Points Of View

What is a mantra anyway?

Mantra is a Sanskrit word consisting of the root man- "manas or mind" and the suffix -tra meaning, tool or protection; hence a literal translation would be "mind tool" or “mind protection”.

Recently, I’ve heard that the term “mantra” is now used much more in the business context and is called “guiding principle” which inspires a person to do whatever special things he needs to do.

Basically for me, a mantra is a powerful word or phrase that may or may not have meaning used in the same way as a sentence.   Some interpret it as spells, incantations, insights, creative ideas or prayer formulas.

Some time ago, we call it “motto” or “words of wisdom”, but today, we just call it mantra.  So, here are my own:

1. Ask.
2. Do it now.
3. No regrets.
4. If they can do it, so can I.
5. Start learning and you’ll start earning.
6. Share your knowledge.  It’s a way to achieve immortality.
7. One step at a time.
8. Do not be disgusted, be amused.
9. If you don’t know what to do, do something.
10. This too, shall pass.
11. Life is short, enjoy it!
12. Be a traveller, not a tourist.
13. Do what you love, love what you do.
14. If you can’t make them think, make them wonder.
15. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
16. The most beautiful flower is one that grows from adversity.
17. Simplify, simplify.
18. Learn from your mistakes.
19. Learn from other’s mistakes.
20. Live long, laugh often and love much!

POINT OF VIEW:
We may have different mantras in life but what matters is that you have one.  If you don’t, maybe you should start making now.

“My child, hold on to your wisdom and insight.  Never let them get away from you.  They will provide you with life — a pleasant and happy life.” (Proverbs 3:21-22)

A blessed Sunday everyone!

You say: "It’s impossible"
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)

You say: "I’m too tired"
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me"
God says: I love you
(John 3:16 & John 3:34)

You say: "I can’t go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can’t figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can’t do it"
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I’m not able"
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It’s not worth it"
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28)

You say: "I can’t forgive myself"
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can’t manage"
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I’m afraid"
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I’m always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares upon ME
(I Peter 5:7)

You say: "I’m not smart enough"
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)

It seems that this was too good of a life lesson not to share along!

A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee… You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.

In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.  Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.  "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

THINK OF THIS: WHICH AM I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.  When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

I received an email from a pastor friend and I was just blessed of the content and wanted to let you all see it too.

I know all of us love the game where you need to find the difference between two pictures.  We may even try to challenge our spouse, siblings and friends who can find the most number of difference.

Same principle is what we are going to do here because I know that the more you look at this picture the more you will see.  So, get your gears up and try if you can find it too.

Have you seen it?

Look at the lines the artist used to draw this picture of Christ.

It is of scenes from Christ’s life.

POINT OF VIEW:
Who God Uses — God, grant me the Serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the Courage to change the one I can, and the Wisdom to know it’s me.

Today is Sunday and I would just like to speak my mind and impart something.  In bible times, Jesus was known to be a good speaker because He can always make complex matters become easy.

One of His ways in doing this is speaking in parables so that His disciples and listeners can understand simply what He was saying.  By the way, parables are earthly stories with heavenly meaning.

This time, I would also like to share to you a story which you may also call a parable.  It’s about having a donkey attitude.

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.  The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.  Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him.  They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.  At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.  Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.  He was astonished at what he saw.  With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.  He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.  Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

POINTS OF VIEW:
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.  The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.  Each of our troubles is a steppingstone.  We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!  Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred — Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries — Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

You have two choices… smile and ignore this blog, or, share this along to someone else to spread the fun.  Happy Lord’s Day everyone!

What a wonderful day it is.  I woke up just feeling I wanted to read a book, and guess what?  I saw the book that my wife (She) always wanted me to read and haven’t found the time to do so or just making an excuse doing something for me not to be able to read it.

Well, I’ve now read the first part of the book (by the way, it’s a marriage book that talks about questions couples ask) and the topic is about communication.  No wonder she wanted me to read it!  I should have known!  Grrrr!

Anyways, it is a fact that each time we read a book, we are the ones who dictates if we want to benefit from it or not.  I chose the former and will include my readers to also learn from it in the process.

Too many people have said that listening is the most important part of good communication not only in marriage but also in the way we communicate with others.

So, here are five things that I think we should know about listening:

1. Listening is basic to learning.
— In fact, listening consumes more time than reading, speaking, and writing combined.  When you consider this fact, it should come as a surprise to realize that good listening is a “must” for every successful communication.  I always like the quotation, “go back to the basics.”  If you want to start learning then you should start listening.

2. Listening is love in action.
— Nowhere is it more appropriate than in marriage, or, if you are not married yet, it is telling someone that you care about him or her.  Yet, many of us never truly listen.  Maybe this is the best time to express our love to others through listening.

3. Listening is a sign of affirmation.
— When we truly listen, we contribute to each other’s self-esteem.  When we don’t, the interpretation is frequently negative.  Be honest.  How do you feel when you sense that someone is not listening to you?  Without being listened to, feelings of rejection are almost inevitable.

4. Listening requires you to set aside preconceived ideas or judgments and convey a message of acceptance of the messenger.
— Try to think about this, when you are listened to, genuinely listened to, you feel that that person is someone with whom you can fully know and share all of your inner thoughts, weakness, and foibles—because he or she accepts you.

5. Listening opens up another’s spirit.
— When someone is speaking and you are not preoccupied or distracted, you are, in effect, saying, “You are very important to me, and I am interested in you.” This taps into his or her deepest need to be understood, and in return he or she will open up all the more.  The truth is — if we really want to know someone then we should really learn how to listen and understand.

I know that there are so many things that you can add to this list but here is just my point of view — every conflict and misunderstanding can be resolved if each of us will just seek to understand before being understood — in other words, if each of us would learn to listen.

I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.

I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease…..

All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.

No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,

No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.

For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.

I once was going to write it down…
But never found the time."

Now, do you have the time?

Today is science day for me.  Just wanted to share this helpful tips about cancer, how we can avoid having it and try to prevent it.

Please note the following :

CANCER : Not all cancers are the same.  1/3 is curable.  1/3 is preventable.

2 factors of cancer that cannot be controlled are AGE & FAMILY HISTORY.

CAUSES OF CANCER:
1. Smoking is very often the main cause of cancer.  It kills us silently and drains money from us quietly.  There’re 4,000 harmful chemicals (though in diluted form) in one stick of cigarette.  Taking one puff is 600 times worse than inhaling exhaust fumes from vehicles.

2. Some foods that cause cancer is:
a. Barbecued Food.
b. Deep Fried Food.
c. Overheating Meat.
d. Food that is high in fat causes our bile to secrete acid that contains a chemical which is a promoter of cancer cells.
e. Food that contains preservatives, too much salt or nitrates, e.g. canned food, salted egg & veggies, sausages, etc.
f. Overnight Rice (where Aflatoxin is accumulated).
g. Food that is low in fibre : Our body needs 25gm of both soluble & insoluble fibre daily.  We must drink at least 1.5 litres of plain water a day.
h. Contaminated Food (e.g. moulded bread causes our body to secrete toxins that may eventually lead to liver cancer in the long run. Never eat bread that is kept in room temperature for more than 2 days especially in a humid weather).

3. Types of fat and which is the best?
Highly Recommended for Health:
a. Olive Oil - It does not absorb in our body.
b. Fish Oil - Omega 3 (contained in NI’s Circulytes) has poly-unsaturated fat.  It’s good for our brain cells.
c. Peanut Oil - It contains Vitamin E.  A small dosage is recommended only.

4. Not Recommended for Health
a. Vegetable Fat - Palm oil is worse than coconut oil.  It is high in cholesterol and highly unsaturated.
b. Coconut Oil - It has saturated fat.

5. Specific Food & Beverages
a. Egg when eaten too much can cause High Colon Cancer, Risk Ovary Cancer, Prostate Cancer.
b. Cabbage is highly recommended for health reason.
c. Tomato is best eaten raw with a bit of olive oil for better absorption.  Other  alternative is to take tomato sauce.  Do not boil!  Tomatoes became acidic when boiled.
d. A little coffee is good because it contains 2 anti-oxidants.  Inhale coffee aroma for half each day is equivalent to eating 2 oranges a day.  However, the residue of over-burned coffee is extremely bad for health.  It can cause cancer.
e. Tea, as long as it is in its original tealeaves and not processed into BOH or Lipton packets, it is good for health.  Tea contains 30 anti-oxidants.  Recommended dosage is a cup a day.

EXERCISE AND BE FIT
Have a balanced lifestyle.  Exercise regularly.

F : Frequency                : 3 to 5 times a week.
I  : Intensity                   : Exercise till we sweat and breath deeply.
T : Types of exercises     : Find one that suits our age, lifestyle?

HAVE REGULAR CHECK-UP once we reach the age of 45 & above, it is recommended that we go for  regular comprehensive health examination.  Early detection may save lives.

I always wonder why we describe so many things as a female gender.  Say for example, "I have a brand new car.  She’s a beauty, isn’t she?"  or "I like your house.  She’s very pretty."

You may not know this, but many non-living things have a gender.

1. Ziploc Bags are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

2. Copiers are Female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. It’s an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreak havoc if the wrong buttons are pushed.

3. A Tire is Male, because it goes bald and it’s often over-inflated.

4. A Hot Air Balloon is Male, because, to get it to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under it, and of course, there’s the hot air part.

5. Sponges are Female, because they’re soft, squeezable and retain water.

6. A Web Page is Female, because it’s always getting hit on.

7. A Subway is Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

8. An Hourglass is Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

9. A Hammer is Male, because it hasn’t changed much over the last 5,000 years, but it’s handy to have around.

10. A Remote Control is Female. Ha! You thought it’d be male, didn’t you? But consider this - it gives a man pleasure, he’d be lost without it, and while he doesn’t always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying!

We have been so very busy these past few days because of the holiday rush and most of us have experienced stress one time or another.

I have read an article before that in order to get rid of your stress, you must imitate an animal.  Well, i think it’s quite stressful just thinking of it especially if you would like to imitate a snake for example.  So, i hope that these tips will be of help to all of us.

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn’t happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray.
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don’t lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don’t use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until it’s time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)