Nyt se on tutkittu: Tietty internet-sisältö aiheuttaa hikoilua, käsien tutinaa…

Tietty internetsisältö aiheuttaa ihmiselle ahdistusta, toteaa diplomi-insinööri Santosh Kumar Kalwar väitöskirjassaan.

Lappeenrannan teknillisessä yliopistossa valmistuneen väitöskirjan mukaan ahdistus ilmenee pelkona, huolena, hikoiluna, hermostuneisuutena, sydämentykytyksenä, ärsytyksenä, turhautuneisuutena, yksinäisyytenä, mielipahana, päänsärkynä, käsien tutinana ja järkytyksenä.

Naisten ja miesten tapa käyttää internetiä eroaa myös toisistaan yhä enemmän. Miehet käyttävät naisia enemmän wikipediaa. Naiset käyttävät internetiä miehiä enemmän sosiaaliseen kanssakäymiseen.Internetin käyttö ja ahdistus vaihtelevat sukupuolen ja iän mukaan. Suomalaisen tilastotiedon valossa nuoret ihmiset ovat ikääntyneempiä alttiimpia kokemaan internetistä aiheutuvaa ahdistusta.

Source: Talouselama 

Tutkimus: internetin käyttö aiheuttaa ahdistusta

18.6.2014 9:57

Kuva: Mika Strandén

Verkon tarjonta voi ahistaa, todistaa tutkimus.

Internetin käyttö aiheuttaa ihmisille ahdistusta, todistaa Lappeenrannan teknillisessä yliopistossa tehty tuore väitöstutkimus. Sen mukaan ahdistuksen oireet ilmenevät monessa muodossa.

Väitöstutkimuksen mukaan tietty internet-aineisto voi aiheuttaa muun muassa pelkoa, huolta, hikoilua, hermostuneisuutta, sydämentykytystä, ärsytystä, turhautuneisuutta, yksinäisyyttä, mielipahaa, päänsärkyä, käsien tutinaa tai järkytystä.

Tutkimuksen on tehnyt diplomi-insinööri Santosh Kumar Kalwar. Hän kehitti kehitti väitöskirjassaan empiirisesti pätevät asteikot ja työvälineet, jotka auttavat tutkijoita ja eri käytännön toimijoita ymmärtämään ja mittaamaan internetissä koettua ahdistusta.

Väitöstutkimuksessa selvisi myös, että internetin käyttö ja ahdistus vaihtelevat sukupuolen ja iän mukaan. Suomalaisen tilastotiedon valossa nuoret ihmiset ovat ikääntyneempiä alttiimpia kokemaan internet-peräistä ahdistusta. Myös naisten ja miesten tapa käyttää internetiä eroaa toisistaan yhä enemmän.

Santosh Kumar Kalwarin tietotekniikan alan väitöskirja on nimeltään Conceptualizing and measuring human anxiety on the Internet (Internetin käyttäjien kokeman ahdistuksen käsitteellistäminen ja mittaaminen). Väitöskirja tarkastetaan 19.kesäkuuta.

Source: Etelä-Saimaa

Pelkoa, päänsärkyä, käsien tutinaa tai järkytystä - netin käyttö ahdistaa

Tuore väitöskirja osoittaa ensi kertaa, että tietty nettisisältö aiheuttaa ihmisille ahdistusta.

• 

  Tietty nettisisältö aiheuttaa ihmisille ahdistusta, kertoo väitöskirja.

  (Clipart.com)

Oireena on muun muassa pelkoa, huolta, hikoilua, hermostuneisuutta, sydämentykytystä, ärsytystä, turhautuneisuutta, yksinäisyyttä, mielipahaa, päänsärkyä, käsien tutinaa tai järkytystä.

Diplomi-insinööri Santosh Kumar Kalwar kehitti väitöskirjassaan empiirisesti pätevät asteikot ja työvälineet, jotka auttavat tutkijoita ja eri käytännön toimijoita ymmärtämään ja mittaamaan netissä koettua ahdistusta.

Hänen mukaansa asteikkoja voivat jatkojalostaa muun muassa erilaiset sovelluskehittäjät, suunnittelijat ja markkinoinnin sekä mainonnan ammattilaiset.

Väitöstutkimuksessa selvisi myös, että netin käyttö ja ahdistus vaihtelevat sukupuolen ja iän mukaan. Suomalaisen tilastotiedon valossa nuoret ihmiset ovat ikääntyneempiä alttiimpia kokemaan nettiperäistä ahdistusta.

Myös naisten ja miesten tapa käyttää Internetiä eroaa toisistaan yhä enemmän. Esimerkiksi miehet käyttävät naisia useammin ja todennäköisemmin wikipediaa, valokuva- ja videopediaa.

Sitä vastoin naiset käyttävät nettiä miehiä enemmän sosiaaliseen viestintään, esimerkiksi liittymällä sosiaalisiin verkostoihin ja blogaamalla eli pitämällä verkkopäiväkirjaa.

Useisiin tutkimuksiin ja kokeisiin perustuvan väitöskirjan tärkein saavutus kahden asteikon luominen, suunnittelu ja validointi. Nämä ovat itsearviointiasteikko (Self-Assessment Scale, SAS) sekä modifioitu netissä koetun ahdistuksen asteikko (Modified Internet Anxiety Scale, MIAS), joiden avulla voidaan mitata käyttäjien netissä tuntemaa ahdistusta.

Väitöskirja sisältää myös kolme työvälinettä. MyAnxiety-työkalu esittelee netissä koetun ahdistuksen tyypit. Intelligentia-työkalulla keräillään netin käyttäjissä esiintyvän ahdistuksen tyyppejä. MyIAContro on selaimeen puolestaan kytkeytyvä työväline, jolla mitataan netin käyttäjien tunteita.

Internetillä on keskeinen rooli henkilökohtaisten asioiden hoitamisessa, tutkimuksessa, viihteessä, akateemisessa maailmassa ja perhe- sekä yhteiskuntaelämässä.

- Internetin käytöllä on kuitenkin sosiaalisia vaikutuksia, jotka ovat riippuvaisia sukupuolen, iän, etnisen taustan ja kulttuuristen ominaisuuksien tapaisista ryhmittelyistä. Nämä sosiaaliset tekijät voivat lisätä internetin käyttäjien kokemaa ahdistusta, toteaa Santosh Kumar Kalwar väitöstiedotteessaan.

DI Santosh Kumar Kalwarin tietotekniikan alan väitöskirja Conceptualizing and measuring human anxiety on the Internet tarkastetaan torstaina 19. kesäkuuta Lappeenrannan teknillisessä yliopistossa.

Source: Verkkouutiset

द्याट्स माई लभ स्टोरीको विमोचन

ओम प्रकाश पौडेल, कालिका 

जेष्ठ २६ ।

सन्तोष कलवारद्धारा लिखित द्याट्स माई लभ स्टोरी नामक अंग्रेजी भाषाको उपन्यासको आज विमोचन गरिएको छ । 

रत्ननगर उद्योग वाणिज्य संघको सभाहलमा विशिष्ठ अतिथी वरिष्ठ गजलकार धनराज गिरी, साहित्यकार केशब आहुदी र गिता लामिछानेले संयुक्त रुपमा उक्त पुस्तकको विमोचन गर्नुभएको होे । झण्डै  १ सय जनाको सहभागिता रहेको सो कार्यक्रममा सर्जकहरुले आ–आफ्ना रचना वाचन गरेका थिए । 

माया प्रेमलाई मुख्य विषयवस्तु बनाएर लेखिएको उक्त अंग्रेजी भाषाको उपन्यास संम्भवतः चितवन जिल्लामै पहिलो अंग्रेजी भाषाको उपन्यास रहेको वरिष्ठ गजलकार धनराज गिरिले बताउनुभयो ।बालमिकी साहित्य सदनको आयोजनामा सम्पन्न पुस्तक विमोचन कार्यक्रममा संस्थाका अध्यक्ष राम बाबु घिमिरेको अध्यक्षता रहेको थियो ।   

वि.सं. २०३९ भाद्र २२ मा रत्नगरमा जन्मिएका कलवारका कोट मी एभ्रि डे, नेचर गड लगायत दर्जन बढी कृती यसअघि प्रकाशित भैसकेका छन् । उहाँ कम्प्युटर विज्ञानका अन्वेशक समेत हुनुहुन्छ । 

Source: Kalika FM 95.2 & 91 Mhz

Festival of lights

Early morning mingles with late night
And the dawn with breaking twilight
The wind of emotion flies over heavenly skies
Nobody is single or alone
Under this Diwali/Dipawali/Tihar light

See the stars winking over mountains
Trying to catch distant attention
All things by hate divides

But, all things by love
Sparkles and comes alive

Palilalia

Characters, words, sentences
occurring, re-occurring
unlike vocal disorder or stammering
She repeated, “how are you today?”
seven times
She repeated, “why are you here?”
five times
She said, “are you okay?”
three times

Without noticing that
her pre-frontal cortex
had gone haywires
lack of dopamine
or lack of self-interest
unknown tic
occurring, re-occurring
without noticing

The Gods of the Copybook Headings by Kipling

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race, I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place. Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all. We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn: But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind, So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind. We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace, Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place, But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome. With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch, They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch; They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings; So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things. When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace. They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease. But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know." On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life (Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife) Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death." In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul; But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."  Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more. As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man There are only four things certain since Social Progress began. That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire, And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire; And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins, As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn, The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Midlife crisis

People celebrated the New Year 2014 with much fanfare. However, I am in this situation where there are no special moments or scheduled occasions to celebrate. A human life can have simple categorization: birth, midlife, and death. Birth is a beginning of life, an existence, or into a being, an entry to this suffering world. Most people will ignore your mistakes in early phases of your life. They say, “(s) he is just a child,” “leave the child behind,” “stop bullying, scolding …a child” etc. Slowly when we grow up we enter into adulthood and then become mature adults. The period when we realize that we are halfway through our lives is the period when we are into a midlife (crisis). 

However, academically, note that there is no such thing called a midlife crisis. Many do not support the claim that people can have the midlife crisis. Academically, supportive or not, this phase of my life is called: painfully struggling. Dad died. Mom cried. Friends betrayed. Got unemployed. “What are you left with?” a friend asked. Actually nothing much, except these stupid English words to play and morrow my sorrows. I have started to abhor this word ‘midlife’ as wrinkles in my face are starting to be unbearable (albeit this might be more frequent in women than men).Every life passes one way or another. But, a friend of mine does not agree with this philosophical statement. He states that life never passes, but moments in life do. Accordingly, life is a collection of moments, a little cherishing and somewhat condemning. Analogous to a collection of pictures in your smartphone camera rolls are those moments; life moves on whatever circumstances or situations we are into.

Additionally, there are three hard lessons that I have ascertained: 1) The world does not owe me anything whether I have a midlife crisis or not. 2) I see symptoms of health hazards, relationship breakdown and more hard questions unanswered, and 3) a midlife is a collection of those stressful, devastating, confusing, and depressing moments. These periods in life need a spiritual uplift from an inner self by rejuvenations and recreational activities. Should this time be spent more on remembrance and reminiscence? I remember my old wild days, when I used to shout aloud on a cricket field or when I used to whiz my motorbike in an open street. The collections of midlife crisis moments will also someday pass like the passage of seasons. Winter and dark period in our lives come along just to remind us that there is a bright, sunny, and warmer summer ahead. Let us stay positive, with the beginning of the New Year 2014 and hope that it will bring new hopes and aspirations to all of us.

Published: The Himalayan Times

Nepali migrant workers abroad

One of the primary causes of the crises in the world is unemployment. Going to office is not the luxury of hundreds of thousands of people in Nepal. Some go to fields as they are farmers, and some go for cleaning jobs as they are cleaners. A friend of mine who resides in Europe goes nowhere, even though he is highly qualified.

Life is constant, but life experiences are changing. Work is not there forever, and it’s also changing. Various types of work are done by migrant workers abroad, especially from Nepal.

The life and condition of Nepali migrant workers are something that our intellectuals should study in the longer run. This is because there are many variables to check and ascertain. Take, for example, the destination country, type of work, pay system, benefits, hourly or weekly wages, health or social benefits, and working conditions. Do you know that half of the people who work abroad are working below their capabilities? 

It is one thing to keep up with friends and family; it is entirely another thing to be a worker abroad. There are ups and there are downs, but good people are everywhere around the globe. A friend of mine who lost his PhD job some six months ago was unemployed in Europe. He told me that life is full of struggle, and he had to apply for numerous jobs every day. However, he is not only competing with third-world migrants but also with many high profile and first-world workers of the West. There are barriers for him to get a job. Surely, there are language barriers too. 

Many countries in Europe try to promote their own languages. For example, you must speak German to live and work in Germany. There is also the work type. For example, if Mr. Jack or John is applying for an engineering post, and simultaneously, Mr. Hari or Shankar is applying for the same post, then you know who will be selected or asked for interviews. This is not to say that there is racial and ethnic discrimination, no, there are none (maybe a few). How can there be such a thing in well-developed, well-educated, and techno-obsessive (or obese) society? A friend of mine also taught me a sad but an inspirational lesson. Why it’s always going like this: those who are rich and powerful can easily dominate and manipulate those at the bottom. 

The fact of the matter is: migrant workers from developing or less developed countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Ghana, Uganda, Somalia, and others are more likely to be dominated and discriminated than others. This is not a scientific result but a formal observation from an intellectual friend of mine who is still unemployed in Europe.

Published: The Himalayan Times

For my beloved

Published: The Kathmandu Post

To bribe or not to bribe

On auspicious Nepalese new year 2070 B. S., I was on a wild tour inside the Kathmandu valley with my new Royal Enfield Desert Storm. The traffic police were doing the routine checkups, and I had to show my driving license. 

The good thing is that regular routine checkups by traffic police in our country are frequent. The bad thing is that unfortunately (for me), I had forgotten my driving license at home and I ended up in a very difficult situation. Nevertheless, the traffic police was "fair" and he requested two hundred rupees bribe, for not giving, a ticket. 

As I am not a stranger with the streets of Kathmandu, the situation was very common. However, I could have simply bribed the officer and distanced myself from any punishments. I thought of giving him two hundred rupees but refused. I rather opted for a ticket and a harsh punishment. As I simply have seen from trucks and bus drivers bribing traffic officers with Nepalese green notes (Rs. One hundred and beyond). This time I wanted to see what happens if I won’t bribe the traffic officer. 

Of course, it was not about paying simply few green notes. It was about bribery, corruption, honesty, and responsibility. It is generally well understood that to get things done timely, and efficiently one has to bribe and pay extra rupees to officers, either for governmental or non-governmental works. To take a bribe is regarded crime in Nepal and elsewhere. In my humble opinion, I think to give a bribe should also be considered as the crime. 

While big corruption and bribery cases are abundantly reported in news and media, some of these minor cases are left unheard. As per my heroism of not bribing the officer, I had to walk back home and leave my shiny Royal Enfield with the officer in-charge. While walking back home, I was left with more questions than answers. Why did I chose not to bribe the officer? What if, I would have given few hundred rupees and, everybody can have a win-win situation? Why was I acting strange? Maybe I wanted to learn that bribing is easy in our society. As they famously say in some Bollywood movies, “paisa feko, tamasa dekho” (throw the money, then see the drama). 

I am not upset that I had to walk back home alone in a moderately hot and shiny summer day. I am upset that we are the creators of corruption and bribery in our society. It is we who should take responsibility to give (or not to give) bribe. If everyone follows the written rules, bear patient, and neglect the unwritten ones, I think we can start the journey of building corruption-free Nepal someday. I don’t know what is your resolution in Nepalese new year, but I’ve decided not to give and take few extra bucks for doing (and not doing) things quickly and efficiently.

That's My Love Story by Santosh Kalwar (Book Promo 01)

Overcharging with impunity

Private school have a monopoly in our country “Overcome defiance“ (THT, April 25, Page 8). As quality is not something that is replaceable with quantity, the opening of several private schools only suggests business-oriented outlook of education in Nepal. As a result, many private schools fail to provide quality education to the pupils (based on observations report of friends, neighbors, and families). 

Private schools should be open, collaborative, and they should provide good opportunity for both parents and children to get enough out of schools. However, increase in tuition fees, selling textbooks, and hidden costs have become common norms in the private schools. Privatization of schools has its own severe implications. For example, the unrevised textbooks and learning-by-heart (rote-learning) are a bygone concept implemented in these schools. The result of private education can be seen when a student opts for higher education in foreign countries, where new education methodologies and new teaching techniques are used.

If we want our children to marvel and excel in education, we should focus less on giving money (with a myth that increase in tuition fee will provide quality education) to private schools. Rather we should concentrate on developing their skills set by providing quality research, training, and knowledge (with a motto: “I learn, I earn“).

Nevertheless, I hope District Level Fee Fixation and Monitoring Committee will find more private schools indulging in malpractices and give justice to both children and parents.

Santosh Kalwar, Chitwan

Published: Letter to Editor
 2013-05-02

The Himalayan Times

The end or new beginning?

The most beautiful people in our lives are our parents: our mom and dad. Our parents have known suffering, struggling, and they worked hard to make ends meet. My father was born fifty years ago, and he passed away recently. Nobody knows the reason for his demise; neither our experienced medical doctors nor the religious pundits or sadhus. 

I cannot fully conceive the idea of his passing away. Relatives and neighbors say he died because of unknown causes. In his demise, I sense loneliness and utmost grief. My mother is on her own. I feel that nobody can replace my beloved dad, a mathematical genius. I loved his charisma and the way he did mathematical calculations. In his school years, he was among the brightest and smartest students in his class. During those times, he could not afford the university schooling because of lack of resources. He fulfilled his study dreams by bringing up his sons. We had mutual trust, and often used to meddle on hot societal issues e.g., Nepalese/world politics, society, education, science, climate change, etc. 

The little things we discussed and the jokes we shared are plain, simple memories. The time we spent together and chit-chatted hours together cannot come back. 

My relationship with him was less like a father-son duo and more like that between best-friends. At other times, he would patiently wait (for me) to enjoy dinner together, also during late-nights. 

Our time is limited, and we don’t recognize it till the end. Every moment is precious, and we should cherish those moments. Despite our humanly limitations, he stated that life is a personal journey. Nobody can predict the end of life or the end of the world precisely. This is a natural process. We are born, and we must die. There is no escape from this vicious circle of life and death. 

In retrospect, I learned that he was neither fond of treasures nor material goods, he was in himself a real treasure and honest example of a free spirit and a true father. 

My dad was the best and brightest (a son can dream of) in inspiration and life lessons. Simply, because he had known suffering, struggling and loss and had enriched himself with beautiful experiences. He encouraged learning from mistakes and loving contemporary human beings. 

Human life is fragile and the end is sure but with a gleam of hope for a newer beginning. As the end of the year 2012 is near and the start of the fresh new year 2013 is around the corner, I wish a merry Xmas and a happy new year to all.

Published: The Himalayan Times

Art of Failure

Success in life, relationships, education, job, and many other social, or the political system is defined by people. Some people are very good at doing stuff, and some are not. I am like those types of person who is more interested in failures because I believe there is lot to learn from failure than from success. A burgeoning question that needs an explanation has popped up in my curious mind: how much failure can a person handle?

Art of failure shows true color and limitation of humans, and might even sometime hit us hard in this mere mortal life. We humans are fragile, and cannot handle failure(s) competently. We just learn the way through the failure. Some are ready to surrender, and some are not. How should we overcome failures?

Success encourages and motivates a person to move-on in life. However, failure gives us more room for improvement.  If we are serious about the stuff that we are doing, we have to fail frequently. Failure might last longer, and will be more painful to handle than success. 

I think many people agrees on this: “must love what we do.” If we do not love what we are doing, we will abandon hope and might be more exposed to more failure. I think we cannot overcome failure by merely surrendering easily. We have to fight back and keep loving what we are doing now. So, the persistence is the key, and the success, the door. Those people who are keen to unlock the door of success might become successful anyway. 

Although, our idea of failure is somewhat limited. The society sometimes does discriminate between those people who are successful and those who are not. The society we live in is run by very successful people and these successful people (or whatever you want to call them) are not ready to shake their hands with bunch of failures. These people have worked extremely hard to become successful. Once you learn to fail, you will learn to find success. 

There are many examples of successful people who failed several times; eventually, to end up becoming successful in their lives. Take for example, Einstein whose parents thought that he was mentally sick or Gogh who only sold one painting in his entire lifetime. Many famous authors (e.g. J.K. Rowling and Grisham) manuscript got rejected several times, and Walt Disney first animation company went into bankruptcy. So, don’t worry the failure, rather worry the steps taken to improve it. As Edison states, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” Thus, there is no magic formula for becoming a successful person in the eyes of society. The mantra is very simple: fail hard, and learn the art of failure i.e. do not just fail once or twice, fail repeatedly. 

Trees by Hesse

For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfill themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. 

Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farmboy knows that the haredest and nobleest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.

A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.

When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent. You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home. But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother. Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.

A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one's suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.

So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts. Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.

HERMANN HESSE ("TREES", WANDERING)

I am busy. Really?

How busy is too busy? I have been struck with this thought lately. People often say that they are, “busy,” “too busy,” and “extremely busy.” Are we really so busy that we do not have few minutes to think about “important” issues in life? Now, the question might arouse what is important? The task you are doing presently might be more important than the task in question. If the task in question is of least important, you might want to ignore that task and you may rather say, “I am working on something important, I will look into that thing later.” How about saying, “I am working on something...” instead of simply throwing stupid balls of being too “busy”? 

I think those people who state that they are busy are not really busy. They are simply trying to “avoid facing the real problem(s).” There might be no denial that these types of people are, “Overloaded with work.” Undoubtedly, they have plenty of work at their disposal to stand daily. A simple suggestion: hire more people instead (to help you get done with your work). 

Furthermore, they should not convey, a negative vibes among their colleagues and friends of stating or being, “Busy” (You may wonder, why negative vibe?). Stating or being too busy is somewhat negative vibe. Not only this habit shows that you are being ignorant and overloaded with tons and tons of work but also gives a negative impression of your abilities and capabilities (things that you can do as a human species, possibilities, ‘khubility’). 

There are smarter and intelligent way to deal with this type of behavior. Similar to solving a math problem, one could simply say, “I am really working hard on this issue (step), I will come back at that (step) later” or, “I have some very important things happening right now...” etc. 

Prioritizing the task will ease out the common trouble between being busy and not-so-busy. If you don’t know how to prioritize the task, ask in your inner self, perform cost-benefit analysis, do simple soul searching on task or tasks. What is important is NOT how much effort you put into solving a problem but how many problems you can solve in limited time. Because our time is limited and we are not here forever. You will not be judged by how much workaholic you are/were, but how much collaborative and supportive you can be, also by examining vast and wide range of problem(s) in parallel.  This is also called in plain simple English, productivity. The more productive you are [with people], not with task(s), the better you as a person become. Because it’s the human connection that matters, everything else is secondary. 

It's Been a Long Road

It's Been a Long Road


Getting from there to here But my time is finally near

And I will see my dream come alive at last
I will touch the sky
And they're not going to hold me down no more
No they're not going to change my mind

'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
No one's gonna bend or break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith, I've got faith
Faith of the heart

By Diane Warren

Dark side of the Internet

Imagine you are in a room with a fly. If you are a spiritual person like me, you would probably mediate during some point in a day. Can we agree then that meditation is a process of gaining peace with the mind? The whole idea of meditation is to focus (on objects or things). Let us move forward, this time we are really meditating. Imagine now that now and then a fly comes along and sits on your lap. You are not disturbed; you still meditate. However, this fly is enjoying a room, searching for food; aimlessly moving around, having fun. Will you get irritated with this fly or not?

An ordinary person is most likely to get irritated because the primary function of the person in a room was performing mediation and not thinking about a fly. This is what the Internet is for the present day society. I am not saying that the Internet as a technology is bad. 

Like a fly, the Internet is not bad or good. It’s all in our 

mind. Some people might 

think this is bad for them because they were focusing on something else (e.g. meditation) and not on a fly itself. 

The Internet with various web services (e-mail, spam messages, viruses, security vulnerabilities) is like a fly that will constantly interrupt you. For example, if you have your social networking site notification active, imagine receiving notification e-mail of every activity that occurs. Like a fly interrupting a meditating man, we might also constantly get interrupted on the Internet. 

Remember clicking on social networking sites ads? Recently, one became public and there is amazing data which showed it earned $9.51 per user in US and Canada alone. From Asia and other parts of the world, it earned around $2 in ad revenue. Multiply this amount with 900 million active users on monthly basis that is the money companies like this social networking site are making out of the tiny sips of online conversation (our virtual friendship). How is that?

This is not a big deal for an ordinary user. We all want to be feel connected. We don’t care much how companies make profit out of our friendship activities online (from the realms of our friend’s activities, our posts, likes, photos, videos, comments and status updates). Furthermore, the world of social media and the Internet generally has become crowded maybe too crowded, and my intention is not to say that this crowded “Internetosphere” is bad or good. 

My intention is to remind you in your room with a fly, remind you that now you are again meditating with not just a single fly but tens of them, hundreds of them, and even thousands. I don’t know what you will do, but I am still meditating.


Source: The Himalayan Times

Blue Dot

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

-- Carl Sagan (1934-1996)