Your mantra for the week: “All my decisions either move me forward or backward in life.”

I get a lot of interesting negative comments about IAMISM. It seems that the personal religious beliefs of people are threatened by what I write about, because they believe in an anthropomorphic God which attributes human traits, emotions or intentions to nonhuman entities.

For instance, this comment: “IAMISM? Sounds like some religion someone pulled out of the butt. Sounds good, but means nothing.”

My response: Thank you for your comment. IAMISM is not a religion and never will be. We have no dogmas nor creeds and are fully aware that religion has been the cause of all wars in the world. Yes, we sound good because our butts are clean and we firmly believe that we were born with original goodness, BUT you can very well remain the sinner that you claim to be.

Likewise, we support the findings of new sciences and encourage all to seek newer truths from within. BUT then, you may still choose to live within the scourges of worn-out beliefs and limitations.

IAMISM asks people to tap their inner spiritual energies so that we can direct the outer forces of the universe to work for our benefit. BUT you may continue to believe that life is a struggle and that suffering is a virtue.

It desires to unify everyone through the recognition of the God within each man. BUT you are free to go on believing in some form of theology or creed.

IAMISM envisions a world where self-creation, through the I AM, becomes the highest adventure and the greatest blessing. BUT you may endure in your devotion to a punishing God that can send you to eternal damnation when you err.

When IAMISM is fully understood, religion will become a thing of the past. But, again, you are most welcome to disagree.

Fund-raising while having fun

I’m not a fan of fashion shows because I’d rather write about people’s passions rather than their ever-changing dress styles. But I must say that last week’s Spouses of the Heads of Mission (SHOM) show was truly different.

The models looked like they were having fun on the runway wearing clothes from Rustan’s. I remember that last year, the attires were from SM.

The ambassadors and their wives had their respective fan clubs, but the one who got the most applause was US Ambassador Sung Kim, with guests chanting, “USA, USA.”

This show was like all SHOM shows, a fund-raiser—for the benefit of deprived and abused women and children. Diplomacy was never more fashionable.

Success comes from failure

There is nothing like enthusiasm that can bring about a resilience, such as that of Joseph Calata. In December 2017, the Philippine Stock Exchange ordered the delisting of his company, Calata Corp., despite his pleading for reconsideration and admitting negligence.

In January 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) served a cease and desist order for Calata’s initial coin offerings of Krops, an online marketplace for farm produce. Such a disappointment could easily lead an ordinary businessman to surrender to defeatism.

But not Calata. He said: “My successes come from various failures of the past.”

During an intimate dinner I had with Calata, he was all smiles, knowing I had read about his joining the group that flew with President Duterte in his trip to Hainan, China, to address the plenary at the Boao Forum for Asia and, on the side, meet for the third time with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, who accompanied her father as First Lady, witnessed the signing of investment pledges between the Philippine government and Chinese businessmen. Two of the nine companies that signed memorandum of understandings were Green Agriculture Group and East Cloud Biz Travel Ltd., which will tie up with Calata Corp. with a $1 billion commitment—$500 million for agricultural matters and the other $500 million to develop an island that can give Boracay a run for its money.

Turnaround

Add to this turnaround of circumstances for Calata, Kropcoins, in the next three weeks, will be listed in the cryptocurrency exchange in which interested parties can do their purchasing and selling online. One advantage of Krop coins is that it allows farmers to join and gain access to buyers and sellers of varied agricultural products with their respective locations, leading to the removal of middlemen and less expenditure in transportation, resulting in bigger incomes for both buyers and sellers.

Krops now has an inventory of P16 billion worth of products as a result. Green Agriculture Group is looking forward to importing these products from the Philippines in a big way.

I wish the SEC had given Calata the benefit of the good and made him a consultant instead, to use his knowledge of cryptocurrencies and the over 500 coin companies that are being traded worldwide on the internet.

Penis-ed

If, in the Philippines, we have wild flowers called “puki-reyna,” I have a friend who just came back from Cambodia who says that one of the attractions of that country is the penis plant named “Nepenthes Holdenii,” whose leaves capture insects and digest them. Poor insects, they’re penis-ed!

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