what is clever thinking?

There once was a very poor man, who woke up hungry with only 1 rupee left in his pocket.
He decides to go to the market and see if his rupee can buy him some left over fruit.
At the market he meets a fancy clothed man behind a table with a beautiful oil lamp on it, and a sign that reads "1 rupee".
The poor man can't believe his eyes, and asks the man what the catch is.
It's true, the lamp only costs 1 rupee, the man says.
And he explains that in the lamp there lives a genie, who fulfills all your desires.
"Then why do you sell it?", the poor man wants to know.
"Well, the genie is always active and rather impatient", it is explained. "And if you don't pay attention to him, he'll start taking things away again".
"Well OK", the poor man says. "Since I don't have much to lose I will buy it from you".
When he arrives back home, he rubs the lamp and the genie appears. "How can I serve you, master?", he asks.
"Prepare me a meal worthy of a king", the poor man commands.
Within a second the genie serves an opulous meal with 87 courses.
The poor man is delighted, but when he wants to start eating, the genie asks again - "And how can I serve you master?"
Keeping in mind that the genie can also take away all the goodies, the poor man commands: "Build me a beautiful castle, suitable for a maharadja!"
Only a few seconds pass by, and the man now finds himself in a beautiful palace. He likes to explore it, but there comes the genie again, asking "How can I serve you, master?"
Every wish is immediately fulfilled, and when ignored, the genie takes away everything.

The poor man is annoyed and goes to the village sage, where he explains his problem.
After a silent conversation, the poor man steps to the genie and says: 'Genie, build me a large pole and stick it in the ground".
The genie immediately builds a pole and sticks it in the ground.
"Now genie, I want you to climb up and down the pole, over and over again".
The genie starts climbing right away.
And now the man has time to eat his meal, explore his palace and do other things.
When he and the sage go to see what the genie is doing, they see that he has fallen asleep next to the pole.
"And so it is with the thinking genie of every man", explains the sage. 
"It is restless in its desire to satisfy every desire, and fragments our being.
The pole is a tool called a 'mantra'.
By repeating it over and over again, our restless mind is kept busy until it gets so bored that it falls asleep.
And this way our true self can enjoy the world."

morel:-   you are more than your mind - don't worry and enjoy your self
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what is the best way to live a success full life?

The chef cook and his daughter:

A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so 
hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted 
to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one 
problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with 
water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In 
one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he 
placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a 
word. 
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he 
was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished 
the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and 
placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a 
bowl. Turning to her he asked. "What do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. 
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and 
noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break 
it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. 
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its 
rich aroma.
She said, "What's the point?" 
He explained that each of the items had faced the same adversity - 
boiling water - but each reacted differently. 
The carrot went in strong and hard. But after being subjected to the 
boiling water, it softened and became weak. 
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid 
interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became 
hardened. 
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the 
boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your 
door, how do you respond? Do you become weak, like a carrot, hard on the 
inside, like an egg, or do you change the circumstances, like the coffee beans?" 

morel:-   There are different ways to react to hardship. Don't be weak or suppress things - change circumstances from within. 
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what is power?

There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.
One day, he passed a wealthy merchant's house and through the open gateway saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life of a mere stonecutter.


To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants, and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"


Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"


Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and labourers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"


Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"


Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it -- a huge, towering stone. "How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a stone!"


Then he became the stone, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought. He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.

(Benjamin Hoff from The Tao Of Pooh) 

morel:-   We don't know the extent of our own personal power. And, sometimes, the most insignificant seeming people among us are those most able to effect great change, so do not run after you heart wish, you are at your best position where you are standing now.
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what is best thinking?

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile soil.
The first seed said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me ... I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring ... I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!"
And so she grew...
The second seed said, "Hmmmm. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts ... what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."
And so she waited...
A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

morel:-  please write in comments what you learn?
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