Food to avoid

Don't walk, run away from the following foods:

• Chips
• Non-Diary topping
  
• Doughnuts
• Fettuccine Alfredo
• Sausages (grr!)
• Fried Chicken
• Imitation Cheese in a Can (who eats that?)
• French Fries
• Spongy White Bread
• Fried Wantons

There is no reason to go into the details for each one; trust me, it is better not to know. :)

Movies that make you think

Here is a good post with a list of 10 movies, many of which are my own favorites -

http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/05/27/the-red-pill-10-films-guaranteed-to-blow-your-mind/

Take a look at the comments - good suggestions there too.

Zen Miracle

"What is the most miraculous of all miracles?"

"That I sit quietly by myself."

Simply to see things as they are, as they truly are in themselves, is life enough.

Zen often wears the air of divine ordinariness: "Have you eaten? Then wash your bowls." If you cannot find the meaning of life in an act as simple as doing the dishes, you will not find it anywhere.

Asked what Zen training leads to, a Western student who had been practicing for seven years in Kyoto answered, "No paranormal experiences that I can detect. But you wake up in the morning and the world seems so beautiful and you can hardly stand it. "

//Side note, that reminds me of "American Beauty".

Brevity is Vigor

William Strunk JR. and E.B. White's brilliant book "The Elements of Style" has many great writing advices that everyone should follow. For me, the one gem on top of the list, most likely because I am so bad at it, is "brevity is vigor." "Omit needless words!", "Omit needless words!", "Omit needless words!" - cries the author throughout the book.

But his wisdom is timeless. Today's media, Internet, the Information Highway, and even the Academia is filled with "dumbed-down" and "bloated-up" trash that is frequently wordy and vacuous. What can be said in two sentences are expanded into five. "Words are cheap", the authors seem to say. Unfortunately, so are their ideas - they are like the prevalent fast foods: cheap, fast, in large quantities, but ultimately bad for you.

Here is what some other people said about brevity:

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what other men say in whole books - what other men do not say in whole books. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols

If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought. ~Dennis Roth

Breathe! You Are Alive

Breathe and you know that you are alive.
Breathe and you know that all is helping you.
Breathe and you know that you are the world.
Breathe and you know that the flower is breathing too.
Breathe for yourself and you breathe for the world.
Breathe in compassion and breathe out joy.

Breathe and be one with the air that you breathe.
Breathe and be one with the river that flows.
Breathe and be one with the earth that you tread.
Breathe and be one with the fire that glows.
Breathe and you break the thought of birth and death.
Breathe and you see that impermanence is life.

Breathe for your joy to be steady and calm.
Breathe for your sorrow to flow away.
Breathe to renew every cell in your blood.
Breathe to renew the depths of consciousness.
Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.
Breathe and all you touch is new and real.

- Annabel Laity

Go to Jail!

I never heard about this one before but I immediately liked it.

You know sometimes you are stuck with doing something you don't like to do? You can't wait to get it over with so you can go do something else that is more exciting and fun? Heck yea, we all know how that feels. In fact, isn't life filled with things like that?

Try this - put yourself in jail!

Imagine you are in a jail. You have nowhere to go, no one to talk to, there is nothing more exciting coming up later that day than this thing you are doing. How do you feel now?

Next time when you clean your house, practice guitar, or wash your dishes, give it a try. It might put you in a calmer, focused state, and bring more quality into the mundanes.

Traffic Light

Sometimes when I stretch or exercise I don't know how far I should push myself. Here is an useful visualization I recently learned: picture a traffic light with red yellow and green signals. Green means "no problem", Yellow is "pushing it a little with effort", red is, of course, too dangerous o try.

In training, or in any other goal-oriented activities in life, it is essential that you reach into the yellow light zone frequently. When you do this, it should be voluntary and intentional. You should also always know when your "signal" turns red, and stop when it does.

Glycemic Index

Glycemic Index is not the name of some new bio-stock mutual fund, but a measurement of how fast a particular type of food releases glucose into your blood stream. Low GI food tends to do it slowly, which keeps your energy levels balanced. Further more, Low GI diets

• increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
• improve diabetes control
• reduce the risk of heart disease
• reduce blood cholesterol levels
• prolong physical endurance

Sounds good, doesn't it? But how do I get my hands on some delicious low GI food? Fear not, you can find out with web sites like this one.

Or, follow some general guidance:

• Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
• Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
• Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
• Use Basmati or Doongara rice
• Enjoy pasta, noodles, quinoa
• Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing

But how can I give up white rice? I am Chinese!

in-betweens

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." - John Lennon

Too often I lose sight of what's happening in the current moment because I am too busy anticipating the end, planning for the future, or worrying about hitting the goal. I move on, lost to the experience of the moment that is full of opportunities and sensations waiting for my presence and acknowledgment. I can feel that even as I sit here write this entry. Too often our focus is given to beginnings and endings and the in-betweens go unnoticed. How many moments have we lost in our lives because we failed to fully engage them?

Presence is that quality that arises from the awareness we bring to our actions.

Stop on Yellow

I used to never wait on the Yellow traffic light - Yellow almost signaled for speeding up back then. I was always in a rush to get somewhere, and stopping at Yellow seemed to be such a waste of time. As a result, I ran a few red lights, and got caught a few times. Now thinking back, I think it was just stupid. What is the rush? It is so not worth it to save a couple of minutes by taking the risk of getting a ticket, or worse, get into an accident. Life is too precious to take that risk. Now I make a conscious effort to stop at every yellow light, regardless how much a hurry I am in. Before you know it, stopping becomes second nature.

And if you are really in a hurry, leave a few minutes earlier.

Power Shower

I learned this trick from Tim Taylor - author, rocket man, entrepreneur, family man; he is quite a character. Tim believes that it is important to remember just how lucky we are every and each day, so he suggests that every time when you take a shower, you count your blessings, literally. In that ten to fifteen minutes, he could usually come up with eight to ten things, even on the days he feels like crap. This tiny investment sets his perspective right, and changes his outlook for the entire day.

Two Ways to Wash Dishes

There are two ways to wash dishes - First, you wash the dishes so you can have clean dishes for your next meal; Second, you wash dishes to wash dishes. In the first case, you are thinking about the meal afterwards, and hurrying to get the dishes out the way; you are never present in the moment, and therefore not really "alive". When you do wash the dishes to wash the dishes, then the entire activity becomes alive with possibilities, which makes you capable of realizing the miracles of life while standing at the sink.

I won't pretend that I understand any of this. But I do want to write it down so I can reflect on it. Because I think, this might very well be, the very thing I am missing in my life right now.

Relax your shoulders

This might be one of the most effective "techniques" I learned last year. When you feel tense, pressured or just stressed out, relax your shoulders. Throughout the day, make frequent mental checks of how tight your shoulders are, and relax them. It works!

Here is a tip, use telephone ring as a trigger - every time when you hear an incoming call, relax your shoulders. Do this a couple of times you'll find yourself do it automatically, without effort.

Once your shoulders are relaxed, you are more focused, calmer, and better equipped to deal with whatever life throws at you. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Think C.A.L.M

Calm represents a peaceful state of mind. A calm mind is not easily distracted - it is resilient and effective. It's reassuring to be around someone who has a calm mind because they exude a sense of quiet confidence.

C - Centered
A - Alive and Attentive
L - Lighthearted
M - Magical

Your mind is what you read

With the help of RSS readers (e.g., Google Reader), it is very convenient to keep track of the Blogs you read. Take some time and select one with a good writer, read it consistently, and you'll find its benefits are tremendous. Don't go with the trashy ones though - they are just a waste of your time.

Remember, your mind is what you read. :)

Personally, I love this one.