Free Yourself From Self-Delusions

Albert Einstein once said: "A human being is part of the whole called by us 'universe,' a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts, and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison . . . . "

One of the objectives of THE BOOK OF LIFE AND LIVING is to free yourself from the self-imprisonment of self-delusions created by your self-consciousness, as pointed out by Albert Einstein. This book not only explains in simple terms and plain language how you may unconsciously create your self-limiting thoughts that prevent you from truly understanding who you are and what you really want from life, but also shows you how to create a substantially new manner of thinking through the integration of both conventional and ancient wisdom.

In particular, this book is about the art of living well through understanding and embracing the wisdom of Tao—the wisdom of Lao Tzu succinctly expressed in TAO TE CHING, one of the most translated works in world literature. However, Tao wisdom is simple but difficult to understand. THE BOOK OF LIFE AND LIVING explains in simple language with common everyday examples to illustrate the essence of Tao wisdom and how it may integrate with conventional wisdom to live a life of your choice.

This 200-page book is full of wisdom based on the author’s extensive research and personal experience. In this book, you will learn the following:

(1) Eliminating unproductive thoughts, and overcoming chaotic struggles in your inner world and outer life to enhance health and performance, master stress, and deepen appreciation of life.

(2) Understanding the essentials of contemporary wisdom and ancient wisdom to help you contemplate and internalize their respective meanings and values in your daily life

(3) Harnessing mind power to operate your mind to integrate the acquired knowledge into your daily activities.

THE BOOK OF LIFE ANDLIVING is the wisdom in the art of living well.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Overcoming Food Addiction

Overcoming Food Addiction

Addiction to food is more than just a problem of overeating: it is a reflection of problems in physical, mental, and emotional health. If you have addiction to unhealthy food or unhealthy food cravings, you may have to overcome yours in order to have wholesome healing of the body and mind.

Overcoming food addiction, like any other addiction, is never easy. Denial and guilt are common characteristics in individuals who have food addiction problems.

First, you need the intention, which is the desire to stop the addiction. Of course, that means you must be aware of the addiction problem in the first place, and then express the intention to change for the better.

Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher, once said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Take your first step: your intention to recover from your food addiction. 

The long process of recovery, often punctuated with relapses, requires determination to overcome all obstacles. Use daily self-affirmations to reinforce your determination and willpower to overcome food addiction. Harness your mind power to control your behavior to heal your body. 

Although it may be mind over matter, the body has to respond appropriately to the mind. Give your body the right environment for recovery and recuperation. 

Regulate your blood sugar level; a balanced blood sugar level prevents impulsive eating and keeps hunger at bay. 

Balance your body chemistry, such as your acid-alkaline level; too much acid in the body breeds toxins that prevent healing. 

Reduce your hormonal swings. Leptin is the appetite-controlling hormone, also known as "thin" hormone. Eat adequate calories to boost leptin production to minimize food craving. Exercise can also enhance your body's responsiveness to leptin. 

Eating enough, ironically, is critical to recovery from food addiction. Eat three regular meals a day; skipping a meal may lead to a reduction of leptin, making your appetite out of control. Don't starve yourself, but neither do you over-stuff yourself. Don't go on any diet, especially fad diets. Just eat right.

Food addiction may also be a result of emotional distress, such as emotional trauma or stress. Meditation is a way to relax yourself as well as to get toxic emotions out of your mind.

If you are healthy in body, mind, and spirit, you do not have any eating or weight problem. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright © 2018 by Stephen Lau

Anything Is Everything

Anything and Everything

To live well, you need wisdom to know, to understand, and to act or react accordingly. One of the essentials of human wisdom is awareness, which is the capability to what is happening to you and around you.

Awareness of your own responsibility for humanity may enable you to rein in your temper and inhibit your anger. Better understanding of humanity lets you acknowledge the destructive forces of anger, and thereby instrumental in reducing their strength. Your short temper can benefit from Tao wisdom, which shows you the importance and necessity of embracing all—the easy and the difficult, as well as the pleasant and the unpleasant. In life, difficult and unpleasant experiences not only train but also enhance you mental stability to control your temper, which often undermines your compassion for others. Tao wisdom teaches you not to pick and choose but to embrace anything and everything in life because any situation in life can make you become either a teacher or a student. Life is about anything and everything that you can learn from, and this is where true wisdom comes from.

Understanding that anything is everything may also make you see things very differently. People and things do not exist independently; they all exist with a reason; the reason may or may not be apparent to all of us. When there is long, there has to be short; they do not exist simply because of their own nature. Everything in life is not only relative but also related. Viewing any life situation—whether it is good or bad—with this profound human wisdom may help you see that anything is everything, In other words, any life situation is not under its own power but depends on many present causes and conditions, as well as many past causes and conditions; otherwise it could not have come into being. With this perspective, you can see much more of the whole picture, and thus you can see the reality of the situation.

For instance, in economics, if you just go after profit, you may end up with corruption. Failure to look at the whole picture that anything is everything means your failure to see the reality of everything in life. Failure to see the reality means your outlook becomes distorted and exaggerated, and thus leading to inappropriate actions or reactions. To illustrate, if a person or an event causes anger and hatred, the ugliness of anger and hatred is often exaggerated when the whole picture of the reality is not seen. An unreal mental projection of the exaggerated ugliness of anger and hatred may result in disproportionate actions or reactions that result in unhappiness.

Anything Is Everything

The bottom line: anything is everything. Always look at self and others from the whole perspective that anything is everything; and, accordingly, you may be a better and happier you.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Wisdom in Living in 2018

The Wisdom in Living in 2018

Reflect on your current state of being, and see others as the same. They are not better or worse than you are, but just different in their own ways. There is no basis for you to be angry with them, or to be envious of them. There is no rhyme or reason for you to dwell on “what if” or “what should have”— they only prey on your mind, preventing you from living your 2018 as if everything is a miracle.

In 2018, follow the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China:

“The ancient masters were

subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.

The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.

Because it is unfathomable,

All we can do is to describe their appearance.

Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.

Alert, like men aware of danger.

Courteous, like visiting guests.

Yielding, like ice about to melt.

Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.

Hollow, like caves.

Opaque, like muddy pools.

Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?

Who can remain still until the moment of action?

Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.

Not seeking fulfillment,

they are not swayed by desire for change.”

(Chapter 15, Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu)

Based on the above, just about anyone who has an empty mind can attain the profound wisdom in living in 2018. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

A Better and Happier You in 2018

A Better and Happier You in 2018

There is an old Latin axiom: “nemo dat quod non habet” — meaning, one cannot give what one does not have.

If you don’t have the wisdom to know your real self, you won’t have the wisdom to understand others, especially who they are and what they need. In order to understand others to have better human relationships, you must first and foremost have the wisdom attained through asking self-intuitive questions throughout your life.

Then, with mindfulness, you observe with a nonjudgmental mind what is happening to you, as well as around you. Gradually, you will be able to see things as what they really are, and not as what they may seem to you: anything and everything in life follows its own natural cycle, just as the day becomes night, and the night transformed into dawn. With that wisdom, you may become enlightened, which means you begin to know your true self—what you have and what you don’t have, and you were created to be who you are, and not what you wish you were or want to become. Knowing what you have, you can then give it to others. It is the giving, rather than the receiving, that will make you become a better and happier you in 2018.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Santa Claus Is Coming

Your Golden Years and Santa Claus explains the wisdom of living in the present, the wisdom of letting go, and the wisdom of not picking and choosing -- they are the essentials for happy and successful aging in the golden years. Learn how to think and act like Santa Claus in your golden years.

Your future is always unknown and unknowable, but it is your readiness to get new information and to use your new experience to reassess your current situation that provides a light at the end of the tunnel.

Wake up from your nightmare and live a life that you rightly deserve in your golden years.

Growing older sucks. The alternative is to die younger.

So, make the best and the most of your remaining years; turn them into the golden years of your life in spite of any frailty and adversity you may be facing. Remember, life is a task-master: it teaches you not only how to survive in any challenging circumstance but also how to live as if everything is a miracle, especially in your golden years.

Use Santa Claus as your role model to start believing in yourself, developing the right mindset of successful aging, and acting appropriately and positively. Santa Claus may not be a magic-bullet solution to all your life problems and challenges, but he certainly may open unexpected doors for you in your golden years.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Wisdom in Living

Wisdom in Living

This is a completely updated website on how to live your life as if everything is a miracle.

The journey of life is long and unpredictable. We all need wisdom to guide us along the way so that we will not get lost; even if we do, we may still find out way back to where it will eventually lead us to our final destination.

This new website may provide you with wisdom as your compass and roadmap on your life journey.

Wisdom in living comprises seeking God's wisdom through understanding human wisdom in order to live a meaningful and purposeful life, even in the golden years. The ancient wisdom of Tao holds the key to applying these principles of life and living in this modern world.

Stephen Lau

Another FREE Book for Better Vision

EYE EXERCISES FOR BETTER VISION

By Stephen Lau

This is a book on using eye exercises to overcome bad vision habits that lead to poor vision. The author explains that the eye is an organ of the body, which is controlled by the mind, vision health is holistic health of the body and the mind. 

Good vision is determined by the flexibility of eye muscles. If you exercise your body, there is no rhyme or reason why you should not exercise your eyes for better vision.

The author himself has poor vision due to his myasthenia gravis, which is an autoimmune disease affecting his eye muscles. He is sharing his own experience to use eye exercises for better vision.

Get this book for FREE. Click here to go to the page for your FREE download.

Stephen Lau

FREE Book for Weight Loss!

Weight loss is more than just your mind power. Download this book ABSOLUTELY FREE to lose a few extra pounds without any diet or medication!

All-Round Weight Loss

by Stephen Lau

Everybody wants to lose some weight; some even want to lose a lot more. But almost everybody gains back all the pounds that have been lost, and then some.

Why is that? Because weight loss is not just about eating less—after all, everybody wants to eat more, not less. Weight loss is about everything, just as Oprah Winfrey once said: “My greatest failure was in believing that the weight issue was just about weight.” Oprah was right. Weight loss is all-round; that is, it involves the body, the mind, and the spirit. To illustrate, weight loss is also about the thinking mind; it is the thoughts that make you fat, more than anything else. According to Esther and Jerry Hicks' bestseller "Money and the Law of Attraction," people not only want the food but also believe that the food will make them fat, and thus have created that which they do not want; unfortunately, their thoughts attract what they do not want, so their bodies respond to the thinking mind, and gain instead of losing weight.

Therefore, going on a fad diet, abstaining from certain types of food, reducing calorie consumption-all these only contribute to the weight-loss hype that sustains the billion-dollar weight-loss industry. The consumers forever lose in the battle of the bulge.

ALL-ROUND WEIGHT LOSS is holistic weight management in that it covers every aspect of weight loss, beginning with the mind, the body, and then the spirit, to make weight loss natural and permanent. Only holistic weight management guarantees lasting weight loss. Do not waste money on diets, and weight-loss products and programs that do not work. Follow the author's simple but comprehensive holistic approach to wellness and weight management. Remember, if you are healthy in body, mind, and soul, you will not have any weight problem.

Click here to go to the page to get your book ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Stephen Lau

Stop Your Mind from Aging!

Your biological clock is ticking, whether you are conscious of it or not. Your mortality has been pre-programmed into your biological organisms and you body cells. Theoretically, you may have an indefinite lifespan through their division, rejuvenation, and regeneration—if they are still healthy and functional. Although your genes may have pre-determined the speed of your biological clock, you can still slow down the speed of aging—if you still have good health, especially your mental health. Stop your mind from aging!

Whether you like it or not, your biological clock is ticking, and this will happen to various systems in your body: 

• Your heart will pump less blood, and your arteries will become stiffer and less flexible, resulting in high blood pressure—a health problem that often increases with age.
• With less oxygen and nutrients from the heart, your lungs will become less efficient in distributing oxygen to different organs and membranes of your body.
• Your brain size will gradually reduce by approximately 10 percent between the age of 30 and 70. Loss of short-term memory will become more acute.
• Your bone mass will reduce, making it more brittle and fragile. Your body size will shrink as you lose your muscle mass.

As  you continue to age, your memory brain may be overloaded with past negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, and regret, and among others, that have a negative impact on your brain. Learn to let go of your attachments to the past. It is not easy, but is doable if you use Tao wisdom, the ancient wisdom from China to help you let go of your ego-self in order to let go of you attachments, not just emotional attachments, but also material attachments to the physical world you are living in. Let go to have a healthy mind.

“YOU JUST DON’T DIE!” T

his 155-page book is about how to live your life as if everything is a miracle if you just don’t die in your senior years, despite the many changes and challenges confronting you.

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. 

The objective of this 155-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

How to Have a Photographic Memory

Are you having problems with your memory? As you continue to age, your memory naturally deteriorates. But you can stop your memory loss. As a matter of fact, you can even increase your memory. After all, humans use only a small fraction of their brain cells. Use it or lose it! It’s just that simple! Develop a photographic memory at any age, even as you step into seniority.

Memory has everything to do with awareness and mental associations. You must be able to associate the information and input it in your brain, so that you can retrieve the information later. To facilitate the mental processing of the information, you need to do the following:

Concentration

Try not to do too many things too quickly at the same time. This not only creates time-stress but also disorients the mind. Forget about multi-tasking; most probably, by now, you have passed that age!

Visualization

Visualize the information in your mind's eye, which is essentially the process of remembering. Seeing is believing, and a picture is worth a thousand words. If you can vividly visualize something in your mind's eye, your memory of that becomes more vivid, and that memory will be retained much longer.

Creativity and Imagination

Being creative and imaginative is an indispensable asset in good memory. The explanation is that with a creative mind, you can come up with mental associations that are totally outrageous and therefore unforgetable. The more absurd your mental associations are, the longer they will stick in your memory. You can learn to become more creative and imaginative through more practice. If you can think of something extraordinary, you can create out-of-the-ordinary mental associations that you will not easily forget. For example, when you are introduced to someone by the name of “Dustin”, you can create the image of a dustbin, and associate the features of that person with a dustbin. The more ridiculous that image is, the more you will remember that person’s name.

Repetition

Give the information a sound so that you can hear it as well as see it. Repeat the information as much as possible. For example, if you are introduced to a person, repeat the name of that person several times to register it in your brain. However, the process of repeating and remembering may not be as simple and straightforward as you wish: there may be obstacles to hindering the process. These obstacles may include distraction, lack of focus, inadequate motivation, and a stressful environment.

Compartmentalization

Finally, you need to store the information in an organized and systematic way in a mental folder in your memory. The human mind has a great capacity for storage of information. In fact, you have probably used up only about ten percent of brain storage space. To help you remember all types of information as well as to retrieve  the stored information, you need to think logically and categorize systematically the information in your mind's eye. The brain is like a file cabinet, where you put different types of information according to different categories or headings.

The bottom line: to protect and preserve a photographic memory, you must have a healthy brain.  What is good for the heart is always good for the brain because good blood circulation is essential.  Also, live a stress-free life: read my book No Ego No Stress. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Is Depression Synonymous With Unhappiness?

“The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

Is depression synonymous with unhappiness? Naturally, when you are depressed, you become unhappy. 

Depression is no more than a personal struggle against unattainable happiness, which is the essence of life and living. Therefore, almost everybody is always in quest of happiness. Sadly, to many, the quest for happiness is forever unreachable—just like a carrot-and-stick in front of a mule; the more pain inflicted on the mule by the stick, the more desire the mule demonstrates to reach out for the forever unattainable carrot in front. In many ways, a depressed individual is just like that mule with self-inflicted pain, which is the depression—the more unhappy that individual feels, the more depressed that individual will become, and the longer that vicious cycle of depression will continue, only plunging that depressed individual deeper into a fathomless black hole of despair and hopelessness. Depression is no more than a mental manifestation of the forever unattainable happiness that an individual strives to seek.

But why is human happiness so elusively and evasively unreachable and unattainable? The answer is, surprisingly, quite simple: happiness has to do with one’s perceptions of life experiences, and thus the thinking mind plays a pivotal role in that respect. That is to say, human happiness and the human mind are inter-related; without profound human wisdom, the pursuit of happiness is like wandering in the wilderness without a compass and a road map. Indeed, true human wisdom holds the key to opening the door to understanding true human happiness.

Given the close connection between depression and happiness, understanding true human happiness may help a depressed individual overcome his or her depression.

 TAO is looking at life not as a series of both happy and unhappy episodes, but simply as a journey of self-discovery and self-awakening to the real meaning of life existence. You are defined not by your words and thoughts, but by the ways you act and react, as well as the impact you may have on others around you. You exist not because you are simply here; you are here in this world to love and to learn how to live, as well as to help one another do the same."

To get your Amazon digital copy, click here; to get your paperback copy, click here.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Your Amazing Brain

The human brain is a miracle. You have an amazing mind! Your brain is made up of about 100 trillion brain cells. These nerve cells called neurons are responsible for releasing chemicals known as neurotransmitters. They are all inter-connected, and, as such, the more connections you have, the greater is your brain power. Yes, you do have an amazing brain, which is a miracle in itself!

Your brain is like a recorder, which records all information on a tape (your neurons). A good memory means your brain knows when to turn on and turn off the recorder. This is crucial. However, the "when" factor is no more than your basic memory skills, without which, you just turn on the recorder all the time. The problem is that you may have just too many tapes: when you want to look for a certain tape, you may have problems finding it right away -- which is reflected in your forgetfulness, or inability to retrieve the desired information when needed.

When you are in your forties (the beginning of senility, whether you like it or not), it takes you longer to recall things. As you continue to age, you will take longer time to process new information. Things could get worse with time: you develop the common tip-of-the-tongue problem in remembering a common word, or a familiar name. Mental deterioration will continue if you live long enough: for example, you don't remember directions, or recall lists, among other daily annoyances and frustrations. Poor memory is associated with old age and the elderly. But you can retard, if not reverse, your mental deterioration, as if everything is a miracle, because you have used up only 10 percent of the billions of your brain cells. This is the good news.

Another piece of good news is that you may not have dementia or Alzheimer's if your brain is still healthy. But you do want to avoid, or at least defer, for as long as you possibly can the occurence of the above-mentioned memory-lapse problems.

Yes, you have an amazing brain. Just learn to harness its power and potential. Mind Fitness Resources:provide everything you need to turn your brain into a miracle.

1. Memory has to do with your senses: sight, sound, smell, and touch. They are your memory skills, that is, tools for you to remember, store, and process information. Therefore, sharpen your senses to sharpen your mind. Protect and preserve your senses, for example, take care of your vision health, which is critical to having good memory, because sight is an important tool for remembering, storing, and processing information.

2. Avoid emotional upheavals, such as depression or stress, which can adversely affect your brain power. Practice daily meditation to calm your nerves, and let your brain relax and rest. Meditation is a powerful tool to optimize your memory skills. Learn how to meditate. 

3. Avoid pharmaceutical drugs wherever possible, especially over-the-counter ones, such as cold remedies and sleep aids. Drugs are dangerous chemicals that may damage your brain cells. Remember, brain cells, unlike other cells, do not regenerate, although you have billions and trillions of them. Use natural herbs and home-made medicine, which are less toxic and have fewer side effects than the chemicals of pharmaceutical drugs.

4. Good nutrition enhances brain health. The rule of thumb is: What is good for the heart is also good for the brain. Eat a diet low in animal fat.

5. Try not to do too many things too quickly at the same time. This not only creates time stress but also disorients the mind. Learn to develop the presence of mind, which is focusing your mind on the present moment. One way to do this is to the mindful of your breaths, that is, consciously aware of your breathing in and breathing out. You can practice this at any time, such as while waiting for the bus or the train.

Your brain is amazing. And you can keep it amazing for as long as you wish. If there is a will, there is a way.Read my most recent book publication: You Just Don't Die! to find out how you can rethink your mind to harness its wisdom to live the rest of your life, if you don't die, and turn it into a miracle. \

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Increase Human Wisdom

The Complete TAO TE CHING in Plain English

TAO wisdom is the profound human wisdom from ancient China more than 2,600 years ago. It is expressed in TAO TE CHING, one of the most translated works in world literature.

There are many translations and interpretations of Lao Tzu’s ancient classic “Tao Te Ching.”  Given that the Chinese language is often capable of multiple meanings, following the exact Chinese translation may make the flow of the language uneven and even difficult to understand. 

The book contains not only the complete 81 chapters of Lao Tzu’s immortal classic but also the author’s own interpretations of the essentials of TAO  wisdom (which is the wisdom of Lao Tzu) for easier intuition and assimilation.

Get this book of wisdom for FREE up to May 8 2017!

To get your FREE digital copy, click here. 

Manage Your Memory Problems

The brain is one of the most important body organs because it controls your life and well-being. But it may deteriorate over the years, causing memory loss. Besides aging, memory loss can be due to many other factors, such as brain damage, alcohol, constipation, dehydration, depression, and drugs.

Learn to manage memory problems:

• Learn to process new information step by step, and one step at a time. That is, allow yourself to get the hang of it before you store it in your mind.

• Get off the beaten track from time to time in order to stimulate your brain. Do something out of the ordinary every now and then.

• Engage in challenging endeavors, such as a crossword puzzle, learning a new musical instrument or a new language., 

• Reduce stress, which interferes with concentration and staying focused.

• Use meditation to quiet the mind and to avoid compulsive thinking.

• Avoid the principle of "present-mindedness" to avoid absent-mindedness. Practice concentration, and appreciate living in the present moment.

You may have a great body, but you also need a great mind to go with it. To have a great and powerful mind, you need to exercise your cognitive faculties. Writing (writing a blog), reading, sleeping (you store your memories in the deepest dream state, known as Rapid Eye Movement)), gardening (sharpening brain power with plant names, growth characteristics, soil conditions, etc.), music listening and playing  (changing neuron activities and enhancing sensory skills).

Memory has everything to do with mental awareness. Therefore, learn how to improve your memory through concentration, creativity and imagination, and visualization.

Of course, memory has also to do with nutrients, such as iron deficiency, which may affect your brain chemicals, and antioxidants to prevent the formation of free radicals that may damage brain cells.

Stephen Lau

Copyright © Stephen Lau