Stress Management

I had a chance to speak at a conference today which was full of working professionals, age group 20- 50 years. Hearing them discuss the issues of their companies, teams, products, deadlines, meetings and God knows what else; it was worth noticing that how individuals are shaping the future of organizations. The surprise element was however the stress level that each of them carried. Almost each of them reported problems of constant headache, blood pressure or high temperament.

Stress is a silent killer, it kills without warning. Don’t forget that “stress is not what happens to us. It is our response TO what happens, and RESPONSE is something we can choose.” When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.

Winters & me!

Winter is setting in. I love this weather - mostly because the sky is clear and it’s the time to plant new seeds. From November to March, nature gets beautiful. I go out for long walks every morning just to see who is growing what. There is a unspoken competition among all on whose flowers are the best.

I love the way air smells and the beds of different colored pansies. I grow them every year to remind myself of the vibrant life that we all are given. It prompts me to see my daily living as a sketch book, and it depends on me make it colorful.

Value of Time

“Know the value of time” – A very common proverb but the most ignored proverb. Time passes with every moment. If I am not making use of it right now, I am wasting the most prized possession of mine. Time is an entity which is common and equal for all. No matter which country, cast, religion we are from, we all get 24 hours in a day. Some people spend their day in sleeping and doing activities which does not add any value to the humanity as a whole while others work hard to make their ends meet.

If you want to be stress free and live an extraordinary life, you will have to get ahead of time. Here are some pointers that can help:

• Give up laziness – just give it up
• Don’t postpone work, do it now.
• Don’t involvement yourself in enjoyable activities such as watching TV, listening music, relaxing or a get together with friends till the time you have completed your work.
• Be truthful to yourself. You have to be your own teacher.
• Make a timetable for the day and stick with it.
• Be strong willed.
• Know what is right and then do IT
  

I can go on like this but I guess everybody else is smarter than me. I hope you have got the message - Know the Value of Time

Spiritual Quotient Lesson II

Human beings have 4 levels of interaction – physical, mental, social and spiritual. The physical level constitutes the kind of person you are and characteristics like what you are fond of, what you hate, your passions, values you stand for etc.

Metal level is the foundation of your intelligence quotient. It is all about your capabilities as a human being, your strengths and weaknesses. Next one, social level constitutes our communication with the rest of the world in general.

The fourth level – spiritual is totally neglected. We are so tied up with the first three levels of interaction that most of us do not even realise that the intellect inside us has its own needs. Spiritual quotient is used to judge this realization and on the basis of it, the ‘humanity’ factor in you can be determined.

‘Humanity’ is one of the most confused words in today’s language. For most of us, it means helping others in any way we can. To be of assistance is certainly good but where is the compassion? For others as well as for self? Aren’t most of our actions are driven by the perception that others have about us?

You see, we human beings have fallen to such a level of deteriotiation that self interest has become the biggest thing. You may care about global warming, wars, terrorisms but if you are not caring for your parents and family selflessly then your living is a waste.
And this, my friends, is what spiritual quotient teaches us.

Identify the Leader in You

If you want to be great in life, know thyself and live in present. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery but today is a gift and that is why it is called “Present”. Live in the moment, it will help you in two ways:

1. What you are doing right now will pave a way for your future. So if your thoughts are of best quality and you are doing with work with utmost sincerity, the future will become like that. According to the Karmic Philosophy, we reap what we sow. So, sow good deeds and reap their benefits.
2. Use your creative power to get rid of old habits, unsolved issues. Let the past go, only then you will be able to make the place for future. See it like this – If you have a cabinet which is filled with old clothes and junk, where will you keep the new stuff? And since you will not be able to make space for the new things, you will keep on looking at the junk and feel bad about it or carry a feeling of guilt within. To make yourself happy, give yourself this one gift on Diwali – give away the junk of your mind or a bad habit that you know will do you harm later. Enjoy the newness around because the world needs people like YOU who are different that the rest and possess the inner strongness that no one else has.

BTW: Diwali is the biggest festival in India and its tomorrow, 17th Oct. It is also known as the festival of light and I must say to those who haven’t seen Diwali in India – You are missing something too big in life. Visit us once to see what humans who are lit with happiness from mind can do. The scene at night is worth thousands of dollars. Every home sparkles with lights, colourful lights and candles. It is WONDERFUL.

Monday Blues!

I’ve got cough today and my nose is running. Couldn’t get up early because of my laziness and had to drive in the morning to somewhere – so missed meditation class –one hour practice that opens my mind to a new world of possibilities. It’s around 2 pm now and I haven’t had the chance to nibble the breakfast and work seems to be happening too slow. I have to go out for shopping with my mother this week (have been postponing that for over a month but can’t do that anymore) and one of my clients is not paying for the work I did for him two months back. I have to complete a pile of articles today and I know it would take me another 10-12 hours to do those and I want to go for a meeting tomorrow so badly, not sure if I would be allowed to!

Well, that’s how my Monday is going so far but I still love it when things get too jumbled-up. It becomes the test of my patience and like everyone else, I don’t like to fail. So, as I plan my day ahead, I feel cheerful from inside and I know that if I can keep myself calm now – I can keep myself composed under any situation.

I am writing this on my blog so that it acts as a constant reminder of what I need to be – A Calm Person.

What’s your spiritual quotient?

We all have come across terms like intelligence quotient – used to measure presence of mind of an individual, emotional quotient – tells us about the sensitivity and demonstrative power, memory quotient – name itself suggests what it reports..... And then there comes spiritual quotient.

Spiritual quotient has been given such a low importance that many people do not even know about it. Thankfully, I live in a country like India where a lot of importance is given to spirituality. Many see spirituality as a way to lead a prosperous life.

Spirituality is a way of living. It is NOT LIMITED to idol worship, chanting mantras or listening to discourse. And I repeat – spirituality is NOT any of these.

IT IS ABOUT knowing your true self, having a contented state of mind and being someone who is strong from inside, no matter what the circumstances are. The practical aspect of spirituality covers meditation, which introduces you to your true self and makes you realise that you are blessed to have a life worth living. People are dying somewhere; floods are eroding houses, quakes are shattering dreams, thousands are becoming orphans due to nonsense wars and terrorism and then there are people like us – who are cosily sitting at our desk while reading this. It is time when we can make a choice of what I want to be – ordinary or extraordinary – and remember – the route to becoming an ordinary person is very well written but to become extraordinary, there has to be sacrifice, discipline and motivation. Do you have them?