Life is...

Luncheon

2008-05-22T13:11:00.004+01:00

Happy Birthday to Grace :P
Had a small luncheon yesterday ... was superb.

Champions League - Man U won :P. Watched the game after class at 10. The crowd was booing, jeering and cheered. Too bad Chelsea didn't win as it would have given Abramovich a sweet victory especially as it was held in Moscow. Didn't watch it until the end - hungry for dinner.

If ...

2008-05-19T23:06:00.003+01:00

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

I've been tagged

2008-05-18T23:48:00.004+01:00

Name Tag: III
Tagged by: Ghoyye and Dan (seriously u guys, u didn't do rule 4 so actually i was not tagged :P)

The Rules :
1. Each blogger must post these rules first.
2. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged, and to read your blog.

Fact One:
Next time don't read ur friends' blog cos u'll be tagged .... (just had time to spend on reading these blogs and u know what, got tagged).

Fact Two:
Hmm... if I'm cooking... I'm seriously cooking (meaning to say that all the ingredients have to be there). Even if it means that I have to go to the market/shop to find them - basil leaves, lime etc.

Fact Three:
I sleep with my socks on cos it's so bl**dy cold here. If not my feet would get swollen.

Fact Four:
I can't stand the fact that some people just wouldn't take NO for an answer. I mean, when u asked questions, surely you would know that the answer is either going to be YES or NO.

Fact Five:
I'd lost weight .... heheh.

Fact Six:
There's this sense of impulsiveness/"unplannedness" in me. If I want to go to some places or do some stuff, I'll do it (money is not a factor here :P).

Fact Seven:
I've never cooked curry in the UK, dunno why. But got a request from my Japanese friend to cook him curry (menangis nanti aku tatau .... hehe).

Fact Eight:
I don't like going to the dentist.

Now.... who am I tagging next?
[Huh... nak kena tag ke? Blog baru idup balik, dah nak tag orang? Ish... ish]
OK. I'm tagging whoever that reads this entry. :P

Exam mode

2007-11-21T20:14:00.001Z

Short updates

Exam is less than 2 weeks time, arrgghhh!!
Now I'm in the exam mode. Cramming everything. Plus another individual assignment to hand in before the exams.

By the way, snowed on Sunday... yeay.

Not to mention, congratulations to Man and Petty on their wedding (Letak la gambo kawen)
To those people who are going to get married during the next few weeks - congratulations in advance and Selamat Pengantin Baru.

Till next time, wish me luck!

Presentation

2007-10-26T19:33:00.001+01:00

There was a fire alarm just when I finished dinner/lunch. So that’s why I’m here at the School.

I received an unexpected e-mail from Malaysia today. Alhamdulillah. Everything has sorted out to be OK. ;)

By the way, I did a presentation together with a colleague on a company that we researched an interviewed earlier and to my amazement in turned out to be a success. We were 10 minutes on the dot and nobody asked any question. Mind you, these people tend to ask you difficult questions.

I'll take note on one of the comments given ;). Nevertheless, a few people praised our presentation and some even said that it’s the best among those 5 groups who presented that day. See Raj, you don’t need to add in that one extra slide…. Heheh

Mind you that my left leg was shaking and it shows how nervous I am.. Luckily I was presenting behind the lectern or otherwise people would have seen how ‘shaky’ I was. During the break just before my presentation, a colleague commented that I didn’t look so confident said that she’ll ask questions during my presentation (a good way to calm me eh ...)

Looking forward to going to the City Centre tomorrow. Need to buy some groceries plus I ran out of ‘beras’ since the couple of days.

This weekend, there was a ranking published in the FT (yes, I’m reading this newspaper) for the Executive MBA and our School did quite OK internationally.

Sunday is the end of the British Summer Time. So you get an extra one hour sleep on Sunday (tho’ I wished it’s more than 1 hour).

First Entry from the UK

2007-10-20T10:34:00.001+01:00

Hope it's not too late to wish you guys a wonderful Eid Mubarak! Maaf Zahir Batin

It's been a looonnng time since I have updated the blog. Here's some quick updates:

1. Eid way down south - Thanks a bunch Ghoyye for letting me staying in your 7 star penthouse (minus the swimming pool) ;). Not to forget Uje and Han for the superb pasta! Good to see some familiar faces again and shock some people. (Eh….ko buat ape kat sini?!, macam kenal je dia nih… selalu meeting ngan aku nih).

2. Trip to Cadbury World – had a sinful amount of chocolates (Flakes, custom-made choc with rice krispies you name it). It’s supposed to be a trip for our Operations Management course but it turns out as trip for the grown up kids. Must eat chocolate …

3. Trip to Chatsworth House – They were also auction items by Sotheby’s scattered around the garden. If you’re rich, and have enough space in your own backyard, you can opt to buy these items. My favourite art - work is the Trompe l'oeil Violin and bow hanging on a door. The work is so realistic that you didn’t notice it was a painting!

4. Birthday celebration – I’m getting ‘younger’ ;)

5. Teambuilding at the Royal Agricultural College – It’s the oldest agricultural college in the world. I had to present about Malaysia and one of our famous leaders (mind the pronoun – I was the only Malaysian!). Luckily, Sab recently joined our class so there’s two now.

Thank you for the unexpected visit from a dear friend plus the call from Malaysia (I know you missed me… haha).

It’s a lot of hard work here, so fingers-crossed. Hopefully I’ll survive.

I’m off to the city centre.

Off to greener pastures...

2007-09-06T17:16:00.001+01:00

It’s a sad day. Tomorrow will be my last day at work. (Actually, it's today but still has a few things to sort out before my loongg break). I'm still contemplating whether to attend the class, going to the pilot workshop or drafting the skeletal report for the upcoming audit... I thought, I could rest during my last week at the office, but people keep asking me to do things (sighh...). Luckily, one treated me for a superb ayam kampung lunch!

This might be my last post here (read- Malaysia). I’ve been busy since the last few weeks (plus a long holiday to attend to my sis's convocation and to send another sis off.

To those of you who have still not heard of the news, I'm going back to the UK next week (Tickets have not been confirmed yet)! Sorry for not telling you guys earlier because it almost seemed that I'm not going to be released by my boss (insert the never-ending story here) before this. I'm surprised as it seems that the news spread so fast and people knew that I’ll be away.

Counting back, its 3 years since I came back to Malaysia and worked for the company and now I’m looking forward to going to the UK. Yeayyy!!

I’m also glad that a dear friend who got his offer letter after some minor hiccups and will be flying next month as well.

Ooohhh.. and to my dear friends who couldn’t make it on yesterday’s lunch/dinner, you guys have to wait a long time before I could ‘belanja’ you guys again… heheh

Colours Can Be Deceiving

2007-08-04T15:54:00.001+01:00

That was the final point being stressed by our new-found friend at a club in Putrajaya after a verrryy long conversation. (Mind you, we stayed late until all the lights were switched off and the waiters was having their supper at one corner. They even politely invited us to join them)

As what he had said earlier, ‘I didn’t know why I opened up to you guys, tho’ I just met you five minutes ago’.

The rest was flashbacks during his early days until now, how he decided to leave his family across the causeway and more interesting stories…

On a different note, the dinner could have been better. I guess the group was a ravenous lot as by the time we went to get our buffet, everything was finished. The food was later topped-up but not the whole buffet though, only two dishes were replenished.

Hectic Week

2007-08-04T03:14:00.001+01:00

Went to the office on Sunday to prepare something for Monday’s meeting and ended up being a babysitter for my former officemate’s 3 adorable kids. All in all, the office was in a mess by the time kids went back home with their mom ;).

Throughout Wed till Friday, I wasn’t feeling too well but I mustered all my strength to go to work….lots of things to be done. Huhuh…. Not to mention that on Thu, I had my lunch at 6.30 p.m (more like dinner actually!). My head was spinning during the audio conferencing that evening, probably due to low sugar. I’m sooo tired … Luckily; I didn’t faint there and then.

Despite that, I still went out with a friend of mine for dinner and we headed to Bukit Bintang ;).

Hiatus

2007-07-28T16:12:00.001+01:00

No updates sine the last few weeks since my modem was kaput. Plus, I’m too tired to even surf the internet and update.

A few major things happened over the last few days and I believe that everything has been sorted out…

One of my colleagues is going back to her hometown for good. All the best Kak! Huhuh…no more home cooked meals and bubur… L We’ll miss you dearly, and the office wouldn’t be the same without you.(My favourite tease word: mapalahamputt)

On a different note, life is about making choices and accepting the consequences. Sometimes, things don’t always turned out as expected but the key word is NEVER give up.

"Angels Or Devils"

this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna come here tonight
this is the last time - I will fall
into a place that fails us all - inside

I can see the pain in you
I can see the love in you
but fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time

the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down
come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold

this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna give in tonight
are there angels or devils crawling here?
I just want to know what blurs and what is clear - to see

still I can see the pain in you
and I can see the love in you
and fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time

the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down - come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could break us

if I was to give in - give it up
- and then
take a breath - make it deep
cause it might be the last one you get
be the last one
that could make us cold
you know that they could make us cold
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold

7 wonders

2007-07-11T00:01:00.001+01:00

The results of the global poll on the new 7 wonders (new7wonders.com) of the were were released on 7.7.07. The 7 wonders of the world are:

1. The Great Wall, China
2. Petra, Jordan
3. Christ Redeemer, Brazil
4. Machu Picchu, Peru
5. Chichén Itzá, Mexico
6. The Roman Colosseum, Italy
7. The Taj Mahal, India

There's 8 actually as the Pyramids of Giza is still considered as a 7 Wonders of the World site. Now we can actually vote for the new 7 Wonders of Nature and I've nominated Gua Niah in Sarawak. Hurry and nominate your favourite site as the nominations will be open until 08.08.08! (new7wonders.com)

Updates...

2007-07-07T09:19:00.001+01:00

The dreaded month of July finally came and the painful reorganization has taken place. I'm in a new portfolio reporting directly to a GM (okay, somebody who drew this structure must be out of his mind). We were busy rearranging the office and throwing away unused stuffs in order to give space to a unit that will be moving to our floor. OK...enough ramblings about work!

Last weekend, I went to the Talent and Awards Night at 'me school'. It's good to see the teachers again (there were just a few) and this time your are the 'matured' ex-student .. hehe.

On Sunday, we went to Shah's wedding in Seremban. Little Aqil Shah was there as well, sitting quietly in her mother's arms, despite the loud sound of the gamelan ensemble. A few of my shoolmates were also there, a few with their spouses and one with a cute baby girl.

The celebration on our recent SBP victory was held on Monday night at one of the hotel.

Wednesday, lunch with Mr. D. Immediately after work was my photoshoot session. Who said it's gonna be easy, smiling from ear to ear and enduring the bright flashlights ;)

On my way back to the LRT, I bumped into Mr. D (haven't I seen him enough in one day?) which is on his was to doing his 'yuppie-thingy' stuff at KLCC. In a split second, I decided to follow him to KLCC. We headed to Starbucks KLCC and 'yuppie' exec opened his laptop and did some work. Wait a minute, the guy sitting next to our table looks familiar ... Hiro Nakamura lookalike. Shhuuutt, the season Finale of Heroes is aired tonight and I'm gonna miss it!

I finished my Frappucino and took a walk around KLCC but couldn't find anything interesting to buy I arrived at Starbucks and let's just say that 'yuppie' wasn't fully concentrating on his work...

It's time to call it a day and I headed home.

Hong Kong Trip - Day 2 (7 June 07)

2007-06-30T08:45:00.001+01:00

The annoying sound of Mr. D's alarm clock woke us up (and yes, Mr. D is in the t***** and he left the clock to snooze mode, much to our dismay).

The weather wasn't on our side; it's raining. Hopefully by the time we reach The Peak, the weather is going to be OK.

The tour starts at 9.00 a.m and we were supposed to rendezvous at Kowloon Hotel at Tsim Tsa Tsui.

Aberdeen Fishing Village - The 'floating' village where lies a community several boathouses. There were also yachts which belonged to Hong Kong's billionaires tucked safely in the typhoon shelter.

HK Jewellery - A place where tourists are lured into buying the jewelleries but it is worth going if you have money. FYI, the gold is controlled and backed by the government therefore ensuring the highest quality of jewellery.

Repulse Bay - Also known as the Beverly Hills of HK where most of HK superstars and tycoons live.

The Peak - Similar to Bukit Bendera in Malaysia. It offers a magnificent view of the HK skyline. Madame Tussauds HK is also situated here. Me and Faisal spent around 20 minutes running around and taking pictures with some of the world's most famous faces.

At around 1 o'clock we descended from The Peak and headed back to Kowloon. By the time, we arrived at Kowloon Hotel, it was almost 3 p.m.

Treble

2007-06-28T16:03:00.001+01:00

Sunday, 24 June 2007 - Months of arduous have paid off as 'me school' has emerged as the winner of the recently concluded SBP Competition. The 3rd consecutive win was made sweeter when the conductor also received the best conductor award. Congratulations to all of you!

My comments:
The first school played the western (The Pioneers) and Malay (Pesta Menuai) pieces flawlessly, as usual their trumpets are strong. But, I think their overall performance was bland - flat with no dynamics.

'Me school' played a song written by our previous instructor titled Jauh-jauh (an old song recently being recorded again by a new singer). There were mistakes everywhere; clarinets were squeaking, trumpets couldn't reach the high note and the French horn didn't hit the correct notes. Luckily, they recovered afterwards and managed to finish the rest of the piece.

The second piece (Russian Christmas) was supposed to be our killer piece and also the harder of the two pieces (Believe me, the score is full of running notes and tricky movements). I particularly like the French horn which roared and gave a strong character to the song. All in all, they played the song perfectly and I believe at par with Tokyo Kosei. The majestic ending with the ritard along with the thunderous sound of the gong and chimes was nailed perfectly!

The next school played two songs by Phillip Sparke (Postcards from Singapore - translated as Khabar dari Temasek and Starflash). This year, I must say that they have improved a lot and I felt that we're not going to get first place. Luckily, this school got second... >:)

Fourth school - the most improved school of the lot, played Alvamar Overture. Verdict : they can be a great contender if given the right coaching. By the way, they got third.

Fifth school - OK, this one is surely going to get fifth place! Though, kudos must be given to them as they managed to get into the finals and beating some of the more established schools.

The judges include one American guy and The National Symphony Orchestra concertmaster, 2 representatives from Malaysia and a judge from Singapore (if I'm not mistaken).

Oh, yeah! I heard that they'll be going to Italy next year for winning first prize ....

Hong Kong Trip - Day 1

2007-06-23T19:45:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I updated the blog... ;)

The trip went well and it was worth the money spent. Thanks to you guys...

The trip this time was different in a sense we didn't actually make any prior planning on our trip (where to go, what to do). Everything was scheduled when we were in HK. Nevertheless, we managed to 'finish' the trip and covered HK pretty well.

It nearly became a two-person trip after one of us that decided to cancel it at the eleventh hour changed his mind and decided to follow (Yes... YOU!!).

On the night before our departure, Faisal came to get his ticket and we made some last minute food-supply shopping. After that, it's packing time.

I woke up at 5 in the morning as we need to be at KLIA around 7.30-ish. Although, it was still early (Dan's going to pick me up at 6.15 a.m), I got up and surfed the internet. Although I can get at least half-an-hour more sleep, I dreaded that I might over dozed and eventually getting a call from Dan saying he's in front of the gate. That would spoil the mood of the trip wouldn't it? Getting lectured in the wee hours of the morning...

Dan arrived, we parked at the office and headed to KL Sentral to check in. On our way to KLIA via the ERL, Dan was practising with his camera, experimenting with shutter speeds etc. (Like I said before, I have high expectations on your photo-taking skills....!)

I made prior bookings for the seat and thus I got the spacious seat. The food was okay but I enjoyed the movies and shows aired for the in-flight entertainment.

We arrived at the Chek Lap Kok Airport at around 1.30 p.m the descent was a bit scary as you see only the sea beneath you. It is no surprise as the airport is built on a reclaimed land. The airport is very big and bustled with people and activity.

Our airport transfer to YMCA International House had been arranged in Malaysia and we searched for the travel agent counter located at the right of the arrival exit as per instruction at Cathay Pacific Malaysia. We booked the half-day city tour at the counter as well.

On our way to the hotel, the bus made a few stops including to Disneyland Hotel and passed trough the Lantau Link (a series of roadways and bridges linking the islands in HK). One of the famous bridges is the Tsing Ma Bridge which is the 6th longest suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge that carries both road and rail traffic (upper and lower decks). It is tall - huge ships and tankers can pass through underneath the bridge. Probably the second Penang Bridge could emulate this bridge's design especially the MTR part. The plus point is people can commute to and fro from Penang to mainland using the LRT.

We arrived at the hotel and checked in. After we have had our complimentary drinks, we decided to go to Mongkok, which is the heart of Kowloon, by walking along Nathan Road. If you want to see lots of neon signs, Nathan Road is the place to go.

It's too early for us to do shopping at Mongkok and therefore we decided to head to Tsim Tsa Tsui for the Avenue of the Stars. Avenue of Stars is located at the southernmost point of the Kowloon Peninsula.

The MTR stations in HK is huge, but the signage is very well placed for you to locate your exits. But beware, your exits which is marked by alphabets can suddenly branch out from D to F, and subsequently to F1, F2 and F3. What I like the most about the MTR trains is that when the train moves, there is a strong gust of wind coming from the air-conditioners as if the train windows were open.

It was already dark when we arrived at The Avenue of Stars. The Avenue of Stars which is similar to Hollywood's Walk of Fame, honours Hong Kong stars by placing terrazo 'stars' along the sidewalk. The view from there is breathtaking. We could see the Central District that lines well-lit tall HK skyscrapers from afar. Central District which is situated in Hong Kong island is HK's financial and business centre.

View from The Avenue of Stars

The latest addition to the HK skyline is the Two International Finance Centre. At 420m at 88 storeys high, it is the tallest building in HK and fifth in the world. Did you know that, HK is also building the International Commerce Centre (118 story, 484 m) which is still under construction in Kowloon area? Now that's a reason for me to visit HK second time ...

We took pictures and strolled along the pier. At 8.00 p.m, the lights along the pier were dimmed the fabulous Symphony of Lights started with a bang! A red Chinese junk sailed from Kowloon towards HK island, symbolizing HK's transformation from a shipping village to the world-renowned city. The lights were dancing to the tune of the accompanying music - superb pyrotechnics effect!!

The show lasted for about 20 minutes, and I must tell you that it is an experience of a lifetime. Did you know that Symphony of Lights has been awarded the world's 'Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show' by Guinness World Records?

We later met up with Dan's friend which took us for dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants nearby. We accidentally found HK Hard Rock Cafe (mental note: must go and buy shot glasses!).

The dinner was awesome - seafood and vegetable steamboat. It took quite a while for us to finish up everything (Tu laa... order banyak sangat). The fun part is making your own fish noodle, which eventually turned up to be large intestine-like noodle. People at the other tables were staring at us as we were snapping pictures and laughing.

The dinner ended as we decided to make a move to the Central District and Lan Kwai Fong area. Clara, which had just arrived from Shenzen (China) earlier, took us around the area (that's what I call great hospitality - walking with her work shoes and heavy bag on her back) while Sunny headed home.

I found out that Central District was not only the Business District of HK, but also the fashion capital of HK. Huge designer label boutiques (Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Armani) were dotted along the area and I didn't mean 1 LV shop in HK but several LV boutiques in one area!

We arrived at the HSBC building, a simple yet magnificent building with two bronze lions statues at the entrance (The lions were also depicted in HK dollar notes). There is a void ground floor area and you have to take the escalators to the reception area. It is believed that the empty space would allow the dragon to pass through the building and therefore bringing good Feng Shui. The main characteristic of the building is that the structure is supported by external trusses. It is believed that the building could be dismantled and moved elsewhere should there be a problem during HK's handover to China.

Lan Kwai Fong is a spot for night life and meeting place for foreigners. We explored Lan Kwai Fong's narrow streets and sloped gradients and settled into one of the bar. Somebody had fun here but me and Faisal were knackered and yawning every few minutes (Mind you, the next morning, we need to wake up early in order to catch the half-day tour of the city). We left the place and took a coaster which was destined for Mongkok area, luckily the driver agreed to go to Tsim Tsa Tsui and dropped us not far from our hotel.

Everyone was tired and after a nice hot shower as well as prayer we went to sleep... Looking forward for a nice trip around the city tomorrow!

Guess...

2007-06-12T00:03:00.001+01:00

While waiting for me to blog about my recent trip, lets have a quiz ;)

1. Who's the owner of the bag?
2. Guess what's in the bag that is fragile
3. Where did I went?

Insert your comments below the entry...

Italy Trip?

2007-06-05T00:12:00.001+01:00

It was a bright sunny day and we were passing through rows of cafes along the river. The gondola oarsman (known as a la valesàna), gave detailed description on the history behind the rows of building which lined the river banks.

Along the canal are various piazzas, churches and monasteries, which presents impressive architecture. Hordes of tourists where busy posing and taking pictures with their digital SLR (exaggerating here.... Dan, I have high expectations on your newfound skill ;) .. )

People were sitting at the terrace having their proper cup of coffees, enjoying the therapeutic view. Bright-coloured flowers adorn the riverbanks; birds chirping happily on top of the shady trees.

When we reached the end of the trip, we got out of the boat and strolled along the winding streets. All of a sudden, a young boy nipped my friend's wallet with sleuth of hand (Recall: scene from Bourne Identity). Everything was fast but I managed to catch the boy and took back the wallet.

-END-

Wow, was that a bad sign on the advent of our planned trip tomorrow? Or, am I thinking too much about the trip. People say that what is unsubconsciously in you mind is manifested into your dream. But the two places, one in the dream and the planned location resides on two different parts of the world. Well, looking forward to the trip. Fingers-crossed and hope that everything goes well.

I'll write, or rather 'blog' about the trip when I get back....

Welcome to the world of blogging

2007-06-03T15:07:00.002+01:00

My first time writing for a public blog (Yes, I've blogged ;), but not for you guys to read... hehe)

A few friends convinced me to write a blog a few months back. So I guess, this is it. Need some tips from you guys tho'.

Nothing much to write. Just enjoy the trailer for the Pirates of the Carribbean 3 (Click on the title). Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

This morning, a lady handed me a brochure on Yoga while I was resting at the park. She explained on what is generally Yoga and gave me a taste of how to unleash the Chakras. I must tell you that I'm impressed. I can actually feel cool breeze coming out from my head and felt serene. When I opened out my right palm, she said that I should feel hot tingling sensation but instead I felt cool. She said that indicates that my inner-self is good. ;). Hahah..

To you people out there who wants to try out Yoga, try it! I know I'm contemplating to attend the Yoga class...

Yoga - referring to "technologies or disciplines of asceticism and meditation which are thought to lead to spiritual experience and profound understanding or insight into the nature of existence."