I once asked a question on facebook, something to the effect of.. ‘How do you listen to your voice amidst the noise?’ And there were many interesting responses. The journey of listening to the tiny whispers amidst the daily noise, the willingness to pause to breathe so that we may discover the richness of the moment instead of the mindless chasing of a future. Isn’t that what the life of life is all about? I think it is more than ten years back, I gifted a book ‘The Tao of Womanhood’ to my friends and colleagues, Anu and Arun Wakhlu. … Continue reading Your work of Art.. this life. Misogi

I have often wondered.. sometimes more happens in an hour than in a week- or at least you may have seen that you have ‘accomplished more in an hour than in a day. How come? The question then is .. Is the common notion that there isn’t enough time.. true? Honestly, examine the myth. Mythos creates pathos. And that becomes our ethos! A lot can happen in a little time, often we are not aware of the leverage points. And to notice those perhaps, we need to allow space, slow down, do less, be more. So on one hand I … Continue reading Non-linear leaps or baby steps?

I was writing an email to a client who is a CEO/MD. And as I finished the email I realized that this may make a good blog post to share.. So here is what I wrote .. “I had this impulse to write to you because I have realised that often we human beings- all of us- are a bit crazy.. for example, I have seen in the last 14 years of working with/ contributing to more than 5000+ people, 500+ senior leaders (CEO/CxO/business and functional heads), 100+ plus facilitators, trainers & social entrepreneurs that.. ‘The last thing we know is … Continue reading ‘The last thing we know is what to put first’

One body-one mind Can we function as one body? Someone can beat like a heart And someone can think like the head.. Someone is a liver and someone the legs Why must each do everything? Isn’t that foolish? Each born to do what we were meant to Each meant to sing a specific song Why struggle? Let’s let go of the tired old ways Of having to change.. of having to ‘improve’ Instead Lets dance.. lets paint .. lets play Life is too short To figure it all out To anal-yse Unless that’s what makes you fly We were meant … Continue reading One body

Is there something that you have found difficult to change in another, in yourself? When I develop and coach leaders, I find this zen story below a valuable parable. Have you come across some pattern in people, in yourself that refuses to budge despite a lot of effort? Some of us find it easier to see it outside. Some see it inside. And some of us believe, outside is inside 😉 Is there some hidden grace in these situations? Some of my leadership and life coaching clients come with acute challenges. I have myself struggled with some patterns for long. … Continue reading Deep resistance to learn, change … Zen story of 4 horses.

A little while back, I was in a conversation with my dear friends GD and NithyaShanti. GD taught us a new powerful healing method, ‘Matrix Energetics’. And after it had touched us in powerful ways.. he asked us an important question.. What would it mean to live in a place that is beyond polarities vs being caught in more and more heady ‘experiences’? Like the popular Rumi line.. ‘There is a place beyond right doing and wrong doing. I will meet you there’ I was grappling with this whole notion of abundance. And GD said.. what would it be like … Continue reading Pain or pleasure.. Lover and Beloved

What does it mean to deeply and truly love? Such a huge question. What does it mean to be present to another’s pain and suffering without belittling it? I am sure many of us have had moments and times when we felt hopeless, down in the dumps. Or encountered a dear friend or family member, a colleague feeling that way. How do we respond to that? When I read this piece I was going through a difficult phase in my life – a few years back. The authenticity with which Parker Palmer writes, the subtlety with which he captures the … Continue reading A love that doesn’t invade or avoid suffering – Inspired by Parker Palmer

There are certain pieces that I keep going back to. This piece below by Robert Augustus Masters is one of them. I had shared this on facebook some time back and whenever I revisit it, it speaks to me deeply. In many ways it has become a part of the fabric of my being. Rather, it has revealed an aspect of who I am at a deeper level when I am aware. One of my favorite teachers, Gay Hendricks (see also ‘What dreams may come’), has written a beautiful book, ‘At the Speed of life’. In that he says something … Continue reading When the inner life really begins – in the richness of the present

A dear friend and inspiration, Jim Spivey sent this to me many months ago but it is one of those truly valuable pieces that create an aha! and remind me of the beauty of keeping the childlike, the innocent, the authentic, the spontaneous in me alive. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. … Continue reading Steal back the Magic