YOUR mantra for the week: “I am strong, loving and magnetic to my good.”

 

THIRTY two years ago this month I founded the Temple of Prayer, Peace and Prosperity (TOPPP). It was never a structure like a Buddhist or Chinese temple. It is simply the two sides of our head called our temples, where I believe we make our contact with that One Power called God—which is also the reason, in the Old Testament, that Moses asked what he would tell his people was God’s name.

 

God’s answer was, “I Am That I Am.”

 

That is why I call what I teach at the TOPPP, “IAMISM,” for it is “I AM” that every human being has in common.

 

This “I Am” is what I call the God within, which many Catholics find difficult to accept. That’s a big surprise to me because, as Saint Augustine said, “I, Lord, went wandering like a strayed sheep seeking Thee with anxious reasoning without, whilst thou was within me. I went round the streets and squares of the city seeking Thee; and I found Thee not, because in vain I sought without for Him who was within myself.”

 

Likewise, Christians cannot accept karma because it is Hindu in origin. What they do not realize is that it is also found in the Holy Bible as the principle of sowing and reaping. Those who have accepted this principle believe that it works only as far as the things we say and do. But in truth, it all begins with our thoughts and feelings.

 

However, not all our thoughts and feelings are experienced in our outer lives—but only those that we dwell upon, or what is referred to by psychologists as our habitual thinking. To control our habitual thinking, I have discovered that using a string of mantra beads is a powerful tool to enable us to focus on thoughts and feelings that we would like to experience.

 

The “I Am” is composed of two words: “I” is your conscious mind or the masculine energy in you; and “Am” is your subconscious mind or your feminine energy. When the two agree to unite on a particular idea or Word as used in the bible, it is made flesh and dwelleth amongst us, which simply means a manifestation of our desires.

 

Our conscious and subconscious minds or the “I Am” within us is the Creator or the Father as Jesus referred to It, as he said, “It is not I that doeth the works but the Father.” Remember that the word “father” is derived from the word “sire” or to father. Psychologically, it is called a desire.

 

Let me stress that your every positive desire is a gift from God and must be brought to manifestation in order to help create greater good in the universe. My belief is that we are God’s cocreators. It created us and we, in turn, create our lives through the “I Am” within.

 

In moments of solitude, ask yourself what you are creating with your “I Am”, which has three persons (I am; you are; he/she/it is or they are), and from there, review what you have been attracting into your life. Then try using your mantra beads and create the kind of life you desire.

 

Mantras work like the rosary through repetition. However, it is more effective because, in mantras, the concept of being a sinner does not come into the picture. The moment the word sinner is used, the corresponding “punishment” usually follows.

 

You are in control of the mantras and with God’s power working within you and always saying yes, a fulfilling life is yours for the asking.

 

Female pope

 

I suggest that all members of the feminist organization Gabriela watch the movie “Pope Joan” to inspire them further in their cause, so one day there may be another female pope like Johannes Anglicus. If it were not removed from the Vatican archives, she would have been Pope John

VIII.

 

The story is stunning, even for just the very reason that women at that time were not allowed to go to school. Johanna was different. She was so intelligent and could read in several languages that a bishop took a fancy and allowed her to attend school. However, she was required to live with another family because, being female, she was prohibited from staying in with the boys.

 

After the massacre of the family she lived with, Johanna was forced to disguise herself as a man and joined the priesthood to save her life.

 

The movie shows how she moved from priesthood to the papacy, until the discovery that the pope is female.

 

If rumors are to be believed, today the ritual before one is declared a pope includes the raising of the habit to make sure that he is truly male.

 

I hope the American people do not think of doing the same ritual with Hilary Clinton when she runs for the presidency next year. If they do, they might discover she has more balls than a man.

 

What ‘DI’ means

 

Dinner with close friends hosted by Duday and Noel Tuason recently at the Makati Garden Club revealed that ladies falling in love with their dance instructors still happens up today—especially among wealthy octogenarians who are single again.

 

Reminds me of two prominent ladies in the past who lived in with their dance instructors. One even married her DI. Both ladies courageously told their children that it was none of their business what they do with their money.

 

The more considerate children of one lady gave in and left their mother happily in peace. However, the other one was not as fortunate because, one day, her DI disappeared without a trace.

 

I was once talking to a DI and asked him whether he liked being called such. “Yes,” he said, “very much because, to me, it means ‘Do It’… and I do.”

 

No big deal

 

In Balesin, serving different kinds of meals became an issue when Binibining Pilipinas World 2007 Maggie Wilson-Consunji posted on Facebook how her mother was refused a “yaya meal.” Maggie gave the impression that she’s a populist socialite, sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of the masses.

 

To me, the incident is no big deal.

 

It was not really an insult to the mother, and neither was the meal in derision of the helper because it was available in the menu. I know many people who enjoy food for nannies, but I also know of nannies who do not like eating the kind of food their amo enjoys.

 

The final contention is whether cheap food should be called a “yaya meal” and not simply a budget meal.

 

We have succeeded in adding another word to our vocabulary. If there’s a racist, we now have a yayist and it could be one of the Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

 

I get the picture. This whole brouhaha must be the idea of Maggie’s publicist to put her in the news in preparation for her hosting season 3 of “Asia’s Next Top Model.”

 

Footing the Bill

 

Bill Gates came to town in a private jet with his wife Melinda. They visited the International Rice Research Institute in Laguna where his foundation is the largest private donor. This should add a little fun to planting rice and making Mr. Gates an angel who fits and foots the bill.

 

In a recent survey on which countries love America the most, the Philippines was No. 1. If Bill Gates is able to convince US immigration to open its doors to Filipinos without much ado, I believe we would wake up one morning and the Philippine population would be back to 10 million, if not less. This would make the RH law truly irrelevant.

 

I imagine banners hanging in churches calling on its congregation to “Go forth ye and multiply.” Condoms can then be inflated with helium as balloons for the celebration while singing “Pennies From Heaven.”