Core of the Universe (Audiobook)

Core of the Universe: God's Vision for Love, Sex, and IntimacyRead by author David WolfenbergerSex and intimacy are central to our lives, but conflicting thoughts and powerful feelings often get in the way of lasting joy. While many people find it difficult to talk about this subject, Reverend Sun Myung Moon boldly stated that sex is sacred and at the very core of the universe.He and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, spent a lifetime teaching how our sexual organs are God's most precious gift to us.Core of the Universe invites you to examine how we can use our sexuality to create beautiful marriages filled with love and joy.

This Hoon Dok Hwe study book is the first of its kind. It is based on the words of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who are referred to in this book as True Father and True Mother respectively and as True Parents together. Each chapter explores a theme True Father spoke about with great passion. His clear explanations about God’s design and purpose for sexual love inspired us to have open, thought-provoking discussions in this book. With out his courage and leadership in life, this book could not have been written. True Father was a student of life from boyhood and had deep experiences with God in prayer as he sought to understand the core of our existence. What he discovered is that the sexual organs are at the center of God’s ideal world. He taught us a new paradigm about the sexual organs of men and women.This book is a collaboration of people from different backgrounds, each contributing something unique to the understanding of True Parents’ words on this topic. I am very grateful to the writing team, which consisted of Poppy Paviour Richie, Robert Cunningham, and my beloved wife, Mitsue. Poppy, co-author of a popular character education curriculum for K-12, Discovering the Real Me, and other educational publications, saw this proj ect through from beginning to end. Robert, a long-time supporter of High Noon’s work, recently received the Marriage Blessing, offering a fresh per spective as a young husband, and supported this book as project manager. Even though English is Mitsue’s second language, she always had much to contribute both in substance and, surprisingly, grammar.I am thankful for all those who so openly shared life experiences with their personal testimonies and allowed us to include them in this book. I am grate ful to the staff members of the Blessed Marriage Project and School of Love. I am indebted to everyone who attended High Noon programs in America, Europe, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Their sincere questions and desperate desires to create radiant marriages through the Marriage Blessing touched my soul and caused me to deep-dive for answers in True Parents’ words. It was through speaking with participants all over the world that we at High Noon came to realize the urgent need for education on sexuality that is grounded in the teachings of the Divine Principle and in True Parents’ words. Mitsue and I were surprised at how many people approached us after our programs seeking advice about their relationships, pornography, and other intimate issues.I am so grateful for Mitsue. As she searched for True Parents’ quotes for the book, she’d often begin to cry, touched by True Father’s Words about the holiness and preciousness of the sexual organs. For Mitsue and I, this book has been the continuation of a life-long journey. We hope you will be moved when reading True Parents’ words about God’s ideal for sex. Our experience has been that when we read this content as a couple, we feel a joy beyond what we could ever have imagined. I am eternally grateful to True Parents. Their profound understanding and guidance about what sex was created for has the power to change the world.David WolfenbergerHigh Noon Founder

For many of us, the subject of sex brings up feelings of shame, embarrassment, and confusion. As a result, most people avoid talking about it even though we all share a longing to experience and understand love and sexuality. The purpose of this book is to share a clear and hopeful vision from the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who we affectionately call True Parents. Their revolutionary insight is that the sexual relationship between a husband and wife is the very core of the universe. This resource can help young adults grow their sexual integrity in preparation for marriage and support blessed couples to create heavenly intimacy.We acknowledge that not everyone is in the place they may want to be in terms of their habits and attitudes regarding sex or their relationship with their spouse. We encourage you to start from wherever you are and to bravely take steps towards realizing God’s beautiful ideal for His gift of sexuality.Few people have had healthy conversations about sexual intimacy growing up in their family, and even fewer have had good role models. In today’s culture, we see a lot of misinformation about sex coming out of schools, Hollywood, and the internet. Because sex can be an embarrassing subject, there has been little to no conversation about it in the home. As quiet as most families are about sex, churches are often more silent, which has led many to believe that God has nothing to say on the topic either. Consequently, internet pornography has replaced the home and the church as a major source of sex education.True Father was not silent on the subject of sex. He wanted people to understand that the sexual organs are God’s most precious gift to us. Through them, a husband and wife can experience love in their marriage and experience God in a deeper way than they ever could as individuals. In the Divine Principle, we learn how the misuse of sex caused the Fall of our first human ancestors, and from there, all the problems in the world. It’s only through True Father’s Words on the holiness of the sexual organs that we understand why the misuse of this sacred act caused the greatest tragedy for God and for all humankind.Even though there are volumes of speeches from True Father about the sexual organs and related topics, people are often unaware these speeches exist. When they do stumble upon them, they find it is uncomfortable to discuss the content and challenging to see how it applies to their lives. This leaves many confused about essential questions regarding sex.This Hoon Dok Hwe study book is the first to compile True Parents’ quotes from hundreds of speeches to create a comprehensive understanding of God’s vision for sex. It is organized into six sections: Core of the Universe, God’s Design for Sex, Conjugal Love, Absolute Sex, The Fall, and Restoration.Each chapter begins with True Parents’ words, followed by Sharing Thoughts, in which we extract and explain the central theme. You may be surprised and challenged by some of True Parents’ teachings on the subject of sex. We ask you to keep an open mind. There is a story in each chapter highlighting historical events, great people, or fables to support your understanding and discuss the main theme. Every chapter includes a segment on Making It Real, showing how to apply the theme to your lives, and ending with suggested discussion questions. If you are reading this together with your spouse, small group, or family members, these stories and questions can provide a path to free and open discussions about sex.

If you asked people, what is the most important thing in the universe, you would get many different kinds of answers. It is a question that perhaps you have asked yourself. This is the very question that True Father sought to answer as a young man. Through years of anguished prayer and study, True Father came to a radical conclusion. He realized the success of God’s plan for the cosmos was 100% dependent on the correct use of the sexual organs. That is not your typical religious answer! Nevertheless, the sexual organs of men and women are the place where love, life, and lineage meet. Therefore, True Father calls the sexual organs the core or the root of the universe.From the very beginning, God’s desire was to establish Himself as an eternal loving parent through the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. True Father has often spoken of the sexual organs as the original palace of love, the original palace of life, and the original palace of lineage. But what do each of these terms mean? In the following chapters, each of these places will be further explored to fully understand the preciousness of our sexual organs. These quotes provide insight into True Father’s profound wisdom concerning the sexual organs and our responsibility to them. This is a completely novel way of thinking that can open up new possibilities for humankind.

When you were a kid, did you and your best friend visit somewhere really special that was known only by the two of you? A secret hangout just for you and your friend and no one else? Reading True Father’s words may bring us to the conclusion that this was God’s thinking when He created the sexual organs. He wanted to create an exclusive place where only husband and wife could meet together and connect with God as a couple. The sexual organs are that special place, the original palace of love, where husband and wife share only with each other.

One of the most spectacular events in life is the birth of a new child. According to UNICEF, this happens about 353,000 times every day! How wonderful is that? When mothers and fathers everywhere experience this miracle, it also brings immense joy to our Heavenly Parent. The investment and heart that went into our Creator’s design for reproduction, pregnancy, and birth are astounding. We invite you to reflect on this incredible origin of life and find inspiration in the words of True Parents.

If you could go back in time and meet any person, who would you choose? Many famous figures may come to mind, such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, or even Jesus. Out of all the interesting people who have ever lived, wouldn’t it be amazing to meet your own ancestors? Imagine a conversation with your great-great-great-grandparents! You may find you share something in common, like similar mannerisms or physical features. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know how their choices impacted your family? Through their lineage, our ancestors have forever left their mark on this world in each one of us.

We all know the headache of trying to assemble a new bike, bookshelf, or bed on our own. When all else fails, we inevitably have to look at the instructions. But what if there aren't any? This has been the case for the sexual organs. No one has known their purpose throughout history, so we have all been left to figure it out for ourselves. Sex can give us great pleasure and create new life; however, it can also lead to confusion and heartbreak. Why is that, and what is the true purpose of our sexual organs? True Father wrestled with these questions. The key to finding the answers is to know what God was thinking when He designed the sexual organs. This chapter and section will delve into God’s design and purpose for sex revealed to us in True Father’s words.

What does chemistry have to do with love? Many of us are intrigued by the magic in chemistry. Do you remember being surprised when you learned that two hydrogen molecules and one molecule of oxygen, both gases, can make water, an entirely different state of matter? True Father paints the picture of God as the supreme chemist who created us to experience the greatest love in all of heaven and earth in every cell of our body. We have been endowed with powerful chemical and neurological aspects intended to support eternal, monogamous love between husband and wife. Scientists now call the sexual pleasure cycle a biological reward system that acts as a bonding agent when a couple engages in sex. All the body’s senses work together with these hormones to create a formidable force for attraction and pleasure.

Romeo and Juliet is a play about two young, star-crossed lovers. They become obsessed with one another and are incapable of thinking about anything else. Their infatuation is so overwhelming that they choose death rather than be separated. How could they experience such intense feelings so quickly? What makes first love so powerful and intoxicating?

A baby takes its first steps, falls down, but gets back up again smiling and so excited! Years later, that child becomes an Olympic athlete, a gold medalist, the fastest runner in the world! The thrill of reaching one’s highest potential in anything begins in a very humble way and is achieved over a period of time.Just as a future athlete needs to grow up in order to participate in races, young people must develop physically, spiritually, and emotionally before they are ready for first love. Furthermore, when newlyweds begin their sexual relationship, they can expect to start out with baby steps. It may be awkward at first, but, at the same time, stimulating and fun. In sports, practice yields results, and the same can be said about learning how to make love.

At the wedding of their sons and daughters, parents feel like they’re floating on clouds! It is a beautiful sight to behold. When we see their joy or experience it ourselves, we catch a glimpse of God’s desire to participate in the marriage of His children. We can only imagine the glow in our Heavenly Father’s eyes as He dances with this newly blessed daughter and the joyous laughter of Heavenly Mother as She dances with Her newly blessed son on their wedding day.

In the action-packed space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill  finds himself relentlessly pursued by bounty hunters after stealing a myste rious orb coveted by Thanos, a powerful villain who wants to use it to wipe  out half of the inhabitants of the entire cosmos. When Quill discovers the  true power of the orb and the menace it poses, he must do his best to rally  his team of misfits in a last desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the  balance. Although it is unlikely any of us will ever find ourselves in the possession  of a mysterious orb, True Father teaches that we each possess something  equally as powerful. Since our sexual organs are the core of the universe,  when we protect our purity, we are doing much more than saving ourselves  for marriage. 

Have you ever considered what is the highest love? Our greatest desire in life is to share our deepest thoughts and feelings with someone we trust completely. Developing and protecting our purity is foundational for achieving this aspiration. True Father urges us to be wary of sexual relationships and habits based on self-centered desire. He encourages us to build a life of honesty and integrity, where our body is united with the higher vision of the mind and heart. As we develop a life of purity, we learn to value ourselves and others as children of God. Then we are ready to receive our lifelong partner with whom we will experience God’s great gift of sexual love.

If you were to ask ten friends why they think people marry, you would likely get ten different answers. One person may say that marriage is for love and security. Another believes it’s for a better lifestyle. Some may say it’s to make their parents happy, or because they don’t want to be lonely. Oftentimes, people who are divorced say they married for the wrong reasons. Jackie Kennedy, the wife of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, said, “The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship.” With all these varying perspectives many young people wonder why they should even get married.

What do you consider sacred? Perhaps your family treats the dinner table as a sacred place without phones and distractions, just a place to connect and share delicious food and personal stories. Maybe you start the meal with grace, inviting God to enjoy this time altogether. Sacred may not be the first word you’d use to describe this tradition, but as it is a moment your family connects in heart and invites God, He is certainly present. True Father teaches that sex is also meant to be a special and holy time when husband and wife come together in mind, body, and heart, inviting God into this deeply intimate experience. His teaching about the sacred value of sex is not common in society or churches, but it is with this understanding that we truly bring joy to God and ourselves.

Have you ever participated in a Christmas Gift Exchange? There are many fun ways to exchange presents. In White Elephant, you swap gifts numerous times and can never be sure what you’ll end up with. Secret Santa, on the other hand, is about getting assigned a random person, and you have to find the perfect gift specifically for them. Heaven prepared the ultimate gift exchange for each of us, one that is a little like both of these examples. Like White Elephant, it’s impossible to know early on who we’ll be giving our gift to. But, like Secret Santa, we prepare a special gift exclusively for one person.

If you tasted the ingredients for making a chocolate cake before they were mixed, the butter, flour, chocolate, and sugar would not be delicious. After that cake is baked, it smells so good you can’t wait to eat it. God as a creator also likes to combine very different elements to make something much greater than the sum of its parts. The best example of this is His plan for a man and woman to combine their masculinity and femininity to create a thriving marriage and beautiful family. Single people may wonder why they experience a feeling of loneliness at times, and those who are happily married can’t imagine living without their spouse for the rest of their lives. Why do we feel incomplete until we come together as one with our spouse?

If you ever walk across the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, you will see thousands of locks placed there by couples in love. At the bottom of the river are the keys thrown from the bridge, making it impossible to reopen the locks. This beautiful tradition symbolizes lasting love that is unbreakable, locked in place by sacred vows. Locks and keys have often been a symbol of unwavering love and fidelity, from ancient China to modern-day Paris, and now, in the precious words of our True Parents!

In the movie Fantastic Four, Alicia is a blind artist who meets Ben shortly after an accident turns his body to rock and his fiancé abandons him. Alicia falls in love with Ben, who is now called “The Thing.” She helps him accept himself and embrace his new role as a superhero. Ben says, “You don’t know what it’s like out there. Walking around like some kind of circus freak. People staring, whispering.” Alicia responds, “You know, being different isn’t always a bad thing.” The phrase “blinded by love” is often seen in a negative way when someone fails to see their partner for who they really are. But this expression can also have a positive meaning when it is applied to the husband and wife who choose to see the best in each other.

In Korean and some other languages, the word “love” is a very significant word to express your feelings towards another person. In English, we use it to describe an array of experiences. We talk about how we love ice cream and good food, going to movies, and walking on the beach. We use the same word to describe what we feel for friends and family. Then there’s a special kind of love reserved just for husbands and wives, but even in marriage, the word love can have several meanings. When we say “I love you” to our spouse, it can mean so much more when it is expressed through thoughtful action and service.

Have you ever wondered what life will be like in the spiritual world after you ascend? Will you recognize your loved ones? Will you be able to be together with your spouse? What will you do together? What about making love? Certainly, sex in the spiritual realm has got to be out of this world. These were all questions True Father had as a young man. He searched for answers through deep prayer and explored the spiritual world to uncover hidden truths.

There is a great deal of confusion in the world today regarding sex. It seems there is no clear standard. People seek happiness by following their natural desires but often end up disappointed and hurt. It’s difficult to figure out what’s right and even tougher to stand up for something we don’t fully understand. True Father coined the unique expression “absolute sex” to give us clarity about God’s absolute ideal for the sexual relationship between husband and wife. This term may seem a little confusing at first. The words absolute and sex are not usually put together, and some may think it refers to wild sexual fantasies or throwing off all restraints. This is the opposite of what True Father meant. What comes to mind for you when you hear the word “absolute” used in reference to sex?

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for Adam and Eve before the Fall? The Bible says they had no shame even though they were completely naked. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? The world we live in today makes it difficult to keep our hearts free of lust or shame when it comes to sex. Provocative images on billboards, the internet, and TV are everywhere. True Father wants to bring the world back to God’s original standard. But how do we bridge this gap? The only way we can restrain our runaway thoughts is to place restrictions in our lives to safeguard ourselves and our loved ones. These boundaries, used effectively, can keep us safe and on track with our goals.

The presence of God is all around us as we walk in a field of blue lupins and bright yellow sunflowers, float down a cool river on a sunny day or gaze upon a baby’s adorable face. Nothing expresses the love of God as much as a family that is united and overflows with true love. The innocence of children and the beauty of nature remind us of God’s intention for a perfect world. However, we all know this world is far from perfect. How, then, can we create a family rooted in absolute sexual ethics that is free from the influence of this fallen world?

The first time True Father used the words “absolute sex” was in 1996 in a speech inaugurating Family Federation for World Peace (FFWP). This speech, “In Search of the Origin of the Universe,” was published in newspapers in every state across America and presented in 185 nations. It was an appeal to world leaders, persuading them to embrace and proclaim a new movement of absolute sex, or sex centered on God, in their own countries.

Imagine you were adopted and didn’t know your biological parents. Even if your adopted parents were loving and awesome, most likely, you’d still wonder where you came from and whether you had any brothers or sisters. You’d want to know who your parents are, and why they left you. Then, one day, you find out where they live, so you go to their house and knock on the door. Perhaps you recognize that they were the ones who were always sitting in the back at every recital, all of your baseball games and graduation. As you begin to introduce yourself, they tell you that they know who you are. They’ve been keeping track of you since you were a baby, and then they pull out a scrapbook full of pictures. How would you feel when your birth parents put their arms around you and tell you they have always loved you?

Have you ever wondered what life will be like in the spiritual world after you ascend? Will you recognize your loved ones? Will you be able to be together with your spouse? What will you do together? What about making love? Certainly, sex in the spiritual realm has got to be out of this world. These were all questions True Father had as a young man. He searched for answers through deep prayer and explored the spiritual world to uncover hidden truths.

The Odyssey by Homer is a Greek classic partially inspired by the timeless theme of temptation. It is as relevant for us today as it was to the ancient Greeks. Another well-known Greek writer, Aesop, wrote fables, like this one about temptation.One day a bee farmer left a pot of honey on the picnic table outside his house. The sweet-smelling honey attracted a family of flies. The bees that made the honey noticed the flies and warned them. “Watch out; it’s not safe. Don’t go there; you’ll get stuck!” The bees swarmed around the pot, forming a wall to prevent the flies from getting stuck in the honey. The flies broke through and ate voraciously, unaware that their wings and legs were getting heavy and sticky with honey. Unable to fly or walk out of the pot, the whole family of flies drowned in the tasty but dangerous honey.God gives us warnings to help us avoid sticky situations where we could get trapped, unaware of impending danger. True Father’s teachings about sexual temptation reveal just how important it is to be educated about its enticing and dangerous presence in our society.

Within the past century, attitudes about sex have dramatically changed. Many sexual activities that are accepted nowadays were criminal a century ago. Back then, it was scandalous for a woman to show her ankles in public, and people could be arrested for having sex without being married. The largest evidence of this change in attitude is the widely accepted, multibillion-dollar porn industry. Today, the average teenager can see far more images of nudity in one afternoon than their grandparents could have seen during their entire lifetimes. How can we protect our young people from this pornified culture?

The sexual revolution took America by storm in the 1960s. Americans, followed by people of other western nations and, eventually, most of the world, gave themselves permission to be “liberated” from all sexual constraints. This was the beginning of the sexualized culture that exists today. Things that were prohibited and avoided became accepted and sought after on a global scale. It promised freedom but instead enslaved men and women in destructive behaviors. The free sex lifestyle robbed people of a deeply fulfilling connection that one can only experience in an exclusive, husband-and-wife relationship.

When you were growing up, what did your parents teach you about sex? Most of us would have a hard time remembering any conversations with our parents on the topic. Sexuality has been wrapped in shame throughout human history with the consequence that the majority of parents have avoided talking with their children about sex. Parents and children typically feel embarrassed and shy away from the subject. But if we consider how precious sex is, then this would be the most important education that parents impart to their children.True Parents established a sacred tradition when they educated blessed couples in preparation for their lives as husbands and wives. Reverend Joong Hyun Pak shares about the intimate education True Father provided to the early blessed couples in the Unification Church. “I participated in the 430 Couples Marriage Blessing Ceremony. At that time, I was a church leader in the countryside in South Korea. True Father came with True Mother to my region. True Father called all the blessed couples of the 430 Blessing Ceremony to gather. We were in the middle of our 40-day separation period. True Father sat down with us and taught us about husband-wife sexual relations. Honestly, at that time, I so appreciated True Father. I thought he is truly my father. So close a feeling he stirred within me. The deepest secret of human life he gave to me. That meant he was truly my parent. Even my physical parents didn’t teach me like this. But True Father did. I remember deeply, tearfully appreciating True Father.”

We watch blockbuster movies about heroes with supernatural powers whose mission is to save the world. When the world is saved from destruction by the end of the film, we feel a sense of hope for the future. Historically, people have believed the Messiah is a superhuman who comes to save the world. At the time of Jesus, the Jewish people thought the Messiah would defeat their enemies and lead them into military conquest. Today’s Christians believe Jesus will return to save all believers. Despite the many claims of what a Messiah will do, nobody has ever proclaimed the Messiah comes to restore the sexual organs. What does that even mean? Why are they in need of restoring, and how will that save the world?

All of us, without exception, have found ourselves in the midway position at some time or another where we experience a conflict about which path to follow. Our heart pushes us to do the right thing, but at the same time, we desire that which is immediate and satisfying. Even the apostle Paul, who was the greatest champion of Christian faith, lamented in Romans 7:22-24, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the laws of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am? Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (New International Version). What can we do when we find ourselves in this state of turmoil which causes us to anguish?

Have you ever seen a toddler running around naked and laughing after taking a bath? Children are born without shame. God created our sexual organs as the most precious and sacred part of our bodies. He wants us to maintain that innocence as we grow up and eventually marry. The act of lovemaking is meant to be the most beautiful, intimate, and joyful expression of love between husband and wife. However, the messages we receive from our parents, schools, and entertainment often portray a distorted version of sex. Our sexual behaviors and beliefs have been influenced by what we’ve learned as children. The shame we’ve developed can block us from true sexual intimacy with our spouse. We may become frustrated, not knowing what to do about it. True Father guides us to be free of shame so we can proudly embrace our sexuality in the way God intended.

If you could be invisible, would you act differently or would you behave the same as you do now? Would you sneak into movie theaters or spy on people? Although invisibility may be impossible, how do we act when no one is watching? And what would it be like to live a life free of shadows with nothing to hide, being proud of everything we do?

Every movement has an inspiring leader who is willing to make any sacrifice, even if it means going to jail or giving up their life for what they believe. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. When a righteous leader hones in on moral injustice, which threatens our human dignity and passionately inspires others, a movement is created. The power that fuels a cause is generated when a mass of individuals embrace a singular vision. At that point, it begins to develop a life of its own, igniting a ripple effect throughout an entire nation and even the world. True Father had this level of commitment his entire life in the pursuit to defeat the forces of evil and build God’s kingdom on the earth. His greatest passion was to rally people around a movement for pure love.