The meaning originated in India and is still commonly used today within the region along with neighboring countries. When greeting someone it typically accompanies a slight bow in the head, closing of the eyes and hands near the heart center. When the hands are higher above the heart center it typically is a sign of reverence and/or worship. Hands even higher on top or near the head is a sign of up most respect to another.

The word acts as an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.  If you dissect the word, the literal translation is “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.” The overall meaning includes the “light” that is found in ones soul, which translates the meaning to be “my light bows to the light within you”.  Other common interpretations are all correct such as: “The spirit in me respects the spirit in you,” “the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you,” and other variations of Sanskrit.

This is such a beautiful gesture of respect to another and I would love to adopt it into my everyday verbiage. Coming from an American background where saying “hi, hey, yo and any other shortened versions of “hello” that is universally effective yet lackluster nonetheless. Namaste. Such a dynamic word full of meaning, respect and acknowledgement of not just a person but of the inner soul.  Telling for the people and culture the word originated.

Sublingual was really created as a way to inspire travel and cultural education (through music and learning language). Our primary goal is to get people stoked to learn about the world. With the same goals in mind, a friend an I are starting a video “docu-series” project aimed at learning about countries coffee (or tea) rituals in other parts of the globe. Whether it is espresso in Italy, mate in Argentina, or butter-yak tea in Tibet, there is always one drink that brings people and cultures together to start the day. We are setting out to explore what these drinks of choice are and learn about the people,  culture and of course learn the language along the way.

We’re starting off September in northern India to explore the culture of chai, then up to Nepal in the Himalayas to do some trekking stopping off at teahouses along the Annapurna and Everest famous treks. Then driving thru the Himalayas into Tibet to taste their butter-yak tea. Next stop is in China, Thailand and then end up in Indonesia.

We cant wait to learn about the tea, learn the language and explore the cultures thru their one beverage that defines them all.

Follow us on our blog at www.coffeehouseaddicts.com

Do you have a beverage that gets you out of bed in the morning? If so, let us know what it is by leaving a message below…

We think this story is inspirational as it gives you a glimpse into the outside world that is waiting to be explored!

Cuba has been a hot spot for world travelers, backpackers and photographers alike. All except for Americans after it became illegal during the 1960 Trade Embargo. It’s technically legal to travel there, but illegal to spend money. (A catch-22.)  If you are a willing to accept the consequences, check out this site Almost Fearless.

Cuba is amazing for many reasons, other than being one of the two lasting communist countries in the world. Cuba has deep rooted culture, fascinating history, genuinely nice people and most of all scenery that makes you feel like you are transported back to the 1960’s.  One of the best examples of how it is a blast from the past, are the cars.  Cubans aren’t necessarily vintage car collectors, they just work with what they have due to the trade embargo and lack of imports. There are a couple of new Fiats and Smartcars that have somehow made their way to the island.  Unfortunately 10 years from now Cuba will be populated with new cars.  Until then, here are some pics for you historical car lovers out there to experience the way Cuba is today.

Check out her video “Siempre Me Quedara” (the song that is on Sublingual Spanish album)!

1. Mandarin Chinese – 882 million
2. Spanish – 325 million
3. English – 312-380 million
4. Arabic – 206-422 million
5. Hindi – 181 million
6. Portuguese – 178 million
7. Bengali – 173 million
8. Russian – 146 million
9. Japanese – 128 million
10. German – 96 million

Knowing a second language, will allow an employer will see you as a bridge to new clients or customers. You are also more likely to win the trust and friendship of people whose languages you know—or are trying to learn. Its ok that you make mistakes and in fact and you probably will never sound like a native speaker. Most importantly you are automatically appreciated and applauded for trying to learn a second language other than your own.  I know from experience of doing international sales, that at least knowing just a few words and phrases such as “hello, nice to see you, thank you, please” are a huge asset in the business world. Even if those people that you are talking with fluently speak English, it is instant respect that is won if you know at least the basics of their language.  Many languages are similar so if you start to learn one, it will be easier to expand and understand others. For example, the basics of both Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese are very similar so the words and conjugations of Spanish would relate very closely to those if you are trying to Learn French or Italian.

The hugely popular author Timothy Ferriss wrote “Four Hour Workweek”, which to many is an entrepreneur’s bible. He speaks about time management, prioritizing, efficiency and most of all being successful in today’s society.  Timothy Ferriss, is not shy on preaching his beliefs of the importance of knowing a second (or third) language. He inspires his readers that it only takes 3 months to pick up a new language by what he calls the most important steps:

1. Effectiveness (Priority)
2. Adherence (Interest)
3. Efficiency (Process)

He writes that the “Effectiveness, adherence, and efficiency refer to the “what”, “why”, and “how” of learning a target language, respectively. In other words, you first decide what to learn, based on usage frequency (priority); you then filter materials based on your likelihood of continued study and review, or adherence (interest); lastly, you determine how to learn the material most efficiently (process). To learn more on this process click here.

Learning a new language is immeasurably valuable in today’s global economy. If you can start to learn just the basics, you are on your way to not only becoming more successful, but will have more opportunities than you would have if you just know one.

Language immersion is simply put, a method of teaching a language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. For example, if you were wanting to learn Spanish, you would learn everyday subjects such as weather, food, news, history and geography all in Spanish. This method of teaching is similar to what a toddler goes through when learning their primary language. If they are hungry you ask “are you hungry?”, if you are in the car driving to home you say “we are going to go in the car to go home”. They understand and learn from real life experience, which is much more effective than memorization. In comparison, if you sat a toddler down and showed them flashcards of someone being hungry, or a car going driving to a house they probably would have a difficult time trying to comprehend what you were trying to teach them.

The most preferable and effective “language immersion” is actually living in the country of the language you want to learn. For example if you want to learn Spanish you could live in South or Central America, Spain or Mexico. Of course there are the variances of dialects and pronunciation with different countries- (but hey, its all Spanish at the end of the day)! The immersion program that you get from living abroad is concentrated and intense. For example, if you go to the market where all of the signs, labels are in Spanish so you learn object names, plus the cashier is speaking in Spanish where you learn numbers and currency.

Unless you are lucky enough to take off abroad to a new country the next best way to emulate that experience through everyday actions. If you want to learn Spanish, you would read the paper in Spanish, watch a Spanish tv station (like Univision), listen to music in Spanish, and find other Spanish speakers to talk to.

Language immersion has been found so successful; many educational systems in the US are adopting this form of teaching more and more prevalently within the past 20 years. The idea was first adopted in 1960 in Canada when English-speaking parents convinced educators to establish an experimental French immersion program enabling their children not only to learn French but ‘to appreciate the traditions and culture of French-speaking Canadians as well as English-speaking Canadians’. Since then immersion programs have taken off especially in the US for a number of reasons: increasing global economy, leading to international job development and thus a growing demand to speak a second language.

All and all, if you are interested in picking up a language, traditional courses are always a good place to start for the basics. However to get to really learn a language, start traveling, speaking, reading magazines or newspapers and listening to music- {like Sublingual}!