Napolean Hill: ' Whatever the mind can concieve and believe, it will achieve'.

I came across the words in the title of this post when I read Napolean Hill’s books. You know, these words have guided me to the numerous knowledge and achievements in my life.

Let me take you to the days of the witch-doctors and their effective roles in their own society. They held a position of respect. How did these people with hardly any medical knowledge be able to drive off evil spirits from sick bodies with such success? How did they cast spells and managed to make people sick or dead? How is it possible?

Well, according to researchers who had made a study of their methods, these witch-powers were well-known for their ability to achieve whatever they profess to be able to do. With their reputation, they had society believe they are experts in their field. Then, when they wish to cast a spell, they made very sure that their victims know a spell had been cast on them by letting know a doll in their image had been pierced with needles. The fear and dread brought on stress and insomnia. All such fear and stress play havoc on the body and sickness followed. Should the victim be suffering from heart problems, it could be able to bring death even.

Well, let us move to modern times and a school where my wife taught English. In the year 1998, or was it a year earlier, my wife told me how a man teacher was worried sick because he believed he had a mild heart attack. Sometimes, a little knowledge is very dangerous. This man had read about a pain in the chest. And a few days before, he had the exact type of chest pain described in an article. He worried so much that he could not sleep, his appetite was lost and he found it so tiring to drag himself around throughout the day. He felt he was on the verge of collapse.
When my wife told me that, I discovered that that teacher had not dared to face a doctor to get the truth. I advised my wife to tell that man to see a doctor and face whatever health problem that was besetting him. You know, two days later, my wife told me there was nothing but muscular pain in the area of the chest and the man had suddenly become his usual self again. Thus, that teacher had believed he had a heart attack and that belief had took away his vigour and brought him despair. That was the power of believing.

Oh, yes. I almost forget about what my wife once told me about her feeling so much better once she sees the building of the hospital. Could this be a unconscious association of the hospital with getting well?

An untested pill was able to help a man recover from his cancer because he believed it was that good. However, when it was publicized that the pill failed to cure so many other cases, this same man, and this man realized the pill was useless, the cancer returned. The doctor who realized it was a kind of placebo effect, gave the same man what he claimed were better and improved pills and again the man was cured. Unfortunately, when he realized, those pills were not what was claimed, he succumbed again and died.

Recently, medical experts did a research on placebo. The use of placebo has a long history, from the time when medicine was not as easily available, sometimes in war zones, when doctors were forced to comfort their patients with injections containing merely saline solution to today where it is used to evaluate the effectiveness of a new drug.

The above mentioned medical experts eventually showed that belief can affect a cure even when no cure can possible arise from the treatment. It just shows us how fantastic our mind is. This indicates how much we can achieve if we are able to put our mind to the task.

For further reading, please go to:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=placebo-effect-a-cure-in-the-mind&sc=emailfriend

Relationship with people is like a rubber ball and a wall.

When we throw a ball at a wall, the harder we do it the harder it returns and the softer the throw the softer the return. Our relationship with people is just like such a rubber ball thrown against a wall. We care for someone more and the person cares for us even more. We do not care for a person and most probably the person does not care for us.

However, if you do not take the initiative to throw the ball, will there be any return. Certainly not! Therefore, for any relationship to start, someone has to pick up the ball and start It. Give a big happy smile and you can be assured a smile will return. However, one should not do it half-heartedly, the ball may not have the force to return; it merely rolls to a stop some distance away.

If the ball returns, then next is the enthusiasm thrown out. Enthusiasm is very infectious. The response is usually fantastic. With that both parties have built a bridge to communication. You will be surprised how communication can pave the way to understanding and friendship.

Of course, the initiative is important. Without that initiative, there can be no beginning. There will always be a river in between putting each party on different banks of the river, seeing each other but not interacting, not coming any closer.

Even in a relationship, a misunderstanding can happen. A river comes in between. In this kind of situation, can a bridge be rebuilt when no one is willing to throw out a soft and tender ball to the other person so that she may have the opportunity to return the ball? Certainly, there are times when the other person does not bother to pick it up. Perhaps, the relationship is beyond repair.

Well, having said all that, we ought to realise that not all walls are even. And if the ball hits an uneven surface, it bounces off at an angle, never to return to its original thrower. Well, that is what life is all about. That is the uncertainty which besides bringing loads of joy, makes life painful at times but it awakens us to so many possibilities. When such pain or frustration comes it takes us to strange, unknown places that we, in our complacency, normally do not go; but are now more willing to venture along and discover things otherwise unknown to us, learning and experiencing new knowledge and accomplishments.

So happiness comes and then it goes away but then, as I have learned through knowledge in The Art of Living; without sadness, how can we appreciate happiness? Without darkness, how can we enjoy the light? And just as surely as the sun will return after each night, happiness will come again. It is inevitable.

And walls are never totally even. If we can accept that, then we can accept that uncertainty awaits us each day. What we can do is to accept the uncertainty, live life for whatever it dishes out to us, enjoy whatever there is to enjoy now for we know not what the future has in store for us. Whatever it is, let it be.

If you can find happiness and satisfaction in the things you do, do it well and I believe everything else will just flow smoothly alongside. If you see something beautiful, take the initiative, act immediately and throw your ball happily and with enthusiasm. Certainly, you gain more from it then sitting back and doing nothing, merely wishing and hoping things can happen. Do you agree with me?

Names can bring opportunities.

Well, allow me to tell you the story of a good natured, usually smiling yet very bad-tempered young teacher. How contradictory can I be in my description of this man! This man admitted that he found it difficult to control his temper which can flare so easily that those who know this part of his character do not dare to trifle with him. Yet, despite this, most times he has been found to be so good-natured and jovial with people of the same social standing as himself because he had acquired the habit of being so in the face of cheeky adults and teachers who often meet him with ‘Ask me.’. You see, his name is Azmi. So as to counter such mischief, he always answered friends and colleagues who called out ‘Ask me!’ with ‘Sorry, no questions.'

Azmi had reacted positively to that cheekiness. He was quite happy with his name and his fun-loving colleagues and friends as he realized that it had made him popular among them with his smiling reply of ‘Sorry, no questions.’. Furthermore, according to him, this had helped him to suppress or overcome his terrible temper and helped cultivate the new likable personality everyone was delighted with. You see, opportunities to be a better man are everywhere. Azmi saw the mischief in the creativity of his friends and put that opportunity to his advantage.

Well, almost everything can be turned into an advantage. In my previous posting, you must have read of my sons’ surname being a source of fun to students in a residential science school. My sons could have become irritated with the constant teasing and ostracism or enmity could have been the result. Fortunately, being brought up to exercise restraint and to be of good nature, they turned to their tormentors with smiles and waves that won them friendship and popularity. With such experiences behind them, they are able to mix very well with others and are able to conduct themselves correctly in many kinds of situations.

The opportunities brought by people's names are found in articles and websites.
There was an English article in which a judge bears the name of Justice. According to writers who commented in ‘Dear Abby’, a website; there was a professional landscape artist by the name of Ross Weed. Then, there was this funeral director named Graves. A Dr. Needle gave injections in his clinic. We are told a college disciplinary dean’s name was Dick Justice. And in Texas, there lived a dentist with the name of Toothacker. Was it a coincidence that these people had such appropriate names? What do you think? Or did they take on the jobs most suitable for their names? Did their names pave the way to their jobs? Let’s hear what you have to say.

How children's names could be chosen.

Having seen the suffering and embarrassment the wrong sounds and meanings of names in languages other than our own can bring children and adults, I determined not to allow that to happen to my own children. (Even with such a precaution, my surname was made fun of! Well, some children are really creative.)

When it comes to the surname, nothing can be done. For my family’s middle name, my generation uses ‘Ai’ while my children’s and nephews’ generation uses‘Jin’. You see, we use a saying, each word of the saying used one after another generation after generation. This helps us to trace our ancestors as well as know whether someone is related to us.

This is how I choose my children’s names. I use a telephone directory which contains practically all possible names needed. The names I choose depends upon it popularity as well as its meaning.

I found the name ‘Seng’ so popular, easy to pronounce and remember. Furthermore, ‘Jin Seng’ is also the name of a wonderful plant that is strong, tough, valuable and so popular that it is known to almost every country in the world. When it comes to the Chinese meaning, I was told ‘Jin Seng’ can mean successful person or human wall; strong, steady and successful. What more can one ask for!

Then, using the same source for names I searched for a suitable word for my second son, Jin Ho. ‘Ho’ in Chinese means river. A river is a source of water, fish and life. A man of great resources! It is even the name of an association! Where can there be a better name?

Each time, I checked with my Malay and Indian friends to see if their names carry other meanings or connotation in their language. According to them there was none.

So far, although those creative Malay children did ‘Ong. Ong, ong’ their frog’s call, my children took it good-humouredly and in fact were popular with them as a result of it.

Names can bring misery.

As a child I have seen a good number of cruelties committed by children. There are children who would take the opportunity to have fun at the expense of another poor kid who happens to have a name others can ridicule or make fun of.

Thus, it is of great importance that parents choose names which are right for their children. So, what are the names that ought to be avoided? What names can bring misfortune or humiliation to our children? In order to choose wisely, first think of all the languages used in our country besides international languages. This is important as what is good in one language can be vulgar or bad in another language. And all these languages have to be considered as we live among people with all sorts of languages.

Whether a name is right or not depends upon two factors, the meaning and the sound. In a particular language, a name may have good meaning and sounds beautiful but in another language it may sound like some vulgar word or carries a bad meaning.

In Malaysia, for example, we have four major languages which are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil besides the numerous Chinese dialects. A Chinese name may sound like the name of the female private part in Malay. Another Chinese name may be a vulgar Malay word usually used to scold someone. The sounds are so similiar!(Well-known, real people have such names. As such the names are not given.) A nasty person may purposely mispronounce them to sound exactly like the vulgar Malay words. In certain circumstances, it can cause a child to be made fun of or an adult to be embarrassed.

‘Kay Poh’ in Hockien, a Chinese dialect means ‘busybody’. A person with such a name could find some misery when they are young with some fun-searching children.
When it comes to the Chinese, there are those who believe that a weak child can survive better if they are named after an animal. So, we have a number of ‘Ah Too’ (pig) and ‘Ah Kow’ (dog) among our friends. Sometimes, they too had their share of problems. Even the surname, ‘Ong’ which my sons and I carry have been a source of fun for some Malay children. I did not realise that my surname ‘Ong’ sounded like a frog’s call to its mate until my children had to live in a hostel in the secondary school, Sekolah Menengah Sains Pokok Sena.

Yes, even surnames which cannot be replaced, can be a source of fun because people are creative. Take for example ‘Teh’ and ‘Tan’, the surnames of a loving couple. Together with some friends, Tan was very silent, just listening contentedly. The other friends urged him to give some comments. When none was forthcoming, another friend remarked, ‘Bo Teh, toe lo ay Tan?’ meaning ‘Without pressing where can there be a sound?’

Surnames cannot be changed. Nevertheless, we have to choose our children’s names carefully.

Dangers to babies.

Almost everyone would agree that honey is good because of its nutrients. Besides its antibacterial effect which helps to heal wounds and cuts, it contains antioxidant properties. Easily digested, it boosts energy levels of athletes fast.

However, when it comes to babies up to a year of age, parents must be aware that honey can cause infant botulism due to allergic reactions which may lead to death.

Do you know that apple seeds contain amygdalins, a cyanide and sugar compound that degrades into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized? Fortunately, the cyanide and sugar compound is not easily available as you need to chew and break up the seed to avail yourself of it. According to the experts, a cup of seeds, chewed or mashed up, when ingested, can be fatal for adults. How many seeds, chewed or mashed, can be fatal or bring problems for a child when ingested?

According to a report in Healthy Lifestyle (1998), there was a case of cyanide poisoning in a woman with apricot kernels. It seems peach seeds present the same problem.

Besides, seeds, when swallowed accidentally, can cause problems to passageways of lungs and intestines of children.

In ionizing radiation, food is exposed briefly to radiant energy such as gamma rays. Ionising radiation is necessary to reduce spoilage or sprouting in food as plants, fruits and seeds cannot continue their natural ripening or aging. It can kill or stop the microorganisms, such as bacteria, virus parasites and insects, from multiplying or continuing their activities.

According to the US Food and Drugs Administration, Irradiation of food does not make food radioactive, does not cause harmful chemical changes but may cause some loss of nutrients which is similar other methods of food processing.

For further reading go to:
www.fda.gov/opacom/catalog/irradbro.html

However, there was a report of chromosomal abnormalities occurring in children from India who had been fed freshly irradiated wheat.

In fact early research by the US government revealed a wide range of health problems in animals which ate irradiated food. Animals died of premature death, fatal internal bleeding, cancer, stillbirth and other reproductive problems.

Experts revealed that not or microorganisms or virus die through irradiation. For example, prion which causes mad-cow disease and hepatitis virus as well as the Norwalk virus are not killed.

So, when there is no clear cut evidence on the safety of a food processing method, parents ought to be cautious.

For further information, go to:
www.mercola.com/article/irradiated/irradiated_food.htm

Bath time for your baby can be joyous, but never leave your precious child, even for a minute, in the tub of water as it can be a tragedy. Once in a while, we have read of mothers; of course it can happen to fathers as well, it is just that most of the time it is the mother who attends to baby; who leave their children in the tub to do some other work. Misfortune strikes at such times; the baby could have moved and slid to have the head go below the surface of the water. The baby struggles but is unable to upright its body and thus drown in the tub. Whenever, we attend to our babies at such times, forget the ringing phone, forget a neighbour’s call at the gate, in fact forget everything else and be one hundred percent attentive to our precious ones. Nothing is more important than them at such times.

I have seen parents leave their very young children on their bicycles or motorcycles as they run into a shop to purchase something. Most times, everything is fine and by the time they return, the child is still safe and sound. Thank God for that! We all know all kinds of everything can happen while we are not around. Somebody may crash into our bicycle or motorbike. The child may be bitten by a mosquito or a sand-fly and moves because of the pain. What can possibly happen? The child may fall from his precarious perch. Well, it has happened before and that parent could be the one who arrogantly claim it can never happen to his child. Any parent must realise that all it takes is one fall, just once, and it could result in brain damage. There is no point in regretting. Even if Lady Luck were to smile upon us, the trauma of the incident will be with the child always. Your child is too precious to risk it.

And just last year, 2008, we read of a family resting in a car under a tree with its air-conditioning on. All the occupants, adults and children, did not live to appreciate any more the warmth of the sun. The carbon monoxide from the engine brought on the tragedy. And that was not the first time death occur under that same conditions. A few years back, a dating couple in a park near Jelutong, Penang Island, passed away in their car in the same manner.

There was a case of a child left in a locked car under a very strong sun succumbing to the heat.So never leave a young child locked in a car.

Unless a test is made on the toys we buy for our children, we can never know if lead had been used for the paint or the plastics. As such a kit to test for lead is expensive, the government, like what is being done in the United States, must test all toys, furniture and things within the reach of young children for lead.

Lead poisoning can happen when the toys our children play with are put into the mouth and this putting into the mouth is a natural action of every young child. Sometimes he might lick the furniture or bite a part of it.

Toxic lead can come from the dust of flexible plastic toys which have been broken down by sunlight, air or detergents. Lead is found in plastics which have been treated with it to make the plastic soft and flexible.

So, as parents, we should as far as possible avoid toys made by countries where there is no ban on lead in paints. If we see paint peel off the toy, we should stop the child from playing with it. There is the danger of the peeled paint being ingested. As for the plastic, if there is deterioration and dust is seen to form, that plastic object should also be discarded.

Lead poisoning can lead to learning disorder and brain damage. Beware for the future of our children rests in our knowledge and wisdom.

Here is another plastic item which can be dangerous, the simple plastic bag. Children, when given the opportunity, like to play with them. They may even imitate some of our masked superheroes and put it onto the head. Plastic bags can cause suffocation if the child inadvertently gets the handles of such bags entangled.

Dangers can come through carelessness, as we have seen in the case of the bath tub. A reversing car with the driver unable to see well what is behind his boot, may go over an unsuspecting infant. This has happened a number of times and sometimes death is the outcome. Before entering the car, we must make sure there are no children behind the car.

Finally, a child must be put into a child’s seat. Once someone put his infant child in the front seat, drove the car down a slope and watched in horror as the child fell forward onto the floorboard of his car. Fortunately for him, the child was not hurt. But, there is no guarantee that everyone will be that lucky.

If there is anything missed out, please be kind enough to put it in as comments. Let us share our knowledge.

Drinking water: good or bad (Part 2).

When my wife landed in hospital with Cushing Syndrome, her body fluids seemed to increase. So, doctors gave her pills to encourage the body to get rid of the fluids through urination. With a lot of water lost from the body in the process, a lot of minerals were lost too, exiting the body together with the urine.

One day, a doctor rushed to me and told me that my wife's body lacked potassium and needed potassium rich food. He suggested getting bananas and beef soup. I rushed out for the food. Upon my return, I was told that she had been injected with potassium as there was the danger of her heart stopping.

So, when lots of fluid is lost, many nutrients could also be lost. This could lead to dehydration and other problems such as the possibility of the heart stopping. That was when I learned the importance of having sufficient potassium in our bodies.I also learned that when too much fluid is leaving the body I have to be careful.

On further thought, could the loss of fluid from our bodies during sports bring problems? I have read and heard of long distance runners who have collapsed and died. Were these people dead because of the loss of potassium from their body? Did their heart stop because of that? Or was it dehydration? These are pertinent questions as these people who died were very fit, very healthy individuals.
I thought the knowledge on taking eight to ten glasses of water each day was excellent for health until I read in a newspaper about the person who collapsed because he drank too much water.

According to the report, he thought drinking a lot of water was good for his body. So that was what he did. Perhaps, here is a case of a little knowledge can be dangerous. He did not realise that excessive water intake would mean a constant need to drain the surplus amount. Each time he had to urinate, and it was so much more often for him because of so much water taken, more and more of the important nutrients such as the electrolytes were being drained from the body too. Here is. I believe, a case of lost potassium resulting in a lack of it.

Well, water is good for us, for the health of our body, our skin, our kidneys, our bladder and for losing weight. But like all good things, do not take it to excess. When our body has to remove excess, some nutrients are lost too and that loss could be fatal unless we know the need to supplement what our body lacks.