Last night, on my bus ride going home, a song played in my mind’s ear. The lyrics were broken in my memory, yet it sang a familiar tune and lyrics with phrases in different languages, translating the phrase “I Love you”. The last line of the song was quite a tear-jerker: “…tanging lunas ang Pag-ibig.” […]
Read more "One World, One Song"There is one very familiar way of breathing for every Filipino under distress. It is a kind or form of Sacred breath that begins with a very deep inhale in the nostrils followed by a forceful exhale through the mouth. It is called buntung-hininga. A huge amount of breath is being released, both a literal […]
Read more "Buntung-hininga: A Deep Sacred Breath"Often, we are not aware that we breathe. Life continues even if we forget our breathing. We could take breathing for granted because it is only a normal process of our bodies, just as we take our hearts for granted because it beats normally without our control. Or we could choose to pay attention to […]
Read more "On Sacred Breath"I find it very interesting–and existential–to ponder about dried flowers (mostly roses) in most households I visited. Women keep them until they wilt and dry. What was once a blooming, fragrant bouquet now literally turns to dust after several months. But they are still well-kept, often in a long, ribboned box. They seem to appear […]
Read more "Romance + Love: A New Equation"Teachers, I believe, are among the most memorable people in our lives. I’m saying this to refer to teachers whom we both hated and admired. But those teachers we have always admired for what we learned from them are the ones who have stayed in our heart’s memory. In my high school days, my old, […]
Read more "On Teaching Love"The truth between romance and Love lies between the myths and facts about them. Finding that romance and Love are equal and not equal at the same time is confounding, but the foremost step is to realize that they are both. Romance and Love are equal to remind us that they are not. It is […]
Read more "Truth: Romance/Love"The myth ends when the fact begins. This new equation, romance is NOT equal to Love wakes us to sane realities of romance. The first reality is that Love is neither about a perfect person nor a perfect relationship. This statement returns power to well-known cliché, there is no such thing perfect. This is true, […]
Read more "Fact: Romance≠Love"I understand the initial hesitation of many people when they read the word romance. First, it could be something so cheesy that there is no more to learn from it. Second, it is something that reminds their past experiences that perhaps brought them disillusionment. Third, there is always an assumption that everyone knows about romance, […]
Read more "Myth: Romance = Love"What do most religious leaders have in common? Priest, pastors, nuns, monks, spiritual teachers and the like are people we often revere as guides, advisers and mediators between us and the Divine. We witness ceremonies they often officiate as special events. They summon the Divine to inspire us and hear our prayers. We respect and […]
Read more "The Ritualist"More than two years have passed when I first began capitalizing the letter L in the word Love. It was just two nights ago when my partner, Claire, asked me the reason behind it. Since then, she has read of my writings of Love, and Love still has the big L. After I explained to […]
Read more "The Capital “L”"