In loving God, we must use these three: Heart, soul and mind. In other words: with all our being. Difficult to fathom, huh? In all the things we do, we think and say, it must be God-guided.

I have my share of lapses (and countless of problems and personal battles). When problems come, I am unable to feel Him. But where does problem really reside? In the mind, that's where. Spending sleepless nights over our problems will not solve it. Worrying will not get us a step closer to finding solutions. In fact, worrying adds to our problems. When we are in the midst of problems, the first step towards finding a solution is prayer. When our minds are clear, when we are not guided by our (negative) emotions, that's when a solution comes.

Easier said than done, huh? True. But it's also true that if our solutions are guided by our emotions, what we perceive as 'soluton' gets pregnant with even bigger problems.

Thinking of our problems leave us feeling heavy-laden. It's because I think our hearts feel heavy when our hearts are filled with worries. Because of it, we sometimes walk stooped.

Let go.

I have a friend in the Philippines whose favorite line is: Detach!

Whenever negative feeling comes, whenever she's beset with problems, she says to herself: Detach! (And she does it by waving her hands away from her body).

I think in essence what she's doing is telling the bad vibrations to leave her body.

I sometimes use the mantra. Coupled with Biblical passages, the mantra leaves me with a feeling of peace and lightness.

The second passage is about loving our neighbors as ourselves. I used to wonder why the Bible used 'as ourselves' as a guide in loving othes.

How do I love I ba?

I take care of I.
I pamper I.
I feed I -- with foods for the body and the mind.
I rest I.
I forgive I, regardless.
I understand the eccentricities of I - and I have a lot!

I believe then that that's how I must treat others, especially in the arena of forgiving and understanding.

Prayers: I have lots of problems. It sometimes cloud my mind and my reason. In those times, I don't feel you, Lord. Forgive me. You're bigger than my problems, Lord, I know. Please guide me on what to do. I leave it up to You. Because I believe you're more than able.