To a friend of mine who is moving on

To a friend who requested an advice from me about letting go and moving on, this is for you…

I found these valuable articles care of www.  (hehehe)

I hope they will speak the truth for you.  Keep believing in good and beautiful things, everything will be alright.  Good luck! 

And never forget, it is definitely "his loss" anyway (patugtugan mo nlng ng: to the left, to the left hehehe).

Fight!

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Is this Love or Emotional Dependency? 
By: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

One of my clients, whose boyfriend recently broke up with her, asked me the following question…"I think I still love him, but is this love or just emotional dependency?

When it feels as if you can’t live without the other person, it is emotional dependency. The part of you that is "in love" is really a child or adolescent who is needy for love because you are not giving love to yourself or to others. There is an emptiness inside that you expect someone else to fill, because you are not taking responsibility for your own feelings of self-worth. You are attaching your worth to another’s love, which is why you can’t live without that person.

When you fall in love as a loving adult instead of as a wounded, needy child or adolescent, your need for the relationship is totally different. As a loving adult, you have learned how to fill yourself with love and define your own worth. Instead of needing someone to fill you and make you feel lovable and worthy, you already feel worthy and full of love.

You experience this inner fullness because you have learned how to take full responsibility for your own feelings and needs, and you have learned to fill yourself with love. This fullness overflows and you want to share this love with another person, another loving adult who is also filled with love. Your desire is to share love rather than to get love.

The kind of person you will pick will be totally different when a loving adult is choosing than when your wounded self is choosing. The people we pick have a similar level of woundedness and a similar level of emotional health. Obviously, the more you have done your inner work to connect with Divine Love and bring that love within to take loving care of yourself, the more you will be attracted to someone also does this.

When you pick from your wounded self (emotional dependency), you will pick someone whom you believe wants the job of filling you up. The problem is that the other person may be attempting to fill you up in the hopes that you will also fill him up. Two people who each want to get love rather than share love will eventually find themselves very disappointed with each other. They will each blame the other for not loving them in the way they want to be loved. When relationships break up, it is often because one or both partners are not taking responsibility for their own feelings and self-worth and are blaming the other for their resulting unhappiness.

If you are so attached to someone that you feel you can’t live without that person, try learning to give to yourself and others what it is you want from this person. Your job is to become the person to yourself that you want the other person to be. Then you will be able to be "in love" rather than "in need." You will be able to love another person for who he is rather than for what this person can do for you. Instead of needing to get love, you can give love from the heart for the joy of it and feel filled in the giving.

Article Source: http://www.meditationsforwomen.com/articles

About the Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Visit her web site for a free Inner Bonding course: www.innerbonding.com or email her at margaret@innerbonding.com

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How to Recognize a Bad Relationship

By: Kat Beechum

At some point in your life, you’ll most likely experience some sort of
"bad" relationship, whether that is romantic, friendship or parent
based doesn’t really matter, just the fact that you will experience
this is enough.

Recognizing you’re enduring a bad relationship can be difficult,
especially if you are the type of person that sees the good in people
and doesn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings… I found myself in this
position 8 months ago… Here’s my story (I’m the girl).

Girl meets guy, guy and girl have known each other for a while through
various associations from a group they belong to. Guy asks girl out,
girl says yes and they start to date. Girl has been out of a long-term
relationship for about 2 years, guy (girl did not know this at the
time) has only been single for a month! Long story short, they date,
guy pressures girl, she buckles and there it ends…

Now, you might be wondering what actually happened and how did I
recognize things just weren’t right? Well, if I was honest with myself
in the beginning, I would never have gone out with him, but I listened
to what other people had to say and because I was a little vulnerable,
I went out with him.

While said guy was nice enough… things started to happen that
immediately sent my alarm bells off, like after our first date, he sent
through a fax with a poem titled "why I’m the guy for…," and he would
say things like "you’re too independent, you should lean on me more" or
"let me take care of you, you don’t have to do anything" this sort of
thing. And on top of all of this, the demands for intimacy all the time
and the subsequent moods if said demands were not met.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Anyone that makes you feel sick
when they are around you, or makes you want to not spend time with them
is not right for you, regardless of how you say you might feel about
them. I had convinced myself that I was in love with this guy because I
liked the lifestyle he could give me and I was ready to settle down and
have kids… but not with him.

It took me a long time to "get out" of the relationship because I kept
second guessing myself. My inner voice was screaming at me to leave,
yet I just couldn’t bring myself to do it and that’s when I started
getting literarily sick. For 5 months I was continuously ill with this
or that, something was always wrong, and I never get sick! I started to
see the light, it got to the point where I wouldn’t even answer his
calls because I could see his number coming up. When I couldn’t stand
him touching me I knew it was time to leave. Was it hard? Yes, probably
one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I don’t regret it.

I have learnt a few things from this experience that I wish to pass onto you:

1. Trust your instinct. If your inner knowing is screaming at you, listen!

2. Don’t listen to what others have to say if it goes against what you would normally do.

3. Ensure you’re happy first, you have to love you before you can love someone else.

4. Listen for and take notice of the tell tale signs.

5. Take action.

I am much happier now and glad to have gotten out of this relationship
fairly unscathed. If you are in a situation where the person is abusing
you in any way, you NEED to do something about it, you are the only
person that can change the situation and aren’t you important enough to
you to make sure you are safe?

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What is Forgiveness and Why Should You Care? (Part 1)

By: Nancy Wasson

Webster’s New World Dictionary definition of the word forgive is “to
give up resentment against or the desire to punish; stop being angry
with; pardon.” Most spouses, at some time or another, struggle with the
issue of forgiveness as incidents happen in the marriage.

There are very legitimate reasons for feeling hurt and wronged, such as
a partner who is disrespectful, inconsiderate, unsupportive, or
unfaithful. But if you remain stuck in resentment, anger, bitterness,
or vengeance, you will be unable to move on with your life in a healthy
way. Holding grudges and hanging on to negative feelings reduces your
capacity to enjoy life and to have maximum energy in the present moment.

Lewis B. Smedes, in The Art of Forgiving, makes the following points about what forgiveness is and what it is not:

Forgiving does not mean that we excuse the person who did it.

Forgiving does not mean that we invite someone who hurt us once to hurt us again.

Forgiving someone who did us wrong does not mean that we tolerate the wrong he or she did.

Forgiveness is not about reunion. Being reconciled to another person as
a human being and embracing him/her as a best friend are two different
things.

Forgiveness happens inside the person who does it.

So when should you forgive? “We forgive,” shares Smedes, “when we feel
a strong wish to be free from the pain that glues us to a bruised
moment of the past.

We forgive when we want to overcome the resentment that separates us
from the person who wounded us. We forgive when we feel God’s Spirit
nudging us with an impulse to pull ourselves out of the sludge of our
disabling resentment. We forgive when we are ready to move toward a
future unshackled from a painful past we cannot undo.”

How to Forgive and Move On (Part 2)

By: Nancy Wasson

What have you struggled to forgive in your marriage? Do you wish you could forgive and move on, but you don’t know how?

When two people live together in an intimate relationship, there are
always going to be things that happen to cause hurt feelings and anger.
These things may range from minor incidents involving slights and lack
of consideration to major ones such as sexual betrayal.

It’s all-too-easy to develop the habit of repeatedly replaying all the
wrongs a spouse has committed and then to start feeling victimized.
Resentment, blame, anger, and bitterness are heavy burdens that hold us
back, weight us down, and keep us stuck in a view of ourselves as
victims.

Forgiving a spouse does not mean that you avoid or repress your
feelings. On the contrary, it’s important that you acknowledge your
pain and loss so that you can express your feelings, get them out into
the light of day, and let them run a natural, healing course.

“Certainly others are to blame for their mistakes,” write John Gray,
“but they are not to blame for our feelings. To forgive is to release
another from being responsible for how we feel. By finding forgiveness,
we are then free to let go of our pain. Although it is true that our
partner may make us feel upset, we must also recognize that we have the
power to let go of our pain.”

Gray also states, “By feeling gratitude for the good times and
forgiveness for the mistakes, the heart is filled with the love it
needs to heal itself.” Viewed this way, forgiveness releases the toxins
of resentment and blame and allows the heart to recover.

Each spouse faces the same choice: Do I hang on to my feelings of hurt
and pain or do I forgive my partner? For some spouses, the decision to
forgive is viewed as letting a partner off the hook and minimizing the
damage the partner has done.

It’s as though they don’t want the partner to see them laughing and
having fun because then the partner might not suffer as much
emotionally. Thus, the reluctance to forgive can be a way of keeping
control and making sure that the partner keeps feeling guilty and
miserable over what has happened.

When you feel deeply hurt by your spouse’s words or actions, it takes
time to recover from the wound. It’s important to clearly state your
feelings to your spouse and to share just how much the words or actions
have impacted you. It’s also important to consider whether the deed was
one caused inadvertently by lack of awareness or lack of knowledge or
if it was deliberate.

To forgive a spouse is not the same as minimizing hurtful or harmful
behavior. It’s also not about pretending things are fine when they
aren’t. The goal is not to flash a fake smile and say “That’s okay”
when you’re feeling like you’ve been stabbed in the heart.

But there’s a major difference between feeling hurt and struggling to
regroup for a few weeks or months versus still being consumed with
anger, resentment, and bitterness a year later. The longer the wound
festers, the worse it gets.

How Do You Know When It’s Time to Forgive?

The following statements may help you to recognize if you’re ready to forgive and let go:

You forgive when you have a stronger desire to move toward health,
healing, and wholeness than you do to keep singing your “She did me
wrong” or “Poor Me” theme songs.

You forgive when you are tired of being stuck in the emotional and
spiritual desert of despair, anger, bitterness, revenge, and resentment.

You forgive when you realize that your negative emotions are destroying
your sense of spiritual connection, your peace of mind, your health,
and your ability to laugh, play, and enjoy life.

You forgive when you realize that not only are you suffering, but your
resistance to forgiving your spouse is also causing anguish to your
children and other family members.

You forgive when you realize that you are no longer able to live in the
present moment and to be totally emotionally available when you are
with your family members and friends because you are constantly
thinking about the past.

You forgive when you want to move on with your life and restore peace and harmony to your marriage and life.

How Do You Forgive?

Forgiveness is a process. Mary Nurries Stearns writes, “We make the
decision to forgive, again and again. Saying words of forgiveness is
the first step. Reciting the words creates an opening and willingness,
and moves us into a body, heart, mind, spirit process of remembering
and releasing.” She continues:

“We begin by letting go of our unforgiving stance. We acknowledge the
events and feelings that really happened. We admit that the past cannot
be changed. However, through healing, we can leave those yesterdays in
the past and create a better tomorrow.

“Realizing that forgiveness is our own personal journey, we release
expectations that others will respond to our work, even though each
person’s healing has positive rippling effects. While journaling,
drawing, dancing, breathing, and talking, we face whatever our body,
heart, spirit, and mind present next for our healing. Through these
processes, we begin relating differently to our suffering.

“We don’t hold back. We gently swathe our pain with love. We allow
thoughts and feelings to arise into awareness where they are recognized
and permitted to pass on through. Setting aside sacred time daily, we
pray and meditate on forgiveness, and we commune with the divine. And
we trust—knowing that grace and a great wisdom are embracing our
efforts.”

Some individuals feel a dramatic shift when they decide to forgive a
spouse, and for others, forgiveness entails releasing anger and
resentment in smaller bits over a longer time. But the important thing
is to make a beginning before the weight of the negative feelings pulls
you under. Make an appointment to talk to a minister or a counselor if
you are stuck and can’t move forward.

When you forgive, you open a door that was not open before. This door
leads to a field of possibilities for a new kind of relationship with
your spouse.

Regardless of how your partner reacts, you are changed by the act of
releasing and forgiving. You are holding your spouse in a different
kind of heart space—a space where anything is possible, where
relationships can be transformed and where love can reveal itself in
unexpected new ways.

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It’s still a long road for us and we have to keep moving…

The art of letting go lyrics by Mikaila

Put away the pictures
Put away the memories
I’ve poured over and over
Through my tears
I’ve held them till I’m blind
They kept my hope alive
As if somehow that might keep you here
Once you believed in a love forever more
How do you leave it in a drawer

Now here it comes
The hardest part of all
Unchain my heart that’s holding on
How do I start to live my life alone
Guess I’m just learning
Learning the art of letting go

Try to say it’s over
Say the word goodbye
But each time it catches in my throat
Your still here in me
And I can’t set you free
So I hold on to what I wanted most
Maybe someday we’ll be friends forever more
Wish I could open up that door

Now here it comes
The hardest part of all
Unchain my heart that holding on
How do I start to live my life alone
Guess I’m just learning
Learning the art of letting go

Watching us fade
What can I do
But try to make it through the pain
Now one more day without you

Where do I start to live my life alone
I guess I’m learning
Only learning
Learning the art of letting go

admiring Jane Austen

I love Pride and Prejudice (who doesn’t and who can forget Mr. Darcy?!).  It’s the ultimate love story for me; and that’s why i loooove Jane Austen, (for writing that book).  Her use of wit, humor, and irony made her books fun to read (I also like Emma and Sense and Sensibility) eventhough her english is very 19th century British.  I remember asking my mother to take me to Bath, England to see the place where Ms. Austen was born and where she have spent most of her life. And we did! We stayed there three days.  It’s a pretty nice place, well with the Roman Baths and all.  It’s quite unforgettable;  and so are Ms. Austen’s works and words…

JANE AUSTEN’S QUOTES and some quotes from her book Pride and Prejudice

A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.

A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.

A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.

An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a
disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she
feels that she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion.
All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done.

Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?

Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me that trouble of liking them.

It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.

My idea of good company is the company of clever,
well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is
what I call good company.

Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.

There are people, the more you do for them, the less they do for themselves.

Those who do not complain are never pitied.

Vanity and pride are different things, though the
words are often used synonymously.
A person may be proud without being
vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what
we would have others think of us.

Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.

It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.

I’ve watched the series from BBC of Pride and Prejudice several times, just to emphasize how much i like the film.  There is no other man more appropriate for the role of Mr. Darcy than Colin Firth himself.  It was a great series  , worth watching if your the romantic type.

ON LETTING GO

MY HOROSCOPE TODAY SAYS:

Whatever delays happen, they will be for the best. Don’t get all
flustered if someone calls you to cancel or reschedule a date. It’s not
as big of a deal as you think it is. If you can just be flexible and go
with the flow right now, you will be able to make room for new people
and new experiences. It’s not always easy to let things be tentative or
imperfect, but it’s always interesting! Let go of your need for
control. Embrace a little bit of chaos in life.

"There is a saying: Let Go, Let God. For most, if not all, of us, the
letting go that we most need to do is a type of surrender. We need to
surrender to life, itself. This means that we need to let go of our
illusion that we actually can control most aspects of our lives. In
many cases, rather than to fight "what is," we need to learn to accept
and to be at peace… Too many of us are trying to keep a tight grip on
things that are out of our control. This is like trying to grip the
water flowing in a river. Put your hands into the river. If you try to
get the water by grabbing it and clenching your fists, it goes right
out of your hands. If you relax and open, gently cupping your hands,
the water flows into your palms. By relaxing, opening, and trusting, we
can hold onto more of what is precious to us. By letting go, we
actually allow more of the mystery of life to come in for us."-Leslie Lobell

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LETTING GO TAKES LOVE

To let go does not mean to stop caring,
   it means I can’t do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off,
   it’s the realization I can’t control another.
To let go is not to enable,
   but allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means
   the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another,

   it’s to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care for,
   but to care about.
To let go is not to fix,
   but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge,
   but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
   but to allow others to affect their destinies.
To let go is not to be protective,
   it’s to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny,
   but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue,
   but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
   but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody,
   but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past,
   but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more

      Remember: The time to love is short

——
      author unknown

past life???

Birth Date and Time….. September 22, 1979 2:15 PM

Birth Location…………. Quezon City, Philippines
Sun Sign………………..
Virgo

    Chapter 1: The Sun

Your Sun is in Virgo (Tropical zodiac).


 "As
to the activities which are innate or outwardly manifested in your
life, coming in the astronomical constellation of Virgo, at times you
may have the appearance of being too self-sufficient in your
relationships with others.
    There is also a
likely tendency for you to approach life in a very rational way,
resulting in your being considered by others as having a rather
materialistic turn of mind.  At the same time this also gives you the
ability to train or direct the training of the minds of young people.
        Long ago, one
of your likely past lives was in an ideal nature setting, where you
were known for your courage and for your ability to heal.  From this
distant lifetime you are less likely than most people to be dominated
by others and you are usually inclined to carry your share of
responsibilities. This experience may have been in South or Central
America as a member of one of the native cultures in the Amazon forest
of Brazil or the Aztec Indians of Mexico.

 Section 2: The Inner You: Your Real Motivation
 You have a great deal of originality,
ingenuity, independence, and intuitive ability. Because of your
exceptional intellectual and higher consciousness capabilities, to some
people you seem inclined to be a dabbler into an extraordinarily wide
variety of subjects, projects, and occupations (a Jack-of-all-trades,
yet master of some). Your futuristic, scientific/technological as well
as mystical, New Age interests are sometimes light years ahead of the
mainstream. Your main motivation is likely to be helping others through
your abiding interest in things psychological and astrological, elisha
gay hidalgo, especially in esoteric traditions.

         Your
afterlife experience in the Uranus dimension of awareness tends to make
you an extremist. Feeling that anything worth doing is worth overdoing,
you do not go at anything halfheartedly. Yet know that only in the
Christ consciousness may extremes be brought together and made
compatible with one another. Others may see you as taking rather
circuitous routes to achieve your many pioneering goals, because you
build your convictions gradually from careful evidence, although never
losing sight of your goals.

         Regardless
of such outside skepticism as this, you have probably gained a lot in
soul development in this experience. Just be sure to keep in mind a
certain promise: if you turn within, through your prayer, meditation
and dream life, you will know that your Redeemer lives. He is your
Guide in correlating, centering, and coordinating your Uranian
activities and interests.

         Your
most prominent past life was probably an Atlantean one, elisha gay
hidalgo, where you may well have been quite influential in unifying
teachings for the moral, intellectual, and material uplift of others.
In the present, you can best aid seekers — whether beginners or
advanced students, laymen, the great or the would-be great — in
knowing their true relationships to their souls, their God, and their
overall purpose for being here, through the application of spiritual
guidance and philosophy. You may be the greatest help to others by
giving advice which aids them in their seeking for truth, without
becoming dogmatic. Such an activity is likely to bring you the greatest
blessings as well. "

 

Birth Date……….. October 12, 1981

Birth Location….. Alaminos, Philippines
Sun Sign…………
Libra

 You may
remember, neil hidalgo, in your deeper meditations and dreams,
experiences from long ago when you were among great artists, sculptors,
poets, and craftsmen of ancient India as well as the more recent
leaders of prosperous, classical Greece.

 Venus is the
planet of love, beauty and art, so it is very appropriate to convey the
symbolic essence of the sign Libra, which it rules.  Venus’ influence
through Libra also makes that which is crass and primitive quite
unnatural for you to accept gracefully, or to participate in willingly.

 You may also
have been among many who reincarnated in the American South just before
the Civil War.  In the present you may have to learn the lesson of
providing for your own needs, luxury and comfort rather than having
others do provide these things for you.  In fact, neil hidalgo, one of
the challenges of Libra lies in being too liberal or indulgent with
oneself.  With prayerful application of your will, this too can be
overcome.

 Section 2: The Inner You: Your Real Motivation
Sun in Libra:

         As
a Uranian soul from your afterlife experiences in the realm of Uranus,
you are an extremist by nature, neil hidalgo, and in an unusual way,
especially as a rebel in your beliefs, which are often quite
unorthodox. Moreover, you are not only a Uranian, but also an
Atlantean. At times you have a very high mental ability and yet never
hedged in by orthodoxy: just as in your lifetime in ancient Atlantis,
freedom of thought, purpose and action are of utmost importance to you,
especially as related to spiritual subjects. In other words, these
tendencies are derived not only from your experiences in Uranus but
also from past life experiences in the earth plane. Perhaps you were a
spy in the Civil War, a member of one of Israel’s Lost Tribes who
migrated to England, as well as an Atlantean who settled in early Egypt.

         At
any rate, while you are generally quite affable, there is a tendency
for you to be impulsive in your decisionmaking, particularly in your
choice of associations. That is, you may find yourself drawn to or
being classed with casual acquaintances with little thought taken
beforehand. Meanwhile these same individuals may see you as a very
close friends when this was not your intention. Such situations rooted
in hasty actions on your part may often result in many disruptions and
upsets for you, especially sudden ones.

         Your
eccentricity and uniqueness from your soul experiences in the afterlife
dimension of Uranus takes at least two forms. First, you have
above-average psychic ability, with relatively strong drives toward the
mystical and esoteric. On the other hand, neil hidalgo, the extremes
which arise in your associations with others often take the form of
being misunderstood: friendships are strained or even broken
altogether, yet you may often not know why. Part of this is from your
Uranian tendency to be at times too self-willed, perhaps being too
abrupt or seeming to be rude. Do bear in mind that no soul ever has so
many friends that they can afford to lose even a single one.
Conversely, no one ever has so many friends that they could not add
another.

         You
could succeed in such areas as mathematics/computer science, writing –
particularly history and "New Age" subjects –and political/social
action. You would also be a natural both as teacher and advanced
student in such esoteric sciences as symbology, numerology and
astrology. As you pursue such endeavors, be reminded that you are a
part of the Whole, a soul through whom others can be awakened to the
Oneness of man with the Creative Forces of the Universe, or God.

         In
addition, one of the classic traits of an Atlantean is that you will
either advance far through the hardships and disappointments you have
experienced, or you will allow them to become such disturbances as to
be stumblingstones along your spiritual path. As a result, consistent
work with ideals will be invaluable for you this lifetime.

         As
you work with prayer and meditation in reinforcing your ideals, neil
hidalgo, an affirmation which may be a helpful might be repeated in
words similar to: "I will be helped by the Spirit in consciously
controlling my strong independent streak, so that my unconventionality
will always manifest as ingenuity in thought and action, rather than
reckless or self-righteous behavior. I will slow down my pace so that I
may allow myself sufficient time to reflect and receive guidance
(through dreams, for example) of the most suitable direction for me to
take at a given time."

www.astrology.com

——————————————————–

a view on reincarnation from the movie Before Sunrise

Jesse:
Do you believe in reincarnation?

Celine:
Yeah. Yeah, it’s interesting.

Jesse:
Yeah, right. Well, most people, you know, a lot of people talk about
past lives and things like that, you know? And even if they don’t
believe it in some specific way, you know, people have some kind of
notion of an eternal soul, right?

Celine:
Yeah.

Jesse:
OK, well this was my thought: 50,000 years ago, there are not even a
million people on the planet. 10,000 years ago, there’s, like, two
million people on the planet. Now there’s between five and six billion
people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like,
individual, unique soul, right, where do they all come from? You know,
are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls? ‘Cause if they
are, that represents a 5,000 to 1 split of each soul in the last 50,000
years, which is, like, a blip in the Earth’s time. You know, so at best
we’re like these tiny fractions of people, you know, walking… I mean,
is that why we’re so scattered? You know, is that why we’re all so
specialized?

Celine:
I don’t know. Wait a minute, I’m not sure… I don’t…

Jesse:
Yeah, hang on, hang on. It’s a, it’s a totally scattered thought. It… which is kind of why it makes sense.

an astral day

 I call today "an astral day "- got nothing else to do aside from taking care of the kids so I consulted the horoscope.  I got a good advice and a lot of more things followed, like inquiring what my sign means.  Guess what?  My sign says a lot about me! Really!

Friendster Horoscope for March 11, 2008

A 40-Day Journey with The Purpose Driven Life

I started reading this  book after a recommendation from a friend. I had it in my bookcase untouched, most definitely unread, for almost two years. It is a modern day classic for Christian readings (an international bestseller).  The  first few chapters  was a little bore; but as the chapters started giving more answers than questions, I found  the book hard to put down (and it was supposed to be read just a chapter a day).  It basically answers the question "WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?" (this is the title of the first reading) . It offers a spiritual insight on what is most important in life amidst all the modernness around us.  I have a record book full of reflections after each chapter of this book and i can’t write it down right now (it may probably require a separate blog!).  So I’ll just put down random verses from the book that essentially reflects the book’s main points.

In the dedication page of the book this verse stands alone (and is the thesis of this book) it goes:

" It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ,…he had his eyes on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out on everything and everyone." Ephesians 1:11

The first chapter says:

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit."  Jeremiah 17:7-8

"A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree." Proverbs 11:28

Man’s purpose according to the book are these:

1. to love God (the first commandment)
2. to be part of God’s family (refers to the family of believers)
3. to become Christ-like (man is made in the likeness of God)
4. to serve God (by using the talents and characteristics that He has given us)
5. to tell others about Him (to spread the Good News)

The book also supported and emphasized these points by mentioning these verses:

Acts 2 (too long… just read it from the Bible, it’s the practice of early Christians)
   
Ephesians 4   
    Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.
We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.
Notice that it says “he ascended.” This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live.The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe.
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Living as Children of Light
With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They don’t care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed.
But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.
So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other. And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

John 17
    When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone in all the earth. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
“I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they were always yours, and you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the words you gave me; and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. And all of them, since they are mine, belong to you; and you have given them back to me, so they are my glory! Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them—all those you have given me—so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I have kept them safe.£ I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They are not part of this world any more than I am.  Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.  And I give myself entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours.
Jesus Prays for Future Believers ()
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are—I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you’ve given me to be with me, so they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began!
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them.”

The Great Commandment

  One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the discussion. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 28

The Great Commission

    Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-30