{"id":9082,"date":"2014-10-25T22:10:29","date_gmt":"2014-10-25T14:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/?p=9082"},"modified":"2014-10-25T22:33:35","modified_gmt":"2014-10-25T14:33:35","slug":"of-ghosts-ghouls-and-little-green-things-how-the-other-world-changed-my-world-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/2014\/10\/of-ghosts-ghouls-and-little-green-things-how-the-other-world-changed-my-world-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Ghosts, Ghouls and Little Green Things: How the ‘other world’ changed my world…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dedicated to the Blogfather<\/a>, a friend and fellow Daddy whom I’ve the privilege of knowing through the realms of the \u2018unseen\u2019 world\u2026in cyberspace.<\/p>\n

\"flowers_in_a_graveyard_\"<\/a>Source<\/a><\/p>\n

I never thought I would write about this. Until I was inspired by the Blogfather\u2019s recent post<\/a> where he recalled a hair-raising experience as part of the October \u2018Season\u2019s Greetings\u2019.<\/p>\n

My father died when he was 44 and I was 13 (since we are on the topic, notice the \u2018auspicious\u2019 numbers \u2013 \u20184\u2019 is never a good number for the Chinese and we all know about \u201913.). He died from lung cancer contracted through passive smoking \u2013 he was in the construction line and dealt a lot with contractors who smoked though he himself never did. So yes, passive smoking kills. He was a typical hardworking businessman who worked hard for his young family. He was a good and loving Dad that often juggled work commitments by returning home for short spells in between client meetings and his regular overseas business trips. But from the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed on, it was all within a matter of months \u2013 too short for us to bid our meaningful goodbyes.<\/p>\n

So at the cusp of my teenage life, I was confronted with my mortality…and it has shaped my life in more ways than one.<\/p>\n

1. A Healthy Respect<\/strong>\u2026for things unseen: While it didn\u2019t quite stir up an interest in the occult (to my wife who is reading this: don\u2019t worry). But from regular questions like \u2018Where is Papa now?\u2019 \u2018Can he see us?\u2019, \u2018Can he hear us?\u2019, it has made me more aware of the spiritual world.\u00a0 I also realised that whether we believe it or not, this ‘3rd realm’ can be very real to some individuals. My mother used to tell me, \u2018don\u2019t be afraid of things you can see but of those you can\u2019t\u2019.<\/p>\n

In the tangible world, it made me respect other non-tangible qualities such as personal space, personal beliefs and values.<\/p>\n

2. A Healthy ‘Escape’:<\/strong> My curiosity of the \u2018unseen\u2019 world has led me to delve into the world of mysteries and paranormal. I nurtured an insatiable appetite for literature and documentaries about them: from the Bermuda Triangle to the Lady in Gray, from UFOs to Alien Abductions, from Air crash Investigations to Murder Mysteries. These would eventually draw me into political thrillers and CSIs. My world went from Enid Blyton and Franklin W. Dixon (of Hardy Boys\u2019 fame\u2026a name deplume for the many ghost writers) to those of Stephen King, Tom Clancy and yes, Robert Ludlum.<\/p>\n

In the tumultuous teenaged years where I was confronted with the death of my father these books helped me ‘escape’ the untold pressures, angst and uncertainties\u2026Even till this day: a good book, an intriguing documentary and a thought-provoking movie are my ways of \u2018escaping\u2019 from the daily grind of the stressful real world to a world of fantasy, mystique and paranormal…It is my coping mechanisms of sorts.<\/p>\n

In a strange twist, these have also made me keenly aware and interested in the weird and wonderful facts of our real and natural world. From dinosaurs to ancient civilizations, it has shaped the decisions of where we travel and what I expose my children to.<\/p>\n

3. A Healthy Perspective:<\/strong> The awareness of the certainty of death helps us to truly live. Confronted with death at an early age, I am keenly aware that we are all living on borrowed time. What truly counts is our precious family and leaving a legacy.<\/p>\n

In the tangible world, it gave me the courage to make a mid-career switch: from one that \u2018counts money for others\u2019, to one that \u2018make lives count\u2019.<\/p>\n

While my daily routines are quite predictable (it\u2019s either work or home mostly), my travels with my family are not \u2013 from Stonehenge (the oldest place we\u2019ve been!) to Auschwitz, Borobudur to Angkor Wat, I try to make trips meaningful and educational. My maxim to Angie when planning for trips is that, \u2018what can we learn, what can we experience\u2019. So no pure shopping trips and as much as we can, the kids come along. It doesn\u2019t make us richer financially but I would like to believe that it has made our lives richer.<\/p>\n

4. A Stronger Faith:<\/strong> We can\u2019t consider death without considering our faith. I grew up in a Christian home, immersed in the world of Sunday school songs and Bible stories. Cognitively, it all didn\u2019t made sense until\u2026my father’s death.<\/p>\n

Death came to my face the day my father died and God seemed \u2018powerless\u2019 to stop it. Questions assaulted me fast and furious but it was when I couldn\u2019t find an answer that sent me on a personal quest to find out who I truly believe in.<\/p>\n

God did eventually answer me in His own way and time (He is after all God and He calls the shots, not us). The answers came, not to my questions but from the quest, the journey that built my faith and prepared me for adulthood with more uncertainties and more untimely personal departures \u2013 from close friends, to grandparents and most heartrendingly, our premature babies.<\/p>\n

My quest has not ended and probably never will but it has taken on an added dimension since the day I became a Dad \u2013 that is to guide my children to know their God personally. \u201cFor faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see<\/em>.\u201d (Hebrews 11:1 NIV). The reality is that it is these \u2018unseen forces\u2019 like Faith, Love, Hope, Patience, Gentleness, Kindness and Self-control would hold us together as a person, a family and a society in this scary and unpredictable world.<\/p>\n

Death and Taxes, as hailed by Daniel Defoe and Benjamin Franklin, are two certainties we can expect in life. While we plan carefully to pay lesser taxes, how carefully do we number the days of our lives so as to spend it more meaningfully with those whom we love and live for?<\/p>\n

Like the Blogfather, there\u2019s a part of my life that I have not told anyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Backview<\/a>Source<\/a><\/p>\n

During a Sunday in my later teen years, I was introduced to the idea of \u2018angels\u2019 and how they are sent as messengers of God to protect us. I remembered one night I went to bed a bit later than usual but had to wake up early for an important event the next day (I think it was my school\u2019s annual sports day) and as President of the School Band, I had to be there early to ready the band.<\/p>\n

As luck had it, my alarm clock died and there was no fresh battery in sight. As a rebellious teen, I wasn\u2019t close to my family so troubling them to wake me up was not an option. Before I slept, I prayed and asked God for an angel to wake me up.<\/p>\n

The next morning, between 6 to 6:30 am, I was woken up by what felt like something brushing against the side of my face followed by a waft of wind. I was annoyed and thought my younger brother had dared to disturb my sleep by blowing into my face! I turned and was about to confront him when, in the predawn light, I saw the silhouette of an adult, in a long white cloak (or was it a pair of wings) walk past me, out of my bedroom into the corridor of my Penang home.<\/p>\n

In my semi-awake state, I didn\u2019t think dwell much on it. I barely had time to leap out of my bed, freshen up and dash to school.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until later that evening that I recalled my early morning supernatural encounter. Interestingly, it struck me that none of my family members knew I had to be at school early that Saturday morning..and when I left the home, all of them were sound asleep…<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dedicated to the Blogfather, a friend and fellow Daddy whom I’ve the privilege of knowing through the realms of the \u2018unseen\u2019 world\u2026in cyberspace. Source I never thought I would write about this. Until I was inspired by the Blogfather\u2019s recent post where he recalled a hair-raising experience as part of the October \u2018Season\u2019s Greetings\u2019. My […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,82,17],"tags":[239],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Backview-of-Angel.jpg?fit=1140%2C881&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59hHF-2mu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9082"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9125,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9082\/revisions\/9125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}