Newsletter-cum-magazine of Oasis Movement YEAR 1 I ISSUE 9 I Apr 1, 2008

World Health Day Special Issue
Can somebody, on the verge of death, be extremely healthy?

A dear friend sent us a video clip of a speech by a dying man. No, it’s not a sympathy appeal for something neither a confession of a person on deathbed. It’s about Life- a life that he lived and some lessons learnt he is leaving behind as legacy for his beloved ones.

“After hearing him today, you may start seeing your life very differently.”- Oprah Winfrey show announced, before he started representing his original one and half hour long lecture into a 10 minutes’ talk.

His name is Randy Pausch. He is a middle aged man, father of three little children and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. His original long lecture at university was downloaded more than 6 million times and still spreading across the globe. It was a tradition at university to give ‘Last Lecture’ thinking hypothetically "If you had one last lecture to give before you died what would you tell your students?" But for Randy it’s not a hypothetical situation- it is a real situation. He had a pancreatic cancer, has already gone through all remedies available like Surgery, Chemotherapy and Radiations etc. and doctors have declared that he has a few months more to live.

The fitness of his body, the aura on his face and his positive tone make you admire him.. As he said, ‘Today’s talk is not about death but about life, how to live childhood dreams, how to achieve them.”

The crux of his 10 minutes’ speech is –

  I don’t like dying. But I can’t do anything about the fact that I’m going to die. I don’t choose to be an object of pity.

  I had a great- incredible, happy childhood. I was dreaming- always dreaming. And when I saw the man on television stepping on the moon, I felt, “Anything is possible.” We should never ever lose this spirit.

  One of my childhood dreams was playing football in National Football League- which I didn’t achieve. But sometimes you learn a lot even by trying. “Experience is

what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

  I never made it to the NFL but football got me where I am today. My football coach Graham was of old school style. He made me practice without football, made me do pushups for 2 hours…I learnt fundamentals and hard work. Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (or by “head fake”) Once my another teacher asked me, “Coach Graham is a tough coach?” I nodded “Yeah”, then he continued, “But that’s good. When you are not performing well and nobody is telling you that, that’s the time when he has given up on you. But if he makes you run for hours that mean he cares for you, he cares for you to make you better.” I remembered these words for my lifetime.

   Another childhood dream was to work for Walt Disney as Imaginer. This dream I could realize to some extent. When I was 8, my family took me to Disney land in California and I was amazed to see Disney rides. “I want to make this stuff.” So I worked in this direction but it took me 15 years to reach there. I graduated and then applied but got nice rejection letters which I still have preserved. But ultimately I had developed a skill which was valuable for them and I worked with them on ‘Alladin’ project. So remember – Brick walls are there for a reason: brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us chance to prove how badly we want things. So never ever give up.

  For childhood dreaming you need to have great parents. They let me paint my bedroom though it hurts the resale value of the house.

  You can’t get there alone, and I believe in Karma. So while dealing with other people - Tell the truth; Be earnest; Apologize when you screw up- I’m sorry, it’s my fault, and the third part which we most often forget- how do I make it right.

  Show gratitude. It’s a very simple thing but very powerful.

  I don’t think complaining ever solves a problem. Don’t complain, just work harder. Your time, energy and efforts- you can spend it complaining or playing the game hard.

  Have faith in goodness of people. Find the best in everybody; no matter how you have to wait for them to show it. We often don’t like some people or how do they did things, but be patient, they will show their goodness if you wait enough.

  This talk isn’t just about how to achieve your childhood dreams; it’s much broader than that. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life right way the karma will take care of the rest. If you live properly the dreams will come to you.

If you want to see this video clip of 10 minutes, then click here. >>

If you want to go through the original long speech then click here. >>

[Randy Pausch is a computer scientist. He made his way through Walt Disney to being nation’s foremost authority for virtual reality. He is a world expert in video games and virtual reality technology and creator of 'Alice', ground-breaking software for creating 3-D animations. He went further and created a model of edutainment – Building Virtual Worlds. Afterwards, he converted it to Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) – 2 year professional degree at Carnegie Mellon University where he and his partner made artists and technologist work together in team with fun. They are preparing future "Imaginers" (Imagination engineers)].

- Compiled by

Kshama Kataria

     
"Ayurvedani Bhet" - A ray of hope for our, too much doctor-dependent society

‘If modern medicines are as good as we believe them to be, why have the diseases and disorders become more complex, more complicated in modern times?’ ‘If modern medicines were so proficient, why are the western countries, in spite of their affluence and latest research capabilities, turning towards Yoga and Ayurveda?’ ‘If Ayurveda is “old-outdated” kind of science, why is there so many hue and cries for patents based on materials like neem and mint?’

Well, if you find these questions logical and interesting, here is a new publication from Oasis for you on Ayurveda. The main purpose of this book is to guide people to be their own doctors- most trustworthy and most economical- to lead their lives in a very healthy and balanced manner for most of the time in their lives! The author doesn’t claim this to be a text book on Ayurveda. But it’s a book which questions and guides reader step by step- very logically and scientifically- to introduce the subject. It clarifies the fundamentals of Ayurveda and leaves further exploration of this science to the readers.

For example, the first section of this book starts with questions like what’s health, why health, why Ayurveda, how one’s health is related to Five elements etc. and answers

An Oasis Publication

Written by Sanjiv Shah

(Gujarati)

For inspiring books, DVDs / VCDs of movies contact:

the OASIS shop
Vadodara, Gujarat Phone:+91-265-2351862

Click Here for more info>

 

them in a very simple and fluid language. The book also includes simple questionnaire to decide one’s Prakriti, to understand one’s Prakriti in depth and gives information how to balance doshas with one’s daily lifestyle amongst constant seasonal and life changes.

Another highlight of the book is that it very simply interweaves the principles of

life with health. It explains how Ayurveda is a way of life.   

Some other questions which may lead you to read the book are-

  Is there any wisdom in running to the doctor for each and every common disease or disorder? Or it is our ignorance and dependence?

  It may be difficult and a bit complex to understand body-mind mechanism, but then, isn’t life itself complex? Do we leave aside living just because life is complex?

  Does disease reflect only the physical problem? Or it has something to do with mind also?

  Why does coffee cause some people severe constipation while the other enjoys it without any problem?

  Why getting early comes easy for certain people, while other feels very lethargic in the morning?

  Is it possible to live in a youthful state forever in our lives?

This is perhaps one of the best books you’ll find in Gujarati which introduces Ayurveda simply in 140 pages in astonishing depth. Read it and spread this as a ray of hope for our, too much doctor-dependent society!

     

Do you believe love has to be always unconditional? It’s true that unconditional love is of immense value for the healthy growth of a child or of any human-being. But conditional love has also its own value. It is found that those children who have received only unconditional love can not live with enough discipline to succeed in their lives. Ponder over this.

(Those who wish to read more on this can refer to ‘The Art of Loving’ by Erich Fromm)

 


Rebirth of the eagle: Do you know that an eagle has a life-span of 40 years, which it increases to 70 years through a fascinating process? See this PPT.

Here we go>>

Do you know we all can increase our life span by a minimum of 10-40 years if we too keep rejuvenating using our own traditional health sciences?

Do you know the definition of health as given by WHO-World Health Organization? It is as following:

"Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well being and not absence of disease or infirmity."

This definition of health was arrived at before some 50 years and since then it has not been changed yet. Surprisingly, this definition is still incomplete compared to as given in Ayurveda. See 'Ayurvedani Bhet', an oasis publication for more information.

 

These six will gladly attend you:

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a rupee.

 

Marriage isn’t a contest to see who is right most often. Marriage requires being what the Japanese call “the wise bamboo,” which means you bend so you don’t break. Treat your spouse with the flexibility and respect you would give to a top client. Think how we treat clients: we smile, we are polite, and we listen to their ideas. Never forget that your spouse is more important than a client. It requires one to be really principle centered to treat your spouse with equal respect, equal integrity and equal honesty that you give easily to your clients.

There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. That criterion is- have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them- so keep trying.

(From Peace Pilgrim)

 

 
  Editor's Note

The World Health Day is celebrated on 7th April each year. Starting from 1950, World health Organization celebrates this day with some particular theme related to health – like for 7 April, 2008 the theme is ‘Protecting health from the adverse affects of climate change.’

The WHO will move international campaigns and seminars to bring change at international level. But you will agree, health is the issue related to each and everybody. So we can choose to celebrate this day individually as well collectively. Hope this ‘World health day special’ issue of alive will help in some way for betterment of your health.

As this is a special issue, the regular features – ‘Right Angle’ and ‘That’s Oasis’ are not included and instead a special feature is added.

Responses from readers are awaited. Mail your response, suggestion for alive at – oasis.alive@yahoo.co.in

- Team Alive

 
  Team Alive

  Sanjiv Shah

  Sheeba Nair

  Jolly Madhra

  Kshama Kataria

  Umesh Patel

  Alkesh Raval

 
  Forthcoming Programs

Workshops:

  April 1, 2: A series of 10 workshop planned for Oasis ASHA team-members. As a part of this series, third Self Development workshop will going to be held on April 1, 2 at Bangalore. The workshop will be facilitated by Sheeba Nair.

  April 5, 6: As a part of MHS workshop series on going at Surat, a second workshop on "The principles of Greatness" is organised on April 5, 6. Oasis Facilitator Sheeba Nair will facilitate the workshop for the CEOs of the Diamond and Textile industries.

  April 8, 9: A workshop on MHS-7 for the Directors of Bhagyrekha Engineers' Pvt. Ltd. as a part of ongoing Oasis workshop series.

  April 13: L-M-E Series i.e. Leadership, Management and Empowerment Course of 6 days for CEOs starts from April 13 at Mumbai.

  April 19, 20: Workshop of 'LOVE' Series at Surat.

  April 21, 22: A series of Oasis Workshop, specially designed for teachers will be inaugurated with the first workshop on April 21, 22 for Fountain Head School, Surat.

Seminar:

  April 29, 30: A seminar on 'Rural Development.' NGOs from all over Gujarat are invited to participate.

Sessions:

  April 9: A regular session on 'Success Over Self' by Oasis Facilitator Dr. Pallavi Raulji for B. K. School of Management, Ahmedabad.

  Weekly meeting of Self Development Circle: Oasis has recently launched 'Self Development Circle for youth' at Mumbai. Those who are interested to join can contact Preeti Nair on Mob. No. +91-99243 43087.


  Note :- The dates can be changed due to unavoidable circumstances. Please check the dates of the program in advance with respective coordinator of the activity/Oasis centre.

 
  Publication Basket

Akhand Swasthya Shrunkhala
(The continuous health series):

"Arogyani Bhet"

Written by : Sanjiv Shah

Pages: 45

Rs. 15.00

 

"Dadima MBBS!"

Compiled by : Pallavi Raulji

Pages: 32

Rs. 10.00

 

New Arrival-

"Ayurvedani Bhet"

Written by : Sanjiv Shah

Pages: 144

Rs. 95.00

 

For Orders Please Contact :

Pallavi Raulji

Publication Co-ordinator, Oasis Publications
Mob. No. 99243 43088


the OASIS shop

Vadodara, Gujarat
Ph. No. 0091 - 265 - 2351862

For more information about Oasis Publications

Click Here >>>

 

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