I am the soul that lives within.....

Life is the most amazing teacher. Every single day through simple daily instances it teaches you something new about your own self and pushes you to go deeper and deeper to question your belief systems. Makes you wonder about everything that you thoughtlessly judged as good or bad before. 

Worth noting them down...life's little musings... with all its contradictions and humour.. Nothing heavy today.. just some simple wonderings....

 

And the other day, a simple act of getting a photograph done got me thinking and musing over what I actually am.  Made me question what is my outer me and what is my inner me? And who sees what?

 

"I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within." - Rumi

 

 

So the other day, I wanted some instant passport size pictures done. I went to this cute little shop and the guy there quickly clicked my picture and went to take the printout. And while I was waiting there, I could see him working on his computer.  I was curious to know what is he exactly doing with my picture so I went near him to watch him work. And I was so fascinated by what I saw. 

 

This guy had opened my picture in photoshop and was working on my face. He very sincerely removed every single blemish from my face, he nicely smoothened my cheeks and made me a shade fairer. He didn't stop at that, he then went on to fix my hair too. He nicely with his paintbrush adjusted them, rubbed out the ones that were flying out of place and made me prim and proper. One part of me wanted to tell him.. Dude, I look just fine the way I am!! and I am not going to pay you extra for this "fixing." But he was doing it all so sincerely and as a matter of factly that I  just smilingly waited for the final result. I wanted to know how exactly, did this person think, I "should" look like? :)

 

And then very pleased with his job gave me my printouts. And obviously I looked great in it!! And it made me wonder, Really? Who can I even show this picture to? This is not even me. :) And even if I ended up showing it to people they would simply dismiss it as a fudged photograph, right?

 

But then I remembered something which made me wonder even more. Remember in the earlier days (Did I just say that!!?? ;)) Well, yeah, so before photoshop, I should say :). So earlier, when we would go to take a picture, they would give you a few minutes to fix yourself. There would be a small corner where you could look in the mirror, put on some talcum powder and comb your hair. And after this ritual you would sit there and properly get a picture taken, right? 

 

Come to think of it, didn't the photoshop guy do the same thing on my picture? He put some concealer on my face and added some pink on my cheeks and brushed my hair...but only digitally didn't he? So then, it's still me, right? :) What's really wrong with that?

 

And so many people feel compelled to do that every single day of their life, right? No, I am not talking about basic hygiene and being "presentable" here. I am talking about actually picking up a brush and painting your face... putting on some makeup to enhance our looks..that's perfectly okay, right? So why does it feel wrong if we do it on photoshop? Why does that feel like fudging? Something to think about.....

 

And imagine, if I put this picture of mine on social networks, people would actually think this is what I look like! There are some people who probably we will never meet again in physical life but we are virtually connected to them on a daily basis. And with this picture, their entire lifetime they would think.. this is what I look like, with flawless smooth skin, a shade fairer and perfect hair!!! Talk about reality...and being yourself...

But what if I put on some makeup on my actual face and post that picture. Wouldn't I be doing the same fudging? How come that's alright?

And would I feel my authentic self with people who thought and wanted me to look flawless like that? Is it even worth it?

When I get stressed or depressed I tend to put on weight...when I start healing I automatically loose all my extra weight.. sometimes I colour my hair red...sometimes I straighten them out prim and proper... sometimes I like them loosely curly and flowing. I look different when I wake up in the mornings. I look different when I feel happy. I look different when I am sad or angry....
So this outer me keeps changing all the time and sometimes not even in my control. They say, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and the one who doesn't see the inner me....sees who and what then?

Reminds me of the day that I was going to get my glasses for the first time with my Dad and my sister. I was in my 10th standard then so obviously I was not very happy and a bit sad then. And my astute Dad had sensed that and he very sweetly with very few words told me that anyone who can't see the real me beyond my glasses was so not worth it. And that was the biggest advice I carry with me always and in some ways it got me thinking at an early age about the joy of being my authentic self and the real me...Who was this me beyond my glasses? I found it a very fascinating idea...

But yes..there's one enhancer that I myself am addicted to.. and that's my eye kohl...my kaajal pencil...and as I ponder more about it.. I guess that's where it leads to... the eyes..

The eyes are the windows to our soul, they say. Is that where my inner me resides? :)

 

 

 



Let Our Children Just Be....

I am truly blessed to have been meeting really wonderful souls as my journey continues. And a few months back, I met a wonderful friend, Lissa and through her I had the opportunity to know about her little sister Tara. Tara, a lovely 12 year old beautiful soul, left this world on 10^th March 2014 but is still spiritually connected to all of us. This amazing soul left behind a treasure cove of wonderful metaphysical and thought provoking writings at such a young age. The Universe feels like a safe and wonderful place to be in because pure beings like her are still a part of it. And she shows the proof of her eternal existence through her lovely poems which she left behind for her loved ones and the rest of the world.

Through some of her metaphysical writings, Tara, a little 12 year old girl displays a lingering memory of our true identity, that we are not just the bodies and the physical form that we appear to be in. And she expressed it beautifully through her thoughts and feelings. Her lovely thought provoking poems simply amaze me. Makes me wonder, if a 12 year old child can be true to her feelings why can’t we all be. And she seems to keep inspiring us all in multiple ways….

Tara is a true example of our delightful children who have come down here with a mission to make this world a better place. They are wonderful, sensitive beings who possess many special unique talents and are gifted in their own way. The eternal question “Who am I?” which haunts us all throughout our lives is arising in their minds at a very young age.

Perhaps, because they have not yet forgotten the reality of who we really are. But many children these days get misunderstood because of lack of spiritual awareness of parents. In the name of “focus” we teach our children to repress all such beautiful wonderings that come to the minds of little children naturally. Many of the children are very spiritually aware and are highly evolved souls and have many questions regarding God, heaven, hell, good, bad and everything else under the sun. Sometimes, they even have answers that we ourselves are seeking. The real question is, are we prepared for them? Or are we so “intelligent” and practical that have we never “wasted” any time thinking about all this “stuff” in our own lives?

Tara’s words in her poem …Who am I?

Who am I? Am I a human?

Am I an animal? Am I a soul?

Or just a body?

But though now I lie in this bed,

One day I will be on my own feet running and all of my dreams will come true.

But I still have to find who I am…..

In the above poem, this little 12 year old girl feels the need to find who out she truly is and knows there is much more to her than what simply appears to be.  Have we tried to really find who we are? All souls are beautiful and pure when they come down and are full of such wonderings before they get polluted by our limited conditioning.

And as a mother of a boy, it also makes me wonder, would we have been so accepting of our little boys too? A boy writing metaphysical poetry! That’s all fine, but he has to be focused, strong and aggressive to “do” something “real” in life, right? We probably would have even secretly worried a bit about him.

Imagine this very familiar scene, A bunch of little boys are playing in the playground and somehow the ones who are most aggressive, loud, dominating and wanting to control everything will always be labelled as a potential “leader” material by some observer. And to be nice, nobody around defies this label given to such boys. But you think the other boys are not listening and learning from this? Ofcourse, they are. So what has happened here? Firstly, the aggressive boy’s behaviour gets encouraged and secondly, silently the other boys have learnt that this is what one has to do to be a leader. Leader? Really? Leader of what? And where will such a leader lead us to? Seems like not a very nice place to me.

A boy writing metaphysical poems would probably be seen as an aberration and a cause of concern for his parents. There seems to be no apparent place in today’s world for thought leadership or so we think and hence end up inculcating wrong values. And where did this all imbalance start? At that playground… when nobody taught fairness, the importance of being kind, compassionate and caring towards one’s own friends to these little boys. How many of us would come back home and openly name and discuss these control dramas which people knowingly/unknowingly play and how each unique child can handle these situations without emulating another child? How many of us put our energies and thoughts in this direction?

And then we watch the television and complain about crime against women and innocent people and feel horrible about these same grown boys….. But where did this all start? Where did they learn that aggression and manipulation is what gets you things? At that playground, when some parent thoughtlessly tried to show off their leadership assessment skills….and others were too “nice” and kept quiet or discuss this uncomfortable situation openly with their children.

Children are just pure children. We are the ones who begin slotting them in gender roles and fixed templates. We forget the importance of letting them grow as holistic people and not just as boys or girls. The path of self-actualisation requires us to balance our masculine and feminine energies and not supress either of them. It’s important to encourage sensitivity, kindness, creativity, responsibility, co-operation and assertiveness in all humans…both girls and boys equally.

Yes, we all are worried about the future and the careers of our children in today’s competitive world. But thinking from a scarcity mentality won’t get us anywhere. If we just allow our children to be who they are and help them in exploring and honing their various unique talents, then they will develop high self esteem, and will love to put in the required hours to master their talents willingly and then eventually be successful and fulfilled in their life. It is us parents who are not aware enough and hence have a very closed view of careers and life which we pass on to our children. Just to give a simple example, if our child likes music then our closed mind only imagines him playing in a rock band or a classical concert and we discourage him to go ahead with it as a career. We never imagine that maybe this child will open music schools countrywide or will make music education accessible to everyone or teach a better way of learning music to the coming generations or combine his love of music, maths and science and come up with something totally new. It is our limited imagination and awareness which makes us worry and transfer our insecurities to them and want them to be a certain way and grow up in a certain fixed template. Imagine billions and billions of children growing up in a few fixed set templates about life. Really?

To me personally, Jonathan Livingstone Seagul is one of the best books that you can read to your child and help them celebrate who they really are and how only by truly being who they are, will they shine and end up finding their “own” tribe.

Tara is a beautiful example of our wonderful children who are immensely wise, unique, thoughtful and talented. It is us parents who need to realise and remember this sacred responsibility that we undertook. We need to be more aware and be open to their unique talents and to the idea that they may end up being teachers, healers, writers, artists, musicians, sportsmen or take up careers and life paths which our little minds cannot even imagine at this point in time.

Also Tara’s writings and her thoughts inspire us adults in a way, that we don’t need to “Be” something to write out our pure thoughts and wonderings. She truthfully wrote what she had to because she was connected to her Source and her intuitive wisdom. And aren’t we all? She was not worried who will publish her material, who will read it and who will like it? She just simply wrote. She just simply was, who she was and hence inspiring us all to “Just Be” who we are....

I AM that I AM…..and that’s enough….

You can read more about lovely Tara and her writings on http://estrademagazine.com/tara-chazot/ 

 

 

 

 

The Universe is unfolding exactly as it should...

“Whether or Not it is clear to you, the Universe is unfolding exactly as it should” – Max Ehrmann

While I was growing up, every time we faced any challenge or any difficulty, my mother would always say “Everything happens for the best”. As a child I took great comfort in that way of thinking, as always after some time, things would come back to normal and we all would be happy again. But as I grew up I started becoming more and more cynical and felt that this was a fatalistic point of view. Ofcourse, everything turns out well in the end ..do we have a choice?  I thought…we humans are highly adaptable and as a survival strategy we look for the best in everything and try and be happy…. But does it mean that, that was the best thing to happen? I wondered. Little did I know that, what my Mom had shared with me, was such a profound truth….something which I probably needed to discover on my own.  And so as I grew up, I kept struggling between the ideas of going with the flow and being proactive. I wondered where one ended and where the other started…..…..

Sometimes it helps to reflect on our own life and how we ended up where we are and how it all panned out for us……When I was young I actually wanted to be a chef. I used to come back from school and watch this one cookery show from some culinary school in Switzerland which showed how to make perfect white risen meringues and such amazing stuff….I was so fascinated….I wanted to do just that. But my Dad was completely against me becoming a “cook” and thought that I would be cutting sacks of potatoes and onions for the rest of my life. ;) And in all fairness, I loved him just too much to put up any fight against him.

But what if I had fought with my father and taken that path? I would not have met all the wonderful people that I did…because they all already were on this other path. But the way things have unfolded….I landed up exactly where I was supposed to be….I met exactly all the people that I had to…Even if I tried to break away…..I was plonked right back in the thick of it…. How much of it did I control? Or was I going down a path which was already decided for me….Now if you ask me to rewind my life and take me to the point where I could choose to becoming a chef.. Would I take it? No, certainly not!! I may still take up a culinary course in future for the joy of it.. But no rewinding…..

The lesson that I learnt here is again listening to your heart... (somehow everything seems to boil down to that)...and understand its signals even when it is reluctant about something. There are so many people who actually do put up a fight for their chosen path. But I guess, I did not feel so strongly about the culinary path to put up a fight for it. Not because I did not have enough courage to fight with my Dad but my own inner conviction was not strong enough about it. Till a few months back even if I was offered an opportunity or any suggestions to enter the food industry, I would find myself being absolutely reluctant and finding some reason or another to not enter it. That’s the difference between our talents and our purpose also, I guess. Our purpose, when we finally discover it.. is something which makes us push all the boundaries and we stop caring about who thinks what…  But honestly, all this can be a bit confusing, yet fascinating and somehow seems to make sense only as an afterthought.  If I hadn’t gone through everything that I did I would not have been able to identify my purpose or atleast parts of it and reach this place in time at all…So everything unfolded exactly as it should have….

We tend to believe that we know precisely what we want and know how to get it and everything is in our control. And if somehow if it does not happen then we tend to blame ourselves that we fell short somewhere. But when we look back at our own life and think how much of what happened was totally in our own control given the available variables at that point…you’ll get your answer. I mean, we believe that we can actually control everything so much that we blame ourselves for every single thing. I remember sitting and wondering what did “I” do that I lost my parents. Did I not value them enough? Did I misuse their love in any way? Did I take them for granted? I mean seriously!! On top of that we are told we completely manifest our own reality…So I’m thinking did I create this reality for myself in any way?  Gosh!! Seriously!!

The Universe is unfolding exactly as it needs to… the earth, the planets, the sun, the moon, the plants, the animals, the birds….all function effortlessly as per its laws. Only we humans keep resisting this. Each and every person in our life was meant to meet us at the perfect time that we needed each other…Each and every experience came our way to help us towards our soul evolution…..our soul growth…Our own soul chose it that way…not necessarily because it wanted to but because it needed to ....in its own highest good. Sometimes it deliberately plans obstacles in our way so that we learn all the required lessons at a much faster rate. So what’s the point in resisting our lessons and then go back again and the regret about it. That would be totally self-defeating. What a waste of precious time…

Having said this, in no way does this mean that we become fatalistic and get complacent about life. I believe that we are co-creators with the universe, we need to do our part to our best without attachment to the results and then let the universe work its magic. That’s the unfolding part.  The sooner we soak this in, our journey becomes effortless and meaningful… We really have it much easy in our current times.... only a little patience will glide us through…..

So, Is it the end of where I am supposed to be? Nope.  And the goal is to work towards that and learn all the lessons that come our way gracefully….and develop greater faith. And how can one develop greater faith? I believe life itself is a great teacher and we can develop greater faith by looking back at our own life and reflecting on how it has panned out for us till now. And if it has unfolded in a certain manner till now, there is no reason why it should not unfold in future also. And if soul evolution is the ultimate purpose of our being….then the universe has to unfold accordingly. Not us, but the universe has no choice in that matter...

p.s.  : Saw the movie "Highway" this week...Absolutely amazing.. Its like reading a heart warming novel. An absolute must watch. ..If you are reading this kind of a blog.... I am sure you will love this movie...don't miss it!

Your Personal Relationship with the Universe

 

“There are two ways to live : you can live as if nothing is a miracle ; you can live as if everything is a miracle” – Albert Einstein

As we tread ahead along our spiritual path, the thing we hear the most from everyone is that, I will believe in all this only when I have an experience myself. And that’s perfect and exactly how it should be....I myself have a certain belief system only after having my own really dramatic experiences and honestly after being bombarded persistently left, right and centre by them. As if this is my destiny and I cannot run away from it. Till then I was a skeptic or a so-called “realist” myself. Whoever tells anyone to believe in anything blindly, has no idea what it’s all about!

But what is that big experience that we keep waiting for?? I mean, is God going to come in our dreams or are we going to have some out of body experience or some astral travel. I doubt if that ever happens for majority of us.  I mean….seems like God only talks to Neale Donald Walsch.. :) Right?? :) But hey!! The Universe has finally decided to converse with Shilpa Deshmukh ;) or has Shilpa finally started paying attention to it now, is the right question?? :)

But what does happen for many of us is that we keep experiencing signs or meaningful co-incidences or synchronicities or little messages in the form of intuitions. Some people call this accessing the storehouse of your subconscious mind, some people call it a little help from your spirit guides, some call it the intentional manifestation of the universal energy, choose whatever resonates with you.  They help us make decisions in case of dilemmas or just to remind us of our connection to the Source. And they come to us in many forms…through books, songs, movies, hoardings, somebody circulating some message on exactly what you were looking for, a gut feeling, a dream, a kind act from a stranger on a bad day and many such ways…. Many times there is something bothering us and we come across a book or an exact chapter on the same concept and that helps us reach a mental resolution. Many times it comes as a flow while writing something and you later wonder where the hell did these words come from?  Many times you see a hoarding right on your face..in big bold black and white..exact words staring right back at you..that you needed to hear. The examples are innumerable and its only between you and the Universe…Earlier I would get totally spooked out but now I feel like smiling when I find them as I finally understand that they are meant to keep me on the path.…helps me connect with the Universe and it keeps me grounded.

“Synchronicity is the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer” – Carl Jung.

They could be as simple as a message reassuring us in a time of doubt. At the risk of appearing naïve..let me share a very simple co-incidence  that I experienced when I was choosing the name for my son. I remember, I had already decided during my pregnancy that my child’s name had to be from “S” and if it was a boy, then the name would be Samar. If you look up on the net, the literal meaning of the name is War.. which can have a bit of negative connotations.. but the more I went inside myself.. only one meaning kept coming to me, which was… A Warrior.. A Warrior of Peace and Light. That’s what my inner voice kept telling me. A few days later we went to Crosswords and I glanced upon this Paulo Coelho’s book called the “Manual of The Warrior of Light” which I had never seen before, so I immediately picked it up for casual browsing and for some reason on every single left hand side page there is a “S” written up and down on the pages with a quote on Warrior of Light in the middle. What that “S” is doing in that book on every single left page and what it means to Paulo… only he knows. I found it amusing and funnily felt very reassured but kept the book back on the shelf. And so when the baby came out we named him Samar and we told to whoever asked that it means…. A warrior of peace and light. ..because that’s what my inner voice had told me. And now I see my 4 year old son and how delightful he is and only now I read many spiritual concepts on the new age children and how they are meant to have warrior spirits and are meant to be Warriors of light and peace and love…. I got totally spooked out! How exact can it get?? Where did that phrase come from to me during my pregnancy? But now I see the whole connection between this amazing soul and why he would have chosen me to be his mommy…and it is truly fascinating and extremely profound. Someday it all falls in place for us and makes us smile…that’s all…no pressures…just smile….it’s enough to get you by the day….
Before you start judging me and my expectations of him, :) let me add a disclaimer over here that Warrior of Light is just a way of being and in no manner suggests the path or any field that he may choose....that part is entirely up to him and his eternal journey.... :)

 

“I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path”

– Dalai Lama

 But most of us choose to ignore these simple things around us because at that time they don’t seem very dramatic enough or we feel a bit stupid about it. People from the creative world still pay atleast a little attention to these signs. But if you come from an orbit where most of your peers and friend circle are from management studies or a corporate background then you have chosen a tough audience for yourself!! :) I mean its really far easy to get a hundred likes for a piece of cake but to have chosen a task to present such thought provoking articles to especially such an audience is not easy by any means.  :) We lot are a bit of a lone warriors ourselves and we would rather fight it out alone than receive some divine help!! ;) So burnt out in these heavy karmic places that we seem to have lost all our connection to innocence and any sort of higher Source. No wonder then that only rude wake up calls work for most of us!! Atleast that’s what made me notice and look back on all the “small” things….

After I started writing and sharing my thoughts on this blog, the amount of such experiences that people have been sharing is not funny. It’s almost as if we all are closeted spiritualists and are somehow keeping it inside us. Most of us are looking for our own connection to the Universe or a connection to something higher than ourselves. It’s a nagging feeling which most of us have about where do we actually fit in the greater scheme of things? Is there any meaning to this whole drill or just a random occurrence of chance events? But it seems like we would have to discover that on our own and establish that connection on our own as it is our personal journey which began really eons ago and probably now we are at a stage where we feel the need to figure it all out. Despite having everything to be grateful about we feel totally lost at times.  And that’s where these little signs help us with little pointers on the journey, provided we pay attention to them and have faith in them.

What I have realised is that they are not for just a chosen few but are for everyone and are there to help us and guide on this wonderful journey. Start paying attention to the world around you and you will notice them everywhere..you will start seeing the magic in things… journal them….they may not make sense to you at all right now.. ..but they are your little jigsaw pieces which one day will form the bigger picture…..and one day it will all make perfect sense to you……. :) And will be the “big” experience that you were waiting for…..and your own connection to the Universe…. :)

So last Friday, I came across this same book by Paulo Coelho after 4 years at an obscure roadside bookshop and it brought the whole episode back to me and I finally picked it up. … There are several quotes in there which are good….. maybe I will read them out to Samar soon…he loves all my books already… :) and thinks that all these writers are my teachers... ;)

 

Loving Yourself......

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection” - Buddha

Although it appears that most of us in today’s world are self centered….. We are actually not. We are not as selfish as we think we are and are made out to be. And how do we know this? Because most of us do not pay any attention to our own core needs..our soul needs. Most of us actually believe that loving oneself is the epitome of being selfish. Imagine a friend saying…. You know what, I’m going to love myself from now on. And you would think in your mind that this person surely has some serious issues going on or maybe just a passing phase of low self-esteem! I mean..what kind of person would say.. I’m going to love myself?! Right? J

And why do we believe this? Because our definition of loving ourselves is very limited. To me.. truly loving yourself doesn’t mean…..going on a shopping spree, fighting for the remote to watch your favourite channel, making your own favourite dinner rather than someone else’s in the family, etc. Nothing wrong with all this but soon we would realise that these are very shallow and limited ways of loving yourself and that’s why they don’t seem worth it after a point and we don’t bother about them. Fighting for petty things fails to empower us. Unless we get to the core of ourselves.. we remain unfulfilled.

But loving yourself, to me means digging much more deeper. Firstly it is accepting that you are a soul on your own journey… yes, totally interconnected with others.. yet having its own path. Being more gentle with yourself. Taking time out and listening to the little voice inside you. How does it like to express itself? How does it like spending the days of its lives? What kind of people does it like to be around? Acknowledging that your soul has its needs and desires. Whatever the answers are, its important to acknowledge them…. how we choose to react to these things and act on them in a balanced manner is another thing. We are already feeling a bit selfish aren’t we? But soon we realise that unless we are genuinely happy we can’t make anyone happy around us. If we don’t have love for us we can’t offer it to anyone else. And the more we ignore ourselves, the more blockages we create inside us leading to the state of “dis-ease”. We all know this.. but somehow it all goes under the carpet in everyday life and we spend obscene amount of time cribbing about everything else…everyone else. How happy would the world be..if we were focused on improving our own selves.. our soul needs..our own self esteem would automatically increase and we would experience true happiness and share that with everyone around.. simply by our loving presence...

"A loving person lives in a loving world, A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror" - Ken Keyes

They say a true and genuine creative artist in whichever arena, can never find fault in any other’s creative work as he realises that everything is subjective and a unique expression of that particular soul. Thus if we truly focus on working on ourselves.. we will realise that everyone else is work in progress too and feel more love and compassion for them.

And to me, it begins with honouring your own uniqueness. I remember being asked once…. What was it that I was passionate about? And I remember thinking..Is it cooking? baking? Is it reading books on personal and spiritual growth? Is it music? Is it spending time with my loved ones? Is it learning new things? Pursuing genuine happiness? Swimming? I couldn’t pick one..I loved all of it!! (by the way writing was nowhere in the radar then!!) What was it then? And then something inside me answered “Life”. I am passionate about Life…and everything that it has to offer. And I remember beaming with the answer and feeling so liberated after saying that. The opposite person suddenly ceased to exist.. It didn’t matter to me what they thought of it. It was my truth and it gave me self-power. It is a unique answer..but that’s how my soul expresses itself. And I realised that the first step in loving yourself starts with acknowledging and honouring that small little voice which is truly wise and keeps guiding us towards true and lasting happiness….

Do yourself a favour today and start truly loving yourself…..you will know the difference between pursuit of vanity and pursuit of fulfilment.. between being selfish and honouring your true self...between being self-absorbed, narcissistic and being your own true friend deserving your own unconditional love...

 

 

 

A True Lesson of Eternity in Today’s Age of Instant Gratification….

“The timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness ; and knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream” – Kahlil Gibran

All of us on the spiritual path come across the word eternity so often. We reach a point when we become truly aware of concept that we are immortal souls… not immortal bodies. We intellectually understand the concept that we don’t have a soul…we are a soul and we have a body. But how ingrained is that concept in us.... how well do we accept or even have the patience to understand this obviously most important concept of eternity. How well can we take this lesson? Somewhere on the journey at some point the universe is kind enough and shows you the way.. your answers..your final goal…many people call it differently.. Nirvana, Moksha, Re-uniting with the Source, Being one with God, etc….whatever you may choose to call it …probably exactly what you were looking for but didn’t understand it before. And as per the laws of the universe also it seems knowledge is not given without a test. But how do we react to it…..Why do we struggle with it so much?

 Universe : OK.. Here’s your yummy lollipop...You've been looking for it forever haven't you?  And its not just yours..but its always been yours for eternity..and will always be.. You seek it and It seeks you…And heaven awaits you and blah blah blah…

You : What?? Really?? Sounds truly unbelievable!! Isn’t it too good to be true? But feels right to me...…Ok then… I want it now!! And I want it in this particular way only!

Universe : Excuse Me!! Now?? What is Now?!! You have to do this and that and get yourself sorted first and be compassionate and kind and help humanity and be loving and understanding.. But all this should be easy for you and should come naturally to you anyways if you have truly reached a certain stage…Remember I express all my desires through you.. Your desires are not just yours. They are part of my plan!! :)

You : What??? All that is fine. But it seems like a cruel joke!!

 Universe : Looks like you didn’t absorb the concept of eternity very well…You are just getting narrowly stuck with one chapter of life. You’re not going anywhere without this lesson properly!! You asked for the real thing.. didn't you? Can you not handle it now? How much more grief and shocks do you need just to let go of your silly conditioned concepts!!

You: Hmmm!! I shall go and meditate on that!! :)

Telling you.. This whole spirituality thing can be quite hilarious at times if seen in a lighter vein and the joke it seems is on you!!  :)

Reminds me of a quote which always makes me smile by Douglas Adams from the Restaurant at the End of Universe  “The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”  

That’s exactly how our reaction to this lesson is… usually in frustration and we self-contract and recoil and go in denial. Why? Just because there is no instant fulfilment and ownership the way we are conditioned to believe in today’s world. But the sooner we accept this lesson and move on beyond it we realise there’s still so much more work to be done and only then can we move to further heights..

I believe most of us use the word eternity and being an eternal being very easily and casually.. but when we have to actually live out this concept consciously... we really start throwing in the towel and start losing patience. I personally find myself grappling with this concept. Our minds are so conditioned to a certain way of thinking that anything outside the box seems difficult to digest. But I realise that I have to get over this or I am not getting anywhere....Spirituality and eternity go hand in hand. I absolutely cannot move ahead if I cannot embrace and soak in this concept fully. I cannot get stuck in what just appears in the "right now".....chapters were different before and they will be different later too....

Most of us on the spiritual path have an idea on how the book of our life will supposedly end but whether that ending will be in this chapter or the next or after 100 more.. will really be the test of patience. And if we truly believe that our being is eternal and like a book and our various lifetimes as only chapters of this fascinating book…accepting these lessons become much more easier. Space can be made for more positive energy and to move beyond it. Atleast you can now slowly recognise the main protagonists from the rest. And that itself is a remarkable achievement…  very few have been able to achieve this itself…that is being truly successful with a whole new meaning.. something one should be truly truly thankful and happy about…After all what is happiness… “Happiness is the settling of soul in its most appropriate spot”….as said by Aristotle….

My World of Superheroes! A Potent Mix of Science and Spirituality!

Being a mother of a 4 year old boy comes with its own peripherals. Just as my son's world is surrounded by various Superheroes... So is mine! Every birthday party (including my own son's) has to have a theme of either Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Iron Man, Hancock, Avengers, X-Men, even Chhota Bheem and sometimes a mix of all of them. When I go to buy a water bottle, lunchbox, pencil box or anything I have to be aware of the picture of the superhero on it and his current ranking on my son's list of favourites. You just cannot avoid their presence in our lives. And maybe it is for a good reason.

 

Like they say your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. As a mother either I can get annoyed with all this and get into heated discussions of how this is inculcating violence in young minds or I can try and proactively use these same Superheroes to inculcate the right values that I want in my child. And as I understand that is my role and I can't run away from it and blame the society. But for that I have to first clear my thoughts and love the Superheroes for what they stand for. And when one actually does that you realize what a powerful tool you have in your hand. 

 

To me, a Superhero movie or a story is a heady and a potent mix of science and spirituality. An adventure filled with pain and loss of loved ones (most of them incidentally are actually orphans), the inner turmoils of a person, the depiction of love more powerful than any romantic flick, the making of choices between how the world sees you and what you really are, accepting the burden that comes with the truth, accepting and discovering your own unique superpowers, living with the responsibility that comes with it, using superpowers for the betterment of humanity, trusting your inner voice and the loneliness that comes with it, sometimes losing some battles to emerge even stronger later,  living without ego...Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne.....none of them feel the need to impress on the world that they are the actual Superheroes. Hulk actually teaches you what anger can do to a person. My son won't listen to me even if I keep harping on this point but the minute I speak about what anger does to Hulk.. he immediately gets it! So fascinating to note what makes a lovable Anakin Skywalker turn to Darth Vader! If you choose to see these stories for what they are...a great number of powerful lessons are stored in here. It doesn't get more spiritual than this.

The eternal debate between free will and determinism is faced by almost all of them.. Just like us. Some have or get the powers unwillingly beyond their control and actually struggle with it first. Its only their free will which decides whether they rise to the occasion, do what is required of them, use it for the higher good of everyone around and in turn fulfil their own destiny. Most of them are even in touch with their shadow self, a dark side which all of us have and sometimes it appears that they are actually on the verge of falling but it is strength of character, clarity of thoughts and their ability to learn their lessons without ego is what usually gets them back on track.

 

Sometimes it is really funny to see these little kids at 7:30 in the morning, waiting for their school bus and debating about which superhero they are on that particular day and who has better powers. And this gets you thinking and gives a wonderful chance to bring out how each of them is unique and gifted on their own. You become a superhero only if you recognise and accept your own superpower and use it to your advantage. Yes, a Spiderman cannot fly like Superman but he surely can make webs and fly away. Batman infact, has no superpowers!! But he has the resources which he uses to create the tools that he needs to fight the evil. Iron Man has a piece of shrapnel in his chest but he uses his knowledge and intelligence to create an iron suit and becomes the Iron Man. Superman is actually an alien but he doesn't sit and cry about it. Daredevil is actually blind so he uses his other senses to get his job done. Don't we all need to know and accept this in ourselves too? Only if we recognise our strengths and gifts and work on them and develop them rather than cry about our weaknesses will we live a happy and fulfilled life. And who is to say what a weakness is? A weakness in one situation can be a strength in another.

 

My only bone of contention is the absence of a real Woman Superhero.. who herself deals with the pain of loss, faces the same inner turmoils, has the same commitments, has her own reputation at stake, has her own burden and loneliness of knowing the truth and possesses her own unique superpowers! And moreover because of being in touch with her feminine nature is not afraid to trust or reach out! Now that's a story waiting to be told!
Yes.. there is Elektra but she definitely is not in the same league.

 

But on an end note my personal favourite is "The Amazing Spiderman" who seems the most real to me who carries his cell phone around in his bagpack and even picks it awkwardly in the underground sewers when it rings. But the best part about him is that he has a mind of his own.. he chooses to trust Gwen with the truth ...and chooses in the end to break a silly promise made to her dying father which never should have been made in the first place ..Now that's refreshing!!

Also this one features one of my son's and my favourite song - "Till Kingdom Comes" by Coldplay. My son calls this "the drummer song" and this was one of the first songs that I had caught him humming on his own...much to my amusement. :)