Chase away negative thoughts

Just about an hour ago, I was indulging in a bit of self-pity. Something happened in the office that took the wind off my sails. For the better part of 60 minutes, I wallowed in a bout of self-incrimination and blame.

The dark hour is over. I have recovered and regained my bearings. Sometimes, one easily slips into an avenue not desired. I suppose it happens to the most mature among us.

Moments like that serve as a lesson to me. I am sure it has happened to a good number of us. What does it profit a man to undertake a lonely journey on the sad side of life?

Now that the light is again shining on my path, I can think clearly and know that every individual who lives now, is another side of me. We are all part of a universal family unit.

It may be difficult to understand such a concept but the wise men of yore understood this philosophy. I am beginning to catch a glimpse or two of this vista of infinite wisdom.

In my present moment of clarity, let me not return to the track less taken. Surely, we the living are more deserving of a happy and healthy life. No individual yet born wants to lead a sad existence.

Let it be known that joy and inspiration is the right of every living human being. We the knowledgeable and the wise must lead the others who have yet to regain their sight to the road where shadows never fall.

Don't quarrel, for health's sake

This may be old news to some people but it still bears recounting.
All of us are guilty at one time or another for being upset with others, whether within the family or with office colleagues.

If you don't keep your anger inside you for any prolonged period of time, then there's nothing to be concerned about. But if you are the type to nurse a hurt till it bears roots deep in your heart, then you better sit up and listen.

According to the ancient wise ones, and recently among medical researchers, being upset, angry and unreasonably frustrated for long stretches of time, will do the angry person more harm than he realises.

First, it plays havoc with your heart. Second, it damages your liver and third, it screws around with your stomach. Unless you don't intend to make your life a long one, then you can ignore my advice and allow your family to collect your life insurance (if you have one!).

It doesn't need any intellectual argument to know that a very upset person will not only endanger his own health, he will also unwittingly cause an imbalance in his state of mind.

Generally, he will cause others to avoid him or worse, trigger a chain of malicious gossip about his bad self.

We all get upset, angry and downright unreasonable at times but let's not make a career out of it. Let's say, if you were to unexpectedly pass away, let it not be known that on your tombstone are these words: "Thank God, he's on the other side now."

Nobody likes an angry person. In fact, most normal human beings avoid people like that. It is a nerve-racking experience to be associated with such a person. If your house is burnt down, you just lost all your savings at the stock market and some insane person has just stolen your car, then you have a right to be angry and upset at the same time.

But being angry has got no long term benefits. In reality, most emotionally charged person will generally suffer a burn-out in due course.

Quarrelling is one of the best avenues to shorten one's own life. Don't go out looking for trouble. Don't pick a fight with strangers. Or worse, with people you love.

There's nothing worse than a person going through life making others feel bad. One antidote for a perpectually angry person is the realisation that no matter how much or how long your anger stays with you, nothing generally will change the situation.

So save your energy and learn to be happy. Find a reason to be happy. If you can't find one, be happy anyway. Don't worry about people labelling you as mad.

Better be a happy but mad person than an angry person with his days numbered.

So the bottom line is: Don't quarrel, for heaven's sake, as well as for yours.

Five minutes of self-therapy

OK, I will let you into a little secret. Almost everybody, with hardly any exception, does get blue, sad and depressed now and then.
For some of us, it is an everyday affair. This is what I would advise you to do because it works for me. Get a diary if you don't have one, and write down your thoughts every single day of your life henceforth.
If you have a blog like me, you can start your own journal. It doesn't matter if nobody gives two hoots what you have to say because it's all for you. That doesn't mean you are being selfish but it is a very normal human act.

This act of putting in writing your inner thoughts about anything under the sun is akin to opening a valve in your mental powerhouse. Humans were created for self-expressions in a million ways.

In the 21st century, the greatest gateway is now through the Internet. You can write anything you want, so long as you don't demean yourself and others. It is a very healthy activity.

It sure beats talking to yourself in public because if you do that, a lot of people will misunderstand you and begin to keep a wide berth between you and them.

So write down your thoughts, your feelings, your passions, your loves and your concerns about anything and everything that occupies your mind. Through the decades, I have found this activity to be one of the most invigorating and most refreshing pastimes that has surfaced in my life.

Like I say, this hobby takes only about five minutes, so I must stop here. Ciao!

Only this can you try

If you are an unsalvageable, lazy, king-sized potato couch person, there is but only one exercise for you. It has everything to do with your health - mental and physical.

Purge your heart of all hostility. Erase all unpleasant memories from your mind. Fill your heart and soul with only love.

Throw out of the window of your mind all thoughts of vengeance. Pray for all those who have hurt you, or you think are going to hurt you. Look at all strangers with nothing but concern.

Cry with all those in grief. Feed strangers and friends without any reason. Call your parents and tell them that you love them without any urging.

Put your arms around those who need the solace and physical assurance. Think about helping people in need all the time.

Pray incessantly for others because it will fill your heart with joy.
Think nothing of getting rich but only the happiness you can bring others.

These are all the exercises you need for a healthy and peaceful mind and body.

Open your Chakras through meditation

The yogis and masters who have walked the Path of Enlightenment know all about the chakras. The thing is they don't really talk much about these chakras.
For centuries, Zen masters and yogis have "open" or unblock their chakras one by one. In a way, it was like lifting one veil after another until all that has remained hidden is cleared.
When all the chakra portals have been opened, the mind and soul become one. The "highest" chakra resides on top of your head, or so it seems. It is just so much easier to say that the top of the crop is right on top.
When a person controls the chakra gateways, he also controls everything else. All his energy serves as windows to the other "secrets". He who knows all, sees all. This has always been the way, the light and the truth.
Until and unless, you unblock all those chakras have have sluggish and congested passages, the light and the truth will forever elude you.
Meditation is one key that can unlock a blocked chakra. One energy portal leads to another and all contribute to the inexorable flow of being that has existed long before man came into being.
When the chakras become undone, all that has been deemed impossible become reality. At that state of being, nothing remains a secret and all that has been hidden from human eyes will be revealed.
Man has to eat and drink to stay alive but with a man whose chakras are operating at full flood of its energy, the earthly and bodily needs of a man become irrelevant.
Death goes on holiday after that because there's no need for him to be around. You become one with everything.

Just plain lazy, aren't you? Do this nevertheless

The worse time to wake up in the morning is when you have this almost irresistible urge to doze off for another hour or two.
But discipline or just plain automation can put you in gear. How do those exercise freaks do it day after day, or night after night? It's not rocket science. First, you make a mental commitment to yourself. Second, you don't give it an afterthought and just go ahead and do it.
Like most of you mortals out there, I too suffer constantly and massively from many mornings of much lengthier sleep sessions. But life's always playing tricks on me so I have to wake up by 7.35am whether I like it or not on most mornings.
My routine is simple: rinse the mouth, wet the face with water to kickstart my inner engine. Then, I amble onto the hall and start my own personal system of exercise.
The system comprises a set of qigong movements, breathing techniques and a bit of SEAL body movements. All these may seem daunting to the unsuspecting but in actuality, it is over in about 45 minutes but I usually try to keep it down to 35.
Morning exercises have one drawback, sometimes you forget what you are doing. Your mind is asleep but your body is moving or swaying. It's all part of the reflex action conditioning.
I shut off all lights in the hall and let my body do the thinking. In the midst of the exercise, I slip into meditation mode. That means letting my mind slow down till nothing happens. In other words, I try my utmost to achieve nothingness.
If this sounds all a bit crazy, let me assure you that it is so because no normal person will give himself a kick in the butt to wake up after about six hours' sleep just to give his entire physical form a shock treatment.
I have doing this for years. What are the obvious benefits then? First, illness almost never surfaces - not even the common cold. Second, I allow my mind "to rest". This form of meditation helps to replenish the spiritual batteries of a person.
Don't convince yourself that you are an atheist. If you allow yourself the luxury of scepticism, let me tell you that without some form of communion with a higher level of conssciousness, every human being is just a shell.
I shall never be able to emphasise enough that deep breathing is one of the most essential techniques in achieving excellent health. Like all life-forms, we humans too need to breathe but most of us breathe wrongly.
We think if we just leave it to our bodies, the body will know how to take care of itself. Frankly, the body doesn't think, the body obeys, and you are the only person it will listen to!
Let the breath that you suck into your body in the morning drift through every pore in your system. "See" the air clearing and washing away all the tired spots and bits from your body.
The Zen masters had been doing this for centuries. What may seem to you as a very simple form of exercise, let me say that, if done right, deep breaths can clease or defeat all known forms of illness that can and will strike manking.
The proper method of breathing is to let the air come through your nostrils and channel/direct the air through your head, down your spine, pass through your navel and then up your alimentary canal and out through your open mouth.
This is the way of the qigong masters for centuries. When you are doing it right, the body begins to re-align itself in many mysterious ways. You begin to feel more energetic, you get less tired, you become more alert and you may even seem happier.
Laziness in performing exercises is really just a habit. To break that habit, you need to tell yourself that you might as well wake up and do it because when or if you fall seriously ill, you will be lying flat on bed, against your will!
People the world over are a bit strange. They all know that their bodies need to be exercise and they also know that if they neglect their bodies, there will come a time, not too distant in the future when the human parts will begin to deteriorate.
People in general are more into damage control. They will change their lifestyle after heart surgery or a stroke. If they don't experience those life-threatening moments, they won't feel motivated to do anything.
Life is really much shorter than we all dare to admit. There was one tai chi master who I know of, who said that doing tai chi is like "dancing in the wind". He said a practitioner should not give too much thought into what he's doing.
Instead, that person should just "go through the motions". Leave the mind out of it, and let your soul it.
At its highest level, exercising becomes the key to reach a realm that awakens every cell in your body. Those who have reached that level normally have no words to describe their experience.
The Indians call it "kundalini". It is really being just there. The idea is to sustain that moment and activate it with speed of a thought. Very, very few on earth can do that. It's like pushing the right buttons all the time, not missing a beat.
When or if you are able to do that, you literally conquer death. But seriously, you don't really want to live up to 150. It's not fun because everybody you know would have died by then.
One of the greatest purpose in this life, at this moment, is to make the most out of every second of every minute. That is your right and your privilege.
So tomorrow morning when you should be waking up at a certain hour but feel lazy and sleepy as usual, remember what I have said here. Frankly, you will have plenty of time to close your eyes when your time on earth is over.
Waking up and doing the right time is much more fun. Do it, time is running out not only for you but for everybody on earth. Having a life that spans 80 years may seem like a long time to you, but to those who understand the timelessness of life and the power of the moment, longevity is just a word.

One billion souls hankering for expressions

At last count, there are about one billion Internet surfers. Now, what do one billion do in the borderless realm that stretches from one end of the earth to the other?
We function in our own little cocoons, in our little study room, at the Starbucks outlet or in our indifferent spacious office environment. The nicest thing to come out of this wonder Internet phenomenon is the realisatioin that we are indeed not alone.
Suddenly, we secure the knowledge that everyway people crave basically the same things we do. We are not so strange after all. We all want continued good health. We want perpectual financial security. We desire the best things in life for our families and ourselves.
Some of us will achieve that. The rest of us will die trying. Pun intended. Good health is not a privilege but a right that must be earned. There are an exception few who come from good family stock and they do not succumb to diseases and viruses that easily as the next person.
The rest of us will have to take a major dose of common sense and not be reckless with our own lives. People live and die. There's nothing unusual about this. For every baby born unto this life, many more lives will have to be noted down in the death registry.
I have discussed this subject of good health with many friends and family members. All of us are in agreement that we want to remain healthy if at all possible up till the day we die.
But life on earth obeys certain dictates that have been laid down since time immemorial. The Law of Longevity states that for a man to have a relatively trouble-free life, he must look after his health. He must do so in the manner most sensible to him.
In other words, he has to build a strong temple for his spirit. His body must be strong just as a building has to be strong if it doesn't want to be blown down by a Category Four hurricane.
A man has to lead a healthy lifestyle. In other words, no excessive drinking, skip the smoking, don't make worry a major part of your career and eat sensibly for the rest of your natural life.
How many of us can do that? Not many, even though the advice seems simple enough. I was just talking to an office colleague about an hour ago. The subject was daily exercise. He admitted that exercising on a daily basis was essential for healthy living but he also quickly confessed that he was lazy.
I suggested a person should not indulge in worry too easily or excessively. Again, he admitted he's a worrier.
Certain things you can't avoid. For example, the race into which you were born. The body you are now in and possess. The country you were born in, and the family you have. These are beyond your free will.
The rest however you can do something about. In fact, you can do a lot about. Your health, for example. You can work your way to everlasting good health here on this planet.
If you succeed you can teach others to follow the same path. Whether or not, they take up your offer, is another story. The word is you are in a position to help others.
Helping others to live a good life is your duty. It will enhance your own life. That is one of the world's greatest secrets. And yet so few know about this. The problem is most of us are too preoccupied with ourselves.
We think the whole world evolves around us. Wrong! We make the world what it could be for us. We change things around us. We are the fate changers, if ever there is such a term.
You can blog till you are 120 years old and you still won't be able to reach where you want to go, unless you help the others to reach their own desired goals first.
Sounds strange, doesn't it? Don't believe me. Try it for yourself. Life is short. You can no longer tally and wait for the double rainbow to appear. You create your own rainbow. Anything is possible here on earth, as decreed by heaven.

How to exercise when you are asleep

Believe it or not, you can actually achieve a fair measure of good health with your eyes shut.
I am talking about sleeping and "exercising". I do not mean exercise in the actual definition of the word.
Many Zen masters have done it and are still doing it but they do not have the words to describe it. Ever try asking a Zen master to explain his actions. He usually gives you a koan. In other words, it is a situation that may or may not try an understanding of your problem and at the same time provide a solution to your woes.
Sleeping and exercising? How weird is that, you may ask. Well, my friend, if you don't believe me, you can try this the next time your head hits the pillow.
Think of a happy situation while drifting to slumberland. Preferably, you are engaging in an activity that opens the floodgates of joy and serenity.
A restful heart leads to a relaxed body and a relaxed anatony sparks a chain of physical reactions that helps a tired body to recuperate and rejuvenate.
Alternatively, you can imagine yourself being bathed in an aura of healing golden light. That's done just before you slip into that eye-movement stage that denotes that you have entered the realm of deep sleep.
The mind is the engine that opens the portal of the soul. Why do we actually sleep? We sleep because there can only be so much in a day that we can physically accomplished.
Human beings need sleep to re-charge and re-vitalised. Only entities without physical forms don't need to sleep. Mortals like us do.
People talk about being healthy without really exerting the effort. Nothing comes without effort, whether it be mind of physical. Basically, nothing's free. Not even sunshine and fresh air.
Notice how strong the sunshine is these days, or how polluted the air has become? Why? It's because for eons we take sunshine and air for granted. Well, since Al Gore came up with all his theories about global warming and its consequences, it suddenly dawned on us that we are now paying a high price for being negligent about Mother Nature and Mother Earth.
This principle applies even to our health. All sane people want to be healthy and live a long and prosperous life. But many of us don't want to plants the seeds of good health.
We do not have healthy thoughts. We do not harbour positive feelings and we do not invest in optimistic lifestyles.
Reap what you sow. This line is 2,000 years old. It was true then, it is still now.
If you go to sleep happy, chances are you will wake up happy. Plesant thoughts pave the way for a relaxed night, or even afternoon. Who in his right mind wants to wake up feeling miserable?
Go to sleep with the thought that you are a spirit embarking on a journey of self-discovery and self-rejuvenation. Do it, not just tonight but every night henceforth. In the domain of restful sleep are found vistas of joy, happiness and everlasting good health.
Go and explore these worlds beyond your wildest imagination. If you think millionaires have it good all the time, then you know nothing. A lot of wealthy people don't sleep easy. Simply because they are afraid to lose what they have, or they want to have more than their nearest rival.
When our eyes are shut, equality reigns. The path to a healthy body and a healthy mind is well paved in a good night's sleep. Don't believe me. Try it for yourself.

Make up your mind

Do you know what's more important than exercise? It is to make the decision to exercise.
Many of us want to be healthy, strong and rich. However, most of us would settle just on being healthy. It is not such a tall order. Exercising is as easy as lifting the spoon into your mouth.
But for some of us, even lifting the spoon has become a chore. It really doesn't matter what manner of exercise that you wish to embark upon. The crucial aspect is that you have told yourself that you will exercise everyday for 30 minutes for the rest of your life.

Is exercise really that daunting? No, I don't think so. I have been doing it for at least 40 years. Yes, it's true, we will arrive at the grave no matter how long and hard we exercise but why let ourselves be carried to our graves.
We really owe it to ourselves to have a healthy vehilce (body) and use it to the maximum.
When a person is determined to be healthy, he must promise himself that all the hogwash about being healthy is just eating the right food, then I believe that person is wrong.
Exercise is a mental commitment. You must want to exerice and then you do it. Don't wait till next year or until your first children is born. Just exercise.
Healthy begins first in the mind, then the mind tells the body to get on with it. Then the body emits signals that it wants to stay fit and achieve fitness. A plan of action takes seed in the mind.
This will soon be followed by action and finally by the grace of thought that tells you that you have made a mental commitment to yourself.
Henceforth, you will no longer be a sissy or allow others to tell your so. The shelf life of your current body is dependent on how well you look after it. You only have one body, may as well work hard on it.
Your will never know what surprises lurk around the corner from you.

Gentle on your mind and body

Martial arts or health-energising exercise systems like qigong, tai chi or yoga have one common objective - they all are created to give the practitioner a heightened sense of well being and reinforced immune system.

Since time immemorial, man has tried to extend his life-span beyond the years normally accorded to the race. Some have succeeded, while others have gone on to find out they have been embarked on the wrong road from the beginning.

The current developments with regard to healthy activities have given rise to many forms of internal and external physical systems. What must be impressed on those who are about to begin such a journey is that the "hard way" is usually the wrong way.

In other words, do not push yourself. That is not the way of the healthy. Instead, qigong and tai chi pave the way towards gentleness. It is the gentle way that much merit can be reaped.

Notice how the zen master remain still for hours, or the yogi meditating in silence for days at a time, or even the tai chi master moving as if he is being guided by the wind that brushes across the trees.

They all move in accordance with the rhythm of earth's breathing. It spells gentleness. Being gentle is then the key to good health. Do not rush. Do not be in a state of forced preparedness.
Instead be gentle in spirit, in your heart, in your mind and with your body. Be as gentle as a baby's hands. Be as gentle as the low tide waves that lick the sands of a golden beach.
Be as gentle as a lover's hands in yours. Such is the force that brings nothing but good to yourself and into your physical system.

Ultimately, be gentle with yourself in all manners of being, whether it be exercise or relationships. Do not underestimate the power that is called gentleness. Only the true masters comprehend this aspect of a force that is part of our true self.

Learning to take one thing and one day at a time

So you want to be one of the privileged few who is almost immune to serious illnesses and bouts of depression.
It's every easy. The Buddhists call it "being mindful". Being mindful means doing ordinary things in an unhurried manner.
I have been to a Buddhist meditation centre where the devotees subject themselves to doing things in a super-slow mode. It may seem strange or even abnormal to the untrained eyes but once you understand the philosophy that underlies such behaviour, you may even want to try it yourself.
When you hold a flower petal in your hand, what else do you do? To the Buddhist who practises mindfulness, it encompasses touching the petal gracefully and gently as if it is the last thing you will ever touch before you leave the earth.
You see the colours of the flower petal and be gradually amazed at what you ordinarily don't pay attention to. You inhale the fragrance that comes from one of Nature's secret treasures. You allow your heart and soul to be touched by the substance ethereal and of fleeting pleasure.
Marvel at the short stem that is part of the petal. You allow yourself to forget about time. As a result, time neglects you and you are no longer in the control of time.
Things seem to recede in the background. You do not allow thoughts to tarnish the holiness of that moment. Your gaze becomes one with the environment. You are now one with nature and Nature becomes you.
Sounds too transcendental for you? Perhaps for the ordinary Joe but not for those who have ventured past the gates of ordinary existence and into the garden of the eternity.
When you take one thing at a time very mindfully, you will begin to forget the strain of the day. Your heart and soul obey the dictates of what is and what can be. You will be glad that the Now factor is living within you.
Many Zen practitioners throughout the ages have sought earnestly this domain of timelessness. Very few have managed to gain entry into the realm of forever. You can arrive there if you don't hurry or if you don't seek to gain everything at a rush.
Such is the way of the wise. Such is the grace that comes from being in the moment.

Conquering the mind and body

The first thought that came into mind when I was writing the heading for this article was the yoga masters of India. This also includes some of the greatest, unheralded masters of qigong and other martial arts.

What do we mean when we say "conquering mind and body"? First, the mind has got a playground of its own that it jealously guards. Second, conquering the mind is a battle that most normal mortals won't win.

While it is not that difficult to stay away from a banquet table of mouth-watering food, it is quite anothe to tell yourself that it is safe to pierce your tongue with a skewer.

Both in its very basic terms means "conquering your mind and body". Having complete master of the mind is one of the toughest tasks that man faces. For example, you can trying meditating for just five minutes without a single thought of distraction passing through it.

Chances are you have failed. That is why in some of martial art circles, "empty your mind" is an advice heeded successfully by a rare few.

They say that if a man can empty his mind of daily preoccupations, he can catch a glimpse of the divine. How far that is true escapes the reason and logic for most ordinary mortals.

Unlike the human world of physics, chemistry and nano seconds, plus mathematical logic, the realm of conquest over mind and body require a minimal amount of effort. The more you exert, or the more you try, the harder the task becomes.

Thus, the world of the inexplicable and the dominion of mystery requires almost no effort from us. No effort doesn't mean, we can easily slip into the other dimension. It means if you do not know how to do it, chances are it are actually ill-prepared for that special journey.

The barriers towards complete mastery of mind and body can come in your moment of greatest relaxation. It's moment when your mind is free last,or not shackled by encumbrances of ordinary earth.

When all activities of our mind and in our mind cease to flow or exist, the portal to forever opens ever so surely. This is what masters call the "moment of Zen". You can reach for it, but you cannot touch. You call for it but it will not come.

The conquerors of mind and body can rejuvenate their physical forms. They can even revitalise their internal organs. It is a weird situation if you do not under the ways of the masters.

Many have tried to follow but few ever are able to reach the desination. There is a place called Eternity. It is a land where no mortals dwell. It must be reached through the soul.

It is where the conquerors of minds and bodies have entered and exited. It is where all of us want to go but very few of us ever arrived.

But if you are sincere, your heart is in the right place, the portal may yet open ajar slightly at times for you to catch a shadow of a glimpse of what your heart desires.

The advice here is: Do not give up. At the same time, do not try that hard. Effort has little to do with conquest of mind and body. It has to do with nothing because nothing holds the key.

Good health begins with a single thought

Not many people are mentally committed towards pursuing a healthy mind and body goal. The main obstacle is the belief that it involves too much work.

Intelligent people would wake up at 5am to have an early breakfast, sacrifice some much needed sleep time to meet friends at the golf course, and yet they won't spent 30 minutes each day doing some simple exercises that will bring benefits to themselves for the rest of their lives.

The same people will spend thousands of dollars going for vacations abroad and yet won't spend a couple hours each week meditating in their own home.

Before you pronounce these same people having their priorities wrong, it would only be fair to say that there are as many rights as there are people on earth.

The only thing is what is your ultimate life decision. Do you want to remain healthy until your last day on earth, or do you want to live as much and as well as you can, without much regard of how your health fare in your waning years?

Since this is a blog all about good health, we would place top priority on well being. Good health means less expenses on medicare, fewer worries about aches and pains in middle age and the years beyond. It also means you can walk unaided either by willing human hands.

Until you actually have to hang on to something or somebody for support either in standing upright or walking, you won't really appreciate what it's like to be physically independent.

Millions of people in the world right now, young and old, are crying for help to ease their pain and discomfort.

Some are born with physical disabilities so they are the exceptions. Others who started off healthy become sick and suffering in pain, due to their own neglect over the years and decades.

It is only wise to decide early in life as to what kind of life's experience you would welcome as you grow older. It all begins with a mental commitment.

If you don't really care much for exercise and other simple remedies to avert a life-long passage of aches and pain, then you will have to work towards that end. The bottom line is everybody can achieve good health.

In other words, you can do it. Do it early. Better still, do it now. It is common to hear young people saying, rather cockily that they have no problems with weight, sleep and energy. They normally say that when they are in their teens.

Give them a few more years, and they may change their perception of good health that they have been taking for granted in their younger years.

I often tell people who complain incessantly about aches in shoulders, hands and knees, that they won't be giving me a litany of their woes if only they had listen to their physical education teachers in school.

Everybody gets a chance to be healthy and stay healthy. But do you want to do it. There's some physical effort involved. Think of the minimal investment that goes such a long way.

If you stay doing the right things at a young age, it becomes routine and easy after a while. Of course, you can start going to the gym in your 40s but it won't be that comforting because by the time you are in your fourth decade on earth, exercises is only one solution towards damage control.

Think of the abuse on your body over the last 40 years. The human body is just like any other living organism. It obeys the laws that govern life on earth and in our universe. You get what you put it, or what you won't and don't put in.

If you are in your teens right now, I will strongly advise you to do it, meaning learn to develop a set of simple exercises and stick to them daily.

In time, you will be the envy of your contemporaries who will be moaning and groaning with pain, while you are blissfully ignorant of the physical discomforts that plague your generation.

Do it now and you won't regret it.

It's all in the breathing

Everyone of us can breathe since the day we came into this world. Breathing is automatic. It is carried out without thought and done with practically no effort.

To the babies, breathing was part of the package but as you grow older and older, you will begin to find that breathing can sometimes be a chore. We often take our lungs for granted, same for our health.

We all think that breathing is natural and as long as we breathe or can breath, our longevity will not be an issue.

Breathing for health is a technique. The body is a living organism, so why take it for granted. There are some "free divers" who can hold their breaths for as long as 10 to 11 minutes. Normally, a man can hold his breath for about a minute and a half.


After that, he will begin to panic. When you are able to control your breathing, you will begin to control the state of your health. Deep breathing can add more life into your body better than an athlete who train six hours a day.

When a person is physically fit, he is deemed to be healthy. That's the normal run of things.

However, a jogger who runs three miles a day doesn't mean he will have a long life. It has been reported that people who claimed to be physically fit have died during jogging sessions.

Deep, controlled breathing means directing the qi around the body. It is like having an expensive additive in your body, lubricating all the rusty, worn-out parts.

A man who knows how to breath, breathes life into his body and lets it circulate with the form that is called the human body.

Breathe with your stomach and not your chest and lungs. Almost nine out of 10 people believe that the proper technique in breathing is expanding the lung capacity.

The anatomy of the human body allows for the diaphragm to drop if you are doing it the right way.

Deep breathing lowers blood pressure, it aids in better blood circulation and gives your mind a healthy, gentle jolt every now and them.

Next time, when you are anxious or panicking over something, try this: take in deep breath slowly. When you have reached full capacity, hold it for a couple of seconds and then exhale slowly.

Feel as if the inner organ in your body are relaxing. Act like a balloon when it is deflating. You just go woooosh. The art of deep breathing is actually the art of breath control. Make your breath deep and long.

After a while, when you have mastered the techniques of deep breathing you can begin add "strength" to your limbs. Breath control is part of moving the qi.

A man who is a master of breath control is like a walking oasis. He has the attributes to make things grow within his body. Health is his for the asking.

His mind becomes more alert. If need be, he will increase his strength by four folds.

Do not underestimate the merits of deep breathing or breath control. Once you have mastered it successfully, you will reap the estwhile unknown benefits that have been denied many who take this simple art for granted.

Control your breath, and you will control your life. Control your life and you can reach for the stars.

The human body is capable of wondrous feats. Breath control is merely a portal that leads you to attain your fullest potential. You may just awaken those parts of your brain that have laid dormant for decades.

If you can tap 40 per cent of the human brain, you will be hailed as the man who has given the greatest treasure to mankind, and that is to create geniuses for the betterment of mankind.

Learn to let go

It is an old advice: get a good night's sleep. It's true. Too many people push themselves too hard.
A lot of up an coming, young professionals feel that if they were to work 14 hours a day plus 4 hours at the gym and pub, they will be fine. Yes, they will be fine, if they are lucky, for about 10 years.
Then in their mid-30s, normally their health will cave in because all the stresses and accumulated abuse of bodily functions will kick in.
How many times have you told yourself that you really need some good sleep and then don't? For goodness sake, don't torture yourself. The world and all that office work can wait.
Your continued good health can't - good sleep is essential for a refreshed body and a calm disposition. Look at it this way, if you are going to stay awake for 24 hours and finish your work, you are still not going to be the boss.
That's why the other guy is the boss because he can keep your awake for 24 hours while he has his beauty sleep.
When you doze off, you are actually letting go. Letting go is such a simple phrase but too many people misconstrue it as "giving up". Yes, in a way, it is giving up but it's actually giving up on the built-up stresses of a long, drawn day.
Your body and mind can only take so much. All organic lifeforms will break down when they reach critical mass. Even machines break down, and these objects created by man are not even organic, nor are they lifeforms.
Letting go means that you will continue to work at a solution but you will not lose sight of other important aspects of daily living. That means having proper meals, spending time with your family and having fun with your hobbies.
Pity the man who devotes all his waking hours for the betterment of the company he works for. Your boss may notice your unusual diligence but he may not be impressed by your stupidity.
Most organisations will prefer a diligent worker who also uses his commonsense. That means getting your priorities right. If you have to go home, then go home. If you need to rest, then rest. What can be more simpler than that?
If the only way for you to let go is to check into an intensive care unit at the hospital, then you really need some serious counselling. Too many people, in their pursuit of a healthy bank account, forget about the other more important things in life.
These are striking a balance between office and home. Just imagine that if you drop dead right now, will your company grind to a halt. Most probably not. Yes, if you can accept this cold, hard fact, then you may not want to be a office warrior that you have imagined yourself to be.
Letting go can also be applied to other facets of life. It can be used intelligently on relationships and on problems that cannot be solved immediately. Learn to let go, as it is often said but seldom heard in its right context by the majority of people.
Take for example, if a dear one has departed under tragic circumstances, you would probably be in mourning for some time. But when the period is over, you must let go, otherwise it is going to do you more harm than that person you are grieving for.
Imagine this: for hundreds of generations mothers and fathers have worried for their children and over them, and yet when the time came, the subjects of their worries continued with their lives.
And all the worriers and worried-over eventually find their way to their graves. So where does all that "not letting go" take you - nowhere actually.
Problems are solved easier if your mind is at rest and your heart is at peace. This is not hearsay but a scientific discovery in recent years. Researchers have found out that problematic situations are often solved faster when the mind is at peace.
It is said that solutions to problems are often found at the three B's - Bedroom, Bathrub and Buses. These are the three places where most of us are most relaxed.
So let to let go and let life takes it natural course. You won't regret it.

Find the source of perpectual good health

I know it is unfair to ask anybody to find the source of all good being but it does exist. It is where your soul travels to after your physical form has given up its usefulness.
But those who strive to arrive at this Source will attain all there is, and all the goodness from the Source will be obtained freely without conditions.
It is said that the Source is one place where thought cannot enter. It is a place of no-thought. It is a realm where human effort cannot be exerted and it will always be a source of peace and happiness for those who embark on a quest for it.
In martial arts, in yoga, in transcendatl meditation, the objective is always to look into your inner self. Though words can be found to describe it, the Source is beyond human language.
The yoga masters call it the Mother of all Kundalinis. The Japanese identify the place as Satori and the Buddhist simply call it Zen.
The rest of us mortals name it heaven. Whatever you want to call it, it exists though many will walk through this life and perhaps many other cycles of life without catching even the slightest glimmer of it.
There's no trick in entering its domain. It has nothing to do with determination or perseverance and everything to do with spirituality. Some people live their entire lives and not find it, and a few rare ones encounter it even though they may not be looking for it.
These are some of the mysteries that defy human explanation. We are all destined to enjoy perfect health. Unfortunately, that's where it ends. It is only a wish and a quest by the best of the most of us.
At the Source, if you arrive there, all will be made whole. There is no room for abnormalies and incorrectness in the presence of the Source. Once you are in the Source, all that is askewed will be rectified and corrected.
Thus, perfect health is the reward of being at the Source. It's law cannot be denied. Its power cannot be resisted. It is the only One and it is All.
Once you are one with the Source, your entire physical being bows to its commands and it has only one law - Love. As they say, in the end, Love is all there is.
At the Source, there is no life or death. These are human conditions and there's no place for these conditions.
You who read this may lead healthy lifestyles. You may exercise regulary and a true follower of your own religion but to attain the bliss that is associated with the Source, you need to walk on its holy grounds.
There's no prize for knowing about the Source. You just are and you are being there.
Throw out all doubts, all human thoughts of unhappiness, hostility and sadness. These are baggages that cannot be checked in at the gateway of the Source. The human heart and soul know about the Source but unless both heart and soul are one with each other, the human that is you will forever be barred from knowing the holiest of holy at the Source.
The idea is to Be Still. Be very still indeed, and know that He is God.

Worry is the shortest route to an otherwise long life

Why worry? Actually that's easier said than done. It's true. You have friends, wives, husbands, relatives, sons and daughters always imparting this piece of advice.
"Don't worry, it won't change anything!" Wrong! It changes things. It transforms your health. Worry makes you sick. Sick with worry, as they say.
Still, in the generations that have gone by, and for generations to come, human beings will continue to worry. Only the wisest among us, the most spiritual of us all will cease to worry, or rather they have gone up to the altar of deepest worry, stare at the idol and recognise it for what it is and what it has been all this while - absolutely nothing.
Yes, worry is sort of built-into our psyche. We worry about our retirement, we worry about what comes after retirement, we worry about our own health, we worry about our loved ones, we worry about job opportunities, we worry about whether anyone will love us, we worry about getting our next meal, we worry about keeping up with our obnoxious neighbours, we worry about the state of the world, we worry about the next terrorist attack, etc.
Heck, we worry just for the sake of worrying. Is that normal? Yes and no. Yes, because everybody worries at one time or another in the course of his natural life. No, because if worrying is carried on to the extreme, it can be a health hazard.
My recommended antidote for neutralising worry is to find another habit that makes you forget your worry. For example, if you are worried about your child's education, then do something about it.
If your son is not doing well in school, find out why he's not doing well. If he says he's just not interested in studies, then try your best to convince him about the long term benefits of a good education.
If he is a totally "useful case" as far as education is concerned, then ask him what he would like to do. Absolutely nobody dislikes everything. There must be something a person likes.
I once told my children, "if you like to be a hawker, then be the best hawker in town. Make me proud. The most important thing is be happy at what you do."
Worry comes in a million forms, and they are all debilitating after a while. Worry takes the shortest route to illness. Not everybody knows that. Those who do usually don't fall sick. They know better.
Have you ever come across someone who says "why worry, just go ahead and enjoy life." I know it's irritating to hear that from such a joyful person when you feel like crawling into bed and sleep your blues away.
I have met people like that before. These people inspire me. I am glad I come across people like that. Life should always be like that - fast route to happiness and joy.
Nowadays, when friends or strangers come up and ask me: "How's life with you?" My immediate response is "Better than ever!" They are usually taken aback by such a reply. They can't believe that I can be so cheerful.
I tell you what, the next time you think life has handed you a raw deal, just think of those places that presently face disaster or horrendous conditions and you are not there. For example, Darfur, Kandahar, Beirut, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where currently Hurricane Gordon is forming and in the refugee camps all over the world.
You could be in anywhere of these very sad places but you are not. So the conclusion is you are indeed a lucky person. Thank God for that. So what's your worry?
You should actually be down on your knees right now and kiss the ground. Go home and hug your children, kiss your wife and take them all out for a great meal. Life is good. You are not dead yet. Chances are tomorrow you will wake up alive and are given a second chance at being a better person.
So what's your worry again?

Twin paths to good health

KINDNESS and forgiveness. These are two of the sure avenues to good health. The explanation is so startingly simple that it almost defies belief.
Have you not felt the unscratchable ache when you feel hostility and anger towards another person? Never mind the fact whether that person whom you have in mind deserves your kindness.
The act of forgiving is health-giving (to yourself). Kindness is its own reward. Doctors and scientists have only recently found out that the positive values in life go a long way in adding harmony to one's well-being.
Learning to be kind is an act, not an art. Those who feel that they are just being hypocrtical if they do what they don't feel like doing. Wrong. Practise the act of kindness.
In time, such gestures will become part of your persona. Kindness is built into our soul and being. Nurture it, and it will grow and triumph over the other negative traits.
A good heart doth builds a healthy constitution. Forgiveness calms a troubled heart, soothes the soul and gives life to an ebbing spirit.
Most of us think that if we spend thousands of dollars at a well established gym and sacrifice many hours of a week at such places, we will naturally become strong and healthy.
Yes, that is part of it but the secrets of a healthy body begins with a healthy mind, and the paths have been identified as kindness and forgiveness.
Lest, someone thinks kindness and forgiveness are precursors to a call to a life of meditation and prayer, they are never more wrong. These two conditions are necessary for a life free of much stress and worries.
The masters of martial arts and arts like tai chi and qigong understand the concepts that make ordinary men great and great men saints. Well, most of us will shy away from being labelled as "saints" but I don't think we mind being called "great" (even though we may not deserve that honour).
Lest it be said that "kindness" and "forgiveness" are the bywords that find solace and commonality with monasteries and convents, those are the same qualities we find in our mothers.
As little boys and girls growing up in the safety and comfort of our mothers' bosoms, we are surely no strangers to forgiveness and kindness. All of us, as I would like to believe, grew up remembering more of our own mums than our own dads.
One of the reasons is because dads are always busy at work. When we need some urgent cash, we will look at dad's direction, otherwise we steered clear of dad's path.
I notice with the passing of years and the passages of life that those people who are imbued with the superior qualities of forgiveness and kindness tended to lead healthier and happier lives. Why is that so?
My guess it it has something to do with the good side of life. When a person is attuned to the positive waves of all that is good, something happens to his physical constitution. His body recognises these signals and is subsconsciously harmonised with good health and a sound mind.
Yes, everybody eventually deteriorates physically but let's not hasten the deterioration process. Let it happen naturally. We can live longer than most of us think.
Right now, our natural life span is about 70 to 75. By right, it should be in the region of 90 to 120. Impossible? Tell it to those who have lived up till that age.
The stresses of modern living is one of the greatest scourges of the present day world. We pay too much attention to those aspects of life that are not good for us.
We have lost our way somewhere while travelling on the highway of life. Let's hold on to the two that are forever in us and in front of us. They are kindness and forgiveness.
Practise these two qualities. Internalise them. Let them be part of us and we be part of them. These two qualities are the paths to longevity and they are among the smoothest byways in the highway of our lives.

A Touch of Zen

I HAVE learnt from a few (very few) close qigong colleagues that on very rare occasions when they are so engrossed in doing their exercise that there were brief moments when they are "lost in time".
These occasions are what I would describe as people "being touched by Zen". If I may be so humbled as to attempt an explanation.
Sometimes when you are dreaming, and a lovely dream it is, your mind's eye are totally engrossed in participating in the series of events that unfold. Your eyes are open but you do not see, at least not the objects or scenery in front of you.
Instead, you "see" a chain of happenings taking place in your mind. You do not sense the passing of time. You only realise what has transpired when you are out of the loop, so to speak.
People who have had experiencs with a touch of Zen tell of being one with their surroundings. It is an experience that escapes the human language. You have to be there, in there and part of it all, to know what it is all about. And if you are asked to describe what has happened to you, chances are you will be at a loss for words. Because no words or adjectives are adequate to to create the totality in a pictorial understanding for the human mind.
The human mind, in substance, is merely biological. The other "mind" wanders, exists, doesn't sleep and is a portal to the "other side". Lest, I be accused of engaging in a topic that slips from the grasp of human understanding, Zen is something that is being experienced, rather than described.
That is why, for centuries, Zen masters have taught lessons to their students by way of koans. Koan is a riddle or paradoxical anecdote employed by Zen masters to give logical reasoning a good jolt. This device is supposed to throw the normal thought process out of the Zen window, thereby creating a vacuum by which understanding enters from Nothingness.
If this is bewildering to you at this juncture, it's time to stop thinking about it and go out and have a cup of tea.

Where in this world is found Zen? No where, actually because Zen is intangible. It is formless and it simply and absolutely cannot be pegged or pinned down. You do not find Zen. It touches you when all that is right has taken place.
There is no winner or loser in the Zen game. It is not even a game. Eons ago, that famous Chinese sage by the name of Lao Tze attempted to describe it. The closest he came to describing it, was "not describing it".
Lao Tze called it the Tao. Tao or Zen, it means the same thing. It is not even a thing. It is nothing and yet something. It is not subjected to the laws of human language, nor to its physical laws.
To be touched by Zen is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many people go through lifetimes experiencing nothing of it. Only a few have been touched. Those who can experienced being part of Zen are the great teachers you read about in books.
These are the people who have been there and back. They have elected to stay back and spread the word but many do not understand them. Nevertheless, they put the message in very simple terms so that at least a modicum of understanding can be achieved.
Meanwhile, the world continues to turn on its axis. Those who are chosen to feel the touch of Zen will become masters of time and captains of their fate. They know they are not anyone's champion or master. They just are, and they remain so at will.
That is the miracle and the Zen of it all.

The Wrong Approach to Good Health

It is common knowledge among many of us that we only value our health when we are about to lose it or when it is near state of disrepair. What's the use of overhauling a body that has no ready-made spare parts.

It is not as if our bodies are like cars where you can easily shop for a damaged part. The commonsense approach is to maintain it well while it is still in good running condition.

Granted that very few of us are built like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce. Still, even if our own body is just an ordinary "saloon" model, we have to pay some attention to it if we want to keep it on the route for an unspecified period of time.

If you don't step on to the accelerator pedal too hard and too often, the carburretor won't wear off that faster. The pistons won't have to handle the undue stresses that come with an accelerated engine in top gear all the time.

Hence, the internal parts of the engine will suffer less wear-and-tear and will serve its owner longer and more efficiently.

Exercising whether it be aerobics, martial arts, tai-chi or qigong are like adding premium additives into the relevant areas. It helps to lubricates the interior and give the wholeall engine a big boost.

So that when you are going uphill, you won't tired that easily and you can climb a steep incline much better than a worn-out body. When you are young, yout take for granted all that life has to offer you.

When you were young, just as when a car is new, you do not have jerky movements due to prolonged use. Your recovery time is swifter and you are better able to handle the bumps and pot-roads along the road.

A constant and moderate level of daily exercise routine is like giving your body the regular check-ups that it needs. So don't wait till smoke comes out of your radiator and causes the car to stall before you need the help of the mechanic.

If you look after your body as much and as well as you keep an eye on your car, you will go through a long trouble-free period.

Isn't that better than sourcing for spare parts when there is none on offer. Hey, mankind has not perfected the stem-cell technique yet. So you will have to make do with all the flaws and defects that form the entire structure which we call the body.