Purpose of Life

Our Children are our greatest Teachers

2025-12-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest truths we must learn to embrace is that our children are not our possessions. They enter this world with their own karma, their own destiny, and a unique purpose that belongs only to them.

A child is not merely a student in a parent’s life, but also a profound teacher.

Our role as parents is not to control or shape our children according to our fears or unfulfilled dreams. Instead, it is to guide them with values, love, and wisdom—while allowing them the freedom to discover their own path.

In today’s world, children are more informed, aware, and connected than ever before. Technology has placed limitless knowledge at their fingertips. They can find answers instantly, question long-held assumptions, and often understand things we ourselves were never exposed to at their age.

This does not diminish us as parents; rather, it prepares them for a fast-changing and complex world. Instead of resisting this shift, we should celebrate it.

We must learn to listen, to accept, and to grow alongside our children. Just as we seek the right to live our lives independently, we must extend that same freedom to them. Their journey is theirs; ours is ours.

When our children offer love and affection, we should receive it as a blessing—with gratitude, not entitlement. Excessive expectations only give rise to disappointment and sorrow. True happiness emerges when we release these expectations and live our own lives with dignity, grace, and independence.

The deeper lesson is simple yet powerful:

When we stop expecting, we begin appreciating.

When we stop demanding, we start receiving.

And when we stop clinging, we finally begin living.

True parenthood is not measured by control, but by the values we leave behind. If we gift our children a strong foundation of love, discipline, and sanskar, they will build lives of strength, purpose, and character on their own.

And when they shine, the reflection of their light will become our greatest reward.

Coach your child to introspect, to look within, and to understand who they truly are.

Help them identify their unique strengths, values and passions, and guide them toward discovering their true Purpose of Life.

Are you Stressed?

2025-07-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

What Is Stress?

I’m at BREAKING POINT! I have a meltdown! I had the last straw! I feel under the weather!

Stress is your body’s natural reaction to a demand or pressure—whether physical, mental, or emotional. Everyone experiences stress, and in small doses, it can be motivating. However, prolonged or excessive stress can harm your health and well-being.

Common Causes of Stress (Stressors)

Stressors can be positive (e.g., planning a wedding) or negative (e.g., losing a job). Common triggers include:

· Work or School: Deadlines, heavy workload, or feeling overwhelmed.

· Relationships: Conflicts, breakups, or the loss of a loved one.

· Financial Issues: Debt, unemployment, or financial insecurity.

· Major Life Changes: Moving, marriage, childbirth, or divorce.

· Traumatic Experiences: Accidents, violence, or natural disasters.

Using Positive Self-Talk

Reframing negative thoughts can help you feel more in control and reduce stress.

“I can’t do this” to “I’ll do the best I can. I’ve got this”

“I hate it when this happens” to “I know how to deal with this – I’ve done it before”

“I feel helpless and alone” to “I can reach out and get help if I need it”

“I can’t believe I screwed up” to “I’m human; everyone makes mistakes. I can fix this”

Effective Stress Management Techniques

· Recognize Your Triggers: Keep a journal or note patterns of stress in your life.

· Mindfulness & Meditation: Deep breathing and guided meditation can soothe anxiety.

· Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tense and then relax muscle groups to release tension.

· Regular Exercise: Increases endorphins, improves mood, and reduces stress hormones.

· Healthy Diet: Proper nutrition supports brain function and emotional balance.

· Time Management: Use to-do lists, set priorities, and avoid procrastination.

· Social Support: Talk to friends, family, or join a support group.

· Engage in Hobbies: Activities you enjoy can help recharge your mental batteries.

Tips for Managing Stress Day-to-Day

· Prioritize Sleep: Aim for 7–9 hours nightly to allow for physical and mental recovery.

· Limit Stressful Input: Take breaks from the news or social media if they raise anxiety.

· Set Boundaries: Don’t over commit—learn to say "no" when needed.

· Seek Professional Help: A therapist or counselor can provide tools and support.

Stress management empowers us to clear the mental and emotional clutter, so that we can pursue our true "Purpose of Life" with clarity, strength, and intention

Have you been “Stabbed / Betrayed / Cheated”?

2024-12-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Oxford Dictionary defines these actions as:

Cheating: Acting in a dishonest or unfair way to gain an advantage, deceiving someone, especially when they trust you.
Betrayal: A violation of trust, involving deceit or dishonesty, often causing emotional or reputational harm.

Examples of Cheating/Betrayal:

Falsifying data or results
Plagiarizing work or ideas
Taking shortcuts in tasks
Passing off others' work as your own
Sharing confidential information without permission
Taking credit for someone else's achievement

Potential Reasons for Cheating or Betrayal:

Emotional neglect or unmet needs
Lack of intimacy leading to disconnection
Dissatisfaction or unhappiness in relationships
Unresolved conflicts or issues
Stagnant personal or professional growth
Low self-esteem
Poor communication, leading to frustration or misunderstandings
Past relationship patterns that influence current behavior
Stressful life events or external pressures
Underlying mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety

Reflections on Cheating:

· "Cheaters win the game but lose their souls."

· "When someone betrays you, it's a reflection of their character, not yours."

How to Deal with Betrayal:

Address the Facts Respectfully
Stay Calm and Professional
Avoid Retaliation
Seek Mediation
Introspect and Reflect
Focus on Healing
Focus on Rebuilding Trust

To summarize, while betrayal and cheating can hurt us deeply, responding with maturity, reflection, and a focus on personal growth can help us handle such situations more effectively.

Identify and align with your “Purpose of Life” and simply move on…

Overcome your Anger

2023-10-22T06:25:00.004-07:00

Anger is an emotion that conveys, telling us that a situation is upsetting, unjust, or threatening. Anger is an active manifestation of sadness. We need to Identify and eliminate our sorrow before we can confront our anger.

Anger is an extension of ego and whenever we act with anger, deep within us, we will actually be feeling sad. Therefore, anger is an active form of sadness. Or to put in context, sadness is a passive form of anger. When we cannot express our anger, we feel sad within. So, whether we are sad, or angry, we only need to ask ourselves one question, “What is it that I am sad about?”

Anger could be detrimental to both our emotional and physical health. When we are angry our body goes through some physiological and biological changes. Our heart rate quickens and our blood pressure spikes. Our body also releases hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline leading to High blood pressure, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gastric ulcers, diabetes, etc.

When we feel angry in a situation, where in, we have been mistreated or wronged, people around us could be too sensitive and might get hurt and could lead them to be disheartened and leave them in tears. Also, leading to negative impact on the way people perceive us and may get in the way of our growth and success.

If anger is an expression of sadness, removing sadness will automatically do away with anger. But the important question is, ‘How do we get over our sadness?’ An easy answer would be, ‘By nurturing happiness.’

We have an opportunity to be happy or to be sad. Some tips to be happy – live in present, count your blessings, be kind to yourself, challenge negative thoughts, meditate, meet with friends, practice gratitude, exercise, think rationally instead of emotionally, build a positive support system, etc.

We could also reconcile opposites - try liking what we dislike. While this may not be easy to practice, however, it can free ourselves from unprofitable bondages to inner freedom. If we can finally free from these, we will have risen above our anger; no longer a victim to anger, sadness, or self-pity.

The way we need to respond should be controlled by us, we cannot give the control to anyone to press our buttons and make us feel angry. It’s like someone controlling us through a remote control.

Identify ways to be happy to avoid anger and identify your Purpose of Life.

Overcome your Fear

2023-08-22T09:45:00.004-07:00

We Fear simply because we are not living with life, we are living in our mind.

Our fear is always about what’s going to happen next, which could be interpreted that fear is always about that does not exist therefore fear is 100% imaginary. If we are suffering with something that is non-existent, it could be interpreted as insane which could also be inferred as "disturbance in mind".

The normal cause of suffering due to fear is either because of what had happened in past and what might happen in future, however, both don’t exist.

Mind had two parts - memory and imagination, however, both don’t exist in present, memory is related to past, and imagination is related to future. Fear is an outcome of sufferings caused by either memory or imagination. It’s like our mind is creating horror movies. “Fears are Stories that we tell ourselves”

Sometimes, we get too biased with our own mental creations (our thoughts and our emotions) and forget that Almighty’s creation is much stronger than our perceptions.

We should try to divert/master our mind to live in present i.e. reality. Live your life now! There are no greater phenomena than life. If we do our present well, our future will naturally blossom.

Take Life Easy – we should take life non-serious, however, we always need to get involved with life like what we do when we play sports. Be a sport for life!

If we truly care for what we want to do in life and that really matters to us, life will become worthwhile, and our existence will be meaningful, irrespective of what we achieve.

Find your Purpose of Life, before it is too late!

Nothing is more difficult than being successful

2022-12-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Dictionary defines SUCCESS as the achieving of the results wanted or hoped for.

Success is often defined as the ability to reach our goals in life, whatever those goals may be. In some ways, a better word for success might be attainment, accomplishment, or progress.

Unsuccessful people usually measure what success is in terms of MONEY and material things - the car you drive, the home you own, and the vacations you take.

However, Successful people, on the other hand, rarely measure success on materialistic grounds. Their interpretation is related to Happiness, Contentment, Good Health, Freedom, Peace, Joy, Balance, fulfillment, Good Friendships, Happy Family, contribution to Society, etc.

One may ‘succeed’ as a rag-picker, Industrialist, Teacher, Researcher, Revolutionist, Philosopher or even as a thief or robber. Success is about fulfilling the intent behind your action. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If we love what we are doing, we will be successful.

Some define Failure as opposite of Success, however, that’s not true. Failure is a part of success. As defined, Success is a journey of failures, sacrifices, smart & hard efforts, perseverance, confidence, consistency in efforts. We always pass Failure on our way to Success.

As soon as we think that we have succeeded in a certain thing, the adverse forces make it a point to attack and spoil it and we become complacent. However, it shouldn’t be interpreted that we should not enjoy and celebrate our successes and keep thinking on our shortcomings and failures and get depressed. We need to strike the right balance!

We need to be contented with our successes, but not satisfied. This will ensure to enjoy fulfillment and joy for our achievements. However, if we are satisfied, we feel we have achieved enough and that’s prohibits us to access additional opportunities that we could further achieve.

Success is getting what we want, Happiness is wanting what we get. Success is a relative term. There is more to “what SUCCESS is” than that. Especially when it comes to success in Life!

To be successful in life, we need to identify our Purpose of Life and set our goals accordingly, there after aligning our actions to achieve the same. It’s good to setup rolling milestones so that we could intermittently celebrate the success of achieving the set milestones and after having achieved the targeted milestone we move to the next milestone without getting complacent.

One must be very great, pure, and must have a very high and disinterested spiritual consciousness to be successful without being affected by it.

Nothing is more difficult, than being successful.

Vitamins to rejuvenate the fading bonds in these troubled times

2021-11-16T09:06:00.002-08:00

We can cure our body ailments by taking medicines but what do we do for disorders related to our relationships?

Do we have diagnostics tools like Ultrasound, CT Scan, X-Rays, etc. that could provide us status of our heart and relationships and recommend us appropriate medicines/vitamins to ensure that we are healthy and fit both from our heart and mind?

Here is the list of recommended Vitamins to boost immunity of your relationships, however, you will not get these in a Chemist shop.

If we are not happy with our life, with family members around us, with friends/associates, colleagues, society or it could also be due to the current Pandemic scenario wherein the relationships have been redefined or any financial stress, then it causes stress, anxiety and pain to both our heart and mind.

Out of all the above listed causes, our relationships play a major role, as their impact on our heart is strongest, good relationships can give us utmost happiness and on the contrary, bitter relationships can give deep trauma to our heart and mind.

Therefore, our relationships need frequent Nutrition.

In such situations, we recommend,

Vitamin-A i.e. Vitamin of Attachment is the most essential nutrition. No matter, how close or far we are from our loved ones, we need to keep ourselves attached and connected. The feeling of attachment helps us uplift our mood and sentiments.

Vitamin-B i.e. Vitamin of Bonding, helps to overcome any misunderstandings that are caused in our relationships. It helps in refreshing our relationship and helps to create sweet memories. As relationships are not temporary, if we could add Vitamin of Bonding along with Vitamin of Attachment, it could lead to phenomenal results.

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others’ life.”

Vitamin-C i.e. Vitamin of Care, we should never be so busy as not to think of others. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you Care. We rise by lifting others. To the World, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the World.

Vitamin-D i.e. Vitamin of Dedication that brings constant prosperity. True dedication can convert our dreams into realities.

All the above Vitamins will boost your immunity to keep your Relationships hale and healthy. Stay happy and flourish your relationships with your loved ones.

Identify your Purpose of Life!

Don’t Give up! Keep Going…

2021-10-28T09:10:00.003-07:00

Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit!

Let’s understand the “The Law of Wasted Efforts”

Half of the eggs of the fishes are eaten…
Half of the baby bears die before puberty…
Most of the World’s rains fall in Oceans…
Most of the seeds of trees are eaten by birds…
Lions succeed in only 25% of their hunting efforts…

“Law of Wasted Efforts” is a law that is governed by nature; however, as humans we think that the lack of success in few attempts is a failure.

When we face defeat in Life, the conditions are not comfortable, it hurts as well, we feel the heat, we feel the pressure, we feel being pulled back. However, we need to move forward with our spirit of resiliency and get through the adversities of life.

Keep Focus on your Goals!

Don’t Quit!

Keep trying again and again, keep moving, eventually you will bounce back… Booooooom!

The truth is that “We only fail when we stop trying”

Success is not to have a life free of pitfalls and falls…,

but success is to walk over our mistakes, go beyond every stage where our efforts were wasted and looking forward to the next stage.

Efforts are never wasted even when it leads to disappointed results, because it always makes us more prepared, strong, capable & experienced.

Learn from your mistakes and keep putting efforts.

You could take a pause but don’t quit, continue, and keep trying until you succeed.

Stay Inspired. Don’t Give up! Keep Going…

Find your Purpose of Life!

Are you vaccinated against Emotional Turmoil?

2021-10-10T10:09:00.001-07:00

Like we need the vaccine to protect us from the virus, we need to learn ways to immunize ourselves from our inner emotional turmoil.

The prolonged and seemingly unending nature of the disruption and losses caused due to ongoing Pandemic makes us routinely feel disoriented, anxious and exhausted.

We need to Cultivate sense of Equanimity – We need to develop and practice stillness within us so the changing external scenario doesn’t easily affect us. This doesn’t mean that we are not affected at all. It’s just that we need to raise the threshold at which we experience emotional hijack.

Building equanimity requires deepening our emotional self-awareness. We need to learn what makes us happy, sad, insecure and excited; how frequently we move from one emotional state to the other; and what triggers these shifts. Ordinarily, we are on an autopilot mode where certain triggers produce a predictable reaction within us time after time.

When we are in touch with our changing emotional states, we can quickly catch ourselves starting to feel anxious, envious or angry. We can then choose to acknowledge those emotions and without judging ourselves, explore alternate ways to respond. That’s how we can break the pattern of our emotional reactions.

We need to learn to deal with unexpected outcomes: One of the major reasons we experience emotional stress is our attachment to specific outcomes. For example, I should get promoted this year, I will get possession of my recently booked flat this year and many other such expectations.

The problem is that we associate so closely with the desired/expected outcome and in case, there is any deviation, it causes anxiety.

The way to deal with this is to open our heart and be flexible to accept any possible outcome of whatever may emerge. Whether that promotion happens this year or the next; whether we get the possession this year or the next, we need to accept the natural process of evolution rather than get stuck to fixed outcomes.

Our ability to deal with Setbacks: We fear and hate setbacks. We shouldn’t underestimate our innate ability to deal with setbacks. We must be more resilient than we often believe.

We can protect ourselves against this fear by learning to reframe our relationship with difficult circumstances. Almost nothing is as good or as bad, as it seems. Also, we can choose to assess what the situation is trying to teach us. In fact, invariably, it’s in such situations that we learn and grow the most.

We simply need to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

If we can practice these in our real life, we can be assured that our vaccination is effective and our immunity on emotional turbulence is in action!

If we have cultivated our mental strength to control our emotions, then we will realize that our existence should matter, it must have value, worth and importance for us and society.

Having reached this milestone, it’s time to find our Purpose of Life and achieve the same.

Let Go...

2021-08-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Let’s understand the dictionary meaning of “Let Go”

· to stop holding something

· to stop thinking about or being angry about the past or something that happened in the past

“To Let Go” does not mean “To get rid of”. “To Let Go” means “To let be”. When we “let be” with compassion, things come and go on their own.

“Letting Go” is one of the hardest things to figure out in life. As our emotions usually cloud our logic, and because our feelings make it harder for us to concentrate, it seems like the art of letting go can be confusing and complicated.

Signs that Tell Us, It's Time to “Let Go”:

· Staying in it always makes us feel broken, depressed, and frustrated

· We justify that it’s worth holding on when it’s really not

· We refuse to acknowledge the present because it hurts too much

· We have already exhausted all our efforts but everything stays the same

Ways to “Let Go”:

· Learn to Forgive: Resentment and unwillingness to forgive will keep us locked in the past and prevent us from moving forward with our life.

Remember: When we forgive, we aren’t doing it for the other person; we are doing it for ourselves. If for no other reason than that, forgive and Let Go.

· Remove our clutter: Letting go of these stress-inducing thought patterns and lifestyle features isn't easy, but it may be easier than we think.

And importantly, it can be addictive, once we start letting go of some of the stressors in our life, it becomes easier to let go of more.

· Let Go of grudges: Releasing grudges, negative perspectives, toxic relationships, and other vessels of negativity in our life may feel difficult at first, but once we have started to release your grip, letting go becomes increasingly easier.

· Drop Negative Attitudes about ourselves: Make a list of our personal accomplishments, even the small ones, and add to it daily. We will have to let go of a little discontentment to make space for this self-satisfaction. Let’s accept and love ourselves as we are and keep moving forward. If we want to fly, we have to give up what weighs us down.

To heal, we must let go of our fear of letting go. Letting go doesn't mean that we don't care about someone anymore. It's just realizing that the only person we really have control over is ourselves.

Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of our history, but not a part of our destiny.

Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let our tears water the seeds of our future happiness!

If we let go a little, we will have a little peace. If we let go a lot, we will have a lot of peace.

If we have peace, then we have an opportunity to identify our “Purpose of Life” and chase the same.

Let's enjoy our Journey of Life...

2021-02-21T08:45:00.007-08:00

Life is a Journey, with Problems to Solve, Lessons to Learn and Experiences to Enjoy.

Our Body is the most sophisticated gadget in the planet – much beyond a super computer that has been gifted by God. For living a worthy life, we need to read and understand the User Manual of our body as it is the most complex machine on the planet.

Most of the problems in our life are an outcome of our State of Mind.

Let’s find out one Human Being that is not suffering…

If they are not Rich, they are suffering with Poverty; If they are Rich, they suffer from competition and taxes.

If a person is not Married, they suffer to be alone; Get them Married, no comments…

If a person doesn’t have Children, they suffer to be lonely; If they have Children, they still complain…

So, it seems that every aspect of life has suffering, however, that’s not correct, Life is not a suffering.

Life is neither a suffering nor a Joy, it exists with mixed emotions. It simply exists as a journey or phenomenon.

If we ride on journey of Life, It feels fantastic; If we get crushed by it, then the journey is terrible and miserable.

All sufferings that we undergo is the result of our own psychological process, our own thoughts and emotions and our negative state of mind. Our own Intelligence, if not directed towards the right direction, turns us against ourselves and causes misery, disappointment and depression.

What happens in the World is not within our control, as things may not happen the way we want them to happen, however, what happens within us needs to be determined by us. How we think and feel should be in our control.

Our wellbeing will never come from outside or materialistic things. We can create comfort and convenience with the external gadgets but cannot create our wellbeing. Our wellbeing is our state of mind that can happen within ourselves, as our human experience is created from WITHIN.

We need to identify our nature of life, fundamental of our existence, our Purpose of Life.

Our positive thoughts can derive highest level of Joy and Pleasantness.

Let’s Embrace, Enjoy and Love our Journey!

Oh no, another bad decision…

2020-10-03T10:47:00.001-07:00

All of us, make/take bad decisions. Actually not, that’s not true, we never knowingly take a bad / wrong / incorrect decision.

Decisions could be related to choosing a job, opting for higher studies, investment in real estate, investment of funds in Stocks / Fixed Deposits / Mutual Funds, making choice of a life partner, etc.

The fact is, that the good decision that we take, in due course of time, reveals itself to be a bad decision due to the outcome of the decision that is not aligned with what was conceived or is not favorable.

That’s the reason, we always say that “decision was wrong” and we never say that the “decision is wrong”. A wrong decision is an event that is always referred to something from past, therefore, there’s no merit in regretting something that has already happened but importantly we should strategize to move forward in the given situation rather than looking back.

The decision that was made in past was taken based on the data points and artifacts available at that point of time. Therefore, the decision that was taken then with pious intent was supposedly correct, however, with the passage of time we experience unfavorable outcome and the right decision that was taken in the past, turns out to be a wrong decision.

As per statistics, 95-98% of the decisions that we take are correct and favorable, however, we never celebrate correct decisions. Correct decisions that are taken are most often ignored and forgotten and considered as part of “Life as usual”

Whereas, we regret and mourn for wrong decisions. Bad decisions are repeatedly remembered and thereby leading to negativity/sufferings and self-blame.

Decision Making is one of the important traits of Leaders. Coward are those who don’t take decision. We can’t afford not to take decisions based on the fear of failure. We cannot make progress in life without making decisions.

For any situation to take a decision, the Best Thing is to do the Right Thing, the next Best Thing is the Wrong Thing, and the Worst Thing that we can do is Nothing.

Once we make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

We keep thinking that when we took a bad decision why did God not give me wisdom to refrain from taking that decision. Isn’t God supposed to equip us adequately? How do I know, what God wants? If God is behind our plans, why did God allow us to take wrong decision?

We don’t have specific formulas on how to deal appropriately with all situations that we face in everyday life, as each situation is unique.

The fact is that it’s actually all destined, GOD has HIS own ways to make us learn and grow in life with all good and bad decisions. The script of our life is already written, however, every day a new page gets unfolded.

Life would be very boring / monotonous / dry if all decisions that we would have taken were the right decisions.

However, importantly, we should learn from our bad decisions and not repeat the same mistakes again. Every intersection in the road of Life is an opportunity to make a Decision.

Life is a matter of Choices and every Choice that we make, makes us.

Good Decisions come from Experience. Experience comes from making Bad Decisions.

Take decision to align your thoughts and actions with your “Purpose of Life”.

Purpose of Life

Tame your Thoughts!

2020-08-16T08:43:00.005-07:00

“We define our Thoughts” or “Our Thoughts define Us”.

Thoughts influence our Dreams and Dreams turn into Reality. Thoughts make us what we are and also govern what we may become tomorrow. We are shaped by our thoughts and eventually we become what we continue to think.

Thoughts are a mirror of our mental and spiritual awakening. We need to dwell on our thoughts as they are the source of our actions and future deeds.

Our thoughts rule our life. If we can change our thoughts, we can change our world.

Dreams are Reflection of our Thoughts

When our conscious and subconscious minds are active, they translate into dreams. Often, we dream what we are thinking of or worried about.

However, the sphere of dreams is much bigger than our thoughts. We experience much more in our dreams. Dreams can go beyond our thoughts and can give indications about our past lives and even about our future.

Dreams are propelled by our curiosity. This curiosity in turn comes from deep thoughts. When a thought, deep in sense, creeps into our mind we start to think about it. It goes into our subconscious mind that gets reflected in our dreams and sometimes in our actions.

Sometimes dreams define our personality. It tells who we are from inside, What we need, What we have and What we do. Hence, dreams are reflection of our thoughts.

Positive and Negative Thoughts

Thoughts that originate in our mind can be either positive or negative that carry their own vibrations.

Positive Thoughts create positive vibrations that affects us and our surrounding in a good way and it brings wellness in our life, may be sooner or later depending on its power. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.

When I am happy and gay, I would smile at whatever comes my way. Even when I’m down and not so happy, some positive thoughts can reduce the intensity of sorrow or grief and ease the pain, to help us smile back again!

Negative Thoughts are like slow poison which will show their result slowly but surely a negative one. Overthinking Leads to Negative Thoughts.

Great men have said "always be careful of what you think, because someday, it may come true".

During times of crisis like the ongoing Pandemic times, we are in the phase of uncertainty and the probability of negative thoughts creeping in us is very high.

These negative thoughts are not helpful in context to our life, health, profession and other dimensions of our Life.

What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now. It is our thoughts and acts of the moment that create our future.

Human Mind is filled with Drunken Monkeys

Buddha described the human mind as being filled with drunken monkeys, jumping around, screeching, chattering, carrying on endlessly. We all have monkey minds, with dozens of monkeys all clamoring for attention.

Fear is an especially loud monkey, sounding the alarm incessantly, pointing out all the things we should be wary of and everything that could go wrong.

Meditation helps to tame the drunken monkeys in our minds.

It’s useless to fight with the monkeys or to try to banish them from our mind because, as we all know, that which we resist, persists. The first principal of Meditation is that we should never make an attempt to stop our thoughts but allow them to come and go without giving any importance to them. If we spend some time each day in meditation, we can, over time, tame our drunken monkeys. They will grow more peaceful if you lovingly bring them into submission with a consistent practice of meditation.

Meditation is a wonderful way to quiet the voices of fear, anxiety, worry and other negative emotions.

Also, sometimes engaging the monkeys in gentle, kind and loving conversation can sometimes calm them down and transform our life. If the Fear Monkey is noisy and intense, have a calm conversation with him and try answering all the consequences of the Fears being raised by the Fear Monkey and our plan to address the situation/circumstances. Talk to him about the worst scenario and your plan to address the same. By the end of the conversation, Fear Monkey may still be there, but he would have calmed down and we can get back to our life as usual.

Learning to manage our monkey mind is one of the best things we can do to transform all fears and negative thoughts.

Tips for Positive Thinking

· Look at the mirror and smile with positive thoughts - “I can do it and happy times are ahead”

· Ensure that we spend time in the ambience of people with positive thoughts to get similar vibrations.

· We should never become a passive victim. Don’t self-pity or expect sympathy from others. Instead, get confidence from within - “We have the power to change our destiny and we shall do it by all means”.

· Count your blessings. Once we reflect and look around, we shall identify several blessings that we have. Thank God and feel grateful for all our blessings.

Power of Positive Thoughts

Our thinking pattern allows us to define, engage, organize in decision-making, problem solving, experiencing, planning, learning, reflecting, higher reasoning and creating.

But sometimes our thinking can be meaningless and not serving our purpose in any dimension of our Life for a variety of reasons and this has a negative impact on our Overall Health and well-being.

We have infinite riches within us. To gain them, we need to open our mind’s eyes and behold the treasure within us, to realize our infinite intelligence and boundless love within ourselves.

We need to charge our mind with faith and confidence, our mind can lift ten times of its own body weight. People with confidence are always born to win.

When our mind is discharged, it is filled with fears and doubts. Our mind is a garden and we are the gardener. Thoughts are seeds we are putting on our thinking.

Mind is a Gift from Divine Power and we can achieve anything in this World or beyond through the Power of our Mind.

Mind is God’s Gift that can enable us to identify our Purpose of Life.

The Comeback is always Stronger than the Setback!

2020-04-12T07:03:00.001-07:00

Let's take our time. Let's recharge ourselves and come back stronger!

Everything is not Locked Down…

Sunrise is not locked down…
Imagination is not locked down…
Creativity is not locked down…
Learning is not locked down…
Reading is not locked down…
Work is not locked down…
Kindness is not locked down…
Love is not locked down…
Relationship is not locked down…
Family Time is not locked down…
Conversation is not locked down…
Praying is not locked down…
Worshiping is not locked down…
Meditation is not locked down…
Hope is not locked down…
Let’s Cherish what we have…

Convert Lock Down as an Opportunity to do what we always wanted to do…

Let’s unlock ourselves from WITHIN…

Time to realize that we should be happy and thankful that we are safe. We are at home with our family. God has given us an opportunity to stay with our loved ones and know each other much better as we don’t find enough time to spend together in our busy and mechanized/modern lifestyles.

It’s very unfortunate when I hear people say that we have been arrested or locked down in our home. We created our homes and not a jail. How much time and money did we spend to create our homes. Blessed are we to have a home, think of those in the World who are homeless.

Today, I have the opportunity to stay at my home with my family which is nothing less than a temple as with my family, God also lives along with us.

This crisis has given us an opportunity to bring the family members closer and together. Let’s utilize these tough times to create special bonds with our loved ones. Bonds made in such times are considered to be the strongest. Let’s seize these moments to convert them to make these as unforgettable memories of our lives.

Let’s ensure that we are healthy and fit during this period. Health is Wealth – let’s keep ourselves physically and mentally fit – exercise, read books, spend time with family, practice yoga.

Let’s utilize this time to upgrade our skills.

Spend time to unleash/explore your hidden talents – Singing, Poetry, Sketching, Drawing, Cartoons, playing indoor games with kids and spouse, innovating new dishes, watching inspirational movies with family, etc.

Leave no opportunity to serve the poor and deserving people. Let’s spend our time on praying and worshiping. Let’s spend time to find about ourselves from within.

Spend time to meditate.

Spend time in spirituality and find/revisit our Purpose of Life.

Realizations during this crisis:

Life is fragile, handle with care.
Power, Beauty and Money are worthless. What will we do with all the wealth and fame that we have earned. It’s time to unlearn, time to realize that we are not the most powerful. We have been told to stay at home to ensure that we must realize that we humans are the guests and not the owners of this Universe and Creation.
We can feel fresh air, clear sky, bright moon and twinkling stars in the sky. The Nature continues its life and is beautiful without us. The birds are chirping and singing in the open sky. The Air, Earth, Water, Sun, Moon and Sky are doing fine without our interference. The planet regenerates quickly without humans into play. The nature re-emphasizes that we are Guests and not the Masters. These are the times when we need to have self-realization that how much damage we do to the environment and surroundings.
Humans are afraid from human beings. Hugs and Kisses have become weapons. Not visiting your loved ones has become an act of Love and kindness.
We and our kids can survive without junk food. We can survive vacations without National/International trips. Disneyland, Eiffel Tower and all holiday destinations are barren.
Rich people are less immune than the poor.
Health Professionals are worth more than Celebrities. No Priest, No Pujari, No Tantrik, No Astrologer, No Palmist could save patients.
All comforts and luxury gadgets in the World are worthless in a society without consumers.
We could experience/visualize how animals feel in the zoo as if being quarantined. Prisoners in jails for petty crimes can be released.
Majority of people can work from home. Living a hygienic life is not difficult.
Only women are not supposed to know cooking and household work.
If we build more schools, we need to construct less hospitals.

Stay home, Stay safe.

God’s Plan is always the Best. Sometimes the process is painful and hard. But don’t forget that when God is silent, he is doing something great for us.

O Lord, Give us courage and we know that you will take care…

Give us opportunity to live our life till we are alive.

Grant us wisdom to identify our Purpose of Life.

The World is closed for Renovation, Grand Reopening Soon…

Oh God! Why Me?

2020-01-19T06:22:00.002-08:00

Did we ever say “Oh God! Why Me?” when we received a fortune in business, promotion in job, distinction in academics, addition of family member, recognition in society, or any incident that was progressive/positive. The credit for the positive development is taken by the individual and yes, we sometimes thank God as well.

However, if there has been a mishap or misfortune, loss in business, lost a job, lost a family member, serious ailment, or any incident that is not pleasant or positive, the immediate reaction is to question God - “Oh God! Why Me?”

In such a situation, we never ever give discredit to ourselves or take the responsibility with us but would like to externalize it and blame God for the same.

Life is unpredictable – Happy and Sad, Sunny and Rainy…

It’s strange how life works. One day things are going “business as usual,” and then the next, something can happen out of the blue that causes everything to change. It usually happens when we least expect it.

When it’s favorable, bask in the excitement and joy this unexpected event. We have to enjoy the good things that happen and give them the time they deserve. Don’t just brush them away, celebrate them. Enjoy the happy times and don’t take them for granted.

When bad things happen, do the best you can with the hand you’ve been dealt. Face whatever challenge has rocked your world with strength and courage. We need to be strong and brave. We need to handle whatever situation we find ourselves in. Understand that life is unpredictable and you can’t plan for everything, but it's the positive mentality of "Never Give Up" that counts. No matter what happened, if there is a Will, there is Way. Life is full of surprises and our way of approaching them defines us. Timing doesn't always happen to our own schedule and that's why patience is the key. But remember, our time will come. When Times are hard, go easy on yourself. What you need most at this time is your own kindness and encouragement.

Have faith and belief in your connection/relationship with God. Have belief in your Worshiping that you have done in past and made an excellent relationship with God. Don’t doubt on HIS intentions. His meticulous plan of grace and abundance ALWAYS prevails. We should NEVER stop talking and serving the God that saves me and provides for all our needs. Practice attitude of gratitude daily. Like, I am grateful for being alive. I am grateful for my breath, to begin with…

Remember, there is a saying - “This too shall pass.” And, it’s true for both - just as the unpleasant things pass, so do the good things.

We have to enjoy our present moment – “The Gift of Today” and not worry about all the things that “could” happen.

I am true believer of “Whatever happens, happen for Good only”.

If your beliefs and confidence are strong enough, you can achieve something that is very difficult.

For every door that closes, there's a multitude of windows that are opened. What we do with those opportunities is up to us. We either go through a window or we wait for that door to open. Personally, I’d waste no time and take the window, while waiting for the next door to open.

The blessing will be there if you are open to finding it... staying calm. All that panic and worry, self-doubt can lead to missing that opportunity.

There is a saying – “New beginnings are disguised as painful endings” God is a good Leveller.

Find your Purpose of Life…

What is your Balanced Scorecard for Being Good Human?

2019-04-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

Balanced Scorecard for Being Good Human (BSBGH)

I will be turning 50 later this year and I keep pondering very often as to “How am I doing?"

I remember the famous phrase by Robert Frost –

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”

Sometimes I feel that life is both challenging and interesting as we need to play so many roles and juggle between them, and at the same time ensure that we do justice to all.

Balanced Scorecard for Being Good Human (BSBGH) is a Self-Evaluation Tool to measure how well am I performing the role of being Good Human Being.

BSBGH doesn’t have any criteria for the age, the earlier the better.

We can decide the frequency of arriving on the Score based on how well we are doing in our life and how often do we want to look back on how well we have performed on our plan (provided we have a plan). I would recommend to do once in a year. Our Birthday could be the best milestone to arrive on our BSBGH as every year on our birthday we get more wiser.

While I’m suggesting below mentioned criterias / parameters to measure BSBGH, you may feel free to include any parameter that doesn’t get covered or drop any parameter that may not be relevant for you. Also, you could define weightage to the below mentioned parameters / criterias depending upon your Purpose of Life.

Self:

What is my score on the what I have accomplished in my life for myself.

A desire “to become everything one is capable of becoming”

The System connects the dots between Big Picture Strategy Elements to behavior and attitude in our day-to-day life.

o Accomplishment of my Mission (my purpose)

o Architecture of my Vision (what we aspire for)

o Choice of Core Values (what we believe in)

o My Achievements in life (Results against desired level of Performance).

o My belief in Humanity

o My Education

o My Health

o My Wealth

o My Career Growth

o My Self-Growth / Self-Development

o My Self-belief

o My Positive Attitude

o My willingness to work hard

o My Time Management

o Am I contented?

o How Mature am I to deal with situations of uncertainty

o How well do I perform during a situation to manage Crisis

o My behavior with my Family, Friends and Society

o My belief in Religion

o My experience/experiences in Spirituality

o My Self-fulfillment

o My performance on Self-Actualization Needs

o etc…

· Family

o What are my accomplishments for my family

o How have I fared in maintaining Family Harmony

o My performance on dealing with my aging Parents

o My performance on my relationship with my Spouse

o Am I sensitive to my Spouse’s need and how often do I try to fulfill them

o My performance on upbringing of my children

§ Their Human Values

§ Their Education

§ Their Overall Development

§ Facilities

o Strike the right Balance between the role of a Parent and a Friend with my children

o What is the social status that I have created for my family

o How is my relationship with my in-Laws and Relatives

o Have I created sufficient wealth for my family so that they can peacefully live after my death

o etc…

· Friends

o My relationship with my Friends

o How often do I connect with my friends

o How much do I value Friendship

o How genuinely am I interested and willing to help my friends in their moments of sorrows and difficulties

o What are the sacrifices that I have made in my life for my true Friends

o How often do I take advice from my Friends or give advice to my Friends

o My Learning from my true friends

o etc…

Society

o What have I done for the Society – Am I good Samaritan?

o Am I a member of any Organization that serves the Society

o Do I get actively involved in initiatives for serving the Society – Health Check-ups, Yoga Camps, Eye check-up Camps, Blood Donation Camps, etc..

o How many times have I have donated blood in the blood donation camps

o Have I registered myself for donating my Organs

o How often do I “Give” to the needy and experience the Joy of Giving

o etc…

Environment

o My Contribution towards the Environment

o Do I contribute towards Re-use, Reduce and Re-cycle

o How many times would I have contributed for the Tree Plantation Drive

o Am I sensitive and contribute towards Water Conservation

o Do I use products enabled by Solar Energy

o Am I contributing to reduced usage of Paper

o Do I contribute to save Electricity

o etc…

BSBGH is closely aligned to our Existence and our Purpose of Life.

Our BSBGH will decide our Funeral Speech.

Evaluate your Balanced Score for Being Good Human (BSBGH) now!

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Accepting our Mortality

2018-12-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

Life is insecure. Security can only happen in death.

There is no security about life because however young and healthy we are we are going to die one day.

We have to die. We have a choice to “Die joyfully” or “Die crying”.

The fear of dying will not make us live longer, anyway, it will not avoid death.

Life is a bubble. We should consider that we are living on a daily basis as if forever.

Coming to terms with mortality is one very important thing. It will allow us to get rid of the feeling of security and insecurity. The fundamental awareness that we are mortal will allow us to put our life to best. Acceptance to inevitability of death can help teach us to live more fully in the here and now. In fact, consciousness of our mortality can enable us to cherish every moment of the life we have.

We came with nothing and we are going to go back with nothing. Which means, that we have nothing to lose. Whatever we achieve while we are alive makes us on profit side. These thoughts give us an opportunity to live a profound, intense and beautiful life. We have an opportunity to rise and shine while we are alive.

Everything that life gives us, we should take it sportingly. If we want to avoid life then we must die.

Let’s become seize-the-day person and use the time we have left well and ensure that we can live our life to fullest.

Let’s find our Purpose of Life and ensure to achieve the same before we die.
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Difference between Religion and Spirituality?

2018-02-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

The Oxford Dictionary defines Religion as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods”

The Oxford Dictionary defines Spirituality as “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”.

Telling people, you are spiritual but not religious is often greeted with a confused face. People tend to think of spirituality as something very strange and mysterious.

Religion describes the social, the public, and the organized means by which people relate the sacred and the divine while Spirituality describes such relations when they occur in private, personally, and even in ways.

Spirituality is perhaps the most natural thing. It is simply our own conscious self-recognizing that we are more than just a body, that we are a soul with infinite potential.

Religion and Spirituality are intertwined but quite different. Religion and Spirituality are not at odds with each other and have areas of historic and doctrinal overlap.

Religion is Spiritual and Spirituality is Religious.

Every Religion came by Spirituality, by the journey through which one person became God. Spirituality is a form of Religion, but a private and personal form of Religion. Thus, the valid distinction is between Spirituality and Organized Religion.

Religion implies participation in a communal practice and interpretation of divine belief and worship whereas Spirituality gives the individual autonomy over his or her interpretation of the soul or spirit.

Religion requires membership and embodies practices and beliefs shaped over the course of history.

Spirituality is a personal self-journey that connects one with a deeper meaning, without the clearer and more rigid boundaries of institutional religion.

Spirituality is born in a person and develops in the person. It may be kick started by a religion, or it may be kick started by a revelation. Spirituality extends to all facets of a person’s life.

Spirituality is chosen while Religion is often times forced or imposed.

Being Spiritual to me is more important and better than being Religious. Religion can be anything that the person practicing it desires.

Spirituality, on the other hand, is defined by God, is a manifestation of His nature.

Since Religion is man defined, Religion is a manifestation of the flesh.

· Religion brings in Fear, whereas, Spirituality is based on Love and helps us to be Brave

Religion tells you what to fear and tells you consequences.

Dotted throughout religion there is lots of fear. Fear of the consequences of your actions, fear of what might happen after you die if you don’t live your life accordingly.

Spirituality makes you aware of the consequences but doesn’t want you to focus on the fear. It shows you How to Stand Despite Being Afraid, how to move on doing what you feel it’s right despite the consequences that may come. It shows you how to act on love and not on fear, it shows you how to control fear and use the best of it.

It truly sets you free to be the best you can be and to be a good person with no promise of punishment or reward. The reward is simply your own inner happiness.

Well, with spirituality there is only Love, it encourages you to focus all of your energy only on the good, and to act only based on love.

This is a key point for me as any choice made out of fear will not be good for your soul. Whereas decisions made out of love will empower you, make you braver and feed your soul.

· Religion Makes You to Follow, whereas, Spirituality Sets You Free

Religion tells you to follow an ideology and obey certain rules or you’ll be punished otherwise. Spirituality lets you Follow Your Heart and What You Feel It’s Right. It sets you free to be what you truly are without bowing to anything that doesn’t resonate as right with you nor to anyone because we are all one. It is all up to you to choose what you’ll honor enough to make it divine.

There are no rules to Spirituality. As opposed to following a specific ideology or a set of rules spirituality simply lets you follow your heart, it encourages you to listen to your intuition and do what is right for yourself and others around you.

· Religion Tells us the Truth, whereas, Spirituality Lets us Discover the Truth

Religion tells you what to believe and what is right. Spirituality lets you discover it by yourself and understand it in your own unique way. It lets you Connect with Your Higher Self and see with your own mind what truth is, because the truth as a whole is same for each one of us. It lets you believe in your own truth through your own perception of your heart.

As opposed to telling you in black and white how the universe was created and why we are here, Spirituality lets you discover these questions and answers for yourself.

It empowers you to find your own truth in all things and sets no limits to how deep you can go in understanding all there is to know.

· Religion Separates from Other Religions, whereas, Spirituality Unites Them

Through our world there are many religions and they all preach that their story is the right story.

Spirituality sees the truth in all of them and unites them because the truth is same for all of us despite our differences and uniqueness. It focuses on the quality of the divine message they share and not on the differences in details of the story they speak.

· Religion makes us Dependent, whereas, Spirituality makes us Independent

If you attend religious events only then you are seen as a religious person and someone who is worthy of happiness. Spirituality shows you that you don’t need or depend on anything to be happy.

Happiness is always found deep in ourselves and only we are responsible for it. We are always where we need to be and not just while attending at some events or buildings. Divinity is in us and that is why we are always worthy.

· Religion talks about Punishment, whereas, Spirituality Applies Karma

Religion says that if we don’t obey certain rules there is punishment that awaits us which relies on our belief.

Spirituality lets us understand that every action has its reaction and realize that the punishment of our actions will be the reaction coming from the actions we set in motion. It relies solely on the fundamental forces of The Universe and it doesn’t need you to believe in that force to be true.

Instead of talking about punishment or the threat of hell, Spirituality only talks about Karma.

It’s the Law of Attraction — you get what you give. Simple.

· Religion makes us follow Other’s Journey, whereas, Spirituality lets us create our Own Journey

The foundation of one religion is the story it tells about a God or Gods, their journey to enlightenment and the truth they have discovered making you follow their steps. Spirituality lets you Walk Your Own Journey to Enlightenment and discover the truth in your own way following what your heart tells it’s right because the truth is always the same no matter how you get to it.

Instead of ancient stories about angels and Gods, spirituality encourages you to make your own path and create your own stories. This sets you on a journey of enlightenment and self-discovery to which the only limits can be set by yourself.

It encourages you to trust your heart and follow it wherever it may lead you.

Identify your “Purpose of Life” and choose your preferred path of Religion or Spirituality!!!

If I had 24 Hours to Live…

2018-01-22T06:13:00.003-08:00

If You Had Only 24 Hours to Live, How Would You Live Them?

If I Had 24 Hours to Live, I would…

I would spend time with all my loved ones and cherish each moment I have with them. I would also make sure they know how much I love them.
Spend time with people who have made the most impact on my life.
I would make sure my funeral expenses were paid and that my will was clear to avoid any inconvenience to my family.
Serve God and all others for last 24 hours.
Make sure I repent of my sins and establish a clean slate with God, so I can make it in to the pearly gates.
Tell people what you never had a chance to say in-person.
Do what I always wanted to do but never had a chance.
Go totally crazy.
Travel as much as I can.
Be normal. Live today as you’ve always lived.
I would be at my home with my parents and family members and would have set a cam to record last day of my life and would ask my parents to post it on YouTube or somewhere on eternal and infinite internet. Because I would want to leave something that will make you feel how short is life for all the nonsense other than spending time with people you love.

I’m sure, you also would have a similar response as mentioned above with same variant. May be altogether different response.

It actually doesn’t matter…

To summarize…

Don’t wait for your last 24 Hours as you will never come to know about your last day.

Live Everyday as your Last Day…

Live a full day, every day, so the last day is no big deal…

Don’t wait for the last day to Identify Your Purpose of Life…

Live every day to its fullest…

Shed your Ego…

Clarify any indifference that you had with your friends or family…

Do kind things for people…

Love with every fiber of your being…

Help whenever help is needed…

Restore others’ faith in humanity…

Thank God for your Blessings…
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The Power of Meditation...

2017-09-17T07:42:00.003-07:00

The World we live in today has heavy information overload.

From the evolutionary standpoint, we were never meant to spend this much time indoors or staring at computer screens. To add to that, we also have our life to deal with.

There are continuous thoughts that keep our mind busy:

Worrying about what we have to do for the day
Worrying about tomorrow
Worrying about what happened yesterday
Opinions on the article we just read
Opinions on somebody’s tweet
Status Updates on Facebook
etc…

The list really does go on and on... It’s pretty much endless…

Imagine if we had a vehicle that we drive continually, and we never did any maintenance on it and every night somebody else took it and drove it all night. Eventually, it would break down much faster.

Similarly, our brains are kind of the same way. They weren’t possibly meant for never-ending thoughts. Even when we sleep we are still thinking.

Meditation on the Heart

When we apply our consciousness to learn about ourselves, it is as if our thoughts and feelings are separate.

When we meditate on the heart, we feel one with nature and develop intuitive understanding. Meditation heals and transforms us.

Why Meditate?

Regular practice of meditation has the following benefits:

· Improved quality of life

· Stress relief

· Better quality of sleep

· Stimulation of the immune system

· Greater concentration

Meditation is either going thoughtless or focusing on a single idea/thought while still being aware of your surroundings.

Four States of Human Awareness:

Jagruti: The waking state of consciousness

Swapna: The dreaming state of consciousness

Sushupti: The state of deep sleep in which the mind, the ego and superego are still

Turya: The state of thoughtless awareness beyond the mind

Significance of Thoughtlessness

"All that happens in the thoughtless state is enlightened. Light never talks. If you switch on the light in the room, the light won't speak or give you any ideas. It would just make everything visible. The same is true about the light of thoughtlessness.

First become thoughtless and then doubtless. Then all your doubts go and you know that there is some power that works. It works very fast and is all-subtle. You will be amazed how it happens. This is also about time. I never look at a watch. But my real watch is in the thoughtlessness.

A thoughtless mind can be incredibly powerful in so many areas of your life. Have you ever noticed when you stop thinking about a problem, a few hours later you have the solution?

A thoughtless mind enables some of the most creative things we will ever do.

Thoughtless Awareness Meditation

When there is no thought in mind, that is the state of thoughtlessness or void (Shoonya).

One can be in thoughtless state without awareness, for example when one is in a dreamless sleep or in a coma.

When the state of thoughtlessness or void (Shoonya) is coupled with “conscious attention”/awareness of this state, it is called thoughtless awareness.

Thus, thoughtless awareness is the combination of a thoughtless mind and awareness (conscious attention) of this thoughtless state.

As per yoga, this is considered to be the highest stage of meditation.

Adi Guru Shankaracharya proclaimed, “Achintaiva Parama Dhyana” – to be in thoughtless awareness is the highest stage of meditation.

Buddha was asked: “What have you gained from Meditation?” He replied: “Nothing.”
“However”, Buddha said, “let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old Age and Death.”
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One Wish...

2016-05-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

If you could wave a magic wand and be granted just one wish, what would it be?

And what if rather than a magic wand, you simply needed to present that request to God, with the guarantee that it would be given to you, with the basic assumption, that the wish will not involve something sinful or harmful to others.

For whom would you ask that wish, for…?

· Yourself

· Family

· Friends

· Society

What will you ask?

· Money

· Power

· Material

· Health

· Wisdom

· Fame

· Joy

· Love

· Peace

· Celebration

· Eternal/Spiritual Peace

· Enlightenment

· Childhood

Well, if you could answer the above two questions and identify your only one wish; it is evident that you are well aware of your Purpose of Life.

If you are unable to decide your only one wish, it’s time to revisit your Purpose of Life…
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Seek Joy, not just Happiness!

2015-12-25T03:49:00.001-08:00

Happiness is an emotion in which we experience feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense pleasure.

Whereas, Joy is a stronger, less common feeling than happiness.

We can get happy but we can’t stay happy.

I have heard people saying "I just want to be happy!" They believe that happiness is something that can be achieved and held on to it. We look forward to that time in which we can finally be happy, but it continually recedes. When we are in High School, we think, "If we can just graduate then we will be happy." Graduation, however, is not fulfilling, and we decide "If we go to college then life will be better". But a college education does not bring happiness. Maybe it will come upon finding the right job, or getting married, or having children, or retiring. The goal remains elusive. The "happiness that lasts" is never found because it is actually impossible to get happy and stay happy.

If life is based on obtaining happiness then we will always fall short because life is always changing.

Joy connects us to the creative power - It is far better to seek Joy. Joy is related to happiness, but it is a deeper experience. In the search for happiness the individual focuses upon himself, but joy moves a person out of a self-centered preoccupation and provides an orientation towards others. Joy is an experience which connects us to that which is "Greater" than we are. Joy connects us to the creative power that is more than the "I" or ego. Joy gets us out of ourselves and gets us in contact with others. If we are willing to give up the search for Happiness, we may find Joy.

· Happiness is based on an experience or other external stimulus. For instance, getting engaged to be married may result in happiness.
Joy is based on internal well-being or the anticipation of well-being.

· When happiness is present, it is larger than life. Nothing seems better or worthy of attention but happiness is fickle. Happiness also tends to disappear when the situation changes. Joy is constant.

· Happiness can be described as an emotion. Joy is more properly related to a state of one’s being.

· Happiness depends on external factors to exist. Happiness happens to us. Even though we may seek it, desire it, pursue it. Feeling happy is not a choice we make. Joy, on the other hand, is a choice purposefully made. It is an attitude of the heart and spirit, present inside of us as an untapped reservoir of potential.

· Happiness is achieved with five course meal. Joy is realizing that we have access to food and water, all the time.

· Happiness is feeling the sunshine on a beautiful day. Joy is acknowledging that the Sun is always there, even when it’s cloudy.

· Happiness is winning an award or getting a raise. Joy is waking up every morning and doing what you love.

· Happiness comes and goes. Joy comes and goes, but it's always a choice.

· Happiness is a wish. Joy is a practice.

· Happiness is an emotion in which one experience feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense pleasure. Joy is a stronger, less common feeling than happiness. Witnessing or achieving selflessness to the point of personal sacrifice frequently triggers this emotion

· Happiness is caused by earthly experiences and material objects. Joy comes from Spiritual experiences, caring for others, gratitude, thankfulness, etc…

· Happiness is outward expression of elation. Joy is inward peace and contentment.

· Happiness is temporary as it is based on outward circumstances. Joy is lasting as it is based on inward circumstances.

Ways to seize Joy:

·         Choosing to Smile
·         Meditation and Imagining
·         Positive Thinking
·         Feeling Grateful
·         Notice Immediate Surroundings
·         Become Active and Support others

Appreciate Happiness and Live Joy!
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My Expectations from Others...

2015-06-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

“When expectations rule our lives, we setup ourselves for disappointment”

Most of the disappointment, hurt, and anger in this World come from someone not meeting our expectations, either someone else’s or our own.

Sometimes we expect too much from our spouse, our children, our jobs, and ourselves. When our expectations are unrealistic, instead of inspiring greatness with the high bar we’ve set, we’re more likely to foster disappointment and resentment.

It isn’t that we shouldn’t ever have high expectations; it’s just that we need to be aware of how our expectations can sometimes make us unhappy.

“Low expectations can be a key to happiness.”

How often do we face these situations?

When I’m driving to work, I expect that people will stop at red lights and go on green.
I expect that most of my coworkers will come to work on a workday.
I expect that I will get help from other people during the day as I help other people whenever they need help.
I expect a perfect job & a perfect spouse.
I expect my friendships to be reciprocal - give and take.
I expect Life should be just like the movies
I am a huge giver and anticipator of the needs of others. This feeling comes from a very deep need for connection.
My friend/spouse simply does not show it and I end up feeling sad, disappointed and angry that he/she does not meet my expectations.

Our “Expectations” are a product of our upbringing and our values that we bring to the relationship.

Often we tend to believe that the way we treat others should the way we are treated in return. But, unfortunately, this does not always happen.

I used to have expectations of the people that worked for me. I expected them to come to work every day, get to work on time, work diligently throughout the day, take breaks and lunches at the designated times, do what I told them to do exactly how and when I told them to do it.

Whenever they did not meet my expectations, I felt angry and disappointed (which was actually waste of time and energy). Anyone who didn’t meet my expectations was defective. What I wanted was perfection. And then I realized that perfection was really just “my way of doing things”.

We need to realize that our expectations cannot change people. Even if they will, what is the effort, energy and heartburns that will get consumed from either side.

If you do not have expectations, you can never be disappointed.

Communicate your Expectations – Share your expectations openly and honestly with your partner. Don’t end yourself up in a situation - “but she/he should have known”.

The most important part of being in a healthy relationship is good communication.

Most people are not mind readers and the expectation that our friend/partner should “just know” what we want, is going to leave us feel disappointed.

Communicate at the right time - Sharing expectations timely could prevent much sorrows and heartburns. We just can’t assume that our partner is on the same page.

We really need to talk, may be not on the first date, but as soon as we think that our partner is relationship material. I remember one couple that I worked with who divorced.

She assumed they would have children and he didn’t want children but none of them communicated their expectations timely.

Adjusting Your Expectations

Decide what is reasonable.
Tone down Your Expectations. Eliminate the word “should” and choose –“I would prefer”. None of us can control other people, try as we might. People behave the way they behave for their own reasons.
Recognize limitations. Try to identify the limitations or problems that the other person might be facing. It’s also possible that they might have a different agenda than meeting your expectations. Relationships have their limitations. Marital research shows that 69% of relationship issues are basically unsolvable and perpetual. Wise couples accept this and find ways to live around the issues, rather than engaging in constant conflict.
Be tolerant of other’s views. Respect other’s point of view. People rarely behave exactly the way you want them to. Hope for the best, but expect less.
Explore alternative ways to get your Expectations met. Take responsibility for your own needs and find workable and acceptable ways of satisfying them.
Change Your Expectations - By maintaining an accurate awareness of our own realities, we become capable to determine what is truly expected from others.

“There are two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations.”

Accepting the Reality: Acceptance is an amazing trait that needs to be actively worked toward. When things do not work out the way we had planned, it is much more beneficial to realize the reality/actuality rather than becoming frustrated about the situation.

Have hope rather than expectations and you will tend not to get disappointed.

An unfortunate pitfall of having high expectations in certain circumstances is that we prevent ourselves from enjoying the experience altogether. If you feel this way in your life, you need to readjust/recalibrate your expectations. Do not expect things out of situations; just go into them with an open mind. This will allow you to fully immerse yourself without the pressure of living up to preconceived notions.

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My Expectations from Myself…

2015-05-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

What do I Expect from Myself?

How much do I expect from Myself?

Expectations are Premeditated Resentments!

Are we living our life based on expectations that we have from ourselves?

What is my "Expectation" from myself on my "Achievements" in life - Is it calibrated based on the “Capabilities” that I possess?

What will be my funeral speech?

We all are living a life of uncertainty, wherein, expectation is what is considered the most likely to happen. Importantly, an Expectation, which is a belief that is centered on the future, may or may not be realistic. A less advantageous result gives rise to the emotion of disappointment. If something happens that is not at all expected, it is a surprise, which may be positive or negative.

Higher Expectations: If we are expecting too much from ourselves then we will always be unhappy and demotivated in life, irrespective of our achievements and accomplishments. This, certainly, is an undesirable situation or state to be in, as we will continue to curse ourselves no matter what we have achieved in our life.

Lower Expectations: On the contrary, if we have lower expectations from ourselves, then we will be satisfied with whatever little we have achieved in life. This may result into a situation where we may not be able to unleash our capabilities and may not be able to achieve possible outcomes based on our capabilities.

Strike the Right Balance: We need to strike the right balance between our Expectations from ourselves and our Capabilities to ensure that we don’t get Disappointed.

Importantly, we could choose a step-wise methodology to keep our Expectations in permissible levels and achieve rolling milestones/targets based on our Capabilities to give us satisfaction in life. Thereafter, after having enjoyed success, we should raise the bar of expectations from ourselves to ensure that we are continuously aspiring for more and growing. Therefore, we keep enjoying and celebrating the achievements and accomplishments intermittently and continue to get positive vibes in life. Therefore, we continue to raise our bars of expectations to ensure that don’t get stagnant and keep growing continually.

“WHAT” are our Expectations in the areas of -

1. Health

2. Wealth

3. Work/Career/Profession

4. Self Esteem / Spirituality

“FOR WHOM” do we need to set our Expectations -

1. Self

2. Family

3. Friends

4. Society

5. Environment

Importantly, we need to ensure that the process of setting Expectations for Ourselves must be aligned to our "Purpose of Life".

Make sure that your Expectations from yourself are Realistic!!!
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Turn your Dream Life into Reality!

2014-10-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

Start Dreaming, follow your Dreams & turn them into Reality!!!

Are you dreaming enough?

Are you dreaming the right dreams?

Do you follow them?

Pick the appropriate Dream!

Ensure to turn them into reality!

If you are dreaming the right dream, your dream and aspirations should be strong enough to make your journey as seductive as the destination!

Dreams and Aspirations are greatest motivators and means of achieving goals.

Our dream should be such a compelling motivator that we should be seduced into working towards it. In this way, we would enjoy the journey as well as the destination. If you have a dream and you are following to make it come true then the action plan doesn’t necessarily is “Must Do” rather it becomes a “Love To Do!”

Imagine waking up with the life you’ve always dreamt of - Be it a better physique, Climbing a mountain, Writing a book, Earning money or success, Gaining power, Becoming a world-class sports person, Achieving strong purpose in our life or To be World’s best home maker!

We all need motivation to achieve anything. Our determination to fulfill our dreams will provide the required motivation. If the motivation isn’t strong enough, it means the dream is not compelling enough; we are probably dreaming the wrong dream!

When motivation is strong we create our own sets of rules and routes towards it. This is a form of self-discipline that is pleasurable and welcome. When we give up a beaten track and choose to be our own drummer, we have a greater responsibility towards ourselves…

Here are some easy steps; just follow them…

1. Identify the right dream

While identifying the right dream sounds obvious but many of us struggle with this. We often struggle with the temptation of finding the perfect/ideal dream which can often paralyze us. Remember, this isn’t a one-time deal; it’s a continuous process or a journey. Just choose one and make that decision now!

2. We need to commit to our dream

Now that we have chosen our dream; we need to commit to the same. Therefore, we need to take actions to fulfill our chosen dream.

We need to identify steps or action to fulfill our dream. Create step-by-step plan and create monthly milestones broken down into weekly deliverables and then finally breaking those down into our daily tasks.

3. Let’s follow our dream

This is the most exciting phase – we need to be determined to follow our plan. Everyday, no matter what we do, we need to follow and implement our daily tasks that’ll bring us closer to our dream.

It’s not going to be easy so make sure we don’t make mistakes and don’t give-up half-way.

4. Work Hard Party Harder – Let’s Celebrate

When we achieve our dream, we must reward ourselves. We should take time to enjoy that fulfilling moment and should appreciate ourselves. This will give us more confidence, enthusiasm and motivation to chase for our next dream.

Based on experiences, our dreams get bigger and bigger as we begin to achieve them.

Life will start looking to be much better when we wake up every day and all we will be doing is chasing to make our dreams into reality!

What are we waiting for?

Choose your dream now!

Follow your dream

Go ahead and Seize your Rainbow!!!

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