Mistakes

Mistakes in life are natural. We should learn from our mistakes so as not to repeat them. Move on to a new level of awareness.

Brooding over a mistake takes us away from finding the solution to the problem. Every time we dwell on the past, on the things which did not happen, we are creating an obstruction for all the things we wish to happen.

A few of us may have suffered a lot due to our mistakes and shortcomings, perhaps we are being prepared for a greater purpose that requires all the wisdom imbibed through the trials. Mistakes make us stronger and confident to move forward.

Life sometimes takes an unknown turn, do not be afraid to travel it.

False Promises

Log bolte kuch hai aur karte kuch..

Aisa lagta hai ki aisi duniya mai ji rahe jahan promises ki koi importance hi nahi.

Promise karke bhool jana logon ki aadat ho gayi ....False promises!!!

Har taraf jhoot hi jhoot..Jhoot ki koi seema hi nahi..Jhoot ke sahare apni zindagi guzaarna apne aap ko dhoka dene ke barabar hai..

Ek din mai kitni baar jhoot bolte hai uska andaza hai??? Nahin !!!

Jab pata hai ki koi kaam ya promise nibhana mushkil hai to kehte kyon nahi??? Jhoot ka sahara kyon??? False promises kyon???

Speak up....

Aisa karne se apni credibility khote hai aur rishtey bhi toot jaate hai..

Realise karen..Jhoot ki jaal se bahar nikle..

Stop, think, whatever you promise to do, do it..

Be honest, keep your word and move ahead in life...

Blame Game

Often we find fault in others, we want perfection in everyone and everything.. as though we are perfect in all walks of life…
We need to learn to understand our self.. positive as well as negative outlook /emotions. When we love, appreciate and accept our self with our shortcomings and talents will we be able to love and appreciate others. We always blame others for our misfortunes, we blame our parents, siblings, other family members, friends, teachers, co - workers, seniors. Lastly we blame our destiny and finally GOD. We forget that our thoughts and actions are the cause of our failures and misfortunes. Lack of self confidence makes one envious of others.
Stop the Blame Game Accept Reality!!
Beauty lies in loving yourself . Love your self and with confidence appreciate and accept others. See the beauty in other things around you.
A famous quote “Beauty lies in the eyes of the Beholder”!!

Responsibility

True meaning of responsibility is our 'Ability to Respond'. However, often we fail to see the impact of our actions on others. The series of responses we create in our interactions with other people & events is immeasurable. Some of these actions create a positive response whereas some create a negative response. These negative responses drain us of our energy. Learn to see connections between actions and results, causes and effects. That is the Law of Karma or Reciprocity.

Friendship, cooperation, and love

Meditation

Meditation helps to live in the NOW, the PRESENT AND LEAD A STRESS FREE LIFE . It is a journey, an act of listening, keeping the mind still, feeling the emptiness in full awareness & finally to experience peace , bliss & joy.

Mind is most of the time restless, turbulent, rigid.
Frequently people find themselves bored, anxious, depressed, during the course of meditation. A whirpool of thoughts- wild ideas regarding the past, present and the unknown future haunt constantly making the mind stressed & undisciplined . The emotional attachment to these thoughts enhances negative emotions - anger, rage, frustration, depression & at times unnecessary worry. Contemplating on a single thought leads to series of thoughts bringing with it tremendous turmoil.
The best option is without exerting pressure on the mind, allow the thought, refrain from analyzing & let go of the thought.....In other words let the thought pass away. Be an observer … Every time the mind wanders into the forest of thoughts, return to the point of focus & continue.

Various methods to keep the mind in check during the course of meditation have been suggested ..
1). Focusing your eyes on a single point of light between the eyebrows.
2). Observing the rise & fall of your breath i.e. conscious breathing.
3). Reciting a mantra or sacred words in a focused manner.

As for me, the method I follow is divided into 7 steps.....
1).Sit cross legged on a mat or on a chair with the back straight.
2). Breathe deeply 10 times to steady the nerves & slower down the heart beats.
3).Recite your regular prayer followed by OM 3 times. Prayer steadies the mind & helps to focus.
4). Accept all the sounds around you one at a time.
5). Reflect in your mind that you are at peace, your entire body is at rest & tension free.
6). Centralize & focus on your third eye chakra ie the point between your eyebrows.
7).State of emptiness – Thoughtless Mind - BLISS.

Once you have reached this stage, you may find yourself smiling, full of love, compassion, joyful & happy. How long you wish to remain in this state is upto you to decide.
Tremendous effort & regular practice is necessary to master this stepwise method.
Practice each step & master it, no need to hurry. Initially, on an average it takes about half hour to settle down. But after regular practice, it takes about 10 min.
This method can be used throughout the day to help you remain peaceful, full of joy & happiness. Omit step 3 & forge within. It takes about 1 min.
GOOD LUCK!!!!

Talents

Every one is gifted with Talents. Inspite of that each is envious of another..
Why be jealous of somebody else’s talents??? Use your talents to the fullest.
Why imitate somebody and live in his/her shadow??? Be you...Be YOURSELF!!!
Each one wants to wear someone’s shoes to move ahead in life..
How is that possible??? You got to wear shoes that fit you best and charge ahead to meet the horizon…There is no limit to it…..

Need to Laugh

Someday in our life, we experience that everything goes wrong...the morning alarm fails to ring, dog pees on the rug, breakfast burns, bus is missed, reach office late, boss is fretting.... in the bargain we end up grouchy, start losing control and balance, all humour is lost and life suddenly takes its toll. Everything is topsy turvy...At times the road is bumpy, full of jerks leaving us tensed and frustrated.
Laughter helps us to snap out of it in a jiffy. Laughter alleviates all tension and suffering. Even if you are not in a mood to laugh, the act of laughing ie false laughter , alters the mood ,makes us laugh.
Laughter is free, without any side effect.In fact, laughter helps heal ourselves and others too. It brings sunshine into our lives, brightens our outlook. Deep rooted sorrows can be healed with a slight twitch of the facial muscles, a smile and then a hilarious laugh.
Laugh and be merry, let the world laugh with you...

Attitude

Our attitude defines our life....
Life is best for those who want to live it,difficult for those who want to analyse it, worst for those who want to criticise it.....
Laugh so hard that sorrow smiles at u
Live so well that death loves to see u alive
Fight so hard that fate accepts its defeat.....

Seed of Enlightenment

Each one of us carries the seed of enlightenment within.We are unable to experience it because we are slaves of our mind...
We are thinkers..Incessant thoughts of our past & future haunt us. We forget that everyone has a past. We should learn from our past, refer to it whenever required & move on, not live with it.
If we look inside within ourself, we will find immense wealth. We search for wealth outside in the physical world. Wealth i.e. love, happiness, bliss, peace. Material wealth is mistaken for true wealth.
The deepest love is spiritual.. Unfortunately, most of us experience ourselves as bodies & consider physical attraction & physical attachment as love...
Inner transformation brings with it a radical change, self realization, inner peace & bliss....

Expectations

Expectations lead to disappointment, pain & trauma. Learn to accept the fact that we will always find someone failing to do a given task or arrive late or even forget to call ...
Just because someone fails to love in a manner we want, does not mean we are not loved...
Worries should be separated from concern. If a situation is a concern, reflect upon it, find out what GOD would have expected us to do & let go of the anxiety. If the situation can be altered, great, otherwise try to forget & let go.
Are we perfect in all ways???? So why expect others to be perfect & be what we want them to be....
Our happiness should be independent of all expectations...

Understanding Anger

Anger is one of the most dangerous, traumatic and painful emotion. Often we feel hurt and insulted by somebody‘s words.
That’s what we think and feel -- an incorrect perception.
It is always our own creation. We hurt and insult our own self by creating such feelings as part of our response in our mind.
As an example, if someone calls me irresponsible does not mean I am irresponsible. It is his/her understanding of me. It is not my perception of me because I know I am not irresponsible.
Either the individual doesn't know me very well or he/she thinks and feels negative for some reason as a result he/she perceives me as irresponsible.
Therefore, one must realize that“No one can insult you and no one can make you feel anything”, these emotions are created by our own responses…..

Sandpaper

Relationships-A learning experience

Through our relationships we can know ourselves. We are a mirror for both. What we give to others at the level of our thoughts, feelings and attitudes reflects on ourselves and finally comes back to us from others. Our relationships are the learning laboratory of our life. Every interaction teaches a lesson.The more you get to know yourself in the mirror of your relationships the more easily you will be able to understand others.
As an experiment, take two relationships - one person who is close to you and one person who is not so close, look at it, explore it and ask yourself what it tells you about yourself and your life? Reflect on each relationship and make a note of what each of these people seems to bring out in you when you are with them. What part of your self would you want to see more developed in each of these relationships e.g. humour, patience, humility etc.? What will you do to develop these aspects of your personality?

Relationship and Love

Relationship is not simply getting along with others, it is about understanding, building, nourishing and caring. Theses are different forms of love. Love can be experienced at four levels – physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual.
The deepest love is spiritual and it happens when two souls experience themselves as spiritual beings. There are no barriers, no expectation, no desire for each other. There is complete transparency and each one is so strong within themselves that no matter what the other may say or do they can never be hurt.When two individuals think the same thought i.e. a unity of thought, it is love at a mental level. Meeting of hearts is when we encounter another who feels exactly as we do.
Unfortunately, most of us experience ourselves as bodies and consider physical attraction and physical attachment as a form of love.

Confidence

Confidence is nothing but the distant vision held positively no matter what comes in between....
It comes from one's own commitment and dedication, entirely internal.....

A True Story – Smile Always!!

One sunny morning after much ado and fuss, I rushed out to reach my place of work. The scorching heat, the hustle and bustle of people, the slow moving traffic and cars honking wildly, added to my fuming state. I was already late for the morning meeting. The boss’s face, red and purple, hands on his hips, raised fear in me. What am I going to say today!!!

The visions haunted me as I walked along the pavement amongst rows of slum dwellers. I quickened my pace cursing softly to no one in particular. Suddenly, out of nowhere this little creature appeared in front of me. Completely in rags, sweaty and dirty. I stopped for a second and turned away least caring. An unfortunate, homeless, vagabond, I thought to myself and continued at my steady pace, carrying a knotty stomach filled with butterflies.

Like a leech, he walked alongside me staring wide eyed at my plight, studying me. Short of breath, I halted. He halted with me and smiled lovingly. Completely in awe, I was bowled over by his innocence. A renewed feeling full of love and warmth swept over me. I smiled back at him with an outstretched hand which he shook willingly. I thanked him with a chocolate bar.

I went my way and he his. I continued my walk with a new surge of confidence. I entered the office with a smile and a grin. My beaming face cleared the tense atmosphere lurking around the office staff. His smile had inspired me, brightened my day and lingered with me all day long.
“ A Smile can do Wonders in a Person’s Life”

S-Strong
M-Motivating
I- Inspiring
L-Longlasting
E-Emotion

SMILE ALWAYS-It's free!!! I smiled today, did you???

Park Bench Meditation-Exhilarating experience

Detaching yourself from action increases your ability to concentrate and gradually enables you to be here and now.
A simple meditation technique -though a little difficult initially ended in an exhilarating experience.
Sit quietly without any movement for 30 minutes on a bench in a park and watch the activity around you.
Where I Sat During My Meditation - It's a small park close to my home where I go for my usual evening walk. On one side is a creek overlooking the hills with a bridge over it for trains to cross over. The other side is a public garden with a jogger's park. I sat on the bench which gave me a view of the creek, hills, as well as the garden.
My experience-
§ Little things which normally go unnoticed like the different ways in which people gave bird food to a flock of pigeons.
§ The setting sun casting wild shadows on the still waters of the creek felt like the sun was impatient to embrace the horizon.
§ Flock of birds returning home. The way in which the group remain together the geometry is unbelievable.
§ Children running wild at times with mothers trying to keep abreast.
§ The way in which children ate ice cream oblivious to the world around and mothers fretting, trying to clean the mess.
§ At some point I started vibrating and then felt a chilly breeze around me which sent a chill up my spine resulting in goosebumps and a jolt. It was then that I realised where I was. A different feeling, felt tremendous peace and calm different from the regular meditation.

Lessons Learned
§ Deep breathing before starting helps calm and steady nerves.
§ Meditate with an open mind to experience that state of void or nothingness.
§ Helps curb useless chain of thoughts.
§ Helps to remain alert.
§ Be one with Nature.
§ Be grounded.

Meditation

Peace, joy, love, bliss, all essence of our being. We look for them outside in the physical world. We have lost our qualities by getting completely entwined in the world of our own...
Let us experience these qualities once again and rise through meditation.
Each day, for one minute let us place our mind at rest, put an end to our thought processes, go within into our consciousness and experience bliss and joy.....

Virtues

Patience and Tolerance, two significant virtues, have been erased from our lives. Their absence has culminated in a surge in marital breakups, suicidal attempts, drug abuse, alcohol consumption, to name a few.
Self introspection and a change in attitude when introduced as part of our daily routine helps to be more tolerant and patient.

Change

We find fault in others and fail to realize that we are the ones who need to accept and change. By change, I mean change our outlook towards the opposite individual.
Change is a part of growing, a learning process....
Live with love and compassion because what we give out into the universe, we receive the same in return.
To receive positive vibrations, give out positive vibrations of love and compassion....

Happiness

Happiness does not mean that everything is perfect. It means that you have decided to see beyond imperfections...
Happiness is the essence of our being...

Feelings And Emotions

Love and happiness, natural states of the self or soul are often mistaken as emotions. These states exist and emerge naturally from within when we are unattached to any individual or thing. Caring, comforting, sympathy, compassion, acceptance and appreciation are all different forms of love. As regards happiness, it’s deepest form is contentment. The ability to express and feel these forms of love and happiness is reduced by emotional disturbances such as sadness, excitement, worry and fear, which exist in our minds. Most of us have been misled and believe that these emotional disturbances are various forms of love, happiness and care. In fact, we believe that fear is a form of respect. Regular practice of self introspection helps in understanding our feelings and emotions.

Anger Management

When self awareness increases, one can judge situations leading to bouts of anger. The emotional pain can be due to a person or an event.
It is similar to watering a plant…..A sowed seed regularly watered grows into a sapling and finally blooms into a plant. Similarly, replaying the scenario causing anger in the mind leads to frustration and later into rage.
However, when the root cause of anger is known, we are faced with two choices-
1. Let go
2. Continue to create
Unfortunately, many of us, inspite of acknowledging the cause of this emotional trauma continue to remain angry. They find ways of justifying their anger and are addicted to it.
So friends, why not give it a try and let go so as to experience inner peace….

Love and Attachment

Love is an unconditional selfless state of being. Love has no desires nor expectations whereas attachment is a mental state born out of desires and relationships created in our minds. Our thoughts are constantly filled with images and memories which generate a lot of expectations. We start depending on these expectations for our happiness and well being. We forget that when these so called desires and expectations are not met, all the negative emotions set in. In other words we give rise to fear and anger and finally stress and anxiety.
So, dear friends do think, of those special people, of others, when it is necessary but do not lose your self in their image. This will free us from dependency, expectations, false desires and suffering.

Controlling Emotions

These five steps help keep check on our emotions.

1. Awareness - Being aware of the emergence of the finest of emotions which if unchecked lead to irritation ,to frustration, to anger, to rage. In other words.. Yes "the storm is about to set in".
2. Acknowledge - Understand and acknowledge the emotion, be responsible for its emergence.
3. Acceptance - Accept the presence of the emotion without resisting it. Resistence helps the emotion grow stronger and spring up later like a volcanic eruption..
4. Ascend - Take a deep breath.. Slowly exhale..Detach from the emotion and it's source. Observe the emotion lose power and dissolve.
5. Attune - Return to the inner centre of peace and bliss.

Faith

Faith is the foundation of our life upon which we work and build. Each of us is endowed with varying degrees of different talents, intelligence, social status and possessions. So why be jealous /envious of another. The focus of good and evil are in all of us. But we must learn and make efforts to free ourselves of the chains of hatred, malice and longing of material things. These talents and gifts carry corresponding responsibilities which we must meet with love in our heart and gratitude for being given an opportunity to serve. Faith combined with good deeds can surmount any obstacle.

Protective shield

Whenever someone sends you a negative message or a critical comment, imagine it comes towards you as a bullet, but one foot away it encounters a protective field made up of your inner soul power. This is the field of protective energy that is strengthened by the power of your inner peace. As the bullet meets the field, it deflects away and fizzles out against the wall. You remain unmoved and untouched. You look just for a second but directly into the eyes of the other and, with a quiet and peaceful smile, you send them a mini bullet of your own, carrying a very clear and compassionate message, which says, "Nice try."

Negative emotions

Anger, rage, frustration- all negative emotions drain us of our energy.
How do any of these emotions creep into our system?
We get upset when others do not live upto our expectations!!!
Stop, think for a moment! Why should he/she live upto our expectations?
Each one of us (souls) believe he/she is doing the correct thing. Therefore if we put ourselves in others' shoes, pause for a moment, we will realise that the opposite person did what he/she thought was correct.
So my friends, whenever you feel any negative emotion brewing, pause and give it a thought. Let the feeling pass. Do not get entangled in it.

How to Escape your Suffering-Blind Man vs the Cripple

There is a famous Indian story about the great battle between the blind man and the cripple .
In a remote village in the outskirts of Punjab there lived 2 sworn enemies. One man was blind and the other was a cripple. They were sworn enemies. No matter what one did, it would upset the other and vice versa. For years this battle raged on and the animosity between them grew fierce and caustic.
During one very hot and dry summer a terrible fire broke out in the village and began consuming everything in its path. The villagers began to flee in fear as there was no stopping the inferno. In the panic, the blind man and the cripple were forgotten and left to fend for themselves.
The blind man did not know which way to go in order to escape the fire, and the cripple, who could see the path to safety, could take no action. So both were stuck.Luckily for them, the desire to live was greater than their hatred for each other, so they decided to work together in order to save their lives. The blind man put the cripple on his shoulders, who then directed him which way to go in order to escape. Thus, working as a team, they were successful and even ended up becoming friends.
Who is the blind man and who is the cripple? The blind man is our mind and the cripple is our heart. What is the fire? The fire is our suffering. The mind is the instrument through which you can move, act — but it is blind, in that it does not know which way to go. It endlessly debates, weighing pros and cons, wobbling between what will be gained and what will be lost if certain action was to be taken. It cannot see how to escape the suffering. The heart, on the other hand, can see clearly the way out, but does not have any means to act. In order to act, it needs the mind. So they need each other. But, more importantly the heart needs to sit on top of the mind, as the cripple sat on the shoulders of the blind man. With the heart leading the way, the mind becomes intelligent. Give the heart its precedence and wisdom will then emerge and guide you safely out of your suffering.

Eerie Silence

Cold, dark eerie night
Not a star visible tonight
O! Look yonder
A silver streak sneaking through a cloud.

Sea scary as the night
O! What a sight
Neither a whimper nor a howl
Nor leaves hustling
Nor owls hooting
An eerie silence sighs in solitude.

Silver streak full of valor
A ball of fire
Defies the cloud
Silent night a glowing
Warmth come alive.

Touch so tender
Raising goose bumps up the spine
Heart beats like no tomorrow
Quivering lips touch to kiss
Locked in eternal bliss.