Be Free from needless Religious Regulations by Pastor Ed Lapiz

Magnanakaw! Magnanakaw!

COMPULSIVENESS

                                                 Have you
                                     experienced
                                   doing something
                      you did not intend
                           to do in the first
                place and then regretting          
         it later? Halimbawa, hindi
                           naman nyo balak
                               mag-walk out on
                              somebody, pero
                           bigla kayong
                   napikon at nagawa ito.
       O, may kausap kayo sa
        phone, at bigla nyong
       ibinagsak, Ah! Ganyan pala!
       Blag! Or you slammed the
   door on someone. Kung
minsan, kabaligtaran pa nga ang
pinaplano nating gawin. Nanood
ka ng isang pelikula. It was a very nice love story at naalala mo ang pagkukulang mo sa
iyong sweetheart. Hindi mo siya
                                                                                        kasamang nanood. Talagang
balak mong maging nice sa kanya. I will make-up for all my pagklagang narealize ko ito.
Nang magkita kayo uli, may pinag-awayan kayo at lumabas na naman ang pagka-terror mo sa kanya. Nararanasan nyo ba ito kung minsan? What happened was exactly the opposite of what we actually planned to do.


          Do you sometimes experience repeatedly doing an unreasonable act out of habit?
Katulad ng paulit-ulit na pagsusugal. Minsan naman, pag engage in immoral sex acts.
Mayroon naman, sa over eating. Kahit sumpa nang sumpa sa lahat ng kalendaryo na hindi na sya kakain masyado, nag-o-over eat pa rin.
Or in dringking alcohol or taking drugs for instance. Nobody who take drug is convinced that doing it is good. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his or her mind, alam nyang masama pero ginagawa pa rin out of compulsion. Nararanasan ba natin na kung minsan ay lumalabas ang pagka sadista natin and we always punish children? May ganun─ compulsive na namamalo. Yung kayanin ang kaya nila. Hurting animals for instance.
Sasadistahin ang mga pets. Terrorizing people, especially those na kaya natin, or walking out of our responsibilities.
     
           If you have experienced any of these every now and then, or in an ongoing basis, you may be a victim of compulsive behavior. Most probably you are miserable and may not be even aware that you are being robbed of happiness by such compulsions.

           Ano ba ang compulsiveness? The word compulsive is defined as an irresistible repeated impulese to perform some unreasonable acts. Alam na mali pero ginagawa dahil hindi matanggihan ang alok ng mali. Is there anyone who can say, "Everything I do is reasonable, acceptable and definitly the right thing to do"?  Marami tayong ginagawa na unreasonable at alm nating mali. Isa na dito ang tantrums o sumpong. Ang sumpong naman ay namimili ng pagsusumpungan, di ba? Ano ang laging object ng sumpong? Di ba ung mga nanay, mga boyfriend, o mga kuya na pinagbibigyan tayo parati? Mayron ba dyan na may sumpong pagka ang kaharap ay maton? Biglang nagbe-behave lalo na kung yung isa ay may hawak na biente-nuwebe, diba? Pero sumpong ka lang nang sumpong, dabog ka lang nang dabog, kahit alam mong mali, dun sa tao na kaya mo. Tantrums is an example of compulsive behavior.

           There are also the so-called impulsive actions. These are sudden, spontaneous inclination to do some unpremeditated  acts. They are usually the opposite of what we have planned to do, tulad ng nabanggit na. Gusto mong makipag-kaibigan; nagkagalit kayo at gusto mong makipagkasundo. Sabi mo, "Hoy! Bati na tayo." Sagot nya , "Eh, bakit ako makikipagbati sayo? May kasalanan ka naman." Ikaw: "Sige na sorry na." Siya: "Anong sorry, sorry!" Ikaw: "Ah, kung ayaw mo, huwag!" At nag-walk out ka na uli. Nang malayo kana, naisip mo, Hindi naman yon ang purpose ko ah. Gusto kong makipag-peace. Bakit ako naging impulsive? We act in ways that are exactly opposite of what we intended to do. Impulsive acts also fall under compulsive behavior.

         Some compulsive habits habits may appear to be good. Over-working, halimbawa. May kilala ba kayong tao na napaka-hilig mag-work? Umagang umaga pa lang ay nagwo-work na at di mo maabala. Hanggang gabi ay wala nang ginawa kundi mag-work. That's compulsive behavior because there are many things to do aside from work. But a lot of people live to work, and that's compulsive and unreasonable.

         Mayroon naman, over-studiying. Hindi na nakipag-sport, hindi na nakipagkaibigan, wala nang ginawa kundi mag-aral na lang nang mag-aral. Minsan ay graduation sa UP Diliman at may babaeng nag graduate after three-and-a-half years. Dapat yata ay four-and-a-half or five years pa yung course nya. Sabi ng mga tao, "Abnoy siya. Hindi yan nag-enjoy sa buhay eh. Nag-aral lang yan nang nag-aral." Siyempre, may inggit na yung mga nagsabi nun dahil summa cum laude yung babae.

         May tao na over-saving. Pagkayaman-yaman na, pero binibilang pa ang patak ng mantika. Kung pwede ay ilagay na lang sa hiringgilya bago ilagay sa kawali para tamang-tama! Akala mo ang palaman ng tinapay ay blade, yun pala ay keso! Ang husay niya talagang maghiwa ng
keso. Ther are
people who really
are overly thrifty.
But our point is this:
Many of us are
either doing
compulsive acts or are
overdoing something.




        May negative fruit when we became unnaturally concentrated on something. Ang compulsive behavior ay walang reason. Hindi ba unreasonable for a wealthy person ang maging kuripot? At unreasonable din naman sa isang maralita ang maging extravagant, di ba? Kung ang mga taong walang kapera-pera ay puro pa-party, puro pa-blow-out, puro paganito, compulsive behavior na naman ang ang nag-o-opress sa kanila. Anything that's against reason is compulsive behavior. Marami kaya tayong maa-identify sa buhay natin na compulsive activities? Halimbawa, kung sino pa yung taong mabuti sa iyo, siya pa ang lagi mong binubuska. This is against reason. Ganyan ang ginagawa natin sa ating magulang, di ba? Binubuska-buskahan natin yung family members na tumutulong sa atin. Pero kaybuti nating makisama sa ibang tao.



How does compulsiveness rob us of happiness?

     Unang-una, compulsive behvior takes control of our lives. Di ba nakakalungkot na yung gusto mong gawin ay di mo magawa? At yung ayaw mo naman gawin ay yon ang nagagawa. Pagkatapos ay lagi kang nagsisisi. Your life then becomes a series of what-could-have-beens. Puro sayang. Compulsive behavior takes us to where we don't want to go or we don't need to go. It robs us happiness this way.

       Compulsive behavior creates difficult situations for us. May masama siyang ginagawa. Ikaw naman, sa pagtrato mo sa kanya compulsively ikaw ngayon ang humihingi ng sorry. Halimbawa, may sinabi syang pangit, at bigla mong sinampal. Ikaw na ngayon ang magsasabi ng, "Sorry ha." Nabaligtad na. Siya originally ang gumawa ng masama, pero ikaw ngayon ang humihingi ng tawad. Kasi yung wrong na ginawa nya ay tinapatan mo rin ng another wrong. Ikaw ngayon ang huling nagkamali; at ikaw na ang humihingi ng tawad. Sabi mo teka-teka... Ako ang pinagsabihan nya ng masama. Eh bakit ako ngayon ang nag-so-sorry? Kasi naging impulsive ka. Siguro, sa pagsabi nya ng masama, minura mo o sinumbatan o ginawan sya ng mas pangit. Ngayon ay nagmumukang ikaw pa ang mas masama. Impulsiveness, as part of compulsive behavior, creates difficult situations.

       Compulsive behavior also causes trouble with other people, or drives people away from us. Maraming tao ang malulungkot dahil wala naman silang kaibigan. Maraming tao ang hindi masaya kasi wala namang tao ang close sa kanila. The deepest source of our happiness, aside from God, ay kapwa tao, hindi things. Nakita ninyo yung mga batang maraming toys? Malungkot na bata sila. Yung mga bata sa West at sa mga developed economies, ang kalaro ay toys at computers. Pero tingnan nyo ang mga masasayang bata na nasa estero at mga abryo ─ ang kalaro ay tao. Yung iba ang kalaro ay bagay. Kaya malungkot at lumaking abnormal. Kaya lumaki na maraming mental at psychological imbalances. This holds true in the developed economies. Nuon, I was in Germany as an exchange student at tinanong ako: "What do the average Filipino children plays with fellow children." Sino ang nakaranas sa inyo na magpiko? O mag-taguan at kung anu-ano pang mga laro? We usaually play with fellow children. Makikita natin na yung mga tao at pamilya sa provinces na wala pang kuryente ay masasaya. Kasi pagkakain nila ay daldalan nang nang daldalan, kwentuhan nang kwentuhan sa balkon, di ba? Nagkukuwento yung lolo o mga lola at mga nanay kung anong nangyari sa kanila nung panahon ng Hapon o nuong ganitong taon.

       Eh ngayon sa city na may kuryente at may TV, people don't talk with each other anymore. Lahat ay nakatunganga sa TV. Sasawayin kapag kumibo ang isa, "Psst, huwag kang maingay." Very little communication is happening. At hindi ba napakalaking crime naman yung nakabukas pa ang TV habang kayo ay kumakain na? Panahon na nga para magkwentuhan at mag-fellowship ang pamilya pero sa TV parin nakatingin. Yung iba ay naka Walkman pa ─ talagang they're in a world of their own! Wala silang pakialam sa mundo. Here, things are ministering to us, not people. That's why the developed economies have the highest suicide rate. Sa developed economies ay very lucrative ang hanapbuhay ng psychiatrists, psychotherapists at counselors. Sa America, magbabayad kayo por hora para lang kayo pakinggan ng therapist. Hindi pa siya magpapayo, but makikinig lang. In America, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Germany, people are so busy that they have no time to listen to you. Para sa kanila, ang time ay pera. Bakit sila mag-aaksaya ng panahong makinig sa'yo? Mapalad pa din ang mga tao sa bansa natin dahil nakakapag-telebabad oars-oras. Pipi na ang tainga pero nasa telepono pa rin, di ba? Marami pa rin tayong nakakausap kaya masaya tayo. Kung kayo'y nalulungkot, subukan na makipag-kwentuhan at mawawala ang inyong lungkot.
 
     

Scorpio

Reputed to be the "most powerful" sign of the zodiac, Scorpios lead fate filled lives and have intense and dramatic personal relationships. Even as children Scorpios are often found to be wise beyond their years. Many astrologers call this the sign of the "oldest souls". Old and wise beyond the average, Scorpios often know all the answers, except sometimes; they too often have difficulty finding what they need to develop their own happiness.

Passion, desire and power go hand in hand for Scorpios. Their biggest challenge and test in life is choosing between the power of love and the love of power. Coming to grips with their extraordinary emotional depths and sensitivity isn't easy for those around them. They are different from all other zodiac signs and this difference has them walking, working and loving to a different beat. Others can often live with a Scorpio partner for years, but not really know them. Much to do with a Scorpio remains ever secret. Their eyes often blaze with feelings that words never express, and beware on the days or nights they hide their feelings behind dark glasses, there is likely to be a storm of some kind brewing. When you deal with a Scorpio you have to always deal with them on a psychic intuitive level. They often wear a mask. Too often they say "no" when they really mean "yes". They have contrary natures. Once they find true love they can be the most faithful dedicated of all partners but fall out badly with a Scorpio and you are likely to find they will never forget or forgive.

Most Scorpios are winners. The main thing they have to worry about is their attitudes, which make up their mind powers and can either make or break them. When they are negative about something or someone, or critical of themselves, they can tend to get in their own way.

Scorpios operate on three levels of soul evolvement; adding up to three distinctively different types of Scorpios. The first level is the Scorpion. This is the least evolved and most drawn toward using their powers the wrong way. The criminal element of Scorpio comes under this level. Then there is the eagle - the highflying, entrepreneurial, successful Scorpio, who seems able to rise above adversity and transform bad-times into good. Then the highest expression of this sign is the Phoenix Resurrected. These Scorpios are detached and extremely powerful. They are wise beyond their years and act as leaders and are an inspiration to others. Quite frequently a Scorpio goes through the three levels of evolvement in one lifetime - but the levels can operate out of sequence