Here is a list of Self-Improvement Blogs ordered by Last Viewed, posted by members. A Blog is a journal you may enter about your life, thoughts, interesting experiences, or lessons you've learned. Post an opinion, impart words of wisdom, or talk about something interesting in your day. Update your blog on a regular basis, or just whenever you have something to say. Creating a blog is a good way to share something of yourself with others. Reading blogs is a good way to learn more about others. Click here to post a blog.
16th May Buddha's Birthday
"panchsheel" 5 precepts of Buddha
The 5 precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, s*xual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.
These 5 precepts are for everyone, anyone can follow it. If one cannot follow it completely then do as much as you can.
Instead of giving importance to God or Soul, Buddha gave importance to human qualities, gave importance to humanity, gave importance to purity of mind.
Buddha told that worship should be of virtues not of any imagination.
The 5 precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, s*xual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.
These 5 precepts are for everyone, anyone can follow it. If one cannot follow it completely then do as much as you can.
Instead of giving importance to God or Soul, Buddha gave importance to human qualities, gave importance to humanity, gave importance to purity of mind.
Buddha told that worship should be of virtues not of any imagination.
online today!
It looks like he reached the height of his career...
38 year old actor Rich Rotella was always concerned about his height. As an actor, he felt it was an impediment to his career. Rich stood 5 foot 5 inches as a teenager and never grew taller.
Looking for a solution, he researched leg-lengthening surgery, an expensive process.
For those of you who might puke over the details, they basically were able to make his femur bones 3 inches longer. He was unable to work for months and required lots and lots of physical therapy.
The cost: $100,000 and none of it was covered by insurance.
I'm thinking, if it boosted his career and he started getting acting parts right after, that could be a tax 'write-off' the same way actors/actresses improve their appearance to further their careers.
As a way to pay for the surgical procedure, Rich is working on a documentary and plans to release it in 2024.
Going from 5'-5" to 5'-8" looks like he reached the height of his career!
Yahoo link from Business Insider:
Looking for a solution, he researched leg-lengthening surgery, an expensive process.
For those of you who might puke over the details, they basically were able to make his femur bones 3 inches longer. He was unable to work for months and required lots and lots of physical therapy.
The cost: $100,000 and none of it was covered by insurance.
I'm thinking, if it boosted his career and he started getting acting parts right after, that could be a tax 'write-off' the same way actors/actresses improve their appearance to further their careers.
As a way to pay for the surgical procedure, Rich is working on a documentary and plans to release it in 2024.
Going from 5'-5" to 5'-8" looks like he reached the height of his career!
Yahoo link from Business Insider:
Sreenath the Lion
Sometime in November 2005, I read Leon Uris's novel "Exodus". This novel is about the birth of the Jewish state of Israel which became an independent country on May 14, 1948. The heroine is Miss Karen Fremont, an American nurse looking after Jewish children on the island of Cyprus. There, she meets an Israeli freedom or resistance fighter Ari Ben Canaan. The novel had been made into a 1960 US feature film bearing the same title starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages.
Every able-bodied Israeli citizen(both genders) aged between 18-60 years should enlist in the Israeli armed forces to serve their nation during an attack or invasion or war from external aggressors. I appreciate this policy of the Israeli government. This is not the case in India.
When I was 13 years old, i.e., sometime in 1980, I read "Roots" authored by African American author Alex Huxley. The book is about a 16 year old Gambian teenager abducted in 1767 from the Gambian village of Juffure, West Africa taken on board the American ship " Lord Ligonier" bound for Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter. This book is based on fact and not on fiction. It has all the elements of a Hollywood movie; however, no US filmmaker has come forward to adapt it to the celluloid screen.
Still vividly remembering the stories after he grew up and became a writer, Haley began to search for documentation that might authenticate the narrative. It took ten years and a half a million miles of travel across three continents to find it, but finally, in an astonishing feat of genealogical detective work, he discovered not only the name of "the African"—Kunta Kinte—but the precise location of Juffure, the very village in The Gambia, West Africa, from which he was abducted in 1767 at the age of sixteen and taken on the Lord Ligonier to Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter.
Creation of Israel, 1948 On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.
Every able-bodied Israeli citizen(both genders) aged between 18-60 years should enlist in the Israeli armed forces to serve their nation during an attack or invasion or war from external aggressors. I appreciate this policy of the Israeli government. This is not the case in India.
When I was 13 years old, i.e., sometime in 1980, I read "Roots" authored by African American author Alex Huxley. The book is about a 16 year old Gambian teenager abducted in 1767 from the Gambian village of Juffure, West Africa taken on board the American ship " Lord Ligonier" bound for Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter. This book is based on fact and not on fiction. It has all the elements of a Hollywood movie; however, no US filmmaker has come forward to adapt it to the celluloid screen.
Still vividly remembering the stories after he grew up and became a writer, Haley began to search for documentation that might authenticate the narrative. It took ten years and a half a million miles of travel across three continents to find it, but finally, in an astonishing feat of genealogical detective work, he discovered not only the name of "the African"—Kunta Kinte—but the precise location of Juffure, the very village in The Gambia, West Africa, from which he was abducted in 1767 at the age of sixteen and taken on the Lord Ligonier to Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter.
Creation of Israel, 1948 On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.
You're So Vain....
"You logged into blogland like you were walking on to a yacht
Your words strategically placed along the lines
Your pic, it was fairly dark
You had one eye on the webcam, and watched yourself smirk
And all the men dreamed that they'd be your 'cammer,
They'd be your 'cammer, and....
You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this blog is about you
Don't you? Don't you?"
With apologies to Carly Simon.
How many people, when they read that, thought "why is she writing about me?" Or, is that me, or is that so and so? How many people assumed that it was about them? Or someone here? Hmmm?
A major reason that we develop suits of armor, is because we assume that the other person knows what's in our heads. We assume their intentions, their motivations, and that their perceptions are the same as ours. We assume we know what's in their heads, and make up all kinds of stories in our heads to suit those assumptions. And sometimes, in a disagreement, we accuse them of those assumptions, without ever asking.
And how many of us have been dead wrong? And felt quite foolish afterwards for having assumed something that wasn't true at all? We assume that we're not only the centre of our own universe, but that we're the centre of others, as well. Ummm... no.
We all live in our own heads, with different perceptions based on our life experiences, and what we've been taught. So, when we're hurt or angry by something someone says, we assume they know what our experiences have been, and that they're attempting to upset us deliberately. But, how can a mere acquaintance know our experiences and what our buttons are?
Even in close relationships, we assume others intent and meaning. And then they assume ours. And before you know it, the fight is on, both assuming what the other one means. Neither one listening to each other. Sometimes, the intent is to hurt or retaliate for a perceived hurt on their end. And round and round it goes.
So how do we get off this carousel?
Learn to be impeccable with your word and to stop taking anything personally. Stop making assumptions. Instead of assuming other things are about us, start asking questions, in a calm and reasonable fashion. Start stating what we really want. Not words cloaked in manipulation, but clear concise statements about what we want and need.
The more we don't take anything personally, and don't make assumptions, the more we can communicate with others clearly to avoid misunderstandings.
How making assumptions works. Someone says something to us, and we start weaving a story in our heads - a negative story, about why they said what they did, and what they meant. So we write this huge mental story around them, assuming that it's true. Of course, if it is true, then we feel fairly self-righteous.
But many times, it isn't true. It's true for us, because that's our perception through our own eyes. Their perception may be entirely different, and unless we ask, we have no way of being able to clearly identify their intent or meaning.
So what if we didn't make any assumptions? What if we didn't assume we knew what was in other's heads, and stopped judging them negatively, because of what's in our own?
There'd be a lot less drama in our lives. We assume we know what others mean or think. We assume the worst, and judge others, based on the assumption that they have judged us. So if we stop assuming anything, we stop judging, we stop making up stories, and life becomes a lot less complicated. In fact, other people start to be a lot less threatening and a lot less frightening.
...cont in comments....
Your words strategically placed along the lines
Your pic, it was fairly dark
You had one eye on the webcam, and watched yourself smirk
And all the men dreamed that they'd be your 'cammer,
They'd be your 'cammer, and....
You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this blog is about you
Don't you? Don't you?"
With apologies to Carly Simon.
How many people, when they read that, thought "why is she writing about me?" Or, is that me, or is that so and so? How many people assumed that it was about them? Or someone here? Hmmm?
A major reason that we develop suits of armor, is because we assume that the other person knows what's in our heads. We assume their intentions, their motivations, and that their perceptions are the same as ours. We assume we know what's in their heads, and make up all kinds of stories in our heads to suit those assumptions. And sometimes, in a disagreement, we accuse them of those assumptions, without ever asking.
And how many of us have been dead wrong? And felt quite foolish afterwards for having assumed something that wasn't true at all? We assume that we're not only the centre of our own universe, but that we're the centre of others, as well. Ummm... no.
We all live in our own heads, with different perceptions based on our life experiences, and what we've been taught. So, when we're hurt or angry by something someone says, we assume they know what our experiences have been, and that they're attempting to upset us deliberately. But, how can a mere acquaintance know our experiences and what our buttons are?
Even in close relationships, we assume others intent and meaning. And then they assume ours. And before you know it, the fight is on, both assuming what the other one means. Neither one listening to each other. Sometimes, the intent is to hurt or retaliate for a perceived hurt on their end. And round and round it goes.
So how do we get off this carousel?
Learn to be impeccable with your word and to stop taking anything personally. Stop making assumptions. Instead of assuming other things are about us, start asking questions, in a calm and reasonable fashion. Start stating what we really want. Not words cloaked in manipulation, but clear concise statements about what we want and need.
The more we don't take anything personally, and don't make assumptions, the more we can communicate with others clearly to avoid misunderstandings.
How making assumptions works. Someone says something to us, and we start weaving a story in our heads - a negative story, about why they said what they did, and what they meant. So we write this huge mental story around them, assuming that it's true. Of course, if it is true, then we feel fairly self-righteous.
But many times, it isn't true. It's true for us, because that's our perception through our own eyes. Their perception may be entirely different, and unless we ask, we have no way of being able to clearly identify their intent or meaning.
So what if we didn't make any assumptions? What if we didn't assume we knew what was in other's heads, and stopped judging them negatively, because of what's in our own?
There'd be a lot less drama in our lives. We assume we know what others mean or think. We assume the worst, and judge others, based on the assumption that they have judged us. So if we stop assuming anything, we stop judging, we stop making up stories, and life becomes a lot less complicated. In fact, other people start to be a lot less threatening and a lot less frightening.
...cont in comments....
Do You Like You?
Not too long ago, I hated myself, hated the situation I was caught in, hated my looks, hated everything about me.....
Miraculously, I snapped out from my depression and self-pitying. Best feeling ever!
I now see myself worthy of love and attention. Most of all, I love what I see in the mirror
"Try"
Put your make up on
Get your nails done
Curl your hair
Run the extra mile
Keep it slim
So they like you. Do they like you?
Get your sexy on
Don't be shy, girl
Take it off
This is what you want, to belong
So they like you. Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Oh
Get your shopping on,
At the mall,
Max your credit cards
You don't have to choose,
Buy it all
So they like you. Do they like you?
Wait a second,
Why should you care, what they think of you
When you're all alone, by yourself
Do you like you? Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to bend until you break
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
No
Oh
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Take your make up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you?
Cause I like you
Miraculously, I snapped out from my depression and self-pitying. Best feeling ever!
I now see myself worthy of love and attention. Most of all, I love what I see in the mirror
"Try"
Put your make up on
Get your nails done
Curl your hair
Run the extra mile
Keep it slim
So they like you. Do they like you?
Get your sexy on
Don't be shy, girl
Take it off
This is what you want, to belong
So they like you. Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Oh
Get your shopping on,
At the mall,
Max your credit cards
You don't have to choose,
Buy it all
So they like you. Do they like you?
Wait a second,
Why should you care, what they think of you
When you're all alone, by yourself
Do you like you? Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to bend until you break
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
No
Oh
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Take your make up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you?
Cause I like you
pondering
I was just on my way back from a movie when I was looking out into the night sky. Parking my car, the stillness of the night revealed the lively chirping of the crickets.
lol
awkward transition here....:)
It is often said as we go through life, we will discover our purpose of life. Don't you often wonder if there has to be more to life than just waking up, doing your routine, going to sleep, only to wake up to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over....okay, you get the picture.
Have you discovered your purpose? Do you believe we have a purpose? I can imagine a lot of people will say that their children are their purpose. That could be. Is it really your purpose if you are doing it for "my" child/children? That just sounds a little selfish to me (what do I know). Maybe they might be a hint or a path to your purpose??? I really do not know.
I cannot say I have discovered my purpose yet. I live my life trying to leave people better off (even if just so slightly) than they were before they met me. I might give them a genuine compliment, give them a constructive criticism, help them with something, give my non-bias advice/opinion, or give them few extra bucks to help them through this difficult life. Is this my purpose? I do not know.
What do you all think? Do we have a purpose? Do we have no purpose? If you think there is a purpose each of us have in life and you think you discovered yours....do you care to share it here? If so....let's hear it. :)
lol
awkward transition here....:)
It is often said as we go through life, we will discover our purpose of life. Don't you often wonder if there has to be more to life than just waking up, doing your routine, going to sleep, only to wake up to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over....okay, you get the picture.
Have you discovered your purpose? Do you believe we have a purpose? I can imagine a lot of people will say that their children are their purpose. That could be. Is it really your purpose if you are doing it for "my" child/children? That just sounds a little selfish to me (what do I know). Maybe they might be a hint or a path to your purpose??? I really do not know.
I cannot say I have discovered my purpose yet. I live my life trying to leave people better off (even if just so slightly) than they were before they met me. I might give them a genuine compliment, give them a constructive criticism, help them with something, give my non-bias advice/opinion, or give them few extra bucks to help them through this difficult life. Is this my purpose? I do not know.
What do you all think? Do we have a purpose? Do we have no purpose? If you think there is a purpose each of us have in life and you think you discovered yours....do you care to share it here? If so....let's hear it. :)
Self Delusion
How self-delusional do you think you are?
It is said that everyone thinks they are a good driver and have a good sense of humor.
I’ve seen people here write that they think they are smart, witty, funny, etc... and I am left scratching my head. I am not able to understand where they get that self-assessment from. Lol
Those same folks also seem to enjoy labeling others in an equally erroneous fashion.
Just wondering if I’m the only one who observes this behavior
It is said that everyone thinks they are a good driver and have a good sense of humor.
I’ve seen people here write that they think they are smart, witty, funny, etc... and I am left scratching my head. I am not able to understand where they get that self-assessment from. Lol
Those same folks also seem to enjoy labeling others in an equally erroneous fashion.
Just wondering if I’m the only one who observes this behavior
Two windows
One night I had a dream that I saw myself sitting in small house having only two windows. Within the house were many people. Half were looking out one window on one side of the house and the other half were looking out the other window. None within the the house knew how they got there only that they kept looking out the windows seeming to be looking for a sign of profound vision. One group was claiming with such clarity they could see the truth of everything and the other group claimed they thought they saw a glimpse of the truth but, their window was a bit hazy and cloudy so they just were not sure.
One truth they all knew they were stuck in this house and though they were aching to get out and explore beyond the confines of the house they could not find a door nor a key or any manner to escape the confines of the house.
Some just resigned and embraced the confines while others still kept hoping for a release, an escape, a way out of the house. Yet, all the while they were concerned about getting out of the house they did not realize each were holding a key and the windows were never really there nor the walls of the house. As a matter of fact the house was not even real but their own imagination of a false sense of imprisonment.
The windows were just invisible barriers to what they placed within the walls of doubt, fear, pessimism, anger, and regrets of the past.
Such is the case with online dating in some cases.
Yet, perhaps this is more for the blogger to understand.
One truth they all knew they were stuck in this house and though they were aching to get out and explore beyond the confines of the house they could not find a door nor a key or any manner to escape the confines of the house.
Some just resigned and embraced the confines while others still kept hoping for a release, an escape, a way out of the house. Yet, all the while they were concerned about getting out of the house they did not realize each were holding a key and the windows were never really there nor the walls of the house. As a matter of fact the house was not even real but their own imagination of a false sense of imprisonment.
The windows were just invisible barriers to what they placed within the walls of doubt, fear, pessimism, anger, and regrets of the past.
Such is the case with online dating in some cases.
Yet, perhaps this is more for the blogger to understand.
Pay caution to the wind...
Usually when someone says my mate has a problem ...blah ..blah ..blah..can you help him ? there never was a mate or (pet) to begin with but after presenting oneself as a confident image they then deny themselves the right
to be honest therefore cannot speak about an insecurity they may well have as this isn't at all in fitting with their fake personality they've created for themselves otherwise known as "alter ego." It must be like splitting your personality and who you are in two. This site offers the perfect opportunity for that ,Ugly becomes hansome, too fat becomes Athletic a cripple can become a 100 metre sprinter, a poor man doesn't have to be poor anymore, a geeky little wimp can be the big man he never was and the man down on his luck with women becomes the womaniser who had more than his fair share I mean (a man changing into a woman as complicated as may be simply becomes the lady he never was.The list is endless and please don't let your imaginations run wild .This was just an awareness blog created from my own observations.
to be honest therefore cannot speak about an insecurity they may well have as this isn't at all in fitting with their fake personality they've created for themselves otherwise known as "alter ego." It must be like splitting your personality and who you are in two. This site offers the perfect opportunity for that ,Ugly becomes hansome, too fat becomes Athletic a cripple can become a 100 metre sprinter, a poor man doesn't have to be poor anymore, a geeky little wimp can be the big man he never was and the man down on his luck with women becomes the womaniser who had more than his fair share I mean (a man changing into a woman as complicated as may be simply becomes the lady he never was.The list is endless and please don't let your imaginations run wild .This was just an awareness blog created from my own observations.
Serious Conversation
Years ago, I had a talk with myself regarding my troubles about love and relationship. My inner self told me: "I think your problem is that you are very serious about getting into and being in a relationship that you are missing out on opportunities that are yet to present themselves. When you meet a guy, you already categorize him to MIGHT or MIGHT NOT have a future with. You have judged them as to what they have initially shown you. When you yourself are holding back in the beginning. At the start, both people are expected to hold back a little, so by putting a tag on a person early on, when he hasn't shown himself fully on all his potential is what's making you sad. What if he was actually good, but you didn't give him a chance to begin with?"
With that, I gave one guy a chance. The problem is, when I start to have a bond with someone, I trully give them all the chances and accept everything and overlook everything, even all the red flags. That it took me 4 years to realize that the relationship I was in was not the right one for me.
Was I right with the way I dealt with my issue before that landed me the 4 years relationship? It was. Because even when it was not the right relationship, I learned so much from it. So now, Im thinking of another change inside me. But I guess this time, I will focus on something else.
With that, I gave one guy a chance. The problem is, when I start to have a bond with someone, I trully give them all the chances and accept everything and overlook everything, even all the red flags. That it took me 4 years to realize that the relationship I was in was not the right one for me.
Was I right with the way I dealt with my issue before that landed me the 4 years relationship? It was. Because even when it was not the right relationship, I learned so much from it. So now, Im thinking of another change inside me. But I guess this time, I will focus on something else.
A Blog is a journal you may enter about your life, your thoughts, interesting experiences, or lessons you have learned. It's your own page on Connecting Singles that you can update on a regular basis, or just whenever you have something to say. You can write about an opinion, impart words of wisdom, or talk about something interesting in your day. Creating a blog is a good way to share something of yourself with Connecting Singles members. Reading blogs is a good way to learn more about members you have met here. Please be sure to read the blog rules before posting.
Would YOU like to post a blog on Connecting Singles? Have you written blogs that you'd like to share with other members? Posting your blogs shows your skill and creativity and helps members get to know you better. Your blog will appear on the Connecting Singles Blogs page and also in a link on your profile page. Click here to post a blog »