The Happy Zen - Tips for Successful Public Speaking

I have mastered the art of public speaking after years of sincere practice and effort. In the below article, I have given the simple tips that I am following to give a world-class presentation/speech.  

Home-Work : 

• Watch TED/Toastmaster videos in YouTube to learn the body language and tone of the speaker. 
• 93% of your communication will be through your body language and tone of delivery. So concentrate more on it. 
• Practice your Presentation/Speech in front of mirror by watching your eyes. 
• Do lots of homework about the subject that you are presenting. It increases your confidence. 
• The day before the presentation, visualize that you are delivering a brilliant speech and everyone appreciates and congratulates you. ( Winston Churchill uses this technique and he exactly knows when people claps, smiles, etc ).

Before Presentation : 

• Arrive 30 mins early to the presentation hall.
• Dress neatly and decently. 
• Switch off your phone during presentation.
• Have a small bottle of water to hydrate you during presentation.
• Close your eyes and watch your breath for 5 mins before presentation. It relaxes and calms the mind. 

During Presentation :

• When delivering the speech watch the eyes of the audience.
• Have a smile on your face during presentation.
• Keep your hands Open [ (i.e) Don't keep the hands on your pocket or tie your hands ] 
• Use lots of humor during speech / presentation.
• Make the presentation colorful with more images and less words.
• Have an interactive presentation session and ask simple questions to the Audience.
• Be bold and confident during the presentation.
• If someone asks a question which you don't know, it is perfectly "OK" to say "Sorry I don't know. I will check and get back to you". 
• Make your audience comfortable.
• Believe that you are the "King" in the presentation arena. 
• Finish the presentation within time. 

Last but not least, practice makes a man perfect. Give lots of presentation and one day, you will rule the stage. Everything is possible, if you Believe. 

Zen Wisdom - I learnt from a Baby

"If you keep your eyes and ears open, everyone will be your master - Unknown"

I have keenly observed the activities of a baby and I am pleasantly surprised to know the below good traits, which everyone of us should posses.

1. Eat when hungry.
2. Stop eating when full.
3. Sleep well.
4. Play well.
5. Love everyone unconditionally.
6. Forgive everyone.
7. Smile at strangers
8. Live in the present moment.
9. Be content.
10. Be active always.
11. Eager to learn new things.
12. Love visiting new places.
13. Be happy for no reason.
14. Doesn't compare with anyone.
15. What others think about you is none of your business.

Each and everyone of us are born in this beautiful world with such good qualities. However, due to many reasons we have been moved out of track. Try to follow the above points as much as possible, and you too can live a happy and contented life like a baby.

Powers of Subconscious Mind - Kavitha's earring story :

“Within your subconscious mind you will find the solution for every problem, and the cause for every effect - Dr.Joseph Murphy” 

In the below article, I would like to share you the real magical incident happened in the life of Kavitha [ The Happy Zen Member] as she have written to me.

"Prem,
I would like to share an interesting incident with related to the power of subconscious mind.

One Monday morning, while I was drying my wet hair, my earring had dropped. I searched for a while and asked my maid to search for it and left to office. Earring is very precious to me as it is gifted by my husband on my first birthday after our marriage. My maid and my mother searched for 2 hours and cleaned the whole bed room and couldn't find. Before going to sleep, when my subconscious mind is active, I thought for a while on where it would have been hiding in our bedroom and with that thought, I slept. During my sleep, I had a dream, in-which I was able to see my earring clearly in a drawer slide as shown in the below picture. 

Next day evening,I started searching again with calm mind. As seen in my dream, I just opened one of the drawer and was able to find my earring in the drawer slide, exactly in the same place where I have seen my earring in my dream. No one might have imagined that it will be present in that place, which is little far from where I lost it.

You always insists on the powers of subconscious mind which I experienced. 
As you know, I am a very normal person who leads day-day life in a closed circle, Office, House, Kids, Husband, Temple. I am neither a divine soul nor have any good habits of reading books, meditate on daily basis, attending lectures/classes etc. But still, I am really surprised that, I too can experience the power of subconscious mind. It is all because of you people.. Thanks. :)"

In the above incident, Kavitha have given command to the Subconscious mind, without her knowledge before she had slept that day. And the subconscious mind which knows all the information had revealed the place in her dream. You can read many more miracles in the book "The Power of subconscious mind" by Dr.Joseph Murphy.  

Aladdin's genie [ Subconscious Mind] is there within everyone of us. If we know how to use it properly, we can do many more magics and miracles in your life. Auto-suggestion, Affirmation, Creative Visualization, Prayer, etc are some of the tools that is used to utlitise the powers of subconscious mind. With the powers of subconscious mind you can improve your health, bank balance and be successful in your career and relationship, etc.  

Morning Rituals - for a healthier and successful "You"

"Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today - Doe Zontamata"

How you start your day, determines your mood, happiness and performance in the rest of the day. So only, the first few hours of the morning is also called as "Golden Hours". In the below article, I have presented the Do's and Don'ts that needs to be followed as the first thing in morning, for a healthier and successful version of "You".

Do's :

• Wake up early at-least by 6.00 AM in the morning.
• As soon as you wake up, sit in bed and close the eyes and do the following (I) Affirm "I am healthy. I am whole.I am complete.I am perfect.I am strong.I am powerful. I am happy. I am peace.I am harmonious. I am loving. I am abundance. I am wealthy.I am young. I am Rich.I am successful.I am Divinely protected.I am Divinely guided"(It is during this time, the subconscious mind is highly active).(II) Imagine the whole world is surrounded by white Divine healing light of love and bless the World. (III) Thank God for all the blessings in your life like food, shelter, clothes, family, friends, etc.
• Use herbal tooth powder.
• Sip 2 glass of water in empty stomach.
• Perform Oil pulling.
• Do yoga or Walking or Exercise for about 20 minutes.
• Do meditation for 10 minutes. 
• Use herbal bath powder and herbal hair powder. 
• Pray to God. 
• Plan your day with a To-Do list. 
• Read something uplifting for 20 mins.
• Listen to positive affirmations. 
• Eat healthy and nutritious breakfast that includes lots of nuts,fruits and vegetables.
• Commute to office using public transport or office shuttle. 
• Reach office one hour earlier and do your important task first.

Don'ts :

• Avoid drinking Tea or coffee in an empty stomach.
• Avoid watching news or reading Newspaper in the morning ( Your subconscious mind will be very active and everything you read will be implanted in your mind) 
• Don't check your mobile for E-mail, Facebook, Whats-app, etc as soon as you wake up on your mobile.
• Say "No" to TV, iPad and computer. 
• Avoid commuting to office in a personal vehicle in a heavy traffic.

A small change in your morning ritual can bring a big change in your life.Once you start following the above morning rituals, your life will transform positively filled with good health, success and happiness. 

"I am a good student" - Zen Poem

If I love my parents,

If I obey my teachers,
If I respect my elders,
If I help my friends,
I am a good student.

If I eat healthy,
If I exercise daily,
If I play well,
I am a good student.

If I love my subject,
If I do my homework,
If I read good books,
I am a good student.

If I dream big,
If I love my life,
If I am optimistic,
If I count my blessings,
I am a good student.

If I am kind,
If I am humble,
If I am compassionate,
I am a good student.

If I love all,
If I serve all,
If I forgive everyone,
I am a good student.

If I do good,
If I think good,
I am a good student.

Be Positive - An Eggless Birthday Cake Story :

Positive Thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will - Zig Zaglar. 

Inspired by the teachings of Buddha, Mahaveer, Lord Krishna and Vallalar I have stopped eating Non-Veg including egg from 2012 onward. I used to avoid Chocolates, Cakes and other food products that have egg. Inspired by me and by God's blessings, my wife also stopped eating Non-Veg including egg. 
[ I haven't compelled her to STOP and I don't like compelling anyone to STOP ]

14-Aug[Sun] is my Wife's birthday. I would like to celebrate it with a lovely egg-less Butterscotch cake. On Sat[13-Aug], I started at 8.15 PM in a two wheeler to buy Egg-less Butterscotch cake in Salem. I was highly confident that it is easy to get egg-less cake in Salem. 

I first approached Saravana bakery [one of the famous bakeries in Salem] at 8.30 PM. Bakery in-charge informed that "Egg-less cake will be prepared only based on order and if you give order now, I can deliver it tomorrow[14-Aug] at 11.00 AM. He also informed that the shop will closed exactly at 9.00 PM due to Aadi festival and if required, you need to pay advance to book your cake". 

I ignored his words, thinking that egg-less cake will be easy to buy and then I started my journey to Lakshmi Bakery. I reached there around 9.20 PM and the person in-charge also informed that there is no egg-less cake. I am little dis-appointed and called my wife and informed that I am sorry that I could not arrange "Egg-less" cake.  

On the way back home, I approached Iyengar Bakery, who also informed that there is no Egg-less cake. By this time, I have realized that I should have Ordered in "Saravana Bakery" when the person have insisted to pay advance and book the cake. 

Let's pause for a minute, and I would like to inform that Saravana bakery, Lakshmi Bakery and Iyengar bakery have varieties of Egg cake for immediate delivery. However, I don't want to buy "Egg" cake at any cost, as I strongly believe in the words of my masters. 

On my way home, many thoughts are running in my mind including the thought "I am highly positive and I should get cake, how I didn't get it".  At 9.40 PM, When I was about to take right to my home, my inner voice guided me to "Be positive" and go straight to Saravana Bakery and try one more time [ I would like to remind you that the Saravana Bakery in-charge strictly informed that the shop will be closed by 9.00 PM ]. 

I would like to follow my hunch and give a final try before I quit my mission. I remembered a quote, "The difference between Ordinary and Extra-ordinary is that little extra". I am ready to go for a extra-mileage to fulfill my mission. 

By the time, the I reached Saravana Bakery, it is around 9.45 PM. All the doors are closed except the entrance. I parked my vehicle quickly and went inside the Bakery and all the employees are cleaning the whole shop. With a big smile on my face, I went to the cash counter and ordered my favorite "One kg Butterscotch Egg-less cake". 

On the way home, I remembered one more beautiful quote "Winners never Quit and Quitters never win" and it will be recorder as one more success story in my life for being positive and to try till the goal is reached. 

Next day, the Egg-less cake is delivered on-time and I am delighted to celebrate the birthday with an egg-less Butterscotch cake. 

Moral of the Story : 

• Be Optimistic in every situation. 
• You might also reach a junction in your life, where you need to take a decision to quit or try one time by being positive. I request you also to try one more time and it might bring success and transform your life completely.  

I watched my watch in my mind - Powers of Mind :

“Within your subconscious mind you will find the solution for every problem, and the cause for every effect - Joseph Murphy” 

In this article, I would like to narrate a real incident about, how I used my subconscious mind to find my lost watch. After becoming a happy Zen, I started loving everyone and everything including the non-living things like my car, bike, mobile, laptop, home, etc.

In particular, I love my beautiful Casio watch. I won't leave my house without my watch. If I don't wear my watch then, I get a feeling that "I miss something".

One fine day in my office, I have lost my watch. I have searched in almost all the places in my office. Unfortunately, my search went in a vain and I am not able to find my watch.

Suddenly, I remembered an incident from the book "The power of subconscious mind" written by Dr.Joseph Murphy. In that book, the author have explained how a young man have found the lost will ( A legal asset document) written by his father, by using the subconscious mind. 

Initially, all the attempts by the young man to find the will, was not success. 
However, as per the guidance from Dr.Joseph Murphy, the Young man gave the command to the mind as "I now turn this request over the subconscious mind. It knows where the will is, and reveals it to me". Next morning, this young man got an hunch to visit a specific bank in Los Angeles, where he found his will. 

I have used the same technique and found my loving watch, as explained below.

• Step 1: I have sat in comfortable position and closed my eyes.
• Step 2: I have taken 5 deep breaths to go to Alpha state. ( It is when the subconscious mind is highly active)
• Step 3: I command my subconscious mind as "I trust in the power of my subconscious mind. I command it to show me the location of my watch".
• Step 4: Within couple of seconds, I could clearly see in my mind that my watch is lying on top of the table in our conference room called "Tapti".
• Step 5: At around 7.30 PM on the same day, I have requested my colleague Suhail, to check the conference room(Tapti) for my watch, as I have already left office.
• Step 6: Unfortunately, Suhail informed that there is no watch in the conference room.
• Step 7: Next day I have asked the "Lost and Found" section in the security department about my Casio watch.
• Step 8: With a cute smile, the security person informed that they have recently found a watch. 
• Step 8: Hurray, I found my loving watch. Most interesting part of the story is that, in the security records it is mentioned that, the watch is found in "Tapti" conference room which I have watched in my mind. 
• Step 9: I thanked my subconscious mind with a big smile.

It is a well known fact that our subconscious mind have all the information from our birth.It is 30,000 times more powerful than our conscious mind. If you can master your subconscious mind, you can do many more magics and miracles in your life. 

Let's be the change - Board the Bus

"Be the change you want to see in this world - Mahatma Gandhi"

Traffic in Bangalore is growing in a very fast pace everyday. On some of these days, I spend almost two hours on my bike in the huge piled up traffic amidst the polluted smoke. It also dissapoints me when I hear that some people end up spending three to four hours in trafiic in a day. During the rains in Bangalore, the situation only worsens due to the water clogs on the roads.

The traffic intimation on Google maps shows blood red roads, indicating huge traffic in most of the places in the Outer Ring Road, Bangalore, from Ramamurthy Nagar to BTM layout during the peak hours of office.

As per the study by Washington University, 'Commuting in a huge traffic can lead to higher chronic stress'. It is a known fact that 80 percentage of the diseases are caused by stress. Hence, in-order to lead a healthy and happy life, you need to find the exact root cause of stress and take required action.

So, I have decided to board the BMTC bus in-order to have a peaceful commute to and fro to work. Inadditon to that, I get a satisfaction that I contribute to reducing the traffic and pollution to our beautiful Garden city. I always appreciate the quality of VOLVO buses and the good service provided by our BMTC. 

Kavitha(The Happy Zen member) says "I travel by Volvo to office everyday. It is really a good environment to listen to zen audio, meditation. A very good place to rest our mind.I started loving to commute now".

Things TO-DO in bus :

• Read good books.
• Listen to soothing music.
• Listen to good audio books.
• Have a relaxed nap.
• Listen to Guided Meditation.

Advantages of Boarding a Bus :

• You get peace of mind.
• Your body will be relaxed.
• Your physical and mental health will be improved. 
• Your knowledge will be upgraded.
• Your energy will be saved to give your best performance at work.  

Alternative Options :

• Use office shuttle.
• Be an early bird to office.
• Appoint a driver.
• Go car pooling.

Your productivity and efficiency at work during the day depends on how you start your day. So, I strongly recommend you to board the office/ BMTC buses and have a peaceful and blissful commuting. Bon Voyage. 

Final Words : 
I wrote this article while in a VOLVO BMTC bus on the way to my office using my lovely LG Mobile. 

Experiment to prove the Subconscious Mind

"Subconscious mind is 30,000 times more powerful than conscious mind"

Our human mind has been classified as conscious mind, subconscious mind and Super-conscious mind. Conscious mind is active only when you are awake but subconscious mind is always active, even during your sleep. 

After studying the lives of many successful people including Edison and Henry Ford, Napolean Hill proved that, "once the burning desire is implanted in the subconscious mind, soon it becomes a reality". Dr. Joseph Murphy has provided lots of magic and miracle happenings by the subconscious mind in his book called "The power of your Subconscious mind".

In this article, we will conduct one small experiment to show the power of one's subconscious mind.

• Step 1: Before the you get to sleep in the night, sit in a comfortable position on your bed.
• Step 2: Close your eyes.
• Step 3: Slowly take ten deep breaths.
• Step 4: Now you are in Alpha state where your Subconscious mind is highly active. 
• Step 5: Affirm in your mind, "I strongly believe in the powers of my subconscious mind. I command my subconscious mind to wake me up exactly at 5.00 AM in the morning".
• Step 6: Believe and lie in the bed and sleep peacefully.

To your surprise, your subconscious mind will wake you up at 5.00 AM sharp in the morning. I have tried this many times and my subconscious mind has never failed me.

Similarly, you can use your subconscious mind to improve your health, achieve success, attract wealth, get your dream job, etc by affirmations and creative visualization. 

You are richer than you think - Zen Poem

If you eat good food,

If you drink clean drinking water,

If you have a sweet home,

If you have a wardrobe full of clothes,

You are richer than you think;

If you can see this beautiful world,

If you can hear the music of birds,

If you can smell the aroma of flowers,

If you can taste the fruits,

If you can kiss a baby,

You are richer than you think;

If you have a loving parents,

If you have an understanding spouse,

If you have good children,

You are richer than you think;

If you have a decent job,

If you have a good colleagues,

If you have a good friends,

You are richer than you think;

If you are divinely guided,

If you are divinely protected,

If you have an uplifting masters,

You are richer than you think;

If you can speak,

If you have wisdom,

If you can read good books,

You are richer than you think;

If you can help others,

If you can walk in the nature,

If you get sleep in the night,

You are richer than you think;

If you are content,

If you count your blessings,

If you have some money in your bank account,

You are richer than you think;

You start living blissfully - Zen Poem

"You start living blissfully"

If you travel,
If you read good books,
If you listen to the music of nature,

You start living blissfully;

If you dream big,
If you are optimistic,
If you believe in yourself,
You start living blissfully;

If you are kind,
If you are humble,
If you help others to grow,
If you are compassionate,
You start living blissfully;

If you love all,
If you serve all,
If you forgive everyone,
You start living blissfully;

If you live simply,
If you are grateful,
If you are content,
If you count your blessings,
You start living blissfully;

If you smile a lot,
If you live in present,
If you love your work,
You start living blissfully;

If you pray,
If you believe,
If you have faith,
If you have patience,
You start living blissfully;

If you do good,
If you be good,
If you think good,
You start living blissfully;

Love your life and it loves you back.

Mr.Paddhu- Tips for Happy Marriage Life

If you would like to see how God Shiva and Goddess Parvathi might have lived in this beautiful world, you are welcome to visit Mr.Padmanabhan (Paddhu) and Mrs.Abirami's beautiful home at Kachipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Both of them are lovely divine souls, who have a beautiful bonding with each other.Paddhu Anna have proposed his desire to marry her on 1989 and he needs to wait for around seven years to marry her on 1996. It is a beautiful love and arranged marriage by the will of the God. 

Paddhu anna told many times that "Abirami is the secret of my energy".

Both are divine souls who are bonded together by unconditional love. "The Happy Zen" team was proud to present them the "Best Couple Award" for their unconditional love and being a role model for all. 

Below are the tips given by this lovely couple, to all of them who wish to have a happy marriage life.

• Unconditional mutual love.
• Respect your spouse desires and try to fulfill the desire with happiness.
• Never blame either of the parents.
• Live Simply.
• Plan for future together.
• Let investment be your first spending
• Share happy moments daily while chatting
• Always speak the truth
• Appreciate your spouse even for small accomplishments.
• Don't talk negative about your spouse anywhere especially in public places.
• Trust each other.
• Don't let third person interfere between husband and wife.
• Live as if, there is one soul in two bodies 
• Live for your spouse happiness without any expectation.

On behalf of the happy Zen team, I wish them good health, happiness, peace, love and success.

The Happy Zen - Easy tips for Instant Relaxation

We have been programmed to think, in-order to relax our body and mind, we need to spend lots of money. However, in the below article, I have highlighted some of the key points for instant relaxation that involves less or no money.

• Listen to soft good relaxing music which you love.
• Dance to your favorite song.
• Play your favorite musical instrument.
• Play your favorite sport. 
• Watch your  favorite comedy movie.
• Watch your favorite comedy program.
• Read your favorite book.
• Read your favorite blog. 
• Wear your favorite color dress.
• Call your best friend.
• Go for a walk in the park or in the office campus.
• Eat the fruit you like.
• Have a fruit juice you like. 
• Visit the nearby temple or church or mosque or Holyplace.
• Have a bath in shower.
• Sit in Meditation and start observing your breath.
• Chant the Holy names of God (Japa).
• Watch the photos in your Gratitude Journal.
• Play with your children.
• Play with your Pet animal [ Dog, Cat, etc ]
• Listen to Good Audio Books.
• Do DRT [ Deep Relaxation Technique ].
• Get a head massage or body massage.
• Practice creative visualizations.
• Spend quality time in nature. 
• Try Swimming. 
• Clean your bike or car or desk or house. 
• Go for a drive to a new location with your spouse or friends. 
• Engage in small act of kindness. 
• Take a small nap with soothing music in background. 

Try to follow as many as possible points listed above, when you are stressed and depressed. Above techniques will help to release the happy hormones and it relaxes your body.

Let the divine bless you a happy, peaceful, and relaxed life.

Never judge someone without knowing the whole story

Smart people learn from their mistakes.wise people learn from others mistakes - Unknown 

Below is the true incident happened in the life of one of our happy Zen member. She would like to share the below story, sothat we also don't do the same mistake in our life.I have pasted the content below same as received in my mail. 

"I once booked an uber cab which I shared with another traveler to go home from work. I was the second passenger that the driver had to pick up. But unknowingly, the driver picked me up before the first passenger who had booked the cab, who was waiting a few blocks before my pick up point. After I boarded the cab, the driver called the former and asked them to walk till my pick up point. 

The first passenger, a lady, asked him to take a detour to pick her up as she couldn't walk. The driver pled the lady and asked her to arrive at where we were as it was only a few blocks away. The lady gave in and walked to the cab. Meanwhile, the driver started complaining to me that the lady couldn't walk even a few blocks to catch the cab. I was sort of annoyed and I added to what the driver was saying, that the lady should've walked instead of asking us to take a detour.

But to my surprise, when the lady arrived, I saw that the lady was carrying an eight months old baby in her belly. I felt very disappointed with myself that I judged the lady for refusing to walk a few blocks. I cursed myself for having had the negative thoughts about a person I barely knew. 

I relearnt a lesson from my mistakes that day. I shouldn't judge or condemn anyone without knowing the situations or the people involved. Although I knew this from before, I got carried away momentarily by a negative reflex. 

Many of us would have been here one time or the other in our lives. We learn a lesson for the moment and unlearn it in future only to realize again later in life. We should only add to the lessons learnt but not rewrite the same every time" 

Moral of the Story : 
Never judge someone without knowing the whole story.Start thinking from other person's perceptive, sothat you understand them more. Atleast from now onwards, be an encourager and see how your life turns positively. 

Mrs.Girija Pandian- Tips for a happy marriage life

Mrs.Girija and Mr.Pandian are lovely divine souls, who have a beautiful bonding with each other. Mr.Pandian often calls his wife affectionately as Chellam [ Darling].Eventhough Mr.Pandian is in a important official meeting, if he receives a phone call from his wife, he immediately attends it. It shows his priority, love and importance to his wife. 

On the account of their 15th marriage anniversary, "The Happy Zen" team was proud to present them the "Best Couple Award" for their unconditional love and being a role model for all. 

Below are the tips given by this lovely couple, for those who wish to have a happy and successful marriage life. 

• Love your partner unconditionally just like how you love your parents. 
• Accept your partner as he/she is even with their shortcomings. 
• Resolve your fights on the same day without waiting for the time to decide. 
• Don't have a mediator come in between you both to resolve the issues. 
• Don't show your indifference in front of your parents or in-laws. 
• You can touch your partner's heart by taking care of their extended family members[ one of the success principles that I follow.] 
• Make your partner feel that he/she is your world. 
• During the initial days of your marriage, understand that both of you come from different family backgrounds, customs, etc. So respect each other's feelings and opinions, 
• Don't fight to establish that your parents are the best. 
• Treat them with surprises and gifts every now and then. It shows that you're always thinking about the other. 
• Tell them 'I LOVE YOU' as often as possible. 
• Spend at least 10 minutes of quality time alone with your partner everyday. 
• Don't hesitate to say SORRY even when the fault isn't yours. 
• Partners can do activities together which they are passionate about [eg. We love going for long drives,eating McDonalds Icecream,sipping A2B coffee,attending spiritual courses, etc.]

On behalf of "The Happy Zen" team, I wish this beautiful couple good health, happiness, peace, love and peace life long. 

The Happy Zen - Quotes