Month: October 2020

What if?!!!………….Ganga White

| Chandru Gidwani

What if our religion was each other?
If our practice was our life? If prayer was our words?
What if the Temple was the Earth?
If forests were our church?
If holy water – the river, lakes, and oceans?
What if meditation was our relationships? If the Teacher was life?
If wisdom was self-knowledge? If love was the center of our being?

– Ganga White

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Alfred Noble Story of Nobel Prizes….Shared by Dhawans

| Chandru Gidwani

*How a mistaken obituary led to the Nobel Prizes!*

Can you imagine reading your own obituary in the newspaper?

What would people say about you?

Alfred Nobel got the chance to read his own death notice, and he didn’t like what he saw.

Alfred Nobel was a very wealthy and successful man. He had become an expert in chemistry and invented three of the most commonly used explosives in the world – dynamite, gelignite (used in mining) and ballistite, which is still used as a rocket propellant today.

With the huge fortune he made from these inventions, Nobel bought an engineering company called Bofors and turned it into an arms manufacturer. He made another enormous fortune designing cannons and guns and selling them around the world.

Then, in 1888, Alfred’s brother died while visiting France.

A French newspaper thought it was Alfred who had died and they published an obituary that began like this: THE MERCHANT OF DEATH IS DEAD. Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday….

Alfred Nobel was shocked. Was this what people thought of him? Was this the legacy he would leave to the world?

That’s when he decided to use his vast wealth to make a positive difference. Nobel set up a foundation with $250 million dollars in funding. Every year the foundation would consult the leading experts in the world and hand out prizes to people who had made great contributions to humanity. There would be prizes for sciences, for literature, and for promoting peace.

Today the Nobel Prizes are probably the best known and most prestigious awards in the world. They have been awarded to great scientists, authors and activists and helped draw attention to many outstanding works and worthy causes.
🏅🎖🎖🏅
Nobel set up his foundation in 1895: just in time to influence his own obituary. He died only a year later. The Nobel Prizes accomplished his wish; they created a very different legacy for him than a reputation as *The Merchant of Death.*

He is not remembered as an explosives inventor or arms dealer, but as one of the greatest philanthropists of all time. He is also a great example of how it is never too late to change your life and help make the world a better place.

That is the story of *Alfred Noble* and the legacy of *Noble Prizes*.

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The Naked Truth…Kahlil Gibran….Shared by Jinny Gidwani

| Chandru Gidwani

According to a 19th century legend, the *Truth* and the *Lie* met one day.

The Lie said to the Truth:
“It’s a marvellous day today”!

The Truth looked up to the skies and sighed, for the day was really beautiful.

They spent a lot of time together.

Finally, arriving beside a well, the Lie tells the Truth:
“The water is very nice, let’s take a bath together!”

The Truth, once again suspicious, tests the water and discovers that it indeed is very nice.

They undress and start bathing…………

Suddenly, the Lie comes out of the water, puts on the clothes of the Truth and runs away.
The furious Truth comes out of the well and runs everywhere to find the Lie and to get her clothes back.

*The World, seeing the Truth naked, turns its gaze away, with contempt and rage.*

The poor Truth returns to the well and disappears forever, hiding therein, its shame.

Since then, the *Lie* travels around the world, dressed as the *Truth*, satisfying the needs of society, because, the World, in any case, *”Harbours no wish at all to meet the naked Truth”.*

……………..By Kahlil Gibran

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When God Whispers Your Name….Max Lucado

| Chandru Gidwani

I CHOOSE LOVE…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love.
Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . .the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings,
created by God.

I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so.
Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment
to pray.
Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.
And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will be overlooked before I will boast.
I will confess before I will accuse.
I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…

Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust.
My associates will not question my word.
My wife will not question my love.
And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL…

I am a spiritual being….
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal.
I choose self-control.
I will be drunk only by joy.
I will be impassioned only by faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. To these I commit my day.

If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek his grace.

And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Things You Learn as You Let Go of the Uncontrollable…Marc and Angel

| Chandru Gidwani

Things will continue to happen that are unexpected, undesirable, and uncontrollable. But YOU CAN choose to take the next step…

Closing the door, completing the chapter, turning the page, etc.—it doesn’t matter what you title it; what matters is that you find the strength to leave in the past those parts of your life that are over and changed. Right now, it’s all about embracing the truth: What has happened is uncontrollable; what you do now changes everything!

Of course, knowing this and actually living a lifestyle that reinforces this truth are two very different things. Letting go of the old way is NOT easy—it’s a journey that’s traveled one day at a time. But if you start today and stick with it, here’s what your journey will ultimately teach you in the weeks ahead:

1. The most powerful changes happen in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over everything you don’t.

2. Most people make themselves unhappy simply by finding it impossible to accept life just as it is presenting itself right now.

3. The secret to getting ahead today is to focus all of your energy not on fixing and fighting the old and unchangeable, but on building and growing something new and different.

4. Stepping onto a brand new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation that no longer fits, or no longer exists.

5. Letting go doesn’t mean you don’t care about something or someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only thing you really have control over is yourself in this moment.

Think about how these points relate to your life right now.

Your present response is always more powerful than your present circumstance.