A Wonderful World Read online

A Wonderful World

  Timeless Essays

  I looked at the pile of books for a while, going into a heightened state of awareness. I then reached out and allowed the right ones to find me. I just knew that I was then ready for whatever will come. I found three books that I feel perfectly symbolizes who I am and what I have become at this stage of my spiritual journey. They are about angels, healing and ancient secrets of wisdom. ~ Diary, March 2015.

  I was alone, seeing glimpses of empty gray walls. I can't even see the floor: everything else was black. I knew that someone had died there though there was no paranormal activity. I can feel his psychic imprint if not his presence. I was looking for the woman who owns the house but she was nowhere to be found. I wanted to tell her that her husband's father died in his sleep, lying in bed with his legs crossed like he's sitting in an armchair. ~ Dream Journal, October 2014.

  I meditate. I do yoga. I believe in reincarnation. I talk to plants. I can be telepathic sometimes. I bond instantly with decent and broadminded people. On the other hand, back-fighters and power-trippers hate me. I'm happy even in solitude. I don't feel the need for other people's approval to validate my worth. I measure a person only by his character, never his resume. I know a good man when I see one. I can let go and move on. I'm not afraid to say goodbye. I'm not afraid to be different. ~ Facebook Story, January 2013.

  One of the many reasons why I'm happy is because I have developed the attitude of gratitude; I'm now more focused on the positive side of things. On top of which, I am by nature an optimist, so the result is a mindset which makes me realize that everything that happens brings some good, even if the situation seems like a curse. I still don't have the life I want, but I know I will get there, so I can still smile and chillax. As long as I maintain my self-respect, and never lose my freedom and privacy, I'll be fine. ~ Blog Story, December 2012.

  The Sunken Garden at the sprawling Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines, like Ayala Triangle park in Makati, is special to me. What plays in my mind at those places is "I’ll Remember" by Madonna, theme from With Honors, a touching movie set in Harvard. I won’t tell you why, only it’s about peeks at the bright sparks on the verities of existence, sheltered by the arms of nature, under an infinite sky that will outlast our sojourn through eclectic lifetimes. ~ Blog Story May 2011.

  The salvation of his immortal soul thus fell on the greatest orator of the land. Webster faced the most fearsome jury only nightmares can conceive–the gathering of the darkest characters in the history of the land of the free. Freedom, argued Webster, is man’s birthright. It is what gives life its deepest significance. The ideal of freedom summons the noble side of humanity. His summation reminds us all of who we are and what we are here for. ~ Blog Story, July 2010.

  As long as we retain our gung-ho sense of humor, we'll be fine. After all, for a country that has sired the likes of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Jose Rizal and Carlos P. Romulo, we, the people, deserve more than a choice between the lesser of two evils. Discipline begins at the top, as every management guru would agree, and we deserve a government we can respect, trust and fight for. ~ Op-Ed Letter, May 2009.

  A Wonderful World

  By Jonathan Aquino

  Copyright March 2015 Jonathan Aquino

  Chapter I. 2015

  Trust The Universe

  Forever Young

  Feel God Within

  I Will Love The One I Love Until I Die

  What Prosperity Consciousness Really Is

  Crystal Clear With Brian Tracy

  What's Odd About Thomas?

  "It's A Small World, My Friend!"

  Chapter II. 2014

  Being Charming and Having Fun

  Seeing The Miracles of Nature

  A Shroud of Darkness

  Rituals

  "I Still Have That Diamond."

  The First Time I Tried Pyrokinesis

  Leaving The Herd

  Every Day Wisdom From My Spiritual Mentor

  Journey Through A Haunted Road

  City of Immortals

  Parkour vs Vampire

  Missing My Lighthouse

  Meeting My Fiance

  Sensing Mutants

  Looking For Alvin

  Dancing Like Dobson

  Dreaming Bill Clinton

  Chapter III. 2013

  The Legend of Hilot

  This Is True Freedom

  My Simply Six

  My Ideal Day

  Songs From The Sountrack of My Life

  The Freedom To Wear Jeans and Sneakers

  Charm, Like Happiness, Is A Choice

  Time Traveling To The Hippie Sixties

  What Would You Do If You Were Taken Hostage?

  Witness To Senior Citizen Act Violations

  Being Young Again At The Luneta

  Incredible Musical Artistry

  A Tale of Two Saints

  Chapter IV. 2012

  Embracing The Real Me

  When Mike Arroyo Was A Kid

  Why Do People Join Fraternities?

  The Slaying of The Spirit of Baguio

  NLP: Something That Really Works

  The Root of A Dysfunctional Justice System

  I Love Rock & Roll

  Why The Azkals Are Being Kicked

  Corona Impeachment: The First Three Days

  Bourne In the Philippines

  Who Is Most Welcome To Your Home?

  Sorrow At Yuletide

  Me and the Athenians

  Are You Using All Your Powers?

  The Best Lawyer Jokes In The World

  The Inside Story of The Jabidah Massacre

  Chapter V. 2011

  Trees of Gold

  In The Arms of Nature

  Superstar Stray Cat

  A Friendship To Last A Lifetime

  What I Did When I Woke Up This Morning

  My First Day Alone

  In Perfect Harmony

  Your Signature Can Save Palawan

  A Stormy and Thankless Job

  Why I Wear Sunglasses At Night

  My First Story After The World Ended

  Should Marcos Be Buried At Heroes Cemetery?

  Why I Support The RH Bill

  The Planet's Most Vicious Animal

  You Have To Earn R-E-S-P-E-C-T

  New Year Message

  Merry Christmas Message

  My General Trias Magical Mystery Tour

  Which Is Good and Which Is Bad?

  A Person’s True Measure

  Where Compassion Is A Crime

  Glorious Nightrise

  Falcon In The Millennium

  Nitpicker Nation

  Barbarians At The Gate

  Taxi Chancing

  Have We Forgotten Our Dying Veterans?

  Why I Live The Way I Do

  When Friends Make You Smile

  What The (Polar-Shifting) World Needs Now

  What If You're Face To Face With Your Murderer?

  What Attracts You To The Opposite (Or Same) Sex?

  2Rivers Celebrates The New Golden Age of Filipino Movies

  The Story of Huggybear

  Chapter VI. 2010

  The First Miracle of 2010

  Birth Control Is Different From Abortion

  What's So Funny About Helping Students?

  You Want To Legalize Jueteng?

  In Solidarity With Torture Victims

  I Hope Nobody Rides Those "Floating Coffins" Again

  The First Miracle of 2010

  Chapter VII. 2009

  Do You Have Peace Of Mind?

  Profile Of A Hostage-Taker

  Why The Private Sector Can Be The Country's Secret Weapon

  Why The World Needs People Power

  Why I Don't Believe The Wo
rld Will End In 2012

  Does God REALLY Exist?

  Mary, Do You Take Jesus To Be Your Lawfully-Wedded Husband?

  The Moral Responsibility Of The International Community

  The Separation Of Church and State Ends Where Loyalty To The Country Begins

  How Congress Could Save Our OFWs

  What If You Can"t Read?

  The World's Perfect Cone Can Be A Cornucopia of Destruction

  How Do You Judge A Person?

  What Kind Of Idiot Would Legalize Abortion?

  Trav'ling Boy Quo Vadis?

  You Don't Talk About The Death Penalty During New Year

  The Great Greenbelt Rolex Robbery: An Inside Job?

  What Are We Filipinos Like?

  What Is Wrong With Us?

  Our Dark Side

  Why I Believe There Is Still Hope For The Philippines

  Face To Face With A Freak Storm and Flashfloods

  You Ain't Heavy, You're My Brother

  Chapter I. 2015

  Trust The Universe

  Diary, March 8, 2015 Sunday

  One of the many life-changing lessons I learned in my quest for spiritual awakening is to just allow the infinite intelligence of the universe to lead me to understanding and, hopefully, enlightenment. It means letting go of any resistance to my vibrational alignment to the Source of All That Is.

  I saw this as clear as day earlier this week. I went to a store that sells second-hand books. I looked at the pile of books for a while, going into a heightened state of awareness. I then reached out and allowed the right ones to find me. I just knew that I was then ready for whatever will come. I found three books that I feel perfectly symbolizes who I am and what I have become at this stage of my spiritual journey. They are about angels, healing and ancient secrets of wisdom.

  I was moved to the depths of my entire being as I read Are We Listening To Angels? by Robert Grant. I have always believed in angels, not only because of my many inexplicable experiences of everyday miracles, but also because I know in my heart they are here and have never left us.

  I love the true story of a man named David. He has been diagnosed with a terminal disease, too weak to even get up. Then one day, his wife Doreen found him in the hospital chapel. How did he get there? There was a teenage boy with him. The boy looked at Doreen and she was filled with reverence and peace. She knew David was telling the truth when he told her the boy was his guardian angel. David was transformed. He wasn't afraid of death anymore. He became a comforting presence to the other patients. But it was his time to go. David died physically but his spirit has been healed.

  What sets this apart from other angel books is the extensive use of Cayce materials on angels. Edgar Cayce was a devout Christian who also had the ability to access the universal memory of the Akashic Records by going into a deep meditative state. He was not a spirit medium like Jane Roberts whose body became the instrument for the non-physical entity Seth. He didn't actually heal in the way Jesus did. He would just tell people what to do to find the cure. Most of the cases were medically hopeless but the nearly perfect success rate continue to defy science even today.

  Edgar Cayce has changed my life in so many ways because of the knowledge he had shared about the true nature of the soul and the true nature of God. One of the greatest inspirations in my life is the way he had selflessly dedicated his life to help heal thousands and continues to touch the lives of millions even after his death in 1945. These psychic sessions, called "readings," eventually came to include questions on reincarnation and the divinity of Jesus- which the readings both affirm as true.

  My belief in reincarnation and Atlantis is perfectly shown in a reading in 1938. I got it from Edgar Cayce On Atlantis by his son Edgar Evans Cayce which I just finished reading for the second time two days ago and which I found in that same book store last month. It was pure serendipity. "The entity was in Atlantis when there was the second period of disturbance, which would be some 22,000 years before the periods of Egyptian activity covered by the exodus, or it was some 28,000 before Christ, see?" said Cayce while in a state that looks like a trance but is not.

  The "entity" is the person for whom the reading is given and the "exodus" refers to the migration of the Atlanteans to other places including Egypt and Peru before their continent sank. The Atlanteans were highly advanced in technology and mental powers. But some of them have been seduced by the Dark Side and thus began the epic battle of the Jedi-like Children of The Law of One against the Sith-like Children of Belial.

  I was humbled by the wisdom of the universe when she helped me find The Four Agreements by the Toltec shaman Don Miguel Ruiz. A part of me rejoices because I'm already living these principles. Yet I know I still have a long way to go in my journey. "

  Be impeccable in your words" is the First Agreement you need to make with yourself if you want to achieve personal freedom. Words have power, says Don Miguel.

  It just so happens that was talking to somebody yesterday who was asking me for my opinion on a rumor about a mutual friend.

  "I'm just not interested in rumors," I told him, after a contemplative pause. "I really tend to stay away from gossip."

  "So you don't think it's true?" he persisted.

  "That is precisely the point I'm trying to make," I smiled. "It doesn't matter to me if it's true or not. It doesn't even matter that there's a rumor in the first place."

  "Don't take anything personally," is the Second Agreement. I'm living my life the way I want it, in part because I have learned long ago that there will be always those who will cricitize what you say or do, or what you don't say or don't do, no matter what happens. So I made a decision to live a life that is meaningful to me and not waste it by trying to please others who will always try to find fault anyway.

  We can create our own personal heaven in the middle of hell, says Don Miguel.

  This is also one of the most empowering lessons I learned from the maverick metaphysical author Dick Sutphen whose Radical Spirituality is one of the books I will take with me wherever I go for the rest of my life. One unforgettable event in his seminars is how he helped a young woman with a very critical husband to take control of her life. He taught her to avoid taking things personally. Dick explained that the husband will criticize his wife no matter who he is married to. That is the husband's way of thinking. It had nothing to do with her. She may not be able to change him but she has learned to take the first step to personal freedom.

  I have a lot of stories about this. One time I was in an elevator with a colleague who kept insisting I should upgrade to one of those fashionable touch-screen phone models. I told him I don't need it. I saw no reason to explain that I do all my writing on it and the wide flip screen and good old reliable keypad is perfect for my needs.

  "A lot of people are laughing at my phone," I smiled. "But you have to remember that their judgment is not a reflection of my character."

  I think he got the implied message.

  Then there was the time when I was in the gym where another colleague kept insisting I should do less cardio and stretching and lift heavier weights, and that I "should" (his favorite world) work out for no less than three hours. I said I wasn't bulking up but just toning my muscles and shaping my frame. My ideal body is that of a gymnast, not a wrestler.

  "You just love to criticize don't you?" I smiled sweetly.

  That shut him up.

  I'm beginning to feel a great interest in healing. It is not because of illness of any kind. I see it as a paradox because I'm in the best of health; I go to the gym everyday and even donated blood to the Red Cross last month. I would like to be able to heal people. I also want to meet some of the fascinating individuals I came across in Mystics and Healers by the actress Sandy Johnson. They are already changing my life with the new insights I gained.

  Vianna Stibal is at the top my list. I believe we are all a part of God and we are of the same divine essence so we are all capable of performing mira
cles. This was also confirmed by Cayce. But after seeing how Vianna command God as an equal, and I believe we all are in the highest sense, it had made me realize that we are much more valued by God than what we were led to believe. She gave a new strength to my faith and made me see my divine connection with my Creator in a new and a more brilliant light.

  I would like to take my own pilgrimage to different healers so they can help me release the healing energy that I believe is within us all. I would find the Hawaiian kahuna "Auntie" Margaret Machado, the aquatic healer and Olympic champion Peter Maxwell, the vibrational healer and voice coach Warren Barrigian and the Australian shaman and Tashkent-winning documentary filmmaker Gerry "Bundji" Bostock who I somehow feel is a kindred spirit. In fact, I like to meet all the other healers in Sandy's book: Sandra Ingerman, Katie Englehart, Howard Wills, Virginia Ellen, Milton Trager, Gary Brownlee, Ruth Ziemba and the unnamed Chinese healer in Denver with his cat Lora.

  One of the healers in Sandy's memoirs is operating on patients today despite dying exactly a century ago. The German army surgeon Adolf Fritz died in 1915 while tending a wounded soldier at the height of the First World War. Since then has been using spirit mediums in Brazil. His first instrument was the celebrated healer Jose Arigo in 1947. Then he inhabited the bodies of Edvaldo Wilde in 1975 and Edson Quieroz in 1980. The medium for Dr. Fritz as the book was being written is Rubens Faria from São Paolo.

  This is where it gets spooky. Arigo, Wilde and Quieroz all died tragically like Fritz himself. Faria knows this and has accepted the inevitable. The power to heal carries a moral responsibility. It seems, from the sequence of violent deaths that began in battle field one hundred years ago, there is also a great price to pay.

  The enchanted land of Brazil is the home of another, perhaps even more celebrated, healer. Joao Teixeira da Faria is known throughout the world as Joao de Deus, "John of God." He is also a medium but he channels a staggering thirty four spirits led by Saint Ignatius Loyola. The Casa de San Inacio in the village of Abadiana, 103 kilometers from the capital Brasilia, is where people from around the world would gather to find healing, to see miracles, and to be in a state of grace.