Crunching Munching and Working

Office for me is a munching ground… I love hogging while working. And so do my colleagues here…
But I can very well understand the pros and cons of 24 X 7 munching junk stuff. “What Goes In… comes out in a much unsought manner”…. Eating junk is like Doping… acts as an addictive narcotic which is difficult to leave and which further leaves prominent usage marks.
Infact its not just eating unhealthy at workplace… its also the unhealthily working by sitting all day long.
Sadly there is no alternative to this mode of working.
But eating the right kind of food can help you distract from the unhealthy food items and also keep your metabolism going till you relax and work.
So, what you should munch while at work:
Dark Chocolate:

It contains powerful antioxidant Polyphenols which prevents heart diseases. Consuming a small bar of dark chocolate daily can reduce blood pressure in people with mild hypertension. Caffeine is also one of the major ingredients of dark chocolate, can give you the required kick for the day.
Fruits:

To conquer your false Hunger… fruits are the best option… it is the best snack filled of nutrients which keeps you going all day long.
Apples, Mangoes, Oranges, Bananas… choose any fruit .. dress it with seasonings… u can try dressing it with oregano mix which u get from dominos. Tastes awesome! 
Popcorn:

If there ever was a list of healthy snacks, this is definitely going to be on the list. In fact, many say that popcorn is the healthiest snack available. It is 100 percent whole grain and is big on fiber and antioxidants. If you can air-pop your popcorn and add a minimal quantity of salt, you'd have the best popcorn.
Walnuts:

Some new researches have pointed out that walnuts have more (and better quality) antioxidants than almonds, peanuts, pistachios and many other nuts. All nuts have been found to improve lipids and can reduce the risk of heart diseases. Walnuts have also been found to enhance cognitive and motor function in animals with Alzheimer's. Experts recommend seven walnuts a day. And ladies.. for a glowing skin .. try taking walnuts in the morning empty stomach and notice the difference … ;)
Green Tea:

Polyphenols, one of the major ingredients of green tea, is known to help repair the damaged DNA and stimulate the immune system. Besides, research shows that green tea also helps in reducing the risk of cancers, including skin cancer and prostate cancer. Drop down your caffeine and drink the green…

La Tomatina

The pulpy red fruit which is native to South America is the real superhero. A tomato a day can definitely keep the doctor away!!! Fresh tomatoes and tomato extracts have been shown to help in various health problems… be it your eyes… heart or bones… tomato does it all!
The main constituent in tomato ‘Lycopene’ has proved to have great antioxidant properties. Tomato is rich in lycopene, flavonoids and other phytochemicals with anticarcinogenic properties. Tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C. They also contain A and B- complex Vitamins, potassium and phosphorus.
Free radicals in the body can be flushed out with high levels of Lycopene, and the tomato is so amply loaded with this vital anti-oxidant that it actually derives its rich redness from the nutrient.
Lycopene is not a naturally produced element within the body and the human body requires sources of Lycopene in order to make use of this powerful anti-oxidant. While other fruits and vegetables do contain this necessary health ingredient, no other fruit or vegetable has the high concentration of Lycopene that the tomato takes pride in.
Studies have proven not only the benefits in preventing cancer, heart disease as well as high cholesterol are also in the tomato's sights.
Cancers such as prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and cancers of the stomach, mouth, pharynx, and esophagus have all been proven to be staved off by high levels of Lycopene.
It takes as little as 540 milliliters of liquid tomato product to get the full benefits of Lycopene. This means that a daily glass of tomato juice has the potential to keep a person healthy for life.
Tomatoes are by far the healthiest of the fruits and vegetables with the power to ward off some of the worst known diseases to man. With the vast variety of tomato products on the market, it really shouldn't be difficult to get the full health benefit of tomatoes but
Tomatoes, which are actually a fruit and not a vegetable, are loaded with all kinds of health benefits for the body. They are in fact, a highly versatile health product and due to their equally versatile preparation options, there's really no reason to neglect the tomato as part of a healthy diet.

Laugh Out Loud

I am sure you must have seen the old people roaring with laughter during Morning Walks…u know the reason? They are all well aware of the secret to healthy living… They believe and so implement the age old saying in their lives…“Laughter is the best medicine”.

If I want to state a basic benefit of laughter, would be the mobility it generates. And what we are lacking in today’s life is MOBILITY. Step out of your door and you have a car… Step out of your car and u have a lift… The walking pattern has been so disturbed that its creating ‘no mobility’ phase and which is further leading to various types of health disorders.

Laughter is considered to be a powerful antidote to stress, pain. It is the fastest way to get your mind and body back to normal. Do you remember Boman Irani’s character in Munna Bhai MBBS and the way he used to laugh after every point of stress? Laughter works the heart and stimulates circulation. It tones the heart muscle, and improves the elasticity of arteries and thus controls your Blood Pressure.

Laughter releases lots of ENDORPHIN which is a long-lasting natural painkiller that makes you feel good and happy. Older people enjoy this because it takes away their aches and pains and makes them feel younger.

Forget all anti ageing products and join the laughter club... laugh your heart out whenever possible... It tones facial muscles and increases the blood supply to the face. The influx of blood nourishes the skin and makes it glow and this is why people look flushed when they laugh.

One of the major problems flowing all over is depression and loneliness... but the best part is that it is impossible to be depressed while you are laughing. The more you laugh the more it makes you feel happy...

Who likes to talk to a person who is always angry, irritated? Who likes to work in a team which has a sad team leader? We all want to be with people who know how to strengthen relationships, enhance team building, promote group bonding and so on.
Laughter not only benefits your physical or mental health, it also lets you join a comfortable social environment.

Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way towards making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in on the fun.

Make your laughter infectious and trigger the healthy physical changes in you. Laugh out loud and strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain and leave your stress behind.

Accept this priceless medicine which is fun, free and easy to use.
So count your blessings, smile, be with playful people and stay cheered up! :)

UPHILLS AND DOWNHILLS

While talking on the phone the other day i was enjoying the rain fed valley view outside my room in Dehradun.... i got so involved with the beautiful sight that i started explaining it to the person on phone. His fascination towards the description about the mountains bulbed an idea about writing something about them...
so here i am.. after loads of 'backspaces' and 'del' from the keyboard and after deep thinking, writing about the teachings from the mountains.. dedicated to the one who originated this idea..

GIVE UP YOUR MOUNTAIN.....By "mountain" i mean the foreboding issue that stands between you and the life you want to be living. Everyone's mountains are different... for one it might be the financial struggle.. for the other, may be fear of loosing something precious.
The necessity of surrendering to situations you can't change, and continuing on to create a meaningful life in spite of them is what we should really learn.

Our mountains usually exist for a reason. Most often, they are based on a fear, thought, or belief about ourselves or our lives. Once we break down the initial mountain, we see the bigger mountain in the background, and we realize that our work has just begun. Or worse, we break down the initial mountain, and we DON'T see the bigger mountain, and we wonder why we're still not happy.

So, how do we conquer the bigger mountain? How can we even tell why it's there? In my own experience, it requires a lot of self-discovery. We must be willing to explore ourselves fully, question our beliefs, dig into our past, work through any unresolved issues, and make better choices.

Even more challenging, we must overcome the fear of facing the hidden parts of ourselves. Our fear could accurately be called the mountain behind the mountain behind the mountain!

But the beauty of this process is that once we face our fear, it doesn't seem so big anymore.

It's important to point out also that there's no end to this process. We are never really done with learning and growing into ourselves more deeply. Our lives will always have room for improvement. We may also have periods of time where we feel uncomfortable with the work we're doing, and start backsliding with our efforts.

But if we continue our efforts, day by day, week by week, and even year by year, we will make progress. We will learn how to love our mountains because of the way they strengthen us, and what they teach us. And we will realize that even though it wasn't an easy journey, it was definitely worthwhile in the end.

WE ARE PSYCHIC...

Scenario in the Year 2009:

My life’s biggest tragedy happens when I am in my confusion phase… this phase is so often with me and my life that now if I don’t face it I start missing it… is the red dress better or no should I buy the green colour… Chinese today ..urrmm.. shit no.. I guess pizza will do… coffee or tea? This hairstyle.. or that hairstyle.. this movie or that movie.. this place or that place… this side or that side…
Sometimes life gets so stucked between this and that( by which I meant the confusion phase) that you really forget to notice the small-small happy things around.
Like if I go for shopping.. I forget thanking the company instead get confused about the colour of the dress. If I go for a lunch.. the ambience gets unnoticed because I get busy deciding what to eat.. deciding between coffee and tea gets so difficult that it sort of ruins the fun with the person sitting in front of you..
Though its not that I don’t notice all these things.. but when I notice, it gets too late to react.. so the point is when we know what we want why don’t we do it and when we do it why don’t we exactly get it..
“Main to maanti hoon ki hum jo real mein chahte hain na, actual mein... woh hume milkar rehta hai” i am sure we all are familiar with this dialogue from the movie JAB WE MET. But how do we find out what we want… in real.. in actual??? I mean if seriously we get what we want then why did we ever created words like good luck and bad luck…

Scenario in the Year 2010

You can't see a mind with one's eyes. You can't "feel" a thought with one's hands. You can't place an emotion on a scale and weigh it. You can't detect imagination, even with sophisticated electronic detection devices. There is a relationship between the mind and the brain, but it is poorly understood.
Why do u think people meditate?? It is to erase this thin line between the brain and the mind, to have just one direction of life , to avoid the confusion. And it took me one year to figure out what meditation was doing to my life.
Meditation is not sitting for hours and chanting mantras but according to me it is letting your mind talk to your brain to understand it better. There is no particular time or place to meditate. My concentration got so strong with it that a crowded bus or a peaceful hill top dint matter much.
And here I land up to my point.. we all are psychic. Our psychic and intuitive perception is god given. These things are natural to us when we are born. Its just that we really don’t practice it because we have no knowledge about it.
Half an hour of meditation a day changed my life and I am not even kidding. It made my mind so strong that it automatically started getting aware of any happenings around. Neither the small nor the biggest of things got unnoticed…Be it the sound of drop of a pin or a misfortune.

We all have it in us.. we just need a bit of exploring... talk to yourself... spend time with yourself and trust me the diverged road will reach a common point.. :)

IN PRAISE OF PRAISE

Usually when a child behaves remarkably well, busy playing with himself, without uttering a word or disturbing anybody, not a word is said to him but as he starts a little bit of mischief, maybe to gain attention, parents give in their heavy artillery. The child's good behaviour was gone unnoticed, so to gain attention he resorted successfully to bad behaviour.

Praise is vital to us all. It works much better than criticism or punishment. To work, punishment has to be massive. But a hug or a word of praise can be very powerful- life with them can be a bed of roses, very thorny indeed.



Along with praise all of us needs prestige and responsibility. In fact, we all need to believe that we are special, unique, worth something. Giving someone the opportunity to taste prestige is a way to eliminate the negative in his or her behaviour and accentuate the positive.

Praise is a basic human need.Its important as brushing your teeth everyday. without it none of us gives our best. With it we give off our best, willingly.

"You look fabulous", "You are terrific",..... think of the effect these words have on you.

Think of the effect a few words of praise, an arm around the shoulder, a hug have on others... we all need words of affirmation and encouragement, that compliment, the appreciation of doing something well or of just being who we are. Don't overdo praise but do praise.

It's no use thinking it, we must say the words.

DEHRADUN: My Inspiration

The first day is still so fresh in my mind. 29^th July 2007 it was.. a pure weather of running drops.

Heart with mixed feelings >>happy(as college life was just about to begin), sad(because I had to stay away from home now).

With not so satisfactory result of class 12^th, I was very depressed... I had lost all my faith in studies and hard work (and you can blame the CBSE BOARD system for this). I knew I had to start my college life but the excitement which should have been there was missing…

But neways due to the ignition of the hope by my parents I reached Dehradun to start afresh and make my career. Born and brought up in Delhi I was actually not used to the clear sky where you can actually make out all the constellations and the heavy amount of greenery at every possible place.

Dehradun in real sense was a place for students. Having amazing crowd, walking on the main road of Dehradun were these amazingly well mannered students of different colleges and schools. It astonished me. There was something in the air, the water… that actually ceased my depression and promoted me to actually start it all again (try hard working once again). I not only fell in love with my course but also the beautiful valley. Having mussourie at one end and Haridwar and Rishikesh at the other, it truly is heaven on earth. One who really loves peace can blind foldedly build a house on the hills around

Dehradun made me realize I am actually not that bad in studies and that I can also do it. :)its been three years now and I have been doing excellent in my work and studies. Touchwood..

But was it really the place? Or my college friends? Or the excellent faculty in my college? Or did I really want to start afresh?

To quote the answer for the above questions, I would say,” there is just one kind of marriage in this world.. that is love marriage… either it is love before marriage or love after marriage.”

If u really want to be inspired , don’t wait for the people or the place to inspire you. Inspire yourself. I wanted to be inspired, Dehradun was an add on. Or I can put it like.. When I wanted to be in love with peace, dehradun came my way.

And whenever things happen the way we want, we get inspired…

So I think we all should look around for the inspiring element around us… you never know.. you may start loving something you really hated…