SUMMER LOTUS

July 10th, 2022 3 min read

A story goes like this;

There was a young monk who could not keep still during his meditation.

During each session, he was disturbed by the specter of a spider crawling in front of him.

The young monk told his master that he could not chase the spider away. His master then suggested that during each session, he circled the spider with his pen to see where it was exactly.

The young monk did as told and he felt relaxed after that. But when he opened his eyes later, he found that he had circled his own belly.

The master told him, “Young man, you need to have a quiet mind and heart. Only in this way, you can stay detached from the rest of the happenings and enjoy your life in peace.

I am much like the young monk except that my spider will be running berserk and I cannot circle it.

To quiet my mind, I would like to. mention three ways that have helped me enter a peaceful realm and I hope they are useful to you too.

1 The magic of listening to music.

It’s only recently that I find. classical and. instrumental music contributes much to my general well-being and mood. Guess I have been caught up with life.

On research, classical music has a calming effect that releases dopamine, the feel-good hormones that clear thinking and reduce cortisol and. blood pressure.

This Mozart effect has instilled general calm in everyone in my workplace. I tried it on my active puppy who would literally roll over and snooze in a matter of minutes.

2 The magic of staying positive

I try to read something positive every day.

Every day we are bombarded with bad news – now the world has a climate crisis, war crisis, financial crisis, food crisis, oil crisis, migrant crisis, etc

What can one really do?

Choose to switch your focus to more positive news.

I do my part to alleviate any situation by praying, reducing waste, giving away my excess stuff and noting that steps are being taken globally to solve existing problems.

I know that remarkable progress is made on a daily basis and the world is not going to be extinguished. Things will get better.

3 The magic of Being in the now.

This brings me to a story;

A student once asked his teacher, “ Master, what is enlightenment?”

The master replied, “ When hungry, eat, when tired, sleep.”

Based on this teaching, I am not an enlightened person at all. Because my mind lights up like a 1000W bulb when I am eating or sleeping. My good friend tells me that I need to calm my tsunami mind.

I try to live in the now and it is much more calming. I am doing my best in the present moment. The past is gone, and the future is unknown.

Only at that moment when you are fully aware and doing your best, you are fully alive.

Conclusion;

Three simple steps – By using the magic of listening to classical music, the magic of staying positive, and the magic of living in the now, I have attained much inner peace and quiet.

A writer on medium saved me.

Jun 21st 2022 2 min read

I was trying to get back to picking up my Jap language which I have left on the back burner for almost 5 years.

The language has never left me but the standard that I have built myself to when I last studied it has slid.

I turned to medium and found the article “To succeed at anything, make it insanely easy to take action almost every day” by Thomas Oppong.

I harbored the ambition of joining the Japanese speech contest for the open category which includes seniors like me. It is on my bucket list.

I have been to Japan countless times but I covert the prize of that. free air ticket that would come with a homestay. But flipping through the Japanese magazine by literary Writers, I was exasperated to be checking almost every other word and whole sentence’s meaning.

After reading Thomas’ article, it dawned on me that I have aimed too high. I should just focus on the simple textbooks that were taught in classes years ago. To retrieve some of the basic sentence structures that have eluded my memory.

To put Thomas’ suggestions into practice, I try to make them simple and actionable, every day.

I put the easiest textbook that I could cope with on the table and marked the article that I know would jerk my memory and start my learning.

I have also allotted time each day to pursue each lesson. Until they become second nature and the words come flooding back.

My Japanese-English app is already on my mobile. My workbook is ready for sentence construction. I will be ready to pen a short article.

Tomorrow and the days ahead will be profitable.

I believe with my daily small actions, will blossom into a meaningful speech.

That is the wonderful thing about medium. The choice and chance to read articles by authors can empower one to carry on pursuing one’s dreams.

It is what I turn to often for motivation and inspiration and I hope to be a contributor too.

Jun 19th 2022 2 min read

Why does some speaker arrests your attention, holds you spellbound, hanging on to their every word like cascading gems? There is really no secret. It boils down to being authentic.

Among Toastmasters who are specially trained through the Toastmasters Pathway designed by Toastmasters International, there would be members who have honed themselves to the point that they become interesting speakers. Such is the value of Toastmasters training but it requires the member to participate earnestly, correct himself with the feedback he has received during each evaluation, and practice fervently.

Recently, we were enlightened much by a veteran Toastmaster who evaluated the meeting where many of the members spoke. He interested us in his evaluation which I feel will bring much progress in our next meeting.

Effective speakers (including evaluators) have the following traits;

Sincerity — A sincere speaker is not pretentious. He states facts that may be backed by evidence. He does not mince his words but there is no malicious attempt to hurt anyone. The words ring true and find approval by the audience as they are rational, reasonable, and real. A sincere evaluator has the courage to put forth his evaluations in a motivating and non-threatening manner to spur more progress in the speaker’s future attempts.

He offers positive feedback with no whitewashing of a fellow speaker’s performance and speech content. That is how the speaker who is being evaluated will improve if he or she does not take it personally.

Discerning — The evaluator has an outstanding judgement ability. This comes with good listening skills which is a focused activity. He will pick up the nuances of the language spoken, highlighting the good use as well as the mistakes made.

As a general evaluator that evening, his comments and recommendations for the speakers and the night’s proceedings were relevant and valuable to future meetings’ outcomes.

Compelling — -Our evaluator made a compelling speech as his speech delivery was smooth and succinct. It helped that he has a good command of the English language.

One need not have complex expressions but he fascinated us with his choice of appropriate choice of words and phrases that painted the scenario for us. In short, he has a fascinating way of speaking without offending yet entertaining and enlightening us.

It takes years of honing one’s speeches involving content, delivery, and language use to reach a level that is seen in an effective speaker.

SIM II Toastmasters Club is one such club that a good speaker wannabe may want to get involved in for a start.