10 Secrets to Fulfilling Relationships

I would like to share with you these ideas/secrets which I accidentally stumbled to few months ago, the paper in which these ideas were printed was about to be disposed when I got them and noticed the importance of its contents.


So here it goes... 

The first secret? The power of THOUGHT.

Love begins with our thoughts. We become what we think about. Loving thoughts creates loving experiences and loving relationships. Affirmations can change our beliefs and thoughts about ourselves and others. If we want to love someone, we need to consider their needs and desires.

The second secret? The power of GIVING.

If you want to receive love, all you have to do is give it! The more love you give, the more you will receive. To love is to give yourself freely and unconditionally. Practice random acts of kindness. Before committing into a relationship, ask not what the other person will be able to give to you, but rather what will you be able to give them. The secret formula of a happy, lifelong, loving relationship is to always focus on what you can give instead of what you can take.

The third secret? The power of RESPECT.

You cannot love anyone or anything unless you first respect them. The first person you need to respect is yourself. To begin to gain self-respect ask yourself, "What do I respect about myself?" To gain respect for others, even those you may dislike, ask yourself "What do I respect about them?"

The fourth secret? The power of FRIENDSHIP.

To find a true love, you must first find a true friend. Love does not consist of gazing to each other's eyes, but rather looking outward together in the same direction. To love someone completely you must love them for who they are, not for what they look like. Friendship is the soil through which the love's seeds grow. If you want to bring love into a relationship, you must first bring friendship.

The fifth secret? The power of LETTING GO.

If you love something, let it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours; if it doesn't, it never was. Even in a loving relationship, people need their own space. If we want to learn to love, we must first learn to forgive and let go of past hurts and grievances. Love means letting go of our fears, prejudices, egos and conditions. "Today I let go of all my fears, the past has no power over me-today is the beginning of a new life."

The sixth secret? The power of COMMUNICATION.

When we learn to communicate openly and honestly, life changes. To love someone is to communicate with them. Let the people you love know that you love them and appreciate them. Never be afraid to say those three magic words: "I Love You". Never let an opportunity pass to praise them. Always leave someone you love with a loving word- it could be the last time you see them! If you were about to die but could make telephone calls to the people you loved, who would you call, what would you say and … why are you waiting?

The seventh secret? The power of COMMITMENT.

If you want to have love in abundance, you must be committed to it, and that your commitment will be reflected in your thoughts and actions. Commitment is the true test of love. If you want to have loving relationships, you must be committed to loving relationships. When you are committed to someone or something, quitting is never an option. Commitment distinguishes a fragile relationship from a strong one.

The eight secret? The power of PASSION.

Passion ignites love and keeps it alive. Lasting passion does not come through physical attraction alone, it comes from deep commitment, enthusiasm, interest and excitement. Passion can be recreated by recreating past experiences when you felt passionate. Spontaneity and surprises produces passion. The essence of love and happiness are the same; all we need to do is live each day with passion.

The ninth secret? The power of TOUCH.

Touch is one of the most powerful expressions of love, breaking down barriers and bonding relationships. Touch changes our physical and emotional states and make us more receptive to love.

The tenth secret? The power of TRUST.

Trust is essential in all loving relationship. Without it, one person becomes suspicious, anxious and fearful and the other person feels trapped and emotionally suffocated. You cannot love someone completely unless you trust them completely. Act as if your relationship with the person you love will never end. One of the ways you can tell whether a person is right for you is to ask yourself, "Do I trust them completely and unreservedly?" If the answer is "no", think carefully before making a commitment.

Wedding Preparations – Choosing of Rings

When we decided to have our second wedding, which is Catholic Church wedding; Myrnelly and I contemplated if we will have our second wedding rings also. It took us several months to decide about getting new set of rings or re-use our simple civil wedding rings.

Then finally, after almost five months, we opted to have new rings for the Church wedding. So, we considered the long-time jeweler of Myrnelly to be the one to make our rings, which is the Cebu-based Suarez Bros. which already have its affiliate company Suarez Wedding Rings that focuses on wedding and engagement rings/bands. Suarez already have several outlets here in Manila so we did not need to fly to Cebu for that purpose.

The nearest outlet to our place was in Gateway Mall, Araneta Center Cubao. We visited the outlet several times for the choosing of design and reservation. Then around mid July 2009, we gave them the green light for the production of the rings which took around 14 days because their rings were made in Cebu City.

 

 

Selection stage at Suarez Wedding Rings

-taken July 01, 2009

 
Below are the shots during our wedding day pictorial, showcasing our wedding rings.

 

  

  

  

 

Photos courtesy of our Wedding photographer from Vignette Digital Photography

 

Wedding Preparations - Deciding for Souvenirs

The other aspect in a wedding is the souvenirs or tokens. We Filipinos are fond of giving souvenirs in all important occasions such as baptismal, baby birthdays, debuts, anniversary parties and most of all weddings.

Deciding on what type, style, colors of souvenirs is also tedious just like choosing for the wedding invitations. The colors should match the color motif of the wedding. The style should also match the wedding theme like if it's garden, beach, traditional, modern and classic among others. The relevance of the token with the wedding should be strong so as to impart it to the guests. The souvenirs will make your guests remember your wedding day whenever they see these tokens in their display cabinets or souvenir racks.

For our own wedding souvenirs, we decided to have a classic look which relates to our Filipiniana motif and it was made of stained/colored glass. It was a traditional Filipino "lampara" with three different presentations for our Principal Sponsors, Entourage and Guests.

We also designed the souvenir tags and it was another "labor of love" because we have placed all tags in our own effort and time. 

Below is the documentation of our quest in choosing our wedding souvenirs. It started in Divisoria, Manila (the famous all you need, very affordable market in the Philippines). And our endless gratitude to our friend, Ms. Annalyn Lopez for her support in this endeavor.

 

  

 

Hunt for Wedding Souvenirs at Divisoria, Manila

-done July 19, 2009

   
After two weeks lead time, our souvenirs were ready for pick up and it's the start of the finishing stage, the placing of tags.

Our Wedding Souvenirs

-Magnificently done August 09, 2009

 
P.S. This is to give justice to our wedding souvenirs which were not featured in our wedding album and in our wedding video.


Due to the toxicity of the wedding day itself, we forgot to include the souvenirs during our pictorials.

Road Trip - From Dasmarinas to Lipa

Well, I have this unique road trip last November 02, 2009. It was holiday here in the Philippines so I have a break from the office.

I spent the night of November 01 in our house at Gen. Trias, Cavite then in the early morning of the following day, I hurriedly prepared my trip to Batangas. That I have to proceed to Robinsons Dasmarinas for the terminal of the shuttle vans going to Lipa.

 

Then, my  destination is in Robinsons Lipa.

 

  

Funny, but my road trip was great! Whenever I see Robinsons Mall around Metro Manila, I do remember this day when I traveled two provinces and have the same malls as my destination.

-shots were taken from my old but reliable mobile phones

Wedding Preparations - Making of Invitations

One of the challenges in wedding preparations is the wedding invitations. After completing it's content - the entourage, the church location, reception location, time and date among others. The next criteria is the invitation style, presentation, colors, fonts and accents to name a few.

For our own wedding invitations, we decided to have a two-folds overlap, three-columns, vertical orientation, golden yellow colors with ribbons instead of using the conventional envelope. Also the recipient name was printed in a calling card size board paper and hanged in the outer ribbon.

Below is the documentation of the making of our wedding invitations. We have made them personalized, in the sense that we decided on every aspect-from colors, fonts, design and style. And we also did the finishing touches such as placing the ribbons, tags and others-- we call it "labor of love".

 

The laser and offset printing stage

-done May 29-30, 2009

  

The powder embossing stage

-done May 30, 2009

  

The scoring stage

-done May 30, 2009

The trimming/cutting stage

-done May 30, 2009

  

The finishing stage

-done May 31-June 04, 2009

  

Our wedding invitations 

-beautifully done June 04, 2009

Wedding Preparations - Church Selection

In every Roman Catholic wedding, one of the most important aspect is the CHURCH; for without the Church, the wedding will not be a full Roman Catholic wedding.

When we decided to have our second wedding (our first wedding was a civil rites last May 2008), which is Church wedding obviously; the first thing that came into our minds was the Church -- what or where?

So, with the help of our friends we started the Church hunt. Because choosing the church should also meet up several criteria such as the location, style, proximity to the reception, budget and others that the couple might want to consider.

In our case, we considered several churches in San Juan, Sta. Mesa, Quiapo and Malate. Some are easy with the budget but far from any reception sites, others have jaw dropping budget. Then, we finally decided to have our Church wedding at the Malate Church also known as the Our Lady of Remedies Church -- why this church?

Well, Malate Church is situated at the heart of Manila, it is near to several reception sites and hotels. Aside from that, it has the architecture unique of it's own and one of the oldest and beautiful churches in the Philippines. And of course, the budget is very friendly to our pockets!

 

The Malate Church

Panoramic shot taken July 05, 2009

  

  

Shots taken during our second visit at Malate Church, July 05, 2009

  

 Sunset shots at Malate Church

Taken during our first visit on June 12, 2009

Our Investment - The Search, Process, Payments and Beyond

Most people say that for you to invest in anything such as buying a House and Lot, a Car or even investing in the Stock Market, you need first a HUGE guts because it is a big gamble.

And buying a House and Lot through Housing Loan is a bigger gamble, you need to endure the pains of the interest all throughout the terms of your loan. This is after the long process of application and verification before your loan gets approved.

Our search for a prospect house and lot unit started around March 2008, we have visited several subdivisions in different areas nearby Metro Manila such as Binangonan, Rizal; Antipolo City, Rizal; Imus, Cavite and Gen. Trias, Cavite.

By early May 2008, as we are in a hurried position to choose a unit, we finally selected a unit in a subdivision at Gen. Trias, Cavite - 50 sqm lot, townhouse unit, 2-storey, with 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, garage and garden area.

The selection of unit is just tip of the iceberg, just the starting point - after paying the Reservation Fee (Php 10,000.00) comes the completion of needed requirements and documents such as Certificate of Employment, Birth Certificate, Valid Identification Cards, Community Tax Certificate and others.

We are also required to undergo a Housing Loan Seminar at the HDMF Office. Also a current (checking) account was opened for this purpose because we are required to issue PDC's (post-dated checks) for the installment of the Equity as well as the first three years amortization of the unit.

After the completion of the requirements, here comes the waiting game - waiting for the completion of the house construction and the approval of the housing loan which will follow after the construction of the unit.

Aside from the long wait, we need to follow up the developer's progress from time to time, this includes the site visits of our unit. Luckily, our unit was constructed on time (6-months timeline) and the loan was also approved on time (1 month after construction). So, by November 2008 we already have the green light for the final inspection prior to the delivery of the unit.

Sadly, the unit have several defects that needs repair, so we have to wait again until the developer finished the repairs (2 weeks timeline). After the timeline, we conducted the second inspection, still there are some defects but we have little choice but to accept the unit.

The unit was officially turned-over to us before Christmas of 2008, after that we have to process the application of utilities such as water and power connections.

It has been more than one year since the unit was turned-over, and all we have to do now is pay for the house loan - we have 29 years more left to do that.

E-mailed Message from my Ninang Edith

VERY SHORT, MOST EFFECTIVE AND HOW TRUE...

30 second Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola)

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

WORK EFFICIENTLY DURING OFFICE HOURS AND LEAVE ON TIME.

GIVE THE REQUIRED TIME TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & HAVE PROPER REST.

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 3

THE TOP FIVE CANCER-CAUSING FOODS

1. Hot dogs
-Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children should not eat not more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.

2. Processed meats and Bacon
-Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs; bacon and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts
-Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made of white flour, sugar and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams, may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries
-Like doughnuts, French fries are made of hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain the cancer-causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams.

5. Chips, crackers and cookies
-All are usually made of white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amount of trans-fats.

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 2

THE MAIN CAUSES OF LIVER DAMAGE

1. Sleeping too late and waking too late are main cause.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.


6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring and artificial sweetener.


7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil.


8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of the liver.

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 1

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating

It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking

It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption

Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation

Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping

Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness

Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts

Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely

Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

Flowers for my Honey - Through the Years

  

Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010

Monthsary, October 14, 2009

Valentine's Day, February 14, 2009

2nd Civil Wedding Monthsary, July 18, 2008

Valentine's Day, February 14, 2008

Graduation Day, April 26, 2007

Valentine's Day, February 14, 2007

2nd Year Anniversary, June 14, 2006

How do I Love Thee

Flowers may eventually wither,

Love letters may be discarded,

Messages and e-mails can be erased,

But my love for you will always be deep.

Months will come, years will pass by,

Summer, winter, autumn and fall;

All the seasons that go through,

But my love for you will always be true.

Time will come, as an old man I become,

That age will forbid me to remember your name,

Or our precious memory lane,

But my love for you will be always be the same.

 

Dedicated to my wife on Valentine's Day

Written 13th February 2010