Finally.

It took close to three months but I finally made time to attend my first Ken Wilber group discussion meet-up in Glebe last Wednesday. Ken Wilber is one of my favorite reads and even while I was still living in Manila, I had already chanced upon some info on a KW meet-up group here and vowed to meet kindred spirits. It happened at 7 to 9 PM at the Home.Cafe on the second floor. There were seven of us and we spent the evening exchanging experiences and insights into a wide range of spiritually inclined topics which would once in a while connect to KW’s thoughts. As in every book club meeting I have attended, there was much to learn from everyone. In sessions such as these, one is exposed to people who come from quite varied backgrounds and in my eyes, have much to contribute to expanding our understanding. The lively exchange warmed the night for Ala and I who are experiencing our first ‘extended’ cold spell (an entire winter, that is) ever.

This is a must-attend for me in the coming months. It is good for the spirit and it is mentally stimulating as well.

Finally.

Proudly, I write to say I passed my driving test!!!! May karapatan na ako maggmaneho sa bansang ito. I was so happy and relieved to hurdle this unnerving but necessary rite of passage that everyone in this country is subjected to. Thanks to Mario Aldeguer, my very able and wonderful teacher who took me around all the possible routes an hour before, I made it. I did not realise how much I had been anxious about the test the whole week that I could not sleep that night after I passed the test. I was just too hyper and happy at the same time. WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!

My apo and palangga Ananda had her 2nd birthday recently and was it a lot of fun. When she woke up on her birthday, she ran down the corridor to our room shouting ‘June 7″! A day before the celebrations which were held later last week, we were having anxieties about the weather since we had planned on holding the party in the park and it’s been raining. To simplify things, we decided to just hold her gathering at home instead. There were 41 people all in all at our little house and 16 of them were kids running around, screaming, eating, playing and having fun the way kids do. The house was a mess but what a party it was.

Ananda relished everything– the food, the gifts, the attention, and the happy company of people her age. When the kids left, she called her mom and simply said, “I am tired” and promptly fell asleep! What a cutie she is.

Finally.

I was able to do my first real ‘sit’ here in Sydney. Since I got here, I’ve put my daily meditation aside as I attended to everything else. I found excuses for not doing my zen sits, and the main excuse was that I did not bring my pillows and cushion. The morning of my driving test, I decided to sit to calm myself and be in touch with the center that does not change, the reality that is not affected by any goings on in the world, the One that merely watches without attaching, or grasping to anything. There entered in me a peace and an equanimity that was wonderful. I knew I could do anything that day in a manner where I would not be fazed by however things turned out.

I ‘awakened’ to doing things as they should be done without any personal issues trying to force an outcome. I was unconditionally present to do them. All tasks that day were done with the least problems. Whatever needed to be done was done, period! As simple as that. What I notice is that in this state, things get ‘accomplished’ with the least effort. It’s like being in ‘the zone’. And I suppose that’s how it ought to be.

Namaste!