Regina Dee on forgiving and finding inner peace

It isn’t often that you come across a spiritual teacher — someone who has spent over 30 years helping others transform their lives, a pioneer in the field of spiritual enlightenment, a spiritual consultant who helps you get in touch with your inner consciousness through counseling, meditation, and workshops designed to make a better you and thereby change your world.

Regina Dee is one such person. Warm and soft-spoken, Regina radiates kindness and humility that belie a privileged upbringing. Born in Shanghai in the late 1920s and raised in various parts of China, she is the daughter of a distinguished political figure known in media and political circles as O.K. Yui, once a mayor of Shanghai, and a prime minister who served in the government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek in the Republic of China.

Because of the turmoil in China, Regina and her sisters were sent to the United States to pursue their studies. There, Regina obtained a liberal arts degree at Oberlin College and a BS degree from New York University. She came to the Philippines to visit a sister who lived here, but eventually stayed on to start a family and a new life.

In the Philippines, she became a director of a major commercial bank for 20 years, as well as several other corporations. Despite the prosperity, there was, for Regina, a burning curiosity about life, human existence and God. “Ever since I was young I started asking questions about life and about God. When I came to the Philippines a number of years ago, I learned about the New Thought Movements and it made a lot of sense to me. And I started searching and seeking further and deeper, and that’s why I started this movement called the Inner Peace Foundation. It used to be called the Inner Peace Movement that was founded by Dr. Francisco Coll in the United States. The movement I founded is really based on that.” Dr. Coll is known as one of the world’s foremost spiritual leaders and one who was active in the field of spiritual research for over 45 years. He was the inspiration, director and leading light of the Inner Peace Movement, its chapters and programs around the world.  Regina is a certified Americana Leadership College Spiritual Consultant, having studied under Dr. Coll.

As to her movement and its purpose, Regina says, “It’s good to ask ourselves why we are here, what’s the purpose of life. I think planet earth is a school of learning and all of humanity is divided into groups depending on the state of learning. So a lot of people say ‘Join this group, it is better than the other,’ others say ‘Another group is the best.’ But I think we shouldn’t judge or criticize because it really depends on the consciousness of the individual.  Here at the foundation, we may be in the same class but are at different levels of understanding. We give each one the freedom to learn. What we are about is trying to learn more about God, because God is infinite and if we can only understand how to relate to God, we would all have a pretty good life.”

Regina says that living in the Philippines has given her the freedom to grow. “The Philippines is a very spiritual country. It was here that I learned more about the spiritual world — about God, about the meaning of life. What I am sharing is here at the foundation are universal principles,” she says.

Through the years, Regina has written books on Christian virtues, distilling words and thoughts from the Bible, as well as the insights of wise men and spiritual thinkers into handy keepsakes, calendars and books of essays that serve as guides and companions for those on a spiritual path or those seeking to reach the better part of themselves. On Dec. 9, 2012, she launched her latest book In the Company of Miracles. The first half of the book talks about the experiences of those who led troubled lives and how they moved on to find peace and contentment by being in tune with the teachings of Christ and practicing positive thinking as a way of life, thus attracting the good to come into their lives. These people come from all walks of life — lawyers, businessmen, expatriate wives, socialites, professionals or others who have risen from a life of deprivation to a life of prosperity.   All of them have come to the Inner Peace Foundation because they needed a shot in the arm, they wanted to start anew, and they needed help to be able to do so.  The second half of the book dwells on the words and principles from the Bible and how we can apply them to our lives.

But what would Regina say to skeptics or non-believers? “Each religion has its good points and we can learn from each one. I myself was sent to a Catholic school so I absorbed Catholic teachings, but I also subscribe to the beliefs of many other faiths. The Inner Peace Foundation is not really for people who insist on one religion but for those who really want to have a better life and who are free to practice what they want to practice.  How to gain inner peace? Everyone wants peace but that has to come from the inner self, it isn’t a matter of searching out there but looking deeper within ourselves.”

Meditation is a manner of looking within, says Regina. Yet she points out that “there are as many ways of meditation as there are people, there is no right way or wrong way.  It is a matter of making an inner connection with the higher self and learning to listen,” she says. “Many times, God is talking to us but we don’t hear it because we are so busy talking to God. We have to be quiet sometimes and go into the silence and listen. Sometimes we get our messages from God directly, from guardian angels, from books or newspapers. We just have to keep an open mind and be aware that God is everywhere.”  

 The Inner Peace Foundation was founded in 1981 and meets every week at Regina’s home. There are usually 25 people in attendance. Discussions are held on selected readings, with time allocated for meditation. Participants learn techniques on unfolding the higher consciousness, properly releasing and forgiving, relaxing and recharging, protecting themselves from negative forces, and finding a purpose and direction in life. Before learning these techniques, participants are encouraged to attend a basic training program to understand the foundation’s background and what it aims to achieve. Then, there’s a one-on–one session to get a profile of your “spiritual energy” so as to have better control of one’s energy and live life more effectively. After that you can choose to attend the weekly study groups. Participants can also experience, “rebirthing” or the breath-of-life experience, an ancient art form developed to release tension, improve the health, rejuvenate the cells, and to elevate the consciousness.

With no advertising and virtually no media coverage, the Inner Peace Foundation has managed to thrive for over three decades. People usually come by word of mouth.  Like many of the case studies cited in Regina’s book, people initially come for a private session and then attend the weekly group sessions. Every 10 years, one group moves on and another takes its place.

I ask Regina, what of the less fortunate people who do not have access to education and much less to the spiritual principles she advocates, what can they do to better their lives? “They can improve their lives by just being honest, kind and understanding. You don’t need to go to school for that.  If they would only realize that even if no one sees them their lives will be affected by their thoughts and what they do,” she explains. And so I ask her if the laws of cause and effect are really at work? “There is no getting away from that law,” says Regina. “If we can only remember this law we would create a better world for ourselves and for everyone. We reap what we sow. Sometimes when we sow seeds they don’t sprout right away, the harvesting comes later. Lucky if it comes back sooner; when it’s delayed, it’s compound interest upon compound interest. All we have to do is change one person — myself — and my world will change. How do I attract the good things into my life if other people don’t know about the good that I do? It’s a matter of emotions — we are energy emotions, so be aware of the emotions we express and automatically circumstances change — life is that simple,” says Regina.

 It’s a Thursday afternoon when I come back to see Regina in her home. In the living room, rows of chairs are arranged in front of a large projection screen. As this is the appointed day for the weekly group meeting, the participants will watch a DVD, and then have a discussion moderated by Regina before proceeding to another room for meditation. She hands me a list of topics and DVD showings that have been selected for viewing.  Among the topics are: “The Wisdom of the Ages,” “The Gift of Mindfulness,” “The Power of Forgiveness,” “Spirituality and Aging” and “The Way to Inner Peace.” Such subjects have a wide-ranging appeal. And one way or another, many of us have pondered on such things, at least at some point in our lives.

 There are times when Regina thinks it may be time to call it a day. “It’s more than 30 years now, I may be getting old and it may be time to retire. Yet there are always new people coming and how they come we don’t know since we don’t advertise. That’s why I think a higher force is orchestrating this.” These days, Regina allows more people to lead and facilitate the discussion. Before we part ways, she tells me, “life is simple but we complicate it. We have been programmed to live our lives to meet the expectations of others. We have to tune into the right channel. We have to learn to be aware of when God is talking to us.”

Regina Dee is a voice of sobriety and good sense in an age of hype. It’s comforting to know that there are those who can make a difference in the lives of others and do so in a quiet way. There is indeed a consciousness out there that returns to us what we give to life.    

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For more information on the Inner Peace Foundation, please call 816-0101.