Installing Love on the Human Computer:

Installing Love on the Human Computer:

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to
install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However,you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me
how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been
completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before
you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming.
Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files.Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running.

One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.

God/Tech Support: You're Welcome, Anytime.

- Anon

__._,_.___

Let's Set Ourselves Free"

“Time for a little Stress Busting on Koh Samui.”

Christmas is coming and that’s a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of good health. After all we live in a “healthy destination” whose provenance goes back almost twenty years, when Guy and Toi Hopkins opened the “Spa Beach Resort” in Lamai. It and the Resorts that followed in its successful track focused primarily on fasting and inner cleansing, following the regime laid down by Dr. Jensen .The people who came to find health in this manner were “new age seekers. This was the backpacker brigade that discovered and later made Samui a popular destination. Today, Samui’s development, some would say over development, has brought in a new guest. Yes, many of the old Detox Resorts still flourish and regulars return time and again, but it is now the corporate client who is attracted to Samui’s fair shores

The new breed is reflected in chains like “Four Seasons” and “Sixth Senses”. These hotels embrace wellness, too and the Detox Industry has moved with the changes. Kamalaya emerged in 2003. Here the concept was to encourage the executive market with a four star hotel and wellness spa perched on the quiet sunset coast of the island. The new seekers from the corporate culture were executives eager to scramble back to wellbeing. They needed a philosophy which they could use to get into shape after long hours of work, extensive air travel and pressured meetings. These people were used to comfortable accommodation and a hut beside the beach was not for them!

Many of these business people are taking their first baby steps to self awareness Dr. Norm Shealy is a retired Harvard trained neuro-surgeon. He started looking at alternative health at a time when it was considered dangerously unfashionable! He consulted medical intuitives and made Caroline Myss famous. He spends a lot of time working as a stress reductionist now that he is retired. We can learn from him how to develop programs especially suited for the exhausted executive.

Dr Norm, as he likes to be called, ardently believes that stress is the main cause of “dis-ease”. There are four types of stress. Firstly, emotional stress which shows up as anger, frustration, fear, depression and so on. “I, personally, have yet to meet a heart attack victim who is calm and serene!” Yoga, meditation and emotional clearing are all good techniques for clearing. Visitors to Samui are principally short stay, so brief and effective interventions like EFT are required to help them on their way. Several Samui Resorts offer these life changing practices besides there are also independent practitioners available to help.

Next there is physical stress. Christmas is a time for parties so people eat and drink too much. They stop exercising and begin to put on weight. This creates physical stress. Dr Norm feels the most dangerous thing we can do to our health is to smoke cigarettes. He reckons smoking a pack a day shortens life span by 7 years. He claims being 30% overweight creates as much stress as smoking three packets of cigarettes per day! The key to physical stress has always been relaxation diet and exercise. Of course if you smoke, you can choose to stop! Resorts could offer stop smoking courses and while we are at it we could look at alcohol and recreational drugs, too!

Next there is chemical stress. Yes, there are over 600 chemical toxins in a cigarette, but we also eat food that has been sprayed with insecticides and other toxins. Genetically Modified foods contain poisonous weedkillers, like Monsanto’s “Roundup” crafted into the crop itself. People need to know how to wash produce properly and take steps to find a good organic supplier!

Finally, there is electro-stress. “Did you know there are 230 million times as many radio waves today than there were 70 years ago?” asks Dr. Norm, “We have mobile phones, Wi-Fi, microwaves all apart from radio and TV! We need to protect ourselves from these sources, too.” Indeed a good stress busting program shows ways to reduce exposure to EMFs.

There are some vital health lessons to be learned from combating stress. Some Detox Programs look at some solutions, but the busy executive needs a ‘Stress busting program” that answers his own problems. So what are we going to do about it?

This article first appeared in "Samui Gazette" Dec 17th-Jan 6th Vol 1. No 11.

Alister Bredee is a freelance author living on Koh Samui. He is a health care practitioner, trainer and a partner in The Health Ambit Consultancy. He also works as a Detox Consultant and Locum with extensive experience. He can be contacted via his website: www.healthambit.com. He publishes a regular blog at: www.healthambitblogspot.com. You can find him and the Health Ambit Consultancy on Facebook.

AAMET Life Magazine . Winter Edition

Enlarge this document in a new window
Online Publishing from YUDU

The Triple-Filter Test

Author Unknown

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge
in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great
philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about
your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before you talk to
me about my friend, it might be good idea to take a moment
and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it
the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have
you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me
is true?"

"Well, no," the man said, "actually I just heard about it
and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know if
it’s true or not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the
filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about
my friend something good?"

"Umm, no, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something
bad about my friend, but you’re not certain it’s true. You
may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter
left—the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me
about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is
neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me
at all?"

Hot Yoga Oils the Joints.

Hot Yoga Oils the Joints.

Bikram yoga emerged out of Calcutta in the 1970s. This was shortly after Bikram Choudhury went to Japan to teach and found that too many of his yoga students hurt themselves during practice. This had not happened in his hometown, so he decided he would re-create the conditions of Calcutta and see if that made a difference. So he heated the yoga room to 37 C or body temperature and upped the humidity factor to 65%. The injury rate decreased and he fashioned what is known as Bikram or Hot Yoga.

Traditionally the classes are 90 minutes in duration and consist of 26 postures or asanas plus two breathing exercises. According to Polish born Tomasz Goetel who runs the “Hot Yoga Studio” in Phuket, “the sweat is cleansing because it removes toxins from the body.” “The joints are nicely oiled up to encourage stretching!”

Choudhury himself claims that his system considerably enhances blood circulation by two processes referred to as extension and compression. He says this transports oxygen to every system in the body. We know that oxygen both energizes and detoxifies, so his claim sounds to be of immense benefit to health.

“You must also have mirrors, so that you can see yourself.” What sort of voyeuristic activity is this? It looks to be a long way from early morning asanas in a wooden sala, situated meters away from the gently lapping swell of the sea.

“No mirrors are important. You can admire yourself! They make you look good,” says Tomasz. That’s fine if you have a sylph like figure shining with the polish of youth, but as age takes its inevitable toll this initial bloom gives way to bulging stomachs and flabby muscles, not at all a pretty sight!

“No you don’t understand. Mirrors help you align the body. You can see what you are doing and this simplifies the instructions”, asserts Tomasz who is the founder of “Hot Yoga Evolution”. This is really his take on the teachings of Jimmy Barkan one of the world’s most respected hot yogainstructors.

Tomasz’s classes are for everybody. “This is fun and I practice a sweet and friendly approach. This is a gentle way and all are welcome.” This take was very far from my own views on the subject. Yoga means union of mind, body and spirit, and it was developed as a spiritual form of exercising. It always seemed that this new fad was simply a trendy way of getting fit. A gym workout dressed up in yogic clothes seemed a very far cry from getting in touch with a power greater than ourselves.

Tomasz smiled at this cynicism. “No. it is a supportive endeavor. I work on a multi-level basis by offering individual tuition to the beginners until they can catch up with the rest of the class. Beginners are encouraged to join the classes. True this makes the teacher’s job more challenging but it also lets the advanced students inspire the less able.”

I had met some of his students during “Hot Yoga Evolution” trainings at Absolute Sanctuary in Cheong Mon. Some were stunners, radiating youth and fitness but others I could relate to. Here were men who had passed their forty mark, they carried a bit of weight and did not appear to be super fit.

“It is these people who feel they are in the right place. Once that starts happening they begin swimming with the rest of the class.” That’s one of Tomasz’s claims that seemed to hold water.

Apparently it “takes five classes to get used to the heat and then participants begin to realize that hot yoga is a perfect environment for the non-yoga person. Men begin to relate to the cardio-fitness and ladies understand calorie burn for weight loss.”

Was I convinced? Yes, the exercise related benefits were plainly evident and the talks and lectures that comprised the practical side of the Hot Yoga Evolution training brought out the more philosophical and spiritual elements and so this removed some of my remaining prejudices.

Hot Yoga is available on Koh Samui at Absolute Sanctuary and at Bikram Yoga in Chaweng. Tomasz Goetel holds twice yearly retreats on the island usually at Absolute Sanctuary, so perhaps there is an opportunity to learn from the horse’s mouth. It’s usually the best way. Oh, to track him down, you could try Mr.Google!

Alister Bredee is a freelance author living on Koh Samui. He is a health care practitioner, trainer and a partner in The Health Ambit Consultancy. He also works as a Detox Consultant and Locum. You can find him and the Health Ambit Consultancy on Facebook.

This article first appeared in "The Samui Gazette" of 3rd December 2010

THE 12 LAWS OF KARMA

THE GREAT LAW
As you sow, so shall you reap.
This is also known as the Law of Cause and Effect.
Whatever we put out in the Universe
is what comes back to us.
If what we want is Happiness, Peace, Friendship, Love...
Then we should BE Happy, Peaceful, Loving, a Friend.

THE LAW OF CREATION
Life doesn't just HAPPEN, it requires our participation.
We are one with the Universe both inside and out.
Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state.
BE and DO yourself...
what you what to have in your Life.

THE LAW OF HUMILITY
What you refuse to accept, will continue for you.
If what we see is an enemy, or someone with a character trait that we
find to be negative,
then we ourselves are not focused on a higher level of existence.

THE LAW OF GROWTH
Wherever you go, there you are.
For us to GROW in Spirit it is we who must change and not the people,
places or things around us.
The only given we have in our lives is OURSELVES
and that is the only factor we have control over.
When we change who and what we are within our heart
our life changes too.

THE LAW OF RESPONSIBILITY
Whenever there is something wrong,
there is something wrong in me.
We mirror what surrounds us
and what surrounds us mirrors us
We must take responsibility what is in our life.

THE LAW OF CONNECTION
Even if something we do seems inconsequential,
it is very important that it gets done
as everything in the Universe is connected.
Each step leads to the next step and so forth and so on.
Someone must do the initial work to get a job done.
Neither the first step nor the last
are of greater significance
They were both needed to accomplish the task.
Past, Present, Future
They are all connected...

THE LAW OF FOCUS
You can't think of two things at the same time.
When our focus is on Spiritual Values it is impossible for us to have
lower thoughts such as greed or anger.

THE LAW OF GIVING AND HOSPITALITY
If you believe something to be true,
then sometime in your life
you will be called upon to demonstrate that truth.
Here is where we put what we SAY
that we have learned
into PRACTICE.

THE LAW OF HERE AND NOW
Looking back to examine what was,
prevents us from being totally in the HERE AND NOW.
Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, old dreams...
Prevent us from having new ones.

THE LAW OF CHANGE
History repeats itself until
we learn the lessons that we need
to change our path.

THE LAW OF PATIENCE AND REWARD
All Rewards require initial toil.
Rewards of lasting value
require patient and persistent toil.
True Joy follows doing what we're suppose to be doing and waiting for
the Reward to come in it's on time.

THE LAW OF SIGNIFICANCE AND INSPIRATION
You get back from something whatever
you've put into it
The Value of something is a direct result of
the energy and intent that is put into it.
Every personal contribution
is also a contribution to the Whole
Lack luster Contributions have no impact on the Whole
or work to diminish it.
Loving Contributions Lift Up and Inspire the Whole

__._,_.___

"What we Teach our Children", by Pablo Picasso

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment
that will never be again.
And what do we teach our children?
We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital
of France.
When will we also teach them what they are?
We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are?
You are a marvel.
You are unique.
In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child
like you.
Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move.
You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.
You have the capacity for anything.
Yes, you are a marvel.
And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a
marvel?
You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its
children.

~Pablo Picasso

Tsunami Alarm:

On Monday October 25th October we were sitting in a practically deserted beachside hotel in Polyhena. Polyhena is the resort attached to the Sri Lankan city of Matara, one of the country’s larger towns with a population hovering just under 80,000.
We searched out the hotel because our guest house did not boast an internet connection which is difficult in many parts of the island. Unfortunately they were not able to get the Wi-Fi to work so once again communications with the rest of the world lapsed. I asked the staff to switch on the TV and as we were there it looked a good place to eat. We were about 15 minutes into the BBC news from London which meant the time was approximately 7.45pm. Sri Lanka is an awkward 4 hours and thirty minutes ahead of GMT.
“We interrupt this broadcast with a newsflash. An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale has hit the western shore of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. A tsunami warning is in force!”
Ranil was local facilitator and driver to the project that brought me to Sri Lanka. His jaw dropped and he sat in stunned silence. He knew all about tsunamis and this news dashed him back to December 26th 2004. He had returned early from Colombo to his family home nestling close to both shore and the river in nearby Matara. It was a full moon day and his wife wanted to attend the temple. He had dropped her off and returned home and was thinking of getting a bite to eat when he heard the sound of lapping water. The river had risen and was now washing against the rocks beside the house. He tried to move his vehicle out onto the road but was blocked by a rapidly rising flood. The water was coming from the river rather than the sea, but he knew he had to get to higher ground. He climbed onto a wall but his view of the ocean was blocked by a small house. The house suddenly collapsed and he could see the sea, eerily silent.
There were four waves that day. In the case of the third and fourth he watched as the seawater drew back in a wall formation revealing the sand and rocks of the seabed. It was the fourth wave that did most of the damage. An earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale with an epi- center off western Sumatra had hit with such force that it constituted the third most powerful earth tremor ever recorded. This wave swept across the Andaman Sea and slammed into the Eastern coast of India and Sri Lanka and propelled onwards to east Africa. Sri Lanka was devastated. A train travelling near Hikkaduwa on the west coast was derailed and the official overall death toll for the country was recorded at 40,000, but many Sri Lankans feel this was an underestimation. Ranil’s house was washed away. All that remained was the concrete outline of the floor. Sadly too, so was his sister in law living next door. Her body has never been found. Ironically, many charities and the government worked to provide housing for the victims. Ranil was never compensated as they said there was no evidence that his home ever existed. It seems a concrete floor did not count!
We spoke to the hotel staff to see if there had been any local alarm, but no, the Sri Lanka media was silent about the earthquake.
“What should we do?”
“We’ll be all right our rooms are on the second floor!” But what about the mini-bus? It’s a long walk to Colombo!”
I decided to phone home to Samui to see if the Thai 10pm News had anything to add to the announcement from the BBC. No there was nothing there either.
“Should we hurry to the hotel, pick up the luggage and head for relative safety inland?"
“No we would wait for a local warning!”
I returned to my guesthouse situated feet from the beach and was told to keep my phone on during the night in case we had to make a fast evacuation. Sitting on the balcony watching the fleet of fishing boats on the horizon was strangely comforting. Dogs barked incessantly during the night, but as the dawn came up we realized the threat had passed. We were lucky. Sri Lanka was spared. The earthquake created a Tsunami that swept onto the Mentani Islands off Sumatra causing heavy loss of life. Because of poor communications help was slow in arriving and Mount Merapi in Java has continued to erupt. A tropical storm has lashed the southern provinces of Thailand for the past week. Samui has experienced severe floods and Songhkla has been devastated with rising water causing some of the ancient walls to collapse. A mini-Tsunami swept across Songkhla Lake dashing away the entire community of houses that nestled on the shoreline. The wave cost three lives and breached the local crocodile farm where 70 big crocs were set free much to the terror of local fishermen. What is going on?

This article by Alister Bredee first appeared in "The Samui Gazette" on 19th November 2010

50 one-sentence lessons

You’ve probably seen some of Regina Brett’s “Life Lessons” before, like “When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile,” or “Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger”. They’re from her book God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours. Advice like this never grows old – or unwelcomed – so enjoy these mighty morsels of insight.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Peace without Comparison and God Never Blinks
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
Candles, Purple and Sex on the Brain.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
Change, Miracles and Second Childhoods.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
Is it Useful, Beautiful or Joyful?
41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Which is your favorite? Drop us a quick comment and let us know!
You Might Be Interested In