Wednesday, March 31, 2010

'JOY' Defined

I was doing TM one afternoon at my mother's bedside while she was having a nap. When she opened her eyes and saw what I was doing, she sat up and joined me. She did TM for the first time in many years. Nowadays, she would only do it when I was around. Sometimes, not even. Nevertheless, she did about 20 minutes or so. That was very good. Then she lied down again. After a few minutes, she sat up and meditated again. She did this back and forth about 5 times, each time doing shorter. Then she said softly, "TM is good...Think of nothing."
She had a deep deep rest after that.

And Talk About... Food!

After binge eating in Manila, (I'm vegetarian, so not too bad. I eat fish and fowl outside but vegetarian cooking here at home), I'm going back to fruits and veggies, and organic too, as much as possible - one day at a time, not 20 times a day!

Melon

They say that the fruit, melon, should be eaten by itself, not with other food. Is that why it's called melon, like in "Leave me alone"?

Word of the Day

BLISS
  • bliss (verb) is         
  •            (adverb) as is, where is, when is 
  •            (pronoun) it is
  •            (noun) Is. As is. Where is. When is. It is.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Empty Nest

... is Emptiness.

I Miss my Mother

Called Mama this evening, morning there, she wasn't doing well. Hope she feels better soon. Wish I could be there forever for her.

This was really the first time I cried when I left her last week in the years I've been visiting her. On top of it, just when I got back here and called her to tell her I was home safe, she said with a weak voice, "Come home."
She wanted me back.

Please say a lil' prayer that she'll be fine. Thanks.

Oh, Mang, I love you. I'll be back. Be strong. Eat a lot, okay. I'll be there. I'll be there for you.

I Touched God

I touched God
In a dream one night...

Warmth I felt
The warmth of light
The warmth of God
Light I touched
I touched God.

Blissfulness I felt
The state of bliss
The state of God
Bliss I touched
I touched God.


copyright 2010 Socorro de Castro

Silence













Monday, March 29, 2010

Highlights

The PP Co. Grand Opening was a great success. Thanks to everybody who joined us for the wonderful event.


Some special moments for me were:
  • the presence of Mr. Paolo Fazioli himself to show a documentary of the Fabulous Fazioli Piano
  • the marvelous classical pianist, Allison Lovejoy
  • Blue Skies performance by Art Lande on recorder and Bruce Williamson on sax - amazing how this instrumentation got the audience to sing the song with the performers as softly as they played it, like whispers in unison, allowing the musicians to solo, then sing along again, as if on cue. A cosmic experience!
  • Film by John Korty called "Miracle in a Box" about the restoration of an 1897 Steinway Grand Piano by John Callahan and Callahan Piano Service
  • Virtuoso performance by 9 year old prodigy, Chloe Ma, on the newly-restored 1897 Steinway Grand - watching her play brought me back to when I was her age playing the same Mozart piece. I knew exactly when she would pause then play again. It's as if I was watching myself play, truly miraculous! Another cosmic experience! I heard somebody later said about Chloe, " She's so humble." And someone else remarked, " She's young. She doesn't know any better. She just plays." So true, at that age, I just played the piano and thought everybody else did the same thing.
  • 12 pianos played together to make an amazing sound with Percy Grainger's concert arrangement of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess conducted by Dr. Gwendolyn Mok - a Monster Concert! You should have seen how all the men there lifted 12 pianos, moved them around to position them so that the conductor can see all. An afternoon delight!
  • Grammy-award nominee jazz pianist, Taylor Eigsti
And the most special, the pinnacle, is the filmmaker John Korty's personal remarks after I played a lil' rendition of What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life on the restored Steinway, "You made that piano sing without lyrics."

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Home Sweet Home

Cool wind on my face
Fresh air I breathe
The smell of sea air
The sounds of the bay
I walk across the Marina green
While children play La Crosse
Sitting on "our bench", Norman & I claim it
As if Nature had always reserved it for us
I watch people walking, talking
Walking their dogs
Joggers, bikers, birdwatchers
Tourists, photographers...
Seagulls on the edge of the sea wall
Pigeons waiting for bread crumbs
Birds soaring high in the skies
A cargo ship coming in, another one leaving
An old classic yacht sailing
A kite surfer, the waters all to himself...
The Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz, Fort Mason
The Pacific Ocean
Breathtaking view
My senses consumed
I am enjoying
One with Nature
Totally present
I am home, I really am...
Home.


copyright 2010 Socorro de Castro

Jetlagged

I must go to bed but I can't sleep
It's all right, I'll just rest
It's night time here
If I don't fall asleep, I'll meditate
Nothing is wasted.

I'll just go with the flow
Feel my body
I won't look at the clock
It's timeless
Just be.
Be.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Hi Ya'll, I'm Back

Home sweet home in cold SF Bay Area...
From home sweet home in hot Manila.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

In The Moment -

This moment
The only moment
Here and now
Right here, right now
Nope, you went past now
Come back
Nope, not there
Here, right here
Here, now
Here now
Here
Now
.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

TRANSCENDENCE

I AM ONE WITH GOD
I AM ONE GOD
I AM GOD
I GOD
GOD
I

Esperanza

MI MAMA
MI VIDA
MI AMOR Y
MI TODO.

LOVE and LUST

Lust, with love, can explode to infinity
Without love, it can implode into oblivion...

Word of the Day

Intimacy
  • in.ti.ma.cy (noun) - where LOVE and TRUST come together and fuse as one

BRAVO! Celebrating the Filipino!

Last night, I went to see Cecile Licad at The Gallery in Makati. Awesome!

Playing Frederic Chopin's Scherzo No.3 in C Sharp Minor and Etude No.3 (No Other Love) and Francisco Buencamino Sr.'s Kumintang, Mayon, Harana and Larawan on solo piano and finishing up with Chopin's Concerto No.2 in F Minor with the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO), her fingers were magical, every note crisp and clear. A true artist, a pianist at her finest!

Cecile Licad, a world-renowned classical pianist, a Filipino!

Friday, March 12, 2010

GRRR!@#$%^&*!

I'm not one for complaining, criticizing others, etc. If I have nothing good to say about anybody, I shut up. But when I got out of the airport here and saw a poster of ex-President Joseph "Erap" Estrada running again (??) for president of the country, I was filled with disbelief, anger, rage!@#$%^&*!

God, this man was ousted by the PEOPLE POWER, the same people that threw the Marcoses out of power after 20 years of dictatorship. This man was thrown out for corrupt presidency. He was convicted of plunder which is punishable by death, but later, pardoned by the current president, GMA, (can anybody else be worst?!), and this man is running again?!

The country, the government, has gone out of control! How could the Filipino people allow themselves to be victimized, exploited by politicians like him, GMA, et al?? Nope, Erap's NOT going to win again! But it's not even that, the nerve to even think of doing it! How repulsive! It's unconstitutional to begin with! But why, how was he allowed to run a second time? Uh, bribery, corruption, COMELEC, Congress, it's been happening for years!! What else is new?!

Election is May 10th. You know, I'm so tired of politics. It's all a joke.

No, I'm not gonna say any more. As I said, if I have nothing good to say, I shut up.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Now, I'll shut up!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

ATTITUDE, MAN, ATTITUDE

Here's a classic example of a glass that's half-full/half-empty -

On my way home to Manila, on the plane, I was seated beside, you won't believe it, a clinical lab scientist (CLS). There's gotta be a reason for this, that's another story.

Anyway, earlier on, Joe was looking at his watch and he said, "Boy, we've only flown 3 hours. We still have a long way home. We still have 11 hrs. to go."
I remarked, "We've already flown 3 hrs? That's not bad. We only have 11 hrs. to go!"

Later on, he says, " Wow, we're only half-way there."
And I said,"We're already half-way?"

Finally, he says, "Hey, we're getting close. We only have 2 hrs. left!"

Need I say more??

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Hello from Manila

Hi, everyone! 

Enjoying my family especially my Mom! We celebrated her birthday the other day and it was a very special family affair at a great Chinese restaurant.

Manila is HOT!!! Like hell, must be, if it ain't, what is?!

On my first day, I rested, I slept the whole day. Next day, I had a reunion with my HS classmates. I text Marivic about 930am to tell her I was here. In a few minutes, I got a text back from her, so excited, saying she was gonna pick me up at 11am as she was on her way to picking up Patty F. in Makati and the other girls for a reunion at Odette's home. Perfect timing! Becky A. was also in town so there were 3 of us, "balikbayans". Everytime we have classmates visiting from abroad, here or anywhere in the world, you call one classmate and, before you know it, everyone else knows, and we have a reunion! That's how close our class is. And we had a ball, as usual, great food, great company, great place, thanks, Odette!

When my classmates saw me, they know I always come home every year for my Mother's birthday, their first question was about my mom. My mother is fine, she's alright. Generally, our parents are at that age when their health becomes a concern for us, children, so we talk a lot about them but Filipinos can find humor even in the most serious matters. Charito asked me, "How's your mom? Is she all right? Does she remember you? Did she recognize you?"
I answered, "Oh, yeah. She said I'm pretty, so she recognized me."

The thing is my mother tells everyone she sees, "Muy guapa!" or "Muy guapo!" - now I wonder?!

My mom loves me. For her, I'm the most beautiful girl in the world! A face only a mother can love?! 
I remember one of my brothers, Nandy, would tease me when I was a little girl, "Mama prayed for a beautiful girl. She was given a girl."
My mother already had 4 boys and she really wanted a girl so she offered a novena to Mother of Perpetual Help (Maria Perpetua Socorro) to give her a girl and she promised she'd name her girl after her. That's how I got my name. And that's how I got teased by my brothers. Well, let's put it this way. They say I'm a late bloomer. I bloomed... and it was too late.

Oh, well, that's my family whom I love and adore! And who loves and adores me just as well!

The other night, Nandy got into Spanish-speaking mode with Mother and she's unstoppable after that so everybody, even the household help, followed suit. (Yup, Nana and Pia were Nandy & Lut's children's baby sitters and Lut is Spanish so they were trained to speak Spanish! They even speak better Spanish than me.) When we were kids, we spoke Spanish well, but somehow lost it as we were growing up...


Now that I'm home, memories of childhood are coming back.

I shall continue later. I'm running out of charge, no, not me, I can keep going, laptop battery, I mean. Meanwhile, I'm gonna have merienda. Filipinos love to eat!!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Vacationing...

Hey, guys, I'm leaving for MNL tonight. I've been so busy I totally forgot to tell you. Haven't even packed! See you when I get back, okay. Just visiting folks. I wanna be with my Mom especially, 24/7. Miss her so much! Her birthday 's coming up. Be back 3rd week of March in time for my show. Wish me luck. Ciao.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Gyan Riley at Yoshi's

Just came back from a Classical Guitar Concert by Gyan Riley at Yoshi's. Beautiful! Soothing, transcending music, great instrument and splendid performance! Acoustic guitar is one of my favorite instruments and it's just the break I needed tonight from a musical show I'm preparing - conceptualizing, directing, performing in with other artists in March.

Nothingness






'I thought: Why me?' flag-bearer Rochette says

'I thought: Why me?' flag-bearer Rochette says

Ain't It Easy!

Sometimes it feels like TM doesn't work. I sit down and try to think of nothing, but my mind is just too busy wandering around. So nothing's happening, I don't get deep. Then I remember what Maharishi says, "Even a shallow dive will make you wet."

And then, I feel better... Jai Guru Dev.

Easy it is. Life is. And I'm feeling good, feeling good...