A child’s strange visions

HERE’S a question from Ruby of Tandang Sora, QC:

“I want to consult you about my 10-year-old daughter. About two years ago, she told me she can see ghosts in our house. She had just come home from school and while resting on a couch, she saw a small girl playing in our kitchen.

“One time, we were about to board our car parked in a mall when she saw a tiny man cross our path. He was wearing a pointed hat.

“In her school she can see white ladies and small kids in uniform in the classroom, lavatories and corridors. And they are all faceless! More than a year ago, she saw an old wrinkled hand sticking out from under her bed.

“When she was a toddler, she would point to a blank wall and say an angel was watching us and was smiling at her. Inside the house she would wave and say ‘Bye bye, man!’ to a second-floor window while she’s on the first floor.

“Just yesterday, she wanted to know why, lately, the things she sees are getting more vivid. They now look clearer and colored as opposed to black and white before.

“Also, recently, she can see lights (sometimes only one, but one time they were numerous). Most of them are white, but sometimes colored. And they seem to fly around the room.
“About the house, we learned that a former occupant attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself. He was rushed to the hospital. At the time we bought the house, he had already died. We had this house blessed by a Catholic priest before we moved in.

“How do I deal with this? Is this a good thing? Is my daughter in some kind of danger? Please enlighten me on this. Thank you.”

First, let me tell you that during the last 25 years, more and more children with highly developed psychic faculties have been born on Planet Earth. One writer has called them Indigo Children, after the color of the Third Eye or Brow Chakra, which is the seat of clairvoyance and intuition.

These children are highly intelligent, intuitive, clairvoyant and sensitive to other people and their environment. They see and hear things that ordinary people don’t see or hear. They are born at this period to prepare man for the next phase of human evolution. I don’t know how true the theory is, but it seems to be true that there are more psychic children being born at this time than before.

Your child needs expert guidance from knowledgeable and ethical specialists in this field. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find such experts in the psychic and paranormal field in this country. My book “The Psychic World and You” published by De La Salle University Press has a chapter on how to understand and deal with psychic children. You may find the book helpful to you. The book is available at the DLSU bookstore and sometimes in commercial bookstores as well. We have a few copies for sale in our office if you are interested.

From her description it would seem that the little people she sees are elementals or nature spirits, such as dwarves and fairies. But she also sees spirits of the dead, like the white ladies and the old wrinkled hand under her bed. These are earthbound spirits.

The fact that what she is seeing is becoming more vivid and colorful means her psychic perception or clairvoyant faculty is getting stronger and more developed. There is no limit to what she will be able to do with her psychic gifts in the future. Sometimes, however, such abilities disappear as the child grows older and becomes more analytical and critical in her thinking.

The lights she sees floating in the room are probably “orbs” which have been appearing lately in photos taken by people who are sensitive or psychically gifted. They gravitate around psychic people. But they have also appeared in public places such as in Las Vegas casinos, in auditoriums of schools, in hospitals, etc.

No one knows what these orbs are or what their purpose is. My theory is that they are either elementals, extraterrestrials, or spirits of the dead. More research is needed to help us understand them. Usually they cannot be seen with the naked eye, only in pictures. But sometimes sensitive individuals can see them with their naked eyes. Also, I just learned that, recently, a book about orbs came out in the US titled “Beyond Photography” by Katie Hall and John Pickering, published by Barnes & Noble. You may want to check this out.

Past lives through pictures
Another reader, Mavis de los Santos, a psychology graduate now working in Tuguegarao, wants to know if I can tell her past life by looking at her picture.

“I’ve been really wanting to know who I was in the past. I have this birthmark at the lower right side of my butt which might help you.”

Sorry, Mavis, I don’t have the ability to tell past lives of people through pictures, astrological signs or birthmarks. The best person who can tell you who you were in a past incarnation is yourself. During my seminar on Soulmate, Karma & Reincarnation, I conducted two hypnotic regressions to help participants see their past lives themselves.

Our subconscious holds the memory of all our past incarnations. Through proper technique, we may uncover who we were in the past.


http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=35066

Everything is illusion

LAST week, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, visited Manila for the first time.

The Karmapa heads one of four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Karma Kagyu. The other schools are the Ningma, Sakya and Gelupa, each having its own spiritual head.

The Dalai Lama, political and spiritual leader of Tibet, belongs to the Gelupa school.

The Karma Kagyu is considered “one of the most precious lineages in Tibet.” The Karmapa was first incarnated in the 12th century and is now in his 17th incarnation. He is a treasury of teachings. One of Tibet’s greatest spiritual teachers and saints, Milarepa, comes from Karma Kagyu.

The 17th Karmapa was born in Tibet in 1983, the third son of a great lama. He is descended from doctors and learned medical scholars. His name, Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, means “Limitless and Unchanging Buddha Activity.”

When Thaye Dorje was only 3 years old, he reportedly told everyone, “I am the Karmapa.”

Once, as a young boy, he read an ancient Buddhist textbook, “Logic of Emptiness,” and immediately knew the first section by heart, reciting the whole text. At age 11, he was officially recognized as the 17th incarnation of the Karmapa by the 14th Kunzig Shamarpa, second highest lama in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

I had an exclusive interview with the 23-year-old 17th Karmapa, arranged by Dr. Carlos Aureus, president of the Universal Wisdom Foundation, one of the organizers of the Manila visit.

Here are excerpts from that interview:
What’s the difference between Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhism in general?
There is no essential difference... there were three yamas or vehicles that developed for the transmission of the teachings. (What) was established and developed in Tibet was the Raja Yama, the third one. But, of course, all the others carry the same essence—the development of one’s enlightened nature. Each of these vehicles is there to develop qualities that are in us.Tibetan Buddhism developed due to the particular needs and conditions of the people at the time. Now it has spread worldwide.

At the welcome dinner, you mentioned that your purpose is to spread the authentic teachings of Buddhism. This implies there are inauthentic teachings.

Not inauthentic. But the teachings should be clear (and) true and should be explained properly, or else we risk being misunderstood or misinterpreted. This can also affect man’s development.
A hallmark of Buddhism is belief in reincarnation... But very few remember their past incarnations. Why is it that you remember yours?

It is difficult for the average person to understand the nature of reincarnation. Even for Buddhists, it is hard to follow that fact. This is mainly due to negative things we have done in the past. It is difficult for us to pinpoint the cause of our present difficulties because in this life we don’t remember doing these negative things. Even if we live a good normal life, a karma-less life, still we face difficulties. But once we accept that these things are due to what we (did) in the past, then we can do something about them.

Do you remember all your past lives or only the most recent?
We don’t usually talk about our past lives publicly even if we remember them because it is hard for others to accept them. They will be regarded merely as stories, not actual facts...
But anyone who follows the correct procedures, for example by practicing a certain type of meditation and developing his inner nature, in time he will remember his past incarnations.

Why is there a strong resurgence of interest in Buddhism in western countries and why at this time?
Perhaps one reason is the freedom and flexibility in Buddhist philosophy. Other religions also offer freedom and salvation, but perhaps not in the same degree of flexibility that Buddhism offers.
Buddhism is consistent with scientific truths and logic. And this may also account for its appeal to western people.

Some western philosophers and writers consider Buddhism a negative religion because of its emphasis on self-denial, self-abnegation, mortification of the flesh and suppression of desire. Is this a correct view of Buddhism?

I think this stems from a lack of proper knowledge of Buddhism. But who can blame them?
The letting go of desire (a main teaching of Buddhism) does not mean we are devoid of everything. It only means we let go of our strong grasp of what is not there.

The negative things we experience are (because we cling strongly) to things that we think are there but actually are not.

Through Buddhism, we let go of things, let go of our desires. Only then can we be truly free, because we are not bound by anything.

That was brilliant, I think. Now even quantum physicists believe there is really nothing out there. Everything is maya or illusion. When we desire something of this world, we are desiring or pursuing what is not there.

Quantum physicists discovered that when they started probing the ultimate component of matter, there was only empty space. This has led to a rethinking of what really constitutes the material universe. It is consistent with Buddhist philosophy that everything is maya or illusion.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=33771

Sex is not shameful

THE November 8 issue of the Inquirer carried a front page story on a controversy generated by a Malaysian newspaper that featured the results of a survey on the favorite sex positions of the Malaysian youth. Among the favorites mentioned were “spooning, galloping and tea bag positions.”

Government leaders reportedly rebuked the Kuala Lumpur Weekend Mail and called its three-page feature story “irresponsible and downright vulgar.” The publication’s chief executive issued an apology but the Weekend Mail staff defended its decision to publish the survey results saying, “sex and sex-related issues should be discussed openly to avoid negative perceptions.”
I agree, but it is not only to avoid negative perceptions about sex but also, and more importantly, to enable the public to look at sex more objectively and with a more mature attitude.

The reaction of the Malaysian government to a subject which is perfectly natural and normal is similar to the way our own highly conservative Board of Censors (euphemistically renamed Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) reacts to any honest and frank portrayal of sex on television and movies.

Taboo
The board has never allowed nudity or portrayal of the sexual act, even if this is essential to the story. It considers such things as absolutely taboo and unfit for public consumption.

Little does it realize that the more it suppresses healthy and natural expressions of human sexuality, the more people get curious about these.What censors and moralists succeed in doing is to keep the masses forever in the infantile stage of mental and emotional development. Such an attitude only ensures that the public never graduates from adolescence in matters of sex.

Witness what happened to the much publicized Topless Bars. When they first opened in San Francisco (I think in the ’70s), large throngs of people flocked to them to stare at bare-breasted waitresses. But after only a few months, patronage dropped to almost zero so many of the bars had to close shop. Curiosity over naked female bodies indeed has a saturation point.

When I visited Bali in Indonesia, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and the French Riviera in southern France, and saw for the first time hundreds of half-naked (and a few completely naked) women cavorting or playing volleyball on the beaches, I was frankly excited and filled with curiosity. I couldn’t help staring at them.But after a few days in the world-famous resorts, the sight of naked women around me became so ordinary they could pass in front of me without distracting my attention.This is what will happen if we allow less censorship in our movies. Perhaps the very young should not be allowed to see adult films because they are still very impressionable, but certainly adults should have the freedom to see them.

Eroticism in temples
In India, there is a famous ancient temple in Khajuraho some 800 km northwest of Bhubaneshwar and 1,000 km northeast of Elephanta, where various positions of the sexual act are openly depicted on stone statues. Temples are places of worship. So, what are those explicitly erotic statues doing there? Why were they sculpted there in the first place?

Considered “vulgar, licentious, shocking and pornographic” by conservative and moralistic western minds, the erotic stone statues are nothing of the sort. Upon further reflection and contemplation, one begins to see something deeper and even spiritual in the statues of couples in various acts of sexual intercourse.

As Henri Stierlin clearly explains in his beautiful coffee-table book “Hindu India, from Khajuraho to the Temple City of Madurai,” “We need to seek the profounder meaning of the hymn to carnal love that covers the most beautiful temples of Khajuraho.

“These scenes are not isolated, hidden away from the believer, such as those found in the inner chambers of the brothels in Pompeii and Herculaneum. On the contrary, the erotic theme is a leitmotif in certain parts of the facades of the sanctuaries.

“There is no concealment. The embracing couples are exhibited alongside the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Without thought of modesty or offense, the sculptors have focused on the art of coitus. The sculptures constitute a paean of praise to the sexual act in its most complex form. As a result, the refinement of the poses and their very ostentation confer on them a kind of nobility. There is nothing remotely vulgar about these works.

“In Hindu mythology, divine perfection consists in unity. The separation of masculine and feminine in the natural world creates a tension, the desire to unite and create in the manner of the gods. Serenity results from the union of complementary opposites.”

The sexual act therefore is akin to the original act of creation. And there is nothing in it that we should be ashamed of.

http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=32358

Aswang Festival in Roxas City

FOR the third time, the controversial but culturally important Aswang Festival was held in Roxas City, Capiz, toward the end of October, in keeping with the spirit of All Souls’ Day, celebrated in the west as Halloween.

As in previous years, the annual festival was greeted with disfavor by local church leaders. In a Pastoral Letter, the local parish proposed a boycott of the festival. On the second day of the event, church followers held a vigil and prayed for rain to stop the activities.It drizzled a bit, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people who flocked to the center of the town to see the colorful parade and watch the body-painting contest. The Viva Hot Babes, who flew all the way from Manila, performed provocative dance numbers in skimpy attires, thrilling the audience.

According to the organizer of the festival, the Dugo Capiznon Inc. led by Cheryl Ann R.
Lastimoso, the church was against the event because it purportedly “promotes belief in aswang and scares the children.”This is not true. I do not know where members of the clergy in Capiz got that idea because when I asked Lastimoso what the objectives of the Festival were, she said matter-of-factly: “We have three main objectives: first, to reverse the negative image of Capiz as a haven of aswang and remove the stigma attached to the word. We consider aswang simply a myth, with no factual basis. It does not exist except in the imagination of people.

“Second, to promote economic growth by helping small businessmen. We do this through trade exhibits during the festival.

“Third, to promote Capiz as a good tourist destination by highlighting its famous sea food products, fine beaches and other local scenery.”

The festival included an educational component via a symposium where the aswang idea was discussed from the historical, cultural and paranormal aspects. Three resource speakers were invited to shed light on the topic: Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, executive director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts; Dr. Alicia P. Magos, faculty member of the University of the Philippines Visayas; and this columnist.

Guidote-Alvarez appreciated the cultural significance of the festival as an indigenous alternative to the western celebration of Halloween. She saw it as a good opportunity to remove the stigma attached to Capiz by confronting the issue of aswang rather than being embarrassed by it.
She cited Romania, which suffered for a time by being identified as the birthplace of Dracula.

The Romanians decided to make it a tourist attraction, staging festivities centering on the vampire story. This is what the Dugo Capiznon would like to happen to the aswang myth.
Dr. Magos spoke of the historical origins of the word. During the Spanish era, she said, those who rebelled against the Spaniards were labeled aswang (based on the legend of “Agurang and Aswang” representing good and evil), so people would get scared of them and not follow them.
During that time, aswang referred to the brave Filipinos who fought the Spaniards. They were actually the good guys. In time, the word acquired a negative meaning. Despite the fact that there is no hard evidence to support belief in a monstrous creature called aswang, the idea persisted.

For my part, I talked about the penchant of Filipinos in particular, and Asians in general, for believing in supernatural creatures. Although I said I had not found any evidence of the existence of aswang, there were other supernatural creatures whose existence could be proven, like dwarves and other nature spirits.

Guidote-Alvarez tried to bridge the communication gap between local church officials and the organizers of the festival by talking to the Monsignor about the real intent of the group in staging the event, which was the opposite of what the church feared.

According to her, the Monsignor listened sympathetically to her explanation and somehow understood that there was no intent to promote belief in the aswang.

If the clergy in Capiz had only taken the trouble to read carefully the noble objectives of the organizers of the Aswang Festival, instead of jumping to conclusions, they would not have taken such a negative stance. The church has nothing to fear about the aswang because it does not exist.

Speaking about the attitude of the clergy in Capiz, Jojo Robles, editor in chief of Manila Standard, remarked to me during a dinner hosted by Gen. Lastimoso and family for their guests in a beach resort in Roxas City: “Some people simply have no sense of humor.” He’s absolutely right!

For information on the life changing and empowering seminars I conduct, please call 8926806 and 8107245. E-mail innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph for comments. Listen to Inner Mind on Radio over DZMM radio 7:30-8:30 p.m. every Sunday

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