SafraAnver

Hi! I’m Safra the bride’s best friend for over 7 years. Sam, I have known all my teenage life, from the time she was campaigning for votes for Yes FM Superstar, to the present moment - the beautiful young woman you see before you now. Much has happened in the years between. It would be remiss of me not to comment on a few memorable moments of her life such as in Form 4 when she created names to do with animals for all of us Orangi being hers dancing in the rain while playing run and catchers in her school uniform or when we had pool lessons from the great Sam herself. I still don’t remember if that was a proper game yet.
Sam has always been the life of the party, the energetic girl who knows every tune and the right dance move to set the party in motion. She’s also secretly a nerd who has always aced at exams and on random moments you could see her on the roof with a textbook that could be bigger than she is. Overall, She’s the girl you need to know for she will always be the girl for she will always be there for you when u need advice or you need a smile on your face when you’re in the depths of despair.
When childhood friends who have been through the ups and downs of each other’s lives come together it is truly a magical moment. I remember the day I was at her home and her family was bugging her to tell me the good news. She practically hid behind the door and blurted it out thinking that we wouldn’t approve. I think she’s still shocked by everyone screaming Finally! You said yes!
I actually first met Mahinth on this lovely thing called Windows Messenger for he was out on an escapade in India. Throughout the years of getting to know him I realized he was the man who will always be there when you need a friend, who is forever having a cheeky smile on his face and can dance like nobody cares. Most importantly he knows Sam like the back of his hand, he knows exactly how to drive her crazy or keep her sane.
Mahinth and Sam in my mind have always been the cutest couple ever. There are the jigsaw puzzle that fit perfectly together. They are both outgoing and have talents that fuse so well together. She sings her heart out while he dances. Everyone who’s heard there story always think of it as a Disney movie. I’m assuming she’s Ariel at the moment and he’s the prince.

I’m so happy for both of you and feel blessed to share this amazing day with you.

“You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Steve Jobs

Everyone has an experience where intuition starts to kick in. However, only few know how to use intuition effectively for we tend to talk about intuition as a single ability although there are several levels of intuitive abilities. They however vary and are useful for different reasons. The most common intuitive experience is the common “gut feeling”.  A gut feeling is an intuitive reaction to something either positively or negatively. When we experience a gut feeling it is an indicator that we are on the right track or that something is terribly wrong.

“When you think that you are referring to your intuition, actually you just learn an association between subliminal signals in your context and the outcome of your actions,” says Mathias Pessiglione, a neuroscientist at the Centre for Neuroimaging Research 

Can You Trust Your Gut?

Learning to trust these instincts, using your intuitive sense to understand what’s best for you, is paramount for any lasting success. You have to trust the still, small voice of intuition that will follow you during your entire life. Don’t regret not listening to that tiny voice in your mind and so causing mistakes to happen. 

It’s really more of a feeling than a voice—a whispery sensation that pulsates just beneath the surface of your being. All animals have it. We’re the only creatures that deny and ignore it. 

We need to start realizing our gut feeling is an indicator that something just doesn’t feel right!  As teenagers we always here ourselves say “I should have listened to my heart and the voice inside my mind. I would not have been in this state otherwise.” When something does not feel right it means it is time to step back and take a look at what we are not aware.  What am I not seeing?  What piece of information do I need to find?

Deciding

How many times have you gone against your gut, only to find yourself at odds with the natural flow of things? We all get caught up in the business of doing, and sometimes lose our place in the flow. But the more we can tune in to our intuition, the better off we are.

When you experience a negative gut feeling once you have to decide for or against anything, it is a time to find the missing information.  Firstly, look at the facts and the results to make sure that you are not missing anything important.   Next meditate. It is a an amazing way to gain perspective, clear your mind, find neutrality and open your intuition to solve the problem in a bystanders perspective. Thereby, understand what is really going on around you.

For all the major moves in your life, you have to take in all the information you can gather. You need to listen to all the proposals, ideas, and advice. Finally, go with your gut, in which your heart feels most strongly. 

Remember when you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Get quiet so you can hear the still, small voice—your inner GPS guiding you to true North. 

Levels of Intuition

Intuition occurs on several levels: consciousness, subconscious an unconscious and supra-conscious levels of awareness.  Our Gut Feeling is the most basic level of conscious intuition. It takes more experience to access the levels that offer more insightful levels of understanding. Those who only access the conscious levels can make incorrect decisions by not sorting intuition from logical or emotional reactions.

Freud’s ideas on the unconscious mind were, in fact, correct and that a lot of our decision-making and a lot of our feelings are based on things that we’re not really aware of,’ said Moore, who is an assistant professor in the Alberta School of Business.

Intuitive processes happen very quickly and automatically so it is important to be conscious and aware of the level of intuition you are using so that you do not misinterpret your perception.

Making it Effective

Effective use of intuition takes development and understanding of this ability so that emotions, logic, fear, desire don’t interfere.  Reactions such as nervousness, hatred, love, etc. can interfere with clear access to an individual’s intuition.  It is these same emotions that interfere with our rational thoughts as well and thereby creating a situation where we use emotions to make decisions rather than our gut (intuitive) feelings.

According to a study by Canada’s University of Alberta, when it comes to working out where the future lies your unconscious mind is both smarter than you think and can be a great motivator.

Alberta School of Business researcher Sarah Moore and colleagues from Duke and Cornell university’s say unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence the pursuit of long-term goals.

Clear your mind

If you wish to understand your gut feeling and use it in such a way that your success only grows and not falter due to wrong decisions, it is recommended to learn to meditate as a means to quiet the body and clear the mind. This will enable you to open up your mind to what’s going on around you and find your inner center.

Team Muslim Aid comprises of a group of energetic young individuals who are willing to spend some time off their lives to help make another’s life better; the spirit of volunteering is very active in each and every one of these individuals. This year under the theme ‘Love! Care! Inspire!’ the team decided to work with differently abled children. With the ultimate target to conduct a Disability Awareness Week at the end of the year, the team worked on various activities to activate parents when it comes to Children and their disabilities in which the members took part in with great enthusiasm.

Looking back into why the team chose this theme for the year, they remember how a few of their members were inspired by Dr. Sinniah’s speech, where he mentioned that the greatest help one could do for differently abled children is to spread awareness about them to the society, and help break the barriers the society has put on these children. Dr. Sinniah Thevananthan, Founder of the ‘Osilmo Special Education and Research Center for Autistic Children’ was selected as the “Volunteer of the Year” for his outstanding contributions in the arena of active volunteerism. Dr. Sinniah (Age 40) is tirelessly working towards ensuring the same rights, freedom and opportunities for children with autism that other children enjoy.

This thought became stronger when members of Team Muslim Aid visited the ‘Islamic Center for Physically Handicapped Children’ where the principal of the school too agreed that it was awareness that was necessary. They sat through their normal day to day classes and learnt how these exceptional children were fluent in 4 languages, and how the deaf could read the Quran with such eloquence and Braille with such fervor to gain knowledge. When asked if they would rather be in school or play outside. They firmly stated, “This is our time to learn and thereby succeed. We are what we make of ourselves, so we shall use our time with great use for we shall not regain what we have already spent.”

Team Muslim Aid’s future event in their project involves the Disability Week where they wish to promote all organizations who are currently working on these types of projects through the form of workshops, open days, competitions, speech competitions etc. They also wish to bring the week to an end with a finale on the 3^rd of December 2012. This will involve resource persons and a forum to enable them to give out possible ideas where the community can be uplifted to make a difference within their own communities.

This will effectively increase the humanity’s participation in such a way that the companies and organizations will not only be sponsors, but will take a major role in providing human resources for underprivileged human betterment.

The forum will be addressed by keynote speakers who will indulge in the areas of National Policy, Psychological Attributes, Success Stories, Methodology of Care, etc.  The attendees will then discuss the role of the community and development of this role in managing the issues in context of disability. The forum aims to provide a platform for the community to come up with ideas and create plans and goals to continue the progress of such individuals.

“Every child has an incredible imagination and can believe beyond the depths of any adult’s belief; but the shame in this is that society and those with no faith cloud children’s perceptions and destroy their access to such a magical world.” Taliene

Want to receive invites to the forum? Call us on 0777667527 – Safra or 0772544133 - Ammar

Royal Colombo Golf Club, Sri Lanka, August 24, 2012 ̶  

Division Governor Mr. Sunil De Silva and Area Governor Mr. Nalin Silva has proclaimed that Word Blasters Toastmasters Club President and his Exco- Committee has officially been installed.  Mr. Nalin Silva inducted the new Ex-Co Council and opened the floor for Word Blasters Toastmasters Club President Mr.  Naleef Kitchil to make his first presentation on the 24^th of August at Royal Colombo Golf Club during a Special Installation Ceremony.

The achievement of 6 DCP Goals to earn ‘Distinguished Club’ status and Award, in the first year of activity since being Chartered on 23rd August 2011, is a tribute to the Charter Members of WBTMC and a truly worthy accolade to the new members who joined WBTMC during the year and contributed largely to the progress and stability of Word Blasters Toastmasters Club as it enters its second year under the leadership of Naleef Kitchil.” said Dian Abeyewardene during his welcome address at the meeting. “

Word Blasters Toastmasters Club newly installed President Naleef Kitchil walked down memory lane with us and stated that “As I look back, I am truly delighted about the Toastmaster experience I have enjoyed as a Speech Crafter and subsequently as a Charter Member and as an EX-CO (Executive Committee) member of WBTMC. The friends I have made and the giant strides I have taken as a Toastmaster have taught me many lessons and the experience has encouraged me to ‘grab opportunities’ as they unfold before me. “

Over 50 people attended the ceremony including Charter Members as well as New Members of the Word Blasters Toastmasters Club.   The Club wishes to reach out and invite the community residents and employees from local organizations to attend a club meeting allowing them to better improve their leadership and presentation skills.

“The club can be proud of the fact that during their 1^st  year, two new members had the courage to participate and  to earn the 1^st  runner up position in the Evaluation Contest & the 2n d runner up position in the Humorous Speech Contest at Area Level & also making Word Blasters a Distinguished Club. “ stated Division Governor Sunil De Silva

“I’m always impressed by WBTMC’s energy and enthusiasm with which they approach each and every event of the year. I believe with this energy they can achieve the President distinguished status by members taking up more leadership roles and helping new members with their first three speeches.” Area Governor Nalin Silva

Humor was rampant that night as Mr. Niranjan De Silva took the podium to give the audience his after dinner speech. He stated that most individuals are so engrossed in technology that they completely forget what is occurring right in front of them. He believes that Toastmasters gives people the ability to give ‘eye ball to eye ball’ connections during conversations and hopes that more people make the most of the opportunities it brings.

“The Word Blasters Toastmasters Club has come a long way in their first year of joining the Toastmaster Fraternity, they have great potential to be a force to be reckoned with in terms of  talent”, was the common sentiment expressed by several Toastmasters and guests present at the simple but elegant Charter Installation held at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. Distinguished invitees represented very senior Toastmaster Clubs such as Colombo Toastmasters, Ralph Toastmasters, Serendib Toastmasters, Nations Trust Toastmasters and CIM  Toastmasters among others.

For more information about Word Blasters Toastmasters Club visit www.wordblasterstmc.wordpress.com or email us on wordblasterstmc@gmail.com.

Toastmaster members:

•                Learn to communicate more effectively
•                Become better speakers and listeners
•                Improve their presentation skills
•                Increase their leadership potential
•                Become more successful in their career
•                 • Build their ability to motivate and persuade
•                 • Increase their self-confidence

About Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization currently has more than 270,000 members in 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org.

Silence has always proven to speak louder than words. It is this silence that eats you up inside. It leaves you with questions of how, why and what? Things in life are always questionable and sometimes it rips your heart into pieces but sometimes I want to stop and listen to the silence. I want to know the meaning of this silence. Is it that somethings are better left unspoken or is it fear that what you want may not really happen.

Fear can drive you crazy but not knowing if what you dream may not come true and waiting for the sign that proves you are not alone in silence is while a non sensical infatuation it maybe what keeps u going.

I am Safra Anver. Passionate, Creative, Hardworking. I am currently the President of Team Muslim Aid (TMA), managing an active volunteer team of 35. I also helped organize the hugely successful TEDxColombo, was voted as Vice President-Education - Word Blasters Toastmasters Club (2012-2013), facilitator during International Year of Volunteers (IYV) and an Active Citizen.

In 2011, My team and I came together to help create avenues for education throughout the country. This was accomplished by helping to refurbish a school in the heart of Colombo as well as our Book Drive. We donated over 1071 books in 3 different languages to the North & East Regions.

 2012 - I worked to promote awareness on the growing case of mentally and physically handicapped children.what causes such illnesses, how they may be helped, where parents can turn to for guidance and institutions that cater to such children.

These projects have allowed me to see on grassroot level how volunteering and implementation of ideas can change the bigger picture. It was gratifying to witness just by donating books, providing scholorships or by discussing issues to the greater public; change was being made.

However projects come with challenges, during TEDxColombo we lost our venue 3 days before the event but we replanned it and 2 weeks later. sold out event with 5 spectacular speeches. Sometimes things fall through but it’s the lessons I learnt along the way that matter.

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer in a diverse range of projects. My portfolio includes environment and climate change, women, abuse, children, disabilities and also interfaith dialogue while also working with the United Nations Volunteers to help create statute policy to promote volunteerism. I believe this breadth of experience is a key asset that I can bring to the Summit and am keen to build upon.

Personally, participation in the summit gives me the opportunity to liaise with and learn from many volunteers across the world and form connections. Further, I hope to discuss TMA’s initiatives on grass root levels with other delegates to gather their views. As a Global Changemaker, I also obtain the ability to visit high profile events such as the UN Summits and Youth Conferences to create sustainable solutions which go beyond action projects but also create statutory policy.