Pleasures of Tai-chi

I haven't been blogging since November 10. My mind was not focused for the past month. Sometimes I wasn't able to tell what is the reason behind my constant melancholic state. Just to change the rhythm of my routine, I started practicing Tai-chi recently. Most people say Tai-chi is for the old folks. I beg to differ. I have come to know the different varieties of Tai-chi. What I am diligently practicing now is the fan version of Tai-chi. I must say I am quite good at it now. Apart from that, I also do the 24 styles Tai-chi.

Usually I practice Tai-chi in the morning unless something important occupies my time. A short 20 minutes session of continuous Tai-chi workout can really rejuvenate me. Eventhough I do not sweat as much as when I did my aerobic workout, Tai-chi gives me a kind of pleasure and satisfaction I cannot describe. The mere thought of having done something meaningful and good for myself that day is sheer joy to me. I wonder if I can maintain my current enthusiasm for Tai-chi. Really hope so. One way of ensuring that is to constantly remind myself the pleasure of practicing Tai-chi.

Reading A Book

I started reading ' The Autobiography Of A Yogi ' by Paramahansa Yogananda last week. This is my second attempt at reading this book seriously because in the previous occasion, I took it as a bedtime storybook. I tend to fall asleep after a couple of pages. Now, I am reading it in broad daylight hoping that I can finally fulfill my promise that I will finish reading this book.

I am into the ninth chapter now, and so far I find it extremely fascinating. The chapters about the author's encounters with miraculous happenings and saints like ''the saint with two bodies'' , the "perfume saint" , the "levitating saint ", the "tiger swami" are the most captivating. Seldom do I find myself so engrossed in reading a book.

Blogging Business

I have not blog since October 11. This blogging business is something I do only when I have nothing else to fill up my time. My time is usually filled with work, work and more work. To me, blogging needs effort and I find it rather time consuming. Apart from that, I am not a good writer. I can't seem to find things to write about. That is why my blogs are mainly collections and records of everything I find interesting, inspiring, humorous and enlightening. Thus my mushy hints, mushy quotes, mushy facts, mushy jokes ect. I hope in time to come, I will be able to put in more of my own thoughts.

Mushy Quotes :

Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted.

- David Bly

Be like a postage stamp - stick to one thing until you get there.

- Josh Billings

The trouble with learning from experience is that you never graduate.

- Doug Larson

Mushy Hints

To thaw fish without losing its freshly-caught flavour; just thaw it in milk. The milk will help draw out the "frozen" taste. Or try soaking fish in vinegar and water before cooking it for a sweet, tender taste.

Clothes with a button-up front can sometimes cause embarrassment for women when our undergarments or certain parts of the body are exposed through the gaps in between the buttons. Using safety pins might damage the fabric and cause unsightly bulges. Use double-sided adhesive tape instead. Cut the tape into a length of about 6cm and cut this strip lenghtwise again into two or three strips. Then stick each strip onto your dress or shirt, in between two buttons. You can also apply this method to keep bra straps from showing when you are wearing a sleeveless top. Just stick the tape between your top and bra straps.

Useful Oils

Doctors nowadays believe that stress is linked to many illnesses of the mind and body. Aromatherapy is considered one of the method to relaxation. It is the use of essential oils for therapeutic properties. Essential oils can help to :
- invigorate,
- stimulate,
- soothe and calm us,
- help us to sleep,
- inspire,
- refresh and rejuvenate us.

Essential oils are extracted from the leaves, flowers, bark, seeds, peel, or resin of plants. Each essential oil has its own specific therapeutic properties :

Lavender - relaxing, soothing and calming
Ylang Ylang - warming, relaxing and soothing
Patchouli - grounding, relaxing, sedating
Mandarin - uplifting, invigorating, stimulating
Green tea - energises, revitalises
Ginger - rejuvenates

Mushy Myths :

White flecks on your fingernails indicate a calcium or other nutritional deficiency.

Microwave food gets hotter once you take it out.

Microwaves cook from the inside out.

You need to consume extra salt during hot weather.



Mushy Facts

In the Philippines, more than 50% of children aged 7 to 17 now smoke - a 150% increase since 1987

- World Health Organization


Mushy Jokes :

She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon.

- Groucho Marx

" Success is the result of good judgement. Good judgement is the result of experience. Experience is often the result of bad judgement. "

" It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. "

- Anthony Robbins

Notes From Robbins

Recently, feeling rather disoriented, I started indulging myself in my collection of self-improvement books. I had been quite a fan of self-help books all my life, but none leave a GREAT impact in my life . Not that these books are useless, but rather I am the problem. I had never really bothered to take action in order to create a better life for myself. But I must agree that to a certain extend, I am now a better person spiritually. I understand myself better and knows how to deal with certain crisis in my life (there is still room for improvements though). With that, I had learnt to break the pattern of a negative thought when it arises. Generally, I am a happier and more contented person.

What I know and learnt for these past years had a lot to do with the book ' Giant Steps ' written by Anthony Robbins. The book is not with me now. My brother, who is working in Jakarta had taken it for his 'reading pleasure'. I am not short of self-help books though. Yesterday, I bought a simplified version of Robbins' more comprehensive work. The book
' Notes From A Friend ' is a quick and simple guide to taking charge of our life. I like it because it is short, simple and easy reading to me. I dread reading those heavy stuffs that comes in thick hard-cover books.

This book provides guidance on how to change the way we see our problems, focus on the solutions and not the problems, and to take massive, positive and constructive action to turn things around. In this book, he said, " Massive, consistent action with pure persistence and a sense of flexibility in pursuing your goals will ultimately give you what you want, but you must abandon any sense that there is no solution. You must focus immediately on the actions you can take today, even if they are small ones. " This is truly an indispensable 'note' from a friend.

Quotes :

" For sleep, riches and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted."

- Jean Paul Richter

" Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict "

- Deborah Tannen

" All sunshine makes a desert. "

- Arabic proverb

Interesting Facts

I came across these interesting facts in the Reader's Digest lately :

The total length of hair grown on our heads in a lifetime is 1100 kilometers should we live to the age of 77 and avoid alopecia

Even when we are asleep, our brain is aware of its surroundings to some extent. That is the reason why we rarely fall out of bed even though we twist and turn in our sleep.

Mathematician Florian Cajori proved that the dollar sign was an amalgamation of "ps," an abbreviation of pesos - the principal coin in circulation in the US until it began minting its own money in 1794. Over time the "p" and "s" overlapped to form $, and the US adopted the symbol to denote its new unit of currency.

The pound sign is an old-fashioned L with two crossbars to show it is being used as an abbreviation. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the L stands for the Latin word libra, the name of a Roman unit of weight that also gave rise to the abbreviation "Ib" for a pound.

Quotes :

"A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse "

- Stephen Dolley, Jr.

" The only way you can control how you're seen is by being honest all the time. "

- Tom Hanks

" A true measure of your worth includes all the benefits others have gained from your success. "

- Cullen Hightower

" If you're treading water, you're losing ground. "

- Stephen Comiskey

Laughter IS The Best Medicine.

I want to know what good is a web engine that returns 324,909,188 matches to my key word. That's like saying, " Good news! We've located the product you're looking for. It's on Earth."

- W. Bruce Cameron

Quotes :

' Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds '

- Elie Wiesel

' If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'

- Cicero

9/11

Reading about Sept. 11 again brought back so many sad images.
I remember images of the towers collapsing, people falling, and the horror struck faces.

The Cendawan Story

I am a cute and adorable 'mushroom'. Cute is the word that others normally use to describe
me. The reason is because I am a little shorter than the ordinary female in Malaysia. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about my little 'imperfection'. In fact, I am quite happy with the way I am. Being short does have its advantages. For one, I am usually considered 'young' because of my size. Some even take me for a teenager.

Apart from that, I am of the opinion that every healthy and able person should be grateful that he/ she can live the way he/ she wants, eat the things he/she likes and do whatever that his/her heart desires. When I am down and feel that life is being unfair to me, I will make myself think of the suffering people out there. By doing that, the days would be more bearable.

Cendawan is growing

This is my first blog. Hurray!
Cendawan is sprouting out from the ground!
Cendawan grows on cyberspace.