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Think like a minimalist: What “essentials” would you pack for a week-long vacation?

suitcases 300x200 Think like a minimalist: What “essentials” would you pack for a week long vacation?About two weeks ago a friend from Rome called me, informing me that she was coming to Milan for a week. When I first saw her getting out of the train, I immediately got the feeling that there was something wrong with the picture. She had no suitcase! All she had was bulky beige purse with a long strap, which was hanging from her shoulder.
When I asked her where her luggage was, she just smiled at me and said that she had everything she needed with her. “Everything” included some  under ware, 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of shorts, a shawl, a swimsuit, a pair of slippers, a toothbrush, a mouse pad (a souvenir from Rome for me), some make-up and a camera.
Impressively enough my friend stayed with me the whole week and never once did I hear her say, “I wish I had brought another t-shirt with me “or “Why didn’t I pack an extra pair of shoes?”
It got me thinking, how much I actually over pack every time I travel somewhere (even if it is just for a week end) and how simpler and less stressful my trips would be if I packed in a minimalist way (no more struggles with heavy suitcases, no worries about leaving something behind, no need to spend hours packing).
What do you think? Are you a minimalist traveler or someone, who prefers to take an extra sweater ‘just in case’?
Are you capable of living out of one carry-on suitcase for an entire vacation?

What absolute essentials would you take with you for a one week trip?

20 Surprising Benefits of Meditation Everyone Should Know

meditation 300x222 20 Surprising Benefits of Meditation Everyone Should KnowFor decades meditation practice has been viewed with suspicion and often thrown into the same ‘esoteric’ pot as crystals, astrology and palm readings. However, the situation is changing fast as more and more people turn to meditation practice, looking for silence, inner peace and tranquility.
If you have never meditated, below are some convincing reasons, why you might want to reconsider and give it a try.
If you are practicing meditation regularly (or at least trying to), keep reading anyway to discover all the physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits that you get while meditating!
Here is a list of 20 Amazing Benefits of Meditation:

1. Stronger, healthier heart.

Meditation is not just a practice to calm down our mind. It has numerous physical health benefits as well. Recent studies have found that meditation can protect us against heart disease and stroke (both leading causes of death in the Western world). Your heart can benefit from regular meditation in many different ways: it lowers blood pressure, improves blood circulation, and reduces cholesterol and atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaque in the arteries that can cause heart problems).

2. Slimmer, better looking body.

I know it sound too good to be true, but, never-the-less, it is true – you can shed pounds without sweating in the gym!
It is not a secret that we gain a lot of extra calories due to our bad eating habits (like eating in a hurry or munching on something when we feel frustrated, sad or bored). Stress relief and relaxation provided by meditation promote more conscious eating helping us to eat healthier and, consequently, stay thinner.

3. Reversed biological Aging Process.

Biological age measures how old a person is physiologically, taking in consideration the functioning of the major organ systems. As it turns out, long-term meditators, who have been practicing meditation for more than five years are physiologically 12 years younger than their chronological age, while short-term meditators quickly reverse physiological signs of aging by 5 years! Try it for yourself and feel your body getting younger and healthier every day!

4. Reduced stress and anxiety.

Neurological studies of the brain show that meditation boosts the intensity of alpha waves – associated with quiet, receptive states that can not be achieved during sleep or other relaxation techniques. This relaxed state combats worry and stress by efficiently lowering “stress” hormones and shifting brain activity to the calmer left hemisphere.

5. Stronger immune system and improved mood.

It has been shown that meditation can help produce antibodies against illness as well as lift your spirits, when you feel frustrated or sad. But the most remarkable thing is that these positive biological effects can last up to four months after the end of meditation training. Which means that it is enough to meditate for a couple of weeks to stay healthy for months!

Read more about all the benefits of meditation…


The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: The Truly Inspiring Story of William Kamkwamba

The story of William Kamkwamba does not start as most success stories do:

William dropped out of school, when he was 14 because his parents were unable to pay the tuition fees (about $80 a year). To continue his education he went to a local library, where he found a book called Using Energy. This is how he got the idea to use wind – the only resource available in abundance in Malawa –to generate electricity for his family. When he brought home bicycle parts and other materials that he was able to collect in a local scrap yard for his project, his parents thought that he was crazy. His neighbors openly made fun of him. 14-year old William ignored them and kept on working…

What William Kamkwamba’s story has in common with other success stories is an unstoppable determination and the burning desire to make things happen.

Watch the video below and see proof that lack of money, lack of education, lack of resources or the lack of proper “tools” are not the defining factors that identify whether or not we will achieve our goals. It is our desire to succeed that counts the most!


What Do You Value Most In Other People?

Dalai Lama 300x198 What Do You Value Most In Other People?There are so many qualities that I admire in other people: kindness, integrity, determination, sense of humor, intelligence, ability to stay calm in stressful situations. The list goes on…
But there are two qualities that I value the most. Maybe because I feel I partly lack them myself. The first one is honesty. Not the “radical honesty”, when you say to  someone everything that comes into your mind, without having a care about what emotional reaction your words will stir in the other person’s heart. But the ability to “live from the heart”, to show people your true self and to have enough courage to speak your mind at the cost of hurting someone else’s feelings, if you know that it might help them in the long run. I have been very fortunate to have such people by my side and I owe them many of my eye-opening moments and self-discoveries.
Another quality I value is compassion and the ability to combine loving concern with clear wisdom. It is a great blessing to see strength in someone who is going through hard times and to empower them to go forward, rather than simply feeling sorry for them.
What are the qualities that you value most in other people and why?

Click here to share!


The Importance of Forgiveness or How I Was “Hacked”

forgive 300x192 The Importance of Forgiveness or How I Was “Hacked”“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.” -Cherie Carter-Scott
This is not one of my usual posts. As the title implies this post is dedicated to forgiveness and there is actually a reason why I am writing about it today.
Last Friday I witnessed something I had only seen before in action movies. I was “hacked”. Not just hacked – hacked in the worst possible way (or so it seemed to me).
I opened my email account just before going to bed, because I was expecting an important work email, and to my great surprise saw over 10 emails from Paypal (my on-line bank), each informing me that my debit card had been charged.
Shocked I logged onto my bank account and saw a long line of transactions from iTunes varying from $40 to $80. As I was trying to understand what had happened two more transactions were made. It felt like a bad dream. You sit in front of your computer and observe the amount of money left in your bank account getting smaller and smaller. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.
When I logged onto my iTunes account I realized that there was no way of cancelling it on-line. I had to wait until Monday to call customer support and explain to them the situation. By then, of course, my bank account would be completely empty.
Fortunately, the situation resolved quickly. One of my best friends had a Paypal account so I just transferred the remaining money there, until I could get hold of an Apple representative and explain to them what had happened.
Later when I searched online to see if anyone else had the same problem, I found loads of forum discussions, where hundreds of people were complaining about being hacked in the past 5-6 months the same way I had been. Many of them had lost all of their money and had had to wait 2-3 months to get it back. I guess this makes me the lucky one, because I had only $481 taken off my account (which is half of my rent).
Anyway, since this post is dedicated to forgiveness, I should probably get back to the topic.
Two years ago if something like this had happened to me, I would have got my consolation in the fact that “what goes around comes around”. And I might have even imagined those guys losing money or breaking their hands :) for stealing from other people (not because they have nothing to eat, but just for the fun of it).
But fortunately for me none of these thoughts crossed my mind. On the contrary, this incident reminded me that nothing that I thought I owned was ever truly mine. It could be taken away from me in no time, just as it had been given to me. And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it – except to choose how to respond to the situation I am facing.
I had no problem forgiving my “hackers”. I struggled to wish them all the best and to hope that they would enjoy all the music and books that they had downloaded at my expense.
You have probably noticed yourself that it is relatively easy to forgive people, who have wronged us. It is much harder to forget about it and wish with all our heart that they will not be punished for their actions.
But I believe that this is what true forgiveness is all about.

The Simple Guide to Long-Lasting Happiness and Joy

rules of happiness1 300x187 The Simple Guide to Long Lasting Happiness and JoyI have a question for you – Are you happy? It is not a complicated question. A simple “Yes” or “No” will do just fine. But when we are caught off guard, we usually say something like, “What is happiness anyway?”, “At the moment I am quite satisfied with my life”, “I have a great spouse and 2 wonderful children. What else could I ask for?”

It is not often that I meet people, who respond to this seemingly challenging question with a simple “Yes”. Yesterday however I met a woman like that.

She was radiating joy, peace and happiness. And she was not a spiritual teacher, highly successful business lady or the wife of an oil magnate.

She cooks and serves meals in a tiny Ayurvedic café, located right in the middle of a yoga center. She had brought my food over to me and since at that moment my friend and I were her only clients, she started chatting with us. As it turned out, she does not have a degree, because she got married very early. Her husband died a few years later, leaving her with a young child to look after. And now that her daughter has turned 18 and moved out of the house to study in England, she is left by herself. This woman had every reason to feel lonely, bitter and unsatisfied with her life and yet she was one of the happiest people I have ever seen.

I asked her what her secret is and she just laughed, saying that there is no secret. But the more she talked to me, the more I understood about how she sees life and how she thinks.

If you, like me, are wondering why some people have everything necessary to be happy and yet they are miserable, and why others have absolutely no reason to be happy, yet they radiate love, kindness and peace, here the Simple Guide to Long-Lasting Happiness and Joy from one of the happiest people I have ever met (apply it to your own life and I guarantee that it will work for you as well):

1. Count what counts.

Often when it comes to finding happiness, we base our choices on emotions rather than the desires of our true self. We just kind of choose the next thing we want and then ask ourselves “How can I get it?” But we rarely know the true reason of WHY we pursue something in the first place. The first step to becoming happier and more aware of the core motivation behind your desires, is to shift your focus from what you can get to what adds value to your life.

Ask yourself “What is one intangible thing I can count today (be it at work or at home) that makes my life meaningful?

For example, for me, my work is not about the amount of money that I make per hour (although, I do have to pay my bills). It is about the difference that I make in my own and other people’s life during that hour of work. I have noticed that the less I focus on “making money”, the better I work and the happier I feel. What about you? What counts in your life?

Hint: it is intangible!

2. Stop chasing after happiness.

In western culture, happiness is perceived as any goal. And therefore, according to our logic it can be achieved with enough persistence and determination. As someone who has taught Goal Setting for over 10 years, I can tell you that it does not work like this. Happiness is not something that we can reach if we do X,Y or Z. It is an inner state of peace, joy, love and gratitude. And since it comes from within, trying to search for it outside of yourself is similar to traveling across the oceans to look for a needle that you have actually lost in your own house.

Read more about 8 Essential Rules of Long-Lasting Happiness…


What Is The One Skill That You Would Like To Master and Why?

skill to master 300x198 What Is The One Skill That You Would Like To Master and Why?This morning I read a list of 100 skills everyone should master. And to my greatest surprise I discovered that I lack many skills that the author of the post considered indispensable.
For example, I did not know how to trap a rat or a mouse and I sincerely hope I will never feel the need to find this out. I had no idea how to “jump start a car” or “change a tire and put on snow chains”. I am not proud of it, but I am not very ‘handy’ when it comes to fixing my car.
And to my greatest embarrassment I do not know how to do a “Heimlich Maneuver”.  I have seen people doing it in the movies, but I never knew it was called this.
I have also never tried to “use a fire extinguisher”, “deliver an eulogy” or “build a shelter”. Although, I do believe it is important to learn how to do all these things.
But if I had to choose just one skill which I would like to master, I would learn speed reading.
It fascinates me how people are able to comprehend words without actually saying them in their mind.
When I read a good book, I actually enjoy reading it at a normal speed and grasping every single word. But it would save me a lot of time when I do research, to just scan the pages and understand if I should keep reading or close the window and move on to the next page.
What about you?
If you could choose one skill to master which one would you pick and why?

The World’s Greatest Wisdom Concentrated in Just a Few Words

pearls of wisdom 300x193 The World’s Greatest Wisdom Concentrated in Just a Few WordsI have always loved reading inspirational quotes. Have you?

To me it is still amazing what one short string of words can do. It can empower you, put a smile on your face, make you think, encourage you to pursue your dreams, and give you strength to face any setbacks that you may encounter on your way.
Over the years I have read and collected thousands of quotes (This has been one of the reasons why I started “Quote of the Day”). And while there are many “pearls of wisdom” that have inspired and motivated me, the ones that have left footprints on my heart were usually the short 3-5 word phrases that were seemingly so simple. Yet so profound.
Today I would like to share some of them with you:

1. “Know thyself.” — Socrates

One of the greatest, most important gifts you can give to yourself is to get to know yourself better. It takes courage. It takes surrender. It takes forgiveness and self-love to look deep down inside our heart and get to know the real us, without masks and false self-beliefs. But it is well worth the effort.
Take time to listen to your heart and find answers to questions like “Who am I?”, “What is my life purpose?”, “What makes me happy?”, “What do I want to achieve in life?”, “Where are my limits?” and “What does success mean to me?” It will be the first step to uncovering your true potential and improving your life in so many ways.

2. “This, too, shall pass.” – Persian Sufi proverb

Nothing in life is static. Our body changes. Our beliefs and desires change. Circumstances change. People around us change. There is nothing permanent in our material world. And therefore, all of our problems, failures, and struggles are temporary.
When you feel hurt, sad, disappointed, or disheartened – know that this, too, shall pass and this realization will give you strength and hope to move forward until your challenges disappear.

3. “Just do it!” – Nike

Nike said it first, but over the years this advice has not lost its actuality. Very often we tend to over think and over analyze things, being afraid to make a mistake, instead of getting out there and just doing something… anything!

Why Do We Do What We Do?

I often wonder- Why do you do what we do?
What force directs our behavior and our actions? What makes us tick? Why do we spend, save, find a hobby, procrastinate? And why do we sometimes do irrational things that are not in our best interests?
The answer is simple – it is not logic that drives our actions. It is our emotions.
Anthony Robbins – an amazing motivational speaker and self development expert, brilliantly explained this concept in the video below. He has dedicated 30 years of his life to learning what motivates people and what it is that makes the difference in the quality of their lives and, I believe, that he succeeded!
Watch this 20 minute inspirational video below and then skip down to my final question.

So here is an important question:
What is driving YOU? What makes you resourceful? What makes you creative? What makes you daring?
Why do you do what you do?

Three Little Rules of True Understanding of Life

understanding1 210x300 Three Little Rules of True Understanding of LifeI have a weird question for you, one you have probably been asked ten times before, – Do you see a glass as half-full or half-empty? My friend’s daughter asked me the same question yesterday and when I said, “half full” without even thinking she laughed and said, “No!” I was puzzled…“Why not?”… “Because it is both!”
What?! I was not expecting this from an 8-year old!
But later when I got home I thought about it. And she was right! It is both… and neither… because objectively the glass just is and water in it just is. And only our busy mind, feels the need to make distinctions and evaluate everything.
There is an old Indian story that demonstrates the same point:
One day a rajah’s son came to him and asked “Father, what is the truth of things?”
“A wonderful question!” the rajah said, “Let me show you the answer.”
He commanded his royal elephant and 3 blind men to be brought forth into the palace. As soon as his order was completed, he asked 3 men to examine the elephant and describe it to his son.
The blind men had never known an elephant before and were excited to feel one for the first time in their lives. One found his way to the elephant’s tusk and said, “It is like a spear”, another examined the leg and declared, “Oh noble Rajah, he is quite wrong, it is like a tree”. The third man touched the tail and exclaimed, “Most noble Rajah, they are both wrong, the elephant is like a rope!”
While three blind were bickering amongst themselves, each telling the others why he alone was right, the rajah asked his son, “Do you understand it now? The elephant is like the truth of all things and we are like the blind men.”
Similar, most of us struggle every day to make sense out of situations, to explain our own and other people’s decisions and actions, stumbling blindly, touching only small parts of the reality, and coming away with a narrow and fragmented understanding of what it all means.
Here are 3 Little Golden Rules of Understanding that you can apply immediately to find inner balance and get a more objective understanding of life:

Read more about 3 little Rules of Understanding…