Who am I talking with??

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to my blog samanyabuddhi.blogspot.com where we try to simplify our life with common sense.

So I was just thinking on thinking, as I see most people are afraid of quiet time for thinking. They constantly want some kind of indulgence, like talking with someone, listening songs, watching TV, eating (yes many people eat just for time pass) and if they don't get something like this then they become restless until they find something.

But I like quiet time, I like thinking a lot. Whenever I get time, my mind starts thinking on various subjects. Encient Hindu scriptures have told the importance of mediation.

So I was just thinking on thinking, how do we think?

Though we don't like thinking, everyone thinks without knowing he or she is thinking. So everyone has experienced what we do which is called thinking is actually we talk in our head. Generally in our mother-tounge.

The question arises is WHO I AM TALKING WITH? Because there is no one talking back.

This, the entity we are talking with, the observer to our talk is actually our subconscious mind. When we think, we are actually feeding our subconscious mind. It is where our true personality lies, it is where most of our decisions are made, it is where 80% of our brain's processing power lies, it is what keeps us alive, it is what controls our bodily functions like heart beats, breathing, it is where our instincts lies, it is where our emotions generate, it is where most of our memories lies including associated sensory perceptions, it is where our self image lies, it is always on, even in sleep, the dreams we see while sleeping are the glimpses of what goes on in our subconscious mind.

Don't you think this silent observer to our thought is so amazing!! So powerful !! It can make wonders happen !!

What if we can use it's amazing power??

Well it is not that inaccessible to us. This silent observer is always in ON state, even while sleeping, so whatever happens around us, whatever we think, how we react to things, all is observed by this observer, it generates emotions depending on what it has observed in the past. It tries to correlate our past with the present. That is why if we burnt our fingers by touching a pan on a stove, we will always be vigilant about a pan or anything on a stove even if the stove is OFF. It is where our instincts generates.

We can't control what the observer has observed in the past but we surely control what the observer observes in the present. Always remember that the observer is watching your every conscious thought, every sensory stimulus, every emotional stimulus, every conversation etc. So do feed in advantageous material to the observer. To feed it we must first think it, feel it. Though first it feels a little different (only different, not hard). But over times the good observations of the observer starts bearing fruits and by the time you also develop the habit of feeding good material to the observer. The good things keep on compounding, good things leads to good things, it becomes a positive feedback loop.

The advantages-

I have trained myself in thinking over problems hard and then when time is over I shut it off, for example, if I encounter a problem in the office, I think over it hard, how to solve the problem? How can I prevent it from arising again? Is there any opportunity for improvement? If I don't get any answer in office hours then I shut it off as soon as I leave the office. Next time when I visit the office again I usually find a solution is already ready in my brain even if I have consciously shut down the thoughts related to the problem. It is where after I consciously stopped dwelling over the problem, the observer took over it without my conscious knowledge, and solved the problem for me.(remember it has 80% of the brain's processing power at it's disposal).

This observer is the subconscious mind can easily solve any problem rather it needs a problem or a task to properly function. That's why the saying-

EMPTY MIND IS DEVIL'S HOME.

So, in a sense I gave you a superpower.

Do remember Peter Parker's (Spiderman's) Uncle Ben have said-

WITH GREAT POWERS, COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.

So do use your superpower responsibly..;-)

See you again,

Till then have a great time..

Sumit,

The POWER is when,
You use ODDS,
To get EVEN.

Life hack - Ego problem

The definition of EGO is the drive to maintain and enhance favourable views of one-self.

Almost everyone has some sort of ego. Ego is on e of the characteristics of the human being. Ego is good for the construction of our personality and living in the society. As a person tries to maintain and enhance favourable views of one-self his/her bond with other members of the society becomes strong.

Trust is the main component that binds the society together. Human being has long ago understood the benefits of living in the society. So to maintain the trust human beings have developed the ego. Ego doesn't let a human being deviate from his behaviour. The problem starts when his behaviour is not good for him or someone else or in short against the total good.

Let me give you my own example of how I got in to trouble because of my ego, got out of the trouble and used my ego as an advantage. (Remember my tagline?? – The power is when- you use ODDS to get EVEN.)

So here is my story- I started investing in share market since I was in college. I was getting good returns. So I decided to not join a job and continue investing full-time. After about 1 year my parents were thinking as I am investing in share market full time, I must be earning a lot. So they started to ask me to bear more and more part of household expenses.

But my earnings were just enough to bear the expenses and there was nothing left to reinvest. In investing you need more money to get more income. (I was getting respectable returns over my investment at that time in percentage terms.) I got frustrated. One day a good friend of mine asked me what's the problem? I told her the above story. She casually said, "Why don't you join a job then? You are an engineer and you would definitely get the same amount of salary as much as your expenses. No need to draw money from your investments and you can grow your investments side by side. And by the way, soon or later you have to marry, so you can't escape the household expenses."

I was dumbstruck. I thought why I didn't thought about it? (I am one of those 99% people who think they have above average common sense.. :P ) Her logic was impeccable. On thinking I found out that, I was subconsciously thinking that people will perceive my joining a job as failure of my share market investing. It was my ego, which was preventing me from doing a logical thing. It was just to prevent misunderstanding of the people. But in the long run this ego is going to do more harm than good.

So I refocused the attention of my ego from the road, to the destination. I thought it is not important which road you are travelling as long as the road is ethical, but the destination is important. There are some roads which we think are going to the destination but we later on come to know that the road takes us to somewhere else, or the road is blocked, then it is the time to change the road. No need to attach your ego to the road, but attach it to the destination you want to reach.

This also creates the same favourable views in the society we live. As I changed my road at the right time I am now at a much more comfortable financial position. My goal of early retirement is in my sight.

This solution of shifting the ego from road to destination is useful in every aspect where ego is involved, for example if you want to improve the relations with someone then don't stick your ego to I'm not going to say I am sorry to him/her, instead think- I am going to do whatever it takes to improve relations with that person. Changing a road is not as bad as we think it is. Also don't make early opinions about those who change their roads.

Your comments on this subject are welcome.

You can use your common sense to enhance your experience of life. Spreading this awareness is the goal of samanyabuddhi.blogspot.com .

See you later.. Until then have a great time...

Sumit,

The POWER is when,
You use ODDS,
To get EVEN.

Story of my pimples.. :P

Hello friends, it's been a long time I am writing a blog post for samanyabuddhi.blogspot.com . Many might have thought that I have lost the interest and there would be no more posts. But it is not the case. I write the posts on my smartphone. My last phone was 'Microsoft Lumia 540'. It has Windows operating system. As everyone knows Microsoft stopped developing apps for Windows based smartphone. So the blogger app on that phone slowly slowly stopped working. I have also lost some posts while creating/posting. And finally on one day, it stopped working totally. So I got discouraged because the phone was a really great gadget. Though the blogger was not working, the Windows operating system was very user friendly to use. The quality of the hardware and software matching was simply exquisite.

But then my banking and share trading apps were also got discontinued. Then I thought it's time to get a new phone. So I purchased this 'Panasonic Eluga Ray 700' with latest Android operating system. And boy it is a great value for money phone, though I still miss the user-friendlyness of the Windows operating system. But to cut long story short, I AM BACK.

The persuit of health, wealth and happiness will never stop and the use of 'samanyabuddhi' (common sense) is the key.

So let's start with the topic.

Everyone hates pimples right?? Everyone struggles to get rid of them or was once doing everything at their disposal to get rid of them. But what if I tell you this is not a post to get rid of pimples but to bring them back..

If still interested, read on.

I got my first pimple when I was 14. I still remember the development of odd blister on my left cheek. Then after a week came another one and another one and then there was an onslough of pimples. I tried every medicine that was advertised on the media, a couple of doctors too.(My friends were doing the same thing.) But nothing worked beyond few days. Then many many years later, at the age of 25 I realised, I am not having pimples anymore. I was very happy. And with the passing time, I forgot the incident.

Now fast forward by 6 years, I was almost 32 and while undergoing yearly health check-up I observed a pattern that every year my 'Blood Pressure' and 'Pulse Rate' are rising. In my youth days, that is when I was below 25 years old, I used to exercise a lot, I had an unstoppable stamina, we used to trek all day without food, little water and very little sleep/rest, sometimes even 2 days straight. My Blood pressure was below normal at that time(70 & 105), my pulse rate used to be 45-50 in normal condition. I used to donate blood every 3 months sometimes even before 3 months. So, though the difference was minute on yearly basis and below what the doctor would call hypertension, the difference was drastic when compared with youth days.

I recognized, the aging process is getting hold of my body.

Remember the article about aging??

Ageing and Anti-Ageing - 2 of the most popular words in cosmetics advertising.

If not then read following articles in conjunction with this post, to understand this post better.

No. 1 Misconception about great health

So I thought I must do something otherwise soon I shall be a victim of hypertension and will have to start taking blood pressure reducing tablets all the rest of my life. This thought was the motivator. I hate visiting doctors very much, and taking medicine is the worst option for me. Because many times I see that medicine is more harmful than the disease itself in the long run. (I am talking about allopathic medicine. And this is my personal opinion. It may be wrong.)

Well to improve productivity I generally think about solutions which solve more than one problem simultaneously.

So I kept thinking about it for a 3-4 days and came to conclusion that if I purchase a bicycle and use it to commute to office it will give following benefits-

1) Exercise-

My office was 2km away from my company quarters at that time. I used to come back for lunch in the afternoon. So total 8km commuting in a day. And further I was planning to shift my dwelling to a distant place 35km away for my son's education.

I thought if I start cycling now I may build up stamina to cover that 70km to and fro distance in one day while commuting, once per week.

Cycling is a great exercise, if you pedal with all your strength all the while and go as fast as you could, it becomes both cardio+strength exercise.

2) Time saving-

I do not have to spend separate time for commuting and exercise. So though one may think that I shall need more time to commute on bicycle than the motorbike. He is right but when you add the time for exercise it is a different story.

3) Money saving-

I don't need to fill the fuel tank of my motorbike. Plus there are periodical servicing to be done, plus capital cost of the motorbike, plus the depreciation in the price of the motorcycle due to build up of milage.

4) No pollution-

It is almost non polluting. No sound, no tail pipe emission.

Now to the real experience-

So I quickly surveyed various online websites for types and prices, visited a nearest dealer and bought a Dirt Terrain Bike (DTB) of Hero Cycles with shock absorbers at both ends and 6x3 gear combination. I had one of the same type in the college days. DTB is the practical option on Indian roads.

That day I didn't get chance to ride but the next day I went to office twice as per my routine with excitement. I rode it like I was doing when I was in college, pedaling with all the strength. That day was good. But when I woke up the next morning my thighs were in pain. I couldn't even imagine walking for a while, forget about riding the bicycle.

For two days I was in pain. Then I decided to take it easy first. So I took rest for the 3rd day too. In 4th day I went to office in lower gears, at slow pace for one trip, for the second trip I used my motorbike.

Next day was fine. So again repeated the procedure so as to sustain the effort. In the next week did the same, that is going at slower pace in lower gears, total 4 km per day. On Saturday I tried riding a little hard because Sunday was rest day. But again thigh muscles were damaged too much and I have to take Monday, Tuesday off for cycling. Again I started with slow pace on Wednesday for once a day.

To cut long story short, I kept on pushing and there were these little improvements in my strength but there was a lot of pain. I have seen a lot of people (not personally, some are athletes, actors we see on TV). And I just thought if they can do it, so can I.

After 6 months the rate of progress started improving and finally after around 7 months I was riding my bicycle with all my strength, with maximum possible speed. And I still had more juice to do other things.

And hey, in the 7th month, pimples came back again.

Now after about 1 year I live in my new home and ride to office 35km away once in a week. My record timing is 35km in one and half hour straight, including halts for drinking water. Those 35km have 13 pair of slopes(downhill + uphill). Some are as short as 300m and the longest one is 2.5km. That 2.5km (only the uphill side) one is the hardest to climb.

Note- I was also doing exercises for the rest of my body in the same period.

Now let's compare the before and after condition-

Before starting the bicycle riding-

1) I used to exercise a little like pushups, pullups, situps, back-situps, squats etc. But still my health was deteriorating.

2) My food intake was less than half of what it used to be when I was below 25.

3) My pulse rate was 90.

4) Though my stamina was better than my colleagues, it was much less than what it used to be.

Truly speaking, there were just the rising pulse rate and blood pressure was the motivator. I didn't see any other benefits at the start but others came to me as bonus.

Current health condition-

1) I do triple the exercises than what I previously thought the upper limit of my body.

2) My food intake is now restored to it's maximum level.

3) Presently my pulse rate is 55. Blood pressure is not measured yet.

4) I have almost never ending stamina.

5) Pimples are back, my skin is oily again, I do not need to apply body lotion in winter. :-P

6) My body is in better shape now.

7) My damaged muscles heal up much faster now.

8) Much improved lovemaking.

9) Psychologically I am again having the feeling of invincibility.(remember your childhood days??)

I think the exercise caused by bicycle riding has caused increase in testosterone (male sex hormone) and growth hormone production in my body which is making me younger again.

But it needed 6 months of constant efforts and enduring pain to kickstart the production of testosterone and growth hormone.

There are some bad side effects too-

(Apart from oily skin & pimples)

1) Increased aggressiveness.

2) Increased mood swings.

In short child like emotional condition.

3) My love for machines has exploded(childhood days are back).

4) My mind has became sharper (more logical).

5) Tendency towards rash driving on road has increased. (Remember the bratty kids on road??)

These psychological side effects (mood swings and aggressiveness) are bad for my investments as it may result in to emotional decisions. Also in my workplace, I am working with adults, so I can't act childish.

The countermeasures-

1) Knowledge of your psychological condition is itself a cure. 50% problem is solved because of the knowledge only.

2) Most of the remaining 50% is solved by reminding yourself to practice patience all the while.

3) Remind yourself not to be too much happy or too much sad.

4) Implement 'Take it easy policy'.

Finally is it worth the trouble??

Of course.. I can't explain the feeling exactly. You have to experience yourself. It is also necessary to maintain health. And health is one of the pillars without which one cannot enjoy the life.

One more thing is that, I was 32 when I started it, if you are younger you may need less than 6 months to get on track or if you are older you may need to be more persistent but I can assure one thing, the prise of good health in waiting for you.

A wise man has said,

NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

Just keep the pain bearable. This is the case of DELAYED GRATIFICATION.

One more thing I would like to say is- it is not the end, it(exercise) is the way of life.

That's it for now. See you again.

Have a healthy, wealthy and happy life.

Sumit,

The POWER is when,
You use ODDS,
To get EVEN.