Evil comes from humans, not ghosts, devils or spirits.

Most people associate ghosts, devils and spirits with evil. Bring up a subject on them and the sudden chilling thought of fear and evil envelopes the body. Yet, are ghosts, devils and spirits really evil? Are what have usually been portrays in films true? Have we not been lead astray in our belief of such other worldly beings?

Of course, it is true that spiritual possessions do occur. In fact, it was due to this fact that I was once involved in the study of ways to remove such spirits from people possessed by spirits. A friend and I went to an Indian temple in Harvard Estate near the town of Gurun, Kedah. Initially, I went there to learn about meditation and the opening of the third eye and the seven chakras. The flow of qi in the human body has been a long time interest of mine since its flow ensures our health. (This is a Chinese practice which I started learning together with Shaolin Kungfu moves. I read that the West have accepted and known about qi.)   

Before I digress too far, let us return to the temple at Harvard estate where, the chief priest, a person known to us as 'Bapa', which means father, used to teach us the art of ridding a human body of undesirable spirits. In our first lesson, we are told that we should not harm the spirits if it complies and leave the body of its victim. As an explanation for that, he told us it is not the spirit which is up to no good. The evil arise from a human behind the spirit. There are humans who learn to control spirits and made use of them to harm other humans. Such humans make use of their powers over such spirits to cause mischief and sickness to the people possessed by his spirits. Such humans may be paid by people to perform such devilish deeds. To help those possessed, 'Bapa' would need to exorcise the spirit by demands and threats before capturing it in a container. 

One day, 'Bapa' told us to practice hard as we may be faced with an adversary strong enough to retaliate for interfering with his orders to have a person possessed.  You see, it is not the spirit which has evil intentions. It was merely obeying the instructions of its master. The evil act, the devilish deeds, are those of the master and the people who employ its master to act on the victim. Whether the victim is as bad as the spirit's master or his employers, is not for us to question as Bapa's aim is merely to help another human overcome his problems. So, no matter how we look at it, the spirit is just a tool in the hands of its master. The evil comes only from the humans.

From then on, I fear the darkness and the spiritual world even less. Truth was brought by Bapa with his explanation. However, that truth stopped me from continuing my lessons on the expelling of spirits from humans as it could lead me to a world where the battle among the forces of good and evil will often erupt. In such a conflict, as in all conflicts among humans, we do not really know the actual devil. So I left that to wiser men than I.   

Growing the passion.

Passion in something is important if we want our children to be extremely good at it. So, if a child were to be truly interested in something, searching for knowledge on it, doing everything needed to understand it well and constantly as well as tirelessly working at it would never be a chore. It would always be a pleasure. There is no need for the parents to fear that the child would give up easily in his/her search for further knowledge when he/she is passionate about that something.

However, we have also seen children who do not seem to have much interest in anything. Of course, they do get interested in things but not for long. There just isn't that great interest that would stand the test of time and energy. So, in the face of such circumstances, what does the parent do?

To explore everything in his surroundings and become exposed to as many things as possible could be a first move. After getting to know his/her own house well, take him/her out to explore and experience things in the park, at the club, on the beach, up a hill or along the roads. Introduce to the child the birds, insects and animals, plants, trees, flowers and their fruits, the buildings, the people or workers in them, and the various types of vehicles. And the list of things to see, appreciate and know goes on.

When my kids were young, I took them anywhere we could afford to go. Certainly, they were interested in many things. They were interested in animals such as the monkeys in the botanical gardens. A visit to the zoo or some kind of animal-farm was always greeted with delight. Fond of fish in streams and lakes, they would watch intently for many minutes. They delighted in the fruits on the trees and the colourful flowers which they encountered. And today, one of them is a nature lover who cares for animals. This interest has lead him to read so much on animals and become a veterinarian. Today, he still continues to further his knowledge on animals, precious stones and plants.

Next move could be to make available the tools, the objects of interest or the instruments. With them, the child can further his interest should any develop. Of course, be ready for some waste and things left around without any hope of them being used. I have two tennis rackets that has remained used only once. I have musical instruments such as the guitar and harmonicas which interested my children only fleetingly. Never mind for all it takes is just one strike and our children would have a beautiful life ahead. Studies and work connected to their interest would be easy as there could be nothing boring in what they are really interested in.

One of things I have bought my children were watches. Well, normally parents buy watches for their children expecting nothing but their looking at them for the time. The younger of my two sons do not look at watches as time-indicators. To him it was something puzzling that moves its hands so consistently. He just had to know what caused that. So, he dismantled the back cover, studied it and replaced it. That, of course, resulted in it no longer being water-proofed. And he had a spoiled watch. Then when he was about ten or eleven years old, there was this electronic Japanese toy which allows a child to own a pet in it. The owner of the toy has to feed the pet and look after it. As it was too costly, he purchased spoiled ones, repaired them, resold them and earned enough money to buy such a toy. This son became interested in electronic things and even before attending university he was welding, repairing televisions and computers. He is now in his final year in engineering.

Thus, as can be seen, given the opportunities to meet something a child can be passionate about, provided with the necessary things to foster his/her growth in it and given all the aids essential to his/her progress, there can only be one path forward-the path to successful mastery of his passion.

Exemplary Jack Lalane for a long healthy life.

To live a long healthy life, we must all look at exemplary Jack LaLane, who since the age of fifteen did everything that was healthy to perform physical feats few of us can ever dream of doing. Imagine the man swimming long distances in the sea, tied hands and feet, dragging a huge boat at the age of 62!

This is the man who, at the age of 54, beat 21 year-old body-builder,Arnold Schwarzenegger in an informal contest! Well, what can I say but that his feats are incredible. He could outdo any man half his age! Sorry, there's just no way anyone can change that anymore. Although his favourite joke was: "I hate dying; it would ruin my image", he had to go when the good Lord called. Finally, he had to call it a day despite being able to exercise to his very last, having stayed alive healthily for 96 years.

If only he had lived past hundred, it would have been great for that is what I aim to reach. But even if I do, there were many things he did I could never have done. That, I would have to admit. Nevertheless, he is a great one for anyone to look up to.

Oh, yes, there are certain things in his nutrition that are similar to mine. Like him, I consume lots of raw organic vegetables and that is a good thing for everyone. I'll tell about that in another posting. And I love eggs too. However, unlike him, I eat the yolk as well although many people would tell me it contains a lot of cholesterol. For that, I would tell them, our body needs cholesterol and if we exercise enough, the good cholesterol (HDL) will be more than the bad cholesterol (LDL)and that is important. Furthermore, it is the white with the yolk that makes eggs a whole food. And I totally agree with this great fit giant about processed food and junk food.

Well, I would encourage everyone to go into the net and look into his biography and read about the fantastic performances of this great fitness guru. There is already so much written about him that I feel this is sufficient motivation to find out more.

Ego sometimes blind us to possiblities.

I received an email in which the following story was written or taken from somewhere. As it is obviously something we should share, I take the opportunity to put it into my blog so that whoever comes in could enjoy and benefit from it as I have.

It is indeed a touching story. True or not, I do not know but let's just learn something from it.

As for the title, perhaps we could have: Never judge a book by its cover.

A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Harvard.

"We want to see the President "the man said softly.
"He'll be busy all day "the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait" the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president.
"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave" she said to him.
The President, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on "campus."
The president wasn't touched....He was shocked. "Madam" he said, gruffly,
“We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died.
If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no" the lady explained quickly "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"
Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name. Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance, which can be misleading. And in this impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose our potential good friends, employees or customers.
Remember
In our Life, we seldom get people with whom we want to share & grow our thought process. But because of our inner EGO we miss them forever.

It is you who have to decide with whom you are getting associated in day to day life.
a concluding note:

Small Minds talk about People;

Average Minds talk about things,

Fine Minds discuss ideas;

Great Minds Act in Silence!

It's women who torment other women.

Yesterday, I met a lady with the courage to do things her way. This was told me by her own daughter who has great respect for her because of this. It is so because she totally agrees with her mother's belief that she must stand by her right to choose the way she ought to live and behave as long as what she does hurt no one. I fully endorse her view and so would hope to spread it too.

The young Indian lady friend told me about the time her father passed away. For the Indians, the Hindus, the married ladies wear something, something like a necklace as wear as a mark on their forehead to proudly but quietly announce to those who understands the symbol that she is married to someone.

Now, when the husband dies, the new widow is treated 'badly' by the other widows as the body of the husband is taken away for burial. First, the wife is not allowed to follow the husband's body to its last resting place. After that, the other widows are to decorate her face and dress her like a bride and then smear all that make-up on her face and make a mess of it.

This friend's mother refused to be treated thus, refused to have the spot between her eye-brows cleaned off, refused to have her face messed up and refused to have her husband's body go to its last resting place alone. She adamantly followed the funeral procession to his grave.

Of course, she was scolded for going against tradition. She did not relent despite all the voices of condemnation. Besides that, this said that she agreed with her mother's wishes and so told the relatives and friends to not force her mother do what she did not wish to do. She threatened to retaliate should they continue to harass her. With that, the others dared not continue to pester her and she achieved her desire to follow the procession with her face unblemished by interfering hands.

At one point, she pointed out to them that the tradition of burning widows at the time of cremation of the dead husbands' body had stopped because it was realised that the practice was cruel. She told them their torment of new widows is also cruel. If there was anyone who said that traditions must not be broken, then those women should follow the first tradition and have themselves burned together with their husbands. So, if that tradition could be stopped, there is no reason to enforced the later tradition. It is sadistic of older widows to cruelly treat new widows thus. And they, the widowed relative and friends had no answer to that.

In the cause of pain and torment to women, I have noticed that it is the women who wants such foul practices to continue. And this is not limited to Hindu culture. As far as I know, many Chinese young wives suffer at the hands of a good number of mothers-in-law. Somehow, the mothers-in-law have this territory control factor where the older lady must have control over everything, be it right or wrong.

It is time that people, regardless of their sex, race or religion, do what is right and remove all that is cruel or wrong.

Do gays come from God?

Recently, there was much discussion in the internet concerning gays when news revealed that a gay pastor was marrying her boyfriend. It caught my attention and I must say that I could not help but went into the net to find the truth.

As far as I know gays are what they are because of their feelings. Mentally and emotionally, they are of one sex while possessing the body of another. Poor them! It's like having to fit their round bodies into square spaces; perhaps the other way around.

This pastor, for example has a male body but his or her mind and emotions are female. With the mind and emotions of a female, she falls for a male, obviously.

But then, many are of the opinion that such minds and emotions are either cultivated or a result of certain unfortunate or undesirable desires of the gay.So, what is the truth? The truth, I believe, is important as we should not hamper or obstruct a person who genuinely think and feel as a female if that person could only find happiness in being one. It would be wrong of us to deny a person his/her right to find happiness in this world as long as he/she hurts no one.

So, into the internet I went and read about a pair of male twins, one of whom behaved like a female even from the age of eighteen months. Certainly, someone at that tender age cannot have thought of changing the sex he was given at birth. Could it have been in the genes? Yet, the other twin was behaving correctly for his sex! So, it was not genes, perhaps!? And when asked at a later age whether he was happy with feeling and thinking like a female, he gave an affirmative answer. Now, scientist have not come to the conclusion that it was genes. Still, that male child grew up with all the emotions and thoughts of a female. Like it or not, that child was a gay even before he understood anything about differences in sex.

Then again, there was another research that found gays are most often found in all boys' families. How is that so? Scientist are still trying to find a reason for it. Scientist have not come out with a firm verdict on how gays come about. However, from the study on the twins, it is a fact that a male child as young as eighteen months feel and therefore behave like a female. Can we fault this gay? Apparently, he was created this way. It needs not be considered a mistake of God in creating a gay just as we do not look upon the blind, the deaf, the dumb and the crippled as mistakes in God's creation. I would say they were created with a mission on earth. It could have been the mission to inspire the ordinary who finds no incentive to achieve more. This, in fact, was again indicated to me what had earlier dawned upon me; especially when I was having a five-year old blind girl pianist overwhelm me with her talent at the piano. If she can perform so well at that age despite her supposedly handicap, why can't we ordinary folks do better with our own capabilities? For myself, I am fortunate to have these people remind me to strive even harder and achieve even more; as a result of which I do three types of jobs, teaching, breeding and massaging, at the age of sixty-five despite having retired as a school teacher for ten years.

And because of them, I appreciate what I have even more so much so I use all my capabilities as much as possible for as long as possible. No, I am not tired from doing so much and enjoying so much; I am happy.

Coming back to gays, perhaps it is time ordinary people allow them space to live their lives as befits their mind and emotions. Let us be more understanding, more sympathetic, more compassionate with our fellow humans. Let us not create more pain and suffering. As it is there is sufficient pain throughout the world to not need us to add to it.

Silence may be golden but communication is essential.

Silence is golden as I have shown in two previous postings but good communication is necessary to convey our needs, desires and thoughts to fellow humans.There are many ways we can communicate. There is body language, sign language and verbal language. So, although there are times when we need to be silent and attentive to gain knowledge and gather opinions, we still need to utter something. However, as i have said before, there ought to be no verbal onslaught on the listeners. There should be communication and that means a two-way traffic or exchange of thoughts, ideas and knowledge.

Silence itself may lead us nowhere if no one starts a conversation. The person who intends to learn something may start with a question. Questioning is one of the best means to start a communication. It could be: Can I help you? Is there anything I can do for you? Where do you wish to go? Are you from this area? Where are you from? Can you tell me how this is done? Can you show me the way to .....? Such questions can lead to some explanation or talk on something. In fact, some of the friends I have made started with one of such questions.

Other than starting a conversation, words are necessary to convey our intentions and hopes correctly. Being able to do that in important in our daily lives as we go about our work and social circles. Of course, some people need to be more excellent at communication than others; a salesman, more than most people; would certainly need to be able to convince people with words.

When it comes to communication, no matter what the language, vocabulary and correct expressions are important to give the right messages to the people concerned. So how well we express ourselves depend upon our language proficiency. With better language proficiency, a person will have greater confidence to approach another fellow human. Definitely, with better language skills, there will be lesser miscommunication leading to improved understanding of any communication.

So, talk is required as much as silence in our lives. It is the extremes that we have to watch out for. Talk when necessary and be silent when desirable to do so. In everything there ought to be a middle way.

Knowledge comes with listening.

As I have written some time ago,I had the problem of inferiority complex very early in life. I knew it was a problem. Realisation helped me to find ways and means to overcome it. In a way I am thankful that it was once my problem for without it I could never be the strong and healthy individual I grow up to be. I would never have gone further to learn more about life than I have. I would never have listened for the gems of knowledge which has helped me to progress to this stage of my life if I had not been born with health problems and an inferiority complex. I faced my problems and won.

One of the things I discovered in searching for knowledge is the need for listening. When I listened I get to learn other people's knowledge and experiences. It is similar to knowledge from books. When we read, we also listen to what the writer has to say. You will be surprised at how much a person is willing to tell you if he believes you are really interested. I have learned so many things through listening.

Through listening, we not only learn we become more popular as many people have stories to tell and therefore need ears to listen to them. The are thankful to have appreciative listeners. So when people need to express their needs and sorrows, they need good listeners.

However, the most important part about the art of listening is the acquiring of knowledge and better understanding of more complicated subjects. Just as the other day when a friend and I were at the summit of Gunung Jerai, I was all ears when a man came to talk to me as I pulled and flicked off the numerous leeches in my socks and shoes. If I had not listened, I would not have been able to have him explain and talk about how leeches could be removed and killed so easily. Had I not listened intently, he would most probably not have revealed how I could prevent leeches from coming near in future. And this morning, through listening, I heard about the soaking of socks in salt solution to prevent leeches from attacking. But then, with the salt solution, you would have to wear wet socks.

The importance of listening was also confirmed by an insurance salesman who went with me during my twenties to a seminar by Mr. Lawrence Chan. He was disappointed with some participants at the seminar who are more eager to voice their own experiences than to listen to Lawrence Chan's gems. He said that we paid to listen to the nuggets of experience and knowledge, not to listen to ourselves talk. Every minute we waste on talking cost us possibly a minute of precious advice or understanding. So if we talk away an hour each day of the five day seminar, we lost five hours of nuggets. Now, there is a lot of truth in that.

See, at the age of sixty-four I am still learning by listening. I hope my mind will remain sharp enough to digest all the knowledge I am able to obtain for many more years through books and listening.

Humans create most of the problems.

At one point in my life, if anyone were to say that humans are the ones who create the most trouble, I would have protested. But then, with more experience of life, I have to admit that there is truth in it.

There was a time, I studied part of spiritual exorcism through an Indian priest. It first started with meditation, then awakening of the third eye and then exorcism. Through my experiences and this guru's teaching about the spirit world, I had to admit that spirits do not harm people. It is evil people who use those spirits to harm others, just as religion is for the good of man kind but people use or abuse religion for their own selfish ends.

When I realised how evil most of these spiritual masters are I decided not to continue with the study. I did not wish to one day have to tangle with such type of people even though it is to untangle whatever mischief they have done.

And today, I read about a married couple who abused their Indonesian maid so badly that the poor maid died. How the poor lady must have suffered before she found relief in death. What kind of horrible monsters those people were! Someone commented that they were worst than animals. Please, the next time we talk of such human monsters, do not drag the good name of animals into the thought. Animals are never that bad. Animals kill only because they felt threatened or they needed food for survival. They never kill to exert power over others. Humans are the ones who crave for power and perform the world's most horrendous deeds to gain it.

Perhaps that is the reason God gave humans brains so that, hopefully, with such brains they could teach morals and understand that God is always watching whatever is being done. That is also the reason humans, more than any other creature on earth, need God. If not for the presence of God and the teaching of morals, the conscience would be blunted and easily turn humans to monsters such as the above mentioned couple and those known in history.

This weakness of humans to create problems exists to this very day among the ordinary people as well as people in authority and politics. It exists as long as there is inferiority complex and the need to feel power over others is present.
It is a human tragedy that such a creation which possess brains and the ability to think so well can descend so low, indicating an inability to use their brains correctly. And so, with this weakness, there will always be conflicts, cruelty and exploitation of others, even though the holy book of every religion tells us that all living things are His creations and therefore are to be respected if it is just to show respect and love for Him.

A computer can cause a fire.

A family lost their 25 year old son in a fire at home some time ago. This is what happened.

He graduated with a MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier and came home. He had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to clean up his room at school. The father told him to wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days. He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come home from work.

Neighbors called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of his house. The fire brigade came but it was too late for the son. The 25 year old son died in the fire in this house.

It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by a lap top in the bed.
According to the investigation, when the lap top was on the bed, the cooling fan does not get enough air to cool the computer and that was what caused the fire. The uneven surface of the bedsheet had blocked the air intake vent below the cpu fan.

When laptops are placed on a flat surface i.e. on a desk or a table, there is a gap between the desk surface and the base of the casing to allow air to flow or be sucked in through the air intake vent by the cpu fan to cool the cpu.
He did not even wake up to get out of the bed as he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The reason this is written this is that too many people are using their lap tops in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use a lap top in bed or put a computer on a bed with blankets and pillows around it.

Unperturbed, everything will settle. (1)

At first, I wondered whether I ought to post it on my blog but then I realised that although it does not originate from me, I wholeheartedly agree with what Buddha said. For no matter where truth comes from, it remains nothing but the truth and ought to be shared among all humans, regardless of race or religion. So let us understand and accept this truth without prejudice to its source.

Well, to appreciate the beauty of this truth, please read on.
******************************************

Beautiful Thought by Lord Buddha

Once Buddha was travelling with a few of his followers. While they were passing a lake, Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from the lake."

The disciple walked up to the lake. At that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink?"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.

The disciple went back, and found that the water was still muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

This time, the disciple found the mud had settled down, and the water was clean and clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own -- and you have clear water.

Your mind is like that too ! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."

Having 'Peace of Mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!

TREAT EVERYONE WITH POLITENESS
EVEN THOSE WHO ARE RUDE TO YOU
NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NICE
BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE NICE.

Wisdom can be found in fools.

This story which I have found for you to read comes to me through an email, its source unknown to me. Nevertheless, there is much to be learned from this and thus, impatiently, I share it with you. There is so much wisdom in one so young who would not mind being made a fool of as he knows that those 'wise' ones are the real fools.
So, read on, my friends.
*******************************

There once lived a great mathematician in a village outside Ujjain. He was often called by the local king to advice on matters related to the economy.
His reputation had spread as far as Taxila in the North and Kanchi in the South. So it hurt him very much when the village headman told him, "You may be a great mathematician who advises the king on economic matters but your son does not know the value of gold or silver."

The mathematician called his son and asked, "What is more valuable - gold or silver?" "Gold," said the son. "That is correct. Why is it then that the village headman makes fun of you, claims you do not know the value of gold or silver? He teases me every day. He mocks me before other village elders as a father who neglects his son. This hurts me. I feel everyone in the village is laughing behind my back because you do not know what is more valuable, gold or silver. Explain this to me, son."

So the son of the mathematician told his father the reason why the village headman carried this impression. "Every day on my way to school, the village headman calls me to his house. There, in front of all village elders, he holds out a silver coin in one hand and a gold coin in other. He asks me to pick up the more valuable coin. I pick the silver coin. He laughs, the elders jeer, everyone makes fun of me. And then I go to school. This happens every day. That is why they tell you I do not know the value of gold or silver."

The father was confused. His son knew the value of gold and silver, and yet when asked to choose between a gold coin and silver coin always picked the silver coin. "Why don't you pick up the gold coin?" he asked. In response, the son took the father to his room and showed him a box. In the box were at least a hundred silver coins. Turning to his father, the mathematician's son said, "The day I pick up the gold coin the game will stop. They will stop having fun and I will stop making money."

Sometimes in life, we have to play the fool because our seniors and our peers, and sometimes even our juniors like it. That does not mean we lose in the game of life. It just means allowing others to win in one arena of the game, while we win in the other arena of the game. We have to choose which arena matters to us and which arenas do not.
THE CHOICE IS OURS...

What money can do to an individual.

If you are a millionaire, would you give each of your non-working children Five thousand ringgit a month as their allowance? Of course, you can afford it. nobody can deny that! But what are the possible consequences to a developing attitude towards money?

That amount of money is not earned by them. In a way, it is free. There is no worry about repayment. Those children would not need to think twice about purchasing most things, especially when they know the next five thousand ringgit will be coming their way in at the most thirty days' time. With such a sum what is ten, hundred or two hundred ringgit? How many value would they place on their money?

Perhaps it is difficult for most of us who do not get five thousand ringgit a month as pocket money when the average professionals are getting approximately two to three thousand ringgit at the beginning of their career to understand how these young people would feel. For those who are not professionals it could be about a thousand.

So, I would now go to a true story of Malaysians who can afford to give each of their children not just five thousand monthly pocket money but also a Mercedes to drive around. This is a story of someone in Klang. One of the children came out of a university and applied for a job. At the interview, he was told that he would be paid two thousand five hundred ringgit each month. Upon hearing that, the shocked young man told the interviewer that he receives five thousand a month from his parents without putting in any work. Of course, the interviewer told the man he has come to the wrong place if he expects more than the amount they were offering him. They bluntly told him to get a job from his parents. They fear not that he would not accept a position in their company for a man who is so haughty would certainly have no place in a workplace where respect and pay is due to an individual for his ability to perform in the company.

Now pay and pocket money are two totally different things. Pay is given for the expected work of the individual. Pocket money comes from love and responsiblity towards the receiver. Would a person with such a huge amount of pocket money value his post in a company which is only willing to value his work at two thousand five hundred ringgit? It would obviously be difficult. Such an employee would not have second thoughts about quitting for any slight disagreement, discomfort or misunderstanding. Such a person can never be an asset to the company.

Of course, since the parents are millionaires and must be owning a big company, getting a job is not a problem as he could easily be absorbed into the parents' company. But, if all the children are expecting the parents' company to give them top posts and big pay, will they be an asset to their own company? Well, frankly, we can never know. I have heard of sibling quarreling over positions and money and how such companies can collapse. However, there are also those that went from strength to strength.

No matter what can possibly happen, cultivating the right attitude towards money is important as money management is just as important as other managements in life.

Tomorrow I shall tell you about an ex-student and his attitude towards studies as a result of great wealth splurged on him at a very young age.

Know your machines well.

One day, a friend took his brother's car to go someplace. This friend has his own car which has automatic gears whereas his brother's was a manual model. First, when he had to stop at a traffic light, he forgot to press the clutch and the engine died. It so happened that the light turned green immediately after and so he had to put back the clutch in neutral before starting the engine and moving on. In the meantime the car behind him became impatient and honed him, causing his temperature to rise. Fortunately, other than this minor problem, nothing more serious occurred.

When I was told this, my memory took me to more than fifteen years ago when a relative's family member was involved in an accident that need not have happened. Two married couples had gone to Genting Highlands for a weekend of fun. As they were going to leave on a Sunday evening, they met a close friend who drove a powerful, newly bought car there. One of them, the driver, admired the new car so much that the close friend offered him the car to be driven back. So, they exchanged cars.

As they drove home that evening, the driver was so pleased with the handling of the car that he tested its power. And this is where he made his fatal mistake. He had never learned not to test the unknown on a busy highway. Well, fate claimed their lives that night as their car went out of control, skidded and crashed so badly that none of the occupants survived.

The highway is certainly not the place to test anything. It is constantly in use by vehicles going faster than on other roads. As far as i am concerned, vehicles can be as deadly as guns. They can kill if they are not controlled properly; the dead could be their handlers or others in their path. Before we allowed our metal horse to speed or maneuver in any way, we must know it well. We should know how stable it is at certain speeds, understand how fast it can be reined in, and when doing so, does it have the tendency to perform erratically. All these we have to know before we can drive with confidence that our lives will be safe.

In fact, it is not just vehicles alone that we ought to know and understand well before we use them. Electricity, electrical tools and all types of machinery ought to be understood well before we attempt to operate them. Women workers had been known to have their hair caught and pulled towards rolling metal in factories. Understanding dangers is important wherever we may be.

This also will pass.

Truth always prevails, no matter where it may be from. As a member of The Art of Living, I received this message from Guruji, its founder. As I found this message essential for the emotional welfare of all humans on earth, I sincerely hope that by sharing it with as many people as possible, the world can become an even better place for all of us.

Well, please read on and absorb the wisdom:


Dearest All,
Jai Gurudev
A beautiful message and story from Guru Ji (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of AOL)
Wish to share with you all……….

"THIS ALSO WILL PASS"

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them,” Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstances, in every place and every time; in every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? Is there an answer for this question? Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me? Tell me is there any mantra?”

All the wise men were puzzled by the King’s question. 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, with a condition that the 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 can see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

Some time later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. The King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him, getting 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. The King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly, the King 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 – “THIS ALSO WILL PASS”.

The King read it. Again, he read it. Suddenly something struck him - Yes! This also 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 my pleasures have gone! I am here trying to escape from enemies. Like those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too, will pass! A calmness came upon the King's 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 was receding. They had moved into some other part of the mountains near him.

The King was very brave. He re-organized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his empire. When the King returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare. The whole capital rejoiced in the victory.

Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being showered on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment the King said to himself, “I am one of the bravest and greatest king. 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 the King of the message. He opened it and read it again - “THIS ALSO WILL PASS”.

The king 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 witnesses of all this. We are the perceivers. 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. This too will pass. 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 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. The 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.

You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it, and enjoy the present moment - THIS ALSO WILL PASS !

May God bless you all

To be a better man/woman.

Folks, here is a story from an email which will bring tears to your eyes as it did mine for it is charged with such beautiful human emotions. Let us learn from the father and the members of both teams and understand that when opportunities arise for us to show our true human nature, we ought to respond accordingly as required by our instincts.

Well, you will definitely get more from the story than any number of words that I write. So, read on.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one.. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.
Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart.. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
Run to first!'
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

May your day, be a Shay Day.

A real scumbag!

Never in my life have I ever dreamed of the day when such a dastardly deed such as this could happen in the human race. We have known animals to fight with their lives for the safety of their young. These are the ones who are supposed to possess no brains, nothing to help them think of morals and right moves. With the knowledge of this horrible case, those young of such protective animals are really fortunate to come from parents with a strong instinct for love.

Perhaps, some of you could have already read of the case of this scumbag from Jainpur Village in Faizabad District in Lucknow who had his two daughters murdered to claim insurance money. And the insurance money was not exactly a life or death issue but merely to purchase a piece of land.

To kill his two daughters he gave a neighbour Rs50,000 and his motorcycle as payment so that he would commit that foul act. The two trusting girls followed the neighbour to watch a cinema show before they were shoved into the nearby river to drown. What kind of neighbour could commit such cold-blooded murder on children known to him? This is a case of people descending to the lowest level of depravity; people who are worse than animals I would like to say but they cannot even be compared with those beautiful creatures; no, these are people beyond redemption.

Well, it is true that it takes all types to make a world. And it looks like the worst type is sometimes hardly recognisable or easily identified. Would those two girls who died ever realised the purpose of the neighbour taking them for a show? Would they ever thought their own father would send them to their graves?
would they know that, to their father, the value of their lives is equivalent to just a piece of land? Those poor unsuspecting girls died without even a hint of the cause of their demise.

In a way, we see that when people buy insurance for us, it is not something to be happy about. There could be a motive. For, when people hope to be the beneficiary and receive money from such an insurance, the motive cannot be said to be good. There would be greed and perhaps the hope that the insured would die soon.

In buying insurance, the insured must be the one to desire such a protection, either for himself or herself; or the loved ones. When it is the insured decision, then there is no thought of achieving money through insurance which can only emerge through greed.

It would be interesting to study those two scumbags, the man and his neighbour, on how their minds work but that would take up too much space. For example, I wonder if greed and a thinking mind could have lead those two scumbags astray. Was greed too great to fend off and did the mind help greed to overcome intrinsic love? I wonder.

Children can be innocently destructive.

"Oh, no! Look at all the photographs on the floor! Who cut them into small little pieces?" the shout arose from one of the ladies in the house. Her dismay attracted all the other members of the house-hold. They watched in disbelief as the lady squatted and scooped up the cut pieces from the floor. Nearby was a pair of scissors.

"Look! this must be the scissors used to cut up these photos," she turned round to show the others the evidence of the crime.

When she held up the scissors, the elderly man nearby spoke up, "I think it's the work of Seow Lik." He had seen his little grand-daughter with the scissors cutting up what he had thought were pieces of unwanted papers. At that, they helplessly looked in the direction of the little girl's grandpa.

"Oh, my God! Why didn't you stop her? Look at all these spoiled photos. You should have kept an eye on her," one of them cried.

Well, this is a case where the old man did not realise that very young children in their enthusiasm of performing new skills would use practically anything at hand to enjoy. The little girl must have just learned how to use a pair of scissors and finding photographs available for cutting had done just that. To the educationists, it is creativity. So no parent should punish the little girl, for by doing so, there would be more harm than good done. Since it was over, the harm to the adults was completed but that did not mean that the child cannot benefit from the creativity. Anyway, it was not the child's fault.

Yes, definitely no fault of the child. The fault lies with the adults for not understanding their child. As children grow older, they are bound to be curious, active and bent on creativity. If we understand this, then we obviously will keep things not to be used by the children away or out of their reach. Then, those things will be safe.

Whether it will be a lesson or not to the adults again depends upon how the adults take it. If they think it the fault of their children, then the adults have learned no lesson, have no understanding of children and certainly would have faulted the children, perhaps scolded or worse, given them a caning.

Furthermore, parents ought to watch out for their children at this exploratory age as they could also put themselves into all kinds of danger. Parents are the ones who are supposed to be having the knowledge for bringing up the children safely and properly while children in their ignorance are expected to make some mistakes in their learning process.

Therefore we need knowledgeable parents who can guide their children through their early learning years to safer and greater development.

Some people have a one-track mind.

They were always meeting each morning for their daily walks. They would exchange greetings and talked about a good number of things. As they got to know each other better, Ho was more confident about discussing more than general topics.

"Ismail, how can that politician say that non-Malays are not patriotic. Yes, there are very few non-Malays in the army but that does not mean the Chinese, the Indian and the others are not patriotic. Some of these UMNO politicians are too much," he commented to his friend, believing that his friend would sympathise with him and his community for being branded not patriotic.

"What do you know about that? Of course, if they are not willing to join the army, then they must be not patriotic. That was an UMNO politician you were criticising. He must have known the reason to make such a comment," Ismail shouted.

Our friend, Ho, got a shock at the rebuke he got when he was expecting some sympathetic views. And even if the guy did not agree with his statement, as a friend, he ought to try find out what and how Ho felt before explaining how that politician could have come to such a conclusion.

So, when he told Din and me about the incident, we told him that some people are like that. They do not wish to hear anything different from their own views, even when those views are coming from a friend. Or maybe Ho is still not considered a friend, merely one of those acquaintances of his whose thoughts and friendship are not worth considering.

At this point, I remember a Malay friend from Kota Kuala Muda who was sympathetic to the cause of poor non-Malays. You see, at one time I was poor. I used to ride a motorcycle to school. So when I got married and, after a number of years, was still without a child, this friend thought I dared not bring a child into this world yet because unlike a Malay child, it would be difficult to get scholarships and places in the public university. Unlike Ho's friend, this friend was close and we used to discussed many topics some others might find too sensitive. I remembered his very words: Don't worry, Ai Wei. By the time your children are big enough for school, things would change and your children would have just as much chance as any Malay children for educational progress. Though his words have not come true, it was his sincerity that touched me to such an extent that I will always remember there was such a Malay friend. May God bless him always. It is his influence and those of others like him that I find myself capable of mixing well with the Malays.

However, I am aware too that there are people who think differently; who thinks the world is for them and them alone. Some of them are racial in their thinking. Some of them think that they are the best, the only ones with God, the only ones entitled to this land and nothing can ever changed their ideas. As I understand that it is better to go round the wall instead of trying to climb over it or bang at it, that is what I always do. It saves us from a lot of frustration or anger and hurt. I just do not give them a chance to take away my happiness. If we think we can help them, then we try. However, if I think they have built a solid wall between them and me, I just go around them. They are happy and I am happy too.

We just tell ourselves; it takes all types to make a world. We do our best and let God do the rest.

What's uncommon becomes common when knowledge is acquired.

"Some time ago, I witnessed one of the most amazing aspects of nature."
I was all ears upon hearing that as what a man of seventy years can find fantastic must be something out of the ordinary.
"Do you know that it rained at that time?"
What was so astonishing about rain at his place? It is an almost everyday occurrence in a tropical country like mine. I was going to say farewell and move off when he continued,"It was raining so heavily at my house up to the gate and after that point there was no rain at all. The children opposite my house were playing. But then they too stopped and watched to witness the road forming a border between the rain on my side and dry air at their place. It was the first time in my life I have ever experienced such a sight. You would most probably not believe me but that was exactly what happened and those children were real lucky to see it at such a young age.

He told me that since that day, should anyone claim such and such a thing is possible he would never be the one to oppose or reject such ideas as things can happen; things beyond the human brain to comprehend.

Yes, I totally agreed with him as I myself have witnessed happenings that others believed not. Actually, we refuse to believe something because of our limited knowledge and understanding. However, with proper knowledge comes understanding. With understanding, we are no longer amazed by our experience. That is why we ought to listen to others and their experiences, some of which we may not have the opportunity to have. And if we have the chance to try out things or experience them, we should open ourselves to them. Unfortunately, some have one-track minds and refuse to open for new thoughts and understanding.

Take my friend for example. He had not understood how rain comes about. He knows not that water from the ground evaporates. The air containing very minute droplets of water is borne by the wind to form clouds. The clouds carry these water droplets up and to wherever the wind takes them. As more droplets gather, they knocked into each other and form bigger and heavier droplets. Sometimes water condenses out of the air into these droplets. When the droplets become heavy, they will fall as rain. So, if the heavy droplets are accumulated above a certain area, rain will fall in that area only. Outside that particular area there would be no rain. So, it's as simple as that. It's a common happening. Nothing magical about it.

However, it is good to have something fascinating happen in our lives. It lifts our soul and brings us a kind of joy and we realise the wonder of being alive to witness such a scene. It lifts life out of the ordinary and tells us life is still worth the living as there is still something not yet known.

That is why to be a little ignorant is not a bad thing as it gives us a sign that there are still so many surprise, so many joys and so much more we can learn and do with our lives.