Impatience Of The Future Makes You Miss Present... Queenie-tessential

We jumped into the cab to catch the movie Total Recall.  We were headed for a crowded area called Bugis Junction in Singapore.  "Hurry up, please," my friends told the cab driver, "or we will miss our movie."  The cab driver glanced back at us dismisively and then shook his head.  "I can't go any faster than this.  Can't you see the clazy (crazy) tlaffic (traffic)?"  he said pronouncing his r's as l's and vice versa.  "I could go zooming through if I had a Fellali," he continued.  "In a Fellali I could get you there soon, could even get you to heaven."  He added laughing loudly and nodding at the same time.  "All luch people in a hully to go up, that's why they buy a Fellali" he let out that laugh again.  "Okay, okay," said my friend who was with me getting impatient with his monologue and said that we may not make to the movie, "You drive as you like but we need to go soon and maybe if you focus on the road, we will get there."

***

He looked back at us again visibly amused.  "Only a hericopter can take you through the tlaffic," he nodded "That is the way of the lich.  They are not satisfied, you see.  Even the Fellali becomes slow for them, and then they buy a helicopter.  Soon hericopter becomes slow.  Then they must have a plane.  Money buys everything.  Money buys love," he laughed.

***

It was obvious the man was in pain and had suffered "No money, no honey.  Love cannot buy money, but money can buy love," he forced his laugh this time.  "No money, No love."

***

By now, we had decided not to go for the movie and instructed the driver to take a U-turn and drop us back to where he had picked us up.  I relaxed back on my seat, now no more in a rush and started talking to him.  "What about your love?"  I asked him.  "My wife was my love," he paused for a bit as if suddenly lost.  "I worked hard all day and gave her everything I had.  I bought her a house.  She wanted more.  I gave her more.  But she wanted more and more.  She forgot about me.  She wanted to be lich, and could not understand why she was not lich.  She wanted to leach the sky.  No money no honey," he said, and for the first time his tone became sad.  "But now" he almost shouted "Ican buy a lot of butterfries with money.  I can buy love."  It took me a few moments to understand the term 'butterfries'.  For a moment I argued, "That is not love."  He laughed "What is it lady, what is love?"

***

No doubt, our taxi driver was a bit "touched" in the head, although our conversation was a bit crazy, there was food for thought in what he said.  Suddenly, as if brought back to the present moment about time and traffic, he said, "Nothing is the same any more about people.  See how impatient your friends are.  Train them to be calm.  Do yoga," he laughed "I drive people everyday.  They are stressed about time and traffic.  These things are not in their or my control."  I nodded agreeing.  "Look how much time you and your friends wasted telling me to hurry.  So busy looking ahead that you lost the present."  I could go on talking to him.  We reached our destination.

***

We paid him and I knew I would never see him again.  It was a most interesting journey.  Even though we never reached where we were originally headed.

***

"I am happy now.  I changed my way of life and allowed people who were not happy with me to leave and go to what made them happier.  And now," he laughed again, "there are many butterfries to give me love," looking pleased with his ability to have found peace and clarity - so what if it was through coloured lenses?..............

The Power of Self... SUDHA UMASHANKER

THE WRITER HAS A KEEN INTEREST IN THE STUDY AND APPLICATION OF SPIRITUALITY AND PHILOSOPHIES FOR SOLVING THE REAL-LIFE PROBLEMS OF THE MODERN WORLD...

***

All great things in life begin with a belief, a dream or vision and a never-say-die spirit.  Youth is an age when one fervently believes one can change the world order and usher in a new way of doing things.  It is a phase in life when one's head is full of dreams, of the peaks one wants to conquer, the goals and targets one is chasing and the unconventional choices one would like to make.  Which is as it should be, for all things worthwhile begin that way.  Remember Martin Luther King and his famous words?  "I have a dream."  And as Napoleon Hill, inspirational thinker, author of books on success, positive thinking and such subjects and who drew inspiration from his son who was born without ears but grew up to lead a normal life, said, "What the mind can conceive and believe it can truly achieve."

***

Focused, single-minded determination and the grit to keep at it even when the chips are down is what ultimately translates to the actualisation of a dream.  As our spiritual masters point out, karmic patterns can be changed by hanging in there and persisting, unfazed by temporary hurdles.  God helps those who help themselves.

***

The way to negate bad karma is simple - do good karma.  In addition, an unshakeable belief in one's ideas, even if everyone around is sceptical or ready to write you off, is also vital.  Patience is yet another virtue work cultivating.  Just like Rome was not built in a day, anything worthwhile cannot be accomplished overnight.  Two important and useful tools in the realisation of one's beliefs are creative visualisation and affirmation.

***

As Shakthi Gawain, spiritual author says, "Creative visualisation is really nothing but using your natural imagination - the basic creative energy in the universe - to create what you want in your life.  The problem is that we use it more to anticipate problems, imagine difficulties and roadblocks."

***

Let's say you are not happy in your current job.  Visualise yourself  in a new (read ideal) job.  Picture yourself at work doing what you love and excelling at it.  Add all the little details, what kind of office it is; the people you are meeting with, etc.  Do it vividly in your head.  If your desire and intention to make a change are clear, the chances are high that it will happen pretty soon.  For creative visualisation to work effectively it is important to relax completely.

***

Explaining how this happens shakti Gawain says, "When your body and mind are deeply relaxed your brain wave pattern changes and becomes slower.  This deeper slower level is called the alpha level while your usual busy waking consciousness is called the beta level.  Alpha level is a very healthy state of consciousness because of its relaxing effect on the mind and body."  The bottom line is when  you want to create real changes in life, using creative visualisation at the alpha level is more effective than operating at the beta level - thinking, worrying, planning and trying to get people around to do what you want.

***

While creative visualisation is more graphic and involves mental imagery, an affirmation on the other hand is a positive statement that something is already so.  It is stating something that you want as if it has already happened.  Like, "Iam attracting all the right people into my life".  "I now have a wonderful new job".

***

Let go of any doubts or disbelief when you use affirmations.  For as Sri Paramahansa Yogananda tells us, "Every negative thought or worry or fearful thought cuts subtle grooves in the brain cells and attracts just what we don't want.  Repeat your affirmations first loudly, then softly and more slowly until your voice becomes a whisper, then only mentally."

***

As you go deeper past your subconscious, you begin to experience a sense of peace and your affirmation goes deeper into the super conscious realm and subsequently influences your conscious desire and leads to the actualisation of your dreams.

***

Refrain from running through the affirmations mechanically but state them with determination, devotion and clarity of purpose.  The best time for affirmations is in the morning immediately after waking or just before bedtime.  Affirmations should be used in alignment with our highest goals and purposes and for the highest good of all things.  While a strong sense of self and "I" are big confidence boosters, one must realise that for affirmations to translate into reality, a strong anchorage in the higher self is an absolute must.  While psychology plays a part ultimately, it's really about the power of consciousness over the body and mind.

***

"IT MAY SOUND PHILOSOPHICAL BUT WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, IT CAN TRULY ACHIEVE..."

Unite With The Supreme Force.. MALLIKA BHATIA

THE WRITER IS A COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGIST AND A HOLISTIC HEALER.  HER WORK REVOLVES AROUND HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THEIR FEELINGS...

***

So 2012 is here!  We hope you and your loved ones have a brilliant year ahead.  But tell me, what was the first thing you did today after you woke up?  Did you check all the mess left behind after the party last night?  Did you solemnly vow to follow all the resolutions you made?  Or did you pray to God for this year to be fulfilling in all the ways that you have planned?

***

Most of us being every new event with a prayer.  It could be in the form of a havan when we move into a new house or office; a simple aarti on a day we consider important and auspicious; salat five times a day, the first of which is also at the very beginning of the day or the mass on Sundays or special days or a paath.

***

There are many other forms of prayer depending on our religious and personal beliefs.  Some of us like to pray with rituals, for some it is as simple as lighting a candle or incense and for some others it is just a silent conversation in our minds with our God.  The fact is whatever our form of prayer is, the intention is always the same: for our prayers to be answered.

***

Our styles of praying reflect our beliefs and perceptions about God, they also reflect how we internally and externally connect with God and how we connect with ourselves.  Some of us believe that God is a higher entity, somewhere up there, looking at us and our actions, some believe that God is within and we are completely one with Him.  That He speaks to us and through us.  Some believe that God chooses special people to speak to us - gurus, saints.  Even in all these beliefs the common factors is the intent to get what we desire through varied forms of prayer.

***

The important thing to focus on is what do we pray for?  Do we mostly only ask for new material possessions like a new car, house or the latest version of an iPad or iPhone?  Or do we ask for learning, growth, success, abundance and happiness?

***

There is truly no harm in asking for material things like i-gadgets as long as we remember that the most important and common aspect of all these i-gadgets is the "I".

***

If we can focus on the "I" and its growth, we will always get abundance in most aspects of our lives.  Happiness will flow, satisfaction, peace and success will bow to us.

***

So when you pray, make sure you choose your prayer wisely.  Be careful of what you ask for because the chances that you might get it are high.

***

Pray for yourself and for others.  Value what you have and value the power of prayer.  If you ever find yourself doubting the value of prayer, as its value to the family members of seriously ill patients.  And always remember, I dram.  I achieve, I pray because I am..... MALLIKA BHATIA

VOW TO CHERISH AND LOVE MYSELF BEYOND ANYTHING.. Mani Shankar

Inspire myself with myself.  Not with hollow words or empty gazes into vacant spaces but with the silent energy of my vital being.  I am my only true friend and companion.  I am both - the alpha and omega - the beginning and end of me.  I know that when I am gone, this Universe I see and know shall have gone with me, yet I recklessly throw away each day without inspiring myself.  Every day when I wake up, I look seemingly whole, but get broken into pieces as the day progresses.  By night, I am torn and fragmented.  All day I don so many masks before the many masks of others, become so many people to so many people, I sometimes don't know who I am anymore.  Enough.  From this day I shall not tear myself out of fear or anger, or if I do, I shall patiently re-join the fragments with love until I am whole again.

***

I shall cherish my family, honour my friends and I shall enjoy this world, but above all, I shall love myself deeply.  I shall love the spirit of life that flows out of my body, the deep intelligence that created me, pumped this heart to feel the gladness pouring out of my being.

***

No. girlfriend or boyfriend, lover, husband wife, father, mother, daughter or son, no books, no website, no text messages, no news, no TV channels or columns of newspapers can ever know me as much as I know myself.  They are my links to the world, but they also sometimes hook me with the bright bait of desire, they make me salivate to wants that are not my wants, make me a slave to passions that never rose from my heart in the first place.  This is the primary seed of confusion, the main cause of agony.  All these desires that are not my desires, these goals that are not my goals - and this madness that arises from the fear that I will never live up to the world's expectation of me.
***
I abandon the expectations of this world.  I shall only live to fulfill the passions that pour out of my own heart, utter words that speak through my own voice and realise desires that bear the true signature of my being.
***
I inspire myself with the rhythms of my own heart.  I shall listen to what it tries to tell me in its soft beats, ask questions and wait till I hear replies in signs, songs and clues, till I feel gently awakened to the desires that flow in the deep rivers of my being.  I shall follow the song of my heart from this day.  I shall only do what inspires me, what motivates me, what makes me deeply happy - for that is the only way I shall be true to myself and this world.
***
The future is never a mystery to those who care to see it clearly infold in their hearts.  I will see myself not only as who I am, but also always as who I want to be.
***
I inspire myself with myself.  Heart with mind.  Action with passion.  And above all, life with love deep enduring love that is the silent energy of my vital being.
***
FROM THIS DAY I SHALL NOT TEAR MYSELF OUT OF FEAR AND ANGER, OR IF I DO, I SHALL RE-JOIN THE FRAGMENTS WITH LOVE UNTIL I AM WHOLE AGAIN......

Makings Of A Great Hero.... MANI SHANKAR

I get up every morning and tell myself I want to enjoy life at office today.  But I end up preoccupied, nervous or just plain sad.  At night, I look back and realise that I failed once again.  Tell me how to enjoy life.  Make it a short answer, something I can hold in my heart.............. -- Divya, Age 26

*** 

Swami Vivekananda once famously said, "This world can only be enjoyed by Heroes."  Nobody said it better.  So, if you want to enjoy your life, be a Hero.  That's your short answer.  Hold that in your heart everyday.

***

Now, for the long explanation.  For starters, "Hero" isn't gender specific.  It doesn't mean a male matinee idol.  It doesn't mean a sports sensation or a rock star.  It doesn't mean the celebrities, the champions or the men we sometimes wished we were.  A hero is none of them.  Hero is actually a state of mind.  It's your response to the world - your reflection of your inner-self.

***

How do you become a hero?  To begin with, be on good terms with all persons, with the world, with the situation you find yourself in right now.  A hero never rages against reality.  She accepts her reality even as she moves to change it.  Anger isn't her favorite emotion.  She is calm, in the face of adversity, has the strength to smile when others feel the need to cry.

***

A hero never compares herself to others.  She knows that there will always be someone better, fairer, sexier, smarter, richer, more successful than herself.  She has the courage to feel good about anyone who is in that list, and has the strength not to let them shake her aim or goal.

***

A hero is interested in her own career, however humble it may seem.  She knows the world has a way of putting down everyone.  She will learn to ignore the world and pursue whatever she does till she does it fantastically well, for she knows that is the gateway to future success.

***

A hero is always looking for virtues in others.  Even though she knows there are more frauds than good people, she is never hesitant to seek and praise goodness, greatness or any other virtue in anyone.  She can do that because she is confident of herself.  Her foundations are rock solid within, and this liberates her.  She is nobody's fool.  When she cuts someone down, it is with minimum force - done with poise and grace.

***

A hero is gentle on herself.  She knows how precious her life is, how beautiful all life is.  She knows she is a visitor to this planet, here on a short holiday, and it's important to have fun in every moment.  So nothing really needs to be taken very seriously.

***

She is smart enough to know that if she doesn't live her present moment in happiness, she isn't likely to live the future moment either. 

***

So look at yourself every morning, Divya, look at the inner self, look at the true your, till a radiant smile spreads across your face.  You know you are a hero.  You will live today like a hero.

***

Nothing and nobody will come in your way, for you hold the keys to your life, and your happiness is solely in your hands.  Now go ahead and have a truly great day.... 

Don't cry over challenges ... MANI SHANKAR...

ANY ONE WHO LOSES CANNOT BE CALLED A LOSER.  BUT THE GUY WHO GIVES UP WITHOUT EVEN TRYING IS  A REAL LOSER
When will our society arrive at a stage where people are not labelled winners and losers?  Why are we always pitted against each other, made to compete for everything?  Why do we make life so damn tough for others?  I need to know this immediately," says 14 year-old Prithvi.
***
Despite the philosophical nature of the questions you have raised.  I am quite sure that one of the three things has recently happened to you:
1.  You performed badly in a test or exam.
2.  Some girl you fancied told you to get lost.
3.  An older sibling, a teacher or a parent scolded you or called you a "loser" for something  you did or did not do.
***
Even if none of these things have happened, get the word "loser" out of your head, now and forever.  It should no longer exist in your vocabulary.  Here's why.  There is a serious difference between losing and being a loser.  Anyone and everyone who loses cannot be called a loser.  In fact, no one who loses can be termed a loser.  But the guy who gives up without even trying is a real loser.
***
We compete for everything because as humans, we are programmed to be eternally dissatisfied with whatever we have.  It's in our nature to fight with each other all the time.  But don't let that worry you.  Conflict is a fact of life.  Better prepare for it.
***
Don't get philosophical and start feeling sad about the world either, for only stiff competition can bring out the best in you, sharpen your mind, strengthen your sinews, make a real man out of you.
***
So whether it's the exam hall or the cineplex mall, you are going to be competing for marks, for chicks, for attention, for practically everything.  You can't get soft on the world and cry about why we make life so tough for ourselves.
***
Life would be boring without the spice of challenge, without obstacles and conflicts.  Imagine if every boy had a proper girlfriend and everyone was going steady all the time... yuck!  Where
s the spice of getting a "look" from someone who is already "booked"?  Life would be like driving a thousand miles on a road that goes straight on a plain flat countryside.  Where's the scenery, where are the bends and turns, the bumps and uphill climbs?
***
If you have absolutely everything you want in life and there was nothing more to aspire for, you would die out of sheer boredom.  If you have nothing in life and have given up wanting any thing, your brain would shrink and wither away.  So stop snivelling about life and become tough.
***
We all need an identity for ourselves.  When you grow older, you need to look back and mark the milestones of your life and say "here is where I wrote my entrance exam", or "on this day I won that trophy" or even "I was wearing this shirt when she walked out of my life", or "on this very place we lost the finals".  All those milestones are nothing but obstacles you managed to overcome, or which overwhelmed you.  Either  way, they are great moments that defined your life.
***
So friend, forget about defeat and victory.  Concentrate on being there and doing that.  In life, even losing something after heroically trying is a very great achievement. 
***
So stuff the philosophy and get your ass cracking.  Sweat it out, bury your head in that book, get your sleeves dirty, whatever.  Just get real with life......
"WE COMPETE FOR EVERYTHING BECAUSE WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO BE ETERNALLY DISSATISFIED WITH WHATEVER WE HAVE.  BUT DON'T LET THAT WORRY YOU.  CONFLICT IS A FACT OF LIFE."
*******************....... MANI SHANKAR.. The author, a film, director, will help the youth strike a balance in their relationships.... 

Allot Worry A Small Slot In Mental Circuit... ANUPAM KHER

The renowned actor decodes the finer nuances of human psyche and behaviour and shows the route to self-improvement...

Anxiety has never been judged as a positive emotion.  It is linked with everything that is worthy of being discarded - nervousness, worry, stress and many more.  People with the anxiety syndrome are not too difficult to detect either.

***

They are tense, edgy, have a nervous look about them and they display a giveaway sometimes.  Like nervously biting their nails, or even chewing a handkerchief.  For them, life is a series of worries; will their child come back safely from school, will their children pass in their exams this year, do you think the maid is thinking about quitting her job?

***

And the worries are not just about the todays.  They stretch into tomorrows and the days after.  Will the children find suitable life partners, will the spouse remain faithful to them when they grow old, what happenes if they contract a life threatening disease?

***

In contrast, there are the what-me-care types; the people who have never known a worry.  They go through life blithely, having never known what a crinkled frown is.  You may think that such people are darned lucky.  But pause awhile and consider the baggage that such an attitude brings.

***

They never review their lives, never look back in introspection - let alone in anger - they just coast along from day to day.  Is this the correct state of bliss to be in?  Certainly not.

***

So you will realise that sometimes what we perceive to be a good state of being is also fraught with a lot of pitfalls.  If the worrier is caught up  in his thoughts and cannot break away from them to carry on with constructive endeavours, the what-me-worry folk may not be doing any mid-course correction at all and may go on from blunders to disasters.

***

Contrary to what we are led to believe, the worrier therefore may actually be sometimes better off than someone who never worries.  The ideal situation would of course be to have a blend of both; to worry just a little, not overtly.

***

Unfortunately, it is the worriers that are always noticed, not the never-worry folks.  Only those close to the latter know that beneath their self-assured facade may lie a lifetime of errors.

***

What does one do to stop worrying all the while?  For starters, one should consciously limit one's worrying hours.  Instead of getting vexed all the time, it would be a good first step to curtail worry time to say, an hour at a fixed time.  That would make the person conscious of his tendency when his mental circuitry gets into the loop.

***

Snap out of it and wait till the appointed hour.  I find this method more effective than telling people to put a blanket ban on putting on their worry caps.

***

And what should those people who are without a care do?  They should stop believing that they are in a state of bliss.  It is time for them to wake up and get real about their life and routine.  As I say, it is time to take a close look in the mirror...... ANUPAM KHER

Hope is the best miracle worker in life... Anupam Kher

THE CHANGE WITHIN

I had written some weeks ago about now different people have different ways of coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.  What is  however infinitely more difficult than coping with death, is coping with near-death.  I am referring to people who are living with terminal illnesses, like cancer, AIDS, or diseases of the autoimmune system which have no cure, as yet.  

***

Not only are many such patients unable to accept reality when confronted with it, but there is a huge proportion of patients who buckle down mentally as disease destroys them slowly, ever so slowly.  Therefore, to help them countenance their fate, almost all such illnesses have large support groups.  That is why in such cases, there is a debate on whether the patients ought to be informed about the true state of their health or not.

***

Last week I met two survivors of the Big C at a funeral occasion.  It was at the mourning ceremonies of one of the most energetic actors of yesteryear, Shammi Kapoor, who crossed the Great Divide.  At the ceremony, I met the scion of one of the country's largest film production houses, who was looking paler than usual.  He was one of the brightest youngsters in the industry and was working on offering entertainment on the internet and also on cellphones.  Now, he had lost some weight and some of his crowning glory.  I asked him what the matter was.  "I am down with cancer," he said starkly.  "But cancer has chosen a wrong victim... I am determined to fight back," he said,with determination in his eyes.

***
At the same place, I also met another woman who also told me about her battle with cancer.  "I read your columns which are filled with hope," she said.  "And now you must write about people like us, and give others who are battling such illnesses, hope..."  So here I am madam.
***

And I realised then that my younger brother Raju too had successfully, and very bravely, waged a battle against cancer a few years ago.  Raju was down with cancer of the urinary bladder and a stage came when the surgeons had to remove his bladder completely to save him.  That entailed him to a life with a catheter sticking out of him and his fluid being collected in a pouch by his side.  Not a pleasant existence for anyone.  But miraculously, the surgeons managed to fashion a bladder from his large intestine, sparing him the indignity of life with a puch.  Raju has been back on his feet since then, busy acting and directing television shows and doing the things he had always been doing.

***

Very often, life does not end with such illnesses.  There are thousands of cases of people who have fought back and overcome such illnesses.  The genius of physicist Stephen Hawking is one shining example.  As I say, a bend in the road is not always the end of the road.............

****
THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF CASES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOUGHT BACK AND OVERCOME WHEN THE DOCTORS HAD WRITTEN THEM OFF..........

Good Sayings ABSENCE

Absence from whom we love is worse than death. _William Cowper

***

Absence is to love that wind is to fire :  It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great. _Compte De Bussy

***

Judicious absence is a weapon. _Charles Reade

***

Absence extinguishes the small passions and increases great ones, as the wind will blow out a candle and blow in a fire. _La Rochefoucauld

***

Failing to be there when a man wants her is a woman's greatest sin, except to be there when he doesn't want her. _Halen Rowland

***

Absence makes the heart grow founder. _Thomas H. Bayly

***

The absent are always in the wrong. _Phillippe Destouches

***********

GOOD SAYINGS... ABILITY ..

There is something that is much more scarce, something rather than ability.  It is the ability to recognize ability._ ROBERT HALF

***

Do what you can, with what you have, where are you. _THEODERE ROOSEVELT

***

Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study. _SIR FRANCIS BACON

***

Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability. _CICERO

***

Native ability without education is like a tree without fruit. _ARISTIPPUS

***

A man may be so much of everything that he is nothing of anything. _SAMUEL JOHNSON

***

Since we cannot know all that is to be known of everything, we ought to know a little of everything. _PASCAL

***

Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities. _NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

***

For a clever child without means, the need may well be to help develop his abilities.

***

It is no use having a big bank balances unless one is ABLE to draw on it. _Dr.T.N. KRISHNASWAMI

***

Achievement is not always commensurate with ability. _PAUL E. CAMPBELL

***

Many creatures have greater ability in one director or another. Arthur Osborne

***

People change, as do their attitudes, ambitions and abilities.

***

A distorted view of one's abilities can make it hard to cope with the real world. ALISON GARDNER

***

The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. _EDWARD GIBBON

***

There is great ability in knowing how to conceal one's ability. LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

***

Ability is poor man's wealth. _M. WREN

***

Ability to concentrate is the prime virtue in any research establishment. _E.F. RUSSELL

***

There is no interest without knowledge, and knowledge is acquired by those having ability to acquired it. _EDGAR SCHMIEEDELER

***

Ability determines training, and training may give rise to interest. _EDGAR SCHMIEEDELER

***

Ability is of little account without opportunity. _NAPOLEON BOANAPARTE

***

Ability gives relief to the body as well as to the mind. _A.F. HARRISON

***

There is increasing dissatisfaction with disease and disability.

Cool The Planet PLANT A TREE.. M. Sonalee

Planting trees has often been the first line of defence against global warming.  Trees, after all, cool the atmosphere by drinking in the carbon dioxide from the air.  Scientists say that trees absorb and store the key greenhouse gases emitted by cars and power plants.  All plants absorb carbon dioxide but trees process significantly more than smaller plants do, due to their large size and extensive and root structures.

***

Says environmentalist Subhas Datta, "In essence, trees are like the kings of the plant world.  They have much more "woody biomass" to store carbon dioxide than smaller plants."  Subsequently, they are considered nature's most efficient carbon sinks.

***

According to Datta, certain trees are better absorbents of carbon dioxide than others.  "There 'carbon traps' usually grow quickly and live long," says Datta.  Unfortunately, both qualities cannot be found together in foliage.  Normally younger trees grow faster but their older partners are better absorbents.

***

It has been found that trees that grow slower can store much more carbon over their significantly longer lives.  A study shows that tropical, evergreen forests are better at tackling global warming.  According to a study by Dr Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, evergreens like confers and red cedar, "cut down on emissions and help keep the planet cool."  Dr Bala also observes that the further a person moves away from the equator these gains are eroded.  According to researchers, planting trees in mid and high latitude locations do not have similar effects.  In fact, on the contrary they could increase temperatures by 2100.

***

Therefore, you need to plant the right tree at the right location to avail of the benefits of carbon sequestration.  If one takes the US into consideration, each specific region will have a tree that is the best absorbent in that region.  For instance, in Hawaii, it is the eucalyptus; loblolly pine acts best as an absorbent in the Southeast while poplars are best in the Great Lakes.

***

Stan Wullschleger, who is a researcher at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory specialising in the physiological response of plants to global climate change, observes that there are dozens of tree species that could be planted depending on location, soil and climate.

***

It is prudent to remember that ultimately a tree of any shape, size or genetic origin can help absorb carbon dioxide.  "The least expensive option is to plant a tree in your garden (if you have one) as it will help offset the production of carbon dioxide," suggests Datta.

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Trees that are low maintenance are the best absorbents.  This has been pointed out by Dave Nowak, a researcher at the US Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Syracuse, New York.  While studying the use of trees for carbon sequestration in 2002, he discovered that trees like the common horse-chestnut, black walnut, London plane, American Sweetgum, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, red pine, white pine, hispaniolan pine, scarlet oak, red oak, Virginia live oak and bald cypress are very good at absorbing and storing carbon dioxide.  In his research paper, Nowak advises urban land developers to avoid trees that require a lot of maintenance, as the burning of fossil fuels to power equipment like trucks and chainsaws will only erase the carbon absorption gains otherwise made.

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So, if you want to tackle global warming, all that you need to do is to plant a neem tree in your garden or anywhere in the vicinity! Simple, isn't is?

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