Ji Won,  was a famous celebrity. People saw his  success and expected him to be happy. But that was  not his life experience. 

This book provides guidance, hope, and support in a fun story format. It is your simple ‘Handbook for Happiness’. It shows how you can lead a life filled with joy, happiness, and tangible magic.

With its engaging story and practical advice, this book is the perfect resource for anyone looking to find purpose and meaning in their life. So why wait? Embrace the power of positivity and start your journey to a happier life!

Ji Won was feeling caged inside his cottage and thought to take a walk by the beach. He was wearing his favorite grey sweatpants and black cotton t-shirt. Usually people in the industry, his fans and media thought of him as a very quiet and reserved person. But that was far from the truth. He liked spontaneity and action. 

On the other hand, his close friends usually thought of him as too impulsive. They were not correct about him either. Ji Won did take the time to logically evaluate his next steps. But he believed that if one wants to shine in unique ways, then one also needs to take those steps that others are not willing to take. He believed in taking calculated risks. 

That is why he did most of his own stunts in his movies. At the start of his career, friends and family had tried to strongly dissuade him from it. But Ji Won had continued doing his own stunts. He knew it allowed him to better enact his role, to get deeper into his character’s psyche and because he was doing his own scene, the camera could capture close nuances of his action. All this finally went on to create spectacular magic on screen! That is who Ji Won thought of himself. He was a magician, who created magic on screen for his fans. 

According to him, it is necessary to think, but at the same time, it is also very important to act. He hated it when people constantly sat on the fence instead of making an action plan. Nothing angered him more than unsure and indecisive behavior. 

Sometimes his friends thought of him as a gambler- someone willing to take a tough bet. Ji Won simply looked at it as taking well-evaluated risks. He felt that it is necessary to take big, well-assessed risks, if one wants to achieve big in life.  
This logical thinking worked well for him till his emotions got involved. He had many deep, unresolved feelings, that he had never taken the time to evaluate. His mother had bad lungs. When other kids had their mother accompany them to the playground, Ji Won had to go alone or with his elder brother. 

He was raised by his grandmother. He had not received much attention from his mother and very early into his childhood he had developed a strong fear of rejection. He wanted to look good, come across as capable and confident, because he was always worried that if he did not show a brave front, then people will see his true self and dislike him for it. 

Ji Won secretly hoped that someday he will learn to create his own magic. Everyone who saw his life from the outside, thought he had a magical existence. They were correct to some extent. For a poor boy with no real prospects, Ji Won had become one of Asia’s biggest celebrity. Life surely had blessed him with a Midas-touch. 

What people did not know was that deep inside, Ji Won was sad. He always felt mentally drained and totally devoid of any peace of mind. He had not been able to figure out the real reason. There were days when he would feel depressed, but to save face, he would still go out and play golf with his friends. He would give interviews claiming the benefits of having a disciplined schedule and make cute fan videos to show he was ‘happy’. 

There is an old saying- ‘if one puts on a mask long enough, it eventually becomes their face’. Ji Won thought he will prove it correct, by putting on a brave front. But Ji Won should have realized that the saying talks about how others will perceive you as per your mask, it does not speak about internal transformation. 

When it came to his image, Ji Won did prove that saying correct. With his calm, brave front, he had gathered lot of admiration from his fans and public in general. Everyone thought of him as a very pious and spiritual man. But Ji Won merely felt empty. People thought he was a courageous man who can weather all kinds of storms. 

There were those who looked up to him for it and then there were those who were envious of him. The former group would frequently reach out to him for help and advice. The latter group would try to take him down with vicious attacks! 

At times, Ji Won felt guilty. He thought of himself as a hypocrite who showed a spiritual face to the world, when inside he was constantly in pain and angst. He always sought validation and acceptance. As a celebrity he received more than his fair share of public love and attention. Even his parents were happy to see his success and Ji Won had finally received his father’s approval. 

What made Ji Won sad was that he constantly felt distressed and ‘unsupported’. He could not explain the feeling. There were many times when he wondered if he was losing his mental balance which made him think these strange thoughts. But he knew that those were not thoughts that his thinking mind had come up with. These were deep seated emotions he constantly felt, and he felt helpless to address them!

Sometimes people confuse between Joy and Happiness… Joy is an inner feeling. Happiness can be expressed in the external world. Joy is a way to internally connect with purpose and meaning. Once we deeply connect with our inner core, then we feel joyful, though our external situation or circumstances could be full of strife and challenges! On the other hand, Happiness usually involves pursuit of ‘something’! This is the real reason why most people define Happiness by saying things like ‘I will be happy when I accomplish this or become that’ and so on…

Joy requires some initial work towards living a ‘Conscious and Connected Life’! It requires us to be mindful, live consciously and connect with our inner being- but once we connect with our higher self, it allows us to endure hardships and trials.

Happiness on the other hand is a choice people make by the other choices they make in their life. Every choice we make is inadvertently linked to our beliefs, ideals, and values! People make a choice to be happy by making purposeful and meaningful choices in their life! Because of this, what can make one person happy is not the same for another people. But where joy is concerned- that is not the case… when we are in-sync with our authentic self, we feel Joyful…

Happiness is often viewed as the opposite to sadness. Though this can be misleading since it is very much possible to feel both ‘happy and sad’ at the same time and many a times, about the same thing! For e.g. you get an exciting new job offer in another state and are happy about leaving the next and exploring the greater outside world… BUT at the same time, you know that you will miss the safety, support and cocoon of being at home with parents. So, in this case, you will be feeling happy and sad about the same topic of taking up a new job away from home.

Joy on the other hand does not have any opposite per se! It springs forth in our mind and heart as pleasant feelings and sensations because of our connection with our true self, making us do activities that are in-sync and in accordance with our genuine authentic self!
​​
Every person has the ability to establish such a deep connection and feel profound joy in their life!

​Once Ji Won and Juma were discussing about how we as individuals give a lot of importance to people’s opinions. Even as a child, Ji Won was always concerned about what everyone thought of him. It was always important for him to atleast maintain face, in any situation. Since he was appreciated for his good looks from a very young age, he had grown up to depend on his appearance to pull himself out from any challenging situation. 

He asked Juma, “why are people so enamored by appearance?”

Juma replied, “our five senses provide us the ability to experience our world. But the sensory input from all these five channels is not equal. Eyes, our vision provides maximum input and because of it, we find that anything that appeals our eyes, attracts, and draws us to it. Though unfortunately, it is always short-lived.”

“What do you mean?” Ji Won asked.

Juma replied, “you see, the sensory input from all these five channels go to the ‘control & process mechanism’ which is our mind. Initially, the mind feels drawn to what the eyes see as appealing. But mind is very fickle, unless there is something deeper to keep it anchored, it tends to lose interest very fast. That is why we find that even though people date a person they find ‘attractive’, the marriages that last are not the ones that were based on looks but on some other deeper quality about that person, it could be their intelligence, their caring heart and so on…”

Ji Won thought about how he had always dated Korea’s most beautiful women, but after couple of evenings of fun, he had found them silly and boring. He said, “what you are saying makes total sense. I have seen it in my own life. Then why do we give so much importance to looks? Why don’t we pay more attention to other qualities in a person.”
​
“Because the allure of appearance is very strong. One either needs to have a strong intellect that can see beyond the appearance and know what is truly important or one needs to have gone thru pain and suffering after falling prey to good looks, to obtain the wisdom to see beyond someone’s appearance.” Juma said with a smile.

​Categories: 
Ascension,   Book Excerpts,    Relationships, and   Self Development

Keywords and Tags:
#ascension #MaitreyiParadigm #SeoulConnection #kdrama #seoul #Korea #hallyu #motivation #magicallife #hope #emotionalsupport #magic #inspiredliving #PracticalLessons #consciousness   #consciousliving   #walkingthepath   #bookexcerpt

​This is an excerpt from my latest book:  it is a SEOUL CONNECTION , A Handbook for Happiness

The book,   it is a SEOUL CONNECTION , A Handbook for Happiness  brings you help with your spiritual journey by providing wisdom, guidance, hope and support in a fun story format. It shows how we can address our shadow side to lead a joyful, happy, and magical existence! It will help you to walk your life-path   with clarity and courage-   your own spiritual path to ascension…
​
​​Check it out:   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVGF3WRK

Ji Won casually asked Juma, “are you able to look into the future?”

Juma said, “well, we all have certain intuitive abilities. The more one is in-sync with the natural energy, that much more we can determine events, particularly if they are supposed to occur in the near future. Why do you ask?”

Ji Won answered, “we have these oracle cards and sticks in Korea. I have always questioned how good they really are at predicting future events. So, I wondered if you knew anything about it.”
​
Juma smiled and got up. She motioned Ji Won to follow. She went into her study and opened one of the side cabinets. Ji Won looked inside and thought, ‘there must be atleast forty or maybe fifty boxes of various Oracle divination decks.’ She looked at Ji Won with a twinkle in her eyes and said, “pick one of them, whichever appeals to you and I will show you something cool…” Saying this she went back to the living room, leaving Ji Won alone with the oracle divination decks.

Ji Won looked thru them. They had all kinds of titles and artwork. Some were claiming to be from ancient civilizations, some had fantasy art and some others had picturesque nature images. Finally, he selected one that had a picture of horse on its box cover and brought it with him to the living room. Ji Won liked horses. He was fascinated by them.

Juma was waiting for him at the table and Ji Won joined her. He offered her the box. Juma shook her head saying, “no no... I don’t need it. You are going to do something fun.” Ji Won looked skeptically at her and settled down at the table and started inspecting that oracle deck.

Finally, when Ji Won looked up, Juma said, “now, is there something in the near future that you would like to know about?” Ji Won quickly answered, “ofcourse! How my new drama series will do! As you know Park Areum committed suicide. Considering it is a light Romantic Comedy, we are all worried as to how people will receive our series… In fact, I try not to think about it. Every time I do, I can feel my blood pressure rising!” Ji Won’s countenance changed. His worries and concern were obvious from his facial expression and rapid speech.

Juma said, “okay. So, ask the deck-oracle to show you the most potential public-response outcome for your upcoming drama series. After this, start shuffling the cards. When you feel an inner voice saying ‘stop’, then stop shuffling, cut the deck, keep the top part of the deck on the side and then pick the first card from the stack still in your hand. Got it?”

“Yes.” Ji Won said and started shuffling the cards. He then cut the deck and picked up the top card from the cards remaining in his hand. It said, ‘Small influences. Can gain momentum.’ It did not look too good. Ji Won felt even more upset. He looked up and saw Juma smiling. He gave her a perplexed look.

She said, “what you were experiencing, the card you received and how you are now feeling are all very typical… but before I say anything about it. Let us do one more thing.” Saying this, she motioned for Ji Won to keep the deck aside. Then she asked him, “obviously you want your series to be very successful. But what does success look like with these series?”

Ji Won answered, “the weekly ratings report… all the media speaking about it being such a great entertainment… many interview requests… brands approaching for product promotion… I mean, there are just so many things that follow…” Before Ji Won could complete, Juma said, “good. Now, close your eyes and breathe deep.” Ji Won did as she suggested. “Now, visualize your series being a super duper hit. How everyone is appreciating the series, how they are appreciating your work, how you are being approached by brands and so on…”

​Juma waited while Ji Won took a few minutes to visualize the success of his upcoming series. His entire countenance visibly relaxed. Juma said, ‘whenever you feel calm and centered about this visualization, then open up your eyes.” After a couple of minutes or so, Ji Won opened his eyes. He looked relaxed and he was smiling. He asked Juma, “now what?”

Juma pointed to the oracle deck and said, "please put all the cards together, shuffle them, ask the same question about how your drama series will do, then cut the deck and pick up the top card from the cards remaining in your hand. Everything just like last time. Okay?”

Ji Won shuffled the cards, cut the deck, and picked up the top card from the stash in his hand. It said, ‘Supreme success is assured to the one who does the needful work.” He was shocked. He looked at Juma and said how is that possible?

Juma smiled and said, “this is the power of the human energy field. We have the capability to change our life experiences by what we project into the world. It is called as the ‘Law of Attraction’, but unfortunately, many a times people think of this Universal law to simply mean- wish or think about an outcome. It is not just about wishing or thinking, it is about truly modifying our energy field to indicate what it is that we desire and then let the Universal law do its work… to attract your desired objective to you.”

Ji Won thought about it for a few minutes and said, “if that is the case, then are all these Oracle decks useless? Why do you have so many of them?”

Juma replied, “Oracle decks are not useless at all. In fact, they can come in quite handy when we utilize them in a sensible manner. You probably did not realize how your ‘worry energy field’ was attracting that not-so-pleasant outcome, did you?

“So, if you were back home and were wondering about how something will pan out, then giving a quick shuffle and looking into a potential outcome would have been a nice idea. But it is important to remember that it is a potential outcome. It is always a potential outcome. Because no one can predict the future. Future will show itself at its perfect time, as the now of that moment- it is not for us to worry or wonder about.
​
“Our job is to do the best that we can in any given situation, at any given time. With that in mind, when we find that a potential outcome is not as per our liking, then we can modify our approach, action and so on to ensure a favorable outcome. See what I mean? Till we utilize the information we receive from these oracle decks and other divination ‘predictions’ to better our effort, then they can be great life-tools. In fact, they originally were always intended to be just that. Unfortunately, over the years, human greed and dogmatic behavior have turned them into questionable practices!

This is an excerpt from my latest book:   it is a SEOUL CONNECTION , A Handbook for Happiness

The book,  it is a SEOUL CONNECTION , A Handbook for Happiness   brings you help with your spiritual journey by providing wisdom, guidance, hope and support in a fun story format. It shows how we can address our shadow side to lead a joyful, happy, and magical existence! It will help you to walk your life-path   with clarity and courage-   your own spiritual path to ascension…
​
​Check it out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVGF3WRK​

One of the evenings, as they sat enjoying fresh bread and wine on the porch, Ji Won asked Juma about love. He asked her, “what do you think is the meaning of love?”

Juma replied, “it is the most touted and misunderstood word in the dictionary!”

Ji Won smiled and agreed. He was in the entertainment business, where ‘love’ was frequently used and abused. They even had a heart sign in Korea, which all the celebrities freely used to show appreciation to their fans. He had indulged in that behavior too, not because he wanted to, but because it was part of a marketing strategy that was given to him. Though in recent times, he had pushed back on it. Ji Won took a sip of his wine and asked, “why do you think that is?”

Juma said, “because people do not know themselves.”

That seemed a strange answer to Ji Won. He thought she would say something about how people do not understand the true meaning of love or people do not understand the different types of love that we feel, but instead of speaking about love or another person, she was indicating that people misused the word- love, because they did not understand themselves!

​“Please explain,” he said.

Juma said, “all our experiences happen within us. The nature of our reality makes it seem like they happen outside, but in fact they happen within ourselves. Think about it for a second, you are drinking that wine. Even though that action is external to you, but the experience of enjoying the taste of the wine, its aroma and so on, where are you experiencing it?”

“I feel it inside of me.” Ji Won replied.

“Exactly! Now let us take this line of thought a bit further. Now, take the time to truly evaluate and sense what exactly you are feeling within as you drink this wine and then express what you feel. Given your analytical bent and amazing English vocabulary, I am sure you will do a great job.” Juma said with a smile.

Ji Won took a sip from his wine glass. He closed his eyes and really sensed the wine in his mouth. He noticed how it felt as he swallowed it. He sat still with his eyes closed and a calm peaceful expression on his face.

Finally, after a few moments he opened his eyes and said, “I had read that there are many fine nerves in our mouth that can provide phenomenal sensations, the closest I had ever felt that was during a passionate kiss, but what I just experienced was even more amazing. It was like the experience of wine just exploded into a million amazing sensations. I know I speak English very well, but I don’t think I can describe what I just felt. In fact, I don’t think I can explain this feeling even in Korean.” Ji Won replied, still stunned by the sensations he had just experienced.

Juma said, “people rush thru life. If we are to take the time and experience life with complete attention and depth, then we will see that each simple act becomes astounding and phenomenal. What you experience is an amazing sensation, beyond words and description. You cannot define it. You cannot express it. And at the same time, you cannot deny its existence or its profound impact on your psyche, your very being-ness. What you are feeling is ‘love’. It cannot be described, but if we need to describe it, then that would be the closest way to put it.”

Ji Won always thought of love as with respect to someone or something. He could not believe that taking a sip of wine had anything to do with love. But at the same time, he could not explain the sensation he had felt- not just in his mouth but in his entire body. It still tingled and blood rushed through his veins even at the thought of what he had just experienced. He was confused. He asked Juma, “So you mean to say that love is not something we feel for someone or something but that it is a sensation that we feel within ourselves? Is that right?”

“Yes.” Juma replied.

“Does it have anything to do with wine, what I mean is, does it have anything to do with wine being an alcoholic drink- or can we feel it with anything?” Ji Won asked.

“Love is what you experience as a state of being, of awareness. When you are in that state, then you could be eating a piece of bread, just walking down the beach, or idly looking at the sky, you will still feel that amazing ‘indescribable’ sensation. It is who you are, your state of existence.” Juma explained.

“Sorry. I still don’t get it. I always thought that love involved someone or something else. The object of my attention, a person or a thing that I sought, I craved. Isn’t that correct?” Ji Won asked.
​
“Unfortunately, that is how most people think of it, because when they are seeking someone or craving something, it is the only time they give maximum attention and because of it are able to experience a little portion of what can be experienced as love” Juma said.

Categories: 
Ascension,   Book Excerpts,   and   Self Development

Keywords and Tags:
#ascension #MaitreyiParadigm #SeoulConnection #kdrama #seoul #Korea #hallyu #motivation #magicallife #hope #emotionalsupport #magic #inspiredliving #PracticalLessons #consciousness   #consciousliving   #walkingthepath   #JumaVera   #bookexcerpt