Intuition or positive thinking?

Have you ever wondered how sometimes you strongly feel something shall happen? It may be something desirable or may not. Let's just say we talk about the desirable first.

Some may say that it's the thing you want very badly to happen. And that's the reason why you believe in it so strongly and the probability that it really fructifies is increased as much as your faith in it. That's the one way to look at it. Most people call it positive thinking. Some call it an honest prayer, some call it imaginative thinking and some say it's the subject for quantum physics theories to apply.

Another set of people calls this intuition. They say, such and such a thing was bound to happen and I just found out it will before it really did. Such people are the ones who are probably the most inclined to believe in predictions about the future, whatever the tool may be.

Think about this now... Whatever view you take shows what you believe in and your thought process. The first set of people, the 'Thinkers' believe in the power of the mind. They truly believe they can take their own decisions and intervene with fate's designs. They take their present and future into their own hands and shape their thoughts to make their life what they want.

The second lot, the 'Intuitionists' like to believe there is a prewritten destiny and 'all the world's a stage' where the only power they attribute to their minds is the power akin to statistical tools, that is the power of forecasting and prediction. Sometimes this ability is attributed to spirituality, religion, tarot, astrology, or any other occult science that the person may choose to believe in.

Interesting thing is that it's all a matter of choice and then belief! It's no intention of mine to pass a judgement on any one of these views. In fact, I personally have been through both in phases. That is perhaps true of many of you who are reading this too.

Before I close the topic, Its also necessary to look at it in another way. If the matter in consideration is not a desirable one... Probably the thinkers would not give a second thought to it, so that they do not give energy to a negative thought. Whereas, the 'intuitionists' may focus on it all the more, in order to "prepare" for it or "avert" it or "remedy" it. But do the 'intuitionists' have the power now to change the future? For if they can't claim their hand in bringing on the positive things, how can they claim to avert negative things?

Signing off with that thought...

Change is the only thing that's permanent !!

A couple of my friends and I were having a conversation about Sun Signs today at CCD. It reminds me of a time when the only Sun Sign I detested was Gemini! I used to think they are superficial, promiscous, dual personalities and that I was the superior Taurean.. 'head firmly on my shoulder', adamant (I admit), fiercely loyal, trustworthy, blah blah blah..

Well, imagine my shock when a year back it came to my knowledge that the ascendent in my birthchart is the dreaded "Gemini" and that I am significantly influenced by these traits too. Horror is not the word! I am pretty ignorant about astrology and I hardly know much but that is what I am told and it dint go down well with me.

Now I come to the point about why I mentioned this here.. Being the analytical, ever self-inquiring (sometimes a bit too much!!)person that I am, I just had to disect myself! I am quite surprised when I look at my interests over my lifetime.. I keep moving from one to another. I am ever so fascinated by new things.

Perhaps the reason I love technology too. Is anything more dynamic than technology? Ever changing versions and upgrades throw challenges which you can master, use and throw away.. only to move on to the next.

The second evidence of my resistence to stagnation is the ever changing scene in my "hobby life".. I love music on and off, love dance on and off too.
Since almost five years now, another small bud of a hobby was waiting to blossom at the back of my mind. And it's finally coming out and blooming now.. thats ID- Interior Designing. When I walk across malls, it may be posible to hold me back from clothing/perfume stores or entertainment arenas. But try pulling me away from a home decor store.. well not possible. I love them. A long time ago, I started drawing layouts for houses.. as a hobby!! Now I have started an e-learning course on ID..

Now thats what prompted me to write this blog.. I discovered a hidden interest in me..

This only makes me sure of one thing. Everyone is dynamic. When I can discover something new about myself after 29 years of existence on Planet Earth, can I really claim to know anyone completely? Never! Keep discovering the Movers and Shakers(!!) that make up our world.. Cheers!

Green Tea :)(

Thanks to my colleague, some beneficial effects of drinking green tea have been revealed to me.. so I thought as much to share it here.

The benefits of green tea and its effects were discovered 4,000 years ago and since then has been considered a wonder drink!
Green tea acts as an antiviral agent. It contains fluoride, a mineral that helps prevents cavities and strengthens tooth enamel. A cup a day can help reduce plaque formation and bacterial infections in the mouth. It acts as an anti-inflammatory, maintains a healthy, active metabolism and circulatory system just to name a few. This proves that this drink is indeed a miracle in a cup!
Your body responds to the negative effects of free radicals by utilizing defensive antioxidant molecules present in your systems in order to detoxify these harmful effects.
This is the reason why you are being encouraged by nutritionists and other health professionals to increase the levels of antioxidants in your body.
Luckily, this is easily achieved by simply adding nutritious foods in your diet such as fruits and vegetables that are naturally rich in antioxidants.
The antioxidant levels of green tea is hundred times more effective than vitamin C and twenty-five times better than vitamin E in protecting our immune systems. Another great reason to drink several cups every day.
The green tea ingredients are the ones responsible for its amazing health benefits. They are called catechins!
Catechins are considered the most effective of all antioxidants and the amounts as well as the effects are far higher compared to black tea. The fact that green tea undergoes less internal changes from fresh leaf means that it contains the largest quantity of intact catechins.
Asian population are experiencing its wonderful effects and benefits. Statistics have shown that Asians have a lower risk of acquiring diseases because of their healthy lifestyle.
One of the health benefits of green tea is it's potential to act as a protective agent against premature death from heart disease and cancer.
Drinking this tea is said to lower the levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, thereby reducing platelet aggregation, and helping keep blood pressure in check.
Other health benefits of green tea are the following:
• fights against cancer

• helps stabilize diabetes

• prevents cardiovascular disease

• it keeps your skin acne-free, making it healthier and prettier

• assists in weight loss regimen

• slows the aging process

• aids your digestion

• encourages bowel regularity

• provides you with a mild stimulating effect without causing sleepless nights or nervousness especially during pregnancy
You can do a lot of things with this wonder drink. Did you also know that the health benefits of green tea are not only confined to drinking but you can also medicate with it? What else does it do? You can even cook with green tea or use the leftover liquor to water your plants, and keep your cat's litter box fresh and pleasant smelling.
These powerful benefits cannot be compared to any other substance in the world without a single side effect.

Immobilized with a ligament tear on my ankle, :(
My foot encased in a heavy cast,
Yet the blogger in me does not die,
Here's making use of the opportunity....

"Badminton khelte khelte humari kya haal ho gayi,
Chale the wazan ghatane, par yeh idea to hume bhari pad gayi!"

(Yes, literally bhari.... why doesnt someone invent lightweight casts boohoo!)
:)

One of my favourite quotes from School days!

"I am not beautifully perfect as the flowers with which I
worshipped. I have many flaws and blemishes. I am a
traveller in the great world-path, my garments are dirty,
and my feet are bleeding with thorns. Where should I achieve
flower-beauty, the unsullied loveliness of a moment's life? The
gift that I proudly bring you is the heart of a woman. Here have
all pains and joys gathered, the hopes and fears and shames of a
daughter of the dust; here love springs up struggling toward
immortal life. Herein lies an imperfection which yet is noble
and grand. If the flower-service is finished, my master, accept
this as your servant for the days to come!"


THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH INSPIRED ME AT AGE 16 AND CONTINUE TO DO SO TODAY!

"I am Chitra. No goddess to be worshipped, nor yet the
object of common pity to be brushed aside like a moth with
indifference. If you deign to keep me by your side in the path
of danger and daring, if you allow me to share the great duties
of your life, then you will know my true self. If your babe,
whom I am nourishing in my womb be born a son, I shall myself
teach him to be a second Arjuna, and send him to you when the
time comes, and then at last you will truly know me. Today I can
only offer you Chitra, the daughter of a king."

-RABINDRANATH TAGORE

The Right Vision!

( A friends wondering made me think:
"Sometimes I wonder" http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=107842160083&f&index=0 )

It always pays to ponder.
To each his own, be it the goal or be it the pursuit itself.
Happiness is an absolute state of mind. But I do not believe that you cant be ambitious without having to give up your core goodness and happiness.
Many do believe that ambition dies when there is satisfaction / contentment and satisfaction is what brings happiness. But to me, ultimate happiness is something which remains even in tough times when all is not going well. When the going gets tough, one draws upon the inner strength and optimism.

When you believe in “Ask and it shall be given unto you,Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you ” you can do what you want to do without an ounce of doubt that it will ultimately lead you to your vision of yourself, there is no reason to be unhappy. It is just a matter of time and effort, which are self motivated.

The hurdles don’t trouble you anymore because they are to be expected, though they cannot be predicted. Every experience is a process of growth. Ultimately the belief and vision of what you want to be will find ways to materialise into your life. Just that many a times, we don’t clearly see what we want to be, visualise the wrong things and hence end up being the dissatisfied person that we visualised. So its all about the right vision!

So I guess for me its.. dare to dream and see your dream being constructed in front of your eyes into reality with nothing but your faith.

Dreams!! How do we dream?

What are dreams? Nobody knows for sure! A lot of research has yielded little insight into this complex process (if I may call it that).

And Conscience… where does it lie? Which part of the brain lodges it? (That is if we presume that one of the brain’s physical areas lodges it!)

As I pondered upon these two separate mysteries of the human mind, I realized there may be a common string – an invisible link. So here’s what my brain consciously dreamed up!!

When we are awake, the conscious part of our brain controls us. It analyses… breaking up every piece of information logically. The input to our brain (I refer to the conscious part as BRAIN) and the output of the processing done by the brain are both stored in our memory unit, oops memory (Well.. the computer is but a primitive reproduction of our super super brain, right!!).

But alas, not everything can be boiled down to logic. There are intangible aspects to knowledge. These are absorbed and stored by our sub-conscious self.(I refer to it here as Conscience, not to be confused with the universal meaning of conscience.)

But as a single system- a human being, there cannot be two completely separate departments with no inter connectivity. Therefore it may be construed that the conscious BRAIN interacts with the subconscious self, the CONSCIENCE at a moment when the human being is shut out and cut off from external influence, the only time when an individual can interact with himself, i.e., during sleep. A kind of maintenance operation…. These are dreams.

If I may venture further based on this concept, dreams can be categorized into two… those we are unaware of and those we remember during our conscious interludes. The reason behind this…

As a regular and routine administrative task, the conscience conveys all the information it has gathered to the brain and most of these match what the brain has deduced analytically. These are the first classification of dreams.. those we remain unaware of. These are just a means to review and confirm that the two departments do not end up heading in opposite directions.

Well now trouble arises when there is a conflict. The brain refuses to part with logic in order to look at the subtle realities and similarly the conscience keeps its stand and denies the brain’s logic. That is the time when a human being as a whole has to exercise his will and take a decision either guided by logic or by intuition. When he is unable to resolve such problems, the two conflicting departments have a tussle and bring it to his notice. Thus dreams (or rather nightmares) come into play.

Think about it. We most often dream about things we hate to discuss, things we avoid, that we keep aside to be dealt with later. Same is the case with our fears, things we are afraid of and do not face.

But people have sweet dreams too, don’t they? Those are the issues given utmost importance by the person and consequently by both departments. These issues are highlighted. Sweet dreams are about obsessions, pleasant experiences, hopes, wishes, etc. Most often than not, after these dreams, don’t we think about whether these dreams will come true or not? The conscience has conveyed that it hopes and wishes, either for wishes to be fulfilled or pleasant situations to recur. The chances of them coming true and a realistic evaluation of the possibilities of it happening are given by the brain. There is no tussle here. There is a wish and it is evaluated. The being has now just to wait with hopes.

Hey! I do not know if all this that I have dreamed up is true or not. And I know there may be no source to verify it too. So all I can do is hope! You too! Sweet dream, wasn’t it!!

Who am I?

Who am I? I was born and shall die. The intermediate life is time bound. All our actions are bound to the concept of time, call it the kala-chakra if you wish. What is TIME? To me the answer lies in everything we see around the world. Take H2O for example. Water exists in liquid form. When supplied with a stimulus we call ‘heat’, it is transformed into vapour. It exists as vapour till such time as the heat is not taken away from it. What is heat we do not know…. But we only know that the state of the matter called ‘H2O’ is altered based on the temperature, which we may call the ‘heat scale’. Though it amounts to over simplification, if I draw an analogy here, human experiences are within the realm of time. The upper and lower extremities of one part of the range, are defined by birth and death. Between this period a physical human being exists in this form that we perceive. Beyond this period, the stimulus of time makes the soul change form. What form we acquire is beyond our perception when we are in the current form.

That brings me to another question. If we only change forms, then what about our existence? What are we here for and what is our goal? What is the reason for our existence? This is a matter of speculation and we have a lot of beliefs in our country. What I believe in is my interpretation which I am sharing here.

There is a scale of enlightenment, a ladder to ‘Moksha’ that exists in order to rate our performance. Our knowledge and understanding of universal truths, self evaluation, betterment, improvement and ultimate realization are the tools to climb this ‘ladder’.
The ‘good karma’ we do is the pluses we earn and the ‘bad karma’ we do is the minuses we suffer. These are determined by laws which we inherently are always aware of. Our conscience reminds us about them at every instance. The power of choice or the will given to us is what takes us one up or down in the ladder. As we make mistakes, we re-evaluate. If we rectify the error and improve ourselves we progress. If the wrong becomes a habit and then a part of our personality, we deteriorate. Escaping the ‘personality’ or ‘nature’ that we think we are born with and which we so often sight as excuses for our behaviors, is what progressing up the ladder is all about.

When born into physical existence the human being is burdened by his previous ‘karma’ which manifests itself in the present life in various forms like the situations we face, the nature or personality we are endowed with, our abilities plus there is also the strength of our inner voice- the conscience. The conscience is always talking with us. Whether we hear it or not depends on how much we have strengthened it. The more we hear its words, the stronger it becomes. The stronger it becomes, the better it guides us smoothly through the maze of life to accumulate pluses and then climb the ‘ladder’. When we attain ‘Moksha’, is defined by the moment when all we hear is the words of the conscience. This may be put as becoming one with the conscience. The conscience clearly is nothing but the universal reality. It exists within each one of us. It cannot be true that one person’s conscience contradicts another’s. It always speaks the universal language of right and truth. The personification of the conscience is God. He is said to exist within each one of us and we are said to unify with Him when we achieve enlightenment. It is said that He guides us through difficulties showing us the right path. That is what God is. Our very own conscience. Every phenomenon ranging from ESP to intuition, kaliyuga to extraordinary powers can be explained based on this. Well I shall leave them to some other time…..

Achieve great things.. make a small start

Whatever be your goals... small or big, tough or easy, they can be achieved. All you need to do is make an effort.
A small step at a time. And you shall never know when you reached the destination.

As author Robin. S. Sharma rightly puts it in his book "The monk who sold his Ferrari", '........the less you focus on the end result the quicker it will come................... With one eye fixed on the destination there is only one left to guide you along the journey....'

To quote the Bhagvat Gita[ Gita: Chapter II-47.],
Karmanyeva adhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana
Ma karmaphalahetur bhurma te sangostvakarmani.
"Thy business is with the action only, never with its fruits; so let not the fruits of action be thy motive, nor be thou to inaction attached."

And so I am going to make that small effort. And in this age, where you just need to ask for it and you get all kinds of tools to do everything under the sky, I came across a website, "http://www.joesgoals.com/". It helps to keep track of all that I should do in order to achieve all that I want to achieve. It motivates.... and also shows where my weaknesses lie.

I came across this site through a friend (and am I thankful to her!!).
I just thought that I am obliged to pass this on to one and all.
So here's wishing you success in your pursuit!!