Snapshots taken when my husband was there.

Seagulls moving on and on

Fall rushes

A bridge connecting USA and Canada

My favourite snap

A view of moon in Canada

Colourful rushes

It reminds me of VIBGYOR. Guess what?

Night view of Canada

Ayurveda is one of the great gifts of the sages of ancient India. It is one of the oldest scientific medicinal systems in the world. It is also known as Fifth Veda or Pancham Veda. It just teaches us how to maintain and protect health, how to cure diseases and how to achieve longetivity.

Here is a good site to assess your body type (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha), since you need to eat right.
http://www.hotlib.com/articles/show.php?t=Ayurveda

And now, you can know more about Ayurveda from this site:
http://ayurveda-foryou.com/

Here are general tips for balance:
1.  In Ayurveda there are six tastes or rasas - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Generally all meals should include at least a small amount of each taste.
2.  Eat in a settled environment when you are calm and relaxed.
3.  Always sit down to eat.
4.  Be silent while chewing.
5.  Minimise ice-cold food and drink.
6.  It is best to consume fruit (or fruit juice) separately from other foods.
7.  Enjoy a light nourishing breakfast and make lunch your largest meal of the day, with a smaller meal in the evening (3 - 4 hours before bed).
8.  Eat only when you are hungry and leave about 25% of your stomach empty as this will aid digestion.
9.  Wait approximately 4 hours between meals to allow adequate time to digest. This might be less between small meals and more between big meals.
10. Water should be avoided at least 15 minutes before food. The quantity of water after food should be small. Let it be drunk often.

You can know about Ayurvedic Therapies from this site:
http://www.goodhealthnyou.com/

This was one of my endless search. Atlast got some answers related to detachment. Felt like sharing the same and here are few points.

1. Even a fickle mind can be brought under control by the force of constant practice and detachment.  -  Lord Krishna
Here, practice implies incessant striving and repeated efforts. It's just like kids learning to write a few simple words and when they grow up, they just key in long passages effortlessly and fluently.
And, now coming to detachment. Does it mean sannyasa - renunciation? NO. Detachment means remaining aloof from all other temptations and attractions while striving to fulfil a chosen aim. That is, to retain interest and concern for the work in hand alone and to remain unconcerned about everything else - this is detachment. Since the goal of monks is self-realization, they have to renounce all the worldly things. And since the word 'detachment' has come to mean renunciation, whenever it is used today it is understood as becoming a monk and retiring to the forests. But this is not correct. Anyone engaged in accomplishing a particular goal is detached from other things to some extent.

2. The concentration that is developed through faith and love is the most natural; it involves no struggle and no strain.

3. 'Eka' is 'One'; 'agra' is 'tip'. Hence, 'Ekagrata' or 'Concentration' implies 'being one-pointed', putting all resources together in one place. Concentration of the mind is bringing all the scattered mental forces together and channelising the attention towards one object or aim.

Got back after a long long time. Met friends, relatives, watched movies,..... had a good break. Ofcourse, thought to key many things in between. But could not help myself. Many ideas yet to share. Let's start.

Frolicking
Relaxing
Interesting
Everlasting
Nourishing
Dancing
Sharing
Helping
Inspiring
Pleasing

Guess what?  :)    FRIENDSHIP.

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!! (Belated wishes)

Saw this cute little poem in my cousin brother's place. Felt like placing it over here.

WORRY?

Worry never Climbed a Hill
Worry never Paid a Bill
Worry never Dried a Tear
Worry never Calmed a Fear
Worry never Darned a Heel
Worry never Cooked a Meal
Worry never Solved a Problem
but may well become a Problem
So Why Worry?

I love watching Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar. It reminds my golden days spent over there. Peace. Such a wonderful word. No idea of how many of you all are through this. But, when I am there, I feel it. It just makes me think now of what I learnt at my school age like the four noble truths, eightfold path, and many things about them. I would like to key in some points of what we all learned earlier.

The Four Noble Truths :

1. Suffering
2. Craving or selfish desires
3. The end of suffering is Nirvana(A state of ultimate peace and understanding)
4. The Noble Eightfold Path

 What are the Eight Factors of the Noble Eightfold Path?

They are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

 How are they categorised?

The eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path (often symbolized by a wheel consisting of eight spokes) can be grouped into three strands - wisdom, morality and concentration. Right Understanding and Right Thought develop Wisdom. Right Speech, Right Livelihood and Right Action develop Morality. Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration develop Concentration.

Wisdom
1. Right Understanding - includes the four noble truths, the law of karma (good deeds lead to happy states, bad deeds to miserable ones) and the three marks of existence (suffering, impermanence and not-self).
2. Right Thought - is thought free from ill-will, cruelty and lust.

Morality
1. Right Speech - is to abstain from lying, harsh or malicious speech, gossip and tale-bearing.
2. Right Action - abstains from killing (including animals), stealing.
3. Right Livelihood - would preclude any occupations that would involve the breaking of the five precepts. Consequently, jobs which involve killing (a butcher, for example) or drinking (a publican) would be seen as unwholesome.

Concentration
1. Right Effort - involves avoiding or overcoming unwholesome states and developing and maintaining wholesome states. For example, you decide to avoid losing your temper and instead develop and maintain a sense of equanimity.
2. Right Mindfulness and 3. Right Concentration - relate to two approaches to meditation that are seen as vital to one's spiritual development. Without meditation, nirvana can't be won - morality and understanding on their own are not enough. In fact, all three strands, all eight factors are necessary.

Dalai Lama advises:

'I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. If in day to day life you lead a good life, honesty, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness, then automatically it will lead to Nirvana.'

This has become my favourite Quote. And I hope, I'll lead this life like that. PEACE TO ALL.

Vitamins help regulate metabolism, help convert fat and carbohydrates into energy, and assist in forming bone and tissue.

Vitamin A plays a really big part in eyesight. Foods rich in Beta Carotene will help reduce the risk of lung cancer & certain oral cancers.

eggs, milk, apricots, nectarines, cantaloupe, carrots, Mangoes, sweet potatoes, spinach

In Vitamin B, there's more than one. Here's the list : B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid, biotin, and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins help make energy. This group of vitamins is also involved in making red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body.

whole grains, such as wheat and oats; fish and seafood, poultry and meats, eggs, dairy products, like milk and yogurt; leafy green vegetables, beans and peas, citrus fruits, such as oranges

Vitamin C helps your body heal if you get a cut. This vitamin also helps your body resist infection. Vitamin C will decrease the risk of getting certain cancers by 75%.

citrus fruits, like oranges; cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage

Vitamin D helps if you need strong bones and strong teeth. It helps your body absorb the amount of calcium it needs.

milk and other dairy products fortified with vitamin D, fish, egg yolks

Vitamin E maintains a lot of your body's tissues, like the ones in your eyes, skin, and liver. It protects your lungs from becoming damaged by polluted air. And it is important for the formation of red blood cells.

whole grains, such as wheat and oats; wheat germ, leafy green vegetables, sardines, egg yolks, nuts

Vitamin K helps to clot your blood, when had a cut.

leafy green vegetables, liver, dairy products, like milk and yogurt

Let's sum up :

Iron - Meat, Fish, Spinach, Strawberry
Folic Acid - Spinach, Beans, pachchi batani
Zinc - Beans, Chikkudu jaati ginjalu
Calcium - Milk, Curd, Butter, Beans, Wheat atta
Vitamin A - Carrot, Mangoes, Eggs
Vitamin B1 - Rice, Fish
Vitamin B2 - Butter, Eggs, Spinach, Liver
Vitamin B3, B12 - Liver, Chicken, Fish, Milk, Egg, Spinach, Tomato, Carrot, Kharjura
Vitamin C - Lemon, Kamala, Baththaayi(All Citrus Fruits), Tomato, Boppaayi, Molakettina Vittanaalu, Cauliflower, Palakura.
Vitamin D - Sunlight

Despite antiquity of Vedas, they preach the most modern and the most progressive thoughts. Woman enjoys high position at home as well as society according to Vedas. Both man and woman enjoy equal rights. For husband and wife, Vedas mention two masters of one house. Not only husband, but also his wife is equal owner of the house. Both enjoy the same prestige, power and position. None is subordinate to the other. To say that wife is servant or slave to husband is not okayed by Vedas. The performance of yajna is considered to be complete only when both husband and wife sit together. Woman enjoys the same right as man, to study and preach the sublime philosophy of Vedas. According to Vedic religion, marriage is a union of two souls enjoying constant peace and prosperity at home. It entitles woman to enjoy permanent safety, security, serenity and sovereignty at home.

Now, we also need to know exactly what Veda means. The word Vid or "to know" is the Sanskrit root-word of Veda which means Knowledge. Vedas state "Self Realization" is one and the goal of human life. There are four Vedas, the Rig Veda (composed of hymns), Sama Veda(melodies), Yajur Veda(sacrificial prayers) and Atharva Veda(magic formulas). The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. Rig Veda, is the oldest of the four Vedas.

Every hymn of the Rig Veda is attributed to a Rishi. Though the majority of these hymns were the work of male rishis, the Rig-Veda contains hymns that were revealed by women seers also. The latter were called rishikas and brahmavadinis...Several hymns of the Rig Veda were composed by female rishis (sages). Together, they sing of the sacrificial love of the Absolute and the passion of praising God’s myriad name. The poems are available here : http://www.advaita.org.uk/

The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. The Sama Veda is mostly a rearrangement of the Rigveda for musical rendering. Sama Veda deals with the knowledge of chants. Sama means "melody". The classical Indian music originated from this Veda. The Yajur Veda gives sacrificial prayers and the Atharva Veda gives charms, incantations, magic formulas etc. Ayurveda is based on the Sankya philosophy of the Rig Veda. Health is defined as the harmony of the body (gross), mind and spirit (subtle) triad. Ayurveda concentrates and deals with the physical body, Tantra with the mind and Yoga with the spirit.

You can know more about Hindu Women And Religion In Vedic Times from the following site. It's an interesting one.
http://www.mailerindia.com/hindu/veda/index.php?hinduwomen