Why I buy Starbucks?
December 24, 2008
This might seem like a weird thought for some folks, but I’m sure I have many who will agree with me.
This is about Starbucks, which is also my second office.
I consciously pay about $3.80 for my drink but someone close to my heart pointed this out to me.
‘It is cheaper if you make it yourself!’
I was a bit surprised. It was a very innocent thought triggered only by a narrow vision and assumption; that’s it! I had no answer at the time but later on I explained this to him.
I’m not paying $3.80 for coffee. I’m probably paying $1 for the content in my cup.
The rest is my contribution:
- 50 cents for the baristas who pay their tuition bills or take care of families with their hourly wage.
- 50 cents for the coffee grower in some developing nation that desperately needs to feed his families.
- 50 cents for the middle men that make it possible to get it here right from the fields through US customs and to my fingertips.
- 50 cents for the founding principles of the company that I continue to believe in.
- 50 cents for the ambient lighting, the music, the cushions and the warm welcome.
- 50 cents for the charity they give when we give.
And finally because I can afford to see it this way… about giving and being given.
(I just remembered the song ‘New Soul’ by Yael Naim)
Someday I will probably not have enough to give, but by then I will know that there are those who continue to give.
Filed in Life Coaching!
Tags: barista, care, charity, coffee, coffee growers, developing nation, empathy, family, help, karma, starbucks, through the eyes of a barista, unconditional love
Can Positive thinking change your Karma (past life or present)?
December 20, 2008
I found a huge number of hits on my site where users look for this answer. I thought I’d just write up a quick note.
Can positive thinking change your karma?
Short Answer: Yes, but it doesn’t mean that your past karma goes unaccounted for.
Long Answer…
Karma means action. And by positive thinking you have already acted in a way that will help you.
But I’m going to assume that you meant “Can it change my past karma ( either past life or current)?” The answer is: Yes only after you have completely paid back your previous karmic debts.
Karmic debts are usually no different from the financial debts in our little Wall street world. There is one exception; there is no bankruptcy law here. You cannot bail out without payback. The only good news is that your payback can be negotiated in any form acceptable to the other person and yourself. If you are reading this, the negotiation you are thinking about has already happened in the astral before birth (if you consider time as a linear). It will most probably not happen in the way you might think right now but the opportunity will show itself when its time. Act then. Act wise, rationalize and see compassionately. This is the crux and core of positive thinking.
How do I know this?
I can only speak from personal experience. My current life karma becomes obvious over time. One instance I remember clearly was a scene on the Basketball Court. I remember falling and tumbling on the court after being tripped by a newbie during a layup. This immediately took me to the time I was a newbie and I did the same thing unintentionally to someone else. I remember him tumbling and falling the same way. For my past life karma, I cross check with my wife’s help. She astral projects into our past lives to verify the payback. Since not everyone has this privilege, the only way is to go with the flow and act wisely and rationally (and this is obviously universal advice.)
Filed in Meta-physical Info
Tags: can positive thinking change your karma, compassion, compassionate, financial debts, karma, past life karma, positive, positive thinking, present, present life karma, thinkingm past life, wall street
