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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2017)
OPINION Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER January 2, 2017 Volume 27 Number 1 January 2, 2017 ISSN: 1094-9453 The Asian Reporter is published on the first and third Monday each month. Please send all correspondence to: The Asian Reporter 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217 Phone: (503) 283-4440, Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com Advertising Department e-mail: ads@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com Website: www.asianreporter.com Please send reader feedback, Asian-related press releases, and community interest ideas/stories to the addresses listed above. Please include a contact phone number. Advertising information available upon request. Publisher Jaime Lim Contributing Editors Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), Jeff Wenger Correspondents Ian Blazina, Josephine Bridges, Pamela Ellgen, Maileen Hamto, Edward J. Han, A.P. Kryza, Marie Lo, Simeon Mamaril, Julie Stegeman, Toni Tabora-Roberts, Allison Voigts Illustrator Jonathan Hill News Service Associated Press/Newsfinder Copyright 2017. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Member Associated Press/Newsfinder Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon MY TURN n Wayne Chan Not enough time for meditation Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. Please send all correspondence to: Mail: 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217-2220 Phone: (503) 283-4440 ** Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES (U.S. rates only) Individual subscription (sent bulk rate): q Half year: $14 q Full year: $24 q Two years: $40 Individual subscription (sent first class mail): q Half year: $24 q Full year: $40 q Two years: $72 Office subscription (5 copies to one address): q Half year: $40 q Full year: $75 q Two years: $145 Institutional subscription (25 copies to one address): q Half year: $100 q Full year: $180 q Two years: $280 NEW SUBSCRIBER / ADDRESS CORRECTION INFORMATION FORM: Subscriber’s name: Company name: Address: City, State, ZIP: Phone: Fax: E-mail: Mail with payment or Fax with credit card information to: The Asian Reporter, Attn: Subscription Dept., 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217-2220 Phone: (503) 283-4440 * Fax: (503) 283-4445 q q q For VISA, Mastercard, or American Express payment only: ou need to manage your stress better,” my wife Maya would say. “You should try meditating.” Have I been stressed? Well, yes, I probably have. But meditation? Really? Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure meditation can do wonders to manage stress and anxiety. But just as some people love Brussells sprouts and other people think they are little vegetable balls of revulsion, I’m just not sure meditation is for me. And believe me, I’ve seen a lot of meditation up close and personal. Every morning, when I get up for breakfast, I find Maya sitting on the family room floor, legs crossed with her arms resting comfortably on her thighs, palms turned upward in a kind of Buddha-trance- like state. In the background, there is a recording of a soft-spoken man with an Indian accent calmly repeating various mantras. This is where I have a problem. I’ve heard many of the mantras. It’s just that I hear all of them one mantra at a time. By the time the soft-spoken, Indian-accented guy gets to the second mantra, I’ve inevitably tuned out and started thinking about something else. It goes somewhat like this: Mantra: Center your thoughts and let feelings of compassion, spirituality, and hopefulness bring you wellbeing. My next thought: I wonder if that leftover slice of pizza is still in the fridge or did one of the kids already get to it? I should hide that slice somewhere before somebody swipes it. Is it too much to ask to have one leftover slice of pizza without having to think about where I need to hide it so nobody eats it? Y What kind of world do we live in where I have to stow away a slice of pizza to keep someone from snatching it? The next thing I hear on the tape is, “Namaste.” Wait, what? That was it? I’m still totally stressing out about the pizza! My other issue with meditation is that, being a little neurotic anyway, I’m afraid if I ever did manage to lose myself in the soft-spoken, Indian- accented guy’s mantras, it would leave me in such a vulnerable position that I could be talked into doing just about anything. I’m worried it might go something like this: Mantra: Release all the stress and anxiety of your life. Focus on the next breath, and imagine that with each breath, your body is floating toward a calming sea of tranquility. As you drift deeper and deeper into complete mindfulness, know that your life is at peace, and think about how serene it might be to pull out your credit card and log onto <www.themindful indianaccentedguysmeditationcandles.com> to re- ceive a 20-percent discount on your next order. Me: “Wait a minute. What was that last part?” Maybe I’m just being paranoid. Meditation could probably do wonders in reducing my stress and helping me better deal with the things we all go through in everyday life that cause so much anxiety. Tell you what … I’m going to give this meditation thing a chance. I’m going to do a cost-benefit analysis, I’m going to chart my progress on a risk/reward scale, and if I can fit in a 15-minute meditation session in between the stock market close and my upcoming “Making More Time In Your Day” seminar, I’m all in with this meditation thing. I need help … serious help. Name (as it appears on the card): Type of card (circle): VISA Mastercard Card number: American Express Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Security code: Expiration date: Address of card: The last four issues of The Asian Reporter are available for pick up free at our office 24 hours a day at 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, Oregon. Back issues of The Asian Reporter may be ordered by mail at the following rates: First copy: $1.50 Additional copies ordered at the same time: $1.00 each Send orders to: Asian Reporter Back Issues, 922 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217-2220 The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. If you have a comment on a story we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. Ex-PM’s forgotten Pearl Harbor visit Wham!’s influence felt in China Continued from page 3 Mainichi showed Yoshida’s face nearly buried in Hawaiian flower necklaces because he had received so many of them at the airport. At the September 12, 1951 reception attended by U.S. military and Hawai‘i officials, Yoshida sought further U.S. economic assistance and cooperation to reconstruct his war-devastated country and pledged to never use aggression. Two days later, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin welcomed his speech as “a notably frank admission of Japan’s war guilt and a pledge that Japan will do everything possible to repair the enormous damage done by her armies, navy, and air force.” Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report. Continued from page 4 Wham!, many instantly recognize his well-loved songs “Last Christmas” and “Careless Whisper.” The latter song was translated into Chinese and sung in several versions before the 1985 concert. AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and news assistant Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report. Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Reduce w Reuse Recycle
