... gma: would christ celebrate christmas? ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

gma's jessica soho sent sophia balod to interview me about christmas.

personally, i think that christ is not the "reason for the season" but merely an excuse we use for celebrating one of the most materialistic, commercialized, hedonistic, bacchanalian, and therefore the most unchristian of holidays which we call "christmas."  

to lessen the guilt we have for secularizing an originally spiritual event, we insert christ into the picture simply by attending a one-hour mass (or its equivalent service) on christmas day.  while one hour of the christmas season gets dedicated to jesus, the rest of the season is focused on buying gifts, decorating our homes and offices, preparing food for the noche buena, and practicing the oppa gangnam dance number (or other numbers) for the christmas parties.

how did we ever get to focus on the three magis who gave jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, while totally ignoring joseph and mary who, through their actions, were really teaching us lessons on how to trust in God, how to persevere despite hardship, and how to be responsible in parenthood. of course, that newborn child- jesus, was also teaching us the meaning of humility, as he gave up divine status to be borne in human form under austere conditions.

by the manner in which we celebrate the holiday season, we should more aptly rename "christmas" as "santamas." 

i think that we should take time off from the raucous "celebration" of christmas to reflect deeply on the birth story of christ and and nurture the spiritual values which christ and his earthly parents displayed during the difficult circumstances of his birth.  

Christ was placed in a manger (animal trough) 

as his makeshift crib. 

have a spiritual christmas CHRISTmuch everyone!

... gma: christmas break-ups and ang SMP (samahan ng malamig ang pasko) ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

gma's news to go sent ralph rivas to interview me on christmas break-ups.  

personally, i think it's cruel to initiate a break-up with your partner during the christmas season.  needless to say, it's a tragic experience for your ex who gets to commemorate the break-up every christmas, until the time comes when she/he's able to move on.    

if you're the one who's been broken up with, here are some tips to help you survive: 

http://randydellosa.blogspot.com/2011/04/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-relationship.html

even good things (such as relationships) sometimes come to an end.  and if the end happens to strike during the christmas season, nothing at this time is going quell the agony you feel, but perhaps you can use your bonding time with family and friends and a little bit of spiritual recharging to help you bear the pain.  

... the prestigious batch of new life coaches for 2012 ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippine society of life coaches)

along with the learning and the sharing, what fun we all had!

the ad that you responded to

lectures

video analyses

art work

butterfly effect meditation

oppa gangnam dance instruction

group shots

guided imagery

handwriting analysis

filipino indigenous rituals and music

fellowship over lunch

practice sessions

and more practice sessions ...

marketing strategies

ms. agnes agbayani

ms. agnes agbayani and may castaneda

randy dellosa

congratulations everyone for a job well done!  see you very soon in 2013!

... the light seekers society and mang benny gantioqui ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

being a practitioner of pranic psychotherapy (pranic healing for emotional/ psychiatric disorders) for 2 years now, i have always been intrigued by choa kok sui, the Filipino founder of modern pranic healing and arhatic yoga.  unfortunately, he passed away 5 years ago so i never got the chance to meet him.  

choa kok sui

thus, when i got word that mang benny gantioqui, the illustrator of choa kok sui's books held regular discussion groups at forest grill restaurant on sundays, i was thrilled and eager to attend.  I didn't want to pass up the opportunity of learning from mang benny, who is founder of the light seekers society.  

mang benny gantioqui

mang benny is the sort of grandpa everyone would want to have- friendly and warm, knowledgeable and wise, philosophical yet grounded.  before meeting him, i thought that he would be a woo woo type of guru, but to my surprise, he really was very down-to-earth and pragmatic even as he talked about esoteric stuff.  in fact, listening to mang benny was like being with a grandpa who also happened to be a philosophy professor.  i thoroughly enjoyed his stories culled from his own personal experiences.  for instance, he amusingly shared how back in his teenage days, he would correspond with girls through snail mail and patience was indeed a virtue he developed because waiting time for each other's mail took forever.  

mang benny's is a "stream-of-consciousness" type of discourse wherein he simply shares whatever comes to mind.  attendees can interrupt him anytime to share their own ideas or to ask him questions.  if there were two ideas from mang benny that made an impact on me, they were (1) the reminder that the struggles and hardships we have in life are meant as aids to facilitate our spiritual evolution, and (2) we can only know the "Unknown" by approaching it freshly- with a "beginner's mind" so to speak, wherein we let go of our preconceived notions and biases.  

thanks for the christmas gift aurea (javen)!

thank you mang benny and the light seekers society! it was an insightful morning and being with all of you felt like i just attended a warm family reunion! God bless all of you richly! 

... Levi's asks you: Have you done enough? ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

i never considered the mall to be a place for philosophical rumination.  but as i passed by the Levi's outlet at SM North's The Block, my eye caught this poem written on their window:

Go on, read aloud:

When all is said and done,

Have you done or said enough?

Have you just gone along for the ride,

or have you steered destiny's hot rod?

When you leave this world,

Did you make it any better

than it was when you arrived?

All you need is all you've got:

Your wits and the clothes on your back.

Your epitaph is yours to earn;

Your legacy is yours to make.

Now is our time.

Go Forth.

amidst the ongoing pandemonium created by a midnight madness sale, this Levi's poem placed me in a contemplative mood, making me reflect on my earthly existence.  well, just because Levi's bared some "soul" through the poem on their window, i rewarded the shop by buying a shirt without a wee least bit of hesitation. hehe- here's what i got:

thanks Levi's!  because of your poem, here i am wearing another piece of clothing on my back as i go forth in making my legacy!  but seriously folks, i hope the simple poem makes you reflect on your own life as much as it's made me. 
    

... medical qigong therapy in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila)

as a pioneer and practitioner of integrative psychiatry in the philippines, i am always looking for ways to bring deep and lasting healing to my clients.  one of my favorite healing modalities is medical qigong therapy. in my clinical practice, i commonly use medical qigong therapy for people suffering from stress, depression, or anxiety.

medical qigong exercises

yours truly, a certified medical qigong practitioner

at your service!

medical qigong therapy is an ancient Chinese form of energy healing.  it is one of the four healing interventions used in traditional chinese medicine (TCM), the other three being acupuncture, herbal medicine, and massage. the effectivity of medical qigong therapy is strongly backed up by a lot of scientific research.  medical qigong therapy operates on the principle that illness is caused by imbalances and blockages in the flow of bio-energy (or "qi") in our body.  

here i am receiving acupuncture on my forehead 

from my medical colleague dr. ruel.

during a session of medical qigong therapy, the client lies down on a massage table and simply relaxes.  the medical qigong therapist moves around the table while making hands movements above the clients' body which have the purpose of removing energy blockages and correcting energy imbalances. during the session, clients commonly experience body sensations such as heat, tingling, magnetism, lightness, and a sense of well-being. after the session, clients are taught some qigong exercises and dietary instructions to reinforce the healing process.  

medical qigong therapy session

in my own life, i try to do my qigong exercises daily.  by doing so, i rid myself of toxic energies and fill myself up with God's vibrant and positive energy.  i strongly suggest that you try medical qigong therapy yourself and make it a part of your regular self-care program.

here i am teaching the methods of traditional chinese medicine (TCM) to workshop participants:

qigong therapy

qigong movements

hand and foot acupuncture

clinical massage

... pheonyx roldan smith's merkabah method light activation workshop ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

i'd like to start off this article with how the workshop ended.  well, let me just say it ended "intensely!"- and i mean that in a positive and rejuvenating kind of way.  with more than 20 participants lying side by side in a small room, we were like sardines packed tightly in a can. 

pheonyx roldan smith

pheonyx roldan smith, our facilitator, then told us to huff and puff continuously for a good 30 minutes or so.  i suppose it was some sort of shamanic breathwork we were instructed to do and reactions to the experience were varied.  some experienced epiphanies; others experienced catharsis; a number of us fell asleep in the midst of the process; and many experienced the tingling, vibration, and light-headed "high" that accompanies hyper-oxygenation. 

organizer jay batoon

organizer krysta gabriel

for me, the breathwork experience was very reminiscent of the "rebirthing" sessions i did with body-mind guru maraya chebat way back in the 1990s and the "holotropic breathing" group sessions i experienced in the early 2000s.  the style of rapid breathing is the same as kundalini yoga's "breath of fire" which i started practicing 3 years ago.  for all of us workshop participants, the breathwork activity was a shared experience which generated a lot of positive and vibrant energy, lifting our spirits and bonding us together.

i'd like to end this article with what i enjoyed the most at the start of the workshop-  it was the sacred objects which participants brought and displayed in the middle of the room.  it was not only an artistic sight to see them all bunched up together, but i also reflected on how these objects were meaningful representations of our personal and collective connection with the Divine.  

thanks pheonyx!  thanks krysta and jay!  i wish that many more people would get to know about your workshop and attend it.  for those of you who are interested, here's more information about this energetically-uplifting workshop:

The MerKaBah Method: Light Body Activation Workshop integrates sound, light, energy, movement, and transformative breathwork in order to activate the inner light body, clear mental and emotional obstacles, and open up the path of understanding to your life purpose…

MerKaBah is an ancient Hebrew term that, means “Chariot” and in ancient Egyptian translates into:
Mer= energy/light
Ka= spirit/heart
Bah= soul/body

The MerKaBah is a literal electromagnetic energy field that exists around you and every living thing throughout the Universe. When the MerKaBah (star tetrahedron) is activated within and around you, it results in a deeper connection with your Higher Self, offers unparalleled energetic protection, and will strengthen every aspect of life. When the MerKaBah is activated, the individual also establishes a deeper connection to the collective lightbody of the planet (feminine energy) penetrated by the unconditional Love of the Universe (masculine energy). It is, in essence, an interdimensional vehicle, otherwise known as “The Vehicle of Light”. Simply put, the MerKaBah is the divine lightbody (vehicle) used to connect with the higher realms, clear karmic obstacles, and connect you more fully to your higher purpose on the planet at this time.

This FULL DAY workshop will walk you through the mental, emotional and physical understandings and practice of opening up and activating your lightbody with the intention of releasing old karmic energies and connecting with higher self and your life purpose. Learn more about applying the power of intention and allowing and release mental obstacles that are getting in your way in the creation process. Release old energies of the pain body. Understand how energy flows into, through and out of all things. Connect with your Higher Self and others in a unique and most profound way. Meet others on the path and be supported in that knowing as you step more fully into a community of Light. Welcome to the journey. Are you ready to move to the next level?

About Pheonyx Roldan Smith:  Pheonyx facilitates a combination of many healing modalities melding ancient forms with modern understandings of self-healing and personal, mental, emotional and spiritual growth.  For the past several years, he has offered private instruction and group classes and workshops around the U.S. including qigong, intuitive yoga, shamanic breathwork, guided meditations, energetic bodywork and healing touch, and personal life coaching at various healing arts and learning centers in Georgia, North Carolina, and New York.  Pheonyx is currently travelling around the world volunteering and documenting his journey while continuing to teach both privately and publicly along the way as the opportunities arise and Spirit presents.  You can leanr more about the overall mission of his project at www.theOCGproject.com/ocg365.

For inquiries, you can contact Jake (Jay) Batoon via facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jake.batoon) or by phone/text at 0915-486-3382.