Tuesday, May 29, 2018

#WalangForever


image from behance.net


I was at the grocery one day when I overheard a group of merchandisers (the ones lining up the stocks) arguing whether “may forever" (relationships last) or walang forever (relationships don’t last). 

It was a long debate which also got me thinking.

I couldn't pick a side though- until of late.

Recently, I’ve been listening to classes of Charlie Hogg, Brahma Kumaris Director for Asia and the Pacific.

He point-blankly declares "walang forever".  Well, not exactly in those words (For one, he doesn’t speak Tagalog. :) hehe)

He explains, 

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“Here’s a huge dilemma in human life and that is no relationship is permanent.  Whether it’s change, whether it’s time, whether it’s separation, whether it’s death- the object of my love goes."
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But, we're immensely invested in our relationships that we often dismiss the fact that these relationships end- in one way or another.  So, we feel lost or abandoned when our love ones leave us or we go in a frenzy looking for the next one (or "the one" for some) .

He suggests,

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"Explore the one relationship that is permanent- that is always there.”
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He is referring to the relationship with the self. 

However, he’s not implying that we don't get involved in any other relationship or ditch our family and friends.  He’s merely reminding us that amidst the noise of our own mind, the chaos of the world and our relentless search for true love, we forget who we really are and who we belong to.


image from us.brahmakumaris

The Soul

"Statistics show that 80% of us believe that we are more than our body.”, says Bro. Charlie.  


However, he states that we don’t often experience that and points out that we have to start by practicing self-awareness.

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“When I’m aware of my (true) self, when it seeps through my being… it's like coming home to a place inside where I feel so comfortable.” 
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“I don’t have to try to impress anybody, I don’t have to put a pressure on myself to look good, to be noticed, to be out there.”

"I just have to be aware of who I am and naturally, I begin to taste the original feeling of my self."

"I am a soul. Not really a male or female or Asian or European and all the labels that divide people in this world.  Reality is that I am a soul.", Hogg reveals

Now, this self, the soul has three faculties- mind, intellect and the subconscious.


image by kiwiTACHAN

The Overthinking Mind


"So many conversations are going concurrently in our heads… Sometimes with others- sharing our feelings with others, trying to prove my point. Sometimes with myself- you know that inner voice disapproving of myself. "Why did I say that?  Why did I do that?" Sometimes conversations with situations. “What's happening?  Why isn’t it happening.  It shouldn’t be happening."  At other times, fantasy conversation with the person in our dreams.”

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"It seems that our mind is constantly in conversation in some direction- it never stops." 
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"Seeing this mind that overthinks in these elongated conversations, I think we crave peace inside. We crave stillness.  We crave a mind that rests. We crave silence. But, I think at the same time, we fear silence." 

 
"Because the conversations have a purpose. The noise of the mind has a purpose.  It stops me from going deep into my truth- to understand really who I am.", shares Hogg.  



image from pinsdaddy

 The Intellect: the wise guard of the mind


"What I’ve found recently, I begin to think of my mind as a sacred space inside.”, Bro. Charlie goes on.


"The image that I have is a beautiful crystal bowl- absolutely clean and clear.  Full of clean, pure water.  This is the original state of my mind." 

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"Wisdom is to keep the negative and wasteful conversation out of my sacred space."
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"This sacred space has many gateways into it- one is my ears.  My pool (inside) can be so calm and quiet (but) one conversation of few words or comment, can enter through the gateway of my ears and my conversation in my mind becomes heated and angry.  I see something which is not fair or unjust, the gateway of my eyes allow the conversation in my mind to become one of great judgement and criticism."

"We need wisdom to protect this sacred space.  Then, I can have the most elevated conversation of all (with myself and the Divine)."






image from uncut-news

The subconscious:  the recordings of my past

"Have you ever wondered why even if you have a strong resolve to be peaceful or calm, suddenly anger or frustration comes out?” asks Hogg.


"Emotions are like little windows into my past.  All the experiences of the past are imprinted on my memory track.  We have millions of experiences sitting in our subconscious like packages sitting inside of me. Someone said something and it triggers this little package, it opens & rushes into my mind. It’s like you become an instrument to open something from my past"

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Emotions are like little windows into my past
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He tells a story of a woman who felt very rejected after someone commented about her life.  She was so hurt that she went quiet for months.  Then, she realized that the only thing the person did was press a button which is already inside of her. 


Hogg advises, "We need self-awareness to understand that all of us carry our history in our subconscious.  Otherwise, we wonder why a little thing happens and my reaction to it is so huge... My past is influencing my present life."


image from valuepreneurs.org

Putting it all together


Hogg explains 3 essential S in spirituality.

"Spiritual intelligence is the wisdom to build a rich, loving relationship with me."

"Self-awareness is to take full responsibility for how I think."

"Spirituality is carrying this self-awareness in my life."  

"The more I practice, the more it influences everything in my life even the way I relate to people."

"Someone with self-awareness, when they meet somebody and that person does something or says something that triggers something in me, the one with self-awareness will look at the self and say, “Oh look at that, I reacted in this way. It’s increasing my learning about myself and my own story", rather than instantly jumping and projecting it back on the other person."

"One with self-awareness starts to take responsibility and begins to observe that what all relationships do is to trigger what is already inside of me."

"One with self-awareness learns that if I know the value of another, I can come close."

"It is also knowing that we have to do something for ourselves (first)," Bro. Charlie discloses.



Charlie Hogg, Brahma Kumaris Director for Asia and the Pacific will be giving a FREE talk at Onstage Theatre, Greenbelt 1 on June 5, 7:00-9:00pm. You are warmly invited!

Register online here.









Tuesday, May 22, 2018

How to be a princess without marrying a prince


image from huffingtonpost


An alternate title for this is, "How to be a prince without marrying a princess" (‘cause it can go either way). ;)


There’s a lot of talk about the recent royal wedding of late.  Well, I have news for you.  You can be a royal, too!


My Teacher tells me if I can truly understand and practice raja yoga meditation I can be the king (or queen) of my self and I can rule over my sense organs, and the faculties of my spirit: mind, intellect and nature (sankaras).  Then, I can be free of the clutches of the external or the chaos of the world. 

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“The first power you have to have
is power over yourself”
my Teacher always tells me.
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"Royalty simply means sovereignty- the ability to fully be in command of yourself.  Then, you can harness the second power- to serve."


"In essence, the function of royalty is to help others.”, my Teacher shares.


I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of a kingdom since I was young.  Little did I know that in the world of spirituality, my subjects are my eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands and my physical body along with my inner world- mind, intellect and nature (sanskara).


Over the years, I’ve developed easy strategies to rule over my subjects:


image from lastlemon.com

1.  Let go of waste

Years ago, I’ve observed that my eyes like to watch stories of other people and other places.  Then, my mind wanders off to these visual imagery.  My weak intellect cannot discipline the childish mind so it lets it squander my time.  The lazy nature I have supports the idle mind and so the childish mind rules.


Eventually, I realized that it does not serve my spirit to let my eyes and mind rule me.  Gradually, I decreased listening to the wants of my mind which in turn made my intellect stronger.  The more I say no, the more the rational part of me (intellect) wins.  In the end, I was able to let go of my addiction.



image from chopra.com

2.  Start and end my day with a spiritual practice


“The early morning hours are the best time of the day.”, says my Teacher.

  
So, I start my day with a 30 minute meditation.  It has helped me stay grounded in the last 9 years.

  
In the same way that I take care of my physical body daily- bathing, eating and sleeping, my Teacher tells me it’s necessary to nurture my spirit every single day as well.

  
“Take a spiritual bath twice daily.”, my Teacher admonishes.

  
As such, I make it a point I wrap up the day with 30 minutes of meditation, as well.


  
image from ici.radio-canada
  
3.  Keep spaces for silence, inspiration or affirmation during the day     

  
It wasn’t easy for me to step into silence, at first.  Yes, I can keep my mouth shut in an instant but my intellect (the rational part of me) finds it hard to stop the chattering of the mind right away.  So initially, I relied on music to tie my mind and heart (also known as intellect) together.

  
When I feel weak, I remember Mulan, my favorite Disney princess.



When someone doesn’t like me, I play "Let it Be" in my head




And, India Arie's "I Am Light" can immediately transport me to that space beyond form and matter.
  


I actually have a playlist or affirmation list for all the times in between- the minutes in my day when my mind doesn’t need to focus or concentrate.

    … while taking a shower
    … while washing my hands
    … while cooking
    … while on the road
    … while walking 
    … while eating
    ... while waiting


I once clocked in all my times in between in a day.  I averaged 8 hours!  Therefore, I can never say I don’t have time to take care of my spirit.    

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"The first power is the power 
to control the self.”, says my Teacher.

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That’s the first step to sovereignty, a.k.a. royalty, a.k.a. freedom.


So, I take mindful steps to be free from the dictates of others, demands of society, turbulence of the world and even the chaos of my own inner world.  How about you?  What price do you pay to be free? 



meditation by Release Your Wings











Monday, May 14, 2018

Why I program my mind


image from guitar.com



“You program your mind that’s why it’s easy for you to change (old habits).”, my friend told me.


“Don’t you do that?”,  I asked.


“No, I simply create new and beautiful experiences for myself so it can cover up the sad and painful parts of my past.”, she answered.


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“Well, if that works for you, then it’s fine.  My concern though is, if we don’t resolve our past and confront the limiting beliefs we hold on to, it can unconsciously affect our present.”, I replied.
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image from ministrytoyouth.com


*** During my recent retreat in India, I met a classmate who was able to overcome depression by digging deep into why he was so lonely.  

“I looked back in my childhood and I saw that all of my friends left me without saying goodbye.  They either moved houses or moved schools without telling me.  It happened several times and it left me with a deep feeling of loneliness.”, he opened up.

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“I recognized that feeling alone when I was a child was the root cause of my depression.”
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“So, during my meditation I would let go of this pain and allow the Divine to take the role of my friend. After several years of doing this, I was healed.”, he shared. 



image from vessence.com


*** I was speaking to a group of teens during a recent retreat in Tagaytay.  One of them asked, “What do you have to let go of  (so you can become a better you)?”.

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“I let go of the tv ( and all its other subsidiaries).  I realize that it’s programming my mind to get more and more stuff I really don’t need.  Commercials tell me if I open a bottle of this I will be happy or if I use this product I will be beautiful or if I get this gadget I am cool.  The stories paint a grim view of reality (around 90% of the news are distressing) or are too far from the truth (romantic stories subtly tell the viewers that they will live happily ever after if they find their soulmate).”, I answered.
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image from uhs.umich.edu


*** Many years ago, I watched a vampire movie with my youngest sister.  It was brimming with violence and romance.  I had to debrief her after to make sure that she can separate fiction from reality. 


You see, everything around us tries to get us to think in one way or another.  


A friend wrote that most people nowadays are running on autopilot.  I noticed most of us have been "zombiefied".  


I rode the train a week ago and 8 out of 10 people are on the phone- checking social media, playing a violent game or watching telenovelas (I surveyed the whole cart).  


I wonder if they debrief after.  Do they ask themselves what they feel after looking at the posts of their facebook friends?  Are they jealous or are they happy?  Do they check if they are becoming aggressive after playing violent games?  Do they notice the subtle messages the series or movies they watch tell them?  Do they discriminate which information to keep and which ones to discard?


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You see, if I don’t program my mind, the world will.  So, I take the time to look inside.  I declutter.  I discern.  How about you?
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meditation by Release Your Wings