You Are The Designer Of Your Destiny

Copyright by Vitality P

Destiny has always been a pet subject of mine. My conscious quest to better my life in various aspects since 2006 has somehow drawn me closer to this subject. Yet it was December 2004 that heralded my keen interest on this subject called destiny, the year when I was first introduced to the subject of feng shui – the ancient Chinese art of living harmoniously with the environment. If such is achieved, one is said to enjoy good feng shui and this can mean a marked improvement if one’s life in such areas as career, relationship, wealth and health.

Such keen interest on the subject of destiny leads me to the study of one important work in 2009 – LiaoFan’s Four Lessons: Changing Destiny by Venerable Master Chin Kung. It was the book that had the most profound impact on me last year, causing me to go deep into myself examining all that I have done in the past in search for the answer of why I am who I am today. Such experience was admittedly uncomfortable for I discovered in the process the misdeeds that I have committed in the past – which I remain largely unaware of before such experience. Decidedly thought-provoking and definitely inspiring, I credit this book to be one of the most important works I have read so far in my life. Reckoning that everyone will benefit immensely from reading this work, I therefore decided to publish this post on some of the important points discussed in the book (organized in terms of the four lessons recorded).

Lesson One: Learning to Create Destiny
1. Everyone and everything has a set destiny. This is due to the law of causality.
2. When we end our erroneous ways, and accumulate merits and virtues, we rewrite our destinies.

3.Whether attaining something outside of ourselves such as material objects or inside ourselves such as virtues, we still need to seek from within, from the mind. Seeking from the outside would be futile. Why? The outside factor is a constant. The mind is a variable; it changes.

4. Those who have millions of dollars in this life cultivated the good fortune worthy of that amount in the past. Those who have thousands of dollars must also have the good fortune worthy of that sum. Those who die of starvation were in fact meant to die in that manner. The karmic result today is simply the fruit of their own deeds and has nothing to do with external powers.

Lesson Two: The Ways to Reform
1. If we do not eradicate our accumulated bad habits before this cultivation, then as our good fortune increases, we are likely to commit worse deeds.

2. If we follow the three ways of shame, fear and determination to reform, then we will surely be transformed.

3. When we do not succeed in our endeavours, when our speech and behavior are criticised, when others slander us, and things are not going our way, do not blame others. Instead, we need to reflect and understand that it is because we have not yet succeeded in our cultivation of morals and virtues, and this is the reason why we are unable to move them.

4. Even if we are exceptional in all other areas, if we do not have the patience to endure, our achievements will be limited.

5. The most marvelous way to reform and reduce karmic obstacles is to have no wandering thoughts.

6. The foremost way to change is from the heart.

Lesson Three: The Ways to Cultivate Goodness
1. Sincerity is an accumulation of virtue and giving is accumulation of goodness.

2. Good fortune is the result of accumulating goodness and is not a coincidence.

3. To do things for the benefit of others is good; to do things for self-benefit is bad. If what we do is for the sake of benefiting another, then it does not matter if we yell at or hit them; it is still good. But, if our intention is for self-benefit, then regardless of our appearance of respect and courtesy, it is bad.

4. The accumulation of great goodness and merits arises from the heart of sincerity.

5. Those who practise good deeds must not only consider the current outcome but that of the future as well. Neither should we only consider our own gain and loss but think about the impact made on others.

6. We need to consider matters from the aspect of benefiting society, the country, and even the world, as well as how history will regard events.

7. Good and bad cannot always be determined by present actions. We need to consider whether the long-term results will be positive or negative in order to judge it wisely.

8. When practising to accumulate good fortune, it is important to realize that the determining factor is not the amount of money or the number of good deeds but the heart of sincerity. As long as we do things with utmost sincerity, we will accomplish full and complete goodness.

9. From the aspect of phenomenon or appearance, we know that differences exist. But regardless of this, we are all part of humanity, all part of one another. Realizing this, we will view others as we view ourselves.

10. Practising goodness and accumulating merits begins from our learning to have loving-kindness and respect for all beings and circumstances.

Lesson Four: Benefits of the Virtues of Humility
1. Humility enables us to preserve our good rewards. Without it, we will lose what we have accumulated and all of our efforts will have been in vain. We need to rely on humility for it enables us to preserve our goodness.

2. Humility and modesty are the foundation of good fortune.

3. Those who are filled with conceit are not destined for greatness. Even if they do prosper, their good fortune will be short lived.

And here they are – some of the points that resonated with me when I first came across them. I view the reading of this book (and subsequent practice and application of the principles to the best of my ability) as a milestone in my spiritual journey – that of tuning deeply into my mind and becoming more aware. It all started in 2004 in my high school – the year when I started to develop a close affinity for these principles. I would especially credit Kenny Ng, one former junior classmate that introduced me to the many aspects of Buddhism. Another notable figure is Mr. Leong, a former tuition teacher whose engagement with charity works (of which I was lucky to involve in some of them) opened the door for me to explore more of Tibetan Buddhism. To these two people, I herein express my deepest gratitude.

China Theme For The Semester

Copyright by Oriol Gascon

For the first time after entering the fourth year of study at university, I end my semester this time around with something I felt adds a spread of immensely vibrant colours to my study life. New perspectives are gained and my horizon widens considerably; alongside these newfound perspectives, a deeper sense of appreciation on the ways of life of people from other parts of the world is also heightened - something that I presume I just could not possibly achieve have I not be in close association with these folks from other countries.

It was the first semester in my final-year study and I was deeply gratified to have befriended three classmates from China - Gong Wei (龚巍) from Hubei province, Jun Yang (俊阳) from Shanghai municipality and Wang Bo (王波) from Jiangsu province - three great companies who shared with me many interesting stories from their homeland. It sure was a lot of fun so much so that I decided to visualise that I was in China for the duration of the entire semester, and to subsequently make China my theme for the semester where I literally spoke, breathe and did all things Chinese. Like Albert Einstein used to say - logic takes you from A to B, but imagination takes you everywhere. So I let my imagination run wild and and the results were nothing short of spectacular.

Refreshingly new routines
Since China was the theme for the semester, I made time for activities that underlie this theme. Activities that I had not previously made a conscious effort to immerse myself in suddenly became routines in my days. One activity that I spend a fair amount of time doing included tuning in to CCTV9 and Feng Huang (凤凰) - popular TV channels in mainland China. Moreover, I also viewed a series of videos in YouTube to improve my spoken Mandarin. I relished watching these videos as the two hosts take viewers to many places across China while imparting lessons on Putonghua - a bonus indeed, so it was travelogue and learning Mandarin rolled into one. The third activity - the one that I valued the most - was that of spending time interacting with my three friends. A plethora of things were shared - ranging from those which were funny, bizzare, serious and uplifting. Presented below are five interesting accounts that I selectively pick up for sharing.

1. "Dog don't care" steamed stuffed bun
Of course that's just a literal translation from its Chinese name - 狗不理包子. This bun is a famous snack in Tianjin (天津) and across many other places across China. Founded in 1958, Goubuli (狗不理) is one of China's longest established restaurant brands. The company adopted an English name called "Go Believe" in anticipation of the Olympic Games in 2008. Although being commented as inappropriate owing to its erroneous grammartical structure, the Chairman of the company's group is pleased with such naming as it is said to meaningfully convey the company's conviction and honesty in conducting its business.

The bun's name originates from the nickname of the restaurant's founder - 狗仔 (literally little dog). Such name apparently sounds acrimonious, more so that it is used as a person's name. Nevertheless, Gong Wei said it is customary in China to give someone a name that is conventionally unfavourable as such is believed to be able to protect the person from back luck or can enable him or her to withstand bad fortune. As the restaurant's business prospered, 狗仔 was so busy so much so that he did not have the time to chat and pay attention (不理) to his customers. Thereafter, people started calling him 狗不理 (literally doggie does not care); as time passed, his bun's name was dubbed 狗不理包子.

2. China Military Parade
This spectacular showcase that China put on in conjunction with the Republic's 60th national day can rival that of the Olympic in 2008. I was told that the Republic will organise a grand show every ten years; so everyone should watch the show this time around, for the military weapon will be even mightier (武器更牛, like one of them said). It turned out to be so true. I particularly enjoyed the firework display during the evening party at Changan Highway; so lavish the display was that I told them it was like a firework downpour from the sky.

For one thing that I notice, the Chinese are really patriotic and passionate about sharing things from their country. Immediately after lecture on that day, they visited websites to watch the live show from Beijing. This should not come as a surprise for they are positively proud their nation - the emerging superpower in the world whose GDP now rival that of Japan. Those who have watched 2012 will sense that the script writer sure understands China's power in using resources to construct things that are of larger-than-life size - take the episode when one actor commented about the 7 giant-size space ships stationed in Mount Everest to save humans from the earth crust displacement. "Only the Chinese can do this!", he said. Well such is just a movie script, there sure is a lot to be said about China's power. One 2012 forum in Australia saw one user posts several funny comments: if you need secret stuff made somewhere totally oblivious to the planet, get the Chinese to do it; the chinese finish monolithic projects years ahead of time. Worth pondering.

3. China's Mandarin versus Malaysia's Mandarin
As much as I could recall, the episode of chatting on Mandarin - that of the Chinese from China and Chinese from Malaysia, was the most humorous of all. I got to know first-hand about the Malaysian way of speaking Mandarin from someone who is a native speaker of this language. Wang Bo particularly commented a lot on this for he has a Malaysian girlfriend and hence spend a considerable amount of time associating with Malaysians. A lot of expression initially got him puzzled for he has absolutely no ideas in decoding these expressions. Over time, he is able to adapt and also able to utter a few Mandarin expressions which are uniquely the Malaysian way.

Examples of such Malayian expressions and its corresponding expressions spoken by the Chinese in China are as follows:

• 你做么叻 - 你怎么啦
• 我不懂 - 我不知道
• 你吃饱了没有 - 你吃饱了没

Jim Rohn is quoted as saying you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. This implies that our consciousness level can be leapfrogged to higher level or lower level depending upon the level of consciousness of the people we most often associate with. To connect this with spicing up one's spoken language, our ability to converse on a particular language can also be determined by the average speaking ability (for this language) of the five people we spend the most time interacting with. Five is just a benchmark, a metaphorical figure. This just serves to illustrate that we should strive to increase our time chatting with more people who can speak competently on the language with which we want to improve. It is only a matter a time when one's spoken language is on par with or exceed that of the people we chat most often with.

4. Sichuan beauties
Okay, this may sound slightly subjective. But when four guys from China agreed on this, there surely is a lot to be said. What is this thing you ask? They commented that ladies from Sichuan are just the sort of dream girls every males will want to date. They said that one of the reasons is that of their smooth skin, which come as a result of constantly dining spicy delicacies (of which Sichuan is so famous for). One of them recalled that a friend of him were practically drenched when relishing Sichuan dishes, so much so that one can be forgiven for thinking that he has just taken a bath. That is the marvel of Sichuan spice!

Guys, be forewarned. "Don't go to Sichuan if you have girlfriend. You will regret", said one of them. Hmm...

5. The Chinese's greatest fear
For the Chinese in China, there really is nothing to be afraid of. For theirs is a nation that wields influence and power slowly and consistently in the globe. And being an economic superpower, getting anything they want is just a snap. Gong Wei said the fear lies in people from other countries being able to speak Putonghua, especially people from the West. There is one saying that goes something like this: 中国人天不怕,地不怕,只怕老外说中国话. Literally it means that people from China have fear nothing, except encoutering foreigners that can speak Mandarin.

With China slowly gaining world superpower status, there is no doubt that many people will start learning this language as there will be more trade relationship with the Chinese. Even legendary investor Jim Rogers said that for whichever foreign languages one learn, one ought to ensure one of the languages is Mandarin. The consequence of this is that people who are used to gossip, sneer or pose whichever remarks that are not nice-to-hear in Mandarin will need to exert greater caution. Otherwise, they may get a slap in their face when all of a sudden the foreigners respond to their remarks in Mandarin. Hence the Chinese's fear of foreigners speaking Mandarin. Mr Kevin Rudd sure comes across formidable!

Trying It For Yourself
As a result of repetitive habitual routines over a lengthy period of time, you may start to sense that these activities are monotonous. Or at the end of the spectrum, you may find yourself enjoying your works so passionately that not doing them may possibly invoke a feeling of lackadaisical. Either case you can benefit from setting a theme for your daily routines. By injecting a fresh theme underlying all your routines, this can break you out of your automatic thinking patterns and lead you into seeing things from newer perspectives which you may have previously overlooked. And with this ceasing of automatic thinking patterns, you will find yourself getting more creative gradually.

Birthday Bashes Bounty - Friendship Fantastic

Copyright by ssquilling

June and July have been two great months brimming with an abundance of high energy in various aspects so much so that the happenings motivate me to pen them down so as to forever capture these "million-dollar" moments. Relationship wise, it was exceedingly stupendous and fulfilling as the high energy seemed to spill onto it, bringing with it a bonanza in terms of relationship building - a row of six parties from long-lost friends which collectively add a splendid splash to my social life, making me wanting for more! These events cause me to better able to understand and appreciate the fact that all human beings have one such universal need - that of affectionate connection with others.

The hors-d'oeuvre of these bashes started with a party by Govindeep, a long-time friend whom I got to know since primary school days. It was an evening poolside party filled with many people, mostly his Punjabian relatives and some of his parents' friends. One acquaintance asked my friends and I whether we felt outstanding at the party as most of the guests are Punjabians. If I was observant enough, there were only six Chinese folks amidst a couple of some over fifty Punjabian guests. The setting was a comfortable place to chill out. Yet we left earlier after about one hour being a "loyal" guest as another friend coincidentally kicked off a party on the same day and at about the same time.

The next stop was at Yong Tat's home. Quite a long-time and long-lost friend too (hence our insistence to attend this bash eventhough it clashes with Govindeep's), he invited mostly his primary-school friends. Much as I can recall, I perceived this soiree to be the most exciting of all. Mostly because this party assembled together a group of former classmates whom I had lost touch with and had not seen for almost a decade! One classmate seemed to had "metamorphosed" as I did not have a scintilla of ability to recognise who he was. Of course this was due to his plump physique. At least how I perceived it, this was the merriest party as Yong Tat's relatives live on the same floor as him at the flat - hence they literally packed and "booked" the whole floor for the night, savouring every moment to the fullest!

Another bash was Chong Yong, also a long-time classmate. Getting to his home at Jinjang really took some time for we had to endure the long traffic and going through a sort of labyrinth in his neighbourhood - yes, there are many roads in this part of residential area! Upon reaching his home, I found myself very hungry as upon handling him the present, I went straight to the food spot to fill up my stomach. After that it was the usual chat and pleasantry with friends.

The very next day is another party thrown by Kian Joo, who made the invitation while we were at Chong Yong's party. This is the friend whom many could hardly recognise for it seemed that in all those years that we never met, he was flown to another kingdom and was treated in a princely fashion - the sort of life where one eats like there is no tomorrow and always enjoys the company of single and dazzlingly rounded ladies. Oops... It was a great party with good food. As his home is in a hilly area, one can be forgiven for thinking that we were in Genting Highlands.

Last two parties were hosted by Hui Jia and Eng Yap. Good food over there as well. Hui Jia's was a steamboat buffet whereas Eng Yap's was a buffet-style Chinese food. All in all every parties had successfully brought together reunion of close and old friends. Stagnating friendship got rekindled. Blossoming friendship got even stronger. It is always good to organise such parties to get to know each other better despite everybody's seemingly busy schedule for such holds the promise of continuity of relationship - be it among family members, friends, colleagues, business partners or political allies.

To do so requires the cultivation of values such as respect, loyalty, honesty, kindness, generosity, humility, patience and other related values - both in terms of how one acts and how one relates to others. Of course this is easier said than done. Most people have not thought of practising this (myself included). But one of life's blessings is that whichever level of our development we can always start to improve - to take actions to ameliorate things for the better. And therein lies the happiness...

Shower And A Million-Dollar Idea

Copyright by Martin-James

Bathroom millionaire? Made no mistake, if everybody can do so then the economic condition in the world would certainly fare very well! The idea of million dollar in this context will very likely conjures up the thought of someone conceiving an idea so fabuluos that brings him or her a load of fortune, much like what Steve Jobs (iPod), Tony Fernandes (Air Asia) and other mega successful entrepreneurs who are so good at doing. Such pattern of thinking seems logical, considering that we can always read in the media about how those movers and shakers come up with great ideas that propel their businesses to stratospheric height and in the process amassing wealth that is just about everyone's dream.

The million-dollar idea in this context is not intended to be understood in its literal meaning. That is - it is not necessarily that ideas which are associated with monetary value, but rather with any set of ideas that can bring about any positive benefits to one's life. As most of us know the huge monetary value of a million dollar, hence its usage here to better able to describe the value of ideas that can change one's life.

Each one of us possesses such "magical" capability too. Nevertheless, we require a set of conditions through which can we then derive benefits from the incubation of these ideas. This is similar to that of a seed, which requires the proper conditions - suffcient sunlight, water, oxygen and suitable soil in order for it to flourish. So how can we prepare the conditions for us to incubate the "million-dollar" idea to benefit ourselves and others?

One way is to get a shower!

This is because it is during this time we are more relaxed - physically and mentally. We are all the more focused and alert to the present, rather than being drifted to the past and to the future. The relaxation of the mind thus enables one to better able to think clearly, hence the potential to incubate a million-dollar idea. Of course taking a shower is just one way to bring forth such ability. The idea is to just get our mind still and with no wandering thoughts, thereafter our fullest potential can just surface withhout our knowing it.

There is a lot to be said about calming our mind down. It is believed that this state can bring about peak performance and wonderful thinking from the person who practises this. Such practice of mind taming is also applied in golf. In Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game, Joseph Parent explained how employing various strategies in mind training can enable one to perform better in golf course. One lesson to be learnt in Zen Golf is to beware of trying, for the very thinking of such attempt may affect the outcome achieved. With the absence of trying, it is believed that we can easily strike a perfect shot. Think about the time when you try to throw a fist of paper into the dustbin, you can almost always tell that you can successfully throw the paper into the basket only when you throw it without the intention of it being successfully thrown into!

Such is the marvel of absence of intention. And that when one is taking a shower, for during this time one's mind is relaxed and does not have the thinking of wanting to do something. Oh yes, trying to be absent of intention is not being absent of intention, too.

Walking The Dragons

Copyright by DaveFayram

On June 14 I found myself very much brimming with the spirit of learning whilst attending a one-day seminar in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Plenary Hall. Wittily named "Walking the Dragons", it was a seminar that introduced the audience to the many aspects of Chinese metaphysics. Hosted by artist extraordinaire Chui Ling with feng shui expert Joey Yap as the speaker on the event, it was a day filled with much learning and fun, more so that both Joey and Chui Ling themselves are decidedly eloquent speakers. Together with close friend Yunde, this was the first time we attended Joey's seminar after about three years of reading his articles on all things metaphysical. Hence it was a meaningful occasion and a day well spent.

When we arrived the registration counter was already flooded with many people, mostly making their first date with Joey after watching his first Cantonese show on Astro. Upon registering and getting the booklet for the event, we went straight to the hall. I thought of getting a seat at the front rows but alas, it turned out they were reserved for VIPs. We proceeded to the back rows through the gangway, hoping of finding one that was near to the stage. We found the seats then at the middle section of the hall.

The seminar was delayed by about 15 minutes before it started. In the meantime Chui Ling appeared onstage and cleverly made a joke that got everyone laughing. Soon Joey came onstage and the audience was made all the more excited to learn some knowledge from this well known master. The beginning of the session saw Joey presented on landform feng shui, a feng shui topic that I have a particularly keen interest on. He talked about various forms of dragons and what effect they will have upon residents living within the vicinity of the dragon. In feng shui parlance, dragon refers to mountain. Depending on its shape and contour, this dragon was said to emit Qi that will affect people in different ways.

Central to good landform feng shui is finding a dragon that has lush greenery, or as Joey humorously put it - find one that is handsome and that has hair (greenery) and not bald! A dragon with flat and wide top was said to be able to enhance the wealth potential of residents whereas one that is elongated and has narrow top was said to enable the residents to have upward mobility. While the shape of the dragon is important, due consideration should also be given to the orientation of the dragon. In other words, the mountain should be located such that it appears to be located on the Northeast from a person's home. This is the best direction to have at this current Period of Eight (last till February 2024), after which the best direction will change. To enhance wealth potential, one needs to place a man-made water feature at the Southwest sector of one's house. This is to enable the accumulation of the Qi emitted by the dragon from Northeastern direction, thereby benefiting the residents of the house.

We had a break thereafter before returning for another round of wonderful presentation, this time on the subject of Ba Zi - the birth code of a person that if fully understood can foretell a person's future and unlock his or her hidden talent. The mastery of this knowledge is empowering in that it enables one to know what one is good at, thereby leading one into venturing into a specific path that will bring out the best in him or her. Moreover, it lets one knows when a person may undergo a period of downtown, so to speak, and thus have the awareness of laying low and not making important decision (say establishing a new business if one intends to do so) during this time. Joey also explained the characteristics that a person generally possesses depending on his or her element in Day Master.

An interesting piece sandwiched among the subjects at this session was when Joey revealed that both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have Water as their Day Masters (which in Ba Zi usually denotes one that is good at making money). Coincidence or what? Considering that both are billionaires, surely there are a lot to say about knowing Ba Zi! People with Metal as their Day Master were said to need to exert more effort to be rich. I did not dig deep to this subject prior to this seminar. Luckily Yunde used to enlighten me on this subject on many occasions, hence I had some familiarity with it and was able to go along with Joey's presentation.

We had a lunch break then. I had at that moment many questions coming out of my mind. Yunde responded to my curiosity with what he has previously learnt. Having "sapu" most of Joey's books and read a plethora of classical texts, he is unmistakably a well-read scholar on this subject, hence I tend to view him as the "master" of our contemporaries. Comfortably he asnwered my questions with ease.

Joey presented on face reading at the remaining session of the seminar. I personally found this to be the most entertaining part as Joey's presentation evoked much laughter through his demonstration of various face features. One vivid episode was when he made a face resembling a horse to illustrate to the audience how it looked like. Admidst the laughter everyone was made all the more conscious of what a particular facial feature reveals about a person's personality. Joey also explained on the features that suggest wealth potential, honesty, intelligence, longevity and fertility. Even more astounding was that one can even spot a person likely or is currently committing adultery!

The Most Precious Commodity On The Earth

Copyright by ToniVC

Oh my! Virtually two crazy cool months have elapsed since my last blog post. It has been an endless string of course works and examinations in college of which I suppose serve as a mild demotivator on my part to write. It is not so much that I am short of any wonderful ideas that I manage to pick up in the last two months. Rather, I was bursting with tons of them! But the very acknowledgement that I do have at my disposal a scarce and limited commodity that enables me to write, I simply have to give way to it. It is scarce - and this makes it all the more precious. Phew..and that's just the long-winded opening to pave the way into the discussion of this fabulous commodity that is much treasured by everyone - TIME.

Well said, this description of time truly befits time. Within a couple of seconds, millions of dollar are exchanged in various stock exchanges across the globe. Just about a few hours of strategizing and planning enable one to reap enormous returns. Equally magnificent is that one hour can possibly bring about a huge change in humanity well being. Earth Hour certainly fits as an apt example. Truth is, how we spend our time can really determine how our future life unfolds. Whether it is a case or celebration or commiseration, a large extent boils down to how well we use our time.

Whilst some deep thinkers may speculate that the concept of time is something humans created to enable them to be more organized in their daily activities, there is no denial that this concept by and of itself serves as a good indicator for us to know what we have been doing and thus the result that we are experiencing. Albert Einstein once said that "the only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once". This denotes that not we have to plan as we can't do all things at once. No amount of time is available for one to maximise two things.

Another worth pondering point related to time is that of being proactive. Everyone desires a good quality of life in just about every aspects of their lives, it is just human nature. Despite the fact that how we spent our time to a large extent determines how well we live our life, many seems oblivious to such notion. They seem to succumb to the ideation that things will just turn out they way they want, it's just a matter of timing.

Earth Hour - Spectacular Showcase Of Humanity Splendour

Copyright by chestlim

Conceived by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, Earth Hour has since gained worldwide awareness and run on a global proportions. An idea so cleverly contrived and initiated that it has succeeded in spreading the concerns over environmental issues to every corners across the globe. Such is the eloquent testimony that great ideas - when coupled with skillful execution, sincere effort and sound management, are bound to go with a bang with a force so incredible that it can bring positive benefits to literally everyone and everything!

This year saw an impressive 88 countries with more than 4000 cities participated in this event, a number that increases tenfold as Earth Hour 2008 only saw a participation of 400 cities. At precisely 8.30 pm local time, cities in the participating countries turned off all non-essential lights and stayed dark for a duration of one hour. People from all walks of life seemed to rejoice to be a part of such an important event. Employees turned off some lights in the companies whilst continuing their work; while many families and romantic couples awaited such hour to have a candlelight dinner.

Children will naturally feel curious and this is an opportune time to educate them about such issues, to effectively bring "ah-ha" to their curiosity. While of course we may not be in the tunnel and thus not looking forward for light at the end of the tunnel; it pays to be in the dark tunnel sometimes, for at this moment we tend to be introspective and ask questions about how to make a change to our current situation, as opposed to taking things for granted.

Many people embraced this idea delightfully and submitted themselves with respect to Mother Earth. Such collective effort will surely herald more of these movements in the future. Coupled with the fact that an astronomical number of citizens partaked in this event, it is little wonder that a change, however small it may be, could be exerted in an effort to tackle environmental issues. This got me into thinking about the power of swarm intelligence.

I first came across this term in a magazine. The article tells of how organisms like ants, bees and the likes are so good in doing works together. Through mechanisms such as smell, they can detect food, build nest and do many other things. While they may be individually small, but their collective effort is not to be underestimated! Look at how a bunch of bees attack a poor fellow...Likewise, Earth Hour served as an avenue in invoking this sort of intelligence in us. We turned all non-essential lights together and worked on making the environment a better place. Actions breed more actions. The effect is obtained by multiplying the action with the number of people involved. And when such equation is made good use of, magic ensues!

The Power Of One

Copyright by jjjohn

One - the number that signifies new beginning - new love, new friendship, new wealth, new attitude, new venture, new life, etc - may appear to be deceptively simple in its perceived power at face value. Yet when its meaning or symbolism are clearly understood, it can bring about a sort of mental "spring cleaning" - so tremendously powerful that whoever experience it will give credit to its potency.

So what is this thing about one? Put it simply, it is about FOCUS. I recall vividly of an encounter with one friend three years ago where during one conversation, we spoke at length about computer hacking. He shared his experience working part-time with the Interpol to detect criminal's location. Amidst his enthusiasm in sharing his remarkable experience, he managed to sandwich a piece of advice - that everythings lies in the power of focus. I nodded but did not think deep about that. Over the years when I came across the subject of mind training, it hit me that there seems to be a connection between both of them. (Leonardo da Vinci said everything is connected to everything!)

So to elaborate on focus - the power of one, inadvertently lead me into discussing about the subject of mind training. To focus when working on something means just to work on the stuff one is working on and that the mind does not wander. That is - no other thoughts other than that related to the work at present. If only we can train our mind to achieve this level of deep concentration, we can indeed be really productive in many aspects of our lives.

Notwithstanding with the fact that focus can bring profuse benefits, the amount of commitments that one shoulders may sometimes deter one from tuning into this power of one. As people grow, they almost always carry with them many responsibilities. Many things need to be accomplished within a short span of time, thus taxing their mental capacity to be able to focus on one thing at a time. More so with the fact that "the world is flat" and that information is accessible anywhere and anytime, it is thus easy to succumb to information overload. It is precisely these circumstances that call for greater mental clarity - and to effectively make the most of the power of focus!

Spiritual Richness

Copyright by la-lanchs

It really got me quite some time before I decided to write on this wonderful experience that I had one week ago - an encounter with a very big group of devout Christians during Sunday Service. Deep within me, I believe that this is the manifestation of one thought that I carry along my consciousness for a length of time - that no matter which religion or spiritual belief one has, it is vitally important to pay due respect to others as well. Of course such ripening aspect of karmic connection would not be made possible without the kindness of one friend - Wilson, a good conversationalist and intelligent chap who shared with me many of Christianity teachings. I give thanks for for having known him as a friend.

Upon stepping my foot into Hope PJ, I was greeted by so many friendly people. There's one distinctive feature about these disciples of Christianity that impressed me - they are warm, just warm! At least this was how I perceived it, they really flabbergasted me with such expression.

The service started off with a singing session where a Brother led everyone to sing along on songs that praise God. Alongside the singing was the playing of various musical intruments that was so heart-lifting they could invoke the sense of joy in the minds of everyone present. Being a "first-timer" at this occasion, I surprisingly found myself being able to easily sing along. This was further followed by a sermon. In the midst of the preaching, the devotees were all given a small cup of liquid in red (which I later found out is the famous Ribena) and a little piece of bread. Through the pastor's guide, they later drank the liquid and ate the bread - a practice to symbolically represent that their past defilements were purified.

Being a Buddhist myself, I was told not to partake in the practice for only a Christian devotee can commit the symbolic practice. Hence I observed the process. It got me thinking that there seemed to be some similarity between that practice and the "purification" ritual practised by devotees of Tibetan Buddhism - of which I has considerable familiarity with. While Christian devotees consume the symbolic drink and food to undergo the purification, Tibetan Buddhism practitioners will do some chanting and thereafter to visualise that they are completely purified of their past negativity.

As the service ended, many then set for lunch. This practice of having lunch together was said to be of significant meaning - it is a fellowship session where everyone bond and understand each other better. Wilson said that this fellowship session is generally a "must-do" after the service. I met many youngsters about the same age as mine. They were all devout and nice people. I had a sense that this world will surely be a better place to live as there are so many people practising good values - more so that these are all young people! And that reminded me a phrase that I once read in a book - values are the foundation of future happiness. Oh indeed it is true!

First

Copyright by horizontal.integration

The idea of blogging, or more generally writing, has not appealed to me until I discovered some of its benefits. A series of events occurred that lead to the creation of this blog. As much as I could recall, one of the significant catalysts is the conversation that I had with one classmate a couple of months ago.

I must confess that the conversation had been truly "ear-opening", more so with the fact that I was being given advice by someone about 8 years senior than me. And from someone who has involved in a project that awarded him a five-figure pay (at his twenties), I listened attentively for his words of "wisdom" - hoping that I may profit from it too. My classmate shared with me about the idea of reading a lot on a niche topic in the industry one is concerned with, and upon which one can then write a white-paper to enhance one's credibility.

Intertwining with this event is the episode when I read about "Making Writing As Your New Year Resolution" in one newsletter called Early To Rise - dubbed the most popular health & wealth newsletter in the Internet. Again, many of the tremendous benefits to be reaped from writing are described. The reading on this piece of article on the day of Christmas 2008 further strengthen my conviction - and the will on my part about embarking on a journey to write. I feel blessed that I'm here now.

Every ideas that I think of, I hope to be able to crystallise it - to make them come alive. At least doing so would enable the sharing of ideas with others. These ideas are basically juxtaposed, threaded and meshed - in the process enabling the incubation of "new" ideas. Oh well..said another way, these are not exactly my ideas - but a jigsaw-puzzle of many pieces of interesting stuffs from many people of whom I am fortunate to relate with. This got me into thinking of the remarks uttered by my lecturer a few years ago - that ideas don't just drop from the sky!

As for treasurable memories, each one of them is also a wonderful lot - a million-dollar experience that is worth noting, and which will make one smiles when recalling the precious moments. Hence my longing to capture and immortalise them through words.

And here I am - ready and poised to share my humble ideas and thoughts for the benefits of others. And hopefully through this springboard I can enhance my writing skills too.