Nourish Your Soul with Nature

just a little note: i wrote this piece in my regular column in a magazine in its Fall-Winter issue...read on...

Typhoon Megi just left the country and there’s another one coming. It’s late October, it’s Autumn in the other side of the Earth and early evening rains are wildly pouring as I write this. There is a sudden breath of cool breeze wafting my neighbor’s early simmering supper. Times like these, I remember as a child, were times of excitement. The first rains of May, the advent of the wet season in the Asian Tropical Belt, were times of exhilaration. We’d rush out of the house, and exhaust ourselves to a game of tag under the drenching rain. And early next day, we’d “fish” for tadpoles and collect them in little clear bottles we saved from the mayonnaise mom used for the homemade hamburger, hotdog or chicken sandwiches (fast food was unheard of back then, and that’s another story). There is something extremely beautiful about the outdoors. About Nature herself...

Nature truly heals. I seem to have gained another perspective in life after my solitary silent retreat weekend in my hermitage. Solitude was a delicious mix of an unstructured string of adventures. “Meditation with Nature” began with waking up to rooster crows before daybreak. My room being beside the little chapel, affords me the opportunity to easily creep up to sit on the floor of this sacred space in quiet abandon. The call of the outdoors was completed by birds’ numerous calls and songs, which I obeyed by inner guidance as I slid slowly into the garden. Munting Bukal (the Little Spring hermitage) is home to about 10 varieties of flowering shrubs. Part of the meditation was to get to know each of them, not only by name, but by color, feel, number of petals, and smell. Then I moved on to thank the trees for their shade and fragrant sweet scent. Then I continued…smiling at the chilly air touching my face, watching a spider weave its web, enjoying freshly-cut grass from nearby, chasing butterflies (there were many!), listening to sounds of far-off neighbors’ laughter, dogs barking, children playing, and busy bees buzzing. The sun is up by this time and I thought an Oriental exercise would be perfect ending: waving hands by the lake, floating silk in the air, expanding chest on the mountain, painting the rainbow, Earth’s scent moving up, and thirteen more movements. I noticed even my exercise is indeed inspired by nature. I silently admired my Chinese ancestors. They must have been so connected to creation. Deep down inside me, I hunger for this. Which is why I make it a point to reconnect with nature regularly…

When I reached Manila, I made follow-up “quiet sittings” in a Monastery chapel east of the city (the quietest place in the Metro so far). My “quiet sitting” means just that. To sit quietly, emptying thoughts of whatever comes. To do this, I created an imagined idyllic natural scenery that I adopt. That is the same place I go back to when meditation time comes, when I need it most. It is my intimate space I claim as my own. I don’t only “go” to this “place” when in meditation, but also when I need to pause during a panicky day, or when something really irritating happens at home or in my workplace. My imagined picturesque space is a narrow river with its nurturing waters. I imagine all my thoughts like falling leaves, dropping, descending, plunging gently into the waters, flowing with the current, out…out flowing out to sea, where all rivers end.

Solitude with nature is like a gentle caress for the soul. To renew our mind, body and spirit, we need to make time to go to a solitary place where nature and me are alone and spend time to get to know each other. Sometimes we cannot do this physically and so we do it meditatively. The benefits of relating with nature and meditation are numerous. Connecting with nature opens up our sense of the sacred. We begin to be care-full. We begin to touch gently and handle creation lovingly. Neuropsychologists have discovered that meditation decreases activity in the left parietal lobe of the brain and therefore increases the practice of selflessness. “People with these selfless spiritual experiences also are more psychologically healthy, especially if they have positive beliefs...” ( Science Daily, Dec 22, 2008) In emptying our thoughts when in silence, we increase our ability to yield more to others, and be more tolerant and understanding. In a most gentle and loving way, we learn to respect Life…

A certain thought dancing through my head: this wonder-full expression of reconnecting with Nature can be traced back to the beginning of time – to the beginnings of the Universe, of life on Earth. Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry articulates it elegantly in their “The Universe Story” : The universal order that holds things together in a comprehensive embrace can be presented in mathematical equations. But it can be and consistently has been presented in mythic form. From earliest times, this vast embrace bonding all things together in the magnificence of the entire created order has been understood in the maternal metaphor of the Great Mother. It was the fecundity and the nurturing quality of the universe that so impressed the earliest humans. This principle of fecundity and this nurturing quality we can now identify with that grand curvature of the universe, for this indeed is the creative and nurturing context of all that exists.” (B. Swimme and T. Berry, 1992, The Universe Story, pp 219-220)

Romancing the stars and the waxing moon that night in my hermitage was truly revivifying. I imagined every tissue in my body regenerating. It was invigorating. I felt reconciled with my mind, my body and my spirit. I felt for most of the people out there in the night…Sometimes we come from a brokenness that just needs some space to pick up the pieces, no hurry. Sometimes we come from a fragmented, disfigured, crippled relationship. We feel shattered, battered and bruised. Sometimes we do feel like we need to find our Selves again, to revive what is weakening, and to restore some “soul” in us. Humanity is writhing in pain. All of humanity as well as Earth community. And in the midst of all this, Life continues. Growing, loving, peacemaking, giving, thanking, and above all hoping.

At this very moment, after reading this piece, do go out and touch a leaf, feel its contours, its smoothness or roughness. Or drive yourself through the more picturesque side of your route to work. Or go out in the early evening and just feel the night slowly yielding to darkness. Or place your hand in the middle of your chest and feel your heartbeat…your blood flowing…just like the river in my imagination...just like all rivers, our blood flows…for Life is Beautiful. Go gently...

(thanks to friends all over, for pictures...)

One Year!

I never noticed it... It's been a year since I started blogging. And that was supposed to be last June...I was lost in some other space for Being...would like to share with you my very first blog, and I quote...

"fresh flowers. a leaf bud appearing. freshly cut grass. signs of newness indeed. take a deep breath. life is good, isn't it? welcome to a new beginning as i am starting a life anew! today is a day for sacred space. as all of creation is, you are a special one. join me on a healing path as we journey through life. you may have gone through a labyrinthine walk in your life, a deep downspiral journey into darkness where you've never been before. i have gone through the same experience, and is still going through a lot in my life right now. some people call it depression. whatever it is, what matters is we are able to gather the wisdom we so need and the grace to embrace us."

I am indeed grateful to all you who have followed me, my "kamanlalakbay", my fellow journeyers...

I am grateful for all the blessings in life I have received. As a gift, here's a feature article I wrote that was published in a magazine. It features my friend and his group of very unique people...who love our culture, and who are doing their best to preserve it...

SANGHABI: Weaving Wellness through Sound and Dance

"Keep an open mind and try to eliminate assumptions. Not everyone in a given culture is the same. Treat people as you would like to be treated. Learn more about unfamiliar cultures. Become familiar with your own ethnic background. Ask your grandparents or other family members about your family history. Move from dualistic thinking to a multi-cultural way of thinking. Interact with others about their traditions and cultures. Reconnect with people of different cultures to collaborate on mutual goals." (www.csuchico.edu/wellness/whatis/cultural) These are just some of the ways we can encourage one another towards cultural wellness. How is cultural wellness different from the "wellness" we all understand to be connected to "health"? In fact, it has a lot to say about "health", and may be just the key to a certain well-being we all need to embrace.

When I first got acquainted with this unique collective of talents, I felt a different aura around them. The group's language is peace. I was introduced to them by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in an Indigenous Music event. Soon, I was instantly transported to someplace I can't even say where. When I listened to a story of the Mountain People of the Cordilleras through the soothing sound of the Tongali (Kalinga nose flute) all at once I understood what was going on inside me. I had a craving for where I came from...for the roots of who I am...for the home of my mother and father ancestors...for the high places where my spirit leaps...

Indigenous peoples are fast vanishing because of the layers of Western influences overpowering this "original blessing". We have long been disconnected from the past that have nourished who we are now. Many of us have come from "forgotten origins on a mission we no longer recall". And we now find ourselves "disconnected from our real roots and alienated from our true nature." We have somehow wandered away from the "earlier times when human beings felt they belonged". There is a need to awaken us to a true and forgotten identity, and return to our "home". Everyday, when I leave my workplace in the heart of Manila, I'd encounter a multitude of students heading for home from the congestion of the University Belt. I immediately feel that somehow there seems to be disconnectedness, with no time to enjoy the sky displaying a breathtaking spray of colors deep orange, a sentimental blue and a delicious blend of purple and pink. Missing something like that is indeed disheartening. We have allowed our minds to be trained to forget and dismiss the beauty of nature, nowhere else to be found. But looking deep into our honest selves, we crave for life-giving spaces...

Thus, we find ourselves in a great adventure to return to our origins. Where our ancestors flourished in a simplistic way of life. Where our original mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers danced and sang as it was part of everyday life. Where music was not studied, but embraced as Life. This is the message of Sanghabi...

The word is translated as "one weave". The name serves as a metaphor for the culmination of years of development of ideas and concepts after ten years of facilitating workshops, doing performances as well as conducting its own research on Philippine culture. As it is a newly-organized non-profit organization, Sanghabi is a natural offshoot of Hibla (which means, fiber or thread). It continues to build on the work it started with Hibla from way back 1998 and has expanded its core membership to include individuals interested in Philippine Culture. Because it envisions moving towards one Filipino consciousness ("one weave") rooted in the Indigenous arts of music and movement, Sanghabi hopes to contribute to education of the FIlipino of the diversity and richness of Filipino culture. As it helps its participants discover this diversity through learning the cultural context of Indigenous musical instruments and movement in celebration of community, Sanghabi hopes to accompany participants in reclaiming the Filipino heritage, and thus recover, what was for many centuries hidden and buried underneath layers of cultural conditioning. Ultimately Sanghabi aims to reach its goal of being a way to healing conflicting ways of life as it educates the Filipino of the diversity and richness of Philippine culture. In this sense, cultural wellness is an awareness of one's own cultural background, as well as the diversity and richness present in other cultural backgrounds. It involves interacting well with people of both genders, different backgrounds, lifestyles, abilities, ethnicities, and ages.

By providing space and a process to create experience, Sanghabi teaches that through the pintig (the beat or pulse that Indigenous music is made of), participants discover how a community comes together by way of sound and movement. Community is not organized around geography, race, or ethnicity. Community is about a way of thinking that builds relationships, togetherness, and cohesion. Community is created by the weaving of the processes of talents, skills, and inner wisdom. Sanghabi achieves this by allowing people to enter through the avenues of workshops, lectures, events, specific initiatives, support groups and doing performances. Engagement then, is the primary success indicator.

Looking into its future initiatives, Sanghabi believes that a knowledge and engagement in life-giving culture is the beginning of a truly healthy way of living. Healing happens when people recognize and accept the wisdom within themselves and their ancestors, and taps their practices, disciplines, and traditions. It believes that wellness is hinged on the engagement in self-assessment and personal goal attainment connected to family and kinship, community and culture. Reconciliation among cultures contributes to healing in the cultural dimension, which, in turn, affects community and personal health. Health happens because the space and the activities open up the person. When the person is opened, they are educated and prepared to take ownership of their health. Sanghabi hopes to weave a colorful tapestry of happy and healthy life-giving and life-bearing individuals.

For now, its focus is clear: " Pagtibayin ang pagka-Pilipino ng bawa't isa sa pamamagitan ng pag-uugat sa katutubong tunog at galaw at pahalagahan ang katutubong tradisyon " (to strengthen being Pilipino through rootedness in Indigenous sound and movement and in giving value to Indigenous tradition).

Sanghabi invites all, beginner or non-beginner, to be part of this adventure of weaving, this variegated interlacing of sound and movement to realize cultural wellness in a collective pursuit. Its humble center, Balay ng Hibla, located in 8 N.Domingo St., San Juan, Metro Manila, houses its interesting collection of Indigenous instruments from North to South of the Philippines. Here, one may meet cultural worker and bamboo instrument maker Leo Emmanuel Castro at work. He would be happy to tell you stories of indigenous peoples and their lifeways!

See you there… or perhaps in one of their performances?...may we all be well...go gently...

Soultales In Parallel Universes...

The god of surprises did it again. But first, it was not an easy route. Life must really be tough, i thought. I was thinking about the old days. When inhabitants of these islands had to trek through thick forests and endless heights on foot. It felt like moving up was unstoppable. Gee, i thought, when it's easy to go up, it must not be difficult to fall down. Falling, after all, is an art, so they say. That thought was meant to comfort me. And it did. My mind wandered about, while my eyes rolled here and there. You seem to be looking for something, he asked. No, I'm observing, I snapped. I'm trying to look for a jacaranda tree. It's my kind of an uncommon tree. I was trained to be observant in my College days. A scientist, they say, should have a sensitive eye. And a sensing heart, I countered. As a people we love to concoct mixtures, dilute fluids, dream up recipes. It makes of our culture. See, halo-halo, kare-kare, pito-pito, and so on. I love to challenge my self with preparing a delicious blend of science, spirituality, economics, and arts. This is what makes up life. This is what I see around me. Particularly on this zigzag road to Nakar, Quezon. A road symbolic of a new path I am carving...

I never expected this was going to happen. I was invited to a team-building session of my new colleagues. I was extremely grateful, because I know by this gesture that I have been accepted by the group. Wonderful indeed. I prepared myself to savor a long list of structured activities, that should be rigidly followed. I was expecting to meet a Director who would give instructions on assigning people to do this and to do that. A bolt from the blue it was, and all expectations failed. Great. This is what leaves one in utter wonderment. I suppose nobody in the group noticed but I was truly relieved when I learned that there was no schedule and no structure at all. (You know how it feels? When before a class in Calculus your professor says, yes class no quiz today. Whew. I can continue reading my novel while he solves the problems of the world on the chalkboard.) But amazement comes in all shapes, colors, forms, and sizes. You know how it feels when you're new in a group, right? There is just no word in the dictionary for that. There were epiphanies and revelations. Humanity is celebrating in that moment in time. In that piece of space in this Universe nine human beings danced, sang, cooked, moved their beings to the extreme. It was not difficult for me to fit in to this hallowed space. This is Life rejoicing...

The Hut By The Sea was perfect. Rustic is perfection. To taste life at its best, I need to bow, bend, almost kiss the earth to touch its beauty. To savor its sweetness, I yield to Earth's call of madness. In the mundane things that being-ness offers, I receive with gladness. Every little encounter in the three days and two nights by the sea, was pregnant with meaning. Ready to give birth to newness. Nature's generosity was overwhelming...the breaking dawn...sunset beyond the Sierra Madre...sticks and stones...driftwood...toiling fisherfolk...the toad in the room...the lone egret...three hungry dogs...and a friendly cat...bounty from the sea...the fern salad...the starry, starry night (no wonder Van Gogh went mad)...I can go mad...this is madness for longing for wisdom hidden in the simple. For it is in the simple that the god of surprises dwells...

go gently through life...

midlifing in may

now i know, i'm pretty sure,
i am midlifing...
after seven cycles of seven years,
i have reached a point in time
when i believe in me...
that i can utter a pure "no"
to things i cannot do.

the heat of the noontime sun
scorching every bit of skin cell
so symbolic of this noontime
of my life..



the summer, simmering, smoldering sun,
heating up from within
giving, offering, accompanying,
unburdening, encouraging,
drawing, creating, re-creating...



from where shall i heave my strength?
my knees are shaking
my eyes are failing
and yet my body pines, and yearns
for youth...




ahhh...the wisdom i have gleaned
from my colorful past.

oh the life i made from my
gaudy bygone days.

i shall treasure...
for i grow...still and silent
as i await my passing...

Remembering the Women of Our Lives...They Who Have Nourished Our Souls

I feel a wonderful rush up my bloodstream. Call it excitement. There are many transitions happening at this time of the year and at this time of my life. In the Northern Hemisphere, the change from winter to spring is anticipated. The fresh, renewed soul of this season brings a revitalized energy after the long hibernating spirit of winter. After a long resting period, nature transforms and unfolds into buds, greens, meristems...




In the Philippines, where the seasons are only the wet and the dry, this time of the year ushers in the summer months - the dry season. The scent of yellow Narra tree blossoms waft through the air, a gentle sign that summer is here. And so is graduation, end-of-the-school year, entrance exams, thesis defenses, mangoes, watermelons, turnips, Acacia tree blossoms, Bougainvilleas’ colorful display, and the most revered "halo-halo" (an ingenoius concoction of crushed ice, sweetened beans, chickpeas, nata de coco, sago, sweetened saba banana, ube jam, milk, sugar, and topped with ube ice-cream!) Yes, I am writing in the month of March. And I feel that a most important event during this month is the celebration of women.




Remembering is so much a part of our lives. We remember each other's birthday. We bring to memory religious festivities and rituals that are so much a part of who we are as family and as a people. We celebrate feasts and honor our saints and holy people. We recall who they were and what they have contributed to our well-being. Remembering philosophers, scientists, artists, doctors, teachers and professionals and their contributions are much a part of our academic pursuits. The Israelites have faithfully reminded one another about "remembering". For it is in remembering the saving power of God that they have preserved their faith. Indeed, in remembering, we hold in our hearts , an eternal joy, the fruit of our life-giving experiences.

( from http://www.olssonkart.dinstudio.se/gallery_1.html)

And so, we celebrate the presence of half of the population of the world. We celebrate the presence of those who, together with men, have given their lives to preserve generations. It began in the U.S., when in the late 1800s, factory women bravely marched the streets to protest low wages and inhuman treatment. Bravery, courage, strength. Today that same bravery, courage, and strength is their legacy to us, their children, women and men as we are. And because gratitude is a memory of the heart, together we remember. Let me share with you, a piece of poetry I wrote for Women’s Month years ago…

A REMEMBERING…


The women who have gone before us, our mother ancestors, who have nourished us through time…

The women who have suffered pain, persecution and death so that we may be able to speak out and make decisions for ourselves…

The women who have carved the path to help us journey on and reach our dreams…

The women who have washed our clothes...

The women who have cooked our meals...

The women who have cleaned our houses...

The women who have designed and woven beautiful fabrics...

The women who have sewn our clothes...

The women who have healed us with their hands, herbs and oils...

The women who were our teachers… those who spent their whole lives forming us into what we have become…

The women in factories…committed to produce the best commodities to nourish us…

The women who have built bridges to mend the gaps in our lives…

The women who took risks in the past, so that women in crisis today may be sheltered and cared for…

The women who spent sleepless nights writing, journaling, thinking so that today, we read their stories of inspiration, encouragement and love…

The women who have invented the little things in life making our lives today much easier…

The women who have nurtured orphaned children, so that each may feel the love of a mother…

The women who have breastfed their children; mothers who have given their bodies to nourish future leaders, artisans, scientists, poets…

The women who sang to their children – mothers whose song and music nourished her child’s soul…

The women who read to their children – mothers whose voices and words nourished her child’s mind…

The women who have fallen and struggled to rise from the pit of desolation…

The women who have strayed away and drifted from the rest of us, because we have condemned them, called them names, labeled them...

The women who have journeyed with us through life – friends, companions who accompany us and who have committed to be with us for always…

We remember them…for they are our SISTERS walking as pilgrims on the same path, heading towards healing...and fulfilling our DREAMS…We remember...and we will never forget...those whose bodies have nourished our souls…may they always be. e

I happily invite you today, to craft something special for that woman in your life; mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, aunt, grand-aunt, friend. Bring her to your heart and whisper the song of your spirit…that deep call within you that weaves through the stories of your lives together. Remember… her presence brings life, healing, and love that nurtures the garden within....

go gently...

(thanks to friends who shared their photos...)

Meditation Chimes

Be good to your Self...

Click on the chimes and enjoy...
Peace be with you always...

Hope in the Coming Year!

Every new year allows some space for us to take a deep breath and....
wow... welcome new beginnings!


I remember mom would always say when we were kids: Ok, I know
you did something wrong; but remember, we will begin again...I think that's
a great opportunity to correct whatever error you committed and
reconcile with differences. After all, there are no mistakes...only lessons to be learned!


If you notice I'm sharing with you pictures of Mandalas. I love mandalas. It helps in focusing, meditation and reflecting about Life. This coming year, wouldn't it be great for us to visualize more specifically what we love to do and what we think will make us express our true Self, what God wants us to Be. And that's for us to have life and make it the fullest life ever!



Thank you all for a wonderful blogging life last year! You are all blessings to this blog!
Go gently through the year...