Jangan Pernah Mendahului KehendakNya

SATU saudara Subud dari Cabang Jakarta Selatan pernah bercanda bilang ke beberapa anggota baru yang bercerita bahwa semua rencana yang telah mereka persiapkan dengan matang seringkali gagal total: “Saat manusia berencana, saat itulah Tuhan tertawa! Dia akan meledekmu, ‘Yakin kamu, sedangkan Aku sudah mengatur segalanya bahkan sebelum kamu diciptakan?’.”                                                

Saudara Subud ini mengatakannya bertahun-tahun yang lalu tapi kata-katanya, meskipun bercanda, memberi kesan tersendiri bagi saya, sehingga terus menancap di benak saya. Sejak itu, saya selalu mempersiapkan “rencana abjad” (jika rencana A gagal, masih ada 25 huruf lainnya dalam abjad). Bercanda!

Yang tidak bercanda, saya tetap membuat rencana, tapi ikhlas atas apa pun hasilnya.

Pengalaman saya baru-baru ini terkait dengan candaan-tapi-serius dari saudara Subud itu. Dua minggu sebelum Ramadan, saya mengungkapkan kepada istri saya bahwa saya berniat tidak berpuasa. Alasannya sederhana tapi konyol: Udaranya selalu panas tiap kali Ramadan.

Hingga beberapa minggu sebelum Ramadan, Indonesia diguyur hujan tiap hari. Sebagai seorang pluviophile, saya amat menyukai hujan dan keadaan basah nan sendu yang tercipta olehnya. Tapi tiba-tiba, sekitar satu minggu menjelang bulan Ramadan, hujan berhenti turun, menyisakan udara panas yang membuat badan tidak nyaman karena berkeringat terus-terusan. Itulah yang membuat saya berkata kepada istri, “Kalau panas begini terus-terusan selama bulan Ramadan, aku berencana tidak berpuasa!”

Saya juga enggan berpuasa karena saya sedang banyak sekali pekerjaan dan terlalu sibuk untuk tidur terlalu awal dan bangun dini hari buat sahur. Intinya, saya tidak ada niat.

Tetapi rupanya Tuhan berkehendak lain. Dia menertawakan rencana saya, dan membimbing saya untuk berpuasa tanpa perasaan berat atau enggan. Ketika memasuki bulan Ramadan, saya dimampukanNya untuk menjalankan puasa tanpa beban atau perasaan susah dan tertekan. Dan hujan pun kembali turun, hampir tiap hari, yang oleh masyarakat Indonesia secara tradisional dianggap berkah.

Di hari kesembilan puasa Ramadan, hari Jumat, 31 Maret 2023, ini saya “mendengar” tawa Tuhan mengiringi ledekanNya, “Yakin kamu?! Jangan pernah sekalipun mendahului kehendakKu!”©2023

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 31 Maret 2023 

The Blog Helper

 

I was recently called by someone representing the organizing committee of a story-telling competition, who told me that the story I wrote about my journey that led me find Subud wins 2nd place, and because of that it was selected to be shot and the video to be uploaded to the Youtube and Instagram accounts of the competition organizer. Not bad a gift for Eid.

Starting as a whim, after being WhatsApped by a Subud brother who knew that I am a copywriter, I didn’t have to think twice about which life story I wanted to tell about.

The most memorable life story for me was my journey of discovering Subud. I started with a disappointment in my religion, which never taught me HOW to have patience, trust, and sincerity, how to let go and let God, but only instilled in me the WHAT and WHY. I then became an atheist, and ended with my introduction to an advertising practitioner in the city of Surabaya, East Java, who is also a helper for the Subud Surabaya Branch.

Winning this story-telling competition gave me an awareness that today’s society, which had just been hit by a global pandemic, is thirsty for spirituality. And that it’s time for Subud to come out of its shell to quench the public’s thirst.

Even before this competition, I have written about my kejiwaan experiences in a personal blog. While most members do not want to share their involvement with Subud, fearing negative perceptions from their social circle, I free myself from such negative feelings. As a copywriter, I have to keep sharpening my creative knife by writing just about anything. It is more useful for me to write down my experiences with the Latihan Kejiwaan. And I never experienced what many of my Subud brothers and sisters were worried about. In fact, I made many new friends from all over Indonesia and abroad, who were inspired by my stories on the blog. Not a few also joined Subud.

Hence, a helper in Cilandak jokingly nicknamed me “the Blog Helper”.©2023

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 29 March 2023

The Process of Getting Something in Subud

THIS is an old and true story that recently filled my memory again and I posted it on one of Subud Indonesia WhatsApp groups as an example to new members that a critical attitude is necessary in dealing with helpers who sometimes stray in giving explanations.

When I was just opened for about a month, after a group Latihan I really wanted to smoke but I forgot to bring a pack of cigarettes when I left my house to the Latihan hall. I saw a pack of cigarettes in front of one helper and I hoped he could read my mind that I wanted one and hoped he would offer me to share the pack of cigarettes.

What happened instead was that the helper, in an arrogant manner, asked me, “During the Latihan, did you meet Jesus?”

During the Latihan, I raised my right arm high while my left palm is pressed against my right chest, while I walked around the room saying many times, “Jesus is my shepherd!”

I answered the helper’s question, “No, sir, I didn’t meet Jesus in my Latihan.”

Another helper sitting next to the arrogant one said to belittle me, “He’s new, he’s not in that level yet.”

“I met Jesus once in my Latihan,” said the helper, still arrogant.

Feeling really annoyed with him, I immediately said, “Is that so? Well, I once met Bapak in my Latihan. Bapak told me, ‘Son, don’t believe everything helpers told you about before you experience it yourself’.”

The smug helper’s face became tense. I thought he would be mad at me. But what happened next, he laughed out loud and split his pack of cigarettes with me.

Ouch! What a difficult process I had to go through just to get a cigarette in Subud.©2023

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 27 March 2023

The Essence of Harmony

I have for the past five weeks been plagued by a severe feeling of burnt out, which made me even hate the profession that I have been in for almost 29 years. Taking vacations or simply a break from my routines, however, didn’t work to get rid of tiredness, resentment, and stress.

Because as a Subud member you shouldn’t be feeling pressured, I tried to find out what caused this severe level of burnt out. Helped by accident by a Subud brother (who happened to be a newly appointed helper in the South Jakarta Subud branch) who in his Latihan was able to identify the source, I observed myself (niteni) every time I am around this person-in-charge from the company of one of my clients, a woman in her mid forties. It was proven that the receiving of the previously mentioned Subud brother was true—that it was indeed the PIC who was toxic.

Seeing that I continued to drag on with burnt out feelings, my wife encouraged me to ask my jiwa for a way out. I received that I have to have the courage to decide whether or not to continue working with the toxic PIC and/or the company she was representing—and not be afraid of losing my fortune, because sustenance comes from God, not from my clients.

Last Saturday, I tapped the gavel: “I’m sorry, I quit! Please continue without me.”

Immediately at that moment the feeling of pressure and burnt out was extinguished. I felt very happy, and my motivation was revived.

My experience of being helped unintentionally by a Subud brother made me realize that what is called the “kejiwaan brother- and sisterhood” is essentially the connection of one’s feelings with all of one’s Subud brothers and sisters. Harmony, therefore, is not a condition that can be forced to manifest with our personal will, but a true nature that has equipped us since we were created.©2023

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 26 March 2023

Accept What is Given

ONE of the helpers who served me during my three-month waiting period before being opened once said that he, as a Muslim, had abandoned the sharia. I didn’t comment on it because at that time I also didn’t adhere to any religion (I left my religion two years before joining Subud). However, one day I received news that he had gone on pilgrimage to Mecca.

Upon returning to Indonesia, without meaning to ridicule him, I asked him why he had gone on pilgrimage. “I was invited by my daughter, who paid me and her mother for the trip, so I just accepted. Don’t fight back the reality,” he replied.

That answer brought my memory back to the moment I had a chat with the Youth Indonesia coordinator, about ten years ago. He recounted his confusion after presenting Youth Indonesia’s plan to Ibu Rahayu, namely holding the Retracing of Bapak’s Journey from Semarang to Yogyakarta, which participants would do on foot.

According to the Youth Indonesia coordinator, Ibu neither rejected nor opposed, but neither supported as well. “Why do you have to walk? Nowadays it’s not like before—we used to walk, because we didn’t have a vehicle and there were still very few cars. Today, there are lots of cars, there are buses and trains too. Why do you have to walk? Use what you have, don’t make things difficult for yourself,” said Ibu, as told by the Youth coordinator.

I think that’s what differentiates Subud from other paths. Subud does not prohibit or oblige its members to abstain from “the realities that exist in this world”. The principle is simply accept what is given. The Latihan is like that, we just receive and follow that receiving, without arguing, rejecting, or fighting back.

As an example of this is my following story.

I had four years of affairs with four different women. Please, don’t be so quick to judge me, “Oh, how come someone who has received God’s guidance had done something bad like that?!”

Don’t think I enjoyed it; how could I enjoy it when all I got was just trash from the lower forces that came from those women. I was often angry, disappointed, confused, sad, for no reason! I tested myself and found that the negative feelings were coming from my cheating partners, everytime I was thinking about them. To overcome it, I had to surrender the feelings, by doing the Latihan.

Not a few Subud brothers and sisters in Jakarta criticized my behavior, but the helpers in my home group in Surabaya, East Java, asked me to accept it sincerely, because they had tested it and received that I was being “taken apart for cleansing”.

“Just accept it, but don’t violate what is not His guidance. Later you will know why you have to go through this situation. Everything happens for a reason,” explained the Surabaya’s senior helper.

With the advice of that senior helper, I patiently accepted a very painful mental torment for four years. Miraculously, not long after this painful process was over, I met a helper in Cilandak who lent me a photocopy of Emmanuel Williams’ book, Loving: The Spiritual Aspects of Sex. That book confirmed everything that I had gone through in those four years. (Contemplating the contents of the book would be of great use to members in Indonesia, I eventually spent ten days translating it into Bahasa.)

That was when I understood the meaning of the expression “Receive and Follow”. Just accept the reality, so we can get used to appreciate what we already have or what we are facing in our life.

I remember talking about the turmoil the above-mentioned Youth Indonesia coordinator was going through, when a number of Subud brothers and sisters and I went to Sukamulya, last March 19, 2023. When many asked me to walk along with them from the Latihan hall near the gate of the complex to the hill where Bapak’s grave is located, I replied calmly, “There are cars here, I will use it. Why bother going on foot.”©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 23 March 2023

Dealing with a Demotivated Person

HERE is what I said recently to a nephew who lost motivation because he had been given an empty promise by his father:

“The biggest mistake that most people make in their lives is believing too much that things are the way they are meant to be. It’s even okay for you not to believe in God. Are you disappointed in life? Yes, go ahead! But as of me, I don’t want to be disappointed, because I don’t want to hurt myself. If you dare, change your life, no matter what people say—they can only talk but don’t want to help. Change your life the way you want.

You asked me a couple of times why I joined Subud. I joined Subud because it’s the only place where I can be myself, where I’m free to go crazy, where I’m free whenever I want to believe or not believe in God. You just sneered at me because I mocked God, but you’re depressed, right? Well, I’m not depressed, because no matter how much I mock Him He always gives me a way to make me happy.

The first thing you have to do is free yourself. From anything! You become sluggish like this, because your father broke his promise, right? Forget it, it’s over! Motivate yourself, that without Mom and Dad, me and Aunty, your siblings, Grandma or anyone else, you can be someone that you can depend on. It doesn’t matter whether you will be successful or not, what matters is that you can do what you love.

And if you are tired, weary, bored, burnt out like I am right now, just take a break for a moment, don’t drag on. It’s really fun if you can be yourself, not dependent on other people, not affected by other people’s praise or insults.”©2023

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 22 March 2023 

A Walking Sponge

MY educational history, from elementary to university level, was not brilliant. Even though I studied for an undergraduate degree in history at a well-known and prominent state university in Indonesia, i.e. the University of Indonesia (UI), which entrance exams were very competitive, this did not put me at the forefront of educational achievements. With a GPA below 1.75, I was twice threatened with being kicked out of UI.

My brain is indeed weak in analyzing and my enthusiasm is very low in terms of structured learning as generally implemented in schools. “Likes to daydream” was the note teachers often put on my elementary school report card in the Netherlands. I only got good grades in Drawing, Essay Writing, and English—which equipped me well after I pursued a career as an advertising copywriter.

A helper in Central Java who is also a professor at a university in the area where she lives once told me, after having a long conversation with me about various fields of study, that I am rich in knowledge. “Has it always been like this, Mas Arifin?” she asked.

I couldn’t give her a definite answer. Everything I said “just fell out” without me thinking about it first.

There was a moment in my life where someone I thought was a genius actually thought I was a genius. In 2019, I got a project to make an in-house magazine in English from the Indonesian Navy Headquarters, including editing the articles and becoming one of the contributors. Naval warfare and maritime defense was then completely new to me.

When interviewing me as a potential vendor, the Head of the Indonesian Navy Information Service, a rear admiral who was also a lecturer in strategy at the Indonesian Naval Staff and Command School, gave me only one month to study naval warfare and maritime defense. Surprised, I said to him, “What? That’s unfair, sir! You yourself studied four years at the Naval Academy, how come I’m only given one month?!”

His decision didn’t change; I was still given one month to learn something that to him was something he was already good at.

To my surprise, the Latihan followed through my learning-while-working process that I went through for one month. I have never intentionally used the Latihan in matters concerning my work—just as Bapak said that when we do an enterprise, we shouldn’t use the kejiwaan, but use our mind and nafsus instead. But what can I say, the Latihan has been part of me from the moment I was opened, whether I intend it or not. It will automatically work, leading me to dive into a whole new world and grace me with ever-increasing enlightenment. I become a walking sponge that easily absorbs whatever I approach with sabar, tawakal and ikhlas.

With the Latihan, I experienced a “think without thinking” state which apparently made learning very easy for me. (This sometimes makes me regret why I wasn’t opened earlier; I could be the smartest student at UI!)

When the magazine was finally launched and the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff was very satisfied with my work, the rear admiral who headed the Indonesian Navy Information Service complimented me, “You are a genius, Pak Arifin! Within one month you are already fluent in naval warfare and maritime defense.”

I thought to myself, “That’s because of the Latihan Kejiwaan. I’m not who you think I am.”©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 20 March 2023

Punished by Love

WHEN I got my Subud name “Arifin”, practically many Subud Indonesia members laughed because they found my “fate” to be funny. When I received the email notification from Ibu Rahayu on my smartphone, I even laughed out loud and was surprised and amazed at the same time. The reason is, Arifin is the Subud name of two Subud brothers—one in South Jakarta and the other in Palangkaraya—whom I often bully in Subud Indonesia WhatsApp groups.

“You are cursed!” a helper from Rungan Sari jokingly commented. “That’s the result if you dislike your Subud brothers and sisters with hatred in you. You will be repaid by doing the same bad things as them, which is why you don’t like them, or at least you get the same Subud name as them!”

Recently, when I had just arrived at Wisma Barata Pamulang, for the Saturday night group Latihan, I met a Subud sister towards whom I was having very bad feelings, so I didn’t say hello to her. I didn’t even want to be near her.

During group Latihan for men, I began as usual; “the cleansing phase” some helpers would say, with random meaningless movements and noises. But after about 15 minutes, I got a stern warning from my inner that I shouldn’t dislike that sister. My inner voice told me that if I continue to resent her then I would be punished with feelings that would torment me.

I persisted in not wanting to forgive her and disobeyed my jiwa. What followed was a very strong feeling of love with the sister, the kind of amorous love a man has for a woman. I was made to feel a strong longing to make out with her.

I was so ashamed of myself, and also laughed at myself, for being hypocritical about my true feelings.

I stopped my Latihan, because I thought it was mere lower forces. After a short pause, I then quiet myself and started the Latihan again. And, the feeling of romantic love reappeared, with my inner voice forcing me to forgive her, or at least I should not be hostile to her anymore.

Unable to endure that torturous feeling, I eventually obeyed my jiwa. I was at peace with myself. And when that happened, the romantic love turned into what it was meant to be: I felt a lot of affection for her, like a little brother for an older sister.

That’s when I learned how it was like to be punished with feelings of love of an odd kind.©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, March 19, 2023

Nikmatnya Ketidaktahuan

SEORANG saudari Subud, dalam chat-nya dengan saya di FB Messenger, mengutarakan alasannya mengapa dia meninggalkan Subud dan bergabung dengan jalan spiritual lainnya, hanya setahun setelah dia dibuka.

“Saya mendapat pengalaman dalam Latihan dimana diri saya disinari cahaya putih yang membuat saya merasa di surga,” kata dia. “Saya merindukan pengalaman itu, tetapi saya tidak mendapatkannya lagi. Itulah alasan saya mengapa saya tidak mau lagi ikut Subud.”

Dengan polos (lebih karena pura-pura, dan hanya ingin mencandainya), saya berkata, “Wow! Berarti kamu pernah ke surga ya, kok tahu rasanya surga?!”

Saudari ini tidak mampu menjawab saya. Saya beri contoh ke dia dengan perumpamaan dari profesi saya sebagai copywriter periklanan. Ketika saya mempromosikan suatu tempat tujuan wisata, katakanlah Bali, selain saya pernah ke sana, saya juga bisa mempelajari keadaan Bali dari ratusan buku dan pamflet mengenai tujuan wisata itu. Bisa juga dari cerita orang lain yang pernah ke sana. Apa pun sumbernya, semua itu bersifat subyektif, karena bisa jadi pengalaman saya ketika saya mengunjungi Bali malah sangat berbeda dengan apa yang pernah ditulis atau dilisankan mengenainya.

Ketika saya diperkenalkan ke Subud dahulu—oleh rekan kerja yang juga pembantu pelatih di Subud Cabang Surabaya—saya tidak tahu apa-apa mengenainya. Waktu itu, rekan kerja ini mengajak saya ke Wisma Subud di Jl. Manyar Rejo No. 18-22, Surabaya, Jawa Timur, bertepatan dengan kunjungan Mas Adji. Saya diperkenalkan ke Mas Adji sebagai “orang yang ingin tahu tentang Subud”, dan Mas Adji bertanya ke saya, “Apa yang saudara ketahui tentang Subud?”

“Yang saya tahu, Mas, Subud itu perusahaan pertambangan,” kata saya, yang membuat Mas Adji tertawa terpingkal-pingkal. Saya menjawab begitu, karena lebih dari sepuluh tahun sebelumnya, saat berada di dalam angkutan umum bersama seorang teman kuliah, dari arah Blok M menuju Pondok Labu via Jalan RS Fatmawati, Jakarta Selatan, ketika lewat depan gerbang Wisma Subud Cilandak, teman saya memberi tahu saya bahwa Subud itu perusahaan pertambangan. “Itu Subud perusahaan tambang, tau nggak lo?! Lihat saja banyak bulenya,” kata dia.

Saat itu, saya lihat tiga pria bule berjalan keluar gerbang Wisma Subud Cilandak. Pada saat itu, era Orde Barunya Soeharto, mayoritas perusahaan pertambangan memang milik asing, atau usaha patungan asing dan Indonesia.

Saya bertahan di Subud hingga hari ini karena saya mempertahankan segala sesuatu sebagai misteri, dan tidak ada keinginan yang terdorong oleh nafsu untuk mengetahui selekasnya. Saya menyukai bagaimana Latihan mengungkapkan misterinya satu demi satu, dan bukannya sekaligus. Greget atau ketegangannya seperti petualangan mengejar cewek cantik yang membuat saya tergiur untuk memilikinya—tetapi ia jual mahal.

Saya pernah mengungkapkan asumsi saya kepada seorang pembantu pelatih senior di Cabang Jakarta Selatan, bahwa para anggota Subud yang berawal dari ateisme atau agnotisme-lah yang cenderung bertahan di Subud, untuk jangka panjang, kalau tidak untuk selamanya. Saya kira karena mereka tidak pernah dicekoki ajaran tentang Tuhan dan ketuhanan yang berasal dari para guru agama, sehingga menerima dan mengikuti bimbingan dari kekuasaan Tuhan (atau apa pun yang mereka percayai) dalam Latihan dapat berjalan mulus karena tidak terjegal oleh gagasan-gagasan yang mengarah ke angan-angan bahwa Tuhan itu baik, maha memberi kebaikan, dan nilai-nilai positif lainnya yang sejatinya adalah ciptaan akal pikir manusia.

Ah, betapa nikmatnya ketidaktahuan itu. Tetapi, seperti kepada seorang pembantu pelatih senior, yang dengan lagak sombongnya berkata ke saya bahwa dia sudah di level tidak tahu apa-apa, saya merespons, “Saya tidak percaya, Pak, kalau Bapak tidak tahu apa-apa! Buktinya, Bapak masih tahu bahwa Bapak tidak tahu apa-apa!”©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 18 Maret 2023

Self-Dialogue on the Road

AFTER taking my six-year old daughter to school this Saturday morning, March 11, 2023—which coincided with my 19th Subud birthday, on the road while driving, there occurred a self-dialogue:

“Why are there still many Subud members who are less intelligent, even though intelligence is a tool that has existed in every human being since he or she was created. I remember I underwent a drastic transformation after my opening in Subud, thanks to the painstaking assistance by the helpers of the Subud group in Surabaya, East Java, through light and often hilarious chats. The helpers continuously encouraged me to be independent, and simply depending on my own receiving. The intelligence of my jiwa, therefore, came to the fore. Why? What’s wrong with those members?”

The “other me” replied, “What distinguishes you from the others is because before you were opened you only relied on your mind, and after you were opened your mind was touched by the power of the Latihan. You were liberated, and that drove you to just receive and follow! That’s just it: Receive and follow! Without daring to receive and follow with yourself being sabar-tawakal-ikhlas, your Latihan would go nowhere.”

I then stopped at a coffee stall on my way home, ordered a cup of white coffee, smoked a few cigarettes and continued the self-dialogue. For the most part of it I laughed at myself for being so stupid as to understand this before today.©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, March 11, 2023

Menyalurkan Kegilaan

BIASANYA, bila berkumpul dengan saudara-saudara Subud yang inklusif, saya tidak menahan diri dalam menyampaikan pemikiran atau penerimaan (receiving). Obrolan pun bisa masuk ke topik-topik sensitif seperti agama dan ideologi, yang bisa membuat orang-orang di luar lingkaran Subud sangat syok. Karena Subud bagi saya pribadi adalah tempat di mana saya diizinkan “gila”.

Ternyata pada 10 Maret 2023, malam, saat bertemu dengan dua editor profesional untuk membahas pekerjaan penyuntingan naskah yang sedang kami lakukan, suasana diskusi bebas tanpa menahan diri juga terjadi. Kebetulan dua editor tersebut, sama seperti saya, adalah alumni Jurusan/Prodi Sejarah Fakultas Sastra (FS)/Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya (FIB) Universitas Indonesia, hanya beda angkatan (saya 1987, sedangkan dua editor tersebut masing-masing 2014 dan 2015). Diskusi bebas tersebut mulai mengemuka setelah kafe di mana kami bertemu sudah ditinggal pengunjung-pengunjung lainnya dan sudah tutup.

Bedanya dengan saudara-saudara Subud yang obrolannya berdasarkan pengalaman-pengalaman nyata masing-masing dalam melakoni hidup dengan bimbingan Latihan Kejiwaan, kedua editor tersebut membahas pemahaman-pemahaman dan gagasan-gagasan mereka berbasis buku-buku yang pernah mereka baca. Saya menyelingi dengan pengalaman saya yang sungguh-sungguh terjadi, yang membuat suasana diskusi tiga orang “gila” ini semakin riuh.

Saya menjadi mengerti sekarang mengapa banyak yunior saya di Sejarah UI, maupun FIB UI secara umum, yang masuk Subud. Karena di situlah kegilaan mereka tersalurkan. Ini bercanda, lho!©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 11 Maret 2023

Ask, Then Let Go

I remember this story told by an elderly helper in Bandung, West Java, when I visited his group two years ago. I came to him to ask advice about how to be rich. Even though not a few Subud brothers mocked or lambasted me for wanting to be rich, this one helper took my question seriously.

He said that it is not forbidden for Subud members to want to be rich or successful in material terms. So he shared the story of his personal experience. His story inspired me a lot.

One day, he was asked by his sons to join them in a Mercedes Benz club in order that his sons can be close to their father. With a university professor’s salary he couldn’t afford to buy a Mercedes, so he asked God instead with a good intention, then he let go. God granted him by way that nobody could ever expect.

One of his former Masters students contacted him one day and asked to meet. During the meeting, the former student expressed his gratitude because the helper had helped him so that he could finish his studies. Feeling indebted, the former student wanted to give something to the helper.

The helper refused anything his former student wanted to give him, because the helper felt it was his duty to get all the students he mentored to successfully complete their course. But the ex-student insisted. Finally, to honor him, the helper accepted the gift. His ex-student then presented him the gift, which was a brand new Mercedes Benz!

“Don’t always remember what you once asked God for and don’t repeat your request. Let Him work His way. Just live your life with patience, trust and sincerity,” he said to me.

The elderly helper became my inspiration to do “just ask, then let go”.©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, March 10, 2023

Explaining Subud to a Six-Year Old

I am most inspired by a quote from Albert Einstein that if you can’t explain something to a six year old, then you don’t understand it yourself.

The quote becomes a guide for branding practitioners, especially copywriters like me. And it came in handy when my six year old daughter asked me, what is Subud and the Latihan?

“I have difficulty in many things that I do. I can do it if there is guidance from within me. And to keep the guidance active, I do the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud. Subud is a sort of club where people like me hang out,” I told her.

She asked then, “Can I join the club?”

“You can’t, until you’re old enough according to the club’s criteria.”

“Why are only adults allowed to join Subud?” she asked again.

“Because only adults have a lot of problems. Children have no problems, except for the ones their parents made for them. Aha, I just remembered Bapak Subuh’s talk that with the Latihan we adults will return to being children. So, while you are still a child, just enjoy your life,” I said.

My daughter continued watching her favorite cartoon on Youtube. And I sighed of relief as she didn’t ask me the hard questions.©2023

 

Pondok Cabe, Tangerang Selatan, 2 March 2023