... holistic healing class in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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people deserve more than just a quick and cold prescription from their doctors. holistic healing deals with the "total person." This means that the healer should address not only the patient's presenting problem, but all the other factors which cause, trigger, influence, compound, or aggravate the problem. for healers to be truly holistic, they must also consider the physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, energetic, and relational aspects of the patient's problem because all these aspects interact among each other.
.one of my joys as a holistic healer and integrative medicine practitioner is that i get to teach and train people in the science and art of what i do. in this way, i create extensions of myself and therefore get to help thousands of patients i would never reach if i worked simply on my own.
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... intuitive healing dance in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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well, guess who the universe conspired me to meet after so many years-- none other than that amusingly flamboyant, animated, spontaneous, artistic, right-brained creature of a man named bong dela torre.
.since i incorporate movement as a therapeutic tool in my psychotherapy sessions, i was excited to discover that bong was developing a healing modality which he calls "intuitive healing dance." bong allowed me to experience a bit of what his intuitive healing dance was like and all i can say is that it was fun, liberating, cathartic, and energizing. well, he better come up with his workshops soon because i'd certainly like to be the first to enlist!
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... life coach training program in the philippines ... (counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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the philippine society of life coaches (PSLC) defines life coaching as "a field of personal consultancy which, through the competent and ethical use of counseling, facilitation, mentoring, training, and mediation skills, specializes in helping clients (1) manage their common life problems, (2) learn life skills for self-development, and (3) experience total-person growth and well-being."
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here are pictures of the nice folks who participated in the 2010 PSLC life coach certification program:

... once in a blue moon ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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isn't it amazing to have captured a blue moon above me! now this is such a rare phenomenon - a blue moon appearing on new year's eve! in fact, reports say that it'll be in 2029 that it's going to happen again.
.for those who still don't know, a "blue moon" is simply a second full moon occuring within a month. an astrologer friend of mine says that the blue moon is a symbol of holiness, meditation, and prayer. i like this astrology article which explains that a blue moon occurs at "... A time when the veil between heaven and earth is thin and the ability to communicate with the gods and goddess is very powerful." i'm not too much a fan of astrology but i hope that people take on the blue moon's symbolic meaning for themselves, making this whole year a time for reflection, soul-searching, and making life meaningful by connecting and communicating with the Divine.
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... doing art therapy with UST guidance counselors ... (philippines, life coach, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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the guidance counseling department of UST invited me to prepare them for a project that they're going to do for the elderly. i facilitated an art therapy activity to help the counselors become aware of their attitudes, feelings, and issues about aging and death.

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here i am with the beauteous guidance counselors of UST.
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and here's dr. lucy bance, head of the UST guidance department, awarding me with a certificate of appreciation.
.overall, it turned out to be a meaningful experience for all. i just hope it translates well into their service for the elderly.

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... quantum touch in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist psychiatrist)

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Nancy Ho, a well-known clinical hypnotherapist and life skills trainer from Singapore, visited the Philippines to conduct a Quantum Touch training workshop. In the workshop, the participants worked on each other and got an experience of how amazing and effective Quantum Touch really is. As a bonus, I even got a free session from the master herself!
.Quantum Touch is a method of natural healing that works with the Life Force Energy (LFE) of the body to promote optimal wellness. Quantum-Touch is known to produce extraordinary results such as:
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• acceleration of the healing process
• movement of bones into correct alignment
• reduction of inflammation due to injury
  
• healing of panic attacks and other emotional and psychological conditions
• induction of sleep or deep meditation
• distant healing

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... lalaking mujer ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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macoy infante, segment producer of QTV True Stories, passed by my clinic to interview me regarding their "lalaking mujer" segment.
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to give you a brief background of their story, it's about an aggressively homophobic man, a family man with 2 children, who formerly a worked as a construction worker, house boy, and kargador. surprisingly, he took on a job as a comedian in drag at a comedy bar. nevertheless, despite his effeminate behavior onstage and his gay sexual encounters offstage, he insists that he's straight and still lusts after women.
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in the interview, I basically told them that while sexual orientation (sense of one's maleness or femaleness) remains pretty stable throughout life, our preferences for that which sexually gratifies us may change or diversify over time. after all sex is pleasurable wherever its from (e.g. humans, reptiles, arachnids, fruits, etc.- hehe!) as long as the mind isn't picky.
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... they've dreamt; they've believed; can they survive? ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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now that it's over, they realize that the reality tv show they participated in was all but a fantasy. .
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i wonder who among them are going to make it big in the real world?

. . sam pinto

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rica

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melason

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melason

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hermes

. cathy

. tom mott

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... tuning fork therapy in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan of the Philippine General Hospital sent over this distinguished group of students from his Traditional Chinese Medicine Class.
.It was a pleasure teaching them about the use of tuning forks to bring about holistic healing. For those who are queasy about acupuncture needles, vibrating tuning forks can serve as a gentle and non-invasive alternative for the stimulation of acupuncture points.
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Tuning fork therapy is known to relieve stress, provide a deep state of relaxation, improve mental clarity, bring the nervous system into balance, and integrate the left and right brains. The sound vibration from tuning forks can also enhance the immune system, lower blood pressure, and stimulate the body to heal itself.
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... on inter-facial relationships ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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the pretty lady cai subijano, associate editor of mega magazine, interviewed me on the phenomenon of inter-facial relationships.
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certainly, you've come across romantic or married couples whom you thought were mismatched because one partner looked better in appearance than the other. now that's an inter-facial relationship for you. if a hunky guy for instance were seen walking hand-in-hand with an "exotic"-looking girl, people automatically think that the babe's a skanky "ho." on the other hand, if a hot babe is seen with a shrek-faced man, people are quick to presume that it's probably the guy's dough that got the girl.
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well, i don't want to pre-empt cai's article. i'll post excerpts on this blog once her article's out. til then, may God bless all relationships, inter-facial or otherwise.
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... relationship counseling in the philippines ...

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woman today magazine's opening salvo for the year was held at the trinoma activity center. entitled "hataw sa 2010!" the event featured cooking demonstrations, entertainment numbers, and a fashion show.
. ms. rhia diomampo-grana, managing editor of woman today, invited me to talk on the following relationship issues: (1) reigniting passion in a stale relationship and (2) common causes of infidelity and how to avoid it.
. the hosts of the event, former mutya ng pilipinas zara aldana, singer-model lance raymundo, and nestle enlivened the show by asking me questions based on their own love lives.
. as soon as i got down from the stage, people approached me by the droves, wanting me to counsel them on their relationship problems. after sharing to them some words of wisdom, their faces light up and eagerly ask for pictures to be taken.
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... qigong healing workshop with medical studes ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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this morning, i facilitated a mini-workshop with a group of u.p medical students.

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we started off with therapeutic drumming to the tune of earth and water rhythms.

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i taught them how to be sensitive to the body's qi energy.

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they learned how to emit healing qi energy using hand postures.

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we "beat the mat" to rid the liver of anger energy.

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and the mini-workshop was capped off with "dry crying" to rid the lungs of grief energy.

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mini-workshop but jam-packed with activities. hope they had fun as they learned!

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... zen roshi sr. sonia punzalan and the bahay dalangin zen community ... (philippines, life coach, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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after a long hiatus due to work commitments, i am finally back doing zazen (seated meditation) at the zendo. i arrived early to make sure that i get to have dokusan (private interview) with sr. sonia shuni-an punzalan who is the zen roshi (master) of the bahay dalangin zen community. Aside from being a zen roshi, she is also a catholic religious sister of the cenacle.

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what is zen all about?

the zen poems below give you a taste:

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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everything just as it is,

as it is,

as is.

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flowers in bloom.

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nothing to add.

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- robert aitken, roshi -

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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if you understand zen,

things are just as they are.

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if you do not understand zen,

things are just as they are.

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learning zen is a phenomenon

of gold and dung.

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before you understand it, it's like gold;

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after you understand it, it's like dung.

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... article on marlene aguilar and jason ivler ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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She ‘Displays Exemplary Unconditional Love’ But ...

by Nikko Dizon

Philippine Daily Inquirer (excerpt)

First Posted 02:01:00 01/22/2010

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MANILA, Philippines—Marlene Aguilar may take a thousand bullets for her son, as she has declared, but psychologists say a mother should also find a way for her child to take responsibility for his actions.

. An objective view of Aguilar’s actions would show that “to some degree, her actions were an exemplary, commendable display of unconditional love,” according to Randy Dellosa, a clinical psychologist and psychiatrist.

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“There was a willingness to sacrifice herself and to protect her loved one,” Dellosa said, noting the “enmeshed relationship” between the mother and son.

“[Sadly however], there was also a high tolerance for inappropriate behavior, and even an act of covering up for it... It’s something like a negatively dependent relationship. They need each other... where the mother is the rescuer of her son who needs rescuing,” he said.

. “A mother’s love should be limitless,” Dellosa explained. “But it doesn’t mean condoning the child’s mistakes because helping or getting help for the child, imposing disciplinary actions on him, is also a sign of limitless love.”

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