What do you want in Life?

The New Age



'The Meaning of Life is to give Life a Meaning.'

As usual, a story first.

Contact Lens

The teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a fruitless search, he told his mother the lens was nowhere to be found.

Undaunted, she went outside and in a few minutes, returned with the lens in her hand.

"How did you manage to find it, Mom?" the teenager asked.

"We weren't looking for the same thing," she replied.

"You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150."

Sometimes in Life, we wish to have this and that but ultimately when we have it, we had lost something else instead which we can't buy back with the money we managed to have finally. I am really bored and not wanting to have any unnecessary responsibility, told myself not to accept any feng shui audit as no matter how desperate any referral was, Me Bad. : ( You know as in the I Ching, there is no ending to anything.(Pun intended), Hex 64 Wei Ji No Ending and Hex 63 Ji Ji Ending.) Yes, it amuses me that some translation(They weren't wrong) have it as After Completion 63 and Before Completion 64 in the I Ching as I had felt that the more appropriate meanings would be as what I have said.

Interestingly, a few years back, I was asked to do an I Ching divination for a person' s mother who is sick and I got this hexagram of 64 Wei Ji No Ending, a Wandering Soul Hexagram and only later on, which then I found out that the mother had a relapse of stomach cancer which was supposed to be cured after surgical operation and chemotherapy . Anyway, it had left a sort of bitter taste in my mouth as she had passed away shortly after that and recently having again come across another case where the father had just passed away from cancer had given me sleepless nights. I had not done any I Ching reading then for the case as the result were already at stage 4 and he was given 6 months left to live. The son's concern however, had just wanted to make sure that the father would be comfortable in his house, sleeping in the right feng shui sector when back from the hospital, to make it short, to go in peace without the sufferings that most cancer patients have to go thru. 人老病死阿. Out of the blue, a week before (Must be The Yi Jing again that prompted me), I had asked him whether the father had found out about it as prior to that when the father was hospitalised, it was agreed in their family to keep it from him, he say that the father later found out about it and coincindentally had passed away shortly after that. If some of you had read my posting in the 5arts forum on cancer would know what I means.

Anyway, I had just found out that a person who had made a significant influence in my life had passed away last year. Surprised? Not really, as it was many years ago that I had know him from working for a company selling his Motivation concept in Life and I had resigned from that company after his inspirational courses that had made me go into the art of running companies dreaming of big houses and ferraris, lamborghini wasn't that the hype in the eighties then. The curious thing was that the beginning of this year out of the blue, I had kind of kept thinking about him though I don't really know him except through his programs that I was selling, must have been my dear Yi Jing again teaching me another lesson in Life as I have been bored lately, not knowing what I want in Life.

Tonight, as a tribute, I would like to talk about him and his concept for a better life. It is a franchise that was owned by this American called Mr. Paul Meyer and the name of that company is Success Motivation Institute Inc, USA. To be frank, I think it beats most of what most metaphysics course have to offers with its concept to improve your life. Interestingly, I remember he had a diagram of the six important areas in Life quite similar to the six relationships in Chinese Metaphysics however it offers you a better chance to improve your life with faster results provided you follow his guidelines.(My personal opinion)

Interestingly, this core principle is a circle divided into six sectors in a circle or wheel with the centre or spoke as YOU. Each sector covers a specific area in your life such as Wealth, Family, Health, Education or self-improvement and so forth. You then rated your satisfaction level in each zone to a scale of ten. Those that falls into 5 or below would need then needs some working on (to balance the wheel) or what you would refer to as your purpose for your existence in life if you are thinking of contemplating suicide having lost your meanings in life, ha-ha, just kidding. Overall, it is to give your Life a Meaning, OK?

Interesting?

I would come back on it again as I had actually not thought of blogging tonite but unfortunately had waken up at this hour with nothing to do, : (

Good morning. : )

A film about Chinese immigrants to the Hong Kong colony in the 80's who grew up with Teresa Teng's songs and her death in 1995.

Reincarnation

It is sad that Some Times in Life, Moving on with the Rest of your Life start with saying Good-Bye.'

Saw the following MTV on this warm lazy Sunday afternnon providing the mood,



Thought I would talk about Buddhism, Arrggghhh....

A young woman on being told the buddhism belief of being reincarnated as animals in the next life:

Life as a bear

In my next life -- I Want to be a Bear...

If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.

If you're a bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them, too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup..... I wanna be a bear.

: )




From Takashi Tsuji on Reincarnation

Do you Buddhists believe in rebirth as an animal in the next life? Are you going to be a dog or a cow in the future? Does the soul transmigrate into the body of another person or some animal? What is the difference between transmigration and reincarnation? Is it the same as rebirth? Is karma the same as fate? These and a hundred similar questions are often put to me.

A gross misunderstanding of about Buddhism exists today, especially in the notion of reincarnation. The common misunderstanding is that a person has led countless previous lives, usually as an animal, but somehow in this life he is born as a human being and in the next life he will be reborn as an animal, depending on the kind of life he has lived.

This misunderstanding arises because people usually do not know-how to read the sutras or sacred writings. It is said that the Buddha left 84,000 teachings; the symbolic figure represents the diverse backgrounds characteristics, tastes, etc. of the people. The Buddha taught according to the mental and spiritual capacity of each individual. For the simple village folks living during the time of the Buddha, the doctrine of reincarnation was a powerful moral lesson. Fear of birth into the animal world must have frightened many people from acting like animals in this life. If we take this teaching literally today we are confused because we cannot understand it
rationally.

Herein lies our problem. A parable, when taken literally, does not make sense to the modern mind. Therefore we must learn to differentiate the parables and myths from actuality. However, if we learn to go beyond or transcend the parables and myths, we will be able to understand the truth.

People will say "If such is the case why not speak directly so that we will be able to come to an immediate grasp of the truth?" This statement is understandable, but truth is often inexpressible. [Ed comment: we as human beings are limited in understanding "Buddha Knowledge". We cannot speak TRUTH, only words ABOUT Truth] Thus, writers and teachers have often resorted to the language of the imagination to lead the reader from a lower to a higher truth. The doctrine of reincarnation is often understood in this light.


Traditionally, Buddhism teaches the existence of the ten realms of being. At the top is Buddha and the scale descends as follows: Bodhisattva (an enlightened being destined to be a Buddha, but purposely remaining on earth to teach others), Pratyeka Buddha (a Buddha for himself), Sravka (direct disciple of Buddha), heavenly beings (superhuman [angels?]), human beings, Asura (fighting spirits), beasts, Preta (hungry ghosts), and depraved men (hellish beings).

Now, these ten realms may be viewed as unfixed, nonobjective worlds, as mental and spiritual states of mind. These states of mind are created by men's thoughts, actions, and words. In other words, psychological states. These ten realms are "mutually immanent and mutually inclusive, each one having in it the remaining nine realms." For example, the realm of human beings has all the other nine states (from hell to Buddhahood). Man is at the same time capable of real selfishness, creating his own hell, or is truly compassionate, reflecting the compassion of Amida Buddha. Buddhas too have the other nine realms in their minds, for how can a Buddha possibly save those in hell if he himself does not identify with their suffering and guide them to enlightenment.

We can learn a valuable lesson from the teaching of reincarnation.

In what realm do you now live? If you are hungry for power, love, and self-recognition, you live in the Preta world, or hungry ghosts. If you are motivated only by thirsts of the human organism, you are existing in the world of the beast.

Consider well then your motives and intentions. Remember that man is characteristically placed at the midpoint of the ten stages; he can either lower himself abruptly or gradually into hell or through discipline, cultivation and the awakening of faith rise to the Enlightened state of the Buddha.

Namaste, my friends.

Inspirations

Yap, yap, nobody likes to grow old except kids. Well, got some inspirations from the above aerobic exercise. Give it a try, its good for your bones. Who says Guys can't learn aerobic.I have got tired of the potato sacks exercise : )

Let' see if my inspiration is back as I try to blog as I've been getting bored lately, nothing to do with the Soccer World Cup.

A Story first,

Nothing To Do

A man drives to a gas station and has his tank filled up. The gas attendant spots two penguins sitting in the back seat of the car.

He asks the driver, "What's up with the penguins in the back seat?"

The man in the car says "I found them. I asked myself what to do with them, but I haven't had a clue."

The clerk ponders a bit then says, "You should take them to the zoo."

"Hey, that's a good idea," says the man in the car and drives away.

The next day the man with the car is back at the same gas station. The clerk sees the penguins are still in the back seat of the car.

"Hey, they're still here! I thought you were going to take them to the zoo."

"Oh, I did," says the driver, "And we had a swell time. Today I am taking them to the beach."

Still can't get the inspiration, another story.

Life Without Email...

An unemployed man goes to apply for a job with Microsoft as a janitor. The manager there arranges for him to take an aptitude test (Section: Floors, sweeping and cleaning).

After the test, the manager says, "You will be employed at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address, so that I can send you a form to complete and tell you where to report for work on your first day."

Taken aback, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the Microsoft manager replies, "Well then, that means that you virtually don't exist and can therefore hardly expect to be employed."

Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having only $10 in his wallet, he decides to buy a 25 LB flat of tomatoes at the supermarket.

Within less than 2 hours, he sells all the tomatoes individually at 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day,he ends up with almost $100 before going to sleep that night.

And thus it dawns on him that he could quite easily make a living selling tomatoes. Getting up early every day and going to bed late, he multiplies his profits quickly.

After a short time he acquires a cart to transport several dozen boxes of tomatoes, only to have to trade it in again so that he can buy a pickup truck to support his expanding business. By the end of the second year, he is the owner of a fleet of pickup trucks and manages a staff of a hundred former unemployed people, all selling tomatoes.

Planning for the future of his wife and children, he decides to buy some life insurance. Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. At the end of the telephone conversation, the adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically.

When the man replies that he has no e-mail, the adviser is stunned, "What! You don't have e-mail? How on earth have you managed to amass such wealth without the Internet, e-mail and e-commerce? Just imagine where you would be now, if only you had been connected to the Internet from the very start!"

After a moment of thought, the tomato millionaire replied, "Why, of course! I would be a floor cleaner at Microsoft!"

In Memory,





The End

Super Powers

A quote:

'I used to have Super Power but the psychiatrist took it all away.'

: )



As usual,

Classic Definitions and Cool Meanings

Cigarette: A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other. : (

Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through "the minds of either".

Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.

Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Tears: The hydraulic force by which masculine willpower is defeated by feminine water-power .

Conference Room: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens & everybody disagrees later on.

Classic: A book which people praise, but do not read.

Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do. : )

Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience: The name Men give to their mistakes.

Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.

Opportunist: A person who starts taking a bath if he accidentally falls into a river.

Optimist: A person who while falling from Eiffel Tower says midway "See I am not injured yet."

Pessimist: A person who says that O is the last letter in ZERO, Instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY.

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Politician: One who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.

Doctor: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills.

Computer Engineer: Someone who gets paid for reading these type of mails.

Till then,Cheers.

Super Pig

Talking about Super Heroes, ha-ha..

Nah, My blog ain't turning into Animals' Farm. If you happened to be here, Mr. George Orwell.

A Story from 1998, another of the Football World Cup year.

Did You See LuLu the Pig?

A UK-based documentary production company is looking for people who witnessed a daring rescue at Sara's Campground. On August 4, 1998, Jo Ann Altsman’s life was saved by an unlikely hero. The Beaver Falls resident was vacationing with her husband, Jack, their dog, Bear, and their Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, Lulu, at Sara’s Campground, located near the entrance of Presque Isle State Park. That morning Jack left the couple’s trailer at 5 a.m. for a fishing excursion. When Jo Ann went to get out of bed later that morning, she felt disoriented and dizzy. She managed to force herself out of bed, but as she did she fell over. Jo Ann could not move, felt nauseous, and had severe pains in her arm and chest. Having suffered a heart attack 18 months prior to that August morning, Jo Ann knew exactly what was happening.

“I tried to scream for help but no one seemed to hear me,” says Jo Ann. “I managed to reach for my alarm clock and throw it through the window, but no one came. Bear and Lulu were just looking at me and whimpering. I was praying to God to take care of my family, and I kept saying to Lulu ‘go night-night, go lay down’ but she wouldn’t. Then she disappeared.”

Lulu, who had never previously left the confines of the yard at home, squeezed her way through the trailer’s doggy door and ran to the nearest road. In what seemed like a conscious act to attract help, Lulu, who weighed about 125 pounds at the time, lied in the middle of the road. When cars would swerve by the massive animal, Lulu would run back to the trailer to check on Jo Ann and then return to the road.

“Lulu would keep returning and then disappearing again,” says Jo Ann. “I had no idea what she was doing. With all the pain, ten minutes felt like a lifetime. Every time Lulu came back, I would try to get her to lie down, but she wouldn’t.” Forty minutes had passed since Jo Ann collapsed. “I thought to myself, this is it. It’s all over. I remember Lulu coming back, and I said for her to go as mummy was dying. She went off again, and I just shut my eyes and waited for the pain to go.”

In one last attempt to save her owner’s life, Lulu went back to the road, finally grabbing the attention of a man driving a flash convertible. He went over to Lulu, but as soon as he approached her, she got up and started to walk toward the trailer. Lulu kept walking, occasionally checking to make sure the man, who has never been identified, was following her. She led him right to the front door of the trailer.

“I heard a man calling from outside the door, saying Lulu was in distress,” says Jo Ann. “I managed to find enough energy to shout back ‘so am I! Please call an ambulance.’”

Realizing there was a problem, the man ran to the campground reception office and dialed 911. Jo Ann was rushed to the hospital, and Lulu, having cut the underside of her belly from squeezing in and out of the doggy door, was taken to a veterinarian. A few days later, Jo Ann was flown to the Medical Center in Beaver Falls for open-heart surgery. Doctors informed her that had another 15 minutes passed that morning, she would have died.

Lulu became a national celebrity and her story was front-page news in the New York Times. She also appeared on Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, 20/20, and Oprah. Recently, the exceptional story has grabbed the attention of Big Wave, an award-winning documentary production company based in the United Kingdom that makes science and wildlife documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic, and Discovery channels. They are currently working on a new series for Animal Planet and the British station Channel 5 that has the working title Animals Saved My Life. The series will look at seemingly altruistic acts by animals toward humans, drawing on the latest findings of the world’s leading behavioral scientists in an attempt to gain insight into the actions of animals.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
A Quick Word of Advice - Lulu
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Well, that' s sure a Smart Pig. Yap, cheers to all the Super Pigs!
Ehmnn, as a mark of respect after watching the documentary finally shown on local TV, I will stop eating pigs for a week. : )

Ignorance Is Kind

Something to pass your time if you happens to be here...

And God Said...

A very religious man lived right next door to an atheist. While the religious one prayed day in, day out, and was constantly on his knees in communion with his Lord, the atheist never even looked twice at a church.

However, the atheist's life was good, he had a well-paying job and a beautiful wife, and his children were healthy and good-natured, whereas the pious man's job was strenuous and his wages were low, his wife was cheating on him and his kids wouldn't give him the time of the day.

So one day, deep in prayer as usual, he raised his eyes towards heaven and asked: "Oh God, I honor you every day, I ask your advice for every problem and confess to you my every sin. Yet my neighbour, who doesn't even believe in you and certainly never prays, seems blessed with every happiness, while I go poor and suffer many an indignity.

Why like that" And a great booming voice was heard from above ...

"BECAUSE HE DOESN'T BOTHER ME ALL THE TIME."




Cheers.