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YELLOW PAD: Humanity's Team Philippines Newsletter SEP/OCT/NOV 2006
YELLOW PAD NEWSBYTES DATES AS VENUE FOR PARANAQUE STUDY GROUP The new study group for the Alabang, Paranaque, Las Pinas and nearby areas will commence in January 2007 with Humanity's Team Philippines Country Coordinator Art Subijano as facilitator. We expect Ursula Schloer, Raffy Diaz, Nikie and Erich Lingad, Sonny Faylona and Pol Urbano to attend this new group. Those living around the area are invited to attend. HUMANITY'S TEAM PHILIPPINES "CHRISTMAS EYEBALL 2006" Humanity’s Team Philippines in cooperation with Highest Vision Foundation will have their yearly reunion and Christmas celebration at Als Bar and Restaurant on December 3. Since there are many who haven’t met each other, they will be given mystery partners to make this event even more meaningful, exciting and, of course, fun. GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA: LOVE WITHOUT CONDITIONS While we mean this as it is, there is a very enlightening book by Paul Ferrini that is entitled Love Without Conditions. This season of love, joy, hope, generosity and celebrations, Ferrini's book just may be the perfect gesture of gratitude to unsuspecting loved ones. Each book is sold at Php 200 and displayed at Dates Café. * Als Restaurant and Dates Café are located in Als Building, Aguirre Avenue corner Presidents Avenue, BF Commercial Center, BF Homes, Paranaque City. For book reservations, please contact Pol Urbano at 842.5226. WHAT'S MORE IN YELLOW PAD: POWER OF TOUCH Written by Ishilta Edited by Firechild “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around” --- by Leo Buscaglia The hands are, by far, two of the most important gifts of the divine, for in our hands lie an enormous power, which can both shape and transform our lives as well as others, waiting to be tapped by anyone who deeply seeks it. By simply laying our hands on an afflicted or pained body part, we are already sending healing energy, even without conscious effort. Pain or uneasiness is an indicator that a specific part of our body needs attention, like a child seeking motherly care. When we place our hands on an afflicted area and focus our attention on it, the pain or tension will go away. The bible takes into account several instances when Jesus exercised his power of touch. In Mark chapter 7, Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. He also cured a blind man at Bethsaida and healed a woman with fever. In all instances, Jesus laid his hands on them. Mothers are well known for their healing touch. It is their maternal instinct that tells them how to administer their touch to ailing and crying children. A mother’s touch seems to be the most basic and instant remedy for children’s problems like body aches, tantrums, and even fever. It is also through their “touch” that they are able to express their tender loving care. Plants and animals also respond positively to loving vibes expressed by the hands. Plant and pet lovers can attest to this fact. The owner’s touch is as important as sunlight, water, food and shelter. Hence the term ‘green thumb.’ Animals, on the other hand, would love to be touched by their owners, especially dogs and cats. In the same way, we can utilize the power of our hands to effect healing in others as well in ourselves. There are numerous healing systems made available to us by great masters that make use of our hands, and one of these is reiki. Reiki is a Japanese healing technique rediscovered in the person of Dr. Usui. “Rei” means soul/spirit and “ki” means life force or energy. It can be used for countless purposes and operates in all levels of being, outside the bounds of time and space. While it is traditionally passed down from master to student through the process called “reiju” or attunement, reiki can be tapped and used practically by everyone who is willing to channel it. Long before I was introduced to the concept and practice of various energy systems, I had already discovered my power of touch at a very young age. I recalled a few incidents when two of our neighbors got miraculously healed right after I laid my hands on them while silently uttering a prayer of some kind. Through self-study, I pursued reiki and pranic healing to harness my inherent gift. Through my hands, I was able to help people get healed from their illness ranging from the simple allergies to the debilitating cancer. One way or another, I know I was able to ‘touch’ them. The hands can also be used to bless and empower. The mere act of touching someone while reciting a prayer spoken from the heart (either silently or aloud) is enough to summon divine blessings into the person. Similarly, we can empower objects or intentions with the use of our touch power. The latter can be accomplished by writing your intentions on a piece of paper and placing it in between your hands in a position of prayer while reciting a prayer or affirmation. So never underestimate the power of touch for such simple act can make a big difference and turn a life around. Share this gift generously with all sentient beings everywhere and use it to touch somebody’s life. Hence the saying, “Lend a hand.” Always remember that your life, your power is nowhere else but in your hands.
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WE ARE ALL PILGRIMS IN THE JOURNEY OF LIFE by Bisataoling Cebu Before we embark on the trip called Life, we have pre-defined our destination through our habits, "passports", and "visas". We often call it fate, destiny, dharma, blueprint or what not. Some chose to travel economy, others middle class and the rest high class. As we go along we meet the same people who also pre-decided their course with us. When we stop in a certain place we make our own choice. What to do there? Or, we simply go on to the next scheduled flight to another destination. No hard and fast rules. What we want is an expression of the kind of reality we want to experience. And the people we meet in life are all temporary. Some may travel the same as you have because maybe they are your soul mates, but then again the decision was made beforehand. When the trip is over – then you have to go. And just like Life, Death is temporary. Along your travel, you encounter some important people and you may idolize some of them. They are also angels in disguise as your co-travelers. You listen to every word they say, accept them, but you don't exactly duplicate or do as they do. As guides they are simply your own reminder about your plan. You have to live your own life or live out the original version of who you want to become because this is the nature of your own soul. Don't be attached to material excesses. They are sometimes hindrances to your travel. If you don't need them, then, of course, they are hindrances. Once you have them, use them. They are your toys, props, symbolisms, etc., but more than that they are NOTHING. THE NEW SPIRITUALITY'S 5 STEPS TO PEACE by Sandra Alzona Makati Allow me some meandering in relation with some of our principles as if I’d have to convince myself about these all over again and without the actual situations in my life that have led me more than a year into Humanity’s Team Philippines since February 2005. While I’m making most of this up, some are actual feelings and thoughts that floated over my head recently. Along the way, you will encounter other facts observed by Humanity’s Team such as what we see as the 5 Fallacies About God and the 5 Fallacies About Life, which our founder, Neale D. Walsch, so generously shares with us through his many good works. THE 5 STEPS TO PEACE: Allow ourselves to acknowledge that some of our old beliefs about God and about Life are no longer working. Peace? What is that? Somebody just stepped on my toe! I cannot possibly be one with this person and I cannot, will not ever breathe in the same room as this person! How can this person be God or a blessing? I’d be naïf to let this person be and let this person go. I’d rather spiral down into this mayhem I decided to create and get entangled in my own web. While others like me are plotting wars and killing children and civilians, I’m busy doing the same thing with this little power I have. I use my words, beliefs and education like dynamites and nuclear power. I must cling to the 5 Fallacies About God, which I’m most probably expressing as myself right now: - Humans believe that God needs something.
- Humans believe that God can fail to get what he needs.
- Humans believe that God has separated them from Him because they have not given Him what He needs.
- Humans believe that God still needs what he needs so badly, that he now requires them, from their separated position, to give it to Him.
- Humans believe that God will destroy them if they do not meet His requirements.
Could it be possible that my belief about God is the limit I place upon my ideal, highest, best self? I’m already behaving like this God of mine and making everybody else responsible for giving me my peace of mind. In that case, I think I must reflect on my beliefs. Explore the possibility that there is something we do not understand about God and about Life, the understanding of which could change everything. It is up to me to realize that this person was not living up to his or her highest ideals at the moment and neither was I. Perhaps this person had to step on my toe to let me know where I’ve been hurting all this time or that if I did the same thing I could be hurting others. To know where I’ve been hurting all this time may not be a welcome thought because it brings responsibility to heal and surrender right on my lap. There could have been moments in my life when I did the same thing or thought the same thing, so let me recall… How this person allows me as I allow myself to grow into an awareness I wouldn’t have known multi-dimensionally if it weren’t for this experience. Indeed this person is a blessing for I have made this person so. I create my life as one huge blessing! I choose to see all the goodness around me even though people may not have realized their own goodness. I let go of the 5 Fallacies About Life: - Human beings are separate from each other.
- There is not enough of what human beings need to be happy.
- To get the stuff of which there is not enough, human beings must compete with one another.
- Some human beings are better than other human beings.
- It is appropriate for human beings to resolve severe differences created by all other fallacies by killing each other.
I explore my love, joy, peace and abundance! And I explore the all-encompassing, all-embracing force in my life - God, the Higher Power, the Universe, the Source! I am at peace. Announce that we are willing for new understandings of God and Life to now be brought forth, understandings that could produce a new way of life on this planet. I meet people who see life the way I do and I get to share my new feelings about God and Life. I read books, attend seminars and participate in workshops that deepen my experiential journey. I talk about it with somebody. Before I know it, I’m living quite a different life than I used to. I look around and see the same potential the world has that I found within myself to change. Courageously examine these new understandings and, if they align with our personal inner truth and knowing, enlarge our belief system to include them. As I notice new situations cropping up in my life that bring me more peace, I declare myself with the quality of involvement I choose to have in the lives of others and affirm myself by being the peace ingredient in non-peaceful situations. I learn more about what peace is in relation with my own life, the people I live with, those I work with, my community and the world. At times I take a step forward and two backward. Express our lives as a demonstration of our highest beliefs, rather than a denial of them. As I have demonstrated, Humanity’s Team focuses more on innerwork which takes a lot of patience on the part of the person going through a situation and for those who are also involved for it not only makes us authentic human beings, we make sure that outerwork is not an escape from ourselves. We are a civil rights movement for the soul with thousands of volunteer stewards all over the globe. In the Philippines we have study groups, workshops and events where stories are shared, ideas are discussed and lives are changed for the better. We are many voices with many different messages about God and Life in the heart of which is that We Are One. We all have our own stories to tell. I’m sure you do, too. Each individual and community partaking in the service is courageous for making these 5 Steps to Peace over and over again until the whole dance of life is not only mastered but enjoyed. Each step is a miracle, so it would make sense to say that miracles do happen each and every day of our lives. Now isn’t that something to be celebrated?
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The above photo shows some of the participants of the Power of Touch Workshop, August 27, 2006. The photo below is Nikie at her baby shower, opening a nice surprise a few months before she delivered baby girl Samantha - her first!
IS RELIGION LOGICAL? by Ricky Maramba Paranaque Earlier, there was a caller on the phone and she asked me if I had a certain channel on my cable t.v. The caller was one of those people who preached religion. She was talking about salvation. To cut the conversation with her, I just claimed that I was a Buddhist and that I didn't believe in God. She then asked me if I was worried about my salvation since I didn't believe in God. Knowing a little about Buddhism, I said that salvation to me was not due to the belief in any deity but due to how you treated other people and through discipline of the mind, which can be acquired through meditation. I also added that if she did not meditate, she herself may have trouble with her salvation. I further asked her why the God in the Old Testament was very different from Jesus Christ. God in the Old Testament was very strict with loyalty to himself and allowed slavery and polygamy to occur. After a few more discussions, she just hung up the phone without any notice.
Religion is alive and well on earth. It is here to stay at least for the next few generations and will be shaping the political landscape of this planet. It is something so much a part of our lives and yet we must ask ourselves, Is our religion necessarily true or is it just there to give us hope and keep our ideas of right and wrong in place?
Even if we just take the bigger religions existing today as examples, we can see the differences, differences which sometimes will even conflict each other, differences which will show that not all the teachings of the religions can be true at the same time. On Jesus Christ alone, some believe he is God and man, others believe he was a prophet at best. Some believe in a creator God. Buddhism has no idea of a creator God. If you include other groups outside religion, the situation even becomes messier. Some believe that Judas was bad, others that he was good. Some believe that Jesus Christ never got married, some believe he did. The variety is astonishing, and yet some people believe in their Religion with no question.
What is this thing called faith? According to Webster...
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/faith
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof
(2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
synonym see BELIEF - on faith : without question Funny. There is no mention about logic. Number 2 says, "...firm belief in something for which there is no proof". Is this true? If so, what is the difference between 'faith' and 'blind faith'. Is faith then synonymous with superstition?
Of course there are things we believe even if we currently have no proof. But personally, I feel that ideas based on faith should never be passed on as truth unless the ideas have passed through a logical process. I went to a religious group before and they were giving me advice on life, and somebody said that their ideas were "according to their spiritual book". That was the only time in my life that I have heard such a statement come from a religious person. I felt so elated knowing that some people still have the decency to separate belief and truth. Remember, beliefs are not necessarily true.
Other people believe in their religion because of their sheer number. They assume that if their religion weren't true, they wouldn't have had that many devotees. Haven't they heard of marketing? If everything was based on truth, there would be plenty of salesmen and marketing people out of the job. There would be a lot less commercials on t.v. and less billboards on the streets.
Answer the next few questions truthfully. What is your favorite country? What is your favorite school? What sex would you want to be if you were to be reincarnated? What is the best religion?
What is the similarity of all these questions? If you'll notice, the answers to them aren't always arrived at logically. A lot of the answers are heavily influenced by loyalty. Did you choose your religion due to loyalty? Does one have to be a statistician to say that the religion you are born into is usually the religion you will have, possibly for the rest of your life. When one strays from his/her original religion, the usual answer would be to give his/her religion a chance or he/she should read more. How about giving the other religions a chance? People hesitant to read about other religions are like people afraid to try out computers and get out of the stone age. It is not necessary to remain in the religion your were born into.
Others have transferred to other belief systems at times when they were depressed and their religion could not alleviate them. Then another religion lifted them from their depressed state. Should decisions be made in a time of depression? This is like a person who is heartbroken from a previous affair and was courted by a person. He/she then answers her/him on the rebound. Are decisions made in such circumstances necessarily correct or even reasonable?
When different theories come out which question previous beliefs, I get to see different writers stating that there is not enough proof to say such things. One even said that the new ideas would not stand in a court of law. The big question is will any religion really be able to stand an inquiry in a court of law. It is really a matter of relativity. All sides may not be able to give proof beyond reasonable doubt, but some are just more believable than the others.
I feel that no belief system should claim or even insinuate that they are always correct. If all belief systems just claim that their ideas are 'theories' and based on certain spiritual books, then there wouldn't be much argument, would there?
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