Tai Chi at East Coast Park, Singapore

Took this on roller blades. Good fun keeping balance and camera frame.

Morning Light

It is said that the morning sun energises our chakras that in turn energises our bodies.

I go to the beach frequently in the morning and that theory seems to hold! :)

Qi Gong at East Coast Park Singapore

Took this video clip while on roller blades.

These senior citizens practise their Qi Gong from six every morning resting only three days around Lunar New Year. The atmosphere is so happy at East Coast Park in the morning. I love going to places with happy people, as I get all soaked up in those vibrant energies and have no choice but be happy like them! :)

Note: My Cannon camera only allow 30 second video clips. arghhh!!! Planning to buy a higher resolution videocam to take more videos by the beach. Any recommendations anyone?

The Quests (Singapore) - Wonderful Land

They were once upon a time the hottest pop band in Singapore and Malaysia. This was the Golden 60s of Singapore music. A time when technology was still very limited and it took a lot more determination and inspiration to form a band and make it!

Vacuum State - Thank You

This blog has received 2,127 hits over the last two months plus. Thank you for your support, encouragement and comments! :)

An inspiring Speech By Subroto Bagchi, Chief Operating Officer, MindTree Consulting

This is a speech well worth reading, it redefines success more holistically beyond mere material...

"I was the last child of a small-time government servant, in a family of five brothers. My earliest memory of my father is as that of a District Employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa.

It was and remains as back of Beyond as you can imagine. There was no electricity; no primary school nearby and water did not flow out of a tap. As a result, I did not go to school until the age of eight; I was home-schooled. My father used to get transferred every year. The family belongings fit into the back of a jeep - so the family moved from place to place and, without any trouble, my mother would set up an establishment and get us going. Raised by a widow who had come as a refugee from the then East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she married my Father.

My parents set the foundation of my life and the value system which makes me what I am today and largely defines what success means to me today... more"

Mind Games

Podcasting by East Coast Park, Singapore

Just recorded another podcast with my friend Clinton about a board game that he has invented that trains people to be creative and improve their learning abilities.

Here is the gist of what was discussed:

1. That we are smarter than we think.




2. Size of brain does not matter. More importantly, it is the number of connections we have in our brain. Number of connections are unlimited.




3. That it is a mistake to think that if we are creative we are a 'right brain person'. Creativity requires the use of both the right and left hemisphere. ie. the whole brain.




4. The more we learn to do more sophisticated tasks, we become smarter, as we exercise the brain.

podcast: click here.

Backstage comment:

You may have noticed that we sounded a little edgy and serious in the podcast! :) That was because we were fighting off those uninvited creepy crawlies joining us whilst we were recording! arghh!! :)

Ah Por

Ah Por is an 82 year old Hakka immigrant from China. She has now lived in Singapore for over 40 years.

.

I went to Ah Por's place to massage my neck. All the late nights and stress had resulted in my chronic neck pain that needs regular fixing. At 82 years old, Ah Por's hands are far stronger than all the other young masseuse I have been to in Singapore. She told me that she has been practising Qi Gong since the age of 10. No wonder! Her eyes are extremely alert, and she is also physically and mentally very agile. Ah Por's massage was effective, but also very painful!!! Only go to Ah Por if you can bear the pain!

.

Ah Por is calm and unhurried. There is a sense of peace and serenity with her. After the massage, she asked me to rest on the massage table and to get up only when I was ready. Then as I sat on her sofa after getting up, she even pulled a low stool for me to rest my feet. I feel a little embarrased with that.

.

As I sat down, I noticed there were some plastic bottles of solution. I asked whether they were massage oil, and she told me that they were solutions to apply on the head for hair growth. It is a family secret formula. Before I knew it, Ah Por was already applying them on my hair. She normally retails them at S$10 each bottle, but for me, it is free! She gave me a bottle as a gift.

.

Then, it was time to leave. I asked how much the massage costs and she replied that it was S$12. Huh? Only S$12!!! I decided to pay her more and also told her that I would buy the bottle of hair lotion she gave me. To my amazement, she refused to accept money for the hair lotion. She insisted it was a gift for me. Then, she also refused to accept extra payment or tips. She said, she has enough money to eat and live and doesn't need more. Even till the end, because of the lack of small change, she told me that she owed me S$1 and that she will put that into account for my next massage session.

.

I feel so inspired by Ah Por. She is so contented with life. Though her tiny 3 room apartment is spartan and old, she refused to accept any more money. And she is so caring to the people she serves. Perhaps that is her secret to a healthy old age. One that serves others and ask for only enough to live on.

Aura Pixs

Brought my friend to the shop to take her aura picture. Before she went into the booth, I saw that her aura was orange with some pink. As it turned out, it was exactly as what I saw. The photographer was surprised. (My friend didn't want to show her pix to everyone, so I can't display it here. )

I then told the photographer that I would like to take a snapshot as well. She thought I was kidding, since she had just witnessed that I can see my friend's aura without the need of the photography. I grinned and told her that I would not be able to see my own. Then while in the booth, I told her that mine would be blue, purple with some white. So as it turned out it looked like this...

I didn't see the orange part on my lower left before the image was taken. Somehow I had missed that part!

Aura imaging is generally based on Kelian photography invented in the 1950s. However, there is now aura imaging systems that use normal webcams to capture the images.

I can also see aura from live webcams with my naked eye! The clarity depends directly on the webcam resolution. Actually, this is no magic, as my Harry Potter gang can see auras just like that too! One of my friend in the gang, Jenny, can even see aura from normal photographs! This is a feat I am still yet to master and wish to. :) If you are not already seeing auras with your naked eye, you can too, with proper guidance and practice. It's all in you waiting to be discovered.

Some useful links:

http://www.auraphoto.com/Aura/Aurabook/Introduction.html
http://www.auraphoto.com/Aura/Instructions/AuraImageInterpretation.html
http://thiaoouba.com/see_aura_color.htm

Coming "105 Universal Laws" Seminar (Highly Recommended)

The next "105 Universal Law" seminar by Dr Aaron Lim will be on:
For more, click here .

Date : 26 November 2006 (Sunday)
Time : 9.30 am
Venue : Conference Room 1, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Contribution : $30

Let me know if you would like to attend! :)

Interview with Nishant, a memory expert

This is an interview with Nishant Kasibhatla, via MSN Messenger. Nishant is a memory expert and was ranked 9th in the World Memory Championship Competition. He can recall up to 2,000 digits back and forth - that's how good he is.

Some memory tips:

• Children have good memories as they love to learn.
• Children live in the moment. It is about paying attention to the moment and living in the moment.
• Try Visualise, Associate and Pleasure (VAP) in memory.
• Reduce your reliance on technology

This is probably one of the rare podcasts interviews documented using an online instant messenger anywhere. I could have done this interview whilst thousands of miles away from the interviewee and it wouldn't have made any difference! Broadcasting has taken a great leap forward. Now anyone can broadcast any subject worldwide instantly - for free! Even me, a non-practising civil engineer, information security specialist and environmental technology entrepreneur, totally untrained in journalism! Now, I too can broadcast to the world! Thanks to MSN Messenger!

As for Nishant, he told me which degree he did in University, but I have already forgotten!!! :)

Interview podcast (Will take about 50 seconds. I am working on streaming... soon...)

The Bucky Group

I have been wanting to write about this amazing group who has been gathering at McRitchie Reservoir every Sunday morning at 7.30am for the last 12 years to jog and do book reading/discussions on Buckminster Fuller's works. Buckminster Fuller is a famous author, philosopher, engineer and great contributor to mankind.

I join them whenever I am in Singapore on Sundays. Last Sunday, I learned a beautiful song composed by the late John Denver, "What One Man Can Do". Very inspiring!

(this is my first podcast)

What One Man Can Do...

What one man can do is dream.
What one man can do is love.
What one man can do is change the world and make it young again.
Here's what one man can do.

What will you resort to with the Integrated Resort?

Got news from my landlord recently that my rent is going up by 36%. He gave me only a few days to make a decision. If I do not agree with him he can choose to evict me. That was a big jump with a very short notice. He has refused to speak to me directly and has communicated with me via his agent who repeatedly threatened me with the law and eviction.

.

I have told her that I will bring the matter to my Member of Parliament, but on second thoughts, what's the point? He is after all, an ex-Member of Parliament himself and probably know his legal rights and moral wrongs more than I do.

.

I wasn't even fighting the rent increase so much, but merely asking for more time to move out and live in it under the old rent till January, since I had to travel to Saudi Arabia till January for business. Haiz! It is hard to believe I have rented his premises for four years and that is how he treats me. Did I hear the President said something about the new 5Cs we should have? What? Is one of them "Compassion"?

.

Recently, landlords are asking for increased rent in response to property price rises in the prime districts, after the announcement of the development of the integrated resort in Singapore. However, for the suburban East where I live, I got a feeling that it is just wishful thinking. The prime district property price increases are moved by foreign investors. In the suburbs, they cater mostly to the local market. I don't hear of local people earning more money in business or salaries recently and banks are not easier with their loans, so how can property prices go up here?

.

I have since found out that there is no law to protect tenants against astronomical rise in rental prices and landlords can evict tenants who refused to butt.

So, with the debate of whether we are going to have an integrated resort or not is out of the way, perhaps it is time to think of what we are going to resort to with all the new 'opportunities' out there.

.

I believe that gambling is bad, since for one to win, many have to lose, and the adverse effects are many. Be prepared to hear of more of these resorts of the resorts.

.
Background information:
Las Vegas Sands Is Chosen to Build Singapore Casino - New York Times

Opening The Door of Your Heart

This book is written by Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist Monk and a British born Cambridge University graduate in Theoretical Physics. Ajahn Brahm is trained in the Thai forest meditation tradition under Venerable Ajahn Chah. In 1983, he was asked to assist in the establishment of a forest monastery near Perth, Western Australia, and is now the Abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery and Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia.

.

Ajahn Brahm has come to Singapore several times and I had the good fortune to attend his talks at Bright Hill Temple. It was such a delightful experience not only learning from his wisdom, but also enjoying so many jokes in one evening. Yes, it seems Ajahn Brahm loves jokes! He probably love telling stories as well as there were so many interesting stories told. What I find very different with Ajahn Brahm is that he speaks as a first person, which makes it easy to understand. For some reason, Eastern born Buddhist monks tend to speak in a more distant third person basis. (Make observations next time you are in a talk given by a Buddhist monk.)

.

His book, "Opening The Door of Your Heart" is one series of stories with profound lessons that all of us can relate to. I read it whilst I was waiting to break fast in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan. Some customers in the restaurant where I was in looked curiously at my book, noticing that it is written by a Buddhist monk and wondered what I was doing keeping to the Muslim fasting tradition! :) (The book has Ajahn Brahm's photo on the back cover.)

.

When I started reading the book, I was in an extremely tired state. Having finished work, I had also chatted with a few people on MSN, multi-tasking other chores at the same time. Then the first page struck me deeply. It says:

"Grant yourself a moment of peace,
and you will understand
how foolishly you have been scurried about.

Learn to be silent,
and you will notice that
you have talked too much.

Be kind,
and you will realise that
your judgement of others was too severe."
- Ancient Chinese Proverb

.

Then did I realise, in the midst of the desert heat, Ramadan, work, chatting with friends from Singapore via MSN to cover my homesickness, I too was getting myself into unnecessary haste and stress. It suddenly lightened my mind and energised me.

.

Another story "What's done is finished" was about the monks going for retreat during the monsoon months of July to October, in the midst of constructing their new hall in the forest monastery. So there laid half-constructed building without the roof , no doors, no windows, cement bags all over the place,...etc.

.

When a visitor saw the uncompleted building, he asked when the hall will be finished, which the old monk answered, "The hall is finished."

.

"What do you mean 'the hall is finished'?" the visitor replied, taken aback.

The old abbot smiled and gently replied, "What done is finished, " and then he went to meditate.

This is the only way to have a retreat or to take a break. Otherwise, our work is never finished.

There are many other interesting stories in the book, but I think with this story told, this posting is finished.

Photos of Ajahn Brahm at the Awareness Place in Singapore:

http://www.awarenessplace.com/activities/Ajahnbrahm/index.htm

A synopsis of the book:

http://www.bswa.org/modules/shop/product_info.php?products_id=89

Meeting Swami Sri Sai Kaleshwar

Swami Sri Sai Kaleshwar's brief meeting with a small group of us at the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore:

"I have only one thing to tell this group. That is, life is short, make it sweet. When you wake up in the morning, make your day sweet. You don't have any problems. You think you have problems, but you don't have any problems. Whatever is given to you, accept it. Whatever is taken from you, also accept it. Always have trust in Him. If you have the trust, then life is sweet and there won't be problems."

Then, we were told to think of two wishes and go into silent meditation for about ten minutes.

I felt this sense of peace and calm after meeting Swami, though it was a mere fifteen minutes or so. His aura radiates way high. Very strong.

Vacuum State Travel

I have started another blog "Vacuum State Travels" (see sidebar link) to hold my travel photos. Do leave comments or captions if you are inspired. :)

As a teaser, can you guess where this photo above was taken?

Energy Exercises

The Energetic bunch at East Coast Park, Singapore

.

I have been joining this group of people who gathers at East Coast Park once every fortnight to do a series of simple but effective exercises that rejuvenates the body. These exercises are put together by James (the person in orange shirt), after many years of learning Qi Gong and other traditional Chinese exercises from various masters around the world.

.

They are organising a camp in Pulau Ubin on the 9th and 10th of December 2006. Let me know if you are interested.

.

I do these exercises every other day and feels it helps with the circulation of energy in my body.