Invocation, Worship and Prayer

Having been raised in a Catholic school, I have been taught to always start any task with a prayer. When I was younger, I was taught a simple song that said the same; to start the very day with a prayer and offering. I taught the same song to my daughter. It goes:

In the morning when I wake up,

With a cross I sign myself ,

Singing, Jesus, I love you,

I give you my heart,

my soul...

 

As I grew older, I have gotten accustomed to seeking God's blessing and grace to fill whatever I lack. I am not really religious. I feel comfortable in my relationship with God. Although, often, I honestly take it for granted too. Especially as the days became busier and busier. It was easier to worry than to quiet down my soul in prayer. But I know well that prayer is important. It feeds my relationship with the Divine God.

My relationship with God is a constant re-nourishment and re-construction. I am stubborn. God loves me anyway. That is completely reassuring. An absolute comfort at the end of each day.

They say, in prayer, there are several expressions. Three of which are invocation, worship and prayer.

Invocation: 

Invocation is when we speak of God's qualities and say it as praises. God does not need our compliment. God will be praise-worthy whether we give it credit or not. We proclaim that God is compassionate, kind and just . God is. God will be. So, why say it still?

 

When we recite these qualities, we humans, slowly imbibe the same qualities in ourselves. In praising the qualities that God has, we receive the blessing and grace to be part of it. We receive that grace and blessing to slowly grow it in ourselves too.

 

Worship:

When we sit with God and be together with God; we worship. But how do we sit wit someone we cannot see? How can we be with someone who is not there? 

 

God is omnipresent. God is present everywhere. God is in fact a part of our soul, as we were made in the same image and divinity as our Creator. Hence, when we come into that peace of knowing God is with us and is in us; we are in worship. Worship leads to enlightenment.It brings forth contentment and a feeling of fulfillment from within us. It is like feeling the warmth and knowing the comfort you get from a blanket over your body on a cold night.

 

Prayer:

Prayer is a plea. Why do we plea and ask? We do so, because, we lack. And to whom do we plea and ask? We do so to those who have the abundance of what we lack. We do so, because it is with those who have abundance that we can hope we will receive.

 

Who better to plea and ask than the One who is ever abundant and has all. So, we go to plea and ask God. We say a prayer.

 

Are all our prayers worth the merit? Sadly, no. It is always said that God helps those who help themselves. Our prayers are worth the merit if we have given our best on the situation but still has not prospered or materialized. Our prayers are worth the merit if they are worth gifts before God - a worthy offering. It is no different when we ask help from our elders or friends after we have done all best and humblest efforts and still find it all lacking. 

We send up a prayer in acknowledgment that our efforts are not enough. It is an acceptance that God has what we need, and that God can provide what we need. It is not wishful thinking.It is seeking the blessing, grace and gift after our dedication and commitment to our task.

 

 

Invocation, Worship and Prayer; although often expressed through words are not limited by it. I have seen these beautiful expressions in many delightful ways. There are some who have given praise, spent time and spoken to God in varied languages as dance or movement, song, a painting and even in stillness.

 

It is between you and the Divine Omnipotent - the Almighty. Let not the world confine your invocation, your worship and your prayer. With this, may you be blessed. Always.

  

 

 

 

The Development of Spiritual Life

Spirituality has never been an easy thing to define. It is because, spirituality is an inner personal pathway that every one person would describe differently. It is not the same as religion. In fact, you can practice it even if you’re not religious.

But many people think that spirituality and religion are the same thing. They tend to bring their beliefs and prejudices about religion to discussions about spirituality. It is rather conceivable that being a religious person is not actually spiritual. We have observe many religious rituals done with lack of spirituality. Although all religions emphasize spirituality as being part of faith, you can be ‘spiritual’ without being religious or a member of an organized religion. Spirituality, in general is accepted as a sense of connection to something bigger than oneself, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. Different faith and religious groups can rely on spirituality to form bridges between their beliefs.

Many people still find that their spiritual life is intricately linked to their association with a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue. There are others who may pray or find comfort in a personal relationship with God or a higher power. And yet, we still have those who seek meaning through their connections to nature or art. Your spirituality, may change throughout your life, adapting to your own experiences and relationships.

Here are a few things I have found helpful through my journey:

1. Learn to act without desiring the fruit of your action. Simply throw your whole life into what you do until it is done. Then, drop it without thoughts about its results.

2. The spiritual manor woman no longer regards himself s an individual to pursue individual ends. Simply, an organ of the Divine life. He or she moves to express life as gratefully and happily as life can be expressed.

3. Do your best and be content under failure as you are content with your greatest achievements.

4. Do things in loving devotion.

5. Affirm basic goodness in all things.

6. Count your blessings.

7. Meditate or feel the inter-connectedness of all life.

8. Cultivate reverence and respect for all life.

9. Practice disinterest and selfless concern for the well-being of others people and creatures.

10. Follow a program for physical fitness and exercise.

11. Be humble.

12. Make a fuller offering to life and love everyday.

13. Show kindness everyday.

We don't get into developing it and perfecting it the next day. It is a daily investment of little actions and decisions. We may fail at it one day or second; but we just go on. Recreating another action as investment to our path.
 

Never Be Afraid to Start over Again

I used to get stressed over the feeling of restarting all over again. For a time, it felt, like an endless "restarting over again".

But 'cest la vie.

It is a new chance to rebuild.

While others get planted deeply and bloom...

Others get uprooted, blown by the wind and get replanted like wild weeds off to a meadow or valley.

Thrive. Just thrive and spread like wildfire.

Tell Your Story

I have vowed...

To never run from my past and be afraid of it's stories. I am boldly showing my scars and telling what I have been through. I am who I am today because of every spec of dust that yesterday gave me. I have overcome all those.

I may inspire. I may not. But I am happy where I am in this inconstant life. I am happy to keep moving, even if it means restarting or overhauling. I am an itinerant soul that will eventually leave too.

I walk slowly BUT never backwards

Don't rush me.

I am in no race. I am in no competition.

This is not your journey.

I have my eyes on my road.

My intentions are in my heart.

I will get to where I am destined.

If it tires you much to watch me.

Then, stop.

No one said I am putting a show for you.

As Lincoln said: "I walk slowly, BUT  I never walk backwards."

Three Breathing Exercises to Calm you Down

Here are three breathing exercises you can do on an idle time or downtime to calm you:

1. COUNTING RHYTHMIC BREATHS

a.       You can do this sitting on your chair. Keep the spine straight.

b.      Rest your hands palm up on your knees.

c.       Keep your eyes closed.

d.      To the count of 5 seconds inhale deeply and smoothly, fully inflating the lungs.

e.      Hold your breath 10 seconds with the mind concentrating on the energy in your body.

f.        To the count of 10 seconds, exhale through the nose smoothly.

g.       Repeat 3 times.

**Gradually, you can increase the retention time until you are able to hold it for 20 seconds.

 

2. ABDOMINAL LIFT

 

 

a.       Still, on your chair, with legs apart and heels flat on the floor.

b.      Keep the spine straight.

c.       Lean the body slightly forward.

d.      Press the hands on your inner thighs.

e.      Inhale deeply through the nose.

f.        Exhale vigorously through the mouth in a “HA” sound.

g.       Hold your breath and draw up your diaphragm, pressing it against the rib cage in a way that your abdomen is pulled in and upwards towards the spine.

h.      Hold for 10-20 seconds without breathing.

i.         Relax.

j.        Repeat 3 times.

**Eventually, when the abdominal muscles are stronger, you can practice a pumping movement by pulling the abdominal muscles then thrusting them out. Do this routine about 5-10 times while holding the breath. Repeat 3 times.

 

3. ALTERNATE BREATHING

 

 

a.       Position the right hand with your index and middle finger bent towards the palm.

b.      Place your right hand close to your nose with the thumb near the right nostril.

c.       Press your thumb on the nostril. Inhale.

d.      Breathe through your left nostril.

e.      Press the forth finger on the left nostril and release the thumb.

f.        Breathe through the right nostril this time.

**Position your left arm, palm up and resting on your knee. Fingers forming the “symbol of knowledge” pose.

 

 

 

Adventures on Backyard Farming

My mom was weeding the garden when I walked in. She wasn't only weeding weeds! She was plucking some plants which have grown as excess. I tried to salvage some. It was just too much of a waste.

Then, she happily said she had dragon fruit. Then she pointed to an almost dead-looking cactus sprawling under the big cycas/sago palm. 

I told her it's a cactus; and it needed better sun. She plucked it out and told me to plant it if I want.

It was dreadful to look at it. It was thin and lifeless-looking! I decided to cut it down and make cacti cuttings before putting it to the ground.

Planted it by a plant bed on the driveway. It's not the proper place to grow my fruit. But it will be a good bed for it while it recovers. I am looking forward to having lively horizontal sprawling dragon fruit tree eventually. Just like the ones I see browsing on the net. And from my estrange husband's aunt.

For now, let it be just these.

Culture & Tradition: Pasalubong

Pasalubong is the Filipino tradition of travelers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home. Pasalubong can be any gift brought for family or friends after being away for a period of time. It can also be any gift given by someone arriving from a distant place.

And even if it's not much of a distant bringing pasalubong back to the people you love is quite common in the Filipino tradition. Like, a parent going home from work will customarily bring something for the wife and kids. Likewise, a child may bring some small gift for their siblings or parents too.

It's a simple act of thoughtfulness we do :)

Island Hop: Bohol-Cebu

Because part of my life's journey requires me to do this...

Cebu Bound via Tubigon, Bohol (because it's cheaper)

And yes, the cruise took longer than the purpose of the trip.
Unfortunately, I cannot take the leisure of enjoying Cebu today.

So, I shall on the next.

For future reference: Tubigon - Cebu Ferry Schedules

Attempts on Poetry: La Gitana

image ctto

The Black Cat Called Ming

This is one of the many house cats here. She is not a pet but she is aptly called Ming. She is named after an old black cat we had ages ago who resided at my father's office.

 

The old black cat was a male cat though. We called him the CEO.

This new Ming, however, is a female cat. She is not kempt, nor groomed as she is not a pet. She has mothered generations of cats in the house. She still nurses even the bigger babies she had. Amazing motherhood shown by a cat.

 

My mother refuses cats inside the house. She isn't much of a cat person or a pet-person actually. Ming has been calling me by the window  since yesterday. And so today, I obliged her in.

 

I believe I have began another secret affair with a cat as she is looking for a better place for her new litter of kittens. The litter is inside my room. 

Scraps and a Wandering Mind: Art Attack

When you decide to do de-cluttering around your home and find way too much scraps...and somehow you have much creative energy to dispose ...

 At least I get a little something to put on my wall.

An Old Passion Revisited

I have not had a sketch pad for years.  In fact, I have rarely drawn, sketched or painted anything over the years.  If I did, they mostly ended I guess in trash as I have no trace of them.

 

Funny, a bit odd that while cleaning my new balai I found these pages from an old sketch pad.  The drawings were dated 1991.  That means these were artistic attempts from my high school years.

 

 

I had wanted to become an Interior Designer or a Fashion Designer then.  But I pursued Psychology without much regrets. 

 

 

At the moment,  I'm ambivalent on these sketches, and on whether I'd like to give this thing another try. 

 

 

Nota Bene: 

This was retrieved from an old blog I had. And that "new balai" was just another transitory place I lived a few happy moments in. Then, I moved along again...

 

At more recent moments; I have began my way to playing up on visual arts again...along with literature/poetry, crafts and a whole lot of crazy stuff.

Life In Retrospect

"You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.”

 

Well said right. If you won't turn the page, you won't get to the next events in the story. Es la vida; we have to move to the next pages too. It is not to say though that we forget the previous pages. IMO, it is totally moronic to read and read on without remembering what came before it. You will never understand the depth of the story. Likewise, you will not get your life in full circle if you keep heading on and ignore what has happened in your past.

 

Some wise men have said that our past should serve as our lessons. Aptly, they should. They can be shadows to help us appreciate what we have now and where we are now. Life in retrospect is, looking back and contemplating the past...not dwelling or living in it.

 

 

I've learned that there is nothing wrong or bad about our past. Those experiences molded us to who we are now. Of course, in all honesty, I had my moments of wishing I had done things differently and regretting whatever or whoever was in the past. But, what I eventually came to see is that for most cases, your important people don't and won't even remember those eventually. Of course, there are those who will judge you...we cannot control them. But those people who truly matter; those important people, they will seriously forget whatever went wrong and only celebrate your victory. In fact, even those haters can try to squeeze in  and bask in your glory when they manage to - makikisawsaw din sila sa tagumpay mo.

We all fall sometimes. It is how we pull ourselves together and rally in the present that makes the past worthwhile. 

Heto Nanaman, Bagong Yugto

Heto naman, bagong yugto. (This again, a new chapter). And we just move right along.             
I will admit to feeling lost for a while. But I am getting the hang of these shifts, transitions and changes.  The constant motion of an itinerant nomad is the destination. It is home.

I will admit to having ceased the wonder of new places, new people and new experiences; as if all these were mundane. Simply, because it's become too frequent. Hence, ordinary. But, I am choosing to regain that wonder. I am embracing wanderlust as a lifestyle. Life is not a journey. I AM TTHE JOURNEY. {A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. --- John Steinbeck}

The goal is to live life by seeing each day with fresh eyes. {We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. --- T.S. Elliot}

Still, the goal goes beyond just seeing. The core of the goal is to live. {Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. --- Mary Ritter Beard} 

Kaya, eto nanaman, bagong yugto. (So, here once again, a new chapter).

Moving right along....