When I turned 35, I had a strong impulse to celebrate my birthday. I don’t like celebrating my birthday at all so this wasn’t like me. I would rather burrow into a decadent cake and disappear on that day but already two years before, something inside me – at first nebulous and vague – had begun percolating and was resonating louder and louder by the day. On my 35th year, three weeks after 9/11, I stood in my garden and spoke out the statement of my spirit that had blossomed at last, fully formed: Live authentically from this day forward. I encouraged everyone around me to express their intentions as well: One for themselves and one for the world. Then we lit candles, lowered them into bowls strewn with floating flowers, and carefully released them into the pool. From that day on, my life changed. Anything that was not true to the marrow fell away.
I asked and I received. I had no idea how it would manifest; didn’t know how deeply it would take root. When my life started unraveling to accommodate only truth and authenticity, I had to honor it. It isn’t easy but I know it is the only way to live. I learned firsthand how every thought, word and deed impact my life and the lives of others. My thoughts and words brought me my life today. There is no doubt about it.
There’s a name for this phenomenon that we sometimes refer to as "self-fulfilling prophecy." Scientists have confirmed it as reality and dubbed it the Pygmalion Effect after Pygmalion, a figure in Greek mythology, who asked the goddess of love to turn the female statue he created into a living woman. The goddess granted it and the statue – now human – became his queen. The Pygmalion Effect isn’t superstition. It is reality. It speaks of a power inherent in each of us: The power to envision and shape our lives.
Don’t think for one moment that your thoughts don’t penetrate into the earth or weave into the ether. Dr. Willis W. Harman, president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences said, "Our thoughts create our reality. The stronger meaning of such a statement is that we are indeed co-creators of our world and that ultimate cause is to be sought not in the physical, but in consciousness." Noetic Science is the science of consciousness and the world of inner experience. It is a realm of science that is now recognized and applied in the world.
Our thoughts create our reality. Each time I ponder that, I am inspired by the possibilities. Everything I do matters. Everything I think matters. And if it does, it is my responsibility to think and act consciously and positively. It is my obligation, as a human being, to create a better world. The recent tsunami brings this home. In my heart, I know this is one of the lessons that earth-changing event has brought to light: We all create this world together. The earth is not an empty vessel that is finished, created solely to service man. It is a symbiotic relationship. And we haven’t lived up to our end of the bargain. But we can and must.
The Karangalan Conference and Festival is less than one week away. I have been writing about it for several weeks now. It is an event that gives us just the kind of opportunity to create a better country through a positive vision of the Philippines. Every week, more and more people have called me to say, "That’s the same vision I bring to my work. Can I help? How can I participate?" Every week I am enlivened by this wave of positive energy that I know is changing the country. We cannot wait for government to come through for us. So many of us are doing good work and if we can channel our thoughts into a vision of a better country, we will create it.
The three-day event (Jan. 21-23) will feature plenary lectures given by individuals globally known for their work, including Emily Abrera, chair, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Nicanor Perlas, UNEP Global 500, TOFIL and 2003 Right Livelihood or Alternative Nobel Prize awardee, Gerry Ablaza, 2004 Asia Business Leader Award and Asia CEO Choice of the Year, Tony Tan Caktiong, 2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year, Naga Mayor Jess Robredo, 2000 Ramon Magsaysay awardee, and several others, on topics such as "Building A Visionary Philippines," " The Role of Business in Nation-Building," and "Constructing the City of the Future." There will be performances by recognized Filipino artistic groups, such as the Loboc Children’s Choir, the Apo Hiking Society, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, to name a few, as well as workshops by groups and individuals who have achieved national recognition. Not to be forgotten are the ordinary people doing extraordinary work.
Schools, artists and designers, such as Tess Pasola, Tony Gonzales, Claude Tayag, Impy Pilapil and more, plus cause-oriented groups, such as the Organizational Change Consultants International (OCCI), are portraying their vision of the Philippines symbolized in "tree form." The diverse expression of trees will be grouped together to form an installation entitled "The Forest of Vision." In the book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, Bruno Bettelheim elaborates on the symbolism of forests: "Since ancient times the near impenetrable forest in which we get lost has symbolized the dark, hidden, near-impenetrable world of our unconscious. If we have lost the framework which gave structure to our past life and must now find our way to become ourselves, and have entered this wilderness with an as yet undeveloped personality, when we succeed in finding our way out we shall emerge with a much more highly developed humanity." Karangalan’s "Forest of Vision" will convey the message of how individuality, diversity of individual strength and talent is important as the ideal community it seeks to create.
There will be exhibits and workshops to see and experience. Log on to www.truthforce.info for complete program and ticket information. The conference will be a glimmer of what our country can be. It’s time to love our country not just for what it is but for everything it can become.
Let me end with this famous quote from W.H. Murray’s "The Scottish Himalayan Expedition" and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. These are words that always give me inspiration, hope and courage:
"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’"
Be careful what you ask for indeed! Do it consciously. Commit to it. Prepare to receive it. Live it. Now that you know how powerful your thoughts are, create your vision of a New Philippines. Begin today.
For more information on the Karangalan Conference and Festival, log on to www.truthforce.info or call Nicanor Perlas at 687-1309, 687-1312, 687-7481 or 687-7482. Tune in to ANC on Jan. 20 at 9 p.m. for Private Conversations with Boy Abunda. Tune in to TV Patrol as well. Tickets are available through Ticket World, National Book Store outlets and Tower Records. Or e-mail me at magisip@yahoo.com. See you.