Haanism

Chapter Seven - A Most Extraordinary Garden

In the fable, the garden is a symbol for the mind. If you care for your mind, if you nurture if and if you cultivate it just like a fertile, rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let the weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you.

The toxic waste that most people put into the fertile garden of their minds every single day: the worries and anxieties, the fretting about the past, the brooding over the future and those self-created fears that wreak havoc within your inner world.

Worry drains the mind of much of its power and, sooner and later, it injures the soul.

To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the very best information enter. You truly cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought - not even one. The most joyful, dynamic an contented people of this world are no different from you or me in terms of their makeup. We are all flesh and bones. We all come from the same universal source. However, the ones who do more than just exist, the ones who fan the flames of their human potential and truly savour the magical dance of life do different things than those whose lives are ordinary. Foremost amongst the things that they do is adopt a positive paradigm about their world and all that is in it.

Mind management is the essence of life management.

Start to see your mind for what it is - nature's greatest gift.

Most of us have the same raw materials from the moment we take our first breath of air; what separates those people who achieve more than others or those that are happier than others is the way that they use and refine these raw materials. When you dedicate yourself to transforming your inner world your life quickly shifts from the ordinary into the realm of the extraordinary.

There is only one thing that we have absolute dominion over. We might not be able to control the weather or the traffic or the moods of all those around us. But, we most certainly can control our attitude towards these events. We all have the power to determine what we will think about in any given moment. This ability is part of what makes us human.

There is no such thing as objective reality or 'the real world.' There are no absolutes. The face of your greatest enemy might be the face of my finest friend. An event that appears to be a tragedy to one might reveal the seed of unlimited opportunity to another. What really separates people who are habitually upbeat and optimistic from those who are consistently miserable is how the circumstances of life are interpreted and processed.

Your I can is more important than your IQ.

Every setback offers an equivalent benefit if they took the time to search for it.

No matter what happens to you in your life, you alone have the capacity to choose your response to it. When you form the habit of searching for the positive in every circumstances, your life will move into its highest dimensions. This is one of the greatest of all the natural laws.

All success in life, whether material or spiritual, starts with the thoughts that you put into your mind every second of every minute of every day. Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of your life, you begin to control your destiny.

There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. There is no such thing as a negative experience, only opportunities to grow, learn and advance along the road of self-mastery. From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be a wonderful teacher.

To transcend pain, you must first experience it. Or to put it another way, how can you really know the joy of being on the summit of the mountain unless you have first visited the lowest valley?

Stop judging events as either positive or negative. Rather, simply experience them, celebrate them and learn from them. Every event offers you lessons. These little lessons fuel your inner and outer growth. Without them, you would be stuck on a plateau. Just think about it in your own life. Most people have grown the most from their most challenging experiences. And if you meet with an outcome you did not expect and feel a little disappointed, remember that the laws of nature always ensure that when one door closes another opens.

Once you consistently apply this principle to your daily life and start to condition your mind to translate every event into a positive, empowering one, you will banish worry forever. You will stop being a prisoner of your past. Instead, you will become the architect of your future.

Begin to live out of the glory of your imagination, not your memory.

From tonight onwards, forget about the past. Dare to dream that you are more than the sum of your current circumstances. Expect the best. You will be astonished at the results.

You know, John, all those years in the legal profession I thought I knew so much. I spent years studying at the finest schools, reading all the law books I could get my hands on and working with the best role models. Sure, I was a winner at the game of law. Yet I now realize I was losing in the game of life. I was so busy chasing the big pleasures of life that I missed out on all the little ones. I never read those great books my father used to tell me to read. I haven't built any great friendships. I've never learned to appreciate great music. Having said this, I really think I'm one of the lucky ones. My heart attack was my defining moment, my personal wake-up call, if you will. Believe it or not, it gave me a second chance to live a richer, more inspired life. Like Malika Chand, I saw the seeds of opportunity in my painful experience. Most importantly, I had the courage to nourish them.

Fun came in the form of simple pleasures.

Start thinking about your dreams for a change, just like when you were a little child. Jonas Salk said it best when he wrote: 'I have had dreams and I have had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.'

Start to revere life again and celebrate all of its wonders. Awaken yourself to the power of your own mind to make things happen. Once you do, the universe will conspire with you to work magic in your life.

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

Success on the outside indeed begins with success on the inside, and by changing his thoughts, Julian Mantle had changed his life.

The mind truly is like any other muscle in your body. Use it or lose it.

Your mind will do wonderful things for your if only you will let it. It will attract all that you desire into your life, once you learn how to operate it effectively. It will create ideal health if you care for it properly. And it will return to its natural state of peacefulness and tranquillity - if you have the vision to ask for it. The Sages of Sivana have a very special saying: 'The boundaries of your life are merely creations of the self.'

Enlightened thinkers know that their thoughts form their world and the quality of one's life comes down to the richness of one's thoughts. If you want to live a more peaceful, meaningful life, you must think more peaceful, meaningful thoughts.

Quick-fixes do not work. All lasting inner change requires time and effort. Persistence is the mother of personal change. I'm not saying that it will take years to make profound changes in your life. If you diligently apply the strategies I'm sharing with you every day for only one month, you will be astonished at the results. You will begin to tap into the highest levels of your own capacity and enter the realm of the miraculous. But to reach this destination, you must not get hung up on the outcome. Instead, enjoy the process of personal expansion and growth. Ironically, the less you focus on the end result, the quickly it will come.

With one ey fixed on the destination, there is only one left to guide you along the journey.

What is luck, my friend? It's nothing more than the marriage of preparation with opportunity.

Concentration is at the root of mental mastery. The moment you concentrate the focus of your mind on a singular purpose, extraordinary gifts will appear within your life.

The secret of happiness is simple: find out what you truly love to do and then direct all of your energy towards doing it. If you study the happiest, healthiest, most satisfied people of our world, you will see that each and every one of them has found their passion in life, and then spent their days pursuing it. This calling is almost always one that, in some way, serves others. Once you are concentrating your mind power and energy on a pursuit that you love, abundance flows into your life, and all your desires are fulfilled with ease and grace.

Too many of us are consumed by needless and endless worry. Worry causes your precious mental energy and potential to leak. Soon, you have no energy left. All of your creativity, optimism and motivation has been drained, leaving you exhausted.

Rose is very much like life: you will meet thorns along the way but if you have faith and believe in your dreams you will eventually move beyond the thorns into the glory of the flower.

One must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind him to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle - and a mystery.

When you run inspiring, imaginative pictures through the movie screen of your mind, wonderful things start to happen in your life. Einstein said that 'imagination is more important than knowledge.' You must spend some time every day, even it is just a few minutes, in the practice of creative envisioning. See yourself as you want to be.

There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.

If you want to improve your life and live with all that you deserve you must run your own race. It doesn't matter what other people say about you. What is important is what you say to yourself. Do not be concerned with the judgement of others as long as you know what you are doing is right. You can do whatever you want to do as long as it is correct according to your conscience and your heart. Never be ashamed of doing that which is right; decide on what you think is good and then stick to it. And for God's sake, never get into the petty habit of measuring your self-worth against other people's net worth. As Yogi Raman preached: 'Every second you spend thinking about someone else's dream you take time away from your own.'

Fatigue is a creation of the mind. Fatigues dominates the lives of those whoa re living without direction and dreams.

Only those who seek shall find.

Chapter Three - The Miraculous Transformation of Julian Mantle

Every event has a purpose and every setback has its lesson. I have realized that failure, whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is.

Ultimately, life is all about choices. One's destiny unfolds according to the choices one makes, and I felt certain that the choice I had made was the right one. I knew my life would never be the same and that something marvelous, maybe even miraculous, was about to happen to me. It was an amazing awakening.


Chapter Five - A Spiritual Student of the Sages

Back then, even the simplest of things filled me with a sense of joy. Maybe it was time for me to reinvent my destiny.

Great dreamers' dreams are never fulfilled, they are always transcended. ~Alfred Lord Whitehead

Live longer, stay younger and grow far happier.

Success on the outside means nothing unless you also have success within. There is a huge difference between well-being and being well-off.


Chapter Six - The Wisdom of Personal Change

Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.

It's only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the hearts of others. When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens. ~Carl Jung


Chapter Eight - Kindling Your Inner Fire

Trust yourself. Create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement. ~Foster C. McClellan

We are living in a very troubled world. Negativity pervades it and many in our society are floating like ships without rudders, weary souls searching for a lighthouse that will keep them from crashing against the rocky shores.

As you strive to improve the lives of others, your own life will be elevated into its highest dimensions.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. Those who are truly enlightened know what they want out of life, emotionally, materially, physically and spiritually.

The real source of happiness can be stated in a word: achievement. Last happiness comes from steadily working to accomplish your goals and advancing confidently in the direction of your life's purpose. This is the secret to kindling the inner fire that lurks within you.

If I fail to accomplish these goals by the end of my life, I am certain that I will die feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied.

It may seem as though you are forced to take a few risks to discover what you are best at and the essence of your life's purpose.

Benjamin Disraeli said: 'The secret of success is constancy of purpose.' The happiness you are searching for comes through reflecting on the worthy aims you are dedicated to achieving and then taking action daily to advance them.

You will never be able to hit a target that you cannot see. People spend their whole lives dreaming of becoming happier, living with more vitality and having an abundance of passion. Yet they do not see the importance of taking even ten minutes a month to write out their goals and to think deeply about the meaning of their lives, their Dharma. Goal-setting will make your life magnificent. Your world will become richer; more delightful and more magical.

Anyone who wishes to improve the quality of their inner as well as their outer worlds would do well to take out a piece of paper and start writing out their life aims. At the very moment that this is done, natural forces will come into play which start to transform these dreams into reality.

Never do anything because you have to. The only reason to do something is because you want to and because you know it is the right thing for you to do.

A day without laughter or a day without love was a day without life.

Never forget the importance of living with unbridled exhilaration. Never neglect to see the exquisite beauty in all living things.

Remain spirited, joyful and curious. Stay focused on your lifework and on giving selfless service to others. The Universe will take care of everything else. This is one of nature's truest laws. And never regret what has happened in the past. There is no chaos in this Universe. There is a purpose for everything that has ever happened to you, and everything that will happen to you. Remember what I told you, every experience offers lessons. So stop majoring in minor things. Enjoy your life.

A burning sense of passion is the most potent fuel for your dreams. Here, in our society we have lost our passion. We do not do things because we love to do them. We do things because we feel we have to do them. This is a formula for misery.

Always remember that what lies behind you and what lies in front of you is nothing when compared to what lies within you.

I think this is the first time - before finishing a book, I already could not wait to share its essence here. Right before the arrival of Chinese New Year 2012, I managed to finish this book. Now, I've just finished typing out all the meaningful quotes I marked in the book. I guess this is the longest time I've ever taken - because there are so many good ones!

Few weeks ago, early in the morning, when I passed by a book rack (to take a broom and sweep the floor), this book suddenly caught my sight. I was attracted by the book title. Hence, without hesitation or asking, I grabbed this book and started to read it.

This book is truly inspiring, at least to myself. It is basically around two men, who are both lawyers.

"This is an interesting story. It is a story of a lawyer who appears to have it all - the corner office, the life style, the cars, women... Then he gives it all up and tours the East. While there he comes across this strange monk and monastery. He comes to live life in a much different way. Yet he is challenged by the monk who has trained him to go back home and share the message he has learnt, with the West. Julian, our main character, returns to his old law firm and to his friend, John. He tells him a parable; then the rest of the book explains the parable and how it relates to different aspects of our lives. The parable is rather simple and a little strange but as it is explained you will never forget it. Read it to find out how a garden, lighthouse, sumo wrestler, pink wire cable, stopwatch, roses and a winding path of diamonds are symbols of timeless principles and virtues by which to live your life. This book could help raise the quality of your life to a new level." (sourced from the book review written by Steven R. McEvoy)

I've always been loving inspirational books. Perhaps it's coz I need a lot of positive energy to carry on life. However, if summarizing what I've read so far, we are always reminded to "live life now (not the past of future)", "everything happens for a reason", "live like today is your last day", "follow your heart" etc. If you ask me whether I agree with all these sayings, I could only answer you "precisely", without any reservation. Years ago, something used to happen to myself, which I thought that could be the worst ever in my life. Suddenly, I lost all my directions. A lot of questions arose in my mind till I spent many months to clear my own doubts. Today, when I look back, I'd say, that's not something too bad. Ironically, I've to say, I appreciate the happening of that incident. It taught me so much which I knew how to adjust myself and live a much better life nowadays.

Just like what Steve Jobs has said - you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Speaking from the heart, this statement is SO TRUE!!

Because the excerpts are truly a lot, I will need to take multiple rounds to share them. Please bear with me. Meanwhile, kindly take some time to briefly read. You will understand why I'm so eager to do all these uninviting acts, keeping my readers bored :)

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"Happiness comes through the progressive realization of a worthy objective. When you are doing what you truly love to do you are bound to find deep contentment."

"If happiness comes to everyone who simply does what they love doing, why are so many people miserable?"

"Fair point, John. Doing what you love, whether this means giving up the work you are presently doing to become an actor or spending less time on those things that are less important to make time for those things that are more meaningful, requires a great deal of courage. It requires you to step out of your comfort zone. And change is always a little uncomfortable at first. It is also more than a little risky. Having said this, this is the surest way to design a more joyful life."

"Exactly how does one go about building courage?"

"It's the same as the story: once you get yourself together, your world will be okay. Once you master your mind, body and character, happiness and abundance will flow into your life almost magically. But you muist spend some time daily working on yourself, even if for only ten or fifteen minutes."

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"Thoughts are fully in your control. It is just as easy to think positive thoughts as it is to think negative ones. But why do so many people worry and focus on all the negative information in our world?"

"Because they have not learned the art of self-control and disciplined thinking. Most people I have spoken to have no idea that they have the power to control every single thought they think every second of every minute of every day. They believe that thoughts just happen and have never realized that if you don't take the time to start controlling your thoughts, they will control you. When you start to focus on good thoughts only, and refuse to think the bad ones through sheer will-power, I promise you they will shrivel up very quickly."

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"You know what's funny about life?" Julian asked me.

"Tell me."

"By the time most people figure out what they really want and how to go about attaining it, it's usually too late. That saying, 'If youth only knew, if age only could' is so true."

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"I like my toys and the material things I've earned. They are my rewards for all the hours I have worked over the years since we first met. But I feel empty - I really do. I told you about my dreams when I was in law school. There is much more I could do with my life. You know I'm almost forty and I've never been to the Grand Canyon or the Eiffel Tower. I've never walked in a desert or canoed across a still lake on a gorgeous summer's day. I have never once taken off my socks and shoes and walked barefoot through a park, listening to the kids laugh and the dogs bark. I can't even remember the last time I took a long, quiet walk by myself after a snowfall just to hear the sounds and to enjoy the sensations."

"Then simplify your life. Apply the ancient Ritual of Simplicity to every aspect of your world. By doing so, you are bound to have more time to savour these glorious wonders. One of the most tragic things that any one of us can do is to put off living. Too many people are dreaming of some magical rose garden on the horizon rather than enjoying the one growing in our back yards. What a tragedy."

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"Stop spending so much time chasing life's big pleasures while you neglect the little ones. Slow things down. Enjoy the beauty and sacredness of all that is around you. You owe this to yourself."

"Does that mean that I should stop setting big goals for my future and concentrate on the present?"

"No," replied Julian firmly. "As I said earlier, goals and dreams for the future are essential elements in every truly successful life. Hope for what will appear in your future is what gets you out of bed in the morning and what keeps you inspired through your days. Goals energize your life. My point is simply this: never put off happiness for the sake of achievement. Never put off the things that are important for your well-being and satisfaction to a later time. Today is the day to live fully, not when you win the lottery or when you retire. Never put off living.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you will be a more loving and giving husband when your law firm takes on a few more junior lawyers to ease the burden. Don't kid yourself into believing that you will start to enrich your mind, care for your body and nourish your soul when your bank account gets big enough and you have the luxury of more free time. Today is the day to enjoy the fruits of your efforts. Today is the day to seize the moment and live a life that soars. Today is the day to live from your imagination and harvest your dreams."

Today is the 3rd day of Chinese New Year. I'm back to work. Quite free. No appointment is scheduled for this week. Most of my comrades, clients, partners are not working this week. Glad to read this article - Why I Told My Daughter to Quit Her Job. This is sourced from HUFF POST. Feel free to click and read it :)

Since I don't think I shall copy & paste the entire article here, please allow me to share a few parts which I personally like.

• Life is too short to be miserable for money. [Honestly I've started to think like this before I turned 24 - not sure if that is considered lucky or unlucky :D]


• College, you see, is not really about preparing you for the job market. It's about gaining the knowledge and skills you need to seize opportunities -- and that includes knowing when to walk away from something that makes you unhappy.


• If you land that seemingly "perfect" job with a salary worth boasting about, but then you hate it and are afraid to quit, your wings are clipped. That "safe" job will kill your creativity, drown your enthusiasm, and smother your ability to get up in the morning with a bounce in your step. Why stay?


• Jobs are like college courses. Each one you take teaches you a set of new skills and offers a fresh perspective on life. They aren't meant to be permanent, most of them. They are only stepping stones.


• When you quit a job, any job, it can be terrifying. But it's also exhilarating, as you open yourself to new possibilities. So go ahead. Take the risk. Quit that job, if you hate it. You might surprise yourself.

The Ritual of Live Nourishment

"In my days as a litigator, I lived off of a steady diet of steaks, fries and other types of junk food. Sure I ate at the finest restaurants in the country, but I still filled my body with junk. I didn't know it at the time, but this was one of the main sources of my discontent."

"Really?"

"Yes. A poor diet has a pronounced effect on your life. It drains your mental and physical energy. It affects your moods and it hampers the clarity of your mind. Yogi Raman put it this way: 'As you nourish your body, so you nourish your mind.'"

"I assume then that you changed your diet?"

"Radically. And it made an amazing difference in the way I felt and looked. I always thought that I was so run down because of the stresses and strains of my work and because the wrinkled fingers of old age were reaching out for me. In Sivana, I learned that much of my lethargy was due to the low-octane fuel I was pumping into my body."

"What did the Sages of Sivana eat to stay so youthful and bright?"

"Live foods," came the efficient reply.

"Huh?"

"Live foods are the answer. Live foods are the foods that are not dead."

"C'mon, Julian. What are live foods?" I asked impatiently.

"Basically, live foods are those which are created through the natural interaction of the sun, air, soil and water. What I'm talking about here is a vegetarian diet. Fill your plate with fresh vegetables, fruits and grains and you might just live forever."

"Is that possible?"

"Most of the sages were well over one hundred and they showed no signs of slowing down, and just last week I read in the paper about a group of people living on the tiny island of Okinawa in the East China Sea. Researchers are flocking to the island because they are fascinated by the fact that it holds the largest concentration of centenarians in the world."

"What have they learned?"

"That a vegetarian diet is one of their main longevity secrets."

"But is this type of diet healthy? You wouldn't think that it would give you much strength. Remember, I'm still a busy litigator, Julian."

"This is the diet that nature intended. It is alive, vital and supremely healthy. The sages have lived by this diet for many thousands of years. They call is sattvic, or pure diet. And as to your concern about strength, the most powerful animals on the planet, ranging from gorillas to elephants, wear the badge of proud vegetarians. Did you know that a gorilla has about thirty times the strength of a man?"

"Thanks for that important tidbit of information."

"Look, the sages are not extreme people. All of their wisdom was based on the ageless principle that 'one must live a life of moderation and do nothing to extremes.' So if you like meat, you can certainly keep eating it. Just remember that you are ingesting dead food. If you can, cut back on the amount of red meat that you eat. It is really hard to digest and since your digestive system is one of the most energy-consuming processes of your entire body, valuable energy reserves are needlessly depleted by this foodstuff. Do you see what I'm getting at? Just compare how you feel after eating a steak with your energy levels after eating a salad. If you don't want to become a strict vegetarian, at least start having salad with every meal and fruit for dessert. Even this will make a huge difference in the quality of your physical life."