The web is a powerful tool that can make you powerful too, since it can easily help you learn new skills. You just have to know where to look. A search in Google, Bing or Yahoo is useful but it can take you some time. So, these are the top 40 sites that can help you learn new skills:
1. Hack a Day – Hack a Day serves up fresh hacks (short tutorials) every day from around the web and one in-depth ‘How-To hack’ guide each week.
2. eHow – eHow is an online community dedicated to providing visitors the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.
3. Wired How-To Wiki – Collaborate with Wired editors and help them build their extensive library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips. Browse through hundreds how-to articles and then add to them, or start a new one.
4. MAKE Magazine – Brings the do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset to all of the technology in your life. MAKE is loaded with cool DIY projects that help you make the most of the technology you already own.
5. 50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do – While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do. It’s a great starting point to learn new skills.
6. wikiHow – A user based collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual.
7. Lifehacker – An award-winning daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently.
8. 100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time – Today, knowing how to use Google effectively is a vital skill. This list links out to enough Google related resources to make you an elite Google hacker.
9. Instructables – Similar to MAKE, Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others as the tackle new projects and learn new skills.
10. Merriam-Webster Online – In this digital age, your ability to communicate with written English is paramount skill. And M-W.com is the perfect resource to improve your English now.
11. Lumosity – Learn to improve your memory by playing a series of fun and educational brain training games.
12. 100 Skills Every Man Should Know – Another compilation article with instructions to help you learn new skills. This one says it’s geared for men, but I think most of these skills are applicable to women as well.
13. 5min Life Videopedia – Lot’s of great tutorials and DIY videos.
14. HowStuffWorks – Knowledge is power. While this site isn’t exactly geared to help you learn new skills, it contains so much useful information that you’re bound to learn a skill or two while you browse.
15. StumbleUpon – A collective set of recommendations from thousands of hours of searching by web users who share your interests. It’s basically a recommendation engine. Users add to this engine by providing their personal recommendations on what sites are worth your time. If you select topics and tags of interest like ‘Self-Improvement‘ and ‘DIY,’ you’ll be learning new skills in no time.
16. Work – An extensive directory of how-to guides for beginning entrepreneurs.
17. Howcast – Hosts professional how-to videos as well as how-to wiki tutorials. Howcast combines user ideas with the expertise of professional studio video to deliver what is nothing short of amazing, informative content.
18. VideoJug - The video content on this site covers a variety of topics including informative ‘How To’ and ‘Ask The Expert’ films that guide you step-by-step through everything and anything in life.
19. MakeUseOf – A booming daily blog that features cool websites, computer tips, and downloads that make you more productive. Lot’s of insightful tips and tricks to learn.
20. WonderHowTo – This site is focused on one clear organizing principle: aggregating and linking to truly great, free how-to videos from which you can learn new skills.
21. SuTree – Another useful aggregator of how-to videos from all around the web.
22. Zen Habits – The ultimate productivity and self-improvement blog. Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, and find happiness. Lot’s of learning material here.
23. Academic Earth – Online degrees and video courses from leading universities.
24. About.com Videos – Another solid collection of how-to video tutorials.
25. PCWorld How-To – Lot’s of useful tutorials and guides related to fixing and modifying computers and other electronic gadgets.
26. Spreeder – This site is focused on teaching you one new skill: speed reading. And it does a great job of doing so.
27. Woopid – Watch free technology training videos. Get help and answer your computer and gadget questions with thousands of video tutorials for PCs, Macs, and various software applications.
28. DIY Network – A go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement projects. The site offers expert answers the most sought-after questions regarding creative projects for DIY enthusiasts.
29. Scitable – A free science library and personal learning tool that currently concentrates on genetics, the study of evolution, variation, and the rich complexity of living organisms. The site also expects to expand into other topics of learning and education.
30. All Recipes – A complete guide to recipes and cooking tips. If you’d like to learn to be a better cook, this site is for you.
31. 43 Folders – This site is more about inspiring you to follow-through with your goals than it is about learning new skills. But I think following-through with your goals is a skill. Most people never quite get there.
32. Dumb Little Man – Another awesome productivity and self-improvement blog hosting lots of useful information.
33. iTunes U – Hundreds of universities — including Stanford, Yale and MIT — distribute lectures, slide shows, PDFs, films, exhibit tours and audio books through iTunes U. The Science section alone contains content on topics including agriculture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, ecology and geography.
34. American Sign Language Browser – Teach yourself sign language online.
35. BBC Languages – Teach yourself a new spoken language online.
36. Delicious Popular DIY – Lots of popular DIY articles bookmarked by users from all over the web.
37. Khan Academy – Over 1200 videos lessons covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology and finance. Lot’s of educational material to help you learn new skills.
38. The Happiness Project – Learn the skills necessary to create happiness in your life.
39. How To Do Things – Another solid collection of how-to tutorials.
40. ShowMeDo – A peer-produced video-tutorials and screencasts site for free and open-source software. The large majority are free to watch and download.
Source: Marc And Angel via I Heart Intelligence
2014-12-24
22 Sarcastic Zen Phrases
1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.
1. Nekracaj za mnou, pretoze mozno nedokazem viest. Nekracaj predomnou, mozno neviem nasledovat. A nekracaj ani vedla mna. Len ma jednoducho do pekla nechaj tak.
2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.
2. Cesta tisicich mil zacina pokazenym ventilatorom, remenom a prepichnutou pneumatikou.
3. It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
4. Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.
5. Always remember that you’re unique. Just like everyone else.
6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
7. If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
9. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
9. Ak nezvyknes uspiet na prvy pokus, tak skydiving nie je pre teba.
10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
11. If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
11. Ak si niekomu pozical £20 a uz si ho viac krat nevidel, tak to pravdepodobne stalo za to.
12. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
12. Ak hovoris pravdu, tak si nemusis nic pamatat.
13. Some days you’re the bug; some days you’re the windshield.
14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.
15. Najrychlejsi sposob ako zdvojnasobit svoje peniaze je prelozit ich na polovicu a vratit do kapsy.
16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
17. Duct tape is like ‘The Force’. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
19. Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your lips are moving.
20. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
22. Nikdy za ziadnych okolnosti neber tabletku na spanie a prehanadlo tej istej noci.
By: Higherperspective Via: Themindawakened
1. Nekracaj za mnou, pretoze mozno nedokazem viest. Nekracaj predomnou, mozno neviem nasledovat. A nekracaj ani vedla mna. Len ma jednoducho do pekla nechaj tak.
2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.
2. Cesta tisicich mil zacina pokazenym ventilatorom, remenom a prepichnutou pneumatikou.
3. It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
4. Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.
5. Always remember that you’re unique. Just like everyone else.
6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
7. If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
9. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
9. Ak nezvyknes uspiet na prvy pokus, tak skydiving nie je pre teba.
10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
11. If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
11. Ak si niekomu pozical £20 a uz si ho viac krat nevidel, tak to pravdepodobne stalo za to.
12. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
12. Ak hovoris pravdu, tak si nemusis nic pamatat.
13. Some days you’re the bug; some days you’re the windshield.
14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.
15. Najrychlejsi sposob ako zdvojnasobit svoje peniaze je prelozit ich na polovicu a vratit do kapsy.
16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
17. Duct tape is like ‘The Force’. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
19. Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your lips are moving.
20. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
22. Nikdy za ziadnych okolnosti neber tabletku na spanie a prehanadlo tej istej noci.
By: Higherperspective Via: Themindawakened
2014-12-22
Do You Still Get Angry? Read This and Then Decide!
Si stale nahnevany? precitaj si toto a potom sa rozhodni!
One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.”
Jedneho dna sa Buddha prechadzal po dedine. Jeden velmi nahnevany, nevychovany mlady muz prisiel k nemu a zacal ho napadat. "Nemas pravo ucit druhych" zakrical nanho. "Si rovnako hlupy ako vsetci ostatni. Nie si nic, len si vymyslas."
Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?
Buddhu sa to vobec nedotklo. Namiesto toho sa mladeho muza opytal: "Povedz mi, ak kupis darcek pre niekoho a on si ho nevezme, komu bude tento darcek patrit?"
”The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.”
Muz bol zaskoceny takou neobvyklou otazkou a odpovedal: "Mal by patrit mne, pretoze ja som ho kupil."
The Buddha smiled and said, ”That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”
Buddha sa usmial a povedal: "Spravne. A presne tak isto to je aj s tvojim hnevom. Ak si nahnevany a ja zostanem nedotknuty tvojim hnevom, tak tvoj hnev padne na teba. Ty si potom jediny kto zostane nestastny, nie ja. Jedine coho dosiahnes je ze ublizis sam sebe.
“If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy.”
Ak chces zastavit toto sebeublizovanie, musis sa zbavit hnevu a namiesto toho sa stat milujucim. Ked nenavidis ostatnych, ty sam sa stanes nestastnym. Ale ked milujes ostatnych, kazdy je stastny.
Source : www.thebuddhism.net
One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.”
Jedneho dna sa Buddha prechadzal po dedine. Jeden velmi nahnevany, nevychovany mlady muz prisiel k nemu a zacal ho napadat. "Nemas pravo ucit druhych" zakrical nanho. "Si rovnako hlupy ako vsetci ostatni. Nie si nic, len si vymyslas."
Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?
Buddhu sa to vobec nedotklo. Namiesto toho sa mladeho muza opytal: "Povedz mi, ak kupis darcek pre niekoho a on si ho nevezme, komu bude tento darcek patrit?"
”The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.”
Muz bol zaskoceny takou neobvyklou otazkou a odpovedal: "Mal by patrit mne, pretoze ja som ho kupil."
The Buddha smiled and said, ”That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”
Buddha sa usmial a povedal: "Spravne. A presne tak isto to je aj s tvojim hnevom. Ak si nahnevany a ja zostanem nedotknuty tvojim hnevom, tak tvoj hnev padne na teba. Ty si potom jediny kto zostane nestastny, nie ja. Jedine coho dosiahnes je ze ublizis sam sebe.
“If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy.”
Ak chces zastavit toto sebeublizovanie, musis sa zbavit hnevu a namiesto toho sa stat milujucim. Ked nenavidis ostatnych, ty sam sa stanes nestastnym. Ale ked milujes ostatnych, kazdy je stastny.
Source : www.thebuddhism.net
12 Little Known Laws Of Karma That Will Change Your Life
What is Karma? Karma is the Sanskrit word for action. It is equivalent to Newton’s law of ‘every action must have a reaction’. When we think, speak or act we initiate a force that will react accordingly. This returning force maybe modified, changed or suspended, but most people will not be able eradicate it.
This law of cause and effect is not punishment, but is wholly for the sake of education or learning.
This law of cause and effect is not punishment, but is wholly for the sake of education or learning.
A person may not escape the consequences of his actions, but he will suffer only if he himself has made the conditions ripe for his suffering. Ignorance of the law is no excuse whether the laws are man-made or universal.
To stop being afraid and to start being empowered in the worlds of karma and reincarnation, here is what you need to know about karmic laws.
1. THE GREAT LAW
- “As you sow, so shall you reap”. This is also known as the “Law of Cause and Effect”.
- Whatever we put out in the Universe is what comes back to us.
- If what we want is Happiness, Peace, Love, Friendship… Then we should BE Happy, Peaceful, Loving and a True Friend.
2. THE LAW OF CREATION
- Life doesn’t just HAPPEN, it requires our participation.
- We are one with the Universe, both inside and out.
- Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state.
- BE yourself, and surround yourself with what you want to have present in your Life.
3. THE LAW OF HUMILITY
- What you refuse to accept, will continue for you.
- If what we see is an enemy, or someone with a character trait that we find to be negative, then we ourselves are not focused on a higher level of existence.
4. THE LAW OF GROWTH
- “Wherever you go, there you are”.
- For us to GROW in Spirit, it is we who must change – and not the people, places or things around us.
- The only given we have in our lives is OURSELVES and that is the only factor we have control over.
- When we change who and what we are within our heart our life follows suit and changes too.
5. THE LAW OF RESPONSIBILITY
- Whenever there is something wrong in my life, there is something wrong in me.
- We mirror what surrounds us – and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth.
- We must take responsibility what is in our life.
6.THE LAW OF CONNECTION
- Even if something we do seems inconsequential, it is very important that it gets done as everything in the Universe is connected.
- Each step leads to the next step, and so forth and so on.
- Someone must do the initial work to get a job done.
- Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance,
- As they were both needed to accomplish the task.
- Past-Present-Future they are all connected…
7. THE LAW OF FOCUS
- You can not think of two things at the same time.
- When our focus is on Spiritual Values, it is impossible for us to have lower thoughts such as greed or anger.
8. THE LAW OF GIVING AND HOSPITALITY
- If you believe something to be true,then sometime in your life you will be called upon to demonstrate that particular truth.
- Here is where we put what we CLAIM that we have learned, into actual
9. PRACTICE. THE LAW OF HERE AND NOW
- Looking backward to examine what was, prevents us from being totally in the HERE AND NOW.
- Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, old dreams…
- Prevent us from having new ones.
10. THE LAW OF CHANGE
- History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.
11. THE LAW OF PATIENCE AND REWARD
- All Rewards require initial toil.
- Rewards of lasting value require patient and persistent toil.
- True joy follows doing what we’re suppose to be doing, and waiting for the reward to come in on its own time.
12. THE LAW OF SIGNIFICANCE AND INSPIRATION
- You get back from something whatever YOU have put into it.
- The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it.
- Every personal contribution is also a contribution to the Whole.
- Lack luster contributions have no impact on the Whole, nor do they work to diminish it.
- Loving contributions bring life to, and inspire, the Whole.
- Whenever there is something wrong in my life, there is something wrong in me.
- We mirror what surrounds us – and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth.
- We must take responsibility what is in our life.
6.THE LAW OF CONNECTION
- Even if something we do seems inconsequential, it is very important that it gets done as everything in the Universe is connected.
- Each step leads to the next step, and so forth and so on.
- Someone must do the initial work to get a job done.
- Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance,
- As they were both needed to accomplish the task.
- Past-Present-Future they are all connected…
7. THE LAW OF FOCUS
- You can not think of two things at the same time.
- When our focus is on Spiritual Values, it is impossible for us to have lower thoughts such as greed or anger.
8. THE LAW OF GIVING AND HOSPITALITY
- If you believe something to be true,then sometime in your life you will be called upon to demonstrate that particular truth.
- Here is where we put what we CLAIM that we have learned, into actual
9. PRACTICE. THE LAW OF HERE AND NOW
- Looking backward to examine what was, prevents us from being totally in the HERE AND NOW.
- Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, old dreams…
- Prevent us from having new ones.
10. THE LAW OF CHANGE
- History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.
11. THE LAW OF PATIENCE AND REWARD
- All Rewards require initial toil.
- Rewards of lasting value require patient and persistent toil.
- True joy follows doing what we’re suppose to be doing, and waiting for the reward to come in on its own time.
12. THE LAW OF SIGNIFICANCE AND INSPIRATION
- You get back from something whatever YOU have put into it.
- The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it.
- Every personal contribution is also a contribution to the Whole.
- Lack luster contributions have no impact on the Whole, nor do they work to diminish it.
- Loving contributions bring life to, and inspire, the Whole.
Source : livebuddhism.com
2014-11-30
The Key To Happiness, According To 3 Greek Philosophers (Epictetus, Epicurus and Aristotle).
Every logical person would advise us to use some analytical directions to reach happiness or else we could get lost. But how could we satisfy this common need, this common search for happiness?
Greek philosophers gave many answers to that question. Terms such as knowledge and self-awareness, self-improvement, moral virtue, kindness, harmony, freedom and self control are some of the "tools" Greek philosophers suggested as ideal for happiness. Such philosophers are Epictetus, Epicurus and Aristotle: use their "map" on your way to happiness.
Survival Guide, by Epictetus
Epictetus (A.D. c. 55 – 135) could be the "father" of a specific phrase: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.".
The Garden, by Epicurus
Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300 written works remain. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators.
An inscription on the gate to The Garden is recorded by Seneca in epistle XXI of Epistulae morales ad Lucilium: "Stranger, here you will do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure"
Eudaimonia in Aristotelian ethics
His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.
Aristotle considered ethics to be a practical rather than theoretical study, i.e., one aimed at becoming good and doing good rather than knowing for its own sake. He wrote several treatises on ethics, including most notably, the Nicomachean Ethics.
Aristotle taught that virtue has to do with the proper function (ergon) of a thing. An eye is only a good eye in so much as it can see, because the proper function of an eye is sight. Aristotle reasoned that humans must have a function specific to humans, and that this function must be an activity of the psuchē (normally translated as soul) in accordance with reason (logos). Aristotle identified such an optimum activity of the soul as the aim of all human deliberate action, eudaimonia, generally translated as "happiness" or sometimes "well being". To have the potential of ever being happy in this way necessarily requires a good character (ēthikē aretē), often translated as moral (or ethical) virtue (or excellence).
References: Huffington Post Gr, Wikipedia
Greek philosophers gave many answers to that question. Terms such as knowledge and self-awareness, self-improvement, moral virtue, kindness, harmony, freedom and self control are some of the "tools" Greek philosophers suggested as ideal for happiness. Such philosophers are Epictetus, Epicurus and Aristotle: use their "map" on your way to happiness.
Epictetus (A.D. c. 55 – 135) could be the "father" of a specific phrase: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.".
Practise then from the start to say to every harsh impression, "You are an impression, and not at all the thing you appear to be." Then examine it and test it by these rules you have, and firstly, and chiefly, by this: whether the impression has to do with the things that are up to us, or those that are not; and if it has to do with the things that are not up to us, be ready to reply, "It is nothing to me."Philosophy, Epictetus taught, is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.
"Consider yourself as a slave or as a free being, it depends only on you."
Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300 written works remain. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators.
It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly,For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia—peace and freedom from fear—and aponia—the absence of pain—and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.
and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.
Natural justice is a symbol or expression of usefullness, to prevent one person from harming or being harmed by another.
An inscription on the gate to The Garden is recorded by Seneca in epistle XXI of Epistulae morales ad Lucilium: "Stranger, here you will do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure"
Since happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue, we must consider the nature of virtue; for perhaps, we shall, thus, see better the nature of happiness.Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the Macedonian city of Stagirus, in 384 BCE. He believed all peoples' concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.
His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.
Aristotle considered ethics to be a practical rather than theoretical study, i.e., one aimed at becoming good and doing good rather than knowing for its own sake. He wrote several treatises on ethics, including most notably, the Nicomachean Ethics.
Aristotle taught that virtue has to do with the proper function (ergon) of a thing. An eye is only a good eye in so much as it can see, because the proper function of an eye is sight. Aristotle reasoned that humans must have a function specific to humans, and that this function must be an activity of the psuchē (normally translated as soul) in accordance with reason (logos). Aristotle identified such an optimum activity of the soul as the aim of all human deliberate action, eudaimonia, generally translated as "happiness" or sometimes "well being". To have the potential of ever being happy in this way necessarily requires a good character (ēthikē aretē), often translated as moral (or ethical) virtue (or excellence).
References: Huffington Post Gr, Wikipedia
2014-11-07
27 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Eckhart Tolle
27 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Eckhart Tolle
I love Eckhart Tolle. I remember reading his book,The Power of Now in 2010 and from that moment on, whenever I feel that my mind is drifting, making too much noise and keeping me from being fully present and engaged in the NOW, I immediately go back to reading his book. I have learned so many wonderful lessons from reading his inspiring books, watching his lectures, and today I would like to share 27 of these life changing lessons with you.
Enjoy !
1. THE PRESENT MOMENT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING THERE IS.
“People don’t realize that now is all there ever is; there is no past or future except as memory or anticipation in your mind.”
“…the past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions.”
“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”
“Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment.”
“Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now.”
“As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love – even the most simple action.”
2. WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE TOTALLY.
“Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.”
3. ALWAYS SAY “YES” TO THE PRESENT MOMENT.
“Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.”
“Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.”
“Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.”
4. LIFE WILL GIVE YOU WHATEVER EXPERIENCE IS MOST HELPFUL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.
“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”
5. DON’T TAKE LIFE SO SERIOUSLY.
“Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be.”
6. LOVE IS NOT TO BE FOUND OUTSIDE OF YOU.
“Love is a state of Being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you.”
7. THE MORE YOU DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE, THE MORE OBSESSED WITH NEGATIVE THINGS YOUR MIND BECOMES.
“People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on.”
8. WHEN YOU COMPLAIN, YOU MAKE YOURSELF INTO A VICTIM.
“To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”
9. THERE IS A FINE BALANCE BETWEEN HONORING THE PAST AND LOSING YOURSELF IN IT.
“There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it. For example, you can acknowledge and learn from mistakes you made, and then move on and refocus on the now. It is called forgiving yourself.”
10. LETTING GO REQUIRES STRENGTH AND A LOT OF COURAGE.
“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.”
“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
11. YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING NOT A HUMAN DOING.
“In today’s rush we all think too much, seek too much, want too much and forget about the joy of just Being.”
12. GIVE UP DEFINING YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
“Defining yourself through thought is limiting yourself.”
“Give up defining yourself – to yourself or to others. You won’t die. You will come to life. And don’t be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it’s their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don’t be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.”
“Once you have identified with some form of negativity, you do not want to let it go, and on a deeply unconscious level, you do not want positive change. It would threaten your identity as a depressed, angry or hard-done by person. You will then ignore, deny or sabotage the positive in your life. This is a common phenomenon. It is also insane.”
13. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR MIND.
“On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.”
“To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time: the compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation.”
“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.”
“Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not ‘yours,’ not personal. They are conditions of the human mind. They come and go. Nothing that comes and goes is you.”
“The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not “the thinker.” The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence. You also realize that all the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken.”
14. WHERE THERE IS TRUE LOVE, THERE IS NO EGO.
“A genuine relationship is one that is not dominated by the ego with its image-making and self-seeking. In a genuine relationship, there is an outward flow of open, alert attention toward the other person in which there is no wanting whatsoever.”
15. WHATEVER YOU FIGHT, YOU STRENGTHEN, AND WHAT YOU RESIST, PERSISTS.
“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly.
Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them – while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.”
“What you react to in others, you strengthen in yourself.”
“Anything that you resent and strongly react to in another is also in you.”
“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.”
16. POWER OVER OTHERS IS WEAKNESS DISGUISED AS STRENGTH.
“Power over others is weakness disguised as strength.True power if within, and it is available to you now.”
17. EVERY ADDICTION STARTS WITH PAIN AND ENDS WITH PAIN.
“Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain. Whatever the substance you are addicted to – alcohol, food, legal or illegal drugs, or a person – you are using something or somebody to cover up your pain.”
18. EXCLUSIVITY IS NOT THE LOVE OF GOD BUT THE “LOVE” OF EGO.
“Love is not selective, just as the light of the sun is not selective. It does not make one person special. It is not exclusive. Exclusivity is not the love of God but the “love” of ego. However, the intensity with which true love is felt can vary. There may be one person who reflects your love back to you more clearly and more intensely than others, and if that person feels the same toward you, it can be said that you are in a love relationship with him or her. The bond that connects you with that person is the same bond that connects you with the person sitting next to you on a bus, or with a bird, a tree, a flower. Only the degree of intensity with which it is felt differs.”
19. SEEK TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY.
“Authentic human interactions become impossible when you lose yourself in a role.”
“Living up to an image that you have of yourself or that other people have of you is inauthentic living.”
20. WE DON’T “SEE” GOD AS HE IS, WE SEE GOD AS WE ARE.
“Man made God in his own image…”
21. SEEKING IS THE ANTITHESIS OF HAPPINESS.
“Don’t Seek Happiness. If you seek it, you won’t find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness.”
“Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace? Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not.”
22. WHAT YOU GIVE IS WHAT YOU GET.
“For what you do to others, you do to yourself.”
23. ANY ACTION IS OFTEN BETTER THAN NO ACTION.
“Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it’s no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.”
24. IF YOU MAKE THE FOUNTAIN PURE, ALL WILL BE PURE.
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without.”
25. THE MIND IS A SUPERB INSTRUMENT IF USED RIGHTLY.
“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive. To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly — you usually don’t use it at all. It uses you. This is the disease. You believe that you are your mind. This is the delusion. The instrument has taken you over.”
26. WORRY IS A WASTE OF TIME.
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.”
27. IF THE STRUCTURES OF THE HUMAN MIND REMAIN UNCHANGED, WE WILL ALWAYS END UP RE-CREATING THE SAME WORLD.
“Humanity is now faced with a stark choice: Evolve or die. … If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction.”
What is your favorite quote from Eckhart Tolle? What is the one lesson you have learned from this beautiful and incredible Soul? You can share your insights by joining the conversation in the comment section below .
With all my love,
Credits : PurposeFairy
Via : www.Themindunleashed.org
Enjoy !
1. THE PRESENT MOMENT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING THERE IS.
“People don’t realize that now is all there ever is; there is no past or future except as memory or anticipation in your mind.”
“…the past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions.”
“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”
“Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment.”
“Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now.”
“As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love – even the most simple action.”
2. WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE TOTALLY.
“Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.”
3. ALWAYS SAY “YES” TO THE PRESENT MOMENT.
“Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.”
“Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.”
“Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.”
4. LIFE WILL GIVE YOU WHATEVER EXPERIENCE IS MOST HELPFUL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.
“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”
5. DON’T TAKE LIFE SO SERIOUSLY.
“Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be.”
6. LOVE IS NOT TO BE FOUND OUTSIDE OF YOU.
“Love is a state of Being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you.”
7. THE MORE YOU DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE, THE MORE OBSESSED WITH NEGATIVE THINGS YOUR MIND BECOMES.
“People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on.”
8. WHEN YOU COMPLAIN, YOU MAKE YOURSELF INTO A VICTIM.
“To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”
9. THERE IS A FINE BALANCE BETWEEN HONORING THE PAST AND LOSING YOURSELF IN IT.
“There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it. For example, you can acknowledge and learn from mistakes you made, and then move on and refocus on the now. It is called forgiving yourself.”
10. LETTING GO REQUIRES STRENGTH AND A LOT OF COURAGE.
“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.”
“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
11. YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING NOT A HUMAN DOING.
“In today’s rush we all think too much, seek too much, want too much and forget about the joy of just Being.”
12. GIVE UP DEFINING YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
“Defining yourself through thought is limiting yourself.”
“Give up defining yourself – to yourself or to others. You won’t die. You will come to life. And don’t be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it’s their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don’t be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.”
“Once you have identified with some form of negativity, you do not want to let it go, and on a deeply unconscious level, you do not want positive change. It would threaten your identity as a depressed, angry or hard-done by person. You will then ignore, deny or sabotage the positive in your life. This is a common phenomenon. It is also insane.”
13. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR MIND.
“On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.”
“To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time: the compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation.”
“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.”
“Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not ‘yours,’ not personal. They are conditions of the human mind. They come and go. Nothing that comes and goes is you.”
“The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not “the thinker.” The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence. You also realize that all the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken.”
14. WHERE THERE IS TRUE LOVE, THERE IS NO EGO.
“A genuine relationship is one that is not dominated by the ego with its image-making and self-seeking. In a genuine relationship, there is an outward flow of open, alert attention toward the other person in which there is no wanting whatsoever.”
15. WHATEVER YOU FIGHT, YOU STRENGTHEN, AND WHAT YOU RESIST, PERSISTS.
“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly.
Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them – while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.”
“What you react to in others, you strengthen in yourself.”
“Anything that you resent and strongly react to in another is also in you.”
“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.”
16. POWER OVER OTHERS IS WEAKNESS DISGUISED AS STRENGTH.
“Power over others is weakness disguised as strength.True power if within, and it is available to you now.”
17. EVERY ADDICTION STARTS WITH PAIN AND ENDS WITH PAIN.
“Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain. Whatever the substance you are addicted to – alcohol, food, legal or illegal drugs, or a person – you are using something or somebody to cover up your pain.”
18. EXCLUSIVITY IS NOT THE LOVE OF GOD BUT THE “LOVE” OF EGO.
“Love is not selective, just as the light of the sun is not selective. It does not make one person special. It is not exclusive. Exclusivity is not the love of God but the “love” of ego. However, the intensity with which true love is felt can vary. There may be one person who reflects your love back to you more clearly and more intensely than others, and if that person feels the same toward you, it can be said that you are in a love relationship with him or her. The bond that connects you with that person is the same bond that connects you with the person sitting next to you on a bus, or with a bird, a tree, a flower. Only the degree of intensity with which it is felt differs.”
19. SEEK TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY.
“Authentic human interactions become impossible when you lose yourself in a role.”
“Living up to an image that you have of yourself or that other people have of you is inauthentic living.”
20. WE DON’T “SEE” GOD AS HE IS, WE SEE GOD AS WE ARE.
“Man made God in his own image…”
21. SEEKING IS THE ANTITHESIS OF HAPPINESS.
“Don’t Seek Happiness. If you seek it, you won’t find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness.”
“Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace? Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not.”
22. WHAT YOU GIVE IS WHAT YOU GET.
“For what you do to others, you do to yourself.”
23. ANY ACTION IS OFTEN BETTER THAN NO ACTION.
“Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it’s no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.”
24. IF YOU MAKE THE FOUNTAIN PURE, ALL WILL BE PURE.
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without.”
25. THE MIND IS A SUPERB INSTRUMENT IF USED RIGHTLY.
“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive. To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly — you usually don’t use it at all. It uses you. This is the disease. You believe that you are your mind. This is the delusion. The instrument has taken you over.”
26. WORRY IS A WASTE OF TIME.
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.”
27. IF THE STRUCTURES OF THE HUMAN MIND REMAIN UNCHANGED, WE WILL ALWAYS END UP RE-CREATING THE SAME WORLD.
“Humanity is now faced with a stark choice: Evolve or die. … If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction.”
What is your favorite quote from Eckhart Tolle? What is the one lesson you have learned from this beautiful and incredible Soul? You can share your insights by joining the conversation in the comment section below .
With all my love,
Credits : PurposeFairy
Via : www.Themindunleashed.org
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