Being Beautiful, Inside And Out

Source: Manila Bulletin
By MA. GLAIZA LEE
March 6, 2010, 11:12am

When someone tells you that “you’re beautiful,” what does it really mean?

Does it insinuate that you have a model-like svelte figure, or perhaps a curvaceous body with ample bosom and hips? Or maybe it’s about your flawless, zit-free face? Does being beautiful entail fair complexion, slim silhouette, and everything aesthetically physical?

When it comes to beauty, is it really in the eye of the beholder? Are there objective criteria for the evaluation of beauty?

Even before civilization started, human beings already have the concept of beauty. They possessed the ability to realize that some things are pleasing and attractive than others. But through time, the concept of beauty changed and even became more abstract.

Women have endeavored to change their body to conform to what society dictates to be beautiful. Each culture has different beauty ideals. What may be considered beautiful to one might be appalling to another.

Take for example the Kayan and Padaung tribes from the border region of Myanmar and Thailand. Since their early childhood, the women wear brass coils, or neck rings, to elongate their necks. The more elongated the neck, the more beautiful the woman is.

In the late 19th century, the voluptuous and round-figured women were the standard of beauty. While in the 1920s, super thin flappers (new breed of young women during that era) were “in.” Curvaceous pin-up girls were in vogue during the 1940s to 1950s. Super-thin models made a comeback during the 1960s. Nowadays, although women still aspire to be skinny, the standard of beauty emphasizes on being healthy and toned. And it doesn’t help that most product advertisements have shifting messages about what is beautiful.

Dove Philippines has helped shape the concept of beauty in its own way… in a good way, that is. For the past ten years, it has embarked on a serious and deliberate mission to inspire women to take another look at themselves as creations of natural and real beauty.

It has launched several campaigns such as “Dove Moments” which instilled the habit of reflecting on beautiful femininity, the “Bukod Tanging Filipina” that proved that a woman of worth is someone who is beautiful from within, and the “Campaign for Real Beauty” which debunked the myths and misconceptions of what makes women beautiful, among others.

“As Dove celebrates a decade of empowering women to feel comfortable in their own skin, we hope to continue to inspire women to see themselves as unique and beautiful individuals who are not defined by the hue of their skin, or the gloss of their hair, or the measurements of their body parts. We want every woman to see and feel real,” says Paul Katimbang, Dove marketing manager for skin.

Cindy Melocoton, marketing manager for deodorant, added: “A Dove woman embraces her own beauty, and celebrates her imperfections as part of her uniqueness and beauty. She is grounded and confident with her beauty despite what the world incessantly hypes.”

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Dove Philippines recently launched the “Dove at Ten: Totally Beautiful” campaign, in relation to the introduction of Dove deodorant product line.

“There’s something about the underarm that liberates a person. Underarms are just small patches of skin, often hidden and overlooked. But they somehow can make or break a woman’s confidence,” said Melocoton. So, how do you pamper your underarms? Take care of the underarms the same way you take care of your face. Then again, there’s pitticure!

Cliché it may seem, but the best advice: Just love your body, no matter what its shape or size, and your body will love you back.

Manila Bulletin’s Readers Choice crowned 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-World

Source: Manila Bulletin
A 19-year-old student who was also the Manila Bulletin’s Readers Choice will represent the country to the Miss World beauty pageant later this year after she was named Bb. Pilipinas-World 2010 during the Binibining Pilipinas coronation night last Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Two other candidates were crowned in the same pageant, earning them the right to represent the country in the Miss Universe and Miss International contests also later this year.

Czarina Catherine Gatbont on, a Hotel and Restaurant Management sophomore, was crowned Bb. Pilipinas-World during the pageant which was broadcast on national television on a slightly delayed live telecast.

Gatbonton was also the recipient of the Manila Bulletin Readers’ Choice special award which was awarded earlier and which was presented by Badette Cunanan of the Manila Bulletin’s corporate affairs department.

Gatbonton impressed the judges with her answer when asked, “Given another life, what would you like to be and why?’’ She answered in Filipino.

“Gusto ko pong sagutin ang katanungan sa ating Wikang Pambansa. Kung ako po ay bibigyan ng pangalawang buhay, gusto ko maging puno na nagbibigay hininga at buhay. Salamat po.’’ (I would like to answer the question in our national language. Given another life, I would like to be a tree that allows us to breathe and live. Thank you).

Standing 5 feet 10½ inches tall and weighing 116.6 lbs, Gatbonton has a body measurement of 34-23-34½. She also enjoys basketball, volleyball and acting, and has dreamt of becoming a beauty queen.

Maria Venus Raj, 21, of Bato, Camarines Sur, was crowned 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe and will represent the country in the Miss Universe beauty contest.

A judge asked her how far she would go to achieve her dreams. Raj said: “I will really do my best, and do everything that I can do to achieve what I really want in life. It is also important to have God in me so that I can achieve my dreams.’’

Raj stands 5’9 tall, weighs 110 lbs and measures 35-22-35. Before joining the contest, Raj worked as an Information Assistant at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region IV. She has a Bachelor in Communication Arts degree, major in journalism.

She also won Best in Long Gown, Best in Regional Terno and Miss Friendship, a special award which she shared with semifinalist Kate Princess Alimurong. Aside from playing volleyball and basketball, Raj is also into singing.

Krista Mae Kleiner, 20, was crowned 2010 Bb. Pilipinas International. Kleiner, who stands 5’10 tall, is a TV personality and a psychology graduate. She also won Best in Swimsuit and Best Talent.

During the interview portion, her question was: “If you’ll have the chance to meet President Obama, what would you talk about?’’ Kleiner said: “President Obama did so much charity work and really dedicated his life to other people. I would also ask his advice on how I can follow his footsteps and how I can help the Filipino people.’’

Diane Necio, 17, was named first runner up while Helen Nicollete Henson won second runner-up honors. All the winners received cash prizes and other products from this year’s sponsors.

So far, the Philippines has won the Miss Universe and Miss International crowns several times.

However, the country has yet to produce a titlist in the Miss World contest.

Other winners of special awards were Laureen Ann Caparas, Texter’s Choice; Henson, Miss Fit and Right, Miss PAL and Miss Photogenic; and Selena Alexis Antonio, Shoppers’ Choice.

The others who made it to the semifinals were Mariella Castillo, Gwendoline Ruais, Maryanne Ross Misa, and Rose Ann Aguilar.

Members of the board of judges were French Ambassador Thierry Borja de Mozota, Ambassador Ivan J. Crespo, GMA 7 television newscaster Mike Enriquez, artist Juvenal Sanso, actress Claudine Barretto, former Miss International Aurora Pijuan, boxing champion Nonito Donaire, basketball star Gabe Norwood, PAL Director Jaime Bautista, Sofitel Philippine Plaza general manager Goran Aleksandrovski, and Navy Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez.

12 ways to beat insomnia

Source: Manila Bulletin
Q. What advise can you give somebody like me who suffers from insomnia? What causes it? I am 65 years old and I sleep only 5-6 hours a day and I wake up frequently. Isn’t it people need 8 hours of sleep a day? Will sleeping pills help?

---Benbinom@yahoo.com

A. Insomnia or inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep is a common condition that affects people of all ages, especially adults. About 50% of all adults have occasional insomnia while around 10% have chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is not a disease but simply a symptom that has a variety of causes, chief of which are stress and over stimulation. Other common causes of insomnia include an irregular sleep-wake schedule, excessive intake of alcohol or coffee, intake of medications (e.g., anti-cholinergics, anti-depressants, anti-hypertensives, etc.), and emotional problems that are often relationships or work related. There are, however, insomnias that have no apparent cause.

There is no consensus among experts on how much sleep a person requires to maintain optimal health and wakeful alertness. Evidently, the amount of needed sleep varies from individual to individual and from age group to age group. Although most people sleep between 7-8 hours a night, many function normally with less than 7 or more than 8 hours of sleep. However, regular sleep of less than 4 or more than 9 hours is associated with a shorter life expectancy.

Incidentally, the elderly generally need only 5 1/2 to 6 hours sleep a night—the amount of sleep you regularly get. Likewise, old people are “light sleepers.” Hence, I will not even say you have insomnia unless you experience sleepiness during the day that interferes with your daily activities.

Treatment of insomnia depends on the cause, but the following measures should allow you to sleep better, whatever is the cause of your insomnia:

• Regularize your sleeping hours. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning.

• Keep your bedroom clean, quiet, cool and comfortable.

• Use your bed for sleep and intimacy only. Do not watch TV or read in bed. Get out of bed if you can’t sleep. Return to it only when you’re sleepy. Do not clock-watch nor indulge in counting activities such as counting sheep when you are in bed.

• Do not take your worries and frustrations to bed with you. Likewise, avoid doing stimulating activities before bedtime. Take up relaxing activities such as listening to music or taking a warm bath instead.

• Take an early, light dinner. At the same time do not go to bed hungry. A heavy meal can interfere with sleep, so can hunger.

• Refrain from taking coffee or any caffeine-containing beverages in the afternoon or evening.

• Try taking a warm glass of milk at bedtime. Dairy products contain tryptophan, a natural sleep inducer.

• If you smoke. Quit. Smokers, especially those who consume a pack or more a day, have difficulty sleeping.

• Moderate your alcohol intake.

• Exercise regularly, but this should be in the morning or early afternoon and not four hours or less before bedtime.

• During the day, do not take naps and ensure that you have adequate exposure to sunlight. The body has a natural clock that is reset by sunlight.

• If you are taking medicines on a regular basis, review their side effects with your doctor. Replace those that could possibly interfere with sleep.

If your insomnia persists, seek medical consultation. Do not self-medicate with “sleeping pills.” Sleeping pills are only adjuncts in treating insomnia. If used incorrectly, they aggravate rather than cure sleep problems. Besides, they are very dangerous. Very few people need drugs and only for a limited period of time to help them sleep.

(E-mail inquiries on health matters to: medical_notes@yahoo.com)

Limits of scientific method

By Jaime Licauco
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE WAY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE Western world, look at the nature of reality, which is based almost solely on what science regards as real, has long been in need of some rethinking, if not revision.

I want to make it clear at the outset, however, that I am not against science and I’m not referring here to the scientific method, with which I have no quarrel. I do not think that we can improve on the methodology of science as far as validating physical reality is concerned. It is already perfect and one can add nothing more to it.

It has proven its value or effectiveness for centuries. Were it not for science, people would probably still be living in caves and dying at the age of 30.

However Western orthodox science has ignored a great deal of other realities and human experiences because it is based on the following unstated assumptions:

1. Our knowledge of the outside world is derived only from our physical senses.

2. All qualitative properties can be reduced to quantitative ones.

3. There is a clear distinction between the objective world and subjective experience.

4. The mind cannot exert any influence on the physical world.

5. What we call consciousness or awareness is only a secondary phenomenon or result of physical biochemical process.

6. We can only know the present moment and cannot foretell future events, except that which can be predicted from known causes and past historical data.

7. Individual consciousness does not survive death. Therefore spirits or so-called ghosts do not and cannot exist in reality.

The above assumptions underlying the scientific method have become the only accepted means by which reality of anything is validated and accepted by scientists. Everything else outside of these is imaginary or devoid of objective and independent existence.

The main problem with mainstream scientific method is that its assumptions are true or correct only as it pertains to physical reality. It does not include the nonphysical world. That is its main limitation.

And when scientists try to apply the scientific experimental method to things other than the physical, they get into trouble in trying to explain them rationally. It is like a child who jumps from a tall building using an umbrella as parachute. He falls to the ground dead. Why? He was using the wrong instrument or tool outside of what it was intended for.

Similarly, when scientists try to explain rationally how natives of Fiji Islands, for example, can walk on extremely hot rows of molten lava rocks, six feet long, three-feet wide and three-feet deep, without being burned, they get into some logical quandary.

It has been explained by scientists that the reason the natives are not hurt is because they have developed very strong sweat glands that get activated when they step into molten lava, thereby cooling it. Or they may have developed “very thick soles” on their feet. These explanations, no matter how ridiculous, are accepted by scientists, rather than admitting that their minds may have exerted an influence on their physical body that makes it immune to burns.

According to Dr. Willis Harman, president, until his death, of the Institute of Noetic Science in Sausalito, California, in his very important book “Global Mind Change, The New Age Revolution in the Way We Think,” “A total belief system is on organization of beliefs and expectancies that the person accepts as true of the world he or she lives in.

It does not have to be logically consistent, indeed, it probably never is. It may be compartmentalized, containing logically contradicting beliefs which typically do not come into conscious awareness at the same times. The person unconsciously wards off evidence that might reveal such inner contradictions.”

What is an appropriate methodology in one level or aspect of reality, according to him, may not be applicable in another level. The scientific method was never intended to explain nonphysical reality, and, indeed, it cannot. And when applied to nonphysical subjective reality, the scientific experimental method flounders or breaks down.

As quantum physicists have discovered to their initial shock, there is probably not even such a thing as objective reality on a quantum or sub-atomic levels. There are only subjective constructs.

The immutable laws of Newtonian physics, which work so well on the macro-level, simply do not apply in the micro or subatomic levels. What seems to apply there, despite strong objections from mainstream scientists, is consciousness. As the great English physicist Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington said: “The stuff of the universe is mind stuff.”

Another modern physicist, Dr. Fritjof Capra, pointed out in his best-selling book “The Tao of Physics,” “The discoveries of modern physics necessitated profound changes of concepts like space, time, matter, object, cause and effect, and since these concepts are so basic to our way of experiencing the world, it is not surprising that the physicists who were forced to change them felt something of a shock.”

To insist therefore in applying only the objective experimental scientific methodology to subjective, personal experience, is to miss a great portion of what constitutes reality, as a whole.

Do you know who you really are?

Source: Daily Inquirer
By Jaime T. Licauco
Philippine Daily Inquirer
WE ARE TOLD THAT IN ANCIENT Greece, there was an Oracle in Delphi dedicated to Apollo, the God of Prophecy and Healing. The Oracle at Delphi became so famous for its accuracy in foretelling the future or the fate of people that even kings, princes and other heads of state would pay it regular visits to know what’s in store for them. The God Apollo was believed to speak through a high priestess while she was in a trance.

It has been said that the Oracle at Delphi declared the philosopher, Socrates, “the wisest man on earth.” When Socrates was told about this, he said in great seriousness: “The Oracle called me the wisest man on earth because I am the only one who knows that I know nothing.”

According to classic stories that have come down to us, at the gate of the Oracle of Delphi was written the cryptic statement, “Know Thyself,” before one is allowed entry to its inner chamber. Next to it is another inscription which says: “Nothing to excess.”

For so long, during my early collegiate schooling in Philosophy, I was both intrigued and fascinated by these two inscriptions, especially the first admonition to “know thyself.” “Why? Don’t we know who we are?” I asked myself innocently.

I never really understood the meaning or intent of that Delphic inscription until after five decades later. And even now, I still cannot be sure if I had really grasped its full meaning.

When I began thinking more deeply about why the ancient Greek Oracle required anyone who sought entry into its inner chamber to first know himself, I began to realize the reason. The awesome fact is: No one can tell that he really knows himself.

Let me see if I can make this clear with the following illustration:

If I asked you (or anyone) “Who are you?”, what would be your most likely answer?

First, you will most likely give your name, say, “Juan de la Cruz.”

Then, to further describe who you are, you may give your father’s and mother’s name, as the son of so and so. Then you may give your home address, school or office, or even your SSS or GSIS ID number. And so on and so forth.

But if you think more deeply about your answers, you will notice that none of them really tells who you are, because you are not your name, nor the fact that you are the son of so and so. Neither are you your school or company, nor even your SSS or GSIS number.

All these answers are outside of you. They do not tell anything about your real self. So who are you really? Can we honestly answer this question?

Disconcerting

It was then I realized, to my great horror and complete disappointment, that I do not really know who I am. And that realization is, to say the least, very disconcerting. Our parents could have given us another name and that would be how people would refer to us or call us. We could have been the child of some other parents, so naming our parents doesn’t tell us who we are. We are still describing things outside of us, but not about us. If your name, address, parents’ names, school or company affiliation, SSS, GSIS or tax account number, etc., is erased, will you know who you are?

This realization leads to further questions, like, if I don’t even know who I really am, how do I know where I come from or what I am doing here on earth? There’s no one who can answer that question except ourselves. To be able to answer the question requires that we look deeply at our essence and not what others have made of us. That’s quite a formidable task, indeed.

The other inscription at the gates of the Oracle at Delphi is much easier to understand: “Nothing to excess.” It simply means we should never think or act in excess or in any extreme. It admonishes us to choose the safe middle path. This is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Mean of Aristotle.” We should neither act too little or too much; nor sleep too little or too much; nor work too little nor too much; nor be too good or too bad, etc. Everything we do should be done in moderation.

I can just imagine the high priestess smiling mysteriously after a candidate or visitor has answered both these questions. Only then would he be qualified or fit to enter her innermost chambers to partake of the wisdom of the gods. Then no answer need be given by her, the candidate has answered it himself. This reminds me of the old Chinese saying: “He who knows others is knowledgeable, but he who knows himself is wise.”

Remote Viewing

Step 1: Make Your Mind an Empty Rice Bowl

The first step in this testing process is for you to learn how to make your mind into an empty rice bowl. That means you need to empty your mind of as much of the thoughts, images, and awarenesses that are normally part of your consciousness as you possibly can. Of course, you cannot completely empty your mind. You hear yourself breathing; your boss's image flits before you; you hear a dog barking. If you practice this over several weeks or months, you will become very good at it. That is a large part of what makes up meditation.

For now, just relax, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and empty your mind. Do so now for five minutes before going on. You will have a black window in your mind into which you can gaze. It is the window to your remote viewing.


Step 2: Learn to Keep Your Imagination Quiet

Your imagination will try to put images into that black window. You've been doing that all of your life, when you daydream, solve problems, or plan things. It will be difficult to keep the imagination from showing you images when you make your mind into an empty rice bowl. Imagination wants to fill it with strawberries and cream or imagination soup.

More than anything, be aware of the images the imagination is putting into your mind. If you see an image of your aunt, she likely is not the remote viewing target, so toss her out.

Also, very vivid images are probably imagination, not remote viewing, because remote viewed images are blurred and indistinct, especially at first. If you can identify the image, then it likely is not from remote viewing the target. In remote viewing, you will see indistinct images, shapes, and colors, but they will usually not look like something identifiable. Relax and empty your mind if something clearly identifiable comes into it.

When you do receive remote viewing signals, avoid trying to identify something or letting your imagination fill in the blanks to make something identifiable out of the impressions you have. If you can identify it, then your imagination has created it. When the imagination puts an image into your window, quiet your mind and empty your rice bowl. Make your window black.

Practice that for five minutes now. Relax, close your eyes, and empty your mind. As imagined images come into your mind, quiet your mind and empty the window so it is black.


Step 3: Remote View the Targets

You will be presented the target identifiers one at a time. Each is associated with a photograph that is very distinctive. Close your eyes, relax, empty your mind, and look at the blackboard in your mind. Say the target identifier to yourself or see it writing on the blackboard. Then sit quietly and wait for visual details, color, temperature, touch, texture, and emotional sense.

After you get impressions, open your eyes and sketch the images or write the impressions. Write only the details; don't try to decide what the target is. Put a line below the impressions when you're done to separate them from the next set of impressions. Then close your eyes again, relax, make your mind an empty rice bowl, and say the letters of the target identifier in your mind. Wait for more impressions; then open your eyes and record them. You might do that eight or ten times for a single target.

There are ten targets in the test. View at least five of them. You may get correct information from only one or two because you are not trained in remote viewing yet. Don't give up on the first one.

Scientific studies on remote viewing

Source: Philippine Star
REMOTE VIEWING, OR MORE technically known as “traveling clairvoyance,” is the mental ability to project one’s consciousness or awareness to a specific distant place one has never been to and to describe it accurately.

Remote viewing as a psychic ability that nearly everyone can perform, even only after a brief training, is a relatively recent modern discovery.

It was scientifically proven to exist after very extensive and exhaustive studies under controlled conditions for 20 years at the Stanford Research Institute (now called SRI International) at Menlo Park, California, by two prominent scientists with Ph.Ds in physics, namely Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff. The study lasted from the early 1970s to 1990s under strict secrecy, until it was declassified at the turn of the century.

I met Targ in Menlo Park after he had already left SRI. He was then working as senior research scientist at Lockheed Corporation. During that meeting, I told him that I had modified the scientific protocol they had established for remote viewing at SRI. And he asked me what was my rate of success. I said about 90 percent. “How long do you train the subject?” I said about two hours.

Then he laughed and told me: “You know, Jimmy, both you and I know a secret.” And what was that, I asked him. “Well,” explained Targ, “most people think that psychic functioning can be performed by only a few people, and that it takes long to train them to perform it. We both know that nearly everyone can do remote viewing and it takes only a short period to train people.” I told him he was right and we both laughed.

I have been teaching the modified version of remote viewing in both my Inner Mind Development and Basic ESP and Intuition Development courses in the Philippines and in many parts of the world, with very great success for over 20 years now.

In the original remote viewing procedure developed at SRI, a subject stays at SRI and is watched closely by the scientists, while another person goes to a remote place of his choice, unknown to the remote viewer and the scientists. The other person is supposed to stay for about 30 minutes in his chosen location and writes down what he sees around him. In the meantime, back at SRI, the remote viewer is also asked to write down details of what the other person is seeing and describing. When the other person returns to SRI, their two separate statements are compared and evaluated by an independent panel and not by the scientists, in order to prevent unconscious cues or biases that they may unconsciously project.

The percentage of accuracy obtained by the scientists, after numerous experiments over a period of 20 years, averaged 80 to 90 percent, a figure that could not be attributed to chance, or to collusion between persons involved.

Today, remote viewing is part of the training of CIA agents, as well as some military personnel in the United States and possibly in other countries. Its applications in intelligence gathering and industrial espionage are numerous.

Simplified model

I have modified and simplified this scientific model developed by Targ and Puthoff at SRI. In my version, all I do is ask each member of the class to choose a partner whom he does not know too well. A perfect stranger would be the best partner. After placing the class in a meditative and passive state (an altered state of consciousness), I ask them to mentally go to each other’s house and describe what each perceives. At the end of the exercise, each will tell the other what he had seen in his partner’s house.

In almost 20 years of teaching this method in the Philippines and abroad, about 90 percent of the participants are able to describe the house of the partner or some particular part of it with great accuracy. Sometimes, they even describe the house the partner has lived in before and not the present house. In a few instances, the remote viewer describes a house his partner intends to buy but does not yet own.

This modified version of remote viewing I had developed is now being used in two other Western countries, in Canada and Great Britain. In Canada, Dr. Lee Pulos, a professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and a well-known hypnotherapist, is teaching this technique to his students. A British scientist named Dr. Peter Anton Stewart is also using my model of remote viewing in his seminar in Great Britain.

I thought that remote viewing was a modern discovery. I was wrong! I found out that it has been practiced since Biblical times. A very good example can be found in the Book of Kings 2 in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. I also discovered a fully documented case of remote viewing that took place in the 18th century. In next week’s column, I shall describe these two remarkable remote viewing cases.