Serving others

The Dalai Lama's message on Human Approach to World Peace

When we take into account a longer perspective, the fact that all wish to gain happiness and avoid suffering, and keep in mind our relative unimportance in relation to countless others, we can conclude that it is worthwhile to share our possessions with others. When you train in this sort of outlook, a true sense of compassion - a true sense of love and respect for others - becomes possible. Individual happiness ceases to be a conscious self-seeking effort; it becomes an automatic and far superior by-product of the whole process of loving and serving others.

Another result of spiritual development, most useful in day-to-day life, is that it gives a calmness and presence of mind. Our lives are in constant flux, bringing many difficulties. When faced with a calm and clear mind, problems can be successfully resolved. When, instead, we lose control over our minds through hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and anger, we lose our sense of judgement. Our minds are blinded and at those wild moments anything can happen, including war. Thus, the practice of compassion and wisdom is useful to all, especially to those responsible for running national affairs, in whose hands lie the power and opportunity to create the structure of world peace.

Sharing The World

Too many times I feel I have to stop myself every once in a while, think hard if I have actually give thanks to God and the universe for the blessings I have received in a day or a week. And I wonder if I have shared my blessings with the world around me. It's so easy to take gifts and receive things, thinking we deserved it because it's in our own right to take. Perhaps, the worse we can do with the day's blessing, in any form it comes in, is to keep or hoard it to oneself.

I can be very much like that, sometimes, thinking I still don't have enough, I need more. It could be anything, from food to clothes shopping, money, e.t.c. A lot of the insecurity or inadequacy and 'not having enough' stems from the way we've been brought up to think.

Question is, do I have enough? Looking at it carefully, yes, I have plenty. I look at it 'all' and see abundance in everything, from the clean and fresh air I breathe, to being 'alive'. The bare necessities are always there, it's free and it keeps me going. The universe doesn't hold back her beauty, even the smallest seed in the ground shares its beauty when it blossoms. So what I do have as a person, experience, love, knowledge, country, money, food, time, possessions are expandable and can be shared. What I do in this life time does matter. What I do today does matter, maybe not to me, but to someone else, maybe not to somebody else but to God. So as the saying goes, live for today and not just tomorrow.

The abundance is right in front of all of us all the time, grab it, embrace it, smile at it, share it and give thanks.

Here's some inspiration from Daily Om

The Wisdom of Sharing

Stone Soup
There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there’s no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn’t need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them. The villagers watch suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets—indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast. This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone.

Are you like one of the villagers, holding back? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.

H1N1: The bugs and the truth of it all.

Okay, I know that H1N1 is on the rise in Brunei, thing is, is it deadly? I googled it and these were the results I got.

Official: A/H1N1 flu not more deadly than regular seasonal influenza

LOS ANGELES, May 1- Los Angeles County's chief health officer said on Friday that A/H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, does not appear to be any more deadly than regular seasonal influenza.

"The current situation is certainly one of concern, but not alarm," said Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Jonathan Fielding.

"At this point, what we have looks very similar in severity to seasonal influenza," Fielding said.

He called the A/H1N1 flu "basically a mild and moderate disease, predominately."

"I don't think that this strain, based on the limited knowledge we have to date, is more concerning than other strains, and I'm particularly happy to see a pattern of illness which is not worse than the seasonal influenza," he said.

Fielding said the potential for the disease to become a "pandemic" should not overly frighten residents, pointing out that the term describes the range of the disease rather than its severity.

But Fielding warned that the potential does exist for the virus to mutate, possibly into something more deadly.

"Flu viruses can mutate," he said. "Whether that'll make it worse or better we don't know whether it'll change to a significant degree, we don't know. That's why we're monitoring the situation carefully, as is the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the World Health Organization."

The timing of the outbreak is somewhat fortuitous for the United States, he said, pointing out that as the weather gets hotter the spread of flu tends to slacken.

Will wearing a face mask protect you from the flu?

The Public Health Agency of Canada asked a panel of medical experts for guidance on how flu is transmitted and how best to protect against infection.

People don't The report was produced by the Council of Canadian Academies, chaired by Dr. Donald Low, microbiologist in chief at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

One of the questions the panel considered was whether face masks would offer protection in the event of a pandemic.

The verdict: yes, to an extent.

need mask unless they are continuoulsy within a meter of someone coughing and sneezing who has H1N1(swine), or has symptons and are unsure if they have this virus, this would be an emerg nurse or health care worker, in this instance a regular surgical mask would be fine for a brief conversation, turning away when they cough

A surgical mask offers little or no protection to the health care worker -or anyone else in the area of a person sneezing/coughing as they do not form a tight seal and are limited in their ability to keep aerosolized (the portion of the sneeze/cough that others can inhale and potentially lead to illness) fractions contained at the source.

Respirators such as the N95 are designed and certified (NIOSH) to filter out fractions that can enter the human airway - such as the influenza virus.

At this time, there is no need to wear either when in public. However it is prudent for persons to wear N95 (or better ie: P100) respirator when closer to suspect cases

Why was or is it deadlier in Mexico?

It's also possible that A/H1N1 began life in Mexico especially virulent — that country has apparently been grappling with the virus for weeks longer than the U.S. has — and evolved to become less dangerous by the time it crossed the border. That would not be an unusual evolutionary device, since viruses that are too deadly cannot survive if they kill off their host before being given a chance to spread. "It's fairly common in epidemics to see a trade-off between the ability to cause severe death and transmissibility," says Steven Kleiboeker, a virologist and the chief scientific officer for ViraCor Laboratories. The A/H1N1 virus may be attenuating itself as it spreads from person to person, becoming easier to catch but less dangerous. (Read "CDC Readies Swine-Flu Vaccine.")

The WHO, however, says that so far the virus appears to have stayed relatively stable during the chains of transmission, so it may not be mutating much. Still, the virus's current relatively weak state does not guarantee that it won't return later, much more virulent — which is exactly what happened in the 1918 flu pandemic that killed at least 50 million people worldwide. As the flu season comes to an end in the northern hemisphere, it may lead to a natural petering out of new swine-flu cases in the U.S. But the strain may continue to circulate aggressively in the southern hemisphere, which is just now entering its flu season, and then return to the north next winter.

Any conclusions now will be premature, because we still don't know what we're looking at. Experts predict we'll eventually begin to see fewer new cases in Mexico, as lab results separate real swine-flu infections from normal respiratory disease. Meanwhile, the anticipation of more cases and deaths in the U.S. has already been begun to be borne out. As the CDC's Besser himself has pointed out, swine flu is going to be a marathon, not a sprint — and we've only just gotten started.

What have you done to change the world?

I have been meaning to watch this movie for quite a long time, and it's only till now, I followed through the whole film. It's such a beautiful story with an interesting concept to it. The story starts off with a young boy who's been given a project by his school teacher to put into action an idea that could change the world. So young 12 year old Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. Trevor calls his idea "pay it forward".

The story is moving and it makes you think if you could realistically put it into action. But 'pay it forward' has 3 rules to it:-

1)It has to be something that really helps people
2)Something they can't do themselves
3)I do it for them, they do it for three other people

I looked through the website for what 'others' may have done, having inspired by the movie itself....hmmmmm, maybe they weren't paying attention to the rules...some have paid (anonymously) for a stranger's meal in a restaurant...the person paying may have felt good about it but surely if 'a' person sits in a restaurant, he must have been able to fork out his own meal??

There were some good ideas like:-

1. Forgive some who might have wronged you in the past. Go out of your way to do them a favor.
2. Search out someone who may need some real financial assistance. Maybe someone had their lights turned off because they could not pay the bill . You could be the light that they need.
3. Visit an elderly person in need of assistance or a visit.
4. Give someone your car. (wow, I better make sure I pay my loan first)
5. If you provide services for living, give your services pro bono.
6. Pay someone's mortgage for a month -- or a year for that matter.
7. Help a student with their tuition.
8. Help with an inner city project.
9. Be a mentor.
10. Walk someone's dog.(Done....10 years ago)
11. Shovel someone's walkway.
12. Babysit for free.(Ching!!! You see that...start paying if forward...just kidding!)
13. Have a fund raiser at your school.
14. Clean someone's house.
15. Drive people around.
16. Rake someone's leaves.(I like the leaves on the ground....)
17. Play music for the elderly. ( my piano playing would have them snoozing off)
18. Leave a huge tip next time you go out to dinner.(done...erm, but maybe the waitor would have looked at the tip and said,"are you kidding me?")
19. Give a lottery ticket to a stranger.
20. Treat a police officer to a cup of coffee.
21. Bring some goodies to the fire station.
22. Pick up someone's tab the next time you dine out.(Done!)
23. Pay the highway toll for the person behind you.(No toll in Brunei, sorry!)
24. Invite the less fortunate for Thanksgiving dinner.
25. Donate food, clothing, and money to the needy.
26. Buy the movie tickets for the person behind you.
27. Mow someone's lawn.
28. Cook a nice meal for a friend.(Done, done , done!)
29. Help a homeless person find a home.
30. Read the book, 365 Ways To Change The World, by Michael Norton, and then give the book to a stranger.

Thing is, I do think some of the 'do list' above are things most people can do for themselves. The movie wouldn't have been so appealing if not for Trevor to point out that the help has got be something that 'really'helps people. Small gestures are still blessings but 'pay it forward' feels more like a significant 'difference' you do to or for someone. I mean, are we brave enough to 'go out of our way' to 'do' something different out of our routines to 'help' somebody?

Remember Les Miserables by Victor Hugo? It's like when the Bishop Myriel saved ex-convict Jean Valjean, later telling him to make an honest man of himself. Jean Valjean followed through with his promise. The significance of the bishop's help did turn Jean Valjean's life around. He turned good and did help more than 3 characters in the book that did 'help' and made a difference. I would imagine that's the kind of 'help' Trevor Mckinney was aiming for.

It's made me think and wonder, who do I 'pay it forward' and how many? I always feel I'm conditioned to think to look out for myself, cause we have to survive. It makes you think when everyone's out there for themselves...and Trevor says,"Is the world just s***?"

Trevor Mckinney helped and although some of the 'help' he gave was truly heartbreaking, he showed true courage and bravery.

So let's just say, I'm thinking..

when someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back... Pay It Forward

.

Yoga 2 dalicious with Danurasana

It's always so nice to be a student again, to take the backseat and enjoy the ride. I did just 'that' today at Danurasana's place today. Before the practice, it was a blessing to have met Nora's gorgeous baby girl Sahara, she has such lovely eyes. It makes me think of my little nephew Gabriel, sigh.....

All in all, Nora did such a great job, creating a beautiful ambience with candle tea lights all around and coloured the background with such enticing music to lure the mind and body to relax all around. With the atmosphere set, I was more than ready to embrace the practice.

Danurasana created the spirited vinyasa with an uplift of virabhadrasana's and open of the heart with trikonasana's. Nora's voice guided us through from one asana to the next with such ease, her directions easy to lead our practice into an uplifting and blissful practice. She did throw in a few teasers which was a little challenging but the relief from it was pretty soothing enough to realise later when she rested us in balasana.

It was so nice to practice with Nora again and I can't wait to return for the next one. Hmmmm, completely yoga 2 dalicious..............

The Best of MJ

Michael Jackson kept appearing on CNN, but the TV in the restaurant was muted and I couldn't see the read up from where I was sitting. It was only when I squinted my eyes a little more, only to realise it read Michael Jackson had died. I was very surprised and it took awhile for the news to sink in. I haven't listened in to his songs for awhile but he was one of the few pop singers I used to love when I was a kid. Me and my sis (back in the 80's) would be playing Billie Jean and Beat It forever in our bedrooms and just dancing crazily to the songs. Thriller used to scare me, especially when MJ grew fangs out and the zombies came out of their graves. Pretty cool but scary.

The coolest thing ever is we got to see MJ in Brunei, and his performance was outstanding. His dance moves are so unique and he seemed to be walking on air when he danced.


I know he has made bizarre moments in his life, but without second thoughts, he has done well in the performing arts and music industry.

Here's one of my favourite songs by MJ.

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares


May his soul and spirit find peace...

Yogalicious Retreats, Workshops and Teacher Trainings

Yoga teacher training with Twee Merrigan in Vietnam from January 16th till 23rd 2009. Click here for more info.



Yoga teacher training with Caroline Klebl in Bali on July 23rd till August 19th 2009
Click here for more info.



Anusara Retreat and Teacher Training with Desiree Rumbaugh on the 18th July till the 30th. Find out more here



With Kino Macgregor and Tim Feldmann at Bali Purnati on July 19th till 31st 2009
For more info, click here



Ashtanga yoga with Eagle in September 20th to October 9th at the Yoga Barn in Bali. Find out more at http://www.balispirit.com

Handsome boys

Max in his Tigger t-shirt..



My nephew, Gabriel and his daddy Joe.

You gotta be kidding me!

Oh!!!! They can't be serious!!! I've just watched Grey's Anatomy and am heartbroken at season's five finale. If you are a big fan of GA, and you haven't watched season's five....don't read on....

Two beloved characters in the series dies and I cannot believe George 'O' Malley and Katherine Heigl may or may not return to season six. Okay, maybe I'm the last to know about the season's plot but I don't like reading early about what happens next in any series but still!!!!! Season five finale is still a shock, even my mum who dislikes gore and blood was caught up in the final act!!!!

Deep breaths....inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...I feel like doing the precordial thump on George and Izzie....Maybe I should ask Shonda Rhimes to send them to GJ, they're pretty good at revival...Joke...I'm feeling very compelled to write to Shonda (won't it be great if she read this?) ...could you please convince T.R Knight and Katherine Heigl to stay for the next 1 billion episodes......wishlist, wishlist, wishlist, wishlist....

Yoga Mats

Students have been asking me what type of mat they should get or buy, my answer varies. It depends if you need a mat temporarily to try a few yoga classes and would like one of your own for hygiene purposes. If it's a short term use, then there are lots of yoga mats sold in big supermarkets here in Brunei. There are higher quality mats like Adidas and Nike brands. They're priced at $ 70 BND or higher. I prefer the Adidas brand since they're a little thicker and much stickier. The Nike yoga mats are pretty thin and a little more slippery.

If you're looking to invest in a premium yoga mat, then you'll have to look for it overseas or order them online. At the yoga conference, I had a good look around, and the only one I thought were pretty good and long lasting were 'easyoga' brand. They have all sorts of mat to choose from.

Students practicing ashtanga yoga would benefit easyoga 'mandara' yoga mats. They're similar to premium yoga mats, heavy duty and non-slip. The only disadvantage is if you're traveling, it might prove too heavy to carry around. But if you are an environmental friendly conscious person and practice yoga asanas a lot, you might want to invest into the easyoga natural rubber yoga mat.

For the 'Hello Kitty' yoga fans, easyoga sells this too!! It's very pink and Hello Kitty's pictures are on the mat too.....hmmmmm, wonder if they every going to create Transformers for the guys. Or maybe He- Man .....or Captain Caveman ....or the Flintstones....

Ahem...back to seriousness....(:P) and if you're the nomad type, travelling from east to west, north to south and over the pacific to the atlantic, try the easyoga Eztravel. I have seen it. It's like a beach towel, but rubbery, light, non-slip.

I was given this email address by a easyoga representative at the yoga conference, I hope it helps you with oversea ordering....Let me know if it works! Here it is:-

Sales : Priscilla Hsieh
Email : info@greenvogue.com
Address: Shanghai Office Unit 9, No 159, Tian Zhou Rd, Shanghai, China or for Taiwan office is No 30, Shiou-Jiang St., San Chong City, Taipei, 241-49, Taiwan.

Tel No: +862154453308 (China) or +886-2-2970-5930 (Taiwan)

Website: http://www.easyoga.com

I was also told easyoga has a branch in Singapore. Not sure if they have one in KL. Good luck guys!!!