Because of this conflict, the ideal of the true human potential has been hidden away in a dense fog and trapped behind a high fence. We must generate a wind of truth and love that is strong enough to sweep the fog away. We must tear down the mighty fence between our mind and body that stands so high as to pierce the sky. The course of overcoming this struggle is our destiny.
To win this battle, we must overcome the desires of the body, such as for sleep, money and unprincipled sexual satisfaction. When he set out on his course decades ago, my husband, Rev. Moon, declared as his personal motto, “Before seeking dominion over the universe, first control yourself” And that is how he has lived throughout his life.
All this goes back to the fact that each of us has been unable to establish a standard of one heart, one body and one thought within ourselves. Without individual mind-body unity, how can we hope for harmony in the family or peace in the country or the world?
Throughout the ages, our original minds have longed for peace, happiness and unity. The problem has always been our physical body, which is at war with the desire of the mind. Yet our flesh is the container that holds our mind, so we cannot just discard it as we wish. The important thing is how we govern this physical body, whose impulses and directions change minute by minute.
After the Fall, the human body became Satan’s dwelling place. As the apostle Paul laments in Romans 7:23-24, “I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
When we look honestly within ourselves, we can all see elements of good and evil. Our mind or conscience is oriented toward good, and our body pulls in the opposite direction, toward evil. If we cannot resolve this conflict of mind and body, then sin will indeed torment us for eternity. This was true even for so great a saint as Paul.