HowTo Be Happy

Everybody wants to be happy because happiness is the essence of life and living. What is the point of living in this world if we are unhappy most of the time? Indeed, many people are depressed and unhappy. Sadly, to many, the quest for happiness is forever unreachable—just like a carrot-and-stick in front of a mule; the more pain it experiences, the more desire it shows to reach out for the forever unattainable carrot in front. In many ways, we are like the mule.

Why is happiness so difficult to attain?

Without human wisdom, the pursuit of happiness is like wandering in the wilderness without a compass and a roadmap. So, human wisdom is the key to unlocking true human happiness.

First and foremost, you need to be wise so as to be good in order to be happy.

What is wisdom? Wisdom has to do with the thinking mind.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “The ancestor to every action in the physical world is a thought.” In other words, wisdom comes from the mind: how you think, and how you perceive and react to your thought. Wisdom is different from knowledge in that a knowledgeable person may not necessarily be wise, and by the same token a wise person does not have to be knowledgeable. Wisdom has much to do with the interpretation and application of what an individual knows to his or her everyday life and living.

If you are wise, you will know how to be good, and goodness leads to genuine happiness. It’s just that simple.

To find out how to be wise in order to be good and happy, and live your life as if everything is a miracle, read my book: Be A Better and Happier You With Tao Wisdom. 

Be A Better And Happier You With Tao Wisdom

This book shows you how to attain true human wisdom through asking self-intuitive questions, creating an empty mindset with reverse thinking to let go of the ego-self to become a better and happier you.

The wisdom of Tao begins with the power of intent in the mind to know and to learn more about the true “self”—after all, wisdom is about self, and about how it reacts with everyone and everything around. In the quest of wisdom, the revelation of having no ego-self is the turning point, where you may begin to embark on a different life journey with a different mission. Your “conditioned” mind thus begins the journey of “reverse thinking” which will ultimately change your life, making you a better and happier you.

Tao wisdom enables you to see the wisdom in the oneness of all life—that everything exists because of its “opposite” and that everything will ultimately become its opposite, just as youth becoming old age, and life becoming death. Spontaneity, which is following the natural laws of nature, holds the key to attaining true human wisdom to live your life as if everything is a miracle.

Part One of my book explains the prerequisites of human wisdom. Without true human wisdom, it is almost impossible to perceive the innate human goodness in self, as well as in others. Human goodness leads to the attributes of genuine human happiness.

Part Two is the complete translation of the 81 short chapters of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" in simple English for readers to understand the complex and controversial wisdom of “Tao Te Ching.”

Part Three highlights the essentials of Tao wisdom, and shows how it can be applied to contemporary living so that you may live as if everything is a miracle to be a better and happier you.

To be a better and happier you is both easy and difficult: Tao wisdom is easy to understand with an empty mind, but difficult to assimilate its depth and profoundness

To download the digital copy of my book, click here; to get the paperback edition, click here.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Changes Are Positive

Life is forever changing. A static life is not worth living. Ironically enough, many people resist any change in their lives; they desire consistency and stability. Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, changes are inevitable as you continue to age. The only ways to cope with life changes is adaptability and acceptance.

Adaptability is changing the mind's perception of the change you confront, and act or react accordingly to the circumstances. This mental perception requires awareness, without which actions or reactions may not take place, because often times changes are slow, gradual, and even subtly imperceptible. Awareness means knowing why and how changes are taking place.

.“We need a still and composed mind

to see things with greater clarity.

Because trouble begins in the mind

with small and unrelated thoughts.

So, we carefully watch the mind

to stop any trouble before it begins.”

(Chapter 64, Tao Te Ching)

Acceptance is taking the responsibility of the results of the actions or reactions taken. Acceptance may not be easy, especially if you have a pre-conditioned mindset of expectation or comparing the condition before and after the change.

Both adaptability and acceptance requires wisdom -- the wisdom to know and understand that nothing is permanent because everything remains only with that very present moment, and that everything follows a natural cycle, such as success .

"Success and failure are no more than expressions of the human condition.

So, accept both gracefully and willingly, with no judgment, no preference.

The Creator loves us unconditionally, irrespective of our success or failure.

What is meant by “accept both gracefully and willingly”?

Success is avoiding failure; avoiding failure is seeking success.

Both originate from fear and pride: the sources of human suffering.

Seeing ourselves indiscriminately as everything, including success and failure,

we see not only the manifestations but also the mysteries of the creation."

(Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching)

Tao wisdom is profound human wisdom based on not acquisition of knowledge but self-intuition of the nature of things. Through this self-enlightenment, one become wise, and accordingly knows how to live one's life as if everything is a miracle. Click here to find out more about Tao wisdom.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Survive on Faith

In the United States, consumer debt is escalating at a stunning pace to the tune of nearly 2.5 trillion dollars.

To survive in this day and age, a believer needs Biblical wisdom to survive on faith that has little to do with being poor or rich.

According to Solomon, neither is prosperity a sign of being blessed, nor is poverty an indicator of being spiritual. Solomon asked that he not be left in poverty or riches:

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." (Proverbs 30:7-9)

Poverty may make a person bitter, while prosperity may turn a person away from God.

In addition, Jesus said that prosperity being more of a stumbling block than a stepping stone to salvation: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

However, Biblical wisdom to live in faith will make all things possible, whether in poverty or prosperity. Jesus said: "With people, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

But faith alone, without works, is not enough.

"You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)

Therefore, to survive on faith, you need not only to have the wisdom in the right concept of money, but also to put it into practical application in your daily life. Your relationship with money in terms of practical material matters is a reflection of your ultimate relationship with God.

To survive on faith in tough economic times is the tallest order requiring the observation and application of three Biblical principles:

(1) The Biblical principle of gratitude: Be grateful for what you have, and stop complaining of your lack. God may have given you less than others, but everything is relative. Presently, you may be struggling from paycheck to paycheck; you may be working hard, but still can hardly keep your head above water.

"You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes." (Haggai 1:6)

(2) The Biblical principle of sharing with others: The more you give away, the more you will receive. It is not the other way around: receiving more before giving away more.

(3) The Biblical principle of God owns it all: God, who owns everything, does not need your money. Jesus taught that followers of God must put Him first.

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

God should be your first priority, not your concern of poverty or prosperity. With faith, God will take care of all your needs.

Because God owns it all, your money is not yours, and you are only a steward of God's money. Living in faith helps you stay focused on these Biblical principles related to everyday practical money matters. Accordingly, managing your money becomes your responsibility. Good money management leads to financial freedom even in difficult economic times. This is Biblical wisdom to survive on faith.

Living in faith means believing that God can do anything that He chooses to do, including providing material things, such as better jobs and more money. However, there is one uncontested truth: No one has ever created wealth without learning how to handle money wisely, nor without applying what they have learned. 

Read my book TAO The Way to Biblical Wisdom. To get the paperback edition, click here.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Natural Dental Hygiene

Maybe you always clean your teeth in the morning and before you go to bed. Or you may even use Listerine or other brands of mouthwash. But to really protect your teeth and mouth from harmful bacteria and gum deterioration, you need natural dental hygiene. For optimum oral health, use natural sesame oil to gargle on waking up.

Unlike other commercial mouthwashes, sesame oil has the following benefits:

1. It gently removes impurities from your tongue - the whitish coating.

2. It purifies your colon.

3. It improves your digestion.

Remember, digestive health is closely related to oral health. According to research studies, gargling and swishing oil in the mouth significantly reduces the number of species of bacteria in the space between teeth and gum, where gum diseases start.

Other benefits of using sesame oil for gargling and swishing for natural dental and oral hygiene include avoiding dryness of throat, cracked lips, and cavities.

Instructions for natural dental and oral hygiene are as follows:

1. Put some warm sesame oil in your mouth. Swish and gargle for a minute or two.

2. With your finger, massage, gently but thoroughly, some sesame oil into your gums.

3. Rinse your mouth to remove the residue of sesame oil.

This is the most natural dental and oral hygiene. Oral health is particularly important as you age.

Go to: Freedom From Dental Disease. A natural and fresh approach to achieving a disease-free mouth. Get in-depth information of the real causes and the cure of cavities and gum diseases. The book provides many natural dental and oral hygiene strategies to keep your mouth healthy. Save unnecessary and expensive dental costs. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau

Finding Your Faith

Finding Your Faith

To find God, you need faith. Let faith be your guiding star in your life, and you will find Him.

Finding faith begins with loving God. Many Christians believe that following the commandments of God and the precepts of the church is an expression of their love for God. But loving God goes beyond that. Maybe we have never been taught to love God; we were brought up to obey Him. To love God seems such an abstract thought; after all, God is a spirit. However, falling in love with God is no mystery to those who really seek God through their faith. Even Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul.” (Mark 12:30) Jesus would not have demanded the impossible from us. It is not impossible, and can be done with faith. Therefore, it is humanly possible to fall in love with God. With the love for God, faith will come along. That is how you can find faith by loving God first.

Jesus showed us the highest kind of love: self-offering love. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) What is true of human love is also true of love for God. The Bible has repeatedly shown us individuals with self-offering love for God, such as Apostle Peter.

God wants each and every one of us to love Him. However, despite our efforts, our love will be imperfect, because we are imperfect and God is perfect. We are not worthy to love God, and it is impossible to have true love for God over a long period of time without some special help from God. That special help comes in the form of illumination and inspiration–something that God never denies us, if we have faith. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ” (Luke 11:9)

So, we find God only through our love for Him, and we find that love only through faith, and through faith we find God.

But is finding faith easy? Finding faith is the tallest order in human life. If we show our love for others, and not just for ourselves, we will all find our faith as we continue our life journey, because God is of love.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Advice from the Celebrated Longevity Doctor

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, from Japan, turned 104 recently. One of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators, Hinohara's magic touch is legendary. Since 1941, he has been healing patients at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo and teaching at St. Luke's College of Nursing. He has published around 15 books since his 75th birthday, including "Living Long, Living Good", which sold more than 1.2 million copies.

As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life - a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself. Nearly 10 years ago, he was interviewed, and gave his advice for a long and healthy life. Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara's main points for a long and happy life are: 

All people who live long regardless of nationality, race or gender share one thing in common: None are overweight.

For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.

Always plan ahead.

My schedule book is already full until next year, with lectures and my usual hospital work.

There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65.

The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy in Japan was 68 years and only 125 Japanese people were over 100 years old. Today, Japanese women live to be around 86 and men 80, and we have 36,000 centenarians in our country. In 20 years we will have about 50,000 people over the age of 100...

Share what you know.

I give 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. I usually speak for 60 to 90 minutes, standing, to stay strong.

When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure.

Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery? I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine

To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff.

I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.

My inspiration is Robert Browning's poem "Abt Vogler."

My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.

Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it.

If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: we all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes.

Don't be crazy about amassing material things.

Remember: you don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place.

Science alone can't cure or help people.

Science lumps us all together, but illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to their hearts. To know the illness and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones.

Life is filled with incidents.

On March 31, 1970, when I was 59 years old, I boarded the Yodogo, a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and as Mount Fuji came into sight, the plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. I spent the next four days handcuffed to my seat in 40-degree heat. As a doctor, I looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how the body slowed down in a crisis.

Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do.

My father went to the United States in 1900 to study at Duke University in North Carolina. He was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found a few more life guides, and when I am stuck, I ask myself how they would deal with the problem.

It's wonderful to live long.

Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one's family and to achieve one's goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours a day, seven days a week, and love every minute of it.

Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot

We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults too. It's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.

Follow all of the above as much as possible, if you wish to live a longer and happier life.

Stephen Lau

Ginseng for Longevity

As you continue to age, taking ginseng is a must. For thousands of years, most centenarians all over the world have consumed ginseng. It is the elixir of life for seniors.

The King of Herbs

Ginseng is the king of herbs in the herbal kingdom due to its holistic-healing potency. In other words, it treats the body as a whole. As such, it is used to keep your body balanced and healthy, in particular in your golden years. 

In Chinese medicine, balance and harmony holds the key to wellness and recuperation. Ginseng, with its branched roots in the shape resembling that of the human form, is called “man root” in Chinese. The word “ginseng” literally means crystallization of the essence of the earth, “shen”, in the form of a man, ”jen.” The name itself attests to the importance of ginseng among herbs, especially in Chinese health and healing.

The potency of ginseng has long been recognized in Eastern cultures. In fact, as far back as 1800 B.C., ginseng was declared in the East as the king of herbs among more than 200 superior herbs recognized as “medical wisdom” for balancing and harmonizing the body for overall health.  Ginseng for the golden years is the wisdom in successful aging.

Ginseng is the essence of health. According to Chinese medicine, it brightens your eyes, opens your heart, enlightens your brain, and strengthens your soul and spirit. These are the attributes of healthy aging in the golden years. For centuries, ginseng has been present in many classical prescriptions for adjustive, preventive, and restorative purposes.

Ginseng is also a potent short-term stimulant that does no harm. It stimulates your nervous system and increases your reflex. In ancient times, Chinese soldiers used to carry ginseng to the battlefield, using it not only to restore strength, but also to ameliorate the effects of shock and stress in battles. It is quite common practice for Chinese to give ginseng root to those on their deathbed to provide adequate strength to be able to receive their family and arrange their after-death affairs before dying.

In space exploration, the Russian astronauts considered ginseng a better stimulant than the amphetamines used by the American counterparts, because ginseng enhances performance without the hangover effects of amphetamines. 

Nowadays, Soviet coaches and trainers have long used ginseng to enhance the performance of athletes in training, even for Olympic games. The Chinese even purportedly used runners to determine the quality of ginseng by asking two men to run a race biting a piece of ginger root in the mouth, and the one who did not display any body fatigue would attest to the authenticity of the ginseng root. Similar research studies were conducted in the Soviet Union and other countries worldwide to confirm the potency of ginseng as a short-term stimulant.

As strong evidence of its efficacy as a medicinal herb, wild ginseng can be worth thousands of dollars in price. If stored in a tight container, ginseng can retain its potency indefinitely. Today, ginseng is widely grown in different parts of the world. However, wild ginseng is still exclusively sought.

Even in the West, ginseng has been well respected as a medicinal herb. Many American tribes used ginseng for childbirth, fever, aches and pain. In fact, ginseng was listed in the official book of medicine, the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, in the 19^th Century as a stimulant and a digestive aid.

Ginseng is safer and more effective than synthetic drugs or vitamins available on the nutrition market today.

Take ginseng regularly in your golden years to retard aging. In addition to providing energy needed for old age, ginseng prevents disabling disorders, such as arthritis, and heart diseases.

As one ages, the stiffness of joints and inflexibility of muscles are contributing factors to falling, which is the Number One killer among the elderly. The more one is afraid to fall, the more one is prone to falling. Ginseng for the golden years may indirectly prevent falling in your senior years.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

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