Mindfulness

A poem about mindfulness inspired by Ancient Greek Wisdom

The illusions of my true phantasy

Reflect in the mirror of my vanity

Igniting the desires of my awareness

To arrive at the door of my mindfulness

For mindfulness balances my inner measures

Completing my total perishable wholeness

Driving my cells and atoms, daily, to total death

Giving my whole human existence a new re-birth

Mindfulness makes me cry every day

Sensing the instance of my dire necessity

For my emotions run me to the ground

Waiting for the seeds of happiness to abound

Oh! Dear mindfulness, come forward

Bring the elements of my life toward

Elevate my mind to highest consciousness

Let my soul enter the serene valley of awareness

Always remembering the following wise sayings of the ancient Greeks:

Anaximander: ‘What is infinite is something other than the elements, and from it the elements arise’;

Aristotle: ‘Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom’;

Democritus: ‘In truth there are only atoms and the void’;

Epicurus: ‘The art of living well and the art of dying well are one’;

Protagoras: ‘Man is the measure of all things’;

Pyrrho: ‘By suspending judgement, one can attain a quiet and peaceful mind’; and

Socrates: ‘All I know is that I know nothing’.

Arcadia: A Land of Bliss

A poem about Arcadia inspired by Ancient Greek Wisdom

Oh! Holy Arcadia, land of naked Pan

Country of colours, ideals and great fun

Full of mountains, hills and rocks of granite

Fables, stories and ancient myths to ignite

You give new ideas to our creativity

Firing the waves of our spirituality;

You lead us to your altar of high altitude

To strengthen our bonds of steady fortitude

You created for Pan a fast-running wild contest

Providing a word to all that defines him best;

You made him chase away frenzy and malevolence

Bonding your land of happiness with kind benevolence

Oh! Greatest and most glorious Arcadia

Alter ego of mountainous divine Gaia

You bring us all closer to God’s Dominion

Driving away from the traps of eternal oblivion.

Always remembering the following story of Kallisto:

‘KALLISTO (or Callisto) was a daughter of the Arkadian King Lykaon, son of Pelasgos who was the first man who ever lived in Arcadia and led his people out of their primitive stage of Golden Age and introduced certain aspects of civilization such as eating acorns instead of grass, leaves, and roots. They all lived in the forests and mountains in pure innocence and harmony.

Kallisto was a hunting companion of the goddess Artermis. Kallisto is derived from Greek ‘kallistos’ meaning ‘most beautiful’. In ancient Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by Zeus, the father of the gods. She was changed into a she-bear by  Hrea, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation in the sky. Kallisto was revered as a goddess in Arcadia as her son Arkas gave this mountainous land his name, Arcadia’.

A Call to the Master

A poem about God inspired by Ancient Greek Wisdom

I’m hiding behind transient simplicity

Searching for ways to find tranquility

To get to God’s land of serene symmetry

To reach the final milestone of harmony

 

Please don’t call on me when it’s light

Wait for the little hours of the long night

When the dawn makes my aura so bright

Bringing me divine energy and might

 

For then I will be the fearless knight

Kind, loveable, enviable and upright

Clad with humility and peaceful arms

Preaching the Lord’s powerful charms

 

His words make me the sweet little boy

So kind, good and full of spiritual joy

With no great fuss and bouts of worry

Singing lovely hymns to His eternal glory

 

Oh! Lord, my one and only Master

My creator and benevolent Father

To You I utter in silent perpetuity

The true echoes of my human trinity

 

Oh! God, to your altar I always offer

My thoughts of love in every prayer

To You I call and request continuously

To absolute my soul from materialistic captivity

 

Always remembering two wise ancient Greek sayings:

‘God humbles the arrogant and elevates the humble’ by Diogenes Laertius; and

‘Divinity is beauty, wisdom, goodness and everything that is the same with these’

by Plato.

Free e-book: How to reduce occupational stress

Free e-book: ‘How to Reduce Occupational Stress’

Book inspired by ancient Greek wisdom

Published: Feb, 12 2015, by John Kyriazoglou

http://bookboon.com/en/how-to-reduce-occupational-stress-ebook

A self-help guide and an approach to manage and reduce occupational stress and improve the mental health of your people

Table of Contents

PART A

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Stress Management Approach

Chapter 2: Occupational Stress Management Action Plan

Chapter 3: Strategy #1: Incorporate Basic Stress Reduction Actions

Chapter 4: Strategy #2: Add Spirituality to Your Basic Stress Reduction Actions

Chapter 5: Strategy #3: Improve Your Stress Reduction Management Process with Better Relationships

Chapter 6: Strategy #4: Strengthen Your Stress Reduction Management Process with More Robustness

Chapter 7: Improve Stress Efforts

Chapter 8: Concluding Remarks

Bibliography

PART B

Over 10 appendices with examples of Plans, Policies and Questionnaires that support Part A of the book.

http://bookboon.com/en/how-to-reduce-occupational-stress-ebook

Ancient Greek Wisdom on Family

 

By John Kyriazoglou

 

Man (meaning both genders, male and female) is a social animal. He has learnt from very old times to live in communities and groups with other people. His family, however, is the group that provides a safe life full of love and security. Family is very important part of our everyday life. It helps us improve our personality. It also helps us shape our life. It teaches us the value of love, affection, care, truthfulness and self-confidence and provides us tools and suggestions which are necessary to get success in life.

Family is a place where you can be yourself. It is a place where you are accepted for what you are. This is where you are completely tension free and everyone is there to help you. Family encourages you when you are surrounded by problems. It helps you survive through tough times and brings joy and happiness into your life.

Decency and dignity are very important in the activities of daily life. They help us make strong relationships and bonds with others and make us come across as a very gentle, intelligent and likable person. We all love to be in a company of such a person. Family helps bring decency and dignity into our life which is absolutely necessary to lead a happy and balanced life.

One of the most important aims of our life is to build a successful and highly rewarding career. Our families help us in creating a strong future. It gives us valuable suggestion about different career prospective. It not only guides us in choosing the best but also financially helps us to cover the expenses of education. Thus it helps us in making a good future.

Today, most people don't realize the importance of family. They prefer to spend most of their time with their friends. But when they are surrounded by problems, it was their family that helped them get rid of problems. At the time, when even our best friends refuse to help us, it was our family that came to help us. So it is very important for each and every individual to give importance to their families above anything else and enjoy spending time with family members.

Here is an example of what noted ancient Greek poets and philosophers have said about Family and its expressions: Marriage, Wife, Children, and Parents.

 

Aeschylus: ‘Every person must honor his (or her) parents’.

 

Aristotle: ‘Family is the cell of life’.

 

Dimosthenis: ‘The person who does not take care of his (or her) parents is an enemy of both people and Gods’.

 

Euripides: ‘There are three rules to be followed by anyone who wants to be right: To love his (or her) parents, to love other human beings and to love what is just’.

 

Isocrates: ‘We should behave towards our parents the same way we would want our children to behave towards us’.

 

Plato: ‘You can teach children better by using the method of playing games rather than by force’. ‘Correct education is one therapeutic way for our soul’.

 

Plutarch: ‘There are three bases that contribute to a child’s good upbringing: Nature, education and exercise’. 

 

Socrates: ‘Education comprises the festive activities of the soul, as it includes many games, events and activities that support and improve our souls’.

 

Sophocles: ‘A bad woman is the worst thing that can happen to a man, and the best gift will be a sensible woman that will come his way’.

                

In conclusion: It is very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone, to live happily, survive and prosper without the support and long-term bonds of a family. Also parents are considered to be the most valuable thing for all human beings. For this exact reason we have an obligation to always respect, honor, support and love them. Finally it is also our divine duty and moral (and legal) responsibility to also support, love, care, educate, train and provide for our children, to the best of our abilities, for the very simple reason that we brought them to this world.

 

Water: Life’s keeper

A poem about water inspired by Ancient Greek Wisdom

Verse 1: Life’s custodian

Oh! Water, keeper of God’s fauna

And good guardian of Earth’s flora;

You fuel the arteries of eternal life

And ignite the currents of creative strife.

Verse 2: Biosphere’s guardian

You fill the streams and wild rivers

With primordial animals and beavers;

You give us the riches of fish and flowers

And support our life’s spiritual towers.

Verse 3: Hope’s sentinel

You keep with your cold-warm arsenal

What is evident to all, and crystal-clear

Rich, poor, old, young, wise and criminal

Hope and love, to time immemorial.

Verse 4: Divine circle

You’re always in a circle, non-stopping

Promoting all life in divine bouts of eloping;

You gratify living forms with oxygen’s purity

Cleansing all cells from carbon’s wicked toxicity.

Always remembering one of Thales’s wisest sayings:

‘Water constitutes the principle of all things’.