Masanobu Fukuoka (2 February 1913 – 16 August 2008) was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agriculture, commonly referred to as "natural farming" or "do-nothing farming". Fukuoka was the author of several books, scientific papers and other publications. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature's principles.

Masanobu Fukuoka

"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."

Zen Farming

Food and medicine are not two different things: they are the front and back of one body. Chemically grown vegetables may be eaten for food, but they cannot be used as medicine.

Natural farming, popularly known as “do nothing” farming, is an environmentally sustainable way of growing food, founded not in technique, but in the philosophical principal of living and growing food in accordance with nature's principal.

'Do Nothing' Farming

The four principles of natural farming are: <ol><li>human cultivation of soil, plowing or tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of powered machines.</li><li>prepared fertilizers are unnecessary, as is the process of preparing compost.</li><li>weeding, either by cultivation or by herbicides, is unnecessary; instead, only minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance should be used.</li><li>applications of pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary.</li></ol>

Principles Of Natural Farming

"At first people ate simply because they were alive and because food was tasty. Modern people have come to think that if they do not prepare food with elaborate seasonings, the meal will be tasteless. If you do not try to make food delicious, you will find that nature has made it so."

"People think they understand things because they become familiar with them. This is only superficial knowledge. It is the knowledge of the astronomer who knows the names of the stars, the botanist who knows the classification of the leaves and flowers, the artist who knows the aesthetics of green and red. This is not to know nature itself- the earth and sky, green and red. Astronomer, botanist, and artist have done no more than grasp impressions and interpret them, each within the vault of his own mind."

Call it “Zen and the Art of Farming” or a “Little Green Book,” Masanobu Fukuoka’s manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book “is valuable to us because it is at once practical and philosophical. It is an inspiring, necessary book about agriculture because it is not just about agriculture.” Trained as a scientist, Fukuoka rejected both modern agribusiness and centuries of agricultural practice, deciding instead that the best forms of cultivation mirror nature’s own laws. Over the next three decades he perfected his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Whether you’re a guerrilla gardener or a kitchen gardener, dedicated to slow food or simply looking to live a healthier life, you will find something here—you may even be moved to start a revolution of your own.

philosophy

Philosophy

mindfulness

Mindfulness

books

Books

Call it “Zen and the Art of Farming” or a “Little Green Book,” Masanobu Fukuoka’s manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book “is valuable to us because it is at once practical and philosophical. It is an inspiring, necessary book about agriculture because it is not just about agriculture.” Trained as a scientist, Fukuoka rejected both modern agribusiness and centuries of agricultural practice, deciding instead that the best forms of cultivation mirror nature’s own laws. Over the next three decades he perfected his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Whether you’re a guerrilla gardener or a kitchen gardener, dedicated to slow food or simply looking to live a healthier life, you will find something here—you may even be moved to start a revolution of your own.

The One-Straw Revolution

Animated corpses appear in stories all over the world throughout recorded history. But zombies have a distinct lineage— one that traces back to Equatorial and Central Africa.

Zombie’s African Origins 

The first clue is in the word “zombie” itself. Its exact etymological origins are unknown, but there are several candidates. The Mitsogho people of Gabon, for example, use the word “ndzumbi” for corpse. The Kikongo word “nzambi” refers variously to the supreme being, an ancestor with superhuman abilities, or another deity. And, in certain languages spoken in Angola and the Congo, “zumbi” refers to an object inhabited by a spirit, or someone returned from the dead.

Zombie’s Types And Varieties

Between 1517 and 1804, France and Spain enslaved hundreds of thousands of African people, taking them to the Caribbean island that now contains Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There, the religious beliefs of enslaved African people mixed with the Catholic traditions of colonial authorities and a religion known as “vodou” developed.

How Vodou Developed

According to some vodou beliefs, a person’s soul can be captured and stored, becoming a body-less “zombi.” Alternatively, if a body isn’t properly attended to soon after death, a sorcerer called a “bokor” can capture a corpse and turn it into a soulless zombi that will perform their bidding. Historically, these zombis were said to be put to work as laborers who needed neither food nor rest and would enrich their captor’s fortune.

Zombis: The No-Fuss Laborers

In other words, zombification seemed to represent the horrors of enslavement that many Haitian people experienced. It was the worst possible fate: a form of enslavement that not even death could free you from. The zombi was deprived of an afterlife and trapped in eternal subjugation. Because of this, in Haitian culture, zombis are commonly seen as victims deserving of sympathy and care.

Zombis: The Eternal Slaves

The zombie underwent a transformation after the US occupation of Haiti began in 1915— this time, through the lens of Western pop culture. During the occupation, US citizens propagated many racist beliefs about Black Haitian people. Among false accounts of devil worship and human sacrifice, zombie stories captured the American imagination.

The First Transformation: Occupation

And in 1932, zombies debuted on the big screen in a film called “White Zombie.” Set in Haiti, the film’s protagonist must rescue his fiancée from an evil vodou master who runs a sugar mill using zombi labor. Notably, the film's main object of sympathy isn't the enslaved workforce, but the victimized white woman.

The Second Transformation: Film

Over the following decades, zombies appeared in many American films, usually with loose references to Haitian culture, though some veered off to involve aliens and Nazis. Then came the wildly influential 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead,” in which a group of strangers tries to survive an onslaught of slow-moving, flesh-eating monsters. The film’s director remarked that he never envisioned his living dead as zombies. Instead, it was the audience who recognized them as such.

The Zombification Of The Zombis

But from then on, zombies became linked to an insatiable craving for flesh— with a particular taste for brains added in 1985′s “The Return of the Living Dead.” In these and many subsequent films, no sorcerer controls the zombies; they’re the monsters. And in many iterations, later fueled by 2002′s “28 Days Later,” zombification became a contagious phenomenon.

A Monster And A Disease

For decades now, artists around the world have used zombies to shine a light on the social ills and anxieties of their moment— from consumer culture to the global lack of disaster preparedness. But, in effect, American pop culture also initially erased the zombies origins—cannibalizing its original significance and transforming the victim into the monster.

World-Famous And Defamed

On voodoo and zombies, or on the effects of perspective distortion and/or false representation: how Vodou went from diasporic religion to sensationalized pop-culture caricature and how zombis went from victims to monsters.

Zombies have a distinct lineage— one that traces back to Equatorial and Central Africa. For three centuries, African people were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean Islands. There, a religion known as vodou developed, along with the belief that a person's soul can be captured and stored, becoming a body-less zombie. Christopher M. Moreman uncovers the true origins of the undead. [Directed by Kaspar Jancis, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio].

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

history

History

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

The Dark History Of Zombies

Though many people make the pursuit of happiness their life’s goal, recent research suggests that doing so may backfire and, ironically, lead to less happiness.Because life is filled with various challenges, people may be better off pursuing purpose than chasing passion, building the resilience and character needed to thrive.Uncovering our unique vocations may not only help us flourish as individuals but also as humanity.

Key Takeaways

We’ve all heard this before: To change the world, we need to use our passion as our North Star, and let our happiness be the measuring stick of our success. The truth is that happiness is not the goal of our human existence.Making happiness the goal of our lives is tantamount to embarking on a fool’s errand that is sure to leave us disappointed. In fact, recent research suggests that making happiness our life’s goal may ironically lead to less happiness and backfire in harmful ways.

Passion Or Purpose

Character is forged in the face of adversity. When that harsh reality sets in, it can leave happiness-seekers feeling hoodwinked, empty, and rudderless. The very adversity we often wish to circumnavigate has the potential to produce within us the grit, resilience, and character we need to flourish as human beings in an era in which machines are rapidly replacing humans throughout the global economy.People who pursued meaning in life not only lived longer but also experienced improved physical and mental health, greater economic prosperity, and resilience when dealing with change in life.

Finding Meaning

Happiness is not the goal, but rather a byproduct of living on what I call the “purpose path.”This requires “vocational courage” — gaining clarity about the work you were made to do and committing to it no matter what. This is more than simply attending to one’s passions — this is discovering and acting on one’s reason for being. Vocation is not a goal to be achieved; it is a gift to be received

The Purpose Path

This is the essence of vocational courage. It is recognizing when there is a gap between what you’re doing and what you believe you’re made to do. For some, it may mean <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/07/setting-the-record-straight-on-switching-jobs">switching companies</a> to work for a more purpose-driven brand. For some, it may mean going back to school to prepare for a different line of work altogether. It is having the bravery to pivot in a different direction when your soul knows it’s time — when your soul demands that you live an “<a href="https://onbeing.org/blog/living-an-undivided-life/">undivided life</a>.”

An Undivided Life

Each of us has a vocation — a unique, worthwhile life’s work we are called to undertake at this moment in human history. So instead of orienting our lives around our passions and the <a href="https://hbr.org/podcast/2017/09/find-your-happy-place-at-work">pursuit of happiness</a>, let’s commit ourselves to listening to the voice of our vocation so we can understand who we should become and how we can contribute to human flourishing. It just might change the world for good.

Find Your Calling

Though many people make the pursuit of happiness their life’s goal, recent research suggests that doing so may backfire and, ironically, lead to less happiness. Because life is filled with various challenges, people may be better off pursuing purpose than chasing passion, building the resilience and character needed to thrive. Uncovering our unique vocations may not only help us flourish as individuals but also as humanity.

career

Career

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

Why Purpose—Not Passion—Should Guide Young Professionals

We are constantly researching and discovering new creative people in our line of work. The ones who rise to the surface usually have something in common.The designers, artists, illustrators, photographers and animators who get noticed either:A. Are extremely talented or skilledB. Have a “thing”C. Have a “thing” and are extremely good at itIt’s the exceptions that get attention. To find a story newsworthy, a journalist needs an angle. For your work to stand out, you need an angle, too. That leaves you with one of the three above options: Option B.

What We Do What Others Cannot

Now the tricky part is, you can’t necessarily fake or force this 'thing'. The people who become known for their niche usually don’t start out with the desire to become known. They are simply pursuing a weird, unusual, singular interest – and going all-in on that.The point is that you open yourself up to your genuine, specific and even weird fixations.

That Quirky Thing We Have

This passion may be fleeting, and that’s fine. It’s those passing interests that lead people to some of their best side projects. And those side projects inevitably lead to other opportunities. The point is that you open yourself up to your genuine, specific and even weird fixations. Don’t judge them. Don’t overthink them. Just follow them and see where they lead you.
If something specific fascinates you – even if it’s as seemingly mundane as the way light hits dust in a photograph, or how chewed gum might look like an animated character – let yourself follow that interest as far as your heart desires.

Get Going At Your Niche

On finding your niche

According to the Mayo Clinic, laughing has short- and long-term effects on our health. As we bring in more oxygen, it stimulates our heart, lungs, and muscles. Laughing increases the endorphins that are released by our brain, and it cools down our stress response. Over a longer period of time, laughter can improve our immune system, relieve pain, and increase personal satisfaction.

Laughter Can Be Good Medicine

While it’s easy to laugh at something funny, the ability to laugh at yourself can help you address the challenges that could be holding you back in your career and life, says Dr. Brian Kaplan, author of Almost Happy: Pushing Your Buttons with Reverse Psychology.“To laugh at one’s self is an excellent thing,” he says. “Humor can be a very powerful way of helping people, proving that helping doesn’t have to be a solemn experience.”

Helping Doesn’t Have To Be Solemn

Kaplan studied the work of Frank Farrelly, an innovative therapist who founded Provocative Therapy in the 1960s. Provocative Therapy uses humor and reverse psychology to provoke people to change. With the person’s explicit permission, you repeat what you hear their “sub-selves” saying and you do it with humor, warmth, and affection.

Provocative Therapy

Provocative Therapy is a system of psychotherapy in which the therapist plays the devil’s advocate, siding with the negative half of the client’s ambivalence toward his life’s goals, his relationships, work and the structures within which he lives. The provocative therapist also plays the Satanic role by facetiously agreeing with the doom and gloom feelings and expectations of the client, and “tempting” him to continue his “sinning,” his self-defeating attitudes and behavioral patterns.

Whose Side Are You On?

“We all have sub-selves, or sub-personalities, such as our inner child,” says Kaplan. “That’s a nice use of a sub-self. But we also have sub-selves that dominate us. They’re loud, grab the microphone, and dominate the whole personality.”For example, you may relate to a sub-self of the workaholic. You could justify that you need to work 15 hours a day because you’re paying for your children’s education, a new house, or a vacation home.

Our Sub-Selves

Laugh at yourself by reaffirming the workaholic’s devotion to work. For example, you can tell yourself, “You should definitely spend all your time focusing on making more money and acquiring more businesses or investing in the market. Your children will be judged by their clothes and vacations. They don’t need you; they need your money.”

Self-Subversion How-to

“When you can laugh at that side—especially when it’s a bit over the top—then you can laugh at that part of you that’s sabotaging yourself,” says Kaplan. “That moment of laughter provides a window of opportunity to recognize what’s holding you back and prescribe your own solution. And laughter and the warmth of it is like a medicine that allows you to deal with something that’s often quite painful.”

Laughter And The Warmth Of It

In his book, Kaplan identifies more than 100 sub-selves that could be holding you back. For example, you may be a procrastinator. In this case, you can talk to yourself by saying, “Never underestimate the power of tomorrow!” “Always make magnanimous resolutions on your finest night, New Year’s Eve.” And “Meditate on the many horrible consequences of most impulsive decisions and actions.”

Sub-Self: The Procrastinator

Another sub-self is the grim executive, which Kaplan calls “the stone-faced men and women of big business. Anyone feeling the burden of being held responsible for profit and loss.” In this case, you can call out the sub-self by saying, “It’s a badge of honor to look ten years older than you are. Don’t forget your annual visit to the cardiologist.”Other sub-selves include being a people pleaser, robot, doormat, critic, and ego maniac.

Sub-Self: The Grim Executive

“Mark Twain once said, ‘Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand,'” says Kaplan. “Once you’re laughing at the sub self, you’re acutely aware of it. Normally, you don’t think of the trait as a sub-self. When it takes you over, you think ‘I’m angry’ or ‘I’m under stress,’ because the sub-self has taken your whole personality there. When you can identify it as a part of you and not your entire being, you can quiet it down.”

A Part, Not The Whole

If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you.

If you would not be laughed at, be the first to laugh at yourself.

We probably all know what it’s like when others push our buttons and drive us crazy. What if we pushed our own buttons and drove ourselves happy? 

The ability to laugh at yourself can help you address the challenges that could be holding you back in your career and life, says Dr. Brian Kaplan.


Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

habits

Habits

mentalhealth

Mental Health

How (And Why) We Should Learn To Laugh At Ourselves

The Seven Virtues are:1. Master Your Mind (The garden)2. Follow Your Purpose (The Light House)3. Practice Kaizen (Sumo wrestler)4. The Power of Discipline (Cable Wire)5. Respect Your Time (Stop watch)6. Selflessly Serve Others (Fragnant Roses)7. Embrace the Present (Path of Diamonds)

Short Summary

“Your "I CAN" is more important than your IQ.”

We need to cultivate our minds like a gardener cultivates a magnificent garden. Sowing good seeds will eventually produce tasty fruits and beautiful flowers. Improve your quality of life by improving your quality of thoughts. It’s impossible to remove negative thoughts from your mind completely. Letting your negative thoughts take over is equivalent to under-watering your plants and leaving all your trash in your garden.

1. Master Your Mind (Garden)

• A lighthouse aims to show people the right direction. Similarly, we need to choose the right path in our lives. But you can only find the right path if you know your destination. Your destination is your purpose.• Sharma believes that unwritten goals are not actually goals.

2. Follow Your Purpose (Lighthouse)

Kaizen is the Japanese method for improvement and optimization. It directly translates into continuous learning and improvement. This idea is most commonly applied to sumo wrestlers, who have to be very disciplined to maintain their large size and skill set. It’s a process that involves optimization and incrementally improving in the crucial areas of your life, business, and work.

3. Practice Kaizen (Sumo Wrestler)

• The notion of discipline encourages you to consistently perform small acts of courage.• Wage war against the weaker thoughts that have crept into the palace of your mind. These thoughts will then see that they are unwanted and leave like unwelcome visitors.

4. The Power of Discipline (Cable Wire)

• Time is the most precious commodity. We all have twenty-four hours a day, but effective time management separates the successful and mediocre. Time slips through our hands like grains of sand, never to return. Time mastery leads to life mastery. So, focus on your priorities and maintain balance. Procrastination is a habit many of us have that just wastes time. • Respecting and paying full attention to your time will allow you to live your life to the fullest.

5. Respect Your Time (Stop Watch)

• The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your contributions to the world. To achieve wholeness, you should practice daily acts of kindness, give generously, and focus on your relationships with others. To cultivate the sacredness of each day, live to give. By elevating the lives of others, you elevate your own life.• The satisfaction of helping others is priceless. So, give to those who ask and cultivate richer relationships. Always be kind and compassionate toward others.

6. Selflessly Serve Others (Fragnant Rose)

• Live in the “now”. Savor the gift of the present.• Never sacrifice happiness for achievement.• Savor the journey and live each day as your last.• We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future. Our human brains are designed so that we tend to get disturbed when thinking of our past and worry about the future. We rarely enjoy the small positive moments that we have in the present. These moments are the real diamonds in your life.

7. Embrace the Present (Path Of Diamonds)

Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. it will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.

1. Have a clear vision of your outcome.2. Create positive pressure to keep you inspired.3. Never set a goal without attaching a timeline to it. 4. Stay with your goal for 21 days.5. Enjoy the process.

The Five-Step Method to Following Your Purpose

The Ancient Rule of 20This ancient rule is like the 80/20 principle that says our 20% activities give 80% of the result. You must try to incorporate more 20% activities into your life to fully respect your time.The Deathbed MentalityTo make full use of your time, you must have the courage to say no to requests. One way to increase your chances of doing so is to adopt the deathbed mentality. Live every day as if it were your last.

How to Improve Productivity

“Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.”

Wisdom to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Peace This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to: Develop joyful thoughts Follow our life's mission and calling Cultivate self-discipline and act courageously Value time as our most important commodity Nourish our relationships, and – live fully, one day at a time A FABLE ABOUT FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS AND REACHING YOUR DESTINY

Wisdom to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Peace This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to: <ul><li> Develop Joyful Thoughts, <li> Follow Our Life's Mission and Calling, <li> Cultivate Self-Discipline and Act Courageously, <li> Value Time as Our Most Important Commodity, <li> Nourish Our Relationships, and <li> Live Fully, One Day at a Time.</ul>

Robin Sharma is one of the world’s premier thinkers on leadership, personal growth and life management. The bestselling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Who Will Cry When You Die? and The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO and four other books on self-transformation. Robin Sharma is in constant demand internationally as keynote speaker at the conferences of many of the most powerful companies on the planet including Microsoft, Nortel Networks, General Motors, FedEx and IBM. He is a resident of Ontario, Canada. (Barnes and Noble)

Robin S. Sharma

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny

Research shows that you can increase your own happiness.On average 50% of a person's general level of happiness is determined by genetics.40% is under your own control.The remaining 10% depends on circumstances.Describing yourself as a happy person in effect results in fewer health problems, lower risk of depression and longer living.What if you aren't naturally a happy and cheerful person? Is it possible to make oneself happy?

Happy-go-lucky ☺ 

Even if you don't consider yourself happy, there is a good chance you have some power to change it.

Ofcourse it's a challenge for even a happy-go-lucky person to remain upbeat. Like any aspect of wellness, happiness is a constant work in progress.No matter your current state of happiness, there are ways to boost your outlook and give your mental health a life. See below...

Work On Happiness

The Harvard study led by Dr Robert Waldinger, director of the longest running study on happiness, found a strong link between happiness and close relationships with family and friends.

Stay Connected 

Personal connection creates emotional stimulation, which is an automatic mood booster, while isolation is a mood buster.

If you want to feel a sense of purpose and improve your mood, consider volunteering projects.Take the initiative to be a good neighbour by keeping the streets tidy from litter.Research has shown that this positive effect was especially strong in adults.

Raise Your Hand

The planning and the deliberate intention to do good for others can have an important effect on one's wellbeing. Altruistic kindness refers to a selfless act of kindness which can stimulate the same pleasure centres of the brain activated when we eat comfort food, exercise or have sex. This offers an insight into how important cooperation has been to human survival.Altruism refers to helping someone with:<ul><li>No expectation of a reward</li><li>Helping someone despite personal costs or risks</li><li>Sharing resources even in the face of scarcity</li><li>Showing concern for anothers wellbeing</li></ul>

Perform Regular Acts Of Genuine Kindness

When you are older, you may have the chance to revisit activities that gave you joy as a child or young adult.What made you happy when you were younger? Pick up those hobbies, games, sports, or other interests from your youth.

Find Your Inner Child

Research studies have shown that no matter a person's income, spending money on time saving purchases, such as paying to delegate household chores, have a greater life satisfaction. You can support small businesses such as cleaning ladies to put food on the table for their kids to say the least.

Buy More Time

Money can buy happiness through life experiences. Opt for a dinner in an ethnic restaurant, or an art exhibition. The investment can have a lasting impact. Studies have shown that people who spend money on life experiences have longer term satisfaction, as they create happier memories. In comparison to this, buying material objects provides often only temporary happiness.

Invest In Experience

A study looked at urban green spaces and their effect on citizens in 90 cities worldwide.It found that people's happiness correlated with the areas amount of urban green space, regardless of the country's economic state.Creating your own green space can have a similar effect. Research has shown that gardening at home improves emotional wellbeing in the same way that activities such as cycling and walking do.Purchase plants and flowers to decorate your home. The benefits of this is a whole other topic.

See More Green

Having more variety in your daily routines can make one feel happier. Even small changes can have a big impact. Research results show that altering ones regular pattern, such as trying a new excercise program every few weeks, listening to podcasts on some days and music on other days, or just taking a different route to the grocery store, can add spice to your life.

Break Up Your Routines

Set time aside to write down the things you are grateful for in your life.It could be something you take for granted such as <ul><li>A roof over your head</li><li>A supportive family</li><li>Something simple like recieving a compliment</li><li>Enjoying a good book</li><li>Today's good weather</li><li>A great tasting meal</li></ul>

Count Your Blessings

Research has found that when people are given more options, they have more opportunities for regret and worry.To protect your happiness, limit the amount of time you give yourself to choose, or pick between fewer options.Don't allow yourself to second guess the decision once it's made. Try to avoid looking back once the decision has been made.

Make Fewer Decisions

Useful tips on how to achieve happiness and joy in life 🙌

Happy people tend to have fewer health problems and longer lives. Research suggests that, on average, 50% of people&rsquo;s general level of happiness is determined by genetics, with the rest dependent on the individual&rsquo;s perception and specific circumstances.

health

Health

longevity

Longevity

Health and happiness go hand in hand | Harvard Health

Learn from the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi which encourages to value simplicity and to find beauty in imperfections and impermanence. Wabi sabi teaches us how to simplify and prioritize the right things, while allowing time to make the necessary changes. It shows us how to access the magic of the everyday and the mundane and to understand that what we have is enough.

Find Beauty And Fulfillment In Life’s Perfect Imperfection

Wabi: subdued taste. Sen no Rikyū revolutionized tea ceremony favoring a version that celebrated natural beauty and simplicity. Rikyū’s style of tea ceremony was known as wabi tea, or “wabi-cha.” Wabi implied a mindset that appreciates simplicity, humility and frugality.Sabi: elegant simplicity and beauty that come from the passing of time. Pensive luster, in Tanizaki words, is preferred to shallow brilliance.Wabi sabi implies a worldview that appreciates simple beauty, imperfection and the transience of all things.

Learn From The Meaning Of Each Word

Imperfection is to be celebrated. Home should be the place where you feel more at ease. Use natural and imperfect materials like wood and stone that remind us that life is perfectly imperfect. To bring more of yourself in your home decorate with objects that create emotions or memories in you. This coupled with the right kind of decluttering can help you build a home focused only on the truly important parts of your life.The wabi sabi home, then, allows for all of our imperfections, but encourages us to simplify our lives so that we’re closest to what we cherish most.

Soulful And Simple Home

“that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging”

﻿When we pay attention to nature, we begin to notice a whole world of quiet and simple magic. We also become more present. This is celebrated in Japanese poetry called Haiku and in the classification of seasons. Japan calendar has 24 smaller seasons to acknowledge small changes like “Mist starts to hover”. Noticing the small changes in the outside world make us more attuned to changes in our body and mind. We start to notice we need to rest, to lighten or to change scenery. Nature impermanence makes us aware of our own. Cherry blossoms reminds us that we must focus on what really matters now.

Tune Into Nature, Embrace Impermanence 

”Suffering is inevitable, pain is optional”We mist learn to embrace change and respond promptly to it. We cannot control what happens to us but we can control how we respond to it.The sooner we accept what is happening the better, as we can modify our behavior to the new reality.Life is fundamentally imperfect. And after we’ve accepted this basic truth, we should realize that much of what we have already is – in its own way – perfectly imperfect.

Embrace Acceptance 

"I have not failed. I've just found ten thousand ways that won't work." Thomas EdisonAs we embark on a learning journey, we must understand that the journey will never be complete. It will have set backs and advances but won’t end. You are not competing against others but growing compared to the person that you were yesterday. In this process failure can be the opportunity for expansion, we can reframe it and learn useful lessons that we might have otherwise missed.

Embrace Failure As The Path To Success

Tea Ceremony is a moment where we look after of one another offering care and consideration.It has 4 principles:<ol><li class="ql-align-justify">“Wa” - Harmony. What could you do to encourage harmony in your relationships?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">“Kei” - Respect. What do you respect of each individual that you could celebrate and acknowledge?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">”Sei” - Purity. Cultivate purity of heart and seek out the best in each other. Think of how you could manage your conflicts differently if you tried to see the best in others.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">“Jaku” - Tranquility. To connect with others you need space and calm. How can you create more time and space to grow your relationships?</li></ol>

Tea Ceremony Principles Can Help Improve Our Relationships

There is no perfect career path. Each successful person had to endure many difficulties and face many failures in their path to success. “Do” represents the journey one has to take to acquire knowledge and wisdom in a discipline. Sado, the way of tea; Judo the way of gentleness. It is the path towards something which contains the most vital lessons. The journey is more important than the end goal.The same is true for our careers. We should seek out and learn the most important lessons in our journeys through self reflection.

Enjoy Your Career Journey And Its Unplanned Turns

With age we acquire life lessons, wisdom and discernment . We treasure moments with loved ones and carve out time to do the things we enjoy most. Perfection can be found in the everyday magic of our imperfect lives.Take time to reflect and write down the things you love most like the eleventh-century poetess Sei Shōnagon which noted her favorite things, in lists like “Things to Quicken the Heart”.

Cherish Your Time On Earth

Wabi sabi encourages us to value the perfectly imperfect in every area of our life from career to relationships.

The definitive guide that teaches you how to use the Japanese concept of wabi sabi to reshape every area of your life and find happiness right where you are. Fed up with the exhausting challenges of our fast-paced, consumption-driven existence, millions of people around the world are turning to timeless cultural traditions to find true meaning. In this transformative handbook, Beth Kempton introduces you to wabi sabi (”wah-bi sah-bi”), a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics that offers a whole new way of looking at the world. With roots in Zen and the Way of Tea, wabi sabi teaches you to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity, and accept the transient nature of all things. It inspires you to simplify everything and concentrate on what truly matters. Filled with simple yet profound wisdom, Wabi Sabi will help you slow down, reconnect with nature, and be gentler on yourself. From honoring the rhythm of the seasons to creating a welcoming home, from reframing failure to aging with grace, Wabi Sabi teaches you find more joy and inspiration throughout your perfectly imperfect life.

travel

Travel

The definitive guide that teaches you how to use the Japanese concept of wabi sabi to reshape every area of your life and find happiness right where you are. Fed up with the exhausting challenges of our fast-paced, consumption-driven existence, millions of people around the world are turning to timeless cultural traditions to find true meaning. In this transformative handbook, Beth Kempton introduces you to wabi sabi (”wah-bi sah-bi”), a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics that offers a whole new way of looking at the world.With roots in Zen and the Way of Tea, wabi sabi teaches you to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity, and accept the transient nature of all things. It inspires you to simplify everything and concentrate on what truly matters. Filled with simple yet profound wisdom, Wabi Sabi will help you slow down, reconnect with nature, and be gentler on yourself. From honoring the rhythm of the seasons to creating a welcoming home, from reframing failure to aging with grace, Wabi Sabi teaches you find more joy and inspiration throughout your perfectly imperfect life.

Beth Kempton

Wabi Sabi

Habit is the foundation of the routines that comprise the vast bulk of our everyday lives. When we are not disturbed, we live our practical lives without engaging in anything like a cautious assessment of what it is we are doing at any given moment. No conscious deliberation or reflection is required to brew morning coffee, or to catch the morning train to work. As the late philosopher Hubert Dreyfus said, habits are a part of our “everyday coping practices”.

Habits: Everyday Coping Practices?

In tune with this characterisation, philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists alike often conceive of habits as highly mechanistic and near-automatic responses to environmental cues that unfold outside of our deliberative control. This conception of habits as mindless and reflexive might seem intuitive when we recognise that they are often counterproductive to our capacity to pursue our goals and desires. For example, many of us may have recently found ourselves habitually reaching over to shake hands with people even though we know we should refrain from doing so in light of the pandemic.

… Or Mindless Reflexes?

However, even our most mundane habitual routines actually display a great deal of intelligence. Indeed, they are often intelligently context-sensitive and flexible in such a way as can support and structure our goals and projects.

The Intelligent Dimension Of Habits

“Habit is a second nature that destroys the first. But what is nature? Why is habit not natural? I am very much afraid that nature itself is only a first habit, just as habit is a second nature.” - Blaise Pascal

Rather than mindless mechanisms for routines, habits are a species of belief that display a great deal of intelligence

In Praise Of Habits – So Much More Than Mindless Reflexes

Find 100+ Mindfulness Tips & Facts - Curated from inspiring sources like Books, Podcasts & Articles - Genuine Insights from like-minded Users like You!

The One-Straw Revolution

The Dark History Of Zombies

Why Purpose—Not Passion—Should Guide Young Professionals

On finding your niche

How (And Why) We Should Learn To Laugh At Ourselves

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny

Health and happiness go hand in hand | Harvard Health

Wabi Sabi

In Praise Of Habits – So Much More Than Mindless Reflexes

Joy at Work

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

The One-Straw Revolution

The Dark History Of Zombies

Why Purpose—Not Passion—Should Guide Young Professionals

On finding your niche

How (And Why) We Should Learn To Laugh At Ourselves

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny

Health and happiness go hand in hand | Harvard Health

Wabi Sabi

In Praise Of Habits – So Much More Than Mindless Reflexes

Joy at Work

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.