DailyHappyLiving.com

gopimenon June 29th, 2009

Hi There,

The last few posts have been a little intense, so am changing the pace a little for today’s post!   I am going to talk about Ice Cubes floating in a glass of water, from which we will lead up to today’s Happy Living Tip#5.

Today’s tip is also linked to Tip #4 on being Grateful.   It is about taking the time to really observe some  common daily occurrences that we take for granted – and wonder at how miraculous these things truly are!

Today I will talk about one little miracle that never fails to amaze me:

Ice Cubes Float – isn’t that miraculous?

The other day I was at a restaurant and observed that the ice cubes were floating on top of the fruit juice I ordered.   So what?  Big deal?

Hey it is a big deal!  Think about it.   Generally any element in solid form is more dense than when in the liquid form!  To put it another way,  any liquid expands as it is warmed up and contracts when it is cooled down.  This is the principle we use in our thermometers.

So if we were to cool a glass of water the colder water will sink to the bottom and the warmer water will rise to the top!  So by right ice which is colder than the water at zero deg. C should sink to the bottom, shouldn’t it?

However water has a special property called the ‘Anomalous Behavior of Water’ whereby water as it is cooled down say from room temperature, will initially contract until the temperature reaches 4deg. C, at which point it will start to expand!  So at zero deg.C or the temperature at which ice forms, the solid ice is actually less dense than water.  So ice floats on water!

By the way ‘anomalous’ is just another word for ‘peculiar’, ‘atypical’, ‘aberrant’, ‘abnormal’ etc. by which the scientist is simply saying: “We don’t know why water behaves in this way.  It just does!”   I would add “God only knows how!”   

But I do know why God makes water behave in that peculiar fashion.  It is because of the Creator’s love for all life on this Planet, to ensure that life continues to thrive!   Let me explain.

Imagine what happens to the oceans if water behaved like other liquids and kept contracting as it gets colder:

1. During winter, the colder water at the surface of ponds will sink to the bottom and if it were to continue to do so, the ice would also sink to the bottom and the pond will tend to freeze from the bottom upwards, and there will be no water for the fish to live in.  This is true for lakes and the oceans too!
2. Now when summer comes and starts thawing the ice, only the ice at the surface will become water but the ice at the bottom never gets the chance to thaw out.   After several winters the pond would be frozen solid.  If this were to happen to the oceans, we are left with no marine life as well as imminent danger of another ice age!  Finally no animal or human life on Earth!

Because Nature knows this, it made sure that water will start to EXPAND after 4 deg.C, thus causing the colder water to rise back to the surface and cause freezing from the top down.  Thus when summer comes, the ice layer on top can be melted easily by the sun and thus preserve marine life which have been existing under the ice.

• This then is the reason why water behaves in the ‘anomalous’ manner!   Because the Creator loves all living creatures (whether in the sea, on land or in the air) and wants them all to continue to have the gift of life!

Now what has all this got to do with Happy Living Tip #5?  Read the tip below and you will know the connection!

___________________________________________________________________

Happy Living Tip # 5:  Look at Common DAILY MIRACLES with Childlike Wonder & Amazement!

Too often we take everything around us for granted and never really sit down and think about them.

Each one of us can start to identify and think about some common daily occurrences that are truly magical!  Then we will begin to truly appreciate the world and the Creator, which will pave the way to Happy Living; instead of living always with complaints!

__________________________________________________________________

Since there are hundreds of daily things that can cause us to wonder, I invite you dear reader to share some of your own experiences in your comments!

I had already mentioned a common miracle in my earlier post “Thank God for My Elbows!”  Here are some other daily miracles to start the ball rolling:

1. Coconut Tree: How does water from the roots reach coconuts 40 feet above ground?
2. Dreams: How can we touch and taste and hear and see in color; feel all the emotions; as though it were totally real?  Therefore is a blind person able to see color in his dreams or a deaf person hear music in his dreams?
3. Our Tongue:  How does it synchronize its movements while moving food around to avoid getting chopped to pieces by the gnashing of the teeth while chewing?
4. Mind: Where is our mind located?  In the head?  In the heart? or in each cell? How?
5. Etc. Etc.

In life, there are too many things to wonder about, be amazed at in childlike curiosity and to be grateful for!  If only we would do it as a regular daily habit,  then we will find Happy Living much easier to achieve!

In closing may I say this:

It is Nature that Creates; Science merely tries to Explain that which has been created!

• gratitude , happy living , unhappiness , universal laws
• Comments(1)

gopimenon June 24th, 2009

In the last post we discussed some of the reasons behind whether we should blame God or not for the bad things that happen.  I ended the post saying that ‘All Universal Laws / Principles are TRUE All the Time and are completely Neutral’.   Today we will explore this further.

Let us take the simplest case of a well known and documented universal law – The Law of Gravity!   It applies to everything on earth, in our Solar System, and our Galaxie.

On Earth, nothing and no one is exempt from this universal law.

The law of gravity is as true for the inanimate (lead, feather, rock or water)  and for the animate (humans, animals, birds & insects).   It is true for the beggar as for the millionaire, for the saint as for the sinner, for the strong as for the weak, for the philanthropist as for the terrorist!

It doesn’t take sides – it remains neutral, always!  If a terrorist and a philanthropist were to fall 4 floors to the pavement below,  both are going to face the same fate – smashed to death!  That is obvious, so can we blame the universe for allowing the philanthropist to die?

More importantly the Law of Gravity hold true ALL the Time!  Can you imagine what happens if Gravity were to make exceptions?   Let us say God decided to intervene and save the philanthropist from hitting the pavement by suspending the Law of Gravity for just a few seconds, imagine the catastrophes that could occur around the world:

• All things that are not firmly embedded or secured to the ground will fly off into space!  The people walking on the pavement would suddenly become weightless for a few seconds and may end up a thousand feet up in the air.    The atmosphere itself would be thrown off into space by the rotation of the earth.   The planes flying at 20000 feet will suddenly be swept up to the outer layers of the atmosphere and would explode because it is not designed to fly in vacuum.  Even in the kitchen the mother pouring out boiling water from a kettle into a cup will find the stream of boiling water going upwards and may get scalded.  Cars that are going at speed on the ground will lose traction with the ground and go tumbling,  etc. etc.  There will be total chaos on Earth!  It would be like Armageddon – all because the Law of Gravity was suspended for a few seconds to save a `preferred’ life!

So now we know why a universal law has to work ALL the time!  Also why a universal law cannot make exceptions – no matter what or who is involved!   It is we who have to learn how to study, understand and accommodate to it.   Thus there is no point in blaming either the Universe or the Creator for the bad things that happen!

In any earthly system for the many, certain rules have to be followed by the individual, to make it work!   If the individuals are NOT following the rules, it is they who are ultimately responsible for the bad things that happen – not the one who created the system!

Of course when it comes to systems created by us humans, there will be shortcomings; but when we talk of a system created by God, even something so complex as this Planet and its People, it is perfect!  There is no chance of shortcomings!  For example:

• the beauty and harmony between plants and animals: `The Respiration of the animals (which gives out CO2) is balanced out by the Photosynthesis of plants (which gives out O2).
• The `water cycle’ of nature – where surface water evaporates (distilling the water), is collected as clouds and comes down as rain to become surface water again.
• The `anomalous behavior of water’ which allows solid ice to be lighter than liquid water, thus allowing ice to float – thereby preserving ocean life and life on earth (NOTE: I will be posting just on this one miracle soon)
• ETC.

The only shortcomings are caused by our ignorance of the universal laws and many times by our deliberate attempts to circumvent some of these laws because of our greed and selfishness!  For example over-logging, destroying trees and vegetation for buildings, changing the balance of CO2-O2 in the atmosphere by burning fossils, destroying the protective Ozone Layer etc.

In conclusion the question “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” only shows that we lack understanding of the world and the unchangeable universal laws that have been put in place for the protection of the planet and its people by the Creator. God does not interfere or intercede in any way to make either bad things or good things happen!  

God has prepared a wonderful place for us humans to learn, experience, have fun, grow and co-create using our free will, our mind and all the creative powers we have been gifted with.  Whether our co-creation turns out good or bad depends almost entirely on us as humans taking charge and accepting responsibility for our own actions and stop blaming others or outward circumstances or God!

• happy living , law of mind , universal laws
• Comments(6)

gopimenon June 18th, 2009

In this post I would like to answer another question by a reader:  “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”

Another great question!  I believe this is one that many people keep asking, because they do not understand the principle of creating and operating a system.

True Story: A few weeks ago a freak accident happened on one of the expressways of Malaysia.  A bus crashed through the guard rails at the side of the road and the rails speared through the bus.  This resulted in the horrific deaths of several passengers.

Image via Wikipedia

As usual there were a lot of mail in the newspapers saying that the guardrails should be better designed and changed and so on.   Most people forgot that the the true cause of the accident  was the driver and not the guardrails!   As some wit once said:  “The cause of any accident is always the nut behind the steering wheel!”   The guardrails are not designed to keep your vehicle on the road safely if you hit it at 90 km/h or so!  And they need not be!   But as usual the public will blame the highway builders.

Of course there are some cases where the highways are not designed properly: such as poor banking at road curves unable to accommodate the recommended speeds,  road surface deteriorating very fast in the rainy season, high possibility of landslides etc.   But in the vast majority of cases, the expressways in Malaysia are of a really high standard!

Why am I bringing up this incident?  Because it reflects the way people think in general.  They always tend to find someone or something outside of themselves to blame.   They do not accept responsibility for their own actions!  In the case above, if the driver had been alert (not sleepy or on drugs or whatever else caused the lapse of concentration) and was driving safely, then this accident would not have occurred.   To blame the road designers or the guardrails for being the main cause of the problem is ridiculous!

Of course when a public road used by thousands is involved, there will be cases when you may end up in an accident even if you are not to blame.   Some other car suddenly jumps the divider and falls into your path – you cannot avoid the crash and it is not your fault!   But it is still the other driver’s fault – not the fault of the road designer or builder! Similarly the world too is designed to be of a high standard (perhaps the highest standard) by the Creator.   But we have to be responsible for our own actions.

• To take just one example:  In the USA especially, every day we hear of shooting related deaths of children and other innocent people, but they are still very reluctant to pass a Gun Control Law!   It seems ridiculous to me that small kids (pre-teenagers) are involved in  fatal shootings.   If they had no easy access to guns, these tragedies would not have occurred.   But the majority of the adults  insist on their right to bear arms and are negligent in keeping the guns out of reach of the children.   So when the innocent children die, do we blame God or the people whose actions caused the tragedies?

Even when we talk of global events, such as climate change, is God really to blame?  We cause the problems and over a long period  of time it escalates into a global catastrophe!   Just as when we drive on the roads, we have to follow certain common sense rules to avoid accidents, so too in life we have to follow certain common sense rules to maintain the integrity of the planet.

Just as the designer of the road cannot (and should not) have to be responsible for every individual driver’s actions, so too God cannot be held responsible for the actions of each human!  Each one of us has been provided with the tools (our body and our senses) and the ability (our brains and mind) to live a wonderful life in a truly well-designed universe.   It is our responsibility to make sure we do live a wonderful life.

Another thing to remember is how Universal Laws work.   A universal law or principle has to be true all the time and has to be neutral – not a respecter of persons!   This will be discussed in the next post Part 2 of  “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”.

• anger , gratitude , happy living , law of mind , pursuit of happiness , self acceptance , unhappiness
• Comments(2)

gopimenon June 12th, 2009

Hi There,

I hope today’s title got your attention!  Yes there is a problem arising from learning to make happy living a habit!  We tend to lose our motivation to achieve anything.  It is like we are at the beach lounging on a deckchair or lying on a hammock slung between two swaying coconut palms, with a fine breeze caressing you; just relaxing and daydreaming and dozing off.  We are happy and at peace with the world.  We don’t feel much like getting up and doing something!

That is how we will feel when we have learnt to control our thoughts and are balanced in our mind – we feel calm and at ease and lazy in a nice way and have no motivation to do anything much.   This is where Happiness Enhancers become vital!   What is a Happiness Enhancer?   As I mentioned in a previous post, a happiness enhancer is anything that increases or intensifies our happiness.   It can only increase the happiness that you already have;  if you are unhappy in mind then it cannot be of much help.  A happiness enhancer can be any of a hundred different things and vary from person to person.   An example will clarify better:

EXAMPLE:  Let us take the case of a small family consisting of a father, mother and 3 children.  They have a comfortable income and they communicate well with each other and can be considered to be a happy family.   One day while watching the Travel Channel, the children are excited at seeing Disneyland.   The parents then decide that they want to take the kids to Disneyland – it becomes one of their goals!   So they excitedly plan, save some money and in due course of time take the kids on a holiday to Disneyland!   That is an example of a Happiness Enhancer – the goal or purpose of letting the kids enjoy Disneyland gives the parents new motivation, new excitement and enthusiasm.

NOTE:  It is not that the family was unhappy to start with.  They were already happy;  not making the trip to Disneyland would not make them unhappy;  but going on the holiday would enhance or increase their happiness by giving them new adventures, experiences and new memories.

I can hear some of you asking ” Why call it a Happiness Enhancer?  Why not just say anything that makes us happy?”   That is the mistake most people make – they pursue happiness, thinking it is out there!   They chase the money, the success, the relationships, the luxuries, etc. hoping those things will give them happiness.  However those things by themselves cannot give happiness unless we have learnt to control our own mind and choose our thoughts!

Once we have learnt to be happy and at peace within ourselves, no matter what the outward circumstances, then we can go after the Happiness Enhancers with all our heart and all our soul and thus increase our happiness!

It is by not knowing this that many rich and successful people become unhappy enough to commit suicide!   It is not true that wealth made them unhappy as many `teachers’ would have us believe.   They were unhappy  because they did not learn the happiness habit first.    Having money or being wealthy and famous need NOT make you unhappy! Continue Reading »

• happy living
• Comments(3)

gopimenon June 3rd, 2009

Hi There,

Today I wish to answer a question from a reader who asks:

“Your stories about the Power of Belief were interesting.  But what is the point I am to take away from them?  How do I use it in a practical way?”

Great question!  Because I am constantly thinking about these ideas, to me the answer seems obvious.  However I realize that I have not really spelled it out clearly in my posts.  So here goes:

• I said that the `Power of a Belief is in the Belief itself and NOT in the Object of the Belief!’  What this means is that external objects or persons or things are NOT really necessary for you to achieve what you truly want, and can even be counter productive.
• E.g.  Let us say that you rely on Lucky Charms, or Amulets or Feng Shui etc. to help you achieve your dreams. Now what happens when you lose the lucky charm or amulet or a new building comes up and spoils the `feng shui’ of your house?   Immediately you feel worried that your luck or attraction to the good things has disappeared!  But the fact is that the power to achieve your own dreams lies in your own Mind – and your mind is always with you.  It cannot be stolen or lost (unless you overdose on drugs).   So when the Power is always within you, why give up this power to external objects – leading to more problems?
• First let me ask you: “What took away your power in the first place?”   You lost your power because of repeated negative inputs from parents, teachers, peers, books etc. that said you were powerless!   You know things like:  `you can’t have everything you want’;  `who do you think you are?’ `be realistic’;  `Man proposes, God disposes’;  `anything that can go wrong will – Murphy’s Law’ et.   When you hear such things repeated thousands of times from your childhood onwards from people you normally look up to – of course you start believing that you have no power to create your own destiny!  You think you have to resort to many tricks to achieve what you want.  Since the Supreme power is against you, then what can you do?  You resort to bribing God (giving offerings & sacrifices) and make agreements with God (if you give me the promotion, I will shave my head bald etc.)
• The types of bribes seem real funny to me.  Imagine God jumping up in joy saying: “Wow!  My devout fan is going to donate his hair to me;  or light dozens of candles or cause pain to himself by walking barefoot when he is pricked with needles.  I have got to give him his wishes!”   How silly?  God does not ask anything from you, except to make the most of the talents he has gifted you with at birth! But because we do not believe in a nurturing universe, we keep trying all kinds of unnecessary things at great expense and effort, hoping that God will somehow look with compassion at us!
• There is an old saying “If God be for us, who can be Against us?”  How true!  But you must remember that God is always FOR us and the Universe is also for us.  We don’t need all these so called good luck charms!   We already have the greatest good luck charm within us – our Mind, whose powers we have yet to fully understand!

So let’s get back to the practical aspect.  What can you do to improve or strengthen the Power of Your Belief?  You do the same thing that got you to lose your power – you use repetition of thoughts.  But this time you repeat ONLY good thoughts, powerful to yourself, NOT negative and weak thoughts as you have been habitually doing!

• Get yourself in a relaxed condition so that your mind goes into the Alpha brain wave state – the daydream state when you just wake up and are not fully alert (which is the Beta state).   When you are in the Alpha state,  your Conscious mind is not standing by to censor each and every new thought, so it is easy for your suggestions to reach your Subconscious  mind.  There you can easily set up new thought patterns.   If you were to just read your affirmations etc. while in the wide awake or Beta state, the messages will never reach the subconscious and you will not see any changes in your situation!
• Repeat to yourself good thoughts that you like and enjoy thinking (called Affirmations), and believe that your aspirations are coming true!
• Do this at least twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) and soon you will have much more self confidence.   You will then act on your intuitive ideas and thus you will achieve your goals – without the use of any rituals, or amulets or other external things to `appease an angry God’!

So in summary, my answer to your question is this:

“Slowly increase your belief in your own powers by thinking inspiring, positive, joyful and sensible thoughts as described above.   Then surely you will wean yourself away from your belief in external objects (such as good luck charms etc.)  Remember your greatest good luck charm lies within you – perhaps it is dormant;  then wake it up and make Happy Living Daily a reality!

To help you in changing your belief systems, I have just created a little ebook called “My Daily Mind Conditioners’ which you can Download for FREE by just filling in Your Name and Email in the form on the right sidebar.

• happy living , law of mind
• Comments(0)