Marketing with Compassion

First of all, I'd like to thank my son for inspiring me to write this post because of a discussion we had yesterday morning.

I was telling my children to notify me whenever there will be a wellness exhibit or similar program in their office because I might be able to participate, using my Tiens Acumagic or Electronic Acupuncture gadget. Just last week, we participated in the wellness exhibit of my husband's former office and I found the experience very fulfilling because I felt that I helped people. What I wasn't able to clarify was I couldn't do that without the gadget. In fact I was supposed to market the gadget, and not just tell people what steps they should take to prevent illnesses they will most likely have after 6 months if they don't do any preventive measures. Usually, I leave everything to God, and just focus on what I think can help people at the moment. Perhaps later, they will be interested to own that gadget too. But at that moment, the thought that I could sell a product worth more than 10,000 Philippine pesos never entered my mind.

Marketing Tiens products should be my objective in participating in a wellness exhibit but I tend to forget about that. I am a distributor, not a doctor. But I also want to share everything that I learned about TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is the philosophy behind the products of Tiens, so I believe I can speak about it too. The question now is what do I want to share? TCM or the products of Tiens? If I want to talk about TCM then I should not mention any Tiens products. That would be hard on my part because I am not a TCM Doctor, though I have some medical background as a Medical Technology graduate, and have been exposed to the medical clinic industry supporting its Information Technology applications. But TCM is quite different from Western Medicine. The good thing about TCM is it was designed to be easily understood by laymen, except acupuncture which has to be studied in detail, though the electronic acupuncture of Tiens was made for laymen so it included instructional "recipes" that can be easily followed by laymen.

Well, I guess, as long as I know I can help people because I'm sure of what I'm talking about, that's all that matters. As far as Tiens products are concerned, especially the supplements, I have my own laboratory results to show, before and after I took a specific supplement.

Fighting a fever without medicines

This is the first time I fought with fever without medicines, and as I write this, the fight is over. My special needs child, Lyca, has been taking mood stabilizers and medicines to alleviate seizures and for her to take more medicines for fever or colds will again add burden to her kidneys and liver. So I tried to use what I learned from TCM to fight her fever. The easiest way was to use the comb gadget of Tiens by combing it from one acupoint to another, that is, from LI-11 found at the end of the crease of the fold above the elbow to LI-4 found at the junction of the thumb and index finger (see illustrations). The large intestine meridian is a Yang meridian and going against the path of the meridian (from a high numbered acupoint to a lower one, like LI-11 to LI-4) will reduce the excess Yang which causes fever. I also used the needleless acupuncture of Tiens, the Tong Bao, on the same acupoints, reducing their Yang-ness by counterclockwise rotation.

It was amusing to note the differences between taking paracetamol and just stimulating the acupoints. With paracetamol, fever will disappear but temperature will rise again after 4 hours and it can be as high as 39 degrees centigrade. That was the usual effect on Lyca, and she would look really sick. This time, just stimulating her acupoints, the temperature was more constant, fluctuating from 37.5 to 38 degrees centigrade. Lyca remained naughty so it was hard to give her the supplements that could help, like the Zinc Plus (with honey and albumin) which will boost her immune system, and hi-calcium powder for children, both from Tiens also, because she would laugh while drinking them (mixed with warm water). My patience was tested so it was a tough fight that went on for four days. For all I know it could be a fight with a flu, not just fever.

Tomorrow, July 24, is Lyca's eight birthday. I will stay at home with her the whole day, to make sure that her fever won't come back. I know that my two grown up children whose choir will have a concert tomorrow will understand.

Fulfilling Assignments

I can't remember being so excited whenever there was an assignment or homework when I was still a student. Or maybe not as excited as now. Perhaps because the person who gave me the assignment now is somebody I really admire, none other than the TCM Doctor of Tianshi Phils., Dr. Hector Dela Cruz. I owe this doctor a lot because it was from him that I first learned about TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, though he graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree specializing in Internal Medicine, with honors.

I've learned so much about TCM from him and I will surely learn much much more from the assignments he'll give me. My first assignment was just a coincidence because I had to bring someone to him for a much needed consultation. My next posts in this blog will talk about my assignment which will be a case of blood deficiency (TCM approach). I hope this will not be my first and last assignment from him, though I've already assigned myself other homeworks like the treatment of our special needs child which will require professional physical therapists so I won't be alone in that assignment.

This will be the first time I will say that I love getting older because my assignments become more fulfilling as I become older. Not only because I have accumulated more wisdom, but because I am also challenged to be fit myself. I take care of myself to be able to accomplish assignments to help other people become healthy as well.

"Do Not Disturb"

Those who knew our pet green turtle might be asking “how is Wendy?”. Well, she has grown big and 2 to 3 months from now she'll be three years old. If this is the first time you've read about her, it might interest you to know that she survived for five months without food. So for our family, she is truly a symbol of strength.

To compare how she looked when she was about 6 months old I'm again showing the same photo I published in this blog more than 2 years ago (second photo) and her latest photo (third photo). The round stone in the background of the old photo is the same stone in the background of the latest photo. The stone shows how big Wendy has grown.

I'd like to change the water in Wendy's pool twice a week and I found that easier by placing 2 tubs inside the aquarium than just putting water directly in the aquarium. Anyway, we noticed that she wanted to be out of the water while taking a nap between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Only a few are aware of that schedule so the "Do Not Disturb" sign is surely a help. She prefers to sleep fully immersed in water at night, but one time, we noticed that her head was out of the water, her jaw on top of the ream of the tub (see second photo).

The Feng Shui tip that a green turtle is a loner and will show more strength when placed in the north is quite true, so I'm now sharing that tip again.

Time for clearing!

I guess it's about time I clear our bedroom and filing cabinet from files that I really won't need anymore. I've kept a lot of files, thinking I might be employed or have a business somewhat related to my application systems job 5 years ago, and my files will be useful as references. I did return to a similar job last year, but had to leave for two major reasons: first and foremost is it consumes much of my time limiting my attention for my special needs child, and second, my health was affected by the stress of the job. Perhaps the real reason why God gave me another chance to be employed in a similar job was for me to realize that I am no longer fit for the same stressful job, and that I have a child to attend to.

So now, I'm sure of what files should be taken out. I've started yesterday, kept those related to my hobbies like painting and landscape/interior design tools and references. Two years ago, I bought the latest edition of Project Management Book, maybe I should already find a buyer for it if it's still the latest edition.

I also need to prepare our very small bedroom for a bigger queen size bed (we thought our bed was queen size but maybe the standards have changed). We need to do that because we will be installing a mattress that will make us feel secure as far as our health is concerned. It's an amazing photon bio-energy mattress, I'll tell you about it with actual photos when we've already installed it.

Desire to inspire!

Today is May 6 and just a while ago, I was looking for scratch papers that are A4 in size. Among the scratch papers I saw was a letter, dated May 6, 2006, written exactly four years ago. It was a copy of my letter to the University of Asia & The Pacific, and I suddenly thought I'd like to share this letter. Of course I have some mistakes when I wrote the letter, like I wish I could have said "Greetings of love and peace!" at the start, instead of "Good day!" What is more important though, are the emotions and experiences I've expressed and would like to share to people who'll chance to read this.

May 6, 2006


Dear Sirs:

Good day! I am the mother of one of the Bases of the UA&P Chorale and also the outgoing President of Makati Toastmasters Club. My daughter and I had the opportunity to go to Greece with the chorale and watch them compete with the European choirs, at Preveza. I was saddened by the news about the termination of Arwin Tan's contract as the choirmaster of UA&P Chorale and I feel that the best way I can explain why this sadness, is to share my own experiences, before, during, and after my trip to Greece with the chorale.

I was scheduled to be installed as the President of Makati Toastmasters Club in July of last year. I've requested for the postponement of the said event because of the rare opportunity to watch the UA&P Chorale compete in a foreign land. The trip was also an opportunity for me to contemplate about the big responsibility I have to undertake for Makati Toastmasters Club in relation to the club's chosen theme of the year. The theme chosen was "Desire to inspire!", because to desire to inspire can be difficult and a person needs to be inspired to desire to inspire.

For my inaugural speech, I needed to say something about the theme of the year and before we arrived in Greece, I didn't have a single idea how to go about my speech. I couldn't believe that everything that happened in Greece was all about the "desire to inspire"! Thus my inaugural speech turned out to be a full account of what happened in Preveza. Below were some portions of my speech:

"We arrived in Greece on July 5. From the Athens airport, we rode a bus to go to Preveza. It was an eight-hour trip but a worthwhile one because we had the chance to see the countryside of Greece. The scenery was breathtaking, all of us couldn't help singing "the hills are alive, with the sound of music.. ". There were also beautiful scenery of the seas and the shores, but the most beautiful spot that I've seen was that of a group of clouds emitting rays of the sun to the ground. It made me feel that "graces will be showered from heaven". I told Arwin Tan, the choirmaster of the chorale, "Wow! That might be a sign that the UA&P Chorale will win!"

"During our first morning in Preveza, my daughter and I watched the UA&P Chorale rehearse. A parade of all the countries joining the choral competitions was scheduled in the afternoon. Arwin Tan gave his final instructions to the choir, using the vernacular since members of the host choir, the Armonia Choir of Preveza, were also watching the rehearsal. So he said in Tagalog, "bago mag-umpisa ang parada, makipagkaibigan kayo sa ibang bansa. Para pag natalo sila, hindi sumama ang loob nila at pag natalo naman tayo, hindi rin sasama ang loob natin". As instructed, members of the UA&P Chorale started a fellowship with choirs from other countries, mostly European countries, before the parade started. By the time all the choirs were gathered at a plaza after the parade, the UA&P Chorale, more known as the Philippines, was already popular. The instruction of Arwin Tan is my first example of a desire to inspire that yielded a very positive result."

"They practiced again the next day and I remembered there was one goal I haven't started yet, which was to compose my inaugural speech. I told myself, maybe I can start doing that while listening to the rehearsal. So I brought my John Maxwell book where I plan to extract my speech material. It was supposed to be about "victory". As I was reading Maxwell's book and listening to the choir at the same time, I noticed that there was a big improvement in the performance of the choir compared to the past day's rehearsal. In fact, I was touched by one of their sacred songs that tears in my eyes almost fell. I felt that everything that Maxwell has written about victory was very appropriate to the choir. I felt that the members were infected with their choirmaster's desire to inspire. The desire became contagious because I felt a strong desire to share to the members of the choir the words of wisdom of Maxwell. I wrote a very short letter to the choir followed by Maxwell's determinants of victory and the next morning, gave it to Arwin, with a short note on a post-it paper, saying: "Dear Arwin, this might be better than nothing to offer to you and the choir." Knowing that Arwin can easily inspire the choir, I requested him to read the letter to the members."

"That same day, in the afternoon, the UA&P Chorale joined the first contest which was the Mixed Youth Choir category. During their second sacred song, there seem to be a Divine intervention because one second before the Alleluia part, the bells in a nearby church rang and stopped only before the Alleluia finale. It was very beautiful. All their songs were beautiful, I was sure they will win in that category. After UA&P Chorale's turn, one of the choir members thanked me, saying he was inspired by my letter. The others also thanked me for my inspiring letter. It was really the magic of John Maxwell and Arwin Tan. All I did was to write on paper because I was inspired by Arwin and the choir members."

"The choir joined two more contests the following days, for the Chamber Choir and the Mixed Choir categories. The night of the last day of the contest was the awarding ceremonies held at the Odeon of Nikopolis. In this city of victory, the UA&P Chorale members received their victory. They were awarded all gold medals and the first prizes for the 3 categories that they joined."

"On our way to the airport after touring Athens for three days, I again saw the welcome sign of Greece that says "Greece welcomes a new myth: Yours". The first time I saw that sign, I wondered what can be "my myth". When I left Greece, I knew the answer: it was the desire to inspire and it is no longer a myth."

I will never forget that experience in Greece. Whenever I think about it, the whole experience looked like a play with a very beautiful script authored by God, no wonder it flowed smoothly. In that experience, I saw several miracles - the rays of the sun emitted by the clouds, the church bells ringing while the choir was singing "Alleluia", and 3 coincidences that struck me because they felt like one in the end: The article of Maxwell about "victory" that I brought, not for the choir but for my speech, the choir's victory, and the awarding at the Victory City or Nikopolis. The whole experience inspired me to have more faith and trust in God, and the people that surrounded me during that experience serve as reminders.

To desire to inspire in indeed difficult but I realized that it can be easy if people will only inspire one another. One good deed from one person can start it all. Or maybe a letter, a poem, a song, the list goes on.

I admire Arwin Tan not only for his professionalism but also as a person. I saw how very professional he was while dealing with the European conductors. All those conductors were very happy when the UA&P Chorale won. Arwin is one person who can easily think of a good deed that can start it all. The landlady of the hotel where we stayed was always irritable. A bunch of flowers from Arwin made her meek as a sheep. The owner of the restaurant commissioned by the hotel to serve regular dinner to the chorale could understand German more than English so Arwin became his "order taker" and interpreter. Both the landlady and the restaurant owner cried when the chorale said goodbye and they both kissed Arwin.

I don't know how to end this. I guess I'll just leave everything to God again. I remember just the other day I was in a dilemma on how to divide my time for the rest of the year and decided to leave everything to God. Not more than a day has passed without lifting a finger, but my dilemma was over when a friend sent me a message through the cellphone that can solve my problem, without him knowing the existence of such problem.

I just wish the UA&P Chorale members, the UA&P management and everybody supporting the chorale peace and happiness.

"Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His Hand".

Very truly yours,

Maria Luisa Taa-Venida

A New Mission

From the first of May until this morning, I was saying this is going to be an inactive month because my special child's caregiver is having a vacation and I have to take her place.

Until just a few minutes ago, I thought of a better idea. This month could even be a better month than the previous months because I will be forced to stay at home and focus on learning more about cerebral palsy. I bought a thick book about this subject months ago but didn't have the time for continuous reading. Of course I could apply to Lyca, my special child, whatever I'll learn from reading the book and even share my learnings and experiences with Lyca later, even to a large group.

This month therefore is just a beginning of a new mission.

"Lee-Woo", our home's Pi Yao

We are not Chinese, but the turn out of unexpected events helped us to own a big "Pi Yao" figurine or "pet". I can only thank the unexpected donor who made it possible for us to own this powerful Feng Shui creature of good fortune, commonly known as a "money catcher".

Hanz, the owner of the Feng Shui store where we bought the Pi Yao said that we can give it a name, so I've researched for a word in Mandarin that is simple and found "Lee-Woo", which means gift or present. I haven't included a photo here since Hanz also said that the Pi Yao should be respected after it is activated, and I'm not sure if publishing its picture can show disrespect.

I just read that the Pi Yao doesn't have an anus, meaning fortune can only go in and never come out. I've also read that many believe that placing lottery tickets under the Pi Yao will bring good luck!

"Besides that, the Chinese adore the Pi Yao because of its very protective, obedient and loyal nature. It is believed that the Pi Yao will always try its best to fulfill its owner's wish and protect its owner from injuries. Because of these capabilities, smaller version of Pi Yao are often worn as an amulet or carried in one’s bag wherever one goes. Many stories have been told where victims of car accidents or robbery assaults surprisingly escaped the ordeal unharmed and found out later that their Pi Yao amulets they were wearing or keeping had mysteriously broken into two or damaged. It is said that their Pi Yao had sacrificed themselves to protect their owner. Treat your Pi Yao like it's a real pet. Talk to them, pat them, rub them... a happy Pi Yao will go the extra mile to grant your wishes!". (Jenny Lin, author of "Feng Shui Products For A Better Life")

The Undesirable Person

A person can be undesirable to one but desirable to the rest. So it really depends who he or she is dealing with. Here are some suggestions about the undesirable person:

If you feel that you are the undesirable person, think of yourself as someone who has a mission. That will make you feel better.

If you meet an undesirable person, think about God. Why? Because God could be using that person as an instrument to test your patience, and most of all your humility.

Remember that there is an opportunity to accomplish a mission as an undesirable person, and the opportunity to prove your patience and be humble in an encounter with the undesirable person.

Which of the two are you now?

The best thing that can happen

I seem so contented with my last post "What is Tiens" that it took me so long to add another post, LOL!

The truth is a lot of things happened the past weeks. I have resigned from my last job to work full time for my network in Tiens. I realized though that this will not be an easy job so I need to also prepare to be able to support my network, like the most accessible place where they can get the Tiens products. So I've partnered with a stockist to also carry Tiens products aside from her usual product lines. She agreed because she wanted to eventually convert her center into a Wellness Center, which is now one of the main programs of Tiens.

My partner and I now need to be trained to run a Wellness Center though my real objective in those trainings is to be an expert in TCM which is the main philosophy behind a Tiens Wellness Center, and be able to support my network, because the best thing that can happen is for all of us to have our own wellness centers, even if it is just for our own families.