“Heal the world, make it a better place” was Michael Jackson’s rendition in the 1990s. Unfortunately, after the rush of blood to the head, Jackson-inspired moment, what else can humankind be appraised for in our bid to really MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE?

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates writes in the current issue of Newsweek that progress is being made in worldwide health initiatives for developing countries, with governments, aid groups and communities "simply refusing to accept the notion that diseases like malaria and tuberculosis will haunt us forever. The evidence is in: these problems can be solved."

Here's how...

Continue reading "Healing the World" »

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This time, we explore all things that delve into the human mind. Books extolling Sigmund Freud to Carl Jung and other psychological theorists is the running theme of our choices. Not a fan of psychology? Fret not. Murder, mystery and passion are what these psychological thrillers are premised on.

Continue reading "Brain Teasers" »

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What are the final limits of medicine? What should we not try to cure medically, even if we had the necessary financial resources and technology? This book philosophically addresses these questions by examining two mirror-image debates in tandem.

Continue reading "The Limits of Medicine" »

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You must be wondering as to how there is yet another public holiday-Hari Raya Haji, coming up on the 20th December, commemorating a Muslim religious event, when Hari Raya Puasa just ended 2 months ago?

Continue reading "An Essential Journey" »

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Many people meditate, regardless of religion. Are you a beginner? Don't worry, help is on the way! Check out these titles.

Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation
By Alan Watts
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

WHEN "you" understand the art of contemplation, there is no experiencer separate from experience, and there is no one to get anything out of life, or therefore to get anything from meditation.

Finding the Center Within: The Healing Way of Mindfulness Meditation
By Thomas Bien & Beverly Bien
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection, NLB Overdrive Collection

WHO wouldn’t want to live a calmer, more peaceful existence? Thomas and Beverly Bien teach that if we find the center within through ongoing mindfulness we...

Meditation for Dummies -- For Dummies; 2nd Ed.
By Stephen Bodian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

THE truth is, you can learn the basics of meditation in five minutes. Did you realize that meditation has an illustrious multicultural history?

The Soul's Companion: Connecting With the Soul Through Daily Meditations
By Dayton, Tian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

THEY may be daily quiet time or meditation, journaling or nature walks.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation
By Joan Budilovsky & Eve Adamson
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

A POSITIVE mental state is ideal for meditation, and meditation can make the most of a positive mental state. Meditation Is Healing Power But meditation is more than stress relief, fitness ally, and preventive medicine.

Audio eBooks:

Angels & Guides Healing Meditations
By Sylvia Browne
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

YOU'LL find a new level of comfort, safety, and clarity as you listen to these four uniquely powerful meditations from world-renowned psychic and best-selling author Sylvia Browne. Discover that...

Creative Visualization Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

SHAKTI Gawain’s Creative Visualization Meditations audio has sold over 300,000 copies since its release nearly 30 years ago. Shakti Gawain gently guides listeners through meditations from her...

Native American Meditations
By Amanaska
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

FOR nearly thirty years, listeners have found practical advice for improving their lives in Shakti Gawain’s audio products. The guided meditations found on this audio offer easy-to-implement approaches...

Want more? Well then explore our eBook Collections!

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Memory is a funny thing. We all have unique memories--places, people, sounds, and smells that are personally significant and trigger reactions across the spectrum of our emotions. What is your earliest earliest memory? What is your most recent memory? Memory is personal and powerful. As a person our memories establish where we've been and who we are when we were there. Our memories are the Ariadne's threads which lead back to our childhood selves from the adults we have turned into because, or in spite of, these memories. When we're young we tend to take our memories for granted but as we get older, as they slip away, we may become fearful and disorientated. We often say that the computer has a memory and we increasingly use it as our "backup" memory for documents, photos, videos. In recent years the Internet has become our collective memory where we can turn for a memory jog on a multifarious amount of subjects - all we need to do is remember the search word that will call up the correct answer or memory!

Continue reading "Memories are made of ...?" »

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"My brother is the boy with the big black eyes. He has an aura about him that feels strange and nervous. My brother is different. He doesn’t understand when jokes are made. He takes a long time to learn basic things. He often laughs for no reason.

He was pretty average until the first grade. That year, his teacher complained of him laughing in class. As a punishment, she made him sit in the hall. He spent all his time on the fake mosaic tile outside the room. The next year, he took a test that showed he needed to be placed in a special-education class.

As I grew older, I began to resent my brother. When I walked with him, people stared. Not that anything was physically wrong with him; it’s just something that radiated from him that attracted attention. I would clench my teeth in anger sometimes, wishing he were like other people, wishing he were normal.

I would glare at him to make him uncomfortable. Every time my eyes met his, stark and too bright, I would say loudly, “What?” He’d turn his head quickly and mutter, “Nothing.” I rarely called him by his name.

Continue reading "Siblings' Day" »

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From the rationalist to the devotee of whatever persuasion - it seems we can't resist saying something quotable about love. Here's a selection of our favourites from first flush to dealing with the debris:

At First Sight

"Where both deliberate, the love is slight: Who ever lov'd, that lov'd not at first sight?"

Christopher Marlowe 1564-1593, British Dramatist, Poet

"I do not think that what is called Love at first sight is so great an absurdity as it is sometimes imagined to be. We generally make up our minds beforehand to the sort of person we should like, grave or gay, black, brown, or fair; with golden tresses or raven locks; -- and when we meet with a complete example of the qualities we admire, the bargain is soon struck."
William Hazlitt 1778-1830, British Essayist

"You can't blame gravity for falling in love."
Albert Einstein

Continue reading "Love "Quote ....Unquote"" »

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Breaking Free Introducing a New Method of Psychological Self-Exploration by Nathaniel Branden Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing Do you believe you’re worthless? Ineffectual? Mediocre? Helpless? Nathaniel Branden, best selling author of The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem introduces a revolutionary method to show you how repressed feelings and forgotten past experiences may have shaped your current sense of self. Through dramatized case studies, Branden reveals how responding to these key questions can expose you to new ways of thinking about yourself and your past. Breaking Free will liberate you from your inhibitions and allow you to have a greater sense of yourself and your true potential. To access this title! Click on OVERDRIVE.

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Power of Tea

Did you know that after water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world?

A nice hot cup of tea can make life's little miseries more bearable and boost your antioxidant quotient. There's something very calming about the ritual of preparing a pot of tea. Tea, whether it is black, white or herbal, has many health benefits. Latest research shows that a daily cuppa is brimful of antioxidants, which can lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health.

In Japan, a team of researchers was able to link green tea consumption with decreased mortality from all causes, based on a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Also, research shows that green tea may contain cancer-fighting agents, while certain herbal teas claim to combat or soothe many maladies. Some experts believe its flavonoids may even inhibit the growth of plaque on teeth.

Apart from being good for the health, the humble cup of tea was a powerful device for promoting world peace, according to a Japanese grandmaster Genshitsu Sen whose family has been promoting the tradition of tea-making for 500 years. It might be a result of the gentle act of making tea that could have an impact on human relations, suggested by Dr Sen, speaking through an interpreter.

Occupational psychologist Dr Rebecca Newton, who conducted a study into tea drinking for the UK Tea Council, said it is true that drinking tea together is a relaxing way for people to communicate effectively. "Tea is a natural social lubricant. It helps people relax, talk to one another and catch up. So it makes sense that one of the most effective ways to build a good reputation in the office is to make a refreshing cup of tea for colleagues.”

Tea is so popular today, with many flavours available. Drink to your health with traditional herbals favourites such as peppermint or chamomile or tempt yourself with one of the modern blends such as berry ripe, a chocolate and berry sensation or maybe Japanese Sencha green tea infused with vanilla. Get your cuppa tea, savour the taste and reap the benefits of it.

Direct Links:
(1) Wright, Hillary. “What's Brewing? New Evidence Of Benefits From Tea: An EN
Primer.” Environmental Nutrition; Oct2006, Vol. 29 Issue 10, p1-4.
Taken from: EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier

(2) Weil, Andrew. GREEN TEA, BLACK COFFEE.
Time; 9/25/2006, Vol. 168 Issue 13, p106.
Taken from: EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier

(3) Steaming ahead.
Economist; 7/8/2006, Vol. 380 Issue 8485, p57-57.
Taken from: EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier

(4) Hammers, Maryann. Stop sneezing.
Better Nutrition; May2006, Vol. 68 Issue 5, p56-56.
Taken from: EBSCOhost Avademic Search Premier

(5) Torrey, Joanna. The power of tea.
Health; Mar2006, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p137-137.
Taken from: EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier

(6) Mercieca, Tamra. Tea for two.
Sunday Telegraph; June 18, 2006, p6.
Taken from: Newsbank

(7) Finding world peace, right down to a tea.
Canberra Times; September 12, 2006.
Taken from: Newsbank

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"... the whole world smiles with you" as the song goes . At least that is Singapore's hope with the upcoming IMF/World Bank meetings. With smiling in mind we thought it would be interesting to look at a snapshot of the history, anatomy and psychology of smiling! No other animals have evolved as complex a set of facial muscles as have humans. We have 80 muscles that control what happens on our face it is said that you need 53 of these to smile. Those muscles communicate at least 40 different groups of expressions-the six primary emotions and their blends.

Continue reading "When you're smiling ....." »

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From Septuagint via Strine to SMS

The Bible(1) has come a long way since its first inception as a partial text in Hebrew and Greek. The translation of old and new testaments into Latin by St. Jerome gave priests control over the message. Thereafter the rise of the vernacular Bibles was slow but inevitable as the church went through ideological and popular changes.

Continue reading "The Lingo : Musings" »

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