When I was in college and about sixteen years old, one of my French Literature professors seemed to favorite me by liking my essays and reading them to the other classes! We also had a school newspaper in which I was involved. Looking back, it was training for my life mission.
When Dietrich was teaching at university here and there I would ask him, “are you not supposed to write books? Every year? He would say yes of course, but I am too busy at this time! I would reply, “yes, but you have something to say.”
One Christmas while teaching in Vienna my husband had a stroke. While staying at the intensive care unit he wanted me to bring all the papers he had to correct. I refused and called the university instead.
I took care of my husband for seven years. It was an ordeal but we had each other. During this time, we met with the Tanabes, forming a renewed working friendship.
The first draft of Dietrich’s first book arrived at the San Diego hospital. He tried to read it. It was not working.
I told him: I will take care of everything! These were rules of the heart.
He lived his life practicing true love. True love as a way of life.
Today I am happy to report that we will soon celebrate his ten years in the spiritual world where for us there are no barriers, just a thin veil that we can cross and meet again and again!
These are rules of the ❤️ heart.
Please enjoy my slide show below as we celebrate the launch of my book “Stories to Nourish the Heart: Book 2”! 💕💕
family
Ethics and Filial Piety Connect Generations
“Do not worry! I am here now,” I said one day in my prayer morning devotion. I was talking to my ancestors, telling them that I will do what it takes to free and liberate them. And my husband’s ancestors as well! We are here now.
One warm summer day my son’s wish was to visit the tombs of his ancestors as he was visiting me in France for three days. That day he was inspired and reverent.
One of his friends from Ireland healed himself by working with his ancestors and working out his own life and diseases coming from ancestral dysfunction.
The filial heart of honoring one’s ancestors goes beyond repairing the debt of gratitude to one’s own parent. it is also the root of ethics of human existence, revering the source of all life.
In Korea it is said that filial devotion protects one’s parents, one’s family, and one’s neighbors, becoming the driving force for overcoming national crisis. It is the spirit that, beginning with the family, sustains the society and nation.
Out of Chaos Let’s Make Order
Yesterday we had a breakfast party on the sunny patio downstairs from my apartment with friends and neighbors. Miraculously the food appeared on time because of Andy and Solange who made a delicious omelet that everyone enjoyed. Food is love, especially if it is cooked for someone else. The Cosco croissants were bought with a “thinking of others” thought which arrived inside the Viennoiseries. Everyone could taste it!
As for myself, I had a rough week because my apartment was in chaos and I did not feel ready for hosting anything but somehow we did. Then I thought of my Parent the Heavenly Father and Mother who first had a thought to make a world where the children could live. The very last creations were human beings: You can read in the Bible that we were created in the image of God, man and woman he created them in His very own image.
In Unification Theology it is said and explained as in the Bible also that out of chaos God brought order. When order was there and everything was ready for God’s children, with miraculous food and plants, fruits, and fish and meats to eat around them, God breathed into His children the breath of life. Because God was dreaming of a loving family where God the Parent could live among them.
For more information read our books!
Building a culture of ❤️ one book at a time.
Insights into Marriage and Family
When my late husband, Dr. Dietrich Seidel, started working on his Ph.D. thesis on Marriage and Family our relationship greatly improved. It was because he did so much research into the topic and applied his findings to our daily life.
This month, I want to recommend to you “Unification Insights into Marriage and Family,” a collection of his writings. The family is so precious, and you need skills to navigate your life.
Here are some reviews to let you know more:
This book will make you think-and more importantly feel-what God’s hope is for humankind in terms of genuine love between human beings and God. It will help you discover a new understanding of the kind of love God wants to see expressed between husband and wife and among members of each and every family around the world, and how this can be achieved.
Dietrich Seidel is both a devoted husband and father and a consummate theologian and educator. In addition, he and his wife Elisabeth have been globe-trotting marriage and family coaches, offering seminars and workshops on improving marriages and overcoming self-centeredness in relationships. These experiences have uniquely qualified Seidel to write this book of essays.
As you read, you will find yourself transported from the fascinating details of his life presented in his autobiographical essay, to Olympian insights about how love develops between God and us (with our Herculean effort), to nuts-and-bolts pointers on how to strengthen the fiber of our love for our spouse as well as how to maintain a good give and take of love with our children.
All in all, it is hearty food for the intellect and for the soul.
~Robert Selle, writer, Washington DC.
Seidel’s work is remarkable for its scope and depth, its clarity and its personal touch. With writings ranging broadly from thoughtful scholarly analysis to devotional confession to wise guidance on family dynamics, this volume is a rich resource for anyone seeking greater understanding of Unification teachings, of one man’s spiritual journey or practical ideas for nurturing family harmony. A rich treasure from a deep-hearted scholar.
~Farley Jones, President, Pacific Rim Education Foundation
This collection of writings by academic Dietrich F. Seidel offers many highlights in the life of this remarkable man. His scholarly articles reveal his genuine intellect, devotion to God and desire to see harmony between religion and science. But it is his wise and passionate marriage writings that appeal to me, a lay marriage mentor. Dietrich understood that loving relationships are paramount to a happy, satisfying life—and well worth the investments of time, energy and affection. Anyone in search of sound advice about marriage and parenting will be well served by his words.
~Cheryl Wetzstein, veteran journalist, lay marriage mentor, wife and mother
Building a Culture of Heart
Love between husband and wife is eternal.
The love between husband and wife cannot be given to another. If it is, it will be destroyed.
Including God in our relationship will bring peace in the family, and ultimately peace in the world. This love then can expand to our neighborhood and together we build a culture of heart!
My 80th Birthday
My friends organized a wonderful celebration for my 80th birthday this month. I was so inspired by this speech my daughter Diesa gave, so I wanted to share it with you all.
Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention for just a moment—I want to say a few words about someone very special tonight: my mom, or as I like to lovingly call her, The Queen Mother.
Now, some people earn a royal aura through titles or castles. My mom? She did it the old-fashioned way: with impeccable taste, high standards, and the ability to make everyone around her feel like they’re in the presence of greatness.
And let’s be honest—everything she does is authentic. If she laughs at a movie, it’s probably worthy of an Academy Award. If she says the dinner is delicious, that restaurant should probably be world-renowned. If she says it’s a beautiful day outside, well… you probably should have called in sick and gone outside immediately.
And it’s not just taste—my mom is extremely lucky. I mean, if she wants something, somehow, magically, it appears. Whether it’s getting the corner table by the window at a crowded restaurant, finding the perfect shirt on the sale rack in her size, or marrying the most incredible man on the planet, my Dad… My mom doesn’t just live life; she manifests it.
And of course, being a true Queen isn’t just about style, charm, and impeccable taste—it’s also about heart. Her empathy is genuine; not just for those close to her, but for all people throughout all countries.
It’s the kind of awareness and compassion you would expect from a queen: someone who understands that her influence can—and should—be used to make the world a little brighter, a little kinder, and a little more just.
Her combination of grace, courage, and empathy is exactly what makes her the Queen of our hearts.
So tonight, in celebration of her 80th birthday, let’s raise our glasses to my mom—the woman with impeccable taste, unstoppable luck, and a laugh that lights up the room. Long live the Queen Mother! May your reign continue for many more years filled with love, laughter, and all the finest things life has to offer.
Happy birthday, Mom!
Think Yourself Well!
In 1987 Rev. Moon had a meeting with health professionals before opening a hospital. He saw the real impact in curing disease is from the spiritual factor. In other words, the mind. If a man becomes sick and choose to lives in nature, like in the mountains, and has a strong will and spirituality, he can live well there and overcome his sickness.
If you go to church then your mind is so happy that you forget you have an illness, that can be one of the best cures. Spirituality makes your spirit strong which gives vitality elements to your body!
In her book Mind Over Medicine, Lissa Rankin said:
- Change your thoughts
- Change your behaviors
- Change your biochemistry.
Our mind can make us sick, and it can make us well. Our feelings and beliefs impact our every cell. See yourself happy, whole, and at ease.
Our thoughts hold more medicine than many of the astonishing medical breakthroughs of our time.
Hope heals.
Happiness is preventative medicine.
Whether or not we feel and express love affects our well-being.
Infants’ material needs can be met, like being well fed, having appropriate clothing, etc., but if they are left alone in their crib, ignored, and not loved, they can die very quickly. That’s why the school of love is the family.
My grandma Marie was dropped off at the orphanage in Lyon, I believe by her birth mother. Because I also believe her birth father could not, or decided not to, take responsibility for love.
My grandma found adoptive parents who loved her as their own daughter amidst many other children of their own. They restored hope and happiness in her, gave her a dowry when she married, and she became my beloved grandma.
The family is the school of love. The clan and tribe continue a loving community, and at church you find larger social networks.
Healthy relationships are medicine for the mind. Think yourself well!
Love Stimulates Love
“What’s wrong with the world…People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas.”
This is from the song “Where Is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas.
On each trip to the library, I pick up a few books on marriage and relationships. This has always been for me the most interesting topic as life is all about relationships. if we can get the fundamental relationship of husband and wife going strong and the family is well, then all will be well.
In his book Family First, Dr. Phil shares that he has an obligation to protect and care for his family. He and his wife made a pledge to each other and their family, reporting to God in prayer.
The other book I picked was the The Good Marriage: How and Why Love Lasts, by Judith S. Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee. They said that one in two marriages ends in divorce, and one in three children can expect to experience their parents’ divorce. The bride and groom themselves may question why they should marry, since it’s likely to break up.
To continue from The Good Marriage, the authors convey that even happily married men and women can get depressed, lose jobs; they cry, yell, get frustrated; they come from sad, abusive neglectful backgrounds as well as from stable families. All marriages are haunted from things of the past.
Marriage counselors like to tell their clients that there are at least six people in every marital bed: the couple and both sets of parents.
My favorite book this month is by Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages. The title of his book is Love as a Way of Life.
Chapman said that his marriage radically changed after he asked his wife three questions every day:
1. What can I do to help you today?
2. How can I make your life easier?
3. How can I be a better husband to you?
He said when he asked these questions, his wife gave the answers with no reluctance. Her answers taught him how to express love to her in meaningful ways. Within a month, he saw a change in his wife’s attitude towards him. Within three months, she was willing to ask him those three questions in return. Their relationship took a positive turn. “Love always stimulates love.”
Chapman also mentioned that they gave each other complete access to computers, cell phones, and financial records. Being an open book to each other like this means not hiding anything, not cheating. It is better to share everything for protection, and be together in everything. He emphasized that no other man could treat his wife as well as he does. He believes he needed divine help in order to make love as a way of life.
I was very thrilled this month when my editor announced she transcribed sixteen tapes of Dietrich’s classes on Marriage and Family. Without God things become quickly impossible and hopeless! Dietrich was a theologian first and foremost. And second, he has the same dream as God, our Heavenly Parent, to make an eternal relationship with one’s spouse and God together. I have to say as his wife he did an excellent job!
Moms Also Have Wishes
I wish to reconcile with my only brother!
I wish my children would understand what is important for their Dad and their Mom.
I wish every day I could make all the wrongs into rights, the hatred into love, and all the resentments be forgiven.
I wish I could go one more time to see the village of my grandma’s home in the Alps where her childhood home is still there among the ruins, the church in her village where one year I could share holy wine, the place where she tended the sheep and the cows. She had to work hard to pay for her room and board. She came from an orphanage in Lyon, and then she was adopted and received much love.
I wish I could visit my son and be there for him in Brazil and my son could be there for me.
I wish my daughter had time to take me across America, the land that I love.
I wish to put my life in order and prepare for my next mission, serving and blessing people in my next life above!
I wish for the time where people are an extended family caring for each other in true love, where no one is lonely, and each one invited to the table to be loved and served.
It is the time where we put every wrong into right, the time where Holy Mother Han has been opening wide the gates of Heaven.
Today Let’s Just Be Happy and Other Complicated Things
“Mousey, today let us just be happy!” my husband would say from time to time. “Mousey” was our nickname. “Forget everything, take my hand, let’s run to the woods. Look up the sky that is true blue! Look down, the earth is fresh from the rain with multi colored flowers.”
Sometimes Dietrich would come up with a sentence that had deep meaning for the day and more. He was studying complicated things in theology and could condense the whole thing into one sentence, “Let us just be happy” (the purpose of life is joy).
When he was writing his Ph.D. dissertation, he chose the topic “Marriage and family in the Christian tradition.” The German theologian and philosopher, Friedrich Schleiermacher, was his interest. He was one of the first to break through about revolutionary ideas for marriage and family after the Protestant Reformation.
So, Dietrich wrote his dissertation on this subject. Then, years later, one day during a big clean up a copy of his dissertation went to the dumpster. Our daughter Diesa, who was then a college student, said she wanted it. Dietrich went back to the dumpster and retrieved this precious book, which then went back on a shelf.
A few years later I gave it to our editor, Dr. Tanabe. During the summer of 2024 she edited it and later surprised us by publishing it as a book to honor both Friedrich Schleiermacher and Dietrich Seidel.
The Christian foundation has been the bedrock for a happy marriage! Let us all be happy today!