Soul’s Code

This is the first in a series, Finding happiness in all the right places, by a young female seeker

BY EMMA — I didn’t understand the numbness, the lack of desire to eat, my entire body feeling warm, almost feverish and noticeably weak, unexplainable/explainable bruises on my body . . . the void where motivation used to be, the constant tears at any phone calls, feeling as if I was in a dull dream. I told my friends I was confused, I didn’t understand what was going on with me. Maybe I was sick, this didn’t make sense to me. My thoughts were healthy, my emotions disastrous: What was I not facing?

JEMMA’S JOURNEY: (The 2nd of 2 parts)

Master Hai Kong is a revered figure in China’s resurrected and re-activated Buddhist community. Seekers from all over the most populous nation-state in the world want to learn from him.

Typically, he performs his empowerment rituals four times a year — and does so for hundreds of students at a time. To have my own personal ritual, was a once-in-a-lifetime gift (and many more if you believe in Buddhism).

BEING THERE: JEMMA FONG

Jemma’s journey: “I just need to live with the pain” (1st of 2 parts)

Living with a chronic condition resulting in daily pain and periodic acute flare-ups that flatten me in bed for days seemed to be the only “norm” I knew for the past two and a half decades. Increased stress of any sort would worsen the situation by triggering a vicious spiral: as I became frustrated with my inability to perform at my optimum, I added new layers of stress.

GUEST COLUMN: LAURA HOLLICK

Have you heard of the Lifetime network reality series, How to Look Good Naked?

It’s hosted by Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and takes women through a kind of 12-step program on how to fall in love with their bodies.

Two years ago, long before this series ever hit the airwaves, I embarked on my own How to Look Good Naked odyssey. In my case: I set a specific benchmark and goal. By the summer of 2008, I contracted with myself, I’d pose for a nude photo shoot as a symbolic gesture to mark my celebration of loving my body.