I believe in God, however he may be called: the Creator, Source, the Higher Power etc.

I believe that all is energy.

I believe in the power of the disciplined mind (as learned from Sylvia Boorstein).

I believe that free will is a Go-given gift (as learned from Michael Tamura).

I believe that the purpose of prayer is Not to change the mind of God but to change the person praying (as learned from Rabbi Darfour).

I believe in the Law of Mentalism which tells us that we are human manifestations of the divine. (I learned this from Alan Seale).

I believe: “Yo are a spirit being having a human experience and are here to learn who you really are and what your purpose is.” (I learned this from Bente Hansen)

I believe that we can heal ourselves. (I owe this to Fr Belita, Dr Christine Page, Dr Lipton, Bente Hansen, Tato Malay, Michael Tamura etc).

In “Creating We” Judith Glaser wrote: “In your self-talk, you subconsciously interpret what is going on around you by stored BELIEFS to draw conclusions about  your life at any given moment.”

“Once we believe our story, we live it out the way we visualize it in our minds. Like it or not , we are storytellers.”

“Our main audience is us, and our life develops from the stories we create.”

“Our stories influence how we see ourselves an how we approach the life challenges that come next.”

For quite some time now I have been re-reading favorite passages from Sylvia Boorstein’s books. They seem to give me the right perspective every time I get mind tangles (which are often enough.)

Back  to Judith Glaser: “When we think of others as adversaries – as bad guys- we label them in our minds as such and act toward them accordingly. Labeling him or her as an adversary gives us the ability to go inside our mental vault, draw our experiences that we have had with other similar adversaries, and project them onto this person. Instantly, the person has a history, a legacy, and a persona – most of which we have made up.”

In “Urban Shaman” I have learned: “Analysis rather than evaluation can lead to healthful meditation. Analysis does not make one judgmental.”

This is important for me because I am an ISTJ.

“Analysis will allow me to let thoughts drift as they are observed not evaluated.”

Gill Edwards recommends to let negative thoughts be, even dismissing them y blowing them away from the palm of our hand the way we blow a feather away.”

What if Rabbi Darfour is right about our antropomorphizing god?

What if George Sison is right about: “the mother and female aspect of God is what is known in the Bible as the Virgin Mary…”  “In modern times, te female aspect of the brain…is called the subconscious mind while the male aspect is the conscious mind.”

What if the Vatican continues to make extraordinary pronouncements like:
There is no Limbo.
All religions are one.
Contraceptives can be used against the zilka  menace (The statement was retracted too soon after).

What if according to Sylvia Boorstein the Buddha taught: “… about the importance of personal, direct discovery of truth.” “He did teach that taking other people’s
word of how things are should not take the place of individual practice and personal confirmation.”

What if Aunty Mahealani’s “Aloha Spirit” is our guide. “Everything is energy.”

“It is about accepting your Spirit greatness.” “You are already blessed and in the light.”

What if Mike Dooley is right? “Our first responsibility in life is not to make the world a better place or to tend to those less fortunate but to live up to our own high standards to act with faith that our dreams are “meant to be” and to maintain a tolerance and compassion for our divine journey by being so responsible to ourselves, the world will become a better place, and those around you will richly benefit, not just from the love you’d share but from the example you become.” Note: the shift from “our” to “you” is Dooley’s not mine!

I say: What if we finally move away from the ‘appease the gods’ mentality and finally live according to our belief in a loving God!

I have been through a lot since our last visit to London last April and May. I don’t like surprises! Being an ISTJ I just  love CONTROL. But the Universe knew I needed to learn. Casual revelations from both my husband and daughter subliminally told me my old rules had to be restructured. This was Martha Beck’s The Hero’s Call to Adventure”.

Last Christmas season in Singapore, circumstances made me dismantle more pillars of my comfort zone. Young professional friends of our daughter made me realize my old world no longer existed.

My husband has been very respectful of my INTROVERSION. But our daughter in no-uncertain terms taught me how my perceptions in life and of life were not good for me. I knew mouthing formula prayers would not work. I felt a certain “knowingness”
a la Lynn Grabhorn. I prayed silently but constantly to the God within me.

Back in my comfortable tower in Vito Cruz I wasn’t spared by LIFE. One friend died unexpectedly. Another was seriously ill. Still another needed surgery. All of these were far younger than I am.

Then my treasured website was not accessible because it had exceeded the broadband limit. Eventually after weeks the site was restored minus the pictures!

Luckily, my blood  pressure remained steady all throughout except for two occasions when two Facebook friends pissed me off.

My sugar level (I pray) has not given me problems. I lost weight because  I cut down significantly on carbo. To date I have not returned to the lab for a blood test since we got inefficient service last November!

Through all these Dr Cristine Page, Martha Beck, Sylvia Boorstein, Rabbi Darfour, M. Tamura, Tato Malay, George Sison etc have kept me afloat.
Alan Seale’s “Soul Mission” encapsulates my journey:

“Self with a capital S  the fullness of who we are, is the gift of the Creator.”
“We came into this lifetime, everyone of us, with the possibility and potential to know ourselves fully. And the fullness of self includes and in fact our divinity.”

“In expanding into the whole self, we grow into our divinity and humanness.”
“To be fully human is to be divine.”

I am encouraged to try alternative ways. According to Boorstein; “Since I know suffering is manageable, I am not as frightened of pain as i used to be.”

Besides the moment I feel some pain I apply on various parts of my body, Jean Netario Cruz’ magnesium. If the pains persist I apply more magnesium.
It always works for me.

Boorstein also stated: It’s not a big problem anymore because fear doesn’t frighten me as much as it used to. It’s from clinging and I know it will pass.”

“If things are painful and we cannot change them, we can at least be confident that our pain will not last forever. Often ,it is the thought that pain will never end that makes it seem unbearable.”

Shortly after I had my mild stroke I wold go for massage by the blind. Shoulder aches and pains plus those in the upper right arm disappeared by the time my masseuse went on her maternity leave.

I now believe the aches and pains were caused by poor circulation. Of course I know that my negative thoughts and fears were partly to be blamed.