Snail mail challenge- new connections from slowing down

When Shailaja of The Moving Quill blog http://shailajav.wordpress.com/- the erudite and wordily theatrical hostess of B-A-R (Blog-A-Rhythm, a bloggers group) announced a Snail mail challenge my heart leapt with joy and I signed up for it in breath.
         Nostalgia kicked in and took me down the remembered joy of holding onto pretty letter pads, envelopes and stickers to embellish my letters with. Numerous known and unknown (pen pals) people have been written to and received letters from about a decade and a half back with unparalleled excitement and relish.
        Writing was a joy and then posting the letter and waiting for the reply was an even greater one. Anticipation is such a positive feeling in this experience and the post man was a sight for sore eyes then :)
       
The mystery element in the challenge made it even more enticing. One didn't know who one was receiving the letter from.

I had to write to Inderpreet who blogs at Eloquent Articulation http://www.inderpreetkaur.blogspot.in/
The first thing to do was of course dig around and find an old old letter pad ( I knew I had one somewhere). I found it finally and began to write covering some things about me some things about Inder, which is what I have been calling her virtually and generally trying to forge a connection. Writing with pen and paper was interesting and my handwriting did not come out v nicely and there were scratched out letters and words here and there. However I prettified the end with a couple of stickers borrowed from my daughter who was very pleased to see me use stickers as blithely as her :)

I posted the letter and sat tight wondering and waiting.

Inder could not hold herself from posting a picture of the letter I sent, on the group as soon as she received it and her obvious excitement made me v happy :)
The sweet girl wrote me a reply which I loved reading through.

For the other part I saw an email from Shilpa Halwe/Gupte who blogs at http://shilpaview-ideas2.blogspot.com.au/ who had no other option but to reveal to me that she had written me a letter. Her husband had couriered it for her and the letter had reached Australia. The courier people however needed my phone number....After the initial email there was a flurry of mails and fb messages between us till ten days later the courier guy finally managed to make the delivery.

I read and re-read her letter savoring the tastes of the new connection. Shilpa and I did not know each other at all earlier and it was good getting to know a little about her life. We chatted on fb and exchanged some more information soon after :) I began to write a reply and am still sitting halfway with that. I will post it soon Shilpa :)

I am sure we will stay connected one way or the other and if not letters it will be nice even to write personal emails or fb messages in the future.

Slowing down is the essence of a happy life to me and the snail mail challenge was one more reminder of how much beauty there is when there is no instant gratification :) This brought me back memories and will help in making more memories. Both Inder and Shilpa came across as warm hearted, loving, lively ladies with a penchant for the written word. Looking forward to knowing you better and many other bloggers who are all a heartwarming bunch of thinking people <3 br="">

Branding-gimmicks and Yoga

Let's plunge to the heart of the matter- Yoga is yoga. Period.

This has been a-brewing a long while in my being. 

It is a return to our essential simplicity.

Of what use is it to take one element out of it, blow it out of proportion and add a new prefix making it, Cold-yoga, Still-yoga, Hanging off something-yoga, Balancing on a surfboard-yoga, Sweaty-yoga, Less clothed-yoga, Cotton baggy pants wearing-yoga, Dance-yoga, Arty-yoga, Twist your limbs into a knot-yoga and so on....I'm sure you get the drift by now dear reader :) 

The only thing served by this gimmicky-ness to my simplistic mind is the ego of the person who started off the new name and of course material greed.

Advertising and promoting each new name as having been 'Discovered' by so and so, the new-age wellness businesses take advantage of the human mind's propensity for seemingly 'New' twists on anything.

Perfected thousands of years ago by sages such as one cannot even imagine existed, yoga is Unity. Unity of the body with the mind, the energies housed in the mind-body complex, the spirit, in such a way that just Be-ing becomes possible. That is all it is. That is all it needs to be. This one thing achieved everything else naturally falls in place.

In the meantime the world sitting atop the giant-wheel of materialism will swing round and round and round until who knows when.

Moving on to sweeter things, this is a pic clicked on my tab while biking from Bengaluru to Hessargatta. The route is pastoral, rustic and an absolute heart-healer. The cow was a bit surprised when she was given undivided attention for a few minutes :)

Namo Matrubhoomi

What is it that ties me to you
In an inextricable heart-knot
The umbilical chord that never
Ever severed

What makes me yearn to be with you
Despite the madness and the clamouring
Yearning constantly for the land
Fast covering up with concrete

The soul always intact
Your soul always shining forth
Through pollution and scams
Good people trying their best

The wicked hovering over every realm
The good building up their strength
 My every blessing to you and your's
Motherland- I love you.

Zen and Zazen

                                                       

For the last alphabet of my first ever blog challenge of any kind the only topic that came to mind was this. Happily saved from wondering for this post, let us dive into the post right away and take a peek at what Zen and Zazen is.
                                                               Zen

Zen is a school f Mahayana Buddhism that emerged in China about 15 centuries ago.

In China it is called "Ch'an" Buddhism. Ch'an is the Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit word dhyana, which we have discussed in an earlier post.

"Zen" is the Japanese rendering of Ch'an. Zen is called "Thien" in Vietnam and "Seon" in Korea. In any language, the name could be translated "Meditation Buddhism."

Zen began to emerge as a distinctive school of Mahayana Buddhism when the Indian sage Bodhidharma, taught at the Shaolin monastery of China. (Yes, it's a real place, and yes, there is a historic connection between kung fu and Zen.) To this day Bodhidharma is called the First Patriarch of Zen.
                                                       
                                                           



                                                  
                                                       
                                                              Zazen
 The meditation practice of Zen, called "zazen" in Japanese, is the heart of Zen. Daily zazen is the foundation of Zen practice.

It may start off seeming like mind training, which it is but that perception of it will change as one gets a feel for it.

The most difficult part of zazen for most people to comprehend is sitting with no goals or expectations, including an expectation of "getting enlightened" or feeling calmer or whatever subtle expectation we may have.

Most of us do sit with goals and expectations for months or years before the goals are exhausted and we "just sit." Along the way, one learns a lot about oneself.

If this has piqued your interest dear reader then I'm sure you will delve deeper by yourself. 
After all these are personal journeys of solitary Bliss.

With today's post we come to the end of a month long journey, but journeys never end, do they....                                               
Thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of you who read my posts and left comments and inspired and encouraged me. The doors to my blog are always open. Let us keep this connection Between You and Me alive and kicking.
                                                         
                                                          
                                                            
                                          

Ammamma, my maternal grandma- an epitome of gentle fortitude.

I am writing this for the World Elders Abuse Awareness day, June 15th. This is the first time I have heard of a special day set out for this, on something that is unbelievable, something that cuts very deep. To smack the hand that rocks one's own cradle is not human.


My grandmothers- maternal and paternal are the only grand-parents I had the opportunity of knowing, both grand-fathers having passed on quite early.

 On this occasion here is a nostalgic trip in remembrance of my maternal grandma. One in fond memory of my paternal grandma will follow, soon.

Ammamma is what we called our maternal gandma who was of a Telugu background. Landed gentry who had lost most of their material possessions except an ancestral home and some cattle through treachery and miscalculated decisions, ammamma had retained the sweet temperament she was born with. Interesting how some people turn hardened cynics while others mellow and enrich everyone around them.
        Ten children to bring up and the oldest the primary blessing in their bringing up had brought Ammamma across to a stage where she had more than a score grand children of every shape, size and ability. She had to cut the vegetable exactly as she liked in shapes meant to draw out the best taste. She had to wash her white cotton sari, under-skirt and blouse, crochet incessantly and was seen with one hindi novel or another tucked under her arm, usually detective ones written by one Col: Ranjit. I managed to read all of them and enjoyed the thrill immensely, of the detective novels and also of reading books which I had been forbidden. She would fondly turn a blind eye and let me get away with this.
         At a time when onions were priced on par with gold, well almost, she would pass me an onion from her share surreptitiously, as I was addicted to eating them with yogurt-rice, a typical last course to a south Indian meal. A small gesture but it is one of my lasting memories.
                 When Ammamma opened her 'Pitaara' (old hindi term for box), I would run to sit and watch the mysteries about to unfold. She had a number of small bags and boxes in her wardrobe, filled with goodies of all kind. Embroidered, beaded material, cards, old photos, laces, antique silverware-the bags contained within them a world of their own.
       Being playful and noisy at times, I had my share of being told off too. This was done so mildly by the gentle soul that it never had the desired effect. When I grew up I got to know she had head-aches then and could not handle the sound and boisterous playing. That did give me a pang but then children are children and can stay quiet only for so long.
                    Once she pulled away the ladder that we had used to climb to the terrace to play not realising that we probably sounded like a herd of creatures stomping away, overhead. We still managed to get off using cornices and window sills as foot-holds and went to question Ammamma cheekily about the ladder that had been taken away. All she did was smile her sweetest pink-lipped, toothless smile and that smile will warm my heart forever and ever.
I am sure you are still smiling that smile, wherever you are.


                                                            

Us.

Why do we have to be something else?
Why can't we be just us?

A mask, a persona, a label, a name
all of it slips sometime
why can't we be just us?

Fame, relationships, people all pass by
in an endless parade of fleeting clouds
finally it is just us

May the final exhale leave us in comfort
of a life lived in our own personal truth
all along it was only us.

Sins of the Past- Cover reveal

Sins of the Past was started on November 9, 2013 by Kelvin V.A. Allison (or as we've come to know him as Scoobert Mills). Sins of the Past is a historical horror collection of short stories and contains seventeen spine-tingling stories that will leave you hungry for more. Each story is different from the next and happens within different periods of time.

From World War I, World War II, the Civil War, Rome, Vietnam War, etc. Each author brilliantly paints an image of whatever time period their story takes place in. All stories being accounts of history that have taken place but have been twisted a bit to reflect the horror genre that was needed in each story.

From werecats to ghosts saving the day. Hangings to being maimed.

Stories featured in Sins of the Past:

               

VishKanya (The Poison Maiden) by Sunila Vig

               

Sic Semper Susurrus by Matt Lovell

               

Maleficium by Kerry E.B. Black

               

Good Puritan by Laura K. Cowan

               

Blood Tribe by Don Miskel

               

It’s All Good News by N.M. Scuri

               

Melusina by Kristin Roahrig

               

Sanctum by J. Kendall

               

A Ghostly Haunting by Chasity Nicole

               

Traitor Coward Betrayer by Joseph Lofthouse

               

The Beast of Alkali Lake by Jen Ponce

               

In the Stillness and the Silence by T.D. Harvey

               

Birthright by Andy Morris

               

Griddlebone by Debbie Manber Kupfer

               

Nature’s Revolution by Michael "Mad Mike" Nagy

               

We Pass From View by Misha Burnett

               

The Innocent by Cleve Sylcox

Now for the moment we've all been waiting for. The cover reveal.

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Sins Of The Past

Originally posted on  http://chasitynicole720.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/sins-of-the-past/

Sins of the Past is an anthology collection of seventeen spine tingling historical tales. Each story is different than the one that follows it and no two stories are exactly the same. There are tales of ghosts, tales of werecats, and tales of a movie that changed the lives of everyone. And that isn't all. Each story will leave you craving for the next one and eager to discover what the next title is and what it is about.

The anthology is set to release on October 31, 2014.

VishKanya (The Poison Maiden) by Sunila Vig

"Not all seduction is sweet."

Sic Semper Susurrus by Matt Lovell

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, which of you is trying to kill me?"

Maleficium by Kerry E.B. Black

"A Tudor household runs afoul of sorcerous malintentions."

Good Puritan by Laura K. Cowan

"A good preacher man is hard to find."

Blood Tribe by Don Miskel

"Come out to the coast...let's get together...have a few laughs..."

It's All Good News by N.M. Scuri

"In the depths of the Great Depression, all he wanted was to go home."

Melusina by Kristin Roahrig

" In the time of the French Revolution, a Swiss guard finds that ancient family debts demand payment , no matter the means."

Sanctum by J. Kendall

" All riches come at a price!"

A Ghostly Haunting by Chasity Nicole

"Not all ghosts are bad ones."

Traitor Coward Betrayer by Joseph Lofthouse

The Beast of Alkali Lake by Jen Ponce

" Under the surface lies a monster."

In the Stillness and the Silence by T.D. Harvey

"In war, there is more to fear than the enemy."

Birthright by Andy Morris

"Russia’s last heir just inherited a lot more than he bargained for."

Griddlebone by Debbie Manber Kupfer

"Never underestimate a cat."

"

Nature's Revolution by Michael "Mad Mike" Nagy

"Man’s War, Nature’s Retribution."

We Pass from View by Misha Burnett

"Sometimes a movie can change your life."

The Innocent by Cleve Sylcox

"Home is never what it seems."

The Sun comes a visiting

Yippeeeee my blog has received it first award

The Sunshine award came to me as a pleasant surprise from Monica Deshpande who in her own words is a, Weekend baker, cook book collector, gatherer of family recipes. She can be found at her wonderful and warm blog http://ovengoodies.wordpress.com/

I am touched and happy, thanks Monica :)

Rules Of The Sunshine Award
• Display the award on your blog.
• Show your gratitude and link back to the person who nominates you with the award.
• Nominate up to 10 of your favourite deserving “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere”.
• Link the nominees in your post and let them know they have been awarded.
• Write 10 interesting things about yours

I've managed to display the award :), so that rule number 1 done.

A few ( I wish I could list them all) favourite bloggers that I discovered during the A to Z blogging challenge and a few before that are:

1. Beloo Mehra who weaves her magic taking us right into our deepest core through her own thoughts and the thoughts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother at http://letbeautybeyourconstantideal.blogspot.in

2. Puja Bhakoo who is a wordsmith par excellence with a humour to match at http://planetpuja.blogspot.in/

3. Vani whose blog I head to when I miss her :), she is a dear friend and blogs about, food and life on http://mysoorean.blogspot.in/

4. Gauri Kekre who writes about her baking exploits and interesting and useful DIY projects at http://mindbrewblog.wordpress.com/

5. Sulekha rawat whose writing I enjoy at sulekharawat.com

6. Corinne Rodrigues and her daily dose of wisdom at everydaygyaan.com

7. Rajlakshmi Baruah the twinkle-eyed traveller and the pictures that bring her travels alive at shutterbug-rajlakshmi.blogspot.com

8. Shilpa Garg and her multi-faceted posts at shilpaagarg.com

9. Jayanta Tiwari and his thought provoking posts at jayantathoughts.blogspot.com

10. Carol Graham for the heart that comes across in each of her posts at batteredhope.blogspot.com

Ha :) All steps done but one. I get to say ten things about me now, and I get to cheat with this step :D and post a link here which will take you to the aforementioned ten bits of information https://www.facebook.com/sinsofthepastbook/posts/302835279897439

Please keep the award rolling and the love and warmth shining

From my kitchen window

I sometimes look out of my kitchen window and see a wide variety of scenes. Most of them from the lives of the people living in the tenements behind my apartment complex.
Watching the simple lives being played out is inexplicably soothing.

I'm on the second floor which you can figure out no doubt, from the angle of the picture taken. Right behind the tenements and behind the stone wall you can see one of the properties of an industrialist. I am thankful for the greenery on his vast property and less than thankful for the loud blare of party music they sometimes play late into the night. Also it serves as a constant reminder of the mix of riches and poverty in India which exists side by side.

The crux of this post though is not economic disparity but that I saw a little girl imparting to a few little ones their first lessons in literacy. A medium sized tree sheltered them from the sun. She helped them write the alphabet on their slates, playing teacher to the little ones who followed her commands in innocent dedication. A dozen or more little people are happily growing up there in extremely simple conditions and yet living their childhoods to the fullest, their joys unmarred by anything mundane.

Fragile

Fragile- this was the title of a painting on the back cover of the Readers Digest that I sketched a likeness of, one day long long ago. I was doing my Masters degree in English literature at the time, in the green and rainy belt of Karnataka, Malnad.

Stuck at home with blocked sinuses for company I dug up an old file and unearthed the sketch. It brought along with it a predictable whoosh of nostalgia, for the times when I was much more free of heart and mind, unburdened by Samsara, so to say. Besides that slight envy of my own free student self I also felt I had to write a related post and this after almost one month of writing my last post. It just had to be.

Fragile, the word itself conjures up everything soft, tender, breakable- worth protecting and cherishing.

Our lives, our world and its ecology, our children and their all absorbent psych
e, our relationships, our egos- all so fragile, all  in need of our utmost love, care and compassion.

Reflections- A to Z blog challenge 2014

                                      
I chose the A to Z blog challenge not knowing what it would entail as this was my first ever blog challenge. I thought it would give me a welcome break from writing fiction, actually my debut e-novella, which I need to rework, give a boost to my blog which I began in 2006 when my little one was born and teach me more about blogging.
What I had not realised is that not only would I find myself part of a large worldwide group that was taking part in the same challenge but part of a cosy, approximately 50 strong group of fantastic bloggers.
This group became a haven and a place to go to for any doubts-questions, guidance, rants and raves, information, for sympathy and empathy and for heart-warming group hugs and general camraderie.
I had written about two posts in advance and chalked out daily topics. Once the challenge began and my Yoga and well-being theme unfurled, I felt I was astride a fast galloping steed which I could not get off. All I could do was to hang on and enjoy the ride.
And enjoy the ride I did.
I enjoyed flitting from blog to blog, alighting on posts, reading, commenting and awaiting comments and replying on my own posts.
The writing process itself was like diving deep within myself and re-surfacing with words that went onto the daily posts. My theme being my passion, well one of them- Yoga and well-being, it was a joy to put snippets together and put them out there for some wonderful people to turn up and connect with them.
Into week two and I was this paradox alive, writing out little peeks into what I thought and had learned about yoga and well-being on the one hand and on the other, stressing about not managing to read and comment on all the blog posts. Also squirming from wanting to do all the things I usually do with the lil one in her summer-vacation.
Common sense kicked in and I relaxed and did what I could, leaving a lot of reading and commenting for the rest of the year.
New blogger friends made, blogger-minds admired, new things learned and shared and the ride was over as fast as it had begun. Sympatico-souls and fellow bloggers were immensely encouraging with their daily visits and comments.
Time again to let go-align- ground and exhale.Before yet another spate of writing. The e-novella beckons :)

                                      

Yogi- a story

                                                 


 Yogi left home in a tee-shirt and jeans.
He had practically lived in sportswear the last two years.
That was the normal garb at Svyasa where he had spent two years gaining a Masters in Yoga therapy.
When he came home it was only for a day or two and he hadn't been out with his old pals for ages.

His gang. The Pancha-pandavas everyone called them.
Five in all including him.
They had been together since school days.
Nostalgia washed over him. Their antics made him smile.

Toit was where they were going to meet.
He got there at 8 p.m. and found the rest waiting for him.
"Welcome back bro," said Nitin rising to give him a bear hug.
The rest gave him hi-fives.

Yogi sat watching them fondly.
They were the same, delightful rowdy bunch, full of raucous laughter and bawdy jokes.

"Will you drink or have you given it up Mahatma ji?" laughed Ramesh.
They had ordered their drinks already and were waiting to clink their glasses and say the customary 'Cheers'.

 Yogi asked for a long island iced tea.
"Cocktail ? Great yaar, we thought you would have given up everything after your two year stint.

Yogi smiled and said, "Not a stint man. It is life for me and maybe that is why I was given this name by my grand parents. My destiny. But don't label me, don't put me into a box that says "Yoga therapist'. I am that, no doubt. Apart from that I am a son, a friend and a human creature and will continue to be, with my little likes and dislikes, my little enjoyments and fun, maybe just way more balanced than I was."

There was a lot more labelling coming his way, he knew that, especially once he began to work and also teach private classes from home. He would learn to take it in his stride, he knew he would.

He slowly sipped his drink, at peace with the world.
                         
                        
                                                                              ***
Dear reader what do you think of the tendency to label, to put people into little boxes? And do come back for the last two posts in this series of the A to Z blogging challenge :)


The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

  

                                                

Xiphoid process and X-ile

                                  The day for X :)
After some, (more than some actually) wondering, I decided to simply define the 'Xiphoid process' in today's post and then be naughty and write a poem on Exile and change the word conveniently to X-ile in the title :)
  
                        The xiphoid process is a bone at the tip of the sternum or breastbone and attaches itself to the Diaphragm (which is a primary respiratory muscle). Now any thing within the body is intrinsically related to well-being and so my choice of bone to define. That it starts with X has nothing to do at all with my choice obviously. Activity : Look at the diagram below and locate your own Xiphoid process. My entire family had to do the same when I formulated this post :)

                                                             
                                                            
                                                                           
                                                                              X-iled
          

                           
                                                                   X-iled in this body
                                                                   Us effulgent beings
                                                              
                                                                   Exiled into the quagmire
                                                                   Of birth and forgetting

                                                                  Exiled from the true self
                                                                  For a while or forever

                                                                  Exiled from inner vistas
                                                                 Twisted around the little finger
                                                                 of the outer world.

                                                                 Exiled by greed and the need
                                                                 To have and to be more than we are

                                                                 Exiled by blindness
                                                                 Momentaries become must-haves

                                                                 Exiled to becoming something
                                                                 Exiled to getting somewhere

                                                                Living out caricatures of life
                                                                Living out what someone else thinks is life.

                                                               


 

The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

                                                      
                                                                  


                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                   

Wealth

    Wealth or health, wealth or peace, wealth or time, wealth or life.

Material wealth only or wealth of love, wealth of friendship, wealth of time, wealth of good health, wealth of a slow and simple life or all of these.

Just a few groups of words to think about and weigh up.

The usual meaning of success is very often linked to wealth creation and mainly material wealth.

I have always found this interesting.

Whatever is lost on the path to immeasurable material gains, is it due to a lack of awareness of the person on this path or is it carelessness or is it a deliberate choice.

How much is enough. It would be a good thing to help our children understand and relate to material possessions and get them to see the proper place of things. Help them work out a way to balance material wealth and well-being.

Maybe then they will see wealth as a necessary energy. See that it is required but that it mustn't override people and life. See that it is not the measure that they must use to give respect to someone. See that prosperity is a lot more than external glitz.See it as it really is.

No more- no less.

What are your thoughts dear reader? And do come back for the last three posts this April for X, Y and Z on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and shower me with the wealth of your readership and comments :)

The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

 

                             

Vinyasa- the flow

   

There are various meanings attributed to Vinyasa. 

What I have understood is that it is a way of moving through a yoga session fully or partially, in a smooth flowing manner, employing Mudras (gestures to regulate energy-flow) when required, from asana to asana, riding the breath consciously- the key word being 'Flowing'. 

Simply put, it is a continuous sequence of movement.

The Surya-Namaskaar or the Sun-salutations are to me a Vinyasa that most people follow.

Start to the finish, moving into a new posture, staying in that posture and moving out of that posture- all of it needs be in a naturally aligned, smoothly flowing manner, without any sharp-jerky movements, like a proficient dancer flowing through a dance sequence.

Brings to mind the whirling dervishes too, doesn't it?

Finally dear reader, it is akin to a Moving Meditation. 

I have attempted to give you a small peek into vinyasa, leaving it to you to read/discuss it further if you would like to :)

                                                                                                                                                                
 

The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

                                                       

Unlearn to truly learn

                                                        

Unlearn to truly learn is my topic for today, dear Reader.

If we want to fill the pot with nectar, let's say and it is at present full of something else,  we have three options to choose from:

                               1. Pour the nectar into the already full pot.

                  2. Ignore/ throw away the nectar.

                                                       3. Empty out the pot and then fill it with the nectar at hand.

It is up to each of us to choose one of the options. It is up to us to give ourselves the permission to make a choice.

When we are full of 'knowledge' the kind that comes with bits of paper as proof or the kind that we have amassed, our idea of the self, the 'ego' tells us we are scholars. 

The egoic self, made up of our own flow of thoughts, is heavily invested in what the people around us think/say of us. Can we allow ourselves freedom from this?

To be able to discriminate between false knowledge, 'Avidya' and true knowledge, the one that already resides within our deepest recesses has to be possible. Can we allow ourselves the Freedom to 'think' and 'feel' deeply so we can let one drain out, making place for the other? Or actually can we allow the gross matter to fall off, to reveal what is hiding right under it?

Reminds me of the timeless chant- Asato maa sat gamaya, Tamaso maa jyotirgamaya, Mrityormaa amritam gamaya.

Full of one thing, there is no place for the other. To get some place else we have to leave the current destination behind.

                                                                             ***

Set my inner bird free 

Free of the fetters 

That I place on my Self

Freedom 

Is the only path that will get me anywhere

Anywhere that is worth getting to

Anywhere within me that is worth Being.

Empty me of all the weight

Weight I have amassed

Thinking rocks were gems

Thinking all that shone was precious.

Free from what/who I think I am

Take me to the learning within.

People who are veritable lighthouses, shining from illumination from within and without are usually the most flexible, accepting and childlike. Dr. Abdul Kalaam Aazad and the Dalai Lama spring to mind. There are many others that you will think of dear reader, starting from your parents maybe, a teacher, a Guru, do share.

                                                           

  

The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Transformation and Thaad-phal

 

Transformation

What comes to your mind when you see/ think of this? 

Valmiki is the name that jumps out at me.

The robber that turned writer/saint, most of us are aware of that story from mythology. He went on to write the epic- Valmiki Ramayan.

There are many famous names and then many not so well-known. People around us, maybe we ourselves might have undergone a transformation when touched by an experience, a person, a thought, a book, a child- anything from the vast array of the miraculous elements that lie all around us. All we need is an open heart and acceptance.

Eckhart Tolle is another name that comes to mind. 

A child from a broken family and one that had played in Germany in buildings destroyed during the World war two, he had a far from normal childhood.  

A largely self-educated boy, while he pursued a Doctoral degree he was overcome by a soul-crushing depression. He then experienced a life-changing epiphany.

Recounting the experience, Tolle says, " I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void! I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved. The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness,” just observing and watching.

His first book, The Power Of Now is the only one I have read and I will not speak of it. It has to be read. Time and time again I go back to it and open just any page and read.

He also wrote Stillness Speaks and A New Earth and a few other books.

Tolle has said "I feel actually that the work I do is a coming together of the teaching 'stream', if you want to call it that, of Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi"

And now my dear Reader I shall take you to another kind of transformation. One which occurs within us, tele-porting us in a lightning-flash into a place of joy. I am talking of eating a fruit called Thaad-phal in Hindi, Munji kai in Telugu and Thaati ningu ( I think) in Kannada. Here are some pics from a cart that sells this divinely succulent fruit very close to the college I lecture at.

The outer shell is removed and the translucent fruit scooped out. Each fruit has nectar right inside and an opaque-pearlescent delightfully chewy cover. If you haven't eaten one, do try :)

Likewise at times our own hard shell-cover/ fake ego-mind needs chopping away to uncover the pearlescent essence inside each one of us.

Do tell me your own take on Transformation and what/who comes to mind as well as if you like this particular fruit :D