S Novym Godom! – Happy New Year, my dear ones December 31, 2007

photo by axinia

New Year Eve (Prazdnik Novogo Goda) has always been the most favourite Russian celebration– at least after 1917. In fact, the night of 31 December combines 2 Christian traditions – the Christmas itself (present, family meeting) and New Year Eve (going out with friends, fireworks, etc.).

There is a lot of childlike mood in it, and even drunkards can not spoil it 🙂 I love this tradition, for it goes above every religious or national condition and people from around the world feel united with everybody around. Like one being…

Following the good Russian tradition I want to give my small gift to that thousands and thousands of readers, who have been visiting me throughout 2007 – let me humbly offer you my joyful and sparkling heart.

I wish everyone of you to be surrounded by sweet, loving and caring hears the next year and the years to come.

I wish everyone a great time – not sometime but actually every moment of your life!

Let me give you a good virtual hug and tell you (following one good Russian tradition) – S NOVYM GODOM! Happy New Year!!!!

LOVE, axinia

10 Reasons Why I Practise Sahaja Yoga December 30, 2007

 

1. It’s easy.
I don’t have to spend years living in the mountains to achieve enlightenment. I don’t have to give up anything or spend weeks in silence. I don’t have to learn mantras or wear special clothes or even try to clear my mind. The meditation simply happens spontaneously. The classes are easy and fun, and as long as I keep up my daily ten minutes of meditation I find I am able to achieve a deep and peaceful meditation on a regular basis.

2. It’s free.
I don’t pay for my meditation. Even my introductory 8-week course was free. There are no catches, and there are no hidden expenses. If I missed attending classes one week, it didn’t matter. I just picked up the classes again when I could manage it. It is simply the generosity of spirit of other Sahaja Yoga practitioners that allows Sahaja Yoga to be taught to whomever desires it, at no cost.

3. I can see results.
I felt the benefits from the first time I meditated. I felt relaxed and I felt a deep sense of calm.

The dead breath of Materialism December 28, 2007

  

  

Putin Q&A to TIME magazine and what I like about it December 26, 2007

 photo: TIME

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin was chosen TIME’s 2007 Person of the Year. What a scandal! The Austrian press even forgot to write about a damage of one Alpine oil tube and ecological consequences of it while negative featuring Russian President.

I was actually going to post something about the unfair attitude to the Russians in the western media, even made up a nice title ( “Bad Russians everywhere, even in The Golden Compass Film”)… And here comes Mr. Putin, my dear President to help me out! 🙂

I really enjoyed reading his brilliant interview to the TIME magazine putting them all right, with the typical Russian directness, with dignity and self-confidence.

The 80-20 Rule is not only amazing but also very useful December 25, 2007

 photo by axinia

The 80-20 rule(known also as Pareto principle) is one of my favorite lifehacks. Again and again I have to admit its power.

The 20-80 rule (the law of the vital few) states that for many phenomena 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. The idea has rule-of-thumb application in many places, but it’s also said to be unthinkingly misused.

I noticed that principle working many a times in my life, especially in team work and communication. If I recall any (NGO) project I was working on, the major communication and real work was done by something like 20% of team members. And even among that active 20% there was only 20% actually the most active!

The Parento principle could be applied to any sphere of life.

All my dreams come true. And yours too! December 24, 2007

 photo by axinia

The amazing thing I have noticed over the years: All my wishes come true! Sooner or later… In fact, sooner than I think.

I am telling you that not in order to show what a lucky girl I am, no. Just to let you know you are a lucky person two. Don´t your dreams come true? Surely, they do! Human beings tend to forget certain things. But try to make a list of wishes and you will see that mostly within 1-2 years they all will be fulfilled 🙂

Now, there is probably not much new for you in this information. However it is not about sending wishes to Universe a la modern esoteric movements that I want to tell you about. Just want to share with some very interesting interpretation why it actually happens, why our dreams tend to come true.

Some wise people say it is not that God/Universe/Chance/or whatever want to give you all you desire. It is vice versa: YOU DESIRE SOMETHING ALREADY MEANT FOR YOU. It is like if you are in the flow, following your path – then naturally you wish yourself things that are right and good for you.

My greatest pleasure is in expressing my love December 21, 2007

                          

     

                           photo by axinia

 

I love to express my love

Every moment I feel it

What a pleasure to give

time, money or presents

What a pleasure to give

Alcohol and the Christians December 18, 2007

 photo: TomLA 

“The only thing they have picked up from Christ that He went to a wedding, and created wine out of water, and distributed. Now this wine is just the juice of the grapes. It’s also called wine in the Hebrew language…

The importance of pleasing your wife December 16, 2007

  photo by axinia

Two interesting stories on the same topic came across my way backed up with my personal observations.

A fried of mine has told me about one interesting phenomenon he has noticed: the better is the present to his wife for the Christmas, the better is their family life in both material and non-material aspects! He understood that giving a nice present to his wife (nice means something what she really likes) means paying respect to the family principle, as a wife is the soul of a family.

Another interesting story I got as a comment from shivausa on my other blog:

“I friend of mine, Professor John Gottman, of Seattle, one of the first psychologists to study the behavior of longterm happy couples, noticed that the men in such relationships, are thinking of their wives throughout the day. That makes sense, for if one’s attention is there, there is no room for it to be anywhere else.

How many bloggers use Facebook? December 13, 2007

 

photo by axinia

I keep getting invitations to Facebook. For some unknown to me reasons however I was avoiding registration there.And finally a friend has convinced me to try it out. And… may be I need more time but I found nothing special about that Facebook – actually more contras than pros!  – the layout is not attractive, I can not post my blog-posts and – the most terrifying  – they want SOOO much private information!

I said to my friend: “Honestly, I don’t understand all that hype about Facebook”   – he laughed and said “Sure! You are a blogger!” 🙂

Are bloggers really that much different from the other Social Network users?