When I was a kid, sometimes I played school with my friends. I chose to be the teacher. I liked science so I imitated our science teacher teaching us the process of the rain. I drew a picture of ocean water evaporating, going up to the sky, and becoming a thick cloud. The cloud turns into drizzle, flowing down to the mountain then into the lake. Some water is...

Some people call it a hunch! Recently, I had a strong feeling that my sister in law was pregnant. Of course I did not tell anyone but it was a strong feeling… soon after, my nephew told me that he would have a little brother, I said silently to myself, I knew that! It felt strange. “Inner knowingness” or intuition comes from deep inside, we experience it and...

It’s a story about a young Indian man name Swetaketu, his father sent him to study in a remote ashram for twelve years. When he returned home his father deflate him; “My son, go and pick a fruit from that Banyan tree,” he asked to Swataketu. “Here it is, Father.” “Split it open and tell me what you see inside.”Many tiny...

“In our daily life it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy”. (Anonymous) In the past I used to tell stories about my life expecting sympathy. I guess it made me feel good to hear people say, “O…poor Iyan” or “I feel sorry, Iyan…”. And back then, I tended to blame others for my...

There are many techniques of meditation, black dot visualization meditation, candle gazing meditation, mantra meditation, mala mediation, zen guided meditation, Tibetan singing bowl meditation, etc. etc. There are so many techniques for meditating. During our Escape The World retreat I guide our guests to do meditation and I use ‘contemplative...

About 12 years ago a friend told me: “Iyan, your smile is hiding something, your eyes are melancholic” It was not really pleasant to hear, but I digested what he said. I began looking at myself in the mirror… playing with different expressions until I laughed and laughed like crazy! I kept watching myself in front of the mirror making different...