Welcome To My World!

CULTIVATION

A traveler in quest of the divine asked the Master how to distinguish a true teacher from a false one when he got back to his own land.

Said the Master, "A good teacher offers practice; a bad one offers theories".

"But how shall I know good practice from bad"?

"In the same way that the farmer knows good cultivation from bad".

MORSEL:
Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character. -- Goethe (1749-183

CREATIVITY

"What is the highest act a person can perform"?

"Sitting in meditation".

But the Master himself was rarely seen to sit in meditation. He was ceaselessly engaged in housework and fieldwork, in meeting people and writing books. He even took up the bookkeeping chores of the monastery.

"Why then, do you spend all your time in work"?

"When one works, one need not cease to sit in meditation".

MORSEL:
MORSEL: Whoever seeks God . . . has already found God.

ATTAINING GOD

"What action shall I perform to attain God"?

"If you wish to attain God, there are two things you must know. The first is that all efforts to attain him are of no avail".

"And the second"?

"You must act as if you did not know the first".

MORSEL:
Stillness is your essential nature. What is stillness? The inner space or awareness in which the words on this page are being perceived and become thoughts. Without this awareness, there would be no perception, no thoughts, no world. You are that awareness disguised as a person. -- Eckhart Tolle, Stillness Speaks

  

CONTEMPLATION

The Master would often say that Silence alone brought transformation. But no one could get him to define what Silence was. When asked he would laugh, then hold his forefinger up against his tightened lips - which only increased the bewilderment of his disciples.

One day there was a breakthrough when someone asked, "And how is one to arrive at this Silence that you speak of"?

The Master said something so simple that his disciples studied his face for a sign that he might be joking. He wasn't. He said, "Wherever you may be, look when there is apparently nothing to see; listen when all is seemingly quiet".

MORSEL:
The act of contemplation creates the thing contemplated. -- Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848)

CONCEALMENT

The Master once told the story of a priceless antique bowl that fetched a fortune at a public auction. It had been used by a tramp who ended his days in poverty, quite unaware of the value of the bowl with which he begged for pennies. When a disciple asked the Master what the bowl stood for, the Master said, "Your self"!

Asked to elaborate, he said, "All your attention is focused on the penny knowledge you collect from books and teachers. You would do better to pay attention to the bowl in which you hold it".

MORSEL:
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. --B.F. Skinner

Isabela - Rice Granary Of The North

Brief Description
Isabela, the biggest province in the Cagayan Valley Region, is now one of the premier provinces of the north. It has been dubbed as the “Rice Granary of the North” having been adjudged as the Most Outstanding Province in Food Security in the Gawad Sapat Ani Awards 2000 conducted by the Department of Agriculture. It is also home to the famous Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, a protected seascape and landscape of exceptional biodiversity.

Santiago City, the commercial center of Region 2, has been declared an independent-component city through a plebiscite on July 3, 1994 under Republic Act 7720.

Cauayan City, the trading center in Isabela, is also a component city ratified in a majority vote on March 30, 2001.

Geography
The province is divided into three physiographic areas. The eastern area, straddled by the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, is rugged and thickly forested. A substantial portion is uncharted and the unexplored hinterlands are home to a rich variety of flora and fauna while others are government reservations. The western area is a sprawling fertile valley hemmed by the Central Cordillera and is criss-crossed by the mighty Cagayan, Siffu, and Magat Rivers. Its mountains rise to a peak of about 8,000 feet and is home to one of the world’s largest remaining low-altitude rainforests with numerous unknown endemic species of flora and fauna and exceptional biological diversity. The area is popularly known as the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park.

Isabela comprises an aggregate land area of 10,665 square kilometers, representing almost 40 percent of the regional territory. It is the largest province in the region and the second largest province in the country in terms of land area.

Political Subdivision
The province has 35 municipalities and 1,055 barangays and is divided into four congressional districts. Santiago is an independent-component city while Cauayan is a component city. Ilagan is the capital town while Cauayan is the industrial center.

Population
Based on the year 2000 census of population, the province has a population of 1,287,575 with a population density of approximately 120.73 persons per square kilometer.

Language/Dialect
The major dialect in Isabela is Ilocano followed by Ibanag, Yogad, and Gaddang. People, especially in the capital and commercial centers, speak and understand English and Pilipino.

Climate
Generally, the province has two types of climate. The eastern and coastal areas experience moderate rainfall more or less distributed throughout the year while western Isabela has more pronounced wet and dry seasons. The average temperature is recorded at 27.1 degrees Celsius.

Industries
Agriculture is the major industry of the people of Isabela. Farming is highly mechanized as most of the agricultural lands are irrigated. With the presence of the Isabela State University, joint ventures and other foreign assisted projects are viable while the Magat Dam Tourism Complex contributes to the high productivity in agriculture. Isabela is acknowledged as the hub of trade and commercial activities in the region due to its central location in the region. Furniture making using narra and other indigenous forest materials/products like Gmelina continue to exist. Potential investments are in fisheries and tourism. The reservoir of the Magat Dam is utilized for fishcage operations, particularly tilapia production. Tourism is relatively a new industry being developed in the province especially in the coastal areas. Support services and accommodation facilities are likewise being developed.

  

JUNE 19
ST. ROMUALD

Romuald, an Italian nobleman, was born around 951 in Ravenna, Italy. When he was twenty, he was shocked to see his father kill a man in a duel. Romuald went to a Benedictine monastery. He wanted to set his own life straight. He also wanted to do penance for his father's drastic deed. The monastery surroundings and lifestyle were new to Romuald. He was used to luxury and laziness until then. The nobleman was impressed by the good example of many of the monks. He decided to become a monk.

He asked a good hermit named Marinus to teach him how to become holy. Both Marinus and Romuald tried to spend each day praising and loving God. Romuald's own father Sergius came to observe his son's new way of life. The man was struck by the simplicity and spirit of self-sacrifice. Sergius realized that there had to be great happiness in the monastery because his son freely chose to stay there. That was all Sergius needed. He gave up his wealth and followed his son to spend the rest of his life as a monk too.

Eventually, Romuald began the Camaldolese Benedictine order. He traveled around Italy starting hermitages and monasteries. Wherever he went, he gave his monks a wonderful example of penance. For a whole year, all he ate each day was a bit of boiled beans. Then for three years, he ate only the little food he grew himself. Through these sacrifices Romuald grew closer to God.

Romuald died on June 19, 1027, at the monastery of Valdi-Castro. He was alone in his cell and passed away quietly, no doubt whispering his favorite prayer: "Oh, my sweet Jesus! God of my heart! Delight of pure souls! The object of all my desires!"

Daily Reading & Meditation

Monday (6/19): “But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil”
Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

38 "You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.

Meditation: When Jesus spoke about God’s law, he did something no one had done before. He gave a new standard based not just on the requirements of righteousness (i.e. giving each his due), but based on the law of grace and love. Jesus knew the law and its intention better than any jurist or legal expert could imagine. He quoted from the oldest law in the world: If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (Exodus 21:23-25). Such a law today seems cruel, but it was meant to limit vengeance as a first step towards mercy. This law was not normally taken literally but served as a guide for a judge in a law court for assessing punishment and penalty (see Deuteronomy 19:18). The Old Testament is full of references to the command that we must be merciful: You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18). If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink (Proverbs 25:21). Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done" (Proverbs 24:29). Let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults Lamentations 3:30). Jesus does something quite remarkable and unheard of. He transforms the law of mercy with grace and loving-kindness. Jesus also makes clear that there is no room for retaliation. We must not only avoid returning evil for evil,
but we must seek the good of those who wish us ill. Do you accept insults, as Jesus did, with no resentment or malice? When you are compelled by others to do more than you think you deserve, do you insist on your rights, or do you respond with grace and cheerfulness?

What makes a Christian different from everyone else? What makes Christianity distinct from any other religion? It is grace — treating others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated — with loving-kindness and mercy. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. Do you know the power of Christ’s redeeming love and mercy?

“O merciful God, fill our hearts, we pray, with the graces of your Holy Spirit; with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Teach us to love those who hate us; to pray for those who despitefully use us; that we may be the children of your love, our Father, who makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. In adversity grant us grace to be patient; in prosperity keep us humble; may we guard the door of our lips; may we lightly esteem the pleasures of this world, and thirst after heavenly things; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer of Anselm, 1033-1109)