Christmas 2009

I attended Christmas Service at the church where my sister sings in the choir and goes to regularly. In the chapel, there was a verse projected on the front wall, "But the Lord is in His Temple: Let all the Earth keep silence before him." (Habbakuk 20:20). I find that moving, as it is only in this silence that we can communicate with god.

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While reading the verse on the wall, I noticed that there is no cross there. I happen to speak to the pastor after the service and he said that it is so that the congregation will focus on the worship of Jesus Christ, rather the symbolism of the cross. Personally, I would go one step further to focus on the teachings of Jesus. That is, not to confuse the singer with the song.

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The sermon mentioned about the historical context of Jesus and Pilate, and how Jesus died for all so that we can have eternal life. The message ultimately was for Christians to live a surrendered life and make Jesus the king of their life.

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"But, how many people, Christians or otherwise, dare live a surrendered life?" I thought. Do we truly dare to follow our hearts? Follow the path that we believe is spoken from the holy spirit. Or would rationality and materialism takes precedence?

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Fears and fatigue abound in life in a city state. It is normal. In urban life, we no longer spend our waking and sleeping hours according to the sun. The rhythm of urban life violates the natural cycles of daylight and tires us. Besides, in Singapore, we don't grow our own food and the only way to survive is to work on a business or job to make money to buy food.

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Before the church service, whilst at the local coffee shop for breakfast, I chanced upon an old lady, probably in her 80s, who was perturbed about a Buddhist monk who had converted to Christianity.

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"I asked him if the church provide his meals, but he didn't get my sarcasm," she said meaning to wake the ex-monk into material reality.

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Did she really mean it to say that if the church does take care of the ex-monk's meals that it would have been worthwhile converting to Christianity? Sadly, even at her advanced age, she suffers the myopia of not being able to see beyond the physical, creature comforts of material survival.

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So contemplating a 'surrendered life' is a tricky one. All mainstream religions preached that. It is therefore down to one's faith and belief in providence and the abundance in our eternally regenerative universe. I think for that, changing one's religion is not necessary, but changing one's thinking and resolve does.

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Here is the choir:

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Dream Interpretation - the riot

I normally do not share my dreams in my blog, but this is an exception because it conjures hard hitting images and conflicts.

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[Start of dream]

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I was cycling along a familiar stretch of a dual carriageway road near my home. I was reaching a traffic light regulated T junction when I was confronted with a big truck coming straight on me violating the flow of the carriageway. I was perturbed but skirted along the side of the truck and proceeded forward.

Then I saw two collided cars, one of them burned to charred black and both drivers were having a punch-up. Then did I realized that the truck was wilfully coming in the wrong direction to block everyone from going forward.

Having gone passed the truck, I have gone into the point of no return and had to go forward and turned right at the T-junction to get home. As soon as I turned right, the usual surroundings of the otherwise familiar road changed. Instead of trees and residence, I saw shop houses on both sides of the road and people fighting.

By the time I saw all that, I was in the middle of a riot. I had no better choice but to keep cycling, avoiding the smashed glass debris on the road, hoping that they don’t puncture my tyres and immobilize my bicycle. To play it safe, I thought I would keep off the road and cycled along the corridors of the shop houses.

It wasn't better along the shop house corridors, as there was also fighting in there. It became apparent to me that there was a younger more ferocious group beating up another milder, older and more pacifist group in saffron coloured robes. They appeared to have Himalayan facial features. These youngsters were mercilessly punching their older compatriots who were petrified and were clasping their hands to beg their assailants to stop.

I was in no position to save them, so I continued cycling, and by now, a little scared that I may be mistakenly dragged into the fighting. As I hurriedly cycled passed those shops, weaving around the spots of violent actions that were sometimes only about six inches away from me. Then, I saw that some of the shop lots were Buddhist shrines and temples with golden Buddha statues. At that point, a voice communicated to me that the youngsters were beating up the shrine keepers for their supporting a regime that held golden statues while the masses starve. The young rebels felt that the gold used to plate the statues could better be melted and sold in exchange for food.

Then, as I got out at the other end of the corridor, I was once again out on the road and going over a bridge over a big canal. As I crossed the canal, there was no fighting on the bridge and on the other side of the canal. At the end of the bridge on the other side, there was a group of concerned Chinese looking onlookers watching the ransacking of a Buddhist temple on the 9^th floor of a building at the other side of the canal by a group of Bangladeshis. At that time, the temple was already smoldering in smoke and flames while the temple keepers were crying for help.

[End of dream]

How would you interprete this dream?

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Holistic Monday

(Sometime in November 2009)

1000h: Meeting with the director to discuss about the character of the film, of a father who hasn't seen his daughter for 6 years and to have her appearing out of the blue in the house without warning. "What do you think the father will feel on meeting the daughter?" Script writing can be very revealing I realised. More so when you are playing the character yourself. Isn't life all an act?

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1200h: Time to meet up with the client, a financial service institution. We have been paid to hack into their information system to make sure that their information security is in good health. It is delightful to meet up with this client, as they have been happy customers for some years now. After all the publicity, marketing and advertising, nothing beats giving sincere and quality service and getting repeat business by word of mouth.

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1500h: The mock lecture with a university here was postponed to a later date. I had prepared a role play experiential learning session of a scenario where a bank's internet bank got hacked exposing the identity of its customers! This frightful scenario had entertained and educated my clients for many years. Experiential learning beats mere lecture of knowledge.

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1600h: Phone calls from clients looking to raise capital for their projects. It is difficult to raise capital in developing countries. As such capital becomes very expensive and it stymies the economic progress and the much needed job creation in these countries.

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1800h: An appointment to read the fortune and character of two customers. They are real estate agents, so I provided them a direction chart, the directions which they should focus on to get optimum results. That means, should there be no other business appointments for the day, then take the first one that comes. However, if there are several opportunities coming in, then place priority to those in those directions that will give you success first. One of the customers asked me to check the compatibility with the spouse. This is a common question that sometimes I have to struggle to come out with useful answers for my client. Not so easy! For more, read here

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It has been a colourful day, playing many roles. We all wear many different hats in our life. As wife, mother, daughter-in-law, work colleague, ...etc. But in the end, we must not lose track of who we are, and that we are our peaceful selves.

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Haji Weekend

Sunset and Sepang Gold Coast

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It was decided last minute, and then I was on the road to Malaysia for the Haji weekend. There was the usual holiday road jams at the immigration, so to keep everyone entertained, I did some "character and behaviour" readings based on their dates of birth. They were amazed with the accuracy and details that the readings exposed. Actually, I was equally amazed! My American guests in the car didn't seem to mind though, as they said that in America they can tell you everything about their life, even if you have just known them. (For more, read here and here.)

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It was a welcome change and relief to take a break from urban Singapore once in a while to experience the open space and laid back lifestyle of our neighbour up north with beautiful scenery of the undulating mountain ridges from the road. Given the heavy traffic, it took us a long time to get Sepang Gold Coast, but we managed to make it in time for sunset and dinner by the beach.

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Dinner was splendid! We started off with some delicious satays, prepared by the local Malays at Sepang. My friend told me that it is their plan to integrate the local community with the Gold Coast project by employing them and creating new business opportunities for them. The local staff are such gentle and polite people, characteristic of traditional Malay kampung folks. My friend told me that they did not need to train them to serve well, as they seem to know that naturally.

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The Sea Villas facing the Straits of Malacca

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We spent the evening in the villas in the middle of the sea. These villas are built on stilts and configured to the shape of a palm tree from an aerial view. They are selling well to Europeans wanting a place to escape for winter.

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What is more amazing is that the Sepang Gold Coast Palm Tree project was funded privately by its owner, a Malaysian Chinese businessman. A big financial commitment that is now paying off. At the start there were sceptics who thought that he was taking a big risk, but undeterred he continued. You see, if one has a vision that others cannot see, it would be seen by the others as a risk. Being able to cultivate that vision and stay the course, is the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur.

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In contrast, the Dubai Palm Island project is in a financial mess after the banks pulled the plug on them. Now, construction has halted and they are potentially facing legal injunctions. Perhaps the moral of the story here is not to borrow from the banks if one can afford to do so. Funding through financial instruments and bonds are akin to trading financial risks, which strictly speaking, is forbidden in Islam. Ironically, it is the non-Muslim Chinese towkay (businessman) that has conformed to this prudence and reap the fruits of having done so.

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During the evening, after more 'birth date' readings to amuse ourselves, we read a chapter of Ekhart Tolle's book "Stillness Speaks". In the chapter, it speaks about the illusion of duality and that all we see 'outside' are essentially happening 'inside' us in our consciousness. It is hard to conceive that, as we cannot see our own consciousness and that consciousness itself does not have a locale. Since consciousness has no locale, then perhaps it has to be all ONE, and therefore making the concept of 'self' a mere illusion!

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I draw this to a parallel of opening a Word file in my computer. When I open the Word file, there is an illusion that there is a 'file' (self) appearing, however if we dwell into the computer, the contents of the file (self) is scattered all over the memory (one consciousness).

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Do not despair if you are lost in this consciousness-speak, some of us still are. But what else better can a group of four people do in the middle sea in a tropical evening under the stars? :)

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The Village Pau Shop

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The next morning, we had breakfast in the nearby village. We bought some 'pau' (buns) from the famous local stall. They sell about 5,000 paus per day and you have to order them early, before they sell out!

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The pau was delicious. They have pork, vegetable and soya bean fillings. The buns are different from most others in that their 'skins' are exceptionally 'springy' and will not turn soggy when it turned cold.

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After breakfast, we left for Penang to watch the International Dance Competition at Bayview Hotel, Ferringhi Beach. But of course, stopping on the way for durains and other goodies! :)

A roadside durain stall

A pamelo stall

The competition was already on its way when we reached there. Tension was in the air as the dancers dressed in full costume and heavy make-up, awaited their turn to compete. The costumes, I was told, cost at least a few thousand dollars, with the more expensive ones over ten thousand dollars. Add that to the cost of dance instructors, professional dance partners, flights, accommodation for the instructors...etc, and you get a handsome figure. So I guess one has to be financially well heeled in a hobby like this.

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So much time must have been spent trying to perfect their twirls and turns to the day of the competition. To dance well, the dancer has to get almost all his muscles moving in synch. Quite a feat!

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After the competition ended, I had dinner at about midnight with my friends. If you are mixing around with dancers, be prepared for late nights and suppers. They are a bundle of live wire, never seeming to need much sleep.

We left the next morning for Sepang. We were supposed to pick up 3 other friends in our van, but had not accounted for their sizeable luggages. So we had to book a local taxi to ferry some of the luggages and (ironically) our driver. The driver rode in the taxi so that the rest of us can be in one vehicle, and yours truly ended as the driver of the van.

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The driver must be smiling all the way back to Sepang, as he relaxed in the taxi. But I must say, he was always smiling during the few days I know him. He is ever so gentle, polite and so patient; and certainly happier than some of the super-rich people I have met. This is a wonder, as his income as a driver is minuscule compared to the latter. The moral of the story is that money can't buy us happiness and that happiness must come from within.

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The next morning, we left Sepang. Before that, as we went to collect our pau's, the shop owner asked if we could give his daughter a ride to Singapore. This reminded me of old Singapore, when public transport was scarce and we had to hitch rides from neighbours and friends to get to town much of the time. This is grand nostalgia and small town coziness; it also mean that we have made a friend in the village.

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Vacuum State

Thank you for visiting Vacuum State, especially those of you who have actively participated by commenting on the posts and getting in contact with me by email. I have even got to meet some of you in person!

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Nearly 50,000 readers have visited this site since the 4th of July 2005. They come from mainly from India, the USA and Singapore. Readers from these countries normally form about 70% of the readership.

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This is the stats for today 1 December 2009.

% Country

29 INDIA

21 UNITED STATES

20 SINGAPORE

17 -

6 UNITED KINGDOM

2 CANADA

2 AUSTRALIA

1 DENMARK

1 FRANCE

1 GERMANY

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I have been busy of late and therefore have not updated the blog as regularly as I would like to. There are several talks that I have attended that I would like to have them posted here, so watch this space... more coming up soon!

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Self Worth Nett Worth

This is a slogan of a training company, which I think is rather unfair and ungrateful to schools. It also has a very limited understanding of what being 'rich' is. While being rich mean having an abundance of desirable qualities and elements in general terms, it is common for many people to equate 'being rich' with one who merely has lots of money.

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Even restricting our definition of 'being rich' into the narrow scope of money, schools actually do teach us how to make them. For instance, good language abilities enable me to communicate effectively with others and read up on the fine details of product specifications and commercial laws. Ultimately, having good language skills help me to make money.

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Other subjects like maths, science, history and geography are obviously useful tools to make money with, and there are the more subtle ones that I have found even more useful. For instance, even the dreaded non-phonetic Chinese ideograms have helped to improve my pattern recognition abilities, alongside with the more congenial art lessons; and after all, business is but about recognising patterns and striking the opportunities at the right time! And what better way to be trained in precise timing than by learning music? Besides, music is also inherently highly structured and intuitive, which is among the traits of successful businessmen.

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So schools do teach us how to make money, and it is just a matter putting all the skills together. More amazingly, schools not only teaches us how to make money but also the moral duties to society, family and self. It teaches us to serve society and that money is but the fuel to our lifestyles, not the source.

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In highly urbanised cities, where its people are further and further removed from nature, it is easy to believe that money is the source of life. Yet, money is merely an invention by human beings to store value. The plants don't have money. The animals and the entire nature don't have money; and they live (until they are destroyed by humans). Nature, after all, is eternally regenerative and abundant. As Buckminster Fuller puts it, we are all multi-millionaires by the measures of what nature has already given us.

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So why do business 'gurus' say that schools do not impart the skills to become 'rich'? It could be their own myopia that being rich is just merely having money and their own shortcoming of not recognising the business skills that are implicit in all the subjects in school. Perhaps they didn't really understand those subjects when they were in school and have missed the essence in their own education! If not, then they could be using those silly slogans to whip up the feeling of inadequacy among the audience. That is, break their confidence, make them feel that they need something that is missing in their education and that they have to get it fast in order to make money. In other words, they are selling fear. Sadly, that's also a way to become rich make money - by selling fear.

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I have this video of Chris Gardner, the real life character in the movie "In the Pursuit of Happiness". He certainly did not attend any 'how to get rich" classes, but he got there to make lots of money and lots of good morals too! There is another post about him in this blog. For more of him, click here.

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Finally, look around you and find out if those well-rounded fabulously ones needed a business guru?

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Fat Hope

"My son loves his slimmer mummy more!" so the ad says.

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Can this possibly be so?

In the story, the little boy merely said that his mum looked more beautiful when she was slimmer, not that he now loves her any less. Besides, children are still pure. They love their mum regardless.

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Slimming clinics should not taint the innocence of children and exploit the fears of anorexic mothers, or women in general, just to get more customers. I wonder what the Media Development Authority say about unethical claims like these.

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How to create a New Self

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This is a video from fora.tv of Dr Deepak Chopra talking about 'consciousness' as part of introducing his new book, "Reinventing the body and ressurecting the soul - How to create a New Self". For the full programme of the talk, click here.

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There is something I am fully taken in by the talk, it is when he told the audience to ask themselves every morning to check if they are in touch with their soul:

1. Is it fun?

2. Is it easy?

3. Am I getting results?

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If there is a 'no' for any of the question, then you are not in touch with your soul.

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Summary of the Full Talk

01.Introduction

02.What is Consciousness?

03.Perception and Consciousness

04.You Are Not in the Body the Body is in You

05.Continuity and Discontinuity

06.Five Attributes of Discontinuity

07.Five Breakthroughs for the Body

08.Five Breakthroughs for the Soul

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Q1: Is Love an Element of Evolution?

Q2: Staying Centered with World Chaos

Q3: Spiritual Guides

Q4: Positive Thinking

Q5: Michael Jackson's Death

Q6: Medicine / Healthcare

Q7: Purpose of Dreams

Q8: Role of Pleasure and Pain in Consciousness

Q9: Music and Healing

Q10: What Happens to the Soul After Death?

Q11: Business Philosophy

Q12: Celebrity Clientele

Q13: Being Comatose and the Soul

Q14: God Is a Woman

Q15: Inspirations

Q16: Recreational Drugs

Q17: Being Unaffected by Negativity

Q18: Personal Religious Practices

Q19: Grandchildren and World View

Q20: Anti-aging Science

Q21: Do you do for Fun?

Holistic Sunday

Date: 24 October 2009 (Sunday)

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A 'holistic day' for me...

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1000h-1300h: The Holistic Fair

Woke up early to go to Fort Canning for the Body Mind Soul Fair, also known here as the 'Holistic Fair'. Once a year, such a fair is organised gathering holistic healers, meditation groups, tarot card readers, innovative health products,...etc. Of course discretion is needed when choosing what services to engage. Personally, I would raise a red flag on 'gurus' that display:

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1. Personality Cult

It is not uncommon for gurus to allow their followers to paint a glorious and larger than life picture of themselves. Some of these unquestioning followers work as unpaid volunteers to the guru. Remember you are there to listen to the song and not to worship the singer.

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2. Nerve

A guru would be one who is peaceful and calm. I would be uncomfortable with one with a nervous twitch and volunteer their unsolicited opinions about people around them. (Who asked for your opinion anyway?)

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3. Magic

When they demonstrate 'magic' to capture your belief.

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4. Exclusivity

That only through him, through their method or their product/service can you achieve a higher consciousness.

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5. Content

Strip away the robes, long beard, batik sarongs,...etc and check if there is any content left. For instance, I had heard of a guru telling someone that she was on the right path. Is there such a thing as a 'right path'? Everyone is surely on their own (unique) path, but there is no 'right' or 'wrong' paths. I know of a drug addict and trafficker who had served time in jail, but after that created an enterprise ark to help, train, hire and counsel ex-offenders. Is his path more 'right' than my less dramatic path?

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However, there is sub-conscious evolution and conscious evolution. For the latter, we need awareness to consciously lead the path of self elevation of consciousness (salvation).

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6. Money

Follow the money. Is there a large donation required at some point?

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7. Sex

Follow the sex. Sex sells - even in the 'spiritual business'! For instance, if the yoga school is more into sexy tight fitting fashionable gear and emphasize more on looking good than the true meaning of union of body and soul, then something is amiss.

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1400h-1730h: Tao

This is an excerpt of a talk on "What is religion?" by a Tao master. This post is written as a first person account for readability reasons only and is not an ad-verbatim record of the speaker. Any distortions or omissions are mine and most likely accidental and definitely without malicious intent. As such, please do not quote from this post.

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Life is short, so what is the meaning? Buddha asked if the animal has meaning. The animal like everything here has value, so it has meaning to itself. Hence we can't judge.

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So what is your value? None one else can tell you except yourself.

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What is religion and what is philosophy?

'Philosophy' is a recent name. In ancient times, they are merely wisdom derived from life. Before the existence of 'religion', there was still meaning. From mere survival, mankind has started worshipping nature, mystics and even devil spirits. It is only when mankind's consciousness is reasonably developed then would it be able to grasp the concept of mysticism. Such practices were meant to alleviate sufferings.

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Then came prophets who (perhaps not intentionally) the concept of religion. So the difference between a religion and a philosophy is that the former has a prophet. [ My note: However, according to Wikipedia, the difference between religion and philosophy is that the former essentially involves some beliefs and faith. ]

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Religion led the world before science. There arise different religions due to different cultures and geography. Contemporary religion is more scientific and less ritualistic. There are attempts now by the contemporary religions to offer scientific explanations. This is perhaps to cater for the younger generations (brought up more in sciences) who are generally less religious.

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But science has developed very fast. It is also important to note that science do not operate in a vacuum devoid of the natural laws. On the other hand, traditional religions are too old fashion and could not explain science using the natural laws.

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Philosophy is between religion and science. It is mostly derived from Love and is also not completely scientific. There is also a difference between Western (Greek) philosophy and the Eastern (Chinese) philosophy.

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Greek philosophy is propounded from idealistic thoughts of what life should be, whilst Chinese philosophy is based on the natural laws of being (Tao).

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What is the difference between Buddhism and Tao?

Before Buddha, there was no Buddhism. During Buddha's time, it was known as Buddha's teachings or teaching for enlightenment. Enlightenment is to realise one's true nature.

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Tao is basically true nature reasoning. It is 'the way'.

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Is there any meaning to ancestor worship?

Traditionally, there has always been 'ancestor worship', but they are punctuated with the arrival of Western relgions. There is still a relationship between our ancestors and us, if they (the ancestors) have not reincarnated yet. So they are still able to help us.

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[I asked: So what if they are reincarnated?]

Then they wouldn't recognise the relationship anymore.

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Are religious people better off than atheists?

Traditionally, people merely prayed for peace and protection. Nowadays, there is less need to pray for those reasons, so we pray for guidance. Atheists have no religions, so they have to find their guidance elsewhere, as they don't follow religious morals/ethics and may lack clarity.

[My note: Having no religion, is a religion itself.]

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How does destiny come about?

Some destinies can be read. Those have forms. There are also those that are formless, like our consciousness. Charity work with evil hearts will not work, because it is the 'cause' that will lead to 'destiny'.

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Why are there rituals?

All religions have rituals. They are a submission to a higher power.

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Can Christians cultivate Tao?

If you ask your pastor, he'll probably say 'no'. Conversely, if you ask him if you are a Tao cultivator and he would like to be a Christian, he'll probably say 'yes'.

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So it depends on you. Why do you want to cultivate Tao? Is it because the words in Tao are meaningful to you, is it the experience or is it your quest for enlightenment?

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Jesus asked his followers to seek the Truth. A Tao cultivator also seeks the Truth. Christianity, in Chinese, is translated into 'Saviour's Teachings'. So Christians are disciples of the Saviour. Likewise, in different times and places in history, there were Mohammed, Buddha and others who were to save their people from ignorance. This can be done only by seeking the Truth.

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Is there any difference between a Tao cultivator and non-cultivator?

A cultivator becomes more peaceful, calm and harmonised over time. It is the process of letting you find your true nature.

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I don't belief in Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed or any of those Prophets/Saviours, but I believe in myself. Is that ok?

Ok, as long as you don't fall down. Religion is not a crutch that you must have throughout your life. You can also believe in money. Nothing wrong about that, but that will be limiting. For instance, money alone cannot buy you happiness or good health.

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Without a religion, you can still reach enlightenment. One can be free from the perception of God and from the (perceived) God's control. When Buddha attain enlightenment, he was free from any limitations and perception of God.

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Am I free from Cause and Effect if I don't believe in it?

Try giving a tight slap to someone and you will see if there is an effect. Cause and Effect is scientific. It is one of the Universal Law. You believe this more as you get older and witness people getting what they sowed. Hence the explanation for why some people are born pretty, ugly, rich, poor,...etc.

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What is 'split personality'? Is that good or bad?

Some people have not just two, but multiple personalities. But there is a difference, if it is different personalities within one soul or multiple souls. Many of us behave different in different environments. One behaviour in society, another in your religious organisation, another in the family,...etc. Some people work so long in the jobs that they bring their workplace behaviour into the family. So which one are you? So don't get yourself to become too complicated.

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Famous actors and singers have the problem to remember their true self. As they get famous they are more and more afraid to lose their fame, as deep down they feel that they are merely an ordinary person going on a ride.

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Where split personalities is due to possession, the the person can speak in different voice, sometimes voice of a different gender, a different language.

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A person will a split personality leads a contradictory life. It can be stressful.

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It was an enlightening talk of about 3 hours. It overran, so I had to rush down for my next appointment with a friend from the Eckangkar religion.

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For other posts on Tao, click here.

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1800h-1900h: Discussion with an Eckangkar initiate

I first heard about Eckangkar by chance, amid a conversation about 'soul travel' with my Muslim friend. He told me a friend of his can do that and that friend is from 'Eckangkar'.

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After that, nothing else happened, until about two months later, another friend called me out of the blue to meet up for a drink. During our meeting, this friend wanted me to read his character and behaviour based on his date of birth. (I have learned to do that through the 'Power of Numbers' course I attended recently. For more, click here.) As I was doing his reading, he whipped out a small booklet from Eckangkar. I told him I have heard it before and had visited their website but had not taken the effort to visit them.

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"How about visiting them now? They have a "Hu" chanting session today (Sunday), " he said. And so off we went. It was on that day that I attended the first "Hu" chant. After that session, I didn't go back. Before I left for that day, an Eckist asked me to block a certain Sunday off, as they will be having a seminar and will be delighted if I can attend. So I dutifully put it on my calendar on my mobile.

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Again a few months lapsed and then one day, my mobile calendar beeped and showed that the Eck seminar was to happen the next day. But I didn't even have any confirmation nor the details yet and had to ask the Eck guy to confirm the time and place of the event.

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The next day on the way to the seminar, I had a stray thought that during the seminar, my Muslim friend whom had first told me about Eckangkar, will call me during the seminar and I will tell him that I am at an Eckangkar seminar to surprise him. Curiously, he did call during the seminar and I did tell him exactly that!!!

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During the seminar, I bought a book about "Spiritual Dreaming", I had been journaling my dreams and would like to find out more about the significance of dreams. In it, it suggested some exercises, among which is to chant 'Hu' before the sleep to better connect with the dream. I have been doing that and indeed, it seems to work. ( I have some posts about dreams. Click here.)

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Curiously, there is also a gentle and comfortable resonance through the body when I chant 'Hu'. I can also hear the different frequencies that comes out from the single chant of 'Hu'. Very strange!

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Also incidentally, just today, during the Tao session, I just told another Tao cultivator that I have plans to fast once a week to let my stomach rest. Then surprise surprise, when I met my Eck friend in this appointment, he told me exactly that!

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During the conversation, I asked him about Eckangkar's opinion towards vegetarianism and the act of taking away life. My Eck friend then replied that we can never kill the soul of an animal, because the soul is eternal. Also, we must depart from the emotional aspect of killing the animal. However, if one is to kill an animal, he is stopping the animal in its incarnation to experience its life on Earth. This will have an impact on one's karma. The more evolved the life form is, the bigger the karmic debt. But, it is not necessary to be vegetarian as an Eckist.

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It has been a series of coincidents in my meeting of Eckangkar. However, I believe nothing in life is coincident. We call it co-incidents because we cannot explain it. I mentioned these 'coincidents' just as a matter of curiosity. It is not to elevate that my meeting with Eckangkar is the only thing special in my life, nor are they the only coincidents. In fact, when our minds are still, we will begin to notice more of such 'coincidents'. So keep your eyes open! :)

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The one hour passed very fast and soon I had to rush to the next appointment, which was a talk on Light and Sound meditation, which sounded very similar to Eck.

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1900h-2100h: Talk on meditation on Light and Sound

I managed to sneak into the seminar hall minutes after the talk started. Actually, it was more like a course preview. The speaker did not describe the process to get into the meditation per-se and there was no practice during the talk.

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I have two disagreements with the talk.

1. That in this meditation, the meditator is supposed to abstain (among other things) from spiritual healing because it would be an interference to one's karma.

I find this an overly simplistic explanation about karma. The 'ecosystem' of karma is far more wide reaching, complex and involves an immense number of actions, people and beings. How can it be reduced to a one-to-one action-reaction? Which in this case simply involved healer and person to be healed? The speaker said that allowing ourselves to receive spiritual healing means interfering with our karmic debt. (You can read about Reiki healing here.)

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"So how about medical healing?" I asked.

"That is still an interference, but a smaller one to the karmic debt!" the speaker replied.

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Who is he as a single human being to judge if it is an interference or an act of compassion? This resignation to the fate of karma is one of the reasons why some poor communities are left to rot, because the richer ones in their community abandoned them to suffer.

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This is counter-intuitive! How can turning a blind eye to poverty go with the universal flow of Love? The heart instinctly jumps up to help and yet corrupted beliefs stopped it from doing so!

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I believe that if we put Love first, everything else will be sorted. Also, we must learn to be human first. If we cannot live our life as a loving human being, what chance do we have to live our divinity?

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2. That after meditation, we should do a Self Analysis on our negative characters like: anger, lust, greed,...etc.

Meditation brings us peace and tranquility. When we are peaceful and tranquil, there are no negative characteristic traits in that moment. That is, when there is light, the shadows disappear. So why bother analysing the shadows? Over time and over repeated meditation, our negative characteristics will gently fade away without our notice. There is no need to re-visit them and remind ourselves of them. It wouldn't help, as you cannot remove any shadows by focusing on shadows. In fact, if you continue to focus on your negative traits, they will grow. The thoughts that you feed more will grow and truimph over the ones that you don't feed. So, focus on the light. Just meditate and then enjoy the peace.

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But shadows do have their purpose! It makes us realise the divine aspects in ourselves that we have forgotten. Similarly shadows make a photograph beautiful, without shadows there will be no picture to take, as there is only light.

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I voiced my opinion to the speaker and he replied that perhaps their method does not suit me. To me, it is a refusal to reassess what he believes in, in clearer light.

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It was a long day! I didn't plan it like that, but it just turned out impromptu like this. I had some 'high' moments and 'low' moments.

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However, here are my (harsh) opinions...

I think that gurus should be more responsible and think carefully before they start a 'spiritual group'. If they are half-baked themselves, where will they lead their followers? What value will they add to their students' spiritual journey?

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I suspect there is a lot of ego going around, and in some cases, it has a lot to do with money! *sigh*

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Perception

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We have heard many times from spiritual gurus and motivational speakers that happiness comes from within and that even our perception of the world outside comes from within. To give you more comfort over all these verbose, we have scientists now giving a more rigorous treatment to that perception do indeed comes from within.

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Here is the first one about perception of sound:

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The next talk about the perception of colours:

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And lastly, about how the brain works:

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So, it's all in our mind! :)

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Doubt

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Date: 9 Oct 2009

Time: 7pm

Place: The Buddhist Library

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The highly acclaimed movie "Doubt" was screened this Friday.

Summary:

In 1964 a Catholic elementary school has just admitted its first Black student, a 12-year-old boy transferred from public school. The principal, a rigid disciplinarian nun, and the liberal parish priest are both concerned for the boy's welfare in a predominantly Irish/Italian school. The nun becomes convinced that the priest has, or is planning to have, an improper relationship with the child and is determined to force him to leave the school. A third compassionate person is the boy's mother, who has another point of view. The fourth person is a young teacher who is concerned but confused by the conflict between the nun and the priest.

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I particularly like these two sermons by Father Flynn.

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So if you are in 'doubt' or 'uncertainty' now, do not despair.

And, do not gossip, for you cannot collect the feathers carried by the winds of gossip back.

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And this is the doubt and gossip...
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In Sickness and In Health - Painful Again!

I am in pain again! I have checked my blog and learned that the last time I had this excruciating sciatic pain was thirteen months ago. Then, I took to painkillers.

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This time, I identified the problem and took action early, doing the exercise below twice a day.

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Oh yes, positive thinking also helped. At the bottom of it, all dis-eases are psychosomatic. Proud to say, I overcame that without the help of painkillers and drugs. Many thanks also to the author of the wonderful video.

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Echoes of the Freelance Pathway

I woke up yesterday, the 3rd Oct 2009, to a rude surprise that my old friend Donald Stadler, had a heart attack and passed away on the way to work in the morning in London. He was only 50. That must have happened around 9.30am in London and 5.30pm Singapore Time on the 2nd October 2009. Curiously around that time, I heard Donald saying, "...wonder what happened to Michael's loan..." It was a clear message, but I didn't think much of it other than perhaps he was curious and concern about me. I do have many experiences of telepathy and this I thought was just another one.

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Donald was an American whom I have met during my freelance days in Holland in 1993. We lost contact some years later and then only re-established communications about a month ago. Then, he told me he had just known that he had lost his job and it was hard to find work in London. I was hoping to meet him in London sometime November, when I find time to travel to Europe.

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Life is fragile. If we do not take care of our minds, our bodies deteriorate. Donald was a single child. His father died when he was very young and he was raised only by his mother. He was often lonely and I suspect was also depressive as a result. During our stint in Rotterdam in the winter of 1992, we spent considerable time chatting in Chinese restaurants after work about how cool Compuserve emails were (as the Internet has just started to hit the masses) and how China will become an economic power in 20 years time. Fast forward (gosh!) 17 years, and we were right on both counts. The Internet is pervasive and the People's Republic of China just celebrated its 60th National Day gloriously as an economic power while the US is seriously bogged down in a financial meltdown.

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I enjoyed those chats we had. Donald was a good conversationist and also one of the few Caucasian friend who was adventurous enough to eat what was to them 'exotic' Chinese dishes of strange animal parts.

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Donald's sudden departure reminds me to live everyday as if it is my last (or first), and not put life on 'hold'. Problems and troubles will always be there, but they are not part of us, if we don't allow them to be. The soul is inherently peaceful and I should like to remind myself about that and enjoy life's every moment to the fullest.

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May also you rest in peace Donald. Farewell!

Bucky Group - The Pursuit of Happiness

This movie was in the cinemas in the year 2006. Those who had seen it before said it was still as touching watching it over again at the Bucky Group.

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This is the trailer:

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For the movie proper, click the Playlist.

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Now here is the documentary of the real Chris Gardner:

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There wasn't time for group discussions after the movie, as Joo Hock's Hair Salon has to start.

In the main movie, in the scene outside the child care centre, Chris Gardner corrected the mis-spelling of happiness on the wall (spelt as "happyness"). He said, it is not 'y', but 'i'. Incidentally, it sounded like not "why", but "I" (happiness is inside me).

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Here's a public talk by Chris Gardner:

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Since the Bucky Group didn't have time to discuss about the movie the last session, I would suggest we do so this week. There should be lots to reflect on. There would be more if you are about to be booted out of your apartment!!! Or if you are a man who hasn't broken the cycle of not being with your children! :)

Passive Anger

Do you recognise this? Anger can be covert.

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The Hungry Ghost Getai

The Chinese Seventh Month Getai (concert) season this year is coming to a close tomorrow on the 19th September 2009. I had a very entertaining and fascinating evening attending one at Loyang Tua Pek Kong.

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This temple is an epitome of religious harmony in Singapore. Besides being a Taoist temple, it also houses a Hindu Temple and a Malay Kramat (shrine).

The Hindu Temple. Chinese devotees pray here too!

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Here is the Malay Kramat next to the Hindu shrine.

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Besides opening the getai to the public for free, the temple also provide food for everyone. A big thank you to all the volunteers here seen dishing out the bowls of soup.

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This is the Baobei sisters. The stage is very posh for a getai. Artistes enter the stage from beneath, via an elevator platform.

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This is Karen Lim - the Getai Queen. She has 153 getai engagements in 2008. That is more about 5.5 getais to sing at every night! She is a live wire and dances non-stop during her performances. This is a rare sight to see her seated.

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This is a 9 year old Malay kid who did a Michael Jackson dance. Here while bantering with the MCs Liu Lingling from Singapore and Lan Tian from Taiwan, he cheekily put on his mask, just like Michael Jackson used to.

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Mai Ke, an Indian singer from Penang sang in Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese. He is also a Michael Jackson impersonator.

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Oh! Now we have three impersonators! In case you can't recognise them, two of them are the MCs.

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This is Hei Mao (Black Cats) from Malaysia. A three girl and two boy sing-and-dance group. Amazing feat stacking themselves and swing themselves around while singing.

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Hong Kong singer - Bai Mei Hui

Taiwanese artiste - Yaya

This is Fang Fang, our Malaysian 'Yau Shu Rong' (a famous female vocalist from Taiwan in the 1960s). At 58 years old, she still look great. She had ever said that she will continue to sing even when hit 60!

Singapore artiste - Xie Sheng Zi

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This is so Singaporean. Dishing out fans with campaign slogans - about getting help for gambling addicts! This is to pre-empt gamblers getting into doldrums when the casinos are opened next year.

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They also issued tissue papers with the same slogans. Luckily they distributed the tissue pads in the middle of the show. If they are distributed in the beginning, they will be used to reserve the seats!! *LOL*

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Indeed seat reservation is a serious problem in some getais, as touts sell reserved seat enbloc and sell them for a few dollars each.

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It was already near midnight, but devotees are still offering prayers at the temple.

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I enjoyed myself thoroughly in an evening of street culture and entertainment. A bit rough on the edges at times, particularly of those double meaning jokes banter between the emcee and the artistes, but such is the spontaneity of street culture.

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Particularly, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong getai is uniquely Singaporean in that there was so much diversity among the artistes from different countries, different religions and races. The temple premises itself houses a Hindu temple and a Muslim shrine.

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I think that is because Singapore is a confluence of two 'rivers' from the East and the West. Incidentally, this also goes for Singapore's ecosystem. For instance, there are about 60 known species of mangroves in the world and Singapore is home to 50 plus of them. Read here. For the coral reefs, the Great Barrier Reef which is about 6,000 times the size of Singapore has about 400 plus species and Singapore has 200 plus. Read here.

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For a small island of 660 square kms, there are just so many races and nationalities in Singapore. Some come as professionals to work and others to study.

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Perhaps this is Singapore's destiny, given its limitation of land size, it has learn to be open, adapt and innovate to prosper.

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Notable artistes from other getais:

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Taiwanese artiste, Hou Hou

He is known for his drags and ability to sing in both male and female pitches.

Taiwanese artiste, Kai Li

Here's a video clip of 17 year old pole dancer Lim Zi Yee. Amazing how she can sing while up at the pole.
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There are more and more younger artistes coming on stage over the last two years. The youngest who is only 5 years old.

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For more video clips, click here

For more pixs, click here.
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In my getai blog post on Vacuum State Travel in 2007, I wrote:

In the near future, they may have to continue to innovate and use newer entertainment technologies. May be there will be fireworks, pyrotechnics, more electronic music, more techno beats, holographic displays, large LCD screens for those in the far end from the stage, or even simulcasts on Youtube.

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Well, at the getai at Loyang Tua Pek Kong, pyrotechnics are already used. There are already many video clips on YouTube, though we haven't have simulcasts yet. Techno beats have already come together with rap and Michael Jackson gigs. Younger artistes have also leveraged on the Internet and have facebook profile pages to communicate with their fans.

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Looking back, getais in Singapore have come a long way. Below is a pix (taken in the year 2004) of what getais used to be.

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Read previous post on getai, click here
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