My uncle DM’d me recently: “Did 6 Suryanamaskarams just now. Thanks for motivating me.” For someone in his early-seventies and who moves very little, this is a big deal. He had gotten inspired by a 1-min time-lapse video of Janaki and me practicing Yoga. The good news? Sharing the 1-min video had helped my uncle….
Enough? No way!
Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller, were at a party hosted by a billionaire. During the event, Vonnegut remarked to Heller that their billionaire host might have made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his popular novel “Catch-22” over its whole history. Heller’s response: “Yes, but I have something he will…
Going beyond Sonder
I had a…let’s call it…a “minor” difference of opinion with my mother. Rather, we were in total agreement: I felt that she was totally out of her mind. And she felt the same about me. I felt she was being unreasonable, impractical, immature, myopic and egotistic. And oddly enough, she felt exactly the same thing…
Chemistry
At a recent spiritual retreat I attended, Mahatria shared the following anecdote. It was the last day of a workshop that Mahatria had conducted for a group of business leaders. Each of the workshop attendees took turns to share their experiences. They would go up on stage, speak a few words and then step down….
This *and* That
[The following story and lesson were taught by Mahatria at a recent spiritual retreat I attended.] There’s a famous story – about Alexander and Diogenes. Alexander (the conquerer) wants to take Diogenes (the Philosopher) back to his hometown, as a gift for his teacher (Aristotle). There’s a large battalion along with him, constantly shouting “Alexander…
“Cathartic”
A young friend of mine was glued to her phone for more than an hour. I suggested that she take a break from her phone and do something else. She nodded, then walked around for a bit and then got back to her phone, once again starting to text furiously. It was almost as if…
Komal Dubey shows us how to be “responsible”
Duty vs Responsibility. There’s a distinction. You’re doing your duty when you’re satisfying what the world expects from you. But you’re being responsible when you’re listening to your conscience and doing whatever it tells you to do. Or in other words, whenever you’re following your heart. —- Let’s say you’re a great student, always getting…
Being dissatisfied: There’s a catch. And a solution!
I recently wrote about how being perennially dissatisfied can fuel us toward continuous improvement and growth. There is however a catch. The dissatisfaction could lead to disappointment rather than enthusiasm. I’ll address how to avoid that in this post. —- Some years ago, I watched an interview with the always-in-the-news Elon Musk. Here’s one part…
The gift of dissatisfaction
“Why are you never satisfied? We can’t be happy unless we’re satisfied.” That was a piece of advice from a friend, who meant well. —- “Stretch a bit more Vaidy…Put your elbows down…You can do this..” That was Shilpa, my Yoga teacher. We were practicing the hanumanasa (full split). My thighs were screaming in pain….
Stop snoozing [Part 4]: Banish that gap between waking up and getting up
“Banish the dreaded psychological disease of procrastination from your life” When Vikas said the above in one of our Pranayama classes, it was like a command that each one of us had to obey. Let’s break that powerful command down. —- Banish: Remove permanently. Never to return. Create a new version of yourself. Leave the…