Your mantra for the week:
“Every morning I awaken to a miracle in my life.”

I have been asked often whether or not I am promoting a religion of sorts; my answer is, not at all, although I am an ordained minister of the Community Church of New Thought which is not a religion.

However, many people in America have made it their spiritual path and practice its principles religiously. The practitioners formed a fellowship until it metamorphosed into a “religion” called Practical Christianity.

In this case, the term “Christianity” is taken not in the literal sense as in the bible, but rather in its metaphysical meaning; here Christ is referred to as the God within or the anointed one, and not the surname of Jesus.

The word “anointed” is used because one has to use oil in the ritual of anointment. In ancient times, oil was used to light up lamps. Symbolically oil is a means to enlightenment, very much like how Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one.

The only power

I am the district president of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) in the Philippines, something like an ambassador of goodwill. When I attend our conventions, I am addressed as Rev. George Sison.

But in the Philippines I am simply George the irreverent, as readers of this column assume.

What I teach is called “IAMISM,” based on the idea that God’s name in the Old Testament is “I am that I am.”

There are principles I want to propagate like:

1. God is the only power in the universe. Evil is insubstantial. There cannot be two powers because Infinite Intelligence will not create another power to fight Itself. That wouldn’t be very intelligent. I believe that there is only good in the universe. The “ungood” only means we made the wrong choices; and the good news is, we can choose again.

2. We form our own destinies by our thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

3. Outer conditions do not matter when we pray, and by prayer I mean affirmations, mantras, visualizations—not memorized prayers that have nothing to do with our desires. We do not beg. We simply use positive words to energize what we desire in our minds and hearts.

4. Time, space and matter are human concepts but on the universal level, God simply is  the Alpha and the Omega. Within these two terms, you will find the third dimension where we experience life after life on the human level for the growth of the soul.

5. There is a solution to every challenge.

6. Man is a child or an extension of God, like the rays of the sun are to the sun itself.

7. God is Perfect Good.

8. Jesus of Nazareth taught the whole truth about God and demonstrated it—truly a “wayshower” or one who embodies the qualities for others to absorb and learn.

9. Change is necessary—or life would not be life.

10. Tithing is the prosperity secret of the ages, regardless of what religion you belong to.

 

Change of heart

Overheard at a recent luncheon were two socialites tracing the relationships of formerly married friends who are now enjoying their lives with new partners.

The first question I heard was, how are Ben and Joe Guingona related to each other. The answer was, they are twin brothers.

Joe, now married to Marilou Tuason, was once married to Tina Delgado, the sister of Viol, who is married to Henry Cojuangco, who is now with Sylvia Heras, who was once married to Diony Lopez, the brother of Citoy, who married Margarita Reyes who later hooked up with Armand Raquel-Santos who was once with Criselda Lontok.

And by the way, the other woman added, Citoy is now with Eva Abesamis who was once with Greg Licaros, who was married to Pinky del Rosario, who is the niece of Toting del Rosario, who was married to Titang Gomez who ended up with Al Yuchengco.

And speaking of Marilou Tuason, her daughter Bingbing Gonzales was once married to Tonyboy Cojuangco, who was also married to Nise Yabut but separated and is now with Gretchen Barretto.

I didn’t hear how this conversation ended, but it’s a typical conversation in Manila society, something like a name game which seems irrelevant but underscores how many couples have a change of heart in their relationships.

Marriage contracts

Back in college, when a driver’s license had to be renewed every year, I remember suggesting in one of my social science classes that each student speak on a subject related to social behavior and how it impacted on prevailing traditions.

I chose to propose that marriage contracts be renewable every year. My teacher almost gave me a failing mark (and this was in the so-called liberal University of the Philippines) because of such a preposterous idea. It was only when I threatened to write about her narrow-mindedness in the Philippine Collegian that she reconsidered and gave me more than a passing grade.

In today’s world, this concept is acceptable and deliberated to be passed as law in one of the more open-minded states of the US.

Suffering wives

After being ordained by the Community Church of New Thought as a minister in 1997, I had a license to bind people in marriage in Makati City.
However, I have not renewed this license because I discourage people from getting married unless they have lived-in for a while or, at the very least, have been intimate and exposed to each other’s weaknesses and idiosyncrasies for a reasonable period.

This may sound shocking to conservative people, but they should be aware that this method increases the probability of a marriage that could last a lifetime—instead of having to go through the process of an annulment or legal separation which are sanctioned based on predetermined excuses.

Congress has been unable to pass a divorce law even if we are the only Catholic country left in the world that doesn’t have one. It is obvious why—lawmakers themselves enjoy the pleasure of having a mistress or two and get away with it.

The long suffering wives have been made to believe that this is fine, because kahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan pa rin ang tuloy (no matter how long the procession, it always ends back in church). What an absurd analogy because it creates so much unhappiness and dishonesty in the marital union, in the community and in the world.

Congressmen live to the hilt our tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines”—with or without PDAF.

Not just ‘Binayn’

After all the mind-boggling revelations of former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado on Winnie Monsod’s TV show “Bawal ang Pasaway Kay Mareng Winnie,” a rather blasé gentleman commented: “I thought all these investigations on the Binays were just “Binayn” accusations, but they now look terminal as in the Big C on its third or fourth stage.” Apparently, Mercado has found his market.

Made for a woman

Mario Katigbak’s invitation to launch Jour d’Hermès at a press preview last week was such a delight. Meeting new and old friends in media is more fun than many socials that proliferate the social circuit.

Introducing Jour d’Hermès, Lily Lam, Asia-Pacific manager of Hong Kong Parfum, recalled that bottle designer Pierre Hardy was inspired by the shoulders of a woman and the scent, put together by Jean-Claude Ellena, is a combination of multifarious flowers with no emphasis on a particular flora.

Lam said it depicts what a woman would ideally smell like as she wakes up refreshed in the morning. One of the ladies sprayed Jour d’Hermès and she did smell wonderful.

They sprayed some underneath my wrist and I smelled like a woman who wakes up in the morning totally unsatisfied. Truly Jour d’Hermès was made for a woman.

Truly a great opera

The gala night of “Noli Me Tangere the Opera” proved all the claims of Loida Lewis of its greatness. Kudos to everyone in the production!