Your mantra for the week:

“I am awakened to the God within and success comes to me easily and effortlessly.”

 

 

 

 

“LET GOD arise in your consciousness and all your thine enemies shall be slain and scattered,” according to the Scriptures.

 

It means, when you bring God to your present thoughts, all negative ideas disappear, are moved aside and dissolved:

 

My beloved child, feel My Presence. Although you are and will always be one with It, consciously bringing forth My presence enables you to use My Power according to your desires. It is like electricity that is always there, but you have to turn on the switch in order to bring the light.

 

God as best friend

 

I AM your friend, your very Best Friend. Your Best Friend delights in you, accepts you for whatever weaknesses you may have, neither judges nor condemns you. Your Best Friend is attached to you through affection, esteem and respect.

 

I AM your Best Friend. I love you and I AM never offended by you. I desire the very best for you, to give you My whole kingdom. But first I must work through you—through your consciousness.

 

Therefore, you receive health according to your thoughts of wholeness, of vitality, vigor and strength.

 

When your consciousness is attuned to these thoughts, the Universe gives you your desired health and wholeness, your perfect shape, your perfect weight.

 

I AM your Best Friend, desiring for you, to get whatever will make you happy and prosperous. I desire to be of assistance to you in all ways. But again I must work through you, through your thoughts of abundance and your feelings of plenty.

 

You may desire love. You may decree it. And yet, when your thoughts are not loving, and your feelings are of resentment, the love you desire cannot be felt and, accordingly, it cannot be given you.

 

Make friends with everything in your life. Make friends with your fears; resist them not. Ask what those fears are trying to let you know. Make friends with your problems, for they, too, are bringing you a blessing. Oftentimes you resist, condemn and even curse them. The message then gets lost and so the blessing in disguise remains a disguise. Make friends with your associates, your family and, most of all, yourself.

 

Without condemning, judging or blaming, ask yourself: “What did I do yesterday that I didn’t like? What can I do to change it for the better?”

 

Be grateful

 

Once you have answered these questions, look for the things in your life and be grateful for those things, the way you are grateful for friends who are in your life. Be grateful that those things have touched your life and enriched it. And then, pray for them the way you pray for your family and associates. Pray for yourself as well, not as much for greater material wealth as for peace, serenity and calmness in the face of challenges.

 

Be a friend to yourself and you will be a friend to every man.

 

When you’re a friend to yourself, you will take care of your body and nourish it. You will feed your mind with God’s aspects of beauty, life, joy, wisdom and love. You will think thoughts of abundance and know that you’re worthy of it. Yes, a friend would wish another friend prosperity and plenty.

Be a friend to yourself by not judging, condemning and blaming you. Find every reason to forgive yourself as you would forgive a friend who is truly sorry for having wronged you.

 

Desire for yourself success in your endeavors as you would desire for a friend. As you do and accept wholeheartedly, you will find yourself desiring the same for each person who touches your life.

 

Yes, My beloved child, I AM here for you always in the Kingdom of Heaven within you—a loving Father and your Best Friend.

 

I AM reminding you now of how much you’re cared for, how much you’re loved. For whatever is happening in your life right now… believe me, all things are working out together for good in every aspect of your life.

 

Find a way, My beloved child, to forgive yourself for all you have thought as wrong-doings.  Make amends for them in every way you can. Forgive those who have hurt you. Allow them to make amends and make it up to you.

 

Give yourself the kind of support and encouragement that others may not give you. It can create miracles in your life, for it is that One Power that gives you the capacity to do so.

 

My beloved, it is always My greatest pleasure to give you My whole Kingdom.

 

Natal day

 

Last June 19th, José Rizal would have celebrated his 153rd birthday. And because he is my favorite National Hero and one of the best friends of my great-grandfather Felipe and related to my mother by affinity and a co-Gemini, I usually celebrate my natal day also on June 19th.

 

When my good friend Loida Nicolas-Lewis heard of this at a luncheon, she said: “Please let me take care of your celebration because it will also give me the opportunity to introduce the “Noli Me Tangere” opera.

 

All these happened just the other Thursday.

 

In my heart of hearts, my birthday is really friendship day—the day I gather my friends to honor them for the joy that they have brought into my life as I recall the immortal words of Kahlil Gibran: “In friendship, without words, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared with joy that is unacclaimed.”

 

Inasmuch as Loida was arriving only two days before the occasion, she asked me to please plan as I saw fit for the concept we had in mind and to coordinate with her super efficient secretary Charmaine.

 

The appointed venue was the Luna Function Hall of Luna Gardens Rockwell where Loida resides. First thing I did was to call Glenda Barretto of Via Mare to prepare a special menu. She has always been my choice through the years because she has consistently prepared a menu that is synchronized with whatever theme we have decided on.

 

‘Noli Me Tangere’ scene

 

I will now take on the personality of the Conde de Makati before his identity became public:

 

As I entered the cocktail area of the Luna Function Hall, sounds of sentimental kundiman music, which later on I found out was discovered by Leila Nicasio, greeted us while champagne was being served with never-ending, pass-around canopies (reminiscent of Kapitan Tiyago’s banquet in “Noli Me Tangere”).

 

Coming in our direction was the gracious Loida, stunning in her iridescent silk terno with a neckpiece of antique indigenous beads that adorned her neck, welcomed us and introduced us to her honoree, whom she described as an author and spiritual guru—dressed as José Rizal himself to celebrate the National Hero’s birthday.

 

Then I met the famous Baby Orosa, who, if she were British, would now be addressed as Dame Rosalinda Orosa, being a multi-awarded author and an advocate of arts and culture.

 

There were a lot of familiar faces: former German Ambassador to the Philippines Klaus Zeller with wife Pinky del Rosario, a childhood friend of the honoree; Ambassador Lani Bernardo sans Conchitina; Pepe Rodriguez, also doing it solo; and who could ever miss the statuesque beauty Gemma Cruz Araneta in an authentic saya with all its accessories; young billionaire Joseph Calata with wife and expectant mother Nel, who could put a lot of ramp models to shame; another billionaire, GMA 7 chair Felipe Gozon, whom the birthday boy calls Henry, his nickname when they were classmates at the UP Prep High School, with his lovely wife Tessie in a scene-stealing red terno.

 

Wow, even the newlyweds King Rodrigo and Boots Anson interrupted their honeymoon to be there (that’s what friends are for); Marietta Santos, the original Blue Lady who dropped out of the circle when it got too crowded for comfort; Princess Merriam Kiram of the Sultanate of Sulu—in a purple Inno Sotto creation—who I hear is about to come to terms with the Malaysians after so many decades; the resplendent Lorna Laurel in green, who is every inch a lady and still as beautiful as ever and was one of the best friends of the honoree’s mother, Prissy; Margie Moran Floirendo, truly surprised that everyone was dressed to the nines in Filipiniana. (Obviously she didn’t read the invitation completely.)

 

Frannie Jacinto, Ann Puno, sisters Katherine Tan and Helen Lim, all dressed by Lulu Tan-Gan, were standouts in their modernized Filipiniana gowns; society photographer Rupert Jacinto—who is preparing for his  “Faaabulous V” show and book with Sandie Poblador on the cover—with elegant wife Tina, impeccably dressed in her own creation; Ruby Jacob, the cool and brilliant executive of an international headhunters company in her smart barong look; the celebrator’s family composed of the witty Margarita, brother Louie (president of PNCC) with vivacious wife Triccie and children, architect Luigi and sister Trisha.

 

(Due to space constraints, I will have to continue next week my coverage of this celebration to bring to you the original and unique happenings at dinner time.)