ON LETTERS, DREAMS, THE MOON by Jaime T. Licauco (part 2)

“What’s in the moon? Since I was a child, I have always known that I am cheerful at certain times of the month (Biorhythms?). Only when I came to Saudi Arabia was I able to chart the exact dates, since the lunar calendar is used here. From the 6^th to the 21^st day of the lunar calendar, I am bound to be more cheerful. Friends and people I barely knew would stop in the middle of the road to shake my hand, and I could better manage things that came my way. What’s even more perplexing is my hair. 20-30% of my hair becomes white towards the full moon and decreases to about 10% as the moon wanes. I’m only 35 years old, by the way. From the 22^nd to the 5^th of the next lunar month, I tend to be more irritable; prone to troubles, quarrels with my wife, or more accidents come to the emergency room if I am on duty there.”

It is already an established scientific fact that the moon affects all living creatures on Earth. Astrology went further and said that all other planets affect us, too.

Of course, some people are more affected by the moon's waxing and waning than others, and you obviously happen to belong to the more sensitive group of people. As you know, the moon dramatically influences women's menstrual cycles.

I suspect that the “Yin” or the feminine part of your being is as well developed and sensitive as your “Yang” or masculine part. This has nothing to do with one’s being effeminate or virile. I am referring to human beings' two-part nature, as described in Carl Jung’s terminology: the animus and the anima. I think having these fundamental aspects of man developed side by side is indeed very good, as long as balance and harmony are achieved.

“What’s in a height? Why do I love being in high places, especially on top of mountains?” (Note: I did not mention in the letter, or somewhat missed saying that the town where I worked then and now is more than 3,000 feet above sea level. It is one of Saudi Arabia’s highest peak towns, and the weather throughout the year is just…wow!)

We know that mountains have different energy sources from the lowlands. Mystics, psychics, hermits, and other practitioners of the esoteric sciences prefer to stay in the mountains rather than in the lowlands. Scientifically speaking, mountains have higher levels of negative ions, which refresh and invigorate people more than cities and lowlands. Being the sensitive person that you are, it is natural for you to gravitate to and be happier in such high places as mountain tops than elsewhere.

“What’s in a place? My brother and I are trying to translate the “Darangen,” an epic of my people believed to be longer than the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. It consists of 17 books. According to the story, there was a time when man mingled and communicated freely with beings from other planes or dimensions. There is a cave in my province that nobody cares to venture into because it is believed to contain the remains of the Darangen (Kingdom of Bembaran). They were allegedly punished by the gods by turning them into stones.”

I am not familiar with your epic, but I’m glad to know that there is an attempt to translate it. You will note that all great epics of the world have for their theme or central idea the ability to converse with beings from other dimensions, and the earthmen usually call them gods or angels. There is a theory that such beings from other dimensions or other galaxies actually lived amongst us eons ago. Erich Von Daniken popularized this idea, beginning with his book “Chariots of the Gods.” Some even said that Jesus Christ was really a spaceman from another galaxy who was sent to Earth to guide man back to his source, which he had almost completely forgotten. Perhaps the cave you mentioned really harbors the remains of such superior creatures. Who knows? I wouldn’t discount the possibility.

“Beings from another plane? Since she was a child, my aunt has often been visited by a being from another dimension who speaks through her. The spirit, if you may call it that, claims to be her twin. We can hear beautiful whistling sounds around the house when her twin wants to talk through her, and then we would hear our aunt fall with a thud at the end of her prayer. We Muslims pray five times a day, so her twin spirit would come during any of these times. The spirit usually comes when someone in our family is sick or warns us of accidents, catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. She once asked my brother to pick up some herbal medicines by the window. My brother stretched his hand out, and the medicine just fell from nowhere on his hands.”

From the description, it looks like the spirit being you speak of is a fairy or encanto, as known by the people of Luzon. It usually appears as a beautiful lady in white with a flowing dress and long, silky hair whose feet never touch the ground. She glides rather than walks. The language of the Encanto is similar to the whistling or chirping of birds. They can enter a human body and help them in times of distress. The encanto can also materialize objects, like the herbal medicine you speak of. She can also heal and foretell the future. But according to my information, there are positive and negative encantos. Your aunt is lucky to be in contact with the positive one. Encantos belong to what some call elemental or nature spirits, like dwarves, sylphs, undines, etc. Others would put them in a separate category. It doesn’t really matter much how we classify them. What’s more important is how we can learn, understand, and communicate with them better. Your aunt, who is a natural medium for such beings, can start exploring this aspect.

To be continued…

https://www.amazon.com/Nosca-Khalid/e/B01NA7APYQ

ON LETTERS, DREAMS, THE MOON…by Jaime T. Licauco

In the 1980s, Jaime T. Licauco, the Philippines’ top paranormal researcher and author of many books on the subject, replied to a letter I sent him. I didn't know that he would publish it; fortunately, I stumbled upon it while browsing Philippine publications (magazines and newspapers) in a small bookstore in Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia. It occupied the full 3 pages of Mr & Ms Magazine. Since it is long, I will reproduce it here in 3 parts.

If you follow my blog, you know that I have since projected to many places. Before space scientists discovered that diamond planets exist, I had already projected to one. 

I had no idea that Jaime T. Licauco would publish my letter…

A couple of months ago, I received a long letter (five typewritten pages) from a Filipino Muslim doctor named Nosca L. Khalid, who works in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. His letter contains so many interesting questions concerning various aspects of paranormal phenomena that the only way to deal with them adequately is to reply to each question one by one. He began by providing a brief background about himself and explaining why he had written the letter.

                “I have read the last three of your articles in Mr & Ms and have been greatly encouraged to send you a letter. I have been beset by some phenomena I found very hard to rationalize, despite my scientific professional achievements. I am a Muslim (Maranaw) and a doctor of medicine. I am writing to inquire about the possibility of joining your research group, specifically in the study of the paranormal. And second, if after reading this letter, you believe that I have paranormal abilities, can you help me develop them further, or can you recommend some books I can read?”

I am glad to know that my series of articles on the spirit entity Ang Suh has struck a chord with many people. I understand that there have been numerous requests for Xerox copies of the series.

Regarding the Philippine Paranormal Research Society Inc., which I have recently established, any interested individual who adheres to its philosophy and objectives is welcome to become a member. He or she does not have to be a psychic to qualify. Ours is a scientific and humanitarian research organization that does not discriminate against any religion, race, sex, or political affiliation. The society will investigate and document paranormal abilities and events in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It will also help develop such skills through well-designed courses, seminars, workshops, and experiments. Under separate cover, I shall send you more information about the society.

“What’s in a letter? Why is it that people whose names begin with the letter ‘N’ seem very close to me? My name begins with the letter ‘N’; my wife and three of my best friends do too. I began to question the coincidences when a friend recently tried to avoid me for no reason except that we were both married. Only a year later did I discover that her real name begins with the letter ‘N.’”

Let me begin with a quotation direct from the American psychic and prophet, Edgar Cayce: “We seldom meet a person by accident.” All meaningful encounters we have in this lifetime are merely echoes of past encounters with them. This is true of our spouses, children, bosses, parents, close friends, and even enemies. A helpful law of the cosmic universe to remember is that “like attracts like.” So if you are warm and friendly, you will attract warm and friendly people. If you are the opposite, you will attract those same qualities from others. Therefore, your attachment to certain letters, numbers, or colors will attract others of similar vibrations to yours, and you notice this because you are sensitive enough to these subtle qualities.

“What’s in a dream? Why do most of my dreams come true? There was a time when I could dream of what was going to happen, no matter how trivial. The most notable dream I had was when I was in my second year of medicine at UERMMMC. The night before our excursion to Taal Lake, I had a dream that I was attending a funeral, but I dismissed it because I was wearing white. One of our female classmates drowned, and we attended her funeral in our white uniforms exactly the way I dreamed it. On another occasion, I dreamed I was bitten by a black dog. I was held up the following day at the Lambingan Bridge in San Juan. I was wounded at the exact part where I was bitten by the dog in the dream.”

Dreams are the language of our subconscious minds. They speak to us in far more significant ways than we commonly regard them as such. The ability to interpret and apply the messages of dreams in our daily lives can mean the difference between success and failure, between greatness and mediocrity.

Not all dreams foretell future events, although many do. Some dreams help us solve problems, others castigate us for weaknesses, and still others offer us glimpses of our past lives. No two dreams should be interpreted the same way, no matter how similar, for no two dreams are identical.

Dr. Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psychoanalysis, was the first Western scientist to systematically study the meaning and significance of dreams. But centuries before he was born, the ancient Greeks, the American Indians, and the Senoi aborigines of Malaysia were interpreting dreams as naturally as breathing. Dream interpretation was part of their cultures, and it was no product of academic gobbledygook as it has become in contemporary Western civilization.

Three excellent books on dreams I’d like to recommend are: Creative Dreaming by Patricia Gerfield, Ph.D.; Working with Dreams by Montague Ullman, M.D., and Nan Zimmerman; and Edgar Cayce on Dreams by Harmon H. Bro., Ph.D.

(to be continued…)

https://www.amazon.com/Nosca-Khalid/e/B01NA7APYQ

BUBBLE GANG: Best 10 Minutes Laughter of 2013

This is a 10 minutes edited clip from Bubble Gang’s “Best of 2013.” This is my 10 minutes choice although the entire 50 minutes is hilariously funny. If I am going to vote for my number 1; my choice would be “Bukas May Pagasa Pa” giving life to Kim Atienza’s “Ang Buhay ay Weather Weather Lang.” 

TAAL LAKE: Shooting The Way To Picture Perfect

For the first time, I can, without hesitation, declare that I am proud of my country. I can’t remember a day I didn't complain about the despicable conditions I saw around me, but today, I have only awe-inspiring admiration for the changes I witnessed.  I used to grumble about how driving through the Pantar Bridge that divides Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte was like driving through two different worlds; one side with well-paved roads, while the other side was puck-marked with manholes as if you were suddenly sucked into a wormhole-bridge to the moon. If you have driven of late from the New CDO Laguindingan Airport to Marawi City or vice versa, you would have noticed that life is better, and on a sunny afternoon…life could even be good.

Because of the food left over from New Year’s Eve, we decided to drive to Tagaytay City on the spur of the moment. Driving from Maharlika Village via Alabang /Cavite to Tagaytay City gave me a feeling of cruising through what the country could be its show-case of development: a smooth, tidy, and vast expanse of highways, soaring skyscrapers, malls, new subdivisions with beautiful, expensive homes and of course, classy, costly cuisines; testament to Filipinos’ obsession with food and the good life. Many Filipinos must be incredibly wealthy, or who will buy condo units from the skyscrapers sprouting everywhere and build homes in new subdivisions, like critters crawling towards the countryside, not to mention malls and hypermarkets that typically follow new population centers?

Regardless of what the Aquino haters think, I have no complaints, and I feel proud of my country for the first time. 

LAKE LANAO; a journey home…

To get an unblemished view of this scenery, one needs to be an early bird because by 9:00 in the morning, clouds would start to shroud the mountains. Even on a sunny afternoon, you get a better view of the lake and the villages that dot its forested coasts, but not the summit that outlines the figure of the famous sleeping lady, a name amusingly given to it by the pioneering students of the Mindanao State University. This view of the lake is probably the most photographed scenery in all of Mindanao, ranking it nationwide alongside Ta’al Volcano, Mayon Volcano, and the Mines View Park. 

...and in the distance; lost among the trees is Marawi City

Trekking Makati’s Famous Footbridges…

I think Makati’s commercial district, taken as one of the world’s biggest malls, is the only one that comes close to being second. Over the years, with massive facelifts and expansions, not to mention the sprouting of soaring skyscrapers, multiple malls fused into one: SM Makati, Rustans, Landmark, Glorieta 1-5, and Greenbelt 1-5, creating a sprawling city of 13 malls that is unequaled in size and engineering design. What makes it even more fascinating is the unique design of each mall compared to the others; it’s like walking through different worlds. I love to walk the stretches of the inside of the mall just for the heck of it, but today, I trekked along its outside perimeter and took these photos. I didn't have my Sony Cybershot, but I had my old Nokia N95, and the photos turned out okay. 

Lunch (Biriani) at Glorieta

Nishreen's Amazing Weekend...

As chaperon and cameraman, I can hardly match up with Nishreen’s vigor, but since I can do this for her only once every 2 years…I followed her around without complaint. I feel indebted to her in a way that makes me feel really guilty; it is a small way to make up for my absence. In a few weeks, I will leave again, but this weekend, bonding with my angel of joy will sustain my loneliness in a far-far-away-land with the full knowledge that every time I come home…she will have grown up 2 years in a blink. She will be 11 years old next time I come home; hugging her would be awkward. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddwmEx0oR-E