T-----Tongue Fu

 

A difficult, rude man boarded a completely full flight .He began complaining loudly about anything and everything in sight. His bag not fitting the overhead bin ,he being sandwiched into the middle seat of the middle row, the delay in serving lunch and the lunch being a mere sandwich etc..He then proceeded to take a bite of his sandwich and dropped it back in the tray and angrily pushed the call button.

The flight attendant appeared promptly and asked him very politely, “Yes, how may I help you ?“  

He shoved the sandwich towards her and growled,” This sandwich is bad!”

The girl looked from him to his sandwich. She then looked back at him and stared at his sandwich long and hard. She focussed on him and then shook her finger at the sandwich and scolded, “Bad sandwich, you.. BAD sandwich!!”

The man was taken aback, a stunned silence followed and then everybody around burst out laughing, including the man.

Someone asked the girl later, how she came up with the idea. She explained that in her profession, she was required to handle such difficult people almost every day. Humour was a perfect antidote for the poison of rudeness, she said. Humour   was her mantra for people management at work and beyond.

The above excerpt is from an interesting book called Tongue Fu by Sam Horn.

Tongue Fu is the verbal equivalent of Kung Fu ( a martial art form ) .To deflect, disarm and diffuse any verbal conflict ,the art of Tongue Fu can be used.

Sam Horn has described various real life situations with rude or difficult people from all walks of life and how to tackle such people. The book is laced with humour in the form of  funny anecdotes and that makes it a delightful read .

Anyone who feels tongue tied in the face of a conflict, can use tongue Fu to create connection instead of alienation. Many pearls of wisdom in this book come from eminent personalities but I loved the real life anecdotes the most.

I picked this book ,only because the title intrigued me.I had not heard of the author before and  I am glad the book did not disappoint me.It is an easy read and I finished reading it in two days.

  

  

S----Sky is the limit !

Sky is the limit ! I believe so and the following photographs will prove this! These were clicked  at Goreme,Cappadocia ,Turkey

We prepare for a Hot Air Balloon ride at the crack of dawn. First splash of colour in the sky at 5.30am 

  We prepare for our date with the sky. The basket of the hot air balloon is our borrowed space for the next couple of hours .Our captain instructs us and prepares for the flight. There was enough fire in him and his balloon to launch us in the sky.

The flight takes off and very soon, the sky decides to show us its true colours ! 

Meanwhile, a bright balloon passed by...

               
                  Several balloons in various stages of take off...all eager to meet the sky.

 The Sky in various shades of blue dotted with balloons.

               
   Clouds wanted to meet us so they decided to fly close.

"The earth is feeling jealous mister"....say the tall ,stately ,natural rock formations, reaching out to the sky. 

 
 View from the sky is overwhelming and we remember a certain Mr Google while looking at the landscape :)                    

 "I think better start believing in  'sky is the limit ' thingy....makes sense now.View from the top is so much better. Parents can be right sometimes !"

                                                               

Q---Quake

In the quiet of a dark night,they huddled together in a dark corner of what once was their home.The only hope they could latch on to was that of a quick detachment of their bodies from their souls. Trembling limbs tightly clasped in a vice like grip,they could hear the other's palpitating heart. Agitated by the tremors ,the ground caved in .Engulfed by the quaking earth,their lips quivered ,too weak to speak but in silent prayer..

                                               

P--Pamukkale

Pamukkale , meaning 'cotton castle' ( pamuk--cotton + kale --castle ) in Turkish, is a natural site in Denzili Province in south Western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left behind by flowing water.The site is UNESCO protected .

Small streams of mineral rich water are guided through terraces in the area. The 'snow-clad 'mountains are actually covered with mineral deposits.

The water ,rich in minerals comes straight from several hot springs and gets collected into the terraces along the slopes .

                                            The view is breath taking .......

The mineral rich water has medicinal value and it is beneficial for the skin and is known to be helpful in many other conditions.

 Shoes are strictly forbidden .My kids saw the steep slope and the bare foot walk ahead  in the hot Sun and you can imagine the looks I must have invited from all quarters.Hobbs was ready to turn back as the ground was slippery beneath his feet ;) None of them had the heart to go back though and we all decided to take the difficult route downhill.

 The water was warm to touch and as we continued the one and a half hour walk along the slope, our feet intermittently encountered  small pools of ice cold water. The alternating warm and cold water tingled our senses and the feeling was that of pure bliss ! The walk was turning out to be the most memorable one ...

 The slope was steep and required a lot of balance on the feet as the ground was  slippery. No one complained though.Daughter touched and felt all along the trail...the stones,the clay,the deposits and splashed water like a small child .

Hobbs and son bonded through the trail and I heard my son ask his dad -" Can we make a house here ? Will the Turkish Government allow us to stay back? How expensive do you think will be  property in this area? "

They had loved the place ,obviously even more than I did. I smiled beneath my hat .

O- Oija Board

             
The occult has fascinated people from time immemorial .As teens ,we came across many stories and anecdotes relating to the occult. Most commonly talked about subject was the Oija board which was used to perform Planchett ( not sure how it is spelt ).

                                                     

One afternoon,unable to contain our curiosity we decided to call the spirit of a friend's grandfather. A hand made Oija board as shown in the picture was drawn on a big sheet of chart paper and stuck on a piece of hardboard.We did not want an unstable board . Five of us selected a friend's empty house and assembled the required paraphernalia. A coin, paper ,pens and some water to drink, just in case...

The expert amongst us was given the charge of inviting the respected spirit on earth. He made a straight face,warned us not to laugh and be serious throughout the procedure.Questions were rehearsed. I was tense ,not of the spirit but because I was the only non-believer in the room. The expert closed his eyes and we followed the leader.We all touched the coin in the centre of the board with the tip of our index fingers.After about 10 torturous minutes, the expert felt a movement in the coin.He thanked the spirit,after greeting him and asked the first question.We were told beforehand that the answers were going to be brief ,in letters or numbers mostly. The coin started moving towards 'yes' when we asked if the spirit was happy in the other world. The coin moved towards 'no' when we asked if the spirit missed its family. The grandson felt sad and opened his eyes wide and tried to 'spot' the spirit in the room.He was reprimanded promptly by others .

                                              

A born sceptic that I am ,I felt that the coin was being led by our expert in the desired direction so taking advantage of the other four fingers,I increased my finger pressure on the coin and the resistance to the movement of the coin increased .My friend explained the phenomena as displeasure being shown by the spirit and the great adventure met with a premature end.

After a hushed session lasting for a few minutes ,I admitted that it was my doing .The expert said I made a grave mistake by attempting to interrupt the session and that I will be liable to punishment of the worst kind.
Kid that I was ,I did get scared for a couple of hours.The details were poured out in front of my dad who is a scientist and all doubts were cleared at the dinner table.The friend still believes in the power of Oija and I still do not.

There is a rational explanation to the movement of  coin as I found out much later in life through the internet. The movement occurs due to the ideomotor effect and not due to the spirit. If the operator is blindfolded,only gibberish appears for an answer.
I like logic, I feel secure if there is logic behind any such alternative science.
 So have you tried Oija board ?Share please .


                                                                         
images courtesy Google images.

M----MIND

Mind, like a mirror transparent,reflects all
Mind projects the inner world in its true colours.                            
Mind can not be white for it can not hide,
Mind is a window with direct access inside.

Keep it clogged or drain it ,
Keep it simple, or complicate it
Up to you ,how you treat it.
Welcome the thoughts....
to rest a while and let  go.....
De clutter you must to make space for new 
Do not close your mind, expand it ....
Say.....

                                                                           

This post is for April A to Z challenge

           

L--- LIE

Lie is untruth
Lie is false but not imaginary....it exists.
Lie is empty, it yearns for confirmation.
Lie is needy, it needs reassurance.
Lie is fearful ..of enquiry.
Lie seeks support ...to exist.
Lie is difficult...a source of trouble.
A heap of lies can be burnt down by a tiny spark of truth .