Your mantra for the week: For all the good in my life, I am grateful.

Iamism is a belief system that puts together the best of scripture, philosophy and psychology to make up what I call “A Course in Happiness.” I have chosen 10 biblical quotations, five of which I am discussing this week and the other five for next week. This would give the reader an insight to what others dismiss as mere “positive thinking.”

1. “There is no power but of God.” Romans 13:1

This underscores the fact that evil and the devil are not powers in themselves. In the same way, darkness is just the absence of light. God being Infinite Intelligence would never create another power to defeat Itself.

2. “Behold, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” Luke 17:21

This statement should make it very easy for anyone to accept that God is within each man, for where else can God be but in “heaven that is within”? Yet, many religions teach that God is “up there,” when that metaphysically means our higher consciousness. Recall that Jesus went up the mountain to pray for 40 days and 40 nights, which simply implies raising his consciousness to a higher level, and has nothing to do with climbing a literal mountain.

3. “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:8

This is simply the Law of sowing and reaping or karma, which many insist is just a Hindu term and not applicable to anything Christian.

4. “For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:37

Words in metaphysics mean ideas, like the first line in the New Testament, “In the beginning was the Word…,” for the ideas that we hold in our minds will, at one point, manifest in our lives. Also, it emphasizes the power of the spoken word.

5. “Ye are Gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.” Psalm 82:6

Contrary to what most people believe that Jesus is the only begotten child of God, this quotation includes all of mankind which Jesus himself underscores in the only prayer he taught, the Lord’s Prayer. When translated directly from Aramaic to English, it would read, “O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration,” reaffirming that the whole universe is God’s child or manifestation.

Thank you to the thousands who have shared this column online for the last few weeks. May you continue doing so.

Rene Puno celebrates

Recently, Rene Puno, probably the most popular lawyer in town today, celebrated his birthday in their truly large but cozy home in Ayala Alabang with 40 of his closest friends, and around 15 who are not so close.

It was nice seeing Joe Zubiri in one of his rare social appearances, just like Henry Zabarte, and I was Zu-biri glad to discover that he is such a good sport and with a great sense of humor to boot. There were three of Rene’s cherished beauties, aside from Ann, of course—Margie Moran, Cory Quirino and Mayenne Carmona; everyone’s favorite ambassadorial couple Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau and his always lovely and charming Lizia; Paqui and Lilibeth Campos, who are unreconstructed LaSallites, and Rene remarks, “I do not know why I get along so well with them when I am a die-hard Atenean… maybe I went to the wrong school”; the very sociable Grace Glory Go and Oh Yes, Johnny Litton; the affable Rep. Manny Lopez with attractive wife Suzette; the very likeable Yoli Ayson chatting with Ann Ong and Gina Monani.

I spent more than half of the evening with my age group, Rene’s children, Yago and Renee with steady beau Drix Crisologo and youngest billionaire Joseph Calata and his always impeccably dressed statuesque wife Nel. Yago is now a lawyer, but not working in his father’s firm, and Renee is with Art Post Asia, which makes books from scratch. Joseph was explaining to me one of his latest ventures, called “Krops,” which he says is “an agri mobile app which provides a secure online marketplace for farmers to trade agricultural goods such as food crops, fertilizers and livestock.”

The evening was filled with music and dance with Yboa, a father-and-son team, with guests soloing like Ricky Davao, George Sarakinis, Rajo Laurel’s mother Bebot, and, naturally, the hostess of the evening, Ann, who can truly belt out a song.

Thank Rene for an evening na Puno ng kantahan at kasiyahan.

A gold celebration

Last week, Chito and Betina Legarda were honored by their children—Tono, Celso, Javy and Tina—on their golden wedding anniversary at Alabang Country Club.

Any two people who can endure being married that long should truly be venerated, for anyone who can remain married for 50 years and still stay healthy and happy deserves the biggest celebration ever. The Alabang affair was truly a big one with 600 guests in attendance, although according to Betina, this was meant to be just a small get-together.

However, with so many De Buena familia attendees like the Aranetas, Roceses, Morenos, Lacsons, De Leons and Tuasons, the affair could be titled “The Society Gathering of the Month.”

Betina, the bride of 50 years, gave a heartwarming speech filled with gratitude for all her blessings, which include surviving the big C, paid tribute to close friends who have moved on but who are still part of the family, and thanked all who helped make the celebration a truly memorable one. “It is not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy,” she concluded, then looked at Chito and said, “If there is such a thing as a second life, I want to be 14 again, meet you and begin anew.”

The bride’s sister, Marilou Khan Magsaysay, was acknowledged for having brought back from the US of A most of the decorative items that adorned the ballroom, including the tiny golden eggs found in each table.

Despite all the love and happiness, I would not exchange the freedom I enjoy, which I consider my greatest treasure. However, I would probably accept 50 days of marriage just for the feel of it—50 months, max!

Socialites and social-lights

In the days when high society was truly high society, party-goers were real socialites. Today, most of the gatherings are filled with social-lights, just like the softdrink. Once upon a time, it was the “real” thing; now, it is just “Light,” and here’s hoping it never gets to “Zero”!