The Underground River of Palawan

I think it was already five years ago when I posted in this blog about a dream travel to Palawan after finding a video about the Coron Island, one of the islands in Palawan.  I did not forget about that dream travel since then, until The Underground River of Palawan became one of the 7 Wonders of the World. I had the opportunity to realize my dream of going to Palawan last year but unexpectedly, I was even able to  go to the Underground River so I considered the experience a gift from God right on the day of my birthday.

The creations of God inside the Underground River were overwhelming, a bright light is just needed to see and appreciate them so bringing a camera with a flash is a must. Being able to paint some of my shots of the Underground River became another dream but I knew that could be almost impossible so I showed the photos to some artists, my brother included, but they just challenged me to paint them.

Until I was again challenged to join an art exhibit titled "Dance of Faith" this June, which I find closely related to my experience inside the Underground River because it strengthened my faith in God.  I chose three views to paint, one with the tourists on the boat, one I consider an artwork of God and the last view showing the end of the tour. For me, this end of tour also depicts a new beginning because my faith in God is stronger and that will help me meet more challenges in life and fulfill more dreams from then on. 

Braces for Lyca - Part 1

Parents always have big dreams for their children.  When a child has special needs however, those dreams tend to be diminished in number and greatness.  I can be wrong though, because a lot of blind children become accomplished or great persons when they grow up.  I now have different thoughts from the time I started writing this. I am now thinking, why should I think of limited dreams for Lyca? We planned to sell our piano but what if it will help Lyca become a great pianist someday even with a very weak left hand? She might be multi-handicapped due to her cerebral palsy and blindness, but only God knows what is in store for her. 

My main dream for Lyca used to be for her to be seizure-free.  Though we don’t notice her experiencing obvious seizures nowadays, that should still be verified with an EEG she has to undergo soon. I’ve dreamed she would also be able to walk and talk someday, but I knew those were really big dreams so maybe I should tackle the “hows” one at a time.

The rehab doctor confirmed that Lyca will need braces for her legs and another braces for her scoliosis. I will focus my time to accomplishing these two needs this coming month of April. She will also need a wheelchair. By the time I write the Part 2 of this post, Lyca should already be wearing braces. In the meantime, the video here will show Lyca supported by me (in green) throughout their presentation, unlike the other blind kids beside her who could walk on their own.

Another dream that will help support all our dreams for Lyca is for us to finally get the right bedspacers for us to have additional regular income. I'm hoping that can be very soon too.

Winning the Lotto

In this age of collective karma, what else is there to dream about? Of course those who are single can still dream of marrying, but in their married life should be more spiritual than material.

So why is the title of this post "Winning the Lotto" if I’m talking about spirituality in lieu of materialism? Maybe because it’s the only remaining item in my "Dreams List" that can possibly happen, and because I almost won last Saturday. All my numbers were in the winning number, but mine was separately spread in 3 entries, LOL!

Why do I need to win the Lotto then? I want to go to U.S.A. which I’ve never visited. Some closest relatives live there and there is a lot I can accomplish there, aside from getting the right therapeutic facilities like in an “Elk center”, for my special child. That is assuming I will get a student visa for her. I can still continue paying my own karmic accounts by being of service to the people there, whenever I have the time. I can be a "wellness consultant" teaching the holistic principles of TCM especially for my relatives. Some thought just popped out of my mind, and that can be a new dream related to that, so my next post should say something about it!

One dream

We tend to dream for a lot of things, most of them material things. But these material things are just temporary and will only make us dream for more or better material things.

Until I've encountered a message intended for me, to show everyone to true peace and happiness, and considered it to be my biggest dream. But on second thought, that shouldn't be just a dream but a direction to a way of living and I know everyone will agree. The ways and means to that direction seem hard to find or think about, but I know God will be there to make things happen.

I am therefore back to dreaming about one dream that seem hard to achieve: the right education and therapies for my special child without any cost, since I simply can't afford them. That was why I've thought about the possibility of going to U.S.A. to fulfill that, but even for air fare, I no longer have.

Gone are the days when I had enough money to fulfill most of my dreams, all of which were material things or means to make more money. But none among them brought me true peace and happiness.

Perhaps I should focus on that one dream for my special child. I'm sure fulfilling that dream will bring me true peace and happiness.

Perseverance will be rewarded

It was worth searching the web for the definition of "perseverance" because it inspired me more to write this post about our own experience of persevering. Before my story, here are some of the definitions I have searched:

"Perseverance is a day-to-day decision not to give up".
"Continued steady belief or efforts, withstanding discouragement or difficulty".
"Steady persistence in a course of adhering to a course of action, a belief or a purpose".

Whenever people see us with our special child, people would tell my husband and I that the child will bring us good luck. And then there are also others who'd say that the child is very lucky to have us as her adoptive parents.

A year before the special child was born, though I could no longer give birth because of surgery, I wished for a child but did not want a grandchild. So when this child was born right inside our house, I believed she was God's gift to me. This child is now 8 years old and we are confronted with several challenges that would test our perseverance. Maybe I had been persevering most of the time in the past, but I didn't think it could also be a gift from God.

A few months ago, our child had massive seizures because of her cerebral palsy. Her doctor advised us to try changing her diet into a modified Atkin's diet, because it effectively eliminated the seizures of some children with epilepsy and cerebral palsy, and also eventually eliminated their medicines. I immediately researched about the diet, some guidelines that go with it and its positive effects, and then immediately tried it even without the guidance of a dietician. To our surprise, we noticed several changes which the doctor sees as improvements because our child became more sensitive. There was a negative side effect - constipation. It was very difficult to both the child and us so after a month, I decided to quit. It was just a few days after that decision when we went to the doctor who was glad to hear about the changes, and then told us that the constipation can easily be resolved so we should resume the child's diet.

The two hours after every meal of dealing with our child's constipation was greatly reduced. But the best thing about it is the improvement in her motor skills, caused by the reduction or maybe even the absence of seizures. She can now hold the glass of water she's drinking and is able to control the amount of water she can swallow at a time. Just a month ago, she'd drown herself when she would hold the glass.

There is now big hope that our dreams for Lyca, our special child, will soon come true. And there is only one secret in realizing those dreams - perseverance. I'm glad that it's not only me who was given this gift of perseverance which is now being put to test. There's my immediate family: my husband, my daughter and my son who are now adults and who perseveringly expressed their support for Lyca, emotionally and financially. In due time, their perseverance will be rewarded.

Revising a dream

In my original Dreams List, the 12th dream on the list was to win in the international category of the speech contest of Toastmasters Club and unfortunately not yet fulfilled. Since I am no longer an active member of that club, I don't think I can ever fulfill that dream because even if I become active again, the younger generations are getting better and better and always deserve to win in speech contests.

And so, I'm revising that dream, though this revised version is also very hard to achieve: to be an international speaker of Tiens, which requires that I should first be an 8-star distributor to qualify, and that is the harder part. My original objective for speaking to an international audience was to be able to spread God's message, but that was when the web was not yet widely used. It was the main reason why I became a blogger and by being one, I've started to spread my own true story about God's message. Perhaps it still makes a difference if they hear my story from my own voice. If they did not believe my written story, I'm sure they will feel the sincerity from my voice and will believe this time.

If talking to an international audience is not achievable, then whatever God will plan next, I wish I could guess or will be able to discern, so I could welcome it wholeheartedly.

My dream product at the perfect time

Two years ago, I wrote about my dream product. It was called Tiens Dream Bio-energy Mattress. That was in Sept. 2008, and I knew I will achieve that dream because I already had a buyer for the townhouse unit I was selling, and I was also expecting to be employed again. However, the processing of the housing loan of the buyer stalled and I didn't get a job, so the down payment of the buyer lasted for four months only. As a result, we had to borrow for our daily expenses until we got paid in full for the balance of the townhouse, after another two months. We had to pay debts so I had to forget about my dream product.

After just a few months, Tiens announced that a new model of my dream product will be introduced soon. The same old features will be retained, plus new features based on the latest technology. The product is now called Tiens Photon Bio-energy Mattress. I was employed again by that time, and had seriously looked for a buyer of the lot we had wanted to sell even before we sold the townhouse unit. The events went fast, I've already set aside the money I will need for the mattress from the sale of the lot, but I've also decided to resign from my job. I did not change my mind about buying the product, because in my mind, it will be easier for me to market the product and earn, if I own one.

I've realized that this is the perfect time for me to get this dream product. What if I got the old model? It doesn't have the photons that the new model has. Controlling the features with the new model is a lot easier because there are fixed exposure times for the VLF (Very Low Frequency) alternating magnetic wave, which is 20 minutes after every one and a half hour, and the photon, which is one hour after every four hours.

The benefits of the photon, which has the same wavelength used by the astronauts of NASA (660 nanometer), are just amazing! Healing happens in the cellular level, which means that any disease caused by injured cells can be healed! When an injured cell is exposed to photon, it repairs itself and once it is repaired, it is done and will no longer receive further treatment from the photon. That means there is no overdose because it is the cell that controls the treatment, not the person. The light from the photon at the 660 nanometer wavelength has no affinity for cancer cells so that the killer cells that was made healthy by the photon can defeat the cancer cells. Isn't that awesome?

I love war stories with happy endings and I'm glad that there is now a product that can assure us of a happy ending, though it is not a weapon but just a friend of mankind, invented by the Russians to save mankind in outer space, perhaps not realizing at first, that it will be more needed to save mankind on earth.

Write about your dream!

I've been very busy these days, but I have to write about my dreams! Perhaps I'm not really too busy to write, I'm just overwhelmed with the consecutive events that's happening. I am overwhelmed because each event was not planned to follow the preceding one, but they looked planned step by step, of course by God, because who am I to know what's going to happen next? These were the events that happened, without me knowing that the next will happen.

1. I resigned from my regular work to be able to work full time with my network in Tiens. I was inspired by my trip in Jakarta last November, so on the first week of December I decided to resign, to take effect February 1.

2. Last January, Tianshi Phils. announced the Tiens Wellness Center Program, and the training started the last part of that month. Since I have resigned from work, I was able to attend all the trainings given. I wrote about that in a previous post here.

3. In my search for people interested to have their own Wellness Center, I remembered to approach a herbal supplements stockist, and she was interested. She said it was her dream to own a Wellness Center. The problem though is the start-up since she has used up her funds, so I volunteered to shoulder some initial stocks just to be able to introduce the products of Tiens in her center. We are taking it slow now, since she still has to serve her regular clients.

4. My partner and I decided to proceed slowly by focusing on health gadgets first. We planned to schedule demos but she knows just a little about the gadgets.

5. Surprisingly, a training on Tiens gadgets was scheduled by Tianshi Phils. on Monday, so I told my partner she has to attend that training.

6. Surprisingly also, my husband and I will be involved in an exclusive wellness forum this Friday. I need to display some products so I pulled out most Tiens products from my partner's center. I still lack some gadgets so I need to get them from the Head Office. Anyway, I can display them at my friend's center after the forum if they are not sold.

With all those events I enumerated, perhaps anybody can now predict what can happen next. Please make your predictions very positive. I have a very simple dream, to be able to help people maintain good health, by sharing everything I learned about wellness, but I also need to earn an income since I no longer have a regular job.

Have you read my earlier post about a dream, to be A "therapist"?

Full of opportunities

This month was indeed full of opportunities and I've grabbed every opportunity that came so most of my tasks now were not planned. I am now working on a trial period with a partner stockist to retail health products, but I've initially selected the ones I've used because I've proven their efficacy. I just hope and pray that everything will turn out well, and that I will soon be sharing the benefits of those products to customers through trainings we will be holding in my partner's center. She is taking it slow at the moment because like me, she is also still in a transition period, in her case that of adding my products to her usual product lines.

Maybe that is the best thing that should happen while I also have scheduled trainings about wellness. I've attended the trainings about stroke and myocardial infarction this month, and then on Friday, March 5, I will be attending the training on Diabetes. The training teaches about the Western Medicine side in the morning, and then in the afternoon is the TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine side. Isn't that wonderful? If you're in the Philippines and is interested to join those kind of trainings for free, please say so in your comment. I can get in touch with you and introduce the company responsible for all the valuable learnings I have acquired for more than a year now, and that company is Tiens.

A dream to inspire

When I was trying to update my Dreams List a year ago, I realized that I have a new dream that was not yet on the list. I'd like to be an inspirational leader. It was not really a new dream because since five years ago, I've started to be one but it was more an obligation than a dream. I hope to continuously inspire people, thus that dream was created. It is the main reason for my continuous effort to write inspiring posts in my blogs.

To achieve such dream is not easy, there were times I'd like to leave that task of inspiring people to well known personalities who already gained popularity in that area like John Maxwell. But it seems I am always placed in a situation where I also have to perform that difficult task of inspiring people. In my blogs, I sometimes feel I am running out of inspiring posts because I now have a regular job that steals all my time from other noble tasks. But recent developments in my job are now whispering to me that big challenge of leading people to a noble 'cause and inspiring them to carry out their part in fulfilling a great mission.

The nice thing about that is I can now stop asking questions why in the past few years I can't find a job until I was suddenly offered a job in a company I never thought will give me an opportunity to be employed again. The progress of events is amusing, I can't help but think that I might have a mission, and yes, I can feel that now.

A dream to succeed

I am now starting to use again the expertise I have gained when I was in the corporate, more than what I have wished for this year, as far as my career is concerned.

The present scenario where I am now working was unexpected but I'm glad I was hired because of the basic reason that I knew how to handle the problems that are second to nature to that scenario, and present solutions.

The hard part is the scenario I am talking about can cover the whole world, unlike my previous exposure which is just one corner of the world. The people involved can have different cultures, protocols. or laws. That is the challenge, and my dream is to succeed in that challenge.

The Daily Dozen

To help make our dreams come true, John Maxwell recommends a dozen exercises:

1. Examine your life at the moment. The first step toward making your dream come true is to find out where you are.
2. Exchange all of your little options for one big dream.
3. Expose yourself to successful people. Birds of the same feather flock together.
4. Express your belief in your dream. Write it down or talk about it frequently.
5. Expect opposition to your dream.
6. Exercise all of your effort, all of your energy, toward the dream. It’s worth it. Pay the price!
7. Extract every positive principle that you can from life. Constantly be on the lookout for anything that will enhance that dream.
8. Exclude negative thinkers as close friends.
9. Exceed normal expectations to make your dream come true. Dreams are not achieved by average energy.
10. Exhibit an attitude that is confident.
11. Explore every possible avenue to reach your dream.
12. Extend a helping hand to someone who has a similar dream, and both of you will climb together.

Follow your dream!

My dream to go to Europe this year with the choir of my children was dependent on my winning a Lotto, but my winning a photo contest that I discovered on the web lately, will also give me the chance to at least go to Italy. This is the country in Europe I wouldn’t want to miss in case I’ll be blessed to go to this continent the second time around.

The photo contest was really a very inspiring news for me, so I’m now very busy selecting photos for my entries. There are a lot of good amateur photographers, but I shouldn’t lose hope. If my destiny is to go to Europe this July, then I will win. The last time I went to Europe, it was with the choir of my son but we only went to Greece. It was a priceless experience though, an AMAZING GRACE , because the choir of my son won three golds and the grand prize, and more than that, little miracles happened.

My son and daughter’s current choir, the Novo Concertante Manila, will be participating in a contest in Spain and they should leave on July 5. The photo contest’s finale will be on July 10 and 11 in Italy. This coming July, the Feng Shui forecast for both my daughter and me (Monkey and Snake) is a windfall luck. When I’ve read that earlier this year, I was thinking maybe the choir will win, because they will be in Europe for three weeks, but how about me? Maybe I will win the Lotto!

All I can do now is pray hard because it’s not only the Lotto I am counting on this time. It’s nice to know there is bigger chance for my dream to come true. That goes to show that seriously following a dream will open doors to make it come true!

A forgotten dream

Sometimes the dreams in our sleep remind us of dreams or goals that we seem to have forgotten. Last night, I dreamed that I was about to go to U.S.A. The reason was not clear in my dream. When I woke up, I was still thinking about it till I was reminded of a goal or dream I intentionally have forgotten because of lack of funds for transportation. It has been a dream to bring Lyca, my special needs child to an Elks center in the U.S. for children with cerebral palsy.

Maybe I should pursue that plan, or at least start to study the possibility of pursuing it. What remains in the adoption of Lyca is the registration of her birth using her new name but we still have to wait till the 30 days is over, from the day the finality of the court's decision was released. I haven't even checked yet how long we should wait but time flies and for all we know we should already be attending to the registration of her birth.

I'm now very careful with every cent that I get and that is probably the reason why I've ignored to think about that plan though there's a possibility a real property where we have a share might be sold this year. I think I've connected that particular plan too much to winning the Lotto to cover the expenses, because just before that dream in my sleep, I was thinking of a new dream to put up a Wellness Center if the real property I was talking about will be sold.

My dream last night has somehow enlightened me to prioritize people like Lyca, over new business plans. I just hope and pray that God will continue to lead me to the right path, even through the dreams in my sleep.

Dreams for 2009

Here are my dreams for 2009:

1. To win in Lotto! If I win the jackpot, I will go to Europe with a choir and my family, while the major part of my winnings will be properly planned for Lyca, my special needs child's program in the U.S. (if still necessary), and the organization of a foundation for artists and poor children with cerebral palsy next year.

2. To be a contestant in Deal or No Deal (LOL), and if I win a big amount, I'll continue my Interior Design course.

3. To earn more from my blogs, but this will only happen if you'll continuously visit them (please).

I can't believe only the above 3 are my dreams for this year. Maybe because I knew that my more important realistic dreams are about to come true. What are they?

1. To own a Tiens Dream Bio-energy Health Mattress.
2. For Lyca to be able to walk.
3. For Lyca to be able to talk.

A dream becoming a reality

Last Friday, I got a call from the social worker in-charge of the adoption case of our special child and she said the court's decision is about to be released. Weeks earlier, I also learned about the possibility for our special child to be sponsored in an Elks program in the U.S. Looks like the events are gearing towards the fulfillment of a dream! What's lacking now is the money I will need for us to go to the United States. Before I woke up this morning, I dreamed that a friend just told me a way to get a million dollars. And then this same morning, I read a blog's post titled "Nouveau Riche - dream which become reality".

Wow! Just look at those coincidences! Look what a "Dreams List" can do! I am now encouraging everyone to make a list of your dreams and write about them in detail. Have you read or watched "The Secret"? I've watched it after I've created this blog, so it was not related to this blog's creation, but what "The Secret" was saying is exactly what this blog is doing.

"Nouveau Riche" is "the new rich". Like what Ukion described in his blog, I want to be a "nouveau riche". Not to be a millionaire, but to use the millions to experience or realize the dreams that I believe in.

Unconditional love and a standing box

For the sixth birthday of Lyca, our special child, the best gift we can give her aside from our unconditional love, is a standing box. My mother-in-law paid for its construction which was designed by one of Lyca’s physical therapists (the guy on the photo with her), while my husband and I are now taking care of its finishing touches. At the right side of the first photo is a part of the unfinished standing box.

A dream is about to come true, with the help of this standing box. Lyca will soon be able to stand on her own! After that, she should be able to walk too, of course with a guide since she is blind too, aside from the cerebral palsy that is hindering her to move normally.



Another dream is for her to be able to talk normally. I know that is not impossible because I was able to teach her to say “Mama” very clearly whenever she needs me.

I'm Dreaming Again!

One dream that I haven’t included in my Dreams List was to have a home in the United States of America. That was because in the past I’ve decided to stay in the Philippines. But changes happen like the unexpected arrival of a special child to my life. I no longer plan for myself because what is more important now is how to give this special child who is blind and has cerebral palsy, the best therapies that will enable her to walk, talk and live a normal life. The best that I can think of is the program of Elks, which can be found in several parts of the United States like Ohio.

At present, all my plans for my special child’s therapy at Elks will come true if I win the lotto. But maybe, it is not the only way. Who knows, unexpected events can happen again that will allow our special child’s therapy at Elks, and even allow our family to own a house in U.S.A. I’ve stumbled upon a website of Real Estate in The Cleveland Ohio Area and while looking at the photos of the houses, I can’t help but dream again. A lakefront house with the beautiful view of Lake Erie just like in the photo shown is definitely a dream house! I can enjoy my favorite view of the sunset while Lyca our special child will enjoy the waters of the beach resorts all around! To top it all, the Ohio Elks Association Children’s Developmental Center at Amherst is just nearby!

Oh well, I’ve intentionally forgotten to have a dream house in the Philippines, but now I’d like to have a dream house in U.S.A., and at Cleveland, Ohio at that! Thanks to the contest of “Cleveland Ohio Real Estate Blog” for inspiring me to dream again. I won’t win a house and lot (LOL), if the readers thought it’s the prize of the contest, but I can win $25 or Entrecard credits.

Whatever, there is still a prize for being inspired, and that is the opportunity to share your dreams, as well as your own inspiring true stories!

Row, row your boat

While I was typing my message for everyone in Twitter to "share your dream" through this blog, I heard my special child's voice which means she just woke up. I got her and sat her on my lap while typing and at the same time singing...

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

I repeatedly sang those lines until I began to "internalize" each word and realize that such a simple nursery rhyme has a very deep meaning!

Life is but a dream, but you have to row your boat... gently down the stream, which can be full of challenges and obstacles.

It can be very tiring to row your boat alone because you have to row left and right. The boat will move smoothly if you have a partner, or a team if it's a big boat. I saw a movie where a leader prompts when to row so that the big boat can move smoothly and swiftly.

We may all have different dreams but if we give each other moral support and realize that we are in a WIN-WIN situation whatever our role is, we can create a synergy that will help us attain our dreams.

To Win In Lotto

My last dream on the list, to win in lotto, is necessary for me to be able to fulfill the other three dreams before this, first , to bring Lyca, my special child, to an Elks branch in U.S.A., second, to establish a foundation named "Life Every Artwork Foundation", which requires a million pesos capital according to our Philippine govenrment laws, and lastly, to build an art gallery for this foundation.

Every artwork in the “LEAF Art Gallery” will be dedicated to a cerebral palsy patient. The art gallery will benefit not only these patients but also the artists, some of them the street children who were developed by Fernando Sena, Philippine's Father of Art Workshop, through his Art Discovery and Learning Foundation, Inc. (ADFLI), where I am now an inactive member.

If I win in the Philippine lotto, I will surely push through with this dream, but if not, then only God knows if this dream will be fulfilled.