Are there any similarities between Hinduism and Shinto?

’Yes’ is the answer given by somebody, somewhere but I don't agree. In fact I would never compare any two religions. One may find a few aspects that look alike but the founder knows there is nothing. Every religion is based on certain divine principles but all religion defends humanity to the core.

I know that in Hinduism, for which no one man is attributed as its founder existed more than 5000 years ago as proved by the archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Mohenjadaro.

The different Gods in the Hinduism must have come much later but there are no historical evidences for that too.

For information, Shinto is the religion of Japan. Shinto is commonly translated as "The Way of the Gods".

Carry an umbrella.

Kerala in India is said to be like London. The rain may greet you anytime and particularly it doesn’t like you when you step out. Like British people, Keralites always carry an umbrella with then them

But, I did not mean that umbrella in the subject line but only said it symbolically. An umbrella covers you from rain, wind and sun. In short you can shield yourself with it from the vagaries of weather.

Like that, a Trip Protection is a travel insurance policy that protects you from financial loss due to unforeseen conditions while traveling, either within one's own country, or internationally.

Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased from most travel agents, travel insurance companies or directly from travel suppliers such as tour operators.

Apart the most common risks that are covered by travel insurance there are new coverages offered in these days. For example delayed baggage, overseas funeral expenses, travel delays due to hurricanes are a few that are noteworthy risks against which we are covered.

For ore information on TravelSafe Insurance’s full line of travel insurance products, or to get an instant quote with side-by-side comparisons of their various plans, visit Travelsafe.com or call (800) 523-8020 anytime.

Do we have to follow rituals?

After my previous post on placing our will at the disposal of God, I retired to bed pondering over the Sunday’s function in which I and my husband are officially (?) surrendering at the feet of Lord Vishnu preceded by some religious rituals.

I am not going to elaborate on the rites and its outcome but let me outline the philosophy behind it. The meaning behind our surrender is to dedicate all the results (be it good or bad.) of our actions to the God.

In our family circle, we sometimes debate on the philosophies of Hinduism and Buddhism and many times, the exchange of views between us revealed similarities on certain basic tenets.

Without going into all the details, I will cite only one example between these two religions and that is idol worship. Personally, I think Buddhism is simpler in its philosophy.

I have answered a question on Blurt it. The question is, “Buddhism is more philosophy than religion. What are your thought on it?” The answer is my own opinion and I am aware there may be a difference to it.

In all religion, we should try to understand the inner meaning or the essence of it and how the rituals help in making us understand the philosophy of the religion.

Picture at the left is White Lotus.

The picture at the left is White Lotus. It symbolizes God's consciousness. It is a sacred flower for staunch Vaishnavites and Buddhists.


Speaking of God's consciousness, I would like quote The Mother on that subject.
" The notion of what is good for you and what is not, is not the same to the divine consciousness. What appears to you as good and favorable is not always what is best for from a spiritual point of view. The divine perception of what will lead you fastest to your goal is absolutely different from yours."

I am giving below an incident that took place in my friend's life long time back. He was traveling from New Delhi to Madras in a train. He wanted to use the bathroom. Since it was occupied, he crossed over the vestibule to next coach's bathroom. As he was about to enter, another person rushed in, so my friend returned to his seat.

In the next minute, the train derailed and all the coaches up to the one he went by crossing the vestibule toppled. Imagine my friend's state of mind.

Affirm this: "I shall accept everything and understand later"

"You may not know at every moment, what is the best thing to do or how to do it but you can place your will at the disposal of the Divine to do the best possible. You will see it will have marvelous results. Do this with consciousness and sincerity and you will find yourself getting along with gigantic strides."-The Mother

Image courtesy: Herbalfire.com

Track your readers.

It is a good widget that tell you how many page views you blog post has received.

There are so many ways to track the readership of our blog posts and some involve money and some are too technical for bloggers who know nothing except writing blog posts. I am a living example in that category.

For people like me, widgets are truly God sent tool and that too when it gets automatically added to my blog, it is such a big relief.

Inserting a Spotplex widget is one such easy way and it reports how may people read our blog posts. I have just installed(no, it got in there) the widget which you can see at the left side bar.

Let me see the results tomorrow.

Say yes.

Don't ask how; say 'YES'.

Every spiritual development book quotes the above.
Leave the 'how' to universe and just go about implementing what your inner voice says. If a new idea surfaces from your mind, that means the Universe believes you can do it and it will support you all the way provided you take action without asking for others' opinion.

And if by chance you are asked by somebody for your opinion about something they wish to undertake, encourage them with out doubt, without considering your past experience.

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticize me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I will not forget you."

William Arthur Ward

I received this quote in my email today from My daily Insights.

Feeling abondoned?

I can understand your feeling dejection when the person you have loved for years unconditionally has abandoned you for various reasons.

I hear this is quite frequent in western countries. I agree it happens in India too but such incidents are rare. This may end in violence also sometimes. Our pictures don't fail to depict this at every opportunity; news papers too participate in propagandizing such cases.

But do you sincerely feeling for the loss will really change the scene? Moreover you keep focusing on your ill feelings and thereby you attract more of it as per the law of attraction.

So what to do in such situations?
Say this: " I trust that love will return in my life. I choose to feel good right now and focus on what I have rather than what is missing".-Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Repeat this many times a day and you will see things turn around for better and you will soon will be enveloped in such a love that you will admit that the past has paved for this new and increased love.

Trust me! This will work.

Heart or head contest.

When I was a teenager, I read Ayn Rand with passion. I was terribly impressed by her ideals, writing style and philosophy.

At that age, I firmly believed that head should rule the heart. I earned the wrath of my family and they called me adamant. I just took it in my stride; I knew I was not adamant.

But, now that I have aged, read spirituality and thus came to a conclusion that the heart should rule the head. Listening to the inner voice is more virtuous and wise. Neglecting your feelings and emotions will surely thwart my spiritual growth.

In my local daily today, (The Hindu) there was a news item that reported a Mr. Joe Kaiser won the title and a gold medal for this year's Great American Think-Off in which ordinary people debate perplexing questions.

Mr. Kaiser argued that a person should trust the heart more than the head.

The news originally came from AP says, "America's Greatest Thinker is not a famous philosopher, an award winning mathematician or internationally known astrophysicist but a musician and an arts administrator.

New attractions at Disney World.

I read in an article that many of the older attractions in the Disney World were closed and in their place, new ones are being installed.

For example, ‘20,000 leagues under the sea’ was closed and in its place another attraction came up though I don’t remember the name of the newer one.

As and more and more attractions are being added, the Walt Disney World Ticket's cost also see an increase catching the tourists unaware. Mind you, they can be costly man!

But with a little shopping around online, one can buy admission tickets to theme parks, water rides and fun shows at discount rates. When you hear the word ‘Discount’, don’t imagine it to be something cheap. Cheap and discount are not synonymous.

Since Orlandofuntickets.com has been in the hospitality industry for a long time, naturally they have a tie up with major resorts in Orlando and all the theme park attractions. This enables them to offer tickets at lesser rates, whereby, they are ensuring the theme parks an assured business and the discount is also made possible.

For the lowest prices and always best personal service, visit Orlandofuntickets.com.

Get the money with Rich Dreams.

Tom Pauley and Penelope Pauley claim that their mission is to help us make money.
Shall we lend our ears for a few minutes?

During the last two years or so, I have come across various mind tools that promise wealth, health, peace of mind. Some tools claim that it will help us manifest whatever our desires are.

While I have not yet bought any softwares that promise to reprogram our thinking direction, I have bought some e-books that are very effective and delivered more than they promised.

What the Pauley team is offering?
Again e-books and audio CDs. Haven't we all seen enough?

No, not for me, I will stay loyal to Christopher Westra and Wayne Dyer.

Can a software change your thinking?

This blog's main theme is the Laws of Universe and one of the main law is the law of attraction.

After reading many e-books on Law of Attraction, I have achieved some success in watching my thoughts and change it instantly to positive if I noticed a destructive attribute.

I know this required a lot of conscious effort and I owe my gratitude to several online mentors like Laurie Brenner, Christopher Westra, Carol Tuttle and so on.

When I saw an ad from Brain Sync and read a synopsis of what it can do to our mind, I was skeptical.

Their website says that you can consistently enter into peak experience brain states and reap powerful benefits of brain wave entrainment therapy.

I think I need more time to learn about this software. Will get back later.

Sports forums are my favorite.

Not that I am a sports woman but I can say I was one if you consider my little experience on badminton during my college days nearly three decades ago.

But I pride myself on one aspect; I am still interested in games and sports and I read various sports forums but I never contribute.

Yesterday, I happen to read about the difficulty in getting tickets in America for any kind of premium sports events. Especially, football attracts lot of interest and buying Miami Dolphins Tickets at the gates of the venue is near impossible because all the tickets are usually grabbed online through premiumseatsusa.com who is the prime online tickets broker.

Sports lovers wisely avoid all the hassles of obtaining tickets for their favorite NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL by relying on premiumseatsusa.com. Even for fun shows held in places like Las Vegas and major musical comedy shows, people buy it online and with their tickets delivered at their doorsteps by FedEx, they happily walk through the gates of the stadium or concert halls much to the envy of hose waiting outside.

What a nice way to enjoy your favorite shows and games!

See, that’s why I linger around sports forums.

First class resort at Goa.

I could not believe my eyes when I stepped in to my room at the beach resort in Goa, India. Actually, I booked it online and paid for it fully online. I was a bit apprehensive about the size of the room. Mostly these kinds of resorts provide excellent amenities but the size used to bother me.

I can even compromise on the bedroom size but not on the bathroom size and bathroom furniture. Surprisingly, this resort’s rooms are equipped with full pledged bathroom suites.

A bathroom suite is consists of ultra modern bath showers that are fitted with convenient yet modern shower valves. This bathroom suit had a western toilet, a bath tub, fairly big wash basin and a violet color curtain that divided the bath area from the toilet enclosure.

For example, please look at the picture below.

All the taps were easy on my hands and the hot and cold water mixer was actually working!

I called on the General Manager of the resort and personally appreciated the facilities and assured him that I will recommend his resort to my friends.

Take my assistance says ....

"Hello, I am always available, why don't you take my assistance?"-says our higher self which is also known as inner self.

Who exactly is your inner self? It is the actual 'You'. I mean it is that part that is always in touch with your creator as an extension of the creator himself!

We all can easily communicate with our inner self if we sincerely want to. If achieved, then you can request for any kind of help in any difficult situation and be assured that you will get it almost instantly.

Even in your happy times or in your usual normal mood, you can set up a nice chat with your higher self. You don't need any special chat interface to do this.

Then what do we exactly require? How do we communicate with our God?
Adrian explains it all in his remarkable book "Our Ultimate Reality". I bought this book about 16 months before, printed all of it and been reading with sheer admiration for this man's insight.

Go to his web site, give your email and you will receive 7 free chapters from his book. I am sure you will buy it once you finish reading the free chapters. Because I bought the book exactly in the same way.
Our

I am wise now.

I shouted and shouted in enthusiasm till my throat became dry. In fact I thought it started bleeding inside.

As a mathematics coach, I spend roughly 7 hours talking to my students, so I can’t afford to neglect my sore throat.

I sought medical attention and I wrote down, “I was cheering up my favorite basketball team from the stands yesterday” and showed it to the ENT specialist in response to his question on the reason for my sore throat. I wrote down because no sound came from my mouth.

The doctor asked me if I was sitting at the back of the stadium for which I replied in affirmation. He advised me to take a seat in one of the front rows in future if I can’t sit at home for the upcoming matches.

He suggested that I should go online for Miami Heat Tickets and ensure that I get to sit nearer the basketball court so that the players can literally hear my voice. Buying tickets for sports and concerts online from premiumseatsusa.com is an option we should utilize if we want to really enjoy the event.

I am wise now.

Prayer volunteers wanted.

It is no secret that I have immense faith in prayer. Though not a very religious person, I believe in prayer and God has always answered my prayer and I am gratified for ever.

I also strongly believe that God answers everybody's prayer. If you are one among them that don't yet realize that your prayer has not been answered, have patience; that's all I can say.

I just noticed an ad by Google with title, "Prayer Volunteers wanted" and the url was http://guideposts.org/prayer. I thought I could volunteer but unfortunately, there was no such page though the home page is opening.

I learned from their web site that GUIDEPOSTS was founded in 1945 by the renowned Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale. The organization is unified around this mission: Guideposts helps people from all walks of life achieve their maximum personal and spiritual potential.

This is Mom's Space.

Moms can't shrug. Moms are more responsible than dads, more caring and compassionate and that’s why they can't and won't shrug.

Being a mom, the challenges are many and testing. But as a mom, I have a steely resolve; I don't easily give up.

But I would like to share with other moms if I find time but that is a rare commodity for all of us.

Mums Space aims to give mums every opportunity to succeed, both personally and financially, and embrace the challenges that come with motherhood. Founded by mums, mumspace is a service designed to bring together the fantastic technology today’s web has to offer, and make it easy for your average mum to use. And while they’re using it, they can band together with other mums within the mumspace community.

Buildings depict the character.

“Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you your character”-this is an old proverb.

The new proverb says buildings in a city represents it’s character. Buildings are embodiment of the wealth and taste of the citizens of the city. Naturally, full credit goes to the architects, realtors and developers.

The emerging modern city of Phoenix owes Phoenix.CondoCompany.com everything that is being said nice about it. Phoenix.CondoCompany.com is the leading online portal for Phoenix condos.

The Valley of the Sun presents a varied array of towns and lifestyles, from old Southwest to urban chic. Follow your own standards through the condo listings. If it's anywhere in the world, it's here, and if it's not, it's under construction. Whatever you want, if it's not here yet, it soon will be.

Looking over at the beautiful Phoenix Condos, every building seemed to wear a distinct personality and character representing the people living in them.

If you are looking for condos in Phoenix CondoCompany.com is your number one source. If I am given a choice, I would prefer Cave Creek area for my condominium.

Freak accident kills three.

That was the first news headlines out of ten. The other nine are:
*Bomb hurled at police station.
*Three year old kidnapped.
*Van,bus collision. A family of eight died on the spot.
*Opposition parties strike at each other.
*Doctor abuses woman patient.
*Communal arson at City of Hope
*Illicit liquor takes a toll.
*Elderly woman robbed at day light.
*Noted sportsman creates a new record.

Just one news about something that is not painful to hear out of ten.

Is this what we all wanted to hear? Is this what for we are waiting patiently in front of TV?
Has only one incident of positive nature occurred through out the day in the entire nation?
What does the news channel gain for reporting all these negative news?
Above all what do we gain by hearing these?

I can go on and on, on the destructive impact of such news thus created on all of us and the society in large but I want you to please take a few minutes and write down your spontaneous thoughts that emerge.

Here, this is mine:
We are consciously and deliberately poisoning our mind for which we have no antidotes externally.
Fear reigns supreme in our mind.
Vengence and hatred become our dominating thoughts.

Don't stand in your own way.

As a reader of this blog, I guess you are also a blogger. Some readers are mere visitors attracted by the title. Whatever may be your status, right now you may have several desires and goals.

For example, as a blogger, you may want more visitors to your blog thereby increasing the chances of more sales for your affiliate program. You strike upon a brilliant idea of increasing your blog traffic. You know it will work and it is unique.

But you have so far not taken any action to implement it for reasons as follows:
* You are unsure of your perseverance
* You are afraid it may not work
* You have gathered opinions that indicated it is not feasible
* You anticipate criticism
* You pondered over your past negative experience

Whatever may be your reason, the end result is you have not taken any positive steps to pursue your goal.

Now, tell me, who stood in your way?

The universe said yes because that constructive idea was implanted on your mind by the universe only.

But you wrote your own death sentence for your desire.