Playing for Change

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the follow up to the classic "Stand By Me" and the second of many "songs around the world". Featured is an incredible track written by Pierre Minetti performed by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it traveled the globe.

A Tribute to A R Rahman

A beautiful video compilation by Raaja. We have to listen to the music of A R Rahman to understand what a genius he is. I dedicate this video to my Rahmaniac daughter, who was instrumental in my introduction to Rahman and his music !

He has just pocketed the prestigious Golden Globe award and now A.R. Rahman nicknamed “Mozart of Madras” by Time magazine has stunned entire India with 3 Oscars nominations for his work in Slumdog Millionaire. It is a dream come true for India.

He was nominated one for Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for two of his compositions — ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’.

The film Slumdog Millionaire has got 10 Oscar nominations, while AR Rahman 3 nominations.

Rahman, one of the most talented music composers of Tamil cinema, stepped into the limelight with Mani Ratnam’s Roja, which bagged the National Award for him. Rahman, a graduate in western classical music from Trinity College of Music, London, has composed many experimental melodies, raps and hip-hops.

His music created a new trend, scaled astonishing heights of appreciation and grew to become a sensation. Many of his compositions might actually sound ordinary the first time. But his compositions are an intriguing cocktail of musical pieces that would blow your mind.

A.R. Rahman's path to Hollywood

Rahman Born January 6, 1966 to R. K. Shekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam-language films started to learn the piano at the age of 4.
His father died when Rahman was 9 years old, he was forced to start work as a keyboard player to support his family at just 11 years old.

Dropped out of high school to pursue his music career.
He converted to Islam from Hinduism in 1989 along with his family.
At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Tamil Composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

His first debut film Soundtrack Director Maniratnam “Roja” in 1992 turned out to be the world’s 10th best soundtrack ever, as rated by Time Magazine.
The debut “Roja” led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer.

His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and across the world for his stylistic versatility in his pieces including in Western classical, Carnatic, Traditional/folk, jazz, reggae and rock music.

Rahman has sold over 200 million albums worldwide: more than Madonna and Britney Spears combined.

Law of Attraction -2

What is the Law of Attraction?







The Law of Attraction is a deceptively simple philosophy by which we can live life on our own terms and attract things, experiences and people to us. In the simplest possible terms, the Law of Attraction says that "like attracts like." This is evident in the world around us -- think about old sayings like, "birds of a feather flock together," or "tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."

But the Law of Attraction takes the concept of "like attracts like" to a deeper level: the level of thought. This means that not only do we attract circumstances, material objects and people to us according to our actions, but also according to the thoughts we consistently hold in mind. This too can be seen on a commonsense level.

For example, it is obvious that people who succeed in business spend a great deal more time thinking about business success than people who do not do well in business, and the Law of Attraction explains why this is true.

On a deeper level, the Law of Attraction is based on the concept that everything in the universe is simply energy. Over the past century, scientists have begun to understand this fact as well, and especially within the field of quantum physics, there is now an understanding that all material "things" are actually just energy vibrating at a certain frequency.

This means that energy vibrating at one frequency takes on the appearance of a tree; energy vibrating at another frequency takes the appearance of a person, or a car, or a blade of grass, or anything else that exists. Don't misunderstand: this is not science fiction or "new age" spiritualism. It is real science being conducted by real scientist in laboratories every single day.

Just like everything else in the universe, our thoughts are "things" too. This means that our thoughts have power and the concepts we consistently keep in mind DO affect us. Again, this can be seen on a very commonsense level. If you grew up in a home where you were told you were inferior to other people every single day of your life, do you think by the time you were grown you would have a poor self image?

Of course you would, because you had been presented with this information over and over and over, and it has become your habitual way of thinking. But even in this extreme circumstance, you are still not a victim. You always have a choice what you choose to think, regardless of what other people may say or do, or what you see going on in the world around you.

Of course it can be difficult to think good things about yourself, when all you ever hear are bad things, but you can still do it -- get just takes more concentration and focus. At the end of the day, you are always responsible for your thoughts -- so am I, and so is everyone else.

This idea scares some people -- they really don't want to be responsible for their lives or their thoughts. But in fact, it is actually great news. The fact that only YOU are responsible for your life means that YOU are in control. You can create it anyway you want it, or as I often like to say, "It is what I say it is." This is not egotism -- this is taking responsibility for your life, and once you reach this point, the Law of Attraction begins working for you instead of against you.

Now let's break all of these ideas down and apply them to your day to day life. Understanding the Law of Attraction means understanding that you are NEVER a victim. You attract everything that comes into your life -- both good and bad. This can be difficult to accept at first for some people. After all, none of us want to face up to the idea that we have attracted a bad situation, person or experience into our life. But the truth is -- we do.

This is the first concept that must be clearly understood in order to use the Law of Attraction to create the life YOU want. You must take responsibility for everything, and everyone in your life, with the understanding that you have attracted these things by virtue of your thoughts.

So does this mean that you have to closely monitor your thoughts, and be ultra careful what you think about every day and night? No, not exactly. But it does mean that you should pay special attention to the things that are "on your radar" on a daily basis. You see, it is your PREDOMINANT way of thinking that determines what is attracted to you.

For example, if you occasionally think about poverty and poverty-stricken people, but you're PREDOMINANT mindset is one of wealth and abundance, you can expect to attract a lot more abundance and wealth into your life than poverty. This may sound like a ridiculous oversimplification, but it is absolutely true. The more you think about a thing, the more you attract that thing to you.

And it doesn't matter if the thing you are thinking about is something you want or not. For example if you have a friend or loved one with a disease, you might begin to spend a lot of time thinking about that disease. This would be a very poor choice to make, because anything that you think about consistently will move closer to you in your life. In other words it will be attracted to you.

The great psychologist, and originator of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dr Albert Ellis, is famous for saying, "We become what we think about." This is the simplest way of explaining how the Law of Attraction works and how you should organize your life -- and your thoughts -- to create the life that YOU desire, the life that only you can create.

Unfortunately, we lived in a world where the Law of Attraction is not understood well at all. Every day, well-meaning people focus their attention upon horrible things, things they do not want in their life, things they want to fight against, or to do away with. The problem is, by doing this they simply attract more of these things into the world.

Mother Teresa understood this concept well, and when she was asked to participate in an anti-war rally, she flatly refused, saying, "I will never attend an anti-war rally -- call me when you have a pro peace rally and I'll be there." Mother Teresa understood that our attention and our thoughts have power, and anything (whether good or bad) that we give our attention to will grow stronger and become a bigger part of our lives.

To summarize, to work with the Law of Attraction it is important to remember that you are NEVER a victim -- you have attracted everything and everyone in your life by virtue of your habitual way of thinking. Understanding this will lead you to the obvious conclusion that it is of the utmost importance that you pay attention to what you allow "on your radar." This means making it a point to never focus on things that you do not want. To do so is to simply attract more of these things into your life.

And finally, working with the Law of Attraction means understanding that above all else, you are a CREATOR. You create your own reality, and you co-create the reality of others. This means that if there are our people or situations in your life that you are not happy with, it is up to you (and only you) to change them. No one else can create in your experience -- only you can do that, and the process always begins with a single thought.

Thoughts are the building blocks of your reality. It begins with a single positive thought, focused with a laser-like precision on a thing you desire to have in your life. That single positive thought expands attracting more positive thoughts, which expands and attracts even more positive thoughts, which expands, and so on, and so on.

This is what is meant by the expression, "The more you feel good, the more you WILL feel good." Every good thought and emotion attracts to it at another good thought and emotion, and pretty soon you have an avalanche of positive thought and emotion running through your life, attracting only the best the universe has to offer.

Remember, using the Law of Attraction is all about using the power of your own thoughts. Everything begins with the thought -- there is no building, business or even relationship that did not begin with a single thought. Understanding the power of your habitual way of thinking, and taking responsibility for it, will help you create a life of unimaginable beauty, abundance and success. And the method by which this happens is known as the Law of Attraction.



From: Jon Mercer, MA
Law of Attraction Coach, Author, Traveler, Mystic, Alchemist

In Memory of Kugan Anand

"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it."
-Rabindarnath Tagore


Another day another death. What makes this death different from the rest? Here is a young 22 year old youth, who was denied justice. Kugan was mercilessly totured and killed by the very authorities who are supposed to protect us. Kugan followed the many others who have died whilst in police custody.

Our hearts bleed for Kugan and his family. May his soul rest in peace knowing that his death brought an awarness to this nation about the cruelty and injustices brought upon not only to him, but to many others before him by the inhumane actions by people in power.

His death has not gone in vain but will bring about a powerful repercussion. He should be given due respect and his funeral should go on with no form of disturbance. I ask of those who will be attending his funeral to practice restrain and to give him his due respect.

His final journey should take place with the utmost of dignity. We will have to leave it to nature to take its course. The law of karma will work on its own accord. All we need to do is to excercise patience and trust.

Down Memory Lane - Pt.3

My first memory of enjoying watching the rainfall was when I was about 4 years old. It was a beautiful afternoon and seeing the clouds gathering in the sky, I rushed in to bring my small mattress and started to lay it on the ground at the doorstep of my home.I was excited and did not want to miss the rainfall.

The front door was left ajar so that I could look at the scene outside the house. I lay on the mattress with my hands on my cheeks and began to watch the little drops of water falling from the sky. They seemed magical while I felt safe and protected in my home. Rainfall has always fascinated me and when it started to grow heavier; I quickly got up to fold my mattress and ran into my room. The weather was cold and I was starting to get wet.

Years later, as I lay on my cot on the verandah of my hostel, I watched the rain again. This time it was a sunday afternoon and some of the girls had gone out. The hostel was quiet and peaceful. The building was located close to the beach. As beaches are, one can imagine the sand everywhere. The winds had blown very strongly earlier and picked up the sand to fly with them. Dark clouds were already gathering over the horizon. The trees were doing their own dance and bending ever so gracefully to touch the ground. They reminded me of how nature was prostrating to mother earth.

What a beautiful afternoon! I was feeling drowsy after lunch, but the scene outside the french window was too beautiful to turn away from. Slowly the rain started to fall, gently at first and then it grew heavier and heavier.








Oh Raindrops
Tears of the sky
or of the heart!







There were no tears in my eyes. I was happy, other than feeling homesick once in awhile. Many people love to take a nap when it rains, where else I have the tendency to feel all energized and excited. Here was a beautiful weekend and I had no cares in the world. I was lazing around relaxing and watching nature do its beautiful dance once more. Yes the dance of the rain with the earth.

The trees were swaying gently with the wind and the chirping of the birds nearby sounded like musical notes to my ears. I was blissfully enjoying the beauty of nature and all of a sudden images of the fishing folks living close by crossed my mind. The fishing village was situated very near our hostel ground. I felt a sadness overcome me. Here, I was enjoying the comfort of a roof over me and a safe place to stay. I felt protected and was kept warm by my blanket. I started thinking of them, living in their small huts on the beach very much nearer to the sea.

Ever so often we will hear of winds blowing off their roofs away. For some, the rain will fall through their broken roofs and they would be cold and wet inside. My eyes started to moisten with tears and I began to say a prayer for them.

Since then, every time it rained, a surge of gratitude would rise in my heart. I felt blessed that I had a roof over my head to protect me from the rain. My thoughts would go to all those who were homeless and were getting wet in the rain. I will remember the fishing folks living by the ocean. They would have to deal with the rain and the waves which might come to wash their huts away ......




Oh Raindrops…….
Tears of the Sky -
Or of the Heart!

Heart Dance

Why does my heart dance and cry eachtime I hear this piece ?

One for the heart pt-1

Tim Gallway's words reminds me of my very own quest, my journey and the lessons that I have learned from my own experiences. The special person who taught me of how to live this life in a more meaningful manner is Prem Rawat. Yes, every body around us teaches us many things but here is someone who taught me to look for my own answers from within me.

Some how even though I have been quite vocal about many things, I feel that mere words could never bring justice to what I feel about this whole process. It has taken me all this while to pen my journey with the guidance of Prem Rawat whom I call Maharaji. Finally I told myself, that these are not words but these are my feelings which kept wanting to pop up and ultimately I needed to bring them out. Just like you cannot stop the flower blooming, or the fruit from ripening my heart needed to express my feelings too.

I got to know about someone, who has been my main source of inspiration and guidance since then, my teacher Maharaji, 34 years ago. How amazing! He was 17 and I was 17 too.

My quest started even as a child. Longing for something more than what was around me. Somehow life went on as usual as for a child of 12 or 13. But here I was amongst my other day to day activities, trying to find an answer to some questions which never seemed to go away. A longing, an unfulfilled desire if I may say so, kept nudging me again and again.


Sweet Longing,
The insatiable thirst for the divine.


1974- Hearing the message of Maharaji - "What you are looking for is inside of you".
Incredible news ! The message rang a bell. Here I was, looking for answers to my questions, having heard many people speak before and being left somewhat not quite fulfilled. Then there was someone bringing me a very simple message. I did not understand the profundity of this simple message but my heart got hooked on day one. I came home with such joy in my heart that it could never be reversed again.

Karunai Deivame

My all time favourite Priya Sisters at one of their best. The superb redition of this beautiful piece in ragam sindu bhairavi sung with so much of devotion.

Guest House

This poem by Rumi, teaches us of how to face adversity in it's face. Never to give up. Isn't that the nature of this beautiful heart. This poem teaches us to accept everything which comes by our way. Good and bad comes to make us stronger and to become more compassionate human beings.

I dedicate this beautiful poem to every heart!



The Guest House

This human being is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected vision.

Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.

He may be cleaning out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame.
the malice meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent,

as a guide from beyond.

- Jelaluddin Rumi

Kahlil Gibran - On Love

Love gives naught but itself and takes
naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be
possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.






Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Sweet Longing

Sweet Longing


The insatiable thirst for the divine.








Sweet Longing ,

Surrounding my heart.



Sweet Longing ,

Where I want to belong.

Mandolin Srinivas

Live in Concert at Indian Gate, Swarytsav 2002

Soothing to the heart - by the Maestro Mandolin U.Srinivas.

Raghupathi Raagava Raja Ram.
Pathitha Paavana Seetha Ram.

Bubbles

I was watching these children blowing bubbles one day and I felt that we are like those bubbles too. Each one of us are a bubble of our own. We travel in this journey of life surrounded by everyone around us. We may seem to have many friends and family members with us but we are in fact alone.

Most of the time we are involved with relationships with other people. They can be family members, friends or strangers who come into our lives. We meet people in our lives from time to time. I remember my friends in primary school then in secondary school,and College. I often think of them and wonder where they are now.

We are all travelers in this journey of life too. It is like a train journey. We board the train in a particular station and the train takes off. On this journey of ours, we see many things in the train and through the window on the outside too. Sometimes we see people and sometimes we see only hills and houses and vehicles. Many people get in the train at various stops and others get down. We would have come in contact with them for a short while. We may have had some casual conversation with some and sometimes we may have made a lasting friendship with others.

Soon we will have to get down from the train at some point of the journey and move away from those we have met. In our journey too, we meet various people. At a point of time they may be our closes buddies and would have meant everything to us. I remember meeting a very dear friend of mine after many years. Somehow there was no more rapport between us this time. I realized that along the way we had taken different routes. We had grown apart.
We met for a short period of time and them went on in our separate routes fulfilling our own journeys.

Our lives too are the same. We meet people, become friends and after some time we outgrow the relationships. I used to wonder what happened along the way. Just like the bubble we have taken off on our own path. Nothing can really bind us as one. We may sit and talk and feel the comradeship amongst friends but at the end of the day we are this one lone bubble, come on it's own visit. The journey of this bubble to fulfill it's visit.

The journey of this lone bubble is in fact not lonely at all. It is not a sad tale at all. This bubble has itself for it's friend too. In satisfying all the other relationships outside, the bubble forgot that it too had a relationship with itself ! The bubble never took time off to be with itself and see what a gift it was.

This bubble went around appreciating everything around it. It forgot that it is also the most beautiful, colorful and wonderful being too. It did not really need others to make it complete. This bubble by itself can feel the joy. When others watch the bubble enjoy it's existence and floating in joy, they too start enjoying the sight.

We have watched children enjoying themselves and felt a joy just watching them. All they did was to be themselves. This bubble too has to be itself and enjoy being this most beautiful and precious being on the face of this earth.It is one of it's kind, very special and unique, on it's own journey towards it's destination.

Forgiving

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.
He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love."

Martin Luther King, Jr.


Yes I have heard of this many a time. But it is easy to hear someone say it or read it somewhere but it becomes difficult to put this into practice in our own lives. It was some years back. I had watched the Oprah Show and some of the guests were speaking about forgiving.

I always thought that I could never forgive the 2 people in my live who had betrayed me. One of them was someone I had loved and trusted. They had brought a blow to my heart and I have been carrying this feeling with me for many years. Every time I remembered the hurt, the feeling was like having a knife being put through me and having it turned repeatedly within.

It was late at night around 11 pm. I was discussing this issue with my son and all of a sudden he looked at me and said, "Amma - You need to let go. You need to forgive and move on !".

It was like a slap on my face and I could literally feel the burning sensation. I told him to leave me alone and felt that I wanted to weep my heart out all alone. The pain was unbearable and the time had come for me to stop running away and face the truth. I had to forgive. Period. The pain was becoming torturous .

Abandoning all my pride, in the silence of the night, all alone, I cried out loudly to myself - "At this moment today , I forgive the 2 people who have hurt me deeply. I hold no more grudges and carry no more pain. From the deepest part of my heart I have forgiven them. I want to be free of the burden of carrying the pain. I hurt the most when I do not forgive". I needed to stop hurting. It was no more a want but a fundamental need. A need that if I had not fulfilled, would have become an everlasting pain in my life.

Amazingly and slowly since then I started to feel lighter and as time passed by I began to feel the joy and freedom forgiving brings. A heaviness had been lifted from my heart. I had put down the baggage I had been carrying all these years. Many years have passed by but the memory is still fresh in my mind. Today it is no more someone else's words but my own experience which has taught me, that to become free I have to forgive. I had to let go and move on with my life. I needed to forget the past and live in the present. Only then was I able to take the flight of my heart in the wings of freedom.

Vande Mataram

One of my favourite version of this beautiful composition by Bankin Chandra and sung by Rabindranath Tagore.

Bombay Jayashree, Unnikrishnan, Sanjay Subramaniam and Sowmya render their version of Vande mataram.

Vande Mataram ! The National song of India

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.


Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.


Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nervs the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.



Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Lovilest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

Endaro Mahanubavulu

Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu is a song written by Tyagaraja. This song was composed by him after watching the great Shadkala Govinda Mara perform. It is composed in Telugu. The song is a dedication to all the great maestros and performers. The line : "ENDARO MAHANU BAVULU ANDARIKI VANDANAMULU" means "Salutations to all the great men in this world"

Rajhesh Vaidya's presentation of this piece is an expression of Joy.

Love

When Love embraces me,
No work is menial,
When Love engulfs me,
No task is mundane.

No act is a sacrifice,
No job seems tedious.
No pain is felt somehow,
Only pure joy left to be known.




Many people have this habit of complaining about their jobs. There is a tendency in parents to complain about their responsibilities. One of my friends was going on as usual about how much he was sacrificing to support his family. He felt sore that no one in his family understood his predicament. Neither his wife nor his children !

This is the same song sung by almost everyone of us. Suddenly this small verse about Love started forming in my head one day while I was driving. It struck upon me how true it was that we fail to understand what work is all about. We take this act to be burdensome. Since we assume that our responsibility to our family, society and nation is forced upon us, we feel the pain and burden heavily.

Somehow, we fail to comprehend that whatever we see around us is a gift given to us for a short period of time. Our parents, spouses, children, friends and almost everyone and everything surrounding us are precious gems to be cherished ! While these relationships last for however long they may be, we need to feel joy in performing our duties towards them. How wonderful it will become if we could only realize that Love is the only factor needed to sail through our lives smoothly and painlessly.

Mundane tasks like cooking, driving the kids to school, taking our parents for a stroll or spending time with an elderly person will no longer be demanding but rather become acts of love and joy.

Surprisingly I happened to come across a verse from Kahlil Gibran which puts this so aptly :

"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy".
-Kahlil Gibran


When Love embraces me,
No work is menial,
When Love engulfs me,
No task is mundane.

No act is a sacrifice,
No job seems tedious.
No pain is felt somehow,
Only pure joy left to be known.

Ode to a Mother

An angel from heaven,
A gift from the most divine.
Always giving , never receiving,
Incomparable and most wonderful.

A warrior on earth, fiercely independent,
A courageous and compassionate darling.
A human so sweet, A person so kind,
Someone so special, someone so adorable.

Mother dearest, my sweetest shining star,
Someone who teaches me love and compassion.
Mother dearest, my teacher my guide,
Someone who holds me so special within her heart !

Mother

Someone who carries you in her womb and brings you into the world. Someone who cares for you day and night and watches over you. A mother is that special someone whose every thought is on her child. And I too have a mother, someone sweet and eccentric at the same time.

As a child, I remember her being my mentor and friend. My friends used to say that we were awfully lucky to have her for a mom. They even wished that in their next birth they wanted her as their mother ! I adored her with all my heart and thought that she was the most awesome mother in the world. I felt like the luckiest person on earth to have someone so incredible and adorable as my mother.

She gave so much of importance to our character building. I remember her reading to me many books and explaining the moral values of each one of them. She would always say that real success was not in money or positions but in upholding good values in life.

As time went by and I grew older, I began to notice her shortcomings. I started observing that she was not as perfect as I thought she was.

My sister and I used to get really worked up when she gave away our things. She had this unique quality of giving away anything if someone came to her with a sorry plight. I remember telling her off as a teenager to donate only things belonging to her. I was upset when she had given away my favorite dress to someone we knew. I told her to donate her things and let us donate ours !

There are times that none of our friends will understand us when we complain about her. Can there be something called too much of giving ? Everyone who knows her comes to her defense and we daughters will invariably be put at fault !

I soon started to criticize her and complained about her faults to her. She was quick to rise to her defense. Somehow she felt that on the contrary, she was quite right ! I started to compare other mothers and told her how they were better mothers than her. How they gave so much of importance to the material aspects of their lives unlike her.

When I became a mom myself, I started to feel ashamed of my selfishness. Even after all my criticisms she responds to me with a childlike nature. Someone who rarely keeps grudges and forgives easily, she humbles me again and again and still continues to teach me simplicity and humility.

I began to understand what she must have endured.I do not find myself sacrificing my time and energy for my kids as she had done for us. What a courageous warrior she is! A strong person who never gives up hope, Mother is always quick to come out of any situation. She puts me to shame when I drool in self pity!

Today I can proudly say that she has taught me many things and above all she has taught me dignity and taught me to give uttermost importance to good values in my life. She has taught me never to give up but to walk forward positively.

As I have matured and grown wiser, I have come to understand that she is the sweetest angel from heaven. Mother has a gentle and childlike quality. Quick to forgive, she has a very loving disposition. She showers everyone around her with so much of love that whoever comes in contact with her will be invariably drawn by her benevolent nature.

Mother - Thank You for being who you are !

The Law of Attraction

An interesting article I read by Steve Pavlina on the Law of Attraction.


The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. But the Law of Attraction gives rise to some tough questions that don’t seem to have good answers. I would say, however, that these problems aren’t caused by the Law of Attraction itself but rather by the Law of Attraction as applied to objective reality.

Here are some of those problematic questions (all are generalizations of ones I received via email):

* What happens when people put out conflicting intentions, like two people intending to get the same promotion when only one position is available?
* Do children, babies, and/or animals put out intentions?
* If a child is abused, does that mean the child intended it in some way?
* If I intend for my relationship to improve, but my spouse doesn’t seem to care, what will happen?

These questions seem to weaken the plausibility of the Law of Attraction. Sometimes people answer them by going pretty far out. For example, it’s been said by LoAers that a young child experiences abuse because s/he intended it or earned it during a past life. Well, sure… we can explain just about anything if we bring past lives into the equation, but IMO that’s a cop-out. On the other hand, objective reality without the Law of Attraction doesn’t provide satisfactory answers either — supposedly some kids are just born unlucky. That’s a cop-out too.

I’ve never been satisfied by others’ answers to these questions, and they’re pretty important questions if the Law of Attraction is to be believed. Some books hint at the solution but never really nail it. That nail, however, can be found in the concept of subjective reality.

Subjective reality is a belief system in which (1) there is only one consciousness, (2) you are that singular consciousness, and (3) everything and everyone in your reality is a projection of your thoughts.

You may not see it yet, but subjective reality neatly answers all these tricky Law of Attraction questions. Let me ’splain….

In subjective reality there’s only one consciousness, and it’s yours. Consequently, there’s only one source of intentions in your universe — YOU. While you may observe lots of walking, talking bodies in your reality, they all exist inside your consciousness. You know this is how your dreams work, but you haven’t yet realized your waking reality is just another type of dream. It only seems solid because you believe (intend) it is.

Since none of the other characters you encounter are conscious in a way that’s separate from you, nobody else can have intentions. The only intentions are yours. You’re the only thinker in this universe.

It’s important to correctly define the YOU in subjective reality. YOU are not your physical body. This is not the egoic you at all. I’m not suggesting you’re a conscious body walking around in a world full of unconscious automatons. That would be a total misunderstanding of subjective reality. The correct viewpoint is that you’re the single consciousness in which this entire reality takes place.

Imagine you’re having a dream. In that dream what exactly are YOU? Are YOU the physical dream character you identify with? No, of course not — that’s just your dream avatar. YOU are the dreamer. The entire dream occurs within your consciousness. All dream characters are projections of your dream thoughts, including your avatar. In fact, if you learn lucid dreaming, you can even switch avatars in your dream by possessing another character. In a lucid dream, you can do anything you believe you can.

Physical reality works the same way. This is a denser universe than what you experience in your sleeping dreams, so changes occur a bit more gradually here. But this reality still conforms to your thoughts just like a sleeping dream. YOU are the dreamer in which all of this is taking place.

The idea that other people have intentions is an illusion because other people are just projections. Of course, if you strongly believe other people have intentions, then that’s the dream you’ll create for yourself. But ultimately it’s still an illusion.

Here’s how subjective reality answers these challenging Law of Attraction questions:

What happens when people put out conflicting intentions, like two people intending to get the same promotion when only one position is available?

Since you’re the only intender, this is entirely an internal conflict — within YOU. You’re holding the thought (the intention) for both people to want the same position. But you’re also thinking (intending) that only one can get it. So you’re intending competition. This whole situation is your creation. You believe in competition, so that’s what you manifest. Maybe you have some beliefs (thoughts and intentions) about who will get the promotion, in which case your expectations will manifest. But you may have a higher order belief that life is random, unfair, uncertain, etc., so in that case you may manifest a surprise because that’s what you’re intending.

Being the only intender in your reality places a huge responsibility on your shoulders. You can give up control of your reality by thinking (intending) randomness and uncertainty, but you can never give up responsibility. You’re the sole creator in this universe. If you think about war, poverty, disease, etc., that’s exactly what you’ll manifest. If you think about peace, love, and joy, you’ll manifest that too. Your reality is exactly what you think it is. Whenever you think about anything, you summon its manifestation.

Do children, babies, and/or animals put out intentions?

No. Your own body doesn’t even put out intentions — only your consciousness does. You’re the only one who has intentions, so what takes precedence is what YOU intend for the children, babies, and animals in your reality. Every thought is an intention, so however you think about the other beings in your reality is what you’ll eventually manifest for them. Keep in mind that beliefs are hierarchical, so if you have a high order belief that reality is random and unpredictable and out of your control, then that intention will trump other intentions of which you’re less certain. It’s your entire collection of thoughts that dictates how your reality manifests.

If a child is abused, does that mean the child intended it in some way?

No. It means YOU intended it. You intend child abuse to manifest simply by thinking about it. The more you think about child abuse (or any other subject), the more you’ll see it expand in your reality. Whatever you think about expands, and not just in the narrow space of your avatar but in all of physical reality.

If I intend for my relationship to improve, but my spouse doesn’t seem to care, what will happen?

This is another example of intending conflict. You’re projecting one intention for your avatar and one for your spouse, so the actual unified intention is that of conflict. Hence the result you experience, subject to the influence of your higher order beliefs, will be to experience conflict with your spouse. If your thoughts are conflicted, your reality is conflicted.

This is why assuming responsibility for your thoughts is so important. If you want to see peace in the world, then intend peace for EVERYTHING in your reality. If you want to see abundance in the world, then intend it for EVERYONE. If you want to enjoy loving relationships, then intend loving relationships for ALL. If you intend these only for your own avatar but not for others, then you’re intending conflict, division, and separation; consequently, that’s what you’ll experience.

If you stop thinking about something entirely, does that mean it disappears? Yes, technically it does. But in practice it’s next to impossible to uncreate what you’ve already manifested. You’ll continue creating the same problems just by noticing them. But when you assume 100% responsibility for everything you’re experiencing in your reality right now — absolutely everything — then you assume the power to alter your reality by rechanneling your thoughts.

This entire reality is your creation. Feel good about that. Feel grateful for the richness of your world. And then begin creating the reality you truly want by making decisions and holding intentions. Think about what you desire, and withdraw your thoughts from what you don’t want. The most natural, easiest way to do this is to pay attention to your emotions. Thinking about your desires feels good, and thinking about what you don’t want makes you feel bad. When you notice yourself feeling bad, you’ve caught yourself thinking about something you don’t want. Turn your focus back towards what you do want, and your emotional state will improve rapidly. As you do this repeatedly, you’ll begin to see your physical reality shift too, first in subtle ways and then in bigger leaps.

I too am just a manifestation of your consciousness. I play the role you expect me to play. If you expect me to be a helpful guide, I will be. If you expect me to be profound and insightful, I will be. If you expect me to be confused or deluded, I will be. But of course there’s no distinct ME that is separate from YOU. I’m just one of your many creations. I am what you intend me to be. But deep down you already knew that, didn’t you?

Dawn of A New Day...........

The dawn of a new day,
The dawn of a new year,
The dawn of new hopes,
The dawn of new promises,
The dawn of new commitments,
The dawn of new learning,
The dawn of new passions,
The dawn of new resolutions,
The dawn of new achievements,
The dawn of new understanding.......



A new day, a new year has dawned upon me. What does it hold. A simple day unfolds with the continuation of yesterday and the day before yesterday and all the days before that. I am a product of all the days that I have lived.

What do I really want ? Everything around me changes constantly. Some subtly and others dramatically. These constant movements are like the waves in the ocean. I keep moving on in life, changing, adjusting and learning to hold on to certain things but above all letting go of many things.

In the journey of this pilgrim not unlike others, many lessons have been learned. I choose either to become bitter from the past or to become more of the opposite - forgiving, gentle, kind, loving, sweet, sympathetic, tender or warm.

I create the environment around me. The river of life takes me along. I either choose to flow helplessly like the debris flowing with the river or I have a choice to live consciously in this journey.

To become conscious of my every action, word, reaction and response. I have the choice to choose to be patient rather than angry. I have the choice to be compassionate rather than cruel. To love rather than hate.

I have been given all these choices to make my life more joyous, fulfilled and meaningful rather than to be thrown about constantly all over, by the negative actions and reactions like in a storm !

It's easier to let go and be bumped around in the storm. It takes great strength to take hold of the reigns of my life and walk on consciously. When I feel hatred, I create hate around me. When I feel anger, I create discomfort and anger in the people around me. When I feel love, I create a loving atmosphere around me. When I am at peace, I bring about a peaceful ambience around me.


One of my most important lesson in life:

Being at peace with one's own self, is the final and ultimate achievement in life.