This week I caught an interview with Jennifer Hudson, the young singer who was voted off of American Idol and ended up stealing the show in the movie, Dreamgirls. Jennifer was asked how she handled the disappointment of being eliminated from Idol when most people thought she would win. She admitted that it was painful and that she cried a lot, but that eventually she returned to her faith. “I chose to trust that God had a bigger plan for me than I could see at the time,” she explained.
I guess so. Her performance in Dreamgirls led to an Oscar.
Jennifer's story is a powerful reminder of how life's disappointments may in fact be preparation for something even more significant in our lives. And, this belief has the best chance of coming true when you make a demonstrated commitment to learn and grow from your present day circumstances.
When I look back at the painful breakup of the relationship I was in before my marriage, for example, I can see that the suffering and subsequent growth I went through was exactly what I needed to prepare me for a more mature and lasting relationship later on—although I certainly didn't know it at the time. The pain and disappointment forced me to grow. It challenged me to face my fear of living alone. It prompted me to get my butt into therapy. And it ultimately helped me to develop self-respect. I learned to treat myself better, which in turn, naturally raised my standards for how I would allow others to treat me in the future.
Jennifer's belief can serve us all in times of suffering or pain. For example, is there something going on in your life right now—a breakup, a problem at work, the slow growth of your business, or financial hardship—that might be attempting to prepare you for what's next? Think about it. What if your current challenge is a call to action—the kind of action that will prepare you for the next phase of your life? What are you being invited to learn? What qualities of character are trying to be strengthened or developed? Where do you need to take more responsibility in your life?
As I've dealt with my own challenges, the belief of "disappointment or suffering as preparation" is something I hold onto as a reminder that we are never alone, that there is a purpose to our suffering and pain, and that when we get to the other side, a great opportunity to use what we've learned in service to ourselves and others awaits.
Take heart. Every day, in some way, we're all being prepared for something better...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Power of Oneness
As long as I believe I am separate from you based on gender, age, colour, race, caste, class and educational level etc., I will find it difficult to rid myself away from Ego, prejudice and competition.
It is the realization that we are ONE because we come from the same source i.e the Universe , that creates in me the feeling that I am as much a part of you as we are of the Universe.
As long as I have this feeling of ONENESS towards everything that shares this planet, this universe , I will find it easier to contribute because every good I do to you will do good to me and every bad I do, will eventually hit me.
When I water my plants and see my plants grow, a part of me has grown. When I manage to wipe someone’s tear and bring a smile on the person’s face, I indeed have managed to bring a smile on my face. When we work towards a cause, we create better circumstances, better opportunities and a better world.
In our journey of life we may meet people who may be bitter towards us. It may be so because they have always encountered bitterness themselves. Use this as an opportunity to give someone their first taste of goodness. Because the fact is WE ARE ONE.
It is the realization that we are ONE because we come from the same source i.e the Universe , that creates in me the feeling that I am as much a part of you as we are of the Universe.
As long as I have this feeling of ONENESS towards everything that shares this planet, this universe , I will find it easier to contribute because every good I do to you will do good to me and every bad I do, will eventually hit me.
When I water my plants and see my plants grow, a part of me has grown. When I manage to wipe someone’s tear and bring a smile on the person’s face, I indeed have managed to bring a smile on my face. When we work towards a cause, we create better circumstances, better opportunities and a better world.
In our journey of life we may meet people who may be bitter towards us. It may be so because they have always encountered bitterness themselves. Use this as an opportunity to give someone their first taste of goodness. Because the fact is WE ARE ONE.
Friday, October 15, 2010
My Appreciation to the Mystic Nature
The moon tonight, so beautiful is but half,
Seems to me, as if nature’s lips opening for a laugh.
And its colour both orange and yellow,
Brings to my senses a feeling so calm and mellow.
The real treat to the eyes, believe me
Is to catch sight of the moon reflecting it’s rays on to the sea
Whenever nature presents me with such scenic beauty,
I feel truly blessed, loved by nature and most lucky.
To describe in words your beauty I rejoice in my heart,
I express it in form of a Poem, the best I can do on my part.
Seems to me, as if nature’s lips opening for a laugh.
And its colour both orange and yellow,
Brings to my senses a feeling so calm and mellow.
The real treat to the eyes, believe me
Is to catch sight of the moon reflecting it’s rays on to the sea
Whenever nature presents me with such scenic beauty,
I feel truly blessed, loved by nature and most lucky.
To describe in words your beauty I rejoice in my heart,
I express it in form of a Poem, the best I can do on my part.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Benjamin Carson
Benjamin Carson
Pediatric Neurosurgeon
(Date of Birth: September 18, 1951
Benjamin Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan. His mother Sonya had dropped out of school in the third grade, and married when she was only 13. When Benjamin Carson was only eight, his parents divorced, and Mrs. Carson was left to raise Benjamin and his older brother Curtis on her own. She worked at two, sometimes three, jobs at a time to provide for her boys.
Benjamin and his brother fell farther and farther behind in school. In fifth grade, Carson was at the bottom of his class. His classmates called him "dummy" and he developed a violent, uncontrollable temper.
When Mrs. Carson saw Benjamin's failing grades, she determined to turn her sons' lives around. She sharply limited the boys' television watching and refused to let them outside to play until they had finished their homework each day. She required them to read two library books a week and to give her written reports on their reading even though, with her own poor education, she could barely read what they had written.
Within a few weeks, Carson astonished his classmates by identifying rock samples his teacher had brought to class. He recognized them from one of the books he had read. "It was at that moment that I realized I wasn't stupid," he recalled later. Carson continued to amaze his classmates with his newfound knowledge and within a year he was at the top of his class.
The hunger for knowledge had taken hold of him, and he began to read voraciously on all subjects. He determined to become a physician, and he learned to control the violent temper that still threatened his future. After graduating with honors from his high school, he attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in Psychology.
From Yale, he went to the Medical School of the University of Michigan, where his interest shifted from psychiatry to neurosurgery. His excellent hand-eye coordination and three-dimensional reasoning skills made him a superior surgeon. After medical school he became a neurosurgery resident at the world-famous Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. At age 32, he became the hospital's Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins. The Binder twins were born joined at the back of the head. Operations to separate twins joined in this way had always failed, resulting in the death of one or both of the infants. Carson agreed to undertake the operation. A 70-member surgical team, led by Dr. Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently.
Carson's other surgical innovations have included the first intra-uterine procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a hydrocephalic fetal twin, and a hemispherectomy, in which an infant suffering from uncontrollable seizures has half of its brain removed. This stops the seizures, and the remaining half of the brain actually compensates for the missing hemisphere.
In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Carson is in constant demand as a public speaker, and devotes much of his time to meeting with groups of young people. In 2008, the White House announced that Benjamin Carson would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Dr. Carson's books include a memoir, Gifted Hands, and a motivational book, Think Big. Carson says the letters of "Think Big" stand for the following:
Talent: Our Creator has endowed all of us not just with the ability to sing, dance or throw a ball, but with intellectual talent. Start getting in touch with that part of you that is intellectual and develop that, and think of careers that will allow you to use that.
Honesty: If you lead a clean and honest life, you don't put skeletons in the closet. If you put skeletons in the closet, they definitely will come back just when you don't want to see them and ruin your life.
Insight: It comes from people who have already gone where you're trying to go. Learn from their triumphs and their mistakes.
Nice: If you're nice to people, then once they get over the suspicion of why you're being nice, they will be nice to you.
Knowledge: It makes you into a more valuable person. The more knowledge you have, the more people need you. It's an interesting phenomenon, but when people need you, they pay you, so you'll be okay in life.
Books: They are the mechanism for obtaining knowledge, as opposed to television.
In-Depth Learning: Learn for the sake of knowledge and understanding, rather than for the sake of impressing people or taking a test.
God: Never get too big for Him.
Pediatric Neurosurgeon
(Date of Birth: September 18, 1951
Benjamin Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan. His mother Sonya had dropped out of school in the third grade, and married when she was only 13. When Benjamin Carson was only eight, his parents divorced, and Mrs. Carson was left to raise Benjamin and his older brother Curtis on her own. She worked at two, sometimes three, jobs at a time to provide for her boys.
Benjamin and his brother fell farther and farther behind in school. In fifth grade, Carson was at the bottom of his class. His classmates called him "dummy" and he developed a violent, uncontrollable temper.
When Mrs. Carson saw Benjamin's failing grades, she determined to turn her sons' lives around. She sharply limited the boys' television watching and refused to let them outside to play until they had finished their homework each day. She required them to read two library books a week and to give her written reports on their reading even though, with her own poor education, she could barely read what they had written.
Within a few weeks, Carson astonished his classmates by identifying rock samples his teacher had brought to class. He recognized them from one of the books he had read. "It was at that moment that I realized I wasn't stupid," he recalled later. Carson continued to amaze his classmates with his newfound knowledge and within a year he was at the top of his class.
The hunger for knowledge had taken hold of him, and he began to read voraciously on all subjects. He determined to become a physician, and he learned to control the violent temper that still threatened his future. After graduating with honors from his high school, he attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in Psychology.
From Yale, he went to the Medical School of the University of Michigan, where his interest shifted from psychiatry to neurosurgery. His excellent hand-eye coordination and three-dimensional reasoning skills made him a superior surgeon. After medical school he became a neurosurgery resident at the world-famous Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. At age 32, he became the hospital's Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins. The Binder twins were born joined at the back of the head. Operations to separate twins joined in this way had always failed, resulting in the death of one or both of the infants. Carson agreed to undertake the operation. A 70-member surgical team, led by Dr. Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently.
Carson's other surgical innovations have included the first intra-uterine procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a hydrocephalic fetal twin, and a hemispherectomy, in which an infant suffering from uncontrollable seizures has half of its brain removed. This stops the seizures, and the remaining half of the brain actually compensates for the missing hemisphere.
In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Carson is in constant demand as a public speaker, and devotes much of his time to meeting with groups of young people. In 2008, the White House announced that Benjamin Carson would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Dr. Carson's books include a memoir, Gifted Hands, and a motivational book, Think Big. Carson says the letters of "Think Big" stand for the following:
Talent: Our Creator has endowed all of us not just with the ability to sing, dance or throw a ball, but with intellectual talent. Start getting in touch with that part of you that is intellectual and develop that, and think of careers that will allow you to use that.
Honesty: If you lead a clean and honest life, you don't put skeletons in the closet. If you put skeletons in the closet, they definitely will come back just when you don't want to see them and ruin your life.
Insight: It comes from people who have already gone where you're trying to go. Learn from their triumphs and their mistakes.
Nice: If you're nice to people, then once they get over the suspicion of why you're being nice, they will be nice to you.
Knowledge: It makes you into a more valuable person. The more knowledge you have, the more people need you. It's an interesting phenomenon, but when people need you, they pay you, so you'll be okay in life.
Books: They are the mechanism for obtaining knowledge, as opposed to television.
In-Depth Learning: Learn for the sake of knowledge and understanding, rather than for the sake of impressing people or taking a test.
God: Never get too big for Him.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Why we are the way we are.
Why we are the way we are
SADHGURU, Feb 27, 2010, 12.00am IST (SPEAKING TREE)
Whichever way you have ‘become’, you have only created and cultivated a small part of it consciously.
A large part of you is unconscious because most of what you perceive is not in your awareness. Sense perception is like that – everything that goes in through your sense organs gets established in your system to be remembered forever. This is karma. Every impression that the five sense organs take in is stored. This is not against you; this information is useful. If you clean up all this information, you will not know how to handle even the simplest aspects of life.
It is only because the information is coming in such torrents, it is so complex, and most of it goes into you without your consciousness so it has become a problem. How you became the way you are is just a tendency that you developed because of the information you gathered. This tendency is traditionally called vasana. It is like a smell. Whatever is there in maximum quantity is the kind of smell you experience. Because you produce this kind of smell, a certain type of life moves towards you, and you also tend to move in that direction.
Now, you use perfume to cover the smell. In the first meeting, people may get deceived. The moment they notice the stink, they are going to run away. Is that the way to live?
So it doesn’t matter what impressions you have gathered, what you make of it is in your hands. An unpleasant experience is carried by most like a badge, always talking about it. “This happened; somebody did this to me, that’s why i’m like this.” They try to cover all their unpleasantness with this one badge.
One basic symbolism in yoga and Indian spirituality has always been a lotus. This is essentially because a lotus grows best wherever there is dirt. Either you can resist the dirt; you can become the dirt, or transform it into a wonderful blossom. It’s your choice.
If unpleasant things have happened to you, it is all the more important that you turn wiser and more beautiful as quick as possible, because you know the pain of unpleasantness. If unpleasant things have happened, all you have to do is see how such things do not happen again to you or to those around you. Whatever you are right now is your own creation, perhaps an unconscious one. Unconscious processing of your impressions has landed you where you are now. If you consciously process the impressions, you could turn them into something else.
To drop your vasanas, and get released from these tendencies is an endless work because in the process you may end up creating more karma. So, instead of trying to erase the smell, you need to distance yourself from the source.
Whatever the nature of karma, the recording mechanisms are only two – your body and mind. If you create little space between you and your physical body and mental structure, then whatever the karma, or vasanas, they have no impact on you. Then, they just die.
The choice is yours – you could be a victim, a spectator, or the master of your life.
SADHGURU, Feb 27, 2010, 12.00am IST (SPEAKING TREE)
Whichever way you have ‘become’, you have only created and cultivated a small part of it consciously.
A large part of you is unconscious because most of what you perceive is not in your awareness. Sense perception is like that – everything that goes in through your sense organs gets established in your system to be remembered forever. This is karma. Every impression that the five sense organs take in is stored. This is not against you; this information is useful. If you clean up all this information, you will not know how to handle even the simplest aspects of life.
It is only because the information is coming in such torrents, it is so complex, and most of it goes into you without your consciousness so it has become a problem. How you became the way you are is just a tendency that you developed because of the information you gathered. This tendency is traditionally called vasana. It is like a smell. Whatever is there in maximum quantity is the kind of smell you experience. Because you produce this kind of smell, a certain type of life moves towards you, and you also tend to move in that direction.
Now, you use perfume to cover the smell. In the first meeting, people may get deceived. The moment they notice the stink, they are going to run away. Is that the way to live?
So it doesn’t matter what impressions you have gathered, what you make of it is in your hands. An unpleasant experience is carried by most like a badge, always talking about it. “This happened; somebody did this to me, that’s why i’m like this.” They try to cover all their unpleasantness with this one badge.
One basic symbolism in yoga and Indian spirituality has always been a lotus. This is essentially because a lotus grows best wherever there is dirt. Either you can resist the dirt; you can become the dirt, or transform it into a wonderful blossom. It’s your choice.
If unpleasant things have happened to you, it is all the more important that you turn wiser and more beautiful as quick as possible, because you know the pain of unpleasantness. If unpleasant things have happened, all you have to do is see how such things do not happen again to you or to those around you. Whatever you are right now is your own creation, perhaps an unconscious one. Unconscious processing of your impressions has landed you where you are now. If you consciously process the impressions, you could turn them into something else.
To drop your vasanas, and get released from these tendencies is an endless work because in the process you may end up creating more karma. So, instead of trying to erase the smell, you need to distance yourself from the source.
Whatever the nature of karma, the recording mechanisms are only two – your body and mind. If you create little space between you and your physical body and mental structure, then whatever the karma, or vasanas, they have no impact on you. Then, they just die.
The choice is yours – you could be a victim, a spectator, or the master of your life.
Friday, September 25, 2009
CALMNESS
Once the Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his disciples. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and the Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake."
The young disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart had started crossing the lake. As a result, the water had become very muddy, very turbid. The disciple
thought, "How can I give this muddy water to the Buddha to drink!?"
So he went back and told the Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink!"
After about half an hour, the Buddha again
asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.
This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed the Buddha about the same. Once again, a few minutes later the Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.
The disciple reached the shore only to find that the lake absolutely clean with crystal clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked pure enough to drink. So he collected some water in a pot and
brought it to the Buddha.
Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,"See what you did to make the water clean. You just let it be and the mud settled down on its own, and you got clear water!"
And then he addressed his disciples:" Your mind is just like that lake ! When it is disturbed, it gets all muddy and confused. So just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."
Having "Peace of Mind" is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!
In life everything goes on.......... .......Keep Going.
And dont forget to KEEP SMILING
............ ..not because of something, but inspite of everything!! !
The young disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart had started crossing the lake. As a result, the water had become very muddy, very turbid. The disciple
thought, "How can I give this muddy water to the Buddha to drink!?"
So he went back and told the Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink!"
After about half an hour, the Buddha again
asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.
This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed the Buddha about the same. Once again, a few minutes later the Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.
The disciple reached the shore only to find that the lake absolutely clean with crystal clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked pure enough to drink. So he collected some water in a pot and
brought it to the Buddha.
Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,"See what you did to make the water clean. You just let it be and the mud settled down on its own, and you got clear water!"
And then he addressed his disciples:" Your mind is just like that lake ! When it is disturbed, it gets all muddy and confused. So just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."
Having "Peace of Mind" is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!
In life everything goes on.......... .......Keep Going.
And dont forget to KEEP SMILING
............ ..not because of something, but inspite of everything!! !
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Think Good to Feel Great
According to an experiment conducted by Prof. Richard Wiseman (Psychologist from Hertfodshire University), the best way to feel hapier is to think of something good that happened to you the day before.
AN ACT OF KINDNESS led to 9% boost to happines.
BEING GRATEFUL TO AN ASPECT OF LIFE led to an 8% rise.
A SMILE made people 6% happier.
The Conclusion is Be Kind, Be Grateful and Smile more and you will be Happier.
AN ACT OF KINDNESS led to 9% boost to happines.
BEING GRATEFUL TO AN ASPECT OF LIFE led to an 8% rise.
A SMILE made people 6% happier.
The Conclusion is Be Kind, Be Grateful and Smile more and you will be Happier.
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