 Hong Ik really comes from that foundational belief that I am precious as well. Yes, other people are precious and many people already intuitively understand that other people are precious and other people need to be taken care of. However, it's very difficult to practice that same amount of love you have for other people for yourself. But Hong Ik works on the idea that you also are a very special and precious being that needs your care and love just as much as anybody else. Hi guys, this is Linda from Brain Education TV. If this is your first time, welcome! Please consider subscribing to our channel, like this video and click the bell for notifications of each new episode. In this video, I'm going to talk about something that I think will change the world. The idea and term I want to talk about today is Hong Ik. Hong Ik is a Korean word, but actually not many Korean people know about this term either. Hong Ik means widely benefiting all life. And the keyword here is all life because it's not talking about benefiting some people, benefiting these people, benefiting just a certain group of people, it's benefiting all life. So when we talk about all life, it of course includes you, but it also includes me. And I think that's a very important idea to grasp because most people when they think about helping somebody, they think of it as sacrifice, giving up my well-being and comfort for the sake of making someone else more happy or comfortable. And I think the movies and Hollywood do a really great job of depicting the hero as somebody who dedicates themselves or sacrifices themselves to save the town or save the lady or save the man or save the people. So most people think that helping somebody else is sacrificing my comfort, my well-being, my time to help the person that I love. And maybe you're doing a lot of this in your life too, especially people who are in positions of helping people like nurses, doctors, caretakers, teachers, many people like this therapist, counselors who are in the practice of helping other people. But what I see most of the time is that people who are in a position of taking care of other people, they're the ones who are burned out. They're the ones that are the first to be so burned out and have this feeling of, who's taking care of me? All you moms out there too. Moms are especially prone to this, sacrificing themselves to help their family. So although sacrifice is great, it's noble and I commend people who sacrifice themselves every single day to help other people. My point is that it's not a sustainable way unless you know how to take care of yourself as well. So maybe some of you are already excellent at practicing self-care, so this is no problem for you. But I would say most people have trouble taking care of themselves in the same amount as they're taking care of other people. So this is where the idea of Hongik comes into play. Hongik is very different from sacrifice. So let me give you some clear examples of how Hongik is different from sacrifice. Example A is an example of sacrifice. Let's say you have one piece of bread and you're with somebody else. So there's two people and one piece of bread. You are both hungry. Someone who is sacrificing will give up that bread, the entire bread to the other person so that the other person can eat and I am going to starve because I care about the other person's well-being more than myself. So while the other person might be happy, I am starving. That is an example of sacrifice. And now on the other hand, this is an example of someone who is selfish. The selfish person is the same situation. Two people, one piece of bread. The selfish person does not care at all what the other person feels or needs because I'm hungry. I'm going to eat this bread all by myself. I don't care about the other person. So it's one extreme to the other. Now the person who is practicing Hongik recognizes that there are two precious souls who are both experiencing a need. And there's only one bread, which means there's lack of resource. The Hongik person splits the bread in half, gives half to the person who is hungry with me because I recognize that this person is suffering too. However, I see that I am also in need of some food. So I'm going to take care of myself at the same time. So yes, it's not enough to make us full. However, we are both being taken care for. That's the difference between sacrifice, selfishness and Hongik. And now the reason why I think Hongik is the thing that will save the world and change the world is because don't you think that all the problems in our world stem from either complete sacrifice or complete selfishness? All the systems and the capitalistic society that has put more money for the rich people and have left poor people, even poor, that is a pure act of selfishness. Whereas on the other hand, people who feel burned out, people who feel resentful, people who feel emotionally exhausted, people who feel emotionally drawn out, like nobody cares about me, nobody takes care of me. That person is practicing sacrifice their whole life. However, if we all practice Hongik, if we can all see that we are also precious too, because Hongik really comes from that foundational belief that I am precious as well. Yes, other people are precious and many people already intuitively understand that other people are precious and other people need to be taken care for. However, it's very difficult to practice that same amount of love you have for other people for yourself. But Hongik works on the idea that you also are a very special and precious being that needs your care and love just as much as anybody else. So if everybody on this earth can recognize that, start from a place of self-love so that whatever action they take, whatever words they speak, whatever thoughts they have are of Hongik benefiting you and also benefiting me, don't you think everyone will feel happy and taken care for? Because Hongik ultimately is love for myself and love for others. If you are at a place where you are practicing love for yourself and love for your others, what greater place can you be in? Mentally, emotionally and physically. So Hongik is a very foundational teaching in brain education. Il-Chili says that someone who has recovered the power of their brain is operating from this place of Hongik. They can see that they have needs too and fulfill their physical, emotional, mental needs while at the same time, because I know how to take care of myself, I can help take care of other people as well. A person who takes care of themselves and takes care of other people is someone who is a Hongik person. And the goal of all these brain education instructors who are working with me out there in the world, our job is to, because we learned how to take care of ourselves, now through channels like this, like on YouTube, we're helping you guys take care of yourselves as well. So I invite you to reflect on your own life. How much of your time are you spending doing Hongik in your relationships, at work, in your family and all that you say and do? How much of your actions are truly Hongik? Is it 20% Hongik, 80% sacrifice or selfishness? Or is it 50-50? Or maybe it's 80% Hongik, 20% sacrifice selfishness? Where do you fare in this scale? Just, you don't have to say this out loud, but just reflect and think. How much of my life am I really practicing Hongik? How much of my focusing on helping myself while helping others too? I'm sure you guys are all good at helping other people, but how much of that energy and love am I spending on myself? This means how many of my words are words that uplift other people, but also uplift me. Maybe you are really good at saying good words to other people, giving them compliments and praises, but you're very nasty to yourself with your negative self-talk. That is not Hongik. So these are the things that I'm talking about. Maybe you're very good at showing love to other people, how much you care about them, giving them gifts, all of this, but when you look at yourself in the mirror, all you can see are flaws and all you can say is, oh my god, why do you look like this? Why are you fat? Why are you blah blah blah blah blah blah? These small little actions dictate whether you are practicing Hongik or not. So I'm really curious to hear your thoughts. Let me know what you guys think about Hongik in the comments down below. And also let me know about when you did your own self-reflection about am I living in Hongik or sacrifice. How do you fare in this scale? And now before we end this video, I want to share with you a poem by Il-Chili about Hongik. So if you would like, why don't you close your eyes, place your hands on your heart or relax them comfortably on your legs. Either way is fine. Just get into a comfortable place and listen to these words through your nose. Hongik by Il-Chili. Hongik is a beautiful poem and humbleness. Hongik is infinite art and enlightenment. Hongik is love, faith and gratitude. Hongik is a sense of responsibility, patience and forgiveness. Hongik is a life of health, happiness and peace. Hongik is planning, design, prayer and creation. And it is endlessly rising to the challenge for boundless freedom. Hongik is brain power. Let the words of this poem seep deeply into your brain. May we all become Hongik humans so that this world can finally know peace.