Lately I have been asking myself this question – “Who am I?”
I have realized that I have actually been identifying my existence with my position in society, my friends and family, the needs and desires of my body, and the emotional and intellectual expressions of my mind. But I have not been taking the time to contemplate the real nature of my existence; to ask myself the question, “Who am I?”
Let’s face it; we all have the feeling of existence; of “I EXIST”. That “I AM” feeling dictates our thoughts, our feelings, our memories and our actions. It defines who we are as individuals. It is our “identity” of our mind with our body and with the world around us. If we just take the time and the effort to look deeper into our “I AM” feeling we would find a deeper sense of being: a deeper “self”. The realization of that particular experience is not merely one of “I am”, but the more profound experience of “I know that I am”. That “I” of “I know” is the essence of our existence which is pure consciousness. And the realization of that consciousness of our inner self is called self-realization.
Whether we are aware of this or not, we all want to attain self-realization, because only by attaining it can we attain what we really want at the core of our being: perfect peace; infinite and eternal happiness – BLISS. Meditation is the key. Meditation is the core technique of doing the method that is called spiritual practice.
I have been teaching myself how to meditate in the past few weeks because I am practicing yoga for beginners. Meditation has greatly influenced the feeling of satisfaction, joy and peace that I am feeling these past few days. I encourage everyone to practice meditation as well. I will post guidelines on how to meditate in my next blog posts.
For the past few weeks I have been researching and practicing yoga for beginners. I have been looking for a yogi to teach me here in Iloilo but unfortunately I have not found anyone yet. But guess what – Facebook has solved my dilemma. A friend contacted me and introduced me to Ananda Marga Wellness Center. But before I get into more detail about Ananda Marga let me explain what “yoga” really is first to diminish the misconceptions about it. First of all, yoga is not a religion – it is a way of life, a lifestyle. Yoga means “union” in Sanskrit which is the language of ancient India where yoga originated, and it refers to the union between mind, body and spirit. Yoga practice involves physical postures or poses that involves stretching and creating balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility. Each pose has specific physical benefits and can be done quickly in succession, heating up the body or more slowly to increase stamina and allow concentration on the alignment of the pose. Although the approach to each pose can vary depending on the type of yoga practiced, the poses remain the same. The benefits of yoga start with general well-being. It takes a broad holistic approach that teaches people a new lifestyle, way of thinking and way of being in the world.
The Ananda Marga Yoga Association is a non-sectarian lifestyle movement and the largest yoga organization in the world. They have been teaching yoga in the Philippines since 1967. Founded in India in 1955 by Shri Shri Anandamurti (aka Shri PR Sarkar), it is registered as a non-government organization (NGO) with the United Nations and is present in over 150 countries. Ananda Marga is unique in giving equal importance to both self-development and social service.
The physical yoga exercises (asanas) of Ananda Marga are ancient time-tested methods for improving and healing the body. Their techniques are classical and non-commercial, uncomplicated and non-competitive. Ananda Marga Yoga is practiced slowly without any pain, stress or dizziness. Exercises are prescribed individually according to one’s own needs relating to the body’s hormones, nerves, internal organs, blood circulation, general vitality, and specific diseases. Everyone has the capacity to do yoga. Even people in wheelchairs have appropriate exercises. Ananda Marga yoga is being practiced by people of various religious and belief systems all over the world. But meditation is even more important than physical yoga. If practiced regularly, one begins to experience its benefits in a matter of two to three weeks or less.
The positive changes vary from person to person like overcoming stress, emotional weaknesses, sleep disturbances, addictions, bad habits. It may also develop concentration, creativity, intuition, personal relations, will-power, and ability to adhere to one’s conscience. And ultimately it directly leads to self-realization.
My friend said he will help me connect with their yogi missionary who will teach me the basics of yoga. I am looking forward to him coming here in Iloilo and I will also be encouraging my friends to join me. Living a stress-free life is my goal right now. I know practicing yoga will provide positive changes in my life. I am also planning to go to Ananda Marga’s Wellness Center in Cebu on or before December and I will bring my Mamang with me. This will be a great retreat for her. To those who are also interested to come to their wellness center you can find their contact details here.
Ananda Marga’s mission is to help everybody to bring to the path of bliss. ANANDA MARGA.
I bought this 2 cool footwears yesterday and I’m so proud of them that I took photos so I could post them here on my blog. You won’t believe how cheap they cost! Wanna know? Just ask me! They’re so cute. I love yellow. I already have a yellow slip on but I decided to buy another once because my feet look good in yellow. LOL. And I also love white footwears. I’m always buying white sandals and this is like the umpteenth one (exaggerates!).
Anyway, yesterday after I hit the bank I went to Spa Riviera again to have a body massage and foot scrub. My back has been aching for almost a week now (it’s still aching but the massage has relieved the pain somehow). I don’t know if the reason of the backache is my bad posture, the long hours of just sitting in front of the laptop or because of my Tae Bo/aerobics/workouts. Anyhow, I won’t stop the physical exercises because I’m so intent on getting slim and healthy. It’s one of my goals this year remember? I won’t write here what else I did yesterday because it’s going to take a lot more time. LOL. I was alone when I invaded the malls and the spa yesterday because Tim got delayed in coming back here again so I let out my frustration by shopping not only for me but for the people I love as well. I had a good time pampering myself. It wasn’t so bad.
And now my bebeh is back from his week-long traveling again. He arrived today. He was here this afternoon just to see me because he knows I miss him (duh!). His work is really a handful. Don’t know when they’re going to add a new IT guy who could help with some of the work. No use getting all worked up right now because I’m in a really good mood. The weekend is near and we’re going to have fun with Monica! Just finished chatting with her and we decided to watch the movie “Watchmen” at SM City on Saturday. I’m excited! I know the three of us are going to have fun, we always do.
Hey guys! I FINALLY HAD MY EAR PIERCED FOR REAL!!! I had my left earlobe, on the upper right part pierced. I bought this really cool cross stud with a faux diamond stud at Unisilver earlier this morning, around 9AM then I had my ear pierced for free. The lady who did it used a gun (not the real gun but the gun used in ear-piercing of course). I had to make my own waiver and to sign their waiver as well just to persuade them to agree to do the piercing. Because they’ve had bad experiences with dumb clients who complained when their ears got irritated because of the ear-piercing.
I have one wee problem though. Tim is in Bacolod and he still doesn’t know about what I did. He knows that I really want this done ever since before we met and he has always told me that he doesn’t want to see me sporting a stud. But because he’s not here well nobody stopped me so the DEED was done. And I’m feeling so cool and elated.
I thought my ear was going to hurt so bad that I won’t be able to sleep but right now I’m feeling so drowsy that I’m going to end this post already. I only hope that my bebeh won’t be so angry with me when he sees my new earring. Hope he’ll understand.
I’ll have a photo here of my new fashion statement within this week guys! So proud of myself!
*post written October 8, 2008
UPDATE:
October 14, 2008. My bebeh and my parents had seen the stud. My parents – no comment. My bebeh – very angry (of course as expected) when he saw the stud then ignored me for a day. I felt a little guilty but then the deed was done so there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Anyway, he’s ignoring the ear too. Fine with me. as long as he doesn’t pull the stud off. Hehe.
November 14, 2008. After a month, my ear’s still a little sore but I think it has healed. I can sleep without feeling it hurting now. And I don’t care much of hiding it anymore. I love my stud.
Last Saturday Monica and I went to Spa Riviera again to have our monthly body massage and deep cleansing Thai facial. Its our way of rewarding our body for all the hard work in our very stressful jobs. I was kind of hesitant to go to the spa before because I don’t know what happens inside that place or what are its benefits. But after experiencing it, we made it a monthly regimen. Its nice to indulge our bodies once in a while, even for just 3 hours a month.
Here are the reasons why I love going to the spa (aside form being treated like a Princess!):
Going to the spa relieves stress, addressing problem areas with the body massage (for me its my lower back with all that sitting) and for that necessary moment of peace and quiet away from the city life. A time to relax and rejuvenate our tired bodies. A good facial also deep cleanses our pores–removing blackheads, acne, whiteheads–and leaves our faces smooth and hydrated.
Spa Riviera offers everything to pamper our body from head to toe at a very comforting and soothing environment. We’re going to try their back scrub and foot scrub next month. The attendants are very courteous and they make sure that we get what we came for. We really get our money’s worth everytime. And we will keep coming back. That’s for sure.
