LOOK UP!

That must have been the life! Life was beautiful. Life was beautiful when a paper made airplane flies high then the other flying insects. Time is a funny thing. It has this way of wearing down memories until they are like the soft edges of an old photograph — I can still see us on that cloudy gray morning, laughing at nothing at all, but the image no longer cuts into me the way it once did. When we were child, we would never be at home. In those days we spent our leisure playing dandi biyo, kabaddi, chungi, guccha, baghchal. We would be out with our friends chasing after dragon flies and dandelions in a field of endless flowers, with joyous abandonment. We would be on our bicycles we would roam. We would build our own house, high up the trees. We used to be waiting eagerly for Saturday to come so that we could spend it on some parks and garden. Now the parks are so quiet, it is hard to see children outside, not even once in blue moon. There is no skipping, hopscotch, and marbles. The lively moments are captured inside a room when we open our computers and it’s our door of enjoyment with nature’s pleas we shut. We aren't experiencing life. We're losing moments with every tap. It's cheating, really. We may be physically present with our friends and loved ones but we're texting someone else... or checking a sports score... or tweeting... or reading.

It seems like on a day to day basis, we see human beings glued to their cells phones when they could be interacting with other humans. Hand in hand with the increase of a mobile phone’s technical functions, the mobile phone’s social and psychological functions also changed. Today, people have their mobile phones with them at all times and use them to organise and manage every moment of their lives, from work (using functions like the calendar, alarm clock, address book and clock) to free time (using the games, camera and video camera). A recent Internet trends reports by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers suggested that the average person checks their smart phone 150 times a day. We text and Snap chat and Kik our friends. We Instagram what we eat and post where we are on Facebook -- and that's all before lunch. We’re so deep in it ourselves that our cell phone sits right next to our pillow in bed. We begin to get tinges of anxiety when our phone hits the dreaded 20 percent battery level. That little red icon on the upper right of a screen is our sworn enemy. This black hole of endless, unimportant streams of technology-enabled information is devouring everyone living in the 21st century. You are wandering down a busy thoroughfare, when your eyes fall upon people hovering around. They pull out their phone and start swiping a finger. I've noticed this lately. Generally, if someone is talking to another person stood next to them, it's at the average level of sound, yet as soon as their mobile goes off, they're into shouting mode and letting everyone know what the conversation is about? We’ve been noticing a trend more and more within our circle of friends and within our generation as a whole: We can't seem to get by without some sort of interaction with our phone. You are out to dinner with a friend, who leaves his phone on the table, face up, constantly checking it while you're eating. You began wondering if you are completely boring or if he was expecting a text from the Pope. Another friend couldn't watch a movie at home without checking his phone every 15 minutes or so. At concerts, we're seeing the concert through the lens of the camera app rather than experiencing it as it was meant to be experienced. We have friends whose faces we haven't seen in years because they're always looking down at their phone -- but we know the top of their head very well.

Relationships today are contaminated by technology. First of all, technology has changed the way we categorize each other. Different factors determine whether someone is considered a friend or foe. Do they follow you on Twitter? Did he comment the heart eye emoji on your selfie? Now, we have preconceived ideas about each other that can be made without actually even seeing each other in person. By putting people in these tightly-locked boxes, we are dumping each other down from actual human beings into remarks of 140 characters or less. We are reducing each other to statuses and numbers.

We now have the world at our fingertips whenever we want and wherever we might find ourselves. When we step away from the device of fantasy we awaken to see world of confusion. A world where’re slaves to the technology, is full of self-interest, self-image, self-promotion where we share all our best bits but leave out the emotions. We have many friends on social networking sites yet we are alone.  We live in a world where we continue to find ways to make it easier for us to connect with one another, but that result in us spending more time alone. As cell phones have become prevalent in modern society, some people have a significant issue with not being able to disengage from their cell phone. If the trend continues, young people will soon be incapable of forming and maintaining relationships without the help of a mobile. These are making it too easy to be anti-social and lazy! Mobile devices make us “socially isolated” because we no longer need to have face-to-face interactions, or even voice-to-voice. After all, when you can unload your chores with the swipe of a finger, it makes picking up the phone seem like hard work! People, yeah not how they were before the advent of smart phones. Nor the way they live up the moment as before. Of course, their ears are deaf to nature's pleas nowadays. The things they miss because you don't live in the moment. So look up from your phone, shut down the display and enjoy enticing warmth of the sun and delicate breeze around outside. Take in your surrounding and make the most of today.

We can live a happier and more compassionate world if we tune into ourselves and the people we are speaking with. The goal of mindfulness is to be in the moment, when you're doing something. Instead of letting your mind ruminates or compulsively checks your cell phone. Work on training your focus on what you're doing -- if you're eating just eat, try to taste everything. You will find the significance in things and recognize it; because that's something many people fail to do -- by falling into the technology trap. Escape the black hole of technology, because when you do....you feel free.

We challenge you to try this: Put down the phone. Put down the iPad. Be present and be in the moment for just one day. Enjoy the conversation of those that are physically with you -- those who have chosen to take time out of their lives and spend it with you. Watch an entire movie without checking your phone. Have a full conversation without glancing at a screen. Disconnect for just a moment. Dear readers, just look up. I’m up for the challenge...are you?

The Subconscious mind-A powerful tool for motivating students and building their positive attitude

By motivation we mean interest in doing something. It is a kind of internal driving force. It comes from a desire to succeed. It is often said to be the single biggest factor for the success of a student. A badly taught well-motivated student will probably do better than a well-taught poorly-motivated student. Motivation determines a student's level of attention, performance, pursuing objectives and getting success. Lucky are the students who are well-motivated in their study. Learners' motivation is of two kinds-intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is concerned with the factors inside the classroom. What takes place inside the classroom has great impact on students' success. Extrinsic motivation is no less important than the former. It is made up of factors outside the classroom and is concerned with things like attitude and experience.

Attitude is the perspective how we look at the things or how we think. Positive attitude is the mode of thinking positively and negative attitude is the mode of thinking negatively. A student with a positive attitude has thoughts like, 'I've a good memory', 'I'm confident', 'I can work hard', or 'I'm sure I'll be successful', whereas a student with a negative attitude has the reverse thoughts like, 'I've a poor memory', 'I'm not confident', 'I can't work hard', or 'I don't think I'll be successful'. Factors like environment, education and experience largely determine a person's attitude. Knowingly or unknowingly some students acquire negative attitude. Can parents, teacher, doctors, shopkeepers or employers be good in their roles without positive attitude? No, of course not. The same is true of the students. Our students cannot be good students without a positive attitude. If a student has negative attitude towards education, naturally he is de-motivated to learn. Such students often blame others- parents, teachers, society, government, bad lucks- for their failures. Their negative thoughts and attitude affects them negatively. They lack motivation. They lose hope and self-confidence. They are attuned to finding fault and criticizing others. On the contrary, positive thoughts and attitude inspire and encourage students to move for action- that is motivation or a real driving force in their lives.

To sum up the ideas so far, attitude is the belief system. The most powerful motivation comes from our belief system. Our internal motivation is our drive and attitude. Students' attitude and motivation are closely connected with each other and they are the foundation of their success. Students to be successful must have positive attitude and a higher degree of motivation. However, lack of motivation and negative attitude of students are some of the major problems that the educators of modern time are facing. Therefore, it is a matter of great importance that all the students in general and having negative attitude and de-motivated ones in particular should be taught about the power of their subconscious mind and its use for self-motivation and building positive attitude.

Our subconscious mind is different from our conscious mind. They are merely two spheres of activity within one mind. Conscious mind has the ability to think and choose. We make our decision with our conscious mind. It can accept or reject. It is our rational mind. By using this faculty of thinking we analyze, interpret, argue, define and express our ideas, thoughts and reasons. Our subconscious mind is like a data bank or a storehouse whereas our conscious mind is feeder. It first supplies information, emotion into our subconscious mind through different channels- eyes, ears, actions and thoughts. Subconscious mind is producer. It produces what is once stored. It is not rational. It is like a garden. It does not care what we plant. It is neutral. If we plant good seeds we will have a good garden. Otherwise we will have a wild growth of weeds. Positive thoughts and negative thoughts cannot occupy our mind simultaneously. We have to choose either one or the other. Whatever we choose to put into our mind our subconscious will accept and our behavior will reflect accordingly. When we think with our conscious mind, we are planting seeds of thoughts is our garden of subconscious mind. Our input equals our output. When positively is in, positively will be out. So is the case with negatively. When students know the fact that our thoughts lead to actions, actions lead to habits, and habits form character and character leads to destiny, they will never form the habit of thinking in a negative way. This is the way we form our habits and they become permanent. In psychological term it is called a theory of conditioning. American psychologist Skinner first advanced this behaviorist theory. He argued that a human baby learns a language through a process of habit formation.

Our major concern here is how to make use of subconscious mind effectively in forming positive habits and thoughts and erasing bad habits and negative attitude of the students. One of the effective techniques that students can use for their above mentioned purpose is auto-suggestion or conditioning. It is a way to program our students' subconscious mind. Students make a phrase or a short effective sentence for an auto-suggestion. They keep or repeating it silently for 20 minutes at a fixed time of the day for at least 21 days. Success depends on the ability of our students to concentrate and repeat the process. Auto suggestion with visualization will be more effective. It must be positive and in the present tense. For example a student who is much worried about his poor memory power can make a phrase like- 'I've an excellent memory power'. He should repeat it for at least 21 days to 30 days. By programming one suggestion at a time a student can erase a few bad habits and negative thoughts in a few months. He will find the treasure house within him. By changing his thoughts he can change his destiny. Every academic institution must make its students familiar with this powerful practical technique. Only then we will see perfection in education.