The dream of the second attention

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Raclette Party

Yesterday I was invited to a raclette party (boiled potatoes with melted cheese) at Anita and Eric's place. This swiss couple that I know from salsa classes are truly amazing people. With their three gorgeous kids, their simple yet elegant taste in everything and their great love to their homeland, I beleive they are one of the ideal couples I have known. The guests were 6 people (myslef included) from 5 other nationalities yet I think everybody felt at home and had great time with the others.
I guess people who live as expatriates for longer periods develop this cosmopolitan mentality... or may be it is true that "people are all the same"...

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Favourite quotes

-- We don't experience things as they are but as we are.
-- There is no meaning for life except that which we give to it.
-- The future is a good place to be interested in as you will live the rest of your life there.
-- It is the journey as much as the arrival.
-- The greatest thing about this world is not where we standing but in what direction are we moving. (Gute)
-- Happiness is the constant feeling of moving towards achieving meaningful goals.
-- If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting, ...If you don't change your direction, you will probably end up where you are heading.
-- A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.
-- Desire In The Absence Of Belief Is Neediness.
-- In life we don't get what we want, we get what we are.
-- If you want to succeed, you have to double your failure rate. Success is on the other side of failure. (Thomas J. Watson)
-- Believing is seeing, ...Beliefs are the lenses through which we see everything, if you change your beliefs you see a completely different reality
-- There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and Recreate good ones; it can lift men to angel-ship. (Mark Twain)
-- When you have used up all your failures, you can only succeed.
-- Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel. (Napoleon Hill)
-- The life story of most people is the story of men and women selling themselves short.
-- In order to have something you must be something. (BE-DO-HAVE not DO-HAVE-BE)
-- Practice makes the master...Action is what makes the difference. (Miguel Ruiz)
-- Work like you don't need the money, Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one is watching.
-- The best thing about IT jobs is flexible hours... You get to work your 80 hours a week any time you want !!!
-- Just Do It

Monday, June 20, 2005

About the title

The "dream of the second attention" is basically our life now as we see it with our own eyes. I was recently reading the famous book The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz, and I really liked this metaphor. In the toltec's wisdom, it is all a dream, whether we are asleep or awake, the mind is always dreaming. The dream of the first attention was when we were still being brought up and we had no choice but to give our attention to the superiors, but now WE CAN CHOOSE OUR OWN DREAM. How we perceive everything that we see, hear and feel is totally up to us. So never misuse your word, never make assumptions, never take anything personally and always do your best in all endeavors. This is the start to transcend the dream of hell that most people live in here and create the dream of heaven...