By Atty. Chi Padayao
The alarm from the nearby iPhone awakened her. It was another dreamless sleep.
She stood up. Put on a white t-shirt and a pair of blue Reebok shorts. She remembered that her white sneakers were waiting by the door. These days she was just on autopilot mode. She didn’t want to think of anything. Just wanted a sense of stillness. The Claret church was a few blocks away.
At the 6 o’clock morning mass, she felt submerged in the infinite feeling of love. It was like wading into the vast blue ocean. Then people started coming. She was back to the tangible realm. Churchgoers were finding their seats. The old lady with the collection bag was standing alertly. As the old Caucasian priest slowly came out. The small processional trailed behind him. The melody of the choir’s singing floated into the space.
By 7 o’clock, she trudged the narrow roads toward Maginhawa Street. Back to her present. It was a residential road that used to be quiet. Then hole-in-the-wall eats, and shops and bigger ones sprouted like mushrooms. The change seemed to be inevitable.
By then, she was approaching a familiar corner. Where the coffee shop used to be. A usual tightness in her chest began. The memory of a breakup. Scary events at work. She was again losing all hope for the future.
“Was that all there was? Is this worth all the trouble?” she contemplated. Scary thoughts flood her mind again. “Not yet,” said a voice inside her.
A few months later, at an out-of-town meet-up, everyone was glad to see each other and cared about how everyone did. Then her friends asked about the breakup.
“It was like a roller coaster ride. We had our ups and downs…twists and turns. Old fears and insecurities started surfacing. How we responded changed us in different ways.”
Looking back, it had to be untangled eventually. One was a lion who grew brave to wander into forests in the world. The other was a bull who drifted aimlessly.
By January 2016, after New Year’s Day, the bull pursued inward. Despite the injuries of life. She wrote a vision in her journal. Of a better life—that God’s dreams embraced her.
She didn’t know the universe listened. Then, a friend invited her to the Pranic Healing school. “The invisible parts of the body are intertwined with one another. The moment one is dark, the rest follows.” The Master Pranic Healer lovingly explained this during the advanced Pranic Healing course. “Wellness is flow, while sickness is lack of flow.” After that, she goes to Pranic Psychotherapy and the higher classes.
As the years passed, a positive self-image emerged (aside from the immediate healing from smoking). She slowly learned to disentangle from emotional turmoil as she practiced Pranic Healing, meditation, forgiveness, and helping others recover. More exciting events materialized in her field of relationships.
On one Tuesday, after an Arhatic Yoga meditation, Master Faith addressed the group. “Who here is looking for love?” Most of her friends couldn’t help giggling and wondering.
“Someone for you is about to come,” the Master looked at her thoughtfully.
A few weeks later, a new person unfolded before her like a flower that bloomed in adversity (to borrow the line from that famous movie). It was a full moon at the evening mass in the St. Jude Church in Manila when the Patron Saint of Hope and Impossible Causes seemed to conspire in their favor.
“Meet me on the right side of the church. I’ll be there.” Her iPhone’s message showed.
