Yesterday, Danielle, had an awesome comment that I want to share with our readers:

I have found that envisioning specific colors of light around me in savasana/meditation practise makes me feel so great! First, I envision a pink light (for love) around my entire body. Then I envision a light blue color (for courage) on top of the pink light. Lastly, I envision a tremendous amount of bright white/golden light (for clarity, overall amasing positive energy) on top of the pink and blue light. I believe this brings me strength and a better energy/aura for myself and others 🙂 I discovered this practice from Maureen.

I’m excited to incorporate this into my meditation.

Here is a link to Maureen’s blog — Wings Of Freedom.

It may have been the most momentous purchase of a magazine in the history of the Out of Town News stand in Harvard Square. Paul Allen, a college dropout from Seattle, wandered into the cluttered kiosk one snowy day in December 1974 and saw that the new issue of Popular Electronics featured a home computer for hobbyists, called the Altair, that was just coming on the market. He was both exhilarated and dismayed. Although thrilled that the era of the “personal” computer seemed to have arrived, he was afraid that he was going to miss the party. Slapping down 75 cents, he grabbed the issue and trotted through the slush to the Currier House room of Bill Gates, a Harvard sophomore and fellow computer fanatic from Lakeside High School in Seattle, who had convinced Allen to drop out of college and move to Cambridge. “Hey, this thing is happening without us,” Allen declared. Gates began to rock back and forth, as he often did during moments of intensity. When he finished the article, he realized that Allen was right. For the next eight weeks, the two of them embarked on a frenzy of code writing that would change the nature of the computer business.

What Gates and Allen set out to do, during the Christmas break of 1974 and the subsequent January reading period when Gates was supposed to be studying for exams, was to create the software for personal computers. “When Paul showed me that magazine, there was no such thing as a software industry,” Gates recalled. “We had the insight that you could create one. And we did.” Years later, reflecting on his innovations, he said, “That was the most important idea that I ever had.”

It may have been the most momentous purchase of a magazine in the history of the Out of Town News stand in Harvard Square. Paul Allen, a college dropout from Seattle, wandered into the cluttered kiosk one snowy day in December 1974 and saw that the new issue of Popular Electronics featured a home computer for hobbyists, called the Altair, that was just coming on the market. He was both exhilarated and dismayed. Although thrilled that the era of the “personal” computer seemed to have arrived, he was afraid that he was going to miss the party. Slapping down 75 cents, he grabbed the issue and trotted through the slush to the Currier House room of Bill Gates, a Harvard sophomore and fellow computer fanatic from Lakeside High School in Seattle, who had convinced Allen to drop out of college and move to Cambridge. “Hey, this thing is happening without us,” Allen declared. Gates began to rock back and forth, as he often did during moments of intensity. When he finished the article, he realized that Allen was right. For the next eight weeks, the two of them embarked on a frenzy of code writing that would change the nature of the computer business.

What Gates and Allen set out to do, during the Christmas break of 1974 and the subsequent January reading period when Gates was supposed to be studying for exams, was to create the software for personal computers. “When Paul showed me that magazine, there was no such thing as a software industry,” Gates recalled. “We had the insight that you could create one. And we did.” Years later, reflecting on his innovations, he said, “That was the most important idea that I ever had.”

Via the Harvard Gazette. Image via Google Commons. 

Hat tip to Jason Kottke. 

These tips may be helpful if you want to meditate on a regular basis.

1. Create a personal meditation spot in your home

It’s really helpful to create a nice place for meditation in your home where you feel comfortable and undisturbed. This can be in a spare room or in your bedroom, any place where you can sit in silence. Just create a little sanctuary where you feel at ease and welcome. Make sure nobody will enter the room during meditation and your phone is switched off. This is your moment!

2. Sit at a set time

Sometimes it’s not easy to find the discipline to just sit down and meditate. There is always so much distraction. And more important things to do. And other people or cats or dogs that need your attention. So if you wait for a proper moment to meditate, you will probably wait forever…

That’s why it is helpful to set a regular time. Morning, afternoon, evening, all is fine. It doesn’t matter when, just stick to your set time and inform your housemates (if there are any) you are not to be disturbed.

3. Use an alarm clock

If you meditate on your own instead of doing the guided meditations, use an alarm clock and set it up for fifteen or twenty minutes. This time frame will make you focus and relax at the same time.
Of course you can meditate for longer, but fifteen to twenty minutes is perfect for a regular practice.

4. Just sit, no matter how you feel

People often say: “I felt so restless, it wasn’t a good time to meditate…”
Actually there is no right or wrong timing for meditation.
Meditation is not about feeling calm. Or steady. It is about just sitting with whatever comes up.
You might feel happy. You might feel terrible. It doesn’t matter. All you have to do is stay with it, stay present. So any mood is perfect!

5. Be friendly to yourself

Sitting with yourself can be quite a challenge….so keep it light. It takes time to become comfortable with your own restlessness. Feel good about your practice. Learn to look at yourself with a friendly eye; it makes all the difference in the world!

Via Esther Teule and EckhartYoga

Image via Wiki Commons

Amazon is thriving. It is dominating, in fact, including in lines of business having little to do with its original undertaking of selling books. Shares now trade for three times what they did at the peak of the dot-com bubble. 

Thank Amazon’s quirky CEO, Jeff Bezos, for this success. He created a culture that’s not only different from, but often totally at odds with, how most business leaders think. He’s also quite quotable. Here are 20 smart things Bezos has said over the years. 

1. “All businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you’re Woolworth’s.”

2. “There are two kinds of companies: Those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.”

3. “Your margin is my opportunity.”

4. “If you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away.”

5. “We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.”

Check out the rest — here. 

Image via Google Commons