“In green pastures You let me graze;
to safe waters You lead me; You restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the
sake of Your Name” (Ps 23:2-3).
Have you experienced losing weight and later regained it? I have! In the article, ”Being a product of the product” (www.nestofglory.blogspot.com, 25 Jan 2011), I recorded a weight loss of 10 kg in 8 months. Later, it soared up.
Dr. Robert Anthony (a clinical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist and author, Zero Resistance Weight Release Solution) recommends, “stop trying to lose weight”. He claims, “Unless you remove the emotional resistance between your conscious and subconscious, no matter how hard you try to get rid of those excess pounds or kilos, you will gain them all back. Once the emotional resistance factor has been released, your subconscious will turn off the fat switch forever! …. Once the fat switch is off, your subconscious has no choice but to bring your body back to its ideal weight. Being slender and healthy is your natural state”. Simply said, when the conscious mind decides to rid of excess fat, the subconscious mind must conform by removing the emotional resistance factor.
Judy and I attended the Wellness Training (May 24-25, 2013). The trainer/coach/witness/sharer over-emphasized, “Madali lang 'yan!”. She was referring to my bulging belly. She triggered and re-enforced my desire to be slender and healthy. I am made aware that “the number one cause of our dis-eases is an unhealthy diet. Dehydration, caffeine, deadly emotions (depression, anger, guilt and low self-esteem), mental and spiritual toxins and toxic or polluted environment are among the many other causes”.
Earlier (May 16-18, 2013), I attended the first grand alumni homecoming of the Department of Horticulture (after 3 decades) followed by the university-wide reunion at the Visayas State University (VSU), Baybay City, Leyte. As a pioneering mentor/teaching staff (1982-1992) of the Department, I asserted and volunteered to present our Family’s life-long farm development plan employing the concepts and practices of natural organic farming. Before presenting the 3 minutes and 51 seconds audio-video presentation, I expressed gratitude for the invitation and the opportunity to share with them our simple way of caring for the people, caring for the earth and caring for the future. It fitted into the reunion's theme, ”Creating Horticulture initiatives through partnership”. I boldly expressed, “This maybe our first grand reunion….but our ultimate and final homecoming is in Heaven. See you then!”. I was given a certificate of appreciation being one of the speakers (although I was unscheduled) in the Symposium on High Value Crops and Organic Horticulture Development for Economic Prosperity and Ecological Integrity.
I missed the lecture on “Wellness: Anti-heart attack and anti-diabetes” by Ms. Zarah Gayrama-Borines, a registered nurse and a distinguished alumna. I attended a personal business and in the process was able to visit Atty Alfea Caintic-Javier in their home. She is my second degree cousin who in her earlier professional career was the legal counsel of the Visayas State College of Agriculture (ViSCA). She should have been one of those who celebrated their golden jubilee in our Alma Mater. I am glad and proud to learn that her husband Dr. Rey Javier is the first Ph.D. graduate of the Dept. of Horticulture.
It was also gratifying and spiritually uplifting for the brief reunion with Tiya Tempora Pagalan with her youngest daughter, Lilibeth. Being an excellent English teacher that she was of the high school department before her retirement, she helped me wrote the oratorical piece, ”There are no juvenile delinquents, there are only delinquent parents”. She was my patient coach when I joined the oration contest during my college sophomore year in the Visayas Agricultural College (VAC). It was a program organized by the Future Farmers of the Philippines (FFP).
Returning home, we started the Novena for the Dead after 40 days from death. It was our humble offering and implementation of our action plan in the BCBP Consolacion action group for the eternal repose of Ate Fe Trinidad T. Balang, the wife of our action group leader, Kuya Tito. She died from an aggressive breast cancer. The novena started May 19 and ended on the 27th that coincided with her 60th birthday. She died before her retirement from the Phil. Coconut Authority (PCA Reg. 7). During the unit fellowship upon the novena’s conclusion, Judy and I introduced to the group healthy food preparations we learned from the Wellness Training.
Providentially, the wellness training provided valuable insights connecting with the lessons learned during the Novena. Personally, I claim that healthy living will provide a comfortable dwelling for the Holy Spirit. Each one of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20). It will eventually result to a healthy homecoming. I consider healthy dying as an indicator of “living life to the full”. It is getting away from “made to order” and “extra large” coffin and excessive debts from incidental expenses during hospitalization. Timely and coincidentally, I was inspired reading the book, ”The Art of Living Well” by the late/honorable Vicente Gullas, founder of the University of the Visayas (UV), Cebu City.
Judy wrote, “Life is wonderful” in SIDLAK (BCBP Consolacion’s annual magazine, Jan – Dec 2013). It features her life-threatening ordeal early this year (Jan 20 – 25, 2013). Before, during and after her hospitalization, I was faith-filled and strengthened reading “Stories Behind Men of Faith” by Ace Collins.
Worth documenting was the personal, professional and medical assistance (with TLC) of our niece, Ruthie Jane who was very busy reviewing for her licensure medical board exam scheduled Jan 27, 2013 in Manila. With her mentors/consultants, she handled 3 medical cases in the Family before she left. First was that of Judy’s heart attack, followed by the confinement of her niece, Alika and finally Preciosa, her auntie and younger sister of Judy. With God’s Grace coupled with her brilliance and determination, she successfully passed. She is now a bona fide member of the Philippine College of Physicians in internal medicine.
With conviction, believing in the integrity and purity of her advocacy, Judy and I faithfully and joyfully follow Ms. Rosemarie N. Tubal’s lessons and recommendations on wellness. She is a graduate of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). She is the training officer of the National Phil. Post on “gender and development” (GAD). Her advocacy on wellness is an offshoot of her 3 years of personal medication and hands-on training (OJT) with Dr. Tam Mateo who advocates natural, organic medication or nutritional healing. I was astonished when she presented the Pharmacy of God. It featured a list of health-promoting fruits and vegetables. It is interesting to relearn the nutritional importance of these food crops that are dealt with in the field of horticulture specifically in olericulture (science of vegetable production) and pomology (science of fruit crop production).
Amazingly, I lost 6.5 kg in a month without exercise yet. Indeed, it’s fast and easy with willpower and self-discipline. The latest (June 17, 2013) laboratory result in Judy’s case reveals a fasting blood sugar of 106.1 mg/dL (normal range: 60.0 - 100.0) without her anti-diabetic drug. Her cholesterol is 163.3 mg/dL (normal range: 150.0 - 200.0) without meat and fatty foods in our diet.
We subjected ourselves to live blood analysis (LBA) by microscopy. Our daughter, Marianne Claire who is a medical team member of the Unlimited Network of Opportunities (UNO) in Cebu City, noted the following:
"The results of Nanay and Tatay's LBA 9 months ago were very alarming. The blood cells were too aggregated indicating very poor circulation and oxygenation. Now, a very tremendous positive progress is obsevable. Their circular blood cells are freely moving. And, there is a significant decrease in uric acid."
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| June 20, 2013. Live Blood Analysis. |
Moreover, there is a significant decrease in our budget for food. Praise the Lord and thanks to the people who are instrumentally supporting us to reach our goal for a “healthy living and healthy homecoming”.
Filled with gratitude, Judy and I acknowledge Ate Mely Roma’s influence and approval for us to be accommodated among the over 50 trainees of the retire-able staff of the Department of Agriculture (DA Reg. 7). She is the personnel officer of DA Reg. 7 and our dear sister of the BCBP Mactan Chapter. Similarly instrumental to our attendance was Ate Nimfa Y. Aballe who is also an intimate sister of BCBP Mactan Chapter. She is employed with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
During the early 90’s, Judy and I decided to go on a fish diet and engaged ourselves in homeopathy or naturopathy through iridology. When our youngest and only son was conceived, “lechon” (roasted pig) that we used to see as toxic became attractive and palatable to Judy. Meat returned to our dining table. It could have been a case of an emotional resistance of our subconscious mind as above-mentioned. Do I wait to be sick or dis-eased to act accordingly?
Judy is given a chance to restore herself to be strong and healthy. As a family, we are one in spirit to cooperate and live holistically well. Healthy living and healthy homecoming are serious matters of lifestyle change. A livable quotation from my favorite and famous Hollywood actor, Harrison Ford is thought-provoking. “Big changes in our lives are more or less a second chance” (Reader’s Digest. Jan 2009. p. 73). nmg
