<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259</id><updated>2011-11-27T20:13:52.949-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Embrace Only Love</title><subtitle type='html'>...a conversation about life purpose and who we really are.

(www.embraceonlylove.com)</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>17</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-410312312013058771</id><published>2009-07-28T02:18:00.011-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-28T14:14:26.765-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Time after time</title><content type='html'>A meditation teacher once told me that "life is simply a string of moments". There was a moment of clarity when I heard these words. Certainly makes life more manageable, doesn't it? ...and &lt;strong&gt;with each new moment we are given a choice to make&lt;/strong&gt;. The two choices are always positive road or the negative road.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At each turn, at each moment, you always have a choice! You can choose wisely when you realize the impact of going down each of the two roads&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt; When you walk down the negative road, there is sure to be misery because there is resistance to something there. When you walk down the positive road, you are choosing peace and happiness. There is no resistance here and so it &lt;strong&gt;allows you to live with ease.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are some examples of how we are faced with a choice in all life situations and its impact on our lives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let's say, you fail an exam. You can choose to beat yourself up and decide never to take the exam again (ruled by fear/ego) or you can choose to see it as a lesson learned and remain optimistic about the second attempt. Which road leads to misery and which leads to peace and happiness?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you experience a heartbreak from a romantic partner, you will certainly be sad but beyond the greiving of the relationship, you can either choose to remain depressed and feel like the victim or you can choose to learn from the relationship and look forward to finding a new partner that suits you better. Which road leads to misery and which leads to peace and happiness?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the case of a death of a loved one, again, you will certainly be sad but beyond the grieving of the relationship, you can either choose to remain in disbelief that the person is gone and live in misery or you can choose to accept that the person is gone and adjust back to day to day life without the loved one there. Which road leads to misery and which leads to peace and happiness?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lastly, when you are faced with a mean person in your life, you can choose to be mean right back (either passive aggressively or otherwise) or you can choose to be compassionate and consider the reasons why the mean person feels the need to be mean and let him be without getting sucked into their pointless mean games. Which road leads to misery and which leads to peace and happiness?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Time after time&lt;/em&gt;, you are faced with these moments where you will have to choose the direction you want to move in. It is important to be clear that it is a choice and be responsible for your actions. &lt;strong&gt;Actively choose the positive road every time and you will have an easy life.&lt;/strong&gt; Now, if we happen to go down the negative road and later realize we do not want to be in misery, we can always choose the positive road in the very next moment. How wonderful that &lt;strong&gt;we always get a new chance to choose&lt;/strong&gt;! The choice is always ours to make right now! How will you choose to live the moments of today?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;May you be happy&lt;/em&gt;. =)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-410312312013058771?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Time after time'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/410312312013058771/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/07/time-after-time.html#comment-form' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/410312312013058771'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/410312312013058771'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/07/time-after-time.html' title='Time after time'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-9026961193818743017</id><published>2009-07-14T09:29:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-14T10:27:14.640-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Springing through life</title><content type='html'>I realize how amazing this life is as I start to connect the dots...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each devastating fall to the bottom in my life is what has catapulted me to be who I am today.  &lt;strong&gt;It is as if each fall (heartache from various life situations) was a compressed coil spring. &lt;/strong&gt; The load and pressure from the compression or fall may feel like it is too much to bear at the time but eventually the spring releases and the energy provided from the release allows us growth lessons and propels us higher spiritually.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Without experiencing my upsetting failures early on in my career, I would not be as knowledgeable and effective as I am today with work.  If I had not lived through broken hearts as a young adult, I would not have learned about my own needs and desires as a woman and learn of compromise between partners.   As sad as it was to lose loved ones to death, I would not be as strong in my faith and understand that life is lived today and only today if it weren't for those devastating moments in my life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we &lt;strong&gt;look at each "fall" in life as if it is really preparation for our RISE in life&lt;/strong&gt;, we can manage the devastating feeling better and survive it, perhaps, quicker.  Never under estimate the potential of growth from each "fall".  With the knowledge that this low point in your life will pass eventually, &lt;strong&gt;be loving and kind to yourself&lt;/strong&gt; and others while you experience it. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One day, you will be able to connect all the dots. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/embraceonlylove"&gt;http://www.twitter.com/embraceonlylove&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-9026961193818743017?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Springing through life'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/9026961193818743017/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/07/springing-through-life.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/9026961193818743017'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/9026961193818743017'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/07/springing-through-life.html' title='Springing through life'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-725523519098422489</id><published>2009-04-19T01:04:00.006-04:00</published><updated>2009-04-19T01:50:52.155-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Mindful of our Intentions</title><content type='html'>This past week, I was given an exercise as homework by my meditation instructor. The theme for the class is intention and the assignment was to be aware of our every intention every moment of the day (mindfulness). In other words, I had to constantly ask these two questions: What is it that I want? What is it that I want to stop?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I performed this exercise on the train ride home and it gave me a headache after 1 minute because the list, I realized, was infinite. The conversation in my head sounded something like this: I want the a/c on the train to stop, I don't want the class to end so late, I want the people on this train to get off, I want that lady's handbag, I want to eat, I don't want to gain weight, I want to get home faster, I want to get off this train, I want that man to stop playing his &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;iPod&lt;/span&gt; so loud, I want a child, I don't want a dog, I don't want this music on my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;iPod&lt;/span&gt; anymore, I want more music on my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;iPod&lt;/span&gt;, I want to be happy, I don't want to feel angry at my ex boyfriend anymore, I want....... (and it went on non-stop - all within a span of a minute) Have you ever paid attention to your intentions? Try the exercise yourself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There will always be something to want or not want....something to want to grab onto (&lt;strong&gt;cling&lt;/strong&gt;) and something to push away (&lt;strong&gt;aversion&lt;/strong&gt;). This is the nature of our mind and is never-ending.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This exercise was a way to &lt;strong&gt;sensitize ourselves to our intentions&lt;/strong&gt;. So when I had an urge to write an email to an ex-boyfriend sharing how I am so excited about expanding my business, I asked myself what is my real intention here because my ex and I are not on speaking terms. Why, all of a sudden, do I want to send him this email? Finally, I realized that my real intention was to make him proud of me. Then I realized that I do this with every ex-boyfriend after the breakup. I communicate with them only to share milestones reached. While I don't want to get back together, I just wanted them to be proud of me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This made me remember how my parents never said they were proud of me when I was young. I don't know if there is an equivalent to this phrase or sentiment in Burmese language/culture. When my parents finally said it to me in college (and in it happened to be in English), it struck something in me and I'll never forget it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, there's two things I want to say about this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1) How interesting that majority of the time, we just do things or say things without even being clear of what our intentions are! We just DO things. We just SAY things. Only to later regret it sometimes. Meditation is an exercise to shut down our autopilot and to start becoming more MINDFUL. &lt;strong&gt;The fact is that there is a negative impact on others as well as ourselves when we do or say things without being mindful.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2) I was looking for something in return when I completed this action. I was hoping for him to reply back saying how great it was and that he was proud of me. To put it another way, &lt;u&gt;I was banking my happiness on him&lt;/u&gt;. &lt;strong&gt;When we think that our happiness comes from another person or something outside of us, we are destined for unhappiness.&lt;/strong&gt; Because we have no control over another person or anything else outside of us. We only have control over our mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider your intentions before saying something to a co-worker. Pause before you text a friend and ask yourself, what is my intention behind this message. Just notice your intentions with every move and &lt;strong&gt;start becoming aware of your mind's habits&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*Meditation classes are available at the NY Insight Meditation Center in Manhattan. &lt;a href="http://www.nyimc.org/"&gt;http://www.nyimc.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-725523519098422489?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Mindful of our Intentions'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/725523519098422489/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/04/mindful-of-our-intentions.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/725523519098422489'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/725523519098422489'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/04/mindful-of-our-intentions.html' title='Mindful of our Intentions'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-4431002638933834369</id><published>2009-03-10T00:10:00.009-04:00</published><updated>2009-03-10T16:20:26.931-04:00</updated><title type='text'>A Crossing</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;...and life continues to open up for me...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was born into a devout b&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;uddhist&lt;/span&gt; family in Rangoon, Burma. Buddha was my first teacher. Before I could speak, my parents taught me how to bow three times and show respect to the Buddha. Throughout my youth and teenage years, I remained a faithful follower to &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Buddha's&lt;/span&gt; wisdom and &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;dhamma&lt;/span&gt;. Since the passing of a boyfriend three years ago, I have since opened up my spiritual outlook to what many now call "New Age" spirituality. This became a platform for me to realize the truth about life. &lt;strong&gt;I learned the significance of love and the simplicity of life.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;em&gt;To live is to love. To experience love is to live.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although I still practice buddhist meditation and believe in buddha's wisdom, in recent months, I have felt the urge to attend a christian church service. The reactions of both my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;buddhist&lt;/span&gt; friends and my christian friends have been interesting. =)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I sometimes get the sense that my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;buddhist&lt;/span&gt; friends are scared I might convert and my christian friends are happy at the thought that I might be "saved". All of this makes me chuckle a bit, I can't lie. I think it's so silly for both sides to feel the way they do and here is why...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's only one god, one love, one man, one life &lt;strong&gt;-- regardless of whether we look through the filter of a church stained glass window or through the leaves from underneath the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;bodhi&lt;/span&gt; tree&lt;/strong&gt;*.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Love is love, right? There's no two ways to slice it. There's only one mankind - one humanity. And we all live and share this one life. Yes? Similarly, I believe there's only one God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Human ego can divide mankind as much it wants with numerous religions/sects, etc. but the ultimate truth is we all came from one source and we will all go back to the same source when we pass away from this life. Truth is truth regardless of label. Love is the path to get to this truth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So my hope is that my friends will not put too much significance into the particular spiritual path I choose but rather be happy that I am&lt;strong&gt; journeying forward with open mind&lt;/strong&gt;. After all, they are all just different paths to get to the same place. In the meantime, I will still keep up my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;buddhist&lt;/span&gt; altar, listen to my &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://angeltherapy.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;angel therapy &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hayhouseradio.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Hay House radio&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;, try to live the way Buddha taught us to live (free from suffering) and still attend church.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Embrace Only Love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*Buddha reached enlightenment while meditating underneath the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;Bodhi&lt;/span&gt; Tree in India.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-4431002638933834369?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='A Crossing'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/4431002638933834369/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/03/crossing.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/4431002638933834369'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/4431002638933834369'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/03/crossing.html' title='A Crossing'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-8332810561188735882</id><published>2009-02-24T00:28:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2009-03-10T14:16:58.135-04:00</updated><title type='text'>One Humanity, One God, One Life Experience</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Sharing my journey into myself and my journey to embrace only love over the past four months has been a nerve racking experience at times. Two postings in particular had my heart beating in my throat as I cut and paste the link onto facebook to share the blog with my network of friends. But I push aside my ego -- afraid of looking bad or weak -- and I post my blog anyway in hopes of (1) a breakthrough for myself as I push through the uncomfortableness of un-peeling my layers of issues and (2) providing some guidance to readers that may be going through a similar life situation. In my sharing, I have received a good amount of positive feedback saying how my posting was meaningful to them and how they can relate. This makes me happy so I share this fact with a friend. Interestingly enough, my friend was surprised that so many people were able to relate to my writing. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My response was that there is one God, one humanity and one experience called Life.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;In this shared experience called Life, we all want to be loved and want to love. Everyone is afraid of being hurt at some point. We all know what it's like to be scared of being alone. All human beings are victims to the ego and at some point have taken actions that have hurt someone else, knowingly or not knowingly. No one is immune from these experiences. The degree to which we experience them depends on how conscious of our spirit (who we really are) in relation to our ego (layers of issues that we have allowed to latch on to us). But these are all universal issues dealt with by all humans at some point in their lives. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Which brings me to another point, as human beings, we need to start seeing what connect us rather than what divides us. Because in truth, we are all the same. Some might say we are all children of God. Others might say we are all made up of the same atoms and molecules.&lt;strong&gt; Regardless of how you want to look at it, we are all connected and nothing can divide us -- no matter how many religions or how much racism man creates.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-8332810561188735882?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='One Humanity, One God, One Life Experience'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/8332810561188735882/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/one-humanity-one-god-one-life_24.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/8332810561188735882'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/8332810561188735882'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/one-humanity-one-god-one-life_24.html' title='One Humanity, One God, One Life Experience'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-4212405774080208376</id><published>2009-02-23T17:39:00.008-05:00</published><updated>2009-03-10T14:17:09.651-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Honesty as a step towards freedom</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;I finally see me for me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Recently, I've come to realize that my jealousy and abandonment issues are rooted in insecurity. Many of you might think "duh -"....after all, logically and objectively, it makes perfect sense. But I had turned a blind eye to it when it came to me. For so many years, I blamed others for activating my jealousy and abandonment issues. I would expect others to be sensitive to my past and recurring emotional hurdles. &lt;strong&gt;The finger was always pointed outward and I never allowed myself to look at the issues as mine and only mine. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's a big reason for why I never looked further inside of myself. For as long as I can remember, I have painted a picture of myself as this independent, strong, powerful survivor. &lt;u&gt;This new revelation of deep seated insecurities completely shatter my self-image.&lt;/u&gt; My ego was certainly hurt. How can &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;I&lt;/u&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;be weak with insecurities? But in order move beyond my issues, I had to be completely honest with myself -- &lt;strong&gt;I had to acknowledge that I am insecure.&lt;/strong&gt; There, I said it. I am ridiculously insecure in some situations. Sometimes even "scared to death" because of these insecurities. It's not an emotional place I ever want to be in. My thoughts, feelings and actions when I am in an insecure mood are never good and no one around me is better for it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While I am not a therapist, I do know that &lt;u&gt;acknowledging a problem is the first step&lt;/u&gt;. When you are completely honest with yourself about your fears and come to identify the pattern of actions that you take because of those fears, you may start to distinguish the moment in which your fear is about to become activated. In other words, &lt;strong&gt;you can train yourself to raise a red flag when you feel like your fears and insecurities are taking over the driver's seat.&lt;/strong&gt; When the red flag goes up, take a deep deep breath. Become present in the moment, in the Now. Acknowledge the fear (don't resist it). Give yourself a hug in your mind. Then &lt;em&gt;think, speak and act out of love and put fear back in the passenger seat.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-4212405774080208376?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Honesty as a step towards freedom'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/4212405774080208376/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/honesty-as-step-towards-freedom.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/4212405774080208376'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/4212405774080208376'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/honesty-as-step-towards-freedom.html' title='Honesty as a step towards freedom'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-8833103571039119166</id><published>2009-02-18T20:34:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-02-18T21:27:19.492-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Take charge of your life: Put your fears in the backseat</title><content type='html'>Has it become a challenge for you to stay happy?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During the times that I am unhappy, I find it is because I am thinking too far ahead into the future which causes me to worry or feel anxious. &lt;strong&gt;This mental state focuses on the things or situations that I lack today.&lt;/strong&gt; Living in the future amplifies the scarcity in my life which, of course, makes me sad. I want something other than what I have right now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In some other cases, I find that I am unhappy or even miserable when I base my decisions on my fears. Insecurity and fear of being hurt can be powerful at times when it is not checked. Like most of you, my heart has been broken before. So when a new love enters my life, old memories of losing a love comes back quick. I have pushed people away and out of my life in the past in an attempt to protect myself. But in doing so, I shut the door to any possible happiness and fulfillment from being experienced. &lt;strong&gt;I say I want love but I'm too scared to let it in.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is this familiar? Can you relate to this? -- Now let's take a look at what it takes to be happy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Looking through my past, I find that during the happiest moments of my life, I was loving others and basing all my actions out of that love. My heart is open to giving and receiving love. There were no reservations or worries or what-ifs. There wasn't any long term planning involved. No guards are up to protect me from the unknown. &lt;strong&gt;Just a freedom to be my true self in the moment.&lt;/strong&gt; These are the most fulfilling times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For many people, &lt;strong&gt;fears or insecurities have become an autopilot mode effectively running our lives. &lt;/strong&gt;When we sense that there is any risk of being hurt, without a second thought (subconsciously at times) we shut the doors to our hearts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With time and complete honesty to yourself, you can learn to identify thoughts and actions based in your fears.  The key is to catch yourself before you complete those fear based actions.  Catch yourself, pause and breathe and let go of all fearful thoughts. This is not to say that the fears will dissappear all together. They do come back and each time they come up into your thoughts,  practice letting it go again...and again. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You have the power to choose to live in fear or to live life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-8833103571039119166?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Take charge of your life: Put your fears in the backseat'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/8833103571039119166/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/take-charge-of-your-life-put-your-fears.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/8833103571039119166'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/8833103571039119166'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/02/take-charge-of-your-life-put-your-fears.html' title='Take charge of your life: Put your fears in the backseat'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-5955365219153599392</id><published>2009-01-20T18:10:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-01-20T18:16:05.776-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Choosing a life you love and live it powerfully</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:georgia;"&gt;This morning there was a situation that occurred where I had 3 emotions successively within a span of 1 minute! Yes, in a short minute, I felt panic first and then hurt which moved me right into anger. These particular reactionary emotions came up immediately because that is how I’ve felt in the past when similar situations were experienced. I mistakenly believed that this morning was a repeat of the past. After taking a breath and a step back away from my reactionary emotions, I consciously chose to think with reason and an objective perspective rather than allow my past life experiences to dictate my experience of today (see past blog post “Puppet to the past”). By exercising my &lt;strong&gt;ability to CHOOSE how I feel and to turn off my autopilot&lt;/strong&gt; (ego), I was able to enjoy the rest of my morning instead of sulking and being upset for no good reason.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The amazing and beautiful thing about human beings is that we have the ability to choose. Let’s talk a little about the “Secret” again (website link) – it tells us that the law of attraction takes its cue from us. When we think positive thoughts or foster positive emotions, life will manifest situations or things that are similar in energy to our positive thoughts and feelings. If negative thoughts are housed in our minds or negative emotions held in our hearts, we can expect negative realities to exist in our lives that will cause us suffering. In other words, the law of attraction says life shall provide us with that which we choose through thought /belief and speech.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, I understand that we all have trouble staying positive all of the time. Day to day, we usually feel a full range of emotions, sometimes including disappointment, anger, frustration and insecurity among others. These are ‘reactionary emotions’ rather than emotions by choice. None of us would ever choose to feel angry or insecure consciously. These reactionary emotions that make us feel bad and yucky are usually based in ego because our idea of who we really are is in question. For example, you may consider yourself very intelligent but when another person raises a question about the factual basis of your comment (whether innocently without ego or intentionally with ego to prove you wrong); you will become defensive because your idea of self (ego) is under attack.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Given this rollercoaster of emotions day to day, the challenge becomes balancing our thoughts by continually and consciously thinking positively. Put a positive spin on things and don’t get “hooked” on the bad aspects of the situation. So to apply this to the above scenario, I would say that instead of taking it personally (you versus me = ego) you can choose to be neutral to the situation and state the fact from your earlier statement or be open minded to the possibility that you might be wrong. View this as an opportunity to either educate the other person or become educated yourself. This is the positive perspective you want to hold in this situation rather than making it a battle where you have to blindly defend who you think you are.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once you get “hooked” on the negative side, it will be a downward spiral from there and you will live with suffering. By consciously CHOOSING to put a positive spin on life situations, you eradicate the ego and the reactionary emotions that can come with it. &lt;strong&gt;With this choosing to be happy, your energy level stays high and the law of attraction will provide you with new life situations that match that energy. &lt;/strong&gt;Know that you always have a choice. Choose to let the bad and ego and embrace only love!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Http://www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-5955365219153599392?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Choosing a life you love and live it powerfully'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/5955365219153599392/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/01/choosing-life-you-love-and-live-it.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5955365219153599392'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5955365219153599392'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/01/choosing-life-you-love-and-live-it.html' title='Choosing a life you love and live it powerfully'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-9217691741426761729</id><published>2009-01-16T14:41:00.015-05:00</published><updated>2009-01-16T17:56:22.405-05:00</updated><title type='text'>The Payoff and Cost of the Ego</title><content type='html'>I've been wanting to write about my experiences with my ego but it's taken me a long while because I was afraid it would make me look bad/wrong -- which is complete protection of the ego. Obviously I am not perfect, only human. As I share thoughts on embracing only love, I myself have a hard time every now and again in practicing it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth" has helped me to identify the less distinguishable traits of my own ego. I have come to see how a lot of my day to day language is rooted in this. For example, I may share a story with someone about how a friend was wrong in her thinking or speaking last week. &lt;strong&gt;Sharing the facts of what happened is legitimate but to retell the story over and over again, emphasizing that my friend was wrong is ego because it silently makes me look and feel &lt;em&gt;very right&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt; Notice that there is a payoff for me and a cost to the friend that I am talking about.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;It can certainly be ugly when you really look at the true intention behind your speech and actions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the following may make me look really bad (and hurt my ego -- my sense of who I am), I will share this with you because calling myself out may help me stop doing it. But it's also one way to eradicate the ego since I am consciously choosing to set it aside to communicate the truth and in so doing, help you see if any of this applies to you. There is a statement that I often blurt out and that is "white people are retarded". I have this stereotype that most (not all) white people are ignorant and not cultured so when a person says something or does something to prove my stereotype correct, it is my excuse to blurt out my favorite statement. This one statement made by my ego makes me look and feel better/smarter/more cultured than my white counterparts. It places me on a pedestal making my ego stronger while diminishing the people that I am talking about. A big payoff to me and at a cost to others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The important fact to consider here is that the payoff to us is fleeting&lt;/strong&gt; and the cost to others can be quite damaging in some cases. The fleeting nature of the payoff is the reason why we repeat our behavior -- so that our ego feels strong and gets bigger.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are upset by my statement of "white people are retarded" and cannot get past it to see my point about ego, then you are stuck in ego yourself. Think about it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ego prevents us from being objective. Ego makes it all about you versus me. This position does not allow us to receive and give love freely.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Embrace Only Love&lt;br /&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-9217691741426761729?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='The Payoff and Cost of the Ego'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/9217691741426761729/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/01/payoff-and-cost-of-ego.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/9217691741426761729'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/9217691741426761729'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2009/01/payoff-and-cost-of-ego.html' title='The Payoff and Cost of the Ego'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-6896362623279591250</id><published>2008-12-16T22:36:00.006-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-19T04:22:13.654-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Being a Puppet to the Past</title><content type='html'>I was 3 yrs old in Rangoon, Burma. I attended a small preschool which was above an auto body shop. One day, class was dismissed and all the children were picked up by their parents except for me. The teacher finished up her work soon after all the other kids left and started to pack up to leave. A cleaning lady came in to sweep up after us. The teacher left me after reassuring me that she's sure someone will be here to pick me up soon. I waited at the top of the staircase listening to the noise from the auto body shop downstairs, periodically looking back at the cleaning lady to make sure she was still there. The auto body shop below seemed like a different universe and I felt so alone in my world. Finally the cleaning lady finished and packed up her stuff to go. I started crying at the top of the stairs. Right then, my uncle came running up the stairs two steps at a time -- swept me up by the legs and ran down just as quickly. Dumped me into the basket of his bicycle and off we went.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I was 4 yrs old, my sister, who was one yr older then me, was taken to the hospital in the middle of the night where she passed away. All I remember was waking up in the middle of the night and she was missing from the bed never to return to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I came to this country at the age of 5 and was entered into 1st grade immediately. By the 3rd grade, I made myself a best friend named Margaret Orlinksi. We were inseparable. At the end of the school year, she moved away to upstate NY and I never saw her again. Her father had to relocate for a new job. I didn't understand it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each of these turns of events along with subsequent ones like the passing of my loving boyfriend 3 yrs ago embedded in me a fear of being forgotten/abandoned/left alone. It's not so much a fear of being alone but rather the fear of the act of or transition period when such an occurrence takes place. I think.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course, none of these words are fact in my cases. My uncle simply lost track of time. He didn't forget me on purpose. My sister died. She didn't "leave me". And my best friend had to follow her family when they relocated. She didn't "leave me" either.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This fear is noticeably running my life today in new relationships. &lt;strong&gt;When my fear is activated, I turn onto autopilot and behave in ways that are destructive&lt;/strong&gt;. While I understand the logic of the destructive behavior (to protect me from being abandoned by preventing/sabotaging my love relationships), it's also quite senseless. It turns out that this fear is activated when I realize that I love my partner. I push him away when I want him the most. It makes no sense yet this is the autopilot I've conjured up to "protect" myself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now that I understand this behavior, I release my fears to be dissolved in time and will continue to do so each time it pops up again.&lt;strong&gt; No longer will I be played like a puppet by my past.&lt;/strong&gt; Today is the Now and I deserve all the love that God has created for me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider how you might be a puppet to your past...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-6896362623279591250?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Being a Puppet to the Past'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/6896362623279591250/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/being-puppet-to-past.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/6896362623279591250'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/6896362623279591250'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/being-puppet-to-past.html' title='Being a Puppet to the Past'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-5144981146145803380</id><published>2008-12-04T10:06:00.007-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-08T21:29:10.322-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Change: The nature and flow of life</title><content type='html'>Do you find it hard to move on from a relationship?&lt;br /&gt;Does the idea of death scare you?&lt;br /&gt;Do you dread having to switch jobs or careers even though you feel like it's time to move on?&lt;br /&gt;Are you afraid to love again because you might get hurt?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, sometimes when life is changing around us, it can be hard to let go of things or people. While acknowledging that it can be difficult to adjust to life's changes, it is important to understand that this is the nature of life. &lt;strong&gt;Change is a constant.&lt;/strong&gt; Everything in life is always changing. Sun rises, sun sets. Flowers bloom, flowers die. There are good days and there are bad days. Our bodies change every single day as we age. People enter and exit our lives like a revolving door. Emotions rise and fall. Everything is always changing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once this fact of life is fully accepted, you can release the fear of change. We may not necessarily know what is in store for us around the corner or in the next chapter of our life but we can be sure that it's more change and some more change after that. The key to life is to "roll with the punches". &lt;strong&gt;Do not resist change. &lt;/strong&gt;Resistance is being attached to the past or being in denial of the present. In other words, clinging onto the past or pushing away the oncoming change. This resistance to the flow of life will ultimately create an unhappy situation for you -- one full of sadness, depression, anger, feeling torn or confused....an emotional state other than peace.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Allowing yourself to go with the flow of life (accepting and expecting change) will help you achieve a balanced state of being -- &lt;strong&gt;a life where the ups and downs are like smooth rolling hills rather than a steep roller coaster ride.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When a life situation makes you feel happy, enjoy it fully and be in the moment. Do not wish it could stay like this forever because when the life situation changes (which it will) you will be left very unhappy. Accept that like everything else, this too will pass. When a life situation is bad, do not wish to run away from it or ignore it. Know that like everything else, this too will pass. By resisting, you will only create unnecessary emotional pain for yourself. Try to remind yourself that whatever situation you are in, soon enough...it will pass. Don't cling or push away. Accept life as it comes your way. Stay balanced.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Practice makes perfect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-5144981146145803380?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Change: The nature and flow of life'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/5144981146145803380/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/change-nature-and-flow-of-life.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5144981146145803380'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5144981146145803380'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/change-nature-and-flow-of-life.html' title='Change: The nature and flow of life'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-3437969263334305791</id><published>2008-12-02T14:11:00.008-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-02T18:08:11.649-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Being Grateful</title><content type='html'>One of the best ways to ensure good energy flow in your life is to count the number of things you are grateful for. In the mornings right after I wake up, I start listing things in my head that I am so grateful for, such as (a) my family, (b) my health, (c) my pet, (d) the loving friends in my life, (e) the sunshine outside my window, (f) all the good food I get to eat during this holiday season. =)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Definitely have fun with your list!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The whole point of this practice is to get you to smile, be happy and stay positive. A good outlook and energy in the morning will pave the way for a great day ahead. &lt;strong&gt;It is this redirecting of your focus on the good stuff that will attract more good energy&lt;/strong&gt;, perhaps a better job, supportive people and an abundance of money into your life. Remember the law of attraction (see previous blogs).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we move throughout the day, we may find ourselves in bad or tough situation. Your task then is to try and find a positive spin on it. What is the lesson for you to learn in this situation? Be grateful for that lesson. If you can't figure out the lesson, go back to listing all the things you are grateful for in your life. Count your blessings. Stay positive and excercise compassion with others (and yourself). Don't let the external situation sway your inner peace.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is a continous practice throughout the day -- similar to meditation. When you notice you might be slipping into negativity, come back. List all the things that make you happy or anything that you are grateful for like people who make you laugh, the parking spot you snagged this morning, the kind gentleman that held the door open for you...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Practice makes perfect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-3437969263334305791?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Being Grateful'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/3437969263334305791/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/grateful-excercise.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/3437969263334305791'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/3437969263334305791'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/grateful-excercise.html' title='Being Grateful'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-7673989630076575038</id><published>2008-11-28T10:35:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2008-11-28T11:05:29.636-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Ego Play during Holidays</title><content type='html'>Thanksgiving and the holiday season usually means big family gatherings. It's a time to appreciate one another and be thankful for the ones we love. But for some of us, as much we love family, there may be some quirks and things that we do not enjoy about our relatives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was true in my case. While I enjoyed my Thanksgiving Day, I found myself talking about the negative traits of my relatives after they had all gone. Although I see the beautiful loving and perfect side to them, I still made an effort to bring the focus on their faults. Honestly, underneath it all, it felt good to highlight their faults on some level (because it made me look like the only normal family member) but it also felt bad to talk about them like that at the same time. What I didn't understand last night was that I strengthen my ego when I focus on other people's faults.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I ended up &lt;strong&gt;falsely identifying them with their faults when that is not who they really are inside.&lt;/strong&gt; It's a bit of judgement and a lot of ego to focus on other people's faults. Instead of embracing only love, I was embracing my ego by pointing the finger at other people. This practice or activating of the ego only invites other people's egos to come into play. The next thing you know, our lives are run by the egoic mind (need to be right/look good and need to win) rather than the natural Love that flows through us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When ego is at play, all types of emotions can arise such as hurt, anger, jealousy, insecurity, and pride. In order to avoid these useless emotions that would only drain our energy and focus us away from who we all really are and our purpose in life, we must remember to observe, speak and act out of love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we move towards Christmas and also in the new year, I intend to embrace only love and see all the people around me for the Being that they are -- God created, perfect, loving &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and lovable&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; people. I invite you to do the same.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No matter what situations occur or what the conversation is, I will (a) observe, (b) listen and (c) speak/act from unconditional love. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Practice makes perfect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-7673989630076575038?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Ego Play during Holidays'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/7673989630076575038/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/ego-play-during-holidays.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/7673989630076575038'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/7673989630076575038'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/ego-play-during-holidays.html' title='Ego Play during Holidays'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-7677496971047575068</id><published>2008-11-22T12:09:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2008-11-22T12:21:00.475-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Concrete examples of law of attraction</title><content type='html'>I wanted to expand on my earlier post about law of attraction and give some more concrete examples of how you attract what you put off. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Example 1  - Sales Person&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In order to be a sucessful sales person, wether it's selling a product or selling yourself as an artist, you have to first be enrollable. This means, allow yourself to be sold on other products or services.  When you are enrollable yourself, you can enroll others easily.  Your energy attracts others with the same energy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Example 2 - Fundraiser (or just someone who needs to acquire money)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In order to receive the funds that you want, you have to be a giver first.  When your hand is open to give away money for charity, that hand is also in the receiving position.  If your hand is closed tight because you are afraid to give away money, then your hand is a position where you cannot receive any money.  The giving spirit or energy will attract other people who have similar energy that will want to provide for you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Example 3 - Lover&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In order to receive love in your life, you have to first love yourself and others.  If you do not love yourself or hold hatred or anger for others, no loving person can ever be attracted to you.  Only another hateful and angry person will walk into your life because you guys compliment each other.  So learn to love yourself and show love to everyone in your life (including your pets) and see the beautiful love that you deserve flow into your life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember that positive energy attracts positive energy and that negative energy attracts negative energy.  In other words, &lt;strong&gt;BE that which you want in your life.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-7677496971047575068?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Concrete examples of law of attraction'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/7677496971047575068/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/concrete-examples-of-law-of-attraction.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/7677496971047575068'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/7677496971047575068'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/concrete-examples-of-law-of-attraction.html' title='Concrete examples of law of attraction'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-5539816178217209438</id><published>2008-11-20T13:11:00.009-05:00</published><updated>2008-11-20T14:15:10.112-05:00</updated><title type='text'>We as Creators...</title><content type='html'>Many of you may have seen the movie "The Secret" or read the book by now. But for those of you who haven't yet, The Secret talks about law of attraction and how we have the power to attract or create our dreams into reality. This is true. We have the ability to attract &lt;u&gt;only&lt;/u&gt; positive life situations and love into our lives. We can do this with our thoughts and our spoken words. Think about it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you tell yourself that you cannot do something, you are usually right which allows you to say "See, I &lt;em&gt;knew&lt;/em&gt; I couldn't do it" --- that's if you attempt it &lt;em&gt;at all.&lt;/em&gt; As human beings, we always want to prove ourselves right so whatever we say out loud or even to ourselves internally, we &lt;em&gt;work&lt;/em&gt; to prove that statement to be correct. In other words, &lt;strong&gt;what you say - will be so&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, when you tell yourself that you CAN do it (whatever "it" may be), you most likely always&lt;br /&gt;accomplish the task. If you set your mind to a goal and &lt;u&gt;consistently reinforce it with positive thinking&lt;/u&gt;, you will reach that goal. The key here is to consistently maintain positive thinking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For example, if you say that you want the perfect man in your life but deep down you believe that all men are dogs, that contradiction in yourself will not allow your perfect man to enter your life. The negative thought overrides the asking for something positive. The negative thought will attract more negative, leaving you single.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take notice of what is happening in your life right now. Some of you may find negative aspects to your life and do not feel very happy. The first step to changing this around is to try and understand how your thoughts might have created these negative situtations. Find out what contradictory/negative statements you are making up in your head and change it by putting a positive spin on it. This is the power you have.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Think of this world/life as energy and science for a minute. When you are miserable and put off negative vibes, you will only attract other miserable or negative people. This way, both of you can prove each other right and get to say "See, I am right, life sucks". But if you are putting off a positive vibration, you can ONLY attract other positive vibration. This is the law of atraction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Regain control of your life by monitoring your thoughts and spoken words.&lt;/strong&gt; We tend to point the finger and blame others for our misery and unhapiness but the solution is to look INTO ourselves in order to change what is happening on the outside.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Speak with love and watch it come into your life three-fold. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-5539816178217209438?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='We as Creators...'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/5539816178217209438/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/we-as-creators.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5539816178217209438'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/5539816178217209438'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/we-as-creators.html' title='We as Creators...'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-2663088590451010385</id><published>2008-11-18T22:10:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2008-11-20T14:13:11.502-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Recognizing and getting over the ego</title><content type='html'>The biggest hurdle in life is our own egoic mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our egos have a need to always be right -- even when we are wrong. Sometimes our ego wants us to believe that we are better than others and creates an insatiable desire for material things, money, and power (title/position). At all times, the ego would like us to believe that we are someone other than who we really are. This false identity is never better than our actual Being and can make us very miserable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the ego is in charge of the mind, it is very difficult for one to be in a loving space because there is judgement involved. Note that this judgement is not a true reflection of the person being judged but rather a reflection of the state of mind of the person making the judgment. When the ego is allowed to run ones life, this leaves no room for love. Only &lt;strong&gt;temporary happiness&lt;/strong&gt; can result from such ego-based decisions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In order to get over this hurdle, one must first recognize the ego for what it is and become aware of it as it starts to creep in to the mind. The key is to be quick and catch it before it makes a rash decision for you. This takes practice as with anything else.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever felt like you are on auto pilot sometimes when reacting to certain life situations, only to end up regretting it later on? Then the choice to react that way was most likely made by your ego and not love. Practice catching yourself when you get angry, sad, or jealous. When you do this, you get a chance to CHOOSE to let go of the ego (or that emotion) and CHOOSE to react to the situation at hand with love. This "catching of the ego" provides a brief window for your Self (the real you who only knows love) to come through and shuts down the auto pilot mode.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When a decision is based in love, the only result can be love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.embraceonlylove.com/"&gt;http://www.embraceonlylove.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-2663088590451010385?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Recognizing and getting over the ego'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/2663088590451010385/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/recognizing-and-getting-over-ego.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/2663088590451010385'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/2663088590451010385'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/11/recognizing-and-getting-over-ego.html' title='Recognizing and getting over the ego'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527263598865503259.post-945341509640485721</id><published>2008-10-28T13:36:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2008-11-20T14:13:32.456-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Why love?</title><content type='html'>Friends have asked me why not embrace only truth or embrace only peace…my response was “love is rooted in peace and only when one is in a loving space can he or she be provided the clarity to see the truth in the matter”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I believe when we ground ourselves in a loving space and interact with our brothers and sisters in a loving manner with good intent that is when we are closest to God or the higher energy that surrounds us always.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It’s not easy to stay in a loving space all the time. It requires work. Even for those of us who have strong faith in God or those of us who are strong hearted and strong willed, it requires work and practice. Some people tend to live life making decisions based on their fears while some others make decisions based in insecurity, greed, or ego. These decisions based in such clouded vision and heart cannot produce love in the lives of the people making them. It can only compound the original fear, insecurity, greed or ego. Decisions based in love and only love will return love many times over to the person.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Love is a powerful energy that can have us feeling upbeat and wonderful or in other words alive! It’s a feeling that has us feel closer to who we really are. When God sent us to this earth for whatever purpose we were assigned, love was the original state of mind that we were born with. Along the way, we ended up collecting a lot of baggage (fear, ego, etc.). But when we return to that state or space of love, we return to the form that God delivered us in. In this sense, love connects us to God. Some people may call love “God energy” flowing through us because it just feels so good and when we are in that space of love, everything around us can be beautiful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I want to remind everyone that love is the source for bringing peace to your heart, your home, and this world that we share। Love your self। Love your neighbor (here and across the world)। And love this abundant earth that provides us a home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;www.embraceonlylove.com&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4527263598865503259-945341509640485721?l=embraceonlylove.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.embraceonlylove.com' title='Why love?'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/feeds/945341509640485721/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-love.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/945341509640485721'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4527263598865503259/posts/default/945341509640485721'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://embraceonlylove.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-love.html' title='Why love?'/><author><name>Kheng</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18308361990383803697</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
