To the Heaven we went: Mount Shasta

Mt. Shasta, CA

“When I first caught sight of Mount Shasta over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley, my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.”
— John Muir, 1874

So true, citing this stunning mountain from 100 miles away justified our decision to take this vacation. Mount Shasta is a unique experience. This place has sense of its own unique soul that will touch you instantly with is view. I can't imagine the bond that the locals share with its magnificent existence.
I'm not a spiritual person yet, but I know I want to be touched by the feeling of oneness, and visiting this place brought me closer to this feeling.
Mount Shasta is not connected to any nearby mountain and dominates the northern California landscape. It rises abruptly and stands nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the surrounding terrain. On a clear day, Mount Shasta can be seen from 150 miles away. The mountain has attracted the attention of poets, authors, and presidents.
From Sunnyvale,CA it took us around 6 hours to reach Mount Shasta valley, but surprisingly none of us was tired. The journey was smooth and was a delite in itself. My glorious moment of the trip was to site Mount Shasta from 100 miles. you can feel the rush of adrenaline when you see such a grandeur. You will cross the great Lake Shasta before reaching the town Mount Shasta. The lake is huge and is one of the destination of private sailors, kayakers etc. The famous Caverns have their home through this Lake. It is one of the must visit destinations. You can explore these extraordinary natural caves and understand the anatomy of our earth. The guided tour takes around 3 hours and is pretty inexpensive.
Mount Shasta itself have many scenic lakes, Lake Siskiyoui being the biggest. The lake is surrounded by many camp sites and walking trails. There's also Castle lake, Heart Lake and Mini Castle Lake to upbeat your urge of adventure.
Some of the finest waterfalls are too located in near vicinity to Mount Shasta. A trip to Burney Falls, the famous trip of Mc Cloud falls and the lost Mosbare falls is sublime. There aren't any GPS coordinates for these elusive places, just update your local information and drive into these mini heavens.
Many climbers attempt the summit of Mount Shasta. The summer climbing season runs from late April until October,although many attempts are made in the winter. The most popular route is Avalanche Gulch, also known as the John Muir Route.

Accomadation and Food:There are plenty of little Motels and Comfy Inns in the this small town. The best of all are Mount Shasta Resort and Best Western Tree House. We Stayed at the Mount Shasta Resort to enjoy the abode of nature. The resort have 3-4 options for different Chalets as per the requirement and people. Few with a feel of your own living room and Kitchen. Room service was pretty good. 3-4 Night Stay might cost you around $400-500 (all inclusive), but you can ask for their weekly discounts while booking. It works!!
There are couple of super markets to help you with all your basic needs, my personal favorite ' Ray's Place' as it opens early and close late at night around 11pm. You can find regular eateries with the likes of Subway and Round Table Pizaa, and some great locla joint like Lily's for American food. Indian's like me..book a chalet with kitchen and get few Indian snacks and food along.
Go explore this spiritual abode, it is a getaway glorious in every season. Just pick your favorite and bag pack this marvel with an open mind.

Understanding Buddhism..

The word comes from 'budhi', 'to awaken'. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of 35. He was not God, nor did he claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience. Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness.

The first good reason is Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in modern materialistic societies. It also includes (for those who are interested) a deep understanding of the human mind (and natural therapies) which prominent psychologists around the world are now discovering to be both very advanced and effective.

One of the Buddhist teachings is that wealth does not guarantee happiness and also wealth is impermanent. The people of every country suffer whether rich or poor, but those who understand Buddhist teachings can find true happiness.

Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian', 'Muslim', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.

Science is knowledge which can be made into a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general natural laws. The core of Buddhism fit into this definition, because the Four Noble truths can be tested and proven by anyone in fact the Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

The Four irrefutable facts that cannot be denied. The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy.

The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc.

The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained, if we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.

The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.

The Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.

The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are: not to take the life of anything living, not to take anything not freely given, to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, to refrain from untrue speech, and to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness.

Myth-ology

Since the Pashan Yug - the stone age- several myths have been stingily followed by the storytellers, the religious seers. They have exerted hard enough to retrieve the origin of logics inserted by these myths. Their efforts have rendered basis of developed ideological expressions and differentiated it for the understanding today and for the times to come.

The word Myth has its origin from Greek word ‘Mythos’, which essentially means speech/ discourse, but has subsequently evolved and later has come to mean fable/legend. Stories those have lost in times have been explored to root, to rationalize their past existence with the present subsistence. They may have vague origins, but being basically religious and supernatural in nature, the interest never ends. The legends being originated from the basic content of Myth is usually understood by certain sages, but does fascinate every religious and critical mind.

As the historical events have been redesigned and refashioned by various storytellers, it may be hard to replenish the vital facts, which perhaps have perished with passing time and through each passing narrator.

Myths try to rationalize the purpose of Universe and everything existing in it. Giving a cosmological and historical insight to society, this has questioned the scientific interpretation of the Myths. Essentially, it has developed a subtle framework for the societies to understand them, and that too with the sophisticated influence. Also influencing Modern Science and its historical investigations.

Myths encapsulate collective imagination, dream, and this collective aspiration of society does influence our behavior and habits. When we study Myth we will establish that it is much more than an ideology or social phenomena and hence its orientation extends beyond the limits human imagination, beyond its consciousness.

A few general characteristics of mythological thinking have been derived from the fact, which primitive people have kept themselves connected from world, and not differentiate themselves from the natural world.

Another fine characteristic of the mythological phenomena is the weakness of its abstraction, as the modern ethno linguistic data represents. In Myth it is impractical to remove the object content and their space-time relationship, and essentially the situations that define these relationships. To beat the critical analysis, usually done by the common listener, logical analysis and classification is necessary via concrete imagery synthesis without becoming excessively abstract.

For our purpose of related meanings Mythology has been divided into systems, we call them Mythological Systems. These systems were followed by particular societies at a particular time and now they are subsequently being followed. We know them as Egyptian Mythology, Indian Mythology, Maori Mythology (originated in New Zealand) and Greek Mythology. Our ancient civilizations have been limited to these origins and so their remains of these Mythological origins are still alive.

If we group them geographically we have, Oceanic Mythology, Oriental Mythology and African Mythology.

Science evolves with every passing second, and somehow mythology does play a vital role in distinguishing scientific secrets. It is no doubt an acting force behind many aspects of magical and ritual practices. Mythology in an ongoing experience of facts, our society has been planned and structured because of various rational and devout reasons. The sagas and legends have ruled the basic learning of human mind from ages, but we still question their past existence, as we are unaware of many virtual facts. Moreover, it may be hard to stretch out each detail embedded but we sometimes have to accept the unknowing, ironically we have always.

Hinduism; A way of Life

Enchanting ‘OM’ behold the significance of subtle truths lying untouched in this universe. Hinduism gives a privilege to live a content life understanding the principles of instructive Vedas and Upanishads. The awakening through certain eternal truths appreciates the real nature of consciousness, which is far beyond the mind or body, or does it depend on the complex perceptions. Hinduism is a philosophy towards Vedic way of life and encourages people of various beliefs to sustain their faith towards it. It helps us learn the Truth confined beyond the world we live in.

The philosophy has extreme sense of tolerance prolonging the essence of its blissful existence. Its biggest strength is that it is not rigidly structured via any single holy book, giving its followers a freedom of thought and belongingness to their opinions. Hinduism itself hold believers and non- believers from various orientations, you can get iconoclasts and idol- worshipers here, and liberal and conservative minds sitting under the same roof that reflect the sacred of path Hinduism.

Being the world’s oldest extant religion it is not clear about its origin, and hence cannot be traced to any individual. The oldest of the Hindu scripts, the Rig Veda was composed well before 6000- 7000 B.C. The Spiritual content of Hinduism has been these four Vedas, which has been scripted by anonymous sages. These Vedic legends have been into existence because of seers who later passed on the message of Hindu Spirituality via Upanishads. Later being followed by various epic poems, like Bhagvad Gita and Mahabharat. They have helped us discover the reigning regime of this religion, which were governed by various Devi Devtas. They all suggest fragments evident with similar concept of the basic principle, which is the existence soul. It is the eccentric realities, which is hard to be effectively described in words.

Man tries to break free the vicious circle of life, i.e birth and death and seeking the divine Mokasha, which is what that has steered the Hindu psychology for so long. For centuries, we have nurtured the fluid Universe that reflects the actions of Karma, which is the force of creations. Undoubtedly, this source has illuminated the life around. We all can easily understand the concept of Karma – actions-, as it is what that in Hindu religion determines the fate of any individual. This is embedded in Hindu minds unknowingly, influencing subliminally. As the Newton’s law suggest, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Eventually, Karma being ‘action’ shapes the future we will be walking into, that will ultimately conclude our path of evolution into higher grounds. The seed cropping these actions are the never-ending desires prompting in our heart.

Desires have always been negative impact on human achievement to grow into sacred spiritual grounds. As it is when beholden, then burns the ropeway of spiritual journey of oneself before it begins.

Detachment and sacrifice are means to escape into the Spiritual world selflessly; it guides you to the supreme, when achieved. It is meaningless to stay attached to world around when it does not belong to you.

Hinduism is about selflessness. The Philosophy may be anonymously written but for sure do marvel the world we live in. we can easily feel content being part of the Vedic way of life.

60 going on 16

Why some love stories are so pure but we still can't understand them, even the one involved is virtually unconscious to understand their own drive, and keep steering any fading anxieties. It might be self-annoying falling over and over for all possible rational attributes until the time stride and make you surrender completely. And now the sleeping desires are sitting beside him on his front porch in his old age, slowly rocking back and forth, passing the time, thinking about the end of his life, fast approaching. The st ream of consciousness setting up the story was about what regrets he might have.

Now when he is an old man rocking away the end of his life, somehow might feel like sharing what he has been thinking about the presumptions, the one he never opt ... as openly and honestly as he could. At least some part of that feeling stems from the fact that the adults kept most of their thoughts, and their experiences which have affected from young ones, hidden from their anxious ears. And now wishing and hoping if he would have known then, or perhaps would have explored the same before the black turns Grey. Now knowing things which have been intruding while wondering the untamed anxieties have been a fairly choking experience.

When a child ask question, some of us does amuse him with silly answers, which is likely to confuse him further in future, hoping he will not turn back again with series of connecting questions. Indeed fooling an innocent mind is easy. Mind game of ideas and perceptions is played in the younger years. As the ideas and perceptions are limited to the adults, they strongly insert the same in the building minds, leaving plenty of questions unanswered. The sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and the appropriate decision is implanted without the explanations. And later when the answers are explored it’s too late to end the anxieties. Of course we have our values, principles and social attire to carry.

But when a 60 year old man tries to find his way through his untraveled never lands; breaking the barriers, what can we do to intrude his vivacious fantasies. A woman is equally tolerant to these behaviors but lack the extra edge to it, and that is, to fall over lust than compassion. The author in "The Female Brain” has evidently mentioned that, males have double the brain space and processing power devoted to physical needs as females. Just as women have an eight-lane superhighway for processing emotion while men have a small country road, men have O'Hare Airport as a hub of processing thoughts about sex whereas women have the airfield nearby that lands small and private planes. That probably explains why 85 percent of 20 to 30 year old males think about it every fifty-two seconds and women think about it once a day -- or up to three or four times on their most fertile days.

Leaving aside the Physical communication, a psychological unfulfilled frame is responsible for the old age sensitive engagement. It could be a need for a silent companion and could be the rage for a similar frequency. As the age procures the sincerity into the person it is easy for them to realize the responsibility, leaving aside if it is acknowledged.

On the Verge of love.

A Silk draping anxiety and emotions to cover the naughty eyes of exploration. It is when you seriously spend time and evolve with the romantic side of you. It is more beautiful than ever as you are ready to share it someone sacredly important. It's when we call this union A Fairy tale. A bitter confusion has been amusing to us today, which is dating. In the strictest sense of the definition, "courtship" doesn’t mean the same thing as "dating". Courtship leads to marriage. Dating, on the other hand, can include a range of physical, emotional and spiritual interaction between couples that doesn’t necessarily include marriage as the ultimate objective. The outcome of dating depends on what the couple wants from the relationship. The purpose of a dating relationship can vary from "having something to do" to "we may eventually get married."

Courtship can be mesmerizing if it is well equipped with the feeler of sincere commitment. It immediately conjures us to a conventional outlook of romance. We fall thinking of fallen flowers, poetry and perhaps some stolen kisses at the back of the porch. Evolving moods and human behavior for a prosperous career and peaceful mind it has now being described as getting to know each other's character, mutual interests, future goals and many other things which influence whether a person is "right".

The dictionary, focusing women, defines courtship to be an act or period of seeking the love of a woman with marriage being the Ultimate goal. The evolution from courtship to the dating of today began in the first decades of the twentieth century. Although some supporters of popular culture may view courtship as a relic of the past, there are those that believe the benefits of a romantic courtship are still worthy of consideration. For the romantic at heart, you will be glad to hear that some are reaching out to embrace the traditions of courtship.

How can we persuade a young, to be bride, to think more logically to crawl smoothly under the falling snow of mixed emotions and servicing endurance of friends and family. Falling in courtship is as tricky as filling a crossword, becoming a conscious sweetheart with every step.

A relationship is like a full time job, you need to work upon it every morning, every day and every night before it start losing it reasons. A relationship requires stimulation in all possible ways, first stimulating physically and then mentally for all life long, leaving no folds unturned. Nurturing a relationship means reaching outside your-self. It requires commitment by both individuals and a determination to ensure that the relationship endures. Displaying your love for your partner is one way to nurture your relationship, and it can be done in many ways.

Romance is experiencing the thrill of courtship and love. Romance is also incorporating the spirit of the dreams and sentiments of love to the areas of your life. As it can present itself when it is least expected. So cherish every moment of it, as it’s so very important to manage the romantic time. This is just a reminder that it is critical to put time aside for you or as a couple. The responsibilities and business of daily living can quickly smother thoughts of romance simply because you’re too tired. Even if your schedule only allows stolen moments, take advantage of those precious times, and blossom the fantasies over and over again.

But that's just me, as everyone is different so are the relationships. Just trying to find a common ground.

Friends Forever ??

Friendship is the avenue of believing the power of choice. A choice by which we tend to shape our present and reflect our future. It’s an act of personal relationship closer than the association, though the range of intimacy differs person to person.

Is it really possible to tag a single person as a best friend? Perhaps not as I believe in a life time you meet many potential best friends. I say potential, as you decide to share your secrets and your happiness with them, to judge if they approximately fall into the proximity of becoming the best of your friend.

In philosophical discussions of friendship, it is common to follow Aristotle in distinguishing three kinds of friendship: friendships of pleasure, of utility, and of virtue. Although it is a bit unclear how to understand these distinctions, the basic idea seems to be that pleasure, utility, and virtue are the reasons we have in these various kinds of relationships for loving our friend. That is, I may love my friend because of the pleasure I get out of her, or because of the ways in which she is useful to me, or because I find her to have a virtuous character. Given the involvement of love in each case, all three kinds of friendship seem to involve a concern for your friend for her sake and not for your own.

To care about something is generally to find it worthwhile or valuable in some way; caring about one's friend is no exception. A central difference among the various accounts of mutual caring is the way in which these accounts understand the kind of evaluation implicit therein.

The question facing any philosophical account is how that characteristic intimacy of friendship is to be understood.

It is not the sharing of private information nor even of very personal information, as such, that contributes to the bonds of trust and intimacy between companion friends. At best it is the sharing of what friends care about that is relevant.

A final common thread in philosophical accounts of friendship is shared activity. The shared activity is important because friends normally have shared interests as a part of the intimacy that is characteristic of friendship as such, and the “shared” pursuit of such shared interests is therefore an important part of friendship.

Throughout the path of our lives our chemistry with people is worked upon by the balance of our mind and heart. We push away the factors that may confuse the decision making.

A friend will always rise to the occasion, and might not always tell you what you want to hear, but will never let your stride go away.