Wonderful Gifts To Give Ourselves...

MySAR for 5th January

http://youtu.be/EyUwNR8TEns

Wonderful Gifts To Give Ourselves... During the festive Christmas and New Year season, while we devote so much thought and time to thinking of gifts for other people, few of us spend any time thinking about gifts we can give ourselves. Even those who do so, think only in terms of ‘things’ they want to purchase. However, there are so many gifts you can give yourself, which would be more valuable than anything you can purchase. Thought Produced in the brain by more than 10,000 billion neurons that communicate with each other through synapse and work together like some sort of biologic computer. A thought is a clear understandable phrase or communication with oneself or others. A thought can be idea-like, memory-like, picture-like, or song-like. It's usually a short-lived discrete event which in cognitive and neuro-science is "the mental representation". Would you believe if someone told you that there exist almost magical gifts that can make you live longer, reduce or even eliminate your medical bills, make you peaceful, increase your popularity amongst others, make you personally and professionally more successful and leave a better world for your children? Sounds like a dream? But such gifts do exist and are within your grasp. And they are free. Let me list ten of these. Ten Special Gifts 1. The first is exercise. If you give yourself the gift of exercise – even 15 minutes a day – you will be healthier, live longer and feel more alert. 2. Yoga also confers similar benefits. It also adds a zing to your step and makes your muscles shed their laziness. Yoga Yoga comes from Yuj which means to unite. Holistic union of mind, body and soul or the divine union of Self with The Supreme. It is the cessation of all mental fluctuations, ceasing all wandering thoughts and focusing of mind on a single thought. Earliest mentions of Yoga found in sacred texts of Mahabharata and Gita. According to the Yogatattva Upanishad, Yoga is divided into four forms – Mantrayoga, Layayoga, Hathayoga and Rajayoga. Patañjali divided his Yoga Sutras into 4 chapters or Padas containing in all, 196 aphorisms. He also described 8 limbs of yoga. 3. Meditation is invaluable. It confers many benefits, including a peaceful mind, calm demeanor and heightened awareness.  Silence is a powerful gift. The first time you experience true inner silence, you will want to stay in this state forever. Mind A non-physical phenomenon which perceives, thinks, recognises, experiences and reacts to the environment. A relational and embodied process that regulates the flow of energy and information in our bodies. Described as having two main aspects: clarity and knowing; meaning that the mind is clear, formless and allows for objects to arise in it, and that the mind is knowing, an awareness, a consciousness which can engage with objects. It is a private sphere to which no one but the owner has access. They can only interpret what we consciously or unconsciously communicate. 4. The fourth gift you can give yourself is the gift of learning something new. It keeps you younger and more interested in life, and you become more alert.   Life : The period of existence, duration, usefulness, or popularity of something. A specific phase of earthly existence. The period from birth to death. Spiritual existence transcending physical death. The sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual. The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. The sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, especially metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment. 5. Related to this is the gift of reading. Give this gift not only to yourself but also to your children. 6. Personal hygiene is a great gift, too. We take this for granted but even small things such as brushing your teeth before sleeping can have a great impact on your well-being. Washing hands, general cleanliness – everything matters. 7. Smiling -- you will be surprised what a great difference it will make to your life if you give yourself this gift.  8. Another such useful gift it the gift of empathy. This amazing gift broadens your world. 9. Tolerance: We are very quick to take offence. We have our prejudices against all kinds of people and things. We divide the world into ‘ours’, who can do no wrong and ‘others’, who can do no right. Tolerance is the bridge between the two. 10. Finally, how about gifting yourself active concern for your environment? This means not only caring for the environment in a theoretical way but also actively promoting good practices such as waste recycling, water conservation, promoting greenery and so on. With this gift, you will not only improve your life but will gift your children a better world. That’s Not All There are other gifts, too, which we can give ourselves.  These would be unique for each person. I am sure we can all think of some of these. Would it not be great if all of us can give ourselves at least some of the above gifts during this gift-giving season? Not only will we be the richer for these, they will make our loved ones richer beyond any material gift we can give them. Just select your own gifts, open them with your will-power and revel in them for many happy years to come.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------