MiniPoetry

There 

I was

Near 

The inner 

Dimensions 

Of sanity 

Where

There was

A minuscule 

Assemble

Of my reality 

Here

I was

Born to be

Free

Searching

Kindness

It left

Behind us

The birdsong

The language

Of crematory ashes

What remains

As I search 

Tirelessly 

For that place 

And normality

Brave Souls

They ask me to say something about Guru Gobind Singh;

They ask what is He to me?

I tremble when they ask, "What is He to me?"

I think of history,

Wars, fierceness & days of victories; 

Warriorship that raised generations,

Courage, which had no limitations.

I learnt early,

When things get tough

Don't be girly

When up against trouble,

Meet it squarely, 

Burst the bubble;

Set the shoulders,

Plant your feet,

Take a brace,

And that's how & when,

I remember a Guru's face.

How A Person Can Be Spiritually Inclined?

If you are a person who’s alive & breathing, you are spiritual, and when you realize the consciousness that runs your body, you become spiritually inclined. It is not difficult. Being spiritually inclined also doesn’t that you do anything extra than what you are doing right now. It just implies that you become conscious of your thoughts, words, and actions; not do anything that harms others and are in a constant mode of being aware of your connection with the almighty power.

How Does A Spiritually Inclined Person Behave?

1.     Sensibly, obviously! A spiritually inclined person is in control of emotions, doesn’t let the situations or unpleasant circumstances empower his or her virtues. He/she tries to see good in everybody, doesn’t let pride get better of him or her.

2.     For the situations beyond control, a spiritually inclined person wouldn’t fret too much. He/she would learn to go with the flow, develop a positive attitude, and favor the problem-solving attitude.

3. He would have a disciplined routine, with no exceptions. If you consider the life of yogis, one common habit that every one of them has is getting up early, mostly before sunrise. The scientific reason for it is that it allows you to set your internal body clock with the sun and fix up the tone of your day. Art of Living has dedicated a whole page on the virtues of being an early riser.

4. He would meditate in the morning and during the day, as and when time permits. For us mortal beings, the mind is a curious thing that keeps on running from one thought/feeling/action to another. So it becomes imperative to keep it busy in creating positive, purposeful, and powerful thoughts. If you need help in finding some positive affirmations, the following images can help you. They have the power to make you feel spiritually inclined while adding to self-worth and love for fellow human beings. 

 5. He would make sure that the food he gives to the body is both nutritious and light. Fat-filled, junk or non-vegetarian food ignites the aggressiveness in the body. It is unnatural, creates obstacles in digestive ability, and gives rise to the diseases of obesity, heart ailments, high cholesterol, upset stomach, and other issues. Besides, no matter how much you cook and add spices to your food, it is still not cool to eat a dead body. And not to remind, the ruthless corona pandemic, which brought the whole world to a halt, began because some people chose to eat infected bats somewhere and passed on the virus to the entire globe.

6.      A spiritually inclined person would be gracious in accepting mistakes, will learn from the past, and try hard not to repeat them. If accepting mistakes is problematic for you, maybe this image below can help. 

Habits of a spiritually inclined person:

Gets up before sunrise 

Meditates daily

Keeps control over thoughts

Is a positive affirmer

Eats light vegetarian food

Accepts mistakes graciously  

What Does Spiritually Inclined Does Not Mean?

That you are

Timid

Afraid

Avoider of responsibilities 

Love Of My Life

You make me smile,

Every moment of the day

When dawn breaks the morning

We cycle together

Pacing ourselves

Breaking the shelves

The blood pulses

Desire to go fast is compulsive

We become intense

Sustaining the breaths

Until we are spent

The sweat drips

Panting,

We recover

Your obsession keeps me going

Tomorrow, I must have you again

Life isn't the same without you

I love you,

I need you,

..... my daily workout. 

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When it comes to creative writing, every individual can learn how to give their thoughts a touch of elegance. Simple words can sometimes weave magic. Learn creative writing now. Call 9818002531 for details. 

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Working From Home

Isle of Time

I am nothing but a little being!

Carry with me sixty wings

Time is slow for those who wait

Too long for those who grieve 

Joy when fly on the unseen tracks

Never a minute comes back

It is precious; must do it well

For how it is used, I must one day tell

Waste minutes, hours go by

Day by day; years get lost

Make a life, strive

Use it wise to survive

Art to live just one thing,

Do the good that I seek.

International Literacy Day

Happiness is a Decision

If you want to know how to be happy, I have here multiple 30-days happiness challenges for you. Try them. Each of them has been designed to increase happiness and take you on the path of self-improvement. The ideas are fairly simple. You don't have to do much to live your best life other than staying committed.

Read more: 

Never Give Up 

Be The Hope

Managing Distractions

The Superhero

         

Never Give Up - Use Positive Affirmations to De-stress

She had started to realize that it wasn’t going to happen for her.
She was in her thirties.

She hadn’t found the right home to stay in it for more than a year.

Her first marriage ended in a divorce. She was jobless with a dependent child.

After twelve failed attempts at submitting her manuscript, she had enough energy to try just one more time, or give up.

She chose to follow her heart, spent months in finding the right agent, and sent her writings again for a review. It was a year before she heard back from a publisher in London whose eight-year-old daughter had shown great interest in the initial chapters, and that’s when J.K. Rowling became famous, progressing to hold the title of the world's first billionaire author.

Her creation – Harry Potter is now a global brand worth US$15 billion.

Moral: Never ever ever ever give up. Your time is coming.

What does Never Giving Up mean?

It means having the courage to believe in yourself, to be prepared to accept tough times so that you can grow and adapt to the change. It also implies never compromising on the values that are close to your heart and be a strong-willed person to walk the talk, literally! When you find your will somewhere shaking you down or energy depleting somewhere in the race of life, refer to positive affirmations. They are one of the richest resources of instant happiness & gratitude.

positive affirmations, short positive affirmations, powerful daily affirmations, positive affirmations to say everyday, positive affirmations quotes, positive affirmations meaning, positive affirmations list, positive affirmations for work, positive affirmations for success

What to do when you feel overwhelmed?

We all have those days when we feel a little bit itchy with intense emotions taking up the charge of thoughts. While it is natural to feel stressed sometimes, but when the stressors go on for a long time they make a person overwhelmed. Different people may have different reasons, but some of the common ones are:

• Relationship problems
• Physical illness
• Tight-scheduled jobs
• Unhealthy eating habits
• Changes in life
• Constant feeling of insecurity
• Death in the family
• Lack of sleep

how to destress, how to de-stress yourself instantly, how to de-stress at work, how to de-stress and reduce anxiety, how to de stress and enjoy life, creative ways to de-stress, fun ways to de-stress, how to de stress in 10 minutes, how to de-stress when you have anxiety

Don't Lose Hope: Show Faith, Share Love

When Shree stepped off the bridge in mid-2017, she had every reason for wanting to throw in the crappy hand life had dealt her. Recently divorced, her career was going nowhere, living on her own was proving to be financially tough.

But on her way down, she had a realization. If she checked out now, her own children would suffer precisely the same mom-shaped hole in their life as she had. So instead of giving up when she hit the water, she swam to safety.

This was despite suffering a collapsed lung, shattered ribs, and burst spleen—all so she might see her kids again.

But that isn’t even the amazing bit. That came two weeks later when Shree’s story made it to the newspapers and caught the eye of a serial investor. Specifically, he read about her experience, and it just so happened that she was freaking amazing organic farmer.

Within a week of reading her story, he had tracked her down and put two other potential investors in touch. After literally years of trying, Shree had finally able to start her MSE & make it big enough to employee 37 other people —all because someone cared enough about a stranger’s misery to sacrifice few hours of his life helping her.

There are thousands of stories of sons, daughters, friends, sisters, brothers, parents who came so close but realized at the last moment there was someone out there who still loved them. 

There are always people who will miss you when you go, no matter how hopeless things might feel. There are always people willing to help, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. 

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Yesterday Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide. If depression can happen to him, it can to anyone. Don't let it get better of you. 

RIP Sushant Singh Rajput

TALK. Don’t suffer alone.

Here's how you can help if someone around you is struggling with mental health or facing depression

How to help others

How to help people struggling with mental health

Be The Hope

Be The Hope

Hope is the attitude change for a better future!

🔺Be of help

🔺Be of value

🔺Stay humble

Be the hope the world needs. 

Managing Distractions

Headphones? Eh..

Dark wave music? Maybe

For the longest time, I have aspired to manage distractions. Social media, phone calls, unfinished books & never-ending messages; sometimes it gets tough to focus on writing. Since distractions are unavoidable, 

I am learning to deal with them.

I’m NOT an expert on anything and I know it. Just sharing the little knowledge I have gained in managing distractions, my 10-point plan.

·         Meditate.

·         Clean up.

·         Take a break. 

·         Reward yourself. 

·         Become an early bird. 

·         Control television time. 

·         Silence your cell phone. 

·         Use the Internet sparingly. 

·         Take it one thing at a time. 

·         Turn off the background noise. 

If your goal is effortless work while at home battling once-in-a-century pandemic, start here. 

MANAGING DISTRACTIONS

Also, make these habits of successful people yours. 

HABITS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

The Superhero

She's from Bhuvneshwar. 

She works as domestic help. She has no family. She isn't educated, doesn't speak/understand our language much.

She earns just over 5500 a month.

She is poor, but she has empathy.

Last night, when the news of Amphan got worse, she arranged to send a tempo-full of essentials to her village. I asked her how she managed it, especially in these times when the households she works at have halted her services.

"I took a loan", she replied.

"Why?"

"Because didi, this year, the world needs hope more than ever before."

Some hearts know no boundaries. Some hearts are just ordinary, with such extraordinary depth of courage that knowing them becomes a privilege.

Self Improvement in The Times of Corona Pandemic : ReEducating the Mind

Do you miss your school? Those stomach-rumbling noises of inside before exams? The excitement of stepping into a new class, feeling of how you covered one more year, crossed one more hurdle &; are nearer to the goal of becoming what you dreamt? 

I am reminded of those days again. Corona pandemic has reintroduced exam-time house-rest in our lives except that this is the time to check how much better each of us has become individually. 

Some lines of being successful, rich, or poor have blurred. We all have come to the same platform of self-discipline. Getting up early even when there is no office, maintaining a routine, helping family members and keeping control over self on not getting addicted to Netflix or smartphones are just a few things to be learned.

The current education is of building habits & becoming a better version of ourselves. We literally have the most valuable resources of our lives on our hands – ‘Time’ – Lockdown has given us loads of it. 

How we use it well, is what the trick is all about. 

I personally like these peaceful days. The freelancing gigs have dipped because the world has kind-of stopped, but the spirit is ever spirited. In my humble experience, there are 3 steps that can help us to use this second lockdown to build new habits. 

Suggestion 1: Morning Meditation: One of the habits I learnt by observing Brahmakumaris is getting up early. When the day starts at 3:30 or 4:00 am, you get time to do more in the same 24 hours. Morning meditation is one of the easiest habits to start your mind on a healthy note. 

Early morning is the time when the cosmic energies of the universe are in total sync with each other. The physical disturbance of other human beings is lesser as compared to the rest of the day, making it easier to find peacefulness around that time. 

To build a meditation habit:

·     Create a meditative corner in your home. It can be your sofa, temple, terrace, balcony or any place you find peaceful. 

·     Get up half an hour to 45 minutes early from your usual time. Use this time to connect with God, a point of light, ocean infinite energies. Feel the power of God around self and your family members. Give everyone you know vibrations of peace, tranquillity and happiness, for we are living in the times that these three things are needed most by all of us. 

    Suggestion 2: Chuck-Out Desires: We have been given this golden opportunity to evaluate what is important to us and build our habits around that. Make a list of your desires and see how much of them are truly needed for you to be happy. 
      Examine your daily routine and find out the ways in which your mind thinks excessive wasteful thoughts. Don't let TV, Netflix, or your smartphone ruin your thinking process. Learn to tune-out from the negative news or cheap comments in the name of humor. Read, learn a new skill, talk to your parents, clean your wardrobe, cook for your family - build productive habits that make people those around you happy. 

     Suggestion 3: Accept The New Roles: Once eating out 3-4 times a week was normal, but now people are happily accepting simpler meals and luxuries of home-cooked food. Those who had chauffeur-driven cars are cleaning utensils at home or children who talked to their friends throughout the day are helping parents in managing the chores of their homes. A lot of our roles have reversed or changed and hence the mindset should change too. 

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Read More:

• 26 Hacks for Self-Motivation – Motivate Yourself Everyday
• Forgive, Forget and Move on
• Stress Management through Worry Management
• Spiritual Quotient Learning
• http://offbeatspirituality.blogspot.com/2009/12/spiritual-quotient-learning-iii.html

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Only those who can change with time can stay afloat when the tides rise. If you want to be a better version of yourself, grab this opportunity to do something for which you’d always feel nice about yourself. Start by getting up early, knowing your priorities, and accepting the changing roles. This is the need of the hour. Whether you listen to it or not, that, of course, depends on you. 

Peace & Smiles,

N

Originally Published Here: ReEducation in The Times of Corona

26 Hacks for Self-Motivation – Motivate Yourself Everyday

Have you ever had a day when you had a lot of things to do, but didn't have the motivation?  I live plenty of those days.  Sometimes, I am so unmotivated that I allow my work to pile up like crazy.  And then the next few days are spent in the great agony of running to complete deadlines, with no time for fun or enjoyment of any kind.

Motivation means different things to different people. To some, it starts with getting up on time in the morning and running their day like a clock. While to others, it could just be that extra cup of coffee that keeps them going. Over the last year, I have observed people around me and have come up with a list of things that keeps them self-motivated.

26 Ways You Can Motivate Yourself

1. Start small: Big is dangerous. It needs preparation - both physically and mentally, whereas small can be done with only a minute change. You want to leave sugar, don't go from soda and ice creams to buying non-sugary fruits in one day. Give your body some time to adjust. Start small, but keep it consistent.

2. Remove distractions: It works big time. I, for example, like to read witty comments in my Twitter feed. So the moment I allow myself to switch it on for a moment, other things attract me and soon I find myself looking at latest shoes or cute buns for short hair that I know I am never going to be perfect at. Your distractions will  not be many if you can make a list and dedicate time towards them out of your work hours. 

3. Engage in small dares: Sometimes, a little adrenaline is what is needed to move us out of our comfort zone. You can dare yourself to face your fear, play like a kid, take a dance class, wave hello to random strangers, drink 5 glasses of water without stopping, try a sexier dress (even if you don’t want to buy, try it at least!) – do something that makes you live in the moment.

4. Try makeup: A new hairdo, eyeliner or a plain cherry color for lips – a change in how you look sometimes boosts mood and makes one feel happy. Focusing on self-care produces good feelings about the self and the nearby environment.

Read: 10 Commandments to Be Happy

5. Tell yourself why you are wonderful:  This was a creative writing exercise that my language teacher used to make us do in the class. We were given an hour to write wonderful things about ourselves in a poem and create a vision of the future.  It sort-of made us touch our motivational resources and invited us to express ourselves.

6. Declutter your life:  Simplify your surroundings, weed out the activities that do not add anything positive to your routine/life. In her book Brain Building in Just 12 Weeks, Marilyn vos Savant notes that effective living is simple living. To strengthen intelligence and expand positivity of mood to carry on with a task, go easy on what you do and focus on doing only one thing at a time.

7. Write a letter to self: Use the days when there is not much action around to go into a journey within. Word it around the strong set of core values that define you and allow it to cover your hopes and ambitions. Use it to cultivate a sense of identity,  re-evaluate your current friendships or how to take better care of yourself.

8. Write your contribution to the universe: Sometimes, you need to expand your point of view to see what value-addition you are doing to the universe. It can be something as small as sending vibrations of peace, praying for a friend or feeding a poor. 

9. Do a model runway walk: Put on some peppy music and get your modeling figure into action. Go nuts with your outfit, put on some bangles/jewelry/high heels and groove with the tone of music set by your system.

10. Try poetry: Poetry teaches us to live. Random words, verses, sentences bring in rhythm, shedding a sideways light on the world around us. 

11. Do it for 5 seconds: Sometimes, a moment lasting as short as 5 seconds is what you need to get up and go. If you have any thought or instinct to do something, do it within 5 seconds or your brain will cut it out.

12. Let go of the waste: Waste thoughts, emotions, habits make it overwhelmingly hard to move on. Create a list of actions and chunk out the stuff that is not needed, including memories of previous hurts. Let them go.

13. Get your groove going: Play funky music, get into the beats, let the rhythm of it take you over. Listen to the lyrics, allow them to speak to you as if the song was made especially for you. 

14. Visualise your goals: This is one of the oldest tricks in the sack. Write down your short-term and long term goals, visualize the satisfaction that you will feel after achieving them and use that feeling to get past your fears and doubts.

15. Reward yourself: Every kind of motivation works well then there is a reward attached to it. The reward can be something as small as a cookie or something big like buying a new car. Regardless of whether you are at the half-line or have already finished the marathon, reward yourself with something that motivates you to carry on.

16. By psyched up about yourself: You are unique. You can search the entire universe, but will not find anyone else exactly like you. God gave you life for a reason,  and it is your duty to find it, live it and be psyched about it.

17. Do an inner dialogue: Inner dialogues and positive self-talk can have surprising benefits. When you say things like "I am the best", "I like myself", "I can do it" or "I deserve this", you tend to reinforce the positivity around you which matters better by creating an aura of hopefulness. 

18. Call someone: Your mom, buddy or neighbor next door – speaking to someone who makes you feel better about yourself is an instant motivator. Sometimes somebody else, a different person, can see what you are good at rather than you yourself. When you get such kind of positive people, even if it is for 2-minutes, their positivity tends to impact you too. 

19. Read: A seemingly unrelated article/book/note can push you to do something that you have been trying to do. To make it better, develop a daily reading habit. It is going to put a long-lasting impact on your personality as well as how you perceive yourself. 

20. Positive quotes go a long way: Sometimes reading the right kind of quote is just the motivation that you need to get up and get going. Read it on your phone, laptop or get a book. Read. 

21. Find a visual motivator: It can be a photograph of self when you didn’t have that much weight around your waist, a stack of books that you want to read along your study table or a list of new healthy recipes that you want to try on. When you walk by your visual motivator every morning and night at least 10-20 times a day, the thought of it starts to get reinforced in your mind unconsciously. Find one thing, one big impact that you should focus on, and get a visual motivator to put it by your study table or near the place you sleep at. 

22. Investigate: Why to keep a clear outlook right, why you should do that work or why you should lose the weight or why it is important for you to close the credit card debt? This physical activity builds in motivation for long term behavior.

23. Make a list of what makes you smile: Those little moments in your day that really brought you joy or made you feel excited. It sometimes makes it better to write them down so that you can instantly feel that rush of being happy. 

24. Practice gratitude: From the moment we open eyes in the morning, we run towards what is important in the day. In the process, we sometimes forget to be thankful. Practice gratitude, say thanks to God, to nature, to your higher energy and use that gratitude to build up the motivation to get along with the day. 

25. Face your fears: Think of the last moment when you decided to procrastinate something and how it made you feel. Use that guilt to get up now and get moving. 

26: 20 seconds rule: Get just 20 seconds of insane courage to do something. Be bold about it, get ahead and do it. Be it about sending an email to a prospective client or going out for a jog, just use those 20 seconds to focus on one idea. Have the courage to go about it, and keep on doing it again and again and again. 

Corona – Our Generation's Epidemic

Life's painfully halted,

No more travel to fulfil my fantasies

People, professional, young & old plaguing themselves

Corona is our generation's epidemic.

Mission is to stay calm and judge priorities,

Serving success is not earning silver spoons

Indulging in insecurities is hard work,

Being loud is our generation's epidemic.

Me before you,

Confusing emotions corrupt our kindness.

Nagging, abusing, letting others down

Selfishness is our generation's epidemic.

Positive Words To Live By

A friend has Dyspraxia and struggles with balance, co-ordination and spatial awareness. He started driving lessons when he was 17. He struggled straight away and was extremely frustrated. He tried to pass his driving test until he was 23 when he finally succeeded, so this was 6 years in the making.

How did he succeed? He made a list of positive words. Every morning he read them aloud, even if he didn't believe in some of them. It made him feel good and with time he started feeling calm and as if nothing could stop him! He felt powerful and confident. He finally discovered 'The Power Of Encouraging Words'.