Rajith Rajappan's Blog, page 195

Living in constant fear can kill you

I know many wealthy men who constantly live in fear of losing their profits. Even their blood pressure seems to rise and fall with the rise and fall of shares in the stock market. They fear taxes; they fear raids; they fear falling interest rates. It is not just money that makes a man rich. He who gives is richer than he who hoards his wealth, for the hoarder is under psychological pressure- constantly worried about losing what he has. Such a man is impoverished-regardless of how much he has.When you give, you are alive. You experience an overflowing sense of abundance and joy.
( By J P Vaswani)

Sad Music evokes positive emotionsPeople like listening t...

Sad Music evokes positive emotions
People like listening to sad music because it actually evokes positive emotions, according to a new study. Japanese researchers asked 44 volunteers, including both musicians and non-specialists, to listen to two pieces of sad music and one piece of happy music.Each participant was required to use a set of keywords to rate both their perception of the music and their own emotional state. The sad pieces of music included Glinka's " La Separation" in F minor and Blumenfeld's Etude "Sur Mer" in G minor. The happy music piece was Granados's Allegro de Concierto in G major. To control for the "happy" effect of major key, they also played the minor-key pieces in major key, and vice versa.The researchers said that sad music evoked contradictory emotions as participants felt sad music to be more tragic, less romantic, and less blithe than they felt.
( Source Times of India)

Along the way, I became a happier person.

Vahishta Mistry, a 29-year old marketing professional, had a car, a house, a well paying job and a close circle of friends. Yet, last month, he did something most of us have only dreamed of doing. He upped and left. After selling his possessions, he set out to explore the world. He talks about the the places he visits and the dreams he fulfills.
As I type out these words out, I feel as if I am at the centre of a storm; around me swirl a million loose ends that need to be tied up before I put my life into long term storage, and become a nomad for the next two years. In order to properly understand my story, you need to meet me as I was about a year ago.
Everything about my life could have been summed up in a terse biography much like the ones I read in my marketing job. I was in the words of research analysts everywhere, 29 years old, an SEC A+ urban male. I was single,but not unattached.I owned my own house, albeit in Navi Mumbai (I counted this as a positive) and I commuted by my small car to work everyday. I had a mortgage, credit card payments and two cats that made demands on my time, apart from a hectice social life.Today, the cats are still around, but everything else is gone.Change crept into my life when I first started hosting couch surfers. David Simon was a young Hungarian ex-banker with a crazy smile and a crazier story. He'd walked from Hungary to Dubai, and then, because he couldn't walk through Afghanistan and Pakistan because of a pesaky war, he was forced to fly to Mumbai. He's now somewhere between China and Japan, still walking.Stephen ( I never learnt his surname) was an MIT professor. His too, was an interesting story- he is an expert on very large databases, and is routinely called to various companies and technical institutes, to lecture. By intelligently planning his routes ( he is a database nerd, after all) he has visited almost every historically, culturally and otherwise significant place on earth.
I began to see the start contrast between our lives. Mine was empty. I had tried to fill it with a house, car, a 42" television and other gadgets. All my pursuits were driven by an aspiration to fit in. I wasn't discovering anything. Nothing was new. I realized that I wanted, more than anything, to go out and see what was beyond the next block of buildings. I couldn't be satisfied with sitting at a desk any more. Within six months, I sold my house, quit my job and bought some tools- a Canon 60D camera, some lenses and a MacBook Pro. I also bought a back-pack and flight tickets. Along the way, I became a happier person.
Here's what I plan to do over the next 24 months. I will spend some days in England,from where I will head to New York. I will visit San Francisco, camping at national parks along the way. Then I will make my way to Mexico and the famed Copper Canyon Railroad, via Los Angeles. I will travel along the west coast of South America, from Colombia to Argentina and end the year in Brazil in time for the 2014 football world cup. I will camp, hunt and fish in the Rockies and Andes, visit the salt flats of the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and see the Milky Way rising above my tent in the deserts of Utah.
So basically, my initial budget is 10 lakh. I have spent Rs 4.83 lakh buying flight tickets ( Mumbai to Newark, 10-day stop over in the UK was Rs 48,000; LA to Mexico was Rs 20,000; Brazil to Mumbai was Rs 1 lakh), a Canon 60D Camera, a Macbook Pro and back pack and camping gear Rs 80,000). To save money, i will couchsurf, not drink alcohol, eat cheap, camp and travel by bus when possible.
(Source:- Mumbai Mirror- By Vahishta Mistry)

Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculp...

Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it's the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated.

(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)

“What we learn through failure becomes a precious part of...

“What we learn through failure becomes a precious part of us, strengthening us in everything we do. So let the tough things make you tougher"- Soichiro Honda- Founder Honda Motor Co-

Try something New

Take a leap
Never be afraid to try something new,
because life gets boring when you stay
within the limits of what you already know.
-( Anonymous)

Set yourself free
A mind that is stretched by a new experience
can never go back to its old dimensions.
- (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.)

Dive into discoveries
There are no great limits to growth because
there are no limits of human intelligence,
imagination, and wonder.
- (Ronald Reagan)
( Source :Junoon Theatre Workshop)

Many years ago, there lived in China a young man called M...

Many years ago, there lived in China a young man called Mogo, who earned his living breaking stones. Although he was strong and healthy, he was not satisfied with his work and complained about it day and night. One day, his guardian angel appeared to him. ‘You’re healthy and you have your whole life before you,’ said the angel. ‘All young men start off doing the same sort of job as you. Why are you always complaining?’‘God has treated me unfairly and has not given me the chance to grow,’ replied Mogo.Concerned, the angel went to ask the Lord for his help. ‘Do as you wish,’ said the Lord. ‘Everything that Mogo wants will be granted to him.’  The following day, Mogo was, as usual, breaking stones when he saw a carriage pass by bearing a nobleman laden with jewels. Wiping the sweat from his dirty face, Mogo said bitterly: ‘Why can’t I be a nobleman too? That is my destiny!’ ‘So be it!’ murmured his angel, delighted. And Mogo was transformed into the owner of a big palace with a vast estate, with many servants and horses. He used to go out every day with his impressive train of followers and enjoyed seeing his former companions lined in front of him.On one such afternoon, the heat was unbearable; even under his golden covers, Mogo was sweating as much as he used to in his days as a breaker of stones. He realised then that he wasn’t really that important: above him were princes and emperors, but higher than them all was the sun, who obeyed no one – the sun was the true king. ‘Dear angel, why can’t I be the sun? That must be my destiny!’ asked Mogo.‘So be it!’ exclaimed the angel, concealing his sadness at such vaulting ambition. And Mogo became the sun, as he had wantedWhile he was shining in the sky, admired for his immense power to ripen the grain or scorch it as he wished, a black spot started moving towards him. The dark stain grew larger and larger, and Mogo realised that it was a cloud spreading all around him, so that he could not longer see the Earth.‘Angel!’ cried Mogo. ‘The cloud is stronger than the sun! My destiny is to be a cloud!’‘So be it!’ replied the angel. Mogo was transformed into a cloud and he thought he had finally realised his dream.‘I’m so powerful!’ he yelled as he obscured the sun. ’No one can beat me’; he thundered as he chased the waves. But on the deserted ocean shore stood a vast granite rock, as old as the world itself. Mogo thought that the rock was defying him and unleashed a storm such as the world had never seen. Vast, furious waves lashed the rock, trying to wrench it from the earth and hurl it into the depths of the sea. Firm and impassive, the rock remained where it was. ‘Angel,’ sobbed Mogo, ‘the rock is stronger than the cloud! My destiny is to be a rock!‘ And Mogo was transformed into that rock. ‘Who can vanquish me now?’ he wondered. ‘I am the most powerful thing in the world!’ And so several years passed, until, one morning, Mogo felt something stabbing into his stone entrails, this was followed by intense pain, as if part of his granite body was being broken into pieces. Then he heard dull, insistent thuds and felt again that terrible pain. Mad with fear, he cried: ‘Angel, someone is trying to kill me! He has more power than I do, I want to be like him!’ ‘So be it!’ exclaimed the angel, weeping. And that was how Mogo went back to breaking stones.
Moral of the story:
Not satisfied from your life?
From stone breaking person to a noble person to sun and to a cloud and then to rock and to stone breaking person again: We should be happy wherever we are – whosoever we are and keep on making our life better! Wishing you a happy life.( By Shirlei Massapust: From Paulo Coehlo’s collection of stories)

There was once a seeker who would meditate in a room for ...

There was once a seeker who would meditate in a room for several hours each day. He wished to solve the mystery of life. He would not speak to anyone but would stay in the room, meditating almost all day.One day, a dark cloud passed above the building, darkening the room. Once the cloud passed, the room became light again. Suddenly, the seeker came out of the room, went into the street and began dancing and singing with joy. Seeing this, the master asked, " What has made you so happy and full of laughter today? "
The seeker said, " I have just figured out the secret to life. All life is maya or illusion. One day the sky is clear. Then a cloud comes and darkens the sky.Then, the cloud passes and the sky is clear again. Such are the events of our life. All the ups and downs in life will pass away also. This simple realisation brings forth a calm approach to life. Instead of reacting to happy and sad moods as the play of our life unfolds, we can learn to remain calm, realising they will all pass....
( By Sant Rajinder Singh- TOI)

You are angry , and you watch it. You are not just angry,...

You are angry , and you watch it. You are not just angry, a new element is introduced into it : you are watching it. And the miracle is that if you can watch anger, the anger disappears without being repressed.

(Source :TOI)

Sometimes just giving yourself permission to feel any emo...

Sometimes just giving yourself permission to feel any emotion without judgement or censorship can lessen the intensity of those negative emotions. Almost like you are letting them out into the backyard to run around and get rid of some of that energy.
Instead of trying to alleviate some of the uncomfortable and unpleasant emotions you feel by "trying to be positive", try being negative instead. Seriously, try it sometime. This will help you get in touch with how you actually feel.
( By Augusten Burroughs)