7 February 2012

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross quotes

“The opinion which other people have of you is their problem, not yours.”

“There is within each one of us a potential for goodness beyond our imagining; for giving which seeks no reward; for listening without judgment; for loving unconditionally.”

“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose, there are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.”

“It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”

“We think sometimes we're only drawn to the good, but we're actually drawn to the authentic. We like people who are real more than those who hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties”

"We need to teach the next generation of children from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind's greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear."

"The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well."

"I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime."

"There is no joy without hardship. If not for death, would we appreciate life? If not for hate, would we know the ultimate goal is love? At these moments you can either hold on to negativity and look for blame, or you can choose to heal and keep on loving."

"Live, so you do not have to look back and say: "God, how I have wasted my life."

"We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them."

"Negativity can only feed on negativity."

3 February 2012

StarWars in 3D

I was never a StarWars fan when I was growing up.  It just didn't appeal to me back then.  I had my bike with the banana seat & sissy bar and way too much energy.  Plus my parents didn't go to watch movies so I just hung out with my buddies, who also didn't like StarWars.

Fast forward 30+ years with StarWars becoming huge again.  For Christmas I got a BluRay player and the StarWars collection.  With my 2 young sons loving everything StarWars, they are trying to enlightened me on the 'Force' and the 'Dark Side'.  I can't figure out who most of the characters are and what's up with all the guys in white helmets.  Clone troopers, storm troopers HUH?  Just tell me which team everyone plays for!

The other day I offered to take my family to see the re-release of Episode 1.  I know the boys will love it and maybe seeing it without interuptions on the big screen in 3D will clear things up for me.

I think I'm getting old. Should have watched StarWars in 1977 like everyone else.
May the Force be with you...I think that's good, isn't it?
Cheers!

2 February 2012

Welcome to my blog

When I lived in Malaysia awhile back I was asked by a friend to visit a Buddhist Temple.  Being from Canada and brought up Catholic, I was a little apprehensive at first.  I knew absolutely nothing about Buddhism except one of my favourite music CD's was Smilin' Buddha Cabaret by 54-40 and had a very happy Buddha on the cover.


Once we drove closer I could see the distinct shape of the temple nestled amongst some residential homes. It was beautiful, surrounded by lush trees and the most incredible plants.  As I entered the temple, the sweet smell of burning incense and the sight of a large gold Buddha gave me a complete sense of serenity. I then noticed a few Monks walking quietly around and I couldn't help but follow their every step. It was the most amazing experience I had known.

When I came back to Canada I deeply missed Malaysia.  It was my home for 2 years.  With my interest in Buddhism still peaked, I read books and took a meditation course.  But over the years, my differing interests slowly pushed Buddhism out of my life.


Recently I found one of my books on Buddhism mixed in with a stack of old things. Almost very night when my kids are asleep I turn on my tiny headlamp and start to rekindle my interest in Buddhism a few pages at a time.


I will be posting about all kinds of things I enjoy watching, eating, doing etc. not just Buddhism stuff.

Cheers !