Mantra for the week: “God is synonymous to good. I believe in God.”
Feel the God presence within. There is only mind, only one power in the universe, and you live and move and have your being in It as It expresses Itself through you.
Within your every cell is God—every atom, every function, everything in you. When you accept this, you begin to understand the real power you have which can change your life for the better.
With God on your side, who can be against you? When God loves you, God loves you no matter what you think you are.
And It listens. It makes Its loving arms felt. And when It speaks, It will say to you: “My beloved child, I am the Only Power in the universe, there is no other. There is no place where I am not and, thus, in every cell and atom of you, I am.
“When you pray, believe that you have received. Believe that you deserve the very best. Believe that I am Goodness itself.
“Believe that I love you unconditionally, for I do. I never judge you. I accept you completely with all your so-called weaknesses.
“I love you totally, for what people think of you does not matter to Me because all I know is that you are My beloved child.
“No matter how little you know of Me now, know that from life to life, you get to know more of Me. You will know that I am Goodness itself. You’ll know that with Me all things are possible.
“Always come to Me first and see how I direct your paths… See how I guide you and go before you and make easy and straight your way. You will surely see the difference.
“Your faith in Me can truly move mountains. There is no difficulty, my beloved child, that enough faith will not overcome. There is no disease so grave that enough faith will not heal.
“There is no lack or limitation so great that enough faith will not fill. No grief so deep that enough faith will not uplift. There is no obstacle so large that enough faith will not dissolve.
Rain to clear your path
“Never mind how sometimes it rains in your life and brings floods. It is a way that I clear the path to bring you greater blessings. Do not lose your faith in times of inundation. Know I Am with you.
“Know that you are Divinely protected. Know that you are loved and cared for. And it is My greatest pleasure to give you My whole kingdom.
“What is wonderful about your life is that you can change for the better anytime you choose to. You can be transformed by renewing your mind, your thoughts and your feelings. You can change whatever does not work for you.
“Let me now put my loving arms around you and remind you to forgive yourself. Many times you have condemned, judged and have been down on yourself.
“Yes, you may have forgiven others, but then you must include you. First and foremost, forgive yourself, for when you do as you live day by day, you will easily forgive others, you will easily overlook shortcomings and weaknesses.
“You will regain your faith in your fellow man and in yourself. You will strengthen your faith in Me and by doing so, you become a greater magnet for all the good I have in store for you.
“I am your best friend, your confidante, your counselor and I love you unconditionally.”
Caitlyn and Monsieur Li
At the Red Lantern in Solaire Resorts and Casino, Lily Lam, manager of Perfumes Asia Pacific, introduced us to Monsieur Li, a bisexual fragrance.
It is sure to capture the imagination of Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce who was once an Olympic gold medalist, married thrice, and is now a woman.
I do not know whether or not Jean Claude Ellena, in-house perfumer of Hermès, had already discovered a Chinese version of Caitlyn in his “garden wanderings and explorations.”
Monsieur Li has opened the doors to his secret garden very much like Jenner did.
For those who want to know Caitlyn better, they have to read the latest issue of Vanity Fair. But for Monsieur Li, he is available at all times at Hermès Greenbelt 3 and Rustan’s.
The smell of fish
The Chinese have not stopped their wanderings in the West Philippine Sea. Surely they are not there to discover new fragrances.
All I know is that there is a lot of fish in the area and the only perfume you can come up with will surely smell fishy.
The real owners of Sabah
I am the Maharajah Adinda (heir apparent) Ismael Abdulla. This was the title given me in 1981 by HRM Mahakuttah Kiram, 34th Sultan of Sulu.
His son Muedzul Lail Kiram was still a minor then. Up to this day, Muedzul has been left unrecognized by the Philippine government as the rightful 35th Sultan by genealogy.
I was bestowed this honor based on the father’s confidence in what I was teaching.
He liked the idea and the concept of the One God within, which at that time he felt would eradicate the differences between Islam and Christianity— religion being the basis of wars in recorded history.
The 34th Sultan had hoped the message would help bring peace to Mindanao, like what the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is trying to do at the moment.
I wonder why the Sultanate of Sulu has been given minor attention in the BBL issue when in truth, the Sulu archipelago in the 13th and 14th century was the seat of trade and was one of the richest, if not the wealthiest, in this part of the world.
Is it because the Malaysians know that the Royal Family of Sulu—the Kirams—still hold the proprietary rights to Sabah? This has nothing to do with the territorial claims and the two issues cannot be mistaken for being one and the same thing.
There remains a question whether the Philippines still has territorial dominion over Sabah and there is no question that the Kirams own Sabah, proprietarily.
Malaysia has been paying a measly sum of 5,300 Malaysian ringgit for the last hundred years to this day.
I wonder what its budget is for covering up the Sabah issue.
I may not be a Kiram pero ako ay pinahiram ng panahon.
As I had mentioned in my column on May 31, earthquakes are caused by the consciousness of fear or anger. Could this explain the recent earthquake in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah? As within, so without!
RJ at 70
Ramon “RJ” Jacinto celebrated his 70th birthday with a concert at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza.
His fans and friends filled the theater, not to mention the lobby where cocktails were served.
The ageless Frannie Jacinto, a Gemini like RJ, was the perfect hostess, welcoming each guest and giving each one an assigned seat in the theater.
So nice to see Oscar and Malou Gopengco-Rodriguez; the beauteous Criselda Lontok; Susing and Maritess Pineda; Tina and Rupert Jacinto just back from a European cruise and scheduled to leave for another sea trip before the end of the month; popular fashion designer Ito Curata and Bob Miller; Hermès and Bulgari’s Mario Katigbak; and Dero Pedero who I thought would sing that evening.
Instead, we watched the following: Noel Cabangon, Sitti and Nyoy Volante rocking and rolling it with the celebrator.
I must say RJ at 70 can still bring the house down as he does every Friday at the RJ Bistro in the lower ground of Dusit Thani Manila.
Italian ambassador Massimo Roscigno and his gorgeous wife Agnes invited a few hundred people to celebrate Italian Day at the Sofitel recently. Agnes was a standout in red.
That evening, I met Sen. Sonny Angara for the first time; his parents have been my long-time friends.
Speaking of Ed, he recently launched a book at the Manila Polo Club titled “Ed Angara, Seer of Sea and Sierra,” written by National Artist Nick Joaquin, the greatest Filipino writer of the 20th century and the Grand Old Man of Philippine Literature.
Nick was also a novelist, playwright, poet, journalist, historian and biographer.
At the launch, I got to talk to Ed’s always chic, slim and beautiful Gloria; former Gov. Sally Saldivar-Perez, Ed’s girl Friday before she became governor of Antique; erstwhile Prime Minister Cesar Virata; former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban; National Artist Sionil Josè whom I last met when he was still running his own bookshop Erehwon; and GMA 7 big boss Henry Gozon.
Ed may not have made it to the presidency but maybe Sonny will.