Christmas in Our Hearts: A Wonderful Beginning

I have loved to celebrate Christmas with my family since childhood. Christmas would mean so many things to me when I was a kid, full of beautiful imaginations, like believing in Santa Claus and the gift to be received from him. As a kid, I had a meaningful experience during this season. For me, this is the season to gather as a family, having a meal together on Christmas eve or Noche Buena. Full of surprises like games, food, gifts, and others.

Through the years, things have changed rapidly. Beliefs in Santa Claus have changed; consecutive years celebrating Christmas not being together as a complete family, not many gifts received and given, and no games, no parties, and just enough food for Noche Buena (Christmas eve).

Every Christmas celebration is unique. We had several Christmas parties at school, parties with friends, and an exclusive celebration with the family.

Although the Christmas season has uniqueness and extravagance, I have always remembered the real essence of celebrating Christmas. To give, to share, to love one another—virtues that were instilled in my mind.

Celebrating Christmas is beyond values and virtues. More than the party, the gifts, and the food is the time to remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Christians, we have attended mass on Christmas eve to commemorate His birth and to pray for blessings and abundance.

Moreover, Christmas is an excellent opportunity to reunite with loved ones, heal broken hearts, and forgive. This is in preparation to open our hearts to receiving many more incredible blessings for the coming of a new year. A more fulfilled life comes after an open heart— a giving and loving heart. Likewise, success is short-lived and never measured by how many material things we possess.

A fulfilled person is more than being happy. It can be measured as to how you're living your life. How many people have you helped and transformed their lives? What sacrifices have you made for the benefit of the many?— these are some spiritual practices of a fulfilled individual with Christ-like virtues.

This Christmas, although I will not be able to celebrate it with my family, I still feel connected with them. I don't have to feel lonely in a foreign land, knowing they live a good, content life with a sense of fulfillment.

I may be far away, but the spirit of Christmas is still there. There is no reason to be homesick or sad, but there is always a reason to smile and celebrate with people closer and dear to us.

This Christmas, above all and from a deeper perspective, is about Jesus Christ. Hence, we must remember how to share indiscriminately, give heartily and love unconditionally.

Christmas, as celebrated all over the world, would remind us to live with our responsibility beyond what we call being Christian, and the virtues it has taught us should be practiced the whole year round, and that Christmas, regardless of race, creed, and religion, or spiritual affiliation will always be in our hearts forever.


© 2011 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

Oprah's Lifeclass Lesson 25 : "You've Always Had the Power"

I am grateful to have watched Oprah's Lifeclass (Season 1) through a webcast. I have learned some life lessons from the show on every topic she discussed in every session. Below are some of the questions that I have pondered on the Lifeclass by Oprah.

1. You have the power—and the responsibility—to make your life better. How will you own that power?

I believe that I possess some powers that are inherent or acquired and I use that power to be in control of my life because I believe that I am responsible for shaping my life and who I will become in the future. I must be able to preserve this power and continue to hone it and use it wisely for my own benefit.

2. Who would you be, and what would you do, if you had no fearful beliefs?

I would have become a great speaker or writer should I have gained enough confidence and had no fears and doubts.

3. Look at your life: This is a portrait of your beliefs. What is beautiful about it? What's troubling? What will you change—because you can?

What's beautiful about my life is the presence and the support of my family and friends. They are always supportive of my dreams and goals and they serve as my inspiration to move forward despite adversities that come my way. What's troubling me is my fear and doubt of my capabilities and the use of my power. Sometimes I feel that I am not enough, not capable, and incompetent. Since I believe that I can do something if I trust myself, then I have to move out of my comfort zone and start to renew my life so I will be able to achieve my dreams and attain success in life.

4. How do you define "success"? What has truly made you happy in the past? Are you pursuing your version of success, or someone else's? Can you choose yours?

Success is the attainment of my goal or dream may it be simple or ambitious. My previous accomplishments have made me truly happy both in my personal life and career. I follow my own version of success and at the same time, I also follow another success coach because I can learn a lot from their wise ideas and they are more accomplished people. I can choose to go with my own definition of success and also with my success coach life lessons.

5. Describe your highest hopes. Now ask, "What would be better"? Keep asking this until you can't imagine anything better. That's your new dream.

My highest hopes are to become somebody who is respected and expert in my field of expertise and to become a better person who has achieved and proven something.

6. How are you going to sustain your hope and faith when times get tough? Do you have a plan in place for nurturing yourself in the moments your faith wavers?

When times get tough I have to remain strong and believe in myself. I should never give up but instead, I have to rise up from where I have fallen. I must be able to move on since life is indeed a cycle, there are moments in life that I feel down and sometimes I feel good. Life is good so I have to live my greatest life.

7. Do you still define success according to how much stuff you have, or how admired you are? Notice that this is the ego's definition. Gently put it aside, and notice what your spirit defines success.

Success is not only defined or measured by material possessions but by the quality of life that you're living at the present. I have to ask myself, am I the same person now as compared to 3 years ago or even 3 months ago? have I gained valuable virtues and values and learned from my lifes' lesson? Am I truly a renewed person? or am I living my greatest life? Then, if the answer is yes, I could say that I am a successful person.

8. What's one step you can take toward your vision of a fully realized life? Is there one small thing that’s part of your ideal future that you can take today?

To be able to achieve my highest ideals and aspirations, I have to renew my life in all aspects and hold on to virtues and values as they are an integral part of my success. I think one of the factors of future success is to benevolent and that is the virtue that I would like to practice today. I have learned that sharing is a good thing to do and it will bring back something good to me in any way in the future. I may never know what the future shall bring, but I can predict on it as to what I do in the present.

9. What's the most important thing you've learned over these 25 lessons?

I have learned that life is truly worth living and fighting for. Life may be full of adversities, but I should not take it as a hindrance but I should take it as a challenge to fight for. Life is good and I must never give up hence, to do my very best. I am blessed in life and I must be a blessing to others also.

I am looking forward to the 2nd season, early next year for another knowledgeable and inspiring life lesson. The lessons that I have learned are valuable for the formation of my values and for creating the kind of life that I deserve. Every day is a journey and I must live on the present, learn from the past and prepare for my future.


© 2011 Del Cusay