Its an inspiration to life, to love to ….

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Inspiration for All…

Shoboshobo I noticed this piece (pasted below) on the cause of anxiety in the opinion page of the NY Times this morning. In it, Gilbert shows that people are happier with certainty and that uncertainty is the cause unhappiness. To make his point, Gilbert cites studies showing that faced with the certainty verses the uncertainty of an unfortunate circumstance, such as a chronic disease condition, those with certainty of the unfortunate event were less nervous than those for whom the predictability of the event is uncertain. In other words, it is the the ‘not knowing’ that causes mental unrest, not the actual event. Gilbert relates this information to the uncertain economic times we live in. People have a lot of fear about their economic future, their job security and so forth, which is causing an upswing in the incidence of depression, anxiety and insomnia. According to Gilbert, it is the uncertainty about the future that is causing the mental angst, not the actual outcome. If people were certain about the outcome, even a negative one, such as job loss, they would have more mental stability. Certainty gives one a course to chart, rather than aimless drifting which is difficult for the mind to deal with. This is where one’s spiritual convictions come to play. Knowing that one is in this (physical) world, but not of it (of the spiritual realm) helps one to avoid the pitfall of getting tossed around by the drama of the day. Knowing that we are mere players on this stage, but that our real place is in another dimension allows us to step out of the set, and gain perspective on the scene being played out. I will cop to a panic weekend last November, when the markets had crashed and the economy had plummeted. I credit my meditation practice with getting me through the emotional crisis. In meditation one connects to our true nature (spirit, soul . . .) and gets out of the ego-driven mind. Our true nature is our connection to the divine (tao, universal consciousness . . .). Operating from this place we are able to navigate the trouble waters, whatever they may be. Maintaining this soul-connection we have the knowledge and strength to weather the storms of life. The real challenge is in maintaining this connection to our core being. If we are able to do that the rest falls away, allowing the underlying peace and stillness of our true nature to emerge. For this reason, I advocate developing and maintaining a daily meditation practice to calm the mind, to foster this connection, and to stay plugged in. One of the keys to getting through this recession intact is to take care of oneself. Due to the increased stress of economic uncertainty, now more than ever it is of vital importance to maintain one’s physical and mental health. In doing so, you send a firm message to yourself that you are taking care of yourself. Knowing that you are able to take care and provide for your needs, and are doing so, works to develop peace of mind and eliminate the uncertainty of the future. It is certain that you will take are of your needs because you are doing just that. Taking care of yourself means developing and maintaining a regular exercise program, eating regular nutritious, satisfying meals in a relaxed space, incorporating stress reduction activities, such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, walking in nature . . . , and treating any health conditions as they arise. By taking care of yourself you reinforce that regardless of the external circumstances you are providing for your well being. In doing so you gain peace of mind in knowing that you are providing for your physical, mental and spiritual needs and maintaining inner harmony. KB May 20, 2009, 9:30 pm What You Don’t Know Makes You Nervous By Daniel Gilbert CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Seventy-six years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took to the inaugural dais and reminded a nation that its recent troubles “concern, thank God, only material things.” In the midst of the Depression, he urged Americans to remember that “happiness lies not in the mere possession of money” and to recognize “the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success.” “The only thing we have to fear,” he claimed, “is fear itself.” As it turned out, Americans had a great deal more to fear than that, and their innocent belief that money buys happiness was entirely correct. Psychologists and economists now know that although the very rich are no happier than the merely rich, for the other 99 percent of us, happiness is greatly enhanced by a few quaint assets, like shelter, sustenance and security. Those who think the material is immaterial have probably never stood in a breadline. Money matters and today most of us have less of it, so no one will be surprised by new survey results from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index showing that Americans are smiling less and worrying more than they were a year ago, that happiness is down and sadness is up, that we are getting less sleep and smoking more cigarettes, that depression is on the rise. An uncertain future leaves us stranded in an unhappy present with nothing to do but wait. But light wallets are not the cause of our heavy hearts. After all, most of us still have more inflation-adjusted dollars than our grandparents had, and they didn’t live in an unremitting funk. Middle-class Americans still enjoy more luxury than upper-class Americans enjoyed a century earlier, and the fin de siècle was not an especially gloomy time. Clearly, people can be perfectly happy with less than we had last year and less than we have now. So if a dearth of dollars isn’t making us miserable, then what is? No one knows. I don’t mean that no one knows the answer to this question. I mean that the answer to this question is that no one knows — and not knowing is making us sick. Consider an experiment by researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands who gave subjects a series of 20 electric shocks. Some subjects knew they would receive an intense shock on every trial. Others knew they would receive 17 mild shocks and 3 intense shocks, but they didn’t know on which of the 20 trials the intense shocks would come. The results showed that subjects who thought there was a small chance of receiving an intense shock were more afraid — they sweated more profusely, their hearts beat faster — than subjects who knew for sure that they’d receive an intense shock. That’s because people feel worse when something bad might occur than when something bad will occur. Most of us aren’t losing sleep and sucking down Marlboros because the Dow is going to fall another thousand points, but because we don’t know whether it will fall or not — and human beings find uncertainty more painful than the things they’re uncertain about. But why? A colostomy reroutes the colon so that waste products leave the body through a hole in the abdomen, and it isn’t anyone’s idea of a picnic. A University of Michigan-led research team studied patients whose colostomies were permanent and patients who had a chance of someday having their colostomies reversed. Six months after their operations, patients who knew they would be permanently disabled were happier than those who thought they might someday be returned to normal. Similarly, researchers at the University of British Columbia studied people who had undergone genetic testing to determine their risk for developing the neurodegenerative disorder known as Huntington’s disease. Those who learned that they had a very high likelihood of developing the condition were happier a year after testing than those who did not learn what their risk was. Why would we prefer to know the worst than to suspect it? Because when we get bad news we weep for a while, and then get busy making the best of it. We change our behavior, we change our attitudes. We raise our consciousness and lower our standards. We find our bootstraps and tug. But we can’t come to terms with circumstances whose terms we don’t yet know. An uncertain future leaves us stranded in an unhappy present with nothing to do but wait. Our national gloom is real enough, but it isn’t a matter of insufficient funds. It’s a matter of insufficient certainty. Americans have been perfectly happy with far less wealth than most of us have now, and we could quickly become those Americans again — if only we knew we had to. Daniel Gilbert is professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of “Stumbling on Happiness.” More of his writing and videos of his appearances can be found at his Web site .

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Maintaining Inner Peace to Provide Certainty During Uncertain Times

Everybody needs a coach whether they know it or not. This video teaches this concept perfectly!

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Motivational…Period!

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Inspiration song Indian Air Force- Lakshaya

A wonderful video… Motivational, Inspirational… Keep watching…

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Lesson of the Seasons…

A wonderful video… Motivational, Inspirational… Keep watching…

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Lesson of the Seasons…

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . If you want to wake up happy on a daily basis, you have to own your own time . You have to be the one that dictates what you do and when you do it . Otherwise, you’re at the mercy of your owner boss. You may think that you should be grateful for your job, and you should. But when it comes down to it, you’re not going to hit a ceiling of happiness and purpose if you’re not working for yourself. (I know there may be a few exceptions, but let’s be honest, they are exceptions .) There’s no getting around this . But working for yourself is a scary idea, right? No one to tell you what to do every day. No one to say when you can go to the bathroom and when you can eat lunch. No one to tell you what to wear or who to talk to. Taking off the leash is frightening when you’ve worn it for so long. Here’s the clincher, here’s the real mind-blower: Most of us don’t even think we have leashes around our neck at all. Most of us think that we’re in control. But we’re not. Let’s take a look at how this typically breaks down: Steady paycheck? Check. Benefits? Check. Comfortable routine? Check Free paper clips?  Check. Meaning? Rarely. Purpose? You mean that unintelligible corporate mission statement? Security? Not really. Freedom? Asking for permission is not freedom. Do you really think you have job security? You have no control over whether your company goes under. That is not job security. So what’s the difference between a renegade and the average cubicle citizen? It’s mindset. It’s astonishing that this makes difference between the people that end up being “lifers” at a company (by default), and gives up on their dreams vs. those who steer their own course and live their dreams. What’s the gap between dreams being fantasy and reality? Obviously, it’s a matter of action. But, what makes the free man take action where the cubicle citizen recoils? This is the question that has been burning in my mind for some time. This mindset makes the difference between success and near certain failure. We all have these traits in us; it’s just a matter of cultivation and practice for them to become fully expressed. Here are the seven things you can do now. 1. Reclaim your mind. This might seem a little strange, right? Who would think that they don’t own their own mind? The truth is that most of us live with partially free minds. We act on our intentions as long as our comfort zone is not violated. We rebel when the risk is minimal. In order to reclaim ownership of your mind (and stop renting it out) you have to demand of yourself nothing short of a completely free, unadulterated mind. Underline this in your mind: “I won’t let anyone else have control or dictate the contents of my mind. Only I have that power.” 2. Put yourself on auto-response. The ability of the leader to take action, despite not having a clear course, is a highly coveted skill in the entrepreneurial world. A leader takes action while others wait around for the situation to become more favorable. He has the “auto-response” of “I’ll figure it out.” When faced with a tough decision, or unclear path, he takes action instead of waiting for orders. The more you’re able to take action despite having all the facts, the faster you’ll get results. You’ll adjust your course when you make mistakes and ultimately get there much faster than the person waiting around for the perfect plan to materialize. 3. Think holistically. All of our decisions are interconnected. A choice in our health could create an improvement in our productivity. A shift in our spiritual practice can cultivate a calm state, where your focus increases. A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. All of our decisions are interconnected and a smart renegade knows this. She tries to make high leverage holistic decisions that will have a ripple effect across all aspects of her life. Think holistically. See how the changes in all areas of your life impact each other, not just in business, but in the areas of health, fitness, finances, mental/emotional and spirituality. 4. Question authority. Too much skepticism will make you unbalanced, and will honestly probably turn you into a conpiracy-theory nutcase. A healthy amount of skepticism, on the other hand, is essential to working intelligently. One of the oldest living renegades, Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) once said, “Do not believe anything that you’ve been told, unless it agrees with your own common sense.” The same advice applies 2,000 years later. Listen to yourself first, before you listen to the experts. Test before you assume. 5. Focus on interdependency. We all have certain communities of people or tribes that we naturally connect with and are attracted to. Seek out these people, help them, start conversations with them. These are the people that are most likely to identify with you, therefore the most likely to also support and promote your work. Find a way to connect with influential leaders or members of your tribe today. Whether it be through sending them a message on twitter, contacting them through their blog or emailing them directly. And if you can, try to get one of these people to mentor you. It can’t hurt to ask and you’ll be surprised at how genuinely helpful some of these people can be. 6. Defrost your passion. If you’ve been stuck in a cubicle-farm for some time, or have been in a less than ideal work situation, you’ve probably given up hope on some level. Being surrounded with people you’d rather not work with, grey walls, no windows and bad coffee tends to dampen your spirits. This dispirited condition may have progressed so far that you have trouble remembering what it’s like to be excited about your life. That’s got to change. It’s time to reconnect with what you’re truly passionate about and wake up to the possibility that you can start making your own rules. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle of paying your dues with the occasional bit of fun. Realize that you don’t have to live in the way you think is required. 7. Be ridiculous. There’s obviously a certain societal value to being practical. But what’s easily overlooked is the value of being highly impractical. You have to be willing to take risks, and keep your head in the clouds to be a successful trailblazer. You have to strike a balance between having roots (practicality) and wings (innovating). Realize that all major revolutions in the world were first seen as crazy, ridiculous and absurd. If you want to innovate, you’ll have to accept that the majority of the population will view you as a lunatic. You secretly know, though, that your level of lunacy is quite possibly your most valuable skill. Working for yourself forces you to grow One 0f the coolest things about entrepreneurship is that it’s one of the biggest catalysts for personal growth. Starting your own business is one of the most meaningful rights of passage you can go through. It will challenge you. It will make you question yourself and force you to get really clear about your purpose and what you want to contribute. It boosts your confidence and your intelligence. But most of all, it makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day. I feel so passionately about this that I created a manifesto called the Liberation Revolution - Time to Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord. It’s a wake up call to help you reclaim ownership of your time. To help you figure out a way to gain the courage to say Dear Boss: You’re Fired. Click here to download the FREE manifesto This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to not ruin your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind.

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Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord: The Seven Traits of the Free Man

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . If you want to wake up happy on a daily basis, you have to own your own time . You have to be the one that dictates what you do and when you do it . Otherwise, you’re at the mercy of your owner boss. You may think that you should be grateful for your job, and you should. But when it comes down to it, you’re not going to hit a ceiling of happiness and purpose if you’re not working for yourself. (I know there may be a few exceptions, but let’s be honest, they are exceptions .) There’s no getting around this . But working for yourself is a scary idea, right? No one to tell you what to do every day. No one to say when you can go to the bathroom and when you can eat lunch. No one to tell you what to wear or who to talk to. Taking off the leash is frightening when you’ve worn it for so long. Here’s the clincher, here’s the real mind-blower: Most of us don’t even think we have leashes around our neck at all. Most of us think that we’re in control. But we’re not. Let’s take a look at how this typically breaks down: Steady paycheck? Check. Benefits? Check. Comfortable routine? Check Free paper clips?  Check. Meaning? Rarely. Purpose? You mean that unintelligible corporate mission statement? Security? Not really. Freedom? Asking for permission is not freedom. Do you really think you have job security? You have no control over whether your company goes under. That is not job security. So what’s the difference between a renegade and the average cubicle citizen? It’s mindset. It’s astonishing that this makes difference between the people that end up being “lifers” at a company (by default), and gives up on their dreams vs. those who steer their own course and live their dreams. What’s the gap between dreams being fantasy and reality? Obviously, it’s a matter of action. But, what makes the free man take action where the cubicle citizen recoils? This is the question that has been burning in my mind for some time. This mindset makes the difference between success and near certain failure. We all have these traits in us; it’s just a matter of cultivation and practice for them to become fully expressed. Here are the seven things you can do now. 1. Reclaim your mind. This might seem a little strange, right? Who would think that they don’t own their own mind? The truth is that most of us live with partially free minds. We act on our intentions as long as our comfort zone is not violated. We rebel when the risk is minimal. In order to reclaim ownership of your mind (and stop renting it out) you have to demand of yourself nothing short of a completely free, unadulterated mind. Underline this in your mind: “I won’t let anyone else have control or dictate the contents of my mind. Only I have that power.” 2. Put yourself on auto-response. The ability of the leader to take action, despite not having a clear course, is a highly coveted skill in the entrepreneurial world. A leader takes action while others wait around for the situation to become more favorable. He has the “auto-response” of “I’ll figure it out.” When faced with a tough decision, or unclear path, he takes action instead of waiting for orders. The more you’re able to take action despite having all the facts, the faster you’ll get results. You’ll adjust your course when you make mistakes and ultimately get there much faster than the person waiting around for the perfect plan to materialize. 3. Think holistically. All of our decisions are interconnected. A choice in our health could create an improvement in our productivity. A shift in our spiritual practice can cultivate a calm state, where your focus increases. A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. All of our decisions are interconnected and a smart renegade knows this. She tries to make high leverage holistic decisions that will have a ripple effect across all aspects of her life. Think holistically. See how the changes in all areas of your life impact each other, not just in business, but in the areas of health, fitness, finances, mental/emotional and spirituality. 4. Question authority. Too much skepticism will make you unbalanced, and will honestly probably turn you into a conpiracy-theory nutcase. A healthy amount of skepticism, on the other hand, is essential to working intelligently. One of the oldest living renegades, Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) once said, “Do not believe anything that you’ve been told, unless it agrees with your own common sense.” The same advice applies 2,000 years later. Listen to yourself first, before you listen to the experts. Test before you assume. 5. Focus on interdependency. We all have certain communities of people or tribes that we naturally connect with and are attracted to. Seek out these people, help them, start conversations with them. These are the people that are most likely to identify with you, therefore the most likely to also support and promote your work. Find a way to connect with influential leaders or members of your tribe today. Whether it be through sending them a message on twitter, contacting them through their blog or emailing them directly. And if you can, try to get one of these people to mentor you. It can’t hurt to ask and you’ll be surprised at how genuinely helpful some of these people can be. 6. Defrost your passion. If you’ve been stuck in a cubicle-farm for some time, or have been in a less than ideal work situation, you’ve probably given up hope on some level. Being surrounded with people you’d rather not work with, grey walls, no windows and bad coffee tends to dampen your spirits. This dispirited condition may have progressed so far that you have trouble remembering what it’s like to be excited about your life. That’s got to change. It’s time to reconnect with what you’re truly passionate about and wake up to the possibility that you can start making your own rules. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle of paying your dues with the occasional bit of fun. Realize that you don’t have to live in the way you think is required. 7. Be ridiculous. There’s obviously a certain societal value to being practical. But what’s easily overlooked is the value of being highly impractical. You have to be willing to take risks, and keep your head in the clouds to be a successful trailblazer. You have to strike a balance between having roots (practicality) and wings (innovating). Realize that all major revolutions in the world were first seen as crazy, ridiculous and absurd. If you want to innovate, you’ll have to accept that the majority of the population will view you as a lunatic. You secretly know, though, that your level of lunacy is quite possibly your most valuable skill. Working for yourself forces you to grow One 0f the coolest things about entrepreneurship is that it’s one of the biggest catalysts for personal growth. Starting your own business is one of the most meaningful rights of passage you can go through. It will challenge you. It will make you question yourself and force you to get really clear about your purpose and what you want to contribute. It boosts your confidence and your intelligence. But most of all, it makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day. I feel so passionately about this that I created a manifesto called the Liberation Revolution - Time to Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord. It’s a wake up call to help you reclaim ownership of your time. To help you figure out a way to gain the courage to say Dear Boss: You’re Fired. Click here to download the FREE manifesto This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to not ruin your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind.

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Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord: The Seven Traits of the Free Man

The wandering sage has finally returned from his travels. It is always good to visit distant places. It gives you a whole new perspective on things. People are basically the same wherever you go. They all have hopes and dreams as well as worries and fears. The problems arise when the worries and fears outweigh the hopes and dreams. It really feels like all of this financial pandemic crisis stuff causes a lot more stress and tension in people than is necessary. I don’t really get the sense that the mainstream media is helping at all. They seem to revel in sensationalizing all of it which only makes things worse. And while we may supposedly be in a recovery now all of the problems with population, limited resources, peak oil, climate change and economic meltdown are still escalating. Fortunately, with the arrival of spring (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) there is the feeling of rebirth and a new wellspring of energy that is bubbling up. We need to tap into this energy and make use f it. Too often it can feel like our problems are taking over our life. When we can feel a real connection to the Earth and the energy of the natural world those problems shrink down to a more manageable size. So, as with many of these posts, I’ll leave you with these simple words… Remember to Breathe

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return of the sage

A motivational and inspirational clip from the movie “Cast Away” Must see… Not to be missed…

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Cast Away… A motivational Clip