Love at First Sight

 

Love at First Sight
Wislawa Szymborska

Both are convinced
that a sudden surge of emotion bound them together.
Beautiful is such a certainty,
but uncertainty is more beautiful.

Because they didn't know each other earlier, they suppose that
nothing was happening between them.
What of the streets, stairways and corridors
where they could have passed each other long ago?

I'd like to ask them
whether they remember-- perhaps in a revolving door
ever being face to face?
an "excuse me" in a crowd
or a voice "wrong number" in the receiver.
But I know their answer:
no, they don't remember.

They'd be greatly astonished
to learn that for a long time
chance had been playing with them.

Not yet wholly ready
to transform into fate for them
it approached them, then backed off,
stood in their way
and, suppressing a giggle,
jumped to the side.

There were signs, signals:
but what of it if they were illegible.
Perhaps three years ago,
or last Tuesday
did a certain leaflet fly
from shoulder to shoulder?
There was something lost and picked up.
Who knows but what it was a ball
in the bushes of childhood.

There were doorknobs and bells
on which earlier
touch piled on touch.
Bags beside each other in the luggage room.
Perhaps they had the same dream on a certain night,
suddenly erased after waking.
 

Every beginning
is but a continuation,
and the book of events
is never more than half open.

-translated by Walter Whipple

 I love this poem by the Polish poet, essayist,translator and 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature, Wisława Szymborska, immortalized by the Hong Kong filmmaking team of Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai in the movie Turn Left, Turn Right. Mere words are inadequate to describe how I love the Hongkong Singaporean movie even more than the poem, though I kept putting off watching it. This 2003 romantic drama  filmed in picturesque Taipei is based on the book A Chance of Sunshine by Jimmy Liao.  The film, about a lonely man and woman seemingly  perfect for each other, but who always seem to just miss meeting each other , embodied the essence of this poem. Asian screen god Takeshi Kaneshiro, the Japanese Taiwanese star, plays John Liu, a fumbling yet aspiring concert violinist. He spends his days playing the violin for the birds in the park , attending auditions for orchestras , and escaping the clutches of predatory women who only want his body.The adorable singer actress Gigi Leung is Eve Choi, a book translator who prefers poetry to the scary horror novels, her editor assigns to her. She recites Love at First Sight to her cat. The couple live out their identical, lonely, parallel lives, oblivious that they occupy apartments next to each other in the same building. When destiny finally allows them to cross each other's path, past and present collide in a collage of love. But even then, fate can be a cruel mistress and the couple is separated and they struggle to reunite. The movie like life is slow and melodramatic with comedic gaps provided by the suitor who pursue John and Eva.  Edward Elgar's violin solos waft in the air thoughout the movie and Gigi sings a couple of sweet love songs.  Gigi and Takeshi's on screen chemistry is undeniable. They likewise lit up the screen in another favorite film, Tempting Heart where they play a couple in a love triangle. I can't imagine any other actor in their roles for Turn Left, Turn Right, unless of course its a Hollywood remake with  the irresistible Sandra Bullock-Keanu Reeves tandem.  The title, Xiang Zuo Zuo, Xiang You Zou translates to Turn Left Turn Right. If you still believe in love at first sight, even if its only in the movies, take a leap of faith and watch this movie.Click here to order the DVD:  http://www.yesasia.com/global/1002885865-0-0-0-en/info.html

 

Sir Edward Elgar-Serenade for Strings in E minor,Opus 20,Allegretto 

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant has 40,000 defects! NO to BNPP

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: February 27, 2009

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has thrown its
weight behind the opposition to rehabilitating the mothballed Bataan Nuclear
Power Plant (BNPP).

In a pastoral statement, the CBCP urged Congress to “completely and
irrevocably reject the opening of the nuclear plant as the most dangerous
and expensive way to generate electricity.”

The statement was issued by the CBCP president, Jaro Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo.

“Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits.
We recommend with other anti-BNPP congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that
the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will
be most hazardous to health and life of the people,” read the CBCP
statement.

The power plant was built by the Marcos regime in response to the Middle
East oil embargo in the 1970s.

The $2.3-billion project, designed to generate 621 megawatts of electricity,
was scrapped by the Aquino administration in 1986.

The Diocese of Balanga headed by Bishop Socrates Villegas earlier in the
week staged a prayer rally against plans by some congressmen led by
Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco to rehabilitate the nuclear plant to stave
off an energy crisis.

The CBCP also strongly opposed the use of a coal-fired power plant as source
of energy in Iloilo province and other parts of the country.

“We recommend the implementation of the approved bill on the use of
renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water as safe sources of
electricity,” the CBCP said.

*No rush*

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is in no rush to reactivate the nuclear
power plant.

Malacañang Thursday said it would first await the study and series of
consultations being done by the Department of Energy (DOE) before coming up
with a firm position on whether to reopen the country’s only nuclear
facility.

“The President will never compromise safety over speed,” Anthony Golez,
deputy presidential spokesperson, told reporters in a briefing.

But Golez said that should the DOE study and consultations recommend
reactivating the power plant, “then we would find no reason why we would
have to delay.”

Asked if reopening the BNPP was a priority of Ms Arroyo, he said: “We know
that her priority is that we should be energy-sufficient in the next few
years.”

Golez said the government had “a lot of programs” to achieve this goal and
that the BNPP was just one of them.

Last year, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the government was seriously
considering reopening the BNPP, noting that it had spent $2.3 billion to
build the facility, which had generated not a kilowatt of electricity.

*Rehabilitation cost*

Reyes said a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had
checked the facility and had pegged rehabilitation cost at $800 million for
at least five years.

If it becomes operational, the BNPP will be one of the most dangerous
nuclear power plants in the world, Greenpeace said Thursday.

The group said the BNPP, which has a light water reactor made by
Westinghouse, did not conform to the current safety standards of the IAEA.

*Outdated*

Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Campaigns Manager for the
Philippines, said the design of the BNPP was not only outdated but also
faulty.

The BNPP’s compliance to IAEA nuclear plant construction and site selection
protocols were already in doubt even before the BNPP was finished, Baconguis
said.

Tessa de Ryck, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Nuclear campaigner, also said the
BNPP was never evaluated according to standards of the IAEA which were
raised after the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.

The standard for nuclear reactors is “Generation 3,” which has double
containment for its reactor and passive safety systems, according to De
Ryck. The BNPP has a “Generation 2” reactor.

“We cannot be sure whether the BNPP can be upgraded to meet current reactor
standards,” De Ryck said.

She said Westinghouse reactors were “breaking down with alarming
regularity”
because of design defects, including cracks in the main steam turbines,
deterioration of the steam generator tube, and the reactor pressure valve
turning brittle.

De Ryck also cited problems of other nuclear plants designed by Westinghouse
and similar to the BNPP in Brazil and South Korea, which were plagued by
outages and leakages of radioactive water.

*Study by experts*

A study commissioned by the Senate ad hoc committee on the BNPP and the
Presidential Commission on the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant found the
nuclear plant defective.

Environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, a technical consultant to the study, said
that the study showed that the BNPP could not be operated safely because of
the defective quality assurance program.

Perlas, who was not allowed to discuss the study’s contents at the hearing
in the House appropriations committee on Wednesday, said in a statement that
the study was completed during the term of President Corazon Aquino. It cost
$9.5 million and was conducted by 50 nuclear experts.

*40,000 defects*

Perlas said the team found 40,000 defects and that it would cost $1.2
billion to $1.54 billion in 1990 rates to repair the plant. The repairs
would take six and a half years.

Should the repairs be conducted, there was no guarantee that the BNPP would
be safely operated because the quality assurance program was so problematic
that the plant’s safety may never be established, Perlas said.

He also said James Keppler, a former official of the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, said the review team found “pervasive and significant” defects
in the plant’s design, construction, quality assurance and start-up testing.

“The identified deficiencies are so pervasive and severe that the plant
cannot be expected to operate safely and without undue risk to public health
and safety,” he quoted Keppler as saying.

Where’s the study?

Walden Bello, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, said he was
appalled that those pushing for the reopening of the BNPP seemed to be
unaware of studies that thumbed down the facility’s operation.

Cojuangco said he had made several attempts to get hold of the study that
Perlas was referring to, but added no one had so far been able to produce
one.

He asked Perlas to give the title of the study and inform the committee
where it could be obtained. *Reports from Dona Pazzibugan, Alcuin Papa
Christian V. Esguerra and Leila B. Salaverria*

The Longest Night in Shanghai- Firefly -DAKOTA STAR feat nangi -(Movie Ver)

Firefly is a lovely song by the jpop jrock band Dakota Star featuring Nangi from my movie of the moment The Longest Night in Shanghai a.k.a Yoru no Shanghai a 2007 joint chinese and japanese production.Breathe by Frally Hines is the other song on the soundtrack that was memorable. Masahiro Motoki plays a Japanese celebrity stylist on an assignment in Shanghai. He gets lost and cross paths with Vicky Zhao as the tomboyish taxi cab driver Lin Xi and what follows is actually lost in translation. LMAO and cried at this urban romantic comedy of finding love in the most unusual places.the language of love is truly universal, no translation needed. Masahiro is also the actor of the moment in Japan starring in the hit 2008 movie Okuribito or Departures.Its freaky but he seems not to have aged at all since his 1991 movie Sumo Do Sumo Don't where he essayed the role of a student who joined the sumo club to get university credits.That movie was hilarious too. You can watch the movie at aznv.tv. Support the artiste and buy the original DVD here - http://www.yesasia.com/us/the-longest-night-in-shanghai-dvd-english-subtitled-hong-kong-version/1012994545-0-0-0-en/info.html

An Invitation to a talk on Kagyu Karma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism on Feb.28,2009

Zendy,Sharon, Clover and I were in Hongkong Feb.5-10,2009 for the first visit of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje to Hongkong. The Karmapa is the spiritual head of the 900 year old lineage of Kagyu Karma Tibetan Buddhism. More about that later. First an invitation to a talk by Lama Tashi and Khendrup Rinpoche on the essence of Tibetan Buddhism on Feb. 28 Saturday. Check it out below. 

Lama Tashi, fresh from his interpreter duties during His Holiness the 17^th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje's first visit to Hongkong from February 3 to 16,2009 will be in Manila for a private visit. He will give a talk on Tibetan Buddhism with focus on the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and meditation. Lama Tashi will give beginners in Dharma a modern perspective of Tibetan Buddhism and the 900 year old lineage tradition of the Karma Kagyu with practical tips on the spiritual practice in the 21^st century. A question and answer session will immediately follow the talk. Lama Tashi will then discusss the meditation practices of Vajyarana with emphasis on the Kagyu Karma meditation practice.He will share important highlights of His Holiness the 17^th Karmapa's first visit to Hongkong.

A documentary on the life of His Holiness the 17^th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje , the spiritual head of the Kagyu Karma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism will be shown before the talk of Lama Tashi.

Lama Tashi is a disciple of His Holiness the 14^th Shamarpa for almost 25 years. The Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche and the Karmapa are alternately teacher and disciple to each other in the Karma Kagyu tradition. The Shamar Rinpoche is the second in command in the Karma Kagyu lineage.

Date and Time: Saturday, February 28,2009

1:00 P.M.- 6:30 P.M.

Venue: The Penthouse of The Charter House 114 Legaspi St. Legaspi Village, Makati. Across Greenbelt 1

Pls. Call Tel. 817-6001 for directions.

Please call, text or email the following to confirm attendance:

Sharon Tan- sharontan810@yahoo.com

Cecille Ferrer -09178997603/6345058/whew729@yahoo.com

Clover Ronduen – cosmicchic789@yahoo.com

Khedrup Rinpoche,the 33 year old Rinpoche who is on his 5^th incarnation and a cousin of His Holiness the 17^th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, will be giving a short talk with a question and answer session, blessings, healing and refuge from 9:30 A.M. To 12 Noon on Saturday,

February 28,2008 at the Penthouse of The Charter House , 114 Legaspi St. Legaspi Village, Makati, across Greenblet 1. Pls. Call Tel. 817-6001 for directions.

Please call, text or email the following to confirm attendance:

Sharon Tan-sharontan810@yahoo.com

Cecille Ferrer -09178997603/6345058/whew729@yahoo.com

Clover Ronduen – cosmicchic789@yahoo.com

Negrense arnis

I yahoo searched my name to check my listing as international representative of A.R.E. in the Philippines  and found out among other things that I share the same name with Nicaraguan singer Cecilia Ferrer of the Argonauts. I also came across this old article circa 2005 in the Visayan Sunstar about my visit to Bacolod to meet some of the arnis masters facilitated by James Sy, Jr. Its like a travel back in time. Arnis has always been my first love. I started studying this indigenous martial arts in 1998 under Guro Maning Borza of Bicol who taught me the sinuwali method and introduced me to kung fu which I loved but did not pursue. My last Guro in 2006-2007 who is now in Israel,was Jon Escudero of Club Academia for the espada y daga style.  My arnis training  was intermittent. I wish I have the time to focus on arnis but my main martial arts discipline now is fencing and kendo. I was with Kalimasada as student and instructor from 1995-2000. Kalimasada was a passive self defence workout that cultivated inner energy. I was in the pioneer Perdana class in 1995 taught by Sir Leo Villarosa and Mathias Verhayden of Netherlands and Hawaii. My Kalimasada master was Pak Dedy Widarso who initiated me and my  Grand Master was Pak Asep of Bandung.  I stopped my Kalimasada practice  in 2000 as I started studying a new method of self healing and energy development in 1999 with Guru Dedy Widarso of Jakarta Indonesia called Tapak Jagad or Step Universe. Today, I am an instructor of Step Universe in the Philippines. I also love sumo wrestling. I watch the live bashio telecast when I can on NHK. And yes this is so random but I love the animated movie Kung Fu Panda that I watched with five year old Miguel Lucero.I am not giving up on kung fu and I'm looking or rather waiting for my teacher to show up!

Step Universe website:http://www.stepuniverse.biz/

 

Saturday, August 31, 2005
Kalimasada instructress appreciates Negrense arnis

KALIMASADA (Indonesian energy works) instructress Cecilia Ferrer of Manila met Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS) founders James Sy Jr. and Narciso "Hansy" Alojado last August 26 in Bacolod City for a formal introduction to the Filipino warrior arts of Negros Occidental.

The duo gave Ferrer a short session which covered the wide spectrum of Negrense arnis but focused on the universal fundamentals as taught in the Lapu-Lapu Viñas arnis system.

Ferrer was also introduced to two FMA grandmasters in Bacolod City and witnessed a first hand demonstration of their respective arts on August 27, 2005.

Headmaster Wilson "Nonong" Viñas, the 1st generation inheritor of the Lapu-Lapu Viñas arnis system, showed her the scientific application of the art's single stick combat and dynamic weapon disarming.

Grandmaster Mike F. Vasquez, the headmaster of Vasquez modified tapado and Vasquez modified karate, gave a demonstration of the devastating power of tapado, the Negrense arnis art of long stick fighting.

Ferrer, a daughter of the late Representative Inocencio V. Ferrer Sr., was amazed at the depth with which the Filipino martial arts (FMA) is interpreted and taught in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.

"The Negrense/Bacoleño arnis is very logical. Each movement has a reason, making it very effective and efficient. The way they teach arnis here is different from how it is taught in other parts of the Philippines, and even abroad" she explained.
Source:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2005/08/31/sports/kalimasada.instructress.appreciates.negrense.arnis.html

Kungfu Panda MVKungfu Fightinghref="http://www.copyscape.com/">

Frozen Flower MV - Jo In Sung, Joo Jin Mo, Song Ji Hyo

A much awaited korean movie that was released Dec.30,2008 in Korea, SsangHwaJeom or Frozen Flower starring Jo In Sung, Joo Jin Mo and Song Ji Hyo. I didn't watch Brokeback Mountain but I am gonna watch this for sure.Its got Forbidden love , swordfights galore, royal court intrigues and complicated love triangles , a yaoi fan's delight. If I say I'm watching this because of Jo In Sung (Memories of Bali, Spring Sun, Madelein, The Classic) would you believe me?. Joo Jin Mo of Musa and A Love and Song Ji Hyo of Princess Hours or Goong are in it too. Here is a review from Hancinema after the film's VIP premier.
[MOVIE REVIEW] 'Ssanghwajeom' ("A Frozen Flower") barely avoids trap
2008/12/22
Homosexuality is no longer a hush-hush topic for Korean filmmakers. But depictions of sexuality take another turn in "Ssanghwajeom" ("A Frozen Flower"), as a relationship between two men becomes a triangle of jealousy with an addition of a woman.

But the movie, to be released on Dec. 30, is not limited to sexual entanglement. Sex is used as a key tool to prod the plot forward, often at a rapid pace. To that end, director Yoo Ha includes plenty of explicit scenes of sex and graphic violence. The result, however, is somewhat mixed. The film's poetic justice produces an unlikely anti-hero.

Although the movie sets itself out as a historical drama set in the late Goryeo Dynasty, viewers should bear in mind that the story is purely fictional. The nation is now under the virtual rule of China's Yuan Dynasty, and Goryeo's king (Joo Jin-mo) has to produce a son to keep his position. The only problem is that he cannot sleep with a woman, much less have a romantic relationship with one.

The king's real romantic partner is none other than his chief bodyguard Hong Lim (Jo In-Seong). The two have sex in the inner sanctums of the Goryeo court, and we are shown a graphic kiss scene between the king and Hong Lim, which is bound to shock some Korean viewers.

But the real shocker comes when the king decides to ask Hong Lim to sleep with his wife - the queen (Song Ji-hyo). This idea is based on his assumption that all his political problems will go away once there is a royal son.

The king's miscalculation, of course, is that passionate romantic feelings sometimes form after sex. Hong Lim, who has never slept with a woman before, hesitates to touch the body of the queen at first, but once the physical bond is initiated, he finds himself totally enslaved.

Love triangle established, the plot sprints ahead with a portrayal of the uncontrollable anger and jealousy of the king, leaving heads rolling in the process.

Director Yoo seems to suggest that Hong Lim has long been subjected to a sort of coercion, rather than a real romantic relationship with the king. Hong is a mere subordinate, while the king has all the power, including the right to order his death.

The queen, for her part, discovers the liberating exhilaration when she falls in love with Hong Lim after years of neglect and inattention. She suffers a deep sense of guilt initially but she finds herself indulging in the dangerous liaisons with Hong Lim.

What is notable is that sex in "Ssanghwajeom" ("A Frozen Flower") is deeply associated with death. Eros is often depicted in literature and film as being able to overcome everything. The feelings that interconnect Hong Lim and the queen could backfire lethally because they are cheating on the almighty king.

As far as a plot is concerned, the unfortunate queen and her lover bravely defy the obstacles to prove that mutual love is more powerful than unrequited passion. The king's relationship with Hong Lim has been futile and one-sided. Failing to confirm whether his bodyguard is truly in love with him, he comes to realize that he is totally alone.

It is a pity that the king, trapped in a man's body, is betrayed by his secret lover. What the king fails to notice is that Hong Lim is a bisexual who prefers heterosexual sex.

But Joo Jin-mo does not have to lament his role. It is Jo In-Seong who fails to create much-needed emotional subtlety and often delivers his lines in an annoyingly mechanical fashion. In contrast, Joo Jin-mo emerges as the ultimate winner in the film. Joo pulls off creating a complex and nuanced character with whom audiences will be able to sympathize, rescuing a film that might otherwise have fallen into the trap of having too much sex and violence.

By Yang Sung-jin
Source:http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

Kabbalah and Pink Floyd-A Wall of Hope

 December 11,2008 Thursday

Just finished another enlightening lesson on the wisdom of the Kabbalah online with the Bnei Baruch institute on arionline.info. Thank you Tony Koseck and Andy. Came across this article on Kabbalah Today, the online publication of the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute that is most timely and answers a lot of my questions on the state of the world today. The rockergurl in me was ueber happy that rock and the wisdom of the Kabbalah somehow sometimes converges. Read the entire article from Kabbalah Today 18th edition here and I'm posting the link to the article as well.Pink Floyd for the uninitiated is a British rock band formed in the mid 60's and was active till the late '90s. They had their peak in the '70s and '80s. Embedded in this blog is the Youtube video of  Pink Floyd's The Wall-Comfortably Numb starring Bob Geldof as well as the music only version for the faint of heart, together with the lyrics of Thin Ice Waters, and Comfortably Numb.Read on and find out how we can break the wall in our hearts to let in the music of love and harmony.Shalom!

Wall of Hope

The wisdom of Kabbalah and Pink Floyd have something in common: they like to break walls. But unlike the boys from London, Kabbalah tells us how to break through our inner wall and why this breakthrough is possible now more than ever

"If you intend to slide on the thin ice of modern life, don't be surprised when a crack appears under your feet,” warned Roger Waters, the leader of the legendary Pink Floyd band, in the beginning of their 1979 masterpiece, “The Wall.”

Waters' edgy voice was the voice of a whole generation that felt a crack open beneath it, and the first generation that did not want to be educated. It rebelled, shouted, kicked, and stopped playing by the rules, to the sounds of David Gilmour's electric guitar.

But beyond the harsh indictment against Britain’s strict educational system, “The Wall” was also an allegory about the general condition of humanity. It reflected people’s deep feelings of confusion, fear, and anxiety in the face of new conflicts and challenges. “Break down the Wall!” repeats the choir again and again, and the excited audience responds with a joyous uproar.

But a sober look 30 years later raises the question: Did the wall break after all?

Another Brick in the Wall

On the outside, it seems that some of the bricks that made up the Floydian Wall have indeed been broken. The iron curtain that separated the East and the West has faded, and the remnants of the Berlin Wall are now a tourist site, while the Great Wall of China is already making its way into the souvenir shop of history.

The world is shrinking into a dense, tightly knit network. With modern technology we can bridge distance and time, which used to separate countries and people. A single click of a mouse now bridges any two points on Earth with one another.

Yet, despite the progress and the cellular and satellite communications connecting us all, something is still missing. There is a growing sense of disorientation, moral degeneration, alienation, violence and terror - the same ailments Waters wrote about almost 30 years ago. These feelings have only strengthened through the years. Somehow, thinking we were removing old walls, we’ve actually been piling up new ones.

Comfortably Numb

However, all this is only the external layer of the wall that the legendary band had described in song. Waters knew that the wall between us is not external. He was ahead of his time in pointing out that it’s the inner wall, “the wall in our hearts,” that’s the real source of our suffering and confusion.
How was this wall created, and how can it be broken? This is something Floyd didn’t know and didn't try to explain. Their music burst as a bitter cry from the darkness of modern loneliness, but it couldn’t find the magic hammer that would break the way to the light.

Pink Floyd’s 30th anniversary is fast approaching. Children who grew up with “The Wall” are now parents to a new generation, wiser and more developed than their parents. They don’t have a sense of purpose and they refuse to continue walking the same worn-out path.

The rebellion of today’s youth is no longer directed against a specific system or institution. The new generation’s lack of interest, alienation, apathy, hyper-activity, loss of values, violence, and most of all—the inability to determine the cause of their frustration - situate them before the real wall: the wall within that’s just as impenetrable as it is confusing.

And what about us? How are we dealing with this problem? We are simply going by rote, hoping that our attempts to change this or that framework, or to drug our children into calmness, will suppress the problem.

It is difficult for us to understand that the new questions our children ask offer us an opportunity to find a real solution, questions such as: “Why do we need all this?” and “What is the meaning of life?” The Show Must Go On

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains what Pink Floyd didn’t: It shows us how we can break through our inner wall and why this breakthrough is possible right now.

“At the outset of my words, I find a great need to break the iron wall that has been separating us from the wisdom of Kabbalah and to this day.” This is how the great 20th century Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam, begins his introduction to one of the most important compositions of our time, The Study of the Ten Sefirot. The wall he is talking about is the wall that surrounds our hearts, separating us from the world around us.

The new generation sees that the former generations have failed to make a breakthrough. It is disillusioned with the old approach and understands, albeit unconsciously, that until now we have tried to break the wall with the very instrument that created it: the ego. This is why our attempts were doomed to fail.

To break the wall, we need another method, written by people like Baal HaSulam, who have succeeded in shattering this internal wall, and who tell us about it from their personal experience. Kabbalists, those who broke the ego’s walls, write about the reality they discovered as a result, where we are bonded by love. There are no walls or iron curtains there, and no personal interests, but only feelings of security, peace, and love that fill all people. This reality can be revealed to all of us, here and now.

With “The Wall,” Pink Floyd created the ultimate sound track to modern life. Now it’s time to change the record. The new generation expects a new melody full of hope, carrying the promise of a better life. What we need now is a melody that plays in our hearts, a melody of love and warmth that will enable us to shatter the walls of hatred and alienation that separate us and cause all the suffering in our world. All we have to do is desire to reveal this melody among us. Today, more than ever before, the time and the conditions are just right.

Source:http://www.kabtoday.com/epaper_eng/content/view/epaper/8350

Lyrics:

The Thin Ice (Waters) 2:28

Momma loves her baby
And daddy loves you too.
And the sea may look warm to you babe
And the sky may look blue
But ooooh Baby
Ooooh baby blue
Oooooh babe.

If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life
Dragging behind you the silent reproach
Of a million tear-stained eyes
Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet.
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice.

Comfortably Numb (Gilmour, Waters) 6:49

Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now,
I hear you're feeling down.
Well I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again.
Relax.
I'll need some information first.
Just the basic facts.
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons.
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.

O.K.
Just a little pinprick.
There'll be no more aaaaaaaaah!
But you may feel a little sick.
Can you stand up?
I do believe it's working, good.
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on it's time to go.

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown,
The dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

Download song here:

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/38632331/890647bb/Pink_Floyd_-_Comfortably_Numb-.html