Accept and Embrace the Unchangeable

Happiness has much to do with the mind -- how you view your current conditions. It is always a scenario of "a glass half full or a glass empty." Are you unhappy because you are confronted with many life changes and challenges that devastate you? You’re not alone!

You cannot change what is unchangeable or irreversible. But you can change your mind by changing your perspectives, and still live your life as if everything is amiracle. The worst scenario is that you cannot change the unchangeable, and neither can you change your mind. Then, use your mind power to accept and embrace the changeable, such as loss due to death and bereavement.

Human existence is meaningless without life purpose and human happiness. The pursuit of longevity has been going on since time immemorial. Consciousness holds the key to the success of this pursuit. Consciousness is wisdom of the mind to understand the self, others, as well as how and why certain things happen. Wisdom is the capability of the self to ask self-intuitive questions along the life journey.

To live to 100 and beyond—if you just don’t die—you must ask questions about life; after all, living is about asking questions and seeking answers to the questions asked, and thereby instrumental in providing wisdom or a blueprint to continue the rest of your life journey.

The first question you should consciously ask yourself is: "How long do I wish to live?" Of course, that is only a hypothetical question because you really don’t have much of a choice—unless you would like to purposely end your life prematurely. Naturally, the answer to that question may also change over different phases in your life, depending on the quality of your life in that particular phase.

The second question you should consciously ask yourself is: "Why do I want to live long, or why not?" This question will be naturally followed by the third question: “How do I live long, or what can make me desire to live longer?”

The final question—if you just don’t die—is: "How should I live the rest of my life to overcome my daily problems and life challenges?"

YOUJUST DON’T DIE

The objective of this newly published 154-page book is neither to convince you to crave longevity, nor to show you how to live to one hundred and beyond. It simply presents you with the consciousness of living the rest of your years—if you just don’t die!

Click here to get the digital copy, and here to get the paperback copy.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

An Empty Mind for the Presidential Election

The recent presidential election was incredibly unpredictable. The outcome was, ironically enough, "predictable" because many voters had a "predictable" mindset before the election. In other words, it is the "predictable" mindset of the voters that had led to the "unpredictable" result of the election.

The election would have been very different if people had an empty mindset, instead of the preconditioned mindset that Hilary Clinton, and not Donald Trump, would win in the election. That was a strong testament to the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, who was the author of Tao Te Ching, the ancient classic on human wisdom.

Tao wisdom (the wisdom of Lao Tzu) begins with having an empty mind. What is an empty mind? An empty mind is more than just "thinking out of the box": it is reverse thinking to create your own box of thinking. An empty mindset originated from Lao Tzu:

"An empty mind with no craving and no expectation helps us letting go.

Being in the world and not of the world, we attain heavenly grace.

With heavenly grace, we become pure and selfless.

And everything settles into its own perfect place."

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 3) 

“Letting go is emptying the mundane,

to be filled with heavenly grace.

Blessed is he who has an empty mind.

He will be filled with knowledge and wisdom from the Creator.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 9)

There was the story of a professor visiting a Zen master to find out more about Zen, which is an Eastern philosophy originating from Tao wisdom. In the beginning of the visit, the professor kept on talking while the Zen master was serving him tea. The Zen master kept pouring tea into the teacup held by the professor even though it was already brimming over the teacup.

The moral of the story is that one must, first and foremost, have an empty mind before one can accept new and unconventional ideas. Likewise, to intuit true wisdom, one must have an empty mind capable of reverse thinking.

An empty mindset not only provides clarity of thinking, but also frees us from the many shackles of life that enslave us, keeping us in bondage without our knowing it. Are you the master or just a slave of your own life? Often times, we think we are masters of our lives and we are in total control, but in fact we are no more than slaves. You are the master only when you have complete control over your life, or rather your way of thinking. Remember, your mind controls you, especially your subconscious mind—what you do, or how you act and react in different circumstances and situations in life.

How do you gain or re-gain control over your life in terms of your career, human relationships, time management, and daily stress, among others? It is not easy because most of us have a pre-conditioned mindset that we must do this and do that in order to succeed in life. To illustrate, in our subconscious minds, we want to do well, and, to do well, we must set life goals; to reach our life goals, we must exert efforts; after accomplishing one life goal, we need to set another higher one, and yet another one higher than the previous ones. In the end, our lives get more complicated and even out of control; as a result, we are no longer masters but only slaves to what we have accomplished for ourselves. As a further illustration, Lance Armstrong, the once-famous-and-now-disgraced cyclist, used performance-enhancing drugs to win his races in order to sustain his ego to win, which is compounded of his winnings, that ultimately brought about his own downfall. 

The bottom line: do not let your life careen out of control, and do not live your life with a life of its own; get your own life back in order! An empty mind is the opposite of a pre-conditioned mind that tells you to do this and that, making you a slave of your own life, instead of its master.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Happy Personality with Mind Power

Are you happy or unhappy? If you are not happy, then why not?

Be A Better And Happier You With Tao Wisdom is a 132-page book based on the profound human wisdom expressed in “Tao Te Ching” written by Lao Tzu, an ancient sage from China. The book not only contains the translation in simple English of the complete text of this 5,000-word immortal classic, but also shows you how to attain true human wisdom through asking self-intuitive questions, creating an empty mindset with reverse thinking to let go of the ego-self in order to become a better and happier you.

Why is happiness important? It plays a pivotal part in the art of living well?  The mind plays a critical role in shaping your personality, which is responsible for your happiness or unhappiness. In other words, your personality is all your own thinking, just as Descartes, the famous French philosopher, once said: “I think; therefore I am.”

Erik Erikson, the famous psychologist, also stated that the evolution of our personality is affected by different life stages of changes and experiences we have gone through, resulting in who and what we have now become. Understanding those life stages may help us understand how we have become happy or unhappy.

Trust and Mistrust

In this first stage, from birth to age one, we may  experience and develop trust or mistrust that affects how we feel about the benevolence of the world around us.

Independence and Doubt

In the toddler stage, we begin to develop our self-trust,  which leads to independence. With self-trust, we begin to learn how to walk. In this stage, however, we may also develop self-doubt that leads to shame later in life. This may be the underlying cause of failing to take risks in later life, missing some golden opportunities to improve our lives, and thus making us feel unhappy and unfulfilled.

Creativity and Guilt

In preschool years, we begin to exercise our minds to acquire initiative and express creativity. The capability to express freely our initiative and creativity helps us develop the playful and positive side of our nature. Under restraint, on the other hand, we may develop guilt, lack of self-confidence, and inability to get close to others.

Industry and Inferiority

From age five to eleven, we experience fulfillment in accomplishment or disappointment in failure. This is often a result of acquiring our society’s work ethics. We begin to believe in our abilities and feel motivated to work hard. On the other hand, if we become lazy, we develop poor work habits that may adversely affect our careers later in life.

Identity and Diffusion

In adolescent, we begin to explore ourselves, finding out who we are and what we want out of life. We may channel our energy into a field we love, and derive pleasure from seeing what we have accomplished. This growth in our sense of self determines whether or not we have an “identity crisis.”

Intimacy and Withdrawal

In early adulthood, we develop intimacy, which is a quality of an individual, and not the couple. The ability to develop and maintain a long-term relationship is an asset. However, many of us may experience difficulty in achieving closeness with others, or even maintaining a long-lasting relationship, resulting in inner loneliness that causes us to doubt even our own remarkable accomplishments in life.

Compassion and Selfishness

In middle age, we become more connected to future generations, as evidenced by being parents, mentors, and supervisors. However, we may also become self-focusing, alienating ourselves from the next generation, and thus creating the “generation gap.”

Ego and Despair

In old age, by letting go of the ego, we accept both our successes and failures, and thus have a healthy perspective on life. However, we may also look back at our own past experiences and the world in general with disdain and regret, and thus we become despaired and unhappy.

Remember, nothing is set in stone. Even if you have formed your own personality over the years, you can still change it to make you become a better and happier person if you have the wisdom and the know-how.

Also, visit my new website: Health and Wisdom Tips.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Alzheimer's Tips

 As aging continues, memory lapses may become increasingly common. Is it Alzheimer’s disease?

“Dementia is a symptom, and Alzheimer’s disease is the cause of that symptom.

Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 5 million people in the United States. It is a brain disease that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn and carry out daily activities; some Alzheimer’s patients may also experience abrupt changes in personality and behavior. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, and there is no way to predict how fast the disease may progress in any individual.

Alzheimer’s disease is deterioration of nerve cells, which are responsible for cognitive skills and memory functions. These nerve cells, which control your behavior, personality, and other bodily functions, such as breathing, digestion, and circulation, die gradually; and the conditions progress from bad to worse, and even some regions in your brain may shrink. Memory loss or dementia is the first visible sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer's Disease Tips

(1)  Your brain health is your heart health: what is good for your heart is also good for your brain. In other words, you need good circulation to ensure efficient pumping of blood to your brain to nourish your brain cells with oxygen and nutrients. Remember, your heart pumps about 20 percent of your blood to your brain. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are not brain friendly, because they cause blockage and build-up, and thus preventing the free flow of oxygen and nutrients to your brain. Control your numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body weight naturally.

(2)  Eat a healthy brain diet, which is a diet for a healthy heart, as well as a natural diet with little or no toxins that may damage the brain cells. For example, coconut oil and ginseng benefit the brain.

(3)  Control your body weight: do not become obese. A long-term study of 1,500 adults found that those who were obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop dementia in later life, and those who had high cholesterol and blood pressure had six times the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

(4)  Free radicals cause oxidative damage to brain cells and tissues. Free radicals come from the toxic environment, as well as from toxic drugs and processed foods. Environmental free radicals cause oxidative damage to brain cells and tissues. No matter what, your brain is exposed to heavy metal toxins. Detox your body to remove its toxins on a regular basis for a healthier brain!

(5)  Learn to breathe right, because breathing affects your intake of oxygen to your brain. Optimize your breathing by learning how to breathe correctly, as well as by maintaining good posture at all times, because good posture and correct breathing go hand in hand.

(6)  Quit smoking, which interferes with blood flow and oxygen to your brain. Smokers are at a much higher risk for dementia.

(7)  Exercise regularly to control your blood sugar to maintain your heart health, and to pump more blood to your brain.

(8)  Keep your brain busy. Use it or lose it. Learn a new language, a musical instrument; play memory games.

(9)  Avoid stress in life. Stress may impair the normal functioning of your brain cells. Relax your mind with deep meditation, which is an antidote to stress. Research has shown that those who regularly meditated showed an increase of DHEA (anti-aging hormone); that is, those who meditated for more than 5 years were physiologically younger by more than 10 years than their chronological age. Meditate to make you younger and healthier for longer

(10) Maintain an active social life. Research has found those with a socially active life are better protected against Alzheimer’s. Often as you get older, your support system shrinks and you are unlikely to seek new relationships.”

The above is from Health and Wisdom Tips.

 Just remember, if it’s Alzheimer’s disease, there is not much you could do. Anyway, the consolation is that you wouldn’t have the memory to worry about that. The important thing is to keep your mind healthy and to increase your mind power.

Stephen Lau

Sharpen Your Mind for Better Health

When you think of longevity and natural health, think Alzheimer's disease. When you think of Alzheimer's disease, think sharpening the mind. When you think brain health, think from the neck up.

To live long with health and wellness, make some brain-healthy lifestyle changes, and take action by getting involved in these activities to keep your memory sharp and your brain healthy.

Truly, mental decline as you age may be due to altered connections among brain cells. The good news is: research has shown that keeping your brain active not only increases its vitality but also builds its reserves of brain cells and connections.

Research has also indicated that low levels of education are linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease later in life. This may be due to a lower level of lifelong mental stimulation. That is to say, the more educated you are, the less chance you will get Alzheimer's disease - or at least the development of symptoms may appear much later in life.

Research has further shown that those who are bi-lingual and who constantly use two languages on a daily basis tend to develop greater immunity from the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

In short, your brain activities are responsible for your brain health, which is an important component of longevity health. To live long, you need to sharpen your mind, and don't let it idle.

Memory loss is rather common as you age. However, it does not necessarily mean you're going to have Alzheimer's disease. But combat memory loss like a disease. It is a misconception that you should write down what you need to do in order not to forget - well, that's a very passive way of dealing with the problem of memory loss. It's very much like "cutting you toes to avoid the worms." Remember, if you don't use your brain power, you will lose it. It's that simple. Don't try to remember things the hard way.

Memory Improvement Techniques shows you how to harness fully your brain power. It unlocks the secrets to a perfect computer-like memory in just about 5 minutes a day.

Remember, at any age, your memory is powerful; the only problem is that it is untrained. Memory Improvement Techniques does just that - training you to acquire the skills of "flash memorization." You don't need to read memory books, or attend expensive memory workshops; just get the book, in which you will find everything you need to know about improving your memory. This book will make you proud of your memory -- and it goes a long way to delay and prevent Alzheimer's disease.

At any age, you can still make some significant changes in your lifestyle; you don't have to turn your life upside down, or make extremely drastic changes to achieve the many benefits of sharpening your mind. Start with something small to keep your brain active every day. Stay curious - commit to lifelong learning. Stay healthier and younger as you age.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Empower the Mind to Ask

You may have many questions about your life, such as "Why me?" or "Why not?" Not knowing answers to the questions, or, worse, not even knowing what questions to ask, is the source of human unhappiness. After all, life is about asking questions and finding answers to the questions asked.  

“Am I happy?” is just one of the many questions you need to ask yourself in the course of your life and living. Nobody but you have the answer to that question because it is your life and nobody can live it for you, let alone giving you the answer to that simple but difficult question.

That said, one of the objectives of life is to ask and answer as many more questions as you go along your life journey, thereby instrumental in awakening your self-enlightenment.

·       Some of these probing questions you may want to ask may include the following:

·       

         Who am I? How would I describe myself?

·           What are my life passions? Why am I passionate about them?

·           What are my achievements in life to date?  Am I proud of them, and why?

·           Do I have a role model in my life?  Do I ever wish I were that role model?

·           Do I love myself? If not, why not?

·           At this point in my life, am I worried about my future?

Life is a journey of self-discovery, a continuous process of asking thinking questions and seeking self-enlightening answers from them. Please note that the answer to every thinking question you ask may change over time, because life is forever changing, and changes are transformative. The more you ask, the clearer your mind will become, and the more ready you will be to receive the answers.

Although asking questions is a self-learning process, do not seek absolute answers from the questions asked; more importantly, do not seek answers that cannot be given to you. The most important thing in questions-and-answers is to experience everything, not just to pursue knowledge. As a matter of fact, knowledge can help, but it can also hinder. When you only follow what you know, and forget what you feel, you can easily be led down the wrong path. Extensive knowledge and logical reasoning may not necessarily compound wisdom.

Live every question you are going to ask yourself, and live in its presence. Be patient towards all those questions that you cannot answers. True enlightenment may dawn on you one day when you find yourself asking no more thinking questions because you already have all the answers; that is the ultimate self-enlightenment.

“From knowing to not knowing,

This is superior.

From not knowing to knowing,

This is sickness.

It is by being sick of sickness

That one is not sick.

The sage is not sick.

Because he is sick of sickness,

Therefore he is not sick.”

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 71

Enjoy the process of self-reflecting all the thinking questions you are going to ask yourself. Without self-reflection, you may exist for other people, and not for yourself. Now is the time to start asking questions, and putting yourself on the right path to intuiting wisdom in the art of living well.

The Book of Life and Living

This 200-page book on wisdom in living is based on the integration of conventional wisdom, the ancient wisdom of Tao from China, and the spiritual wisdom of the Bible. The art of living well is holistic living with harmony of the body, the mind, and the spirit.

Life is short. Make the best and the most out of your life. Learn how to use your mind to control your thoughts to live the life as if everything is a miracle.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright © by Stephen Lau

"Doctor, You're Fired!"

If you wish to say to your doctors: "Doctor, you're fired!", you must learn how to empower your brain power.

According to Dr. Robert S. Ivker, D.O., past president of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA),"being mentally healthy means that you recognize the ways in which your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes affect your well-being and limit or expand your ability to enjoy your life."Therefore, brain power is the foundation of body-mind medicine.

Scientists have recognized that the mind and the body are not separate aspects, but rather interrelated expressions of who and what you are. Specifically, neuropeptides, (biochemicals) which are responsible for your mood, pain, pleasure, and immune and hormone function at the cellular level, originate in your brain.

Empower Brain Power

The human brain has about 15 billion cells, and only about 10 to 15 percent of brain power has been fully utilized, so there is still great potential of brain power for holistic health and complementary wellness of the body, the mind, and the soul—in other words, the overall well-being of an individual.

Although everyone's brain differs, everyone can empower the mind, given the proper tools and training. Brain power is requisite for the art of living well. To live well, one must know how to harness one’s brain power to one’s advantage. Life is all about choices, and whether one lives well or not depends greatly on the choices one makes. But to make the right and meaningful choices is never easy.

To illustrate, health wellness is a matter of choice, not of chance. As a matter of fact, to be well is always mind over matter. Without brain power of the power of the mind, health wellness would be only a wish, but never a reality in one's life. Unhealthy eating habits and a wayward lifestyle are the major causes of degenerative diseases and other health problems. Everyone knows that. But knowing is one thing, while doing is another. Only mind over matter can help you change your lifestyle to attain ultimate health wellness.

By the same token, to live well, you must make meaningful and positive changes. The world we are living in is forever changing. Change, which is inevitable, is the essence of life. Without change, there will be no growth, no development, and therefore no improvement. Therefore, no matter how reluctant or resistant you are to change, you must adapt yourself to these changes in order to have the capability fo say: “Doctor, you’re fired!”

If you are willing to accept changes in order to live well, embrace and welcome these changes in your life so that you will find strength on the inside to bring about changes on the outside. It is all in the mind—mind over matter. Empower your brain power to give yourself that inner strength to change yourself from the inside out.

Practice Affirmations and Visualization

You can significantly increase your brain power with practices and exercises to train your brain with subliminal messages and visualization. Brain power is amazing: it is capable of doing almost anything, if you know how to unleash its power. Remember, you have both a conscious mind and a subconscious (or unconscious) mind, both of which are directed by your thoughts.

Control your mind to say: "Doctor, you're fired!" 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau