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...

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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".

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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."

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.... 

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.  

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.............

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

FINDING TRUE FULFULLMENT....Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev

YOUR ACTIONS ARE NOT FOR YOUR FOOD OR COMFORTS; THEY ARE IN SEARCH OF FULFILLMENT. THEY INDICATE THE INHERENT SEARCH FOR UNBOUNDEDNESS...
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Fulfillment is not attained by an action. In every stage of your life you thought, "If this happens, my life will become complete." This thought may have come up. When you were a child you thought, "If I get this toy, my life will be complete.: You got it, but after three days you took it and threw it into the dustbin. Life did not attain fulfillment. When you were in school you thought that if you passed your examination, life would be complete. That happened, and still nothing changed. Then you thought that if you complete your education, your life would be complete. That too happened. Now you thought, what is the use of all this education if you are not able to stand on your own feet? That happened. After three months you began to think, what is the use of working like a donkey? If you get married to that man or woman who is in your heart, your life is made. That happened and then you know what happened.

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Whatever action you may have performed, life has not attained any fulfillment. Fulfillment will not come because of some action that you perform. Only if your inner nature is complete, your life will attain fulfillment. If your inner nature is unbounded, your life is also be the same. Now, you can either sit with your eyes closed or you can perform different actions, either way your life is complete. When man has reached a state where, within himself, he does not have the need to perform any action and the actions that he performs are only to the extent required for an external situation, then that man has become complete.

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Please see, why have you been performing one action after another? It is towards fulfillment, isn't it? People who do something in excess, when you ask them why they are doing it, they say, "What to do ? Food, wife, kids -- who will take care of them?" The truth is, even if you fulfill all his needs, this person cannot sit quietly for even a day. Why, he cannot even sit for three hours. He has to do something. This is because your inner nature has not attained fulfillment and you are trying to do so through your actions. Your actions are not for your food or comforts; they are in search of fulfillment. Whether this has happened with or without awareness, actions indicate the search for unboundedness.

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If within you, your inner nature has attained fulfillment, there will be no need for action. If the external situation demands some action, you can do it joyously. If it is not needed, you can simply sit with your eyes closed. When a person has reached a state where there is no need to perform any action, we can say that the person has become unbounded. that does not mean that this person does not do any work at all. If the external situation demands it, he can work for 24 hours. But action is not needed for his inner nature. He is not bound to action. He is not something because of his actions..........


Fulfillment will not come because of an action that you perform. Only if your inner nature is complete, your life will attain fulfillment.

Good Sayings...36

701. Mistrust the man who finds everything good, the man who finds everything evil and still more the man who is indifferent to everything.... JOHANN K. LAVATER

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702. We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.... RAY BRADBURY

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703. There's something in every atheist, itching to believe, and something in every believer, itching to doubt.... MIGNON McLAUGHLIN

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704. It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature and everlasting beauty of monotony.... BENJAMIN BRITTEN

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705. Love your enemies just in case your friend turn out to be a bunch of bastards.... R.A. DICKSON.

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706. You don't get to pick your own nickname. They've gotta give you one. It's like we're all tryin' to make pets out of each other and we're not comfortable unless we get to name 'em....LAURA MONCUR

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707. Illusion is the first of all pleasures... OSCAR WILDE

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708. I have failed many times, and that's why I am a success.... MICHAEL JORDAN.

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709. My whole career can be summed up with "Ignorance is bliss". When you do not know better, you do not really worry about failing... JEFF FOXWORTHY

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710. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont matter and those who matter don't mind... DR SEUSS

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711. Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places.... E. JOSEPH COSSMAN

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712. A goal without a plan is just a wish....

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713. A good home must be made, not bought.

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714. A man without imagination is like a bird without wings.

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715. A wise man will be the master of his mind. A fool will be its slave.

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716. Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the formula for success.

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717. An angry man is seldom reasonable; a reasonable man is seldom angry.

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718. The best advice is usually worthless - the wise do not need it, and the foolish will not heed it.

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719. One who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new.

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720. Contentment consists not in great wealth, but in few wants.

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Remidies for reducing Dandruff... How to reduce it without using any Medicines....? .... Manthena Satyanarayana Raju...

1. How to reduce Dandruff without using Medicines/Shampoos?

ans... Our ancestors doesn't know what is DANDRUFF.. but now a days we don't find a person who doesn't know about this. Naturally our skin releases a fat oriented thing which is sticky, to protect our skin from the nature. Because of this our skin remains smooth. But on the head this flexible cholesterol oriented thing is removed like small pieces due to lack of air touch at the roots of the hair. Generally people will not do head bath daily, due to this the head will not be cleaned and gets dandruff. The chemicals used in the Shampoo damages the skin on the head and increases dandruff more. It looks well on the day we use shampoo fand the real side effect comes out from the next day we stop using the shampoos . The Shampoo making companies advise us to use their shampoos daily. In this way we have been cheated. We can reduce dandruff by doing head bath daily and using some small remedies, instead we are losing more money by using medicines/shampoos.

Remedies..:-

1. Do head bath daily, with normal cold water only (water at normal temperature) instead of Hot water. (as hot water increases dandruff more by damaging the skin on the head)

2. Weekly once wash hair and head using Sapindus marginatus(soapnut) / Shikakai powder (making it Liquid by boiling in water) (not chemicalised soaps, use original powder), if u got more dandruff, use this powder for continuously for 10 days or more.

3. Apply hair oil (coconut oil) after hair became dry, its a must. But most of the people think that dandruff will be increased if we apply hairoil, but it is not correct in case of those who take head bath daily. In winter when we apply oil to the skin on hands and legs, how the white rashes will be reduced and skin becomes smoother, in the same way only oil will help the skin on the head.

4. If the hair on the head is more sticky/gummy, then use one piece of lemon and apply it on the head before taking bath. The lemon cleans the sticky/gummy oily things produced very well.

Finally what i want to say is that don't use chemicals on body when we got so many natural things are available to give us remedies,, as god created food/medicines/and many more use ul things in the nature before our arrival on earth, use then first if not worked out then depend on artificial things.... Be natural than artificial....