Fruit, veggie lovers not immune to weight gain
Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:46PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A large new European study finds that simply eating a lot of fruits and vegetables may not be enough to stave off the weight gain that often comes with age -- except for people who recently quit smoking.
Researchers found that of nearly 374,000 adults in 10 European countries, who were followed for five years, those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were no less likely to gain weight once other factors -- like calorie intake and exercise habits -- were taken into account.
The results, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are not an excuse to skip the fruits and veggies, however.
Plant foods are full of nutrients that may help ward off chronic diseases like heart disease and some cancers, note the researchers, led by Anne-Claire Vergnaud of Imperial College London in the UK.
And in some past studies that assigned overweight people to eat more fruits and vegetables, the diet change has seemed to help.
But the current findings do point to the importance of overall lifestyle in maintaining weight as one ages.
For the study, Vergnaud's team looked at diet and weight information collected from adults between 25 and 70 years old.
Over five years, the study participants gained about one pound per year, on average.
Among men, weight gain generally dipped somewhat as their fruit and vegetable intake rose. But that link disappeared when the researchers accounted for other factors, like the men's daily calories, exercise habits and education levels.
Among overweight women, those who said they ate the most vegetables tended to gain more weight over the next five years.
That, the researchers speculate, could be because some of those women were on weight-loss diets that encourage eating a lot of vegetables. Many people who go on special diets notoriously see their weight yo-yo over time.
There was one group for whom higher fruit and vegetable intake was linked to less weight gain: people who quit smoking during the study period. The reasons are not clear, Vergnaud's team says.
But they speculate that healthy eating habits may help prevent the weight gain that many smokers experience when they try to kick the habit.
If that's true, they write, "this finding may have important public health implications because weight gain after smoking cessation is a frequent reason for relapse."
In general, experts urge people to get plenty of fruits and vegetables for the good of overall health. The "DASH" diet recommended for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol suggests four to five servings of fruit and the same number of vegetable servings each day.
A half-cup of cooked vegetables or a medium-sized piece of fresh fruit would be examples of a serving.
Studies suggest that the average adult in the U.S. gets only two or three servings of fruits and vegetables combined each day.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Yoga helps in cancer treatment -reports
Yoga helps breast cancer survivors curb fatigue
Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:21PM EST
By Andrew M. Seaman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one third of breast cancer survivors experience fatigue that can affect their quality of life, but a small new study finds that doing yoga might help restore some lost vitality.
After three months of twice-weekly yoga classes, a group of breast cancer survivors in California reported significantly diminished fatigue and increased "vigor." A control group of women who took classes in post-cancer health issues, but didn't do yoga, had no changes in their fatigue or depression levels.
Dr. Maira Campos, a research scholar at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, said the findings echo similar results from past studies that looked at yoga and cancer patients.
Persistent fatigue lasting years after cancer treatment is a common problem whose origin is unknown, and for which there are no validated treatments.
Some studies have shown that stress-reduction techniques or exercise classes can help reduce fatigue among cancer patients and survivors in general. But none of them has specifically targeted cancer survivors experiencing fatigue to see if a potential therapy reverses the problem, according to Julienne Bower, an associate professor in the psychology department of the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues.
They recruited 31 breast cancer survivors to undergo "treatment" for their fatigue over 12 weeks at the UCLA Medical Center. Each woman was randomly assigned to participate in either two 90-minute yoga classes every week or a two-hour health class once a week.
At the start of the study, each group of women had similar scores on a questionnaire that gauges fatigue levels.
The group taking the educational classes experienced about the same amount of fatigue and energy throughout the initial study period. However, the group taking the yoga class reported about a 26 percent drop in fatigue and a 55 percent increase in energy after the 12-week yoga regimen.
The women in the yoga group also continued to report significant improvements in fatigue levels three months after the classes stopped.
The findings, published in the journal Cancer, do not prove that yoga caused the improvements in fatigue levels. The researchers note, however, that both groups of women had similar expectations that their assigned "treatment" would help them, so a placebo effect is not a likely explanation for the benefits seen in the yoga group.
Jacquelyn Banasik, an associate professor in the College of Nursing at Washington State University, also noted improvements in cancer fatigue after yoga classes in a study she published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2010.
"I can't say that yoga is the only way to achieve the results seen in ours and other studies," Banasik told Reuters Health in an email. "A beginning ballet class -- with (its) emphasis on form and positioning -- might have similar effects. Gaining a sense of control over one's physical body, when one has a disease like breast cancer, might be an important part of the benefit."
Both of the studies by Bower and Banasik used Inyengar yoga, which, according to Banasik, emphasizes taking poses slowly and paying close attention to maintaining correct form.
Campos told Reuters Health that acupuncture, exercise and physical therapy are sometimes used to treat cancer survivors suffering from fatigue, without a prescription if their symptoms are mild.
She added that she would not prescribe yoga based just on the new study, however.
She said it would be better to compare yoga to another exercise instead of a health- class setting.
Campos also emphasized that it's important for patients to talk to their doctors about fatigue during and after cancer treatments.
"The patient should not be suffering or impaired just because they had cancer," Campos said.
Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:21PM EST
By Andrew M. Seaman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one third of breast cancer survivors experience fatigue that can affect their quality of life, but a small new study finds that doing yoga might help restore some lost vitality.
After three months of twice-weekly yoga classes, a group of breast cancer survivors in California reported significantly diminished fatigue and increased "vigor." A control group of women who took classes in post-cancer health issues, but didn't do yoga, had no changes in their fatigue or depression levels.
Dr. Maira Campos, a research scholar at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, said the findings echo similar results from past studies that looked at yoga and cancer patients.
Persistent fatigue lasting years after cancer treatment is a common problem whose origin is unknown, and for which there are no validated treatments.
Some studies have shown that stress-reduction techniques or exercise classes can help reduce fatigue among cancer patients and survivors in general. But none of them has specifically targeted cancer survivors experiencing fatigue to see if a potential therapy reverses the problem, according to Julienne Bower, an associate professor in the psychology department of the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues.
They recruited 31 breast cancer survivors to undergo "treatment" for their fatigue over 12 weeks at the UCLA Medical Center. Each woman was randomly assigned to participate in either two 90-minute yoga classes every week or a two-hour health class once a week.
At the start of the study, each group of women had similar scores on a questionnaire that gauges fatigue levels.
The group taking the educational classes experienced about the same amount of fatigue and energy throughout the initial study period. However, the group taking the yoga class reported about a 26 percent drop in fatigue and a 55 percent increase in energy after the 12-week yoga regimen.
The women in the yoga group also continued to report significant improvements in fatigue levels three months after the classes stopped.
The findings, published in the journal Cancer, do not prove that yoga caused the improvements in fatigue levels. The researchers note, however, that both groups of women had similar expectations that their assigned "treatment" would help them, so a placebo effect is not a likely explanation for the benefits seen in the yoga group.
Jacquelyn Banasik, an associate professor in the College of Nursing at Washington State University, also noted improvements in cancer fatigue after yoga classes in a study she published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2010.
"I can't say that yoga is the only way to achieve the results seen in ours and other studies," Banasik told Reuters Health in an email. "A beginning ballet class -- with (its) emphasis on form and positioning -- might have similar effects. Gaining a sense of control over one's physical body, when one has a disease like breast cancer, might be an important part of the benefit."
Both of the studies by Bower and Banasik used Inyengar yoga, which, according to Banasik, emphasizes taking poses slowly and paying close attention to maintaining correct form.
Campos told Reuters Health that acupuncture, exercise and physical therapy are sometimes used to treat cancer survivors suffering from fatigue, without a prescription if their symptoms are mild.
She added that she would not prescribe yoga based just on the new study, however.
She said it would be better to compare yoga to another exercise instead of a health- class setting.
Campos also emphasized that it's important for patients to talk to their doctors about fatigue during and after cancer treatments.
"The patient should not be suffering or impaired just because they had cancer," Campos said.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Should you stay late or go home - study
"Do you control your work hours or do they control you? More people are staying late at work and suffering because of it.
Before you have dinner at your desk (again), do these three things:
1. Know your priorities. When deciding whether to stay and finish a task or put it aside until the next day, remember what your priorities are. If the task furthers your professional and personal goals, then it may be worth putting in the extra time.
2. Agree on expectations at home. Discuss your work hours with the people closest to you - your partner, spouse, or friends - to be sure your expectations are aligned.
3. Talk about it at work. Make it clear that you are willing to stay late if there is a legitimate reason, such as a client deadline. But emphasize that this should be the exception, not the rule."
Before you have dinner at your desk (again), do these three things:
1. Know your priorities. When deciding whether to stay and finish a task or put it aside until the next day, remember what your priorities are. If the task furthers your professional and personal goals, then it may be worth putting in the extra time.
2. Agree on expectations at home. Discuss your work hours with the people closest to you - your partner, spouse, or friends - to be sure your expectations are aligned.
3. Talk about it at work. Make it clear that you are willing to stay late if there is a legitimate reason, such as a client deadline. But emphasize that this should be the exception, not the rule."
Friday, December 23, 2011
Today is X'mas Eve
Christmas have been celebrated for thousands of years and it is interesting that the spirit have not been deminished and have even grow bigger driven by commercialization and profits. It has expanded beyond religion and people have joined in to enjoy and celebrate the occasion. Now it is addociated with fun and joy and attracts young and old alike seeking for joy.
I am now on a bus going to KL and on route to South Korea and I feel specially relax in the Christmas spirit. The trip from Penang to Kl was smooth but it was cold on the bus. The weather have been cloudy and gloomy. It give me the first taste of cold. O am preparing myself to expect my first experience in winter. A white Christmas.
Some of my Japanese colleagues and friends told me that it is romantic to sit in warm up room while watching snow fall by a fire place drinking sake or whisky and have your wife or husband and your pals to have a goof conversation.I have never got the chance to experience it yet.
The feeling now is to have a good and relaxing time enjoying this festive time. I hope all of you, where ever you are enjoy this occasion and have a really good time.
A merry Cheistmas and a Haopy New Year.
Namaste.
I am now on a bus going to KL and on route to South Korea and I feel specially relax in the Christmas spirit. The trip from Penang to Kl was smooth but it was cold on the bus. The weather have been cloudy and gloomy. It give me the first taste of cold. O am preparing myself to expect my first experience in winter. A white Christmas.
Some of my Japanese colleagues and friends told me that it is romantic to sit in warm up room while watching snow fall by a fire place drinking sake or whisky and have your wife or husband and your pals to have a goof conversation.I have never got the chance to experience it yet.
The feeling now is to have a good and relaxing time enjoying this festive time. I hope all of you, where ever you are enjoy this occasion and have a really good time.
A merry Cheistmas and a Haopy New Year.
Namaste.
The death of an ex-colleague, AC.
In the afternoon, I attended the wake of my ex-colleague, AC. He had died from Cancer. A few of his colleagues were at the wake. Normally, nobody will go to the wake at this time of the day. Luckily, I have make arrangemet with his colleagues, who are also my friend to be there. Another fortunate thing was the weaather was kind to us. It was not hot and was windy. There a sense of loneliness and a feeling of desertedness. AC's wife and son was with us. We chatted for a while about his illness.
He was confirmed with Cancer of the liver in July this year. Immediately, he went for chemo but it was too late and he opted for herbs. He died in just 5 months after getting the disease. A few years ago, he had an operation for Cancer of the stomach and he thought that it wss cured. He did not do his follow up health checks regularly until it was too late. He was given a second chance but he blew it.
One of his colleague, D, who is also my friend told me that AC have a very wise philosophy in life and he took everything at his stripe and pace. When he was my colleague, I was not close to him. At 55, he retired and one of my friend, PH took him under his wing and offer him a job to support my company's logistic matters. He worked part time but he was gradually involved more and more instead of acting as advisory. He was working as an advisor to PH's company until he passed away.
As usual at the wake, the family will offer the guest to view the face of the dead. Some people for their own reasons would reject such invitation but I have a brief view. From my observation, the face of the dead is normally very peaceful. Just like when they are in a deep sleep.The image will stay with us for a long, long time and perhaps, it mend to be this way , that is to let us remember them.
TO this ex-colleague, AC. I would like to pray for him and asked him to rest in peace. In Christianity, it would be ashes to ashes , dust to dust. When we die, everything will return to the earth and from the earth life will be created. This is the law of evolution. In Buddhism, he has gone into another realm, waiting for re-birth. The law of Karma will evoled and he will be re-created in a different form and class of higher or lower merit. If you do good, you deserve good merits.
Before he died, my friend, D have requested me to see him in the hospital and I could not make it to see him. It was because of my busy schedule and the internal emotional struggle to stare death in the face again. In three months,
AC was the three one. Well, the show have to go on and the process of life stops for no one. The experience of knowing and seeing AC will have a long lasting impression in my mind and it will be store and at times, it will re-surface to kick up our awareness. This is life.
Namaste.
He was confirmed with Cancer of the liver in July this year. Immediately, he went for chemo but it was too late and he opted for herbs. He died in just 5 months after getting the disease. A few years ago, he had an operation for Cancer of the stomach and he thought that it wss cured. He did not do his follow up health checks regularly until it was too late. He was given a second chance but he blew it.
One of his colleague, D, who is also my friend told me that AC have a very wise philosophy in life and he took everything at his stripe and pace. When he was my colleague, I was not close to him. At 55, he retired and one of my friend, PH took him under his wing and offer him a job to support my company's logistic matters. He worked part time but he was gradually involved more and more instead of acting as advisory. He was working as an advisor to PH's company until he passed away.
As usual at the wake, the family will offer the guest to view the face of the dead. Some people for their own reasons would reject such invitation but I have a brief view. From my observation, the face of the dead is normally very peaceful. Just like when they are in a deep sleep.The image will stay with us for a long, long time and perhaps, it mend to be this way , that is to let us remember them.
TO this ex-colleague, AC. I would like to pray for him and asked him to rest in peace. In Christianity, it would be ashes to ashes , dust to dust. When we die, everything will return to the earth and from the earth life will be created. This is the law of evolution. In Buddhism, he has gone into another realm, waiting for re-birth. The law of Karma will evoled and he will be re-created in a different form and class of higher or lower merit. If you do good, you deserve good merits.
Before he died, my friend, D have requested me to see him in the hospital and I could not make it to see him. It was because of my busy schedule and the internal emotional struggle to stare death in the face again. In three months,
AC was the three one. Well, the show have to go on and the process of life stops for no one. The experience of knowing and seeing AC will have a long lasting impression in my mind and it will be store and at times, it will re-surface to kick up our awareness. This is life.
Namaste.
South Korea .. here I come
Ow! I am going on a long holiday to South Korea.It is a long time that I have not taken such a long leave. A long Christmas weekend and a long New Year weekend make it possible for me to make the trip. During the past years, I have been only travelling on business and it has actually a different kind of feelings. For business travels, it is more stress than anything else. Having said that we have relax ourself and set our mind to enjoy the journey rather than the destination. Yes, we have to join the spots and every stops.
Distance travelling depends on the program of the travel. If we are greedy and try to maximize our travel destinations, it could be hectic and tiring. Most of the time, we are staying on a business moving from destination to destination. It is not pruposeful and lacking the indept knowledge of a place. Only looking at the surface and the glimpse of the passing scenary. Purposeful travelling is to stay in a place long enough to know the history and culture of the place we visit. Sometimes, we do engaging travel which means we stay and live with the local folks and enjoying the local food nnd engaging in their daily activities. Of course, this could take a long period to really enjoy to have an engaging travel.
The whole week, I have been talking to my wife and asked her why she choose to travel to Korea in the winter. It is actually every cold there and it is minus 10 degree. Freezing cold. Now, we have to spend more money to get ourself prepared for a winter travel. This winter travel is getting more and more expensive and buying clothings that we can rarely used in Malaysia. Rarely is a mild word, probably we will never use these clothings in Malaysia. The weather in Malaysia is also four seasons. Warm, hot, hotter and hottest. It resembles the Indian curry and your choice of the different spice.
Well, I have to put off this worry and have an open mind and I want to enjoy the trip even if it is freezing cold. There should be different type of fun when it is cold and snowy. At least, I can enjoy the white Christmas. The real spirit and setting for a real christmas treat. However, we do not understand the real culture of Christmas as the white man does. We will never understand them or really taste the spirit. But, we should try. If not 90%, then 60%. At least, we experience it.
Next thing I want ot experience is that food in South Korea. I told myself that I would like to eat slowing and enjoy bites and chews. But, I must not eat too much of one thing and not get to eat other things. A bit of everything and slowly and tastefully.
From now, it is a holiday. WIshing all of you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Namaste.
The capital of South Korea - Seoul.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Breast inplant fear spread - news
French breast implant fears spread around world
Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:36PM EST
By Kate Kelland and Daniel Flynn
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Fears over the safety of breast implants made by a now defunct French firm spread to Australia, South America and across Europe on Thursday as French officials prepared to decide if thousands of women should have their implants surgically removed.
The silicone gel implants, made by a company called Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) that was shut down in 2010, appear to have an unusually high rupture rate and have sparked an investigation in France into possible links to cancer.
About 300,000 PIP implants, used in cosmetic surgery to enhance breast size or replace lost breast tissue, were sold worldwide before PIP went bust last year.
An investigation into PIP found it was using a type of silicone not approved by health authorities but about 10 times cheaper. The industrial-grade silicone PIP is accused of using is an ingredient in anything from computers to cookware.
Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:36PM EST
By Kate Kelland and Daniel Flynn
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Fears over the safety of breast implants made by a now defunct French firm spread to Australia, South America and across Europe on Thursday as French officials prepared to decide if thousands of women should have their implants surgically removed.
The silicone gel implants, made by a company called Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) that was shut down in 2010, appear to have an unusually high rupture rate and have sparked an investigation in France into possible links to cancer.
About 300,000 PIP implants, used in cosmetic surgery to enhance breast size or replace lost breast tissue, were sold worldwide before PIP went bust last year.
An investigation into PIP found it was using a type of silicone not approved by health authorities but about 10 times cheaper. The industrial-grade silicone PIP is accused of using is an ingredient in anything from computers to cookware.
Love or hate at first sight.
When we first met a person,it is either we like him or don't like him. Otherwise, we have to learn to like hi. These are the three possibility when we met a stranger. In the olden days, there is no such thing as love at first sight but marriage are make in heaven and the couple have to grow or learn to love each other. This is the old fashion love song.
For some reasons, we met a boy or a girl and we like the way they look or the way they speak or their smell and because of all these factors or any single one of them, we fell in love at the first sight. We click at once and our frequency match each other. But, on the other end, we reject a person at first sight because of the same factors and there is no reasons. It just happen, "bling". I have written an article on this subject that it could link to our past lives and this people could be our wife or husband in the past or an adversary or enemy in our past lives.
Whether the love turn to marriage or not, it is all fated and it is pre-destinated. All have chances to further strength or love or likes for a person but it could just end at the different stages from its happening. The love at first sight could just vanished after its initial advancement and it could just stop. Some lost love can be re-establish but loves can fade into oblivion. This is the strange happening in love.
Namaste.
For some reasons, we met a boy or a girl and we like the way they look or the way they speak or their smell and because of all these factors or any single one of them, we fell in love at the first sight. We click at once and our frequency match each other. But, on the other end, we reject a person at first sight because of the same factors and there is no reasons. It just happen, "bling". I have written an article on this subject that it could link to our past lives and this people could be our wife or husband in the past or an adversary or enemy in our past lives.
Whether the love turn to marriage or not, it is all fated and it is pre-destinated. All have chances to further strength or love or likes for a person but it could just end at the different stages from its happening. The love at first sight could just vanished after its initial advancement and it could just stop. Some lost love can be re-establish but loves can fade into oblivion. This is the strange happening in love.
Namaste.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Skeletone in the closet
all of us have secrets. Secrets that we cannot tell, otherwise, it will hurt a lot of people. Especially, secret of sins and evil deeds. The secret is kept in the deepest point in our heart or in a mind. Our mind maybe in our heart and it does not matter but it is kept very tightly. The need to remind ourself that it should let out our secrets by a slip of our tongue or when we get intoxicated or out of anger is a very painful thing as it stress us up. If we have too many secrets, there would be more stress on us to keep it from accidentally flowing out. These secrets could be considered as bonds and knots of the heart.
For those people who have past relationships before they are married. The sweet memories of past loves and its sweetness of good times constantly float up to the surface and romance us with its frangance and sweetness. It occupied our mind and if we have a hard time with our current relationship, we start to compare the past and the present and we would drift back to the past for the solace. We would ssked ourself " Why did we give up something good?". We hide in the past to lick our wounds and cure our hurts. Is this action of thinking about another women a sin? In Buddhism, right thoughts and right action. Is this act, the right thought or action? No harm is done to anybody , just our mind romancing the past. Where is the fault?
The question is not whether it is harmful or sinful but rather whether the result of the action will damage the current relationship or not. If we keep in our heart, accept the thought, be aware of it and do nothing about it and just watch it go, it will be alright because we cannot control our thoughts in a moment of weakness. But, if we used it to compare with our existing relationship and talk about it openly, it willbe harmful to your love ones and the relationship may not be the same again. If we value the present relationship, we should follow the Buddhism way, acknowledge it, be aware of it and do nothing about it an dlet it go away. A passing thought.
Some people may say that love means we tell each other the truth and must be sincere. We should understand that the past is not equal to the present and have no bearing on the present. It is our choice whether we should tell our better halves of the past which is not important. It is already in the past. The present matters most and the future is yet to come. We should build our present relationsip on our present feelings and the past is irrelevant. This thought could be the right action and right thought. The past is the past and what matter most is the present. If we can have this wisdom and train our mind to understand this wisdom, it will be the right thought. Let the skeletone stays in the closet.
Namaste.
For those people who have past relationships before they are married. The sweet memories of past loves and its sweetness of good times constantly float up to the surface and romance us with its frangance and sweetness. It occupied our mind and if we have a hard time with our current relationship, we start to compare the past and the present and we would drift back to the past for the solace. We would ssked ourself " Why did we give up something good?". We hide in the past to lick our wounds and cure our hurts. Is this action of thinking about another women a sin? In Buddhism, right thoughts and right action. Is this act, the right thought or action? No harm is done to anybody , just our mind romancing the past. Where is the fault?
The question is not whether it is harmful or sinful but rather whether the result of the action will damage the current relationship or not. If we keep in our heart, accept the thought, be aware of it and do nothing about it and just watch it go, it will be alright because we cannot control our thoughts in a moment of weakness. But, if we used it to compare with our existing relationship and talk about it openly, it willbe harmful to your love ones and the relationship may not be the same again. If we value the present relationship, we should follow the Buddhism way, acknowledge it, be aware of it and do nothing about it an dlet it go away. A passing thought.
Some people may say that love means we tell each other the truth and must be sincere. We should understand that the past is not equal to the present and have no bearing on the present. It is our choice whether we should tell our better halves of the past which is not important. It is already in the past. The present matters most and the future is yet to come. We should build our present relationsip on our present feelings and the past is irrelevant. This thought could be the right action and right thought. The past is the past and what matter most is the present. If we can have this wisdom and train our mind to understand this wisdom, it will be the right thought. Let the skeletone stays in the closet.
Namaste.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
We are dying all the time..
I watch a movie with the title "Criminal Mind" and in one part of the movie, the criminal lawyer, who had successfully defended a serial killer, visited his dying professor at a hospital ward. He asked his professor what he can do for him and professor told him "nothing" and after looking at his student's tired face, he told him that " we are dying all the time ". This phrase seem to have touch a deep spot in me as if it makes a lot of sense to me. Maybe, it was because of seeing two relative dying within a short time from each other.
If we look at ourself, our physical body is dying all the time. The skin on our body and cells in our brain replaces itself a thousand times a day and it prompted the belief that all of us is inter-connected because of us is actually in one Universe. The minute cells are floating all around us and into the universe. If we use a powerful microscope to look at our body, we can see the gathering of millions of cells, bind together by a life force. If the life force leave the body, it will disintegrate and become ashes. There are gaps between the skin or the cells filled by liquid and fluids. Bits and pieces of skins in thousands die every second and new ones grow to replace us. There is a study that if we quarrel with someone or we hit a high pitch in a song, thousands of cells will die in the process. But, it will replaces itself later. So, the whole evolution or a universe is operating in our body and parts will die and the body mechanism will repair itself. In the air, there are billions of molecule cells floating around and mingling around connecting all ofus. Our physical body gradually die in the process of aging until the whole physical body is completely dead when we die.
This is only one aspect and in our daily life, we encountered many disappointment and emotional pains which bury our principles and killed our feelings. We became harden over time. Emotionally, we can be killed many times and live again through the pain of dying again. That is hurting and recovery and the process repeat itself. How can our feelings or emotion die? It happens from the moment, we buried our righteousness or until the stage of not been able to differentiate what we do is right or wrong and continued to do the wrong things and justifying it to be right, we are already dead. SOme people became walking dead or zombie and committing all the crimes in the world and justify its actions. Henceforth, our emotions are in the process of dying as well.
In the movie,the criminal lawyer knew his client is a serial killer and he went all out to defend him until he was acquitted. After that, he knew that he had set free a serial killer. He refused to review this fact and he tried his best to defend his case until he was full of guilt and repentance. To overcome the evil in himself, finally, he gather his guts to confront his evil client and kill him. Of course, there is much more to the movie but the message was the dying conscience of the criminal lawyer which drove him to this desperation.
Many things in us die and relive and die again until the day we die. Having said that, if there is no dying, there is no living. It takes two to tango or to survive a complete life.
Namaste.
If we look at ourself, our physical body is dying all the time. The skin on our body and cells in our brain replaces itself a thousand times a day and it prompted the belief that all of us is inter-connected because of us is actually in one Universe. The minute cells are floating all around us and into the universe. If we use a powerful microscope to look at our body, we can see the gathering of millions of cells, bind together by a life force. If the life force leave the body, it will disintegrate and become ashes. There are gaps between the skin or the cells filled by liquid and fluids. Bits and pieces of skins in thousands die every second and new ones grow to replace us. There is a study that if we quarrel with someone or we hit a high pitch in a song, thousands of cells will die in the process. But, it will replaces itself later. So, the whole evolution or a universe is operating in our body and parts will die and the body mechanism will repair itself. In the air, there are billions of molecule cells floating around and mingling around connecting all ofus. Our physical body gradually die in the process of aging until the whole physical body is completely dead when we die.
This is only one aspect and in our daily life, we encountered many disappointment and emotional pains which bury our principles and killed our feelings. We became harden over time. Emotionally, we can be killed many times and live again through the pain of dying again. That is hurting and recovery and the process repeat itself. How can our feelings or emotion die? It happens from the moment, we buried our righteousness or until the stage of not been able to differentiate what we do is right or wrong and continued to do the wrong things and justifying it to be right, we are already dead. SOme people became walking dead or zombie and committing all the crimes in the world and justify its actions. Henceforth, our emotions are in the process of dying as well.
In the movie,the criminal lawyer knew his client is a serial killer and he went all out to defend him until he was acquitted. After that, he knew that he had set free a serial killer. He refused to review this fact and he tried his best to defend his case until he was full of guilt and repentance. To overcome the evil in himself, finally, he gather his guts to confront his evil client and kill him. Of course, there is much more to the movie but the message was the dying conscience of the criminal lawyer which drove him to this desperation.
Many things in us die and relive and die again until the day we die. Having said that, if there is no dying, there is no living. It takes two to tango or to survive a complete life.
Namaste.
Breast inplant caused cancer - France
France to order 30,000 women to remove breast implants
World | Updated today at 07:10 PM
PARIS (AFP) - French medical authorities will this week tell 30,000 women who received defective breast implants to have them removed after several suspicious cases of cancer, daily Liberation reported on Tuesday.
Quoting senior medical officials, the newspaper said that before the end of the week, authorities will ask all women who received implants supplied by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) to have them removed.
PIP was shut down and its product banned last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorised silicone gel that caused abnormally high rupture rates of its implants.
Health officials said last week that eight cases of cancer, mainly breast cancer, had been reported in women who had received the PIP implants.
World | Updated today at 07:10 PM
PARIS (AFP) - French medical authorities will this week tell 30,000 women who received defective breast implants to have them removed after several suspicious cases of cancer, daily Liberation reported on Tuesday.
Quoting senior medical officials, the newspaper said that before the end of the week, authorities will ask all women who received implants supplied by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) to have them removed.
PIP was shut down and its product banned last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorised silicone gel that caused abnormally high rupture rates of its implants.
Health officials said last week that eight cases of cancer, mainly breast cancer, had been reported in women who had received the PIP implants.
Whatever is an annoying word - study
"Whatever" deemed most annoying word: poll
Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:20PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Do you want to kill a conversation? Try saying "whatever."
Words like "you know" and "like" might be irritating to hear, but for the third year in a row, it's "whatever" that holds the most power to annoy, according to an annual survey by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
Nearly four in ten adults named "whatever" as the most annoying verbal filler in casual conversation, while one in five adults had similar disdain for "like" and 'you know."
"Just sayin'" and "seriously" were more forgiving to the ears, though still quite irritating, Marist found.
The telephone survey of 1,026 adults nationally had a margin of error of three percentage points.
Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:20PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Do you want to kill a conversation? Try saying "whatever."
Words like "you know" and "like" might be irritating to hear, but for the third year in a row, it's "whatever" that holds the most power to annoy, according to an annual survey by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
Nearly four in ten adults named "whatever" as the most annoying verbal filler in casual conversation, while one in five adults had similar disdain for "like" and 'you know."
"Just sayin'" and "seriously" were more forgiving to the ears, though still quite irritating, Marist found.
The telephone survey of 1,026 adults nationally had a margin of error of three percentage points.
Health Benefits of Lady's Fingers - Okra ( by Junji Takano)
*The world's most beautiful women, Cleopatra of Egypt and Yang Guifei of
China loved to eat okra according to the history record.*
*Cleopatra of Egypt*
*Yang Guifei of China*
*When we visited the world's most productive land of okra in a rural area
in Kami, Kochi Prefecture , Japan , the young and old all look very
healthy. When we asked their secret in having good health in that area,
they graciously answer “okra”.*
*Okra has a long history, with its beginnings in Egypt where it is
cultivated before the time of Cleopatra. The okra plant spread to many
parts of the world during the Atlantic slave trade. During World War II,
the shortage of coffee beans made them use okra seeds as a substitute for
coffee. This incident made the word “okra fever”. Since then, okra's
popularity never disappeared from local markets to convenience stores
throughout the world and throughout the year.*
Nutritional Information
*Okra contains vitamins A and C and is a good source of iron and calcium.
It also contains starch, fat, ash, thiamine and riboflavin. No wonder,
Cleopatra and Yang Guifei maintained their beauties.*
*For 1/2 cup sliced, cooked okra*
*For 1 cup raw okra*
*Calories* – 25* *
*Dietary Fiber* – 2 grams
*Protein* – 1.52 grams
*Carbohydrates* – 5.76 grams
*Vitamin A* – 460 IU
*Vitamin C* – 13.04 mg
*Folic acid* – 36.5 mg
*Calcium* – 50.4 mg
*Iron* – 0.4 mg
*Potassium* – 256.6 mg
*Magnesium* – 46 mg
*Calories* – 33
*Fiber* – 3.2 g
*Total Fat* – 0.1gm
*Protein* – 2.0 gm
*Carbohydrate* – 7.6 gm
*Vitamin A* – 660 IU
*Vitamin C* – 21mg
*Folate* – 87.8 mg
*Magnesium* – 57 mg
Health Benefits of Okra
*1.** **The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize the blood
sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal
tract.*
*2.** **Okra's mucilage binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying
toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.*
*3.** **Okra helps lubricate the large intestines due to its bulk
laxative qualities. The okra fiber absorbs water and ensures bulk in
stools. This helps prevent and improve constipation. Unlike harsh wheat
bran, which can irritate or injure the intestinal tract, okra's mucilage
soothes, and okra facilitates elimination more comfortably by its slippery
characteristic. Okra binds excess cholesterol and toxins (in bile acids).
These, if not evacuated, will cause numerous health problems. Okra also
assures easy passage out of waste from the body. Okra is completely
non-toxic, non-habit forming, has no adverse side effects, is full of
nutrients, and is economically within reach of most individuals unlike
over-the-counter drugs.*
*4.** **Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria
(probiotics). This contributes to the health of the intestinal tract.*
*5.** **Okra is a supreme vegetable for those feeling weak,
exhausted, and suffering from depression.*
*6.** **Okra is used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber. It
helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary
protective coating for the digestive tract.*
*7.** **Okra treats lung inflammation, sore throat, and irritable
bowel syndrome.*
*8.** **Okra has been used successfully in experimental blood plasma
replacements.*
*9.** **Okra is good for summer heat treatment.*
*10.** **Okra is good for constipation.*
*11.** **Okra is good in normalizing the blood sugar and cholesterol
level.*
*12.** **Okra is good for asthma. Okra's vitamin C is an antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory, which curtail the development of asthma symptoms.*
*13.** **Okra is good for atherosclerosis.*
*14.** **Okra is believed to protect some forms of cancer expansion,
especially colorectal cancer.*
*15.** **Eating okra helps to support the structure of capillaries.*
*16.** **Some information shows that eating okra lowers the risk of
cataracts.*
*17.** **Okra is good for preventing diabetes.*
*18.** **Okra protects you from pimples and maintains smooth and
beautiful skin. We understand the reason why Cleopatra and Yang Guifei
loved to eat okra.*
*There are other medicinal uses of okra, like its protection against
trans fats.*
*I myself planted about 25 stems of okra in my backyard garden throughout
the year for over 20 years now. I can pick up about 20 pieces of okra pod
every morning. All okra pods are consumed by my family. There are hundreds
of recipes that can be done. You can either: cut it raw and mix with
vinegar and pepper; cut it raw and mix with mayonnaise; steam, cut, with
mayonnaise dressing; or, cook with stew or soup.*
*Okra is easy to grow anywhere during summer season in cold countries and
throughout the year in tropical areas. You can even plant it in a container
garden at the terrace in condominium buildings.*
**
*
Inventor of PYRO-ENERGEN, the author, Mr. Takano himself picks up Okra in
his backyard garden*
*To tell you the truth, I did not know that okra seed was used as a
substitute for coffee beans during World War II. I have about 500 grams of
okra seeds, so I roasted one-half of it using an iron cast pan, and
pulverized it. I made okra coffee with it, and it tasted like real coffee
although it was darker in color. When I offered the okra coffee to my
staffs and visitors who did not know the real thing, they replied "Oh, you
got a new blend of coffee, taste is good". I blended it with real coffee,
too. It tastes all right. We do not know, however, what nutrients okra
coffee gives.*
*
About the Author: *
*Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in investigating
the cause of many dreadful diseases. In 1968, he invented PYRO-ENERGEN, the
first electrostatic therapy device for electromedicine that effectively
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause.*
Nothing to waste.
BUDDHA�S LESSON ON WASTING
A disciple of Buddha, said, �Oh Master! I have a request to make.�
Buddha: �What is it; tell me?�
Disciple: �My robe is worn out. It is no longer decent enough to wear. Please, may I have a new one?�
Buddha looked at the disciple�s attire and found that the garment was absolutely in tatters and really needed replacement. So he asked the store-keeper to give a new robe to this disciple. The disciple offered obeisance to the great master and left the room.
Buddha kept thinking about the incident and felt that He had perhaps missed an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson to the disciple. So he went to the disciple�s quarters to talk to him.
Buddha: Are you comfortable in your new robe? Do you need anything else?
Disciple: Thank you Master. I am very comfortable and do not need anything else.
�
Buddha: Now that you have a new one, what have you done with the old one?
Disciple: I have used it to replace my worn out bedspread.
�
Buddha: What did you do with the old bedspread?
Disciple: Master, I am using it as a curtain on my window.
�
Buddha: Did you discard your old window curtain?
Disciple: Master, I tore it into four pieces and am using them as napkins to handle the hot pots and pans in the kitchen.
�
Buddha: What about the old kitchen napkins?
Disciple: We are using them as mops to wash and wipe the floor.
�
Buddha: Where is the old mop?
Disciple: Lord, the old mop was so tattered that the best we could do was to take all the threads apart and make wicks for your oil lamp. One of them is presently lit in your room.�
Buddha was content. He was happy that His disciples realized that nothing is useless.
�
We can find a use for everything, if only we want to! Nothing should be wasted; not even time!
�
If all of us were to practice the habit of thrift, we can preserve the non renewable resources for our children, our grandchildren and our great grand children as our forefathers so thoughtfully did for us. Let us vow together to leave at least one monument for our children - the Earth!
A disciple of Buddha, said, �Oh Master! I have a request to make.�
Buddha: �What is it; tell me?�
Disciple: �My robe is worn out. It is no longer decent enough to wear. Please, may I have a new one?�
Buddha looked at the disciple�s attire and found that the garment was absolutely in tatters and really needed replacement. So he asked the store-keeper to give a new robe to this disciple. The disciple offered obeisance to the great master and left the room.
Buddha kept thinking about the incident and felt that He had perhaps missed an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson to the disciple. So he went to the disciple�s quarters to talk to him.
Buddha: Are you comfortable in your new robe? Do you need anything else?
Disciple: Thank you Master. I am very comfortable and do not need anything else.
�
Buddha: Now that you have a new one, what have you done with the old one?
Disciple: I have used it to replace my worn out bedspread.
�
Buddha: What did you do with the old bedspread?
Disciple: Master, I am using it as a curtain on my window.
�
Buddha: Did you discard your old window curtain?
Disciple: Master, I tore it into four pieces and am using them as napkins to handle the hot pots and pans in the kitchen.
�
Buddha: What about the old kitchen napkins?
Disciple: We are using them as mops to wash and wipe the floor.
�
Buddha: Where is the old mop?
Disciple: Lord, the old mop was so tattered that the best we could do was to take all the threads apart and make wicks for your oil lamp. One of them is presently lit in your room.�
Buddha was content. He was happy that His disciples realized that nothing is useless.
�
We can find a use for everything, if only we want to! Nothing should be wasted; not even time!
�
If all of us were to practice the habit of thrift, we can preserve the non renewable resources for our children, our grandchildren and our great grand children as our forefathers so thoughtfully did for us. Let us vow together to leave at least one monument for our children - the Earth!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Coming of the Great Depression ?
The global economy is sliding towards the GReat Depression of the 30's as the economic havoc in the EU due to its financial debt crisis. It is draging down the global economy as consumer confidence fell due to unemployment and tight credits as banks starts to get into trouble after exposing to the debt troubled nations in the EU and having to take a 50 percent hair cut to save the nations. The whole EU is in a mass while the 27 member countries tried to stay together to solve out the mass. The whole idea is having the rich nations like Germany and France to bail out the debt trouble nations. It will come a time when the Germans and the French will asked why are they paying to save thy neighbours? When they have the senses back, they will asked when they are going to get back their money and trouble will tart againl. It is just like IBM before, " In Bloody Mass".
Now come to Uncle Sam. Again, their issue is still over spending and have huge national debts because of the huge annual budget deficits for years. There is a saying that the Americans live on credit and the rest of the world works for them. They stay in big big houses, drive big big cars and live a lavish life style all on bank credits while the whole world lend to the American banks. Worse still, they are politically divided between the Democrats and Republican and they control different houses ie House of Representative and the Senate. Yes, there is check and balance but if the check goes to the extreme or became political, it just interfere with the activities which needed to save the nations. NOw, it is like a chess game, both parties checking each other on every move. How can a Nation function? It looks so bloody stupid.
China is bloody smart, keeping their Yuan weak and maintain their competitiveness. However, how low can you go if there are no buyers? The trouble in the US and EU is also dragging China down. The growth have started to fell and they are looking towards their domestic market to survive in these bad times. USA have been importing trememdous amount of Chinese goods in this season and could help abit but for how long.
Japan is also tied to the US and EU economy but the diaster in Fukushima and the flood in Thailand and the strong Yen is biting into the country'economy. Japan have suffered deflation for a long time and their interest rate is almost zero as the Government try to support the sluggish economy. Both the disasters in Thailand and Fukushima have also destroy the supplier chain's advantage which Japan is heavily depend upon and they will need to find an alternate solution to their global production team mechanism. This is also in a bloody mess.
With the big four global economy in trouble, where is the light ? It is getting dimmer by the day and finally become gloomy and pitch dark. In deep Depression, where else can they go. When we look at the whole picture, this is the evil of globalization. Each depending on another's well being, so closely tied up.
Where shall we go to survive this hard times? I think we should go back to the basics and live a simple life. Why you care about the world's trouble ? It only makes you more depressing and worried. There is silver lining in a cloudy sky and if you see it clearly, you will survive. Don't live on credits and within your means. What goes up must come down and when comes down must go up. This is the law of evolution and it is a matter to time things will get brighter. It could take a longer while but it will come one day. Maybe not in our life time but it could be another life time. Tomorrow will always be better. Have Hope and everything will be fine. Live your life while countries clashed with each other and live well.
Namaste.
Now come to Uncle Sam. Again, their issue is still over spending and have huge national debts because of the huge annual budget deficits for years. There is a saying that the Americans live on credit and the rest of the world works for them. They stay in big big houses, drive big big cars and live a lavish life style all on bank credits while the whole world lend to the American banks. Worse still, they are politically divided between the Democrats and Republican and they control different houses ie House of Representative and the Senate. Yes, there is check and balance but if the check goes to the extreme or became political, it just interfere with the activities which needed to save the nations. NOw, it is like a chess game, both parties checking each other on every move. How can a Nation function? It looks so bloody stupid.
China is bloody smart, keeping their Yuan weak and maintain their competitiveness. However, how low can you go if there are no buyers? The trouble in the US and EU is also dragging China down. The growth have started to fell and they are looking towards their domestic market to survive in these bad times. USA have been importing trememdous amount of Chinese goods in this season and could help abit but for how long.
Japan is also tied to the US and EU economy but the diaster in Fukushima and the flood in Thailand and the strong Yen is biting into the country'economy. Japan have suffered deflation for a long time and their interest rate is almost zero as the Government try to support the sluggish economy. Both the disasters in Thailand and Fukushima have also destroy the supplier chain's advantage which Japan is heavily depend upon and they will need to find an alternate solution to their global production team mechanism. This is also in a bloody mess.
With the big four global economy in trouble, where is the light ? It is getting dimmer by the day and finally become gloomy and pitch dark. In deep Depression, where else can they go. When we look at the whole picture, this is the evil of globalization. Each depending on another's well being, so closely tied up.
Where shall we go to survive this hard times? I think we should go back to the basics and live a simple life. Why you care about the world's trouble ? It only makes you more depressing and worried. There is silver lining in a cloudy sky and if you see it clearly, you will survive. Don't live on credits and within your means. What goes up must come down and when comes down must go up. This is the law of evolution and it is a matter to time things will get brighter. It could take a longer while but it will come one day. Maybe not in our life time but it could be another life time. Tomorrow will always be better. Have Hope and everything will be fine. Live your life while countries clashed with each other and live well.
Namaste.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Benefits of walking 10,000 steps per day - report
Extra walking does not improve muscle strength
Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:30PM EST
By Kerry Grens
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who walk at least 10,000 steps a day have no greater muscle strength and perform no better on tests of balance and agility than women who walk fewer than 7,500 steps, according to a new study.
Researchers did find, however, that extra walking each day is tied to favorable measures of body fat, weight and endurance.
"This tells me more is better in terms of body composition and fitness," said Catrine Tudor-Locke, a professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, who was not involved in this study.
But "none of us think that if you walk a huge amount that you're going to have huge muscles."
The researchers, led by professor Mylène Aubertin-Leheudre at the University of Quebec in Montreal, tracked the walking habits of 57 women between 50 and 70 years old.
Women wore pedometers for a week to tally how many steps they took in day that occurred from any walking periods lasting longer than three minutes.
The women were split pretty much equally among three activity groups: low activity women walked fewer than 7,500 steps a day, the medium activity group walked between 7,500 and 10,000 steps and the high activity group walked more than 10,000 steps each day.
The researchers also measured the women's body weight, fat and muscle mass; muscle strength through hand grip and knee extension exercises; and balancing and functional skills by exercises such as standing on one leg or jumping onto a step with both feet.
The women who walked the most weighed less and had a smaller percentage of body fat.
"This is good for the prevention of cardiovascular risk factors," said Aubertin-Leheudre.
The highest activity group, for instance, had an average body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of weight compared to height -- of 25, which is considered normal weight.
The other two groups had BMI numbers in the overweight range.
Muscle strength and the percentage of muscle mass on the body were the same among the three groups, however.
Women also performed similarly on the balance and physical ability tests regardless of how much they walked.
Aubertin-Leheudre said she had expected to see women who walked more perform better on these tests because inactivity is known to weaken muscles.
"Maybe we don't walk the way we need to walk" to see any muscle benefits, Aubertin-Leheudre said. "I always see the postmenopausal women in my study sliding more than walking."
Perhaps a more proper stride or a more intense walk -- one that would make it difficult to talk while walking -- would have made a bigger impact on women's strength and abilities, she added.
DOES '10,000 STEPS A DAY' NEED REVISION?
Her team did not measure the quality or intensity of the walking, but it is working on future studies to measure whether higher-impact walking could make a difference.
Health advocacy groups have tossed around 10,000 steps as a daily walking goal to keep people fit.
Aubertin-Leheudre said that recommendation might need to be revised to specify the impact of the activity so that women gain some muscle benefit.
Tudor-Locke said she expects that if the researchers had compared truly sedentary women -- those who walk fewer than 3,000 steps per day -- to the super walkers, they would likely have seen a difference.
"Maybe there is such a relationship where you get the biggest bang for your buck in this lower end (of activity) and maybe any additional walking is not going to add any extra muscle strength," Tudor-Locke said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/ufmyGG Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, December 8, 2011.
Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:30PM EST
By Kerry Grens
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who walk at least 10,000 steps a day have no greater muscle strength and perform no better on tests of balance and agility than women who walk fewer than 7,500 steps, according to a new study.
Researchers did find, however, that extra walking each day is tied to favorable measures of body fat, weight and endurance.
"This tells me more is better in terms of body composition and fitness," said Catrine Tudor-Locke, a professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, who was not involved in this study.
But "none of us think that if you walk a huge amount that you're going to have huge muscles."
The researchers, led by professor Mylène Aubertin-Leheudre at the University of Quebec in Montreal, tracked the walking habits of 57 women between 50 and 70 years old.
Women wore pedometers for a week to tally how many steps they took in day that occurred from any walking periods lasting longer than three minutes.
The women were split pretty much equally among three activity groups: low activity women walked fewer than 7,500 steps a day, the medium activity group walked between 7,500 and 10,000 steps and the high activity group walked more than 10,000 steps each day.
The researchers also measured the women's body weight, fat and muscle mass; muscle strength through hand grip and knee extension exercises; and balancing and functional skills by exercises such as standing on one leg or jumping onto a step with both feet.
The women who walked the most weighed less and had a smaller percentage of body fat.
"This is good for the prevention of cardiovascular risk factors," said Aubertin-Leheudre.
The highest activity group, for instance, had an average body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of weight compared to height -- of 25, which is considered normal weight.
The other two groups had BMI numbers in the overweight range.
Muscle strength and the percentage of muscle mass on the body were the same among the three groups, however.
Women also performed similarly on the balance and physical ability tests regardless of how much they walked.
Aubertin-Leheudre said she had expected to see women who walked more perform better on these tests because inactivity is known to weaken muscles.
"Maybe we don't walk the way we need to walk" to see any muscle benefits, Aubertin-Leheudre said. "I always see the postmenopausal women in my study sliding more than walking."
Perhaps a more proper stride or a more intense walk -- one that would make it difficult to talk while walking -- would have made a bigger impact on women's strength and abilities, she added.
DOES '10,000 STEPS A DAY' NEED REVISION?
Her team did not measure the quality or intensity of the walking, but it is working on future studies to measure whether higher-impact walking could make a difference.
Health advocacy groups have tossed around 10,000 steps as a daily walking goal to keep people fit.
Aubertin-Leheudre said that recommendation might need to be revised to specify the impact of the activity so that women gain some muscle benefit.
Tudor-Locke said she expects that if the researchers had compared truly sedentary women -- those who walk fewer than 3,000 steps per day -- to the super walkers, they would likely have seen a difference.
"Maybe there is such a relationship where you get the biggest bang for your buck in this lower end (of activity) and maybe any additional walking is not going to add any extra muscle strength," Tudor-Locke said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/ufmyGG Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, December 8, 2011.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Who is Ajahn Brahm ?
In short, he is a Thai trained English forest monk and he is a disciple of Ajahn Chad. THe word "Ajahn" means teacher. You can find a lot of literature and vedio about him in Youtube. He is residing in Australia and having a monastry there. He is highly educated and obtained his Masters in one of the top Univesity in UK. He is intelligent,witty and very jovial and definitely, he is also a deep knowledge in Buddhism and open the latest development in the world.
A brief introduction for him:
Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera (lovingly known to most as Ajahn Brahm) was born Peter Betts in London, United Kingdom in August 7, 1951. He came from a working-class background, and won a scholarship to study Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University in the late 1960s. After graduating from Cambridge he taught in high school for one year before travelling to Thailand to become a monk and train with the Venerable Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera.
Whilst still in his years as a junior monk, he was asked to undertake the compilation of an English-language guide to the Buddhist monastic code - the Vinaya - which later became the basis for monastic discipline in many Theravadan monasteries in Western countries.
Coming to Australia
The then Venerable Brahm was invited to Perth, Australia by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia to assist Ajahn Jagaro in teaching duties. Initially they both lived in an old house in the suburb of North Perth, but in late 1983 purchased 97 acres (393,000 square metres) of rural and forested land in the hills of Serpentine south of Perth. The land was to become Bodhinyana Monastery (named after their teacher, Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana). Bodhinyana was to become the first dedicated Buddhist monastery in the Southern Hemisphere and is today the largest community of Theravadan Buddhist monks in Australia.
Initially there were no buildings on the land, and as there were only a few Buddhists in Perth at this time, and little funding, the monks themselves began building to save money. So it was that Ajahn Brahm learnt plumbing and brick-laying and built many of the current buildings there himself.
I came to know about him when a friend, SW passed me his VCD and in the VCD it contained 180 of his dharma talks. I was attracted to his light and jovial presentation of Buddhism and after that, I bought a book on the biography of his Master, Ajahn Chad and continued to listen to his dharma talk before I sleep until I finished listening to all his session in the VCD. After that, I visited his blog very often and also see his vedio in the Youtube. I totally enjoyed his talk on his witty and real life presentation of the dharma. Ajahn Chad's book is also a very good read and full of wisdom, Buddhist teaching and his meditation techiques.
Ajahn Brahm, often come to Malaysia and Singapore and he is a very well recieved teacher and he has many follows in Malaysia. I believe his session will be fully packed and early reservation would ensure you a place in the session.
It is highly recommended that you try to attend his session as you will come out a different person and you will see the world in different lights.
For details, search for the article in my blog.
Namaste.
A brief introduction for him:
Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera (lovingly known to most as Ajahn Brahm) was born Peter Betts in London, United Kingdom in August 7, 1951. He came from a working-class background, and won a scholarship to study Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University in the late 1960s. After graduating from Cambridge he taught in high school for one year before travelling to Thailand to become a monk and train with the Venerable Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera.
Whilst still in his years as a junior monk, he was asked to undertake the compilation of an English-language guide to the Buddhist monastic code - the Vinaya - which later became the basis for monastic discipline in many Theravadan monasteries in Western countries.
Coming to Australia
The then Venerable Brahm was invited to Perth, Australia by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia to assist Ajahn Jagaro in teaching duties. Initially they both lived in an old house in the suburb of North Perth, but in late 1983 purchased 97 acres (393,000 square metres) of rural and forested land in the hills of Serpentine south of Perth. The land was to become Bodhinyana Monastery (named after their teacher, Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana). Bodhinyana was to become the first dedicated Buddhist monastery in the Southern Hemisphere and is today the largest community of Theravadan Buddhist monks in Australia.
Initially there were no buildings on the land, and as there were only a few Buddhists in Perth at this time, and little funding, the monks themselves began building to save money. So it was that Ajahn Brahm learnt plumbing and brick-laying and built many of the current buildings there himself.
I came to know about him when a friend, SW passed me his VCD and in the VCD it contained 180 of his dharma talks. I was attracted to his light and jovial presentation of Buddhism and after that, I bought a book on the biography of his Master, Ajahn Chad and continued to listen to his dharma talk before I sleep until I finished listening to all his session in the VCD. After that, I visited his blog very often and also see his vedio in the Youtube. I totally enjoyed his talk on his witty and real life presentation of the dharma. Ajahn Chad's book is also a very good read and full of wisdom, Buddhist teaching and his meditation techiques.
Ajahn Brahm, often come to Malaysia and Singapore and he is a very well recieved teacher and he has many follows in Malaysia. I believe his session will be fully packed and early reservation would ensure you a place in the session.
It is highly recommended that you try to attend his session as you will come out a different person and you will see the world in different lights.
For details, search for the article in my blog.
Namaste.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Managing our ego
Yesterday, there was a private battle brewing between two my female staff and when one them came to complain to me about another staff who had refused to answer her query, I asked a straight question to her " what is happening between two of you?, Please go and get the answer from her?". I remembered many years ago, this incident had happen to me before and my boss also pushed me to settle the matter by myself. History repeat itself but now is on another person.
As ordinary human being and with an untrained mind, we always placed self above everything. WIth this thinking, it will empowered our self ego and make ourself important. We became self centred and is always thinking about " me, me, me and me". Other people must listen to me, by doing that I am powerful and control others. We lost track of the feeling of others. If we are not aware of ourself and we always get our way by bullying, this behaviour will become a permanent part of ourself and will caused us misery in our life.
When we encountered a situation, we must look at our response from within before leashing it out. If we want to change this bad habit, we should challenge it. Don't let your ego win and do nothing but continued to be aware of your response internally. Challenge it and pull out the roots of this self ego and return to humility. Ask yourself, by winning this fight, you will lose a war ie a friend or a colleague. If you cannot response in a calm way, say nothing and do nothing. Fight the battle another day, another place and another time. Be patient.
By doing handling situation this way, you could feel angry and hurt. Of course, you must not keep this hurt feeling piling up in you. Train yourself to release it and realize the fact that it is your choice and you have the power to untied it. Be aware of it and do nothing about it and it will go away in time. Look at the positive and good things in life when you became better than your adversary. You have become a master of your ownself.
If you look at yourself, you have actually won and you are not letting your emotions win over you. YOu are calling the shoots, how wonderful it will be.
Think about it and logically analyse what I have said, it is only a moment of ego talk if you get angry.
Namaste.
As ordinary human being and with an untrained mind, we always placed self above everything. WIth this thinking, it will empowered our self ego and make ourself important. We became self centred and is always thinking about " me, me, me and me". Other people must listen to me, by doing that I am powerful and control others. We lost track of the feeling of others. If we are not aware of ourself and we always get our way by bullying, this behaviour will become a permanent part of ourself and will caused us misery in our life.
When we encountered a situation, we must look at our response from within before leashing it out. If we want to change this bad habit, we should challenge it. Don't let your ego win and do nothing but continued to be aware of your response internally. Challenge it and pull out the roots of this self ego and return to humility. Ask yourself, by winning this fight, you will lose a war ie a friend or a colleague. If you cannot response in a calm way, say nothing and do nothing. Fight the battle another day, another place and another time. Be patient.
By doing handling situation this way, you could feel angry and hurt. Of course, you must not keep this hurt feeling piling up in you. Train yourself to release it and realize the fact that it is your choice and you have the power to untied it. Be aware of it and do nothing about it and it will go away in time. Look at the positive and good things in life when you became better than your adversary. You have become a master of your ownself.
If you look at yourself, you have actually won and you are not letting your emotions win over you. YOu are calling the shoots, how wonderful it will be.
Think about it and logically analyse what I have said, it is only a moment of ego talk if you get angry.
Namaste.
Don't stop breathing.
Many people are not aware that they are not breathing at all or not breathing properly at times. It could be that they are breathing on one side. Either the left or right or stop breathing for a few seconds at intermitten intervals or for a longer period of time. IN such cases, when they wake up, they could be feeling drowsy or sluggish even after 7 or 8 hours of sleep.
I we nreath unbalancedly, our body will get too cold or too old. If we breath in evenly through both nose, our body temperature will be regulated. If our beathing is too shallow or breath in differing speed , it will sent the wrong message to the body and alTar the body's temperature and functions. We could either catch a cold or have an irregular heart beat or intensely tired,
There are exercise to regulate the rythmn, balance the breath, slow down the breathing and strength each breath and balance the body temperature and functin. People practice Tai Chi, qi-gong, yoga and walking meditation to improve the performance of each breath.
Tai chi regulates the speed of each breathing by using the hands movement. The slowness of the hand guide each breath and the flow of the energy or Chi. If we practice it regularly, it has tremendous impact on our health as the in-take of oxygen is very much enhanced. It is like adding strength to our body everyday.\
Qi-gong is another exercise to strengthen the lung and also use the hands and breathing to strengthen our body. It is also to improve our breathing and let the lungs absolved the maximum amount of oxygen from each breath into our body. It acts like a health tonic.
For Yoga, the pose, stretching and the routine will strengthen our lungs and our breathing technique. We are forced to breath at the different constricted space in our lungs. Yoga is an exercise which squeeze all the air out from the lungs and breath in the air into the most isolated and unused space in the lungs and maximize each breath and holding it at regulated intervals. It drains all the air in the body and replace it with each breath. Always have fresh air in the body. Wonderful breath.
I have also read about the walking mantra where our walking control our breathing length and speed. Breath out to a count of four and breath in and breath out to a count of four and slowly lengthen it to 10 from the graduate breath in and breath out. Through practise and repetition, it becomes our habit and natural mechanism. It will slow down the whole body mechanism and provide abundant fresh oxygen to our body and mind.
If we check of breathing during sleep, we would be surprised how many times we stop breathing and it is alarming to see the length of each stop. In extreme cases, it could lead ot high blood pressure, stroke and depression. Just watch out and check your own performance by seeing a Doctor. If you are aware and you do the necessary exercise to regulate it , you will have a wonderful life.
Namaste..
I we nreath unbalancedly, our body will get too cold or too old. If we breath in evenly through both nose, our body temperature will be regulated. If our beathing is too shallow or breath in differing speed , it will sent the wrong message to the body and alTar the body's temperature and functions. We could either catch a cold or have an irregular heart beat or intensely tired,
There are exercise to regulate the rythmn, balance the breath, slow down the breathing and strength each breath and balance the body temperature and functin. People practice Tai Chi, qi-gong, yoga and walking meditation to improve the performance of each breath.
Tai chi regulates the speed of each breathing by using the hands movement. The slowness of the hand guide each breath and the flow of the energy or Chi. If we practice it regularly, it has tremendous impact on our health as the in-take of oxygen is very much enhanced. It is like adding strength to our body everyday.\
Qi-gong is another exercise to strengthen the lung and also use the hands and breathing to strengthen our body. It is also to improve our breathing and let the lungs absolved the maximum amount of oxygen from each breath into our body. It acts like a health tonic.
For Yoga, the pose, stretching and the routine will strengthen our lungs and our breathing technique. We are forced to breath at the different constricted space in our lungs. Yoga is an exercise which squeeze all the air out from the lungs and breath in the air into the most isolated and unused space in the lungs and maximize each breath and holding it at regulated intervals. It drains all the air in the body and replace it with each breath. Always have fresh air in the body. Wonderful breath.
I have also read about the walking mantra where our walking control our breathing length and speed. Breath out to a count of four and breath in and breath out to a count of four and slowly lengthen it to 10 from the graduate breath in and breath out. Through practise and repetition, it becomes our habit and natural mechanism. It will slow down the whole body mechanism and provide abundant fresh oxygen to our body and mind.
If we check of breathing during sleep, we would be surprised how many times we stop breathing and it is alarming to see the length of each stop. In extreme cases, it could lead ot high blood pressure, stroke and depression. Just watch out and check your own performance by seeing a Doctor. If you are aware and you do the necessary exercise to regulate it , you will have a wonderful life.
Namaste..
Bare all for the world - news
Philippine men bare all to save the earth
Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:00AM EST
MANILA (Reuters) - Dozens of men ran naked on Friday around a university campus in the Philippine capital, Manila, calling for cleaner rivers and greater efforts to save the earth.
In what has become an annual tradition at the University of the Philippines, fraternity members dashed through the halls wearing only masks to hide their faces and carrying signs calling for environmental protection.
The group adopts a cause every year, and this year they teamed up with environmental groups to clean 20 polluted rivers and streams in Manila.
The annual run is said to have begun in the 1970s, when the fraternity members ran naked around the campus to protest against former President Ferdinand Marcos's censoring of a film criticizing his administration.
Hundreds of onlookers packed the halls to watch, although not everyone was clear on the message.
"Whatever their advocacy was, I think it will definitely be heard and exposed," said Mariel Abao, a tourism student.
"Even though they have a weird way of expressing it, at least the issue is given light."
(Reporting by Roli Ng and Peter Blaza, writing by Elaine Lies; editing by)
Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:00AM EST
MANILA (Reuters) - Dozens of men ran naked on Friday around a university campus in the Philippine capital, Manila, calling for cleaner rivers and greater efforts to save the earth.
In what has become an annual tradition at the University of the Philippines, fraternity members dashed through the halls wearing only masks to hide their faces and carrying signs calling for environmental protection.
The group adopts a cause every year, and this year they teamed up with environmental groups to clean 20 polluted rivers and streams in Manila.
The annual run is said to have begun in the 1970s, when the fraternity members ran naked around the campus to protest against former President Ferdinand Marcos's censoring of a film criticizing his administration.
Hundreds of onlookers packed the halls to watch, although not everyone was clear on the message.
"Whatever their advocacy was, I think it will definitely be heard and exposed," said Mariel Abao, a tourism student.
"Even though they have a weird way of expressing it, at least the issue is given light."
(Reporting by Roli Ng and Peter Blaza, writing by Elaine Lies; editing by)
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Old vietnamese way of treating a burn.
Keep white flour in fridge
Once I was cooking some corn and stuck my fork in the boiling
water to see if the corn was ready. I missed and my hand went
into the boiling water....
A friend of mine, who was a Vietnam vet, came into the house, just
as I was screaming, and asked me if I had some plain old flour...I
pulled out a bag and he stuck my hand in it. He said to keep my hand
in the flour for 10 mins. which I did. He said that in Vietnam , this guy
was on fire and in their panic, they threw a bag of flour all over him to
put the fire out...well, it not only put the fire out, but he never even had
a blister!!!!
So, I put my hand in the bag of flour for 10 mins, and then pulled it out and had not even a red mark or a blister and absolutley NO PAIN.
Now, I keep a bag of flour in the fridge and every time I burn myself,
I use the flour and never ONCE have I ever had a
red spot, a burn or a blister!
*cold flour feels even better than room temperature flour.
Miracle, if you ask me. Keep a bag of white flour in your fridge and you will be happy you did. I even burnt my tongue and put the flour on it for about 10 mins, and the pain was gone and no burn.
Try it!
Don't run your burn area under Cold water first, just put it right into the flour for 10 mins and experience a miracle!
Once I was cooking some corn and stuck my fork in the boiling
water to see if the corn was ready. I missed and my hand went
into the boiling water....
A friend of mine, who was a Vietnam vet, came into the house, just
as I was screaming, and asked me if I had some plain old flour...I
pulled out a bag and he stuck my hand in it. He said to keep my hand
in the flour for 10 mins. which I did. He said that in Vietnam , this guy
was on fire and in their panic, they threw a bag of flour all over him to
put the fire out...well, it not only put the fire out, but he never even had
a blister!!!!
So, I put my hand in the bag of flour for 10 mins, and then pulled it out and had not even a red mark or a blister and absolutley NO PAIN.
Now, I keep a bag of flour in the fridge and every time I burn myself,
I use the flour and never ONCE have I ever had a
red spot, a burn or a blister!
*cold flour feels even better than room temperature flour.
Miracle, if you ask me. Keep a bag of white flour in your fridge and you will be happy you did. I even burnt my tongue and put the flour on it for about 10 mins, and the pain was gone and no burn.
Try it!
Don't run your burn area under Cold water first, just put it right into the flour for 10 mins and experience a miracle!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Do we sleep less as we aged ?
It is a common belief that as we aged we sleep less.I have seen my deceased parent sleeping at 10pm the previous night and waking up at 3am in the morning on the next day.similarly, I have observed the same experience with my sister and my deceased FIL. Oftenly, i heard them complaining that they could not sleep longer. These few weeks I have been sleeping early at 10pm or 11pm at night and waking up 4am or 5am the next morning. It is about roughly 6 hours of sleep. In the past, I used to sleep at 12 mid night and waking up 7am to 8am the next morining. That would be about 7 hours of sleep.
There is a change in my sleep pattern especially after a hectic yoga session ie sleep early and wake up early. Even if you try to sleep longer, thoughts will start to float into your head and the struggle between sleep and thoughts will intensify, making one feel uncomfortable or not at ease, According to the general beleif, 7 hours of good and uninterrupted sleep is good enough, Too little too much could be harmful to health, It is not a matter of one or a few times but persistently, lack of sleep or excessive could be harmful to health.
Once, my late mother told me that she could not sleep and I took her to see a Doctor and the Doctor asked her about her sleeping pattern and she told him that she catch up with her sleep in the afternoon because she could not sleep the night before. Consistently, she is sleeping in this pattern and it became her routine. So, the Doctor told her to change her sleep pattern and take only short naps in the afternoon and leave the sleeping at night. This advise was useful for a while until her passing. Usually, we are caught in this trap if we are unaware. We change our sleeping pattern to catch up with the lack of sleep the night before and it could become our sleeping habit which through some time, it became our mental habit. If we are aware, we should resist the change and keep to our usual routine. The change in our habit could have silent impact on our body and mind and in the long run, we will feel disillusion. Other people are sleeping and we are wide awake and we are sleeping when other people are awake. We should this change in our sleep pattern.
Of course, if we have a choice, we should keep our normal sleep pattern but for those working on shifts, their irregular sleep pattern will affect their health in the long run unless they regulate their sleeping time and keep to their sleep pattern. Regular sleep at a specific and fix time. The body will be conditioned to accept this consistency. If these people were to change irregularly or sleep in no specific time or lenght of the sleep, it could caused depression and disillusion. Lack of sleep in the long term is damaging to the health as our body and mind needs sufficent good quality sleep. This is the logical requirement ot healthy living,
I have a friend,SW who was working as an audit clerk in his early years. He studied very hard and passed his professional exams and he became a partner. During this process of climbing up the leader of success. He learned to sleep latter ie 3 or 4 hours only. In his later years, he told me that he could not sleep. He tried all the means to sleep longer. He learned to drink herbal tea to promote sleep and meditation to rest. He is still struggling today to sleep a litte longer as he knows that the body needs sleep to repair itself. It is very ironical that he sacrifice his health for wealth and now he hsa to spend his wealth to cure his health. It is all for nothing. Why do we need to go a big circle and end up in a zero sum game.
Folks, be aware of the trap that we could land us in this situation as we enter the rat race. Lead a balance life and sleep adequately or regularly. Buddha's middle path in every thing we do will keep us from harm's way. If we follow the middle path, we are balancing the extremes. The extremes will hurt us if we are not careful.
Namaste.
There is a change in my sleep pattern especially after a hectic yoga session ie sleep early and wake up early. Even if you try to sleep longer, thoughts will start to float into your head and the struggle between sleep and thoughts will intensify, making one feel uncomfortable or not at ease, According to the general beleif, 7 hours of good and uninterrupted sleep is good enough, Too little too much could be harmful to health, It is not a matter of one or a few times but persistently, lack of sleep or excessive could be harmful to health.
Once, my late mother told me that she could not sleep and I took her to see a Doctor and the Doctor asked her about her sleeping pattern and she told him that she catch up with her sleep in the afternoon because she could not sleep the night before. Consistently, she is sleeping in this pattern and it became her routine. So, the Doctor told her to change her sleep pattern and take only short naps in the afternoon and leave the sleeping at night. This advise was useful for a while until her passing. Usually, we are caught in this trap if we are unaware. We change our sleeping pattern to catch up with the lack of sleep the night before and it could become our sleeping habit which through some time, it became our mental habit. If we are aware, we should resist the change and keep to our usual routine. The change in our habit could have silent impact on our body and mind and in the long run, we will feel disillusion. Other people are sleeping and we are wide awake and we are sleeping when other people are awake. We should this change in our sleep pattern.
Of course, if we have a choice, we should keep our normal sleep pattern but for those working on shifts, their irregular sleep pattern will affect their health in the long run unless they regulate their sleeping time and keep to their sleep pattern. Regular sleep at a specific and fix time. The body will be conditioned to accept this consistency. If these people were to change irregularly or sleep in no specific time or lenght of the sleep, it could caused depression and disillusion. Lack of sleep in the long term is damaging to the health as our body and mind needs sufficent good quality sleep. This is the logical requirement ot healthy living,
I have a friend,SW who was working as an audit clerk in his early years. He studied very hard and passed his professional exams and he became a partner. During this process of climbing up the leader of success. He learned to sleep latter ie 3 or 4 hours only. In his later years, he told me that he could not sleep. He tried all the means to sleep longer. He learned to drink herbal tea to promote sleep and meditation to rest. He is still struggling today to sleep a litte longer as he knows that the body needs sleep to repair itself. It is very ironical that he sacrifice his health for wealth and now he hsa to spend his wealth to cure his health. It is all for nothing. Why do we need to go a big circle and end up in a zero sum game.
Folks, be aware of the trap that we could land us in this situation as we enter the rat race. Lead a balance life and sleep adequately or regularly. Buddha's middle path in every thing we do will keep us from harm's way. If we follow the middle path, we are balancing the extremes. The extremes will hurt us if we are not careful.
Namaste.
Lunch chat with PH - chasing daylight
PH called and tell me that our mutual friend AC is dying from Cancer and many of my colleagues have visited him in the hospital yesterday. Today, i invited him for lunch. He asked me whether I have gone to see AC, maybe for the last time. I told him that I am still struggling with myself whether I should visit him. I have not make up my mind whether to visit him or not because my FIL J and my BIL James have just passed away due to Cancer within the last four months. The torment is still within me, torturing me at random. It had been a very painful and stressful period for the past 4 months.
I reminded him of a book which I gave to him a long time ago, "chasing daylight". The author is the Chairman of KPMG International who had died from Cancer. Before he die, he wrote a book about his experience in closure with his colleagues, friends and love ones. He has make it a point in his last days to catch up with the ones he wishes to have have closure. He feel relief and lighter after every closure, just like lifting the burden from his body. It gets lighter at each closure. He learn to live with imperfections and he treat every moment when he is still living. At the near end, he tried to stay alert and he forecast his death. He was wrong many times. He believe the Buddhist way of keeping alert until the last moment and he kept his body at a 45 degree slanting angle which the Tibetian Buddhist believe this is the right angle to have the best impact when we go. If we are alert and ready, the going will be better and we will enter the next dimension in the most effective way.
The day to day account of his last stage of his life was amazing and very touching. He learn to appreciate beauty and he go deep into his inner world through meditation, sunshine and fresh air. He has a lot of guts to accept and face death. If we cannot change the end result, why should we worry about it? We should instead enjoy the moment as it slide to the end. The body might be sick but the mind is not sick. If we make our mind sick that the impact is doubt and will turn you to despair and desperation. We should control our mind to live as normal and not focus on the illness.
In the book joy of living, the author's master also suffered from Cancer. He was very advance in meditation and when he died, he did not feel the pain and his dead body maintained like a normal person for a few days. There was a ray of calmness in the room which he passes away.
I believe if we have great wisdom and we are practisioner of advance meditation, our passing will be painless and effortless.We just switch off and go into another life or return as energy lights to its source.
There is nothing to fear of death and we should be alert and have the courage to face it and see our life to the end as we slip pass the line of no return for a new journey forward.
Namaste.
I reminded him of a book which I gave to him a long time ago, "chasing daylight". The author is the Chairman of KPMG International who had died from Cancer. Before he die, he wrote a book about his experience in closure with his colleagues, friends and love ones. He has make it a point in his last days to catch up with the ones he wishes to have have closure. He feel relief and lighter after every closure, just like lifting the burden from his body. It gets lighter at each closure. He learn to live with imperfections and he treat every moment when he is still living. At the near end, he tried to stay alert and he forecast his death. He was wrong many times. He believe the Buddhist way of keeping alert until the last moment and he kept his body at a 45 degree slanting angle which the Tibetian Buddhist believe this is the right angle to have the best impact when we go. If we are alert and ready, the going will be better and we will enter the next dimension in the most effective way.
The day to day account of his last stage of his life was amazing and very touching. He learn to appreciate beauty and he go deep into his inner world through meditation, sunshine and fresh air. He has a lot of guts to accept and face death. If we cannot change the end result, why should we worry about it? We should instead enjoy the moment as it slide to the end. The body might be sick but the mind is not sick. If we make our mind sick that the impact is doubt and will turn you to despair and desperation. We should control our mind to live as normal and not focus on the illness.
In the book joy of living, the author's master also suffered from Cancer. He was very advance in meditation and when he died, he did not feel the pain and his dead body maintained like a normal person for a few days. There was a ray of calmness in the room which he passes away.
I believe if we have great wisdom and we are practisioner of advance meditation, our passing will be painless and effortless.We just switch off and go into another life or return as energy lights to its source.
There is nothing to fear of death and we should be alert and have the courage to face it and see our life to the end as we slip pass the line of no return for a new journey forward.
Namaste.
God particle - basis for the Big Bang theory.
* Higgs boson is missing link of Standard Model of particle physics
* Boson posited to give energy and mass to other particles
* Results are not yet conclusive proof that particle exists
GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - International scientists said on Tuesday they had found signs of the Higgs boson, an elementary sub-atomic particle believed to have played a vital role in the creation of the universe after the Big Bang.
Peter Higgs, the 82-year-old British theoretical physicist who first proposed the existence of the particle in 1964 as the missing link of a grand theory of matter and energy, was watching the announcement on a webcast with colleagues at Edinburgh University, where he is an emeritus professor.
"I won't be going home to open a bottle of whisky to drown my sorrows, but on the other hand I won't be going home to open a bottle of champagne either," his colleague Alan Walker quoted him as saying after the announcement.
The leaders of two experiments, Atlas and CMS, revealed their findings to a packed seminar at the CERN physics research centre near Geneva, where they have tried to find traces of the elusive boson by smashing particles together at near light-speed in the Large Hadron Collider.
The experiments generated such excitement by independently reaching very similar conclusions. But the scientists were quick to warn that their results have not yet reached the level of certainty that would let them claim a discovery -- hence Higgs's caution.
Under what is known as the Standard Model of Physics, the boson is posited to have been the agent that gave mass and energy to matter after the creation of the universe 13.7 billion years ago - leading some to nickname it the "God particle".
Its discovery would fill the last remaining hole in the model. However, that does not mean it must exist, and some eminent physicists such as Stephen Hawking believe it does not.
"If the Higgs observation is confirmed ... this really will be one of the discoveries of the century," said Themis Bowcock, professor of particle physics at Britain's Liverpool University.
"Physicists will have uncovered a keystone in the makeup of the universe ... whose influence we see and feel every day of our lives."
BIG BANG CONDITIONS
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, a vast underground particle accelerator that costs 200,000 Swiss francs ($215,000) an hour to run, is designed to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang to allow particles such as the Higgs boson to be found and studied.
While the boson's discovery would cement current knowledge about particles such as electrons and photons, proof that it does not exist would undermine the foundations of accepted theories of the make-up of the universe.
The particle is so short-lived that it can only be detected from the particles that it decays into. In the course of millions of collisions, the scientists are hunting for a significant excess of a particular combination of decay particles.
Although they are now converging on a particular profile for the Higgs, they will need another year's worth of such collisions to rule out a statistical fluke.
"The window for the Higgs mass gets smaller and smaller," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. "But please be prudent. Remember, we have not found it yet, nor have we excluded it yet. There is still Higgs hunting to be done."
Oliver Buchmueller, senior physicist on the CMS experiment, said: "It can still happen that it is a fluctuation, but all we see from both experiments is compatible with what we would expect for a Higgs signal to build up...
"But we really need the data from next year to be sure of what we're seeing."
Claire Shepherd-Themistocleus, head of the CMS Group at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, said: "We are homing in on the Higgs ...
"We have had hints today of what its mass might be and the excitement of scientists is palpable. Whether this is ultimately confirmed or we finally rule out a low-mass Higgs boson, we are on the verge of a major change in our understanding of the fundamental nature of matter."
* Boson posited to give energy and mass to other particles
* Results are not yet conclusive proof that particle exists
GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - International scientists said on Tuesday they had found signs of the Higgs boson, an elementary sub-atomic particle believed to have played a vital role in the creation of the universe after the Big Bang.
Peter Higgs, the 82-year-old British theoretical physicist who first proposed the existence of the particle in 1964 as the missing link of a grand theory of matter and energy, was watching the announcement on a webcast with colleagues at Edinburgh University, where he is an emeritus professor.
"I won't be going home to open a bottle of whisky to drown my sorrows, but on the other hand I won't be going home to open a bottle of champagne either," his colleague Alan Walker quoted him as saying after the announcement.
The leaders of two experiments, Atlas and CMS, revealed their findings to a packed seminar at the CERN physics research centre near Geneva, where they have tried to find traces of the elusive boson by smashing particles together at near light-speed in the Large Hadron Collider.
The experiments generated such excitement by independently reaching very similar conclusions. But the scientists were quick to warn that their results have not yet reached the level of certainty that would let them claim a discovery -- hence Higgs's caution.
Under what is known as the Standard Model of Physics, the boson is posited to have been the agent that gave mass and energy to matter after the creation of the universe 13.7 billion years ago - leading some to nickname it the "God particle".
Its discovery would fill the last remaining hole in the model. However, that does not mean it must exist, and some eminent physicists such as Stephen Hawking believe it does not.
"If the Higgs observation is confirmed ... this really will be one of the discoveries of the century," said Themis Bowcock, professor of particle physics at Britain's Liverpool University.
"Physicists will have uncovered a keystone in the makeup of the universe ... whose influence we see and feel every day of our lives."
BIG BANG CONDITIONS
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, a vast underground particle accelerator that costs 200,000 Swiss francs ($215,000) an hour to run, is designed to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang to allow particles such as the Higgs boson to be found and studied.
While the boson's discovery would cement current knowledge about particles such as electrons and photons, proof that it does not exist would undermine the foundations of accepted theories of the make-up of the universe.
The particle is so short-lived that it can only be detected from the particles that it decays into. In the course of millions of collisions, the scientists are hunting for a significant excess of a particular combination of decay particles.
Although they are now converging on a particular profile for the Higgs, they will need another year's worth of such collisions to rule out a statistical fluke.
"The window for the Higgs mass gets smaller and smaller," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. "But please be prudent. Remember, we have not found it yet, nor have we excluded it yet. There is still Higgs hunting to be done."
Oliver Buchmueller, senior physicist on the CMS experiment, said: "It can still happen that it is a fluctuation, but all we see from both experiments is compatible with what we would expect for a Higgs signal to build up...
"But we really need the data from next year to be sure of what we're seeing."
Claire Shepherd-Themistocleus, head of the CMS Group at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, said: "We are homing in on the Higgs ...
"We have had hints today of what its mass might be and the excitement of scientists is palpable. Whether this is ultimately confirmed or we finally rule out a low-mass Higgs boson, we are on the verge of a major change in our understanding of the fundamental nature of matter."
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Verse of repentance - avatamsaka sutra
Verse For Repentance (忏悔文)
All the evil karma I have created in the past,
from beginningless greed, hatred and delusion,
that arose from my body, speech and mind,
for all these I now seek repentance and reformation.
- Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (Avatamsaka Sutra)
All the evil karma I have created in the past,
from beginningless greed, hatred and delusion,
that arose from my body, speech and mind,
for all these I now seek repentance and reformation.
- Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (Avatamsaka Sutra)
Found - a bakery class
I found an advertisment in a mazagine offering bakery classes. I went to check it out at Farlim in Bandar Baru Air Itam. The shop's name is Chemmerry Sdn Bhd. When I saw the name , I thought it was a chemical company offering chemistry classes but upon looking further, it was actually a combination of chemistry in merry making. In the shop, it offers all the cake ingredients and tools of baking.To me,it was like finding a diamond among the haysacks. It was near and yet far.
The shop offers baking classes in cakes, pastry and bread. While waiting to see a class in operation on last saturday, I found the lecturer to be an interesting guy. The first impression was that he wore a red color polo-T and his assistant also the same color T-shirt.He greet us in a very warm manner and he was also jovial and funny in his introduction. I took a look at the class in operation and he was quite professional when conducting the lesson. He gaves away his recipe and handouts in quite a detail booklet to whole class of 7 students. During the chat with him, he told me that he had conducted too many classes and have lost count. He conduct himself with passion, soft and warm.
He conduct each class twice a week. Either a combination of Tuesdays and Thursdays or Saturday and Sunday. The full course have three parts ie Pastry, bread and cakes. The pastry chapter will cost each student RM1,600 and the cake chapter is RM2000 and the bread baking chapter cost about RM900. He boast of more than 100 variety of cake recipes and the full course is over a 4 months period. The size each class is about 7 or 8 students and it was quite hands on style of teaching.
I asked my daughter, May what she prefer and without hesitation, she told the clerk, she wants to learn the full course. I was taken aback because she was quite reluctant when I talk to her. My purpose was to offered to learn some skill during her holiday break. I did not expect her strong passion to learn baking.
The shop offers participants to join the on-going class anytime they want because the classes is complete on each lession. Just like a chinese serial it broke out into various chapters ot make learning easy.
For those of you who are interested, the shop is behind Maybank in Farlim, Penang. Check it out, fellas and make good cakes,pastry and bread for your love ones.
Namaste.
The shop offers baking classes in cakes, pastry and bread. While waiting to see a class in operation on last saturday, I found the lecturer to be an interesting guy. The first impression was that he wore a red color polo-T and his assistant also the same color T-shirt.He greet us in a very warm manner and he was also jovial and funny in his introduction. I took a look at the class in operation and he was quite professional when conducting the lesson. He gaves away his recipe and handouts in quite a detail booklet to whole class of 7 students. During the chat with him, he told me that he had conducted too many classes and have lost count. He conduct himself with passion, soft and warm.
He conduct each class twice a week. Either a combination of Tuesdays and Thursdays or Saturday and Sunday. The full course have three parts ie Pastry, bread and cakes. The pastry chapter will cost each student RM1,600 and the cake chapter is RM2000 and the bread baking chapter cost about RM900. He boast of more than 100 variety of cake recipes and the full course is over a 4 months period. The size each class is about 7 or 8 students and it was quite hands on style of teaching.
I asked my daughter, May what she prefer and without hesitation, she told the clerk, she wants to learn the full course. I was taken aback because she was quite reluctant when I talk to her. My purpose was to offered to learn some skill during her holiday break. I did not expect her strong passion to learn baking.
The shop offers participants to join the on-going class anytime they want because the classes is complete on each lession. Just like a chinese serial it broke out into various chapters ot make learning easy.
For those of you who are interested, the shop is behind Maybank in Farlim, Penang. Check it out, fellas and make good cakes,pastry and bread for your love ones.
Namaste.
Talk by Ajahn Brahm in Penang - 20/12/2011 to 28/12/2011
Subject: Meditation Retreat by Ajahn Brahm 20/12/2011-28/12/2011
>
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2011, 4:23 AM
>
> Dear Friends In the Dhamma,
>
> Good News.... Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso will be in Penang to conduct Meditation Retreat from Dec 20th to Dec 28th, 2011 @ Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, Kampar Road, Penang despite Ajahn's hectic schedule to teach the Dhamma and Meditation internationally.
>
> Once again, Ven. Ajahn Brahm has come out with a series of very interesting titles for the Dhamma Talks. I am pleased and delighted to attached herewith the Titles for Dhamma Talk (Open for Public) by Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso in conjunction with the Meditation Retreat in Penang starting from 20/12/2011 till 28/12/2011. All the Dhamma Talks will start @ 8.00pm @ Wisma Mahinda, Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, Kampar Road, Penang. All are welcome.
>
> Please don't miss this rare & great opportunity to meet with such a great Teacher, & listen to the Dhamma! Please help to disseminate the good news around, Sadhu 3X!
>
> "Great Thinkers get great headaches ..
> The Still, alert mind sees deeper than any thought..."
> ~ Ajahn Brahm
>
> With Metta,
>
> amykhaw..
> on behalf of the Organisers
>
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2011, 4:23 AM
>
> Dear Friends In the Dhamma,
>
> Good News.... Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso will be in Penang to conduct Meditation Retreat from Dec 20th to Dec 28th, 2011 @ Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, Kampar Road, Penang despite Ajahn's hectic schedule to teach the Dhamma and Meditation internationally.
>
> Once again, Ven. Ajahn Brahm has come out with a series of very interesting titles for the Dhamma Talks. I am pleased and delighted to attached herewith the Titles for Dhamma Talk (Open for Public) by Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso in conjunction with the Meditation Retreat in Penang starting from 20/12/2011 till 28/12/2011. All the Dhamma Talks will start @ 8.00pm @ Wisma Mahinda, Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, Kampar Road, Penang. All are welcome.
>
> Please don't miss this rare & great opportunity to meet with such a great Teacher, & listen to the Dhamma! Please help to disseminate the good news around, Sadhu 3X!
>
> "Great Thinkers get great headaches ..
> The Still, alert mind sees deeper than any thought..."
> ~ Ajahn Brahm
>
> With Metta,
>
> amykhaw..
> on behalf of the Organisers
Monday, December 12, 2011
Benefits of exercising barefoot - report
Barefoot workouts gain ground
Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:21AM EST
By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With barefoot running all the rage, the unshod workout is gaining ground across the exercise spectrum.
Fitness experts from aerobics instructors to modern dancers are extolling the virtues of feeling the ground beneath their feet.
Connecticut-based fitness instructor Ellen Barrett teaches a mixture of Pilates, yoga and dance and conducts all her low-impact classes barefoot.
"I've been teaching barefoot forever. Shoes give you a false sense of a platform. You don't connect to ground," explained Barrett, creator of the DVDs "Grace and Gusto" and "Power Fusion."
"So goes the foot, so goes the body. If your foot is balanced and strong the rest of the body is too," said Barrett. "That connectedness between foot and core and balance, that core connection, that's ultimately what balance is."
A firm believer that bare feet are happy feet, Barrett recalled that when her perpetually work-booted father finally removed his shoes, "his feet looked immature, not like the rest of his body."
She believes shoe-encased feet need to ease out gradually.
For starters she suggests going barefoot around the house or performing the elementary exercise of pointing and flexing the bare foot 10 times.
Shoeless for 12 years, Colorado-based barefoot fitness instructor Stacey Lei Krauss said she has taught thousands to exercise unshod.
"Being barefoot is better than being in a cast, which is what your shoe is," said Krauss. "If you're in a cast your muscles will atrophy and your joints will be stiff."
Krauss' latest DVD, "WillPower and Grace," is a sweaty cardiovascular workout that includes lunges, squats, jumps and push-ups, all done barefoot.
"We begin class with a warm up. Just being barefoot is going to demand a little more of your feet," she said. "And you need to be taught how to land: without a sound and engaging the core."
Eighty-four-year-old fitness instructor Ann Smith exercises in bare feet and always has.
"I didn't know it was a trend," Smith said. "I was trained in modern and interpretive dance, which has always been barefoot."
Smith, whose DVDs include "Stretching for Seniors" and "Moving to Mozart," said being barefoot makes contact with the floor safer, easier and more logical.
"There's more power, more expression," she said. "As I tell my seniors, 'If you're meeting someone, you take off your gloves to shake their hand.'"
Smith, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia, was inducted into barefoot exercise by her mother, an interpretive dancer of the Isadora Duncan period.
"My routines are based on classic ballet and modern dance: slow continuous stretching of the body inside and out," she said.
Smith said barefoot exercises should be done on a wooden floor. Tile and cement are too hard on the back.
"If you want to look like an athlete, go to the gym and work out on machines. If you want to look like a dancer, take some dance classes," said Smith. "I have my own hips, my own knees and I'm not on any medication. Trust your body. It will tell you."
Barrett believes the body is telling a lot of fitness lovers to give barefoot a try.
"I think it's going to continue," she said. "We have an epidemic of knee and hip problems. The last resort is to go naked and see what Mother Nature can do."
Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:21AM EST
By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With barefoot running all the rage, the unshod workout is gaining ground across the exercise spectrum.
Fitness experts from aerobics instructors to modern dancers are extolling the virtues of feeling the ground beneath their feet.
Connecticut-based fitness instructor Ellen Barrett teaches a mixture of Pilates, yoga and dance and conducts all her low-impact classes barefoot.
"I've been teaching barefoot forever. Shoes give you a false sense of a platform. You don't connect to ground," explained Barrett, creator of the DVDs "Grace and Gusto" and "Power Fusion."
"So goes the foot, so goes the body. If your foot is balanced and strong the rest of the body is too," said Barrett. "That connectedness between foot and core and balance, that core connection, that's ultimately what balance is."
A firm believer that bare feet are happy feet, Barrett recalled that when her perpetually work-booted father finally removed his shoes, "his feet looked immature, not like the rest of his body."
She believes shoe-encased feet need to ease out gradually.
For starters she suggests going barefoot around the house or performing the elementary exercise of pointing and flexing the bare foot 10 times.
Shoeless for 12 years, Colorado-based barefoot fitness instructor Stacey Lei Krauss said she has taught thousands to exercise unshod.
"Being barefoot is better than being in a cast, which is what your shoe is," said Krauss. "If you're in a cast your muscles will atrophy and your joints will be stiff."
Krauss' latest DVD, "WillPower and Grace," is a sweaty cardiovascular workout that includes lunges, squats, jumps and push-ups, all done barefoot.
"We begin class with a warm up. Just being barefoot is going to demand a little more of your feet," she said. "And you need to be taught how to land: without a sound and engaging the core."
Eighty-four-year-old fitness instructor Ann Smith exercises in bare feet and always has.
"I didn't know it was a trend," Smith said. "I was trained in modern and interpretive dance, which has always been barefoot."
Smith, whose DVDs include "Stretching for Seniors" and "Moving to Mozart," said being barefoot makes contact with the floor safer, easier and more logical.
"There's more power, more expression," she said. "As I tell my seniors, 'If you're meeting someone, you take off your gloves to shake their hand.'"
Smith, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia, was inducted into barefoot exercise by her mother, an interpretive dancer of the Isadora Duncan period.
"My routines are based on classic ballet and modern dance: slow continuous stretching of the body inside and out," she said.
Smith said barefoot exercises should be done on a wooden floor. Tile and cement are too hard on the back.
"If you want to look like an athlete, go to the gym and work out on machines. If you want to look like a dancer, take some dance classes," said Smith. "I have my own hips, my own knees and I'm not on any medication. Trust your body. It will tell you."
Barrett believes the body is telling a lot of fitness lovers to give barefoot a try.
"I think it's going to continue," she said. "We have an epidemic of knee and hip problems. The last resort is to go naked and see what Mother Nature can do."
Woke up feeling scare
I woke up and fear grips me. The fear of dying as Master Time flew pass me in great speed. THe days is seem shorter as I aged. I fell a sleep early last night, no long after my usual yoga class. My eyes were tired and my body yelling in pain after the exercise. I could not control my eyes and it just closed by itself. The cold early morning air woke me up and suddenly, I was fearful. Am I fearful of dying ? Really? My thoughts repeatedly haunt me for an answer.
No. I am just fearful of losing everything in life. Death is a definite destination but in due time but the fear of not getting to enjoy my fortune from my hardwork. All of us worked very hard and save intensely to provide for our retiring and twilight years and to live in comfort. There are so many things, we want to do or experience but we do not have the time. If we are working, we will be tired down with our job and trying to do the best out of it. The daily chorus will take the breath and energy out of us and the weekends, we have to recuperate. All of us, working class people will looking forward to the freedom and the enjoyment in our retiring years.
The fruit of our labor. The satisfaction of enjoying the results of our hardwork. Yes, this is what some of us will be fearful of losing. The longer we wait for these retiring days, the more fearful we will become. Just like staking up our money in a bet. A bet against life and if we win it and get to use it, it will be worth all the troubles.
Maybe, this is the wrong way of playing our cards. We should enjoy the fruits of our labor as we work. In this way, the wager will not be so big and the fear would not be so intense. We have to be smart and do everything we want to do at the present moment. Work and enjoy at the same time. However, it is not so easy if we take pride in our job. We want to do a good job and we wanted to finish all our assignmentds on time and become a valuable part of the working team. That is the reason, we have opted for this wager which will grow larger as we worked longer in our job. If we take job as our enjoyment and price as our satisfaction, then the wager would not be so large.
We have to make a choice, a lesser wager or put everything on the last card. If we choose the latter option, the pressure will be intense and the fear will escalate. You will work up in more mornings with cold sweats as we work towards retirement. This again our choice. Our decision. Our life. We have no one to blame as this is our choice. The fear comes from within and our own doing. If we understand this point and accept the wager, then whatever outcome, we will leave to fate.
Namaste.
No. I am just fearful of losing everything in life. Death is a definite destination but in due time but the fear of not getting to enjoy my fortune from my hardwork. All of us worked very hard and save intensely to provide for our retiring and twilight years and to live in comfort. There are so many things, we want to do or experience but we do not have the time. If we are working, we will be tired down with our job and trying to do the best out of it. The daily chorus will take the breath and energy out of us and the weekends, we have to recuperate. All of us, working class people will looking forward to the freedom and the enjoyment in our retiring years.
The fruit of our labor. The satisfaction of enjoying the results of our hardwork. Yes, this is what some of us will be fearful of losing. The longer we wait for these retiring days, the more fearful we will become. Just like staking up our money in a bet. A bet against life and if we win it and get to use it, it will be worth all the troubles.
Maybe, this is the wrong way of playing our cards. We should enjoy the fruits of our labor as we work. In this way, the wager will not be so big and the fear would not be so intense. We have to be smart and do everything we want to do at the present moment. Work and enjoy at the same time. However, it is not so easy if we take pride in our job. We want to do a good job and we wanted to finish all our assignmentds on time and become a valuable part of the working team. That is the reason, we have opted for this wager which will grow larger as we worked longer in our job. If we take job as our enjoyment and price as our satisfaction, then the wager would not be so large.
We have to make a choice, a lesser wager or put everything on the last card. If we choose the latter option, the pressure will be intense and the fear will escalate. You will work up in more mornings with cold sweats as we work towards retirement. This again our choice. Our decision. Our life. We have no one to blame as this is our choice. The fear comes from within and our own doing. If we understand this point and accept the wager, then whatever outcome, we will leave to fate.
Namaste.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
How to protect yourself ? (ext )
Delay, Detection, Deterrence and Defence
When You Are in the Office
Lock the main door or your room door (Delay)
Remember where are all the fire alarm and panic buttons located (Deterrence)
Practice on the fire alarm and panic button (Deterrence)
Look at the CCTV before leaving the office (Detection)
Ask questions before opening the main door (Detection)
Keep an umbrella next to you (Defence)
When You Are Walking To and From your Car
Walk with your colleagues (Deterrence)
Don’t use your mobile phone and be alert (Detection)
Don’t walk, but strode to and from your car (Deterrence)
Look around before getting into or out of your car (Detection)
Bring along an umbrella or tennis racquet (Defence)
When you get into the car, the first thing to do is to lock your car (Delay)
Carry a pepper spray in your hand, not in your handbag (Defence)
Bad things happen to good people. You are a soft target. Be Paranoid.
When You Are in the Office
Lock the main door or your room door (Delay)
Remember where are all the fire alarm and panic buttons located (Deterrence)
Practice on the fire alarm and panic button (Deterrence)
Look at the CCTV before leaving the office (Detection)
Ask questions before opening the main door (Detection)
Keep an umbrella next to you (Defence)
When You Are Walking To and From your Car
Walk with your colleagues (Deterrence)
Don’t use your mobile phone and be alert (Detection)
Don’t walk, but strode to and from your car (Deterrence)
Look around before getting into or out of your car (Detection)
Bring along an umbrella or tennis racquet (Defence)
When you get into the car, the first thing to do is to lock your car (Delay)
Carry a pepper spray in your hand, not in your handbag (Defence)
Bad things happen to good people. You are a soft target. Be Paranoid.
Tzu Chi - Master Cheng Yen
I have been wondering and wanting to know more about Tzu Chi organization. In Penang, they are well know and have a very big building to carry out their charity work. I have visited their blog and read up their mission and the biography of Master Cheng Yen.
Master Cheng Yen is a Buddhist disciple and is residing in Taiwan. She started the Tzu Chi organization to provide help to the poor and to educate the rich in the great compassion and loving kindness. The organization believed in giving rather than receiving.
Buddhism is practiced in the form of temples and its deovtees will donate money and food to the monks and money for the operation of the temples. Devotees are welcome to pray and learn Buddhism from these places of worship. The temples do not carry out charity works and only in the event of disater, the monks are despatch to help the needy in non monetary ways. Very rarely, the temples gives out money to the poor except to give free food and lodging to the needy.
Tzu Chi is not a temple but a charitable organization which is based on the Buddhism dharma to help all living beings. The members are not monks but laymen and women who volunteer to carry out charity work at their own time and own resources. Master Cheng Yen was the founder of Tzu Chi and the organization evolves around Buddhism. Buddhism have long been a passive religion and in recent times, the Buddhism masters are engaging in pro-active Buddhism and they become more engaging to the welfare and goodness of all living beings.
This is a good start and it will move the religion from a self centered ie promoting self development to cater for all living beings as the whole religion evolves in this direction. Rather than to concentrate on achieving enlightenment and reaching nirvana, it puts into life the teaching of Buddhs, that is, loving kindness to all living beings.
Namaste.
Master Cheng Yen is a Buddhist disciple and is residing in Taiwan. She started the Tzu Chi organization to provide help to the poor and to educate the rich in the great compassion and loving kindness. The organization believed in giving rather than receiving.
Buddhism is practiced in the form of temples and its deovtees will donate money and food to the monks and money for the operation of the temples. Devotees are welcome to pray and learn Buddhism from these places of worship. The temples do not carry out charity works and only in the event of disater, the monks are despatch to help the needy in non monetary ways. Very rarely, the temples gives out money to the poor except to give free food and lodging to the needy.
Tzu Chi is not a temple but a charitable organization which is based on the Buddhism dharma to help all living beings. The members are not monks but laymen and women who volunteer to carry out charity work at their own time and own resources. Master Cheng Yen was the founder of Tzu Chi and the organization evolves around Buddhism. Buddhism have long been a passive religion and in recent times, the Buddhism masters are engaging in pro-active Buddhism and they become more engaging to the welfare and goodness of all living beings.
This is a good start and it will move the religion from a self centered ie promoting self development to cater for all living beings as the whole religion evolves in this direction. Rather than to concentrate on achieving enlightenment and reaching nirvana, it puts into life the teaching of Buddhs, that is, loving kindness to all living beings.
Namaste.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Different meaning of love : From a fellow blogger
To My Friends Who Are ............SINGLE
Love is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you just let it fly, It will come to you when you least expect it.
Love can make you happy but often it hurts. Love is only special when you give it to someone who is really worth it. Take your time and choose the best.
To My Friends Who Are ...........NOT SO SINGLE
Love isn't about becoming somebody else's "perfect person" It's about finding someone who helps you become the best person you can be.
To My Friends Who Are .......PLAYBOY /GIRL TYPE Never say "I love you" if you don't mean it. Never talk about feelings if they aren't there. Never touch a life if you mean to break a heart. Never look someone in the eye if all you do is lie. The cruelest thing a guy can do to a girl: Is to let her fall in love when he doesn't intend to catch her fall. It works both ways.
To My Friends Who Are ...........ENGAGED
The true measure of compatibility is not the years spent together, but how good you are for each other...
To My Friends Who Are ...........MARRIED
Love is not about "it's your fault", but "I'm sorry"
Not "where are you", but "I'm right here"
Not "how could you", but "I understand"
Not "I wish you were", but "I'm thankful you are"
To My Friends Who Are ............HEARTBROKEN
Heartbreaks last as long as you want and cut as deep as you allow them to go. The challenge is not how to survive heartbreaks but to learn from them.
To My Friends Who Are .........NAIVE How to be in love:
Be consistent but not too persistent, Share and never be unfair, Understand and try not to demand and get hurt but never keep the pain.
To My Friends Who Are ...........POSSESSIVE
It breaks your heart to see the one you love Happy with someone else
But it's more painful to know that the one you love Is unhappy with you.
To My Friends Who Are ........AFRAID TO CONFESS
Love hurts when you break up with someone. It hurts even more when someone breaks up with you. But love hurts the most:
When the person you love has no idea how you feel about him/her
To My Friends Who Are .......STILL HOLDING ON
A sad thing about life is when you meet someone and fall in love, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be, and that you have wasted years on someone who wasn't worth it. If that person isn't worth it now, he/she's not going to be worth it a year or 10 years from now.
To all My Friends.
My wish for you is a man/woman whose love is: honest, strong, mature, never-changing, protective, encouraging, rewarding and unselfish.
Love is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you just let it fly, It will come to you when you least expect it.
Love can make you happy but often it hurts. Love is only special when you give it to someone who is really worth it. Take your time and choose the best.
To My Friends Who Are ...........NOT SO SINGLE
Love isn't about becoming somebody else's "perfect person" It's about finding someone who helps you become the best person you can be.
To My Friends Who Are .......PLAYBOY /GIRL TYPE Never say "I love you" if you don't mean it. Never talk about feelings if they aren't there. Never touch a life if you mean to break a heart. Never look someone in the eye if all you do is lie. The cruelest thing a guy can do to a girl: Is to let her fall in love when he doesn't intend to catch her fall. It works both ways.
To My Friends Who Are ...........ENGAGED
The true measure of compatibility is not the years spent together, but how good you are for each other...
To My Friends Who Are ...........MARRIED
Love is not about "it's your fault", but "I'm sorry"
Not "where are you", but "I'm right here"
Not "how could you", but "I understand"
Not "I wish you were", but "I'm thankful you are"
To My Friends Who Are ............HEARTBROKEN
Heartbreaks last as long as you want and cut as deep as you allow them to go. The challenge is not how to survive heartbreaks but to learn from them.
To My Friends Who Are .........NAIVE How to be in love:
Be consistent but not too persistent, Share and never be unfair, Understand and try not to demand and get hurt but never keep the pain.
To My Friends Who Are ...........POSSESSIVE
It breaks your heart to see the one you love Happy with someone else
But it's more painful to know that the one you love Is unhappy with you.
To My Friends Who Are ........AFRAID TO CONFESS
Love hurts when you break up with someone. It hurts even more when someone breaks up with you. But love hurts the most:
When the person you love has no idea how you feel about him/her
To My Friends Who Are .......STILL HOLDING ON
A sad thing about life is when you meet someone and fall in love, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be, and that you have wasted years on someone who wasn't worth it. If that person isn't worth it now, he/she's not going to be worth it a year or 10 years from now.
To all My Friends.
My wish for you is a man/woman whose love is: honest, strong, mature, never-changing, protective, encouraging, rewarding and unselfish.
Advancement in Cancer treatment drugs - news
Leukemia drug pulled from U.S. sparks new interest
Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:56PM EST
By Deena Beasley
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A new study of leukemia drug Mylotarg, pulled from the U.S. market last year due to safety concerns, found it to be effective when used at low doses in older adults but questions about toxicity remain.
Pfizer Inc voluntarily halted U.S. sales of Mylotarg, also known as gemtuzumab, after a study showed that adding it to chemotherapy did not extend survival for patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive bone marrow cancer.
That trial also showed more deaths in the first couple of months of treatment. The fatality rate was 5.7 percent for Mylotarg patients, compared with 1.4 percent without the drug.
But several academic groups have continued clinical studies of the drug, with some of those results presented in San Diego this week at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
One new study conducted in France studied newly diagnosed patients aged 50 to 70 who were given Mylotarg and chemotherapy. It found that at two years of follow-up, 41.4 percent were still alive without disease recurrence, compared with 15.6 percent of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
Overall survival was 34 months in the Mylotarg group and 19 months in the chemotherapy alone group.
"We developed a new regimen by using a small dose and repeating the dose at short intervals," said Dr. Sylvie Castaigne, professor of hematology at Hopital de Versailles in Versailles, France, and the study's lead author.
The trial "uses Mylotarg in a somewhat different fashion ... split over several doses," said Dr. Mace Rothenberg, head of clinical development and medical affairs at Pfizer's oncology business unit. "By using it in a slightly different way ... this drug is showing promise."
In the study conducted by the Acute Leukemia French Association, the rate of fatalities possibly caused by treatment was 8.7 percent for Mylotarg patients and 6.7 percent for chemotherapy patients. Higher rates of low platelet levels and liver vein blockage were seen in the Mylotarg group.
Pfizer's Rothenberg called those toxicity results "acceptable" and said the company is talking with researchers about how best to move forward. Pfizer is not yet discussing the new data with regulators.
"This new study is really quite tantalizing," said Dr. Charles Abrams, ASH secretary and associate chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "This is a drug that wasn't studied fully enough." He has no financial ties to Pfizer.
Mylotarg was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 for patients 60 and older who had a relapse of acute myeloid leukemia. The drug combines an antibody designed to target a protein found on the surface of AML cells with a cancer-killing toxin. The aim is to home in on cancer cells and minimize damage to other cells and tissues.
Pfizer's first-quarter 2010 sales of Mylotarg were $8.8 million, making it a small product for the world's biggest drugmaker.
Acute myeloid leukemia, which causes abnormal cells to grow inside bone marrow, is diagnosed in about 13,000 Americans each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease is uncommon before the age of 40 and the average age of a patient with AML is about 67 years.
Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:56PM EST
By Deena Beasley
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A new study of leukemia drug Mylotarg, pulled from the U.S. market last year due to safety concerns, found it to be effective when used at low doses in older adults but questions about toxicity remain.
Pfizer Inc voluntarily halted U.S. sales of Mylotarg, also known as gemtuzumab, after a study showed that adding it to chemotherapy did not extend survival for patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive bone marrow cancer.
That trial also showed more deaths in the first couple of months of treatment. The fatality rate was 5.7 percent for Mylotarg patients, compared with 1.4 percent without the drug.
But several academic groups have continued clinical studies of the drug, with some of those results presented in San Diego this week at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
One new study conducted in France studied newly diagnosed patients aged 50 to 70 who were given Mylotarg and chemotherapy. It found that at two years of follow-up, 41.4 percent were still alive without disease recurrence, compared with 15.6 percent of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
Overall survival was 34 months in the Mylotarg group and 19 months in the chemotherapy alone group.
"We developed a new regimen by using a small dose and repeating the dose at short intervals," said Dr. Sylvie Castaigne, professor of hematology at Hopital de Versailles in Versailles, France, and the study's lead author.
The trial "uses Mylotarg in a somewhat different fashion ... split over several doses," said Dr. Mace Rothenberg, head of clinical development and medical affairs at Pfizer's oncology business unit. "By using it in a slightly different way ... this drug is showing promise."
In the study conducted by the Acute Leukemia French Association, the rate of fatalities possibly caused by treatment was 8.7 percent for Mylotarg patients and 6.7 percent for chemotherapy patients. Higher rates of low platelet levels and liver vein blockage were seen in the Mylotarg group.
Pfizer's Rothenberg called those toxicity results "acceptable" and said the company is talking with researchers about how best to move forward. Pfizer is not yet discussing the new data with regulators.
"This new study is really quite tantalizing," said Dr. Charles Abrams, ASH secretary and associate chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "This is a drug that wasn't studied fully enough." He has no financial ties to Pfizer.
Mylotarg was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 for patients 60 and older who had a relapse of acute myeloid leukemia. The drug combines an antibody designed to target a protein found on the surface of AML cells with a cancer-killing toxin. The aim is to home in on cancer cells and minimize damage to other cells and tissues.
Pfizer's first-quarter 2010 sales of Mylotarg were $8.8 million, making it a small product for the world's biggest drugmaker.
Acute myeloid leukemia, which causes abnormal cells to grow inside bone marrow, is diagnosed in about 13,000 Americans each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease is uncommon before the age of 40 and the average age of a patient with AML is about 67 years.
The present moment.
Last night, I was going through my FB and I came across a message posted by my friend, SB in Australia. The message is Buddha's philosophy on the awareness of the present moment. I have written a few messages on this wisdom and to relive this message and urge my readers to comtemplate on this wisdom and manage our life in a more meaningful way.
In my past messages, I have posted and written that tomorrow is never guaranteed. This is not to strike fear in everyone of us but to make us aware that fate strikes in a misterious way. It is very logical that if we are young and healthy, there is definitely a tomorrow. This logic cannot be denied and it is a high percentage that this logic will hold. But, there is a percentage that it might not happen due to unforeseen circumstances. There was a yesterday news that a plane clashed on a slum area in the Phillippines and killed many people and a big fire in a Hospital in India killed many of its patient. So, it goes on and on and on.
To focus on this wisdom is also to brushed up our sense of living and make us value every moment. Master Time would not stop for anyone and it will keep ticking and in no time,you will find that your ability to do something is not there anymore or even if you are there, you could do it no more. If we value the present moments, we are living in it and doing the things purposefully and with great intent. If we live in the past, it is wasteful as it had already gone and if we live in the future, it is only a dream or a hope. What we have is only the present moment.
To illustrate this point and I want to repeat a pass article to emphasize this wisdom:
There was a husband and wife. On her birthday, the husband will buy new dress and under garments for the wife. One day, she passed away from an accident and on clearing her cupboards, there were many dress and under garments that was still in wrappers. Her husband remembered that her wife have told him that she will wear them in the future. But, the future never come. You may think that this thinking is very passive and pressimistic but logically, there is nothing wrong to live in the present moment and live as if tomorrow never come. At least our living will be full and meaningful rather than living on hope of tomorrow.
People argued that we need to plan for our future. Yes, I agreed that there is never such things that we plan to fail and it is only fail to plan. We can have plans but we should not stop living waiting for our plan to happen. We should live in the present and work on our plan. How much you want to live in the present and how much you use your mind or your time to think about the future, it depends on you but been aware that you only have the present moment will make you make the right judgement.
So, have a good day and I would like to thank, SB for triggering me to revisit this wisdom and make my day in full awareness of this philosophy.
Namaste.
In my past messages, I have posted and written that tomorrow is never guaranteed. This is not to strike fear in everyone of us but to make us aware that fate strikes in a misterious way. It is very logical that if we are young and healthy, there is definitely a tomorrow. This logic cannot be denied and it is a high percentage that this logic will hold. But, there is a percentage that it might not happen due to unforeseen circumstances. There was a yesterday news that a plane clashed on a slum area in the Phillippines and killed many people and a big fire in a Hospital in India killed many of its patient. So, it goes on and on and on.
To focus on this wisdom is also to brushed up our sense of living and make us value every moment. Master Time would not stop for anyone and it will keep ticking and in no time,you will find that your ability to do something is not there anymore or even if you are there, you could do it no more. If we value the present moments, we are living in it and doing the things purposefully and with great intent. If we live in the past, it is wasteful as it had already gone and if we live in the future, it is only a dream or a hope. What we have is only the present moment.
To illustrate this point and I want to repeat a pass article to emphasize this wisdom:
There was a husband and wife. On her birthday, the husband will buy new dress and under garments for the wife. One day, she passed away from an accident and on clearing her cupboards, there were many dress and under garments that was still in wrappers. Her husband remembered that her wife have told him that she will wear them in the future. But, the future never come. You may think that this thinking is very passive and pressimistic but logically, there is nothing wrong to live in the present moment and live as if tomorrow never come. At least our living will be full and meaningful rather than living on hope of tomorrow.
People argued that we need to plan for our future. Yes, I agreed that there is never such things that we plan to fail and it is only fail to plan. We can have plans but we should not stop living waiting for our plan to happen. We should live in the present and work on our plan. How much you want to live in the present and how much you use your mind or your time to think about the future, it depends on you but been aware that you only have the present moment will make you make the right judgement.
So, have a good day and I would like to thank, SB for triggering me to revisit this wisdom and make my day in full awareness of this philosophy.
Namaste.
A sleepless night
I had dinner with my family and my sister at Mizi bistro again tonight. While driving back home, I was feeling sleepy and yawn a few times. I thought I will fall a sleep soon and upon reaching the house, I took a shower and head straight to bed. I went to the internet and pull out a few old songs and get myself ready for bed. But, it did not happen this way. My eyes were heavy but my heart could not slow down and make my mind became restless. It must be because of the Chinese tea I had in the afternoon while watching TV. Well, what can I say and I wanted to share some experience which I had in New World Park,Penang.
After dinner with my family at Mizi, I walk around the park and I saw a presentation by some youth on the stage. The theme was " Youth in action ". It was perform by a group of youngsters belonging to a particular church. The group of youth was trying very hard to impress on the audience that they are responsible to save the earth for the future generations. One of the actor read out a poem calling the people to give back what we take so that the world remain as it is. The message was to request the people to imagine that there is no more tress and everything is barren on this earth, what shall the future generations do? It will be sufferings and hard life.
The audience was less than 30 people but it did not dampen the spirit of these young actors and actress. All they want to do is to express themselves and tell the world to care for them. It is a pity that this meaningful play has not got the attention of the people. It does not matter that quality of the acting is raw but the message is important. On a saturday night,all the people is busy enjoying themselves or shopping and leaving this group of youngsters crying out loud for attention. Hello Fellas, please lend them your ears and listen to their cry and what they tell you about the future is real. So, sit up and do something
Before my tired eyes closed for the night, all of us should be aware the hole in the ozone layer is getting bigger and bigger and the ice cap in the north pole is melting and th weather is changing rapidly. There are more earthquakes and flooding this year. Please note that the GODS are getting angry and letting the disasters to wake us up. Just be aware and discipline ourself to reverse the damage we have done to the mother earth. The power is in our hands. Yes, this is the message spelled out by the youth. The power of changeo rest in our hands and it is within us. The choice and decision is within us to exercise.
Before it is too late, please give or contribute whatever you can, in a small way or a big way, please do something to save the future for our generations to come.
Namaste.
After dinner with my family at Mizi, I walk around the park and I saw a presentation by some youth on the stage. The theme was " Youth in action ". It was perform by a group of youngsters belonging to a particular church. The group of youth was trying very hard to impress on the audience that they are responsible to save the earth for the future generations. One of the actor read out a poem calling the people to give back what we take so that the world remain as it is. The message was to request the people to imagine that there is no more tress and everything is barren on this earth, what shall the future generations do? It will be sufferings and hard life.
The audience was less than 30 people but it did not dampen the spirit of these young actors and actress. All they want to do is to express themselves and tell the world to care for them. It is a pity that this meaningful play has not got the attention of the people. It does not matter that quality of the acting is raw but the message is important. On a saturday night,all the people is busy enjoying themselves or shopping and leaving this group of youngsters crying out loud for attention. Hello Fellas, please lend them your ears and listen to their cry and what they tell you about the future is real. So, sit up and do something
Before my tired eyes closed for the night, all of us should be aware the hole in the ozone layer is getting bigger and bigger and the ice cap in the north pole is melting and th weather is changing rapidly. There are more earthquakes and flooding this year. Please note that the GODS are getting angry and letting the disasters to wake us up. Just be aware and discipline ourself to reverse the damage we have done to the mother earth. The power is in our hands. Yes, this is the message spelled out by the youth. The power of changeo rest in our hands and it is within us. The choice and decision is within us to exercise.
Before it is too late, please give or contribute whatever you can, in a small way or a big way, please do something to save the future for our generations to come.
Namaste.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Reflections on life
I woke up early this morning and my mind start wondering. I have slept early the night before and the body is responding by waking me up. A lot of thoughts go through my head as I say before each of us can experience about 50,000 times of changing thoughts per day. If you try to switch off your light switch in your house by 50,000 times, your bulb will blow or you will get exhausted. This is for sure but our mind is so flexible that it can accommodate this repeated process. Of course, there are side effects of this repeated process, it used up your energy and add stress to your body system and you become restless. My way to tame the mind is to write about my experience and share with all of you. If you read my article, you are also focusing your mind and reduce the disturbing thoughts coming through your head and you will feel better.
Yesterday, I had a lunch with a friend, SL and after telling me her travelling experience in the winter in China, she told me that she read an article about people study and work hard to earn money and after that, use the money to cure their health. This is a funny side of life. I know SL when she was a young audit staff and she worked so hard and sacrifice her social life and marriage to become a audit director. Audit work is very tedious and long hours and very stressful. It is a matter of creditability and you cannot afford to make any mistakes which could finished off your career.
Our body can only take that amount of stress and if it has exceed its limit, it will sent feelers to alert the body system. Just like when the amount of my sleep have reach its limit, my body will automatically wake up. When people realize and start to question the purpose of life, it signify the body and mind has enough of stress and we will need to let go. Change our habits and living style. We have better to act fast.
I told SL, this is the irony of life. The great Dalai Lama have question this irony of us chasing for money and after that use the money we earned to cure our body from sickness. It would be better to take care of our body and mind before it gets sick from over work or over stress. We lost our focus many times in our life journey. We do not know how to relax and enjoy the precious present moments. Our awareness have became dull from our pursue of material gains. The importance of adding more zeros behind our net worth is so important and even if can became excessive, we still pursue it as a sign of success and security. We believe we cannot fall sick from work and stress and we can live forever. When we have make enough, we will stop and enjoy but there is never enough and we continue to push our body and mind to work for us. So, we get sick.
This evening, I was told by my brother, Weng that he is feeling sick because of his blood sugar is too high. I went into the internet and check out what causes high blood sugar. Too much carbohydrates and lack of exercise. The body mechanism have started to break down as age catches up and his poor diet and lack of exercise. My brother, Weng is the least worried guy about money. He does not earn much and he does not spend much and he always tell us that he has no " battle with life". This is a Chinese figure of speech which means he is at peace and is not fighting for more wealth. He sleeps and a lot and never exercise much and eat too much rice. Yes, life is fair and there is a reason for every thing.
These two person ie SL and Weng is the two end of the extremes. One is working so hard and so stressful and another, so lax and "come what may" atttitude but both is heading for trouble in their health. Life is fair and if you do not take care of your body, you will get sick and don't beg on your luck. There are so many factors to good health and we have to find a balance and manage it well. I believe Buddha's concept of middle path is the right way. Away from both the extremes and find the level of good health. The middle line is different for different people and you will need to find it yourself. There is no one formula that suits all.
So, please start to find your health line within yourself and manage it well. Not too much stress, not too lazy and a good diet.
Namaste.
Yesterday, I had a lunch with a friend, SL and after telling me her travelling experience in the winter in China, she told me that she read an article about people study and work hard to earn money and after that, use the money to cure their health. This is a funny side of life. I know SL when she was a young audit staff and she worked so hard and sacrifice her social life and marriage to become a audit director. Audit work is very tedious and long hours and very stressful. It is a matter of creditability and you cannot afford to make any mistakes which could finished off your career.
Our body can only take that amount of stress and if it has exceed its limit, it will sent feelers to alert the body system. Just like when the amount of my sleep have reach its limit, my body will automatically wake up. When people realize and start to question the purpose of life, it signify the body and mind has enough of stress and we will need to let go. Change our habits and living style. We have better to act fast.
I told SL, this is the irony of life. The great Dalai Lama have question this irony of us chasing for money and after that use the money we earned to cure our body from sickness. It would be better to take care of our body and mind before it gets sick from over work or over stress. We lost our focus many times in our life journey. We do not know how to relax and enjoy the precious present moments. Our awareness have became dull from our pursue of material gains. The importance of adding more zeros behind our net worth is so important and even if can became excessive, we still pursue it as a sign of success and security. We believe we cannot fall sick from work and stress and we can live forever. When we have make enough, we will stop and enjoy but there is never enough and we continue to push our body and mind to work for us. So, we get sick.
This evening, I was told by my brother, Weng that he is feeling sick because of his blood sugar is too high. I went into the internet and check out what causes high blood sugar. Too much carbohydrates and lack of exercise. The body mechanism have started to break down as age catches up and his poor diet and lack of exercise. My brother, Weng is the least worried guy about money. He does not earn much and he does not spend much and he always tell us that he has no " battle with life". This is a Chinese figure of speech which means he is at peace and is not fighting for more wealth. He sleeps and a lot and never exercise much and eat too much rice. Yes, life is fair and there is a reason for every thing.
These two person ie SL and Weng is the two end of the extremes. One is working so hard and so stressful and another, so lax and "come what may" atttitude but both is heading for trouble in their health. Life is fair and if you do not take care of your body, you will get sick and don't beg on your luck. There are so many factors to good health and we have to find a balance and manage it well. I believe Buddha's concept of middle path is the right way. Away from both the extremes and find the level of good health. The middle line is different for different people and you will need to find it yourself. There is no one formula that suits all.
So, please start to find your health line within yourself and manage it well. Not too much stress, not too lazy and a good diet.
Namaste.
Finding someone like you - adele
For most of us, we have a few relationships before we settle down with the better half we are having now. These relationships could be good or bad experieinces and it became a permanent part of us.Some are fond memories and some are nightmares.For those fond memories, we regret that the love did not last but it became hurt instead. Such feelings was aroused by the song sang by Adele. The love did not die and it became regrets and we go all out to replace the love by finding someone like our lost love.
The truth is that if we find the one who resemble our past love, it will always be different. No one can be alike and it will end in disappointment if we try to make our new love behave or do the things like our past love. The search will never be ending if we start to compare two different people who have strong resemblance.
In the song, Adele sang about the memories of her past love and regret it never last and she will continue to search for "someone like you". SHe also begging your past love to remember her and she always remembered what he said " sometimes, love will last but sometimes, it ends in hurt. When we lost something good, we search desperately for it but when we had it in our hands, we take it granted. There will be no more appreciation if we take it for granted that it will happen in the way we want or expect to happen.
We have to let it go and if we continue to hold on to the past, nothing new will come. There will be new happening if we let go and we can start to have a new look at life. New adventure, new life, new expectations and new experience. Happiness is always within us and shifting of our expectation and perception is also with us. We had better to appreciate things more readily instead of taking things for granted. As our relationship matures,we will be focusing on the features we like and if anything goes out of place, we will jump and fuzz about it. For a granted situation, if we do nine things which is routinely perfect and remaining one is out of expectation, our better halves will see only the imperfect routine and will focus and attack it. This is a natural human psychology and nature working of the mind.
If we take a fresh look at things and take time to express our appreciation, your life will much happier and you will enjoy new experience and enconters. Love if last for a long while, it will become care. We should know the changing phases in our life. If you have the wisdom and understanding, you should change your color lens and see it will your naked eyes. Things will be different if we see things in different lights and angles.
Don't hold on things, let it go and new things will happen.
Namaste.
The truth is that if we find the one who resemble our past love, it will always be different. No one can be alike and it will end in disappointment if we try to make our new love behave or do the things like our past love. The search will never be ending if we start to compare two different people who have strong resemblance.
In the song, Adele sang about the memories of her past love and regret it never last and she will continue to search for "someone like you". SHe also begging your past love to remember her and she always remembered what he said " sometimes, love will last but sometimes, it ends in hurt. When we lost something good, we search desperately for it but when we had it in our hands, we take it granted. There will be no more appreciation if we take it for granted that it will happen in the way we want or expect to happen.
We have to let it go and if we continue to hold on to the past, nothing new will come. There will be new happening if we let go and we can start to have a new look at life. New adventure, new life, new expectations and new experience. Happiness is always within us and shifting of our expectation and perception is also with us. We had better to appreciate things more readily instead of taking things for granted. As our relationship matures,we will be focusing on the features we like and if anything goes out of place, we will jump and fuzz about it. For a granted situation, if we do nine things which is routinely perfect and remaining one is out of expectation, our better halves will see only the imperfect routine and will focus and attack it. This is a natural human psychology and nature working of the mind.
If we take a fresh look at things and take time to express our appreciation, your life will much happier and you will enjoy new experience and enconters. Love if last for a long while, it will become care. We should know the changing phases in our life. If you have the wisdom and understanding, you should change your color lens and see it will your naked eyes. Things will be different if we see things in different lights and angles.
Don't hold on things, let it go and new things will happen.
Namaste.
Lunch with SL at Mizi today
I arrived at G-hotel to pick up a friend and she finished her meeting a bit later then the schedule time of 12.30pm. So, I casually walked to Gurney Plaza and got so cash from the ATM in the Mall. After that, I walk back to G hotel to wait for SL. She came out at 1pm and we have to rush to the lunch place which I have suggested to her earlier.
At Mizi Bistro, I ordered Spegatti olio and she order Spegatti seafood. The portion was a bit excessive but I was able to finish my portion while she eat only half. Anyway, the conversation gets on and we talk about the art of negotiation and how we should proceed to get a win-win compromise. We should mitigate the difference and fine a level to agree on. I have been talking to her about her sharp increase in her service fee for last financial year and we still could not find a compromise. Anyway, the matter have to be resolved as it is going on to another financial year already.
We sided tracked by talking about traveling during the winter as I was going to South Korea at the end of December 2011. She have several good tips to advise me and I would like to share with all of you.
1) Bring along a few pairs of long johns as sometimes when the weather gets too cold, one pair is not enough. You will have to wear two pairs and a few layers of winter clothing ;
2) Never wear a tight jean as the long johns will make it tighter and jeans are not thick enough to block the cold ;
3) We need a scarf to cover our neck because the cold air will go down the neck and on to the chest area ;
4) Another sensitive point is the ear. We have to wear ear covers , otherwise, you have a feeling that the ear will fall off ;
5) Don’t wear low socks and shoes will small holes as the cold air will go in and will go up your legs. Low socks will be less protective ;
6) The heat from the body will go up the head and it will make the whole body cold. It is a must to wear a hat or a head cover ;
7) Buy a good jacket as it is important to keep the cold out ;
8) Bring along a sun glass as it is very important to protect our eyes from the light reflection from the snow ;
9) One of the problem is that our baggage will be very heavy because of the heavy clothing that we need.
There many more tips to offer but this is not an exhaustive list.
After the talk, I feel very uncomfortable with the thoughts of having to travel with so heavy stuff. She told me that another discomfort is that we have to take off our jackets when we enter our hotel, put on our jackets when we go out to board our bus, take off our jackets when we board the bus and put on our jackets when we get off our bus. The reason is that the hotels and the buses have heaters. If you are wearing three or four jackets, you have to imagine the need to take off three or four times each time you enter a hotel , buses or malls.
So, wish me a pleasant holidays , folks.
Namaste.
At Mizi Bistro, I ordered Spegatti olio and she order Spegatti seafood. The portion was a bit excessive but I was able to finish my portion while she eat only half. Anyway, the conversation gets on and we talk about the art of negotiation and how we should proceed to get a win-win compromise. We should mitigate the difference and fine a level to agree on. I have been talking to her about her sharp increase in her service fee for last financial year and we still could not find a compromise. Anyway, the matter have to be resolved as it is going on to another financial year already.
We sided tracked by talking about traveling during the winter as I was going to South Korea at the end of December 2011. She have several good tips to advise me and I would like to share with all of you.
1) Bring along a few pairs of long johns as sometimes when the weather gets too cold, one pair is not enough. You will have to wear two pairs and a few layers of winter clothing ;
2) Never wear a tight jean as the long johns will make it tighter and jeans are not thick enough to block the cold ;
3) We need a scarf to cover our neck because the cold air will go down the neck and on to the chest area ;
4) Another sensitive point is the ear. We have to wear ear covers , otherwise, you have a feeling that the ear will fall off ;
5) Don’t wear low socks and shoes will small holes as the cold air will go in and will go up your legs. Low socks will be less protective ;
6) The heat from the body will go up the head and it will make the whole body cold. It is a must to wear a hat or a head cover ;
7) Buy a good jacket as it is important to keep the cold out ;
8) Bring along a sun glass as it is very important to protect our eyes from the light reflection from the snow ;
9) One of the problem is that our baggage will be very heavy because of the heavy clothing that we need.
There many more tips to offer but this is not an exhaustive list.
After the talk, I feel very uncomfortable with the thoughts of having to travel with so heavy stuff. She told me that another discomfort is that we have to take off our jackets when we enter our hotel, put on our jackets when we go out to board our bus, take off our jackets when we board the bus and put on our jackets when we get off our bus. The reason is that the hotels and the buses have heaters. If you are wearing three or four jackets, you have to imagine the need to take off three or four times each time you enter a hotel , buses or malls.
So, wish me a pleasant holidays , folks.
Namaste.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)