Life Lesson of Love

I just finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie, what a great read especially if you are looking for some inspiration!

I was reading this book a lot while I was visiting my mom and grandma with my bro. First off, you should know, it's very hard to be in the same room with my mom because she is an extreme personality, but nonetheless I love her...she is my mother. Anyway, it was just great to have this book for all the downtime we had. While she was cleaning, or while everyone was in different parts of the house doing their own thing, in the morning when people were getting ready...it was a great book to read amidst all the chaos my mother causes. Seriously. But calling and visiting her and my mom and g-ma more often are one of my new year's resolutions for 2009 and after reading this book, I am inspired do it even more. I mean ya we may not always get along, and yes my mom gets on my very last nerve, but I after reading this book, I feel more prepared to handle her shinannigans.

Family is Family. We are born into it. We cannot pick who our parents are or our siblings or grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...but no one is perfect. It is up to us to do our part in balancing out the relationship, even when its dysfuctional. Even when they have gotten on your very last nerve. It's a test of our patience.

The good part is, you do get to pick your friends! Your friends should be people who inspire you to be better, people that are always there for you and don't take you for granted. I feel like my friends are my family that I was able to pick. And yes, you must choose your friends wisely.

So what about everyone else? Aquaintences and strangers? I don't believe giving love stops at people you know. It can extend so far out and reach people you don't even know are touched by what you have to say.

There are so many important lessons I got out of this book so I'm gonna share one thing that sticks out...

"be compassionate and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place: Love each other or die"

What does it mean to take responsibility for each other? I think it means that we need to care about others as if they were our family, (obviously be careful and use your common sense...we can't just befriend anyone). I feel everyone is to blame for the way one person acts. For example, there are 'odd balls' out there. They sit alone at lunch, but they try so hard to make friends, but they get ignored. Next thing you know, they are doing something completely ridiculous like hurting other people or hurting themselves. Can you judge that person for behaving that way? The choice you make in ignoring or being compassionate to a person can change a person's life...you may not even realize. Compassion for another can go a long way and it's extremely rewarding.

"Love each other or die" If only we could have everyone in the world understand this concept...we would be more grateful for each other. We would be busy making babies, not war. (ahem Israel & Palestine ahem) It sounds so simple, but even the most educated cannot understand it. So, although there is little we can do about it immediately, knowing this for yourself and sticking to it could change your world. "Love each other or die" A mentality so simple and so small can end up making a huge difference in your own life and others around you.

What are your thoughts?

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're doing busy things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

Thank you Ading Steph for getting me such an awesome read! Ading Jonajay...you are next in line to read it =]

Happy New Year!

It's the year 2009 Bitches!!!

It's a new year for all! This means new year's resolutions, showing all the people you love how much you care about them, and leaving the past in the past. For some, the year 2008 was A BLAST! For some, it was the WORST. Face it, bad incidents are inevitable. They happen to test our limits and strengthen us in the end. But no matter what situation you found yourself in the year 2008, the important thing to remember is that you have people who love and care about you. It's important to keep them close to you and not take them for granted because you never know when they may be gone.

"It doesn't matter where you go in life...what you do...or how much you have...it's who you have beside you"

I learned A FREAKING LOT this past year. Oh my 'gulay'!!! (Tagalog for vegtables) Yes this year was tougher than other years, for obvious reasons for the people who know me, but for some reason, I am happier and wiser now than ever before...

I learned not to trust too easily.
I learned not to trust too much.
I learned to trust only myself.
I learned to trust my intuition.
I learned to let go.
I learned to really listen to my dad.
I learned to appreciate my family more.
I learned to love unconditionally.
I learned to be thankful for what I have.
I learned to stand up for myself.
I learned to be less of a pushover.
I learned to stay on task.
I learned to have confidence.
I learned that more is not always better.
I learned quality counts in everything.
I learned I was not perfect.
I learned to accept that everyone makes mistakes.
I learned to accept that I make mistakes.
I learned that compassion is achieved through action.
I learned thatI am a conservative Democrat.
I learned that people are selfish.
I learned that I am selfish.
I learned that being driven by passion is not always the best idea.
I learned how to compromise between the ideal and the real.
I learned a lot about myself, my flaws, my strengths, and how to balance the two.
I learned that my family and friends mean everything to me.
I learned that devoting myself to others is my true happiness.

I learned to love myself.

It's been a great year! Thank you year 2008! Bon Voyage! Helllooo year 2009! I am so ready!


Here are my 2008 highlights!

1. Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election! (even though I stupididly voted for McCain...yes I admit I'm a dumbass)
   
2. Hillary Clinton was chosen by Barack Obama to be his secretary of state
   
3. Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in the 2008 Olympis in Beijing making World Records in 7 events and an Olympic Record in 1 event!
4. Celebrity hook up Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon/ Celebrity break up Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams/ Celebrity break up Hugh Hefner and Holly, Bridget, and Kendra
5. Christina Aguilera gives birth to baby boy Max Liron Bratma!!!
6. Britney Spears' comeback!
   
7. The iPhone
8. Bostonian Bernie Madoff pulled off swindling $50 Billion in his world wide Ponzi Scheme
9. My dad let me get a dog! Now the love of my life...Tofu Baby Padilla!
10. My brother visited twice this year!
11. I stayed close friends with my first love and ex-boyfriend
    
12. I found my Third best friend and soul mate...Katrina
13. I picked up 2 beautiful girl Adings (lil' sisters)...Stephanie and Kate
14. I made the most IDIOTIC mistake of cosigning for a credit card
15. I learned how to file a law suit!
    
16. I went to Las Vegas without parental guidance!
17. I had 10 drinks on my 21st birthday and had my first ever hang over the next day!
18. I saw the musical WICKED!
19. I won a dance scholarship at APA and danced non-stop for 3 months! But I had to quit because it was taking up too much time =[
    
20. I discovered an amazing vocal coach!
21. I re-formulated my dream job! Jasmine in the Musical Aladdin at California Adventure
    
22. I pimped out my room!
23. I coordinated a successful Filipino Culture Night!
24. I became sucker #37
    
25. I didn't cry during a speech I gave to my Executive board in AB Samahan
26. I started cursing...A LOT!
27. I restarted other habits...ahem.
    
28. I started wearing more make up
    
29. I discovered DOLLAR TREE!
30. I switched to AT&T and got a new phone that has incredible features like picture mail!!!

My New Year's Resolutions

Sike! Ya I'm not gonna list them because there are so many and plus I don't want to jinx them which always seems to be the case. I'll keep them to myself and just not talk about them, but actually DO them.

Buuut to help YOU start off YOUR year right...I'd like to share this blog that I came across.
I found this WONDERFUL blog post on abovetopsecret.com (awesome alternative news site btw) Check it out sometime...BUT THE FOLLOWING BLOG IS A MUST READ! (even if you're a guy!)

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." - The Buddha. INTRODUCTION This thread is a 2 parter. It will be long, but that is because I'm trying to give you a quality post. This thread is all for YOU. I want to inspire you. I will try my best. In the first part I will explain what true spirituality means to me. I feel it is somewhat misunderstood. I want you to discover your inner wisdom, your inner potential. As well I would like to give you some meditation tips and techniques that I started with. I remember when I first got into meditation, I bought a book and I still didn't know what it was or what exactly it did. Traditional methods can hard and may deter you. It's pretty hard to relax and probe your mind when you can't comfortably sit in a lotus position. . Only after a few years am I realizing the value in position and posture. So i devised my own techniques, which I would like to share. But first I want to try and interest you in meditation and spirituality. PART 1 - The New Age and spiritual misconception It's interesting how society has a way of putting a twist on things. How many of you cringe when you hear the words "New Age"? There is indeed a very superficial, commercialized spirituality being marketed. Simple things like horoscopes, which vaguely apply to the 1/12th of the zodiac population you might fit in, as well as tarot, crystal healing, and palmistry kind of make spirituality look nothing more then..well.. party games. In reality, they are just misunderstood. You might think.. surely this is not the way of the intelligent, logical, rational mind. In reality, spirituality is a path of truth and wisdom. Those whom I would call spiritual are some of the wisest, open minded, tolerant (and often humble) people I have met. Through the search for truth, some may follow traditional means, that is..effective methods handed down by others. Some how along the way this has been grouped into religion. The true spiritual seeker doesn't believe what they do because a book told them to, they believe it because they searched for it within their own hearts and minds - digging as deep as they can, persistently. In our society we criticize religions because it doesn't hold up to our scientific theories - which in fact change repeatedly. I love science because I like to know how things work, but sometimes I find science can be as dogmatic as religion. Either way.. how can one say they are the voice of rationality if they follow someone else's belief system? But that's right, we call those solid facts because that is what the "experts" say. The path of wisdom becomes clearer as we open our minds to new possibilities. I feel perhaps the biggest human fear of all beyond base survival is the fear of feeling "crazy". We feel we need to firmly plant ourselves in our accepted reality. But what happens is our position becomes too firm and we start deflecting other concepts, hindering our own growth. "Stay thinking in that box, and don't you dare think out of it." This is where that wonderful quality humility comes in. If we're wrong / make mistakes, we take a fall, but it doesn't stop us. We get back up and keep trying. We can't let our pride stop us from evolving. This is the humble path of spirituality. The search for inner wisdom has made me more loving, forgiving, confident, and happy with a sense of peace and purpose I never thought possible. I spend my time making posts like this not to make me feel elevated to some higher, superficial level of status, but because I want others to feel as good as I do. That is my harmless agenda. If I can make you smile, it was worth it. Find yourself, and you will find peace. When you find peace, you will find wisdom. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself! Now let me share some meditation tips for you beginners, though I feel nothing begins nor ends, but is just realized. PART 2 - My starter tips and methods Any amount of time, anywhere: I used to go to work every day in a bit of a miserable mood. I would eat my breakfast at work in a food court and just close my eyes. I would think about those who made me happy. I did this for maybe 15 minutes every day and it allowed me to be happy at work. What I did not realize was that after some time, I didn't need to do it anymore. I was happier. More then that, I noticed my focus / ability to empty my mind had increased. Simple little exercises like this can go a long way. As I sat there I would also observe people and a lot of concepts can come if you take the time to observe. You don't have to be sitting down in a trance to expand your awareness. Aside from all that I would meditate on my bed. I would lie down as shown: image source: http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6965/meditateqr3.jpg I would sit down with my legs folded then lean back on my bed. I found that keeping the legs folded was comfortable, yet not such a natural sleep position so I wouldn't doze off.. but also, I felt it helped circulate my energy. You could use a pillow but I don't recommend it. An arched neck over time will become uncomfortable. You might feel the urge to swallow/ shift around and it can break your level of "absorbtion". It is also good to keep a straight spine, if anything I urge you to sit the traditional way if you can, or in a chair with your feet firmly planted. But if you're new, more then anything your probably battleing physical and mental distractions. So lying in this position, legs folded, spine reasonably straight, arms at the side with palms up and hands in a natural relaxed position, you can do one of two things, or combine both. First I want to explain the hands. Here's a picture of how I position them, in a relaxed manner: image source: http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/7876/hand1ab5.jpg Relax the hands, relax the body, then focus attention on the hands.. be aware of them but don't concentrate on them. Just feel them, and keep feeling them. You might start to feel a tingling, perhaps little electrical sensations. This is a good way for cultivating ones awareness of the body, in this case the hands. Another good way is through Tai Chi or Qi Gong. By cultivating awareness of your body/energy field, in this case - hands, you may start to become aware of your pulse, your flow of energy, sensations you felt before but didn't give much thought. In time these feelings can become very strong and you can sense and affect energy fields. You can even use your hands to sense your chakras by hovering them above the area. I find this a good way to sense ones chakras, and convince yourself of their existence. Of course there are other ways... if you want to feel your solar plexus/ sacral / dan tien area... an angry confrontation with someone can leave you feeling scattered, with an electrical or intense burning sensation in your navel.. though I would not recommend this. I am stating by putting chakras to their extremes, we can easily become aware of their existence. If you work with sound, you might feel you are able to feel certain tones as sensations in your body, as well as the emotions and such. No matter where you are, you can be aware of your body. It's good to make a habit of it. When walking I let my arms swing naturally and sometimes put my hand in this mudra: image source: http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/3286/hand2lr0.jpg By touching the tips of your thumbs to your index finger, while also being aware of the hands while walking, it can give you grounding, a sense of calmness and oneness with the earth. Take time to explore your body. Perhaps a simple crossing of toes makes you feel relaxed? When you walk, learn to look at things differently.. do you see solid colors, or do you see fluctuating static? Do you hear nothing, or do you hear subtle sounds and perhaps a ringing in your ears? Take time to explore these things. But back to meditating on the bed...Get comfortable, close your eyes. Focus on breathing... breathe in through your nose and out through your nose/mouth. Breathe deeply so that you don't fall asleep, and importantly, breathe rhythmically. Breathe in deep, and in a pattern if you can. By counting the seconds in the inhales and exhales, it helps focus and empty your mind. Once you feel you're breathing is natural and you feel comfortable, you can try focusing your attention to something else, like a simple object in your mind. Chances are your mind WILL wander, a lot. By focusing on a single object in your mind, over time with consistent meditations, you will find your mind less cluttered and you be able to get in a deep trance in mere minutes from what seemed like an hour or more. If you empty the mind and put aside distractions, you might notice your body feels a bit paralyzed. You might notice a higher state of mind you're not used to. You can go deeper if you want, or if you like.. explore a concept.. ask yourself a question, see what happens. Beyond that I won't fill your head with expectations, your meditation is your own, i'm just trying to give some tips. If you can rid your mind of distractions, it can put more energy into one area. Doing excercises like Tai Chi or Qi Gong in the morning can wake you up in mere minutes from what seems to take a couple hours and a couple coffees. If it feels uncomfortable, breathe deeper. It will get more comfortable. With practice this can become very relaxing. In this world there are so many distractions. So much can be learned about ourselves by searching our minds. I will wrap this up because I've reached my word limit. I hope this will be of some help to someone. It took me many hours and it's all worth it if it can help just one of you! - Caveman. [edit on 26-12-2008 by CavemanDD]

reply to this post: copyright & usage

reply posted on 26-12-2008 @ 07:27 AM by Pericle

A very nice post, thank you for sharing. "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." - The Buddha. This is an excellent quotation. Follow your inner self, it will take you where you desire, even if you do not know it. If things don't resonate with you, they are not for you. Find yourself, and you will find peace. When you find peace, you will find wisdom. Knowledge is to know, while wisdom is to be. Search for knowledge and understanding because it will bring you closer to wisdom and who you really are. The search for inner wisdom has made me more loving, forgiving, confident, and happy with a sense of peace and purpose I never thought possible. Indeed, you are at peace with yourself when you know who you are and accept and love yourself for what you are, with all the goods and the bads. You have to forgive and love yourself before you can offer it to the world. The battle is always with yourself first and then with the rest. Once you conquer your own self, by knowing who you are, you are ready to conquer the whole world. In this world there are so many distractions. So much can be learned about ourselves by searching our minds. The purpose of mass media, television, religion and many other forms of entertainment and dogma is meant to distract you and keep you away from your true nature, or if you will, from knowing yourself. It takes effort and commitment to want to know yourself, while being distracted takes no effort. There is a purpose in all this. It is a hidden battle. The world will remain covered in a dark veil as long as we are kept distracted. Do not think we live in an enlightened age, because we are not. Technology is not a sign of enlightment, only of intelligence. Inteligence and thus technology without spiritual enlightment leads to self-destruction. I don't want to end in a sad note, but once you start searching for answers, this is what you will find, the more you know the less likely you will be happy with the world around you. The more you know the more aware you are of the problems and thus you feel the need to act. Many people today are passive, thus the conclusion that may people are closed and unaware of their own world. But there is no reason to be sad since the only constat in this existance is change and in reality nothing dies, just changes. This world will change, with it its people too. Or maybe its the other way around.