Jose Silva: Stairway To Alpha

June 29 to July 5 

Jose Garcia Villa 

TsongkiBenj

Maid In Manhattan 

The Silva Mind Control

Jose Garcia Villa is a kindred spirit. I want to make my mark through my pen, not wanting any other life. The ideals that I hold as a writer, he has lived them, and with style! He defied convention with his poems that were way ahead of his time, and got into trouble with the conventional mainstream. His passion pushed his self-exile to the United States, where his talent was finally recognized, to the bohemian life of a true artist.

Villa is "the foremost Filipino poet in English," and "a rebel, an individualist, and a non comformist all his life," says Arturo Roseberg in Pathways To Philippine Literature in English (Phoenix, 1958).

"His admirers think he is a genius, his detractors say he is a poseur, those in between think he is just plain eccentric. And they are all correct, for Villa is all that and more."

But who is the real Jose Garcia Villa? Only he can say. He writes:

"My name is Jose, my name is Villa.
I was born in the island of Manila, in the city of Luzon.
My true name is Doveglion.
My business is ascension.
Biography I have none and shall have none.
All my Pure shall beggar and defy biography."

His name Doveglion, he says, reflects his personality and temperament. Inside Jose Garcia Villa was a dove, an eagle and a lion. I found in that book, from the Cebu Public Library on June 9, 2013, a selection of his poetry, all untitled. This is my favorite:

"Since the virtues of my mind are compacted true,
Though this mind stand heretic, unfriended and alone,
Its shape can never perish to a skeleton.
Yea, though tongues mislabel and minds misconstrue,
This mind shall itself and its light not rue:
There directs in it an element superior to bone,
Invincible and austere, factor to God alone,
And Time and Death in vain for it shall sue."

(See also my story on Bienvenido Santos)

I believe the big picture is more important than the bottomline. I admire the Japanese philosophy of long-term vision and kaizen (continuous improvement). 

That was my text read by TsongkiBenj on his weeknight Nite Chat on June 3, 2013. It was my take on the Bill Gates quote he shared: "Most people overestimate what they can do in one year but underestimate what they can do ten years." TsongkiBenj said that Chinkee Tan also believes in kaizen. He also read my other text:

Two boys dreamed of snakes. One thinks its an evil omen, the other thinks it will bring him good luck. Who is right, and will their belief affect them? 

I first sent that to Kasindak-Sindak, his Sunday night paranormal show. I wanted to hear the opinion of Dea, the show's resident dream interpreter, but it ended when I sent it. TsongkiBenj said it was a good question, too bad that Dea wasn't there. 

During the show, somebody was trying to call me from a landline with a Quezon City area code. I think it's them (their studio is in Novaliches) because every night they would get a listener to answer a news trivia they featured on that episode. I didn't answer because my phone speaker was broken. The prize is a gift pack from the multi-level marketing company Royale Business Club. I already won in 2012 when they featured a short inspirational story that I e-mailed. But I didn't claim it, and never mind why. 

In their episode last month, TsongkiBenj also read my text: 

I believe it. I'm living it. I found spiritual tranquility because I have learned to let go of the past. I accept people for what they are, and then I move on 

It was my reaction to the quote from a Hindu philosopher: "Judge nothing, and you will be happy. Forgive every thing, and you will be happier. Love everything, and you will be happiest." 

Tsongkibenj's reaction to my message was "Ang galing!" or the Filipino equivalent of "Wow!" (topic)

I was in Cebu when he read it, although their system still reads "Manila" because I've registered my number on their text service. I was tuned in to their station, 92.3 NewsFM, most of the time in early 2012 when I was living in Tanza, Cavite. I've written about their programs Todo-Todo Bigay Na Bigay, Nite Chat, Ibayong Pinoy and Remoto Control, Healing Galing, Chillax Radio, Kasindak-Sindak, Magbago Tayo and Chink Positive, which was my Sunday morning habit when I was living in Northgate, Alabang in late 2012

The topic was Vice Ganda, a controversial gay comedian here in the Philippines. Apparently, he made fun of Jessica Soho, the country's most respected broadcast journalist, during his concert. Since Jessica was very chubby, Vice spoofed what it would be like if a fat woman is gang-raped. It seems there are people who enjoy jokes about fat people and rape victims

"If tonight is all we have, stay please." Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) wants to be a senator. He's in the heat of the campaign blitz when he falls in love with Marissa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez), who wants to be somebody else.

"Are you running away from something you don't want, or from something you're afraid you want?" he asks.

What Marissa wants is to tell him that she is really a hotel maid, but she's afraid to. In life, "sometimes we are forced into directions that we have ought to find ourselves," says her good-hearted boss (Bob Hoskins). A person is more than his job. "We serve them," he reminds her, "but we are not their servants."

Chris confronted Marissa. She lied, she says, just "To have someone like you look at me the way you did."

You are One with the Infinite Intelligence of the universe. In everything you do, "You will get lucky, meet the right person, solve an apparently insoluble Catch-22, get a flash of insight worthy of a genius," teaches the late great Jose Silva. I believe that a Higher Power led me to find The Silva Mind Control Method For Getting Help From Your Other Side (Pocket Books, NY), co-writted by Robert B. Stone, Ph.D. I got my now out-of-print copy of this 1989 classic from a garage sale in downtown Cebu together with Superbeings. "Benefits begin almost immediately,"

Silva says, as proven by thousands of people throughout the decades. "The more you use the contact, the better those benefits become." And "The higher your expectation and belief, the better." Relax your body, relax your mind. Your brain-wave frequencies have slowed down, and your brain's right hemisphere is activated. "The right hemisphere is your connection to the non-material or creative realm - the other side."

When you use the Silva Method, "benefits begin almost immediately," they write. Expect and believe that your desires, which already exist in the mental plane, are sure to materialize in the physical. You can be all you can be because "your mind is under your control day and night; it is your access to magnificence. Daydreams will open you up to brand new horizons and night dreams will bring understanding."

Your Higher Self communicates with you directly or through intuition."The right brain acts like a radio receiver, and we get the message loud and clear." You now control both hemispheres of your brain so "you get centered in your thinking" so "you become enlightened." Always remember that "you are already part of God. What it means is that you will be better at demonstrating it in your life."

You are never alone because "you are in touch with your Higher Self now, and it is connected to the Higher Selves of others who will be participating in your day, via the other side." As you meditate more and more, "you are opening the mental self to the physical self and the Higher Self. As a result, the mental self can better control the body, and better receive intelligence from the Higher Self." You are always in contact with your Higher Self. "You have the ability to get help from the other side for yourself and your world. You can relax quickly and deeply, and have developed the ability to mentally picture a problem situation and bring it through to solution."

So now "you can begin to use the contact to better your own life and the lives of those around you." With the Silva Method, "you have now begun to use your developed connection" easily. "The more ways you use your centered thinking to solve problems, the more new ways will become available to you."

Believe in your own ability. "You have already proven it. And be confident about your assured success. It is already beginning to manifest."

Jonathan Aquino's Journal 

June 8, 2013 

10:25 p.m., Saturday 

Lahug City, Cebu 

I'm in the mood for metaphors. I find myself once again in an elevator. I'm feeling a lot of things inside. I can't tell which is acceleration and which is gravity. I learned just now that the force of the latter disappears when two bodies come together, and they'll move in a geometrical curve. Space bends near objects with mass, and that's how scientists proved that Einstein's theory of relativity is correct. It's not my first. My initial descent defies linear time. Once is enough for a wise man, according to people who use quotes instead of their brains. I'm better now than before I saw what I could have only seen through those many rides, even when the door opened into a carnival horror-train that carried me like a roller-coaster. If I'm back again, then it means I need to see more. Perhaps my eyes are not seeing enough, or maybe I've been looking at the scoreboard instead of the ring. I really hope that what's been found is not diminished by what still needs to be sought.

I have chosen this. Even before I entered, I have made this decision. I knew even then what I needed to do. I've set my course, and now it is my destiny. There have been times when my rides stopped just at the edge of the cliff, and there have been times that they plunged into the rocks below. Somehow I survived. I do not remain unscathed, but the wounds have healed, though the scars will perhaps stay forever. I don't want another one. Yet I must know why I'm on it again. Somewhere in my mind is the illogical thrill of a new adventure into the familiar unknown. I don't what will happen. But I'm sure a diamond will emerge from the crucible. I just hope this time I can still get through the fire

Photos courtesy of:

Badge: 350.org
Jose Silva: mindvalley.com
The Silva Mind Control: barnesandnoble.com
Jose Garcia Villa  filmnoirbuff.com
Maid In Manhattan fanpop.com
TsongkiBenj: flickr.com