Rak of Aegis, original pinoy rock musical comedy

Bravo!!! This is Philippine Educational Theater Association's (PETA) second run of "Rak of Aegis," an original Pinoy comedy musical based on the songs of the band called Aegis.

I must be honest. I never heard of the band before and I'm not familiar with their music. In fact, I asked the guy who sold the souvenir program who the band was. He looked at me dumbfounded with wide eyes and said .. 1990s all-female rock band?... Halik (Kiss)? Luha (Tears)?  Bakit, Ako Ngayo'y Hate Mo (Why, Do You Now Hate Me?)..  "Ummmm... sorry" was all I can say.

Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed the show - the actors, the music including the well thought out set design with matching knee-deep flood waters and rain. Yes, there was rain and no, you won't get wet.

Performers that night were two-time gold medalist in the World Championships of the Performing Arts Kim Molina as Aileen, Robert Seña as Kiel, Kalila Aguilos as Mary Jane (Issay Alvarez alternates), Kaikai Bautista as Mercy and Arnel Ignacio as Fernan.

Director Maribel Legarda recounted in the foreword of the souvenir program, that two years ago musical arranger Myke Salomon jokingly said "kung meron Rock of Ages, dapat tayo Rak of Aegis." And the three of them together with Liza Magtoto, the playwright, created the musical.

Magtoto would listened to the songs over and over each day.  She said it was the line "ngunit heto, bumabangon pa rin" (But I'm here, still rising) from  Basang Basa ng Ulan  (Soaked through with Rain) that gave her the inspiration to create a plot out of the word 'resiliency" and "ulan" (rain) brought back images of  floods caused by the super typhoons.

She said "I remembered post-Ondoy relief efforts, during PETA's pyscho-social debriefing in Biñan, Laguna.  Two months after Ondoy, the place was still flooded. The shoe and sandal industry was almost gone, globalization had taken its toll as Crocs was in fashion. The mothers I interviewed suspected a subdivision causing the floods, although to this day, the speculation has to be verified. The government had no clear support for the local industry. Although Christmas was going to be bleak, the people didn't look so defeated."

guess who we spottled in the house - David Pomeranz!!

Indeed in 2009, Maricar Cinco reported that the townspeople of Malaban in Biñan, Laguna had to save other than their lives were "the sandals that floated around before the rising floodwater swept them away."  The town had 500 footwear producers and now, only 30 of them survived. In another report, it said over 114,700 people were made homeless and many lived on the top floors of their homes for up to four months, waiting for the flood to subside.

The playwright said that she didn't want the story to simply revolve around resiliency.  She said "But the narrative is more in tune with the songs themselves. This is to say, we bounce back when it comes to love. More than this societal background, most Aegis songs are about love - or actually, the loss of love. So the spine of the play is still this (losing and perhaps finding) love in the time of calamity."

I beg you...please don't miss this show!  It's fun, original and timely! The show will run until August 31, 2014.

Kundalini Yoga Level One Teacher Training

It's a dream come true for me to be in the presence of and to learn Kundalini Yoga Level One from a Yoga Master, Guru Dass Singh, the founder of the International College of Kundalini Yoga.  He is a 'legacy' teacher meaning a direct student of Yogi Bhajan . He met him at the age of 17 years old in 1971. (Guru Dass below playing the guitar).

It was my first Kundalini teacher who pushed me into taking this step. Actually, more of a shove. She kept saying that Kundalini Yoga is a powerful practice and mandatory to one's personal development. She said "We are where we are in our evolution. I am personally committed (at least whatever is left of my human life) to awaken my fellow God-desses so that they can in turn be of service to the rest of the world by animating the GodSpark withIN."

with students from all over the world

And here I am in Bali with 21 other students, literally at the Master's feet listening to his music. Each time he leads us in a meditation kriya, I always end up in tears. It's as if he is singing to my soul, melting my heart.

Kundalini is basically energy which according to Yogi Bhajan has been blocked in the lowest of all chakras, at the first chakra. What actually happens is the joining of two energies - positive and negative, prana and apana - and bring the energy up as it passes through the sushuma. Quoting from Yogi Bajan, he says "[It] works directly on the total energy, and that flow of energy has one simple way: either your sway it or it sways you... [it] is your creative potential. You experience it when the energy of the glandular system combines with the energy of the nervous system to create a sensitivity that the totality of the brain receives signals and integrates them. Then you become totally aware, and your creative potential becomes available to you."

Morning sadhana

The day starts with morning sadhana at 5:30 am,  which is reading of the Japji, a kriya and mantra meditation. Breakfast is usually at 8:00  followed by classes the whole day with a break for lunch, then dinner at 7:30pm and evening meditation with Yogi Bhajan (video) after dinner.

This will be the first of three weeks and I'm looking forward to this transformative technology. As Yogi Bhajan said  "If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it, If your want to master something, teach it."

Warning though the process will bring your shadows into the surface and through the practice, you will learn how to cultivate the courage to address the issues that come up. It's a powerful and transformative, if you are ready to change, this is it!