10 Days of Silence: My Vipassana Meditation Retreat

Posted March 18th, 2011 by Jhet van Ruyven

Jhet van Ruyven meditating

“Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives… Unhappiness permeates the atmosphere around someone who is miserable, and those who come in contact with such a person also become affected. Certainly this is not a skillful way to live.”

- The Art of Living – Vipassana Meditation

“When you meditate, the silence of the senses illumines the presence of God within.”

- Gurumayi Chidvilasananda

***

As you are reading this, I am already off to a 10-day silence retreat at the Dhama Meditation Center in Onalaska, Washington, USA. After waiting for two years hoping my name will be selected, I felt blessed to receive an email from the non-profit organization informing me that I have been enlisted  to experience this free course.

My purpose is to get my mind clear, to focus on my purpose, to feel my spirit. In the process, I am also channeling my energy on what I should like to write on my second book.

No computer, no phone, no TV, no outside world distractions. My routine, as sent by our coordinator, will be as follows:

4:00 am Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
11:00-12:00nn Lunch break
12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room
5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
9:30pm Retire to your room

About Vipassana

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art of Living. For those who are not familiar with Vipassana Meditation, an Introduction to Vipassana by Mr. Goenka and Questions & Answers about Vipassana are available. The technique of Vipassana Meditation is taught at ten-day residential courses during which participants learn the basics of the method, and practice sufficiently to experience its beneficial results.

There are no charges for the courses – not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the opportunity to also benefit.* (http://www.dhama.org)

I’ll be back in 10-days!

Posted in Jhet's Life Journey, Magical Moments, Transformational Development No Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Snowboarding: Lessons and “Pain” points of this exhilarating mountain sport (Part 2)

Posted March 8th, 2011 by Jhet van Ruyven

After resting my tired body, off I went to the slopes again. Visibility was very poor, and it was snowing heavily. The day’s weather forecast was a mix of rain and sunshine with temperature of negative 10 degrees on top of the mountain. Not really the best time to snowboard.

In the back of my mind, I can see myself falling a hundred times  that I can feel the pain of it already. Why was I projecting negative energy when I know all the positive mantra tools? And so I tapped into the energy and hope I have left. Indeed, thoughts are powerful. My excitement rose up.

This is my second time going up on a chairlift, an aerial steel chair that lifts three to four persons from one terminal to another, up to a vertical rise of over 600 meters. My heavy snowboard dangles from my right foot which makes the ride quite uncomfortable. I was hoping that a snowboarder would join me on the way up, and to my surprise, there he was.

Oliver, a professional snowboarder from Berlin, Germany, has been practicing the sport for eight years. I’m surprised he didn’t mind joining me, after seeing my amateur moves earlier. Breaking the ice, I hit off the conversation by asking how he finds his stay and where he came from. Then I went straight to my favorite topic – snowboarding. Introducing myself as an author with a blog, I asked permission if I  can record our conversation and he willingly agreed. Carpe diem!

To avoid injuries while dismounting the chairlift, Oliver said one must always point the board on the direction of the hill or where the lift is going. The next step is to prepare your body to a standing position and put forward one leg, that which is not strapped to the snowboard, next to the bindings. Once you are about five inches to the ground, give yourself a little push off the chairlift and then slide forward. He said it is okay if I fall, just get up again.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Jhet's World Travels, Magical Moments, Travel Advice No Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maria Aragon: The Law of Attraction at work on a 10-year old kid!

Posted February 21st, 2011 by Jhet van Ruyven

Today I woke up truly grateful for another beautiful sunny day from where I live  - White Rock, British Columbia (BC), Canada. After receiving an unexpected recognition from the mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson, the night before in a “Who’s Who in BC” event organized by Dahong Filipino, a Filipino-Canadian Community Directory,  I still carry that wonderful feeling as I look on the breathtaking view of the vast ocean from my porch.  I can’t help but reminisce the past, on how my childhood dreams all began as a child vendor in a tiny rural village in the Philippines.  From poverty, I’m now living a childhood dream, and way beyond my imagination.

Jhet van Ruyven with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson

After posting some photos taken during the awards night, the “Maria Aragon” story caught my attention. I felt goose bumps as I watched her YouTube videos – one of which was her conversation with the pop superstar Lady Gaga herself.  I was moved to tears!  Year’s ago when all I had was a dream of better life than poverty, somebody believed in me and saw my potentials. I met a priest who recommended me to a school managed by nuns, and helped me get a college degree. That magic moment was the start of my journey which I aptly call “The Tale of Juliet”.

Maria Aragon talks to Lady Gaga over the radio

Like me, Maria Aragon, is a Filipina. A ten-year old born in Canada with Filipino-Canadian parents, she is blessed with the gift of an incredible voice and has a dream to pursue her passion to sing. And the universe conspired: who would ever thought that Lady Gaga would view Maria’s video singing “Born This Way”? Gaga took it further by endorsing it on her Twitter account, saying “Can’t stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future.” Already at close to 10 million views, here is the video that made it all happen:

Lady Gaga acted on her intuition, perhaps moved by her spiritual self to inspire Maria even more. Her phone conversation with the child may have not cost her a penny, but for young Maria, it was priceless. She believed in her, and only time can tell what would happen next. What is sure for now is that Lady Gaga invited Maria to sing with her at a concert tour in Toronto, Canada!

Thank you Lady Gaga for writing great songs, planting inspiration, and sharing your gifts to the world. This is for sure another history on the making for 10 year old Maria. She may walk the similar path of David Foster and Oprah-managed Charice and many others!

As a follow up to her encounter with Lady Gaga, iconic talk show host Ellen de Generes featured Maria on her show and asked her to sing the song again:

More about Maria

In her 5 year old YouTube channel, Maria explains how it all started. “My sister made this channel to put up a very very old video of my dad and my brother making sound effects of dogs and other animals. Years later I’m using this channel to share to everyone my gift of music and the talent that God gave me. I sing, I giggle, I laugh…I love to entertain. ”

She said that she has no music sheets, but only ” figured the chords out myself and it’s all by ear.”  Her influences are Jessie J, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Yiruma, Michael Giacchino, and Lady Gaga.

She further states, “I love to sing, obviously. I also like to paint and draw and go to school everyday but I hate the weekends, but not Saturdays. I’m very interested in writing stories about life. I love my friends and family. I appreciate God and all of his children!  I love music that settles in the beginning but then BAM! Stuff makes you nod, and gets you dancing. I love Michael Jackson so much. What’s weird is that I never officially sang one of his songs. I was into music when I saw Beyonce. She’s cool. And if you want to know, my first CD or tape was Barney of Raffi. I forget which was first, but yeah. Music is me. So me.”

What’s Maria’s secret? I believe there is really no big secret once we set our mind to something.  How law of attraction works is all clear with Maria.  Then the next law kicks in which is the power of “law of creation” at work. Would you agree with me that Maria applied these universal basic principles and made her dreams come true?

  1. Maria has a “dream”
  2. Maria “believes” in her dream
  3. Maria has a “vision” which is to share her talent.
  4. Maria has “clarity” on what she wants, and that is to entertain.
  5. Maria “acted” on her vision, she spent time practicing her songs.
  6. Maria is “grateful” and she prays, believing she was blessed by God with a gift.
  7. Maria has “mentors” and “supporters”, among them her family and friends.
  8. Maria took the leap of faith
  9. Maria made it happen
  10. Maria attracted the Law of Attraction

Let Maria and Lady Gaga’s story inspire you today.  I do believe that everything is in divine order and divinely orchestrated. What is meant to be will be for young Maria, for Lady Gaga, and for each and every one of us witnessing this event unfolding before our own eyes. One’s “little acts of kindness” have a ripple effect that can change other people’s lives. This is what makes life worth living – when we know we make a difference in the life of others. In essence, when we share what we have it makes a meaningful and purposeful life journey. We are connected and we are all in one journey, together.

Do you have long forgotten dreams? What are you doing today to make a difference in the life of others?  Are you a dream believer and a dream supporter?

Believe in the power of your dreams they do come true when you believe.

I appreciate your own comments.

Jhet aka Juliet van Ruyven

Living in a life of gratitude, abundance and purpose

Posted in Leaders and Role Models, Magical Moments, Mentoring and Coaching, Real Success Stories 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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