Be careful what you wish for

Around this time last year, I wished for power. 

"Since I've mastered self-love (i thought), it's best if I can complement it with power.", I told myself.

So, I jotted down what power looks like for me:

• making things happen
• doing what I say I'll do
• being on time
• showing strength of character
• being in command

I also listed my affirmations:

• I am strong.
• I make things happen.
• I am disciplined.
• I am powerful!

Then, I looked for role models and did the work:

• I attended retreats and camps on leadership.  
• I interviewed changemakers.
• I rolled-up my sleeves and worked on projects (so I can practice making things happen).

I seriously pursued power like a hunter chasing a prey.  The quest was long and arduous though. 

• I had to wait for what seems like forever.
• I had to knock on so many doors and hear 9 NOs before I get to the 1 YES.  
• I had to let go of something valuable to inch towards a short-term goal.
• I had to face many naysayers.
• I even have to fight enemies!

There were moments when:

• I was at a lost.
• I felt alone.
• I didn't think I can do it.
• I wanted to give up.
• I was seething in anger.

My year was so intense, it felt as though I was in a war zone.

Yes, I was doing what I love but there were so many oppositions, sacrifices and difficulties.

I was hell-bent though.  I pulled out my inner arsenal of strength, determination and resilience.  It helped that I have a fierce army behind me, too.  Together, we triumphed.  

Life, The Universe, The Divine take you seriously when you commit- I learned.

I asked for power.  So, I was given challenges so I can experience my own power.  There was no magic wand which can conjure power with a simple abracadabra.  

image from nerdist.com

2019 taught me that:

• I don't need to chase power.  I simply have to step into it.
• I have to be worthy of it though like Thor with his hammer.
• Like the superheroes, I can never really know powerful I am unless I face obstacles and villains.

So, as you make your wish for the new year, be careful.  More often that not, your heart's desire will not be handed to you on a silver platter.  You have to earn it!   

Meditation on Power

I met Superman

image from static.comicvine.com

He stopped trucks
From hauling loads of stones
Out of the river
Using his super voice


He told the bad guys
"Stop this!
Or else I will tell ENRO (Environment & Natural Resources Office)
That you are quarrying without permit"


The villains blasted him with a barangay permit
"The barangay captain and the council support this"
They haughtily reasoned
"Still, you don't have the ENRO's permit",  he punched back


He then flew to the barangay hall to confirm the news
He saw the council feasting on pansit (fried noodles with vegetables)
Sent by the adversary to keep their mouths shut
"So, it's true! You sold the river for a free snack!", he confronted


Before they mobbed him
He used his super speed to run to the office of the mayor
"We cannot do anything if the barangay agreed to the quarrying"
The city administrator advised


"They did not consult the community"
He retorted back
"Then, file a petition against the quarrying"
The office of the mayor challenged


He readily flew back to the village
For days, he knocked on every door
Talked to every person he meets along the road
Until he got hundreds of villagers on his side


Superman created allies
And together they defended the river
The petition was their weapon
Against the mighty tyrants


With the signed petition
And the majority on his side
ENRO and the Office of the Mayor
Had no choice but to send a force field to protect the river


The quarrying is now put on hold
The barangay officials are currently being audited
The young and old who pass by the river daily are now safe
Because of one man who chose to lead the fight


How do I know all this, you ask?
I was superman's sidekick during this whole ordeal
To be honest, he's a simple farmer without a cape
But he has super strength because of his heart of steel

video from easymeditation

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"

Peace, Love and Wisdom: The Key to Happiness

by Dadi Gulzar, Muscat, Oman

Om Shanti. All of you say Om Shanti. Today’s topic refers to something that is necessary for every soul. It is essential because we all consider two things essential in our lives – one is happiness the other is power or strength. With regards to power, we want both power of the body and of the mind. In reality we see that happiness is our own property but it is seen when it is asked whether people are constantly happy or only sometimes people say that happiness does not stay constant. But if happiness is our property that we want to guard disappears under some circumstances, then it is as though circumstances which are guests come and take away our own property. Why does this happen? Why does happiness go away? There are reasons for this.

One, thinking of the past makes happiness disappear, the second is thinking about others and third – waste thoughts that storm the mind and make it weak. It is in the mind that we experience happiness and sorrow. So because of not having the powers to face, to tolerate, to accommodate in the mind, happiness disappears. The method for experiencing happiness is to engage in positive and pure thoughts; we have to make this method ours but as the mind does not have the power to make these our own, it first needs to be filled with power. So, the power that is not there in the mind, where will it come from?

Only the Supreme is known as the ‘almighty’. Therefore, to empower the mind, we have to develop a connection of the mind with the Supreme. And this is what we call meditation – by connecting the mind to the Supreme, the powers that the Supreme has, will come into our mind and thus we can always stay happy.

But to be able to connect with Him, we would need to understand Him. Because it is seen, there are many views on the nature of the Supreme. That is why it is essential to know what He is. He is our Father and we all have just one Father. And since all of us are children of that one Supreme, we become brothers and sisters and it is in this context that we are one family.

Even though we consider God as the Father and remember Him and call him the ocean of peace and bliss, yet we experience sorrow and peacelessness. Wherever we see in the world, we see an atmosphere of peacelessness. What is the reason for this? The main reason is that people have forgotten who and what they are. It is because of forgetting who we are, we become peaceless and unhappy. In reality I am the master of these sense organs, the spiritual being, the soul. Just as the supreme is light, so too the soul is light that stays in the centre of the forehead. The soul does not have any vice within it originally; the vices have entered the mind because of attaching our existence to this physical body and the experiences of this physical existence and it is these that give us sorrow.

So, to change from peacelessness to peace, I need this wisdom – I must understand myself, understand the Supreme, enable the mind to be connected to Him and I will experience His powers and experience happiness,

Today in all four directions there is an atmosphere of tension. We have received this method from the Supreme that whenever you feel tension, we should simply add an ‘a’ before tension, and then it would become ‘Attention. We get into tension when we lose power, the soul becomes weak, and we come under the influence of things that happen around us. So, let there be attention instead – attention to the fact that I am a soul and my Father is the Supreme. Just as when it becomes dark, you press the switch on and the darkness becomes light, similarly with this attention, the sorrow and peacelessness will be dispelled and will become happiness and peace. This attention will serve as a switch of consciousness.

So, now let us connect the mind with the Supreme so that the mind becomes powerful and strong.