During these days where the world seems to be grasped by the events surrounding COVID-19, the above quote from Ajahn Brahm makes a strong point. It’s not just death but the ongoing uncertainty and the realization of how things are impermanent that makes us reassess our priorities.

Taking time off to go on a ten-day meditation retreat is a wonderful way to rejuvenate our tired minds from the hustle-bustle of our busy lives and to deepen one’s meditation experience. I have done this thrice in the last few years and have found immense benefits of shutting off from the world.

But a ten-day meditation retreat is not always feasible. Many people may not have the opportunity to take ten days off from work and be away from their kids and family. Or the idea of a ten-day meditation retreat sounds simply too daunting.

What I discovered through this process was not something new - I had known this all along but now I became more fully and clearly aware of it. And now I am working only 4 days a week. Let me show you how you can too.

If I were to ask you, “What’s truly important to you?” what would you reply? This question has once again become important to me because recently I found myself feeling uncomfortable sensations in my stomach - a gut feeling that something’s not right and that something needs to change. Not knowing what that “something” is, I have begun an introspective process for myself so that I can follow this inner-calling, figure out what the cryptic messages mean and then go about taking actions towards it. But before I can take action, I need to unearth from deep within me, what that message is and what that new path is meant to be.

”There’s happiness in having less”. That’s the first sentence in the book, Goodbye Things written by the Japanese author, Fumio Sasaki. This morning, I took up reading this book for the second time as I am freshly in a new wave of decluttering my home. As I read the first few pages, it dawned on me that the process of decluttering - at least decluttering in the minimalist way - is similar to the process of meditation.

Lately, I have been getting this feeling.

It’s a feeling that you feel in the pit of your stomach. It’s an uncanny yet familiar feeling that you have felt before. It tells you a lot of things about your inner-world. The main message it’s giving you is that “something is not right”. It’s a signal that is so strong and so clear that it is impossible to ignore. You may not know what to do with it but there it is strong and present right there - in your body.

You know that meditation is good for you. But you've got a busy, very busy life. Just finding time to have lunch seems sometimes difficult for you because of all the things that need to get done. Then you here that meditation helps you and that an hour a day is the recommended time for really good results. And you think, "One hour? Are you out of your mind? Just the thought of doing meditation for an hour is making me anxious. I don't think meditation is for me!".
 

More and more of us are becoming aware of how "karma" is universal; not connected to any one spiritual tradition. I can see that from the stats on my blog. % of visitors on my site are interested in my blog post about breaking karmic patterns. We are realizing that karma is active in our lives and we want to do something about it. We want to get rid of karma.

I've written extensively about creating inner-peace in our lives using meditation. Today, I want to share with you some inner-peace techniques that you can use in your business in order to nurture and grow it. You can extrapolate these ideas for applying it to an environment where you are employed as well. These tips can help you more easily navigate your business environment.

Resilience, perseverance and tenacity - what all these words have in common is that they give me a sense of deep inner-strength. It’s the power one has to deal with difficult situations... It’s the perceived strength one must have to overcome life’s challenges. We sure do need that inner-strength in today's modern life, don't we? 

I grew up around the notion of "expectation". Expectation followed me around no matter where I went and what I did. I was expected to do good in school. Cross that. I was expected to do great in school. I was expected to excel at work and career. I was expected to be a good, kind person. I was expected to be contributing member of society...

Why is it that we get distracted? Not when we don't know what we want in our life but precisely when we get clarity and understanding of our life's mission, it seems that distraction rears it head.  I share with you some things you can do to reduce distraction and get really focused on accomplishing your goals and intentions.

In recent months, I've had many realizations after going through periods of doubt, sadness, frustration and impatience - mostly around work. But only last week have I begun writing things down as part of my daily journaling practice.

The results of this daily writing have been incredible. Not only have I begun feeling greater ease within myself, I am also finding clarity about larger life principles that feed into that sense of ease and inner-peace. And I'd like to share these with you so that you too can benefit from contemplating these ideas and insights. Hopefully, they bring you inner-peace and a calm mind as a result.

Do you know what your personal velocity is?

Your personal velocity — your pace of how you do things, how you live your life that feels just right for you?

What if despite all that you bring to the table, your original plan does not pan out?

Recently, I had such an experience where I had to reframe what success meant to me. As someone who has ever embarked on completing a project, you may resonate with my story. I put together a short video in which I share a recent "failure" that actually became a success as soon as I reframed it and then, amazingly, this actually led to the desired result I was originally going for. And all it took was: Showing up for the day.

What one thing do you absolutely want to create or experience in 2015?

What if there was a simple yet effective process that you can use to create all that you want? Yes, there is.