Certifications and Credentials

The world holds us to a higher standard in every aspect and walk of life. Whether you are in the health care field, the auto industry, the legal profession, work in a supermarket, or even a landscaper or work in the swimming pool business, you are required to have a certification, which usually requires an examination, then a fee is paid for a framed plaque. Whatever service you wish to purchase, for example you want to go to a mechanic and get your car fixed. You pretty much always check out the numerous credentials on the walls informing you that the service manager or the service technician got an award for either knowing what they were doing or for just being a customer satisfying person ( someone who listens to you vent !) The same holds true if you go into the offices of professionals such as dentists, doctors, lawyers or CPAs. The certifications on the wall from variety of money making organizations verifying that an expensive examination was passed and the person is credentialed to provide their service. 

Now most will say, well of course we want someone to be certified ! I agree too, for is that not  the reason why one goes to the school for that occupation or profession? However, just because an examination is performed, does not mean anything to verify that someone can really do their job or provide excellent quality of service. It is the false sense  of security we get from seeing a calligraphed signed paper in a nice frame hanging on the wall  that lures us in. Perhaps there are more important qualities that need certification and credentialing and then celebrated for all to see and appreciate.

Such qualities to name but a few,  are kindness, compassion , love, gratitude, patience, thoughtfulness or peacefulness. Where are these certifications or plaques that we as a society have chosen to ignore to celebrate and honor or even appreciate that speaks volumes about the individual in comparison to what we have now. I can easily point out individuals with these big titles and glorious fancy reports in several professions who do not  even have one of the qualities described above. But I wont. Our focus is so much on pleasing others that enriching ourselves is forgotten. 

I believe we have to have a larger view of our humanity and not be short sighted into what self appointed bonafide organizations with short and long mnemonics that test our patience and resolve with unnecessary testing and threats, tell us to think. These establishments hold these pieces of paper over the individual's heads like dangling carrots and make them beholden to them for allegiance, else the consumer (us) will look away from them.  We have to believe in ourselves and our fellow man alike, and only once trust  is forged, can we move forward in self advancement and evolution. We need to hold the world to a higher standard by holding ourselves to that same standard.

So go for the credential examination of endurance, strength, love, compassion, listening, understanding, politeness, decency, tolerance and respect and pass it with flying colors. Unfortunately you will not get a framed paper of certification for your sincere efforts, but you just may get a grateful smile or a warm hug. 

Honey where is the list?

Things to do, things to do, there are always more things to do.

 

 I have always been a list person. I make my daily, weekly, monthly lists of things to do, things to get, things to read, things to get or buy, list of people to call. Things to be done by certain time points, goals, targets, chores inside the house, chores outside the house, they all get put onto these lists. I have back ups of the back up lists ( including the copy of the list  I give to my wife to help me with the things to do). It is endless and more over relentess.  To boot I then even can highlight them in multiple colors.  These days lists can be in paper form, or digital ( on the computer, or on your mobile device). I recently found Apps for the smartphone that will remind you of items on the list that are overdue or need to get done. Voice command lists, and commanding voice reminder lists are all available with the new devices. A "post-it note" for the computer screen or for your smart phone  is a frequently used application. All of these reminders, notes, to do lists, can all be color coded, alphabetized, categorized and filed !! The insanity of list making is an obsession that goes on till we decide to stop it. WE drive ourselves to our early graves with many such an obsession, but why do we do it? 

 

Is it our need for control of our environments, our lives and the lives of friends and family or is it the  perceived sense of control that we crave. Until we give up that control, we cannot move on with our lives, and open up the wondrous possibilities that are waiting for us at every turn. Imagine if the focus was not on the lists, but more on the spontaneous moment to moment activities. There is a lot to be said about "living in the moment." We make lists of our New Years resolutions, then when they are not fulfilled we are so distraught that we have not lived up to our expectations, or resolutions but moreover that we  did not live up to our lists !! 

 

The lists eventually drive us in all directions. Endless activities for the kids to do ( dance, gym, swimming, karate, music etc. ), infinite chores at home, horizonless  places to go, and then we are swamped in a sea of "must haves and must dos" that we drown in them, since there is never any time for us to complete all these tasks and just breathe. Fatigued, fed up, frustrated we give up. The lists can be long or they can be filled with arduous tasks which we postpone to other lists. An example is I recently hurt my shoulder and in physical therapy a list of exercises were given to me. Yet I only tackled for the most part the easier of the therapies. For proper healing and stretching I was correctly advised that it was the tougher exercises that had to be attempted, and so I went on my way to do exactly that, the harder items on the list.  Taking care of the important items on the list and letting go of the rest may help declutter mind body and spirit from all the unnecessary that plagues our lives. We eventually are beholden to the list! A life of lists of accomplishments, successes or failures, are how we define ourselves. Jumping from list to list, day to day, year to year, lifetime to lifetime without realizing the beauty of the in-between. 

I sometimes wonder what if I were to replace these lists with more important items and tasks how would I feel. What would my perspective be? Lets try a little exercise if you are in the mood of making lists ! You might as well make it fun. Here goes. 

 

Make a top five item list in each of the following categories:

 

1) Advices you want to teach your child to aide them in their future 

2) Places you must see 

3) Friends you must meet 

4) Good qualities to comment on to your nearest loved one.

5) If the world was ending in a week what do you absolutely want to do before you die?

6) Good qualities about yourself

7) Ways you have changed yourself

8) Ways you would like to change yourself

9) Your definition of peace

10) Your impression of happiness

 

( feel free to expand the list to your discretion !!) 

 

Perhaps lists of kindness, good deeds, ways to help someone, ways to change the world are more important than the mundane paper or digital lists that we make that clutter our desks, phones, computers and clog up our minds. 

 

I often wonder how people without lists function?  Probably just fine. I am going to try that this year. Let go, slow down and enjoy the moment and be list free. Cast your lists and cares to a strong east wind, and explore the unimaginable. Put being list free on your list of things to do, put it at the top of the list !!

 

The concept of Moine

The Concept of "Moine"

I hear this all this time. The little finger points at some random item usually my phone, or some other electronic device and then it comes, the emphatic " moine !" Followed by a cute smile. This is what my little son says to me all the time when I am at home. I know he is saying "mine" with an innocent sense of belonging, but phonetically it sounds like " moi-ne." He says it with conviction and such sweetness, dare I reveal to him the truth that what is his is his, and what is mine will also be his? !!

Where do we get this concept of mine and yours? Is it at school while playing with other children and some other child takes some thing from our hand and says " mine!!" and runs away with it and then we have a sense of loss? Is that when we identify separation of inanimate object with ourselves? Or is it that it is learned  earlier than that when we are still infants? Perhaps as we are learning about our own identity we learn how we relate to all other objects and people around us and in an effort of self preservation we start making connections for the rest of our lives at the deepest levels that remain with us.  This concept of mine and yours, and the separation of the two, holds true at many distinct hierarchies of emotional and  intellectual  development. Right from simple and  complex inanimate household items to emotional attachments in relationships, idealogical fundamentals, religious beliefs, to finances, material wealth and land ownership. 

Unfortunately lawsuits, divorces, fights, murders, and even wars have taken place of many a dispute, and yet continue daily in all walks of life and parts of the world from back alleys to corporations and governments. How do we prevent the devastation that is a bi-product of a concept so simple that if rationalized simpler solutions can be sought. The Ego rears its ugly head all the time in these cases and invariably provides the wrong answer. We come into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing, and all that we choose to keep eventually we give away before we die. It is  interesting that what we choose to hold on to, or give away or even share tells a lot about who we are as an individual and the life that we choose to live. 

Granted my little fledgling is too young to fully grasp these concepts, but one day he will, and I think if I keep making a conscious effort in not taking things away from him like the phone, but instead explain to him that the phone is not a toy and let him explore the device safely  with me next to him, then his insatiable childish desire can be allowed to be ignited and directed. I try this with him frequently and he then happily redirects his interest onto something else ( usually now my wife's phone ) having had his "thrill" with my phone. He will learn and he will explore. We all do it, have done it, and continue to do it, but if we are constantly  being told "NO" or let each others' egos get in the way, we can not allow the concepts of sharing to coexist. Once this flame of sharing is lit, all peaceful possibilities can be entertained. 

Imagine a world if ideals, ideas, beliefs, possessions, food, good health and technology are shared and the concept of "moine" is replaced what a world that would be. I believe it is the world right here, right now, and it is not all "moine !!"

Clarity of choice

The New Year has arrived. 2013. Did you think we all would have made it even this far? The world was supposed to have ended several times before this. 2000, 2010, then  2011 and then finally 2012. Cults, religious groups, ancient civilizations all predicting the End, but here we still are. We made a choice. A choice to continue to survive and carve out a little piece of life and exist. 

I have been talking to and observing  one of my greatest teachers, my son. He is almost 18 months and is very involved with his choices, without regret or remorse and does so with great conviction and determination. I am sure that it is simply a part of the developmental milestones and that we have all gone through them, yet I cannot pause and wonder where along the way did I ( and we) develop the hesitation in certain choices, that  led to doubt, fear or even apprehension that swayed my course of choices through out my life. 

From morning till night, my son makes choices. I can see the "wheels of his mind" turning. He makes these committed choices, without any fear of reprisal  or worry of the consequences. Of course he like all of us, learns quickly the ramifications of shall we say "not well thought out" choices such as touching a hot mug, or a sharp object, but it does not prevent him from daring to undergo the initial exploration. Whether it is to understand how to put the cap onto a pen, put a charging wire through a hole in the side of my table, or connecting the vacuum hose to the outlet or simply turning on the water faucet and see how water can be manipulated, he does it all. Fearlessly. 

We all did these things too but at what point did we start hesitating to make a choice without the thought of fear. I think it is when we stepped out of the moment. As long as we stay in the moment there is no time for doubtful thoughts to change our minds, and so we just be and just do. The pure thought is there, it comes to the surface, and then words or actions take over, if we are focussed enough to make the decision and not let preconceived notions alter our course. This is how free thinking people and innovators function. They are in the moment. Metaphorically speaking we can take a page out of every child's book, and awaken the child within, and allow ourselves to be  in the moment to allow our instincts and impulses to be guided by the moment and create that choice. It is in our DNA, our blueprint, to make choices. If you do not believe it, just observe a little child doing anything. They usually are free and happy making choices and thereby creating. I think the freedom of choice is one of our greatest gifts and assets, and no one can take it away. In some instances it may be perceived as being taken away but we are in fact giving that choice away and so that too is a choice. Free will.

I am not suggesting that by being "impulsive" we are making the right or wrong  choice, since no choice is either right or wrong until you put it into a context or judge it. The choice or the act of choosing is always pure as it must come from a place of spirit. If we "choose " to live in the present moment, as the past cannot be altered and the future is not here yet, we can allow and let go at the same time the very strings that will hold us back from making the "right" choice. 

Clear thoughts, clear feelings, clearer understanding. Hope this year is not full of regrets of the past choices and being in this very moment allows you the clarity of choice. 

Thankfully the world did not end

December 21, 2012. Its here. The day many have waited for with baited breath, some with anxiety, and some with gross indifference. But like all days it begins, it has a middle, and it has an end. Such is the same with life. This day is an important one no doubt. It is the time when the earth lines up with its galactic core, when the rest of the solar system planets line up with the earth. It happens only once every 25920 years. Today is it. NASA is worried about increase in solar flares, as the sun rises to higher peaks of activity with more solar storms. Engineers may worry that with the shift in earth's polarity and axis, changes in electromagnetic shield, the world will be technologically handicapped. Pessimists worry that it is the end of the world with escalating natural disasters of earth quakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, super storms and volcanic eruptions. Others worry it is time for global domination by various hidden powers. Yet others will find reasons to believe that world markets, economies, and resources will collapse. However others affirm that this is a time for change. Good change, Necessary change.

The world is so overburdened with negativity that an eventual reset is bound to happen. The earth is shifting and tilting on its axis, but have you tilted on your axis and felt fine. Probably not, but yet you get through it.The earth will too. Time for a change is here and now. A time for quiet reflection on where you have been and reassessment of where you are going will help you recenter to where you really are, in this moment. The earth is going through heavy tumultuous upheavels, but it has to in order to get into alignment with itself and its inhabitants, and the rest of the universe. WE are out of sync with our own planet, with each other and most of all with ourselves.  Change is going to happen, and it is happening. It is how we deal with the change that is key, as is what we make that change to be. Do we change for the better or for the worse? Do we choose to make a difference or let that choice be made by others and remain indifferent?

As the earth vibrates to its new frequency, so too should we take the opportunity to be in silent meditation and tune our frequency to vibrate to the new harmonics of the earth. Get to a new equilibrium and new balance. After all everything is all about just that, balance. When we are agitated we are out of  balance with our thoughts, when we are sad  we are out of sync with harmony, when we are angry we are out of sync with our inner peace.  In the end we are constantly vibrating, since we are all particles( some more complex than others) but we are all made of out of the same stellar material. Everything around us namely earth, sky, water, air and the creatures in all the kingdoms,  all vibrate at a certain frequency too.  And so we and the planet vibrate together, co-creating.

We can either live in fear or live in love. This is your choice to pick which dimension of your vibrational balance do you want to explore. The day started off with pouring rain, dark stormy clouds and blistering winds, and then suddenly it changed to clear blue skies, filled with sunshine, and gentle breezes. Change comes quickly, but how fast are we at adapting is the key. We can let the endless guilt, past misgivings, baseless fears of the future  anchor us in this moment or we can be set free by bringing into our lives sincere forgiveness, gratitude and compassion.

The Mayan calender predicted the end of the world. or did we interpret it that way. I  think that they predicted that as with all change some will embrace it and most will not. Those who embrace the good change will evolve and attain enlightenment, those that do not will continue their ways and perish. Sounds doomsday-ish doesnt it ?? But like we sometimes believe we are in a prison or at your ropes end, we are that way as we choose to build our own prisons and hang ourselves with the negativity that we dwell in. I encourage you to listen and really listen to your mind, body, spirit and inner consciousness and bring forth that light of evolution, wisdom and beauty. Allow your entire being  including your heart, bones, every cell and DNA fragment come together and vibrate in unison. Thankfully the world did not end, and this day gives us another chance at making the right choice.

How tilted is your axis today?

Sleigh Rides at Christmas

Here I am in bed, whining about a cold and fever, feeling sorry for myself that I am coughing, sniffling, and feeling wiped out, when I look through  the blinds and I see a beautiful bright day outside. No clouds, sun shining, children playing outside. My mind started wandering (as it usually does) and I started to remember the season of christmas again. Not that you can forget as you hear the same christmas songs over and over again on the radio, and all the christmas specials advertisements on the TV or in the stores. You are barraged by the reminders that christmas is here, but do you real FEEL the season spirit, or are you too caught up with gift buying, wrapping and giving, (or returning !! ) or getting organized for the christmas meal with family members?  So intent on not losing the opportunity of getting into the mode of the holiday experience, I turned on the christmas CD on the CD player,  and got busy with cleaning and clearing the kitchen when my attention caught the tune of the song " Sleigh Ride. " This was a light orchestral piece that was first composed by Leroy Anderson in 1946-1948, then first recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1949. In any case, it got me thinking, that in all the years i have celebrated Christmas, I have never actually been in a sleigh or even had a ride in one !!

It is said that "time and tide wait for no man" . Regardless of the happy times, the sad times, natural or man made successes or calamities, or plans that we make, if we do not act on them we lose that opportunity. The chance at that special unique job, the chance of a glimpse of a miracle, the chance of saying to to someone " I love you", there are innumerable chances that are available to us, and rarely do they come back. Time takes them away. Time is a cold unforgiving entity that robs us all of youth, splendor, and chances, well thats one way of looking at it. The other is that it brings forth at the right moment the right opportunity to the right place, but are we open to accept it. 

Christmas is a wonderful and magical time where miracles do happen. It is the perfect TIME to bring into your heart the warmth, the forgiveness, the blessings and allow healing and restoration that we all so desperately  seek. On Christmas day, step outside ( bundled up in something warm or with someone warmer !) and for a few minutes, just be in the moment, without thought, or talking and take it all in. The snow, the air, the light, the stillness, and let your heart, mind and soul get synced to something far greater than any one of us or thing. The Divine Spirit. After all is it not from this Divine Consciousness that the season of christmas  has sprung, giving bountiful food, love, beauty, peace to all that are willing to accept the gift. Not every gift has to be wrapped in a box with a bow or ribbon,  some gifts are unwrapped and waiting for you to embrace them.  Forgiveness, love, understanding, acceptance, gratitude and patience are all some of the gifts that await us all regardless of religious faith, social status, creed, color of skin or gender. 

I am not letting time take away from me this years opportunity for a sleigh ride. I will look for one locally or perhaps Santa would not mind a quick joy ride on his fantastic hot rod vehicle on Christmas Eve. 

" Come on it is a lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.."

From all parts of me, heart, mind and spirit, and consciousness, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Joyous New Year, and may this holiday season bring you peaceful clarity. 

Sickness Begone

So came home Friday afternoon, having felt fine for most of the day. Sat down on the couch thinking lets just spend a few minutes here. Then it hit me. The sudden chills, shakes, the uncontrollable rigors, I scrambled to get warm socks, and a sweater, but became dizzy, light headed and dropped to the floor. Picked my self up and hobbled to the bed, where I then proceeded to spend the next 3 days. The fevers of 103 F alternating with the sharp drops of temperature to ice-cold  hands and feet, with  beads  of sweat rolling off my shiny forehead. Changing clothes  from being drenched in them from the fevers and chills, came with increasing frequency. Oh darn ( with a lot more expletives) this is going to ruin my weekend I thought. Tylenol every 4 hours chased down with the Advil every 4 hours helped me from the transient hallucinations or rather the illusions that the room was expanding and contracting at the same time. Then started the incessant coughing. Knife pick through the back was preferable, accompanied only by the feeling like your hollow chest was made of glass, and some maniacal creature was tapping away at it with a metallic hammer. Just shatter it and be done with it, I begged. Enough gloom and doom, you have all been here, and done that, and lived. Granted I had not taken a sick day in years or been this sick in a long time, but no one is immune to the flu like illness, so I slithered through the next few days till I was sick of being sick and so decided to get better. Does the infection just decide to leave your body or do you decide that enough is enough infection and sickness begone?

So often we know that it is mind over matter, well if you don't  mind it doesn't matter, probably what the sickness  feels too, as it happily  inhabits your body. Thoughts are the most powerful things in the universe. Thoughts, lead to words, which lead to action or deeds. The trilogy of creation. So my next thought was that I am going to heal myself. So 2 and half days later of self pity, being an invalid and being waited hand and foot by my lovely attentive wife ( who was juggling our 17 month old and keeping the house in order at the same time) and by parents who miraculously just at the right time arrived to lend a double pair of helping hands, I said enough is enough. I willfully thought to my self that " I am going to be healed and goto work tomorrow in good condition and get out of bed. " I then spoke it aloud. Then I walked over to the shower got in and blasted myself with warm water. Now I am not going into details of my showering or bathing habits, but will leave you with the idea that I took the loofa lathered it up with soap and scrubbed and scrubbed. I envisioned that through all the pores of my body I was ejecting out the sickness, the infection, evicting it from its temporary vacation home. As I scrubbed, rubbed, I said aloud "sickness you are leaving me good bye and kindly don't come back."  Again thought, word and deed.  On completing this endeavor, I got dry and dressed and proceeded to eat and drink. Focussing my thoughts now on getting back on schedule with chores or things to do, I made my list. The body was too weak to do anything much but the thoughts were enough to be distracting from bed ridden  illness to wholesomeness and good health. I then thanked the life and the universe for giving me this opportunity of  being sick, as had it not happened how do you appreciate or fathom what is good health. For everything there is an opposite. Left and right, up and down, good and bad, love and fear. Without knowing the other how will you ever conceive of the other option. 

It is quite the picture of illness possessing an individual. The patient lying in bed, with drawn up blankets, the pajamas, the socks, and wrapped in the old woolen sweater. The curtains closed. At the bed table, a semi functioning thermometer , a potpourri of bottles including Vicks vapor rub, bottle of analgesics, a glass of water, and a heralding box of tissues. Perhaps a vapor mist blower if you are lucky. The patient with swollen eyes and the red nose from  constant blowing, would make even Rudolf the reindeer jealous. The apathetic spaced out glazed appearance is the vision that comes to my mind when I hear any one being sick. And so my thought of this image, made it so. Looking around me I was exactly that picture. So determined to change this stereotype I moved all the accessories of illness, sanitized the table, dusted off the blankets and folded them away ( to be washed separately). I adorned fresh clean clothes, and then monitored my inner outlook. Low and behold I was feeling better. Not strong enough to do laundry and clean the house, but better. My mind was clearer, the fog was dissipating, and I actually genuinely felt good health and strength returning back to the body. 

The moment the fall season starts coming in, with the promise of bad winter by the farmers' almanacs  every pharmacy and health institution commences the proclamation that "flu vaccine are now available." Then starts the mass consumption of Vit C, zinc, echinacea and vast array of herbal supplements. Everyone has the answer how to fend off the cold or the flu, including the CDC with their gamble of the flu shot hoping and praying they got the strain rightly picked this year. Then there is the rumors of friends and coworkers falling sick, with similar  images as described earlier springing to mind. The thoughts of " I hope I don't fall sick too" running through our subconscious ALL the time. In a group in conversation it pops out too, " Hope I don't get what he got, that was nasty, he was in bed for a week !" Then you try extra hard to use hand sanitizers, keep cleaning your desk at work, trying to "stay away" from anyone with a sniffle  all this while forgetting that elevator buttons and door handles and public phones everywhere are your more likely source of spread of infection. The more you are running away from the ill health the more you are in fact embracing it. Perchance you do get the slightest of  colds, the thoughts are immediately towards I am going to be really sick and it will probably last longer than Fred's cold, or Lucy's flu. And then it begins Are you being fair in giving yourself a fighting chance at all for your immune system to mount any response? By all these interactions, it starts thoughts, words, and deeds, and the sickness meets you and joins the party and becomes the unwanted squatter, still you decide " sickness begone."

Keeping your thoughts good and clean, pure and simple can be your best deterrent and your best antiseptic. High frequency vibrations lead to higher energies leading to higher thoughts, words and boosting actions.  Your thoughts are the creative force of the universe,bringing forth everything you want,  hope, dream or desire into existence. Why would you think it can do anything less than the best for you, its creator. 

Perhaps marketing a "thought sanitizer " instead of the fragrant  hand sanitizers would be more valuable in keeping us healthy. Enjoy being germ free !!