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New Year’s resolution: Clarity | Philstar.com
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Sunday Lifestyle

New Year’s resolution: Clarity

FROM THE HEART - Gina Lopez - The Philippine Star

It was New Year’s Day and I was on an island in Coron. Most everyone was asleep because of the partying the previous night. I had a really good meditation. I felt blessings raining down — beautiful white light pouring on my sister and my mother with whom I was meditating.

I reflected on this: What would be a good way to go for 2015? What would be the key strategic move that would make an impact in my life? And I realize the direction is clarity.

Seeing the whole “landscape” — meaning being aware of the forces that come into play in one’s life; the external forces, be it forces of materialism or forces resonant with Goodness. The “landscape” includes internal forces: one’s past, one’s insecurities, one’s weaknesses, one’s strengths. It is the landscape of one’s consciousness. It is the world one has to deftly maneuver, keeping sight of where one ultimately wants to go, which for me is towards the forces of truth and light.

Clarity. The ability to see where one is, where one is going, and the higher vision to know where one wants to go.

Clarity is such an important aspect of spiritual life. There have to be “warning signals.” “Oops, I should be doing something else…” or “Oops, that was not so appropriate.” Then it’s good to pause, to “see” and to be aware, and then let the Higher Me take over.

We all have shadow aspects of our persona. It is totally normal. The key is not to let these “shadow” aspects take over or hold sway. This entails a considerable degree of will power. It is not easy to do battle with default weapons that have been there for decades. Victory, though, brings with it a sense of freedom — an exhilaration that comes with the shedding of something that has been dragging us or draining our energy.

It is easy to get sucked into the maelstrom of things to be done, losing sight of the inner dimension that is actually more critical because it is from here that all things get done.

I have found that an honest reassessment of my day provides an impetus to get continually better. It is pretty amazing how writing can be therapeutic. When I write it’s almost like my Higher Me is mentoring myself. I reread my diary and think, “I wrote that? That’s pretty good…”

I have had this column for almost 10 years now. It has been a joy sharing my experiences and hearing from readers. Writing about realizations crystallizes the learning in one’s consciousness.

Life is about moving together. I want to thank you all for being part of my life’s journey. I assure you there is light at the end of every tunnel. There is nothing that is insurmountable. We are so not alone. Each and every one of you is so loved.

We move on — in clarity — receiving from the forces that are there to guide us; never forlorn; always, always hopeful. We find the gold in ourselves. We input our energies to make this world a much, much better place to live.

On a lighter note, there is another aspect of life that is important: joy. I was looking at the videos I had two weeks before 2014 ended and the first week of 2015. They are so funny, I want to share them.

Go to YouTube and type the following:

“Christmas with Aetas.” This is a video of me dancing with Aetas. I was in Iba, Zambales where we have property with the relocatees from Mt. Pinatubo.

“PRRC Christmas Party 2014.” This is the team-building event for Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), where we had races. Look at one of our river warriors racing. The race had to be done with a paper plate between the feet. It’s a scream.

“Sports Fest 2014.” Every end of the year I have a sports fest with my household help and their families and we have another major one with the household help of all my siblings together with us. It is invariably so much fun! It’s a great way to end the year as it reinforces the feeling of family.

“ALKFI Sports Fest 2014.” Last year for ABS-CBN Foundation’s 25th anniversary we similarly had a sports fest for all of the foundation. Involved were all the departments. It included games and singing, goodies provided to all, plus a bigger bonus than usual. Twenty-five years is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration and my people certainly deserved it. In this line I would like to thank the companies that helped us make the event joyous, giving my people a well-deserved pat on the back. (There were Magnifico Jeans for the Wrangler Bags which my staff loved, Terry S. A. for great flip-flops, Taters for snacks during our sports fest, Made In Candy for candy jars, Honda for the 25th anniversary jackets, Pizza Pedricos for thin-crust pizza which I really liked, Marikina Food Corporation Noche Buena Packs. These corporations really made our day!)

Joy. It is a good way to end the year and a good way to begin a new one. Actually, joy is a good thing to have the whole year round.

* * *

If you want to try meditation techniques that have worked for me there is a meditation workshop on Feb. 21 and 22 at Rockwell. Call Sarah Bulan at 415-2272 local 3791 or email sarahjane_bulan@abs-cbn.com for reservations. CC me at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.

AETAS

CALL SARAH BULAN

CHRISTMAS PARTY

DAY AND I

FORCES

GOOD

HIGHER ME

MADE IN CANDY

ONE

SPORTS FEST

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