π INTRODUCTION
Many people believe that success, education, and professional achievement will eventually bring happiness and peace.
Yet even highly accomplished individuals often discover that stress, frustration, anxiety, and dissatisfaction continue to follow them.
Nam-gyu L., who earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of WisconsinβMadison and later worked for major pharmaceutical companies in Korea, experienced this reality firsthand.
Despite academic success, a respected career, and professional recognition, his mind was constantly filled with stress.
Research pressures, workplace conflicts, social issues, politics, economics, and endless worries consumed his thoughts.
The more knowledge he accumulated, the more dissatisfied he became.
Eventually, while searching for a way to calm his exhausted mind, he encountered this meditation.
For the first time in his life, instead of continuously filling his mind with more information, he began learning how to let go.
This meditation testimonial shares how a scientist who spent his life relying on intellect discovered peace, gratitude, and freedom from stress through meditation.
π¬ MEDITATION TESTIMONIAL: “LIVING WITHOUT STRESS FEELS LIKE A DREAM”
By Nam-gyu L. | PhD in Organic Chemistry
π Success Didn’t Eliminate Stress
When I was two years old, I contracted polio.
My parents sold our family home and moved to Seoul so I could receive treatment.
Fortunately, my condition was not severe.
Although one leg remained somewhat uncomfortable, I was able to live a relatively normal life.
I focused heavily on academics.
Throughout school, I was considered a model student and frequently received awards.
After graduating from university in Korea, I traveled to the United States to pursue graduate studies.
Eventually, I earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of WisconsinβMadison.
After returning to Korea, I joined a major pharmaceutical company.
People often said:
“He earned a doctorate from a prestigious university.”
Outwardly, I appeared humble.
Internally, however, my pride was enormous.
And despite everything I had achieved, I was never truly at peace.
β‘ Conflicts Followed Me Everywhere
Research demanded endless effort.
Late nights.
Constant study.
Relentless problem-solving.
My mind never rested.
At work, I frequently clashed with supervisors.
Because I held a doctorate, I felt offended whenever I was treated like an ordinary employee.
I also had extremely rigid standards.
I expected people to be:
- Honest
- Selfless
- Consistent
- Ethical
Whenever others failed to meet those standards, I judged them harshly.
Even after changing companies multiple times, the same conflicts followed me.
At the time, I believed the problem was always someone else.
I never considered that the problem might be me.
π The Entire World Became a Source of Stress
Eventually, my frustration expanded far beyond the workplace.
I became upset about everything:
- Politics
- Economics
- Environmental problems
- Energy issues
- Social injustice
- Rising suicide rates
Nothing seemed satisfactory.
The world appeared filled with problems.
I constantly thought:
“What is wrong with this society?”
My mind felt like it might explode.
Because I lived with so much frustration and anxiety, even ordinary conversations became negative.
While driving, I became easily irritated.
I shouted at other drivers.
People around me worried about my health.
Looking back now, I understand why.
I was carrying an enormous amount of stress.
π A Lifetime of Filling My Mind
For decades, I believed knowledge would solve everything.
Study harder.
Learn more.
Think more.
Analyze more.
But despite accumulating knowledge, I could not find peace.
One day, while searching for answers, I encountered a book about meditation.
I decided to take a week off work and attend a meditation program.
For the first time in my life, I did not try to add more information to my mind.
Instead, I began letting things go.
That experience changed everything.
π§ Letting Go of Forty Years of Mental Accumulation
As I practiced meditation, memories appeared like photographs.
I saw:
- Elementary school textbooks
- University studies
- Research papers
- Doctoral work
- Professional experiences
- Personal memories
Everything I had accumulated over decades appeared clearly.
Little by little, I began letting them go.
As I continued, something remarkable happened.
I started seeing life from a much broader perspective.
Compared to the vast universe, the knowledge I had spent forty years collecting seemed incredibly small.
Even my belief that society was wrong and needed fixing was simply my personal perspective.
That realization was humbling.
I saw how often I had judged others according to standards I had created myself.
Meanwhile, I could not even control my own mind.
Yet I expected the entire world to behave according to my wishes.
π± Discovering Peace Through Farming Meditation
During my meditation practice, I also participated in farming activities.
Together with other practitioners, I planted vegetables, carried compost, and worked outdoors.
Because of my physical disability, I had very little experience with manual labor.
At first, everything felt awkward.
But surprisingly, I found myself enjoying it.
I felt:
- Joy
- Gratitude
- Freedom
I began overcoming the thought:
“I can’t do this.”
At the same time, many of my prejudices disappeared.
I had unconsciously viewed physical labor as less valuable than intellectual work.
That belief completely collapsed.
And for the first time in my life, my mind experienced genuine rest.
π The First True Rest I Ever Experienced
I had never realized how peaceful physical work could feel.
For years, I believed academic achievement and professional success represented the highest forms of accomplishment.
But as I let go of myself, I began understanding something deeper.
I started appreciating:
- Nature
- Simplicity
- Humility
- The interconnectedness of life
My arrogance gradually disappeared.
I realized that nature already provides everything necessary for life.
Even tiny insects and weeds are supported by the world around them.
For the first time, I began understanding why people existβnot intellectually, but deeply.
π The Anger Disappeared β Gratitude Remained
The anger and resentment that once filled my mind gradually disappeared.
In their place came gratitude.
Today, even the supervisors I once considered enemies have become people I can comfortably share a meal with.
I genuinely appreciate:
- My colleagues
- My supervisors
- The researchers around me
- The people who support me
Most importantly, I no longer live under constant stress.
As my mind became peaceful, my research improved as well.
Creative ideas emerged naturally.
Problems became easier to solve.
Life became lighter.
β¨ Living Without Stress Feels Like a Dream
For someone who spent an entire lifetime relying solely on intellect, the idea of living without stress once seemed impossible.
Now it feels natural.
I have come to believe that life’s greatest difficulties do not come from other people.
They come from the stressful mind-world we create ourselves.
When that mind-world disappears, peace becomes possible.
And perhaps the ideal society people dream about begins with that inner transformation.
π CONCLUSION
Nam-gyu L.’s story demonstrates that education, intelligence, and professional success alone cannot guarantee happiness or peace.
Despite earning a PhD, building a successful career, and achieving recognition, he remained trapped in stress, judgment, frustration, and dissatisfaction.
Through meditation, he gradually released decades of accumulated thoughts, worries, expectations, and emotional burdens.
As those burdens disappeared, gratitude replaced anger, humility replaced pride, and peace replaced stress.
This meditation testimonial reminds us that genuine rest does not come from changing the world around usβit begins by transforming the world within us.
Santa Clara Meditation
Helping people discover peace, gratitude, freedom, and true happiness through the meditation method of Master Woo Myung.
