7-flames

The "SEVEN FLAMES for Holistic Synergies" .

1. SMILE FOR SYNERGY
[Written by Ding Reyes in May-June 1999, and offered as conversation piece
or conversation pieces for the personal sharing sessions called "Sanib-Sinag"]

Smile…
for health, the synergy of all dynamic systems of the body,
for symbiosis, the life-sustaining synergy of all living bodies,
for integrity, the synergy of one’s thoughts, words and deeds,
for friendship, the synergy of lives that deeply touch one another,
for marriage, the synergy of lives vowed to be intertwined till the end,
for ‘kapatiran’ or siblinghood, the synergy of bondings that last,
     as ‘fellow-cuttings’ from the same womb branch out
     and grow apart,
for family, the synergy of marriage, parent-child love, and siblinghood,
     born and nurtured in the warm embrace of home,
for teamwork and healthy organizations,
     the synergy of common and diverse mental, spiritual and physical
     capabilities for the same aims,
for 'bayanihan' and the cooperatives, the synergy of community
    resources and efforts for the common good,
for nationhood, the synergy of people sharing blood,
     domain and heritage,
for planethood, the “Earth Synergy” of all nations and
     races, of all species, of all land, air and water, and of all
     their energies,
for collective wisdom, the synergy of diverse learnings
     of diverse minds,
for the Universe, the synergy of all that exist, known and unknown,
for the great and glorious Cosmic Consciousness,
     the loving Creator and Synergy of ALL synergies…
Smile for the synergy of all our smiles,
       happy and proud to be part of it all.

       2. LOVE ALL LIFE!
[Written by Ding Reyes in January 2000, intended to be proposed as a covenant
among members of the newly-organized Love All Life! Consciousness Campaign
Network. The Love All Life! network will be organized in December 2000.]

.
Life is a magical gift, that has been so lovingly…
…breathed into the quiver of each cell and of each of its replications;
…breathed into the unique beauty and majesty of each life form,
          with all its cells, tissues, organs, and systems in synergy;
…breathed into the preservation and natural adaptations
          of the life forms,
          owing to their valuable and unique places
          in the dynamic tapestry of symbiosis;
…and breathed into each incarnation that is passing on
          a magical but fragile flame from generations of parents
          to generations of offspring, and innately possessing
          individual dignity and rights equal
          to that of all other incarnations of all other life forms.

Blessing as we do, with our appreciation and abiding concern, indeed with our Love,
All these life forms and all their incarnations and homes,
We choose freely and firmly to exalt and preserve all Life, to partake of the symphony of the food web
     only with prudence and respect, and to speak and act
     against killing and infliction of pain
     without any urgent and noble necessity,
     and we choose freely and firmly to exert all efforts to shine
     this Love All Life! message into the minds, hearts and behavior
     of all that we can reach, foremost of all
    deep within our very own selves.

3. HUMAN STEWARDSHIP
OF THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH. SYNERGY-BUILDING
[Adopted as the Core Principles of SALIKA, Saniblakas ng Inang Kalikasan during a meeting
on August 8, 2000 of the Executive Board --Marie R. Marciano, Founding Chairperson; Manny Perez,
Secretary; Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Treasurer; Beth Roxas, Roy Alvarez, Felipe de Leon Jr., and Dita
Sandico-Ong, members; and Ding Reyes, ex-officio member. These points were also adopted as major part of the preamble of the Covenant for World Environment Day 2001-Philippines.]

"Every living being has an intrinsic and inviolable right to a healthy planet in which to live, thrive, reproduce and sustain life, in accordance with the laws of Nature. A healthy Earth has clean and pure air and water, naturally fertile soil, clean and renewable energy, and rich biodiversity.
"Human beings have individual and collective responsibilities to be active stewards of the Earth. Thus, our lifestyles must be harmonious with Nature, and fully protective of present and future generations. Any act that harms the environment, or failure to protect it, is a crime against every living being that exists now and will emerge in ages still to come.
"Effective stewardship of the Earth can only be fully achieved by bringing individual commitments and energies together into one harmonious force, a synergy, where commonalities are fully appreciated as bonding elements, and diversities are valued as opportunities for enrichment and dynamic unity."

     4."LIVING THE WAY
OF THE ELEGANT SPIRIT'
           CREDO FOR HOLISTIC HEALTH
[This was contributed for the SanibLakas CHOSEN Sites project by the team of Maraya Chebat and Esper Dowling of the Ginhawa Wellness Center at the Earthlite Natural Health Village in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines.   Ms. Chebat is the author of the book Core Energy, about which she has also been giving seminars. Ms. Dowling, Ginhawa's "volunteer manager," heads the Philippine Federation for Natural Family Planning (PFNFP) and is a member of the SanibLakas program committee for Human Development and Harmony (HDH).]

I BELIEVE personal values must be based upon the truth of my origin. I am a spirit.
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..............The Universal Principles serve as guidelines for creation, cause and effect, what is in one is in the whole, manifestation is the result of intention. Each person who enters my life is a reflection of some aspect of my being. Likewise, I am also a reflection of each person. All artificial barriers that separate the Essential Oneness of Life should be disregarded. Boundaries now present all the other kingdoms of life -- animal, mineral and plant -- are also artificial barriers, and they prevent respect, interspecies communication and emotional bonding. All life has consciousness.
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..............What is in one is in the whole. I believe that I should I apply this teaching to my life and all that I create, realizing that every positive and negative action I put into motion affects the whole of Life
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I BELIEVE time and space are non-existent in the dimension of thought and thoughts have power.
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..............Thoughts travel in an instant. Because thoughts are powerful, I need to develop a quality-control check-up on myself on a regular basis. When I feel that too much negativity is present in my system, I will do something to heal myself immediately. I will pay attention to the   law of cause and effect, and study the consequences of my actions, words and thoughts, realizing at all times that I am the creator behind that which I am studying
I believe in healing my own healing myself of any addictions to violence in any and every form, actions and attitudes, words, habits and thoughts. .
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.............The violent side of my nature creates my violent politics, weapons, and all violent human actions and interactions. I therefore need and seek to study my desires in my life that control me, and strive to release myself from anything artificial that can exert power over me, like drugs, alcohol, negative habits, fears -- anything that causes me to lose power.
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I BELIEVE that I am constantly healing, and I will heal gently.
At all times I am healing. My body is reacting every second to my thoughts and feelings, emotions and experiences. Health is not a permanent condition unless I create it so each day.
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..............I must take time to heal, and I will do it gently. Healing through forced will alone, through compulsion without self-compassion, is a form of self-inflicted violence. I shall not resent my body or any of its systems or organs for breaking down. I will learn from the experience so that it does not have to be repeated. I will trust the process of healing; it has an intelligence of its own. I will learn health and my well-being as my first priority. I will honor myself.
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..............I resolve to set time aside each day for my spiritual practice. Meditation and prayer are essential . I will learn to be still and hear the inner voice of my soul.
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UPON THIS BELIEF, I will be a loving person. Unconditional love requires the ultimate of efforts and it reaps the ultimate of rewards. The decision to be spiritually elegant is worth all the efforts it requires. One reaps the rewards of health, wisdom and compassion, and becomes an instrument of peace within one's own healthy person and well beyond.

5. LIGHT-SHARE ('SANIB-SINAG')
   FOR EARNEST HUMAN
       CONVERSATIONS
[Text developed for "Sanib-Sinag" posters to be displayed at all "Chosen" sites and other watering holes and areas where people congregate. "Sanib-Sinag" sessions have been held every Saturday afternoon at Earthlite, 4th floor C.O.D. Bldg., Cubao, Quezon City since May 8, 1999. At the first anniversary session on May 6, 2000, the call was raised to hold these sharings anytime anywhere, "even on the phone." They will soon be held weekly at all "CHOSEN sites." ]

We are forming new ethics, building a healthy new culture,
For earnest human conversations, that would really nurture,
By speaking our truth quietly and clearly, with honest, humility
And listening to others with genuine respect, not generosity,
Thus, we Share the Light of Wisdom carried by separate rays
As reflected by the unique mirrors of our personal experiences,
Rays reflecting the same Great Light of Truth.

We seek to enjoy, as we rarely ever do, our many commonalities,
And seek to be mutually enriched by our dynamic diversities;
Earnest human conversations have no room for ego contests,
For semantics, sarcasm, debates, or single-expert lectures.

Thus, earnest human conversations produce only winners
From lively synergies of minds and hearts, of all, for all.
Let's all be happily shown that we all have happily shone!
Let's "Sanib-Sinag" anytime, anywhere, even on the phone!

And marvel how much we all shall have grown!

      6. THE CREDO OF
     'SYNAESTHETICS'
[This is based on "Art From the Heart of All," the Credo of the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group, 1999; and it was broadened in August 2000 to be adopted as the Credo of the wider Sanib-Sining Movement for Synaesthetics on August 19, 2000. SanibLakas Foundation has started the "Sanib-Sining" sub-program, with Sanibkulay founder Marz Zafe as program director, under the Human Development and Harmony (HDH) overarching program thrust.]

...............We believe that art is the expression of the innermost human feelings and insights, the physical expression of one's own emotional and spiritual breath, throb and pulse.
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..............We believe that aesthetics is a basic human faculty, an inborn capacity and enjoyment of every human being, and that, therefore,
a l l   h u m a n s   a r e   a r t i s t s, in varying paths and degrees of development.   Let our basic respect for the aesthetic self-expressions of our own and others honestly flow from wisdom, not from any imagined generosity.
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...............We believe that art is the emotional and spiritual resonance with beauty and appreciation.
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...............Intellectualization of art can never comprehend it fully; too much analysis can only diminish free expression and exhilaration. We would rather create and appreciate than criticize and debate. Art is too good, noble and soulful to be lowered to the level of intellectual, judgmental contests.
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...............We believe that all humans are equal among ourselves and with all our fellow beings. Let there be no walls among forms of aesthetics, or between performers and applauders. Let all who already know themselves as artists now seriously face up to our challenge to creatively help discover, draw out, and develop the hidden talents of all other humans.
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...............We believe that all can enjoy together the synergetic celebration of the combination of diverse styles and skills, thoughts and feels, like the harmony of diverse hues and shades in the palettes of rocks and flowers, the dances of the winds, the words of everyone's wisdom, sighs and smiles, and notes flows and symphonies, lines and shapes, of the magic of Life.
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...............Let art be enjoyed as a dynamic part of our human community's collective rituals of Life.
..............And on this basis let us all enjoy together the profound pleasures of Synaesthetics.

7. PROSPERITY: TREASURE GROWTH FROM SYNERGIES
[This was prepared by Ding Reyes as part of the SanibLakas Foundation's greeting to the Asian Social Institute on October 7, 2000, on the occasion of the latter's holding of the Francis Senden Memorial Lectures on "Celebrative Culture of Solidarity through Social Enterprise Building."
It was developed from discussions with Surf Reyes and Cesar Liporada during the inaugural "Sanib-Sinag" session in May 1999, with ASI President Dr. Mina M. Ramirez, with Joydee C. Robledo of the SanibLakas Program Committee for Cooperative Education on Synergism (C.E.S.) and with Nicky Perlas, president of the Center for Alternative Development Initiatives (CADI), who has authored essays on "associative economics."]

...............Prosperity is the enjoyment of abundance, of treasures being used and being shared, resources being put together for growth, to be shared all the more. Economies inextricably link up our separate pockets, as well as our separate stomachs, and so can the pervasive spirit of goodwill in fairness and generosity, which would make people more eager, more efficient, more productive, and altogether more prosperous.
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...............Prosperity is the enjoyment not of the prerogative to amass and hoard much wealth, as if it could be brought along on our journey past the grave, but rather the enjoyment of the ability to share more gifts all around, especially with those who deserve or need most to receive.
...............Prosperity results from synergies bonded by love and it is inextricably linked with the ideals of total human development for all concerned, both in the processes and in the enjoyment of the results.
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...............Prosperity and its profound enjoyment come from the spirit and act of … s h a r i n g.