Monday 31 October 2016

How To Live a More Meaningful Life

How To Live a More Meaningful Life





Seven steps to a more meaningful life includes meditation, movement and maximisation.
Top of the list for living a meaningful daily life is being more mindful, according to occupational therapist Dr. Melanie Austin-McCain.
With mindfulness, you’re really in the present and focusing on your senses and your experiences — what you are feeling, thinking, and doing.”
Healthy daily routines and long-term goals are so important for a meaningful life, Dr McCain says:
“Evidence shows that having a purpose in life is helpful in promoting health and preventing chronic disease.
It’s about finding out about who you are, the things you like do and that are meaningful for you and setting goals that align with those things.”
Here are the six other steps that Dr McCain recommends:

1. Meditation

It’s not productive to set daily goals for meditation, according to Dr McCain.
Instead, it is better to set aside some time to simply sit quietly and review your goals for the day and think about your intentions.
• Read more about the benefits of meditation, including a quick-start guide on how to meditate.

2. Movement

Keep the mind and body active every day, says Dr McCain.
The benefits of exercise are well known, of course, but the mind needs stretching in just the same way.
Try new things from time-to-time and use new strategies to approach old problems.

3. Management

Everyone should occasionally take a little time to take a broader view of their own life.
  • Where am I going?
  • Am I spending my time in the best way?
  • What improvements could be made?
These sorts of ‘management’ sessions could include thinking about diet, exercise, relationships or anything else that is important to you.

4. Maximisation

Use a “future is mine” mindset, says Dr McCain.
Remind yourself of your own potential and that of others.

5. Meaningfulness

Try to find the happiness and joy in the things you do.
Part of this is acknowledging those who provide you support, Dr McCain says:
“Meaningfulness is more like gratitude — awareness and appreciation of the things around you.”

6. Mentoring

It is beneficial to take on a mentor in different areas of life, as well as being a mentor for others, says Dr McCain.

Rejection By This Parent Does Most Damage To Personality

Rejection By This Parent Does Most Damage To Personality





Both parents affect your personality, but rejection by one parent could be more critical for long-term development.
Being rejected by your father can do greater, long-lasting emotional damage than being rejected by your mother, research finds.
While rejection by either parent is tramatising for children, fathers often have higher prestige and/or power.
Therefore, children can take their father’s rejection harder.
Professor Ronald Rohner, co-author of the study, said:
“In our half-century of international research, we’ve not found any other class of experience that has as strong and consistent effect on personality and personality development as does the experience of rejection, especially by parents in childhood.
Children and adults everywhere — regardless of differences in race, culture, and gender — tend to respond in exactly the same way when they perceived themselves to be rejected by their caregivers and other attachment figures.”
Rejection by either parent, or both, has a huge effect on children’s personality.
They tend to become more anxious and insecure.
They may also become more hostile and aggressive towards others.
The pain of rejection often lingers into adulthood, preventing people making strong, trusting relationships with other adults.
The emotional pain can be considerable.
The same parts of the brain are activated for emotional pain as for physical pain, other research has found.
Professor Rohner said:
“Unlike physical pain, however, people can psychologically re-live the emotional pain of rejection over and over for years.”
The results come from a review of over 500 studies.
The studies help to emphasise how inaccurate it is to simply ‘blame the mother’ for children’s behaviour problems.
Professor Rohner said:
“The great emphasis on mothers and mothering in America has led to an inappropriate tendency to blame mothers for children’s behavior problems and maladjustment when, in fact, fathers are often more implicated than mothers in the development of problems such as these.”

6 Reasons why you should visit North East India

6 Reasons why you should visit North East India:



India is one of the world’s most exotic, fascinating and captivating travel destinations and while famous iconic sights like the Taj Mahal, forts and palaces of Rajasthan and backwaters of Kerala are popular sights very few travelers visit the remote, tribal lands of North East India.


Mopin festival

Visit North East India

North East India is tucked away in between Bangladesh, Tibet, Bhutan and Myanmar and is a world away from the chaos of Delhi and other tourist clichés you might expect when you think of India. These diverse and beautiful, remote tribal lands are only just opening up to tourism and are home to some of the most intriguing tribal people, rare wildlife and stunning scenery in India.
visit-north-east-india
Why You Should Visit North East India
The North East is still a relatively unexplored paradise for intrepid travellers but popularity is growing and the region is quickly becomingIndia’s hottest new destination so to if you want to witness this region so blissfully untouched by tourism (so far) then you’ll have to visit soon!

Here’s why you should visit North East India

Meet tribal people and learn about their unique way of life

north east india

Remote North East India has been cut off from the rest of the world for ages and so it’s one of the rare places in the world where you can meet authentic tribal people who live a very different way of life even in this modern age. North East India is one of the most culturally diverse areas of the world and is home to over 200 tribes including unique, fascinating tribes like the opium smoking, head hunter tribes in Nagaland and the facially tattooed, sun and moon worshipping Apatani tribe in Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh.
northeast india hill tribes
Meet tribal people
One of the best ways to experience the vibrant and unique cultures of North East India’s intriguing tribal people is through one of the many amazing tribal festivals. Witnessing the riot of colour, music and dance and even some sacrifices and unique rituals of a traditional tribal festival in North East India is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
tribal people of north east india
Headhunter Man
Don’t worry, they don’t practise head hunting anymore and it’s a fascinating experience to meet the tribal people and find out about their way of life but it’s best to take a tour with a local guide if you want to be made to feel welcome and to really understand about their way of life.

See rare and endangered wildlife

Because the region is so unspoilt and unexplored North East India is a refuge to many rare and endangered animals and there are many fantastic UNESCO listed national parks where animal lovers can take safaris and witness exotic animals in their natural habitat. One of the most famous is Kaziranga National Park in Assam where close up sightings of engaged one horned rhinos are pretty much guaranteed (even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited here on their India tour) Manas Wildife Sanctuary, also in Assam, is home to more endangered species than any other sanctuary in India or visit Nokrek National Park in Meghalaya to look out for red pandas, tigers, elephants, rare breeds of macaques and marbled cats.

Experience the beautiful, colourful Tibetan culture (without visiting Tibet)

tibetan culture north east india
The Colourful Tibetan Culture
North East India is nestled up against the border of Tibet and parts of the mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh actually used to be part of Tibet. Visit the remote Tawang region where colourful Tibetan prayer flags flutter over the peaceful valleys and you can experience the enchanting, serene and colourful Tibetan culture and religion carrying on peacefully in the historic monasteries, prayer wheels and stupas and enjoy delicious and authentic Tibetan food like momos and thukpas.
tibetan culture of north east india
Immerse in Tibetan Culture

Explore unspoilt nature and stunning scenery

north east india scenery
Waterfalls and beautiful scenery
North East India is home to some of the most stunning, diverse and unspoilt scenery in India; from the snow capped peaks of the soaring Himalayan mountains, to the grassy plains of Assam and the steamy forests and majestic waterfalls of Meghalaya – North East India showcases unspoilt nature at its finest!

Experience a totally different and hassle free side to India

countryside of north east india
Unspoiled North East India
If the horror stories of dirt, hassle and chaos put you off visiting India at all then exploring North East India offers you the chance to experience a totally different side to India. This region is just so different that sometimes I could hardly believe I was still in India – the scenery, the food, the people, the culture everything is different.
north east india
Beautiful India
Even though a lack of infrastructure makes traveling here a little bumpy and slow moving at times, I found North East India a welcome escape from the chaos and hassle that you get in the more touristy parts of India, no one tried to cheat me or touch me or even sell me anything and the people of North East India where some of the friendliest and most genuine people I’ve ever met on my travel.

Get off the beaten track: North East India is still unexplored, authentic and blissfully untouristy

north easter india
Getting off the Beaten Path
In this increasingly globalised world it can be pretty hard to really ‘get off the beaten track’ nowadays but North East India is still totally authentic. As the region has only just started to open up to tourism,restrictions on travel and permit requirements are becoming more relaxed but the region remains blissfully untouched by tourism and unexplored.
north east india
In fact some parts of the mountains in Arunachal Pradesh have not even been mapped!  Yes, this means that traveling here can be a bit bumpy and there’s no luxury hotels but if an adventure is what you’re after than North East India is the place to come!
travel in north east india
Not your average travel experience
There aren’t many places in the world with blank spaces on the map, where people have hardly any idea that the modern world exists, where creatures have yet to be named and mountains yet to be climbed but North East India is still totally off the beaten track. It’s an amazing feeling to go somewhere hardly anyone else has gone but you’ll need to go now before everyone else does!

Tips for visiting North East India

rural north east india
North East India consists of 7 sister states – Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura which all have different cultures, tribes, languages, food and scenery that are just heaven for intrepid explorers!

Bhai Dooj - Brother Sister ritual




Bhai Dooj भाई दूज ভাইফোঁটা
Tihar Tika.jpg
Tilak of 7 colors is applied on the forehead
Also called
Bhau Beej, Bhai Tika, Bhai Phonta
Observed by
Type
Religious, IndiaNepal
Significance
Public holiday in Nepal
Date
2016 date
1 November
2017 date
21 October
Frequency
Annual
Celebration of BhaiTika in Panchkhal Valley.
Applying the Tika
Tilak of seven colors
Bhai Dooj(भाई दूज) / Bhau-Beej / Bhai Tika /Bhai Phonta(ভাইফোঁটা) is a festival celebrated by Hindus of India and Nepal on the last day of the five-day-long Diwali orTihar festival. This is the second day of the bright fortnight or Shukla Paksha of the Hindu lunar month of Kartika in Bikram Sambat.
The celebrations of this day are similar to the festival of Raksha Bandhan. On this day, brothers get gifts from sisters.

Regional namesEdit

The festival is known as:
  • Bhai Dooj (Hindi:भाई दूज) in entire Northern part of India, observed on the last day of the five-day Diwali festival. This is also the second day of the Vikrami Samvat New Year, the calendar followed in Northern India (including Kashmir), which starts from the lunar month of Kārtika. The first day of this New Year is observed as Govardhan Pūja.
  • Bhai Tika (Nepali:भाई टीका) in Nepal, where it is the most important festival after Dashain(Vijaya Dashmi / Dussehra). Observed on the third day from Tyohar festival, it is widely celebrated by NewariMaithaliTharuBahunand Chhetri people. Also known as Bhai Dooj in Nepal, too.
  • Bhai Phonta (Bengali:ভাই ফোঁটা) in Bengal and it takes place every year on the first or the second day of the Kali Puja festival.
  • Bhai BijBhau Beej, or Bhav Bij (Marathi : भाऊबीज) amongst the GujaratiMarathi andKonkani-speaking communities in the states of GujaratMaharashtraGoa and Karnataka.
  • Another name for the day is Yamadwitheyaor Yamadvitiya, after a legendary meeting between Yama the god of Death and his sister Yamuna (the famous river) on Dwitheya (the second day after new moon).
  • Other names include Bhatru Dviteeya, orBhatri Ditya.
According to a popular legend in Hindu mythology, after slaying the evil demonNarkasur, Lord Krishna visited his sisterSubhadra who gave him a warm welcome with sweets and flowers. She also affectionately applied tilak on Krishna's forehead. Some believe this to be the origin of the festival.

The ceremonyEdit

A boy, wearing the tika, made for special occasion of tihar in Nepal
On the day of the festival, sisters invite their brothers for a sumptuous meal often including their favorite dishes/sweets. The procedure may be different in bihar and central india. The whole ceremony signifies the duty of a brother to protect his sister, as well as a sister's blessings for her brother.
Carrying forward the ceremony in traditional style, sisters perform aarti for their brother and apply a red tika on the brother's forehead. This tika ceremony on the occasion of Bhai Bij signifies the sister's sincerest prayers for the long and happy life of her brother and treat them with gifts. In return brothers bless their sisters and may treat them also with gifts or cash.
As it is customary in HaryanaMaharashtra to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Bhau-beej, women who do not have a brother worship the moon god instead. They applymehendi on girls as their tradition.
The sister whose brother lives far away from her and can not go to her house, sends her sincerest prayers for the long and happy life of her brother through the moon god. She performs aarti for the moon. This is the reason why children of Hindu parents affectionately call the moon Chandamama(Chanda means moon and mama means mother's brother).

The celebrationEdit

Bhai Phonta in West Bengal is celebrated with much splendor. The ceremony is marked with many rituals along with a grand feast arranged for the brothers.
The festival of Bhai Bij is popular in Haryana,GujaratMaharashtra and Goa and is celebrated with great fervour and gaiety. Brothers and sisters look forward to the occasion with immense enthusiasm. To add charm to the occasion, Bhai Bij gifts are exchanged between brothers and sisters as a token of love and appreciation.
Bhav Bij is a time for family reunions as all brothers and sisters in the family get together. Close relatives and friends are also invited to celebrate the Bhav Bij in many families.
Special dishes for the festival include the Maharashtra sweet called basundi poori orkheerni poori.On this occasion sisters give gifts to their brothers.

Bhaitika in NepalEdit

Bhaitika in Nepal is also known as Bhaitihar meaning tihar of brothers. On this day, sisters pray to Yamraj for her brother's long life and prosperity. Sisters put seven colored long tika on forehead of their brothers.