On a spiritual note

Have been trying to follow the Sudarshan Kriya more regularly and am feeling the effects already. Usually it takes a few months of dedicated practice to receive the full range of benefits. But for a start it revitalizes me at the end of the day and I feel stress free and energized. But more on this later, perhaps in another post. During one of the sessions, my mind started to wander towards Karma and what it means to me. Karma can be defined in various ways and very differently by different people. For good Karma, one has to make a conscious effort. In my opinion, to avoid bad Karma one needs to treat nature, animals and fellow human beings with compassion and respect. I also think it is important to treat oneself well, be honest, forgive people, forgive yourself, try to forget and move on. Basically negative energies tend to cling onto you and drag you down into an abyss of gloom and stress, in turn attracting more negativity. The farther one strives to stay from them the better it is for one’s constitution.
I have no idea how my earlier lives have been, the way I have acted and have been treated. But my present life is in my hands and I am thankful to be aware of it and to observe every moment of it. The key I feel, is to be in a conscious state, to stay as much as possible in the present and to continuously observe one’s thoughts and actions.
To be aware of a higher presence, to submit to it, to converse with it, share your feelings, make a connection and to feel the love can free one from the cycle of Karma. It is as simple and as difficult as investing in a meaningful unconditional friendship with another.

Pearl Excess

My love for pearls both fake or real goes back a long time. The obsession though had started after I realized there was a jinx on all my paired possessions. I almost always have lost one of a pair and then lamented for days. For this reason I have started to stock up on them and have at times stopped myself from buying them in duplicates :D.

A beautiful set of Hyderabadi pink pearls gifted by a treasured friend now lay unused (lost), another fake set was lost in the snow last year and I even went to hunt for it the next day when the snow melted. All in vain of course.

This year has been particularly favorable in terms of gifts being bestowed on me. Leaking my love for them has done me very good. My folks gifted me an excellent pink pearl earrings on my Birthday, received a sea pearl pendant and a fake pearl ring from another friend in Zurich. And looking forward to more belated birthday gifts this month :-)

The Pearl indulgence shall continue!

Bummed Bums

Yes, that is what I have earned in the trade-off for sexy legs, toned bums and a good night’s sleep. Wondering what it is? Biking on the roads of Zurich, which is not an easy job considering the uneven terrain. The city is absolutely gorgeous and bike friendly and like any other European city it is best explored by foot. Something I had been doing in the past year and also missed in the subsequent months. I have resumed walking now and in turn experiencing the old innocent joys that come with it. This time round I decided to cast the net a little wider and mix in equal measure the challenge of biking around the city. A friend of mine kindly lent his bike which had been stored unused for over a year in his cellar. Another dear friend accompanied me to collect the bike and restore it to a working condition and also to guide me back on the bike. I have ridden cycles in Delhi and one can never unlearn how to bike. But here in Zurich it means riding amongst traffic, people, valleys and hills (almost!) and getting adjusted to the various gears in the bike (I have been advised not to fiddle with them). This needed some mentoring which was ably provided.

So we took the bike out of the cellar, tried to pump it using two different styled pumps. I broke one in the process and was left in the lurch with one flat tyre. We started then to hunt for the nearest pump/gas station and finally lugged the bike into one. Turns out the station guys had spotted us from afar (two girls carrying around their bikes) and were very willing to help. They were snickering when one of us mentioned about getting a pump (!) there. In the end they did their job well and just in the nick of time or they would have shut shop for the evening. Finally all set and also quite exhausted we headed to our final destinations.

How do I feel after all this? It was an adventurous evening out for the girls. It was exhausting and I slept for almost 10 hours that night. My ass has been hurting as hell and I have been sitting on a soft jacket since, to cushion the pain. My leg and back muscles hurt. And yet the simple thrill while cycling down an empty slope, the breeze sweeping through and singing aloud without a care is all that I want to remember :-)

I welcome you with open arms

This new year entails a fresh new start even though it is a few months late by now. Shedding the old skin and donning a new one meant engaging myself with a new blog. I have been toying with this idea for quite a while and the bursting urge to write has finally found time and an outlet. I hope to honestly vent my ideas, emotions, spirit here. Since the flavor of this would be in contrast to my earlier blog it made sense to start with a new one.

Some lines from an inspiring song should get me going:
Kabhi tujhko gila mujhse
kabhi mujhko shikayat hai
magar phir bhi tujhe meri
mujhe teri zaroorat hai

Main ye iqraar karta hoon, main tujhse pyar karta hoon,
Zindagi aa raha huun main.

A warm welcome 2010. May the grace of God be with us. Amen.