KAMALAYAN LIBRARY CAFE IN BAGUIO CITY.

Kamalayan Library Café in Baguio City



by Tato Malay

Why do I live now in Baguio Cty and why did I put up a library café here? Why not? I love the place and besides, Baguio is considered a university town. Why a library? Because I have hundreds of books I collected through the years and I want to share them with others. I could have sold them or have given them away but what I realized was that I became successful in my different careers by reading these books. Let me start by sharing that I never studied, or rather, took my studies seriously during my elementary, high school, and college years. All that was required of me by my parents was a diploma. I did the worst to ensure my graduation. I befriended my teachers, bribed my classmates to do my home work, or simply just failed some subjects and took them up again.

When I finally graduated from college, I applied for jobs in different companies but was not accepted because I failed the IQ tests. It dawned on me that I never learned anything from school and even the few things I learned could not even help me get a decent job. I felt sort of depressed and it made me decide to do something about my life. I started reading my old textbooks thinking that I could make up for the lost time. Then I met an old friend who graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious school. I told him how lucky he was to have a good job and how miserable my case was. What he told me was something that completely changed my life. He said that I was luckier because he had a hard time unlearning most of the things he learned from school and here I was with nothing to unlearn. I felt insulted but he continued and suggested that I could read and study the newest books and learn the latest concepts which are relevant in this day and age without much struggle in unlearning deeply embedded, outmoded beliefs like what he had experienced.
I made the bookstores my library and searched for information which would provide me the new knowledge I needed to become successful. I read and bought as many as 15 books a month by authors like John Naisbit, Deepak Chopra, Robert Kiyosaki, Wayne Dyer, Ernest Holmes, Marilyn Ferguson, Stephen Covey, AlvinToffler, Anthony Robbins, and practiced whatever lessons I learned from them. I simply learned how to learn and got myself into a life- long-learning process.





I remember visiting a friend in his office where I met and conversed with the owner of the company he worked for. His boss was amazed with the modern knowledge I shared. To my friend’s surprise, I was offered by his boss to manage a big department in their company. I became too successful doing the job and was offered free travels abroad, a new car, and a fat salary. Months later, I was pirated by another company and I never had to apply for a job from then on. As a matter of fact, I‘d even resign from one company and immediately I would be offered by another competing company.

By studying modern books, I was able to develop two intelligences which I took for granted in my early years. I honed my interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in the process. The books I read were mostly about relationships and knowing about oneself. Later did I realize that I transformed into a better person. When low moments came into my life, I motivated and talked myself out of those situations and came out a winner. I created a new level of consciousness in me. Whatever I wanted, I was able to manifest it easily in my life. I discovered new principles and a new way of thinking which were very powerful. Had I learned these principles before when I was still a student, I could have radically changed the course of my life much earlier. I discovered that I can train my right brain which dealt with creativity, emotions, and the unknown, and eventually learned to use also my neglected left brain which dealt with logic, mathematics, and facts, which were what I needed when I was in school. It was only now that I realized how our educational system can become transformational by teaching whole- brain thinking.

In this period of great change due to technological advancements, traditional lifestyles and careers have become obsolete. A new way of thinking brought about by holistic education or education of the whole person is needed to survive in this 21st century. Learning –how- to learn and life- long- learning processes are what’s necessary now. This is where I think my Kamalayan (Consciousness) Library Café will be able to help address this need. Many already have joined learning groups dealing with interesting new concepts found in modern books like A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch, and A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber. These books should be required reading not only for students but most especially for teachers. We can transform culture through education only if the teachers themselves are transformed first. A new world will emerge if we change the content of education of our children.
The Kamalayan Library Café is found inside the King’s Court Bldg, 31 Rimando Road, Baguio City.