Your Action Reflects On God

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans,
and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of
college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a
Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative
church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how
to go about it.

One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his
T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts
down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are
really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes
there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the
church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece
suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with
a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to
themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some
college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.
The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All
eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister
can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.
And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great
difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with
him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion.

When the minister gains control, he says , "What I'm about to preach, you
will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."
"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever
read!"

Cool Video

This is such a cool video...

There was such a sense of fun and spontaneity.

It is produced by an opposition party from Singapore for the coming election on May 7, 2011.

Bach's Cantata 147

Watch this cool video of how creative the Japanese people are!

They play Bach's Cantata in the woods using a wooden ball and a rail made of wood.

Enjoy and be inspired!!!

What Are You Teaching Them?

Children are all born innocent.

They do not come with any in-built values, cultural inclinations or morality.

All of them learn these values from the people closest to them - their parents, relatives, neighbours, play-mates, friends and enemies.

They learn the good and the bad through being exposed to the various media outlets, from TV, movies to songs and the various 'celebrities'.

They are like sponges - they just absorb what they see.

If they see their parents do certain things, they will just imitate them, as they do not know better what is acceptable; what is right or wrong.

Therefore, if a child grows up in a dysfunctional family, it is highly likely that he will be similarly dysfunctional.

If she grows up with a neurotic mother, it is likely she too will also be neurotic and sick in her mind.

Sigmund Freud said it very succinctly : -

"If you want to know the child, just look at the mother."

What Freud said is very true.

In my experience, if I want to know how a child behave, I just have to look at the mother. Often times, it is the mother who profoundly influences the child. If the mother is well-adjusted and happy, the child will also grow up to be like her. And vice-versa.

Therefore, it is very important to be self-aware of yourself and your actions when you are around a child.

You can bet that he/she is observing you and registering how you behave and react to the situation at hand.

That is where the young children learn how to hate, learn how to be insensitive and learn how to uncaring.

The flip side is that, under the proper guidance, a young child can also learn to care, to love and to be a good person...

"If the causes we create arise from wisdom,
So then will be the results.
If the causes we create arise from ignorance,
So, then will be the results."

- Heart of a Buddha

Bring A Smile To Your Day

Advertisement In A Long Island Shop:
Guitar, for sale........ Cheap....... .
.......no strings attached.

Ad In Hospital Waiting Room:
Smoking Helps You Lose Weight ...
One Lung At A Time!

On a bulletin board:
Success Is Relative.
The more The Success,
The more The Relatives.

When I Read About The Evils Of Drinking...
I Gave Up Reading

My Grandfather Is Eighty
And Still Doesn't Need Glasses....
He Drinks Straight Out Of The Bottle.

Sign In A Bar:
'Those Of You Who Are Drinking To Forget,
Please do Pay In Advance.'

Sign In Driving School:
If Your Wife Wants To Learn To Drive,
Don't Stand In Her Way....

Behind Every Great Man,
There Is A Surprised Woman.

The Reason Men Lie Is Because
Women Ask too Many Questions..

Getting Caught
Is The Mother Of Invention.

Laugh And The World Laughs With You,
Snore And You sleep Alone,

The Surest Sign
That Intelligent Life Exists
Elsewhere In The Universe
Is The Fact That It Has Never Tried To Contact Us.

Sign At A Barber's Saloon In Detroit :
We Need Your Heads To Run Our Business..

Sign In A Restaurant:
All Drinking Water In This Establishment
Has Been Personally Passed By The Manager

East and West

The difference between the English speaking world and the Asian countries.

16 Truths That Make Us Strong

1. Life is not easy. – Hard work makes people lucky – it’s the stuff that brings dreams to reality. So start every morning ready to run farther than you did yesterday and fight harder than you ever have before. (Read The Road Less Traveled.)

2. You will fail sometimes. – The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant. You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work. So get out there and do something! Either you succeed or you learn a vital lesson. Win – Win.

3. Right now, there’s a lot you don’t know. – The day you stop learning is the day you stop living. Embrace new information, think about it and use it to advance yourself.

4. There may not be a tomorrow. – Not for everyone. Right now, someone on Earth is planning something for tomorrow without realizing they’re going to die today. This is sad but true. So spend your time wisely today and pause long enough to appreciate it.

5. There’s a lot you can’t control. – Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control.

6. Information is not true knowledge. – Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task a hundred times, but these discussions will only give you a philosophical understanding. You must experience a task firsthand to truly know it.

7. You can’t be successful without providing value. – Don’t waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. When you’re valuable to the world around you, you will be successful. (Read Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?)

8. Someone else will always have more than you. – Whether it’s money, friends or magic beans that you’re collecting, there will always be someone who has more than you. But remember, it’s not how many you have, it’s how passionate you are about collecting them. It’s all about the journey.

9. You can’t change the past. – As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” You can’t change what happened, but you can change how you react to it.

10. The only person who can make you happy is you. – The root of your happiness comes from your relationship with yourself. Sure external entities can have fleeting effects on your mood, but in the long run nothing matters more than how you feel about who you are on the inside.

11. There will always be people who don’t like you. – You can’t be everything to everyone. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently. So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right. What others think and say about you isn’t all that important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.

12. You won’t always get what you want. – As Mick Jagger once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need.” Look around. Appreciate the things you have right now. Many people aren’t so lucky.

13. In life, you get what you put in. – If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It really is this simple. (Read The Four Agreements.)

14. Good friends will come and go. – Most of your high school friends won’t be a part of your college life. Most of your college friends won’t be a part of your 20-something professional life. Most of your 20-something friends won’t be there when your spouse and you bring your second child into the world. But some friends will stick. And it’s these friends – the ones who transcend time with you – who matter.

15. Doing the same exact thing every day hinders self growth. – If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Growth happens when you change things – when you try new things – when you stretch beyond your comfort zone.

16. You will never feel 100% ready for something new. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it.

And remember, trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. Strength comes from being comfortable in your own skin.

- Extracted From Transitioning.org

Do Good Today and Spread The Word

Below is a write-up by Kristian Anderson, a recovering cancer survivor.

He is fighting to have the drug, Erbitux, to be covered by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so that patients will be able to get treated at a subsidized rate. Without the subsidy, the price of Erbitux is beyond the means of many cancer patients as it would be too expensive.

Please help to spread the word and take action by sending/faxing a letter to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer (contact details shown below) to include Erbitux in the above Benefits Scheme.

Do this so that many cancer patients can benefit from the result of your pro-active actions.

Spread the seed of goodness. Take compassionate action now!

__________________________________________________________

Many-Hands

Right now, in Australia, the federal government is dragging it’s heels in relation to releasing the drug Erbitux onto the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and the board of Medicare have both signed off and given it the thumbs up and the government has (had) promised to release it to those who need it…. but they haven’t done it by the date they said they would and we’re not getting any answers as to when they intend to honour their promise.

Erbitux is working wonders in my body, I kid you not.

I have been on the drug for 8 weeks now (I had my 8th infusion yesterday) and today received my round 7 results. In just seven weeks my CEA markers have dropped from 4,100 to 234. My CA 19.9 markers have dropped from 113 to 13.9…. remembering that in the CA19.9 arena a “normal” person has a marker count of 37 and below. Each week my markers decrease by 25 to 50 percent. At a time when my markers were inexplicably climbing, Erbitux has sent them packing. Of course, keeping in mind the success of the bowel operation and the SIR spheres treatment but still… it’s producing incredible results. Erbitux needs to be, must be, available as a front line treatment option.

There are approximately 2,000 Australians that need Erbitux. My weekly treatment costs $2,000 to supply. All up, we need $30 million dollars a year to potentially bring this kind of result to many, many Australians at no cost to themselves.

The government has promised it but I need all of you to help remind them of their pledge to the cancer patients of Australia.

When I first started this journey my voice was small, quiet and helpless. Today my voice echo’s loudly around the world thanks to the prayers and support of everyone who visits the blog, countless prayer groups and churches around the world, the local media here in Australia, news outlets around the globe and, of course, Oprah.

Let me feel you, carry you higher
Watch our words spread hope like fire
Secret crowds rise up and gather
Hear your voices sing back louder

We can make a difference. One person plus one person plus one person…. all of us little people. I’m convinced of it.

If you have the time and the inclination please write a (polite) letter to the following people and let them know the people of Australia who are fighting cancer, their families and loved ones, all want and need Erbitux (Cetuximab) released onto the PBS.

Contact details for our Prime Minister, Health Minister and Treasurer are below:

The Hon Julia Gillard MP

Prime Minister

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: +61 (02) 6277 7700
Fax: +61 (02) 6273 4100

The Hon Nicola Roxon MP

Minister for Health and Ageing

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: +61 (02) 6277 7220
Fax: +61 (02) 6273 4146

The Hon Wayne Swan MP

Deputy Prime Minister; Treasurer

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: +61 (02) 6277 7340
Fax: +61 (02) 6273 3420

You can send it by mail but fax will be quicker.

Please, help if you can. The benefits I am receiving from this drug should be available to everyone who needs it. It’s not a miracle cure but it is really smart science and it works.

It works.

- Kristian Anderson

Green Lantern Trailer

I am so waiting for this movie!!

From the trailer, it looks like it will be a good faithful representation of the comic characters and its history.

FRESH

Here is a very good documentary called "FRESH" that tells you how food is produced. The documentary is about 1 hour and is broken up into 8 part series in YouTube.

It seems that we have moved very far away from how Mother Nature intended the natural food that we eat is cultivated.

Because of the big, greedy corporations, our food has become laden with pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and genetically modified. Many of these food are deficient in nutrients, vitamins and essential minerals that our cells need to survive. All these are very unhealthy for our bodies.

That is why the number of people coming down with various diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart diseases are increasing dramatically. Many children nowadays have diseases that never really exist in our grand-parents' times - diseases like autism, ADHD, leukemia, eczema and food allergies.

However, there are small, enlightened farmers who are trying to farm decent, natural food as Mother Nature intended. They are rearing cows, chickens and other animals in a humane way. Everything that they do on their farm is respectful to Mother Nature and her laws.

So, if you can afford it, support these farmers, buy organic food and live a healthier life...

The Speechless Animal

In the twilight of a beautiful day, when fancy seized upon my mind, I passed by the edge of the city and tarried before the wreck of an abandoned house of which only rubble was left.

In the rubble I saw a dog lying upon dirt and ashes. Sores covered his skin, and sickness racked his feeble body. Staring now and then at the setting sun, his sorrowful eyes expressed humiliation, despair, and misery.

I walked slowly toward him wishing that I knew animal speech so that I might console him with my sympathy. But my approach only terrified him, and he tried to rise on his palsied legs. Falling, he turned a look on me in which helpless wrath was mingled with supplication. In that glance was speech more lucid than man’s and more moving than a woman’s tears. This is what I understood him to say:

“Man, I have suffered through illness caused by your brutality and persecution.

“I have run from your bruising foot and taken refuge here, for dust and ashes are gentler than man’s heart, these ruins are less melancholy than the soul of man. Be gone, you intruder from the world of misrule and injustice.

“I am a miserable creature who served the son of Adam with faith and loyalty. I was man’s faithful companion. I guarded him day and night. I grieved during his absence and welcomed him with joy upon his return. I was contented with the crumbs that fell from his board, and happy with the bones that his teeth had stripped. But when I grew old and ill, he drove me from his home and left me to merciless boys of the alleys.

“Oh son of Adam, I see the similarity between me and your fellow men when age disables them. There are soldiers who fought for their country when they were in the prime of life, and who later tilled its soil. But now that the winter of their life has come and they are useful no longer, they are cast aside.

“I also see a resemblance between my lot and that of a woman who, during the days of her lovely maidenhood enlivened the heart of a young man; and who then, as a mother, devoted her life to her children. But now, grows old, she is ignored and avoided. How oppressive you are, son of Adam, and how cruel!”

Thus spoke the speechless animal whom my heart had understood.

- The Speechless Animal, Khalil Gibran

The Four Essential Freedoms

“In the future days, which we seek to make sure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression, everywhere in the world.

The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want...

The fourth is freedom from fear.”

- Franklin D Roosevelt