A to Z for Harmony on Earth

With the recent escalations in conflicts and many theatres of war opening up, it is imperative that each human becomes humane and that they work towards building harmony in their communities, organisations and governments.

If you don’t, then we all know you will suffer through exclusions, bloody wars, and economic stress.

Here are simple A to Z rules you can apply wherever you are, to make a difference for the better..

• A for Awareness: Become aware of what is so and why. Learn about the interconnectedness of things at the material, mental and metaphysical levels.
• B for Beauty: Be grateful for the beauty and usefulness of nature and automatically you will make it better by balancing the ecosystem.
• C for Cooperation: Be committed towards your mission in this A to Z framework which can be achieved only through cooperation.
• D for Dialogue: Continue dialogues to iron out disagreements and to avoid conflicts.
• E for Empathy: We are all one and what you do for another you do for yourself. This will help you to act out of empathy.
• F for Freedom: We need to give freedom within frameworks of natural discipline for individuals to feel loved and feel joy which are the driving force for the development of all humans.
• G for Glocal: In whatever you do for the good of your locality, try and apply the global best practices suited for it.
• H for Honesty: Transparency is the first step towards honesty. Balance security and transparency for the good of humanity.
• I for Invest: What you sow is what you reap. So invest in actions that will secure the future of the next generations.
• J for Joy: When you help others the outcome is joy. Focus on getting this joy.
• K for Kindness: When you speak kindly you will be listened to.
• L for Love: Love your passions.
• M for Machine: Use machines like your servants for the overall benefit of humanity.
• N for Nurture: Without nurturing what you sow within this A to Z framework, you will not get the fruits of it.
• O for Openness: Keep your eyes and ears open to new ideas and your heart open to new acquaintances.
• P for Protect: Use your power to protect that which is in need of it for the greater good.
• Q for Question: Questioning is hard but yet you have to question things rather than taking them as gospel truth.
• R for Responsibility: Without taking responsibility for what you wish to change, nothing is going to happen.
• S for Sustainable: Whatever solution you are working on, make sure it is sustainable for itself and sustainable for the earth.
• T for Thoughtful: Be thoughtful towards the overall good of humanity.
• U for Umbrella: Develop umbrellas for protection against all kinds of anticipated disasters.
• V for Visit: It is important to make physical visits to places for meetings and inspections which can be interspersed with virtual ones.
• W for War: Yes war! You have to start a war to bring harmony on earth. Appoint generals and soldiers to fight this war.
• X for Xray-eyes: You have to see through ulterior motives of people through xray-eyes and counter them with win-win solutions.
• Y for You: The most important person for this A to Z framework is YOU! So focus on your self-development on a daily basis.
• Z for Zone: You can’t change the world alone. For whatever work you pick up to work for the harmony of humanity, create different zones for the work where others trained by you will lead the work.

The words are simple but to implement them takes a lot of courage. What do you do when you have a time-bomb in your house and you cannot go outside that house. You muster the courage to defuse the bomb. It’s a do or die courage that you have to muster up right now! So let’s get on with it...

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My Pursuit of Happiness

I’ve read a lot about happiness and applied what I learnt to my life. Today I’m going to share what worked for me to have constant joy, in the hope that some of it might work for you as well. However, you will have to put your own music to my words to get your happiness.

Humans are 3-part beings and to address any human quotient one has to address all the three parts - Body, Mind and Spirit! So, throughout this article all these have been addressed somewhere.

Let’s see what a 4th Century BC philosopher Zhuangzi had to say-

“Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.”

In keeping with this “no striving” I have developed an attitude of accepting things as they are if I cannot change them. For example, if a flight is 5 hours late and there is no alternative, I’ll enjoy the airport restaurants and shops and happily pass my time. I don’t fret about it nor do I dwell on it later because the past is gone and I don’t believe that I am a victim of the past! This helps to reduce the secretion of the hormone Cortisol which is a downer!

However, I believe you have to strive daily for a DOSE of the high of happiness, since we live in a human body which triggers hormones that have to reach the brain through a very complex system for you to actually feel happy. Here’s how I get this daily DOSE!

A. The D in the dose stands for Dopamine - The reward chemical. For this:

1. I eat tasty vegetarian protein rich food and desserts that support the transport of happiness hormones and take supplements for vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 that are also important for happiness.
2. Achieving a daily goal in a word game gives me immense happiness when I complete it.
3. I have To-Do lists and completing tasks in them and actually ticking off items gives me happiness.
4. For self care, I take a daily bath as soon as I wake up to bring me happiness in the morning.

B. The O of DOSE stands for Oxytocin - The Love Hormone. For this:

1. I regularly socialise with classmates and friends. It’s interesting that the 80-year Grant study at Harvard University found that being in communities was the key to a fulfilling long life.
2. I hug friends when I meet them.
3. I love to pet a cute dog breed Shih Tzu and it is very satisfying.
4. I get a helpers high by selflessly doing things for people.

C. The S in DOSE is for Serotonin - The Mood Elevator. For this:

1. I try to spend 10-20 minutes in the sun. It also helps in getting vitamin D.
2. I look at trees and listen to birds chirp consciously to be with nature.
3. For mindfulness I try to pay attention to what I’m doing.
4. I’ve been doing daily transcendental meditation (TM) for over 25 years along with breathing techniques such as Sundarshan Kriya of The Art of Living. These work like shock absorbers for me.

D. The E in DOSE is for Endorphins - The Pain Killer. For this:

1. I exercise, by walking daily for 45 minutes and every alternate day do muscle strength training with dumb bells and stretch bands.
2. Music makes me high especially a genre called Deep House and I have my whole house filled with music almost everyday for happiness.
3. I watch short films and documentaries on YouTube.
4. A few friends make me laugh often and I’m fortunate for that.

So that’s my daily life story and A DOSE that keeps me happy everyday.

A for Acceptance

D for Dopamine

O for Oxytocin

S for Serotonin

E for Endorphins

As you may observe, all these habits can be learnt and applied easily to your life and it’s almost like skill training! You can choose your own activities to apply to your life for your happiness.

So here’s wishing you joy everyday because it’s easier to laugh than to cry!

Life is delicious and adventurous, so just enjoy it!!!

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The Harmony of Spiritual Wisdom and Self-Help - Podcast

Embark on a transformative journey with the latest episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast - The Life Wisdom Project.

Special guest Ajit Dass joins the conversation, bringing insightful perspectives while exploring and comparing the messages from God: An Autobiography and Conversations with God.

Dr. Jerry L. Martin engages Ajit in a thought-provoking discussion about the depth of life experiences, the importance of acceptance, and the pursuit of one's best self, a harmony of personal growth and profound spiritual insights.

This discussion unravels the nuances of divinely guided purposes and destiny with compelling wisdom on becoming your best self, the pitfalls of sin, pursuing a higher self, and the delicate balance between attachment and non-attachment. Gain valuable perspectives on desires and fulfillment and discover the transformative power of balancing spiritual principles with practical self-help approaches.

Listen Now

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19 States of Success

Success means to get desired outcomes and is derived from two Latin words:

1. Succedere
2. Successus

Succedere means, come after; prosper; be victorious.

Successus means, a good result and happy outcome.

If we combine the two it essentially means you must successively get happy outcomes for success.

After a lot of reflection and discussions, I arrived at the following 19 states that may mean success for you:

1. Being alive today since human life is fragile.
2. Being healthy and fit without external aids.
3. Being equanimous everyday.
4. Doing what you love.
5. Doing what you are good at.
6. Being able to trust others and having their trust.
7. Having recognition.
8. Fulfilling your desires freely.
9. Being kind everyday.
10. Being forgiving everyday.
11. Being helpful everyday.
12. Being loving everyday.
13. Being joyful everyday.
14. Being grateful everyday.
15. Being accepting everyday.
16. Being aware of the present moment.
17. Having no regrets.
18. Having no guilt.
19. Not having the need to define success and therefore unbound by definitions.

Tathastu (So be it) - is a state where you or someone blessing you have full faith that your wishes will be granted by the universe and this is when you are unbound by definitions.

There was a gentleman who had a lucky run on the stock market for 37 years and became a billionaire. He then opened a popular airline, but shortly thereafter he died in his early sixties due to multiple organ failure. And, there was another gentleman who lived about 2000 years ago, who among other things during the struggles of his life had all the 19 states of success mentioned in this article and attained enlightenment. He died a natural death in his early eighties and is still revered across the globe even today.

What seems to be most important in achieving success is not losing your balance as you go along because only then will you have good results successively.

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Why Yoga & Meditation is Good for You

In the rush of life, the pressure to meet timelines to deliver results, the desire to achieve some kind of superiority leading to frustrations caused by ambitions not reached, excessive indulgence in sense pleasures due to greed as well as habits, the cognitive apparatus gets disheveled, defiled, drained and tired, leading to symptoms of stress and burnout.

Unless you energise and infuse this cognitive apparatus with Vital Life Energy (Prana) you will be unable to perform tasks satisfactorily, with creativity and enthusiasm. A tried and tested way of energising yourself is Yoga in its broadest sense, which is not limited to the practice of just posture based excercises known as Hatha-Yoga.

195 Yoga aphorisms, known as Yoga Sutras, were compiled in the early centuries CE, by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesised and organised knowledge about Yoga from much older traditions.

The Yoga aphorisms are best known for the reference to 8 elements of practice culminating in a state of meditative consciousness of the mind, by concentration on something, leading to meditative absorption, and with regular practice, the development of a luminous mind which is equanimous and mindful.

The 8 elements of Yoga practice are:

1. Abstinences (Yama)
2. Observances (Niyama)
3. Yoga postures (Asana)
4. Breath control (Pranayama)
5. Withdrawl of the senses (Pratyahara)
6. Concentration of the mind (Dharana)
7. Meditation (Dhyana)
8. Absorption (Samadhi)

The main aim is to reach a state where you are untouched by the highs and lows of a dual world by transitioning to a meditative and metaphysical witness-consciousness state and observing empirical reality as separate from it. The by-product of this is being infused with Vital Life Energy which elevates your body and mind leading to a better quality of life.

Here are a host of metaphors that may encourage you to do Yoga and meditation, daily, to keep you going with your life in a state of happiness and devoid of stress:

1. Yoga and meditation is like filling your bicycle tyres with just the right amount of air so that your ride is not bumpy but smooth because the air also acts like a shock-absorber.
2. Yoga and meditation is like topping up your vehicle with fuel for the day. You just need to plug-in to the fuel source for a short while and then move on to your tasks for the day.
3. Yoga and meditation is like a gentle wind that blows and clears the clouds hiding the sun so that the light of your Soul can shine through into your body and mind and bring in a feeling of lightness and take away the feeling of heaviness.
4. Yoga and meditation is like rain that keeps the soil humid and therefore more fertile for seeds of creativity to sprout and new cells to grow.

According to scientific research, Yoga may:

1. Reduce stress
2. Relieve anxiety
3. Help manage depression
4. Stimulate brain function
5. Help prevent heart disease

I hope this article has encouraged you to learn techniques for Yoga and meditation and practice them daily for a fulfilling life.

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Winning & Losing

There are no winners and losers because life is about experiences. You have to experience a low to know what a high is.

Which brings me to the point that everything that exists is like a wave. It rises, plays for a while and then recedes. Have you ever watched a wave in an ocean? The waves are not winning or losing but just moving…

So that’s how life is to be lived - constantly moving, marching on, and never quitting. Forget to die as well and allow life to take its time to give you many experiences!!! If one had to define a champion it would be one who never quits!

Persistence and agility are powerful! Observe how, soft and accommodating water is able to erode hard rocks into well rounded pebbles. So if you want to create something beautiful, keep at it with a soft attitude and you will see a wonderful outcome emerge gradually, appreciated by all. Start now...

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God: An Autobiography - A conversation with the author

 An enlighteneing Zoom conversation with Jerry Martin, the author of God: An Autobiography as told to a philosopher, after I met him in USA.

Some interesting topics that were talked about from the book:

1. Obedience to God
2. Guidance from God
3. God beyond God
4. Universal Theology and more..

YouTube link to the conversation - Click

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Is Covid going to finish Intellectual Property Rights?

Talk has started on abolishing intellectual property rights for Covid vaccines. The idea has been proposed by the Prime Minister of India and seconded by the President of the United States of America.

The world needs more the 6 billion of its population vaccinated to immunise the breeding ground of the Corona virus - the human. Every human is at risk of contracting Covid-19 if they have to lead a normal life of at the least socialising with other humans, a natural instinct of being a gregarious species.

If we don’t immunise the population of the planet fast, all of us will run a higher risk of dying early! So immunisation is a common purpose for every country and every individual, because who wants early death!!!

Questions:

1. Will Big Pharma that has spent millions on the research & development (R&D) of these vaccines be ready to allow anyone to manufacture them without any license fee to recover the cost of development?

2. Should a drug development & manufacturing company’s accounts be allowed to be audited by a statutory body to ascertain the cost of each shot after factoring in the cost of R&D and a nominal profit percentage be added to the total cost to make the retail price more affordable?

3. Should another manufacturer who is using the intellectual property of a drug discovering entity pay a nominal royalty so that the drug discovery company can recover costs of R&D?

One Solution:

Worldwide quotas for deciding the quantity of annual production of a particular patented drug can be set by the World Health Organisation and based on this quantity and audited costs of R&D, the royalty can be worked out to recover the costs of R&D.

Questions and solutions are being discussed about intellectual property rights when the ultimate beneficiary is the whole of humanity.

Elon Musk has already lead the way in 2014 with the Tesla Motors patents being opened up for anyone's use in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology. “Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport”, wrote Musk in his blogpost - All Our Patents Belong To You.

In that spirit, let us all contemplate a few more questions-

• Why does the planet earth have humans?
• Is there a collective purpose?
• Should each human be responsible for the upkeep of the planet in terms of sustainability so that the collective purpose may be realised?
• Should profiteering be limited to an optimum that allows both money for innovation to the producer and affordability to the user?
• Should "Right to Life" override "Rights of Patent Holders"?

Is Oxygen Presidential? Find out

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Is Oxygen Presidential?

Humans cannot live beyond-

a few weeks without food,

a few days without water, and

a few minutes without oxygen.

So what is one of the most important things in life?

Oxygen

And what has the Carona virus made people realise?

O2 O2 everywhere and not a molecule to breathe!

It was free, but now some pay thousands per hour to breathe oxygen through ventilators!!!

Why?

Because we have been grateful for water and grateful for food but have forgotten to be grateful to the invisible oxygen that has been keeping us alive!

We have been harping for years about reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions, carbon footprints and forgot all about increase of oxygen intake at an individual level.

What has it come to?

Covid has made oxygen as important as a president.

We see oxygen vehicles loaded on to the hold of dedicated airplanes just like the limos of presidents get loaded when they go to visit another country.

These oxygen vehicles on landing are piloted and escorted by security forces just like presidents are!

Here’s a reminder of the physical benefits of oxygen

• Creates energy
• Digests food
• Eliminates toxins from the body
• Fuels the body muscles
• Metabolises fat and carbohydrates
• Transports gases across cell membranes
• Strengthens immune system
• Manufactures hormones and proteins
• Removes viruses, parasites and harmful bacteria
• Keeps the heart pumping and healthy
• Incites the lungs to breathe
• Allows the nervous system, and all other body tissues to function normally

Increased oxygen levels also have the following mental benefits

• Better mood
• Improved concentration
• Reduced stress
• Sound sleep

Here’s what you can do to increase your levels of oxygen

• Exercise daily
• Do breathing exercises too daily (Yogic Pranayamas are a good option)
• Rest on your stomach for a few minutes before you sleep
• Have less of toxin producing food and beverages

Now that you know the power and importance of “presidential oxygen”, when you say grace, don’t forget to say this prayer of gratitude:

Lord God, I am grateful for the oxygen I breathe. Bless humankind and bless oxygen Thy gift, which we receive from Thy bountiful goodness.

Is Covid spreading love? Find out

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Is Covid Spreading Love?

You let a microbe bring you to your knees?

What if the Carona virus is causing love to spread?

What if Covid-19 is enhancing understanding and compassion for each other?

That could sweep over this planet with wellness and make things happen that never happened before.

If this is not what you think, think again.. 

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Preventing Burnout by ramping up your Spiritual Quotient

Why develop your Spiritual Quotient?

Burnout is the chief reason.

What are the symptoms of burnout? Ask yourself these questions and even if one answer is “Yes” you need to address it.

1. Have you become cynical or critical at school/college/work?
2. Do you drag yourself to do a job and have trouble getting started?
3. Have you become irritable or impatient in your interactions?
4. Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?
5. Do you find it hard to concentrate?
6. Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
7. Do you feel disillusioned about what you are doing?
8. Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better?
9. Have your sleep habits changed?

Statistics of Burnout

• Gallup recently surveyed more than 7,500 full-time employees about burnout.
• 23 percent of those workers said they felt burned out more often than not.
• An additional 44 percent reported feeling burned out sometimes.
• To put that into context, nearly 2/3rd of full-time workers are dealing with burnout at some point while at work.

Burnout Defined

Employee burnout cases have increased to the point where the World Health Organization has officially recognized it and included it in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. 

The handbook describes burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

Body-Mind-Spirit

Humans are 3-part beings – Body Mind & Spirit and we have to manage all these three parts effectively for a balanced life that is without dis-ease!

What is Spirit?

Spirit is the presence of the fine energy within and around you which for instance is responsible for digestion.

A dead body cannot digest food because the Spirit is missing!

SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT is about infusing your thoughts and actions with Spirit leading to desirable attitudes and qualities. 

Examples are - Cheerfulness, Gratitude, and Empathy.

There are many ways of building your Spiritual Quotient, the chief ones being – 

Life Skills, Mindfulness, Yoga and Meditation.

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Life Skills for Employability

Some attitudes and qualities, collectively called Life Skills, infuse your thoughts and actions with Spirit, leading to you becoming more likely for selection by educational institutions and employers. 

Life Skills are about living with your true nature. We live in a dual world of light and darkness. The true nature of the sun is light and warmth but sometimes clouds cover it and its true nature is not exhibited. Similarly, humans too have a true nature of light and warmth and we often close our mind and heart thereby being unable to exhibit our core qualities and the attitudes that emanate from it.

Closing  your heart and mind to the light of Spirit can lead to burnout. I am going to enumerate the attitudes and qualities to not have and to have, and help you to open yourself up to your true nature.

Attitudes and qualities not to have

1. Know it all superior attitude: This is a sure failure as you are not willing to be a continuous learner. There is always something you do not know so why have a condescending superior attitude about yourself. Be willing to listen and don’t try to always prove others wrong or prove yourself right.

2. Loser attitude or I’m not good enough attitude: There could be many reasons for this from your childhood onwards. The fact is that you are unique just like each of the five fingers in your hand are unique. All five are needed when you want to pick up a heavy load. You are awesome.

3. Cursing attitude: Don’t feel jealous of people who you think have a better life than you. Each human being has challenges and if you get a close look at their lives you will find out that the rich person who moves around in a Mercedes may have a health challenge and needs dialysis every week! So don’t curse those who you think are well off. It just spreads negative energy around which will affect you as well.

4. Fear: Fear comes from insecurities but your true nature is one of complete security. You can reach a state of security with meditation which will then make you more confident too. Caution is okay to protect yourself but fear inhibits your performance.

Attitudes and qualities to have

1. Commitment: Do only that which interests you otherwise you will not have commitment and will not be consistently working on something to take it to its completion. Employers do not want people who leave things half done. They want you to do whatever it takes to achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

2. Work-Life Balance: Set aside time for what you love to do - time with family, hobbies, a larger cause which is selfless such as environment, health & wellness, time with community, social work etc. If you don’t do this, your performance will go down after a stretch of constantly working on something and may lead to stress and burnout.

3. Responsibility: Be willing to take responsibility for jobs tasked to you or if not willing, say outright what help you need to be able to do it. Taking responsibility means looking into all aspects of a job and nurturing a job role till you are assigned to it. It’s like taking care of a family member. You cannot suddenly leave your grandmother alone and go for a holiday if you have taken responsibility to look after her. Employers want you to be responsible for Objectives & Key Results (OKRs).

4. Acceptance: There are times when you don’t like a colleague and if it weighs on you it will get you down. Accept people as they are unless they have asked you to change them. Because a person is a particular way you can know who and what you are by comparison. Acceptance is the single most important life skill and attitude that will add to a state of constant happiness.

5. Cheerfulness: Have you ever seen a grumpy person successful in life? A seed for success is cheerfulness and a happy attitude. Take things lightly or with humour. If you pronounce a word wrong just laugh at it and move on.

6. Appreciation: This is a great way to motivate team members and colleagues. It’s a good idea to acknowledge and appreciate work that pleased you. Also if you don’t like what someone has done don’t call out the person, but call out the work. You can say “the work is not up to the mark” and not, “you are not up to the mark”.

7. Integrity: This is all about doing what’s right in a circumstance when no one is looking. Your inner conscience knows very well what’s wrong so please do not do what’s not right. It’s wrong to steal. It’s wrong to claim expenses based on false bills or inflated bills. For long term rewards you have to be truthful.

8. 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?

Curiosity to know these answers will make you more aware and therefore more mature and rounded. You can begin by asking questions about your health or about the health of the planet. Ex. A Disease / Pollution.

9. Empathy and Helpfulness: Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference. You need to place yourself in another's position to know what they may be going through. But just empathy is not enough. You need to give a helping hand too for your empathy to become useful. Helping selflessly gives a helpers high with Serotonin which prevents burnout.

10. Gratitude: An attitude of gratitude keeps you centred and away from negative feelings. Being grateful for what you have creates abundance. Being grateful to people for what they have done for you brings more help to you. Right now, I am grateful to you for reading this article. Are you grateful for something today?

Imbibe these qualities into your daily life. The best way to do it is to learn some kind of meditation and physical exercise which will help the dark clouds that are hiding your true light, to get scattered away.

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The DNA for Success

Your biological DNA carries instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of your body. But your body is merely an instrument for living your life purpose.

What about your life purpose itself? It too needs codes for all four of these aspects enumerated below-

1. Development
2. Functioning
3. Growth
4. Reproduction

So let’s explore the core codes you need to have for each of these aspects for your life to progress beneficially.

1. Development - This requires a curious mindset and an interest for life long learning. You should have questions for everything that you see or hear and not accept things as gospel truth just because a well meaning person is telling you something. Think again even though thinking is hard and don’t come to conclusions but to a current understanding which may change with time. The more you learn this way and the more you experience life the more you will develop.

2. Functioning - The chief codes of conduct for smooth functioning are integrity, commitment and intelligence. If you don’t have integrity you probably love yourself more than your purpose and will end up as a narcissistic. If you don’t have commitment you will flitter about not achieving much. If you don’t work with intelligence you will fumble and fall often. All three will impair your functioning if you do not develop them and you must have them all to move ahead sure-footedly.

3. Growth - When you mature, you grow, and diving deep into experience helps you with that. See more places, meet different types of people, reflect on challenges and contemplate about your future course. All these are like manure for your growth.

4. Reproduction - Propagation is a law of nature. Trees grow and bear fruits that ripen and fall to the ground bursting out seeds, some of which grow into trees. Ask yourself which fruits do I have that I can plough back into my life to bear more fruit? It can be accumulated wealth that can start a new range of what you do or knowledge applied in a new combination leading to innovation.

All the four aspects given above must go on simultaneously so that your life purpose follows a natural pattern which will always turn out healthier and will hold greater promise.

You are lucky that you can develop your life DNA to move from strength to strength with serial successes and a heavenly life that you will love and others will admire.

What are you waiting for? Get on with it now and start today with some of the things you learnt...

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11 C’s for success during Covid times of uncertainty

Covid has caused uncertainties in income, health, wellbeing and relationships. Uncertainties can take you into negative spirals of thoughts and emotions specially when there is discomforting news.  Remember these 11 C’s of success while navigating through Covid times of uncertainty. If you sow these 11 seeds now, they will help you live the life of your dreams and at the same time help you to contribute to the betterment of the world. 

1. Compassion – This is the highest intelligence which is why it comes first. Unless you are doing something for the betterment of humankind in some way you will not have lasting success. Compassion is also the parent of most leadership qualities. Empathy at the workplace and at home keeps everyone motivated and well, which is specially needed during Covid times. Empathy requires good comprehension too, so put your focus on understanding a situation holistically before reaching out to help.

Getting out of negative spirals during Covid

Getting caught in a whirlpool of negative thoughts especially during Covid times is a high possibility for many. Uncertainties cause worry and during Covid times there are many, some of them being:

1. Your job
2. Your income
3. Your health

So how do you stay positive in the face of these dark clouds hovering above you?

Well for starters remember that no cloud is chained to the sky and the adverse situation you may be facing too shall pass.

Do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it. People during Covid times are especially collaborative and will go out of their way to give assistance.

Use positive words instead of negative ones. For example if you are taking an anti-depression drug you can say, “I’m having a mood elevator”. If you are unemployed you may want to say, “I’m looking for a new job that is more fulfilling”. If you have lost some income, say, “I’m bracing for something that will give me a windfall”.

There is a fine line between fear and caution. The one who is cautious can still be courageous. Courageous to live a long life. But the one who is fearful is not at all courageous. So, during Covid times if you are mingling with people please do take precautions of physical distancing and wearing a mask. But don’t go into a fear of Covid and confine yourself into a room, because if you do, your life will come to a grinding halt.

Be courageous to go out into the open with caution appropriate for your individual condition of course. If you get a small load of antigens in the bargain it will only make you and your immune system stronger. The verdict is out by many scientists that life will come back to normal once we as a people develop herd-immunity and herd-immunity happens when a large proportion of a population develops immunity to a disease. So contribute to herd-immunity by going about your work and you will also contribute to moving the economy if you do so. A vaccine when discovered will protect you only for a limited period because of new strains of the Covid virus emerging but a strong immune system will take you through dark clouds whenever they appear.

Don't wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

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Leadership during Covid times

Covid times require a leader to start with empathy because each one of us including you are equally vulnerable to the following.

1. Contracting the Covid-19 virus
2. A drop in income
3. Restriction of movement

So how do we tackle the above mentioned three aspects with empathetic leadership at home and at the work place?

Preventive measures for Covid-19 (Needs diligence)

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) - You don’t have to invent the wheel again for implementing preventive measures for contracting the spread of Covid-19 at your home or workplace. The WHO and large manufacturing companies such as Toyota have already come up with SOPs during Covid times. All you need to do is get someone to take responsibility for implementing these measures in your home or workplace and conduct regular monitoring of them. The Covid in-charge actually has to be like a monitor in a classroom calling out persons not adhering to the SOPs. You could even setup or use existing CCTVs for monitors to do their job.

Work From Home (WFH) - Deciding strategically who works from home and when, is an exercise that must be done with focus and understanding. Regular feedback from employees on the pros and cons of working from home on particular jobs must be taken to get a better understanding on what’s working for your organisation.

Tackling drops in income (A hard task that needs gentleness)

Dropping Costs - Dropping costs can offset drops in incomes in a business so that the bottom line doesn’t go into the red. Negotiations with your supply chain will yield results because right now everybody is looking for movement in business so that their revenues pick up even if it is at a discount.

Reduction of Emoluments - Reduction of emoluments of employees have to be handled in small groups and should be need based. You cannot reduce these emoluments to a level where monthly bills and rents cannot be paid by employees. A talk with each level of employee to know their needs and then come to a collective decision will keep the motivations in your organisation charged.

Deep Discounts - Deep discounts on the goods and services you offer will drive your dropping revenues from almost nil to at least 50-60% of what they were pre-Covid. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish when deciding your discount plans.

Innovation - Innovation is positive and positively the winner of all of the above, for tackling drops in income. Digital platforms have proved their worth during Covid times and are the favoured route for delivery of goods and services during these times. You have to lead the digital transformation of your business whichever way you can and there is no way out for this. Innovation happens with innovative people. Identify the innovative people in your organisation and together with them develop a new product or service strategy. It may not be exactly what the market needs so do a pilot of a Minimum Viable Product to test its performance in the market place. The best designs are those designed with empathy.

Restriction of movement (Try the many options to overcome this challenge)

Video Calls - Depression has to be handled by augmenting your life-satisfaction by having video calls with loved ones regularly and daily calls are recommended.

Exotic Meals - Not being able to go out for exotic meals has to be handled by either learning to cook great meals from the many recipe websites and video channels now available free or ordering in a meal from any of the home delivery Mobile apps operational in your city.

Movies - Not being able to go out for movies has to be handled either by subscribing to movie Apps or channels and watching your choice of films from the comfort of your home.

Shopping - Not being able to shop has to be handled by shopping online from the array of online shopping websites and Mobile apps. Don’t forget to buy your favourite book too and curl up in a cozy corner of your home to read it. This will take care of a lot of Covid-19 adverse conditions.

It seems, all you need is the will to love yourself, love others and love your work to reach a work-life balance to thrive in a Covid world.

We are all in it together

If it’s not empathetic, it’s pathetic - Corona Days

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If it’s not empathetic, it’s pathetic - Corona Days

As I wake up I hear the music of birds chirping
The cool air and pure oxygen draw me into deep breathing

There are few deadlines to meet
And I no longer have a beat

Time has become a river flowing
And I don’t know where I'm going

Life is a song I now sing with no end
Targets have little meaning as I can’t control a graphs bend

I have realized that going against the flow becomes a fight
Compassion is the only thing that seems right

If I don’t make a pivot
I will rust along with an old rivet

Video calls with friends make me light
I have started enjoying an extended night..

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Covid-19 Paradoxes

Never have I seen such paradoxes that have made thoughts look like boxes.

The air is pure but wearing a mask you have to ensure.

Roads are clear but going on a long drive is unclear.

You have clean hands but there is a ban on shaking hands.

Friends have time to sit together but you can’t get together.

The cook inside you is crazy, but you cannot share your skills as attending parties is hazy.

On every Monday, the hearts of some long for the office buzz but the weekend doesn’t seem to have an end.

Those who have money have few ways to spend it. Those who don't have money have few ways to earn it.

You have enough time but can’t fulfill your desires that are prime.

People are coming into the world without celebrations and going away with few at their last rite ministrations.

The culprit is everywhere but you cannot see where.

For a while you have to stay in this world and find bliss in your inner-world.

When the change happens deep within, only then will a renewed world begin..

Want to read about overcoming pain? - Overcoming Pain - Q & A

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Overcoming Pain - Q & A

I went onto a forum that's been created for emotional and spiritual support and was moved to see the painful circumstances some people were going through. I felt very empathetic towards them and delved deep inside myself to give them some answers that I thought may help them, and help others with similar circumstances too. So here are the questions of four people put out on this forum who reached out for help to overcome their pain and each question is followed by my answer for guidance.

Question 1: I started this spiritual journey to awakening about 2 years ago and it seems the further into my journey I get, the more disconnected I feel. I get these feelings like I don’t want to be part of this world anymore. I see more and more the greed, selfishness, meanness, and madness going on and it's so disappointing and disheartening. It's at a level I wouldn’t even be able to describe, but I’m constantly feeling like I want to leave this place and go “home”. Not in a suicidal way but rather in a tired and just need rest kind of way. Like to retire to a familiar, peaceful, comforting place. Is this normal? Is it something I should be working on to “fix”?

Answer 1: A great life skill to have along your spiritual path is to accept others as they are and not have any expectations of them. Expectations reduce joy!
However, for yourself you need to have expectations, otherwise you may not improve and become better!
Life is not about retiring to a familiar, peaceful and comforting space! A ship was not meant to remain at the harbour, but journey through the waves and the weather which are sometimes rough and other times smooth. We are all in this journey in different parts of the ocean and meditation helps the ship to remain in balance as you encounter tough and painful circumstances.
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Question 2: I have been in a relationship for about 13 years. We’ve been married for 10.
I have had a tough past and I have been working on releasing trauma, recovering from addictions, working on emotional and spiritual growth. My husband understands my interest but is not involved in any of these topics himself. He is quite closed off emotionally and while he tries his best, he is not able to interact in any other way than strictly rational. As a highly sensitive, intuitive and empathetic person myself, this is very difficult.
As I have been growing over the last few years, I have started to notice patterns and behaviors in our relationship that are not healthy. We never discuss our relationship or emotions. Whenever I try this, he turns the conversation to focus on me and it’s always my issues and problems being discussed. I do not feel emotionally connected to him.
In the past, I think I was happy with this because I didn’t have to look into my traumatic past. But since I chose to work on that, I am struggling with his stonewalling. I do not feel seen emotionally. As a result, I feel I am closing off from him as well.
I have started to realize he is very controlling and anxious, although he will never admit this. He never shares how he feels.
But he does a lot of practical things to help me out in daily life. Seemingly, we have a great life. Lovely home, steady income. No kids (by choice). But I am so unhappy. I am not creating anymore, I used to be a cheerful person, now I’m just sad and negative all the time.
In short, I feel trapped. I feel imprisoned and while I want to get out and claim my own space, I can’t seem to do it. It might be fear because I have no family and I would be alone. On the other hand, I crave finally having freedom and being able to breathe.
I have been looking within, working with the imprisoned feeling, working on inner peace and empowerment. I am trying to hold faith, trust the process and knowing that the time will come, but at the same time I am afraid I am being too passive and I am seeing my life passing by.

Answer 2: I fully understand what you are going through and every circumstance is there to prod you into making a choice to either “wake up” further or remain where you are!
I noticed that in your path of spiritual growth, friendships are missing or maybe you didn’t mention them. Warmth of friendships leads to life-satisfaction. I gently urge you to either join a community of like minded people, develop further your existing friendships by sharing more time with friends or develop a new friendship with the 7 steps of friendship – know, trust, love, embrace, use, help and thank.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Question 3: There isn’t a short way to describe how I got where I  am today or what help I think others could possibly give me but I’m willing to try and think about things in a different perspective.
I left Germany when I was 21 leaving behind all my family for a new life in New Zealand. I had 2 beautiful children to my first husband there, leaving him after 10 years of domestic violence.
I found my soulmate there and he raised my children for 14 years. I lost him in 2011 to cancer. I was devastated and completely lost it for a while.
I met some one new who everyone else hated and two years into our relationship he was arrested. I listened to his story and stood by him, went into witness protection. We came back to Germany to be safe. At first I was working in Germany but then my mother was diagnosed with dementia and I moved in with her so I could help take care of my parents.
He left for New Zealand for his court case two years ago and never returned.
I have been back to New Zealand twice to see my kids who are adults now but my heart is torn. My mother has gone into a home for respite care during the Corona virus outbreak due to aggressive behaviour of my father having put him in hospital.
It's just awful. I’m trying hard to pull myself together and be there for my parents and I know now I can’t go home to New Zealand for the time being. I never thought I would have to face this alone and feel very abandoned by the person I stood by. Despite his past I believed him to be good at heart.
I have thought many times that I wasn’t in a good place when we met and maybe my judgement was off. I have tried to forget the whole episode but he does contact me occasionally and it completely sends me off the rails again.
I believe my biggest problem is that I never thought I would be back in my home town. I left for a reason - a better life. To find myself back here, and worse, alone, is soul destroying.
Two weeks to pull my self together for when my mother comes back home and I will be looking after her and my father 24x7.  I have been caring for them now two years with my sister and we are both worn out. It sounds so callous and I love my parents but should I be giving up making a life for myself in order to care of them?
I’ve made a mess of it all so far and am at a loss. I can pull my girl socks up and get on with it but how do I get back some control in my own life?

Answer 3: You have been through a lot and that makes one stronger and not weaker!
I fully understand that some of the circumstances you have been through can throw you off balance physically, emotionally and mentally and then, it is only the overarching calmness of spirit that can bring you back to balance.
I would recommend daily meditation, prayer and exercise for the moment and the Corona lock-down is a great opportunity to get onto an online learning platform for knowing more about them.
It’s good to be self-sufficient materially and I recommend that you ask yourself 3 questions:
1. What do I love doing?
2. What do my friends think I am great at?
3. What does the world need?
The common points of your answers will give you a way forward to prosper.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Question 4: After a lifetime of unhappiness in an emotionally dysfunctional family, and after my parents died, having that continue with my only 2 siblings (twins) who were constantly judgmental, critical and unsupportive, I have finally “had it”.  And though walking away from the only remaining blood family I had on earth was not what I would have ever chosen, I have finally, with great difficulty, walked away at the age of 65.  Throughout my life, I never had the courage to confront the sibling who was most cruel emotionally (he can be very abrasive, & also, in one instance in our teens, was physically & verbally abusive to our mother).  But recently I wrote a respectful but very honest, open letter, explaining my reasons, and assuring him that I wasn’t angry, still loved him & would be there if he ever needed my help.  And that there was never anything I wanted worse in life than for us to not get along.  It’s been a month now, & no reply or other communication from him since.  The other sibling has now also ceased communication, and barely responds when I attempt the same.  In one way, walking away has been massively freeing & healing.  Yet sometimes I still have feelings of “did I handle this in the best way” and “is there more that I can do”.  And the sadness of having no real blood family now is very difficult at times.  What makes it especially complicated is that in spite of the brother’s verbal abuse, he was often helpful to me with home improvement tasks, etc., also taking me to Emergency Room (ER) twice in recent years, and even staying with me all night there once.  Yet (aside from the ER trips) my time with him was always at a heavy emotional price.  Any time he was helping me with a project, he was also being very critical, condescending & disrespectful – and never had a positive word for me, EVER.
I was constantly bewildered as to where I stood with him.  Still, since I never confronted him, I can’t help wonder if maybe he just didn’t realize what he was doing.  I’m feeling very unsure at this point, as to whether it’s worth trying to have any further conversation with him.
So lately I have pondered 3 questions:
1) Should I visit my brother & ask if he has anything to say to me, and/or if he has any interest in my being in his life.
2) Should I try to explain things to my sister, who has no clue of the kind of things he has said/done, & refuses to believe her twin could be capable of such.  After one brief attempt on my part, she basically accused me of “overreacting to sibling rivalry” (far from true; it wasn’t about disagreements, it was about put-downs.  And for the record, I never once put him down or treated him with disrespect).  She has also quite adamantly in the past stated, “don’t write me any more letters, I can’t deal with them” (although to my knowledge I only wrote one letter about family issues, which was as kind and respectful as I could possibly make it).  Instead of seeing my letter as an attempt at open honesty & a cry for help, she accused me of “drama and bad attitude”.
3) Should I send my sister a short note just saying I’m sorry for the misunderstandings, sorry I could never quite ‘measure up’, that I love her & am there for her if she ever needs my help.
I sincerely appreciate any insight into this matter, as this has been the most difficult cross I have had to bear in my life.

Answer 4: I sympathize with what you have been going through with your siblings and so far you have acted in the best possible way to have an amicable relationship.
Since it hasn’t worked out, perhaps you are being forced by God to go within and find your sibling and mate there. So turn towards daily meditation.

Meditation also has mysterious ways of connecting you back with people who have been estranged. But you just have to let go about when it will happen.
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After reading these painful circumstances the least you can do is pray for these souls to overcome their pain with God's grace.

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