My Next Experiment - Mystic Forest Oracle Cards

Summary of this experiment - there are cards, and each card will 'keywords', and we are to use these keywords to communicate - in my case, write my thoughts about it. How I react, what I want to say or expound about it. Simple as that. In a sense... I would be sharing my thoughts, ideas, beliefs (maybe), and in so doing, I get to learn more about myself - and if you read this, then you are learning about me as well. That said... here goes...

"Trust your feelings"

Iniital reaction? Star Wars - I think I heard this in that movie... specifically the Jedi training between Luke and - at first, Obi Wan, then later... with Yoda. It means tapping into a subcoincious - and feeling what it is telling you.

In reality, what does this mean?

The card, mentions: "You are unique. Your destiny is waiting for you to write your story and pave your own path. Follow your heart. Don't let others dictate who you should be."

Trust your instincts... it's a bit hard to explain, but think about it this way. You go around on a daily basis, trusting your logic, and decision-making process. But not everything you experience can be considered a measurable and visible item. Have you ever felt unease when in a situation? Have you considered not trusting someone because what tehy say sounded too good to be true? If something in your gut is screaming pause and reconsider, I suggest listening to your instinct. Your mind reads things fast, and it may take in some minute item that just does not add up. Something that makes your instinct feel unsure. Consider this.

I have been saved by my instincts more than once - specially ehan I just react, and not pause to think. That said, I have to consider these sometimes inexplicable situations. It's like trusting your dog when he sees someone and does not like them. They can sense something... they trust their feelings, and we should trust them too. Our dog's and ours as well.

Memoir question revisited... What would I say to my younger self (given the chance)

This question got me thinking...

The kneejerk reaction would be telling my younger self to buy Apple, Amazon, Facebook sstocks... you know, hindsight considering which stocks would be of high value during my days - but maybe not yet, during my younger self... assuming there are stocks to buy, and he had the capacity to try and get some. Then again, it would be to 'try and get them as much as possible'.

However, gven what I reconsidered - had I a longer time to refelct on this (which I have, now). I would have to consider when I would be meeting my younger self - but should it be at, say, during my High School or even College days, what would I say? What indeed...

I feel that during this time, my greater challenges would have been going to school - delving in music as a hobby; though more of a consumer/DJ wanna be. I might mention that I sould have stuck to my guns in wanting Medicine, and not Commerce - something I had not interest in at all. Knowing what I do now... yes, the knowledge of doing business is useful - but no passion with, hence my struggling through College. Would I have been better in Medicine? Maybe - but that is a road untravelled, so I can't further talk about it.

This was another query I had about things... would my life have changed dramatically in that fork? Being in Med school... would I not meet Barbie? Hence not ahve Bryce and Bernice as part of my family? I certainly would not want to lose them. So should I suggest a different - more radical change?

Should I instead focus on a simpler, more personal challenge? Like how I was struggling (though not showing it) with the fact that we were a broken family? I have to say that there were days I wished I could talk to my dad about school work, but could not. Being raised by my mom... well, she did a good job with my and my sisters, but would I have turned out different with more of my dad's influence and life output? I would have suggested that life isn't as bad as it may seem... that any challenges I faced back then would be resolved - maybe not soon, and I would live to get through said challenges. I had resloved that a reconcilliation was impossible, hence I did not think of it. But I know I lost something with no presence from my dad back then.

I would probably suggest sticking with my friends - they were my support group. Have patience with my mom and her (often times) unfair treatments - not intentional, it was just how she looked at life. Telling him that eh would meet someone wonderful (Barbie), how he soold find time to visit Lola Nena more often, if possible. Also, make the best of a not so good thing with College. Focus on studying better - specially Accounting. Being less fancy-free with my friends, and possibly finish College at the regular timeframe, rather than the extended stay. Not make the mistake of withdrawing from Thesis. Ah well, those little things that could have given me more time to focus on other stuff.

I would have focused more on work, but still balance things with family. For example, I would still say no to St. Charles because it would keep me away from Barbie in her time being pregnant with Bryce. Will I change some other milestone? I don't know. After all, my knowledge, wisdom, experience... all these are accumulations of my life - mistakes and all. The hurts make me more sensitive... empathetic. So yeah...

No dramatic changes that may erase my life with loved-ones. Just suggestions and words of comfort that things do get better... just hang in there... Oh, and buy Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

My first talk in iBlooming's GIM

Last Wednesday was my first talk, and I focused on 'Do I mentor?" or "Do I Coach. The poster was for anyone intereseted, to register. It was a free Zoom session, wherein the host introduced me and after my talk, led the Question and Answer session by reading the queries given by my listeners/viewers. The talk lasted about 40 minutes - then the 'Q&A' was given about 15 minutes. Overall session lasted an hour from start to closing.

My audeince were from HK, Indonesia, Qatar, Malasia, Singapore. Mostly from GIM subscribers. The talk was recorded and can still be viewed by others through the GIM / iBlooming platform for $2 per view.

What I liked about the process... we had a technical check, sound check and presentation compatibility check one hour before the talk's sceheduled time. The tech team made sure I cane across as clear and audible. I did not have any videos as part of my talk - but had I any linked, or embeded, they would have cehck this as well. They obviously knew what they were doing, complete with the Emcee's script. Because of this, the talk went smoothly. Impressive indeed.

I even got a letter of gratitude comihg from them indicating what my talk shared, how it impacted my audience, and the messages shared by the participants in the Zoom chat. Again, not what I expected at all - but highly appreciated.

A New Direction for Minutiae Musings?

I recently linked up with iBlooming - an organzation that offers online education for many types of topics. Thir main pursose being to offer varying knowledge to their subsribers at a relatively affordable price of $2/month. It is hoped that through this, iBlooming gets to spread edication and knowledge in varying locations. For now they have set up in Indonesia and Malaysia - while they are also positioned in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Anyway, I was contacted online to consider joining their organization with hopes that I form part of the start to tap into the Philippine market. So there is that possible honor of beinf the irst of their Phipiine speakers. These will be more of a TED talk or YouTube type of consideration. I initially sent five short videos for their review, and just last Wednesday, did a love talk. Tonight, I'll be in a discussion with them via Zoom with what might come next. I don't mind starting slow - get a feel of how things go, beofe I start populating iBlooming with talks.

My focus will be on People Skills development, and I started with talking about the Difference between Coaching and Mentoring. I will then branch off into both topics to expond on what it takes to be a better Mentor, and Coach. My other topic will be on Project Management with a little emphasis on the people part of the team. It will revolve around leading and managing the team - form there I'll exptrapolate more on leadership vs. management. Both are essential in Project or Program or even Operations Management.

I called my channel Minutiae Musings (pickeing up form this blog's name), and who knows? What I talk about there can be further expounded on here, and vice versa. They will intersect, but not mirror each other.

That's it in a nutshell.

Memoirs exercise in hindsight

I initially went into this project with enthusiasm. I was both curious, and aprehensive with the idea - but curiosity won the day, and I thought it was a good idea to collate my thoughts by answering 50 questions. Along the way. I would discover some things about myself - and though I may have paid lip service to some questions, I answered them honestly nonetheless.

Would I have not sheared some ideas? The temptation was certainly there - but if I wanted to be honest about myself, I needed to answer them all with honesty. Did I circumvent truths? I don't think so... am I in denial regarding this? Maybe... I hope not, though. After all, if this is to really be a sort of fast talk documentation of my life, then I needed to be candid about things.

Do I consider answering thigns differently? Not really... if any, I would have wanted to expound on some answers - to go beyond short answers. I felt that some answers needed to be either clearer, or I may have answered some differently at a different date. Thus, I will probably review these questions and answers at a different year - see of my answers stay the same, or if I need to validate some answers, if not flat out change my answers entirely. So yeah... give these thoughts, I can only say the answers to all 50 questions may be dependent on what I felt when reading the questions for the first time. They may necessitate some editing given a second read at some future date.

Until then, these answers stand.

Memoirs Q50: How has your definition of Family changed over the years?

One would think this to be an obvious question. I mean my family has always been my wife (Barbie) and two kids (Bryce and Bernice). I would make sure that my everyday living focuses on how I can help them in any way possible. Specially since they are still working, and I am staying home.

By extension, of course, I would include my sisters and their family (Bing, Tizza, Patty, Migz, Eli). Likewise, Barbie's siblings and mom (Rose, Bart, Bernadette, Bea, Brian, Ben) plus their own families. I don't really included my dad because he has a family of his own, and I don't think I am fully welcome into that family. I know I am not a priority to them - so I likewise reciprocate the feeling.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I would put Beowulf, our German Shepherd. At a lower rung, the cats Bluey and Bruno. Our pets are after all also family - sort of. Though Beowulf is moch closer to us that he cats.

Then I hae my close friends whom I would consider an extended family. Gerry, Fred are god parents to my kids for a reason. I'm sure they will help my family when needed. John is a friend I can count on to help me when I'm in a bind, though not as close as the first two. Then there's Tony, Boyet and Dave - more like College days freinds, whom I've shared some 'adventures' with back in the days.

Most these guys will be willing to help me an my family should the need arise. So yes, they are bothers.

Then there's my Toastmasters family. People I've worked with for some time now - people I can trust, and they can trust me as well. They're a wonderful bunch, and rarer than one thinks. For starters, most of my HOLA co-members - not all, mind you, but a good number of them. Some from other Divisions and Clubs.

That said, adding all these people to be my extended family proves you can indeed choose who to be family with.

I did it! 50 questions... compiling answers to various topics. Woohoo! Will I share this with others? Well... its not exactly typed out in a very private location. Anyone who does some internet detective seach can probably stumble upon this. I must say, though, having gone through this, someone can learn a lot about me... but not all of me.

Memoirs Q49: What impact do you hope your Life will have on Others?

To leave a LEGACY. This was one of Steve Covey's maid points when he asked people to create their Journey mission statements, and I tried the exercise. The entire statment can be seen here: My Journey Mission Statement

So what did it make me say about my Mission Statement? It may sound a bit dramatic... but for starters, I wish to -

"Explore what the universe has to offer as captain of a Starship:

I see my life as a journey… an exploration – meeting new people, experiencing different and new cultures, if at all possible. I would like to think that I can meet challenges and any need for change head-on, and I see myself like a legendary Starship Captain of Star Trek – with the roles of leader, peace keeper, and ambassador of goodwill.

I trust in what I can do, and the resources I can muster and keep the counsel of trusted and capable friends and family. I’m not afraid to make decisions that will affect my life – but I will tread a bit more carefully when it will involve the life of my family – for they should not suffer for possible mistakes I may stumble on.

As would a Starship captain – I would boldly go where no one has gone before… yet making sure that all moves are calculated properly, for the lives of a Captain’s crew and their family rests on his decisions and actions that he will take."

Next?

"Build a legacy for better understanding and tolerance:

I aspire to make the world a better place, by emphasizing on improving communication and espouse better understanding of others. These can be better practiced with tolerance of what does not meet one’s norm or expectations, and the understanding of others’ viewpoints – to better realize where they are coming from – in this regard, I follow Steven Covey’s statement – “Seek first to understand, then be understood”. That can lead me through difficult situations, that, if not treated carefully, could easily escalate into an argument.

Had I been less receptive and open-minded, I’m sure such things would happen often.

Exerting effort for negative actions are equally tiring – if not more so than positive efforts. It put one on the defensive and extra effort may be necessary to provide safety. Why bother wasting time on negatives when positives are easier to focus on – help me get inspired and in the process energize me with adrenaline and inspiration… the natural high.

I would rather be living on a positive note than on negatives. Respect for others… their beliefs and their right to practice such beliefs, so long as such does not undermine mine or another’s belief in one way or another. Mutual respect will have to be practiced, accepted or at the very least, tolerated with a surplus of patience, and the need to ably put one’s self in the other’s shoe.

Too often do I see indifference, bias… I strive not to add to these global woes.

Mind you, I'm copy-pasting the words from there.

Lastly...

"Ensure my children’s future as successful and independent caring leaders:

My children are my real legacy – they should and will endure, long after I am gone. My main responsibility in life is to give them the important lessons of wisdom and intelligence – those two traits that can make them strive for a better life, and allows them to be better human beings – to be looked upon as great and caring leaders.

Independence is important and I strive to make them learn to stand on their feet – knowing full well that they are capable of whatever challenges life will throw at them.

My children will continue in this world when I am gone – they will need all the rules and guidelines that they can use in life – I can’t promise to be with them forever nor be beside them at all times… I can make it a point though, that even if I’m gone, my lessons – my beliefs will continue to help ensure their safety… their living, and act as a solid value-driven foundation for their growth, and for their world."

I'd say this sums thigns up nicely. Once in a while I check if anything has changed with my prefered legacy. But there you have it.

Memoirs Q 48: How do you Engage with your Passions Outside of Work?

Outside of work... well, most of my time is directed to house chores now - given that I have no professional work related activities these days. It's called 'retirement' after all. So what do I do when not working at home? For starters, I just finished two roles in Toastmasters - that being the President of the Hall of Learners Advenced Toastmasters Club, and concurrenlty taking on the Division N Director role. That said, most of my free time was dedicated to either the club or the division. So yes, helping other Toastmasters is a passion of mine. Giving them opportunities to learn and grow, while I made sure my club was hitting its goals. The division was harder though... not everything was easily under my influence or control. We had to make hte best of what we had. You can only do so much. In such a situation, I would say, do what we can and not worry about what we can't address... help where we can, but not get frustated if things don't go the way we want.

Given these activities, I had a team that, I could say, were great at what they did. It took a little adjustment on my end - and most times, I had to just approve great ideas. Having a well motivated team was great. That was what I was taking advantage of in one instance, and what I was trying to form in the other. Call it luck, or meeting our goals through persistence - but we got to build a good team in time for the turnover.

Another passion would be photography, though nowadays its a bit downgraded. Years ago, I would practive on a daily basis to take pictures - to study great composition, but I have to be honest, I normally took pictures at the moment - not really considering angles, styles or arrangements. This was more a natural progression. Unlike say what my wife does - she takes pictures - study the image, and if it does not fit her accepted image, a rshoot is in order. Me? I take several shots and hope I get a 'golden' one amongst the ones I took. So which is the better procedure? I suspect both need to be combined.

Bakc then I would have my DSLR, my IPhone, my iPAD - three cameras, and the DSLR had three different lenses ready to be switched. I would lug all these, plus two types of tripods - let's just say they were not exactly light. But that was my learning phase. Yes, I took a lot of golden pics - I even experimented with infrared filters and black and white methods. The only thing I did not get to practive was model photography - and maybe some protrait and landscapes. But for some of these, I would have needed other equipment. Not only that, there came a time I really needed to upgrade my camera. But not being a professional photographer made buying new equipment - more so a newer camera, a bit pricey. Okay, not a bit... a lot.

Still, I learned, and now i'm just down to my phone cam. Do I miss my old equipment? Sometimes. But the convenience pf just having my phone cam ready is just enough for everyday use.

Anotehr passion I've had - something on hold for now due to a lack of space is my aquarium. I plan to get back to it some time soon.

Another? My comics and books. I always loved having a personal library. It makes me look learned. :D But it kept me updated. Once ina while I still look at my books for reference or for entertainment purposes. Unfortunately, the library is also on hold in my new place, and I've had to lessen purchasing books - though these past years, since the pandemic, I've switched more to ebooks. Too bad I can't dislplay them on a shelf - but it's convenient to carry the iPad around with said books... and comic books.

So how do I engage in them? Consider... some passions allow me to be alone. I like that. Others demand I communicate and impart knowledge with others - either face-to-face or online. But I try to find time for them. They are part of a life balance.

Memoirs Q47: Can you describe a situation where you had to reconcile differing viewpoints?

This happens more often than you think. It is a challenge to do so as an arbiter amongst colleagues or friends - mor cahllenging still if you are one of the parties involved in the differing viewpoints.

So how do I do this? I use empathy. I try to see the other person's viewpoint - where they're coming from. Just because we don't see eye to eye does not mean I'm right and they're wrong. For all we know, both sides, when seen at different angles, can be right. Let's not let bias cloud our ability to reason and understand each other.

This can be chalenging, specially if there is a looking deadline, and you're too wrapped up in a convenient solution. Unfortunately, the convenience mqy be just one way. We need to realize that. Is what they're saying important? Not evenything can be logical, too. Is there an underlying emotional dimension here? Is there a need to compromise for the greater whole's win.

In my ealry days of managing a team, I was tasked with mamaging a much larger team - and naturally, people saw me as the 'go to' person to help solve issues. Upon discussions we found a solution - wht I forgot to do was include the person who was the outgoing head. Unfortunately, she did not see this as a solution-finding situation, but a bypassing of her authroity situation. She did not forgive me for that. Unfortunate. As I said, I was not wrong, and we resolved a concern - good for the business. Was it an ego thing? Perhaps. To this date, I wouldn't have changed the dicision - but maybe considered looping her in on what happened. See, I was busy with a lot of other things too... but I could have respected her want to follow a timetable more. Ah well...

Memoirs Q46: How do you celebrate your achievements, no matter how small?

Achievements, big or small, are best shared with others - be they family, or friends (or both, even). It can be as simple as sharing a meal or dessert, or having a feast. Heck, if everyone is not able to be in the same room, celebrations can still happen - food can be delivered to different locations, so people can feel they are part of the celebration. This becomes highly important if the cause for celebration is because of a successful collaborative project, a birthday or just a team time out.

Milestones like birthdays or project activity completion (not necessarily the project's ending itself - these small wins give people the impetus to want to celebrate some more. It need not even be expensive - a pizza treat, or a pie is sufficient. The people will need to know you care, and also want to know that their efforts are being recognized. I used to do random treats to a class when I saw how hard they were studying,

As for family, any reason is appropriate. One thing we did during the pandemic was to make sure we celebrated small things... have a charcuteire, some wine, some food or even dessert - simply because we could. The fact that we were together, all safe, was reason enough. Now, in time when we need not worry about life threatening diseases, our outlook has not changed. Celebrate when we can, where we can - just by being together.

We shouldn't take life for granted, We shouldn't take things for granted. Enjoy each other's company, celebrate wins, celebrate trivial stuff while we can - because we simply can. Make life and experinces more enjoyable. Look for reasons to celebrate - then do so.

Memoirs Q45: What are the Biggest Challenges you foresee for Future Generations?

WOW... this is definitely a great question. Firstly, am I qualified to answer this? I'm not a futurist, or at least I don't see myself as one. But I'm not coping out either. Let me chew on this a while, though.

In a world where people can seemingly get all the answers, services and products they need at the tip of their fingertips via the Internet and the countless websites adhering to a business that caters to such needs, what would the future generations need to have? First would have to be 'Critical Thnking'. Why? Simple... one can get innundated by so many information - the real test now would have to first be sifting fact from fiction or opinions. For example, if one weree to doa search for something generally accepted in culture, say an explanation of the Virgin Mary... how many of the sites and given enteied could be considered canonical to Catholic beliefs? How many would be considered untruths? Misrepresentations? The problem here is there may be a dearth of factual information - so what fo we accept and believe?

Having the skills for Critical Thinking may not give you all the answers - but they can at least remove the untruths and let you end up with acceptable choices. They train you to ask 'why?', 'how?' and sift through untruths, biases, and other misinformation. It helps you sift through what can be false, what can be considered possible... what are probable truths, if not downright facts. Of course, in this particular example, you'd still have to weigh in faith. Accepting the answers now becomes a test of what you will accept. But at least, having critical thinking will help you sort through things. In an Internet filled with so many entries, opinions and downright fraudulent 'facts', they will need to know how to sift through the garbage.

Next? Patience. Given that tehy can have near instant access to so many things, waiting may be something they will not have to endure. But the thing is 'waiting' may make things better in some instances. Waiting for a cake to be baked, for example - or the creation of a Micheline Star dish... these may be worth the wait. Similarly, not everyone is always ready with an answer to everything. It may take a few moments - and maybe more, to get accurate information, or give the better opinion. The future generations need to cultive the art of waiting and patience.

Lastly, just to limit this to three... the 'Human touch'. This covers people facing skills. Talking or communicating clearly, showing empathy, and maybe sharing a lesson or an idea... the art of convincing others of your ideas. After all, people will still need to deal with each other.