What does one psychologist say to the other as they meet in the hallway?

'Hi! You are fine, How am I?'

;)

Niluvadhamu Ninu Epudaina.. from Nuvvosthanante Nenoddantana (2004)

..and its Tamil remake...Unpaarvaiyil from Something Something Unakkum Enakkum (2006)..heard it on SUN TV this morning, and its stayed in my head since then.... it did sound familiar..A, thanks for telling me about the Telugu remake of the Tamil movie..both tracks are superb! ;) Their chorus sounds a bit like the chorus of another Tamil song..'Asai asai'..anyone else think so? :D

Another good soundtrack is from the new Tamil release Jillendru Oru Kadhal (2006)..

Nice music. Enjoy!

Compassion in practice..When you study positive psychology, you use that lens to see the world..and things that would have otherwise missed one's attention get posted on a blog.

Positive everywhere.. :)

Word of the day:

"Brave"

Synonyms-

fearless adjective unafraid, courageous, valiant, intrepid, valorous, gallant, plucky, lion-hearted, stout-hearted, heroic, bold, daring, confident, audacious, indomitable, doughty, undaunted, unflinching, unshrinking, unblenching, unabashed; inf. game, gutsy, spunky. (ref: Oxford)

All this and more!

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

...or the curse of being hypersensitive!

Its in the stare of a person, the look that someone gives you..

Its in the deafening silence that follows a supposed "joke",

Its in the way people don't say something, and yet the message is louder than the loudest noise you can hear,

Its in the smile, more than the tears that flow through one's eyes..

Happiness, sadness, thrill, loneliness, delight..all revealed in everything but words..

We are a funny race, aren't we? When it comes to the most intense expressions, they are conveyed in silence..language has no role in it, its all about behavior.

Food for thought as I close yet another day...

Oprah quotes..

"You know what my biggest fault is? I don't have the courage to be disliked."

Her ten commandments:

1. Don't live your life to please others.
2. Don't depend on forces outside of yourself to get ahead.
3. Seek harmony and compassion in your business and personal life.
4. Get rid of the back stabbers-surround yourself only with people who will lift you higher.
5. Be nice.
6. Rid yourself of your addictions-whether they be food, alcohol, drugs, or behavior habits.
7. Surround yourself with people who are as smart or smarter than yourself.
8. If money is your motivation, forget it.
9. Never hand over your power to someone else.
10. Be persistent in pursuing your dreams.

Glinda, the good witch in The Wizard of Oz: "You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power." (On a wall in O's home).

Oprah's commencement address at the Wellesley College in 1997:

1. Life is a journey. Every day experiences will teach you who you really are.
2. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. This is especially helpful with men. Don't force them to beat you over the head with the message.
3. Turn your wounds into wisdom. Everyone makes mistakes. They are just God's way of telling you you're moving in the wrong direction.
4. Be grateful. Keep a daily journal of the things you are thankful for. It will keep you focused on the abundance in your life.
5. Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.

(Ref: Janet Lowe (1998) Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. NY)

To my blog readers,

Yes you, both of you! ;)

I'm afraid I've been treating my blog a little like a scrapbook lately, but its only coz I haven't found the time or the mental space to devote more time to my writing- the thoughts are there, but no energy or will to organize them and express myself. I will come back surely with something, but till then please bear with my little links about things I read, saw or heard! ;)

Take good care of yourselves.

God Bless! :)

RICKY DOES CARE!

A few months ago, I had blogged about how I love Ricky Martin's track 'I Don't Care'..here's one more reason to love this fabulous singer..

Ricky does care! :)

A little refresher..here is where you can find 'I Don't Care' in English and in Spanish. And I love the Spanish version too! :D

WHY AMERICA DOESN'T BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION

Full story here

I cannot even begin to comment on this article, I am just surprised that there are some debates that go on forever..even things we take for granted as having been proved and scientifically established are still questioned by a section of the population. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Happy reading.

MISSING: THE ORIGINAL TAPES OF THE LANDING ON THE MOON..

Story here

And I thought I was absentminded!!

TALE OF TWO CITIES-INDIAN STYLE!

Every city has its own history. Here is the story of two cities that I feel connected to ;)

Chennai and Hyderabad.

Thanks, NDTV.com ;)

INSPIRATION

Mozart's 40th Symphony and pop music? huh? Is that possible? Well, when we are talking about music, I guess creativity is unlimited! ;) Check out this new video to know what I mean. Thanks for the song, A! This track certainly put the hip back in my hop! ;)

Well, we all know how songs 'inspire' other songs right? Well check out this Hindi song from the movie Chhaya (1961). Sounds familiar? Yes! Yet another song to be inspired by the symphony mentioned above. :) Goes on to show that something that was originally composed in 1788 can still inspire music down the ages! Here is where you can find info on the original symphony.

Enjoy!

Lovin' it..
M

Now why didn't I come across this earlier?! ;) A university course on 'Popular Hindi Cinema'!!!! Check out this link..

The site has some interesting thoughts on some great Hindi movies of our time. Interesting because its fascinating to read how Hindi cinema is perceived in other parts of the world..Hmm..one more thing on my 'To Do' list..take a course in 'Popular Hindi Cinema'! ;)

Cheers

M.

CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND

Listen here
Lyrics here

A song that is timeless in its quality and in its beautiful poetry (only a genius could write, "Chehra Hai Jaise Jheel Mein Khilta Hua Kanwal, Ya Zindagi Ke Saaz Pe Chhedi Hui Ghazal..). Everything about this song is perfect..the playback by Rafi and the picturisation on Guru Dutt and the lovely Waheeda Rehman, make this song an all time favorite with listeners of all ages..and certainly one of mine! :D

Moments of glory, a celebration of success and all the good things in life
Reunion with loved ones
A time to heal, to restore and revitalize
Back with a bang!

signed: A budding writer! ;)

DAWN OF A NEW ERA?

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing. Even if its an old email id! ;) yes, since morning today I have been unable to access my age old yahoo email id. I had last accessed it not less than 12 hours ago. For some reason it doesn't accept my login password, or my answer to the "trick question" I supplied it all those years ago. Lets see, now, I have been using this id since 1997, and boy this email id has seen a lot. Friendships, fights, making up over email, secrets shared with "special" people, listening and helping friends thru a rough spot, getting help from others, sending out work emails, getting in touch with long lost friends and relatives..this yahoo id had seen it all..and this morning, I guess very naturally, yahoo just decided that this id had worked enough, and it no longer is accessible.

I remember it was SG who had first started her email id, and had talked me into starting one as well. Filled with nervous excitement, I had taken my first trip to an Internet cafe, asked the guy how to access a website, and like magic, opened my very first mailbox on the web. This was followed by chatting online, and very soon an entire network of friends were online chatting from one small yahoo account.

Yes, its been a long fascinating journey with a dear friend. Its time to move on. Hopefully to meet again someday, but happy in the memories that surface each time I think of my first email id! ;)

TIME GONE BY

This has been a long tough month. By far one of the busiest here. Time has flown, a month has gone past, and some work has been done. Some learning has happened. My blog has received relatively little attention and all I can find are scraps here and there, interesting bits of information I found here and there. No time to think for myself and generally mull about the state of things. Some sense making needs to happen, when and how, I do not know. Some rest, some time to reflect, relax and wonder about the path one is on and the place where one needs to go.

Learning yes, that's the only thing I can call this past month. A month of learning, a time spent on understanding how to do certain things, how to go about reading, writing, analysing, thinking. Although I can in no way claim to have achieved something great, I have spent this time in working on a few things, some things I like, some I do not like but are still part of my role as a student.

Some changes are in the offing with regard to my current house, and changing home is something that changes one's life in several ways. In ways that I can only anticipate, but cannot express yet, since I have yet to experience the change first hand. For better or for worse, we move on, learning in a whole new way.

That seems to be the only word I can think of right now. 'Learning'. Psychologists say that an experience can be called learning only when it changes our behavior in a significant way. I wouldn't know about the 'significant' part, but yes, this past month has certainly changed the way I relate to my work in a small way. Doing what one likes is never a problem, since one already likes what one does, so its by choice, by volition. Trouble starts when one does not like or has no interest in what one does, and is still supposed to do it as part of one's job. How does one go about doing it then?

This month I had to do something that I had neither the interest nor the expertise to carry it out. But slowly and steadily, I learnt how to go about working on the problem. I spent a lot of time on it, thinking and even dreaming about the problem and the hitches in the project. I spent a lot of time reading up on it and working on several alternate ways of solving it. Eventually I did finish the task I was supposed to do, and I did submit it. And I realized that I still had fun doing it. I was surprised. Since here was a project I didn't like for several reasons. But I still was able to put that aside and come up with a decent output. I have yet to get external feedback for it, but a big part of what one does in life should satisfy us personally, professionally and intellectually. That satisfaction should be enough motivation to carry on. And that is what has happened. That is what I have learnt.

So I think there is something good in everything. Even in things we do not like at first! It's not always Love at first sight, sometimes its a whole lot of work before one can begin to like it. Its the journey that turned out to be fun, irrespective of the destination! :)

Happy learning!

WINDS OF CHANGE

As I stand before this road today, I know I have no map, no guide, no compass,

The road ahead is a long and arduous journey uphill, towards a destination that I cannot see yet,

'Will I ever make it?' is a question I often ask myself,

Its a pretty natural state, fellow travellers tell me, those before me who have been on this road,

They say its natural to feel this way and think the way one does.

Looking around, I can see winds of change, that bring a new hope,

A hope that perhaps shall guide me to reach the goal, one that perhaps will make the journey more interesting and fulfilling,

I think the learning is in the journey itself, it is in all the questions we ask ourselves and of life,

The learning is in the effort we put in, minimal on a daily basis maybe, but it all comes together, fits in in the end

Is there really an end or just the beginning of another journey?

I wonder....

Need I say more?! ;)