First in a series titled "Belief"

I have been putting thoughts down but just have not been posting them. I now have about 20 pages put together and with your permission will start posting them one or two pages at a time. Please let me know what you think as we go on. As always, I really appreciate and respect your feedback. Take care until the next post:


There is a word that has such powerful meaning but is almost always taken for granted and not given the proper respect it truly deserves. This word is usually associated with religion or spirituality and not appreciated for its importance in our more mundane every day existence. The word to which I am referring is “BELIEF”.

Belief dictates how you live your life. It will affect your decision making. Where you go, why you do or don’t do something, which person you will date or associate with, even what you eat and how you deal with what comes out after. Everything you do is affected by what your beliefs are. What you hold true to be self evident as it were.

This one word controls so much of our lives, yet how much of “it” do we actually control? Do you walk under ladders? Step on cracks? Knock on wood? How much of what you believe have you consciously made the decision to believe? Beliefs are fed to us from a very young age. Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, don’t go to bed with wet hair or you will go blind, don’t walk under ladders, Friday the 13th, Buddha, Mohammad, and the Dali Llama and so on. As children we are brought to a Sunday school or a Synagogue. Boy Scouts, Tae kwon do, ballet, or baseball practice, each group representing different trains of thought, goals, morals, and possible futures.

What you believe makes you what you are because your actions define the kind of person your beliefs will allow you to be. If you believe that gambling is wrong and because of this you never buy a lottery ticket, could you ever win the lottery? If you believe that every one is out to cheat you? If you don’t believe there is a God, or that there is a God. If you think that you are as successful as you will ever be? That the world is flat? That the swampland that nice man was trying to sell you might be a great investment? If by eating the flesh of your enemies, you will gain their strength? That the world will end in the year 2012? Some of the simplest thoughts going through your mind can have life altering effect on both you and those around you. What if Hitler was not able to get a nation to believe as he did?

Love, hate, fear, happiness, and hope are all examples of belief in our lives. You have to believe in something to make anything tangible to your intellect. Why do you love somebody? Why do you hate anything? Why do you lend money to a friend? Why do you push your child to take singing lessons? Why do you not walk down dark alleys at night? Why do you walk down dark alleys at night? Why do you vote? Why get married or divorced? Why are you writing that book? Why aren’t you writing that book? Why don’t you like black people or white people? Do you prefer wheat or white, Coke or Pepsi? Without belief, decision would be impossible. Without decision, definition would be absent. Who would you be? Where could you be? Why aren’t you?

When it comes to belief, do you have a choice? We are programmed from birth to death, a living, breathing computer, if you will. Unlike computers though, we can program ourselves. We can have ultimate control over our own lives. Computers have to follow the path they were given. You and I may decide to follow any path that presents itself to us. The statement I made at the end of the preceding paragraph can be read and more importantly lived in reverse. Here is how it works; if you desire to “Define” your life in a specific manner, you must make the “decision” to change your “beliefs” which will allow you to make “decisions” that will “define” you in the manner that best suits “beliefs” that will create an environment of positive opportunities. Something I like to call, “Power Through Superior Intent”.

....To Be Continued

Tuhon Ray Dionaldo, need I say more?

I had the honor recently of attending a seminar in Manila taught by Tuhon Ray Dionaldo. If you go to youtube you will find a plethora of videos from around the globe showing you just what this incredibly talented man can do.

What is incredibly interesting but not surprising is that Ray lives his life in utter control of his universe. I will be posting some more things in the coming days and weeks regarding Ray and what he teaches. In the meantime enjoy the video.

You can visit him at http://fcskalionline.com/ or at his Martial Arts social networking site at http://martialmatrix.ning.com/


A chapter of his organization is being organized in the Philippines. You can visit http://fcsphilippines.blogspot.com/ to find out where they are in their development.

Yet another story about customer service from the land of extremes. =0)

Why, you may ask, do I bother to bring to you stories of this kind? What do these kinds of stories have to do with security and how can they possibly improve your personal situation? Well it is simple; I want to share with you the idea that you have a right to be treated well as a part of maintaining control of your life. If you are treated well and are happy with decisions that you make, like where you decide to bring your family for dinner, you will enjoy a more positive outlook on life in general. More positivism will breed more opportunity which in turn will breed more happiness. Not a bad cycle to be caught up in, right?

Now let’s see…how do we start this story? I brought my family, (see picture to the right), to a Pizza Hut located here in the Philippines located in a place called Makati Cinema Square. This whole commercial structure is one of the older “malls” located in Makati. Now it is renowned for being the place to go to buy pirated or bootlegged DVD’s. There are also gun shops and two shooting ranges located in the basement. (The later will give the casual visitor an insight into my personal interests. This site is called “Security for Idiots” after all.)

An important part of this story is the fact that my family has an argument every time we have to decide where and what to eat. Really, without fail every meal that we are together becomes a heated debate as to where to go or what to cook. Usually ending up in a non-committal, “Whatever”. A bad dinning experience will become fodder to be used against the recommending party for years to come. Ergo, the food better be good, the place clean and comfortable and the service good. This particular day we decided upon Pizza Hut. Why? Well, pizza is an easy pitch to kids and they have this great special where you can get a personal pan pizza, a bowl of soup, and a soft drink for only 99.00 Philippine Pesos. (That is about $2.20) A good deal right?

So in we walk and are immediately seated in a window box. Remember, this is an older “mall” so that makes this Pizza Hut an “older” Pizza Hut. (At least as far as appearances) A server takes our order and leaves. A reasonable amount of time passes and we are served our food. So far so good right? Well, no sooner had we started eating when my daughter says, “Eeewww, Daddy look on the wall!” I look up and on the edge of a picture frame hung on the wall behind my son is a cockroach is staring back at me. My son, who is sitting next to my wife sees it and immediately starts to crowd into my wife pleading, “Keep it off me”. (Hey, he’s just a kid) I swat at the roach in an attempt to put an end to the crisis and its life. The roach senses its impending doom and jumps just milliseconds before sure death landing on the floor before scurrying off to the adjacent table where it stops and looks back taunting me to chase it down. Refusing to be goaded by a roach, we continue our meal. (I know that some of you would have walked out right there) After about 5 minutes, another roach falls from somewhere above, landing square on my wife’s bosom. Yes, in her shirt right between her…you get the picture. You can imagine her swatting at her chest trying to evict this squatter from its newly found home. At this point we called a server over to make our grievance known. She came over and was told what had happened including showing her the freshly killed carcass of the bosom raider on the floor as well as the little tough guy roach still sitting under the adjacent table apparently wanting a piece of me.

What happens next will take longer to explain than what I am willing to invest in it. Let’s just say that the customer service aspect to this outlet was somewhat lacking as much as the hygiene. Apparently, the staff on duty did not realize the gravity of the situation. Ultimately, the half eaten meal was begrudgingly offered for free with an assurance that something would be done about the “problem”.

Boy, was that an understatement. That same day I received calls from Pizza Hut apologizing for the incident. I was told that an exterminator would be called in immediately and was invited back to the store for a walk through tour so that I could verify myself that all possible corrective actions were taken. Oh, when I say “calls from Pizza Hut” I mean from the store manager, the area manager, and the President of Pizza Hut Philippines himself.

I did go on that walk through tour a few days after the incident. The store was impeccable. Still a little out of date on the ambiance side, but clean. I did not see a single roach. One of the managers from Pizza Hut’s corporate office met me there to guide the tour. She was courteous and professional. It did indeed appear as if they took the situation seriously and took all the necessary corrective action. Needless to say, I felt important. I felt like I mattered and that my money was valuable.

After a few weeks the family decided that they wanted to eat out and since we were in the area, I suggested Pizza Hut. Yes, the very one. Upon entering the dining area, we were seated by a very polite smiling waiter named Archie Santos, who by the way remembered my name. I was shocked. Our order was taken, prepared, and delivered correctly and hot. The service was great and the restaurant clean. After we paid the check and were preparing to leave one of the restaurant supervisors named Janice Castillo approached me and offered me a discount certificate for use during my next visit. My wife and kids also noticed the changes and were pleased. My wife even commenting that she felt like a VIP.

As far as the restaurant business goes, these guys experienced a restaurateurs’ worst nightmare. I could have very easily just got up and walked out with my family in tow. By complaining and demanding that corrective measures be taken, Pizza Hut was being given a chance to shine, to have the chance to redeem itself if you will. (They really did in my book) For my part, I was standing up for my right to be treated well and get what I paid for and was expecting; good food, good service, in a clean and comfortable setting.

In the end, Pizza Hut shone like the sun and I got what I expected. Kudos

I was recently able to meet two world class shooters. Martin Kamenicek and Adam Tyc.

This is a video of Martin Kamenicek in action.



This is a video of Adam Tyc in action.



Meeting champions in any sport is definitely an honor for me. I really admire the determination and hard work it takes for individuals like these to attain their goals. Of course it does not hurt to have fantastic equipment to work with. If you have time, check out what the net has to say about CZ products. Especially about the CZ SPO1 Shadow.

Both of these shooters are members of team CZ. They were recently in the Philippines for the second of two annual gun shows held in the country for 2008.

These guys know what they are doing...RIGHT?

Barack Hussein Obama wins the Presidential election. I love it when things that are sure to be milestones in human history occur during my lifetime. It will give me license at some point in my life to tell stories starting with, “I remember when….”

Sure let’s state the obvious, BHO is the first black President of the United States of America. Okay, yes a milestone considering that not to many years ago a black person had to sit at the back of the bus and drink out of water fountains marked, “For coloreds only”. America has come a long way. Or has it? Maybe our prejudices have just changed or been re focused? Maybe racism or prejudice had absolutely nothing to do with this election at all?

What I saw during this campaign and election was a country hungry for a status quo. For quite a few years now America was content being fed a steady diet of the Whys and What for’s. Fresh from a presidency of relative peace and prosperity we were told that the national budget was not only balanced but had actually given birth to a surplus. National turmoil mimicked reality TV created under the desk of our political savior. National debate rose around the definition of what sex really meant at the same time our military shrank to but a shadow of what it was at the end of the cold war. Walls fell and we were fat and well fed, eons apart from soup lines, world wars, nuclear bomb shelters. Hey, these guys knew what they were doing.

We then moved into an era where we were told that if we were given some of our money back and got to keep more of what we would earn in the future, the country itself would ride the wave of prosperity into the foreseeable future. Three airplanes and two wars later, lo and behold the New York Stock Exchange was still above 13,000 and your house was worth 4 times what you paid for it. Hey these guys know what they are doing.

After a double dose of Democrats and a Double dose of Republicans where have all these gains gone? Most of us know the meaning of sex now and can correctly pronounce nuclear. Even more obvious to us, we can see the current value of our homes (Which for many Americans is ZERO) and the balance of our 401k’s (Which for many Americans might as well be ZERO considering retirement may be just around the corner.) We are being told that Social Security won’t exist much longer but the wars will. That our kids have to say happy holidays at school instead of Merry Christmas for fear of angering some organization or another, but then those same groups want Islam and the Jewish beliefs to be taught in public schools so as to foster understanding and tolerance. Wouldn’t you want to know if your child wanted to get an abortion? Ever anguish over the fact that your loved one will be leaving for his/her 5^th tour of duty in some country you were never taught to locate on a map, or that you don’t have a job because the company you worked for decided it was cheaper to do business in another country? Maybe, they don’t know what they are doing. Maybe they never did.

When we don’t have to answer the tough questions we can stay in the boat a little longer. When the ugly things come home, we start to be concerned. When you can see it affecting your ability to protect and provide for those that you love, you might think it is time to do something about it. We can jump off the boat or row it to someplace we want to be.

Bush claimed during the last election that he was given a “mandate” by the people to do what he needed to do to preserve life, liberty, and the American way. His misinterpretation came when he overstepped the real mandate of basically maintaining a certain status quo. President Elect Obama has been re-issued the “mandate” that Bush had been given yet slightly more daunting, to return America to the lifestyle to which it had become accustomed. At best, Mr. Obama will be expected to make the real changes that all politicians promise they will bring yet rarely truly deliver, at the very least he must return America to the level of “status quo” that it had become accustomed to. If he can accomplish either level of this “mandate” he will have put the woken giant back to sleep and will then enjoy many years governing the well fed slumbering masses, thus ensuring 12 possibly 16 years of Democratic rule in the White House.

I contend the real milestone about this election was that it was a true display of people empowering themselves to make a difference. Enough people wanted to do something for themselves that it actually made a difference for a country. Isn’t it wonderful what can happen when enough like minded people get together? What is the real limit of what can be accomplished? Is there a limit at all?

In truth my hero is Obama himself. Not the politician but the man. This man believed in himself and had the vision and fortitude to overcome every obstacle in his life. He accomplished exactly what he had set out to do. He took control of his life so that he could protect and provide for those that he loves. Somebody at some point of his life told him anything was possible, his real strength is that he believed it and lived his life accordingly. I believe enough people saw this and wanted to be part of it. Never mind political experience and longevity. It is this extreme and powerful kind of positivism that I expect of myself and want for all of you.

An Update about Eddie Boy. Light on the horizon?

Hi everyone~ this is Luz again, Eddie's girlfriend. I just wanted to share what has happened since I last wrote about Eddie Boy.

He celebrated his 34th birthday on July 4th with some family and friends. Even though he was still asleep, and in the bed, it was beautiful that we got to share this day with him and we all could feel his happiness at us all being around him singing and laughing with him there.

Well, we started this new alternative procedure called Cold Laser Light Healing. We are really quite excited about it. It is a technology that has been around for around 30 years (but because of the strength of the Pharmaceutical companies, it is kept quiet). I feel very inspired by this new treatment because it is a laser that goes into the blood system via a micro-optic fiber. Its intention is to clean out the cell into becoming 100% pure in capacity and work the way it is supposed to work (since we have toxins in the body). It is a 10 day procedure with 3 day intervals of rest.

The procedure begins with a scan of the whole body. In the beginning of the scan certain points were made regarding this physical body and where we should target for him to get better, such as (of course) the brain, the liver, kidneys, lungs, and heart.

When we began this treatment, (he is now on his second set of treatments) Eddie had a blood test taken, then ten days later we (out of curiosity) took another blood test and the numbers all improved! (Interesting) Eddie's heart was shown to be enlarged and overworked. His pulse rate was at 125+ (and the normal is supposed to be 70-80) After the ten days, his pulse rate has decreased to 100-103! He has begun to respond more frequently to our voices and his eyes are really moving faster when we open up his eye lids. He has also begun to sporadically open up his eye lid on his own and leave it open for a few minutes while his eye is moving. Along with, his jaw begins moving up and down as if he is trying to reply or say something. He has begun to move his left knee up and down and instead of his hands being in a fist they are now relaxed and opened.

He turned very red (as if he had a sunburn) the first couple of days he begain getting the treatment which worried us, but his temperature was normal, so we asked the doctor (which by the way is a naturopath deals in natural remedies and doesn't believe in medicines to maintain healthy body) and he was quite happy to hear about his color being red. He said this is a good thing and he wasn't expecting Eddie to have this until 3-6 weeks into the treatment! Apparently, this is a sign that the circulation in the body is improving! When Eddie was first given the scan, (a normal brain, the number registers at 50) Eddies brain number registered 8. Ten days later, it has now registered at 13! (That’s a huge improvement) And honestly speaking, I know Eddie is working hard at recovering. I am just so glad we have found someone who can help us help Eddie instead of just trying to tell us to make sure his taken cared of and the end...

The doctor has told us that he himself was a hopeless cause. He is an active man who has been in motorcycle accidents and any other imaginable situation. He went parachute jumping one day in 1997, and had a malfunction with the parachute and fell to the ground. He broke his spine in 3 different places and the doctors all told him that he would never move again. He said he never gave up and he could still think, he could still talk and most importantly, he could still BITCH. He said I did not take their words, and only surrounded myself with people who could help me.

He had a friend who worked in NASA and basically became their guinea pig. It took him three years, being injected and operated on by so many things, but He is now parachuting again!!! He is walking and scuba diving and surfing etc... He has told us keep the positivity going because EDDIE NEEDS IT and HE NEEDS US TO BELIEVE!

Thank you so much for the prayers, the interest and the CARE. Thank you DAVID FOR THE HUMANITY AND MOST ESPECIALLY FOR THE LOVE!

Love

Luz

Manny Pacquiao carries the Philippine flag for Olympic ceremony…great idea…right?

Manny Pacquiao is a dynamo, arguably the best boxer in the history of the Philippines. Fame and fortune have been Manny’s rewards for hard work and determination. Clearly an example of how one can realize one’s dreams by taking advantage of every opportunity and pushing past adversity. Congratulations and adulation are definitely in order.

The president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, had an idea. Why not let Manny Pacquiao carry the country's flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games being held in Beijing.

Great idea…right?

After waiting some considerable time for the Philippine Olympic contenders to make their historic walk of nations, an image of a man entering the stadium carrying a familiar flag came into focus. Sure enough, Manny Pacquiao, carrying the Philippine flag and wearing his now famous ear to ear grin walked into the camera’s view. The camera zoomed in for a close-up of Manny while the announcer recounted Manny’s boxing accomplishments also managing to mention that Pacquiao will not actually be competing in the games.

Great idea…right?

Right after giving us this insight into the accomplishments of the Philippines greatest boxer, the time usually allotted to showing the world each countries Olympic contingency was eaten up. All those athletes that have worked so hard to get to Beijing were never seen by their countrymen, friends, and families. We were left with a brief panning shot of blurry blue outfits while the camera looked for the next countries contingency. Needless to say, the Philippines political contingency was also absent a courtesy shot though not all the various countries leaders got one.

All of the Olympic competitions are not aired. Usually only certain matches in each competition will be broadcast to the world. This being the case, the opening ceremonies were the only chance many of these athletes will ever have to be seen and be recognized. I for one would have liked to see the faces of the Filipino Olympians who worked so hard to get to the Olympic Games. Being held only once every four years, many of these champions will never experience Olympic glory again.

Great idea…right?