Pep Talk!> Prayer and You

Image: Visit by a Butterfly!

Art Work by: Tanya Munshi

Artwork Copyright: Tanya Munshi

Text by: Tanya Munshi
The definition of prayer between two people will always be different. For one it maybe spending hours in a holy place, while for another a fifteen minute quick prayer is just enough. It does not necessarily mean that you have to spend long hours in prayer to get through to God. He can hear us anyway, long or short prayer. To put it simply, it’s like making a call to God and having a long conversation or a short one, depending on your need or state of being.

Prayer As A Tool
It is not to say that you use prayer to gain something. Prayer like we mentioned is to get through to God and speak our minds and hearts out. Seeking forgiveness, need help, feeling lost, need answers? That’s when you sit down in a quite corner, close your eyes and talk to Him in your mind - this is prayer. Prayer is also a tool to convey your thanks to God. Prayer is a part of your connection with God, where you cannot lie. You need to be absolutely true to yourself and to Him. Come on, why do you have to keep things away from Him? He is all knowing and ever forgiving.

Why Should We Pray?
Somehow or the other, prayer definitely helps us. It’s like a tonic that keeps us going. Prayer keeps us grounded in life; it gives us strength. Even if we cannot see God, we know He’s watching over us. Prayer reinforces His presence in our lives. Remember the saying, ‘the family that prayers together, stay together’; it’s a great way of bonding with our family. Even in the worst phases of our lives, when we feel like blaming God or don’t want to believe in Him anymore, we can pray to Him telling Him how we feel. He listens and with time, He’ll give the answers.

Benefits Of Prayer

• It helps in time of depression and illnesses by giving the person strength to move on and heal.


• It makes a person more positive in life, knowing that God is going to take care of him/ her.
  By confessing one tends to lighten the burden of guilt from his/her heart.


• One can seek forgiveness that helps in forgiving oneself and others.


• It improves the quality of a person’s well being.

Published in Tips4me.com, on August 13, 2007

Home> First Aid for Wooden Furniture - II

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Continuing our series of tips to care for wooden furniture, here are some more tips to keep your home looking brand new!

Scratches And Alcohol Marks
Use shoe polish to match the color of your furniture to hide tiny scratch marks. Using a thick marker or crayon also helps in concealing scratches.
Rub a paste of linseed oil with rottenstone in the stained area. Rottenstone is a worn out and decayed limestone that has the properties of silica. This stone is available in powdered form and is used in polishing.

Daily Care For Wooden Furniture
Never drag any material on the table top. This will scratch your table. Always lift the materials while cleaning.
Immediately clean up any kind of spills. Don’t delay the cleaning; else the spills will get a more difficult to remove.

Published in Tips4me.com, on August 6, 2007
Link: http://www.tips4me.com/tips/homehints/others_main.asp?file=/tips/home/cleaning.htm

Home> First Aid for Wooden Furniture - I

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Wooden furniture adds class and style to your home. Elegant designs and classy finish on dark wooden furniture is all that it takes to make your house look regal. Your heart breaks if there’s a wine spill or coffee stain on your table top that ruins the look. This series arms you with some handy tips to keep your wooden furniture looking as classy as ever.

Removing Water And Caffeine Stains
~ Usually, furniture stains when the moisture trickling down from a cold drink or coffee/tea cup breaks into the wood by seeping through the wood wax.
~ Apply gel-free toothpaste, mayonnaise, or salad oil on a polishing cloth and rub thoroughly on the stained area.
~ Then, with a clean damp cloth, remove the film. Now use a wood polish to make the area look sparkling new.
~ Place a thick blotting paper over the stained area and place a warm iron over it. Repeat the procedure a few times till you find the stain fading away.

Published in Tips4me.com, on August 27, 2007
Link: http://www.tips4me.com/tips/homehints/others_main.asp?file=/tips/home/cleaning.htm

Pep Talk!> Sharpen your Meditation Skills

Image: Stow Away!
Artwork By: Tanya Munshi
Artwork Copyright: Tanya Munshi

Text By: Tanya Munshi

You need not trek up to the Himalayas and sit in complete isolation to attain nirvana. If you want to relax and control your mind, you can do it in your room, at work, where ever you wish. Just a little bit of patience and practice is all it takes. Here are some tips to help you sharpen your meditation skills that will in the longer run you in taming your mind.

Preparation And Timing

• To meditate, you need to be alert, energetic, and awake to be able to concentrate.

• Mediation should be performed on an empty stomach. Or have something light like a cup of tea and a biscuit just before. At least this will prevent your stomach from growling and won’t distract you during meditation. Avoid eating anything heavy to prevent sluggishness during meditation.

• Always sit in the early morning hours, right after waking up and brushing your teeth. The ideal time for meditation is before breakfast in the morning or before dinner in the evening.

• Fix a time for meditation daily. Disciplines such as fixed timings also prove beneficial for meditation. Choosing a time when no one is going to disturb you also helps. Make it a point to meditate at the same time and place everyday.

Posture
• It is very important to sit straight. Sluggishness and slouching won’t help even if you religiously sit down for meditation every day.

• If the traditional padmasana pose is not possible then sit in the usual crossed legged position, with your hands resting on your knees and your back straight.

Practice And Patience

• Be regular with your meditation. If you did not get the time to mediate in the morning, then try and compensate it in the evening.

• You can even meditate during stressful times at work or class. All you need to do is close your eyes and concentrate on slow, deep breathing.

• Remember, your mind WILL wander during meditation. But it is a part of the meditation process. Whenever you find your mind wavering, slowly bring it back to concentrate on your breathing. This will sharpen your concentration and meditation abilities.

• Be patient with yourself, even if you cannot concentrate immediately. But don’t stop your mediation; practice it daily.

Published in Tips4me.com, on July 23, 2007 Link: http://www.tips4me.com/tips/spirituality/others_main.asp?file=/tips/spirituality/spi.htm

Pep Talk!> Tips To Express Your Anger

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Anger is a form of venting out our frustrations and pent up feelings. Anger can get the worst of us if we don’t know how to control it. Just like happy and not so happy thoughts, it is very important to figure out our anger. Remember, anger can make us react impulsively which we may tend to regret later. So knowing our anger definitely helps.

Healthy Anger
~ Anger is a perfectly normal human emotion, just like happiness, sadness, fear etc.
~ Anger is more of a response to people, situations and events beyond our control.
~ Anger can be caused by external stimuli, such as being hurt by a friend or external stimuli such as missing a bus to work.
~ It’s best to vent out anger by standing up for oneself if ill-treated or by defending oneself on being attacked etc.
~ Anger is essential for our survival as it catalyses us to do something about a situation/ event.

Expressing Anger
We manifest anger in three ways, –

Expressing –
o We need to be assertive; it’s the best way to vent our anger.
o For this, we need to be very clear in our head and heart as to how we can resolve a situation. This is the first step before confrontation.

Suppressing –
o Helps to block out negative emotions and concentrate on something positive.
o It gives us time to think about the stimuli clearly, before taking a call.
o Suppression does not mean that we don’t tackle a situation.
o Talking to a friend, confronting a person who caused that anger is important, but with dignity. We need not berate ourselves.
o Firmly, yet politely we should put our point across to the person.
o Using humor helps.

Calming –
o It allows the negative emotions to subside.
o This works especially when we are in a no-win situation.
o Sometimes it’s best to keep quite in anger triggering situations.

Unhealthy Anger
~ Anger becomes unhealthy when we brood over an unhappy event/ memory for too long and it sours our overall thinking.
~ When anger manifests into destructive behavior, i.e. when we hurt ourselves or others.
~ When anger makes us aggressive in behavior, we become pushy and disrespectful of others and hurt their feelings.
~ When we throw tantrums and refuse to understand and accept situations.
~ Especially when we start suppressing anger for too long and too often.

Pets> Care for Older Pets

Text by: Tanya Munshi

The love for your pets should never reduce even when they are old. When they’re young, pets romp and play all day long, giving you much-needed companionship. Hence, it’s our turn to give them our love and support during their old age.

What Happens During Old Age
Gradually, with age, our pets’ metabolism rate slows down. In simpler terms, an older pet is not as active as compared to a younger pet. Thus, during old age, their desire to fetch, run and romp reduces due to aches and pains. Poor eyesight (cataract and glaucoma), hearing troubles, and arthritis are some of the major health problems afflicting old pets.

Care For An Older Pet
~ Controlling your pet’s weight is of primary importance. By controlling its body weight, you can prevent its chances of getting arthritis and other health disorders.
~ Preferably feed it home-cooked food. Home-cooked food should be light as it will help your pet digest food better.
~ Regularly check your pet for ticks and fleas. At old age, their resistance to fight this menace reduces and they fall prey to skin infections.
~ Ensure you get your pet vaccinated regularly to keep his immune system robust.
~ Ask your vet for any diet supplements like calcium, in the form of toffees or chewies.

Daily Routine For An Older Pet
~ Ensure your pet gets its daily dose of exercise, but don’t overdo it. Exercises such as playing in the park or walking up the stairs boost blood circulation in the body, thereby keeping it fit.
~ For instance, for a dog, ensure he gets his daily walk. If he gets tired, don’t force him to walk more.
~ Cats on the other hand play with toys and get their exercise.
~ Brush your dog’s teeth daily. This will prevent it from getting any dental problems.
~ Keep a tab on your pet’s behavior, eating habits, temperaments etc. Any change noticed should be informed to the vet immediately.

Published in Tips4me.com, on August 27, 2007
Link: http://www.tips4me.com/tips/petcare/others_main.asp?file=/tips/caninehealth/ch.htm

Pep Talk!> Valentine's Day

Image: Say it with flowers!

Image copyright: Tanya Munshi

Text by: Tanya Munshi
February 14, a very special day indeed. Lovers swoon with mushy cards, cuddly teddies, and candle-lit dinners. Lovebirds giggle away in cozy corners, sharing a strawberry sundae, oblivious of onlookers! With an ongoing debate on the validity of this day that it's against our cultural values and ethos, it cannot be denied that love knows no culture or religion.

How it began
It all began with a third Century tale of heroism, bravery and love. A St. Valentine took the courage to defy the Emperor Claudius. Why? The power thirsty emperor wanted to possess the biggest army possible. Since men refused to join the army for the fear of losing their families, Emperor Claudius banned marriages.

But braving all odds, for what he believed, St. Valentine continued to get lovers married secretly, till he was thrown into prison by the cruel emperor. While being in prison he befriended the jailor's daughter and just before being hanged, he left a note to her, signed `From your Valentine'.

Valentines for all
What the emperor tried to erase back in history still thrives in our present century. This day is celebrated all across the world. Openly or secretly, it only proves that love thrives in all possible conditions.

But is this day only meant for lovers? Not necessarily. Valentine's Day can be celebrated by one and all who enjoy life to the fullest. Wearing the colour red to work, buying fresh flowers and placing them in a vase in your house, baking a cake, cooking something special for yourself or your folks, going out with friends for a movie or lunch, watching your favourite movie at home over popcorn and coffee are just as special in celebrating this day.

Keeping aside the red hearts for lovers for a while, this day can be used to express one's affection for a friend, a sibling, parents or even your pet. We need not limit love to only our spouse or a lover, your favourite plant in your balcony can also be a part of this celebration.

Be in love with yourself first, if you wish to love another. So celebrate this day even if you are single. If you're in a relationship, don't let commercialism bog you down. No diamonds and pearls, or expensive dinners can earn you the affection of another. Don't expect riches; be true to one another, stand up for one another and be committed to one another: This what matters at the end.

Published in The Hindu, Metroplus, Kochi edition
Link: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/12/stories/2007021201630100.htm