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 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
Student: I have pain in my legs, but it is bearable. I am not bothered by many thoughts and my concentration is fairly good. But I really don't know what my aim in sitting is. ROSHI: The first aim of sitting is to unify the mind. For the average person, whose mind is being pulled in many directions, sustained concentration is virtually impossible. Through the practice of zazen, the mind becomes one-pointed so that it can be controlled. This process can be likened to utilizing the sun's rays through a magnifying glass. When the rays of the sun are focused they become, of course, more intense. The human mind too functions more efficiently when it is concentrated and unified. Whether your desire is to see into your Self-nature or not, you can appreciate the effect on your well-being of mind integration. Student: Yes, of course. Now, I was sitting quietly doing zazen, and then I had a great deal of pain, i didn't know whether I ought to try to endure the pain or to give up when it got too intense. My real problem, in other words, is this: Should I bring my will to bear or should I sit passively, without forcing myself. Roshi; This is an important problem. Eventually, you will reach the point where you can sit comfortably, free from strain or pain. But from long habit of misusing our body and mind, in the beginning, we must exert our will before we can sit with ease and equilibrium. And this inevitably entails pain. When the body's center of gravity is established in the region just below the navel, the entire body functions with greater stability. The center of gravity in the average person is in the shoulders. Moreover, instead of sitting and walking with an erect back, most people slump, placing an inordinate strain on all parts of the body. We likewise mis-employ our mind, playing with and harboring all kinds of useless thoughts. This is why we have to make a determined effort to use the body and mind properly. At first, it is unavoidably painful, but if you persevere, the pain will gradually give way to a feeling of exhilaration. You will become physically stronger and mentally more alert. This is the experience of all who do zazen regularly and devotedly. |
đ´ 1: Warn your daughter or son not to sit on anyone's lap, no matter the situation, including uncles. đ´ 2: Avoid dressing in front of your children from the age of 2. đ´ 3. Never allow an adult to refer to your child as "my wife" or "my husband" đ´ 4. Whenever your child goes out to play with his friends, be sure to find a way to find out what type of game he plays, because young people abuse themselves sexually. And this is not new ... đ´ 5. Never have your child visit an adult with whom he is not comfortable, and also consider whether your child becomes a big fan of a particular adult. đ´ 6. Once, a very cheerful child suddenly becomes shy. You may need to be patient and cautious, as well as clear up a few questions about why you are behaving. đ´ 7. Educate carefully about the correct values ââof sexuality. If you don't, society will teach you the wrong values. đ´ 8: It is always advisable to review any new material, such as cartoons you just bought from them, before you start watching them. đ´ 9. Make sure to enable parental controls on your cable networks and advise your friends, especially your children's. Visit frequently. đ´ 10. Teach your children from 3 years to wash their private parts well and warn them never to allow anyone to touch them (remember, caring begins at home and with you). đ´ 11: Keep away any associated materials that you think could endanger your child's mental health (this includes music, movies, and even friends and family). đ´ 12: Once your child complains about a particular person, don't keep quiet. Remember, we are the parents who raise future parents. And remember: "Pain lasts a lifetime." |
| History will act as evidence if it has a parallel to epitome of sacrifice from Guru Gobind Singh. There cannot be another 9 year old son who inspires his father to sacrifice himself for cause of Kashmiri Brahmins. There cannot be another father who sacrifices his 4 sons and then says" In putran ke sees par vaar diye sut chaar. Char muae to kya hua Jiwat kai hazar." what if I have sacrificed 4 sons my thousands of sons are alive. There cannot be a warrior like Guru Gobind Singh who instructed his soldiers never to fight anyone who is unarmed, respect women, children and elderly and never to attack anyone behind his back. His arrows used to bear little gold as He said I have no personal enmity with anyone, I have to fight those who are supporting the tyrants so the gold is meant for their decent last rites. He was a philosopher far ahead of his times. He was a great writer whose literary writings like Choupayi Sahib will remain immortal. Bhai Nandlal ji has described Him as MUQBAL-O MAQBOOL GURU GOBIND SINGH WAASIL-O MAUSOOL GURU GOBIND SHAHE SHAHAN SHAH GURU GOBIND SINGH. Today we celebrate the 354th birth anniversary of greatest saint warrior ever. SAHIBE-KAMAL GURU GOBIND SINGH HAPPY GURUPURAB đšđđšđđš |
| Turnarounds can never be predicted. Which is why they are called turnarounds. Indian did a magnificent turnaround today ,this will be the greatest turnaround after the 2001 India-Australia Test Series. It will be a gigantic moment in Indiaâs cricketing history. What is interesting to see is that the guys who were involved in the turnaround in this Test - they have scripted amazing turnarounds in their real lives too. Natarajan is the son of a loom worker who had no money for luxuries like cricket gear and shoes. For many years, Natarajan had to think a hundred times before investing in new shoes. His mother cried when she saw him representing India on TV. His wife gave birth to their daughter when Natarajan was playing IPL in UAE. He hasnât even seen her yet because he went straight to Australia in a bio bubble. Shardul Thakur battled obesity to play for Mumbai and thereafter IPL. No less than Sachin Tendulkar advised him to lose weight for a great cricketing career ahead of him. Siraj rose to become Indiaâs new ball bowler despite being born to a poor rickshaw driver. His father died and he couldnât perform his last rites as he was in Australia on national duty. Washington Sundarâs father - Sundar, was a talented cricketer who was sponsored by his rich neighbour throughout his local cricketing life. His name was Washington. The man passed away just before Sundarâs second son was born. Sundar named his son Washington as a tribute to his benefactor. Navdeep Sainiâs father was a government driver and could not afford expensive cricket coaching for his son. So Saini played exhibition matches on tennis ball at Rs.300 a match to fund his dreams. All these guys came together as debutants and have turned this match over its head. All their lives they were waiting for this moment in their cricketing career. All their failures, all their struggles, all their doubts and all their insecurities - all that was settled once and for all in this Test match. When presented with an opportunity, they fired themselves up and attacked Australia with all guns blazing. In this series, more than any other Test series I have seen in my life, the Indian Cricket team has proven their naysayers wrong. They have sustained tremendous pressure and taken hard knocks all over their bodies against one of the best Australian attack ever. And by doing so, they have made us realise that while 5 hour IPL matches can create instant celebrities, Test Cricket, which stretches over five days, creates real heroes. Celebrities sign autographs, but heroes continue to inspire the nation decades after they retire. Thank you Team India đŽđł |
| âListen! Do not let your time pass idly. Either keep a rosary with you and do japa; or if this does not suit you, at least go on repeating the Name of the Lord regularly and without interruption like the ticking of a clock. There are no rules or restrictions in this. Invoke Him by the Name that appeals to you most, for as much time as you can â the longer the better. Even if you get tired or lose interest, administer the Name to yourself like a medicine that has to be taken. In this way you will at some auspicious moment discover the rosary of the mind, and then you will continually hear within yourself the praises of the great Master, the Lord of Creation, like the never ceasing music of the boundless ocean; You will hear the land and the sea, the air and the heavens reverberate with the song of His glory. This is called the all-pervading Presence of His Name.â |
| The Secret to Happiness? Spend Money on Experiences, Not Things, For happiness. Buy Experiences, Not Stuff.. We like buying things. Happiness is a matter of buying the perfect house, driving the best car, wearing the trendiest clothes and posting status updates. The first drive in a new car may be satisfying or thrilling for a short while, the thrill always fades and we find ourselves back in the same place seeking the next purchase to keep the feeling going. If this sounds anything like your life then rest assured there is a better way to spend your money and keep that feeling alive: Stop buying stuff and start buying experiences! The thrill of purchasing things fades quickly but the joy and memories of experiences, from epic adventures to minute encounters, can last a lifetime. Wlith all things in life, there is no guarantee that you will always have a good experience. But nine times out of 10 youâre better spending your money on experiences and other people than on yourself. Youâre much more likely to have genuine, fulfilling happiness as a result. So remember: You want to be happy? Stop buying things and start buying experiences! |
| 9 Career Mistakes Everyone Needs To Make: During your career, you'll surely make some mistakes. Although some of them will make you cringe with embarrassment, you always learn and grow from the experience. Some mistakes are even necessary for your future success. They open your eyes and make you more resilient. If J.K. Rowling had never hit rock bottom, for example, she might have never pushed hard enough to finish the outrageously successful Harry Potter series. And if Steve Jobs had never been fired from his own company, he may never have gone through the "midlife crisis" that eventually led to inventions like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Below are some necessary mistakes you need to make to rise to the top. 1. Not delivering the elevator pitch You have about 30 seconds to impress someone when you first meet them, which is why perfecting your elevator pitch is so important. When he worked at Microsoft earlier in his career, Rajat Taneja, now an executive at Visa, found himself in an elevator with an important executive and couldn't say anything more than "hello." He had his chance, and he let it slip through his fingertips. That elevator ride made a huge impact in his career. He writes on LinkedIn: "This experience taught me that in business, you have to make the most of the moments you have and to not let a level of intimidation get in the way of making a good, and lasting, impression." 2. Not mapping out your five-year career plan When you're starting your career, people will ask what you want to do in the long run. In fact, inquiring about your five-year career plan is a common question in job interviews. But some people have no clue what they want to do and still turn out OK. Take Vivian Schiller, head of news at Twitter and the former CEO of NPR, for example. She says she never had a long-term plan. When Schiller started in the media industry, she was told that she should choose either the creative or business route, but she was interested in both, so she never chose. " Having no set roadmap gave me a view in every direction. And I truly believe that success doesn't come with a set plan. It comes with patience, a little luck, and trusting yourself to choose the opportunities that are right â for you." 3. Failing to do adequate research If you skimp on research, you may end up losing a job opportunity or end up on the bad end of a deal. For T. Boone Pickens, this happened in his first job as a child when he entered into a lawn-mowing deal with his grandmother, who owned six small rental houses at the time. Pickens failed to do any research on his business strategy. He writes on LinkedIn: "It would rain two days, then we would have sun for five days. I could see the grass growing â and growing. I hadnât looked at the job very closely. I didnât realize the lawns were as big as they were, or what a rainy summer would do to me. "'This was a very bad summer, and you made a bad deal,' my grandmother told me. I couldnât help but agree. Grandmother was right. Misjudging that bid was a small mistake, one that only cost me a few dollars. Yet the sting of that minor miscalculation created such a long-lasting impression that it has stayed seared in my mind throughout my entire career." 4. Not pushing hard enough for your project Asana's Justin Rosenstein could have launched Google Drive in 2006, but didn't push hard enough for his project. At 22 years old, Rosenstein was working at the company and had the idea for "Gdrive," which was developed to sync files across your computers, but the idea was turned down by Larry Page. Rosenstein was so intimidated, he didn't have the confidence to fight back. He writes: "I didn't have enough confidence I was right. I also didn't have the organizational capital to influence the Google Docs team, and so when [I was asked to join Facebook in 2007], I left Google without completing the project. Google eventually launched an integrated Gdrive five years later." Rosenstein learned that if you're "living and breathing" a project, you need to "understand and articulate the marketing positioning and strategy thatâs unique to your project." Then, you need to fight your hardest for it. 5. Losing your patience No matter how stressed, you need to keep your cool in a professional setting. Craigslist's Craig Newmark lost his cool one day in front of customers and "created an instant perception of not playing well with others." "Doesn't matter that I was right, and that the project failed," Newmark says. "That started in the early eighties, and I didn't quite understand and modify my behavior until the early nineties. Probably what really got me going right was starting to do serious customer service, and it's been 18 years of that." 6. Needing to be right NewsCred CEO Shafqat Islam says you need to be wrong in order to learn and grow. "Multiple people have told me this, and I don't know if I can credit it to a single person, but one thing that I think about is if you're not getting told 'no' enough times a day, you're probably not doing it right or you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough," he tells Business Insider. In his wildly-popular TED Talk in 2012, Sir Ken Robinson talks about how our current education system chastises those who break out of the mold because when you do that, you're risking the chance of being wrong. Robinson says: "What we do know is if you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. By the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity ... And we run companies like this ... And now we're running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is we're educating people out of their creative capacity." 7. Getting fired When Steve Jobs was in his 30s, the very company he created fired him. "I was out â and very publicly out," Jobs says in a 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. "What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating." Jobs spent the summer of 1985 in a "midlife crisis," but during his time away from Apple, Jobs co-founded computer company NeXT, which was later acquired by Apple, and launched Pixar Animation Studios. When Jobs returned to Apple nearly a decade later, he brought the innovation of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Famed Vogue editor Anna Wintour was also fired from Harper's Bazaar after nine months for being too edgy. Shortly after leaving Harper's, she became a fashion editor at Viva. "I recommend that you all get fired," Wintour tells fashion students. 8. Hitting rock bottom Before the wildly successful Harry Potter series came to life, J.K. Rowling was a single mom on welfare. She dreamed of being a writer while working as a secretary for the London office of Amnesty International, and when she got fired, Rowling admits to hitting rock bottom. She was in her 30s, had no job, no money, and a child to raise on her own. In a 2008 commencement speech at Harvard University, Rowling discussed how hitting rock bottom forced her to finish the first Harry Potter book. She says: "I've often met people who are terrified â you know, in a straitjacket of their own making â because they'd rather do anything than fail. They don't want to try for fear of failing," she says. "[Hitting] rock bottom wasn't fun at all â I'm not romanticizing rock bottom â but it was liberating. What did I have to lose?" 9. Risking everything Risking everything for an uncertain career might seem like a huge mistake to most people, but Bryan Cranston knew he loved acting that much. "The riskiest career decision is to go into this career," Cranston tells Business Insider at last year's Time 100 gala. " You have to be a risk-taker of some degree to be able to say, 'Alright, I'm throwing it all out there. Whatever happens, happens. I want to be an actor,' ... i f that means sleeping on someone's couch for the rest of my life, then that's what that is." |
| It'll be a sin not to copy and paste. Brevity is the Soul of Wit. đ¤ Enjoy these fresh two-liners with some genuine observations:- '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' The difference between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted. Alcohol is a perfect solvent: It dissolves marriages, families and careers. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. Archaeologist: Someone whose career lies in ruins. There are two kinds of people who don't say much: Those who are quiet and those who talk a lot. They say that alcohol kills slowly. So what? Who's in a hurry? Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Never drink and derive One nice thing about egoists: They don't talk about other people. Brilliant Puns: 1. A man who wants a pretty nurse, must be patient. 2. A man who leaps off a cliff, jumps to a conclusion. 3. A man running in front of a car, gets tyred; And a man running behind a car, gets exhausted. 4. War does not determine who is right. It determines who is left. 5. A man who drives like hell, is bound to get there. 6. A lion will not cheat on his wife, but a Tiger wood! 7. Toilets are a great place to think.No wonder they are called "Sochalayas".. đ¤ |
| Veblen Effect Being Used Aggressively in Brand Promoting* From Julius Ceaser to JW Double Black! A great psychological game being played over thousands of yearso At 23, Julius Caesar was a junior politician on the way up. But he had two advantages: Confidence and Brains. Sailing across the Aegean Sea, he was captured by Sicilian pirates. They demanded a ransom: 20 talents of silver. (Thatâs about 620kg) Caesar told them they were being ridiculous. He couldnât possibly allow himself to be ransomed so cheaply. The pirates hesitated, they were confused. Caesar insisted the ransom must be raised to 50 talents of silver. (Around 1,550kg) Normally, their captives tried to escape as cheaply as possible. They didnât understand what was going on. But if he said he would double the ransom, why argue? They let Caesarâs men go back to Rome to raise the money. And in Rome, in his absence, Caesar suddenly became very famous and well known. No-one had ever been ransomed for such an enormous sum ever before. He must be very special, he must be incredibly important! That ransom demand put Caesar on the political map and made him famous. He had just invented the Veblen effect. Although Thorsten Veblen wouldnât give it that the name for another 2,000 years. The Veblen effect is when consumers perceive higher-priced goods to be worth much more, simply because they cost more. Like Rolex, Cartier, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Harrods, Cristal Champagne. None of them are actually any better than the cheaper alternatives, but the price alone makes them seem more special and desirable. But, as far as anyone in Rome knew, it wasnât him who had done it. It was an independent valuation. So it must be true. And because Caesar was now so highly valued, his men had little trouble raising the ransom money. They returned to the island and freed him. But Caesar wasnât going to allow the pirates to keep that sort of money at all. As a now important and famous man, it was easy to raise a huge force. He hunted down the pirates and took back all the money, plus everything else they had pillaged, then executed them all. So Caesar was now both very rich and very famous. And in time, with that same combination of confidence and brains, he became ruler of all Rome. And he presided over the golden age of the Roman Empire. Expanding it from Spain to Germany, from Britain to the Middle East. How you stake a claim in the mind is by creating a perception. And how you create that perception is by controlling the context. Control the context and you control the mind. Control the mind and you control reality. A good example of Veblen effect is Johnny Walker Double Black! JW Black is labelled at least 12 years aged scotch. But JW Double Black has no age statement! JW Double Black is sold at a higher price than JW Black with a perceived notion that 'double black' should be much better than just 'black', especially since Double Black is pricier than Black! That is how the human mind works. In reality, no one knows what is so special in Double Black, except the label, claims it's very smooth, without actually saying it is smoother than Black! Many believe that this is simply a marketing strategy to pass off un-aged scotch at a much higher price, through Veblen effect! Anyhow the Veblen effect is a highly successful marketing strategy when correctly done... |
| A âmouseâ was put at the top of a jar filled with grains. He was too happy to find so much food around him. Now he doesnât need to run around searching for food and can happily lead his life. As he enjoyed the grains, in a few daysâ time, he reached the bottom of the jar. Now he is trapped and he cannot come out of it. He has to solely depend upon someone to put grains in the same jar for him to survive. He may even not get the grain of his choice and he cannot choose either. Here are FOUR lessons to learn from this: 1) Short term pleasures can lead to long-term traps. 2) If things are coming easy and you are getting comfortable, you are getting trapped into survival mode. 3) When you are not using your skills, you will lose more than your skills. You lose your CHOICES. 4) The right Action has to be taken at the right time, or else you will lose whatever you have. Nothing comes easily in life and if it comes easily, maybe it is not worth it. Thank you !!! |
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