It’s The End Of The World - today!

The world has “ended” many times. Every few years, doomsayers predict that the world is going to end. It ended once in 2000, and now again in 2012. There are various predictions about how the world will end – flooding and fire for instance – that reveal our fascination with doom. Celestial entertainment is popular, especially if it portends doom and disaster.
 
At the turn of the millennium, in the year 2000, a lot of people came to me and asked, “Sadhguru, the world is going to end. What should we do?” I told them, “What you should do is, after you spend your money on whatever it is you wish to spend it on, bequeath the rest to Isha. I have work to do after the world ends!” Nobody did anything like that because doomsaying is just entertainment and most believe such predictions only as long as it is part of entertainment, and not seriously enough to the point of giving anything.
 
Where did this number ‘2012’ come from, anyway? What is time but a human idea?
 
Neither the planet, solar system, nor cosmos have counted 2012. Mother Earth does not know what 2012 is; this is all human nonsense. Somebody just said, “This is number one.” At least if you had started counting from the beginning of the planet, maybe, but you just started counting whenever you knew how to count. According to the Hindu calendar, there are many hundred thousand years still left for the planet.
 
In Indic culture, people have been counting for much longer. We have calendars running 60,000 years into the past and hundreds of thousands of years into the future. Maybe the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, but we have yugas and yugas coming.
 
However, if you insist that the world is going to end on a particular date, then let us end it the way we know it. What we have known in the world, what has marked the history of humanity most, are wars and battles, famines and misery. The ugliest incidents in history are what we remember most. Let’s end that world.
 
Let’s create a world where we can experience the most beautiful things, which will be remembered for posterity. If we are willing, we can create a new world – a world that is inclusive; a world where strife and suffering do not dominate; where there is greater understanding.
 
Today, technology has empowered us in a way that one individual is able to achieve what one thousand persons could not do earlier. Because we are so hugely empowered, our consciousness is far more important than it was ever before. If we do not invest sufficient time, energy and resources to raising our consciousness, we might have to pay a steep price.
 
For a shift in consciousness, we don’t need galactic help. If you are willing, it will happen – with or without a fancy date. As a generation of people, whether we make this into a great time or we make this into a horrible time, everything is in our hands. Let us strive together to make a new world possible that is free of the negativities of the past.
 
Nature only creates a certain conducive atmosphere. It is individual human beings who have to decide how to live in this world. Whatever the times, people have acted in ways that are good, bad and ugly. So, let us end the ugliness in this world, and make a new world full of intelligence, integrity and inclusiveness. We can make it happen.    
 
TheSpeakingTree | TheTimesOfIndia | Sadhguru | www.ishafoundation.org

5 Ideas That Will Blow Your Mind!

You won't find apps or Angry Birds here. Check out five ambitious companies pursuing big, bold ideas.

If you wanted to teach a computer to mimic the way the human brain works, where would you start? Union City, Calif.-based start-up Vicarious is starting with the eyes: It's building software that can “see” and make sense of the world.

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When Inc. set out to find some of the biggest, mind-blowing business ideas, we knew what we didn't want. Those smartphone apps with crazy growth stats? Another slickly designed Web dashboard to manage your finances? The next Angry Birds? All perfectly valid start-up ideas--but they don't exactly make your head spin. We wanted boldness.

What we found were the kind of ideas that may not come to fruition this year--or even this decade. In fact, we're not even sure some of them will pan out at all. But they are ideas to watch, for sure, if only because of the audacity and ambition required to pursue them. 

1. A Laser Printer for DNA

The idea: San Francisco-based Cambrian Genomics is creating the world’s first DNA laser printer. Instead of printing ink, this gadget will spit out genetic code. The traditional process of synthesizing DNA is tedious, costly, and error-prone. Cambrian's printer will produce accurate strands much faster and, theoretically, much cheaper once the technology comes to market. Cambrian, which is a product of the nonprofit academic institution Singularity University, is still in stealth mode so little is known about the actual mechanics of the printer. But the project has received funding from Founders Den managing partner Michael Levit and lists Singularity University as an advisor. 

Mind-blowing factor: Because the printer may drastically decrease the time and cost required to produce synthetic DNA, researchers will be able to generate larger quantities of DNA. The end result could be more advancements in personalized medical treatments--and even new organisms. "People get upset about extinction of animals, which I think is pretty silly,” Cambrian CEO Austen Heinz said in an interview with TWiT Live. “We're going to make new ones and we're going to make more creatures."

2. Software That Thinks Like a Human Brain

The Idea: If you wanted to teach a computer to mimic the way the human brain works, where would you start? Union City, Calif.-based start-up Vicarious is starting with the eyes: It's building software that can “see” and make sense of the world. Its first product is called the Recursive Cortical Network, which is designed to recognize objects, people, and places just as the human brain can. The company claims it's training the Cortical Network to mimic the way the primary visual cortex works in humans. The company has raised $15 million in funding led by Good Ventures, Founders Fund, and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.

Mind-blowing factor: This isn’t just the same old facial recognition algorithm marketed by companies such as Like.com. Instead, Vicarious combines visual data with pixel recognition to create a mathematical understanding of an object similar to the way neurons in the human brain make the same visual connections. Co-founder Scott Phoenix said in a recent interview that “having a visual perception system that works well would be enormously transformative.” How transformative? Down the line, the system will be able to scan a dinner plate to report how many calories are in the meal or even recognize cancerous tumors in a patient’s body.

3. Medical Drones That Deliver on Demand

The Idea: When heroine Katniss Everdeen suffers a bee sting in The Hunger Games, a tiny parachute-like drone drops the medication she needs at her feet in the middle of the woods. The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it seems: Matternet is developing an unmanned drone that can carry between two and four pounds of medicine, vaccines, and blood samples. The Palo Alto-based start-up’s goal is to give patients that live in hard-to-reach areas access to much-needed medical supplies. Matternet plans to test in the drones in the Dominican Republic later this year. 

Mind-blowing factor: According to the company, nearly 1 billion people are unable to get medical aid because of where they live. Currently, the size of Matternet's drones (the 
platform is just 3 feet across and carries four rotors) limits what it can deliver, but eventually the company plants to develop pilotless vehicles that can transport heavier supplies and even people.

4. X-Ray Vision

The Idea: The typical motion detector with infrared sensors has weaknesses: It must be cleaned, it’s sensitive to temperature changes and dust, and it doesn’t work if obstructed or deployed in large open spaces. Salt Lake City-based Xandem has developed a new kind of technology that not only solves these problems but also has a superhero-like power: It can “see” through walls to sense movement. Co-founders Joey Wilson and Neal Patwari have won a number of innovation awards in the state of Utah that have largely funded the company since its inception four years ago. Xandem launched its first product in April with help from Salt Lake City angel investor Ryan Smith.

Mind-blowing factor: Intruders can’t beat this system: There is no place to hide from these small, card-size nodes because they can be embedded in walls, beams, and furniture. The technology could be used in households and commercial buildings, but the company also claims that it’s sensitive enough to protect government buildings that require the highest level of security.

5. Digital Pills to Track Your Health

The Idea: How do you know if your medication is really working? One way to know is to look inside the body. Proteus has developed a small, swallowable sensor that lets you do exactly that. There are no wires or batteries--the sensor, which received FDA approval in July, is powered completely by your own stomach fluids. A disposable patch worn on the body captures data from the sensor and relays it to your--or your doctor’s--mobile device.

Mind-blowing factor: This is the only sensor of its kind to run solely on body fluids. Co-founder and CEO Andrew Thompson says the bigger idea behind Proteus is that it could help patients seek preventive treatment. "Right now we have a sickcare system,” Thompson says. "What we need is a healthcare system."

http://www.inc.com/maeghan-ouimet/big-ideas/5-mind-blowing-ideas.html?nav=pop

Facing The Generation Gap!

What is the generation gap?  
Generation gap is a gap of communication that leads to misunderstanding and disharmony. It refers to the gap between young and old. It is about mindsets and methods and it is not one-sided. Youth is full of passion and drive and is risk-friendly. The old have wisdom and experience and they are risk-averse. So, work together.
 
Just passion and risk-taking are not enough; neither are experience and wisdom because we live in a dynamic world. Strategies have to change and for this we need understanding and flexibility. The older and younger generations need to communicate, synergize and draw the best from each other. A healthy conversation and dialogue is essential to bridge the gap.
 
How can parents guide children on the right path without discounting the youth perspective?
 
There are no rules here. Use both your head and heart. Harmonise both male and female energies in you and that integration will guide you to deal with situations. Don’t become a victim of experience. Advise children without seeming to be interfering. Present your viewpoint in a friendly manner without being autocratic.
 
Also make sure that children are receptive so that they listen when you advise them. Otherwise, whatever you say will not make an impression on them. Parents should understand that more than the words they utter, it is their being and intention which get communicated.
 
Sometimes adults behave like children and even need to be taken care of. Sometimestheywanttopampertheirchildren; at other times they expect children to behave like adults. Isn’t this confusing?
 
Use the power of love and then you will know how to deal with old people. Yes, as they get old they behave like children. Give them love and understanding. Learn to enjoy dealing with them. They are also going through transition. Be committed and compassionate then you will get the right mode to help them. “He gives not the best, who gives the most but he gives the most who gives the best”. Learn to give your best. Be the giver and then that giving itself enhances the quality of life. What is wrong if you pamper your parents? After all it is their second childhood. Don’t you pamper your children? Don’t use too much of logic but just shower love.
 
Should parents be friendly with children or should they impose discipline? Children seem to be more influenced by the world outside; but the world is not always right.  
One has to be friendly but also fair, frank and flexible. Employ the Four Fs in relationships. Educate each other about discipline. Discipline is not against freedom; it harnesses freedom. Just like the banks of the river help the river to flow towards the ocean. Young people may feel discipline is snatching their freedom. This is not true. Bringing up children involves education. Don’t think that they will immediately understand. It takes time but you should be an empowering parent.
 
The world has both the right and wrong modes operating. Good parenting is teaching them to take the good and leave the bad. All parents are not right all the time; their intention may be good but possibly parents may do more harm to children if they encourage division; that would create conflict and hence pain. So, parents’ intention may be good but they also have to inwardly cleanse themselves.

www.prasannatrust.org | The Speaking Tree | Satsang: Swami Sukhabodhananda

About I, Me And Myself!

One has read about ‘Ain al Haque’ – ‘I am the Truth’ – ever so often in Urdu literature. It is not very different from the ‘Ahm’ of Vedanta which means ‘Í’ or ‘Self ’. When applied to a person’s name, it means aligning oneself with the cosmos or ultimate reality. Poet-philosopher Iqbal, arguably the biggest exponent of ‘khudi’ or egoism (Self) sought to explain it as the creation of the divine attributes in man. Hazrat Ali remarked, ‘‘I am the speaking Quran.’’ Sarmad, the mystic, lost his head when he declared himself to be the ‘Truth’.
 
‘I’ is, perhaps, the most used word in any language. We love to hear our name all the time. Often, love for self is so deeply ingrained in the psyche that one develops a highly exaggerated view of one’s own self.
 
A child is given a name almost as soon as she is born. Through constant recall the name gets rooted in her being. While the child reacts to the name cheerily, she gradually gets used to be addressed by the same phonetic rhythm which keeps getting reinforced in the formative years and results in creating a permanent impact on her cerebral and emotional being. A lot goes on later in life that forces the child to grow up with a self-fixated orientation. How does this transition happen? We may look for an empirical and a non-academic explanation.
 
Children are generally free from the ‘i’ syndrome but some elements might creep in early on in cases where pampering has not been tampered with disciplining. Thus, too much attention and fullfilment of every wish by doting parents might lead to an unhealthy sense of self-importance, and promote the ‘i’ cult. Schooling in an exclusive environment and continued patronage could crystallize these traits. Such children are likely to nurture a high degree of self-importance in their growing up years and carry it on to adolescence and adulthood.
 
The problem arises when a person takes this trait too seriously and looks upon others as lesser mortals. Such a person becomes self-centred and egotistical. He is attention seeking and is always looking for an opportunity to upstage others.
 
Individualism is not a failing; it promotes healthy distinctiveness. It is a positive trait that provides sustenance for achieving personal excellence and in charting life on one’s own terms. But individualism should not become what Douglas Rushkoff calls a ‘new form of idolatry’, and thus an end in itself. The danger is ‘egoism’ and the obsession with ‘i’. This negativity in growing up years gets hardened with time and retards the growth of a well-rounded personality.
 
No one likes to be in the company of a person who keeps harping about his laurels. His cognition gets corrugated by thick layers of false pride and self-importance. Such people are not good listeners. Their attention span is short. Their restlessness to shift over to their own story being overpowering gets exposed during the course of a social conversation. It is a habit-forming attribute that can be fought back only by recognizing the shortcoming and working around it consciously.
 
The world is not devoid of talent and that the simplest of persons also have legends to share – many hugely interesting and worth recounting. Internalizing the experiences gotten from others provide good incremental learning progression, affording a healthy opportunity to absorb positive notes for building up a well-rounded personality. Personal enrichment comes from imbibing the best from others, rather than from blowing one’s own trumpet.

The Speaking Tree | Times Of India | Faizi Ozair Hashmi | faizihashmi@gmail.com

Contact - The introduction!

Contact - The journey!

Too many experts spoil the broth!

As surveys present contradictory statements, what stops you from listening to your own body for reliable advice? 

YOU should never mix your fruits, you know,” suggested a well-meaning friend as I helped myself to watermelon, muskmelon and grapes at a party. Ignoring him, I carried on with the juicy after-meal treat. “Actually, you shouldn’t be eating fruits at all after a meal,” he said, unrelenting.
 

I moved across to join another group of friends. Mr Well-Meaning didn’t take the hint; he tagged along. “Haven’t you heard that fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach? Fruits get digested pretty fast and when you combine them with food that digests slower, you are holding it up longer than necessary in the stomach, leading to fermentation.”
 

I gagged, and was tempted to empty my plate on his head. I somehow managed a more polite equivalent — gave him a loaded gaze and banged my plate on a table.
 

To my astonishment, he started helping himself to the fruit on my discarded plate, continuing his food homily. Ah ha, I thought viciously, so it was easier to preach than follow. “Of course, you know that high amounts of carbohydrates should never be mixed with proteins, though you can take a small amount –– that doesn’t confuse the stomach,” he smiled through a mouthful. “Carbohydrates compromise the digestion of proteins, leading to bacteria in the stomach and high cholesterol.”
 

I smirked, looking at his ruddy cheeks and protruding belly, on which rested a melon seed now, which moved up and down precariously with each laboured breath as he held forth. By now, he had got himself a second helping.
 

“And of course you must take vegetables with proteins always. Now,” he said, grabbing a Coke from a waiter, “never drink cold water during or after your meal. It solidifies the oils you have eaten and slows digestion.” I wondered how he could eat so heartily despite the health information overload he carried. He let out a satisfied belch. I wrinkled my nose, but there was no longer any question of my turning away from this mountainous fount of knowledge, so fascinated was I by the visible contradiction in what he said and did, without an iota of regret or guilt.
 

Aren’t we all a bit like him? We know what is good or bad for us, and yet quite often we can’t discipline ourselves. Contradictory messages from scientific surveys don’t seem to help either. We are told one day to avoid desi ghee like the plague, while another survey extols its virtues; one article quotes experts as saying the best way to start your morning is with fruits, while other experts tell you that the body is in its acidic state early morning to help kick start the day, and fruits tend to push it to its alkaline state. Drink six litres of water a day, exhorts one dietician. Nonsense, says another, drink as much as you comfortably can. Who do you believe?
 

Frankly with this, as with any other freely available advice, I have realised the best bet is to follow your own instincts. The wisdom handed down by mothers and grandmothers is equally reliable since that comes from their instinct and experience. What’s the big deal? Experiment intelligently and your body will give you all the answers to every fitness or dietary query.
 

If carbs and proteins together are bad, your bodily discomfort will let you know; if a cup of warm water or tea after a meal is good, your own feeling of well-being will tell you. Whether you feel sluggish or energetic after a few days of eating fruits on an empty stomach will tell you whether it is good or bad. If eating early helps you sleep well, do you need to ask anyone?
 

The idea after all is to feel and look fit. As for weight, I like to believe a friend, who years ago told me, “We all have a median weight; try as hard as you like; the moment you stop trying, just as water finds its own level, your weight too will come back to its comfort level.”
 

True or not, it gives me great comfort to believe that.

O-zone
Vinita Dawra Nangia 
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Teens who argue back handle peer pressure better!

FIGHTING SPIRIT: A study says that teenagers who fight verbally with their parents are less likely to turn to drug abuse or alcohol

London: Does your child have a tendency to argue? Don’t worry, it’s good for them, as a new study has found that those who regularly fight verbally with their parents cope better with peer pressure and are less likely to turn to drug abuse or alcohol.

They are also more skilled negotiators and can “learn to be taken more seriously” after some verbal jousting with their elders, researchers from the University of Virginia have found. The researchers concluded that parents should consider actively starting rows with their teenagers just to hone their youngsters’ skills — even if it does result in an ear-bashing in the short term, the Daily Mail reported.

In the study, the scientists observed and made audio and video recordings of 150 13-year-olds arguing with their mothers. They then quizzed the teenagers three years later about their lives and experiences with drugs and alcohol.

Teenagers who displayed confidence and used reason to back up their statements in the arguments were more likely to have refused both, the researchers found. Lead researcher Joseph Allen, a psychology professor, said the connection between resisting peer pressure and a teenager’s ability to argue was “surprising”. He added, “It turns out that what goes on in the family is actually a training ground for teens in terms of how to negotiate with other people.”

Joanna Chango, a clinical psychology graduate working on the study, said that although it seemed “counterintuitive” to tell parents to let their teens argue with them, it was worth considering.

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