Chris Meistre

Next time someone says FU to you, accept it with a smile.  In Chinese, Fu, is a very lucky word.  In fact, it’s the word for LUCK!

Wonderbra National Cleavage Day

Today, 26 March 2010, is National Cleavage Day in South Africa. On first glance it might look like just another excuse for men to look at boobs, but there’s more to it than that.

Every 3 minutes, another woman is being diagnosed with breast cancer throughout the world. I’m not sure of the statistics in South Africa, but in the United Stats, 1 in every 8 women has got breast cancer.

You can read more Breast Cancer Facts on http://www.cleavage.co.za/.

So, National Cleavage Day is all about celebrating what you still have. Be glad that you’re not one of the ladies that have to go through this terrible experience, and at a same time spare a thought for them today.

Bernadette and I decided to put up Cleavage.co.za as a fun website where we’ve put together some information on Cleavage Day and other Breast Cancer information. The brave ladies can also upload an image of their cleavage in support of this day.

WonderBra also has a nice competition running at the moment, check out the picture on the right hand side.

Today’s life has become so fast paced and so busy that I’m willing to put money on the fact that you cannot go 1 hour being around people and not hear at least one person say how busy their life is, or how stressed out they are.

Our stress and tiredness make us feel unhappy, impatient and frustrated. Combine this with the feeling of not having enough hours in a day and you’re a ticking time bomb.

You need to stop and get some quiet time for yourself. This is where meditation comes into the picture. Meditation is not about opening yourself up to evil spirits or praying to a god. It’s about taking time for yourself to make your mind calmer and more focused. You also don’t need to become a Zen master in order to appreciate meditation, because it’s a lot easier than most people think.

A simple ten minute breathing meditation will help you overcome stress and help you on your journey to find inner peace. Using meditation you can become familiar with your own mind and start understanding it. That sounds like a funny thing to say, but how often have you thought to yourself “Who am I?”.

Using meditation you can transform your negative mind to positive and take the un out of the unhappiness.

Here is a guide to a simple breathing meditation:

1. Choose a quiet place to go and sit

Make sure any distractions are switched off. TV, radio, cellphone, etc. The more you do this, the less any distractions will really make a difference.

2. Sit in a comfortable position

The best is to sit in a cross legged position, as you’ll get the most benefit out of your meditation from this position. You’re opening up all your energy points in your body as well as creating an energy force around you. You can even sit on a chair if you want to, just as long as your are comfortable. Try to keep your back straight, as this prevents your mind from becoming sleepy.

3. Close your eyes and listen to your breathing

While sitting, slowly close your eyes. Start focusing on your breathing. Breathing through your nose, do not attempt to control your breathing. Feel the sensation in your nostrils and throat, listen to it as your breath in and out.

4. Keep focusing on your breathing

This is the focus of this meditation. By focusing on your breath, you are getting your mind off other things that are bothering you in your life. Don’t worry if other thoughts come into your mind, just refocus on your breath.

You do this for as long as you feel comfortable doing it. The more you do it, the easier it will become to focus your mind and stop it from drifting off. Do it whenever you feel like you need it, your body will tell you when it’s time.

This is a very basic form of meditation, and perhaps it’s all you need. I’ve found some nice Youtube videos and documents about the different meditation forms.

If you’re interested, below are 6 videos you might want to watch.

How to meditate – Introduction

How to meditate – Part 1

How to meditate – Part 2

How to meditate – Part 3

How to meditate – Part 4

How to meditate – Part 5

Everyone knows the Yin Yang symbol, and for each of us it has a different meaning. Some might associate alternative healing with it, others associate martial arts with it and then there are those that think of spirituality whenever they see it. We see this symbol almost every day in different places, and it’s good to see that a symbol like the Yin Yang can be so universally accepted by people for different reasons.

Yin Yang

People use it as tattoos, on martial art clothing, in jewelery, and website logos. And each time you see it, you can bet that it has a different meaning to the person that used it than to the person that created it.

Images of the Yin Yang Symbol

Where does the Yin Yang symbol originate from though? I searched and researched a bit and found the answer to be quite fascinating. It stems from ancient Chinese Astrology.

After observing the universe for quite some time, they found that it is changing every day. Based on this they were also able to observe seasonal and annual changes and cycles happening.

They decided to start measuring and recording these changes. They observed the sky at night, and recorded the position of the Dipper. During the day they would watch the shadow off a 8 foot pole.

Dipper

With this they were able to determine four directions. Sunset in the direction of West, sunrise in the direction of East, the shortest shadow is South and the longest shadow is North. During the darkness of night, the direction of the Polaris star would be North.

While determining the four directions, they noticed the seasonal changes as well. Whenever the Dipper points towards the East, it would be spring, and when it points to the West, it would be fall. When the Dipper’s point shows towards South, it is summer and when it’s North, it’s winter.

Using the 8 foot pole at a right angle to the earth’s surface, they were also able to determine that a year’s length is 365.25 days. This was done by recording the positions of the shadows.

Now it becomes a bit more complicated. Using the year’s cycle, they divided it into 24 equal segments. Some of the segments include the Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice. Then with six concentric circles they divided the segments into 24 sectors. On this diagram they marked the length of shadow every day using the 8 foot pole.

Marking it in different colors for the Summer Solstice (Yin) and the Winter Solstice (Yang) you were left the following image:

Yin Yang

You will see the ecliptic angle of 23 26’19″ marked on the image. This is the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth. Not saying that the Sun rotates around the Earth! Perhaps this image will provide a clearer understanding of what I mean to say:

Ecliptic Angle

If you look at the Chinese Zodiac, you will see that the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger. According to the Chinese calendar, the Year of 2010 starts on 14 February 2010 and ends on 2 February 2011. The Tiger is also the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle, and it is a sign of bravery. This fiery and courageous fighter was admired by the ancient Chinese as a sign that kept away three of the main household tragedies, namely Fire, Thieves and Ghosts.

Tigers are physically powerful, gracious, brave and independent. They are extremely bold animals, yet they are friendly and loving. Sometimes you’ll also find them being selfish and short tempered. Tigers seek attention and power and they live dangerously which leads them to trouble. They take risks, and are always searching for excitement which together with their dose of courage makes for an interesting life.

The Tiger is seen as a protector. May the Tiger look over us this year!