Friday, July 29, 2005

Things aren't always what they seem

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... "Things aren't always what they seem".

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Disney Land

Guess wat I am doing b4 I come to update my blog..? I am studying~! Heez..though din study quite long..cos eyes closing…but it’s a good start!! Heez..

Went to sch this morning..then afternoon come home check my mail then realize that my boss dun let moi off even though moi suppose to off on sat now…asked moi to do this do that..argh~!

Moi din go out and walk walk and play for kinda long time liao ever since many things happened..

Lucky moi buddies and friends occasionally got ask moi out for meet up..heez..realli appreciate that..

Have been super busy after my mum turned ill..All the house work in turn become my job..everyweek end gotta vacuum and mop the floor..wash the toilet..wipe the dust off the furnitures..etc..everydae reached home gotta bring my doggie for a walk..then after that my hands will keep touching water till I turn in..will make fruit juice n help my dad to wash the bowls and plates,wok and pots while he cook..and I help him prepare..after dinner wash the bowls and plates..dunno y thru out the nite there will always be dirty bowls and plates left on the basin even though I washed them all…water the plants..etc etc etc..just too many to mention…

After my mummy came back from hospital after the major op to get rid the cancer cells on her bones..she has been crying everydae..negative thoughts always surrounding her even though we keep reassuring her that everything will be alright after this tough period.. Thing got worst recently when mummy went for radiotherapy..her left hand strengthless and her neck and back pain..and she feels that her flesh harden due to the radiotherapy..and things that she eat will vomit out.. =( She often cry as she feels terrible and she feels that she is useless..tears will start to flow down my cheeks too even though i tried to force back my tears.. =( now even dinner I gotta feed her as she is strengthless…

Reali hope that this tough period will be over for her soon and she will be as healthy as last time..continue to nag and scream at us..

Hopefully workload for me will lessen when the maid come in maybe sm where next week..Finally the maid is coming after I done the exam for ppl who wanna employ maid for the 1st time…u needa pass at least 80% b4 u pass and can employ a maid.. -_-”” spent 1 late nite doing abt 50 over true or false questions..got 1 wrong..heez..aniwae its an online thingy..after I got my result can immediately print out the cert..heez..

I’m tire…Realli hope some 1 bring moi out for a walk…how I wish sm 1 bring me go Disney Land and play and scream my heart out like a little child..^^

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Seven Rules For The Rewarding Life - Robin Sharma

A rewarding life is a simple creation, made up of daily acts of
excellence, contribution and self-leadership. All too often, we
believe that a great life requires us to do something heroic and
involves a grand gesture that makes us stand out from the crowd.

However, this is not the case.

Instead, a richly rewarding life occurs when we commit ourselves to
being excellent on a daily basis and committing small, consistent
acts of 'minor greatness' which over the course of a lifetime
amount to something very grand and significant. In my work as an
author and leadership thinker, I have the opportunity to show
people how to live their best lives and create a lasting legacy in
the process. What follows are seven rules that will help you lift
your life to its next level.

1. Put People Over Possessions.

All of the wisdom literature essentially says the same thing: A
rewarding life is defined by the quality of your relationships. At
the end of your life when you are on your deathbed, you will not
ask the nurse to wheel in your new car nor will you ask the orderly
to cart in the money that rests in your bank account. Instead, you
will ask that those you love be near you in your final moments and
reflect on your memories you have all enjoyed.

If this fact will be important to you then, it should be important
to you now. I have found in my own life that I am at my best when
my relationships are strong and I am nurturing each and every one
of them. If you are finding that you lack fulfillment in your life,
dedicate yourself to giving more to your personal and professional
relationships and you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.

2. Never Stop Doing What You Love

One of my favorite questions is a simple one: 'What would the child
you once were think of the adult that you have become?' People who
live richly rewarding lives do not have wrinkled souls. They have
done what it takes to maintain their childlike heart and, in doing
so, bring a daily dose of passion to their hours. Further, their
passion is contagious and they enlighten everyone around them.

Before you go to sleep tonight, take a silent moment or two and
reflect on whether you are still doing the things you love.

Do you love your career? Do you have hobbies that make your heart
sing? Do you enjoy the people you surround yourself with? And if
you are not fulfilled in these areas, ask yourself what course
corrections must you take to make changes.

When we were kids, there were so many things that made our eyes
sparkle and our hearts flutter. And yet, as we age, we often give
up on those things for the more serious pursuits that we believe
adults engage in.
To renew your life, get back to doing the things that you love the
most and watch your life soar.

3. Be True to You

All to often, we live the lives of other people. We do not live our
truth. We engage in a career because it is what our parents wanted
us to engage in. We act in a certain way because we believe that is
the way society wants us to act. But the greater the incongruency
between the person that you are deep down at the core and the way
your public persona appears, the greater the amount of
dissatisfaction you will notice in your life. When you begin to
listen to your heart and show up authentically, your life will
change.

Stop doing things because that is what others want you to do and
start living your life according to what is truly right for you as
a human being. Rather than always giving into the expectations of
others, make sure you honor yourself as you live out your life.

Because, at the end of the day, you are the one who has to live
with yourself - no one else.

4. Turn Your Wounds Into Wisdom.

All too often, we get hung up on failures. Yet failures are the
highway to success and the mistakes help us learn how to succeed.

As one philosopher said: "chaos gives birth to dancing stars." Or
as I say in my seminars, there is nothing wrong with making a
mistake - there is, however, something wrong with making the same
mistake over and over again. If you fail at something, ask yourself
where the opportunity lies and search out the gateway to growth.
But make sure you learn from this lesson so that your past serves
you and you get better and wiser each and every day.

In my own life, I have learned the most from my most difficult
experiences. Adversity and suffering has introduced me to my
strengths. If I experience a setback, I know that there is a larger
picture unfolding and I look for the gift. Too many people get
deflated in their lives because they feel the universe is unfair to
them and there is just too much adversity occurring around them.

The wise turn their stumbling blocks into stepping stones and use
every apparently negative event to expand their personal
dimensions, their wisdom and their performance levels. Remember, a
failure is only a failure if you accept it as such. As always, we
create our reality and we see the world not as it is but as we are.
When you do the inner work to work on your own perceptions, your
life changes.

5. Make Your Mark.

One of the deepest of all human needs is the need to live for
something more important than ourselves. I encourage you to take a
few minutes to reflect on what your mark will be when you are no
longer here. How will the generations who will follow you know that
you have graced this planet?

What acts of courage and contribution will you engage in that will
add value not only to your own life but to the lives of those
around you. The good news is, it has never been so easy in the
history of humanity to make your mark in the world. Through
technology, one idea can transform lives everywhere. And your mark
need not be made on a global level. A single person committed to
helping others in a community, in a school or even in a family, is
exceptionally worthy. Remember, we have a choice in this so called
new economy: We can curse the darkness or we can be the ones to
light the candle. Leaders always see themselves as lights.

6. Do the Inner Work.

Success on the outside is created by success on the inside. My own
life changed when I got serious about doing the inner work and
transforming myself as a human being. I began to look at my wiring,
my perceptions, my filters and the limitations I created through my
thinking. I began to read books, go to seminars, journal, and go
deep in accessing the person that I was and the person that I was
destined to be. No great life can be created without
self-improvement. It is not a quick process but it is by far the
most fulfilling one that any human being can engage in. Often we
blame others for our unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

But as I say in my book Leadership Wisdom from The Monk Who Sold
His Ferrari 'blaming others is nothing more than excusing
yourself.' And each time you point the finger at someone else, you
are assigning away a little bit more of your power as a human
being. And if you continue to blame others for your relationship
troubles, your career dissatisfaction or your health issues, for
example, eventually you will grow into a powerless human being.

The moment your life changes, is the moment you step up to the
plate and say to yourself 'It all begins with me.' Wise and highly
evolved human beings always take complete (100%) responsibility for
their circumstances and in doing so not only retain their power but
set about making the changes that need to be made. Commit yourself
daily to one hour spent in silent reflection or reading of the
wisdom literature. Take the time to put pen to paper to map out
your goals and get clarity on where you want to be four, five, ten,
twenty years from now. Remember, the best way to predict the future
is to create it.

7. Live on the Skinny Branch.

One of the best ways I have discovered in my own life to stay
engaged, excited and enthusiastic is to inject my days with a sense
of adventure and challenge. The human brain has a need for novelty.

We get complacent when we keep doing the same things with the same
people in the same way everyday. Interesting enough, if we do the
same things with the same people in the same way everyday, our life
will look the same five, ten, fifteen years from now.

It is like that old saying says, if you keep doing the same things,
you will certainly get the same results. If you want to see a new
reality enfold for you, you must start doing different things. So
today, commit yourself from your heart, to infuse your days with
challenges. Begin to take small risks to spice up your professional
and your personal life. Begin to read books you never thought you
would read. Try foods you never thought you would try. Pick up the
phone and get to know people you never thought you could meet.

Take up hobbies you never thought you could do. Stretch yourself as
a human being and you will be pleasantly surprised by the rewards.

You will feel better about yourself, you will see new results in
your life and you will have an incredible amount of fun. Remember,
on your deathbed, what will fill you heart with the greatest regret
will not be all the risks you took but all the risks you did not
take. Or as Papa Wallenda, the great highwire walker once said:
'Life is lived out on the wire, the rest is just waiting.'

Creating True Prosperity - Shakti Gawain

True prosperity is not something we create overnight. In fact, it
is not a fixed goal, a place where we will finally arrive, or a
certain state that we will someday achieve. It is an ongoing
process of finding fulfillment that continues to unfold and deepen
throughout our lives.

In this chapter, I will outline seven steps on the road to an
increasing sense of prosperity. These are not steps that are
necessarily taken in any particular order. Rather, they describe
different elements of the journey.

We each have our own unique path. We may focus on each of these
elements at various times and in various ways. At times we may even
work on all of them at once.

*** STEP ONE: GRATITUDE

Whether or not we feel particularly prosperous at the moment, the
truth is that most of us in modern Western society are enormously
prosperous, materially and in many other ways. We need only compare
our lives with the struggle for survival and subsistence that most
humans in history have experienced, and that a majority of people
in the world today are still experiencing, to realize how truly
fortunate we are. Many of us live better than the kings and queens
did a few centuries ago.

Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it's
important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we
have, on every level.

We need to literally "count our blessings", give thanks for them,
allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of
prosperity we already have.

One simple way to do this is to write a list of every single thing
in your life that you feel grateful for and appreciate. Keep the
list in a notebook and add to it whenever you think of something
else, or whenever something especially good happens. You can even
make different pages or different sections in the notebook for each
area in your life, such as home, relationships, work, and so on.

When you wake up in the morning or before going to sleep at night,
take a minute or two while snuggling luxuriously in your bed to
think about what you appreciate in your life. If you are feeling
troubled about something, you needn't brush that aside. Acknowledge
that feeling as well, and simply let it be there, along with your
feelings of gratitude for what is working.

You may not be able to do this everyday, but remembering to do it
as often as possible will enormously expand your experience of
prosperity, and create space for more to come.

Make a practice, too, of expressing your appreciation as often as
possible to the people in your life who enhance your experience of
prosperity in many different ways. Let them know in your words and
your deeds how much they mean to you.

*** STEP TWO: AWARENESS

We all have certain ideas, attitudes, core beliefs, and emotional
patterns that limit our experience of prosperity. Deep feelings of
unworthiness, a sense of scarcity, fear of failure or success,
conflicting feelings and beliefs about money, and many other issues
can block our growth and fulfillment.

Also, we have each developed certain energies and disowned others,
which leaves us out of balance and unequipped to deal effectively
with certain aspects of our lives.

Most of these beliefs and patterns are initially unconscious; we
are not really aware of them and yet they control our lives. The
moment we begin to consciously recognize them, we are on the road
to having a real choice about how we live.

The dawning awareness about what doesn't work in how we are living
is by far the most powerful step in our growth. It is also the most
difficult and uncomfortable. As soon as we recognize a problem, we
are on the road to healing it. However, that healing takes time.

Meanwhile, we may have to watch ourselves repeat the same old
self-defeating patterns a few more times.

It's difficult to do this without getting frustrated and
self-critical. We need to understand how important this step of awareness is.
When
you are unconscious, you can repeat a behavior endlessly without
gaining much benefit. Once you have some awareness and can catch
yourself repeating the same behavior, you learn an enormous amount.
You really feel the pain of it.

Then you are able to explore other possible ways of handling the
same situation. It's not long before things start to change. You
don't have to make change. Focus on gaining awareness, and change
will follow.

*** STEP THREE: HEALING

While we can't force change, we can support and enhance the process
of change that we are going through. There are, of course, many
ways to go about supporting our healing and development. Different
tools and techniques are appropriate and helpful at different times
on our journey, and certain things are helpful to some people and
not to others. I believe we know intuitively what is right for us
at any given moment and can learn to trust and follow that inner
sense.

The work of healing needs to be done on all levels of our
existence. I have written about this extensively in The Four Levels
of Healing: A Guide to Balancing the Spiritual, Mental, Emotional,
and Physical Aspects of Life. The book contains many practical
suggestions and exercises.

I wish I could offer a simple magic formula for healing your life.
There is no quick and easy way, for on a deep level this is truly
our life's work. Teachers and healers who promise a quick fix or an
easy way are either misguided, or eager to sell their products.
(They may offer one piece of the puzzle, however.) I feel we need
to surrender to the fact that life is an ongoing adventure in
healing and growth, and learn to enjoy the ride!

I also feel that it is very important to get help and support from
others as we need it along the way. A good therapist, teacher,
healer, support group, wise friend, or mentor can be an invaluable
resource for our healing process.

*** STEP FOUR: FOLLOWING YOUR TRUTH

We all have within us a deep sense of what we need, and what is
right and true for us. To access this we need to pay attention to
our feelings and our intuition. We need to learn to listen deeply
to ourselves and to trust what we hear. And we need to risk acting
on what we feel to be true. Even if we make mistakes, we must do
this in order to learn and grow.

Here is a simple way to practice paying attention to your inner
wisdom:

Find a comfortable, quiet place where you will not be interrupted
for a few minutes. It's wonderful to do this outdoors if you can
find a place that's really comfortable; a peaceful place indoors is
fine, too. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Close your
eyes and begin to pay attention to your breath. Breathe slowly and
deeply. Whenever your mind wanders, gently come back to focusing on
your breath and relaxing your body.

Now shift your attention and the focus of your energy down into
your heart or belly area. Imagine that a very wise part of you
lives in this area of your body, and it has a message for you right
now. Ask what the message is, and then relax and pay attention to
whatever thought, feeling, or image comes to you.

Take whatever comes and be with it for a few moments. Don't worry
if you don't fully understand it. Just sit with it a little. Ask
your inner guidance if you need to be aware of or be reminded of
anything else. Then thank your inner guidance. When you feel
complete, open your eyes. If you wish, you can write a little about
what you experienced.

Do this simple meditation as often as you can. It's great to do
first thing in the morning or last thing at night. With some
practice, you will develop your ability to receive and follow your
inner guidance.

*** STEP FIVE: CREATING A VISION

What would a truly prosperous life look and feel like for you?

Where and how would you live? How would you feel about yourself?

How would your body feel?

What would your relationships be like? What kind of work or
creative expression would you have? What other aspects of your
lifestyle can you imagine? How would a typical day in your life
unfold? How would you feel at the end of your day?

It's important to imagine how you would like things to be. Our
imagination is a powerful creative tool. Once we can vividly
imagine something, it often opens the door to manifesting it.

Remember that none of us exists in a vacuum. We are powerfully
affected by the world around us, and we have an equally powerful
effect on the world, whether or not we realize it. We are an
integral part of the whole. We can only have a truly prosperous
life to the extent that our world is prosperous. And our world can
only be truly prosperous when we learn to honor and respect the
earth we live on, and all the other beings - human and otherwise --
who live here as well.

Those of us fortunate enough to live in circumstances where we have
the luxury of pursuing personal growth have a responsibility to use
what we learn to make the world a healthier, more prosperous place
for all.

Since we are all ultimately part of one consciousness, the most
effective way to do that is to take responsibility for our own
healing. The more conscious and balanced we become, the more we
live in integrity and follow our truth, the more healing we bring
to the world. We need to ask our inner guidance, too, if there are
specific actions we need to take to make our contribution to the
world.

Create a vision of prosperity for yourself and the world, in
harmony with the earth. You can do this in meditation, or you can
write out a description of your vision. Another wonderful thing is
to make an actual picture of it by drawing or painting, or make a
collage by collecting photos, cards, pictures and words cut out of
magazines, elements from nature - anything that has meaning to you -- and gluing
them onto a large piece of paper or cardboard. Hang
it on your wall, and it becomes your treasure map - every time you
look at it, you will give energy to your vision.

*** STEP SIX: SETTING GOALS

Once you have a sense of your overall vision for a truly prosperous
life, you can set some specific goals. There are times in life when
it is helpful to set goals, and other times when it is best to let
go of goals for a while and just see where life takes you. If you
check in with yourself and it doesn't feel right, skip the goals
process for now. If it feels exciting, fun, or helpful, go ahead
and give it a try.

You might start by creating a special notebook for your goals.
Think of the different aspects of your life that are important and
make a list of them.

For example:
Personal Growth
Health/Appearance
Relationships
Work/Career
Finances
Home/Possessions
Recreation/Travel
Creative Expression/Special Interests
Making a Difference/Service
Write one of these categories at the top of each page.

Then think about your relatively long-term goals. Where would you
like to be in five to ten years, in each of these areas? Write one
or two long-term goals for each aspect of your life on the
appropriate page. If you like, you can write your goals in the form
of affirmations, in the present tense, as if they were already true.

Go through the process once again, this time creating one or two
one-year goals in each category. Try to be realistic with your
one-year goals; pie in the sky will only set you up for
disappointment.

Now go back through each category, and write down one to three
reasonable steps you can take toward each goal. Choose a few of
these steps to take within the next month or so. Here are some
examples of long-term goals, shorter-term goals, and action steps:

* WORK/CAREER *

Long-term goal: To become a family therapist.
One-year goal: To go back to college and complete my master's
degree.

Action steps:

1. Call local colleges and have them send me information and
applications.

2. Read through materials and decide which schools interest me.

3. Complete and send in application.

* CREATIVE EXPRESSION *

Long-term goal: To learn to play the piano.
One-year goal: To take piano lessons.

Action steps:

1. Ask musician friends about possible teachers.

2. Call piano store about renting a piano.

Once you have created your goals, put them away for a while. Look
at them occasionally and update them as needed. Be sure to
appreciate yourself for the steps you have taken, and the progress
you have made.

Goals can help us gain clarity, inspiration, and focus. However,
they can also work against us if we hold onto them too tightly, or
try too hard to make them happen. Try to let go of your attachment
to having them happen in a certain time or way. Don't worry about
how to make them happen; let the higher creative power handle the
details.

Hold your goals lightly, and allow them to change and evolve as you
do.

You may find that certain things are going as you hoped, while
others aren't. You may even find your whole life is going in a
different direction than you expected. Remember that our souls have
a purpose in this life that we may not fully understand yet, and
everything that happens to us is part of our soul's journey.

Learn from everything that comes your way. Continue to follow your
intuitive sense. If a certain goal is right for you, it will unfold
naturally from this process. Let your inner guidance show you the
way.

*** STEP SEVEN: SHARING YOUR GIFTS

As you follow these steps, you will find yourself naturally
expressing and developing the special talents and abilities that
you brought into this life. When you follow your heart, and are
committed to your healing and growth, you simply can't help
becoming more and more of who you are meant to be!

Often we have difficulty recognizing and appreciating our own
talents, because they come so naturally to us that they don't seem
like a big deal. The things we find ourselves gravitating toward,
the things we can't help doing, are important indications of what
we are here to do. The things we feel passionate about are clues to
our life purpose.

Ask yourself, "What do I love to do? What do I just naturally find
myself doing?" For example, I just can't help talking about
consciousness growth. I'm fascinated by the process, and passionate
about sharing it with people. As things have unfolded, I've ended
up teaching and writing about personal growth for a living. I did
not plan this, nor could I have predicted it. It's what evolved as
I followed my interests and desires.

Unless we are blocked in our ability to succeed or receive, life
always rewards us appropriately for what we give. Through answering
what calls us, we develop our right livelihood. Essentially, the
universe pays us to be ourselves, as fully as possible!

The opportunity to share our gifts and thereby make a difference in
the world is one of the most profoundly fulfilling experiences we
can have in life, and an essential ingredient in creating true
prosperity. As we live our lives with integrity and passion, our
experience of prosperity just keeps expanding.

This article is excerpted from the book Creating True Prosperity, by
Shakti Gawain.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Frienz Make Life Bearable

Thanks to my Standard Gang buddies!! Thanks for coming to see my mummy during the week end.. They r Qin, Qi and Hua..and 1 is found guilty of not coming..with the excuse of “busy”..muhaha.. =) I Love U guys man!!! Muack Muack Muack!!! Heez..

To Qin: God will bless both our mummy..dun worry kay..take care..Thanks for coming despite ur mum’s condition.. =)

To Qi: Thanks for coming..Ya a brave gal..with wat u have been thru which is much more worst than me..Though he may not be ard..but he will always by ur side watching over ya.. =)

To Hua: Sometimes gals maybe unreasonable..like wat I said b4..u dun need to understand gals..juz love them can liao..U r her Love, her support, her frien..her everything..tats y she need much more attention from ya than any other body.. Cos u r in her heart tats y every little thing u do means a lot to her..u may think that u din any wrong..but she may not feel uncomfortable in the things u did or u didn’t do.. tats y she may “chu stunt” heez..though the relationship is long..but u cant becos it long and missing out all the sweet moments and those doting that gals need..heez..every gal likes to be pamper.. =) mst impt cherish her…

To Jie: U r found guilty!!! Muhaha… =P juz joking lar..U have really helped mei a lot alot..always listening to mei's problem and complains..heez..thank you very much.. ^^

U r great man guys!!! I dunno wat will I be without U guys.. U r all always there to support me when I am down and depress.. Thanx for coming to visit my mum despite sm of u din see my mum b4..Muackz!!! I really love u guys!!! ^^ Once again thanx!!!