Pamposh Dhar

Life is as you see it...

2011-12-26T09:57:00.000+08:00

A friend finally inspired me to get off my butt and join her Pilates class. She has an instructor who teaches not more than 3 people at a time, so she can give individual attention (or almost) to her students.

So my friend and I showed up to ask if she would take us on together. She took one look at us and exclaimed: “My goodness! You are totally different!!” Poor thing, she has her work cut out for her – I think she has taken it on as a challenge. She gets us to do different exercises for most of the hour, and watches over both of us to make sure we do it right.

Her gut reaction to the two of us – as potential Pilates students – made me laugh. It’s true, of course – I have 20 plus years on my friend and I won’t say just how many kilos. And she’s a good 8 inches taller than me. (Hey, I’m just as gorgeous as her, just in a different way! :))

Funny thing, though – I always thought we were so alike. Because our values, and many of our ideas, are so similar. The only difference I had really noticed was the difference in age – because we are, of course, at different stages in life; but also because, despite the age difference, we share so many ideas and values!

I guess life is as you see it. And how you see it depends on your perspective – a Pilates teacher must assess physical fitness and needs, a Reiki teacher is more likely to notice ideas and values. Simple. Good to see things from a different perspective once in a while though – shakes things up and keeps life interesting.

P.S. – Our Pilates classes are a lot of fun. More about that in another post perhaps.

MUM

2011-09-06T19:00:00.001+08:00

As my Mum’s 86^th birthday approaches, and as we plan for a bit of surgery she will need to have before that, I’m once again thinking of all that she has meant to me and the role she continues to pay in my life.

My parents are both 86 and live with my husband and me now in Singapore. Papa is not very mobile now and has lots of niggly little problems that make life a bit hard. Mum has had all manner of illnesses over the years but remains cheerful and fun-loving. She has helped Papa keep up his spirits too. When he gets into a feeling-sorry-for-himself mood, we both tell him to smile. He does, and immediately cheers up.

It was my Mum who several years ago kindled my interest in Reiki (energy) healing. When I do presentations on Reiki now, I often end with the story of Mum’s astonishing healing with Reiki. The last time I started on this story I suddenly realized two women in the audience were gaping at me in amazement. This is because they have met my Mum and seen her dance at one of our parties at home; so when I started the story with a description of her severe attack of sciatica, which had made her completely bed-ridden, they couldn’t believe I was talking about the same woman!

The Reiki healing was truly amazing. But no less was Mummy’s spirit, will-power and openness to the energy. To the amazement of the surgeon, who had predicted the possibility of her being able to sit again – but not walk – she made a complete recovery even without his surgery!

Now, at 86, she has very little short-term memory, but she remembers older things perfectly. And in every other way her brain is sharper than all our brains put together! Just because her short-term memory is shot to pieces – which it is – people assume she can’t think rationally. This morning, when the doctor asked me for the third time if she was competent to sign her consent for the surgery, I asked him to talk to her directly. She immediately put him on the defensive by asking him to give her his professional opinion as a doctor instead of asking her if she “wanted” to have the growth removed.

In the past year, Mum has enthusiastically taken part in our parties at home and our outings outside the home. However, she refuses to go out without Papa, so we go out less often now. Except for her appointments with doctors, which she does consent to keep even without Papa. Today, she grumbled throughout her echo cardiogram, insisted she was about to peg out, demanded to know if I was keeping an eye on her handbag; then, when it was over, got up cheerfully, her good humour completely restored.

Every time we have friends over at home, she makes some attempt at being a decorous elder. After dinner, around 10 or 11 pm she politely says good night, gathers up her husband, and makes off to her bedroom. Since most of our parties end up with music and dance, I take her byes with a pinch of salt. As soon as the music starts, she comes right back and starts dancing with us. Never mind that she had a pacemaker, with her heart working at only 10 percent of capacity, and never mind that she uses a walker (frame) to walk. She doesn’t need any support when she’s in the mood to dance. And nothing can stop her.

More on Mum and me (an article from 2009)

Contemporary Pakistani Art in Singapore, till May 25

2011-05-22T17:10:00.002+08:00

17 artists display their works, on a variety of subjects, using diverse media and styles.
MICA Building, 140 Hill Street, ARTrium. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To Aftab, on Mother's Day

2011-05-08T01:52:00.001+08:00

My nephew Aftab was the only guy who ever gave me a Mother's Day card. This is something I wrote for a memory book put together this year by Aftab's family and friends, 10 years after he passed out of our lives.

An energy dwelling in my heart

30 years of memories – 20 years with both of us on this side of life and 10 years with a divider between us that we cross suddenly, unexpectedly, once in a while.

I remember asking you that last time in Manila: How did you get from that to this? Meaning how did you get from being a tiny bundle in blue, born a few days earlier than expected (but of course!) to a hulking 20-year-old?

And now you’re an energy, mostly dwelling in the recesses of my heart, but sometimes bursting forth and moving right through me, as you did that time in the funeral home, pushing me to laugh right through my tears. Or an energy manifesting before my eyes as I watched in astonishment, bringing your Dadi (grandma) with you, in the church in Manila, in the midst of a rather formal wedding ceremony.

So much has changed. And yet – so little. I feel the same strong connection with you, the same love from both sides, yours and mine, the same sense that this is a “forever” connection. The quality and essence of you-ness is still the same. Whenever I connect with you, I can feel your smile, your sense of fun, your quirky sense of humour. And the warm-and-fuzzy-ness of you. The somewhat overwhelming energy of your greeting, which was your trademark. Even when you were little: you wouldn’t hug me, you’d sort of come at me and crash into me.

You first became real to me just before you were born. I’d been in hospital with your Mum since early morning, but you didn’t seem to be in such a rush to come out after all. So I wandered out for a quick lunch. When I got back, your Mum was surrounded by nurses, one of whom pounced on me. She was looking for a family member to give permission for a Caesarian. Your Mum had already given her permission but I guess they wanted a non-labour-pains-suffering family member to confirm it. Your Dad had just gone off to grab some coffee or something, so I was it.

To convince me of the need for the procedure, the nurse made me listen to your heartbeat, which was faltering. You were still inside your Mum, I hadn’t seen you yet, but that heartbeat was all that I needed to make a forever connection with you! I can still hear that beat in my head.

A few hours later, another nurse wheeled you out, sleeping peacefully in a glass case. I was allowed to look at you, but not to touch you yet – born a bit early, you were still under observation. The warm snuggles would start only the next day.

That next day, your parents were in a panic. The usual pre-natal ultrasound had not provided visual proof of gender, so your parents had decided you were a girl. They would call you Zoon, a nice Kashmiri name for a pretty little girl, meaning moon. Well, you laid that idea to rest. Under Swiss law, they had to register your birth – with a name – within 24 hours and they had no idea what to call you!

After frantic phone calls to your Dad’s parents in Allahabad, and your Mum’s parents in Delhi, they settled on Aftab, which means Sun in both Urdu and Kashmiri. Both your grandmothers, independently of each other, had come up with this name (each in their respective mother-tongue). And that’s how you became our sunshine.

I stuck on in Geneva till you were four months old. Rocked you to sleep many nights to songs by Police (Sting), which happened to be my favourite music at the time. Took you around Geneva in a baby harness with you snuggled up in front. The first time I took you on a bus like that, a young woman got up and offered me her seat. A new pleasure for me at age 21! Another time I was eating a salad with you strapped to my front, happily wielding my knife and fork, when an old man came up to me, wagged his finger in my face, and said: “Pas coupez la tête!” [Don’t cut the head!]

I loved having you in that baby harness thing – whatever it’s called. You would happily go to sleep, so I guess you enjoyed it too. I just loved feeling the warmth and restful quiet of you, our hearts beating close to each other, our energies mingling… Of course, I didn’t think in these words then, I just enjoyed the feeling...

Soon I was back in Delhi with your Mum and you. You met your Nana and Nani, your Mum’s parents. Later, your Mum took you to Allahabad to meet your Dada and Dadi, your Dad’s parents. In Delhi, there were dozens of people to fawn over you (no doubt the same was true of Allahabad as well). But we found time to sneak off and sun ourselves in Lodhi Gardens where we starred in the famous photo of me lying face down on the grass and reading, with you lolling merrily on my back.

A picture you decided to reproduce years later when you found me in my favourite pose on the living room floor in our fabulous rambling old house in Manila, falling on top of me without warning, nearly knocking the stuffing out of me. I yelled to your Mum to pull you off me, you now a hulking 20-year-old; but Tara merely laughed and rushed for her camera! Yeah, it was funny, but my laughter was somewhat constrained by a severe lack of breath.

Between those two “photo ops,” you grew from that to this. A little boy who, apart from me, was the only person in this world who loved my room in your Nana-Nani’s house. A room you mysteriously christened “doh-doh,” no-one knew why. A four-year-old who came bursting into the living room one evening as I came back from work and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Raju, then my boyfriend. You seemed to know instinctively that here was someone who was going to be a rival for your Masi’s (aunt’s) attention. Raju and I still laugh when we remember you sizing him up from across the dining table.

Once Raju and I were married, you two became good friends, but it was only in Hong Kong that you grew really close. You were 15, in Hong Kong for a month to attend summer school. You stayed with Raju and me and, for that month, I became an official mother-figure, calling your bluff when you tried to put one over on me, telling you off when you left your room in an unholy mess the first morning, etc etc.

But we had a lot of fun too. You’d come back from school and drag me out of my den where I’d be writing furiously to meet some deadline or the other. The next hour was yours – no exceptions. You’d usually end up sprawled out on our sofa, your head in my lap, and we’d exchange notes on the day.

Once you asked me to read an essay you’d written for school – if I remember right, for English class. I said it was very good, you had a lot of original ideas and you wrote well – but you really should read through your work, Aftab, and clean up the careless mistakes. You grinned sheepishly and said your English teacher back home said almost exactly the same thing to you!

That was so you – brilliant, but not one for routine, mundane stuff; full of fun, full of life, not one to take yourself or life too seriously. An ideas man. And a raconteur – oh were you ever that! At Christmas dinner that year you entertained us with a wonderful and exotic tale. Raju and I enjoyed it thoroughly, exaggeration and all, but one of our friends sat there with her mouth hanging open in amazement, believing every single word. And you, hogging the limelight with your tall tale, fantastically well told. Oddly, I never saw one of your plays – but I know you were a fabulous actor.

Five years later, in December 2000, we celebrated Christmas with you and your parents in Manila. You gave me a small, delicate glass snowman as my Xmas gift. Raju got a pair of beer coolers – is that what they are called? Those things you slip your mug into so the beer doesn’t get warm.

Two weeks later you were gone. Except you weren’t really, were you? Every time I think of you, there you are. The first time I clearly encountered this invisible you was the day I looked at “you” in the funeral home and thought: “there’s no-one there; he really is gone.” I went into the washroom to cry by myself. I remember so clearly sobbing over the washbasin, looking at my own face in the mirror, and seeing myself laugh through the tears. You were now an energy moving inside me, making me laugh.

There were so many meetings after that, many in my dreams and so many in my wakeful hours. Moving me to laugh and dance in our living room in Manila just as I started to cry on Raju’s shoulders. Wrapping me in a bear hug in my dream as you said: “It’s been a while since we hugged.”

And then, in 2008, in the beautiful old church at a wedding in Manila. The large, Spanish-style church was filled with the relatives and friends of the young couple. Raju and I were sitting with a group of our friends several pews up from the altar, with an open space between us and the pew in front of us. We had all settled down for what we knew would be a rather long ceremony.

Then suddenly everyone in the church seemed to fade into the background and you and your Dadi (paternal grandmother) – who had recently passed – were standing before me in that clear space between the two pews. You were chatting and laughing together, happy and carefree. I felt such a clear sense of happiness and togetherness between the two of you. Both of you, large as life, standing right there in the church in the middle of a wedding ceremony, ignoring the ceremony, visible only to me.

“Aftab, what are you showing me?” I asked you (in my mind). “Are you showing me that you are both together now?” Immediate surge of energy within me, as if to say yes. “And that Ammi (your Dadi) is free now? Happy where she is?” Yes, said the energy. “And that you are together?” Affirmative energy again. I wanted to make sure I’d understood, so I summed up in another question: “So essentially, are you showing me that you are together now, that you are both happy, and that Ammi is free of the limiting ailments she had?” Yes, yes, yes, said the energy.

I knew you were saying yes, but I wanted something more. An affirmation I could understand not just with the heart and soul, but also with the mind – the mind, that is never satisfied. So I said to you: “OK, if this is what it is, if this is what you are showing me, then give me a clear sign.” And then, without thinking, I added: “Make the priest come up and talk to me after the ceremony.”

As soon as I’d said this, I realized how stupid this was. It was a huge ceremony in a very Catholic, very Filipino community, conducted by a priest who was much in demand for weddings, in a fashionable church that was booked ahead for months for such ceremonies. What would possess the priest to seek out one of only two non-Catholics in the entire congregation, someone who barely knew the bride, and come over for a chat?

So I apologized for making such an outrageous demand and “withdrew” it. How silly of me to ask for confirmation when the vision was so clear, so real, so obvious. It was so good to know that your Dadi, who had suffered such a lot of illness in her last years, was free, and happy, and with you. I already knew, from earlier encounters, that you were in a happy place.

As the vision slowly faded, I became aware of Raju’s gentle touch on my arm. He was reacting no doubt to my look of wonder and happiness. I squeezed his hand to tell him all was well and slowly came back to the ceremony in the church. By the time the ceremony was finally over and we regrouped in a hall upstairs for dinner, I had forgotten all about my foolish demand. The vision and the energies were still with me, but I was back in this world, chatting with my friends.

I sat between Raju and our friend Carmel. And almost at once, the priest arrived at our table and sat down beside Raju. Carmel whispered her surprise to me. The table was clearly assigned to the bride’s colleagues, with the company name written in bold, very visible letters. If the priest was going to have dinner with the wedding party, surely he would be seated with the couple or at least with their families or close friends.

But the priest sat there, chatting only to Raju and me, ignoring the six or seven other people at the table. Chatting of such inane matters that I can’t remember a word of the conversation. Carmel tried to engage him in conversation about the Church in her native Ireland, but he just nodded politely and returned to his very mundane conversation with us. Carmel whispered again: Is he going to eat with us? Will we have to be on our best behaviour throughout dinner? I shrugged “no idea.”

After 20 minutes or so, we were asked to go stand with the bride and groom for the wedding photographs. The priest stayed behind at our table. As we returned, I saw him walking out of the dining hall. We commented on his strange presence at our table – he didn’t go to any other table or talk to anyone else in the dinner hall. We wondered idly why we had been singled out for this honour.

It was only when Raju and I were back home and I started to tell him about the vision that I remembered asking you to send the priest over to talk to me after the ceremony!

An Old Tribute to My Mother

2011-05-07T14:08:00.000+08:00

Happy Mother's Day, all you Moms out there!

Save Sakineh! Act now to prevent her execution.

2010-11-03T15:21:00.000+08:00

Last July, a global outcry saved an Iranian woman from death by stoning. Now there are reports that she could be executed within 24 hours. The case against Sakineh is riddled with holes.

Read more about on avaaz.org and the International Committee Against Stoning.

Sign a petition that will be sent to leaders of countries that might be able to influence Iran to prevent the execution.

Ayodhya Verdict and Rama’s Birthplace

2010-10-11T12:42:00.001+08:00

How did we get so obsessed with the exact spot where Lord Rama may or may not have been born? If he is God incarnate, what is the significance of birth and death?

Is God born? And does God die?

If not, then every spot on earth is just another spot on earth; sacred if you believe it to be part of God's creation and infused with God's presence; just as little or as much as the next spot. And no place on earth then is a place for disharmony and killing.

Background: A High Court in India ruled recently that land that once held a 16^th Century mosque, demolished in 1992 by a Hindu mob, should be split three ways between "Hindus," "Muslims" and the Nirmohi Akhara (a Hindu organization). The Allahabad High Court found the Babri Masjid (mosque) had been built – back in the 16^th century – over a site held by Hindus to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, believed by Hindus to be an incarnation of God.

Letter to Aftab

2010-07-13T15:57:00.001+08:00

Yo, Aftab, how's life up there, buddy? Hey, Sunshine, in earth years you would be 30 tomorrow – all grown up and even more adult-like than the last time we met, in Jan 2001. We're having a family lunch for you down here tomorrow, complete with tehri and all. I'm planning a surprise dish – broccoli!! Ha ha ha ha ha. You laughing too?

Been thinking about you – then and now. In a sense, energy then and energy now. Warm and cuddly, then and now. Fun and laughing – same. When I think of you, I find myself feeling fuzzy-wuzzy warm and smiling to myself. And to you. Love you, my Affykins.

One of my abiding memories of you as a baby is you snuggled up against me in that baby harness – whatever it's called. Warm and fuzzy, usually asleep. Taking you on the bus like that and eating my salad with a fork and knife with you still asleep. And an old man walking up to us and saying, "Pas coupez la tete!" Funny. But what I meant to say was, you were always this warm, loving and fun energy to me – and you still are.

Another memory is rocking you to sleep at night to the music of The Police. And then you phoning me 15 years later from Montreux to say you had just listened to my favourite singer (Sting). Your voice smiling all the way down the line to Jakarta or wherever it was I was. Life moves in circles, doesn't it? Let's see where this loop takes us.

The Dalai Lama is 75

2010-07-06T08:27:00.003+08:00

July 6, 2010.

Some recent teachings by His Holiness:

The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities – warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful – happier.

Although the world's religions may differ fundamentally from one other in their metaphysical views, when it comes to their teachings on the actual practice of ethics, there is great convergence. All the faith traditions emphasize a virtuous way of being, the purification of the mind from negative thoughts and impulses, the doing of good deeds, and living a meaningful life.

Peace does not mean no more conflict among humanity. Conflict is bound to happen, so in order to keep peace in spite of conflict, the only realistic method is the spirit of dialogue, respecting the other side and understanding their viewpoint. We need to try and solve problems in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, in a spirit of reconciliation and compromise.

The Old People’s Home in Bukit Timah Road

2010-06-15T15:18:00.002+08:00

This morning I officially declared my house an old people's home. My 85-year-old parents have been living with us in our home for a month and a half, definitely raising the average age of the household. Then yesterday I discovered that my husband and I, having turned 50 last year, are eligible for a senior citizen's discount at Guardian, Singapore's major chain of pharmacies. And then my 85-year-old mother-in-law arrived for a visit this morning. That leaves only one young person in our home, that being our helper. (And wow, does she ever have her work cut out for her!)

First morning at the newly-declared Home was quite good fun. There is a general fascination for internal body functions and no subject is taboo. As we sat down to breakfast, my father complained of gas. My Ma-in-law said, rather philosophically, "Gas will go away." She advised him to walk it off, so he started walking up and down the dining room. (He couldn't go outside because it was raining.) Meanwhile, Ma-in-law promised us a special treat in the form of a "sad but very interesting story." Being wise to her meal-time anecdotes, I quickly consumed my toast, gulped down my coffee and settled down to listen to whatever might come. My husband was not so wise.

Ma-in-law now proceeded to tell us, in some detail, about the rotting body of a distant relative discovered three days after his death. My husband gave me a plaintive look, hand-with-toast frozen half-way to his mouth. I – having received my morning sustenance – smiled serenely and told him it was a new diet designed to turn him off his feed.

Lesson from Day 1 at the Home – As we grow older, we apparently shed a lot of our inhibitions, including those related to "polite conversation." I look forward to more "interesting" but hopefully not sad insights in the days ahead. I'm off to Nepal for 10 days tomorrow, but will resume the Journal of the Old People's Home in Bukit Timah Road later in the month. Watch this space, as they say. J

Maureen Dowd on Religious Institutions that Marginalize Women

2010-04-14T04:07:00.004+08:00

Negating women lies at the heart of the abuse of children by Catholic priests, writes Maureen Dowd in the New Year Times. In a hard hitting article, published April 10, the columnist notes that the Church appears to have been more concerned with its own reputation than with protecting children.

In Worlds Without Women, Dowd pulls no punches in her criticism of religious groups that marginalize women in defiance of the teachings of their prophets.

Read the full article here.

Some excerpts from Worlds Without Women:

To circumscribe women, Saudi Arabia took Islam's moral codes and orthodoxy to extremes not outlined by Muhammad; the Catholic Church took its moral codes and orthodoxy to extremes not outlined by Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus is surrounded by strong women and never advocates that any woman — whether she's his mother or a prostitute — be treated as a second-class citizen.

Negating women is at the heart of the church's hideous — and criminal — indifference to the welfare of boys and girls in its priests' care.

...

As in so many other cases, the primary concern seemed to be shielding the church from scandal. Chillingly, outrageously, the future pope told the Oakland bishop to consider the "good of the universal church" before granting the priest's own request to give up the collar — even though the bishop had advised Rome that the scandal would likely be greater if the priest were not punished.

…

The Vatican must realize that the church's belligerent, resentful and paranoid response to the global scandal is not working because it now says it will cooperate with secular justice systems and that the pope will have more meetings with victims. It is too little, too late.

The church that through the ages taught me and other children right from wrong did not know right from wrong when it came to children. Crimes were swept under the rectory rug, and molesters were protected to molest again for the "good of the universal church." And that is bad, very bad — a mortal sin.

The church has had theological schisms. This is an emotional schism. The pope is morally compromised. Take it from a sister.

Guest Post: N. Jayaram on Jafar Panahi, jailed Iranian film director

2010-03-22T18:20:00.014+08:00

N. Jayaram writes from Hong Kong:

I hope film personalities and writers attending the 34th HKIFF under way since Sunday (March 21 Over 100 screenings at film fest sold out) will voice solidarity with Jafar Panahi, the renowned Iranian director, now jailed in Tehran. His films, including The White Balloon, The Circle, Crimson Gold and Offside, proved most popular with HKIFF audiences over the past decade. He has taken top prizes in prestigious film festivals, including in Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

Mr Panahi, under arrest since March 1 without any charges, attended the festival twice – in 2001 and 2007– and has a large number of fans in Iran and abroad, including in Hong Kong, among film buffs. His incarceration has spread over Navroz, the Iranian new year, which began on March 21.

The irrepressible director has not only been a thorn in the side of his country's authoritarian rulers but has criticized China and the United States for having sought to bar entry to him. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime has been hounding not only dissidents but even prominent film-makers. Of the most famous directors, Mohsen Makhmalbaf has already left Iran. The films of Abbas Kiarostami are no longer being shown in his own country.

Human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran have called for Mr Panahi's immediate release, as have some Western governments. The European Film Academy, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Toronto Film Critics Association have joined in condemning the Tehran regime and calling for his release.

Film personalities and critics attending HKIFF owe it to themselves and to a star director to take a stand against the persecution of filmmakers everywhere in the world, including in Asia.

Allah by any other name...

2010-02-06T15:50:00.004+08:00

The so-called Allah controversy in Malaysia is one of the more ridiculous ones even in these polarized and increasingly intolerant times.

In a nutshell, this is the dispute: certain right-wing Muslim politicians feel Malaysian Christians should not refer to God as "Allah," even in Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language as spoken in Malaysia) - even though this is today the usual word for God in this language.

Does anyone imagine that God cares what word we use to address him or refer to him? Does God believe we should attack places of worship to fight over a devotee's right to address God in his or her own language?

Allah is a pre-Islamic Arabic word for God (or, in pre-Islamic days, for the highest deity). Over the past few decades it has made its way into Bahasa Malaysia along with many, many other words of Arabic origin. It has now, apparently, become the commonly used word for God in Malaysia.

But certain Malay "leaders" (read cynical politicians) have now decided that Allah is a word to be used only by Muslims. Does the Holy Qoran not tell us that there in no God but Allah? Why then do we need to look for other names for God? Surely none of us believe that each religion has a separate God holding court up in Heaven?

It is illogical and incorrect to ban non-Muslims from using a word in the language of their country that means God. On the other hand, now that this has become such a divisive issue, is there no other way around it?

Islam became an important Malaysian religion in the early 14th century when King Parameswaran accepted this faith, brought to his country by Arab and Indian traders. (He then also changed his name to Iskandar Shah).

But God and the Malay language had both been present in the Malayan peninsula long before that. So there must surely have been a word for God before the more recent import from the Arabic. How about using that original Malay word (or those words if there was more than one)?

It might also be interesting to check what happens in neighbouring Indonesia, which has a much larger Muslim population - both in number and as a proportion of total population - but also has a thriving Christian community? The language, once again, is Malay, although here called Bahasa Indonesia and with a few differences from Bahasa Malaysia. Much more than Malaysia, the 200 million people of Indonesia speak Malay. (Malaysia has two other languages spoken by its largest minorities: Chinese and Tamil.)

Indonesia has not banned the use of the word Allah to denote God and this is probably how most Indonesians commonly refer to God. At the same time, Christians also use another Malay word for God - literally, apparently, it means "Lord." And there is no burning of places of worship over this issue.

Love and loss

2010-01-26T04:46:00.004+08:00

Nine years ago today, I lost my 20-year-old nephew. Thousands of families lost loved ones that day in a horrific earthquake in western India, so we weren't the only ones to suffer loss. But each family deals with tragedy in its own way.

Please visit Terataii Reiki and Counselling to read what I have learnt from my own sense of loss.

Idiot terrorist sets his own ass on fire

2010-01-15T11:26:00.004+08:00

Being a former journalist, I'm usually quite defensive about criticism of the media. But this – probably tongue-in-cheek – letter in Newsweek got me thinking. Why doesn't the press report in this spirit, even if not in these exact words? Here's the letter from Eileen McHenry from Brighton, Michigan (Newsweek, January 18, 2010):

Whenever an act of terrorism occurs, we respond just the way the terrorist wants: worried discussions about whether America is safe. When we respond with fear, we finish the job the terrorist started. A better way to cover the story would be with commentary like: "A fool would-be terrorist set his own keister on fire on a plane approaching Detroit Metro Airport. He was easily subdued by passengers and his rear end extinguished by a flight attendant. He is now being treated at taxpayer expense. America is laughing at Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab."

Brilliant reporting, Eileen. And I absolutely agree that we only play into the terrorists' hands when we react with fear to every stupid attempt at an attack.

A new year move

2010-01-13T14:46:00.005+08:00

A very happy new year to all my readers.

I began 2010 by moving from the Philippines to Singapore. It is a familiar city since I have lived here before, but it's a new phase of my life as I put down a few roots here once again, catch up with old friends, allow myself to be horrified by the rise in prices while I've been away...

A quite nice mix of old and new. I already have a few close friends in Singapore, which is fantastic. No doubt I will make some new friends as well. I will continue with some of the work I was doing in Manila (mostly writing and editing, which can be done anywhere). And I hope to carry on with my counselling and Reiki healing too. But in this new environment it will play out a little differently, I'm sure. Perhaps a different mix of counselling, healing and teaching.

So, I look forward to learning and experiencing a few new things while still enjoying the comfort of being close to good friends in a familiar setting. What more could one ask for? I am thankful for such an easy and yet interesting transition in my life.

Season's Greetings

2009-12-25T17:25:00.001+08:00

Wishing all my readers peace, harmony, good health and good cheer at Christmas and throughout the coming year.

Merry Christmas.

Pakistan: A Sense of Nationhood in Islam?

2009-10-04T17:57:00.002+08:00

In an interesting article published recently in the Pakistani newspaper The News International (part of the Jang group), Ayaz Amir seems to imply that a common religion does not automatically build a sense of shared nationhood.

“Pakistan was a wholly new invention and it was a reflection of the difficulties besetting the idea of Pakistan that our leading figures declared, very early on, that Islam was the basis of our nationhood.

"Indeed, we made religion a fallback position, seeking refuge in its dialectics when more attention should have been paid to temporal problems. The discontent arising in East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] was proof that temporal problems needed a temporal solution. Today it is the same in Balochistan whose grievances are crying out for something more than the usual palliatives.”

Amir suggests that the fight agaist the Taliban, which Pakistan avoided for so long, is putting the country through a “formative experience” by forcing Pakistanis to recognize that “Talibanism” is alien to Pakistani soil. Amir does not spell this out, but presumably what he means is that not every idea or movement that identifies itself with Islam – rightly or wrongly – is somehow Pakistani, or acceptable to Pakistan. And, conversely, not everything about being Pakistani (or Punjabi, Baluchi, Sindhi etc) is limited to being Muslim.

Read the full article: Reversing 800 years of history, The News International, Sept 25, 2009.

Mahatma Gandhi on Serving Others

2009-10-02T11:32:00.007+08:00

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
-- Mahatma Gandhi

An apt quote for those of us in a position to help others in the Philippines, Indonesia, Samoa, or anywhere else in the world.Oct 2, 2009 marks Mahatma Gandhi's 140th birth anniversary.

"Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." Albert Einstein on the Mahatma ("great soul")

Typhoon Relief in Manila - How to Help

2009-09-27T11:17:00.000+08:00

Manila and the island on Luzon were battered by a typhoon and incessant rain on Saturday (Sept 26), claiming close to 60 lives and flooding many people out of their homes.

Sunday morning dawned bright – and dry – in Manila, but many, many families are still coping with their loss. We cannot bring back their loved ones, but we can at least help them get through the next few difficult days.

For those living in Metro-Manila, the blog PH Best Deals provides useful information that will help them find a centre close to their home to drop off food, medicines, blankets and other relief items.

Short-cut posting...

2009-08-25T19:05:00.002+08:00

Suddenly, life is so hectic there's little time to post to my blogs. Ideas aplenty, but time in short supply. So, I've decided to post my own stories published elsewhere. Better than posting nothing, I hope!

Here are a couple now:
My encounter with a Filipino mystic
Can the frequency of our brain waves really alter our physical reality?
published in Tickled by Life

BANGLADESH
Microcredit to End Poverty
published on the website of the Asian Development Bank

And, no, there's no real link between the two stories - except for the author, of course. :)

News from the Terataii Centre, Manila

2009-08-25T18:10:00.003+08:00

Reiki Level 1 attunements and teachings

Sept 5 and 6, Makati, Metro-Manila (Philippines).

Reiki Level 1 – The First Step of the Journey

When you learn Level 1 Reiki, you take your first step on a journey of holistic, integrated health and well-being. Once you are attuned and trained at this first level, you will be able to do hands-on healing for yourself and others. The attunements will bring your own energies into better balance and the teachings will open your mind to new possibilities.

If interested, please email terataii@gmail.com.

Something about the teacher

I am a certified Reiki Master, initiated into all three degrees of the Usui system of Reiki healing. I have been practising Reiki for 10 years. My Reiki Master’s training at the SoulCentre in Singapore included the required attunements and 6 months learning about holistic health and spirituality. I was initiated into the highest Reiki Master’s level by Reiki Master Sally Forrest of the U.K. and instructed in the spiritual aspects of Reiki practice by Indian spiritual master Vikas Malkani of the spiritual tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. I am also a Shiva-Shakti and Pranic healer; and a counsellor.

Terataii newsletter, July-September 2009

2009-07-09T01:02:00.002+08:00

Email terataii@gmail.com for your copy of this electronic newsletter on Reiki, holistic health and spiritual growth.

Guest Column: Hong Kong Vigil for Tiananmen Anniversary

2009-06-19T15:26:00.001+08:00

By N. Jayaram

Hong Kong-based journalist and human rights reporter N. Jayaram wrote this on June 4, which marked the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown against protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Hong Kong, June 4.

I got back a while ago from Victoria Park, the sprawling open air space in the midst of one of the prime shopping areas of Hong Kong, where more than 150,000 people gathered for a candlelight vigil to commemorate those killed on the night of June 3-4, 1989 in Beijing in the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

The turnout was amazing. This was the second time that the Hong Kong people have made me sit up and take notice of their political attitude and their firm support for democratisation and for basic freedoms. The first occasion was on July 1, 2003, when more than half a million people, perhaps more than 600,000, marched to oppose the government's attempt to adopte an anti-sedition bill that would have choked off dissent.

It is said that the numbers were boosted this time, not only because it was to mark 20 years after Tianananmen but also because Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed chief executive, Donald Tsang, recently angered the city's residents by saying critics have to take into account the progress China has made and that his views represented those of the general public.

Whatever the reasons behind the huge numbers who attended today's vigil in none too salubrious conditions following a blisteringly hot and muggy day, the commemoration represents Hong Kong people's aspirations for a greater level of freedom for their 1.4 billion compatriots on the mainland and a profound regret that a great opportunity was missed because of the 1989 massacre.

In many parts of the world, blood has been shed on perhaps more massive scales than on June 4, 1989. But few have been the occasions when the full force of an army that labels itself "The People's" mowed down so many of the people from among whom its ranks were recruited, in order to preserve in power a small elite fattening on capitalist policies while invoking dead communist icons.

Quotable Thursday No 7 at Terataii

2009-06-04T09:14:00.004+08:00

Quotable Thursday again over at Terataii Reiki and Counselling

Please do join in with your favourite quotation - anything, from anyone/anywhere, that inspires or amuses you. Come share it will us.
Go over to Terataii to see how it works.

Meanwhile, here's my choice for this week:

All that glisters is not gold.
-- Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)

This line is often misquoted as:
All that glitters is not gold.
Oh well, it remains as meaningful either way.

Art Exhibition - Vinita Karim

2009-05-25T19:22:00.011+08:00

Vinita Karim's exhibition in Makati, May 29-31

Some wonderful oils on canvas. Exhibition May 29-31 in Makati. Reception May 28.

I love her work. You might love it too. If you live in Metro-Manila, come check it out.

Details on poster (click for larger image).

Indian voters reject divisive politics

2009-05-18T11:38:00.015+08:00

The voters have spoken again - and "spoken with great clarity," to quote Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Congress party has won the greatest number of seats in the just-ended parliamentary elections, and the alliance it leads is only a few votes short of an absolute majority. This is good news for India, the South Asian region, and the world. We can expect a stable government in an increasingly unstable region - with Pakistan under threat from the Taliban, Sri Lanka's successful but controversial campain against the LTTE, and political crisis in Nepal.

Most importantly for India, we can hope for a strong and stable government that brings people together rather than dividing them on the basis of religious or other narrowly-focused group identities. With a respected economist in charge, we can also hope for a government that guides the country through the current global recession with minimum damage and - with any luck - one which even manages to promote continued economic reform and (some) development.

As important as the Congress victory is the defeat of the Hindu fundamentalist BJP and its allies, some of them even more extreme than the BJP. Parties that divide Indians along caste lines have not done well either.

In a surprise outcome, the Communists - who were leading a challenge to the Congress-led alliance - fared badly as well, even in their traditional strongholds of West Bengal and Kerala.

Despite the many ills that have crept into the Congress culture over the decades since it led India to independence in 1947, the party ideology has remained one that celebrates the diversity of India and supports the idea of common development. It has remained a "centrist" party without the idealogical rigidity of the left or the much more dangerous rigidity-cum-divisiveness of the BJP and its allies in the "Sangh parivar" on the right.

(The Wall Street Journal, 18 May 2009 - shows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Youth Congress leader Rahul Gandhi)

Most analysts agree that the people of India have voted for common economic development, and against cultural, ethnic, religious or caste divisiveness. India is nothing without its long history - and present mix - of diverse influences, ideas, ethnicities and cultures. Most Indians, it would seem, are very comfortable with this sense of shared history in a richly diverse land. This election is a celebration of this shared Indian identity as well as an expression of aspirations on the economic front.

Join Quotable Thursday at Terataii

2009-05-14T09:16:00.006+08:00

Share an inspiring quotation or one that's just fun... Be inspired, amused or motivated by what other bloggers share...

Please join Quotable Thursday over at Terataii with a favourite quotation of your own - either by posting on your own blog and linking to Terataii or by leaving a comment there. Click here to get the details. (You can also link on the heading to this post.)

And now, here's my quote for this week:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pakistan: Will the military stand up to the Taliban?

2009-05-08T18:54:00.009+08:00

It is good to read -- on the Net adn in teh international papers -- that the Pakistani government is finally taking on the Taliban inside Pakistan. Not only because of what that means for the rest of the world -- as the US administration has asserted -- but also because of what it might mean for Pakistan itself.

It has been sad to see that country slowly – and then quite quickly – succumb to the Taliban in certain areas. It has been sad also to talk to Pakistani friends who feel angry but helpless to stop the Talibs or to shake their own government into action.

In the past few days, we have seen the government finally make the decision to stand and fight the Taliban in Swat and perhaps in its neighbouring districts as well. However, one central question remains: how sincere is the Pakistani military in taking on the Taliban?

It dithered for 2 years while the Taliban consolidated gains inside Pakistan. It practically handed over Swat to the Taliban in February. It failed to fight for Buner in April. When the government finally decided to confront the Taliban, first reports said it had sent in paramilitary troops rather than the regular army, which remained massed along the frontier with India – even though there is no war or threat of war there.

In some recent statements, US President Barack Obama has appeared to show more respect for Pakistan’s military than its government. True, the government of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has shown itself to be a thoroughly ineffectual government. Perhaps worse – Zardari himself was known as Mr. Ten Percent when his late wife, Benazir Bhutto was Prime Minsiter of Pakistan.

However, I hope Mr. Obama has not forgotten recent history:

(i) The Taliban are very largely the creation of the Pakistani military, in particular of its intelligency agency, the ISI. The Taliban were created with US and Saudi money, but with Pakistani training and day-to-day guidance, to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Many of them were indoctrinated in madrassas and refugee camps inside Pakistan under the military rule of Pakistani President General Zia ul-Haq.

(ii) It is true that Zardari’s government more or less handed over Swat to the Taliban on a platter in February, allowing them to take control of the district and impose Sharia (Islamic law). But let us not forget that it was under General Musharraf that the Pakistani government did its first deal in which it ceded government control (though not, ostensibly at least, to the Taliban).

Inside Pakistan, the military is still viewed with suspiscion. In a front page story on Pakistan this morning, the International Herald Tribune (Asia edition) includes this revealing passage:

Still, some of the refugees milling about the tuberculosis hospital [serving as a refugee camp in the city of Mardan] raised doubts about the agenda of the Pakistani Army. Some even echoed the widespread view, commonplace in Washington, that the Pakistani Army, or at least elements of it, had not merely failed to combat the militants but had also colluded to make them stronger.

“In some places the Taliban and the army are a stone’s throw away,” said Mohammed Javed, who fled his job as an armed guard for the aid organization Médecins sans Frontière [Doctors without Borders] in Mingora [town]. “They are just looking at each other, not doing anything. We are ordinary people, and we do not understand.”

“It’s a game,” a man shouted over Mr. Javed. “The Taliban are never killed. Only civilians are.”
Elsewhere in the camp, 50-year-old Mughdi Khan told the IHT correspondent: “We are Muslims; we don’t have much problem with people trying to enforce the religion – it’s when they cut the throats of the policement that people become angry. Yes, they are doing that.”

The police enjoy a better reputation than the army and are seen to be closer to the people. Until recently, it was the police and paramilitary forces that attempted to protect the local people from the atrocities of the Taliban in Swat and the neighbouring district of Buner. The citizens of Buner, with support from the police, themselves fought off the Taliban last year (without any support from the military).

In February this year, the government handed over Swat to the Taliban in a deal that allowed the Taliban to close girls’ schools, impose Sharia (Islamic) law, and publicly flog a 17-year-old woman for going out of her house without a male escort. In April, the Taliban once again attacked the neighbouring district of Buner. This time the people felt unable to resist. The military did not help. And Buner, 110 km from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, fell to the Taliban on April 5.

The Taliban appear to be deeply unpopular with the citizens of Pakistan. Last year’s citizen’s resistance to the Taliban was a stark demonstration of this opposition. In April, literally between terrorist attacks, about 1,000 people took to the streets in Lahore to protests against terrorism, the Taliban, Islamic fundamentalist rule (which they called “Mullah rule”), and the oppression of women. They shouted slogans calling the Taliban “killers of mothers, sisters, and daughters.”

Pakistan is a of course a Muslim-majority nation and in fact a Muslim nation (not always the same thing) – Islam is the state religion and the reason for the creation of Pakistan. But Pakistan is not the Middle East. It is a country located physically in South Asia, with its own history and culture. Pakistani Islam is not the Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia.

In recent weeks, some Pakistani journalists and bloggers have also spoken out against the Taliban and their fundamentalist understanding of Islamic society. (See links to some of these stories in the right column of this blog.)

However. I come back to the central question: what of the Pakistani military, which has been probably the most potent force in Pakistan since its earliest years as a nation? Where does the miliatry stand on the question of the Talibanization – or not – of Pakistan?

Quotable Thursday #3 at Terataii

2009-05-07T15:29:00.004+08:00

It's time for quotations again over at Terataii Reiki and Counselling. Week 3 is proving to be a bit damp so far - rather like the weather here in Manila. :) Please join to make it more fun - if you have a blog, link to Terataii's readers via Mr. Linky (on Terataii). If not, just leave a favourite quotation in a comment (also on Terataii). Anything that inspires you, amuses you, motivates you...

I've chosen a fun tongue-in-cheek quotation for this week, attributed to Abraham Lincoln:
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

With all my blogs, I'm not really following that advice myself, am I? Lol. :)

Abc Wednesday

2009-05-06T15:32:00.005+08:00

First of all, my apologies to mrsnesbitt's place, the real host of Abc Wednesdays. I have been crediting this fun meme to Sylvia From Over The Hill just because I discovered it on her blog! Well, thanks to mrsnesbitt for this wonderful idea, and to Sylvia too, for promoting it and for generally running a great blog of her own.

Now for the latest letter - P. I love mrsnesbitt's choice - Pink Floyd. Absolutely fabulous music. Her chosen song was one I sang constantly the year it came out. A great thing to say to anyone, or to say of anything, that's hemming you in or holding you back: All in all, you're just another brick in the wall!

OK, now for my own words with P.

P is for Padma - Sanskrit for lotus.

And P is for Pamposh - Kashmiri for lotus.

The lotus symbolizes purity and growth. It is firmly grounded in the earth, yet rises up towards the sky (or the heavens). It is connected to the elements – earth, water and air. It responds to the sun, opening its petals as the early morning rays reach it.

The large lotus leaves float on the water, but do not get soaked in the water. The leaves are in the water but not of it. Just as we are in this world but not of this world.

OK, enough from me. Now mosey on over to our host for today at mrsnesbitt's place.

Makes My Heart Smile Awards

2009-04-30T17:51:00.007+08:00

Two of my blogs recently received the Makes My Heart Smile award from Barbara (aka lionmother) over at Barbara's Meanderings. Once again, Barbara, thank you for awarding this blog and Wandering Pam. It is wonderful validation for my blogging efforts.

As an awardee, I now get to pick new blogs for this award.

And the winners are....

Inspirations and Creative Thoughts My absolute favourite blog. It absolutely makes my heart smile – on every single visit. It leans heavily towards Sufi (mystic) Islam, but is open to all mystic traditions. One recent post, for example, is about a Hindu mystic of Bangladesh. Another, older post was a Sufi interpretation of a Buddist mantra. Beautiful Sufi poetry too and Sufi teaching stories. Fabulous Sufi music. I totally love this blog.

Awake in This Life A very interesting blog about the spiritual life by a Buddhist blogger. What I like is that it promotes spirituality in everyday living, not in a cloistered hermit-like existence. Makes one stop and think. And smile.

A Psychotherapist's Journey What I like most, I think, is that Linda Appleman Shapiro makes me pause and think about things. Also, she often writes about things that concern me, but that I haven't written about myself. It’s good to see them expressed – and expressed so well. Lastly, I think, I like the fact that she is a strong woman, a feminist, of my own generation, so I can identify with a lot of what she writes.

Sylvia From Over The Hill Love her pictures and love her words. And love taking part in her Abc Wednesdays – such fun!

The Question of the Day Once again, a blog that makes one stop and think. In a totally fun way. Suzanne really comes up with a question every day - amazing how she manages to sustain this.

Quotable Thursday over at Terataii

2009-04-23T11:30:00.010+08:00

Quotable Thursday

It's Quotable Thursday over at Terataii Reiki and Counselling - this means you post a favourite quote on your own blog, then go over and link to Terataii so that all the readers there can visit your blog. Join the fun and show off your blog to more readers at the same time.

My quotation for this Thursday:

Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self in enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. -- Lao Tzu

P.S. - Terataii is a lovely blog, one of favourites. Ha, ha, yes, I'm joking a bit coz it is one of my own blogs. I mean I do like it, but, well, I would, woundn't I? :) :) But check it out - you might like it too - and join Quotable Thursday to share your own blog with the readers over at Terataii.

Makes My Heart Smile Award for This Blog :)

2009-04-12T23:28:00.009+08:00

Two of my blogs have just received the Makes My Heart Smile award from Barbara over at Barbara's Meanderings. This is what Barabara says in her "nominations" post:

"Pamposh Dhar who has 3 blogs, but I have only read the two of them: Pamposh Dhar named after her of course and Wandering Pam for her beautiful photos and interesting commentary about what is happening in places we never hear about in the US."

Thank you Barbara for this award. It is much appreciated.

Incidentally, the third blog (which Barbara has not yet read) is Terataii Reiki and Counselling and covers issues of holistic health, mental and physical wellbeing, energy healing and spirituality. Check it out - you might like that too!

According to the rules of this award, I now get to pass it further to other blogs that I like. Watch this space...

Love and Light and Abc Wednesdays

2009-04-08T15:06:00.024+08:00

The news has been pretty grim lately and my last few posts have been too. It’s time for some light-hearted fun, so I’m joining Sylvia From Over the Hill in her Abc Wednesday. Check it out!

This week's letter is L, which stands for love and light.

From my Wandering Pam blog, here's love in the wild:

L is also for lights in the sky:

Otherwise known as orbs, or circles of light:

But now always circular:

(See this older post for more.)

And, finally, L is for lamps. My beautiful capiz shell lamp from the Philippines and my other favourite, bought I think in Hong Kong, which allows me to display my silver Thai monk too.

Read more about capiz here.

And now, love and light to you all. Ciao.

Next Abc: M is for Meditation (on my Terataii blog).

Violence Silences Voices of Sri Lankan Journalists (IHT story)

2009-04-06T10:05:00.004+08:00

Writing in the International Herald Tribune (April 6, Asian edition), Seth Mydans says at least eight jounalists have been killed in recent years "in what appears to be a broad Sri Lankan government campaign to silence dissenting voices."
The press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says Sri Lanka is the fourth most dangerous country for journalists, after Iraq, Somalia and Pakistan.
Read the full article.
Related older post: And Then They Came For Me.

Lahore Attack - A View from Pakistan

2009-03-31T09:33:00.010+08:00

Writing about the March 30 terrorist attack in Lahore, Raza Rumi over at Jahane Rumi links this to earlier attacks in both India and Pakistan. He notes that Pakistan is "now the greatest victim of terror and militancy" and asks what might happen next. Read the full story here.

Extracts:

"Once again, in less than a month Lahore has been ravaged by terrorists. Who said that Pakistan was a hub of terrorism - we are now the greatest victim of terror and militancy. The residents of Lahore are scared and the vibrant city seems to be enveloped in a mist of uncertainty and fear.
"The Mumbai and later Lahore 3/3 model seems to be in vogue now. Extremely well trained commandos, with sophisticated weapons and not afraid of death are let loose on the society. The media is hysterical as well and following the Indian media’s cue[s] is now a participant and embedded in the so-called operation......."

"What will happen next? Everyone is apprehensive that this is not the end of the story. There are forces - groups, interests and individuals - who are hellbent on destroying Pakistan....."

Afghansitan: Payback time (International Herald Tribune)

2009-03-22T18:34:00.005+08:00

Author and former New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer writes about America's role in supporting the creation of the Taliban and the recruitment of Islamic militants from other countries to fight Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980's. These recruits, he says, included Osama bin Laden.

Excerpts from the article:

"In order to forge an Afghan force that would wage this war [against the Soviet troops who invade Afghanistan in late 1979], the United States needed camps in Pakistan. Pakistan was ruled by General Zia ul-Haq, who had proclaimed two transcendent goals: imposing a "true Islamic order" in his country and building a nuclear bomb.
"He had also just hanged the elected leader he deposed, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This was the man the United States would have to embrace if it wanted Pakistan to support the anti-Soviet rebellion it hoped to foment in Afghanistan. It eagerly did so.
"The United States also accepted Zia's demand that all aid sent to Afghan warlords be channeled through his intelligence agency, the ISI, and that the ISI be given the exclusive right to decide which warlords to support. It chose seven, all of them in varying degrees fundamentalist and anti-Western.
"The ISI also came up with the idea of recruiting Islamic militants from other countries to come to Pakistan and join the anti-Soviet force. Its director, Hamid Gul, later said his agency recruited 50,000 of these militants from 28 countries.
"One was Osama bin Laden. Most of the others — brought to the region as part of a U.S.-sponsored project, then armed and trained with U.S. funds — shared bin Laden's radical anti-Americanism and fundamentalist religious beliefs...."

"One million Afghans died in the decade-long war. Five million fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries. Many found food and shelter at religious schools sponsored by Saudi Arabia, where they were taught the radical Wahhabi brand of Islam. Those schools were the cradle of the Taliban...."

"Jimmy Carter approved the idea of sponsoring anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan poured billions of dollars into it. George H.W. Bush turned his back on Afghanistan, allowing it to degenerate into the chaos from which the Taliban emerged. Bill Clinton refused to confront the looming threat with anything more than an ineffective cruise missile raid on one of bin Laden's camps. George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan, succeeded in toppling the Taliban regime, and then, rather than staying engaged, immediately turned his attention to Iraq."

Read the full article here.

International Women's Month - Feminine Influences

2009-03-21T17:04:00.011+08:00

RANI LAKSHMIBAI OF JHANSI

I couldn’t say when I first learnt about Lakshmibai, Rani (Queen) of Jhansi. All I can say with certainty is that I was still in primary school. But she instantly became the heroine of my childhood.

A 23-year-old woman on horseback, sword in hand, her young son strapped to her back, leading an army into battle against a mighty but unjust empire.

What’s not to idolize? Lakshmibai had everything I could possibly want to see in my hero/ine: courage, strength, leadership, a refusal to be bound by convention, and a determination to fight injustice both in her own behalf and on behalf of others.

A woman in 19th century India, taking on the might of the British empire. First politically, then through the legal system, and finally on the field of battle.

Never, in any of the stories, does one detect a note of self-pity for the hardships and injustice life brought her. Neither does she appear to have considered herself constrained in her actions by the fact that she was a woman.

This, briefly, is her story:

Manikarnika, nick-named Manu, was born in 1835 in the northern Indian town of Varanasi. She lost her mother when she was 4. At 14, she married Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, Raja (king) of Jhansi, a man much older than her. At marriage, she was given the name Lakshmibai (a practice that was fairly common in certain communities in India).

At the age of 16, she gave birth to a son, who died in infancy. To ensure that the ailing raja would have a successor, the couple then adopted a son, whom they named Damodar Rao. Lakshmibai lost her husband when she was 18.

Much of India at this time was ruled by the East India Company on behalf of the British crown, but Jhansi was one of the “princely states” still ruled by Indians. However, the Company was extending its influence wherever it could, seizing on any excuse to annex a state. In this case, the British refused to recognize Lakshmibai or her adopted son as a legitimate successor to the king.

Lakshmibai sought legal recourse, appealing to the Directors of the Company in London through a British lawyer. The appeal was rejected and her territory annexed.

No doubt this young widowed woman was now expected to go back to her father’s home, giving up on her kingdom. But Lakshmibai was not about to give up so easily. She began to prepare her people, including the women, to fight for justice.

In 1857, four years after the death of Lakshmibai’s husband, a rebellion by Indian soldiers in the town of Meerut spread quickly through large sections of northern India to reach the court of the last Mughal emperor – now emperor only in name, with the power firmly vested with the British administration.

Lakshmibai reclaimed the leadership of Jhansi and joined the Indian forces fighting Britain. From June 1957 to April 1958, she defended Jhansi against the British. Forced to escape with her life, she then led newly formed battalions in what was now the Great Indian Mutiny (and would later be called the First War of Independence by Indian historians).

In June 1858, at the age of 23, Lakshmibai fell on the battlefield. Her son survived and was pensioned off by the British. The mutiny/war was crushed and power over India passed formally to the British monarch (rather than the East India Company). The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was exiled to Burma (Myanmar), where he wrote heart-rending poetry about his fate and where he eventually died.

Although the mutiny/war saw many atrocities on both the Indian and British sides, Lakshmibai and her troops remained untainted by this disreputable aspect of the rebellion.

The story of Lakshmibai’s courage lived on. Her short life continued to inspire generations of Indians. When Subhash Chandra Bose raised the Indian National Army to fight for independence in 1942, the women’s unit was named after Lakshmibai.

Thinking of her story now, it strikes me that she was a true karma yogin, walking the path of (right) action without thought of its likely outcome. This path teaches us to do what is right, regardless of outcome. As the Bhagavad Gita says: To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction. (Chapter 2, Verse 47)

150,000 Civilians Face Death in Sri Lanka

2009-03-20T15:31:00.002+08:00

"A Slaughter Waiting to Happen”

Lakhdar Brahimi of the International Crisis Group writes in today’s International Herald Tribune that an estimated 150,000 Sri Lankan civilians are in danger of being killed, caught between the military and the LTTE guerrillas. In an article titled "A Slaughter Waiting to Happen," the former special adviser to the U.N. Secretary General writes:

"An estimated 150,000 civilians are now trapped in a tiny pocket of land between Sri Lankan military forces, whose artillery shells regularly fall among them, and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who shoot at them if they try to escape. Food, clean water and medical assistance are all increasingly scarce.

According to U.N. figures, 2,300 civilians have already died and at least 6,500 have been injured since January. Some 500 children have been killed and over 1,400 injured. What happens to the rest of those caught in the middle of the government’s onslaught and the Tigers’ fight to the death depends not only on the two parties but on the international response as well.

The crisis is born of acts by both sides that most probably amount to serious violations of humanitarian law and perhaps to war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

Read Brahimi’s full article here.

International Women's Month

2009-03-12T21:14:00.002+08:00

March 8 was International Women's Day and I wrote a tribute to my mother. I enjoyed honouring Mum in this way and got some good responses from readers too. When I showed the post to Mum, she was really pleased.
So far so good. But I think I'm not done with IWD yet. I think I'd like to write about other feminine influences in my life, particularly during my early life. So I'm declaring March International Women's Month. Watch out for more posts...
Meanwhile: who were the major feminine influences in your life when you were growing up? Write and tell us.

Sisterhood Award for Blogging

2009-03-12T17:22:00.007+08:00

I have received a blogging award! How fab!
Alana Roberts, who runs the Womens Blogger Directory, has kindly given me the Sisterhood Award for “always being so caring and supportive of others and for your inspirational posts on all of your blogs” (see Alana's comment on the right side of this blog).
I am honoured and very happy to receive this recognition.
In my Oscar acceptance speech - :) :) - I’d like to say something about my “blogging philosophy.”
I write my blogs to share ideas and events that I think are worth sharing – designed to bring a smile to my readers’ lips; remind them to be kind to themselves and to others; touch their hearts in some way; or offer them different views of health, sprituality and relationship...
I am still learning some of these things myself, but as I look ahead to my 50th birthday, in July, I feel the need also to share that which life has already taught me. This is particularly true of Terataii, my blog on Reiki energy healing, holistic health, and spirituality. My latest blog, Wandering Pam, is more of a "just for fun" blog, with stories from my travels in Asia, Europe and East Africa.

My favourite blogs and bloggers in the Directory
In turn, I would like to award 2 of my fellow members of the Womens Blogger Directory:
Alana Roberts. This is an obvious choice - it is only Alana's ideas, drive and energy that have made this directory possible. Within a short time, the directory has grown to have 95 members who network, support one another, provide feedback and exchange ideas on the directory itself as well as in a Google group. Alana's blogs: Visit Ireland, Blogger Beginner, and Family Food and Recipes.
Vera Marie Badertscher. Vera's wonderful blog combines the two great pleasures of reading and travelling. Her posts inspired me to dig into my own memory and start writing travel stories. Check out Vera's blog, A Traveler’s Library.

International Women's Day

2009-03-10T03:47:00.009+08:00

Ma Tujhe Salaam - A Tribute to My Mother
One day after International Women’s Day (March 8), I pay this tribute to the woman who has given me life and unconditional love, my most cherished human values and the best traditions of my Indian heritage.

My mother is loving and kind, yet strong and independent. Tell her a sad story and her heart melts within seconds; but cross her and she will never, ever back down! Her passion, I think, is feeding people.

When I was growing up, she was always there for me, being a full-time mother, wife and home-maker. My earliest memory is of falling off a tonga – a horse-drawn carriage – with my mother. This happened in Kashmir when I was about 2 years old. It is the only memory I have from that age. I guess I remember it because it was scary, or at least a huge shock to the system. Yet it’s also a memory of being protected because I remember sliding off the tonga still in my mother’s lap, with her arms tightly wrapped around me.

From later years, I remember my mother, a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi, telling me to turn the other cheek when my male cousins would hit me. Fortunately for me, my father had a more practical approach to life. He taught me to fight back, not to inflict too much damage on the other person but enough to discourage them from picking on me.

Though I rejected this particular lesson, I imbibed other aspects of my mother’s Gandhian views. She taught me to speak the truth without fear or reservation. So much so that my father says I’m not just truthful but often “brutally frank.” Well, I’m trying to temper the “brutality” without losing the frankness.

I learnt from Mum – and my father – to treat people with respect and courtesy. It did not matter whether they were Hindus, Muslims, or Christians; rich or poor; men or women.

I remember an elderly gentleman moving into our home in Delhi for the entire winter one year. Mum introduced him to me as her “godfather.” He lived in Norway with her older sister’s family, but found the winter there too harsh. So he had come to spend it with us. I loved this man, who told me a story from the Mahabharatha every night. Before he left, he had told me the entire tale, with all its twists and turns, and its myriad sub-plots. Wonderful.

It was only much later I learnt that he had been my grandfather’s housekeeper and had moved to my aunt’s household when she got married to help her run her new home, first in India, then Indonesia, and finally Norway.

Another year Mum’s elderly aunt came down to escape the cold winter in Kashmir. She, too, told me stories, half in Hindi and half in Kashmiri, which I didn’t know too well. Both my parents accorded her the respect due to the oldest member of the family and so I did too.

Our home was an open house to any relative, friend, or friend of a friend who was passing through Delhi. Female guests simply moved into the room I shared with my older sister. Male visitors slept on a thakhat in the living room. People who dropped in to say hello were invariably persuaded to stay on for the next meal.

I didn’t find any of this odd. I thought this was how all families operated and I enjoyed all the comings and goings. The house was open to all my friends too, of course.

Mum has always been a wonderful hostess. Equally, she is a gracious guest. Except for the closest of friends, she would not go to anyone’s home “empty-handed,” as she put it. She kept a stash of gifts to be dipped into as and when required. If she didn’t have an appropriate gift to hand, she would take flowers or fruit. Never, ever, under any circumstances would she go without a gift if it was the first time she was visiting someone’s home. That was an absolute no-no.

She was careful also to never allow her host to feel uncomfortable on our account. When I was in my teens, we had close family friends who lived nearby. Since the relationship was so informal, we would often drop in on each other at short notice. One time, when we had gone over, the lady of the house apologized because she had cooked only a simple vegetarian meal that day. My Mum, with her most innocent look, asked: “What day of the week is it?” When our hostess told her, Mum said, still with that innocent look, “Oh we never eat meat on Tuesdays” (or Thursdays, or whatever it was). This happened at least 3 times before our friend finally caught on!

In our own home, my Mum resolutely refused to teach me to cook or do household chores. I was possibly the only Indian girl of my age back then who couldn’t even make tea. (Actually, I still can’t do it too well.) Girls were generally groomed to be good wives and daughters-in-law in India’s joint family system. My Mum assumed, like others, that I would eventually marry and “settle down.” But, in the meantime, she wanted me to have fun. Enjoy yourself, she’d say to me, there’s no rush to get involved in cooking and housework!

Both my parents considered education to be of great value, both in itself (as knowledge) and in its ability to make one financially independent. Mum wanted her daughters to be well educated and to work before marriage, if not afterwards. I remember her talking about this even when I was really young, perhaps 10 or 12 years old. She felt it was important for a woman to know she was capable of looking after herself even if she wasn’t going to work after marriage. That way, “if anything went wrong,” she’d know she could be financially independent.

(As things turned out, I worked, married, continued to work, and never really “settled down,” happily moving around Asia with my husband.)

My mother, now 83, continues to be a loving presence in my life. She doesn’t cook in her own home any more, but when she visits my husband and me, she makes a special effort to make us a favourite dish once in a while. It’s hard for her to stand for long, so we put a chair for her in the kitchen. Our cook-housekeeper helps her by cleaning and chopping the ingredients, and in other ways too, but Mum directs the process. (Sometimes my parents cook together, but that deserves a post of its own…)

When she’s in her own home in India, with me in the Philippines, we talk often on the phone. She never fails to ask me to give her love to my husband – “and even more to you,” she invariably adds. Then she chuckles and adds: “But don’t tell him I said that.”

A love of postcards

2009-02-27T03:13:00.008+08:00

Sometime in my teens -- probably around 15 -- I started collecting postcards. It wasn't a conscious decision, it just happened. In recent years, I've tried to curb this tendency because I feel I can't "do" very much with my collection. I've framed a few, but most just sit around in boxes.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a blog devoted entirely to postcards! Vintage ones from France, with little snippets of information attached to each card. How wonderful. And here I am joining Marie Reed's Postcard Friendship Friday with 2 recently-added cards from my own collection.

This one's an attempt by a small European nation to express with humour its frustration at being mistaken for a much larger country half-way across the world because of the similarity in their names.

The card copies Australian road signs warning of the possibile presence of kangaroos. But the Austrian postcard carries a very different message!

And this is a postcard from Australia -- of a wallaby, which is like a small kangaroo, with a baby peeping out of its pouch. Adorable, isn't it?

Haydn on a Bamboo Organ in the Philippines

2009-02-26T15:32:00.015+08:00

Once a year a small church in the Philippines hosts a bamboo organ festival to celebrate the church’s unique organ made almost entirely of bamboo – 902 of its 1,031 pipes are made of bamboo and the rest of metal. Musicians come from different parts of the Philippines and abroad to play on the organ.

This year, I went with my family to listen to Austrian organist Christian Iwan play the works of Haydn, Kerll and Scarlatti. We sat in the old stone church, which dates back to the early nineteenth century. The walls are made from volcanic stones and the ceiling is bamboo.

For more complex works by Mozart and Bach the organist, and the audience, moved to an auditorium in a newer wing of the church complex so that Iwan could play on a “normal” organ with metal pipes. I guess this means the bamboo has a limited range; but it has its own distinct and beautiful quality of sound. And the old church is the perfect setting for the music.

The bamboo organ has an interesting history. Housed in the St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas, one of the 16 cities that make up Metro-Manila, it is believed to be the only bamboo organ in the world. The organ was built in 1824 by Father Diego Cera, a Spanish missionary and the first parish priest in Las Piñas. It took 8 years to build this unique organ (1816-1824). About 60 years later, in the 1880s, the organ was damaged by a typhoon and an earthquake. The pipes were put away and remained in storage for nearly a hundred years. Then, in 1973, they were shipped to Germany to be repaired. The fully repaired organ returned to Las Piñas 2 years later.

Globalization - some questions

2009-02-16T12:54:00.005+08:00

First off, let me say that I am not against globalization. I believe that all human beings are connected (or “interconnected,” as Buddhists say), so how could I be against a connected world? I am not.

On the contrary, I think globalization doesn’t go far enough. It is restricted to global corporations, global production and global trade. It does not apply half so well to human values or the hearts and minds of people.

While global corporations employ people all over the world, they do not employ them on the basis of “equal pay for equal work.” In fact, one impetus for globalization came from the fact that production costs are lower in countries where workers can be more easily exploited. Even at middle and senior levels, nationality and race is certainly a factor – though not the only one – in compensation packages. At the highest levels, ability and experience appear to be the deciding factors – but probably not the only ones.

Moving on to the second part of my question: why does the concept of globalization leave our hearts cold?

Recently, desperate men from Myanmar’s much-abused Rohingya minority were picked up by the Thai navy attempting to land illegally in Thailand. The Thai navy beat them up, then threw them onto rudimentary boats (little more than rafts) in their injured state, and pushed them out to sea without food or drinking water.

Three boatloads of Rohingya men are still missing, but 6 have been picked up in other Asian countries. One of these countries is Indonesia, where the men have been given medical treatment and temporary shelter. But the Indonesian government said it would send them back to the hell that is their life in Myanmar, where they are not allowed to own property and have no civil or human rights. (The government has now softened this stance in response to pressure from within the country – see below.) Read about the plight of the Rohingyas in a recent reports by the Associated Press and in the International Herald Tribune.

In other words, as a global community, we are happy to exploit low-paid workers for our ends wherever we find them; but we will not extend a helping hand to desperate people if we don’t stand to gain anything from that. Nice.

How can the plight of such desperate men – not to mention the women and children they left behind – not touch our hearts? How many of us have protested in any way against Thailand’s treatment or Indonesia’s (initial) decision to send them back? Or tried to find out how we might be able to help the Rohingya, if not in Myanmar itself, then in neighbouring Bangladesh, where many of them find minimal shelter in very harsh conditions.

So much for hearts. Now for minds. How does the idea of globalization gel with the “us and them” attitude that is so common today throughout the world? Going back to the Rohingya refugees, Muslim organizations – and many ordinary citizens -- in Indonesia have appealed to their government to let the Rohingya men stay.

In response to this and other pressure, the Indonesian government has finally softened its stand and agreed to allow representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to meet the Rohingyas. Still unwilling to allow them to stay in Indonesia, the authorities now appear more willing to discuss resettlement in a third country.

One reason that has been cited for the attitudes both of the Thai authorities and Indonesia’s Muslim organizations is that the Rohingyas are Muslims. This is also cited as a reason for their ill-treatment in their native Myanmar. Thailand and Myanmar are predominantly Buddhist countries; Indonesia is predominantly Muslim.

I think this explanation may be somewhat uncharitable to the Indonesian people, but at least one of the Muslim organizations has pleaded for them because they are “our Muslim brothers.” This is a positive sense of community – but it is nowhere near a global sense of community. One has to wonder how this organization might respond to Buddhist or Christian refugees facing a similar plight?

And what about the Thai authorities? Do they see the superficial differences of race and religion, but not the underlying common humanity that Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad spoke about?

Can we be truly “globalized” if we can’t see that underlying common humanity?

On Valentine's Day...

2009-02-14T06:58:00.011+08:00

St Theresa's prayer:
May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Chinese proverb:
It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

Life with my parents

2009-02-12T11:41:00.002+08:00

My parents are currently on a long visit with my husband and me, and life is full of fun, insight, change…

They have visited us before, but this time is different. Largely because I work from home now, work much less than I used to and, most importantly, do work that I enjoy. So, being around them more, and being happier myself, I’m better able to enjoy their company and learn from the experience of living in a family again, this time as an adult.

Being with my parents for most or all of a day is giving me a clearer picture of myself too – I see, for example, that some days I just seem to wake up impatient, other days I’m relaxed and relate happily and with patience to all those around me. Sometimes I get stressed by work deadlines or other people’s demands on my time; but then, if I stop myself in my tracks and take a few deep breaths, I find myself smiling again. The days I do my meditation, nothing stresses me too much…

Helping my mother regulate her diabetes reminds me to do the things I’m urging upon her: exercise regularly, don’t allow your body to get lazy, eat well and in moderation, meditate, stay calm and happpy…

Helping my parents, both 83, to stay healthy brings me insights I can use in my own healing practice, especially in relation to caring for the elderly. This includes some down-to-earth tips like add a couple of blankets under them for extra padding when you do Reiki; and some more “elevated” ideas :) about leading a meditation session or using transpersonal therapy with older clients.

Because my mother wants to read the Bhagavad Gita with me, all three of us read it together on a regular basis and my husband joins us when he can. This gives me a chance to deepen my own understanding of this ancient Indian spiritual text and to absorb its teachings better. This, combined with the closer look at myself (see para 3 above), means I am better able to apply the teachings to my own life.

Oh and the fun parts. Having friends over more often so that the parents don’t feel isolated – as a result, of course, I’m more social too. I also find myself more open to having families over rather than more formal couples-only get-togethers...

Having lunch with family rather than with colleagues and casual friends (when I worked in an office) or by my lonesome (once I started working from home). Going out to coffee with my parents in the afternoons before getting down to a writing/editing assignment...

The adventure of planning just the right outing for everyone. Something that’s fun for all of us. Where the parents stretch themselves a bit, but don’t have to over-extend themselves by riding up and down escalators all the time, or walking a lot in the warm weather of Manila. If we go to a mall, should I sit them down for a coffee first before taking them to a few shops? Will they enjoy the short walk to that nice restaurant in that pedestrians-only street? And will the nice restaurant be a good enough incentive for the walk to it? Where can we break our journey if we go out of town? Where can we go where we don’t have to negotiate too many steps? Can we seat them in a coffee shop while the husband and I do some more leisurely shopping?

Not having kids, I’ve never really had to think as a family before, only as one of a couple who age-wise and interest-wise are pretty well matched. When I was a kid myself, and lived in a family, I guess my parents did all the planning. I’m quite enjoying doing a major share of it for all of us now.

In the shadow of the Buddha...

2009-02-12T00:37:00.006+08:00

Over the years, I have seen so many tranquill Buddha images in so many countries. The look is always different, yet always the same – a serene image that spreads a sense of peace in all those who gaze on it. Only the features change from region to region, as if the Buddha were becoming one with the host peoples...

Yet it strikes me that predominantly Buddhist countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Sri Lanka have seen so much violence over the years. Myanmar continues to bear witness to man’s inhumanity to man, and Sri Lanka has gone back to civil strife. Meanwhile, Thailand has shown an inhumane and decidedly un-Buddhist side by beating up hapless Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and pushing them out to sea in rudimentary boats without food or water.

I don’t mean to single out Buddhist countries. I am just sad that even living in the shadow of the Buddha does not make us – and yes, I mean us, the human race – more compassionate.

Nevertheless, these are all beautiful countries with fascinating histories and fabulous temples and Buddha images undoubtedly carved with much devotion as well as immense skill.

One country that has managed to remain peaceful is the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which measures the well-being of its citizens not just through gross domestic product but also a happiness index! Perhaps it is that kind of prioritization that has allowed the country to avoid the violence of the rest of the South Asian region.

Well, I hope happiness, compassion, wisdom and loving kindness spread through our world through the teachings of the Buddha and the actions of those who follow his teachings (such as Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi).

Om mani padme hum.

Special Post for my Friends on Facebook

2009-02-10T15:43:00.004+08:00

"Socializing is hard."

TRAVEL STORIES Wedding Party in a Tuk-Tuk

2009-02-09T22:22:00.014+08:00

Last summer, my husband and I went for a family wedding to Verona, Italy. While there, we decided to make a side trip to Lake Garda, a beautiful and rather large lake surrounded by the Italian Alps. Beautiful country.

Wandering around a village by the edge of the water, we saw quaint cafés, a beautiful courtyard and a rather imposing castle. Just as we got to the castle, a wedding party came out of the castle grounds in merry mood. This was rather nice, of course.

What was more fun to watch was that the bride and groom, each licking on a gelato, then got into a tuk-tuk – well, I’m not sure what they are called it Italy, but you can see for yourself – decorated with flowers (like a “wedding car”).

Their bridesmaid got in the front with the driver and they made off in this three-wheeled contraption amid much waving and laughter.

I heard them speaking English, so (like us) they were obviously foreigners. I don't suppose too many Italians make off in tuk-tuks eating gelati after their weddings. :)

I was inspired to write this short story after visiting A Traveler's Library (see the post Most Romantic Destination).

Mahatma Gandhi

2009-02-01T00:49:00.010+08:00

January 30 was Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary. Time was, we used to observe a two-minute silence in his honour every year. (If I remember right, the two minutes started at 11 a.m.) It felt as if all of India stopped for a couple of minutes to pay homage to the man who taught the world to use entirely peaceful means to stand up to violence and to overcome injustice.

This year, busy with my own life, I didn't remember until a day later. Perhaps I would have remembered if I were still living in India. I hope so...

Now, a day late, I pay my respects through this post to the Apostle of Peace.

To mark the occasion, here are 3 of my favourite quotes from the Mahatma:

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Slumdog Millionaire -- Will the cliches never end?

2009-01-30T10:33:00.002+08:00

Slumdog Millionaire – Impossible Premise and Clichés Galore

I don’t usually review films, especially those I don’t like, but with all the hype around this one, I felt I had to have my say.

The plus side first – great acting by the kids, good camerawork, very good music.

On the other hand.

The basic premise that anyone close to the big win on a TV show like this would be tortured by police is truly hard to believe. Impossible to believe when it is a young man from the slums. Such a man would instantly become a “poster boy” for the programme, the sponsors and the TV station. Quite possibly he would also be wooed by various political parties! He would certainly be the celebrity of the month, if not of the year. Only someone completely out of touch with reality in India could come up with this idea.

The other basic theme has potential – it would be interesting to see how the questions on the show could relate to the life of a poor boy from the slums. But then every cliché in the book has been pulled out and chucked at the film. As one of my (non-Indian) friends pointed out, it is a story so full of clichés it could have been written by someone who has never been to India. (Amazingly, the film is based on a rather boring book written by an Indian; one really has to wonder about the author’s grip on reality.)

A directory for women bloggers

2009-01-26T19:49:00.000+08:00

Calling all female bloggers - Here's a blog that serves as a directory for women bloggers: http://womens-blogger-directory.blogspot.com/
I've only just joined up myself and am not sure how many women bloggers are already in the directory. But it promises to be an interesting place for women bloggers to network and check out other blogs.
So, women bloggers, come check it out.

And Then They Came for Me

2009-01-13T10:35:00.000+08:00

Lasantha Wickrematunge, the editor of Sri Lanka's Sunday Leader newspaper, was killed on Thursday, Jan. 8, on his way to work. Anticipating his own killing, Wickrematunge, an outspoken critic of the government, left a letter to be published in just such an event. His paper published the letter on Monday, Jan. 11:
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090111/editorial-.htm

The Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse (also written as Rajapaksa) has denied any involvement in the killing. Wickrematunge says in his letter: "When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me."

He also says: "I hope my assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty in our beloved motherland."

Amen to that. And may Lasantha Wickrematunge find peace.

Possibilities...

2009-01-10T18:37:00.000+08:00

Karine Doche found this picture while browsing the Internet. She is circulating this on Facebook, where she has also set up a group called “Everything is possible… Tout est possible…” Karine is not able to tell us more about the picture -- who took it, whether the photographer came upon this scene, or if the picture was “composed,” who the boys are, etc.

Would have been nice to know more, but the picture is still a great symbol of friendship, innocence, and hope for a more peaceful tomorrow.

Do your bit to make that tomorrow a reality – sign this avaaz petition calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/50.php

A New Year Resolution for Our Times

2009-01-06T17:43:00.000+08:00

A new year is usually a time of hope and optimism. We wish everyone happiness in the coming year and make resolutions for ourselves, confident that this time we really will keep them.

This year, however, we find ourselves in the midst of a financial crisis, with several countries reeling under war or civil strife, and most of the world facing the threat of terrorist attack. This dampens the enthusiasm for new year resolutions, but I’ll make one anyway, and I hope you’ll join me in it.

A Missing Link…

Looking back at 2008, I find one human quality in terribly short supply around the world: that of feeling connected to one’s fellow human beings. The war atrocities in Africa or the terrorist attacks on Mumbai can only be possible if the perpetrators do not feel a connection with their victims (and, in some situations, the same people might be both perpetrators and victims at different times). You obviously do not wound, torture or kill someone if you can empathize with them, sharing their pain as a fellow human being.

This basic fact is true even when aggression seems justified (at least to the aggressor). The Israeli government appears to believe that its attacks on Gaza are needed to keep the Israeli people safe. This is by no means certain and the logic behind this belief has been questioned by many in recent days.

Can – and should – one group of people buy security at the cost of their neighbours’ lives? The Israeli government logic is based on the fairly widespread belief that the lives of “our own people” – defined by citizenship, religious identity or anything else – are more precious than those of “others.” Military action therefore is not a matter of right and wrong; it does not stem, for example, from a desire to stand up to an evil regime or to prevent wrong-doing. It is simply a question of “us” and “them.”

Growing Tribalism

In recent years, we have seen a good deal of evidence of this rather tribal mentality of “us” and “them” – the shocking attacks of 9/11, Bush’s comment about being either “with us or against us,” umpteen media reports of casualties in Iraq that counted American but not Iraqi lives, etc.

In 2008, this trend moved to its logical conclusion – narrowing the view from “us” to “me” – and the rest of the world be damned. Top executives in global enterprises thought only of immediate profits leading to fat bonuses for themselves, with no thought for the suffering that could – and did – follow for millions around the globe. Après moi, le déluge, as Louis XV so infamously said back in the eighteenth century.

Poisoning Babies

Last year’s milk scandal in China, meanwhile, may appear to be smaller in scale than the global financial crisis if counted purely in terms of the numbers of people and economies affected. But to me it epitomizes the lack of human connectedness which is the basis of our humanity. One must surely be dead to the feelings of one’s fellow human beings before one can poison infant formula. At least six babies lost their lives as a result of the greed of entrepreneurs who mixed the industrial chemical melamine with milk and infant formula to hide the fact that they had diluted the milk (including that in infant formula) with water. An estimated 300,000 – yes, 300,000 – infants became ill, many with kidney stones and other kinds of kidney and liver damage that will lead to lingering ailments.

The Human Connection

What a depressing picture. And in all these cases, the common thread is the inability to imagine the other’s pain.

Which brings me to my resolution.

After a year so short on empathy, I turn to all of the world’s wisdom traditions to find a new year resolution that returns to the fundamentals of human existence. I resolve to live in the awareness that I am connected to all other human beings, irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, and all the other divisions we have created in this world…

For inspiration, I turn to this quote from Sufi Master Vilayat Inayat Khan, courtesy the blog Inspirations and Creative Thoughts (http://mysticsaint.blogspot.com/2009/01/human-suffering-lamentation-of-mystic.html):

when one's consciousness is no longer tied
to a particular being
consequently one extends one's consciousness
from the cause of one's being to that of all,
all beings!

Needed: A New Approach to Fight Terrorism

2008-12-04T12:29:00.000+08:00

An interesting post on the Bombay (Mumbai) attacks:
http://www.awakeinthislife.com/2008/11/fanning-fundamentalist-flames/

I liked two points the author made: (i) it's time to give up attachments (I presume to old ways of thinking); and
(ii) the horrifying events of the past week do invite us to open our "eyes, hearts and minds."

I believe it's important we look for new approaches that are likely to lead us away from conflict, towards peace. I believe it's equally important we find approaches that are realistic, which means we cannot afford to ignore the realities of the situation. These realities include the facts that Pakistan's military intelligence (the ISI) is obviously not under the full control of the civilian government and that the ISI continues to train and finance terrorists.

I was amazed to hear a Pakistani foreign minister state clearly to the world media last week that it was in Pakistan's interest to cooperate with India on the ongoing investigation of the attacks. This is indeed an opportunity for Indians and Pakistanis to give up their attachment to old ways of thinking and work together for peace.

Yet, the Pakistani government was unable that same week to persuade the head of the ISI to visit India, even though it had publicly announced such a visit. Meanwhile, the evidence of ISI complicity in terrorist activity continued to mount. At the moment, attention is focused on the results of the Indian investigation of the Mumbai attacks. But let us not forget that the New York Times quoted US government sources back in August to say that the ISI had aided the blast at the Indian embassy in Kabul in July. And, because of its concerns about the Pakistani military, the US no longer provides Pakistan with advance information of attacks against Al Qaida terrrorists on Pakistani territory.

What does all this mean for India? I think it means India, and Indians (such as myself), need to distinguish between the various wings of the Pakistani establishment and support those that stand firmly against terrorists while standing up to those that continue to train and finance terrorists. This is, of course, easier said than done when it is far from clear what action, if any, Pakistan’s civilian government intends to take against terrorist groups or their powerful supporters.

Perhaps the civilian government in Pakistan could start by extraditing those wanted in India in connection with terrorists attacks, including an attack on Parliament and the hijacking of a plane. At the same time, the government, with the help of its allies, might begin tracing the money that reaches terrorist organizations based on Pakistani soil. Lastly, it must begin the difficult process of bringing its military, including military intelligence, under government control.

Pakistan’s allies and well-wishers need to take their heads out of the sand, acknowledge the ground realities, and help and encourage the elected civilian government to deal with those realities.

The Indian people are understandably angry and sad after the latest attacks in Mumbai. It is important to direct that anger against terrorists rather than against communities or countries.

It is in no-one's interest to be subjected to more terrorist attacks. It is not in the interests of either the Indian or the Pakistani people to have any force, any power, continue the indoctrination and training of terrorists. And it is not in the interests of either country, and their people, to have a “failed state” and a power vacuum in the subcontinent.

I hope these realities will finally help us to overcome the divisions of the past -- based on nationality, religion or language -- and create, finally, the one division that is needed today, not just in the subcontinent, but around the world: the division between people who seek peace and people who spread terrorism.

Bombay Attacks and After

2008-11-29T10:47:00.000+08:00

Anger after the Bombay Attacks – Let's Learn from History

I can sense the anger now in some of the TV interviews, in messages from friends – and in myself. By now, we know and accept the fact there there are groups of murderous, indoctrinated people dedicated to terrorizing the world. But for many Indians, there is the added frustration of believing that many of these terrorists have received their indoctrination, training and financial backing in Pakistan. Whether from the government proper, or the intelligence service ISI, or from other sources. Whatever the precise source, it is generally believed in India that many terrorists have been trained on Pakistani soil and received supplies and money originating in that country.

I have no doubt the Indian authorities investigating the Bombay attacks have already gathered much useful information on the perpatrators and their backers. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister have clearly pointed to “elements in Pakistan.”

The real question now is what we as a people do with this information, and with our own very human feelings of anger and frustration. These feelings are not dissimilar to those felt by large numbers of Americans after 9/11. Initially, these feelings were channelled into taking legitimate action to protect Americans, and indeed the people of the world, from more terrorist attacks. The invasion of Afghanistan, however unfair in historical terms, served the specific purpose of smashing terrorist networks and transforming the society that had supported those networks.

But, apparently, the invasion of Afghanistan did not of itself mop up the anger and frustration in America. Instead of taking action to change the mood to something more positive, instead of channelling the energies into work that would make the world safer and better, the Bush administration lied and manipulated its own people to justify the invasion of Iraq.

It is now clear to all, as it was always clear to some, that there was no link between 9/11 and anything or anyone in Iraq. The world became not more peaceful, but less so. Young men and women from America, Iraq, Europe, Korea and many other countries continue to lose their lives in a conflict that still drags on and that has no clear purpose. No terrorist networks have been smashed and no weapons of mass destruction found as a result of the invasion. Iraq is much less stable than it was and the world even more divided than before.

The urge to lash out in anger and frustration is natural. But if we lash out indiscriminately, or if we lash out irrationally against a convenient “soft target,” we give in to the basest of human instincts. The instinct that led to the carnage that accompanied the partition of India and Pakistan. The same instinct that has led to Hindu-Muslim riots in India, Shia-Sunni conflict in Pakistan and Sinhala-Tamil strife in Sri Lanka.

The events of the past few days offer us, the Indian people, a clear choice: we can lash out indiscriminately and irrationally, rather like terrorists do. Or we can respond in our own best interests and the best interests of the world, with a clear sense of purpose. We have the right to respond to these attacks. But, this time, let us not allow our politicians to manipulate our anger to fill their own hunger for power; instead let’s push them to respond in India’s, and the world’s, best interests.

This will require taking action – possibly both military and diplomatic action. But let us not start with a knee-jerk action and then think of what it has or has not achieved. Let us instead set our objectives first and then find the actions most likely to help us achieve those objectives.

And let the objective not be more power for India’s various political personalities and parties. Let the objectives be greater peace, more security, a better chance for material and spiritual development for the Indian people.

I end with a famous quote from the Bhagavad Gita:
Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachan.*

Let us be guided in these difficult days by what we believe to be right, rather than by any expectation of personal gain.

*The full verse (2 lines) is tranlated thus: You have the right to work [or action], but never to the fruit[s] of [your] work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.
(Chapter 2, Verse 47, as translated by Eknath Easwaran)

A Sense of Separation in a Globalized World

2008-11-27T11:44:00.000+08:00

We live in a tremendously globalized world. An economic crisis in one country spreads throughout the world in next to no time. A doctor in, say, Minneapolis may be reading out an MRI report written in Bombay. If you have a problem with your computer in London, you might end up talking to a call centre in Gurgaon, India, or Manila, Philippines. Etc.

And yet…

In this globalized world, people still feel so separate. Us vs. Them, a clash of civilizations, Muslims vs. “kafirs,” Hindus vs. Muslims, Shias vs. Sunnis, Sinhalas vs. Tamils, Maharashtrians vs. non-Maharashtrians. Wait, the list goes on. Senior executives in global countries and national politicians vs. the general public out there to be exploited for economic gain or political power.

In the age of globalization, the only widely shared values appear to be greed and self-interest. Both of which require a sense of separation from the rest of humanity.

The Bombay Attacks

2008-11-27T08:42:00.000+08:00

I woke up to the horrifying news of the Bombay (Mumbai) attacks this morning. At 6:30 in the morning, my husband, a journalist, was preparing to go to India to help with the media coverage.
I turned on the TV. By 8 a.m. (5:30 a.m. in India), BBC had told us about 16 attacks, 78 people killed, 200 wounded and hundreds held hostage.

Good morning world.

This is the world we live in now. The news could be coming out of Bombay, or London, or Karachi, or anywhere else in the world. It is always bad, each attack adding some new horror, some new “efficiency” to the killing. In the 7 years since 9/11, we have seen attacks in Britain, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey… More that I can’t even remember at the moment.… One would think the world is now firmly divided between those who terrorise and those who are under threat.

Yet, in Bombay this morning, a young woman interviewed on BBC spoke of another threat to peace: political exploitation of the attacks to narrow party political ends, which could very possibly end in communal rioting. All this while the fire still raged at the Taj hotel, an old Bombay landmark, and while hundreds of Indians and foreigners were still being held hostage at 3 locations in Bombay.

I don’t know which is the biggest tragedy. The deadly terrorist attacks that are so much a part of our lives now, the feeling that our politicians will stop at nothing to grab power – or the lack of faith in ourselves as a society, the feeling that we can be easily manipulated to kill more innnocent people rather than fighting the terrorists.

A New High in Maya (a Sanskrit word loosely translated as "illusion")

2008-11-20T22:52:00.000+08:00

The age of virtual reality is truly upon us. It has been coming on for a few decades, but now it is well and truly here.

I have a hard time understanding the wonderful world of high finance, but I gather the current global financial crisis has a lot to do with:
(i) trade in notional products and services;
(ii) trade in a speculative prediction of an asset’s future value; and
(iii) repeated use of a single asset (such as a house) as collateral for an infinite number of deals.

So, we are no longer buying and selling actual products and services, but the idea of such products and services. And sometimes, apparently, the idea turns out to be an illusion.

Now, to help us overcome the financial crisis, the US will pump $700 billion dollars into its economy. No doubt this rescue package is just the thing at this point in the crisis. But, once again, we are relying on pieces of paper that represent a notional value of – well, something. Let’s hope there is some more solid reality behind all these paper icons (icons as on your computer, that awfully solid link to a whole world of virtual reality).

What a tough world. So much gloom and doom all around us. Time to relax – how about getting together with a few good friends and engaging in a leisure time activity? I know, let’s play some Scrabble, that’s always fun. No, don’t bring out the actual board and bag of letters… Why would I play with a family member or a friend across a real table, when I can connect with 400 virtual friends on Facebook and play – virtually, of course – with any of them?

Family members are busy anyway – all connecting with friends on the Net, probably. The kids are creating sexy, exciting avatars (and how that word has changed in meaning…) or virtual personalities for themselves to use in the parallel universe they inhabit.

Well, at least this is real. I’m expressing my views clearly on the world of maya, or illusion – to virtual readers on the Net… :)

ORBS: In the lens or in the sky?

2008-09-25T10:55:00.000+08:00

Here’s something interesting for all of us to mull over. I was going over some old pix the other night, taken with my old digital camera and stored on my computer. Started looking through pix I took in Burma in March 2006.
On one of them I noticed a tiny, but quite bright, circle. Look to the right of the stupa (the LEFT half of the PICTURE as you face it). If you look closely, you can just about make out two larger, but much fainter circles further left on the picture. If you can't spot them yet, never mind, you’ll see strange and interesting circles soon enough!

With idle curiousity, I blew up the small circle to see what it was. This is what I saw:

I was really rather psyched. I had recently been reading with renewed interest about orbs – circles of light that show up unexpectedly on people’s pictures. And this definitely looked like an orb! So I went back to the full picture and made it brighter – just to make the sky lighter so I would be able to pick out anything that may be hidden by the darkness. Wow! The whole sky was full of these circles!
If this had been a print, I would have thought it was mould or something odd on the paper. But this is just a digital photo on the computer! Next, I wondered if the electric light that lights the stupa at night was doing this – but look at the full picture (the first one) – how would this be possible!

Here’s a brightened and cropped picture focusing on the sky:

Now, what do you make of that, hey?!

Here’s another cropped and brightened section of the sky:

And one more, which includes that first small but bright orb in the bottom right-hand corner:

Well, what do you all think? I'm keeping an open mind to all possibilities. Have bought a book on orbs and am talking to a friend who has been photographing them for years. It's all rather new and amazing to me though, so I welcome your comments -- affirming ones or skeptical ones. Just so long as we preserve the decencies of debate, of course.

Vinita Karim's wonderful paintings

2008-09-24T18:14:00.000+08:00

One of my favourite painters is based right here in Manila -- Vinita Karim. I have two of her paintings and I can tell you they have added much joy to my life. One of them hangs in my Reiki room to inspire me as I heal!

Check out her work: http://www.vinitakarim.com/

Vinita does exhibit in India and other countries as well, I think, so even if you're not based in Manila, you might want to get in touch with her if you like the samples you see on her website.

To ask for more info, drop her an email: vinitakarim@gmail.com

Quick Book Review -- In the Name of Honour

2008-09-24T09:57:00.001+08:00

In the Name of Honour – by Mukhtar Mai, with Marie-Thérèse Cuny (translated into English by Linda Coverdale)
This is the tremendously inspiring story of Mukhtar Mai, also known as Mukhtaran Bibi, a peasant woman in a remote village in Pakistan who in 2002 was “sentenced” to being gang-raped by her village tribal council. Mukhtar Mai does not dwell on the despair she undoubtedly felt after the “sentence” was carried out, focusing instead on her fight for justice and human dignity.

Depite all the translation the book required, it speaks simply and forcefully of a woman with an immense strength of character and spirit. Overcoming an initial urge to commit suicide, Mukhtar Mai chose instead to stand up for her rights and the rights of all women in her country.

Against all odds, fighting corrupt local police and high-level government pressure, she told the world her story and pushed her case through to the Supreme Court. Along the way, she became a symbol of women’s rights and an advocate for education, especially for girls.

The Summer

2008-09-10T20:08:00.000+08:00

How’s your summer going? Mine’s pretty good so far (what, is it over already?!)

I resigned from a 9-5 (more like 8-8 actually) job in May and that started off the summer just right. Now I work from home, at my own pace, doing the things I love to do (Reiki healing, counselling, writing). Not that much money coming in so far, but luckily that’s not an imperative right now. And hopefully it’s just a matter of time before it starts flowing in... (C’mon, one can always hope.)

Apart from the freedom from the 9-5, one of the highlights of my summer has been a brief trip to Europe. I managed to do a bit of quite a few fun things. Visited some old haunts (mainly in Austria) and went to new towns (in Italy). Met up with a dear friend I hadn’t met in 10 years and with cousins I don’t see very often (we’re a bit of a scattered family). Attended an Italian-Indian wedding (hence the family reunion) in Verona, where I also took in some fabulous opera at the Arena, a huge old amphitheatre open to the skies.

Not only was the opera really good, it was a visual feast on a vast scale (much bigger than most opera houses, obviously). In fact Aida was so much of a visual feast that I couldn’t focus too well on the music and the singing! By contrast, Nabbuco had a somewhat minimalist set, but the music and singing were divine. And Carmen was just so much fun (despite the sad end).

Verona itself is a beautiful old town, somewhat overshadowed by the splendour of other Italian cities with their art treasures (Florence) and huge historical wonders (Pompeii). Verona can’t compete with those, it’s true, but it’s really quite a charming town. Just like Bergamo, known mainly for providing Milan’s “second airport.” (Many flights from within Europe seem to land here.) But it is stunningly beautiful, surrounded by hills, and steeped in history. Truly Italy is spoilt for riches. Oh, and one additional factor in favour of such towns: far, far fewer tourists.

This hit us (my husband and I) when we moved straight from Verona to Venice. Fabulous city, of course, and quite unique – but absolutely crawling with tourists! Well, yes, we were tourists too…

Travelling further, we took the train from Venice to Vienna, Austria. A friend who’s done this same journey described it so: at some point I noticed everything was neater, in straighter lines – the fields, the bales of hay… A bit exaggerated, but kind of true. Decades ago, when I lived in Vienna, travelling to Italy always felt like travelling half-way home to Asia. You get the picture.

Our most fun day in Austria was when we took the boat from Krems to Melk, in the Wachau valley. Green hills, often covered in vineyards, along the banks of the Danube, little villages with beautiful churches, and a ruined old castle on every hilltop (well, almost). And at the end of it all Stift Melk – a beautiful, yellow-exterior Baroque abbey on top of a hill overlooking the river. Lovely. Inside, the abbey is perhaps a bit too Baroque. The church that you come to at the end of your wanderings around the abbey is jaw-droppingly gold-covered. Not exactly elegant, and certainly nothing understated or subtle about it -- it stops you dead in your tracks as you enter. The church includes relics of unknown saints, something that’s always puzzled me. How do you figure someone’s a saint if you don’t know who they are? I’m sure there’s an explanation, but I didn’t know who to ask. Besides, I was busy hitching up my jaw again.

And now to sort through my 1,200 photos!

Deepak Chopra

2008-09-09T02:18:00.001+08:00

View my page on The Chopra Community

How precious is YOUR life?

2008-07-21T14:33:00.000+08:00

Most of us are taught from an early age that all life is precious – or, at the very least, that all human life is precious. But how well do we really learn this lesson?

All spiritual and religious traditions, as well as the best secular value systems, tell us that life is precious. These traditions do not distinguish between individual human beings, assigning more or less value depending on race, monetary worth or any other criteria.

Yet, so often as a counsellor, I have met people who value their own lives less than those of others. I had a young client who literally couldn’t bear to hurt a bug – her mother told me of how she saved a beetle from being accidentally squashed and how they weren’t allowed to kill ants in their home. Yet this same girl often cut herself – mostly on her arms – with a blade.

I am not suggesting, of course, that low self-worth is an unexplainable phenomenon. During counselling, we uncovered certain incidents in my client’s childhood that had a very direct bearing on her lack of self-worth. Even so, is not surprising that she was so mindful of a beetle’s life and cared so little for her own well-being?

Another woman, a devoted and fiercely protective mother of two, tried to kill herself when she discovered her husband was cheating on her. Why would she put his fidelity (or lack of it) above her own life? Fortunately, she survived the attempt, got counselling and has not looked back since. Her love of her children has helped her to move on – and, I hope, also a newly-discovered love of herself.

The Bible tells us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. This assumes that we already love ourselves. That part – loving oneself – does not need an explanation. Or so it seems.

The Bhagavad Gita, which encapsulates India’s Vedic wisdom, teaches us that our innermost core, and our Highest Self, is atma, or soul, which is an aspect of God. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, when you fold your hands and bow to another, you are saluting that innermost Self in the other person: the Buddha within, the atma, the spark of divine fire at their centre. In return, they fold their hands in deference to the divinity within you.

All our lives are precious. In the overall scheme of things, your life is no more – and no less – precious than any other. But to you, it should in fact be more precious because it is a personal gift to you, for which you alone are responsible.

Whatever our beliefs regarding creation, we all know we did not create ourselves. This life, therefore, has been given to us – as a gift. Do you treat this gift of life with the love and respect, and responsibility, it deserves? Do you appreciate, do you treasure, the most precious gift that you can possibly receive on this Earth?

Reiki's 5 Principles for Daily Living

2008-07-18T14:07:00.000+08:00

Just for today:
I will count my blessings.
I will not worry.
I will not be angry.
I will do my work honestly.
I will honour my teachers and elders, and be kind to all living beings.

Reiki sessions available in Manila

2008-07-18T10:18:00.000+08:00

To book a session, email terataii@gmail.com

What is Reiki?
Reiki is a safe, non-intrusive healing technique. The Reiki practitioner places her hands gently on different chakras, or energy points, on the client’s body to help the client access universal life energy, described in various traditions as prana, chi or ki.
The Reiki practitioner acts as a channel that allows life-enhancing energy to flow to the client to help address physical, emotional and spiritual imbalances, removing blockages at all these levels. Reiki helps physical healing from disease or injury. It helps overcome depression, confusion or tension. It brings clarity of vision and spiritual growth.

The Reiki experience
Reiki is a personal experience. You may experience it as powerful energy moving through you or as subtle energy shifts; as a release of mental tension or an easing of physical symptoms; as deep relaxation or greater awareness and clarity. The energy helps each person in the way best suited for them.
Each session lasts an hour, including a brief consultation with Pamposh. She can supplement the Reiki with crystal therapy, meditation or counselling based on your needs. All interaction is confidential.

The practitioner
Pamposh is a certified Reiki Master, initiated into all three degrees of the Usui system of Reiki healing at the Ra Kendra in Manila and SoulCentre in Singapore. She was initiated into the highest degree by Reiki Master Sally Forrest of the U.K. Pamposh is a student of Indian spiritual master Vikas Malkani of the spiritual tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.
In addition, Pamposh is a member of the Singapore Association for Counselling and has a Masters degree in Social Science (Counselling) from the University of South Australia, Adelaide. She has experience in face-to-face, Internet-based and phone counselling.