Metaphysically, the earth is shifting into the 4th dimension. We are moving from fear to love, from doubt to trust, from limitation to potential, from problems to opportunities, from competition to cooperation, from struggles to joy, from conflict and polarity to harmony and integration. This is from Gill Edwards

Nowadays when I admire cute babies inside their strollers I mindfully shift my fearful thoughts about their futures to their potential lives hopefully to be made more convenient with technology. I wold like to believe that the children with their mastery of the alphabets, colors, numbers etc will find more joy in learning than we had during the rote memory era.My wish is that education even in the public schools can give the individual learner opportunities to celebrate life as he/she develops as much as possible according to his/her pace.

According to “We Are Teachers” on Facebook, technology may be the answer. Recently my husband and I visited a bank. Our transaction ha to be done on a machine. I wanted to protest; I expected the personalized intervention of a bank employee I got earlier from another bank. My husband who is at home with technology readily complied guided by a bank employee. I realized changes for the better entail some sacrifices on my part.

Will students learn more without the structure of academic honors? Will children be compassionate even without the fear of punishment? How can learning be pursued without the cramping of too many subjects or topics into academic semesters or years? These are tall orders for existing structures designed for mass production. However, nothing can be manifested if it has not been thought of or dreamt of at first. Forming according to Martha Beck gives physical form to things that previously existed only in thought.

As long as I harbor resentments, blocks and limitations I won’t be able to allow God to give me my heart’s desire. I may be sabotaging myself by feeling unworthy of God’s blessings. For years, I thought I would be more pleasing to God if I deprived myself of what I truly wanted. I believed in a harsh, punishing God the. God was a stingy dispenser of goods then.

Nowadays I believe in a benevolent God. Many of my books cite many problems of the universe; some even hint at a godless universe. However I have even more numerous books about the goodness of God that shines through the chaos in the universe.
I have observed that ever since I believed in a benevolent God even my nightmares have become less frequent. Ever since I cared for more people, my world has become happier.

I have noticed improvements in what  used to worry me. Nowadays I witness non-teaching staff of colleges like SJDDios undertaking advocacies on their own. It’s heartwarming for me to learn that activities like tree planting are not required by a specific subject in college from where points can be deducted from those who fail to participate.

I don’t think I’m happier now because I have retired from work. For an introvert like me it is surprising that my relationships with several former students have become stronger.

Technically, I have less money now that I have retired. I conscientiously live within my SSS retirement pension but I never feel poor. Both my husband and our only daughter would consider it a crime If I live in deprivation.

I wish I had the time and the patience to use Rabbi Brickner’s “tools of biblical criticism, archaelogy, and modern-day cosmology” to carefully study the fate of Adam and Eve. I wonder what “valley of tears” means to humanity now with all the progress in the context of salvation and the Gospel of love.

Several observers, myself included, are wondering why my interest in and concern for SJDDios college lately. Honestly, I don’t know why.
For those who are curious, why not get in touch with SJDDios? Go to Facebook. Or Google.

I wonder if my long years of teaching literary appreciation is an obstacle to enlightenment. I wonder if the heavy use of associative memory in literary analysis and interpretation is anathema to a “beginner’s mind” touted in meditation.

How can I let my mind go blank. A single stimulus can trigger my senses to conjure images from my fertile store of memories: colors, textures, sounds, tastes, temperatures, nuances etc. I have a lot of preconceived ideas. I have a hoard of impressions and insights.

Many times, a single word brings to memory another word, then a phrase. Then before I know it my mind recites a whole quotation. And I love it! My spirit lifts!

Dr Mann consoles me. I just have to focus on my breath. My mind doesn’t have to go blank. He continued that without objects of concentration the mind will just wander. Consciousness wouldn’t transcend the contents of the mind.

My goal is for my consciousness to merge with the divine. It can be in the form of light, sound, energy, feeling. It can focused on a sacred figure like Jesus, a saint or the guru. Isn’t this like using the associative mind after all?

     Lately I have been inspired by what I read from Tamura: No matter how bad things get, know that God is smiling at you: I see God watching and telling me: let’s see how you are going to deal with this.

Lately, I choose not to deal with Problems the conventional way. I usually look at things from the metaphysical level. What lessons do I need to learn? What latent God-given talents am I called to manifest?

I still have those fearful thoughts about a punishing God. But when they appear in the horizon, I right away accept them and let them melt into Divinity. This takes patience and courage. Sometimes it feels as though the fears are so real and true.
Sometimes I am tempted to think of martyrdom. Sometimes I slide into conventional rationalization: what if God will test me beyond my capacity?

No more frantic endeavors to fight against those thoughts. No more fix-it escapades. It is so consoling to rest in: be still and know I am God. Conviction is a blessing.

When my mind is not on the memory mode, which is very rare, my subconscious is in a void as described in Zero Limits”. This I believe is akin to the so called “beginner’s mind” of Zen. In this mode, my mind does not have preconceived notions. No baggage. I am able to experience  the moment for what it is. I have as yet not gone to my mental files to associate what is happening with what has been stored in my memory.

If this lasts I can be inspired by God. I can deal with people and things the way God would have wanted me. I am not limited by my perceptions nor by my reactions to stimuli.

But in most cases I immediately seek for context. I compare what I experience with what I already know. If I’m listening to something or to somebody I may agree or disagree. Often I can even finish the sentences without listening to what is being said. Sometimes I tune out completely when I don’t agree with what is being said. I have yet to listen to one sermon with full attention.