Monday, January 21, 2013

Why KABBALAH, Why Now?


People around the globe are waking up to realize that a whole universe exists beyond the physical. In fact the realm of the mystical is commonly referred to in daily conversation, in media and entertainment. The practical tools of Kabbalah are increasingly becoming pertinent for people in all walks of life: We are all seeking ways to see a bigger picture, make better decisions, and participate in a spiritual path that is inclusive of everyone.

Who is Yehuda Berg?
Yehuda Berg is the son of Rav and Karen Berg. As Co-Director of The Kabbalah Centre, he is part of a long lineage of kabbalistic masters. Yehuda, a bestselling author in the field of spirituality, has written more than 30 books on topics ranging from self-empowerment and depression, to relationships. He also authored commentary and kabbalistic explanation on the Bible. Two of his bestselling books, The Power of Kabbalah and The 72 Names of God, have been translated into 20 and 14 languages respectively, and he also created a transformational 23-day audio package, The Living Kabbalah System. His daily emails and Facebook insights, known as “tune ups,” are read by over 250,000 fans. In 2009, the GQ Magazine Gentleman’s Fund honored him for being an Agent of Change in the field of education. Based in Los Angeles, Yehuda lectures internationally, delivering deep and complex kabbalistic concepts in a simplified way that is applicable to daily life. Like the kabbalists before him, Yehuda is committed to world peace. It is with this goal in mind that he travels internationally meeting with world leaders to set up a spiritual platform for peace.

Berg


What Is Kabbalah?
As taught by The Kabbalah Centre, Kabbalah is a universal wisdom that predates the Bible or religion, and can be studied by anyone regardless of their faith or path. Presenting the wisdom from a lineage of kabbalalists, The Kabbalah Centre provides a course of study that describes the origin of Creation, the physical and spiritual laws of the universe, including human existence and the journey of the soul. On a literal level, the word kabbalah means “receiving.” It’s the study of how to receive true fulfillment in life. All of the teachings of The Kabbalah Centre are found in ancient kabbalistic texts such as the Zohar. The inner understanding of these foundational texts has been passed down directly from teacher to student over the course of 4000 years.

Ten Spiritual Principles Of Kabbalah Taught At The Kabbalah Centre

Acquire wisdom. Wisdom comes from deep understanding combined with an expanded perspective. It is an awareness of the bigger picture coupled with the ability to connect the dots. Wisdom leads to discernment and is followed by an application. Wisdom requires control of emotional reactions so that consciousness prevails to determine one’s actions. As Kabbalah teaches, there are no random acts: There is cause and effect. Wisdom means understanding the rules of the universe and having them work for you.

Take full responsibility. Responsibility is a result of being fully engaged. It’s about making a decision based on seeing the whole picture, the good and the bad, and the possible future repercussions of our actions, even if it’s not comfortable to look at right now. If we choose to not see beyond what suits us in the moment, then whatever pain or disappointment we experience in the future is our own doing. It will be our challenge to deal with and overcome. And, if we are not fully aware of the whole picture, then we should choose to not engage at all. This is true responsibility. Responsibility precedes freedom of choice.

Know and challenge your own ego. Ego is the loud(er) voice in our head; the voice that directs us to become attached to our own fragmented and passionate opinions. Ego wants things to be black and white, right and wrong. It wants us to claim that we are everything or that we are nothing. This voice inside us triggers judgment, control, anger, pride, and even hatred. It’s the source of our chaos. Cultivate an awareness that the force of ego exists within and seek out how it shows up, because any decision made from ego will lead to problems. Before making a decision, check-in and see where the ego is hiding. If it’s directing our movement, then listen for the softer voice of true guidance.

Be energized by obstacles and see them as opportunities for growth. Greatness is not determined by what is achieved but rather by what is overcome. The bigger the obstacle, the brighter the lesson. In sports, when someone breathes down our neck, we speed up and leave them in the dust. In life, challenges can come in the form of people or from situations that carve us to be our best. Consider a diamond: Without pressure it remains just a piece of coal. We can use all of our spiritual tools to take on the obstacles before us and step up to greatness by becoming who we were born to be.

Accept your imperfection and the imperfection of others. Imperfections that we see in ourselves and in the world around us are part of God’s plan. Everything was made flawed so humanity can actively work toward co-creating a world that is perfect. When we hide our flaws, we settle and don’t strive toward making things better. Creating a universe that is perfect is our destiny. The moment we embark on this journey to perfect our flaws our transformation begins.

Know your power and use it. We all have power and influence. Every person makes an impact, and everything is connected on different levels of reality. “The Butterfly Effect” refers to the idea that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can initiate the formation of a tornado in Texas—much like the chain reaction of the Domino Effect. Similarly, with one small action we can create a mountain—for better or worse.

Never give up because it’s never too late. It’s never too late to make a change. We are never too bad; the situation is never too dark; and the world is never too far gone. The universe will conspire to help us when we step up to the plate. The difficulties we face and the imperfections that are part of us are not meant to keep us down; they are meant to push us forward. There is no challenge too great. We can always change.

Sharing. Sharing is the purpose of life and the only way to truly receive fulfillment. When individuals share, they connect to the force of energy that Kabbalah calls the Light—the Infinite Source of Goodness, the Divine Force, the Creator. By sharing, one can overcome ego—the force of negativity.

We are all One. Every human being has within him- or herself a spark of the Creator that binds each and every person into one totality. This understanding informs us of the spiritual precept that every human being must be treated with dignity at all times, under any circumstances. Individually, everyone is responsible for war and poverty in all parts of the world and individuals cannot enjoy true and lasting fulfillment as long as others are suffering.

Becoming uncomfortable for the sake of helping others taps us into a spiritual dimension that ultimately brings Light and positivity to our lives.

Friday, January 18, 2013

An Eating Contest like no other

Do you love Japanese food? Do you know someone who can consume bowls of Beef Gyudon in minutes? How about your spouse or a friend?

You can win cash if they have what it takes to be the ultimate winner to an eating contest like no other.

Yoshinoya’s popular Beef Gyudon Eating Contest is now on its 4th year, and expect more and more beef gyudon lovers to flock to Yoshinoya stores to join in this exciting gastronomic challenge.

Yoshinoya, the country’s most popular fast-food chain that specializes in all-time favorite Japanese culinary fare, first held its beef eating contest last 2008 at its SM Megamall branch, then at the SM Mall of Asia Activity Center the following year.

This year, the challenge will still be nothing short of exciting, with more participants expected to sign up for the contest.

Composed of two challenges, the contest is open to all male and female participants 18 years old and above. Qualifying Rounds will be held Monday through Friday at all Yoshinoya stores at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and then at 6 pm and 7 pm from January 21 up to February 15, 2013.

To join, simply pay P199 at the counter, fill out the registration form and sign a health and release waiver. Customer must also present a valid ID (School ID, Company ID, Driver’s License, SSS ID, GSIS ID, NBI Clearance, Postal ID, Voters ID, or Passport) to the store manager.

For the qualifying round the beef bowls should be consumed in the store. The customer who finishes the most number of bowls or who has the least amount of leftover food in 5 minutes wins the challenge of the day.  The names of the four (4) fastest challengers will be on display at each store’s Leader Board and will be updated every time a new record is set.

After the weekly qualifying rounds, all qualified participants will be notified via phone call or email and are automatically entered in the grand finals, which will be held on February 23, 2013, 1 pm, at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

During the final match, all finalists will compete by eating the most number of bowls in 15 minutes. The top three (3) finalists with the most number of bowls consumed and the least weight left after 15 minutes will be declared winners of the Yoshinoya Beef Gyudon eating challenge.

First place winner will receive P100,000, second placer gets P50,000 while the  third placer takes home P25,000. Non-winners will each be given consolation prizes of P2,000 worth of Yoshinoya gift certificates.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Secret of Winning against Aging Revealed



Philippine subsidiary of Osaka-based Fine Company, Imelda Tesalona, RPh

The fountain of youth has been a constant human obsession since time immemorial. It’s not really an issue of a lust for immortality; rather, it’s the vain but very human desire to live just a bit longer than most and, more importantly, to stay young-looking for the longest possible time. Thus, the look of admiration among your peers during reunions and their insistence to try to ferret out your beauty secret undeniably takes the throne as the greatest compliment ever.

The quest for the fountain of youth, if there is any such thing, has obsessed people of many generations. Women, and men, too, hanker for the panacea to growing weakness, general bodily deterioration, unsightly wrinkles and pigmentations, and aches and pains.

We Filipinos have heard of Collagen as a powerful anti-aging weapon, since a product containing 5,000mg Collagen has been in the Philippine market for awhile. But beyond Collagen is a substance just recently introduced here: Hyaluronic Acid (HA), which is quickly catching fire for its great value in fighting against aging.

The Japanese Example
A local entrepreneur who’s the top executive of the Philippine subsidiary of Osaka-based Fine Company, Imelda Tesalona, RPh,  has reported that high levels of Hyaluron had been singled out as the substance “responsible for long life in Japan, reputed to be the healthiest country in the world”. She added, “Japan, which also ranks high on the Global Power City Index, next only to London and Paris for many, many years, and Singapore as the next in line, is the country that has taken Hyaluron as an important subject of study and commercialization, and has so far been succeeding at the resulting breakthroughs.“

What this lady executive expressed is supported by studies and features readily available online. Add to what she shared the fact that of all the world’s populations, the Japanese population tops all other countries in terms of their ranking in the world’s average lifespan.

Tesalona enthused, “Fine Hyaluron & Collagen, flagship product of FINE subsidiary, contains as much as 60 mg Hyaluronic acid and, and other valuable youthfulness- and beauty-enhancing substances. It is a full armory of these potent substances which defend the body from the ravages of aging, which represents the worst possible deterioration of the body. Beauty-conscious people dread this phenomenon and are obsessed with waging an all-out war against it. They’re ever-mindful of discovering the secret of winning in the fight against aging for the longest possible time.

Fine Hyaluron & Collagen Armory
Tesalona disclosed, “The secret lies in what makes up FINE’s weapon: the ultimate combatants in the arena of aging: the very substances that the body loses out on as the body ages: Collagen—even topping off the body’s daily requirement at 5,250 mg per sachet prescribed for daily intake.”

She added, “To fortify the defense system, FINE Company Japan put in all of these in every sachet of Fine Hyaluron & Collagen:  On top or the 5,250mg of Collagen for  invigorating skin in order to attain youthfulness, Hyaluronic Acid -  60mg (moisturizing), Elastin - 15mg (flexibility), Biotin - 45mcg  (beautifying skin), Pearl Coix Extract- 450mg (whitening), and Vitamin C - 100mg (antioxidant).”

 Hyaluronic Acid is a skin-nourishing and hydrating substance; it firms up Collagen in the skin, which it nourishes and hydrates. While Collagen gives skin its firmness, it is the HA that nourishes and hydrates the Collagen. Fifty percent of the HA in our body resides in the skin. Hyaluronic Acid production decreases with age, causing a reduction in moisture binding capacity, resulting in dry skin and weak joints.”      

Tesalona shared, “FINE HA with its low molecular weight ensures optimum absorption and utilization by the intestinal tract,” and added these vital benefits from Fine HC’s other components: “Pearl Coix is an extract that has been used for over 30 years in Japan as a detoxifier and beauty supplement for clear, fair, and luminous skin; Biotin is useful in maintaining the health of the skin, hair, and nails; Elastin, is a Protein which works with Collagen, giving synergistic effect on elasticity and flexibility of the skin, allowing the skin to ‘spring back’ into place when stretched, so skin stays resilient and firm. Most familiar to us all, Vitamin C, which is also a component of Fine HC, is a potent antioxidant, indispensable in the production of Collagen.”

“Fine Hyaluron & Collagen benefits go beyond skin deep, and its nutritive value goes beyond Collagen; it truly befits being called: ‘The Secret Weapon’—take it from the Japanese who developed this brand and those in Japan and now, in many parts of the world, too,” the Fine executive assured.

“The good news are, in the Philippines Fine Hyaluron & Collagen are being distributed in Watsons stores so the weapon is available for all Filipinos who want to give youthfulness and beauty the most fortified defense system ever,” Tesalona ended.