Browse Month: September 2020

Did you find your Ikigai?

Seeking your ‘Ikigai’

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Credit : Harriet Green ( Linkedin)

Uncertainty is jarring. It stops you from following your dreams. It leaves you with no courage to walk the road you have always wanted to explore. And worst of all, it leaves you helpless and subjective to circumstances. Gradually, you start making up for inner peace by finding comfort in the cozy materialistic life you have weaved. But when your soul is suffocating; how much do you think you can hold up?

In my brief discussion with Suruchi Shah a life coach and entrepreneur, we explored various emotional and mental hurdles a person encounters during their self-discovering journey. One thing that inspired me to my core was the role of ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese philosophy in transforming Suruchi’s and thousand others’ life.

Eager to learn, and share the knowledge what I found out, I dedicate this blog to ikigai and its role in achieving our goals. But, before we go further, do catch my exclusive interview with Suruchi Shah on my Instagram page. Needless to say, it will help you gather the courage to take the first step towards your dreams and how to mentally support yourself throughout your journey. 

Ikigai for finding your passion

What is life like when you are not following your dreams? Probably mundane, unfulfilling. Each day waking up to an ear-piercing alarm clock you want to smash on the ground, peering through beady eyes and cursing the day ahead, how do you propose to change your situation. Why do we inflict so much pain on ourselves? Just because of fear of failure. It is downright sadistic.

It is our moral duty to keep ourselves happy. Work towards finding a reason to get out of the bed. And do one thing each day that makes you happy. At the end of the day, you would be able to answer your soul that you have done something that is taking you towards serenity. 

Ikigai is nothing but finding that very reason. This Japanese art of living was formulated to help people find balance within themselves, connect with others and the world. It opens up huge possibilities for personal development. Ikigai emphasis on starting each day with positive thoughts. Switching between moments to chid away anything negative that stands between you and your ultimate goal. Simply put, it is not about how you finish your day; it is about a positive start. 

Ikigai for finding courage within

Positive thoughts have a huge impact on our lives. They help you in creating a good mood and generate happiness for yourself and others. Each day when you wake up, no matter how cranky you feel force a good mood on yourself purposefully. It will motivate your body to work towards your dream the whole day and keep discouragement at bay.

It promotes focus. It will channel your energy, and allow you to take control of your mind and body to work harmoniously for what satisfies your soul. Happiness attracts happiness and sadness attracts sadness. A blissful life requires you to ignore the ruckus around you and enjoy the beauty of your goals.

Ask yourself, why are you in this world? What is the reason for being? What makes sense to you the most? Do you want to have a carefree life? or do you dream of becoming financially strong?

Find what makes you happy, what satisfies your soul. And don’t be afraid to set goals too high or too low. Just set an objective for being in this world and channel happiness and your efforts in reaching it. And your reason of being shall bestow energy, skills, ideas and ability to use them productively.

Ikigai for respecting your individuality

Right from the day we are born to the day we leave this world; we make connections with people. We engage with them to create emotional and physical bonds and in this course, we expect them to be understanding.

But mostly they are not. And you can’t blame them. Because nobody else is witnessing the battle going between your mind and soul. It is you alone who is going through the misery and know how disturbing it is. With this we come to two conclusions. One, respect people even when they are unable to understand you. And secondly, you don’t need their confirmation to get off that misery boat.

Ikigai encourages you to come of use to the world. It believes you have a special role in the community to play and you can create a positive impact. And, you can make a big difference in the society, just by helping yourself. Nature never gives birth to anything that is useless. The world needs you to realise your potential and work hard to reach your goals so that you can add to the greater good.

Ikigai doesn’t want you to think about yourself or have an opinion or belief about yourself. But it stresses you to find what you think about yourself in heart, body and mind. This alone unleashes infinite opportunities. Self-acknowledgement further protects you from making false assumptions about yourself and the world. It teaches you to respect difference in opinions and thoughts, meanwhile also respecting your own individuality.

Practicing Ikigai

Now that we have talked in length about what is ikigai, what does it require you to do, how does it help you in your entire life, here is how you can start practicing it.

Find what you love to do

It need not be your childhood dream, and it need not be something very realistic. It can be vague and you can redirect yourself later to change your goals again. Start by finding what do you love to do?

Scale it to a professional level

Do you see yourself enjoying what you love to do for a long time? What can you do to add value to it? How can you scale your present skills and abilities to reach pro level? Find answers to these questions.

Convert your passion into vocation

Financial uncertainties stop people from following their passion the most. For that, once you have found your passion, try to find vocation opportunities for your passion.

Add to the greater good

In the end it is all about how you can add value to yourself and to others. Most the time people leave this fourth leg of ikigai and fail miserably. It is very important that whatever you are doing should add value to not just yourself but to others too. Make it a mission. In the end ikigai is not just a personal development tool but a global philosophy.

Write us!

Thanks for staying till the end. I hope you loved to learn about Ikigai. Tell us if you knew about Ikigai already, or you have been practicing it. You can also share your experience and how it changed your outlook towards life and made you more positive in the comments below.

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“When we recognize our warrior self, we can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness.” ~ Madison Taylor When we feel called to explore the way of the warrior, we may feel a strong sense of dismay because we have no wish to disavow ourselves of our softer side. Yet embracing the warrior spirit is not a matter of denying gentleness or compassion–all human beings embody all traits to some degree, and seemingly contradictory aspects can coexist peacefully within us. We can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness precisely because both are elements of the self and both have a role to play in the complexity of existence. When we feel called to explore the way of the warrior, we may feel a strong sense of dismay because we have no wish to disavow ourselves of our softer side. Yet embracing the warrior spirit is not a matter of denying gentleness or compassion–all human beings embody all traits to some degree, and seemingly contradictory aspects can coexist peacefully within us. We can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness precisely because both are elements of the self and both have a role to play in the complexity of existence. We are in conversation with Suruchi Shah on her journey towards choosing to tap into her inner warrior to follow her dreams and passion with determination , go getter attitude and how she made her career transition into life coaching , Art therapist and a life skills trainer and counselor ! You can watch the recording here! We will be bringing more perspectives soon! #warriorsofchange #changecatalysts #changemakers #changinglives #transforminglives #createlife that you want #designyourlife #plan #setgoals #action

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Do you often Choose your Battles in life?

Choose your Battles

From living her dreams to becoming a catalyst in making people’s dreams come true, Deepti Arora has been my support system in finding myself. Each conversation adding something unique, positive, and valuable, I couldn’t wait when Deepti took some time out from her busy schedule to become a part of my vlog series “Warriors of Change”.

Today, Deepti is an entrepreneur and NLP coach at her venture – HealClinc. But once she too was juggling lemons and becoming creative in using them to sometimes make lemonade, or for that matter a tequila. So, without further ado, I will take you to different parts of my interview with her and what I have learned from it. Please do visit my Instagram page to find my full interview with Deepti.

Superheroes need to unwind too… 

There is a superhero that breathes in us all. It would take a load of the entire world on its shoulder and forget to analyze what are their priorities. And when things are not under their control it would freak them out. This is not just tiring; it would just take away what superheroes are known for the most – the smiling face even when things are not right.

That doesn’t sound like a superhero, isn’t it? It is not easy to realize that you are incapable of juggling too many things. If you continue you are not just doing injustice to others but yourself too by stripping off the needful mind-body equilibrium.

Defining your priorities…

I remember reading somewhere, “life never throws at you a challenge so big that you can’t cope with”. It has been with me for a long time now and it has completely changed my outlook towards the bad phases of life. Life is not going to be same all the time. And if you ask me, happiness would lose its meaning too soon if we don’t encounter sadness. We will just forget to cherish the moments in the flow of life.

Sadly, we all go into trance. How to get out of it? How do you find the serenity and happiness in the times when nothing seems to go right? I will give you one hint. Starting owning your mind. Choose your battles. Accept the challenges and meanwhile, everyone would think you just have to jump… I would say no. Never enter a battlefield unprepared.

In modern terms, plan… plan… plan… until you have found the right way to defeat your challenges. Make a priority list and let go of the things that are stopping you from winning the battle. No matter how necessary they might be to you. No matter how attached you are with it. Let go of the things that will make you lose your balance because you have that rope hanging in the air to walk and balance alone is going to get you to the other side.

We are defeated by our prejudices…

Life is all about breaking our conceptions. As Deepti said, we are all here to learn something from our experiences. In the same way, we are stopped from taking the right decision when we limit ourselves in commonly found notions of society. It is necessary to challenge yourself to continuously widen our paradigm.

For example, A working mother, a father who is wanting to quit his job to start his own business, a boy learning ballet, or a girl playing football or cricket. Society accepts us to work in a certain cliché format. We have these affixed notions in the society which want us to align our dreams around it. But happiness and peace of mind won’t come until you are satisfying yourself. Self-satisfaction is not selfish. Depriving yourself of love and dreams is a sadist. Dream and make a plan for life, the universe will fulfill all of it in time.

Having a vision for things…

Not every opportunity you get in your life will pay off. We have been there when something sounds too good to be true, you follow that opportunity but eventually it starts to fall apart. But now, when you don’t have time to invest in each and everything, vision can help you. There is no eeny-meeny-miny-moe way to choose what will be best for you. But having a vision will help you understand whether things are aligning with your long-term and short goals or not. It will not just help you in finding the financial footing, but mental peace too.

Having a vision bestows you the power to say no to the things that don’t align with your goals. Here, patience helps you greatly. When you are drowning, naturally you will pick up anything that looks like a rope to keep you afloat. But it might be a snake in disguise that is going to bite you after. In those times you have that choice to learn to swim too. What will you choose? I choose not to take an easy way out, not without fully analysing it.

Being a warrior means taking charge…

A warrior too can lose the focus. Even when things are going according to you, make sure you are not going back to your old ways. What you have learned from life and variety of experiences mandatorily be adapted in your life, you just need to scale them as per your current situation.

Above all, respect yourself, and your goals. Never let anybody else hold the reins of your life because, in the end, you will lose the power over your dreams. With physical wellness comes the acute need of finding mental wellbeing. And we can’t ignore the role of financial stability all along. Revisit your goals, and plan your life as per your current achievements to find help in a long run.

Bracing the journey of life through courage and grit

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson.

Life is like a rollercoaster; it has all the highs and lows. One minute you are at the top of the world and a few minutes later you are entering a scary, dark cave. In these grave moments, we must remember – this too shall pass. 

In my conversation with Sujatha Keni, I got a chance to witness some of her challenges when 30 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. Braving her rocky road with hope, courage, and positive thinking she is a turned leaf with more energy and life than ever before. So, without further ado, let’s start our bracing journey of learning how we can win any battle of life with positive thinking. Also, please visit my Instagram page to find my exclusive interview with Mrs.Sujatha Keni, and do like comment and share. 

When light ceases to exist it’s time we light the lamp of hope

We humans have to make rigorous efforts to stimulate positive thoughts. Meanwhile, negative thoughts mostly come uninvited. The fear of difficulties, failures, and disasters can easily grip us to an extent where, no matter how much we try it feels nothing would change in the next lag of life – gloomy, sad and hopeless. 

But why is that? How difficult it can be for our brain to continuously signal positive thoughts? If we go by science, it has a lot to do with the education and environment we are living in. A happy and positive environment is not just necessary for a child’s development but also, it makes a deep impact on the way he or she is going to react to difficult situations. In short, the practice of stimulating positive thinking starts from the very beginning. 

We see through our eyes, but view the world with our mental attitude. Mental health and wellbeing play an important role in giving the “positive filter” to even the most difficult situations. Just is like wearing dark shades, our ambitions, and our circumstances appear dark. Your surrounding and outlook towards life become dark. Replace those dark shades with the rosy ones and see the change.  

How to inculcate the habit of positive thinking?

– Try to look at things positively:

The law of attraction tells us how positive and negative thoughts bring out positive and negative experiences in our life. All across the world people have practiced it, experienced it, and have made positive thinking a crucial part of their life. For changing your life, you need to protect your will the most to overcome your bad situation. It helps you to plan your way out or gives you hope for the good yet to come. 

– Expecting Positive Results: 

When nothing seems right, you must realize and remember your long-term goals. Life is never the same all the time. If there is are dark alleys, it will also give you a chance to walk through beautiful gardens. Hope for positive results that are yet to come. Most of all if you are turning blind towards anything good, you might not even spot an opportunity that could change your life overnight. 

– Don’t give up on your dreams: 

The bad experiences in our lives come to teach us something. If something bad has happened to you automatically you become more cautious about your surrounding and for sure, you will be able to easily spot potholes in the path ahead. But, unlike the first time, you need to keep moving forward with more confidence and energy to struggle for survival. Use your past experiences to fight things strategically.  

Small things to practice each day to overcome negative thinking

Here are a few steps that will help you take over negative thinking. Here are a few tips that can help you avoid negative thinking: 

  1. Every time a negative thought comes in your mind, replace it with a positive one. 
  2. Imagine yourself succeeding whenever you catch yourself visualizing failure. 
  3. Start using more positive words in your conversation, avoid negative words as much as possible.
  4. Speak to yourself, and encourage yourself with powerful words such as “I can”. It will help you boost your self-esteem and give you the courage to experiment with new opportunities. 
  5. Never let the negative words and phrases go on look in your mind. Switch to positive ones. You will soon feel more alert and forthcoming towards making attempts to change your situation. 
  6. Give yourself some break from negativity and don’t be too harsh on yourself. Slowly make your way to a positive attitude.
  7. Sit calmly and decide that from today from this particular moment you will leave the negativity behind and start a new phase – a positive phase of life.

 Surrendering to divine

When something goes out of control and things don’t seem to make much sense resort to god and believe whatever happens it is your destiny and a test that you must pass. Search the divine in yourself. It will work as soup to your soul and will nourish you throughout your journey.

Along with hope and positive thinking, these were some tips that will help you in stopping the train of negative thoughts. Also, positive thinking needs positive actions to translate into change. It is a habit of mind and a very strong way to transform your life.  

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Can 8-Minute Meditation Give You a Quiet Mind and Change Your Life Forever?

What exactly is meditation? It seems that so many people nowadays are hooked up with this form of activity. By definition, meditation is often used to describe the individual’s state of intense attention on an object of awareness or thought. The individual tries to turn his or her attention inward. Meditation is said to be of Vedic Hinduism origin. This is usually practiced in the eastern religions but now even the western culture is already involved in such activity.

People want to practice meditation so that they can focus their mind to God for their personal development, to attain peace of mind, and to be healthier.

Many people are now involved in some form of meditation. According to Time Magazine there is one meditation practice that can be used by almost anyone.

This can be considered as the basic primer of people wanting to begin meditation but have no idea where to start.

There was a book published last November 2005 authored by Victor Davich that is all about the 8 minute meditation. If you purchase the book and study it carefully, you will learn a lot of things about meditation, and you can do it in just 8 minutes.

Almost every individual who starts with anything new to him or her will often have lingering questions, hopes, and doubts about it. There are even people who hopes that when they begin to meditate, they will be enlightened. Or perhaps you’re one of those individuals who think that meditation is just like an exercise or diet that you’ve been trying to do for the past few months. But these things are normal; so don’t be surprised if you’re also like that.

The best thing to do is to face all the positive and/or negative expectations, and after doing so, forget about them and start with a clean slate. If you want to try the 8-minute program of meditation, you should learn how to approach it one minute at a time.

While many people think that meditation is a simple practice, then you’d better think twice. You might not notice it, but your mind is always racing from here to there. You can’t concentrate. According to the book’s author, you must watch your breath. This is the very first step to meditation. Do your inhalation and exhalation by breathing deeply. If you always do this and just keep on practicing, you can become good in meditation.

As a word of reminder, if you catch yourself thinking about other things, or in other words your mind strays off, focus again on your breathing. After all, meditation is all about concentrating and if you realize that you’re not on the right track, you can always return to that state of mind gently. Don’t get discouraged easily and just keep on practicing.

There is a popular saying that says practice makes perfect; so always keep that in mind. If you quit easily, then you will remain a quitter.

Meditation can help you in achieving peace of mind. With all your problems at work, in your family, and the entire world, you should at least experience a few minutes of peace. Don’t miss this chance to attain personal development at no cost at all.

Why should you take our Reiki101 Basics workshop?

Reiki was looked as a strange practice from the days it was originated in Japan in the year 1922. It was started by Buddhists in Japan with intentions to heal using the palm of the individual in order to release positive energy to the patient.

At times Reiki is considered as oriental method of treatment by specialized medical bodies.

Reiki 101 Basics

Learn The Natural Curing Energies Of Reiki https://www.ranjinirao.com/offerings/reiki-therapy

The Fundamentals

In general it is divided into 3 major stages of proficiency, which are first, second and third degree, those who practice Reiki will be able to prevent illnesses and heal themselves and others as well.

The second stage of practitioners has the capability to cure and heal anyone from a distance, which is referred as distance healing. The final degree (highest) is the vital level in which the practitioner is meticulously knowledge with the essential acquaintance and proficiency to edify and attune others to reiki practice.

In simple words, it is a simple method of healing concept with holistic methods and without using any medications at all. The method is done by the practitioner by placing his or her hands on the person who needs the healing.

If you want more information on Reiki workshops – you can write to [email protected] and we will keep you posted on our upcoming workshops.