Colours of Life...: October 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Yoga Postures for Weight Loss

Yoga is a popular form of exercise and stress buster around the world.

Apart from its meditative properties, this form of exercise can help you get rid of your extra kilos. Let's have a look at some postures that are perfect for weight loss.

Yoga Marches

The Yoga march can be an effective warm-up exercise to kick-start your workout regime. You can begin by placing your arms in a jogging position post which, you can slowly begin the march in the same place you're standing. Eventually, you must try and bring your legs to a higher level. This exercise increases your heart rate and is also effective on your legs.

Halasana

Hal, which stands for a plough in Sanskrit, is the shape that the body takes when the Halasana is done. You may begin by lying down on a yoga mat followed by taking your legs in the upward direction till they hit the 90-degree angle. Now slowly push your legs in the backward direction towards your head or take someone's assistance to do so. Exhale and you can return back to the normal position.

Trikonasana

As the name suggests, while performing this asana, your body will take the shape of a triangle. In order to begin, take your leg and place it at a maximum distance in the left direction. You may now move the toe of your left foot facing the left hand side and inhale. Bend the left leg from the knee and now exhale. The position of your left palm should be next to the toe of the left foot. The final step would be to take your right hand straight up, touching the ear. You can breathe normally now. This asana is beneficial for the waist area of your body.

Dhanurasana

The stomach will be the area that primarily takes the weight while performing this asana. To begin with it, lie down on a yoga mat on your stomach with your chin touching the ground. Bend both your legs and keep them away at a considerable distance holding them firmly from the ankle. Now inhale and exhale pulling the legs in the upward direction. The body must be stretched and the neck pushed backwards. Make sure you do not jerk any part of the neck or back.

Practicing these asanas on a regular basis can aid weight loss. In case you are unsure of the accurate way of doing these postures, you must consult an expert so as not to cause any physical injury to your body.

No Judgement (Story)

Everything in life holds both a blessing and a curse. We deny this when we label the events of our lives as either good or bad. The following old Zen story illustrates this lesson most effectively.

A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran away and so the farmer and his son had to plow their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, Oh, what bad luck that your horse ran away! But the farmer replied, Bad luck, good luck, who knows?

The next week, the horse returned to the farm, bringing a herd of wild horses with him. What wonderful luck! Cried the neighbors, but the farmer responded, Good luck, bad luck, who knows?

Then, the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his leg. Ah, such bad luck, sympathized the neighbors. Once again, the farmer responded, Bad luck, good luck, who knows?

A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home.What good luck that your son was not forced into battle! Celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer remarked,Good luck, bad luck, who knows?

Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken.-- Jean Jacques Rousseau

Friday, October 19, 2012

Meaning And Power Of Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma.

This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

Om bhur bhuvah swah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah pracho dayat

The literal meaning of the mantra is:
O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty, You are all Light.Y
ou are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator
Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon
Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific importance too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 mile s per second.

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH:
Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time,hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam Brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om , which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-Brahma a very great noise),but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suitedto human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, I.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy.

TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM:
Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:-

BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI:
Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

DHIYO YO NAH PRACHO DAYAT:
Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), pracho dayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om , (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam).We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (pra****ayat) our(nah) intellect dhiyo.

So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:-

1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement of galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x squre of velocity.)

2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM , the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., Amen and Ameen.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

African Literature

Trent Hughes
Eng 109
Paper #2

African Literature
The two short stories "In the Cutting of a Drink" and "The Return" bring different responses from me. "In the Cutting of a Drink" makes me think about what it would be like to go into a new culture. It also makes me think about the decline in moral values now days. "The Return" reminds me to be more thankful for the many things I take for granted. It also makes me think about how hard it can be to cope with change. In the poem "Those Rainy Mornings" I am reminded of my grandma and what a kind, loving, wonderful person she is.
In Frank Chipasula's poem "Those Rainy Mornings" the speaker is talking about his aunt Gwalanthi. The speaker tells us what a wonderful loving person his aunt is. In the first section the speaker tells us how his aunt would wake up at the crack of dawn and build a fire. Then she would begin cooking porridge. In the second section of the poem the speaker talks about waking up "out of the nagging nightmare." Then the speaker describes his aunt a little bit more, "her soft but husky call." In the last section the speaker talks about how kind his aunt is to take care of his brothers and sisters while his parents "strayed to the copper mines."
This poem makes me think about my grandma and all the wonderful things she has done for me. The speakers aunt is an old fragile woman, "hoe-broken palms" and "scrawny ribs." But she is also a very hard worker and loving person. Both these things remind me of my grandma. My grandma may be old and fragile but she is still a very hard working and loving person. My grandma is always up at first light doing household chores or working in her garden. Many times we have to force her to go inside, so she won't be exposed to the hot sun for to long. I can't count the number of times my grandma has made my bed, folded our clothes, washed our dishes, or done various other household chores for me and my family. I could never fully repay my grandma for all the wonderful things she has done. My grandma, like aunt Gwalanthi, is a very kind, hard working person.
Ama Ata Aidoo's "In the Cutting of a Drink" is about a person relating his story of looking for his lost sister in a big city called Mamprobi. The narrator, Mansa's brother, is talking to his uncles in the story. He is telling them about the things he experienced in the city while looking for Mansa. The narrator is from the country, so a lot of the city life is new or shocking to him. The narrator and Duayaw, the person helping him find his sister, go to a nightclub while looking for Mansa. This is a very new experience for the narrator. Some new things he experiences are dancing and watching women buy beer. But the most shocking thing is when he finds out his sister Mansa works there. "Young woman, is this the work you do?" he asked her. In the end Mansa's reply was, "any kind of work is work."
This story made me think of a couple of things, differences in cultures or places and a decline in moral values. When the narrator goes to the city he is in a totally new culture. Many of the things he sees done are shocking to him. "I sat with my mouth open and watched the daughter of a woman cut beer like a man." "I cannot describe how they danced." Going into a new culture would have to be a shocking experience for anyone. The comment "any for of work is work" made by Mansa makes me think about the decline in moral values. Now days many people seem to go by this saying. People seem to not care about what form of work they are doing as long as they make money. Some factors to consider when doing a job are, is what you are doing morally right or ethical, and is what you are doing legal or illegal. Would you want your husband or wife to go to work as a prostitute? Or would you want them to go to work as a female or male stripper? I would hope not in both cases, the first simply because it is illegal. The second because it is pornography and I think you should have enough respect for your spouse to not want them to do that kind of work. So the comment "any form of work is work" is not a way to go about finding a job.
"The Return" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o is about a man named Kamau who returns home after being in a detention camp for five years. He hopes to see his old village exactly the same. Instead he finds it now ruled by the British. The British have changed the village and its culture. Worst of all, Kamau's wife Muthoni left with another man named Karanja. Muthoni did this because Karanja lied and told the village that Kamau had died. At the end of the story Kamau lets a small bundle, filled with things that reminded him of Muthoni, roll down a bank and float down the river. Then he talks about the relief he felt after this happened. "Why should she have waited for me? Why should all the changes have waited for my return?"
These comments make me think about change and how hard it can be to cope with change. It also made me be more thankful for some of the things I take for granted. When Kamau returned home he basically returned home to a completely new village. His family had aged, many people didn't recognize him, and his wife was gone. This was very hard for Kamau to cope with, "the old village had not even waited for him." Kamau felt resentful and angry. I know I would have the same resentful feelings as Kamau if I were put in the same situation. I would feel cheated if I came home one day only to find it completely changed. Many time I find myself taking my friends, family, home, or security for granted. Sometimes I don't realize how important these things are in my life. I know if they were taken away or completely changed, I would be devastated. I would not be able to get over it as fast as Kamau. After reading this story I am more thankful for the many things I take for granted.
All three of these readings bring out different responses from me. My grandma is the person I think about in the poem "Those Rainy Mornings." I am reminded of all the wonderful things she does for me and my family. In the story "In the Cutting of a Drink" I think about the decline in moral values these days. I also think about the what it would be like to go into a whole new culture. After reading the story "The Return" I am more thankful for the things that I take for granted. The story also makes me think about change and how hard it can be to cope with change.

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Adoption Research

ÐÏà¡±á��>��þÿ ��C��E��þÿÿÿ��B��ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿì¥Á�7 ��ð¿��Ë'��bjbjUU�� "R��7|��7|��Ë#��ÿÿ��ÿÿ��ÿÿ��l��ò��ò��ò��ò��ò��ò��ò��j��j��j��j��v��»��Ž��¤��¤��¤��¤��¤��¤��¤��:��<��<��<��<��<��<��$��»�� Û��*��`��ò��¤��¤��¤��¤��¤��`��"��ò��ò��¤��¤��u��"��"��"��¤��j��ò��¤��ò��¤��:��"��¤��:��"��¦��"��:��ò��ò��:��¤��‚��•H~â•Ä��d��j��p��:��:��&lsqauo;��0��»��:��
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��:��"��ò��ò��ò��ò��Ù��This material may be reproduced and distributed without permission; however, appropriate citation must be given to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. Options Magazine Adolescence—Who Am I And Where Am I Going? No sooner do your children begin to understand the wonders of biology than their own bodies begin the surge of growth toward puberty and the awesome stage of adolescence. Adolescence, for all its newness—it was not considered a distinct stage of life until after the first World War—has quickly acquired a reputation as a difficult and trying period for children and parents. Physical growth changes the person from a child to an adult, in preparation for procreation, but mental and emotional development may take years to catch up with the body. Adolescents' behavior is in transition and not fixed; their feelings about the world and their place in it are tentative and changeable, like a chameleon's. The adolescent's primary task is to establish a secure sense of identity; the process is arduous, time-consuming, and intense. Establishing a stable identity includes being able to live and work on one's own, to maintain a comfortable position in one's family, and to become a contributing citizen in one's community. It is the nature of all adolescents, adopted or not, to question everything and everyone. It is also in their parents' nature to worry about their children's futures and their own survival in this period. Almost everyone agrees that, although often extremely difficult, open communication can smooth the process. Adolescence is a time of trying on and choosing in all aspects of life. Two major aspects of adult identity formation will be choice of work and choice of a partner to love. Teenagers look for and imitate role models. They critically examine their family members (as they did in elementary school), peers, teachers, and all the other heroes and anti-heroes the culture offers from rock musicians and movie stars, to ball players and politicians, to grandparents and peers' older brothers and sisters. They idolize and devalue people, ideas, and religious concepts. They often bond tightly with peers in small groups that are intolerant of all outsiders. They vacillate between criticism of others and harsh self-criticism. They are sometimes supremely self-confident and often in the depths of despair about their abilities and future success. If normal adolescence involves a crisis in identity, it stands to reason that adopted teenagers will face additional complications because of what some have called "genealogical bewilderment" (Sants). The fact that the adoptee has two sets of parents raises more complicated questions about ancestral history now that intellectual development has assumed adult proportions. The search for possible identification figures may cause the adolescent to fantasize more about birth parents, become interested in specific facts about birth relatives, or wish to search for or meet them. Although all adopted adolescents have to struggle to integrate their fantasies and future goals with their actual potential and realities, foreign, biracial, and other cross-cultural adoptees (as well as teenagers with physical or emotional disabilities) have additional challenges. They may suffer more from what Erik Erikson calls "identity diffusion," i.e., feelings of aimlessness, fragmentation, or alienation. They may appear outwardly more angry at adoptive parents, and more critical of what their parents did or did not do to help them adjust to their adoptive status. They may withdraw more into themselves, or conversely feel they need to "set off to see the world" in hopes of finding their true identity. Adolescents often express their reactions to loss by rebelling against parental standards. Knowing that they have a different origin contributes to their need to define themselves autonomously. According to Dr. Nickman, "An adopted son or daughter cannot be expected to be a conformist. If he is, he may be inhibiting an important part of himself for the sake of basic security or out of a sense of guilt or responsibility to his adopters." It probably helps a child to be told by adoptive parents that they understand their son or daughter's need to take control of his or her own life, and that they stand ready to assist in any way that they can, including giving their blessing to a child who needs to "to go it alone" for a while. Of course, a youngster under 17 years of age might be asked to wait until s/he could realistically manage in whatever environment would be encountered. HYPERLINK "http://www.optionsmagazine.com/" \l "Inside" [back to top] Searching for Birth Parents Current adoption practice has mixed opinions about whether, when, how, and with whose help, adoptees should look for more information about or try to initiate a reunion with birth parents. Information on this process is available through the Clearinghouse. Adoptive parents tend to think about their children's wish to search when they first adopt, and again when confronted with their angry toddlers. The topic resurfaces in adolescence, either raised directly by the child, or when rebellious, defiant behavior such as threats to run away, makes parents wonder if their child is wanting or needing to contact a birth parent. It takes a parent with sturdy self-esteem and more confidence than most of us have to withstand the stony silences and stormy confrontations with teenagers in turmoil. Parents are often tempted to escape perhaps by abandoning their teenagers who are having toddler-like tantrums, but you and your family will benefit more if you remain calm, stand up for the values you have taught, and continue communication efforts. For some adolescents, searching can be useful, while for many, the urgent activities and decisions of daily life are so pressing that they feel uninterested in or unable to confront such a heavy emotional undertaking. Waiting till they have reached adulthood when their lives will be more settled may be better for the latter group. Anger, Sex, and Aggression—Again! Adopted adolescents have the same trouble searching for a comfortable identity as do non-adoptees. Problems involving aggression, sexual activities and pregnancy, delinquency and substance abuse, social isolation and depression are the most common ones faced by teenagers and their families. Although there appear to be more adoptees percentage-wise in adolescent psychiatric treatment programs than nonadoptees, the majority of these patients tend to be the multiply placed children whose problems stem from a variety of sources, often the least of which is their adoption. Although sexual identity is an issue for all adolescents, adopted girls have the additional burden of conflicting views of motherhood and sexuality. On one hand there is their perhaps infertile adoptive mother and, on the other, the fertility of their birth mother who did get pregnant and chose not to keep her baby, or possibly had her child taken away from her. No matter how open communication has been, it is often next to impossible for adolescents to discuss their feelings about sex with their parents. Additionally, the adopted girl, unless she has close friends who are adopted as well, would have difficulty finding an ear understanding and sophisticated enough for this discussion. This may be a time to encourage meeting with other adopted teenagers, either through an organized group or informally, to provide your child with support for some of these sticky issues. Looking for solutions outside of the family is also appropriate for an adolescent for whom one major developmental task is to learn to separate and live independently. As adolescents move toward greater autonomy, a parent's most difficult task is to create a delicate balance of "to love and let go." Although there are many times when you could encourage your toddler—"me do it myself"—or elementary school-aged child to "try things alone" or learn a new skill, an adolescent needs to assert his/her independence by establishing differences from you, and real distance. The adolescent needs to take his or her independence or autonomy, rather than be given it. This often means a period of estrangement, lessened communication, or outright strife. You may want to listen and talk to your friends who have weathered adolescence with their biological children to note the similarities, and as you have tried to do all along, to understand the differences, acknowledge them, and try to work on them with your child. No matter how much you wanted to be parents, there are many times during the years of child rearing when you might ask, sometimes in humor, and sometimes in sadness, "Why did I ever sign up for this job?" Sometimes you can only reply feebly, "Well, it sure makes life interesting." But finally, you must have faith that the bonding that occurred in the early years between you and your child, the trust that has built as s/he grew up, and the communication that you have established, will come full circle and provide rich and rewarding relationships for you and your adult children. ��£��¶��â��ã��ñ��ò��+��,��9��:��;��V��º��Û��Ë'��ü�ñ�îçîçâçîÕîÕî��B*CJ�OJ�QJ�^J�phkF„�0J�CJ�� j��CJ�UCJ��B*OJ�QJ�^J�phkF„�6]��¶��·��¸��ã��¤��â��
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