I will tell you a real story, my story. You may not believe it, but all this is true..

It should not have happened. I was not able to belive that after falling 20 storeys, i survived the fall. Guess where i fell was a marsh land, and i had a rifle in my hand.I was fighting enemies. There was counter-firing and the next moment, i saw a bullet hitting my friend, a guy with whom i studied for 12 yrs during my school days. But it's strange, he was fine. The bullet entered and left his body in a millisecond. He smiled and was perfectly fine ! Strange !


All this happened in the night. The next day, in afternoon, i was sitting along with my friends. I was puzzled. Why ? Well, i dont understand how all my friends knew each other. All those who had nothing in common? Some were my school friends, some college friends and yet others were my collegues in my last job ! They all were at my home, and we all were sitting on the terrace..

I thought of arraning something and started walking down the stairs.
As i stepped down the first stair, i fell. I reached the last stair rolling !! Guess what, i wasnt hurt. Not even an iota of pain ! I rose, went into my room and then i was dressed in a formal suit, going inside a discussion room.
The next thing i was doing was giving a presentation on a topic which i dont remember..It was the perfect presentation.. No nervousness.. no preparation needed.. All i could see was applause....

Whatever you read till now was not something that i was doing.. All this was in my dream..

All in the same dream.. Some call it lucid dreaming, but i am not sure what it is ? the only thing i know is that i was in control of what i was dreaming and i was dreaming as per my wish..
I guess now you understand what happened ? Why i survived the fall ? Why i met all those friends at a common place? Why all my friends who had nothing in common, knew each other so well ?Why i had no pain when i fell from stairs ? Why that perfect presentation?Well, it was me who made all that happen.. I was the one who was making that happen...all in my dream..

Though such dreams are rare, but they are compulsive. By compulsive, i mean that they make me feel sleepy. As i am the one who is giving direction to what will happen next, i avoid waking up, and when i get such a dream, i end up sleeping 1 -1.5 hrs more !

What surprises me most is that such dreams are so vivacious, so real that i have absolutely no idea that i am dreaming.

But whatever they are, they make me feel good..

So, did you ever had such a dream ? A dream where you were the master and the dream, your follower ? Do share it with me :)

LifeMojo- Giving new dimensions to weight loss and healthy living

I was keeping an eye on my weight for sometime since Mar 2009. I realised that i was a bit overweight. My weight was around 70 kg in aug. It was high time to do something. I was fed up of comments from my friends and family that i looked fat now compared to an year ago.It was 14th aug 2009 when i decided that i need to do something. I recalled that I was already using free service of LifeMojo( http://www.lifemojo.com/). They provide a good interface using which i could analyse my BMI, fat percentage etc. Another good thing was that i could see how much calories i will consume - that too in indian context. Example 1 katori dal= 200 cal etc.

I had a talk with Himanshu( founder, director LifeMojo) how LifeMojo started. He told me that his CEO ( Namit Nangia) was overweight and Namit lost around 25 kgs in just 30 days by eating only salads. But he regained the weight pretty quickly. Namit realized that since he was not following a proper diet, he couldnt lose weight as he wanted to. And as they say, in every problem lies an opportunity. And that's how LifeMojo was born. Namit not only helped himself lose weight in a proper way, but also made something ( LifeMojo) that can help everyone keep tabs on his/her weight !!!

Lifemojo's website gives a lot of information about managing weight and taking proper diet, but what i was missing was i dint know how much to eat and how much excercise i should do and how to plan my diet. Thanks to LifeMojo for their personal diet consultant service - which i joined on 18 Aug 2009. It's been a month now and i have lost 1.5 inch on my waist and 1.5 kgs in weight. Though the weigt loss is not much, but still i feel that in next 1 month, i ll be able to reduce around 3 kgs compared to my weight in June-Jul 2009.

The diet consultancy service comes at an affordable price and that too their follow up is v good. During one month period, i was adviced by 2 nutritionists- Deepthi and Vidya. Deepthi used to tell me to make sure that i eat more salad, have curd sometimes during my lunch, and do jogging instead of walking everyday atleast for 20 minutes.

On the other hand, Vidya helped me by giving my links to videos which helped me to learn how to do some specific excercises like tummy trimming excercise etc. According to Vidya, you can lose weight without feeling hungry. The idea is to eat 5-6 times a day, that too small meals each time. She also insists that if I get bored of salads, i can take fruits as an alternative.

Few good things that i have felt by taking this service are that LifeMojo will send you an email each day, specifying what you should be eating that day. For e.g. in morning, in mid-morning, during lunch, in evening and during night- so your meal is planned for whole day. You need to be motivated to do what they suggest and be honest with yourself in not eating anything extra. Deepthi did gave me freedom that on sunday, i can eat and plan my diet myself :)

All in all my experience with LifeMojo has been really good. Their team was highly professional and their follow up - twice a week was perfect till last day ! They also have a google sms channel which you can subscribe to keep getting updates on your mobile.

So this is my post about how lifemojo's diet consultancy works :) and also a testimonial for LifeMojo's service.

So guys, what are you waiting for ? If you want to lose weight, and that too without feeling hungry, join http://www.lifemojo.com/ or contact the guys at lifemojo. They ll be happy to help you :)

I guess, been a long post now ! I remember it's time for my next meal. Till next time, have a healthy living and fruit-FULL eating.

Hello readers,

In an effort to make sure that my countrymen are protected from Swine flu, I have appealed to GOD to get the world rid of this menace.

This is my first attempt of poetry and i know it wont be good, so pls bear with me..

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

The beautiful daughter, the lovely kid,

the old man and the father who got killed.

Do you think that you did it right ?

Were you listening when their families were crying ?

Children play in the mud, in sun they bask,

they are so innocent, they dont know why they wear that mask..

The world is at danger, you know the cure..

When docs are helpless, people look upto you for sure..

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

We work, we eat, we roam in crowds,

We are poor, we are illeterate, we have no choice..

When a person dies, his family dies too,

for a person dying, there are falling nine !

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

You are the creator, you are the destroyer,

You made it happen, you can take it away..

With you on our side, no flu can survive..

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

You love us, you hate us,you have all the rights,
but we are your children,so dont be so unkind..

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

O God Divine !

Save my people from Swine..

- Ankit Arora

SWINE FLU: TEN TIPS FOR YOU TO KEEP AWAY FROM THE PANDEMIC

The deadly Swine Flu has reached the Indian shores following the global outbreak and now, claimed one life. However, Swine Flu is certainly one of those diseased where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Here are ten tips for you to keep away from the pandemic.

1. WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY



Use the antibacterial soaps to cleanse your hands. Wash them often, at least 15 seconds and rinse with running water.


2. GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Try to get 8 hours of good sleep every night to keep your immune system in top flu-fighting shape.


3. DRINK SUFFICIENT WATER
Drink 8 to10 glasses of water each day to flush toxins from your system and maintain good moisture and mucous production in your sinuses.


4. BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Keeping your body strong, nourished, and ready to fight infection is important in flu prevention. So stick with whole grains, colorful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits.


5. KEEP INFORMED
The government is taking necessary steps to prevent the pandemic and periodically release guidelines to keep the pandemic away. Please make sure to keep up to date on the information and act in a calm manner.


6. AVOID ALCOHOL
Apart from being a mood depressant, alcohol is an immune suppressant that can actually decrease your resistance to viral infections like swine flu. So stay away from alcoholic drinks so that your immune system may be strong.


7. BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
Moderate exercise can support the immune system by increasing circulation and oxygenating the body. For example brisk walking for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week will significantly perk up your immunity.


8. KEEP AWAY FROM SICK PEOPLE
Flu virus spreads when particles dispersed into the air through a cough or sneeze reach someone else’s nose. So if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them and especially, avoid physical contact.


9. KNOW WHEN TO GET HELP
Consult your doctor if you have a cough and fever and follow their instructions, including taking medicine as prescribed.


10. AVOID CROWDED AREAS
Try to avoid unnecessary trips outside.

So people, if you follow the above 10 points, you ll most likely avoid swine flu !!

Dear readers, I am sharing a home remedy for Swine flu as it was published on Gulf news.


Without much ado, here is the news article:

Drinking a decoction made of fennel seeds ( saunf in hindi, sompu in tamil, variyali in gujrati, mouri in bengali ) soaked in warm water first thing in the morning could prevent you from catching swine flu says a study published in a Chinese medical research magazine.

According to report published in Al Khaleej a local Arabic daily, the study has resulted in an increase of fennel seeds sales by 50 per cent in some Asian countries.
The report read that similar increase in sales was also visible in countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The fennel seed warm drink is being distributed to people who are making pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

[Source: Gulf News]