Your mantra for the week: “I am one with God and all is well.”

When August comes, you will find many Chinoys talking about this “ghost month.” Many do not realize that this was based on the seventh month of the lunar calendar—which usually falls on the month of August in the Gregorian calendar.

In numerology, seven is the symbol of a physical completion or the end of a numerological cycle. In ancient China, people believed that disasters were more frequent in the seventh lunar month, so they tend to be in a state of fear.

In the Bible and in modern psychology, what one fears is what one usually attracts.

This year, the ghost month began on Aug. 11 and ends on Sept. 9.

Iamists do not pay any particular attention to this ghost month belief, no offense to the Chinoy community here and abroad. We are more concerned with the ghosts of old beliefs that still haunt us today, which makes it difficult to attract the good in our lives.

Old beliefs

1) The first of these “ghosts” is the acceptance that God is separate from us. People still look up the sky, believing that God is up there, to whom they pray in gratitude or in supplication.

2) We are sinners, unworthy of entering paradise or even heaven on earth.

3) Life is a struggle, and that people are meant to suffer. Therefore, we rarely experience the wonderful journey that life really is.

4) God is to be feared primarily, lest we be punished for our unbeliefs and errors. But we must understand that karma is not a punishment, but simply a reminder of the law, “As you sow, so shall you reap.”

5) Money is the root of all evil, underscoring that God loves the poor, implying that It may not love the rich in the same way.

6) There is a hell, even when St. John Paul II says, “There is no geographical hell.”

7) The devil exists, even when it’s just our negative thinking, because God, which is infinite intelligence, will never create another power to fight Itself.

There are other ghosts, like guilt and unworthiness—forgetting that we were all born with original goodness, and when you face the mirror, you will see the face of God. This is true for all unique seven billion people on this planet.

Favorite couple

Israel Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau and his wife Lizia Lu are probably the favorite couple of Filipinos in the diplomatic corps. They are loved and admired for their gentleness, givingness and openness of heart.

One often forgets they are not Filipinos—they exude our warmth and hospitality. Besides, there’s much kinship in the histories of Israel and the Philippines, that Filipinos don’t need a visa to visit Israel.

There were many despedidas held in their honor. One was hosted by the Kingdom of Jerusalem Global Foundation, another by the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and, recently, by Jeannie Goulbourn.

We ourselves are preparing a bienvenida party for Effie and Lizia. Shalom and ahava always!

Birthday wishes

Before art curator and auctioneer Jaime Ponce de León left for Spain, he celebrated his birthday with a bash at his León Gallery.

Friends and clients joined in wishing more success in his many ventures, which now include a bed and breakfast hotel in Dumaguete. How lucky for him to be enjoying Spain’s weather at this time.

Repeat show, please

It’s been two months since “Bagyo ng Musika,” a dinner concert, was held at Manila Hotel. People are wondering when there’ll be a repeat of the show starring the trio of Joey Lina, Sal Panelo and Mike Toledo.

Incidentally, Lina’s mother-in-law, Corazon de Jesus Atienza, was my all-time favorite teacher at UP Prep.

Panelo could put to shame many a professional singer. And Toledo was the debonair who delivered an engaging performance. It was such a success, it would be a shame not to have a repeat show.

The ghosts of yesteryears were truly more fun in high society.

This being the second Sunday of the ghost month, let me bring back some of the “ghosts” of the Conde de Makati, which brought laughter or irritation, depending on whether the subjects had or lacked a sense of humor.

Headline: WHO’RE Pro-English delegates in the Con-Con? At first glance, I didn’t notice the apostrophe.

Those in-the-know found it very interesting to see some people hobnobbing, even as they were trying to avoid bumping into each other or craning their necks to catch a glimpse of each other.

Human crossword puzzle

Like a human crossword puzzle, try and figure out how, why, and in what manner, directly or indirectly, have the following personalities been “associated” with each other: Baby Araneta Forés, Chona and Hans Kasten, Tingting Cojuangco, Raffy Prieto, Luz Puyat Martel, Geny and Chita Lopez, Chingbee and Dinny Manotoc, Erlinda Kalaw Ilusorio, Nene and Joe Guevara, Nene and Pinggot Perez, Mark Roces, Eva Macapal, Vina and Luis Gonzales and Chit Baizas.

Clue: These names have been associated or linked either by mutual affection or mutual animosity, or through a third party who was not present at the dinner party.

World Theater Congress

Cultural Center of the Philippines president Nick Lizaso flew to Moscow yesterday with the Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) Actors Company, with TP artistic director Nanding Josef joining him to present Rody Vera’s “Nang Dalawin ng Pag-ibig si Juan Tamad,” a comedic farce based on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s “How Love Came to Juan Tamad.”

The Philippines is participating in Moscow’s 12th World Theater Congress. Notice that the Philippines believes in peace—we don’t do anything by force, only by farce, like we do with China.

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