munkmind

As the darkest days in the recent history of the world rummage through our lives, everything we thought we know, has come to a standstill.

Our understanding of the situation – the reality of life, the swiftness of death, the uncertainty of the current and the future and importance of caring well for self and family has kind of wrecked havoc in our otherwise assumed “normal” lives.

While we watch the human world struggle, lose and recuperate, the rest of nature seems to go on with it’s business in a much better way. This is the clarity for all those who believed till today that they can do whatever they want, to understand that they are, but a mere part in the show and not the show itself. Ego break is imminent in such situations, which is important to restore the balance.

But, what also is improving is the time on hand. The forever busy, are seeing more of their home and family for which they actually work. They are getting the time they always wanted for themselves. They are more calmer, battling less of the daily world. They have reasons to pursue their hobbies, interests and nurture their relationships. More veils are being pulled down to bring out the true selves.

This is a great path to be on. With ego broken forcibly by nature, with an insight into the nitty-gritty of home, family and self, we finally can embark on our journey to Find what we Lost all this time...

Hopefully, on the other side of this challenging phase, a more refined and humble human emerges, who will embrace his true self and walk hand in hand with the nature and the world around.

“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – The whole earth is one big family.

As I walk along the streets with trees lined up on both sides, gently swaying; a bright, serene and beautiful blue sky hovering over my head; countless birds gracefully flying across distances; little ants and worms going on with their businesses, a warm smile dawns upon me…

What a balance! The trees look up to the sky for sunlight and rains, the birds look up to the trees and down to the earth for food, the ants and worms go on with their food cycles. Non-destructive, trying in their own small ways to give back to the circle of Creation, just so that they stay alive, in return. The trees keep the earth and air in good condition, giving out oxygen so that rest of them can breathe life; they keep themselves alive so that the sky can send some rain and they can stay stronger as a result. The birds feed on the plant eating insects thus saving them and eat fruits dispersing the seeds, thereby giving the cycle of life one more chance to thrive. etc and etc… A natural expression of responsibility and gratitude.

Then, the human enters: The most sophisticated and intelligent species in the cycle of evolution.

Forget the handful of them who really care.

The rest of the population tries very hard to make everything convenient and comfortable for themselves. This – at the cost of the trees as they don’t protest, at cost of earth they walk on as it doesn’t cry, at the cost of the sky as it doesn’t scream. Rampant destruction, exploitation and carelessness, all in the name of progress. At least, the other forms of life care genuinely about each other.

As the years have passed, human population seems to have forgotten the basic values such as humility, gratitude, care without expectations in return, concern and constructive work about the nature they live among, not above, among.

Jealousy, selfishness, arrogance, superiority complex and lack of integrity is degrading our species to worthless levels. If you really see, good values don’t need much effort to show or exercise, as that’s the normal way to be in. But, we put extraordinary efforts to try and fit in – a society which has gradually degraded itself from a value filled to a value less space.

The trees and other entities strive to try and keep surrounding nature and it’s forces going, thereby doing a service to the Creator, as a part of their daily lives.

We, on the other hand, throng in thousands to places of worship with offerings – material in nature, listing wants and demands way beyond what we truly need. How will the Creator accept prayers from a species which uses the choicest of abuses against it’s own kind, does no great work to uplift lives of others through true values, does no good to the nature and environment which enables it to LIVE!? Merely talking about the environment or a society does not uplift it. Not cutting a tree, planting one, watering one, caring for other species , polluting less, helping fellow men grow, enriching through selfless love, being simple and understanding that the earth and nature around is way bigger than our imagination and intelligence, actually matters.

Understand the truth : The world around us, was there before we came and will remain post our exit. Its not dependent on us to enrich it. It just expects us not to misuse or destroy the fabric of Creation.

Our intelligence and abilities must be used to enhance our lives as well as those of every living thing we encounter daily. Neither do the trees expect us to water them, nor do they deny shade because we didn’t. Its a big lesson to be learnt.

Man has an immediate need to embark on a path of practising selflessness, caring genuinely without any expectations, spreading smile and boundless love, finding solutions and possibilities to enhance lives of rest of society, improve and strengthen the fabric of nature within whose very ‘bubble’ life thrives.

It is worth the time and effort for an enhanced species to learn from the rest of the less vocal, but far more impactful species and contribute to the best of its abilities.

More heart, more love, less hurt…

Let me know what you think…

Whirlwind – “A column of air moving rapidly round and round in a cylindrical or funnel shape.”

Picture this:

The entire Universe is in ecstatic motion, assumed to be clockwise, for the sake of this article. It, as a multi dimensional and expansive seat of energy moderates and balances the energies of all beings – celestial, human and animal.

Imagine, the Universe moving in a whirlwind fashion. Each of the celestial, human and animal beings within it, also moving in smaller, individual whirlwinds. 

Being the moderator, the Universe ensures that each of the beings moves in the same direction as it does. For this article, I will focus on human beings only. If a person is gentle in nature, hard working, compassionate, strong willed – the Universe ensures that his whirlwind pulls in success, greatness, respect, vision, wonderful people surrounding him, so on and so forth. For someone deceitful, like a thief – the Universe still ensures his whirlwind moves the same direction as it does. It makes him associate with more thugs, allows him the vision of only deceit as a way forward and ensures that he pays for the wrongdoings through the course of law, etc. If the same person decides to give up bad and lead a good life, the universe will ensure his whirlwind propels him to meet friendlier and forgiving people,exposes ways of doing good, teaches nobility and humility and allows him to set an example to others who wish to follow the path.

We, as humans, ought to understand the magnitude of this magnum opus called the Universe. Step out on a dark night, look up at the sky – try to contain the entire visible space and you will realize that you are nothing but a speck on the Canvas of the Creator. The ‘larger than life’ ego which we may carry around, has no significance when compared to the charisma of the Creator and the Universe.

The world, as we see and which is beyond, is a constant reminder to understand and appreciate the wonderful opportunity of Life gifted to us. We are living everyday on borrowed time from the Universe, which should be used to learn, appreciate and grow everyday, as worthy human beings. 

Try this: Spend about 5-10 minutes daily – beginning or end of day – to acknowledge and appreciate your life. Thank the Universe and the Creation for your wonderful family and friends, for enabling you to learn and grow, for the humility, for letting you help others and for keeping the wrong away. When you do this, your small whirlwind picks up momentum and starts moving in sync with the Universe. As this happens regularly, you will realize the intensity of the bonding you have as a being, with the Universe. You gradually move along with it in ecstatic motion. You become one with the Universe.

Energize your Whirlwind – Experience the magic of the Universe – feel the power of the Creator.

Life.

The day starts off with its usual self. My body moves lethargically dragging the mind along with it. Beings have long started their daily activities while I lay asleep.

The compass in my head has lost its purpose and points at varied directions through the day. Am I inspired less, I wonder, the answer to which is always “No” . I have long been exposed to significant influencers and impactors across domains who have done wonders with their lives through daily discipline and persistent practices.

I open my book of blank sheets determined to shudder off this dirt and try to shed the skin. Drawing inspiration, I list out my doings and the great expectations I have from myself into the next few pages. A quick review shames me and mocks my approach to life.

I decide its time to act now. Shed the skin, bear new, but all off the radar. Fix the compass, set new directions, determine the efforts needed, build myself _body, mind, spirit and energy to fulfill those efforts; become a better version of myself.

Off the radar meant to keep core plans and functionality under wraps. Show only whats needed to the outside as these are personal plans for self growth. Sharing the plans outside during the actual work, means compromising my position and getting carried away by temporary praises.

What I need is long term, sustainable and result oriented impact and possibilities. My pages are now filled and actions have been highlighted. The compass is being reset and the system is being rebuilt.

It will take time, but its worth every minute. I hope to wake up tomorrow with a renewed spirit.

Have you reset your compass yet?

Buzz!! goes the alarm throwing you out of your comfortable sleep. You feel the silence around with few little sounds of other similar awake souls. Then you think – Snooze and go back to the warmth of the bed shutting the world behind your eyes; or – Wake Up!

The Snooze button is a very friendly, non-progressive mechanism. It supports the state of mind which says “Oh, just a few more minutes”, or “I worked so hard, I deserve to sleep more”. If its so much to take, dont keep the alarm in the first place. Ah, the ego just got hit there! – “How can you say that, I do want to wake up….”

Well this is just the beginning of the day..

Our system is like a child which needs to be nurtured daily. If you care for a child between years 4 and 7 and say I have done enough and it will grow to be a great person, you are fooling yourself. Instead, everyday you grow it, until it can care for itself. Even then, you keep an eye, just in case.

Similarly, our system needs daily nurturing.

The PHYSICAL – needs to be nurtured through regular exercise, planned food regimen, no bad habits, physical grooming such as shaves, haircuts, moisturising, pedicures, dental checks, medical checks etc.

The EMOTIONAL – needs to be nurtured through regular reminders of gratitude, empathy, selfless support, lack of sarcasm, lending a shoulder, remorse etc.

The MENTAL – needs to be nurtured through constant practise of Never Give-up attitude, fearlessness, enduring pain as part of process, doing right always, perseverance, grit, determination, motivation to others, relentlessness and self-push.

The SPIRITUAL – needs to be nurtured through constant reminders of the power beyond us which created this system, of ego as a strength to respect the system and not as a tool to put others down, of understanding that others are also the product of the same power beyond, to work towards realizing the potential of this system and maximizing its power, and to help others do the same.

All the four parts of the system work in sync and affect each other positively or negatively. 

Many of us go through our daily life with constant appreciation of life or complaints of how its been unfair. Little do we realize that the grade at which we keep our system operating, impacts the kind of energies we draw or propagate.

We complain of less time, but we hit the snooze – yeah! We complain of being tired, being irritated, being low, losing interest in life; of people not caring about us; but the truth is we fail daily at nurturing the 4 parts. Like the child who grows up to be a gem or a mere stone, nurture affects our system as well. But, we have to understand that it takes tremondous effort, beyond comfort, beyond pain, beyond boundaries. Once its done consistently, like a habit – it gets hard coded into the system. Then you would function more efficiently, more effectively, more happily, more intentionally and more satisfactorily.

But, the underlying point in all of this is consistent, daily effort. “Oh, I have nothing to do much today, hence I pressed snooze”  – Gone – one more opportunity to nurture the system lost due to self constraint. The greats, the legends realize this early on – that nothing beats effort and hard work. They wake-up every day, nurture the system, rest the system and again move.

Some noteworthy examples: Roger Federer said in one of the interviews that he trains for almost 10,000 hours – almost 2 years at 15 hours each day for a major series. Thomas Alva Edison failed 1000 times before the 1st light bulb lit up. Michael Jordan missed 9000 shots in his career, but was a legend. Internationally acclaimed basketball players Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade are known for their perseverance. They are back at the gym the next day after every series to practise. There are many hundreds of such examples. All these examples indicate a simple point – It doesnt matter whether a tournament, event, review or promotion is coming up or not; it matters that you are ALWAYS PREPARED.

When you work with the a goal of being Always Prepared, then your system becomes efficient like a well lubricated and maintained machine. Up your skills, practise daily, learn constantly. Because when the event comes up eventually, you dont have to prepare more, you are already operating at a prepared level.

Break the rut, Move, Be prepared, Be legendary!

Silent stares, anger, sadness, despair, pain, sympathy, victim play, happiness, ecstasy, watering mouth at the smell of a favorite dish, irritation at a stink, empathy, frustration, serious thoughts, persistence, focus, control, sexual urges, addictions, regret, inspiration, fantasy, daydream, hurtful, fear, death, spiritual explosion, eternity, wants, jealousy, conspiracy, cheating, forgiveness, help – the boundless expressions, possibilities and limitations of the human body & mind can captivate generations to understand, accept and master.

I am always fascinated by the very complexity and variety of this magnificient yet mysterious human system with a humble endeavour to explore and to stretch it a bit more.

We have often heard “Strong body with a sound mind” or variations of the same. In fact, the relationship between the two of them is so amazingly inter woven, that it is beyond our understanding.

When the mind is sad or depressed, it gets weaker. With time, the body also starts to wither. But when mind is functioning with a ‘Never give up’ attitude, even a sick and frail body rejuvenates magically.

On the other hand, if the body is healthy – it’s worked out regularly, it’s fed physically well, with no bad habits or practices hindering it, the mind also gets grittier and stronger.

In fact, we need a good weave. Well fed body through food and exercise; regulated emotions, careful feed to the brain as it can trigger nuances positively or negatively; disciplined spiritual practices, well thought daily routines and habits, proper rest, loads of love, laughter and compassion… This looks more of an ideal, but achievable setup.

My fascination also extends beyond all of this. If the body and mind can do all the daily activities with a set discipline, what more of the magic can happen when our brain is tapped further. We often hear that an average human uses only about 3-5 % of the brain. Seems like Einstein used about 10%. But, there is not a lot of talk about why only so much and not more. It will be interesting to know what happens if say 20% is used?. Sometimes I think it’s a plan of evolution that in so many years, human brain will evolve, generation on generation and comes to say – using 100% in about a 1000 years!. No one knows…

The magic of the brain is however not hidden. It’s proven through research that when you lose a part of function of the body due to degeneration, the function can be re taught through reverse learning, so a part of the unused brain can take it up and the system can function normally. But, this is again subject to the gritty mind with the ‘Never give up’ attitude and a supportive body.

However be the case, it’s a known fact that the body and the mind do function in tandem and its extremely that we assume complete accountability and responsibility for the operation, maintenance and enhancement of the same, every second we are alive.

Existence has meaning when the tools provided, in our case – Body and Mind, are used to the highest of possibilities..

I wish and pray for your journey in this regard and hope you have a magical life…

Comments and thoughts are welcome.

We live in a world where communication is a core necessity, skill and per some, keeps you ‘relevant’.

But, does communication always mean talk, sound, chatter, writing, etc ? Let’s switch over to the other side, the ‘not so liked’ path.

The path of silence. One of the most powerful expressions that a human can emote is ‘Silence’.

Picture this.

You are very happy about something, or for someone, ecstatic!…its termed as Beyond words. The expression on the face, the energy in the body, the smile through your lips or the eyes and the true feeling it carries is manifested through a powerful vibe of Silence..

You are very sad, a grief, a loss, a disappointment. The common term is I want to be alone for sometime. You crave for that lone time. The Silence here allows you to reflect, pacify your self, to help you search for the strength to move on and get back to normal.

You had a setback, a temporary failure…Silence will help to recall the reasons you would have failed and the lessons to revitalize your self and reset your direction..

So this space called Silence is an amazing powerhouse. The extent or the magnitude of its influence and impact is enormous.. The possibilities it can open is so immense that it can easily throw you off guard, super energise you, make you razor sharp, provide you with extreme insights and discover paths never known, make you super humble, make you super powerful and put you in a completely new direction.

Its great to have conversations, socialize and be relevant. But, everyday, make time for the sacred space of Silence, where its only you – where you will be aware of the contents of the thought process, the learnings, the plans and execution methods.

Converse with the world, learn from it, contribute to it; step back into Silence, review, introspect, revamp, re focus, re-energize and power back into the world…

Let the world experience a better and a greater you every single day…

There is an itch on my back, and I don’t know why..

Countless experiences of ups and downs,
Some memorable and few worth just an ounce

Stretching lot of smiles and wiping a few tears,
I have for sure grown through all the years

I seem to have a new curiosity,
A seeming rush from within on high velocity

Wanting to learn with a fresh rigor,
Urging to act with far more vigor

Wondering what is pushing me against the sack,
But again there is this itch tearing through my back

I look at the mirror to get a quick glimpse,
Two parallel scratches is what it seems

Rubbing against the wall to get them fade away,
They seem to grow bigger like they are here to stay.

I think of all the places that I want to go,
All the life’s beautiful moments that are yet to show

My eyes again sparkle and the pretty face glows,
Energy bursts through my nerves and everywhere it flows

I am not scared anymore to reach greater heights,
To try new things and handle fiercer fights

With a need to change for my better time,
I breathe in deep to restart my grind

But this itch on my back needs to go,
As soon as I wake up, just before my show

I stare at the mirror with my jaws dropped,
As the itch and the marks were not what I thought

Resisting this change all the while with so much fury,
I failed to realize my growing wings itching for a flight to glory…

I praise life and its magical mind,
For being a teacher beyond belief but yet so kind

Teaching me that patience and belief always pays,
And that rigour and perseverance will make me win my race..

I was reading this book ‘Built to Last’ by Jim Collins….I quote “What distinguishes a visionary company from a mediocre company is that, visionary companies believe in being CLOCK BUILDERS, NOT TIME TELLERS.” What a statement. When we as individuals try to imbibe the same concept in our lives, it makes such a difference. On the roads, you will find hundreds of people who will look at their watches and tell you the time. What makes the impact is that these hundreds of people look at a watch made by say TEN top companies. That’s the comparison. How many people in these hundreds aim at actually building a new company and launching their own brand of watches rather than being mere time tellers? Very few…

The whole focus is on that drive…fuelling that burning sensation to do more, gain more knowledge, be on the edge, drive a change….We need people like these…we need to be these people….

(This article is from my archive-2009)

Fast and busy life. Responsibilities, duties, needs, wants. Lots to fulfill. Available mechanism: The body, the mind, the spirit and the energies. Yet, we see an increased rate of abuse, knowingly or unknowingly termed as “Have to” and “No other choice”… This is indeed a sad state we are in. I term this as abuse, because that’s what we are doing to ourselves. Every second we breathe must always be dedicated to exploring and exploiting our strengths and potential to the maximum. Not putting up a show to stay relevant in front of the people you associate with.

What I feel is needed is clarity of actions which will define and re-direct our energies to observe, learn, outline and execute, feedback and grow again.

Another point to note is that all our ‘have-to-do’ ones will get accommodated when we learn to include. Every time we create a distance as to why something is not ours to do, we encourage exclusion. When we do this, we feel spaced out from our close and loved ones and assume all is a huge responsibility and possibly burdening. Expand the ambit of love, care and include all the ones close to you in it. You will notice that suddenly, empathy and hence execution becomes non cumbersome or non fussy. You may not like that your time goes out for something other than you, but you will not feel bad doing the work for others.

We have to pay close attention to who we sculpt ourselves into. Always ask the question “Am I the best version of myself ?”. If the answer is no, which normally will be the case unless we have divine entities amongst us 🙂 then strive to do 1% better than your former self every day. Look at your actions, your daily works – see if you can streamline, improvise, eliminate so that you become more efficient. It maybe how you deal with your emotions – anger, frustration etc… it maybe how you conduct your day – time utilization and time wasters; it maybe how you regulate your food habits, friends circle, your interaction with family, your involvement with your child or maybe how you are building your own self.

Your life needs close attention from no one else but you. And this has to happen every moment you breathe. Like many say, this is one short life, live it. I would just add to say: This is one short life, live it every moment in the best way that you can…