Love the future

Usually, people, after prayer, worship, devotional singing, inspirational reading, rituals and meditation, disconnect from the spiritual realm with the mind saying in some way that it is “done”!

If we do not entertain the idea that these spiritual practices are “done”, if we do not allow the mind to say that a ritual is over, then the spiritual will stay on with you throughout...

Would you not rather have a river of spirit whose flow has been developed through spiritual practice to run constantly and not spoil it with a “dam” of limiting thoughts.

When you need to use your mind for work, let it be enabled by the spiritual. During work we can constantly refer to our spiritual awareness like we refer to a book for better understanding.

It is the mind that raises a cloud of thoughts, which usually are to do with the future, that block out the rays of spiritual light that are there to show you the way.

A great way to disperse these clouds of thoughts made up of “molecules” of fear, doubt, anxiety, achievement goals, etcetera is to just love the future. Guess what? Loving the future will also build your enthusiasm and passion for life.

Here are a few steps to make your spiritual practices into a continuum, instead of entertaining an idea of completion, which will help you to think and act from a state of being-ness:


1. Start with being grateful for your past and what can be better than being grateful that your past has ensured that you are alive today.

2. Then, accept the present. And why not? You cannot send back what has showed up today. You cannot un-ring a bell that has just chimed.

3. Now, you are ready to love the future with your heart wide open and your mind open to receive whatever it may throw up. If you have difficulty in loving the unknown future, then love the mystery and the suspense of it.

What you love will give you something that you love.

Want to lead others to a bright future? Here is the way - Leadership Lessons for the New Age

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Leadership Lessons for the New Age - 37 Qualities You Need To Cultivate

Born leaders are rare. They have an inexplicable magnetism that draws people towards them. An example of born leaders are the Dalai Lamas, the Buddhist leaders for spreading compassion and helping people attain enlightenment, who have been chosen in their childhood for the last six centuries based on spiritual signs.

Leadership is now believed to be a skill that can be acquired by working upon yourself.

Let’s start with a question. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to be a leader?”
The answer is likely to be - To take forward a cause close to my heart.

Then ask, “How will I know that I have become a leader?”
The answer is, “You are not a leader, if you are not able to make people follow what you wish them to follow.”

So what is it that will make people follow you to take forward your cause?

At a leadership workshop of 50 bright students this is exactly what was asked and out of the 50 different answers that came from these students 37 were most relevant.

Broadly the answers were of two categories:

1. Self-qualities that will draw people to you.
2. Qualities towards others that will draw people to you.

I am going to elaborate upon these leadership qualities so that you can, recognize the ones you have and build upon the ones that you need to develop, to be a great and authentic leader in the New Age.

SELF-QUALITIES FOR LEADERSHIP:

1. Constant evolution: One who is continuously improving through self-development. Go for wholeness, perfection will follow. Reading New Age stuff and attending workshops will help to stay relevant, somewhat like an “App” that needs a download of regular updates for better performance and adaptation to new trends.
2. Courageous: One who takes the bull by the horns and moves forward. But when tackling evil, you need courage with caution. 
3. Confident: One who knows what they are doing and where they are going. Unstoppable but not overconfident nor arrogant in attaining your vision.
4. Good speaker: Proficient verbal communication in gatherings and interviews is important to get people fired to do what you wish them to do. Imparting your original, non-cliched thoughts without any ambiguity is important and so is being humorous. Clarity should be part of your communications strategy, so before you speak, understand.
5. Problem solver: One who doesn’t desist from delving into problems to solve them. Don’t walk away from hurdles but cross them. Thinking itself is a box. If you want "out of the box" solutions, be silent to open this ''box" to get insights and then focus your awareness on them.
6. Leads by example: One who shows the way by leading from the front whenever possible. Be the path-breaker but not pompous about it.
7. Responsible: Taking responsibility does not mean you are guilty. It means that you have the conviction to lead and do whatever it takes to get the best outcomes.
8. Selfless worker: This shows that you can sacrifice a few things dear to your heart in order to take forward your cause. There is no gain without pain. But this pain will not be a suffering.
9. Positive attitude: This keeps you going even in the face of adversity and lifts your spirits as well as the spirits of those around you. Positivity attracts positivity and this will always help.
10. Committed: One who is consistently involved with a cause will always achieve. The persistence of soft water flowing over hard rocks is able to round them beautifully.
11. Calm in the face of adversity: A high emotional quotient is needed so that you become an anchor for those who are following you. A low emotional quotient will drive people away from you because negative emotions are like a bad odour. Natural equanimity in the face of opposition is desired. 
12. Energetic: People like to see a spring in your step. It is magnetic. Exercise makes one more energetic.
13. Powerful: If you are not well connected you are not powerful. In today’s age your network is your net-worth. It is wise to pilot your leadership in an initial hub before using networking to scale up, because when you showcase your abilities others are drawn to you.
14. Creative: Creativity makes your approach innovative, and newness is always welcomed. A balance of inspection and introspection will enhance your creativity especially in tackling uncertainties and complexities.
15. Enthusiastic: Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. Be passionate towards your cause, and always hungry to do more and push boundaries.
16. Idealistic: Keeping to noble, ethical and moral principles of a land is important. Any immorality on your part will take people away from you. Do what is right. Don’t do anything against your cause in private, otherwise you yourself will become ambiguous.
17. Resilient: If you fall down seven times, get up eight times. Be a champion who never quits. A secret of champions is that they take regular breaks to recharge.
18. Intelligent: Intelligence is a quality that can be developed with mental exercises such as Gestalt Thinking. This is important for strategic thinking to achieve your goals. Basic knowledge at macro and micro levels on subjects such as human aspects, technology enablement, outreach and economics is important to come to an understanding that is larger than the sum of the parts of these aspects. Answer questions with a presence of mind.
19. Acceptable Appearance: Do in Rome as the Romans do. You need to look appealing to your target audience for them to be drawn.

QUALITIES TOWARDS OTHERS FOR LEADERSHIP:

1. Takes everyone along: Don’t let anyone feel left out from your cause. Involve them in your processes and engage them for something meaningful in your cause. A feeling of ownership is important to keep your followers loyal to your cause. You are not supposed to be a super hero, so being vulnerable and asking for help is okay. Making a few decisions democratically by engaging in regular conversations is a good idea and so is the idea of saying, “We did it”. Discriminations should be made upon declared criteria.
2. Concern for team members: Anticipate needs of team members. Read about the paradigms of different generational groups and become sensitive to them. Help team members to improve their performance. Do not consider one team or team member to be superior to others. Respect for others is paramount for leadership.
3. Makes leaders: An incredible law of the universe is that, what you give you get. So the more leaders you make and empower the more your leadership will be enforced by the universe. This can turn out to be a catalyst for your cause. Find the optimal mix of giving control and being in control.
4. Good listener: Do not listen to reply, but listen to expand your understanding. If you try to prove you are the smartest, you actually prove you are not smart, because there is no definition of ''smartest". Be open to receiving feedback without any biases on your part.
5. Inspirer: You need to inspire people for your cause with your thoughts, words and deeds. When you do this with feeling it has emotional appeal. Appreciation and recognition inspires. Figure out what motivates different generational groups. It’s not always a “carrot”.
6. Honest: Fact check and don’t project fake facts. Make sure that your transparency levels are so high that little can be done behind the back of your followers. This will enforce integrity and fairness which are important factors for building an attractive culture. Honesty builds trust and trust is a major capital a leader must continue to build.
7. Polite: Don’t just be a flower but a flower with a fragrance. People are drawn towards genuine kind words and genuine kind actions.
8. Empathetic: Feel what another feels and then act accordingly. Be kind.
9. Helper: This may be your ultimate fuel for happiness! When you help others you get a "helpers high" and others feel grateful about the help they receive. One good turn leads to another.
10. Belonging-ness: You have to come to an understanding that you and your followers are one family and you must behave like a family member. Family gatherings build fellowship.
11. Sacrifice: Sometimes you have to sacrifice something in order that your followers or your cause gets something beneficial.
12. Punctuality: If you are not punctual often, your followers may lose interest in you.
13. Willingness: Be willing to take up causes incidental to your main cause.
14. Flexibility: A rigid tree can break in the face of a storm but a flexible one survives. Be open to “pivoting” your cause or point of view, if the environment demands it. Be in an organic flow.
15. Supportive: If you find someone disturbed, take them aside at an appropriate moment and place, and give well considered inputs for solving their problems. Be an understanding counsellor.
16. Social: If you are an introvert how will you reach out effectively to people? So become social and gregarious because that’s the true nature of human beings. Learn how to use "social media" effectively.
17. Keeping to your word: This is important because if you don’t keep to your word often, people will lose trust in you.
18. Compassion: Pursue your passion with compassion for sustainability. Ensure that there is minimal “hurt” with what you are doing. Parent your cause. This is the parent of most leadership qualities.

A true affirmation of most of these leadership qualities is when you exhibit them even when concerned people are not looking.

Transformation begins with first transforming yourself.

All of these 37 leadership qualities can be acquired or enhanced with one secret. To know more click here - Presence, Present Moment and Going With The Flow

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A Simple Meditation

Your soul is already, in bliss, aware, wise, creative, relaxed and also full of energy. All you need to do to renew yourself with its qualities is touch it by silencing your mind for a while. Meditation is how you do this and meditation is not as difficult as made out to be!

Before I give you a simple technique, let me tell you what it does. Meditation just increases the space between two thoughts and take note that there is nothing such as achieving complete stillness and no thought, here on earth! When the spaces between thoughts increase, there is less of habitual thinking which causes mental clutter and more of feelings and nudges coming from your heart. The hearts desires translate into thoughts in your mind and can be recognised by a relatively silent mind as your first thoughts on a subject. When we meditate, we can easily catch these "first thoughts" because we start to automatically watch what we are thinking! Here is an example of what a "first thought" is like and why you should follow it - If your friend asks you for a coffee and your first thought is a hesitation, then you must follow this hesitation and postpone your coffee for another time. Since your heart knows the future as well, the hesitation was caused because something closer to your heart, such as a close family member dropping by at home, is due to happen, and the coffee date will spoil it!

Now here are a couple of things to do to prepare yourself before you start your meditation:

1. First, the time has to be right. Early morning after a bath is a good time because you have yet not started your mind on thoughts about work.
2. Turn off any humming noise from appliances if you can.
3. Put your phone on "Silent" mode and if possible, place it in another room.
4. Sit straight on the floor or on a chair or bed.
5. Let your hands face up and legs be in a comfortable position because you don't want to focus on discomfort.
6. Close your eyes.

THE MEDITATION

1. After your preparation is done, slow down the pace of your breath to the slowest rhythm that is comfortable to you. This does not mean taking deep breaths but taking normal breaths at a slower pace.
2. Now, mentally follow your breath at the tip of your nose going in and then going out.
3. In your mind you can say “In” as you take a breath in from your nose and “Out” as you allow your breath to go out from your nose.
4. After sometime if you don't feel like saying it, just follow your breath going in from your nose and out of it, with the attention of your mind.
5. If some thoughts arise in between, let them come and go like you watch passing vehicles on the road. You don’t sit on every vehicle on the road and go off on it for a ride, do you? No! So, allow these thoughts to flow and just keep following your breath in and out with your mind.
6. Do this till you feel like. And, when you feel like coming out of it, lie down with your eyes closed.
7. Then, get up when you feel like and stay blissful by loving the day.

Try to do this every day at the same time but without timing it. Don't ever time it because meditation is all about going into a timeless zone.

Rest assured that with daily meditation, you will be renewed with soulful energy, inside-out, for the day, every day. Your clarity and creativity will give you joy and when expressed will give others joy. Each day will surely be a meaningful day!

If you wish to go a step further into prayerfulness, then click on this link - Prayer and Worship

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Hurt In The Heart

A hurt in the heart is like an arrow striking your heart and sticking there. I am sure that at least once in your life you would have felt this way. Now, where did this “arrow” come from and how did it pierce your heart?

First, when you are a loving person, you keep your heart open permanently for those you love. There are no shields on it because out of love you have removed walls that divide and restrict. Then comes a person you love who may not necessarily want to hurt you, but because they are not operating from an open heart they may be unaware of how open hearts are vulnerable to words and actions that can slight the heart and slit it. They are operating from the mind and the ego which gives a sense of a separate self and not a sense of family. They are operating from the qualities of the mind like shrewdness and cleverness; logic and analysis; calculations and returns; unfaithfulness and disloyalty. All these are the “arrows” thrown at you from their minds in the form of words and actions, and because your heart is bare, they strike and injure it.

Now, if you don’t call this out to the person who hurt you, they will continue to injure you and the injury within will continue to fester in your heart! Calling it out is also like removing the arrow and throwing it away so that the injury can heal. Remember to call out your hurt very specifically to the person who hurt you and tell them exactly what it was that caused discomfort so that they don’t repeat such behaviour. If they still continue blindly with the same patterns, then the best thing is to avoid coming into their line of sight!

It is possible that because of a past hurt you decided to shield your heart and gradually opened it later with time. A shielded heart is unable to express feelings and these feelings get pent up inside the heart in the form of emotions. When your heart is hurt these emotions come bursting out and you get emotional with tears or crying out aloud. This is perfectly fine because the heavy load in your heart is being emptied out. You can try beating a pillow too to get all your emotions expelled out. E-motions are just “energies in motion” and it is beneficial to get them out at the first opportunity to lighten your heart. So in a sense, an injured heart may become a blessing in disguise!

Don’t ever close your heart with a shield because the heart radiates love like the sweet fragrance of a flower that attracts the gentle caress of loving beings. Your heart is the conduit of God to spread love in the universe too. Would you want to deny yourself all these joyous gifts for the sake of a few pinches that pain your heart?

In closing, here is an apt quote to encourage you to keep your heart open:

‘‘The wound is the place where the light enters you’’ - Rumi

An interesting story about a heartbreak - Going For Love

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Presence, Present Moment and Going With The Flow

If you have read or heard about meditation, you may have come across the buzz words in the title but didn't understand their correlation.

Meditation is a spiritual practice where an individual uses a technique to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

Some people focus on an object or thought and some un-focus to be in meditation.

The fact is that you become mentally clear when the space between your thoughts is increased whatever be the technique for meditation. There is no such thing as “no thought” because there will always be a thought conscious or sub-conscious at some interval unless you are dead!

You become emotionally calm when you allow, during your practice of some meditation technique, your pent up emotions in your sub-conscious to rise to the surface like bubbles and be expressed. Uncontrollable crying is often an outcome and the end result is calmness.

With meditation, when the space between your conscious thoughts increases and your sub-conscious emotions dissolve, you will feel your own “presence” as something larger than your body and mind and encompassing your whole being with a reassuring warmth.

You are right here in the "present moment" because you are no longer worried and anxious about your future and you are no longer uncomfortable about some past happening. 

When you are in the present moment, you are then consciously “going with the flow” of each present moment as it progresses with different events in the course of the day. In your calmness, you accept every moment with whatever present it brings and because there is space between your thoughts, which is actually where your presence resides, you respond to each moment with wisdom. It is within this space that you get in-spirations, in-sights and in-tuitions. You now have a “presence of mind” because the space between your thoughts is awareness, tapped into the all-knowing super-intelligent “Universal Consciousness"! This is what is referred to as mindfulness.

When you go with the flow, you have consciously befriended life and no longer think of it as opposing you. You have started to walk hand-in-hand with time and now, you are grateful for your past, you accept the present and love the future. You are not sitting still in some timeless realm nor are you shying away from events, instead you are engaging with each present moment with presence of mind and going with the flow... Isn’t it exciting that time brings to you waves upon waves of people, places and circumstances to engage with? Life can be as joyous as waves upon the ocean landing on the beach as you walk. I feel you will become passionate about life if you think of it this way!

To receive each “present” from the universe with the same excitement with which you receive a precious gift, find a meditation technique and keep marching on...

If you want a simple meditation to start with, then click on this link - A Simple Meditation

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Prayer and Worship

Prayer means an earnest and devout petition to God or an object of worship and it also means a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship.

The Indian word for worship is “Puja” and it is made up of two words, namely:
Purna - meaning Complete
Jiva - meaning Self

When you earnestly yield, to your object of worship, your “complete self” i.e. your ''body, mind and heart'', during worship (or even for that matter during your daily work because work is worship too), then you reach a blissful state of devout oneness! In this state you are in prayer and will receive answers to all your questions and wisdom to direct your life forward. When you are ''earnest'' (deeply, sincere and serious), then prayer becomes worship and worship becomes prayer!!!

This leads to a harmonious life where you are marching in unison with “All that there is”. You may ask, ''How can I know I am in unison with “All that there is” when a lot of It is generally invisible?''
Well the invisible has at command all the invisible stuff in you - your gentle nudges within, your conscience, feelings, thoughts, senses, and all of these in people and even things around you as well. So called inanimate things too have the entire blueprint of the cosmos present within them and are alive and kicking with activity within.

So if a book suddenly falls in front of you, it is the invisible leading you to it to gain the knowledge you need. If you bump into an old friend at a cafe, it is the invisible leading you to an exciting opportunity...

open vessel taking a dip in holy water 

An understanding of prayer and worship must lead you to make it a daily and important part of your life in order to keep your invisible-self in harmony just as bathing and brushing your teeth have become a daily part of your life in order to keep your visible-self in harmony. I believe that daily bathing is honouring yourself too because not bathing is dis-honouring yourself. Similarly, daily prayer and worship is honouring the invisible and not praying and worshiping is dis-honouring the invisible. In prayer and worship, you are like an open vessel taking a dip in holy water that lies in the deep. The vessel gets washed from outside and takes a sip of the holy water from its opening and gets washed from inside too!!!

Are you now ready to commit yourself to daily prayer and worship? If yes, and you don't know where to start, here's a link with a simple way to begin - A 5 Minute Simple Ritual To Align With God

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What Makes A News Service Trustworthy?

“Fake News” and “Paid News” have become the buzz words for all news coming from sources that have a wide outreach that it makes it difficult to build trust on any news service.

However, an intelligent person would ask, “What is the “agenda” of a news service?”

1. Is it to promote a bias like a particular political party/personality/organisation/religion or is it to promote facts for people to form opinions on those facts by including views expressed by all stakeholders related to a fact?

2. Is it to promote mainly dramatic events to build their TRP which translates into greater advertisement revenue or is it to promote a balance of negative, neutral and positive events in the same ratio as the quantum of such events? An example of “neutral news” is key findings in an Academic Conference which are rarely reported though a large number happen everyday.

3. Is the funding method of a news service, linked to big corporate houses, political parties or even non-profits that lobby; largely advertisements; or mainly crowd funding? Crowd funding would generally suggest that the news service is likely to be democratic otherwise it may not receive amounts from a vast population. If it is crowd funded by a group with say a political bias then it would be easy to catch that political bias in their news.

4. Most importantly, is it raising questions or reporting facts that will encourage people to make themselves and life better? Ex. What are the effects of over population in a country? What are workable solutions for controlling population explosion? And, is it broadcasting answers to such questions answered by authentic “Subject Matter Experts”?

Ultimately you have to spend some time to observe and research about a news service and come to your current decision on where to get your news from so that you make informed choices based on reliable information.

Want to know what global impact Artificial Intelligence can have? Click here - Will AI take away your job?

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Why is there sacrifice, struggle and pain on earth?

Metaphorically speaking if everything that existed was just white coloured atoms then these white atoms would not know they were white. However, if they got an opportunity to be in a dark space then at least like a candle in a dark room they would know they were white light.

Further, if they got an opportunity to be each of the component colours of white in the rainbow spectrum one by one i.e. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, then they would experience and fully know each of their components.

Now to experience one component you have to forget that you are the other components, otherwise you cannot experience them. So there has to be a veil or filter to hide all that you need to forget and let in only that which you need to experience.

In real life this means that to experience being tall you have to forget that you are both short and tall and remember only your tallness. To experience being a gloomy person you have to forget that you are both cheerful and gloomy and remember only the gloomy part of yourself.

Forgetting parts of yourself and leading a less than whole life is a sacrifice because you do have to struggle when you don’t have all your attributes available to you and the struggle can be painful. If you have seen someone with amnesia or Alzheimer, you will understand the struggle and pain better.   But forgetting is necessary to realise your wholeness by experiencing your attributes in parts because there is no other way of realising them.

You can reduce the struggle and pain if you are willing to share your life with someone who has what you don't have. For example, an engineer can collaborate with a management graduate to open a tech start-up. The engineer makes a product with his skills and the management graduate grows the business of selling the product. Both fairly share the profits rather than neither of them having a profitable business! Both of them still are able to experience their attributes.

Until you realise your attributes by experiencing their facticity and particularity, you will be an un-satiated “white atom” and the good news is when you experience all your parts you will be a satiated “white atom” able to rest in the peace of “Being”. I guess then you would have a “been there, done that” kind of feeling sitting with the Lord of Creation and shall go no more out into the universe to experience its trials and tribulations.

Want an objective picture about life? Click here - The Painting of Life

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Love Explained. Is it like playing ball?

All matter has different types of forces acting upon it and the “Four Fundamental Forces of Nature” are:

1. Gravity - the attraction between two objects that have mass.
2. Electromagnetism - responsible for electricity and magnetism.
3. Strong nuclear force - that binds the fundamental particles of matter together.
4. Weak nuclear force - responsible for particle decay.

Similarly, humans have the fundamental love force acting upon them and I am going to describe some metaphors to explain this force.

One level of love could be like magnetism. It attracts and repels and also does both without expectations. So this may be the love and hate level of love in our world of duality which happens at the heart level. And perhaps when this love force acts at the mind level of consciousness, expectations from those you love and hate may set in.

Another level of love could be like gravity. It only attracts and doesn’t repel but again without expectations. It does create a feeling of up and down which indicates whether you are moving away from the source or towards it. This maybe the soul level of love which is unconditional. This is somewhat like a Master attracting his or her followers and the Master’s field of influence is not selective but universal towards all humans who come near.

What is common between these fundamental forces of nature is that they have a certain integrity. When you are in their field they will act according to their inherent nature. It’s the human mind that enacts dramas of hide and seek but not these forces. Your heart and soul have integrity. And when a human like a Master has the capacity for unconditional soul love it will show up as integrity, which means that even when no one is looking you are still acting out of love for a particular person or thing.

Now coming to another aspect of love which is the all important fulfilment of love. When there is an exchange of love then you feel that your effort of love has been fulfilled. When you give her a rose and she gives you a hug, that is a moment of fulfilment.

Here is something interesting about what causes the fundamental forces of nature. The force between two objects can be described through the exchange of a particle. The transfer of momentum and energy in the two objects during the movement of the exchange particle is said to mediate the interaction which shows up as a force of attraction or repulsion between the objects. A simple analogue of this is a ball being thrown back and forth between a man and a woman. The momentum and energy when you bend backwards and stretch yourself to then gently throw the ball propels you towards the catcher if you are on friction-less ground like an ice sheet and when she catches the ball and throws it back in the same way to him, she is propelled towards him. When this goes on, an attraction between the two will develop. So at the very heart of a fulfilling love relationship would be bending backwards for a gentle exchange between two people and also, not a one sided effort!!! On the other hand, if you wish to create a repulsion, then you don't have to bend backwards and you just have to toss the ball hard towards the catcher or bend forward and gently toss the ball backwards away from the catcher and then you will move away from the catcher if you are on friction-less ground and when the catcher does the same she will move away from him. 

So, a good idea if you want a fulfilling love relationship, full of attraction, is to bend backwards and stretch yourself to the limit for a gentle exchange of gifts, favours, appreciation and gratitude. And, remember to do this often...

Here's how to handle a heartbreak - Hurt In The Heart

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5 Minute Simple Ritual To Align With God

God is that which has power over nature and human fortunes and is also referred to by some as Creation, Spirit, The Force, Universe, Cosmos, Existence, All That There Is etc. The word God originated from ancient words that mean ''to pour'' and ''to invoke''. When you surrender to God, in a sense you are bowing or pouring yourself into the immanent presence of God and at the same time you are calling forth and invoking the transcendent presence of God.

You may ask, “Why do we have to surrender to God?”

Everything has a mind of their own and then there is the collective mind of “All That There Is” which is perhaps like the conductor of an orchestra. By letting go of one’s individual mind for a while one can align with this “Conductor” and heed Its direction so that you play your part with your own mind in harmony with the symphony of the universe.

By no means is surrendering for a while ''not thinking for yourself''. Attuning to a force you have no control over is “thinking for yourself” and doing it. An example of attuning to a force you have no control over is carrying an umbrella even when the weather forecast says, ''No rain today'', because you know that you cannot control the weather nor can anyone predict it accurately. On a more logical note, we surrender to the laws of the land such as traffic rules and do not drive vehicles on the wrong side of the road so that people including yourself are not killed because everyone has aligned themselves to these rules.

So here is a 5 minute simple morning ritual of inner yielding to align with God, the Lord of the universe.

Note: This ritual does not mean that you have to become passive in your life but passive only for the guidance of God and then active to implement the guidance.

THE RITUAL

1. Relax your body: Lie on your back with your hands facing up and close your eyes. Relax all your muscles one by one from your toes up to your head. Take your attention to your jaws and your tongue and relax them. When relaxed, place yourself in the hands of God with complete faith. Transfer all your past and present loads to God. Know that you do not have any burden or debt of “karma”. There is nothing to get stressed about and there is nothing to fear. Feel your concerns disappear and enjoy your lightness.
You may like to say, "I place myself in Thy Hands and request Thee to hold all my concerns and support the load of my past, present and future."

2. Yield your mind: Simply let go of your thoughts and yield your mind earnestly to the mind of God. Feel the deep silence around you.
You may like to say, "I let go of my thoughts and yield my mind to Thy Mind. I request Thee for Thy guidance." 

3. Open your heart: Take a soulful deep breath in and as you exhale, open your heart wide and deep to allow the joy and grace of God to pervade your whole being and circumstances. Know that all of your past is forgiven and that the solutions you are looking for are emerging with God’s grace. Feel your worthiness to receive the love of God.
You may like to say, "I open my heart wide and deep and request Thy Joy and Grace to pervade my body, being and circumstances. May Thy Will be done.”

4. Enter God's Heart: Gently turn over to your left side and curl up like a child in the womb of God. Whisper from your heart, “Lord, as I enter Your Heart, envelope me with Thy Love”. Feel the warmth, calmness and reassuring security of God’s motherly love for a while.

5. Thank God: When you feel like, get up and say, “Thank you Lord for Thy ever-present, Love, Grace, Guidance and Support”. Remember that all of these are ever-present, so do not unplug yourself from them as you get up, by entertaining any thought that implies that you are done. Instead, fall in love with God and stay in love with life, God and yourself.

Now you can resume your responsibilities, with enthusiasm, in tune with God, and remember to be open to miracles. Your inner feelings are the gentle wisdom of God guiding you. Know that you are now an inspired agent of God and that you have to act with benevolence and humility, at all times.

(If you cannot remember the sequence of the ritual in one read, then practice the ritual a few times by reading it from your mobile phone while you do it. Ultimately it has to be done without any aids, with your eyes closed and with your whole-self, which is the fullness of your being)

Whenever you feel out of tune during the day, now you know how to be back in tune again in 5 minutes!

May the benevolent Force be with you.

As you resume your responsibilities, in order to remain in balance, here are some tips - The Pursuit Of Balance

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A Guest’s Perspective of Hospitality in 5 Star Hotels

Let me start by enumerating what I’ve observed lately about some perspectives that hold priority for some of the top management of luxury hotel chains.

1. Revenues and profits often referred to as top lines and bottom lines.
2. Mergers, acquisitions and number of rooms.
3. Brand-scape.
4. Renovations (for more than one reason).

And now, just ask yourself, what is the core purpose of a hotel?
Hospitality for its hotel guests for sure!!! And, it is not to provide a bed made of gold to sleep on but a very comfortable one.

Ask another question. Who is going to provide this hospitality to hotel guests?
Each hotel staff member individually and as a team.

In my travels across the world I have come across a few hotels offering a very high level of hospitality that have delighted me in the core of my heart because of which I keep going back to them and some left a sour taste whom I am trying to improve by giving them honest feedback.

In one friendly hotel in New York, I found that the front office, house keeping, food and beverages, concierge, bell desk, engineering, sales, reservations and senior management staff had become like family for each other and they would take a friendly guest into their family fold. I can’t describe in words how amazing this feeling was but it was what I would say made this hotel a “home away from home”. Everyday one would bump into a couple of employees and they would engage in a friendly conversation with some relevant advice thrown in to help you.

I analysed the secret to this phenomena and am sharing it here. This hotel had a very gregarious and exuberant person as a lobby ambassador who had the following roles.

• Her first role was to interface between all concerned departments at all levels so that a particular service desired by a guest or anticipated by her in her interactions with guests was delivered to the guest as a team.
• The second role was to introduce a friendly guest to different staff members in the lobby as and when they bumped into you so that they got an opportunity to treat you like family.
• A third role was to place in your room special amenities which she would assess were your preferences, from conversations with you, and accompany them with a hand written note to make you feel cared for. The photo in this article is of a farewell gift with handwritten personal farewell notes from 16 staff members of this hotel! I guess, this is beyond what one’s family would do for you.
• And a fourth role was to have one staff member join her to host a complimentary wine and cheese party for guests at the bar from 5pm to 6:30pm everyday. Here she would also introduce guests, who had something in common, to each other.
• Her fifth role was to host another party every month at the hotel to celebrate the birthdays of staff members who had them during that month. Photos of the celebration would then be posted in a monthly e-newsletter circulated among all employees with photos of celebrities that stayed in the hotel and news about the hotel.

I feel that a lobby ambassador with similar roles in luxury hotels is a must for improving guest satisfaction.

In a reputed 5 star hotel in New Delhi, I found that each staff member was sensitized to anticipate your needs even before you realized them much like what parents do for their young children! I am giving three actual instances that happened in this hotel’s many restaurants.

• In one of them I was leaning over to eat my lunch. The stewardess noticed this and requested if she may move the table closer to me.
• In another restaurant a steward standing about 50 meters away from me noticed my struggle to open a tomato sauce bottle and rushed to assist me.
• At their bar, I ordered chilled still water in a wine glass and mentioned to the steward I am doing so because I’m a teetotaller. The steward then insisted that I must try a distilled non-alcoholic drink that is very popular across the world and that he would make it complimentary for me!

These three instances among many others of their caring hospitality overwhelmed me.

Coming now to an iconic hotel chain that was not so welcoming, where I was able to analyse what was going wrong with their hospitality, which I was surprised to see deteriorating by the day.

Since it’s an iconic brand, employees who manage to get a job here feel it’s a feather in their cap. They start “resting” on this laurel leading to an inertia towards their main role of hospitality to their guests. Furthermore, creditably the hotel is able to retain a lot of their employees for more than 10 years but some of these employees develop an air of superiority as if they have become lords of their hotels and subsequently a guest automatically is treated subservient to these “lords” who expect the guests to dance to their tune. The newer staff are quick to imbibe the behaviour of their seniors leading to a culture of “lordship”.
To add to this, the hotel chain taking advantage of their high brand value and giving more attention to their bottom line than to guest satisfaction, pays their employees below average salaries and makes them work above average hours everyday! Now, all that these unfortunate employees have to speak for themselves is, ''the feather in their cap'', which reinforces their inertia and lordship!

An apt quote for such employers by the founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson is -  “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
Recent research has shown that a 4-day week increases the output of an employee by 20%. Something for all employers to ponder about.

I am going to recount some actual instances that happened with me at this iconic hotel chain due to the inertia and lordship of their employees.

• First, my airport pickup requested for and confirmed by them did not arrive!
• Second, a welcome drink offered upon check-in didn’t find it’s way to my room!
• Third, I was made to check-out at the cashier’s window and not even allowed to sit across the manager’s desk to complete formalities even though as a privileged guest all this was supposed to be done at the reception desk of the privileged floor on which I was staying or in my room, whichever of the two I preferred.
• Fourth, the central office sent me a mailer with a discount offer two days after the offer started instead of at least two days before. What this resulted in was that I made a reservation at one of their hotels without the discount and the reservation staff who would have been aware of the prevailing offer failed to make the reservation at the discounted rate for which I was eligible!

The point that is important is that we are in an age where empathy is regarded higher than top lines and bottom lines. The most loving brand will be glorified and will also become the fittest brand to survive because the top lines and bottom lines for a great part are built on your guests coming back to you or recommending you either by word of mouth or through social media which has a huge outreach. Why would they recommend a hotel you may ask? Not because of your financial condition of which they may know nothing but mainly because of the love you gave them. And, the employees will take loving care of guests if their employers care for them!!!

Looking to inculcate a new age leadership style? Check this out - Leadership

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CHECKLIST FOR MASTERY ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK “FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD”

7 STEPS TO FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

The 7 steps to any friendship are – Know, Trust, Love, Embrace, Use, Help, and Thank which lead to Mastery. When you apply them to God you have a friendship with God which is all the more Masterful!

1. Do you Know God? And do you know that, Knowing God is Knowing your Self which is your Soul - the God in you which is ever-present and everything, and needs nothing except experience of what it already is? And that, this process of experience happens by experiencing things one by one like tall & short, hot & cold, rich & poor, activity & peace, etc.?
2. Do you know that you can Trust God by not needing to Trust because God is always there for you just like gravity is always present?
3. Do you Love God without condition, limitation, expectation and need? And do you know that Love is free and therefore should be unconditional? And that you will receive Love in the same way as you give it?
4. Do you Embrace God by sitting in silence often? Do you know that one way this happens is by just BEING and watching where your thoughts are going without analysing them? Do you Meditate at least twice a day?
5. Do you Use God by applying tools given by God - Creative Energy (Thoughts, Words & Deeds); Gentle Wisdom (Intuition); and Pure Love (Unconditionality)?
6. Do you Help God by living, Deliberately by using thoughts, words and deeds; Harmoniously by using intuition; and Beneficially by using unconditional love and kindness?
7. Do you Thank God by being in a state of Gratitude for your eternal life which is full of excitement and constant change? Do you know that you cannot think Gratitude but you can BE grateful (Ex. You don’t think love but you BE in love)? And that, being Grateful will attract what you choose to be Grateful for very fast?

5 ATTITUDES FOR SPIRITUAL MASTERY

1. Joy:

• Do you know that your Soul Energy which is also your Creative Vibration is Joy and wisdom just like the sun’s energy is heat and light?
• Do you know that Joy is experienced when your Soul expresses its energy by uniting with other living beings and things, with the natural magnetism of love which is let out by opening your Heart and opening your Mind which when closed shield love?
• Do you know that when you connect with others and give Joy to them by simple things like humour, laughter and smiles, that you will feel Joy moving in you?
• Do you know that when you connect with things and release your Creative Vibration, that you will feel Joy moving in you?

2. Love:

• Do you know that the first step to Love is to Love yourself?
• Do you know that Love is Giving and Love is Freedom within a discipline?
• Do you know that Love is Being Natural and not Normal?
• Do you know that allowing another to bring you joy is Love?
• Do you know that Love let’s go of expectations and requirements and need holds on?
• Do you know that Love is not having to say you’re sorry?
• Do you know that Love is not withholding Love when you do not agree with another but giving more of it then out of compassion?
• Do you know that you have to be aware, honest, transparent and willing in Love?
• Ask, What would Love do now? Do you know that you have the answer and you are the answer and that the answer will bring harmony?

3. Acceptance:

• Do you know that Acceptance is Embracing and not rejecting? And that, what you resist, persists?
• Do you know that Acceptance is like water that washes the stains of judgement?
• Do you know that Acceptance changes your inner experience no matter what the outer circumstance is?

4. Blessing:

• Do you know that Blessing is not condemning but commending?
• Do you know that you cannot fully Bless when you judge?
• Do you know that you are complete and overflowing with Blessing?
• Do you know that you Bless when you give all things your best?

5. Gratitude:

• Do you know that you should always be Grateful because every circumstance is a gift of experience?
• Do you know that the following prayer is an expression of Gratitude when you think you have a problem and that it can heal your condition? – “Thank you God for making me understand that every problem has already been solved for me.’’

3 SPIRITUAL CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MASTERY

1. Awareness:

•  Do you know that Awareness is to be keenly observant of-

i) What is so and why?
ii) What can change it and why?
iii) What are the probable outcomes of your choices?

• Do you know that you have to be Aware that you are Aware and not pretend that you are not Aware?

2. Honesty:

• Do you know that Honesty is truthfulness?
• Do you know that Honesty is transparency without hidden agendas and dramas?

3. Responsibility:

• Do you know that taking Responsibility is not an admission of guilt?
• Do you know that Responsibility starts by willingness for it?
• Do you know that knowing-ness that WE ARE ALL ONE will help you to take Responsibility for whatever shows up before you?
• Do you know that Responsibility is doing whatever it takes to get, the best outcomes and the best remedies for unwanted outcomes?

1 BIG NEGATIVE TO BE TACKLED

Anger:

• Do you know that ANGER negates all the above mentioned 7 STEPS TO FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD; 5 ATTITUDES FOR SPIRITUAL MASTERY; 3 SPIRITUAL CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MASTERY???
• Do you know that to avoid the negativity of Anger, you should not use it to justify changes proposed in your life?
• Do you know that frankly stating your views and feelings will help subside your Anger?

IF YOU APPLY ALL THAT YOU KNOW AND DID NOT KNOW IN THIS CHECKLIST YOU WILL MOVE TO MASTERY. IF YOU MEMORISE THIS CHECKLIST AND RUN THROUGH IT FOR ANY PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL SURELY SURF THROUGH THAT SITUATION LIKE A MASTER! PRACTICE MAKES YOU A PERFECT SURFER… TO KNOW MORE READ THE BOOK ‘’FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD’’.

Here's something interesting on another channelled book about God and you - God - An Autobiography

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Why One Should Read Channelled Books On Spirituality

According to me the reason why one must read the latest channelled books on spirituality is about the same reason why one must read the latest science books.

It is fine to read old science books to know the history of science and develop an appreciation for how scientific discoveries evolve vis-a-vis a truth that was always there.

Laws of science are revealed by God to people in the same way that laws of spirituality are revealed from time to time to different people. Albert Einstein once said, “I want to know God's thoughts - the rest are mere details.“  By reading about new revelations both in science and spirituality we are able to apply what is known till date holistically. A channelled book on spirituality is essentially a communication from a higher being to a person ready to receive, interpret and record the wisdom received.

A brief look at what scientists theorised at different times in history on the ubiquitous force of gravity serves as an example of why we must read the latest discoveries of science.
In the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that heavy bodies are not attracted to the Earth by an external force of gravity, but tend toward the center of the universe because of an inner gravitas or heaviness.
In the 6th century AD, Aryabhata identified the force to explain why objects do not fall when the Earth rotates, and developed a geocentric solar system of gravitation, with an eccentric elliptical model of the planets, where the planets spin on their axes and follow elliptical orbits, the Sun and the Moon revolving around the Earth in epicycles.
In the 7th century AD, Indian astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupta described gravity as an attractive force and used the term "gurutvākarṣaṇam” for gravity.
During the 17th century AD, Galileo found that, counter to Aristotle's teachings, all objects tend to accelerate equally when falling.
In the late 17th century AD, English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton published Principia, which hypothesizes the inverse-square law of universal gravitational force.
In the early 20th century AD, Albert Einstein published General Relativity where the effects of gravitation are ascribed to space-time curvature instead of to a force.

So here we see great scientists of an era with some theories that failed in later years.

Unlike scientific truths that may remain constant and are only subject to different levels of discovery at different times, spirituality keeps evolving with time because the Creator keeps evolving with time too. In one channelled book God says, "I am growing, learning what it is like to deal with autonomous others. I am learning the difference between Self and Other''. All the more reason to read the latest channelled book on spirituality because it will have the latest on it. The fine spiritual forces acting upon the earth also change as the earth’s spin wobbles every 25000 years in what is called axial precession and during the solar system's revolution around its galaxy, the Milky Way! History has reported that some ages have been dark and some have been full of light and spirituality in each of these ages has to be different. History has not been able to record civilisations before ours such as the well-known Atlantis civilisation. Interestingly, channellings have revealed details of this civilisation and why and how it disappeared.

Channelled books on spirituality also have an uncanny broad overview of what they are talking about. It's like a higher logic which seems to be filled with love. And if you want to know what the purpose of human life is and the metaphysics of Creation, then you will find these explained wonderfully in channelled books. For the ones who doubt what a channelled book explains, a reader is usually asked to come up with something better on the subject.

So are you ready to pick up a contemporary channelled book on spirituality for some exciting revelations?

If yes, here are some recommendations for starters:

1. The Parables of Kryon by Lee Carroll
2. Ramtha - The White Book by J.Z. Knight
3. Conversations with God - Book 1 by N.D. Walsch
4. God - an autobiography by Jerry L. Martin

Here's how to become a master, from a channelled book - CHECKLIST FOR MASTERY

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