A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you." He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized.Nonetheless, the executive decided to put the check in his safe first. Just knowing it was there, would give him the strength to work out away to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and got extended terms of payment from creditors. Soon he could close some big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly a year later, he returned to the park with that uncashed check. The old man did not appear for some time yet the business executive decided to wait for a while more.

A while later the old man came along the way but seemed to be unmindful of the business executive. He stopped the old man and was about the hand over the cheque with a few words of thanks as well as share his success story.

At the same time, he saw a nurse come running up and grabbing the old man. "I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller." And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his new found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after. He understood that Confidence is nothing but the distant vision held positively no matter what comes in between. It comes from one's own commitment and dedication and entirely internal.

"Our duty is to encourage everyone in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth"

Suffering to Surrender

One of the common questions people ask me  “How do we avoid suffering?”

People are so focused on action, that they don’t realise that an action which born out of ignorance is an extension of ignorance. Hence, more than engaging in action, we have to enlighten our action with understanding.

Understand that you are the creator of your suffering. This understanding will help you dissolve suffering. An unhappy person in heaven will convert even heaven into hell; a happy person can convert hell into heaven.” So, change is not  required anywhere except within oneself. 

Reflect on this.

A Prime Minister and his secretary visit a palace in England. The Prime Minister detects a foul smell and yells at his secretary “Your socks stink. Can’t you wear clean ones? We are meeting the Head of State Come with a clean pair of socks tomorrow.”

 The next day too, the Prime Minister, senses same foul smell. Again, in anger, he thunders “You are stinking.” 

The secretary immediately says, “I have worn a new pair of socks today, here is the bill for it. And since you don’t trust me I have carried the old socks in my pocket to show them to you.”

The secretary’s stinking pair of socks is like our unhappy mind. If you have an unhappy mind, even if you are in heaven, you will stink. So, to overcome suffering, you have to understand that your unhappy mind is the cause. 

There are two types of sufferings.

•  Legitimate.

•  Illegitimate. 

Legitimate suffering is sorrow that is proportionate to the situation. For example a relative dies in an accident. This sorrow is valid. But if you continue worrying for more than one or two years, then there is a psychological aspect to it. 

To handle legitimate sufferings, one should understand that such suffering is the result of your past deeds. 

Illegitimate suffering is suffering that is not proportionate to the situation. For example, somebody calls you a fool. You brood over it for days on end. It is this suffering that one can end through right thinking. 

When your suffering is due to Karma, your past deeds, you have to understand that you are only repaying your debt. 
Reflect on these. 

Many people had gathered in a village to listen to Lord Buddha. Buddha did not start his sermon, but waited for someone to turn up. After a couple of hours, a young maidservant arrived and joined the gathering. Then he began his sermon.

Someone asked, “Why did you wait for her?”

Lord Buddha said, “In my previous birth, I had promised her that after my enlightenment I would teach her.  I had to wait for her so that I could fulfill my promise.” 

Such an understanding makes us surrender our sufferings to the mystery of life. Surrender is a leap from the ordinary to the sacred from the logical to the cosmic. Surrender is like opening the third eye… I am. Surrender is real growth.

Growth involves no suffering. Resistance to suffering creates suffering.

For example, if a stone is thrown on the wall, it makes a noise. But if a stone is thrown in empty space it just passes through. A wall is like the ego. When somebody says something unpleasant and you have a wall of ego, you get hurt. If you are empty of ego,  the word will just pass through without encountering any resistance. Surrender is in the realization that God gives me what I need more than what I want. Surrender is trust. Surrender is being open to life. 

Very often we suffer because we are not open to the vastness of life. We are bound by our knowledge. We are dead to something that is beyond our knowledge. What we know is finite and what we do not know is infinite. To be alive and limited to what we know, and dead to what we do not know, is a deep cause for suffering.

By Swami Sukhabodhananda

Self improvement

A positive attitude--optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm--makes everything in life easier. A positive attitude boosts you up when you're down and supercharges you when you're already "on a roll."

1. Remember that YOU control your attitude.

Attitude does not emerge from what happens to you, but instead from how you decide to interpret what happens to you.

Take, for example, receiving the unexpected gift of an old automobile. One person might think: "It's a piece of junk!" a second might think: "It's cheap transportation," and a third might think: "It's a real classic!"

In each case, the person is deciding how to interpret the event and therefore controlling how he or she feels about it (i.e. attitude).

2. Adopt beliefs that frame events in a positive way.

Your beliefs and rules about life and work determine how you interpret events and therefore your attitude. Decide to adopt "strong" beliefs that create a good attitude rather than beliefs that create a bad attitude. To use sales as an example:

• Situation: The first sales call of the day goes poorly.
• Weak: A lousy first call means that I'm off my game and today will suck.
• Strong: Every sales call is different, so the next will probably be better.

• Situation: A customer reduces the amount of an order at the last minute!
• Weak: Customers who change orders can't be trusted.
• Strong: Customers who change orders are more likely to be satisfied!

• Situation: A big sales win comes seemingly "out of nowhere."
• Weak: Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.
• Strong: You never know when something wonderful will happen!

3. Create a "library" of positive thoughts.

Spend at least 15 minutes every morning to read, view, or listen to something inspirational or motivational. If you do this regularly, you'll have those thoughts and feelings ready at hand (or rather, ready to mind) when events don't go exactly the way you'd prefer.

4. Avoid angry or negative media.

Unfortunately, the media is full of hateful people who make money by goading listeners to be paranoid, unhappy, and frightened. The resulting flood of negativity doesn't just destroy your ability to maintain a positive attitude; it actively inserts you into a state of misery, pique, and umbrage. Rather than suck up the spew, limit your "informational" media consumption to business and industry news.

5. Ignore whiners and complainers.

Whiners and complainers see the world through crap-colored glasses. They'd rather talk about what's irreparably wrong, rather than make things better. More importantly, complainers can't bear to see somebody else happy and satisfied.

If you tell a complainer about a success that you've experienced, they'll congratulate them, but their words ring hollow. You can sense they'd just as soon you told them about what's making you miserable. What a drag (figuratively and literally)!

6. Use a more positive vocabulary.

I've written about this before, but the point is worth making again. The words that come out of your mouth aren't just a reflection of what's in your brain--they're programming your brain how to think. Therefore, if you want to have a positive attitude, your vocabulary must be consistently positive. Therefore:

• Stop using negative phrases such as "I can't," "It's impossible," or "This won't work." These statements program you for negative results.
• Whenever anyone asks "How are you?" rather than "Hangin' in there," or "Okay, I guess..." respond with "Terrific!" or "Never felt better!" And mean it.
• When you're feeling angry or upset, substitute neutral words for emotionally loaded ones. Rather than saying "I'm enraged!" say "I'm a bit annoyed..."

10 quotes that have the power to completely change the direction of one’s life.

1)      The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
2)      The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
3)      Live out of your imagination, not your history.
4)      Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that      holds all relationships.
5)      Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.
6)      I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
7)      You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”
8)      I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow.
9)      Love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is the fruit of love the verb or our loving actions.
10)    Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy.

The 7 Habits - gist from the book by Stephen Covey

The book first introduces the concept of Paradigm Shift and prepares the reader for a change in mindset. It helps the reader understand that there exists a different perspective, a viewpoint that may be different from his own and asserts that two people can see the same thing and yet differ with each other. Once the reader is prepared for this, it introduces the seven habits, in a proper order.

Each chapter is dedicated to one of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:

Independence or Self-Mastery

The First Three Habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self-mastery):

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life. Create a mission statement.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

Interdependence

The next three have to do with Interdependence (i.e., working with others):

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem solving.

Habit 6: Synergize

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone.

Self Renewal

The Last habit relates to self-rejuvenation:

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.

Sourced from the internet 

Priorities

Before sleeping at night, write down three priorities you would like to accomplish the next day. If you completed these three priorities the next day, you would feel terrific at the end of the day. Try your best to do these three things as early as possible during the next  day.

Examples of these priorities include relationship building,  planning, implementing systems, professional development, physical exercise, or reading important material. Focusing on these activities leads you to perspective and balance, confidence, motivation, team building and so on.    

By completing three key priorities every day, you will complete fifteen priorities every week, sixty every month and over seven hundred every year!

Sourced from Internet

The True Medicine

Medicine that heals your body is one thing and medicine that heals your mind is a very different thing.

Most of our diseases are psychosomatic. So the real dis-ease is when your ease is disturbed. To keep your mind calm and centered is indeed the true medicine.

When your body has a disease, look at it with deep respect. Ask the body - what is it trying to convey? What has gone wrong with your life style? Go deep into it. See the disease with all humility. See the disease with a commitment to learn.

Learn to look and by that very looking become a vehicle for healing. Healing is a profound process. You have to press the right button. The right button is to believe that your disease is telling you something. Receive its message in total and alter your life suitably.

When you get a headache, ask yourself - what is the headache communicating?

Listen to it with your intuition and then follow or fulfil its message. You may find the headache would disappear.

Reflect on this.

A school girl rang me, ‘I can’t study and I have a nasty headache. What should I do?’

‘Ask your headache what it wants from you and fulfill its need,’ I advised.

‘My headache tells me to have fun but I have exams coming up,’ she said.

‘Go out and have fun for one hour. Anyway you can’t study with your headache,’ I added.

She rang me after sometime and said, ‘My headache is gone and now I will study.’

Listen to pain with your intuition and then follow or fulfill its message.

By Swami Sukhabodhananda – Sourced from the Internet

Lessons on Yoga

Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time, something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?" All wise men got puzzled by King's question, one answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere and in every situation; in joy and sorrow; in defeat and victory? They thought and thought.  

After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he'll have to see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.  

After a few days, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of the King's enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in the Jungle. He could hear many troops of horses following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished. And he could not return because it was a small road. The sound of enemy's horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way.  

Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was – “This too will pass."  

The King read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. Calm come on his face.

He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him.  

After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path. The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the King from every house, from every corner.

People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself," I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy to defeat me. :  

With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him.  

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: "This too will pass" He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

“If this too is going to pass, it is not yours.

The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours.  

You are just a watcher. Everything passes by

We are witness of all this. We are the perceiver.

Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes”.  

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life.

Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and. they too will go.  

There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away.  

Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change. It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable? It is nothing but your true self. You are just a witness of change.

Lessons on Yoga  - Sourced from the internet