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Saturday, May 31, 2008

HE IS A GREAT MAN & A GREAT TEACHER - THE FLOWER OF MANKIND

He IS a great teacher. He inspired me and set me on a path of becoming a better person.

Who do you think is this person - whose gentle voice has spread far and wide, whose balmy, diffusing effect has calmed and soothed millions, whose genial persuasion has heartened and cheered listeners in every region where it has penetrated, whose words spread not by the force of weapons or political power but by love and compassion, and who wins by the warm hand of love, not by the cold threat of terror?

And do you know what some great men have said about him? Well, read on…..

“He gave expression to truths of everlasting value and advanced the ethics of humanity. He was one of the greatest ethical man of genius ever bestowed upon the world” Albert Schweitzer

“He has been something greater than all doctrines and dogmas, and his eternal message has thrilled humanity through the ages. Perhaps, at no time in past history was his message of peace more needed for a suffering and distracted humanity than it is today” Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

“I have examined every one of the great religious systems of the world, in none of these have I found anything to surpass its beauty and comprehensiveness….I am content to shape my life according to that Truth” Professor T.W. Rhys Davids

Guess no more, HE is The Buddha......who else....

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Albert Einstein has said in his autobiography: “If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.” He also said that Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

THE ULTIMATE WAKE-UP CALL

Every global crisis presents a golden opportunity for change: for the interntational communities and world governments to re-think about existing policies and priorities. This time around, it is probably not going to be energy and the after-effects of US Subprime that will trigger change – it’s going to be the looming food crisis: one that cannot be solved or elevated by bailouts and fiscal measures.

The food crisis will shake and demolish past efforts to close the gap between the rich and poor, and unravel years of developing aid. It will bestow upon the weak more suffering, create wide-spread social unrests and riots and put mounting pressure on nations, both rich and poor. Left unchecked, it can bring a downfall to the government.

No other crisis will have such devastating effects on national security as this.

It is easy for rich nations to point the finger at emerging economies and continue stock-piling. But if governments of both developed and natural resource-rich countries don’t act fast and put priority on agricultural and sustainable development, shift wasteful and destructive expenditure on defense and work together with developing nations to modernize their agriculture practices and boost production, the pain of the food crisis will come creeping to the doorsteps of the rich very quickly and with crippling effects on their economies.

And, if the world, in particular, rich nations feel that global warming and environment deterioration are issues which are too vague to put serious attention, perhaps, the food crisis will be the appropriate wake-up call to put more attention on sustainable development and the “greening” of planet Earth with crops rather than concrete jungle.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

5 GREAT TIPS FOR AN ELEPHANT MEMORY

Managing memory loss and cognitive decline is big business. It is the target of entrepreneurs and the growing number of products, services and business for people who are concerned about Alzheimer, Dementia and memory loss due to aging.
Millions of dollars are being thrown away hoping to arrest our capacity to remember, while simple solutions like those below have being overlooked. However, if you are looking forward to living a long, happy and quality life, you cannot afford to lose your memory.

# 1: USE IT OR LOSE IT
If you have already in your golden years, and have retired from corporate life or your business, don’t stay idle. Keep yourself busy. Spend time reading, doing your household budget, gardening, help your grandchildren with their homework and other basic chores during your free time.

# 2: LEARN NEW THINGS
Get out of your routine and learn a new skill, language or game. Take up ball-room dancing, yoga and other low impact exercises. It stimulates the mind and keeps your brain cells in tip-top condition.

# 3: GET YOUR BRAIN TO DO SOME JOGGING
It’s the same as physical exercise. The brain needs regular exercise to stay in “share”. Go play chess, solve crosswords and sudoku. Such games stimulate parts of the brain that are usually dormant. It’s a great memory booster.

# 4: STROLL AND KEEP YOUR MIND
You don’t need plenty of time. Just find ½ an hour each day to stroll. It doesn’t have to be in a park, if you don’t leave near one; you don’t need to walk a dog if you don’t own one. Just stroll alone or better still with someone you like; its great for burning off calories, getting your blood circulation up, relaxes your body & mind, and oxygenate your cells. It is great for a good night sleep, which is also important for proper functioning of the brain.

# 5: HAVE A HEALTHY BRAIN DIET
Eat lots of fish, fruits and vegetables, and drink a small amount of red wine daily. Cut down red meats. Take nutritional supplements like Omega 3 fish oil and a variety of minerals.

There is compelling evidence that your brain can be fixed! Memory improvement is not difficult; as most people notice changes after a few days. The challenge is, are you willing to do it.

Friday, March 7, 2008

THE ‘EINSTEIN-PLUS’ CHILD PLAYS TOYS

Any toy and game that helps the child think is a good buy.

According to Marie Johnson, assistant professor of special education at Freed-Hareman University, parents should ask whether the toys build visual, auditory, tactile or motor skills. And, whether it taps into their child’s imagination and stimulates their minds before they buy toys and games.

Board games like monopoly, and snake & ladder build counting skills. Scrabble helps kids to be better spellers. These games provide opportunity for famly members to interact and spend quality time together.

Solving puzzles, sudoku and playing chess forces the child to use parts of the brain they don’t always use, develop memory skills, extends attention span and cognition. It is great for overall mental development.

"Uno is a great game for school-age children as it combines math concepts and social interaction. It also helps children develop coping & interaction skills and its fun.

Some games like Strawberry shortcake, Curious George, and Nemo teach letters.

Building toys such as blocks help with motor skills, and when they play with other children, they are learning to interact and cooperate with each other to build something.

If you are buying books, look for those that have stimulating storylines, colorful illustrations, and promote good moral values. Read regularly to your kids, as research tells us that the more we read to children, the better readers they are going to be. Reading stories that promote good moral values is a subtle and creative way to help your child grows to become a person with integrity and become an asset to society. Books improve vocabulary skills, increase attention span and boost their imagination.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

THE SECRET......WHAT THE....!?!?

If you want $1 million write it down on a piece of paper and imagine you have it everyday and you’ll have it sooner than you think! If it is love you seek, do the same and in 30 or so days, its love you will meet! Gosh, I wonder how far the baloney will go. If merely attempting to hoodwink ones sub-conscious mind can bring the genie to Aladdin, there’s not going to be poor people in the world very soon. No suffering too.

If one can get wealthy or change one’s their life by merely imagining the things one desires, there’s no need for physical and other efforts. All we have to do is spend our days visualizing and dreaming.

Scientists may agree that the sub-conscious mind is more powerful than we can imagine, and the entire Universe is connected, that does not mean that we can influence Nature and the Universe in a manner than The Secret DVD claims. If it were that simple, our forefathers would have eradicated wars, diseases, poverty, disasters, sufferings and death a long time ago.

I’m sure all of us look forward to the day where all our good wishes come true - however, we know it won’t happen in the manner which the people who are promoting “The Secret” claims.

Notwithstanding, I guess the simplistic assertions in The Secret do have its value; it gives people hope and stay positive during those dark days of their life….........

ps. Let us challenge the promoters of The Secret to put an end to natural disasters and global warming! ;-)

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Monday, November 5, 2007

LESSONS FROM THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR

If you want to retire comfortably, one of the must-read is the #1 best selling book “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J Stanley and William D Danko. The book revealed that, contrary to popular notions, most of America’s millionaires are not the high-income people!

According to the authors, one of the key traits of America’s millionaires is that they are meticulous planners and they spend years carving their financial future. They allocate significantly more time planning, managing and studying their financial futures and investments than non-millionaires.

The other key trait of millionaires is that they understand the foundation of wealth-building is being frugal. And few live a high-consumption lifestyle and become a millionaire at the same time. Many maintain a family budget and have tight control over their expenditure.

If becoming a millionaire is that simple, why aren’t there more millionaires? Because despite the knowledge, most people don’t have the discipline to do what it takes to accumulate wealth. It’s similar to getting physically fit – most people know what is required but can’t lift the finger, so to speak!

“The Millionaire Next Door” is available in www.amazon.com. Check it out. Cheers.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

SILENCE OF THE MANAGEMENT GURUS

You were told that your sub-conscious mind has unlimited power. And that you can re-program it and re-design your life if you follow these simple steps: Set your goals, visualize it 3 times a day, and affirm it by writing a letter to yourself or writing it over and over again. Walla! Your life will be change for the better if you believe it, expect it………it will come true!

……another year has gone by………you are far from achieving your desired goals eventhough you have worked hard at changing your life and have followed your guru(s) advice to tap into the powers of the sub-conscious mind [and the universe]………

What has gone wrong? Is that sub-conscious mind thing a baloney?

No its not! I assure you!

Your sub-conscious mind is powerful! Very powerful indeed. However, what you won’t told is that your “experts” have “re-packaged” the authentic practices – practices that are tightly intertwined with Eastern spiritual practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and other faiths – to make it palatable to the Western mind.

One of the key ingredients which is conspicuously absent from the “re-packaged” sub-conscious mind enhancement techniques is bringing the mind to deep meditative state as this conflicts with some of dominant spiritual practices of the Western world. And those who do adopt some elements of meditation do so at a limited level. So, its like baking a cake without flour!

The same is seen in yoga. Commercialization of Yoga has been reduced it to mere stretching and body-contorting exercises. Little does the public realize that the authentic yoga is a prayer and self-realization science, and the physical movements are only one of the elements of a process to bring oneself in unity with some higher benevolent force.

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

HAVE YOU INSURED YOUR INCOME?

You insured your house, your car, your health, your belongings…….however, have you insured your income?

Many of us are heavily dependent on a single source of income – income from our profession [if you are lucky, perhaps, a second source too as your spouse is also working]. Man, that living on the edge!

Consider this: what will happen if you lose your primary source of income – either due to retrenchment, business failure, illness, personal injury [from an accident]. What is that going to do to your finances? How is that going to impact you and your family? What about your children’s’ college education, your retirement plans, your continuing ability to service your mortgage payments and insurance premiums? Scary isn’t it?

Not to worry – there’s always hope. You can always take up an insurance policy to cover the loss of income – that is, if such policies are offered in your country. Whether this option is available or not, you should consider diversifying your sources of income when you are still sailing in calm waters.

Consider learning a new skill or a new trade, or taking up a hobby with commercial potential. Better still, start creating new streams of income on part-time. The wonderful part of this is you are doing something useful during your leisure without pressure. Even if it doesn’t amount to much in monetary terms, you’re building up a position which you can leverage on if misfortune does occur [Needless to say, if you become wildly successful with your part-time endeavor, you have now added options!].

All of us wish all will be well and remain well; but we can never tell. So, why not utilize your leisure time for something productive or potentially useful?

Thursday, August 30, 2007

A RISK-FREE LIFE

As a self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur who have traveled widely, John [not his real name] has gathered rich life experiences, and met many wonderful people from varied walks of life. Whenever I meet him for coffee, he has lots & lots of life stories to share – always a fascination to have a conversation with him.

Amongst the things I learned from John is that life is about taking calculated risks. As a matter of fact, mankind’s progress throughout the ages is the cumulative outcome of decisions by visionary individuals who dare to dream and take action.

Would man have landed on the moon, if President Kennedy didn’t dare to dream, took calculated risks and pursue relentlessly to realize it? As I understand, when the dream was articulated, no one knows whether it is be achievable. If fact, many of the President’s men said it cannot be done.

I therefore find it equally fascinating when people tells me that they don’t want [or, rather] afraid to take risks [unless someone guarantees their success] even though adequate facts are laid before them.

Imagine what would have happened if we were afraid of going to college for fear of failure to complete the course, didn’t applying for a job or embarked on any venture fear of failure / rejection, fear of failing our examination therefore not sign-up for the next seating, not leaving the house for fear of being knock down by a car, not buying the dream home for fear of catastrophic consequences, etc. We wouldn’t have made any progress.

Life is about taking chances, making commitment and taking action. Go, live life, get out of your comfort zone and set an example for the next generation. There’s whole spectrum of rich sights and sounds and experience awaiting you. Best wishes and may you live a life of abundance like my friend, John.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

10 TIPS ON HOW TO LIVE LONGER

August’s issue of Adsvantage lists 10 things you can do to live longer, summarized as follows:

TIP #1 DAILY WORKOUTS
Regular exercise can increase physical health. A recent study shows that daily exercise adds 3.7 years to our lives.

TIP#2 NOT SMOKING
It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for health. Findings have shown that the mortality rate of middle-aged heavy smokers were cut by half once they have decided to quit smoking.

TIP #3 OWNING PETS
Several studies have shown that owning a pet lowers a person’s blood pressure, increases self-esteem in children, decreases the mortality rates of heart attack victims, decreases cholesterol, decreases depression, relieves stress and increase family happiness. Research predicts that those owning pets may add 7 years to their lives.

TIP #4 EATING WISELY
A number of studies have already confirmed that certain foods have positive impact on our lifespan. With a little planning and discipline it is possible to incorporate a good range of healthy food into our diet, and minimize unhealthy food.

TIP#5 HAVING GOOD FRIENDS
An Australian study has shown that those who had the most close friends ended up living the longest. This is because friends can increase a person’s well-being through lower stress, less boredom and reduced sadness.

TIP#6 LAUGHING

Laughter is a natural medicine, with the ability to decrease stress-related hormones, boost immune system, regulate blood pressure, and increase the flow of blood and oxygen.

TIP#7 BEING NICE AND POSITIVE
Being positive and cheerful, and maintaining an optimistic outlook can add years to life, and life to years. Recent studies found that older men with angry and hostile personalities are more likely to die before those who engaged in smoking and drinking.

TIP#8 MEDITATING
Meditating can reduce stress and reduce pain, lower blood pressure and facilitate positive emotions to the brain. It also promotes mental clarity.

TIP#9 RELAXATION
Taking time to relax is great for both the body and mind. It has calming effect and is excellent for dealing with stress.

TIP#10 DOING YOGA
Yoga has been shown to relax the mind as it trains the brain to focus on the present moment and promotes clarity of the mind. It improves blood flow and relaxes the body.

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