Author Archives: admin

The New World

Maria Perla M. Hudtohan

February 25, 2013

It’s more than just climate change. The world did not end in 2012 but practically everything has changed for me.  I  am a product of a predominantly rote-memory education.  It has served me well.  After all, it gave me a comfortable retirement package.  With the help of my husband and our only daughter we are now settled comfortably in a condo.

However, I want a life.  Nowadays, I thrive with the help of my Buddhist mental adapted from the books of Sylvia Boorstein.  I do a lot of new perceptual training with the help of Peter Ralston’s Zen-Body-Being. Continue reading

Right Speech

Photo by David Victor

Being silent to Boorstein my favorite American Buddhist writer is “receiving in a balanced, non-combative way what is happening.’ What is implied is that one will be able to relax and be able to listen to one’s inner voice calling for the recognition of the truth one’s present situation. The more important implication is to be present to the NOW!
There are several considerations before one can break silence. Consider the intention for any remark. Do you want to help? Is it to show off? Or do you want to denigrade? Continue reading

Sense Drenching

David Victor Photography

 

I’ve learned a useful technique from Martha Beck. Instead of indulging in useless worries I use moments,especially when I wait for deliveries: laundry, meals, packages etc. to delight in sense memories.
For example, I enjoy thinking of beef broccoli and the peculiar taste of the vegetable so different from the healthy but unpalatable green leafy vegetables. Next I move on the smell of freshly cut grass which leads me to think of a relaxing back massage.

I also enjoy thinking of the sensation of twirling my fingers along smooth locks of hair. All these while I listen to the bell-like sound of rain hitting metal. The crowning glory of this musing is the picture of topiaries in the Botanical Garden of Singapore and the regal trees in Hyde Park in Sydney.

David Victor Photography