Rocket to Mars

Nasa has sent Rocket to Mars a month after water was found for nine months' trip to Mars. Rover will explore the terrain for research there.

Water found on Mars!

Water found on Mars
With advanced communications and space technology skills,
Will men colonize space stations, moon and Mars with supreme thrills?
Is oxygen and water lack there hard to realize the truth?
Same as knowing God and his ways which they seek hard during youth.

7 August Nasa space experts found evidence of water flow down slope on Mars. (The Star, 6 Aug. 2011).
Today I was happy that oxygen and water were found on moon and on Mars,
When the poem was written two and half years ago, (6 Dec. 2008), no water or oxygen were found there.
Against all odds of expert opinions, I wrote there were oxygen and water to be found there,
with Holy Ghost push. Indeed, the Holy Spirit has proven me right to put in writing.
This was my personal "prophetic" experience I have had , which made my experience
exhilarating, and inspiring to write more.
So, it could be probable that colonization of the moon and Mars would take place next time! Wow!
Thinking of you all!

The Real Reason for coming to Church

When the Elder asks why do we come to church on Sabbath day on 12 June, 2011, I was prompted to stand and reply his reasonable request. For we are covenant people of the Lord. I realize people come to church for various reasons, most are subways, and byways or own opinions, which are not necessarily real reasons. According to scriptures, by virtue of our premortal existence, we are all children of our Heavenly Father. However, we become sons and daughters of God when we are baptized in water,and receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and believe in the Gospel, as scriptures testisfy to confirm it.
Quotes:
In other words, we are made covenant people of the Lord. Being children of God, we become sons and daughters of God only upon baptism into the water (God's language), unlike being children of human parents we are sons and daughters of parents upon birth (English language).
Therefore, to be accepted into the Royal Family of God, we must enter into an ordinance of water baptism on earth or by proxy ( for spirits in the spirit world).

New Year 2011 Starts-January Events

The first week of January, 2011 began with signing documents for Multilevel Company with new Directors, followed by Elisha losing his wallet after lunch at PJaya Restaurant, but got it back after 2 hours break. As he walked back to get it, I was praying that his wallet be intact and found. Indeed, a man has kept for him and returned wholly complete with nothing lost.

The second week was most exciting, 9 Jan. 2011 at Pavilion mall, Bukit Bintang. There were 9 Dragon Dances and 99 Drummers to usher the start of Guinness Programme of the Chinese New year--the Year of the Rabbit. Number 9 symbolizes abundance, since 9 is the highest single digit, a prolific year in Rabbit year It is also the number of my birth number.. Fortunately, Veron and myself were also invited to the Grand Dinner at Grand Palace restaurant with a 9-Course Dinner! Wow! What a celebration it was to be witnesses of such a grand opening of the New Year! We were elated as the event also brought us together after a stormy absence of two weeks.

Turning of the children's hearts to the fathers(ancestors)

Temple Work was emphasized,since Malachi's time; hence, the importance of doing Temple work for ancestors who are in the Spirit World. The onus is on the children (posterity) who are living to advance this work for the dead (fathers or ancestors), and doing the sealing ordinance for the living and the dead in the Temple.

430BC Malachi Mal.4: 5-6
OBC Jesus Luke 1:17 (quoted John)
33AD Jesus 3 Nephi 25: 5-6
1823AD Moroni Joseph Smith 1:39 (nine times )
1836AD Jesus Kirland D &C 110:15.
1950AD onwards Prophets and church leaders.

WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKER IN ACTION IN KUALA LUMPUR

Have you ever met Darren Lacroix, 2001 World Champion in Public Speaking in action in Kuala Lumpur ?
If you have seen him in action, hear him, and feel him, you just want to learn from him more, and more!

Darren Lacroix, bald headed like Yul Brynner, gave his most electrifying demonstration from Chump (Blockhead) to Champ (World’s Brilliant Winner Speaker) in front of a distinguished audience of 200 professionals in public speaking, and Toastmasters members of District 51 in Persona Toastmasters Club, at 41 floor Twin Petronas Towers (One). It was on 19 December, 2010 he delivered his talk with such immaculate precision of the right speech at the right time in the right ambience. He won the World Championship in Public Speaking in 2001, out of 25,000 contestants worldwide.

Having seen and heard him speak one row behind the front seat, I witnessed the world champion speaking naturally. His speech was AWESOME, ELECTRIFYING, MESMERIZING, AND INSPIRING WITH HUMOUR! YOU WOULD CRAVE FOR MORE OF HIS SPEECHES! YOU, TOO, CAN BECOME THE CHAMPION, OR WORLD CLASS CHAMPION, said Darren.

I think alot of politicians, church leaders, CEOs, leaders of communities, trainers and coaches, should attend his course in improving public speaking, with inspiration, and humour! Wow! you might say he was born Champion, but Darren himself confessed that his own brother and family laughed at him when he said he was determined to be a comedian. He could not speak fluently, because he spoke with stammering, like, uh, er, ah,…. even the comedian club slammed at his face! It was like a dreamer who was bottom in class who wanted to be the top brass! He was never daunted at the huge mountain he still had to do….being laughed at, ridiculed, never have any chance of built-in abilities to become the best, and other host of discouragement from well-meaning friends.

At his first performance as a comedian at the Comedy Club several years before becoming the world champion speaker, He acted foolishly by swinging his hand horizontally, instead of vertically, demonstrating the shooting of a rocket upwards! The audience laughed aloud and giggled. By accident, he knew he could make the audience laughed without any effort! That was the catalyst of stage-time for Darren from then onwards!

One thing he was very certain. He had the mind-set of being a champion; never mind the professionals, or well-meaning friends said of him: he had the OPEN mind to learn from other successful speakers, read their talks, see their actions and take part in stage-time, stage-time, and more stage-time; even he failed at times, until he became near perfect; Becoming perfect did not mean memorizing the speeches, but improving through analysis of speeches with right pauses or right questioning at the audience. “Look them in their faces by coming close to them!” he advised.

All his stage-time sessions were recorded; some were video-taped, and all had to be seen again and analyzed for improvement. Hey, it was hard work in the process on the road to be champion!!! Who ever said he was born to be champion! Stage-time made him a champion----remember that always with the fixed mindset of wanting to be champion! Yes, fix your mind what you want to be….. world champion speaker, or world class champion , average class speaker, or even a good speaker. Whatever you believe, you can be! An act becomes a habit which finally makes up your personality!

Darren has documented his work in audio CD and DVDs:-
Basic Skills of Public Speaking, Get more laughs by next week, Get Paid to speak by next week system, World Class Speaking Skills and Tools, and Go Pro Pack Secrets from the experts………all value for money and you will be giving a World Class Presentation of Public Speaking through Darren’s way and stage-time Darrenteed!

Darren was accompanied by Scott Friedman, President, National Speaker Association, USA 2004-2005, Michael A.Podolinsky, Developing Passionate Leaders and Teams, Jana Stanfield, well-known International Recording Artist and singer, and a few staff on “I Can Change the World” Tour.
The Proceeds, disc sales and donations of their evening show of Laughter, Music, and Meaning entertained by charming Jana were for charity of handicapped and the Permin Home of 50 orphanage children.

Jana Stanfield belted a song about Kuala Lumpur (KL) and encouraged the local audience to fill in more lyrics about what should be sung about KL by writing to her. I volunteered to write my poem on KL for an International Recoding Artist to sing! What a consuming privilege to write to Jana! Who knows I might want to sing along with her about my own city….in an album. That’s a tall order! Appropriately, Darren autographed his picture for me with his encouraging words: “Anthony, Stage-time! Darren, 2001 WCPS”

So, here are some tips of being world class champion in public speaking:-

1. Have a mindset what you want to be….a world class champion or a great speaker.
2. Get a book –be inspired, but not compare to the writer. Study for two months.
3. Love to learn with open mind.
4. Develop a habit to learn from a champion.
5. Still set makes mindset but do not be upset if people do not like you; leave
worry or phone behind.
6. Have fun, and enjoy your speech. Most important, connect to the audience.
7. Because of my intent, and not as the world champion, I will deliver my speech well.
8. Listen to music, song or tabernacle before the competition to ease your tension.
9. When I am done with my speech, what do my audience take back or learn?
10. Clarity in your speech deliverance, message, and what are the hope and crux of your deliverance for the audience remembrance?

Habits to develop:-

1) Never turn down stage-time. Be present when opportunity is given, even to 1,000 times. You will not grow if you do not have stage-time. Even block head can become Champion.
2) Record yourself every time you speak. Analyze and improve.
3) Be confident enough to be humble. I know I did not know.
4) Crave feedback—what I thought, what mentor’s/coach’s thought
5) Find a coach/mentor with honest feedback.
6) Every speech should have a pause by asking audience a question (looking at one person close up) for reflection and giving hope for audience.
7) Champs are not perfect. Do not memorize speech Analyze and correct. Internalize speech. Stop being perfect.
8) Listen to music, song or tabernacle before the competition to ease your tension.
9) When I am done with my speech, what do my audience take back or learn?
10) Clarity in your speech deliverance, message, and what are the hope and crux of your deliverance for the audience remembrance?

Written by Anthony Lim, 19 Nov. 2010.
Area Governor for P Division Toastmasters Club, 2006-2007.
Outstanding Award Area Governor, 2006-2007.
Nominated Poet of the Year 2006, 2007, 2008 on
“LOVE CONQUERS ALL!” poetry after 9/11 event, 2001.
Nom.Editors’Award, 2008,
International Society of Poets.

A MIRACLE DRINK!

This MIRACLE DRINK has been circulating for a long time long long ago. It is
worth your while to take note. There is a celebrity Mr. Seto who swears by it.
He wants to make it public to draw the attention of people who have cancers.
This is a drink that can protect bad cells forming in your body or it will
restrain its growth! Mr. Seto had lung cancer. He was recommanded to take this
drink by a famous Herbalist from China . He has taken this drink diligently for
3 months and now his health is restored, and he is ready to take a pleasure
trip. Thanks to this drink! It does not hurt for you to try.

It is like a Miracle Drink! It is simple.
#################################################################
*****You need one potato, one carrot and one apple that combine together to make the JUICE !

Wash the above, cut with the skin on into pieces and put them into the juicer and immediately you drink the juice. You can add some lime or lemon for more refreshing taste.

###################################################################
This Miracle Drink will be effective for the following ailments:
1. Prevent cancer cells to develop. It will restrain cancer cells to grow.
2. Prevent liver, kidney, pancreas decease and it can cure ulcer as well.
3. Strengthen the lung, prevent heart attack and high blood pressure.
4. Strengthen the immune system
5. Good for the eyesight, eliminate red and tired eyes or dry eyes
6. Help to eliminate pain from physical training, muscle ache
7. Detoxify, assist bowel movement, eliminate constipation. Therefore it will
make skin healthy & LOOK more radiant. It is God sent for acne problem.

8. Improve bad breath due to indigestion, throat infection,

9. Lessen menstrual pain
10. Assist Hay Fever Sufferer from Hay Fever attack.
There is absolutely no side effect. Highly nutritious and easily absorbs! Very
effective if you need to loose weight. You will notice your immune system will
be improved after 2 week routine. Please make sure to drink immediately from the
juicer for best effect.

WHEN TO DRINK IT;
DRINK IT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING WITH THE EMPTY STOMACH! AFTER ONE HOUR YOU
CAN EAT BREAKFAST. FOR FAST RESULTS DRINK 2 TIMES A DAY, IN THE MORNING AND
BEFORE 5 P.M.

Are we living in a miraculous Century of technological feats of achievements?

While celebrating Chile's 33 miners rescue this week, we saw another engineering feat of Switzerland completing the World's Longest Tunnel, (35-mile)under the Alpine Mountains.
WOW! Are we living in a miraculous century of technological advances and feats?
Just imagine-Aerospace Shuttles fly 33 honeymoon couples(each passenger to pay a 10-15 million dollars)to the moon to celebrate their honeymoon and colonize there with housing block building construction; Communication through watches equipped with ipod, and ipad advances. Seven Americans land on Mars; water and oxygen found there to support life and plants; no terrorists and snakes to combat; all aliens there to love and cherish co-operation and alliance in peace for advancement of lives and speak one common language; who knows we may have to send advanced elites to breed there for advanced civilization.

Friday, 15 Oct. 2010 was Swiss day of joy as they celebrated the breakthrough moment for the world's longest tunnel(10B project to open early 2017) — a project 60 years in the making.
A gigantic drilling machine chewed through the remaining 8,200 feet separating the two ends of the 35.4-mile Gotthard Base Tunnel in central Switzerland.
Some 2,500 workers have spent nearly 20 years smashing through rock to create the nearly 35-mile tunnel under the Alps(excluding aqueducts)to let passenger and cargo trains pass underneath the Alps at speeds up to 155 miles an hours on their journey from Germany to Italy/

Miners, VIPs and journalists inside the tunnel cheered as Switzerland reclaimed the tunnel record from Japan's Seikan Tunnel(33.5 miles)

High-speed transportation network connects all corners of Europe, allowing millions of tons of goods that are currently transported through the Alps on heavy trucks to be shifted onto the rails, particularly the economically important link between the Dutch Rotterdam and Italy's Genoa.

Swiss voters, who are paying over $1,300 each to fund the project, approved its construction in a series of referendums almost 20 years ago.

Switzerland has set the bar very high for future cross-Alpine rail projects. Two further tunnels — one connecting Lyon, France, to Turin, Italy, between Austria and Italy — are still under construction.

33 Coal Chilean Miners were rescued after 10 week-undergroud half mile deep!

After 10 weeks (69) days) of gruelling, and endurance, the persistent Chilean rescuers sent the miner shaft into the tunnel half mile deep (2000ft. deep) underground(30 degree C) to bring home safely 33 Chilean miners up the ground, one at a time, while relatives and friends held wake vigil and prayers throughout 10 weeks of waiting and determination of not giving up hope on rescuing them. Like other people as well, I followed the news and prayed for their safety. The world watched closely the rescue like the recent football World Cup.
"Pure Chile, is your blue sky; Pure breezes cross you as well".....The National Anthem vibrated over and over again on top of the mine with Apt words indeed for Chile. Mission accomplished, Chile.
The rescuers and miners hogged the world headlines with offers of TV shows, mining companies offering one week stay in Greece,etc. Soccer teams offered free soccer shows in England and Spain, and press and show interviews with offers of jobs, etc.
After the 5 August, 2010 San Jose gold and copper mine partially collapsed in Northern Chile, (several hundred to thousand tons of rock), how could people survive? They relied on ten tins of tuna and water they had, which later tasted like oil. With the generosity of the billionaire Pres. Sebastian Pinera of Chile, he marshaled quickly the expertise throughout the world for the rescue operation, geologists, miners, drillers,Nasa, big companies, engineers, etc.Food and water were supplied by US Nasa, which were lowered to the miners half mile deep underground.

The result was an engineering feat that hypnotized the world as engineers located the miners with a drill hole about as wide as a grapefruit, enabling them to send down food and water to keep them alive.
Leaders who fumble crises like these often pay a high political price. Then U.S. President George W. Bush was accused of a sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, which pushed his approval rating down by more than 10 points after the disaster.

U.S. President Barack Obama's ratings sank by seven points for what some saw as his failure to act decisively after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari's decision to continue with a planned trip to Europe in spite of the monsoons that left millions of people homeless prompted vicious criticism at home.

Pinera fired the government's chief mining regulator, moved to strengthen safety laws and increased regulation of Chile's coal mines in the south to the mineral-rich Atacama desert in the north, where the ill-fated San Jose gold and copper mine is located.

I related to some friends the remarkable event with choking emotion of gladness and tears of joy of the brave Chileans of never giving up hope....I remembered Sir Winston Churchill"s famous shortest speech to University students: "Never, never, never give up!" (Five words only!) All of the miners were rescued safely in good health. How did they survive , with food provided by US Nasa lowering down the tunnel, and how they breathed in enclosed space with daily toiletry....was hard to imagine.
But God delivered them safely through their deep faith ,prayers, fasting of relatives and the world outside. One miner saw a white butterfly and followed its direction, as if an angel was guiding him. Another miner saw God and the devil. In the end, God extended his hand to him and he had no doubt about being rescued. Surely, God had heard their prayers with delight for deliverance!Thank Thee, and praise Thee, Jesus, for thy mercy and deliverance. "

"This is my story ...this is my song, PRAISING MY SAVIOR ALL THE DAY LONG!"
THIS WRITE-UP WAS MEANT TO REMEMBER THY LOVING KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND MUNIFICENCE WITH THE DIVINE MERCY IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST IN FRONT OF ME. EVEN MY PROBLEM OF SORROW AND OTHERS VAPORATED FROM MY MIND AND WERE OF LESS SIGNIFICANCE!
WHAT WERE THEY?---I FORGOT!
I FELT THE PEACE AND JOY OF CHRIST'S lOVE AND COMPASSION RIGHT NOW!!!

By the miracle of God!

10 Oct. 2010 180th Anniversary of Church Conference through video screening was witnessed by KL Church members. After my write-up of Divine Mercy Image,I had the opportunity to get acquainted with some visitors, Bro. Ideree and Zorigoo from Mongolia (2.7m population) on a business trip. Their company wanted to source Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil, and sugar. Having introduced to the senior Advisor, Terry Hoong, JCT Advisory Services, my daughter, Vivien Lim, coordinating, also requested if there was other requirements or services which they could provide---at that point, coal was mentioned. They produce coal even to 5 metric tons per month, to which Terry was excited to provide to his importer country. By the miracle of God, both sides would mutually benefit each other, we hoped the future would see both benefit in regular trading very soon. Surely the Lord had brought us for great business deal...Indeed!

Training for local Church Leaders

Elder Victor Chen of the Asia Presidency was in Kuala Lumpur on 2 and 3 Oct.2010 to give training to Church leaders here

Is Yoga good for a devout Christian?

No one denies any exercise can be of benefit to the body. Yoga came from a religious background, and to attain higher Yoga I was told that you need to go and learn to meditate in a cave for the aspirants. There are so many types of spirits in the world, but the Holy Spirit of God is the pure type who resides in the temple of the body. Not every spirit is of God, just because we call deity( any god). I wish you well. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord God !. We are given the free agency to choose whom we will serve,but we may have to live with the consequence of our choice.----Joshua

GOD'S WARNING TO THE WORLD!

On Feb. 22, 1931, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ appeared to this simple nun, bringing with him a wonderful message of Mercy for all humanity.
22nd Feb 1931, A young nun of three years education from a very poor Poland countryside received revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ about God’s Warning to the World on impending events, followed by two other subsequent visits by Jesus to her.
The Divine Mercy Image showed Jesus in white apparel, with the right hand blessing and the other hand on his chest, which issued two big rays—A Pale ray (Water) to make souls righteous, and the red ray symbolic of the life of souls. Both rays were symbolic of the depths of the most tender Mercy of Jesus. He instructed her to inscribe the words
“Jesus, I trust in You”, calling all, sinners to repentance. “The greater the sinner, the greater the mercy.” Jesus said, whose fathomless mercy could even reach out to the sinner whose sins might cover the sands of the earth. “ Do not be afraid to come to me,”as the gate of mercy is now wide open. At his Second Coming, those who rejected his mercy, had to face the gate of Justice. Jesus would not reject or refuse a contrite heart.
She was told to record the messages which amounted to 600 pages in her dairy, and after 20 years the hidden records were later revealed to the world. In 1933, God the Father , the greater light, appeared and earth, while Jesus was nailed between both, meaning God blessed the earth through Jesus Christ. His vision or picture venerated would give promise of victory over enemies, esp. in hour of death when he would stand as Savior, not Justice King, and would preserve families, cities or countries. He would defend the soul as his own Glory.
13 Oct. 1973, Virgin Mary appeared to St. Agnes of Akita and told her if men did not repent or better themselves, the Father would inflict a terrible punishment on humanity, punishment greater than the deluge,such as never been seen before. Fire would fall from heaven and consume the greater part of humanity, men bad or good. The Survivors as desolate, would envy the dead.
If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no pardon for them. June 1981,Virgin Mary appeared to young people in Yugoslavia Medjurgorje, calling people for urgent repentance and conversion. Warnings of chastisement from God, natural disasters, wars, afflictions would fall upon the world but these could be mitigated by prayers and fasting of saints and their repentance.

After all these visions with God's warnings to the world,"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve? ...As for me and my house,we will serve the LORD!" said Joshua...Joshua 24:15.

Bro.Lionel Walters and wife,Marione, in Kuala Lumpur.

Bro. Felix and Joyce, and two daughters,marianne and melissa, Chong sun Fu and Anthony Lim, had dinner with Bro. Lionel Walters and Marion, who served as Singapore Mission President from 1982-85. Had reminescent past events 25 years ago. Relished them with local fried noodles and vegetables and coconut water. at Imbi Restauarant on 14 September, 2010

Christ is the embodiment of all Truths

When Thomas asked Christ how they, the disciples, could know the way; he replied,"I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me".(John 14:6) Have you ever wondered the importance of this message?
While most religious teachers would show us the way or God, Jesus said he was the way to the Father, the Truth about God,because HE WAS GOD IN HUMAN FLESH, AND HE would give ETERNAL LIFE to those who would believe in his atoning sacrifice and love for mankind.Indeed, Christ is the embodiment of all Truths as He is the Creator of the World and all living things,the Savior of mankind, providing the forgiveness of sins and resurrection of living things, and he is the judge of them all. Albert Einstein said that it was easier to denature plutonium than it was to denature evil from the human heart. God looks at man from the human heart than from his appearance as seen by man. There were also many other
things which Jesus did, which should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. (John 21:25)
John said even the world could not understand ("contain") the books which had written about what Jesus preached and did.

6&7 June,2010 KL Malaysia District Conference

About 300 members and friends attended the KL District Malaysia Conference held on 7 June at MCA Hall, KL, presided by Sam Wong,Seventy Elder,of the Asia Presidency, on the theme: Love One Another. Pres. and Sis. Terence Clark of the Singapore Mission were also present

GOOD NEWS FOR BIG BOTTOMS

According to experts at Oxford University," International Journal of Obesity",2010,having big Hips and solid thighs which carryfat to burnslower and hard to shift, releasing beneficial hormones which protect arteries and help sugar control, thus, protect against diabetes andheart disease But fat around belly releases more harmful fatty acids,molecules called cytokines into the body, which trigger inflamation, pointing to diabetes and heart disease. So, being pear-shaped is better than apple-shaped, when the stomach is slim;.
Big hips may also be useful for child bearing.

Babies, Breast-feeding for more than 6 months have lower risk of mental health problems latter in life, According to Research by Telephon Institute for Chd Health Research in Perth. Better to cope with stress and build a stronger mother-child bondage providing lasting benefits, too.

FITNESS FITS THE BODY BUT NEVER OFFEND YOUR FRAGILE ORGANS!

Hi, Friends!

Confucius,the great Philosopher on his discourse on how to live a good life,said: "In life, Never offend five types of persons-- a child,a priest,a beggar,
an elderly person, a righteous man in authority." Someone asked him: "Why these persons in particular?" He replied instantly: "Because they have God on their side."
Confucius lived to a ripe age of more than 75 years, of a tall built.

550 years BC later,Christ said: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom of my Father prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt.25:34).
And the KING shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
(Matt.25:40)

A descendant of Confucius advocated never abuse yourself through vigorous exercise, take nutritional food and a regular rest and sleep; Your huge body can withstand the extreme exercises but not your heart which should not be overworked.

From my experience I have seen friends succumed to dying rest before 50-60 though in good health of multi-vitamins and seven seas pills and exercises, because they abused and overloaded their own hearts. Some of them collapsed in the midst of the extreme exercises and sweating to demonstrate to their friends how fit fitness was---through bursting of capillaries in their brains. Even your fragile brain and heart need proper rest.

Now, here's a true story ... view the link Ranjan Das who is a healthy young man

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India.

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was anavid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':

http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration (<5 or 5-6 hours) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.

As you know, high BP kills.

.Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

.Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

.Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

.Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis andheart disease. Paper published in 2004.

.Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

.For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

.The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

.For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that L)

*Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that lineJ)
In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.

If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail to as many of your colleagues as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep.

***If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.