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Thinking Deeper with Thomas Merton - Ep. 2

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Thomas Merton and The Dalai Lama pictured at Dharamsala, India in November of 1968. Why can we not be content with the secret gift of the happiness that God offers us, without consulting the rest of the world? Why do we insist, rather, on a happiness that is approved by the magazines and TV? Perhaps because we do not believe in a happiness that is given to us for nothing. We do not think we can be happy with a happiness that has no price tag on it. – Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander #84, published in 1966  Over the years I’ve come to understand a little better how joy differs from happiness. It is something that is not a causal effect of experience something in the moment. Being happy can often feel like that – a fleeting moment that I so anxiously want to hold on to and be in that moment forever because I don’t know when next I would feel that euphoric emotion again. Yet the joy which comes from the Lord is a much more stable rather than an erratic moment. It comes from a space withi
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Impact of Sexual Harassment and the Lack of Legal Protection

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A few days ago, I was watching the Korean drama, Law School, and a particular case disturbed me and remained with me for some time. It was one on physical abuse and rape by the person whom the character loved and trusted. I felt a deep sense of injustice because I know that this is very real in the world we live in, and many women suffer from the pain, betrayal, humiliation, and the lack of believe of others. Tonight as I lay on my bed, I am reminded of all the times I have encountered some form of being sexually harassed and nothing was done about it. I also think of the sexual harassments that my mother, my sister, and my female cousin all went through during their younger days, yet none of us knew what to do about it then. According to AWAM, sexual harassment refers to an unwanted or unwelcome conduct that is sexual in nature, and may be committed physically, verbally, non-verbally, psychologically and/or visually, which may cause the person being harassed to feel humiliated, offend
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Thinking Deeper with Thomas Merton

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A short introductory plague of Merton (1915 - 1968) at the Thomas Merton Center Foundation. In our society, a society of business rooted in Puritanism, based on the pseudo-ethic of industriousness and thrift, to be rewarded by comfort, pleasure, and a good bank account, the myth of work is thought to justify an existence that is essentially meaningless and futile. There is, then, a great deal of busy-ness as people invent things to do when in fact there is very little to be done. Yet we are overt, whelmed with jobs, duties, tasks, assignments, “missions” of every kind. At every moment we are sent north, south, east, and west by the angels of business and art, poetry and politics, science and war, to the four corners of the universe to decide something, to sign something, to buy and sell. We fly in all directions to sell ourselves, thus justifying the absolute nothingness of our lives. The more we seem to accomplish, the harder it becomes to really dissimulate our trifling, and the only
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Reflections on Soul

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  The Premise Wow! So much to say about this animation! I thought that the idea about exploring the idea of what is before life, what is beyond life, and most importantly, the meaning of life in the here and now really resonates with us no matter what age we're in. It's a question we struggle with at one point of our lives: What is my purpose in life? And just like Joe Gardner, we may think that it's the one thing in life that gives us meaning, the one thing that we're good at doing . But this movie explores that, with the other character, soul no. 22, who in turns, helps Joe to see a different perspective. The Great Before I found this concept cute (with all the blobs and personality generator). In a way, it is true to say that there is a before and after life on Earth. God, the Creator, loves and knows us before we were even formed in our mother's womb. It is because of His very love that breathes life in us. On Earth, we take on a physical body and enter into ti
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Reflections on Wonder Woman 1984

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  Yes, I know, there are already plenty of bad reviews out there that might stop you from even giving the movie a shot. Indeed, there are many things I could say about the storyline, about the lack of arc and character development, and really, just bad writing.  BUT today, I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about something much deeper, something closer to heart that most movies try to insert in. What is the underlying message of the movie if you take away the action, the romance, and the drama? [Spoiler alert ⚠] In the beginning of the movie, we see a pouty Diana crying "No, no... but..." because she was unhappy that her chance of winning was taken away from her. Her aunt and mentor, Antiope, who is also a wise and skilled general, then gives her an important life lesson: "You cheated, Diana. That is the truth. That is the only truth, and truth is all there is ." The theme of truth and lies is what carries the whole movie, especially with the
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Sex, Gender, Identity

“Today’s sexual confusion is not caused because the world glorifies sexuality, but because the world fails to see its glory.” —Jason Evert Modern culture sometimes attacks gender as if it were the problem. In other words, “the real problem is the rigid social constructs that perpetuate the myth that men and women are different. If we eliminate sexual differences, the problem will be solved.“ But it is precisely our differences that make union possible. Without difference, there can be no complimentary.   In fact, our sex is not only decisive for our bodily individuality, but that it defines our identity. We are not separated from our bodies. Imagine if someone struck you, and you asked him, “Why did you hit me?” and he replied “I didn’t hit you. I hit your body.” We don’t just have a body. Our body is us. It expresses the person and reveals the soul. St. John Paul II says that “the Creator has assigned the body to men as a task, the body in its masculinity and femininity.” Man has been
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Saviour Complex, Perhaps?

Have you ever noticed anyone having a saviour complex?   “A  savior complex , or white knight syndrome, describes this need to “save” people by fixing their problems. If you have a  savior complex , you might: only feel good about yourself when helping someone, believe helping others is your purpose, or expend so much energy trying to fix others that you end up burning out.” (Raypole, 2020; Healthline) It occurred to me that I might have once felt that way, especially when looking back at some of the people I naturally navigated to back in university. They were not necessarily weak nor in situations that needed “saving” but there was just something in me that felt like I needed to be the person they relied on. If I could put a word to it, it was excessive protection. This dichotomy reflects what I really felt inside at that time, of wanting someone who can protect me and care for me, but on the outside, I acted as if I could be that person for others. Some of my past is really cringey
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