Feminism

Feminism is defined as:
ˈfeməˌnizəm/
noun
the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

I do not like to label myself, but in our society, not only I, but the entire female gender is, or should be considered  a feminist, necessitated by the presence of the patriarchal dominance.

Equality between man and woman does not mean ignoring our traits and eliminating our gender roles. It means eliminating the superiority of one gender over the other. It means perceiving a person as whole and complete without reference to gender.

It is not too outrageous to consider that patriarchy came about from man’s feelings of inferiority to woman, from a biological standpoint, the ability to bear children. But just because we are designed to bear children and propagate the human race, does not make us superior to man in any-way. Man and woman are both necessary for the act of creation. We are both equally important.

So, evolving beyond this segregated mindset is easy if we practice Respect. Respect for all living beings, for who and what they are. A woman might be physically stronger and faster than a man. A man may be more feminine than a woman. To each his/her own. We only need to look with a whole and complete mindset, and respect.

We are a civilization. It is time we evolved beyond our barbaric thought patterns.

Chakras

So we’re in the new year, 2015, the year of the sheep in the Chinese  horoscope. I thought it a great time to reflect back to the past year, when I remembered whilst growing up (mind you, I don’t think I’ll ever stop growing up, heck, I even feel infantile still, in some aspects) how adept I was at erasing my memories. I could, with great ease, erase all traces of the memories which were hurtful or painful. I had the system mastered; No traces left. But now, I realize the importance of remembering, for how else, will we ever learn?

I believe living a life devoid of self improvement is a life wasted. 2014 was a year of great triumph; I finally broke through my first chakra. I don’t think I will ever forget the moment it happened. I was taking a bubble bath, meditating, when feelings of rage and anger started bubbling inside of me. I moaned and groaned, releasing these emotions and when I opened my eyes, everything was painted Red. I blinked and squeezed my eyes, trying to clear the red silhouette clouding my vision.  Everything was colored a red hue. I blinked yet again, alarmed– it persisted. I took a look around, everything in my view had a red hue to it. It was then when I felt something release, and the experience of seeing everything painted red in my vision became fascinating. It was the color of blood, even space was a hazy cloud of red…. I kept blinking and blinking, trying to make it go away, but it would not. That is when I just let it be; I was floating in redness, absorbing it all.

It bears mentioning that this came about from a conscious effort of beginning a chakra cleanse a couple of months prior. Now, let’s rewind back a couple of decades and a few more years. As far back as I can remember, probably from the time I first started writing, my place of residence was always in my crown chakra. Usually the head chakra, but oftentimes, my crown chakra; when people’s lips would move, I could not hear what they were saying, because I was not even there. I liked being away; out of my body, far away. Hence, why oftentimes people would look at me as if I was a weirdo. I would get those looks, you know? Sometimes even from my friends. But it mattered not, for I was in a beautiful place.

This lack of being in touch with my lower chakras was evident even in my yoga practice. For the life of me, I could not balance. As strong and flexible as my body is, balance eluded me–until last year. Now I can balance on one foot and I am a stone wall. A pillar reaching down to the core of the earth.

It is amazing how, sometimes, no matter how hard I try at something, it does not work out. But when the time is right, it occurs magically, as if following a recipe written by an invisible hand. Perhaps even my own hand, before I was even born.

In 2015, I will strive for greater self improvement, as I usually have done and do, actually all the time. I have a feeling it will be a year of peeling off the masks. Masks which are beginning to suffocate me.

So to all, I wish you a year of excitement and discoveries. And what better discovery than that of the self?

Ultreya.

Adultery by Paulo Coelho

Adultery

I loved it! And by loving it doesn’t mean that I agree on everything, namely, Adultery.

God said: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” I wholeheartedly agree with God. Not because we will burn in hell when we die, no, the punishment is more immediate; we enter the road to hell in the here and now, just as we see with Linda and her troubles.

Adultery is the story of Linda, a married women with two children who suffers from depression and the occasional bipolar tendencies, who risks her perfect life by committing adultery.

I do not like Linda’s character at all! She goes through life lying to everyone; to doctors, to people, to strangers, to her husband, even to herself. Even when the truth is handed to her she chooses to completely ignore it.  All the characters have their flaws in the book, just as each one of us have in our lives, but since Linda is the protagonist, let me point her out. I’ll keep it short so I don’t give away any spoilers, I’ll let you, the reader, read and see for yourselves how different life can be for characters such as Linda if they practiced gratitude in their lives, and counted their blessings instead of talking about them.

Paulo Coelho captures and releases in his words, Linda’s character exceptionally well. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself annoyed through most of the book. Though one thing we can all learn from Linda is her persistence and perseverance. I would be more sensitive towards her had she done it for love, but instead, it was for revenge, jealousy, hatred, emptiness, etc. Even if she had love and passion for the man, there are things such as truth, honesty, choices and decisions, which we all make according to where we are mentally and spiritually in our lives.

None of us deserve to suffer. It is the consequences of our choices and actions which determine the state of our well-being or the lack thereof. I think Linda got away too easily, it is lucky for her, otherwise, it could have been devastating. Perhaps it is the invisible, silent sting of wounds that linger long after, which is the most painful. As the saying goes, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”, as some of us are remarkable at hiding our pain.

So how did it end for Linda? Did she come out changed and transformed through her adulterous experience? Is it right? Is it wrong? Was it worth it? I will quote a line from the book:

“Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel, if that’s what you mean. But sometimes, when the person crosses through the darkness and reaches the other side, he leaves an enormous path of destruction behind him.”

Forgiveness

For some of us forgiveness is easy, but I presume it is difficult for most. As for myself, although it is easy to forgive, recently I was tested, and as a result I could not distinguish the reason or purpose for forgiveness.

What’s the use of forgiving if I want nothing to do with that person ever again?There is no difference if I forgive or not, I don’t want that person in my life anymore

I do not like harboring any kind of negative energies, so I had forgiven the person, but refused to acknowledge my forgiveness. I thought that if I do acknowledge it, then I am bound to let them back into my life; because they are forgiven.

Well, that is not so! Since fully realizing this, it has freed me in certain ways, and so I share the following paragraph by Caroline Myss from Anatomy of the Spirit in the hopes that it will help whoever comes across it.

Blessings and Namaste

“As appealing as forgiveness is in theory, it is an extremely unattractive personal action for most people, mainly because the true nature of forgiveness remains misunderstood. Forgiveness is not the same as telling the person who harmed you, “It’s okay,” which is more or less the way most people view it. Rather, forgiveness is a complex act of consciousness, one that liberates the psyche and soul from the need for personal vengeance and the perception of oneself as a victim. More than releasing from blame the people who caused our wounds, forgiveness means releasing the control that the perception of victim-hood has over our psyches. The liberation that forgiveness generates comes in the transition to a higher state of consciousness-not just in theory, but energetically and biologically. In fact, the consequence of a genuine act of forgiveness borders on the miraculous. It may, in my view, contain the energy that generates miracles themselves.”

~ Caroline Myss, Anatomy of The Spirit

Us

The reason why the world is the way it is, is because there are so many loveless people in the world. The reason why there are so many loveless people in the world is because their parents didn’t love them enough. The reason why they didn’t love them enough is because they had children for all the wrong reasons.

42fa3-dreams_of_love_cover_google1

Review of Dreams of Love

Recently, a Lawyer read my book, Dreams of Love, and had some questions, and was confused about a few things. What stood out to me from his comments was about the story Hot Air Balloon. He specifically said: “what the hell is going through the lady’s mind when she gets this guy to actually take her on a balloon ride based on essentially a promissory note of sex in the air, and then flip suddenly like she did?”

Well, my response? Guys do it all the time. They make promises and speak lies just to get what they want, and then act like what they said meant nothing; hot air! Hence, the title of the story.

In the story, when she is turning him down, the guy says “we will never get this chance again.” Once he sees that he cannot change her mind, he says “we’ll have to take this ride again.” It is interesting that he did not notice that, but was critical of the female.

We all know guys do it all the time, so they should respect it when girls do it! Although she did not do it on purpose. She did want to be close to him, she was attracted to him, and yes she does love sex, but she did not feel comfortable going that far, so quickly. A man must be able to respect that, bottom line!

The lawyer said, “men are dogs, women shouldn’t play like that”. Well let me tell you, men are NOT dogs. They should learn self control. This is the age old patriarchal excuse for men in our society. It is time to change. You men are Not dogs, you are honorable human beings, as are women.

I am not saying it is ideal to play with words like that, this is just to make a point. As the lawyer said, men don’t understand women, well that is because there isn’t any communication. With that mentality; preconceived expectations, there isn’t any room for open, respectful and comfortable communication.

Let us not indulge in the idea that men are from mars and women are from venus. Let’s make a real effort to improve our relationships, by communicating to understand, and not for advancing our personal agendas.

Dreams of Love is available in paperback and ebook: Dreams of Love

42fa3-dreams_of_love_cover_google1

Review of Dreams of Love

Thank you  ~ MaryAnn Koopmann

“Completely different writing styles complement each other beautifully to form a flow of positive consciousness that is sure to brighten anyone’s day. The poetry in here was the absolute best to delve into. The romance poet in this book really knows her romance.

Mostly, this is beautiful creative writing with a sensual theme. There is a nurturing quality to the lust, a beautiful connection between souls and an almost spiritual element in the union of lovers in a comforting embrace and heartfelt connection.

I found many of these poems were dipped in pleasure, but still retained an element of comfort. This is the type of book you can read at night before you go to bed and it may even produce beautiful dreams of the person you love.

She is a master at creating stories around life’s human experiences of hopes, dreams, disappointments, regret, and tragedy. She writes through the eyes and ears of each of her characters with clarity and vision.”

Amazon or B&N