18 Candles

ANDLES Year 4

Issue No. 18 Please send your suggestions & Articles for the next issue of CANDLES to “Mr. Chiradeep Patra, 11A/1A, Mahendra Chatterjee Lane, Kolkata - 700 046;

Editorial

Mind Your Words

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3:7-8

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ow true this statement is! We human being can do so many E-Mail: difficult things but are unable to tame our tongue. We only feel thecandles@sify.com guilty after hurting someone by our words. How many times we use Cell: 09230441416 our tongues for encouraging and comforting people? I am a failure in this area. My former director Samson Nag once told me that All the articles should 'Chiradeep, always think ten reach us at least one month times before uttering any words, in advance. The publisher because once you speak out, you reserves the right to edit, cannot take any words back.' I publish or reject the submitted articles. Articles will never forget that advice in submitted Cannot be my life, though I could not returned, so please keep a achieve it. copy of the article sent to Words that we speak are very us.

Local Address for New Delhi

Contact: Rev. Joshua 109-B#Pkt - I, Dilshadgarden New Delhi - 110 095 Cell:09810364986 E-mail: seva_network@hotmail.com “For Private Circulation Only”

vital; it is potential and never comes back to us void. If we use our words carefully we can build someone, but if we don't, we may destroy people and their heart for which we will be held responsible till eternity.

Let's stop boasting, quarreling, abusing and gossiping. Let's use our precious words constructively, by encouraging, comforting, admonishing and building others.

May God bless you all.

Chiradeep Patra, is the accountant of National Fellowship, a Social Organisation. He is a psychological counselor and an author of many articles. He can be contacted at: chiradeeppatra@hotmail.com

General

Why do people smoke?

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he write-up captioned 'Can We Dream of a SMOKE FREE WORLD?' in the16th issue, presented some alarming facts about smoking & the health risks involved. The questions that arise in mind as one goes through these disturbing statistics are: Why do people smoke in the first place? And why don't people quit smoking even after they are aware of its hazardous effects (after all, all cigarette packets have SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH inscribed onto them) to themselves as well as to others? Can smokers quit smoking and if so, how?

Just as diagnosis is the first step towards the treatment of cancer or as for that matter any disease, so also it is important to identify the causal factors behind smoking so as to cure this harmful practice from the root. Given below are some of the common reasons as to why people start smoking. Ø Childhood environment: People who have grown up in an environment where their parents, grandparents or older siblings smoke, consider smoking to be a part of life just like any other activity. They think that there is nothing odd or wrong or harmful with smoking. Ø Imitating role models: A lot of people, especially teenagers take to smoking simply because their favourite sport star or film star does so. They believe that imitating their favourite idol will make them appear more glamorous, attractive and cool. Ø An act of rebellion: At times, children (even many youngsters) start smoking as an act of rebellion or defiance against their parents or people of authority. Ø A desire to appear matured: Some children take to smoking to appear older and more grown up, especially if they are surrounded by young adults who smoke. Ø Peer pressure: Peer pressure compels many people to smoke. They believe that their friends will accept them only if they join them in smoking. Ø Stress: People smoke when they are stressed up. In today's techno-savvy world where human beings are considered to be machines in their job sectors, smoking has become an effective means of relaxation & distressing. Ø Loneliness: People smoke if they are bored or lonely and have nothing to do or no one to share their joys & sorrows with. Their cigarette is their companion in their loneliness. Ø Depression: People smoke when they are sad or worried or have a low self-esteem or have a negative approach towards life. Ø A symbol of masculinity: Some men smoke so as to prove that they are macho men. Ø Gender equality: Some women smoke (besides other factors) so as to prove that there is no difference between men & women. Women are no less than men. Ø Mere experimentation: A number of children start smoking as experimentation. They just want to try it to see what all the fuss is all about.

In the next issue of CANDLES we will see ‘why do people continue smoking?’

Rajnandini Sahu, has done her Post Graduation in Psychology & is presently pursuing higher studies. She is also an excellent writer. She can be contacted at: rsahu1023@gmail.com Page 2

Body & Mind

Benefits of becoming an early riser and how to become one - II

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riends! In the last issue of CANDLES we saw how early rising benefit us in many ways. This time we will learn how to practice early rising.

How to Become an Early Riser · Don't make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time. ·

Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give in.

And if it is the early rising that gives in, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed early, even if you don't think you'll sleep, and read while in bed, or practice relaxation techniques like deep-breathing etc. for falling asleep. This way you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.

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Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it's right next to your bed, you'll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it's far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you're up. Now you just have to stay up. ·

Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don't allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room.

My habit is to go straight to the kitchen and make a cup of tea. By the time I've done that, brought it to my study, sat at my desk and started drinking it, I'm awake enough to face the day.

Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you'll never do it. Don't make getting back in bed an option. ·

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Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that's important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to study in the morning, so that's my reason. Also, when I'm done with that, I like to read all of your comments on my website!

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·

Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you're forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to read a book that you want to read, after working for about 2-3 hours in the morning. I read spiritual books at this time, which fill my mind with peace and prepare me for the rest of the day. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that's pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine. · Take advantage of all that extra time. Don't wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that's a major goal of yours.

Don't wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on studying, working on any pending stuff, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my daily goals), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I've done more than many people do the entire day!

Sulagna Dasgupta, is a writer & a counselor, who believes in continuous improvement of the self. Visit her website: www.changeyourlifenow.co.nr which contains her self-help blog, articles by herself and other self-help experts. She also provides individual free e-counseling through this site. She can be contacted at: sulagnaadasgupta@gmail.com with individual queries and requests for specific self-help related advice.”

DEMAND OF INTEGRITY

Integrity calls everyone to live a life of sincerity, Sincerity and integrity form a bond of fraternity, As fraternity, both work together for perfect beauty; For perfect beauty is the challenge of true Christianity.

Christianity teaches all about a life of honesty, Honesty, which is a necessity to hold fast one's integrity, Integrity is being genuine and is a virtue of purity; Purity of life, which is expected from the Christian Community.

Christian community lives in the midst of perplexity, Perplexity and complexity bring about difficulty, Yet, Christians are called to live a life of integrity in Today's society.

And this is the demand of integrity.

Sindhu Pani, is the Director of Global India Training Network. He is a good Bible Teacher and a counselor. He can be contacted at: sindhupani@rediffmail.com Online CANDLES at: http://candlesmagazine.blogspot.com Join the Prayer Network at: http://prayingfriends.bravehost.com Page 4