Category: Reflections

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The Ten Paramis

I learned about the paramis when I partook my first Vipassana meditation retreat. A parami is a good mental quality that one must practice and perfect in order to attain liberation.

The 10 paramis are as follows:

  1. Generosity, giving (dana): giving for the sake of giving.
  2. Morality (sila): lead a moral life and follow the 5 precepts
  3. Renunciation (nekkhamma): drop attachment to your personal belongs and lead a generous life. Give and volunteer whenever you can.
  4. Wisdom (panna): participate in wholesome learning. The ultimate knowledge and wisdom comes from within. Hence, practicing the insight meditation helps achieving true wisdom.
  5. Energy/Effort (viriya): conserve your energy and do wholesome activities. Work hard and earn your livelihood. Help others.
  6. Patience/Tolerance (khanti): replace anger and frustration with patience, forgiveness and compassion.
  7. Truthfulness (sacca): every action should come from a place of truthfulness. Prejudice blinds you from the truth.
  8. Determination (adhitthana): success does not come easily. Stay determined and remember that success begets success.
  9. Loving-kindness (metta): or self-less love. Practice loving without expecting anything in return.
  10. Equanimity (upekkha): nothing in life is permanent. Learn to recognize the impermanence and stay equanimous

May all beings be happy!

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The meaning of the Chariot and charioteers in the Bhagavad Gita

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna imparts to Arjun various important spiritual lessons.

If you have not read the Gita, then it is a good an insightful read.

In this blog post, I want to explain to you the symbolism behind the chariot picture in which we see Arjun, Krishna and the 5 horses driving the chariot.

Continue reading “The meaning of the Chariot and charioteers in the Bhagavad Gita”

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Removing the stone of folly

I forgot the artist’s name but I know he or she is famous. This painting drew my attention because it reminds me of the old days when people used to characterize what we now deem as psychological illnesses as demonic possessions.

In the same way, this picture shows how that crow-man is trying to remove the stone of folly (the title of this painting).

How do you like this painting? Share your thoughts!

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Postcards from Rishikesh, India – 2007

Ten years ago, in 2007, I went for a Dhyan Yatra in India with Isha Yoga. It was an interesting journey and one to remember. A dedicated article about this experience and trip will ensue sometime in the future.

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Time: The most precious commodity

It does not take a movie, or reading a book to realize that our most precious asset or commodity is time…

I ran into this viral video about the topic of time scarcity:

I loved the metaphor in that movie. Here’s the full transcript:

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to used during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course?
Each of us has such a bank, its name is time.
Every morning, it credits you 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off at a lost, whatever of this you failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no drawing against ‘tomorrow.’
You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and health.
The clock is running.

Make the most of today.

 

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The Iceberg Illusion of Success

I found this picture on the internet and I really loved it and as usual, I would like to use it as a launching pad for today’s article.

I still remember my self when I was young, between the ages of 14 to 23, I used to envy people of my age or slightly older who seemed to have achieved the success that I want for myself.

If I saw another guy with a fancy car, I would immediately justify that by telling myself that he must have rich parents.

If I see a smart guy from a good university, I would say to myself that his parents could afford to educate him in such a prestigious university and then I would say to myself: only if I had the means, then I would have been more successful.

If I saw a guy with a hot looking girl, I would say to myself: “He must have money because that’s why the girl is hanging out with him. I don’t have a car or the money to take her out and give her a nice time”.

Back then, I could not afford to buy all the material possessions that I wanted. I remember when my peers used to have a Game Boy or a Sega Mega drive. They used to come to school and play with those game consoles and it made me feel sad and unhappy because I don’t have one myself. Often times, I would think about my parents with a bit of childish resentment. I had the sense of entitlement because I was immature.

Back then, I could not afford to take vacations or travel wherever I wanted. I was living in a continuous state of perceived lack, holding my happiness hostage to external situations. For a big part of my childhood and adulthood, It felt that my self worth really depends on how others perceive me, how much I have, what car I have, what cloth I wear, what kind of a girl friend I had. Continue reading “The Iceberg Illusion of Success”

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Five Ancient Lessons of the pencil

When Sri Gurudeva Srila Prabhupada ki jaya was walking today he felt his mind reach out over the blue sea to an island shimmering in the distance. When his mind returned it brought a story with it – a story of spiritual instruction. Strange are the ways of inspiration.

Sri Gurudeva Srila Prabhupada writes:

Continue reading “Five Ancient Lessons of the pencil”

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One day, the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich

I was browsing the internet and I found this nice photo and it got me thinking. I would like to use it as a launching pad to share some of my thoughts on the topic of the rich and the poor.

I come from Beirut, Lebanon, a third world country by all means. We have corrupt politicians, political seats handed down from father to son, the worst power and water infrastructure, etc. I wrote a short satirical pamphlet about my home country and published it on Amazon, check it out. The reason I mention my origin is that having lived in the 3rd world country and now I live in the US, I can compare and contrast about the human mentality. Continue reading “One day, the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich”

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3 nights and 1200 miles later – Road trip from Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA

Two weeks ago, I started my road trip from Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA. It was my first very long road trip in the US. At first, I was just going to punch-in my destination into my GPS and drive along whatever route it suggests. However, after talking to friends who already took a similar road trip, they advised me to research taking the scenic route instead of the plain and dull I-5 highway. I became intrigued about the scenic route and my research indicated that it would be a longer but much more enjoyable trip.

What follows is my short story where I share my adventure and some tips I learned along the way. Since this is my first road trip from Seattle to San Diego along the Pacific coast and with little to no experience driving along the coast, I am hoping that this article proves to be useful for others who also are looking to embark on a similar experience. Continue reading “3 nights and 1200 miles later – Road trip from Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA”

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Quotes for the last Sunday of April 2017

  • The generous is courageous from the heart and the stingy is courageous by the looks
  • He who did not make personal efforts to learn on his young age will not make efforts to learn at his older age
  • He who defies his parents will get the same treatment from his own children
  • The fool stands upfront in the line so people can see him and the wise stands behind the crowd so he can see the people
  • Don’t flatter the day before it sets and don’t flatter the woman before she dies
  • Only in the hard times that true friends are known
  • Nice words open doors of steel
  • God only thanks those who thank the common people
  • You can fool all the people some of the times, or you can fool some people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time
  • Never trust a friend without experiencing his true friendship and never underestimate an enemy until you test his/her strength

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My take on the Pickup Artist community – Treating a lady right

treating a lady rightIf you are not familiar with the pickup artists community or the PUA in short then let me clue you in.

The PUA community’s sole focus is to teach men how to learn the game so they can charm women into their bedroom or land a girlfriend.

They have so many techniques ranging from cheesy pickup lines to negging, keeping frame, treating a woman badly to destroy her ego, and what not.

Becoming a pickup artist requires skill and practice. You have to become an alpha male: a male that women desire. Ironically, the MGTOW and PUA community refer to that archetypal guy as “Chad”.

Often times you have to fake it until you make it: pretend to be someone other than your true self. They argue that your actual personality may not be the right personality to get you the girlfriend of your dreams.

The endgame of those PUAs is to find women, date them or pump-and-dump them (using their parlance). Continue reading “My take on the Pickup Artist community – Treating a lady right”

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Quotes for the 4th Sunday of March 2017

  • For people to like each other, one does not have to always be right — A Belgian proverb
  • It does not matter if you walk slowly, but it is important you are walking the right path
  • If you were stabbed in the back then know that you are in the front
  • Love is physics, marriage is chemistry
  • He who does not respect an appointment, does not respect himself
  • Truth hurts those who got used to illusions
  • Do not ever walk on the woven
    path because it leads you to where others have been — Graham Bell
  • Never say “God is in my heart”, instead say “I am in the heart of God” — Gibran Khalil Gibran
  • Eat less, you live longer
  • Early risers are high achievers
  • The week of the productive person is 7 days but the week of a lazy person is 7 tomorrows
  • Three things enter a house without permissions: debts, old age and death
  • Don’t say: “I will give”, instead just give
  • Good reputation is like an olive tree, it grows slowly but it lives long
  • Wherever a trust worthy person slept is home, but a traitor is a stranger even in his own country

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Between two…

Between two you spend your life: day and night, tiredness and rest

Between two you oscillate in your life: between bodily lust and the lust of the soul

Two are enemies of health: deep sadness and mad love

Two are enemies of peace: greediness and envy

Two are the enemies of society: the traitor and the lazy

— Source: Incognito