Today, I am saddened to hear the news of the Japanese earthquake- as the after effect of a tsunami. The news was reported in Aljazerra. Here are some snapshots taken from the news:
luck
Today the day of the longest solar eclipse in the 21st century. According to CNN correspondent Emily Chan, who is in Shanghai to catch the eclipse, there were hundreds of dragonflies flying around the area. As the time of the eclipse is drawing to a near, these dragonflies suddenly disappeared. What is the mystical significance of an eclipse?
Earlier, I woke up this morning to the sounds of dogs howling nearby. And this happens before 8am, before the eclipse had started. I do not hear such howls often. The weather looks somber and a bit chilly even though where I live, in Malaysia, is not within the path of the eclipse.
“Another triple eclipse in 3031 BCE coincided with the destruction of the ancient city of Dwarka. More recently, the first half of the 20th century saw the occurrence of a series of triple eclipse between 1910 and 1945, which coincided with World War I and II, the Holocaust, and the nuclear bombings in Japan.
~ D Hari & D Hema Hari, founders of Bharath Gyan
It is mentioned by Emily from CNN that in ancient China, emperors would start doing good deeds like reducing taxes and helping the poor peasants whenever an eclipse happens. This is because in China, such events are linked to natural disasters and the fall of an emperor. The emperors had hoped that such good deeds would be able to avert or at least minimize bad disasters associated with eclipses.
Source: NASA
I happened to saw a show in Astro AEC (Mandarin channel) that talks about how to enchance good luck, prosperity, attract a good mate, have a happy marriage, etc. While I consider some of the things she talked about to be useful, some of it really made me wonder…
Now, the lady in the show is not the only one advocating that we have to buy certain type of money bags, place fountains, grow certain type of flowers, keep some lucky stuff in the room- this type of hype started years ago but another Feng Shui consultant. The consultant even started an entire business spinoff selling stuff that she promote will bring good luck.
Still, I have to give the lady in the show some credit because she had pointed out some good facts that are logical but most people overlooked such as:
- a client of hers complained that she was not getting along well with her husband. So the lady in the talk show went over to check out the house. In the bedroom, clothes were thrown all over the place- the bed actually looked like a garbage dump and when the couple wanted to sleep, they just shove the clothes aside. The house was untidy. No wonder the husband does not feel like coming home. So, when the wife cleaned up and made the place tidy, her husband also was more loving and receptive.
- another client of hers is a restaurant owner who is suffering in terms of business. There are only a few tables with customers- most tables are empty. So the lady taught her client to have huge mirrors (probably to replace the hall). Now, mirrors can give the multiplying effect- so potential clients who walk past outside will tend to get the impression that they are more people dining. And true enough, the business improved after the mirrors were placed.
- there should not be any bad smell in the bedroom. Bedroom should always be kept tidy and neat. Imagine if your potential bf/gf comes and see that your room is a mess- he/she would think twice before wanting to marry you, rite?
- there should not be bad smell in the kitchen as well as if there are constantly bad smell due to rubbish not being thrown away, dishes not being done, kitchen not being cleaned, etc, the health of the family may suffer.
We should always try to make the environment pleasing, nice and as clutter free as possible. This will relax our mind and when we go home everyday to a warm and relaxing home, our stress levels will decrease and we will feel happy. In the long run, it brings health and improvement.
Yellow flowers supposedly bring in good luck. If the colour brightens up our day, why not?
Everyone knows that the world is entering into a global recession. Experts are predicting that the worst is yet to come. All sectors of industry and all levels from poor to rich feel the pinch of the global slowdown.
Christmas decoration 2008 at a shopping complex in Thailand
However, on 3 January 2009, what I have read in the Starbizweek – the words by Joey Yap is really inspiring:
“I would say that the best thing to invest in is yourself. Most people have this victim mentality. I want to say this: You are not the victim. That is nonsense. Everyone has the same two hands and two legs and the same 24 hours. Instead of saying you are worst off because the economy is languishing, why don’t you think how you can value add instead,” says Yap.
Hence, under such circumstances, Yap says to do one’s job better, and not to blame other people.
To read the complete article, click HERE.
When things goes bad, many people will choose to blame the everything from the government, economy, policy makers, bad luck, bad boss, etc. However, in bad times, some will rise to the challenge and make the best out of the worst. When interviewed, these people seemed to never blame anyone and work very hard. Those of us who only wallow in our own misery and blame others will be lagged behind the race.
“The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation; it is only available by labor” ~ Jim Rohn
I find the above quote by Jim Rohn to be very true- in fact, I’ve learned a lot from reading his book, The Treasury of Quotes. The book carries his quotes from seminars and speeches that he had given over a span of 39 years.
At the same time, I am also aware that there is a new school of thought that is emerging: “The Secret” and “Law of Attraction” that places a lot of emphasis of the power of affirmations. Some of the principles taught in “The Secret” or “Law of Attraction” such as:
- believe in yourself and your capabilities
- always try to think positive- repeating positive thoughts till you believe in it and you will attract positive thoughts. If you believe you will be rich, then you will be rich.
- block out as many negative thoughts as possible
While I fully agree, a person who had experience emotional pain or always harbors thoughts of negativity, pessimism will initially benefit from these lessons. These books have valuable lessons to pull one out of the sea of darkness that is threatening to drown them. And you will be amazed at the role of positive thinking plays in your life- your body will respond and thank you for it, you will feel better- even health conditions, food addictions and dysfunctional emotional behaviours can be greatly improved once you set yourself into believing in positive thoughts.