Rubber seeds. They were hard to come by, rubber seeds. When I was a small child, I really wanted to find one. They were hard to come by, as I have rarely seen a rubber tree. I knew they existed, as some of my friends in the school used to bring them. I craved for a rubber seed, and I saw them as an asset. If you do not know, rubber seeds have a very tough outer shell and it has perfect smooth surface. And this rubber seed could be used to make a DIY fan. So, for a little child for my age it was an asset to have one. Someone told me that there are rubber trees in the nearby plantation next to the school, and sometimes I wondered of sneaking up through the fence to find one. I never did, I was afraid of breaking the rules although I fantasized it, as there were dogs hungry dogs belonged to the owners. I remember when I was little older, I would walk home in a different road than the usual, hoping to find some rubber seeds. How I made DIY fan with a rubber seed. For a little child it was a big project. Not everyone could do it. It took time and patience. I needed to make three holes in the shell of the rubber seed. One was naturally there. Making a hole directly opposite to this and on the side of the seed was hardest. Often a sharp kife is used do carve a small puncture and with twisting motion to make it a few millimeter small hole. I had to be very careful not to make it shatter, by putting too much pressure. And the holes should be perfectly circular as ragged ages does make it hard for the fan to spin, will break the thread which made it spin. So, it took a good hour of work. Once holes were made next challange was to remove all the material inside. The seed inside was tough and oily. Some say that ants love to eat this and we kept them in front of ant holes hoping they would eat the core and leave the shell. However, I was inpatient most of the time to wait a day or two until to check the ant theory. So, I used a pin to break the seed through the holes and take piece by pieace out. Just like in a "Keyhole" surgery. And it took another hour, and honest work, until little hands start to hurt. But once it was done the hard work was over and rest was easy. I would use a wodden popsicle handle as a roter blade and a thin stick as a mast. A thread tied to the mast is taken out through the third hole and I could use it to make the Blades spin. Just like a Yo-Yo. That was a nice experience, a little show off. It took care of happiness for a few days atleast. So, the bottom line is, even a small rubber seed is an asset to a little mind. Value of Assets As the mind became bigger and bigger, the values of the rubber seeds came down. They were seen as unused, unnecessary things of the wild. I haven't seen a rubber seed for ages, and they do not create a value in the mind now. The assests in the new mind are bigger. They are related to an imaginary number in the mind, associated with imaginary bank. Assets are shown on the TV and newspapers became more valuable. However the concept remained the same, although I frogot to recognise this until I started to watch in mindfulness on what happens up their behind the eyes. The concept of assets is simple. Assets are mental objects , with a little price tag on it, which has the ability to create some happiness, in the mind, which by the way is another mental object. And I know exactly, you would not agree, because that is only partly true. As we all agree assets are real. A bank would not give you a loan, looking at the mental objects that you have. Or do they? Is it possible to get a loan for your mental Assets? Getting a loan for your mental assets. Let's imagine you own an apartment, inherited or bought. And Obviously the reflection of this apartment is now in your mind as an mental object with a sense of ownership . And you apply for a loan. You walk to a bank and discuss with the bank manger. He looks at your papers and create a mental object in his mind about your property and your association with this. He send some evaluators to price your property, and they create their own mental image of your property and make a price tag associated with this and write down their observations in a paper. The manager and you agree on the amount of the loan, and you hand over the documents to the bank with the agreement. Now the bank manager creates a complex mental image of the assest. He creates a mental image of your property, with the price tag of the evaluator in it, still associated with your image in ownership, bounded by the agreement, and the amount loaned to you. I know it is very complex image now, hence it is written in words in the document, so anyone can understand and create a similar mental image, if they read the agreement. And if there is descrepencey in the mental images, between the bank manager and you in the future, all can go to a court and ask the judge to interpret, who will do, after creating a mental image of your property and the agreement in his own conciousness . It is complex, and it is lengthy. However, it is essential to understand, that there is very significant role played by the consciousness and mental objects of each and everyone involved, than we appriciated earlier. All my life I was used to understand the phisical nature of things. However, mindfulness would let us understand the mental affair of it. And it makes more sense now. You can even answer why there is an agreement. The main reason Assests are writen in documents is, that we cannot show our mental object to others, unless it is expressed. And when we die, all our assets will be lost, just like other mental objects. At this point, I am not sure how these facts are going to help you. If you ask a financial advicer they would tell you how important these mental pictures of things are when you start investing (Behavioural finance). Some people would lose money in the game when their mental picture of an assest is bigger than others, and some will gain money in the same way. But the bottom line is, Even a small rubber seed can be more valuable to a mind than a diamond, as assets is a game of mind.

This is not an article to sell you some stuffed toys, but about mindfulness and philosophy. "Wake UP" Coffee house. It is early in the morning, as you just woke up and sat on your favorite cushion in the living room, your little daughter comes and asks to be a customer in her imaginary coffeehouse. She is an early bird. "Wake UP coffeehouse", that is the name she has given to the place. She has arranged those small plastic cups, and all the plastic food, and ask you to wait until she gives you the "Imaginary Menu". You order some Hot Choclate and a burger, while she is busy preparing it you wonder into the past where you were a child. Superheroes and Supervillains- The Army game. You remember the times you used to play the role of the Supervillain with your siblings. Always the supervillain, as there should be someone for your brothers to defeat, when they were the Spiderman and superman. You remember even becoming a Supervillain was not as bad as it seems. You remember the hours and hours you spent in afternoons playing the Army game, it was exiting, and always left a Wow, when you can just create Jungles and high security facilities to rob, in your imagination. When there was plenty of power and recognition, given even in this imaginary play of yours. Later, you all became adults, and notice how there are real Supervillains and Superheroes conduct in the society. And you realize, the imaginary playground was not so Imaginary after all. What is imaginative Play Imaginary play is a kind of play which is started in toddler years of a child. Around two to three. And as years goes by, they become increasingly complex. Some examples for imaginary play include above and, Imaginary playhouse, playing with a doll Acting out superheroes and Supervillains. Playing with Building blocks to make castles and vehicles Puppet shows Tea party What are the benefits of imaginative play? Obviously, I cannot emphasize, the fact that they spark the creativity of a child. And this is far advanced from an elephant calf just trying to play with its siblings. Imaginary play leads to cognitive development, social and emotional skills by letting them express their feelings and interact with other children. They also help with language development. More importantly, they will improve their creativity, so when we start to learn about mathematics, language, and more and more abstract ideas, they do not get confused. How imaginary play is projected to adult life. As you can see, imagination plays a bigger role even in adult life. If I say all what you are doing so called living, is imagining things, that would not be wrong, and I can prove it. I will give you simple example. Think about Earth. Earth does exist right? Where does this exist, right now. Just at this moment when you read this line, where does so called Earth exist? Can you see it? Can you feel the earth? You may say, I can see the part of the earth where I am in now. I can see my room or my workplace. Yet, you agree that is not the earth. You even have not seen the earth if you are not an astronaut, who went to the space. The Earth is just a concept, a mental obje ct in your imagination. And whole your life, whenever you read or write or think about earth, you just reinforced this information sphere. Isn't it amazing to know as adults, we talk about saving our planet, Global warming and debate about Destroying our earth, our home with Nukes without knowing the basic concept of Earth is just our imagination. If you look at carefully, everything we talk about is similar. You can understand more on our imagination You can slow down the time, like Quick silver You can think about collar bone philosophy You can listen to David Foster Wallaces "This is water" if you would not believe me. Why mindfulness is opposite of imaginary play. As you can see and understand, we cannot communicate, and understand the world without this abstract imagination of mathematics, language and mental objects etc. However, the problem is, we get too much involved in these imaginations, and we forget, they are abstract ideas in the first place. We tend to forget, a cancer is an abstract idea, and we cry, when we are afraid of it. And only way to overcome this problem is trying to live mindfully. So, we can understand objects of mind, when they arise in the mind, and disappear in the mind. More you know it more you will understand the monster of truth. This is the main objective of the mindfulness practice , which should be emphasized again and again. Mindfulness is not a secret to success or the recipe for a calm peaceful mind. But mindfulness is the tool to understand the child within us who likes to be happy and sad when he sees the imaginary world he built is getting destroyed. This child will play until you recognize it as an adult. Hence, mindfulness is the path to free yourself from being a child.

It was the hour of the moon. The Moon was in the middle of the sky, dragging the tide into the lagoon. With the slowly drifting water, leaves, twigs, fish and Jelly fish floating alike. They just drifted from the deep sea to the mangroves of the lagoon. The jelly fish, think that it is swimming in the water. By itself. By the conscious flapping of its transparent fins. Jelly fish think that it is searching for the food, and travelling in the lagoon by itself. A lonely journey. But from the river bank, while seated on the foot path, you see otherwise. You see it is the moon which forces sea water into the lagoon. The Jelly fish would never move so fast if it wasn't the moon. Jelly fish did not know this, as the world and everything it lives moves in same speed due to the tide. Relative to the jelly fish it is only its concious effort which makes it moves towards food. After a while while your conciousness floats between the clouds, the wind and the waves of the lagoon. Your eye catches, this little guy who is just stuck between some sea weed. You are not quite sure, whether it is really stuck or just taking its afternoon snack. Either way you just decide to see what happens, and not to disturb. It seems so delicate, that trying to help it escape might even harm. You remember the butterflies, which you caught when you were little did never fly. So, this time you just observe. And after a while, it just escapes the jungle of see weed and start to float in the current with all the other fish, and stuff. Philosophy of interconnectedness On the way back, home you could not stop thinking about the jelly fish. You remember, that they always scared you, as you are not sure whether all of them are deadly or only some of them are. You have just observed life, just like a little God, in the Jelly fish world. As you held the power to observe and intervene other life. More so, you just understand how small the jelly fish world is. Jelly fish sees no escape, from its world. Yet you see otherwise. You even understood the mechanism the jelly fish moves. Not only that you also understand the role of the moon in its motion. Yet Jelly fish observes nothing. You feel sorry about the jelly fish. Later when sitting on the parking bench, you observe men and women, walking on the street. They are thinking they are looking for food. They are thinking their concious effort makes them move in the walkway. However you choose to be a silent observer looking at them from the space. And you see the earth is rotating. Earth is rotating so fast together with its all belongings, including everything around the walking path, buildings, dustbins water and jelly fish. You ask the question how much more is there. You remember there is no depth to the motion, as it is all relative. You remember the Solar system, is in constant motion. Even the milky way is in motion, faster than you think. And you laugh at yourself about the thought which makes you think that you are stationary. It is only relative. Just like the jelly fish. At this point, you try to figure out why. You already knew all of the above. But you never applied this knowledge to your own motion, until today. Until you observed the drifting Jelly fish. You realise, we all are just drifting jelly fish in the universe, although we think we are isolated conscious individuals, we are connected by matter and the interconnectedness. And the evidence. The evidence is just there, you are not stationary relative to the people walking by. Just that we all are in motion, synchronised with the universe. And you can do nothing to change this. ----Philosophy of the Jelly fish ends here, rest of is just some memories------ Somehow, a Jelly fish is a scary animal for me. Maybe it is just like someone being afraid of swimming because of sharks. It is likely you will be killed on the road than a jelly fish. For some parts of this fear I blame documenteries of Discovery channel, which I used to watch a lot. Part of it is coming from Sherlock Holmes. Remember the Lion's Mane? In this story the man who was attacked by the Jelly fish, in his last breath Utters the words, Lion's Mane, as the tentacles of these jelly fish looks just like it. Some time back I wrote followoing poem remembering the story. This is part of the reason I was afraid to rescue the jelly fish which was stuck, anyway I was relieved when it was able to escape itself.

William Henry Schmidt- and his tunnel. Have you ever done something which gains nothing? I am sure you have as our values keep changing when the time passes. Something, which was very valuable a decade ago is considered as valueless today. And this is what happened to William Henry Schmidt, and his tunnel. William Henry Schmidt, often referred to as "Burro" Schmidt , was a prospector who dedicated over 38 years of his life to digging a tunnel through a mountain in the Mojave Desert, California. His goal was to create a safer, more direct route to transport ore from his mining claims. Working alone and using hand tools, he painstakingly chipped away at the hard rock, eventually carving a 2,087-foot-long tunnel. Despite the completion of better routes rendering his tunnel unnecessary, Schmidt's determination and perseverance turned his labor into a legendary feat, embodying the spirit of relentless human endeavor. His tunnel remains a testament to his extraordinary resolve and is now a historical landmark. However, I am sure it was not so glamorous, as it sounds for him, who worked day after day, major part of his life digging a tunnel. And as it turned out, halfway through the tunnel building, there were a system of roads connecting Last Chance Canyon to Mojave making his tunnel futile. Except, for this man, for whom the tunnel was not futile. Most of us would give up at this point, as there is no use digging a tunnel that nobody ever is going to use. But he has kept on going. And there something interesting happens. As you can see although the value of the tunnel for everyone else declined as the road was completed, the value of the tunnel did not decline for him. He has already invested his time, and I am sure he thought that he had dreams of seeing through to the other side of the mountain. Just like someone dedicate their time to write a book, someone trying to build a rocket to send people to mars, he had a dream to see the completion of his tunnel. I am sure, he felt the engineer himself, the child within, each and every day, which made him kept going. I have dug holes in the banks at our little home. We used to make tunnels and little caves for our plastic soldiers to hide. We spend hours imagining things, playing in these tiny caves. Although they were tiny, for a mind of a child, they were not. I am sure, for William Schmidt, it was his tunnel that brought the same pleasure every day. To make it clear, why, I have drawn a diagram from the point of view of William Schmidt and rest of us. As you can see, the value of the tunnel, is variable. Both from the point of view of William Schmidt and from the point of view of the rest of us. Initially he did not have any value of it, as it was not even an idea. Once this Idea came to his mind, it created some value, so he actioned on it. And as long as he kept going, and the demand increased, the value kept going up. However, when the roads were built the value of the tunnel dropped suddenly for the rest of us, it became zero. However not for William Schmidt. It never came down to zero for him, and it kept more and more growing for him. Comparatively for rest of us the value remained zero for a long time. Until his story was well popularized, due to digital age. And he became a legend like an Achillis , while the value of his tunnel increased. Even Wikipedia says that there is some dispute over the ownership over the tunnel now. Nobody would care unless it is valuable. I am sure, it will be more popular, as even I who is living in the opposite side of the world, to this unknown tunnel is writing about it. More we write, more we talk about it more it will be valuable. If you would like to know more about the values, I suggest you read my previous article on how values are generated . As this blog is about mindfulness, I would like to point out some salient features about the graph and these mental values in general. The value of a tunnel is always relative to some consciousness , I have only separated William Schmidt to show that how it is separate from rest of us. However, I am sure, if we graph his wife's point of view, we will get a totally different graph. The value essentially becomes zero, when consciousness is lost- Death. The values are variable with time, and circumstances, but generally more people are interested, more value will be generated. If you are mindful, and you have followed articles about consciousness, and mental objects before, you may ask questions like, what is the value of the tunnel when William Schmidt was sleeping? I think these are more philosophical in nature. Mountain man of India. Compare above story to the story of Dashrath Manjhi. He is known as the "Mountain Man of India," undertook an extraordinary feat of determination and perseverance. After his wife passed away due to lack of medical care, Manjhi, a poor laborer from Bihar, spent 22 years (1960–1982) carving a 360-foot-long road through a mountain. Using only hand tools like a hammer and chisel, he reduced the distance between his village, Gelhar, and the nearest town with medical facilities from 70 kilometers to 15 kilometers. As you can imagine his digging effort never lost its value, as the need for a road through the mountain never came down. So, he still is considered as a hero. Charlie Chaplin Philosophy. I am just going to show you the comedy of life, just like Charlie Chaplin did. We would like to laugh at William Schmidt and praise Dashrath Manjhi. As one did a futile task and the other did a valuable task according to our yard of Measure. However, look at your own life, make a graph of values that you have mentally created for your objects of affection. And predict what the value would become in the future. And know where the zero of life is. Then you would find the comedy in life that you can laugh at your own self. You may be digging a tunnel, a rabbit hole, sometimes in your office, sometimes in a cooperate company, sometimes in a rural village, sometimes in a computer, like me. Hence, as essentially, we all are doing by so called living is digging a tunnel in mountain of problems our whole lives.

About Mirage. I am sure you have seen Mirage at least once, and it is likely many times. Unless you live in Alaska or Antarctica, mirage is pretty common in hot climate, due to our highway systems. We do not have to be in a desert, as the hot carpeted roads, creates mirages all the time. And as I drove, on one such road, I just saw a mirage the other day, and it made me wonder, what is the difference between mirage and water. It is a fascinating thought journey, to revisit. Mirage is considered as something false. As it deceives our eyes with water. It appears the road is flooded with water. However, there is no water. Hence, we label mirage as an illusion. We even use this to represent when we refer something unachievable, "You are chasing a mirage!" Let's look at this phenomenon carefully to understand how we fool ourselves with a simple truth. You would agree Mirage is an optical illusion, created by heated air, able to reflect the light. It is a real phenomenon which is happening in front of our eyes. I am sure the science behind it is easy enough to understand. However, the nature, did not do it, to fool us about water. It is only our own eyes, having seen water reflecting the sky for so long, that the brain fools us it is water that we see. So, the Mirage is as real as the road. How real you may ask. I would say, it is as real as water. To understand we just need to know how we see water. About water. Imagine an Oasis, not the cruise ship, but a real one with a big pond surrounded by richly grown palm trees and greenery. And if you approach this Oasis, you will see the reflection of the sky. You would see this is how exactly you would see if there was a mirror, as the surface of the water just act as a reflecting surface. However, we do not call this a false message, as we find water where we expect, there is. If we think about the logic behind the thinking behind the mirage, the water should be as false as the mirage, as both do not contain the sky. Both of them just reflect the same sky, even if we keep them side by side from a distance, we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So, the argument that the mirage is as real as the water holds true. It seems our mind which search for water is at fault searching water in a place that there is mirage. Imagine you keep a large mirror, in a distance in the desert, and it will also reflect the sky, and appear as a mirage, or water. Still, we would not call this unreal, as we find at least something, in this case not water but a mirror. In all three case scenarios the mechanism behind the reflection was the same, however in the case of mirage we could not find the reflecting surface when we reach there. It was there, which was the hot air, although we could not see this. Hence someone needs the mind's eye and some background scientific knowledge to see what happens. No wonder our ancestors who knew nothing about reflection , were fooled by mirage. What is false in water. This is a question I have previously answered, in the article simple truths . As I pointed out water is just a name for a form, which appear and disappear for a blink of an eye. Here I would like to point out false in water relative to a mirage. As we know there is no mirror on a surface of water, yet it reflects light. So, if we go by the logic of mirage, water reflecting light should be a false phenomenon, as we do not find the mirror. At this point you should question me, saying, hold on. Why are you looking for a mirror in water, obviously you won't find any. And at this rate you will start to look for elephants in a pen. Answer to the first question is, I didn't look for a mirror in water, it's just logic lead me here. The logic which my mind used looking for water in a mirage. And secondly, I have already seen an elephant in a pen . If you would like to red that story, it is here. What is false in a Scarecrow? Philosophy of self I didn't give an explanation when I wrote the Scarecrow story . As it seems, the thought process of the wise man in the story is similar to the thought process of above. So, we can apply the mirage philosophy and explain the story. If someone looks for a man in a scarecrow, his thought process is wrong. Because he is looking for something which is not there. Just like someone looking for a mirror in the water. Similarly, if someone is looking for water in a place there is only hydrogen and oxygen molecules, he is also at fault, as there is no water. And fortunately, or unfortunately we can apply same logic to ourselves. If someone or something (our consciousness in this case) is looking for a self, where there is just an illusion of it, our minds are at fault. And that is a good philosophy of self. What have you been looking for lately? Happiness? 😉

Revisit the Equation of life. I am sure there is an equation for life. And I am sure it is so complex, that we would not understand all of it. We know parts of this equation, like formulas for calory burnt in the body, and Glomerular filtration rate (Amount of fluid filtered in the kidney per unit time) Imagine all these combined together to form a giant equation. Previously I have discussed such equations, in the article modeling the world in a mathematical function . And I explained such a function should be a continuous function. And anything stable in the answers we get from such a function is that answers are bound to change moment by moment. Here we are going to think about the equation of life in a different manner. I am sure if you are someone with a mathematical sense you will enjoy the following discussion. I am going to compare life boldly with the anatomy of an equation. Parts of equation Let's imagine an equation of life. On the right side, of the equal sign there would be terms, which consists of Constants and variables connected by operators. And all we want is our life to be stable. Life = Happiness + relationships + freedom + etc. + etc.... Happiness = Income + Expenditure + Expectations. So, to have a stable life, we need steady income, steady expenditure (which is less than income) and fulfillable and fulfilling expectations etc. I am sure they are consisting of variables and constants. Given the choice we would all be constants, as inherently we do not like the unpredictability. And this is why stock markets are risky, as their gains and losses are not always behaved as we expect them to. Given a choice, I would want steady happiness in my life. So, what is better? Becoming a variable or a constant in an equation? If we consider ourselves as hypothetical perfectionists, we all would want to be these constants in nature. We would want to have a good health throughout our lives. We need a place to live, a house of our own, where we could come home and relax every day. We would time for ourselves daily, where we can think about steady progression of life achievements. However, they seem to be a supernatural dream, as always, the nature tries to put chaos, into our routines, while we crave for a constant, flow. I have compared this phenomenon to a canoe ride to a cruise ship ride earlier in the article why peace is ultimate happiness . All we want is to be in a cruise, however, always we get crashed by waves, like a canoe rider. Where did we go wrong? Thinking about constants. I think the part of the problem lies when we think about constants. Constant is an abstract idea, which itself imaginary and platonic. Hence when we say "life = 7" (you can put any constant here) think about what it means. What 7? If you look at the world you would not find any constant to put in any equation. 7 is a constant only by convention, as in mathematical language we all agree it represents the same thing. However, the truth is it doesn't have to be, and it does not. Imagine 7 is apples, they will rotten in a day. Imagine 7 is diamonds, they too will get destroyed when the earth does, or when they are cut to fit into Jewlery. Imagine 7 is a position in the number line. That is a constant right? Wrong. If you choose different position to represent to 0 and everyone will agree to this, 7 may represent something else. Can you see the problem? We cannot point out to a constant without artificially fixing some zero, by agreement. Which means it is just imaginary. If you do not agree with me, there is some great book written by Rupert Sheldrake. "The science delusion: Freeing the Spirit of inquiry." he discusses some scientific Dogmas which keeps the science from advancing. And the ideal of constants never change is one such dogmas. And he goes into explaining Big G in our gravitational equations to illustrate the fact that it has changed over the years, and it stopped only when we fixed it by convention by agreeing on some other definitions. I have discussed the same phenomena with the definition of time, in the book, What is time? Even if you do not understand the single word of the above paragraph, it does not matter. But the main idea can be summarized in following manner. Summary so far. Even in science, constants are changing its values often. In mathematics constants are constant only because its imaginary and platonic -> imaginary numbers. In equation of life searching for a constant is a futile task, understanding this is the key. You may argue, I am wrong. Maybe I am, as what I will tell is just another relative changing truth, in your mind. Maybe Rupert Sheldrake also made a huge mistake with those bold claims, about constants in nature not being constant. He had lot to lose when he wrote about those controversial topics, as some label as "Pseudo-science". However, look at what Nicholas Tesla said a century ago, on science and its future. And it is time critical that we start doing what he visioned a long time ago. Maybe we are too late, maybe you are not. “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena; it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” ~ Nikola Tesla So, it's for you to save the science, from its doomed fate?

How to be a tourist. I am sure you have been a tourist once in a while. Whenever we are at work, we are just routine men and women. When we step on a foreign land, we become tourists. And it is time to relax and enjoy. Here I will discuss how and why we all should be tourists in our own city. So, we will start with why? Why become a tourist? If you are in a major city like London or New York tourists are a common sight. Have you taken time to observe people walking? If you haven't, I suggest you do so. Sit in a quiet corner of a coffeehouse where you can observe the streets. While enjoying your coffee, note your observations. Check whether they are similar to mine. You will notice you can identify tourists by their appearance. Obviously by ethnicity. However, ethnicity is not much a giveaway nowadays as in major cities they are blended. Most likely you will spot tourists by their mannerism. Look at how they walk, a tourist would walk like they are walking in the park! Even if it is a busy suburb. Looking at every shop, every letter box and monument. They are in no hurry. Walking like they have all the time in the world. Slow pace. Not only that if you notice their faces, but they also smile while walking. At least pleasant. No stress visible. Their gaze is not fixed on the tiles of the floor or the corner of the street. I am sure they remember most of the things happened during this day effortlessly. Even crows and garbage cans are not going to spoil their day. Now compared to this someone who is native, is going to walk. With a busy stressful gloomy face, and they don't have time to observe what a tourist does. They are straight fixed and like fire. And I am sure you dare not to bump into one of them. So, there is nothing new for them to see in their own city. Same old corners, same old monuments, same tourists' day after day congesting their streets. If you think about this wisely you would understand what differs is the attitude, or the context. As so-called tourists will follow same routine that you follow, in their own cities. If given a choice, what would you become? I am sure there is no doubt in that. We all like to let the child like curiosity of a tourist to flourish within ourselves if given a choice. The real question is are we given a choice? How to be a tourist in your own city? I can point out several ways. But the main ingredient is novelty created by mindfulness . Mindfulness is the method we can tap into the childhood curiosity of the mind. It is inherently present in all of us, just we have to awaken this. When you are mindful about the fact that the walk to home you are taking today is not the walk you took yesterday, as suggested by random walk , you know there are plenty of things to see. Even a polluted drain, or a brick wall, or an old oak tree could inspire you to be creative. You can take a fresh breath of air, in the morning and exhale fast, to see the water vapors get crystalized in the midair and be amazed in this winter. You can get down from your bus before your stop, or after your bus stop, and take a little walk in unknown parts of your neighborhood and be amazed how things have changed slowly. Or make it a true paradigm shift . No, you don't need company to do this, as your best friend is you. If you smile with yourself observing the city, same city which you thought, steal your time and energy, you notice that it is absolutely wrong. There is much more to appreciate in your own city, you will become a tourist in your own city. When you hear sounds, listen mindfully . When you walk on the pavement, take steady slow steps, break the routine pattern of walking, make it a zig zag just for the sake of it. Stop for a while, walk backwards. It doesn't matter if your Neighbours see, as you are being a tourist in your own city. I am sure this does not end there. But I think you get the idea; it's about changing your attitude on your own city. And mind your mindfulness is like a disease, and when you are cheerful, everyone around you will be ill with happiness, otherwise a rough day. Why? As you can see, I do write about everyday life, as I have felt the same. I have been stuck up in same nihilistic, boring tempo of life just like you. Just like you I want to break free. However, if you look at the statistics, no matter how hard we try, it is inevitable that majority of us will die as pretty normal, middle-class people as 8-5 daily paid workers. Still, there should be something to rejoice, as we all are gifted with a consciousness of our own, and ability to value anything on our own, we ourselves can create our own values. It doesn't have to be valuable enough to hang on the walls of the central art gallery, but we can paint a picture of a beautiful alley in our own minds. We can do this only when we know how our values are generated . And let's be mindful about this today.

Rabbits, cutest innocent animals of all. Yes, rabbits are innocent. And cute. I dedicate the first part of this article for these cute animals. If you compare with Buggs Bunny, you will get the wrong idea about rabbits. Of course, in reality rabbits are far from Buggs Bunny. Have you seen a rabbit up close? With their big eyes and ears. I did not know until I had opportunity to pet one. They are afraid of everything. It is shaking all over, all the time, even when I pet it. Maybe it is their fast heart rate, but it feels like they live in fear. Like afraid of something all the time. I can understand what it feels like to live a life of a rabbit, in wild, when you know your death can be hiding behind every bush. And you can only hope your legs would not slip when you run away from it. One day it may, until then you run from it. They live a life of a Hollywood death race every day! How did the nature overcome the problem? The nature gave the rabbits ability to create more offspring. Sometimes they are called baby making machines. They would make more than 50 babies if conditions are ideal, in a year. So, isn't nature cruel ? I mean, just to feed the fox and snakes and humans. Sometimes, it is difficult to understand nature's intentions. A word of caution reading following. When we were kids, we had a nearby playground, with plenty of grass. And rabbits used to come there at night. How did we know? Well, in the morning we saw plenty of rabbit dung. We never saw them during the day, except one day our little dog, out of curiosity had caught a one. The wounded rabbit could not escape. It was there on our doorstep, with blood all over the floor, and like he had done something brave our dog was there wagging its tail expecting appreciation. I was deeply saddened by seeing this horror, as a kid. Maybe I was few years old. Yes, I always wanted to see a rabbit and pet one. But not like this! The rabbit was unsalvageable, and it was put out of its misery and fed to the dog. What is rabbit philosophy or running away from problems. So, the rabbit's strategy to the problems of life is running. And it is a good one, until one day inevitable happens. I have done it. And I am sure you have done this, if you have lived long enough. Sometimes we face problems which squeeze us through bottlenecks in life. Which are hard to escape and only thing we can do is run away like a rabbit. And hoping we can outrun the problems. And it really works, as some problems given enough time would never come back. You may run to the edge of the land, into the beach or up on a mountain, you may find peace. Like the famous run of Forest Gump. yet you will have to turn back. This is not a good strategy as you can see in the long term, as rabbits would end up in the belly of the fox one day when they are caught, if not young, old and feeble. What is the alternative? The alternative is to ask the question why ? without running away from the problem. Rabbits should start to ask the questions like, Why am I a rabbit? Why fox is a fox? Why python is a python? Why death? why hunger? why a food chain? Why should I make offspring? More rabbits with more problems? I am sure, rabbit would not ask those questions. They would run away from death, surely for a one last time. The question is would you do the same? It doesn't matter if you are a rabbit or a fox or a hawk. We are gifted by the nature to question. And we should use it. And if we do not, we would die like just rabbits' foxes and Hawks without ever understanding the natures plan. It takes someone bravery and courage to take action even when they are given the facts. I am sure you are brave, just like a lion.

A total Rest, By the lagoon. You are walking towards the lagoon park, as all the benches are occupied, take the footpath which runs towards the edge of the water, where you find a place to sit. The breeze which carries the salty smell of the lagoon comfort your tiredness of the hard-working day. The sky is gloomy as it appears raining in the far away mountains. There is only single Golden cloud although the sun already disappeared, it was his last attempt to remind the day he dominated had end. You feel happy. And you notice the happiness you feel is the reflection of the cloud that you just saw, and you notice how it disturbed the peace which already had. You think of taking a photo, of the golden cloud, however, do nothing. Try to understand the wind instead. Try to be the sky, the clouds and that annoying Noice which disturb the happiness and peace you seek. Notice how and why it doesn't last as you expected. Let it be a total rest; let it be a partial rest. And you let everything to come and go deliberately opening the door of your mind just to watch them appear and disappear like the waves in front of you. What is A total Rest? Can there be a thing like total rest? Once I wrote an article claiming that we should aim at resting instead of retiring . As I pointed out there, even after so called retiring we would not be resting. We might be still working, so resting is the only way we can seek the so-called Peace that we seek all our lives. Often, I have taken rests, just like you. Sometimes, days after days trying to rest. Imagine you have a long weekend ahead. You may have done some extra work to get one day added to your weekend. And this weekend you are going to rest. You may decide to sleep until noon and order food. You may postpone any meetings, cancel encounters. You may choose to munch snacks watching Netflix, not just one movie, but a dozen of them. Just like when Bruno Mars Sang, nobody would dare say you cannot do it. ----------------------------------- Today I don't feel like doing anything I just wanna lay in my bed Don't feel like picking up my phone So leave a message at the tone 'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything ------------------------------------ I am sure you have don't it before. However, you may have noticed, you do not feel at rest at all. Why is this? Why is doing something you Favour, most does still make you feel drained, not rested? The rest you are taking doing these tasks is not a total rest. Of course you let your consciousness freely float in time. However, a total rest is only achievable when you are mindful about your awareness. Which is by definition the Mindfulness. When you see your current status of the mind and accept it as it is, even when you are angry, even when you are sad, even when your mind is at peace, that is mindfulness. You just acknowledge and continue to be aware. You do not have a specific task to do. You can be aware of your breath in seated position in the beginning but once you have seen enough, just being aware is enough. This remind me a quote that I heard a long time ago, "If you are aware, you are not there, no point in being there". If you think about this in relation to rest, we can understand why watching Netflix is not a total rest. As, if you are not mindful, any task becomes a futile process, even the rest. If you are not aware of the "Rest" it is like we have not rested at all. It is like waking up from a mini-Coma. At the end of it you will be back to where you have left, which is unrested state. Even our work would demand more consciousness than this. How to have a total rest. So, what is the solution. Compared to above, some activities are inherently demanding mindfulness. Such as taking a walk in a new part of the city. ( A paradigm shift ) Or even an ordinary walk without music and friends or the dog would demand more attention to the present moment. For an artistic mind this could be some creative activity, like composing music or a painting. Although it is considered as "Work" these activities still can serve the purpose of a "Rest". So, the Key is to be mindful. So, you may ask, if that is true, any activity can be a "Total Rest". And I would agree with you. But just like you I really find it difficult to be mindful watching the Telly . :)

Taller the bamboo grows lower it bends. This is a Chinese proverb. Of course, you would remember pandas and bamboo trees when you hear the proverb. More importantly we should analyze what does it mean. As the secret of being humble is hidden in the nature of growth of a bamboo tree. If you haven't seen bamboo, trees, they are one of the fast-growing trees in the world. Compared to its circumference, they are very tall. Although they start to grow directly towards the sky as young shoots, once they reach a certain height, the bamboo will start to bend from its own wight, towards the ground. And this is analogous to the fact that someone wiser is more down to earth than rest of the people. More humble and less egotic. This is the characteristic that everyone should aim to achieve naturally, as there is no way you can bend a tree without breaking it unless it is a bamboo. Reading the proverb gives me many questions. We will go through each of them to figure out the natural way of becoming humbler. Which I call is the mindfulness way, like a bamboo. How to be a bamboo? You can try to be humble. Like the internet suggests there are list of seven, ten or twelve things to do. However, I suggest more importantly we should aim to become a bamboo tree than some other tree. As, if you try to introduce being humble to someone who is not, it will end with disaster as it is not natural. So, how can you become humble like a bamboo. This is where the mindfulness wisdom comes into play. Mindfulness will help us to become a bamboo tree rarther than bend already straight one. How to be humble by Observing truths of life. Mindfulness will let us observe life as it is. Just like David Wallace , introduced us to water in his commencement speech, we will be able to see simple truths about life. Simple truths, like happiness is not in money, but an affair of the mind. Like when you go on a vacation, I am sure you have been to visit a mountain. I am not talking about ordinary hill that you visit everyday, when you have so much ego, that would not do the trick. So you will have to go to a great peak, like Matternhorn, Rocky or Himalayan type of a peak. And just when you go there you will realise how small you are. How small you are compared to a mountain which is so huge. When you compare the weight you would be just a grain in a bucket full of grains. Even smaller. More you spend times there you would see your ego, takes a vacation on its own and you fall back on earth. I am sure you have felt the same, just that you have never word it before. Now you know why you feel relaxed as you do not have to carry the burden of being yourself, home. It is a hell of a resoponsibility to be somebody, less ego, is the starting point to becoming nobody. And more you spend time with the nature more you will realise this fact. You can do the same in the beach, watching the waves . And compare this to all the other human beings. Like the mountain, the sea is a vast body. With the sound of crashing waves, even your voice is going to be unheard, unless you start to shout deep from your lungs. So, definitely you will be silenced for the most of the time when you are at the beach. When you start to spend your times, in these solitary journeys with nature, you will start to realise the Zero of life . Which essentially means that equality of the life. Life which starts at zero ends in zero one day. And this is universal to every life. When these facts are seen not by my words, but within your own life, you will be reborn as a bamboo. As we see it the conciousness is a potential, which has ability to become extraordinary if it believes in anything. So, the mindfulness way is to realise that you are not different from everyone else. You are not separate from everyone else, as we all are interconnected by the nature. As these simple truths are only seen with the mindfulness, Let's start a humble journey today. Once you become a bamboo, maybe we can think about start the journey to be a hydrophobic leaf next.

Once upon a time there lived a King and a Queen. They were living happily ever after in their kingdom. They had two sons. Two princes, who were equally kind and honest like their parents. After some time a tragedy struck and the Queen died in child birth. Of course even queens died those days during child birth, as there was no established health system in place. You and I are lucky to be born after Alexandar Flemming era. After the queens death the king, married again. This time with a widowed Queen. The new Queen had a son too. All the three princes were fond of each other. It was a sight to see when they played in the garden. As time went by, they became teenagers. Getting ready to have the responsibility of the Kingdom. The eldest was the wisest. The middle was the bravest. The second Queen's son was neither wise, Nor brave. One day they went out on an adventure into a nearby thick jungle. All alone by themselves. They were exploring unexplored land, and had great deal of fun. Climbing trees, steep rocks and discovering new teretories. And they came to a beautiful pond middle of the jungle. They all decided, they should stop there, have a bath and turn back home as it was getting dark. So they jumped into the water, all three of them. They did not know there was an ancient monster in the water. Within seconds the monster Jumped from the depth of the water and captured two of the princes in his two hands. He roared loudly, as the third and the eldest prince escaped to the bank in a flash. He dragged his sword and firecely stood against the monster to fight back to save his brothers. The monster so powerful and enormous, and wise too. He knew their language very well, like all the monsters do. He laughed and said, "You pathetic little boy, Are you going to fight me? You will have to step into the water. As the rule of the God, I am allowed to eat anything which enters water, and the moment you step foot, I am going to eat you alive too. So run! while you can" The eldest prince was not afraid. He observed everything, and said. "I am not just a boy, I am the Eldest prince of this kingdom. You are holding my brothers, Unless you release them now, I am going to summon an army and destroy you." The monster said. "Even if you do that, your brothers will be dead by then. It is a battle you have lost from the beginning. So, I will give you a choice." "I will eat one of your brothers and save you the other, and never come back to this pond again" The eldest Son, thought for a while. Given the choice of saving one is better for the little trouble. He is at the verge of never seeing both of his brothers. And he knew he had to agree, that is the best he can do. If he do not do that he would loose both of his brothers and kill the monster, but to what end. So he agreed. He told, "Spare me the youngest brother, You can eat my own brother, the bravest" The monster was suprised of his choice. And said. "So, you decided to sacrifice your own brother? What a coward you are. Are you afraid that he will grow up one day and steal your kingdom? Is that what you were thinking you cunning prince?" The eldest spoke. "No, that was not what I was thinking. If we go back with my own brother and tell all the people there is a monster who ate my brother in Law, Nobody would believe us, we will have to come back here and kill you to show everyone that is true. But If I go back with my brother in Law, and tell my own brother was killed, everyone would believe his eyewitness, as he has no reason to lie against me. He stand more a witness than my own brother. (Less conflicts of interest as we call it in ethics) The monster hearing the prince's talk became very happy. So He decided to let go of both the princes captured. In return they did never come back, letting the monster live a peaceful life in his pond. On conflicts of interest. Imagine you are a CEO of a government own firm. And you are interviewing set of candidates for a major position in the company. One of your relatives or neighbours son is there as a candidate. Although how much you try to avioid, there will be either positive or negative bias, (You would either favour or deny their chance of getting through the interview) and That is Conflict of interest. So, if you do not declare that this relationship and avoid being in the interview board, it would be unethical and unfair by the others, or the candidate. There are many situations like above conflicts of interest occurs. Like the situation the elder prince faced in our story. Saving the brave prince,and the brother would be a better option for the country, but who is going to believe them? everyone smell a foul play even if there is not any. Conflicts of interest - is a form of greed which occurs in our minds. Sometimes we even do not feel that this is at play. However this appears everywhere, more than we think. As greed, tend to be working in stealth mode, most of the time during the day. Remember the In -law fights, they are universal. Although we think we care for the others, there is a subtle form of greed which expect something from our loved ones. And when this is denied, there will be a fight. So, for the Mother in Law and the daughter in law, the son or the husbands affection is a conflict of interest. I can show you why with a little example. More examples of conflicts of interest at play. Imagine a play, that you went to see. Your little daughter is taking a part in it. You are sitting at the back bench, cheering up. And boy! they have put their item at the end of the day. You are waiting and waiting until your daughter appears on the stage. And finally she does appear. And that is a treat for your eyes. You observe every move of her. When she does it perfect you are happy. When she does not, you smile for her silly mistakes. You compare her to all the other children. That there is a conflict of interest. Your eyes seek the sight of your daughter and you want her to perform better than any other. You would do anything ethical to make it happen. So, even within the framework of standard ethics we cannot avoid conflict of interest. To understand the difference you have to look at the situation from stranger's eyes. So, I put Jesus on the audiance. When he look at the stage, he sees everyone. There is no specific attachment to your daughter, or someone elses daughter. Even ones who are not doing well, crying in corner, or even the ones who are agressive are equal in his eyes. He even see you. And everyone else. When I say "Everyone" it means every living being. Even the aleans and other Gods. And see all of them equal. So he wants the happiness of even microbes like demodex. He, surely do not possess any conflict of interest! How not to have confict of interest. So, as you can see it is not easy for someone to have no confilits of interest. That is why we declair it beforehand and avoid being in situations this occur. But can we really not have conflict of interest? When we think about it, we know that this is a platonic form . There cannot be a human being, without conflicts of interest, as such a person would love his children same way as he loves his dog. And this interest would not be more than what he is having for himself. Can you imagine such a person? Even in extream situations this person would not act, unethically. Like, when his son is drownning, together with his dog, he would not have preference to save one over the other. I am sure everyone would say it he is insane he tried to save the dog before his son. However, I am not saying there are no such minds existing. Such conciousness are very rare, and insanely difficult to find. And I believe this is the highest form of self we should aim to achieve during our lifetime. So, are you willing to steer your ship to those unknown deep waters? Let's help with a little wind from mindfulness wisdom so you can reach that destination faster. As mindfulness is the eyes which makes us see our internal conflicts of interest.

Background 1 - fake dinosaur or real dinosaur In a relaxed afternoon, while napping on a couch, you see your kid playing with a plastic dinosaur. An adorable sight as long as he is not disturbed, and you are not disturbed. And you walk through the memory lane to figure out the origins of the dinosaur. You notice that it is made up of plastic, molded in a factory in mainland China . Obviously, even without the label it is sure that half of the products in your room are from China. And where did the plastic come from? From Crude Oil, dug deep in Oil farms of UAE. Plastic is essentially a byproduct of oil. How did oil generate in deep desert? Now in your dream, you imagine, dinosaurs who once ruled earth in Paleoanthropic era, on their doom's day, instantly dead with a catastrophic earthquake, with thousands other flora and fauna, they were buried deep underground over years. Immense heat from earth's core and pressure from above dissolve their hydrocarbons into oil. Until humans evolve into a species capable into tap into the sap of earth's history to bring out Crude oil. And you wake up suddenly realizing, the dinosaur your child is holding actually and partially came from real dinosaurs! Background 2- Why cannot I see an elephant in a pen? I saw this amazing video, actually part of it, where a judge is starting to question a teenager, who is on the witness stand. Before real questioning began judge wanted to clarify what is truth to the child. So, she pointed out to her pen and said, "If I said that this is a pen, Am I telling truth?" The child answered yes. And she continued. "If I said that this is an elephant, Am I telling the truth? or am I lying? The child answered "That would be lying" You may have now in a position to look at the truth critically. Obviously, it is true when you point to a pen and say that is a pen. Obviously, it is not an elephant. However, if you would combine the wisdom you gained from the above background 1, you can definitely say there are some pieces of the dinosaur in the pen. Of course that would be a stupid answer to a Judge, you will still be guilty. But as a philosopher it fascinates me when I know it is likely that the pen similarly will hold atoms of an elephant, even dead ancestors of mine. As for years and years, living species on earth used and reused these hydrocarbon atoms. It is very unlikely total new atoms are there. Philosophy of truth We can further continue with above example as a mental experiment. Imagine someone melts the pen into a ball. If it was shown to anyone now, it would be a "Plastic ball" not a pen. Isn't it amazing. You wouldn't appreciate if you cannot see the timeline of the "Matter" in this case, So I would summaries this. Star dust-matter after big bang -> matter on earth Matter on earth-> matter in dinosaur/Elephant matter in elephant -> matter in oil Matter in oil -> matter in a pen Matter in pen -> matter in plastic ball. What does this mean philosophically? What is philosophy of truth? Following are my conclusions. Send me yours. Saying there is a pen is a relative truth. As pen is just a form, at particular time at a particular place, a collection of matter. (It is true relative to the person who observe it) You can see anything in everything, as we share only common pool of atoms. This makes me identify myself as nature, not separate entity. We can understand this phenomenon, of relative nature of truth, when we look at different aspects of daily Life. If you are interested you can read following articles to learn about philosophy of Forms , Collar bone philosophy. When we question the reality, it appears as something made up by our mind than what actually is.