A Tree Is A Sum Of Its Parts

The Leaf: "I'm the Hand. I provide the tree with energy by turning sunlight into food. I am also the beauty of the tree. Without me, the tree is ugly and cannot survive."

The Branch: "I'm the Arm. I grow the Hands that provide the tree with food. I give variety to the tree. Without me, the tree will be a lonely figure and cannot survive."

The Trunk: "I am the Pillar. I carry water and nutrients from the root to all parts of the tree. I also give the tree its shape and stability . Without me, the tree has no strength and cannot survive."

The Root: "I'm the Anchor and the Source of water and nutrients to the tree. Without me, the tree will starve to death."

The Tree: "We are the tree. Without the presence of each of you, there is no tree."

How We Define Our Problem

What is the connection between: (a) an aeroplane, (b) a donkey and (c) an escalator? For a person whose problem is a means of getting from one place to another, the solution is a means of transport. The three happen to be different means of transport. That is why they say, "How we define a problem could be the problem." It could also be the solution.

Merry Christmas

"Love,” they say, "is the affinity of being with being." I send Love and Peace to all my contacts and wish you a very merry Christmas and a self-fulfilling 2013.

Stepping out of our comfort zones.

According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha achieved enlightenment after he had encountered four events during his four journeys outside his father's palatial mansion:

1. He saw a very old man
2. He saw a very sick man
3. He saw a corpse
4. He saw a religious mendicant

The prince left his home and family for ever to become a mendicant monk at the age of 35.

Lesson: Some of the things that have the greatest potentials to change our lives, for good or bad, do not necessarily reside within our immediate and familiar environments. They are outside. To find them, we must step out of our comfort zones.

BARRY THE BOOK: THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor
job of keeping out the cold.

Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as
he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas
gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do
come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend.

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five
had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there
just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made
up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger
sister, who ran the household in their mother's absence.

All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their
mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk
down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being
six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.

Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window.
Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to
get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his
eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of
something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime.

Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.
As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire
body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly
turned cold when salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner
asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."

As Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.

The sound of the door closing as the last customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.

Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before
Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and
tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.

"That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his
hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime.
Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"

This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box
into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."

As he returned inside, the shop keeper’s wife walked out. "Who were you
talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?" Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.

When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too was a poor boy
with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.

When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I
put together a dozen of my very best roses."

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.

- Barry the Book

Relationship Business

Starting a new loving and sustainable relationship is like starting a new business. Just as you start a new business with a minimum initial financial outlay known as the investment capital, you can also start a new relationship with a minimum initial outlay known as a TRUST fund. This is made up of five relationship portfolio:

T - Truthfulness
R - Reliability
U - Understanding
S - Steadfastness

T - Tolerance

As you cannot start a new business with the expectation of an immediate return on your investment, so you cannot start a new relationship based on an expectation of an immediate withdrawal from your Relationship TRUST fund.

The initial investment you bring into either takes time to grow. At the initial stage, you will need to treat both as your PET. This means you must exercise great Patience. You must Endure the ups and downs. Most importantly, you must allow Time to bring out the best in them.

Who says starting and building a new relationship is not a business?

A great example of loving self and others.

Before you make a decision to do anything, consider which of the following 5 categories it falls into:

✓ Something that benefits others as well as yourself;

✓ Something that is helpful to others and is not damaging to you;

✓ Something that may take advantage of others but no real harm is done;

✓ Something that is harmful to others and not beneficial to you.

Not doing anything that harms you and or others is a great example of loving self and others.

Extracted from 8000 Years of Wisdom Book 1 by Hua-Ching Ni

Trusting your Instinct

Before you take any new step in any areas of your life, ask yourself one question: Does this fall naturally within that aspect of my life?

If your answer is "Yes," then follow your First Nature. This is your basic instinct. It does not analyse but hardly goes wrong. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted: "Trust your instinct to the end, though you can render no reason."

However, if your answer is "No," then follow your Second Nature. This gives you your reason for taking the step. It gives you time to think, analyse and reflect on the step you are about to take. You will hardly go wrong with your final decision.

Let nature nurture your existence

Let go of your daily resistance
And let nature nurture your existence
Be at peace with your Source
And flow with Him like a water course
It does not matter how long it takes
Your future is great whatever it takes

19 Negative Affirmative Statements you should avoid saying to yourself:

1. "I have a poor memory"
2. "I look awful"
3. "I am good for nothing"
4. "I can never change"
5. "I am just stupid"
6. "People don't like me"
7. "People hate me"
8. "I am a looser"
9. "I am always late for meetings"
10. "It's always my fault"
11. "I can never win"
12. "I'm too scared"
13. "I am too lazy"
14. "No body will help me"
15. "I am not smart enough"
16. "I am not clever enough"
17. "I am not handsome/beautiful"
18. "I cannot pass the test"
19. "I am a failure"

Each time you find yourself immersed in any of these negative self-talks, stop and ask yourself, "Is it true?"

The law of probability makes it impossible for you to say, "yes" with absolute certainty. Given the benefit of the doubt, you can now rephrase the negative self-affirmative statement to a positive one. As Earl Nightingale said, "The strangest secret is that we become what we think about, most of the time."

Attitude! Attitude!! Attitude!!!

When life is moving you through a period of personal challenges and you start to think and act as if it is all over for you, before you write your life off, just wait to hear what your next door 'smiley' neighbour is going through.

It's not what you are going through that is your problem. Your real problem is your attitude to it. Once you've changed your wrong attitude, hard as it may be, you've changed your life....forever.

How to add credits to your Relationship Trust Fund

Adding credits to your Relationship Trust Fund on a daily basis in three simple steps:

1. Think of at least three simple things you can do or say to your partner that would make him or her feel special and loved. You can include as many things as you want based on your knowledge of your partner.

2. Write them down on a piece of paper in order of how special your partner would feel each time you do or say it.

3. Every day, do at least one thing that makes your partner feels really special and loved by you. Try and do this to your partner on daily basis no matter how you feel about him or her on that day.

11 simple ways to avoid withdrawals from your Relationship Trust Fund.

1. Showing deep respect for the needs and aspirations of your partner;
2. Saying "I'm sorry," even when you know you're right;
3. Avoid talking down on your partner;
4. Becoming naturally honest with your partner"
5. At the earliest possible time, apologising when you know you are wrong;
6. Making only the promises you are sure to keep;
7. Discussing issues face to face;
8. Spending regular quality times with your partner;
9. Developing realistic expectation of your partner;
10. Taking personal responsibility for your own action;
11. Never going to bed without revolving minor misunderstandings.

Note: Each of these gives you an opportunity to add credit to the fund.

Overcoming Obstacles of Life and Living

The journey of life gives us no choice but to accept that it is full of ups and downs. If the journey was meant to be smooth-sailing, nature would have provided no space on earth for things like the mountains we must climb or the rivers we must cross or the dark valleys we must walk through.

The challenge for mankind is that we all want to have the good things on the mountain without having to go through the pain of climbing it. We all desire to possess the riches in the land across the river without experiencing the hardship that goes with crossing it. We all dream of experiencing the peace and tranquillity of a valley without the patience to walk through it.

In the journey of life, our real mountains, our real rivers, our real valleys are inside each one of us. They are not physical. They are not visible. They are not touch-able. However, they are changeable. They are moveable. They are relocate-able. You can even make them disappear altogether. They are spirituals.

However, as we make our journeys through life and living, we will come across their counterparts in the real world. These are the natural mountains, the natural rivers, or the natural valleys. They are physical. They are visible. They are touch-able. We cannot change where nature has chosen to place them on the surface of the earth. Therefore as individuals, we have very little control over them.

What nature has kindly given to abundantly is the natural ability to use our invisible mountains, the untouchable rivers or the non-physical valleys that reside in each of us to control their counterparts in the real world. This awareness can help us overcome any obstacles that come our ways as we make our journeys through life.

Success and Failure give birth to each other

As long as you keep blaming yourself for your failures, in my opinion, you have no right to keep giving yourself the credit for your successes. There is an intrinsic and fundamental relationship between 'success' and 'failure.' They give birth to each other. The effect of failure is not to cause another failure but to cause you to learn how to succeed later. So, why should you blame yourself for doing something that was meant to ensure your success in the long run? Enter your Life Awareness Zone by welcoming both your successes and failures with real gratitude and thanksgiving.

The source of life

The source of life on earth is still a mystery. The key to the mystery is not yet available to humanity. It lies in a fortress impregnable by human mind. This tells me a great deal of story about the nature of God as the Supreme Head of the Universe.

Turning of our wantings into our needings.

Whenever you are having a bad feeling thinking that life is not fair because it is not giving you what you want, ask yourself, is life giving you what you need? This let you remember that there is a huge difference between needing something and wanting it. To keep expressing gratitude for what you have is to keep knowing that you lack nothing. The root cause of human suffering, in my opinion, is the turning of our wantings into our needings.

Relationship Matters

Three things matter most in our relationship with others:

(a) Our simplicity, which allows others to simply live their own lives,

(b) Our patience, which understands and tolerates the weaknesses in others, and

(c) Our compassion, which gives us the capacity to show empathy for the feelings of others.

Between being assertive and being aggressive

Some people will relate with you on the basis that they know you better than you know yourself. They think they know your personal problems more than you do. They will often give their genuinely but unsolicited advice on the basis of their perception of what is good for you. If you are in such a situation but strongly belief they are doing the right thing for you, it’s all well and good. However, if you strongly belief what they are doing to you is wrong, it is important that you reconsider their roles in your life. In politely asking such people to back off your life, it is important that you are assertive but never aggressive. In doing do, bear in mind the following Sharon Anthony Bower’s quote: “The basic difference between being assertive and being aggressive is how our words and behaviour affect the rights and well being of others.” 

Both Positives and Negatives are two sides of the same coins of life

Duality is the nature of everything in the universe. It’s like a coin with two sides. No matter how attractive or disgusting one side or the other may look, each side needs the other to be of value. For example, how could we appreciate the value of light if we have never experienced darkness? If we have no fear of death, how could we possibly understand the value of life and living? If we have never experienced any pain, how could we ever appreciate the value of pleasure. What could make us appreciate the value of success if we have never failed in anything? If not for the destructive nature of war, how could we ever understand the value of living peacefully with other fellow human beings?

It is in experiencing the negatives that we understand and appreciate the value of the positives. Both are two sides of the same coin. One teaches us the meaning of the other. We cannot therefore have one without the other. No one can pretend to like being in pain. But without it, we cannot understand what having pleasure really mean.

It is for this reason that we must learn to prepare ourselves ready for the time when life chooses to thrust any of its negative sides upon us. We can put ourselves in some level of readiness by learning to cultivate the habit of becoming increasingly aware of two things:

(a) On the other side of the negatives, the positives lay;

(b) Nothing on either side is permanent.

Whenever life turns one of its negative sides on us, we must learn to focus our minds only on the other side where the positives are awaiting.

Our deep understanding of these two things, in my opinion, could hold the key to living a happier life.

RELATIONSHIP TRUST FUND

As part of building and maintaining a loving relationship with your partner, you should learn to cultivate the habit of paying attention to, and express compliments for, any positive things your partner says or does. It does not matter how small it may be. Remember, every compliment you make is a credit to your Relationship Trust Fund (RTF).

THE UNIVERSE AND YOUR HEARTBEATS

Life and living are full of mysteries. The more we try to understand them, the more they elude us. The best way I have found to appreciate some of the mysteries is in listening to the natural rhythm of my heartbeats in regular moments of silence. How my heart beats naturally, unaffected by what I may be thinking or doing at any point in time, is a step toward a deeper understanding of the rhythmic
nature of the universe.

The goal of life, according to Joseph Campbell, is to make our heartbeats match the beat of the universe. Seeking to match your Nature with the Nature of the universe on a daily basis lets you be at ONE with the Power of the Universe. This enables us live naturally unencumbered by things that are happening around us.

WORD POWER

The Words we speak out of our mouths are like the Money we spend. The more money we have, the greater the ability to spend on anything we want. In the same way, the more Words we know and can speak, the greater our ability to express ourselves succinctly and eloquently.

However, just as our huge bank balances do not necessarily give us the ability to spend Money wisely, in the same way, the richness of our spoken Word does not necessarily give us the ability to speak with wisdom and understanding.

The acts of spending money and of uttering Words with wisdom are great gifts.

Just as we must be conscious of what we spend our Money on, so must we be conscious of the Words that come out of our mouths. They both have the force and energy meant to achieve certain purposes either in our lives or in the lives of others, good or bad.

Living Humbly

Whenever you meet a person and think you are better off, try and act as if you are worse off. Whenever you come across a person and think you are stronger, act as if you are weaker. Whenever you are in the company of a group and you think you are more intelligent than any of them, act as if you are the least intelligent. In all your relationships with people, when you have made it your habit to humble yourself, you will be exulted by them. That is one of the key secrets of living happily.

How to maintain inner peace even in suffering.

Heavy rain beat two friends into a farm house. They were wet. Their clothes drenched. They were cold and shivery. Both started to experience some symptoms of hypothermia.

One kept swearing and uttering all sort of unprintable words. He swore at the rain for drenching them. He swore at God for causing the rain. He swore at the owner of the farm house for having no fire in place to keep him warm.

He swore at his friend for initiating the journey in the first instance. In fact he swore at everyone and everything, except himself, for causing his problem. He returned home suffering from hypothermia.

The other friend remained calm, cool and collected, undisturbed by his present circumstance. He blessed God for causing the rain to fall in other to make the land more fertile. He thanked the owner of the farm for the house that provided a shelter for them. He blessed his friend for being part of his journey in self-discovery and for becoming the best teacher in his lifelong learning on how to maintain inner peace even in suffering.

No wonder Charles Swindoll said life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.

How we define a problem could be the problem

Sometimes, how we define some of the problems we encounter on a daily basis could be the problem. For example, having a flat tyre on a lonely highway, on a rainy night, can be a frustrating problem. However, the problem is not the flat tyre. It is not the rain either. It is not even where and when the flat tyre took place. The real problem is the failure, from the moment you became a driver, to train your mind to be innately aware that flat tyre can happen at any time and anywhere.

Mastering the art of thinking and acting in spirit,

We must learn how to live our lives in spirit. Living in spirit lets us handle each events in our daily lives moment by moment. This is not about religious doctrine, although it helps to explain how and why it works. It is about learning to communicate between the various parts of our two selves: our outer visible self and our inner invisible self.

Mastering the art of thinking and acting in spirit, will not stop us from doing the things we do, but it will show us new ways of doing them. It will not stop us from singing, but our songs will be different. It will not stop us from dancing, but the music will be different. It will not stop us from eating and drinking, but the food and drink will be different. It will not stop us from making new friends and building new relationships, but our friends and relationships will be different. It will not stop us from sharing our opinions with others, but our opinions will be different. It will not stop us from making more money, but our priorities in what we spend our money on will be different. It will not stop people hurting and abusing us for no just cause, but our abilities to respond positively, forgiving them and getting on with our spiritual lives will increase.

If you think this is an impossible dream, then ask yourself, What makes it I'mpossible? Spend some moments to meditate on this question. Know that whoever made it possible for you to be born can make it possible for you to live your live in spirit on a daily basis, moment by moment and event by event. It starts from your inner awareness of the power of your spirit to overcome any personal problems and maintain your happiness in this troubled world.

Hope: The Power

What is hope but one of humanity's essential resources for sustaining life. It is hope that helps us through the ups and downs of life. We need hope to maintain our efforts on a daily basis. We need hope to help us keep looking for solutions to our challenges in life.

Hope holds the key to humanity's ability to cope with life's personal and societal troubles. One of the great secrets of the sages of old is said to be their ability to maintain hope even in their darkest hours. What then can we learn from them? Without hope life is dead. In order words, hope is what is left when everything else is gone.

Hope is the only thing we can hang on to for survival when we are left with nothing. As the saying goes, “hope is life and life is hope.” Without life, there is no hope and without hope, there is no life. It is hope that lets us see a light at the end of the tunnel.

To maintain our hope in our most troubled times, we must learn to find whatever it is that helps us understand the real purpose and meaning of our life and we must learn to lean on it on a daily basis.

Nothing wastes the body like worry

Sometimes, we worry so much about our current problems and forget to think of finding the solutions. This gets us stuck in a rut. Worry drains our energy, both physically and emotionally.

If only we could learn to divert the amount of energy we use in worrying about a problem into doing things that help us find a solution to it, the quality of our lives would be greatly improved.

In dealing wi
th personal problems on a daily basis, Shantideva, an 18th Century Indian Buddhist teacher suggests that, "We should analyse the situation and if the problem is such that there is a solution, there is then no need to worry about it. In that case, we should focus on finding that solution. If, on the other hand, there is no possible solution, there is no point in worrying because you cannot do anything about it anyway."

Worrying about a personal problem which is beyond your control is tantamount to telling yourself that you are alone in the universe.

Finally, permit me to share the following quote by Mahatma Gandhi about worry:

" There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever."

Forgiveness can break cycle of revenge attacks

Every cause has an effect. In Buddhism, they call it the law of Karma. Other cultures call it the law of retribution. Some people would describe this principle in form of, “what goes around comes around.” This principle was recognised in Isaac Newton’s third law of physics. It states that, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

When we are provoked by others and we choose to take direct action, it is like we are taking the law into our own hands. The provocation was the cause. Taking the law into our hands becomes the effect. This effect can become another cause. And this cause becomes another effect. The whole thing becomes an endless cycle of bad causes and evil effects. No one can predict the end.

The human lesson from all of this, in my opinion, is simple: We must learn to think twice before we act. In reality, I do not pretend that this is easy, but I believe it is doable. WE only need to become more aware of the potentially fatal consequences of some acts of revenge and instead opt for the noble path of forgiveness.

Enjoy your life one day at a time

Enjoy your life one day at a time. Do not allow the passing moments of scarcity take away your distinctive nature of happiness from you. You are the constant. Moments of scarcity and moments of abundance are the variables. Both will come and go. You remain. Become a keen observer of events as they pass through your life. Watch how the ending of one event becomes the beginning of another. Therefore, to let the passing moments of scarcity prevents you from remembering your distinctive nature of happiness is to derail the coming of the next monuments of abundance.

We Are The Choices We Make

They say, “Power corrupts, but lack of it corrupts absolutely.” I see nothing wrong in power. It is good for maintaining law and order for the good of the many not the few. The challenge for mankind is in the misuse of power.

Let’s take the enormous health benefits doctors say we get from eating “an apple a day” as an example. According to health experts, eating too much apple can lead to weight gain or a rise in blood sugar. When we eat too much apple simply because we love the taste, we could be inviting dis-ease into own bodies.

In my opinion, corruption, manifesting through bad behaviours or bad practices, comes not from apple or from power, but from within each person. It comes from the choices we make. Therefore, power or lack of it, does not corrupt anyone. What leads to corruption, in my view, is the human potential to misuse power or anything we have, to achieve selfish goals.

Unhealthy Competition Is A Never Ending Cycle.

A friend shared the following with me and I am sharing it with you hoping it might be useful for reflection as it is for me.

"I was jogging one day and i noticed a person in front of me, about 1/4 of mile. I could tell he was running a little slower than me and I thought, good, i shall try to catch him. I had about a mile to go my path before i needed to turn off.

So i started running faster and faster. Every block, i was gaining on him just a little bit. After just a few minutes i was only about 100 yards behind him, so i really picked up the pace and push myself. You would have thought i was running in the last leg of London Olympic competition. I was determined to catch him.


Finally, i did it! I caught and passed him by. On the inside i felt so good. "I beat him" of course, he didn't even know we were racing. After i passed him, i realized i had been so focused on competing against him that i had missed my turn. I had gone nearly six blocks past it. I had to turn around and go all back. Isn't that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-workers, neighbors, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own paths to our God given destinies. The problem with unhealthy competition is that its a never ending cycle.

There will always be somebody ahead of you, someone with better job, nicer car, more money in the bank, more education, a prettier wife, a more handsome husband, better behaved children, etc. But realize that "You can be the best that you can be, you are not competing with no one." Some people are insecure because they pay too much attention 2 what others are doing, where others are going, wearing & driving. Take what God has given you, the height, weight & personality. Dress well & wear it proudly! You 'll be blessed by it. Stay focused and live a healthy life."

Doing Something New

Do not be afraid of trying new things. It is in venturing out of our comfort zones and doing something new that we gain new experiences. Whether we succeed or we fail in our first attempt matters not as much as what we learn from the experience. It does not matter how many times you have tried and failed, as long as the passion remains, just keep trying.

Present Moment Thinking

What is it that makes us keep thinking in the past knowing how much this habit can potentially hold us back and perpetually keep us in the past? The answer I keep getting is, 'fear.' Fear that the past will repeat itself.

The irony is this, as long as we keep fearing that the past will repeat itself, we will continue to be afraid of moving in
to our future. The mystery of it all is, no amount of fear can take us back to our past and no amount of fear can stop us from moving into our future. The future will come, whether we like it or not.

The sage encourages us to stop thinking in the past and become present moment thinkers. They say, this is the only way we can notice what is happening in the here and now. Only present moment thinking lets us step into our inevitable future, with hope and optimism.

According to the sage, the first step to stop the habit of thinking in the past is to become increasingly aware of the stagnation it brings into our lives.

No age barrier in Learning

It is never too late to start learning. When you are aware of the power of good education and the dis-empowerment that comes from lack of it, nothing can stop you from acquiring a new skill. It is called Lifelong Learning. Age is therefore not a barrier.

In the journey of life, what does it mean to travel in the longer direction?

Knowing that the world is round, means that it no longer matters whether the path of your journey in life takes you through the North pole or it takes you through the South pole. What matters is, knowing that you will most probably still arrive at the same destination as long as you are in motion.

So, when you think you have traveled long enough and feel you have not yet reached your destination
do not be discouraged thinking that you have been travelling in the wrong direction. Far from it. It only means you may have been travelling in the longer direction.

What does it mean to travel in the longer direction? It means the purpose of the journey is really big. It tells you how important that purpose is. It means more time is required to prepare you for the purpose. It means you cannot afford to fail to achieve that purpose. It even means that you can measure how big the purpose is by the size of the problems you will need to overcome along the way.

In order words, in your journey in life, it is not how long or how short it takes you to arrive at your destination. It is how well prepared you are in achieving the purpose of the journey once you have arrived at the destination.

Who are the Geniuses

Sometimes, geniuses are not necessarily extra-ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things to achieve extra-ordinary outcomes. In my opinion, geniuses are ordinary people doing very ordinary things that make extra-ordinary difference in the lives of ordinary people.

Finding something to be grateful for

Whenever something happens and we feel really bad about it, we should take a few moments to reflect and think of what the situation could have been if something worse had happened instead. This helps us to notice the miraculous in every passing event no matter how bad a particular event may first appear to be. In all circumstances, we should always find something to be grateful for.

No other human being on earth is the same as you

Who would you be if you didn't have anyone to tell you who you are? The fact is, you are who you are. The essential thing however is, knowing who you are.

Who you are is your authentic self. It is your identity, your distinctiveness.. Once you recognise your authentic self, you gain a deeper
. As HH the Dalai Lama once said, "No other human being on earth is the same as you."

No human force can stripe you of your personal identity and hand it over to another person without your co-operation.

A person may be able to exercise enough power to attempt to dehumanise you or try to reduce your humanity to nothingness or take away your individuality. It is however impossible for that person to stop you from thinking. It is also impossible for the person to deny you the choice of what you want to think about.

Once again, I say, you are who you are. That is what makes you unique. That is what makes you different. That is what makes you original. That is what makes you distinctive. That is what makes you unlike any one else.

So, whatever anybody may be thinking or saying about you should no longer make any difference to your life. They are neither here nor there and are therefore none of your business.

Community Outreach

MAM Coaching Outreach provides flexible and proactive support services that meet social and spiritual well being of disabled people aged 18 - 65. For initial enquiry and information pack send e-mail to info@mamcoaching.com

Becoming Self-empowered

It is self dis-empowering to keep thinking that you cannot succeed without the help of another human being.

My response to this type of excuse for failure is, if it was part of God's plan to make something happen through you, He is more than capable to work with you directly, and with no one else, to achieve His plan in your life.

More importantly, if God needed the help of a third party to ac
hieve His divine plan through you and such a third party chooses to resist His call, God is more than capable of replacing that third party with another. He is even capable of commanding a stone to do His will in your life.

Once you have gotten to understand and become innately aware of this simple but powerful line of your relationship with the Source of your being, you have succeeded in empowering yourself to fulfil your destinies every step of the way.

It is written?

Any time I hear the phrase, "It is written," I often ask, Who wrote what? I belief everyone is the author of his or her own life story. Our characters and the choices we make determine the nature and contents of our stories. No part of the story of your life can be pre-determined and written by anybody without your co-operation. In order words, your future is not in the hand of anybody, no matter how indispensable to you anyone may appear to be at this point in your life.

Equal Opportunities for Disabled people

My personal experience working with disabled people tells me that most of them do not really want to be pitied. They do not want people to sympathise with them. They do not want to be patronised. All they want are for people to (a) see their person first before their disabilities, (b) respect their person instead of being sorry for them because of their disabilities, (c) think of their future potential instead of their current disabilities, (d) give them the same opportunities as we would give every other person. Are these too much for a person to ask of another person?

Your choices drive your life

It does not matter whether people choose to like you or whether they choose to hate you. It does not even matter whether they pray for you or whether they curse you. These things probably make no difference whatsoever in your life. The most important things, and the ones that make the greatest difference, are the choices you make for yourself without allowing people or events to control your life.

Experiencing Your Destiny On A Daily Basis

Every event, including every person that crosses our paths, in the journey of life gives each of us a unique opportunity to experience our destinies on a daily basis. That is why they say "destiny is not a destination but a journey." To become aware of this is to develop the habit of finding something positive out of every event in our lives.

THE SUNDAY TRADING DEBATE

In a circular world, it is hard to win a debate on the spiritual benefits of Sunday Trading based on religious teaching. But I know where I stand on the health and social benefits of working for just six days a week and spending the seventh resting, reflecting and refreshing the body ready for the following week. This is the wisdom of the sages passed on through the ages and it makes a lot of common sense to me.

Rights must go with responsibility

As the title of this article suggests, rights must go with responsibility. Individual must be ready to take direct responsibility for his or her actions.

This leads me to the recent Ecuador's decision to grant Julian Assange an asylum to stop him from being extradited to Sweden where he is wanted for an alleged rape.

I sincerely do not think any country has the moral right to prevent an individual from accepting their responsibility.

I believe Julian Assange has two chances to proof his moral integrity and ethical credentials within the international publishing community. First, as the founder and publisher of Wiki leaks and second, for the said rape allegation.

I believe Sweden has one of the best human right records in the world. Assange therefore has nothing to fear if he truly beliefs he is innocent of the alleged rape crime.

More importantly, I belief that if his reason for putting sensitive information about other countries in the public domain, is driven by his high personal moral and ethical standards, and not for his personal ego, he will be vindicated in any trial.

I am a great supporter of freedom of information. I therefore support the fundamental rights of any publishing outfit to publish any information at their disposal which they consider to be of public interest. However, every publisher must match such rights with the same level of personal responsibility.

Ecuador should give Julian Assange the opportunity to clear his name.

Pain and pleasure have no colour. Happiness and suffering have to rac

Once upon a time in the history of South Africa, it was white killing black to maintain law and order. Today, it is black killing black to achieve the same goal.

This teaches me that our real challenges as human beings have nothing to do with the differences in the colour of our skins. Our real problem, according to HH the Dalai Lama, is the lack of deep awareness of three things; (a) our common

 human desires for happiness and avoiding suffering, (b) our connections with one another and (c) the oneness of our beings through our common biological makeup.

Pain and pleasure have no colour. Happiness and suffering have to race.

We are all the same. We need each other. The world would be a much better place to live in if only we all understand this simple but natural principle of our common existence.

What's Making you Happy?

“What’s making you happy?”

When you begin to experience inner happiness, friends or foes will be asking, “What’s making you happy?” This type of question will become more compelling when they look at your physical or emotional situation and see nothing for you to be happy about. When they are expecting you to be sad, you feel happy. When they are waiting for you to be sorry for yourself, you are showing gratitude.

When they are anticipating that you respond angrily to a situation, you show equanimity. When they are expecting you to take a retaliatory measure against someone that has just hurt you, you show forgiveness. It is not the time for you to explain anything to anybody. They will not understand. It is not the time for you to defend or justify your action. You cannot win the argument.

So, whenever you are experiencing inner joy and happiness, and the people around you seem to be perplexed and want to know why you are happy, you just look at them in the face, smile for them, gently nod your head and say, “Everything.”

Happiness: The natural Healing Balm

Happiness is a healing balm. It has enormous health benefits. This was why the sages of old chose to master the art of happiness. They insisted on finding something to be happy about even in turbulent times. You too can learn to be happy. It only needs for you to be ready, and your teacher will step in.

Happiness is infectious

The nature of happiness is that it is highly infectious. If you doubt this, try the following experiment.

Show a feeling of happiness to the person next to you.

This could be just humming a popular spiritual chorus, a love song, a gentle smile of affection or anything you normally do or say whenever you feel happy or in a good mood.

Watch his or her response. My personal experiences have be been magical.

Neuroscience has helped us to begin to gain some understanding of the part of our brains that is responsible for this natural phenomenon. They call it, "Mirror neuron."

Thanks to this new knowledge in human behaviour. It is now possible to learn how to be happy and share our happiness with others.

It just requires that we become more self-aware of the need to be happy even when it seems we have nothing to be happy about.

Hope

Hope, one of humanity's greatest inner resources, is "an essential factor in helping us sustain our efforts when we encounter obstacles and setbacks in our lives, helping us persist in finding solutions to life's challenges.". HH the Dalai Lama in The Art Of Happiness in a Troubled World

Try something new everyday

"Every day is an opportunity to learn something or discover something or someplace. Be curious, play, go out on a limb, walk a different way to work, try a new food at dinner and keep learning and growing." Sandra Magsamen

TODAY'S QUOTE

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Crisis and Calm

The words 'Crisis' and 'Calm' are two sides of the same coin.  They produce each other.  

Now, I want you to take a careful note of the different shapes and movements of your mouth as you gently pronounce the two words starting with "Crisis" and then "Calm."  

Note the differences in the personal energy level you need in order to pronounce each word. 

Which one of these two words did you need more or less effort to pronounce and which one did you feel more or less relaxed to pronounce?  

One helps to take you a step away from the crisis. The other helps to take you a step deeper into it. One lets you spot and focus on the potential opportunity in the crisis. The other lets you see only the problem.

If this knowledge inspires you to think more deeply of how you could better manage your next life crisis, share it with others and tell them you got it from www.mamcoaching.com

Three Steps To Develop and Maintain a high sense of connection with your community:

According to HH the Dalai Lama, there are three simple steps for developing and maintaining a high sense of connection with your community:

First, become aware of the seriousness of your lack of a sense of connection with members of your community and how destructive this can be for your happiness; 

Second, become aware of the benefits of having a strong connection with members of your community, such as
emotional anchor or having others with whom you can share your problems and feelings, etc;

Lastly, begin to translate your awareness into daily positive action steps. This means regularly making deliberate efforts to establish and maintain list of personal contacts with various members of your community

Societal Happiness Begins with Teaching Intrapersonal Skills to Children

You need interpersonal skills to manage others.  You use these life skills to communicate and interact with others. These skills are taught to children in schools and colleges as part of their curriculum.  Many organisations devote a huge proportion of their annual training budget to sharpen their employees’ interpersonal skills.

On the other hand, you need intrapersonal skills to manage yourself.  If you cannot manage yourself, you cannot manage others.  You use these skills to build up your character traits, to develop your personality, to deepen your understanding of your purpose in life and to be driven to things that lead you toward self-fulfilment. These skills make you become the best or the worst of human being.   

As important as intrapersonal skills are to human performance and happiness, I am not yet aware of any curriculum available in schools or colleges that teaches children how to be happy with themselves, how to be kind to others, how to forgive others, how to be compassionate to fellow human beings, etc. I am also not sure if any employer will be prepared to devote a dime teaching their employees how to develop any of these great human virtues.

In the past, the responsibility for helping children to cultivate these virtues laid first, with parents or guardians and then, with religious leaders. At a time when the roles of family and religion are being systematically undermined by society, what is the future for our children?

Humility

It is humility when you feel totally unconstrained to stand amongst people others judged as inferior.  It is humility when you have no inhibition whatsoever to walk with people others consider as second class citizens.  It is humility when you have the freedom to eat and dine with people others look down upon as of lower status.  It is humility when you lower yourself in a public gathering and take the back seat. It is humility when you have the courage to say, “I’m sorry” in order to simply restore peace. Namaste.

Creation Versus Evolution

God existed in space from no time. He has no beginning. He is the Source of all things. He created different planets for different purposes. At one point in time and space, He decided to create a new planet. The purpose of His new planet was to inhabit all living things to exhibit his power and glory. He called the new planet the Earth. From the first lower level of thinking things that he had created on Earth evolved the higher level thinking beings through billions and billions years of evolutionary process.  What is your thought?

A Tao Te Ching quote

“True words aren't eloquent; eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise.” Extracted from the 81st verse of the Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching

Your Authentic self

What do you think you are? What do people think you are? What is the difference between the two? Register now at www.mamcoaching.com to find out the key differences between (a) your desired self and (b) your realised self. You will also learn how to bridge any gap between the two. Registration is free and you can do it in less than 30 seconds.  

IQ Vs EQ

You need a high level of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) to be successful in your College, University or Professional examinations. However, to be successful in the University of Life, you need a higher level of Emotional Quotient (EQ). To have a high EQ is to be emotionally intelligent. To be emotionally intelligent is to be perceptive, to be receptive, to be resourceful, to be energetic, to be honest, to be dependable and most importantly, to be compassionate. What personal quality do you have to make you stand out of the crowd?

Happiness

According a recent poll of the world’s happiest countries, Netherland came top on the list of 155 countries polled.  What is your own definition of happiness and what is your secret for feeling happy?

Just one last gift

What, if you had an opportunity to give your child just one last gift, would it be?

Step Forward

I am a professional life coach specialising in personal development with a passion for helping socially excluded hard to reach people to explore various options to achieve their potential in life.

As part of my “Step Forward” Coaching initiative, I am looking for opportunities to partner with other social intervention practitioners such as counselling, occupational therapy, teaching, mentoring in providing one-stop person-centred support services that:

(a)  prevent them from becoming socially excluded

(b)  assist them to integrate into the community

(c)  help them to achieve their full potential.

I am particularly interested in helping people with mental health issues, people with disability or adults with learning difficulties.

If you think this might be of interest to you, your organisation or someone else you might be aware of, I very much like to hear from you. You can call me now on 07956 033 915 or you can e-mail your initial enquiry to info@mamcoaching.com

To forgive is like saying, 'I love you'

“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” Oscar Wilde

One of the biggest obstacles to progress in life is the inability to forgive those who trespass against us. Without forgiveness, progress is virtually impossible. It comes with the spirit of ‘heaviness.’ Some people call it the spirit of ‘depression.’  I call it the spirit of ‘stagnation’ because it lets you get stuck in the past. The negative effect of non-forgiveness tilts more heavily toward the person that is not forgiving than the person who needs to be forgiven. That is the mystery of non-forgiveness.  When you have forgiven someone, it means you have thrown the ball back inside his or her court.

It takes the courage of a great man or woman to say ‘I’m sorry’ even when you know you are right.  Saying ‘I am sorry’ is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.  Saying ‘I forgive you’ is the nearest thing to say ‘I love you.’  This is God speaking in you and you in Him.  

Mark you, forgiveness is not necessarily the same as forgetting. Forgiveness is the first step to forgetting. Being hurt is like an open wound which takes time to heal.  But the process of healing a wound starts from the moment the injury was inflicted.  That is the same at forgiveness.  It starts from a strong will to forgive the moment you feel hurt by the action or inaction of another person.

Once you have the developed the courage to forgive and you begin to put it into practice, you will begin to notice the positive changes in the way you think not only about yourself but also about others.

The positive thoughts will align you with the universal positive energy. This positive universal energy attracts new ideas into your mind.  You begin to go out to the right places. You begin to attract the right people into your life.  

If you doubt what I am saying to you, I want you try the following exercise with one person with whom you have had a long period of altercation and begin to notice what happens after a few days.

Now let's get started:

I want you to sit in a quiet place and image one person with whom you have some kind of long-standing conflict sitting there in front of you.

Now I want you to say out loud and clear, directly to him or her, "I forgive you. I surround you with love and light, and I do the same for myself." 

God Particle?

From nothing to something. From an invisible, formless energy field to Particles. Is this the God particle? Then, indeed, there is God in the empty space. I sincerely applaud the scientists behind today's announcement of Higgs Boson discovery of what they think might be the source of life on earth. Congratulations to you all and well done.

Crisis is Opportunity

I found the lesson in the above old Chinese saying from the many stories of the invention of Dry-Cleaning. According to my favourite version, a man had accidentally spilled some paraffin on to a dirty table-cloth. That was the crisis. He then NOTICED that the bit the paraffin had soaked was clean. That was the opportunity. 

Now the lesson: Inside every crisis we face in life lies an opportunity. 

You hold the key to your own happiness

Your lifelong happiness does not come from your physical appearance. It does not come from what you wear or from your material possessions. Rather, they are the sources of your fear, your anxiety and your worries. Your real happiness comes from your state of mind, your outlook, your motivation, the strength of your character and the level of your warmhearted feelings toward others. By HH Dalai Lama in Beyond Religion.

Get started now

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen

Who am I?

This is a spiritually powerful question for people searching for the meaning of their lives.  Join us for a 2-hour discourse on the search of meaning at the Forest Hill Library, Dartmouth Road, London SE23 3HE on Saturday 26th May 2012 from 1 to 3pm. Spaces are very limited. Call 07956 033 915 to reserve a space or e-mail info@mamcoaching.com for more info.

Wisdom

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of it brings ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”
Buddha Quote

How May I Help You?

HOW MAY I HELP YOU?

People who I can help include those who are   

•          finding it hard to see any meaning for their lives
•          looking for help in exploring what life is all about
•          needing to change any area of their lives
•          looking for help in making the change happen

People I cannot help include those who are:     

•          already satisfied with their lives
•          needing no change to any area of their lives
•          making the change by themselves
•          already know the meaning of what their lives is all about

Noticing the Feeling of the moment exercise

Stop for a moment and think about the way you are feeling right now.  Sad?, Happy?, Relaxed?, Excited?,  Serene?, Angry? Just think of one word to describe the way you are feeling now.

Think of what has caused this feeling. 

Is the cause avoidable or unavoidable?

Irrespective of the cause or causes, is the feeling desirable or undesirable?

If the feeling is desirable, what could you do to have more of it?

If the feeling is undesirable, what could you do to have less of it?

Lesson:
Whether the cause of your feeling was avoidable or unavoidable, your response to it determined  your feeling. 
No one can make you feel any way without your permission

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When a negative thought could be the trigger for a positive action

Do not be too hash with yourself when you keep having negative thoughts. Just become aware of each of them. Some could be the triggers for your next positive action that could lead to your breakthrough.

Their opinion about you is non of your business

Never allow the opinions of others to have an impact on what you really want in life. Remember, you are distinctive and self-determining irrespective of their good opinions about you.

The Fear Factor

Fear is the only thing that is common to every citizen of a nation in which only 5% of the population controls 95% of its wealth.

Too much of everything is bad

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

By Lao-tzu

---

Blaming Satan for our Misfortune

We often blame 'Satan' or our perceived 'enemies' for our misfortune. What does blaming others do for us in those moments? It blinds us from seeing the mistakes we made which may have contributed to our misfortune. Because we cannot see what we did wrong, we are unable to learn any lesson. Because we are unable to learn from our mistake, we will keep making the same mistake again and again and we ...will keep blaming 'Satan' and our 'enemies' again and again.

In such circumstance, who is our real enemy?

Before you rush to answer this question, I want you to read the following quote by Epictetus, a first century slave turned philosopher.

"It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself."

Lent starts tomorrow

Lent starts tomorrow. What could you do for the next 40 days that might make a little difference in the life of a vulnerable child? You could spiritually adopt one in your community and pray for his/her parents/carers every day for 40 days.

Temptation is an opportunist

It takes just one action and a few moments of indiscretion to destroy a reputation that took you twenty or more years of hard work and discipline to build. This reminds me of the biblical story of David and Bathsheba. The illicit relationship might also have influenced the author of the book of James which made him to think that “each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away... and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15. Temptation is an opportunist. It comes at the most unexpected moments. Those are moments of personal indiscretion. When it comes, only by grace can you escape it. That is why I believe it is easier to avoid temptation than to resist it.

Do you really think you can be in another person's shoes?

To be in another person's shoes is easier said than done. I proved this statement to myself last week. I wanted to be in the shoes of a blind friend.
The task looked simple at first. It was to make two cups of tea while wearing blindfold goggles. First, I had to find my way, blindfolded, to the kitchen from the living room. In the kitchen, I managed to locate the electric kettle, filled it with water and switched it on. I then managed to find two cups, two tea bags, teaspoon, sugar and milk.
Even with the benefit of familiarity of what was where, I had to remove the goggles before I could complete the task.
I now know better that trying to be in another person's shoes is much easier said than done.

Truth can be very bitter, we hardly ever accept it

Oftentimes, truth can be very bitter. But we hardly ever accept the truth. So, whenever you see two or more members of a family coming out of a closed door meeting laughing hysterically and holding each other’s hand, don’t be fooled. One of them has succeeded in fooling the others.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

We spend a great deal of our time on earth striving for what to eat, where to sleep, how to mate and how to defend. The irony of life is, even animals and insects do all of ‘these things’, if not better. But because Jesus most probably knew the things that make human beings different from animals and insects, He did not fail to advise us to “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all ‘these things’ shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Lent is a great opportunity to reflect on ‘these things.’

Decision making

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt

Gratitude can change your life, forever

When you keep upsetting yourself thinking and brooding over what you do not yet have, you may not be giving yourself enough time to think about what you already have let alone finding enough motivation to express gratitude for having them.  Gratitude can change your life, forever.

Making Hard Choices

Our journey in life is about making decisions and choices and acting on them. Sometimes, making a major breakthrough in life could mean making a choice we've never made before. It could mean taking a decision we’ve long thought we could never make. It could mean doing something totally new to our existing way of life without compromising our core values.  It could mean making difficult and sometimes painful decisions. It could mean not having to worry about living up to the expectation of anyone else. It could even mean resisting any attempt to defend or explain your decision to anybody. Some decisions are such that the more you try to explain to the people you consider being in the circle of your support, the more you are likely to bring pain on yourself. People often find themselves in this type of situation when they are trying to make major decision to initiate divorce proceedings.  This is when they need to go inside their inner private empty space to seek guidance and help. You can reach the space through silence. In silence, you ask yourself the following questions:

• Before this relationship started, what was I looking for in a relationship?
• Since I have been in this relationship, what have I got?
• Is there any disconnect between what I wanted and what I got?
• In the light of what I have seen and got in this relationship, what do I now want in future relationships?

You will get the answers you want to each of these questions when you listen to either your heart or your brain. In the past, you may have been listening to one more than the other. In life, you may need other people’s advice to tell you want you do not want, but no one can tell you want you want in life. It is your job. There lies the hard bit.

Accessing Your Empty Spaces

As the saying goes,"'the usefulness of a cup is the empty space inside." The benefit of a house is the space between the walls. Without the empty spaces, there is no house. To most people, this may sound too simple. But to the sages of old, it is everything. Think about it again, what would happen without the empty spaces between the Heaven and the Earth? Empty space is what you need to move in any direction you want.  It is what you need to make progress. You need it to build your new dream home. When you want to bring in any new appliance to your home or office, you first think about where you will put it. You create a new space for it. This is the same with all areas of life. Creating empty spaces in your daily schedule means more time to do things that really matter to you. By regularly reviewing every area of your life means you can identify which area is full and which area is half-empty.  The secret of life is revealed in empty spaces. The is why the sages loved to be in empty spaces. There is silence in empty spaces. There is God in empty spaces. This too is one of the many mysteries of the universe. 

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The Power of Compliments

Naturally, people tend to like those who like them. Human being generally tend to like the people from whom they receive more compliments. One of the marks of highly successful people is their ability to quickly recognise any uniquely positive attributes in other people and look for an earliest opportunity to compliment them for having those attributes. They have learnt to understand that the principal of reciprocation can work for mutual benefits.

Competition or Co-operation

The idea of describing one person as better or worse than the other arises from the duality in the nature of man. No one is better or worse than another person in doing that which each person has a natural ability to do and a passion for doing it.

What is an obstacle but a hurdle to overcome

When your reason for running a race is bigger than any hurdle put in your way, you can jump over every one of them in order to complete the race. At each hurdle, don't look back to see who is behind you. This will only slow you down. Instead, just focus on the hurdle and remind yourself of your reason for running. This will help you overcome one hurdle at a time.

Heaven or Hell

Whether you think Heaven or Hell exist or whether you think they do not exist, you are probably right. But, just pause for a moment, suppose they do exist. Just imagine that, truly, Heaven exists as an eternal destination for good people. Just assume that, as a matter of fact, Hell also exists as the eternal destination for bad people. Would the fear of going to Hell or the hope of going to Heaven make any difference in the way you live your life?

Parental Challenges of This Generation.

Learning to communicate with children and young adults in the language and through the media they have now grown up to know and understand is perhaps one of the biggest parental challenges of this generation.

Hiding Under the Shadow of God

When Adam and Eve fell out of favour with God because of disobedience, they discovered they were naked in two ways and needed cover for both. The first was physical nakedness. The second was spiritual nakedness. They covered the first by hiding behind fig leaves and tried to cover the second by hiding away from, instead of hiding in the presence of, the Lord. True repentance of sin is to hide under the shadow of the Almighty, accept our responsibilities and not to run away from them.

Time To Think Virtuously

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Orison Swett Marden's Quote

“He is the richest man who enriches his country most; in whom the people feel richest and proudest, who gives himself with his money; who opens the doors of opportunities widest to those about him, who is ears to the deaf; eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. Such a man makes every acre of land in his community worth more, and makes richer every man who lives near him.” Orison Swett Marden

The Obscurantic Religious Fanaticism

‘Muslim’ is an Arabic word. Literarily, it means one who submits to God. In Arabic, God means Allah. Islam means those who follow the doctrine of total ‘submission’ to Allah. Jesus Christ brought the doctrine of God’s “salvation” to Christians in the same way that Prophet Muhammed brought the doctrine of “submission to God” to Muslims. Not a single verse of the Holy Qur’an contradicts any verse of the Bible, In fact, they are complementary. So, where is the division between these two great religions?  

We have to begin our journey in self-enlightenment by first seeking knowledge of the real purpose of our lives on earth. We must stop handing over our lives to religious obscurants of our time. They can be found as religious fanaticisms in both religions. As long as they have our listening ears, they will only continue to combine their intellectual prowess with their spiritual poverty to mislead instead of inform, to confuse instead of educate, to obscure instead of enlighten, all for their own selfish agenda.  Think.

Humility

It is humility when you feel totally unconstrained to stand amongst people others judged as inferior.  It is humility when you have no inhibition whatsoever to walk with people others consider as second class citizens.  It is humility when you have the freedom to eat and dine with people others look down upon as of lower status.  It is humility when you lower yourself in a public gathering and take the back seat. It is humility when you have the courage to say, “I’m sorry” in order to simply restore peace. Namaste.