Giant steps...

Well this post maybe a little late for the occasion but i have had some technical difficulties with my laptop, but anyways .. I would like to dedicate this blog post to the late Neil Armstrong, who died last week at the age of 82.

Picture the scene,21st July 1969 Images streamed across the televisions of the first man to ever set foot on the moon ... Neil Armstrong, with the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

This man changed our society, this kind of exploration was unheard of, and was of course a major leap for mankind. Whilst on the moon, for a total time of 21 hours, Armstrong described what he saw "Powdered charcoal surface"... dispelling the myth that the moon was made of cheese or other wacky suggestions proposed around that time!

Ever since this event, Armstrong was a hero, the man young children aspired to be... come on, everyone wanted to be an astronaut at some point during their childhood! Armstrong achieved what was viewed to be the impossible ... and his legacy lives on. To use the astrological terminology, he gave us the inspiration to "Reach for the stars", demonstrating that not even the sky is a limit! 

RIP Neil Armstrong (1930 - 2012) ... thank you for all your small steps <3

We must reach for the stars!
Vicky x

Noble Prize?!

Alfred Nobel

Today I want to devote this blog post to an inspirational person ... That person is Alfred Nobel, the founder of Nobel Prizes.

Ok so everyone has heard of Nobel Prizes- "the most prestigious award attainable in human achievement". However, what most people do not know, is how it came to be ... This is where Alfred Nobel steps in.

Alfred Nobel, born in Stockholm in 1833, studied chemical engineering which led him to become fascinated with nitro-glycerine, an extremely volatile and explosive liquid. Nobel went on to study the area of explosives in more detail, before starting to develop nitro-glycerine (Of course this being very risky work!) until he eventually succeeded in producing dynamite ... which brought Nobel great wealth and fortune. Unfortunately, it began to be used by countries around the world as weapons of mass destruction.

Nobel greatly disliked the idea that dynamite was being used in such a cruel way despite the fact that it had made it a very wealthy man! So, in an inspirational attempted to right his 'wrong' he left $9 million in his will to establish the Nobel prize, for those who had "conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" 

To most this may seem incredibly paradoxical, but it is extemely inspirational in my opinion. To me, I believe it shows how something amazing and incredible can come from something that is used in weapons of mass destruction.

So a little analogy of this story is the  Lotus flower. The Lotus flower grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface ... 

Like this, we can rise above the suffering and evils in life to become something truly great and inspiring 
Love 
Vicky
x

Worries

Ok so its 1:46am, technically its Thursday morning and hundreds of students across the country will be receiving the ever important A level and As grades, practically deciding their fate, in 5hours and 14 minutes! Ahhhh! What a lot of pressure for 17/18 year olds!
So Im now frantically searching the internet, to find inspiring words of encouragement from literary geniuses, which is supposed to be supportive and inspiring, but at this point, all students will just roll their eyes and glaze over it with pessimism  .... That's the Human of Being, and you know it. Its the perfect opportunity for me to point out the way we are tuned!
But here you go anyways, just in case one of you decides to act optimistic! 

To be honest, I love this motto!

Ok this is a serious one... Its pretty inspiring, despite what is contained in that scary white envelope, or behind that pin code on your screen, dont let in knock you down! Push yourself to fulfill your potential! :D

So for all you guys getting your results today ... You'll be fine, I believe in you

Good Luck!

Love

Vicky

x

Confessions of a compulsive shopper!

So today I am devoting my blog post to my fav girls ... my India Travel group!

A wee picture of us all on our night out in Pune India!

 We went to Belfast as a reunion as we haven't seen each other since we got back from India 3 weeks ago! :O
We are all from different parts of Northern Ireland, Lisburn, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Culleybecky and Enniskillen (Who had to take a lovely 2 and a half hour bus journey!) so getting everyone together is tricky ... But today I have to say I really enjoyed myself with this crazy bunch!
We had a yummy lunch in Nandos then went for a spot of retail therapy, with the girls having to restrain me from buying random rubbish that I really dont need! I love shopping, but my credit card certainly doesnt! :S

My favourite purchase of the day would have to be my Lush bath bomb, which I bought in the hope that it will dissolve in my bath along with my worries of the ever looming exams results on Thursday ... it smells sooo good! :D

Also today, I discovered this gem of a song from Taylor Swift ... We are never ever getting back together! Such a catchy wee tune, listen to it once and I promise you it will be on repeat for the rest of the night! Loving it ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtFFQJiwSxU

Keep smiling
Vicky
x

Green Tara

                Green Tara Foundation ... Women's Empowerment Project.

Aside from all the fun stuff I got to do in India, I also was given the honour of getting involved with a charity called Green Tara, a completely inspiring experience with a story that I will never forget.

Green Tara is a women's empowerment project that works with adolescent girls living in the slum areas around Pune in India. The foundation was founded by Dr Manda Mune, who believes that these girls are an important part of society as future mothers, therefore it is incredibly important to invest in these teenage girls by building and improving their capacities so that they can stand independently and face the future. She teaches this age group as they are impressionable and willing to learn, whereas older women already have set values on how they should be treated by men and do not want to change, and accept when a man beats them etc.

When we had the opportunity to meet Dr Mune, the woman behind this fantastic organisation she told us her inspiring story. Dr Mune came from a poor background, living in the slums, but got a scholarship and an opportunity to go to school and be educated as a doctor. On becoming a doctor she could afford to move out of the slums and live a life of wealth. However she didn't feel satisfied with these materialistic possessions, therefore she gave it all up, moved back to the slums and set up Green Tara. Dr Mune's story truly inspired me, and really illustrates her selflessness and genuine care for others.
Dr Mune told us that she wants to educate adolescent girls on their rights and boost their self confidence. Dr Mune brings the girls of Green Tara to visit the police office so that the girls do not associate the police with only criminals, but to see the police as a refuge for victims, therefore they feel comfortable going to the police if they are the victims of domestic abuse.
Dr Mune has also a contract with the bank that allows the girls to set up an account at zero rupees, therefore when they earn money they have somewhere to put it, rather than it going into the pockets of their fathers or husbands where the girls have no say over what it will go towards. These bank accounts are uncommon for women in India, as it is generally the men who deal with the money (and spend it on what they please), therefore setting up these accounts helps the girls become self sufficient. Green Tara foundation provides girls with practical skills such as sewing classes, computer classes, reproductive health classes (something that is not part of the school curriculum in India) and self defense.
 This organisation is one that is a complete inspiration to me and I feel so honoured to have been able to have been a part of it for a short time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBEfVNd19Bw
A video of our time at Green Tara!

Vicky x

Distorted Appearances

Outward appearances, preconceptions and expectations of people are all part of the human of being, its innate ... something that has been ingrained into our subconscious. We judge one another on outward appearances and how we expect people to act.

Whilst exploring this further I discovered that we as a race, feel most comfort when people are put into boxes, or subcategories. When someone steps out of their 'box', we feel uncomfortable, like they have upset the balance of our universe and we find it hard to cope! This is simply by someone disrupting the 'Status quo' and not living up to a preconceived image that we have set for them ... See what I'm getting at here!

Ok, to put this random topic cohoice into perspective for you all, I need to explain how I came about thinking about it. Recently I was reading  the Buddhist philosophy on the "six major types of consciousness". I now need to explain these quickly (promise that I wont go too far off topic) so that it is easier to understand what I mean by distortion of appearances etc.
So out of these 6, 5 of them are sensory consciousness ...


1.Auditory Consciousness (Sounds)
2. Gustatory Consciousness ( Taste)
3. Olfactory Consciousness (Smell)
4. Tactile Consciousness  (Sense)
5. Visual Consciousness (Sight)


However the sixth type does not directly rely on your physical senses, it is  Mental Consciousness, and it can be aware of all the previous and more!
Now, consider what happens when you have a cold... you lose your sense of smell which therefore interferes with your olfactory consciousness. Or try pressing your finger against the side of your eye socket, causing double vision. These examples prove to us that you cannot always trust the way things (and people) appear in your mind. Also, as mentioned above, throw in the various distortions we have created by preconceptions and expectations, the end product becomes a distorted muddle. Make more sense now?

Its obvious that seeing a clear, undistorted perception is not very common and difficult to achieve ... but now think of the extreme complexity of our brain and minds! We can train ourselves to do anything, so why can't we train ourselves to surpass the distortions of our consciousnesses and emerge to view the world with a brand new outlook, not judging people on appearance and expectations but simply getting to know them for who they are on the inside .... Its definitely not going to be easy, but its a challenge for you today, and is definitely a challenge that comes with great benefits, such as getting to know people that you never imagined yourself talking to, and pushing yourself and your mind to be more accepting, something that can bring great wisdom.
So get rid of the boxes! Let your mind become a muddle of people who aren't divided into categories and subcategories.... and have fun!
Good Luck
Vicky x

The Perfect Escape

"The perfect escape", the one place in the world that you would love to run away to when life gets rough. At the minute, my perfect escape would be to India.
When in India, I discovered a new way of life completely! One in which the people walked slower, took their time to eat and devoted time to their spiritual side.
Now that I'm back almost 3 weeks now, I have had time to reflect on my experiences in India.


The children we met were so happy with so little, and were so easily pleased. Take for example the day we gave out balloons. Ok, so if I handed you a balloon you would be pretty unamused, but to these kids and young girls, these balloons provided an hours worth of entertainment!
They all accepted and welcomed us warmly into their community and really appreciated our presence with them. The project I was working on was with a charity called Green Tara, and charity with inspired me greatly to keep fighting and raising awareness for the inequality against women. I promise to devote a whole blog post to the charity Green Tara, as it is a real inspiration. So we were placed in a center in the middle of a slum, and asked to teach the adolescent girls there basic hygiene and nutrition, things that they would not be taught in school, if they attended one that is. At the start I really thought  it would be a difficult task, and was nervous and excited all at once. But when I arrived at the center and met the girls, all my nerves disappeared as they were so friendly and appreciative of our presence. I bonded well with all the girls, and despite the language barrier, made friends with them. By the end, the girls were asking us to come back next year and visit them! And I would actually love to!

Another thing I love about India is how spiritual everyone is! Where we were staying we were awoken every morning at 5am by the prayer call from the local temple! One religion that really stood out to me on the trip was Buddhism. In the center we were working in there was a shrine to Buddha and the more I learnt about the mantra of Buddha and the way in which Buddhists lived their lives, the more intrigued I got! One of the things I was told about Buddhism was that Buddha taught that we must forget about the past, the bad and the good, as they are just memories, but it is what you do in the present that will define your life and be your fate ....

So guys, try that out! Live in the buddhist philosphacy, forget the past, even though forgetting the good stuff is hard, we must live in the present and just love life in general! 

Vicky x

Habits?! Friend or foe?

Sorry about the random choice of topic for this blog, but habits are something that never cease to amaze me!

Do we even realise what we are doing when we do things? Take something simple such as biting your nails... 

This is one of my worse habits! I dont even realise I'm doing it half the time, but recently, in an attempt  to stop, I embarked on a quest to find the root of my problem.

What I discovered was pretty groundbreaking (OK maybe not groundbreaking but rather interesting) ... My mum and her mum were both nail biters, and not trying to blame them, I probably picked it up as a child. This is also a good example of the influential role of parents and older siblings on children, who have open minds and are easily brainwashed!, in molding them into their future selves.
But anyways, back on topic ... I next went deeper into the problem, and became aware of when I chose to bite my nails... discovering that my nails decrease in size when my stress levels increase (Eg: during exams)... therefore to put this into scientific terms ... Nail size is inversely proportional to stress levels.


However not all habits are bad. When we look at habits more closely we see that they aren't all bad things, breathing is a habit (A deeply ingrained one!), and we couldn't survive without that! Habits are built up by our muscle memory, and we add to our list of 'Good Habits' everyday, adding things like riding a bike and driving a car to our subconscious so that we can concentrate better on other tasks in life. Our brains are so powerful and sophisticated that they can decipher through everyday actions and turn chains of events and patterns into habits, including both good and bad things that we do. 

I see habits as something that are necessary in life. The science of habits is something that you have never considered before but is absolutely fascinating. Our bad habits have generally a motive for occurring, such as biting my nails gives me comfort in uncomfortable situations, when I am out of my comfort zone and need reassurance that something in my life is secure, it almost gives a sense of melancholy. Charles Duhigg, author of the book "The power of the habit" got into the habit of eating a cookie every afternoon. On analysing this habit, he realised that it was not that he craved a chocolate chip cookie, it was that he craved socialisation, the company of talking to his colleagues while munching. This was the habit's real reward. 


So whatever your habit is, give it some thought and you might be surprised what you discover!
Have fun!
Vicky