1. In this mansion are those of good desires, those who pray. However, they are still absorbed primarily in their possessions, honors and business affairs.
2. In this mansion are those who are searching for something deeper. They read the Bible, spiritual books, seek good friendships, and find themselves struggling against evil inclinations.
3. This mansion belongs to those who do not desire to sin, even in the smallest way. They practice mortification and penance. They attend retreats and days of recollection. They are charitable to others. They maintain all things in their life in a balance. Yet, there still is a desire to search for something deeper.
4. In the fourth mansion belong those who are experiencing infused prayer, also called the prayer of quiet. Their prayer is passive. It is peaceful. The movement is inward towards the Self where eventually it will meet its Lord. The most important virtue here is love.
5. Here the person begins the prayer of union in which all the faculties of the soul are suspended. Teresa says it is like God becomes the cocoon in which the person dies. It is a period of darkness, but yet the soul is certain beyond doubt that it is with and in the Lord. During this period the soul grows more in love of neighbor, humility and faithfulness to prayer and the Lord.
6. Here Teresa speaks of spiritual betrothal. It takes place during a rapture, when the soul is drawn out of its senses. It is a time of special 'secret' teaching between the soul and its Beloved who appears to the soul. Great courage is needed to take this step because the soul will be purified even more, not only through human trials and sufferings, but also through contact with the human person of Jesus. The results of this mansion are: a deep knowledge of God and self, humility, rejection of all earthly things that are not needed to promote love of the Beloved, and a joy so great that the soul cannot resist shouting it from the housetops.
7. The mansion of spiritual marriage. When the person is ready for spiritual marriage, the Lord removes the scales from their eyes and they see and understand how beautiful they have been made by the Lord. Thus, fortified, they are united in marital love deep within the Self. They become one, and no longer fall into ecstasy. All mystical experiences are con-natural. It is not so much now what they do, but with the love union that they do it in.
Lunes, Disyembre 3, 2012
Biyernes, Nobyembre 16, 2012
Love Chronicles #3
We humans are good at burning bridges. It's easy. It's addictive. Pride and arrogance can easily consume us like drugs. When our friends hurt us, we tend to push them away and we always have that desire to escape the relationship. Worst, burning bridges is easy as 1-2-3.
I have burned a lot of bridges myself. I escaped some relationships which are actually the good sorts. I became a selfish, self-righteous, envious monster. Sad, but true. We can all relate to this (I hope I am not alone, haha).
On the other hand, building those burnt bridges again is never easy. It takes a lot of courage and humility to apologize, to say 'hello' and to offer a hand. No matter how hard it could be, let us build them anyway. Relationship matters. Love matters.
***
Filipinos love for the underdogs.
We all heard of the "Amalayer" incident--the furious girl talking and shouting at a lady guard on duty. Filipinos reacted and they were really affected on the issue. It was a trending topic in twitter, facebook and youtube. A crowd of netizens became "haters" of the girl and they have posted harsh words against her and her manners.
After a while, another group of netizens came to the rescue and told them to stop cyber bullying the girl. They told the other group not to judge the actions of the girl because we haven't really seen the whole picture or the story behind it.
One thing I admire about Filipinos is their love for underdogs. Aside from the telenovela culture in which we all love the "bida" and hate the "kontrabida", its innate in us to make "pagtanggol the inaapi". In this case, both the lady guard and the furious girl are standing on the same ground.
Whether you are part of the first crowd or part of the second, a Filipino will never stop caring for others. And that's part of being human. :)
I have burned a lot of bridges myself. I escaped some relationships which are actually the good sorts. I became a selfish, self-righteous, envious monster. Sad, but true. We can all relate to this (I hope I am not alone, haha).
On the other hand, building those burnt bridges again is never easy. It takes a lot of courage and humility to apologize, to say 'hello' and to offer a hand. No matter how hard it could be, let us build them anyway. Relationship matters. Love matters.
***
Filipinos love for the underdogs.
We all heard of the "Amalayer" incident--the furious girl talking and shouting at a lady guard on duty. Filipinos reacted and they were really affected on the issue. It was a trending topic in twitter, facebook and youtube. A crowd of netizens became "haters" of the girl and they have posted harsh words against her and her manners.
After a while, another group of netizens came to the rescue and told them to stop cyber bullying the girl. They told the other group not to judge the actions of the girl because we haven't really seen the whole picture or the story behind it.
One thing I admire about Filipinos is their love for underdogs. Aside from the telenovela culture in which we all love the "bida" and hate the "kontrabida", its innate in us to make "pagtanggol the inaapi". In this case, both the lady guard and the furious girl are standing on the same ground.
Whether you are part of the first crowd or part of the second, a Filipino will never stop caring for others. And that's part of being human. :)
Lunes, Nobyembre 12, 2012
Huwebes, Nobyembre 8, 2012
Behind Glasses
Here are my shots today, November 8, 2012, using my New Lomo Cam. They were all taken behind a glass--the windshield, a car window, a store window, etc.
One of my personal favorites.
By the way, I lied... I don't have a lomo cam, but I can make things look awesome haha.
Makati City, Philippines.
Makati City, Philippines
The Busy Streets of Makati.
One of my personal favorites. 
This was taken at a Christmas Decor store in Trinoma.
I love the design of the wall.
I am in love with the glass effect. Really Lomo-ish.
Can you see the face of Obama? Congratulations to him.
Rainy day in North Edsa.
By the way, I lied... I don't have a lomo cam, but I can make things look awesome haha.
Martes, Nobyembre 6, 2012
November 6 Field Work
The following pictures were taken during our fieldwork last November 6. We invited some participants for our trade fair this month and other activities.
This picture reminds me of Cambodian art. A bas relief taken from Mary Ann's Handicraft.
Baphomet-ish fiber glass sculpture. Scary, yes!
I think this is the real thing. Brgy. Gandus, Mexico, Pampanga.
Mount Arayat, Arayat, Pampanga
The very heroic dog. Magalang, Pampanga (infront of DAR office)
The mirror house. Ellen's House of Frames and Crafts Showroom. Apalit, Pampanga.
A picture of my shoe inside the mirror show room. Apalit, Pampanga.
Lantern Tour
Christmas is nearing and the Lantern Makers of the province are already "bombarded" with orders from all over the world. It's a good sign. It's their season. It's their time to shine. Get it? Shine? LOL.
Anyway, the task of our department is to provide them with new designs which will be useful after Christmas Season. It's pretty cool, you see. Unfortunately, I cannot post the prototypes developed by these manufacturers. It's a no-no! It's a deadly sin. Haha. Kidding aside, we want to respect the privacy of these manufacturers.
Instead, I will post the behind-the-scenes of one of the factories we are assisting, Rolrens Lanterns and General Merchandise.
Getting up close and being able to see how these lanterns are made is an honor. I am excited this Christmas.
Love Chronicles #2
Our college teachers usually open the class with a prayer. But theology teachers are different. They open the class with a prayer, but they also close it with a prayer. Kailangan yun siguro because of the mere fact that they are theology teachers and its a Catholic School.
One afternoon, my Theo teacher closed the prayer with the shortest prayer I heard. After the usual sign of the cross, she prayed: "God of Love, teach us to love, Amen", then the sign of the cross again. It was short. I don't understand it. I know that length is irrelevant but I grew up in a lengthy-praying family. My mom is a prayerful woman. She prays for ages. So, the 7 word prayer is new to me. She got our attention because of the shortness of the prayer, but not really what the prayer means. I was 15.
After 8 years, the memory of that Theology class and the prayer came back to me. I realized that its not just a 7 word prayer but its a 7 word prayer that we all need to pray. Loving is freakin' hard. It's never an easy task. It's a sacrifice. Gaya nga ng Love Chronicles #1, one takes to be awkward to love. We are given the power to love, but we are incapable to express it for we think that its just an idea. Love hurts. Love entails hardship. Love is sacrifice. We need God to help us love. His love is the perfect example of love.
God of love, teach us to love.
Amen.
One afternoon, my Theo teacher closed the prayer with the shortest prayer I heard. After the usual sign of the cross, she prayed: "God of Love, teach us to love, Amen", then the sign of the cross again. It was short. I don't understand it. I know that length is irrelevant but I grew up in a lengthy-praying family. My mom is a prayerful woman. She prays for ages. So, the 7 word prayer is new to me. She got our attention because of the shortness of the prayer, but not really what the prayer means. I was 15.
After 8 years, the memory of that Theology class and the prayer came back to me. I realized that its not just a 7 word prayer but its a 7 word prayer that we all need to pray. Loving is freakin' hard. It's never an easy task. It's a sacrifice. Gaya nga ng Love Chronicles #1, one takes to be awkward to love. We are given the power to love, but we are incapable to express it for we think that its just an idea. Love hurts. Love entails hardship. Love is sacrifice. We need God to help us love. His love is the perfect example of love.
God of love, teach us to love.
Amen.
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