32. The Thrill of Now

Thrill n. a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement, sometimes manifested as a tremor or tingling sensation passing through the body.

Why do we get a thrill whenever we indulge in life-threatening activities? This includes extreme sports such as car racing, paragliding, mountaineering, freefall, bungee jumping and so on.

A roller coaster ride can be put in the same bucket (at least for me!), even though it is not that life threatening as others. What makes it thrilling to go through a roller coaster ride? You might have done the same ride before, but each time you get the thrill and aspire to go through it again.

The more the possibility (or your fear) of losing your life/property in an intentional activity, the more you are thrilled! Did you read property? Yup! Gambling also counts.

When you get the thrill, what's going on in your mind? Is there time or space involved? Or do you sense the NOW!? Other than you realizing that you are thrilled, do you have any other thought going on in your mind? (Note: If you are engulfed in fear at that time, then you are not thrilled yet!)

On second thoughts, do you have the thought that you are thrilled, when the thrill is happening? Or is this conclusion (that you were thrilled) an after-the-event-thought? Think about it the next time you get thrilled!

So, would it be right to conclude that when your thought-count is zero, you will feel a thrilling sensation up your spine? I would say, MEDITATE to get thrilled! No strings attached, or should I say, no thread of thought attached! =)

31. The case of Right Action, but Wrong Reason

It doesn't help if you do the right thing but with wrong reason in mind!

You might argue that how does it matter, if the end result of the action is same? Does the reason behind the action really matter?

Well, it does matter! Paramahamsa Nithyananda proved his point through this joke:

Once, three madmen in a mental asylum go to the resident doctor and say that they are no more mad, and now have come to their senses. The doc then prescribes them to undergo a test next day to prove their sanity. The next morning, the doc takes them to a swimming pool, and asks them to go up onto the diving board. The swimming pool at that time isn't filled with water due to pool maintenance. The doc asks the first madman to jump, and he jumps, breaking his hands. Now is the turn of the second madman, who dutifully jumps and breaks his legs. Finally when its the turn of the third madman, he hesitates, and then says he won't! The doc is happy that atleast one amongst the three is sane, and asks him to climb down and meet him in his office. The doc seated in his office chair, asks the sane one what made him decide not to jump. He replies, "I don't know swimming!"

30. "Hello," says me.

My cellphone rings alerting me of an incoming call. The number on the display says "Call 1". The caller has hidden the number. I just pick up the phone and say, "Hello!" in my characteristic voice.

I hear at the other end an imitator repeat my hello back at me! In the background I hear a child giggling.

Hmm! Seems like someone is trying to pull my leg, that too on the phone!

I keep quiet, and maintain my silence for a while, just to see if the caller can imitate that.

I now hear some more imitations of my first hello. Sorry dude, I won't budge from my silence, may what come. The child in the background is trying hard to retain its giggle, slowly losing the reason to do so.

And then I hear the click. The call has been ended! The tables have been turned! My silence worked! Yippee, said I in silence!

If the callers were trying to have fun by annoying someone they could reach by dialling some random number on their phone, they couldn't pull that trick on me! The silence has spoken!

Now I am searching for them, just to thank them for proving to me that "Silence Speaks Louder Than Words!"