Ajay0

Spiritual practices like early morning and evening meditation sessions can bring clarity of mind, creativity and high energy levels necessary for high productivity in professional and personal lives. Some use hatha yoga or tai chi for similar results. Personally, I have noticed that good early morning meditations bring an auspicious hue to the whole day, and I don't have much issues and problems during work, compared to days when I have not performed such meditation. Going to the beach and nature hikes also help increase prana or energy levels within myself, helping to replace dullness and apathy with joy and enthusiasm. I have learnt from spiritual masters on doing a self-audit each day or night to keep away from vice and adhere to virtuous conduct or good values in social dealings, which gives me a clean conscience and peace of mind. Whenever I commit a wrong, I punish myself with a fast or abstain from a daily treat to impress the issue in my memory so as not to perform the flaw the next time around. This kind of self-audit and penance has helped in my professional and personal life.

The full moon for this month is tomorrow on June 3. A highly insightful article by female enlightened master Anandmurti Gurumaa on the significance of the full moon in spiritual practice... https://gurumaa.com/anandmurti-gurumaa/teachings/mind/keep-your-mind-cool-as-the-moon

The full moon for this month May is on fifth, today. The lunar calendar is used in Islam, and importance is attached to the new moon as well as the full moon for spiritual practices. https://islamonline.net/en/the-blessings-of-the-lunar-calendar/

If you can get a job you love and correspond to your likes and interests, you are indeed lucky. If you are not that lucky, you need to discipline your mind to enjoy the work you are doing. You should take some time to think on the benefits with respect to money and skills you will be gaining from this job, and which can come useful in the pursuits that you truly enjoy. By cultivating an interest in your job and consciously enjoying it, you will become more proficient in the work and will also have more energy levels and creativity. It is also easier to memorize the details of work that you enjoy, and obviously details count a lot in terms of ensuring quality . If you hate your job, you will have to spend much more time and energy mastering it as reluctance will bring about lower energy levels and casualness.

Insightful article by Sister B.K.Shivani of the Brahmakumaris on practicing traffic control of the mind with respect to unhealthy thoughts and emotions... https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20230116-sister-bk-shivani-practise-traffic-control-of-the-mind-2318376-2023-01-06

You might find this article useful... https://www.yogaindailylife.org/system/en/hatha-yoga-kriyas/trataka Trataka has helped me to improve my focus, orient myself, and bring order to my random mind. I actually wish I had taken my practice more seriously and devoted more time to it. I made a coin size black point in my room and view it from time to time consciously. A handy tip is that you can practice trataka using your thumb. If you look carefully at your thumb, you can see that the lines on your thumb converge at a point. This point can be taken as a point of focus, and you can use it anywhere or anytime you want as well without depending on a point on a wall or candle flame to focus upon.

Sensei Sandeep Desai on the 70 % threshold in Taoism... https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/the-speaking-tree/the-70-threshold/ I found this interesting because medical science have also stated of a link between moderate exercise and longevity. I know of a couple of athletes who died of a heart attack while going through rigorous physical regimens. Similarly working at 70 percent capacity can also bring conditions of creativity, enjoyment of work and performing work mindfully.

Insightful article by spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran on the still mind as perceived from the Hindu and Christian religious philosophies... https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/a-still-mind-is-divine/articleshow/89230633.cms

Environment is stronger than will power — Parmahansa Yogananda I would say it is important to modify your environment to keep your resolutions. If this is not possible, you can be creative and tactful. For example , you can enroll in the gym or sports or martial arts classes or activities that peers find cool, and state that you are a fitness fanatic, and hence don't take alcohol. Alcohol actually causes a lot of harm to the body and brain. You can research these medical topics on alcohol and use it as reasons to stay away from alcohol. Stating that medical research shows that alcohol creates brain damage is bound to discourage even the most pro-alcohol peers and supporters. This can also help create awareness on the dangers of alcohol and help people keep off from it. https://www.who.int/health-topics/alcohol https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/alcohol-and-the-brain https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/medical-conditions/alcohol-related-brain-damage/

German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that an immediate ban on Russian energy imports would trigger an economic recession in Germany and across Europe, which is recovering from the economic strain of the covid pandemic for the last two years. https://www.politico.eu/article/olaf-scholz-warns-against-russia-energy-embargo/

The present war waged with conventional weapons have in itself delivered a blow to the world economy due to rising fuel prices, inflation and its indirect effects. Peace in Ukraine and Russia are of prime importance for overall economic development of the world. Escalation into a nuclear war will aggravate the economic damage many times over. In the heat of battle, reason can be undermined by emotion, and this has happened many times in the past. You might not like these points as they are understandably nasty and painful and one would rather read something else. But these hard facts can also help set our bearings and navigate more prudently. I do a swot analysis myself for my projects. I am a well-wisher of all parties and want the war to end through diplomacy or other means rather than hear talk of casualties on both sides each day, which will aggravate the fissures . We have been suffering from covid for the last two years, along with the resultant economic damage, and now this new calamity based on man-made boundaries has cropped up.

We should also account for all worse case scenarios in long-term strategic thinking. It will be stupid to repent over spilt milk and cry futilely later on.

Even if just ten percent of Russia's vast arsenal touches the U.S. and Europe, it is enough to end their national existence. It has developed hypersonic missiles designed to overcome all known western missile defense systems at present. Yes, U.S-Nato retaliation will also wipe out Russia. The whole west from U.S. to Russia will be a radioactive wasteland , and it will take many centuries for it to become inhabitable again. This nuclear devastation will also create a huge financial and economic burden on other nations who are not involved due to onset of nuclear winter. All thanks to politicians backed by the military-industrial complex motivated by greed and not able to see the bigger picture.

Russian nuclear arsenal is superior to the U.S and Nato put together and has the capacity to wipe them out many times over. Obviously a nuclear holocaust which wipes out the U.S, Europe and Russia is not an option and is a worse case scenario. The global economy will also get a major hit and will not be able to recover for centuries. The best case scenario is for Western and russian diplomats to sit together and negotiate, under the supervision of impartial international diplomats and experienced negotiators. A win-win scenario can be definitely formulated for the west and russia, and this can enable the end of the ukraine war and bring about world peace.

The U.S. itself is hit with 40 year high of inflation . https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/u-s-inflation-hits-fresh-40-year-high-of-7-9-before-oil-spike It's time for Nato-U.S. and Russia to set up diplomatic channels and create a win-win scenario for themselves with other international diplomats, and end the Ukraine war. The global economy is taking major hits which will exacerbate the economic strain stemming from the covid pandemic of last two years.

Noam Chomsky offers some penetrating insights on the nature of NATO... https://www.azquotes.com/author/2834-Noam_Chomsky/tag/nato

War, pandemics, conflict and other adversities creates an agitated state of mind which tends to be negative rather than positive. In such circumstances it is important to be mentally equanimous and calm, and focus on the positives deliberately instead of the negatives. This helps one to make the best of the given situation or circumstances. War is a man-made calamity and it actually gives us data on how inadequate the world's mechanisms are in terms of preventing conflict and fostering peace, and is in sore need of an upgrade.

An informative article by Sister Pratibha Daya of the Brahmakumaris on staying calm in the midst of chaos. https://svbrahmakumaris.org/7-ways-to-stay-calm-in-chaos/

Insightful article by Sadhguru on the nature of peace.... https://www.ishafoundation.org/Peace/sadhguru-on-peace.isa

This is insightful and well-articulated. Obviously the security concerns of both eastern europe and Russia should be taken into consideration. Eastern european countries can create an alliance among themselves if needed, against Russia , similar to NATO in western europe. However, inviting both U.S-NATO to Russian borders through alliance is a threat which the Russians cannot be passive to. ( It will also be reneging on promises made to Gorbachev and Russia at the end of the cold war by the U.S. and Nato.) This in turn creates the threat of a nuclear holocaust wiping out the U.S, Europe and Russia, which the rest of the world cannot remain passive or indifferent about. This is why I stated that impartial entities like the UN and NAM should get involved in this crisis, so that a mountain is not made out of a mole-hill.

Putin's invasions of Georgia and Ukraine came up after they expressed willingness to join NATO. U.S-NATO can deploy wmd alongside Russian borders which can give them a decisive strategic advantage over Russia. The Americans have a strategic document that emphasizes pre-emptive strikes on Russian missile bases, and deployment alongside Russian borders greatly falicitates that . This is the main reason why Putin guided by his security experts is against neighboring countries like Georgia and Ukraine joining Nato. He considers the deployment of wmd on Russian borders as a threat. The U.S went to the verge of all out nuclear war and mutually assured destruction with the U.S.S.R to get rid of nuclear weapons aimed against it in neighboring Cuba in 1962. The U.S.S.R finally showed self-restraint in taking off its nuclear weapons and missiles off Cuba. Now when the roles are reversed, U.S.-NATO forces are not showing any similar restraint in keeping off the border states of Russia, knowing fully the regional instability their encroaching into such regions would create. A fully blown out nuclear war is obviously a lose-lose scenario for both sides. I am not fond of Putin myself, whom I see as a mediocre statesman and excellent politician with an hawkish air around him, cleverly exploiting the insecurities of Russians upon the encroaching U.S-Nato alliance. It was the Russians themselves who deposed of Napoleon's dictatorship, ended feudalism and created the russian republic, ended the Nazi war machine permanently, and deposed off the communist hardliner coup in favor of democracy. Left alone by the U.S.-Nato, similarly the russians will soon get tired of Putin and get rid off him from office as well. Last year, the independent Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta, and Maria Ressa of the Filipino news website Rappler won the Nobel peace award “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said when announcing the prize in 2021. I think, given proper space and time, democracy and freedom has a better chance of evolving to their full potential in Russia than in the U.S. and Europe, where plutocratic entities dictate government policies under the guise of democracy.

Yes, the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq and Russian invasion of Ukraine are both unfortunate and tragic. It means that world entities like the UN and NAM, both of whom had been designed to prevent conflict and foster peace had failed in their duties. It seems they have not done their homework well in terms of brainstorming conflict preemption or resolution doctrines for all conceivable scenarios and implementing them.

The UN and NAM should rise to the occasion in order to ensure a timely de-escalation of the conflict raging in Ukraine-Russia. NAM, the non-aligned movement was created in the previous century in order to prevent the world from moving into a third world war. They tried to achieve this by raising awareness of the dangers of a world war and nuclear holocaust, and by not aligning militarily with either the US bloc or Soviet bloc. The formation of this group then helped to bring awareness and perspective of the dangers of modern war, and helped to regulate the thought process of belligerent politicians then, and to view the bigger picture as well. After the UN, NAM is the largest grouping of states worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement The UN, NAM and impartial world leaders need to create a tranquil space of dialogue and diplomacy in between these belligerent entities so as to defuse passions and de-escalate the conflict, and ensure that the security concerns of Europe, Ukraine and Russia are addressed properly and adequately.

Insightful story of a Vietnam war veteran who became a zen buddhist monk... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-02/vietnam-war-veteran-zen-buddhist-monk/100731206

An insightful article by Sister Jayanti Kirpalani, an administrative leader of the Prajapita Brahmakumaris, on cultivating values in everyday life . https://svbrahmakumaris.org/1859/ The main points of the article can be summarized in sequential order as... Morning meditation and contemplation of values . Pausing and focusing at periodic intervals during the day to re-orient oneself in terms of these values. Performing an audit and self-review at night to identify any shortcomings in actions on the basis of these values. Based on self-analysis, learning and correcting oneself if needed. Self-motivating oneself in terms of commitment and enthusiasm to the given values for the next day.