Dinner at Kashmir restaurant , Penang.

Dinner ad Kashmir ,Penang road . Penang I had a dinner with my boss at Kashmir restaurant tonight. It was a wonderful dinner as I have not been to that place for 5 years. I have completely lost my sense of taste for its food. It is naturals as I have been eating chicken masala and nan in Bangladesh. The taste was good over there. Before our VIP guest arrive , we talk about western restaurant in Penang. I was told by boss that Maxim was the first western food restaurant followed by Eden and Kashmir have been in operation for 30 years. It was down memory lane for me as I have stayed near Eden during my younger days. It was a wonderful childhood years in Hutton Lane , penang。 Tonight , my boss ordered chicken, mutton , chicken and fish including two plates of veggies.it also come with three different type of Nans and one plate fried rice wash down with beer, red wine and whiskey. The Nans were good and it is better than the Nans in Bangladesh. It must be quite pricey but the taste were wonderful and it was an enjoyable night just drinking and talking.. I did not quite like the VIP guest which was entertained by my boss but he turn out to be quite friendly and humble. It was a Good Friday indeed and I should be thankful for the chance to dine at. A place I almost forgot. Namaste.

A feeling of betrayal

A feeling of betrayal When someone whom is your best friend or lover stab your back or did something hurtful and unforgivable , the feeling of hurt is like a long cold knife sticking into us. The pain is unbearable and so how can we recover from this pain. My yoga teacher disown her favorite student when she found out that she was betrayed. She was so hurt that she could bring herself to tell us what exactly happen. She keeps telling us that my yoga classmate was not what she seems to be. A spilt personality. It has been two months now but it is still hurtful for her to talk about it. It was really a painful experience. If this is hurtful, what about the husband cheat on his wife or vice versa. The hurt is the same like a betrayal and the degree if pain would be more severe. So. How shall we cure it. Not speaking about it would be a great stress on that person unless he or she have a very strong mind or wisdom. The better way would be to let it out and let the tears flow. Let it come out naturally and it can be as many times as possible. Holding back could be painful and more hurtful. Punch something or focus inwards and search for the pain and neutralize it and move on. Why should we be hurtful over some thing have happen and which is uncontrollable and there is no chance to change it。 Namaste.

Feeling the hurt of another person.

After the passing of my elder brother, one of my friend told me that he could feel the saddness and hurt in me during his meditation practice. I do not know whether to believe him or not but I believe that if you care for someone, you will be able to feel his or her hurt if we open our heart. It need not be during meditation but just to think deeply for that person. Nevertheless, during our meditation if we focus our thoughts and open our heart to a particular person, we maybe able to get the contact with the person and we can sent our positive thoughts and wishes to lift up their spirit or relieve their pain. We cannot under-estimate the power of prayer or the power of positive thoughts to help a particular person. Our well wishes and positive thoughts can also have the same power of prayer or chanting. I was once taught by a Yogi to meditate and cure or reduce the suffering of another person. We can focus our blue energy during meditation and circled the blue energy around the injuries and the body or body parts of a person suffering pain clock wise provide the healing energy to that person. It was a long time ago and I have lost touch with that practice. Another Yogi have also suggested using the Universal energy to cleanse our body and the body of anyone we want to help. Anyhow, if we are sincere in our effort, we can achieved these objectives and it does not matter whether it work or not just like the work of the prayer or chanting. Namaste.

Lunch at May Tip,BM ,penang

Lunch at May Tip ,BM I had a lunch with my sister and brother in law at the Thai Restaurant with my wife. I have not been to that in two years and that was my regular place for lunch for my bankers and friends many years ago. It was quite a smooth drive because it was a Sunday and we were the early birds. My brother in law took the orders because he is buying lunch. He ordered a Thai fried pork leg, a otak otak, scallops , crab grass noodles,fried pork, Tongyam and a desert. The food was food but it's taste have deteriorate a bit. The lady owner look sickly compared to two years ago when I saw her , I think it is the age. Her husband have also looked aged much. Well, this is life and age stops for no one. The bill came to RM180 for five person and it a compared cheap for Penang standard. It is recommendable to try . Namaste.

River fish Restaurant Bayan Lepas,penang

River fish restaurant in Bayan Lepas, Penang. Today' dinner was a battle between my wife and daughter M. My wife wants to try a new river fish restaurant while M want to eat Japanese food. After a battle of words, we head towards Bayan Lepas for the seafood. I rushed into massive jam in Relau and it took me one and a half hours to pass the accident site. A huge lorry have skidded and block one and half if the lane leaving only half lane usable. This accident really pile up the traffic and caused many people to miss their appointments and dinners. There was a lot if waste as the traffic stalled. The travel to Bayan Lepas after the accident site was smooth and fast. I was cursing the driver the whole night until I manage to finished the dinner at the river fish reataurant. My wife ordered two pateng fish ie one fried and another steamed , a cheese egg omelet, one green vegetable and one pork fried with ginger. The taste was acceptable but not as good as the river fish at Bandar Baru and it was quite pricy. The same dish in Bandar Baru would be about RM140 instead of RM208 for the whole meal. However, it is better to try and experienced it yourself. Namaste.

Two faced person

Two face person What does it mean? How can one person have two face at the same time? Not literally. In medical terms , it is a very serious sickness and it is called split personality but in real live there are many such actor and actress who promote themselves using such skill. In Japan, the obedient culture, forced the Japanese people to have formal or informal opinion. The boss's opinion is above their own personal opinion despite their differences. There is no evil motives and they do not back stab each but will go by their consensus. In the Malaysia culture, they are called hypocrite. Their appearance and what they are is two different person. The front is the good and the internal is bad. These two timers felt no guilt as they do such things to protect and further themselves. How can it be wrong when your action to protect yourself. It a still acceptable if such acts do not hurt others but if it compromise and mitigate another persons well being then it is totally wrong. It must be. Win- win situations and it should not a winner's take all. This is bad karma. Namaste.

A Meditation Guru - Chad Foreman.

Meditation Teacher Chad Foreman I have been a dedicated student of meditation and yoga for over twenty years. In 2001 I renounced worldly affairs, sold all my possessions and moved to an isolated meditation hut at a Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Queensland, Australia, where I spent six years studying with my main teacher Khen Rinpoche, Geshe Tashi Tsering, studying Buddhist meditation, psychology and philosophy. During that time Khen Rinpoche authorised me to be a teacher. I developed in-depth knowledge and experience studying and practising full-time and receiving the highest initiations including from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and I was also ordained as a Buddhist monk and completed numerous intensive silent meditation retreats. After years of training in a daily practice and with a firm grounding in Buddhist thought, I branched out from my own tradition and keenly pursued meditation and wisdom teachings from a variety of spiritual traditions which helped broaden my understanding of meditation, peace and enlightenment. With determination to decipher and distill the various meditation school's universal qualities and unlock their secrets, making them available to everyone without having to join any religion or follow any gurus. What I discovered is that essentially all the meditation paths either directly or gradually lead students to the ultimate truth of identity, in other words discovering who or what you are. The Way of Meditation teaches that the universal truth of wholeness, non-duality or oneness is the final understanding of all the great contemplatives and mystics throughout history. I combine the meditation techniques of traditional Buddhism with the self-inquiry of Advaita alongside the philosophical views of Tibetan Tantra and I am also heavily influenced by Zen and Chaan meditation schools. The way I teach offers a powerful and eclectic presentation of deep and profound views and methods in a modern and easy to follow gradual training system called 'Mindfulness to Mysticism'. I have also completed three years of university study at the Sunshine Coast University in Psychology, Philosophy, Counselling and Sociology. I have been trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which are both mindfulness-based therapeutic systems. I also maintain a commitment to be a full time student and practitioner of the The Way of Meditation, by maintaining my own regular meditation practice both on and off the cushion. I have been teaching meditation groups and workshops since 2003 and now offer e-mail and skype coaching. The Way of Meditation training is a clear and precise presentation of various Meditation Masters' essential advice on achieving inner peace, deep insights into one's true nature, and tapping into creative, compassionate and intelligent powers within yourself. I emphasize and empower people to practice self-reliance, self awareness, acceptance and continuity of practice. I live in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Oldies of the past.

Oldies of the past Today, I spend sometime hearing oldies and watching their original version of their films. Those singers like Karen Carpenters. Elvis Presley, Abba. Bee Gees Beatles, Diana Ross , Deep Purple, the Hollies, the young Michael Jackson, Donny Osbon, Cliff Richard and many more. It was like walking down memory lane. One of the song by the Bee Gees, " I started a joke" brings back the memory of the deceased Robbim Gibb. He sang the song to tell the message that life is a joke and we have are aware that life is only a short journey yet we struggle so hard to make more and more money and our ego grow so big and we live life as there is no end. Only at the end of our life , we look back that everything we do have been a joke， We struggle for so much money , wealth and property and we refuse to spend and take care of our well being and at last all have to end. Among all the singers in mentioned above , quite a few have passed away including Robbin Gibbs. In his video, he look so young and carefree. But, now he is dead. Nobody can escape the life cycle of " birth. Old age, sickness and dead". When we are born , we have to accept death". And there is no two way about it. It is not how long we live or how many breath we Inhale, it is how well we live and how many wonderful breath we enjoy. Namaste.

Who put us up there ?

Am I playing to an audience ？ Some times I feel as if I am I'm a role play in a script. Just acting out my role in this big stage. A tiny bot in a big machine making the cranking sound as part of my role. Is life real? Is there any meaning to life despite there is a purpose. Is there a possibility to break free from the role and the script? Could I just wonder off? What would happen to the play? Or by wondering off a part of the a a script?whatever we do we are too tiny to influence the role. What is that spark of dust want to do ? There are billions of particular of dust floating on earth , just too tiny to do anything . But you zoom down to one particular then you could see their role in a big screen but un-notice in this giant world's stage . Revolving and evolving playing their respective parts. Bloody hell. Who put us in this big stage and letting us play out the script? There is no main actors and actress or billions of main actors and actress depending on which angle you look. Intersecting and dissecting the different roles and screens. It starts with a bow and a bang and it ends with a silence and nothing. Is there a meaning to life? So, again who put us up there? You bloody fool. Namaste.

My Yoga lesson, yesterday

The class started off with some heavy pose and it was very taxing for me but I tried to follow up with the class. Some of my younger classmates could not take it and stop to practice at their own pace but I keep my pace. I thought I did well but at end of the lesson, I was so exhausted that I took a break and did the final pose with my own pace. My teacher was sarcastic to me and asked me why I am not following the class but instead of doing my own wind down pose. I thought she told us to do the pose at our own pace and I am just doing that just listening to my body. I was a bit disappointment as she wants us to follow her pace. Why has she changed so much ? I know that I have been following her for six years already but our body conditions changed every day. One day , it could be raining and another day, it could be shining especially with student of my age. Yoga is a very passionate and personal practice. It does not mean that what others can do , we can do. There are some pose, we can do it well but others cannot do at all and vice versa. This basic knowledge should be in her mind all the time. There are reasons that why we cannot do a pose or some day we can do it but another day , we cannot do it. As I mention, our body condition is never the same. Well, I am not quiting but I know her purpose is to make all her students perform and perform well. She wants to be proud of her students but there are lapses and she should recognized it. My wife and myself is her most supportive students and we try never to miss her class. Even if we perform poorly, she should accept it as we are not in our twenties anymore. I hope her third eyes will open wider and see a bigger picture and realize our body conditions at a particular moment and realized that we need to rest and some times, we can do poorly or badly. Namaste.

Straits Quay , last night.

Straits Quay at night I was there last night with my wife and her brother and sister. I have not been to this mall for the past few months and I was searching for Berlin Winehouse which I enjoyed their German beer and their pork knuckles. However, I found out that there at edge of closing down and they only serve beer for a few more weeks. We were hungry and we asked the counter for new outlets and they recommend us Healy Macs, an Irish pub which served food , wine and beer. I ordered a big pork knuckle and a jug of beer for a group of six. The portion was large and it was wonderful to eat like.a barbarian. This is the second place we have dinner last night . Earlier,we had Australian fine dining at the vantage mall facing tusco in Tanjong Tokong . It was expensive and the taste did not suit us well so we ended up half full , so we decide to adjourn to Straits Quay. The food at Healy Macs was quite good and for a big pork knuckle and a jug of wine it only cost RM145 all in whereas the fine dining outlet , two salmon and two pork belly and one pasta with two beer cost my BIL RM245 and we were only half full. You might wonder what is the occasion ? Yes , it was a birthday celebration for my wife. Happy birthday , my dear. Namaste.

A tea talk with my sister,jo

A tea talk with my sister, jo Last weekend, my youngest sisterJ was back in Penang from KL. She followed me to clean up my house and we sat talking about a whole lot of things while our maids were cleaning up my house. She is very health conscious and she jogs three times a week to get fit. As we chat, she asked me about meditation and how t do it. As this is my favorite topic , I told her more than a fair bit about the subject. There several meditation methods. There is a single point meditation method that is focus your attention on a single spot of light on the wall as you carry I your normal breathing. The spot will grow bigger and smaller as it varies in sight. You just have to focus completely following it's movement. By so doing, you will move into a concentrate mind and you will enjoy calm and happiness as your sight become focus . You can control your mind through practice. Another meditation way is hitting a wooden bowl and chatting at the same time. The repeated sound of woods will make your hearing focus as your hearing will control your mind. Some meditator hit one sound by sound and let the sound into space and finally the Universe. Your mind and hearing follow the traveling sound and you become completely focus. However, my most favorite method is the breathing way. My mind follow my breath and according to the speed of my breath. The intake will fill up my stomach and stretch it out especially near the naval and when we breath out , we will pull I our core until all the air is out. We repeat this in and out breathing and make our mind focus on our breath and soon we will be in deep meditation. Meditation is focus our mind on our breath as we control the movement of our body. Namaste

Life in a cave.

I attended a full day tax seminar today. It was as tired as yesterday but I found out that I have recovered very quickly and I think it had to do with my Yoga practice. When I was in KL I met an old friend and he told me that I am fitter and younger. Actually, I found that I have been fitter as I could move around with ease. I could see that my facial complexion is also better and brighter. Today, when I was at the seminar , I could meet a few of my old friends. I heard from my friend ,Lee that one of our mutual friend is attempting a marathon at the age of 56 and that friend is attempting to do it for the first and last time..I respect his dreams but I hope he would not hurt himself in the process. Another friend told me that Dr Rajah, one of the famous Dr who used herbs to treat his patient's illness have passed away. My wife and me have been treated by him and my father in law believed in him very much and was under treatment by him for a long time for the big "c".. They told me that Dr Rajah went to a cave in Tibet for meditation and he die during the meditation in the cave. He has been a strong meditator and maybe , it was time for him to go like he said score his death. I was rather shock because he looks fit and healthy. Maybe, that is the way he die or it could be his choice to die like this. Everything is fated in life and so we leave our lives in the good hands of our creator. Namaste.

4 hours of hard patience

Siting in LCT terminal / Starbucks KL It is not a flight delay but a last minute cancellation of a business meeting in KL. I have to sit 4 hours to wait for the flight. For Air Asia airline, they don't allow cancellation and change of flight. It is either you used the ticket at a specific time or you buy a new ticket for the earlier flight. Yes, it is not so strange to understand. I have confirmed the appointment with my friend on Monday and he told me that he is available , so I confirmed the return flight on today . This morning , he told menu cannot make it and I was stuck in this situation. I could arrange another schedule but it would imposed on others and I do not wish to do it to others. So, I have to sit it out. The wait of four hours is actually a very tiring effort and by the time I reached home it would be past 11 pm. Too late to do anything else except to sleep. I don't blame my friend who just told me that he forget about the appointment. What else can I do? It is no point veering upset but only to swallow my anger in silence. I hope he know what he has done causing so much inconvenience to me. I was tired all over after starting as early as 5am and going through four a appointments. I have learned a severe lesson and I should not rely on friends who have retired and not interest in doing business. Never force and leave it to them to decide. If he is not interested let it be. Namaste.

Another day trip to KL

A day trip to KL I woke up at 4.30am this morning with tired eyes and a half sleep face. I pushed myself up to get ready for my day's assignment . A day trip to KL for my work assignment. I don't like such day trips as it is always exhausting. Each time , I try to sleep early to prepare the trip but each time, my sleep escapes me and I could only manage 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Sleeping less than eight hours is not healthy. I have no choice and I will try to catch some eye rest on the way. The ugly feeling of the body and mind struggling to catch some sleep and my need to push my self up make me walk like a zombie as I try to fire up my body. Luckily and unluckily, the starting of the factory buses irritates me and assist in waking up my mind and body. These selfish bus drivers have doing that foe ages and will suffer some bad karma in their life. Well, have to go now to prepare myself. So, happy sleeping, folks. Namaste.

Today, another rest day.

Today. Another rest day. The day passed as usual. Nothing excited except as usual my daughter went out early to be with her friends. Maybe , it is part of growing up as she just do what she wants to do despite my many advise. We will need to learn to respect her wish. I was at the hair dressing saloon this afternoon with my wife and I had a long conversation with the hair dresser who is my wife's ex-SIL. She was a chatter box and jovial. She is a lover of ready make coffee and she spare me a cup. Well , it taste well. As usual, we talk about the development in Komtar and also about the business in the Mall. I told her that our CM LGE has done a good job to uplift the mall. It is much cleaner , brighter and busier. She agreed with me but she to meet the CM and complain about the sloppiness in the painting job. The contractor not only paint the lights and also her sign board with the same color as the wall. So. Everything was white~washed along the corridors. She hope the new RM50 million contract to modernize Komtar will not be focus on the top floor but also in the business area. One thing I notice is that the tenants in the Mall often bring food and share among them. It was quite a happy family and there is so much gossip everyday and it is interesting and easy to pass the day. I hope her well after she did my hair cut as well. It was quite an experience for me on every occasion where I would gather some news. Namaste.

Looking back

Looking back . Some times. We looked back in our past years and realized that we have make many mistakes which have changed the course of our life. What if we have married a different girl, what is we have chosen a different job and what if we do not invest in a business. All this are life decision which will make our life having a different outcome. While I was driving today while sending my younger sister home, we talk about my mother and whether if we have chosen not to do something would she live a little longer. I regretted not spending enough time with her and could have given up some venture to be with her. All these what ifs and the life changing events , are meaningless now and with stay as a non event "ifs". There should be no regrets as it has progressed as it is now. Whatever outcome of these " what ifs" whether it is a better or worst outcome remains only as a stimulation. Nobody can change an event and whatever we choose is as fated. It is a fake illusion as if we are given an option but it always come out as it is whether it is right or wrong. We can only take it positively and believe what is life giving to us a good thing. We have moved on and finish what is set for us . Namaste.

Mr Pork, TAnjung Tokong, Penamg

I was at Mr Pork, Tanjung Tokong I was.a newly open food outlet located opposite diagonally island Plaza。it is a normal western restaurant and their specialty is pork chops. However, they so serve chicken , salmon an other varieties. I found the price to be reasonable but the pork was a bit too tough to eat in certain area of the piece served. The setting is okay except the glare is too bright from the outside at lunch time. Another problem is the parking area as the shoplot is abit alleviated and people have walk up a slope before reaching the outlet. Anyway, this outlet will add another option for food among the thousands of food out in Penang. My total Bill for 5 sets is RM70 including three drinks. The price is acceptable. Try it out for an experience. Namaste.

A day before Deepavali

A Friday ,before Deepavali It is just like another Friday except with the sound of the fire crackers which reminds you of a public holiday. Tomorrow is Deepavali. the Festival of Lights. Actually, it is a celebration of lights over evil. The custom of lighting fire crackers is during the Chinese New Year but now in Malaysia , this custom also is caught on during Hari Raya and Deepavali. Malaysia is truly Asia. It is a melting pot for all Asian cultures. Another aspect of Friday is also that the next two days is our rest days. Every Friday reminds me of an end to another week. The rest days will passed every first and from Monday it will be a start of another week. Life is like rushing through time on a one way train. I believe everybody is the same, waiting for weekend to come and before you know it , it is gone again. Yesterday, I was talking to an old friend and he is young than me by two years. He told me that he wakes up at 3am in the morning as his body time clock wakes him. I told him at this age, we will have to take each year as a blessing starting with each day. Like I say, before I got to enjoy the weekend , it will be gone in no time. This routine will change with time as life evolves it as well. Don't wait too long and keep moving as time move as fast. Namaste

Hurting and Revenge

An eye for an eye , a tooth for a tooth. This is the justice we are exposed to and we carry on this tradition to see that those people who hurt us will be punished more severely or at least as severe. The comfort that getting hit and to hit others will satisfy our anger or hurt. It is just like in boxing. The boxers punched each other at the same intensity and try to knock each other down until one lost and surrender. Is this the way of life we want or to adopt the bible way of you slap my left cheek , I will offer you my right cheek. It is so realistic and so simple. These two extremes troubled our thoughts and our life as we travel through our own journey. When we are logical and sober , we adapt the bible way and if we are emotional and angry , we adopt the boxing method. Our moods and emotions swing and we live between periods of logic and madness. Sometimes, we are heroes and sometimes we are villain. At times, we change our way immediately if our base line is hit or the actions is against our taboo or principle. We sway our punches wildly in all directions and hoping to hit and hit hard. There is a sense of madness in this action but we feel better as we can get even. Actually, our mind is very fragile and if we act according to our mind, we are not ourself. There are many moments of split personality ie changing from a man to a women and a women to a man , just like swing the punches all around and letting your both cheeks to be slapped. If we control our mind, we control our thoughts , we control our life and stop our madness or punches. Life will be more blissful. Namaste.