GUIDANCE

Here is an article with a message inscribed within the word GUIDANCE. It gives us a very good perspective about putting our trust in the supernatural intelligence who is responsible for the orderly creation and maintenance of the physical world we live in.

Free to Dance Again

One day while meditating on the word Guidance, I realized that it ended in “dance.”

Doing God’s will is a lot like dancing:

When dancing together, if both partners try to lead nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. However, when one person realizes this and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes were drawn back to the word Guidance.

When I saw the first letter, G, I thought of God. It is followed by the letters u and i. “God,” “u” and “i” “dance.” God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life, particularly if I let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He shall direct your path.

-Proverbs 3:5-6

August 2010 has some very interesting facts. It has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays all in one month. It happens only once in every 823 years.

We are all blessed to witness this because no one among us will witness this again.

Take a reality check. We are not machines. Our brain can only think clearly one thought at a time. When quality counts, focus is required.

This should apply in everything that we do, from the corporate office to our service in the community.

Today, I do one thing at a time. When I do one thing at a time, I can be attentive and I can focus my energy and my effectiveness on the task at hand.

I have come to realize that it is better to do one thing at a time instead of taking on several activities at once. When you run your own business, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the workload involved. The prime quality of any good entrepreneur is establishing priorities and doing one thing at a time, as efficiently as possible. Being effective calls for careful attention. It requires focusing one’s attention and energy on the task at hand. The best strategy is doing one thing at a time.
- Marc Allen

FREE TO CREATE

Every single item in creation is unique in itself, an expression of creativity and imagination with unlimited borders.
It is a reasonable assumption to think that there is a creator and designer who balances the complex parameters that keep the physical universe go round.

I believe that we are made in the image of God and that because God is a creator, he gave us the special ability to be creators ourselves and we are free to use that gift, for good or for evil, the choice is upto us.

We are given the creative freedom in all aspects of our lives. Even in worship — because we are free — not to. Again the choice is yours.

In Christ, we are set free to create. He sets us free to live — toward God, with people, in the world — as creative artists having our own brand of originality.

He sets us free to use the stuff that God gives us to live something original.

Go ahead, add some colors to our lives, especially the colors that God gave us to make living creations that are pleasing in His sight.

Only By Grace

This is a really good one from my Inbox.

Yet another powerful message worth sharing.

It helps us look at the physical world from a new perspective.

All the best,

The Law of the Seed

Take a look at an apple tree. There might be five hundred apples on the tree and each apple has ten seeds. That’s a lot of seeds!

We might ask, “Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more apple trees?”

Nature has something to teach us here.

It’s telling us:

“Not all seeds grow. In life, most seeds never grow. So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once.”

This might mean:

You’ll attend twenty interviews to get one job.

You’ll interview forty people to find one good employee.

And you might meet a hundred acquaintances just to find one special friend.

When we understand the “Law of the Seed”, we don’t get so disappointed.
We stop feeling like victims.
We learn how to deal with things that happen to us.
Laws of nature are not things to take personally.

We just need to understand them – and work with them.

IN A NUTSHELL

Successful people fail more often. But they plant more seeds.
When things are beyond your control, here’s something that you must
NOT DO so as to avoid misery in your life:
- You must not decide how you think the world SHOULD be.
- You must not make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.
- Then, when the world doesn’t obey your rules, you get angry!
- That’s what miserable people do!

On the other hand, let’s say you expect that:
-Friends SHOULD return favours.
-People SHOULD appreciate you.
-Planes SHOULD arrive on time.
-Everyone SHOULD be honest.
- Your spouse or best friend SHOULD remember your birthday.
These expectations may sound reasonable. But often, these things won’t happen!

So you end up frustrated and disappointed.

There’s a better strategy:

Demand less, and instead, have preferences!

For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself:
“I would prefer this, but if that happens, it’s OK too!”

This is really a change in mindset. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind …
You prefer that people are polite … but when they are rude, it doesn’t ruin your day. You prefer sunshine … but if it rains, it is ok too!

To become happier, we either need to:

a) Change the world, or
b) Change our thinking.

It is easier to change our Thinking!

IN A NUTSHELL

It is not the problem that is the issue, but rather it is your attitude attending to the problem that is the problem.
It’s not what happens to you that determines your happiness.

It’s how you think about what happens to you!

One of the usual challenges in modern life is organizing our schedule and come out productive at the end of the day.

The pattern by which we consistently allocate our energies defines what our priorities really are. It can be our job, family, community, spirituality etc.

More often than not, all else take precedence and put spirituality on the backburner. It is rather sad when you look at it from the greater scheme of things. I myself am guilty of such misgivings.

This article will give some insight to this subject. I hope you like it. It’s very interesting.

SPENDING WISELY

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:

Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.

However, this prize had rules, just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules would be:

Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.

You may not simply transfer money into some other account.

You may only spend it.

Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.

The second set of rules:

The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, “Its over”, the game is over! It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right?

Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right?

Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?

You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?

ACTUALLY, this GAME is REALITY!

Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank.

We just cant seem to see it.

The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!

Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.

What we haven’t lived up that day is forever lost.

Yesterday is forever gone.

Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time….

WITHOUT WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Aren’t they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars?

Think about that, and always think of this:

Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.

So take care of yourself, and enjoy life!

And spend your time wisely.

Related Article: A Thousand Marbles

What Makes A Dad

“God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, the warmth of a summer sun. The calm of a quiet sea, the generous soul of nature, the comforting arm of night, the wisdom of the ages, the power of eagles flight. The joy of morning in spring, the faith of a mustard seed, the patience of eternity, the depth of a family’s need. Then God combined these qualities, when there was nothing more to add, He knew his masterpiece was complete… and so He called it Dad.”

This article was given to me by Marian, my youngest, for this occasion. Sweet …!

Happy Fathers Day to All!

Leader of the Band

Related Post: The Boy and the Apple Tree

But how often do we listen to ourselves? We know that the messages, objectives and intentions are there, but when do we actually make the conscious effort to realize them and make the decision to act on them? I think it is neither the lack of strength nor resources that pose as the barrier, but rather, the lack of willingness — and this, I believe is the single biggest hindrance to one’s success.

Each person has something to bring to this world. Each person has the responsibilty of finding self-fulfilment and achieving his or her ideas and dreams. When we express our potiential and when we make our dreams come true, we are faithful and loyal to our inner selves.

If you do do not express your original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.
– Rollo May

Take time to listen to your inner self. There is a message waiting to be discovered and it is always beautiful.

Listening is an art and a special skill. It cannot be achieved in noise and confusion, but in places of silence and calm — places like nature where you can feel the beauty of God’s presence.

I augment this post with various quotes about success from famous people.

Here’s wishing everyone a successful summer.

They can because they think they can.
– Virgil

There is only one success–to be able to spend your life in your own way.
– Christopher Morley

The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.
– Aristotle Onassis

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
– Robert Collier

A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience.
– Elbert Hubbard

Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.
Josh Billings

The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well.
– Henry W. Longfellow

I have been busy last week with the launching of my software project at the Dubai Trade Center’s Vision-X Exhibition. It is an annual trade exhibit for optical related businesses. It is of particular interest to me, not just from a business perspective but also from the greater viewpoint of appreciation for one of the wonders of God’s creation — the human eye.

While many Darwinian evolutionists will disagree to my point of view, a closer examination of the innermost function and mechanism of this masterpiece will reinforce my theory that there is a master designer above the heavens whose craftsmanship and wisdom is beyond our comprehension.

The eye is a marvel of engineering. Its performance is so good, we cannot come close to imitating it in all its specifications that must be met simultaneously: stereoscopic, motion-picture, miniature, high-definition, self-repairing in many cases, self-cleaning, high signal-to-noise ratio, high depth of field, high dynamic range, low chromatic aberration, fast focus, image processing, long life, and much more. In fact, it may well exhibit the best of all possible optics combined ever.

Taking the subject a step further, interface all that influx of analog image information into a continuous stream of data to the brain for processing. Can you imagine how much data is passing through the optic nerve into the brain, and everything is processed in nanoseconds — from image recognition that recalls experiences as far as you can remember, to images that trigger feelings and emotions. Or the speed of character recognition as you are reading this article itself.

I can go on forever preaching the marvels of the eye as an instrument for appreciating everything else in the visual universe. I am thankful that I can see the world in full color and high-definition.

Yes, it is true that some people cannot see what I can see. I attribute these imperfections as defects from genetic copying errors that remind us we live in a world that is less than perfect. All the more that I am thankful for the wholeness of blessings bestowed upon me.

The following article is a perfect fit with today’s blog post. It talks about the human body as God’s masterpiece.

God is good … all the time!

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — and how well I know it
(Psalm 139:14)

The Human Body — God’s Masterpiece

We live in an amazing world. The greatest of all creations is man himself, the marvelous machine—precise and efficient. The human body has a dynamic framework of bone and cartilage called the skeleton. The human skeleton is flexible, with hinges and joints that were made to move. But to cut down harmful frictions, such moving parts must be lubricated.

Man-made machines are lubricated only by outside sources. But the body lubricates itself by manufacturing a jelly-like substance in the right amount at every place it is needed. Yes, the body is a wonder machine, despite the defects from genetic copying errors (mutations) that have accumulated since the Fall of man brought on the Curse (Genesis 3).

The body has a chemical plant far more intricate than any plant that man has ever built. This plant changes the food we eat into living tissue. It causes the growth of flesh, blood, bones and teeth. It even repairs the body when parts are damaged by accident or disease. Power, for work and play, comes from the food we eat.

Even in freezing weather our bodies will sometimes overheat. The body’s own cooling system then takes over. Drops of perspiration pour from millions of tiny sweat glands in the skin. This is a major way in which our cooling system keeps our temperature down. The human body has an automatic thermostat that takes care of both our heating and cooling systems, keeping body temperature at about 37°C (98.6°F).

The brain is the centre of a complex computer system more wonderful than the greatest one ever built by man. The body’s computer system computes and sends throughout the body billions of bits of information, information that controls every action, right down to the flicker of an eyelid. In most computer systems, the information is carried by wires and electronic parts. In the body, nerves are the wires that carry the information back and forth from the central nervous system. And in just one human brain there is probably more wiring, more electrical circuitry, than in all the computer systems of the world put together. Yes, it is a wonderful thing—this brain of ours.

The control centre of the human body is the human brain. It is by far the most complex information-management system in the universe.

In fact, as we look at this very moment, we are actually seeing with our brain. Although, of course, the message is carried there from another marvelous structure, the human eye. Modern cameras operate on the same basic principle as our eyes. In our eye the focus and aperture are adjusted automatically.

The sound we hear is being played on a perfect little musical instrument inside our ear. The sound waves go down the auditory canal and are carried by the bones of the middle ear to the cochlea, which is rolled up like a tiny sea shell. The outer ear operates in air. But the cochlea is filled with liquid, and transferring sound waves from air to liquid is one of the most difficult problems known to science. Three tiny bones called the ossicles are just right to do the job that enables us to hear properly. Interestingly, the size of these little bones does not change from the time we are born.

The heart actually is a muscular pump forcing blood through thousands of miles of blood vessels. Blood carries food and oxygen to every part of the body. The heart pumps an average of six litres (1.5 U.S. gallons) of blood every minute, and in one day pumps enough blood to fill more than forty 200-litre (50-gallon) drums.

Yes, the human body is a wonderful machine. The fact that any one of these devices exists is a complete demonstration that they are the work of an intelligent and skilful designer, God Himself. ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them’ (Genesis 1:27).

The raw material, the basic chemicals in our body, can be found in the ‘dust of the ground’. However, these chemicals cannot arrange themselves into cell tissues, organs and systems. This can only happen with an input of intelligence.

The book of Genesis teaches that God took ‘the dust of the ground’, a heap of chemicals, shaped a man and then blew into his nostrils the breath of life. Then man became a living soul. Human beings are different from animals, for ‘God created man in his own image’ (Genesis 1:27). Our bodies have been designed with the ability to pass on to the next generation the programmed information required to form another person from simple chemicals.

We are more than the chemicals that form our body. We are a special creation of God. Man is God’s masterpiece — His workmanship, the crown of creation.

The human brain is ‘ …the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the universe’
– Isaac Asimov

After my dose of sunshine and jogging at the beach, I decided to go skin diving today.

It has been quite a while since I did any scuba or open-water activity. What turned out as an unplanned exercise opened a whole new world of re-discovery. As I splashed through the corals, the serenity and beauty of the underwater landscape was a manifestation of physical and spiritual creations that didn’t seem to mind my intrusion. All the fishes by the hundreds seemed to be eager to display their colors and grace as they swam past by me in all directions.

This connection with nature reminded me yet again that it is a beautiful world, you just simply have to look closer to appreaciate the beauty. If something is ugly, treat it as if it’s something yet to be understood to be appreciated.

It takes a certain state of mind to be susceptive to the beauty around us, recognizing at the same time that there is a supreme architect behind all this wonder of creation.

It’s been a great week. I love all the new things that I discovered.

God is good! All the time …

The natural world is a spiritual house. Man walks there through forests of physical things that are also spiritual things, that watch him with affectionate looks.
– Charles Baudelaire

15 Laws of Life

What You Need to Keep in Mind

1. Love Is The Law Of Life: All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore, love for love’s sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.
2. It’s Your Outlook That Matters: It is our own mental attitude, which makes the world what it is for us. Our thoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.
3. Life is Beautiful: First, believe in this world – that there is meaning behind everything. Everything in the world is good, is holy and beautiful. If you see something evil, think that you do not understand it in the right light. Throw the burden on yourselves!
4. It’s The Way You Feel: Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.
5. Set Yourself Free: The moment I have realised God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
6. Don’t Play The Blame Game: Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.
7. Help Others: If money helps a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.
8. Uphold Your Ideals: Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.
9. Listen To Your Soul: You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
10. Be Yourself: The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!
11. Nothing Is Impossible: Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin – to say that you are weak, or others are weak.
12. You Have The Power: All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.
13. Learn Everyday: The goal of mankind is knowledge… now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man ‘knows’, should, in strict psychological language, be what he ‘discovers’ or ‘unveils’; what man ‘learns’ is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.
14. Be Truthful: Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.
15. Think Different: All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.