Monday, October 27, 2008

The Art of Talking to Yourself

A man thinks in word-symbols, and such silent thought is equivalent to talking to himself. Sometimes when he is alone he speaks the words aloud.
But silent or aloud, his conservation with himself is creative….it makes him what he is.

More important than what others say to him is he says to himself. A man’s life is shaped by the way he habitually talks to himself.

A man can talk himself up or down, into happiness or unhappiness, into failure or success, into heaven or hell.

When he talks to himself in words of self-pity, defeat, cynicism, futility, fear, anxiety, despair, hopelessness and resignation, he tears himself apart and shatters his future.

A man can transform his life by switching the emphasis of his inner conservation to words that lift and inspire.

He can talk strength into his backbone so he will have the courage and confidence to stand up to life.

He can talk himself out of discouragement and despair by counting his many blessings.

He can talk himself into accepting hardships and handicaps and enduring them with a gallant spirit.

He can talk himself into seeing his duties and responsibilities in a new light – as opportunities and privileges.

He can talk himself about the beauty, glory and wonder of life so it will glow with a new radiance.

He can talk to himself about his dreams, hopes and aspirations. He can convince himself that there is a place for him and important work for him to do.

The way a man talks to himself has a dynamic power for self-influence. His words can make or unmake his life.

“Nobody” , wrote Cicero, “can give you wiser advice than yourself.”


Written by Wilfred Peterson in 1960.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Friday, October 17, 2008

Dendrobium



small Dendrobium in my garden.
I bought this plant for my mommy from e-mart.
RM-10.
In mommy's garden, all the orchid plants are
healthy and in blossom.

Oncidium (Dancing Lady Orchid)



Oncidium flower in my garden.
Temperature and humidity : 10 to 15 degree C.
Light in greenhouses.
40% to 50% of daylight.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

study station



This is my new work station, actually "study station".
Place for researcher.
This place is cooler than my ex-work station, because this place has
no students' assignments, no students' record files, no students' projects,
no students' reports, and no marking at all.
Yayyyyy...life is beautiful.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Full Moon Day of October (ThiDinGyut)

Today is Full Moon Day of October. We call it ThiDinGyut full moon day.
It is also know as Lights Festival.


From the book "Flowers and Festivals Round the Myanmar Year " written by
Daw Khin Myo Chit , translated by Junior Win,

Thidingyut, the seventh month of the Myanmar calendar, marks the end of lent.
Monsoon is on the way out and the skies are clearing. Sunny days are here to stay.

Illuminations are there to celebrate the anniversary of the Buddha's return from the
celestial abode where he had spent the lent teaching the gods above his law.

Streets, houses and public buildings are illuminated and festooned with coloured electric bulbs.
One feature of the festival in small towns and village is see-mee lighting ; small earthen bowls are filled with sesame oil and a piece of cotton is soaked in each bowl and lighted.

These lighted oil bowls are placed on the terraces of pagodas. The lights last longer than
candles and the little tongues of flame quivering in the breeze lend an uncanny beauty to the
scene steeped silvery moonlight. Such lights are sometimes seen on the pagodas in
Yangon city.

Thidingyut is not only a season of festivals and rejoicings, but also a time for remembering
those whom we owe respect and gratitude. The Buddha's visit to the celestial regions was
to teach the great Truth he had found through rigorous striving for many many lives, to his
own mother.
It was a gesture of gratitude, an example for all to follow.

When Buddhists do the act of kadaw (paying respect) to anyone, their parents, teachers or elders, they not only pay respects as a gesture of gratitude, but they also ask forgiveness for
any wrongful action they might have done in this life and many many lives before.

Paying respects ceremonies are organized and held in schools. Paying respects to teacher,
one of the Five Revered Ones, is still practised. Buddhists parables illustrate the good influence
of teachers on their students, even though the latter might have become ruling kings.

So, this is the spirit of Thidingyut season...paying respects to these to whom respect is due and
remembering those to whom we owe gratitude.

Sunday, October 5, 2008