning point for peace.”
As we launch the Global Women’s Peace Network here in the Mid-Atlantic Region, I would like to convey to you the heartfelt best wishes, love and congratulations from our founder and leader, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who also happens to be my amazing mother!!!
During the inaugural WFWP Global Women’s Peace Network Conference in Las Vegas in 2012, I had the honor of delivering the founder’s address on behalf of Mother Moon. And last month I had the pleasure of delivering the keynote address at the GWPN inaugural conference in Chicago, representing the Midwest region.
I am moved by the growth of GWPN throughout the world since that time, and I am excited that it is taking substantial form here in the heartland of America. I believe we are standing on the proud legacy and shoulders of the 27-year history of WFWP’s accomplishments as a movement that has expanded globally, with established, highly-respected chapters in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North and South America, Oceania, and Asia.
As I look out on this audience, I am very impressed, seeing so many people from diverse backgrounds gathered. Not only women, but also men (hi husband), from various religious, ethnic, racial, professional, and cultural backgrounds.
I want to acknowledge the presence of many of the leaders of our host organization, Women’s Federation for World Peace, including WFWP USA President Angelika Selle.
I also want to thank Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, the Chairman of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA. You have all done a magnificent job preparing for this event.
As many of you know, my parents, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, devoted their lives to promoting a vision of universal peace based on the principle of living for the sake of others. They continuously spoke of creating one family under God, a world in which we all live together as brothers and sisters, members of one global family who share a common origin in God, our Heavenly Parent.
For 52 years, working tirelessly side by side, my parents devoted themselves steadfastly to their global commitment to bring peace to this world, and to bring an end to the suffering of all 7.7 billion people on earth. They are our beloved parents who have worked to unite people from all across the globe, guided by their vision of peace, universal values, interdependence, and mutual prosperity for all people and for all generations to come.
I am deeply honored and proud to serve with all of you in advancing this great legacy of peace. I am equally proud to serve in supporting and carrying forward my Mother’s foundation, opening a new era in which the long-awaited shift towards balance and dignity for all womankind, families, and the whole of creation shall be realized.
However, in order to achieve that momentous goal, we must understand our basic start. We must consider from where we came and where we stand today to get to our final destination. From simple starts to grand goals, to keep us all engaged I will engage in Q&A, a Socratic method of sorts. No answer is wrong, given we have the brightest minds and deepest hearts here in this forum. So do not hesitate to have your beautiful voices heard!
So where did we all have our beginning? What is our origin or genesis? Furthermore, from the time of that beginning point, was there an underlying purpose for the creation of this world, and all of us? What do you think? Then how were we created?
I think we can all agree on one thing: we all are here because of our parents. We each had a mother and a father, and before them our grandparents, and before them our ancestral generations, all dating back, according to DNA records, to Africa more than 200,000 years ago; in fact, it seems we may all derive from a single “Mitochondrial Eve” in Africa.
We can also consider biblical chronology, or the 6,000 years of biblical history. According to the teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, our roots may be traced back to Adam and Eve. Whether or not you believe in science or religion, we were each conceived by a mother and a father, two equal halves---male and female---of one united whole.
But who created Adam and Eve or our maternal and paternal ancestor? Some may say they were created by the Big Bang, and they emerged out of a long process of natural selection over time. Some may say we originate from Heavenly Parent, God, Allah, or a divine being.
Which of these two narratives is correct? Are we merely cosmic dust or are we children of higher entity? Well, in reality, we may be both. That is, it may not be only one or the other. The unimaginably powerful force and the explosive energy of a Big Bang may have been generated by a divine being of true love as the means to prepare a foundation to conceive life on earth.
Regardless of what we believe about our origins, we are all undeniably here. And this leads to another question; that is, WHY are we here? Why do any of us live our lives? Is it just to live and die, without meaning or purpose? Without love? I don’t think so. We all aspire for something greater than bare material existence or just survival.
Regardless of our religion, race, status, gender, make or mold, we all strive to find love, create joy, happiness, goodness, positive relationships and give and take partnerships with family, friends, communities, and with creatures large and small. We aspire to live in harmony and beauty with creation.
This is an aspiration, an ideal we all share, right? Of course!
Actually, the reason we all hope and dream to live a life filled with love, joy, oneness, and peace, is because we inherited that desire from God. In other words, having such a dream is not only our dream, but it is a dream rooted in the original character and heart of our Creator.
However, although love is the explosive transcending energy that empowers and inspires all of us and creation, can we say that this current world reflects or manifests this original ideal?
Sadly, we know that the answer is no. Everywhere we look we see that humanity is divided, and the divisions seem to be growing exponentially wider day by day. Sometimes it seems like we are living in a nightmare rather than a peace-loving dream. We see inequity, ignorance, violence, hate and division tear apart our homes, schools, workplaces, governments, churches, and institutions.
We have tipped the scales of humanity’s future off the charts. We are so out of balance, leaning either too far left or too far to the right, or we are simply exhausted, despondent, or uncomfortably complacent. We know in our mind, body and soul that the present reality is not the ideal. And yet we may doubt there is any solution.
We observe that the very fabric that binds humanity and creation together is coming apart or dissolving. There is no true peace, higher love, and unity in the world at large. That is why every single man, woman and child in this room is providentially pivotal. Because we all gathered here for true peace and prosperity. Let us each become a true compass, a person who can enlighten and liberate others. Let us connect to the highest consciousness of the divine, and live by the logic of true love. Can we do it? Yes!
Now I have another question for you. It is a tough one.But let’s think about it logically and rationally. Is God a masculine being or a feminine being? How many of you think God is masculine? Feminine?
Think about it. In order to be parents, we need male and female. If we are made in God’s image and 50% of the world is female, does it make sense that God is only masculine? When we do the math, think of your DNA, what do you get? 50% female and 50% male. Parents are male and female, and on this foundation there arises the family, the tribe, the nation and the world. In every sphere of life women are essential. Without women we cannot have completion, wholeness, birth or life! Isn’t that true?
However, throughout history we generally have a male-centered understanding of divinity, the Heavenly father and son. So where is womankind in divinity and history? She is missing for the most part, right? Sometimes she is portrayed as amorphous, without form, or at times as a life-giving fire, a creator of earth and living beings; at times symbolized as a dove, or maybe the holy spirit or as the divine feminine or mother.
Of course there have been many holy and saintly women in providential history. We think of Rachel, Rebecca, Sarah, Tamar, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and others. At other times the feminine has been demonized or portrayed as fallen, as we see in figures like Eve, Lilith, Shakti or Shekhina. But good or bad, most of these figures have often been in subordinate or supporting positions.
Of course there are exceptions to this pattern and there have been many, many women spiritual leaders, evangelists, saints and even founders of religions, like Mother Anne Lee Stanley or Mary Baker Eddy which give us a glimpse of a hopeful future. And of course, Mother Mary has been exalted most highly by Christians and Muslims.
Yet, for the most part, religions, especially those holding leading positions, have had men at the top of the leadership, holding the holiest of seats. And the root cause of this disparity lies in our understanding of God, an understanding that inadequately appreciates God’s essential feminine nature. When we think of the root causes of this inequity or the lack of gender parity for women we must consider this point. Herein lies the seed of the inequity, unbalance, and subordination.
This lack of representation of the feminine has resulted in God’s feminine characteristics being hidden or suppressed, more shadowy, and without incarnate existence. That is one important reason why the history of women is out of balance, without complete representation, or without form, sometimes perceived as lacking in divine value. If we are to reach for equality or gender parity we must know our divine essence in its entirety.
My parents have always taught that God has feminine characteristics equal to the masculine characteristics, and this pattern or equal complementarity is manifest throughout the creation. After all, there can be no one family under God without the complete unity of man and womankind.
We must reverse this incomplete history, and re-establish the harmony and balance that manifests the love and order of a complete picture of God. With such a complete understanding of God there can be order, balance and universal love.
The solution requires that we turn our hearts and minds to recover and understand the divine truth that we are all one global family under our Heavenly Parent. Heavenly Parent is the complete form of our creator, male and female. Only when we come to understand this divine truth can womankind finally be liberated in mind, body, and soul.
When we can realize this absolute truth, we can begin to take the necessary steps toward healing. We can begin to provide the necessary aid, service, restoration, and reconciliation that the world needs, as we fully and sincerely come to affirm the basic human rights and dignity of every man, woman, and child; and as we come to fully appreciate, love, and care for the creation as desired from the beginning of time.
It is only when we come to recognize the depth of God’s reality, and the divine dignity of each person, that we each can become a radiant light, providing a compass that shows the way out of the chaos that surrounds us, our families and communities. If we are to change this world, we must come to realize our original true nature as divine sons and daughters of our Heavenly Parent, created to love and live in peace.
It is only in living according to this divine truth that the virtues of our creator---love, forgiveness, unity, peace and harmony---- can heal our hearts and souls and lead us away from the path of hate, revenge, resentment, war, violence and division.
WFWP was founded to announce the arrival of what my parents termed the “Era of Women,” calling on all women to play a more pivotal role in making peace a reality. After all, just as in any family, a true mother’s nurturing and unconditionally loving heart has the power to heal the deep wounds of humanity that we witness today.
I would like to take a moment to share with you some words from my Father’s memoirs, entitled, A Peace-Loving Global Citizen. In this excerpt, he speaks about his dream of peace, the same dream that my beloved and courageous Mother has carried forward throughout her own life, especially since the time of his passing. It is this dream, this vision that has brought us all together in this great peace forum today.
Throughout history, women have been persecuted, but I predict this will change. The coming world will be one of reconciliation and peace based on women’s maternal character, love, and sociability. The time is coming when the power of women will save the world. Unfortunately, today, many women’s organizations apparently believe that standing in opposition to men is the way to demonstrate the power of women. The result is an environment of competition and conflict. The women’s organizations my wife leads, on the other hand, seek to bring about peace on the principle that women should work together, take initiative, and empower one another across traditional lines of race, culture, and religion to create healthy families as the cornerstone of the culture of peace. The organizations she works with do not call for a liberation of women from men and families. Instead, they call for women to develop and maintain families filled with love. My wife’s dream is to see all women raised as true daughters with filial hearts who can create peace at home, in our communities, in our nations, and in the world. The women’s movement being carried out by my wife serves the goal of true families, which are the root of peace in all areas of life.
Wow, what an amazing vision my father had! He foresaw the great works my mother would carry out!
For a man born in North Korea in the 1920s, he was a revolutionary thinker; he understood the true eternal, divine nature, and gift from God that womankind is to the world. He exalts the true role of women as an essential source of all life, love, lineage, unity, oneness, and peace in the family, society, nation and world!
He even prophesied that “The time is coming when the power of women will save the world!” That is revolutionary! Can we give him a round of applause? Aju! (a Korean term similar to Amen)
WFWP was founded to announce the arrival of the era of women, and create a movement of women dedicated to creating a global family. As women and men learn to live together in harmony, true love, and equality--- in the home, in the workplace, in the centers of political and economic power, and in the places of worship---we will be able to create a society of true interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal love.
It is time for the voices of women, the perspectives of women, the wisdom of women, and the capacities of women to be included, welcomed, and encouraged.
If we aspire to peace, we must become the unifiers who lead with the logic of love, forming one global family under God and working together in harmony as brothers and sisters to realize this ideal of peace. We will need all available human capacities, all human assets, all the social capital we can pull together.
If we are to change and transform a world of selfishness into a world of true love, women must play a leading role. And I am not talking merely about external power. We must first master the arts of divine internal power, the power of unconditional, absolute, true love.
The world needs a movement of life givers, liberators and leaders, who are harmonizers and reconcilers. Basically, we need Super Moms! We need to bridge gaps and divisions, between men and women, parents and children, between the right and the left, humanity and creation.
And ultimately, we need Heavenly Parent to do this. I did not always realize this point. You know I grew up in a super religious home, but I didn’t always resonate with religion. It was only later that I came to a deeper understanding of God by understanding my parents’ teachings, and by observing their lifestyle and example.
They have always lived for the sake of others. I barely saw them as I was growing up---maybe one month out of a year---due to their global ministry and continual speaking tours. As a child I resented their global mission because it took away my only parents. I could not understand how they could leave our family.
What I’ve come to realize, however, is that they were serving other families around the globe. I came to realize that, through their ministry, even though it meant I could not always be with them, I received the blessing of inheriting a global family of brothers and sisters who live with true love and who live for the sake of others and who work tirelessly to make peace a reality for all life and creation. They as true parents were teaching the world that all children are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Parent. The complete ideal of family is balanced, harmonious, filled with love and dignity for all.
When I asked them why they took such a difficult path? They said that humankind alone, without understanding the true nature of God, could never achieve peace. They were, therefore, called to awaken the world to Heavenly Parent’s balanced truth and eternal love.
I know that Mother Moon wants all the women of the world to realize and know their own unique value as God’s divine daughters.
The following is a quote from Mother Moon that encapsulates her vision for women and peacebuilders.
Enlightened women are the center of the love, peace and service that preserve the family, and a sound, healthy family is the school of love and virtue. The starting point of world peace lies with the mothers at the center of such families, families that perfect and bring to fruition God's true love. We must all push ahead in the conviction that no matter how wounded and scarred this world becomes, it can be healed and cleansed by the substantial work of a WFWP united in the vision of God's true love. Aju!
Let us work together to create a transcendent, glorious, culture of peace, here in Washington DC, throughout the United States and beyond! As my father stated “The time (is here) when the power of women will save this world!” For our younger ladies, as Ariana Grande sings, “God is a woman” and that power is in each of you and WFWP! Aju!
I pray that HP’s blessings and eternal love be with you and your precious families. Thank you for the great work you are carrying out for the benefit of all womankind and humanity! Thank you very much! Namaste
