NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 5
AUGUST 2009
NUMBER 8

NARA'S NOTEPAD

IS

SUPPORTED BY

READERS LIKE YOU

LIFE IS
WHAT YOU
MAKE IT

MEMO FROM NARA

Some of us – men and women are happy to see others in trouble and unhappy. At times they won’t bother to add fuel to the fire even. Such an attitude attracted my attention and induced me to observe such people closely. One of the things I found was that all such people are selfish and interested in knowing more personal matters of others. They do not hesitate even to ask inconvenient questions to draw the facts of family secrets. They do add some more salt and masala to pass on to their friends. These people cannot be the true friends. Such people are in fact, very dangerous. They are found everywhere in our society. They are in every religion, caste and creed. In spite of good advices offered by various religions, these people follow the path of seeing others unhappy. They are sadistic according to psychologists. Sadism is a mental disease which has to be treated with appropriate measures. Seeing others happy and not in trouble really keep us happy and healthy. Even in educational institutions, senior students – some, not all – are involved in ragging the fresher. In the real sense, these so called senior students like to see the fresher unhappy by uncivilized behaviors which lead to mental agony and even suicides. We hear such news every academic year. Supreme Court of India has passed stringent laws against ragging. Still ragging is continuing in colleges at big or small level. It means that there are some students who are bent upon seeing the fresher unhappy by ridiculing them. Such an attitude has been discussed and researched to find a solution for curing it and make them as normal persons. Still not much has happened. Even political parties are happy to see their opponents unhappy and in trouble. Probably the attitude is ingrained in the genes of human beings in general. How to remove the genes and change this attitude of these people? Genetic engineering may be one of the methods to solve this problem. Another way is to avoid such people in one’s life. Avoiding these people as friends or friends’ friends is a better method to keep our self safe from them. However, let us not become one among these sadists and strengthen their number. ‘Make others happy and be happy’ should be the motto of life.

NARA'S NOTEPAD GOES TO PRESS...

Now onwards form August 2009, NARA’S NOTEPAD will be printed in an offset press to make the print impressive for you although the cost involved is little more! Still I hope it is bearable with the kind support of readers like you. NN is a free publication for distribution to all those who believe that motivation and inspiration are essential for happy and healthy life of everyone on earth. In this connection I thank the following supporters.

Dr. P. Kandaswamy

Mr. N. Palaniswamy

Dr. K. M. Ramanathan

Dr. Rani Perumal

Dr. T. Nagendra Rao

Dr. P. K. Aiyasamy

Dr. K. G. R. S. Sai Babu

Dr. R. Sivagami Vadivelu

Dr. T. Ramesh

Mr. Arthanarisamy

- NARA

JUST TO LAUGH...

A haughty lady was walking around an art exhibition, loudly criticizing the paintings. She stopped before one and asked the attendant, “I suppose this hideous monstrosity is what they call modern art.” “No. ma’am, said the attendant. “That’s what they call a mirror.”

“How come this book has only characters without stories?” – Ramu asked the librarian.

“Oh! You are the one who took the telephone directory.”

“I am one year elder to you, can’t marry you” said Ramu’s girl friend. “No problem, then I’ll marry you next year.” Ramu replied.

MILLION DOLLAR LESSON

"Always carry a notebook.

Write everything down.

When you have an idea, write it down.

When you meet someone new, write down everything you know about them.

That way you will know how much time they are worth.

When you hear something interesting, write it down.

Writing it down will make you act upon it.

If you don’t write it down you will forget it.

THAT is a million dollar lesson they don’t teach you in business school!"

WHY IS MONEY REFERRED TO AS 'BUCKS?'

In the old days, when people wanted to buy something, they usually traded or bartered what they had. When a hinter (supplier) wanted grain form a farmer, he usually traded animal skin or dried meat for it. The term ‘buck’ is actually the short form of ‘buckskin.’ A buck, as you know is a male deer; ‘buck skin’, therefore, is the skin of this deer. Hunters, when they did business made use of ‘buckskins.’ Later on, with passage of time the word ‘buckskin’ in everyday conversation was shortened to ‘buck’. When paper money was introduced much later, people began to call it ‘buck’.

QUOTES...

Society is like salt water, good to swim in and hard to swallow. – Arthur Stringer.

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too. – Somerset Maugham

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one per cent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. – Thomas Jefferson

Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be. – James Baldwin

Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is always in vain. – John F. Kennedy

GOOD SPEECH

1. Should be brief.

2. Explanations should be comprehensible to the listener.

3. Listener should find it pleasant.

4. Pleasing words should be used.

5. Profound thoughts should be conveyed.

6. Should have proper introductions, body and conclusion.

7. It must not be too scholarly.

8. The purpose of the speech must be attained.

9. The points must be illustrated with good examples.

10. The listener should not be overwhelmed.

LINES I LIKED...

• The gambling addiction destroys individuality.
• The power to change or seek a better future lies within you.
• If you have too much, it screws you up.
• Today the world needs more leaders who bridge differences rather than those who capitalize them.
• Is there a law that you can’t make profits?
• One should not curse someone who is in his last stage.
• Coercion is not the best form of adherence.
• The world is what you make it.
• Greater use of public transport might reduce congestion in towns and reduce the carbon footprint of commuters.
• For a service to be successful, it should match real user needs.

PRINCIPLES FOR BETTER HEALTH AND LIVING...

1. HEREDITY: This is what you are given from your parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. If your mother or father had heart trouble, or any organ of their body did not work, then you know you may have a weakness towards that organ. We know if there is a history of disease in the family you should take extra care of your health regarding that disease. Heredity is something you are born with. However, it is what you do and how you live with, that will determine your health.

2. DIET: It has been said, "You are what you eat." While heredity does play a large role in everyone's health, it is not the only factor. By eating the food, you will strengthen the organs of the body. You will have pep, vigor and full of life. What does a proper good old common sense diet mean? Eat abundantly of herbs, raw or gently cooked vegetables, fruits of all kinds and raw nuts. By eating the natural foods, we strengthen the entire body, giving nourishment to a weak organ, helping eliminate waste matter from the body, and most importantly, cleansing and purifying the blood. The Bible says, "Herbs were given to man as his food and medicine."

3. WILL: Your mental state of mind. How much do you want to be well, free of disease, discomfort and pain? You and you alone can improve the heredity factor. Eat the proper food with good old common sense. Keep the body clean and exercise each day. Your good health is a life long commitment of your will, your attitude, and your thinking.

4. EXERCISE: Exercise means staying active. Look to each day as a day of activity. To be able to work is a blessing. Try to take a good long walk each day. Do not be afraid to use your body the way God intended. Exercise so that you breathe deeply. Oxygen is very important to your body's needs. Research has shown that people in nursing homes, both men and women, in their 70s, 80s even 90s, who have been put on a daily exercise program feel better, and their health has improved. They even feel better about themselves. Do not let a day go by without some form of exercise.

ADVICE...

If you want to reach the highest levels of success, you have to zealously guard the input you allow to come into your life. You must control your own programming, and reject the poisonous stuff most people are trying to feed you. In order to focus on success, it is imperative that you spend more time on your own personal growth. Each morning and each evening before you go to bed, spend time on focusing on something positive. You are the foundation from which all your dreams are made reality. This is the only way you can guarantee your success, wealth and happiness... - Dr. Robert Anthony

You will always find a way to make yourself happy!

Meet you next month – SEPTEMBER, 2009

Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP

E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com Ph : 0422 2423017 Mobile : 98422 42301

http://www.nara2007.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S NOTEPAD)

www.nara.tumblr.com (NARA’S DIGEST)

www.nara1.vox.com (NARA’S POSTCARD)

www.nsdigest.blogspot.com (NARA’S SCIENCE DIGEST)

NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 5

JULY 2009

NUMBER 7

SUPPORTED
BY
READERS LIKE YOU

BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU DO.

MEMO FROM NARA

It is a kind of human tendency to prove oneself always right. Dominance is the order of the day. However much one says that we are all equal, the ego of dominance dominates every one of us. One fights tooth and nail to prove one’s point. But sometimes the fight gets defeated because of no valid evidence or proof. When two persons fight, it is quite normal that one will be certainly defeated. All of us know this fact. In a fight to prove that one is always right, one may succeed and achieve the dominance. The tendency of always right is a black spot on one’s character and it mars one’s image. It is an ego which makes one to say that others are wrong. In fact, this is one of the means of protecting one’s ego. Everyone wants to be strong in their general knowledge. If there is a slight weakness in it, then the ego enhances the tendency of inducing dominance over the other person. Such behaviors are very common with rich, wealthy, arrogant and highly confident persons. By raising the voice and confusing others one tries to prove his point through weakening others point of view.

Since such an ego of feeling that one is always right is not correct, one has to be more humble and look at things from other person’s point of view and appreciate his perspective. One has to ask oneself whether he or she is really right or wrong. So one should learn to absorb other’s views and see whether one is really right or wrong. A truth is always a truth. One can not prove otherwise. Hence we can not declare unilaterally we are right and others are wrong. Such an attitude is not accepted in the society of learned persons. But in today’s world, we find majority of the people think that they are always right in spite of sermons given by religious leaders and learned legends. Is it because of the selfish nature we fall prey to this unpleasant attitude? Such superiority complex is shown even to close relatives like wife, children and friend. Making others fool is the philosophy behind this behavior which does not bring happiness in one’s life. In fact such behaviors bring no peace of mind and harmony in personal relationships. It is not an easy job to avoid the attitude of ‘always right’; however it is challenge in everyone’s life to get rid of this ego and move forward towards a pleasant and happy life.

THE ART OF SPEAKING...

1. A speech should not be devoid of essential details.
2. It should not elaborate on insignificant points.
3. There should be no repetition.
4. There should not be contradictory statements.
5. Do not assert one thing and also its opposite.
6. Wrong pronunciation of words should be avoided.
7. The speaker must not confuse the listeners.
8. There should be clarity of thought in enunciations.
9. A speech should not be aimless chatter or gossip.
10. Irrelevant details and digressions should be shunned.

MPOWER

MPOWER is a WHO developed concept for tobacco control. Each letter of this word denotes one important tobacco control strategy:

Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies.

Protect people from tobacco smoke.

Offer help to quit tobacco use.

Warn about the dangers of tobacco.

Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Raise taxes on tobacco.

JUST TO LAUGH...

Three men having tea in a restaurant were talking about books.

“Books have a great influence on us,” said one of the men. “When my wife was expecting, she read Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, and do you know what happened? She delivered twins.

“When my wife was expecting she read The Three Musketeers,” said the second man, “and she delivered triplets.”

The third man fainted. When they revived him, he blurted, “My wife is expecting, and she’s reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves!

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went camping. After a good meal and a bottle of wine they lay down in their tent and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged Watson awake “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.” ” What does that tell you?” Holmes questioned. Watson pondered a while “Astronomically, it tells me that here are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically I observe Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically I can see God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?” Holmes was silent for a minute, and then spoke. “Watson, you ass, someone has stolen our tent”

DISEASE AND ILLNESS

Disease and illness are commonly used as synonyms and clearly highlight the lack of conceptual clarity. Medical definitions of disease emphasize the pathological process and the deviation from the biological norm. Diseases are pathological entities conceptualized by physicians who offer scientific casual explanations and prescribe treatments with the aim to cure. Illness, on the other hand, is the patient’s experience of ill health, is influenced by culture and focuses on the relief of suffering. Where there is an overlap between disease and illness, the divide persists because of the absence of a one-to-one relationship between disease and illness. Similar degrees of pathology generate different amounts of pain and distress. The course of a disease can be different from the trajectory of an illness. In addition, illness can also occur in the absence of disease (for example, medically unexplained physical symptoms causing distress). These result in differences in perspectives about the condition between doctors and their patients.