Deepest Fear

A Return to Love (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." 

~ Marianne Williamson, from Return to Love

How Childish Games Impact and Read Life ( wonderful explanation - read to the end )

by Kishor Kulkarni
Our teenage son is a video game addict. Whenever he has free time, he is sitting at his computer playing some game or the other. I got talking to him about his addiction.

KK: Son, i see you playing the same games again and again. What you are doing is basically the same every time. In one of the games, you seem to be having a gun with which you are firing onto enemy tanks. Essentially, you are just pressing the up/down/ right/left movement keys and the Enter key on the keyboard. I wonder why it entices you so much. How is it that you don’t get bored?

Son: Dad, though the game is the same, it proceeds in a slightly different way every time i play it. I face different challenges and manage different scores every time. When i get a good score, i am happy and feel encouraged to play it again to better my score. Even when my score is less than the previous occasions, i still feel challenged to try again and do better.

KK: When one game is over, it asks the question, “Restart (Yes/No)?” and you seem to be clicking the “Yes” button to start all over again. When do you think you will have had enough of one game? Son:Probably when i get the highest score. KK: So, until then, you will be at it, right? Son: Yes, Dad. (All this while, my wife who is listening to this conversation interjects at this stage and then the dialogue between the two of us takes on a spiritual flavour. Our son being too young to appreciate spirituality, he continued playing his game.) Wife: I am sure you have a spiritual reason for saying all this.

KK: Yes. The repetitive cycle of life is also like a video game. The jivatma (embodied soul) that is born into this world with a body, is addicted to the game of life. It keeps playing the game again and again, by bearing different bodies, even in different life forms, to enjoy different pains and pleasures peculiar to each species. At every death, the jivatma mostly chooses to click the “Yes” button to restart the game of life, although he has a choice of quitting.

Wife: What would make a jivatma choose the “No” button in answer for “Restart Life (Yes/No)?” question?

KK: When a jivatma feels he has had enough, he will choose the “No” button. That feeling of having had enough is called vairagya. Unless and until one develops that feeling, one remains enslaved by the enchanting game of life.

Wife: And how does one develop vairagya?

KK: Vairagya is the first step on the path of spiritual evolution ultimately leading to liberation from this game of life. The role of a true sadhguru is crucial in developing vairagya to kindle the spark of craving for liberation in the seeker. As the seeker keeps fanning the spark by means of regular spiritual practice, the spark turns to fire and burns away worldly desires and attachments. Ultimately, the seeker reaches a stage where he is ready to click the “No” button in answer to the question “Restart Life (Yes/No)?” at the time of death. That is when the jivatma is released from the repeated cycles of birth and death to go return to the paramatma or super soul which is the source of entire creation and whose small part the jivatma is.

a note of my friend Raj Thaker on FB ... my salute to him ...

Perseverance

The first son of blacksmith Gihei Honda and his wife Mika, Soichiro Honda began his career in 1922 as an apprentice auto repairman. Honda also participated in auto races and became interested in cars and motorcycles. 

Soon he was experimenting with engines, and in 1928 he attempted to design a new type of piston to improve the performance of cars. He was sure his attempt would yield path breaking results. 

He offered his designs to Toyota. The engineers turned his offer down, without even meeting him. But he did not lose heart. His repeated attempts at meeting Toyota engineers finally succeeded; but only to see that his product was ridiculed by them. Not losing heart, he went into great details to convince them. At last he obtained an order to supply pistons to Toyota.

Honda invested all his resources – money, materials, knowledge, and hard work – as capital and constructed a plant for producing pistons. Suddenly, there was an earthquake in Japan that destroyed his factory.

Yet, Honda reposed faith in his own ability. Once again, he started construction afresh. When it was ready and the production was to start the following week, World War II broke out. Bombs bombarded Japan and most of Country was devastated and so was Honda’s factory.

Although Honda lost his factory, property, wealth and friends, he did not lose his self-confidence.  He continued his efforts and began to construct his factory for the third time.

Today, the Honda Car Company produces and sells more cars than many others.  Honda was not only an example for the word ‘PERSEVERANCE’ but also added honour to it.

Keep persevering…victory is certain.

Image via Wikipedia

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. 

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with noguarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. 

Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back. - Unknown

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The 7 Habits of Highly Incompetent People

Number 1 - They Think, Say, & Do Negative Things.

Yup. They see problems in every opportunity.

They complain that the sun is too hot. They cursed the rain for ruining their plans for the day. They blame the wind for ruining their hair.

They think that everyone is against them. They see the problems but never the solutions.

Every little bit of difficulty is exaggerated to the point of tragedy. They regard failures as catastrophes. They become discouraged easily instead of learning from their mistakes.

They never seem to move forward because they're always afraid to come out of their comfort zones.

Number 2 - They Act Before They Think.

They move based on instinct or impulse. If they see something they like, they buy at once without any second thought.

Then they see something better. They regret & curse for not able to take advantage of the bargain.

Then they spend & spend again until nothing's left. They don't think about the future. What they're after is the pleasure they will experience at present.

They don't think about the consequences. Those who engage in unsafe sex, criminality, and the like are included in this group.

Number 3 - They Talk Much More Than They Listen

They want to be the star of the show. So they always engage in talks that would make them heroes, even to the point of lying.

Oftentimes they are not aware that what they're saying is not sensible anymore.

When other people advise them, they close their ears because they're too proud to admit their mistakes.

In their mind they're always correct. They reject suggestions because that will make them feel inferior.

Number 4 - They Give Up Easily

Successful people treat failures as stepping stones to success.

Incompetent ones call it quits upon recognizing the first signs of failure.

At first, they may be excited to start an endeavor. But then they lose interest fairly quickly, especially when they encounter errors.

Then they go & search for a new one. Same story & same results. Incompetent people don't have the persistence to go on and fulfill their dreams.

Number 5 - They Try to Bring Others Down To Their Level

Incompetent people envy other successful individuals. Instead of working hard to be like them, these incompetent ones spread rumors and try every dirty trick to bring them down.

They could have asked these successful ones nicely. But no, they're too proud. They don't want to ask advise. Moreover, they're too negative to accomplish anything.

Number 6 - They Waste Their Time

They don't know what to do next. They may just be contented on eating, getting drunk, watching TV, or worse, staring at the blank wall with no thoughts whatsoever to improve their lives.
It's perfectly fine to enjoy once in a while. But time should be managed efficiently in order to succeed. There should be a proper balance between work & pleasure.

Number 7 - They Take the Easy Way Out

If there are two roads to choose from, incompetent people would choose the wider road with less rewards than the narrower road with much better rewards at the end.

They don't want any suffering or hardship. They want a good life.

What these people don't know is that what you reap is what you sow. Efforts & action will not go unnoticed.

If only they would be willing to sacrifice a little, they would be much better off.

Successful people made it through trials & error. They never give up. They are willing to do everything necessary to achieve what they aspire for in life.


source: here

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Give Your 100%

A Small Story… A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed. The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised. That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble. Image via Wikipedia Moral of the story: If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent.. This is applicable for any relationship like love, employer-employee relationship,friendship etc., Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully...

SYNERGIZE ~ Creative Cooperation

Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It catalyzes, unifies and unleashes the greatest powers within people. All the habits or principles we are discussing prepare us to create the miracle of synergy.

Synergy stems from the creative process we pursue and it is also the most terrifying part because we don't know exactly what's going to lead. We don't know what new challenges we will find. It takes an enormous amount of internal security to begin with the spirit of adventure, the spirit of adventure, the spirit of discovery, the spirit of creativity.

The challenge to follow this principle is to apply the principles of creative cooperation, which we often learn from nature, in our social interactions. Our family life is an excellent platform to observe and practice this mode of endeavor. The very way a man & woman bring a child into the world is synergistic.

As in life synergy is of much importance in the work-dom of business. When we incorporate this approach is our business the outcome is sheer excellence. It helps us to release an incredible creative enthusiasm.

And once we have experienced real synergy, we are never quite the same again; we know the possibility of having other such mind-expanding adventure in the future. We simply open our mind to new happenings.