The wind huffed and puffed but it did not blow the house away

“Ang galing naman magdasal ni Ate Karen. Di man lang tumikwas kahit isang pawid ng bahay kubo niya nung bagyo.”, commented the Mangyans in the farm.

(“Ate Karen must have prayed really hard.  Not a single straw of her nipa hut was misplaced during the storm.”)

You see, 80 out of the100 roofs of the Mangyans’ concrete houses (donated by Gawad Kalinga) were blown off by the wind. Two rooms in Lolo’s house of stone were destroyed by fallen trees while Papa’s wooden packaging area was crushed to the ground.

Contrary to the story of the “Three Little Pigs”, it was the straw house which weathered the storm.

I don’t have any explanation for this except that nature probably protected the area.


Serving nature

One picnic with my classmates in meditation, I was ready to jump in the water when I was stopped. “You have to serve nature first”, I was told.

Though I was very eager to swim and couldn’t quite understand this serving-the- nature concept yet, I followed.  I sat down and meditated with the group for 30 minutes before jumping in the water.

When I took in farming as a hobby, my mentor in yogic agriculture said that it is important to empower the seed and the land with good vibration before the actual planting.  

So for more than a year, every time I meditate, I put in extra time to send good thoughts to my assigned area in the farm and to the 5 elements in general: earth, water, fire, air and ether.

Again without question, I followed.


The gist

Now, I understand.  If I take care of nature,  it will also take care of me.

meditation by Release Your Wings

You are greater than you think!

This thought came to mind one sunny day along the beach of Boracay.  We just finished a dragon boat race and we're just sitting by the sand waiting for the announcement of winners. 

A friend sat beside me and said, "Do you know that this first International Dragon Boat Festival in Boracay happened because of you?".  

I looked at her quizzically before I exclaimed, "What?!  All I did was row today."  

She explained, "Remembered you called Jenny at 5 am in the morning to remind her of the training in Manila Bay.  She was hooked after day one and recruited me.  Then, I called my boyfriend in Boracay to try it out there.  He immediately formed a team. They enjoyed it so much and decided to organize an international regatta."

The Butterfly Effect

Imagine what one simple call has done.  This just proves to me that my actions create ripples.  A small deed can spur a great thing or a disastrous event (which most of the time I am not aware of).  The only determinant if it is a good or bad contribution to the world is my intention.      

Looking back, all I did was simply share what I love doing (at that time).  The intention was pure and clean and so the series of events after that turned out to be good not only for me but for my team and for rowers in different parts of the globe (I heard they still hold international races yearly.).

The learning for me here is to mind what I think and to consciously be aware of my agenda knowing that it not only affects me but others as well.

Conscious Living

Now, I understand what my friend Agnes Prieto wrote in If you don't mind, it doesn't matter:  

"If we mind our thoughts 

we live a life that matters."  

"However, most of us go through life unconscious—in a trance induced by media, other voices (from our upbringing, our present friends etc.) and circumstances.  Our minds operate on default. When we wake up in the morning, we don’t have to put on a mind, it’s there, running noiselessly giving us optimal service."

I agree with her that we have conveniently forgotten to rule our minds.  We let it run amuck like a wild horse.  Without a rider, it wantonly goes here and there making living a routine- pointless and meaningless.

If we simply turn off the auto-pilot, hold the reins of our mind,  and choose to think of quality thoughts (positive, good, beneficial) then we "operate from a position of power and live a life that matters"

Musings of a Happily Stranded Soul

We just finished a weekend retreat.  Everybody immediately headed back to the city.  I said, "I don't want to go home yet." Of around a hundred meditation students, I was the only one who decided to stay back for one more day at the retreat center with the residents.  As drama would have it, I couldn't go down the next day as it was raining cats and dogs.  And, it refused to stop for one whole week.  I ended up being stranded approximately 2,000 feet above sea level while the metropolis was wallowing in floodwater for several days.

I thought, "I must have done something right that I was able to inadvertently escape the damp city and be happily secluded in a fortress (I just feel so safe and secure in the center)".  After this lightbulb moment, I beamed like a child who was handed an unanticipated present and exclaimed, "Oh, what good karma I have!"

Karma is often used synonymously as punishment.  I heard a news anchor chastise an alleged crook on television saying, "Be scared of karma".  Common people use it whenever they feel deceived, insulted, or unfairly treated, and often, they would curse their perceived perpetrators with, "Karma will get you!"

Contrary to popular belief, the word karma is actually neutral.  It is a Sanskrit word which simply means action.  In physics, there is law which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction (The Law of Cause and Effect).  Interestingly, the laws of the universe follow certain laws of physics.  So, if one does good action or karma, he will accordingly get a good payback.  On the other hand, if one does bad action or karma, he will get a just punishment whether others wish for it or not.  

Simple isn't it?  Good begets good.  Bad begets bad.  This is one of the internal system by which our world operates.  The image for me is that of an automatic accounting program.  Each person in the world gets points based on the quality of his action.  He get credits or debits because whatever he does may have positive or negative effects on other people and even nature.  This automatic accounting has been occurring since the time we played our part in this world drama- that maybe for just one lifetime for some or many births for others.  

The thing is, the auditing happens at unexpected times.  Sometimes, not even in this lifetime but each one of us definitely has to face the consequences of our actions.  

Karma makes life fair.  Each one gets what is due him or her at one time or another.  What is unfair is when we blame God for our personal demise or for the flood, tsunami, earthquake, or any natural disaster.  Insurance companies call these things "act of God" and  people think these are punishments from the heavens.  But, how can God, the purest energy in this universe, the perfect parent, bring harm to His beloved children?

Truth is, everything that comes to us, both beautiful and ugly, we brought it upon ourselves.  When a challenge befalls us, our debts are being collected.  When we stumble upon good fortune, we are claiming our rewards.  That is the law of karma.  Each one of us reaps whatever we sow.