Paper Christmas Tree

We felt that perhaps this year we'll skip buying a Christmas tree.. then my wife whose interest in origami decided to make one! She's really something.. i adore her! ;-)

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Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness

The Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is truly an easy-to-read book and engaging one as well. I'm still reading it to date.. reading it slowly so as to digest the meaning and instructions given..

One para i particularly like is on page 129. It says:

"As the Buddha expressed this idea:

Hatred is never overcome by hatred.

Only through loving-friendliness does hatred cease.

This is an eternal law."

Managing with a Heart

Recently, i took out this book Managing with a Heart by Sharon Good again to read.. As always, i like to re-read books especially those self-improvement ones..

This book was given to me by someone who thought i might need a little awakening.. ;-)

Indeed, it woke me up of having a heart in managing.. not just manage by objective.. Some time later, i read somewhere that we should manage by emotion first, followed by manage by objective. This has since become one of my management principles.

Childhood video

Video played on my wedding reception..

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Nacho Libre - Jack Black (Recreation Pose)

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To see results, u need 4Ps

The 4 Ps that helped me realise results are Preparation, Perspiration, Perservance & Patience.

Preparation - Whatever u do, plan first. But dont over plan. Do your homework. It's worth the effort.

Perspiration - Do it! Take action! Hardwork is one of the key requisite for success.

Perservance - There will be pain. People may laugh, criticize & look down on you. The going gets tough.. but the tough gets going. Dont give up. Usually when u think u are at your wits or eleventh hour that light is at the end of the tunnel. Believe me, usually it's not an oncoming train too. Be positive.

Patience - All good things will come to those who are patient. Everything takes time to nuture & grow.. and for events to unfold. Enjoy the passage of time. Let time be yr friend.. & not yr enemy.

The power & difference of Why and Why Not

Many people dont truly understand the power of Why and Why Not.

Often, when we asked Why.. actually we're in the receiving mode. And when asked, people being human beings will almost automatically try to reply u with an answer. This is human nature.. and the power of Why.

Then what about Why Not? U asked Why Not to create the energy to give.. to push, to do things. Why Not challenges and changed your mind into action mode..

So when u first ask Why. People give u an answer. Then u ask Why Not. Your mind is challenged and give u back an action.

Use it wisely.. ;-)

"To ask a question

may bring

a moment's shame,

but not to ask

and

remain ignorant is a

lifetime of shame."

How to gain eternal happiness?

After searching high & low, far & wide, i think i finally found the way to happiness! ;-)

U just need to understand & do 2 things - (i) Four Noble Truths and (ii) Eight Fold-path. Err.. but it's not that simple & easy as u may think.. lots of effort, patience & discipline involved.. but trust me - it's worth it! ;-)

(i) Four Noble Truths

1. Life is difficult
2. It's difficult due to attachment
3. It's possible to be detached
4. By walking the middle path i.e. the eight fold-path

(ii) Eight Fold-path

1. Right/Skillful Seeing / Understanding
   
2. Right/Skillful Intention / Thinking
   
3. Right/Skillful Speech
4. Right/Skillful Action
5. Right/Skillful Living / Livelihood
   
6. Right/Skillful Effort
7. Right/Skillful Will / Mindfulness
   
8. Right/Skillful Meditation / Concentration
   

Another way of thinking abt the eight paths would be to group them into 3 clusters: Wisdom, Morality & Concentration; with each cluster pushing u forward to the next towards more comprehensive understanding of the path.

Wisdom - Skillful understanding & thoughts (true understanding)

Morality - Skillful speech, action & livelihood (Outward changes)

Concentration - Skillful effort, mindfulness & Concentration (developing the mind)

I am not good & wise enough to explain the above. However, there're plenty of books written by Buddhists who will be able to 'enlighten' you! ;-)

Happy learning & doing happiness.. ;-)

My Life:: First Serious Relationship & First 'Enlightenment'

My first serious relationship began when i was 24 yrs old. She was 19 waiting to go NUS. She was pretty, gentle, slim and a nice personality. Of course, i was first attracted to her good looks! We got married eventually.. ;-) but we separated a few years later.. due to differences. ;-(

Also, around the same time, i had my first 'enlightenment' experience.. ok, it's not really the enlightenment in pure Buddhist sense.. but it really felt good & real.. It happened one evening when i was sleeping and suddenly i woke up in cold sweat and said the words "i'm enlightened!". Since then, i began to seek knowledge & wisdom. After that nite, I started to spent on average $50 every month on books and tell myself it's an investment. Dont ask me why.. and for those who knew my past i never really like to read books.. coz i dont know what's the purpose of studying then. But now i know. ;-)

And these events were to change my life completely..

Happy Birthday to Lilian!

Indignation 2006 - TCP - Hossan Leong (With lyrics)

This is quite funny & interesting..

Past

"Don't live in the past -

There's no future in it."

Planning is still important

It's surprising that many people dont believe in planning anymore. The often heard comments were that it seldom or never execute as planned due to various reasons. Therefore, it's useless to plan to begin with.

But there were dozens of research and articles on the subject and they all proved that planning is an important exercise that must be performed before embarking on any project!

I'm a believer of planning. However, i always remind myself not to over plan! Plan just enough to have a good feel or understanding of things to come and then start execution!! A plan is a 'live' document that will be regularly reviewed & updated with versioning.

After the project, always compared the planned vs the actual. This served two purposes. (i) To see if u execute to plan and (ii) to learn from it - whether there's any deviation or not, u learned how accurate yr estimation is. It will definitely help u plan better in yr next project.

So planning is still as important and as relevant..

My Life:: Days of Dreaming (part 2)

I can summed up teens days in one word - bored. In my time, childhood was filled with gangsters stories, chasing girls, playing mahjong & hanging around doing nothing much.. watch the time fly by..

My secondary school is only a minute walk away. I dislike school then coz it was filled with gangsters or boys trying to act like one.. They speak in Hokkien and almost always vulgar language will be used as if it was the only way to communicate. Anger flew easily and they would pick a fight anytime anywhere. They would pick on the weaker looking kids and 'disturb' them till they cry, run or fight back with either words or fists. i was considered the weaker ones due to my size.. fortunately, a few of my so-called gangster friends looked after me. I was spared in that sense.. but sometimes my so-called friends would turn and 'disturb' me for fun! They thought it was fun. But i thought otherwise then..

To avoid them i stayed home most of the time.. partly due to a lack of money. i was from a below average family. So money is an issue though we're not that poor that having rice on table is a problem. However, life then was so boring.. i turned my attention to find love - girls, that is. i chased a no of girls those days.. In-retrospect, i wondered i was going after love or just needing some company.

Boredom made me spent lots of my time dreaming.. guess that's how i trained my mind in the power of imagination. And i liked Albert Einstein who once said that imagination is more important than knowledge. In fact, i must thank those 'imagination training' days that i'm able to do those innovative stuff today..

But my dreaming days also made me a less sociable person that it took lots of effort to rebuild years on.. I found myself weak in communication skills when i went to work. Fortunately, i managed to build them up slowly but surely.. by sheer determination and hard work.

My secondary school life makes me realised how the weak feels when being pressed down. It gives me a mission that i shall help the weak to be strong and enlighten the evil or misguided. Like in Spiderman movie, "With great power comes with great responsibility". What power do i have? sometimes i ponder though.. Well, with my life experience i hope i could do plenty.. at least i try. ;-) And in my growing up days, i slowly developed the philosophy of "teach u how to fish and not to fish for u"..

The Universal Laws

Understand the laws of nature.. u will still not rule the world.. but u will definitely live a happier life! ;-)

Let me try.. the laws are, not in any particular sequence:
1. When there's a cause/action, there will definitely be an effect/response.
2. Only love and compassion can break down walls. Hatred can never cease hatred.
3. Birth, Aging, Sickness & Death are the cycle of life. There's no other way.
4. Stay on the middle path. Never in extremes.
5. It's all in the mind. You can change everything by changing your thinking.
6. Never depends on others for your happiness. Only you yourself holds the key to happiness!
7. Everything is relative. e.g. Perception.

If u have any laws to share, pls let me know! Cheers!

Vision & Execution

Vision with Execution = Leadership
Vision without Execution = Dreaming

My Life:: Begins at ten (part 1)

Somehow i couldnt remember anything that happen to me before ten years old.. maybe a major event must have occurred.. or maybe nothing interesting in my toddler days..

What i remembered when i was ten were two things - computer & women! ;-) Let me share the former first. When i was ten, we had a computer - in fact, it belonged to my elder brother. He bought it. It was a first generation computer named Sinlair ZX80.. that used the TV as the monitor. Hard to believe rite? But it's true!

One day, while he was trying hard to figure out what went wrong with his basic programming codes (coz it doesnt run the way it should be!!), i pointed out to him the error! Boy, i was only ten and didnt even touch a computer at all!! Did i get a Big Thank You? Well, instead of a hug & thank-you, i got scolded by him! He asked me to shut up as he tried to concentrate.. After some time, he decided to fix the codes which i pointed out. And it worked fine. ;-) From that day onwards, i told myself that when i grew up i want to be a software guru. And it impacted my life for the next 20 years and more..

One last words on the computer event.. Years on my bro sold it to me for S$50 and it was already spoilt!! ;-( And it's still with me.. perhaps, i should sell it.. perhaps keep it for good old memorylane..

Now, on the women latter.. I had never though about women as a sexual or love object until ten years old. It was in primary five when my teacher assigned me to join the school's folk dancing lessons. On the first lesson, i danced with my male friend. But the dance teacher insisted that we should be paired boy-girl. And so i was assigned with a girl. She was ten years old too. I thought of nothing until i held her hand to perform the folk dance. In that instant, i felt great.. somehow her hand was soft, smooth and tender.. And i thought to myself "Mmm,.. good!" ;-)

Then after the lesson, i remembered i was standing at the hallway watching her leaving with her back slowing fading away.. A lady friend standing nearby said what i was looking at. I asked her "What's her name?". She replied, "Jacqueline, Su San". And that was the beginning of my many love journey.

Both events had lasting impacts on my life - good & bad, depends on see how u see it. I take it in my stride and often am amazed at the power of causality.. something that happened so long ago could have a lasting effect on the present and future of one's life..