Destiny

Everything is written.
There are no accidents.
There are no coincidences.
Life is a planned series, a tapestry of events whose grandmaster is none other than the Creator.
Its not chance but design.
Whatever we are doing or saying is all controlled by Him, good or bad.
Karma - they say we make are future with are deeds.
There is a meaning behind it all, a reason behind every event taking place, every person coming in your life.
Relationships are nothing but karmic obligations that need to be fulfilled and the same set people will keep coming again and again in your lifetimes till you don't fulfill your debts.
A man's life is the product of the combination mix of different planets in their respective aspects. A Man's destiny is freezed at the time of his birth depending on the planetary aspects at that point of time.
What is written, one has to go through, there is no escape.
No one can change your destiny, and stop the happenings taking place in your life or which will take place in future.
We have no control over the happenings.
Man is a product of his thinking.
Mind, body and soul - this is what man is made of.
Mind and Matter - mind represents the logical reasoning whereas matter deals with the heart, what you feel, soul.
Its the thought that matters and which is being recorded and is counted as your deeds by the God's record keeper. Acting upon those thoughts in real life does not make a difference.
What you think with full intent will manifest in physical world but when that no one can say cause time is an illusion.
Your thoughts are charting your way ahead.
Phew....a few affirmations which keep coming up again and again in my quest to find sum answers as to what we go through, why we go through, and is there any escape from suffereing.
Are we responsible for whatever is happening to us - the answer cannot be a direct yes or no, since on one side they say that everything is written which is a fact while on the other hand, are thoughts are creating our future but then again the thoughts are also being sourced from Him. In that case, who is to be blamed - you or God. I guess its always safe to blame others for our sufferings and troubles but ultimately the onus lies on us. We have been given a mind which can be broken into a Conscious mind, a Sub-conscious mind and unconscious mind. Well unconscious mind is equivalent to no mind so we are left with conscious mind and sub-conscious mind. Conscious mind is a state of awareness while the sub-conscious mind is like the back burner or a datahouse which stores all are thoughts and memories, memories of our past lives too. So how does the mind help in relieving the suffering, well once we realize whats happening to us, we become aware and from there control our life by making conscious decisions and that's how we create our future. With flesh and mind, there also exists a soul in every human being which guides us towards the right path. They say the greater the conflict between the mind and the matter, the more spiritual growth takes place. What is a man's ultimate future????? To become one with God and he will keep going through the cycle of life and birth, till he does not move up on the spiritual planes which ultimately will make him one with God, so thats why there is a meaning behind every event, every relationship and every suffering. Destiny.

Reflect

In the rigmarole of daily living, we tend to forget ourself, what we are and who we are; we get disconnected with our soul and forget what we truly want from life. We forget that what we are doing is for what purpose and just keep on doing things mindlessly. In this process of mechanical functioning, we become frustrated and confused; unhappiness creeps in, relations become strained and slowly we lose ourselves and life becomes stagnant, dull, boring and eventually miserable. Therefore, its important to bring everything to a halt for a while, take a break at regular intervals and reflect on our life and be more aware of ourselves and recharge our batteries for a better and more fulfilling life.

Face is the mirror of the soul

"There are mystically in our faces certain characters which carry in them the motto of our souls, wherein he that cannot read A, B, C may read our natures."
Sir Thomas Browne

The Face bares it all. Well when you are in public and if you are not too occupied, do make an effort to look around, especially the people around you. Happy, Sad, Bored, Angry, 'I Know it all', I don't care types, Tensed, Cunning, Indifferent, Lost, Confused, Irritated, Occupied, What if, Questioning, etc.., these are some the expressions you will observe on different faces. If you observe a bit more, behind these expressions, every face has something to say.
Face is the mirror of your soul. It also reflects one's state of mind. It does give an idea about one's nature.
My dad says faces can be deceptive, I partially agree with him because, it is possible that someone puts on a mask and tries to appear sugarcoated and nice nice types, so you can get mistaken if you don't meet that person often but when you do have more of his/her company, his/her true self will definitely unleash. Well everyone is not lucky enough to be a Dorian Gray.
Its really interesting observing people old people, you know it kind of reflects their life lived so long and also their nature. You'll find some old people have a very hard face but in between that hardness you may observe a soft smile or soft eyes, which reflects their good nature whereas the hardness reflects their struggle. Some have some sort of a very tight expression on their face, which could also be ugly at times. Some oldies are very cute like an old aunty who lives in my building , should be 85 plus, whenever I see her, I can't stop myself from approaching her, I mean she is really old but is so sweet, her face has some sort of freshness despite being wrinkled and the best part is you will always find her with a mythological book meant for children, sweet na. But all oldies aren't cute, one of my best pals works for an NGO for senior citizens, poor thing they harass her so much and they are so rude, I just feel like uuuhhh.............
Anyways forget the oldies now, coming back to face reading, try it, its fun. My friends actually get surprised (and sometimes feel glad too), when I catch them if I find something wrong with them which their trying to hide.


Photograph:www.feelingfacescards.com

10 Ways To Ginger Up Life

Life is never perfect and to be honest, it should not be also. Surprised. Just imagine if you had everything you wanted, there will be no space for hope, desires and wants, no motivation to do anything in life, resulting in a dull, boring and monotonous life. Life is like see-saw, there are ups and downs, well the ups are never a concern and are always welcomed but when we are going through the downs, then it becomes necessary to pep up your life. So here are the 10 ways to Ginger Up Life -

1. Have A Positive Attitude - The first and foremost way to ginger up your life is to have a positive attitude. Now you don't have to keep reminding yourself to think positive, its something that should become a part of your system. Always keep smiling and pass on this positivity to the universe as well.
   
2. Avoid Negativity - This is very important, avoid all those people as much as you can who can come with a baggage of negativity. Please don't misunderstand me, sometimes your friends might be caught in a genuine problem, of course, you should help them in as much as your capacity, but sometimes you'll find people who can't live without complaining, they have so many "if's and but's"; criticising, cribbing, finding faults, complaining, crying, cursing is somehow a part of their nature and they get some sort of gratification from that, avoid such people.
   
3. Catch Up With Friends - Make it a point to catch up with your friends at least once a weak, if not possible then twice a month for sure.
4. SHOP SHOP SHOP - Well it works not only for girls but for guys also. Clothes, Shoes, Bags, Sunglasses, Gizmos, Perfumes, Watches and other accessories, the list is endless. Cool isn't it.
   
5. Indulge and Pamper yourself - Indulging in scrumptious food, chocolates, ice creams, yummy deserts, ahhhh.......my mouth is already watering. See you have so many options. You can also pamper yourself with spa treatments, they are so relaxing.
6. Books, Movies & Music -Whichever genre you prefer, depending on that you can always entertain yourself with books, music and movies, with all three or either, depending on what you prefer.
7. Inculcate A New Hobby - Reading, painting, pottery, learning how to play any musical instrument, dancing, writing, well there is so much you can do and spice up your life. Having a new hobby is not only one of the best stress busters but it also broadens your horizons and makes life more interesting.
   
8. Go on a short vacation -
   
   You can always go on a short trip if possible, change of weather and surrounding is always refreshing.
   
9. Meditation and Yoga - To make the most out of life, it is important to have a healthy mind and body.
10. Gossip - Well science has proved it, that gossiping is one of the best stress busters, but word of caution: indulge in only healthy gossiping.

HAVE A GREAT LIFE

Chocolatessssssssssssss Oh la la.........

Luscious, tempting, scrumptious, heavenly, gratifying, delectable, irresistible, mouth-watering, yummy – these are some of the words that come to my mind when I think of chocolates.

If you are happy, have chocolates.

If you are sad, have chocolates.

If you are bored, have chocolates.

Well let me give you some facts about chocolates -

• The first chocolate house was opened in London in 1657. Chocolate cost 10-15 shillings per pound and was considered a beverage for the elite class.
• “Giri Choco” is a japanese custom which means “duty chocolate.” It calls for employees to give chocolates to their managers as a token of loyalty.
• A recent study indicates when men crave food, they tend to crave fat and salt. When women crave food, they tend to desire chocolate.
• Chocolate was considered an aphrodisiac by the Aztec Indians, and as such, was forbidden to women. Today, some postulate that chocolate triggers a brain chemical that produces the same reaction brought on by a passionate love affair.

The History of Chocolate

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. Theobroma is Greek for ‘food of the Gods’. This tree was discovered in the rainforests of the Americas some 2,000 years ago, the Maya and Aztec Indians took the seeds and made them into a frothy, spicy, bitter tasting chocolate drink.Chocolate was a very important part of every day life, royal and religious ceremonies.The cacoa beans was first introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus between 1502 & 1504, but it was the Spanish explorer Don Cortes who saw the true protentional of chocolate, bringing back the cacoa beans and the equipment to make the spicy chocolate drink, which was soon perfected to European taste by adding sugar. It took over 300 (1828) years to produce the first chocolate bar.

How Chocolate is made?

Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, which grows in the tropics. Cocoa beans from the tree are harvested, fermented for a few days, and then dried. The highest quality chocolate comes from cocoa beans that are dried naturally in the sun for a week. The cocoa beans are then roasted and the shells removed. The cocoa is then ground, resulting in a thick liquid called chocolate liquor which is used to make unsweetened chocolate. The chocolate liquor can be pressed to extract the fat, which is called cocoa butter. With the fat removed, the liquor becomes a powder that is blended with the cocoa butter and other ingredients to make different kinds of chocolate. Plain chocolate is made of cocoa powder, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, and sugar. Milk chocolate, of course, has milk added. White chocolate is made of cocoa butter, milk, and sugar. After the ingredients are mixed, the product is further refined to create chocolate suitable for solid bars and pieces. It's mixed, heated, and cooled very precisely in methods called "conching" and "tempering." These processes can take up to a week for the finest chocolates.

So you thought chocolates are unhealthy, then read this -

• Cocoa and chocolate are rich in minerals that the body needs, including magnesium and iron.

• Consuming chocolate helps your brain release serotonin, which creates a sense of contentment. For this reason, chocolate has gotten the well-deserved label of a "comfort food."

• Chocolates are mood enhancers.

• The flavour of dark chocolate, like that of fine wine, improves with time for up to 18 to 24 months.

• Chocolate contains high levels of phenol, which is a chemical that can help reduce heart disease.

• Chocolate is often given to sports-persons after sporting activities to restore carbohydrates.

• Even though chocolate is high in fat, it does not appear to raise blood cholesterol.

• Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy. Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression.

• Chocolate are found to be packed with high-quality anti oxidants that may reduce the risk of developing cancer.

• The level of caffeine in chocolate (6 mg per 1 oz. of milk chocolate) is low when compared to the level in coffee, tea and some soft drinks.

TYPES OF CHOCOLATES

1. Unsweetened Chocolate - Unsweetened Chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It's unadulterated chocolate: ground roasted chocolate beans with no other added ingredients imparts a strong, deep chocolate flavor in all the sweets you add it to.
2. Bittersweet chocolate - A dark sweetened chocolate which must contain at least 35% cocoa solids. Good quality bittersweet chocolate usually contains 60% to 85% cocoa solids depending on brand. If the content of cocoa solids is high the content of sugar is low, giving a rich, intense and more or less bitter chocolate flavor. Bittersweet chocolate is often used for baking/cooking. If a recipe specifies bittersweet chocolate do not substitute with semi-sweet or sweet chocolate.
3. Dark chocolate - Sweetened chocolate with high content of cocoa solids and no or very little milk, it may contain up to 12% milk solids. Dark chocolate can either be sweet, semi-sweet, bittersweet or unsweetened. If a recipe specifies 'dark chocolate' you should first try semi-sweet dark chocolate.
4. Milk chocolate - Sweet chocolate which normally contains 10-20% cocoa solids (which includes cocoa and cocoa butter) and more than 12% milk solids. It is seldom used for baking, except for cookies.
5. Semi-sweet chocolate - This is the classic dark baking chocolate. It is frequently used for cakes, cookies and brownies. Can be used instead of sweet dark chocolate. It has a good, sweet flavor. Contains often 40-62% cocoa solids.
6. Couverture or Coating Chocolate - Couverture or Coating Chocolate is a term used for cocoa butter rich chocolates of the highest quality. These chocolates contain a high percentage of chocolate liquor (sometimes more than 70 percent) as well as cocoa butter, at least 32-39%, are very fluid when melted and have an excellent flavor. In fact, chocolate of this quality is often compared to tasting fine wine because subtleties in taste are often apparent, especially when you taste a variety of semisweet and bittersweet couvertures with different percentages of sugar and chocolate liquor.
7. White Chocolate - Chocolate made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk, emulsifier, vanilla and sometimes other flavorings. It does not contain any non-fat ingredients from the cacao bean and has therefore an off-white color. In some countries white chocolate cannot be called 'chocolate' because of the low content of cocoa solids. It has a mild and pleasant flavor and can be used to make Chocolate Mousse, Panna Cotta and other desserts.
8. Gianduja chocolate - Gianduja is the name given to a European style of chocolate made from chocolate and nut paste. Hazelnut paste is most common, but gianduja can also be made with almond paste. It comes in milk or dark chocolate varieties. Gianduja chocolate can be used as a flavoring or as a substitute for milk or dark chocolate. At room temperature it is soft enough to be rolled or cut, but is too soft to use for molding chocolates.
9. "Candy coating" chocolate Also known as “confectionery coating,” “summer coating,” or “compound coating.” These terms refer to candy products that are flavored like dark, milk or white chocolate and substitute vegetable or palm oils for cocoa butter. These products are cheaper than most chocolates, and do not contain significant amounts of chocolate liquor; thus, they do not have a strong chocolate flavor or an appealing mouthfeel. However, they have excellent melting and molding properties, and thus are often used in candymaking for dipping or enrobing, since they do not require tempering and can withstand high ambient temperatures. Be careful to never mix candy coating with real chocolate, as the fats are not compatible and the resulting candy will be unattractive and discolored.

Making Chocolates At Home

Making chocolates is always fun as you can take all the liberties with chocolates and keep experimenting without bothering about the outcome as they will always turn out to be yummy unless you have done something extremely wild. I feel its one of the best stress buster. Its a very relaxing exercise and also does not require much effort. One of the best way to let your creative juices flowing.

What you need to make chocolates?

A slab of dark chocolate
A slab of milk chocolate
A slab of white chocolate
Plastic moulds

To make chocolates you need to melt them first. You can use a double boiler or you can also melt them in a microwave (heat for 1 minute). After you melt the chocolate, you can put them in plastic moulds with a spoon and tab them so that they don't come above the level. You get some amazing plastic moulds in different shapes. You can select a few of your choice. Now the whole funda behind melting the chocolate is not to have it plain right, so you can make different fillings and stuff it inside with the chocolate.

Note: you can can use different proportions of dark chocolate and milk chocolate depending upon your taste preference. For example, those who prefer bitter chocolates can use more of dark chocolate and less of milk chocolate and those who prefer sweet, it is vice versa.

Different types of fillings

1. You can simply add some nuts and dry fruits such as cashews, roasted walnuts, roasted almond, raisins, dates, waffles, rushed biscuits, wafer biscuits.

2. You get flavored chocolates also in the market like mint, strawberry, orange etc. You can mix those along with your chocolate mixture or you can add essence of these flavors in your mixture.

You can mix in the filling in the liquid chocolate and mould them. After you mould them, put them in the freezer and let it set. It takes just 15-20 minutes to set. After it is set, remove it from the fridge and unmould the chocolates. you can have it then and also wrap some in a nice colourful chocolate wrapping paper or cellophane paper.
You can also make a dual colored chocolate. You can first melt the white chocolate and fill in just half the space and let it set. After it is set, you can add nuts and fill in the empty space with milk or dark chocolate.

Chocolate Recipes

Here is my version of Choco-latte and Rocky Road Fudge

Choco-latte

Ingredients - 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder, 1/4 th teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1-2 tablespoon melted chocolate (according to your preference), 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons whipped cream.

Heat the milk with water, then add coffee and boil it till it gets a frothy texture. In a coffee mug or nice glass, put melted chocolate, then pour heated milk on it. Top it with whipped cream and sprinkle cinnamon powder on it. Add sugar according to your taste.

Road Fudge

Ingredients - 75 gms dark chocolate, 150 gms milk chocolate, 25 gms butter, 1 tbsp cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 25 gms chopped walnuts (you could also roast them on a griddle for a few minutes), 150 gms icing sugar.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a double boiler. Stir in the cream & vanilla essence. Remove it from the heat. Add walnuts. Line a tray or square tin with greaseproof paper. Chill until it is firm. After it is set, cut the fudge into whatever shape you like with a knife or alternatively with a biscuit cutter.

For more recipes on chocolates, you can click on the following links -

cacaoweb-for more info on chocolates and for some amazing recipes.

For some unusual and awesome recipes
http://www.foodsubs.com/Chocvan.html