...Power-Packed

Today, I was saying to someone about how blessed I am because i have so many people around me who love me and support me. They rally around me and go out of their way to  help me make my vision come true. This is very humbling and whilst I am very grateful for this.... this is also a message to me that these people see something in me.....that spark or fire...a potential that I sometimes take for granted and dont stop to acknowledge.

Each one of us comes with a unique gift and we can only see this through the eyes of the people around us...when they stand by us ,  without using words they are saying " you can do this, go for it, I believe in you"

Sometimes this support comes from unexpected sources...people you havent seen for ages,  a loved one who gets up in the morning to prepare breakfast for you before you dash off or a colleague who goes the extra mile to make your life easier.

I was talking to friend this evening and we were speaking about being powerful...about showing up as "You" .... we are sometimes afraid to show ourselves for who we are incase we get rejected but the opposite is true.... the closer we get to our core, the more authentic we are and no one can resist this...because with authenticity comes alignment. Its almost like magic when everything around you rearranges itself to suit you because this is what you are meant to be. How fantastic is that? How does it get any better than this?

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
~Lao-Tzu~

I see you...

I met someone whom I havent seen in the last 15 years. And this time , I met her under a totally different circumstance from the first time i met her. I dont think I even made the effort to get to know her the first time we met. I was in my own world, caught up in my own thoughts and priorities. This morning on my way back from meeting her, I was thinking about her and about me at that time in my life. This morning I could really see her. I saw her beauty ...not just how attractive she was but also her inner beauty. I felt her goodness and warmth. Made me wonder why I dont have this memory of her from the first time i met her. Was it me or was it her? or were we both in a different space at that time that we never gave each other that opportunity to really meet. I think we do that often, we meet people but we never really meet them. Reminds me of a particular line from the movie Avatar, " I see you" and columnist, Jay Michaelson decribes the meaning of that statement as follows: "As the Na'Vi explain in the film, though, "I see you" doesn't mean ordinary seeing - it, like Namaste, really means "the God in me sees the God in you." I see Myself, in your eyes." I couldn't have said it better, i think that is what happened for me this morning. I saw her for who she truly was and in that process I saw me. Very humbling ....Life never fails to amaze me!

Pure Bliss....

We learn lots of things in life but I think the most important lesson of all has to do with "learning to be ourselves".  its probably the hardest lesson too.  It's odd that most of us are not comfortable in our own skin... to varying degrees...at different times and situations. We get told, " be yourself"  and yet many people are afraid that if they showed themselves that others wont like them. I see this in teenagers, in adults...in myself at different times. 

I remember attending a talk by Wayne Dyer many years ago and he was talking about awareness, and about the games we play in life and he made one statement that stayed with me ... that sometimes he was embarrassed to be with himself!  The difference is that he said it out loud and many people bury that thought deep inside themselves.

Yesterday, I was watching Chris Rock on Oprah and he said "secrets rot the soul" ...we often think we have secrets or thoughts that others dont know but the truth is that most people get a sense of where someone is at and most people actually cant be bothered about someone else' thoughts and discomfort because they are too busy worrying about their own!

We waste so much energy holding to things , past hurts, secrets, and in trying to hide ourselves from the world and believe me...it takes up sooo much energy!!! I know I have been there many times.

My most glaring lesson when I was 25 and was being interviewed by the media ( one of my first few) and the reporter asked me about my education... what kind of education I had...whether I had a degree or experience in business. Until that point, I tried to avoid these types of questions because I didnt have a degree at that time and naturally I didnt have that much business experience. But that day, I decided that I had enough of "pretending" and I said " no, I dont have a degree and no , I dont have business experience". Funnily that got me more publicity in the media than anything else I had done in the past. Looking back, I think I know why...I was authentic and stayed with me. I was willing to show myself as I was at that time.

At different times of my life I have been more myself than other times.  I dont think its an age thing because I see more young people who are happy to be themselves which is quite refreshing. Maybe we learnt this when we are young and told to be at our best behaviour in front of visitors...and as children we understood it to mean that  we were not good enough to be ourselves. Maybe its because we are not comfortable with ourselves and our own company..... I dont know... all i know is that I have felt such peace and calm within me at those times in my life when i was in alignment with who I was and the more I have those types of experiences, the more I know that this is where my bliss lies and... this is where I am most comfortable...in my own skin... being me. Its freed me up to live life fully....to do what i really came here to do at last! 

spirit intact...

My 15 year old daughter and i were having a conversation about spirits, ghosts  and things we cant see.  Here in Asia , we often hear stories about them. She was asking me what  "spirit guides"  were and I replied  ( like if I knew the answer...I never met a spirit guide before!) that spirit guides help their loved ones and solve problems for them. She replied " can I have a spirit guide to solve my math problems"  That made me laugh. She always did have a strange sense of humour .... like the time when she was 3 years old and I was teaching her how to thank god for her blessings and i said " what do you want to thank God for today and she replied ...for the wall ...and the TV controller ( remote)
But maybe she had a point, its the little things we take for granted that we have to be thankful for...things we assume will be there and working every time we need it. When we turn on the lights, we expect it to come on, or  the toaster. We take these things for granted because we are so focussed on wanting ...wanting more ! We get bombarded with ads and TV programs that constantly fuel this need to want more. If we are not wanting then we are trying to preserve what we have. This constant agitation and propagation  of "not enough" or not being good enough. It makes people live in regret, " if only I did this or didn't do this, I would be in a better place today" I know that feeling, I have been there before.
And yet, i also know today that if I didn't experience this, I would not be able completely savour the bliss I experience these days.
 To me this bliss state is the state of gratitude or thankfulness ...that feeling when your heart is full and yet light.  It doesn't need to be an earth shattering experience. It  could be the simple things like the smell of the morning, or hearing the birds outside my window or even feeling well enough to get up in the morning. I know points in my life when I have had to make a conscious effort to think about these things but these days I catch myself smiling for no reason! . A friend of mine in australia has a tattoo on her arm with the words " this too shall pass"  a quote she took from Eckhart Tolle's book.

Someone I know has had a serious operation, someone else has a young child who is very sick and when I think of these people, my heart goes out to them and these are times when I want to to send an army of spirit guides and angels out to task ...to heal them and support them through this time. I  hope they find their bliss by embracing the challenges they are faced with. That they are able to look back and still see what an incredible life this is. Maybe that's all we are supposed to do ... be able to go through life's ups and down and come out clean on the other side with our spirits intact and smiling again!

One life time...

My dad passed away 2 years ago on this day. I have been very aware of this day especially as it drew closer. I was worried for my mum ... if this day would make her sad or nostalgic. This morning, I asked her if she was going to the temple, and she looked a little confused until I reminded her about what day it was. She said that she was thinking about this day but somehow lost track of the days..it happens but I see this as a good thing. It tells me that her life is busy and full. This morning, I commented about how temporary life is.... about how life carries on like nothing happened after we die....its like if we never existed in the first place.  To this my mum replied, that its more important to think about what we do when we are alive and not how we are remembered after we die.

We make so much of endings, probably because we don't do enough for the ones we love while they are alive. I like my mum's pragmatic approach to life. In her words "all of us have to go one day" . My mum was married to my dad for 68 years and till the time he died, she was by his bed side looking after his every need. We always said that my dad should go first because he wouldn't know what to do without my mother.

Today, I read about our Senior Minister, father of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and how he sits by his  ailing wife's bedside and reads to her for 2 hours every evening. I was very touched by  the article that was written by his daughter, describing how she admires her father's commitment to her mother.

It is what we do for our loved ones when they are alive that matters, this is why my mum is at peace with herself , knowing that she has given her best to her relationship with my dad. I wish I had the experience of that kind of a deep love, one that withstands the tests that life throws at us. One that carries on even after someone dies.

Publish Post

Now matters !

Its so easy to get caught in the "busyness" of everyday life and lose the plot...we give ourselves all sorts of excuses anything from work to family dramas to keep ourselves away from ourselves. My favourite one is travel... " when I travel , my routine gets disrupted" or " I just need to get through this bit of work before I can settle down and look into my own needs" 
Months later, I look back and I can see that I am still running the same excuse!! I know now that that I have "excused myself" from being fully present in the moment!!
Being fully present in the moment is a discipline , to me it means:
1. Being aware that I need to drink more water 
2. Taking time to exercise
3. Making time for prayer or daily reflection
4. Eating consciously, slowly, appreciating the flavours and effort that has been put into its preparation
5. Looking up from my work when my kids talk to me and giving them my complete attention
6. Making time to catch up with friends/family and making even more time to laugh wholeheartedly
7. Minimising distractions that deplete my energy - internet, TV, people who whine frequently, thoughts about past failures and fears about future mistakes
8. Living in gratitude for everything ....even things that I don't like.
They are really simple things, nothing earth shattering but I know that whenever I have done this, I have felt every cell in my body radiate joy. I know that when I radiate joy - I add to the world and in my own way I help to make it a better place. Something else happens too - an exchange of energy.... you cant possibly put energy out into the world without it coming back at you multiplied. Opportunities find me easily and effortlessly. 
Everyday, life presents us the opportunity to do something different from yesterday. Its a chance to renew and refresh. An opportunity to engage fully in the current moment so that when we look back we can see a life that takes our breath away... thats how I want to leave this planet...how about you? There is no other time except NOW!

The philosopher, leader and the connoisseur of life....

A year ago, I wrote about today. Its a special day because three people I know are born on the 24th of March...a very close friend , my boss and a business partner who was introduced to me by my boss.
One day I want the three of  them to meet ...maybe over a meal and i would like to see how they get on. ...I think they will have a blast!
Its funny how life is - all three are from totally different backgrounds but i know that they have alot of common ground and similarities:

My best friend : a true warrior and live wire of any party.. the youngest of the three , wise young mother of two amazing young adults, a business woman and philosopher of life. She has done some pretty amazing things ...things that even the strongest amongst us wont do - situations where she has put herself last and thought of humanity's needs first. A true planetary citizen.

My boss : a great leader who has more followers than he knows, because he is a "dream weaver" and people like to follow someone who has a dream /vision and the bigger the dream, the bigger the following! He is a scientist at heart and despite that very pragmatic part of him that looks for proof, he is also spiritual in his own way as he recognises that there are things that human beings cannot perceive ..things bigger than us. A risk taker with a vision.

My business partner : a classy man who puts his heart out first. People remember him because of the way he connects with them , he is most comfortable around people and he loves life. A sportsman in many ways, very open to new ideas and opportunities to learn. A true connoisseur of life!  A high achiever who knows that its not always about winning,

A philosopher, a leader and a connoisseur of life... three people but each of them fits all three descriptions. ...how lucky am I to have these people in my life.  We sometimes forget to take a closer look at people in our lives and how they add to the planet and make our lives that much better. Today, I will drink a toast to three awesome people in my life, may you have a very happy birthday and continue to touch the lives of others in your own special way!