Ashok Chandran

On a regular basis, do nothing. Drop your expectations, forget your worries and anxieties, and don’t even think about feeling guilty about it.

Everyone alive must have some sleep each day. Just as your body needs the restful period that sleep provides, your mind and spirit benefit from regular restful times as well.

When you read a good book, it is the spaces between the words that enable you to understand each one of those words.

In a musical composition, the silence between the notes is just as important as the sound of the instruments.

In whatever you are working to accomplish, be sure to put in some well-placed empty space. Pauses can be just as significant as the most eloquent words, and periods of unproductive rest can be just as useful as periods of strenuous, focused activity.

No, of course you wouldn’t want to be lazy and inactive all the time, yet you will benefit from balancing your diligent efforts with peaceful relaxation. The busy times make the restful times more enjoyable, and the restful times make the busy times more productive.

Just because you’re not intensely engaged in focused accomplishment doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped moving forward. Devote some time to relaxing and refreshing your spirit, and your efforts will become more effective than ever.

Ralph Marston

The world is new in this new moment. Opportunity is fresh, and possibilities are yours to be fulfilled.

Regardless of what has already happened, today will be what you decide to make of it. Decide to fill it with meaningful treasures of your own unique design.

Don’t be hindered by the disappointments of the past. In this new moment, you can choose a new, positive, purposeful direction.

Consider where you have been, what you have experienced, and all you have done. In this new moment, take the very best of who you have become and create some new, wonderful value.

You can learn, you can act, you can understand, you can love, you can appreciate, you can wonder, and you can fully live. Now is when the beauty of who you are can be expressed in a new and unique way.

This new moment is bursting with possibilities. And there is much new joy for you to know.

Ralph Marston

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something
different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. “The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a SEED
today - one very special SEED.

I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will
be the next CEO.”

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant
and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however… He just
kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life,
but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful — in all shapes and sizes.
Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!
His name is Jim!”
Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed.
“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it
was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and
honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later..

“Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back”

It has to be understood that there are three types of laughter. The first is when you laugh at someone else. This is the meanest, the lowest, the most ordinary and vulgar when you laugh
at the expense of somebody else. This is the violent, the aggressive, the insulting type. Deep down this laughter there is always a feeling of revenge.

Source:
Osho - “202 Jokes of Mulla Nasrudin”

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I wanted a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, Why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce.
She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that everyday for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife’s divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time…. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by.. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind… I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away..

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife.. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I ran up stairs…..

Only to find my dear wife on bed - Dead…….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank… & blah..blah.. blah…These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness through themselves. So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy.. Do have a real happy marriage! Do have a real happy life! If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you… ..

If you do, you just might save a marriage.. .. .. You might save broken heart .. ..

Live simple .. .. Remember LIFE IS TO LOVE … .. .. ..

Be at home where you are, wherever it might be. Be at peace with what is happening, no matter what it is.

By all means change things for the better. Remember though, to begin with where you are.

Instead of fighting against what is, put your energy into creating the best of what can be. Instead of denying or resenting what has been, put it to use in moving forward.

Put yourself in your most powerful state by fully accepting the circumstances you’re in. Join in the flow of life’s massive abundance by seeing what is and letting it be.

There is great goodness in this moment. Let go of judgment, let go of anxiety, and see that goodness.

The power to do anything is present in this moment, in this place. Let it be, as it is, and it will be yours.

Ralph Marston

by Chetan Bhagat !!

Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

“Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. ……………….

One thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? …………….

It’s ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, little fights with your spouse. We are people, not programmed devices………”

“Don’t be serious, be sincere.”!!

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your resent happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please share this with everyone you care about……..

Chat with Dr. Devi Shetty - Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Specialist

There WAS A CHAT, ARRANGED BY WIPRO FOR ITS EMPLOYEES, WITH DR.DEVI SHETTY,  (HEART SPECIALIST), BANGALORE . THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE CHAT IS GIVEN BELOW. USEFUL FOR EVERYONE
Dr. Devi Shetty:

Qn:  What are the five thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?
Ans: 1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour’s walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts  and avoid sitting for a longtime 
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn:  Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No

Qn:  It’s still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest.  How do we understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend   everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn:  Are heart diseases hereditary?
Ans: Yes

Qn:  What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
Ans: Change  your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn:  Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Ans:   Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints

Qn:  You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
Ans:  Mother Theresa, who was my patient.

Qn:  Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans:  Extremely rare

Qn:  Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I’m currently only 22) or do you have  to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?
Ans:  Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn:  How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?
Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and yourbody’s enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn:  How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn:   Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn:  Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Ans: Best food is fruits worst are oil.

Qn:  Which oil is better - gingili, groundnut, sunflower, saffola, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad; the so-called best oil company has the largest marketing budget.

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn:  How different was it in treating Noor Fatima, the little kid from Pakistan ?
Ans: It was extremely difficult, Because of the media    attention. As far as the medical treatment  is concerned, she is like any other child with a complex heart problem.

Qn:   What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Ans:  Help the person into a sleeping position, put an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn:  How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn:   What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, sedentary lifestyles, smoking,junk  food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times  more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?
Ans:  Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child.  Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital  abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn:  Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay  late nights in office. Does this affect our heart? What precautions would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against  all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect  the biological clock.

Qn:   Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some  side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn:  Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.

Qn:  Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.

Qn:  How would you define junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds, samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and  Americans also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans : Every race is vulnerable to some disease  and unfortunately,Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn:   Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Ans : No.

Qn:  Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?
Ans : Yes. Lie  down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the  tongue and ask someone to  take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of  the time, the  ambulance does not turn up.

Qn:  Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?
Ans : No.  But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn:  Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at  home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?
Ans :  Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Ans: Yes. Strong relationships since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn:  What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?
Ans :  Diet, exercise, drugs on time. Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn:  Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
Ans : No.

Qn:  What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce  weight  and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn:  Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
Ans :  No.

Qn:  Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn:  How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for a health checkup if you are past the age of 30 for at least once in  two yrs. And work very hard and Enjoy your Life…