Getting Ahead of Life's Adversities

"Life is full of challenges, and we must face them with courage and acceptance. Every day is a learning experience, and we become the person that we can be through the test of time—getting way ahead of adversities."

How do we deal with difficulties in life? In today's world, we confront several nuisances or blockages that prevent us from moving forward. Some would have rationalized this event as undeserving despite being good.

Adversities come differently. It could be losing loved ones, failed relationships, financial problems, natural and man-made disasters, etc. How we interpret these things relates to our beliefs and values. And acknowledging it helps us to prepare ourselves better in taking the best actions in anticipation of future unexpected occurrences.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Whether we like it or not, we will be facing adversities that teach us valuable lessons, and challenges continue to happen until it's learned. Sometimes, we have to experience bad things to show up the best in ourselves. And to teach us better ways to live and become more responsible.

It is through recognition of these blessings shall we experience the benefits after. Some would tend to resist, but accepting it with absolute faith and believing that blessings will come at any moment is wiser.

If sacrifice is one of the keys to a good living, great things come when we endure and persevere through life's challenges. It is in hardship that we learn to grow up and become wiser. It only takes courage to rise and face life with gratitude.

A VALUABLE LESSON

Adversity teaches us the value of humility and that life is not all about prosperity. Sometimes, we need to change ourselves for the better. It brings good results by highlighting our responsibility and integrity.

If we observe closely every time we face adversity, it makes us stronger and more resilient. The moment we encounter the same problem, we already know how to deal with it; this time, we become wiser and emotionally intelligent.

We experience painful emotions, but eventually, they will subside in due time; and we collect these pieces of painful memory and learn to move forward from grief and pain.

Life indeed presents tough challenges as a lesson, but not to be viewed as a hindrance. However, it depends on how we view adversity, whether negative or positive. Repeated adversity would mean an unlearned life lesson, so it keeps returning until learned.

Life is full of challenges; we must face them with courage and acceptance. Every day is a learning experience, and we become the person we can be through the test of time—getting way ahead of adversities.

© 2012 Del Cusay

Following Our Heart's Desire

"Life is like a valentine. We never know when an arrow will strike us. We never know whether it will give us hurt or joy. But whenever it comes, we accept it and follow with all our hearts—our relentless desire."


At the present time, we may have been experiencing a lot of struggles to survive life's endearing challenges. Some people might constantly worry about finding the right path in life. Some wanted to achieve their goals and dreams despite limited internal resources. Some would have been giving up and let live as it happens.

The fact that life is difficult is not the ultimate reason for us to quit, but to face life with faith and gratitude. There are so many things to be grateful for in life. One of which is our existence to find our purpose in living. We are here to follow the right path—the key to living a good life.

How we get, there is a question that sometimes we are out of an answer to. We may have tried to solve so many never-ending problems. Some cannot be handled well, resulting in frustrations and distress. However, it is not just the mind we should work for, but also the heart—the love center.

A good heart

Often, we follow our minds. Yes, it is superior and controls our well-being. Nevertheless, we should consider our hearts in our way of living. Our heart carries several functions aside from pumping blood. Hence, we should consider its importance and not take it for granted.

If we feel like giving and loving, we activate our hearts. Whenever we think of being compassionate and altruistic, we use the seat. Therefore, our heart is as important as our mind. There is the mind that interprets, but there is a heart that feels.

Man is good in nature. Thus we have a good heart. I recalled what our college teachers taught us: no matter how wrong a person is, there is still particular goodness in him. He still has a natural gift of a good heart. In that sense, we are allowed to renew and make better use of it.

Our desire

In our lives, we may have made wrong decisions that made us have some regrets. We have followed what other people have told us. Whereas we followed the advice of a friend, we listened to what a stranger said, and we pondered on wrong thoughts without following our honest and own desires.

For instance, in our society, we may know someone living in a dream with his parents. Pursuing a course or career opposite to what he truly loves. He cannot refuse but follow due to respect and love. He cannot live his own life but accept and persevere.

If this is the kind of life we want, we become a prisoner of our fate—our heart's desire. It seems that we do not have a mind and soul. We never realize that life depends on how we make it and not just living to somebody's wishes.

Something to ponder

What keeps us from not following our own will and desire is the reason we are unsure of our capabilities. We still have doubts that haunt us to move forward.

We may ask ourselves, who am I? Yet, we are still struggling to know who we indeed are. What do I want? Yet, they are unsure of what lies ahead. Where am I going? Yet, need to figure out where to head in life. When do I get there? Yet, have to start. Why shall I do it? Yet, doubting own self. And how do I get there? And yet, not utilizing inherent resources.

The questions above are valid because I used to be like that. Sometimes I question myself to better understand who, what, where, when, why, and how I want. It is good to constantly re-evaluate ourselves to keep track of our goals and desires.

Keep going on

Like a valentine, we may have full of hearts around on this day expressing love and affection to dear ones. Everyone gives flowers, chocolates, and whatever they think is unique and worth remembering. Indeed, that reminds us that the spirit of love is alive. Our heart is in working mode, and it teaches a valuable lesson to keep going —to follow our heart's desire.

Life is not just about finding ourselves but about how we create it. Indeed, we are responsible for our own lives; like a sailor, it is our choice of direction. We have the option, which depends on how we use it and make better gameplay.

Life is like a valentine. We never know when an arrow will strike us. We never know whether it will give us hurt or joy. But whenever it comes, we accept it and follow with all our hearts—our relentless desire. We offer our best wholeheartedly and must follow what our minds and nature dictate.

© 2012 Del Cusay

Reaching Our Highest Potential

There will be some failure. There will be obstacles to the path of happiness and success. Sometimes we think of giving up, but we must persevere and continue living with a sense of responsibility and purpose."

Sometimes we think of being incapable of reaching our dreams and desires. We recede from our ambition to reach our destinations in life. Suddenly, we get scared and lose momentum to achieve better results.  However, there are times when we are at our highest peak. We have reached our goals and dreams because of our strong desire and commitment. Our faith leads us to get there—the path toward glorious success.

If life is a cycle, I must agree! — We experience how it is to be on the "peaks and valleys." Life teaches us that no matter how difficult it may seem, still, we have to move forward like a cycle that keeps moving on. We have the human potential to achieve something better we should not fear.

NEVER DOUBT

One of the reasons we do not have progress is a lack of confidence and belief. We fear committing mistakes. We also fear being judged.  We fear to rise and shine.

I used to fear failure and that I hadn't tried my best in the past. I was shy then and not able to speak my mind. I never thought that fear would have sabotaged my chances of success for not giving my best. Now, I have built confidence and a positive outlook in life, and it amazes me whenever I think of what my life would have been if I had never decided to reform.

Some people may still be living a life full of doubts and self-criticism. It is not too late to step up from the shadow. We start to analyze ourselves and dare to give more of what we have. There is indeed a dormant positive force within us that is waiting to be tapped.

WE CAN BE

I have learned that we have to unleash our potential. We have been gifted with a great mind to think beyond the limits—to think extraordinarily. There is something within us that is hidden. And be useful once we learn to develop it. We can be someone that others would not have thought of achieving. We can be a person who once believed that 'it is impossible.

Possibility only happens once the result is evident. We may have been condemned and ridiculed for our wishes, and they may doubt our capabilities. However, people do not know the hidden potential that lies within us.

HUMAN POTENTIAL

Anyone can unleash potential no matter who and what he is. We may be familiar with some real-life stories of how a poor man later became a company's CEO, how a college dropout became prosperous and had a massive influence, and how even an uneducated man became a leader.

Educational status is not a mere factor in being who we are. It is the use of our mind power—our hidden potential. We can all tap into this potential, but we have a huge responsibility to carry.

What about people in late adulthood who have discovered their abilities in artistic activities like painting, film-making, or public speaking and leading a group? It must be that they have learned to unleash their full potential. It's hidden in their younger years, but only then have it untapped and make better use of it.

If only we have the talent and the skills about something, it is now the time to improve it and do the best things possible through it. This time, you should not have more doubts and negative beliefs but must have confidence and competence.

THE LESSON

In our pursuit of happiness, we may still encounter mistakes leading to unhappiness; but we have to keep up with our hopes and high spirit. We have to learn how to live to our fullest potential.

I admit I am not perfect and never will be, but I have the relentless desire to live what I am capable of, enabling me to move closer to my goal.

There will be some failure. There will be obstacles to the path of happiness and success. Sometimes we think of giving up, but we must persevere and continue living with a sense of responsibility and purpose.

We can be ourselves and light up our world by unleashing our true and full potential. We deserve the best in life; it is now the time to offer our best in return.

© 2012 Del Cusay

How Failure Turned Into Success

"Whatever we have failed from the past or the present, we need to redefine our past failures and realize what we did right and disregard what we did wrong and then turn that into wisdom for a winning future."

Sometimes I felt like a failure when things turned out as opposed to my expectations. I set a goal and planned about it, but in the end, it failed. It makes me feel bad, and it is just a natural feeling. Nevertheless, prolonged sadness is not good as it may invite negative and harmful thoughts.

In our lives, we have been experiencing almost everything that it may bring—good or bad. Sometimes we end up feeling lost, resulting in failure. We fail to achieve... we fail to succeed.

I heard stories from people that they failed, failed in major exams, failed in their careers, died in reaching their goals and dreams, etc. Then I realized that failure is okay because we can learn from these failures and use them as experiences for our subsequent success. Hence, I call 'failure'  and' success in disguise.

FAILURE IS A GREAT WAY TO LEARN

We can learn from our failures and recall what we missed or what went wrong. It is an opportunity to reflect on our actions that led to the loss. Likewise, we must fail to realize that there is a mistake in the process of what we aim for. Thus, we must correct it and be as successful as possible on our next try.

I remember way back in college that our teacher would return our essays if she could spot grammatical errors or spelling. I tried to correct it as much as possible but had to edit my work repeatedly as advised. With that experience, I have learned something valuable about my writing, although sometimes someone has to send me a message to correct some mistakes. I am still thankful for the enthusiasm to learn from mistakes—it can be considered a failure.

TRYING TO FAIL

I have tried this approach, and indeed it works. It teaches me a lesson that I should never fear failure and never chase perfection but rather excellence.

What is good about trying to fail is that we do not have to worry about being perfect. The good thing is we might succeed by accident. Think of remarkable inventions by accident, they may have thought of failure, but it turned out to be another great invention.

Sometimes I fail, but now I do not worry about it; I just divert my attention towards more optimistic thoughts and think that today I forgot, but next time I will have it!—gives me more courage to pursue my goals despite the odds.

TRYING AGAIN

We have no reason to give up but to keep trying. If we fail once, twice, or thrice... it is all right. It only means we are persistent with our goal to achieve. The next time we try, we succeed! We did it! Moreover, we are grateful for it.

REDEFINING THE CONCEPT OF FAILURE AND SUCCESS

Our own definition of success and failure is based on our personal experiences. Instead of saying, 'I tried, but it failed,' it is better to say, 'I tried, and I failed, but I have learned and tried again, and I succeeded!'

We can be harmful sometimes, but we must be more balanced and weigh in the circumstances. Some of the good things in life can be attained through re-framing our state of mind.

FROM FAILURE TO SUCCESS

Persistence can significantly impact achieving tremendous success, just like some famous people who have persevered so many times until they reached the status of greatness and success.

Take the case of Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple company. He was fired from the company he co-founded and failed at another company he founded. However, in the end, he succeeded and gained the admiration of many people.

We may fail many times, but we will surely succeed if we have the persistence and courage to face our failures.

Whatever we have failed in the past or the present, we need to redefine our past failures, realize what we did right, disregard what we did wrong, and then turn that into wisdom for a winning future.

© 2012 Del Cusay

Awakening our Spiritual Power

"A precious and brilliant gem is more polished and valuable. Just like problems - it is like polishing us to become the best we can be and become a person as brilliant as the diamond, which comes with great value and importance."


We have discussed spiritual power for this month in response to the second lecture of our spiritual mentor, Master Del Pe. He has shared insights on how to awaken our spiritual power and how it benefits our existence and life purpose.

I am sharing what I have learned from the lecture and our group discussion and how I will apply this extraordinary power.

What is Spiritual Power

We, humans have much human power that we have discovered or are yet to be found. Sometimes we use it unconsciously, which leads to unwise use of power. However, there is a superior or infinite power that no physical power can compare.

Spiritual Practitioners gain spiritual power through spiritual practices and guidance from spiritual mentors or masters.

It is priceless and can not be bought or taken away. It is inherent in nature but yet to be awakened if not fully discovered or misused.

Developing Intuitional Power

To become intuitive, we must be able to study ideas and principles. We may have many ideas and follow different directions, so we must ponder them deeply. Becoming more intuitive is essential for our survival instinct and guides us toward understanding higher truths regarding universal truths.

Sometimes, our belief is only definite if we seek the absolute truth. What we think is just a product of our mind alone, without knowing that we are guided by different laws or principles.

For instance, I have an idea about something, but I need to prove it to be absolute since that idea may come from past experience or just creative imagination. The best thing for me to do is to verify that idea or principle regarding what has been established already or the universal truth that many understand and accept.

I have used my intuition in my past experiences, but I have done the right thing. My intuition says to act on something or decide on something, but I base my actions and decisions on my personal beliefs, which are only limited. In this case, I may have made the wrong decision or action.

With this, I have learned that it is essential to seek the universal truth to avoid the fallacy of ideas and actions. Universal truths serve as my guiding principle for attaining intuitive power and wisdom.

Likewise, using creative imagination is also vital for developing intuitional power. Expressing our thoughts or ideas is a product of our creative vision. For instance, our brilliant input or output of something results from our mind's creativity.

The great things we see around us are a product of man's creative intelligence. In fact, we have to develop a creative imagination to achieve great things. Leaders in the global industry were able to create great products being used today because of their mind's creativity. In our own way, we can do something great if not for the benefit of the many, at least for ourselves, only if we use creative intelligence.

Another way of developing intuitional power is through the practice of meditation. I have been a practitioner for 8 months, which significantly impacted my present life. There is a gradual transformation in almost all aspects of my life; physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

I consider meditation as my spiritual tool for nourishing my soul in a moment of silence. I also feel the divine oneness and the healing benefit after that. In fact, the first post I made is about the power of meditation since it has made a remarkable transformation in my life.

Developing Wisdom Power

There are some strategies to develop wisdom power, one of which is to study past experiences and digest life lessons.

In our lives, we have been experiencing different problems that we consider obstacles or hindrances to our plans and goals. However, if we are going to reflect deeply, problems are part of the challenges we must face to become much more robust and better people.

In my life, I have encountered so many problems, big or small, and I was able to face them and look at them as a challenge rather than an obstacle. It has made me a better person, and I have learned a lesson from it that will serve as my guiding principle whenever I encounter the same problem.

The world's most accomplished people have faced tough challenges that put them where they are. We may perceive them as if they don't have a problem since they have everything, but we may never know that they have gone through difficult times before attaining success and fulfillment.

Whenever a problem comes our way, we should never give up but must fight for it.  "A precious and brilliant gem is more polished and valuable. Just like problems - it is like polishing us to become the best we can be and become a person as brilliant as the diamond, which comes with great value and importance".

Another way of developing wisdom power is being in the company of wise people or having our own life coaches or mentors. These people are considered masters of life, and they are more accomplished. Their ideas are precious and can become a source of inspiration and guidance to live a better life.

Life coaches or mentors are devoted to helping us towards the right path to achieve lasting success and fulfillment.

I have followed some spiritual mentors like Bo Sanchez and other international life coaches like Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, and Master Del Pe. I have been following their blogs, articles, webcasts, and wise teachings, and I have read some of their books and gained insights about mastering life.

Having a mentor is more likely to succeed in life than those who do not have one. Even the most famous celebrities in their expertise have their own coaches or mentors. However, we have to be cautious about whom to follow. We must look for a mentor who can change our lives and impact us significantly. Numerous life coaches exist, but only a few are genuinely qualified and masters of life.

We can also gain wisdom, power, and intelligence through metaphorical quotations. The quotable quotes of famous people serve as our inspiration in life, and we can learn from them if we deeply understand the content of their selections.

Some of them use metaphors that should not be interpreted literally because they have a deeper meaning. In fact, some metaphors can not get out of our minds once we have read or listened to them. It is instilled in our minds, and we use it to our benefit and to give wise sayings to others.

In our lives, we have noted several metaphorical quotations and uttered the same in our own way of thinking. These quotations might not be well-known or recognized by many, but unconsciously, we have inspired other people and, somehow it, might leave an imprint on their
minds.

Wisdom power can also be achieved through reading books and other forms of literature that are sources of knowledge and wisdom. The principles we have learned can be applied to living a better life.

One of the books I liked most is "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. The book is simple and easy to understand, and each chapter has challenging questions to ponder. It is a spiritual book that teaches life lessons as guiding principles.

I learned a lot from reading, and it is a lifetime education. I will continue to read and expand my mind and share the knowledge that I have gained.

Intuitive powers and wisdom powers are both indispensable to attaining spiritual powers. We must apply these teachings to direct us to the right life path. We must know our life's purpose for us to better understand our responsibility to serve and that our spiritual powers will be our best weapon to live the better life we deserve.



© 2011 Del Cusay

The Power of Meditation

Together with the yogis in New Delhi, India

Meditation is an ancient spiritual tool Yogis and Sages use, mainly in the Himalayan Region. Incredibly, this practice has been preserved and passed down through generations.

Many studies and research have been done to prove the claims of its healing results in the body and mind. Indeed, it's a beautiful life tool for everyone who wants relaxation and calmness of the body, mind, and spirit.

I've been a meditation practitioner for several months, which has dramatically impacted my life. I've become calmer with my emotions and can take control of difficult situations. It has also improved my memory. I became more focused and aware of my work and whatever was happening in my surroundings.

Meditation has helped to correct my breathing pattern since I am a shallow and fast breather. Still, now I've learned that deep and regular breathing habits are essential for physical health and emotional and mental health.

Meditation is a tool for spirituality, and it's true because I believe that the Divine Beings are present in moments of silence, especially when you are ready to have a quiet moment and able to listen to inner voices.

Meditation uses particular locations, body positions, and hand seals, which have significant meanings. To be able to concentrate well during meditation, you must be in a place that is free from noise and distraction. It is also appropriate to be in an open space or well-ventilated room. The back must be aligned and straight, and the legs should be placed in a lotus or semi-lotus position, or you may sit straight on a chair to make it more practical. Hands are placed on the lap with hands facing upward. Hand seals must be used because it's one of the core essences of meditation as a tool for spirituality. Joining your index finger and thumb together symbolizes spiritual power while joining the thumb and the middle finger together would mean material energy or power. Joining the thumb, index, and middle finger together would be the best practice as it is more balanced--the material and spiritual power combined.

I meditate whenever I feel stressed, fatigued, and bored, and I've proven it very effective in regaining vitality. It makes me feel more relaxed and have peace of mind. Meditation has become an indispensable tool for me, and I consider it valuable in all levels of health; physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and well-being.

Meditation was practiced initially using one's imagination and visualization, but for busy people, it's made more accessible and practical by purchasing a voice-guided reflection available in the market today.

There are some meditation DVDs and books on the market today. It can also be purchased through the online store and available on some of the popular video-sharing websites. However, carefully choose which meditation products to buy and consider the author's expertise and reputation.

I'm fortunate to have been taught by an absolute master of meditation. He spent some of his beautiful moments in the Himalayas and was mentored by great masters. He has a deeper understanding of meditation practices and their hidden dangers. The knowledge and wisdom I've gained from him are beneficial in my practice and teaching others through seminars on special meditation programs he designed and created.

If your life has been transformed through meditation's benefits and healing results, you must also start to try it and see how it changes your life's ideal and perspective.


© 2011 Del Cusay