masterwordsmith-unplugged

Delectable dishes, loving cousins, old friends and my beloved family - what more could I ask for?

It was down memory lane when my family met up with my cousins and two old friends W and A at a very old Chinese restaurant in an obscure part of Chinatown Penang. Gosh! It must have been like 15 years since I went to Sun Yuet Kee Restaurant because I had forgotten about it.

When the seven of us arrived at about 8p.m., we were greeted by a sea of elderly faces, some giving us toothless smiles as we sauntered up the dark narrow stairs. Upon reaching the landing, two men, presumably the chefs smiled at us while I caught the whiff of delicious food being cooked by one of them. As I made my way to the air-conditioned dining area, I had an onslaught of memories that flooded my mind. Opening the door, I walked in and was filled with so much nostalgia. Good to see you back - the walls seemed to echo to me as I made my way to the table where the others were waiting patiently for us.

As soon as we were seated, W proceeded in his matter-of-fact Big Brother style to order the signature dishes while the rest of us chorused happily "Hot barley!". What do you expect - 6 of the 7 were in our 40's with one in his 50's and my son was the young punk in the group.

Soon enough, the dishes came. First to be served was the delicious wat tan hor fun. Sorry folks - we were so hungry that the main focus was not a photo session but enjoying the following Cantonese cuisine cooked in old fashioned style.

The signature dish of the restaurant is the BBQ Spare Ribs - succulent, crispy at the right places with a smooth and tasty gravy that makes you crave for more. Despite being a non-meat lover, I had three pieces of meat.

My cousin from US was enamoured with the following dish which is kangkung with fresh succulent prawns.

Before the next dish came, my other cousin had already reserved the eyes and tongue of the fish...Here we are - fish head curry.

The roast meat served was crispy, well smoked and absolutely delicious...

The homemade beancurd was smooth, soft, silky-textured and had been deep fried before being cooked again in the delicious gravy.

After the dinner, it was time for action! Much as we were heavy in the middle area, cousin taught us a few Muay Thai moves. For your information (extracted from Wikipedia):

Muay Thai or Thai Boxing is a form of hard martial art practiced in large parts of the world, including Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The art is similar to others in Southeast Asia such as: pradal serey in Cambodia, lethwei in Myanmar, tomoi in Malaysia, and Lao boxing in Laos. Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand and is the country's national sport. Traditional Muay Thai practiced today varies significantly from the ancient art muay boran and uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing.

Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A practitioner of Muay Thai ("nak muay") thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts.

It was not as easy as I thought it would be, certainly not as easy as Tai Qi, Qiqung, Wushu or Weng Chun. First of all, we were taught how to move our knees, hips and shoulders - absolute necessity in Muay Thai. Then we had to learn the correct rhythm in the movements after which we shuffled up and down the workout room. Then he put us to the grind with the jab jab punch routine synchronized with the leg, knee, shoulder and hip movements. It was made more pleasant as the theme song from "Rocky" was being played.

Obviously, this old lady here could not move as fast or as rhythmically as I wanted to - ain't no svelte teenager any more - I felt so stiff and was not rocking in the correct style and felt like I had just had hip surgery so I gave up and did other exercises instead while my boy and cousin trained and then traded punches after donning the boxing gloves. I decided that Muay Thai is not my cup of tea and feared my fate in case I fumbled and fell. For sure, I would not want a recurrence of my spinal injury. Still, I am glad for my brief intro to Muay Thai and am also happy I know how to trade blows and do the different cuts. After while, we decided that much as we wanted to stay, we had to go back as it was way past my boy's bedtime. So, yours truly is very tired and wish you all a good night.

Indeed it has been a wonderful day and may God bless us all with wonderful life-enriching experiences.

Take care and good night!

By Hale Dwoskin

Do you have a pet problem or belief that you have been caring for and feeding? If you are like most people, you have a whole zoo. Most of us, without realizing it, are feeding and maintaining the very things in our awareness that we say we are wanting to get rid of. These problems, beliefs, or programs are literally feeding on your energy and robbing you of your aliveness and ability to create or attract all that you choose.

Here is how it works. Something in your life happens that you do not like and you want to change it. Your wanting to change what is, is also a resistance to what is. The feeling of resistance or wanting to change what is feeds the past event, decision, or belief with your attention or energy. Even though the event or last time you had the problem may be quite some time ago, you act as though it is happening now–and make it so. This causes you to continually re-create and re-experience the problem over and over again, which simply feeds it more and makes it appear bigger or more real.

Think of some of your pet monsters. How often are you thinking about them throughout the day? You probably think about them a lot or are simply trying not to think about them a lot (which is functionally the same thing).

This care and feeding of your problems happens many ways:

* You may think about it or try not to think about it off and on throughout your day.

* When a thought or picture comes up, you may try and cancel it out, think about something else, or pretend it’s not there.

* You may also simply push through and try and create positive events or goals in your life, despite the “fact” that you have these beliefs or problems.

* You may also create all sorts of compensations by arranging your life to try and avoid having the problem (which is still feeding it by running your life as though your monsters are real and therefore need to be avoided).

All of the above mechanisms simply reinforce and feed the monsters and cause you to shut down and contract around the problem, while draining you of the positive energy you would have had to create or attract all you choose if you were not caught up in this feeding cycle. But, there is a way out…

Breaking the Feeding Cycle

To break the feeding cycle of your pet monsters, you simply let go. Everything about The Sedona Method is designed to break this cycle and set you free to have, be, and do whatever you choose. Here are some specific applications of The Sedona Method that will help you–some you may already be familiar with and some that you may not have thought of that we explore on our advanced courses.

1. Let go of Resisting or Wanting to Change the Problem.
This is one of the simplest yet most profound applications of The Sedona Method. If you simply allow yourself to let go of the feeling of resisting or wanting to change the problem or belief, this immediately stops the feeding and weakens the belief or problem. It also feels great and can be done any time, even in action.

2. Welcome How You Feel.
When you resist what is–including the feelings we have about the problems or beliefs–we cause them to persist and even get bigger. In addition to letting go of resisting or wanting to change the problem, allow yourself to welcome or allow the feelings you have about them. As you welcome the feelings, just by welcoming them they start to dissolve, and you can allow yourself to let go and move forward in your life much more easily.

3. Let Go of Wanting to Figure Out Why You Have the Problem or What to Do About It.
This technique is very powerful. When we are wanting to figure out our problems, we have to hold onto them until we get the answer. We are also looking away from the intuitive knowingness that is always right within us. The only reason we want to figure out our problems is that we are planning to have them again. When you let go of wanting to figure out what to do about the problem or why it is there, the answers come from within and you simply let the problem go.

4. Let Go of Wanting to Make the Problem or Belief Real Again.
Every time we engage in a problem, we appear to give it reality or validity. You can simply ask yourself to let go of wanting to make the problem real again and let go. By letting go of wanting to make the problem real again, you will discover that it is not as real as it appears, and you can simply let it go.

5. Let Go of Feeding the Problem.
This one may not be that obvious. There are several ways to simply stop feeding the problem that can be done before, during, and after the other suggestions in this article.

* Picture your problems as little animals that live on energy–your energy–and simply let go of wanting to feed them. You can do this by asking yourself, “Could I let go of wanting to feed this problem again?”

* You can also picture the problem as a little animal and pet it a few times to let it know that you appreciate it for all it has done to attempt to help you–and then send it on its way. Let it know that you can handle life on your own.

* When the problem does come up in awareness, you can recognize that it is a storehouse of energy waiting to be tapped and simply picture the energy draining out of the problem and into your positive goals and intentions.

Have fun with these suggestions and let us know how you do. If you experiment with this, you will find that it has a profound effect on how you feel and all that you do.

Please feel free to share this article with everyone you know.

About the Author:
Hale Dwoskin is the author of the New York Times best seller “The Sedona Method,” and he is one of the 24 teachers from the movie “The Secret.” Hale is the CEO and Director of Training of Sedona Training Associates, an organization headquartered in Sedona, Arizona. He has trained thousands of people worldwide to release limiting and unwanted thoughts and feelings using the powerful Sedona Method techniques.

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