Breath and Relax

What really motivates us - Purpose or Profit?

What really drives us? Money, power fame…really? What’s behind our hunch that money is not everything? Why do people give so much of their time to volunteering? Companies from Wikipedia to Skype, the Peace Corps to Art of Living show that millions of people love to give their time to a volunteer activity and will! What really drives us? Watch this video by Dank Pink, former speechwriter at the White House and writer, as he summarizes the latest research findings on human motivation at work.

A Voice for Peace & Human Values

平和と人的価値の呼び掛け

The Art of Living Foundation    Art of Living Japan / アートオブリビングジャパン

One+One=Eleven

My twin (Isha) and her hubby (Sparsh)'s interview in the Deccan Chronicle on June 27, 2010.

An inspiring article on the strength and success that new-age couples find from being life partners to work mates. 

Radiance

The core of anything in the universe is love.


Anjana, the chimpanzee has played the role of a mother not only to these twin tiger cubs, Mitra and Shiva, but also to quite a few leopards, lions and orangutans. She lives in the Miami zoo and helps out with the care of many baby animals from time to time.


There are a zillion pictures of her with different animal babies, but these two were my favorites. I'm amazed at the immense love that shines through their eyes.. you can literally see them glow!

Dream on 2012

I dreamt last night that in 2012, when the planets align, Earthlings are called upon by people from another planet (by people I mean, "people" not "aliens").


It's going to happen in a day's time when humans will have to just "leave" or abandon the Earth to go inhabit another planet. 
Reason: we have polluted the Earth to a level that there wouldn't be any other way to make it better other than for the Earth to re-form/ renew itself. With the humans gone it will be able to do so at peace, send all the garbage, that we've created, under the sea (like the previous civilizations) and become better.


Believing that this Universe is our home, people (with developed powers and awareness, who respect life, their planet, are friendly to one another) will pick a few thousand chosen humans at their discretion and will, to share their planet and take up the task to make us like them.


You might ask "Why are humans saved if we're unwanted by our own planet?"
There is goodness in every heart. Every person knows what favors their own and their loved ones' growth. It is only the desire for small pleasures in short run, that we miss the boat that's beneficial in the long run.
Seeing this aspect of humans that is hid beneath all the dust particles of 'me, I, mine', some are chosen.

アースデイ２０１０

"Wisdom is considering the Earth as your Valentine."

- Sri Sri 

“智恵ある人は、地球を恋人のように思っています。” 

- シュリシュリ

Sakura 2010

These three are my favs of them all ...

Lotus look-a-likes loaded on a tree ~

This tree is exclusive~ I haven't seen another... 

Bella Gaia

Bella Gaia (Beautiful Earth) is the BEST production I've seen in my life. 

Visuals of the earth from space, taken by NASA astronauts, fused with the hypnotizing violin of Kenji Williams.

He tours all around the world so if he's in your town, make sure you GO FOR IT.. It's a experience you'll treasure forever..

Here's a small trailer. 

we are No.1

Souma and Shreya

February 2010

Back to Rokkakudo

After staying in the Rokkakudo temple (Kyoto) for a month during my internship at Ikenobo Ikebana, I never got a chance to revisit until recently. 

.. it felt like home. 

other end of the spectrum

School without the kids is no school at all... 

My fellow Japanese teachers are all taking a long weekend off because of the national holiday on Thursday. Even if I had one teacher here with me it wouldn't have been this bad. I feel as though the kids are all hiding somewhere and might jump out and scare me.

There have been a lot of firsts over the past few days, and one on the emotional level has been the realization of comprehending my parents saying, "Home isn't home when you kids leave for school after summer/winter break." On the other hand I can also understand the excitement teachers, who lived on the school campus, felt when they saw students back on the Welham Girls' campus.

Channelizing this feeling of longing for all the noise and play with kids into something creative - like decorating the classrooms or making props for the upcoming Hansel and Gretel story in the books - is going to be the task of the day.

Anywho, I better come back from dreamy clouds, live in the present moment, be grateful for all the love that poures in various forms and most of all, take a bike ride in the warm sun.

Do you have it in you?

"Are you in control when youre sleeping or when youre dreaming? No Are you in control of any other function in your body? Your heart is pumping all by itself. The food you stuff in the stomach gets digested all by itself. Do you have any control over them? Are you in control of the Sun and Moon moving around the globe or even the globe rotating on itself? Are you in control of the thoughts that come into your head?

So, when you realize you really do not have any control over all major things that are happening in you life, youll stand up and laugh. Oh, what am I thinking, am I in control of something? Then you will realize that the idea that you are in control is an illusion. And then you relax. And that relaxed state is called surrender.

When you cannot surrender, then you make effort, and effort makes you surrender. So when you say, I cannot relax, I will say, Ok, hold your fists tight and tight and tight. Then, when I ask you to make it tighter and you cannot do that, what do you do? Being tired, you just drop. This is coming to the other end with effort.

Judgment is very similar to self- blame and blaming others. We have to get out of this vicious circle of self-judgment. That is also the state of surrender. When you have surrendered to the Divine that means that you no longer judge yourself. Self-judgment is not necessary.

A child is so innocent, why? Because the child doesnt judge itself."

- Posted using BlogPress App for iPhone

Dreams

At night my mind does not much care

If what it thinks is here or there.

It tells me stories it invents

And makes up things that don't make sense.

I don't know why it does this stuff.

The real world seems quite weird enough.

- Bill WattersoN

The Indispensable Calvin & Hobbes

Yummy Shark Tummy

Saturday marked the end of a crazy week with Yuna (a very shy 3yr-old) walking into class jumping and giving me high-five’s. She was thrilled not to find Yuichi (an extremely hyper 4yr-old) in the class, who always comes into class with a long face but by the end of it has drained all energies out of Yuna and me with his notorious games and doings of throwing everything around the room.

Yuna was so excited that instead of our customary 3 nursery rhymes we did 5 with her jumping at the end of every song. I wouldn’t lie that was slightly relieved when 10 mins had gone and Yuichi hadn’t turned up, but even when he did that day, he was too sober and very sweet to both of us.

You see, most kids who come to study English (over the weekend of any weekday after school) dont really want to be there. They would rather be glued to their dear Nintendo or PS for an hour. Thus, there is a cold war between humans (i.e. me as a teacher) and these awesome mind-boggling gadgets to compete for the love and attention of a child. This is why we are told to have tons of games during lessons so that the kids feel like they’re playing instead of learning a foreign language.

Slam, Memory and Dice games are everyone’s favorites. Recently I introduced a game “Yummy Yummy in Shark Tummy”. Each student had a fish stickers with their name put on the board which was filled with 10 bubbles put in descending order. 1 being was lowest was in the shark’s mouth! Every wrong answer got the players closer to the shark and in the end, so they had to try and speak correctly. The game was a bit gruesome for some kids but most of them crazily enjoyable and laughed off their seats.

Without fail, no matter the age, students were thrilled seeing me be the first Yummy Yummy in Shark Tummy... kids today are wicked!!!

(Need to get back to work to take shots of the shark n fish cards. Will upload pictures in a day or two.)