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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Three Types of Listeners

It was a king's court, the ministers, pundits and artists were all seated in their respective places. The king and his ministers had earned quite a name and fame for their wit and wisdom. One day a sage entered the court. He was given a warm welcome with all honor due to him. The king asked him: "Oh revered one! May I know what brings you here? We are very happy on account of your presence here today." The sage replied: "Oh King, your court is reputed for its wit and wisdom. I have brought three beautiful dolls and I would like to have an assessment and evaluation of these dolls done by your ministers.

"He presented to the king the three dolls. The king called his senior most minister and gave him the dolls for examination and evaluation. The minister just looked once at the dolls and commanded a royal messenger to fetch him a thin steel-wire.

The minister inserted the wire into the right ear of one of the dolls. The wire came out of the left ear. He kept it aside. He took up another doll and once again passed the wire into its right ear. It came out of the mouth of the doll. He kept that doll in one place. He took up the third doll and inserted the wire, it neither came out of the other ear nor from the mouth.

The king and the courtiers were eagerly watching the scene. The minister paying his tributes to the sage said: "Oh revered one." Of the three dolls, the third one is the best. The three dolls actually are symbolic of three types of listening. There are three types of listeners, in the world. The first type listen to every word, only to pass it out from the other ear. The second type listen well, remember it well only to speak out all that they have heard. The third type listen, retain everything they have heard and treasure it up in their hearts. They are the best type of listeners."

The sage congratulated the king and the minister on the successful evaluation of the dolls and blessing them both, left the court.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Moral stories
My friend was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As my friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up on the beach, and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water. My friend was puzzled.
He approached the man and said. "Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see its low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen."
"I understand," my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?"

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "Made a difference to that one!"

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Corporate Lesson - Moral Stories

DON'T CHANGE THE WORLD

Short Moral Stories
Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather.

Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?”

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a “shoe” for himself.

Moral of the Story:
There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Courage-Power to Overcome Fear

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Courage is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow.

There is an ecstasy, a joy that many believe is unattainable. It is not unreachable, but it demands that we walk through doors we may fear. All the great teachings tell us at some point to fear not. The great truth is that our thoughts need to be freed.
Without freedom we exist behind prison thought walls.
You think you are being free, but what is the daring and frightening idea that you suppress from within, do not allow to speak to your consciousness?
This is the shadow that Jung says we must face. We must face it willingly or it will be thrust upon us as fate.
Spirituality is a daring adventure.
Hold God's hand and don't think you know what's on His mind.

God is absolutely shocking.

On Gratitude

It's not good to say "thank you" and not mean it, but it's even worse to mean it and not say it.

I look back upon my youth and realize how so many people gave me help, understanding, courage very important things to me and they never knew it. They entered into my life and became powers within me.

All of us live spiritually by what others have given us, often unwittingly, in the significant hours of our life. At the time these significant hours may not even be perceived. We may not recognize them until years later when we look back, as one remembers some long-ago music or a boyhood landscape.

We all owe to others much of the gentleness and wisdom that we have made our own; and we may well ask ourselves what will others owe to us.
-Albert Schweitzer

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Touch of Master's Hand

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin
But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good folks?"he cried
"Who'll start the biding for me?
A dollar, a dollar--now two--only two?
Two dollars! And who'll make it three?

"Three dollars once! Three dollars twice!
Going for three" But no!
From the room far back a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow:
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up all the strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As sweet as an angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars! And who'll make it two
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand once, three thousand twice!
And going-and gone!" said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried:
"We do not quite understand-
What changed its worth?" The man replied:
"The touch of the master's hand "
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and torn with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game, and he travels on.
He is going once and going twice,
He is going-and almost gone.
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
--Myra Brooks Welch

Sunday, February 8, 2009

About Today

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry two days that should be kept free from any fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said; we cannot rectify a single mistake.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond recall. Let it go.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and poor performance. Tomorrow also is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mass of clouds but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, because it is as yet unborn.

That leaves us but one day Today! And a person can fight the battles of just one day.

Yesterday and Tomorrow are futile worries. Let us, therefore, resolve to journey no more than one day at a time.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

You Always Have a Chance

You have the power to do things you never dreamed possible.
This power becomes available to you as soon as you change your beliefs.
If you did all the things you're capable of doing,
you would literally amaze yourself.

You know what you are today,
but not what you may become tomorrow.
Look at things as you want them to be,
and then make those things happen.
You don't know what you can do until you try.

You can do anything you wish to do,
have anything you wish to have,
be anything you wish to be.

Never say never.