Heart2God

WHEN IS 2011 MOTHERS DAY?

2011-05-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is celebrated on different days and dates around the world. Most commonly, Mother's Day occurs on the second Sunday - 8th of May.

United States - May 8, 2011
The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

In 2011, the date for Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8.

Worldwide Celebration Dates on May 8, 2011

The following countries celebrate Mother's Day on May 8:

Anguilla
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Bangladesh
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bonaire
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Cuba
Croatia

Curaçao
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
Grenada
Honduras
Hong Kong
Iceland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Latvia
Malta
Malaysia

Netherlands
New Zealand
Peru
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Suriname
Switzerland
Taiwan
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zimbabwe

United Kingdom - Fourth Sunday of Lent

Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

In 2011, Mothering Sunday occured on April 3. In 2012 it will fall on March 18.

Ireland also celebrates Mothering Sunday.

2011 Celebration Dates Around the World

What day is Mothers Day? Depends on where in the world you are! Check out the list below to see what date Mothers Day falls on in your country:

February 13 - Norway
March 3 - Georgia
March 8 - Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine.
March 14 - Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom
March 21 (first day of spring) - Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
March 25 - Slovenia
April 7 - Armenia
May 1 (first Sunday in May) - Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain
May 8 - Albania, South Korea (Parents' Day)
May 10 - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
May 8 - Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
May 26 - Poland
May 27 - Bolivia
May 29 (last Sunday in May) - Algeria, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia, France (France is the last Sunday in May except if it coincides with Pentecost day (50th day after lent), in which case it is shifted to the first Sunday in June)
May 30 - Nicaragua
June 12 (second Sunday in June) - Luxembourg
June 26 (last Sunday in June) - Kenya
August 12 - Thailand (Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara's birthday)
August 15 - Costa Rica, Antwerp (Belgium)
October 10 (second Monday in October) - Malawi
October 14 - Belarus
October 16 (third Sunday in October) - Argentina
December 8 - Panama
December 22 - Indonedia

http://www.mothersdaycentral.com

The Fool Who Became King !!!

2007-11-05T23:55:00.001-08:00

In olden times, in the thick of a dark forest, there lived a man who had three sons. The father loved his two elder sons dearly but could not bear his youngest who was ill treated and called a fool by the whole family. No matter what he said or did, the others only laughed at him and insisted that they had never heard of anything so silly. If the elder brothers took a dislike to a piece of clothing he was made to wear it; if a dish was not to their liking he was forced to eat it. Whatever they asked for they got, but no so he who was never given anything he wanted. And if ever there was a household chore they doing they passed it on to him.

Thus it came about, since the two elder brothers found such work beneath them, that he was the one who had to pasture the pigs. He pastured them day in and day out, and as he had much time for thought began to wonder whether or not there were people living beyond the forest.

One morning he left the pigs to pasture by themselves and set out on his way. He walked for a whole day but there seemed to be no end to the forest. So he ate his breakfast, climbed a tree, and, tying himself to it, spent the night in it.

On the following day he went on again. He walked and he walked, ate his dinner, and toward evening, fearing the wild beasts, climbed a tree and spent the night in it just as he had before.

On the third day on he went again. He followed a path that led through the thickest part of the forest and he had his supper, but the edge of the forest was still not in sight.

Only on the fourth day, as he was sitting in a tree, did he suddenly hear the cocks crowing. He went in the direction from which the crowing came, and, reaching the forest edge at last, saw a city before him.

He came into the city and marveled at the sight of so many people.

Seeing that many were weeping openly and that the walls of the houses were hung with lengths of black cloth, he asked a passer-by why this was so.

Said the man:

"Where do you come from that you don't know that the wicked dragon is to get the king's daughter to morrow? Of all the maidens in the city the lot has fallen upon her to be given to him this time. The dragon threatens to level the whole city with the ground if this is not done."

"Why does no one kill the dragon?" the fool asked.

"Everyone fears him he is so fierce," the man replied. "The king has promised to give his daughter in marriage and his throne, too, to however saves her from the dragon, but even so no one dares to attempt it."

"Well, then, I will!" cried the fool. "Take me to the king."

When news of this began to get about, everyone thought the young stranger an empty braggart and only the king was pleased that at least one brave man had come forward. He ordered all sorts of weapons to be brought to him, swords, spears, lances, guns and poleaxes, and a choice of helmets and coats of armour, too, but the fool took nothing but a large axe.

"I've never handled any of these fancy weapons before in my life," said he, "but I know how to use an axe well enough."

On the following day the king took his daughter to the forest, chained her to a tree with iron chains, and, weeping bitterly, returned to the palace. The princess sighed as she waited for death, and the fool stayed with her and watched for the dragon's coming. It was a cold morning, and, thinking to warm himself, he chopped some firewood and made up a fire nearby.

As he was fanning out the flames, the dragon came flying up. He snorted and opened wide his jaws, wanting to swallow the fool, but as soon as he had crawled up to him the fool snatched up one of the larger of the burning logs and thrust it down his throat. The pain of it made the dragon open his jaws even wider, and the fool availed himself of this and pushed all of the logs down his throat. The dragon roared out in agony and began rolling over the ground. And the fool hurried up with his axe and went at him as if he were a block of wood. He chopped off his head, cut up his tail to bits and would not stop till he was quite worn out himself. The princess saw it all and at first she trembled with fear, but her fear soon changed to joy. And when the fool had cut her chains and freed her, the poor thing who had not thought to remain alive, threw her arms round his neck and kissed him.

Toward evening the king came to the forest and what did he see but the dragon hacked to pieces and the brave young stranger lying asleep, his head resting on the princess's knees. The king embraced him and wept in joy, and from then on no one was there in the whole kingdom who was held in such esteem and regard. So fond did the king grow of the fool that he married him to his daughter and gave up his own throne to him.

After a time the fool bethought him of paying his parents a visit. He took his young wife with him, and off they set in a golden coach. Their way lay through a forest, but they had not quite reached the forest edge when the fool stopped the coach, put on his old clothes and went off to pasture the pigs as he had once done. As for his wife, he told her to ask his parents to let her in for the night, to pretend that she did not know him and not to be surprised at anything that might happen.

The princess did as he had told her, and the fool seeing that the pigs were out by themselves, pastured them till evening and then drove them home, cracking his whip and shouting loudly: "Come on, you porkers! Get a move on, dearies!"

His father ran out to meet him and begged him to be silent, but he only shouted the louder.

"Do be quiet, the princess is staying in our house," the father said.

But the son, pretending to be the fool they all thought him, replied:

"What do I care about the princess, I have to drive the pigs home. They've turned wild, what with no one to look after them, and won't listen to me, so I've got to shout at them from time to time."

He came into the hut just as if he had been there only yesterday, and, sitting down at the table, began to eat his supper.

"Where have you been all this time?" his father asked.

Said the fool in reply:

"I went beyond the forest to see if there were people there and found that there were, indeed, and many more than here. Unlike you, they treated me with kindness and respect, and, to crown all, made me their king."

The father heard him out and only shook his head. He asked him nothing more, for he had had enough.

In the meantime the mother cooked some supper for the princess but was fearful of serving so high a personage. She asked first one, then the other of her sons to do it, but they, too, dared not.

Said the fool:

"Since no one wants to serve the princess, I will. She won't eat me up. I love her dearly and hope to make her my wife one of these days."

The mother looked at him and shook her head, for was he not the fool he always had been, but she gave him the food to take to the princess.

The fool carried in the bowl of meat and set it down on the table in front of the princess with such force that-crash!-it broke and the meat fell out.

"Here, lap it up!" said he and ran out again without another word.

The mother had been watching through a crack in the door and seen it all, and when he came back to the kitchen began scolding him for his rudeness.

"Where can a man learn good manners if he is out with the pigs all day!" said the fool.

"Whether you're out with them or not, nothing will change you," said the mother with a shrug.

After that he carried in a bowl of soup, and, saying "Here's some soup for you!" set it down on the table with such force that the soup splashed over and wet the princess's figured skirt. The princess only laughed and the fool ran out again.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, you pig you!" cried his mother. "You've spoiled the princess's skirt."

"I don't doubt but she has another," said the fool.

Then he carried in a pot of turnips and this he overturned into the princess's lap.

"Here, have some turnips!" said he.

And the princess laughed so that she nearby died.

It was time to go to bed, and the mother said to the fool:

"You'd better find yourself a place to sleep in. your brother have taken your bed, so you must go to the cow-house and lie down on the floor there, there's no room for you in the hut."

Said the fool in reply:

"That I won't, for the cow-house is not a fitting place for a king to sleep in. but since there is no room for me, I'll lie down beside the princess."

"You were always a fool," said the mother, "but you never spoke such nonsense before. The things you think up! As if the princess would let you packing then and there!"

"Just you watch and see how the princess will treat me," the fool said. "She's my wife and is sure to be waiting for me."

At this the fool's mother, father and brother burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha!" roared they.

They settled down for the night and the fool went to the princess's room. She welcomed her husband lovingly, as was to be expected, but could not keep from laughing all the same.

The mother and father and the two elder brothers only gasped when the fool came out to them in the morning richly dressed and with his wife at his side.

They all went off to pay his father-in-law a visit soon after and they never stopped marveling that the fool had become king.

I once paid him a visit and stayed in his palace and I came back home on a gingerbread horse he gave me for a gift.

And for all I know, he must still be alive and ruling the land.

How An Old Man Waited For Death....

2007-11-05T23:54:00.000-08:00

There was once a farmer who had many children. Time passed and his sons and daughters were all married, and the oldest son and his wife waited for him to give them his farm. But the old man was still strong and had no wish to give up farming.

Still, he did have thoughts of death and knew that sooner or later the farm would pass into his son's hands.

So off he went to see a sage and learn from him how many years of life were left to him.

The sage looked at the old man and said:

"You'll know your death has come when you have sneezed three times."

Much saddened, the old man went off home. On he walked and all he thought about was how to keep from sneezing.

He gad only just come into his own front yard when he suddenly left a tickling in his nose and gave a great sneeze!

"O Heavens me, I've only two more sneezes left!" sighed the old man.

On the following day he went to the mill to grind grain. The dust there got into his nose and he sneezed again.

"There is nothing to be done!" sighed the old man. "I have one last sneeze left and then my end will come."

And out he ran from the mill so as not to sneeze for the third and last time. But the flour was ready and had to be taken away. So back he came inside again, threw the sack of flour over his shoulder and made for the door.

By that time his nose was full of dust and the old man felt that he was going to sneeze. He tried not to but could not stop himself.

"A-tishoo!" went he.

"O Heavens me, here am I dead!" sighed the old man, and, dropping his sack, stretched himself out on the ground.

Seeing the sack of flour, the miller's hogs came running up and began tearing at it.

The old man looked at them and sighed.

"You villains you!" thought he. "Were I alive I'd have shown you, but what can a dead man do!"

Just then the miller came out into the yard. What was his surprise when he saw the hogs tearing at the sack of flour while its owner lay there and did nothing.

"What are you doing?" asked he.

Said the old man in reply:

"Why, just lying here, of course! What else can I do now that I'm dead? Were I alive I'd have driven off your hogs. Do me a favour, will you, and drive them off for me."

The miller was more surprised than ever.

"Oh, so you're dead!" said he. "How very sad that is."

He took a whip and began flogging the hogs and he sent the whip flying over the old man's back, too.

Up jumped the old man from the ground.

"Thank you for bringing me back to life," said he. "If it weren't for you I'd be dead still."

With this he heaved the sack of flour on to a wagon and drove home. And he won't hear about dying to this day!

Tit For Tat : A Story I LOVE :))

2007-11-05T23:51:00.001-08:00

Hundreds of years ago in a small Dhani (cluster of houses) on the bank of the river Lunee, there once lived, two neighbours, Lakshman and Manohar Singh belonging to Bania and Jat communities respectively. Both, were on good friendly terms.

Once the whole area was badly hit by drought and consequently by famine. Lakshman and his wife decided to go to some other city for better living. Both discussed among themselves about the safety of the ornaments and other belongings and decided to leave the same in the custody of Manohar Singh.

Next morning Lakshman went to his friend, Manohar Singh's house. Manohar Singh was not there. So he called his wife and said, "Bai, we do know how long this famine will continue, so we are going to some other city. It is not wise to carry the ornaments with us, so we have decided to leave them with you."

The talk was going on, when Manohar Singh also arrived. Lakshman repeated his words and asked his friend to take good care of his belongings. Manohar Singh and his wife readily agreed to the proposal.

Lakshman and his wife set out on the journey. After living for some years in Malav Desh, they returned home. They had amassed a lot of wealth including gold and money.

Manohar Singh learnt about their arrival, he did not feel happy. But, to keep his face, he and his wife visited Lakshman's house and enquired about their well being.

Next morning Lakshman's wife went to Manohar Singh's house and asked for the ornaments and other belongings, which they had left with them.

To her great surprise Manohar Singh's wife told her that the belongings and ornaments had been eaten away by the mice.

Lakshman's wife was shocked and was angry. She did not utter a word at Manohar's house but she and her husband realized that their friend had cheated them. They discussed a plan and finalized it.

After some time, one day Lakshman requested Manohar to send someone to his land to remain there, till he returned from the next village, as his wife was not feeling well. Manohar readily agreed to send his younger son, to guard the standing crop.

Lakshman took the boy to one of his relatives in the nearby village and asked him to stay there, till his return. The boy agreed.

When Lakshman returned, Manohar asked him about his son. Lakshman replied sorrowfully that the boy had been carried away by a big eagle, while he was coming back.

Hearing it, Manohar got terribly upset and started shouting at him for murdering his son.

Some people advised Manohar to approach the mukhia (headman of village) about the grave incident.

The mukhia heard the whole story and asked Lakshman-"How it is possible, for an eagle, to carry away a boy of thirteen years?"

Lakshman replied in the same tone-"Why not? If mice can eat away our ornaments then an eagle can also carry away the boy".

The mukhia now wanted to know the story of the ornaments and mice. Foolish Manohar narrated the whole story.

The mukhia gave his verdict that all the ornaments and other belongings of Lakshman Bania should be returned to him and in exchange, Lakshman should return Manohar's son.

As a result Lakshman got his belongings and Manohar his son.

It is rightly said-"Bad deeds do not yield good results".

The Goose Maid : A Story

2007-11-05T23:50:00.001-08:00

The Goose Maid : A Story
Once upon a time there was a Queen whose daughter was to marry a Prince. The Queen packed up many wedding treasures. She gave the Princess a maid and each them had a horse for the journey. The Princess's horse was called Falada and it could talk.

"My dear child," said the Queen. "Take this little piece of fabric. I let three drops of blood from my finger fall on it. Take good care of it, and it will become very useful on your journey."

The Princess took the piece of fabric and put it in her pocket. Then she and her maid set off on their journey. When she became thirsty the Princess said to her maid, "Get down and fetch me some water from the stream." But the maid replied, "Get down yourself! I don't want to be your servant any more."

As the Princess lay down by the water to drink, she heard the three drops of blood say, "If your mother knew this, her heart would break!"

The Princess said nothing. She mounted her horse again and they continued their journey. Soon she became thirsty gain. But the maid, even more arrogant than before, said, "If you want to drink, get down yourself. I'm not your servant any more!"

Again, the Princess got down. But as she was leaning over the stream the little piece of fabric with the drops of blood fell into the water and floated away. When the maid saw this she was very pleased. She now had complete power over the Princess. She made her swap clothes and horses with her, and forced her to swear not to tell anybody at the Court. But the horse Falada had seen and heard everything.

Arriving at the castle, the Prince joyfully received what he believed to be his bride. She pointed to the real Princess and said at once, "Give my maid some work to do!"

"She could help the boy Conrad look after the geese," said the Prince.

But the false bride was afraid Falada might reveal her secret. Therefore, she said the Prince, "Have this horse's head cut off. It annoyed me on the way."

The real Princess heard about this. She was very upset and asked the stable lad if he would nail Falada's head up in the archway. She passed through the archway every day with the geese and she was able to see her beloved Falada.

"The next morning when she had Conrad drove the geese through the archway, she said, "Oh, my dear Falada, how said to see you like that." And the horse answered, "Oh, my dear Princess, how sad to see you like that. If your mother knew her heart would break!"

The Princess went to the meadow and combed her hair.

Conrad teased her and pulled her hair. She asked the wind to blow Conrad's hat away, so he had to run after it and she could comb her hair in peace.

The next day she talked to Falada again. And again she played the trick with Conrad's hat. Angrily, he went to the King and said, "I don't want to tend the geese with that girl any more! She annoys me." And he told the King his story. But the King ordered him to tend the geese with the girl again the next day.

The King secretly followed them and overheard the Goose Maid talking to Falada. He asked her about it and the Princess told him the whole story. The King gave a big party where the false Princess sat on one side and the real Princess sat on the other side of the Prince. The false Princess was quite confused and didn't recognize the Princess in her beautiful clothes.

When they had eaten, the King said to her, "I shall ask you a riddle. What does a person deserve who has deceived her mistress?"

"Such a person deserves to be put to death," replied the maid.

And with that the King pronounced this to be her punishment. The Prince then married the real Princess and they lived happily ever after.

And all because YOU SMILED.........

2007-11-05T23:22:00.001-08:00

If at times you feel you want to cry
And life seems such a trial
Above the clouds there's a brught blue sky
To make your tears a smile

As you travel on life's way
with its many ups and downs
Remember it's quite true to say
One smile is worth a dozen frowns

Among the world's expensive things
A smile is very cheap
And when you give a smile away
You get one back to keep

Happiness comes at times to all
But sadness comes unbidden
And sometimes a few tears must fall
Among the laughter hidden

So when friends have sadness on their face
And troubles round them piled
The world will seem a better place
And all because YOU SMILED

~A Mother's Sacrifice:I LOVE THIS ~

2007-11-05T23:18:00.001-08:00

A story read by me I really liked it posting here for all of You..................................... .......................

My mom only had one eye. I hated her... she was such an embarrassment. My mom ran a small shop at a flea market. She collected little weeds and such to sell... anything for the money we needed she was such an embarrassment. There was this one day during elementary school.
I remember that it was field day, and my mom came. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school..."Your mom only has one eye?!" and they taunted me.

I wished that my mom would just disappear from this world so I said to my mom, "Mom, why don't you have the other eye?! You're only going to make me a laughingstock. Why don't you just die?" My mom did not respond. I guess I felt a little bad, but at the same time, it felt good to think that I had said what I'd wanted to say all this time.

Maybe it was because my mom hadn't punished me, but I didn't think that I had hurt her feelings very badly.

That night...I woke up, and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. My mom was crying there, so quietly, as if she was afraid that she might wake me. I took a look at her, and then turned away. Because of the thing I had said to her earlier, there was something pinching at me in the corner of my heart. Even so, I hated my mother who was crying out of her one eye. So I told myself that I would grow up and become successful, because I hated my one-eyed mom and our desperate poverty.

Then I studied really hard. I left my mother and came to Seoul and studied, and got accepted in the Seoul University with all the confidence I had. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. Then I had kids, too. Now I'm living happily as a successful man. I like it here because it's a place that doesn't remind me of my mom.

This happiness was getting bigger and bigger, when someone unexpected came to see me "What?! Who's this?!" ...It was my mother...Still with her one eye. It felt as if the whole sky was falling apart on me. My little girl ran away, scared of my mom's eye.

And I asked her, "Who are you? I don't know you!!!" as if I tried to make that real. I screamed at her "How dare you come to my house and scare my daughter! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!" And to this, my mother quietly answered, "oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared. Thank good ness... she doesn't recognize me. I was quite relieved. I told myself that I wasn't going to care, or think about this for the rest of my life.

Then a wave of relief came upon me...one day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. I lied to my wife saying that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went down to the old shack, that I used to call a house...just out of curiosity there, I found my mother fallen on the cold ground. But I did not shed a single tear. She had a piece of paper in her hand.... it was a letter to me.

She wrote:
My son...
I think my life has been long enough now. And... I won't visit Seoul anymore... but would it be too much to ask if I wanted you to come visit me once in a while? I miss you so much. And I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I decided not to go to the school.... For you... I'm sorry that I only have one eye, and I was an embarrassment for you.

You see, when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with only one eye... so I gave you mine...I was so proud of my son that was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye. I was never upset at you for anything you did. The couple times that you were angry with me. I thought to myself, 'it's because he loves me.' I miss the times when you were still young around me.

I miss you so much. I love you. You mean the world to me.
My world shattered!!!

Then I cried for the person who lived for me... My Mother

The Hero and The Fool : I LOve :))

2007-11-05T23:15:00.001-08:00

Talking " The Hero and The Fool "

The idea is older than the man himself. The man is doomed to make an endeavour as long as he is alive. He is fated to struggle with each speck of existence surrounding him.

Man is born onto a cobweb of absurd hopes and aspirations which he can never overcome. Being aware of this, he yet tries... because there is nothing to be done other than just trying to fill the void that he has inherited from the human race in which he has taken birth.

The man knows his tragedy... he knows that one day he will also die, will be forgotten. He knows that some people would mourn his death, some will celebrate it and others will not be moved in any way. He knows that whatever he is doing is just a hopeless venture into living some countable days.

In this respect, the human being is more respectable than the Gods themselves. Fruitless effort can be performed only by a fool or a hero.

Villains have no seat reserved for them in this eternal drama of nothingness. Only a fool can endure this constant futile labor or a hero.

So... indirectly saying our world is divided into two groups of men - fools and heroes.

Fools are those who rely on some metaphysical notions, saintly promises, religious delusions promising redemption from their so-called sins.

A famous american novelist John Steinback has rightly said -
" there ain't no sins, there ain't no virtues... it is jus' the things folks do !"

There has been laid a widespread conspiracy in our world. That is of blindfolding the human being by giving false promises of a so-called heaven or of being redeemed from the sins. Countless channels have been flown to make the human being blieve in this truly complex, if not stupid idea. Here... a new divison of humans can be done based on the promising and the promised. These two kinds of people are -

1. People who not in control of their own fates and tribulations trying to prove to others that they can cure the world of its sins.

2. The world believing them.

This statement can be taken as a true contempt for the institution of religion or spirituality. But the idea behind this statement is not so digressive as to leading towards only two or three social instituions founded by men to fool themselves out of this ever-present dilemma. This statement carries far more implications than only criticizing religion, spirituality or social structures.

Coming back to the main point, our world is a binary equation created of a 'THE FOOL' and 'THE HERO'. The definitions of both are as simple as they can be.

A fool is the one who being aware of his mortal fate tries to redeem himself out of this stone-certain ending and by performing some superficial and vain rituals tries to secure a seat in the heavens. He is a loser both ways. He spoils the joy of living this mortal life and loses his paradise also in the end.

A hero is rare to be found everywhere. popular literature as well as media, cinema and other means of spreading information and awareness have always quoted hero as

'ONE GOOD AMIDST COUNTLESS EVILS'.

So we assume hero as a rare species withing mankind. Remember, others are not villains, being diagonally opposite to the hero, but fools who do not realise the tragic cycle in which our world is caught.

The hero is the person who, being aware that he is going to die maybe in the next second, live each day as his last day. He believes in the cocepts because he wants to, not becasue somebody has told him to believe them. He does something because his heart says that he should do this to attain happiness... because man is here to gain happiness and satisfaction, not to get tortured or be sad.

Nobody who claims being alive in this world has the control to be alive eternally, but the hero at least has the control over his own life. He commands his heart, his mind. He holds the reins of the horse of life... he emerges a God on earth or the image of God (i say this because menfolk have a tendency of picking up every opportunity to make others believe that their 'exists' a mortal God.)

Our hero does not look unto others when setting moral standards, when loving someone or when erecting a lifestyle. He is the sole master of his mortal life.

This concept of 'THE FOOL' and 'THE HERO' may kickstart an argument here that if one should believe this concept, one would find a definite contempt towards God in the hero's eyes. Some people would find the hero offensive and a non-believer because he creates his own God. To those people a question is posed here -

"Name a single person on this earth who does not possess his own personal God."

The difference is that the hero only believes in his personal God.

On the other side, the fool either always lives life either on the others' standards or blindly follows the heroes. He is always caught between two desperations -

'idol-worshipping' and 'personal trauma'.

He never gets to live his life but either he lives others' lives or loses even his own.

So, in the end... the idea remains that because we have no control over our own fate, and we know this, why not be A HERO instead of shamelessly following others and being taunted as A FOOL ?

Celebrate The Hero within your soul... kick out The Fool!!!

Why God Gave US Friends..Thanks!!!

2007-11-05T22:23:00.001-08:00

Why God Gave us Friends (A Beautiful Poem)

God Knew That Everyone Needs
Companionship And Cheer,
He Knew That People Need Someone
Whose Thoughts Are Always Near.
He Knew They Need Someone Kind
To Lend A Helping Hand.
Someone To Gladly Take The Time
To Care And Understand.
God Knew That We All Need Someone
To Share Each Happy Day,
To Be A Source Of Courage
When Troubles Come Our Way.
Someone To Be True To Us,
Whether Near Or Far Apart.
Someone Whose Love We'll Always
Hold And Treasure In Our Hearts.

Have A Super Day..........................

Thank You For Being My Friend …

An Old But Gold Story of a Girl :))

2007-11-05T22:20:00.001-08:00

Many years ago in a small Indian village,

A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The Moneylender , who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses

The above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had Picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't Attempt to think................................... ................

The Secrets of Inner Peace???

2007-11-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

I fully agree with Chesterfield, who says, "Advice is seldom welcome and those who need it the most, like it the least."

This world of ours has everything except one thing: peace. Everybody wants and needs peace, whether he be a child or an adult.... but here in this forum we would really try to understand that what is/are the

secrets of inner peace??? how can one get this???

the best PEACE u gets when u do something good for someone and he is thankful for it,,,,, even if he/she not...... the deeds which u do... reallly give u ultimate peace.....

A prayer we used to sing in lord mha vira convent wants to share with all the wonderful guys :))

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love;
Where there is injury . . . pardon;
Where there is doubt . . . faith;
Where there is despair . . . hope;
Where there is darkness . . . light;
Where there is sadness . . . joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled . . .as to console;
to be understood . . .as to understand;
to be loved . . . as to love.
For it is in giving . . .that we receive;
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned;
and It is in dying . . .that we are born to eternal life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace......
**************************************** ******************

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

Buddhist Prayer for Peace

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly
be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and
may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people think
of befriending one another. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful
wilderness - the children, the aged, the unprotected - be guarded by beneficial
celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

Jewish Prayer for Peace

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the
Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into
pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they
learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts
has spoken.

Hindu Prayer for Peace

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on Earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propogate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all and may that peace come to me also.

Jainist Prayer for Peace

Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all Enlightened
Ones. The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma Forgive do I creatures
all, and let all creatures forgive me. Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world. Violence, in fact, is the
knot of bondage. "Do not injure any living being." This is the eternal, perrinial,
and unalterable way of spiritual life. A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be, can
always be superseded by a superior one; but no weapon can, however, be superior to
non-violence and love.

Muslim Prayer for Peace

In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the
Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations that we may know
each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace,
do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God; for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, most gracious are those
who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we say
"PEACE".

Native African Prayer for Peace

Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot;
the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees;
the All-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a
rock mass here on Earth... You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to
our call. You are the cornerstone of peace.

Native American Prayer for Peace
Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your
children: Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, and
to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace of mind. Let us
learn to share all good things that you provide for us on this Earth.

Shinto Prayer for Peace

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us are all our brother and
sister, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in
the oceans surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all
the clouds which are hanging over the tops of mountains.

Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace

We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world:
that understanding triumph over ignorance,
that generosity triumph over indifference,
that trust triumph over contempt,
and that truth triumph over falsehood.

Sikh Prayer for Peace

God adjudges us according to our deeds, not by the coat that we wear.
Know that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only victory endures in consequences
of which no one is defeated.

Christian Prayer for Peace

Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
for they shall be known as the Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
To those that strike you on the cheek,
offer the other one also;
and from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.

Give to everyone who begs from you;
and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Thanks :)

Always believe in MIRACLES !!!

2007-11-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

I'm not saying this is true or not, don't care, it's a nice story. ........................................ .................

(Tissue Alert...)

Please read till the end!!!!

Always believe in MIRACLES!! Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.

"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your sister?"

"Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!"
the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but ." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors. "The girl in the photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa . any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do.
Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what he had to do. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "this is the least I can do."

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children's Hospital.

"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day. "C'mon.... I'll take you there," Rick said softly.

Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah. Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!"

"Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IVtubes in tact. Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy.
But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears. Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.
Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year. As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels.

"Oh, yes, Santa... I do!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you, "he said.
Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed.
He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease. He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night.... all is calm, all is bright." The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all. When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own.

"Now, Sarah, "he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!" He knew it was risky proclaiming that, to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.

"Yes, Santa! "Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright.

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.
Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed. Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quicklyand rushed to Santa's side to thank him.

"My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly.
"This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.
"Hi, Santa! Remember me?!"

"Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her.

After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.

"You came to see me in the hospital last year!" Santa's jaw dropped.

Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized her,for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy
-- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus. He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope.

This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well.
He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. 'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!

Three Little but very powerful word..........

2007-11-05T18:02:00.002-08:00

Three Little but very powerful words

Description:The following three-word phrases can enrich every relationship. These are just three little BUT VERY POWERFUL words !!!

I'll Be There
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase "I'll be there." Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we're truly present for other people, important things happen to them & us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

I Miss You
Perhaps more marriages could be saved & strengthened if couples simply & sincerely say to each other "I miss you." This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired & loved. Consider how ecstatic you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say "I miss you."

I Respect You / I Trust You
Respect and trust is another way of showing love. Its conveys the feeling that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds & become close friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships

Maybe You're Right
This phrase is highly effective in diffusing an argument and restoring frayed emotions. The flip side to "maybe you're right" is the humility of admitting maybe "I'm wrong". Let's face it. When you have a heated argument with someone, all you do is cement the other person's point of view. They, or you, will not change their stance and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying "maybe you're right" can open the door to further explore the subject, in which you may then have the opportunity to get your view across in a more rational manner.

Please Forgive Me
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

I Thank You
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

Count On Me
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship; it is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating "you can count on me."

Let Me Help
The best of friends see a need and try to fill it. When they spot a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they pitch in and help.

I Understand You
People become closer and enjoy each other more if they feel the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know in so many little ways that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing relationship. This applies to any relationship.

Go For It
We are all unique individuals. Don't try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how weird they seem to you. Everyone has dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only. Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to "go for it."

I Love You
Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person's deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted.Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words "I love you."

Something On Life

2007-11-05T18:02:00.001-08:00

Life can seem ungrateful ~ and not always kind.
Life can pull at your heartstrings ~ and play with your mind.
Life can be blissful ~ and happy and free.
Life can put beauty ~ in the things that you see.

Life can place challenges ~ right at your feet.
Life can make good ~ of the hardships that we meet.
Life can overwhelm you ~ and make your head spin.
Life can reward those ~ determined to win.

Life can be hurtful ~ and not always fair.
Life can surround you ~ with people who care.
Life clearly does offer ~ its ups and its downs.
Life's days can bring you ~ both smiles and frowns.

Life teaches us to take ~ the good with the bad.
Life is a mixture ~ of happy and sad.

So...

Take the life that you have ~ and give it your best.
Think positive, be happy ~ let God do the rest.
Take the challenges ~ that life has laid at your feet.
Take pride and be thankful ~ for each one you meet.

To yourself give forgiveness ~ if you stumble and fall.
Take each day that is dealt you ~ and give it your all.
Take the love that you're given ~ and return it with care.
Have faith that when needed ~ it will always be there.

Take time to find the beauty ~ in the things that you see.
Take life's simple pleasures ~ let them set your heart free.
The idea here is simply ~ to even the score.
As you are met and faced with ~ Life's Tug Of War..................................... ........................................

THREE GATES OF WISDOM .............

2007-11-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

A King had for only son a young, courageous, skillful and intelligent Prince. He sent him to see a Wise Old man so that he would open his mind to awarness.
- "Enlighten me as to the path I sould take", pleaded the Prince.
- "My words will only vanish like foot steps in the sand, replied the Wise man. However I'll accept to give you some indications. On your path, you will come across three gates. Read the sayings on each one of them. You will be overwhelmed with the need to follow them. Do not seek to turn away, you would be condemned to live again and again that which you had run away from. I cannot say any more. You must fell all this in your heart and flesh you may, go now. Follow the road, right ahead of you."
The Wise Old man disappeared and the Prince started walking on the Path of the Life. He was soon across a large gate on which one could read:

"CHANGE THE WORLD".
- "This is precisely what I intended to do , thought the Prince, if some things are pleasurable in this world, others are not."
And he started its first struggle. Driven by ideal, his ardour and his strength pushed him to be confronted with the world, he undertook, conquered, modelled reality to his desire. He experience the pleasure and the exhileration of the conqueror, but his heart was not at rest. He managed to change certain things but others would not give way.
Long years went by. One day, he met the Wise Old man who asked him:
- "What did you learn on the path?"
- "I learned, replied the Prince, to see what was in my power and what was beyond it, to see what depended on me and what didn't ".
- "Well done, said the Old Man. Use your strength to act upon on what you can. Forget about what is beyond you."
And he vanished.
Sometime later the Prince came acroos a second gate. One could read on it:

"CHANGE OTHERS"
- "This is precisily what I intend to do, thought the Prince. Others give joy and pleasure, but also cause pain and bitterness and frustration."
And he rose against all that could disturb or displease him in his fellow being. He struggled to alter their minds, and correct their faults. This was to be his second battles.
Many more years went by. One day, as he was meditating on the uselessness of his attempts to change others, he came across the Wise Old man and he asked him:
- "What did you learn on your path?"
- "I learned, answered the Prince, that the others are not the source of my joys or sorrows, my achievements or failures. They are only there to make me aware. I am the one to grow these feelings in me."
- "You are right, said the Wise man. Though what they awaken in you, they made you aware of yourself. Be grateful towards those who make you fee joy and pleasure. But be also grateful to these hurt and frustrate you for through, them Life teaches you. When you have yet to learn, and the long way ahead of you."
And the Old Man vansished. A little time after, the Prince come across a door where you could read the words:

"CHANGE YOURSELF".
- "If I am myself the cause of my problems, thsi is that I have to do" he though.
And he started his third struggle. He tried to inflect his character, to fight his imperfections, to remove his defects, and change every thing which didn't correspond to his ideal.
After many years of struggle during which he was at times successful at times defeated, the Prince met the Wise man who asked him:
- "What did you learn on your path?"
- "I learned, replied the Prince, that somes things can be improved, others which resist and can't be change."
- "Well done," said the Wise man.
- "Yes, the Prince went on, but I'm getting weary offighting against everythings, and againts myself. Won't this neve end? When will I be at rest? I wich to stop fighting, to give up, let go."
- "This happens to be your next lesson, Wise Old man said. But before further going any further, turn around the gate and look back at the way you'va already tread."
And it vanished. As he looked back, the Prince saw in the distance the 3rd gate and realized that one could read a different message on the back of it:

"ACCEPT YOURSELF"
The Prince wonderad why he hadn't noticed this inscription when it had crossed the gate the first time, in the opposite direction.
- "When one is fighting, one becomes blind, he said to himself."
He also saw, spread on the ground around him, every thing he had rejected and fought within himself: his faults, his dark side, his fears, his limits, and all his old daemons. He then learnt how to recognize them, accept them and love them. He learnt how to love himself without comparing himself, judging himself, blaming himself.
He came across the Wise Old man who asked him:
- "What did you learn along the path?"
- "I learned, replied the Prince, that to hate or refuse part of myself was to condemn myself never to be at peace with myself. I learned how to accept myself, completely, unconditionally."
- "Well done, said the Old Man, it is the first stage of Wisdom. Now you go through the 3rd gate again."
Just as he had reached the other side of the gate, the Prince saw the back face of the second gate and it said:

"ACCEPT OTHERS".
All around him he recognized the people he had met in his life; those he had loved, those he had hated. Those he had helped, those he had fought. But to his surprise, he was now unable to see their faults which has disturbed him so much, and against which he had fought so much.
He came across the Wise Old man again.
- "What did you learn on your path?" asked this last.
"I learned, replied the Prince, that if I were on peace with myself, I would have nonthing to blame others for, nothing to fear of them. I have learned to accept others totally and unconditionally."
- "Well done," said the Wise Old man. It is the second stage Wisdom. You can go through the second gate.
When he arrived on other side, the Prince saw the back of the first gate and read:

"ACCEPT THE WORLD".
- "That is strange, he thought, "Why didn't I see the inscription the first time?"
He looked around him and recognized the world he had tried to conquer, transform, and change. He was hit by the brightness and the beauty of all things. By their perfection. And yet it was the same world as it used to be. Had the world changed, or had his perception of it changed?
He come across the Wise Old man and asked him:
- "What did you learn on your path?"
- "I learned, the Prince said, that the world is the mirror of my soul. That my soul, my heart does not see the world, but sees itself in the world. When it is cheerful, the world seems merry. When it is gloony, the world seems sad. The world, is neither merry or sad. It just is; that is all. It was not the world that was troubling me , but the idea I had of it. I accepted to accept it without judging it, to tally, unconditionally."
- "This is the 3rd Wisdom, said the Old Man.You are now at greace within yourself and others in the World."
A deep feeling of peace, serenity and fullfilement overwhelmed the Prince. Silence was within himt.
- "You are ready, now, to cross the last Threshold, said the Wise Old man, From the silence of fulfillment of Silence".
And the Old Man disappeared

Ways To Deal With Burden Of Life

2007-10-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience raised a glass of water and asked

"How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, As the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on" "As with the glass of water, You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again . When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden." "So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, Let them down for a moment if you can."

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while. Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1. Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
8. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
9. Nobody cares if you can't dance well, just get up and dance.
10. Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
11. The second mouse gets the cheese.
12. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
13. Birthdays are good for you, the more you have, the longer you live.
14. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
15. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
16. We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
17. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
18. Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today...

WE OWE A LOT TO OUR PARENTS

2007-10-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day and Father's Day, we send our parents cards and flowers and gifts. We tell them we appreciate them, we tell them we love them. Then we spend the rest of the year trying to avoid them.

Well, some of us try harder than others.

According to two recent polls, 36% of elderly parents say their grown children have failed to help them in a time of need in the past five years.

And that doesn't even include all those parents who can't remember. Perhaps poor memory is a good thing. If I'm ever an aging parent, I want to remember my children as
the most loving and caring people. And if they're not, I want to forget.

But the only thing I'll probably forget is to put them in my will.

Let's face it: Parents can be a pain at times. They expect so much out of you. Do this, do that, eat this, eat that, marry this, marry that. There's no satisfying them.

But you have to overlook your entire childhood to turn your back on your parents. There are so many reasons to be grateful to them. Here are just a few:

---They didn't abort you. Yes, some of them
easily could have, but they chose to accept
at least 18 years of responsibility. Sure, you
brought them lots of joy, but you also brought
them lots of migraines. Thanks to you, they
had to invest more money in aspirin than in
the stock market.

---They changed your diaper about 2,750
times. You may have many talents today, but
for the first years of your life, your only talent
was soiling a diaper. Soon after that, you
developed another talent: wetting the bed.
You were so good at that, they thought you'd
do it for the rest of your life.

---They forced you to do your homework. You
preferred to watch cartoons on television, but
they knew you couldn't make a career out of
that. Unless you ended up on welfare. They
encouraged you to earn good grades and
graduate from school. They didn't want you
to sell drugs for a living, without going to
pharmacy school.

---They lost so much sleep worrying about you,
they haven't yet caught up. That's why they
have to go to bed at 7 p.m. They'd have to
sleep continuously for five years to make up
for your puberty alone.

---They spent a small fortune on you. Without
you, they could have vacationed every year in
the Bahamas and bought a sports car --
instead of that totally uncool station wagon.
And they could have bought lots of fancy
appliances and furniture, items that are
guaranteed to never talk back or ask for
allowances.

---They were so proud of you. Why do you
think they took one billion photos of you? You
weren't that cute. They even snapped shots
of you taking a bath, as though that was some
big achievement. When you took your first
step, they acted like you had walked on the
moon. They wanted to tell everybody, even the
mail carrier. When you spoke your first word,
they wanted to put an announcement in the
newspaper. They wanted to call CNN.

Consider yourself lucky if you have two parents
or even just one. You can't replace a parent.
You can't go to the store and buy one, even if
you're as loaded as Bill Gates.

Parents aren't perfect, but chances are, no one
will ever love you the same way.

Especially if you act the way you did.

21 Things To Remember

2007-10-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

1. No one can ruin your day without YOUR permission.

2. Most people will be about as happy, as they decide to be.

3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.

4. Whatever you are willing to put up with, is exactly what you will have.

5. Success stops when you do.

6. When your ship comes in.... Make sure you are willing to unload it.

7. You will never have it all together.

8. Life is a journey...not a destination. Enjoy the trip!

9. The biggest lie on the planet When I get what I want I will be happy.

10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.

11. I've learned that ultimately , 'takers' lose and 'givers' win.

12. Life's precious moments don't have value, unless they are shared.

13. If you don't start, it's certain you won't arrive.

14. We often fear the thing we want the most.

15. He or she who laughs...... lasts.

16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

17. Look for opportunities. ..not guarantees.

18. Life is what's coming....not what was.

19. Success is getting up one more time.

20. Now is the most interesting time of all.

21. When things go wrong.....don' t go with them.

Tips for the sure success...

2007-10-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

Tips for success
Much has been written about how to obtain success in life, but little has been written about the behaviors that pose a threat to obtaining success. While success principles are very important, we should not ignore those behaviors which will prevent success from happening in our lives. By recognizing these behaviors, we can effectively eliminate them from our lives and focus on those behaviors which will ensure success.

1. The Desire for Instant Gratification

Those who fail to get what they want out of life are most often short-term thinkers, meaning that they base all of their decisions on what they want now, versus what they want in the future. Why do you think that lottery and gambling industries flourish? It’s because they prey on our desire for instant gratification— that of becoming rich overnight. When making a decision, focus on how that decision will impact your life in the long run, rather than focusing on the short-term benefits of that decision.

2. Greed

Greed is a dangerous behavior because it fulfills your desires, but at a cost to the lives of those people around you. The behavior of greed can be described as wanting something from others without the intention of exchanging something of like value in return. And while greed might get you what you want in the short run, it causes an imbalance of social karma within your relationships with other people and eventually that imbalance will have to be corrected and this is usually in the form of a crushing life crisis. The root cause behind greed is a grossly underdeveloped level of self-esteem, which always urns to possess and to control because it is uncomfortable accepting its own self. Combat the behavior of greed by instead trying to help others with their lives. You will find that positive things will come your way when you provide value for others instead of trying to deprive others of their value.

3. Lack of Confidence

People who lack confidence in their abilities simply get by life without ever engaging life with all their capacities. They neither take a stand, nor do they show any courage in the face of adversity. They conform to what everyone else is doing in order to be accepted by their peers. Those who do not possess the confidence to take a stand are like cows in a herd being led off to the slaughterhouse. Realize that whatever stand you take throughout your life, there will always be people who support your views and there will be people who oppose your views. You can’t please everyone in life, so please the one person who is the most important in your life—yourself.

4. Not Willing to Pay the Price

Success in life not only requires that you know what you want, but perhaps even more so, it requires that you know the sacrifices you have to make in order to reach that success. Success in any aspect of our lives comes at a price and we must pay this price in order to achieve that success. Unwillingness to pay the full price of the success that you want will assuredly prevent you from obtaining that success. In the grand scope of things, you can’t cheat your way to the top. You can’t take shortcuts and expect to create any long-term success. If you want to be an Olympic athlete, you have to do the time—you have to have the dedication and the perseverance and the drive to win. No amount of intention-manifesta tion will enable you to get what you want unless you are willing to give up the things that are necessary for you to obtain it.

5. Lack of Persistence

Lack of persistence is a big distinguishing behavior between those who consistently achieve success in areas of their life versus people who often fail to realize their goals. When pressure builds and problems seem to stack on top of each other, quitting is the easy way out. There is a big distinction we must make however between quitting and failing. Failing in life is a perfectly acceptable thing. We all fail at some point in our lives and chances are that we will fail yet again. But if we try our best and fail, then that is courageous and there are no regrets because we have the peace of mind of knowing that we did everything in our power to try to reach that goal. Failing is part of the journey towards success. Quitting on the other hand is much worst than failing. Quitting is not using your fullest potential to reach those goals. This is very disempowering because not only will you not reach your success, but always in the back of your mind, you will wonder if that success could have been possible had you given it one-hundred percent. As my former gymnastics mentor and 1984 Olympic gold medalist, Peter Vidmar, once said, “Getting to the Olympics was simple. I just trained when I felt like it and I trained when I didn’t.”

6. Unwillingness to Take Risks

Getting ahead in life and reaching success involves taking calculated risks. That does not mean you have to be irresponsible however. Risk taking, as it applies to success, means that you have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone so that you can effectively expand your box and grow. When I was competing as a gymnast, I used to perform acrobatic stunts that had the potential of seriously injuring myself or even killing me. But I never considered those stunts to be irresponsible risks because my knowledge, training, and competency gave me the confidence to push myself further and try things that I knew I had the ability to do. I believe that great opportunities come into our lives daily, but it’s our indecision or fear that prevents us from taking hold of those opportunities. Be willing to step outside your comfort zone and seize those opportunities when they appear.

7. Procrastination

Waiting for the perfect moment is a big killer of success in our lives. If we don’t have to do it, then chances are we won’t do it, but it’s this lack of action which erodes our chances of success early on. Realize that there will never be a perfect time to implement an action and the longer we wait to act, the less likely we are to do it. We all know how to fill up our time with busywork, but not all of us know how to prioritize those tasks that are important. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of our results will come from only 20% of the actions that we do. People who procrastinate instead focus on the other tasks that are of little importance, while delaying their action on those high-value tasks that will produce the most change in their lives. Remember the adage, “Don’t wait for tomorrow what you can do today.”

8. Unwillingness to Learn from Past Mistakes

Failures and mistakes are a natural part of the learning process and a crucial part in building any real success for yourself, but you must be willing to extract the lessons from each failure and apply it towards your future in order for it to be effective. Those people who ignore the lessons to be learned in their failures are doomed to fail again, and again, and again throughout their lives. Successful people, on the other hand, not only learn from their own mistakes, but they seek out other people and learn from their mistakes as well. They use history as a powerful leverage tool for their success so that they don’t have to recreate the wheel.

9. Feeding Yourself Negative Affirmations

The law of attraction states that we attract to ourselves that which mirrors our mental attitude. Negative thinkers attract negative people, things, and events into their lives. That is why negative self-talk is so dangerous and detrimental towards any success in your life. Conversely, positive thinkers attract successful people and events into their lives. Make a conscious decision to eliminate negative self-talk from your daily life and replace it with rich, positive affirmations.

wish u all the best

Mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee

2007-10-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

When things in your life seem
almost too much to handle,
when 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
remember the mayonnaise jar
and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box
of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
the students again
if the jar was full..
They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded
with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced
two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
into the jar, effectively
filling the Empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor,
as the laughter subsided,
"I want you to recognize that
this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things -
God, family, children, health,
friends, and Favorite passions --
things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained,
your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter
like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first,"
he continued,
"there is no room for
the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time
and energy on the small stuff,
you will never have room for
the things that are
important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
to clean the house
and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first --
the things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked".

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may
seem, there's always room for
a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

--------------------

**A Quiz for all friends About Life

2007-10-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

You don't actually have to take the quiz. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point, an awesome one. .....

Take this quiz:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are
no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel, appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you. Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not
the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.

Thanks...........

Self Confidence in 15 Minutes

2007-10-01T06:10:00.001-07:00

Some people have naturally high levels of confidence but everybody can learn to be more confident. Firstly, it's important to get a clear idea of what self confidence really means, otherwise you won't know when you've got it! So, self confidence means:

1. Being calm. For every situation in life you need to run on the appropriate level of emotion. Too much emotional 'leakage' into a experience can spoil the experience. You make great strides towards confidence when you begin to relax in a greater range of situations.

2. Being cool. The second part of self confidence is about being able to relax with uncertainty. To be 'cool' in a situation really means relaxing with not knowing how things will pan out. If you truly tolerate uncertainty, you can do pretty much anything.

3. Not being too concerned with what others think of you. You know when you imagine what some place is going to be like before you go there but when you get there it is totally different to your imagination? That's how reliable your imagination is! Stop trusting your imagination so much. I've long since stopped bothering to imagine what others think of me because so often I've turned out to be wrong.

4. Being specific - where do you want confidence? 'Confidence' is meaningless until you tie it to something specific. You are already confident that you can read these words or can switch a light on and off. So you don't need more confidence everywhere. To get what you want in life you have to establish exactly what you do want. Where do you want confidence in your life? Think about the specific situations now and write them down. You beginning to steer your brain towards confidence.

5. Understanding that what you expect is what you get. Your brain is an organ that needs clear goals to work towards. When a task has been set in your brain it will do everything it can do to bring about the completion of that task. If you've tried to recall someone's name but can't, hours later you'll often find their name pops into your head.

The 'trying to recall' experience set the task or blueprint for your brain's future subconscious behaviour which eventually produced the name for you - when you weren't thinking about it consciously. You can use this natural mechanism to start feeling more confident. But, to ensure you set the right task for your subconscious mind, the next point is vital.

6. Don't task your mind with negatives. Instead of: 'I don't want to screw up' (which sets the task of 'screwing up' for your brain), set the blueprint for what you do want! Your brain doesn't work towards what to do by being told what not to do. And nature has given you a wonderful natural tool to set the right task blueprints with.

7. Use nature's goal-setter: Now you understand how vital it is to set the right task for you brain, you need to know how to do this reliably. Good hypnosis will strongly 'program' the right blueprint in your mind through the use of your imagination. If you powerfully imagine feeling confident and relaxed while in a relaxed hypnotic state it will be hard for your unconscious mind to do anything else. The blueprint for relaxation has been set firmly into your subconscious mind.

3 simple strategies to get you feeling confident quickly:

1. Think specifically of the time/place/situatio n you want to feel confident in. Remember 'confidence' doesn't mean anything until you attach it to something specific.

2. Focus on words in your mind right now that describe how you do want to be in that time and place. Maybe words such as 'calm', 'relaxed' or 'focused'. Remember your brain works on clear positive instructions.

3. Close your eyes for as long as you like and think about how those words feel. Then, imagine the situation itself and rehearse it in your mind feeling confident and relaxed. This way you set the right blueprint or 'task' for your unconscious mind.

You can repeat this often to make it more effective and use it with as many areas of your life as you need to. If you listen to a hypnotic cd or download that can make the benefits even more powerful. So if you feel like you'd be blessed with less confidence than some other people you can start redressing the balance by using your mind in the right way right now.

It took me years to learn how to be more confident - now you can do it in a fraction of the time. Good luck

Count Your Blessings (Amazing)

2007-10-01T06:09:00.001-07:00

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and All 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

The following is also something to ponder...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death... you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married .. you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

God Bless.....

Gen X's new mantra for success

2007-10-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Studying along with working is a trend that has gradually caught up with aspiring Indians. Gen X clearly doesn't believe in wasting any time to get a head start in life.

While the West is no stranger to students earning on the side while studying, the trend is relatively new to India. Gen X does not believe in wasting time and in order to get a head start in life is increasingly taking up regular jobs while completing studies. And not just that, many young professionals are also looking at pursuing higher studies and increasing their knowledge and skill base. Of course, the mere thought of going back to studies or studying while working may seem like self-inflicted torture to some but things have taken a turn in the past one decade. Gone are the days when youngsters, in a bid to satiate their career aspirations, took up early jobs leaving studies behind. Today, the desire to reinvent oneself and take up new challenges is what drives many to take up additional studies while working – be it freshers or senior professionals.

Ashish Gupta, working as a senior associate QA with GlobalLogic India, is also preparing for his CAT and GMAT and feels, “Any working professional knows the value of time and money and when he studies while working he knows the exact value higher studies would add to his career. It’s important to constantly upgrade your knowledge and thus studying simultaneously and working is the only option.”

Many like Gupta feel that the rising competition levels in the workplace is another reason for many youngsters opting for additional degrees whilst working. “The growing consciousness to be well-educated is something one would shy from saying, but then it’s the reality,” feels Pradeep Joseph who started working soon after his schooling.

The driving force:-Rising competition at the workplace, the need to reinvent and take up new challenges – these are only some of the reasons cited by Gen X to take up studies at some point in their working life.

For some it is never too late to catch up on some basics, while others feel the need to take a work related course. And then for some it is the zeal to reach new heights in their career. Rare are the cases where someone opts to pursue studies in a different area of interest but here too the growing number is noticeable.

A.Kumra, working as a program manager with Orange Business services, is pursuing management and technical courses and is also preparing for MBA. He says, “Many of us start working part-time while studying for pocket money, while some concentrate only on studies. Some work to finance their higher studies and fulfill their aspirations, especially if parents can’t afford to aid their children.”

Shrinkhala Saxena worked and studied simultaneously while she was doing her post graduation. “It is fun to study something and then apply it simultaneously, since you get to know that all that’s written in the books can’t be applied and all that’s applied is not even in the books. But it certainly widens your perspective and makes you professionally competent,” she says.

The tough get tougher:-Of course, juggling a job and studies is not as easy as it looks. Prioritising work and studies and achieving results as per your satisfaction can be tough to handle. In an extreme case, it might end up isolating the person completely from his personal and social life.

Agrees Kumra, “Indeed, it’s a big compromise with your personal and social life. Though it is easier for people who take up correspondence courses where they just have to study in their free time but with part time/weekend courses, people really have to completely give up their social life.”

However, it all depends on the determination of the individual. Says Shrinkhala, “It is a bit difficult in the beginning as you miss out on both sides but once you get used to it, it becomes challenging to keep up to the expectations at your workplace and where you study. It’s actually fun!”

Joseph adds, “Being involved in two activities simultaneously, one definitely gets cut off from one’s social life. It sounds easy to say ‘try managing your time’ but I am sure it’s tough to manage even if you try hard.”

On a slightly different note, Gupta asserts, “Having decided to work and study simultaneously, one needs to know his priorities clearly how to juggle both. It’s not easy as most of us fail to prioritise and do not give the right time to the right thing.

Seeking cooperation:-Doing just a juggling act and managing your time is not enough. Getting the cooperation of bosses in office and faculty is another matter altogether. Joseph shares, “Though I have not faced any such problems at my workplace so far but it’s just that you need to inform your bosses at least three weeks in advance in case you require any leave for examinations or anything.”

Bosses act difficult, as they have issues with you not being present for some meeting or some event if you have some special class or lecture to attend or a presentation to make. But teachers are really supportive, they let you attend half of the lecture and give you attendance for the complete thing. They even go out of the way to schedule exams on Saturdays, which becomes easier in a way,” adds Shrinkhala.

Manas Mrinal, presently working as a manager, client servicing did his graduation while working. Sharing his experience he says, “It’s very normal for working professionals to get tired and it’s more of a mental stress that they face than physical and this effects studies as concentration levels go down.”

With such high aspirations and a desire to excel in life, Gen X seems ready to face all challenges that come with the territory. They want to be independent and they want to be professionally fit. And so, the best option is to work and study at the same time. After all, timing is everything and it’s a long journey ahead to the top.

5 FACTORS OF TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

2007-10-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

1) Understand that no experience comes labeled. You are the labeler.

The power to choose is yours! As William Shakespeare said, "Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so". You and only you are the labeler of your experiences. Do you complain that roses have thorns or do you rejoice that thorns have roses? You have the ability to choose your reactions. All too often, these decisions to label are not done consciously and your internal dialog will slap on a negative label. You must be aware of this and change it immediately. Realizing your ability to label is an awesome power and a great step towards success. Upon taking control, you can select empowering labels in place of the negative ones. You are in control of the experience.

2) Avoid blaming yourself for making mistakes.

The road to success is always under construction. Every morning we awake to a day we have never seen or experienced. Mistakes will be made and obstacles will appear. You have no control over these events but you do control your reaction to them. It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on. It is when we hurt that we learn. The power to choose how much we learn is ours. Do you see a stumbling block or a stepping-stone? You decide.

3) Understand that like energies attract.

Like attracts like. Positive thoughts produce positive results. If you surround yourself in positive emotions, energies, thoughts, and people then positive events will be the end result. Unfortunately, the same is true if you surround yourself in negative energies. Do you know someone that is always negative and melancholy? Notice that bad luck seems to continuously follow them. They may say that a rain cloud is right above his or her head. Well, they’re right. And as soon as they realize that it is they who create that rain cloud they can chose to make it disappear. What you plant, so shall you harvest. If you plant rose seeds you get roses right? Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.

4) Determine what you want and act on it.

Imagine an archer that did not have a target to shoot his arrow at. He would fire his arrows aimlessly and would not be successful. Have a goal, write it down, and act upon that goal. Now that there is a clear target you can have a plan of action. A visible target it easier to hit. Nobody ever sat his or her way to success. It takes hard work, motivation, a positive attitude and a strong belief that you can do it. That combination produces what we call luck. Do not sit back and wait for life to happen to you. Have a plan and take the needed steps to create what you want.

5) Choose to feel happy.

It has been said "Act as if and you will become." Try it. It really works. Put your chin up, smile, and think positive thoughts. Remember the happy times and notice all you have to be grateful for and you will feel lighter, happier and more empowered. If you frown, groan, grumble, and focus on everything wrong in the world you will feel down, lethargic and negative. Why bother with that? Identify the things and people that make you feel unhappy and eliminate them from your life. Nothing good can come from them. Choose to be happy and positive. Take steps to insure a more joyful and positive life. Do happy things; see positive movies, read good books, be around positive people, and practice affirmations. Identify the things and people that bring you happy feelings and surround yourself with them. Cultivate your relationship with yourself and you will be successful. Taking control of your life takes time and requires decisions. The rewards make the efforts worth it.

IT'S A SUCCESS TO FAIL

2007-10-01T06:06:00.001-07:00

As a little child when I wanted to move,
I learned that I should crawl.
Yet when I got on my hand and knees,
Again and again I would fall.

But I rose to my knees, each time I fell,
I was determined to get moving.
With every fall, I learned a better way,
Until finally I started crawling.

Now mommy saw, I was starting to learn,
And thought I needed more.
So from the cradle, I was placed on the floor,
I smiled, and crawled away to explore.

Now one day I saw, up on the table,
Something delicious I wanted to eat.
But unfortunately I couldn’t reach,
And I knew it was time to get on my feet.

Both hands and knees were on the ground,
And I’d try to raise my belly.
Yet gradually as I tried to straighten.
Again and again I would fall.

But I rose to my feet each time I fell,
I was determined to start reaching.
With every fall, I learned a better way,
Until finally I started standing.

Now while I was standing, I wanted to move
But every few steps and I stumbled.
So I spread my hands, against the wall,
Yet again and again I would fall.

But I rose to my feet each time I fell
I was determined to start hiking.
With every fall, I learned a better way,
Until finally I started walking.

All day long I walked and I played,
At last I could have some fun.
The more I walked, the better I got,
Until one day, I could actually run.

Bangs and bruises, were the only pain,
Which brought tears to my eyes.
And with every obstacle that came in my path,
I learned; there was a way around.

Now if that wasn’t plenty to my parent’s dismay,
I would try to climb the chairs.
Over and under, up and down.
Not until I fell and hurt my crown.

Memories of my childhood are still with me,
And it taught me an intelligent lesson.
That falling down is not the end,
But one-step higher to achieving.

I have made mistakes all through my life,
A hundred times I’ve failed.
But with every failure I learned a lesson;
A lesson, saying, "There’s a better way".

From a tiny child that could barely move,
We learned how to roll and crawl.
Yet determined to reach the top,
We learned how to stand and walk.

But we didn’t stop there; we learned to run,
Then we learned how to jump and climb.
So why stop now; the stars aren’t high,
Let’s just spread our wings, and fly.

Don't spoil your life ~*~ SUKH SAYS

2007-10-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

Don't spoil your life ~*~ SUKH SAYS..............................

# Stop taking so much notice of how you feel.

How you feel is how you feel. It’ll pass soon. What you’re thinking is what you’re thinking. It’ll go too. Tell yourself that whatever you feel, you feel; whatever you think, you think. Since you can’t stop yourself thinking, or prevent emotions from arising in your mind, it makes no sense to be proud or ashamed of either. You didn’t cause them. Only your actions are directly under your control. They’re the only proper cause of pleasure or shame.

# Let go of worrying.

It often makes things worse. The more you think about something bad, the more likely it is to happen. When you’re hair-trigger primed to notice the first sign of trouble, you’ll surely find something close enough to convince yourself it’s come.

# Ease up on the internal life commentary.

If you want to be happy, stop telling yourself you’re miserable. People are always telling themselves how they feel, what they’re thinking, what others feel about them, what this or that event really means. Most of it’s imagination. The rest is equal parts lies and misunderstandings. You have only the most limited understanding of what others feel about you. Usually they’re no better informed on the subject; and they care about it far less than you do. You have no way of knowing what this or that event really means. Whatever you tell yourself will be make-believe.

# Take no notice of your inner critic.

Judging yourself is pointless. Judging others is half-witted. Whatever you achieve, someone else will always do better. However bad you are, others are worse. Since you can tell neither what’s best nor what’s worst, how can you place yourself correctly between them? Judging others is foolish since you cannot know all the facts, cannot create a reliable or objective scale, have no means of knowing whether your criteria match anyone else’s, and cannot have more than a limited and extremely partial view of the other person. Who cares about your opinion anyway?

# Give up on feeling guilty.

Guilt changes nothing. It may make you feel you’re accepting responsibility, but it can’t produce anything new in your life. If you feel guilty about something you’ve done, either do something to put it right or accept you screwed up and try not to do so again. Then let it go. If you’re feeling guilty about what someone else did, see a psychiatrist. That’s insane.

# Stop being concerned what the rest of the world says about you.

Nasty people can’t make you mad. Nice people can’t make you happy. Events or people are simply events or people. They can’t make you anything. You have to do that for yourself. Whatever emotions arise in you as a result of external events, they’re powerless until you pick them up and decide to act on them. Besides, most people are far too busy thinking about themselves (and worry what you are are thinking and saying about them) to be concerned about you.

# Stop keeping score.

Numbers are just numbers. They don’t have mystical powers. Because something is expressed as a number, a ratio or any other numerical pattern doesn’t mean it’s true. Plenty of lovingly calculated business indicators are irrelevant, gibberish, nonsensical, or just plain wrong. If you don’t understand it, or it’s telling you something bizarre, ignore it. There’s nothing scientific about relying on false data. Nor anything useful about charting your life by numbers that were silly in the first place.

# Don’t be concerned that your life and career aren’t working out the way you planned.

The closer you stick to any plan, the quicker you’ll go wrong. The world changes constantly. However carefully you analyzed the situation when you made the plan, if it’s more than a few days old, things will already be different. After a month, they’ll be very different. After a year, virtually nothing will be the same as it was when you started. Planning is only useful as a discipline to force people to think carefully about what they know and what they don’t. Once you start, throw the plan away and keep your eyes on reality.

# Don’t let others use you to avoid being responsible for their own decisions.

To hold yourself responsible for someone else’s success and happiness demeans them and proves you’ve lost the plot. It’s their life. They have to live it. You can’t do it for them; nor can you stop them from messing it up if they’re determined to do so. The job of a supervisor is to help and supervise. Only control-freaks and some others with a less serious mental disability fail to understand this.

# Don’t worry about about your personality.

You don’t really have one. Personality, like ego, is a concept invented by your mind. It doesn’t exist in the real world. Personality is a word for the general impression that you give through your words and actions. If your personality isn’t likeable today, don’t worry. You can always change it, so long as you allow yourself to do so. What fixes someone’s personality in one place is a determined effort on their part—usually through continually telling themselves they’re this or that kind of person and acting on what they say. If you don’t like the way you are, make yourself different. You’re the only person who’s standing in your way.

REFERENCES:

All the points are written in this post are searched through many articles and then add up for friends :))

God Bless All..................................... ......And yes Don't spoil your life ~*~ SUKH SAYS...............................

and now comments time................so start commenting........................ha ha