DO FOR YOUR SOUL WHAT YOU DO FOR YOUR BODY

I have a couple of questions for you.

Can you imagine yourself taking a bath only once a month?

You’ll freak out right?  But let’s say there’s a water shortage and a presidential decree was issued that showers can only be taken every 30 days – with a maximum of two galloons of each Filipino per bath.  (Out of our ingrained hospitality, foreigners are allowed to use two-and-a-half galloons).  Entering into an air-conditioned room or bus will be a nightmare, as various toxic odors will hang so thickly in the air, it may coagulate into gel form.  Charismatic prayer meetings will prohibit the lifting of hands.  The basketball ring will be lowered to five feet.  And I presume, that lighting a cigarette in a crowded elevator would be fatal, as the fumes of sweating humanity will be flammable by that time.

Too gross for you?  Let’s change the topic.

What would it be like if you brush your teeth only once a year?

Let’s say some loony scientist discovered that the up and down motion of brushing teeth has a direct impact on the thinning of the ozone layer.  (Who know? :-)  So brushing of teeth has been banned by legislative decree number 9002 – except on New Year’s Eve.  That is the day you can only brush your teeth.

Imagine how thick your mouth will feel by November.

Think with me.  Let’s say your out on a romantic date in December.  Not much kissing will take place, believe me.  And as you look at your beautiful/handsome partner, you’ll notice a bit of green lettuce jutting out from between her teeth.

So you’d tell your partner, “I know what you had for lunch today.”

“What??”, your partner teases you.

“Lettuce!”, you grin.

Your partner chuckles, “You’re wrong!  That’s what we ate last March!”

Ah, these situations will be quite normal.

The message?

That you and I do more deranged things than bathing monthly and brushing teeth annually.

For example, when we do not forgive others every day.

Our bodies need regular washing because we get dirty everyday.  But so do our hearts!  Because each day, people hurt us, offend us, forget us, snub us, step on us, reject us.  But if we choose to forgive everyone everyday, we cleanse our hearts!  We wake up the next morning refreshed and pure and lovely.

Some people however, will not wash themselves from the hurts of each day, but rather accumulate them week after week, month after month, year after year.  Perhaps, in some annual Holy Week retreat, they decide to forgive all their enemies.  Perhaps, when someone close to them dies, they remember to cancel debts and live for something more noble – rather than collect bitterness.

But without these rare events, they just become filthier each day.

Their spirits begin to smell.

And their stench becomes flammable.

For these people, hell begins now.

Do for your soul what you do for  your body

 

 

VISUALIZE FOR SUCCESS

1. Relax. Clear your mind of all other thoughts and find a place where you are least likely to be disturbed.

2. Visualize the outcome, what does it feel, what will its surrounding sound like, what will your body be doing.

3. Imagine that you are you, rather than a third party watching you.

4. Vividly imagine each step that you need to do in the way to your goal. Imagining only the outcome will decrease chances of success.

5. Believe that your goal is attainable. Affirm that you can do it.

6. Practice visualization constantly.

“Who you think you are is not what you are.
YOU are this limitless, vast, radiant consciousness."

GANGAJI

YOU CREATE YOUR OWN DESTINY

YOU CREATE YOUR OWN DESTINY

Let me start with a story….. this is about three construction workers who are on top of their half-finished skyscraper.

“Rrrrrrring!” the lunch bell sounds, and the three men sit on a steal beam of the 56th floor with their lunch boxes in hand.

The first guy opened his and groans in exasperation, “Tuyo! (Philippine salted dried fish) There is not a day that I don’t get tuyo for lunch!” He turns to his buddies and announces, “Mark my words, If I still get tuyo tomorrow, I’m going to throw myself from this building.”

The second guy opens the lunch box and moaned, “Tinapa!” (Philippine smoked fish) Everyday I get this for lunch.” He looks at his friends and declares, “Believe me when I say this. If I get tinapa tomorrow, I’m going to jump from here and kill myself.”

The third guy opens his lunch box and it is his turn to despair, “Galunggong! (poor man’s fish in the Philippines) All I get is galunggung!” He looks at his co-workers and say, “I’m telling you, if I still get galunggong tomorrow, I’m going to jump off from this building and die”.

The next day, the lunch bell rings and all three men are again seated on the 56th floor.

The first guy opens his lunch box and starts crying, “Tuyoooooo!” And so in front of his shocked companions, he jumps off the building and crashes to the ground.

The second guy opens his lunch box and wails loudly, “Tinapaaaaaaa!” And before his remaining friend, he jumps off the building and hits the ground and dies.

The third guy opens his lunch box and screams, “Galunggonggggggg!” And so he jumps off the building and dies.

Days later, during the funeral of the three men, their three wives embrace and begin to weep together.

The first wife cries out, “I didn’t know my husband didn’t like tuyo anymore, why didn’t he tell me? If only he had told me, I would have prepared something else!”

The second wife echoes her statement, “Yes, If only I knew, I would have cooked something else, not tinapa!”

The third wife, between sobs, says, “I don’t know why my husband killed himself.” The two wives looked at her curiously, “Why?”

She goes on, “Because….my husband prepared his own lunch everyday.”

.........

I love this crazy story because it presents a very important truth:

ALL OF US PREPARE OUR OWN LUNCH.

If we don’t like our jobs,
....if we don’t like the states of our relationships
.…with our parents,
.…with our neighbors,
….with our friends,
….with our boss….etc.
If we don’t like what’s happening in our spiritual lives
If we don’t like what’s happening in our financial lives –

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Because….

God has given us free will. He has given us the power to PREPARE OUR OWN LUNCH.

If you want to put more joy in your job,
If you want joyful relationships
Grow in your spirituality and relationship with God
Have financial bliss and live free from debts……

Then go back to your kitchen and prepare yourself another dish.
Because you design your own future
…..You create your own destiny

….Ikaw ang may gusto kung anong meron ka
……kung ano ang estado mo ngayon, ikaw ang nagdesisyon……

Ask yourself...
what kind of future do you want to have?
What kind of life do you want to live……

You decide…..

Tranquility Meditation

Tranquility meditation is designed to calm the mind and the body through focusing single-pointed on some object. You might focus on the breath. A few preliminaries can ensure a fruitful meditation.

1. Choose a good place to meditate. Find the place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. The light should be dim, neither too bright or too dark. A pleasant fragrance or incense can calm the nerves and the mind, though this is not essential.

2. Choose the best time to meditate. Dawn and dusk are recommended best. For busy people, set a time best suitable and stick to it. Limit yourself to sessions of no more than 30 minutes.

3. Choose a relaxed posture. Some meditation schools are relaxed about rules and posture but Japanese zen tranquility meditation stressed the normal traditional posture. Sit with the legs locked in “lotus posture” which the soles are upturned and placed on top of opposite thighs. Many meditations cannot adopt this pose without pain. An alternative is to sit on a small thick cushion or stool. It is also possible to sit upright in a chair with the feet flat on the ground.

4. Settle in. When you first sit down to meditate, spend a few minutes getting comfortable so that you feel balanced and relaxed.

5. Watch the breath. Breath in and out deeply several times. When you are sufficiently relaxed, turn your attention to the breath. Focus on the point above your upper lip where the breath enters and leaves the nostrils. Count each cycles of inhalation and exhalation. It will focus the mind.

6. Focus the mind on the breath. When the mind wanders, focus on the breathing cycle. Do not be annoyed if you lose focus. Just resume counting the inward and outward cycle of your breath. With progress the breathing will gradually become slower and subtler. By now, you will be able to focus on the breathing without the need for counting.

7. Bring your meditation into the turmoil of your daily life. When you finish your session, do not rush into the world. Take stock of the positive energy generated. Affirm that this positive energy is shared with others.

The simple instructions above will help you get started on a meditation practice. It is a powerful tool for inner change when meditation leads to a more serious and regular practice.

Teach your kids to eat healthy foods

Your kids will not likely want to replace fast food with healthy food as long as they keep watching TV commercials. However, you can still do something about it.

1. Form guidelines together. Agree to order milk instead of soda, eat veggies instead of fries, replace ice cream with fruits. Discuss guidelines like these with them and stick to them.

2. Reduce food portions. Instead of laying all the food on the table, use food trays and set the portions yourself, much like what is done in school canteens.

3. De-emphasize fast food. Don’t use fast food as a reward for good grades or good behavior.

4. Set a good example. Kids will not eat sensibly if adults don’t.

5. Prepare healthy food in a delicious way. Invest in healthy cookbooks and get involved in meal planning and cooking. If you can’t eat the health food on the table, neither will your kids.

If you Lose a Client

If a long term client calls you that he is terminating his business with you, how to keep a peaceful attitude of mind?

1. Genuinely thank them for their business

2. Ask why they are terminating your services. Is there a rival offer? Were they offended in any way? Listen to and act on their feedback.

3. Make them an offer that is hard for them to refuse. Remember, it is probably easier to offer a special based on a long term relationship than to seek out a new client.

4. Be eager to improve. Listen with a positive mindset to whatever criticism they may have. Learn from it and share it with others in your workplace.

5. Re-evaluate and retool. Can you do things better? Is your product or service wanting? Are you in tune with changing demands?

6. Accept that there is only so much that you can do. Sometimes, you lose a client because the competitor is cheating. He might be using child labor to get lower costs. He might be engaged in piracy or smuggling . Just keep to your values. Continue doing your best and in the long run, the results will be for the best. Many businessmen have found out that in the end, peace of mind and a clear conscience is better than a fast dishonest buck.

Source: Peace Center of the Theosophical
Society in the Philippines

Many spiritual teachings,
East and West
Tell us that we shape ourselves
And our world with our thoughts.
FRANCES VAUGHAN

12 "S" Sa Sobrang Stress

12 “S” sa sobrang stress

Nakaka-challenge ang Buhay pero kaya mo yan…
Right attitude lang,
Tamang pag-iisip yan

Kapag sobra na ang stress mo, pagod na ang isipan, nanghihina pa ang katawan, gumawa ng paraan na bagay sa iyo upang makayanan ang stress sa Buhay mo…..

PILI NA……

12 “S” Panlaban sa SOBRANG STRESS

1. SPIRITUALITY
Ang paniniwala at pagtitiwala sa Lumikha o Diyos ay nagbibigay ng katuturan at halaga sa Buhay. Magdasal at mag-meditate.

2. SELF-AWARENESS
Tuklasin ang sariling kakayahan at katangian. Tanggapin na may mga bagay na kahit gustuhin mang baguhin ay di talaga kayang gawin.

3. SCHEDULING: TIME MANAGEMENT
Ang panahon ay mabilis na lumilipas kaya hindi dapat ito aksayahin. Mas magaan ang mga Gawain kung ito ay nakaplano at pinatutuunan ng sapat na oras.

4. SIESTA
Ang sapat ng oras ng tulog sa gabi, konting idlip sa tanghali, at pahinga kung napapagod na ay nakakatulong upang mare-charge ang katawan at isipan.

5. SENSIBLE DIET AND EXERCISE
Igalaw ang katawan. Iunat ang mga muscles at buto. Huminga ng malalim at gawing kalmado ang isipan. Regular na mag-ehersisyo at huwag kalimutang kumain ng tama.

6. SENSATION TECHNIQUES
Mag-relax at mag-pamasahe upang maalis ang mga tension at pananakit ng katawan at makaipon ng panibagong lakas.

7. SPORTS
Maglaro ng sports, pero bago sumabak sa anumang laro, alamin muna sa doktor kung ito ay kaya ng katawan o kalusugan mo. Makakatulong din ang pagsisimula ng hobby or gawain na paglilibangan mo.

8. SOCIALS
Makihalubilo sa ibang tao. Sumali sa grupo o organisasyon sa iyong komunidad. Nakakapagbigay din ng tuwa ang pagtulong sa kapus-palad.

9. SOUNDS AND MUSIC
Makinig sa nakakahalinang tunog ng instrument, huni ng kapaligiran, musika at awit. Mas makakabuti din kung ikaw mismo ng tunog at musikang ito.

10. SPEAK TO ME
Ang pakikipag-usap sa ibang taong mapagkakatiwalaan o kaya’y paglalahad ng problema at damdamin sa iba ay nakakatulong maibsan ang bigat na dinadala.

11. STRESS DEBRIEFING
Kung hindi na makayanan ang nararamdamang problema o bigat ng pakiramdam, sumangguni na sa propesyonal – pari, counselor, health o social worker o kaya’y sa duktor.

12. SMILE
Ngumiti, tumawa, magsaya at maging positibo ang pananaw sa Buhay. Nakakagaan ito ng pakiramdam.









Epekto ng Sobrang Stress



PHYSICAL
- iba’t ibang kirot at pananakit ng katawan
- problema sa panunaw at iba pang sakit ng tiyan
- paglala ng mga dati nang sakit at kundisyon





EMOTIONAL
- sobrang tension o nerbiyos
- pag-iyak
- problema sa pagtulog
- problema sa sex




BEHAVIORAL
- pagbabago ng moods.
- pagbabago sa personalidad.

At kung hindi nabibigyang lunas ang sobrang stress,

maaring mauwi ito sa depression at iba pang sakit sa pag-iisip

Krisis sa Buhay? Problema sa trabaho? Walang minamahal o nagmamahal?

NAKAKASTRESS ANG MGA YAN!

Panatilihing balance ang kalusugan ng isipan at katawan:

- maging alerto sa senyales ng sobrang stress
- alamin ang sariling kakayahan; at
- gumawa ng mga paraan na bagay sa iyo upang makayanan ang mga stress ng buhay mo

KAYA MO YAN!

How to help others listen better......

Before you can share your message of peace, your target audience has to listen well. Rebecca Shafir writes in her book THE ZEN OF LISTENING….To help others listen when we speak involves:

1. connecting with your listeners, making it easy for them to get into your message.

2. Forming a trusting relationship with them.

3. Being mindful of what your audience wants and needs to know.

4. Knowing their barriers towards you.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IS TO DO THE COMMON THINGS UNCOMMONLY WELL

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before Kings,
he will not serve
before obscure men.
– Proverbs 22:29

Mr. Boswell, the owner of a hardware store was looking for a young man to hire. Several dozen young men responded to his ad, but he eventually narrowed his choice down to three: Ted, John and Bob. Then he devised a final test. He gave each of them a new screwdriver set with an innovative design and told them to deliver it to Mr. CM Hendersen at 314 Maple Street.

After a while, Ted phoned the store to ask whether the number was actually 413, rather than 314. Later he returned saying that there was no house at that address.

When John came back, he reported that 314 Maple was a funeral parlor and that Mr. Hendersen had lived at 314 ½, but had moved away.

Bob took longer than the other two young men. Like John, he also discovered that Mr. Hendersen had moved away, but had managed to secure his new address and had gone there. Mr. Hendersen didn’t recall ordering the screwdriver, but when Bob pointed out its unique features and told him the price, Mr. Hendersen decided he wanted the screwdriver and paid for it on the spot.

Which young man was hired? Bob, of course. He was given a task to do and he did it. A leader doesn’t let any obstacle stop them from reaching his goals. Persistence and patience produce payoff.

Friends in My Circle

When I was little,I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,and then I started to become a grown-up.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your special one.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your parents.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities. Another when you want to share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, "Let's cry together,
"another, "Let's fight together,"
another, "Let's walk away together."


One friend will meet your spiritual need,
another your beer fetish (hehehe),
another your love for sports,
another will be with you in your season of confusion,
another will be your clarifier,
another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
on whatever the occasion,
on whatever the day,
or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair disheveled,
or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself.
Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one person,
but for many, it's wrapped up in several..
one from 7th grade,
one from high school,
several from the college years,
a couple from old jobs,
on some days your mother or your dad,
on some days your neighbor,
on others, your brothers or your sisters,
and on some days, your kids......

SO I HEARD YOU WANT TO DIET…

You have seen a friend who lost weight and now you want to diet too. How do you start?

1. Read. Study books on the many diet alternatives around. Make sure you know what you are doing. The last thing you want to do is to go on a diet that will make you sick. Avoid quick-fix diets. Studies show that gradual weight loss of 3-5 pounds a month is best.
   

2. Ask around. What works for others might work for you too, especially if you have similar cultural, religious and family backgrounds. The bad experience of others will also help you avoid their errors.
   

3. Sort out myth from scientific fact. There is a lot of wrong information going around. Do your research. Listen to experts. Assume a critical and evaluative attitude towards all the diet recommendations you will be barraged with.
   

4. Prepare your environment. Tell your family and friends that you will be dieting. Refuse to allow them to place you in situations where you will be forced to eat what you do not want. Get your family to diet with you.
   

5. Learn to give unhealthy stuff away. Invite friends to eat your excess food. If someone gives you a cake as a gift, give it away to someone who can use it.
   

6. Keep a meal diary. Be aware of what you eat. Write down in a diary everything you eat and analyze your meals as to food group, amount and time of meal. You might find out that you binge or that a lot of your snacks can be replaced by better food choice.
   

7. Avoid mindless munching. Eating with a group or eating in front of the TV leads to mindless munching. If you are the lone dieter in the house, prepare your meal in a tray and eat ahead of others or alone. But explain your plan to others so they do not get offended and remain supportive. Watch movies and TV without junk food.
   

8. Follow the food pyramid rule. Eat more at breakfast, less at lunch and least a dinner. Unless you work at night, chances are you will be sedentary at night and will use up fewer calories. Eat less at night.
   

9. Do not miss your main meals. Skipping a meal leads to binging and eating excessive portions during the next meal because of hunger.
   

10. Exercise. Diet alone rarely works. Weight loss happens when we burn more than what we take in. Exercise to burn calories. It will also enhance your immune system, firm up muscles and make you feel good about yourself.

Do not go on a diet to look good. This is part of the vanity trap most dieters fall into. Aim only to be healthy. A healthy you will assure that you will be productive and fit to be of service to others.

***

My existence does not depend on the fact that I am thinking;
It depends on the fact that, whether I know it or not, I am being thought –
Being thought by a mind much greater than consciousness which I ordinarily
Identify with myself.

ALDOUS HUXLEY

CARING FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE PATIENTS

Having an Alzheimer’s disease patient in the family is an opportunity for others in the circle of love to evolve to the limits of our potential. You know why?

• Caring for the person whose mind now functions through dementia, is a chance for us to become less self-centered and more others-oriented.

• By attempting to respond positively than snappishly or correctively when he or she engages in repetitive conversation, or causes problems with incontinence, or exhibits other behaviors perceived as trying or abnormal, we set in motion the potential to learn the high art of patience.

• Connecting with the being whose memory loss is chronic, degenerative and not to be annulled, enables us to learn how to accept situations that cannot be changed, and to accept previously unacceptable behavior – that which is being incapable of being altered in others.

• Efforts to continue a relationship with the one in altered consciousness is also lesson in love: It is a means of mustering love feelings for another in spite of, or because of, or irrelevant to the haywired, hit or miss psyche.

• In our fast paced, future directed society of long-term materialistic goals, we who are in senile company are required to slow down. We are dancing with those who can teach us to experience and appreciate life on a momentary basis. Typically, they can remember for only a moment. If there is to be a rapport, a rarified exchange, we have to adjust to their not-so-quick tempo. In doing so, we begin to observe and be grateful for momentary joy – the seemingly small but spiritual high victories for those upon this sojourn.

• Closeness here can instruct us about judgment as well. Christine K. Cassel, a physician writing to her peers on “Ethical Dilemmas in Dementia”, in Seminars in Neurology (Vol. 4, No. 1, March 1984), said this about casting judgment on the demented: “It is dangerous to judge someone else’s quality of life by one’s own current standards. Different persons have different values and sources of life satisfaction. We cannot assume that these are lives not worth living. Values change as life experience changes. Perhaps, it is wrong to evaluate the experience of life as a “downhill” course from the patient’s prior vigorous existence.”

In reality, that “victim” might be a spiritual guide, an important instructor, who has stayed on in the physical body longer than the body would will it – if, in fact, the body has a will – to teach lessons of the spirit to others. The true purpose of those with dementia might be far beyond the drama of the personality and physical body.

They are not to be pitied, forgotten, placed apart from the “normals” or even, like the STruldbrugs, hated and despised; but channels of light to whom others pay homage, object of honor who possibly live in sacrifice to teach and touch the hearts of those they love.

Source: The Quest Spring 1990,
The Theosophical Society in America

AVOID TAILGATING!

Tailgating or following too closely is one of the ten worst habits of drivers who consider themselves competent. Dr. D. Shanra writes in East and West Series on how to avoid this habit.

• BY following the two second rule, you can create a safety zone between yourself and the vehicle you are following. As the car in front passes a stationary object, count one thousand and one, one thousand and two. If you pass that object before you finish the count, you are too close.

• In bad weather, extend the rule to four seconds

• Always use the 12 second visual lead time. The defensive driver should always scan the road ahead for any potential hazards as far as the point the car will reach in 12 seconds.

Source: Dhirendra Sharma
East and West Series, 2001

Maintaining Peace After Losing Your Job

One of the most stressful events in life is the loss of capacity to support one’s self and one’s love ones. Ernie O. Cecilia gives 5 suggestions on how to keep a peaceful disposition when you lose your job.

1. 1. Accept reality. Many spend more time and energy getting angry than in preparing for a new life. Realize that your dependency on a fixed income is over and that you have to tend for yourself.

2. Take stock of what you have. Do a serious assessment of your assets and liabilities, financial and otherwise. Can you ask your bank to refinance your house and use your separation pay to start a new small family business?

3. Go back to your old dreams. Recall what you really wanted to do in life and see what you can make money out of your passion. What makes you happy? Most successful people are those who are happy with what they do. You might even make more money with a hobby that makes you happy than with the job you lost.

4. Check your network. See if you have friends who can refinance, refer or even join you in a business. Start with looking for a need and filling it, and use your connections to jumpstart your efforts. Your first client might even be your former boss.

5. Organize, then mobilize. If you want to be in business during the lull between jobs, organize yourself, your time and your resources. There is nothing wrong with using other people’s brains. Get friends who are similarly situated to join you. Organize and form a team before someone else takes advantage of an opportunity.

Retrenchment is not the end of the road. Rather see it as an opportunity rather and a problem.

=====================================================================================

All of us, by the choices we make, help to determine the world of the present and the future.
Our choices therefore have endless consequences.
The book of Proverbs says that we think, so are we.
Because we are the world, as we think, so will the world be.

- ANNIE BESANT
2^nd President of the Theosophical Society

RECITING MANTRAS

Zen Masters are famous for assigning their students to meditate on a kind of insoluble mind puzzle known as koan. Though it seems on the surface to be quite different, the recitation of mantra, a verbal formula associated with some aspect of universal Buddha-mind, a practice common in esoteric Buddhism, serves a similar purpose. The literal meaning of a mantra is less important than the way it acts as a channel opening us to our inherent Buddha-nature. The same is true of a koan, whose meaning or answer is obscure at best. Both techniques serve to shut down the discursive mind with its negative emotions and thoughts so that the radiance can be revealed.

The most basic mantra Is the letter sound “A” (pronounced “Ah”) which Buddhist masters have taught is a manifestation of the “unborn nature of phenomena” – in other words, Enlightenment itself. The way to use this mantra in meditation practice is quite simple. After settling yourself comfortably in meditation posture, focus on your breathing for a short time by counting the cycles of inhalation and exhalation as you have learned. Then quietly intone the sound “Ah” to yourself excluding all other thoughts from your mind. If you shut your eyes while you are doing this, you can also try to visualize the essence of this sound in the form of a radiant bead of white light within your mind. As you become more familiar with this technique, you can stop reciting the “Ah” sound aloud and just let its sound reverberate within you mind while maintain the image of a brilliantly shining white bead of light. Though simple, this technique is very powerful. For this reason, I recommend that you consult a reliable teacher if you want to progress further using this method as it can cause undesirable effects on the unwary.

When we meditate for a long time at a stretch, we tend to get tired, and our minds wander easily. Later, Zen Masters devised various ways of dealing with such obstacles, such as alternating periods of sitting with periods of walking meditation. People engaged in the practice of esoteric Buddhism as just as likely to grow tired and careless when they meditate for a long time. Traditionally, they refresh and invigorate themselves using a different method, reciting mantras without any accompanying visualization. You might try using a mantra in this way. The mantra I suggest is the one included in the famous Heart Sutra, a text that speaks in koan-like terms about the world.

Here is what you do: When you notice that your meditative concentration has begun to wane, open your eyes and relax a little, perhaps unfolding your legs and resting your hands on your knees. Then begin to recite the mantra aloud. If you have a set of counting beads, you can use these to keep a tally of how many times you have repeated the mantra. I suggest a minimum of 108 times, which is one round the most string of counting beads.

Source: Stephen Hodge, Zen:
Master Class: A Course in Zen
Wisdom from Traditional Masters.
Copyright

In order to overcome our tendency to overcome others’ needs and rights,
We must continually remind ourselves of what is obvious:
That all of us are the same.
= DALAI LAMA =

Nice Article

Nice Article Bro................Keep it up

FILL THE LIVES OF THE ELDERLY WITH MUSIC

Caring for our aging parents and elderly can be a challenge. Taking extra step to make their lives more meaningful is a gift of love. Few realize the loneliness and the empty world of the aged. Spend as much time as you can with the elderly. When you need to leave them, fill their lives with music! Music plays a significant role in improving their lives, particularly if the music allows them to relive joyful memories. Set aside a time in their day to listening to classical and romantic music. Research shows that music reduces stress, anxiety and depression. It keeps the mind alert and promotes sleep. The improved emotional state improves appetite and a sense of well-being. Better yet, listen to music together!

During times of grief, the fabric of our soul is torn… much like the finest clothe that has become threadbare. Our hearts search for places to rest and heal… as the threads are replaced with care and compassion.

A massage can make a difference

 

Anyone who is tired, sick or feels anxiety and stress.  A healthy and caring touch like a massage can alleviate physical, emotional and psychological sore points.  A good massage can stimulate centers in the body to produce better circulation and balance.  Here are some benefits of a good massage:

 

·         Relaxes tight muscles

·         Promotes general circulation

·         Increases range of motion and flexibility of joints

·         Improves posture

·         Enhances the immune system

·         Promotes a well-nourished and healthy skin

·         Reduces anxiety and mental stress

·         Improves sleep and appetite

·         Increase the feeling of well-being and being loved.

 

Sometimes, there is nothing more valued than a gentle loving touch.

 

Source: Peace Center of the Theosophical Society in the Philippines

Learn to Forgive

LEARN TO FORGIVE

Forgiveness is the healer of relationships. It heals both the person who forgives and the other who is forgiven. If you forgive, you have nothing to lose. If you do not forgive, you lose everything.

1. Aim for the ideal. The ultimate test of forgiveness is when you do good to someone who has hurt you.

2. Forgive someone out of an innate feeling of goodness, not out of fear of divine punishment or out of obligation

3. Forgiving, however, does not mean that you allow yourself to be abused. Forgiveness goes hand in hand with justice. The person who needs to forgive also needs to be helped, and to seek help. The abused wife needs to forgive the abusive spouse. At the same time however, forgiveness is not inconsistent with the need to redefine the relationship or put an end to the abuse.

4. Forgiveness can reduce or even end the pain. When pain does not go away, there should not be righteous desire to inflict pain in return. That does not really bring peace.

5. Forgiveness goes hand in hand with repentance. The offender should also make amends in the spirit of justice. The wheel of justice should be allowed to roll impersonally for the good of all.

6. To refuse to forgive someone allows that person to continue to hurt you. Forgiveness allows us to go through life with the light ease of peaceful relationships.

Source: Mga Gintong Aral ng Buhay
Radio Talk Series
The Theosophical Society of the Philippines

Helping Children Use Their Imagination

Successful people picture themselves a winner before they get started. We can use this tip to help children. In a Reader's Digest Article, "Picture Yourself a Winner," Dra. Ira Sharlip, a surgeon describes his operations, "I visualize it step-by-step from initial incision to final suturing. If I encounter a hitch as I'm imagining it, I do more research to fill in the gap." Athletes agree that they visualize success. Jack Nicklaus imagine the perfect golf swing even before he steps on the green.

A child's mind has the capacity to build a system that programs models of behaviors even at an early age. We can program the mind to conceive of attaining a goal, be it an athletic or academic goal, or even good behavior. If your child is going to have an entrance exam in school, help him imagine the whole process as a game. Have him picture the two of you having an enjoyable trip to the school, entering the test center and greeting the teacher. Together, visualize the examination as a play with the satisfaction the child will have after he finishes the test. Finally, have the child imagine the happiness of meeting new friends at school.

Source: Mga Gintong Aral ng Buhay Radio Talk Series.
The Theosophical Society in the Philippines, 1 IBa St.,
corner Florentino St., Quezon City, PHilippines