Looking at Possibilities

While doing my MOOC with Coursera on Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence*, Prof. Richard Boyatzis, the Course Instructor shared with us a host of videos that were inspiring. Of it all, the one that captured my attention and being was that of a YouTube video on Under Four Trees – a school that was started by Mrs. Zikhali for a small community in Nkomo Primary School in rural KwaZulu Natal, Mnqobokazi, South Africa. The amazing project is sure to leave you inspired. Do watch this link below – and if you are in the field of education, this is a must watch.

To me it focused on two things:The power education can wield even making the poorest of the poor, rich.Passion for what one does can convert all of the problems into possibilities.

Two wonderful lessons. It is not that these are eureka moments – it has always been there. However, when one sees the fruits of the events through videos and films, it conveys home a very strong message, and encompasses you with an unshakable faith that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. 

When Nomusa Haslot Zikhali, the Principal, reached Mnqobokazi to start the school, she was flabbergasted. There were no buildings. No resources. Just a wild field replete with undergrowth and bushes. The challenges were too many. Inclement weather. Rains that would make the stream they had to cross overflow with water. Crocodiles in the stream. Dust laden winds. Parents wanting their children to look after cattle or even younger siblings. And that was when she decides to move closer to the community and set up the school. She had to go from home to home in the community to impress upon them the need to educate their children. Her passion to educate these children weighed high than the troubles and travails.

In spite of that, in January 1999, there were just 10 children ready to join the school. And where was the school started? Under Four Trees!!! Each class – Classes 1 ,2, and 3 were allotted one tree each and the fourth one was Mrs. Zikhali’s office. As an educator, I am ashamed to say that I would have given up and just left the place for greener pastures. I am sure 99% of us educators would have done that. But not, Mrs. Zikhali. She persisted. And converted every problem into a possibility. The government did send other teachers to start the school, but they all gave up. Mrs. Zikhali on the other hand took the challenge head on. Thus from a one-teacher-220-student school, Nkomo Primary School has moved into another league now: 900 students and 23 teachers. Eight classrooms. And plenty of support from Africa Foundation to raise money for infrastructure.

Another challenge Mrs. Zikhali had to face was the presence of most vulnerable children in her school – whom she calls Child-headed Households, a chilling euphemism for those whose both parents were dead. Her school now has 153 of them – i.e. 17% of the under-13. To persist under these challenging and emotionally draining circumstances requires determination and the keen desire to make a difference in these students’ lives, which she had in plenty.  Her inspirational tale of nurturing, educating and transforming has been made into a movie called Under Four Trees by filmmakers Suzanne Cross and John Simpson.

Inspirational Leader

Thank you Mrs. Zikhali for teaching me some very crucial lessons. The best one I will cherish and practice is to convert every problem into a possibility! If we look for solutions we can think creatively and find a way or two. However, many of us look only at the problems and therefore the possibility of a solution is just not there in the vicinity or in the periphery. May your tribe increase and be beacons that will enlighten the path of many educators like me.

Resources:
1. Mrs. Zikhali’s photograph from http://underfourtrees.co2. http://bit.ly/14THso9

[* I wrote about being a fan of online learning vide my post http://bit.ly/18t4aUI. Am delighted to get a certificate signed by Prof. Richard Boyatzis, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio and to have completed it with 84.5%. If you have never tried a MOOC, please do it today!  ]

Gearing for 2012

2012 is almost there...knocking at our doors. We are at the threshold of a brand new year... It’s time for new beginnings, revivals and renewals.

Looking back at 2011, one has to admit that it goes in India’s history as a year that saw us slipping into the stigma of a corrupt nation, for scams galore benumbed us. We also saw the Anna phenomenon unfold! Thanks to social and online networking, we hope the political class will be a lot wearier of us – common people! 

Notwithstanding these turmoils, how can we make the year one with a difference? I am going to tread these nurturing paths so that each day, I become a better individual.

Meditation:

Invest 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes just before going to bed on Meditation. In the first week of December 2011, I got access to a wonderful meditation that has kept me sane and healthy amid the frenetically paced life. I am resolute about continuing this in 2012 as I find myself rooted in peace (amid the chaos around!) and my pre-hypertension reading have stabilized to a healthy 120/70. Meditation has long been considered one of the finest practices to gain peace & clarity of mind along with its other therapeutic benefits. What ancient rishis and seers practiced ages ago has been confirmed by modern science to be a potent tool in quietening the mind and its constant chatter.  To those of you who would like to start the New Year with the remarkable benefits one can offer oneself, please visit http://www.ishafoundation.org/Ishakriya. The tagline of the free meditation cannot be more apt: Be, Breathe, Blossom!

Gratitude:

Keep a Gratitude Journal. It is always easy to find fault with everything around us. Pause and ponder... we are sure to find countless blessings that have come our way. In fact the most difficult people in our lives happen to also be our best teachers, in retrospection. Today’s obstacles will no doubt seem to us as fine opportunities, five years from now. So instead of focussing on the troubles and imaginary fears, let us focus on the bounties we have.   It would be a great idea to write down in a note pad 5 blessings of the day, before we go to sleep. This has manifold effects as the subconscious mind registers the gratefulness. Researchers have found that when we think about someone or something we really appreciate and experience the feeling that goes with the thought, the parasympathetic – calming-branch of the autonomic nervous system – is triggered. This pattern when repeated bestows a protective effect on the heart.

Smile:

Smile a lot. A smile induces warmth in the beholder’s heart. Frequent smiling is indeed therapeutic in its effect on the body & mind. Besides it is so contagious that it can even uplift the overwhelmed and depressed. It improves appearances and makes people look younger & attractive. It is mood changing and is an instant stress buster. Research has shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good and therefore happier. Smiling therefore is a natural drug.

Mindfulness:

Seize the moment – Carpe diem, they say. Being mindful is focusing on the present moment. Many a time we are engulfed in the ruminations & regrets of the past and worries & anxieties of the future. Hence we are unable to live in the present. When you are mindful, you look at yourself in a non judgemental way. You realize that you are not your thoughts. You become an observer of your thoughts – you neither grasp them nor push them away. Thankfully, the meditation that I do is aiding me superbly in this process. The venerable Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh advocates practicing mindfulness of ourselves and others – mindful acts cultivate understanding, love, compassion, and joy. In our strife ridden world this is a panacea.

Forgiveness:

Forgive others and more importantly yourself. Many a time we make mistakes. Others make mistakes. Push comes to shove, we are easy on forgiving others but quite harsh on ourselves. We need to let go of our grudges and bitterness, and embrace peace, hope, gratitude & joy. Embracing forgiveness is a clear way forward. If we probe further, it is the perfectionist in us that wants us never to make mistakes. Weed out this disease. It can cause guilt, rigidity, pessimism, low self esteem and obsessive compulsive behaviour in us. To overcome this we need to acknowledge that we are liable to make mistakes. We need to forgive ourselves for our mistakes. Backsliding is just not the end of the world – we can always pick ourselves up and start all over again. In this sense every mistake is a profound learning experience.

Exercise:

Go for walks. Do back stretches to ward off aches & pains. I aim to go for a 30-minute walk everyday plus do the stretches recommended by my orthopaedist. I have the benefit of a huge park nearby where I stay. So there is no reason why I should be lax on these, given the benefits of one of the most inexpensive yet easiest & effective of exercises. Besides making me physically fit, it will also promote better sleep.

Hydrotherapy:

Drink lots of water. In fact I start my day by drinking 3-4 glasses of water. The elixir of life is by far the best liquid to intake. Dr. Batmanghelidj who is the author of “Water for Health, for Healing, for Life” is also the founder of the National Association for Honesty in Medicine and author of, “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water”, in his interview with Mike Adams speaks eloquently about the healing power of water. I find drinking 8-10 glasses of water everyday very energising.

These and other good practices that I indulge in like doing Reiki, reading plenty of inspirational literature and regular prayers will also keep me in good stead through 2012.

Do you have any nurturing practice to share??? 

I give thee Thanks!!!

Today is Thanksgiving Day – a day that falls on the fourth Thursday of every November. After over four centuries, the long weekend celebrations in the US have emerged into a many-million-dollar industry now with its effect cascading as ripples onto the other parts of the globe.

The concise Oxford dictionary of Etymology defines thanks as “a kindly thought, favour, gratitude, expression of gratitude” and has Old English þancian origins.  

Happiness research is unprecedented in troubled times like ours and the key word in this research is “gratitude” – thankfulness. The pioneers in this research are Robert Emmons and Mike McCullough. Psychologists working at the University of California and Miami respectively, both have been collaborators at many happiness research projects. According to them the “forgotten factor” in happiness research is gratitude or thankfulness. The Scottish philosopher Thomas Brown had earlier defined gratitude as "the delightful emotion of love to him who has conferred a kindness on us, the very feeling of which is itself no small part of the benefit conferred."

Though contemporary French philosopher André Comte-Sponville (2001) pointed out, gratitude is “the most pleasant of the virtues and the most virtuous of the pleasures” (p. 132), gratitude had never been studied seriously by scientific psychologists. This prompted Emmons to probe into this act of pleasure in receiving and soon discovered that gratitude is a deep complex phenomenon, plays a critical role in one’s sense of happiness and can measurably change people’s lives. In his book Thanks: How the New Science of Gratitude can make you Happier, Emmons says how he and McCollough together through their collaborative project discovered scientific proof that if we practice regular and systematic gratitude, it brings about remarkable psychological and physiological benefits.

So what makes us get the benefits of gratitude? Researchers have found that the very thought of thankfulness triggers the parasympathetic i.e. calming branch of the autonomic nervous system. When this trigger keeps repeating, it gifts a protective effect on the heart. This results in the emergence of positive emotions and can even reduce hypertension and heart ailments. The more we pause to appreciate and show caring and compassion, the more order and coherence we experience internally. In A Different Kind of Health: Finding Well-Being despite Illness, Blair Justice says when our hearts are in an "internal coherence state," studies suggest that we enjoy the capacity to be peaceful and calm and at the same time retain the ability to respond appropriately to stressful circumstances.

Gratitude, then, can be a total body experience and beyond - meaning the deepest and widest gratitude comes from the soul and that part of the brain - the amygdala - that registers "soul" experiences. So when we look at snow-capped peaks or golden beaches or the Milky Way at a moonless night, our souls sing and our bodies are suffused with streams of dopamine and serotonin, the gifts of gratitude. In short, feeling gratitude and appreciation on a regular basis helps heal us at every level of our being.

In an experimental comparison by Emmons & McCollough, it was found that those who kept gratitude journals were happier, healthier and felt good about life. So gratitude is really good for you! Moreover, if you are happy and cheerful faced, you are sure to earn better opportunities than your dour faced co-workers. Your interpersonal relationships will also perk up giving you an innate sense of goodwill and accomplishment. Give continuously and gratefully placing yourself in the flow of life. Such a person generates a lot of gratitude which in turn attracts all people around to do the same. Imagine the joy of working amid such a crowd! :)

 How can you practice gratitude? Here are some simple doable tips:

·         Keep a gratitude journal and list on a daily basis everything you are thankful for.

·         Write a thank you note to anyone in your life who deserves a pat on the back.

·         Begin and end each day by thinking of five things you are grateful for.

·         Appreciate family and friends on a regular basis.

·         When things go your way, smile and be thankful for them.

·        Enjoy the beautiful sunrise, the food that you eat, the water that you drink, the air that you breathe, the colours you see, the music you hear ... all those things that you take so much for granted!

So instead of celebrating a long weekend of thanksgiving, let us make every single day of ours one of gratitude & thanksgiving.

I am starting a gratitude journal today. How about you???

Sources:

T. F. Hoad "thank." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996.  Encyclopedia.com.  <http://www.encyclopedia.com>

Thanks: How the New Science of Gratitude can make you Happier; by Robert A Emmons, Ph.D. 2007

A Different Kind of Health: Finding Well-Being despite Illness, by Blair Justice, pp. 100-101. 1998

Celebrate the Miracle - YOU!

 

Life is full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows. It is but natural for us to feel happy when things are bright and cheerful and sad when things look bleak. It is also true that when we are happy the world smiles with us and when we are sad, we cry alone. So, how do we lift ourselves out of doom and despair? Be BRAVE ...

(B) Be Our Own Cheer leader

The first thing we need to do is to be our own cheerleader. We can't expect others to cheer and encourage us all the time. So let us do it for ourselves. We owe it to us. Keep smiling. Forget the past. Don't worry about the future. Forget about personalizing things and issues. Filter criticism. Look at the world with a sense of wonder. Be genuine and authentic.

(R) Read something Positive & Uplifting

Research has always proved the impact of reading something uplifting. It helps one to be cheerful and happy. Books like The Alchemist and The Secret actually burst with optimism. "When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true." These words echo throughout the novel The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. So what is it we want to welcome into our life? Whatever we want is possible, provided we pursue our dreams, work towards it and inspire ourselves.

(A) Affirm, Affirm, Affirm!!!

When we cultivate a positive mindset and supplement them with affirmations, the positive vibes tend to naturally attract not only positive people but also positive situations. Affirmations help in creating a positive thinking pattern and mindset in us. The 19th century self-help author Émile Coué has contributed the famous affirmation "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better." Use positive affirmations. Write them, believe in and repeat them. Set apart a specific time for them.

(V) Visualize, meditate

Creative visualization is the art of seeking to alter our outer world through changing one's thoughts and to realize one's goals.  A book of the same name by Shakti Gawain contains meditations and exercises that are aimed at helping the practitioner channel energies in good directions, strengthen self-esteem, improve overall health, and experience deep relaxation. According to her, creative visualization is such an innately powerful process that even five minutes of conscious, positive meditation can balance out hours, days, even years of negative patterns.

(E) Enthuse

The word enthusiasm is from the Greek entheos and means God in us. Enthusiasm is contagious and creative. It infuses passion into whatever we are doing. It turns a ho-hum life into a rip-roaring adventure. It fuels life and success and is most powerful. If  we embrace it it is ours. And who does not like being a midst enthusiastic people? How can we enthuse? By being grateful, proactive, responsible, evolving, and by having fun.

“Daring enthusiasm and abiding cheerfulness
Can accomplish everything on earth
Without fail.” ~ Sri Chinmoy ~

To be BRAVE in this way, we need to realize our self worth, our uniqueness. Let each one of us celebrate the miracle that is us! This transcript from a  wonderful CD titled Love Now,   by Kute Blackson, the transformational  life coach, captures this exclusivity in a matchless way.(www.kuteblackson.com)

"When you were first conceived, you were a double strand of DNA in a fertilized ovum. Dividing 50 times, and you had over 100 trillion cells. More than all the stars in the Milky Way. Then, you were born into existence.

Each of your cells do over six trillion things per second. Just think how a human body knows how to kill germs, digest, make babies, and talk, all at the same time.

The miracle is you.
The miracle is you.
Your heart beats 101,000 times per day.
During your life it will beat 300 million times.
Each day you take 23,000 breaths.
Your blood travels 60,000 miles each day on its journey through the body.
25 million cells are being produced in your body each second.
You blink at least 15,000 times per day.
Your brain has about 100 billion nerve cells.
If all your DNA was stretched out it would reach the moon 6000 times.
You shed 600,000 particles of skin every hour.
Your bones are four times stronger than concrete.
Your eyes can distinguish up to one million colour surfaces, and take in more information than the largest telescope in the world.
Your lungs inhale over two million litres of air daily.
When you touch anything, a message is sent to your brain at 124 mph.
Your skin consists of 280,000 heat receptors.
The length of your blood vessels would circle the globe 2½ times.
You have the ability to distinguish up to 10,000 different smells.
Your tongue has over 10,000 taste buds.

The miracle is you.
The miracle is you.

Listen to the music.
Listen to the music.
Deep inside.

Listen to the music.
Listen to the music.
Deep inside.

There are universes dancing inside your body.
There are sunsets shining in your heart.
There are symphonies playing in your toes.
Rivers of blood effortlessly flows.
There is a full moon beaming in your belly button.
There is a cool breeze blowing in your lungs.
There is a gentle rain that falls from your eyes.
There is an army of love in every step.
There is love making in your every motion.

A body of devotion.

The miracle is you.
The miracle is you.

So realize.
Visualize.
It’s all inside.

A galaxy of amazement.

Should you ever forget.
Just close your eyes.
And

Listen to the music.
Listen to the music.
Deep inside.

Listen to the music.
Listen to the music.
Deep inside.

The miracle is you.
The miracle is you."

Aren't you a Miracle? :-)))

Photo credit: Aathira Perinchery.

Anything is Possible

As an educator, one quote I have always had on my soft board is “Anything is possible.” And while I meticulously worked at making everything possible, there were times when I did not succeed. More so in the last two years.... I have led gypsy-like existences, much to the consternation of all those who know me – family, friends and professionals.  Moved from one to another, and “the rolling stone” was not viewed very kindly! The ‘dis’-ease manifested physically and vortex of emotional turmoil totally churned my inner being.

The transformation opened newer possibilities – I learned to forgive myself and others; I learned to accept the things as they are; I learned not to judge anybody or anything; and most importantly got over my obsession with perfectionism. This journey of insight made me realize that striving for perfection is like a two-edged weapon - irrational on one side and inhibitive on the other.

It also dawned on me that we need to forgive ourselves for our mistakes and failings. We have always been conditioned to look down upon failure as something that is worthy of punishment – not only by others, but also by us! This “F” word sets off a trigger that makes us reactive, not responsive. The result – failure reframed and I learned what failure-resiliency is all about. When I knew deep within me that I can always bounce back, I learned to keep the trampoline springs of my mind in good condition so that each time I fall, I can bounce back resiliently!

Nothing can capture the essence of this journey of possibilities better than this beautiful and heart-warming video from the You Tube.

 

Watch the Magic Breath

Nothing is as important as our breath and the way we breathe. It is magical and that is why Yoga stresses on Pranayama and integrates breathing with movement. Yet many of us pay scant attention to our breath.There are three types of breathing, according to Yoga Vasistha by Patanjali Maharshi, the authentic text that all Yoga practitioners swear by.

The first one is the “upper” or “shallow” or the Clavicular breathing in which we use the shoulder blades and collar bone to inhale the shallowest breath. Though maximum effort is taken, minimum air is obtained. So it hardly sends in the required oxygen to the circulatory system and thus we are in permanent oxygen debt. The result is stress, strain and the resulting fatigue. It makes us feel breathless like when we climb up a flight of steps.

The “middle” or “chest” or the Intercostal breathing, the second kind, is mostly the everyday kind of breathing we do. In this kind of breathing we expand the Intercostal muscles which in turn move the rib cage. Though better than the first kind, this too is not enough to give us ample supply of vital oxygen. However, it keeps us alive and functioning. Each time our blood oxygen levels are low, we take in an extra breath to compensate.

The “lower” or “abdominal” or the Diaphragmatic breathing, the third kind is the most desirable, cleansing breath of all. Deep abdominal breathing is the most ideal because it brings air into the lower parts of the lungs. It helps us breathe deeply and slowly, pushing down the diaphragm. A breeze is not able to blow away the accumulated dust in the nooks and corners of a room. However a strong gush of wind can accomplish this. Similarly, through abdominal breathing all the dust, bacteria and carbon dioxide that remains in the lower part of the lungs are pushed out – hence the cleansing effect. When you breathe this way your belly will expand and contract like a balloon. When you blow air in, the balloon expands and when you release the air, it contracts.

We need to consciously breathe deeply so that our energy barometer shows the vibrancy and vitality of our life. And as we deepen the quality of our breath, we deepen the quality of our life as well.  Exhalation is much more important than inhalation as it enables proper elimination of carbon dioxide from the blood into the lungs and from the lungs into the atmosphere. Let’s start observing our breath. How is it – strained, shallow, short, sluggish, rhythmic, gentle or slow? Let’s learn the difference between it all – for each has its place! 

Be our own Alchemists: Six steps

We are at the threshold of a brand new year. It is time to do some stock-taking and soul-searching. Did the dying year treat us well? If yes, good!! If the answer is no, looking inside us and behind the path we have traversed is imperative. Otherwise, we are going to make the same slip-ups and have a miserable year again. And NOW is the moment to introspect.

1. Ask, ask, and ask! Did the year bring about changes? Were you able to cope with or manage those changes? Ask ourselves a lot of questions. Invest time in finding out what worked and what did not. Why did we do what did? How did it affect us? What could have been done so that the outcome would have been different? Spend some quality time by ourselves so that answers come to us without too much effort.

2. Be Aware! Asking questions – both comfortable & uncomfortable ones – will invariably give answers. Write them down. This input is essential to move on to the next stage, which is being aware. Many a time it is the total lack of awareness and sometimes complete unconsciousness about issues that made us act the way we did.

3. Acknowledge! Once we are aware of how we act, how we react and how we respond, we need to acknowledge. This is very difficult for it is a slap to our ego and inner critic. Resistance is sure to occur as the mind will protest against its loss of power. Persist and move on. Accepting our failings and imperfections is a great shift to reach the next level of awareness.

4. Forgive! Forgiveness is a great thing. First, forgive ourselves, for, it is our birthright!! In fact, there is no substitute for forgiveness. There is a certain magic that happens when we truly forgive ourselves. It is the safety valve that helps us release the pain of negative emotions, past grudges, emotional baggage and mental stress. Once you forgive yourself, others automatically are forgiven!!

5. Commitment and willingness! Both play a huge role when we are making the choice to change our lives. It doesn't just happen, and it certainly doesn't happen while we're waiting around feeling sorry for ourselves and waiting for our ship to come in. Eliminate negative thoughts, self doubts and begin to move forward. When we remove mental clutter, we have more space in our hearts for new things, worthwhile things. Change needs work; daily work and daily strength.

6. Gratitude! We all face adversity in life. However, it's not the misfortune, but how we respond to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude learn how to dance in the rain? When we choose not to focus on what's missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present, we experience heaven on earth.

Thus we become our own alchemists, transmuting ourselves from base metal into precious gold, transforming our suffering into conscious awareness, and misery and disaster into enlightenment. Signing off toasting to our success in the new year - Each day and in everyway may we become better and better! :)

The Parachute Paradigm

Parachutes have always fascinated me. Not because I love high adrenalin activities; far from that, I am acrophobic - I do have an inordinate fear of heights! What fascinates me is the fact that it works only when it is open. A closed parachute is a dysfunctional one. No wonder Anthony J. D΄Angelo says in The College Blue Book, “Minds are like parachutes; they only function when open.” What a brilliantly drawn analogy!

I read about a parachute story that is doing the rounds in the internet - of Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, who was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. Captured, he spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. On surviving the ordeal he lectured on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were at a restaurant, a man came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude.

The man shook his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. He kept pondering what his saviour might have looked like in a Navy uniform - a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. "I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you or anything else because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Now, the analogy between the parachute & the mind as well as the anecdote from Charles Plumb's life brings to fore three prime questions:

– Are our minds like the functional parachutes? Are we keeping them open, so that we can absorb new information and think / respond differently? Experience has taught me that we need to keep our minds open and let in change, like a whiff of fresh air. The moment we stop resisting change, we get into the flow and groove of things. And things do fall into place, beautifully.

– Are we acknowledging the little cogs in our wheel, those who pack our parachutes? It is not only the people, but each and every event, circumstance and tribulation is worth thanking. For, the more gratefully thoughtful and thoughtfully grateful we are, the more we make room for better things in life.

– Are our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes in top gear? Do we exercise and take care of this temple of our body? Do we find time to relax and unwind and keep out mental faculties  sharp? Do we communicate effectively? Or do we bottle up our emotions? Do we do things that nurture our spirit? Do we get in touch with our higher consciousness?

We need to do all the three... to be wholesome people who can make a world of difference - whatever, wherever, whenever, however we can! :)

This Works For Me

One of the basic premises that we as human beings must nurture in us is that each day we grow and evolve into better people. That is why I simply love this affirmation - “Each day and in every way I am becoming better and better.”

It said that growth happens in spirals, working its way gradually into the deepest core of our beings until it finally becomes part of who we are. So very true. Now I am working at making this a part of me. Of late, the thought that comes to my mind when I really don't know what to do or what not to do, is this:

"If this is what God wants, then this is what I want.
Whatever God sends my way is for my ultimate good.
He has my interests at heart much more profoundly than I ever can.
Therefore I joyously accept everything that You send my way,
for all of it is an instrument of Your grace to help me void of my karma,
and move me into eternal health and happiness."

When I let go and let God, I also enjoy a huge sense of expansion and relief. I also feel good that I am aware of my thoughts and focus and there is absolutely no tension / stress etc. I feel there is a shift in my consciousness and it is doing me a world of good.

I am learning the art of living... by living in the Now, the Present!! No wonder, present means gift ... Somebody said, yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Let us therefore focus on today, the present, a gift ... Better late, than never, right? :)