The What Why and How of Meditation

The ABC’s of Meditation What is Meditation? 1. Meditation is the exercise of the mind to achieve calmness and clarity. 2. The mind is often restless, wandering aimlessly; meditation is to minimize this aimless wandering by bringing order. Bringing order to the mind helps it to be calm and clear. 3. The aimless wandering mind is like a misguided missile, shooting all over the places. A misguided shooting missile represents an agitated mind or a confused mind. 4. The technique to bring order to the mind is by emphasizing on single-mindedness. Single-mindedness leads to a calming and clarifying effect on the mind. 5. Meditation, thus, is the development of mindfulness. What Meditation is not 1. Meditation is not the emptying of the mind; the mind does not operate in a vacuum. 2. Meditation is not a trance. 3. Meditation is not a dreaming phenomenon. 4. Meditation is not part of sleeping. In fact, if you are sleepy, you should not try to meditate. It is better that you go to enjoy a good sleep and get up to have a good meaningful meditation. Trying to meditate when you are sleepy deprives you a good sleep as well as a good meditation. 5. Meditation is not a case of the ‘soul’ leaving the body and venturing out. 6. Meditation is not a spiritual experimentation, although one Christian faith claims that meditation allows the devil to enter the mind. Nothing could be further from truth. Meditation helps to bring order to the mind, thus leading to the calming and clarifying of the mind. In a way, jogging is also a meditation process when the jogger mindfully observes his/her step or at his/her breathing as he/she jogs along. At the end of the jog, his/her mind is orderly, calm and refresh. Further, some of my Christian friends say their church encourages them to meditate, and in support of this encouragement, these verses from the Bible are quoted: Written in The Bible in The Epistle Of Paul, The Apostle To The PHILIPPIANS, Chapter 4; Verse 8: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things". Verse 9: "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you". In fact, Jewish rabbis and Catholic priests and nuns do meditate as part of their spiritual development. Dr Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and founding President of Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University reported that when Jewish rabbis and Catholic priests and nuns meditated, they became spiritually stronger in their faith (The Relaxation Response, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., Nov 2000). 7. Meditation is an Awakened Sleep, in that it is just like a sleep except that one is fully conscious of oneself and of the surrounding … the noise, the smell etc. This conclusion is derived from the similarity of the brain wave patterns in meditation and sleep. In the early phase of meditation, the brain wave patterns starts with the beta pattern; this is the pattern when one is awake. Then the meditation brain wave pattern becomes alpha pattern, same as when going to sleep or half-asleep. And finally it morphs to the theta pattern that is the pattern of deep sleep, except that one is fully conscious. The person is conscious at all time and he/she can stop the meditation at any point in time, whereas in sleep, the person cannot stop the sleep at any point in time. In other words, the mind is passive in the sleep, whereas in meditation, it is a knowing mind fully conscious of the present as well of the past. Why Meditation? The benefits of meditation are known for thousands of years. Recently, most of these benefits have been substantiated by scientific and medical research. 1. Meditation helps to reduce anxiety. Scientific research indicates that, during meditation, the body produces more endorphrine, a hormone that causes one to relax. Endorphrine can be considered as the opposite of adrenaline. 2. Meditation helps to reduce stress. This benefit is due to the increase level of endorphrine. 3. Mediation helps to reduce blood pressure. 4. Meditation helps to reduce depression. Depression is caused by the low level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. During meditation, the level of serotonin is increased. 5. Meditation helps people with insomnia to sleep better. This is also due to increase level of serotonin. 6. And because of the all above, meditation helps to increase immunity. This increase in immunity is reported in the scientific publication by R.J. Davidson, et al: Psychosomatic Medicine (2003), 65, 564 – 570. 7. In Singapore, a well-known meditation teacher, Dr. K.K. Tan who is also a retired pathologist helped the then Deputy Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong to meditate to increase his immunity in his successful fight against cancer. 8. Meditation helps one to be more thoughtful and measured in speech. 9. Meditation helps to manage anger and craving. 10. Meditation is useful when one is physically disable, the worse situation is being in a coma. The body cannot move, but the mind can meditate to kill boredom. 11. And probably, when closer to death, meditation helps one to come to term with reality without fear. How long to Meditate 1. Initially just try 10 – 15 minutes a day for at least 2 weeks. 2. When you find that you are enjoying it, you will want to do longer. Then next try 30 minutes a day. But do not rush. Patience is the key to building a good foundation in meditation. 3. Soon you will find that 30 minutes pass by very quickly and you will find time to do a one-hour meditation a day. How to Meditate 1. We must first understand that the mind has its own mind, just like a teenage. We do not control the mind. We cannot control the mind. That is why when you are told not to think about something (for example, a particular worrying problem), invariably you will think of it and become depressed. It would be nice if we can dictate our mind what to think and what not to think. 2. As meditation is to bring order to the mind by minimizing it from wandering aimlessly, then the mind should anchor on one single object or vehicle. Hence, the technique is on single-mindedness. 3. A single object could be a piece of music, or a picture of a holy person or a recitation of some holy words. 4. The best one single object to practise single mindedness is the breathing process as it is with you all the time (although we have taken its presence for granted!). This is probably the only time you are single-minded, as often you are doing more than one thing at a time without realising, such as reading the newspaper when at the same time eating your breakfast, and at the same time breathing. 5. Further, breathing is neutral in that it does not excite or depress. Also breathing has no religious connotation. 6. And breathing is continuous, unlike a piece of music. 7. Hence breath meditation is also known as concentration meditation. 8. First choose a quiet place. One such place could be a room with the door closed. The radio or TV is off and ensure that the telephone is off the hook too. 9. As meditation is an ‘exercise’, the body will generate some heat, though not as much as in aerobic exercise. Therefore, ensure the room is cool. There should be at least a fan to help to get rid of the body heat generated. Of course, a working air-conditioner is better. 10. Further, the monotonous sound of a working air-conditioner helps to muffle outside sounds/noises. 11. The room should not be brightly lighted. 12. Dress comfortably and loosely. Definitely no swimming costume or tight belt. 13. You should be relax and comfortable. You are most relax and comfortable when you are lying down, and least relax and comfortable when standing. 14. Lying down is most comfortable because your body is resting on the largest possible surface area, that of the whole body. Standing is the least comfortable because the body is resting on a small area, that of the two feet. 15. But lying down is far too comfortable in that you are likely to fall asleep when meditating. And falling asleep is not part of meditation. 16. Therefore, a happy compromise is that of sitting, as that of the familiar sight of the sitting Buddha. 17. Sit on a cushion, with the buttocks comfortably on the cushion. In this way, the buttocks are supporting the rest of the body. 18. With the legs on the floor, cross the legs but not over each other. This is different from the cross-legged lotus position of Buddha in meditation. Very few of us can do the lotus position, let alone in that lotus position for one hour. 19. In our case, the paramount consideration is that we do not wish to have numbed legs or “needles-and-pins” on the legs when we sit for a considerable length of time, say, at least one hour. Therefore, cross the legs, but with one leg just in front of the other. In this way, there is no pressure on any part of the leg, and this allows a better circulation of blood in the legs. 20. If you are unable to sit on the floor, then you can sit on a chair, but be sure you do not rest your back on the back of the chair, and that your feet are firmly resting on the floor. 21. Close the eyes loosely. Close the mouth, with the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. 22. Make sure your body is upright. Having your body upright is to position the full weight of your body be supported by the buttocks. 23. Your head is slightly tilted downward, probably by 10 degree. (I think this is for comfort). 24. And the arms and the hands? Just relax the arms, allowing these to “droop” by the side of the body, with the hands resting lightly on the lap. Or allowing one hand to rest on the other, with both resting lightly on the lap. The hands must not be supporting the arms, as this will cause tension. 25. Now, the breathing. First, do a warming-up breathing exercise. Take one deep breathe to expel out all the carbon dioxide in your lungs. Hold your breath in as long as you can and think of your breath. You will notice that you are already practicing concentration meditation, in that your mind is concentrated on holding your breath as you hold in as long as you can. Holding in the breath also means flooding your blood with oxygen. Thus, when you start your meditation, you will not be short of breath. 26. Immediately after you let go of the deep breathe, you will find that you are short of breath, and therefore, the next few seconds, you will be breathing heavily to “catch” the breath. As you breathe heavily, just note “in” when you breathe in, and “out” when you breathe out. Here again, you are already practicing concentration meditation, as your heavy breathing helps you to focus on your breathing. 27. Repeat this cycle (hold your breathe, and then “catch” your breathe) two more times. This whole warming-up exercise should take about 5 minutes. 28. Then breathe normally, in and out. 29. Observe the normal breathing, in and out. One way of observing is to imagine that you are the sentry at the entrance of your nostrils, watching the breath going in and breath going out. At this stage, it is the sense of touch that alerts you to the in-coming and out-going breath, as it brushes through the nostrils. 30. Sometime your breathing is so light that you are unable to feel it (as opposed to the 3 deep breathe you took earlier). Sometime your breathing is too short that you do not feel the full impact of breathing. To overcome this, then take a full breathe (not a deep breathe) each time, so that you can feel the breathing for a length of time. Do this for the first 30 – 40 breathe. A full breath will be somewhere between your unconscious voluntary breathing (the breathing that you normally do not feel when talking) and the fully conscious involuntary deep breathe. 31. With the air-conditioner on, you will be more aware of the in-coming breath because the air is cool (sense of smell). 32. To have an even greater awareness of the in-coming breath, then burn incense in the room. There is now an additional signature of the in-coming breath, that of the sense of smell of the incense. 33. Keep continue to observe this breathing-in and breathing-out continuously. 34. If you have difficulty in following this process, then try this technique: Mentally noting “in” and “out”, as the breath moves in and out. This noting process is an additional concentration to get the mind anchored onto the breathing process, so that the mind does not wander off the track too frequently. 35. And if the mental note of “in” and “out” does not work, try the next stronger technique: Counting the breathing-in and breathing-out, as “1”, “2”, and then “3”, “4”, then “5”, “6” until “9” and “10”. Then start again with “1”, “2”. 36. Invariably, the mind may wander off, now and then. In the initial practice of meditation, this will happen quite frequently, perhaps as often as 50% of the time. Do not be discouraged. Every time, you are aware the mind has wandered off, come back to the breathing, starting with “1”, “2”. 37. Sometime, in going from “1” to “10”, if you are not mindful, you may then be on the “auto-pilot” going onto “11”, “12” etc. In this case, you need more “force” or “concentration” on your meditation. Thus, when you reach “10”, count the breathing backward: from “10” to “1”, and then back again from “1” to “10”. By going through this “to-and-fro”, you will be more mindful of the breathing, and there will be less wandering out of your meditation. 38. When your mind is steadily focusing on the breathing with minimal wandering, you may not need this forceful noting of “1” to “10” and reverse. You can now reduce your “force” by noting with “in” and “out” to help you to anchor onto the breathing process. 39. After much practice, the mind wanders off less often, probably at about 10%. But always come back to observing your breathing whenever you are conscious that the mind has wandered off. 40. Continue to focus on the breath, “in” and “out” for as long as possible. 41. Initially, try meditation for 10 –15 minutes. After you are confident of minimizing the wandering of the mind (and this could take up to a week or so), then extend the session to 30 minutes. And again, when you feel that you have laid the foundation for good concentration of the mind, then extend to 45 minutes, and finally to 1 hour. This is just like starting the jogging exercise. Start jogging for a short time, and then slowly lengthen the time of the jog. 42. As you meditate, saliva accumulates in the mouth. Pause your observation of the breathing process. Mindfully, swallow the saliva, and then continue the observation of the breathing process. 43. Try to stay on a one-hour meditation daily. 44. If you are ready to go past the one-hour meditation, then you have exceeded the objective of this Do-It-Yourself manual. You now need a teacher. 45. After the initial 20 – 30 minutes of noting your breath (i.e. the counting of “1” to “10”), the mind takes off onto a different plane of consciousness. You will know that the mind is onto a different plane of consciousness when you have problem in keeping track of the counting, and this has nothing to do with outside distraction. Thus, at this phase, you will have to note your breathing by way of “in” and “out”. This way of noting the breath is simpler and less strenuous. Your breathing and the mind appear to have synchronized in a relaxed and calm mood. This is the Meditative Calm phase. 46. This synchronization is obvious when your breathing will not be so obvious. In other words, the breathing has become very smooth and subtle. 47. Continue the noting of “in” and “out” of this smooth and subtle breathing in a relaxed and calm mood. This Meditative Calm phase will then flow into a phase whereby you need not have to note your breathing, and yet you are fully aware of the breathing with ease. This is the phase when you experience Bliss and Tranquility. 48. Is this Bliss and Tranquility phase for real? Well, scientific measurements of the brain waves indicate so. The brain waves, start with the beta pattern when you are not meditating. Then when you start the meditation process, the brain wave pattern changes to alpha, and when you are in the bliss and tranquility phase, the brain wave pattern is the theta pattern. This sequence of brain wave patterns is similar to that when you are awake (beta pattern), when you are going to sleep or half-asleep (alpha pattern) and when you are fully in deep sleep (theta pattern). However, there is a difference. In sleeping, you are not conscious or aware of anything, but in this bliss and tranquility phase, you are fully conscious. You can still hear noises and think. 49. And this Bliss and Tranquility phase is not a trance, because you are fully conscious. You can get out of this phase if you wish to because you can still think. 50. On some days, you may have difficulty to take off onto the Bliss and Tranquility phase easily. It may appear you are struggling, and that you are having a bad meditation. There is no such thing as a bad meditation. It is that on these days, you have more obstacles/distractions (such as being angry or worrying about something that is bothering your mind, or being happily excited over something), and the more you struggle to overcome these obstacles/distractions, the stronger will your discipline be for meditation. It is during such ‘bad’ meditation that you strengthen your single-mindedness. Eventually, you may be even able to meditate in the heart of town with the surrounding bustling. 51. In fact, when you are upset or angry or depressed about anything, all the more reason you should meditate. The meditation helps to calm and clarify your mind. And you will feel less upset or angry or depressed. 52. Briefly, the meditation process has gone through 3 phases. 53. The First Phase is the use of the possible strongest mental “force”, that of counting “1” to “10” and back, to get the mind focused on the breathing. Here mental work is being done, in that as you mentally count, you “force-synchronize” the breathing of in and out. You can “hear” your counting and the breathing. For beginners, this phase is usually 10 – 20 minutes. 54. Then, as the mind is steadily on the breathing with minimal wandering, you can reduce the strength of the mental “force”. Thus, stop the counting and start noting the breathing with the “in” and “out”. This is the Second Phase, the phase of Meditative Calm. You can still “hear” your noting and breathing even though the breathing is becoming smooth and subtle. For beginners, this should be around 10 minutes. 55. As the Second Phase of Meditative Calm continues, it will sub-consciously flow into the Third Phase. In other words, you do not consciously ‘switch’ to this Third Phase as you did from First Phase to Second Phase. The smooth and subtle breathing just continues and as the meditation process becomes deeper, you no longer need to apply any “mental force” to have the mind focusing on the breathing. Unlike in First Phase and Second Phase, you do not “force-synchronize” the breathing in this Third Phase. You have de-linked the mind from the breathing, but you are consciously aware of the breathing with no interference from outside, that is, no wandering of the mind, as the mind is aware of the breathing. The smooth and subtle breathing seems to have its own momentum, and you are aware of it. You do not count or note, and hence there is silence. The smooth and subtle breath just continues naturally on its own, in silence. This Third Phase is the phase of SILENT AWARENESS OF THE BREATHING. This is the phase where your mind is clear and is the “knower”, being consciously knowing the breathing in the silent environment. So, just observe (“know”) the breathing in silence for as long as possible. You are now basked in the phase of Tranquilly and Bliss. 56. And like jogging, meditation should be done daily, otherwise you lose the ‘stamina’. Regular jogging helps to develop speed and endurance. Similarly, daily meditation helps to develop speed (can get into the Meditative Calm phase very fast) and endurance (can meditate longer). 57. The earlier you get onto the Meditative Calm phase, the faster you can get onto the Bliss and Tranquility phase, and thus you will have more time on this phase in the same period of meditation. However, do not rush into this Bliss/Tranquility phase, because if you do, then this phase will have weak foundation to sustain your conscious awareness of the silent breath for a long time. When the foundation is weak, then your mind tends to wander, and then you will have to start the noting (the “in” and “out” of the breathing) to build up a stronger foundation. Basically, back to Second Phase, the Meditative Calm. 58. The Bliss/Tranquility phase is not the end of meditation. It is the end of this Do-It-Yourself manual. To progress beyond this Bliss/Tranquility phase, you need a teacher. 59. A good time to meditate is early in the morning after you have a good sleep and very much alert, and probably without any hang-up. Or in the afternoon, after you have a good afternoon nap. 60. Night is a poor time to meditate, because it is close to your bedtime, and therefore you are sleepy. However, one can turn this into an advantage: night meditation is thus a good process to get to sleep easily. And this makes sense because, as you meditate, you will be observing the breathing-in and the breathing-out, and this is no different from the generally known Western practice of counting the sheep. The only difference is that, in counting the sheep, there is no end to the number of sheep (there are 40 million sheep in New Zealand), and you may end being awake all night. So, before you do the meditation at night, be prepared to go to doze off immediately thereafter. 61. Further, night meditation is a good time to unwind after a hard day’s work. 62. I suspect there is a relationship between meditation and dream. This is because dreams, as expounded by psychologists, come about because a person is tired, confused or agitated, and dreaming is the process of unwinding the mind. However, when one meditates regularly, one is bringing order to the mind, and effecting the calmness and clarity on it, and thus unlikely to have dreams. If this relationship holds true, then a good measurement of the success of meditation is whether one has dreams and deep ones. 63. Finally, the best type/technique of meditation is the one that suits you most. Personal Experience My personal experience is that meditation has helped to calm my mind, and reduce my anxiety. If I had taken up meditation when I was in the high-stressed corporate world, I would not have burnt out so early, though I believe my regular jogging did help to slow the burnt-out process. Also, I would have a better EQ with more patience … as a result of my being impatient, hard-hitting and heavy pressurizing, some wonderful people could not take it and left the employ early. At that time, I called these people “softies” who did not have the will and/or the intellect to stomach through. Today, these are my lost sheep. But on the other hand, without knowing the benefits of meditation, and with so many things in the mind, so much to do, I wonder whether I would have the time and patience to learn to meditate. And if someone had told me that I need to try 10 – 15 minutes initially, I believe I would have given it a try. At the moment, I am not sure whether meditation has helped to increase my immunity, though my blood pressure is that of a young man at 110/70, and my resting heartbeat at 60 per minute (must be due to my regular 5 –6 days a week jogging, ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour each jog). My heartbeat is around 52 when meditating. A coincidental benefit: Concentration of my breathing helps to reduce the pain when the dentist applies the anesthetic injection. Anonymous November 2004

Best Kueh Lapis

This is run by a friend of mine. You need to try it to find out how good it is. Kofuku – Flavours of Happiness 幸福 - 心的料理，与您分享 We love food. More specifically we love good food that brings on warmth, smiles and pure sensory bliss. And we believe that food has to be of quality, has to be unique, even fun and loving , or simply about good old times. That is why Kofuku ( “Happiness” or “幸福“), a local desserts and savoury culinary fare online company, is born from this heartfelt motto. Our offering ranges from the deliciously rich, aromatic, moist, highly addictive and melt-in-the-mouth Kueh Lapis, to the little buttery sweet crumbly Golden Cookies that carry that yummy hint of savoury note from the salted egg yolk, and the decadent Soufflé Roll that is delightfully fluffy with Okinawa brown sugar and lightly roasted walnuts. To top off the list is our latest classic Italian Tiramisu that is coffee-rich, super indulgent, ultra creamy and temptingly exquisite in each bite. For that savoury craving at night with a beer, or for a hot sizzling grilled bite with friends at a gathering, or simply, for a simple steamed yummy taste on its own or with bread, our moist, thick and special spicy Otah is delicious enough to bribe you and your friends’ stomach with satisfaction any time of the day or occasion. All of these are offered with the hope to bring each and every of our customers back to a time when life was simpler and food was something almost…. magical and loving. We love seeing our customers’ smiling faces whenever we deliver the treats and we certainly enjoy receiving positive and encouraging affirmation about our labour of love. We thank the customers for the warm friendships and business and look forward to nurturing our warm and cosy conversations with customers so that together, we can build and relish even more delicious moments of KOFUKU! For more information, please reach out to Adeline at biz@kofuku.sg or website kofuku.sg

From $300 to $10 and then to $100,000

FROM $300 TO $10 AND THEN TO $100,000 A domestic helper was caught by a CISCO Officer drinking water in a MRT train. It is an offense to drink water in a MRT train in Singapore. The offense carries a fine of $300. The CISCO Officer is an Indian foreigner from Malaysia. The CISCO Officer told the domestic helper he was going to issue a summon to the accused. The domestic helper told him she would not be able to pay the $300 fine as she only had $10 with her. The CISCO Officer asked her to place the $10 on the desk and let her off. When the domestic helper employer found out about this corruption incident, she lodged a police report and the case was referred to CPIB. Now the CISCO Officer could faced a fine of $100,000 and jailed for up to 5 years. ---end of story---------- I found that a lot can be learnt from this true story. Commuters taking public transport like bus and MRT are not allowed to eat and drink which traveling in the bus or train. There are cameras everywhere while you are traveling in the bus or train. The Singapore Government take corruption very seriously especially officer helping to enforced the law. Signs showing no eating and drinking are everywhere in the train. I am not sure if the domestic helper is aware of this. Did the employer tell her that she is not supposed to drink and eat in the train or within the train station. It is important for foreigners to know the rules and regulation of the country he/she is in to avoid committing any unnecessary offense.

Never Put Thing On Keyboard of Laptop Computer

Just like to remind people never put thing on the keyboard of laptop. A friend of mine has to buy a new laptop because the screen cracked due to he left his earphone on the keyboard of his laptop and left to do something. His wife was busy preparing breakfast for their son. Not knowing the earphone was on the keyboard, she closed the laptop screen. As a result, the screen cracked. It is expensive to change the screen, so he changed to a new laptop. Just the other day, I was sharing this story with one of my colleague, he said one of his ex-staff had a similar experience. She has a stack of document with a paper-clip holding the document. The document was in between the keyboard and screen on the laptop she was carrying them to a meeting. After she opened up the screen of her laptop, she found her laptop screen cracked. In our multi-storey building, we need to travel from one floor to another for meeting at times. This is what we normally do when we have some document in hard copy and laptop to bring to a meeting. So be careful, never put anything in between the screen and keyboard of any laptop and close the screen.

Car Servicing outside office hours

Car Servicing Outside Office Hours If you are looking for a car workshop that is still open at night, here there is one for your consideration : ACE Motorsports Pte Ltd 1 Soon Lee Street #01-34 Pioneer Centre Singapore 627605 Tel : 6334 3064, 9688 8112 www.acemotorsports.com.sg Opening Hours : 12 pm to 12 am (Mon - Sat) It offers car servicing, air-con service and flush, solar film, audio, car sticker, LED lighting, car camera and other accessories.

Story of Sylvester Stallone

STORY of SYLVESTER STALLONE This is one of the SADDEST stories ever told in Hollywood. His name is Sylvester Stallone. One of the BIGGEST and Most famous American Movie superstars. Back in the day,Stallone was a struggling actor in every definition. At some point,he got so broke that he stole his wife's jewelry and sold it. Things got so bad that he even ended up homeless. Yes,he slept at the New York bus station for 3 days. Unable to pay rent or afford food. His lowest point came when he tried to sell his dog at the liquor store to any stranger. He didn't have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it at $25 only. He says he walked away crying. Two weeks later,he saw a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner and that match gave him the inspiration to write the script for the famous movie,ROCKY. He wrote the script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer for $125,000 for the script. But he had just ONE REQUEST. He wanted to STAR in the movie. He wanted to be the MAIN ACTOR. Rocky himself. But the studio said NO. They wanted a REAL STAR. They said he "Looked funny and talked funny". He left with his script. A few weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the script. He refused. They even offered $350,000. He still refused. They wanted his movie. But NOT him. He said NO. He had to be IN THAT MOVIE. After a while,the studio agreed,gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it! The rest is history! The movie won Best Picture,Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious Oscar Awards. He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie ROCKY was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever! And do You know the first thing he bought with the $35,000? THE DOG HE SOLD. Yes,Stallone LOVED HIS DOG SO MUCH that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold his dog to. And on the 3rd day,he saw the man coming with the dog. Stallone explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back. The man refused. Stallone offered him $100. The man refused. He offered him $500. And the guy refused. Yes,he refused even $1000. And,Believe it or Not,Stallone had to pay $15,000 for the same,same dog he sold at $25 only! And he finally got his dog back! And today,the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog JUST BECAUSE he couldn't even feed it anymore,is one of the GREATEST Movie Stars who ever walked the Earth! Being broke is BAD. Really BAD. Have You ever had a dream? A wonderful dream? But You are too broke to implement it? Too tiny to do it? Too small to accomplish it? Damn! I've been there too many times! Life is tough. Opportunities will pass you by,just because you are a NOBODY. People will want your products but NOT YOU. Its a tough world. If you ain't already famous,or rich or "connected",You will find it rough. Doors will be shut on You. People will steal your glory and crash your hopes.You will push and push. And yet NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. And then your hopes will be crashed.You will be broke. Damn broke. You will do odd jobs for survival. You will be unable to feed yourself. And Yes,you may end up sleeping in the streets. It happens. Yes,it does. BUT NEVER LET THEM CRUSH THAT DREAM. Whatever happens to You,Keep Dreaming. Even when they crush your hopes,Keep Dreaming. Even when they turn you away,Keep Dreaming. Even when they shut you down,Keep Dreaming. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF EXCEPT YOURSELF! People will judge You by HOW you look. And by WHAT You have. But please,Fight on! Fight for Your place in history. Fight for your glory. NEVER EVER GIVE UP! Even if it means selling all your clothes and sleeping with the dogs,ITS OKAY! But AS LONG AS YOU ARE STILL ALIVE,Your STORY IS NOT OVER. TRUST ME. Keep Up the Fight. Keep your dreams and hope alive. Go gerrit. Like and share if inspired. Lovely day — with Josh Ambila.

Top 37 Things Dying People Say They Regret

Here Are The Top 37 Things Dying People Say They Regret. Learn From It Before It’s Too Late. January 10, 2014 Entertainment Everyone goes through life experiencing enough mistakes and resulting damage that, by the time they are old enough, they have regrets. They say hindsight is 20/20 and when you look back at your life you will know what moments you should have changed. However, we want to help you out. Forget hindsight. We’ve compiled a list of the 37 things you must not do or else you will definitely regret them at the end of your life. Just read through these and trust us. It’ll be worth it. 1.) Not traveling when you had the chance. Traveling gets harder as you get older, as more people depend on your presence, day-to-day and it ends up becoming more expensive to bring more people with you. 2.) Not learning another language. You probably took years of another language in high school. You should put it to good use. 3.) Staying in a bad relationship. It may feel hard to get out of a bad relationship, but it’s not worse than staying in it and wasting everyone’s time. 4.) Forgoing sunscreen. It may not seem like much, but sun damage adds up over the years, causing wrinkles and discoloration. 5.) Missing the chance to see your favorite musicians. You never truly know when your favorite band might break up, so seize the day. 6.) Being afraid to do things. Fear can paralyze us, but we can’t let it. 7.) Failing to make physical fitness a priority. As you get older you’ll realize how important it is to take care of your body. 8.) Letting yourself be defined by gender roles. Define yourself, don’t let society do it. 9.) Not quitting a terrible job. You may need to pay rent or provide for a family, but you can’t force yourself to be miserable every day. 10.) Not trying harder in school. Grades are important, but what’s more important is learning how to apply yourself and be dedicated. 11.) Not realizing how beautiful you are. There are many definitions of beauty and you shouldn’t think you’re unworthy of someone’s attention. 12.) Being afraid to say “I love you.” Loving another person is a precious gift, even if that same love wasn’t returned. 13.) Not listening to your parents’ advice. They have a lot more experience than you’ll want to give them credit for. 14.) Spending your youth being self-absorbed. There is more to the world than just you and eventually you’ll realize that. 15.) Caring too much about what other people think. When you’re older, you’ll realize that the opinions of others don’t factor into your true happiness. 16.) Supporting the dreams of others over your own. Being nice is one thing, but sacrificing your happiness isn’t worth it. 17.) Not moving fast enough. Don’t hesitate to make decisions, you’ll end up regretting wasting time. 18.) Holding grudges, especially against those you love. Choose to let go of your pain, instead of dwelling on it. 19.) Not standing up for yourself. Just because others may disagree with you, it doesn’t mean you have to abandon your principals. 20.) Not volunteering enough. There are countless reasons to help other people, especially when they are needy. 21.) Neglecting your teeth. Flossing and brushing may seem annoying, but it’s much better to take care of your teeth while you’re young instead of losing them later. 22.) Missing the chance to talk to your grandparents before they die. They hold a lot of knowledge and they will only be around for a little while. 23.) Working too much. You’re going to miss the good parts of life, or be too stressed to enjoy them, if you do. 24.) Not learning how to cook one good meal. It’ll add to your family and friend get togethers more than you can ever imagine. 25.) Not stopping to appreciate the moment. Quit texting or taking pictures and realize what you are doing when you are doing it. 26.) Failing to finish what you start. Every day is an opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered. 27.) Never mastering one awesome party trick. This seems silly, but just think of how many amazing memories you can create. 28.) Letting yourself be defined by cultural expectations. If your family or country thinks you should do something for a career, you’re not forced to. Never. 29.) Refusing to let friendships run their course. Sometimes people drift apart. Forcing that connection could do more damage than good. 30.) Not playing with your children enough. Kids are joyful and innocent. You should be choosing to fill your life with this joy, not avoiding it. 31.) Never taking a big risk (especially in love). Taking a bigger risk can pay off more than taking a smaller one. 32.) Not taking the time to develop contacts and network. It may seem like schmoozing, but it’ll help your career in the long run. 33.) Worrying too much. Worrying, especially about things that haven’t happened yet, is useless. 34.) Getting caught up in needless drama. Drama can be addictive, but there is no point. Don’t get off on how bad your day is. 35.) Not spending enough time with loved ones. We are all on this earth for a limited amount of time, don’t take that for granted. 36.) Never performing in front of others. This may not be your true calling, but trying it at least once is an important life experience. 37.) Not being grateful sooner. Learn to say thanks and learn to mean it. So many parts of your life will improve if you do. It’s never too late to change your life, so start by avoiding these things. You won’t regret it. (See what I did there?) Share this article with your friends so they can have the same advice. 18384 THANKS FOR SHARING. WANT MORE STUFF LIKE THAT? Never miss another popular story. Get our free daily e-mail with all the best stuff. Thank you! Do Not Ask Again LIKE US ON FB :) GET MORE STUFF LIKE THIS IN YOUR INBOX! Sign up for our daily email and get the stories everyone is talking about. Must See Stories It Might Look Like A Normal Stack Of Firewood. 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