Means and Ends

My brother and I used to have a little discussion over this: yoga, as a means or an end?

Our characters were different, and safe to say, he took to yoga as a means of pursuing the goals of his life, as a way through life. For me, there was a different quiet I sought, one that had its hunger fed from deep within. Yoga was an end for me, representative of my search for wisdom and as a way of life. Why? Perhaps this could answer your question:

You Are The Chariot

You represent a difficult battle, and a well-deserved victory.You tend to struggle to get what you want, both internally and externally.You excel at controlling opposing forces, getting down the same path.In the end, you bring glory and success - using pure will to move forward. Your fortune: There is great conflict in your life right now, either with yourself or others.You must find a solution to this conflict, which is likely to be a "middle road" between the two forces.You posses the skills to triumph over these struggles, as long as your will is strong.You are transforming your inner self, building a better foundation for future successes.

What Tarot Card Are You?

JKLM

A Theory

While I stared into the sink this morning, it dawned onto me that there are some aspects of a person's life that are linked, and the balance of these aspects will ultimately have a resounding impact on the person's quality (or quantity too, if you may) of life.

The mind, body and soul. These three components form the 'circle of power' that is your life, one reigning in balance with the other in its rightful aspect of your life. Your body is a link to reality, your soul forms part of your subconsciousness while your mind bridges the two to facilitate a flow of energy that is life. Should one of these components be affected, it is only a matter of time that the others will experience a similar fate. Build up one aspect of your mind, body or soul, and I'm quite certain you'll soon see (and feel) the benefits the come to another. Damage or destroy you body through alcohol, and you'll soon suffer a similar slow-burning doom with your mind and soul. Should one aspect be damaged or suffer a handicap, the other faculties will be burdened with the additional responsibility of sustaining life.

Perhaps the most influential of the three would be your mind, because it bridges the other two aspects and thus holds the key to a separated or inegrated existence. Still, the three aspects will need to function in balance. So perhaps it really is 'all in the mind'. Through the mind, I have felt my body and soul. It was through the mind that I know my body and soul. Without it, I would have been no better than an animal, living life only to sustain my body and feed my soul.

But this is just a theory, a hocus-pocus that dawned on me while I was brushing my teeth and razor-scrapping my chin in the mirror. I'll be testing this theory though. Maybe it's true.


JKLM

SuperFurrBall!

There's nothing quite as inspiring as a motivated, dedicated, caring, joking and loving all-nighter furrball. Well, except for the fact that this SupperFurrBall is someone to call mine.

For several hours I lay squirming, tossing and turning in her yellow and blue salad bowl, dressed in an evolving pain that was fast becoming my undoing. Stomach flu. I thought it was just retribution for some of the terrible things I had done the day before when I wasn't in such a good mood. Karma.

Speaking of Karma... That poor toilet bowl downstairs has suffered immensely under me (literally). It's my favourite, cos it's just next to the toilet entrance, and for some reason, I don't ususally pay him a visit until my bowel state it becomes a matter of national security. After being stuck in a half-meditative 'thinker' trance perched on its ledge last night at 2 am, I whispered my thanks to my porcelain provider and wished I didn't need to be so reckless with the passing of such heroes in my life.

SuperFurrBall's sidekick put a kick in the flu for me with a little aluminium container of bitter-tasting brown powder. I believe it was called Xing Jun Shan. In my state last night, it could have been called Phuc Dhat Bic for all I cared -- I would have eaten its contents nonetheless in my desperate attempt to stop the ache. To make matters worse, my pain-fest was coupled by a fever. Mild stuff... but still nonetheless annoying.

At 4 am, I had to run another bombing raid downstairs. SuperFurrBall was still up working on a 20 paged supervillain. Boy, that was a tough fight... Not to mention the fact that SuperFurrBall was dealt a severe under-the-belt (monthly) blow by mother nature just yesterday. Things just don't work out like they do in the movies anymore... Seeing my superhero pull another all-nighter, it brings to mind a familiar question. It was presented to me before my Furrball was converted to SuperFurrBall by the threat of impending academic disaster. How do you get by with so little sleep? Heck, I'd like to know that now... Better yet, I'd like to know how you just changed into SuperFurrBall over the weekend!

It was 9.45 am when I was finally released from the monsters in my stomach. SuperFurrBall wasn't done with her fight just yet. The villain had one last fight left, in spite of having been defeated word-for-word through its 20 paged challenge. All my mere mortal hands could do was offer some worldly comforts and hugs for a battle-weary superhero. She was no stranger to struggle and strife, but that didn't stop her from continuing to fight hard. More than that, she had multi-tasked her responsibilites by helping me to overcome my own struggle. I was still a little shaken up from my ordeal, but nonetheless impressed by my superhero. Seems like multi-tasking isn't just an acquired skill; my SuperFurrBall proved to me that multi-tasking is simply a matter of heart and commitment.

Ah, superheros. They exist!



JKLM