How Truly Amazing The Human Brain Really Is

Click on the link to watch the video clip

http://www.wimp.com/amazingbrain/

Caution - Quotes

A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, but a cheerful expecter of the best hath a fountain of joy within him. - Martin Farquhar Tupper

Caution is the path to mediocrity. - Frank Herbert

Haste makes work which caution prevents. - William Penn

It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution. - Alvin Toffler

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. - Bertrand Russell

The cautious seldom err. - Confucius 

Optimism

              Not only is life hard, it can unexpectedly become harder. One day we might be comfortably cruising along, and then suddenly it seems like everything is going wrong: Your marriage is in a shambles, or you’ve just discovered that you’re not as financially stable as you thought, or you suddenly lose a lover, friend, or family member. The world has changed. Everything seems ominous and uncertain.

              That’s when you can fall into the trap of pessimism and negativity. It may seem like the natural thing to do given what you’re going through. How can we work on building a healthy and optimistic way of living when we’re overcome with pain, anxiety, and fear? But no matter how hard things become, there are ways to approach your situation that can make it less burdensome.

              Here are four ways to stay positive when life gets you down:

              Express Gratitude. Be mindful about what you do have, whether it’s a fantastic friend or a wonderful partner. Try making a list of things you’re grateful for every night for two weeks. It can be even more powerful to express gratitude to someone who you feel truly thankful for. Write them a letter telling them how they have helped you.

              Additionally, try to cultivate a sense of gratitude in everyday life for things both major and minor. Thank that stranger who goes a little out of his way to hold the door open for you. Appreciating the good in the world can change the way you look at life.

              Volunteer. Take your awareness outside of yourself and focus it on the wellbeing of others. This may not be possible if you’re in crisis mode, but it can be very helpful if you’re increasingly preoccupied by your own negative thoughts. Many studies have shown that community service and philanthropy are more satisfying over the long term than focusing on your problems. Try volunteering at your local library, homeless shelter or hospital. You can become less focused on the bad stuff you’ve been dealing with—and even form a connection with others in the process.

              Notice the Good. It might seem nearly impossible to find the silver lining in a burdensome situation, but it can be helpful. Maybe you’ve gone through some personal growth and change because of what’s happened, or you’ve become closer to someone.

              Change Negative Self-Talk. It’s way too easy to think the same negative thoughts over and over again. However, you can learn to change this by doing some cognitive-behavioural  therapy on yourself. When you notice yourself having a negative thought about yourself, replace it with a positive one. If you find yourself thinking “It’s all my fault” or “I’m not good enough,” stop and remind yourself of how well you’ve been coping and how others appreciate you.

              The bottom line on becoming and remaining optimistic: We can’t change what happens to us or to loved ones, but we can change how we react to it. And though that process may take some time, it’s worth it because of the joy and peace of mind optimism can bring.

 Courtesy of a friend of a friend

Censorship - Quotes

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there. - Clare Boothe Luce

I can imagine no greater disservice to the country than to establish a system of censorship that would deny to the people of a free republic like our own their indisputable right to criticise their own public officials. While exercising the great powers of the office I hold, I would regret in a crisis like the one through which we are now passing to lose the benefit of patriotic and intelligent criticism. - Woodrow Wilson

I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that an artist has to take some moral responsibility for what he or she is putting out there. - Tom Petty

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind. - Virgina Woolfe

The whole principle [of censorship] is wrong. It's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't have steak. - Robert Heinlein

The worse your daily life, the better your art. If you have to be careful because of oppression and censorship, this pressure produces diamonds. - Tatyana Tolstaya

When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he is no longer a critic; he is a censor. - Edward Albee

Where there is official censorship it is a sign that speech is serious. Where there is none, it is pretty certain that the official spokesmen have all the loud-speakers. - Paul Goodman

Certainty - Quotes

If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives. - Richard P. Feynman

There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change. - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it. - Olin Miller

We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand. - Eric Hoffer

What men really want is not knowledge but certainty. - Bertrand Russell

When people are least sure, they are often most dogmatic. - John Kenneth Galbraith

Challenges - Quotes

Above all challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish. - Cecile M. Springer

Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. -General George S. Patton

Be determined to handle any challenge in a way that will make you grow. - Les Brown

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. - Joshua J. Marine

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. - Unknown

Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty. - William J. Bennett

Given a challenge, rise to the occasion. - Unknown

It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever – the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it. -  Vince Lombardi

Keep challenging yourself at all times. Have a full plate of things that you want to accomplish every single day and try and do them as well as you can. - Chris Hatfield

People who embrace challenge view life as a growth process and they see pressures and disruptions as experiences to learn. - Unknown

People with a sense of challenge realize that they’ll never achieve peak creativity or experience joy unless they take some risks. - Unknown

The great challenge is to refuse to let the bad things that happen to us do bad things to us. That is the crucial difference between adversity and tragedy. - Neal Maxwell

The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are. The second greatest is being happy with what you find. - Unknown

When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge. - Terry Bradshaw

Quote Worthy

The trouble with putting armour on is that, while it protects you from pain, it also protects you from pleasure. -  Celeste Holm   

   

When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in you hand, nor can your hand pick up anything. -  Alex Haley  

The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them. -  Benjamin Jowett  

A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use. -  Washington Irving  

The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbour. -  Hubert H. Humphrey  

The brilliant moves we occasionally make would not have been possible without the prior dumb ones. -  Stanley Goldstein  

Our relationship to reality and to our experience is all based upon the ideas in our mind that we’re always trying to live up to. - Andrew Cohen  

Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint. -  Robert Frost  

Bodhidharma On Doctrines

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen to China.

What good are doctrines? The ultimate Truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They're not the Way. The Way is wordless. Words are illusions. . . . Don't cling to appearances, and you'll break through all barriers. . . . - Bodhidharma

If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke Buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines? -  Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Food For Thought

When you are tempted to look elsewhere for greener pastures, just remember someone else is probably looking at yours. And if another pasture looks greener, perhaps it is getting better care and attention. Grass is always greener . . . where it is watered. -  Ezra Taft Benson

It’s what each of us sows, and how, that gives to us character and prestige. Seeds of kindness, goodwill, and human understanding, planted in fertile soil, spring up into deathless friendships, big deeds of worth, and a memory that will not soon fade. - George Matthew Adams

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

It Still Hurts

              A couple of women were playing golf one sunny Saturday morning. The first of the twosome teed off and watched in horror as her ball headed directly toward a foursome of men playing the next hole.

              Indeed, the ball hit one of the men, and he immediately clasped his hands together at his crotch, fell to the ground and proceeded to roll around in evident agony. The woman rushed down to the man and immediately began to apologize. She explained that she was a physical therapist: “Please allow me to help. I’m a physical therapist and I know I could relieve your pain if you’d allow me!” she told him earnestly.

              “Ummph, oooh, nnooo, I’ll be alright...I’ll be fine in a few minutes,’’ he replied breathlessly as he remained in the foetal position still clasping his hands together at his crotch.

              But she persisted, and he finally allowed her to help him. She gently took his hands away and laid them to the side, she loosened his pants, and she put her hands inside. She began to massage him. She then asked him: “How does that feel?”

              To which he replied, “It feels great, but my thumb still hurts like hell.”

Life

I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. - Marcus Aurelius

If there is any point at all to life, surely it is to live out our dreams, to serve, to follow our bliss, to release the music within us, play it with joy and to share it with others? Surely we have a responsibility to finally listen to – and honour – the siren calls of our souls, which have been silenced by our egos throughout our lives? How else can we connect with our essence, the source of our calling? - Lance Secretan

Moment to moment, there are aspects of life that we like, and other we don’t. There are always going to be people who disagree with you, people who do things differently, and things that don’t work out. If you fight against this principle of life, you’ll spend most of your life fighting battles. - R. Carlson

Chances - Quotes

A wise man turns chance into good fortune. - Thomas Fuller

Chance favours only the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur

Chance favours only those who know how to court her. - Charles Nicolle

Chance happens to all ... but to turn chance to account is the gift of few. - Edward Bulwer Lytton

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish. - Ovid

Chance never helps those who do not help themselves. - Sophocles

If you get a chance, take it; and if it changes your life, let it. - Unknown

If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances. - Julia Sorel

In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur

It is safer to accept any chance that offers itself, and extemporize a procedure to fit it, than to get a good plan matured, and wait for a chance of using it. - Thomas Hardy

Notions of chance and fate are the preoccupations of men engaged in rash undertakings. - Cormac McCarthy

Second chances do come your way. Like trains, they arrive and depart regularly. Recognizing the ones that matter is the trick. - Jill A. Davis

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. - Dale Carnegie

Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave. - Mary Tyler Moore

Take every chance you get in life. Some things only happen once. - Unknown

Take the first chance that you get because you may never get another one. - Paulo Coelho

There’s only so much you can do, but if somebody doesn’t give you a chance there is nothing you can do. - Charlize Theron

The best men are not those who have waited for chances, but taken them--besieged the chance, conquered the chance, and made the chance their servitor. - E. H. Chapin

The successful man is one who had the chance and took it. - Roger Babson

The world is governed by chance. Randomness stalks us every day of our lives. - Paul Auster

Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance. - Calvin Coolidge

You can take a chance with any man who pays his bills on time. - Terence

You get as many chances as you want; as many as you dare to make for yourself. - Edward Bloor

Quote Worthy

It is often wise to reveal that which cannot be concealed for long. - Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

Certain defects are necessary for the existence of individuality. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold. - Maurice Setter

Content makes poor men rich; Discontent makes rich men poor. - Benjamin Franklin

A false friend and a shadow stay around only while the sun shines. - Benjamin Franklin

At the working man’s house hunger looks in but dares not enter. - Benjamin Franklin

You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is. - Will Rogers

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him. - Robert Benchley

Try to know everything of something and something of everything. - Henry Peter Brougham

Bodhidharma On The Mind

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen to China. 

When delusions are absent, the mind is the land of Buddhas. When delusions are present, the mind is hell. Mortals create delusions. And by using the mind to give birth to mind they always find themselves in hell. Bodhisattvas see through delusions. And by not using the mind to give birth to mind they always find themselves in the land of Buddhas. If you don't use your mind to create mind, every state of mind is empty and every thought is still. You go from one Buddha-land to another. If you use your mind to create mind, every state of mind is disturbed and every thought is in motion. You go from one hell to the next. - Bodhidharma

If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both. . . . The mind and the world are opposites, and vision arises where they meet. When your mind doesn't stir inside, the world doesn't arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding. - Bodhidharma

… the fools of this world prefer to look for sages far away. They don't believe that the wisdom of their own mind is the sage … the sutras say, "Mind is the teaching." But people of no understanding don't believe in their own mind or that by understanding this teaching they can become a sage. They prefer to look for distant knowledge and long for things in space, Buddha-images, light, incense, and colors. They fall prey to falsehood and lose their minds to insanity. - Bodhidharma

The Buddha is your real body, your original mind. This mind has no form or characteristics, no cause or effect, no tendons or bones. It's like space. You can't hold it. It's not the mind of materialists or nihilists. - Bodhidharma

Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and void of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn’t exist. - Bodhidharma

Everything good and bad comes from your own mind. - Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Food For Thought

Most of what you will create is for your enrichment or is a stepping stone to other better, more insightful work. Maybe once or twice in a lifetime you will be recognized with the kudos of the public, so in the meantime, create for yourself. - Don Hahn

The first principle of success is desire – knowing what you want. Desire is the planting of your seed. Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment. - Robert Collier

How things look on the outside of us depends on how things are on the inside of us. Stay close to the heart of nature and forget this troubled world. Remember, there is nothing wrong with nature; the trouble is in ourselves. - Parks Cousins

Chaos - Quotes

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth. - Tom Barrett

Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. - The Buddha

Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered. - Jose Saramago

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit. - Henry Brooks Adams

If you remain calm in the midst of great chaos, it is the surest guarantee the it will eventually subside. - Julie Andrews

In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order. - Carl Jung

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. - Sun Tzu

Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of voice, but out of chaos. - Mary Shelley

Let a man restore order within himself, and chaos without ceases. - Christian Nestell Bovee

One man's idea of perfect order is another man's chaos. - Dean Koontz

War is the most readily available form of chaos. - Frank Herbert

We live in a rainbow of chaos. - Paul Cézanne

What we imagine is order is merely the prevailing form of chaos. - Kerry Thornley

Reason Why I Never Visit A Rich Friend

Once a while visiting a very rich friend, the maid approached and..... 

Question : What would you like to have...? Fruit juice, Soda, Tea, Chocolate, Capuccino, Frapuccino, or Coffee? 

Answer : Tea please 

Question : Ceylon tea, Indian tea, Herbal tea, Bush tea, Honey bush tea, iced tea or green tea? 

Answer : Ceylon tea 

Question : How would you like it? Black or white? 

Answer : white 

Question : Milk, or fresh cream? 

Answer : With milk 

Question : Goat's milk, or cow's milk 

Answer : With cow's milk please. 

Question : Freezeland cow or Afrikaner cow? 

Answer : Um, I'll just take it black. 

Question : Would you like it with sweetener, sugar or honey? 

Answer : With sugar 

Question : Beet sugar or cane sugar? 

Answer : Cane sugar 

Question : White, brown or yellow sugar? 

Answer : Forget about the tea, just give me a glass of water instead. 

Question : Mineral water, tap water or distilled water? 

Answer : Mineral water 

Question : Flavoured or non-flavoured? 

Answer : I think I'll just die of thirst

Life

The great thing that strikes you on looking back is how very brief is the span of life on this earth. The warning that one would give, therefore, is that it is well not to fritter it away on things that don’t count in the end; nor on the other hand is it good to take life too seriously as some seem to do. Make it a happy life while you have it. That is where success is possible to every man. - Sir Robert Baden-Powell

It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life. - Boyd K. Packer

Present-moment living, getting in touch with your ‘now’, is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives. One thing is certain, you cannot live it until it does appear. - Wayne Dyer

Character - Quotes

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness. - Seneca

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. - James Allen

A man's character is the reality of himself; his reputation, the opinion others have formed about him; character resides in him, reputation in other people; that is the substance, this is the shadow. - Henry Ward Beecher

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. For your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. - Fred Shero

Be your character what it will, it will be known; and nobody will take it upon your word. - Lord Chesterfield Stanhope

By nothing do men show their character more than by the things they laugh at. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Character building begins in infancy and continues until death. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness. - Faith Baldwin

Character calls forth character. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment. Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurturing for growth and development. - Unknown

Character contributes to good looks. It fortifies a person as youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a person good looking. - Unknown

Character has more effect than anything else. Let a number of loud-talking men take up a particular question, and one man of character, of known integrity and beauty of soul, will outweigh them all in his influence. - E. H. Chapin

Character is habit long continued. - Greek Proverb

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. -  Abraham Lincoln

Character is not made in a crisis -- it is only exhibited. - Robert Freeman

Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids. - Aristotle

Character is the foundation stone upon which one must build to win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak character. Without character, all effort to attain dignity is superficial, and results are sure to be disappointing. - R. C. Samsel

Character is what a person is in the dark. - Grenville Kleiser

Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway. - Mignon McLaughlin

Character isn’t inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action. - Helen Gahagan Douglas

Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. - Phillips Brooks

Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness. -Yousuf Karsh

Character, like wine or cold tea in a bottle, takes its shape from the environment. - Austin O’Malley

Concerning character, we sometimes judge of the whole by its parts. - Norman MacDonald

Deeds, not words, are the demonstration and test of character. - William Archer

Every character is in some respects uniform, and in others inconsistent; and it is only by the study both of the uniformity and inconsistency, and a comparison of them with each other, that the knowledge of man is acquired. - Fluke Greville 

Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no other is, and to do what no other can do. - William Ellery Channing

Every man is the architect of his own character. - George Dana Boardman

Every man professes a thorough knowledge of his own character and disposition; yet it is impossible for anyone to know himself perfectly: pride conceals much of our nature, and conceit intercepts the rules of inquiry. - Norman MacDonald 

Every man has three characters: that which exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has. - Alphonse Karr

Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are to some extent a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece by thought, choice, courage and determination. - John Luther

If a man’s character is to be abused, say what you will, there’s nobody like a relation to do the business. - William Makepeace Thackery

In books and in life, you need to read several pages before someone's true character is revealed. - Gail Carson Levine

It is an error to suppose that no man understands his own character. Most persons know even their failings very well, only they persist in giving them names different from those usually assigned by the rest of the world; and they compensate for this mistake by naming, at first sight, with singular accuracy, those very same failings in others. - Arthur Helps

It is quite impossible to understand the character of a person from one action, however striking that action may be. - Arthur Helps

It is possible that the scrupulously honest man may not grow rich so fast as the unscrupulous and dishonest one; but the success will be of a truer kind, earned without fraud or injustice. And even though a man should for a time be unsuccessful, still he must be honest: better lose all and save character. For character is itself a fortune. . . . - Samuel Smiles

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln

Nothing reveals a man’s character more fully than the spirit in which he bears his limitations. - Hamilton Wright Mabie

Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth. - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Our character is but the stamp on our souls of the free choices of good and evil we have made through life. - John Cunningham Geikie

Our characters are the result of our conduct. - Aristotle

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open. - Elmer G. Letterman

Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them. - Og Mandino

Spend money to make character, But don't spend character to make money. - Kashif Amin

Success is always temporary. When all is said and done, the only thing you’ll have left is your character. - Vince Gill

The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back. - Abigail Van Buren

The character of a man is known from his conversations. - Menander

The highest qualities of character must be earned. - Lyman Abbott

The greatest architecture is building character. - Lewis F. Korns

The least of the virtues adds to the perfection of the character. It is with the finest characters as it is with the finest woods and marbles – the polishing hand is still needed to bring out the veins of beauty and of grace. - Christian Nestell Bovee

The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. - Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington

The true test of character is how we behave when we do not know what to do. - John Holt

The world will find out that part of your character which concerns it: that which especially concerns yourself, it will leave for you to discover. - Arthur Helps

There are often two characters of a man – that which is believed in by people in general, and that which he enjoys among his associates. It is supposed, but vainly, that the latter is always a more accurate approximation to the truth, whereas in reality it is often a part which he performs to admiration: while the former is the result of certain minute traits, certain inflexions of voice and countenance, which cannot be discussed, but are felt as it were instinctively by his domestics and by the outer world. The impressions arising from these slight circumstances he is able to efface from the minds of his constant companions, or from habit they have ceased to observe them. - Arthur Helps

There are sometimes beauties in a character which would never have appeared but for a defect, and defects which would never have appeared but for a beauty. - Fluke Greville

There is something in the character of every man which cannot be broken in – the skeleton of his character; and to try to alter this is like training a sheep for draught purposes. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make themselves ridiculous. - Aesop

To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character. - Aristotle

To murder character is as truly a crime as to murder the body: the tongue of the slanderer is brother to the dagger of the assassin. - Tryon Edwards

We generally turn the sunny side of our character towards the public; the shady side towards home. - Charles Edward Jerningham

We judge nothing so hastily as character, and yet there is nothing over which we should be more cautious … I have always found that the so-called bad people improve on closer acquaintance, while the good fall off. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise. - Seneca

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. - James A. Froude

Quote Worthy

True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing but what is necessary. - Heinrich Heine

For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him, he must regard himself as greater than he is. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

There is repetition everywhere, and nothing is found only once in the world. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Every situation, every moment - is of infinite worth; for it is the representative of a whole eternity. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing? - Kahlil Gibran

An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head. - Eric Hoffer

A stepping-stone can be a stumbling block if we can't see it until after we have tripped over it. - Cullen Hightower

Bodhidharma Quotes

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen to China. 

A Buddha is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad. Such is his power that karma can't hold him. No matter what kind of karma, a Buddha transforms it. Heaven and hell are nothing to him. But the awareness of a mortal is dim compared to that of a Buddha, who penetrates everything, inside and out. - Bodhidharma

Don't hate life and death or love life and death. Keep your every thought free of delusion, and in life you'll witness the beginning of nirvana, and in death you'll experience the assurance of no rebirth. - Bodhidharma

Worship means reverence and humility. It means revering your real self and humbling delusions. If you can wipe out evil desires and harbor good thoughts, even if nothing shows, it's worship. Such form is its real form. - Bodhidharma

To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss." When you seek nothing, you're on the Path. - Bodhidharma

When mortals are alive, they worry about death. When they're full, they worry about hunger. Theirs is the Great Uncertainty. But sages don't consider the past. And they don't worry about the future. Nor do they cling to the present. And from moment to moment they follow the Way. - Bodhidharma

The essence of the Way is detachment. And the goal of those who practice is freedom from appearances. - Bodhidharma 

To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings. - Bodhidharma

When we're deluded there's a world to escape. When we're aware, there's nothing to escape. - Bodhidharma

Not thinking about anything is zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is zen. - Bodhidharma

All know the way, but few actually walk it. - Bodhidharma

To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity. - Bodhidharma

- Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Quote Worthy

Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday. - Eleanor Roosevelt

From social intercourse are derived some of the highest enjoyments of life; where there is a free interchange of sentiments the mind acquires new ideas, and by frequent exercise of its powers, the understanding gains fresh vigor. - Joseph Addison

You cannot hold on to anything good. You must be continually giving – and getting. You cannot hold on to your seed. You must sow it – and reap anew. You cannot hold on to riches. You must use them and get other riches in return. - Robert Collier

The Lawyer And The Traffic Policeman

              A lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a traffic policeman.

              He thinks that he is smarter than the traffic policeman because he is a lawyer, and is certain that he has a better education than any traffic policeman. He decides to prove this to himself and have some fun at the traffic policeman’s expense!!

               Traffic policeman says, "Licence and registration, please."

              Lawyer says, "What for?"

              Traffic policeman says, "You didn’t come to a complete stop at the stop sign."

              Lawyer says, "I slowed down, and no one was coming."

              Traffic policeman says, "You still didn’t come to a complete stop. Licence and registration, please"

              Lawyer says, "What's the difference?"

              Traffic policeman says, "The difference is, you have to come to a complete stop. That's the law. Licence and registration, please!"

              Lawyer says, "If you can show me the legal difference between slow down and stop, I'll give you my licence and registration, and you give me the ticket. If not, you let me go and don't give me the ticket."

              Traffic policeman says, "Sounds fair. Exit your vehicle, sir."

              The Lawyer exits his vehicle.

              The traffic policeman takes out his baton and starts beating the lawyer. He says, "Do you want me to stop, or just slow down?"

Life

Pay attention to what is good about your life. Rather than worrying about what you do not have, seek to make the best of all the good things you do have. There are a lot of things right with your life. Give your attention to them and they will grow. - Ralph S. Marston, Jr. 

Every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. You can choose to be all or you can choose to be less. Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see what all you can do? - Jim Rohn

Life understands that death brings with it change and that the only reality is to live both the future and the past in the present, accepting it with the joy of the moment and letting it go when the time is right; embracing it with all one’s energies before it leaves, but without expectations of permanency. - Leo Buscaglia

A Poem

Time is swift, it races by;
Opportunities are born and die ...
Still you wait and will not try;
A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly.

- Alan Alexander Milne

Charm - Quotes

An object loses its charm soon after it is gotten. - Roman Proverb

An ounce of charm is worth a pound of lure. - American Proverb

Anybody can be charming if they don't mind faking it, saying all the stupid, obvious, nauseating things that a conscience keeps most people from saying. - Jeff Lindsay

Charm almost baffles definition, yet it is quickly recognized by the world. - Grevillea Kleiser

Charm has a magical quality that defrosts, disarms, delights and fascinates. It is not a sudden gush of sweetness that can be turned off and on like a faucet. It is woven subtly into the fabric of the personality. Like a silver thread, it glistens. It shines. - Unknown

Charm is an innate quality of mind and heart, and an expression of a beautiful attitude toward life. Courtesy can be cultivated, but charm is largely an unconscious possession. - Grenville Kleiser

Charm is a matter of study. This easily mastered Course shows any ambitious woman how to awaken the slumbering magnetism within her and how to develop this irresistible power. You can be the woman you yearn to be – if you know what Charm is and how to attain it. - Unknown

Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without ever having asked a clear question. - Albert Camus

Charm is captivating. Just as the petals of a flower unfold and open to the warmth and light of the sun, so do we unfold and open to the enchantment of charm. Charm acts as the Great Attractor, drawing us toward its magnetic source. - Thokoza 

Charm is more than beauty. - Yiddish Proverb

Charm is not to be bought in jars or bottles. Nor is beauty. Both must come from within. - Robert Collier

Charm was a scheme for making strangers like and trust a person immediately, no matter what the charmer had in mind. - Kurt Vonnegut

Charm: the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves. - Henri Frederic Amiel

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to feel valued and valuable. The secret of charm is therefore simple: make others feel important. - Brian Tracy & Ron Arden

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable. - Mark Twain

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament. - Henry Van Dyke

When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm of her beauty. - John Gregory

You can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that you had better know something. - Unknown

You must have this charm to reach the pinnacle. It is made of everything and of nothing, the striving will, the look, the walk, the proportions of the body, the sound of the voice, the ease of the gestures. It is not at all necessary to be handsome or to be pretty; all that is needful is charm. - Sarah Bernhardt

Quote Worthy

To be seeing the world made new every morning, as if it were the morning of the first day, and then to make the most of it for the individual soul, as if it were the last day – is the daily curriculum of the mind’s desire. - Dr. John H. Finley

Without an extensive root system, even the tallest, mightiest tree would topple. Without learning, discipline, integrity, commitment, persistence, patience and effort, even the most magnificent dream would crumble. - Ralph S. Marston, Jr. 

Respectable men and women content with the good and easy living are missing some of the most important things in life. Unless you give yourself to some great cause you haven’t even begun to live. - William P. Merrill

Example has more followers than reason. We unconsciously imitate what pleases us, and approximate to the characters we most admire. A generous habit of thought and action carries with it an incalculable influence. - Christian Bovee

I don’t get upset over things I can control, because if I can control them there’s no sense in getting upset. And I don't get upset over things I can’t control, because if I can’t control them there’s no sense in getting upset. - Mickey Rivers

An Aspirin A Day May Keep Cancer Away

              Taking aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumours from spreading.

              The findings in two new British studies published on Tuesday add to evidence suggesting that aspirin may be a powerful if overlooked weapon against cancer. But the research also poses difficult questions for doctors and public health officials, as regular doses of aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and other side effects.

              Researchers at the University of Oxford found that after three years of daily aspirin, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 per cent, compared with a control group not taking aspirin. After five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 per cent among those taking aspirin.

              A second paper analysing five large studies in Britain found that over six and a years on average, daily aspirin use reduced the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body by 36 per cent, and the risk of adenocarcinomas – common solid cancers including colon, lung and prostate cancer – by forty-six per cent.

              “In terms of prevention, anyone with a family history would be sensible to take aspirin,” said study leader Peter Rothwell.

- New York Times