I have been longing for this for the last few weeks.  I’ve been feeling like drowning in thought and worry, of… inconveniences…

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. - Albert Einstein

For a few days now, I have been living the quiet life.  I thank God for giving me the opportunities to live in the glory of His silent embrace.

I pray everyone has a great week ahead

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. - Mahatma Gandhi

I think finding one’s peace within is like the quest to find one’s place on this earth.  In a world where change is the most constant thing, finding your footing is both the most essential and the most difficult.

To be at one with God is to be at peace … peace is to be found only within, and unless one finds it there he will never find it at all. Peace lies not in the external world. It lies within one’s own soul. - Ralph Waldo

Peace is within us.  The real and everlasting kind is the one that emanates from us unto the world.  The kind that we take from the world, from outside forces is the quick but temporary fix.  The kind of peace that we all yearn for is the kind that can be seen in a soul that is uncluttered - the soul that is closest to the image of God.  It lies in each one of us, we just have to reach in and grab hold.

More on silence, since I am on the quest for this

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. - Mahatma Gandhi

Ultimately, I am on the quest for answers to questions that will lay the foundation to my future - what to do next… or more importantly, what do I want to do next?  I read on Bo Sanchez’s blog that it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to master something.  The question I raise to myself now is:  What do I want to spend my next 10,000 hours on?

With fervent hope, I will start to listen inwardly to why God put me on this earth, at this period in time.

With fervent hope, I remain listening until my mind separates itself from the things that clutter it, and the answer becomes crystal clear…

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls. -Mother Teresa

I believe that it is in the pockets of silence throughout our day that we find our true voice.  Amidst the chaos of a whole city clamouring for their dreams, there lies our true authentic selves inside each one of us.

When you get bogged down by the chaos of life, remember that it is all in the mind. Just pause for a moment and listen to your heart, and hear your voice. Ultimately I believe that what we hear in those moments is God’s voice, because our soul emanates from Him. When we listen to it, stripped down of all of life’s rigors, we find our true selves… and it is glorious

Have a great week ahead everyone!!!

Just push on, whatever happens!!!

My engines are running on this mantra these days.  There may be a lot of disappointments and mishaps that can discourage me, that is given when you are creating a new path for yourself.  I have decided to push on with blinders and all, with guns blazing… etc etc

Whatever debacle I encounter, this time I will choose to move forward with unrelenting hope.

This will be a great week

A generous prayer is never presented in vain; the petition may be refused, but the petitioner is always, I believe, rewarded by some gracious visitation. - R.L. Stevenson (Motivate Us)

Prayers are very seldom answered immediately.  Sometimes, what we ask isn’t even answered at all.  But it is not up to us to question if God has abandoned us in our present endeavor, because he never does that.  Maybe the question is if we are ready to receive what we ask.  Even if we think we are ready, maybe in God’s infinite wisdom, He sees that we are not; if we will ever be, well that is another possible answer.

You see, maybe right now you feel  that what you want is what you need, but maybe God has other plans for you; plans that are likely bigger than what you have for yourself

Maybe the non-answer by God is an answer in itself - the divine intent of our very own prayers.

Have a great week ahead everyone!!!

I believe in bestowing my religious morals, rituals and views upon myself and not upon others.

I read this somewhere and it brought back the same idea that I’ve been toying in my head.  Sometimes you experience bigotry from others.  In my case, more often than not it’s from people who impose upon me their religious beliefs.

I feel sorry for them because they only have their religion to cling to, and no full understanding about it even.  What I have is a deep relationship with my God.  I understand, no, I know that my belief system is a faith that is based on love - and because of that - my love matters.

My love matters.

I know this Psalm by heart since I was a kid

Psalm 91 - God Our Protector

Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
Can say to Him, “You are my defender and protector, You are my God; in You I trust.”
He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.
He will cover you with His wings; you will be safe in His care; His faithfulness will protect and defend you.
You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day.
Or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.
A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed.
You will look and see how the wicked are punished.
You have made the Lord your defender, the Most high your protector.
And so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home.
God will put His angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
God says, I will save those who love me and I will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.
When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them, I will rescue them and honor them.
I will reward them with long life; and I will save them.

Continue Reading »

Let’s say we have this situation

You encounter a person who you think you connect with turns out to be not that type of person after all.

A very similar thing happened to me recently.  Actually, it happens at some points in our lives, multiple times.  This is just a perfect example where you have this situation happen to you a number of times, but you react in different manners to that fact.  I mean, in my own reflection, I know that the old me would take it personally, on the emotional level.  But my present self does not.

This realization caused me to make a side by side comparison with other similar things that happened in my life.  Like with my work.  Whenever there is an issue or problem, my old self would react with passion.  Now I don’t react with the same intensity.

I’ve become that Oh well kind of guy. 

Continue Reading »

Yesterday was a nightmare. 

Almost until I went to bed, I was still seething with rage.  Wallowing in all that hate, it felt like nothing was more important than tending to that fiery feeling inside of me.  I wanted to right the wrong somehow.  I woke up a few times last night, getting messages from my baby.  I felt so blessed having such a profound love from such a special person.

This morning I woke up with renewed spirit.  I did my daily meditation and didn’t get up until I felt gratitude for every step I made again.

I realized that in this life what’s important is who can love the best.  That’s the rat race that I’m willing to join because that’s what really matters.  I can only wish that everyone can experience the same kind of love that we have.  The same intensity and the same clarity.  Unfortunately, this kind of love can never come from bigoted hearts…

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I saw my former Supervisor at SM this evening.  The chance encounter led to about 30 or so minutes of catching up right in the middle of the mall until it closed.  I realized how much I missed my friends there.  Ms. Irene was really like a mother to us, for one.  We also talked about this manager there who I got into a tiff with back then.  We did patch it up though near the end of my stay, bonding over daily breakfast runs at a nearby food joint.

I kept thinking, on the way home afterwards, why I stopped corresponding with them in the first place.  I think at some point there, when I transferred to my next job, I got swept away by the excitement.  I looked forward and moved on.  I think now that I moved on too fast.  I realized that partially I also let myself get swept away by the new endeavors.  I realized that I just wanted to quickly pile over those bad memories with new ones.  I ran so fast until I reached Greenland, so to speak.

Same thing with my transition from high school to college.  I had a not-so-good four years in high school, in general.  But the last few months I guess I opened up to my classmates, lessened the geek that I am and just enjoyed life.  Even cried during farewells.  True to the tale, someone wrote as a dedication on my class picture: “Too bad it’s only now that we knew about the true Angelo.“  After graduating I moved on and (almost) never looked back.  Over the course of a few years, and much more recently, I have been hesitant and altogether decided not to go to high school reunions and such.  This thing also popped into my head when I headed home.

I find that the farther you are from the memories and the people associated with it, in terms of time and place, most of the time the good memories are masked by a pang of negative feelings.  Like an astronaut looking at the Earth from outer space, he only sees the most glaring details.  To me, the bad feelings become the glaring details of the past.  In my heart, they get defined by it.  I guess my subconscious decides to push back the memories, both the good and the bad altogether.  It’s a survival mechanism, I guess.

I was pondering about this until I got home.  Finally, when I checked my personal e-mails I  read this

Don’t let resentments block blessings from flowing freely into your life. Always forgive.

First of all, I love my life.  I realize something important and I get instant affirmation from my mailbox!  Who gets daily affirmation from their mail, on almost a daily basis?!?

Anyway, I know that what happened is nothing important now.  I guess I’ve forgiven them.  Heck, I even wish the best for them.  Right now, I am actually in that place where I wish the best for all my past enemies and frenemies.  But I guess I have neither forgiven myself nor the very memory of it.  That’s what I must confront now.

I guess what I learned from this evening is that yes, it’s good to move on and look toward a better tomorrow in the wake of bad things that happen.  That’s almost how we live to tell the tale.  But as soon as you are in a place of peace in your life, it’s good practice to go back and reflect on the bad stuff that’s happened.  Examine yourself if underneath that peace, the wounds have been truly cleansed and healed.  Remember as well, that only absolute forgiveness, of the other person, of oneself and the experience can one truly be free from resentment.

My heart is truly feeling lighter after writing this piece.  Praise God.

This was on my mail box today 

Nothing can put you down. No trial. No problem. No crisis. No sickness. No
difficulty.  Nothing, I repeat, nothing can ever put you down.

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You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny.
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV 4.5

Some people are slaves to their fate.  To tadhana in Filipino.  We rely on our luck or swerte.  Sometimes I hear people say, “I want to win the lottery so I can buy a house.”  Yes you can.  But if you rely on this strategy then you have a better chance getting hit by lightning, twice, than be able to buy your dream house.  No kidding… Continue Reading »

… And just like that, I saw this on my mail today

Never be passive. When you’re simply reactive to situations, you allow others and events to set the agenda for your life. 

It’s just incredible how these messages keep hitting me over and over. Continue Reading »

This was on my GodWhispers today  

If you say “No” to unpleasant experiences, you’ll also be saying “No” to the greatest experiences. So don’t say “No” to all unpleasant experiences. Some of them lead you to your dreams.

One’s road to success is always riddled with hard decisions. Continue Reading »