Capabilities

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming."

-- J.W Von Goethe

Pickup In The Rain

One night, at 11:30 pm, an older African-American woman was standing on the side of a Alabama highway trying to endure a rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her generally even though she is a Afican-American women (In 1960s). The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry!

She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant combination console color TV and stereo record player were delivered to his home. A special note was attached. The note read:

Dear Mr. James: Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Be good for everyone, your little action might be a turning point of somebody! Everyday, make every good thought, say every good words, act in the good way! You must be able to pursue the right path, and you will sure can get it!

Breathing Meditation

When we have settled down comfortably on our meditation seat we begin by becoming aware of the thoughts and distractions that are arising in our mind. Then we gently turn our attention to our breath, letting its rhythm remain normal. As we breathe out we imagine that we are breathing away all disturbing thoughts and distractions in the form of black smoke that vanishes in space. As we breathe in we imagine that we are breathing in all the blessings and inspiration of the holy beings in the form of white light that enters our body and absorbs into our heart.

We maintain this visualization with each inhalation and exhalation for twenty-one rounds, or until our mind has become peaceful and alert. If we concentrate on our breathing in this way, negative thoughts and distractions will temporarily disappear because we cannot concentrate on more than one object at a time. At the conclusion of our breathing meditation we should think `Now I have received the blessings and inspiration of all the holy beings.’ At this stage our mind is like a clean white cloth which we can now colour with a virtuous motivation such as compassion.

Meditation

The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we will experience true happiness; but if our mind is not peaceful, we will find it very difficult to be happy, even if we are living in the very best conditions. If we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we will experience a purer and purer form of happiness. Eventually, we will be able to stay happy all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Usually we find it difficult to control our mind. It seems as if our mind is like a balloon in the wind – blown here and there by external circumstances. If things go well, our mind is happy, but if they go badly, it immediately becomes unhappy. For example, if we get what we want, such as a new possession or a new partner, we become excited and cling to them tightly. However, since we cannot have everything we want, and since we will inevitably be separated from the friends and possessions we currently enjoy, this mental stickiness, or attachment, serves only to cause us pain. On the other hand, if we do not get what we want, or if we lose something that we like, we become despondent or irritated. For example, if we are forced to work with a colleague whom we dislike, we will probably become irritated and feel aggrieved, with the result that we will be unable to work with him or her efficiently and our time at work will become stressful and unrewarding.

Such fluctuations of mood arise because we are too closely involved in the external situation. We are like a child making a sandcastle who is excited when it is first made, but who becomes upset when it is destroyed by the incoming tide. By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances. Gradually we develop mental equilibrium, a balanced mind that is happy all the time, rather than an unbalanced mind that oscillates between the extremes of excitement and despondency.

If we train in meditation systematically, eventually we will be able to eradicate from our mind the delusions that are the causes of all our problems and suffering. In this way, we will come to experience a permanent inner peace, known as “liberation” or “nirvana”. Then, day and night in life after life, we will experience only peace and happiness.

When we practise meditation we need to have a comfortable seat and a good posture. The most important feature of the posture is to keep our back straight. To help us do this, if we are sitting on a cushion we make sure that the back of the cushion is slightly higher than the front, inclining our pelvis slightly forward. It is not necessary at first to sit cross-legged, but it is a good idea to become accustomed to sitting in the posture of lotus post. If we cannot hold this posture we should sit in one which is as close to this as possible while remaining comfortable.

The seven features of lotus posture are:

(1) The legs are crossed in the lotus posture. This helps to reduce thoughts and feelings of desirous attachment.
(2) The right hand is placed in the left hand, palms upwards, with the tips of the thumbs slightly raised and gently touching. The hands are held about four fingers’ width below the navel. This helps us to develop good concentration. The right hand symbolizes method and the left hand symbolizes wisdom – the two together symbolize the union of method and wisdom. The two thumbs at the level of the navel symbolize the blazing of inner fire.
(3) The back is straight but not tense. This helps us to develop and maintain a clear mind, and it allows the subtle energy winds to flow freely.
(4) The lips and teeth are held as usual, but the tongue touches against the back of the upper teeth. This prevents excessive salivation while also preventing our mouth from becoming too dry.
(5) The head is tipped a little forward with the chin slightly tucked in so that the eyes are cast down. This helps prevent mental excitement.
(6) The eyes are neither wide open nor completely closed, but remain half open and gaze down along the line of the nose. If the eyes are wide open we are likely to develop mental excitement and if they are closed we are likely to develop mental sinking.
(7) The shoulders are level and the elbows are held slightly away from the sides to let air circulate.

A further feature of lotus posture is the preliminary breathing meditation, which prepares our mind for developing a good motivation. When we sit down to meditate our mind is usually full of disturbing thoughts, and we cannot immediately convert such a state of mind into the virtuous one we need as our motivation. A negative, disturbed state of mind is like pitch-black cloth. We cannot dye pitch-black cloth any other colour unless we first remove all the black dye and make the cloth white again. In the same way, if we want to colour our mind with a virtuous motivation we need to clear away all our negative thoughts and distractions. We can accomplish this temporarily by practising breathing meditation.

Today Inspiration Quote

"You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event --it is a habit."

-- Aristotle

Capability On Giving

A couple weeks ago I was standing out on a cold evening in New York City waiting for a cab to come take me to a nightclub. After about 5 minutes of waiting, I was picked up by a middle-eastern gentleman in his 30's, and he was clearly angry. Swear words left and right about how horrible New Yorkers were. I knew my cab ride would only be about 10 minutes and there was a part of me that wanted to be silent and just move on with my life, but I also wanted to try and connect.

I asked the man what the issue was, and after some beating around the bush, he told me that he had just come from JFK airport without a customer. For those that don't know, this is basically $70 in lost fare, which is a fairly big deal. I tried my best to commisserate and share in his frustration. Over the course of that cab ride, what started as pure anger slowly shifted to inquiry. He mentioned that he had read an article a while back which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he'd have more chances to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being in the presence of this introspective man! We continued talking about why giving is so beneficial both to giver and receiver and different ways to practice it.

As we arrived at my destination, I paid my fare by credit card (with generous tip), but didn't want to stop there. I pulled out an extra $20 and said:

'Sir, since we've been talking about giving this whole time, I wanted to share that feeling of giving with you. I've already paid my fare, but here's an extra little bit. you can keep it if you want, since you're already down $70 from JFK. But, if you want to experience the power of the gift, then tell the next passenger in this cab that their ride is a gift from another and they can share their gratitude in whatever way they wish.'

I thought I was being a pretty cool guy at this point! But that's when the cabbie blew me away. He turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and he says:

'Sir, I have better idea. you give that $20 to a homeless person around here and i will gift the next passenger with free ride myself.'

Wow! This man was literally yelling obscenities to me 10 minutes ago. I got out of the car and walked around for a bit trying to find someone to get a meal for before heading to my destination.

This was an absolute honor meeting that cabbie and learning the lesson of how everyone is capable of giving and totally flooring another with their generosity.

A true life said by a New Yorker.

Every one is capable in giving...

Let's give to those who need!

Opportunity

"I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse."
-- Florence Nightingale

Trust Myself

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

When you dare to move out without fear, you will meet the right things as you pursuit. Do not haste, nothing is wrong, act with full faith you will see God face and wisdom. I encourage those who want to move out with their dream, you just need to take this little movement will breakthrough to next level. Believe that it is yours!

Bless you!

Live in this moment- NOW

Man who always seeking the future and struggle for now in order to live peacefully in future. Man should live in this "moment" to create whatever he can rather than keep spending "now" for thinking the past mistake and future worries.

Every minutes is a new beginning, every breath is for "this moment". However, some people spend their breath on chasing, on compete with others, on struggling to analyse mistake and regret, but seldom on "creating". Ask yourself what is your attention put on right now. You will know whether or not you live in this moment, in past, simply in future.

Life is a journey but not destiny, live with your principle.

Greatest blessing for all of you.