A Happy Family

Happy Eid ul-Fitr

>> Aug 7, 2013

I’m in my husband’s hometown (Bumiayu, Central Java Province, Indonesia) since last Monday. I’m going to celebrate the Feast Day this year with my husband’s big family here.

So, to all my blogger friends who celebrate:

May Allah flood

your life with happiness on this occasion,

your heart with love,

your soul with spiritual,

your mind with wisdom,

wishing you a blessed and very Happy Eid ul-Fitr.

Thanks for your kind visits. See you soon :)

Understanding Vastu and its Effects

A rising number of Indians are constructing or re-arranging their homes according to Vastu Shastra. Even internationally, positive and negative energies present at home are being given detailed attention. Just like Vastu’s counterpart Feng Shui is becoming popular in China and beyond, Vastu is fast catching up with Indians. Vastu Shastra is the ancient science of architecture in India and consists of designs specially created for built structures and their interiors. The following article will discuss about the concept of Vastu and the elements involved. You will also learn about how to make your home Vastu-compliant to improve health and lifestyle.

An Introduction to Vastu

Vastu is a Sanskrit word meaning 'dwelling' in English. It is part of the Indian vedas and covers all buildings and structures in the modern context. The concept entails the physical, spiritual and psychological order of the constructed environment, in compatibility with the cosmic energies. It includes the study of planetary influences on man-made designs and buildings built from them. The study takes into account the impact of the energies on people living in these buildings and is intended to offer corrective guidelines for apposite construction.

It is believed that one must abide by the Vastu guidelines while building homes in order to bring happiness, peace, well-being and wealth to one’s life. It can also help evade depression, disasters and diseases by living in a house filled with positive cosmic field.

Vedic wisdom is designated as equivalent to divine knowledge of the cosmic mind of sages during meditation. It is said that Vastu was developed between 6000 BC and 3000 BC and was passed on by ancient architects by hand-written monographs and word of mouth.

The key premise of Vastu is based on the surmise that the Earth is a living organism from which other organic forms and living creatures emerge; making every particle and space hold live energy. There are five elements in Vastu Shastra governing the principles of creation – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. These elements act as forces for or against one other to build a balance or imbalance.

The theory also states that all forms on earth are affected by the nine planets, and that all the planets represent a direction. Thus, we can say our homes are under the impact of the nine planets and five elements.

Your Home

Today there are many upcoming residential projects that offer apartments and villas built according to Vastu. According to Vastu Shastra, the interiors of our homes must be designed in ways that that the positive forces overrule the negative ones to beneficially release bio-energy that will allow you and your family to lead a healthy and happy life.

In case your house is built in a fashion that allows the negative energies to supersede the positive, it can lead to your thoughts, efforts and actions to turn negative. This is where the counteractive nature of Vastu will guide you towards a positive environment at home for a better life.

The optimum use of Vastu models can aid in creating an emotionally soothing, comfortable yet intellectually vibrant atmosphere at home.

Tips to Boost Positivity at Home

While constructing or buying a house, make sure the main entrance does not face south-west. The main door of your home will signify the mouth that brings in the energy. An entrance from the south-west direction represents the entry of evil energy and carries misfortunes and struggle. Place two tiles of Hanumanji right outside the door to improve the situation.
Make sure you place the temple in the North-East.
The kitchen represents prosperity and should be located in the southeast.
Bathrooms bear have the energy of 'hell' and must be situated in the South or West, else you can suffer from financial, educational or health problems.
Keep the center of the house, which is the nose, uncluttered and open as it needs space to breather.

Author bio: Being a prolific writer, Devika Arora is dedicated to studying the current property trends and compiling facts for the benefit of potential investors. Her articles and other write-ups analyze the realm of Indian real estate and its prospects. The above piece of work elaborates why most properties, including flatsin Nallasopara, are being built according to Vastu.

How to Send Your Child to College

>> Aug 6, 2013

You need to start them when they are young. As soon as they are old enough to go to preschool you need to start thinking about extracurricular activities: Swimming, karate, tennis, foreign languages, anything. The younger you start them, then the bigger are the chances that they will excel in later life.

Expose your child to competition

Just because your five year old wants to be a karate champion does not mean that he/she will not want to be a tennis champion later in life. This is not a bad thing, as they should be able to choose the extracurricular options that they most enjoy. Your job is to introduce your child to more than just book studies and the TV.

A good way of building up their abilities is to introduce them to competition at an early age. This is why extracurricular activities are so important. They teach the child that they can excel if they practice, and this is a lesson that will serve them well in later life. Do not encourage a “Win at all costs” attitude, but do show them that giving their full effort has its rewards.

What to do when they are a little older

Hopefully, you have now raised a child that wants to do more than watch TV with their spare time, so now it is time to concentrate on academics. Always be rewarding and accommodating when your child excels at any academic subject. If they are having problems, then try to help them yourself or pay for extra help.

Encourage a will to learn and show the child that the things they are learning will help them in later life. Also, try to expose them to the way their life may turn out if they ignore their studies.

Do not persecute your child

You are trying to groom your child for a place at a good college, but your child may struggle at school. You need to recognize the signs, because your easily distracted or disruptive child is probably acting that way because he/she cannot keep up with the rest of the class. He/she may feel silly or stupid when they try to keep up, and so will get into trouble as an excuse for their poor performance. Always consider multiple reasons for their actions before you jump to solutions or punishments.

Help them manifest a dream

They need to think about their future and what they want to be when they are older. The child that gets to college age and does not know which course to take is the one who either fails to get into a good college, or drops out half way through.

The problem is that most people do not know their options. Even you do not know all the jobs that a person may potentially get. So, you and your child need to go on a fact finding mission to discover all the interesting jobs there are available in the world. Once you find one that your child enjoys, you will see their motivation to get into college rise.

Always answer calls for help

You may not be able to help your child with his or her studies, but that does not mean you cannot find help out there. You may have a skilled family member or friend you can encourage to help. You could even pay for extra tutors if you have the money. But, do not fall for the cries of a lazy child. Never do the child’s work for them, as they will abuse the privilege and keep asking for help in order to avoid doing the work themselves.

Learn the college entry protocol and help your child

They may not ask for your help and may have figured it all out themselves, but even in this case you should learn the entry protocol for yourself. Discuss entry into college with your child. Explain that you have also looked into how to gain entry and try to collaborate with the child. Show that you are not being pushy, but that you are there for support. Make it appear as if you are not really helping them, but that you are on their team.

Do not judge the choices your child makes

You may want your child to join Princeton to study business and economics, but if your child wants to attend a polytechnic in order to study needlework then you have to live with it. If the child senses any resistance at your end then you will be cut out of the whole process. They will do what they want, and they will do it with or without your approval.

Live with the choices your child makes, and help them if they change their mind. Remember that you are on their side no matter what, which means you do not tell them what choices to make or try to change their mind.

Bio: Hi! I'm Nellie and currently belong to the students body. I'm always eager to find out something new and become familiar with it. I love to deal with researches and want to develop in the field of writing. Moreover, I started moving in this direction! I work as a writer for Admission-Essays.org , which provides essay editing service. If you have any questions concerning education, I'm always ready to help. Here are my contacts: FB (https://www.facebook.com/nellie.aldridge.3) and G+ (https://plus.google.com/u/3/100898603848701478113/posts).

Horses on the Trip

>> Aug 3, 2013

Captured on a toll road. There were three horses on the truck. They looked comfortable enough.

Camera Critters

Is Your Aging Parent Another Child in the House? How to Handle This

Speaking from personal experience I can say that having an elder parent living in your house is way more fun than people think it is. Sure they might piss you off every now and again, but that is why God, in all his infinite wisdom, invented compassion towards the helpless/hopeless. When my father was first diagnosed with dementia, we all though that this was the end of Grandpa Jack as we knew him. The doctor warned us about some of the things we could expect through the course of the illness and we made bloody sure that he was well taken care of until then. We gave him all the best 'brain foods' we can afford as well as providing him with all the crosswords and all the on-line poker he can handle. Keeping his brain moving and ticking was our number one priority, for when that part of him short-circuits and fails, he was as good as gone. Eventually the disease caught up with the poor old fool, and we were left to deal will all the ramifications associated with looking after my senile father.

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Knowing is half the battle!

What I recommend here is that you educate yourself about the exact condition of the elder person in question. If your parent or grandparent is not diagnosed with any particular illness, you should still observe their condition just in case the doctors missed something. Any inappropriate mood swings, changes in speech and behavior are a clear indication that something is afoot, and you should take preventative measures before it is too late!

Arm yourself with patience.

It is not your parents' fault they are loosing their minds, so you shouldn't make a big deal when said parents forgets to turn off the stove. Sure they can start a few fires, but the way you approach them about it you should never be patronizing, demeaning or otherwise a bastard to them in any way. Remember that they were once people too! Repeating yourself like 100 times a day and arguing about mysterious misplaced/stolen belongings should never make you feel angry or spiteful. Calmly but assertively tell the elder that they are wrong, and if they still insist on deluding themselves further, just forget about the whole thing altogether; they sure will.

Make them take their medication.

If you have been looking after an elder person for a while, you would know that they are usually dropping lots and lots of prescription drugs. Blue pills, red pills, little yellow square pills, whatever! Because of their condition however, they would no longer be able to remember to take said medication, which mean you must find the time to supply it to them yourself. Like I said, patience is the key that opens the doors of success!

Treat them like you would treat any other person

If your mom or dad is acting like a child, that is because they think like a child. Now if you are one upstanding person, you would know that treating a child like its an object rather than an individual can have some pretty negative consequences on child's dignity and self-esteem. Senile old people deserve the same rights and privileges as the rest of us have, maybe even more! And because they have given most their youth raising you, you should at least give some of your time helping them! Do not send them away to some third-rate retirement home, unless you want your children to do the same to you! Smile, laugh and let nature run its course!

Author Bio: Jessica Connars is blogger, writer and family lover. She has a small company that provides home deep cleaning but her real dream is to be a professional blogger.