Your mantra for the week: “My forgiveness is the best gift I can give myself.”

Happy Easter! Metaphysically, it means that the I AM within each one of us is raised to the level of awareness in consciousness, after its having been buried under a myriad of old beliefs suggesting that the power of God lies in the outer and not in the IAM-ness of each man.

In IAMISM, we celebrate today by highlighting our goals, knowing, as the Bible reminds us, “Where there is no vision, the people will perish.”

When you have no goals, your life is directionless. You feel there is nothing happening in your life, and confusion starts. The more confused you are, the more you are not sure of what you want. And so a vicious cycle begins, when you could have simply set your goals and believed you could achieve them. Which only proves that believing is seeing—and not the old adage, seeing is believing.

God being in every neuron, proton and in the 52 trillion cells inside you implies that you contain all. Therefore, when you decide what you want to do in life, the doors begin to open to move you in that direction, creating your destiny, for destiny means your destination. And your destination is decided by your goals and the choices you make in the process.

Many people ask whether one’s destiny is decided by God, and my answer is yes—only if you can accept that God is your IAM-ness.

The wrong use of the I AM will make you shift directions and change the course of your destiny. So, an outer God does not determine one’s destiny. It is imperative that you do not lose focus until you arrive at your destination.

Using the power of imagination, you can get there more quickly and in peace. The I AM in you has risen. Have a wonderful Easter!

Okada and Ong

Honorary consul to Angola Helen Ong, who spearheads the Philippine Cancer Society’s annual “Philippines Best Dressed Women,” has just signed up with Okada Manila to hold the event this year in the hotel’s grand ballroom.

Plans are afoot to make the awards night outstanding, since it will be held in a six-star hotel with the world’s biggest musical fountain that was inaugurated just two weeks ago.

The signing ceremony between Okada director of sales and marketing Julius Santos and consul Ong was witnessed by Okada executive director of property marketing Bryan Bass, and attended by Cancer Society members Johnny Litton, Agnes Huibonhoa, Elaine Villar, Sandie Poblador and Mario Katigbak. Also present were designer Roy Gonzales, Jun Mercado and PR head Shariza Relova.

‘Drown him with kindness’

An item in my April 2 column, which mentioned a diplomatic organization having an “undiplomatic” situation with its leader, generated a lot of response—including one that recommended, “maybe we can drown him with kindness by inviting him to dinner and serving him the best Chilean sea bass.”

That’s diplomacy at its very best.

No ‘HOCUS’-pocus

The much accomplished Gemma Cruz-Araneta is a guest curator in “HOCUS,” a show to open April 18 at the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum Complex, Rizal Park.

“HOCUS” is derived from the first syllables of the names of the featured artists, historian-author Saul Hofileña and painter Guy Custodio.

Custodio’s artworks were inspired by Hofileña’s historical knowledge—as seen in the painting “Fuente de Capricho,” the source of capriciousness. Viewed closely, the gentleman in the banca is said to be Jose Rizal.

The exhibit promises to transport us to yesteryears and assures us of a near-magical experience, and that is no hocus-pocus. See you then!

The Art of Panganiban

In the quietness of Lent, while going through my archives to make sure I was not hoarding anything irrelevant, I found a clipping of a friend, Art Panganiban, taken in 1965, which was on the same page as Amelita Reysio-Cruz’s “Campus Talk,” where I was mentioned with regard to a painting-poem exhibit held at the University of the Philippines.

One could see that Panganiban—from his 1965 activities addressing graduation classes, after having finished sixth in the 1960 bar examinations and teaching law classes at the Far Eastern University, and heading the biggest student educator organization in the country—would go places and succeed in his chosen field.

Sure enough, he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Also in 1965, before I met Panganiban, I wrote three books on painting-poems, an unpublished novel, an album of my songs sung by Pilita Corrales (one track would be recorded by The Platters).

I was also involved in the study of astrology. All these activities gave no indication that I would ultimately become the “Mischief Justice” of the Social Court as Conde de Makati, and finally land in jail upon the declaration of martial law.

Today, Art Panganiban, a colleague in the Inquirer, has written about Bongbong Marcos’ electoral protest in the recent vice presidential elections.

In between those periods, Panganiban operated the top-rated Baron Travel Corp.

Our paths have been crisscrossing all these years. In 2005, he became best-selling author of Amazon’s section Courts and Law with his book, “With Due Respect.”

In the years that he was working to get to where he is today, I founded the Temple of Prayer, Peace and Prosperity (TOPPP) and also wrote a book, “A Miracle Awaits You,” which is also available in Amazon but has not yet made it to the bestseller list. I’m not complaining, I’ll just have to pray some more.

Panganiban says he owes his book’s success to the generosity of his Inquirer publisher, Marixi Prieto, and her daughter, Sandy Romualdez.

Today, Panganiban and I write for the Inquirer every Sunday—he in the Opinion section, and I for Thelma San Juan’s Lifestyle section. With due respect, I salute him and claim that, one day, I, too, can be as well-admired as he is, And So It Is!

Holy Week humor

Meandering around Metro Manila and in keeping with the Holy Week observance, I ran into the following: in Quezon City, a lechon manok place called Lord of the Wings; a bakery in Pasig named Bread Pit; and finally, in the Commonwealth area, near the Iglesia Ni Cristo, a shoe repair shop called Hesus Shoe Repair with the slogan: “I will HEEL you, I will save your SOLE, I will even DYE for you.”