The Health Q
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) 1715 6165 |
Contents
Editorial Note: Taking a sweet revenge;
A mind is a terrible thing to waste;
Recipe for Indian mango ice cream;
Advice for living.
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[Editorial Note] Taking A Sweet Revenge by Parmjit Singh, PhD
Even if you seek to harm an enemy, You should remove your own defects and cultivate good qualities. Through that you will help yourself, And the enemy will be displeased. —Nagarjuna
As normal human beings, we feel tempted to avenge for having been wronged or played false. How many times people fall victim to anger and hatred that they end up spoiling their own life while pursuing revenge on their enemies? Examples are countless and one can find those kinds of people in their neighborhood.
Nagarjuna, the famous Indian Buddhist mystic, have a better advice for this matter. Being angry and hateful is easy. However, one can use this energy for constructive purpose. Every time one feels tempted to fly out of skin, there is an opportunity to cultivate patience and look at one’s own flaws rather than obsessively focusing on revenge.
Though this approach is easier said than done, yet examining merits of this approach, one would definitely be convinced. If your ultimate aim is to show enemy your real worth, what can be more effective than rising above the circumstances and becoming a better person capable of greater things? Being blindly angry or doing some harm to an enemy may feel good in the short term but its long term effects are disastrous. You end up becoming the very person you hated in the first place. When we react the same way as our enemies we become like them.
This is where Nagarjuna’s sage advice comes handy. Rather than focusing on revenge, he says, one should pay attention to self-improvement. That is the sweetest revenge, if you want to think in those terms, you can pull off. More so, while doing so, you become a better person, much better than the person you wanted to hate or take revenge on. [HQ]
The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste
By Geovanni Derice
When it comes to getting in the best shape of your life in 2007, it’s important that you not only train your body and to eat right, but if not more important you must train your mind. You can achieve the best body you’ve ever had if you don’t put your mind to waste. The following tips will put you on the superhighway to having your best year yet.
Create a Support Group
You’ve the phrase that behind a good man there’s a good woman. I’m sure you have. Well when it comes to being successful with your fitness goals you need to have good support. Have you eve wondered why people write on message boards online or on forums? Because there are positive people just like them trying to achieve success. Surround yourself with friends, and family members that will provide you with encouragement and motivate you to keep pushing on when the going gets tough. If you have the opposite and dealing with those who don’t want you to succeed and keep knocking you down then I suggest you distance yourself from them and question really what value they have to you. I know this is tough to do especially when it can be your own family but you will love yourself and the new you in the long run.
Daily Diary
It’s important to really know what you are thinking when you’re doing critical things during the day. When you feel stressed what actions do you often do? A lot of times at moments of stress many people run straight to the front of the buffet line and try to eat their way out of misery. The keyword there is try. You never quite get the solution to your problems by eating your life away. When you eat, keep a diary near and write down the way you felt as you ate that meal and you will realize how most of the time when you eat a lot it has to do with your emotions at the time.
What’s Your Goal?
Have you ever tried to go somewhere you’ve never been without directions? Well it’s the same with your fitness goals. If you do not clearly state what your goal is then how can you expect yourself to know how to get there. You need to create a map where you have weekly goals to even daily goals for yourself. Creating a system where you accomplish little goals will truly motivate you to stay on the right path to fitness super stardom, as I like to call it.
Your Contributions to Your Goal
By contributions here I’m talking about what did you do today that will lead you to your ultimate goal. If you’re looking to drop 20 lbs for the New Year, on January 15th what did you do to get closer to losing those 20 lbs. If you worked out on that day beautiful, you’re one step closer. If on the other hand that’s the day you had a box of donuts, then make the adjustment to not have those types of days again.
Deadline for Reaching your Goals
Yes, there’s a deadline. While this is not like a late credit card bill messing up your credit score, but it should be approached with the same mentality. It’s not only important to have a goal but having a deadline to accomplish your goal will create a sense of urgency and help you truly work your tail off to see it come true.
Pictures are Worth 1000 Words
When it comes to achieving your goals it’s important to know what you want to look like and what you currently look like now. After watching an interesting TV show, I came to the conclusion that many people are harsh about how their bodies actually look but it’s important to take a before picture. The reason is because you will be impressed to see how far you’ve come along in your quest for fitness success. From the old picture you can begin to imagine how it will look if you just could cut a few inches here and there.
I Think Therefore I am
Take time out of each day to write down what you want to look like as if it’s already happened. If you want to have your butt look just perfect in a pair of jeans, write down that you bought a pair of jeans in the size you want and write about how you receive compliments from strangers on how great the jeans looked on you. By affirming your future, you will begin to take action to make that event actually come true. Hopefully now that you have these 7 tips to your arsenal you will be able to not only picture the success you’re capable of having in 2007 but also you will accomplish it, because you believe! I can’t wait to see the new you, can you?
Geovanni Derice is the proud owner and founder of 4everToned Fitness in Brooklyn, New York. During his 4-year career as a fitness professional and life coach, Derice has earned a B.S. in Sports Management from St.John’s University and a certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) for certified personal trainers. He’s also a frequent contributor to a variety of news sources and websites, including the Torch Newspaper, Parle Magazine and numerous article directories all over the web. For more information on how you can make the shift in your mind to have a successful campaign as achieving fitness success go to: http://www.fitness-success.com. Originally published on http://EzineArticles.com
Mango Ice Cream [Recipe]
by Manjit Handa, PhD
Ingredients
Homogenized Milk: 1 Litre; Sugar: ¾ cup; Cardamom powder or freshly ground cardamom seeds: ½ teaspoon; Pureed pulp of one fresh Mango
Method
In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil and reduce the temperature to a minimum. Keep stirring occasionally so that the milk does not stick to the base of the pan. When the milk is reduced to half, keep it aside and let cool completely. Then add sugar, cardamom powder and the mango puree. Stir well and transfer the mixture into an aluminum pan or ice cream moulds and place it in the freezer. In a few hours the ice cream should be ready. This ice cream does not have the same soft texture as the regular brand names. All the same it does not have any harmful chemicals. Garnish with almonds, pistachios or some fresh cut mango cubes. Enjoy! [HQ]
Advice for Efficient Living
by Parmjit Singh, PhD
Live in the world, Not let it live in you
Saint Kabir was one of the famous Indian poet/mystic. He was very poor and wove clothes to support his family. Such was his state that the pundits of that time never took him seriously. Who would listen to a poor weaver? They even derided him because he did not have pedantic knowledge. He was a simple-hearted man who sang self-composed songs and did his daily work.
He did not bother with what others said of him. After all this time, Kabir is remembered not because he wrote mystical poetry or wove fabulous clothes but because he showed us the way to live properly without fretting about poverty or richness. Kabir never disregarded his family responsibilities, but kept focused on his ultimate aim. He did not run to the Himalayan for meditation.
He lived in the material world, shouldered his worldly responsibilities but never let the world live in him. He realized that money, knowledge, poverty and prestige all existed outside us. It is the attachment to these that tether us down. They are neither a bondage nor freedom, but just means of living. This is how we should live— without trying to run away from anything but remaining focused on our ultimate goal—self-actualization. Once we are focused on the transcendent goals, all the other distractions take a back seat.
Just Sit
Whenever we run into difficulties or our conventional way of thinking does not give us expected solutions, we tend to think harder. However, we hardly ever get solutions or insights. On the contrary, we end up messing up things even more. And this happens because of the way our brain and thinking process works—it works on the basis of available information in relation to our conditioning and tendencies. Therefore, even if we try hard to think better, we end up thinking about the same things may be in different nuances. Hence, our problems remain and sometimes even get worse.
There is another approach to solving problems— the Zen way, the natural way. Though it may not be a panacea for all the ills that afflict us, nonetheless, it promises to afford insights that the conventional rational thinking cannot even imagine. It advises us to just sit; do not do anything, just sit. Whenever you are in the midst of emotional storms or bad circumstances, watch yourself. Become a witness; do not try to change anything. Let everything remain as it is—no willful control of emotions, anger, bad thinking or bad decisions.
Just by sitting silently the layers of our unnecessary mind starts to peel off and when all the conditioning has gone out of the mind, then we are left with our original face/self, the pure potential and that is the first time we are able to think properly. [HQ]
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