Saturday, January 26, 2008

Back to sg, back to control

At final last, the plane touched down on Changi airport at 145pm, 10 minutes before the schedule. After two weeks stay in SH, I managed to leave behind the darkness and gain energy to move forward a small step at a time now.

I remember this Zen story. A guy was chased by a tiger and he ran and climbed up a tree. While he was released that he was temporary out of danger, the tree branch he was holding on to was cracking. He was sweating and didn't know what to do. At this time, he saw a strawberry in front of him, he plucked it out and put it into his mouth to savor the sweetness.

I guess this is life and this is what I have to learn.

When I turned on my phone while I was still in the plane, a message from H came in immediately. It was sweet but stirring. I gave a reply as usual.

Borrowed Equanimity

After shower yesterday, I was excited about my decision to get myself to sleep well for the night by taking sleeping bill. I had owed myself a good night rest for a long while. There was this thought of slight anxiety at the back of my mind that the sleeping pill might not be effective with my condition and I would still wake up a few times in between the nights. I intentionally took a slight overdose to ensure the plan would be in order. I got my bed warm and ready with “om mani padme hum” flowing at the background. I slipped myself into the blanket trying to make myself comfortable and calm looking forward to have a fresh and energized morning when I return to the reality again. I chanted along with “om mani padme hum” with tingling anxiety of fear in me. I was in and out between conscious and unconscious stage for about 15 minutes before the medicine finally took control of me.

R appeared in my dream and something must have agitated me so much that my consciousness started to regain slowly. I was still mostly under the effect of the medicine. My phone started to ring and I had neither intention nor will to drag myself up to answer. After the phone ringing subsides, I fell into half consciousness again, feeling with H surfaced strongly again followed by my failed relationship.

I was once again hit with unbearable pain of betrayal and failure on my part to sustain the relationship. I started crying hysterically in my heart, pouring out all the sorrow hidden deep inside my subconsciousness.

Though still in half unconscious stage, I could feel the agony and deep sorrow sweeping through my whole body. The situation was fully out of my control. At this point of time, I noted an inner voice spoke from the background. “I am now close the door to the past. I trust that whatever happened in my life is the teaching for my higher good. I leave the darkness behind and move forward with the flow of love and light. I am filled with love and light. I now cut the soul tie with C and set C free from me” I felt myself calmer but my mind was still very active in the unconscious stage.

The feeling with H surfaced again. I felt the love for him so intense and aggressive that I had not in my life felt for anyone before. We talked, we kissed, we hugged, we romanced, we joked, we concerned, we be franked, we missed, we restrained, we struggled. We got no answer. The mind went through the second round of struggling with agony of letting go. I had really no solution for liberation. I strongly reinforced my wish to the universe again. I made a definite wish and return H to the universe to settle our fate. I will wait patiently and see how the events will unfold.

The phone rang the second time at around 9am, waking myself up totally. I thought I would feel peace and light after regained my conscious self with a good night sleep under the effect of medicine, on the contrary, my eyes opened to the same reality that I was in before the sleep. I guess I really took quite a strong does of medicine yesterday night. I knocked again at around 11am for 3 hours and I am still quite affected by the drug at the time of this writing at 4pm. I feel peace and calm.

With the borrowed equanimity, I want to reinforce myself to proceed my life slowly and positively with love and light on the path that I want to walk and achieve.

Wrote on 19 Jan

My world is all alone now....

hmm.. Is this the feeling of total loneliness? But it's ok, I have decided to take sleeping pill tonight to break my sleepless pattern. Will be having a peaceful and quiet sleep for a while. Looking forward to the total relaxation.

Om mani padme hum...

Wrote on 18 Jan

Om mani padme hum

Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum............

Wrote on 18 Jan.

Sleepless nights

There were a few things in my mind when I decided to return to SH. Besides the needs from work, I thought it was important to be alone for a while to regain discipline to be independent. When staying alone in SH, I would have more time to myself that I had to plan how to fulfill it. I thought of doing more meditation and reading at this juncture as a way to heal. I have been meditating quite intensively after I got back to SH. I observed many things in meditation; my fear, my panic, my feeling for H, etc. I was also mindful on my feelings when I was out of meditation in order to keep emotion in place. I thought I progress quite well in contending fear and panic attack, but I am not too sure if I can say the same when my sleep pattern seems to get worst.

I was quite determined to do an intensive meditation yesterday night at 10pm, but I was quite exhausted from insufficient sleeping hours in the previous night, the whole day work and half an hour jog in the gym. After I meditated for about half an hour, I concluded that I needed to sleep to regain energy before I could do something. I went to bed at around 1030pm with the usual inner talk for peace of mind playing at the background. I finally dragged myself out of the bed at around 230am to start my meditation. I think it must be because of job situation, my anxiety level has been rather high. It was not an easy night. I at least woke up four times between 1030pm to 230am to re-play the inner talk to get myself to sleep again. Meditation started with lots of panic inside me. Although I managed to observe and overcome the panic during an hour of meditation, I still couldn’t improve the sleep pattern. The sleep pattern from 330am to 630am was not much better.

I am not too sure now that though I had in bed for 7 hours in total, how many hours of sleep I actually had for a night. Although I am quite worried on how long I can sustain with this pattern, I am also looking forward to see in what way I can overcome this pattern.

Wrote on 18 Jan

Job dilemma

Boss called to ask me back to sg to start up jp office for the company. I called to check with my ex-company about my returning back. Was rather dissappointed that they haven't even processed yet. Not sure if the dept head is still interested. I told him to help to speed up the process as I need to let my boss know early about my intention to quite. It will be difficult for me to tender after discussing workplan with him. I am not sure how the thing will go, but the dept head told me he would update me tomorrow after he speaks to HR.

Can't take thing too seriously nowadays. I choose to try my very best in getting what I want and go along with the flow on the outcome.

Wrote on 17 Jan.

Leaving SH soon.....

Just received a call from my team leader asking me to prepare to leave SH on 1 Mar as they wanted me back to help them to set up office in Tokyo. Wow, coming faster than I expected, I haven't even got my new job settled yet. The initial plan was to stay till Jun this year, then bargained down to Apr, now Mar. Faster than the weather change in SH. Now crossing my finger tips to see if I would be offered the new job to relocate back to sg these two weeks. This is important as my boss will be talking to me about my new work plan from 1 Mar. Just can't promise him everything and resign on the last minutes. Hope for the best now.

Wrote on 17 Jan.

I am touched, moved and energised.

The first morning in SH was filled with hiccups.

The sleeping pattern hasn’t improved much but I seem to be adjusted to it now. After 4 rounds of inspirational music in between sleeps yesterday night, I finally woke up at 7am and was actually rather surprised of the late hour. After a glass of water, I sat down to meditate for about half an hour. While tidying bed and preparing for work, the power of the whole apartment suddenly tripped. The circuit breakers were all still in place, but I could smell burning from the panel. The technician was in my apartment in 10 minutes time after I called up the property management to seek help. The technician opened out the panel and confirmed that the main breaker was burned. As usual in SH, he took advantage to charge me a high price for changing a new breaker. I wasn't in any positive energy to bargain and my priority was to resume the power supply. He fixed the problem in the next 15 minutes and I was happy to see light again. I gave him a 100 yuan note, 22 yuan more than he asked for. He was quite hesitant to take it, but I told him it was alright as I was satisfied with his work. Good to know that the technician still had the human side. After washed up, I tried calling taxi to go to work but couldn't get any as it was cold and raining outside. I had no choice but to walk out in the cold to try my luck. Managed to get a taxi after ten minutes wait and got to the office at around 9.45am.

When I reached my desk, the DHL box sent by Y was there waiting for me. It had been there quietly for the past 3 weeks when I was struggling back home with my depression. After settled down, I opened the box and saw a beautiful green Y3 jacket with an envelope. My mood was lifted as I really loved the jacket. Thinking what Y would write in the note. I opened the envelope intending to read his note. I was touched when I saw a jade in a small nicely wrapped white cloth in the envelope with a note "J, To keep you warm and safe, Y - 15 Dec 07". I was touched, moved and energized.

When Y was here last month, I told him that I wanted a jade for myself. It is a long Chinese belief that jade will shield away all negative spirit and aggregate positive energy. Y has a good pair of eyes for art, so I requested him to help me to find one that suits me. We were shopping at famous jade shops along Nanjing Dong Road but couldn't find any satisfying. Y suggested that I shouldn't rush into buying one as buying jade required "缘份". I was mildly disappointed. When Y told me that he had sent me a jacket from HK, I didn't expect that a jade would come along with the parcel. It is really a beautiful piece of clear round jade with the exact color, shape and size that we were looking for that day. I quickly took down my gold chain in my neck and inserted the jade into it and put back on immediately. I feel warm, safe and happy now.

I immediately wrote Y a note thanking him for the kind gesture as I know clearly the gifts I received has already transcend its physical form and value. The kind thought and care of Y embedded with it has already provided me with much positive energy to re-kindle myself to move on positively.

In this current difficult period of my life, I am really grateful and fortunate to have many good supports from friends like Y, including WL, Han, Shifu, Shijie, LT. Without them, I don't think I can sustain myself till now to see light again.

Wrote on 16 Jan

Landed in SH, very very cold

Well well, finally landed in SH in one piece. Slept for the first two hour, watched the secret for another hour followed by Steven Chow Kung Fu. Thought Kung Fu would ligthen up my mood, but the song and story between the mute girl and him still did stir up my emotion quite a bit. Managed to calm it down by chanting amitabha throughout the landing and in the taxi back home.

Returned to the lonely apartment almost after 3 weeks. Have to stay here for another two weeks. Will definitely challenge myself these two weeks in term of spiritual grow and healing. I want to be liberated, I want to be happy and I want to live the life that I desire.

Happy, happier, happiest, happiness.

Wrote on 15 Jan

Johnny Johnny, please don’t cry

This was the title of the first English song I knew when I was in primary school. Whenever I feel like crying, the rhythm of this song will somehow cross my mind. I can’t really remember if I was a crying baby when I was a child. I can only remember an incident when I cried hysterically during my primary school time. I was having very high fever and the whole family was surrounding me with my parents trying to calm me now. I was literally crying and crying. My dad was trying to console me by agreeing with what I said. I guess he must have difficulty in following all my requests, he then triggered my crying to the peak with a wrong answer. I remember vividly that I said I wanted to go to school the next day and he got it wrong and said that I should stay at home to rest because of my high fever. I burst out hysterically with a sharp cry followed by jumping and leaping on my bed shouting “I want to go to school!”.

Although I have not much memory to justify myself being a crying baby during childhood, I must be crying quite a bit at my early teenage days after I started experiencing problems in life. I developed a hatred for crying towards the end of my secondary school and forbade myself from crying anymore after an incident with my dad. I had no tear for quite a long while. I didn’t cry when my aunt committed suicide; I didn’t cry when my beloved grandma left me; I didn’t cry when I had difficult in life.

My house was robbed the first time after we shifted to this current one not long after a year. Although no one was hurt except monetary loss, it was quite a traumatic experience for the whole family. My dad was sitting in the living room a few days after the incidence and recounting it. He broke down in tear and suddenly shifted his target to me blaming me on all my faults. I was very hurt and felt strong anger developed inside. I disgusted with the incidence; I disgusted why things had to happen this way; I disgusted why no one come protecting me; I disgusted my dad’s crying. I saw crying as a weakness. I declared to myself quietly that I would not shed tear in my life anymore.

I forgot about the feeling of crying for quite a long long time until I met my first date. I saw the long lost friend of me in my face when thing didn’t go smoothly with him. Since then, I had less resistance to crying, I could only on and off control my urge to burst into tears. Although I still saw crying as a weakness, I had not much determination to resume the previous state again. I couldn’t say I was indulged in crying, but I did cry a bit more since the day I stopped seeing my first date.

I have been crying a lot again these few days, in fact a little bit too much. I think it is too much as I feel I am feeling more down after each cry. I am not too sure subconsciously if I am taking this as an avenue to release my emotional stress. Whatever it is, I want to make a decision as I want to see improvement in my situation. I want to make a decision not to cry anymore for a few reasons.

1. I tried the way and it is heading into negative direction now. Crying is making me weaker emotionally each day.

2. I need to re-compose and discipline myself in order to get back on track for recovery. Stop crying can be a form of discipline

3. I have also started working on different tools to get myself back on track like meditation, reading. I believe these are positive substitutes to crying.

4. I want to take this opportunity to build a stronger me emotionally by not crying.

I will not see tear again with all my effort from now.

wrote on 14 Dec 07