Inner Blog

77 Inspiring Quotes

2011-07-18T19:18:00.001+05:30

Henri has put a lot of effort in putting these 77 inspiring quotes together…

Check this out here

some of the quotes that I really really liked include

The key to change… is to let go of fear.” – Rosanne Cash

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” – Bruce Lee

20 Things I'm Glad Life Taught Me

2010-03-18T19:48:00.001+05:30

Learning is the process of life. We have opportunities to learn during every interaction with the outside world. Most of us try to remember the lessons learned but a few good people do make a note of it and share it with others.

I stumbled upon this very interesting article where the author explains 20 things he has learnt in his life. Each of these 20 points gives you the Aha moment.

Enjoy reading the article by clicking here

A few of the points I liked include

Negativity will only bring more of it
If you can't help others, you can't help yourself
If it were easy everyone would do it
Don't work hard without rewards
Someone always has it worse
Most people are actually nice
Words and thoughts control everything
Your view is the reality

DOs and Don'ts of Leading Clever people

2010-01-09T12:19:00.001+05:30

Leading clever people is not simple and a different strategy has to be used. A very nice article has been written about this and is available here. I have copied some key points of this article here

How to provide a feedback ?

2009-12-28T19:35:00.001+05:30

Every manager has to deal with different types of people on a regular basis. Some times you come across team members whose behavior bothers every one. It is critical to give a right feedback and bring the problematic person on the right path. This article gives a good model on how to provide the feedback.

Assorted Quotes

2008-09-18T07:08:00.001+05:30

Accept your conditions, but not your fate.

-- Rod Walsh & Dan Carrison

Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single
pursuit, for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.
-- Samuel Johnson

"Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well, and nothing can be well done without attention."
- Earl of Chesterfield

Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay.
- Charles Dickens

No matter how far down the wrong road you’ve gone, turn back.
- Turkish proverb

“Remember, Time is a greedy player who wins without cheating, every round!”
- Baudelaire

Your Destiny

2008-09-15T21:19:00.002+05:30

You are what your deep driving desire is.
What your desire is, so is your will,
What your will is, so is your deed,
What your deed is, so is your destiny.

You would be what your destiny is.

20 Bad habits that hold leaders back

2008-08-27T13:50:00.002+05:30

A Business Week article lists the following 20 interesting bad habits, complied by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, describing what hinder leaders from progressing into the executive suite of their organizations:

Winning Too Much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations—when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
Adding Too Much Value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
Passing Judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
Making Destructive Comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these qualifiers, which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
Telling the World How Smart We Are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
Speaking When Angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
Negativity: The need to share our negative thoughts, even when we weren’t asked.
Withholding Information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
Failing to Give Proper Recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
Claiming Credit We Don’t Deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
Making Excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
Clinging to the Past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
Playing Favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
Refusing to Express Regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
Not Listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
Failing to Express Gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
Punishing the Messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent, who are usually only trying to protect us.
Passing the Buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
An Excessive Need to Be “Me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they exemplify who we are.

You can also read the above list here

Our Deepest Fear

2008-08-24T20:32:00.004+05:30

A very nice poem by Marianne Williamson  

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Quotes on the lighter side

2008-08-23T23:44:00.001+05:30

There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.
-- Alice Thomas Ellis

One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.
-- William Feather

Women want mediocre men, and men are working hard to become as mediocre as possible.
-- Margaret Mead

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
-- Niels Bohr

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.
-- Jerry Seinfeld

Very good spiritual and health resources

2008-08-17T20:02:00.002+05:30

Today I seem to have attracted a lot of spiritual and health related websites. When I opened Times of India today, I read the Q & A section of Deepak Chopra, and in that section, he had recommended a book called Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, to the readers. This book talks about the various toxins that are mixed with food, in restaurants and other places to make the food more tastier. I wanted to learn more about this and visited the amazon site to read the reviews and is a 5 Star rated book.
I was amazed to see the good reviews, and then at the bottom of the same page, I found a health forum. This health forum has tons of good discussions, and one lead to other. Finally by the end of the day, I found the following good stuff

1. Zen Habits: Good and positive thought to lead a healthy life

2. How to do CKLS(Colon, Kidney, Lever, Spleen) cleansing to throw the toxins out of the body. I did some more research on this method and I found a lot of people practice this in Europe regularly. I am not sure if this is practiced in India.

3. Tapping: This site talks about Emotional Freedom Technique, an acupressure kind of technique to release the bad feelings in mind, to lead happy life. I am intending to practice some of them and see what happens !

4. Also read about Jack Kornfield's meditation techniques.

Bottomline, at the end of the day today, I am feeling that to lead a healthier and happier life, one needs to

Yoga or any kind of exercise,
drink a lot of water,
Meditation is a must
Take care of health specifically CKLS(Colon, Kidney, Lever, Spleen)
Reduce toxic food. Read the ingredients carefully before buying food in groceries
Keep one's mind clean,clear and calm . All body related diseases emanate from mind.
Keep good balance between life and work.
Add a bit of spirituality(could be listening to audio books while driving, as I do most of the time, reading ebooks(if you are a computer savvy person))

More inspirational quotes

2008-07-23T22:05:00.001+05:30

Some things are impossible. And some things people say are
impossible -- because they don't know how to do them. -- Ron Loyd

An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves.
-- Bill Vaughan

Every quantitative change of an order of magnitude creates a qualitative change - Anonymous

"One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed." B.Baruch

Education & Fatalism

2008-07-13T20:28:00.002+05:30

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. --Robert Frost

Fatalism is born of the fear of failure, for we all believe that we carry
success in our own hands, and we suspect that our hands are weak. -- Conrad

Courage Vs Tolerance

2008-07-11T23:01:00.001+05:30

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.
-- Ralph W. Sockman

Some more good quotes

2008-07-07T22:19:00.001+05:30

If you don't have the courage to say what you think,
there isn't much use in thinking it, is there?
--Thomas Jay Peckish II

Perception is real even when it is not reality. ~ Edward De Bono

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
-- Albert Einstein

Quotes on Men, Originality and happiness

2008-06-15T22:17:00.001+05:30

Don't accept rides from strange men, and remember that all men are strange.
-- Robin Morgan

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.
-- Laurence J. Peter

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
-- Aldous Huxley, Vedanta for the Western World, 1945

Ref: http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html

Wealth of resource for entrepreneurs

2008-06-11T21:31:00.001+05:30

Here is the good website which has a wealth of information for entrepreneurs

60 Seconds Chief

2008-06-08T18:27:00.001+05:30

One of my friends recently shared this good website where some of the successful Indian leaders have shared their thoughts. Once you visit the site, make sure to click on the "paper" image to make it more visible.

Spread the light

2008-05-28T04:58:00.001+05:30

Good Link on UG Krishnamurthy

2006-11-16T14:10:00.000+05:30

If you are a fan of UGK, here is a good resource

Nice quote by Martin Fowler

2006-11-15T08:13:00.001+05:30

If you don't push something beyond its boundary of usefulness
how do you find where that boundary is? -- Martin Fowler

Improvement

2006-10-09T05:14:00.000+05:30

Improvement stops when we start believing that ideas about how to improve are insulting. - Unknown Source

Time management quote

2006-09-27T08:34:00.000+05:30

It's not that you don't have enough time. You have as much as anyone. It's that you have too many things that you choose to do.

--> Anonymous

Be with Big People, keep away from small people

2006-09-25T20:10:00.000+05:30

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people
always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can
become great." -- Mark Twain.

Imperfect world

2006-09-13T07:08:00.000+05:30

Life gives back

2006-07-03T15:36:00.000+05:30

Acheiving Excellence

2006-06-18T22:53:00.000+05:30

Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single
pursuit, for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.
-- Samuel Johnson

Greatest Mistake

2006-06-18T22:14:00.000+05:30

The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.
-- John Maxwell

Small Change

2006-06-16T16:06:00.000+05:30

Small change
Somewhere in your life right now there is a small, positive change you can make in the way you live each day. When you make that small change, and stick with it, the results can profoundly influence your entire world.

Perhaps it's a destructive habit that you can choose to leave behind forever. Or maybe it's a useful action that you can add to your daily routine. It could be something as simple as choosing to start each day with a smile instead of with a complaint. Or you could identify something that has always made you angry and just decide that you're not going to let it get to you anymore.

Your life is filled with opportunities for making small, positive changes. When you look for them, you'll see those opportunities in every direction.

Even one small change can have a large positive impact on your life because the benefits of that small change are repeated day after day. Keep adding more small, positive changes from time to time, and the results can be truly incredible.

Give yourself the gift today of a small positive change in your life. And continue to enjoy the rewards you receive far into the future.

-- Ralph Marston

Give it meaning

2006-06-09T15:05:00.000+05:30

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
-Hugh Downs

A life of meaning is built out of days that have meaning. Before each day arrives, give it meaning.

Give each day meaning by deciding in advance what you will do with it. Then, when each day arrives you'll be anxious to get going and enthusiastic as you move through it, for it will have a positive purpose.

Don't waste your time looking back with regret at what you have failed to accomplish. Instead, look forward and fill each upcoming day with the challenge, the effort, the commitment, the growth and achievement that will give it real meaning.

Life is as full as you wish to make it. Each day is your opportunity to fill your life with precisely the things that mean the most to you.

By doing so, you will not only be creating fulfillment in your own life. You'll also be giving your own special gifts to the world around you.

Choose to fill each upcoming day with beauty, with love, with effort, effectiveness, discipline, commitment, focus, passion, and meaning. And truly enjoy the fact that life is what you make it.

-- Ralph Marston

Keep balance

2006-06-08T12:51:00.000+05:30

Sometimes the best way to get something done is to stop working on it for a while. Focused effort is essential to success, and balance is just as important.

If all your time, energy, thoughts, efforts and actions are focused in just one direction, you can soon become utterly burned out. You will get much more accomplished by balancing that intense effort with some time completely away from it.

There is a reason why night follows day in a never-ending cycle. There is a reason why one season ends and the next one begins, over and over again.

The best night's sleep comes after a day of focused effort. And the best day's effort comes after a night of deep and restful sleep.

Balance allows the energy that has been flowing out to flow back in. Balance allows the frustrations and aggravations that have been flowing in to be released and disposed.

Sadness and joy, peacefulness and excitement, effort and relaxation, discipline and playfulness all benefit from each other. Keep balance in your life, and you'll keep your life full.

-- Ralph Marston

Enjoy what you have

2006-06-01T10:18:00.000+05:30

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for.
-Epicurus

The little opportunities

2006-06-01T10:16:00.000+05:30

Each day is filled with opportunities to make a difference. Many of those opportunities may seem small and insignificant, yet you have no way of knowing where they can lead.

Life's big opportunities rarely come to you as such. The vast majority of the big opportunities start out very small and must be lovingly nurtured.

Be willing to take care of the little things, and your effectiveness at doing so will put you in a position to influence the big things. Figure out how to make just a little, ordinary, positive contribution and you'll be well on your way to big, extraordinary achievements.

There is never any need to beg anyone for the chance to prove yourself. Life gives you ample opportunities for doing so in every moment.

Let go of the assumption that your time is too valuable for you to be bothered with the little things. Remember that the little things can make the difference between success and failure.

Hold on to the biggest, most ambitious vision you can imagine. And be willing to get your hands dirty doing the little things that will make that it happen.

-- Ralph Marston

The treasure within

2006-05-26T10:12:00.000+05:30

You are the person you choose to be. So choose to be the person who fulfills and brings to life the values you hold most dearly.

Today is your opportunity to express yourself to the world through the life you live and the actions you take. The challenges of this moment provide a rich canvas upon which you can paint the highest vision you have.

Listen to the yearnings of your heart and keep pointing yourself in their direction. By focusing on what is truly meaningful, you will cause much real value and richness to spring forth from the life you live.

Choose to glide right past the shallow concerns that hold so many people back. Keep your eye on the big picture, and create new positive substance as each moment passes.

Go beyond merely appearing to be happy, and dive into the authentic joy of making a positive difference. Give the best that you have to life, and you'll find each day to be even more fulfilling than the last.

There is a treasure within you that is yearning to weave itself into the fabric of life. Go ahead and let it come shining through.

-- Ralph Marston

Live like a man

2006-05-25T19:40:00.000+05:30

Pay attention

2006-05-24T17:31:00.000+05:30

A big part of achieving success is simply paying attention. Life has so very much to tell you when you take the time to listen.

The natural reaction to pain is to resent it and to get away from it as quickly as possible. Yet when you pay close attention, there is wisdom and value to be found in even the most painful, unpleasant experiences.

As you go through each day, your mind is filled with all sorts of things that you're thinking and saying to yourself. Choose to regularly quiet those thoughts, to just listen, to look, to pay attention.

Pay attention and you'll discover incredible opportunities in even the most mundane circumstances. Pay attention to the way the world works and you'll find powerful strategies for improving your own performance.

Growth and learning stop when you reach the point where you think you know it all. However, you can choose to never reach that point.

You can choose to pay attention. And it can quickly bring great value, wisdom and effectiveness into every corner of your life.

-- Ralph Marston

Service is the rent you pay for room on this planet.
-Shirley Chisholm

Being Unreasonable

2006-05-24T12:48:00.000+05:30

Be True to yourself

2006-05-22T18:33:00.000+05:30

The value of failure

2006-05-18T16:25:00.000+05:30

Failure is a normal and natural part of achievement. When the failures come, learn from them and then move quickly along.

Failure is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing that can happen is to let the fear of failure prevent you from ever doing anything.

If your top priority is to avoid all failure, then you will surely fail. For only by accepting and living with the possibility of failure can you succeed and achieve.

Failure is not the end of the world. It is merely another step on the pathway to fulfillment, wisdom and achievement.

Though you would never intentionally set out to fail, when failure does come the best thing to do is to gracefully accept what has happened. That will enable you to gain the most positive value from it.

Then you can move right along to the next step, and soon you'll be a long way past the failure, filled with more wisdom and experience. Let failure be, and achievement will surely come.

-- Ralph Marston

Various phases of Blogging !!

2006-05-14T23:15:00.000+05:30

I read the following nice article on gundanjoshi.com

Want to blog, but cannot" virus

I have a confession to make. Off late, I have not been a responsible blogger. I feel that personal blogging is a true test of self-discipline. Am I disciplined to frequently update my blogs? I did not want to fall into the trap of "Start blogging - Stop blogging - Start blogging" cycle. However, I did.

Unless, you are committed and self-disciplined, this is how your blogging cycle will go:

Excitement Phase: You install the blogging software on a server.
Commitment phase: You write your first blog entry. You even go to Google and add your blog to the search index. You update your blog every day.
Marketing phase: Now, you go and check the traffic on your site. You even check bloglines to see how many people have subscribed to your blog. There are few clicks here and there, but not many. You find that only people commenting on your site are spammers and viagara salesmen. Well, you are still dedicated. You also mention about your blog to your friends and they even subscribe to your blog. Finally, you include a link to your blog in your email signatures.
Infected phase: Now, comes this dreaded phase. The “want to blog, but cannot” virus infects you. All of a sudden, your frequency of blogging decreases. You want to update it, but do not feel like it. This is the turning point for most blogs. Either, your blog starts dying a slow death or you fight against the virus and come back.

Well, I want to fight back. In addition to agile software development, I will also be blogging about my other learning experiences as Vice-President of Product Development and Process Excellence at Community Connect Inc. I have changed the focus of my blog from agile software development to continuous learning and growth. Let us see, how long it takes for the “want to blog – but cannot” virus to infect me again.

Accept your conditions but not fate

2006-05-02T07:29:00.000+05:30

Accept your conditions, but not your fate. -- Rod Walsh & Dan Carrison

Every Moment Counts

2006-04-18T11:38:00.000+05:30

Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.
-Frank Tyger

Every moment counts
With your actions, prompted and guided by your thoughts, you are always creating something. On this day, in this moment, the life you are living makes a real difference in one way or another.

It is an awesome power, and yet it can be difficult to comprehend because it is usually so spread out over time. The little, seemingly meaningless things you do from moment to moment combine together to create the life you live.

The most magnificent achievement you could imagine is, at its heart, built upon the recognition that every moment counts. To the degree that you acknowledge and act upon that reality, success will come your way.

You are rich beyond all calculation, and yet that richness cannot be hoarded or hidden away. To be experienced and enjoyed, it must be lived out across the individual moments in each passing day.

Live as though you have nothing to hold you back and everything to pull you forward. For in the richness of the moment, both conditions are true.

Every moment counts, especially this one. Make it count for something wonderful.

-- Ralph Marston

Spread Love

2006-04-18T11:37:00.000+05:30

Beleiving

2006-04-12T10:39:00.000+05:30

Success and Bring the positive Momentum

2006-04-12T10:38:00.000+05:30

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
-Winston Churchill

Break the negative momentum
Many obstacles don't even need to be there. They can disappear as soon as you turn your attention toward something more positive.

Some of the difficult problems you face are mostly of your own creation. Just as you created them, you can let them go and they are gone.

Certainly there are very real difficulties that you must address in the course of your life and your work. Yet many of the burdens under which you labor have been built up over time by your own thoughts and habits.

What seems to be a big problem may actually be a very small and easily resolved issue that your mind has made into a monster. Stop focusing on how bad it is and start focusing on something positive that you can do in response.

That can quickly cut it down to a manageable size, or even eliminate the problem altogether. Once you break the negative momentum that your mind has established, things will soon look a whole lot better.

It's important to effectively address the challenges that come along, yet there is no need to blow them out of proportion. Keep your focus on the good you can do, on the value you can create, and most of the difficulties will be far less difficult.

-- Ralph Marston

Michael Jordan's way of succeeding

2006-04-04T07:49:00.000+05:30

Everything in life is temporary

2006-04-03T11:08:00.000+05:30

being happy in the present moment and elderly people

2006-04-02T11:58:00.000+05:30

I found this interesting article about elderly people, and it rekindled my thoughts about what life is all about and being happy in life. I am sure if I come back to this page after couple of years, it could help me in restructuring my life.

It might seem quite natural for the elderly to often slip happily into reminiscence but living in the past could indicate dissatisfaction with the present, says psychologists.

This phenomenon becomes a problem when an elderly relative starts living completely in the past and ignores the present. While some might welcome a break from older relatives repeating boring old yarns, it is not a normal symptom of ageing.

People who are unhappy with their surroundings might find it easier to retreat into the past. Studies have shown that older people with a positive self-image and perception of others enjoy the present more.

Indeed, there are many reasons why the past is so important to many senior citizens.

'As one ages, one is more physically limited, not as mobile and has problems seeing and hearing,' says Jochen Tenter, specialist in clinical geriatry.

For many, life becomes less exciting. Lacking stimulus, people tend to focus on their inner life. 'They can rely on that. It is dependable and no one can take it away,' explains Tenter.

Society also often contributes to the problem.

'Elderly people are often marginalised because they cannot participate in life as actively as young people,' observes Georg Adler, director of the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany.

'If older people are fully valued and taken seriously, then they go about their lives and the present day much more positively. Memories and old stories are not necessarily bad,' states Ursula Lehr, gerontologist and honorary chairwoman of the Federal Working Group on Seniors' Organisations (BAGSO) in Bonn.

'Many people begin to take account of their lives as they get old, and that dredges up a lot of memories,' explains Lehr. It only becomes problematic for children and grandchildren when the same stories are told over and over again and only a proactive approach will help.

If you are really interested in the stories, ask for details. That makes it more interesting for the storyteller,' suggests Tenter.

'A person repeats everything if he gets no feedback,' explains Lehr. Instead, annoyed relatives should make it clear whether they already know the stories.

It would be better to say, 'You have told me that so often already,' advises Tenter.

Instead of living silently in the past, older people should seek contact with the younger generation. 'Inter-generational contacts are advisable to put a stop to the past-oriented thinking,' said Tenter. Additionally, it has been shown that contacts with unfamiliar people are also helpful.

'That way you get new impressions and maybe get to play a new role.'

Psychologists and gerontologists also recommend that middle-aged people should be sure to maintain contacts and keep their spirits up. 'That can mean games, dancing, sports or advanced crossword puzzles,' recommends Tenter.

Further, Lehr says that elderly should keep themselves abreast of current affairs. 'Old people should read a newspaper, watch the news, make dates and then discuss it all.'

However, old stories should not be lost under any circumstances. 'Young people should ask older people to write down their experiences and impressions,' advises Lehr.

After all, telling old stories from old times is not just an expression of boredom or dissatisfaction.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1471943,curpg-4.cms

posted by Venkatesh Krishnamurthy at 8:13 PM | 0 comments

Live Everyday

2006-03-29T14:55:00.000+05:30

Choice in life

2006-03-28T16:09:00.000+05:30

Strength is

2006-03-24T11:10:00.000+05:30

Strength has no need to be showy or boastful. For true strength is quiet, calm, and intensely effective.

Strength is balance, and love and truth. Strength is when you choose to live as the authentic person you are.

-- Ralph Marston

Choices in Life

2006-03-24T11:08:00.000+05:30

Let Life Flow

2006-03-23T12:09:00.000+05:30

In all its beauty, let life flow. In its quiet stillness, let peace envelop you.

There is much you can accomplish when you focus on the positive possibilities. There is a whole universe to experience when you open your eyes to the wonder.

There is so much love within you. Allow it to come out.

There are so many good and positive things that you can do. Fill this moment with the best of them.

Let the goodness flow in and fill you. Then let it flow out from you with your own special essence.

With calm, peaceful, loving confidence, let life flow in you and through you. Live the real treasure that is now.

-- Ralph Marston

Success is Waiting

2006-03-21T17:44:00.000+05:30

Chose to be happy today

2006-03-21T16:08:00.000+05:30

Change your tomorrow

2006-03-20T16:55:00.000+05:30

Step Boldly

2006-03-20T14:49:00.000+05:30

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
-Agnes DeMille

Step boldly

There's something out there in life that will delight and amaze you. Get up, get moving, and go find out what it is.

There is always more to life than what you've already been doing day after day. Climb up out of your rut and have a look around.

You'll see things that will ignite your passion. You'll find richness you never knew was there.

Can you recall the last time you experienced the thrill of discovery? Remember how great it felt?

You are wonderfully equipped to explore new territory. So by all means, make use of that valuable skill.

Inject some priceless energy into your life. Step boldly into the world and see what great things you can discover.

n Ralph Marston

Be Brave and there is tomorrow

2006-03-17T15:58:00.000+05:30

Improvement

2006-03-15T17:31:00.000+05:30

"Improvement stops when we start believing that ideas about how to improve are insulting."

Story of using Perception to succeed

2006-03-15T11:10:00.000+05:30

Transcript from a book about communication and perception. Following example shows how perception can influcen the life.

To illustrate, the authors cite the following example of how perception influences the outcome of a situation: Two people are walking their dogs in a wooded area. Both are wearing corduroy pants. When one person returns home and enters her garage, she notices her pants are covered with prickly burrs. When she tries to remove the burrs, she finds they are nearly impossible to pull off and that they prick and scratch her fingers. Her reaction is annoyance, and she decides the pants are ruined. When the second person returns to his home, his pants are also covered with burrs, but he reacts with curiosity, wondering how the burrs have attached themselves so stubbornly even though he barely brushed against the bushes. The second person in this scenario is actually George deMestral. After examining the burrs under a microscope, he came up with the design for Velcro, a multi-million dollar product.

Shift your perception habits from ordinary to high value and you will produce more benefit in less time than you ever have before. You will become a communication catalyst.”

Tackling your enemies

2006-03-15T10:54:00.000+05:30

Here is a transcript from the book to tackle enemies

"The saying goes 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,' which Corleone demonstrates with tact. It's always vital to practice verbal discipline in deciding how much of your /own/ agenda to share, but especially when confronting /others'/ hidden agendas. Don't be so outspoken about hidden agendas in peers or bosses that you go on their list for retaliation. Whether tempted by your Power of Ideas integrity or Power of Person ego, tread lightly around secret motives. Your friends may come and go, but your enemies accumulate."

Real Challenge

2006-03-13T13:00:00.000+05:30

When disaster strikes, there are no magic words that will make everything all right. For if there were, life would necessarily have to be unbearably empty and shallow in order to accommodate them.

What there is, is the opportunity and the obligation to love as you never have before. What there is, is the stimulus to take life to a higher level.

In your moments of most profound challenge, you are left with only what truly matters. And that is a powerful place to be.

When you are forced to experience life at its worst, it compels you to be your best. You must call upon a level of strength you never before knew was there.

And then, you begin to work through it. As you choose to move forward, life takes on greater, more profound meaning.

Choose to love, and choose to live. That is what you can do, and that is where the real magic will happen.

-- Ralph Marston

Have Faith

2006-03-13T12:06:00.000+05:30

Doing business with Integrity

2006-03-10T17:05:00.000+05:30

Here is the transcript of the mail from Kent Beck to Ron Jeffries about doing business with Integrity. Being an integrity craze, I thought it might be a worthwhile to remember...

"Ron,
From the contents of your message I don't think we share the same view. When you say that integrity is 'cold comfort', I am certain we don't agree. Yes, I need money (very badly right now in fact), but giving up my integrity for money is 'cold comfort'. No one is going to win all their bids, not even sleazeball liars who quote unreasonably low prices and more than make it up on exhorbitant charges for change requests and bug fixing. When you abandon your standards to get business, you always lose. There is nothing magical or special about me that lets me sell with integrity. Anyone can choose to. I have made contracts in just the way I described and others have reported similar experiences to me. Selling is unpredictable, for example whether you will win this particular contract. When you are selling business relationships you want some level of compatability with the client. Not all clients would be good matches. Better to find that out at the onset. Selling from a position of integrity takes less bravado and provides its own confidence. The consequence you can count on is being able to sleep nights with your integrity intact. If that costs me a little fear sometimes, I'll pay. I'm told it gets easier with practice. There is plenty of fear for the client in the old style of bidding jobs as well. The customer's fear that they will not get what they need from you (based on their past experiences with contractors) is one of the biggest barriers to selling your services. This seems like a good opportunity to embrace change.
Sincerely yours,
Kent Beck Three Rivers Institute"

Be True to Yourslef

2006-03-07T17:55:00.000+05:30

Do yourself some favor

2006-03-07T17:53:00.000+05:30

Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you think of yourself less.
-Ken Blanchard

Give yourself some distance

Many of the things that get to you are not worth the energy and the trouble that you invest in them. Do yourself a favor, and give yourself some distance from them.

Break the pattern of automatically reacting in the same way, time after time, to all the minor disturbances that come along. Sometimes, the best response is no response at all.

Seek to rise above the petty dramas that don't do anyone any good. Keep in mind that where you put your awareness and your attention is where your life will go.

There are so many beautiful, positive outlets for your energy. Every day is full of possibilities for building, creating, loving, learning and growing.

Certainly there will always be difficulties in life that must be addressed and attended to. Yet there is no reason to make for yourself any needless difficulties of confrontations.

A sign of true strength is the willingness to completely let go of the things that don't really matter. Choose to exercise that strength, and keep life focused in a positive, meaningful direction.

-- Ralph Marston

The man who dares would succeed

2006-02-24T17:31:00.000+05:30

Respond Peacefully

2006-02-24T13:51:00.000+05:30

A peaceful response is a powerful response. Before you speak, before you act, before you respond, consider a calm and peaceful way to do so.

There is almost always a way to say what you have to say in a peaceful, compelling manner. And when you do, you have a much better chance of being heard and understood.

Whatever you have to accomplish, seek a way to get it done peacefully and respectfully. By so doing, you'll pave the way for even greater accomplishments.

When you live and think and act peacefully, you'll find a world of people eager to support your efforts. When your life is filled with peaceful moments, your mind is much more positively focused and your work is much more effective.

Every day you'll come across situations where you can add real value by introducing a calm and peaceful tone. Even a small bit of peacefulness has the power to profoundly change things for the better.

Let yourself be strong enough and confident enough to practice peace on a daily basis. You'll quickly make your world a better place.

-- Ralph Marston

Take a moment to Listen

2006-02-22T12:02:00.000+05:30

What you choose

2006-02-22T11:00:00.000+05:30

You can make it happen when you truly choose to do so. You always have, and you always will.
If something is important enough to you, you'll surely find a way. Look back on your life up to this point, and you'll see a manifestation of what you've cared most about.
Now take a look at what you care most about in this very moment. Those are the things you will give your energy and attention to, and those are the things that will surely happen for you.
You are plenty capable of pushing yourself relentlessly toward what you choose. For you do it every day and you've had a lifetime of practice.
The big question is this. What exactly do you choose?
Whatever it is, whatever you truly care about in your hjavascript:void(0);
Publish Post eart of hearts, you'll find a way to make it real. With that in mind, always choose the very best you can imagine.
-- Ralph Marston

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.
-Sigmund Freud

The world is waiting for you

2006-02-17T17:10:00.000+05:30

One life

2006-02-02T14:41:00.001+05:30

Acheive anything you want

2006-02-02T14:40:00.000+05:30

In every action you take, your expectations have an influence. In every result you obtain, your expectations play a role.

Your expectations will not, by themselves, cause anything to happen. And yet they can have a major impact on what you cause to happen.

When you truly and fully expect to succeed, every aspect of your life becomes aligned in the direction of that success. When you've convinced yourself that you can get it done, you are well on the way to making it happen.

Though many people may speak to you today, no one will talk to you as much as you talk to yourself. And that presents you with an enormous opportunity.

Throughout the day, over and over again, you have the chance to tell yourself what to expect. So, as each moment goes by, keep telling yourself to expect the best, most positive outcome you can imagine.

As your expectations grow stronger and more firmly entrenched, you'll discover more and more ways to make them real. Choose to expect the best of yourself, so that every fiber of your being is focused toward the achievement you desire.

And then, by your efforts, those expectations will surely come to life.

-- Ralph Marston

A to Z of stress management

2006-02-01T08:43:00.000+05:30

A to Z of stress management

Always take time for yourself, at least 30 minutes per day.

Be aware of your own stress meter: Know when to step back and cool down.

Concentrate on controlling your own situation, without controlling everybody else.

Daily exercise will burn off the stress chemicals.

Eat lots of fresh fruit, veggies, bread and water, give your body the best for it to perform at its best.

Forgive others, don't hold grudges and be tolerant -- not everyone is as capable as you.

Gain perspective on things, how important is the issue?

Hugs, kisses and laughter: Have fun and don't be afraid to share your feelings with others.

Identify stressors and plan to deal with them better next time.

Judge your own performance realistically; don't set goals out of your own reach.

Keep a positive attitude, your outlook will influence outcomes and the way others treat you.

Limit alcohol, drugs and other stimulants, they affect your perception and behaviour.

Manage money well, seek advice and save at least 10 per cent of what you earn.

No is a word you need to learn to use without feeling guilty.

Outdoor activities by yourself, or with friends and family, can be a great way to relax.

Play your favourite music rather than watching television.

Quit smoking: It is stressing your body daily, not to mention killing you too.

Relationships: Nurture and enjoy them, learn to listen more and talk less.

Sleep well, with a firm mattress and a supportive pillow; don't overheat yourself and allow plenty of ventilation.

Treat yourself once a week with a massage, dinner out, the movies: Moderation is the key.

Understand things from the other person's point of view.

Verify information from the source before exploding.

Worry less, it really does not get things completed better or quicker.

Xpress: Make a regular retreat to your favourite space, make holidays part of your yearly plan and budget.

Yearly goal setting: Plan what you want to achieve based on your priorities in your career, relationships, etc.

Zest for life: Each day is a gift, smile and be thankful that you are a part of the bigger picture.

Manage your stress

2006-02-01T08:40:00.000+05:30

Bust that stress, NOW

Here is a "transcript" from the above website for beating the stress

If someone had discovered a 'cure' for stress they would have bottled it and made zillions by now. Since it is not possible to completely eliminate stress, the only thing you can do is learn how to manage it. Here are a few pointers to get you started.

~ Dr Kirpalani recommends spending some quiet time by yourself each day. Reflection and introspection for a little while early every morning can be calming.

~ It is important to have at least one meal a day with the family so that you catch up with each other and connect.

~ Take care of your body.

Not only must you exercise, you should also take time to rest and spend a few guilt-free hours in a recreational activity of your choice.

~ If you think you're becoming a workaholic, you need to slow down for a minute and examine why this is the case.

Dr Kirpalani cautions, "Workaholics tend to have a lot of issues they prefer to avoid by drowning themselves in work. As a result, they don't get in touch with their true feelings. That is something they need to be aware of."

~ For those who feel that working all the time is perfectly fine, experts suggest re-examining your goals. Are you able to pay attention to your health and family life if you only want to be at work and earn lots of money?

According to Dr Kirpalani, an increasing number of working youth tend to have physiological illnesses; people suffer from blood pressure and cardiac problems at a much earlier age now.

She strongly suggests examining whether you are able to give enough time to your body and spirit.

~ Finally, examine whether your career and personality are correctly matched.

Young adults sometimes tend to pick a career because it is the 'hot' job of the moment, or because it is the path that their friends are following. This can prove to be highly stressful.

Experts recommend you assess your own capabilities and choose a job accordingly.

While we realise that life may never be stress-free, a little cranial spring-cleaning goes a long way, so get to it today.

Maintain Determination

2006-01-31T11:09:00.000+05:30

With enough determination, no goal is out of reach. Determination carries you past seemingly insurmountable obstacles and makes things real that were once considered impossible.
So how do you create and maintain sufficient determination to take you where you want to go? How do you keep the power of determination working for you?
To maintain your determination, you simply must remember it. For as powerful as your determination can be, it is nothing more than a concept in your mind.
As long as you can keep that concept of determination at the front of your mind, it will work for you. As long as you can remember, with passion and with clarity, the what, why and how of your determination, it will carry you forward.
When the challenges come, remember that you are determined and you will be. Though your determination won't solve your problems for you, it can keep you going long enough for you to solve them yourself.
What things in your life do you truly wish to change, to improve, to create, to accomplish, and why? Sincerely answer that question, and you'll discover plenty of determination within yourself.
Keep that determination in mind as each moment goes by, and you'll accomplish whatever you choose to accomplish.
-- Ralph Marston

2006-01-31T11:02:00.000+05:30

Value of Attention

2006-01-30T12:36:00.000+05:30

Sometimes you can move ahead more quickly by slowing down. Often you can get more accomplished by being less busy.

When you rush quickly through a task, without taking the time to get it right, what have you accomplished? When you hurry through life so frantically that you can't keep track of where you are, what value does that bring you?

When you try to do too many things at once, you're sending yourself a subtle, yet powerful, negative message. You're telling yourself that not one of those efforts, by itself, is worthy of your undivided attention.

Similarly, when you rush through a task, you're sending yourself a message that the task is not worthy of your time. If you have no respect for what you're doing, it won't produce much value, no matter how quickly or in what quantity you do it.

To achieve maximum value, work quickly enough to get it done and slowly enough to do it right. Before taking on a new task, be sure that you have enough quality time to give it your full attention.

Stop wasting so much energy rushing from one thing to the next and back again. And you'll have more than enough time to create real, lasting value.

-- Ralph Marston

Quote on Great People

2006-01-27T20:11:00.000+05:30

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

-- Mark Twain.

Choice of Feelings

2006-01-24T12:34:00.000+05:30

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you’ll know exactly what to do.-Michelle Ventor
Choice of feelings
You create your feelings and you are responsible for them. By controlling those feelings in a positive and purposeful way, you can profoundly change your life for the better.
If you blame another person for your feelings, what you're really doing is giving that person control over an important part of your life. If you avoid taking responsibility for your feelings, those feelings can quickly overwhelm you and leave you powerless.
The way you feel can affect every corner of your life. By taking positive control of your feelings, you put yourself in a powerful and influential position in your world.
Keep in mind that every feeling you experience is a feeling you have chosen. Though much of what comes your way is beyond your control, the way you feel about it all is completely up to you.
If your life seems to be stuck, that's a sure sign that you're holding on to feelings that are no longer appropriate. Know that you can let those feelings go and be gloriously free to move quickly ahead.
Feelings are powerful and can bring much richness to life, and the power they have is the power you choose to give them. Choose your feelings wisely, and life will be rich indeed.
-- Ralph Marston

Getting out of dissappointment

2006-01-23T10:47:00.000+05:30

It feels lousy to be disappointed, whether it is by other people, by circumstances, or by your own mistakes. And yet, in each disappointment there is also opportunity. When a disappointment comes, acknowledge it and feel it for what it is. Then quickly step away from it and take a more objective look.
You'll discover that in the larger context of your life, that disappointment can have positive value. Though one door has been closed to you, many more have just been opened.
From each disappointment you can gain knowledge, motivation, perspective and a more clearly defined purpose. From each disappointment, you can learn much about life and about yourself, much that will help you move on ahead.
When life lets you down, there is value to be found in that disappointment. Quickly get back up and begin to live that value.
When you go forward, you will occasionally stumble. And when you choose to positively recover from those stumbles, you'll move more quickly ahead.
-- Ralph Marston

Socratic Method for teaching

2006-01-20T18:57:00.000+05:30

Socratic Method for teaching

I found this nice way of teaching the people any topic.

Read more info. About the same at

http://www.soci.niu.edu/~phildept/Dye/method.html

http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/handbook/approach.html

http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html

Remove the limits on your thoughts

2006-01-19T05:51:00.000+05:30

Here's a story about George Dantzig - the famed mathematician who's contributions to Operations Research and systems engineering have made him immortal.

As a college student, George studied very hard and often late into the night. So late, that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for Prof. Neyman's class. He quickly copied the two maths problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on Neyman's desk the next day.

Six weeks later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m. by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind-teasers that even Einstein hadn't been able to answer. But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't.

You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begis to figure out how. Afterall, a person is limited only by the thoughts that he/she chooses.

Take the first step

2006-01-17T10:52:00.000+05:30

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Take the time
Take the time to put something back where it belongs, and you'll easily be able to find it next time you need it. Take the time to learn, and you'll make yourself more effective.
Take the time to listen, and you'll much more clearly understand. Take the time to think before you act, and your actions will take you where you want to go with no regrets.
Take the time to say thank you and to appreciate the good things you have, and abundance will grow in your life. Take the time to truly enjoy yourself, and you'll inject positive energy into all you do.
Take the time to offer a word of encouragement, and your world will be a brighter place. Take the time to give a helping hand to someone in need, and your own troubles will suddenly shrink away.
Take the time to work through a challenge, and you'll discover a whole new level of positive opportunities. Take the time to be curious and aware of the world around you, and you'll see magnificent possibilities in every direction.
Take the time to love, to smile, to wonder, to play, and to find out who you really are. Take the time to fully live in each moment as it comes along, and life will be rich indeed.
-- Ralph Marston

Code

2006-01-16T22:25:00.000+05:30

often encounter code like this:

view plain print ?

The excessive nesting of conditional clauses pushes the code out into an arrow formation:

(image placeholder)

And you know you're definitely in trouble when the code you're reading is regularly exceeding the right margin on a typical 1280x1024 display. This is the Arrow Anti-Pattern in action.
One of my primary refactoring tasks is "flattening" arrow code like this. Those sharp, pointy barbs are dangerous! Arrow code has a high cyclomatic complexity value-- a measure of how many distinct paths there are through code:
Studies show a correlation between a program's cyclomatic complexity and its error frequency. A low cyclomatic complexity contributes to a program's understandability and indicates it is amenable to modification at lower risk than a more complex program. A module's cyclomatic complexity is also a strong indicator of its testability.
Where appropriate, I flatten that arrow code by doing the following:

Replace conditions with guard clauses. This code..

if (SomeNecessaryCondition) {

// function body code

}

.. works better as a guard clause:
if (!SomeNecessaryCondition)
{
throw new RequiredConditionMissingException;
}
// function body code

Decompose conditional blocks into seperate functions. In the above example, we're in a do..while loop which could be decomposed:

{

ValidateRowAttribute(drc[rowIdx]);

rowIdx++;

}

while(rowIdx < rowCount && GetIdAsInt32(drc[rowIdx]) == Id);

Convert negative checks into positive checks. As a broad rule, I prefer to put the positive comparison first and let the negative comparison fall out naturally into the else clause. I think this reads a lot better and, more importantly, avoids the "I ain't not doing that" syndrome:

if (Attributes[attrVal.AttributeClassId] is ArrayList)

{

// do stuff

}

else

{

// do stuff

}

Always opportunistically return as soon as possible from the function. Once your work is done, get the heck out of there! This isn't always possible -- you might have resources you need to clean up. But whatever you do, you have to abandon the ill-conceived idea that there should only be one exit point at the bottom of the function.

The goal is to have code that scrolls vertically a lot.. but not so much horizontally.

Mutual Funds for Beginners

2005-06-23T22:03:00.000+05:30

Mutual Fund for Beginners
First time investors in Mutual Funds act in the face of imperfect information and often get overwhelmed by uncertainties characterizing the investment situation. But there’s more to Mutual Fund investing than market timing.
The first thing an aspiring unit holder must do is to establish what type of portfolio he wants to build. In other words, to decide the right asset allocation. Asset allocation is a method that determines how you invest your money in different investments with the proper mix of various asset classes. Remember, the type or class of security you own i.e. equity, debt or money market, is much more important than the particular security itself.

The popular thumb rule for asset allocation says that whatever the investor’s age, he should keep that percentage of his portfolio in debt instruments. For example, if an investor is 25, he should have 25% of his investments in debt instruments and the rest in equity. However, in reality, different circumstances and financial position for each individual may require different allocation. Portfolio variable is another factor that one needs to understand to practice asset allocation. These are age, occupation, number of dependants in the family. Usually the younger you are, the more riskier the investments you can hold for getting superior returns.

How to pick the right fund/s?

Next, focus on selecting the right fund/s. The key is to select the fund/s based on their investment philosophy and consistency in terms of returns. To ensure you are selecting the right type of funds that are appropriate for your needs, consider following:Determine what your financial goals are.

Are you investing for retirement? A child’s education? Or for current income?Consider your time frame. Do you need money in three months time or three years? The longer your time horizon, the more risk you may be able to take.How do you feel about risk? Are you in a position to tolerate the ups and downs of the stock market for the possibility of higher returns? It is necessary to know your own risk tolerance. It can be a guide for choosing the right schemes. Remember, regardless of the potential returns, if you are not comfortable with a particular asset class, you should consider other options.

   Fund Candy   Diversified equity funds   Index funds   Opportunity funds   Mid-cap funds   Equity-linked savings schemes   Sector funds like Auto, Health Care, FMCG, IT, Banking etc.   Balanced funds for those who are not comfortable with 100% exposure to equity

If selected properly, these equity and equity-oriented funds have the potential to deliver returns that could be far superior to other asset classes.Remember, all these factors will have a direct impact on the fund you choose and the return that you can expect to get. If you are a long-term investor with some appetite for risk and are looking for returns to beat inflation, equity funds are your best bet. MFs offer a variety of equity and equity-oriented schemes (See table ‘Fund Candy’). For a beginner, it makes sense to begin with a diversified fund and gradually have some exposure to sector and specialty funds.Investment Strategies that will help you make the best of your MF Investment and Traps that you should avoid.Keeping track..Filling up an application form and writing out a cheque is not the end of the story. It is equally important to keep an eye on how your investments are performing. While having a qualified and professional advisor helps both in terms of making the right decision as well as measuring performance, it makes sense to know how to do yourself with a little help from these sources:Fact sheets and Newsletters: MFs publish monthly fact sheets and quarterly newsletters that contain portfolio information, a report from the fund manager and performance statistics on the schemes managed by it.Websites: MF web sites provide performance statistics, daily NAVs, fund fact sheets, quarterly newsletters and press clippings etc. Besides, the Association of Mutual funds in India, AMFI, website, contains daily and historical NAVs, and other scheme.Newspapers: Newspapers have pages reporting the net asset values and the sales and redemption prices of MF schemes besides other analysis and reports.Remember, it is very important for you to be well informed. To achieve this, you need to spend a little time to understand and analyze the information to enhance the chances of success. Even if you spend one percent of the time that you spend on earning money, it’ll be a good beginning. Above all, take help of a professional advisor to select the right fund as well as the right mix of one time investment, SIP and the STP.

For more info. go to the URL: http://moneycontrol.com/backends/News/frontend/news_detail.php?autono=168248&call_section=MF

Looking into eyes of problem

2005-06-23T11:52:00.000+05:30

How many new and ambitious efforts would you undertake if you knew for sure that there would be no problems? And how many worthwhile achievements do you avoid because you fear that there will be problems?
Yes, in most things you undertake there will be problems. And yes, you always have what it takes to work through those problems without being overwhelmed by them.
In order to be free of problems, you do not need to avoid those problems. You can be surrounded by all sorts of complex problems, deeply involved in working through those problems, and still be free of them.
Because the problems will get to you only to the extent that you allow them to do so. You can give your time, effort and attention to the problems while at the same time keeping your precious, innermost self completely detached from them.
Success is attained not by avoiding problems. Spectacular success comes when you can thoroughly deal with the problems without letting them pull you down.
Learn to keep the inner part of you problem free. And no problem will ever be a problem for you.
-- Ralph Marston

Meditation - How to for Beginners

2005-06-22T22:26:00.000+05:30

Meditation: “Dhyaanam Nirvishayam Manah” (Sankhya Darshan: 6/25) means “The state of mind when remains objectivitated i.e. without any thought (when the mind is away from worldly objects, but remains connected with the self), is called the ‘Dhyaan’ or Meditation”. It is clear with this Sankhya-Sutra that meditation is the state of continuous non-objectiveness of mind, which means when mind is away from all wordily things i.e. objectless.

· “Tatra Pratyayaikataanataa Dhyaanam” (Yoga-Sutra: 3/2) which mean, “Sustained concentration (Dhaarnaa*) is meditation (Dhyaan).

[*Concentration is the fixing of the Chitta (mind stuff) upon a particular object. This is ‘Dhaarnaa’. (Yoga-Sutra: 3/1)]

Meditation is of two types: First is “Samprajnaata” i.e. where the meditator is conscious of self and the act of meditation and second is “Asamparajnaata” when even this consciousness is lost and meditator Experiences only the bliss of Omnipresent God.

Meditation is a journey within, to meet our own consciousness. But to achieve higher state of consciousness, of deep silence of ‘Samaadhi’ and Meditation, one has to transcend all words and all thoughts. No language can lead us there. Therefore, talking of that state, declare Upanishads:

· “Yato Vacho Nivartante, Apaapya Manasaa Saha” means that state, where words cease to be, cannot be achieved through mind”.

Although everybody seems to be talking of Meditation these days, but few really practice it regularly and know the meaning of “Meditation”.

Beginners often start meditation with too many expectations, waiting for something to happen. When nothing happens they are disappointed and give up the practice of meditation. They imagine that by simply sitting in a straight-backed position with their eyes closed, they will reach in the state of ‘Samaadhi’. But this is not possible because most adults have a sharp sense of ego problem, which keeps them confined and restricted.

It is recommended to all new practitioners that they should start with very short sessions, not more than five or ten minutes at a time. These periods may be repeated several times and each time the attitude should be of relaxed stillness, expecting nothing, but ready for anything.

The human mind is full of thoughts – random and never ceasing. It is impossible for the average person to stop these thoughts and the only way to get some control over them is to adopt a steady watching attitude. Without this, each thought will hook itself on to another thought and another.

It helps if you realise that thoughts generally fall into three categories -- remembering, planning and dreaming. If you are remembering, then you are lingering uselessly in the past, which can be both repetitive and obsessive. Just let it go. Don’t get involved. If your mind is busy with planning, you are thinking of the future, your aims, desires and hopes. Dreaming is self-explanatory. Do not get involved. Let the thoughts come and go without clinging to them. Five minutes is all you are allowing yourself, so there is no expectation, no strain. The quality of meditation and not the duration is what you are interested in for the present. Meditation has been described as a mind suspended in space – a pure and complete awareness without clinging.

There are many aids to meditation. There is a Mantra, which repeated in your mind will eventually stop random thoughts. There is a candle flame or a statue or picture on which you can concentrate. Or you can simply concentrate on your breathing. All these methods are effective, but only if you take it lightly, giving only 25 per cent of your attention to them, with the remaining 75 per cent of your mind relaxed and floating in space.

The sitting posture is important since a straight spine and all the different ‘Chakras’, so that energy flows smoothly and the mind calms down and is at ease. But even here it is not necessary to go to extreme. You can sit cross-legged on a cushion. The legs can be folded easily and not rigidly in the lotus pose. You may even sit on a chair with feet flat on the ground. Whichever way you sit you should be comfortable so that you can sit for as long as necessary.

A person sitting quite and contemplating, with no purpose or aims except that of experiencing himself and his oneness with the world, is meditating. Studies by Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist, show that meditation produces psychological changes which include reduced heart rate and blood pressure, as well as reduced oxygen consumption, reduced blood lactate level (associated with anxiety) and reduced respiratory rate. The body is deeply relaxed while the mind remains alert. Benson calls this ‘the relaxation response’, which counteracts state of fear, anger and anxiety.

At the psychological level, with regular meditation there is deceased anxiety, a higher level of relaxation at all levels, and progress to wards self-actualization. The meditator begins to experience in a more positive way, and a more peaceful and secure self-concept is developed. Physical dysfunctions such as lack of sleep, fatigue, headaches lesson or disappear altogether.

Regular meditation increases empathy, concern and interest in the well being of others. Today all doctors agree that stress and anxiety play a role in the development of many diseases.

In meditation alpha waves increase the state of reflecting an extremely restful, non-anxious and non-problem solving mental state. After successful meditation the person is relaxed, with a greater capacity for creativity, love and compassion.

When someone talks about ‘meditation’ it’s understood that this term is related to something that is spiritual (inner) world. It’s one hundred per cent right. Meditation means to realise/find/feel of some super-conscious thing to get peace of mind, which is always there, but because of ones ignorance and laziness one is unable to seek/search it. That is why man is always unhappy and unsatisfied in his life, even after getting all kinds of comforts in this materialistic world. Something is missing! Of course! Something is missing! But, what is that something, which is missing? In the Vedic philosophy this something is nothing but—the Bliss (Anand) of God. The term “Anand” can be defined, as the spiritual happiness of the self.

[The soul is in search of the real spiritual happiness but after coming to this beautiful and amazing wonderful materialistic world, he* forgets everything because of his limited knowledge. He (the soul) wanders after illuminated and colourful material things in this world made of Tri-attributed Prakriti. *The soul has no gender but being a sensate or Chetan thing, it can be pronounced in masculine/feminine manner.]

Mind is the most important thing and without mind’s involution one can not meditate. Meditation is nothing but to think of self-consciousness, but in philosophical point of view, Meditation is defined as a technique or an art of concentration. To control the mind is not an easy job, one needs a lot of practice, and practice makes a man perfect. One thing, here, is to be noted that mind is not a conscious thing like the soul, but it is an inert thing that cannot do anything by its own. The soul is its master and master should be alert. If/When any work is given to the mind; it will be busy and cannot wander of its own. This is one of the method by which the mind is can be controlled easily. “A will, will find a way”, so one has to practice.

Many people believe that the mind is the slave of the senses, on the contrary the mind is said to be their king (Boss), all senses are under mind’s control, and the mind is under intellect’s control. Soul is the master of our physical (inert) body and all organs are its instruments (means) to work.

The mind functions the way we want. For desired results in any sphere of activity, the mind needs to be focused. Thus, an individual must have control over it and its cravings. Striving to fulfil each desire leads to even more desires. All endeavours, all efforts and struggles must be directed towards strive to attain this goal—of keeping the mind in control—rather than seeking the fulfilment of every desire.

Satsang - 1

2005-06-22T11:49:00.000+05:30

Here is the summary of our first Satsang held on 17th June 2005 Friday

1. During conducting any meeting, always let others speak first and dont give your judgement before hand

2. Quality decision making is important and it should be quick and not hasty !!

3. Never underestimate anybody and keep your antennas open. Ego is one which can block the antennas

4. Dont be mechanical in doing things, live each and every moment. Be alert.

5. Nevery apply constraints/assumptions while doing things as it blocks creativity .

6.All qualities are essential for any human being but they should be in proper proportions(SAMTVA)

7. You dont know when and from whom you would get your advice from.