Chakra

More than it meets the eye. ‘The body has chakras. Chakras are energy centers with psychological and spiritual functions. One of the important centers is the heart center, also know as the Anahata chakra. This chakra is connected with love, compassion , and devotion. The heart chakra is the “emotional heart.” When you love your partner, parents, children or relatives, it is the heart chakra manifesting.’

Many of us have experienced the manifestations of the heart chakra but few have perhaps heard or know about the Crown chakra; the “divine heart” chakra – the energy located on top of the crown – Sahasrara chakra in Sanskrit. The crown chakra is the intuitive center, the centre of divine union or yoga. The intuition that scientists have during the initial phase of discovery; the eureka moment of “Aha!” or “I know what that is!” before they use mental intelligence to validate their ideas and theories.

We have all gone through the rigor of a very successful education system that has reached its aim of inculcating “mental intelligence that requires study and the use of logic through inductive and deductive reasoning”. Have you ever wondered why there are good businessmen who can “look” at certain things and “know whether or not to invest” and “know exactly how to run the business”? This we call business acumen, in other words, intuitive intelligence. How many of us invest in this other intuitive potential that we all have? As children, it seems that we use more of our intuitive intelligence than we do as adults. Perhaps, that’s the reason why there are more and more people feeling a void in the things they do. They reason out everything – they want to see the light at the end of the tunnel before they embark on something – they want to see the balance sheet, the guaranteed results. Don’t forget, John Dalton’s atomic theory was only recognised two millennia after Democritus’s first suggestion of the existence of the atom.

Ironically, when the few make decisions based on intuition, society labels it as “counter-intuitive” – using logic as the baseline. For example, “it’s counter intuitive to try something new that you have no proof that you will succeed”; this is not counter-intuitive, that’s blatant “logic reasoning” – truly counter-intuitive. This word is abused by people who prefer to see and use logic, and can’t believe in what they don’t see and there is nothing wrong with that, if you want to live a life that doesn’t require you the use of your crown chakra; acumen, intuition and most importantly, to experience “soul realization or divine union with your higher self (soul).

Are we so educated that we have forgotten to live with the heart? Shouldn’t we open our hearts and minds to the infinite wisdom of the universe – take a little risk, love a little more and learn a lot more?

OM

Excerpts from Achieving Oneness with the High Soul, Meditations for Soul Realization.

Carry Me, Carry You

I love it when my kids say, “妈咪抱抱 !”

I will do it even if it means breaking my back. I love the feeling of lifting the giggling little fella, feeling the little head resting on my shoulders, tiny hands cradle around my neck -the warmth that flows between us as I pat her little back in a soothing, rhythmic manner is indescribible. And the little one(s) feels that he/she can see the world from where he/she was, or he/she could just fall asleep as easily without fear of falling.

I remember when they were about 6 months old, there was this little ritual – I would step into the house after surviving a long and arduous day in the corporate jungle and they would get “handed over” to me from another pair of hands that have been holding them in my absence. All of a sudden, it felt as if I’ve once again reunited with this little, but priceless, piece of me. They belong to me and their weights on my arms are testimonies of that. As they turned into toddlers and started to venture on those little feet, they would say those four words when they were either tired, or when they prefer to see things from an adult’s height. And then, they started growing up and I could no longer carry a teenager who’s taller than me, but the little one is still within the “weight limit” that my arms can still withstand (for now). And when the little one says,” 很久沒有抱抱了!” and with her hands stretched out towards me and her big round eyes… Well, let’s just say it’s never too much to ask from both of us…  

When a parent carries his or her child, it’s all about the physical weight and most often that not, the happiness in accompaniment makes it mutually satisfying. Of course, sometimes, the gesture is necessary to stop the tears from flowing continuously and to provide comfort, or even be comforted. I can still vaguely remember the feeling when I was a kid and I loved to be carried in my parents’ arms and I had felt protected then.

As adulthood takes over, the carrying may now be reversed. It has dawned upon me that when the time comes for a child to “carry” a parent, it’s no longer about the physical weight. Sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, an adult shoulders an insurmountable and invisible baggage that a parent brings along or refuses to let go. I have friends who, at this point in their lives, are trying hard not to cave under those pressures from the past. How is it that those pair of hands that used to symbolise warmth, protection and provided shelter in the past have become a pair of hands that threatens to choke the life out of their children? Depression cases seem very prevalent in senior adults, and it seems most will go undetected (sadly, untreated). Aren’t these the baby boomers who have survived hardship and should now be enjoying their fruits of labor? Why are they still haunted by the ghosts of the pasts, and when these take a toll on their frail bodies, they stretch out their hands to their loved ones or children, sometimes helpless, but most of the time, shrouded in negativity.

I am fully aware that to “leave it” or “let it be” is easier said than done and please don’t get me wrong, I fully support filial piety. But as a parent myself and this applies to those friends of mine, the last thing we want to do is take on those baggage as if they are ours and worse, eventually pass them to our children, just as how it was passed down to us. A vicious cycle will continue indefinitely unless someone gets strong enough to break out of it. It is also important to realise that when we carry a child, we remove the weight issue from the child. When we carry an emotional baggage, there is no removal whatsoever. On the contrary, we are allowing the weight to multiply. When negativity is allowed to be a part of one’s life, it opens the door for it to be a part of the family. We buy air conditioners for our homes to keep out the warm and heaters for our homes to keep out the cold and protect our family members. What are we doing to keep negativity out?

More often than not, the fear of dropping the baggage gets unrealistically high especially when emotions are involved. The issue is exacerbated by a problem-solver mentality, that it’s fallen on my lap and it’s become my responsibility to provide a solution that everyone is happy with. I know someone who makes problem solving (family issues) a full time “job” and when there’s no problem, she gets uneasy and goes around looking for one. And then she will lament that she has no time to live a life as she’s too busy worrying for everyone else at home.

At the end of the day, we are what we make of our lives. You don’t only live once, but you live every day. You only die once. If you must carry, then choose to carry happiness, carry joy, carry a fulfilling live. 🙂

Carpe diem

Carpe diem. I find the words ‘seizing the day’ often misrepresented. Seize is a verb, an

action word; seize is to grab, take, do something. The human understanding is

limited. A verb is not just an action word. It is a being word – to be, a state of

being. Carpe diem. I’d love to seize the day by not taking action. Meditate, stare

into space to empty the clutter of my mind, gaze into the dusk. Observe. Seize

the chance to be. Carpe erit, I say!

Choices

To confirm or not

Be a lone voice or not

To stick out like a sore thumb

Or not

 

To stand out or not

To be special or not

To lend our true voices

Or not

 

The decision to these choices is a matter of perspective.  It may be a matter of self-esteem or confidence. At any one point in time in our lives, the choices have to be made.  Neither right, neither wrong, these choices define our lives.

CARE-Y Me

Inspired by The Virtues Project: “Caring” Virtue

I don’t think I ever quite understood the value of caring. I always thought of caring as showing affection and love for others, and being passionate. Sometimes, it would look like a chore to care for someone, and the “why me?” mentality takes over.

So many instances in my youth, that I was supposed to care for someone, and I didn’t manage to. And, as I grew older, into my twenties and thirties, I tried to make it up to others, through gifts and a brute sense of responsibility to care for them, that I do sometimes come across as harsh and/or aggressive, and in the process, neglecting the concept of care for self.

Either extreme of care is not care. Think Care Bears, and the different values and characteristics that come along with them.

As I took time off these past three years, I started to learn to focus on self-care. Initially, it felt more like being selfish, taking into consideration only myself and what made me happy, and fought against others who sought for me to please them. I was happier, much happier than caring for others, but not entirely carefree.

Then last year, someone started sharing The Virtues Project cards with me, and started to mentor me on the concept of holding values, to see what comes up. And I started to gain greater awareness and clarity, with each value that I held.

As I read the Caring Virtue card, I was reflecting upon what I have experienced, and how it will be for me moving forwards:

• As a start, schedule my time, such that I have time to take of self-needs and others’ needs
• Once I get used to the “schedule” and the momentum of spending quality time with self and others, I will be in the flow.

Quality time is only one aspect of showing care to self and others, and I think this is a great space to start with. 🙂

 

Bridging the Gap

So I just celebrated my 37th birthday yesterday, and all I did was watch Catch-Up TV on Toggle, and spend some time catching up with my mum, before heading out for dinner with the family.

The month leading up to yesterday, there was this little voice in my head (we all have a little voice in our heads :P) that kept going “Wow! I’m going to hit the big 4 soon… I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near it yet, but should I start ‘behaving and dressing’ like it?”

I love my t-shirt and jeans, my shorts and jumpers, sports shoes, etc… Do I need to give those up when I become 40? I love just being silly with kids, and going out and appreciate life; does it change at 40?

Then I took some time to look back at the other birthday milestones: 12, 16, 18, 21, 30, 35… What struck me was how there was a significant difference in the number of people involved in the celebrations – it just got smaller – much smaller.

My family used to throw parties at home for me, to invite family and friends to my birthday; When I reached teenagehood, the meals were generally at Swensen’s, etc. My 21st birthday was also at Swensen’s, with some friends, if I remember correctly 😛

By my 30th birthday, those celebrations dwindled, and the yearning for it also depreciated. I was happy to have the affair simple: with those who care for me, and I cared for them.

So the lead-up to yesterday was really… normal. No one really remembered except mostly family, and some close friends. And even some got the date wrong, and I was fine (I used to be offended if people don’t remember, as I always put in effort to remember theirs.)

So to bridge the gap through the years of growing up, is really to have a mindset change, a paradigm shift. If you don’t mind, it really doesn’t matter! 🙂

I’ve learnt to pick my battles over the years, especially the recent five years. Things that I was really particular about, but made me miserable, I learnt to let that go, and live to let live. I still hold on very dearly to my value of love though; that’s one belief that has guided me my entire life. I don’t want to live with regrets, thus I focus on what I love and pursue that. In all my wiseness of a 37-year-old, I believe I only have one regret, and that was to have spent more time with my late paternal grandma.

Moving forward, my time is dedicated, as much as I can, to those whom I love: my mom and dad, so that history does not repeat itself. I’m glad to be in a career that focuses on work-life balance, and a business platform to allows me to pursue the balance between time and finances.

I am building bridges, to bridge the gap of understanding with my family and loved ones. The resources for building this bridge is love and time.

For me to have these resources of love and time, I would have built bridges, through networking, through learning and growth, through mentorship and coaching, to bridge the gap between knowledge and experience.

What bridges are you building? What gaps are you bridging? 🙂

桥 Bridges

 

 

I love bridges. They help me cross from one point to another, summed up into two words; convenient access. It’s interesting how most will think of bridges only as the manmade architectural structures. Right?

我喜爱桥。桥往往是帮助我们能够从一个地方轻易的到达另一边（地方）。一个方便人的工程发明。一讲到桥我门似乎只联想到到人造桥。对吗？

Nature has bridges too, depending on how you see it. I see ridges, rivers, oceans, grasslands and deserts as bridges. Andes, the longest mountain range in the world cross seven South American countries. How can this pulse of Mother Nature pulsating and meandering in landforms be not seen as bridges; as obstacles? These are the bridges to the unknown – places, spaces and realms we think are inaccessible – likewise, the very obstacle and challenge you see today is perhaps the bridge to a new discovery.

大自然也有很多桥，只看你怎么想。在我眼里大自然的桥可多了 － 山崖，河流，海洋，草原和沙漠都是桥。安第斯山脈是陆地上最长的脈，跨过七个南美洲国家。这大自然的脉搏怎么能看得像是障碍？这可能是能让你穿梭到别得地方，环境和时空的桥梁－就想每一个人生的波浪和障碍是让我们得到新的启发的桥梁。

Few take the paths less travelled; even fewer take the ‘inaccessible’ routes. Someone asked me, why explore when life is relatively comfortable? When I was younger, I would climb, race and backpack. Now, decades later, I have slowed down my pace (but not completely) – climbs have changed but my answer is still the same, “Life is more than being comfortable; life is meant to be lived. I’m grateful for this life, even more so that I have the opportunity to make a difference. It’s not just about climbing a mountain, it’s about getting out of your comfort zone – for yourself, your loved ones and the larger world around；the cosmos.”

少许的人爱走少人走的路，更少会‘自讨苦吃’寻‘难路’。有人曾经问我为何去探索，尤其是生活也算是舒适。年轻时，我会去攀岩，参赛，背包旅行等。现在，十多二十年后，脚步也慢了－ 山峰变了， 可是答案还是一样，“感恩生活还算过得去，更感恩有机会去好好的过一生，去活出精彩的一生，生命是‘生老病死’，要等到老了病了才要活起来吗？爬山的意义不是单单的爬，是攀越自己的极限 – 为己， 为人，为这世界；这宇宙。

I continue to climb and cross bridges that exist (that you either don’t see or see as obstacle); making a career switch(es) – tough like hell (yes, made several ones already and still doing it – bring me to places, people and things I have not seen and experienced. Stupid? Unwise? Silly? Brash? Fickle? These labels do not bind me because I’m not answerable to these people who label me. Do you realise how we dress to impress the very people who don’t know who we are, who judge us, who don’t exactly give a shit about the real you. I’m done with labels. Mountaineers and extreme sports athletes know this too well, they get labeled as adrenalin junkies, attention seekers… but what really matters to them is how they are connected to the true nature of who they are because the sport, the activity, the career is ‘merely’ a bridge.

我继续的爬，继续的跃过不同的桥梁 （你有可能不以为然）；我换工作 （这虽费了九牛二虎之力和数不尽的耕耘但这让我得道无穷不尽的收获 －看到人的本和面具，五方八门的世界和钱买不到的经验。好好的，无端端的，没事肇事做。愚蠢？无知？傻？冲动？善变？这些标志已经不困扰我了因为把这些提我‘标类’的人和我生活无关。你不觉得你往往想要‘别人’刮目相看时，这些人并不当你时一回事 －反而会替你打分，看你的风光做衡量，正的管你的死活吗？我不是货品也不管被人怎么看了。大家心知肚明。冒险家，探索家和极限运动员都懂，真正有意义的是认识到自己－运动，活动，事业还不是一座桥。

By now, I have donned several lanyards of varying industries. Funny how when I become a salesman, the eyes roll and the mouths utter condescending words. When I am on stage lecturing, the gaze of admiration and ears of attentiveness zoom in on me. When I prospect, tainted lenses judge me. When I present prizes at the podium, applause fill the space. This is the exact reason why I explore and cross bridges – I want to see the real places, people and relationships. Some manipulate, others destroy and some stay true to you and journey with you. Know those who have agenda, stay away from those who use your value and keep close those who treasure you for who you are.

现在，我已经在不同的领域看过不同的人与事。滑稽的是：在做锄销时会被一些人瞧不起，用很居高领下的态度偏低人。在讲课时，大家得用着敬仰的目光很用心的听。在推广生意时，就会被带着有色眼竟看。在台上颁发奖时，掌声如雷。太奇妙啦，这就是为何我要看真人，事，物。一些人过河拆桥，别的用巧思妙计千方百计来焚桥，一些被你走完全程。学看人：了解有心计的人， 远离利用你价值的人，握紧珍惜你的人。

Change is the real bridge to discovering more about myself, to reach the inner realm of what I am made of – the change in place, in altitude, in temperature, in oxygen, is a physical one – the real change in spirit brings a real connection within. Life is too short to be wasted without crossing bridges that bring you to the real me (you) – life’s real access. See you at your bridge.

真正的桥应该带你穿梭人，事，物 － 穿梭的不是地方，环境，或能看,能摸的， 而是看不到，摸不到的那‘世务’ － 带你去你这一世能创造和达到的世（务）。人生实在太短了， 不过让自己更了解自己的桥桥太可惜了。桥是人造的 － 再（你的桥）见了！

Being Bad

Image credit: http://deftfeniks.deviantart.com

Shifting eye patch.

Hiding. Furtive.

The world of loansharks.

Danger. Committing the illegal.

The underworld holds excitement.

It is the forbidden, which holds mysteries to the average person.

The Godfather.

The Mafia.

Chow Yuen Fatt.

Li Nanxing.

They possess our cinema and TV screens and hence possess our minds, from the avid Godfather fan in his 60s to the Li Nanxing fan of an auntie also in her 60s. Despite being encouraged to be good, we are often drawn to enjoy the stories of the Underworld. We, safe on our couches and far from the reaches of its dangers, form a fascinated romance of sorts with the bad. Must it mean then that this romance can only be when there is the bad? What is good then without the bad? Can one exist without the other?

Building Bridges

Bridges serve to connect, provide an alternative diversion and allows one to stand in the middle of nowhere, or, morbid thoughts forbidden, something to jump from.

We tend to associate building bridges with networking. It appears that in the corporate world, networking is the bridge to build bridges. These bridges will hopefully bring us somewhere we want to be, and typically higher grounds or rungs of the corporate ladder. We build bridges for our next generation even, and this may be engineered via the school and parents network.

As the saying goes, build bridges, not wall. In my opinion, this has to do with the mental aptitude towards a goal or objective. There’s the option of having a “growth” mindset or a “fixed” mindset. The former will be akin to building bridges and the latter, building a wall.

It then brings the question, why would anyone build walls when they can build bridges?

The Golden Gate Bridge that links San Francisco and the Marin county in the US is one of the greatest bridges every built. I have very little knowledge about the history until recently. It took the engineer Joseph Strauss over a decade to get approval to build the bridge. As an aside, Joseph Strauss was both an engineer and a poet!

The whole point is, there were walls of opposition on the project, even involving the military. But Joseph kept building the bridges and breaking down the walls for the Golden Gate Bridge. Thanks to his perseverance, there’s now a beautiful world-renowned bridge that served many generations, and more to come.

It dawned on me that the necessary materials for building our life bridges are time, patience and perseverance. It may not mean one has to spend a lot of time, but that a reasonable amount of time will be needed, and a lot of patience. In this instant gratification world that we are in, we sometimes forget that from “building to built”, it hardly happens in a flash.

We may see value in building bridges with people of certain social status in the hope it may lead us somewhere higher and further. What about building bridges with people we love? “With” in this instance refers to as joint efforts and not a one-way street. How would you build bridges with your loved ones? Recently I re-watched the movie “Eat, pray, love”. I love the movie and love the book even more. And the word “Attraversiamo” (means let’s cross over) in the book and the movie tugged at my heartstrings.

I don’t know about you, but with my loved ones, when we encounter adversities, my game plan is to build bridges that will allow us to cross over together, hand-in-hand.

Attraversiamo!

(re)Building tiny Burnt Bridges

Having gone viral a few years ago, YouTube video of baseball player Evan Longoria catching a ball at top speed, coming from a blind side during an interview is still in circulation. His lightning fast reflex action saved the female reporter from a probable head-smashing concussive impact. What intrigued me most was Longoria’s heightened intuitive and instinctive reaction, even though he was engaged and deeply focused on the interview and more so standing askew from where the ball was batted, far across the pitch.

This episode resonates with similar awe as I recount my personal experience, with yet another sort of action brought about by a heightened level of sensory perception, a short while ago. I had been prodded by a friend to accompany her to a certain mind workshop. Being the ever skeptic and critic that I was, I brought along with me to this mind academy all the negative “~ísms” clutched in a fistful.

The trainer at the mind academy maintained that children are mostly regulated by the mechanics of the right brain hemisphere. Thus, the young tend to be more emotional, more creative and rely largely on their senses to intuitively explore the things around them. The day when a parent places a pencil in the grasp of his or her child, in encouragement, to write the alphabet or number, is the very day the child starts moving gradually away from the intuitive right brain and begin leaning towards the logical left-brain orientation.

Many would already be familiar with the science and fact about how most adults consciously select and specialise in their respective fields of interests and career. And that those who chose the corporate world would then switch into heavy reliance on more left brain functions where logic, rationale and technical expertise shift into the foreground; whilst those who moves specifically into fields of art, music and creativity, would rely largely on right-brain functions.

Interestingly, unbeknownst to me earlier, there also exists a small middle region of the brain, known as the mesencephalon (mid brain). In spite of its size, the mid brain serves a function akin to being a ‘control tower’ of consciousness and it is equipped with highly advanced intelligences. It acts as “a relay centre for visual, auditory and motor systems information” and is “responsible for the perception of stimuli and subsequent communication with the right and left brain hemispheres to process this perceptive information”. [1]

When we draw a definitive divide between that which have been hard wired by the left brain and those that are governed by the right brain, the communicative traffic between both sides of the brain dwindles and becomes almost non-existent. This tiny bridge that connects the two brain hemispheres, start to crumble, and seemingly, the synapses or cerebral wires begin to disconnect and burn out on ends. Without regular active use, the mid brain literally goes into hibernation. Sadly, this often gives rise to the commonplace discord between; the intellect and emotion, the pragmatic and the sentimental, and even the technical expert and passionate creativity.

By engaging in numerous mind calisthenics, controlled rapid eye movements (albeit being conscious and awake) and active left-to-right physical motor coordination, as guided by the mind trainer during the introductory session, our respective adult mid brain was somewhat awakened. The two-hour mental calisthenics had aimed to assist us with kick starting the reconstruction of our own burnt-out mid brain, to reignite the synapses and reconnect the mental wires.

I surprised even myself, when put to the practical test towards the end of the session. I discovered my innate “visual” sensory depth. Blindfolded, I could discern with my mind’s eye and physically separate the Reds and the Blacks from a deck of 20 cards, done with an accuracy of 70%. As usual, the skeptic in me brushed it aside and alluded it to a stroke of pure beginner’s luck. Lo and behold! My eye-browcercise were rapidly at play, when I saw my friend, a veteran culinary expert, differentiating the respective red and black cards, blindfolded, by merely sniffing at each one of them intensely and then placing them into the respective red and black pile of cards. The activation of her mid brain had heightened her olfactory senses and given her a resounding 100% accuracy in this exercise. Amazing!

Certainly, I am not encouraging that we all rush to sign up for the next class at our nearest “mind academy”, so as to engage the cogwheels of our minds to equip us with powers of superhuman mind control. Do consider, instead, constantly engaging ourselves with concurrent interests that offer a right balance of activities which draw influences from the respective right and left brain hemispheres. This balanced interplay of our consciously selected activities would help us rekindle the ambers at the burnt ends and start charging up the neurotic wires to relink and reconnect that little bridge between the respective brain hemispheres. We too can start surprising ourselves day-by-day through our personal discovery of our own special innate abilities and heightened sensorial experiences.

Bring back that familiar sense of childish bewilderment we had in each and every one of us, ‘Once Upon a Time…’

[1] Source [https://blindfoldready.wordpress.com]