Saying Thank You!

Have you ever counted how many times a day you say “Thank you” to other people? It takes a nerd to do that, but the point is, we often say it less often than we should. To the delivery person, to the clerk, or to anyone who does service for us or help us — [...]

Slow Down — And the Prisoner’s Dilemma

We have seen more and more people advocating and subscribing to simple living. When the material satisfaction has way exceeded our basic needs, it rarely add much additional value to our body and mind. (Consider from a Honda to an Acura, and to a BMW, etc.) Likewise, when the world has been moving fast and [...]

Daily Wisdom — Taking Exams with a Peaceful Mind

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
For students, taking exams is a challenge. In our life journey, we face various challenges — from the environment, relationships, and obligations. If you can overcome those challenges, you will gain strength and experience. But first you must have the will of overcoming.
The essence of Chan is balance. Its [...]

Daily Wisdom — Heart Opening Exercise

Practicing Heart Opening Exercise helps us to prepare for guarding the Heart Chakra. It also exercises our shoulder muscles and shoulder blades.
1. Basically, draw circles with both arms. First at the waist height, second at the chest height (both parallel to the ground), and third draw the biggest circle perpendicular to the ground. 18 circles [...]

Daily Wisdom — Arm Twisting Motion Chan

1. Stand with your feet hip width apart.
2. Bring your arms out to the side at shoulder height with palms facing forward. Turn your right palm up and left palm down.
3. Following the direction of the twisting caused by turning of the palms, twist the arms even more to your maximum without straining. Simultaneously turn [...]

Breathing as a Bridge between Physical and Mental Being

Breathing is important. We can go for days without eating or even drinking, but we need to take the oxygen in every few seconds. If you really think about it, breathing is a very special function of our body. There are a lot of involuntary movements happening in our body, such as heartbeats and the [...]

Yoga Teacher Training Completed

My wife Yi-ping participated in a 200-hour yoga teaching training program in the last 6 months (from April to September 2008, or, more nature-ish, from vernal equinox to autumn equinox). Recently, she completed it and got the certificate! Congratulations! Now she is a certified yoga teacher that can teach anyone who is interested in Hatha [...]

Science: Giving Promotes Happiness

A research result by Canadian researchers has suggested that spending money on others brings more happiness than spending money on self. The result is published in Science in March 2008. Read the whole report here to check out more.

Seminar: Scientific Evidences on Meditation Effects and Benefits

Scientific Evidences on Meditation Effects and Benefits
A Spa For Your Body, Mind and Spirit
By Dr. Pei-Chen Lo
Dr. Pei-Chen Lo currently teaches at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan in the Department of Electrical and Control Engineering. She is one of the renowned experts in the field of Biomedical Engineering, specializing in biomedical signal analysis, CAM [...]

Book: Leave the Office Earlier

I did not get a copy of Leave the Office Earlier by Laura Stack and read for myself, but I read a very nice and detailed review here on a blog I check out regularly. The interesting thing is that I found many overlapping with Harry’s Chan at the Workplace. This means many tactics for [...]

Chan at the Workplace (15)(16) — Dealing with Malicious Gossip and Conclusion

Chan at Work — Dealing with malicious gossip about you
“A bad person who slanders a good person is like
a person who spits at Heaven; his spit never reaches the sky
it falls back on his own face”
When someone trashes you at work, it’s hard not to get angry.
But we must remember, in the long run, it’s [...]

Chan at the Workplace (13)(14) — Criticizing Someone and Dealing with Jerks and Difficult People

Chan at Work — Criticizing someone
“In criticizing, the teacher is hoping to teach”
At work, there will be plenty of occasions where you have to critique a peer, subordinate, or superior.
It is very easy to offend or hurt someone’s feelings if you are not mindful on how to do this.
Before you speak, just ask yourself one [...]