Terataii Reiki and Counselling Centre

Reiki Level 1 Workshop in Singapore Feb 2012

2012-01-21T01:34:00.001+08:00

Get fit for life with Reiki. Use your hands to boost your immunity, prevent and heal ailments and injuries, remove stress from your life, and much more. REIKI WORKSHOP in Singapore in Feb. Email terataii@gmail.com to book your place.

Learn to heal yourself, your family and friends

2012-01-10T17:22:00.001+08:00

REIKI Level 1 Workshop - Singapore, Feb 21 and 22.

Email terataii@gmail.com to book your place.

When you learn Level 1 Reiki, you take your first step on a journey of wholistic health and well-being. You will be able to channel energy that works at physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels – for yourself and others.

The Reiki attunements and teachings will bring your own energies into better balance and open your mind to new possibilities.

The two-day workshop includes four attunements, an introduction to Reiki, the hand positions for healing, the basic principles to be followed in practising Reiki, the five Reiki principles for daily living, and a discussion of any areas of concern.

LIMITED PLACES. WRITE NOW TO terataii@gmail.com for more information and to book your place. You can also phone or text 8218-3950.

TERATAII newsletter - booster Jan issue now available

2011-12-15T12:39:00.002+08:00

As promised, the January issue of the Terataii newsletter is a bumper issue, twice the length of the usual newsletter.

Email terataii@gmail.com for a free copy of this e-newsletter.

Read about:

SMART New Year resolutions and how to keep them! Look beyond the usual "losing those extra holiday pounds" - reach for something meaningful.

The energy system of the CHAKRAS.

Another Reiki principle for life and what it means.

Value your life - it is a precious gift.

Also in the January issue: Terataii takes stock of its own activities in 2011 and looks ahead to 2012. Coming this year:
- Pamposh (me!) will be a guest on the Slice of Life radio program (Singapore) of Feb 3.
- Reiki Level 1 workshop Feb 21 and 22 - book your space now!
- Individually-designed personal development programs with Pamposh (again, me!) suited to your own aspirations and goals.

Some Thoughts on Meditation

2011-10-30T11:57:00.004+08:00

People turn to meditation for many reasons – health, calmness, spirituality – and follow many different paths, including Zen, Vipassana, Shamata etc. In the end, it does not matter much why one comes to meditation – it always benefits us in the most holistic way and for our own highest good.

The really good news is that you can start where you are and do as much as you want. Many people who start with just 5 or 10 minutes a day find themselves drawn into a longer practice as they begin to enjoy the meditation itself as well as the benefits it brings.

So, how do you start? Which particular meditative practice do you choose? "Just as there are many different paths you can take to climb a mountain, there are a variety of seemingly 'different' meditation techniques that you can follow," says spiritual teacher Vikas Malkani in The Little Manual of Meditation. He points out that all paths lead to the same destination.

Choose the path with which you are most comfortable. Some may find comfort in familiarity, especially when they start. Someone who has been brought up as a Christian, for example, may start their practice by deeply contemplating a Christian prayer, line by line, to fully understand its meaning. Or they might try a mantra meditation by meditating on a word that expresses a core Christian value, such as love.

Sufi masters recommend meditating on "Allah." Equally, one could meditate on each of the 99 names of God, contemplating the quality it represents.

India has given us the syllable Aum (or Om), a popular, non-denominational choice for mantra meditation. Mantra meditation focuses on a single word or a short phrase chanted repeatedly. Sanskrit mantras produce vibrations in the body that add to the value of the meditation.

A few ground rules apply to all forms of meditation. Find a clean and quiet spot where you are not likely to be disturbed, preferably close to nature.

The spine should be straight but not rigid. The head, neck and spine should be in a line. Most meditation is performed in a seated posture. In the Indian tradition, this is usually the Lotus position, but if this is difficult you can sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. The idea is to choose a position that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. The eyes are either closed or the gaze is lowered. This helps you cut out the external world and move within.

When you are ready, cleanse your body and spirit with a few deep breaths before going on to your chosen meditation.

Note: If you're based in Singapore and looking for some help in starting a meditation practice, please email terataii@gmail.com.

Reiki Feedback from Clients

2011-10-28T15:49:00.003+08:00

Some Comments on Reiki by Clients of the Terataii Centre:

After distance Reiki for a 19-month-old boy, message from his aunt:
"Thanks so much. Somehow something amazing must have occurred last night/today because A… is now out of the ICU (intensive care unit). The doctors really were amazed at his recovery – it is completely beyond their expectations. He is now on the pediatric floor instead of ICU, and will make a full recovery with time."
The little boy had fallen head-first on a concrete surface from the second floor.

After a first session of hands-on healing:"Yesterday when I left your house, the first session, I felt so good, so happy, so light, I felt very, very good. I really want/need to do more."

After hands-on healing:
"Thank you for another wonderful session. I know that the positive changes in my life are a result of your help to improve my connection with my true self."

Labels: Reiki

The Self-Esteem of the "Trailing Spouse"

2011-10-08T00:43:00.003+08:00

An issue that comes up quite often in my counselling and Reiki practice is self-esteem and self-value. In my own limited experience, low self-esteem seems to be more common among women than among men. Sadly, some kids struggle with this issue too.

I see this outside my work too, especially among Singapore’s rather large population of “expat wives.” Often, it seems to me, the problem starts with labels such as that. We accept the labels other people apply to us and then slowly, insidiously, they become part of our own self-image. So a journalist, counsellor, engineer, home-maker gets reduced to being something only by virtue of her relationship to her husband.

The most shocking label I’ve come across is “trailing spouse.” Spouse, ok, but why should they “trail?” I first came across this phrase several years ago when someone asked me if I was a trailing spouse. Needless to say, I was horrified at the idea of anyone trailing. I mean really – people walk, run, drive; they accompany their spouse, or even perhaps “follow” them; but why in heaven’s name would anyone trail?

You might think I’m getting all worked up over a simple term. But it is a well recognized fact that language reflects – and affects – the way we think of ourselves and others. This is why the feminist movement has gone to such lengths to change – or supplement – terms that in the past assumed the male gender for people who chaired commissions or committees, spoke for a company, etc. So now we refer either to chairpersons (or simply “the chair”) or to a chairman or a chairwoman, as the case may be. And the same with a spokesperson, or a spokesman/spokeswoman depending on the gender of the individual in question.

And yet, we allow people to address us as “trailers.” Worse, we apply this term to ourselves! I came across the obnoxious “trailing spouse” term again recently, this time applied by a group of women to themselves. Ironically, they had gathered to discuss the changing roles of women at home and in society.

Ladies – and gents – please don’t do this to yourselves - or others. Stand up for yourselves. Ladies, value yourselves enough to be seen (and, in a similar vein, be a "chairwoman," don't hide behind a “chairperson”) - and to be seen to go through life with dignity.

Terataii newsletter - September 2011

2011-09-16T14:26:00.004+08:00

Get your copy of the latest issue.

Just for today, I will not worry. Reiki's second principle.

The Cracked Pot - A Story for Perfectionists

Reiki - Whose Energy?

And more... in the September issue of the Terataii newsletter.

Email terataii@gmail.com for your copy.

The Terataii Centre, Singapore

2011-09-09T10:14:00.004+08:00

WHAT'S NEW
The Centre now offers corporate training, as a separate workshop or as part of a corporate training programme. In October, I facilitated three sessions on Meditation and Mindfulness to Lead and Manage Change for 15 senior managers from the Asia-Pacific. The sessions were very well received; needless to say, I enjoyed the sessions just as much as the participants!

The Terataii Centre offers individual counselling and coaching, Reiki and meditation workshops, and corporate training.

- Corporate training in Meditation, Mindfulness, Leading and Managing Change, Managing Stress.
- Individual Reiki healing sessions;
- Reiki attunements and teachings in small workshops;
- Individual counselling/therapy sessions;
- Breath and mantra meditation classes; and
- Individually designed sessions to help you lead a happy, fulfilled life; combining Reiki, counselling, coaching, meditation.

The Centre is located in Dunearn Road. For more information, please email terataii@gmail.com.

A Tribute to My Mother

2011-09-07T15:03:00.001+08:00

This is a tribute to the woman who has given me life and unconditional love, my most cherished human values and the best traditions of my Indian heritage.

My mother is loving and kind, yet strong and independent. Tell her a sad story and her heart melts within seconds; but cross her and she will never, ever back down! Today, at age 86, she has very little short-term memory, but her mind is sharp as a tack.

When I was growing up, she was always there for me, being a full-time mother, wife and home-maker. My earliest memory is of falling off a tonga – a horse-drawn carriage – with my mother. This happened in Kashmir when I was about 2 years old. It is the only memory I have from that age. I guess I remember it because it was scary, or at least a huge shock to the system. Yet it’s also a memory of being protected because I remember sliding off the tonga still in my mother’s lap, with her arms tightly wrapped around me.

From later years, I remember my mother, a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi, telling me to turn the other cheek when my male cousins would hit me. Fortunately for me, my father had a more practical approach to life. He taught me to fight back, not to inflict too much damage on the other person but enough to discourage them from picking on me.

Though I rejected this particular lesson, I imbibed other aspects of my mother’s Gandhian views. She taught me to speak the truth without fear or reservation. So much so that my father once told me I was not just truthful but often “brutally frank.” Well, I hope I have since lost the “brutality;” I’ve kept the frankness though coz I like it.

I learnt from Mum – and my father – to treat people with respect and courtesy. It did not matter whether they were Hindus, Muslims, or Christians; rich or poor; men or women.

I remember an elderly gentleman moving into our home in Delhi for the entire winter one year. Mum introduced him to me as her “godfather.” He lived in Norway with her older sister’s family, but found the winter there too harsh. So he had come to spend it with us. I loved this man, who told me a story from the Mahabharatha every night. Before he left, he had told me the entire tale, with all its twists and turns, and its myriad sub-plots. Wonderful.

It was only much later I learnt that he had been my grandfather’s housekeeper and had moved to my aunt’s household when she got married to help her run her new home, first in India, then Indonesia, and finally Norway.

Another year Mum’s elderly aunt came down to escape the cold winter in Kashmir. She, too, told me stories, half in Hindi and half in Kashmiri, which I didn’t know too well. Both my parents accorded her the respect due to the oldest member of the family and so I did too.

Our home was an open house to any relative, friend, or friend of a friend who was passing through Delhi. Female guests simply moved into the room I shared with my older sister. Male visitors slept on a thakhat (a sort of large divan) in the living room. People who dropped in to say hello were invariably persuaded to stay on for the next meal.

I didn’t find any of this odd. I thought this was how all families operated and I enjoyed all the comings and goings. The house was open to all my friends too, of course.

Mum has always been a wonderful hostess. She and Papa live with us now. Whenever we have friends over, she’s forever egging me on in Kashmiri (our code language) to offer them something to eat or drink.

Equally, she is a gracious guest. Except for the closest of friends, she would not go to anyone’s home “empty-handed,” as she put it. She kept a stash of gifts to be dipped into as and when required. If she didn’t have an appropriate gift to hand, she would take flowers or fruit. Never, ever, under any circumstances would she go without a gift if it was the first time she was visiting someone’s home. That was an absolute no-no.

She was careful also to never allow her host to feel uncomfortable on our account. When I was in my teens, we had close family friends who lived nearby. Since the relationship was so informal, we would often drop in on each other at short notice. One time, when we had gone over, the lady of the house apologized because she had cooked only a simple vegetarian meal that day. My Mum, with her most innocent look, asked: “What day of the week is it?” When our hostess told her, Mum said, still with that innocent look, “Oh we never eat meat on Tuesdays” (or Thursdays, or whatever it was). This happened at least 3 times before our friend finally caught on!

In our own home, my Mum resolutely refused to teach me to cook or do household chores. I was possibly the only Indian girl of my age back then who couldn’t even make tea. (Actually, I still can’t do it too well.) Girls were generally groomed to be good wives and daughters-in-law in India’s joint family system. My Mum assumed, like others, that I would eventually marry and “settle down.” But, in the meantime, she wanted me to have fun. Enjoy yourself, she’d say to me, there’s no rush to get involved in cooking and housework!

Mum was a fantastic cook, but a couple of years ago she declared she had had enough of that. She wasn’t going to cook any more. I guess 40-odd years were enough.

Both my parents considered education to be of great value, both in itself (as knowledge) and in its ability to make one financially independent. Mum wanted her daughters to be well educated and to work before marriage, if not afterwards. I remember her talking about this even when I was really young, perhaps 10 or 12 years old. She felt it was important for a woman to know she was capable of looking after herself even if she wasn’t going to work after marriage. That way, “if anything went wrong,” she’d know she could be financially independent.

(As things turned out, I worked, married, continued to work, and didn’t “settle down” much, moving countries every few years. Now that my parents live with us, for the first time in my life, I have the urge to stay put in one place for a while.)

My mother, now 86, continues to be a loving presence in my life. She has had all manner of illnesses over the years but remains cheerful and fun-loving. She has helped Papa keep up his spirits too. When he gets into a feeling-sorry-for-himself mood, we both tell him to smile. He does, and immediately cheers up.

It was my Mum who several years ago kindled my interest in Reiki (energy) healing. When I do presentations on Reiki now, I often end with the story of Mum’s astonishing healing with Reiki. The last time I started on this story I suddenly realized two women in the audience were gaping at me in amazement. This is because they have met my Mum and seen her dance at one of our parties at home; so when I started the story with a description of her severe attack of sciatica, which had made her completely bed-ridden, they couldn’t believe I was talking about the same woman!

The Reiki healing was truly amazing. But no less was Mummy’s spirit, will-power and openness to the energy. To the amazement of the surgeon, who had predicted the possibility of her being able to sit again – but not walk – she made a complete recovery even without his surgery!

Apart from sciatica, she has had heart trouble, and a pace-maker for several years now; breast cancer, for which she had radical surgery many years ago; her gall bladder removed the old-fashioned way in the 1970s (no key-hole surgery back then). Yet, none of this seems to have in any way diminished her zest for life.

In the past year, Mum has enthusiastically taken part in our parties at home and our outings outside the home. However, she refuses to go out without Papa, so we go out less often now. Except for her appointments with doctors, which she does consent to keep even without Papa. Recently, she grumbled throughout her echo cardiogram, insisted she was about to peg out, demanded to know if I was keeping an eye on her handbag; then, when it was over, got up cheerfully, her good humour completely restored.

Every time we have friends over at home, she makes some attempt at being a decorous elder. After dinner, around 10 or 11 pm she politely says good night, gathers up her husband, and makes off to her bedroom. Since most of our parties end up with music and dance, I take her byes with a pinch of salt. As soon as the music starts, she comes right back and starts dancing with us. Never mind that she has a pacemaker, with her heart working at only 10 percent of capacity, and never mind that she uses a walker (frame) to walk. She doesn’t need any support when she’s in the mood to dance. And nothing can stop her.

[This is a combination on two articles posted on one of my other blogs. Those who are kind enough to read all my blogs may therefore find parts of this article are familiar to them!]

Terataii Newsletter - August issue

2011-08-05T09:46:00.000+08:00

Yup, the newsletter is here to stay! Email terataii@gmail.com for your copy of the August issue.

In this issue:

A chance encounter with Mother Teresa.
On the occasion of her birth anniversary, a quote to inspire us all to shine our light on the world.

Look beyond the Label: children with ADD and ADHD.

Meditation: start your practice today in the best way you can (and if you need help, call your holistic Centre in Singapore...)

Just for today, I will count my blessings. Reiki's first principle for daily living. How blessed do YOU feel?

And more...

Get your copy today. Write to terataii@gmail.com.

No such thing as a safe dose of radiation, says doctor

2011-05-04T01:35:00.000+08:00

Writing in late March about Japan's troubled facility at Fukushima, I shared my concerns about the health hazards of pursuing nuclear options to meet the world's seemingly insatiable demand for energy. Supporters of nuclear energy dramatically play down these hazards even after disasters like Chernobyl.

Now, a doctor quotes a report by the New York Academy of Sciences to say that almost one million people have died from cancer and other diseases linked to the Chernobyl disaster. This is in stark contrast to the prediction by the International Atomic Energy Agency that 4,000 people are likely to die from cancer.

While physicists talk convincingly about "permissible doses of radiation," doctors know that there is no such thing as a safe dose of radiation, writes Helen Caldicott, a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, in the International Herald Tribune.

In an article titled Unsafe at Any Dose, published on May 3, Caldicott, herself a doctor, urges physicians to stand up to physicists to explain the long-term dangers of nuclear energy to policy-makers and the public.

"Physicists had the knowledge to begin the nuclear age," she says. "Physicians have the knowledge, credibility and legitimacy to end it."

Definitely worth a read.
Related post: Nuclear Energy - The Price of Safety

Nuclear Energy - What's the price of safety and other questions

2011-03-24T00:54:00.000+08:00

An article in the Wall Street Journal, among other publications, tells us that Japanese regulators, though aware of new cooling technologies for nuclear plants, chose to ignore the vulnerablity of existing reactors, focusing instead on using the better technology in new reactors.

If the new "isolation condensers" had been in place at Fukushima, they could have prevented or at least minimized the problems being faced there now. But there was "no serious discussion of retrofitting older plants with the alternative technology," government advisers told the paper.

"Experts said doing so was likely deemed too costly and cumbersome given what was seen as a small risk of total power outage," the Wall Street Journal reported.

I wonder why this was seen as such a small risk only 6 years after the tsunami of December 2004, which surely did lead to "total power outage" in some parts of Asia. Is it a lack of imagination that prevents us humans from taking into account the possibility of a nuclear nightmare unleashed by earthquakes and tsunamis in the quake-prone country that gives the tsunami its name? Or is it an optimistic gene that assumes things will never get any worse than we imagine them to be?

Granted radiation levels still appear to be manageable in Japan - and one sincerely hopes they will stay that way - and, yes, granted, too, that the words "nuclear accident" evoke dread that does not necessarily match the known risk. However, there is a reason these words provoke such a strong negative reaction in many people, which is that a nuclear accident has the potential to create painful death and lingering illness in large numbers. Moreover, this misery is man-made, unlike the destruction caused by forces of nature, which we cannot control.

The question really is this: should we create forces that can unleash misery on large numbers of people? And if do create such forces, should we delude ourselves into believing that we can make them failsafe, which means believing we can anticipate everything that nature and the world can throw at us, and believing we can control all these natural forces we think we can predict?

I can hear supporters of nuclear energy tell me that far fewer people have died from nuclear accidents than from almost any other cause. Some reports say "only" 31 people died as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, ignoring the later deaths, the disease and the anxiety of people living and bringing up children in an area where leukemia and throat cancer levels increased dramatically.

And what of nuclear waste? Once again, we are told it is being handled very efficiently and safely. I'm sure that's true. But how much waste are we going to be putting into our planet - even "safely?"

We know that the world needs energy, and nuclear energy, we are told, is available, efficient, and less polluting than coal and other sources. That may be true, and I don't see the world scrapping its nuclear reactors, or its plans for new reactors, anytime soon.

But in weighing our options, should we consider only the relatively recent history of nuclear power, and the relatively small number of deaths known to be directly and immediately related to an accident? Or should we also consider the potential for immediate deaths plus those that occur a little later, higher levels of illness, and the misery of people who might have to see their kids exposed to radiation unleashed not by forces beyond man's control but by man himself? And the potential harm that nuclear waste can do to our planet over the short and long-term? Should this potential not at least be weighed in the equation? And should we not also consider newer, less harmful, "greener" technologies even though they may at this point be less cost-effective? Or do we write those off too as too "costly and cumbersome?"

I am not a scientist of any description, let alone an expert on nuclear energy. This is clearly not an "expert opinion" on the world's energy options and I'm sure a clever expert can pick holes in some of the arguments. But my aim is not to win an argument, but only to support a debate on issues that affect us all as human beings.

Though not an expert on nuclear energy, I am an inhabitant of this planet and I am concerned about my home and the rest of my human family. I think perhaps it's time for the whole family to think about such issues, calmly and politely, with the subject experts adding their expert opinions, but all of us asking ourselves some pertinent questions and carefully considering our options.

Here's to new beginnings in 2011

2011-01-20T07:02:00.001+08:00

Here's wishing all my readers a very happy 2011. At the Terataii Centre, we kicked off the year with a wonderful meditation workshop. I could just feel the energies flowing. It was great to teach this class again after several months of the move to Singapore, setting up the centre here, etc.

My students were wonderful, as they invariably are. I always learn from them too. And as I teach, I also reinforce the lessons to myself. This workshop served as a reminder to me of how much peace and joy meditation brings me, and how much fun it is. And how regular practice is more meaningful than sporadic long sessions.

There's so much I want to do this year, much of it starting already, with the meditation class, Reiki healing and counselling sessions. I have still to start my Reiki teaching at the new location in Singapore. On another front, I am working with my sister to put together a memory book for my nephew, who passed 10 years ago this January. Once that is done, I will edit my father's book of a personal view of Indian history since independence in 1947. And sometime this year, I must find time to begin my own first book too.

It promises to be a full year. I look forward to the new beginnings of that "11" in 2011 - building on work already done in teaching and practising Reiki and meditation; continuing the counselling and doing more coaching; and using my experience as a journalist to write and edit books that are more personally meaningful to me.

The Five Agreements:

2010-11-23T08:38:00.009+08:00

A Guide to Good Living.

Many years ago, don Miguel Ruiz gave us a wonderful book (The Four Agreements) that told us about 4 agreements we could make with ourselves to lead a happy and authentic life. Now, with his son don Jose Ruiz, he has written another book that brings us a fifth agreement that can lead us to the truth.

There are many ways of looking at life and coming to the same essential truth that underlies all life. This is one way to express – and accept – that truth.

One really needs to read the book – called, simply, The Fifth Agreement – to understand this agreement, and also to go over the first four agreements again. But here, in a nutshell, are the five agreements that we are asked to make with ourselves. If we do, life becomes beautiful – and quite simple because in every moment we only need to consult our agreements and act accordingly.

The 5 agreements, based on Toltec wisdom, as enumerated by don Miguel Ruiz and don Jose Ruiz:
1. Be impeccable with your word. This one is about integrity and using the power of speech for good.
2. Don't take anything personally. The way people behave with you says more about them than it does about you. Don't take on other people's opinions of you as your own opinion of yourself (or of anyone or anything else). Judge for yourself.
3. Don't make assumptions. Find out how things really are – don't jump to conclusions.
4. Always do your best. Do the best you are capable of at any given moment and then move on – don't stop to judge yourself since you have already done your best.

5. Be skeptical, but learn to listen. Don't believe in lies, don't put your faith in things that you don't know to be true, whether these are things told to you by others or things you've somehow come to believe yourself. Doubt everything so that you check it out to find out for yourself whether or not it's true. At the same time, learn to listen – go beyond the words to understand the intention and the true meaning of the words.

These explanations are mine, based on what I remember and understand of the books. But, hey, be skeptical! Check it out for yourself! Read more on don Miguel's website.

More feedback on Reiki

2010-11-09T15:22:00.003+08:00

Reiki

I inherit bad bones, top it with soft core- I suffered slipped discs twice at L-345. I had been regular with physio therapy and had recently joined Pilates classes too to strengthen my core muscles.

Recently on my way to meet Pamposh for dinner I could sense a nerve pinching in my lower back making it difficult for me to sit and almost impossible to walk. I didn't want to cancel at the last minute and decided to go for dinner nonetheless. She saw me in pain and offered to do a Reiki session for me.

The minute she touched my back I could feel the energy spreading through my entire back like synapses and it was a matter of minutes before I could sense and feel a warm shield all across my back. I not only felt better-I looked better and voila! i could bend to wear my shoes. (Bending is out of question if you have a protruding disc). That night I slept like a baby. It's been 3 weeks and there is no inkling of any kind of bulging disc, whatsoever.

I strongly recommend Pamposh's Reiki sessions to whoever needs a boost of positive energy for mental or physical well being. A big thumbs up to her services, pleasant and comforting presence- she has me hooked for life! November 4, 2010

Top qualities: Great Results , Personable , Expert

[From Farah Bashir, CMI Manager at Unilever, Singapore - see original recommendation on Linked in.]

Reiki Healing

2010-10-27T09:22:00.006+08:00

Note: To book a Reiki healing session in Singapore, email terataii@gmail.com.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a safe, non-intrusive healing technique. The Reiki practitioner places her hands gently on different chakras, or energy points, on the client's body to help the client access universal life energy, described in various traditions as prana, chi or ki.

The Reiki practitioner acts as a channel that allows life-enhancing energy to flow to the client to help address physical, emotional and spiritual imbalances, removing blockages at all these levels. Reiki helps physical healing from disease or injury. It helps overcome depression, confusion or tension. It brings clarity of vision and spiritual growth.

The Reiki experience

Reiki is a personal experience. You may experience it as powerful energy moving through you or as subtle energy shifts; as a release of mental tension or an easing of physical symptoms; as deep relaxation or greater awareness and clarity. The energy helps each person in the way best suited for them.

Each session lasts an hour, including a brief consultation with Pamposh. She can supplement the Reiki with crystal therapy, meditation or counselling based on your needs. All interaction is confidential.

The practitioner

Pamposh is a certified Reiki Master, initiated into all three degrees of the Usui system of Reiki healing at the Ra Kendra in Manila and SoulCentre in Singapore. She was initiated into the highest degree by Reiki Master Sally Forrest of the U.K. Pamposh is a student of Indian spiritual master Vikas Malkani of the spiritual tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.

In addition, Pamposh is a member of the Singapore Association for Counselling and has a Masters degree in Social Science (Counselling) from the University of South Australia, Adelaide. She has experience in face-to-face, Internet-based and phone counselling.

Reiki – A Journey to Health and Happiness

2010-10-27T01:05:00.007+08:00

My first brush with Reiki happened in the shape of a small miracle. My mother was laid up in bed with severe damage to the sciatic nerve which starts in the small of the back and goes all the way down to the feet. She had been lying in bed – 24 hours a day – for more than a month. She could not even sit up in bed. We had been told she needed surgery and, if the surgery were successful, she might be able to move around in a wheelchair. We were also told that it was delicate surgery and, if it went wrong, she might be paralyzed.

While we were waiting for the surgery, my cousin suggested Reiki. We had never heard of this, but my mother said she would like to try it. So my cousin contacted a Reiki healer she knew who began to do distance Reiki. Once or twice a day my mother would tell us she could feel energy moving along her legs and feet. My father and I assumed it was "all in her mind." We were happy she was more cheerful, even though we were sure it was false hope.

Were we ever in for a shock! In just over a week, Mum was walking around on her own two feet – no surgery, no wheelchair, no walker, no nothing. Just her two feet. The orthopaedic surgeon, who like us had never heard of Reiki, said he had never seen anything like it and had no explanation for it.

What is this energy?

This incident aroused an intense curiousity in me and I determined to find out all I could about Reiki. This was not easy as Reiki was not as popular in Asia then as it is now. And some of my reading raised more questions than it answered. But slowly, I began to understand: it is an energy, accessible to all, that heals and removes blockages to growth. It clears one's mind and lifts one's spirits. It helps us to be calm and peaceful, restoring our natural balance and bringing us into harmony with ourselves.

I discovered that the Reiki lineage goes back to Dr. Mikao Usui, who meditated on a mountain near Kyoto for 21 days before he found the energy he called Reiki, a Japanese word that can be translated as Universal Life Energy. I found out that anyone can access this energy with the help of a Reiki practitioner and that anyone can become a practitioner after a brief initiation and training by a Reiki Master. There are three levels of Reiki learning, with Reiki Master as the highest level.

It would be several years before I myself would become a Reiki Master. Along the way, I would engage in spiritual studies, both formal and informal, develop an interest in Sufi poetry, read Zen teaching stories, meet the Dalai Lama, and suffer great personal loss.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

In late 1998, I moved from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Manila, Philippines. One day, in casual conversation, one of my new Filipina friends told me about a massage centre where one could also learn yoga. "Do they also teach Reiki?" I blurted out. My friend, of course, had never heard of Reiki. Nevertheless, she gave me the number of this centre and the next day I was talking to possibly the only Reiki Master in the Philippines at that time! And so it was that I received my Levels 1 and 2 Reiki initiations in Manila and did Reiki for several years for family and friends.

Once I started Reiki, I found myself more interested in spiritual matters too. My reading habits changed drastically at this time, with a growing emphasis on spirituality, mysticism, and alternative therapies. I read about Buddhism, Sufism, the Bhakti movement of India, about near-death experiences and past life hypnosis. I studied pranic healing in the Philippines and attended a seminar in New York that was addressed by world-famous past life therapist Brian Weiss and the equally renowned medium James Van Praagh, among others. I seized an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama.

Not all the learning came through happy or easy experiences. I suffered great personal loss when my nephew died suddenly at 20. This was undoubtedly the most difficult time of my life – and yet it brought amazing experiences. I had personal experience to show me that the soul lives on after the body dies. I felt the presence of my nephew several times in very real ways, often as an energy inside me that would cheer me up in the midst of tears so that I would be crying and laughing at the same time. I had the most vivid dreams in which he expressed his love and let me see that he was fine. He referred to incidents in his life that I had not been aware of, but which my sister was able to confirm.

To help other members of the family heal, I frequently channelled Reiki energy to them. They reported that my hands would feel warm, even hot, to them and they would really feel themselves start to heal. Sometimes they would feel a black cloud lift from them. Reiki was one of the things that sustained us through this period, along with our closeness as a family.

As life moved back to a more even keel, I returned to work and everyday pursuits. I kept up my Reiki, for myself and others. I started to feel more confident of my ability to open myself to this energy so that I could channel it to myself and others. I also started to feel myself get more in tune with my intuition.

Finding my path

Once again I moved cities, this time to Singapore. Life was chugging along, I was doing more and more Reiki for friends and friends of friends, but still informally. Then one day a friend phoned me to say she had booked a place for herself for a presentation on energy healing (not Reiki), but she had to go out of town. Since I was interested in energy healing, would I like to go in her place?

I did. And that's how I met my second Reiki teacher, the one who would teach me the highest, Reiki Master's level, and who would vastly expand my understanding of Reiki, of holistic healing principles in general, and their connection with spiritual growth. Reiki Master Sally Forrest (http://www.soulcentre.org/) taught me along with spiritual master Vikas Malkani for several months before Sally initiated me as a Reiki Master.

Having met Vikas through Sally, I realized he had much more to teach me. I began to study the Bhagavad Gita with Vikas. The Gita, an ancient Indian text filled with spiritual insight and wisdom, opened my eyes to new possibilities and new ways of looking at life and at myself. With Vikas as my guide, the study of the Gita brought a new depth and understanding to my spiritual practice.

As the old saying goes: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

A Growing Commitment to Reiki

Although I had been eager to learn the deeper teachings of the Reiki Master's course, I had not expected it to change the nature of my Reiki practice very much. Since I planned to return to a full-tiime job almost as soon as I had finished the course, I assumed I would continue to limit my practice to family and friends in the foreseeable future.

I did, indeed, return to full-time work, once again in Manila. The job kept me busy as did some family responsibilities. Yet there was something missing in my life. At the same time, I found myself talking often about Reiki to people I met at work or at social gatherings. It felt as if every other person I met could do with an energy boost – and many of these people seemed ready to try Reiki.

So it was that six months after I had finished my course, I found myself starting a "week-end" Reiki practice so that I could bring this energy to those outside my circle of family and friends. The response was amazing.

People came for Reiki energy to counter stress and illness, to help them make better decisions, to accelerate their spiritual development. When they learnt that I worked through the week as well as doing Reiki at the week-end, many asked how I coped – did I not feel tired and low on energy myself?

The amazing thing was that the more Reiki I did, the more energy I seemed to have. The first time I did a full day of Reiki, I was so energized I could not sleep that night. I started making sure I centered myself before and after healing so that my own energies stayed grounded.

I realized that the only thing I really needed to do was to open myself up as a channel for the flow of Higher energies. Over time, I learnt to be more open and more observant. Quite often now I would feel energy flowing in through the top of my head. I sensed issues that my clients needed to address, I felt my hands being guided to particular spots on the client's body. Sometimes I heard, or sensed, messages. My week-ends were full of adventure, with new experiences – new ways of feeling energy, of helping people, of being open to messages that helped them and me.

Coming full circle

I could no longer imagine my life without Reiki. And I felt that I could not keep the knowledge of this wonderful Reiki energy to myself. Drawing on my previous experience as a journalist, I began to write about Reiki and I accepted invitations to speak about it at public gatherings. Soon I began teaching Reiki, initially at Levels 1 and 2, and eventually also at Reiki Master's level.

Two years after I had started my "week-end Reiki practice" I resigned from my "regular job" so I could do Reiki full-time. I added meditation classes and sessions, and counselling, to my now full-time practice.

After years of channelling Reiki energy to my parents, I offered to teach them to do it for themselves. They accepted and I initiated them into Level 1 Reiki. I felt honoured to teach my parents, who had taught me so much when I was younger. They, I suspect, were proud to have me teach them.

Whenever I saw my mother doing Reiki, I would remember how I started down this path which has brought so much joy and satisfaction to me over the years. I would give thanks to my mother, to the practioner who first sent her Reiki energy, and to the Source of this beautiful, nurturing, loving energy.

In late 2009, I moved back to Singapore. The following year, my parents came to stay with my husband and me, this time permanently. Now 86, my parents do Reiki only sporadically and in short bursts. Since they live with me, I can do it for them. And they love it!

Dalai Lama: Compassion as a core value in different faiths

2010-06-15T18:41:00.012+08:00

Harmony among believers in different faiths is an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world, writes Tenzin Gyatoso, the 14th Dalai Lama, in an article published recently in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. (Click here to read the full article.)

"... mutual understanding among these traditions is not merely the business of religious believers – it matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole," he writes, noting that intolerance is likely to increase in an increasingly globalized world as cultures and traditions are thrown together.

Yet it is possible to respect both one's own tradition and those of other people. "While preserving faith toward one's own tradition, one can respect, admire and other traditions," as the Dalai Lama says. And he proceeds to express his own appreciation not just for his own tradition of Buddhism, but also Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.

His comments on these 4 major religions:
"In my readings of the New Testament, I find myself inspired by Jesus' acts of compassion. His miracle of the loaves and fishes, his healing and his teaching are all motivated by the desire to relieve suffering." …
"And I've learned how the Talmud and the Bible repeat the theme of compassion, as in the passage in Leviticus that admonishes, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" ...
"In my encounters with Hindu scholars in India, I've come to see the centrality of selfless compassion in Hinduism too – as expressed, for instance, in the Bhagavad Gita, which praises those who 'delight in the welfare of all beings.' I'm moved by the ways this value has been expressed in the life of great beings like Mahatma Gandhi, or the lesser-known Baba Amte, who founded a leper colony not far from a Tibetan settlement in Maharashtra State in India." ...
"An imam in Ladakh [northern India] once told me that a true Muslim should love and respect all of Allah's creatures. And in my understanding, Islam enshrines compassion as a core spiritual principle, reflected in the very name of God, the 'Compassionate and Merciful,' that appears at the beginning of virtually each chapter of the Koran." …

The Dalai Lama concludes: "Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever. As a species, we must embrace the oneness of humanity as we face global issues like pandemics, economic crises and ecological disaster."

RELATED LINKS:
A Sufi Interpretation of A Buddhist Mantra
Dalai Lama Quote
A Meeting with the Dalai Lama

Defining God

2010-06-06T13:09:00.001+08:00

Once we attempt to define god we have limited our experience of it with our definition. God is an energy so vast, so unconditionally loving it is beyond our comprehension. But, when you get still you can connect with that ultimate source of love, acceptance and peace. - Susan Gregg, Toltec Master

Sufi teaching story: Angel of Death

2010-04-12T00:52:00.002+08:00

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
-- Benjamin Franklin

Only two things in life are certain, they say: death and taxes. Having worked for two tax-exempt development organizations, I understand that the second part can be avoided. But the first part – death – now, that really is certain.

There is much we can control in life, but death will come to us sooner or later, whatever we might do to avoid it. There is an old Sufi story that illustrates this point. The story has been retold, among others, by Sufi teacher Idries Shah and the writer Somerset Maugham. In Tales of the Dervishes, Idries Shah attributes the original story to Fudail ibn Ayad, a ninth century Sufi sage.

The story goes something like this:

A student of a Sufi master was sitting in an inn in Baghdad one evening when he overheard two people talking. From their conversation, it became clear that one of them was the Angel of Death. "I have several calls to make in this city over the next few days," the Angel was saying.

The disciple wondered if the Angel had come for anyone he knew. Then he wondered if Death may even have come to claim him. This possibility terrified him. He was not ready for death yet. He decided he would avoid death by moving out of the city for a while. The Angel would be in his city for a few days – to play it safe, the student decided he would stay away for two weeks. He would visit friends in Samarkand, a good distance from Baghdad, and stay out of the Angel's way.

The student slunk out of the inn and went straight to the market where he hired a fine horse to take him to Samarkand, where he would lie low for the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Angel of Death decided to pay a courtesy call on the Sufi master, who was an old friend. As they were chatting, the Angel asked the Master about his student. "By the way, what is he doing these days?" the Angel asked. "He should be somewhere in the city, spending his time in contemplation," the Master replied.

"I'm surprised to know he's in Baghdad," said the Angel, "because I'm due to collect him in a week's time in Samarkand."

The story teaches us that, try as we might, we cannot cheat death. We might as well make our peace with this fact and stop living in fear of the inevitable journey ahead of us.

More on Love and Loss

2010-04-08T17:27:00.003+08:00

One of my friends passed away yesterday, apparently from an illness/infection that developed very quickly. I'm not sure of the facts because we were not close friends – it's more like her husband is a good friend of my husband's and, through him, mine too.

She's gone – suddenly, in her 40's I think. It seems to have been so quick that she may not have had time to think about what was happening to her. But her husband is here, suddenly alone. They found each other a bit late in life, about 5 or 6 years ago, and were so happy together. They made some fairly drastic changes in their lives so they could be together. I feel sad that after all that, they had only a few short years together.

But then I think – can happiness, joy, love me measured in years? She was so happy to have found him, so happy to share her life with him. They were able to cross the hurdles in their way to be together. They were there for each other for 5 or 6 whole years. That's no small thing. She found happiness and joy and lived the life she wanted. That is a good life.

I trust that she is at peace as she embarks on the next part of her journey. And I pray that her husband finds peace too, in time, and some satisfaction in the fact that he brought her so much happiness.

Eldercare – lessons learnt from experience

2010-04-05T00:00:00.002+08:00

If you read my previous post on old age problems such as dementia, Alzheimer's etc, you'll know I advocate seeing the "patient" as a whole person, who deserves to be not just alive but also as comfortable and happy as possible. Not just that – I also believe each person is unique, so not everyone responds in exactly the same way to every medicine. And most of all, patients are people, not cases with labels like "dementia patient" or "Alzheimer's patient," etc.

So what do you do when someone close to you is diagnosed with, let us say, Alzheimer's and the doctors insist on strong medication; if you disagree, they tell you (i) they are the expert so you must do as they say – the first part is true, but not necessarily the second part; (ii) that if you don't something terrible will happen. "You haven't seen anything yet," they say. "It's going to get much worse." In other words, if you don't allow me to sedate your loved one, you won't be able to handle them later on. Or, should we say, you won't be able to handle this "case."

I have the greatest respect for doctors and, in particular, for neurologists, who put in years of effort and dedication to gain the knowledge they then use to try and keep us alive and healthy. I would not be able to look after myself without help from doctors and the medicines they have prescribed over the years. But I also know this: the final decision about what to put into my mouth, or how to cut up my body is mine. So is the responsibility. It is a decision that should be taken calmly, after weighing the advice of the professionals, ie. doctors. But it is not a decision to be made out of fear, because a doctor (or anyone else) says, "Wait till you see how much worse it can get."

Anything can be. We have to weigh the possibilities and probabilities for ourselves – and, sometimes, for our loved ones. And we have to consider our/their medical history, personality, beliefs etc. Some years ago a very well respected specialist scared me into having laser eye surgery that I now know I did not need at that stage. I might have needed it later in life, that's true – but I did not need it then. The doctor told me I could get glaucoma if I didn't have the surgery. That's true, I could – because anything might be. But I wasn't showing any signs of it then. Unknown to me then, there are eye drops I could have used to keep my eye pressure under control – which was not in the danger zone anyway, but "might have gotten there" in time. The doctor prescribed these drops – after the surgery.

I still have the greatest respect for this doctor. He advised me with the best motives and to the best of his understanding and his ability to project the future. But I made a mistake in making the decision to have the surgery when it was not needed, based solely on his advice rather than on his advice and my own assessment. No harm done – the surgery was minor and entirely successful. And a valuable lesson learnt: don't make an important decision out of fear of what might happen. Make decisions calmly and wisely. Use the expertise available to you, but make the decision yourself. And when you weigh the advice of experts, remember that a specialist by definition has a narrow focus, not a holistic approach. (An individual, as a human being, may choose to be both holistic and an expert in a particular subject, but this is an individual choice and an increasingly rare one.)

Coming back to caring for someone diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another "degenerative disease," this is what I have learnt from my own experience:

A diagnosis of Alzheimer's is based on a possibility or a probability – the disease can be definitely diagnosed only after an autopsy. Accept the expert's estimate of the level of probability, but do not confuse possibility with certainty.
Remember that a human being is more than a label, a word, a name or an illness. They are a whole person, with feelings, desires, thoughts, other ailments, strengths and limitations, joys and sorrows, and a history that has brought them to where they are. See them for all of what they are.
Not all human beings diagnosed with a degenerative disease change in the same way and at the same pace. Also, some elderly patients may face death before they "degenerate" as predicted. Anything may be, even this.
Be involved in the care of a person close to you. If you are the primary caregiver, then you are the decision-maker. Make wise decisions, calmly, based on the advice of experts. Wherever possible, be guided by your love for the person in your care rather than your fear of what they might – or might not – become. When making decisions, also take into account your own knowledge of the person (for example, in my mother's case, I know that she reacts strongly and negatively to many, many medicines and this is a relevant factor).
Remain open to all possibilities and all possible ways of helping your loved one. Consider alternative therapies, meditation, mental exercises, physical exercise including walking in a healing natural setting, engaging a companion or caregiver… Sing with them or play word games… Whatever they enjoy and whatever keeps them engaged.
Pay attention to their emotions and overall wellbeing. They deserve not only to be alive but also to be happy.

Alive and happy or long-lived and sedated?

2010-03-29T17:08:00.008+08:00

My mother, now 85, has practically no short-term memory and has been diagnosed over the past few years as suffering from dementia, Alzheimers, silent strokes, or various combinations of these. There seems to be a great need to give her condition a name. Depending on the favoured label, different doctors predict her further deterioration in different ways. Neurologists, who are of course the experts in this field, often prescribe strong medicines to manage her moods and modify her behaviour.

It seems to me that much of this attempt to modify her moods and behaviour is geared to keeping us, her family, happy. Most of the talk is about managing her symptoms, real and predicted, so that we have an easier life. What about a happier life for her?

So far, the only discernible mental deterioration is the loss of her short-term memory. Her deductive powers and her ability to resolve practical problems remain sharp. Her hearing is better than mine, her sense of smell is still sharp, her eyesight is reasonably good since she had her cataract operation. She can still add, subtract, multiply and divide in her head without any problem.

And her ability to feel is very strong. Small expressions of love and cherishing make her immensely happy. Conversely, lack of attention or respect make her unhappy. Pity or disrespectful behaviour and words make her angry. Her own inability to remember things frustrates her.

I see all this and try to find ways of keeping her happy - make her feel special in some way, let her know she's important to me and I love her, support her in something she says, praise her when she comes up with a good idea. I try also to play games that engage her mind and encourage her to walk and do simple yoga and meditation.

Some of her doctors, on the other hand, prescribe medicines that slow her down mentally, or leave her living in a mental fog. I can't imagine how this helps someone with a failing memory or a mental degenerative disease. If I oppose this strong medication, I'm told her condition will get worse and told of all kinds of dreadful future scenarios, especially by those who believe she has Alzheimers. Granted this is a degenerative disease, but who among us knows (i) if she really has this disease; (ii) if she does have it, exactly what course it will take in her case, and over how much time; and (iii) how much longer she has to live. In any case, I really can't see how a state of sedation and mental fog helps her hold on to her faculties, thus delaying the onset of that feared later stage.

Keeping her sedated does, of course, make it easier for the rest of us to "manage" her. Is that the goal then? What is a doctor's primary responsibillity - to enhance the wellbeing of their patient or ease the burden of her caregivers? To help the patient live as happy and fulfilling a life as possible or to keep her alive as long as possible albeit in a state of heavy sedation?

Love and loss

2010-01-26T03:39:00.011+08:00

Nine years ago today, my nephew died at the age of 20. It was the day of the terrible earthquake in Gujarat, western India, so we were among thousands of families who lost loved ones that day. But death is very personal and each family - and each individual - has to make sense of their loss in their own ways.

This is what I myself have discovered over the past nine years: life doesn't end with death, it carries on in some way we don't quite understand. Death is truly a transition - to some other way of being.

How do I know this? Because I feel Aftab's presence all the time, not in the recesses of my memory, but in this moment, as he is now. I can't describe exactly how he is now because I feel his presence in a way I am not used to and do not fully understand. I cannot stretch out my hand and touch him. I don't hear his voice or see his face. But I do feel his energy and occasionally I have a conversation with him without words, and once I have clearly received a message from him about a person close to both of us after she had passed on (basically to say that she was happy and well in spirit).

And no, I don't think about Aftab constantly or ask him to send me messages or anything like that. We just seem to make contact once in a while, perhaps when we are both thinking of each other, or when there is a special occasion (like today), or something to convey (like the message about our common friend). On a more "ongoing" basis, I feel very connected to Aftab - but not in the same way as I feel connected to family and friends who are still living on this side (on my side of the divider that is death).

In some way I know I am connected to him forever. This is not a thought in my mind, but knowledge in the depth of my heart, in my qalb, my inner-most heart, as a Sufi might put it. And somehow I feel that we are both connected to God too - perhaps it is God, or God energy, that connects us.

And now, without the complications of this-side-of-life, without right and wrong, without the need to influence each other in any way or change each other's attitudes - the only feeling that remains is love. And that love is by definition unconditional - since we're not trying to change each other in any way, not judging each other, don't want anything from each other.

There is little or no connection through the five senses that are the usual gateways to interaction in life - touching, seeing etc. That leaves only the heart and soul to make the connection, so I guess that's where the connection is made. If I try to evaluate this connection in the usual way - can we go out together for coffee or phone each other for a chat? - I guess I would say it is a less "sensory" or less "concrete" contact. But, without conditions and obviously not ending with death, it seems to me to be a more abiding connection.

This understanding - which has come to me gradually over the past nine years and which is still only a very limited understanding - has nevertheless brought a sense of abiding peace through the ability to accept Aftab's death and indeed all death. I do still miss the "human" contact with Aftab sometimes - but more often, I feel a sense of joy in the deep, loving connection I enjoy with him.

Quoting an old Irish blessing, I say to Aftab: "...until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand."

And I feel I have a new understanding of this short verse from one of Kahlil Gibran's poems:
You were born togther, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

A Systematic Plan for Change in the New Year

2010-01-13T16:14:00.005+08:00

A very happy new year all. I wish you good health, steady personal growth, joy and fun in 2010.

A new year is a time to make resolutions to change ourselves or our environment. Quite appropriately, then, I started the year by moving countries - from the Philippines to Singapore. As I sit in my temporary accommodation in Singapore, my shipment still on its way here, I have the opportunity to ponder how little one really needs in life. A bedroom, a sitting room, a space to cook, some clothes and other personal effects. The rest is all extra. It's fun and can add much joy to life, but it's good to know one doesn't absolutely it.

As for resolutions. How many resolutions have we all made in January, only to see them peter out by March or April? So this year, I've decided to choose just 2 goals and develop 2 change plans to achieve them. Not just airy-fairy wouldn't-that-be-nice kinds of resolutions but systematically planned change. So that I can stay focused on 2 things that are really important to me now and systematically pursue the changes I need to make to achieve them.

I will rely on something I have learned as a counsellor - a plan for change based on a specific, realistic and measureable goal, with defined strategies, identified triggers that lead to unwanted behaviour, little rewards for staying on track, periodic reviews, reminders of what I'm trying to accomplish, etc.

So, what say - wanna join me in making some serious changes in your life? Write in to share your ideas, comments or ask questions about setting smart goals, developing strategies, etc.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living

2009-10-27T08:53:00.008+08:00

An Encounter with a Guru

In his white robes and long black hair, he looks like a guru of yore and, indeed, he teaches a programme based on ancient yogic principles. But, though the basic principles are old, the routine he has put together is his own creation and is well suited to modern living.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, the world’s largest non-government organization, devoted to helping individuals live well and promoting global peace.The Foundation is best known for its basic Art of Living course, which is taught in 140 countries and teaches a daily routine of breathing exercises intended to keep the student healthy for life. It also aims to promote spiritual development and teach love and compassion.

Guruji, as he called by his followers, personally teaches some of the Art of Living courses, but many others are conducted by teachers trained by the Foundation, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Sri Sri teaches at the ashram when he is there; but he is often away, attempting to mediate peace in Sri Lanka, Iraq or whatever may be the latest troublespot.

Guruji himself exudes an aura of peace and gentleness. He smiles often, a slightly enigmatic smile, and speaks softly. Yet he has a commanding presence. At a seminar on happiness – a topic most people might consider rather difficult to address – he held the attention of hundreds of adults as he taught them to find the joy they had known as children.

In private, he was accessible, yet I felt there was an indefinable distance. Perhaps his serene expression and gentle, slightly other-wordly smile created an impression that he was in another realm, which was not accessible to me. At the same time, he was also very much in the room, with the rest of the small group, answering questions from a journalist.

He answered sincerely, explaining the goals of his foundation, yet retaining his sense of fun. Asked why he focuses so much on breathing techniques, he retorted: “Because no-one can tell me they are too busy to breathe.”

A light-hearted answer, but it showed how well he understands one of the greatest challenge most of us face today: managing time.

At the same time perhaps it was a hint that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. In public and in private, answering seriously or in jest, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar seemed to be a guru for our times, with a link to an ancient heritage.

http://www.artofliving.org/

http://www.artofliving.org.ph/ -- Philippine chapter

Mahatma Gandhi on service

2009-10-02T11:19:00.005+08:00

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. -- Mahatma Gandhi

An apt quote for those of us in a position to help others in the Philippines, Indonesia, Samoa, or anywhere else in the world.

Oct 2, 2009 marks Mahatma Gandhi's 140th birth anniversary.

Reiki Principle: Honour

2009-09-11T15:36:00.006+08:00

The 5th Reiki Principle for Daily Living: Just for today, I will honour my teachers and elders, and be kind to all living beings.

This principle clearly focuses on the two qualities of honour and kindness. In this post, I will focus on the first of these: honour. I will honour my teachers and elders.

Some Reiki teachers include parents and neighbours in the first part of this principle. One could also say honour all human beings or, indeed, honour all of God’s creatures.

We honour our teachers for what they have taught us. We acknowledge that they have helped us gain the knowledge or skill we now have and we honour them for having taught us that.

Teachers are any formal teachers, trainers, tutors – but also anyone else who is instrumental in teaching us something. Viewed in this sense, we find teachers in some unexpected places. For example, those who irritate us might teach us to be patient. Those we perceive as slow may teach us to be kind; they may unexpectedly display a skill that forces us to re-evaluate our opinion of them and teaches us not to be arrogant and judgemental.

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"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher. "
- The Dalai Lama
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We honour our elders because they have experience that we lack. Because of their greater experience they often also have greater wisdom. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the patience to sit still and let them impart their wisdom, their learning, to us. In our own impatience, we often write off our older folks as being out of touch with the modern world. But the essential wisdom of life remains valid in every era.

We honour our elders also because in some sense they are our own future. We will take their place and we, too, will be elders one day.

We honour our parents for having brought us into this world – for having given us the gift of life.
When we honour our neighbours, we really start to honour all human beings. We recognize and honour the essential divinity within, and we see that we are all connected.

We don’t always agree with our parents, teachers, elders or neighbours. We can still honour them for what they have brought to us, for the essential divinity within them, and for the fact that they are all connected to us.

Read about all 5 principles for daily living.
1. Just for today, I will count my blessings.
2. Just for today, I will not worry.
3. Just for today, I will not be angry.
4. Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
And, finally: Why just for today?

Celebrating my 50th

2009-07-26T12:06:00.007+08:00

I have enjoyed this life for 50 years. Wow. I decided to celebrate my half-century with those closest to me in a place where I can more easily sense the presence of one who lives within each of us but doesn't always feel that close. So off we went - me, my husband, my parents and my mother-in-law - to the fabulous island of Bali, also known as the island of the Gods. Yes, that one within who seems so close in the natural setting of this amazingly beautiful tropical island, where the people do everything as an offering to God.

We got ourselves a beautiful villa in the midst of rice terraces, banana trees, with a stream beside our home-for-the-moment and hills in the background. The villa had 4 Buddha statues, a Ganesha and two shrines.

The villa also had every luxury one could wish for - natural light, unpolluted air, water, cool breezes, greenery. A beautiful pool for our enjoyment (one could see the Ganesha and a reclining Buddha as one splashed around the pool). Extremely friendly and helpful staff who cooked us delicious meals and anticipated our needs before we did.

For the actual birthday celebration, we had a lovely, lovely Balinese dance performance in the villa. And the company of friends from Jakarta, including one friend we met after 7 years and a couple who interrupted their honeymoon to come celebrate my special birthday with me!

And now, we are celebrating with more family and friends in Singapore. Those who couldn't make it to either Bali or Singapore sent messages of love and good wishes.

I feel so blessed. A 50-year gift from God, the love and good wishes of family members (including cousins and aunts who phoned from India) and scores of friends, both old and new. My "3 parents" - all in their 80s - who made the birthday trip to Bali despite their health problems. My husband, who made all the arrangements and cheerfully looked after the old folk so I could focus on enjoying my celebrations and showered me with gifts and surprises and, and, and....

Quotable Thursday #12 - July 9, 2009

2009-07-09T12:19:00.003+08:00

A quote from God!

I found this fabulous quote on a friend's Facebook page yesterday - attributed to God. I haven't checked with my friend when God shared this with her or in what manner - but it's a great quote, so I'm sharing it with all of you anyway.

"Nothing's gonna happen today that you and I cannot handle." - God

Add your quotations in comments to this post, along with your links. I'll compile them and post them every 2-3 weeks. Meanwhile, other readers will see them in the comments here. Please also link to this post in your own blogs!

News and Views - Madoff; Burka (not connected!)

2009-07-09T11:12:00.009+08:00

I had planned a couple of posts for the past week - one on the Madoff sentence and the other on banning the burka in France. But it's been one heck of a hectic week - and about to get even more so!

Therefore, I will just leave you with my own "summarized thoughts" on these issues plus a few links for other views on these topics.

Madoff first. Of course what he did was really bad - some would say evil - but, seriously, 150 years? Seems a bit excessive, a bit vindictive and - partially - mis-directed. Seems to be an outlet for anger and frustration - fully justified - over the whole situation, which was caused by Madoff of course, but also by bad policies, insufficient regulation and everyone's greed - not just Madoff's. All of us succumb to this greed - we go along with the bad policies and the inadequate regulation, or the manifestly stupid self-regulation by big corporations, when times are good. We criticize countries like China for their lack of human rights and low safety standards, but if the price is right, we still buy from them. Etc etc. Madoff seems to have taken on atleast a hundred of those 150 years as a lightening rod for our frustration over the fact that the good times didn't last forever.

Read the New York Times report on the sentencing.

And now the burka. Like Mona Eltahawy, I too am a feminist and I too "detest" the burqa (unlike her, I am not a Muslim). I think, like Eltahawy, that it's an attempt to make women disappear - become invisible. However, I do not believe we can be free and also tell people what they can and cannot wear. This is the principle of the thing. It may seem overly idealistic, but I do believe principles are important and idealism is good, and so one can never be "too idealistic."

And, on a practical level too, enduring change comes through a change of heart and a change in one's thinking - not through imposition from the outside. If one looks around the world today one can quite easily see that in the longer term, one cannot force people to behave a certain way. Countries do not stay together forever through force (witness Tito's Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union); neither do blocs (Eastern Europe). China is facing this truth now in Xinjiang, after ignoring it for decades in Tibet. People do not "modernize" at the command of a Shah (Iran). Fundamental change takes time.

Another point, involving both principle and practicality. How much can one democratically regulate? There is a trend in France to ban all religious symbols - what about a cross worn discreetly on a chain around the neck? Or the Sikh turban, or the Indian - some say Hindu - bindi? If we ban the bindi, are we not putting ourselves in more or less the same category as the racist "dot busters" of some years ago? Meanwhile, what if I find this Chanel outfit offensive (picture, right) because the woman's face is covered by a veil (front page in today's International Herald Tribune, Asia edition)? Can we ban that too? This regulation of what one wears is, I feel, a very slippery slope.

Instead, one might consider ways of supporting girls and women who would like to resist any social/family pressure to cover up. One could encourage greater debate on women's rights, ways of dressing etc. More education. In short, persuasion rather than coersion.

Read Mona Eltahawy's very valid views, persuasively expressed.

And Ronald Sokol's equally valid and well expressed opinions.

Terataii newsletter, July-September 2009

2009-07-09T00:01:00.010+08:00

Email terataii@gmail.com for your copy.

This issue includes an introduction to mantra meditation, wise words from the Dalai Lama and others, a discussion of Reiki's 5th principle for daily living, news from the Terataii Centre in Manila...

Happy birthday, Dalai Lama ji!

2009-07-07T01:09:00.007+08:00

July 6 is the Dalai Lama's 74th birthday.

I join millions around the world in praying for his continued well-being.

On the occasion, a quote from His Holiness:

"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."

Please also check out his official website: http://www.dalailama.com/

And here's my post about my first meeting with him: http://terataii.blogspot.com/2008/09/meeting-dalai-lama.html

Quotable Thursday #11 - July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T09:51:00.003+08:00

Here's my quote for today, reminding us all to do our bit to make this a better world.

"I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
I will not refuse to do something I can do." -- Helen Keller

Please post a favourite quote of yours in a comment to this post, so we can all enjoy it. Happy quoting!

Quotable Thursday #8 - June 11, 2009

2009-06-11T17:41:00.012+08:00

To My Readers: An Update on this Post

Please read more great quotations on Happy Postcards, Music of My Life, and Barbara's Meanderings.

(Yes, I'm Mr. Linky this week, ha ha.)

Apologies for posting this week's post so late on Thursday - I've been trying to figure out why I - and some of my readers - are having so much trouble opening individual posts and comments on my blogs. I don't know if it's a problem (temporary, one hopes) with blogspot, or Mr. Linky, or both.

I'm playing it safe by not attaching Mr. Linky this week. (Mr. Linky has been sending out messages to all users asking them to avoid certain codes.)

Please leave your chosen quotation(s) in a comment to this post, along with a link to your own blog. I will compile the past few weeks' quotations - and your links to your blogs - in a new post soon so it's easier to read them.

Meanwhile, here's my quotation for this week:
"There is nothing like a dream to create the future. Utopia today, flesh and blood tomorrow."

-- Victor Hugo

A link to Quotable Thursday #7

Language Matters - enlightened or deluded?

2009-06-07T01:38:00.002+08:00

Sometime ago, I came across this fabulous phrase: an ego that thinks it’s wearing the Robe of Awakening.

This phrase neatly expresses the dilemma faced by both genuine spiritual seekers and the more shallow spiritual “do-gooders.”

I have come across a few people who believe they are spiritually advanced, but who are rather too attached to that self-image to be truly spiritual. One sign of this attachment is the need to always have the last word on everything, to show the rest of us that they are Wise, that they have all the answers.

Now all I have to figure out is this: am I myself a wise, discerning soul who sees the shallowness of others; or am a judgemental person, judging others from the perspective of my own ego? :)

How do we ever know if we are truly Awake or merely wearing the Robe of Awakening?

I found this wonderfully expressive and thought-provoking phrase on Michael McAlister’s blog Awake in This Life.

Quotable Thursday #7 - June 4, 2009

2009-06-04T09:05:00.011+08:00

Once more, a quotation from Shakespeare
Shakespeare is one of my favourite sources for meaningful quotations.
So here's my second quote from the bard in these Quotable Thursdays:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
-- William Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)

Of Shakespeare's plays, the Merchant of Venice is one of the best for quotable quotes. See a couple more quotations from this wonderful play at Pamposh Dhar and Wandering Pam.

To join with your own favourite:
Either leave a quotation in a comment below this post;
or post a quotation on your own blog, together with a link to this blog; then come back here to link your blog to this via Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post. As Mr. Linky is a bit temperamental these days, please also leave a comment here to say you are joining the meme.

Related links:
Another Shakespeare quote on this blog
A Shakespeare quote on Som's blog
Quotations - A Selection
Quotable Thursday #6 - A poem by Blake

NOTE: Mr. Linky removed.

T is for (Quotable) Thursdays

2009-06-03T19:07:00.010+08:00

ABC Wednesday and Quotable Thursday

It's T this week on ABC Wednesday over at mrs. nesbitt's - go on over to check out all the entries.

As for me, T is for Thursdays - when I get to host my Quotable Thursdays - so do come back tomorrow and join in with favourites quotations of your own - and read what the rest of us post too.

And, thanks to Tumblewords, I can say that T is also for The Thinker (see picture, left), by Auguste Rodin, the icon I use for Quotable Thursdays. (see comments below)

Everyday Spirituality

2009-05-29T11:36:00.007+08:00

Sometime ago, I mistakenly added a post here that I had meant to post on my travel blog. When I realized my error, I decided to leave that travel-related post here, on this blog about health, spirituality and overall well-being.

Because, after all, travel - especially leisure travel, or any travel that we enjoy - is related to our happiness, our sense of joy, and the expansion of our spirit. It is, quite often, a metaphor for our spiritual journey.

Travel that expands the mind and strengthens our connection with our fellow human beings is part of the spiritual journey. In such cases, a love of travel is a reflection of our spiritual seeking – an aspect of that within us which seeks knowledge and understanding, which reaches out to make connections with our fellow spirits across the world.

And it’s not just travel that has a spiritual dimension. I have already included some paintings and poems on this blog (not my own, alas). Anything that lifts the spirit is spiritual and can bring us closer to that supreme spirit to which we are all connected.

On my other Terataii blog (on the Multiply network), I’ve included some music that I really like and that I consider spiritual because it helps me go within to touch my own spirit.

Nature has both a healing and an uplifting effect on most people. Those of us who live in a city aren’t exactly surrounded by nature, but there are parks and trees and flowers in most cities. One can keep potted plants at home too.

I am fortunate to live in a beautiful old house in Manila, Philippines, with a small but lovely garden and a small swimming pool.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of birds and look out of my French doors type of window to see trees, water, a few beautiful flowers and, very often, a bird or two. One thing you don’t see often in the Philippines is a squirrel – I’m told they are not indigenous to the country. Yet, for the past week, one has coming by the tree outside my window at precisely 7 o’clock every morning!

I missed my squirrel this morning and wondered if it had moved off to brighten someone else morning from now on.

No matter. I fully expect some new, wonderful creature or plan to come by my window soon. For a while it was a lovely orchid that greeted me when I woke up. Then some beautiful pink flowers. Then a bird on the tree just outside my window. The bird was ousted by the squirrel. Wonder who or what will be next?

Quotable Thursday #6 - May 28, 2009

2009-05-28T08:40:00.009+08:00

It's Quotable Thursday again. So leave us an inspiring quote in a comment to this post, or on your own blog which you link to this blog via Mr. Linky below.
If you are posting on your own blog, please do post a link to this post, with or without the icon (life). And, since Mr. Linky is acting up again, please also leave a comment here.
And now, here's my quote for this week - a "poetic" one once again:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

-- from Auguries of Innocence, by William Blake

Older link:
Quotable Thursday #5 A quote from the Kashmiri poetess Lalla

[Mr. Linky removed.]

Quotable Thursday #5 - May 21, 2009

2009-05-20T18:52:00.020+08:00

Quote for this Week
The only offering you can make to God is your increasing awareness.
- from Four Questions, by Lal Ded, 14th Century Kashmiri poetess

She is possibly the greatest mystic poet/ess to have written in Kashmiri. Named Lalleshwari by her parents, she is affectionately known as Lal Ded (Sister Lal) in Kashmir. For some reason, internationally she is better known as Lalla.

Here's the full poem:

Who is awake and who asleep?
What is this lake that is continually
oozing back into the earth?
What can a human being offer to God?
What do we most deeply want?

The mind is what sleeps.
What recognizes itself
as God is awake.

This always-disappearing lake
is made of our appetites,
these movings-about,
this talking and listening.

The only offering you can make to God
is your increasing awareness.

And the last desire is
to be God in human form.

(Translation by Coleman Barks)

Please join Quotable Thursday by posting a quotation you like on your own blog, then linking your blog, or your post, to this one by using Mr. Linky below.

If you do not have a blog, you can still join the fun -- just leave us a favourite quotation in a comment to this post.

Previously:

A quote from the Dalai Lama - Quotable Thursday #4

[Mr. Linky removed.]

Postcard Friendship Friday

2009-05-15T14:57:00.011+08:00

Here's my entry for this week's PFF over at Marie Reed's Cpaphil Vintage Postcards.

This a drawing of La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, as seen from the lower part of Montmartre, a district known for its Bohemian past and night life. The Basilica is a beautiful large structure in startling white sitting atop the Montmartre hill and overlooking most of Paris.

This is how Wikipedia explains Sacré-Coeur’s enduring whiteness:
Sacré-Cœur is built of travertine stone quarried in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.

The Basilica overlooks night spots and cafés made famous in the works of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Moulin Rouge, right, from WebMuseum, Paris); Renoir (Bal au Moulin de la Galette, left, from Wikipedia); and others. At various points in their lives, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Modigliani all lived and worked in Montmartre.

P.S. - Just in case you're wondering, the drawing of the Basilica is not my own. :) It's one I bought in Montmartre during a vist to Paris some years ago.

Quotable Thursday #4 - May 14, 2009

2009-05-13T23:47:00.024+08:00

This week's Quotable Thursday meme is now open. There are two ways to join, one for those with blogs of their own and the other for those with no blogs.

Bloggers - Please place a link to this post on your own blog, together with your chosen quotation for this Thursday. You can add the icon (image) too, if you like. Then come back here and click on Mr. Linky at the end of this post to create a link from here to your blog. This will allow all participants to enjoy all the quotations - and will also bring a few more readers to your blog.

Others - Please add your chose quotation in a comment to this post.

My quotation for today:

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Older links:

Quotations - A Selection

Quotable Thursday #3 - Kahlil Gibran

[Mr. Linky removed.]

Quotations Quotations

2009-05-13T18:57:00.008+08:00

Quotations to inspire you, make you stop and think, or just bring a smile to your lips...

And add more of your own tomorrow when we play Quotable Thursday again -- wait for that posting!

With Mr. Linky acting up, we lost our links to the quotations of Week #2 – which was our most fruitful week so far! I will try to restore those links shortly. Meanwhile, here are the links we’ve garnered over the 3 weeks that Quotable Thursday has been running, in no particular order. The categories are my own and may or may not be a 100% accurate.

On action or “doing.”

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. – Kahlil Gibran, Libyan-American Poet (1883-1931)

Terataii Reiki and Counselling, Quotable Thursday #3

It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters. — Mother Teresa

Adage, Maxim and Quote, QT #2

The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible. That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras, 1942, translated from French by Lewis Galantière

Music of My Life, QT #2

On journeys/travel.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -- Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Wandering Pam, QT #3

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-- Robert Frost (from The Road Less Taken)

Wandering Pam, QT #1

Humorous and cynical quotations.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. – Abraham Lincoln

Pamposh Dhar, QT #3

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her. -- Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever. -- Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life." - Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. -- Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

A “musical” quotation.

Celine Dion: The Power of the Dream

Music of My Life, QT #3

People.

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. -- Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. -- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Terataii Reiki and Counselling, QT #2

Writing.

Poems are other people's snapshots in which we see our own lives. -- Charles Simic

Barabara’s Meanderings, QT #2

Easy reading is damn hard writing. -- Nathaniel Hawthorne

A Traveler’s Library, (TBR – Books Coming and Going) QT #2

Shakespeare.

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Terataii Reiki and Counselling, QT #1

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Som’s blog, QT #1

Wisdom.

Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; mastering the self needs strength. -- Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu

Pamposh Dhar, QT #1

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. -- Oscar Wilde

Ireland, QT #1

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful. – Mark Victor Hansen

Car Insurance, QT #1

A quote for our times.

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. -- Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

Barbara’s Meanderings, QT #1

Friendship.

But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. -- Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859

Music of My Life, QT #1

A Tribute to Our Mothers

2009-05-09T00:29:00.010+08:00

Mother's Day is just round the corner and the markets are buzzing with suggested gifts. No doubt Mum would like a lovely piece of jewellery, or a beautiful handbag, or an elegant dress... But I have something else in mind for her.

Here are my ideas:

Make a donation to other mothers in the world so they can nourish their own kids - in your Mum's name. Add your Mum's picture to the World Food Programme's "Wall Against Hunger," with a message to Mum.

In a similar vein, help a mother you know personally - give her something for her kids they need but she can't afford; or something she would consider too extravagant but the kids would love to have.

And finally, pay a tribute to your Mum in words or in pictures - or any other creative way you like. If you're a Nettie, you can post it on Facebook or your blog or wherever else your Mum "hangs out." If your Mum doesn't like the Net, you can always print it out for her. Or it can just be a private tribute that never makes it to the Net at all. You could present it to her over a quiet family dinner, or read it out to her (if it's mainly words) formally. Or present it to her along with a card and flowers and let her read it at her leisure.

Read my tribute on my Pamposh Dhar blog, written for International Women's Day in March. It's re-published now for Mother's Day on Tickled by Life. I'm going to print it out and present it to Mum on Sunday.

And here's Mum's picture on that Wall Against Hunger.

Quotable Thursday #3 - May 7, 2009

2009-05-07T00:40:00.014+08:00

To join, post a quotation (with name of author) on your own blog, then come back here and link to this blog (and all its readers) through Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.

Today, a quotation from Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Libyan-American poet/writer: A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

For those of you who understand Urdu, here’s a saying with a somewhat similar message: Neem mullah khatre iman, neem hakim khatre jaan. A more colourful version of the English proverb: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Meanwhile, Thursdays are bringing in some wonderful quotes on all kinds of subjects. Here are two of my favourites contributions so far.

From Bonnie Bonsai of Adage, Maxim and Quote: It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters. — Mother Teresa

And from Alana of Ireland: Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. -- Oscar Wilde

And now, it's your turn to add a new quote on your own blog, then link back to this one via Mr. Linky (look below).

[Mr. Linky removed.]

"The God Interviews" on Tickled by Life

2009-05-05T22:13:00.003+08:00

What is God?

Here are a few answers, according to contributors to Tickled by Life.

God is:

- the Life Force of the Universe

- everything and nothing

- a personal journey

- reality

- (and, my very own answer) - beyond definition.

Read the "God interviews."

Old wine in new bottles...

2009-05-02T09:24:00.004+08:00

or, old stories, re-published.

How precious is your life? On Tickled by Life. Incidentally, this is a great site for writings about alternative health and spiritual development.

Exotic Orient - Istanbul. On jiggoo. Another great site, this time for sharing stories of all kinds - you can search by the categories that interest you.

Quotable Thursday #2 - April 29, 2009

2009-04-29T23:20:00.018+08:00

It's time for quotations again. Please join this meme with a favourite quote of your own. Post the quotation on your own blog, then link to this blog by clicking on Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.

Here's my quotation for today:
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Be creative - post pix to go with your quote, post several quotes, based on a single theme, or not. Whatever you like!

And now, here's Mr. Linky - click here once your own post is up:

Mr. Linky's acting up! To keep the links current on Quotable Thursday #3 (see above) I'm afraid I've had to delete the older links from this post (Quoutable Thursday #2). My apologies. I will post the links here very soon so that you can all enjoy the excellent quotations from week no. 2.

[Mr. Linky removed.]

Blake: To see a world in a grain of sand

2009-04-29T12:49:00.001+08:00

To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

- William Blake, from Auguries of Innocence

In your light I learn to love.

2009-04-26T10:16:00.011+08:00

In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest

where no-one sees you,

but sometimes I do,

and that sight becomes this art.

-- Jalaluddin Rumi

13th century Sufi poet

Born in present-day Afghanistan, Rumi moved to Turkey at a young age, where he eventually founded the Mevlevi Sufi Order, best known for its Whirling Dervishes. Rumi wrote in Persian.

Join me with your favourite quotation

2009-04-20T16:03:00.011+08:00

Quotable Thursday #1

Welcome to this inaugural Quotable Thursday. Join the fun and spread some wisdom. Add a quotable quote on your blog - from anyone who inspires you, but please tell us who said it first (before you, that is), with a link to this blog. You can copy and paste this icon as well, if you like.

Once your quotation is up, come back here and link through Mr. Linky (just below). And leave me a comment, so I and my readers can come visit you and be inspired by the quote you’ve chosen.

Please don't forget to add a link to this blog in your own post!

Here's my own favourite quote for today, from Shakespeare (Hamlet):

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

[Mr. Linky removed.]

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

2009-04-14T15:27:00.003+08:00

This beautiful prayer has a special significance for me. It is a great prayer to use in contemplation or in guided (including self-guided) meditation. It is also, to my mind, a prayer that works well for a Reiki practitioner, who is after all a channel, or an instrument, for higher energies. And it speaks to me also in my role as counsellor.

The prayer is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. The version below is, according to Wikipedia, the most popular version of this prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Abc Wednesday: M is for Meditation

2009-04-14T14:44:00.022+08:00

M stands for magnificent magnolias, the moon, and mermaid, says Sylvia From Over the Hill. I'm joining the latest round of her Abc Wednesdays with my own M's. There are always many links on Sylvia's site, with many different and wonderful interpretations of a specific letter. So do check out Sylvia's own post.

As for me, I say:

M is for meditation.

Meditation of any kind: Vipasana, Shamata, Shunyata, Zen....

And, of course, mantra meditation. M is for mantras such as Om, So hum, Om tat sat, Om shanti, Om mani padme hum, Om namah Shiviaya... And for longer ones like the Gayatri mantra.

M is also for the malas used in meditation.

Each mala has a set number of beads with a symbolic spiritual significance.

One bead is set a little above the rest, with a small hanging made of threads. This lets you know when you have completed one round of the mala.

Terataii newsletter - get your copy today.

2009-04-01T22:46:00.010+08:00

Email terataii@gmail.com to get the latest issue.

Here's what readers are saying about it.
Amanda Kay: Thanks for the newlsetter. Great read! I particularly loved the article about the Sri Lankan editor and I checked out your Dad's blog. It's fabulous! It's so great he's doing it, I wouldn't know where to start! I'm glad you included The Instruction, it's a great book.
Manraj Grewal: I loved your newsletter. It's really, really good. In fact, forwarded it to my father, brother and husband as well. The two poems were so moving.
Jill Gale de Villa: Many thanks. Your newsletters are a real upper. They bring me out of the hassle of every day life to remember that if only I will sit for a while, there is another world.

Email terataii@gmail.com for this newsletter on holistic health and spirituality.

In the latest issue:
Applying Reiki's 5 principles for daily living in difficult times.
A Hopi poem on the soul's continuing journey after death.
A story about dharma.
And more...

Meditation and Contemplation

2009-03-30T09:11:00.002+08:00

Extracts from my article on the Anam Cara e-network:

"Meditation and contemplation are terms that are often confused with each other, a confusion often mirrored in our language. For example, when we say we “meditate on” a prayer or a passage from holy scripture, it is really contemplation we are talking about..."

"... meditation and contemplation are different, but connected, at times closely intertwined..."

To read the full article on Anam Cara, you'll need to sign in to this network on wellness and spirituality.

The Source of Reiki Energy

2009-03-30T09:05:00.002+08:00

An extract from my article on the Anam Cara e-network:

During a Reiki treatment, you usually feel energy moving through you, or within you, in some way. Often you seem to shake off unwanted energy and take in new energy. Sometimes you just feel energy shifting within you.
The common thread here is that you do usually feel energy in your body. What is this energy and where does it come from?...

To read the full article, join Anam Cara.

Mantra Meditation

2009-03-30T08:57:00.002+08:00

An extract from my article on the Anam Cara e-network:
As one’s meditation practice grows deeper, falling into a meditative state becomes ever easier. But for a beginner – and sometimes for a more “advanced” student as well – stopping the constant chatter of the mind can be extremely difficult.

One form of meditation that can go a long way to stop the chatter is mantra meditation. The Sanskrit word mantra (alternative spelling: mantram) literally means “mind tool.” Indeed, it is a most effective tool to help you still your mind.

A mantra meditation involves chanting a single word, a short phrase or a verse rhythmically and repeatedly. Chanting the mantra focuses the mind on the single thought of the mantra, driving out all other thoughts and, especially, stopping the tendency of the mind to jump from thought to thought. After a while, the mind focuses on the rhythm of the chant, transcending the words themselves. The sound of Sanskrit mantras also produce vibrations in the body and the aura that calm the mind and bring a sense of peace...

To read the full article, join Anam Cara.

At the feet of the Buddha (excerpt)

2009-03-19T09:51:00.005+08:00

Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka
Visited 1992 and 2005

Some 2,400 years after the Buddha achieved nirvana, I sat facing his reclining figure, drinking in the sense of peace and serenity I felt. ...

Read more here.

A Brief Introduction to Chakras

2009-03-02T16:44:00.002+08:00

The chakras are the subtle energy centres of the body. They are visualized as spinning wheels of energy or sometimes as lotus flowers that can be more or less open. The Sanskrit word “chakra” means wheel or disk (or something circular).

The chakras accept, absorb and transmit energy through our systems (both the physical and energy bodies).

There are seven major chakras (some say 8 or 9) and hundreds of minor ones throughout our system. Each chakra is associated with particular physical, emotional, mental or spiritual qualities.

For optimum wellness, all chakras should be healthy. Defining “healthy” is a complex matter involving the degree to which a chakra is “open,” how the energy moves within it, whether it is balanced within itself and in relation to the other chakras, etc. Old, unhelpful patterns of thought and behaviour often cause energy blockages and require us to deal with our issues and cleanse our chakras through inner work.

The Seven Major Chakras

1. Muladhara, known in English as the Base or Root chakra.
Location: at the base of the torso, in the perineum.
Associated with survival, basic needs (food, water, shelter), overall vitality, “groundedness;” some also link this chakra to a sense of “tribe” as in feeling connected to and identifying with a family or a community. Governs the adrenal glands, rectum, legs, feet, bones.

2. Svadhisthana, known as the Sacral chakra.
Location: lower adbdomen.
Associated with sexuality, sex, procreation, creativity and emotion. Governs the sexual organs, the reproductive system, testicles, ovaries; pregnancy, childbirth.

3. Manipura, known as the Solar Plexus chakra.
Location: Solar Plexus.
Associated with ego, a sense of self, power, will, self-esteem. Governs the pancreas, liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen; digestion.

4. Anahata, known as the Heart chakra.
Location: the centre of the chest (NOT the left side of the chest). Associated with love, at its best unconditional love; other emotions (including hurt). Governs the thymus and the immune system, the heart and the chest.
This chakra is a bridge between the 3 lower and the 3 higher chakras.

5. Visuddha, known as the Throat chakra.
Location: the throat.
Associated with communication; higher creativity or inspiration; self-expression as in speaking your truth. Governs the thyroid gland, throat, lungs; metabolism.

6. Ajna (pronounced Agnya), known as the Third Eye chakra.
Location: in the centre of the forehead or between the brows (opinions vary).
Associated with intuition, clarity of vision and clairvoyance. Governs the pituitary gland and hormones.

7. Sahasrara, known as the Crown chakra.
Location: top of head.
Associated with transcendental consciousness. Governs the pineal gland and the whole being.

St. Theresa's prayer

2009-02-16T13:14:00.002+08:00

May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Thank you, Mehru, for reminding me of this lovely prayer.

Illusion or Reality?

2009-02-08T17:00:00.013+08:00

I dreamt I was a butterfly, flitting about in the sky;
Then I awoke. Now I wonder:

Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly,
Or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?

-- Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tzu, c. 400 BC

Reiki Principles: Why just for today?

2009-02-03T11:20:00.004+08:00

In response to my post Reiki – 5 Principles for Daily Living, each of which starts with "Just for today," my friend Ronita asked (on Facebook): What about tomorrow?

Good question. Here are my thoughts on this.

Every day is “today;” tomorrow will also be “today” when it rolls around. So, the idea is that you remind yourself of these principles every morning as you start your day.

Resolving to follow these principles for a day is less daunting than making a life-long commitment, so we are more likely to make the commitment in the first place.

By reminding ourselves of the principles every morning, we are more likely to stay focused on them.

If our implementation of the principles is less than perfect one day, we can still start the next day with a new resolve to implement them as best as we possibly can.

3 Quotations from Mahatma Gandhi

2009-02-01T01:07:00.003+08:00

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

(January 30 was Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary.)

Reiki - 5 Principles for Daily Living

2009-01-23T10:41:00.003+08:00

Reiki's 5 Principles of Daily Living, given to us by Reiki founder Dr. Usui

Just for today:
I will count my blessings. Read more.
I will not worry. Read more.
I will not be angry. Read more.
I will do my work honestly. Read more.
I will honour my teachers and elders, and be kind to all living beings. Read more.

Why just for today? Find out here.

Reiki's 1st Principle: I will count my blessings.

2009-01-23T10:39:00.000+08:00

Reiki's 1st Principle for Daily Living: Just for today, I will count my blessings.

For me, the first principle – counting one’s blessings – sets the tone for Reiki's four other principles for daily living. If you are feeling unblessed at the moment, consider this gem (taken off the Net):

If you woke up this morning more healthy than ill, you are luckier than millions of people who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced war, the loneliness of jail, the agony of torture or starvation, you are better off than 500 million people around the world.

If you can go to church (or any other place of worship) with no fear of humiliation, jail, torture or death, you are luckier than 3 billion people.

If you have food in your fridge, clothes in your wardrobe, a roof over your head and somewhere to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the global population.

If you have just read this article, you are better off than about a billion people who cannot read.

Reiki's 2nd Principle: I will not worry.

2009-01-23T10:36:00.001+08:00

Reiki's 2nd Principle for Daily Living: Just for today, I will not worry.

Worry and its cousin, stress, have been conclusively linked to many illnesses such as hypertension, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s. Yet worry has become a near-constant companion for many of us.

The worst of it is that the more worried you are the less likely you are to think clearly and make good decisions. And, often, the more you need to relieve stress, the less action you take to do so – you postpone your exercise session because you are so stressed, or feel you are not calm enough meditate, etc.

Meanwhile, the worrying continues unabated, stressing you out, making you ill, pushing you towards knee-jerk reactions when you most need to think clearly, communicate well and make cool-headed decisions.

At times like that, it is very useful to take a deep breath and remind oneself of Reiki’s second principle of daily living: Just for today, I will not worry.

All the worrying in the world will not help us avoid the scenarios we dread. Taking preventive action might do that, but worrying is only likely to lead to bad decisions and inappropriate action. So, if we feel we want to plan for a future event, we should calmly make the best decision we can, act on it, then carry on living a calm and serene life.

In the present. Because we only worry when we forget to live in the present. We cannot worry about the present or the past, but only about possible scenarios in the future.
Another helpful idea is to meditate regularly. This helps us stay calm in difficult situations. A regular practice is also easier to keep up through difficult – or worrisome – situations, helping us counteract the tendency to worry.

To learn to live in the present, read Eckhart Tolle’s ground-breaking book The Power of Now.

Reiki's 3rd Principle: I will not be angry

2009-01-23T10:31:00.000+08:00

Reiki's 3rd Principle for Daily Living: Just for today, I will not be angry.

Can you imagine a life without anger? No bad feelings, none of the frustration that usually goes with anger, no damaged relationships...

Anger is among the most destructive of emotions. It harms those we vent it on, it harms our relationships and, most of all, it harms us. It raises our blood pressure, increases our stress, distorts our judgement, impairs our decision-making abilities, and puts us in a bad mood. When we lose our temper, we lose control of our mind too. The mind gets swamped by anger and we lose our ability to think straight.

Why then do we allow our minds to be taken over my this emotion? A common underlying cause of anger is our attachment to expectations, i.e. our desire that these expectations be met. Often these are expectations from others, but sometimes even from ouselves. When these expectations are not met, we tend to get frustrated and become angry.

We may get angry with our children if they don’t do as they are told, or with our partner if he or she doesn’t make enough money, or with our boss if we don’t get promoted, or with ourselves if we make a mistake.

Anger can also stem from feeling helpless in a certain situation. Let us say we feel unfairly treated by a person in authority, but feel unable to tell them what we think. Such a situation is likely to lead to anger that we suppress until we find a soft target for it. This is misdirected anger. The anger originates in one relationship but finds release in another. How many of us find ourselves more irritable with our kids or our household helpers on days when we feel our boss has been unreasonable in some way?

We cannot control all the circumstances of our lives – how others treat us or how others respond to our expectations of them, for example. But we can be in control of our own minds and therefore of our own response to any situation. We can choose not to be angry.

In March 2008, Chinese officials accused the Dalai Lama of inciting protests in Tibet and neighbouring provinces, and called him “a devil with a human face.” In response, the Dalai Lama continued to push for non-violent solutions. “I’m fully committed to eliminating negative feelings among Tibetans, and fear, distrust amont Chinese,” he told reporters.

He called for autonomy for Tibet and the preservation of Tibetan culture and declared himself ready for a dialogue with the Chinese authorities. Asked about the abusive language used against him, he is reported to have laughed and said: “As a Buddhist monk, whatever they call me doesn’t matter.” (The International Herald Tribune, March 22-23, 2008)

This put me in mind of a private audience I had with His Holiness several years ago along with a few friends. Speaking to us about detachment and un-conditional love, he told us we should even love our enemies. Yet we should stand up for what we believe to be right.

If we believe we need to oppose oppression, injustice, or any other form of wrong-doing, we should certainly do so; but without hatred and without rancour. We do what is right simply because it is right; not because we are in the grip of a passing emotion like anger.

How can the Dalai Lama laugh when he is called “a devil with a human face?” He can laugh because he is master of himself, of his emotions and of his thoughts. This self-mastery allows one to remain calm and stable in the face of any external circumstance.

There are many seminars on anger management and they are helpful in the short run for those prone to this emotion. But in the longer term, the idea is to develop a calm and stable mind that is not agitated by external circumstances. This is true self-mastery.

It can take weeks, months or years to achieve even a measure of mastery over one’s own mind. Giving up anger for a lifetime may therfore seem like a daunting task. But how about giving it up – just for today? Can we get through 16 or so waking hours without entertaining this emotion?
It’s certainly worth a try.

Reiki's 4th Principle: I will do my work honestly.

2009-01-23T10:24:00.001+08:00

Reiki's 4th Principle for Daily Living: Just for today, I will do my work honestly.

In its widest sense, this principle asks us to be honest in every step we take in life. Work is not just paid employment, it is also voluntary work we do to help others, it is building a family, it is nurturing children. In a spiritual sense, it is every action we take, and every thought and intention that leads to action.

The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian text which captures the essence of India’s Vedic philosophy, encourages us to make every action an offering to God. This would require us to act honestly and selflessly, with the highest motivation and a pure heart.

The Gita points out that every job has aspects that we do not enjoy or that we find difficult. But this should not stop us from doing it well. I take this to mean that so long as you have taken on a job, you should do it sincerely.

Don Miguel Ruiz, in his book The Four Agreements, puts this another way: he asks us to always do our best. In every situation, simply do the best you are capable of doing at that point in your life.

The Gita also tells us: “It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another: nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma, but competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity.” (Chapter 3, Verse 35, translated by Eknath Easwaran) The Sanskrit word dharma is best translated here as one’s purpose in life.

In the context of work, it follows from this that the first order of business is to find one’s dharma, or true calling, or at least to find work best suited to one’s nature, interests and abilities. This does not mean that one must do the same job throughout one’s life. As we continue to live and grow, it is but natural that, in many cases, the nature of our work may change as well.

Many people find what feels like their true calling in middle age, or even later. But all of their previous life experience has prepared them for the work they will do now and so this earlier experience should not be seen as insignificant. It is important that at every stage in life we do the work we are most motivated to do. At the same time, we should be wary of work that harms others -- or ourselves.

The Dalai Lama warns us against “misplaced tolerance” of bad practices that in any way exploit us or our co-workers. In The Art of Happiness at Work, co-authored with Howard Cutler, he says we should resist and seek to change exploitative or unjust practices at work, including lack of respect for ourselves or our colleagues. If we are unable to bring about positive change, then we must consider moving on to something better.

At the same time, we should train our mind to be calm, so that we can take action to resist, change or quit without frustration, hatred or despair.

In choosing our work, he says, we should look for what motivates us. Such motivation can include the desire to help others, improve the world or some other higher purpose. For some people the motivation may be simply to strive for excellence or to work creatively, he adds. For yet others, it may be the motivation to support themselves and their family. Helping one’s family is also helping others, he points out, and is a valid reason for work.

So how do we find the right kind of work? In Transform Your Life with Reiki, Anil Bhatnagar offers several very practical and useful suggestions to do just that. Among these: identify your talents and your special strengths, find the kind of work that gives you a sense of accomplishment, discover what you love to do and consider what you feel strongly about.

“You must find your perfect work to find fulfillment in life,” says Bhatnagar. Once you have found it, do it with joy and full attention, he says.

This is surely not hard to do when you enjoy your work and get a sense of accomplishment from it. Routine tasks, difficult jobs or long hours of work become enjoyable and easy because you can see clearly that they are helping you to achieve your purpose.

When Cutler asked the Dalai Lama about his own work, he wasn’t sure what Cutler was talking about. His job is so much his calling that he does not even consider it work. That’s how easy it can be.

Another Favourite Book

2009-01-20T18:58:00.000+08:00

Many Lives, Many Masters – by Brian L. Weiss
Brian Weiss is today the world’s foremost authority on past life regression. It all started back in 1980, when Weiss, a psychiatrist, hypnotised a client to help her access early childhood memories. Instead, Catherine, his client, went back into a previous lifetime! Neither Weiss nor Catherine believed in reincarnation, but neither was able to deny the evidence they were confronting. The book outlines several of Catherine’s lifetimes and other messages that she starts to channel. One interesting aspect of the book is the psychiatrist’s transformation from a “scientific” skeptic to one who is forced to believe the evidence that is repeatedly presented to him.
(I have seen Brian Weiss do a past life regression and, believe me, there was nothing fake about it!)

How Precious is YOUR Life?

2009-01-16T14:14:00.001+08:00

How Precious is Your Life?

Most of us are taught from an early age that all life is precious – or, at the very least, that all human life is precious. But how well do we really learn this lesson?

All spiritual and religious traditions, as well as the best secular value systems, tell us that life is precious. These traditions do not distinguish between individual human beings, assigning more or less value depending on race, monetary worth or any other criteria.

Yet, so often as a counsellor, I have met people who value their own lives less than those of others. I had a young client who literally couldn’t bear to hurt a bug – her mother told me of how she saved a beetle from being accidentally squashed and how they weren’t allowed to kill ants in their home. Yet this same girl often cut herself – mostly on her arms – with a blade.

I am not suggesting, of course, that low self-worth is an unexplainable phenomenon. During counselling, we uncovered certain incidents in my client’s childhood that had a very direct bearing on her lack of self-worth. Even so, is not surprising that she was so mindful of a beetle’s life and cared so little for her own well-being?

Another woman, a devoted and fiercely protective mother of two, tried to kill herself when she discovered her husband was cheating on her. Why would she put his fidelity (or lack of it) above her own life? Fortunately, she survived the attempt, got counselling and has not looked back since. Her love of her children has helped her to move on – and, I hope, also a newly-discovered love of herself.

The Bible tells us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. This assumes that we already love ourselves. That part – loving oneself – does not need an explanation. Or so one would think.

The Bhagavad Gita, which encapsulates India’s Vedic wisdom, teaches us that our innermost core, and our Highest Self, is atma, or soul, which is an aspect of God. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, when you fold your hands and bow to another, you are saluting that innermost Self: the Buddha within, the atma, the spark of divine fire at their centre. In return, they fold their hands in deference to the divinity within you.

All our lives are precious. In the overall scheme of things, your life is no more – and no less – precious than any other. But to you, it should be more precious because it is a personal gift to you, for which you alone are responsible.

Whatever our beliefs regarding creation, we all know we did not create ourselves. This life, therefore, has been given to us – as a gift. Do you treat this gift of life with the love and respect, and responsibility, it deserves? Do you appreciate, do you treasure, the most precious gift that you can possibly receive on this Earth?

The Cracked Pot -- A Story for Perfectionists

2009-01-12T20:15:00.000+08:00

An old teaching story from India (author unknown).

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on one end of a pole that he carried across his shoulders. One of the pots had a crack in it. The other pot was perfect, no cracks or blemishes of any kind.

Every day the water bearer filled the two pots in a stream and carried the water to the village chief’s house. By the time he reached the house, the cracked pot was only half full, while the perfect pot brought a full load of water to the house. This went on for 2 years, with the bearer delivering one and a half pots of water a day. The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and unhappy that it was able to accomplish only half of what the perfect pot did.

One day, as the water bearer was filling the cracked pot, the pot spoke to him: “I am sorry that I can’t deliver a full pot of water for you. I’m so ashamed of the crack in my side.” The water bearer looked at the pot, smiled and said: "As we make the journey to the house today, I want you to see the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the cracked pot noticed beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and the pot found its spirits lifting. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walked back from the stream, you've watered them. These flowers bring good cheer to anyone who passes along this path. People pick some flowers for their homes or to give to their sweethearts. By watering the flowers every day, you help to bring joy to so many people.”

We are all cracked pots, aren’t we? :)

Books -- Old Favourites

2009-01-11T18:10:00.000+08:00

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – by Deepak Chopra
In one of his best books – perhaps the best – Deepak Chopra explains seven principles taken from India’s ancient Vedic tradition to create a philosophy for good living. Following these principles can bring success in any area of life – career, business, relationships, health, spiritual growth, or any other field.
The principles are ancient, but Chopra has explained them in a modern context that is easy to apply to our lives today. Although easy to understand, they do need to be absorbed and applied to produce effect. In other words, the book does not offer a magic wand to wave over life, but rather teaches us spiritual principles for good living. Among the principles explained: pure potentiality, karma, detachment, and dharma.

Living Buddha, Living Christ – by Thich Nhat Hanh
A beautiful book written by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk to show us that all religious traditions are the common heritage of the human race. On the second page of his book, the author explains to us his view of the world of religion: “To me, religious life is life. I do not see any reason to spend one’s whole life tasting just one kind of fruit. We human beings can be nourished by the best values of many traditions.” In this book, he focuses on Buddhism and Christianity, “two of the world’s beautiful flowers.”

Some re-affirmations for 2009

2009-01-07T00:35:00.001+08:00

The Four Agreements, based on Toltec wisdom, as enumerated by Don Miguel Ruiz:
1. Be impeccable with your word. This one is about integrity and using the power of speech for good.
2. Don’t take anything personally. The way people behave with you says more about them than it does about you. Don’t take on other people’s opinions of you as your own opinion of yourself (or of anyone or anything else). Judge for yourself.
3. Don’t make assumptions. Find out how things really are – don’t jump to conclusions.
4. Always do your best. Do the best you are capable of at any given moment and then move on – don’t stop to judge yourself since you have already done your best.
The explanations are loosely based on what I remember from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book. For a better understanding, do read the book for yourself (don’t rely on my paraphrasing): The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Visit the author’s website.

The 5 Reiki principles:
Just for today –
1. I will count my blessings.
2. I will not worry.
3. I will not be angry.
4. I will do my work honestly.
5. I will honour my teachers and elders, and be kind to all living beings.
For a discussion of the first four principles, check out newer posts in this blog.

And, finally, a new year resolution taken from my own “other blog:”
I resolve to live in the awareness that I am connected to all other human beings, irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, and all the other divisions we have created in this world…

For inspiration, I turn to this quote from Sufi Master Vilayat Inayat Khan, courtesy the blog Inspirations and Creative Thoughts:
when one's consciousness is no longer tied
to a particular being
consequently one extends one's consciousness
from the cause of one's being to that of all,
all beings!

Jaime Licauco - A Scientific Mystic

2008-11-28T10:46:00.000+08:00

“The mind knows no limitations aside from those it accepts,” says Jaime Licauco, President and Founder of the Inner Mind Development Institute, Manila. This, in fact, is the motto of the institute he established in 1988.

The 68-year-old Filipino is his country’s foremost authority on inner mind development, paranormal phenomena and Philippine mysticism. He is also the author of a regular newspaper column and of 15 books.

He looks calm yet at the same time feisty – as if he’s ready for anything – and has a great sense of humour. He’s not a man who stands on formality either. “Call me Jimmy,” he said as soon as I was introduced to him.

We talked for a few moments before he began a presentation on Inner Mind Development. That sense of humour was evident the minute he began. “People ask me if I am a psychic,” he laughed. “I say, no, I’m a psycho.” When they ask if he is a mystic, he replies jokingly that he is a “mistake.”

Indeed he is a man who is hard to slot. His books cover topics ranging from Philippine faith healing to karma and reincarnation to intuition and, of course, inner mind development.

He believes the mind has limitless potential, but most of us limit ourselves through our own negative thinking. “Change the mindset – and all things change,” he said. We typically use only 10 per cent of brain capacity, he said. If we understand the brain better, we can use it more powerfully.

It is clear that he’s a man driven by curiosity about things that aren’t easily explained. To satisfy that curiosity, he has tried walking on fire and being hacked by a sword! He survived both and now believes he has found the explanation: anything is possible in an altered state of consciousness.

“Everything begins with the mind,” Jimmy asserted. The frequency of our brain waves can alter our physical reality. “If you slow down the brain waves – without falling asleep – you can do things you cannot normally do.”

Participants in seminars at the Inner Mind Development Institute learn about right brain and left brain activities; and about alpha, beta, theta, and delta brainwaves. In the basic seminar they learn to effectively use both sides of the brain. In the more advanced seminars, they learn how to consciously move between different states of consciousness.

Normally, we are in the beta state, open to our five physical senses. Through meditation, we enter the alpha state, where we are not limited by time and space. If we can slow down the brainwaves even more, we enter the theta stage, where we can control pain, bleeding, burning etc. This is the state in which people undergo bloodless surgery or walk on fire. The deepest state of all is the delta stage, in which we are normally either asleep or unconscious. However, if we can stay awake in this state, we can levitate, or bend objects through mind power, according to Jimmy.

For more information, visit:
http://www.jaimelicauco.com/index.php

Meeting the Dalai Lama

2008-09-23T20:17:00.009+08:00

In March 2001, when I was at the lowest point in my life, I went with my cousin to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, up in the Indian Himalayas, where he has lived in exile since 1959.
The meeting lasted perhaps 20 minutes – I can’t be sure because I lost track of time as soon as I met His Holiness. I can’t remember very much of what he said, or what I said either for that matter. Nevertheless, it was a turning point in my life and, in particular, in my spiritual growth.
At the time, he was teaching monks in all-day sessions and had agreed to meet us during the lunch break. I wondered with a twinge of guilt if I was keeping the Dalai Lama from his lunch. I figured he knew better than me if he could spare the time, but I was certainly grateful for his kindness and generosity of spirit.
My cousin and I were waiting for him when he came back from the morning session. As we greeted him, he put his arms around us and propelled us into the hall where we were to chat. I was struck by his high level of energy and his rather infectious good humour.
Everything I had read and imagined about him was true. He looks at you and you feel yourself becoming calm and peaceful. He exudes compassion. When he talks to you, all of his attention is focused on you.
What I hadn’t quite expected was the strength mixed with gentleness, the compassion that goes hand-in-hand with the cheerful smile and the deep laugh. I cried a little as I spoke to him of my troubles, he held my hands and comforted me not with platitudes but with spiritual truths. I was strangely at peace – even when I cried.
There was an indescribable quality to the meeting. When I came out of the meeting I felt I was walking a few inches above the ground. For several months after that, every time I struggled with a difficult spiritual issue, I would have a conversation with the Dalai Lama – in my head. And, always, it pointed me in the direction I needed to go.
Although I have only met him once more after that, I have in my heart accepted him as one of my gurus.
In the two meetings, he talked a bit about dharma (in its connotation of a commitment to spiritual growth) and about the spiritual principle of non-attachment. He talked not in a didactic way at all, but casually as if he were just chatting with a friend. He is, of course, a living example of these spiritual principles.
A link to the official website of the Dalai Lama: http://www.dalailama.com/

Reiki Practice -- Whose Energy?

2008-09-15T14:45:00.001+08:00

I think it’s very important for both Reiki practitioner and client to understand the role of the practitioner in the process of Reiki energy transfer.
To me, the practitioner is clearly a channel. As a practitioner, I try to be the very best channel that I can possibly be. But I don’t ever imagine that I am producing the energy that the client receives or, to put it another way, that the Reiki energy that the client receives is “my” energy.
A lot of Reiki literature describes Reiki as “universal energy,” but I have come to prefer the term “spiritual energy.” Both are correct, in my view; but when you think of it as spiritual energy you are more likely to remain aware of the fact that it comes from a higher source. At the very least, it is Higher Energy. If it were not, how could we trust it to always be a force for good, for physical wellbeing, mental peace and spiritual growth?
This is not an academic question. I have come across a few Reiki practitioners who complain of feeling drained, and even ill, after transferring energy to someone else. This no doubt makes them feel important and noble, but is good neither for them nor their clients. The practitioners could burn out in a few months or years; worse, they are liable to grow attached to a false image of themselves and their own power. Clients, meanwhile, would certainly benefit more from a Higher Energy than from a Reiki practitioner’s own energy, however good the practitioner might be.
There is the additional question of the energy exchange. Reiki clients are asked to give something in return for the transfer of energy, whether in cash or in kind, so that Reiki is not doled out as charity and so that the client is responsibly involved in his/her own healing. However, how can a client be expected to compensate the practitioner fairly if it is believed by both that the client is grabbing some of the practitioner’s own energy? And how can the client then not feel beholden to the practitioner?
A friend had broken her arm, but refused to rest it as advised by the doctor. She was too busy shopping for her son’s wedding, she said, to bother with that. The pain eventually grew excruciating and so she went to her guru. He did Reiki for her, literally taking on her pain, she said: “He looked ill and drained by the time we had finished, but my pain was gone! Isn’t he amazing?”
I wondered if she had stopped to think how she felt about having passed on her pain to her guru? Would she go back to him if the pain recurred, and pass on that pain to him?
This raises so many questions. What does it mean for the guru-shishya (teacher-student) relationship, including the respect that a shishya is traditionally expected to have for the guru? What does it say about the guru that he prefers to transfer his own energy rather than that from a Higher Source? What does it mean in terms of the client/student taking responsibility for her own actions – i.e. taking care of herself, resting her arm, or dealing with the consequences of her own lack of care? Can she simply ignore good medical/healing advice because there is someone who will “take on her pain?” Is her guru encouraging her spiritual development by supporting this attitude?
I admire the guru’s ability to transfer energies between himself and others; and his willingness to suffer someone else’s pain. But I do question his motivation – who does it help ultimately? I don’t see it helping the client/student to grow or to become more responsible; but perhaps it does help the guru to feel better about himself.
I realize this might sound judgemental. I’m not judging the guru himself, only his abilities (impressive) and what use he apparently makes of them (well…) I would be interested to hear what readers think. Please post your comments here or email them to terataii@gmail.com.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living

2008-09-10T17:25:00.000+08:00

An Encounter with a Guru
In his white robes and long black hair, he looks like a guru of yore and, indeed, he teaches a programme based on ancient yogic principles. But, though the basic principles are old, the routine he has put together is his own creation and is well suited to modern living.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, the world’s largest non-government organization, devoted to helping individuals live well and promoting global peace.
The Foundation is best known for its basic Art of Living course, which is taught in 140 countries and teaches a daily routine of breathing exercises intended to keep the student healthy for life. It also aims to promote spiritual development and teach love and compassion.

A light-hearted answer, but it showed how well he understands one of the greatest challenge most of us face today: managing time.