AMK Industrial Park 2

A random picture that i took in Jan this year with the construction of a new building in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 against a nice evening sky. Nothing much into it, just the simplicity of seeing something nice, snapping it and presenting it to you =)

Lucky Mini Pumpkins?

A misc shot taken in Chinatown during Chinese New Year's eve.

MPH Warehouse Sale

Reading has always been an integral part of my life. Yes, i love books and more than that, i love to share the joy of reading with my friends and the little ones in my life. A good read is often more satisfying than just playing with toys or electronic games and i'm a strong believer in that. That's one of the reasons why i do not own a handheld electronic gameset such as PSP or Nintendo DS List; i rather hold a good read in my hands anytime.

I also strongly believe that good reading habits has to be cultivated from young and children should try to spend more time reading rather than playing games. It helps them to develop a better command of the language and also increase the creativity of their minds when they start to picture what the author is trying to describe through words.

I'm not against playing games especially if they are educational ones that allows development both internally and externally. Instead, most of the times, children are often seen with games that does not help in developing love, kindness or intellectually. That's the main reason why i usually buy the little ones, novels and books rather than toys or games once they reach a certain age.

There's a MPH Warehouse Sale over the weekend, lots of good bargains and i came home satisfied with 2 full bags of books. Among them, i have Chronicles of Narnia, Marley & Me, Transformers - The Veiled Threat and Heroes - Saving Charlie. The rest are children's reads that i intend to give to the little ones such as High School Musical 3, Winnie the Pooh, O'clock Stories by Enid Blyton. There's also some colouring and fun activity books for the really "little" ones. =)

The Daily Enlightenment

The Daily Enlightenment has been been sharing weekly newsletter on the Dhamma and Buddhist reflections for more than a decade. In the recent years, they have started the print of TDE booklet and it has been a huge success.

For this Vesak, they are launching book 3. If you wish to share in the joy of the gift of Dhamma, below is the link to make an online contribution to it. The Gift of Dhamma Exceeds All Gifts. May you always be well and happy.

http://thedailyenlightenment.com/sponsor

Hear More With Silence

Have you ever wondered if we truly hear nothing when we do not speak or when someone does not reply to the questions we asked? I beg to differ for these may be the times when we truly hear more, more about ourselves than any other times.

Let's try this excercise, sit down in room that is as quiet as you can find. Just sit down and do nothing for a couple of moments. Once our body starts settling down, we will soon notice all the little noises that we usually do not notice, that little creak or squeak or the sound of the fan rotating its blade. All of a sudden, you realise how sharp and acute you can hear those sounds.

After listening to all these sounds (that we hardly notice but which is happening all these times around us) for a couple of minutes, our thoughts may start to wander. Random thoughts will start to arise. We may remember things that have happened in the past or we may start to imagine about things that may happen in the future. Or we may just simply allow our imagination to run around without any boundaries. The best part, we may not even notice that our thoughts are wandering and we are no longer paying attention to our surroundings.

Now, let's start paying attention to these thoughts that arise, do not follow it but be aware of how it arises and how it falls and how another thought takes over. Do it for a few minutes and we will realise how much thoughts we can have in this small space of time, how busy our minds truly are. Yes, you may not believe it but it is truly so; our minds are pretty unsettled. But in these few minutes, you will start to gain a little insight to how our minds truly works and who the person truly is beneath all these buzz of activities. If you get my drift, these are the times we are starting to hear ourselves, our inner thoughts, the person we are, hearing the stuff that truly matters.

Isn't it funny how things work? So, my dear ones, have you heard yourself lately?