Jailbroken!

I've always ignored comments and posts I read on techie sites that I should jailbreak my Apple devices to get the best out of them. I thought, if the thing isn't broken, why bother changing it? Indeed, I've been very happy with my iPhone and iPad (and my iPods as well) and I saw no reason to tinker with them beyond what Apple officially allows.

Then one day, I came across this irresistible post in FlipBoard that said all it takes to jailbreak is just one click. At jailbreakme.com, the process is entirely automated; you just have to click on one button and it's done--no need to manually download or install any program or change the settings. It even works for the latest iOS version and the iPads. And it's risk-free because you can restore your device anytime (to the previous un-jailbroken state) through iTunes. And so I was convinced.

I first jailbroke my iPhone. It was a very easy process, as promised. No glitches, though I didn't know what to do afterwards and what Cydia apps to get.

I started with the easiest modifications possible. I downloaded some themes and ringtunes. Again, it was pretty easy to do, though it was time-consuming because everytime I changed into a new theme, the iPhone had to be restarted. Aside from that, the process was uncomplicated. And I loved the new looks provided by the installed themes. After a while, the original interface does become dull and boring. With the themes, your iPhone also looks different from all other iPhones.

Next, I jailbroke my Ipad. Again, it was easy, though there aren't very many free iPad themes available compared to iPhone themes. But I'm happy that my jailbroken iPad now looks distinct from the run-of-the-mill iPad interface. (Mababaw lang ang kaligayahan ko.)

I also installed Activator, an app that lets you assign commands or actions to specific gestures or buttons. With it, you can choose the Home button, for instance, to do whatever command you wish to associate it with. On my iPad, clicking and holding down the Home button now automatically turns off the device, something I couldn't do previously.

There are other Cydia apps I wish to try, especially the one which allows unrestricted transfer of all files between a PC and any iDevice. In the meantime, I'm happy with the new themes I have on my iPhone. Here are some of their screenshots:

The "Picnic" Theme. This is my kids' favorite.

"Buuf2"

"Glasklart." One of the most popular iPhone themes.

"High Tech Clover." I like this because it's simple and clean.

"Touchit." Another favorite of mine.

Kali-Ma: The Dark Mother

Just today, I changed yet again my facebook name, this time to Kali-Ma. It might appear to be an insignificant, meaningless thing to do, since I've done the name changing act a lot of times in the past, as have many other bored people on FB. But it meant something personally profound to me. The time, and the name, feel right.

Yesterday, I had an episode channeling the Dark Mother herself. I partly blame it on hormones; without fail, I am irritable on the days just prior to my period. On the other hand, my teen-age daughter was being her usual messy and insensitive self, and I felt she never really listened to me. Maybe she was hormone-influenced as well, for yesterday she was extra-sensitive to my berating her, and so we butted heads. I ended up crying and locking myself in my room. Yes, even to me, it does sound shameful and very un-motherlike, but that's what happened. It was a tantrum I'm not proud of. Later, my daughter sent me a touching note of apology, and by 6:30 pm, we made up and all was well again.

So who's Kali-Ma? Students of Indian mythology and world religions are familiar with Kali as the destroyer, man-slayer and "demoness," but that's just one aspect of this fearsome, powerful goddess. She also creates, resurrects and gives life. She is "the womb and the tomb." It'll be a long treatise to talk about Kali-Ma's many attributes, but in a nutshell, she's a powerful trinity goddess with equivalents in many religions and mythologies, not just Indian.

Years ago, when I was seriously into Eastern mysticism, the name Kali-Ma came to me in meditation as my esoteric name, though I never really studied what or who she is. Sometime afterwards, I did some research about her and Kali worship, but it was all intellectual. I wasn't really attracted into pursuing this path as my spiritual practice. But in difficult times, I would almost unconsciously pray to the Divine Mother and feel a deep kinship with her. I would find great comfort in this, and it has sustained me through very trying, heartbreaking times.

On the inside, many things have been happening to me lately, although my life has consistently been pretty boring and uneventful these recent months. I feel a strong urge to strengthen my spiritual practice. I feel I've been overly tamasic (materialistic and physical) recently, and I intend to bring more balance into my life. I've actually been a slowpoke at this. About two months ago, I decided to quit my job so that I could devote serious time to things that really matter to me. I resolved to take better care of my health, exercise more, meditate more, write more, read more (and more discriminately at that), and be a better mother. I did quit my work, which was a drastic action, but I've been slow in putting my intentions to work. But I'll get there, with the Mother's grace and blessings :-)