Talking with Spirits

Most everyone still here on earth consider only the things of this world, its viewpoints, its realities. However, if we can raise our consciousness to the level of Spirit, then we would realize that there is really no cause for despair.

God knows. God allows. There is a reason for the seeming madness. If we listen, we will hear. If we open up our minds, then we can begin to understand.

Here are two articles on suffering, injustices and all the things men don't want to happen to them. Surprise -- from God's point of view, they are not evil or bad, at all, but are precisely the very opportunities that we need and which God provides to enable us to advance in our spiritual development.

Why we suffer is posted separately.

Angel

Our life, our choice

Far too many Spiritists look with envy at other religions and schools. They see progress in terms of greater prosperity, higher education, superior organization, orderliness, magnificent churches and other facilities, social acceptance and abundant material comforts of their members. Okay, I agree with you. We should have all of that, too. But are these temporal considerations the true gauge of spiritual success and advancement?

Does it not seem natural to make choice of such trials as are least painful?

From the Spirits’ Book p167, No. 260

“From your point of view, it would seem to be so, but not from that of the spirit; when he is freed from materiality, his illusions cease, and he thinks differently.

"Man, while upon the earth, and subjected to the influence of carnal ideas, sees only the painful aspect of the trials he is called upon to undergo; and it therefore appears to him to be natural to choose the trials that are allied to material enjoyments. But when he has returned to spirit-life, he compares those gross and fugitive enjoyments with the unchangeable felicity of which he obtains occasional glimpses, and judges that such felicity will be cheaply purchased by a little temporary suffering.

A spirit may therefore, make choice of the hardest trial, and consequently of the most painful existence, in the hope of thereby attaining more rapidly to a happier state, just as a sick man often chooses the most unpalatable medicine in the hope of obtaining a more rapid cure. He who aspires to immortalise his name by the discovery of an unknown country does not seek a flowery road. He takes the road which will bring him most surely to the aim he has in view, and he is not deterred from following it even by the dangers it may offer. On the contrary, he braves those dangers for the sake of the glory he will win if he succeeds.

"The doctrine of our freedom in the choice of our successive existences and of the trials which we have to undergo ceases to appear strange when we consider that spirits, being freed from matter, judge of things differently from men. They perceive the ends which these trials are intended to work out – ends far more important for them than the fugitive enjoyments of earth. After each existence, they see the steps they have already accomplished, and comprehend what they still lack for the attainment of the purity which alone enable them to reach the goal; and they willingly submit to the vicissitudes of corporeal life, demanding of their own accord to be allowed to undergo those which will aid them to advance most rapidly. There is, therefore, nothing surprising in a spirit making choice of a hard or painful life. He knows that he cannot, in his present state of imperfection enjoy the perfect happiness to which he aspires; but he obtains glimpses of that happiness, and he seeks to effect his own improvement, as the sole means to its attainment.

"Do we not, every day, witness examples of a similar choice? What is the action of the man who labours, without cessation or repose, to amass the property which will enable him eventually to live in comfort, but the discharge of a task which he has voluntarily assumed as the means of insuring for himself a more prosperous future? The soldier who offers himself for the accomplishment of a perilous mission, the traveller who braves dangers no less formidable in the interest of science or of his own fortune, are examples of the voluntary incurring of hardships for the sake of the honour or profit that will result from their successful endurance. What will not men undergo for gain or for glory? Is not every sort of competitive examination a trial to which men voluntarily submit in the hope of obtaining advancement in the career they have chosen? He who would gain a high position in science, art, industry, is obliged to pass through all the lower degrees which lead up to it, and which constitute so many trials. Human life is thus seen to be modelled on spirit-life, presenting the same vicissitudes on a smaller scale. And as in the earthly life, we often make choice of the hardest conditions as means to the attainment of the highest ends, why should not a disincarnate spirit, who sees farther than he saw when incarnated in an earthly body, and for whom the bodily life is only a fugitive incident, make choice of a laborious or painful existence, if it may lead him on towards an eternal felicity? Those who say that, since spirits have the power choosing their existences, they will demand to be princes and millionaires, are like the purblind, who only see what they touch, or like greedy children, who, when asked what occupation they would prefer to follow, reply that they would like to be pastry-cooks of confectioners.

"It is with a spirit as with a traveller, who, in the depths of a valley obscured by fog, sees neither the length nor the extremities of his road. When he has reached the top of the hill, and the fog has cleared away, his view takes in both the road along which he has come and that by which he has still to go. He sees the point which he has to reach, and the obstacles he has to overcome in reaching it, and he is thus able to take his measures for successfully accomplishing his journey. A spirit, while incarnated, is like the traveller at the foot of the hill; when freed from terrestrial trammels, he is like the traveller who has reached the top of the hill. The aim of the traveller is to obtain rest after fatigue; the aim of the spirit is to attain to perfect happiness after tribulations and trials.

"Spirits say that, in the state of erraticity, they seek, study, observe, in order to make their choice wisely. Have we not examples of analogous action in corporeal life? Do we not often spend years in deciding on the career upon which, at length, we freely fix our choice, because we consider it to be the one in which we are most likely to succeed? If, after all, we fall in the one we have chosen, we seek out another; and each career thus embraced by us constitutes a phase, a period, of our life. Is not each day employed by us in deciding what we shall do on the morrow? And what, for a spirit, are his different corporeal existences, but so many phases, periods, days, in comparison with his spirit life, which, as we know is his normal life, the corporeal life being only a transitional passage?"

SC Honors 2010 Outstanding Judges, Clerks of Court

Posted September 16, 2010; By Jay B. Rempillo

The Supreme Court, in cooperation with the Society for Judicial Excellence (SJE), today announced the Judiciary’s three outstanding judges and one outstanding clerk of court for this year. The winners will be honored in an awarding ceremony to be held at 4 p.m. this Friday, September 17, at the Centennial Hall A, Manila Hotel.

The Judicial Excellence Awardees for 2009 in the Second-Level Courts are Judge Victoria Isabel Alvarez Paredes of Caloocan City Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 124, Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Awardee; Judge Iluminada P. Cabato of Baguio City RTC, Branch 59, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Awardee; and Judge Carmelita S. Manahan of Manila RTC, Branch 16, Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña Awardee. The lone recipient of the Outstanding Clerk of Court of the Second Level Courts is Atty. Gail M. Bacbac-Del Isen of Baguio City RTC, Branch 3 for Branch Clerk of Court (Multi-Sala).

Judge Paredes, the Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Awardee for Outstanding Regional Trial Court Judge, has been a JEA finalist in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, she was adjudged Most Outstanding Gender Sensitive Judge of the Philippines by the National Commission on Women, the Supreme Court, Commission on Human Rights, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Her average rate of case disposal from January 2009 to July 2010 stands at thirty (30) cases a month. More significantly, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have affirmed 95% of her decisions.

She has rendered uninterrupted service to the government for 25 years, starting as State Counsel, then Quezon City Second Assistant City Prosecutor with the Department of Justice in 1985 before her appointment to the Regional Trial Court of Caloocan City, Branch 124, in 1996. In 2005, five (5) years after her court was designated as a Family Court, she was appointed Executive Judge of the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court.

Judge Paredes graduated from the University of the Philippines with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, major in Philosophy cum laude in 1975 and Bachelor of laws at the top ten of her class of 1979. She was awarded the Presidential Pin for Academic Excellence.

When asked about her work performance which has made a difference in the judicial system or society, she listed the following: active participation in the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) project of the Supreme Court; adopting templates for frequently used or repetitive orders for speedier disposition to counsels and litigants; issuance of protection of orders even prior to the enactment of RA 9261; full utilization of mediation for the amicable settlement of cases; networking with non-governmental units (LGUs) to provide shelter-based/education/treatment/rehabilitation to minor offenders; full use of diversion proceedings to benefit not only the minor offenders but also the private complainants; and the institution of security measures to preserve the integrity of court records by using blue-colored papers for orders issued by her court.

Philippines 2010

When I was in the Philippines last February and went to my San Fernando high school reunion I talked with my sister in law at Los Banos. I commented that the same surnames are still running for offices as when I was last there in 1962. She said "to be fair they are doing a good job".

It is surely the pedigree the people are voting for, not the "leadership quality". But reading what is being written here, it seems that no matter who wins, the Philippines is still barreling down the road of corruption by the business elites and helplessness of the poor masses.

Last night, I watched part of a program about pneumonia in the Philippines. There were scenes that showed how poor the really poor are, the stuff I did not see when I was there. I was wondering all the time where all the government funds were going. I myself was feeling desperate. Those people sifting through the garbage dump near the sea were so damned poor. A man said he had to swallow his pride and beg for money from his friends and relatives to buy medicine for his son.

There is a midwife in Antique who serves as a public health employee and she has to walk several kilometers to the areas where she serves. This person is one of the real heroes of the Philippines, not the politicians in the cities.

All this discussion is making me depressed and I hope it affects everyone in the same way so some day something will be done for these poor people. I know I am not poor but it does not mean I don't have the welfare of the poor in my heart. There was a Filipino priest who just got ordained who officiated the mass last Sunday at the church that serves the deaf and Japanese in San Francisco. He will be serving the lepers in Palawan and I will help him a little bit. If anyone wants to contribute something let me know. I have the address of his family that lives in San Francisco.

Immortal Jokes

*Getting old in.... Florida*
*Two elderly ladies are sitting on the front porch in Tampa, doing nothing.*

*One lady turns and asks, 'Do you still get horny?'*
*The other replies, 'Oh sure I do.'*
*The first old lady asks, 'What do you do about it?'*
*The second old lady replies, 'I suck a lifesaver.'*
*After a few moments, the first old lady asks, 'Who drives you to the beach?'*
************************************************************

*Three old ladies were sitting side by side in their retirement home in * *Ft.
Lauderdale reminiscing. The first lady recalled shopping at the green
grocers and demonstrated with her hands, the length and thickness of a
cucumber she could buy for a penny.*

*The second old lady nodded, adding that onions used to be much bigger and
cheaper also, and demonstrated the size of two big onions she could buy for
a penny a piece..*

*The third old lady remarked, 'I can't hear a word you're saying, but I
remember the guy you're talking about.*

************************************************************
*A little old lady was sitting on a park bench in The Villages, a * *Florida
Adult community. A man walked over and sits down on the other end of the
bench. After a few moments, the woman asks, 'Are you a stranger here?'*

*He replies, 'I lived here years ago.'*
*'So, where were you all these years?'*

*'In prison,' he says.*
*'Why did they put you in prison?'*

*He looked at her, and very quietly said, 'I killed my wife.'*

*'Oh!' said the woman. 'So you're single...?!'*

************************************************************

*Two elderly people living in * *Ft. Myers , he was a widower and she a
widow, had known each other for a number of years. One evening there was a
community supper in the big arena in the Clubhouse.*

*The two were at the same table, across from one another. As the meal went
on, he took a few admiring glances at her and finally gathered the courage
to ask her, 'Will you marry me?'*

*After about six seconds of 'careful consideration,' she answered 'Yes..
Yes, I will!'*

*The meal ended and, with a few more pleasant exchanges, they went to their
respective places.. Next morning, he was troubled. 'Did she say 'yes' or did
she say 'no'?'*

*He couldn't remember. Try as he might, he just could not recall. Not even a
faint memory. With trepidation, he went to the telephone and called her.*

*First, he explained that he didn't remember as well as he used to. Then he
reviewed the lovely evening past.. As he gained a little more courage, he
inquired, 'When I asked if you would marry me, did you say ' Yes' or did you
say 'No'?'*

*He was delighted to hear her say, 'Why, I said, 'Yes, yes I will' and I
meant it with all my heart.' Then she continued, 'And I am so glad that you
called, because I couldn't remember who had asked me.'*

** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
*A man was telling his neighbor in * *Miami , 'I just bought a new hearing
aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's
perfect.'*

*'Really,' answered the neighbor. 'What kind is it?'*

*'* *Twelve thirty.'*
** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **

*A little old man shuffled slowly into the '**Orange Dipper', an ice cream
parlor in Naples , and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool.*

*After catching his breath, he ordered a banana split.*
*The waitress asked kindly, 'Crushed nuts?'*
*'No,' he replied, 'hemorrhoids*

*Life is short!
Break the rules!
Forgive quickly! *

Critic on Hostage Incident - Part II

Idiot 9: The treatment of the brother and family of the hostage taker
It was seen on TV that the wife, daughter and brother of the hostage taker
were treated poorly. Nobody helped them, not even the media. No person tried
to help the family. In most society, a group of people will form a circle
around the family to help them…nobody did that for them. Where is the people
power…Philippines have done it before, why didn’t they do it then? No one
offered help to the wife and the pregnant daughter, they saw their father
killed in front of them. That is no way to treat people….for a country who
claims to be ‘mapagmahal’, catholic and christian that was an utter
embarrassment.

Idiot 10: Corrupt police
The hostage taker wanted to clear his name because he was charged with
corruption. Corruption…in the Philippines….that’s news to me (sarcastic)!!!
One policeman charged with corruption is not going to make a difference.
Catching small corruption is not going to make a difference….the real
corruption happens at the top of government (ie Marcos, Erap,
Arroyo).Us foreigners laugh at stupidity because you do not learn,
you get rid of Marcos because he was bad and corrupt, but still vote for
Imelda and her children to become congressman and governor, give them a
second chance to be corrupt again……so, nothing changed. That’s
Corruption….and ‘katangahan ng Filipino’. In other countries, police treat
one another like brothers and help them when they need it. It did not happen
here.

Idiot 11: Media and dead people
This is the most idiotic and unacceptable behavior that was displayed to
the world. Filipino media is to be blamed for this. Respect and sensitivity
should have been exercised by the media. They showed (in close up), the
dead body of the hostage taker hanging from the door with blood and brains
dripping from the head, the dead body of a child and other dead bodies with
blood being taken out of the bus. This should not have been televised. The
relatives of the dead will not want it televised but the Filipino media did.
This is not good. Respect for the dead should have been observed.

Idiot 12: Laughing sniper
The sniper was interviewed by the media and he seemed to be happy and
laughing when he told the reporter how he shot the hostage taker in the head
and that he was proud he killed him. The wife, daughter and father of the
hostage taker (watching from their province) will obviously will not want
another person to hear how proud they were when he shot their husband /
father. I hope that the sniper have a son, father, brother and I hope one
day someone will shoot them in front of him and I want to know how he feels
then.

CONCLUSION:
This will only give Filipinos a bad name overseas. It will also affect
Filipinos who are born overseas, even though they have nothing to do with
this, they will be judged of what Filipinos in Philippines did.

For Filipinos trying to get a visa to Canada, USA, UK, Europe etc…forget
it…you will be judged by their immigration office for this kind of event.
They already know that most Filipinos are likely to be TNT and this backlash
will make it even harder for Filipinos to get visa.

Ganti on DH
I am sure, that Hong Kong / China will go on a massive revenge on Filipina
DH in Hong Kong. I am sure of it. HK and Chinese only see Filipinas as lowly
people who’s only role is to clean houses. PS: Chinese people don’t know
that Europeans look at them as lowly immigrants who clean toilets in
Europe….ganti din.

Ganti on japayuki
Also, Japanese people will take revenge on Japayukis in Japan. Japanese
people already treat Filipinas like dirt and they will even treat them even
worse because of this. Japanese people to not take Filipinos in high
regard…Japanese only see Filipinos as dirt people who will do anything just
to get money (ie be japayuki in japan).

Ganti on OFW in Saudi
I’m sure too, that OFW in Saudi will also feel the revenge of people there
because of this.

I am sure that my children will be teased and bullied at school because of
this. My children, regardless of being half-white are still brown in color,
with black hair (but with blue eyes) and people know they are
half-Filipinos.

So Filipinos in Philippines, your stupidity in your country is also
‘hawa-hawa’ to other Filipinos overseas…they get judged by what you
Filipinos in Philippines do to yourselves or to others.

Internet order Filipina brides will always get foreign husbands,
unfortunately for Filipino lalaki, there is no such thing as internet order
Filipino husbands (I never seen white woman with Filipino husband), as more
Filipina marry foreigner more Filipino lalaki are left behind in Philippines
(my wife said she does not like Filipino lalaki because they are ‘tanga’…..I
know she married me for money and green card so she can send dollars to her
batugan parents and batugan brothers, batugan cousins and batugan
kapit bahay)….so, the only hope for Philippines is for half-foreigner and
half-filipino children, half is better than stupid full-blood Filipino.

Critic on Hostage Incident - Part I

As a white person married to a Filipina and father to two half dutch /
Filipino children, I feel for Philippines. I have sadness but I also have
frustration and anger towards Filipino culture (in some cases, Filipino
behavior is idiotic)…because I see it in my wife, in my in-laws and her
relations.

To most foreigners, we see and understand the bad things in Filipino culture
(and yet Filipinos do not understand nor see the bad in themselves, why
because you Filipinos think that you are good people because you are
Catholics or born-again. Let me tell you, there are bad Catholics and there
are bad born-agains).

This sad story just highlights the idiotic nature of Filipino culture and
how it impacts on the Filipino society. This bad side of the Filipino
culture was displayed over the world (via cable tv and internet, however we
have ABS-CBN so we watched it live). I will try and explain in English and
broken Tagalog:

Idiot 1: stupid negotiator
The negotiator only talked for about 30 minutes then gave up. That
is not how you do or practice negotiation skills in hostage situations. In
other parts of the world, most negotiators do it for 48 hours. They give the
hostage taker lots of food and water to drink and talk to him all the time.
The logic behind this is after 12 hours (of eating and drinking), they need
to pee or poo (kailangan wee-wee at tae), so he have to get out of the bus,
that’s when you need to attack him. Have you tried to talk on the phone when
ebs is starting to come out? Its very hard. This is a technique Filipino
negotiators need to learn. Yes, the hostage taker was given food…but it
should have been more over a 48 hour period. After 48 hours, susuko din ito.

Idiot 2: stupid swat team with a hammer
There was a stupid swat team who was hammering the window with a long and
heavy pile driver hammer. After 3 attempts he got tired, he needed to let go
of the hammer and give his gun to his partner so he can rest. Well, next
time try to work out in the gym, do some weights and jog to get fit. Sobra
taba pagod agad.

Idiot 3: emergency lock out on hydraulic doors
All tour buses have an emergency lock out for the hydraulic doors. It’s
located under the bus near the underside of the door. I saw on TV that they
were trying to find out where the lock out is…instead the Tabasco swat
hammered the door, what did it do…nothing, it’s still remained close and he
got tired some more. In other parts of the world, the tactical response group
practice everyday on how to attack or seige a hostage situation, they study
all type of vehicles (airplanes, buses, trains, boats etc) and practice how
to attack these positions. They study were the entry and exit are, where
emergency doors are and how to stop these vehicles (just ask the Israel
Tactical response group, they do this every day). Next time, study the
layout of the bus first. Filipinos tend not to worry about what may happen,
they only act when it is happening.

Idiot 4: Roping the door
Another swat team (the tababoy swat team have to be substituted he got
tired) tried to rope the door and pull it using the Isuzu police truck…what
happened? The rope broke….hellllloooo…..hydraulic doors are designed to
stand against a lot of force and pressure. A rope made of abaca won’t open
it.

Idiot 5: The bystander boy who got shot in the leg
A bystander got shot in the leg. Well, what do you expect? The swat team
should have quarantined and sanctioned the area. Example: put a ribbon or
barricade saying “Crime Scene” just like you see in the movies….or is the
PNP to poor to buy one of those. Al bystanders should realize that they are
not part of the event and if something happens to them it is their own
fault. Buti nga sayo, buhay ka pa !!

Idiot 6: Throwing tear gas into the bus
It is idiotic to throw tear gas into a bus when nobody knew how many people
were still alive. Of those dead people, I wonder how many died of tear gas
suffocation. Of course, PNP will not admit it, they will say that the
hostage taker killed them. I do not trust Filipino autopsy. Filipinos tend to
fake documents or stories to make them look good (it’s called ‘saving
face’). As far as the PNP is concerned, the hostage taker killed them and no
other investigation is required.

Idiot 7:Firing into the bus
This is one of the most serious idiotic actions they did. Firing into the
bus also creates ricochet (banda-banda). I wonder how many got killed
because of this? Like number 6, PNP will not admit it.

Idiot 8: Swat team entering after the tear gas
This idiotic act is the one that made me laugh (and I am sure all tactical response group in the world will be using this as a “don’t do” training video because of its ‘kenkoy’ effect). Two swat teams enter the bus after they put the tear gas…what happened…they have to asked for help from the people outside to get them out because they cant breath…why…because they forgot the gas mask. Next time do an inventory of equipment you need in case of emergency

Hostage expert is one of Philippine’s 10 best cops

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Supt. Sidney Villaflor took a chance on a tighter shot amid a drizzle and a power blackout. In a split second, the hostage-taking drama ended with a single, nonfatal bullet wound in the right shoulder of the knife-wielding man.

Villaflor, the hostage negotiator and police chief of San Jose City in Nueva Ecija, was recalling the three-hour evening standoff on Sept. 28, 2008, in which both the hostage-taker and his captive were safe after the gunfire.

It might have been far in proportions from the Aug. 23 hostage-taking on a tourist bus in Manila this year, but it was challenging nonetheless. And for the officer manning a city of almost 200,000 with just 70 men, it was a “win-win” finish to one of the most difficult cases he has faced in his 18 years in the force.

For averting a tragic end to the incident and cultivating close ties with the San Jose community in anticrime efforts, Villaflor has been one of the 10 police officers chosen for this year’s most outstanding men in uniform in annual awards of the Metrobank Foundation, PSBank and the Rotary Club of New Manila-East.

The winners of the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS) will formally receive their awards in Malacañang on Tuesday, a recognition that comes while the Philippine National Police grapples with criticisms for a bungled rescue mission in last week’s hostage drama, not only at home but also from around the world.

The force is under fire for the death of eight Hong Kong tourists held hostage by a dismissed police officer, Rolando Mendoza, on board their bus. Standing on an already shaky human rights record, the PNP is also under investigation after the release of a video showing a Manila precinct commander allegedly torturing a robbery suspect.

So many demands

In the San Jose case, Villaflor said the hostage-taker—a farmer enraged by his separation from his wife and three children—had “so many demands.”

Aside from his wife and three children, the farmer wanted “fried chicken, cigarettes, his siblings, the barangay captain … Unfortunately, after giving him all his demands, the negotiations deteriorated and he was on the verge of stabbing his mother,” Villaflor said of that night almost two years ago.
After the farmer was hit in the shoulder, his hostage—his own 84-year-old mother—was saved from what would have been fatal stabs he was about to take before Villaflor pulled the trigger.

“It would have been an easier shot to aim at his head, but I opted to shoot him on his shoulder even though it was risky because he was hiding behind his hostage. But I opted to endeavor a win-win ending where no one will die,” he told the Inquirer.

As police officers across the country reel from the Manila hostage-taking backlash, Villaflor reminded the public that many other officers remained steadfast to their sworn duty.