Emotional Well-Being

CURIOUS SELF: "I feel just fine and I don't think anything is wrong with me. So, Why is it important to on-goingly work on my Emotional Well-being? How to improve my Emotional Well-being? Are there any benefits to this and how to know if I am making progress?" 

Our emotional life comprises of our feelings, experiences, relationships, friendships, family, community, sense of belongingess, ability to create intimate relationships, emotional stability, passion in life, ability to influence people, ability to relate to different groups of people, ability to let go of negative feelings, ability to trust ourselves, feel confident, ability to let go of past Love Relationships, ability to surrender to the uncertain future, ability to forgive those who hurt our feelings, setting expectations with others, maintaining healthy boundaries with others, focusing on being present to our feelings, controlling our emotions, expressing our feelings authentically and being aware of our thoughts and feelings in the present moment. Being able to gently flow with our feelings and emotions, holding on to all our good feelings and letting go of any negative feelings is critical to our Emotional Well-being. It is always a joy to be around someone who is glowing and full of energy. Achieving Emotional Well-being allows us to live our lives fulfillingly. 

Before we start to create our plan on how to work on our Emotional Well-being, it is very critical to know what Emotional Well-being is NOT. Understanding this is very important because if we are misinformed or have misconceptions then it becomes tough to take effective actions. Emotional Well-being is not feeling good all the time, it is not being safe and avoid taking risks, it is not being quite and avoiding being assertive, it is not avoiding confrontation to maintain peace, it is not being passive when someone is abusing us or others, it is not being in a relationship that has no future just for the fear of being alone, it is not allowing someone to control us, it is not taking on more responsibility than we can handle, it is not being a YES person with an inability to set healthy boundaries, it is not having a false sense of happiness by ignoring others who need our support, it is not being impulsive and thinking it is being spontaneous, it is not achieving success or our goals without understanding the bigger picutre and it is not fulfilling our need for pleasure. 

Now let us understand why working on our Emotional Well-being is critical for us to living a fulfilling life. No matter how much success and wealth we have, no matter how much wisdom and knowledge we gain, no matter how healthy we are, we need to learn to connect with other human beings on a deep emotional level to feel and understand them better. Also, we need to learn to be in tune with our own feelings and emotions and to be able to control them and handle them. Suppressing feelings will only cause trouble in the future, we have to learn how to release negative feelings and harness its energy to propel us forwards, we have to learn now to align our thoughts and feelings with our goals and desires and focus on the best possible outcome without the emotional attachment, we have to learn how to feel positive and enthusiastic in order to visualize our dreams and manifest our desires, we have to learn how to lower our stress levels and spread positive happy energy to everyone we meet, we have to learn how to be emotionally stable in the most chaotic situation. Hence, working on our Emotional Well-being is very important towards living our lives fulfillingly.

Just like we created our list of Quit items for our Spiritual Well-being, we will list what are the negative things we must eliminate from our lives to ensure our Emotional Well-being and how to go about removing these things permanently from our lives. There are several emotional healing and strengthening processes that we have at our disposal to learn and practice for enhancing our Emotional Well-being.

We expand our daily practice with Top 3 Emotional Milestones along with Top 3 Spiritual Milestones and increase our practice time from 30 min to 1 hour.

Let’s pick our Top 3 Emotional Well-being items:
(1) 10 min Start Letting Go of the Past
(2) 10 min Quit Resentment
(3) 10 min Start Expressing Gratitude

There are more to choose from as we make progress:
(4) 10 min Quit Complaining
(5) 10 min Quit Blaming Others
(6) 10 min Quit Gossiping
(7) 10 min Quit Being Needy
(8) 10 min Start Expressing Happiness
(9) 10 min Start Expressing Intimacy
(10) 10 min Start Expressing Compassion

We may start to wonder how to start letting go of the past or how to stop resenting someone we dislike. The key is to use the 10 min to figure out what works for us and continue to apply our intuitive ideas. For some of us forgiveness is easy and for some of us it is difficult, either way we have to learn to forgive and move on. For some of us making new friends is easy and for some of us it is difficult, either way we have to learn to make new friends to keep our emotions balanced. For some of us letting go of the past is easy and for some of us it is difficult, either way we have to quit holding on to our old memories in order to live fully in the present moment.

HIGHER SELF: "Now it is clear why working on our Emotional Well-being is so important and necessary. Meditation helps with clearing the mind and releasing suppressed emotions. Along with meditation we have to focus on different Emotional Milestones to improve our Emotional Well-being by dedicating 30 min daily towards it and continuously learning different processes and techniques to handle emotions and creating a life of abundance and fulfillment. We Love Meditation."

We Love Meditation.

Q/A on Emotional Well-being

https://www.quora.com/My-friends-mother-recently-passed-away-and-I-abandoned-her-I-dont-feel-bad-about-it-Why

Spiritual Intimacy

We all know how emotional intimacy operates, when we spend time together, we share our life experiences, we talk, we listen, we share our success, we share our sorrow, we have fun get-togethers, we eat together, we fight, we argue, we break-up, then we make-up, we go on road trips, we go for movies, we express ourselves, we depend on our loved ones, we care for our family, we support them, we want the best for those in our lives, we simply adore, admire and respect everyone, all of this generates emotional intimacy.

Let us explore how spiritual intimacy operates, when we go to a holy place of worship, like the church, temple, mosque, monastery, chapel, gurdwara, synagogue, daoguan, derasar, fire temple, mandir, we automatically start to feel good inside, the gentle breeze, the flowers, the silence, the serenity, the incense, the candles, the music, the songs, the prayers, the chanting, the mantras, the holy water, the smiling people, the priests, the monks, the nuns, the aroma, the prasad, the communion, the fruits, the offerings, the peace, the magic, all of it comes together, time simply stops, we feel one with the divine, we feel connected with infinity, we feel amazingly awesome, this gives us a feeling of being spiritually grounded. When we volunteer for not-for-profits, donate our time, money and skills towards the betterment of society, participate in social transformation initiatives, assist our friends, colleagues, neighbors, family members, share ourselves with others, contribute wisely in times of needs and natural disasters, make a difference in someone’s life, perform random acts of kindness, we automatically start to feel good inside, we feel that we are connected with everyone, we feel that we are part of the whole, we feel the divine inspiration inside our heart. When we work on developing ourselves, take courses on business, finance, real-estate, sales, technology, professional skills, sports, dance, golf, sky-diving, public speaking, communication, healthcare, fitness, mediation, yoga, aerobics, we automatically start to feel good inside, we feel a sense of accomplishment, a healthy way to release stress, make new friends, pursue our ambitions, learn new skills, discover something fun, secure our future, work towards a promotion, we feel we are doing the right thing, we feel we are growing, building a life for ourselves, we start to care for our overall well-being.

This is the beginning of spiritual intimacy, as we keep working on our Spiritual Well-being, releasing the past, making peace with the world, seeing the divine in others, letting go of unrealistic expectations, forgiving others, forgiving ourselves, meditating regularly, honoring our bodies, resting well, regularly exercising, maintaining a balanced diet, handling temptations effectively, accepting our boundaries, communicating our feelings, developing ourselves, observing other’s behaviors, mastering our lives, being patient, finding the keys, being romantic, developing faith, going with the flow, releasing our doubts, making friends, avoiding people with unhealthy behavior tendencies, keeping our promises, our spiritual intimacy increases. We then feel a permanent connection with the divine, infinite, Universe, our Higher Self.

Sunshine

Yay, I did my workout, I did 1 hr of stretching, that felt really great, then 45 min of exercise covering 2 sets of bug crawls, 2 set of 10 knee push-ups, 2 set of 5 superman hold, 2 set of 10 lunges with 8 lbs weights and 2 set of 12 squats, the exercise was tough on me, but thinking of you I managed to get it done, I also did 30 min of meditation :) (16th Oct 2012)

Good morning sunshine, your isolation therapy is working wonders in my life, unknowingly you just solved my most significant life issue that was persistently annoying me for several years, I have been able to compartmentalize almost everything like emotions, experiences, projects, feelings, thoughts, events, future goals, yesterday my whole day was automatically blissful and I was able to easily and effortlessly neutralize any negative thoughts and feelings that arose almost instantly, yay, seems like I have hit the jackpot :) (26th Oct 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel emotionally very good, top of the world, ready to take on what we discussed yesterday, I will put all my practices into full action, no more resistance or holding  back, u r so cool, somehow u find a way to get me to do what is best for me, I totally love u for that :) (30th Oct 2012)

Good morning sunshine, Happy Halloween :) by the way, I am looking for health insurance, my kaiser has increased their rates and I am not even sure how this works, do u know of some good health insurance coverage? or know a good health insurance agent? (31st Oct 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel good, we can meet anytime in the eve, my other meeting got moved, let me know time and place, stomach and knees are good too, your isolation therapy and life charts are so effective, it makes my focus so sharp, I totally love u for being so brilliant and smart... (2nd Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel emotionally and spiritually so so very good, like a permanent state of blissfulness, today I will do some cooking and mindful gobble gobble,  the sea salt meditation in the afternoon, Spanish class in the evening, I am also starting to design a wellness-spiritual program with two my friends who are into spiritual growth to bring spiritual knowledge to mass audience, staying in my safety zone protecting my feelings and emotions, isolating things and focusing on one thing at a time, also will be doing my stretching, I love you for inspiring me to self-express myself at the highest possible state of mind and happiness :) (3rd Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, feels so good, body soreness is reducing, feels more happy and connected to god, letting go more each day, being safe and blissful, I love you for bringing me closer to god and encouraging me to pray (5th Nov 2102)

Good morning sunshine, the carrot-raisin with original humus is soooo yummy, the apricot jelly is so-so though it's color and viscosity makes me happy, today I will continue mindful gobble gobble with small portions, more chewing and relaxing on the outcomes of my efforts, also praying to god for strength, being in my safe zone, isolating things one at a time, I love you for setting me free from my past… (6th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel I am so fortunate for the gifts life has bestowed upon me, today I will continue being mindful, safe and calm with food and emotions, focusing on here and now, creating a beautiful future full of happiness, I love you for being so supportive and caring to me. (7th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, my body feels so good, the tender soreness puts me directly into my zen bliss, my emotions are very bubbly, I feel so connected with the Universe, will be going for sea salt meditation, doing light stretching, staying in my highest spiritual safety zone, surrendering the outcomes to god, creating a future of dynamic possibilities, I love you for being so kind and sweet to me. (8th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, my body soreness has reduced, today I have my massage at 11, then my food coaching with the best fitness guru on the planet at 2, practicing portion control, slow eating, chewing the food more, finding ways to distract the mind when food is being used to fill emotions, being happy with what life gives me, not focusing on the outcome rather enjoying the journey, using isolation to be present here and now to the fullest, being open to receiving healing energy, I love you for being a positive source of wellbeing in my life. (9^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, body feels good so does my emotional state, today's focus is on slow eating, chewing food a lot, smaller portions, small stretch breaks at work, smiling a lot, being stress-free, expressing gratitude, being in safety zone, isolating things for bring more present, sea salt meditation, softening my heart, praying for surrender, I love you for anchoring me in divine presence of abundance and joy. (11^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, yesterday later during the day my back was sore, I enjoyed it a lot, my portion control is getting much better, my slowing down is also improving, I am giving more attention to flavor, texture and taste, chewing is getting better, your isolation therapy is continuing to work it's magic on me, I am totally able to be present to my thoughts, feelings, surroundings, goals, emotions, my body soreness too, it's a magical experience, my emotions are stable, no more anxiety or stress, no more anger or resentment, total freedom, I love you for bringing me inner-fulfillment. (12^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel so excited about life, my food mastery is going to higher levels each day, I feel like a king eating small portions all day, enjoying my royal entrees and palace kitchen gourmet, our army of ideas are winning the battles, the enemy fear, anger, anxiety and over-eating have been defeated, the kingdom is happy and celebrating success, I love you for being my wellness center discussion partner. (13^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, today I feel so grateful for the things in my life, I feel so happy with the progress I have made, I feel so content with my life, as life unfolds each day is god's gift full of precious moments of joy, I see our wellness center thriving, giving hope and well-being to those who need it most, I see peace in our world where all care for each other, I see tranquility as an everyday experience for everyone, I see love blossom and take over the planet, I love you for being open to all my reflections. (15^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I still feel the energy of the gym, it's like a divine palace of wellness, body is a little sore as expected, spiritually I feel so uplifted and connected to god, emotionally I feel so exuberant and connected to love, physically I feel so transformed and connected to my body, by the way, last night u arrived in my dream and saved me from the evil demons, some of my nightmares are quite scary so thanks for protecting me, I love you for enrolling me in 24hr fitness and opening a new world in my life. (16th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, reached at chrio a few min early, being mindful of the run in the rain, my left calf is little sore from Thu workout, I am excited and surrendering to the divine, I love you for organizing the 5k. (17th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, my left knee, calf and heel are all hurting, I feel like a little puppy while limping around, today I will do stretching, plenty of mindfulness, planning for our wellness center, giving gratitude, praying for creating peace on earth, learning more about life, finding inner-fulfillment and joy, making each day of my life special, spreading healing loving energy, I hope u had a great thanksgiving party and your race today is full of excitement and pleasure, I love you for contributing in the community farming project and being so compassionate towards others, u have a golden heart :) (18th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, we have to do food discussion tonight, my left leg is still being stubborn and sore, yesterday was very relaxing, I watched two Korean movies, they are very emotional and touching, made me cry, today I want to be free from all my worries so I will practice the love and kindness meditation, my daddy turned 63 this week and loved my poem on parenthood from church, my old business partners left me voice-mail but I am still annoyed at them, I love you for listening my stories without judging me. (19th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, today I am going to be super mindful and eat three fruits, infact from this day on I will eat fruits daily, I will budget more time planning for food so that I have more control, I will come up with creative ideas to make the fruits more yummy, like eating them with McDonalds French fries and hot chocolate, haha, just kidding, I will make one trip to the cafe just for fruits, since I love water melons I will eat more of that as well, I love you for making me eat more fruits. (20^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, today evening after work I will go check-out the 24hr gym in Sunnyvale and do my workout, I will eat fruits during the day, sorry about annoying you yesterday, did not mean to hurt your feelings, I was just being my silly-self, I will continue practicing mindfulness and be present in the here and now, I love you for sending me valuable information that will help in building our wellness center. (21^st Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, thanks a lot for your encouraging words, it means a lot to me, I am back to my super-zen-calm self again, we can meet at 137 n santa Cruz, LG, Tandoori Oven at 2 pm, I have drafted the outline of our wellness center that I will bring along, I also shared it online with you, I love you for being so kind to me. (23^rd Nov)

Good morning sunshine, life is good, I feel more at peace, surrendering to God, I will continue working on our Wellness center, being mindful of food, making the most of what life has to offer, setting strong intentions for our future, experiencing divine love, letting go of past, developing a soft heart, I love you for being wonderful. (24^th Nov)

Good morning sunshine, body is sore, loved the lower back exercise, we gotta do that more often, let's meet at the starbucks next to wholefood after adjustment and you can take me food shopping, still in my Zen mode, life is beautiful, I love you for taking me farming, it was so much fun. (26^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, lower back soreness has reduced, yesterday dinner I ate too fast, I was very mindful yet I did not feel like slowing down, I need to focus more on slowing down when I want to gobble down the food, during the day I was super slow so very happy about that, I watched a movie at sea salt meditation yesterday, Angela was telling me how hard it was for them to build the center and all the troubles that they had to go through to finally start the therapy, I love you, you are the inspiration for our wellness center. (28^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel so so so good, life has suddenly turned into paradise, the tiny rain drops, the mischievous squirrels, the awesome people, the divine presence, the yummy food, all so perfect, I just wish this stays the same forever, I feel so happy lazy for workout, would not mind skipping and just being in my bliss, nevertheless let me know what time to meet, wish I could run away from you, haha, I love you, it's amazing you show me new exercises every time. (29^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I give my gratitude to all the fitness professionals that make our lives healthy and joyful, in today's fast life of processed foods and sugar treats, it is the dedication and wisdom of our fitness gurus to keep us eating organic and mindful, life is much beautiful when lived as God planned in a healthy and pure way, I love you, you are my guide sent by God to protect me from all evil. (30^th Nov 2012)

Good morning sunshine, today is a new beginning filled with mindfulness and bliss, I will be relaxed and enjoy each moment with great gratitude and excitement, as I explore more about food I learnt that lemon juice fights cancer 10000 times more powerfully than kimo therapy and no side effects, we are so lucky mother nature has provided us with natural cures for everything, all we have to do is trust in God that we are safe, I love you, you are like my lemon juice fighting for me each step of the way. (1^st Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, body is sore as expected, wish I could lay in bed all day, this feels so good, am I in paradise? I think I am, heaven on earth, I loved the slow push-ups, that was really cool, the stabilization was fun too, and the ab crunches on the round thingy was amazing, we are meeting at 8:30 pm at starbucks near whole foods, I love you, your energy and aura is divine. (3^rd Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, you looked really beautiful yesterday, just like a true princess, though we still need to get your finger-nails more princess like, body is still sore, mind is still in Zen mode, emotions are still a roller coaster ride, time is still frozen, life is still blissful, peace is still within, love is still abundant, spirit is still pure, I love you, food shopping with you is great fun. (4^th Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, hope you are feeling better now and you reached safely to Reno, may you focus well on the project and learn a ton of good stuff, life gives us many choices, may you choose wisely the products, services and seminars you select to attend, I love you Kira, you make me so happy :) (5^th Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, hope your trip was a great learning experience and we reach the heights of wellness services together making our wellness center the world's largest and most effective organization the mission of which is to empower all to reach peak wellness, I love you Kira, you are very precious to me. (6^th Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, our conversation on choice was so beautiful, as I start to let go of the future too I feel more and more liberated, I have started to choose smaller that makes me more happier, I have started to focus on feeling more than thinking, I have started to be more relaxed than anxious, I love you Kira, you are my kale chips, full of nutrition, tasty, crunchy, healthy, yummy, delicious, the more I be with you the more I want to be with you. (7^th Dec 2012)

Good morning sunshine, I feel like a brand new Ferrari, totally free and emotionally super-stable, like a space rocket ready for take-off to explore new worlds, like God heard my prayers and in one simple blessing transformed my whole being, now I know who I am, now I know how to live, now I know what to do, now I know how to be happy, now I know how to trust, now I  know how to smile again, I love you Kira, you are my rainbow, beautiful, colorful, magnificent, divine, elegant, you show up on the rainy days and make me happy, you fill my life with joy, you are God's rare and special creation, you fill up the whole sky. (8^th Dec 2012)

My 10 year long blind spot was a simple principle that I was unable to comprehend for years, ironically you have mentioned to me many many times before, when we were running the 5K you said we should be grateful for opportunity to be experiencing such a great race, we should look for the good in others, we should not look for perfection, we should find happiness in small things, we should accept ourselves the way we are, we should focus on one thing deeply rather than many things randomly, yesterday I read a quote by Sam Keen on how we should learn to look for perfection even though everything around us is imperfect, that totally did it for me, the exact quote is: “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” by Sam Keen. I know I am now totally free, phew, all the money and time I spent healing myself, it finally gave me the freedom I deeply desired, now I can totally focus all my energy on the wellness center and make my contribution to the human race :) (8^th Dec 2012)

You have made your choice of not wanting to be my girlfriend and future wife, I respect your decision as I am sure you have good reasons for making this choice, now it's time for me to move on and continue my soulmate search elsewhere, if you ever want to explore your feelings with me in future, feel free to get in touch with me and if at that time I am available and if it works for me to participate then I will be happy to oblige, please let me know how many sessions we did in early Dec and a postal address to mail your check, I wish you the best in life. One final poem for you, I love you Kira, you are one of the best things that happened to me, too bad it was too short lived and we could not get God's blessings to be together, keep smiling, running and praying, God will bring great happiness, success and joy into your life, until life crosses our paths again, take care and God Bless. (13th Dec 2012)

I worked with Kira on a 6 month wellness building program during which time I successfully was able to lose 10 lbs and increase my endurance for workouts from 15 min to 60 min. Kira taught me about different exercise plans that were engaging and challenging at my fitness level. We used a combination of Cardio and Strength Building exercises to keep different muscle groups working hard and strong. My favorite exercises are the bear crawls, kettlebells and squats. Along with an exercise plan we also worked on transforming my food eating habits, the results I achieved were slowing down while eating, quit sugar completely, control over late night snacking, daily eating of fruits and/or vegetables, food portion control, eating 5 to 6 small meals every 3 hrs during the day, eating breakfast daily, eating more home cooked food, creating a safety zone for myself during eating, mindful eating while focusing on flavors, texture, color, taste and aroma, enjoying flavored water, allowing to let food leftovers go to waste, trying new types foods on regular basis, etc. I also participated in my first 5K race with Kira and clocked about 36 min. She inspired me to sign-up for the 5K, participated along with me and matched my running pace to keep me encouraged. With Kira's help I was able to achieve my fitness goals with ease and confidence while transforming many of my old unhealthy habits to sustainable new healthier life-long habits. For any of your food plan designs, exercise plans designs and overall fitness goals to achieve peak wellness I highly recommend working with Kira for support, guidance and inspiration. All the best. (21^st Feb 2013)

We Love Meditation... :-)

Spiritual Well-being

WEAKER SELF: “I am too young to think about spiritual things. I am too busy and there is no value in learning about spirituality. I don’t like to mediate. I am very successful and I don’t think there is any higher power or divine energy. Life is too short and I want to enjoy it. If I become spiritual then I will have to give away all my money. Spiritual people are boring and they are from a cult. Spiritual people take drugs and are not responsible towards society. Why do I have to care about the whole world? I have money problems so I cannot go to any of these spiritual courses. I don’t have time for this. Most spiritual leaders and so-called gurus are fake. Spiritual Well-being? What does that mean?”

Our spiritual life comprises of our deep inner core values, our belief systems, our views of life, our inner knowingness, our connection with others, our inner contentment, our willingness to let go and surrender, our awareness of our states of being, our compassion towards others, our desire to create peace and harmony, our willingness to accept things as they are, our ability to be at peace, our ability to forgive others, our time we spend in meditation and prayer, our dedication to our inner calling, our ability to listen to our inner voice, our commitment towards the survival of the human race, our ability to grow and learn new philosophies about life, our desire to contribute to the great good of humanity, our desire to spend time with mother nature, our innate nature to be carefree and relaxed and our connection with divine energy. In order to live a fulfilling life, our spiritual life must be balanced and we must work on our Spiritual Well-being. So what does it mean to work on our Spiritual Well-being and how to create a practical routine that is easy to follow, that is fun to do, that is inspiring and that does not involve hours of pains taking effort and complicated steps and processes?

HIGHER SELF: “I strive to continuously eliminate all my spiritual weakness and focus on my Spiritual Well-being. I mediate regularly and feel a deep connection with everyone around me. Each day is a new beginning and I embrace all that life offers me with an open heart.”

There are six steps towards creating our Spiritual Well-being:

  (1) To figure out what Spiritual Well-being is NOT

  (2) To understand why we must work on our Spiritual Well-being everyday 

  (3) To eliminate negative habits from our lives

  (4) To figuring out what spiritual processes works for us

  (5) To create a daily spiritual practice routine specifically for ourselves

  (6) To implement our spiritual routine, it into our lives seamlessly

These six steps done on a regular basis will ensure our Spiritual Well-being and take us one step closer towards living a fulfilling life. Before we start to create our plan on how to work on our Spiritual Well-being, it is very critical to know what Spiritual Well-being is NOT. Understanding this is very important because if we are misinformed or have misconceptions then it is very difficult and next to impossible to take effective actions because of confusion and misguidance. 

• It is not visiting places of worship

• It is not practicing religious rituals

• It is not having blind faith

• It is not believing in old doctrines or old philosophies

• It is not feeling superior to others because we help them

• It is not feeling significant

• It is not reading books of faith

• It is not remotely adopting a child from an underdeveloped nation and feeling good about it

• It is not merely listening to the word of god and being entertained by the religious speaker

• It is not hoping that god will solve all our problems for us

• It is not wishful thinking

• It is not being part of a religious group

• It is not being part of a consciousness movement

• It is not trying to coach others

• It is not trying to fix things

• It is not attending a spiritual retreat

• It is not joining a study group

• It is not creating concepts and theories in our minds

• It is not being isolated and unaccommodating

• It is not being closed minded

Basically, anything that demands too much out of us, or has too many rules and restrictions, or tries to control us, or expects us to control others, or does not create inner bliss, or is not real and present in front of us, or seems too difficult or complicated is NOT spiritual in nature.

The next step is to understand why working on our Spiritual Well-being is critical for us to living a fulfilling life. This is very important because unless we have not 100% realized that Spiritual Well-being is super important for us to living a fulfilling life, even if we have all the steps and daily practice routine available to us, we will simply not follow it and procrastinate or be lazy. So, let’s try to figure out why our Spiritual Well-being is so important, why just not focus on our Financial Well-being, make sure we have plenty of wealth and simply enjoy our life, why just not only focus on being healthy and physically fit and be done with it, why not just get married and live out a blissful life.

The reason we need to focus on our Spiritual Well-being is because no matter how much we achieve our goals, no matter how healthy we are, no matter how secure we feel in our family, all that is external to us, focusing on our inner self is the essence of our Spiritual Well-being and only when our inner selves are strong and balanced it is then that our outer reality becomes stable and protected.

Basically, our lives are a reflection of our deep inner core beliefs. If we ever wondered why something in our life was not working, then it is not because of any outer circumstances or events, it is because our inner self in that area of life was misfiring and misaligned. Feeding the inner self with the right and positive information and protecting it from the wrong and negative energy is very critical for maintaining our Spiritual Well-being. Along with figuring out what Spiritual Well-being is NOT let us continue to keep focusing on WHY we must continue working on our Spiritual Well-being everyday of our lives.

Let us recap our steps...

  (1) To figure out what Spiritual Well-being is NOT

  (2) To understand WHY we must work on our Spiritual Well-being everyday

  (3) To eliminate negative things from our lives

  (4) To figuring out what spiritual processes works for us

  (5) To create a daily spiritual practice routine specifically for our self

  (6) To implement our spiritual routine, it into our lives seamlessly

These six steps done on a regular basis will ensure our Spiritual Well-being and take us one step closer towards living a fulfilling life. There are several spiritual processes that we have at our disposal to learn and practice. Next what are the negative habits we must eliminate from our lives to ensure our Spiritual Well-being and how to go about removing these habits permanently from our lives.

During the third step we have to always be very cautious as to what we are consuming and how to evaluate if the process is working for us or not. The best way is to take a few minutes and focus on how we feel about a specific process and only if we really enjoy it we must continue. If we have any doubts or we feel uneasy then we move on and find something new and different. As we explore different spiritual processes we must keep a log or maintain a way to track our progress. Sometimes we may like something very much but since we have not yet developed our strong habits we may let it slip by. It’s fine at this stage, however, if we have all the information handy then it will make things easier as we go to the next phase. Even after we have developed and implemented our spiritual practice we must on-goingly keep experimenting with new techniques, we never know we might find something truly amazing, something we had not even imagined was possible. Once we have sufficient experiences with different spiritual processes we must select those we want to be committed to by developing a plan of action to make it into a daily regular habit for ourselves.

For step five, now we need all the help we can get here, we must ask our friends, family members and whoever is willing to support us to keep us on track. Set 30 min every day to focus on our Spiritual Well-being by doing the Top 3 Spiritual Milestones that we choose to be committed to for the month.

Let’s say our Top 3 items we chose are

  (1) 10 min Start Meditation

  (2) Quit Coffee

  (3) 10 min Start Spiritual Reading.

Let’s pick a time, Every day at 7 pm. So, we must now clear out our calendar for 7 pm for 30 min till 7:30 pm for the next one month. At this point if we feel overwhelmed that we cannot set-up our time in our calendar, then we should not attempt to start training for our daily spiritual practice because most likely it will be ineffective and demotivate us. We have to first address time management. Making time is easy if we plan in advance. First call up all our friends and family members and tell them that for next two-three months 7 pm are scheduled for our spiritual practice. Then set-up our daily alarms for 7 pm. Then avoid making plans for 7 pm. After a few days automatically 7 pm will be available for us. This way we are guaranteed not to miss our daily practice. At this point once we feel that we can confidently do our daily practice without interruption we can start with our Top 3 Spiritual Milestones.

So being with 10 min Start Meditation and then 10 min Start Spiritual Reading. Then for the next 10 min think of ways to Quit Coffee. Do this every day for the next one month. The first week will be tough, the second week will get easier, the third week will get much easier. Now, you will find that some items are easy and some items are difficult. In the beginning simply focus on just the easy items. Park the difficult items for later. Once we feel that out of the Top 3 Spiritual Milestones we are comfortable with 2 then we can replace the 2 items with new 2 items and focus on the 1 difficult item now.

Let’s say 10 min Start Spiritual Reading and Quit Coffee was easy, but 10 min Start Meditation was difficult. After a month we now have a new set of Top 3 Spiritual Milestones

  (1) 10 min Start Meditation

  (2) Quit TV

  (3) 10 min Start Yoga

Now everyday practice these Top 3 Spiritual Milestones. Step five is the foundation of taking action and getting the results, we want. We have to be very patient and have small milestones in the beginning. Pick Top 3 Spiritual Milestones that we like the most and make it into a habit. Each month adjust the Top 3 Spiritual Milestones accordingly. During a given month only focus on the Top 3 Spiritual Milestones. This way we are conserving our energy and making steady progress in our Spiritual Well-being. Whenever we hit a wall or results are not as expected we simply change the Top 3 Spiritual Milestones to easier ones and continue to build our Spiritual Skills. Remember the key to success is to make things simple. If something is complicated then break it down into simple steps and smaller milestones. As long as we are doing our daily practice we are making progress. This is the beginning of step six where we are integrating our daily habits into our lifestyle. As we do this regularly we are working on our Spiritual Well-being and learning how to live a fulfilling life. Similarly, we will create the list of Quit items and Start items for the other areas of our live namely Physical Well-being, Emotional Well-being and Financial Well-being and slowly incorporate them into our daily practice. Remember, slow change is permanent change and creating a balanced harmonious healthy lifestyle will take time, effort and practice. We have to find what works for our individual needs, we have to find what techniques are effective for us, we have to find what is easy for us to do and then we have to keep doing things that work and stop doing things that don’t work.

We Love Meditation... :-) 

Time Management for Meditation

OVERWHELMED SELF: “I do not have time for Meditation at all. I am very busy with my current responsibilities. I wish I had more time for myself. My job takes up all my time. I have so many things to do. I have long commute to work each day. I miss my deadlines if I don't work really hard. I am overwhelmed all the time. At times, I take on too much work load. I am afraid that if I refuse any task I will lose my job or suffer losses in my business. Sometimes I wish I had an assistant to help me. I have family responsibilities to handle. From where will I get time to Meditate?”

Yes, we all have several goals and our day-to-day tasks keeps us very busy. Sometimes we really wish we could just take a week-long vacation at our favorite holiday spot. With our rapid growing technology and ever increasing awareness of what we can accomplish, we simply find it difficult to create time for ourselves. So how can we feel that we are in control of our time? How can we feel that we have plenty of time to do the things we love to do? How can we increase our productivity and achieve our goals faster? And how can we reach to a point we never have to say that we do not have time for ourselves and for Meditation?

We have to learn few things:
(1) To estimate accurately how much time a specific task will take
(2) To learn how to say ‘NO’ to requests or tasks that are not in our best interest and are insignificant
(3) To learn how to say ‘YES” to requests and opportunities that are important and will help us achieve our spiritual fulfillment and our goals
(4) To learn to delegate tasks to others so that we are not struggling with our projects

This requires practice and takes self discipline. When estimating how much time a specific task will take always add 25% extra buffer to the timeline, because life throws us obstacles and hurdles that we may not be able to anticipate. For some of us it is very difficult to say ‘NO’ to our boss or someone in authority or someone we care about. So we have to practice beforehand. “I am learning to be more efficient with my time. At this moment I am unable to fulfill your request since I have allocated all my time to other tasks. Thank you for your kind understanding.” After our practice sessions we are more prepared and ready to deliver our message. Learning to say ‘YES’ to important opportunities can be equally tough. So similarly we have to practice beforehand. “I am very interested in learning how to increase my productivity. You have years of experience in this area. It would be great if you can give me some advice on how I can improve my performance.” As we practice eliminating meaningless activities from our lives and filling it with more meaningful activities we will be getting one step closer to spiritual fulfillment and achieving our life goals.

HIGHER SELF: “I am in complete control of my schedule. I know how to make time for tasks that are important or urgent. I have plenty of time for myself and my loved ones. I work limited hours and reach my financial goals easily. My work place is very near to my house. We go for vacations several times a year. I complete all my tasks very quickly and before the deadlines. I know how to delegate tasks to others. I choose to accept only those requests from others that are in my best interest. I can easily decline requests that cause me to become stressful. I am not shy of asking others for help and guidance. I do not waste my time on meaningless activities. I can easily estimate the amount of time it will take me to complete a specific task. I respect everyone’s time and promptly and clearly communicate any changes in our appointments. I only focus on being efficient and productive. My relationship with Time Management is very strong and works perfectly. I can easily find time for my Daily Meditation Practice.”

We Love Meditation... :-)

Orchard Valley to Silicon Valley

Orchard Valley to Silicon Valley (31^st Dec 2011)

Yesterday I found out a little bit more about my fourth home, that which we now call Silicon Valley. Fifty years ago it was known as the "Valley of the Heart's Delight" because of its rich soil, fruit trees, and farms. Children would wander through the blooming orchards on their way to school picking up walnuts, cherries, apricots, plums, and prunes. There were miles and miles of beautiful fields and orchards in full bloom. This major transition from an agricultural community to a technology hub with so many great corporations is so amazing, I am still letting it all in. Turns out that the local newspaper did a great job of capturing this transition to the best of their abilities. Until now I thought of them as just another local newspaper agency, but today I bow down and salute them for their efforts, as I have developed a renewed sense of respect for them. I also found SCVHA (www.siliconvalleyhistorical.org), their mission is to research and record the Silicon Valley phenomenon. How cool is that. J

Major transitions are a part of life...
- From good ones… from childhood to teenage, from dating to marriage, from student to working professional, from citizen to solider, from actor to Oscar winner, from novice to expert, from athlete to gold medalist, from lost to found, from failure to success, from broken to whole...
- To not so good ones… from CEO to jobless, from relationship to divorce, from success to failure, from home to prison, from billionaire to bankrupt, from homeowner to tenant, from colorful to black and white, from alive to 6 feet under...

Some transitions are graduations from one stage of life to another. Some are forced due to circumstances. Some are exploratory in nature. Some happen fast and some happen slow. As much as we love what we currently posses and have cherished for a long time, we cannot avoid such transitions as being a part of our lives. It defines who we are. “Change is Inevitable”. The skills to develop during major transitions are to allow for smooth changes while allowing growth and preservation of the good old memories for nostalgic get-togethers in the future. We have pictures taken, online videos, personal diaries, blogs, auto biographies, etc. Embracing the new and letting go of the old involves a leap of faith.

Three years ago I had hurt my right shoulder and got what is known as a “pinched nerve” which  made my right arm a little bit weak and caused me some annoying shoulder pains. My first chiropractor treated me and told me I had to see him three times a week for complete healing to take place. I simply did not believe him and once the pain diminished I stopped visiting him. Needless to say there was discomfort and I dragged on my injury for few more weeks. I was too stubborn to listen to my chiropractor to complete the full recommend treatment program. Then one day I found myself at the San Jose downtown fun-fair and there was a chiropractor booth checking people on the spot. I wandered around and it took me a good hour before I walked in to get myself examined. Then I signed-up for the x-ray examination and spine check-up at the clinic. This chiropractor (www.chiropracticfirst.com) also recommended the same for getting adjusted three times a week and I was thinking to myself if this is for real. The treatment seems very long since I was of the mindset of quick treatment plans. Nevertheless, he asked me to take a leap of faith and to enroll in the treatment program for one month and if I did not feel any better I could leave and he would refund my first installment. I took the leap of faith and enrolled into the treatment program. Before you know it I was feeling great within days and I managed completed the full recommend treatment program. This was a major transition to me because chiropractic methodologies are very different from general medical healthcare methodologies and I had to learn a lot of new ways of doing things along the way.

During major transitions many things will show up doubts, discomfort, resistance, pain, loss of faith, chaos, desire to quit. These are all natural, learn to be gentle with them to ensure smooth transitions. Mother Nature in all her infinite wisdom created seasons and cycles for a reason. Flow with the changes and embrace all the different manifestations of life. Hold on only to that which is dear to your heart, that which you must preserve, your spirit, love and well-being. The rest are all temporary forms of manifestation of the divine energy and must be allowed to freely travel in and through you. Take this moment to reflect on your transitory journey of life. Remember one of your long lost friend, say "Thank you, I miss you". 

While starting on your Spiritual Journey and beginning to practice your Daily Meditation Routine, the same feelings of doubts and uneasiness will show-up from time to time, that occurs during major transitions. Since meditation has the power to cause major internal transitions and shifts in belief systems, in the lives of those who start to practice meditation on a regular basis. Plan to stay disciplined with your meditation practice and keep returning back to your meditation routine whenever there is an unexpected break. Eat healthy fresh fruits, raw vegetables and drink plenty of water to keep your digestive system working optimally. Forgive others and stay in the high state of gratitude and happiness throughout the day by focusing on positive aspects in others. Keep working on your goals and have high ambitions in life. And be prepared to take the leap of faith when life offers you your next major transition. Good Luck... J

We Love Meditation

Who are we?

CURIOUS SELF: “Who are we?” - This question has been asked and attempted to be answered over millions of times, yet, every time this question is raised, it is followed by silence and an uncomfortable knowing that we realistically do not have an accurate, complete and permanent answer. Most religions have attempted to define us, yet, in our hearts we know that each definition is incomplete. Science has attempted to classify us, yet, in our hearts we know that there are many mysteries that Science has yet to solve. Spirituality has attempted to answer this question by describing us as infinite beings, yet, in our hearts we know that once we die, we may cease to exist. Maybe our spirit lives forever, but, are we sure of that? Governments have tried to control us by making us citizens, yet, in our hearts we know that we all share the same set of feelings ranging from anger, grief, disappointment, resentment, fear and doubt to courage, compassion, peace, love, belongingness and fulfillment. Companies have tried to manage us by giving us job titles, yet, in our hearts we know that we can perform more effectively if we are given more freedom. Every explanation seems elusive or incomplete, every answer seems vague or ambiguous, every description seems imperfect or biased and every definition seems to have exceptions.

So who are we? Are we energy? Some of us believe we are energy and we attract what we think of and feel the most. Some of us believe we are energy magnets and our thoughts create our future, the way we feel creates our opportunities and our actions get influenced by what we hold strongly in our minds. Is this true? Like energy attracts like energy. So if we hold on to positive thoughts and develop positive feelings then we will attract positive friends and positive opportunities into our lives. Maybe this is true, but does this happen all the time? If we daily recite positive affirmations then our lives start to shift in the desired direction of our choosing. Affirmations are powerful and many people have managed to change their habits, but does this work all the time? If we are energy and our mind is susceptible to positive suggestions then we could simply have positive video recordings played to children and the next generation would be free of addictions, free of unhealthy foods, free of alcohol, free of anxiety, free of failed relationships, free of tobacco, free of drugs, free of racism, free of crime and free of conflicts. We could provide positive video recordings to prisoners, have them recite positive affirmation daily and when they get released they will have become model citizens. But we all know that this is not the case and positive affirmations have limited effect. So, back to our question, are we really energy? Can we control our thoughts and feelings thereby creating our future? In any case, let’s continue exploring…

So who are we? Are we consciousness? Some of us believe we are consciousness and we are becoming more aware of ourselves. Some of us believe that in the beginning there was an absolute consciousness and it could not experience itself since it was whole and complete. So in order to complete its experiential component the absolute consciousness decided to split itself into infinite beings and once the expansion happened each part started to experience itself in relationship with the other parts and thus the absolute consciousness was now able to experience every aspect of itself in the relative expanded universe. Does this make any sense? If the absolute consciousness was whole and complete to begin with, then it would probably not crave any new experiences, so it would not attempt to split itself. And if the absolute consciousness was yearning something so passionately that it had to undergo a significant transformation into infinite beings, then maybe, the absolute consciousness was an unstable entity and it was pre-destined to expand, thereby, violating the original premise that it was whole and complete. Anyways, back to our question, are we really consciousness? If so, is it possible for us to experience the original absolute consciousness? Do thoughts and feelings create our consciousness or does our consciousness create our thoughts and feelings? Does our consciousness change over time or does it remain relatively static during our limited lifetime? Does consciousness play a role in evolution or is evolution a part of consciousness? In any case, let’s continue exploring…

So who are we? Are we global citizen? Some of us believe we are global citizens and we are creating world peace by our professional contributions, philanthropic ventures and international co-operation. Some of us believe we are making our countries stronger and increasing harmony among nations. Though it is quite apparent that the more efforts we undertake toward world peace, the more it seems that there is international unrest. A century ago there was no terrorism, computer hacking, identity theft or online bullying. However, there was genocide, world wars, slavery and inequality. So did these old forms of cruelty get replaced by these new forms of heartlessness? We create powerful weapons that are used to fuel hostility among different nations, create civil volatility in under-developed countries, equip criminals to carry out attacks on innocent people and increase overall violence at our planet. Why is our law and justice system and defense programs designed with powerful weapons as a critical fundamental component? Few decades ago with the principles of Non-Violence, India implemented their freedom struggle plan without use of weapons and was able to neutralize the mighty British Empire with Non-cooperation and peaceful demonstrations. Anyways, back to our question, are we really global citizens? How can we apply peaceful principles in our fight against terrorism? How can we relate to computer hackers in a compassionate manner and inspire them to strengthen the internet instead of exploiting its vulnerabilities? How can we thwart identity thieves and inspire them to create wealth without violating the rights of others, thereby pursuing an honest living? How can we make social media safer and encourage everyone to be polite and courteous online? In any case, let’s continue exploring…

So who are we? Are we evolutionary products? Some of us believe in the theory of evolution and that we are descendants of a common universal ancestor. Some of us believe that we may evolve into a new species millions of years from now. Why is it that evolution decided that after ~5 min of oxygen deprivation to our brain we will die, why not 5 hrs? Evolution had millions of years to design us so why not give us a little bit more capacity to store oxygen in our blood and improve our odds of survival? Let’s assume that the reason a giraffe has a very long neck is that the giraffe’s ancestor constantly reached for leaves on higher branches, then why did some of our human ancestors not practice underwater diving to increase their lung capacity and thereby evolve into humans who could survive up to 5 hrs of oxygen deprivation. On the other hand, if evolution would have given us 5 hrs capacity to handle oxygen deprivation what would have been the other biological consequences? Would we have been taller? Would we be having larger torsos? Would we still have the intellectual capacity to build tools? And most importantly would that have given our species better odds of survival? Let’s examine another evolutionary theory. What if we create a space ship and send 1 million human beings for space exploration for a 10 million year round trip? The space ship will not have gravity allowing the space travelers to glide and space walk inside their space ship, due to which each subsequent generation will not need stronger bones and they will develop bodies which are lighter. So when the space ship returns how will the new colony adapt to our planet earth? Will they need wheel chairs? And if they continue their stay on earth with the natural gravity after 10 million years will their offspring regain their bone strength? Anyways, back to our question, are we really evolutionary products? Why did evolution design us the way we are today? How will the next evolutionary changes impact us? Will we be able to influence future generation’s evolutionary features if we wanted to? How will genetic research play a role in our evolution once our current levels of moral restrictions get overshadowed by scientific discoveries and we decide to experiment with our DNA? In any case, let’s continue exploring….

So who are we? Are we co-creators? Some of us believe that we all are co-creators of our experiences and together we can transform the world into a better place. Some of us believe that each individual contributes towards the outcome of the entire human race. If this is the case then why is it possible for some of us to develop hostility towards others? Why do some of us seek to dominate the weaker folks? Why do we co-create financial scams and swindle money from innocent investors? How is it that we have co-created so many complex social issues that leads to relationship failures and mistrust? How did we so easily manage to co-create the tobacco industry that manufactures cigarettes which causes cancer? Anyways, back to our question, are we really co-creators? Is it possible to co-create a tobacco free society? Is it possible to co-create a society free of discrimination and animosity?

HIGHER SELF: “WE ARE OUR CHOICES” Our current state of being is determined by all the choices we make. Each action we take however trivial contributes to our overall results. We ultimately become who we choose to be. We are energy. We are consciousness. We are global citizens. We are evolutionary products. We are co-creators. We can add several more states of being to our existence. We are happy. We are love. We are peace. We are friendly. We are compassionate. We are powerful. We are productive. We are fun. We are excited. We are innovative. We are courageous. We are patriotic. We are generous. We are emphatic. We are healthy. We are co-operative. We are faithful. We are wealth creators. We are wise. Once we realize that “WE ARE OUR CHOICES” acceptance of many difficult things becomes relatively easy. We can easily accept our true nature which includes all the desirable and all the undesirable qualities. We can relate to all the various concepts and theories that have existed. We can forgive all the injustices and animosity committed towards us. We can make peace with our unfulfilled expectations. We can let go of our disappointments. We can transform our grief and sorrow into serenity and inner fulfillment. We can find clarity in the chaos and confusion of overwhelming information overload. We can choose to be happy. We can courageously follow our hearts true desires. We can be assertive and compassionate. We can create harmony and wellbeing. We can create healthy goals and set healthy boundaries.

Let us focus our complete attention on all the 7+ Billion human beings, all the animals, all the plants, all the insects, all the birds, our entire planet, our entire solar system, our entire Milky Way galaxy and our entire universe. Everything that is happening is happening in our “NOW MOMENT”. Take some time to absorb this feeling. Take some time to experience this happening. Take some time to become aware of the present moment. Take some time to let go of the past. Take some time to surrender to the future. Take some time to consolidate all our thoughts. Take some time to embrace all our feelings. Take some time to feel the powerful connection with everything around us. Take some time to experience our existence in the infinite expanding space around us. Take some time to become one with the universe. Take some time to breathe in deeply and breathe out deeply and continue to experience this state. All that happens in our now moment is good. Some happenings are undesirable and we must do our best to fight and overcome the undesirable. Yet, overall in the grand scheme of things, all that happens is good. And we are nothing but this goodness that is happening right now. It is entirely up to us to recognize this whole goodness and choose it completely.

For some of us the answer “WE ARE OUR CHOICES” to the question “Who are we?” will resonate strongly and for some of us the simplistic answers like we are energy, we are consciousness, we are global citizens, we are evolutionary products or we are co-creators will resonate strongly. It’s all good. No matter how we experience the inquiry of who we are, it will eventually lead us to “WE ARE OUR CHOICES”.

(A) Physical Well-Being:

      - Let us choose Mindful Eating

      - Let us choose Wellness

      - Let us choose Exercise, Yoga, Stretching and Fitness Centers

      - Let us choose Vegetarian Lifestyle

      - Let us choose to Quit Caffeine, Nicotine and Alcohol

      - Let us choose to eat more Whole Food rather than Processed Foods

      - Let us choose Meditation

(B) Emotional Well-Being:

      - Let us choose Happiness

      - Let us choose Love

      - Let us choose Letting Go

      - Let us choose Gratitude

      - Let us choose Intimacy

      - Let us choose Passion

      - Let us choose Meditation

(C) Financial Well-Being:

      - Let us choose Abundance

      - Let us choose Success

      - Let us choose Integrity

      - Let us choose Our Future

      - Let us choose Learning new Professional Skills

      - Let us choose team-work, new projects and Finance Courses

      - Let us choose Meditation

(D) Spiritual Well-Being:

      - Let us choose Inner Peace

      - Let us choose Oneness

      - Let us choose Trust

      - Let us choose Forgiveness

      - Let us choose Compassion

      - Let us choose Simplicity

      - Let us choose Courage

      - Let us choose Meditation

We Love Meditation.

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