Life Is A Miracle

Life is a miracle; even your breath is a miracle in itself. To live your life as if everything is a miracle, you need wisdom of the body, the mind, and the soul, and they are all inter-connected with one another.

Happiness is the essence of life and living. Therefore, almost everybody is always pursuing happiness. However, without human wisdom, the pursuit of happiness is like wandering in the wilderness without a compass and a road map. Indeed, true human wisdom holds the key to opening the door to human goodness, which will ultimately lead to human happiness.

As If Everything Is A Miracle: This 125-page book is about the wisdom in living as if everything is a miracle, just as Albert Einstein once said: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is to live as if nothing is a miracle. The other is to live as if everything is a miracle."

The body perceives all sensations and experiences in the physical world. The mind interprets and registers them in the subconscious mind, which controls the conscious mind in its daily life choices and decisions, resulting in actions, non-actions, and reactions of the body in the physical world. The soul feeds the mind with spirituality that provides connection and interconnection with others through empathy and compassion, gratitude and generosity, as well as love and forgiveness. The body, the mind, and the soul—all play a pivotal role in the wisdom in contemporary living. The essence of this wisdom is their “alignment” with one another for balance and harmony in the being of an individual.

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Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Reverse Inflammation for Better Health

Inflammation is the underlying cause of many diseases, pains, and aches. Diet is the best solution, and not pharmaceutical drugs  Hippocrates, the Father of modern medicine, once said: “Let food be your medicine, and your medicine your food.” Physical pain is often due to the consumption of inflammatory food. 

To illustrate, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is becoming an epidemic in the United States, affecting more than 25 million people, and 70 percent of them being women, is a disorder of the intestines, resulting in pain, bloating, gassiness, and changes in bowel movements. 

Diet is the culprit of pain, and inflammatory foods are behind it. In addition to inflicting pain, inflammation at the cellular level is the cause of aging, chronic diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and even Alzheimer's. Foods can be pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. Pro-inflammatory foods are those that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, leading to the rapid release of insulin into the bloodstream. Your diet not only affects your cells but also your brain. According to Dr. Steve Henricksen, a brain researcher, "We used to think the brain was like a computer. Now we think each cell is like a computer, a separate computer. And one single cell is like the whole brain." The cells in the human brain produce neuropeptides that can increase or decrease inflammation, thereby responsible for body weight, energy level, mental functioning, mood change, and regularity of the immune system. In other words, neuropeptides play a pivotal role in inflammation and the natural health of an individual. 

To overcome inflammation that causes diseases and disorders, take anti-inflammatory spices in your diet.

Ginger is one of the many highly recommended spices for motion sickness, and upset stomach. Researchers in Denmark have attested to the efficacy of ginger in reducing arthritis symptoms, one  which is pain. 

Turmeric is an Indian curry spice that is also anti-inflammatory. Turmeric is prized not only for its flavor in curry, but also for its sun-like golden-yellow dye. As ab an anti-inflammatory spice, it is also applied cosmetically to enhance skin health and tone. In India, topical turmeric-based ointments are used to treat bruises and joint pain, and skin disorders. Turmeric is a safer and more potent anti-inflammatory agent than standard NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Given that it has properties instrumental in enhancing the human body's cortisone-type hormones, turmeric is anti-aging.

Researchers at the University of California have also recommended that turmeric should be used as a chemotherapeutic agent for colorectal cancers. Other studies have indicated that turmeric is efficacious in reducing cholesterol, and thus helping the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Due to its potent anti-inflammatory attributes. turmeric may prevent brain and nerves disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.

The bottom line: take anti-inflammatory foods, and avoid sugar as much as possible. Sugar, which is toxic, comes in many different forms. Most processed foods have hidden sugar, and therefore should be avoided.

The best anti-inflammatory diet is a clear, bland diet of unrefined grains, such as brown rice and beans, and low-fat meat, with lightly cooked vegetables.

Great Taste No Pain: A digestive system to give you no pain eating! Get rid of your digestive pain in one day; end digestive pain fast and naturally. It provides a science-based 4-day eating plan, including snacks, and 13 mouth-watering breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, and much more! Enjoy your food with no pain and no gain! 

Anti-Inflammation Diet: Ready to look younger and healthier? Get the anti-inflammatory diet to help your brain to help your body.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Positive Aging

If you are over 65, you belong to the 10 percent of the U.S. population heading towards longevity. If you are one of them, continue to forge ahead with your healthy lifestyle to remain younger and healthier for longer!

Only 5 percent of individuals over 65 are confined to an institution. Being healthier for longer assures you will not be one of them!

About 95 percent of individuals over 65 are still healthy without chronic health problems. If you are one of them, good for you! Continue your healthy lifestyle and stay healthy!

Cognitive function does not decline dramatically with age. The majority of seniors are still capable of learning new skills and acquiring new information. In general, your ability to learn new things is affected not so much by your age as by your desire to learn them. Keep up with your desire, and don’t lag behind the world of information and technology! This will keep you mentally fit for longer.

Your physical strength is usually maintained from your biological maturity until around age 60. But physical strength and body mass are more related to disease and health than to your number of years. Continue to exercise to maintain your muscles. Use it or lose it! Be physically active and mobile to keep you younger for longer. Also, keep your good posture, which is important not only in preventing falls and improving muscular strength, but also in maintaining your youthful image and physique.

In your golden years, you have become older but wiser—wiser being a process of becoming more of what you have been.

In your golden year, you have become more confident due to the benefits of accumulated life experiences. You should not be experiencing any identify crisis because by now you know who you are and what you want out of your life. In addition, life has taught you not to take any rejection by anyone as personal; you have come to believe that the way people treat you is no more than a reflection of their own inadequacy and insecurity.

In your golden years, you may have by now become more proactive, instead of procrastinating, because you are fully aware that your clock is ticking. An increasing awareness of how precious time is and a desire to utilize it more effectively is self-motivation not to procrastinate any more.

In your golden years, you have become more patient and less impulsive; maybe by now you have more time to yourself. With more tolerance and less impulse, you have become more rational in your thinking as well as in your behavior.

In your golden years, after decades of pushing, striving, and struggling, you have finally cooled down and attained inner tranquility without the need to excel or to shine any more.

In your golden years, you have grown mellow. Instead of looking only at the bigger picture, you have begun to shift your focus on the little fine things in life that now afford you pleasure and satisfaction of a different kind, rather than on your quest or pursuit for success in your younger years. You have learned that it is better to take things in stride, especially the bigger ones, such as life challenges. Most importantly, you have acquired the wisdom of having no need for you to be right all the time, let alone championing your beliefs and standpoints.

In your golden years, you have more free time to develop a network of both old and new friends. Getting involved not on a career level often broadens your horizon and extends your perceptions of life.

In your golden years, you may have become more spiritual, not necessarily being connected to a specific belief system or religion; your inner spirit is simply awakened to the people and the world around you.

In your golden years, you have learned to accept the unalterable; this acceptance teaches you to live in the now, as well as to appreciate what you still have, not what you have lost or are going to lose.

Read my book Your Golden Years and Santa Claus to find out how to age gracefully and healthily. Also, get the wisdom to let go of all attachments to the material world in order to enhance your positive aging.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Real Happiness Comes from Letting Go

Life is meaningless and purposeless if happiness is absent. The truth of the matter is that many people are unhappy. So, the leading question is: what makes you happy?

It is also a myth that happiness is something that can be pursued with willpower and effort. The Bible rightly says that pursuing happiness is “like chasing the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

 

Effort does not necessarily bring happiness; it only creates the illusion of an environment conducive to creating temporary happiness.

One may work diligently in one’s career to excel and to get to the top of the profession only to find that one has a terminal illness, or has incurred a debilitating accident. To illustrate, Joe Paterno the former Penn State football coach, whose reputation ruined by a sexual abuse scandal at the peak of his career, was fired, and died shortly of cancer; Steve Job, the co-founder of Apple computers, had his life cut short by pancreatic cancer at the height of his successful business career. Extra effort does not always pay off.

Pursuing happiness may be only a fantasy fueled by temporary moments of happiness, because aging, illnesses, misfortunes, and ultimately death plague all alike; in other words, impermanence cuts short all human efforts to bring happiness. We are all aware of the fact that impermanence is a leveler of everybody and everything, but many of us still choose to delude ourselves into thinking otherwise. Denial only fosters the myth that if there is a will there must be a way to attaining happiness, and that all it requires is human effort to make any dream come true.

The truth of the matter is that true happiness is, surprisingly, effortless, because it comes from within, and not from without; it is part of self, and is natural to human life and existence. But it won't come unless you have the wisdom to let go. Letting go of all human attachments to the material world. You must let go first, before you can receive. It's just that simple. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Love and Money

Love and Money

What has love got to do with money?

Money makes the world go round right? "When I have enough money…then I’ll be happy." How many times have you heard people say that, or have you said that to yourself?

No, actually love makes the world go round. Everybody is chasing money and looking for ways of getting more. But missing out this vital ingredient will guarantee failure.

How does love equate to money?

The whole world out there that you see in front of you right now is nothing more than a projection of what you feel inside. Yes that’s right. Not only is it a projection of your feelings, but also you have created it and are continuing to create even as you read this. Money is energy just like you, me and everything else. You can have all the money in the world and still be as miserable as sin.

If you doubt that, imagine if you will for a few moments that everyone you love, all your family, nearest and dearest and every friend you have or have ever known, are gone. Poof…whooosh… they’re suddenly taken away, passed on, dead, no longer in your world and you will never see or speak to them again in this life. You’re on your own and there’s not a single soul on planet earth who cares about you, what happens to you, or even knows you exist. Bleak isn’t it?

See how all your striving and hard work to get that elusive wealth that always seemed so vitally important, at one cruel stroke has become meaningless? The love factor has been blown away and there’s no one for you to care for, or anyone left who truly loves you.

Strip away all the ‘noise’ in your life, the worry about debt, the fear of failure, the deeply buried beliefs about unworthiness that obscure the real you, and serve only to block your quest for success, and take a look at life from different angle. . . . Read more. . .

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Meditation helps you focus on the present, and what is "real" to you in your life. Practice daily meditation to prioritize things in life, as well as to see them in perspective. Get more information on Spirited Meditation to become more spiritual.

Learn to let go of your attachment to money. Letting go helps you live a stress-free life without attachment.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Understanding Biblical Wisdom

Understanding Biblical wisdom may not be as easy as you think: it requires wisdom—human wisdom to seek knowledge to understand the role of man in this world, such as finding out his self-worth, and his contributions to humanity. Reading the Bible may not lead you anywhere unless you have an open mind with spirituality to believe. Reading Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, the ancient immortal classic from China, may be the way to Biblical wisdom.

Michael Crichton, the best-selling author and acclaimed film-producer, said in interview with Amazon that if he were stranded on an island the only book he would take with him would be Tao Te Ching. If you have not read Tao Te Ching, it is time you do so.

 TAO: The Way to Biblical Wisdom

The interpretations of "Tao Te Ching" are as many as its translations. Each author is looking at Lao Tzu's immortal classic from his or her own perspective, and this is also one of the many reasons why "Tao Te Ching" is eye-opening and thought-provoking. The Bible and "Tao Te Ching" are among the most translated and extensively read books of all time, and for a good reason: one is about God's wisdom, and the other is about human wisdom.

The author's own translation of "Tao Te Ching" is based on his belief that Lao Tzu's masterpiece is about the Creator of the universe, and that with true human wisdom man sees not only the manifestations but also the mysteries of His creation.

The book is about true human wisdom without the "conditioned" thinking of contemporary wisdom. Without the "reverse" mindset of Lao Tzu, man may have difficulties in understanding the wisdom of God expressed in the Bible.

The book is divided into four parts.

Part One is about the author’s reasons for writing the book, and also why "Tao Te Ching" is a "must read" for anyone who seeks real human wisdom.

Part Two is the author’s own translation of the 81 chapters of "Tao Te Ching" with respect to the Bible; each chapter is followed by some selected Bible verses for further reflection on what Lao Tzu has said.

Part Three is about the essentials of Tao wisdom with detailed explanation in plain English and with everyday life examples to help the reader understand the profound wisdom of Lao Tzu.

Part Four is an explanation of how Tao wisdom may help the reader understand God's wisdom in the Bible. Tao is the Way to Biblical wisdom.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Think Out of the Box

Tao wisdom begins with having an empty mind. What is an empty mind? An empty mind is more than just "thinking out of the box": it is reverse thinking to create your own box of thinking. An empty mindset originated from Lao Tzu:

"An empty mind with no craving and no expectation helps us letting go.

Being in the world and not of the world, we attain heavenly grace.

With heavenly grace, we become pure and selfless.

And everything settles into its own perfect place."

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 3) 

“Letting go is emptying the mundane,

to be filled with heavenly grace.

Blessed is he who has an empty mind.

He will be filled with knowledge and wisdom from the Creator.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 9)

There was the story of a professor visiting a Zen master to find out more about Zen, which is an Eastern philosophy originating from Tao wisdom. In the beginning of the visit, the professor kept on talking while the Zen master was serving him tea. The Zen master kept pouring tea into the teacup held by the professor even though it was already brimming over the teacup.

The moral of the story is that one must, first and foremost, have an empty mind before one can accept new and unconventional ideas. Likewise, to intuit true wisdom, one must have an empty mind capable of reverse thinking.

An empty mindset not only provides clarity of thinking, but also frees us from the many shackles of life that enslave us, keeping us in bondage without our knowing it. Are you the master or just a slave of your own life? Often times, we think we are masters of our lives and we are in total control, but in fact we are no more than slaves. You are the master only when you have complete control over your life, or rather your way of thinking. Remember, your mind controls you, especially your subconscious mind—what you do, or how you act and react in different circumstances and situations in life.

How do you gain or re-gain control over your life in terms of your career, human relationships, time management, and daily stress, among others? It is not easy because most of us have a pre-conditioned mindset that we must do this and do that in order to succeed in life. To illustrate, in our subconscious minds, we want to do well, and, to do well, we must set life goals; to reach our life goals, we must exert efforts; after accomplishing one life goal, we need to set another higher one, and yet another one higher than the previous ones. In the end, our lives get more complicated and even out of control; as a result, we are no longer masters but only slaves to what we have accomplished for ourselves. As a further illustration, Lance Armstrong, the once-famous-and-now-disgraced cyclist, used performance-enhancing drugs to win his races in order to sustain his ego to win, which is compounded of his winnings, that ultimately brought about his own downfall. 

The bottom line: do not let your life careen out of control, and do not live your life with a life of its own; get your own life back in order! An empty mind is the opposite of a compulsive mind that tells you to do this and that, making you a slave of your own life, instead of its master.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau