On the path to Spirituality

Wow! It's been a week since I've posted! I'm really starting to slack on this end. Like I said, I have been keeping a private blog to journal my yoga practice and thoughts. It's been a very rewarding experience so far. I'm not a religious person. My view is that there will come a point in my life when I will want to find out more. And I believe the time has come.

I started reading up about Buddhism, just because it goes hand in hand with my yoga and meditation practice. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this book before, but I'm re-reading it. I don't usually re-read books. But this one is amazing. I'm gaining a lot of insights on ... well, literally ... the joy of living! Life can be so complicated, but so easy at the same time. You just need to know how to disentangle yourself. This book explains the why and the how, and the Rinpoche (which literally means "precious one") does so with funny and meaningful anecdotes.

Here is one of my favorites. To give a quick background, the essence of Buddhism is to realize that no matter what you think about the circumstances that define you and your life, you are already good, whole, and complete. (And i may have just plagiarized a little, to quote from the book!) This just helps explain a little why I think the following anecdote is especially beautiful and meaningful to me:

I visited a retreat house that was quite near the ocean. The day I arrived, the weather was perfect: The sky was cloudless and the ocean was a deep, clear blue -- very pleasant to look at. When I woke the next morning, though, the ocean looked like a thick, muddy soup. I wondered, "What happened to the ocean? Yesterday it was so clear, and blue, and today it's suddenly dirty." I took a walk down to the shore, and couldn't see any obvious reason for the change. There wasn't any mud in the water or along the beach. Then I looked up at the sky and saw that it was thick with dark greenish clouds; and I realized it was the color of the clouds that had changed the color of the ocean. The water itself, when I looked closely at it, was still clean and clear.

The mind, in many ways, is like the ocean. The "color" changes from day to day or moment to moment, reflecting the thoughts, emotions, and so on passing "overhead". But the mind itself, like the ocean, never changes. It's always clean and clear, no matter what it's reflecting.

I realize that there may be others reading that may offended by talk of religion, or don't share the same world view. I wish to express that it is not my intention to sway your belief in your own religion (and I doubt that what I've written so far is adequately enough to convert the staunchest believers). I just thought I'd like to share my discovery in hopes that you may take something positive with you today. On the other hand, you may also calmly mouse over to the X button at the top of your screen (left or right, depending on your browser) and exit this page if you do not like what you have just read (but thank you for reading this far!)

But, I am elated with my spiritual progress so far and would love to engage in a constructive, organic discussion with anyone, from any religion or denomination!

Namaste!

Uh-oh. It's the Big 3-0

It's a big year. Goodbye twenty-something, here comes the big THREE-OH.

I'd like to think my birthday begins at dawn on the other side of the world and ends when night descends on this hemisphere this time tomorrow. So technically I get 36 birthday hours.

No bells and whistles.

Just some mid-week quiet time with the J-man.

And for a birthday treat, I get to go to Jason Mraz's concert at the end of August. I've been listening to his newest album Love Is A Four Letter Word

Does anyone else think that the cover of this album is super clever? I don't know if it's just the pre-school teacher in me that marvels at our mind's ability to recognize symbols and translate them into meaningful associations. Just four simple shapes, what do you see?

I'm addicted to this one song, in the Deluxe version of the Love album - I Never Knew You

and here I will share it with you. I CANNOT wait for his concert. I am completely enamoured by this man, his voice, his guitar, his music...

"... Why do we forget things… especially our ex-es or past relationships… why do we forget what they were about and why we left…

... What is it about our humanness… we remember, we forget, I think it's just for the opportunity of enlightenment, the opportunity to awaken again and again and again, 'cause it feels good … to remember our greatness, you know. We wouldn’t be so bright if there wasn’t a shadow every once in awhile…

... This song is about forgetting and remembering... and I realize it’s so that we can achieve enlightenment but then, alas we still have to do our f***in laundry..."

In the Mail: An Itty Bitty bit of Home

I was so surprised to receive this in the mail today!



My dearest friend Sherry Jess sent me a surprise package to remind me of home. Thank you my dear girl! I am having a good laugh reading through it!

So, just a brief introduction. Singapore English, or more affectionately known as Singlish, is a form of pidgin spoken in Singapore. Because we live in such a culturally diverse society, our everyday lives are a mix of many different languages. Singlish has become our very own unique blend of English, Malay, Tamil and all the various Chinese dialects!

As I flipped through the introduction, I was almost bent double in laughter, reading through the paragraphs heavily peppered with Singlish terms.

Here are a few excerpts of some of my favorite entries, the phrases I always use back home, but have not heard in awhile. And in my current situation, I am most likely not going to be understood if I were to use them.

alamak |ah-lah-ma'h|

A Malay expression of dismay, surprise or alarm that has long been rumoured to mean "Allah's mother" but more likely comes either from the Arabic "Allah Ma'ak", meaning "God be with you" or "Allah maaf kar" meaning "God forgive you". It is thus used to denote a situation or action of such calamity or stupidity that God's intervention is necessary.

(My note: Most people use it as an exclamation, an equivalent of 'OMG')

Usage:

"Alamak! Why you go and do this sort of stupid thing?" translates into "OMG! Why did you do such a stupid thing!"


kan cheong |gkahn tjee-ong|

A Cantonese and Hokkien term meaning nervous, harried, overanxious or uptight.

Usage:

"Your exam in June, now only March, you so kan cheong for what?" translates into "The exam's in June and it's only March now. Why are you so nervous?"


kan cheong spider

Epithet describing someone who's kan cheong, i.e. a nervous wreck.

Usage:

"Eh, don't so kan cheong spider lah! Also not late, hurry for what?" translates into "Can you not be such an overanxious twit. Why are you hurrying? We're not late."

Somehow, I feel very English after all the translations...


To PRISCILLA (this one's for you!)

pecah lobang |bper-cha loh-bahng|

A Malay phrase which literally means to break a hole. It's used in the same way as the English phrase "to let the cat out of the bag".

Usage:

"Don't tell him anything secret. He like the BBC like that, sure pecah lobang." translates into "Don't tell him anything confidential. He's sure to broadcast it like the BBC."

So if you're interested in reading further, or have plans to move to Singapore in the near future, The Coxford Singlish Dictionary is a very good guide to help you understand 3/4 of the population. Okay. Now i really miss home!

Via

"I cannot be comfortable when you're holding a pin."

- the J-man, on crafting and hugging simultaneously