Sleeping well seems to be a problem for some people. I was one of them in the past. The after effects are black eyes patch, easily irritable, tiredness, bad breath, aches, heavy headed and many others. It happens especially during the times when something big or serious that is going to happen the next day. For example, before an exam, going to new places, going on a date….
What is the reason behind it? I believe the main issue is due to the unnecessary amount of effort that we made to fall asleep. Sleeping is not about doing something. It is all about not doing anything. The motion of trying to fall asleep is actually the culprit keeping us awake. You may say that “But I have to sleep! Tomorrow is an important day for me!”. Yes, I understand, but I will like to say that this is where things go wrong.
In the action of trying to sleep, many activities run through our mind. Such as reminding ourselves of the importance sleeping well now to face tomorrow’s event and what may happen if I don’t get adequate sleep now. At best, it will only makes us feel unrest as we start to blame yourself and body for not being able to quiet down, while not knowing that it is the motion of thinking that is keeping us awake. Then you start to feel itchiness all over your body which is actually a sign of unrest, start turning here and there and eventually woke up feeling pissed. I even know people who go to bed expecting that they are not going to sleep well (Insomnia).
So how do you sleep? The formula is to just lie down and relax. Focus on your breathing and just clear your mind. It is actually like meditation. Many of us thought that we need to ‘sleep’ to recover our body. That is not true. Our body will recover by just staying in inactivity. You don’t need to sleep to rest.
For example, I was unable to fall asleep yesterday. Probably due to me messing up my own sleeping patterns as I had been sleeping at 2 am for past 2 days. As a result, I was pretty awake for the whole night. In the past, I would have been irritated and try to force myself to sleep. But this time, I assure myself that my body will recover without me “sleeping”. All I need to do is to lie down and relax. Focus of my breathing and be aware of what is going through my mind and clear them. In the end, I woke up at 5 am and feeling afresh which I sit on the motion and went down for a morning jog. It is an amazing experience. ^_^
Hope you will find it useful
P.S. For better effect, stop watching television at least 1 hour before you sleep as the scenes usually stay on in our mind and it will inhibit our sleep
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
How banks use your savings
Was in a microeconomic class for this 4 days. The lecturer is amazing. He is a very dynamic person who just love to be himself. There is a lot that he had shared with us and I will like to share this on the blog.
Have you wonder how banks use your money and why did the banks in America collapse?
Here is the formula. All banks have a reserve ratio which is usually 10-15%. What does this mean?
It means, for every $1.00 you saved in the bank, they will only keep $0.10 in their bank! The rest are used by them to lend out with much higher interest and for their own investment. So it is to say your $0.90 are out there somewhere which they use for their own profits. Yes, this is what they do to your money. It makes one ponder how come the interest which they pay back to us is so bloody tiny. 0.25% -_-
This is the reason why the people in US is unable to take back their money as it is not there in the first place. All you see on your bank book is just a figure with no physical existence of the cash.
So why did the banks in America collapse? It is said that during the 2007 real estate boom, banks start to lend money to sub prime borrowers (people who does not have good credit). They thought that they will be able to make profits since the economy is so good at that time. Then came the real estate crash which left many of the debtors unable to pay back.
As a result, banks are unable to pay back to the people since there is only 10% of what is saved in the bank to begin with.
Interesting? haha to me it makes me think twice to invest in bank again. No wonder banks are so profitable.
Have you wonder how banks use your money and why did the banks in America collapse?
Here is the formula. All banks have a reserve ratio which is usually 10-15%. What does this mean?
It means, for every $1.00 you saved in the bank, they will only keep $0.10 in their bank! The rest are used by them to lend out with much higher interest and for their own investment. So it is to say your $0.90 are out there somewhere which they use for their own profits. Yes, this is what they do to your money. It makes one ponder how come the interest which they pay back to us is so bloody tiny. 0.25% -_-
This is the reason why the people in US is unable to take back their money as it is not there in the first place. All you see on your bank book is just a figure with no physical existence of the cash.
So why did the banks in America collapse? It is said that during the 2007 real estate boom, banks start to lend money to sub prime borrowers (people who does not have good credit). They thought that they will be able to make profits since the economy is so good at that time. Then came the real estate crash which left many of the debtors unable to pay back.
As a result, banks are unable to pay back to the people since there is only 10% of what is saved in the bank to begin with.
Interesting? haha to me it makes me think twice to invest in bank again. No wonder banks are so profitable.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Dealing with Adversity - Dr Wayne
This is an interesting tale from the book "Inspiration" by Dr Wayne regarding how to deal with adversity when they arise in your life
Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee
A young woman complained to her mother about the hardships and difficulties in her life. She didn't know how she was going to continue and wanted to give up. The young woman said, "I'm tired of fighting and struggling. It seems that as soon as one problem is solved, a new one appears." In response, her mother took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water, placing each on the stove over a high flame.
Soon the water came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about 20 mins, she turned off the burners. The mother then fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She removed the eggs and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she said, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After peeling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity, boiling water, and each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile, its thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior, but after the boiling water, its inside became hardened. But the ground coffee beans were unique-after they were in the boiling water, they'd changed the water itself.
The message? Be the coffee beans. Change your adversity into something wonderful that shape your world.
Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee
A young woman complained to her mother about the hardships and difficulties in her life. She didn't know how she was going to continue and wanted to give up. The young woman said, "I'm tired of fighting and struggling. It seems that as soon as one problem is solved, a new one appears." In response, her mother took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water, placing each on the stove over a high flame.
Soon the water came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about 20 mins, she turned off the burners. The mother then fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She removed the eggs and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she said, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After peeling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity, boiling water, and each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile, its thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior, but after the boiling water, its inside became hardened. But the ground coffee beans were unique-after they were in the boiling water, they'd changed the water itself.
The message? Be the coffee beans. Change your adversity into something wonderful that shape your world.
End of 2nd week as Vegetarian
Its been 2 weeks since I started vegetarianism and it is actually not hard at all. I don't feel deprivation nor lack of choices. Choices of food are so much simpler also. Just find something without meat whenever I step into a dining place. It will even spark your creativity as you start to think of ways to make dishes without meat and make it taste better than with meat. Yesterday I had tried making a vegetarian Ba Gu Teh and Niki was so pleased with the dish. Next dish on my list is Vegetarian green curry ^o^
Just within 2 weeks, I can even see positive changes happening to me and my family. First thing which is noticeable is the increased amount of vegetables my parents are taking nowadays. In the past, we will normally have 2 meat dishes and 1 vegetable. But now, we have 2 vegetables and a small portion of meat on the dining table. In my action to change my diet, I had also influenced them to eat healthier too. Interesting isn't it?
Secondly, I found out that my awareness is getting stronger. As you can see from my past blog, I did not force my parents to cook vegetarian food for me. So normally, they will continue to cook the normal dishes with meat and I will just avoid the meat. One day we had fish head curry for dinner. They had prepared lots of vegetables in the curry for me. When I started to have the vegetables from that curry, I smell a very strong stench from the curry. Apparently, this has been the similar smell that I had been taking all along when I have fish head curry. It is the strong seafood stench. The only difference is that in the past I had convinced myself that enduring and ignoring the stench is the right thing to do. Which I had been doing so many times that I had subconsciously accept the smell the way it is. However, when I start to listen to my senses, it is just feels not right and overpowering for me.
Just within 2 weeks, I can even see positive changes happening to me and my family. First thing which is noticeable is the increased amount of vegetables my parents are taking nowadays. In the past, we will normally have 2 meat dishes and 1 vegetable. But now, we have 2 vegetables and a small portion of meat on the dining table. In my action to change my diet, I had also influenced them to eat healthier too. Interesting isn't it?
Secondly, I found out that my awareness is getting stronger. As you can see from my past blog, I did not force my parents to cook vegetarian food for me. So normally, they will continue to cook the normal dishes with meat and I will just avoid the meat. One day we had fish head curry for dinner. They had prepared lots of vegetables in the curry for me. When I started to have the vegetables from that curry, I smell a very strong stench from the curry. Apparently, this has been the similar smell that I had been taking all along when I have fish head curry. It is the strong seafood stench. The only difference is that in the past I had convinced myself that enduring and ignoring the stench is the right thing to do. Which I had been doing so many times that I had subconsciously accept the smell the way it is. However, when I start to listen to my senses, it is just feels not right and overpowering for me.
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