In case the world ends tomorrow before I can post this post, I'm doing it one day early :D
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12/12/12
For most people, today is just another Wednesday. For me I plan it like National Holiday. It's the last "triple-digit" date until 01/01/01 in 2101...another 89 years.
What I did was a little bit of singing in the morning, a little of playing on the keyboard, a little bit of drawing, a little bit of video editing, a little bit rock climbing, a little bit of trumpet blowing, a little bit of running, and a little of going out to eat and shop. I was looking for a perfect (and cheap) drawing board. Who would have thought that I'd found it at IKEA!
What I did was a little bit of singing in the morning, a little of playing on the keyboard, a little bit of drawing, a little bit of video editing, a little bit rock climbing, a little bit of trumpet blowing, a little bit of running, and a little of going out to eat and shop. I was looking for a perfect (and cheap) drawing board. Who would have thought that I'd found it at IKEA!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Giving and Receiving
Old thinking:
Let's examine the old saying of what goes around comes around. This is what it teaches us. If I give person A something, person A should give me something back. Naive thinking? Definitely. What if I give something to person A, then A give something to B, then B give something back to me? Better, but still naive. In fact, if I give something to A, then A to B, then B to C...all the way to Z, then Z give it back to me, it's still naive. Why? Because it creates expectations. Failures to meet expectations create all sorts of heartaches and disappointments. What's even worse is that expectations create the illusion of control. If I give you money, you better do as I say, for example. Or if I love you, you better love me back...or else I will feel hurt because you gave me less love and you took more of it. The old way thinking would have us believe that Love is a commodity, quantifiable and negotiable.
New thinking:
What I give to others, I give to myself. This is what it means. I give person A something and I don't care if person A ever give me anything back. The act of giving itself has allowed me to increase my giving power and allow me to give even more.
Along the same idea we have this, I love someone and it doesn't matter if they never love me back. By giving love to someone or to something I am able to access more Pure Love from the source...thereby giving myself more Love.
This is the paradox. You cannot have Love unless you give Love. The soul's desire is not to receive but to give Love.
Receiving Love from someone else is an illusion. When the receiver says I feel his love for me, the receiver is actually feeling the loving feeling inside the giver (which in turn creates a giving response in the receiver making the receiver into another giver). The giver did not hand over any amount of love to the receiver. All the giver did was to tap into the source of Pure Love when he had chosen to give Love... and then the Love from the Source just poured out through him. The giver is actually practicing Self-Love when he gives Love openly.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Sins
There are no such things as sins...at least not as how the Catholics define them. But if there were, the greatest ones would be the lies that you tell yourselves. Before you can be ecstatically happy, you must first be brutally honest with yourself. You must admit the truth to the one person with whom you can never get away with a lie...yourself.
All frustrations and anxieties result from the soul knowing the truth while having to co-exist with the untruths created in the mind.
All frustrations and anxieties result from the soul knowing the truth while having to co-exist with the untruths created in the mind.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Reality
Nothing is real...except for what you believe to be real.
Whatever bad that had happened to you are only bad because you define it to be bad. Happiness begins with the realization that everything that has happened to you was either a birth of a miracle, a transformation of a miracle, or an aftermath of a miracle.
Past regrets and future worries only take you away from the present...away from the living.
In life there is no moving forward or moving backward. There is only growing or stagnating. The choice is entirely up to you.
To save the whales, you must first save the algae and work your way up the chain. To save the world, you must first put your own home in order.
In the search for greater understanding, don't waste time replacing your own box of wisdom with another seemingly bigger box. Stay within your own box and extend its limits instead.
To replenish yin in a yin-deficient patient, you need true yang, because only true yang can generate true yin.
Competition assumes that everyone wants the same thing and that the things they want are in short supply. Both assumptions are mere illusions instigated by the few to control the many.
The demons within are far more cunning than any demon you will ever meet in the street.
Life is a lot like surfing waves. Don't fight them, but don't avoid them either. Just ride.
When you hit bottom, there is no where left to go but up.
It's easy to forget about God when there are so many distractions. Sometimes you have be at your loneliest before knowing that He has never left your side.
Whatever bad that had happened to you are only bad because you define it to be bad. Happiness begins with the realization that everything that has happened to you was either a birth of a miracle, a transformation of a miracle, or an aftermath of a miracle.
Past regrets and future worries only take you away from the present...away from the living.
In life there is no moving forward or moving backward. There is only growing or stagnating. The choice is entirely up to you.
To save the whales, you must first save the algae and work your way up the chain. To save the world, you must first put your own home in order.
In the search for greater understanding, don't waste time replacing your own box of wisdom with another seemingly bigger box. Stay within your own box and extend its limits instead.
To replenish yin in a yin-deficient patient, you need true yang, because only true yang can generate true yin.
Competition assumes that everyone wants the same thing and that the things they want are in short supply. Both assumptions are mere illusions instigated by the few to control the many.
The demons within are far more cunning than any demon you will ever meet in the street.
Life is a lot like surfing waves. Don't fight them, but don't avoid them either. Just ride.
When you hit bottom, there is no where left to go but up.
It's easy to forget about God when there are so many distractions. Sometimes you have be at your loneliest before knowing that He has never left your side.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Imagine a world without credit
Imagine that you are on a fixed income and all 8 of your credit cards are maxed out. You barely manage to pay your debt and stay above water each month. Now imagine your boss's financial picture to be the same, and his boss's...and all the way up to the CEO. Now imagine your church, your hospital, your local grocery store, and your favorite restaurant are all in the same situation. And then imagine the governments of your city, your state, your country, and every other countries are all in the same quagmire.
Most of us are standing in the middle of a debt quick sand with no way to escape. We are so heavily burdened we can't move, even when we can see that we are slowly sinking beneath the surface.
The credit that gave us prosperity, better living standards, and growth is the same credit that will destroy everything that we have come to expect as a "normal" lifestyle. This "credit-way-of-life" enable us to live beyond our current means. It allows us to promise to give certain amount of our time and energy in the future for the exchange of goods and services now. It works only as long as we deliver on our promises.
But what happens if we promise to give 100 years of service when we only are able to give 40 or 50 years of service. We became cheaters to our lenders. All of us who are maxed out on our credit cards essentially signed a contract of 100 years of indenture servitude when we know that we won't even live that long.
So who are the lenders that we are cheating. Is it the banks? The governments? The corporations? Actually they are the depositors of the banks, the citizens of the governments, and the stockholders of the corporation. We are only cheating ourselves when we live beyond our means.
The credit bubble is stretched extremely thin. And it is about to pop. It will mostly likely pop where the promissory notes for future services are most outrageous...Greece.
However, Greece won't be the only one that suffer, because in this game both lender and borrower suffer losses. And as mentioned earlier, all of us are simultaneously borrowers and lenders.
Most of us are standing in the middle of a debt quick sand with no way to escape. We are so heavily burdened we can't move, even when we can see that we are slowly sinking beneath the surface.
The credit that gave us prosperity, better living standards, and growth is the same credit that will destroy everything that we have come to expect as a "normal" lifestyle. This "credit-way-of-life" enable us to live beyond our current means. It allows us to promise to give certain amount of our time and energy in the future for the exchange of goods and services now. It works only as long as we deliver on our promises.
But what happens if we promise to give 100 years of service when we only are able to give 40 or 50 years of service. We became cheaters to our lenders. All of us who are maxed out on our credit cards essentially signed a contract of 100 years of indenture servitude when we know that we won't even live that long.
So who are the lenders that we are cheating. Is it the banks? The governments? The corporations? Actually they are the depositors of the banks, the citizens of the governments, and the stockholders of the corporation. We are only cheating ourselves when we live beyond our means.
The credit bubble is stretched extremely thin. And it is about to pop. It will mostly likely pop where the promissory notes for future services are most outrageous...Greece.
However, Greece won't be the only one that suffer, because in this game both lender and borrower suffer losses. And as mentioned earlier, all of us are simultaneously borrowers and lenders.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Excess and Deficiency in Europe
If you follow the news in Europe, no doubt you are aware of the severe economic problem that it is currently facing. In the center of this economic struggle is Greece's national debt and how it affects the other countries in the Euro zone, specifically Germany (the richest in the European Union).
Germany feels it has the most to lose because it is paying for most of the bailout cost. So it feels justified to demand certain concessions from Greece. Following these concessions is tantamount to Greece submitting its sovereignty to Germany...an intensely sensitive issue since most Greeks still remember that 300,000 of its citizens died under Nazi occupation.
So the world ponders the question is it fair for Germany to interfere with Greece political structure solely on the basis of debt? Or is it fair for Greece to be so resistant to Germany's demands when it owes Germany so much money?
But here are 2 question that you don't hear most people asking? Did Germans think it was unfair when it extended generous credit to Greece in the early 2000's allowing Greeks to spend freely and in turn partly made Germany the rich nation that it is now? Did Greeks think Germany was so evil when it spent Germany's money and raised their own standard of living for over a decade?
The truth is when things are good, no one complains. When things are bad, it's always the other guy's fault.
But if you have been following this blog, you know the answer doesn't simply stop there. The question of what's fair is irrelevant. And so is the question of who is at fault. The purpose for this entry is the continuation of the subject discussed in last blog's entry. There is no ownership.
As long as the belief of ownership continues, the problem in Europe will follow its natural course toward violence and possibly war. What we have now in Europe is the richest nation hoarding everything that is has, while the poorest nation is being squeezed of everything it has.
If the idea of ownership is replaced with the principle of excess and deficiency, then rich nations will realize supplementing poorer nations early is the way to prevent catastrophe later on.
Germany feels it has the most to lose because it is paying for most of the bailout cost. So it feels justified to demand certain concessions from Greece. Following these concessions is tantamount to Greece submitting its sovereignty to Germany...an intensely sensitive issue since most Greeks still remember that 300,000 of its citizens died under Nazi occupation.
So the world ponders the question is it fair for Germany to interfere with Greece political structure solely on the basis of debt? Or is it fair for Greece to be so resistant to Germany's demands when it owes Germany so much money?
But here are 2 question that you don't hear most people asking? Did Germans think it was unfair when it extended generous credit to Greece in the early 2000's allowing Greeks to spend freely and in turn partly made Germany the rich nation that it is now? Did Greeks think Germany was so evil when it spent Germany's money and raised their own standard of living for over a decade?
The truth is when things are good, no one complains. When things are bad, it's always the other guy's fault.
But if you have been following this blog, you know the answer doesn't simply stop there. The question of what's fair is irrelevant. And so is the question of who is at fault. The purpose for this entry is the continuation of the subject discussed in last blog's entry. There is no ownership.
As long as the belief of ownership continues, the problem in Europe will follow its natural course toward violence and possibly war. What we have now in Europe is the richest nation hoarding everything that is has, while the poorest nation is being squeezed of everything it has.
If the idea of ownership is replaced with the principle of excess and deficiency, then rich nations will realize supplementing poorer nations early is the way to prevent catastrophe later on.
A New Life- Excess and Deficiency part 2
The concept of excess of deficiency has been running through my mind often since this new life-changing event took over my life 5 weeks ago. When I last talked about it, I learned that there is no such thing as fair or unfair.
The new revelation I am going to tell you today may offend your sense of righteousness. And it's OK to feel this way initially. However if it continues to upset you, then you must begin to question why you are having such a strong reaction to it.
There is no ownership...period. The money in my bank account is not mine. They money in your bank account is not yours. The expensive stuff you spent years accumulating in your house is not yours. The food in the grocery store is not the grocer's; nor is bread in the bakery belongs to the baker.
If this concept is too so far-fetched than perhaps you could apply it first to the parent-child relationship. You don't own your child. You merely are in charge of keeping him or her safe until he or she is independent enough to survive without you.
Everything that you own in the world is like your child. You are merely keeping those items safe until they are needed (by you or by someone else). And if someone else decides that he needs it more than you and takes it from you without your knowledge, then it's still OK.
I know MANY of you are outraged right now because it sounds like I condone stealing. However, in a world of no ownership, there is no such thing as stealing.
The new revelation I am going to tell you today may offend your sense of righteousness. And it's OK to feel this way initially. However if it continues to upset you, then you must begin to question why you are having such a strong reaction to it.
There is no ownership...period. The money in my bank account is not mine. They money in your bank account is not yours. The expensive stuff you spent years accumulating in your house is not yours. The food in the grocery store is not the grocer's; nor is bread in the bakery belongs to the baker.
If this concept is too so far-fetched than perhaps you could apply it first to the parent-child relationship. You don't own your child. You merely are in charge of keeping him or her safe until he or she is independent enough to survive without you.
Everything that you own in the world is like your child. You are merely keeping those items safe until they are needed (by you or by someone else). And if someone else decides that he needs it more than you and takes it from you without your knowledge, then it's still OK.
I know MANY of you are outraged right now because it sounds like I condone stealing. However, in a world of no ownership, there is no such thing as stealing.
A New Life 3- Sam
The discussion of a new life could not be complete without a discussion about Sam. After all, the purpose of buying the house and the truck was about building an educational environment for Sam.
For several generations now, most of us have believed education is the road to success. And it has been true to a certain extent. However, not everyone is meant to succeed in the classroom; nor is everyone meant to be in college.
Sam is here to teach me about education (specifically what education can potentially be)...and hopefully how other parents can educate their children.
I think the Universe has already set a curriculum for Sam even before he was born. In fact I think each of us has a curriculum tailored to our life purpose before we were born.
We human beings are not only "educated" by reading books and listening to professors in a classroom. Some of us are educated through painful experiences, or through a chance meeting of with a kind stranger, or through our parents, or even through our children, etc. This "Universe curriculum" is designed to make us be the best possible us that we are meant to be. If we listen carefully to our own intuition, we can learn how to move from one lesson to the next until we are ready to take on the responsibility that we are meant to do.
As parents we are so fearful of ruining our children's future that we tend to defer all of our educational decisions to the so-called educational experts, who arbitrarily set one standard curriculum for everyone. When our child shows no interest in what this standard curriculum teaches, we immediately think it's the fault of the child.
The future of education is inside each child. This is who we should listen to. The experts know nothing about your child, but you can be your child best listener. And it must be you who must provide the right setting for your child to learn. After all, God picked you specifically to be the parent of your child because you are the most qualified person for the job.
For several generations now, most of us have believed education is the road to success. And it has been true to a certain extent. However, not everyone is meant to succeed in the classroom; nor is everyone meant to be in college.
Sam is here to teach me about education (specifically what education can potentially be)...and hopefully how other parents can educate their children.
I think the Universe has already set a curriculum for Sam even before he was born. In fact I think each of us has a curriculum tailored to our life purpose before we were born.
We human beings are not only "educated" by reading books and listening to professors in a classroom. Some of us are educated through painful experiences, or through a chance meeting of with a kind stranger, or through our parents, or even through our children, etc. This "Universe curriculum" is designed to make us be the best possible us that we are meant to be. If we listen carefully to our own intuition, we can learn how to move from one lesson to the next until we are ready to take on the responsibility that we are meant to do.
As parents we are so fearful of ruining our children's future that we tend to defer all of our educational decisions to the so-called educational experts, who arbitrarily set one standard curriculum for everyone. When our child shows no interest in what this standard curriculum teaches, we immediately think it's the fault of the child.
The future of education is inside each child. This is who we should listen to. The experts know nothing about your child, but you can be your child best listener. And it must be you who must provide the right setting for your child to learn. After all, God picked you specifically to be the parent of your child because you are the most qualified person for the job.
Friday, April 6, 2012
A New Life 2 - The Black Truck
The biggest breakthrough I had with the recent purchases of my new things is this lesson. There is no such thing as "fair".
After buying my truck, I could not shake the feeling that I had made a "bad deal". Although I overpaid by a few hundred dollars, I knew the money was to help out the salesman and his family. And I was very OK knowing that I could help him and his situation. The funny thing is that if I had overpaid 10 thousand dollars for the house, I would not have even blinked twice. But this few hundred dollars lingered in the back of my mind like a rash in the middle of my back.
I have learned now that anytime an issue lingers around for days, usually there is a lesson to be learned. And this lesson is a "doozy". If there is no rule, then the correlation to the rule is that there is no "justice".
What exactly is "justice" or "fairness"? Each of us defines fairness as what is fair for me. Fairness is essentially another word for entitlement. When I get what I want out of a transaction, then it's fair. If I don't, then it's not fair. However, what construes as fair for me is inherently not fair for the other party.
Although I "overpaid" because the dealer had underestimated my trade-in, the price of the truck was already listed $4,000 under the blue book value. The asking price alone was enough to offset the money that I "overpaid".
Moreover, the money that goes into the salesman pocket was exactly the amount that I would have given my mother if she were here (but she is away in Australia). So the net gain or loss to my bank account is still zero.
Last of all, the fact that I got such a good deal in the first place was because the first owner of the truck had such a "bad deal" when he traded in his truck. So in the overall scheme, the Universe had granted me a very "good deal", but I kept having a nagging feeling that I had paid too much and somehow it wasn't "fair". Why? Because I had been conditioned by society to think that I needed to look out for number one...me. Everything that I am entitled to, I should have. If I have less than what I deserve, then I am either weak or foolish.
Nothing is further from the natural laws of the Universe. There is no such thing as fair or unfair. There is only excess and deficiency and how the two polarities harmonize with each other. One flows into the other until deficiency transforms into excess and the cycle reverses direction. The events that transpired over the last few weeks were the results of me currently being in the state of "excess of money". The reverse may be true in the future. In contrast, last year I was in a state of deficiency for companionship, and the Universe had conspired to remedy that situation.
When you are unable to harmonize with the natural flow between excess and deficiency, you personally encounter pain and suffering. This dynamics between excess and deficiency exists in everything: money, power, love, health, time, inner peace, food, etc.
What we have excess of, there will be opportunities for us to freely give it away. What we lack, there will be opportunities for us to receive. Be open to give and accept. Don't question. Don't analyze. Don't judge. Once we get rid of our individual sense of fairness, we can begin to see the Universe's sense of "fairness".
After buying my truck, I could not shake the feeling that I had made a "bad deal". Although I overpaid by a few hundred dollars, I knew the money was to help out the salesman and his family. And I was very OK knowing that I could help him and his situation. The funny thing is that if I had overpaid 10 thousand dollars for the house, I would not have even blinked twice. But this few hundred dollars lingered in the back of my mind like a rash in the middle of my back.
I have learned now that anytime an issue lingers around for days, usually there is a lesson to be learned. And this lesson is a "doozy". If there is no rule, then the correlation to the rule is that there is no "justice".
What exactly is "justice" or "fairness"? Each of us defines fairness as what is fair for me. Fairness is essentially another word for entitlement. When I get what I want out of a transaction, then it's fair. If I don't, then it's not fair. However, what construes as fair for me is inherently not fair for the other party.
Although I "overpaid" because the dealer had underestimated my trade-in, the price of the truck was already listed $4,000 under the blue book value. The asking price alone was enough to offset the money that I "overpaid".
Moreover, the money that goes into the salesman pocket was exactly the amount that I would have given my mother if she were here (but she is away in Australia). So the net gain or loss to my bank account is still zero.
Last of all, the fact that I got such a good deal in the first place was because the first owner of the truck had such a "bad deal" when he traded in his truck. So in the overall scheme, the Universe had granted me a very "good deal", but I kept having a nagging feeling that I had paid too much and somehow it wasn't "fair". Why? Because I had been conditioned by society to think that I needed to look out for number one...me. Everything that I am entitled to, I should have. If I have less than what I deserve, then I am either weak or foolish.
Nothing is further from the natural laws of the Universe. There is no such thing as fair or unfair. There is only excess and deficiency and how the two polarities harmonize with each other. One flows into the other until deficiency transforms into excess and the cycle reverses direction. The events that transpired over the last few weeks were the results of me currently being in the state of "excess of money". The reverse may be true in the future. In contrast, last year I was in a state of deficiency for companionship, and the Universe had conspired to remedy that situation.
When you are unable to harmonize with the natural flow between excess and deficiency, you personally encounter pain and suffering. This dynamics between excess and deficiency exists in everything: money, power, love, health, time, inner peace, food, etc.
What we have excess of, there will be opportunities for us to freely give it away. What we lack, there will be opportunities for us to receive. Be open to give and accept. Don't question. Don't analyze. Don't judge. Once we get rid of our individual sense of fairness, we can begin to see the Universe's sense of "fairness".
A New Life
I thought 2011 was a year of change. Boy, was I wrong! If I had turned the proverbial chapter in 2011, then I am starting a new book this year.
Within a one month period, I got a new house, a new neighborhood, a new diet, a new babysitting schedule, and a new car. One of those changes is enough to stress me out, but all of them happening at once is equivalent to a nervous breakdown. However, the best thing about extreme stress is the mental breakthroughs that emerge from it.
Each of the new things in my life gave me specific lesson, which will be covered over the next few entries.
I will start with the new house. It all started with my mom going away for a month. Without her presence, Sam began to show more of his individualism. It quickly dawned on me that he needed freedom, much more freedom than I ever had myself. As long as he was in his grandmother's apartment, there was no way to be totally free. He needed a house of his own where he could express himself without any restriction or guilt.
The search for this new freedom required me to step far outside my comfort zone. Everything that I knew about child raising had to be thrown out. Everything that I knew about raising a child from my parents no longer applicable to the current search. The lesson to be learned with the new house was that "there is no rule".
The traditional considerations that go into buying a house had no usefulness for me. I didn't care about school districts, shopping conveniences, distance from downtown, number of rooms, number of floors, proximity to family, resale value, etc. The only consideration was Sam...whether or not he would thrive in house.
In the end, by not having any rules or restrictions, I ended up with a perfect house, not only for Sam but also for me.
Within a one month period, I got a new house, a new neighborhood, a new diet, a new babysitting schedule, and a new car. One of those changes is enough to stress me out, but all of them happening at once is equivalent to a nervous breakdown. However, the best thing about extreme stress is the mental breakthroughs that emerge from it.
Each of the new things in my life gave me specific lesson, which will be covered over the next few entries.
I will start with the new house. It all started with my mom going away for a month. Without her presence, Sam began to show more of his individualism. It quickly dawned on me that he needed freedom, much more freedom than I ever had myself. As long as he was in his grandmother's apartment, there was no way to be totally free. He needed a house of his own where he could express himself without any restriction or guilt.
The search for this new freedom required me to step far outside my comfort zone. Everything that I knew about child raising had to be thrown out. Everything that I knew about raising a child from my parents no longer applicable to the current search. The lesson to be learned with the new house was that "there is no rule".
The traditional considerations that go into buying a house had no usefulness for me. I didn't care about school districts, shopping conveniences, distance from downtown, number of rooms, number of floors, proximity to family, resale value, etc. The only consideration was Sam...whether or not he would thrive in house.
In the end, by not having any rules or restrictions, I ended up with a perfect house, not only for Sam but also for me.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Does it ever gets easier?
If someone were to tell me two years ago that I would be going to school full time, taking 18 hours a semester, while taking care of Sam myself... I would have slapped him and told him to stop telling fairy tales!
But here I am...doing exactly that. What's even more amazing to me is that in a few months I'm planning to move into a house far away from my mom, who had been a great help to me at taking care of Sam. Sam and I will be completely on our own in a new house, with a new school district, new neighborhood, and new neighbors. I would have been paralyzed with fear just thinking about something like that 2 years ago.
It seems ever since V.A. passed away, things had gotten "harder and harder" (by certain definitions). The ride has been exhilarating to say the least, but it never got "easier". As soon as I overcome one problem another presents itself. My friend in HK is going through a particular difficult time right now...just after beating another life long challenge.
So...does life ever gets easier? For me...no. It will never gets easier because I had planned it that way. How else can I overcome my fear and grow if it's easy :D
But here I am...doing exactly that. What's even more amazing to me is that in a few months I'm planning to move into a house far away from my mom, who had been a great help to me at taking care of Sam. Sam and I will be completely on our own in a new house, with a new school district, new neighborhood, and new neighbors. I would have been paralyzed with fear just thinking about something like that 2 years ago.
It seems ever since V.A. passed away, things had gotten "harder and harder" (by certain definitions). The ride has been exhilarating to say the least, but it never got "easier". As soon as I overcome one problem another presents itself. My friend in HK is going through a particular difficult time right now...just after beating another life long challenge.
So...does life ever gets easier? For me...no. It will never gets easier because I had planned it that way. How else can I overcome my fear and grow if it's easy :D
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Shhh....don't tell my mother.
When I was in college one of my vices was to sneak away to a theatre by myself. It was a total pleasure being in the dark and having the director all to myself telling me his story.
It's a feeling that I try to recreate in everything I do now...whether it's washing the dishes or reading about magic; whether it's picking up Sam's toys after he had fallen asleep or making a powerful potion; whether it's staying up all night to cram for Herbology or stealing 30 minutes to watch an old rerun of Friends.
It doesn't matter what activity you have to do. If it's done as a joyful secret, you will savor every minute of it.
It's a feeling that I try to recreate in everything I do now...whether it's washing the dishes or reading about magic; whether it's picking up Sam's toys after he had fallen asleep or making a powerful potion; whether it's staying up all night to cram for Herbology or stealing 30 minutes to watch an old rerun of Friends.
It doesn't matter what activity you have to do. If it's done as a joyful secret, you will savor every minute of it.
Look at me, Ma!
While waiting for breakfast at Chik-Fil-A this morning, the hefty lady in front of me took two extra minutes to explain that she's getting breakfast for her employees because they would not think she's a good boss if she doesn't do it. She ordered only two breakfast sandwiches.
A daughter helps her mom to obtain a large loan to fix up a tear-down while none of her siblings is willing to because the house had been declared as "totally infested with termite". By entering this venture with her mom, she becomes the "only daughter that helps her mom".
A mom recites to her son her list of chores for the day and for the week. She wants her son to know how busy she is and how dedicated she is to this family.
All of us do it. All of us brightens up a bit when it happens to us...acknowledgement. But how far would you go to get it? Would you want it enough to prepare a meal, go into massive debt, or even lying to get it?
What is amazing is that all of the people above can have acknowledgement anytime they want and anywhere they need it. They need only to look in the mirror and be satisfied of what they see.
A daughter helps her mom to obtain a large loan to fix up a tear-down while none of her siblings is willing to because the house had been declared as "totally infested with termite". By entering this venture with her mom, she becomes the "only daughter that helps her mom".
A mom recites to her son her list of chores for the day and for the week. She wants her son to know how busy she is and how dedicated she is to this family.
All of us do it. All of us brightens up a bit when it happens to us...acknowledgement. But how far would you go to get it? Would you want it enough to prepare a meal, go into massive debt, or even lying to get it?
What is amazing is that all of the people above can have acknowledgement anytime they want and anywhere they need it. They need only to look in the mirror and be satisfied of what they see.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Excess and Deficiency
Last night as I sat in front of the TV for my mom to cut my hair, I saw an ad for a massage chair that costs $10,999.00 on a local Vietnamese station. It is essentially an over-sized Lazyboy that can squeeze your legs and your arms...something that you can do yourself with your own hands. So I made a comment of how could anyone afford something that ridiculous for such an outrageous price. And without a moment of hesitation, my mom said, "Trã góp." (which means "monthly payment" in Vietnamese).
Here lies the problem of most Americans. It actually shocked me to hear her said that. She would be the last person that I would expect to respond that way because she has no credit history and has always pay for everything in cash. But the mentality of "living on credit" is so pervasive that even she knows how to get something that is unaffordable by simply paying for it over 60 months.
The problem of paying over time is that people think they can make something unaffordable into something affordable. In reality if you can't afford it outright, you probably can't afford it ever. If the price seems ridiculous as a whole amount, why would it be less ridiculous if you break it into 60 payments plus interest.
We American consumers have been brainwashed by the retailers for so long that we can't even believe the facts right in front of our noses.
Of course, my mom would never buy that massage chair for that price, but only because she has no interest in such a chair. But if instead of chair for 11K and in its place is a new kitchen and dining room for 40K, she would not even blink twice before joining the rest of America to live beyond her means...which is exactly what she is doing at the moment.
Here lies the problem of most Americans. It actually shocked me to hear her said that. She would be the last person that I would expect to respond that way because she has no credit history and has always pay for everything in cash. But the mentality of "living on credit" is so pervasive that even she knows how to get something that is unaffordable by simply paying for it over 60 months.
The problem of paying over time is that people think they can make something unaffordable into something affordable. In reality if you can't afford it outright, you probably can't afford it ever. If the price seems ridiculous as a whole amount, why would it be less ridiculous if you break it into 60 payments plus interest.
We American consumers have been brainwashed by the retailers for so long that we can't even believe the facts right in front of our noses.
Of course, my mom would never buy that massage chair for that price, but only because she has no interest in such a chair. But if instead of chair for 11K and in its place is a new kitchen and dining room for 40K, she would not even blink twice before joining the rest of America to live beyond her means...which is exactly what she is doing at the moment.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Comfort and Learning
No one learns anything while being inside their comfort zone.
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. The noon mass was packed to standing room only. At halfway through the mass, the priests placed ashes on everyone's foreheads. When the last person had gotten his ashes, I looked around the church. It was more than half-empty. For most people on this day, the appearance of keeping their faith is good enough. As long as it looks like they are practicing their faith, people are content.
The day before Ash Wednesday, Samantha mentioned to me that she wanted to learn Kung Fu. It got us talking about the purpose of learning a martial art. If the purpose of a martial art is to overcome an opponent, then a martial art is only a stepping stone. When you learn a martial art, you are borrowing someone else's techniques. It is only after leaving that art to develop your own way of overcoming an opponent will you actually be "learning" how to defend yourself.
Bruce Lee received instructions in Wu Shu when he first practiced martial art, but he didn't really learn about his art until he developed Jeet Kune Do. Obviously, not all students who take up Wu Shu will go on to develop their own fighting system. However, unless a student knows his own strengths and weaknesses, he will never be able to apply what he learned to real life situations. As long as he stays inside the Wu Shu fighting system, he is inside a comfort zone that has everything spells out for him. No need to think. Just memorize and regurgitate.
Of course this principle does not limit itself to just martial art, but to all types of learning. I have already convinced myself to think outside the Western medicine box...AND preparing myself to be outside the TCM box in the near future.
Similarly, if a Catholic does everything the church tells him to do, then he hadn't learned anything about God. All he had done is to stay inside the comfort confine of the church teaching. All he had done is to color within the lines. Until he questions why the lines are drawn the way they are drawn will he start to learn about God.
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. The noon mass was packed to standing room only. At halfway through the mass, the priests placed ashes on everyone's foreheads. When the last person had gotten his ashes, I looked around the church. It was more than half-empty. For most people on this day, the appearance of keeping their faith is good enough. As long as it looks like they are practicing their faith, people are content.
The day before Ash Wednesday, Samantha mentioned to me that she wanted to learn Kung Fu. It got us talking about the purpose of learning a martial art. If the purpose of a martial art is to overcome an opponent, then a martial art is only a stepping stone. When you learn a martial art, you are borrowing someone else's techniques. It is only after leaving that art to develop your own way of overcoming an opponent will you actually be "learning" how to defend yourself.
Bruce Lee received instructions in Wu Shu when he first practiced martial art, but he didn't really learn about his art until he developed Jeet Kune Do. Obviously, not all students who take up Wu Shu will go on to develop their own fighting system. However, unless a student knows his own strengths and weaknesses, he will never be able to apply what he learned to real life situations. As long as he stays inside the Wu Shu fighting system, he is inside a comfort zone that has everything spells out for him. No need to think. Just memorize and regurgitate.
Of course this principle does not limit itself to just martial art, but to all types of learning. I have already convinced myself to think outside the Western medicine box...AND preparing myself to be outside the TCM box in the near future.
Similarly, if a Catholic does everything the church tells him to do, then he hadn't learned anything about God. All he had done is to stay inside the comfort confine of the church teaching. All he had done is to color within the lines. Until he questions why the lines are drawn the way they are drawn will he start to learn about God.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Learning and Forgetting - part 2
We visited a friend's house the other day and Sam wanted to play in the swimming pool. The temperature was in the 50's and the pool was not heated. We told Sam it was too cold but he insisted on going out there. It wasn't because he didn't understand what "cold" is. In the past, he had experienced snow, ice cream, ice cubes, refrigerators, and the Pacific Ocean. What he had not experienced before is a cold swimming pool. So after fighting with him to keep him inside, we gave up and let him go out there by himself. After 15 seconds he was back inside looking for a warm place to cuddle. This is learning and forgetting.
Understand a concept doesn't mean knowing it. I once worked with an Internal Medicine resident, who could quote the Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (12th edition) almost verbatim. It was truly impressive. Even after having extensive contacts with patients and their diseases, he would still explain medicine to us as if he was reading directly from the book. He was unable to talk about diseases in layman's term. This is learning without forgetting, which leaves little room for flexibility and revision. This way of learning also imprison you to someone else's words and methods. It will stand in the way of your mastery of the subject.
What is even worse is that learning without forgetting makes you lazy. If Sam thought that he already knew what cold was, then he would not even try to find out what a cold swimming pool is like. He would deprive himself of that experience from the very beginning. That is a danger of thinking that you are a master of a subject. You stop learning and start defending.
Learning and forgetting does not mean that you retain nothing of what you have learned. It does mean that you question everything in front of you and retain only that which resonates with you. If it sounds like selective learning, it is...because all learning is ultimately selective. What it isn't is learning with preconceptions and prejudices. It requires you to experience everything for yourself and not to accept other people's truth at face value.
Understand a concept doesn't mean knowing it. I once worked with an Internal Medicine resident, who could quote the Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (12th edition) almost verbatim. It was truly impressive. Even after having extensive contacts with patients and their diseases, he would still explain medicine to us as if he was reading directly from the book. He was unable to talk about diseases in layman's term. This is learning without forgetting, which leaves little room for flexibility and revision. This way of learning also imprison you to someone else's words and methods. It will stand in the way of your mastery of the subject.
What is even worse is that learning without forgetting makes you lazy. If Sam thought that he already knew what cold was, then he would not even try to find out what a cold swimming pool is like. He would deprive himself of that experience from the very beginning. That is a danger of thinking that you are a master of a subject. You stop learning and start defending.
Learning and forgetting does not mean that you retain nothing of what you have learned. It does mean that you question everything in front of you and retain only that which resonates with you. If it sounds like selective learning, it is...because all learning is ultimately selective. What it isn't is learning with preconceptions and prejudices. It requires you to experience everything for yourself and not to accept other people's truth at face value.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Learning and Forgetting
Have you ever noticed that every time you learn something new, you blind yourself a little? As soon as you are enlightened about a subject, it gets placed inside a box. Every philosophy offers a unique perspective. Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Shamanism are all different ways of looking at the world; but they are also different boxes that people use to hide themselves within. Some boxes are more comfortable than others, but they are all still boxes.
Mystics tell us that all learning is from within. Does that mean that outside world has nothing to teach you? The answer is no...and yes.
Yes, the answers are inside every one of us, but sometimes they need to be sparked. The answers inside us are like tiny tinders waiting for a lighter, which can be anything or anyone who inspires us. However, once the tinders are lighted, you extinguish the lighter. Once you have learned something new, you must forget what you just learned.
Once the tinders are sparked, the lighter has done its job. You continue to keep the fire going by adding more tinders, or more inspirations from within yourself. You don't keep the fire going by keeping the lighter on. The source of inspiration may have been started by something outside of yourself in the beginning, but getting to the Truth from that point on is a journey inward.
If you continue to preach and live the dogma that initially inspired you, then you are keeping the lighter going after the tinders have sparked and died away. You are no longer living your truth. You are only perpetuating somebody else's truth.
Mystics tell us that all learning is from within. Does that mean that outside world has nothing to teach you? The answer is no...and yes.
Yes, the answers are inside every one of us, but sometimes they need to be sparked. The answers inside us are like tiny tinders waiting for a lighter, which can be anything or anyone who inspires us. However, once the tinders are lighted, you extinguish the lighter. Once you have learned something new, you must forget what you just learned.
Once the tinders are sparked, the lighter has done its job. You continue to keep the fire going by adding more tinders, or more inspirations from within yourself. You don't keep the fire going by keeping the lighter on. The source of inspiration may have been started by something outside of yourself in the beginning, but getting to the Truth from that point on is a journey inward.
If you continue to preach and live the dogma that initially inspired you, then you are keeping the lighter going after the tinders have sparked and died away. You are no longer living your truth. You are only perpetuating somebody else's truth.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Oneness and the Ego
Both Jesus and Buddha took time away from teaching to meditate alone. There was no fixed amount of time set aside, but various sources suggested a couple of days out of the week, or a week out of a month, or 2 to 3 months out of a year.
This back-and-forth alternation between socialization and isolation is part of the rhythm of life. When you are among others, you practice selflessness or Oneness. When you are alone, you practice selfishness or Separateness. When there is interaction with people, you put aside your ego. When you are by yourself, you indulge it. You cannot be only in the state of Oneness, because you cannot experience Oneness without experiencing Separateness.
The ego is not inherently "bad". It needs to be nurtured just as anything else in life. Your ego only gets you into trouble when you let it control you.
This back-and-forth alternation between socialization and isolation is part of the rhythm of life. When you are among others, you practice selflessness or Oneness. When you are alone, you practice selfishness or Separateness. When there is interaction with people, you put aside your ego. When you are by yourself, you indulge it. You cannot be only in the state of Oneness, because you cannot experience Oneness without experiencing Separateness.
The ego is not inherently "bad". It needs to be nurtured just as anything else in life. Your ego only gets you into trouble when you let it control you.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A Course in Miracles - Day 13
A meaningless world engenders fear.
This lesson is another form of the previous lesson. When we perceive that the world has no meaning, we quickly give it meaning...from our perspective. Like the ancient Greeks, we create Apollo to explain movements of the sun and Poseidon to explain the sea. None of our meanings are real, but we believe them to be real.
This lesson is another form of the previous lesson. When we perceive that the world has no meaning, we quickly give it meaning...from our perspective. Like the ancient Greeks, we create Apollo to explain movements of the sun and Poseidon to explain the sea. None of our meanings are real, but we believe them to be real.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Rain, Rain, Go Away
A huge thunderstorm kept Houston wet and in the dark the whole day today. Earlier today I tried to make small talk with my mom about the weather. "It's quite a storm we're having," I said.
"The forecast on the news last night for today was 80% chance rain," she answered.
"Well, it's 100% now," I said.
"No, the forecast says 80%," she said.
"But it's raining right now!"
"Because the forecast for today was 80%!"
And so it went...
This story is not about how stubborn my mother is (although she can be very stubborn). It's about how ridiculous I was before. During my teenage years, I used to think if something is written in a book, it must be true. I would believe a book over actually seeing what is in the book for myself. I was a blind man reading about colors and thinking that I know what colors were.
Stop watching the weather forecast. Go outside instead.
"The forecast on the news last night for today was 80% chance rain," she answered.
"Well, it's 100% now," I said.
"No, the forecast says 80%," she said.
"But it's raining right now!"
"Because the forecast for today was 80%!"
And so it went...
This story is not about how stubborn my mother is (although she can be very stubborn). It's about how ridiculous I was before. During my teenage years, I used to think if something is written in a book, it must be true. I would believe a book over actually seeing what is in the book for myself. I was a blind man reading about colors and thinking that I know what colors were.
Stop watching the weather forecast. Go outside instead.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Highest Law
In the Dutch city of Makkinga, there are no traffic signs...not a single one. It is called "controlled chaos". Yet it is much safer than many of its European counterparts. The drivers in this city can no longer use traffic signs as an excuse for their bad driving. They voluntarily slow down and actually pay attention to their driving. They are more considerate toward older drivers. As for getting angry when someone cuts into their lanes? Guess what? There are no lanes in Makkinga. One of the project's co-founders, Hans Mondermansaid, said, "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."
The world we inhabit are full of laws and traditions. However, in reality, there are no laws. The laws we read in law books and the traditions that our parents and grandparents have followed are all illusions. The only laws that exists are the ones I write for myself or the ones you write for yourself. The only laws that I ever follow are the ones I deem worthy. Most of the time my laws would coincide with society laws. Sometimes I would find myself in situations in which society laws have not been written or society laws are wrong, then I have to rely on my own laws.
When I live under my own laws, I take responsibility for my own action. I can no longer shirk my responsibility under the cover of society laws. I define "society law" very loosely to mean anything that has been dictated to me or suggested to me. Any motivation that didn't come from within me would qualify as a "society law". Every action I take under my own laws is an act of real intent. Every action I take under society laws is an act of obligation. One is done under full awareness while the other is performed half-asleep.
Live your own laws.
The world we inhabit are full of laws and traditions. However, in reality, there are no laws. The laws we read in law books and the traditions that our parents and grandparents have followed are all illusions. The only laws that exists are the ones I write for myself or the ones you write for yourself. The only laws that I ever follow are the ones I deem worthy. Most of the time my laws would coincide with society laws. Sometimes I would find myself in situations in which society laws have not been written or society laws are wrong, then I have to rely on my own laws.
When I live under my own laws, I take responsibility for my own action. I can no longer shirk my responsibility under the cover of society laws. I define "society law" very loosely to mean anything that has been dictated to me or suggested to me. Any motivation that didn't come from within me would qualify as a "society law". Every action I take under my own laws is an act of real intent. Every action I take under society laws is an act of obligation. One is done under full awareness while the other is performed half-asleep.
Live your own laws.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
A Course in Miracles - Day 12
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
The world is meaningless until I assign meanings to it. If this world upsets me, it is because my projections of the world is upsetting me. If this world is a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, or a crazy world; it is so because I have designated so.
The world is meaningless until I assign meanings to it. If this world upsets me, it is because my projections of the world is upsetting me. If this world is a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, or a crazy world; it is so because I have designated so.
Eagle or Chicken - Your Choice
A man found an eagle's nest and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked.
"That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.
from Awareness by Anthony de Mello
All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked.
"That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.
from Awareness by Anthony de Mello
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Christ in All of Us
Last night I woke to the sound of Sam coughing at 3 am and could not go back to sleep. I suddenly felt I was finally ready to watch The Passion of the Christ, a movie that was released in 2004. For 7 years I wanted to watch Mel Gibson's vision of Christ's final day but was put off by his explicit graphic style. But like everything else in life, there is a time and place for everything.
As the movie unfolded it occurred to me that we all have a piece of Christ in our souls. The desire to reach out and help another, or even to sacrifice our own lives for another, is a basic nature of the soul. And to deny this basic nature is to deprive our soul of a fundamental need. To ignore this basic nature is to go against the Divine intention. In this sense it is a sin, because we are going against our Godly nature.
The second thing I realized last night is that not only each of us has a unique path to reach God (or Enlightenment, or Oneness, or Transcendence), but the arrival time of such a state is also unique for each one of us. Its arrival cannot be accelerated before its time...such is the way of our perfect universe.
As the movie unfolded it occurred to me that we all have a piece of Christ in our souls. The desire to reach out and help another, or even to sacrifice our own lives for another, is a basic nature of the soul. And to deny this basic nature is to deprive our soul of a fundamental need. To ignore this basic nature is to go against the Divine intention. In this sense it is a sin, because we are going against our Godly nature.
The second thing I realized last night is that not only each of us has a unique path to reach God (or Enlightenment, or Oneness, or Transcendence), but the arrival time of such a state is also unique for each one of us. Its arrival cannot be accelerated before its time...such is the way of our perfect universe.
A Course in Miracles - Day 11
My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
This lesson reiterates the idea that the world does not determine what I perceive. It is my thoughts that determine what I see in the world. Therefore I create my own reality. To see the world clearly I first must control my own thoughts.
This lesson reiterates the idea that the world does not determine what I perceive. It is my thoughts that determine what I see in the world. Therefore I create my own reality. To see the world clearly I first must control my own thoughts.
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Course in Miracles - Day 10
My thoughts do not mean anything.
To be more precise, my thoughts about things of this world do not mean anything. This lesson goes back to all the previous lessons, which tried to free my mind from the constructs built by this world.
This lesson recalls a recent lesson I learned from Sam, who loves to take all his toys (4 boxes full) and dumps them all over the bed right before bedtime. It takes him 10 seconds to create something that would take me at least 20 minutes to sort and put away. I would get mad because in my mind he is deliberately doing it to irritate me and to waste my time. But in his mind he is surrounding himself with all the treasures of his world before retiring.
I must look without judgment. I must see with a child's eye, as if I'm seeing these things for the first time in my life. And when I do, I no longer will have preconceived ideas of what I am seeing. My mind will be uncluttered of meaningless thoughts about this world...leaving it cleared to hear God's will.
To be more precise, my thoughts about things of this world do not mean anything. This lesson goes back to all the previous lessons, which tried to free my mind from the constructs built by this world.
This lesson recalls a recent lesson I learned from Sam, who loves to take all his toys (4 boxes full) and dumps them all over the bed right before bedtime. It takes him 10 seconds to create something that would take me at least 20 minutes to sort and put away. I would get mad because in my mind he is deliberately doing it to irritate me and to waste my time. But in his mind he is surrounding himself with all the treasures of his world before retiring.
I must look without judgment. I must see with a child's eye, as if I'm seeing these things for the first time in my life. And when I do, I no longer will have preconceived ideas of what I am seeing. My mind will be uncluttered of meaningless thoughts about this world...leaving it cleared to hear God's will.
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