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A few years ago, I made a wonderful trip to Tibet. I not only had the fortune to climb (circumambulate) the much revered Mt. Kailash, I also had the chance to see the famous Mt. Everst.
   
Mt. Everst Mt. Kailash Sherpas Nomadic Family
Every year, people from all over the world travel to Tibet to visit Mt. Kailash. In the Tibetan tradition, it is believed that the gods reside on top of Mt. Kailash. People make pilgrimages to Mt. Kailash to pay their respect, to connect with spirits, and also in hope to wash away their sins. The mountain itself is majestic and pure.
We hired Sherpas (Tibetan/Napalese mountain people) to help carry our personal belongings. They also cooked our meals and watched out for our group as we climbed the ice mountain. We had a very nice American guide who spoke English, Tibetan, Napalese, and Chinese; so, communication was not a big problem. The Sherpas were such warm, friendly, and even-tempered people.
In the mountains of the Hamalayas (we were up as high as 18000 feet!), we encountered nomads, who make living by herding yaks (shaggy-haird mountain ox), horses, and donkeys. They live in huge tents braided from the hairs of yak. We learned that yak hair expands when it gets wet. So, it is the ideal material for these mountain people to make rain-proof tents out of. They also use yak milk to make butter and yak dung as fuel.
   
Yaks Yak Dung Man Cooking Using Yak Dung as Fuel
Shivoham
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| Posted by healthlifeandbeyond at | | | |
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This is the new age of "meeting" people. You don't even have to leave your home. Just get online. There are millions of "places" that you can meet people. The drawback is that you don't always know exactly who you're meeting. "Blind dates" are a given. =) I know colleagues that met their now wedded spouse online, from half-way around the world. No, this was not through one of those "buying" a spouse online from a third world country. They met through playing online games. One was in Europe and the other is from the US. They ended up getting married and staying in the US.
Now, this would most likely not happen just 10 years ago. The Internet is certainly making the world a lot smaller. You can meet and converse with people and get to know people from different cultures in the comfort of your own home; or, anywhere you go, with portable devices such as Blackberries.
A lot of people also make friends online and travel to the countries of those new friends. When they get there, they already have friends to take them around, or to stay with. But, please do be careful, and, take caution to validate the person/people on the keyboard at the other end.
Do you have any experience meeting people online?
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| Posted by healthlifeandbeyond at | | | |
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"Back in the days before the It-item frenzy, most splurge-worthy purchases were limited to a timeless, high-quality jacket, maybe a Chanel Bouchle version... Now, in the $1000-is-the-new-$100 era, where a bag for less than $1200 is rare and you don't blink at $1100 for a pair of platform pumps... To be a Marc Jacobs grouge goddess from head to toe, you'll have to pile on about eight pieces...tallying up to about $12,000," according to Jenny Levin in an article in Harper's Bazaar ("How Much Is Too Much?" Harper's Bazaar, Sept. 2006, pp. 287-288).
I guess to be chic these days costs a tremendus amount of money, at least for women/ladies/girls. A designer dress can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars! Many are more expensive than a car!! But, alledgedly, people that wear designer clothing are more like collectors, as claimed by Michael Fink, VP and women's fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue (in the same "How Much Is Too Much" Bazaar article), "If you are a designer customer, you are concerned with exclusivity." So, unless you get famous or something, do these expensive, high-end, designer fashion items increase in value with time?
What do you think?
Shivoham
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| Posted by healthlifeandbeyond at | | | |
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Meditation is really not that difficult, especially for people just getting started. The initial goal of meditation is just to quiet one's mind, to help silencing the incessant busy thoughts that, normally, go on in our heads. Silencing the mind can have many levels of benefits. Some may include sharper focus, stronger will, clearer mind, and, when the mind is quiet, it is easier to get in touch with one's spirit. For an average person, normally, one hears the self-dialogue going on and on. It not only makes decisions harder to reach; it also creates much unnecessary worrying. When the mind is more still, the ego tends to disappear, or at least becomes smaller; when the ego is smaller, one is more in touch with the spirit, or, one's true self.
So, how do we start? It's really not that hard. Humans are creatures of habit. When a habit is created, it becomes the norm, and it takes very little energy to be at the norm. But, it's harder to create a new habit, or to undo an old one. For most people, the norm is the incessant self-dialogue that goes on inside one's head. It will take some time to change that and create a new norm.
So, people who want to start practicing meditation should start slowly. But, consistency will be the key. Try meditating every single day at the similar time of the day. For instance, try meditate every morning after getting up and before eating breakfast (it's better not to meditate with a full stomach). You don't have to meditate for long, just 5 to 15 minutes per day, or per session (if you meditate more than once a day). The important thing is to create that habit. Getting your mind to become used to be silent for 5 to 15 minutes a day, everyday. After a few weeks, it should be become very easy. You might feel time goes by too fast during your meditation. That 15 minutes might seem like a blink of a eye during your meditation. You might even feel a little weird, like you're missing something, if you somehow miss a session. You can then slowly add to your time. But, do it consistently. If you decide it's time to do 30 minutes per day, then, do 30 minutes everyday. This way, the habit can be more easily formed.
What does it mean to meditate? Or, how does one actually meditate? Well, there are many (perhaps countless ways) of meditation. In the starting stages, though, it's just about focusing on one thing, and one thing only, to the exclusion of everything else. Some popular "objects" to focus on are one's breathing, mantras, music, and chakras (this will be the subject of a new entry). But, the main thing is to focus on just that one thing for the whole duration of one's meditation.
For instance, if you choose to meditate on your breathing, then, you should strive to put all your attention on the breathing. Notice your breath intakes and outtakes. Notice the air that goes through your nostrils. Notice the rising and falling of your chest, or your stomach. Do your best to stop all thoughts and just focus on your breathing. This may take some time to achieve. Thoughts will creep in. But, as soon as you catch yourself, you need to pull your focus back onto your breathing. Try not to judge yourself if some thoughts creep in. If you judge yourself, you're likely to create more thoughts. Just allow the thoughts come and go. When you catch yourself thinking or following thoughts, just shift your focus back to your breathing.
Practice with patience and consistency. Then, you shall create a nice new habit!
Good luck!
Shivoham
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| Posted by healthlifeandbeyond at | | | |
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Hi, everyone!
Welcome to "Health, Life and Beyond"! We are glad that you're here! This is our very first message. This blog is dedicated to any conversation related to health and life, in a style that helps to promote balance in diet and exercise, love and friendship, beauty and fashion, travel for work and vacation, relaxation and play. Beyond the above, we hope that your spirit will benefit, too!
We look forward to hearing from you and interact with you!
Shivoham (owners and founders)
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| Posted by healthlifeandbeyond at | | | |
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