...LIEVE. We are allowed to believe in and pursue our dreams. Even though others might think we're crazy or might resent us for following a less orthodox path, what we think of ourselves is really the key.
The people who know us and see our flaws and the madness of our pursuits, yet still love us all the same, are our guides, our supporters, and our healers. We can be inspired by how they live their lives and be encouraged when they achieve their dreams.
They don't always have to be right by our side 24-7, but they are always there just because they know who we really are, and that's what matters.
Keep believing. Never give up on what your heart wants the most. Even if we never get what we want, let's continue to reach for it. We will always give our very best to the world and to ourselves if what we want is worth trying for.
We all deserve what we want, no matter how crazy those wishes may be. No one has a right to judge what anyone else wants. Sometimes what we want is in conflict with what someone else wants. Instead of fighting about it, we can challenge ourselves by exploring our intentions and motivations and test our adaptiveness to the situation. When we are at peace, we can see more clearly. In this way, we can change. We can move in new directions that can also bring us closer to what we want, but in a different form.
We have to adapt. We have to evolve. We have to be open to the possibilities the universe presents us. We have to believe in our dreams but also understand that achieving our dreams is not the result of a lifetime of effort, but another door that opens to newer dreams.
It is my hope that the dreams I have will lead me to Love. Love that is all-encompassing and compassionate. Love that accepts the uncertainty of the universe and adapts. Love that brings me closer to God. Love that is unified, strong, and effortless.
Whatever my dreams are as a writer and a musician, may these dreams continue to lead me along the path of Love and to Love.
Don't worry, BELIEVE.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Welcome to Buddhism
Eight Verses for Training the Mind
by Langri Thangpa
With a determination to accomplish
The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel
I will learn to hold them supremely dear.
Whenever I associate with others I will learn
To think of myself as the lowest among all
And respectfully hold others to be supreme
From the very depths of my heart.
In all actions I will learn to search into my mind
And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises
Endangering myself and others
Will firmly face and avert it.
I will learn to cherish beings of bad nature
And those oppressed by strong sins and suffering
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find.
When others out of jealousy treat me badly
With abuse, slander, and so on,
I will learn to take on all loss,
And offer victory to them.
When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.
In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception
All help and happiness directly and indirectly
And respectfully take upon myself
All harm and suffering of my mothers.
I will learn to keep all these practices
Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions
And by understanding all phenomena as like illusions
Be released from the bondage of attachment.
by Langri Thangpa
With a determination to accomplish
The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel
I will learn to hold them supremely dear.
Whenever I associate with others I will learn
To think of myself as the lowest among all
And respectfully hold others to be supreme
From the very depths of my heart.
In all actions I will learn to search into my mind
And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises
Endangering myself and others
Will firmly face and avert it.
I will learn to cherish beings of bad nature
And those oppressed by strong sins and suffering
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find.
When others out of jealousy treat me badly
With abuse, slander, and so on,
I will learn to take on all loss,
And offer victory to them.
When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.
In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception
All help and happiness directly and indirectly
And respectfully take upon myself
All harm and suffering of my mothers.
I will learn to keep all these practices
Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions
And by understanding all phenomena as like illusions
Be released from the bondage of attachment.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
CORE VALUES
RESPECT
...yourself, your health, your body, people in your life who choose a different way of living, animals, the planet...everything and everyone.
COMMITMENT
...to your goals; follow through; give 100%; do things within your present capabilities; work hard and you will achieve.
HONESTY
...comes with respect for yourself and others; respect privacy; trust; ethics.
INTEGRITY
Adhere to the highest standards professionally and personally; always give your best in every situation regardless of how another person might react; an eye for an eye doesn't always work and creates long-term damage; choose the higher road in any conflict.
LOVE AND COMPASSION
Put yourself in other people's shoes no matter who they are and what they have done and what they have done to you.
KNOWLEDGE AND GROWTH
Challenge yourself by questioning what you know (to be true); welcome new perspectives and be open to them; we resist change but when we accept change, it can be truly liberating; enter a different state of consciousness; make choices that make the world a better place for everyone and not just a chosen few; be self-informed and self-aware.
LESS IS MORE
Avoid over-indulgence; limit spending and waste; check for excessive packaging when buying material goods; learn to go without; simplicity in life will create abundance for everyone.
HUMILITY
Learn from your mistakes; arrogance and guilt tactics never solve the problem and are usually remembered forever; blaming others is our way of avoiding change within ourselves; hating on you becomes hating on others.
PASSION
Live each moment; listen intently; appreciate everything!!
FAITH
Believe in yourself; believe you have a lot to offer the world; there is no room for doubt even in the worst of circumstances when humankind's heart is closed, your faith is unyielding. Whatever happens, avoid resistance, and it will lead to good in ways we sometimes can't/won't see.
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." Antoine St. Exupery's beautiful words from The Little Prince.
May all the people who have passed along their messages of peace and compassion and who have passed away rest in peace. May the memory of their commitment to COMPASSION live on in all of us who seek a better life for all.
x
...yourself, your health, your body, people in your life who choose a different way of living, animals, the planet...everything and everyone.
COMMITMENT
...to your goals; follow through; give 100%; do things within your present capabilities; work hard and you will achieve.
HONESTY
...comes with respect for yourself and others; respect privacy; trust; ethics.
INTEGRITY
Adhere to the highest standards professionally and personally; always give your best in every situation regardless of how another person might react; an eye for an eye doesn't always work and creates long-term damage; choose the higher road in any conflict.
LOVE AND COMPASSION
Put yourself in other people's shoes no matter who they are and what they have done and what they have done to you.
KNOWLEDGE AND GROWTH
Challenge yourself by questioning what you know (to be true); welcome new perspectives and be open to them; we resist change but when we accept change, it can be truly liberating; enter a different state of consciousness; make choices that make the world a better place for everyone and not just a chosen few; be self-informed and self-aware.
LESS IS MORE
Avoid over-indulgence; limit spending and waste; check for excessive packaging when buying material goods; learn to go without; simplicity in life will create abundance for everyone.
HUMILITY
Learn from your mistakes; arrogance and guilt tactics never solve the problem and are usually remembered forever; blaming others is our way of avoiding change within ourselves; hating on you becomes hating on others.
PASSION
Live each moment; listen intently; appreciate everything!!
FAITH
Believe in yourself; believe you have a lot to offer the world; there is no room for doubt even in the worst of circumstances when humankind's heart is closed, your faith is unyielding. Whatever happens, avoid resistance, and it will lead to good in ways we sometimes can't/won't see.
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." Antoine St. Exupery's beautiful words from The Little Prince.
May all the people who have passed along their messages of peace and compassion and who have passed away rest in peace. May the memory of their commitment to COMPASSION live on in all of us who seek a better life for all.
x
Saturday, January 29, 2011
FILM: THE KING'S SPEECH
I had the privilege of catching THE KING'S SPEECH recently and thought now would be a good time to write a brief summary of my reflections on the film directed by Tom Hooper. Hooper is primarily known for his directorial work in TV having worked on such British favourites as "EastEnders" and
"Elizabeth I" miniseries. He shoots royalty well. The cast comprises of a veritable assortment of award-winning actors: Colin Firth as King George VI, Jeffery Rush as his speech therapist, Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother, Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII, and Timothy Spall as Sir Winston Churchill.
The setting is 1930s England just before WWII begins. The aging King George V struggles for his life in the wake of his son, Edward's much-talked-about affair with the married American, Mrs. Wallace Simpson. His struggles are in vain as he soon makes his exit handing over the throne to the Wallace-obsessed Edward whose callousness brings further insecurity to an already insecure country under the threat of war. Well, we all know the history from here. Having refused to leave a soon-to-be divorced Wallace Simpson and having expressed his intentions of marrying her - it's an absolute no-no among royalty to marry a divorced woman or man - Edward is forced to abdicate his throne. Guess who has to fill his shoes as King of England? His youngest brother, "Bertie", who has had a hell of a time speaking in public due to a speech impairment. Prior to his taking on the duties of His Highness, Bertie, as he is affectionately called in the family, meets with a speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Like most relationships, theirs starts off a bit rocky with Bertie becoming more and more exasperated by Lionel's odd methods and invasive questionning of the soon-to-be-crowned King's upbringing. Elizabeth, the Queen Mom, does an elegant job at supporting her husband's efforts to overcome the stuttering and actually arranges this meeting with Lionel. She plays her role as wife, mother, and overall backbone very well. Her dogged support and belief in him are admirable given that the marriage between her and Bertie were like many other royal marriages: arranged.
Without disclosing too much of the movie and putting aside my own issues with the British monarchy and the nation as a whole - brutal power-hungry colonizers still trying to maintain their hold over India at the time - I have to say "well done". Colin Firth, Jeffery Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter were simply superb. My appreciation for their talents went up to a level way beyond "wow". Colin Firth delivers an exemplary performance as the stuttering king and makes me feel what we all want to feel when we see movies about the triumph of the human spirit: compassion. Imagine that! I actually felt compassion for the King of England and for two hours could feel something of the humiliation he must have endured with such an impediment.
Well, actually, I totally understand what it must have been like since I too have been wrestling with a speech impairment for the last two years and have also had to speak in public with it. Had I found a speech therapist so dedicated to his client as Lionel was, I probably would have performed far more effectively as I stubbornly continued to teach and present my monologues to my perplexed students and audiences, respectively. Although I did have the support of friends and well-wishers, I'm sure much of my message slipped through the cracks in my strangled utterances. Some of the methods Lionel uses to assist the King in producing an unbroken tone are also used today to help people with a stutter, Spasmodic Dysphonia and other voice disorders. Singing, deep breathing before speech, moving around while speaking, even shouting all help to release and relax the voice. The point is to get back something that's so essential to communication and our credibility, whether as kings and queens or teachers and performing artists. It's all the same: without our voices, we're as powerless as shredded wheat. Not to say that people who find other ways to communicate like through ASL or voice devices are lacking in communicative ability and credibility. They've obviously ignited the power within and have turned an apparent "flaw" (as viewed by society) into something truly valuable and rewarding.
People who stutter don't always remember when the stuttering started, but it developed most likely when they were children. Also, stuttering is usually brought on by some other form of physical restriction like being forced to write with one's right hand when one is left-handed. Stuttering may also be caused by physical trauma through abuse or deprivation. A lot of time must be given and patience tried in order to face those childhood fears and traumas to give one's voice the chance to heal. Bertie did not wish for Lionel to probe into his family's secrets but realized that the only way to set his voice free was to face the events and experiences that shaped his life during his childhood years.
I suppose that's how I'll be able to set my voice free someday. The day when I take an honest look at the conditions and circumstances that brought on this strangled voice - not just two years ago, but much farther back in time - will be the day when progress towards a clear, unhindered voice begins anew. OR maybe not. Maybe my attitude will change and I will discover a new way of communicating with this broken but unique voice.
If you haven't seen it, watch THE KING'S SPEECH.
Thank you for dropping by today. There are no other limits to human will but the thoughts that reside in our heads.
"Elizabeth I" miniseries. He shoots royalty well. The cast comprises of a veritable assortment of award-winning actors: Colin Firth as King George VI, Jeffery Rush as his speech therapist, Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother, Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII, and Timothy Spall as Sir Winston Churchill.
The setting is 1930s England just before WWII begins. The aging King George V struggles for his life in the wake of his son, Edward's much-talked-about affair with the married American, Mrs. Wallace Simpson. His struggles are in vain as he soon makes his exit handing over the throne to the Wallace-obsessed Edward whose callousness brings further insecurity to an already insecure country under the threat of war. Well, we all know the history from here. Having refused to leave a soon-to-be divorced Wallace Simpson and having expressed his intentions of marrying her - it's an absolute no-no among royalty to marry a divorced woman or man - Edward is forced to abdicate his throne. Guess who has to fill his shoes as King of England? His youngest brother, "Bertie", who has had a hell of a time speaking in public due to a speech impairment. Prior to his taking on the duties of His Highness, Bertie, as he is affectionately called in the family, meets with a speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Like most relationships, theirs starts off a bit rocky with Bertie becoming more and more exasperated by Lionel's odd methods and invasive questionning of the soon-to-be-crowned King's upbringing. Elizabeth, the Queen Mom, does an elegant job at supporting her husband's efforts to overcome the stuttering and actually arranges this meeting with Lionel. She plays her role as wife, mother, and overall backbone very well. Her dogged support and belief in him are admirable given that the marriage between her and Bertie were like many other royal marriages: arranged.
Without disclosing too much of the movie and putting aside my own issues with the British monarchy and the nation as a whole - brutal power-hungry colonizers still trying to maintain their hold over India at the time - I have to say "well done". Colin Firth, Jeffery Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter were simply superb. My appreciation for their talents went up to a level way beyond "wow". Colin Firth delivers an exemplary performance as the stuttering king and makes me feel what we all want to feel when we see movies about the triumph of the human spirit: compassion. Imagine that! I actually felt compassion for the King of England and for two hours could feel something of the humiliation he must have endured with such an impediment.
Well, actually, I totally understand what it must have been like since I too have been wrestling with a speech impairment for the last two years and have also had to speak in public with it. Had I found a speech therapist so dedicated to his client as Lionel was, I probably would have performed far more effectively as I stubbornly continued to teach and present my monologues to my perplexed students and audiences, respectively. Although I did have the support of friends and well-wishers, I'm sure much of my message slipped through the cracks in my strangled utterances. Some of the methods Lionel uses to assist the King in producing an unbroken tone are also used today to help people with a stutter, Spasmodic Dysphonia and other voice disorders. Singing, deep breathing before speech, moving around while speaking, even shouting all help to release and relax the voice. The point is to get back something that's so essential to communication and our credibility, whether as kings and queens or teachers and performing artists. It's all the same: without our voices, we're as powerless as shredded wheat. Not to say that people who find other ways to communicate like through ASL or voice devices are lacking in communicative ability and credibility. They've obviously ignited the power within and have turned an apparent "flaw" (as viewed by society) into something truly valuable and rewarding.
People who stutter don't always remember when the stuttering started, but it developed most likely when they were children. Also, stuttering is usually brought on by some other form of physical restriction like being forced to write with one's right hand when one is left-handed. Stuttering may also be caused by physical trauma through abuse or deprivation. A lot of time must be given and patience tried in order to face those childhood fears and traumas to give one's voice the chance to heal. Bertie did not wish for Lionel to probe into his family's secrets but realized that the only way to set his voice free was to face the events and experiences that shaped his life during his childhood years.
I suppose that's how I'll be able to set my voice free someday. The day when I take an honest look at the conditions and circumstances that brought on this strangled voice - not just two years ago, but much farther back in time - will be the day when progress towards a clear, unhindered voice begins anew. OR maybe not. Maybe my attitude will change and I will discover a new way of communicating with this broken but unique voice.
If you haven't seen it, watch THE KING'S SPEECH.
Thank you for dropping by today. There are no other limits to human will but the thoughts that reside in our heads.
Friday, January 28, 2011
THE PEOPLE RISE UP IN EGYPT
I woke up this morning anxious for the people of Egypt as they braced for clashes with Hosni Mubarak's security forces. He dissolved the government and retained his machine-gun toting retinue of soldiers who are ready to quell the voices of the people. With a complete shutdown of internet and cell phone services, we can only imagine the fate of Egypt's pro-Democracy activists, families, labourers, teachers, writers, mothers, fathers. And their children. Obama apparently made a call to Mubarak asking him to "promise" not to use force against the demonstrators and to uphold the liberalizing policies that were supposed to have been initiated. Hold on. What liberalizing policies? Are you talking about the ones that serve the needs of the US military stationed in Egypt? Hmm...guess so.
Mubarak has yet to lift the country out of a state of emergency that was imposed when he had assumed his role as the country's leader soon after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Quite frankly, the people are tired of Mubarak's 30 year reign and are calling for the formation of a new government based on democratic principles. Mubarak's response is to force his cabinet ministers into early retirement and call in his comrades in arms to control the ensuing chaos. Mubarak is no stranger to the military having served as an officer/commander for the Egyptian Air Force. It's no wonder he rules the country with an iron fist.
My heart goes out to the people of Egypt. It's been a long and tragic struggle for them to maintain their freedom under this dictatorship. The Egyptian police have been particularly brutal against free-thinking dissenters and many have been jailed, tortured and brutally killed. Their struggle is the world's struggle against all forms of dictatorship and control. We're all connected. The foreign policy decisions our governments make and that we give our support to or in most cases, show our apathy towards (because you know, we're all too busy chasing our own dreams to give a shit about what's happening halfway across the world) can seriously impact countries like Egypt, and they have. I wonder how having the US presence on Egyptian soil influences Mubarak's decisions on how to handle "his" people. I'm sure there's a lot more to this uprising than we're getting from the western media. A western media that makes no apologies for feeding us bullshit news carefully manipulated and distorted to make it "newsworthy". News is reality TV and every news anchorperson is competing to be the next big TV anchor star. Is it real?
It's the people at the bottom of the heap who suffer from all this illusory fakery, from all the greedy "grabbing hands", the senseless violence against their right to free expression, and the denial of their livelihoods and well-being.
How will it all end? Maybe it won't end. It'll continue well into 2012 and 2011 is only just beginning. 2012. Egyptian voices. Tunisian voices. And then maybe all the world will lend a voice. Lend a hand. And lend a fist to help crush the despotic governmental systems that have enslaved and blinded the world's people since the time money and the pursuit of strategic power became the Gods of humankind.
Mubarak has yet to lift the country out of a state of emergency that was imposed when he had assumed his role as the country's leader soon after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Quite frankly, the people are tired of Mubarak's 30 year reign and are calling for the formation of a new government based on democratic principles. Mubarak's response is to force his cabinet ministers into early retirement and call in his comrades in arms to control the ensuing chaos. Mubarak is no stranger to the military having served as an officer/commander for the Egyptian Air Force. It's no wonder he rules the country with an iron fist.
My heart goes out to the people of Egypt. It's been a long and tragic struggle for them to maintain their freedom under this dictatorship. The Egyptian police have been particularly brutal against free-thinking dissenters and many have been jailed, tortured and brutally killed. Their struggle is the world's struggle against all forms of dictatorship and control. We're all connected. The foreign policy decisions our governments make and that we give our support to or in most cases, show our apathy towards (because you know, we're all too busy chasing our own dreams to give a shit about what's happening halfway across the world) can seriously impact countries like Egypt, and they have. I wonder how having the US presence on Egyptian soil influences Mubarak's decisions on how to handle "his" people. I'm sure there's a lot more to this uprising than we're getting from the western media. A western media that makes no apologies for feeding us bullshit news carefully manipulated and distorted to make it "newsworthy". News is reality TV and every news anchorperson is competing to be the next big TV anchor star. Is it real?
It's the people at the bottom of the heap who suffer from all this illusory fakery, from all the greedy "grabbing hands", the senseless violence against their right to free expression, and the denial of their livelihoods and well-being.
How will it all end? Maybe it won't end. It'll continue well into 2012 and 2011 is only just beginning. 2012. Egyptian voices. Tunisian voices. And then maybe all the world will lend a voice. Lend a hand. And lend a fist to help crush the despotic governmental systems that have enslaved and blinded the world's people since the time money and the pursuit of strategic power became the Gods of humankind.
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