Transformation

A couple of weekends back, I went for a personal development called the Landmark Forum on living one's life powerfully.

A friend had gone for the course in August, which led to a breakthrough in her life. That testimony was powerful -- and spurred me on to enroll. I'd like to get breakthroughs - who wouldn't? :)

The course was also great for networking. Connected with two ladies, princesses really. Birds of a feather flock together. Ms A is a Pakistani living in Malaysia, in between jobs and countries. Before heading to the US to think about the next step in her life, she was going to Bali, Bangkok and maybe the Maldives ... Ms K was the lady I had lunch with on the first day of the programme. No airs about her, tall, pretty. The guys in the class were quite besotted. She works in her family firm, owns a sleek red Merc cabriolet and a Centurion card (by invitation only thank you). Ms K and I will be doing the Advanced Course together in January.

The course was intense, 3 days from 9am to 10pm ... we did everything together except sleep!

Although intense, it made us reflect on our lives, the moments which made us who we are today (probably limited us), just made us so aware of who we are today as a product of all the past. The past was baggage.

And how we could move from the past to focusing on Being Present to the Present and focus on delivering to our Future by inventing Possibilities of the life we truly desire. By articulating our possibilities and possibilities of Being in our lives, we were making it Happen Now.

Some people really got a lot from the Forum. This lady Ruth who hadn't spoken to her 3 sisters for years actually spoke to them. Three men reconciled with themselves -- they felt guilty for the circumstances their families were in, all were reduced to tears. Many reconciliations. Breaks from the past. And commitments and actions for a better future.

After 3 days, it felt a lot lighter for me. Felt a lot lighter for everyone. We were happier, more empowered beings. Freer because we were aware of what caused us to be stuck, and how to ge un-stuck and move on. Now.

The methodology works. The methodology from their website:

Whenever we're limited in life, there is something - a context or framework - that we are blind to and that is holding that limitation in place. Landmark's technology allows you to create breakthroughs in a two-step process in which you:

• Uncover and examine the blind spots or context holding you back in your life.

• Find out where your current context originated and address it for what it really is. Having completed these two steps, a new realm of possibility is available to you.

The constraints from the past disappear. Your view of life, your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions, change - and the change is immediate, dramatic, and without effort. It is a breakthrough.

I understood why so many people who had undergone the course recommended it to others. Having been inspired by the transformation and possibilities in their post-Landmark lives, they wanted to share that with others. Just as Judy Wudy shared with me.

Although I wasn't hot on how they marketed the rest of their courses and the persistence, I truly felt their methodology worked. Since I felt transformed, I signed up for the Forum in Action series and the Advanced Course, and seriously thinking of the Communication courses. Unfortunately, the Wisdom series of courses are not available in Singapore .... perhaps, I'd attend the Global Conference in San Francisco in May next year (EEEKS - the US!)

The methodology worked but whether one's life continues on the transformation trajectory depends on the individual. It's easy to slip into the resignation and cynicism mode, and not practice and use the methodology every single day, every moment. It's easy for us to get trapped in the stories, explanations 0f the past .... the past that shackles.

Having tasted the sweetness of transformation and the freedom and lightness it brought, I'd like that to last forever. Keep practising.

Our Forum in action leader, Gary, facilitates Landmark as this is his way of paying it forward to the community. He desires to bequeath a world of good and transformation to his four children, and his service to us via Landmark, was his way of doing so.

If it wasn't Landmark, he'd have served the community in other ways. Very empowering to hear that someone wants to help build a better community, one person at a time.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to ITE College West. My MD invited the HR manager and I to attend the briefing with her (Sweet!) given by the principal. ITE is Singapore's vocational training institution for the lowest 25% of our student population. I was just amazed by what they achieved for the students in building their confidence, in addition to their skills, and what they contributed to Singapore. Thats True Power.

That was when I knew I'd like to devote my life to those who may not have too many opportunities. I'd like to be a life coach and help deliver life skills, so that I'll help build a better community, a better society, a better world, a better planet for Nadia, Adam and Fatima to live in.

Only catch is ... not sure if ITE wants me hehe

But one step at a time. It always starts with an intention. Insyaallah.

Miracles and blessings

The Landmark Forum has opened my eyes to who I really am and made me aware of the stories/ explanations that I have accepted as truths for a long time. Over time, these become hang-ups and one becomes stuck with them. The awareness process is great. The Landmark methodology for moving on and becoming unstuck is even better .... :) Plus, I truly enjoy meeting like-minded people.

And so at the Thursday Lanmark Forum in Action series, it was a good self-awareness session. And I sat next to one of the older gentlemen who went for the Forum with me in early September. We chatted after the session was over -- he owns a holistic healing center. Truly believes in the power of energy to cure anything, even cancer. SCEPTICAL I was, but at the end of the convo, I'm willing to try it out. Maybe it's a reiki/ chi/ taiqi thingy .... If he can cure me of my headaches, I'll take my mum to him and get her sinus cured, and then perhaps recommend him to people who really need it, like those with cancers.

The Law of Attraction does work. On Friday itself, I bumped into an old friend, back from Canada. Over an impromptu lunch, we talked about the counselling and life skills teaching she does with under-priviledged kids ... and found ways where we could collaborate. One was personal, the other was for the Company .... I was pleased.

Landmark works. Open oneself to possibilities, believe they are here, and these possibilities actually happen! Create your future in your head, project and visualise it coming to Being now, and voila! It's here ... :)

Alhamdullilah.

Myanmar is bleeding -- and an interesting conversation

What do you do when you hear and see that your male neighbour is abusing his wife and children? What does the entire neighbourhood and community do?

Well, Myanmar's repressive military regime just got a tad more repressive. About two weeks ago, the regime doubled the price of fuel in the already super impoverished country -- unless you're part of the regime. That was the straw that broke the camel's back ... the monks and the people came out to protest. With that sort of prices, many people would not have any funds to do anything else, not even eat. What else can the people do but protest? They have nothing else to lose.

The protests grew in greater intensity, until a 100,000 people marched in Yangon and Mandalay in peace, asking for change. So the military regime, basically plunderers of the richness of Burma, did what they usually do -- quell the protesters with violence.

The world reacted with horror. So did ASEAN, surprisingly, some backbone and with tough words for our neighbour. Everyone I spoke to in Singapore, even the apathetic words, felt revulsion. What do we do when murder happens right in front of our eyes, even if the murders are sanctioned by some authority?

What can we as humans do?

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Some of the best conversations I've had were with cabbies. A lot of my travelling life in Singapore is spent in taxis. And these cabbies have developed interesting perspectives around anything and everything, they have an opinion on them all.

On Friday, I expressed my revulsion at the regime's high handedness at dealing with the protesters, most of whom were monks. And how the regime was unfit to rule. This was our conversation:

Him: (Suffering) This is just the way of the world.

Me: So the monks have a responsibility to do something about the injustice.

Him: They are not monks.

Me: Pardon me? Monks - they were just being socially responsible, standing for what's right.

Him: If they were monks, they will not be protesting. Unlike Christians and Muslims, Buddhists have no concept of social responsibility. It is about alleviation of suffering for the individual.

Me: Hmmm. Tell me more.

Him: Buddhism teaches us that the world is about suffering. What we need to do is to detach ourselves from the world. Only then does suffering cease. Only then does one achieve enlightenment. That is the spirit of Buddhism. What did Buddha do? What are the monks doing now?

Me: Hmmm. Being attached to the worldly cause of fighting against injustice?

Him: Yes. That does not remove suffering for the individual.

Me: Buddhism is not a religion. It is a way of being. I am not trying to sell you Buddhism, unlike the Christians and Muslims, but please read these books so you may know more about the Way.

(We had reached my stop. He passed me some books. Intrigued, I accepted willingly and took another two titles from the pocket of his seats).

Him: I ask you -- what is it in us humans that makes us Buddhists?

Me: What? Please tell.

Him: Compassion.

I thanked him and left the cab. Left me with many, many questions.

Even if the monks went against the true spirit of Buddhism, weren't they doing what was right morally, by their conscience, doing right by the people? Don't we all have a greater responsibility towards our communities beyond ourselves as individuals? And, like the Palestinians, when people are left with few choices, and even less hope, isn't it instinctive or primal to put their lives on the line? Regardless of race, language or religion?

Let's pray for peace for the Myanmarese people and for benevolent leaders to come to the fore.

Face of Afghanistan

An Afghan refuge woman carry clothes and food items received from Hungarian soldiers of the Provincial Reconstruction during a distribution of aid in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007. Hungarian soldiers distributed clothes to Afghan refuges who return from Pakistan and Iran. (AP Photo/Shoib Najafizada)

Facebook addiction!

Been on facebook a couple of weeks and it's been fun, fun, fun! Some time-wasting adding on applications and doing quizzes, but generally SO FUN. So I'm making time for it ;-)

And the people that you trawl and meet online -- the world's really about 6 degrees of separation!

Found my long-lost friend from Secondary 1, who's now in New Zealand and we've rekindled the friendship. She's married for 11 years now, has two beautiful kids, just lost her mum, and still strong and moving on, and truly an inspiration.

And this lady from an partner organisation I work with closely, discovered she was from IJ, CJC and then did close to the same subjects I did at University .... hey, no wonder we get along!

My IJ class is having a reunion on 2 Feb 2008 next year, 20 years after we left school, and we've got a group just for us ... and the photos from our young past brought back wonderful memories! Nearly half of us are based outside Singapore .... BTW, one of the gals in that year, actually became a Ms Singapore, got married to a successful businessman and now goes by the name of Jennifer Lopez ;-)

The people I met at the Landmark Forum, we've got our own group page. Not terribly active, but seeing the photos brings back all the great stuff we've learnt .... and the balance we've achieved in riding the bicycle :)

Ex-university mates, people you meet in the course of your work, and you head to their facebook pages and see a totally different sight of them .... all so human! :)

Of course, there are also people from your past you do not wish to invite onto your network, not even to show off you've got an army of friends/ acquaintances/ entourage ....

Super interesting phenom, which sociologists and communications students would undoubtedly study .... what makes people so hooked onto it.

Well, if you're not on it, what are you waiting for? Facebook now!

:)

Look at those eyes

A one-month-old leopard cub sits on a branch at Jordan Zoo, near Amman, August 27, 2007. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN)

Helix nebula

In this image provided by NASA shows a newly expanded image of the Helix nebula Friday Aug. 24, 2007 lending a festive touch to the fourth anniversary of the launch of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This spectacular object, a dying star unraveling into space, is a favorite of amateur and professional astronomers alike. Spitzer has mapped the expansive outer structure of the six-light-year-wide nebula, and probed the inner region around the central dead star to reveal what appears to be a planetary system that survived the star's chaotic death throes. Spitzer launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on August 25, 2003. (AP Photo/NASA-JPL)