Category Archives: Self actualization

Emotional Zombies

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There is a new predator roaming our world and we are increasingly aware of it and constantly watching for its sound, vibration or sudden appearance. New studies have shown that it is even observed while we are eating as a family or in the privacy of our bathroom, and for some even while we are enjoying the most intimate of human interactions of sex. Countless accidents and deaths are now attributed to its rapid spread across the globe and numerous relationships have soured as its presence increases. By all counts it is spreading to younger generations and even the older more mature generations often fall victim to its inappropriate timings and appearances.

We are indulging in this creatures rise and there is no time of day or night when we do not fall prey to its insidious call. In fact we are encouraging it to grow and are now suffering depression, if it does not appear or responds in a timely manner when we engage in it. We lose sight of our immediate goals and important tasks that must be completed at once are put aside, as we cater to the increasing demands from this new beast in our lives. Children are left to cry and spouses left to fend for themselves as we withdraw from them and seek this newfangled devil, which attracts like no other.

Driver’s crash, lovers disengage, children disobey their parents, and responsible parties abscond from their work, as this new obsession takes over more lives every day. We are no longer masters of our own life and now cater to the constant interruptions, which lead us away from our planned goals. Why can we not resist this new plague that seems to grip everyone around us, as we move like zombies in a foreign land? Nobody talk to anyone and all we find are people staring at their devices as we commute, travel, attend meetings, go to social engagements or even as we gather at home as a family.

This is a new scientific phenomena and its rise will lead to the next evolution in our lives. The future of humanity is at stake and we will soon embed this new creature into our very brain as our obsessions increase. Today it is the phone or the watch and soon it will be a suitable chip implanted into our very nervous system. We will finally be always connected and the predator will have conquered our inner demons and we will no longer have a life of quiet and reflection. Finally it will tell us when, how and where to live our lives and we will succumb to its wiles and live in a freedom that is of our own creation.

Be happy as rational thought, meditation, contemplation and compassion will vanish and we will become yesterday’s news living today’s life. Such joy lies in our future that when we reach out for the person we love, we will find that all your expectations are met, as the device will be our companion made up of all our secret desires.

Desire colors our world

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The dream rises in my deepest sleep, and slowly unfolds into my semi-conscious mind; and colors my mind, in its strange red color. I know it is her color, as only she has brought it into my life; as it is the color of her desire, which also rises in the dream. I grasp it and love it, and play with it and then feel it slipping out of my fingers, like water, and it leaves a sorrow behind. It is the bereavement of parting and the more I cling to it, the more quickly, it slips away. It is her gift to me and I awake to a hollow sorrow, which leaves me wondering why she must always be just so.

I wake and try to smile as I have forsaken this past and have promised myself, that I will awake with a smile to a new reality. Her color and her desire wrap me in a cocoon of sorrow, as I know that what she has given to me is only transient. All our grasping and our indulgences and our desires are wrapped up in this wakening, as only she could have done this to me. I loved and lost, and now the joy of the mingling is to live on, only in my memories; and arise only, in my deepest dreams.

My smile is wider now, as the shadows fall away and the new day rises. I meditate on the now and seek the lethargy that was our love, and bask in the glow that was our color. Our love awakened our senses, to an ecstasy of evermore. Oh slowly I say to my mind, rise slowly and let me enjoy this moment before the universe rushes in. All my yesterdays have now arrived at this pinnacle of realization, that without her I am nothing, and yet with her; I was less than nothing, for she had long ago become my everything.

The sounds of the birds outside wanders into my consciousness and the music of this universe starts to sing its daily song. I know that I must rise soon and forsake this bed and all it held dear. Who would have thought that the passion would fade and the desires banked and our color fade, when it seemed to be the only gift of life. This primordial desire was quenched and then rose again and was satisfied again in a circle of life. Now I reach out and my companion is gone and I find that there is only emptiness, where there had been everything.

My reality awakes and I step out into the day and the color of the morning is yellow, as the red fades back into the night. I want to mingle with this new day as I know it is all I have now, but something holds me back as if I await a sign. I will not let myself be dragged into the past of sorrow and will also not let the fear of the uncertain future, confound me. I step away from that bed but cannot give up the glory of that love. or the fulfillment of all the desires, as only she walked on that lonely path with me.

I rejoice in what I have lost as such is life and all it gives to us. If not for her I would not have known the joys of this life and if not for her, there would not have been the yesterdays of my dreams. Why she has moved on, I cannot say; and why I remain trapped in this endless sorrow, I cannot say. All I know is that love once was and now I am trying to rekindle that which no longer exists. I laugh aloud at this comedy of existence and worship her again, as my life was only for the unfolding of her love. While she has moved on, I am yet alive and will hold dear even the memories, of what once was. I walk alone into happiness, with the hope; that someday she will follow, and we will walk as one again.

“There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.”
― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

Fifty shades of brightness

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“We see that these people who are having the successful marriages, who are idealizing, are really very forgiving in how they attribute problems,” Dale Griffin psychologist at UBC said. His finding is that partners who idealize their spouses to a certain extent, have happier marriages.

We all know that love is a powerful equation, as when we love someone; we also idealize that person, and as a consequence, we will not attribute our negative feelings to that person. The kid who is noisy and disruptive and who is not ours, is considered rowdy and undisciplined, and if ours then will be considered enthusiastic and intelligent. We forgive our kids more readily and will often seek to provide compassion and love, when we find they are unhappy. The same can be said for our spouses, as when we are in love; we will attribute any short comings in our marriage, to other factors, and not blame our spouse as vehemently.

Dale’s carried out his study over five years with newlyweds, he found that normally the level of satisfaction steadily deteriorated, over the years for a lot of the couples. It was only the idealistic spouses who ignored their spouse’s shortcomings, who continued to be happier as time progressed. While we must live with facts and face reality, to be successful in life, it is not the same in our relationships. Being overly factual and ground in reality actually may cause relationships to deteriorate, as a little bit of hope, imagination and dreams are required for true bliss.

Based on these findings I want to raise the pedestal on which I put my spouse. It is now my deep belief that if I would only idealize her some more, then our marriage will be even better. In a world of stark and grim reality, I have been too rigid and have allowed her to be confined, to the dark dungeon that has become our home. It is high time that I removed the cobwebs of my mind and allowed the clear light of faith to shine on our relationship. She is not to blame for my unhappiness but instead she is the bedrock of my current and future happiness. I cannot forgive a fact, but I can definitely love and forgive my soul companion. We must add humor and remove hardheadedness to be happy.

So the solution is not in living in a real world where relationships are concerned, but to live in an idealistic world. Give your imagination some string and let it fly. Chose a little humor, some compassion and love, and the weight of the relationship will lessen. The weight on your shoulders will go away, and the hate that clouds of your judgment, will be removed. A simple touch will become electric, and a spoken word becomes an opening to much better communication both physically and emotionally. Fight if you must, but at the end learn to forgive and forget.

I can see the clouds of doubt lifting from my eyes and the hate and my long held distaste melts into the ether. She is like a goddess and I am like her god, and we are on the path to eternal happiness. I love the ground she walks on, and that is enough for now. There is a happiness that envelops us and we are on a path that grows brighter every day. I forgive my past hurts and am one with the present and start again, as each day a new relationship blossoms. Love is not enhanced by carrying the destruction of the past hurts like a loadstone, but instead by trusting our partner will help us make a better life. I reach for her, but she is already on the pedestal now, so our happiness grows and all is well again. Fifty shades of brightness appear before my my eyes, as I look up lovingly, and see my spouse in this new light of knowledge.

Innovations come from first ideas

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InnovationLifeCycle.jpg

The figure shows the beneficial effects of innovations. With each successive emerging technology that goes from innovation to diffusion the rate of revenue and return keep increasing. A series of these cycles can lead us into the next millennium for the betterment of all creatures, if we carefully nurture the seeds of these emerging technologies.

“The all items Consumer Price index for the USA increased 0.8 percent over the last 12 months. This is notably lower than the 1.3 percent change for the 12 months ending November. The energy index has declined 10.6 percent over the span. In contrast, the 3.4 percent increase in the food index is its largest 12-month increase since February 2012.” As per the US department that tracks these arcane statistics.
All the facts coming out of the US economy on manufacturing, employment, CPI, GDP growth seem to show signs of a stable environment, in which the markets may be poised to change, into a growth trajectory. With a crumbling infrastructure to take care of the president is promising huge projects. I agree that when a nation’s most memorable engineering works become five decades old, it is time to reenergize and start work on the boldest of the bold new projects now. The Golden Gate and the GW Bridges were great but now we need the next generation of green transport in the form of electric vehicles powered by solar or wind or other non carbon renewables.
New energy, transportation and information grids have to be built just like the old Interstates were built way back when. As cities become smarter they will generate a utopian lifestyle supported by the new information age. Wireless connectivity, driverless cars, efficient lighting and digital security are all developing at a rapid pace to meet this brave new world. Yet these developments need new ideas and thinking and innovators and problem solvers. We are returning thousands of PHDs and graduates every decade due to our immigration policy. The nation’s firms have to set up research centers in these foreign countries where they are returning, taking the jobs and new ideas with them.
Where will the highly skilled labor required for the next millennium come, if we continue to turn away the best and the brightest from our shores. The sign at immigration now reads to the world “Innovators not welcome; we are doing quite well with what we have.” Twelve million workers have disappeared from our employment ranks and millions more of skilled teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers and scientists will retire with the baby boomers. We need to replace these skilled positions with new replacements or our development and way of life will come to an end. With increased productivity fewer workers can support more dependents but there is a limit.
Our public policy must meet the people’s needs even when they cannot see it for themselves. An open society that welcomes new ideas and cultures thrives while a hemmed in society loses touch with the real world. Xenophobia may sound comforting but at the end one must realize that a State has no religion or race, as that would limit its future potential. Ideas and dreams make the future brighter and we must rise to welcome a new dawn.
What our new sign at immigration should read is “Innovator’s welcome, the race has just begun!”

Improving Mental Health

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Let us talk about an issue in Health Care that nobody apparently wants to talk about. It is simply the topic of Mental Health, whether it is at an individual level, a community level, national level or at an international level; the basic problem is that people do not want to talk about it. There is “No Health without Mental Health,” slogan appears very right for our times; for it has been conclusively proven, that people with healthier mental attitudes do better in life. Whether it is at an individual level, where a deep sense of positive energy emerges from those who have positive mental health; resulting in their chasing opportunities, which others may easily overlook.
In 2012 over 43 million American over the age of 18 suffered from some kind of mental disorder. Most of these people remain productive citizens but at a subpar level and mental disorder is the greatest drag on human productivity in modern times. By 2030 it is predicted that 6 trillion of productivity will be lost to chronic non communicable diseases but a major portion of this is going to be caused by mental disorders. WHO estimates 800,000 people commit suicide every year, more than double the rate of murder; and mostly in middle and lower income countries.
Even in wealthy America, most states have dismantled the mental health institutions, that had been set up and now a mental health victim is 10 times more likely to be in prison; than a mental asylum or treatment hospital. The US still has 9 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people and the other countries do much worse and the continent of Africa has 1 for a million people. For people fighting debilitating diseases like HIV and Ebola, and genocidal wars, the trauma can have lasting effects on the people. The active community involvement in working with the women from such ravaged countries pays off in the greatest dividends.
As per Insel, Collins and Hyman writing in Foreign Affairs called Darkness Invisible the scale of this problem will grow with longevity and population growth that is taking place across the world. They point to grassroots studies in Congo and Pakistan where simple community worker’s positive intervention with such women led to measurable positive results. The women for example who received such treatment in Pakistan became not only healthier but were more likely to obtain crucial vaccines for their children, while recovering from posttraumatic stress disorder or prenatal and postpartum depressions.
When I started this blog it was meant for faith and hope. I believe it is a noble cause now to try and raise the millions from out of this shadowy darkness that society imparts on the mentally ill. They deserve better and change is possible. We need to draw them out of the shadows of our existence, and bring them into the light of our everyday life.
My belief is that if we all get together and address this issue, it will make a huge difference in the quality of life, of our future generations. Why should that family member be invisible or incarcerated when he/she can be a productive member of our society. We as a community of compassionate, caring people can lead the way and show each person that life is worthwhile, and worth living to the best of our individual faculties. If we pursue positive actions, we are more likely to achieve positive results. Luckily the medications for treating mental disorders, have grown steadily cheaper, and must be made more accessible. Bill Gates are you listening?
Next time you come across an autistic or dyslexic child, or that crazy adult, or harebrained uncle, pause and admire the world; that they see. Join in their reality, and you will find that there are dimensions to our existence; that we have passed by, unheeded. Just like you do not truly play with a child, till you immerse yourself in its world; and see what he/she, is seeing. To understand what a person is going through, one has to enter their world; and then show them the light of hope, and the path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Only then the imaginary world that the child believes in becomes real, and then you find that you are no longer playing with the child anymore. Instead you are helping another human being understand, this crazy game of life itself!

Music of the universe

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“You know, you come from India and you say, ‘OK, I’m representing a 3,000-year-old history,’ so you think you’re gonna teach the world about rhythms and drums and so on,” he says. “And then you arrive here. You suddenly realize that you know nothing. You’re just one little dot in the painting that is the music of the universe.” Zakir Hussein tabla maestro who played early with George Harrison, and later in the Grateful Dead’s endless jams at their barn cum studio at SF, and many leading musicians over his lifetime, said in retrospection.
With India’s PM Modi showcasing his Vibrant Gujrat model, and a Rs. 100,000 Crore (1B) investment promised by leading industrialist Mr. Mukesh Ambani, the grand show is off to a good start. Why a privileged few are anxious to showcase their interest in an economy, which has been consistent only in underperforming on expectations for the past few decades, is mystifying. Expectations that Mr. Modi and his Finance minister Mr. Jaitely will perform the magical rope trick; on which the Indian economy will climb to the stars, are to say the least high. In many Indian’s mind, the climb to becoming number one in the world is; not how but when. Make in India drumroll marches on the back of its prowling lion and all are invited.

The solution needs a many pronged approach and will be a long and hard journey. With a million people joining the workforce every year, India is poised to become the number 1 workforce supplier for a longtime to come. With a 100 million already issued, the PM’s Adhar Bank accounts, it is going to be the largest exercise of Keynesian economy, at a micro or a macro level. The new NITI body will bring together Centre and State interests and actually work for long term development; as without a strong center, the States cannot develop fully. Grass roots laws, administration and education policy framework has to change, for economic development to take place unheeded. The problems are overwhelming, but as Mr. Modi challenges, he is not looking for incremental solutions but for quantum changes that will radically improve the status quo.

To bring up a judiciary that is at best corrupt and at worst activist to an extreme, meddling in social, political and economic affairs; and make it adhere to the implementation of required justice swiftly, will be tough.
To bring up the education system which is at best misguided, and at worst absent, to a level where India provides the next Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Nurses, Scientists, Mathematicians and other skilled professionals to the whole world, will be tough.
To bring half its population out of years of servitude to a male dominated society, and into the free world of equal participation and reward, in the form of true woman’s equality; without fear of torture, rape and travel alone in their own city streets, will be tough.

To end the socialist state of government run organizations in all fields of human endeavor like Banking, Insurance, Railroads, Ports, Steel, Oil etc., the state will need to focus on providing good governance. The legacy that we need civil servants, to run mighty entrepreneurial enterprises, probably passed away with the Raj and Nehru. For citizens to be weaned away from the Maa Baap (State as the Mother and Father) complex, in their relationship to the state has to move more towards becoming self-reliant. To become independent in their behavior and thinking for India’s citizens, will be tough.

Each one of us is only one dot in the painting of our universe, as Zakir points out, India will need to stand out with its vibrant languages and contributions to world culture from an enthusiastic young population. They will find their own path to become the number 1 economy in the world. If history repeats India was #1 in GDP from 1 AD to 1,000 AD and may its lotus blossom again for another 1,000 years!

Not another resolution?

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A new year has dawned and hopefully all the resolutions of us needy folks, are holding strong. For once my resolution like many others I am sure, was to lose something; rather than gain something. It is my perennial smoking ban on tobacco in all forms, and my personal dragon rears his head, and blows fire and devastation all around, and drives everyone away. Grumpy and anxious I checked out what may be causing these symptoms. What was taking me riding anxiously through an emotional and psychological roller coaster, is this withdrawal pain, from a life time of habits; which should never have been started, in the first place.
Then I looked around and I recognized the symptoms in a few more people around me. What surprised me was that they were not even smokers or ex-smokers, so the cause I felt must be different. There were clear cases of anxiety and depression and so many stressed friends were all around me that my own withdrawal seemed minor to theirs. I realized that they too were suffering from unfulfilled desires just like I had been when I was trying to fulfill them through smoking. My desires remained unquenched but my smoking grew to monstrous proportions. Some of theirs seems to be tied around money and keeping up.
Money does not necessarily make us happy but the lack (or even the perceived lack of it) can lead to a different trauma, which can cause severe anxiety and depression; in some cases. The outcome of which may result in behavioral actions of avarice and greed which in turn leads to hoarding. We are unable to enjoy what we have, and continue to seek more. It is the ego telling us that we will magically reach a tipping point, where all our possessions will turn us overnight; into a state of bliss, delight and happiness.
This also results in extreme cases into kleptomania, where one steals even when one has enough means to pay for the object in question, many times over. If the lack of money can do this to us, imagine what a lack of love or affection can do to a growing child or a loved one. We squander our most precious resource of time and compassion in fruitless obsessions, overcoming perceived shortcomings in ourselves. To step into the clear light of reality, we have to also step out of these dark places; within ourselves. These unfulfilled desires have not uplifted us, or brought us closer to the bliss that is our birthright. Instead they have warped our world and kept us from our true path.
So my resolution is to unchain myself, from this clinging desire. I walk alone, and yet am filled with the universe, as we are one. My search for greatness outside will never be fulfilled. I need to only light the tiny temple lamp within and burn it, for the greater good. Make my light stronger day by day, and soon it will throw light on that hidden desire; which takes me away from reality. I find this needless feeling of inadequacy, fear and anxiety is not for me; but instead filling me with love, warmth and compassion is a better path. So in the end just be, and let all these clinging desires; fall away by the wayside. Smile as it is a new me, with a whole new life ahead of me, to be peaceful and blissful. Resolutions work not when you look back on them, but when you move forward with them.

A little bliss is life

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“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.”  His holiness the Dalai Lama

I guess I got lost even before I found myself, or learned society’s way to happiness. While my contemporaries were striding into IITs and Ivy Leagues, I was crawling through the complexities of my daily existence; in a fog of chemicals and smoke. Others set stringent targets for themselves and lofty goals for measuring their success. I just had a fuzzy and hazy approach to life in general. Most of my dreams went up to my excitedly pounding brain, or beating heart, only to collapse inward soon after, when the distance between desire and reality became apparent. As my friends started to reach for the pinnacle of their career paths, I was still unable to find my North Star, amidst this quagmire of life’s varied choices.

My early contemporaries in Delhi had bright eyes and spoke of future conquests of new frontiers and scientific breakthroughs, while I struggled late into the black night, red eyed; still trying to decipher Joe Cocker’s rendering of ‘A little help from my friends’ at Woodstock, or Jimmy Hendrix or Bob Dylan’s twanging on his guitar. The Boston professor’s son, who visited; listened to Beethoven, Tchaikovski with his blonde girl friend, and he was very American in his upbringing and conservative in outlook, despite his clear Indian roots. My idea was of a different life style; more in the Haight Ashbury or Soho vein, and a lot loser in concept than his determined life. My offer to introduce them to Pink Floyd and some lazy smoke was harshly declined, and we spent the day studying at the Art Museum instead. Men made it to the moon and more, and I barely made it to Dalhousie; in time for my second Buddhist meditation course, with Goenka.

While others struggled against mighty and at times heroic odds, I dawdled and dithered. Their path seemed so illuminated, bright and straight; while mine was lost in the woods and I often had to backtrack and start again. Like the brilliant plan to do two years of college work in 15 days, for the final graduation in a burst of glory and imagination. Others would look at me earnestly, and define their plans for the next ten years; and then soon move on to even weightier subjects, and I would nod solemnly in agreement. My own struggles were still centered on how to find meaning in my everyday life, and every minute seemed uncertain, and the wind blew me here and there,. on the surface of this ocean of life. My mother, wife and daughter complained I lacked purpose and made great efforts to regulate, support and help to extend my life’s goals, as if I had lost it in the woods by mistake.

Now my contemporaries are happy in all that they have accomplished, while I scrutinize my financial statements hoping to find the clues; to a hidden treasure. My companion’s vacations are well planned and at prestigious locations. I believe a week end searching for that perfectly worthless afternoon; after a morning haze, is well spent. Their companions are social butterflies and gregarious beings, while I am often grumpy at best, and delirious at worst. They love their latest electronic gizmos and are globally connected, while I am still struggling to understand the opening verse of the Isa Upanishad.

They are full of passions, desires and so much more culturally aware, and have stuffed their homes with priceless collections; of their favorite toys. I only seek that emptiness within, wherein bliss blooms like a lotus. It is a different path I know, from the others around me; and moreover I know not where it leads. I seek out my cravings one by one, and examine each one at my leisure, and then cast it away. I become a naked stranger to myself, and find that happiness and fulfillment are my companions on this path. It is not that I have found a unique scientific method, gizmo or drug that is the elixir of desires for eternity. This path of renunciation and compassion is for the poor, depressed, hopeless, faithless fellow creatures of my modern universe. I look in the mirror and find that the more things change, the less lost I become. Happiness and fulfillment have always been here with me, and only when I am lost in this empty bliss, are they found. Wisdom rides my compassion, and my companion complains that I have drunk overmuch, from her fountain of eternity, and our contentment glows.

PS: the symbols on the top mean “I want to go to the cinema” in Blissymbols

Wealth concentration

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As the slow pace of growth continues in most global economies, banks have nowhere to invest their money; as they do not want to risk giving loans. Forecasts that deposit rates would rise from near zero have been proved wrong for six years running, as the global financial system remained fragile and growth fails to reach pre-crisis momentum. In fact the European Central Bank and now the Swiss Central Bank are charging major banks money, to hold large deposits. The rush of money coming out of Russia and other troubled economies is leading to these negative interest rates, as the Euro and Swiss Franc are being driven higher. This may also lead to deflation which will be the central bank’s nightmare, given the anemic growth rates.

At a time of falling commodity prices like oil at below $ 60 a drop of 50% from recent prices and iron ore at new lows, there is a time for economies like India and China to rejoice; but they are suffering their own growth pains. The Chinese are struggling for a soft landing and the Indians are looking for a hard take off and neither can carry the world economy forward. The beacon on the hill remains the US which despite its dysfunctional government, continues to plow ahead in economic growth. Its old rust belt is suddenly starting to gain in manufacturing activities, and new productivity gains continue to rise; due to innovation and technology breakthroughs. Fracking has finally driven oil prices to levels where we will all have a little extra spending money, in our pockets.

This is all happening while the rich continue to get richer; and the poor are increasing in number and have decreasing opportunities available for education and employment. The digital divide and the disparity in wealth continue to grow. Average wealth of the upper middle class doubled from $ 300,000 to approx. $ 600,000 from 1983 to now. The lower middle class and the poor have increased their desperation in the meantime; and are barely able to make a living wage, much less accumulate wealth. Their world has turned upside down as upward mobility has stalled and the American dream is turning into a daily nightmare. Broken families are struggling just to survive and remain human.

There are no easy fixes, as we are facing a world of uncertainty. While the American consumer continues to be fearless and is ready to start the race to spend even more, the rest of the world is still oiling its economic engine. The race may have been lost even before it began, as the animal spirits that are supposed to encourage economic growth; is strangely missing, in most of the world. The conservatives husband their wealth and the liberals are largely discredited and have been cast into the political wilderness. Obama stands alone while the congress dithers. Senator Warren warns that nobody is looking after the needy and senators across the aisle tell her, welcome to Washington. Jeb Bush will be the next President and then we will have the makings of a truly great nation, as he declares war on Russia, Pakistan and any other nation that the military industrial complex, chose next. Oh and my only wish is that my guardian angel will give me so much wealth, that my grandchildren will happily pay their bankers; to just keep it safe, for their trust fund babies!

Hidden messages

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Do we even notice the messages that the companies are trying to communicate?

Click through to reveal.

The arrow looks like a smiling face, because Amazon makes customers happy. It also shows that Amazon has everything you could want “from A to Z.”

Well if you are like me? then you would be blissfully unaware of these messages, that our brain consumes on a daily basis. From the rays of the interstellar stars long dead that pass through us; to the varied spectrum of rays that our eyes cannot see; to the dark matter that makes up 96% of our known universe, what else is going on that we are not aware of? Even our inner voice is confused, as what it says is conveniently forgotten; cloaked by our desires, we get better at ignoring any hidden messages, due to the sensory overload we face in today’s modern world. It is time to turn off the world, and take some time off; and still this madness, that thrives around us. Chaos is no longer an abstract theory, but fast becoming a way of life; as we strive to succeed, against ever most complex odds.

So step off this conveyor urban belt; and step onto a meadow, or walk along a ridge, and look at the vistas of nature. There is so much more to our existence, than the next consumable item; that we purchase. As our desires increase, we are driven ever deeper into the world of Maya, and our ego blooms. The more we have, the more we desire and yet remain unsatisfied. Even after attaining the object of desire, we need more and more objects; as desire, will never be fulfilled. There is a deep and permanent gap between these desires, and reality. We go on in an endless circle just loving ourselves, and our dear ones, and trying to fulfill our desires. Desire itself is not bad and we need it to better civilization, and our existence. It is when we become slaves of the fruits of our desires, that we lose the simple pleasures of existence.

When we just enjoy that cup of tea, or that sight of a beautiful flower or tree; then we know that nature has its own celebrations with its bounty. The joys of the seasons, the changes in our weather, the wondrous landscape, the running brooks, the soaring eagles, the deep oceans; all show the uniqueness, of our existence. We are born for happiness and delight, but we forget that our nature is in essence a beacon of hope; and all we need to do is light it, with our compassion. Empathy to those around us; is more important; than the next palace, or personal fortune. Being oneself is the simple way to recognize the good in everyone around us. When we conquer our desires; it is not that we become weak, instead we become the hidden force of our universe, and can help spread hope, faith, light and love around us.