Inner wellness
October 16, 2005 | 12:00am
On a recent talk show, a guest said that the call for inner change as the basis for societal change is too abstract. That reaction, echoed by many, speaks of a very real dissonance between our inner and outer life. That we cannot make the connection between our inner condition and its material manifestations explains a lot about the state of the nation. This is exactly how we can do things at work we teach our children not to do at home. It’s how we can justify corruption and say it’s part of doing business in the Philippines, as if our work-related decisions and deeds don’t affect our children in a deep, if unconscious, manner. This is how bishops can accept tainted money and say no big deal. Too many still think the way this television guest does: inner change is another tree-hugging activity only aging hippies and their brainwashed offspring espouse. Real people don’t need that. Hearing Mass regularly, taking the family to build homes for the poor, plus supporting a charitable institution here and there, more than compensates for any transgression.
An inner life doesn’t mean a religious life. I have encountered too many religious people who hear Mass regularly but exhibit no sign of inner light. I see it even in priests whose masses no longer feel sacred, where reverence is lost because of a too-casual attitude at the altar. They do everything outwardly with ease, mouthing oft-repeated incantations as they squeeze their eyes shut in simulated fervor, yet they bring very little of the truly spiritual to the sacrament. The inner condition of the priest and the members of his community have everything to do with the quality of the Mass. They are the vessel through which the Spirit enters. Bringing your body and wandering mind to church just doesn’t cut it if your soul and spirit are dead.
On the other hand, I have encountered people who hold so much good inside them. They carry compassion and love in such potent quantities. I don’t mean this in a dramatic or emotional way. I met a doctor from South Africa who spoke to me with such kindness in her eyes that I found myself nearly weeping, even if we were simply beginning a discussion on my health. Here was a woman who I felt had lived a full life and had met and accepted her failures and successes with such grace that she exuded uprightness – not self-righteousness born out of a hard, intellectual concept of good and evil – but an enveloping warmth brought forth by a conscious cultivation of soul and spirit. Her inner condition spilled forth into her work and manifested even in simple conversation. In this instance, it seemed the inner and outer were one. The inner life of that doctor made it possible for me to experience a form of healing on a different level. It wasn’t something she did to me. It was who she was. It was a fullness of soul that met, engaged and accepted me. These are the very people whose lives inspire others to uprightness.
I long for a world that considers the need for inner change elementary, not abstract. How can you change a nation when too many of its citizens, with all sense of righteousness, consider bribery, cheating, stealing, and lying acceptable and continue to support a questionable leader simply because "there’s no one else"? How can you raise moral children if you’re using stolen money to raise them? How do you teach them not to lie when you do just that to hold on to something that isn’t even yours? If you were a leader with a healthy, authentic inner life, you would know how to serve. If you were a parent who works hard to live with integrity despite your imperfections, your children will imbibe its value. Inner change is not abstract. It is necessary. It is the clearest path to societal change.
Gandhi nailed it on the head: be the change you want to see in the world. It is the only way. Stop lying. Vow not to take part in any form of corruption. Seek the truth. Speak it. Live it. Begin a spiritual practice simply by committing to living every day honestly, uprightly, and heeding the call of your higher ideals. Stop gossiping about people you don’t even know. Stop gossiping, period. Pay attention to the quality of your thoughts, the words you utter. That process alone is life-altering. These are the changes that ripple far and wide, enough to change a country thought by thought, deed by deed.
You can’t make institutional changes by tweaking the law and changing structures if the people who run and inhabit them remain inwardly the same. Nothing will hold. Outer change must be met with inner resolve and commitment. What is inside every person naturally defines the world around him. If there is true harmony between the inner and outer life of a person, integrity and freedom are born. But even a leader who embodies that is not enough to change a nation. The collective will of individuals who commit themselves to be the change will do it. Imagine the empowerment. If we had that, no corrupt leader would be able to damage our country. They wouldn’t survive in office. If we had that, government would be almost superfluous. We wouldn’t look to them for progress. We wouldn’t rely on them to make things work. They’re so bad at it anyway.
What we are inside determines the kind of society we create. We can be overwhelmed and say, "I am just one person. What can one person do?" but we can look at it again and say, "Wow, I can do that? What one person can do!" It sounds corny but it’s powerful and I know people, myself included, who have made just that shift. Our lives have changed. Of course, we’re finding ourselves with more and more work but we’re glad for it. There is a lot to do, after all.
I am reminded of Oprah Winfrey’s series on random acts of kindness. She drove through a tollbooth and proceeded to pay for herself and the person behind her. Every person who received the gift repeated that act for the person behind them, with the added bonus of gratitude and excitement. If that seemingly little gesture caused such a swell of kindness, can you imagine the kind of impact a permanent and conscious soul change has on the world? You won’t see it tomorrow but you can be sure it’s happening. If you recognize that power within yourself, wouldn’t you begin it today?
If you’re starting on a blank slate and are looking for prodding or inspiration, perhaps focusing on your inner wellness could be the first step. From Nov. 12-13, Bantay Kalikasan is sponsoring The Family Wellness Festival at the La Mesa Ecopark. The theme of the festival is "Live, Love, Learn." For P150, anyone can attend any of a number of lectures by speakers such as Gina Lopez on "Awakening the Third Eye and Effects on Daily Life," Agnes Prieto on "Grief Work," Fr. Efren Borromeo on "Spiritual Healing," Sr. Sonia Punzalan on "Zen Meditation," and many more. There will be crafts for children, sports for teens, and a wellness bazaar featuring health-oriented concessionaires. The Healthy Cuisine Festival will offer organic and healthy choices including Gourmet Café, Delifresh Organic Restaurant and others. The Healing Touch Corner features shiatsu and shibashi massage, reflexology, Reiki, etc., available for a minimal fee. Workshops on chakra energy, "clear the clutter," music and movement, landscaping, etc. are included in the entrance fee as well. There will be a jazz festival and a neo-ethnic concert. Proceeds will go to the La Mesa Watershed. For inquiries, call 415-2272 local 4551, 925-5555, 925-3333 and 430-4051, or e-mail kalikasan@abs-cbn.com for the full list of activities and other details.
This is a good place to begin to pay attention to that neglected wellspring of power inside you that is crying for change. Such gatherings and initiatives offer the possibility for growth and create positive currents that change the world one person at a time, one day at a time. Every effort counts. Be there.
Inner change is abstract until you decide to begin it. It will be a long, painful but rewarding journey. If you want to change the country, start with yourself. We have a lot of catching up to do.
I can be reached at magisip@yahoo.com. No junk or attachments please. Log on to www.truthforce.info for Pag-Asa updates. Masses continue at 6 p.m. nightly at the People Power Monument. See you there.
An inner life doesn’t mean a religious life. I have encountered too many religious people who hear Mass regularly but exhibit no sign of inner light. I see it even in priests whose masses no longer feel sacred, where reverence is lost because of a too-casual attitude at the altar. They do everything outwardly with ease, mouthing oft-repeated incantations as they squeeze their eyes shut in simulated fervor, yet they bring very little of the truly spiritual to the sacrament. The inner condition of the priest and the members of his community have everything to do with the quality of the Mass. They are the vessel through which the Spirit enters. Bringing your body and wandering mind to church just doesn’t cut it if your soul and spirit are dead.
On the other hand, I have encountered people who hold so much good inside them. They carry compassion and love in such potent quantities. I don’t mean this in a dramatic or emotional way. I met a doctor from South Africa who spoke to me with such kindness in her eyes that I found myself nearly weeping, even if we were simply beginning a discussion on my health. Here was a woman who I felt had lived a full life and had met and accepted her failures and successes with such grace that she exuded uprightness – not self-righteousness born out of a hard, intellectual concept of good and evil – but an enveloping warmth brought forth by a conscious cultivation of soul and spirit. Her inner condition spilled forth into her work and manifested even in simple conversation. In this instance, it seemed the inner and outer were one. The inner life of that doctor made it possible for me to experience a form of healing on a different level. It wasn’t something she did to me. It was who she was. It was a fullness of soul that met, engaged and accepted me. These are the very people whose lives inspire others to uprightness.
I long for a world that considers the need for inner change elementary, not abstract. How can you change a nation when too many of its citizens, with all sense of righteousness, consider bribery, cheating, stealing, and lying acceptable and continue to support a questionable leader simply because "there’s no one else"? How can you raise moral children if you’re using stolen money to raise them? How do you teach them not to lie when you do just that to hold on to something that isn’t even yours? If you were a leader with a healthy, authentic inner life, you would know how to serve. If you were a parent who works hard to live with integrity despite your imperfections, your children will imbibe its value. Inner change is not abstract. It is necessary. It is the clearest path to societal change.
Gandhi nailed it on the head: be the change you want to see in the world. It is the only way. Stop lying. Vow not to take part in any form of corruption. Seek the truth. Speak it. Live it. Begin a spiritual practice simply by committing to living every day honestly, uprightly, and heeding the call of your higher ideals. Stop gossiping about people you don’t even know. Stop gossiping, period. Pay attention to the quality of your thoughts, the words you utter. That process alone is life-altering. These are the changes that ripple far and wide, enough to change a country thought by thought, deed by deed.
You can’t make institutional changes by tweaking the law and changing structures if the people who run and inhabit them remain inwardly the same. Nothing will hold. Outer change must be met with inner resolve and commitment. What is inside every person naturally defines the world around him. If there is true harmony between the inner and outer life of a person, integrity and freedom are born. But even a leader who embodies that is not enough to change a nation. The collective will of individuals who commit themselves to be the change will do it. Imagine the empowerment. If we had that, no corrupt leader would be able to damage our country. They wouldn’t survive in office. If we had that, government would be almost superfluous. We wouldn’t look to them for progress. We wouldn’t rely on them to make things work. They’re so bad at it anyway.
What we are inside determines the kind of society we create. We can be overwhelmed and say, "I am just one person. What can one person do?" but we can look at it again and say, "Wow, I can do that? What one person can do!" It sounds corny but it’s powerful and I know people, myself included, who have made just that shift. Our lives have changed. Of course, we’re finding ourselves with more and more work but we’re glad for it. There is a lot to do, after all.
I am reminded of Oprah Winfrey’s series on random acts of kindness. She drove through a tollbooth and proceeded to pay for herself and the person behind her. Every person who received the gift repeated that act for the person behind them, with the added bonus of gratitude and excitement. If that seemingly little gesture caused such a swell of kindness, can you imagine the kind of impact a permanent and conscious soul change has on the world? You won’t see it tomorrow but you can be sure it’s happening. If you recognize that power within yourself, wouldn’t you begin it today?
If you’re starting on a blank slate and are looking for prodding or inspiration, perhaps focusing on your inner wellness could be the first step. From Nov. 12-13, Bantay Kalikasan is sponsoring The Family Wellness Festival at the La Mesa Ecopark. The theme of the festival is "Live, Love, Learn." For P150, anyone can attend any of a number of lectures by speakers such as Gina Lopez on "Awakening the Third Eye and Effects on Daily Life," Agnes Prieto on "Grief Work," Fr. Efren Borromeo on "Spiritual Healing," Sr. Sonia Punzalan on "Zen Meditation," and many more. There will be crafts for children, sports for teens, and a wellness bazaar featuring health-oriented concessionaires. The Healthy Cuisine Festival will offer organic and healthy choices including Gourmet Café, Delifresh Organic Restaurant and others. The Healing Touch Corner features shiatsu and shibashi massage, reflexology, Reiki, etc., available for a minimal fee. Workshops on chakra energy, "clear the clutter," music and movement, landscaping, etc. are included in the entrance fee as well. There will be a jazz festival and a neo-ethnic concert. Proceeds will go to the La Mesa Watershed. For inquiries, call 415-2272 local 4551, 925-5555, 925-3333 and 430-4051, or e-mail kalikasan@abs-cbn.com for the full list of activities and other details.
This is a good place to begin to pay attention to that neglected wellspring of power inside you that is crying for change. Such gatherings and initiatives offer the possibility for growth and create positive currents that change the world one person at a time, one day at a time. Every effort counts. Be there.
Inner change is abstract until you decide to begin it. It will be a long, painful but rewarding journey. If you want to change the country, start with yourself. We have a lot of catching up to do.
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