Information – Positive Thinking
Photo Speaks – Importance of Prayer Books
The other day, I received an email forward which was depicting the importance of our Prayer Books. I found it very interesting and sharing it with you all. While coming down to office, I happened to notice a car with it’s owner having the same ideology. A unique one. I thought I must give him some due credit.
Many times, we have seen, especially in India, dashboards and front panel of automobiles filled with several pictures and idols of gods. We see the same drivers swearing and cursing the fellow drivers and bullying each other small vehicle and pedestrians on their way. All this they are doing with one or more witness readily availabile in front and nearer to them.
What to say? Give our gods a break. Make a habit to pray during the regular prayer times and let your dedication to your family, work and society be your offerings. Do it diligently. Why not give it a try. The almighty god needs a break. He has been busy working for us all these years. Now, let him focus on someone else with more pressing problems.
Have a great day ahead.
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CELL PHONE vs. Prayer Book
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Prayer Books like we treat our cellphone?
> What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
> What if we flipped through it several time a day?
> What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
> What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
> What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
> What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
> What if we used it when we traveled?
> What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go…..hmm.. .where is my Prayer Books? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Prayer Book being disconnected because God already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!
ESSENCE OF OUR RELIGIOUS BOOKS AND PRAYERS
> Whatever has happened, has happened for good.
> Whatever is happening is happening for good.
> Whatever is going to happen, it will be for good.
> What have you lost for which you cry?
> What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
> What did you produce, which has destroyed?
> You did not bring anything when you were born.
> Whatever you have, you have received from Him.
> Whatever you will give, you will give to Him.
> You came empty handed and you will go the same way.
> Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s
> Yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.
SO WHY WORRY UNNECESSARILY?
…….Change is the law of the universe…..
An inner technology for joyous living
An inner technology for joyous living
Monday June 30 2008 10:19 IST Swahilya for EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
It was surely an ocean of joy for the participants of the Isha Yoga programmes in Chennai held every successive week this summer. The reason was their meeting with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev who devised a combination of Pranayama, Asanas and meditation techniques to help the individual reach to a certain inner well-being. The silent revolution of self-realisation that is the motto of the Isha Foundation is all about individual transformation.
Jananam Sukhadam he began a chant in his stentorian voice before addressing special invitees recently. “A world full of love, light and laughter, its time has come,” is what he says.
Sadhguru says that experience of life happens in every individual “You see everything within yourself. Light, darkness, sound, silence, joy, misery, agony, ecstasy – every experience happens within you and never outside of this,” he says.
When the five sense organs are turned on the moment one is born, survival process happens by nature and our mind is naturally outward bound. “Just as you have to strive to read or write or do anything, you have to strive to get the inward perception too – it won’t happen otherwise.”
Though we are physically the most comfortable generation today, we are the most neurotic people too. “A research said that 43 per cent of the American population are on anti-depressants. They have to pop a pill to just keep their mind in balance. Not just the U.S. they reached there first and all of us are following very fast,” he says.
The problem is because of fixing the outside world and not taking care of the inside which is the basis of all experience. With a practical exercise along with the audience, he explained how just the position of the palms could change one’s breathing pattern and how the pattern of one’s breath is directly related to one’s experience of joy or sorrow.
The physical body and intelligence functions at its best, only when the individual is peaceful and joyful. “If there’s no fear of suffering, your ability to explore will be greatly enhanced,” he says. Isha Yoga is not a teaching, philosophy or religion, but a technology to fix the inside. “Don’t wait for life to make its point!” Sadhguru exhorts highlighting the need for people to turn towards spirituality.
“There is something within you that does not like boundaries. It is longing to be boundless. The physical body and mind have boundaries and can never be boundless,” he says.
This is the only culture where God is described as bliss – Brahmananda. “You can make yourself blissful right now if you have access to that source,” he says.
This body is just a heap of food – comprised of breakfast, lunch and dinner. The mind is just a heap of impressions. Referring to the Blue Brain project that maps the human brain in Switzerland, he said that even science has come up with the finding that despite genetics, an individual’s brain can be rewired if willing. This re-wiring is a possibility with Yoga.
The Ananda Alai Isha Yoga programmes were conducted between May and June in Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Pondicherry, Cuddalore and Villupuram in 200 batches. Around 12,000 individuals participated. For further details contact – http://www.ishafoundation. org or email: chennai@ishafoundation.org.
Today is the day
Today is the day
Monday June 30 2008 10:14 IST from EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOCHI
Think about this. We all woke up this morning to the same world. For some of us the day is exciting and wonderful while for others it may be the worst day of their lives.
How come the same day can be so different? The day is the same, but the people who look at it are different. Hence it is not the day which creates the environment, but YOU. In fact only you have an influence on the environment. The environment has an influence on you only if you permit it.
I don’t know how many of you have heard this quote, “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.” But all of us make statements like “he belittled me,” “she frustrates me,” or “he is making my life miserable” on various occasions. Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission, nobody can frustrate you without your permission and nobody can make your life miserable without your permission. Because it is you who are in charge.
You have the best environment right now, if you have decided to succeed in life. India is growing at a breathtaking pace. Every sector in our economy is booming. All the economists of the world are of the opinion that India is unstoppable till the year 2020. By 2020, as former President Dr Abdul Kalam visualised, India would have emerged as the most powerful economy in the world. This cannot be stopped. In other words, you have the best environment during this time; provided you are ambitious, progressive and have got big plans in life. If you don’t qualify for any of these factors, these years are going to be the most horrible for you.
It is not the environment, but what you want to make from your life, what you want to do with your life that is the most important thing.
Take charge of your life today…and have a very productive week ahead.
Charity raises hope for physically-challenged
Charity raises hope for physically-challenged
By Riyasbabu (Our staff reporter)KHALEEJ TIMES 25 June 2008
DUBAI – Simon George, 43, a wheelchair-bound man, is seeking support of non-resident Indians (NRIs), in his mission to help people with physical challenges become self-sufficient.
George has been working tirelessly to help people with disabilities in India. Having travelled around the world on a wheelchair, as both his legs are paralysed, he is currently in Dubai to meet the NRIs to seek their assistance.
George, whose was struck by a paralytic attack in his legs in 1986 while he was studying mechanical engineering, started a charity organisation, ‘Prathyasha Foundation’, in 2004, to support people with disabilities.
“Both my legs were paralysed after a medical error. I had high fever and the injection I was given in the hospital affected my spinal cord. I was in bed for six years. It was after a long treatment that I was able to sit in a wheelchair,” he told Khaleej Times. “I lost my confidence. I failed to continue my studies thereafter. But I decided to fight against my disability and do something for others who suffer a similar fate,” recounted George.
He started Prathyasha Foundation in Kochi. “Our aim is to boost the confidence of people with disabilities. We have a training centre for them where we groom them for different jobs. The foundation also distributes computers, tailoring machines and other equipment to them for self employment purposes,” he said.
“Currently, 50 people are getting training at the centre. We want to develop the centre,” he said.
“I am in Dubai to study the rehabilitation activities here. I am very impressed with the facilities provided for people with disabilities here,” he said.
For more details about the foundation log on to http://www.PrathyashaFoundation.org
You Create Your Environment
You Create Your Environment
Monday June 23 2008 10:47 IST ENS
HAVE you ever had a situation where you hear a knock at your door and you close your eyes and ears? I doing so, you are committing a great mistake, for it could be an opportunity.
Opportunities come and knock at your door at least once in a lifetime for everyone. But only few realise that it was an opportunity. Only very few have a dream in their life, and out of those who have dreams, only very few take action, and out of those, again very few have belief in their dreams and confidence in themselves and out of them, only very few are focused and consistently persistent. But they are the people who make history in this world.
Generally most people live with the belief that they never come across any opportunity in life! Though they find some opportunity they believe that either the time is not right or they are not fit to grab the opportunity.
They believe that luck never favours them and blame their destiny for everything. They might blame society, their parents for not putting them in the best schools, their superiors for not providing them the right chances, their family for not providing the right atmosphere at home etc. I have seen people living distressful lives cursing everyone around them, even the Prime Minister and the President of the country.
They believe or try to make themselves believe that all their problems in life are caused by other people and their situations. Why do people think so? Is it because of the education they received at school and college? Is it because of the influence of the family in which they have been brought up?
It is often said that you are the product of your habits and your beliefs. Your habits and your beliefs are the product of your environment. So your environment decides what you are. Now the question is, who decides the environment? Most people believe that they have no influence on the environment, as it is created by others, beginning from the attendant in the office to the President of the country.
There is nothing you can do about it and you are HELPLESS! But we always blame the environment as we believe that it has a high influence on us, though we have no influence over it.
Sajeev Nair msajeev@mindparlour.com Leading entrepreneur with Amway Corporation, Chief Mentor of Mind-Parlour and an International success coach.
Inspired by nature
Inspired by nature
Tuesday June 17 2008 14:45 IST Sudha Nambudiri EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOCHI
PADMA NAMBISAN is a plant technologist who is always busy doing research in her laboratory. But in between all the lab activity she has found time to train more than 2,500 women from the lower strata of society to make handmade paper using leaf fibre.
“You don’t need to go looking for raw materials. Just step into your garden and pluck a few leaves,” says Padma who teaches at the Department of Biotechnology, Cusat.
In Kerala you can easily find fibre in several plants growing as weeds. Water hyacinth, hibiscus, bamboo, leaf base of banana, pineapple leaves and paddy are a few examples,” she says. She chose women for training because “this doesn’t take much strain and can be done during free time.”
Padma Nambisan started making handmade paper when she was on maternity leave in 2000. “I took leave and was sitting idle at home. That’s when I started making paper at home.” Padma took some paper for recycling, palms, water hyacinth and pineapple. She cooked them in alkali and decanted the liquid. The pulp was then poured into a mould.
After the initial trials she found that the paper had many advantages- it was termite and insectresistant. Then she tried out different leaves.
Padma then started innovating and making several products out of these handmade papers. When she returned to the university, she got grants for a project ‘Green wealth for rural women through fibre extraction from agri-waste.’
She has been training women at Cusat since then. Padma has on her team two research scholars- Jasmine Koshy and Anita Pinheiro- and Kudumbasree consultant Thresia Rejimol.
Apart from the women who come for training at the Department of Biot echnology, Cusat, Padma’s team travel to the rural parts of Kerala and organises demonstration camps.
“We stay there for a week and train the participants to make different types of patterns and products.” Padma also has a talent for combining craft with science. Using handmade paper she has made lamp shades, envelopes, visiting cards and notepads. Her only problem is marketing these products.
“There are a lot of products that can be made with handmade paper. But these women don’t have anybody to help them market these products. Designwise also they are not strong,” she says. Padma is now making an extra effort and looking for clients to help these women. Apart from making paper, Padma uses different types of paper to do paintings.
“I use different leaves and make paper which are then put together to make ‘craft-painting’,” she says. She is now planning to have an exhibition of such works along with the products made by women trained by her team. “I hope these women will succeed in making a livelihood out of these handmade wonders,” says Padma.
msudha@epmltd.com
Simply moving can have you feeling more positive
Simply moving can have you feeling more positive
Monday June 2 2008 14:35 IST ANI
WASHINGTON: Indiana University researchers have found that physical activity throughout the day like simply moving is linked to positive feelings.
However, they found no similar relationship between physical activity and negative moods.
“In the study, if people are more active, they tend to report a more positive mood. Really low levels of activity are related to lower levels of positive affect,” said Bryan McCormick, associate professor in IU Bloomington’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
For the study, physical activity was considered movement beyond resting — not formal exercise.
“People often see physical activity as having to be exercise, but it doesn’t have to be exercise. Physical activity beyond a resting state does appear to be related to mood,” McCormick said.
The study is exceptional because it tracks moment-by-moment physical activity throughout the day and compares it to reports study participants make throughout the day of their activities and feelings.
For the study, the 25 participants wore uniaxial accelerometers during waking hours for seven days so their physical activity could be recorded.
They also wore wristwatches with pre-programmed alarms that signalled them seven times per day during this period so they could fill out brief reports.
If the participants responded more than 20 minutes after the alarm, their report was disregarded in order to eliminate the ambiguity of “recall.”
Majority of studies involving mood and physical activity rely on recall, and compare it to overall physical activity levels, not moment-by-moment activity.
“Most research distinguishes between positive and negative mood. In our study, the moment-by-moment activity is related to positive mood — but not related to negative mood state,” McCormick said.
Physical activity and exercise is drawing more attention as a possible way to influence mild depression.
“In some ways, it might treat mild depression in that it increases our positive feelings, but it doesn’t necessarily take away our negative feelings,” McCormick said.
Georgia Frey, associate professor in the School of HPER’s Department of Kinesiology and lead author of the study, said: “The results of this study were modest and based on a relatively small sample but the findings are encouraging.”
Meditation to handle emotional trauma
Meditation to handle emotional trauma
Monday June 2 2008 00:00 IST Express Features KOCHI
FREEDOM is the most difficult thing to obtain. When a nation battles for its political freedom,we call it freedom struggle.
A similar struggle for freedom from the fetters created by our own thoughts and emotional attachments is constantly happening. This is for most of us an inner struggle. This is not a trauma that can be relieved by swallowing some pills or going to a doctor.
Medical fields like psychiatry, psycho-therapy, clinical psychology and hypno-therapy are there but their curing is at the surface level – a temporary realignment of the chemical processes in the body with the help of medicine and psychiatric treatment.
At a much deeper level, the patient has got to be his own doctor. There is much of physical pain caused by emotional attachments to individuals, situations, places and things.
When the attachment is being formed – whether it is love for a person, a place or objects and things that evoke a happy feeling within and keep us in bliss – we are mostly not thinking about the changes that can happen.
The person we love may leave our life, may turn around with some sudden expression of hatred that could have been unbelievable to think about during those golden times of oneness, a twist in relationships that shake the very foundations of our faith and belief, even a natural catastrophe that can snatch away from us things and people we consider most precious – anything can happen.
Anything can happen because the Earth we live in is composed of particles of matter that are in a constant state of agitation and one moment is not like another moment.
Our attachment gets us lost in a very limited perspective, which we cling on to as it gives us joy. But change is the inherent nature of anything that we know of. It is non-negotiable.
Meditation is one way of helping ourselves. “Be like a lotus leaf where water simply rolls around,” says Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
The help to get to that state of emotional detachment is right within. It is as close to you as your breath. Think of any emotional trauma or personal loss that you may be suffering from. Just take a deep breath and let it all out with the exhalation.
Do it as many times and as long as you need. Your breath is like a rope tied to a pail running through a pulley in the well, bailing out the murky waters of old emotional attachments we want to throw out.
When the well is cleared of the scum, it doesn’t run dry, but gets filled soon with fresh water breathing with life, oozing out from the Earth and pouring in from the skies too.
Experience the hidden treasure
Experience the hidden treasure
Monday June 2 2008 00:00 IST Express Features KOCHI
ANUBHUTI is about experience. You have personal and direct experience of many things in life.
Seeing a good painting or a bad movie, tasting good, bad and weird cuisine, smelling the pleasant and unpleasant, hearing terribly noisy music or the distant sounds of a chirping bird, feeling a hot shower, the chill of the air-conditioner and the rustling of a breeze when you stood by the window etc, can be classified as sensual experiences.
Based on what people, tabloids and television told you, these experiences could be branded by you as good or bad. You are great indeed if you have the ability to experience all this and also be aware of it when the experience takes place. However you ought to know, that there is a whole new experience, which has been elusive to you till now.
That is the experience of your self. You have enough objects around you to experience every moment of your life. It somewhat keeps you busy and many times happy too.
But you should know that your mind has been one-sided in its perception and has experienced only the outer world. It did not know that there is a flip side to its self. On the other side (inside) of your mind lies your self quietly.
Your mind needs to experience it, if only it could turn around a bit. Just like the satisfaction you derive in experiencing objects outside you, there is a very deep contentment that you would bump into when the inner self is experienced. This direct experience -Aporaksha Anubhuti – of this self can be the finishing touch to your spate of experiences.
There may not be anything more left to experience further. Remember you need your mind intact to experience this self. While experience of the senses outside brings happiness or sorrow to you, the experience of the self makes you blissful.
The outer experiences multiplies and scatters your thought pattern but the experience of the self will make your thought flow like a steady stream under the moonlit sky of a silent night.
Experiencing the self in no way can rob you of the experiences of the outer world, just that you will begin to experience the world with little more intensity. Strangely, you would stop calling your outer experiences as good or bad thereafter.
They are simply experiences. When you could experience the dynamism of outer life and the silence of the inner self, you will come to a full circle in life. This full circle of experiences makes you complete and full. That fullness is the ultimate purpose of your life.
Swami Akshara http://www.swamiakshara
Stay young for long
Stay young for long
By Bharat Thakur Published: May 16, 2008, 23:39 GULF NEWS
Everyone would like to remain young forever. However, the laws of nature dictate that each of us gradually ages.
In today’s times, people are much concerned about how they look as they age.
Hence, we find many people turning to Botox and other cosmetic treatments such as facelifts.
Unfortunately, these invasive treatments have a detrimental effect on the individual’s health.
Before we look into ageing, we must understand what health is.
In layman’s terms, health can be defined as a feeling of wellbeing, with the individual possessing physical and mental competence. As we age, the body’s functioning deteriorates.
Spinal flexibility
Yoga, more than any other therapy in the world, helps those who practise it to “age gracefully”.
The first thing to understand is the importance of spinal flexibility. Yogic wisdom shows us that the flexibility of the spine is directly linked to the ageing process.
As one’s spine gets more rigid, the muscles of the neck also stiffen and the blood supply to the face, scalp and brain is restricted.
This speeds up the wrinkling and hair-greying process. Yoga helps loosen the muscles of the back, spine and neck so that the face and head receive regular nourishment through blood supply.
Apart from the spine, yoga helps in firming up the skin, enhancing our immune system and improving our posture and tone of the muscles. It also helps maintain regular blood pressure levels.
Those who wish to invest in their health from a young age and want to retard the ageing process must give special importance to their lifestyle.
Inverted poses beneficial
You must practise some yogic stretches for the body. Yogic inverted poses are especially beneficial as they redirect blood supply to the head and face.
Apart from slowing down greying of hair and wrinkling, these postures help enhance and maintain mental faculties such as memory and concentration.
To stay young we also need to get adequate sleep. Sleep is the time when the body’s cells rejuvenate, allowing you to cope with daily life.
Nutrition also plays a big role. Important foods that help in ageing well are apples (rich in antioxidants), berries (vitamin C), garlic (detoxfies the liver) and broccoli.
Finally, the best deterrent to ageing is to practise pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. It has positive effects on the physiology as well as the mental make-up.
Meditating will help you deal with ageing and understand that change is the law of nature and you cannot hold on to your youth.
Vipareet karni mudra
* Lie flat on your back.
* Raise your legs to form a 90° angle with the torso, and support your hip with your hands as you raise it off the ground.
* Maintain this posture and close your eyes.
* Hold for as long as is comfortable (not exceeding 30 seconds to one minute).
* Slowly, bring the back down to touch the floor. Lie flat on the back for about 1 minute.
Halasana
* Lie flat on your back.
* Raise your legs to form a 90° angle with the torso, and support your hip with your hands.
* Now, begin to bend your legs further and try to touch the toes to the floor.
* Maintain this posture for as long as is comfortable and close your eyes.
* Slowly, return to the first step. Lie on your back for about one minute.
Maha bandha
* Sit comfortably in a cross-legged position on the floor, or on a chair. (If you sit on a chair, keep your legs apart).
* Place palms on your knees.l Inhale deeply. Exhale completely.
* First, contract the anal region of the body (this is called mool bandha.).
* Second, contract and pull the stomach inwards (uddiyaan bandha.).
* Third, drop and press the chin to the jugular notch on the chin (jalandhar bandha.).
* Hold for 5-10 seconds.
* Then, slowly release the chin, the stomach and finally the anal locks.
* Breathe in and slowly exhale.
* Repeat this practise. Maha bandha can only be done thrice, as further practise will cause an imbalance in the hormonal level.
Caution: People suffering from high BP should avoid holding their breath in the practise. They may hold their breath in the final step for no more than 3 seconds.
Shavasana
* Lie on your back.
* Keep your legs slightly apart and your hands beside the hips with the palms facing the ceiling.
* Begin to practise deep abdominal breathing.
* Count your breaths from 11 down, till 1.
This is a highly relaxing exercise and can be done everyday before going to sleep.
— Bharat Thakur is the founder of Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga. For questions on yoga, write to dubai.artisticyoga@gmail.com. For more information, log on to http://www.bharatthakur.com
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