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Even if I do not have an i-phone yet….
The coolest application I have seen so far is the ibeer 
Cheers!
Hello All,
Facebook - after publishing my new status “starting a new life, everyday now” I got a few requests about what I am up to?
No, I am not getting a divorce or change my job. Everything is fine and I am more than happy with both! However….there is always a BUT.
Really, the last 4 weeks with us moving into the new place, the job being more than busy and me having little time to un-wind, lead me to have a good think over the weekend. Never have I been so worn out, tired and exhausted for such a long time.
So, I will change my life, a bit everyday. Planning in some “me time”, “exercise”, “knowledge”, “fun”, “friends”, “family” etc. - just to consciously making life more live-able. Making sure I enjoy what I am doing and have the work life balance or life-life balance.
No rocket science really but I think that I haven’t really had time lately to focus on the nice things in life. And if I had the time I did not use it. So all I do is a re-cap and a more conscious living.
Thanks, Volker
The dream of money - for millions that were hoping to win the lottery last night it only was a dream.
A shame, isn’t it? Did you ever try to imagine to put yourself in the situation of having unlimited money. Would it not be stressful to decide who to give some money to? You of course could not give it all away. Would you give up your job? Would you tell your friends? Buy nice cars?
The book I am reading suggests, that money is only something that we are longing for but it would never make us complete. Total completeness is coming from within, not from the outside. Money just makes it easier to pay for the craving, e.g. the new shoes, the new TV and all those short term “happiness” moments. But we would not be really happy with 18 million in our bank account - or at least that would not be the only reason why we would be happy.
Have a great (sunny!) Sunday.
Volker Ballueder
I got a newsletter today where Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche’s Book “Restoring the Balance” was cited:
“Happiness depends on balancing the mind. Balancing depends on avoiding extremes and learning to live in harmony with the way things are. One of the profoundest realities of our existence is that everything is in a state of change. Our emotions change, our bodies age and decay, our possessions are taken from us, friends can become enemies and enemies turn out to be friends. Nothing lasts. If we resist change we find ourselves overwhelmed and suffering follows. If we accept change and flow with it, we become flexible and wise. From this comes happiness.”
If we apply harmony and balance to our life and re-assure ourselves that we cope with every little change and give ourselves time for that, then we should be able to keep our balance at all times.
But, if we strive to get work done, would it not be necessary to at least sometimes get out of balance to create a momentum? I believe so.
Rinpoche seems to suggest that we accept change. Reflecting on my last month, it is not always easy but we adopt, change and get on with it, finding a new balance every now and then.
Mediation will surely help and understanding from and of neighbours would too ,-) But that is another topic.
Hope you all have a great, balanced weekend!
I wrote about Alan Alda before. He is the actor of “Captain Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H” and just published his second book “Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself”.
When I started it this morning, a cold December day just before Christmas, I read the speech he gave for his daughter Eve on her graduation day. He finished with the words “Simply Love them, Love them, Love them” talking about our children.
For him, meaning in life and having children is more or less the same. There is not much more love you can give anyone else, maybe your wife, your parents, but the most love you most probably ever give to anyone would be your children. You want them to do well, you want them to do well for themselves.
And, if our meaning in life is loving our children and spread the love amongst other people, whilst writing this I am reminded of the Woodstock Hippy Festival 1969, then if we love we create a meaningful life.
What means that? It simply means that if we pass on the love to others, if we create a positive and “lovely” imprint in the greater subconscious out there, then we will get it back and receive a meaningful life.
Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
Merry Christmas!
Hello,
Not that I think it gets boring to write about the Diamond Cutter but I wanted to write about Gratitude today.
Jackie Headland’s newsletter triggered it. Gratitude, Thankfulness or Appreciation is a positive emotion. Jackie writes about the expanding your awareness with an attitude of gratitude and that it gives us power, perspective, appreciation, humour, optimism and hope. It opens up the good values in our life….heard that before?
Exactly. Have a positive attitude towards all living beings. Be thankful for being on this earth, being healthy and appreciative of what you are and what you have. Do not be greedy or envy others. Remember, if you envy others you might create a negative imprint.
And, if you create positive imprints you expand your awareness. You will gain power, perspective and appreciation. Humour of course, or have you ever seen a Buddhist not being happy ,-) OK, maybe that takes it too far.
Open up your good values in life, connect to the universe and have an attitude of gratitude. Then you will create positive imprints that come back to you - in a positive way.
Sleep well tonight, tomorrow might be your chance to change your attitude and make a difference.
I am reading the book THE DIAMOND CUTTER at the moment. Again, one of those amazing books you do not want to put down.
In a Buddhist way Geshe Michael Roach is showing how sustainable business really works. And, how you can apply Buddhist principles to it.
My most favourite chapter is about the imprints you left in your life that cause you experiencing similar situations over again.
For an example, if you had a bad boss and you are thinking that is only his fault to be bad, then this leaves an imprint. You then move to another company and somehow you have a similar situation there. Not happy, bad boss. It is your imprint, your perception that let you be in certain situations.
Geshe Michael gives a great instruction on how to change your imprint, to only have positive imprints that lead to a great business, happy work and great situations - it is up to you and how you perceive situations as well as your previous experience.
Definitely a MUST READ. His Website is here, currently under construction. But you find a short abstract here. Also, there is another website.
I did not notice that Dan Millman wrote more than this book. I finished it and would like to add some more comments but also I ordered his other 2nd book; Millman wrote a book which takes out bits and pieces of his book and then discusses them. Would he write a blog for me?
Guess not, as he has his own blog. Visit his website: http://www.danmillman.com/ - a lot of questions are answered there. And, looking at his page, that is something where I would love to end up in years. Inspiring people, giving advise, writing books and make a living from it. My respect, Mr. Millman!
Lets get back to the book:
Once you make your choice, do it with all your spirit. Don’t be like the evangelist who thought about praying while making love to his wife, and thought about making love to his wife while praying.
I love this rather common phrase, because deep down it shows commitment. You either do it or you do not. You do not take on a job you cannot do or would not try everything possible to finish it, would you? Do not do anything lighthearted, rather not do it at all!
Then Millman talks about Happiness and Money. Which I like because I would love to have millions of GBP in my bank account however happiness is more important. The difference between being wealthy and being rich.
Happiness = Satisfaction / Desire
“If you have enough money to satisfy your desires, Dan, you are rich. But there are two ways to be rich: You can earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet expensive desires; or you can cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have more than enough money.”
Whatever you desire in life, if you keep it small (denominator in the above equation) then the happiness gets greater by same satisfaction - that reminds me of my maths class at university. Or, you have lots of money and can satisfy a lot. But the problem will be you have more money (increase in satisfaction), your desire grows and then happiness does not grow. So if you have a lot of money try to keep your desires small.
I reckon Dan is right to keep your desires simple and modest and you are easier pleased ergo your happiness is higher. It makes sense - the less things to worry about, the less things to aim or strive for, the less to worry, the more to live for!
While it is difficult to just pick out some of Dan’s quotes there is another thought I enjoyed.
“You do have a terminal illness: it is called birth.”
So often you hear people that have cancer for instance and say “I make every day as nice as possible and live it as if it was my last. I have nothing to lose.” - We all are in that situation. We only have around 75 years on average on this planet. Let us all make the most of it, the most of NOW. The power of NOW. Why wait to make decisions and wait to be something we can be today. Start changing your life today, there might not be a tomorrow!
Dan describes very vividly at the end of the book how death appears and what happens to your body. It is eaten away and becomes dust. End of story.
Not quite because that is “just” your body. You live in it, you nourish it and vice versa but at the end of the day it is your thought and your soul that makes YOU. Luckily I have never experienced it but if someone has an accident that results in a body damage. Sure, life will never be the same, but the person stays the same. The body changes but the mind does not. One stays oneself; if you lose an arm through an accident you still are the same person.
I leave you with those thoughts for the weekend. It is important to understand that the conscious and the mind explains what you feel, how you feel, what you like and wish for. But the body has little or no influence. One could go as far to say that the body is just a protection around our thoughts and keeps them protected.
We decide with our mind, willpower and motivation what we like to do.
I tell you about fasting tomorrow.
As I read along there is another passage in the book:
“I’ve just introduced a little more energy into your body than you’re used to,” he explained. It will accelerate the healing processes. It burns only where you have knots. If you were free of obstruction - if your mind was clear, your heart open, and your body free of tension, you’d experience the energy as an indescribable pleasure - better than sex. You’d think you were in heaven, ….
Wow! The first part reminds me of taking homeopathic remedies and getting better after only a few hours because my body is getting energy to accelerate the healing process in a more or less “natural” way. It focuses on the illness only, similar to some Chinese medicine I suppose.
So if we are free from obstruction - any illnesses, any worries, any thoughts - then our mind is clear and our heart is open. There is nothing we have to worry about, nothing to think about and we would in fact be open for anything: love, peace, happiness, possibly enlightenment.
If we came to this situation and did not feel any tension what so ever I could be convinced that the energy flow in our body would be a pleasure and joy. We would feel great, energized and powerful, happy and … as Millmann says “felt indescribable pleasure”.
But better than sex…..
I suppose if you clear all thoughts and focus on the energy flow in your body, then the thought of sex is gone too. But maybe that is just a male thinking and there is a stronger energy flow than at an orgasm. Wikipedia says: An orgasm (sexual climax) is [...] characterized by intense physical pleasure, controlled by the involuntary, or autonomic, nervous system.
Would that mean that there is an energy flow which has a more intense physical pleasure than an orgasm and might not be controlled by our nervous system? That is a fascinating idea - maybe similar to having an orgasm that goes on and on?
At least Wikipedia now explained why I am getting so tired too ,-) …… - click here.
Definately time to go to bed.
“The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Whilst reading the above book, after recovering from a flu-like cold, I came across a nice story which I like to reproduce here. I am sure Dan Millmann would not mind me copying this passage and publish it here:
An old man and his son worked on a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plow. One day, the horse ran away.
“How terrible,” sympathized the neighbours. “What bad luck.”
“Who knows whether it is bad luck or good luck,” the farmer replied.
A week later, the horse returned from the mountains leading five wild mares into the barn.
“What wonderful luck!” said the neighbours.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” answered the old man.
The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg.
“How terrible. What bad luck!”
“Good luck? Bad luck?”
The army came to all the farms to take the young men for war. The farmer’s son was of no use to them, so he was spared.
“Good? Bad?”
This story fascinates me as it shows in a simple way that there are always two sides to look at. A situation has its positive sides and negative sides. A car accident can lead to you missing a plane that could have crashed if you were on board. Things in life happen that might prevent us to get into worse situations although they look like being bad situations themselves. There is always something that could be worse and something that could be better.
Everything has a purpose - is said in the book. And it is up to us to make the best out of it. Sometimes the worst situations bring out the best in people. It is not by accident that people who are pushed to their boundaries usually perform the best.
Whatever you do in life there are different views to it. A bad situation could prevent something worse. A good situation easily turn into a bad one. And a bad situation can turn into something good. Never forget, it also depends on your map, your territory, of what you make of things.
Have a good night.
Another Sunday but something is different - it is sunny outside, almost too hot and isn’t it the first ever real sunny Sunday this year in the UK? Lovely.
Das Wort zum Sonntag - the word of Sunday (? not sure if that would be a good translation) or better the lecture of Sunday.
I have been thinking a lot about how much is going on in my and other people’s life. What are we here for and why? The path of life, destination and sense. Does it make sense?
Of course it does. Discussions with various people about “should you change a bad situation” in order to get a better or should you stick to it - at least for a while - to find out whether you can solve it and - if you can - learn anything from it. Are you meant to be in the situation to learn something about yourself?
What about the saying of “we are already where we are supposed to be and whether the situation around us changes, we are meant to be in the situation where we are and have all necessary tools to live in our life” - then this means it does not matter where we work, live, play as we are ourselves and the outside does not matter?
It is a tough call - a call I would not be able to make - but what are those teachings and ideas want to tell us? Surely not indifference?
From my point of view we are born into a life that was chosen by us but which we influence through our own motivation and energy. Latter reflects back to the Secret. So therefore coming into a “bad situation” might be reflected down to yourself as an energy you sent out to come into that situation, a fear, being afraid of. Looking back in my own life I could show you at few examples, try it out for yourself.
However, if you are in those situations you have asked for yourself - conscious or unconscious - then you are there to deal with it to solve a problem within you. As you need to get your energy right inside you in order to get it corresponding on the outside, a positive world where we like to be.
We are happy when for everything inside us there is a corresponding something outside us.
(William Butler Yeats)
Ergo we can conclude that our energy direct us in life and get us to the point where we are supposed to be; negative situations to learn from and positive situations to enjoy. I would go as far and conclude that if we are treating other people with respect, love and happiness at all times, even if they are rude and bad to us, we gain more energy from it and make a difference. Not at least to us. And maybe that is where the thought plays in that “we are already where we are” - because if we are happy within us and know where we want to go and where we feel best, then the outside becomes less important, doesn’t it?
Have a great, sunny, Sunday.
Sitting at home tonight I was thinking what would be my ideal life? How many of you have thought about that?
I did what I usually do, I looked up Wikipedia and found this. Also, Google Image Search gave me the picture to the left.
Did you notice that if you look for happiness (literally) then you do find “Sehnsucht” - a feeling that is described by longing for something.
Drugs were used to create the same feeling -advertisement for alcohol and cigarettes were playing with those feelings. Are we all longing for happiness?
Also I found the World Database of Happiness, describing happiness as: Happiness is defined as ‘the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of her/his life as-a-whole favorably’. In other words: how much s/he likes the life he leads.
I did not know that so many people talk about happiness and find definitions of it. How do I define happiness, how do you define happiness?
What about “We are happy when for everything inside us there is a corresponding something outside us“, William Butler Yeats. When all outside forces have an inside force and the system is in a neutral situation. Something that reminds me of my physics and technical mechanic classes. Everytime a force is moving something downwards there is a force working against it in the opposite direction to get the equilibrium. So, does that mean equilibrium is happiness?
How do we achieve happiness? Can we achieve happiness by living a religious life? A Buddihst life maybe? Latter one is the most common life-style associated with happiness but does that mean that other religions do not offer happiness? Why buddism? Does Buddism offer the equilibrium we are looking for? Does Buddism openly discuss the idea of accepting and working with the forces in the world. Seeing a force or energy flow towards you as a challenge and something you can absorp in order to work against it. Would you then become the opposite force, part of the system which is in equilibrium, and as part of that system how can you be happy carrying a force in you?
Lets use an example: if X critizises Y all the time then there is force of X working towards Y.
X -> Y; so Y now could use some force against X by swearing for instance, resulting in the following system: X -> (Y< - is that the mathematical equation of happiness that if you keep any opposing force inside yourself and do not take it to the outside, then you are happy and in equilibrium, whilst X would not be happy?
- is that the mathematical equation of happiness that if you keep any opposing force inside yourself and do not take it to the outside, then you are happy and in equilibrium, whilst X would not be happy?
I would like some comments on that - can spiritual development be so easy?
Mit einem astralen Handschlag verbleibe ich…. which according to Google-Translation says
With a astralen hand impact I remain ….
With a astralen hand impact I remain ….
ballueder
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