Dynamics of Prayer for Solving Problems

1. Pray and meditate about it. Use the prayers of the Manifestations as they have the greatest power. Then remain in the silence of contemplation for a few minutes.
2. Arrive at a decision and hold this. This decision is usually born during contemplation. It may seem almost impossible of accomplishment but if it seems to be as answer to a prayer or a way of solving the problem, then immediately take the next step.
3. Have determination to carry the decision through. Many fail here. The decision, budding into determination, is blighted and instead becomes a wish or a vague longing. When determination is born, immediately take the next step.
4. Have faith and confidence that the power will flow through you, the right way will appear, the door will open, the right thought, the right message, the right principle, or the right book will be given you. Have confidence and the right thing will come to your need. Then as you rise from prayer, take at once the 5th step.
5. Act as though it had all been answered. then act with tireless, ceaseless energy. And as you act, you, yourself, will become a magnet, which will attract more power to your being, until you become an unobstructed channel for the Divine power to flow through you.

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Many pray but do not remain for the last half of the first step. Some who meditate arrive at a decision, but fail to hold it. Few have the determination to carry the decision through, still fewer have the confidence that the right thing will come to their need. But how many remember to act as though it had all been answered? How true are these words "Greater than the prayer is the spirit in which it is uttered" and greater than the way it is uttered is the spirit in which it is carried out.

Shoghi Effendi (Pilgrim note)

Cleansing the Mirror of the Heart from Jealousy and Envy

The other day, I was discussing a statement on jealousy and envy with my Junior Youth Group.

Cleansing the mirror of the heart from jealousy and envy.

I asked why do we feel jealous? One answered because others have what that we don’t have. Another answered because we think that what other people have is better than what we have.

About.com explains that the three common causes for jealousy are

1. Unmet expectations
2. A sense of entitlement
3. Insecurity

While the ways to overcome jealousy includes:

• Stop comparing yourself to other people
• Stop worrying about you all the time
• Stop wanting what other people have if you’re  not willing to go through what they did to get it
• Start focusing on all that’s positive in your life

Then I asked, “So how do we cleanse the mirror of our hearts from jealousy and envy?” We had a short discussion and came out with a brief conclusion.

                We should be grateful with all that we have. Every individual has their own strengths and weaknesses. Others may have something that we don’t have but we also have something that others don’t. If we are truly grateful and thankful for who we are and what we have, we would have cleansed the mirror of our hearts from jealousy and envy.

Sleepless night

One of the worst things that can happen to me is to be unable to sleep at night. Usually, I cannot sleep because I'm stressed, sad or bored. At the moment, I'm feeling a mixture of sad and bored...getting a bit stressed considering I need to work 9-6 tomorrow.

As a matter of fact, I've been very fortunate and blessed. I cannot remember the last time I could not fall asleep. Praise God and thank Him! I wish to love Him more and unto Him sufficieth.

Say: God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth.  Verily, He is in Himself the Knower, the Sustainer, the Omnipotent.

Padas River White Water Rafting

I managed to squeeze in a day trip to Padas River white water rafting during my trip to Kota Kinabalu end of last August. According to my research, Padas River is supposed to be the most exciting water rafting place for tourist in KK. The water rafting was fun but the excitement was not comparable to the one I had back in the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.

However, the journey to Pangi village where we had the rafting, had been eventful. To get to Pangi village, it took me a couple of hours of car ride from KK town to Beaufort town. From Beaufort, I had to board another few hours of train ride to reach Pangi. The train ride was the more interesting train ride I have ever had in my life.

The diesel run train from Beaufort

A train stop along the journey

House along the railway track, the train would stop as and when needed for passengers to board or alight

Halogilat, the train station where we changed to a different train

Another diesel run train

I was extremely tempted to ask the train driver to let me drive the train with them

Just like the first one, the trains do not lock the doors

Simply scenic and breath-taking scenery

Little things that make me feel blessed

I was at the car park earlier and arranged some papers to be recycled. As I push the papers into the building which collects all recyclable items, my parking ticket fell from the stack of papers. I have mistaken mixed the parking ticket with the papers to be recycled.

Had the parking ticket gone into the building, I would have been fined for losing the ticket when I was supposed to be getting free parking. I must have gotten some divine help up there. More importantly, the feeling of getting blessed lasted and made my Sunday.

Donation

As an individual, there are many things we can donate; money, food and time etc. There are donations we should give when able to while others we should never give. I donate all sort of things to various organizations but stop giving to beggars a long time ago. Trust me, donating to beggars do more harm than good. Today, I want to talk about donating one of the most precious and meaningful thing we can donate, our blood.

As a child, Steve and his sister were hit head on by a drunk driver. They were both critically injured and needed countless amount of blood in order to survive the life-threatening crash. Steve managed to turn the tragedy to triumph but his sister was defeated by the devastating disaster. There was not enough the right type of blood for his sister.

We all know that donating blood can save lives. What about the effects to the donor? Donating blood is highly beneficial to the donor. Donating blood stimulates the production of new blood cells and refreshes the system. This makes us healthier. Moreover, donating blood is an easy avenue to burn extra calories. Donating a pint or 450 ml of blood burns 650 calories in a donor's body. In other words, donating 90% of liquid in this small bottle (500 ml bottle) is equivalent to jogging more than an hour on the treadmill. Isn't this such a terrific trade-off?

Allow me to share with you a typical experience of donating blood. The night before the donation day, I would always have a good, peaceful and sound sleep. Frequently, I have sweet dreams filled with beautiful and sexy nurses. On my way to the hospital, my heart would always be filled with joy, ecstasy and excitement as if I have a date with the beautiful and sexy nurse from my dream. In the hospital, I get free medical examinations where the doctor re-assures that I am as fit as a fiddle. During the donation, my blood flowed from my arm to the plastic bag. The short fifteen minutes felt like serenity of an eternity. Words cannot describe the tranquility I felt each time I donate blood.

I hope you are now convinced that blood donation is such an amazing and awesome act. Come join me in the exclusive blood donor club!

Short Stint with A Beagle Puppy

When Chin Hang asked me to adopt his Beagle puppy, I couldn't contain my excitement. I have been wanting to keep a dog in the house and excitedly waited for him to bring me the puppy.

On 6 July, he brought Fifi (name given the Chin Hang and his wife) over. It was the most adorable companion to have. According to Ching Hang, Fifi is of a champion breed.

It was fun to have Fifi around but soon I realized that raising a puppy Beagle is no easy feat. The commitment and time required for playing, potty training and obedience training is much more than I expected. It drained my energy and began to affect my emotional stability. The training required a lot of time and patience and I always felt insecure when Fifi went near the curtain (for some reason, she likes to take her dump there).

Funny that I felt insecure as I am a rather self-secured person. Never have I thought that a puppy pet would teach me the pain of insecurity but thanks to Fifi, I should be more sensitive towards people around me who are feeling insecure now.

 As she is teething, she would bite on anything and everything she could get hold of.

  

After some deliberation, I regrettably decided that I was in no position to provide what's needed to raise Fifi. I would never know if she was happy with me but certainly, I cannot give her the attention, love and care she needed. On 24 July, Fifi is given to another owner.