Every year, I work on a personal framework for how I want to frame and then execute my actions.
It’s not goal setting, because the goals can change. It’s not resolutions, because those are also end-states.
Instead, these are ways to think that help me frame how I’m going to think about and then take action on what I’m faced with. Think of it as a set of tools that I will use to interpret and then interact with the world around me.
These are obviously personal. Yours would be different.
Believe, Loops, and Farm..
Each word has more than one meaning to how I intend to use it. I do that on purpose. I think it’s tricky to remember too much at any one time, so I just want three words that act as “zip files” or icons for larger ideas.
I can unpack the payload of the ideas for reinforcement, but I can also just use the words as reminders of all that I intend to accomplish through these words. Believe In the simplest form, I want to remind myself to believe in what I do.
A little deeper, I want to use visualization to believe that things are what I wish them to be, and then construct my execution around these visions.
For instance, when I approach getting a new job, I act as if I work for the target company already. I feel it in my belly. That makes me not waste time worrying whether I get the job. I’ve got the job.
Instead, I use the conversation to uncover how well we’re going to work together. If it appears we won’t, maybe I’ll quit the job before the interview has even been completed. There are other ways to unpack believe, but that’s all I’ll share for now.
Loops
Loops is a reminder on a lot of fronts.
On one side, I have to realize the full circle of projects better. I have a lot of aptitude for starting things, but not as much to see them through to fully realized execution.
In this coming year, I intend to better think out the “idea handles” I give my ideas, and make sure that other people pick up the ideas, and execute them to completion.
I’m working with a team of professionals, and a team of eager learners. I simply need to present the full circle of my ideas, and make sure I check things out.
On another front, I need to close loops in my communication better. I can’t have 11 emails to make a meeting. I have to get it done in 2. Why?
Because I’m processing over 100 emails a day right now. Loops reminds me to be wary of my communications loops.
Farm
This one is the noun and the verb.
On one hand, I want to remember the “Law of the Farm,” that things take nurturing and that things need to be grown out of the mundane, the repetitive, and the carefully measured out moments of the passage of time.
Because I’m a bit of a leap thinker, I get frustrated by this part of life, but I shouldn’t. Because it just doesn’t change. Life progresses naturally, not at the pace I want.
On the other hand, I must be reminded to farm, to tend my gardens, to spend time in the fields, to consider what crops I’m cultivating, and why.
What parts of my life matter to me and need tending, and which things need to be weeded out? Am I spending too much time in fields that don’t yield good return? Is there a marketplace for some of my efforts? How will I harvest?
Applying These Words... I’m carrying around a little note with all three words on them. I’ll have them posted on my laptop (when I get back home), and I’ll put them in a few key areas.
Repetition of the message is important to me following my goals here.
I’ll put them as a permanent visual so that I remember to pay attention to those three focal points.
As I go through decision making, I’ll work on improving my application of the three words to everything I’m passing through.
For instance, if someone approaches me for a project, I’ll ask whether I believe in the endpoints. I’ll determine the full circle that needs to be in place if I implement the project, and I will consider whether this project will yield results, and what it will take to tend the project.
I’ve used 3 word tools since 2009, and have had year-after-year success.
I’m not sharing my 3 words because YOU need to adopt the same words. I’m sharing the process, because you might find something useful in its telling. What do you do to frame your thoughts? How do you decide things?
What are your ideas on three words to guide your actions? Do let me know if possible...
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Share the happiness always....
This story can change your thinking...
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."
The origin of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone.
Share the happiness always.
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."
The origin of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone.
Share the happiness always.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Mahabharata, the great epic.....
Mahabharata, the greatest epic is hailed as the fifth veda. Of all the characters in the epic, Shree Krishna’s role is the most important of all. Without his presence, the Kurukshetra war would have not been fought.
Without his indulgence, Arjuna would have never lifted his bow against his own cousin brothers. But he being the God himself knew everything. He says in Bhagavad Gita that everything was destined to happen, that he knew the outcome of the war.
And hence even though he is my most favourite character in the entire book, I did not take up his character for discussion since it is not just me, but anyone would find it impossible to analyze him.
The other character which has always fascinated me is Karna’s. His story is one of the saddest, since he was ill-fated ever since his birth. Born to Kunti and Suryadeva (Sun) and being one of the best warriors of all times, he probably deserved a better life. His mother abandoned him along with his protective armor and earrings, soon after his birth since she was unmarried at that time.
A charioteer of King Dritharashtra picked him from the river where his mother left him floating in a box and adopted him as his own son. Dronacharya was the tutor for all the princes from Hastinapur like Yudhistra, who was known for telling only truth, Bhima, who was known for his strength and Arjuna, who was known for his archery skills and their cousins like Duryodhana, whose pride was the primary cause for the war.
Karna, was brought up by a poor father and this led to a refusal for teaching by Drona. Karna now approached Parashurama, who taught only Brahmins and lied to him that he was a Brahmin. Karna also learnt the usage of Brahmastra from him.
Once in the ashram of Parashurama, Karna fires an arrow
aimlessly and a cow belonging to a Brahmin dies. The Brahmin curses him saying “Let the wheel of your chariot get stuck in the mud and at that very instant let someone kill you. This is your punishment for killing an innocent cow”.
Indra or Devendra (king of Gods), father of Arjuna did not want Karna to become more powerful and hence took the form of a worm and stung Karna when Parashurama was sleeping on his lap. Karna withstood the pain since he did not want his guru to wake up.
The guru woke up and upon seeing the blood oozing out of his body, immediately recognized that Karna was not a Brahmin. A Brahmin could never withstand such a pain and still keep quiet. Parashurama cursed Karna for lying saying “When you are fighting with an enemy and the enemy is about to kill you, you will forget everything you learnt from me”.
Duryodhana becomes a good friend of Karna. Duryodhana makes him a king of a city and thus Karna joins the Kauravas. Karna never knew that he was son of Kunti and that Arjuna was his step-brother. Along with Duryodhana, he developed hatredness towards Arjuna and all the other Pandavas.
Indra was now getting scared of Karna as the news spread far and wide that he was a great warrior. He devised a plan to get hold of the earrings and the divine armor of Karna. Suryadeva came to know about this plan and warned Karna not to give his armor and earrings to anyone.
But Karna refuses to agree saying that he is “Dhana shoora Karna”, which means he gives anyone anything they ask for. Soon Indra comes dressed like an ordinary Brahmin and asks for the armor and earrings. Karna recognizes him as Indra and asks for his Shaktyayudha in return. And this way Indra makes him vulnerable to death by taking his armor given by Suryadeva himself.
Kauravas snatch the kingdom from Pandavas by cheating them and refuse to return one half of it, when they come back from exile. The Kurukshetra war is then declared. Krishna informs Kunti about the war. Kunti now approaches Karna, hoping to make him change sides. She accepts him as her son and asks him not to wage a war against his own brothers.
“Let the world see Karna and Arjuna unite”, she requests. But Karna says “Oh mother, you abandoned me and as a result I am denied of all my Kshatriya rights. You have not come here to accept me as a son, but only for your selfish motive.
I will not kill your other sons but either Arjuna or I will survive at the end. I have eaten Duryodhana’s salt and it is time for me to show loyalty and gratitude towards that dear friend of mine”. Kunti also makes him promise her that he will not use the same weapon twice.
And thus the war begins. Karna and Arjuna get involved in an intense fight.
Krishna urges Arjuna to not show compassion towards Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha and Karna here, in this stanza from Bhagavad Gita:
Now Karna uses Sarpastra, an arrow which is shaped like a snake, aiming it at Arjuna’s throat. As soon as Sree Krishna sees this, he pushes Arjuna’s chariot and sinks it a few inches deep in the mud. As a result, the arrow hits Arjuna’s crown and knocks it off his head. The arrow flies back to Karna and asks him to use it again.
It assures him that this time it will kill Arjuna. But Karna refuses to do so in order to keep his promise that he will not use an arrow more than once. The fight now continues between Karna and Arjuna. Arjuna gets ready with a very poisonous deadly arrow and just then as if to signal the end of Karna, his chariot sinks into the ground (the brahmin’s curse).
Karna forgets to use Brahmasatra, as a result of Parashurama’s curse. Then he asks Arjuna not to fire an arrow at him, while he tries to get his chariot out of the mud. He requests him to follow dharma.
Karna followed dharma (established code of conduct), in that, he was good natured and a very dependable person. Loyalty is an important trait that Karna displays. Since he ate Duryodhana’s salt, he does not betray and change sides when his mother asks him to.
He never broke his promises. He did not try to kill any of the Pandavas, other than Arjuna, even though he defeated them. Even though Sarpastra asked him to fire it again and it was evident that it would have definitely killed Arjuna, yet just to keep his promise, Karna refuses to fire it.
He was a great friend to Duryodhana and showed his gratitude towards Duryodhana for supporting him when he needed support.
Even though Suryadeva warns him not to give his armor, he does not refuse to give it to Indra who requests for it. He indeed is “dhaana shoora”.
His situation is really pitiable in that he being a prince, never got what he deserved ever since his mother abandoned him. He ended up in a war where he had to fight against his own brothers, in order to support a friend. It was all due to ill-fate.
For which, Sree Krishna says “Now that you are in trouble, you remember dharma. Where was your dharma, when you did these wrong deeds with Duryodhana?”
He committed adharma (behaved against the established code of conduct) like this:
Building friendship with someone like Duryodhana and then maintaining that friendship, even when what Duryodhana did was not right. He fell into wrong company and when you are with friends, you tend to start supporting them. That is why it is important to choose right set of friends.
Karna cheated his guru by telling a lie that he is a Brahmin, when he was not. He supported Duryodhana in every evil deed of his like - Karna uses shameful words against Draupadi and asks Duhsasana to seize garments of Draupadi and hand them to Sakuni, he also supports Duryodhana in trying to poison Bhima, in trying to burn Pandavas in a wax house.
Karna was responsible for killing Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna by trickery. Karna with others made Abhimanyu enter the Chakravyuha (a circular formation) which only Arjuna knew how to come out of, and then blocked the entrance so that other Pandavas could not enter. Arjuna and Krishna were battling somewhere far.
Abhimanyu, all alone battled with six great warriors and then Karna went behind and broke his bow and armor, which was against the rules of the battle. Abhimanyu fought with the wheel of his chariot but all six of them surrounded Abhimanyu and killed him.
After hearing what Krishna said, Karna bowed his head in shame but still took his bow and started fighting. He shot an arrow at Arjuna that pierced his chest and then utilizing this time that he gained, Karna began lifting his chariot. At that instant, Krishna asked Arjuna to use Anjalika weapon, which then severed Karna’s head from his body.
This is something that today’s generation can learn from Karna’s story. One should make friendship of noble men and stay away from people who deviate from dharma.
Just because your friend asks you to cut someone’s throats, will you cut? One needs to make a decision here. What is right and what is wrong? This is where Karna lacked in judgement. Even though Duryodhana had helped him, did he really have to take a wrong path and help him?
Please note: The author of this post has not read the original Mahabharata, written by Vedavyasa. He has just read the translations of that by other authors and also obtained some points from B.R.Chopra’s video depiction. Should you find that some of the parts of the story are not actually true, please let the author know by leaving a comment.
Without his indulgence, Arjuna would have never lifted his bow against his own cousin brothers. But he being the God himself knew everything. He says in Bhagavad Gita that everything was destined to happen, that he knew the outcome of the war.
And hence even though he is my most favourite character in the entire book, I did not take up his character for discussion since it is not just me, but anyone would find it impossible to analyze him.
The other character which has always fascinated me is Karna’s. His story is one of the saddest, since he was ill-fated ever since his birth. Born to Kunti and Suryadeva (Sun) and being one of the best warriors of all times, he probably deserved a better life. His mother abandoned him along with his protective armor and earrings, soon after his birth since she was unmarried at that time.
A charioteer of King Dritharashtra picked him from the river where his mother left him floating in a box and adopted him as his own son. Dronacharya was the tutor for all the princes from Hastinapur like Yudhistra, who was known for telling only truth, Bhima, who was known for his strength and Arjuna, who was known for his archery skills and their cousins like Duryodhana, whose pride was the primary cause for the war.
Karna, was brought up by a poor father and this led to a refusal for teaching by Drona. Karna now approached Parashurama, who taught only Brahmins and lied to him that he was a Brahmin. Karna also learnt the usage of Brahmastra from him.
Once in the ashram of Parashurama, Karna fires an arrow
aimlessly and a cow belonging to a Brahmin dies. The Brahmin curses him saying “Let the wheel of your chariot get stuck in the mud and at that very instant let someone kill you. This is your punishment for killing an innocent cow”.Indra or Devendra (king of Gods), father of Arjuna did not want Karna to become more powerful and hence took the form of a worm and stung Karna when Parashurama was sleeping on his lap. Karna withstood the pain since he did not want his guru to wake up.
The guru woke up and upon seeing the blood oozing out of his body, immediately recognized that Karna was not a Brahmin. A Brahmin could never withstand such a pain and still keep quiet. Parashurama cursed Karna for lying saying “When you are fighting with an enemy and the enemy is about to kill you, you will forget everything you learnt from me”.
Duryodhana becomes a good friend of Karna. Duryodhana makes him a king of a city and thus Karna joins the Kauravas. Karna never knew that he was son of Kunti and that Arjuna was his step-brother. Along with Duryodhana, he developed hatredness towards Arjuna and all the other Pandavas.
Indra was now getting scared of Karna as the news spread far and wide that he was a great warrior. He devised a plan to get hold of the earrings and the divine armor of Karna. Suryadeva came to know about this plan and warned Karna not to give his armor and earrings to anyone.
But Karna refuses to agree saying that he is “Dhana shoora Karna”, which means he gives anyone anything they ask for. Soon Indra comes dressed like an ordinary Brahmin and asks for the armor and earrings. Karna recognizes him as Indra and asks for his Shaktyayudha in return. And this way Indra makes him vulnerable to death by taking his armor given by Suryadeva himself.
Kauravas snatch the kingdom from Pandavas by cheating them and refuse to return one half of it, when they come back from exile. The Kurukshetra war is then declared. Krishna informs Kunti about the war. Kunti now approaches Karna, hoping to make him change sides. She accepts him as her son and asks him not to wage a war against his own brothers.
“Let the world see Karna and Arjuna unite”, she requests. But Karna says “Oh mother, you abandoned me and as a result I am denied of all my Kshatriya rights. You have not come here to accept me as a son, but only for your selfish motive.
I will not kill your other sons but either Arjuna or I will survive at the end. I have eaten Duryodhana’s salt and it is time for me to show loyalty and gratitude towards that dear friend of mine”. Kunti also makes him promise her that he will not use the same weapon twice.
And thus the war begins. Karna and Arjuna get involved in an intense fight.
Krishna urges Arjuna to not show compassion towards Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha and Karna here, in this stanza from Bhagavad Gita:Now Karna uses Sarpastra, an arrow which is shaped like a snake, aiming it at Arjuna’s throat. As soon as Sree Krishna sees this, he pushes Arjuna’s chariot and sinks it a few inches deep in the mud. As a result, the arrow hits Arjuna’s crown and knocks it off his head. The arrow flies back to Karna and asks him to use it again.
It assures him that this time it will kill Arjuna. But Karna refuses to do so in order to keep his promise that he will not use an arrow more than once. The fight now continues between Karna and Arjuna. Arjuna gets ready with a very poisonous deadly arrow and just then as if to signal the end of Karna, his chariot sinks into the ground (the brahmin’s curse).
Karna forgets to use Brahmasatra, as a result of Parashurama’s curse. Then he asks Arjuna not to fire an arrow at him, while he tries to get his chariot out of the mud. He requests him to follow dharma.
Karna followed dharma (established code of conduct), in that, he was good natured and a very dependable person. Loyalty is an important trait that Karna displays. Since he ate Duryodhana’s salt, he does not betray and change sides when his mother asks him to.
He never broke his promises. He did not try to kill any of the Pandavas, other than Arjuna, even though he defeated them. Even though Sarpastra asked him to fire it again and it was evident that it would have definitely killed Arjuna, yet just to keep his promise, Karna refuses to fire it.
He was a great friend to Duryodhana and showed his gratitude towards Duryodhana for supporting him when he needed support.
Even though Suryadeva warns him not to give his armor, he does not refuse to give it to Indra who requests for it. He indeed is “dhaana shoora”.
His situation is really pitiable in that he being a prince, never got what he deserved ever since his mother abandoned him. He ended up in a war where he had to fight against his own brothers, in order to support a friend. It was all due to ill-fate.
For which, Sree Krishna says “Now that you are in trouble, you remember dharma. Where was your dharma, when you did these wrong deeds with Duryodhana?”
He committed adharma (behaved against the established code of conduct) like this:
Building friendship with someone like Duryodhana and then maintaining that friendship, even when what Duryodhana did was not right. He fell into wrong company and when you are with friends, you tend to start supporting them. That is why it is important to choose right set of friends.
Karna cheated his guru by telling a lie that he is a Brahmin, when he was not. He supported Duryodhana in every evil deed of his like - Karna uses shameful words against Draupadi and asks Duhsasana to seize garments of Draupadi and hand them to Sakuni, he also supports Duryodhana in trying to poison Bhima, in trying to burn Pandavas in a wax house.
Karna was responsible for killing Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna by trickery. Karna with others made Abhimanyu enter the Chakravyuha (a circular formation) which only Arjuna knew how to come out of, and then blocked the entrance so that other Pandavas could not enter. Arjuna and Krishna were battling somewhere far.
Abhimanyu, all alone battled with six great warriors and then Karna went behind and broke his bow and armor, which was against the rules of the battle. Abhimanyu fought with the wheel of his chariot but all six of them surrounded Abhimanyu and killed him.
After hearing what Krishna said, Karna bowed his head in shame but still took his bow and started fighting. He shot an arrow at Arjuna that pierced his chest and then utilizing this time that he gained, Karna began lifting his chariot. At that instant, Krishna asked Arjuna to use Anjalika weapon, which then severed Karna’s head from his body.This is something that today’s generation can learn from Karna’s story. One should make friendship of noble men and stay away from people who deviate from dharma.
Just because your friend asks you to cut someone’s throats, will you cut? One needs to make a decision here. What is right and what is wrong? This is where Karna lacked in judgement. Even though Duryodhana had helped him, did he really have to take a wrong path and help him?
Please note: The author of this post has not read the original Mahabharata, written by Vedavyasa. He has just read the translations of that by other authors and also obtained some points from B.R.Chopra’s video depiction. Should you find that some of the parts of the story are not actually true, please let the author know by leaving a comment.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
circle of habits ...
How difficult can it be to do something which lies far beyond the vicious circle of habits?
You fight against it in order to attain it and from time to time you get a small victory, a swift gaze just around the corner. But the honey-sweet, colorful taste of deep vision is almost always rapidly changed back into the cocooning bitterness of that monstrosity called “ego”.
However, monstrosity as it often might be, it still remains a most vital part of us which is needed to live life more or less properly, without which we would all dissolve into a devastating, schizophrenic chaos.
Through its vitality it’s also an instrument of growth, a process (or rather, a highly dynamic and organic cyclic dance which is never truly the same again after each turn) during which its boundary must continuously be expanded. This does not mean an ever inflating, limiting sense of “I” versus “the world”, rather than an ever deepening, embracing awareness of “me” inside “the world” or “the world” inside of “me”.
Breaking the circle of habits, this cocoon woven by the ego, is almost like attempting to crystallize a purely white substance out of an otherwise formless and colorless liquid. This can be done by pouring in a second liquid which forces crystals to coagulate and to grow so they become visible to the naked eye.
However, initial crystal formation can be deceiving: a few drops can suddenly make the solution all cloudy, but when you shake a little, they often disappear and are gone forever if no more drops are added. The more drops are added, the longer these ephemeral clouds of tiny crystals can be seen, until it can, hopefully, remain stable enough to become the cradle for some beautiful crystal growth. Only when such saturation is reached can crystals start to grow.
Breaking the circle of habits through spiritual crystallization (or should we say, recrystallization?) needs more than a rational analysis of the situation.
Painful reflection or psychotherapy can flawlessly deliver all the apparent causes of any vicious circle, its entire history starting from the supposed point of origin.
But all this knowledge doesn’t break it. It helps to understand it, that’s for sure, but it’s not enough to finally break it. The same patterns will continue to pop up, mercilessly tormenting the conscious mind who feels helpless, abandoned and utterly powerless to facilitate inner change.
What else is needed then besides rational analysis?
The seed of a vicious circle often lies in a shadow territory of the human soul, where the ego feels powerless. To enter this Great Unknown means to open up towards the bitter and disillusioning fact that one contains more than merely an ego.
It’s bitter, because an ego is incredibly well adapted to do especially one thing, namely to inflate itself, regardless of one’s awareness of the process (at least, my ego has this hugely annoying tendency, but annoying as it is, there’s an innate potential for transformation and growth hidden below its outer “negative” aspects).
This tendency for inflation makes ego the supreme ruler of its universe. Every other presence in its house needs to be controlled, or repressed in case the Other One can’t be controlled.
The path to the realization that the world is not all about the ego, but that ego is just one of many satellites orbiting a much larger sun, thus becomes indeed a difficult, painful and, more often than not, a lifelong path.
You fight against it in order to attain it and from time to time you get a small victory, a swift gaze just around the corner. But the honey-sweet, colorful taste of deep vision is almost always rapidly changed back into the cocooning bitterness of that monstrosity called “ego”.
However, monstrosity as it often might be, it still remains a most vital part of us which is needed to live life more or less properly, without which we would all dissolve into a devastating, schizophrenic chaos.
Through its vitality it’s also an instrument of growth, a process (or rather, a highly dynamic and organic cyclic dance which is never truly the same again after each turn) during which its boundary must continuously be expanded. This does not mean an ever inflating, limiting sense of “I” versus “the world”, rather than an ever deepening, embracing awareness of “me” inside “the world” or “the world” inside of “me”.
Breaking the circle of habits, this cocoon woven by the ego, is almost like attempting to crystallize a purely white substance out of an otherwise formless and colorless liquid. This can be done by pouring in a second liquid which forces crystals to coagulate and to grow so they become visible to the naked eye.
However, initial crystal formation can be deceiving: a few drops can suddenly make the solution all cloudy, but when you shake a little, they often disappear and are gone forever if no more drops are added. The more drops are added, the longer these ephemeral clouds of tiny crystals can be seen, until it can, hopefully, remain stable enough to become the cradle for some beautiful crystal growth. Only when such saturation is reached can crystals start to grow.
Breaking the circle of habits through spiritual crystallization (or should we say, recrystallization?) needs more than a rational analysis of the situation.
Painful reflection or psychotherapy can flawlessly deliver all the apparent causes of any vicious circle, its entire history starting from the supposed point of origin.
But all this knowledge doesn’t break it. It helps to understand it, that’s for sure, but it’s not enough to finally break it. The same patterns will continue to pop up, mercilessly tormenting the conscious mind who feels helpless, abandoned and utterly powerless to facilitate inner change.
What else is needed then besides rational analysis?
The seed of a vicious circle often lies in a shadow territory of the human soul, where the ego feels powerless. To enter this Great Unknown means to open up towards the bitter and disillusioning fact that one contains more than merely an ego.
It’s bitter, because an ego is incredibly well adapted to do especially one thing, namely to inflate itself, regardless of one’s awareness of the process (at least, my ego has this hugely annoying tendency, but annoying as it is, there’s an innate potential for transformation and growth hidden below its outer “negative” aspects).
This tendency for inflation makes ego the supreme ruler of its universe. Every other presence in its house needs to be controlled, or repressed in case the Other One can’t be controlled.
The path to the realization that the world is not all about the ego, but that ego is just one of many satellites orbiting a much larger sun, thus becomes indeed a difficult, painful and, more often than not, a lifelong path.
Monday, September 20, 2010
“Your tongue is the translator of your intellect” ...
Here is a story .....with a good message and moral which we all, I think must emulate and follow!
As King Haroun and Queen Zubayda were sitting in their palace one day, a fisherman who was selling fresh fish was brought in front of them. King Parveez decided to buy a fish and gave the fisherman 4000 dirham for it.
The fisherman was overjoyed. He thanked King Haroun and left.
Queen Zubayda turned to her husband in anger and scolded him for paying so much for a fish. King Haroun let her have her say but said that the fish was purchased and that there was nothing that could be done about it.
However, the Queen was adamant and insisted that the fisherman be brought back.
“We will ask the fisherman about the gender of the fish,” she said. “If he answers that it is female, we will say that we wanted a male fish and if his response is that it is male, we will say that we wanted a female fish!
Either way, we will be able to return the fish and have our money back.”
So the poor fisherman was called back and was asked the question.
Fortunately, he was clever enough not to be caught out. He replied, “The fish is neither male or female. It is eunuch (neutral).”
King Haroun was so impressed by the ingenuity of the man that he ordered a further 4000 dirham to be paid to him. The fisherman thanked the King again but as he was about to leave with the heavy bag of money, one of the coins fell onto the floor. The fisherman immediately bent down to look for the coin.
Queen Zubayda was already upset that the fisherman had been given 8000 dirham.
“Look how miserly this man is!” the Queen exclaimed. “One coin has fallen out of his bag full of money and he searches for it instead of leaving it for some other poor servant to find.”
The man heard this remark and said, “O Queen, it is not out of miserliness that I search for the coin but rather because it had the picture of generous King Haroun on it. I would not tolerate anyone to cause dishonour to the King by treading on the coin.”
The King was so happy with this response that he immediately called for another 4000 dirham to be given to the fisherman. When Queen Zubayda saw all this, she thought it was better to hold her tongue and let the man go with the 12000 dirham before the King decided to increase the amount again.
Lessons from Life ...
Speech is an Art. If one knows what, when and how to talk then such a person will be successful in life.
“The beauty of man/Woman is in the clarity of his/her tongue”.
Your tongue is truly the translator of your intellect ...
As King Haroun and Queen Zubayda were sitting in their palace one day, a fisherman who was selling fresh fish was brought in front of them. King Parveez decided to buy a fish and gave the fisherman 4000 dirham for it.
The fisherman was overjoyed. He thanked King Haroun and left.
Queen Zubayda turned to her husband in anger and scolded him for paying so much for a fish. King Haroun let her have her say but said that the fish was purchased and that there was nothing that could be done about it.
However, the Queen was adamant and insisted that the fisherman be brought back.
“We will ask the fisherman about the gender of the fish,” she said. “If he answers that it is female, we will say that we wanted a male fish and if his response is that it is male, we will say that we wanted a female fish!
Either way, we will be able to return the fish and have our money back.”
So the poor fisherman was called back and was asked the question.
Fortunately, he was clever enough not to be caught out. He replied, “The fish is neither male or female. It is eunuch (neutral).”
King Haroun was so impressed by the ingenuity of the man that he ordered a further 4000 dirham to be paid to him. The fisherman thanked the King again but as he was about to leave with the heavy bag of money, one of the coins fell onto the floor. The fisherman immediately bent down to look for the coin.
Queen Zubayda was already upset that the fisherman had been given 8000 dirham.
“Look how miserly this man is!” the Queen exclaimed. “One coin has fallen out of his bag full of money and he searches for it instead of leaving it for some other poor servant to find.”
The man heard this remark and said, “O Queen, it is not out of miserliness that I search for the coin but rather because it had the picture of generous King Haroun on it. I would not tolerate anyone to cause dishonour to the King by treading on the coin.”
The King was so happy with this response that he immediately called for another 4000 dirham to be given to the fisherman. When Queen Zubayda saw all this, she thought it was better to hold her tongue and let the man go with the 12000 dirham before the King decided to increase the amount again.
Lessons from Life ...
Speech is an Art. If one knows what, when and how to talk then such a person will be successful in life.
“The beauty of man/Woman is in the clarity of his/her tongue”.
Your tongue is truly the translator of your intellect ...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
A Brush with the Law
Few centuries ago, a Law teacher came across a student who was willing to learn but was unable to pay the fee.
The student struck a deal saying, "I would pay your fee the day I win my first case in the court". Teacher agreed and proceeded with the law course.
When the course was finished and teacher started pestering the student to pay up the fee, student reminded the deal and pushed days. Fed up with this, the teacher decided to sue the student in the court of law and both of them decided to argue for themselves.
The teacher put forward his argument saying: "If I win this case, as per the court of law, student has to pay me. And if I lose the case, student will still pay me because he would have won his first case. So either way i will have to get the money".
Equally brilliant student argued back saying: "If I win the case, as per the court of law, I don't have to pay anything to the teacher. And if I lose the case, I don't have to pay him because I haven't won my first case yet. So either way, I am not going to pay the teacher anything".
This is one of the greatest paradoxes ever recorded in history.
Similarly, there are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by some court reporters, who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were taking place. Have a look......
Q : What is your date of birth?
A : July fifteenth.
Q : What year?
A : Every year.
Q : What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A : Gucci sweats and Reeboks
Q : This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A : Yes
Q : And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A : I forget.
Q : You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?
Q : How old is your son, the one living with you?
A : Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q : How long has he lived with you?
A : Forty-five years.
Q : What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A : He said, "Cathy, Where am I?
Q : And why did it upset you?
A : My name is Susan.
Q : Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
Q : The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?
Q : Were you present at the time your picture was taken?
Q : So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A : YesQ : And what were you doing at that time?
Q : She had three children, right?
A : Yes.
Q : How many were boys?
A : None.
Q : Were there any girls?
Q : How was your first marriage terminated?
A : By death.
Q : And by whose death was it terminated?
Q : Can you describe the individual?
A : He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q : Was this a male, or a female?
Q : Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A : No, this is how I always dress when I go to work.
Q : Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A : All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Q : All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A : Oral.
Q : Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A : The autopsy started around 8.30 p.m.
Q : And Mr Dennington was dead at the time?
A : No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him.
Q : Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
Q : Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A : No
Q : Did your check for blood pressure?
A : No
Q : Did your check for breathing?
A : No
Q : So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A : No
Q : How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A : Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q : But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A : Not unless he was out practicing law somewhere
*************************
The student struck a deal saying, "I would pay your fee the day I win my first case in the court". Teacher agreed and proceeded with the law course.
When the course was finished and teacher started pestering the student to pay up the fee, student reminded the deal and pushed days. Fed up with this, the teacher decided to sue the student in the court of law and both of them decided to argue for themselves.
The teacher put forward his argument saying: "If I win this case, as per the court of law, student has to pay me. And if I lose the case, student will still pay me because he would have won his first case. So either way i will have to get the money".
Equally brilliant student argued back saying: "If I win the case, as per the court of law, I don't have to pay anything to the teacher. And if I lose the case, I don't have to pay him because I haven't won my first case yet. So either way, I am not going to pay the teacher anything".
This is one of the greatest paradoxes ever recorded in history.
Similarly, there are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by some court reporters, who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were taking place. Have a look......
Q : What is your date of birth?
A : July fifteenth.
Q : What year?
A : Every year.
Q : What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A : Gucci sweats and Reeboks
Q : This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A : Yes
Q : And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A : I forget.
Q : You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?
Q : How old is your son, the one living with you?
A : Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q : How long has he lived with you?
A : Forty-five years.
Q : What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A : He said, "Cathy, Where am I?
Q : And why did it upset you?
A : My name is Susan.
Q : Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
Q : The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?
Q : Were you present at the time your picture was taken?
Q : So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A : YesQ : And what were you doing at that time?
Q : She had three children, right?
A : Yes.
Q : How many were boys?
A : None.
Q : Were there any girls?
Q : How was your first marriage terminated?
A : By death.
Q : And by whose death was it terminated?
Q : Can you describe the individual?
A : He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q : Was this a male, or a female?
Q : Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A : No, this is how I always dress when I go to work.
Q : Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A : All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Q : All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A : Oral.
Q : Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A : The autopsy started around 8.30 p.m.
Q : And Mr Dennington was dead at the time?
A : No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him.
Q : Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
Q : Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A : No
Q : Did your check for blood pressure?
A : No
Q : Did your check for breathing?
A : No
Q : So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A : No
Q : How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A : Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q : But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A : Not unless he was out practicing law somewhere
*************************
Monday, August 23, 2010
Look up your birthday and see what you are.....
SOUNDS TRUE AFTER I READ IT.
January 01 - 09 ~ Ass
January 10 - 24 ~ Slug
January 25 - 31 ~ Cockroach
February 01 - 05 ~ Parasite
February 06 - 14 ~ Bullfrog
February 15 - 21 ~ Skunk
February 22 - 28 ~ Snake
March 01 - 12 ~ Ape
March 13 - 15 ~ Cockroach
March 16 - 23 ~ Slug
March 24 - 31 ~ Parasite
April 01 - 03 ~ Ass
April 04 - 14 ~ Snake
April 15 - 26 ~ Slug
April 27 - 30 ~ Skunk
May 01 - 13 ~ Slug
May 14 - 21 ~ Bullfrog
May 22 - 31 ~ Cockroach
June 01 - 03 ~ Slug
June 04 - 14 ~ Skunk
June 15 - 20 ~ Ass
June 21 - 24 ~ Ape
June 25 - 30 ~ Parasite
July 01 - 09 ~ Slug
July 10 - 15 ~ Ass
July 16 - 26 ~ Bullfrog
July 27 - 31 ~ Parasite
August 01 - 15 ~ Ape
August 16 - 25 ~ Slug
August 26 - 31 ~ Skunk
September 01 - 14 ~ Bullfrog
September 15 - 27 ~ Parasite
September 28 - 30 ~ Ass
October 01 - 15 ~ Ape
October 16 - 27 ~ Skunk
October 28 - 31 ~ Snake
November 01 - 16 ~ Cockroach
November 17 - 30 ~ Parasite
December 01 - 16 ~ Ass
December 17 - 25 ~ Ape
December 26 - 31 ~ Bullfrog
If you are an Ass: A very loyal and sweet person. Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends, all of them being quality-personified.
If you are a Slug: Always up to some sort of a mischief! The mischievous gleam in your eyes is what makes you so cute and attractive to everyone. You are an extremely fun-to-be-with kind of person. No wonder people seek for your company and look forward to include you for all get-together's. However, you are sensitive which is a drawback. People need to select their words while talking to you. If someone tries to fiddle around and play with words while dealing with you, it is enough to invite your wrath. God bless the person then!
If you are a Cockroach: Quite contradictory to your name, you are a peace loving person. You best try to avoid a situation wherein you are required to fight. An outdoor person, you dislike sitting at one place for a long duration. You are a born leader, and have it in you how to tactfully derive work from people. You love being loved, and when you receive your share of limelight from someone, you are all theirs!!!! Well, well... hence some people could even take an advantage, flatter you to the maximum and get their work done. So be careful.....
If you are a Parasite: An extremely lovable, adorable person, sometimes shy, with a passion for quick wit. At times, you prefer quietness. You love exploring various things and going into depth of each thing. Under normal circumstances you're cool but when given a reason to, you are like a volcano waiting to erupt. You're a fashion bird. People look forward to you as an icon associated with fashion. Basically, you mingle along freely but don't like talking much to strangers. People feel very easy in your company. You observe care in choosing your friends.
If you are a Skunk: You are near to perfect and nice at heart. The examples of your kindness are always circulated in groups of people. You too, love peace. You wouldn't like to retaliate even to a person who is in the wrong. You are loved due to this. You do not wish to talk behind one's back. People love the way you always treat them. You can give, give and give love, and the best part is that you do not expect it back in return. You are generous enough. Seeing things in a practical light is what the best trait of you guys remains.
If you are a Bullfrog: You symbolize a very happy-go-lucky approach in life. Whatever the surroundings may be, grim or cheerful, you remain unaffected. In fact, you spread cheer wherever you go. You are the leader of your group of friends and good at consoling people in their times of need. You dislike hypocrisy and tend to shirk away from hypocrites. They can never be in your good books, no matter what. You are very methodical and organized in your work. No amount of mess, hence, can ever encompass you. Beware; it is easy for you to fall in love....
If you are a Snake: You are mysterious. You are someone who can handle pressure with ease, and can handle any atmosphere without going berserk. You can be mean at times, and love to gossip with your selected group. Very prim and proper. You like all situations and things to be in the way you desire, which, sometimes is not possible. As a result, you may lose out in some relationships. But otherwise, you love to help people out from difficult and tight spots when they really need you.
If you are an Ape: Very impatient and hyper!!! You want things to be done as quickly as possible. At heart, you are quite simple and love if you are the center of attraction. That way, you people are unique..You would like to keep yourself safe from all the angles. Shall your name be dragged or featured in any sort of a controversy, you then go all panicky. Therefore, you take your precautions from the very beginning. When you foresee anything wrong, your sixth sense is what saves you from falling in traps. Quite a money minded bunch you people are!!
January 01 - 09 ~ Ass
January 10 - 24 ~ Slug
January 25 - 31 ~ Cockroach
February 01 - 05 ~ Parasite
February 06 - 14 ~ Bullfrog
February 15 - 21 ~ Skunk
February 22 - 28 ~ Snake
March 01 - 12 ~ Ape
March 13 - 15 ~ Cockroach
March 16 - 23 ~ Slug
March 24 - 31 ~ Parasite
April 01 - 03 ~ Ass
April 04 - 14 ~ Snake
April 15 - 26 ~ Slug
April 27 - 30 ~ Skunk
May 01 - 13 ~ Slug
May 14 - 21 ~ Bullfrog
May 22 - 31 ~ Cockroach
June 01 - 03 ~ Slug
June 04 - 14 ~ Skunk
June 15 - 20 ~ Ass
June 21 - 24 ~ Ape
June 25 - 30 ~ Parasite
July 01 - 09 ~ Slug
July 10 - 15 ~ Ass
July 16 - 26 ~ Bullfrog
July 27 - 31 ~ Parasite
August 01 - 15 ~ Ape
August 16 - 25 ~ Slug
August 26 - 31 ~ Skunk
September 01 - 14 ~ Bullfrog
September 15 - 27 ~ Parasite
September 28 - 30 ~ Ass
October 01 - 15 ~ Ape
October 16 - 27 ~ Skunk
October 28 - 31 ~ Snake
November 01 - 16 ~ Cockroach
November 17 - 30 ~ Parasite
December 01 - 16 ~ Ass
December 17 - 25 ~ Ape
December 26 - 31 ~ Bullfrog
If you are an Ass: A very loyal and sweet person. Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends, all of them being quality-personified.
If you are a Slug: Always up to some sort of a mischief! The mischievous gleam in your eyes is what makes you so cute and attractive to everyone. You are an extremely fun-to-be-with kind of person. No wonder people seek for your company and look forward to include you for all get-together's. However, you are sensitive which is a drawback. People need to select their words while talking to you. If someone tries to fiddle around and play with words while dealing with you, it is enough to invite your wrath. God bless the person then!
If you are a Cockroach: Quite contradictory to your name, you are a peace loving person. You best try to avoid a situation wherein you are required to fight. An outdoor person, you dislike sitting at one place for a long duration. You are a born leader, and have it in you how to tactfully derive work from people. You love being loved, and when you receive your share of limelight from someone, you are all theirs!!!! Well, well... hence some people could even take an advantage, flatter you to the maximum and get their work done. So be careful.....
If you are a Parasite: An extremely lovable, adorable person, sometimes shy, with a passion for quick wit. At times, you prefer quietness. You love exploring various things and going into depth of each thing. Under normal circumstances you're cool but when given a reason to, you are like a volcano waiting to erupt. You're a fashion bird. People look forward to you as an icon associated with fashion. Basically, you mingle along freely but don't like talking much to strangers. People feel very easy in your company. You observe care in choosing your friends.
If you are a Skunk: You are near to perfect and nice at heart. The examples of your kindness are always circulated in groups of people. You too, love peace. You wouldn't like to retaliate even to a person who is in the wrong. You are loved due to this. You do not wish to talk behind one's back. People love the way you always treat them. You can give, give and give love, and the best part is that you do not expect it back in return. You are generous enough. Seeing things in a practical light is what the best trait of you guys remains.
If you are a Bullfrog: You symbolize a very happy-go-lucky approach in life. Whatever the surroundings may be, grim or cheerful, you remain unaffected. In fact, you spread cheer wherever you go. You are the leader of your group of friends and good at consoling people in their times of need. You dislike hypocrisy and tend to shirk away from hypocrites. They can never be in your good books, no matter what. You are very methodical and organized in your work. No amount of mess, hence, can ever encompass you. Beware; it is easy for you to fall in love....
If you are a Snake: You are mysterious. You are someone who can handle pressure with ease, and can handle any atmosphere without going berserk. You can be mean at times, and love to gossip with your selected group. Very prim and proper. You like all situations and things to be in the way you desire, which, sometimes is not possible. As a result, you may lose out in some relationships. But otherwise, you love to help people out from difficult and tight spots when they really need you.
If you are an Ape: Very impatient and hyper!!! You want things to be done as quickly as possible. At heart, you are quite simple and love if you are the center of attraction. That way, you people are unique..You would like to keep yourself safe from all the angles. Shall your name be dragged or featured in any sort of a controversy, you then go all panicky. Therefore, you take your precautions from the very beginning. When you foresee anything wrong, your sixth sense is what saves you from falling in traps. Quite a money minded bunch you people are!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Through the eyes of a child...
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
There’d be no trouble and no strife,
Just a big happy life.With a bluebird in every tree.
I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I’ve never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
Smiling faces would greet me all the while.
Like a lovely work of art,
It would warm my weary heart,
Just to see through the eyes of a child.
I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I’ve never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
There’d be no trouble and no strife,
Just a big happy life.With a bluebird in every tree.
I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I’ve never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
Smiling faces would greet me all the while.
Like a lovely work of art,
It would warm my weary heart,
Just to see through the eyes of a child.
I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I’ve never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be
Sunday, July 25, 2010
want to sleep as the night is getting darker
Life is running faster and sometimes one is left behind
He turns out to be evil, who you thought was nice and kind
Why is a person alive without any purpose, sometimes you wonder
It happens even more when faced with uncertainties and thunder
You want assurance and in pursuit of it, you look around
Everyone is busy, all you have is yourself and loneliness profound
You feel sad, you want to cry, but there are no tears
You feel, time is bringing alive, the worst of your fears
You feel scared, you grope and then you run
Everything is unfamiliar, there is absolutely no fun
You get tired, you pause and you try to introspect
Where has gone that courage, boldness and self-respect
You say to yourself, "I am a fighter and I won't quit"
Just when you try to get back to feet, you get another hit
The entire world seems to be coming crumbling down
The much vaunted wisdom has gone, left is a clown
You are down on your knees, "Where should I go" you think
The magic castle, the great wealth, the love, it all went away in a blink
The fault should be with me because the whole world can't be wrong
It's just an irritating sound now that once used to be everyone's favourite song
You look around, you look up to the sky,
I wish I could just soar up and away would I fly
The dark clouds are approaching, limbs are tiring and strength rapidly weaning
The detractors swarm around, love is lost, life seems to be losing its meaning
The eyes open one last time as every time breathing is becoming harder
You want to stop, give up the battle and sleep as the night is getting darker
He turns out to be evil, who you thought was nice and kind
Why is a person alive without any purpose, sometimes you wonder
It happens even more when faced with uncertainties and thunder
You want assurance and in pursuit of it, you look around
Everyone is busy, all you have is yourself and loneliness profound
You feel sad, you want to cry, but there are no tears
You feel, time is bringing alive, the worst of your fears
You feel scared, you grope and then you run
Everything is unfamiliar, there is absolutely no fun
You get tired, you pause and you try to introspect
Where has gone that courage, boldness and self-respect
You say to yourself, "I am a fighter and I won't quit"
Just when you try to get back to feet, you get another hit
The entire world seems to be coming crumbling down
The much vaunted wisdom has gone, left is a clown
You are down on your knees, "Where should I go" you think
The magic castle, the great wealth, the love, it all went away in a blink
The fault should be with me because the whole world can't be wrong
It's just an irritating sound now that once used to be everyone's favourite song
You look around, you look up to the sky,
I wish I could just soar up and away would I fly
The dark clouds are approaching, limbs are tiring and strength rapidly weaning
The detractors swarm around, love is lost, life seems to be losing its meaning
The eyes open one last time as every time breathing is becoming harder
You want to stop, give up the battle and sleep as the night is getting darker
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The truth behind Paul's winning streak
Psychic or just plain phony? If there was any reason to believe that a crystal ball is hiding in that bulbous head of Paul the octopus, be warned: This article might just disappoint.Ready?
Some marine biologists and experts say it's more than likely that Paul doesn't have the gift of prophecy after all. What's more likely is that he's learned to recognize the German flag.
The 2-year-old octopus, who was born in England and now lives in a German aquarium, has become a World Cup phenomenon after correctly predicting the winners in all six of the German national team's matches.
"He has a run that many gamblers will only ever dream of," said Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium. "Paul is running a remarkable series of picks, but I honestly doubt that he has extrasensory abilities."
During each prediction, two mussel-filled acrylic boxes labeled with a team's flag are lowered into his tank. Whichever box he chooses conveys the winning team.
The eight-tentacled oracle has been relatively consistent, plopping himself over the German box in his first few predictions. But he drew cries of despair from assembled watchers before the semifinal round, when he lingered over the box for the German flag before opting for the Spanish flag instead. Spain won the match 1-0.
For the final game of the World Cup, Paul picked Spain, again, to win against the Netherlands.
Octopi are among the most intelligent sea creatures in the world, said Mike Henley, an animal keeper at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Being keen learners and natural hunters, they quickly figure out how to maneuver and finagle objects in the wild in order to sustain themselves.
Yet when kept in captivity, as Paul has been, they must often be trained to accept prepared food, Henley said.
LaCasse said that at the New England Aquarium, which has a giant Pacific octopus, marine biologists usually give the animals Plexiglas boxes with different latches, lids and arrangements to see if they are able to retrieve their food.
And it's this ability to pick things up quickly that might explain why Paul is consistently picking the winning team.
"Looking at the series of predictions, it appears that this may have been a learned task," said Dr. Jean Boal, a marine biology professor at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
Boal, who has worked with cephalopods for more than 20 years, believes that Paul's first pick may have just been pure luck and that he has been picking the German flag since his Euro 2008 days because the sea creature has learned to do so.
"It's a simple form of conceptual learning," she said.
By recognizing shapes and patterns, octopi will learn to gravitate toward them and even pick up skills, such as opening a jar or a box, that will lead them a food treat.
"They are very attentive to people. It's possible to train them, even unwittingly," Boal said.
But what about the times that he didn't pick the German flag?
Part of their learning process, Boal said, is that "once in a while, they might choose something else."
Then what about the red and yellow in the German and Spanish flags that Paul has been consistently attracted to?
There's no truth in that either, experts say. While octopi have excellent eyesight, they're colorblind.
"They don't have color vision, but they are able to see different shades of gray," said Richard Learner, curator of fishes at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.
"If anything, you have to factor distance and his trained abilities into this whole mystery of Paul's psychic powers."
Paul's trainer, Oliver Walenciak, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Henley, the Smithsonian Zoo animal keeper, said that fans will have to wait until Sunday to see whether the octopus will be able to prove to the world his powers.
"It'll be amazing to see what he does next," Henley said. "He's just gotten lucky every time. We should take him to Vegas."
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Detox and have a wonderful life...
Fast-paced urban life sees us exposed to different chemicals everyday. In the process, we tend to abuse our bodies to their limits.Never in the history of the earth have human beings been more exposed to toxins than we are in these times. These toxins include environmental toxins like cadmium, chlorine, pesticides, chloroform as well as those produced by our own bodies.
Thus, detoxification is the need of the hour and is a major component of good health.
What is detoxification?
Basically, detoxification is the procedure of removing toxic chemicals or poisons that have found their way into your body.
There are toxins in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. These are termed as external toxins. Our own body produces toxins as a result of its many metabolic processes that keep us alive. These are termed as internal toxins.
Our kidneys, liver, lungs and intestines work continuously to clean out every cell, organ and tissue in our bodies. However, because of the increasing number of toxins around us, we need to help our bodies cleanse internally by detoxifying regularly. If we don't, then we are allowing for the build-up of these toxins, which play havoc with our health and wellbeing, causing problems like:
• Headaches or back pain
• Joint pain or arthritis
• Depression or lack of energy
• Frequent allergies
• Poor digestion
• Stress
• Premature aging
• Bad breath
• Chronic infections
• Cancer
• Joint pain or arthritis
• Depression or lack of energy
• Frequent allergies
• Poor digestion
• Stress
• Premature aging
• Bad breath
• Chronic infections
• Cancer
Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world (including ayurvedic and Chinese medicinal systems), detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health.
What are its benefits?
The benefits of detoxification include:
• A strengthened immune system
• More energy and improved performance
• Stimulation of vitality and retardation of ageing
• Strengthening the body's fight against cancer cells
• Washing the colon, sinus tracts, stomach etc
• Purifying the blood
• Improved digestion and regular bowel movements
• Healthier hair, skin and nails
• Improved cognitive function
• Scavenging free radicals and eliminating toxins
• A reduced dependency on habit-forming substances such as sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and drugs
• Improved sleep
• More energy and improved performance
• Stimulation of vitality and retardation of ageing
• Strengthening the body's fight against cancer cells
• Washing the colon, sinus tracts, stomach etc
• Purifying the blood
• Improved digestion and regular bowel movements
• Healthier hair, skin and nails
• Improved cognitive function
• Scavenging free radicals and eliminating toxins
• A reduced dependency on habit-forming substances such as sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and drugs
• Improved sleep
When should I detoxify?
If you feel tired, fatigued and mentally confused even though you have had a relaxing day, then it is time to detox your body. There are various other indicators as well like skin problems, bags under the eyes, digestion problems, irregular menstrual cycles, unexplained allergies etc. If you have one or more of the above symptoms, then it is time for a detoxification to flush out the poisons.
Detoxification can take place in several different ways and at various levels of severity. There are many detoxification techniques prevalent that range from fasting snd juice fasts to diet modification and lifestyle changes. Learning the different ways to detox your body, mind and spirit can help you lead a more balanced life.
The good news is you can make small, everyday changes that will dramatically improve your health and wellbeing by enhancing your body's natural process of detoxification. Here are some tips to get you started:
Avoid alcohol, smoking and caffeinated beverages ... ...
They are loaded with harmful chemical substances that may damage internal organs in the long process. Alcohol and smoking irritate nerve functions and disturb mental focus. Alcohol affects the liver badly, especially if you make it an everyday habit. When it goes into the system, it takes the liver about 24-48 hours to excrete every last trace of it. When the liver can no longer cleanse the alcohol, it stays on, thus causing diseases like cirrhosis.
They are loaded with harmful chemical substances that may damage internal organs in the long process. Alcohol and smoking irritate nerve functions and disturb mental focus. Alcohol affects the liver badly, especially if you make it an everyday habit. When it goes into the system, it takes the liver about 24-48 hours to excrete every last trace of it. When the liver can no longer cleanse the alcohol, it stays on, thus causing diseases like cirrhosis.
Smoking introduces nicotine and other compounds into your body, which result in high toxin levels. Over a period in time and with increased frequency, the toxins accumulate in your body, posing tremendous danger to its vital organs and the functioning of your lungs, in particular. Smoking also clogs bronchial tubes, preventing natural air passage to the lungs. Caffeinated beverages are nothing but calories and sugar and can cause excessive weight gains.
Drink plenty of water... ...
The kidneys cannot perform adequately without sufficient water intake. Our kidneys remove wastes like uric acid, urea, and lactic acid, to name a few. All of which are dissolved in water. When there aren't adequate amounts of water, these wastes aren't removed effectively and kidney damage may result.
The kidneys cannot perform adequately without sufficient water intake. Our kidneys remove wastes like uric acid, urea, and lactic acid, to name a few. All of which are dissolved in water. When there aren't adequate amounts of water, these wastes aren't removed effectively and kidney damage may result.
The suggested amount is around 33 ml of water for every kg of body weight, ie 2.3 litres for a 70 kg person (around 1/2 an ounce for every pound, ie 60 oz for a 120 lb person). But water alone is not an ideal tool for detoxification because it lacks balanced nutrition to supply the body with enough vitamins and minerals.
Fruit juices are strongly recommended by some health professionals, so as not to deprive the body of important nutrients. Fruits are also good sources of natural blood sugar that help sustain brain's normal function.High caloric and processed foods are mostly hard to digest and lack a good amount of soluble and insoluble fibres to cleanse the digestive tract and intestinal wall. They often make the body prone to bloating and constipation. They also include toxins that are unhealthy for you. So, to detoxify your body, just keep those processed foods off your menu.
Meat, poultry, fish, pork, game, eggs, dairy -- sure, these foods can taste great, but they also contribute to poor digestion, a sluggish colon, high blood pressure, kidney stones and gall stones, to name but a few of the associated downsides.
In addition to that, meat contains difficult to digest enzymes, which means that it can hang around in your system for longer than is desirable, causing your digestion to be blocked by mucus. Some studies even claim that eating red meat can contribute to colon and prostate cancer.
Fibre-rich foods are excellent for flushing toxic residues out of the body. If you try this approach, you will see an improvement in your overall health, with many minor niggling symptoms disappearing altogether.
Increase the intake of foods like beetroot (chukandar), berries, broccoli (hari phoolgobhi), red grapes, spinach (palak) and carrot (gajar). These foods contained antioxidants that fight free-radical attacks and inflammation, protecting the immune system and body cells. They also help keep the skin texture radiant and glowing.Moreover, they contain important antioxidants called flavonoids and polyphenols that fight cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Spices are excellent for the purpose of drawing toxins out of your body and leaving you feeling more energetic and healthier in general.
Eat plenty of raw garlic (lehsun) either whole, chopped up or in juices. Garlic is a premiere infection and disease fighter, which unlike antibiotics does not harm our body's beneficial intestinal flora. Garlic increases phagocytosis; the ability of white blood cells to fight off bacterial infection (toxins).
Eat fresh ginger to aid digestion, and to stimulate blood circulation and lymphatic flow.
Ginger (adrak) also helps to open the pores and eliminate toxins. Consume some hot chili peppers with your meals; start with mild chillies if you are sensitive. Eating chili peppers will increase circulation, which means more nutrition reaching your cells and wastes leaving efficiently.
Ginger (adrak) also helps to open the pores and eliminate toxins. Consume some hot chili peppers with your meals; start with mild chillies if you are sensitive. Eating chili peppers will increase circulation, which means more nutrition reaching your cells and wastes leaving efficiently.
A sedentary lifestyle and worn out body cells make the immune system prone to illnesses. Exercise like walking and jogging are best recommended to maintain strong stamina and boost energy levels.
When your body is not healthy, it will let you know in many ways. You don't need products or supplements to obtain good health.
If you take good care of yourself through simple ways, your body will cleanse itself naturally.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Addiction... Money!!!!
People go so crazy after money that nothing else matters in their life. I have seen some of the most selfish and money hungry people abroad. All they care about is money and more money. Relationships hardly matter. If someone is being nice to you, it definitely means that they want some help from you. So you better be cautioned. If people think that you might not be of any use, they just stop picking your calls and become “busy” all of a sudden.
I have seen a lot of people transition in a similar pattern. When they land abroad for the first time, they look vulnerable and modest. They try to get friendly with anyone and everyone, trying to extract as much information from them as possible.
Once they are reasonable settled and start earning good money, they can’t handle it. They develop so much of ego that you start wondering if this was the same person you knew. Further down the line as they establish themselves, they are in an adrenaline rush and feel that they are better than others in everything.
The next thing they come up with is cursing India or defaming India in front of every sundry. They just love to talk about Indian population, pollution, corruption in front of people from other countries.
Recently, I was in the west on a family visit. At one of the group party, “Cockroaches” and “lizards” in India were discussed as some wild animals which eat human flesh. Once there was a discussion going on about cockroaches and I blurted out “My friend got bitten by a scorpion once here in US. What would you say about that?” And everyone fell silent after that. Isn’t scorpion worse than a cockroach? They behave as if they were “lucky” to have left the populated country and ended up in the land of opportunities.
No matter how much they try or their children try, they end up becoming a confused bunch of humans. They are neither Indians nor westerners. Wannabes are very common and every time I meet one, I feel sad for them. One thing I did not know before going abroad was that people go there just to make money. The only thing that matters there is money.
Unless you buy a costly car, people don’t give you respect. Unless you show your costly laptop, people won’t treat you well. Unless you buy a 42″ HDTV, people treat you like a beggar. If a person owns a BMW, he will treat all the Toyota owners like big losers. Status matters a lot and you need to showoff a lot.
Unless you have a high paying job and booze all the time, you are treated like a useless person. I loathed many people I met there. Because what matters in life is not money, relationships matter the most to me. I don’t make friendship with a person, because I think he/she might be of some help to me in the future. I don’t just break friendship with a person because I think he/she might not be of use to me anymore.
Every person you speak to, says “Everyone is selfish here” but they behave cheaply themselves. One of my friend had caught fever and definitely nobody cared for him, since he won’t be of any help when he is down with fever. In India, people come to your aid or atleast take you to a doctor.
Abroad, people don’t call or visit you because they are scared you will ask them for a favor. Everyone is self-centered. I like independence but not that kind of independence. I want money but not at the cost of relationships. I cannot endure a fake relationship where the other person is just using you for something. I cannot break friendship with a friend, for no valid reason and behave as if nothing happened. I would rather not stay in such a place surrounded with manipulative people.
This post came as a result of a talk I had with a friend years ago who loves the west and would rather not prefer coming back to India. There was a time when he said the western world was better than India in every way. I never bothered to argue. Today I pity him as he will never be treated like a localite. He will always be treated like an “alien”.
I am not against going abroad and having a successful life. Its the addiction and the hate that comes with success. Especially the addiction of acquiring money and showing off. Hope the next generation Indians born abroad are more balanced and proud to have a Indian bloodline.
Frankly speaking I have seen a ray of hope in this direction and that spells good.
I loved this quote made by George Lorimer. ...>..
“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”
I have seen a lot of people transition in a similar pattern. When they land abroad for the first time, they look vulnerable and modest. They try to get friendly with anyone and everyone, trying to extract as much information from them as possible.
Once they are reasonable settled and start earning good money, they can’t handle it. They develop so much of ego that you start wondering if this was the same person you knew. Further down the line as they establish themselves, they are in an adrenaline rush and feel that they are better than others in everything.
The next thing they come up with is cursing India or defaming India in front of every sundry. They just love to talk about Indian population, pollution, corruption in front of people from other countries.
Recently, I was in the west on a family visit. At one of the group party, “Cockroaches” and “lizards” in India were discussed as some wild animals which eat human flesh. Once there was a discussion going on about cockroaches and I blurted out “My friend got bitten by a scorpion once here in US. What would you say about that?” And everyone fell silent after that. Isn’t scorpion worse than a cockroach? They behave as if they were “lucky” to have left the populated country and ended up in the land of opportunities.
No matter how much they try or their children try, they end up becoming a confused bunch of humans. They are neither Indians nor westerners. Wannabes are very common and every time I meet one, I feel sad for them. One thing I did not know before going abroad was that people go there just to make money. The only thing that matters there is money.
Unless you buy a costly car, people don’t give you respect. Unless you show your costly laptop, people won’t treat you well. Unless you buy a 42″ HDTV, people treat you like a beggar. If a person owns a BMW, he will treat all the Toyota owners like big losers. Status matters a lot and you need to showoff a lot.
Unless you have a high paying job and booze all the time, you are treated like a useless person. I loathed many people I met there. Because what matters in life is not money, relationships matter the most to me. I don’t make friendship with a person, because I think he/she might be of some help to me in the future. I don’t just break friendship with a person because I think he/she might not be of use to me anymore.
Every person you speak to, says “Everyone is selfish here” but they behave cheaply themselves. One of my friend had caught fever and definitely nobody cared for him, since he won’t be of any help when he is down with fever. In India, people come to your aid or atleast take you to a doctor.
Abroad, people don’t call or visit you because they are scared you will ask them for a favor. Everyone is self-centered. I like independence but not that kind of independence. I want money but not at the cost of relationships. I cannot endure a fake relationship where the other person is just using you for something. I cannot break friendship with a friend, for no valid reason and behave as if nothing happened. I would rather not stay in such a place surrounded with manipulative people.
This post came as a result of a talk I had with a friend years ago who loves the west and would rather not prefer coming back to India. There was a time when he said the western world was better than India in every way. I never bothered to argue. Today I pity him as he will never be treated like a localite. He will always be treated like an “alien”.
I am not against going abroad and having a successful life. Its the addiction and the hate that comes with success. Especially the addiction of acquiring money and showing off. Hope the next generation Indians born abroad are more balanced and proud to have a Indian bloodline.
Frankly speaking I have seen a ray of hope in this direction and that spells good.
I loved this quote made by George Lorimer. ...>..
“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Drug rehab... an article for good living
Inpatient drug rehab is what many consider the "last step" for dealing with a loved one who's suffering from a substance abuse program. Unlike an intervention, or prescription therapy, inpatient drug rehab is a 24-hours-a-day solution for a problem, or even a disease, if you like, that itself is manifest 24 hours a day.
Addicts are people who need help, and they need help near constantly. Some drug rehab programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, aim to provide a structure based upon weekly meetings and a mantra of self-assurance.
This two-part approach has been highly effective for many, many people - including some friends of mine. The structure gives the addicts a feeling of control over their schedule, the very concept of time itself. The mantra is even more important in that it gives them a chance to feel like they control the need, rather than the need controling them.
Inpatient drug rehab is for when the above process doesn't work, or has stopped working. Inpatient drug rehab is for people who are, sometimes quite literally, on their last opportunity to turn their lives around. It is a severe but often necessary process for people who are decidedly unable to kick their habit.
Commonly, people will turn to inpatient drug rehab to help their loved ones overcome some sort of addiction. The most common is obviously substance abuse, such as heroin or cocaine, or even more common addictions such as alcohol or marijuana. Doctors and experts in the field consider substance abuse addictions amongst the hardest to overcome, simply because it works on more biological levels than, say, a sexual addiction.
Heroin, for example, not only stimulates the pleasure receptacles in your neuro net, but creates new pathways that only the drug can fill. So you get a two-edged sword of want and need. It becomes not only a mental addication - a "habit" - but a physical one that is done at first for pleasure, but soon simply for the need to just get through the day.
Any hope of long-term recovery, then, lies in breaking that second dependency and removing the patient from an environment where he or she has access to drugs. This is why so many serious drug abusers who haven't had success with other methods do have success with inpatient drug rehab.
This is why inpatient drug rehab is considered by most in the field to be the best, and most certain method of treating substance abusers or addicts of all stripes.
Addicts are people who need help, and they need help near constantly. Some drug rehab programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, aim to provide a structure based upon weekly meetings and a mantra of self-assurance.
This two-part approach has been highly effective for many, many people - including some friends of mine. The structure gives the addicts a feeling of control over their schedule, the very concept of time itself. The mantra is even more important in that it gives them a chance to feel like they control the need, rather than the need controling them.
Inpatient drug rehab is for when the above process doesn't work, or has stopped working. Inpatient drug rehab is for people who are, sometimes quite literally, on their last opportunity to turn their lives around. It is a severe but often necessary process for people who are decidedly unable to kick their habit.
Commonly, people will turn to inpatient drug rehab to help their loved ones overcome some sort of addiction. The most common is obviously substance abuse, such as heroin or cocaine, or even more common addictions such as alcohol or marijuana. Doctors and experts in the field consider substance abuse addictions amongst the hardest to overcome, simply because it works on more biological levels than, say, a sexual addiction.
Heroin, for example, not only stimulates the pleasure receptacles in your neuro net, but creates new pathways that only the drug can fill. So you get a two-edged sword of want and need. It becomes not only a mental addication - a "habit" - but a physical one that is done at first for pleasure, but soon simply for the need to just get through the day.
Any hope of long-term recovery, then, lies in breaking that second dependency and removing the patient from an environment where he or she has access to drugs. This is why so many serious drug abusers who haven't had success with other methods do have success with inpatient drug rehab.
This is why inpatient drug rehab is considered by most in the field to be the best, and most certain method of treating substance abusers or addicts of all stripes.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
My own blog rules....
I have no idea on what I will write here... I do not know why I blog... I don't even know if I can write... write well that is. What I do know is that I need a release.
And that is probably all I will do. Vent.
It is possible that over a period of time, the content on the blog will automatically fall into some sort of pattern. But I will make no attempts to achieve that deliberately.
I also promise to refrain from making deliberate and concious efforts to think of topics to write on.
I don't know who will read this. It does not matter if no one does.
I don't know if I can write and contribute to the blog religiously. I don't think that I have the discipline to write regularly and I will make no efforts to make a disciplined effort to do so now. I will write only when I want to and when I feel like . And if I ever write again, I don’t claim that I may have something specific to write about.
This blog is likely to be a narcissistic effort at self indulgence.
I promise myself never to make a conscious effort to read, re-read and edit once I finish writing.
I will refrain from making any efforts to be politically correct.
I will express myself even if I am likely to hurt sentiments - even my own.
I will be spontaneous (if I ever write again).
I will not refrain from naming names
I will forever be incognito. Yes. I am a coward.
I will not claim that the rambling on this blog are opinions or statements that I have absolute and complete belief in. My opinions will change as the information that I have changes.
I will contradict myself. Across different blog entries and even within each blog entry
I do not claim that I will never plagarise.
I will, in all probability, never stick to the edicts that I have stated above.
And that is probably all I will do. Vent.
It is possible that over a period of time, the content on the blog will automatically fall into some sort of pattern. But I will make no attempts to achieve that deliberately.
I also promise to refrain from making deliberate and concious efforts to think of topics to write on.
I don't know who will read this. It does not matter if no one does.
I don't know if I can write and contribute to the blog religiously. I don't think that I have the discipline to write regularly and I will make no efforts to make a disciplined effort to do so now. I will write only when I want to and when I feel like . And if I ever write again, I don’t claim that I may have something specific to write about.
This blog is likely to be a narcissistic effort at self indulgence.
I promise myself never to make a conscious effort to read, re-read and edit once I finish writing.
I will refrain from making any efforts to be politically correct.
I will express myself even if I am likely to hurt sentiments - even my own.
I will be spontaneous (if I ever write again).
I will not refrain from naming names
I will forever be incognito. Yes. I am a coward.
I will not claim that the rambling on this blog are opinions or statements that I have absolute and complete belief in. My opinions will change as the information that I have changes.
I will contradict myself. Across different blog entries and even within each blog entry
I do not claim that I will never plagarise.
I will, in all probability, never stick to the edicts that I have stated above.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Manic Mondays..!!
Well, contrary to what I've written as "Manic Mondays", Mondays are not manic at all. Quite the opposite I must say.
Mondays can be safely termed as dull, boring, and sleepy, and the one thing which I absolutely hate is waking up to another Monday morning.
It is all very nice for the Tom Sawyers of this world, pretending tooth ache and going to the extent of even losing the tooth in question and conveniently missing school on Monday.
If only it were as convenient for us poor employees.
Ahh!! well, I don’t deny that I exercise my little gray cells on Sunday evening and think of probable and convincing excuses for going in a couple of hours late on Mondays.
My favorites being, a visit to the doctor (I have an unbearable pain in my tummy!), a visit to the bank (have to send money home, they need it badly!), car tire punctured (we both know I'm lying, but try proving it!) and, the most classic excuse of all, which the boss cannot refute in the most extreme of circumstances - Traffic Jam.
Traffic jams are a boon to us here in Hongkong, and invariably used by more than 50% latecomers.
The rest is all quite easy, and something I'm quite adept at... Pretending to be busy and harassed at work, giving the boss an impression that you are one of the few hard workers left in this world; roam around the office a couple of times during the day, shuffling a few papers and muttering to yourself; this also gives the boss the same impression.
Open Gtalk and Yahoo Messenger stealthily, and chat to your heart's content. Before you know it, its evening, time to leave, and that’s another dreaded Monday laid to rest.
In relative peace… I must say.
Mondays can be safely termed as dull, boring, and sleepy, and the one thing which I absolutely hate is waking up to another Monday morning.
It is all very nice for the Tom Sawyers of this world, pretending tooth ache and going to the extent of even losing the tooth in question and conveniently missing school on Monday.
If only it were as convenient for us poor employees.
Ahh!! well, I don’t deny that I exercise my little gray cells on Sunday evening and think of probable and convincing excuses for going in a couple of hours late on Mondays.
My favorites being, a visit to the doctor (I have an unbearable pain in my tummy!), a visit to the bank (have to send money home, they need it badly!), car tire punctured (we both know I'm lying, but try proving it!) and, the most classic excuse of all, which the boss cannot refute in the most extreme of circumstances - Traffic Jam.
Traffic jams are a boon to us here in Hongkong, and invariably used by more than 50% latecomers.
The rest is all quite easy, and something I'm quite adept at... Pretending to be busy and harassed at work, giving the boss an impression that you are one of the few hard workers left in this world; roam around the office a couple of times during the day, shuffling a few papers and muttering to yourself; this also gives the boss the same impression.
Open Gtalk and Yahoo Messenger stealthily, and chat to your heart's content. Before you know it, its evening, time to leave, and that’s another dreaded Monday laid to rest.
In relative peace… I must say.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Inner peace and healthy choice..
Whenever someone gave me reason to feel angry, sad, anxious, or fearful, I was able to slow my thoughts and emotions down, remind myself that my antagonist was likely deprived of love, and choose to respond with kindness and understanding.
Okay, maybe I wasn't able to do this every time I felt I was wronged, but I was definitely on a plane of thinking and being that would likely have been appreciated. I was in the zone that Gandhi must have been in, while he was allowing himself to get physically smacked around.
Here's the thing: Over the past decade, whenever I have been able to purposefully respond with a generous heart in situations where most sane people would have given me full license to respond with righteous anger, I have always been able to walk away with peace in my heart. Always.
I think that this is the magic of taking the high road. Sometimes, it's human to want to call out mean-spirited and rude behavior. You feel like you need to preserve some self respect. But interestingly, I have yet to feel like I lost anything by diverting or even absorbing bad energy and being compassionate.
Put another way, I have found that peace of mind is a natural consequence of choosing to be kind in every circumstance (And sometimes, being kind entails walking away in silence).
Without exception, in situations where I haven't been able to pause and control the urge to let someone know that he or she just generated some bad karma, I've walked away feeling worse for having "stood up for myself." In such situations, I guess I, too, was motivated by a need for love.
Also interesting is that I've found that the more good energy I put out there, the deeper my well of good energy seems to become. Consciously choosing to walk with a forgiving and compassionate spirit really seems to fortify the intention to lift others up.
This reminds me of the "what do you get when you squeeze an orange" idea. You get orange juice, of course, because that's what's inside an orange. If we have love and compassion within, love and compassion is what will come out of us when we're squeezed.
Clearly, choosing to give out love doesn't happen naturally all the time. It takes work. It takes daily effort to stay in this zone. I find that I have to fill myself up with uplifting thoughts on a regular basis. I think this is why I tend to have my best days when I begin by reading from anything that inspires me to inspire others.
And when I don't do this work, when I don't take time to consciously choose to give out love rather than demonstrate a need for it, I find that it becomes super easy to slide back into being a reactive person who is easily offended by anything that threatens my ego.
So I guess the main thought that I want to share is this: if you're ever feeling crummy and you're looking for a way to feel at peace, try going back to the well, the well that fuels you to be gentle, understanding, generous, and humble.
Even when you are clearly wronged by someone, I can almost guarantee that if you put your hurt feelings away for just a moment and respond with a gentle, understanding, generous, and humble spirit, you will be better for it. And you can spend the rest of your day knowing that you did your part to create healthy energy for someone else.
I've long believed that consistently feeling peace within is the most important requirement for optimal health.
Never mind the toll that emotional stress takes on our physical health; without inner peace, how can any of us consistently make healthy choices?
Okay, maybe I wasn't able to do this every time I felt I was wronged, but I was definitely on a plane of thinking and being that would likely have been appreciated. I was in the zone that Gandhi must have been in, while he was allowing himself to get physically smacked around.
Here's the thing: Over the past decade, whenever I have been able to purposefully respond with a generous heart in situations where most sane people would have given me full license to respond with righteous anger, I have always been able to walk away with peace in my heart. Always.
I think that this is the magic of taking the high road. Sometimes, it's human to want to call out mean-spirited and rude behavior. You feel like you need to preserve some self respect. But interestingly, I have yet to feel like I lost anything by diverting or even absorbing bad energy and being compassionate.
Put another way, I have found that peace of mind is a natural consequence of choosing to be kind in every circumstance (And sometimes, being kind entails walking away in silence).
Without exception, in situations where I haven't been able to pause and control the urge to let someone know that he or she just generated some bad karma, I've walked away feeling worse for having "stood up for myself." In such situations, I guess I, too, was motivated by a need for love.
Also interesting is that I've found that the more good energy I put out there, the deeper my well of good energy seems to become. Consciously choosing to walk with a forgiving and compassionate spirit really seems to fortify the intention to lift others up.
This reminds me of the "what do you get when you squeeze an orange" idea. You get orange juice, of course, because that's what's inside an orange. If we have love and compassion within, love and compassion is what will come out of us when we're squeezed.
Clearly, choosing to give out love doesn't happen naturally all the time. It takes work. It takes daily effort to stay in this zone. I find that I have to fill myself up with uplifting thoughts on a regular basis. I think this is why I tend to have my best days when I begin by reading from anything that inspires me to inspire others.
And when I don't do this work, when I don't take time to consciously choose to give out love rather than demonstrate a need for it, I find that it becomes super easy to slide back into being a reactive person who is easily offended by anything that threatens my ego.
So I guess the main thought that I want to share is this: if you're ever feeling crummy and you're looking for a way to feel at peace, try going back to the well, the well that fuels you to be gentle, understanding, generous, and humble.
Even when you are clearly wronged by someone, I can almost guarantee that if you put your hurt feelings away for just a moment and respond with a gentle, understanding, generous, and humble spirit, you will be better for it. And you can spend the rest of your day knowing that you did your part to create healthy energy for someone else.
I've long believed that consistently feeling peace within is the most important requirement for optimal health.
Never mind the toll that emotional stress takes on our physical health; without inner peace, how can any of us consistently make healthy choices?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A Good way to lead an enterprise...
In February 2007, when Derek Yach, a former executive director of the World Health Organization and an expert on nutrition, took a new job with PepsiCo, his mother worried that he'd lost his mind.
"You are aware they sell soda and chips, and these things cause you to get unhealthy and fat?" she asked him. Yach's former colleagues in public health circles murmured similar concerns.
Yes, he said, he knew what Pepsi made. But he wanted to help guide the $43 billion snack food multinational toward a more balanced product menu. The company describes its current portfolio of "healthy" fare as a $10 billion business—a figure CEO Indra Nooyi says she wants to see jump to $30 billion over the next decade.
The question is, will Yach, now senior vice-president for global health policy, really have the influence his boss has promised? If he does, will Pepsi's strategy prove profitable? Can its growing team of health advocates— who in times past might have seen Pepsi as the enemy—come up with an apple treat that tastes as good as a deep-fried Lay's potato chip?
Over the past two years, Pepsi has hired a dozen physicians and PhDs, many of whom built their reputations at the Mayo Clinic, WHO, and like-minded institutions. Some researched diabetes and heart disease, the sort of ailments that can result in part from eating too much of what Pepsi sells.
Yach and his comrades aren't subversives. The goal, says Mehmood Kahn, Pepsi's first-ever chief scientific officer, is to create healthy options while making the bad stuff less bad. "It's O.K. to have a slice of birthday cake on your birthday," says Kahn, formerly a practicing physician specializing in nutrition who did a stint at the Mayo Clinic.
"Would you eat it every day of the week? That's a different question." At Pepsi, he and the other scientists "can say we can actually make an impact on what is available for consumers."
Thats a good way of looking at nutrition, which to me is to balance good most of the time while do trying out the bad once in a while... What say you???
"You are aware they sell soda and chips, and these things cause you to get unhealthy and fat?" she asked him. Yach's former colleagues in public health circles murmured similar concerns.
Yes, he said, he knew what Pepsi made. But he wanted to help guide the $43 billion snack food multinational toward a more balanced product menu. The company describes its current portfolio of "healthy" fare as a $10 billion business—a figure CEO Indra Nooyi says she wants to see jump to $30 billion over the next decade.
The question is, will Yach, now senior vice-president for global health policy, really have the influence his boss has promised? If he does, will Pepsi's strategy prove profitable? Can its growing team of health advocates— who in times past might have seen Pepsi as the enemy—come up with an apple treat that tastes as good as a deep-fried Lay's potato chip?
Over the past two years, Pepsi has hired a dozen physicians and PhDs, many of whom built their reputations at the Mayo Clinic, WHO, and like-minded institutions. Some researched diabetes and heart disease, the sort of ailments that can result in part from eating too much of what Pepsi sells.
Yach and his comrades aren't subversives. The goal, says Mehmood Kahn, Pepsi's first-ever chief scientific officer, is to create healthy options while making the bad stuff less bad. "It's O.K. to have a slice of birthday cake on your birthday," says Kahn, formerly a practicing physician specializing in nutrition who did a stint at the Mayo Clinic.
"Would you eat it every day of the week? That's a different question." At Pepsi, he and the other scientists "can say we can actually make an impact on what is available for consumers."
Thats a good way of looking at nutrition, which to me is to balance good most of the time while do trying out the bad once in a while... What say you???
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Friends.....
The intention of this post is not to condemn people but to encourage them to examine their behavior if they really want to have friends.
People have no friends not because people don't like their faces or they are too quiet; I know people who are quiet and aren't good-looking but others would still include them in their group activities.
People have no friends because of the way they choose to behave.......
1. What's in it for me? We all don't give something for nothing. But some people have the "What's in it for me?" thought at the front of their minds all the time. They don't give anything unless they know that they can get something back immediately. Or they are nasty to everyone but would suddenly turn "nice" when they need something.
As we know, nobody likes being around such people or wants to be friends with them. Friendship usually starts with the question "What can I offer you?" It could just be a smile or holding the door open for someone to start with. It is give and take: giving first before taking.
2. Keeping secrets, being judgmental, gossiping. To build a deep and meaningful relationship with someone, you have to reveal certain private information. I'm not saying you have to reveal everything immediately but withholding certain types of information prevents free and open communication.
If people don't reveal any of their secrets, they will find themselves imprisoned by it. I find that if I share my secrets, my friends would be more willing to share theirs. This brings us closer in understanding and supporting one another. People who won't even tell me what they work as or where they work are big question marks in my mind. Building relationships involves risk.
There's a risk that my friends might use my weakness against me or reveal information about me that I would prefer to keep private. I can't tell everything to everyone. I have to decide the right time and right people. It is often a hit-and-miss. Sadly, there are (judgmental) friends who avoided me after I told them my secrets. But I wouldn't know the outcome till after I've taken the risk.
3. Emocentric and egocentric. Everybody likes to talk about themselves, but emocentric and egocentric people are extreme. They think the world revolves around them. They mock others' achievements and beat people down. What they want are admirers, not friends, to give them attention and boost their ego.
4. Boring mindset. Who wants hang out with someone who says "I'm bored" all the time? But there are people who keep saying that and expect others to want to hang out with them. If I turn my blog into an "I am so bored" blog, nobody's going to return. Actually, you can put #3 and #4 people together and maybe they'll get along just fine.
5. Collecting friends. Collecting Internet friends is the latest craze. Before the Internet was widely used, people collected friends too. People love having friends who "know them" or they love saying that they "know" so-and-so. In my mind, I would ask: You claim to know so-and-so but does he know you? I know some people who have so many friends that they can't even remember their names! How can they call someone their friend if they don't even know their names?! It's ridiculous!
6. Ungratefulness. People with short memories forget what their friends did to help them. Not even a word of thanks.
7. Inability to be happy for someone else. Some people don't have the ability to be happy for
others and celebrate their achievements and life events. A tinge of envy is normal but some people would say something bad or curse others.
8. Unwillingness to invest time and effort. There are people who are always too busy to make time for their friends. If they don't invest time into a relationship, it's unlikely that it would grow.
As the song goes, 'Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold'. With their lives, however, it's "one is silver and the other goes".
People just don't bother to show up or make an effort to keep in touch and they say they have no friends. So whose fault is it anyway? Without working on a relationship on a continuous basis friendships are bound to slowly get strangled.
Hope and pray all my friends are in good health, spirit and take me for what I am.
To all my friends: thank you for being here for me and supporting me as always! You all make me feel happy and am less alone in this wonderful world :))
People have no friends not because people don't like their faces or they are too quiet; I know people who are quiet and aren't good-looking but others would still include them in their group activities.
People have no friends because of the way they choose to behave.......
1. What's in it for me? We all don't give something for nothing. But some people have the "What's in it for me?" thought at the front of their minds all the time. They don't give anything unless they know that they can get something back immediately. Or they are nasty to everyone but would suddenly turn "nice" when they need something.
As we know, nobody likes being around such people or wants to be friends with them. Friendship usually starts with the question "What can I offer you?" It could just be a smile or holding the door open for someone to start with. It is give and take: giving first before taking.
2. Keeping secrets, being judgmental, gossiping. To build a deep and meaningful relationship with someone, you have to reveal certain private information. I'm not saying you have to reveal everything immediately but withholding certain types of information prevents free and open communication.
If people don't reveal any of their secrets, they will find themselves imprisoned by it. I find that if I share my secrets, my friends would be more willing to share theirs. This brings us closer in understanding and supporting one another. People who won't even tell me what they work as or where they work are big question marks in my mind. Building relationships involves risk.
There's a risk that my friends might use my weakness against me or reveal information about me that I would prefer to keep private. I can't tell everything to everyone. I have to decide the right time and right people. It is often a hit-and-miss. Sadly, there are (judgmental) friends who avoided me after I told them my secrets. But I wouldn't know the outcome till after I've taken the risk.
3. Emocentric and egocentric. Everybody likes to talk about themselves, but emocentric and egocentric people are extreme. They think the world revolves around them. They mock others' achievements and beat people down. What they want are admirers, not friends, to give them attention and boost their ego.
4. Boring mindset. Who wants hang out with someone who says "I'm bored" all the time? But there are people who keep saying that and expect others to want to hang out with them. If I turn my blog into an "I am so bored" blog, nobody's going to return. Actually, you can put #3 and #4 people together and maybe they'll get along just fine.
5. Collecting friends. Collecting Internet friends is the latest craze. Before the Internet was widely used, people collected friends too. People love having friends who "know them" or they love saying that they "know" so-and-so. In my mind, I would ask: You claim to know so-and-so but does he know you? I know some people who have so many friends that they can't even remember their names! How can they call someone their friend if they don't even know their names?! It's ridiculous!
6. Ungratefulness. People with short memories forget what their friends did to help them. Not even a word of thanks.
7. Inability to be happy for someone else. Some people don't have the ability to be happy for
others and celebrate their achievements and life events. A tinge of envy is normal but some people would say something bad or curse others.
8. Unwillingness to invest time and effort. There are people who are always too busy to make time for their friends. If they don't invest time into a relationship, it's unlikely that it would grow.
As the song goes, 'Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold'. With their lives, however, it's "one is silver and the other goes".
People just don't bother to show up or make an effort to keep in touch and they say they have no friends. So whose fault is it anyway? Without working on a relationship on a continuous basis friendships are bound to slowly get strangled.
Hope and pray all my friends are in good health, spirit and take me for what I am.
To all my friends: thank you for being here for me and supporting me as always! You all make me feel happy and am less alone in this wonderful world :))
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A state of mind... which needs change
Poverty is nothing more than a state of lack in relation to your frame of reference. Defining oneself in relation to the possessions one doesn’t have is a self-perpetuating cycle through which one can never be whole.
The problem is that most people don’t have any idea of what they actually want. This lack of wholeness leads to much frustration, which is then fed back into the cycle, continuing forever in this futility.
Most of the time, what a particular person is looking for is something much subtler and harder to define than money. Money only serves as a bad substitute, something which socially conditioned values put front and center for no other reason than the utter inability of coming up with a more creative alternative.
I for one am not at all surprised or displeased at the recent turn the economy has taken. This “crisis” just exposes the fact that a large percentage of people are still stuck going round and round, trying to apply the same solutions to their intangible problems over and over again.
An evidently unsustainable model which was bound to come crashing down eventually.
Only through awareness can this larger problem of humanity be overcome.
This century puts the tools of communication at our disposal in a way which greatly helps this process. As more and more people start finding alternate ways of living, the entire social model of what wealth means is starting to change.
The solution doesn’t lie in donating to poor kids in Africa once in a while and then looking the other way; it lies in fundamentally changing the way society as a whole perceives money.
As soon as the people who are not in direct need start to care more about sharing than having, about giving than receiving, the rest will take care of itself. And in the process, it’s getting easier for those who wish to lend a helping hand to people who are really in need, right now, to do so.
So, even if things are looking bad on the surface, now is a better time than ever for us as a whole to overcome poverty once and for all.
I won’t ask you to run off and donate some cash; just take some time tonight and think deeply about the role money plays in your life, and how your attitude is affecting the collective consciousness of humanity.
That is what will ultimately bring about change for all of us.
The problem is that most people don’t have any idea of what they actually want. This lack of wholeness leads to much frustration, which is then fed back into the cycle, continuing forever in this futility.
Most of the time, what a particular person is looking for is something much subtler and harder to define than money. Money only serves as a bad substitute, something which socially conditioned values put front and center for no other reason than the utter inability of coming up with a more creative alternative.
I for one am not at all surprised or displeased at the recent turn the economy has taken. This “crisis” just exposes the fact that a large percentage of people are still stuck going round and round, trying to apply the same solutions to their intangible problems over and over again.
An evidently unsustainable model which was bound to come crashing down eventually.
Only through awareness can this larger problem of humanity be overcome.
This century puts the tools of communication at our disposal in a way which greatly helps this process. As more and more people start finding alternate ways of living, the entire social model of what wealth means is starting to change.
The solution doesn’t lie in donating to poor kids in Africa once in a while and then looking the other way; it lies in fundamentally changing the way society as a whole perceives money.
As soon as the people who are not in direct need start to care more about sharing than having, about giving than receiving, the rest will take care of itself. And in the process, it’s getting easier for those who wish to lend a helping hand to people who are really in need, right now, to do so.
So, even if things are looking bad on the surface, now is a better time than ever for us as a whole to overcome poverty once and for all.
I won’t ask you to run off and donate some cash; just take some time tonight and think deeply about the role money plays in your life, and how your attitude is affecting the collective consciousness of humanity.
That is what will ultimately bring about change for all of us.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I am hungry..... she said
This is my first attempt at writing a story..... of course the inspiration is from a story I read some time back...
She felt weak in her knees as she hopped down on to the platform. She didn’t know if it was due to the exhaustion of the tiring journey or due to the biggest step she had ever taken in her life. But either of the reasons didn’t really matter now.
Here she was. All alone, in an entirely unknown city.
She looked left, then to the right. No sign of him. “He must be there somewhere, checking every coach for me.” She thought. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him the coach number.
She saw an empty bench ahead. “I better wait for him here.” She sat there with her bag clutched in her lap.
There was life all around. Families getting off the train with loads of baggage. Porters running along in search of prospective customers. The vendors shouting at the top of their voices while doing brisk business. She tried her best to divert her attention to those little details of people’s lives. But at every next minute, she would involuntarily look around in search of him.
Amidst all the noises, she found her mind recollecting the events of the day..... It was early morning, when her dad had announced that the prospective groom and his family would be arriving in two days. And that's when she had lost it. She had announced her disapproval about the idea in no uncertain terms. And her dad had shouted at her. And she had shouted back at him. For the first time in her life…!
And then she had rushed in to gather her belongings. She couldn’t breathe anymore in that cage. She shoved her things in the bag even as her mom continued to let her have more than just a piece of her mind.
She had decided. She was leaving. She wanted to be with HIM. HE was her life now. She had tried to call him. But couldn’t get through. So she messaged him to let him know that she had left all for him. And that she would be arriving by the evening express.
She got herself an un-reserved ticket with whatever little money she had saved and she boarded the train. She was now free. She was finally going to be with him.
A slight chill in the air shook her back into the present. The sun had almost gone down, letting the darkness take charge of things. But he still wasn’t there…
She felt her throat go dry. She quickly took a couple of gulps from the bottle she had bought. She felt better. But still…
It was almost an hour since she had de-boarded. Why wasn’t he here ? Did he get her message? She took out her mobile phone. She hadn’t even got a chance to recharge the battery before leaving. The screen was blank. She switched it on. It showed some signs of life. Suddenly it blinked twice. “LOW BATTERY.” And it went dead again.
She saw a pay-phone on the side of the coffee shop. She went up to it, dropped in a coin and called his number. “NOT REACHABLE!”
She tried again. And again. And again. But without any luck.
She was now starting to panic. Here she was, all by herself, in a completely new city. She didn’t know a soul. Except him. She didn’t know where to go. And she didn’t even have enough money.
She took out her purse and counted. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. Would that much be sufficient to buy her a meal? If it was, then what after the meal? Or should she skip the meal and buy a ticket back to home?
HOME?? What home?? She had left home for good. There was no one to receive her back. Even if they were, did she have the courage to return? She had argued… shouted… and vowed never to return. Could she face them now?
And suddenly she felt her heart sinking…
She slowly went back to the bench and sat. What were the options for her now? Were there any?
“Why isn’t he here yet? He’d surely have got my message. He always does. Ohhh… Why did I leave? Why didn’t I think? Did I act too hastily?” That was all she could think of. Her heart sinking deeper with each passing second. Her mind was inching closer to the extreme decision. Her eyes brimming with tears.
He smiled as he looked at her from behind the pillar, still trying to catch his breath. Running the length of the long railway platform coupled with the immense anxiety about her had almost left him breathless. And then he slowly moved towards her.
He stood there, quietly, in front of her, while she looked down at the floor, almost numb with hopelessness.
“Hi.”
Startled, she looked up. And there he was, smiling at her.
She suddenly felt extreme emotions ready to explode inside her. Nothing could match the sense of relief she felt. But the raging anger felt matchless too. She loved him all the more now. But she also hated him with all she had. She wanted to run into his arms. And she wanted to kill him.
But all she could manage to do was to stand up and say, “Where were you??”
“Sorry. Late as usual. You know I can never get my things ready in quick time…” He replied, still short of breath.
“Things? What’s in that bag? Where are you going?” She was puzzled.
“WE are going back. To your place. I have to ask your dad for you. I don’t want him shouting later that I stole you.” He grinned.
“He won’t let you…”
“Then we’ll run away together. That’s why the bag…” He laughed.
She couldn’t keep herself from folding into his arms. Finally, she let go of the tears as well.
“I’m hungry…” She said.
She felt weak in her knees as she hopped down on to the platform. She didn’t know if it was due to the exhaustion of the tiring journey or due to the biggest step she had ever taken in her life. But either of the reasons didn’t really matter now.Here she was. All alone, in an entirely unknown city.
She looked left, then to the right. No sign of him. “He must be there somewhere, checking every coach for me.” She thought. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him the coach number.
She saw an empty bench ahead. “I better wait for him here.” She sat there with her bag clutched in her lap.
There was life all around. Families getting off the train with loads of baggage. Porters running along in search of prospective customers. The vendors shouting at the top of their voices while doing brisk business. She tried her best to divert her attention to those little details of people’s lives. But at every next minute, she would involuntarily look around in search of him.
Amidst all the noises, she found her mind recollecting the events of the day..... It was early morning, when her dad had announced that the prospective groom and his family would be arriving in two days. And that's when she had lost it. She had announced her disapproval about the idea in no uncertain terms. And her dad had shouted at her. And she had shouted back at him. For the first time in her life…!
And then she had rushed in to gather her belongings. She couldn’t breathe anymore in that cage. She shoved her things in the bag even as her mom continued to let her have more than just a piece of her mind.
She had decided. She was leaving. She wanted to be with HIM. HE was her life now. She had tried to call him. But couldn’t get through. So she messaged him to let him know that she had left all for him. And that she would be arriving by the evening express.
She got herself an un-reserved ticket with whatever little money she had saved and she boarded the train. She was now free. She was finally going to be with him.
A slight chill in the air shook her back into the present. The sun had almost gone down, letting the darkness take charge of things. But he still wasn’t there…
She felt her throat go dry. She quickly took a couple of gulps from the bottle she had bought. She felt better. But still…
It was almost an hour since she had de-boarded. Why wasn’t he here ? Did he get her message? She took out her mobile phone. She hadn’t even got a chance to recharge the battery before leaving. The screen was blank. She switched it on. It showed some signs of life. Suddenly it blinked twice. “LOW BATTERY.” And it went dead again.
She saw a pay-phone on the side of the coffee shop. She went up to it, dropped in a coin and called his number. “NOT REACHABLE!”
She tried again. And again. And again. But without any luck.
She was now starting to panic. Here she was, all by herself, in a completely new city. She didn’t know a soul. Except him. She didn’t know where to go. And she didn’t even have enough money.
She took out her purse and counted. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. Would that much be sufficient to buy her a meal? If it was, then what after the meal? Or should she skip the meal and buy a ticket back to home?
HOME?? What home?? She had left home for good. There was no one to receive her back. Even if they were, did she have the courage to return? She had argued… shouted… and vowed never to return. Could she face them now?
And suddenly she felt her heart sinking…
She slowly went back to the bench and sat. What were the options for her now? Were there any?
“Why isn’t he here yet? He’d surely have got my message. He always does. Ohhh… Why did I leave? Why didn’t I think? Did I act too hastily?” That was all she could think of. Her heart sinking deeper with each passing second. Her mind was inching closer to the extreme decision. Her eyes brimming with tears.
He smiled as he looked at her from behind the pillar, still trying to catch his breath. Running the length of the long railway platform coupled with the immense anxiety about her had almost left him breathless. And then he slowly moved towards her.
He stood there, quietly, in front of her, while she looked down at the floor, almost numb with hopelessness.
“Hi.”
Startled, she looked up. And there he was, smiling at her.
She suddenly felt extreme emotions ready to explode inside her. Nothing could match the sense of relief she felt. But the raging anger felt matchless too. She loved him all the more now. But she also hated him with all she had. She wanted to run into his arms. And she wanted to kill him.
But all she could manage to do was to stand up and say, “Where were you??”
“Sorry. Late as usual. You know I can never get my things ready in quick time…” He replied, still short of breath.
“Things? What’s in that bag? Where are you going?” She was puzzled.
“WE are going back. To your place. I have to ask your dad for you. I don’t want him shouting later that I stole you.” He grinned.
“He won’t let you…”
“Then we’ll run away together. That’s why the bag…” He laughed.
She couldn’t keep herself from folding into his arms. Finally, she let go of the tears as well.
“I’m hungry…” She said.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thank Thee, O Giver OF Life, O GOD...
Thank Thee, O Giver of Life, O God!
For the force that flames in the winter sod;
For the breath of my nostrils, fiercely good,
The sweet of water, the taste of food,
The sun that silvers the pantry floor,
The step of a neighbor at my door;
For dusk that fondles the window pane,
For the beautiful sound of falling rain.
Thank Thee for love and light and air,
For children’s faces, keenly fair,
For the wonderful joy of perfect rest
When the sun’s wick lowers within the West;
For huddling hills in gowns of snow
Warming themselves in the afterglow;
For Thy mighty wings that are never furled,
Bearing onward the rushing world.
Thank Thee, O Giver of Life, O God!
For Thy glory leaping the lightning rod;
For Thy terrible spaces of love and fire
Where sparks from the forge of Thy desire
Storm through the void in floods of suns,
Far as the heat of Thy Presence runs
And where hurricanes of chanting spheres
Swing to the pulse of the flying years.
Thank Thee for human toil that thrills
With the plan of Thine which man fulfills;
For bridges and tunnels, for ships that soar,
For iron and steel and the furnace roar;
For this anguished vortex of blood and pain
Where sweat and struggle are never vain;
For progress, pushing the teeming earth
On and up to a higher birth.
Thank Thee for life, for life, for life,
O Giver of Life, O God!
For the force that flames in the winter sod;
For the breath of my nostrils, fiercely good,
The sweet of water, the taste of food,
The sun that silvers the pantry floor,
The step of a neighbor at my door;
For dusk that fondles the window pane,
For the beautiful sound of falling rain.
Thank Thee for love and light and air,
For children’s faces, keenly fair,
For the wonderful joy of perfect rest
When the sun’s wick lowers within the West;
For huddling hills in gowns of snow
Warming themselves in the afterglow;
For Thy mighty wings that are never furled,
Bearing onward the rushing world.
Thank Thee, O Giver of Life, O God!
For Thy glory leaping the lightning rod;
For Thy terrible spaces of love and fire
Where sparks from the forge of Thy desire
Storm through the void in floods of suns,
Far as the heat of Thy Presence runs
And where hurricanes of chanting spheres
Swing to the pulse of the flying years.
Thank Thee for human toil that thrills
With the plan of Thine which man fulfills;
For bridges and tunnels, for ships that soar,
For iron and steel and the furnace roar;
For this anguished vortex of blood and pain
Where sweat and struggle are never vain;
For progress, pushing the teeming earth
On and up to a higher birth.
Thank Thee for life, for life, for life,
O Giver of Life, O God!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Forgiveness..... develop it
There’s no way around it, when someone has wronged us, it hurts. It often hurts a lot for a very long time. The injury could be minor, though profound, like a betrayal by a friend, or it could be major, like a physical assault.
The point of the saying is that, no matter the injury, we can’t truly move on until we learn to forgive. And that’s a very tough walk. Here are a few thoughts on the art of forgiveness and how we can all learn to cultivate it.
First of all, think of forgiveness as a gift to yourself, not a gift to your offender. When a deep injury is done to us, we’ll never recover until we forgive. It is a way to clear a blockage in our minds and move forward with new knowledge and new growth. We are a more evolved person after we forgive, and that’s our gift to ourselves.
Forgiveness requires empathy. It is essential that you begin the forgiveness process by putting yourself in the shoes of your offender. Imagine that pain and fear are behind his or her anger.
Imagine a small child inside your enemy who is as confused as you are about the injury. Imagine what it must feel like to walk with the guilt of having hurt someone. It doesn’t matter if your offender will ever actually get to the conscious place of feeling guilt and remorse. He or she need not seek your forgiveness in order for you to have a transformation.
This process is about you. But it is helpful to come up with some explanation for your offender’s heinous action that feels rational to you. This is your mental journey. So, whether you imagine their bad childhood, their feelings of racial or gender persecution, or their feelings of envy toward you, find a reason for their bad behavior.
Now, from that place of understanding, make a conscious decision to forgive that person. Create a private action that supports your decision.
Write an unsent letter to them, light a candle and say a prayer in their name, or simply stick a post-it on your bathroom mirror that says “I forgive (insert name) I have feelings of love for (insert name).” This is a secret act but it’s a powerful action for brain change.
For a few weeks, return daily to these private actions of forgiveness. Reread that letter. Relight that candle. Say the words on the post-it out loud. This is a way to rewire your brain.
The biggest step toward forgiveness is to express it to your offender. Whether you do it in an email (easiest) on the phone or in person (best, if possible) it must be done so that you can move on. And the tricky part of forgiveness is this: to express forgiveness without expressing blame.
Your words should focus on your own feelings of hurt rather than the act that caused the injury.
So, instead of saying, “I forgive you for stealing from me, you jerk,” you might say something like, “I felt so betrayed when I lost that money. But now I am letting go of those feelings. I want the best for you.”
This is your journey and this higher level communication will speak to the highest level of your offender’s personality. And, be reminded that forgiveness in not a magic trick to change someone else. Even if you change, the other person may not. And that’s okay.
And finally, know that forgiveness takes maintenance. During future life stresses, old feelings about this injury may bubble up again. Each time they do, quietly walk those feelings back to bed with the same techniques.
Eventually enough time will pass that those memories will lose their emotional punch.
Forgiveness is the most mentally freeing experience. I encourage you to try it.
The point of the saying is that, no matter the injury, we can’t truly move on until we learn to forgive. And that’s a very tough walk. Here are a few thoughts on the art of forgiveness and how we can all learn to cultivate it.
First of all, think of forgiveness as a gift to yourself, not a gift to your offender. When a deep injury is done to us, we’ll never recover until we forgive. It is a way to clear a blockage in our minds and move forward with new knowledge and new growth. We are a more evolved person after we forgive, and that’s our gift to ourselves.
Forgiveness requires empathy. It is essential that you begin the forgiveness process by putting yourself in the shoes of your offender. Imagine that pain and fear are behind his or her anger.
Imagine a small child inside your enemy who is as confused as you are about the injury. Imagine what it must feel like to walk with the guilt of having hurt someone. It doesn’t matter if your offender will ever actually get to the conscious place of feeling guilt and remorse. He or she need not seek your forgiveness in order for you to have a transformation.
This process is about you. But it is helpful to come up with some explanation for your offender’s heinous action that feels rational to you. This is your mental journey. So, whether you imagine their bad childhood, their feelings of racial or gender persecution, or their feelings of envy toward you, find a reason for their bad behavior.
Now, from that place of understanding, make a conscious decision to forgive that person. Create a private action that supports your decision.
Write an unsent letter to them, light a candle and say a prayer in their name, or simply stick a post-it on your bathroom mirror that says “I forgive (insert name) I have feelings of love for (insert name).” This is a secret act but it’s a powerful action for brain change.
For a few weeks, return daily to these private actions of forgiveness. Reread that letter. Relight that candle. Say the words on the post-it out loud. This is a way to rewire your brain.
The biggest step toward forgiveness is to express it to your offender. Whether you do it in an email (easiest) on the phone or in person (best, if possible) it must be done so that you can move on. And the tricky part of forgiveness is this: to express forgiveness without expressing blame.
Your words should focus on your own feelings of hurt rather than the act that caused the injury.
So, instead of saying, “I forgive you for stealing from me, you jerk,” you might say something like, “I felt so betrayed when I lost that money. But now I am letting go of those feelings. I want the best for you.”
This is your journey and this higher level communication will speak to the highest level of your offender’s personality. And, be reminded that forgiveness in not a magic trick to change someone else. Even if you change, the other person may not. And that’s okay.
And finally, know that forgiveness takes maintenance. During future life stresses, old feelings about this injury may bubble up again. Each time they do, quietly walk those feelings back to bed with the same techniques.
Eventually enough time will pass that those memories will lose their emotional punch.
Forgiveness is the most mentally freeing experience. I encourage you to try it.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Dual personality.... we all exhibit
Let me start by assuring everyone of one thing. We all have two (at least) personalities, and that’s perfectly healthy. In order to survive in our very complex social system, humans learn to put on a public personality that excels at sandbox skills. It’s the face we bring to work with us. I like to call it our “performance personality.”
However, at home, we are more intimate with the natives and our authentic self, complete with tears and tempers, is allowed to thrive. Thus, our intimate relationships are a home for the heart. It’s a place where the real “us” feels safe.
But when do these dual operating systems become dysfunctional?
When is being two-faced bad?
Well, our two faces become dangerous when the differences are extreme. When our morals, ethics, and boundaries completely disappear as our private personality begins to rule the roost.
This can be particularly damaging to children who become very confused by witnessing two sets of values. In intimate relationships, we may have a shorter temper and more visible sadness, but we shouldn’t have completely different values.
If lying and cheating is something you’d never do at work, doing those things privately can be a tragic lesson for kids.
For example, you may not exactly love your boss, but at work and at public functions, you are the picture of the perfect employee, for understandable political gain.
But at home, all you do is trash your boss. What is the message to your family members? That mean gossip is okay? That your authentic feelings of hurt are less important than your desire to criticize him or her? Wouldn’t it be more helpful to children to hear a more balanced view of both your boss and you?
Another time that a performance personality can be dysfunctional is when it starts to take over at home. When some great career success comes with many accolades. Those compliments can serve to boost self-esteem, which is good or they can serve to create falseness.
In the entertainment world, when an actor suddenly has a hit movie and begins to live an unbridled life with a huge sense of entitlement, people whisper that “he believes his own press.” So, taking in compliments for your achievements is generally good, but living a false identity to match them is not.
Finally, our private, intimate personality can be dangerous too. If your private personality is more than the odd expression of anger and sorrow, and instead one of severe pain to your family members, then it’s time to get help.
If your private personality is one of chronic depression, poor anger management, substance abuse, or even violence, then it’s time to drag that private self to therapy.
Here’s a suggestion: Have your public self make the appointment and drive you there.
Got it????
However, at home, we are more intimate with the natives and our authentic self, complete with tears and tempers, is allowed to thrive. Thus, our intimate relationships are a home for the heart. It’s a place where the real “us” feels safe.
But when do these dual operating systems become dysfunctional?
When is being two-faced bad?
Well, our two faces become dangerous when the differences are extreme. When our morals, ethics, and boundaries completely disappear as our private personality begins to rule the roost.
This can be particularly damaging to children who become very confused by witnessing two sets of values. In intimate relationships, we may have a shorter temper and more visible sadness, but we shouldn’t have completely different values.
If lying and cheating is something you’d never do at work, doing those things privately can be a tragic lesson for kids.
For example, you may not exactly love your boss, but at work and at public functions, you are the picture of the perfect employee, for understandable political gain.
But at home, all you do is trash your boss. What is the message to your family members? That mean gossip is okay? That your authentic feelings of hurt are less important than your desire to criticize him or her? Wouldn’t it be more helpful to children to hear a more balanced view of both your boss and you?
Another time that a performance personality can be dysfunctional is when it starts to take over at home. When some great career success comes with many accolades. Those compliments can serve to boost self-esteem, which is good or they can serve to create falseness.
In the entertainment world, when an actor suddenly has a hit movie and begins to live an unbridled life with a huge sense of entitlement, people whisper that “he believes his own press.” So, taking in compliments for your achievements is generally good, but living a false identity to match them is not.
Finally, our private, intimate personality can be dangerous too. If your private personality is more than the odd expression of anger and sorrow, and instead one of severe pain to your family members, then it’s time to get help.
If your private personality is one of chronic depression, poor anger management, substance abuse, or even violence, then it’s time to drag that private self to therapy.
Here’s a suggestion: Have your public self make the appointment and drive you there.
Got it????
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Boosting immunity with Reiki
The immune system consists of about a trillion cells called lymphocytes and about a hundred million trillion molecules called antibodies.This complex system patrols and guards the body against attackers from without and within, regulating susceptibility to cancers, infectious diseases, allergies, and autoimmune disorders.
The organs of the immune system include the bone marrow, thymus, lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils, appendix and certain tissues in the small intestine (Peyer’s patches).
These are known as the lymphoid organs as they are involved with the development and deployment of lymphocytes, the white blood cells that are crucial to the healthy functioning of the immune system.
Today there are multiple “stressors” that negatively affect the immune system: age, virusesn and bacteria, drugs and certain medical therapies, allergies, autoimmune disorders, malignancies, immunodeficiencies, environmental toxins, and even thoughts and emotions.
In a normally functioning immune system, cells that are destined to become lymphocytes are produced in the bone marrow. There are two major classes: T cells processed in the thymus, and B cells which mature outside of the thymus. T cells act as messengers and destroyers against pathogens. B cells secrete antibodies that match a specific invading antigen.
In addition there are granulocytes, macrophages and monocytes, all capable of enveloping and destroying invaders. There’s also a strong connection between the immune system and the brain hormonally and chemically, as well as psychosocially.
Using Reiki to boost immunity is a natural and holistic way to energetically stimulate the immune system. Fresh supplies of vital life energy are provided to all major organs of the immune system in high concentrations.
This creates a balancing action which is deeply restorative and supportive to the immune system, regenerating it to function at optimal capacity. The immune system is revived and all of its components once again communicate and work as they were originally designed.
To strengthen and balance the immune system with Reiki concentrate on these areas:
- The brain as the focal point of all bodily organization.
- The thymus as the master gland of the immune system.
- Long bones of the arms and legs as sites of the bone marrow.
- White cell producers: lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils and small intestine.
- The blood as there are inactive proteins there which act as immune system’s complement system.
- The skin as a primary boundary, together with the eyes, nose and mouth as entry points.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Consciousness....
Consciousness is all there is, was, and ever will be.
In essence, it is God or Spirit. Consciousness/God/Spirit does not have a beginning or end, but it chose to come into expression as you.
Your body to Consciousness is like you putting on your clothes in the morning and going out into the world. Some people do “remember”, some of us don’t.
Different people remember to different degrees. Some people have a vivid memory of being pure Consciousness, some don’t.
We are always pure Consciousness in expression, it is who we are. The degree to which we are aware of this determines whether we “remember”.
The word remember connotes a past, but there is no past. You are here now. Always in existence.
I haven’t figured out how to explain this yet, but it makes sense in my being.
Consciousness from this perspective does not intend. If we were referring to it as you, conscious and subconscious mind, that would be true.
However, it is not your Consciousness that intends say peace, it is you (or lowercase c-consciousness). Consciousness/God/Spirit is peace.
What you are intending is to align yourself (your beliefs, your mind) with what already is. How much peace you manifest or experience is determined by how much you allow pure consciousness to express through you.
Add to that, you have a unique blend of experiences, skills, and talents that allow you to express and experience peace uniquely (the how). You are the filter, so to speak.
The same with love.
Consciousness/God/Spirit is love. People are loving because they express Consciousness.
Some people let it flow freely, some people block it. Some people are aware of letting it flow or blocking it and some people aren’t.
What about all of you?
In essence, it is God or Spirit. Consciousness/God/Spirit does not have a beginning or end, but it chose to come into expression as you.
Your body to Consciousness is like you putting on your clothes in the morning and going out into the world. Some people do “remember”, some of us don’t.
Different people remember to different degrees. Some people have a vivid memory of being pure Consciousness, some don’t.
We are always pure Consciousness in expression, it is who we are. The degree to which we are aware of this determines whether we “remember”.
The word remember connotes a past, but there is no past. You are here now. Always in existence.
I haven’t figured out how to explain this yet, but it makes sense in my being.
Consciousness from this perspective does not intend. If we were referring to it as you, conscious and subconscious mind, that would be true.
However, it is not your Consciousness that intends say peace, it is you (or lowercase c-consciousness). Consciousness/God/Spirit is peace.
What you are intending is to align yourself (your beliefs, your mind) with what already is. How much peace you manifest or experience is determined by how much you allow pure consciousness to express through you.
Add to that, you have a unique blend of experiences, skills, and talents that allow you to express and experience peace uniquely (the how). You are the filter, so to speak.
The same with love.
Consciousness/God/Spirit is love. People are loving because they express Consciousness.
Some people let it flow freely, some people block it. Some people are aware of letting it flow or blocking it and some people aren’t.
What about all of you?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Personal growth....
The nice thing about working on your personal growth is that when you make a concerted, dedicated effort to improve some part of your life, there’s an excellent chance that you will succeed in the long run.
You may have a lot of thoughts to clear out in terms of limiting beliefs, and you may be starting from a disadvantaged position, but given enough time, it’s entirely possible to completely rework some part of your life for the better.
For example, you have the potential to go from rags to riches, from shy to socially confident, or from unhealthy to vibrant and fit. It may not be easy to make such transitions, but there are numerous successes to model.
These are transitions that many, many people have already succeeded at, and they’re often more than happy to help out people who are interested in taking similar journeys. You certainly don’t have to stumble forward blindly.
This, of course, is the grand promise of personal development, that you can consciously remake some part of your life, re-sculpting it from what it is now to what you desire it to be.
But there are two very common problems that prevent many people from receiving the full delivery of this promise.
First, most people never get clear about what they want. Since they don’t decide, there’s nothing for them to move towards. Moving away from where you are now is not a specific heading.
An “away from” mindset is like a bunch of crazy, chaotic arrows pointing off in all different directions, but in most cases that isn’t enough to get moving with any consistency. “Not here” isn’t a goal.
When I ask people what they want out of life, most of the time I get a very vague answer. They can’t tell me. So of course their lives aren’t going to change much. They have no direction. If someone asks you what you want out of life, offer up a clear and specific answer.
Don’t look to life to tell you what you want. That’s your burden — and your privilege — to decide. Not deciding is still a choice.
If you can’t decide, then you’re deciding to continue the status quo, and you’re broadcasting the intention that more than anything else in the universe, you want to continue experiencing what you’re experiencing right now.
And so essentially that is what you’ll get. So when you keep getting what you’re already getting, be grateful that the desires you voiced are being fulfilled. You are simply receiving what you’ve been asking for.
Don’t pretend that your life will change until you first make a clear decision about where you want to go next. You can complain and moan about the burden of having to make that choice, but there’s no point in that.
It’s better to celebrate the honor and privilege of having the freedom to make that choice. Be grateful that you can choose. Appreciate the fact that you get to decide where your life goes next. Consider yourself lucky that you have a choice.
Making a choice is really, really simple. Most people overcomplicate the process tremendously. Ask a child what they want for their birthday, and they’ll probably rattle off a number of specific items. How do they decide?
They just decide. They don’t worry so much about making wrong choices. They voice intentions based on what experiences they feel drawn towards. It’s that simple.
If you feel drawn to a certain experience, then that’s an excellent candidate for a new decision.
You may have a lot of thoughts to clear out in terms of limiting beliefs, and you may be starting from a disadvantaged position, but given enough time, it’s entirely possible to completely rework some part of your life for the better.
For example, you have the potential to go from rags to riches, from shy to socially confident, or from unhealthy to vibrant and fit. It may not be easy to make such transitions, but there are numerous successes to model.
These are transitions that many, many people have already succeeded at, and they’re often more than happy to help out people who are interested in taking similar journeys. You certainly don’t have to stumble forward blindly.
This, of course, is the grand promise of personal development, that you can consciously remake some part of your life, re-sculpting it from what it is now to what you desire it to be.
But there are two very common problems that prevent many people from receiving the full delivery of this promise.
First, most people never get clear about what they want. Since they don’t decide, there’s nothing for them to move towards. Moving away from where you are now is not a specific heading.
An “away from” mindset is like a bunch of crazy, chaotic arrows pointing off in all different directions, but in most cases that isn’t enough to get moving with any consistency. “Not here” isn’t a goal.
When I ask people what they want out of life, most of the time I get a very vague answer. They can’t tell me. So of course their lives aren’t going to change much. They have no direction. If someone asks you what you want out of life, offer up a clear and specific answer.
Don’t look to life to tell you what you want. That’s your burden — and your privilege — to decide. Not deciding is still a choice.
If you can’t decide, then you’re deciding to continue the status quo, and you’re broadcasting the intention that more than anything else in the universe, you want to continue experiencing what you’re experiencing right now.
And so essentially that is what you’ll get. So when you keep getting what you’re already getting, be grateful that the desires you voiced are being fulfilled. You are simply receiving what you’ve been asking for.
Don’t pretend that your life will change until you first make a clear decision about where you want to go next. You can complain and moan about the burden of having to make that choice, but there’s no point in that.
It’s better to celebrate the honor and privilege of having the freedom to make that choice. Be grateful that you can choose. Appreciate the fact that you get to decide where your life goes next. Consider yourself lucky that you have a choice.
Making a choice is really, really simple. Most people overcomplicate the process tremendously. Ask a child what they want for their birthday, and they’ll probably rattle off a number of specific items. How do they decide?
They just decide. They don’t worry so much about making wrong choices. They voice intentions based on what experiences they feel drawn towards. It’s that simple.
If you feel drawn to a certain experience, then that’s an excellent candidate for a new decision.
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