Abraham-Hicks

Here's something a little way out there that I advocate. Wanna learn some ringing wisdoms, read their work. Keep your focus on their content and care not where it comes from.

Truth has an uncanny way of touching your soul if you would be open and just listen with every cell of your being.

Here's an example of their work:-

"It is your rules that make unlawful beings. You would get along better if you would just trust each other to treat each other appropriately, but you don't. So you keep making laws — until you make criminals of everyone." ~ Abraham

You can find them online here

Their words have carried me through many a dark night - and I give thanks.

Namaste!

The things that Singaporeans do...

Hey y'all, am back in Singapore for 3 nights of back-to-back business events and actually have some time out this time to myself so I thought I'll plug in this post, on a topic I've been meaning to share with you guys for awhile now.

When i get on the road, I'm the sort of traveler that drives most tour guides nuts, since I like to stop, stare, shoot (with a camera that is...), and generally just get a good feel of where ever I happen to be at that very moment. I much prefer to roam around alone when I travel because of this. Whizzing in & out of a city is not my preferred mode of traveling - I'm indulgent like that.

Anyway, due to this habit of mine, I have the tendency to notice things that sometimes strike me as absolutely strange & fascinating. Every time I hit a new city, I get into this child-like-observer mode and I see things from a completely different point of view cos it's such a rush to be in constant awe of the world! This happens to me even when I return home to my city after a long bout on the road. I love it & highly advocate that everyone roams as much as they can to expand their minds and viewpoints.

So here's what I wanted to share about Singapore. I know, i know...for most of us Malaysians & Indonesians, Singapore is just across the border and it's not exactly the most exotic destination for us. But I challenge you the next time you come here to notice something different and unique about the place & its people. AND you can't steal my observations cos I'm gonna share them here as proof. ;)

1) Queuing at ATM machines...
I mean, NOBODY does it like they do here in Singapore. Imagine, the machine, the person standing at it pressing away on the buttons and about 4-5 feet AWAY to the diagonal right, the line starts. It's so far away, it looks like they are queuing for....i dunno what. Until you realize it only makes sense that it's the ATM because there's nothing else around to queue for, and of course, all the clues lie on the ground. Look for the neatly painted yellow lines. They are everywhere. PS: Understand that in Malaysia, queuing is a foreign concept, especially at the ATMs. The dude behind you is right behind you, if not next to you.

2) The national language...
...is Malay. Do you know anywhere else in the world where the national language is one that the majority of people don't speak nor understand? Yup, only in Singapore. But they do memorize the national anthem in that language, although they don't know what it means. It's so adorable. LOL.

3) The speed limit...
Everyone drives BELOW it. Need I say more?

4) The irrational fear of Malaysian drivers...
More than once, Singaporeans in Singapore have declined my kind offers to send them home in my car (i drive here a lot). And those brave enough to take up my offer (so as not to offend me), kinda look like they desperately want another seat belt on top of the one they so hurriedly strap on the moment their bum lands on my car seats. Hey guys, I'm not offended, just thoroughly amused. And, my driving is awesome as far as I'm concerned. :)

5) Carded everything!
Everything is on a cash card of some sort here. I find that kinda cool. Malaysia is so haphazard in comparison - there we have a choice of 2-3 payment methods, here in Singapore, there's no choice. Get. The. Card. >,<

6) The causeway immigration toilets...
They escort you. No kidding. Why? Same reason they don't have dustbins there, so you don't plant a bomb. I got that from one of the officers on duty when I asked so I solemnly swear, I didn't make that up. Nice service though, cos the officers are usually pretty hot too. Men in uniform, what can I say? ;)

7) The way they cross the road...
Omaigawd. It's always in an "L" shape. Malaysians like me have this uncontrollable urge to just go directly across (aka jaywalk) to exactly where i want to cross to without crossing first to the opposite, then to the opposite of that opposite, etc..but usually my associates will have me on a leash when they walk me in town....so.

8) The walking...
Everywhere is "nearby" to the Singaporeans. 4-inch heels not recommended, especially with luggage. Sigh.

9) The red light district hotels...
Ok, don't ask me how I know. But they have a hotel chain here that gives you a membership if you're a Singaporean/ a PR that saves you SG$10 per night. But if you're not a Singaporean, you'll have to pay extra SG$20 per night and you can't get a membership. My question is if I stay in tiny Singapore, why would I want a membership to a local chain of hotels in the seediest part of town? Oh.

10) The airport...
I found out that the locals here actually take the MRT (monorail train) to Changi airport to just hang out, meet friends, study, and do grocery shopping. Cos it's cheap to get there, there's free aircon and wifi, plus they have everything you need. No, we don't do this in Malaysia - do you guys do this anywhere else in the world?!

And lastly, the people. The people of Singapore is the saving grace of this toy town. They are sweet, sweet, SWEET!!! They are so courteous and hospitable, it's very hard to tell whether you're imposing on them or not. So here's a clue - don't let them overdo on the hospitality, they really live to please and I feel sometimes don't know how to say no, so as the guest - say no for them sometimes ok. With a hug, so they know that it's a sweet, "I-appreciate-you" kinda no.

I've left out the usual stuff that people already know like the fines (yes it's true) and the anti-chewing gum rule (brilliant I think) and all the kiasu jokes. Old stuff. Wanted to check-in with something new for me.

So, here's the challenge, go observe your town or where ever you are with new eyes and absorb the wonder of how interestingly eccentric and diverse humanity is, even in the hometown kampung you grew up in; I promise there's stuff you never noticed before. Everyday, all the time, there's always something fresh that you can capture if you would just slow it down, and look around in wonder. It's fascinating.

If you do blog about it, post your blog link in the comment section below cos I would love to check it out too! :)

The world rocks & it will rock your every moment if you'd just let it!

Have a blessed day! MUAH! XOXO

PS: This post is dedicated to all my beloved Singaporean friends & associates. Feed me more & I'll spread more propaganda for you a'ite? :) Love you guys. xoxo

Long forgotten passions :)

Been away for a bit, busy the whole month with a new relationship, a major event and life in general. Anyway, took up a challenge to get back on stage to perform for this major event - if you didn't know I grew up as a performance artist, dance & song basically, from 4 years old to 18 years old and then shoved my passions on the back-burner because "life got in the way."

Forgot how much I enjoyed performing until this impromptu session last weekend at a talent show during my company's convention. Was completely unprepared, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly anyhow. One thing I did notice was that I have lost all self-consciousness - something that used to hold me back when I was younger and doing a routine/ act that was unfamiliar.

There's a message there for me. I'm glad that I've grown, and ironically it was a reversal to the time when I was a young child - where ego-based self-consciousness was completely not present in my being; and when I did my best work as an artist...because I was just enjoying the groove of indulging in the artform.

I've found that to be true in all activities I take on now, from my communication with others, to my work, and especially as a student of life. It is impossible to learn & do my best in anything when my energy is all wrapped up about how I am coming across/ being perceived by others.

Letting go & going loco - being purely uninhibited and trusting with others, is such a joyful and liberating experience; EVERYONE needs to be ok in their own skin - and the most ironic thing is when you're completely ok with you, everyone else is too - there is no other way.

So BE, live, love, dance & sing! It's a beautiful world, and you're an integral part of all that beauty.

Do tell me what brings YOU joy, thank you for shining!!!!

Namaste!

PS: I went back to ballet class on a whim today - after 14 years of being away, amazed I still have the technique & didn't die halfway through. Ballet is one of the most unforgiving dance disciplines - I so missed it! AND I started recording some song covers & loading them onto my youtube channel. Latest one is called "Lullaby Of Birdland" here

Hope you enjoy it! :)

XOXO

The Definition Of Success

When days are dark, and hopes faltering - read. Be reminded, be refreshed. Give thanks for the great souls that walked this Earth before us, leaving trails of glimmering hope in words penned, on a day such as this, rolling back from the depths of time - coming to you today, to lift you up.

**********************

To laugh often & much,
To win the respect of intelligent people,
And the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics,
And endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch or;
A redeemed social condition,
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived,
This is to have succeeded.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Directed by Love

In honor of a new day & a new journey; I want to share these timelessly beautiful words by the legendary artist, poet & writer ~ Kahlil Gibran.

May your days be drenched in divine love, and remember ~ "...think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course."

So, let go, and let love.

Namaste. xoxo

****************

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself
But if your love and must needs have desires,
Let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook
That sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
And give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer
For the beloved in your heart
And a song of praise upon your lips.

~ Kahlil Gibran

****************

Love & Expectations

I haven’t seriously dated or had any major romantic connections in about 2 years. Friends were trying to set me up with anything with a pulse and my family was hinting that I was pushing my biological clock. And if you’re wondering what that meant, so am I. :)

Anyway, hanging out only with ex-es, gay best friends, girlfriends, and the people I do business with is probably not helping my romantic prospects. So one of my ex-es pointed out one day in extreme frustration – that while I was always counseling those who come to me for advice to risk their hearts openly, I was not walking my talk. I thought about that seriously, but that was not really the case.

You see, the last serious relationship I had was with a guy I love deeply as a friend and while we were together, we had a difficult and traumatic relationship - one that was destined to push us both to another level of growth, and grow we did. So after exiting a level like that – it was difficult to enter into anything else that lack that depth.

Now, I wasn't doing a complete Rapunzel in the last 2 years though, I did date a couple of times but they pretty much fizzled out quickly and somewhere along the way, I fell in love with someone that was everything I could ever ask for in a partner – but this ideal was just that, because this person was simply just unavailable.

But then I learned how to love someone, without expectations, and without the need of being loved back. And in that beautiful experience, some deep and profound wisdom was unveiled to my heart on the topic of love.

Love. Is there a more divine emotion than this? Yet in manifestation, we find it bastardized as a word by so many, devoid of its essence and a washed-out counterfeit of the original.

While I was deeply entrenched in my relationships, I was one of love’s worst offenders. So after being alone for 2 years, I saw with more clarity how many of the things that couples inflict on each other cannot be further away from the true meaning of what love is.

So this is the one of the things I learned: I messed up many a relationship because of my expectations of my partner, and who I needed them to be. But true love has no expectations. You love that person exactly for who he/ she is and require them to change nothing to deserve your love.

You love them just because loving them gives you immense joy.

Blame games just don’t exist when you really love someone, and the experience of Namaste is real – when you honor the divine in someone else, seeing the best in them and appreciating their beauty without needing to fix them.

My relationships, all of them, really messed up because I was always coming from how my partners were never good enough, never doing enough for me, and never being there for me; etc. Truth is, it has nothing to do with them – but everything to do with me. I was projecting all my issues on my partners, and using, yes USING them to justify my own lack of success & progress in my life.

This is actually how it was: "I" was never good enough for me, "I" never did enough for me, and "I" was never there for myself. And because of all that, I hated myself. That's the painful truth. But because I can't face that I was the one victimizing myself this way, I projected it onto the person most intimate with me.

It was sick. I was sick.

I used my partners as my punching bags and my back doors. And at the bottom of it all, I treated them poorly because I hated who I was being. And maybe, I hated them too in some bizarre way because I don't see how they could actually love me.

What I hated most was recognizing at some core level in my being that I was too chicken shit to fix myself – so I fixated all the issues on something outside of myself. It’s a denial game and one that is both unfair, dishonorable and leads to nothingness, personal devastation, and continuous destruction of my own self-esteem.

How many relationships right now are constructed to exist this way? A vicious cycle of tearing each other down. Don't confuse this for love.

That is not love. That is fear.

So if you’re in a position where you’re making someone a victim of your issues, recognize that and take courage to make some personal changes because there’s no other over it than to grow through it. You owe it to yourself.

And if you’re in the position where you’re a victim of it, know that you are choosing that if you are tolerating it, and recognize that you are not coming from love either. Because if you are not loving yourself, how then are you able to love anyone else?

I learned that everyone gets something out of each other when we choose to be in relationships – and whether you are playing the victim or the oppressor; what you’re settling to get, is really what you think you deserve.

It was such a big issue I saw in myself and such a shock when I recognized it, that I took time out to re-acquaint and love myself first because I couldn’t bear to hurt another person again being the way I was being.

It's such an elusive poison in so many relationships, and people get together to hurt each other, because they forget that love and happiness is not something you get from another person – it’s something you GIVE to another person.

But you need to give it to the most important person in your life first before being able to receive it from anyone else – and that is to give it to you.

XOXO

Live Anyway!

Another amazing anonymous poem I found...Thank you, whoever that wrote this! :)
If you happen to know who wrote this & what its title is, please let me know, would appreciate it - thanks! :)

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be
shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may
be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have
and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

- Anonymous