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Showing posts from 2014

Zero Intellect??

Most email users today know about unsolicited emails. Deleting emails that don't intend any sense to me has become a practice for me these days. There is always one of these emails to delete: Some insurance company selling policies that talk about the cash benefits. Some pregnancy related website telling me what to do when my baby cries too much. Some school website talking about entrance exam coaching and admission tests. Some property website talking about the latest to-be-launched apartment project that I can buy for just 99 lakhs only.. Note that there is a just and a only in the line. Some philosophical web site talking about how life is to live easy and for that I have to think like I don't exist, talk like a saint and walk the path of the Good God. Some shopping site talking about many things that I may never want in my lifetime. and the like.. Today, I came across a new kind of email which I am hoping that one of you would support. Yes, I am practicing le

Pessimism at a glance

If we have to always be optimistic, then why does the opposite exist? When I read some ten lines in a temple that spoke about being optimistic, I naturally liked it. For those who know me, this is no big news. I am known to be positive most of the time, but then today, you may not believe, I thought a little different. Why does everyone talk about Positive so much? Why does the opposite of it never welcome?? We all know that opposites are unavoidable. If there is a high, there has to be a low. If there is a fast, there has to be a slow. If there is a possible, there has to be an impossible. If there is a 'can', there has to be a can't. If there is a far, there has to be a near. If there is a love, there has to be a hate. If there is a crest, there has to be a trough. If there is a success, there has to be a failure. If there is a positive, there has to be a negative. If there is a good, there has to be a 'Bad'. We all know that what we don't

Diwali evening - Are you rich?

Last week, after many years, I stepped out to buy crackers - some sparklers and sprinklers for my daughter. It was her first Diwali in India.She has not seen or heard so many noises and so much of light on the roads until then. So after two days of preparation, she finally agreed to light sparklers herself. That's how I stepped on to the road, full of joy for it is different buying things for yourself and very different when you buy for others and more so, when it is for your child. At the shop, there were five people in different age groups, all buying crackers per their budget. I asked for five packets of sparklers, hoping for ten pieces in each pack. I couldn't imagine my daughter spending more time on sparklers. The shopkeeper gave me a look that almost said " Why are you wasting my time on a Diwali day?". I immediately added " It is for my two year old daughter". Then he smiled and asked me what else I wanted. I also picked up a pack of Flower pots a

Just doing it

'Just Do It' is the tag line of one of the famous companies. Whoever thought out that line, has done it well because that is all there is to life in any aspect. Just go ahead and Do it.. whatever it is. You have a chance, you may have a choice, but you just do it. And the response of the doing does not always have to be visibly, immediately, in your favor. You did it because you wanted to do it. Simple. If you are doing something because someone else asked you to, that someone else wont be there to take the hit of it, if any, later. You are solely responsible for what you do.

feeling gifted or feeling appreciated?

There is always a sub-conscious need to feel appreciated in everything. Recently when I was talking to someone I just figured that this need should be the culprit that spoils all the confidence in anyone.  I just asked myself Why? and I don't have an answer. If the answer is encouragement, acknowledgement, ego, fame and name.. why are we behind these? Isn't feeling gifted more important?? 

Unseen Rules

Life is governed by unseen rules that we do not know who makes. Most I guess are carried over from the past, most have changed for convenience in the later years and rest of the lot are new. But rules are there, whether you like it or not. Wonder if many are followed because of the universal laws: - My neighbor does it, so I must. - It happened to them and so I better follow this. It would be a blessing to know why we are doing what we are doing in life.. this way, the unseen rules can be validated better.

Staying Grounded

Gravitational force is good. Imagine what would the world be like without it!!! So staying grounded is only but natural. If you feel your mental balance is fluctuating, then just remind yourself that it is important to come under the control of the gravitational force of your mind. Just stay grounded until you know you are ready to make the next move. And how do u do that? Simple. Keep quiet for the moment. Clarity will surface in a calm head.

Head and Tail

Heads I win, Tails you lose.. In any case you win if you strike a deal this way. Beware of such agreements and get into the deal only if you know that you are okay with Head or Tail. We must understand that there are two sides to everything and both sides may be correct from its own stand point. No decision is wrong. Its just what works for us and what does not.

Splash on Happiness

When the whole world is trying to figure out ways to remain happy, I just figured out something too. That happiness does not have a definition. That happiness is a breeze and not permanent factor. That happiness has an antonym too. That happiness is an inherent thing that needs to be discovered. That happiness can never be measured.

Splash on Best

Best is a superlative, which means it is a 'relativity' word and not the verdict of any authority. Partly why there are percentiles in scoring these days. There is no such thing as second best . If you say 'Do your best ' to a person with zero inclination on the task, consider your job undone. If Best is expected from you, expect and accept nothing less than the best compensation, appreciation, or encouragement, as may be applicable. " Best hearts are ever the bravest" is a hearsay; Are they talking about anatomically best or emotionally best or socially best ?  "The Best is yet to come" is probably the best quote that applies in most situations. Often, it helps to think if Best really means Be St eady. At all times ask for the strength to Be St eady.

Avane Ivane Sivane - Gavanikka

அவனே இவனே என்று நினைக்காமல் சிவனே என்று உள்ளே போறவனையும் வெளியே வரவனையும் மட்டுமே கவனிக்கவும் நேற்று நடந்த யோகா வகுப்பில் நான் கற்ற மிக பெரிய பாடம் இது. நாம் அனைவரும் நாள்தோறும் பல வேலைகள்  செய்கிறோம், செய்யாமல் இருக்கோம்,நாம் செய்யாமல் இருக்கும் பல வேளைகளில் நிதானமாக மூச்சு விட பழகுவதும் ஒன்று. மூச்சு என்பது பாடல்களுக்கு சேர்கப்படும் ஸ்ருதியைபோல மிக முக்கியமானது. ஒரு பாடல் பாட தொடங்கும் முன்னதாக, செய்யபடுவது ஸ்ருதி சேர்த்தல் ஆகும். இந்த ஸ்ருதியை அடிப்படையாக வைத்து தான் பாடல் இயற்றபடுகிறது. ஒரே பாடலை பல ஸ்ருதிகளில் பாடினால் அது வேறு வேறு பாடல்களாக தோன்றும். அதே போன்று மூச்சை விதம் விதமாக உபயோகிக்கலாம். அதில் எல்லா விதமும் சரியாக இருப்பதில்லை. நாம் எல்லாரும் சரியாகதான் மூச்சு விடுகிறோம் என்று எண்ணினால் தவறாக விடுவது எப்படி என்று யோசிக்கத்தோன்றும்.அப்படி யோசித்ததில் தெரிய வந்தது தான் பிரணாயமம். ஒவ்வொரு நாளும்காலை எழுந்த உடன் நம் மூச்சாகிய ஸ்ருதியை சரியாக வாசித்தோம் என்றால் அன்றைய நாள் முழுவதும் மூச்சு சரியான ரீதியில்  இருக்கும். உடம்பின் இயக்கங்களும் சரியாக இருக்கும். அவன

Good health

Good Food, Good Exercise, Good Meditation, and Good Life style converge in Good Health. Good Food is in simplest terms - Food that is not over-cooked, not over-greased, not over-spicy, and not old. Good Meditation means taking simple steps to improving focus of the otherwise usually scattered brain - Regular prayer routine, Regular Five minute hobby time, Regular stereo-typical work that doesn't require your mind's complete attention. When you do one of these or activity similar to these, your mind meditates on the work and not anything else and these activities are not done by force or do not have materialistic gains. Good Exercise is to just ensure you move every part of your body to activate the otherwise sleeping joints and muscles. You can choose to walk for twenty minutes or be a regular in a local gymnasium or dance class. Good Lifestyle  - Spend family time at home, Share work load at home, Have strict disciplines on prayer, morals, food, clothing and manners,

What's in a name??

"What is your name ?" is probably the first question each of us has been asked when we started school. Quite an easy answer, I thought until I started filling up forms in life. School forms ask you to expand names with Initials. Passport Application form asks you to fill up Surname, First Name, Last Name. College Application forms ask for First, Middle and Last names. I happened to look at PAN card application form this evening. There is an illustration which shows the main name written in the Surname column. For example someone with A.K.Rainbow as the name will have issues filling up the name in any form in her life: In the school, the name will be A.K.Rainbow In college, it will be Always.K.Rainbow In Passport, it will be Rainbow.K Always In PAN Card, it will be Always K.Rainbow Now, with such a complication in the name, when this person has to go to the bank to open an account, they will have rules to say. Thirty years later, when there is a property tr

Old is Gold

In the context of health, we are hearing many things these days. In olden days people never seemed to need as many lessons on health like we do, because they were all naturally healthy. At least that is what I keep telling myself. As a general concept, man tends to talk about what he doesn't have and is never happy. Most of us are not really happy about our health and so we see umpteen resources online about health. Here is one simple way to good health I heard today: Wake up early in the morning, which is between 5:00 A.M and 7:00 A.M Have a filling breakfast between 7:00 A.M and 9:00 A.M Do not eat or drink anything between 9:00 A.M and 11:00 A.M which is the late morning time. Drink water, beverage, soups between 11:00 A.M and 1:00 P.M Have a moderate lunch between 1:00 P.M and 3:00 P.M. Do not sleep in the horizontal position, as in do not lie down comfortably on a bed. If your system is working fine, your eye lids will automatically close at 2:00 P.M. Recall a bori

Do you have a Gate pass to my mind?

The word Mind may be a derivative of Mine. We hear quite a lot about Mind in everyday talks. Any place that promises health, peace, happiness preaches about Mind.If I get into research about Mind, am sure I'll find sea-deep or a mine of information related to the subject. I have always wondered how to express this 'thing' called Mind in a drawing when asked to, how to give the right analogy to my children when discussing or talking about the mind or how to really explain to someone what the word Mind in the phrase ' Mind your own business' really means. Yoga, Meditation, Spiritual lectures and even the latest medical researches talk about mind playing an integral part in one's health and life. There is another concept of tuning health through positive energy transfers called Reiki ( - Not sure if this is how the real explanation goes, but I like to keep it simple as I consider myself a total layman when it comes to the human body right from my Zoology day

Why? What? Who? Shocks

I wonder Why? I wonder What? I wonder Who? I don't know When.... I have just had my baby boy and could do one small change to help myself tide through my third trimester ante-natal term and the post-natal term. I STOPPED READING OR WATCHING NEWS. Then, when I finally thought it's high time I got back to the real world, I started lending a listening ear to the news items that came floating by from friends, channels and paper after six long months. I have still not made up my mind to read them though. Guess what are the first things I heard ?!! - 1. Inappropriate behavior towards a six year old in a popular Bangalore based school. 2. A murder of two people who were last seen welcoming friends inside the house for dinner. Among many more were robberies, plane crashes, inflation rates, hospital mishaps and like oasis on a desert terrain, I did hear about the lesser problematic topics - politics, education, social service and religion. My questions to no one in particular

Splash on Stress

Stress is an unwelcome guest. Stress is a thief who steals health. Try as much as you may want to, but stress seeps in somehow. Stress is a habit which requires no effort or practice. And we all know Habit is second Nature :) Stress is a sentence without a full stop. You can shorten the sentence temporarily if you want to, with outings, music, yoga, or any other mechanism of your choice. Stress is like an ailment without a cure. It can be treated , minimized, and dealt with if you put in effort from within. Your only option is to stay away from stress causing reagents - people, things, places, conversations, ideas, thoughts.

Is Orange Facial Costly anymore?

I love to eat Oranges. I peeled a whole Orange fruit wondering how beautiful an Orange is, in its making and how nicely all of its eleven slices were packed in the Orange colored shield. And I think of it almost every time eat an Orange. My daughter as a two year old, loves to experiment. I let her pick up one slice from my plate and continued eating my share. She started peeling the fibrous sheath and tried to squeeze the juice into her mouth.. It was her way of really enjoying the fruit. And besides noticing how much she enjoyed eating the orange slice, I could not help yelling about the juice spilling on the floor. It was not about having to clean the floor after she is done, but because I thought Rs.40 per Orange was expensive and it was not okay to waste even a drop of Orange juice according to me. Then I thought may be that is why an Orange Peel Facial pack in the market or a beauty parlor was expensive. Just as I was thinking about this, my father said,  "If it is for

Kannukku Vandha Gadhi

சில நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு ஒரு தமிழ் பாடலில் "கஞ்சா வெச்ச கண்ணு " என்ற வாக்கு காதில் விழுந்தது. சரியாக காதில் வாங்கினேனா என்று கேட்டால் இல்லை. வெச்ச கண்ணா, இல்லை அடிச்ச கண்ணா என்று கேட்டால் தெரியாது. ஏன் என்றால் மனசில் பதிந்தது கண்ணுக்கு கஞ்சாவை வைத்து ஒரு பாடல் வரி எழுதப்பட்டுள்ளது. உண்மையில் எனக்கு தூக்கி வாரி போட்டது. ஏன்யா கயல் விழி , மான் விழி, மீன் விழி, மை விழி, மலர் விழி இதெல்லாம் தோன்ற வில்லையா? கவிதை என்பது தொலை தூரம் போய் விட்டது இன்றைய தமிழ் திரை பாடல்களில். கவிதை திறன் இல்லாமல் போய் விட்டது என்று நான் சொல்ல வில்லை.மக்கள் கடந்த காலத்தை விட இன்னும் அதிகம் திறமை உள்ளவர்களாகத்தான் இருக்கிறார்கள். இருந்தும், இன்றைய பாடல்களில் சொல் நயம், கவி நயம் இல்லை என்பது மிகவும் வருத்தத்திற்கு உரிய விஷயம்.

Strange, but fact!!!!

Last week I had to visit this most talked of microbiological laboratory and was amazed at the way they conducted business... Everything was so orderly. While I waited for my turn I realized, that everyone there including myself were in silent prayer/meditation hoping that the tests that each one had come to take would prove negative ( that is to say, problem free health..) Each patient is ready to pay high sums, take a blood sample, wait for a report and hope to God that the report will be favorable...Strange... Pay , wait and go through rough tides in the lab just to get a negative result on the problem...and yet not change the deteriorating way of life and food habits. A huge sigh of relief on most people's face is  a sight to see and a blessing.. Lets eat healthy, live healthy, think healthy and be healthy and if possible have less of these high sounding micro lab procedures at least till age fifty in my view... 

Why raise your blood pressure??

This evening, I happened to read a random blog on a subject that is totally alien to me. Time flew and I got engrossed in the lines not for the subject but the way it is written. I realized that I had forgotten my world and myself for a while, okay for a long time while I sat reading the blog. Stood up to finish my evening duties and then found a rare sense of calm around me. Everyone else had gone out and I was supposed to be doing my regular ten minute walk at home. While I usually spent my walking time listening to some music, today I spent the time introspecting on how I am feeling the sense of calm that I had never felt in a long time. Life kept me busy over the last few years and it seemed that I had lost track of keeping stress under check. Deciding to bounce back on the track of mental strength I realized few things: People waste energy trying to prove they are correct on any given thing to others. Instead its best to just make a point and leave the decision of acceptin

Sunset, promises, and questions...

A bright tomorrow, A new beginning, An opportunity, A cloud that can bring rains, and most importantly a chance to hope for the best once again... And many more things if you can speed up your thought train.. Watching sunset has always been interesting for me.. but then I never enjoyed the sunset so much like I did today. It has been the best sunset experience so far because today I was with my daughter watching the sun go down for the day... Now, how do you explain this to a 2 year old?? Sun going down? Sunset? Sun going behind the clouds ( today is slightly cloudy here)? Or does it set behind the mountains?? I was carefully looking at the changes in my daughter's face.. First she smiled.. Then the expression changed to a very questioning look? She looked at me every other second and said, it is going off.. the sun is going off.. I kept saying.. Not so fast.. Slowly it is going home... and then she kept repeating sun is going home slowly... The colors changed from gold