Serendipity vs. Prepared Mind

Serendipity
1) The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2) The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3) An instance of making such a discovery.
Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."

Serendipity is an effect by which one accidentally makes a discovery - while looking for something else.

Or, is it’s a chance discovery by the prepared mind?

Prepared Mind
"In the field of observation, chance only favours the prepared mind". (Louis Pasteur, 1854)

Or, is chance nothing more than serendipity that anybody can stumble upon?

Serendipity vs. Prepared Mind
To what degree is creativity or innovation attributed to or created by serendipity? And to what degree is it attributed to or created by the prepared mind?

(to be concluded)

Fortress and the goon

the fortress stood that many came to rule,
once came a guard that ruled till far,
then came the fair and threw him unfair,
who inturn got kicked when i got sick,
the fortress then ruled by no longer a goon,
came then the king the con artist,
he was the dealer we called the leader,
promises he made for my own sake,
conform he did with the rule to bid,
used new goons to come to rule,
the goons then came with all but sane,
drove me to street with a banner and grief,
the king then spoke and i cried on spot,
used press and style with a hollow inside,
i asked please do he said nothing to you,
loud and loud everyone in crowd,
but will things change for i live in rage,
with thoughts of change they say brain drain,
as all are sad we want some act,
but they all will talk with nothing but talk,
the actions are missing for me its all hissing,
the venom was there when the fortress was clear,
clear it was of the goons that came,the goons now rule governs some fools who speak like none less than toons.

Just as I doing the nuisance...

Some Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahabgunj divisional railway office in 1909.

"I am arrive by passenger train at Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore sent to privy. Just as I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with lota in one hand and dhoti in the next when I fall over and expose all my shockings to many female women on the platform. I am got leaved on Ahmedpur station.

This too much bad if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray otherwise I am making big report to papers. Pray your honor to make big fine on that dam guard for public sakeotherwise I am making big report to papers ."

The letter is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. Do you know why?? Because it led to the introduction of toilets in trains.

10 things about Women

1. Women are complicated creatures. We (the men) can never understand them or their complexity. Claiming that we do only irritates them. They know they're complicated. Can't say if they understand it, but they do handle it better than you or I ever can. What else would otherwise explain how they manage to use this very complexity to drive us.
   
2. Women are more matured, more smart, and more capable than us. The tandoor, oven, or barbeque, whatever it was that God used to create humans, was used first to create us (the men) and later a more sophisticated version was created (the women).
   
3. They too talk dirty. Right from the size to the time. The stuff they talk about is something you and I will never be allowed to listen to. Its only with their girl-friends. And yes! they talk in much too detail for you to bear it.
   
4. Women have all the resources and the money to buy all those Daisies, or gifts. They also have all the strength to open all the doors to walk through (to any ballroom or restaurant or car), but if they even once say out loud "oh how pretty those flowers are" and you don't run (like you have ants in your pants) to bring her some of those 'pretty' lifeless exhibits, or if you ever so carelessly just walk through to your side of the car... then buddy, forget about getting lucky for sometime.
   
5. Women are more capable of cheating on you. And by virtue of being smarter are far more capable of hiding that. Accept it and be aware of it.
   
6. You can't tame them, but you can make them do the unthinkable for you by giving them what they want - LOVE. They'll move mountains (and even cars) for you. They'll do anything for... and 'with' you if you give them all the love you can... even if not enough orgasm. They'll love you more than you deserve, and be true to you more than you ever will be, if only you give her what she deserves, tender love and true respect.
   
7. We (the men) will always share more with our girls than with our buddies. Women though will never share all their secrets with us. Especially the ones about their buddies (girl friends). You know it :) because they tell you so.
   
8. Never ask the question "Do you think you should join the gym?", or "When was the last time you went to your beauty parlor?". Lets just say, they won't like it. Just don't!!!
   
9. Yes, they too get horny, but now like us. Believe it or not, 'talking' turns them on. Talking while naked also works. So take it easy if you want her to enjoy and participate as much. Hold your guns as you will need that when ever the much awaited eventuality arrives.
   
10. They know we love sex. They know we live for that. They know we can do it anytime, anywhere and any number of times, regardless of our frequently sapless chassis. They're well aware of it and they use it to get what they want. Though they too love a great orgasm, but (quite unlike us) it does not end there for them.
    

Randomness

Randomness is the disclosure of the secretiveness of loafing.

I'd rather run that tell you what I saw

Why is it that when I tell someone of a dream I may have had recently, the person starts judging me instantly? Is everyone really capable of such deep level of psycho analysis, if that’s possible that is? Do we all believe that dreams are but reflections of what we want, desire, fear or any such condition that we consciously or subconsciously suffer from?

I raise these questions not because I wish to understand dreams and the complex world we live a parallel life in when we sleep. Instead I wonder if I can ever learn the explanation, the secret, the reason behind humans so easily, at the drop of a hat being this judgmental. Is it really this easy to form a basis for an eventual opinion about another individual?

I might, while talking to some friend tell her the craziness of the dream I had the night before. But what basis does the listener have to instantly trace my psychological condition based on nothing but the gist of a nocturnal experience? Do dreams really give away so much? The thought of someone psycho analyzing me based on my true encounters of the night, really makes me feel vulnerable, may be scares me of the extent of revelation, which most certainly will be beyond my conscious knowledge, as I, as a muggle of a being, have neither the skill nor do I believe in dreams being an oblique, yet true reflections of our psychological conditions, pains, fears, or desires.

Freud said dreams reflect our conscious and subconscious thoughts. Spirituality however, dreams can also give out flashes and insights of the future. Some more sensitive say dreams are places where ones wishes and fears come together.

I consider myself no bellwether of breaking through this crazy world of dreams. On the contrary, I fear when I hear a word on any study or work being done on understanding dreams more clearly, for if there really is any substance in what my listener is interpreting of my dreams then I have reason to fear more, and even perhaps in one of my subsequent REM moments be exposed to consummate nakedness because of nothing but my dreams.

Randomness

What randomness gives us is a deep exposure of life in its most raw, virgin and irritating form.

Randomness gives us the vulnerability to the element of idleness.

William Shakespeare’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' by Tim Supple

The multilingual adaptation of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy classic play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, directed by Tim Supple. What can one say about such a show? Its hard to put the enchanting experience into words. As per some records Shakespeare wrote the play near the end of the 16th century, and this adaptation by all means does justice to the greatness of his work.

This strange, loud, energetic, colorful, multilingual and joyful show keeps its audiences spellbound with its perfection. The artistic and poetic feel of the presentation with the witty plot and characters of the play ravishingly keeps its audiences enchanted and entertained, all in under 2 hours. Ludicrous at times, the play primarily involves interlocking plots of three couples and a poor worker-actor. The supernatural world of fairies and magic is presented with such perfection, one understands what the fairy intends in its sheer innocence.

The play uses more than 5 different languages. For somebody who only understands English, the multilingual presentation poses no difficulty in understanding or a break in the flow of the play. Shakespeare’s words are professed in English that take up a small part of the overall dialogue count, but the following languages like Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, among others showcase emotions and the story while bearing on Shakespeare’s message. One never feels lost in long sequences of unknown languages, as the actors marvelously communicate the essence by means of expressions and actions. The background music done brilliantly keeps the viewers in tune with the play.

A prominent character in the play is that of Puck, a hobgoblin, the servant of the king of fairies. The strength of the character is impressively maintained with his soliloquies. Moreover, he architects the amusing interlocking of the characters in his innocent and foolish demeanor.

For many viewers, the dance sequence of Titania and Oberon, in celebration of resolution of their differences, will be the most enthralling.

The show showcases the use of several theatrical tools like martial arts, dances, songs, rope tricks and also dares to experiment with a multilingual script.

The show supports well, why 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' is considered among the best works of Shakespeare. It’s a brilliantly revisited classic. Its magical, its brightly colorful, its full of energy, its highly entertaining, and it’s a sensational and imaginative use of the stage. This matchless adaptation will stay with its viewers of decades and we shall all revisit theatres only hoping to experience anything close to such a show all our lives.

The unfaithful made me strong and now has left me alone. The cruel thing knows not, what was my only strength. The premonition has come true. Many questions breath unanswered. But it is my cross to bear the burden of the unknown, live the sadness, remember my unrequited love. I worry not to live, life will keep me alive. While dire straits are cliche and diaries dull, quiet and unmoved, is what the world must see.

Let Down

People we know, along we grow,
some live in sand, others in snow.

Achieve they do, and proud we feel,
but words they say, as clowns would squeal.

Sad we get, as we not thought,
comform we do, with the truth of lord.

The balance must be, as none is for all,
the sooner we learn, the shorter we fall.

Fall we must, as he made us so,
it be on them, lies for us to sow.

Love Discontendedness

Seems likely that every second person I run into, on getting comfortable, will tell me that he/she has always been, and still is very discontent. Seems we all have that in common. Don't we all think alike(?). We remember all the criticism, every struggle - because every struggle was futile, all the betrayals and by all means, all the times that we have sacrificed (or so we had thought) for others.

We want what we don't have.
We never appreciate what we do have.
We desire what others have.
We die for what others want to have.

We don't love being discontent, not even the idea of it, but we love to say that we're discontent. Is that because it sets us at par with the one we're complaining to, or because it gives us a headstart?

AIDS - 3

Memory is a collection of images, feelings and impressions, some lose them, some print them indelibly on their minds. Life gave me many reasons to take it for granted, and sadly i did, but was that my only mistake, or was it really my own mistake that i married a man only to wake up one morning and find him nowhere, and soon after that carry my only son to hospitals hiding him from the judging eyes of the society. I don't have the time to find answers. I am angry at myself, I am ashamed. What will people think about it? It will angry people.

Now time has passed, and so has my son. My present is the evil of a premonition i never had. All that is left for me is to wake up every morning, gather the pieces of my shredded life, and see them shatter all over again right in front of my eyes. I am alone. I am scared. Ask me if i saw this coming. The delight of having a perfect family blinded me of the distance that Ron had started keeping from me. Our wedding was perfect and when Arnold was born, Ron and I were the happiest. We always had the best moments, and even today, those memories can bring a smile to my face.

The state of being indistinct and indefinite for lack of adequate illumination is the obscurity that I now live in. The fleeting glorious days are history and will never return. A desire for tolerance will only be another reason for guilt. Do I acknowledge peace in knowing that, neither my husband nor my son had to experience this pain, or do I weep over my lonesome and cursed life?

With no family, no succor, and no faith in god, I look at a dark space to walk into, or think of looking for the bright white light, but fear the wind would fly my shredded life away in a moment of beguilement or a blink of an eye.

AIDS - 2

I woke up from a scary dream with my heart pounding. Looking around I realized I was awake, and like all so many recent nights, I had just seen a bad dream. The sudden rush of relief swiftly turned back into sadness. I sipped some warm water and closed my eyes, hoping I won't dream again.

While others, in their dreams live what they fear, or see the inexplicable, or fall off a cliff, or simply experience something they just love to share, I re-live my past - but only in the exact same way as I already have lived. And night after night I wake up in sweat and go right back to sleep believing that re-living those mistakes would be easier than living now their consequences.

I have no reason to live whatever life is left. But I choose to suffer in the darkness of my past. The past, when I pursued pleasure in indulgence, denied guilt in deception, and sought redemption in walking away.

Today I ask for one more chance; not to live the good days, but only to, not to echo the mistakes I made. But when conformity to reality sets in, in anguish I close my eyes and take to living over my errs. The errs that led me to vacate my family - driven by the thought of leaving behind proud memories for my wife to live by, and for my son a car he ever so desired.

Now time has passed, and someday I will too, but I never will know that today my family stands with no one to claim, as the son I left behind has fallen to the same fate.

Life isn't always made to order. But if it was hand made, I contorted it myself.

AIDS - 1

Seems likely that someone might say, 'man would be most content and achieve utmost bliss only moments before the world would end.' I, for one, had too many such moments. Hi! I used to be known as Arnold till I was 17. You can call me anything now. I no longer exist.

I remember the first time I saw her. I was driving my car, the car my father used to drive till the week before. Ah! Her luscious lips added color to the night. That tiny pink dress, her long straight legs, the curls in her hair. It was like the perfect dream. I didn’t think she was for real. The overcoming view could not have been flesh and blood.

Then it happened, she looked at me. I felt my heart beat, my pulse racing and my mouth watering. Absolutely couldn’t swallow. I saw her walk towards me.

The next morning she left without telling me her name. The next time I learnt her name was Noree. I didn’t have her number or know her address. All I knew was where to find her; The same traffic signal where her presence once gave meaning to my existence. I was in love. She however never confessed her feelings. Oh! She was such a sweetheart. She used to playfully take money from my wallet every morning.

Then, I couldn’t see her for a few weeks due to my sudden sickness. Thought of her every moment. Then we met again. I felt better instantly, not knowing that would be the last time that I see her. I said to her, “Mum says there's a virus in my body. So don’t kiss me tonight dear.” I remember she smiled. I told her there were times I couldn’t feel my heart beat or my pulse racing, also my mouth was usually dry and that I absolutely couldn’t swallow. We talked the rest of the night. Then morning came and she was gone. There was money in my wallet. I never saw her again after that.

I remember the first time I saw her. I was driving my car; The car my father used to drive till the week before. Then he went missing. Noree once said she knew my dad.

I used to be known as Arnold till I was 17. Over the next five years, I was a bed number. I still wonder why she didn’t visit me there.

Fleeting Ideas

Aren't the best ideas the ones you always forget (?). We get these brilliant ideas, while driving, or traveling in the bus or train, but those ideas disappear in air before we get our hands on the logistics to pen them down. No matter how good my memory was, that one brilliant idea that exhibited potential to win the Cannes or the Pulitzers, vaporized in thin air under open skies leaving no trace behind.

Words of wisdom - Write it down; on a napkin or on your packet of cigarettes, or on your hand. Record your ideas, as and when they strike. One way is to keep a notebook handy, in your bag, or in your car, or wherever convenient. But will you carry the notebook to the bathroom? Well, I'd rather use the paper inside.

Use these words in a piece of fiction: Wool Hat, Stiletto Sandals, Snowplow, Martini Glass, and A Moose.

John, a second year law student at the Univ of Siberia, was a fun loving person, popular for all the wrong reasons. His dotty adventures knew no limits of tomfoolery, and it was the case when he and his girl-friend Jenny made love. It was rare that they would indulge in satisfying their corporal desires behind closed doors of their bedrooms. John's, not so contagious, fascination with craziness made Jenny want him even more. They used to go out seeking insanely public places to make love.

Once, while wandering in the forest, they heard some sound, and decided to make love to each other in the backdrop of those noises. Jenny uttered in John's ears. "How great would it be if another animal couple is making out just around those bushes". Oddly-enough though, it was not an animal couple, it was a Moose in his heats. And it wasn't late before his enormous flattened antlers were digging in John's behind. Both John and Jenny screamed, presumably out of similar pain.

That did not deter John from making love to his girlfriend that afternoon. After running away from the Moose and arriving at a safe distance, they found a nice looking bar on the highway. Inside, both of them looked at each other with the most mischievous smile, and moments later started tearing off each other clothes. As they got on with the act, people around them stopped whatever they were doing and started looking at them with expressionless faces. One rich looking woman wearing a wool hat whispered something in her significantly bigger dark-skinned girlfriend's ears, who was wearing a pair of expensive looking stiletto sandals. There was a group of boys with sticks in their hands surrounding a rather short flat-chested female, wearing nothing but the essentials, as she was balancing a martini glass on her head, and the boys were pouring brandy into it and wagering on her drinking the brandy while balancing the same glass on her forehead. All this cheerful activity had come to a halt because of a vicissitude of the bar's environment.

After a loud and excessively roving act, John and Jenny lay on the wooden floor gasping for breath. John had completely forgotten the pain induced in his buttocks by the Moose's attack. Looking around the room, they were amused with everyone's amazement at their socially unacceptable act. Moments later, from the seemingly amazed audience, a big black man, wearing denim dungarees walked up to John and Jenny. He stood near their feet, took his dungarees off revealing his massive monolithic body, and looking at John he said, "It's your turn now". John gave him a confused look. The big black man pushed Jenny towards the door while she was still on the floor; it was like a big snowplow ploughing white snow away from the road. As Jenny tried to put her clothes back on, she read the sign outside the bar saying 'Men's only Gay Bar'.

John returned after 2 days. Jenny tried to comfort John by hugging him, but John had something very different on his mind. He took Jenney's hand in his shaky hand and told her that he loved her, and apologized, saying that, "I never knew, that in order to give me pleasure you go through so much pain and physical agony". In the following months, in spite of Jenny's repeated requests to have sex, John declined the offer telling her that he will love her unconditionally without giving her any pain. John and Jenny never had sex after that and decided to adopt a little boy after getting married.

How to...

...turn a small Debate into War?

1. Assume you're always right.
2. Assume you can never be wrong.
3. Ignore Facts. Overstate your fake ideas and undermine your opponent's facts (right or wrong, who cares).
4. Be animated. Make faces. Throw your hands around. Wag your head with a condescending smile.
5. Get personal. Ridicule the opponent; laugh at his statements. As a bonus, insult his community, religion and family.
6. Warn to walk off, turn around, and point at your opponent; keep your eyes wide open.
7. Be loud, don’t listen to your opponent, and then ask him for a chance to speak – with wide open hands and raised eyebrows.
8. Say to your oponent, "You're an a**hole", or "You're a wh*re".

Try these proven methods today, and you'll be surprised to know you’re already so good at them.

Silent Paroxysm

for a second i cry, get hysterical, out of control, out of bounds, i plead to you, i ask you 'why you do this to me'. what i would do if i hold you by your hand. i scream i howl, with not a shade on my face. all so quick i'm left whelmed while there are people around and i have work to do.

Meditation

Meditation is a mental exercise. It is a means to retreat from your daily routine in your own space of silence and peace. Meditation should not be seen as a religious practice or the latest fad. By practicing meditation regularly, you are in more control of your emotions, your energy levels increase, and your perspective on life can change (for better) because of the relaxation. Meditation is hard and it cannot be perfected. The key is being quiet in your mind. Below are a few simple things to do in order to meditate correctly.

Position: Sit down. Find a comfortable spot anywhere in your home or anywhere else where you can spend a few minutes without being disturbed. It is important to sit with your back straight. Following any special wrist or feet position is not a rule as any unusual body position can cause pain and hence distractions. Sit comfortably. Accessories such as incense, candles, or cushions can be added to the environment but remember meditation is what you're aiming for, rest are all superficial additives, which you will not think about or feel while you're in 'breathing'.

Breath. Breathing is what keeps us alive. We never think about it and we never really give nature the credit it deserves for making breathing so simple an effortless. While meditating feel your breathing. Feel the air moving up your nostrils as you inhale and feel is exhaling. You will notice a slight pause after exhaling and before inhaling. Do not experiment with your breathing rate; keep it as normal and natural as possible. This is the only activity or task that you do in meditation - breathe. As you focus on your breathing, you will realize that this effortless and natural process gives you the oxygen your heart, your brain and the rest of your body needs to function properly.

Get lost in the dark space. Close your eyes when you meditate. Do not allow any thoughts to wander in your mind and only focus on breathing. During all this, what is that you see? You may forget to notice what you see, which is perfectly normal. If however you notice the dark space inside your eyes, use that to let yourself lose. In doing so, you do run the risk of letting your imagination run and hence think – but remember thoughts are to be ignored. So do not be too imaginative, like do not imagine yourself flying in that space, but allow yourself to look deep into space. The deep darkness and the spotless fluency in you can bring peace to you with its silence.

Don’t be hard on yourself. Meditation is not easy. It cannot be perfected, so do not expect yourself to be perfect at it. By being imperfect I mean, that when you meditate you will get random thoughts, maybe even ideas. You will not notice when you strayed and started thinking about something. At this time you will let your judgmental side kick in and right yourself off as being incapable of meditating. That is not right. Everybody can (and should) meditate. The key here is not to judge as it is only natural to drift. When you notice yourself getting any thoughts, do not try to fight them, simply move the thoughts aside and get back to your breathing. Evan a regular practitioner's mind can go adrift every time she meditates, but she would know better than to judge herself.

Set an alarm: You can decide how much time you want to meditate. Usually 20 minutes a day is a good practice. When you sit down to meditate without a timer, you run the risk of thinking about the time and being tempted to peek at the watch sometime during meditation. When meditating its easy to lose track of time. Only after 1 or 2 minutes, one can feel that a lot of time has passed and perhaps one must check the time. All these thoughts are unnecessary distractions that you must make sure do not exist at all. The solution to this is to use a timer. Set the timer for as many minutes as you plan to meditate. If you set the timer at 10 minutes, you will not worry about exceeding the time limit, in case you have errands to run. Remember, your only activity is to sit down and breathe without thinking about anything. Therefore, to make sure that you prevent such distraction setting a timer is a good option.

Meditate when you can. (1) Traveling in a bus; (2) Waiting in a queue; (3) Waiting for someone to show up; (4) Taking a break from work.
Meditation, not necessarily, should only be done in the serene Himalayas, or in a quiet candlelit room. You can meditate wherever & whenever. Moreover, meditation can be done for just 1 or 2 minutes. All you need to do is, give yourself a moment, and just breathe. In just one minute you can feel relaxed and at ease. Repeat this couple of times a day, whenever you can and whenever you feel like it. Meditation is like your own personal retreat from the world around you, to a world of peace and quiet.

Best time to Meditate. There is no 'only best time' to meditate. Meditation should be done only when you feel that it is a good time to do so. Some like doing it in the morning, while others in the evening or even late at night. Moreover, it's not mandatory to meditate at the same time everyday, as long as you spend some time everyday with yourself in deep meditation.


Meditation is a skill. It requires regular practice. The study of Meditation is a science while practicing it is an art. Meditation takes away your stress. Meditation allows you to take some timeout from your daily routine of work and people, and provide your brain some time to rest. So, if you're suffering from anxiety, hypertension, excessive stress, emotional troubles, or you're simply overworked, Meditation can be a wonderful and simple way to help you by keeping your mind healthy.

The Satan

Almost every religion followed by man has one character called the Devil. Called by different names by different communities, the Daemon, Lucifer or the Shaitaan, is evil and an adversary of god. It is considered half mortal and half god by some. In Hinduism there is the Yamdoot, the master of hell, I'm not sure though if the Yamdoot too is schadenfreude, meaning if he derives pleasure and delight out of misfortune of humans.

So, the Satan - chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; The tempter of mankind; and the Master of Hell - according to almost all religious books, drives us into wrongdoings. He pollutes our mind with feelings of rage, revenge, jealousy, temptation and greed. Judaism, Christianity & Islam, among other religions, tell us, it was the Satan, who drove Eve & Adam into eating the forbidden fruit, by tempting them with its mystery. Well now, did that turn out too bad (?).

The Satan even today pollutes our mind with doubt, jealousy, greed and temptation. His delectation and delight out of contaminating, fouling and polluting a clean human mind with hatred and jealousy and thereby proving to God how weak and vulnerable his creation is, makes him the biggest antagonist of mankind. Perhaps it is not too hard for him to realize his objective; all he has to do is to add a pinch of speculation and doubt to some impatience and jealousy. Think about it, won't that be a dainty desert for the Devil. And his success rate (?) is sadly always higher than we expect.

Miseries

Most of our miseries are the consequences of our expectations and the resultant discontentment.

Aging

Society, culture and celebrities have always glorified beauty and youth. Hence, the fact that as men and women age, they feel less attractive. Such uneasiness and disquiet interferes with their corporal desires. The festering of self-cynicism because of the pressure put on men and women by television, movies, magazines and the people around them must be dealt with in their own thought about ways.

Growing old takes away the smooth clear skin and the firmness of your body, but does that reflect negatively on your worth and desirability (?) is something you decide on your own.

Aging is irrevocable, but so is sensuality.

Me

needs time management classes