Pretty Pictures

The power of affirmations is most visible not when one is affirming or thinking but rather when old thoughts and beliefs rise within the mind leading us on the trail of an old thought stemming from a past experience.

The interesting thing about affirmations is that the more you affirm, the more you discover about what has individually made you who you are but with the chance to let go of old experiences whilst understanding that you have learnt all that you could from them and that they have served their purpose. Sticking onto old experiences which may have formed you, only allows your consciousness to preserve beliefs which no longer fit you or were never true to begin with.

After over two years of daily affirmations, I find my consciousness still leading me to memories which I no longer thought had an effect on my life but sometimes memories have an unconscious effect till we become conscious of their existence. It might be a small discovery but it makes a huge difference when your cleaning out the closets of your mind to let go of that which you no longer need in your life. It allows you to make your own life, your own reality and everything in it. Situations do not have to be replayed, a shift in thoughts, beliefs and a mere awareness changes the old picture into a pretty vision. 

Women

Society is constantly changing and becoming 'modern,' but it definitely raises a large question on women and the way in which they desire to live their lives.
In a world where money is important and a career gives one respect, how do women manage to find the balance between pursuing ambitions and taking care of their families.

Feminists from around the globe who now have children look back at their old cries of being career oriented and independent and think they made a mistake for they were trying to create a platform for women which doesn't necessarily work for the kinds of women who want to nurture their kids.
I think that these women would rather be good mothers than financially independent. In fact the whole scenario of women trying to be independent is questionable because women are naturally good at nurturing their children, taking care of their homes and feeding their family. This does not make them inferior or less valuable than another, in fact it makes them the most valuable factor in the house because they unite the family and take care of each member consistently on a daily basis. On the other hand there are those women who are ambitious and appear to leave their children in the hands of a nanny, the domestic help or even another family member. Sometimes I question why these women ever had children when they have not been a part of the child's upbringing. It seems pretty pointless to have a child when you do not value it. It is common to see women in present day Indian society present themselves as socialites and yet their children appear to be eating and sleeping with the domestic help which these women will refuse to share a glass of water with and yet they allow their own children to be mothered by they very women they consider inferior than themselves.

Is it possible to create a balance between a career and motherhood and if so does it work successfully or does every child require to be brought up in an environment that is created by his or her mother for she is the one who created him or her. How does one create an environment which allows one to be independent in the eyes of society and yet a good mother in the eyes of our children. Have women become so image conscious and ambitious that the primal needs of children appear to be slipping away from women as a society?

Media Waves.

Are we so concerned with what people think of us.. that the vast communication available to us only becomes a flaw in the system. Does it fill our insecurities or does it diminish them slightly when we get to up our image in a way which we perceive does us good. And if this image is really a construction to recreate a new found brightness in our lives, is the construction of another influencing the way we behave or is it the deconstruction of a past image.

     When looking good, flashing celebrities, cars and the booze is what sparks our profile pages, is that what truly makes up happy or does it merely help us fit in into a social context which is available to us. Do we fail to consider the social construct that is in action through the larger system, or are we merely living in the present. Why is it then that certain externalities increase our facebook friend numbers, our popularity and our word of mouth. Is it the buzz that we have created or is the reaction of another's to our image construction. And do these things truly fill us, make us happy and fulfill a need in our lives or are they merely a temporary reaction to a particular moment in time, like an addiction one has that is needed to re-fill an empty part of ourselves twice a day at times.

     Is this a sign that we've become so engrossed into social functions that we forget to discover our own identity. And if no one is to blame, do we ever consider the larger picture and the people we have become because of the normalcy standards that are expected from our society. And does society ever truly make its own decisions or are they programmed to behave in the way that political discourses have basically demanded of them.


     With so much external noise and clutter, can we truly ever know ourselves without disconnecting from everything that is not the inner space that dwells within. And is there a need to re-program our brains so that our mental chatter is but a reflection of ourselves and not that of any other mental waves.

     

Consistent times

Can times ever change with people who never change.

Why is that a certain meeting can go back to five years, and still be the same experience one had then. Is it too much expectation, too much non realization or merely a lack of acceptance of who one is.
A coffee thing can relay the insights one has now begun to see and a drinks thing can only make one realize how some relationships appear to stay stagnant in the same space which was once created and perhaps once good enough.

When we begin to stop settling for less, and begin to believe in our desires and wants, how do we decide to learn the lesson we supposedly need to learn from a particular experience which just doesn't seem to end, or move on and let that go! Or does one stay in the vain hope that those long lost dreams might come into being as much as these new experiences appear to bring gifts through their manifestation of one's desires which go back to seven years ago.

And what about our thoughts.. as much as they might remain positive, one can't help but think of that resistant topic, or that weakness of something which doesn't quite fit into the picture perfect scenario. Is understanding that that weakness is merely the ego or vanity of another enough or does one need to go beyond that and have enough faith in oneself to know that this isn't working out. Whilst there might be bumps on the road and one can only try to make things better, how can one improve any scenario if another isn't willing to change their past, present or future. And whilst the past may only reveal beautiful moments which once encouraged my soul, how can the present and the future work together with so many limitations and lack of changing support. Does consistency become the problem, or the solution?

The consistency another brings to the relationship might never change, but I do know that self consistency is a gift one can give to oneself. 

You can heal your life

Dear Louise Hay,

 A few days ago I was asked who are the five people I most want to meet in my life.
You were the first one that popped into my head, and perhaps the only one who I desire to meet on a daily basis. I have never ever come across a human being as nurturing as you and yet, I only know you through your books, your affirmations and interviews.

A few years ago I hit rock bottom and had no idea where my life would go or what I would do. And then.. I bought You can heal your life. And perhaps as so many people who love you say, it is one of the best investments I made in my entire life. Your beliefs, your ideas have taught me to be oh so positive and I can only thank you for the wonderful changes you helped me create in my own life and all those people who continue to be influenced by you every day, and every moment of each day.

  I consistently speak about you and right now I'm writing about you because I think whoever reads this deserves to know who are you and perhaps believe that they can change their own lives with the philosophy you have encouraged throughout your own life.

 You are over eighty years old and you have the most beautiful glow a human being could ever have. And that glow is something I now see in myself with each passing day as my life just keeps better and better! I'm so grateful to you and to myself for the changes that have manifested and I can only hope that everybody buys yours book and begins to understand how our thoughts are creating our now and our future and how we perceive the past.

 You taught me that vanity is fear, and not self love. And over the past two years now I have learnt that self love is built, it is a practice which one needs to involve in ones life on a consistent basis. It becomes the mirror practice, the thought patterns and the relationships we create with all around, like my bed which I thank consistently and the trees and flowers I consider beautiful. Today I can honestly tell myself  that I love myself and know that I have worked to get here and that it is perhaps the best thing I have ever done for myself.

I love you

Sanam

Such a Long Journey..

As we grow older, do we merely learn to do what's best for us.
From choosing the right from that which doesn't work.
Does life enable us to figure out to make decisions based on our own needs at a particular point in time and allow them to naturally overcome another's.

After all the mistakes, the thoughts and the constant recollection of memories of experiences long gone, is there ever any room for improvement without all those consistent badgering thoughts?

When a relationship goes wrong, why is that we as women think about all of our flaws without once being able to consider the truth behind it all. Is it because we don't know the truth yet, are unable to allow it to be part of our reality or just resisting to grow and continue learning to improve how we treat ourselves.

When all is done and said, without any room for closure, why do we stick in a closet surrounded by that which doesn't suit us anymore and even ceases to exist. It's just a memory and yet we fail to get that memory out of our heads and make it appear much better than it ever really was. The general media suggests that women keep trying to work out things which appear to have no open door. And if the door is closed and there is no room for questions, isn't it so much easier to just let go of it all! When it's all so much easier said than done, and the words don't justify one's feelings or another's actions perhaps we become our own closure, our own friend, our own want of what we expected from another. The situation fails to remain a broken experience with a broken want but transforms itself to a stronger heart which continues to remain soft on the inside regardless of the destruction one once experienced.

I love life... and perhaps there is nothing grander than to see yourself transform and love yourself further in ways that reflect on your actions, thoughts and your need to do what's best for you in any circumstance, situation and relationship which may surround.

To Kill a Mockingbird.

Everyday people speak about people, they make their own judgements, theories and even what some call representations. With all this clarity and systematic approach, in the midst of being intelligent about another where does the understanding go?

Without the need to be nice or even invite another into one's space, is there really any scope ever for profound conversations without the need to understand another. And even if the conversation stirs, why is it that so many people try to arrive at a closing point for a discussion or make up their minds even before the conversation has begun. With so much change, and even the need to bring new flowers in my home every week as the old ones die how is there really a conclusion to a thread which goes on even after part of it has died or is over and now only a part of history. Wait, only.. isn't anything which once existed still present because it has its own mark on time.

And if we are able to really detach ourselves from a situation, person or thing aren't we opening the doors to allowing it to breathe without the need to capture its essence into what we as human beings consider right.

Today whilst speaking about the subaltern and their voice I realized that everybody has a voice. Sometimes it's not heard, not felt and even not a direct relationship with what one terms as the other. Yet it exists in the actions one takes and the beliefs one has created through life whether through upbringing, experiences and even taking responsibility to change one's beliefs with time. So perhaps the other has no voice as they don't have the platform one expects them to have, yet they definitely have their own voice in the way they have lived and continue to live their lives intentionally, socially and even physically whether one begins to take the time to understand and place oneself in their shoes or not.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” --Atticus - To Kill a Mockingbird.