Sharing the space

Picture courtesy: http://bit.ly/17WLodw


Perhaps you had a long day. And perhaps you moved around a lot. Phone calls across continents. 
Emails across time zones. 

Words....Thoughts...Deeds...

In modern days, human beings need lot of space. We need lot of people. We need lot of claps. We need so many things... 

I thought about this today, making phone calls across timezones, emails and text messages crossing continents... my footprint is indeed global. My heart longs for another culture and space. I constantly, instantly visit these places and live vicariously. My footprint goes around the globe multiple times daily.

Today, I saw some earthworms. They were out very early in the season. May be it was because we don't have any snow on the ground. It made me think about the multiplicity of my needs. Not all the things I do are necessary.

The unexpected sight made me stop and think how I am sharing the space with thousands of creatures...a caterpillar, a leaf, a bee, and innumerable fascinating things...million raindrops, burst of sunshine, specks of dust. Each has its own space. Little space or large. And they each are content being themselves, in their space and leaf and immersed in the awareness of their life. That is the state I wish to hold and share the space of emerging friendliness towards all creatures.

How do you share your space?

Only reason to love....

On the valentine's day, I think the best thing I can do is to go deeper into my experience and ask myself-

What do I need the most?

The answer may begin with whatever immediately touches me. I dive deeper and deeper, wading through the concentric ring of experiences that life has thrown at me until I reach the very core. That tiny little spot, that is still, without any disturbance, that defies the ripples dancing in the periphery. 

The core is without ripples. Calm and strangely powerful. 

In that calm, I feel enveloped by a profound experience. It is like a symphony of calmness that plays simultaneously at many levels. An experience that cannot be spoken or shared. My search for someone, something to give me joy without any expectation or seeking something in return, ends in this tiny space. Nature has never failed to provide me with this experience. That is what I need. To be soaked and enveloped in the experience. When ripples threaten to drown me, I only need to get into that space in my mind...

Here are more reasons to love Earth...I came across a beautiful blog that lists 8 reasons be more gentle with Earth...

http://bit.ly/1A51Cdo

What are your reasons?

The ties that bind us all

Take a look at this leaf.

Now take a deeper look at the leaf. What do you see?

Thich Nhat Hanh says:

"...when we look deeply into the leaf, we see many things. We can see the plant, we can see the sunshine, we can see the clouds, we can see the earth."

A leaf is also made of numerous cells and tissues. Each of these cells needs wind, water, and soil to grow. A leaf many not be in touch with the soil, may have no direct contact with the soil, but certainly it needs all the nutrients supplied by the soil. The needs of the leaf are reflected in its color, texture, and its health. A leaf can be said to represent the soil, the air, and the water that the plant grows in.

If we remove any one of these, there can be no leaf, no plant, nothing of substance to speak. This is clear to everyone. Or is it?

I can find no explanation regarding why humans are rapidly removing the forests. As an organism, it assimilates all the best things in nature and generously offer the fruits as tangible benefits. Share your thoughts on  why the human beings cut the forests. In a way, they are endangering their own lives....

What do you see when you see a leaf?

Social media and Small world

One of the perks of having new publications is the opportunity to explore the trendy things out there. When I started my journey as a writer some 15-years ago, there was no way to have my own website without paying someone. Then came #Google and my life became easier. I could create a website and share my work with folks.

More boons came my way: #facebook, blog,#Goodreads, #Linkedin, #twitter, and #Amazon... After having done these, I realize that I am still far behind. There are long list of skills I need to learn: how to make a book trailer, how to present a professional website, importance of testimonials...

For me, each of these lacunae are opportunities beckoning me to grow, expand, and reach out. But, it also helps me stop and recall why I started on this journey in the first place. I wanted to help spread the word to save Earth. I hope people will take time connect with one natural thing close to them and feel that connection in everything they do. It is my fondest hope that a child who reads the books feels empowered to make the sustainable choices- to turn off the lights or walk (when safe) or wear an extra layer of clothing instead of turning on the heat.

These issues are common all over the world, where everyone is a consumer. We consume news. We consume food. We consume water. We consume media. We consume nature. The way we use resources from all corners of the planet shows that we live in a small world. It can bring people closer. 

However, one thing has not changed: you cannot bridge a closed heart! This door opens in another dimension... one of love, of coexistence, and of acceptance of humanity... May you inhabit that space even while floating in the social media and living in the small world.

Endangered Rainforest! New Book release!

My Pongal (Thanksgiving in my culture) gave me so much sweetness. Much sweeter than the sugarcane and the traditional sweets we make for the occasion. Even sweeter because I had to work long hours and could not make pongal that day. My best buddies at home, my DH and son, said "Don't worry we always have the weekend!"
And then we found the box of books...

Thank you all for your wonderful support and encouragement!

May your pot of happiness and auspiciousness overflow with abundance all through this year!

Double shots... Endangered Energy

Final book in the Endangered Series will be out in January 2015!

Think about how energy thirsty we have become in our lifetime. Our lifestyle has become so energy dependent. Blaring TVs, movies, computers, cell phones, all our travel.... we are all voracious consumers of energy. Even 50-years ago, the lifestyle was different. Nothing wrong in progress, but there are issues accompanying this boundless expansion...

• Children are 'digital fog' from using too much electronics
• Adults are becoming 'computer addicts'
• People are having 'withdrawal' to turn off their cell phones

 My newest book however talks only about fossil fuels. How are we using fossil fuels and how it is affecting our lives... the air we breathe, the water we get, and how does it affect our life now and forever...

My New Year resolution is to write more happy thoughts, beautiful Earth we live in...Wish me well!

Deep, Deep, Deep!

When I write fiction, I always struggle with myself. How deep is too deep? How much is too much?
 Writing is undoubtedly an intense activity. It takes a lot from within in and adds a little from outside. And, yet the most difficult task of a writer is to find a way to activate the writer's unique voice. It is a lonely, difficult, somewhat confusing task.

Lonely because nobody can help the author in this journey. It is for the author to listen to her voice and to the voice of the story and the characters that reside in there. Difficult because of the games we have played and we continue to play, both with ourselves and with others around us. It is time for me to become honest, in the deepest spiritual sense, and not indulge in any form of pandering, people pleasing or adjustments for the sake of others and society. It is time to unlearn and connect with the rawness of human experience I am living through. Scary stuff for all grown ups! It is confusing because we do not often realize the connections. We are not completely in the game and will never be, because I cannot possibly know how a person could react to my words.

And so here I am, looking for clues and directions on how to be both compassionate to myself and to grow in my art and craft. Imagine finding a list that can help me through the process.

Here is an article for guidance: http://bit.ly/1AXDatF

Some lead questions are:

• How comfortable are you in your own skin?
• When are you comfortable? When are you not comfortable?
• What is the difference between when you’re comfortable and when you’re not?
• What has to happen in order for you to become more comfortable?
• What thoughts do you think that are toxic?
• What is the damage of these toxic thoughts?
• What are the healthy thoughts you can think?
• What toxic words do you repeatedly use?
• What are your new words? What do these new words sound like?
• What do you have to do in order to transform your thoughts, words and actions?
• What parts of yourself have you been unwilling to acknowledge?
• Are you willing to acknowledge them now? Why or why not?
• What would happen if you decided to love and embrace all of you?
• When have you felt whole?
• What does whole mean to you?
• What makes you feel whole?
• Do you feel like the experience you’re currently having is leading you to wholeness or drawing you away from it? How?
• What does this information tell you about where you need to go from here?
• What do you really want?
• What would your life look like if you had this?
• Why do you want this and not something else?
• What needs to happen in order to bring this into your life?
• If you could do anything, what would it be?
• If nothing stood in your way, and you could truly do that, would you? Why or why not?
• What is needed right now? (Conner suggests writing this question on the inside of your journal because you can always ask it. “It applies to all times and all situations.”)
• What question should you be asking?