Life and Spirituality

E arlier posts in this blog and a companion one mentioned that with reducing manufacturing jobs in the developed world, many jobs could be created by a return back to the land. A postmodern concept was described so that farm lands are in narrow strips along a main road so that a farming rural area can enjoy the advantages of living in a town or city simultaneously. The configuration ends up with a town in front of the home and a rural farming area at the back. A village designed on this concept is described here http://steamcenter.blogspot.in/2014/05/postmodern-designer-villages.html Another post in this blog has described a humane and economical shelter for the homeless called HISA that has semi dormitory style accommodation and a free kitchen. It is described here http://someitemshave.blogspot.in/2013/01/designing-shelters-for-homeless_13.html A condition for getting accommodation in a HISA was suggested that all residents shall submit fifty percent of their ...

I f you live in a crowded city but love nature you probably dream of a cottage in the country side or a small quaint village surrounded by green forests or fields. The time to build one is when one is still young enough. One could visit that for holidays and perhaps later even retire in it. There are several designs for it in this blog earlier. Here is one that has essentially one large room plus a smaller entrance lobby.  The kitchen and bathroom have been made large so as to make life lovely and pleasant even in a one room cottage. The entrance lobby will however seat four comfortably when the couple next door drop in for tea or a chat and they do not have to be invited in the large bed cum living room. Alternatively the kitchen table is also a nice table for a chat and cup of tea or meal with a neighbor.  the cottage is comfortable enough to live permanently in if one wished to when children have grown up and a single person or a couple is left to complete the j...

A round seven billion humans inhabit the earth. Many others have come and gone in the past, each with a unique personality, life and destiny. Each has his or her own personal journey that can be appreciated fully by  that person alone. What appears as a good life to others may not really be so and vice versa. What decides the unique life of each human? All the causes that go in to determining this can be grouped into three: 1. Conditions we inherit at birth 2. Our choices, thoughts and actions through life 3. External causes outside of us that influence our lives 1. Conditions at Birth: Genes that we inherit at birth decide how we look and to a large extent how we behave. We inherit many personality traits that determine how we shall act and behave through life. Besides this, we inherit a set of parents, country; place etc. All this has an intimate influence on how life turns out. 2. Choices, thoughts and action Every moment of our lives a huma...

Colors of Christmas white, red and green in the home of the author and a touch of yellow sunshine, a wish of happiness for all from it Wishing all readers a Merry C hristmas and a Happy New year “And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” ― Meister Eckhart

A Vegetarian (lovegan style) dinner S everal earlier articles in this blog have reported that it seems a vegetarian diet is a healthier one provided it is well balanced and that it leads to lower incidence of diseases with age. It was also pointed out that some of the strongest and longest lived persons on the planet are those who are vegetarians or nearly so. However this claim was based merely on anecdotal and intuitive evidence and not on a scientific study. Now a detailed scientific study backs these claims. The study was conducted by Oxford University. To quote from a report online at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Vegetarians-lead-a-healthier-life-than-meat-eaters-Oxford-study/articleshow/50226456.cms “The study, conducted by the Oxford University and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is one of the largest analysis piloted on the subject and involved two prospective studies that covered 60,310 persons living in the Unit...

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/   “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ― Meister Eckhart W hile we need to thank the Almighty God for everything he grants without asking as often as we can, every now and then we run into problems in life for which there seems to be no easy solution even though we may do all the right things to overcome them. The problems could be huge ones as those in Syria now or little ones that are less serious but nevertheless serve to disrupt our peace of mind. At such moments, those who believe in the Lord can do something. They can pray to God and tell Him about the problem, request his help, leaving it to Him to do what is best. He surely shall. It may not be the same solution that we had wished for but it would be the right thing, best for all concerned. One must have faith in that solution and abide by it and it shall lead to peace with the grace of the Lord. One does not have to deal with every...

  Still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert   (1573–1621 ) W hile the common green and black tea is popular, it is by no means the only herb or flower that can prepare a good cup. Flowers not only add joy and beauty to fields and gardens but many are full of medicinal value too. A huge number of flowers are edible and many make an excellent tea from fresh or dried flowers. Very many have excellent health giving and tonic properties too and a few have been discussed in earlier articles of this blog. Prepared with a proper selection and process it may be regarded as the tea of the gods. A floral tea may be prepared from a single flower or a mix of two or more. While a few floral teas are available in the market, it is a better idea to prepare your own from flowers you have grown and picked yourself and discover your own mix just as long as you know which flowers are edible and pleasant in tea. Try different flowers that grow in your area to see the ones you like b...