Hidden Sage

Never Ending Story

2011-05-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever post anything on this blog anymore but I feel like posting this:

I find myself missing Eliza. We haven't spoken in a long time, she ended up getting married to some nice guy that she's not totally into.

I miss certain things about her as a person. Thing is, my wife misses her too. We actually talk about her every now and thing and think of how things would have been like if we were all one family.

There's also something else, I feel her missing me too. We've always had some sort of telepathic link and for some reason it's still there. And no, it's not my imagination. A lot of times I'd be thinking about her and she'd appear online and start chatting with my wife. (My wife and her still talk every now and then). Other times I'd find her on my mind a lot only to find out through my wife that Eliza's been thinking about us as well.

I no longer have those strong cravings for women like I used to have. A lot has changed in the past few months, internally I'm a different person. Yet in spite of all that, I do wish Eliza was around.

Self-Help Books

2011-04-15T03:55:00.000-07:00

After indulging in self-help & people management books for years, I now find them much too redundant and typical.

Anyone with a new twist on saying an old saying has a say nowadays. I find that boring.

Ignorance

2010-11-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Ignorance and ignorant people are some of the hardest people to deal with. Ignorance is of two main types:

1- Simple ignorance

2- Compounded ignorance.

People suffering from simple ignorance are easier to deal with. They are able to make the necessary additions, adjustments, etc to their knowledge base.

However, people suffering from compounded ignorance are far more complex. Their ignorance is based upon false knowledge which they deem sound, and they usually tie in their emotions to what they know, so that if you affect one you affect the other. They're the people that, once a discussion draws out, they'd go around in circles or loops. Taking you back to the first point, because their arguments and ideas aren't based on anything solid. No principles but rather partially formed ideas and beliefs.

A scholar once said, "I never lost an argument when I debated with a man of intellect. I never won an argument with I debated with a man of ignorance."

Makes perfect sense.

Divine Gifts

2010-09-24T06:44:00.001-07:00

I hardly ever come here, and hardly any of you come here.

A lot has been happening, I've been keeping busy for the past 6 months. I left my job and am currently working from home. Keeping myself busy with a lot of what I've been wanting to do for years.

Namely, spiritual growth and martial arts.

Regarding spiritual growth, I wanted to share with whoever reads this that we can increase both ourselves and others by taking a specific Divine attribute and applying it ourselves.

Needless to say, no matter how hard we try, as humans we can never come to a full realization of the Divine attributes.

One of the Divine attributes is that God is a "Giver" He gives those who ask. The way people ask for things is either by words, by gestures, or simply by the heart. God often gives us before we even ask Him with our tongues. Our hearts incline towards something and He gives it to us. Although it is more common that God gives us after we ask.

The way to "imitate" this Divine attribute to better yourself and those around you is to give to others whenever they ask. They quicker you give the quicker God gives you.

You'd want to get to the point where, if you were to feel that someone wants something from you that you have, give it to that person before that person even asks for it. You'll soon find that God does the same to you, but on a much larger scale.

If you try to imitate the Divine attribute of Giving, God will help you give others, and will give you plenty more in return. And God doesn't simply give material goods, obviously. God also couples His gifts with spiritual serenity and peace of mind.

Finale?

2010-05-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

I just watched the final episode of LOST!

The problem with these shows is that you grow attached the to characters and find yourself missing them in your real world!!

Any of you guys into LOST?

Quote

2010-05-17T12:13:00.001-07:00

“Abundance is, in large part, an attitude”
Sue Patton Thoele

Work Update

2010-05-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever hear from any of you these days, I guess I'm responsible for that though by hardly being around myself.

Quick update, my own little business is starting to pick up. It looks like I'm on my way to living a life of freedom and unemployment!

I should've done this years ago, how do people sit in their offices all day working for someone else?

You should all quit your jobs and go do your own thing, seriously!
Unless you love what you do ...

Deserve

2010-04-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

deserve

late 13c., from O.Fr. deservir, from L. deservire "serve well," from de- "completely" + servire "to serve." From "be entitled to because of good service" (s sense found in L.L.), meaning generalized c.1300 to "be worthy of."

Be worthy of.

Interesting word.

Oh My Back And My Neck...!

2010-04-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

I've been on and off with my Wing Tsun training during the past 7 months. Actually, I spent around 5 months hardly even going. Up until the recent seminar that was held a month ago (or has it been 2 months?) I had only gone to class 4 or 5 times. The seminar really helped give me the push I need to get back into attending my WT, which I did for a couple weeks afterwards but dropped again because of travels. So in short, I haven't been doing nearly half as much WT as I want to be doing. It's something that's been bothering me, because WT is a part of my lifestyle.

So I did get around to going last night, finally! It was a relief. It was somewhat frustrating because I've been so out of practice whereas everyone else is progressing, I can just feel the difference in everyone around me.

After class we decided to do something very un-Wing Tsun. We put on thin gloves and had a sparring session. Now in WT, we don't really spar because it's not a fighting sport, it's a martial art - an art of war. The whole point behind WT is that one is able to take out the opponentwith minimal effort in minimal time, and more often than not, that's through striking the opponent straight through the throat. Obviously we can't do that if we're sparring otherwise we'd just have a lot of dead bodies lying around. So we put on gloves and place a few rules such as:

1- No throat attacks

2- No elbows

3- No eye gauging

4- No high kicks

5- No neck breaks/twists

Etc

What happens is that we end up with a list of "Do not" that just doesn't go hand in hand with what we've been training our bodies for the entire time.

So anyway, I decide to go ahead and spar anyway. I'm out of practice and feel like throwing some punches. I had 4 sessions, with 3 different guys. Everyone else (from those that agreed to sparring) only had 1 session.

Session 1- I didn't have my gloves on, it was a nice and friendly spar. I immediately realized how slow my reflexes have become. It was alright.

Session 2- A guy from a lower level wanted to mess around as well. Unlike me, he hasn't missed classes in a year or so. Also, no gloves. We were messing around, but he's a tough guy. Heavily built, muscular, and is always trying to prove a point (which isn't fun). So he starts hitting harder and harder, more hits to the face, and I notice that he's constantly holding my right hand. It was getting to me, anything I do his hand is stuck to mine, whatever I do with my right hand he's got his fingers around my wrist. It felt claustrophobic in a way. My body tells me that it's to my advantage because, since he's holding me, then I in turn am also holding him. Wherever I move my hand, he moves with it. So that leaves me with my left hand, which he keeps trying to elbow, and my very untrained reactions.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention that I wasn't wearing my glasses nor my contacts, so all I could see was a fuzzy orb for his head, and two small fuzzy orbs for his fists. So I'm mainly going by feeling not by sight.

His hand's still stuck on my right hand and I start feeling stuck so I did the only reasonable thing that occurred to me at the time, I pulled my right hand far back and grabbed his wrist with my hand at the same time so that I force him entirely in my direction towards me and to break free of his annoying hold. And Lo and Behold, my body decides to remember a muscle reaction to that move and I find my palm leaving his arm and smashing him straight on his chin. ~Crap!~

So, good for WT for having the right reactions, bad on me for not stopping short. It totally throws him off, so I put off the spar and make sure he's OK. Unfortunately, his mouth's bleeding and I look like an idiot. I just hit a lower level kid (even if he was acting like a punk). So I apologize, he say's it's cool, I give him a friendly hug and that's that.

Then #3 decides to have a sparring session with me, with gloves on. Did I mention WT is all about feeling? With gloves on, I can't feel a thing. So we start sparring, and I learned my lesson. Don't mess with a dedicated WT student no matter what the difference of level, someone that trains their feelings is far superior to someone that doesn't. He did a good number on me, but all it really felt like was a boxing session. There wasn't much Martial Art to it with those ugly gloves on (and rules). He eventually tired and decided to take break, so #2 (the bleeding mouth guy) puts on the gloves and comes in his place.

It's still me but the others have rotated, this is considered a 4th sparring session without a break. I was tired, I couldn't see without my contacts on, and I knew this guy's ego was hurting. No muscle man likes to look like a fool and I could just feel his energy toward me. He wasn't happy...my bruised nose, bruised right cheek bone, and cut forehead would tell the rest of the story if you could see them. He wasn't in to spar, he was in to let his frustration out. And he did.

I remember at some point, when I got one of those white flashes you get when a blow to the head lands accurately, that I can do 1 of 2 things. Lose my cool, just as he did, and turn it into a messy fight, or just let it be and work at slowing the pace down. I decided to slow things down, there's too much ego in it for me to chase after a fight that means absolutely nothing to me. I made it a point to go up to him after our session and chit chat for a bit just to give my ego a harder time and put him at ease (which he should have been in by then after punching my face in!)

It turns out it was actually good I did talk to him, I hadn't notice that I punched him straight in the face and cut his bottom lip. Those annoying gloves really get in the way of feeling anything. But that wasn't what upset him, I sensed his anger from the minute he decided to spar that second time. He had a lot of anger and he doesn't have the self-discipline to hold it back. Well, not yet at least...

I realized last night that I haven't sparred with anyone in years. I'm not as young as I used to be, and all that blood, bruising, and head ache, it's not worth it. In the real world, in a real situation, that fight would've been over and done with in under a minute. I would probably not have more than a few scratches on me. I realized that my Sifu's right, there's no place for such sparring sessions in WT. Guess I had to learn that the hard way.

I also gotta make sure I don't miss anymore classes!

An achy body and a bruised face, I'll go read something to nurture my heart instead. :) Nothing's better for the soul than something that will allow the heart to reflect on the Divine.

A Treat

2010-04-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I had to travel seeking some spiritual knowledge, so treated my wife with a nice little treat.

It really makes a difference when the husband goes that extra mile for his wife and kids. Well, it makes a difference with us at least. I got her a little surprise treat while I was a way: I booked her a suite for 3 nights in a 5 star hotel for her, her best friend, and the kids. Yea, it wasn't easy on my wallet, but hey a heart that's happy and content is worth far more than a pocket full of $$$.

She had a great time, the kids loved it, and her friend (the one she wants me to marry) had a wonderful time as well. Perhaps I'll do this more often.

No, this isn't a post about how good of a husband I am. :) It's just a post about a marriage update. Figured I might as well post something about my life, my blog's been left without updates for some time.

Work Update

2010-04-09T13:36:00.001-07:00

Nothing too exciting other than voluntarily not being employed. It's a great feeling. Doing my own thing, at my own time, in my own way, whenever I feel like it.

It's definitely helping me focus more on my spiritual side. However, it also keeps me a bit busier at certain times than usual. I haven't been able to attend all my Martial Arts classes, but I'm hopeful my schedule will ease up soon.

You should all quit your jobs and sort out another source of income. Employment life is a waste of precious time.

"Time is like a sword, if you do not cut it, it shall cut you"

Share Worth

2010-03-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Late night thoughts

There's always so much worth sharing with others

Heads Up, I'm gonna head out

2010-02-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

I gave work a heads up, told them I'll be leaving work for good sometime soon. First time I give an official verbal heads up, it's exciting.

Now all I need to do is establish and maintain other sources of income before I leave.

Ending Employment

2010-02-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

Considering leaving my job again. Employee life, it's just not my thing.

Moving

2010-02-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

Looks like I gotta move houses again. I've been moving every 6 months for the past 2 years now. Things just come up and happen once I settle down.

Poly Again

2010-02-02T03:12:00.001-08:00

My wife wants me to marry her best friend who's divorce with two kids. She's a sweet person, very friendly, funny, spiritual, and supportive. She's not, however, my *type* (for lack of a better word) in terms of looks.

My wife believes that I will be able to help her friend out emotionally, spiritually, and mentally as I have her and wants her to have a more secure life.

I'm still not sure.

There's a lot of baggage that comes along with marriage, and a lot more that comes with marrying a woman who's already got kids. A part of me thinks that if I'm to take a second wife, I might as well take a second wife who's needy.

Anyways, still undecided.

Grammy Pics

2010-02-02T02:05:00.001-08:00

I came across some pics of the Grammy's. There all over the net these days. Now why is it that celebrities dress the way they dress and try so hard all the time? There's no longer any glamor in their fashion nor in how they carry themselves.

Why do they try so hard?

What are they trying so hard for?

What's the point behind it all?

I Believe

2010-01-20T03:42:00.000-08:00

In God.

A God that has always existed and will always exist.

A God that is in full control of every molecule and atom on Earth, in the oceans, in outer space, and in the entire Universe.

A God who knows our every thought before, during, and after we think it.

A God who knows our every action

A God that sustains all of creation's existence

A God who hears

A God who sees

A God who communicates

A God who creates

A God who forgives

A God who punishes

A God who loves

A God that created all our emotions

A God that is beyond having any exact similarity in creation

A God who is generous beyond our comprehension

A God who is compassionate beyond our comprehension

A God who is knowledgeable beyond our comprehension

A God who is powerful beyond our comprehension

A God who knows our inner desires and whisperings

A God who guides

A God who answers our prayers

A God who is beyond our complete comprehension

A God who is just

A God that creates angels

A God that creates life

A God that creates death

A God that exceeds any and all human imagination

Helping others

2010-01-18T01:07:00.000-08:00

Quick thought, there's a lot more spiritual fulfillment in helping others than only helping yourself.

What goes around, comes around. If you dedicate yourself to helping others, God will dedicate someone to helping you in return.

A Sneeze

2010-01-12T03:35:00.001-08:00

I've acquired a new habit:

I sneeze at least once a day when I'm at work.

Analyzing Women

2009-12-30T03:28:00.000-08:00

Here at work, in my new office, there are a lot more women. There's this one woman that I find attractive. There's nothing great about her, yet she's attractive. Sits with one leg under her, is delicate in her moves, pale green eyes, soft white skin, dark black wavy hair. I noticed that every time I see her, I end up checking her out trying to figure out what it is about her that I find attractive. I lower my gaze, then a while later realize that I'm looking at her again. It's something that bothers me. I don't see her often since she's all the way at the other side of the office.

Anyway, today as I was talking to someone that was standing somewhere close to her desk, I found myself constantly looking over his shoulder and watching her. It was distracting and annoying, but I liked analyzing her. What is it about her that's so attractive, her nose? No, it wasn't a particularly pretty nose. Her mouth? Normal. Eyes? The green's pretty and I'm a total sucker for colored eyes, but the shape's normal. Hair? Nice, thick and soft looking but nothing rare enough to have me so intrigued. Analyzing her was getting to me, I didn't want to be looking- so in my heart I just wished that I'd find a fault or something that would relieve me from this constant attraction I felt. Then something happened...

She placed her left had by her mouth, she started to nibble on her finger nails for a breif moment or two. She then shoved her finger up her left nostril, winced slightly, moved her finger around then pulled it out. [ "gross!" ] Then she put her finger, with it's fresh new contents, in her mouth and started to nibble on her finger again. Yuck! Lol.... totally grossed me out. But it felt great, my heart has absolutely no interest and finds her totally unattractive.

A prayer answered from my heart within seconds!

Ending Eliza

2009-12-09T00:11:00.001-08:00

So I told Eliza it's just not going to work out. My wife and her still talk, but I withdrew myself from the whole marriage thing. I don't believe she would help our marriage, although she's madly in love with me, and I was in love with her for a long while. Now that my heart has changed, I can see things from a different, more clear, perspective.

Ritualised violence has become perverted

2009-11-29T01:17:00.001-08:00

Ritualised violence has become perverted

It has happened again. And once again in Munich. On a subway train youths attacked a man and severely injured him.

What did he do wrong?
Did he look at the young thug in a wrong way, or fail to pay him enough tribute? There was probably no objective reason at all, but many of these thugs have long ceased to need one.
Those training in our BlitzDefence know that the escalation stages of violence formerly served to secure the respect of others and to maintain one’s status in the group versus outsiders. Impelled by instincts that are many thousands of years old, noblemen in the Middle Ages would challenge any upstart to a duel who dared to fix him with his eyes.
Such duels only ended fatally in very rare cases, as their purpose was actually only to satisfy honour. In the same way – at least until the end of the 1970s – a shove or a punch to the face sufficed to consign the victim back to his position in the food chain with the first show of blood. There was no reason to kill the opponent, who was after all a member of one’s own species, whatever the rivalry.
There is still no reason to do so today, but it still happens increasingly often. To counteract this tendency, young people must e.g. be shown new perspectives and therefore alternatives to "brutal" violence, and relearn the rules of ritualised combat, which is the antithesis of killing and actually a “blessing”.
I have been teaching self-defence for more than 40 years, and for more than 20 years I have closely studied violence between men in the form of ritualised territorial combat. My specialist area is to teach and train the intended victim, i.e. the defender. I show him how he can prevent violence, or if necessary bring it to an end effectively.
I am no psychologist or criminologist, but in my view the motivation of the perpetrators works on many levels. Moreover, I personally think it is doubtful whether we can turn the wheel of perverted violence back. It is being inexorably driven by music that encourages violence, and by computer and Gotcha games that were originally conceived by psychologists to overcome the natural reluctance of soldiers to kill. Added to which we now have films and videos, as well as martial arts events for spectators (which have recently been allowed in Germany) where kicks to the head of a prone opponent (!) are permitted.
When will people understand that it is not punches, but precisely these kicks to the head of an opponent lying on the ground that kill?

What does this mean for us WingTsun people?
Above all else, it clearly shows how essential and at the same time simple the purpose of our training should be. Passing grading tests, enjoying the physical exercise, friendships between training partners, learning new techniques – all these are stages on a journey that is hopefully enjoyable to you all. But anybody reading such shocking reports must be aware that the goal is always to defend ourselves successfully.
We train to prevent violence, or at least not to fall victim to it. That is our goal. Everything else is subordinate to it. Starting with excessive traditionalism, which makes us think in terms of techniques, and right up to our greatest inner enemy – our own ego. By all means enjoy your WingTsun training, but never forget: violence is not confined to Munich. It can occur anywhere.

Best wishes
Your SiFu/SiGung

EWTO

Back To Work

2009-11-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

I've been back at work for about 2 weeks nows. I'm at a new office, doing new things, it's a bit better. Slightly less bored at work, but in general this is still not what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Nope.

There's too much happening in life to just sit at work and work.

Black Comes On Easy

2009-11-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

A long day at work. A long drive back home. It took me 3 hours to go home from work today. 3 hours. After a long tiring day at work, you can only begin to image how exhausting it is to drive for 3 hours to a distance that without traffic only takes 30 minutes.

My wife and I are going out on a date tonight, and I realized something. The quickest way to look decent and elegant after a long exhausting day, without wasting time thinking about what to wear, is to wear all black. It does the trick! Black with Black with Black