History of Christmas Tree

Adopted from a post from The Conversation - post of 17th December 2022.

The Christmas tree might not seem like a tradition older than the holiday itself. But as Texas A&M historian Troy Bickham explains, erecting evergreen plants during winter solstice celebrations is a ritual that predates Christianity. When Christmas became a holiday, the practice was simply adapted – and even then, really took place only among Protestants.

It was only in the 19th century that the ritual became popularized. England had an outsize influence on middle-class culture in the English-speaking world, and Bickham tells the story of how an image of Queen Victoria and her tree went viral, launching a tradition that has now become commonplace around the world – even in places where Christianity isn’t the dominant religion.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

The Indian industrialist Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata was once travelling to Germany.

As he stood there, at the door of his First Class Cabin in the Steam-liner, he noticed a lot of activity on the lower decks of the Ship. 

On enquiring,

he learnt that a great Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda was on board the same ship.

Out of genuine respect and curiosity J.N. Tata decided to pay a visit to the great saint.

Swami Vivekananda had of course heard about the respected industrialist.

As the conversation grew J.N. Tata explained that he was on his way to Germany. "I have with me sacks of soil from various parts of India. I am taking these samples of soil to Germany. I wish to know if Iron can be extracted profitably from any of these districts," said J.N. Tata to the Saint.

To which Swami Vivekananda replied, "Well, Sir, Even if these sacks contain Iron-rich soil, do you honestly believe that the Germans will tell you the TRUTH???

You must understand that No / NONE of the European Nations wish to see a Strong /Steel-Rich / Economically Independent India. The soil is probably rich in Iron-ore but the sad truth is all you will get from your enquiries across Europe is Disbelief and Pessimistic reactions."

Needless to say, having interacted with several Europeans J.N. Tata knew this to be true. 

Swami Vivekananda continued,

"Why don't you start an excellent / up-to-date Research Facility and College here in India???

Why don't you train some good Indian Youngsters to identify soil and conduct these tests and find ways of profitably extracting metals??? It may seem like a wasteful, burdensome expenditure right now. But in the long run- It will save you many trips to Europe and you can have the assurance of knowing the Truth quickly- rather than taking multiple opinions due to Doubt".

As he could clearly sense J.N. Tata's mood was in acquiescence he further elaborated,

 "Seek an audience with the Maharaja of Mysore H.R.H. Wodeyar. Though a subordinate of the British, he will definitely help you in every way he can............

.....H.R.H. Wodeyar has been generous enough to sponsor my own trip to Chicago to attend the Parliament of Religions".

As soon as he returned to India, J.N. Tata headed straight for Mysore.

And indeed H.R.H. Chamraja Wodeyar did Not disappoint him. The King granted 370 acres of land for the setting up of the Research Facility and College that J.N. Tata had envisioned and it

was named,

THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

When Two Great Brains Interact, They Come out with solutions for the Nation and for Generations to get benefitted.

Thank you Mr. Tata and Swami Vivekananda for

one of the greatest contributions by them in India. 

Life Position

The child is born free, but he soon learns different. During the first two years he is pro- gramed mainly by his mother. This program forms the original skeleton, or anlage, of his script, the 'primal protocol,' at first con- cerned with swallowing or being swallowed, and then, when he gets teeth, with tearing or being torn. It is being a hammer or being an anvil, as Goethe put it, the most primitive versions of being a winner or being a loser, as seen in Greek myths and Primal Rituals, where children are devoured and the limbs of the poet lie scattered on the ground. Even in the nursery, it is often already apparent who is in control, the mother or the baby. This may be reversed sooner or later, but echoes of the original situation can still be heard in times of stress or temper. But very few peo- ple can remember anything from this period, which in many ways is the most important, so it has to be reconstructed with the help of parents, relatives, nursemaids, and pedia- tricians, conjectures made about dreams, and perhaps the family album.

Link to workshop

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ta-techniques-for-effecting-script-cure-ajit-karve-tickets-427736008917?aff=ebdsoporgprofile](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ta-techniques-for-effecting-script-cure-ajit-karve-tickets-427736008917?aff=ebdsoporgprofile)

Pain

The pain of stubbing a toe and that experienced by being insulted, hurt, pained, or the pain of remorse and guilt is similar and felt equally intensely. Because they affect the same area of our brain. To know more read the article at the link below :

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/body-sense/201204/emotional-and-physical-pain-activate-similar-brain-regions

Medicine is now available if it is intense pain. 

I am That

I am that. Signature statement of Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Explained by Papaji (Harivanvsh Lal Poonja) on how Ramana Maharshi put forth resulting in the liberation of Papaji.

What appears and dis-appears is not real.

You saw him (Krishna), he dis-appeared. You remained. The seer remained. Now find out who the seer is? The real seer is beyond all this. The seer is the abiding source and substance of all that exists. It is called the self. It has nothing to do with mind or the personality. It is the continuous presence that abides timelessly and formlessly as the real nature and heart of all beings. We live in the illusion that we exist overlooking the abiding presence. Directing the mind to the source. This is the enquiry to be pursued. Get the mind to face the source. What is mind? Thought. What is thought. I. Let the I face the source. Now this facing the source is called enquiry. Now the I is facing the source. Just like mirror, reflecting. When you look at a mirror, what do you see? Our reflection. When we keep aside the mirror, where does the reflection go? Back to the face. No this I was enquiring from its own source which was reflected to the mind mind to the senses, senses to the body and body to the objects. So this universe. So this is the method of Ramana Maharshi. Striking at the root of the mind. Other kinds of practices are with the mind. Result will be mental. Or with yoga, physical. By striking at the root of mind, mind is no more. So by getting the I to face its source. The I merges with the source. It becomes that. Thus the man will experience the ever abiding freedom.

For interview of which this is a transcript see this YouTube Video.

https://youtu.be/k-7Iip6lk8Q

Significance of Diwali Days

🎊⛩️🌹 Happy Diwali 🌹⛩️🎊

Diwali is festival of lights held over seven days from the 11th day of the lunar month of Kartik to the seventeenth day. 

People wish each other the best of health, wealth, prosperity and well being during the celebrities.

Names of the festival days are:

Rama Ekadashi

Vasu Baras

Dhana Tryodashi

Narak Chathurdashi

Laxmi Poojan

Bali Pratipada and

Bhaubeej Dwitiya

The significance of each of the days is now mentioned.

Rama Ekadashi : People keep fast on Rama Ekadashi to wash off sins of past acts.

Vasu Baras : Women keep fast on Vasu Baras and worship cows. They also perform puja for Lord Krishna and seek the blessings of the lord for the longevity and prosperity of their families.

Dhanatrayodashi : Dhantrayodashi is the first day of the five-day Diwali festivities. The popular belief is that on the day of Dhanteras, Dhanvantari and Goddess Lakshmi, who is worshipped for wealth and prosperity emerged during the churning of the celestial ocean.

Narak Chaturdashi : Narak chaturdashi is celebrated by lighting lights to welcome fore fathers to guide them and remove obstacles from their life.

Laxmi Poojan : Laxmi Poojan is held to honor Goddess Lakshmi to bring wealth and prosperity to the family in the future. People wear new traditional clothes and ornaments on this occasion.

Bali Pratipada : Bali Pratipada  commemorates the annual return of Mahabali to earth and the victory of Vamana – one of many creative incarnations of Vishnu to  mark the victory of Vishnu over Mahabali and all asuras.

Bhaubeej : Bhaubeej is celebrated when ladies invite their brothers to visit their place and prepare their beloved dishes for them. Sisters also pray to God for the well-being and longevity of their brothers against all the evils and bad fortune.

--------.      -------.     -------.      --------.     --------. 

Parents invite married ladies home so that they can participate in the Diwali festivities. It is also believed that they bring 'Laxmi - wealth, good fortune and prosperity' with them when they do so.

--------.      -------.     -------.      --------.     --------. 

There is also a tradition of Deep Daan during Kartik month, the lunar month in which Diwali is celebrated. Here is a short write up on significance of Deep Daan दीप दान.

Importance of lamp donation in Kartik

• It is said that the person who donates a Akhand lamp near Shrikeshav in the month of Kartik, becomes full of divine radiance.
• Those who light the lamps kept by others in the temple of Shri Hari in the month of Kartik, they do not have to suffer hell. It is said that a mouse had taken a rare human birth by lighting a lamp kept by others on Kartik Ekadashi.
• Donation of earth along with the ocean and donating millions of cows with calves is not even equal to a fraction of the sixteenth fraction of donating a shikhar lamp above the Vishnu temple. By donating a lamp in the Shikhar or Hari Mandir, the hundred-kul is saved. 
• Those who with devotion only visit the Jyoti-Deepti Vishnu temple in the month of Kartik, there is no hell in their family. 
• The gods also wish for the company of the person who donates lamps in the house of Vishnu. 
• In the month of Kartik, by lighting the temple of Vishnu with lamps, right in the game itself, he gains wealth, fame, fame and seven clans become holy. 
• Put ghee / sesame oil in an earthen lamp and light the lamp till Kartik Purnima, it will definitely benefit.

The life of postmen in the West

I have to be careful what I write here but I can't hold in my thoughts anymore.

I've been a postman now for 16 and a half years, serving the community I've worked in for over 10 of those years. 

In this moment in time, us posties are in the biggest fight of our lives. Our terms and conditions aswell as the "postle worker" you know today is under threat.

It's under threat because of the greed above. They say we need to change, they say we need to compete, they say people no longer send mail and they also say we need to be more like "amazon" or other parcel couriers. If this is true, the positive role I've pride myself on over these years will no longer exist !

Let me explain. I'm not just a guy who walks up and down the street delivering "junk mail" and parcels.

I'm that guy who know everyone of his customers, I'm that guy who knows when something ain't right in the community I work in, I'm that guy who spends time with customers when they have no-one else to talk to, to help when no-one is around to help. If there's bits they need I can and will get. If there's a pet that's got out, I know the home it belongs too. I kind of see myself more as a community warden lol than a postman. A guy that cares soo diligently about the job and role I deliver.

We're not just another courier company, we're far more than that and we'll fight to save that vital 

role we provide.

#standbyyourpost

A liberating and empowering story

At a 2019 conference, Author, Elizabeth Gilbert shared this story, The great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, who spent his entire life studying the religions of the world, was asked, “What is the definition of sacred?” and “How do human beings make something sacred?” He responded, “It’s the simplest thing in the entire world, and you do not need a priest for it, anybody can do it. Here’s how humans make something sacred: You draw a circle around it and you say everything inside this circle is holy. It’s sacred because you said so. That is called a boundary, and a boundary is not a wall. A boundary is not something that you hide behind. A boundary is a golden circle that you draw around the things that matter to you, and you say everything inside this circle is sacred. If you treat it with respect, you are allowed to come in, but take your shoes off and bow because you are coming into the center of holiness here. And if it’s not, and it’s outside, then what do we say? We say, “I do not care.”

"You get to decide what is sacred. The sacred thing inside the circle can be your time, your creativity, your loved ones, your privacy, your recovery, your values, your mental health, your activism, your joy, your very heart and soul. You yourself can stand at the center of a scared circle that you drew around YOUR VERY OWN BEING, and say,”Everything inside this circle is holy.” Not because you think you’re better than anyone else, but because you have humbly accepted stewardship over the divine and mysterious gift of the universe that is YOU."

Via Courtney Carver : Be More With Less

The Empirical Self

For James, the spiritual self was who we are at our core. It is more concrete or permanent than the other two selves. The spiritual self is our subjective and most intimate self. Aspects of a spiritual self include things like personality, core values, and conscience that do not typically change throughout an individual's lifetime. The spiritual self involves introspection, or looking inward to deeper spiritual, moral, or intellectual questions without the influence of objective thoughts.^[81] For James, achieving a high level of understanding of who we are at our core, or understanding our spiritual selves is more rewarding than satisfying the needs of the social and material selves.

Pure egoEdit

What James refers to as the "I" self. For James, the pure ego is what provides the thread of continuity between our past, present, and future selves. The pure ego's perception of consistent individual identity arises from a continuous stream of consciousness.^[82] James believed that the pure ego was similar to what we think of as the soul, or the mind. The pure ego was not a substance and therefore could not be examined by science.^[38]

TA Basic Course Feedbacks

I found the session to be life changing. 

I thank you for touching upon the very core of my personality and helping me grow as a person.

The session was superb in terms of content, delivery, pace and the simplicity of explaining the most difficult nity gritties of the entire TA.

I was amazed to learn a lot about my past relationships issues. 

I got to know simplistic understanding of TA concepts and definitions. 

I was impressed to find that you can discuss any topic and have in-depth knowledge of every topic of TA. 

You have the knack of explaining definitions with life experiences. Thereby you make it easy to understand. 

TA is such a large field. You covered its most important aspects in the limited time at your disposal. 

It is difficult to express in words but the way you explain theory using practical approach is truly unbelievable🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

There are very few trainings that go beyond the realm of learning. They empower a new sense of belief in you and the Basic TA course with Ajit has been that for Me. 

There are very few facilitators whose knowledge and humility integrate to serve the learners and Ajit has been that for Me. 

Thank you Ajit for not an experience or a training, but a memory that will outlive Me.

The session helped me clarify my thoughts and be more precise in thinking.

It also helped me to break some myths, particularly the concept of scripts which was new for me.

Thank you so much Ajit. Iwould like to  participate in more such sessions. Gratitude 🙏🙏

The Basic Course training was excellent. I got an overall knowledge and pen picture of TA theory. I have decided to learn the theory. it is an excellent theory for personality change. As a first I will apply it in my life. I can grow and make changes in my life and I can help others as well. Your pedagogical style is excellent.  It was a blessing for me to get the chance to attend the class. It will be beneficial for me in my professional life too. I will apply it in my In my relationships as well. 

I have the don't be close injunction. I will work to come out of it. It will help me to generate cordiality, love and affection in my relationships. In depth study of TA will be helpful for my health and well being and in enjoying good mental, psychological, emotional and physical health.

Ajit, you as a 'Guru', you have immense knowledge in TA and other philosophies. I appreciate your willingness to impart the knowledge with full heart, mind and spirit to the trainees.

Learning points listed by Participant 2

Here are some very significant insights for me:

1. Script And Personality, are two sides of the same coin. 

2. The power to sublimate, not discard. 

3. Duty of the therapist is not to only treat to the patient but to help align systems and build capacity to deal with realities. 

4. Giving permission to the mind to allow itself to take the time it needs to retrieve information. 

5. OK-ness the capacity to enjoy dignity, worth, value, esteem and respect. 

6. Script goals become our destiny goals. 

7. Importance of a contract in teaching, training and clinical work 

8. The criteria of spontaneous options sane, safe, effective, appropriate and win win generating. 

9. The Moving Self Concept. 

10. Reach back and Afterburn in the context of psychological time. 

11. How expletives generate noise in communication. 

12. Ego is the organ of waiting. 

13. Awareness of the role psyche plays in distorting mind's perception. 

14. In giving there is receiving. 

15. How the strict dad and loving mom of the triplets creates three different personalities based on the choices they make in childhood.. 

16. Script free and script prone. 

17. Climb up the staircase and jump down the window. 

18. Hospitalism. 

19. Importance of Intimacy and Activity. 

20. Where is my mind when my body is here. 

21. Contributors to script. 

22. Advantages of Games. 

23. Personality rules all. People are missing. 

24. Contribution of process scripts in stoking the fire of script. 

25. People in the drama triangle are only playing drama roles.

Profile of Ajit Karve

 

Profile of Ajit Karve

Name: Ajit Karve

Qualifications and Activities :

-          BSc (Hons.), BTA, Pursuing MTA

-          TA Psychotherapist and Researcher.

-          TA Trainer for TA Basic and Diploma Levels

-          Director Asha Institute, NIBM, Pune

-          Co Chairman, Academic Council of ICTA, Kochi

-          Formerly Associate Professor at Amplify Mindware Group of Institutions College in Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune

-          Author, Blogger, Networker, TA Workshops Presenter.

Professional Career:

Ajit’s  professional career spans five decades. He started off working in India’s National Security Service; Career Diplomat; and CEO of a Group of 16 Land Development Companies;

Written works, blogs, posts and reviews:

Ajit is author of four TA Books and one book on Positivity Practice; He has posted fourteen TA Blogs (made of over 300 blog posts), two blogs on Positivity Practice, one on Financial Planning and Investment, and two on Success Living; He has bagged 700K views of his posts on Quora, 5.6 million views photos and reviews on Google Maps; 

Social Work: Ajit has engaged in community Service by rendering free Psychotherapy Sessions, Experiential TA sessions, and as a guide providing free TA trainings.

Awards:: Ajit is winner of the prestigious Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service;

Workshops Conducted:

Workshops presented on TA Topics, Conflict Resolution, Parenting, Work-Life Integration, Success Living, Goals Setting and Achieving, Team Building, Time Management, TA Game Analysis, TA Racket Analysis, TA Script Analysis and Transactional Analysis Self Therapy.

His blogs can be viewed at : https://www.blogger.com/profile/09778485483922911287

Sarcopenia Muscular Dystrophy in old age

Is your age more than 60 years?

Do people older than 60 years of age live with you?

If the answer to these two questions is yes. Then please spare 5 minutes and read this write up at least twice.

The text that follows is a translation made using an app. Please condone errors of translation.

What is Sarcopenia? Sarcopenia. Aging is characterized by a loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. It is a terrible situation.

Title: "Use Your Functional Muscles Slowly"

  1. To get into the habit of standing ... don't just sit! ... and if you can sit, don't sleep!

  2. After age 50-60, losing weight is not possible, especially if you don't exercise and rely on eating less to lose weight! 

Why? 

Because if all the muscles are lost, it can be very dangerous!

3. Does running, cycling or climbing cause knee pain?

If you've never exercised before, all you can think of in your mind is to run, bike or climb because it will hurt your knees! But, if you have enough muscle strength and get into the habit of running, cycling and climbing slowly, it can be a good exercise and won't hurt your knees! Whether your knees hurt or not depends on your muscle strength!

4. If an elderly person is sick and hospitalized, don't tell them to rest more ... or lie down and rest and don't get out of bed!

Lying down for a week causes at least 5% muscle loss!

And the old man can't get his muscles back!

5. Don't think you are filial by not letting the elders do the housework and scold them if the maids do!

Usually, many older people who hire helpers lose muscle quickly!

6. Don't just do one activity every day when you go to the park.

Don't only move your arms when you can move your legs too. You must also pull the horizontal bar or move each sports equipment!

Because as long as a person moves, all the muscles of the entire body are involved!

Many elderly people have trouble swallowing due to insufficient exercise!

In the end, they couldn't even cough up a mouthful of spit and they died because of it!

7. Sarcopenia is scarier than osteoporosis!

While you need to be careful not to fall because of osteoporosis, sarcopenia not only affects quality of life, but also increases blood sugar levels due to insufficient muscle mass!

8. The fastest loss of sarcopenia occurs in the leg muscles!

Because the legs do not move when a person sits or lies down and the strength of the leg muscles is affected ... this is especially important!

Don't let your feet turn black!

So squat at least 20 to 30 times a day. A squat isn't sitting down, it's like sitting on a toilet seat... you can use a chair and stand when your butt touches the seat!

Taiwan's advanced medical system also has health insurance but elderly people in Taiwan spend an average of 8 years in a wheelchair before they die!

And you don't want eight years old when the quality of life is so poor!

You must pay attention to sarcopenia!

Take the stairs... running, cycling and climbing are all great exercise and can build muscle!

For a better quality of life for everyone in old age...

MOVE... DON'T WASTE YOUR MUSCLES!!

Aging starts from the feet upwards!

Keep your legs active and strong!!

▪️As we pass the years and get older every day, our feet should always be active and strong.

As we continue to grow old / getting older, we should not be afraid of gray hair (or) dull skin (or) wrinkles on the face.

▪️ Longevity As summarized by the popular US magazine "Prevention" among the signs of a long fit life, strong leg muscles are listed at the top as the most important and essential.

Please walk every day.

▪️ If you don't move your legs for just two weeks, your actual leg strength will decrease in 10 years.

Just walk

▪️A study from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that both young and old, during two weeks of inactivity, leg muscle strength can weaken by a third which is equivalent to aging by 20-30 years !!

so just walk

▪️Because our leg muscles are weakened, it will take a long time to recover even if we rehabilitate and exercise afterwards.

to walk

▪️So regular exercise like walking is very important.

▪️Rest on the feet keeping the weight of the entire body balanced.

▪️ Feet are a type of pillar, which bear the entire weight of the human body.

Walk daily.

▪️Interestingly, 50% of human bones and 50% of muscles are in the two legs.

So walk.

▪️The largest and strongest joints and bones in the human body are also located in the feet.

10,000steps/day

▪️Strong bones, strong muscles and flexible joints form the iron triangle which carries the most important load i.e. the human body.”

▪️ 70% of human activity and energy burn in a person's life is done by two feet.

▪️Did you know this? When a person is young, their thighs are strong enough to lift a small cart weighing 800 kg!

▪️ Feet is the center of body movement.

50% of human body's veins, 50% of blood vessels and 50% of blood flows through both legs.

▪️ It is the largest circulatory network connecting the body.

 So walk everyday.

▪️Only when the legs are healthy, the blood flows smoothly, so people who have strong leg muscles definitely have a strong heart. Walk.

▪️ Aging starts from the feet upwards

▪️As a person gets older, the accuracy and speed of transmission of instructions between the brain and legs decreases, compared to when the person is young. please walk

▪️In addition, the so-called bone fertilizer calcium will be lost sooner or later, making the elderly more prone to bone fractures. Walk.

▪️Bone fractures in the elderly can easily lead to many complications, especially malignancies such as cerebral thrombosis.

▪️Did you know that usually 15% of elderly patients die at most. Thigh bone fracture within a year !! Walk daily without fail

▪️ Leg exercise, even after age 60 is never too late.

▪️Although our feet/legs age slowly over time, exercising the feet/legs is a lifelong task.

Walk 10,000 steps

▪️Only regular foot strengthening can prevent or slow down further aging. walk for 365 days

▪️ Please walk for at least 30-40 minutes every day to ensure that your feet get enough exercise and your leg muscles stay healthy.

Please share this information with all your friends and family members.

Visit this site for technical information.

https://www.aginginmotion.org/about-the-issue/

Giving up Regret / Regretting

We all commit mistakes. They are inevitable. We regret some of them. They do not drop off even though we wish they be cast away. Here is a way to get rid of them.

Say this three times. Regret will drop off.

Repeat once every so often if necessary

1. Hey my mind listen.

2. I find that you are holding on to this  regret for the mistake committed by me.

3. Please let go of it.

4. I will do all that is necessary in the matter.

5. Thank you.

Forgiving

 Say this three times. Forgiveness will happen.

Repeat once every so often if necessary

1. Hey my mind listen.

2. I find that you are holding on to this hurt, pain and anger about what ...... did to me / happened to me when I was ........ yrs old / child / teenager / adult

3. Please let go of it.

4. I will do all that is necessary in the matter.

5. Thank you.

Stay rested for some five ten seconds then repeat twice more.

Journey out of Script - a poem

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in,

I am lost...I am helpless 

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 

I pretend I don't see it

I fall in again

I can't believe I am in the same place. 

But, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there I still fall in...it's a habit

My eyes are open. I know where I am.

It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.