My Scooty.... My Teacher

Hi Friends,

Sharing with you something  very simple and practical. In case, there is a bit of skeptism in your mind about the theory, I hope this experience will wipe it off. It was indeed an AH-HA factor for me!

The theory of what I am going to share with you is not new at all however, the experience surely is.

With the roads , metro work and the rickshaw drivers refusing to ply short distance, I decided to take up  scooty riding lessons. It’s been 5 days now and the experience has been quite interesting.

So, here I go……..I take the scooty in an open ground and practice on it for half an hour. One the first day, it was quite scary and I would look at the stones and other hurdles. The first thought that would come to my mind  “Oh, I should Not go over it” and  this happened quite often not only with the stones, but with the craters, roots of trees , water hose to name a few and invariably I would go over them(I am sure this happened with all of us) .  I also dashed into a teenage boy who did not get hurt but I got utterly shaken up. In retrospect, this was quite interesting ….I thought. The next day, I came up with a plan to save myself and others from the terror of  a terrified rider on a  teeny weeny scooty.

Next day, I started off as usual and in the entire half and hour I did not bump on any of the stones , roots,  water hose or any uncles and aunts who were on their morning walks.

What was the reason.. not that I have mastered riding the scooty..

The tactic was very simple. I simply had to replace the command triggers from  my mind of  “ I should not go over it”  to   “ I will go on the smooth path ” at the sight of the smallest of the hurdles.  So, replacing the  “NO” with “what I wanted”  did the trick. It was all about where I put my energies in! And this is  precisely what  POSITIVE THINKING was and is all about as a very simple and real life example. One can extrapolate it to any of the life’s wants and drives and am sure "living kingsize" would not be a dream anymore!

So dear friends, let’s start asking for what we want to the universe instead of What should NOT have happened to us or What we DO NOT WANT”

Negative Thoughts	Replace with Positive ones
So much problems and miseries I have to face. Pls GOD get the miseries out of my life	I want peace and happiness always
Why don’t you understand	Let’s see how we can understand better/ I want a beautiful relationship.
It’s not my fault	Let’s look for solutions/ I want win win  solutions
I am being treated very badly by my spouse, mother in law, son, teacher etc..	I am happy to have a home, a family an educator, an offspring. I will make my life beautiful.
Oh GOD , I don’t want to flunk the exams	I want to pass with flying colours

Food for Thought: Before signing off as good read,  ask yourself  a question: Where will I put my energies today?

Cheers to Life

Sulochana Prashant Amin

Dementia

Most of us start worrying about dementia after retirement - and that may be too little, too late. Experts say that if you really want to ward off dementia, you need to start taking care of your brain in your 30s and 40s - or even earlier. "More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to your brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuropsychologist and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need to start as early as we can." So what can you do to beef up your brain - and possibly ward off dementia?  Nussbaum, who recently gave a speech on the topic for the Winter Park (Fla.) Health Foundation, offers 20 tips that may help. 1. Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers.  If you start  volunteering now, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you retire.  2. Develop a hobby or two.  Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because you're trying something new and complex.  3. Practise writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes everyday.  This will exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those neurons.  4. Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.  The people who danced three or four times a week showed 76 percent less incidence of dementia than those who danced only once a week or not at all.  5. Need a hobby? Start gardening.  Researchers in New Zealand found that, of 1,000 people, those who gardened regularly were less likely to suffer from dementia!  Not only does gardening reduce stress, but gardeners use their brains to plan gardens; they use visual and spatial reasoning to lay out a garden.  6. Walking daily can reduce the risk of dementia because cardiovascular health is important to maintain blood flow to the brain.  Or...Buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day.  7. Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas that process and store information.  Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates many areas of the brain as well.  8. Start knitting. Using both hands works both sides of your brain.  And it's a stress reducer.  9. Learn a new language. Whether it's a foreign language or sign language,you are working your brain by making it go back and forth between one language and the other.  A researcher in England found that being bilingual seemed to delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for four years.  And some research suggests that the earlier a child learns sign language, the higher his IQ - and people with high IQs are less likely to have dementia. So start them early.  10. Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly.  Not only are you taxing your brain, you're socializing too.  Playing solo games, such as solitaire or online computer brain games can be helpful, but Nussbaum prefers games that encourage you to socialize too.  11. Take classes throughout your lifetime.  Learning produces structural and chemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people live longer.  Brain researchers have found that people with advanced degrees live longer - and if they do have Alzheimer's, it often becomes apparent only in the very later stages of the disease.  12. Listen to classical music.  A growing volume of research suggests that music may hard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres. Any kind of music may work, but there's some research thatshows positive effects for classical music, though researchers don't understand why.  13. Learn a musical instrument. It may be harder than it was when you were a kid, but you'll be developing a dormant part of your brain.  14. Travel. When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on a different route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a new and complex environment.  A study of London taxi drivers found experienced drivers had larger brains because they have to store lots of information about locations and how to navigate there.  15. Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system.  And people who attend a formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier lives.  16. Learn to meditate.  It's important for your brain that you learn to shut out the stresses of everyday life.  17. Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep and dementia.  18. Eat more foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids: Salmon, sardines, tuna, ocean trout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts (which are higher in omega 3sthan salmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and walnut oil are good sources too.  19. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables mop up some of the damage caused by free radicals, one of the leading killers of brain cells. 20. Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends.  You'll slow down, socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food than if you ate alone or on the go.             Doing all 20 things listed above and you will not find enough time in your life to fit in dementia as well: in other words, "continue to do all the things that you already do and you will have covered most of the things listed!"

Are you inviting Pain in your life?

Don't feel the work you are doing is pain, because there is always a 

reason for that pain or work.


"Don't ask for a lighter load, but pray god for a stronger back" 

Every pain brings with it suffering, possibility to learn and grow in life. 

________________________________________________________________________

What is Pain. Simply speaking, a magnified form of any emotion can be regarded as Pain. It could be physical or emotional.

Body Injuries, dysfunctions and even working out in the Gym or excessive physical activity can result in physical pain. Rest normally restores the body and pain disappears. Body dysfunctions may require treatments.

Emotional pain – loss of a dear one, major disappointments in life, not getting what you yearn for, insults, boredom etc all of these can cause varying degrees of emotional pain. How do you deal with this pain. The source here is our own thoughts. Of course the triggering factor could be an external event, but what next. Do we need to continue suffering this pain or is there a way out.

Simply - pain is nothing but trapped energy. Whether emotional or physical, life energy trapped and not flowing smoothly through our energy channels (Chakra’s and Naadi’s) causes pain. Once the organs and parts of our body get depleted because of the blockages, functional problems and diseases come in. 

So what can you do about it. Various holistic methods like Yoga, energy healing (reiki, pranic healing, bioenergetics), massages, working on the conscious and subconscious mind levels, meditations etc can provide a way to understand these blockages and the causes. Sometimes the awareness & understanding that comes out of practising these techniques is enough to restore balance and pain disappears magically. Depending on how severe the pain is, how long it has taken to manifest in your system, healing may take more or less time.

Look at pain as a learning opportunity. It is pointing to something in your life, daily schedule, thoughts etc which is not ok and not good for you. 

P -  Pay 

A -  Attention

 I  -  In The 

N -  Now

It is giving you a message - look at me, correct what needs to be corrected and then I don't need to be here. 

Life as a Journey

Hi my friends....for a long time, I was planning to have a forum where we can all as a group start interacting and sharing and learning and growing - all at the same time.

Life is a great journey. Most of us don't understand some basic truths about life and as a result, feel trapped and struggle with life. Life becomes a miserable experience for them.

Can I do something about it. Or am I destined to remain trapped and miserable forever. Is this how life is meant to be. Do I have any freedom to have a different life.

The answers to such questions come when we embark upon our own journey to embrace life in its totality, accept everything the way it is and then work on changing things one at a time and start looking at life differently.

I know of people who have experienced nothing short of miracles in their journey, so have I.

I would like to dedicate this so people can share, help & support each other - we all grow together.

Life is fun. Doing things together is fun. Relationships add great depth to life experiences. I welcome you all to join me on this life journey.

We don't know where we are going, where we will be at the end of our life. But we know this for sure, unless we take charge and get things in order, we will not be able to enjoy life.

Love & Light
Ramesh