FINDING AND MAINTAINING PEACE WITHIN A HEALTHY MIND AND BODY
The Women's Federation for World Peace, the Atlanta Family Church, and the Life Line Healing Ministries sponsored a health workshop on Sunday, September 24, that brought around 25 individuals and families together to partake in an evening of relaxation and rejuvenation.
The evening started with a welcome from Atlanta Family Church Pastor Reverend Kimura, who enthusiastically welcomed the participants to the workshop. WFWP Georgia Co-Chairwoman Ekaette Heyliger spoke on the purpose and mission of the WFWP organization, citing its accomplishments and intentions. Then the hour of meditation and relaxation was led by WFWP Georgia Co-Chairwoman, Myrna Lapres, who led the group on a journey with an ancient form of Chinese mind/body healing called Qi Gong. This is a 5000-year-old practice that uses affirmations, visualizations, and gentle movement to promote self- healing, health and emotional balance. It was quite relaxing and the participants enjoyed it very much.
Reverend Juanita Pierre-Louis, WFWP USA Vice-President, began her session with a song, showing how music can help lift the vibrations of the mind and body and also help us to relax and reenergize our spirit. Rev. Pierre-Louis is the founder of the Life Line Healing Ministries, which was founded after Rev. Juanita had a near death experience when she was in a coma for 6 weeks. She said that her recovery was orchestrated by the grace of God because the doctor had given her three days to live after her car accident. She says that God threw out a line for her to recapture her life. So now she feels that she has to throw out a Life Line for others.
Life Line Healing Ministries offers a full program of intervention and prevention based on one’s individual constitution, which one can incorporate into a daily routine to bring about significant changes in physical and psychological health. This program or way of life will also intervene and give some measure of cure based upon an individual’s conscience and daily devotion to the healing and growth process.
She also noted that through Holy Scripture, we can find God's guidance to good health, as it is rated of high importance. There are 27 verses in the Holy Bible that that expose us to God’s rules for good physical, mental, and spiritual health. In Proverbs 3:7-8, it says: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” In Jeremiah 33:6, it says: “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”
Rev. Pierre-Louis told the group that finding peace and maintaining our health is our portion of responsibility. Rev. Sun Myung Moon, co-founder of the Women’s Federation for World Peace, said, “since God did not make robots, but living beings with a mind and free will, a healthy body and spirit is not guaranteed.” Rev. Moon teaches that God does 95% of all the necessary things to achieve success, health, joy, and life, but the remaining 5% is each person's responsibility.
One of our young guests read the words of our Founder with enthusiasm. She stopped to think and continued, “So according to the teachings of Rev. Moon, God gave everything that is necessary to mature into a healthy body and spirit, but it is our responsibility to learn the ways of Mother Nature and Heavenly Father in order to realize or obtain that healthy body and spirit. The true essence of learning to be healthy is through reconnecting to God and understanding the idea of yin and yang, or the polarity of duality. The idea is that for everything in life, there is balance and counterbalance. Day and night, man and woman, good and evil, negative and positive are all examples of this duality or balance.” Reverend Moon taught that there is internal character (the spirit), and external form (the body), and true health can only be achieved when both these forms of human nature are properly nourished.
Rev. Pierre-Louis reiterated that achieving and maintaining health is an ongoing process, shaped in part by the evolution of healthcare knowledge and practices as well as our own personal strategies. For our physical health and recovery, we must maintain regular exercise, proper diet, nutrition, and rest. Mental health refers to a person’s emotional and psychological well-being. The state of our mental and emotional abilities determines how we function in society on a daily basis. Prayer, meditation, and music are forms of therapy that can heal us mentally and physically. The most important element of health and healing is our relationship to and with God the creator.
Rev. Pierre-Louis will share her healing process in a later article, stay tuned.
