Ellen says..

I am a huge Ellen fan. I was almost a workaholic when I was working as a teacher but I tried my damnedest to make it home every workday at 5pm to catch her show on TV. I would dance along with her and the audience at the beginning of the show (if no one else was home), laugh out loud at her witty jokes, shed silent tears to the heart wrenching and/or heartwarming stories highlighted and really take to heart her constant reminder to "be kind to one another". Her show had been the most positive part of my otherwise stressful and monotonous life. Kind of a surprise to myself that she had only been mentioned once in my blog.

My friends know how much I idolise her. I am totally infatuated with her! I constantly made references to things, ideas, people, songs mentioned during the show in my conversations with others and come to think of it, many trendy things that I do know about are mostly because they had been featured in her show. Case in point, never laid eyes on SuperM until they performed live on her show. And I actually dislike the colour blue with the exception of what I call "Ellen blue". It is as though she can do no wrong such that even my least favourtie colour becomes acceptable when it is associated with her. So I talk (maybe gush is a better word) about her a lot. I have double copies of her books because I have sweet friends who think of me when they see her face. 

When she first started the Ellen Shop and began advertising her merchandise during the show, I often eyed them enviously. If I know of a friend going to or transiting in LA, I would be sorely tempted to ask for a gift from the shop. It is probably a great blessing in disguise that I do not live in USA because I probably could then set up a branch in my own house. 

Subsequently my inclination towards minimalisim all but squashed any of my desire to own Ellen items no matter how much I like them. Until she started her BE KIND by ellen box series. 
The internal struggle.....
~ a be kind box! awwww.....
* but it will be full of items that you won't need...
~ they are products that make a difference to the world!
* how much more dust collectors do you want to take care of?!?!
~ they are curated by Ellen!
* think of the environmental impact and of transporting it halfway round the world...
~ maybe just one??
...
...

Then my birthday came around... and although I was still struggling within... somehow... when you really want something the entire universe conspires to make it happen (feeling this a lot lately) and today I received it! It sparked so much joy in me just to unbox it! C'mon... it's Ellen... even if it was just chock-full of bubble wrap I would still be grinning from ear to ear. And the fact that I had no idea what the contents were made the unboxing all the more anticipative!

Ellen's note

I count the card with a note and signature by her an item on its own! Hahaha... the main point of the card is probably the descriptions of all the items within but this slightly bigger than A5 square tri-fold card with her gorgeous image on the cover is something I will treasure like all my Hello Kitty items!

Diff Eyewear

Aviator sunglasses! Haven't had one for a while and with every pair, the gift of sight is provided to someone in need. 👍 The hubby caught me at the moment when I was trying it on and pointed out that it would look better on him... so anniversary gift for him settled!

Vahdam Teas

Tumeric teas! Great timing when I am just trying to include more tumeric into our diet... Not sure if it will really be "BEST. TEA. EVER." as she put it but revenue goes towards education of the Indian tea growers' children - the educator in me approves! 

Quartet

A lasting dry-erase pad. Hmmm.... what will I do with my endless supply of scrap paper then? Hahaha... but I love the little message already on it... maybe I will just leave it there.... 🤔

Lotus Bags

Something that I have already decided against buying but lovely to actually own some! At least a percentage of profits is channeled to environmental charities.

BE KIND. Umbrella

Something from the Ellen Shop! So in the end I do own an Ellen merchandise after all. A straightforward reminder "when it's downpouring, literally and metaphorically". Certainly apt in the current Covid-19 situation. Can't wait to use it!

Little Renegades

Cards with basic mindfulness techniques for the little ones. Will definitely try them with Dylan and Erica and I imagine the cards will be very useful too if I take on some kids yoga classes...

Endangered Species Chocolate

Dark chocolates! Though not quite the percentage I prefer (these being only 55%) but helping gorillas (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund) while enjoying a treat? Priceless.

Kind Lips

Lip balms that remind you to #SaySomethingKind and support anti-bullying initiatives. If I am still a teacher, this would be a consequence for any bully who does not understand how to shut up when you have nothing nice to say. Any teacher friends want them?


And that's it! The last time I was this excited about a parcel was when I ordered my leather backpack from Kickstarter. I am really not into online shopping but I think today I finally experienced a little of what regular Taobao kings and queens do with their consignments... 

Thank you Ellen! For being such an inspiration and beacon of light to me and to the world. I love my BE KIND box and I am so blessed to get it for my birthday!!!!!

Volunteering (on the day/in the name) of LOVE

This post is inspired by a couple of things - a newly minted video about #braveheartSG and a FB post by Dalai Lama a few hours ago. So you probably have watched the video before coming to this blog? Did you see me?!?! 😄😄

Dalai Lama says

Not only is it the case that happy people are more willing to help others, but as I generally point out, helping others is the best way to help yourself, the best way to promote your own happiness.
It is you, yourself, who will receive the benefit.

And that is really how I feel about volunteering. Many friends have commented that I am really kind and always helping others, doing a variety of different things to help people, animals and causes without asking anything in return. It appears a very big-hearted thing to do.

The truth is... , at least to some extent, it is a selfish act. I needed it. Many years back when I was a different depressive me, volunteerism saved me. Without it, I don't think I would have survived till now. I do not remember when but I had specifically thought to myself that I should not/would not/did not want to live past 40. It was very dark times.

I genuinely enjoy myself every time I am helping others. But more significantly, volunteerism opened my eyes to look past my own problems and really be objective to see how small they actually are in reality. Oftentimes, it had been a means of escape because when you are busy helping others, you conveniently forget about your own problems. A better solution than drowning your sorrows which I had succumbed to too..

Well, the more I do it the more I realise I CAN do. So even when it was no longer a "necessity" for me, I continue to serve in whatever capacity I can. Besides, I learn soooo much during these activities. From interpersonal skills to technical skills, like I mentioned in this post, I gained way more than what I gave. And that post on the Science of Kindness was also when I learnt that these seemingly selfless acts of mine are actually rather selfish. It was (perhaps still is) my way of loving myself.

Anyway, selfless or selfish, nothing is going to stop me from doing good now. Thankfully with the support of a very capable husband, I am even more able to help whenever wherever now. Thus I literally jumped at this chance to help give out love notes on Valentine's Day! It really had been dreadful to read about the stories of healthcare workers being discriminated. The situation is bad enough and we are being unkind to the very helpers keeping the situation under control?!?

As we were advised not to go directly to KTPH, we stationed ourselves at the nearby Yishun Interchange with our carts full of love notes and sweet treats. Very few nurses or healthcare workers in uniform came our way actually, so we had to make clever guesses often based on the lanyards people were wearing so we could get the items to the recipients! But the positive and heartfelt responses we received..... awww.... I can do this all day.... 🥰

Doing good with my oldie bestie and pals!

Thank you to all the Singaporeans (including PM Lee!) who took the time to pen a love note

What a way to come full circle.. to still be able to give on the day of love, on the day I thought I would not survive to see. Yup, I just turned 40 years old this past Valentine's Day! My fellow helper was bewildered when she knew... well, the science behind kindness mentioned something about aging too.. 😉

Haleeom

 
"haleeom!" not even sure if the spelling is correct but it was 
something i heard before the start of every class I attended 
with YICC students during my Advanced Yoga Retreat to 
SVYASA Bangalore. I don't even know the actual meaning of 
it but it probably means something along the line of "Here. 
I am present." as it was what students called out when 
attendance was taken. 

There is something about the sound of it that I really like. 
"ha-lee-om!" including "om" - the origin of universe. Perhaps 
it is the entire Sanskrit language but I just love how calming 
it makes me feel... sometimes I wonder if I was born in India 
in one of my past lives!

India... to be honest, I never thought I would ever visit the 
country. After the various horror stories I heard coming from 
this place, it pretty much became the only Asian country I had 
no desire to visit - and I have always preferred our part of the
world over any Western countries on my yearly wanderlust-fueled 
adventures.

So when I saw the opportunity which combined an advancement in 
my yoga journey and assurance of safety as we would be mostly 
in a protected campus, I practically jumped on it! It could well 
be one of the best decisions I made this year. I cannot imagine 
missing out on the wealth of knowledge I had gained during the 
trip..

I can't say that everything that I heard during the retreat had 
made sense to me. But much of the gems which had struck a chord 
with me or within me were quickly swyped onto my dependable S7 Edge 
and now here they will stay for future reference when necessary. 

Don't intend to expand beyond the short notes I have taken but 
my favourite guru certainly deserves a special mention! Mohan-ji 
is a jovial and approachable man who so kindly invited us to spend 
a few afternoons with him at his humble house. Those sessions were 
the best memories of the entire retreat when he shared his teaching 
selflessly and with a touch of humor too! 

A final note to self: be open to listening to something you think 
you have already heard before. Much of what I learnt during the 
trip was not exactly new to me but from a different teacher in a 
different scenario, I gained invaluable insights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

*if entire philosophy condenses into one word - love
gross love - gone when not reciprocated
sacrificial love - 
divine love - total surrender

*world possession or pleasures
- mixed with dukha - acquire, preserve, loss - all involved pain
- unsatisfactory - due to always wanting
- makes us dependent - want becoming need

*heat light and colour
eternity knowledge bliss
inner peace

*we are all travellers - time,  space,  causation. aim to be 
travellers of yogic type of mind rather than non-yogic. despite 
wanting our journey to be comfortable but we all have 
attachments - partner, baggage, money. mind travelling faster than 
time. don't let mind be disturbed by external circumstances. just 
an expression leads to physical reactions creating ailments. 
disturbed mind creates disturbances in the surrounding.

*yoga is movement from restlessness to restfulness.

*expect the least without being negative. 

*calligraphy - keep mind and hand at same speed. instead of not 
dotting i or crossing t.. staying in the moment

*indocrine glands secrete chemicals or enzymes directly into 
specific body organ endocrine glands secrete chemicals or hormones 
into the blood stream which circulate through entire body. hormones 
are chemical messengers which are only received by their respective 
target organ receptors. only message is "work harder!" and alter the 
action of the body

*pituitary gland is called master gland because it can control 
other glands..

*yoga poses that simulate glands are gently encouraging them to work 
optimally like giving incentives and benefits to workers rather than 
scolding or beating them to work harder

*like darkness is due to absence of light, anger can only be 
diminished by presence of compassion. 

*principle of body: use me or lose me.

*yoga is hyper extending muscles you rarely use. this causes brain to 
send "new" signals to muscles to relax.  bringing about activation of 
relaxation in entire body. yoga enhances parasympathetic system which 
relaxes the body and improves digestive system. parasympathetic and 
sympathetic systems are functional compared to the nerves and glands 
which are structural. vegas nerve. 

*bee breathing with sound production has additional benefit as person 
pays attention to the sound produced bringing him to the present moment 
which again enhances parasympathetic system. thinking about past or 
future which are stress inducing uses sympathetic system. 

*yoga is the only way to activate parasympathetic system. 
modern medicine has nothing for it.

*one tea spoon of salt to half litre of warm water for kriya water

*laughing yoga: 
hand on throat - hehe
on chest - haha
on stomach - hoho 
cocktail yoga
laugh while looking at one another

*drsujatasinghr.com

*story of missing diamond necklace - importance of awareness that 
we are whole. 

*anything that can be objectified is not me. 

*entire person "zipped" into a seed at deep sleep. last thought 
before that will be first thought when wake up like a seed blooming. 
your last thought at death becomes the seed blooming in next life. 

*gurdjief. happy rich man with no attachments. 

*asana and practices are for people who cannot "see" the path. 
people who can.. just continue their lives "playing a role" but 
they are aware and conscious. significantly changed inside. 

*no lifestyle. only wife style. 🤣

*yoga is to see the de-conditioned the mind, see the world as it is. 

*path of science and religion is the same. to find the ultimate truth. 
science does experiments through external means. yogi's lab is within 
his mind through internal means. 

*Paul Brunton "a search in secret India". problems were not solved, 
they were resolved. all questions dropped. 

*bliss is silence. silence is bliss. yogic mindset is to look within 
yourself to identify what is happening when you are 'happy'. the 
instant when you taste your favourite food there is silence- no thoughts. 

*gross. subtle. causal. 

*urge to live/be immortal/going back to our true nature manifest in
 three ways - have children, have money, have recognition/ fame.  
 
*sleep with awareness so you may wake up with awareness. give 5 mins 
to stay in bed and notice. try not to wake up to an alarm. focus on 
time to wake up before sleeping and you will. 

*have awareness to play your role when in society but be detached 
within. like a lotus in the water. 

*navel region is centre of peace. a-kara chanting strengthens it. 
u-kara chanting makes you full of love for everyone and everything. 
m-kara chanting is for intuition/ sixth sense. 
om-kara for spirituality 

*slow down. not physically but in your mind. quiet down the 
inner dialogue. 

*if mind is fast, start by saying om fast too. it has innate quality 
to slow down. start noticing the gap between two om to get into silence. 

*be & make. be peaceful and you will unconsciously make others around 
you peaceful too.

*wrong things only happen when you are not aware. when you are aware, 
things only go right. 

*three tenets of all religions. charity, love, self-control