Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 88)

It is being observed, more and more youngsters are gravitating towards religion. Why so? What do they mean by religion? Is it due to some fear or insecurity that is pulling them to religion? Generally, a religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth. Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, and is often interwoven with society and politics. Some time, it may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality to yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. It is a concept for regulating the conduct in a civilized society.

A fifty-eight-year old lady of rural background might not have heard about Freud who once remarked that religion is nothing but an obsessional neurosis. All she knows is that spending an hour every evening at a temple near her house gives her immense emotional and mental peace. Having married off her two daughters a couple of years ago, she prefers to spend her evenings in that neighbourhood temple attending worship ceremony there. But if you think only the fifty plus population is becoming religious, think again. Even the twenty-plus generation is gravitating towards religion as never before. For a college student, visiting the temple every day may seem to be a must. “I am religious by nature. Moreover, it gives me great spiritual strength to face life everyday,” she adds. She may like to visit other places of worship with her friends following other religions, whenever she gets the opportunity. This way, she is not fanatically attached to her own religion – say, she is a liberal. It applies to male section as well as majority of the youth is not sure of the future in wake of international economical instability.

Thirty-three year old a computer literate, working with a private firm, makes it a point to visit his neighbourhood temple everyday before leaving for his office. He has been doing his for the past five years. “It is all about faith. Visiting temple has that magical effect on you as you are filled with confidence to face the world,” says he. It is his logic to restore his confidence through some divine power.

Religion has become a part of people life in towns as well as metropolis. A teacher in sociology in a college says, “The fact that today people are turning towards religion is reflective of a struggle for identity. It gives them something to hold on to. Religious symbols remind you of who you are and give you a sense of continuity.” Talking about youngsters turning religious, she says, “As the demons of distrust, paranoia and intolerance perform a dance macabre, one, they feel would not fail, is God.” In other words, according to her, youngsters are now constantly looking for security in a world which is changing at a fast pace. It is all about a sense of collectivity and the feeling of being together.

So, religion is a good coping mechanism. It gives you a certain amount of spiritual solace. However, the phenomenon of youngsters visiting temples is nothing new. It is only that they turn mostly religious before exams. Also, it has been observed that a youngster tends to become boastful of being god-fearing and wears his faith on his sleeve. For them, religion is all about emotional security and to stay the course. A lawyer remembers his God when he enters into the Court and a doctor does so when he is about to enter into an operation theatre. God may bless him!

These days more and more channels by airing religious programmes have brought God and spirituality to the drawing room of the devotees, in a way enhancing the accessibility’ factor to God and spirituality. From lectures by self-styled gurus to religious songs, these channels have them all. With tiny wrinkles seaming their faces, some ladies who are in early sixties, prefer to watch these channels at home instead of going to temple due to their failing health in old age. As one nears old age, the bodily corrosion is distinguished by the amplification of the spiritual temperament. It is also, as many believe, a quest for timeless wisdom, the nector for which we humans strive throughout our lives.

The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. It considers psychological and social roots, along with origins and historical development. It is there for regulating your social life but it must not be afforded at the expense of others. No religion in the world has preached for discordance with others. Peace and love are the two basic principles of living together. It is, therefore, essential that we must adopt them in our life to Accomplish Our Dreams.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 87)

To Accomplish Your Dreams, you need to ascertain at every stage of your working as if you are going on right path. Even in your daily lives you may be very often confronted with the dilemma as to act if you are to act correctly. In other words, how do you determine wrong action?

Most people would follow their conscience. No two persons can have the same conscience because a person’s conscience is moulded by the tendencies instilled in him as per the environment he has been brought up in. Also, it is subjective and can compromise on what is right when one’s own self-interest is involved. One’s conscience can be a reliable guide in determining right and wrong only when one is pure of mind, pure of heart and strong of will. Such people are rare, and most peoples’ conscience changes to suit the occasion as their interests prevail.

Man philosophically lays down ethical principles to determine right and wrong. But ethics will differ in different society’s cultures and traditions and, therefore, cannot be applied universally. The dictum, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”, could be a convenient guide too is subjective and one may be tempted to do the wrong thing hoping that it would not be found out, and again hoping that others will not do the same.

Another way is to follow the conduct of wise and great men. No human being is perfect and the conduct of the best of men can be downright questionable; for example, some of Lord Krishna’s actions went contrary to normal social norms; although in His case there was always a higher and justifiable purpose for His ‘unconventional’ behaviour.

The most reliable guide to moral conduct is the scripture or shastra. Every religion has a scripture that is based on wise teachings. These scriptures contain simple commandments on what one should do and what one shouldn’t; for example, the Ten Commandments in the Bible. Hindu Shastras consist of shruti – non mutable eternal truths enshrined in the Vedas – and smriti, man-made rules and regulations to suit the time and place but derived from shruti. Several such shastras, which contain broadly similar moral principles, are based on the Vedas. Muslims follow their Quran, Shariat etc. for regulating the conduct of life etc.

The one scripture that might be acceptable to all is the non-sectarian Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is widely acknowledged as the essence of the Vedas. Lord Krishna says in the Gita, “He who discards the injunctions of the scriptures and acts as his desires prompt him, attains neither worldly happiness, nor spiritual perfection, nor liberation. Therefore, let the scriptures be your guide in determining what should be done and what should not be done. Understand the injunctions of the scriptures first and then act according to them”. He warns that those who ignore the injunctions and guidelines given in the scriptures and act dictated by their whims, are doomed. Krishna provides to us a thumb rule, so to say, singling out “lust, anger and greed” as the three human weaknesses that compel man to wrong action, and are the most harmful to man’s social and spiritual life. He terms them as the “three gateways to hell”, which must be overcome of one is to perform right and moral acts by doing which one can attain the highest spiritual goal.

Be Happy – We may accomplish our Dreams by regulating our conduct according to guidelines mentioned in scriptures or as be thought the best as per the prevailing circumstances in interest of humanity. We must strive for the best.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 86)

Have you ever thought why you are here? Never at our own. But conventional wisdom dictates that we must set clear goals to achieve great things, to Accomplish Our Dreams. After all, how can we get to know where we are going if we do not know where we want to go? Now ask, who is setting the goals and who is creating the vision?

It has been found that the top executives relied upon quiet time, moments of prolonged inner reflection, to help them make better decisions. The inner connection allowed them greater access to intuitive problem solving which resulted in clearer thinking and more effective decision making. This modern approach to business is founded upon ancient Eastern philosophy. Without going outside, you may know the whole world, without looking through the window, you may se the ways of heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. The deeper you think about a problem, you find yourself nearer to the result. It seems to be some paradoxical advice but it speaks to a different level of our being, if we are willing and able to hear it. To “know without going outside”, “see without looking”, and “work without doing” is to be without effort. “The farther you go, the less you know,” speaks to the great mystery of life that is beyond our personal comprehension. It is a matter of your cultivation of confidence in yourself and your tools, your fellow members and other resources that may help you get the real target.

The deeper aspect of ourselves, call it the soul if you like, exists in harmony and unity with all creation. A subtle, yet tangible force of energy, weaves a web that interpenetrates all life. Our thought, our consciousness can access this subtle realm to receive aid to create, to learn and to impregnate. This subtle force is the terrain of the soul. You know you have found solid ground in this subtle realm when you feel peace, love, joy and bliss; not necessarily all at the same time. To set personal goals, you can use the old tried and proven method and use your mind to think about what you want and develop a game plan to achieve those goals. Effective, but not necessarily the most enlightened approach. Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the self is enlightenment. You must try to know yourself why you are here and what better you can do for yourself, for those who are near to you and for those who do not harm you.

This century calls for enlightened action. This approach requires a deeper knowing of the self. We all have within our soul a deep knowing about our unique purpose in this life. When we take the time to introspect and ask for clarity about this purpose, we can more consciously become aligned with the highest forces of creation. The soul functions at level that is beyond and transcendent of our personal ego. The will and intention, tools of the soul, are actually powerful forces that can be used for manifestation. Our own material efforts and unfocussed actions recede in the face of the soul’s ability to intuitively personal story will provide some clarity.

Years ago, I was very troubled about the nature of the world. The Cold War was raging and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust seemed all too possible. I was meditating and had vision of a nuclear bombing exploding a few miles from my home and considered that reality in which I had a few seconds before I would be vaporized. I asked myself, “Have I done everything in my power to prevent this?’ The answer was “No”. From a very deep and sacred place within me, I spoke to the Great Voice that often guides me and offered myself in any way that might be found useful. It said: If you try and help keep the world from being blown up.

This goal came from a very deep place, clearly not my mind, for how could I as one common citizen do anything to stop such a terrible deed. I conceived of this work as an experiment to see what God could do through one simple, available citizen. I felt guided to create non-profit organisation for Peace. I was told that Soviets related to organisation, not to individuals. This made sense to me, so I should create an organisation in case I found something to do to bring normal citizens together and break the stereotypes that had been created by the persons in governments that we were enemies. We may exchange the public of two enemy nations and find out if they are interested to quarrel. No, it is politician class to serve their purposes in both the countries. For this, we may have to make a number of visits to both the nations, meeting their leaders, public and all intellectuals to know why both are going on that track.

We cannot just sit around waiting for results to happen. Once the goal is clear, we must do all we can do to fulfill our mission. My point is that working from the inside out and consciously aligning ourselves with our deepest values allows for more enlightened action and ultimately greater success.

Be Happy – we may ascertain why we are here, then we can accomplish our dreams.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 85)

It is God-gift to us that we do exercise our likes and dislikes on some subject. If we like something, we desire to have that and if we dislike something, we try to avoid. Similarly, you too might have some likes or dislikes. The question is whether those likes and dislikes are controlled by you or they control over you. As unconscious beings, likes and dislikes control our lives. Conscious beings are masters of likes and dislikes. When likes and dislikes are under your control, they will serve you.

It is wrong to say that you have to live only in the present. You are not struggling in your life due to your present deeds. It can be result of your past deeds or you might be laying strong foundations for your future. One needs to consider time as past, present and future. Some people operate from the past. Some are future-oriented and so they mostly operate from the future and some are present-oriented. To be wise involves balancing the three time periods… when required you have to take reference from the past or consider the future. Hence balancing time is very essential.

You must not reject the past or future. Also, please do not live only in the past or future. You must learn from the past, enjoy the present and plan for the future. Be present in the past and thereby learn from the past, be present in the future, thereby plan for the future. Being alive in the present, you will enjoy the present. This will be the key of your happiness for all the times.

It is said that one of the reasons Hitler lost the war was because he did not learn from history. In case he remembered that Napoleon had lost many of his men by attacking Russia in winter, he would have not proceeded further. One can learn from the past as well as from the future taking care not to be imprisoned by both. Similarly, while planning for the future, do not lose the present and miss the wisdom of the past or the opportunities in the future. Hence, one needs to be balanced with reference to time.

Decide on your priorities in life. You must serialize your priorities also. Establish your peak performance time during a day. Monitor your low performance time. Do any important task at your peak performance time. Do any less important task at your low performance time. Identify your time wasters. Learn to delegate jobs of petty nature, the jobs which need your lesser attention.

Enjoy your work and you will find there is a lot of time. Review your priorities from time to time. Be with people who are good at time management. Just as the past was the present at one point of time, the future will also be the present at another point of time. So be present in the past and also be present in the future. To Accomplish Your Dreams, the present is more real, the past is an experience and the future is the aim to achieve.

Take into consideration every hour of your time. One hour has 60 minutes. A minute has 60 seconds. Further, break down the second and still further, the present will lose itself into ‘is-ness’. Time will melt into timelessness. Use time to go beyond time. Every fraction must be to your own interest. Within us, there is a dimension of time and beyond time. You live in two worlds, a world of the mind, which is in time and a world beyond the mind that is timelessness. When you are in sleep or living with your unconscious mind, you will go beyond mind and experience timelessness. One should have the wisdom to use the mind and the wisdom to go beyond the mind. In a state of deep joy, you are beyond your minds. Mind is a bundle of thoughts and it creates heart attacks and other diseases when you find that time is not helping. Actually, in that state, you are not managing your time wisely.

When thoughts attack us, you become victims of thoughts. It is like employing someone and then being thrashed by him. You should be the master of the mind rather than the mind being your master. You should use the mind rather than let the mind use you. The very intention to be the master of the mind will give you the wisdom of how to use the mind. You must learn how to manage your mind, your time and resources by distributing them amongst the priorities you have. Once you are able to do it, you would be enjoying your life as well as comforting those who are concerned with you.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams by making yourself living in present with memory of past and target of future.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 84)

Generally, you meet two types of personalities in your normal working. Some of them are good and some are not good. The recognition and development of good qualities will lead you to freedom from bondage and pain. Negative qualities on the other hand lead one into bondage, resulting in sorrow and dependency. The positive and the negative are present everywhere and in all time periods. Even in the worst possible scenario, one could find something good. If a tragedy like an earthquake happens, it reveals how there are those who help total strangers even at personal risk. You also come across those who take advantage by looting and robbing.

Since both the good and bad tendencies exist simultaneously in everyone, you are both potentially divine as well as devilish. Environment, association and circumstances may exercise a major influence on you. For spiritual progress, company with good people is a good option. This means not only the company of the wise but also the company of good people, good books, good literature, good food and even good television/audio visual programmes leave an impact. Keeping in view the technological advancements, you must not avoid them. It depends upon you how to sort out. It is important, therefore, to avoid what is negative. Even if one sees a little good quality in oneself or in others, you may please encourage it! You might find something positive even in those you perceive as your enemies. So give goodness a chance.

Negative forces attract similar tendencies that create a corresponding environment. The same is true for positive forces. It is therefore, a good idea to cultivate positive qualities. The good and bad don’t have equal potential. Good has the power to face all negativities. One strong good quality can fight against many negative ones. Similarly. In society if strong and positive forces arise then automatically negative forces are negated. All interaction is merely a play of these qualities. To overcome anger one has to enhance love. The anger dissolves. Once negative qualities are identified, they can be dealt with. They have the ability to take any form. Often anger appears as righteous and spiritual. But that is not true as it can be a result of wrong aptitude. You can not solve every thing just by showing your anger. You can win the hearts by your love and your love can compel others not to do any bad thing against you or someone you love.

Dedicating oneself to a good person brings out the goodness from within us. In the service of such persons you imbibe their qualities. When one dedicates one’s life to God and humanity, then Godly qualities emerge. Simply, if we follow civic duties towards each human being sincerely, others may also follow our behaviour and this practice may result into a civilized society for the pleasures of all. We have to start somewhere, why not from our end firstly! We must do what we expect from others. Goodness when dedicated to a higher cause gains tremendous power. Hanuman’s dedication to Lord Sri Rama was unshakeable. When people dedicate themselves to subtle causes like alleviating poverty, to ecology and the like they develop remarkable achievements. Goodness that is dedicated to god helps in the seeker achieving God-realisation and takes him on the path to higher ideals. Being good and philanthropic due to pressure from society or the law or other reasons is not permanent. But goodness that springs from within is everlasting.

Notice negative trends as they rapidly become insurmountable. One cannot fight with a terrorist by becoming a terrorist. It is by strengthening the positive that one can override the negative. Remember Goodness is not an action. It is a state of being. You can solve many problems if you convert yourself into a good citizen. If we study the past history of some terrorist, we may find that the majority of the terrorists have adopted terror as a way of solution of their problems which could not be put to an end in a rightful manner and they got provoked with a single line of provocation by some other aggrieved or power-greedy person. For good of the society, we may have to search out the solution and convince the terrorist if his demand is genuine or not. Every one of us has a right to live freely but that right can not be exercised freely if that hurts other’s similar right. If you need something, you must earn it sincerely with your own labour, hard work and resources. If someone else is also wishing to earn the same thing, he should also try to earn that. If the target of both persons is a single item, then there must be a fair competition of efforts for gaining eligibility.

Don’t trash goodness; give it a chance to come up out of you, to prosper out of those who are surrounding you and those you know to be possessing this quality. It will be real service to the humanity and may help you to Accomplish Your Dreams.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 83)

Moving a few steps today in right direction can take you miles ahead tomorrow. Have you ever felt that when a particular person decides to walk towards the exit door of your team, that person is so missed by whole of the team as opposed to the rest who had quit in the past? The rest were expendable while that person was indispensable. Usually it is said that nobody is indispensable. No, it does not ring correct every time and every where. Even today, several persons are there who continue to hone up their skills during current turbulent times, in order to gain an edge over the rest and prove their real worth. Kindly review yourself if you are one of them. If not, why not? If not, your efforts how you can become indispensable would be an important step in right direction if you take step today and today only to accomplish your dreams.

Have you ever gone through the achievements of the celebrities of yesterday and today? Did you notice anything particular which keeps them in a class apart? These celebrities are task masters, highly efficient crisis managers, solution oriented, keeping themselves accountable, loyal to their professions and highly proactive “Can Do” individuals who are one of a kind and irreplaceable. Simply defined, they are indispensable, principles of their working are indispensable, irrespective of the fact whether they are alive or not.

Who is an indispensable personality? You could be one if you are high flying performer, dependable, self motivated, most importantly entrepreneurial in your approach towards work. You may need to work diligently, score high on your appraisal and be depended upon for any critical assignment in your professional capacity or social environment. If all the members of your team are put on a scale from 1 to 10, and you are put between the range of 7 to 10 on account of your performance, in any capacity, you can be termed as “Indispensable”. This quality is required for the raise of your income, job potentials, social status and your self satisfaction too.

Before you proceed on to Accomplish Your Dream of becoming indispensable, you must ask yourself if you are quality oriented and have an eye for details? Are your aspirations aligned with the organizational goals? Are you a best fit with the organizational culture? If you answer “yes” to these questions, you can consider yourself to belong to such category of the persons who are good in their work, prompt; goal oriented and do not have any behavioural issues and gradually win confidence of all managers, leaders and people around. The team starts relying on such people by delegating more responsibilities. One time can come when you can be treated as sole owner of the responsibility and become indispensable for the team – it does not matter in which tier you are there at present.

Experts opine that the real indispensability of a person is tested during tough times. It matters how he reacts, coordinates his working, readjusts with the changed circumstances of the organization, remains productive apart from the assignments given during the normal time and comes forward in solution of the problems coming up suddenly, behaves in balanced way during dire circumstances, and stays on in the team/organization in spite of all the odds happening beyond control or does not leave the team in lurch when the leaders might be counting on their most bankable associates. After crisis is over, such persons are suitably rewarded. During good times, that person is similarly rewarded distinctly to motivate for better performance and staying on with the team.

It has been seen that the indispensable personality proves the worth by going beyond the call of the duty to turn the tide to increase the revenue/clients/followers and inspire the associates to commit themselves to the common cause with more sincerity and without hesitation.

As you are aware, tough times present tougher roles. How you as indispensable member of your team can add up value to your organization during tough times is more important.

1. You can lead by example. Strive hard to achieve your functional targets or to teach closer to the same during turbulent times.
2. You continue to remain loyal to the organization because at such times, your real worth will come on the scene.
3. You must be willing to work on a new job profile and are ready to put more than normal hours to work more without expectation of any immediate compensation/reward for extra work or extra time.
4. You need to understand the business and capitalize on market opportunities on global level.
5. You must make yourself responsible for directly impacting the business and get a grip on the levers that influence business.
6. You may have to be first mover and take initiative.
7. You may help the team perform better and influence them with exceptional commitment and integrity at your own.

It is made clear that indispensability is not the quality which can be groomed up in a B-School or it is God-gifted. It is you who can identify it within yourself to hone up and make yourself a star – you can do and accomplish your dream since it ensures complete control over your working.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part – 82)

Today, we are witnessing a mixed plethora of economic developments – some of you might be feeling to have missed the train whereas some of you might be having a sense of exciting developments. For some one, recession has been very tough and efforts had to be made to cut down the costs of living due to squeeze in income. Some of employers have creatively reduced the hours of their man-force or shifting them to their homes by giving home based office work, to reduce their fixed overheads after having open cordial and honest talks. Jobs are still important more than there are cuts in the man-power.

There is new economic order being borne as well. We are entering into the era of sustainability, when on the one hand, natural resources are depleting fast due to growing demand of the increasing population and on the other hand, it has been seen for last ten years that availability of the appropriate talent is also becoming scarce. Talent is still there, it is abundant. The key issues are how you think about skills and capability and how you inspire and engage existing talent. If we understand the better, we can harness it better.

It is the understanding that creates value for the society and nation. Talent has to be harnessed and understood to ensure the better utility. Rather than hierarchical, top down, old business models, future may belong to stakeholder driven and collaborative dynamic organizational models. You may have to change your approach to issues like governance and environmental responsibility because talents wish to work for ethical and responsible employers.

Tomorrow, your job may be tougher. The qualities and conventions are undergoing major change. Firstly, you may have to widen your thinking horizon to have access to global community. Thriving in global market comes about when you are actually in global market. Secondly, You need to be able to manage the complexity of techniques as well as managerial and accounting abilities together, leaving behind the narrow vision of being expert in a single subject. Thirdly, culture which is driven throughout your team to understand the behaviour and maintaining relationship, is the most valuable which showcase your team to the third person. Your team must create an impression that you are humane to the society. It is true that due to recession, when it was getting difficult to meet the fixed expenses, some values have been compromised upon to reduce the costs but that were not worth welcome and must have been avoided. If you are able to maintain your patience even during your down fall, you can rise with the first opportunity available.

As a leader when you wish to Accomplish Your Dreams, you owe the duty of generating appropriate financial return but that is not possible without creating a strong communication with your team members and all those who are concerned with your activities. You must have a vision of their aspirations with you and you should make them aware of your wishes too in time. Any gap in communication may play hell with your efforts. They need to be confident of your values, they must know how you do the work and how they must respond back with a sense of transparency on the both sides. You need to create a framework clearly stipulating profit earning and non-profit earning activities so that the expectations are styled accordingly.

While you expect good financial returns over your efforts, you can not neglect your attention and responsibilities towards the communities and environment. For this, you need to have greater sense of what your mission and purpose is. You need to be confident of your efforts for social welfare. To be successful, you need to be able to work with multiple agencies to pay attention to issues of environment, water, waste, human rights and other factors of human interest. Far often, it is the skills of the business that will provide solutions for all these problems.

Teams of future will have a governance structure which is diverse and transparent, and where complexities are fully understood to enable tough decision with a long term vision and the courage and capability to see that through. In near future, leadership qualities will need to be inculcated in your team at every level to handle smaller projects to assimilate into a bigger object at the top of the pyramid. Hierarchical structures will give away a lot of smaller parts together to co-create value. This way, your team may not be necessarily a large conglomerate to create an image of being capitalist in disguise. Your team working for a common cause should be comprised of various entrepreneurs to be selected on global basis so that the vested interests of some region(s) are not permitted to crush the local potentials as was done during infamous colonial rule.

The leader of future has got more difficult targets, more difficult complexities in socio-economic environment. To Accomplish Your Dreams in such environ, you need to be ready by now by expanding your thinking and equipping yourself with latest techniques and managerial skills. Progress is not now a matter of inheritance.

Be Happy - Maintain a balance between your financial and social responsibilities.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 81)

So far I could not meet anyone in this world, who did not or does not have any dream. It may be possible that due to frustration, tiredness or due to any other personal reason, someone may declare in your presence that he does not have any ambitious wish to fulfill but take it sure that as soon as some favorable circumstances come forth, his hidden desires would come up definitely. Our dreams are the core of our life. Those persons, who have passion about their dreams, create a purpose for their existence. They continue to work towards their targets – it can be possible that their working is not visible to you or they are giving some breaks in-between to change the circumstances in their favor.

A dream gains its worth when it is accomplished. When you have a dream, it remains within you. But when you work hard to accomplish it, then it comes to its real sense. Dreams teach you to look forward in life. Although everyone desires to accomplish his dreams, fulfilling the dreams is not an easy task. It is also not impossible if your dreams are based on ground realities.

Why is it so difficult to fulfill your dreams? This is because of the simple reason that people do not work hard enough to accomplish their dreams. To accomplish your dreams it is important to follow them with full conviction in letter and spirit. If you do not take your dreams, they would simply get out of your reach. But if you remember your dreams and follow them in letter and spirit, accomplishing your dreams may not be that difficult. As you follow your dreams, you tend to become a more competent person. You realize your worth and potential. This gradually makes you a better person. You also tend to become a happy person. People get a sparkle in their eyes because they have a dream they know would be accomplished soon.

When you cease to follow your own dreams, you would definitely become a plant that is locked up in a room with closed doors and no windows. Without air, water and sunlight, you would start dying and your hope to live would also diminish. When you cease to follow your dreams because you feel it is difficult to accomplish it, you may tend to develop a kind of phobia about the dreams. You may lose hope and feel that there is no point running after a dream that cannot be fulfilled. No, you must be careful as your dreams are core of your life

You can follow and accomplish your dream only when you feel that you can work hard enough for it. As the dream does not lie in the comfort area, it seems out of reach. Following your dreams needs sincere efforts and willingness to change. While pursuing your dream, you may feel a little uncomfortable in the beginning but the passion for your dreams keeps the hope alive. Following your dreams is not easy but it is worth the effort. Initially, you may experience certain uncertainties and fears but that is a normal process. You should focus on the dream rather than thinking about the fear. Do not let go of the happiness that will come with the accomplishment of your dreams.

Dream Interpretation

A person generally sees two types of dreams – dreams of what you aim at and dreams of your imaginations, recollection of past happenings and some time, they denote something to happen. Here, I am putting up some views about the dreams being seen during sleep.

What do your dreams mean? This hasn't been clearly answered by science yet. It is possible that they are a way to exercise the brain and keep it functioning efficiently. Some scientists theorize that dreaming is a way to categorize and "file away" things that weren't sufficiently dealt with during the day. This would explain why daily events so often become a part of that nights-dream.

Kindly consider that your dreams are going to be the base of real life….Every time when we dream of images, people who are close to us or strangers at time, building, etc. that puzzle and amaze us. Ever wonder why we dream. It is no accident that one third of our lives spend in sleep and that much of this in dreams sleep. This is a major part of our lives and it is clear that sleep is not just about giving body much needed time to relax, rest but about providing us with the opportunity to dream. Even during your sleep, your brain continues to work. If you have difficulty in recalling your dreams, write down your mood on waking and any special thing that might happen in your dream which you can remember. Some time, we come across very complex type of dreams and get impatient to solve the puzzle they left upon you to solve. We may try to interpret our dreams. Each of us has a set of personal symbols that grow out of our life experiences. Most of our dreams arise from our personal experiences and imaginations.

Dreaming seems to be necessary. In experiments, people have been prevented from dreaming by being woken up whenever they started, as evidenced by their REM or "rapid eye movement," which accompanies dreaming. This seems to cause mental distress, although this was often shown in nothing more than increased attempts to dream. Those woken an equal number of times, but randomly, didn't seem to suffer as much.

We may need to dream, but we don't know why, and we could argue endlessly about the meaning of the content of our dreams. However, despite this essential ignorance about what dreams mean, we do know that there are ways we can use our dreams. You may occasionally remember a dream you had that was better than most movies you've seen. Sometimes you may not even want to wake up from a dream, because it is so enjoyable. Perhaps you wish you could have more dreams like these. You can, by waking up in the dream, and taking control. Want to fly over that lake? Or join that party? You can direct your dream if you know that you are in a dream. That is the idea behind lucid dreaming.

Does it work? Many swear that they regularly are conscious and in control during their dreams. I have had more than one dream where I argued with someone that we were in a dream (and of course proved it by waking up). Without getting into an argument about what consciousness is, it is still easy to see how much fun such "controlled dreams" might be.

One common way to induce lucid dreams is to have a "trigger" that reminds you that you are dreaming. This trigger can be any common object you're likely to see in a dream. If you choose a clock, for example, then whenever you see one, you say "I am dreaming right now and can do what I want." Once this is habit, you are likely to say it when you see a clock in a dream, thus "waking yourself up" to the fact that you're dreaming. Then you can take control and have some fun.

These techniques are not yet scientifically "proven." However, having had lucid dreams, I can say that they are at least entertaining. Also, having used numerous techniques to get good ideas from dreams - and always with more success than when I do nothing - I am convinced that there is some value in this playing with our dreams, whether or not we ever completely understand what dreams mean.

You know! Dreaming has many purposes. Many times, they work to clarify problems, How? You may do some mental work in the area you want ideas or a solution. Think about it, write some notes down, and consider some solutions. This work signals the brain that the topic or problem is important, so it will continue to work on it below consciousness. You can turn off the alarm clock. If you wake up naturally, you are more likely to remember your dreams. You may keep a recording device or a pen and paper next to your bed. Note any ideas you have if you wake up in the night, and especially when you first wake up in the morning. For getting a clear message of your dreams, you may study them if they are not relating to fantasies. For that, you may lay still when you first wake up, and review your dreams. This process "sets" them in your mind, so you won't forget them as easily. You can think back on them later, to search for any useful ideas.

Your dreams may reveal true feelings about others, take pressure off when times are tough, develop creativity, rehears future events to make them successful and inspire you to take up initiative or unlock some complexities. Some time, they provide you clues also for new openings. Your relationships with the people in your life are crucial. Family, friends, lover and colleagues all play a role in bringing breadth and depth to your life. Dreams reveal what is happening below the surface and allow you to go beyond superficial ties to the roots of your connection with others. Dreams can also remind you to those who are important to you and can nudge you to make contact again. Relationships take us to the limits our emotional range, from great joy to utter despair, and they can bring us into contact with the finality of death. In short, dream will give you guidance on ways to ease the pain.

A dream of a teacher may indicate new learning for you as if we are aspiring to join some organization where we may learn something. Likewise, a dream of mother: Mother means everything for a child, whenever your mother appears in your dream, there is some connection as if you are in need of mothering. Perhaps, you need to be looked after and cared for, or you are over-controlling or over-protective or you are burdened by your responsibility as a mother?

If your father appears in your dreams, your attention comes up over your bond with your father’s relationship with you. Relationships with fathers are highly significant. Fathers symbolize authority and protection. Whether you grew up with your biological father, a stepfather or a father figure, you will have been influenced by the nature of your bond. As you grow up you learn that your parents are not perfect and in dreams this awareness may come as a shock. If you dream that your father comes back to home to live with you and he was smiling and always happy. This dream makes up for what you lack. Your father is not living with you and you lack his association.

Appearance of your sister in your dreams may provoke you if she is already living with you. Because sisters in dreams may refer to rivalry or competition. When I was young, I dreamed that my sister was in my class at school and I got really angry. If you have similar dreams, it my means that you are still trying to resolve issues from your past or that there is a current relationship that has similar conflicts. Sometime, you do not feel comfortable to express openly your cordial relationship with your sister due to gender-based feelings of your parents or due to some other reason; your sister may come up in your dreams. If your sister is staying at some boarding school far away from you, it may mean that you miss her and wish to meet but you are not able to tell your wish to your parents. Appearance of your elder sister in your dreams may wish your visit to her or she might be willing to guide you on some topic. Your younger sister may seek your attention.

Similarly, the appearance of your brother in your dreams means sibling rivalry, dreams about a brother often relate to taking care of him, of being in parental, responsible role, with the possibility of failing and being blamed if anything goes wrong. This may produce strange dreams: I dreamed that my brother changed into a little red hen and I was chasing him down the road. Being elder brother john always felt he had to look after his fast moving unpredictable brother. I dreamed that my elder brother came to know about my boyfriend and he shut me in study room all night, leaving me alone whole night. This indicates you are hiding something very important from your elder brother and you when he came to know your relationship will be in trouble. Appearance of your younger brother may remind you of your duties to him as elder brother or your fatherly affection as if your father is no more or living far away on account of his engagements.

Grandfather gives a sense of continuity in family life. Like grandmothers, grandfathers are traditionally viewed as protective, caring and more indulgent than parents. Appearance of grandfather in your dreams assures you some protection as if you need the wisdom of an elder to guide you on your way, or if your grandfather is alive, your dream may be a reminder to you to visit him.

Grandmother is understood to be wise elder who, after death, returns to us in dreams to guide us or to accompany us through difficult times. She often comforts us. At times she shares her experience and symbolizes in dreams. If she is alive, your dream may be a reminder to you to visit her.

A daughter in dream may indicate a desire to have daughter or may represent yourself as a little girl, perhaps your inner child. The birth of child may reactive anxieties about our own childhood experience. A client who was 6 year old when her sister died cause of cancer, dreams that her own daughter would also die because of same disease. Though such unpleasant dreams do help us to face our fears about morality and help us to overcome. At times such dreams to indicate “can you accept the dream daughter who comes to you”

Dreams in which your husband appears usually related to pleasure and pains in your daily life, as well as pointing out hidden conflicts. As marital bliss may turn sour, so dreams dramatize this change. If you have a close bond with your partner, you may find that you dream of the same subject on the same night and if that subject has not been concluded in the day time, may get some conclusions in your dreams. Some dreams may help you remove your misunderstandings too.

Close relationships are the subject of the most women’s dreams and as wife you dream of husband and children. Sometime women dream of being married, about the wedding and the ceremony that is involved, but less frequently they dream of being the “wife”. Wife swapping dreams, in which married couples swap partners for sexual gratification, may reflect a longing for another partner or a desire to spice up your sex life.

If dream involves a some other couple you know, think about whether you are attracted to either partner. However, remember in dreams there are no censor, so the wild fantasies that you dream about can exist without you having to put the dream into practice in your waking life.

There is a saying that friends are what God gives us to make up for our families. While this may not be true for many people, it does acknowledge the importance of friends. They are there to sustain us in the worst times and to celebrate the best times. You may have to identify and classify your friends into two classes – good friends who are genuine and ready to help you in your emergency and bad friends who look out your good times only. Fair-weather friend is one of your friend there when the world is wonderful, but not when you need more support. A friend in need is a friend indeed- does a friend want your help? As able to give it ? If they appear in your dreams, you may interpret their intentions accordingly.

In dreams, lover may be your waking partner, your ideal or your wish-fulfillment partner, or they may even compensate for a waking situation that is unsatisfactory.

Be Happy – make an analysis of your dreams and find out how you can accomplish them.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 80)

As we are aware, the images, thoughts, and emotions that pass through our bodies during sleep which we see in our dreams greatly influence our outlook on life. Our dreams are generally of two types – some circumstances which have already been witnessed by us might have been stored in our subconscious part of mind. Some futuristic imaginations we make in our mind come before us during our sleep, the time when our activities practically stand halted, take shape making us feel that they are really happening as we conceive during our day time. In this post, I am putting up some lines how such dreams come about.

Under Oneirology, numerous studies and experiments are conducted every year by scientific groups and national organizations on human dreams. But still, very little about the content and purpose of our dreams has been documented, which is not sufficient.

Your Brain is Active When You Dream

Studies have provided evidence suggesting tremendous variation in brain activity during sleep. This has been demonstrated using EEG technology. Scientists have identified five distinct stages of sleep, characterized by differences in brain activity. Stages 1-4 and a final stage labeled rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When awakened during REM sleep, subjects report dreaming. With the development of new brain imaging technology in the early 1990’s we learned even more about brain activity during REM sleep. Researchers found that certain areas of the brain are extremely active during the REM sleep state, even more active than being awake. Studies have shown that certain visual areas of the human cortex, which decode complex visual scenes, are significantly more active during REM sleep. Intense activity is also observed in the limbic system, which is a set of structures heavily involved in human emotion.

Animals and Dreams

We can’t be 100% sure that animals dream in a similar way as humans, but they do enter into a state of REM sleep. REM sleep occurs in all mammals, although it excludes the egg-laying monotremes of Australia. The sentinel hypothesis of REM sleep, which was put forward by Frederic Snyder in 1966, proposes that many mammals wake-up immediately after entering into REM sleep, leading him to infer that the process was being used as a defense mechanism. Many birds also show signs of REM sleep, but reptiles and other cold-blooded animals do not. The echidna does enter into REM sleep, but only if its environment is around 25°C. Dogs and cats also experience this stage of sleep.

Marijuana and Dreams

Many people who smoke marijuana report having no dreams, yet after they quit, the same people report extremely vivid and intense dreams. Most vivid dreams take place during REM sleep, so the logical scientific question is "Does marijuana (THC) affect REM sleep?" A study conducted in 1975 compared the sleep patterns of experienced marijuana users with non-smokers. The results showed reduced eye movement activity and less REM sleep in the THC condition. They also reported a REM rebound effect, which is more REM activity upon withdrawal from THC. Scientific evidence exists that correlates marijuana use with a loss of REM sleep and dreams, so the next time you smoke marijuana and don’t remember your dreams you will know why.

Epic Dreams

Epic dreams are extremely vivid and can be life changing. These dreams are so compelling that they will often generate a greater awareness of your natural surroundings. Epic dreams will give you a fresh and new perspective on an aspect of life. When you wake up from an epic dream you will feel as if you have discovered something profound or amazing. The epic dream will remain with you for years. People who experience these types of dreams often report a continuous storyline that constitutes an entirely different and ongoing life. Many people sleep during their epic dreams, having a dream within itself.

Gender Differences in Dreams

Many studies have been conducted to examine differences in the dreams of men and women. It has been shown that women dream of both genders equally, yet 67% of the time the characters in men’s dreams are predominantly male. Women’s dreams tend to last longer and include more emotional content whereas men’s dreams are reported to include more violence, cars, and roads. On average, 8% of people’s dreams include sexual activity. The primary gender difference in sexual dreams is that men tend to dream about unknown or public places and their dreams often feature strangers, while the opposite is true for the majority of women. Women more often dream of enclosed bodies of water, such as pools, lakes, ponds. Of course this data is based on general percentages and is not true for everyone.

Sleep Paralysis

Sleep Paralysis is a condition that affects many people in the world. It is directly related to the REM sleep stage and dreaming. Sleep paralysis corresponds with REM atonia, which is the state of paralysis that occurs during REM sleep. A person experiences sleep paralysis when the brain awakes from the REM sleep cycle, but the paralysis state remains. The person is conscious, but unable to move. They continue to dream and in many cases can visually experience their dreams in their room. A person experiencing sleep paralysis is not fully conscious, but well aware of what is happening. The experience has been described as distorted tunnel vision. The paralysis state may be accompanied by extreme hallucinations and a sense of danger. Many historical claims of alien abduction have been explained by extreme cases of sleep paralysis.

Nightmares vs. Night Terrors

Ernest Hartmann has published many books and papers on the topic of nightmares. His work has indicated that the most common theme of a nightmare is being chased. Adults are commonly chased by a male figure, while children face animals or fantasy creatures. Nightmares are less common in adults and children experience them most often between the ages of three or four and seven or eight. About 5-10% of people have nightmares once a month or more frequently. Hartmann’s work suggests that nightmares directly correlate with daily activities and are an indicator of fear or anxiety that needs to be confronted. Some common triggers can be drug abuse, traumatic events, or the loss of a loved one. Night terrors are quite different from nightmares. They occur during the first hour or two of sleep and during the non-rapid eye cycle. Loud screaming and thrashing is common. The sleeper is hard to awake and usually remembers no more than an overwhelming feeling or a single scene. Night terrors are much less common than nightmares. Children from the ages of two to six are most prone to night terrors, and they affect about 15% of all children.

Famous Dreams

Dreams have often been credited with influencing world changing events. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein after having a dream about the monster. "I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." Elias Howe was a sewing machine pioneer who greatly influenced the product in the middle of the 19th century. He is recorded as saying that he had a vivid dream about a group of cannibals that were preparing to cook him. They were dancing around a fire waving their spears up and down. Howe noticed that in the head of each spear there was a small hole, which ultimately gave him the idea of passing the thread through the needle close to the point, not at the other end. It was a major innovation in making mechanical sewing possible. The scientist Friedrich August Kekulé discovered the seemingly impossible chemical structure of benzene (C6H6) after having a dream about a group of snakes swallowing their tails. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA. Watson later reported that the idea came to him after dreaming of a series of spiral staircases. A few days prior to his death Abraham Lincoln discussed a dream with his wife in which he previewed a dead body wrapped in funeral vestments surrounded by hundreds of mourners. He claims to have been told by a soldier that the president had been assassinated.

Chronic Snoring Can Lead to Sleep Disorder

Snoring is a major problem for millions of people. Many individuals who experience chronic snoring are suffering from a REM sleep disorder. During REM sleep individuals will experience irregular breathing, a rise in blood pressure, vivid dreams, and paralysis. People who snore regularly do dream, but will not remember them as often as normal sleeping individuals. They often will develop a REM sleep disorder. This disorder is a condition in which the individual does not experience any kind of paralysis when they sleep. The absence of this paralysis causes many people to physically act out their dreams. Such physical behaviors often include talking, yelling, punching, kicking, jumping out of bed, arm flailing, and even grabbing. The person will remain sleeping while acting out their dreams and will not remember the activity or dream the following day.

Vivid Dreams Help You Learn

REM sleep begins when signals are broadcasted from the base of the brain, an area called the pons. The pons distributes signals to the thalamus, which directs them towards the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information. The pons also sends signals that shut off the neurons in the spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis during REM sleep. REM sleep activates the area of the brain that we use for learning. This may be an extremely important factor in normal brain development during infancy. It may explain why small children spend much more time in REM sleep then adults. In addition, REM sleep is associated with increased protein in the brain. Studies have been conducted that correlate REM sleep and learning mental skills. Separate groups of people were taught the same skill and a larger percentage of individuals who fell into REM sleep during the night were able to recall the skill the next day. This theory is called the Ontogenetic Hypothesis of REM sleep.

This way, the dreams are an important of our life - some display our past, some relate to our present and some give indicators to some future too. Let us take them in positive way only.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 79)

Change is the principle of the nature. When you do a job continuously in the repeated process, you gain some expertise but soon, you wish to make some change feeling bore “again, the same job – nothing new”. You look for some change, for some better prospect since you start to feel stagnant in your current job, current business line. You do not foresee any growth in the next few years. Your income is coming down.

What do you do when you face such questions? If you are in business, you may like to make some additions, you may make some diversification. If you are in job, you may take up some part time job if that is permitted by your employer. If not permitted, you may like to “quit” the present line of working or you may have to carry on the frustration. Frustration may cause further loss of your productivity, your income, your peace of mind, your health, and misbalance in your family life and up-keeping of your wards, their education and social status. It may affect your Dreams also. How would you accomplish them?

It is true that spending one’s entire career with a single firm is no longer the norm today as employees are willing to shoulder and explore higher roles and opportunities outside if not available within the company, with the present employer or with the present business line. But many are finding it difficult to take that crucial decision – when to quit? Some past experience asks me to put some lines for your kind consideration.

If you are not able to add on for increase of your income or satisfaction, quitting a job is still better than living in frustration. But it is not as simple as it sounds. Taking the decision to discontinue one’s service with the present employer itself is a daunting task and if taking impulsively, it might just backfire. So under which circumstances you may change is a question worth deep thinking.

First of all, kindly consider the factors against which you are making the decision to quit. Review them. There are many circumstances which can provoke an employee, a good worker to quit. They may be one or more amongst the following:

1. He does not enjoy the technology/domain anymore.
2. He perceives the manager as rude or incompetent.
3. He develops a deep sense of stagnation.
4. He feels wronged in terms of compensation and positioning.
5. He does not get comfortable feeling with the growth of the business and resultant responsibilities/work as his remuneration or income is not getting added.
6. He senses a deep disconnect/conflict between their personal values and organization’s principles or its method of working.

Secondly, Now-a-days, a span of three to five years is considered to be a good stint with an organization. If there is a consistency of growth and you can foresee more opportunities to develop, improve and add on to your calibre and income, it is not wise to move out or shift from your present line of working before you start to thing that you are reaching to a point of stagnancy. Stagnancy is more harmful for both – you and your Organization. Before you finalize your intention to move out, you can change yourself to meet the present circumstances asking you to change. If not possible, you must do a thorough self assessment to gauge whether you are financially, educationally, mentally and physically capable of shouldering your responsibilities in the new regime. If you feel that you have got lesser work with the present line of working, in the present organization and that the work is below your competency, you may try for the higher responsibilities within the organization. If you do not get an opportunity to show yourself, you may move out.

Thirdly, the transition must be more effective and hassle free when you set expectation of your joining of new organization and complete the outstanding work and knowledge transfer. Better, you may please prepare a statement on the status of ongoing project you have been handling, an account of those clients you dealt with, your understandings and your estimates regarding future.

Fourthly, regardless of the reason for quitting, the exit must be done in a graceful manner without burning the bridges. You must share your decision first with your immediate boss even before informing your colleagues. You must serve an adequate notice period as per your Company’s rules and regulations and work out a mutually amicable transition plan with your immediate boss making it clear that it is your joint responsibility with him/her to make the transition plan is adhered to strictly and meticulously, in case of any delay or failure in following the plan, things may turn out to be more difficult for the successor and also for the organization. Ending your tenure in an endeavour to begin another does not mean that you may snap ties with the previous employer for ever. Today, a healthy relationship with the previous employer is a win-win situation so that organization is ready to welcome you back in case you do not find yourself comfortable in the new environment after some spells of time.

I hope the above lines may help you to Accomplish Your Dreams.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 78)

Very simply, you can lead a simple life – like an animal, just eating, sleeping and a little bit work or meeting some physical requirements. That does not justify our existence as human being. As a civilized person, we do conceive some dreams and attempt to accomplish them. We do have some potential. I may put up some suggestions how to explore the potential within you and your team.

Is morale and productivity down with your team? Do team members have difficulty seeing the horizon because their gaze is fixed on the ground? Unlocking the door to team member motivation can seem a complex issue but leaders should never underestimate the power of a "thank you."

It articulates the value of each member's contribution to the team and says that he or she matters as a person. To open the doors and release the potential that each team member possesses, try these different keys:

1. Reward People Differently. Just as performance differs between team members, so should the rewards you use. Reward the behaviour you want to see! A smile, a "thank you" or a well-deserved "Great Job!" go a long way in keeping motivation high.

2. Ignoring It Doesn't Make It Go Away. Dealing with a carrier? That person that "carries" their negativity around like a disease and tries to infect the entire workplace? Emotions are contagious and that negativity can quickly spread through an entire department. Don't ignore it, address it - talk with your team member about what is going on and what you can do to help. Always remember to seek first to understand, then to be understood.

3. Be Concise on What Warrants Rewards. Let's face it, clarity motivates! Team member empowerment and freedom come from knowing what needs to be done and what they get as a result. Don't keep rewards a secret and let people know What's In It For Me.

4. Be a Coach, Not a Critic. No team member finds the act of failing rewarding. Walk along side team members - help them along. Team loyalty and mutual respect emerge from a collective effort. Root for the home team and WIN!

5. Build Them Up Publicly. Work to find people doing things right and let everyone know about it! Yell it from the rooftops! You'll be surprised how it motivates the whole team! Conversely, negative "publicity" should never be given in front of ANYONE - it impacts the overall work atmosphere and all team members end up getting punished.

6. Be Fair. No team member should ever feel like doing a good job on your team is like peeing his or her pants in a dark suit (it gives them a warm feeling but no one notices). Keep the balance of rewards in check with open communication and an atmosphere of collaboration.

7. Have Fun! Enjoying what you do is a reward that goes far beyond the bottom line. 85% of Fortune 100 companies concern themselves with making sure that employees have fun and enjoy what they do. Play a game, have a contest or just share funny stories. You will find that it will boost loyalty, retention, and productivity!

Don't be fooled, it takes time and effort to match the right key to the right door but it is worth the effort. When opened, you will not only have a team member that has higher morale and productivity, you will also have one that knows that you care. As a leader, isn't that the thanks we need?
Make a positive impact today and Accomplish Your Dreams!