Truth

Tact, diplomacy or a deflection of truth? The lines between these are blurred today. There are very fine lines between these. So much so that it becomes difficult to tell the difference unless we can really fathom our own intentions or those of others, for that matter.

Twisting the truth a bit to suit our for-the-moment needs is often done under tact and/or diplomacy.

Actually, we need compassion for ourselves when this happens. Because we stray without knowing this. And this straying is so subtle that even we can't see it at the time. Of course, for some, it may also be deliberate.

Facing our truth is like getting scorched under the sun with no shade at all. And who is strong enough?

Truth is truth. Undiluted. To be tactful is just to say the truth so that it is palatable. Diplomacy has shades of tact but is slightly diluted. Because a diplomatic person tends to say what the opposite person wants to hear. So, often, that borders little on truth.

It is a fine balancing act. There can be possibilities of crushing someone's self esteem with truth or a possibility of making them feel good with a slight camouflage of truth. That’s why life is called gray and not black or white. And sometimes, our wisdom can be another person's poison.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Forgiveness

And the Lord said, "Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do". Forgiveness is the biggest tool in life. Every human being needs it big time. The value of this healing tool can be realized only with the development of a spiritual mind and spiritual study. Human beings tend to get very caught up in ego based conflicts, whether within family or outside, because they lack the basic knowledge of soul connections from other lives.

Our texts speak of unconditional love as the only way to live. With all. But this was a principle of satyug. In kaliyug, we look for saccharine instead of sugar, an attractive exterior instead of a beautiful soul, superficiality instead of feeling each others' pain, and a lot more. But as in everything in life, there is a positive aspect. You adjust and adjust and adjust with your pain and hurt until acceptance sets in. Spiritualists can achieve this without going under permanently. Others are scarred for life.

And the irony is, none of this is real and all we are doing is playing the roles we are given. There is never any permanent damage but for our ego. It's like hating a very likeable person just because he plays the role of a villain in a drama.

I know there are always reactions to life, events and people because everyone thinks differently. Everyone IS different and can only play their own roles even if we expect that they should change the script for our sake. They cannot because that is the way they were meant to be. Otherwise how would WE experience OUR Karma?

And it is we who cause ourselves much damage by reacting badly and then holding on to our self inflicted wounds. Those who hold on can only pretend to move on. They may be masters of pretensions and fool everyone. But what about the soul within that knows the truth?

From every angle, we see a different truth sometimes. Because we can only look at things our way and according to our level of understanding. That's why we speak of putting ourselves in someone else's shoes. Which is very difficult unless you are very mature and truly spiritual, and realize that no one is perfect and everyone has ups and downs which affect all the members of a family or group.

Therefore, forgiveness and understanding are the greatest tools we have and should exercise instead of conflict, criticism and diluting connections of the heart.

People often tell me that they forgive but cannot forget. And I see nothing wrong. If you have a good memory, you will remember. The acid test is , does your memory have an emotional charge ? If so, then you have not forgiven. And your karma with that soul or those souls is not yet neutralized.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Excitement

There is great joy in recognizing that things happen just at the right time, not OUR right time but its own right time. When things happen, they happen like magic. If we stop expecting and suffering in anticipation.

Look back and think when this may have happened in your life. Your wish list has many items on hold. Not happening. And suddenly, without notice, one of them just fructifies and leaves you breathless and amazed!

If you want to keep your excitement in life, just keep working to fulfill as many items on your wish list as possible. And enjoy the ones that happen. Leave the rest without hankering after them.

I learnt this from my games apps that I play. I spend days and months to complete one level. And suddenly, a single try on one particular day and hey presto! I have done that level!!!

It is the excitement of the journey that will take you forward. You inevitably will go on to the next level and the same sense of fun starts all over again.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Personifying

The things we do may perhaps be similar to others but the WAY we do them are different. An often repeated truth...that winners don't necessarily do different things but might do the same thing differently.

Have you noticed how creative people do mundane chores as if they are enjoying them day after day after day? The onlooker sees these as boring, mechanical and depressing. But an enriched mind survives well, digging up many ways to keep the interest alive.

"ROUTINE" is the word for people who cannot find new routes and get stuck along the way. And when they add "mundane" to "routine", then they have truly lost their interest and therefore, their creativity.

I find walking on round tracks not so easy because you end up nowhere except in circles. But now, I reverse the circle, change my breathing pattern, speed, the shloka I might be chanting for the round, the trend of thought....or maybe, just become still in mind...thoughtless.

I find this is a great technique to live with myself, too. The inputs come from different aspects of me but I have a lot of fun personifying all these different ideas as many people within me giving me new ideas and walking in that circle with me.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Strategy

How to be a good loser! A great asset in life...to have the philosophy that someone has to win and someone has to lose. I just play my best. Sports teach you how to face the world and your circumstances minute to minute.

Life is like that opponent who swings his racquet to hit the ball but you don't know how it has spun and where it is going to fall. You just have to be prepared to receive it, hit it with your best strategy back to life...no warning. No notice.

And this is why life becomes your best teacher....

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Altitude

Who really can say they got everything in life? Only those who actually were grateful for everything they received with an attitude that it was a bonus. A grace. Then there weren't any compulsive desires as such.

We humans tend to get greedy...we forget that whatever we deserve we do get. No one takes that away and it does not get deflected either. But we evidently look for other, "greener" pastures. More and more and more....better and better and better.....

If a car, for example, is a comfort so we don't have to walk or take a public transport, does it matter what brand the car is or that at least there IS a car ? Hmm ... the difference in satiation levels !!

The difference in being a human being and being human...

Attitude definitely determines altitude. Depends on what KIND of altitude one is looking for!!

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Thoughts

Have we ever thought that our thoughts are linked with our karma? If you notice, when we are weak and family members are negative around, success eludes at the best of times.

For example, a simple case of a child failing in exams! This soul, due to its past karma, takes negative decisions, wastes time and fail. Parents keep thinking that it is the child's fault and keep saying that the child IS going to fail because of the digression of the child's mind. This energy becomes the energy in the home and it actually makes the negative happen. So, in the family circle, this child is being sacrificed to negative energy. It is like igniting a fire.

Instead, the circle around the child should surround this child with positive energy and send only good thoughts to the child so that it can reform the thoughts and take the right decisions to channelize its energy towards work and pass the exams.

In any family or group environment, blaming, anger, admonishing a child and diminishing it shows the weakness of the parent, not the child. That it is imperative for the whole circle of people around to fill the environment with positivity to get positive results in good time.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree 

Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Revolution

Because we are a part of a huge revolution in a knowledge based world and economy, all old paradigms have shifted into not one, but many new gears along with automatic cars. With regard to children therefore, this shift becomes very valid since they are products of today.

But the in between generation that was brought up within the earlier pre revolution phase and who are suddenly experiencing the rapidly shifting paradigms in almost all aspects, may be struggling to balance what they know from back then to what they know now. I see parents of this generation also struggling with their own equation with these children who are adults and parents themselves now.

There may be certain resentment in what they might see as deprivation, in what their parents did not teach them or expose them to. But some of it was not available then.

The overall view may be that parents might have been old fashioned or not excessively bright or intelligent and therefore, less respected. They did not have the knowledge of the current technology as a part of their DNA.  😊and whatever they knew came from their parents and the general environment at that time.

Anyways, it is so commendable that many in that generation of parents still painstakingly attempt to use technology, if nothing, for communicating with their children who life has taken away to distant lands and because of which the parents reside in special housing meant for senior citizens, but hopefully, also in the hearts of their children.

If only I Pads and Internet could bridge the emotional divide!

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Quote of the Day

Human quality

Showing our vulnerable chinks is often against our defense mechanism. It is not such a bad thing to be simple in emotions if they are honest. Somehow, we feel we have to hide emotions because it is looked upon as a sign of weakness. Actually, it can be a very refreshing quality in people.

 It is a very human quality, for example, to cry when talking about a sad occurrence...

I think we expend such emotions a lot while watching movies also, but start wiping our eyes and break into teary smiles just before the lights come on.

An honest emotion can be relieving and cleansing rather than a put on one. Because we fool ourselves with the latter, not cleanse.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

Beauty of life

At the start of the year, you should resolve to defeat your karma as the chief resolution. Sounds strange, right? How that is possible is the immediate thought. I love to quote the story of Savitri and Satyavaan in which Savitri brought her dead husband back to life from the possession of Yama, the God of death.

Symbolically and otherwise, the one aspect visible in this story is that with courage and passion, anything is possible. And that's why I say, if that karma was defeated, all karma can be defeated.

How?

That you have to experience the consequences of your past karma is a reality. But HOW you choose to do so is a decision that lies squarely in your court. You can either transform the experience into a new beginning or cry all the way.

The beauty of life is, even if you do not get what you wanted in one or two aspects of life, there are many other aspects available to develop because we are very vast beings, connected to a very large canvas of energy. Why do we need to limit ourselves?

You know, I have seen many people go to a multiplex, only to find the movie they wanted to see showing a houseful board but they look at other options and find the best one under the circumstances. Why? Because they had made up their minds to see a movie that day.

Isn't life somewhat similar? So, maybe, I wanted to be a doctor but ended up being a pharmacist. Maybe, I badly wanted kids but could not have them. So, I decided to adopt one. Or maybe, I wanted the proverbial perfect marriage but circumstances were not perfect and I decided to develop other talents I had. And kept my friendship going with the spouse. 

Positivity all the way...

The moment you click on the "options" button, you see a drop down menu with a wide range of choices and if you are a positive, die hard kind of a person, some options will definitely engage your mind and imagination.

Hey, after all, we are in this world for a specific period of time. There is no time to cry over anything. Instead, whatever karma is unfolding before you in your life is only giving you a chance to turn to other activities which are waiting to be explored and can be brought within your reach with enough passion and a desire to make good your life.

So, you have a Rukmini Devi starting to learn Bharatnatyam at 30 years of age and you have a Kalakshetra in Chennai as an evidence of her passion for the art. Look around and many such legends can be seen.

So, karma resolution through transformation is very doable. Just don't let yourself go down with self pity and don't let yourself sink into the illusion of darkness...for, that's all it is an illusion...there is nothing like darkness. It is the absence of light that we call darkness. Light is the only reality.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

SpeakingtreeBlog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari