In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is stoned to death.

- Joan D. Vinge

Ever since I started to write again problems seem to be cropping up again and again. Each and every time I sit down to write something, the question of what to write arises invariably.

Poetry is fine as it’s an expression of emotions and thoughts weaved around a simple theme. I am not someone who writes a lot of stuff especially long blog posts. Poems are always short and crisp, but writing a blog post takes some time and a lot of thinking to arrive at a subject. By the time I end up thinking about a subject and what to write, various other thoughts come in or I end up using those thoughts towards a poem.

I definitely do not want to write on current affairs or stuff making news cos there are a zillion other blogs writing about it. In this new avatar, I am trying to write something original, something mine.

The problem is what I like and what I believe in are so random, that people would “label” me as a “weirdo” . But then, this is my blog and I write what I want to write. Oh yeah, except for a few (certain) people (I wonder what is the plural for people???) in my life, I really do not bother with what others think, as end of the day, I am what I am and I am happy being that, even if I look like a weirdo . But yeah, do let me know what you think, cos that helps me to know what you think about me and maybe prove you wrong .

ps: at the start of writing this, I had nothing to write about, yet still managed to write so much .  hmm… hmm…

Something long pending, but never quite got around writing it.

Whenever people hear that I write poems, their first reaction is that of a deep shock and surprise . Not even in their wildest imagination, anyone would have thought so. And I don’t blame them, because I never thought I could write something meaningful .

One thing I never do is, talk about what has happened – be it yesterday or couple of years ago. Only a very few people actually know about it and I prefer that only a few only know about it. It’s not something that I want to say to all because it might change what people think about me . And at the same time, I am very much happy with letting people think what they want because I know what I am and that’s what matters most (ofcourse, there are certain people whom I trust, respect, care about whose opinion I value a lot and only to them, I tell about the past ) .

It is purely by accident that I realized I could write and due to certain incidents, I started writing . Initially it was purely to keep myself distracted from certain things and thoughts. Over time, I felt confident to publish them in a discussion forum, I frequented and that changed everything. I came into contact with a very good friend and an extremely talented poet, who through his writings inspired, educated and honed my “rather amateurish” writing .

As I started to experiment by writing more and with expert guidance from him, I gradually settled down to a form/style of writing that was very comfortable for me. But then I got stuck as to what to write. Then I decided to write what I wanted to say. I do not express or say my emotions to people, so what better way than to get them out as poetry.

To cut a rather long story, right now my writing falls broadly into 3 categories

• What I feel – my emotions, thoughts and feelings.
• What I see – movies, other people, other incidents etc…
• What inspires/affects me – again from movies, music, real life incidents etc…

To a normal person, what I write may sound very random and lacking any meaning. Simply because they might not be comfortable in acknowledging certain inner emotions, which I am very comfortable in dealing with.

Yeah, if you don’t seem to understand my poetry, it’s ok, time will come when it will make perfect sense to you. Till then, keep reading while I continue writing

Originally posted in Stepcase Lifehack by Mary Jaksch

In his book “The Tipping Point”, Malcolm Gladwell describes three different types of people, Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

Which are you?

Connectors are people specialists.

The following questions will help you decide whether you are a Connector:

1. Do you know a lot of people?
2. Do you like people?
3. Do you tend to remember peoples’ names?
4. Do you enjoy going to parties and meeting new people?
5. Do you collect acquaintances?

If you answered ‘yes’ to four or five of these questions, you are a Connector.

The strength of Connectors is that they know and keep in touch with many people.

They also tend to associate with other Connectors. Because of their rich network of friends and acquaintances, Connector are trendsetters. The upside of a Connector is that he or she is able to create and maintain long-lasting friendships. The downside is that Connectors can be dazzled by their vast collection of acquaintances, without investing in real friendships. Gladwell explains:

Connector are people who link us up with the world. People with a special gift for bringing the world together.

The power of Social Media on the Internet is the power of connectors. Power-users of StumbleUpon or Digg are Connectors. They can make or break the success of a blogpost because they are people specialists who cultivate a network of online friends.

Mavens are information specialists.

They are the ones who tell Connectors about what’s hot. They always have the newest inside scoops on gadgets and specials. The upside of Mavens is that they amass a vast store of knowledge and are eager to share it with others. The downside is that Mavens can sometimes be a bit geeky and awkward around people.

Here are some questions that will help you decide whether you are a Maven:

1. Do you enjoy reading junkmail?
2. Do you seek out the specials in your local supermarket?
3. Do you tend to watch trends and know what’s ‘in’?
4. Do you study the market before buying a new gadget?
5. Do you tell your friends about special deals?

If you said ‘yes’ to four or five of these questions, you are a Maven.

Mavens want to educate, not to sell.

They take delight in finding out the special deals that will save them money. And they are interested in new technology. They are the ones on the Internet who are the first to investigate new software, or a new laptop or mobile phone. And they don’t keep what they find to themselves. They publish articles about their findings or let their socia media friends know what they think.

Salesmen are charismatic.

They are able to build instant rapport with another person and gain their trust.  That Salesmen are able to build rapport implies that they can tune in to others. But there is also another dimension: others find it easy to tune into the emotions of Salesmen. Gladwell explains that some people are very good at expressing emotions and feelings, which means that they are much more ’socially contagious’ than others.

Here are some questions that will help you find out if you are a salesman:

1. Do you find it difficult to sit still when hearing good dance music?
2. Do you have a loud laugh?
3. Do you touch friends when you talk with them?
4. Are you good at seduction?
5. Do you like being the center of attention?

If you answered ‘yes’ to four or five of these questions, you are a Salesman.

Salesmen make good politicians, spiritual teachers and pastors, and, well…salespeople. Salesmen are larger than life and can make others feel good with their high spirits. The downside of salesmen is that they can be dangerous if they use their charisma in order to manipulate others.

Are you a Connector, a Maven, or a Salesman?

Maybe the results aren’t clear cut? Most of us have some talent in all three areas. But there will be one area where you have answered most answers with ‘yes’. That is your primary orientation.

Now let’s take a look at what to do with this knowledge. How can knowing whether you are a Connector, a Maven, or a Salesman improve your life?

There are two basic schools of thought in the world of personal growth. One is that one should work on one’s weak sides in order to prosper. The other is that one should accept one’s weaknesses gracefully and focus on developing one’s strength. I tend to agree with the second strategy. For example, I pour my energy into becoming a better writer, instead of taking up painting – which is one of my talent wastelands.

The strategy of enhancing our talents means that we should foster the strength we have as a Connector, a Maven, or a Salesman.

• As a Connector we can focus on connecting others with each other, as well as creating groups where people feel at home.
  .
• As a Maven, we can focus on sharing our information with others so that they can benefit from our research.
  .
• As a Salesman, we can focus on making others happy with our good cheer.

What is your experience of being a Connector, Maven, or Salesman?

Originally posted in Stepcase Lifehack by Mary Jaksch

A boring week, kick started into action by Blindwreck (again). This time around she has been very generous in awarding (the recently turned active lazy blogger) me with the ‘Brilliant Weblog Award 2008’. Normally, i talk a lot or rather write a lot of things (as poems), but this around i am wordless . Along with giving this, she also mentioned that i have to tag a minimum of 7 more bloggers.

In the normal world, this would be fine. But, being a lazy blogger, i forgot to attend to this hyper space and over time everything disappeared Been thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking , but sadly i only know couple of people whom i can tag. There are others, but i do not know what they will think if i tag them . But yeah, consider yourself tagged as well if you reading this and do let me know, so that i know you are out there when something like this comes up again and i can add you in my blog roll

There are some rules to it as well:

• When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
• Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design
• Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog Award’
• Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
• And pass it on!

here are the two people i can/want to tag:

Back to the one who (kick)started this revival of this space () – Blindwreck

Someone who writes good, dark, nice poems but missing in action for some time, trying to get a good name at work by writing a lot of travelogues – Obscurityspeaks

sadly, i am unable to tag more, but this post can always be edited and more names could be added. So, get in touch soon

Continuing with the newly found “desire” to write more about non-tech stuff, this is a rewind to the past that only a few actually know about.

Many people assume that I have always wanted to be a computer geek/techie. Sadly that is not the case at all. Computers happened by accident, better still, my attempt at doing something that I wanted did not materialize.

Right after school when I wasn’t sure of what to do (like almost everyone else), I decided to become a Chef!  It might sound very strange and surprising, but that’s the fact. Along with one of my best buddy, we applied for a course in Food and Catering Technology. As fate/luck (whatever you want to call it ), I did not get through the entrance exams and had to opt for computers.

But, my association with food did not end right there. Immediately after the first semester of my Masters, I got a part-time job with one of UK’s top Fresh/Food retailer. And that kick-started the whole thing once again. From being a part-time staff, in less than 4 months, I was promoted as the Assistant Manager for one of their biggest retail units in the whole of SE England. For the next 2-3 years, computers just became an hobby, something that I did only in the evenings or during the weekends. While I did get to become a “proper chef”, I was still into food .

Still, I did not let go of what I had studied. I made sure, even though, I did not practice it fully, I kept myself in the loop and in touch with all things related to building/maintaining web sites.

That came in handy, when due to various reasons, I came back to computers in late 2005 and the rest, as they say, is history .

While there are no plans to leave computers and go back to food again, I still get to enjoy the best of both worlds . My penchant for good food and desire to be associated with food made me create a web site on what is considered to be one of the world’s most diverse cuisines.

The journey is not over yet and for now, it still goes on mixing food with technology!

The movies I watch generally fall into any one of the following categories

• Highly recommended by friends and other people close to me.
• Those that create a sense of deep excitement.
• Movies that I can associate with – personally or emotionally.
• And, finally those that is based on what I like or interested in.

Ofcourse there are other categories that come in, but these are the ones that I can think of right now

In that aspect here are 13 movies that are my favorites (in no specific order)

• Wall-E (English)
• The Dark Knight (English)
• The Matrix (English)
• Elizabeth Town (English)
• Swades (Hindi)
• Dil Chahta Hai (Hindi)
• 8 Mile (English)
• Finding Neverland (English)
• Johnny (Tamil)
• Underworld (English)
• Good Night and Good Luck (English)
• Evano Oruvan (Tamil)
• Dil Se (Hindi)

Since i had to restrict myself to only 13 movies, i have left out a lot and lot of nice movies that would have otherwise filled up this entire page!

next list would be the top 13 songs of mine (that’s if nothing else crops up)

credit

credit

written by SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA for Times of India’s Speaking Tree Column

Do we have likes and dislikes or do likes and dislikes have us? 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 we have to live only in the present. 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 presentoriented . 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.

Do not reject the past or future. Also do not live only in the past or future. 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.

It is said that, one of the reasons Hitler lost the war was because he did not learn from history. He attacked Russia in winter. Had he learnt from history, he would have known that Napoleon had lost many of his men by attacking Russia in winter.

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. Prioritise your priorities. 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 work.

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. Therefore, the present is more real.

One hour. 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.

Within us, there is a dimension of time and beyond time. We live in two worlds, a world of the mind, which is in time and a world beyond the mind that is timelessness. When we are in sleep or in samadhi, we 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, we are beyond our minds. Mind is a bundle of thoughts. More than heart attacks, we suffer from thought attacks.

When thoughts attack us, we 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.