The Call

Regina Spektor

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
Till it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye

:)

Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue -- Book 1

Mine is always your Highest Thought, your Clearest Word, your Grandest Feeling. Anything less is from another source.

Now the task of differentiation becomes easy, for it should not be difficult even for the beginning student to identify the Highest, the Clearest, and the Grandest.

Yet will I give you these guidelines:

The Highest Thought is always that thought which contains joy. The Clearest Words are those words which contain truth. The Grandest Feeling is that feeling which you call love. Joy, truth, love.

~ Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue -- Book 1
By Neale Donald Walsch

You are who you are

Today, I will start doing my thesis. Along with it, I will start writing again. I have to do this. Kuya Richard has been telling us during choir meetings that practice makes permanent. Not perfect, but permanent.

I have always wanted to be a good writer. I guess I am just too lazy to practice the skill/ craft. In writing, I will be able to capture memories and keep them with me for the years to come. In practicing, I will be able to develop my own style of writing. Although, I do not think I am good at it, I have been trained to do technical writing. But feature writing, I have to practice and develop.

Now what I want is this, I will write everyday of things that interest me or things that I found amusing. I have to do this, so help me God.

~~~

Yesterday, one of the Foundation’s officers gave me a note. She has been handling the arts program for 10 years already and she will be leaving the Foundation soon. I would just like to share it with you:

Dearest Jing,

Remember that you are who you are and that your dreams will always be an essential part of your life.

Don’t wait too long to explore what’s out there.

Thank you for opening your doors to me.

Keep in touch.

F.

I cried when I read this. I cried because for the past few months already, I feel that my soul is dying. And that my dreams are being sucked away by the very institution that has been helping a lot of people reach for their dreams and excel in it.

“You are who you are…”

Five words that I should remember. Because, wherever I am right now, I am not who I am and who I want to be.

To stay still and focus

"Learn to become still. And to take your attention away from what you don't want, and all the emotional charge around it, and place your attention on what you wish to experience"
- Michael Beckwith

Integration Process

Jopet and I attended the 2010 Comics, Manga, & Graphic Novels Seminar hosted by Glasshouse Graphics Inc. yesterday from 10 am to 8pm at the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde.

Having attended numerous scientific meetings, conferences and fora, this seminar took me into a whole new dimension by introducing me into the world of graphic arts – world full of beauty and intricacy. People who attended the event were overflowing with passion for their craft that they willingly share their portfolios to fellow artists for their comments and criticism, which I think were all constructive.

Jopet’s work entitled “Wolverine” was chosen by Mr. David Campiti, CEO and President of Glasshouse, as one his many examples in his lectures. For a brief moment, I felt what it was like to be a mother, beaming and proud as the two other budding artists recognized him (I even heard a hint of admiration) as the one who created the featured “Wolverine” art. =)

Immediately after the seminar at around 8:30pm, we proceeded to Quiapo to visit its famous Church. Since it was my first time there, we said our wishes (I hope he really did… because I did =), bought a dvd worth 50pesos and went home at around 11:00 pm.

It was a fun and fulfilling day, full of new learning and new experiences. A process of integration – his world into mine and my world into his.

Ilan beses pa?

Ilang beses ko pa kaya kakantahin (ipo-post) ito?
Hoping against hope that it would ease my longing
for something bigger,
for something greater
than what I have right now.

Ilan pang beses, Lord? :(
I'm becoming desperate..


Pilgrim's Theme
by Bukaspalad

Tired of weaving dreams too loose for me to wear
Tired of watching clouds repeat their dance on air
Tired of getting tired of doing what's required
Is life a mere routine in the greater scheme of things

Through with taking roads someone else designed
Through with chasing stars that soon forget to shine
Through with going through one more day - what's new
Does my life still mean a thing in the greater scheme of things

REFRAIN 1:
I think I'll follow the voice that calls within
Dance to the silent song it sings
I hope to find my place
So my life can fall in place
I know in time I'll find my place
In the greater scheme of things

Each must go his way, but how can I decide
Which path I should take, who will be my guide
I need some kind of star to lead me somewhere far
To find a higher dream in the greater scheme of things

The road before me bends, I don't know what I'll find
Will I meet a friend or ghosts I left behind
Should I even be surprised that You're with me in disguise
For it's Your hand I have seen in the greater scheme of things (REFRAIN 1)

BRIDGE:
For Yours is the voice in my deepest dreams
You are the heart, the very heart
Of the greater scheme of things (REFRAIN 1)

REFRAIN 2:
Why don't we follow the voice that calls within
Dance to the silent song it sings
One day we'll find our place
For all things fall in place
For all things have a place
In the greater scheme of things

Trusting you

To: Me
From: The Universe
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 4:47 PM

Expecting "end results" - such as wealth and abundance, health and harmony, friends and laughter - in broad brush strokes, is part of the secret formula, Guada, for manifesting the life of your dreams.

Expecting your path to follow a certain route - such as writing a bestseller to accumulate wealth, having a particular someone fall in love with you, or insisting upon this idea, that diet, or the other invention to be your deliverance - is just plain messing with the cursed hows and severely limits my options... (I hate when that happens.)

Cool?
The Universe

For your patience, thank you.

My love song to my God

Psalm 73
by Hangad

With You, I am always with You,
You hold me tight, Your hand in mine.
You bring all things to a good end,
You lead me on in Your good pleasure.
What is heaven to me without You?

Where am I on earth if You are not there?
Though my body is broken down,
Though my heart dies, You are my rock,
My God, the Future that waits for me.
Far away from You, life is not life.
To break faith with You is to be no one.

With You, my highest good,
my God, with You, I am secure.

Without blame

To: Me
From: The Universe
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 5:09 PM

Without "blame," Jing, at least 50% of all grounded relationships would have continued sailing.

And I'm all for sailing.

Your first mate,
The Universe

~~~


By: Emerson Dimaya

Parayer for our safety

Dear Lord,

We fervently pray for your grace so that our nation will be spared from another threatening typhoon. Our suffering people have not yet recovered from Ondoy's wrath. Please prevent Pepeng from hitting any of our islands. Save us from further calamities by embracing our country with Your protective grace and merciful blessings. Amen.

Please pass to start prayer brigades. Thanks.

The Four Freedoms

delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on January 6, 1941

In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression --everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants --everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor --anywhere in the world.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Dear GG,

I just finished listening to my recorded conversation with Arlene last May 9, 2009. You see my 2-year old cell phone has this feature that can record anything including telephone conversations. Anyhow, the last thing that I said in that phone conversation with my BFF was “Arlene, I am now appointing you to be part of my Search Committee”. Thirteen days after, she introduced me to you.

It was one of my goals for 2009 – to go and visit a new place every month. It started when we went to Sagada last December 2008. Since then, I had been to different places. For May, it was Cagbalete at Mauban, Quezon. I prepared for this trip. I was so excited to go somewhere new to forget the old.

You were such a snob when I first met you. You did not even look at me when I offered you some cookies. It was like you had a stiff neck or something – I was seated behind you, remember? During the whole trip to Cagbalete, you did not even acknowledge that I exist. But I did notice that you have a firm hand when you helped me get into the boat.

It never even occurred to me that you and I would become friends – much less sweethearts. And yet here we are... on our 2nd month already. It seems like I have known you for years! The Universe never fails to amaze me. Just when I was ready to give up on love, here it comes offering me something that I could not resist – your friendship and your love.

I know many people would not agree but, I want to thank you for being very kind to me and for being so loving. Probably it also helped that you are into explaining things. Not once did I feel that you don’t love me. And even for that alone, I am very grateful.

The other night, you were thanking me for loving you. I wanted you to know that I feel the same way with you - thank you for walking into my life, unexpected and unannounced, bringing in with you wonderful and (if I may say) out-of-my-world things. But most of all, I want to thank you also for loving me.

Looking forward to more days, more months, and more years ahead with you.

Mwah! =)

Hugging you tightly...

A Tribute to President Cory

I thank God for making me a Filipino. It is a privilege.
~ President Maria Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino

Taken during the 2nd Anniversary of PinoyME last February 26, 2008 at the Inter-Continental Manila - GBRamos

I was supposed to go to Corregidor that day but as soon as I heard the news about the death of President Corazon C. Aquino, I knew that I had to totally forego the trip. My boss already alerted us that should this happen we would be requested to come to the office to help in the preparation for the mass (sponsored by the Foundation) for her. Even if it was raining hard that day, I knew I would not miss this chance to pay my last respect to the one who led us back to freedom and democracy. For the first time in many months, I became thankful to be part of the Foundation because of the privilege to be in the first night of the wake of the Former President.

During the next few days, I monitored almost all the media releases that I can get my hands onto regarding the Former President. Funny how one’s mind and heart works - it was once said that a person would only know the value of another person when she loses her. I do not know her personally but I joined her family in shedding tears for the loss of their mother. This time I know that I am not alone. This time I know that the whole country mourns for the loss of its mother.

I was so used to seeing her on TV praying the rosary and encouraging the people to stand up and fight for democracy. To top it all up is that she had been a good mother both to her own children and to the whole country. She was a woman of faith and a woman of strength and compassion. It was amazing how in the world of politics, she was able to incorporate her faith in her everyday life. My faith was renewed just by seeing how faithful she was from the time of her presidency up to the last moment of her life and many people were really inspired by it.

In the last mass offered for her, Father Arevalo (a Jesuit priest and family friend) said that the best contribution Mrs. Aquino gave to the Filipino people is hope. Hope that we are worth something more that what we could ever think of because we are children of God.

As thousands and thousands of Filipino paid their last respect to the Philippine Mother of Democracy, allow me, though this entry, to pay my last respect and salute to you Mrs. President for paving the way of freedom and democracy for our generation and the generations to come.

Once again, you made us proud to be a Filipino. Thank you.

Feels like home... with you

Feels Like Home
Chantal Kreviazuk

Something in your eyes
Makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lose myself
In your arms

There's something in your voice
Makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts
The rest of my life

If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've felt so low
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done

Chorus:

Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where
I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there's light

If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
If you knew how happy you are making me
I've never thought I'd love anyone so much

Chorus

Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

Meet him

After a broken relationship.
After years and years of waiting.
After the acceptance and (eventually) closure.
After everything...
Meet him.

January Trip - Sagada

This is a long overdue entry that should be posted early January this year but for one reason or another I couldn’t sit down and write about it. What motivated me to start writing was the travel magazine that I read last night. It featured another amazing place in the region I previously detested – Mt. Pulag in Benguet the second highest peak in the country. I haven’t been to the place but it is definitely listed now in my places-to-see-before-I-die list.

To describe how much I don’t want to visit the Northern Regions of the Country, in almost (but not quite) 3 decades of my life, I have only been to Baguio once, that was last December 2008. And to think that we’ve been to Manaog, Pangasinan more than 10 times already (Baguio is just about an hour away from that place). The change in perception came when my bestest friend and I went to Sagada last December 26-30, 2008.

The idea was brought up by a college friend when we saw each other in September last year. It was unfortunate, however, that he wasn’t able to join us in this trip. We left Manila on the eve of December 26 and arrived the following day a little before lunch time. We stayed at Mapiya-Aw Pensione House (a very cozy place) from December 27 to 29.

It took us more or less 14 hours to go from Manila to Sagada (via Banawe). On our way home, we took the Baguio route which took us 12 hours – 6 hours from Sagada to Baguio another 6 hours from Baguio to Pasay). It was a trip well worth the long hours of sitting inside a jam-packed bus.

There were a lot of words to describe Sagada – all of them positive. It was a perfect place to commune with one’s self, with nature and with God. I went there with full expectations that I will finally have the much longed for silence and rest to sort out my thoughts. I went there to have a “meeting” with God in the silence of my heart. And true enough, all expectations were met. The solitude of the place provided the avenue to think and reflect on things that happened – all of them in the past – not to forget but to serve as guide in my journey to the future. In the silence my heart, I once again found God where he embraced me with the beauty of his wonderful creation.

I will go back to that wonderful place... promise. :)


Stop over at Bontoc


Sagada main street and plaza


Sagada Mapiya-aw Pensione


Sagada Sumaguing Cave


Sagada Plaza and Echo Valley


Sagada Orange Farm and the people we met :)

On self control

Hay Lord... I'm happily clinging unto you. :)

~~~

Self-Control Is Not an Option
Rick Warren
March 27, 2009

In our Devotionals series, Pastor Rick Warren discusses the Bible passages that inspire him the most. Today's Devotional is based on this passage:

For the grace of God...teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives ~ (Titus 2:11-12 NIV).

As we discussed yesterday, self-control is not optional for Christians. The race we are running is for eternity, and so we're to develop a strict discipline (1 Corinthians 9:25).

Here are some other steps to self-control.

Talk back to your feelings. Do you let your moods manipulate you? God doesn't want you to be controlled by your feelings. He wants you to master your moods. With Christ as the Master of your life, you can learn to master your feelings.

Talk back to them. Learn to challenge your emotions: "For the grace of God...teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives..." (Titus 2:11-12 NIV).

God's grace gives us the power to do what is right. God gives you the ability to say no to that feeling, to that desire, to that impulse.

Believe you can change. The fruit of the Spirit begins in your thought life. The seeds must be planted in your mind: The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.

God gave us the power to change our habits when he gave us the power to choose our thoughts. Does Romans 12:2 tell us to be transformed by working hard at it or by sheer willpower? "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2 NIV).

What are we to be transformed by? The renewing of the mind. When your self-control is being tested, you need to fill your mind with the promises of God. First Corinthians 10:13 says, "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (NIV).

That's a fact. If you are a Christian, you can't honestly say, "The temptation was too strong; I couldn't help myself." The Bible says God is faithful. If you're a Christian, he won't let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

He never asks you to bear something that is bigger than the strength he puts inside of you through his Holy Spirit.

Happy birthday ko na!

Dear God,

Thank you for all the wonderful blessings you have given me. I pray that you would bless me more indeed!

Loving you so much,

Jing


OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
Fr. Rudy Horst

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has brown complexion and her features are not European (actually, Mary was not a European but an Asian woman), quite different from that in Lourdes or Fatima. After Mary appeared three times between December 9 and 12 in 1531 to St. Juan Diego, life in Mexico changed dramatically. Thousands of Aztecs converted to Catholicism, and the natives were finally acknowledged as human beings. Here’s an interesting background to the apparitions.

In Genesis, we read that Noah had three sons — Shem, Ham and Japheth — “and from them the whole earth was peopled” (Genesis 9:19). It was understood that Shem’s descendants were the Semites, Ham’s descendants were those in Egypt and the surrounding countries, while Japheth’s descendants lived in Asia Minor and on the Mediterranean islands. When the Spaniards landed in the newly discovered America in the 15th century, they found brown people, half-naked, and speaking an unknown language. They could not be descendants either of Shem, Ham, or Japheth, so the conquerors concluded that these creatures were animals and did not have a human soul. That was the reason for the horrible abuse of the Indios.

When Our Lady appeared at Guadalupe with Indio features, she acknowledged them to be her children also. Six years later, Pope Paul III officially declared the Indians “to be real human beings and capable of receiving the Catholic faith.”

Our Lady’s message to St. Juan Diego is as consoling and encouraging for us as it was for him: “I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all... those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me... Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness...anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother?” We thank Pope Pius XI for declaring Our Lady of Guadalupe patroness of the Philippines. With such a patroness, what are we afraid of?

Reflection Question:
Is my devotion to Our Lady genuine? Does it lead me to a deeper love of Christ?

Lord, we thank and praise You for giving us Mary as our heavenly Mother. As she took care of the downtrodden natives in Mexico, she takes care of us in our sufferings and needs. Listen to her intercessions and prayers for us and bless us with Your mercy and love.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

Not too far from here

Kim Boyce

Somebody's down to their last dime,
Somebody's running out of time,
Not too far from here

Somebody's got nowhere else to go
Somebody needs a little hope
Not too far from here

And I may not know their name
But I'm praying just the same
That You'll use me Lord to wipe away a tear
'Cause somebody's crying
Not too far from here

Somebody's troubled and confused
Somebody's got nothing left to lose
Not too far from here

Somebody's forgotten how to trust
Somebody's dying for love
Not too far from here

It may be a stranger's face
But I'm praying for Your grace
To move in me and take away the fear
'Cause somebody's hurting
Not too far from here

Help me, Lord, not to turn away from pain
Help me not to rest while those around me weep
Give me Your strength and compassion
When somebody finds the road of life too steep

Now, I'm letting down my guard
And I'm opening my heart
Help me speak your love to every needful ear
Jesus is waiting
Not too far from here
Jesus is waiting
Not too far from here