A Leap of Faith

"See what you can do when you put your mind to it and take a leap of faith..." Few lines capture our attention...and this little note from a friend of mine did just that. I was asked to treat it as a personal reminder that I have the ability to realize my dreams as long as I am willing to take a leap of faith and to work hard. All too often we dream big, but think small, and this action can stifle our progress of putting our plans into action.     When you think about it, it's pretty easy to dream and to follow our flights of imagination. We can easily allow our thoughts and imagination to fill in the gaps that follow sentences like, "What if . . .?" Such questions can lead us to write down ideas, make plans, draw maps and diagrams and visualize how things could be when we follow our dreams. In some ways, this thinking or imagining phase is the easy part. The more difficult step is actually trying to make things happen.      This active step is more difficult because we may fear failure or fear that others will find us foolish or crazy. Such negative thoughts can bring our dreams to a complete halt. It's sad to think that our own fears can actually keep us from realizing our dreams, especially when those fears are unfounded. I just want to clarify here that I'm not talking about that proceeding forward blindly or foolishly when pursuing our dreams. Putting dreams into action often requires determination, strategy, planning, and hard work.      If you have a dream you want to follow up on, do some thought work before you begin making it happen. Make a list of the pros and cons of going forward with your dream. If solid and clear negatives outweigh the positives, you may not be ready to forge ahead. But if the cons are more connected to fears, then it may be time to take a deep breath and plunge in.      The most important thing is to weigh the possibilities and decide your next step. How often have you had a dream you were hesitant about pursuing? Maybe it's time to make it happen. Listen to your imagination, take a leap of faith, and bring your dreams to life. And if a dream seems too far-fetched, put it aside for the time being and move on to the next one. All the best! Take the leap!

BBR : Bitch(es) Beyond Repair

I've had this post sitting as a draft - work in progress for over a year now. Often when an important media outlet publishes something about being an 'independent woman'...I read it, find it either boring or angering, feel unsatisfied, left out, talked down to, or all of the above. If the story spoke about a particularly narrow minded approach of looking at independent women (by narrow minded, I refer to outlook towards present day realities),  I consciously choose not to think on it, and I put it aside and move on.

These stories felt unrealistic and awful, in many ways they kept my anguish alive, although I couldn't have known at that time the extent to which they were very particular stories told from a particular perspective, presented as a truth long untold. On the contrary, I consider concepts such as feminism and being an 'independent woman' enjoy obnoxious comfort zone in our present day social life. Most of the stories speak of a dubious trend - a collectively guarded bubble of hope...feminism.

Bitch(es) Beyond Repair

The primary point that I wish to discuss in this post: Is the phrase 'independent woman' passé? Unfortunately, unlike many others who wish to follow the acceptable trend to guard the bubble,  I want to discuss about being an 'independent woman'. The picture she (an independent woman) paints of contemporary sexuality and contemporary life feels like the opposite of an acceptable social revelation. Certainly for those of us, who fit neatly into a gender debate, will argue otherwise. 

During my last visit to United States, I remember hearing one woman say,

"...sorry for hurting you and to break your heart, truly this is not me...it is how people made me to be...I seek growth, and to be truthful will mean a compromise..."

An interesting phrase in that conversation,

...to be truthful will mean a compromise...gave me reasons enough to think about the possibility of an emerging trend...independent women, babelicious are a passé...

Ladies and Gentlemen...allow me to present to you...Bitch(es) Beyond Repair...the emerging social trend...when a woman turns into a heavily resource consuming commodity with little or no ethical judgment, immaturity beyond comprehension, attitude beyond control and uses her sexuality, rather than intellect as the tool for career / worldly progression...we have a bitch beyond repair (BBR).

Being Me: Myself

Everyone of us, go through various emotions every day, and have different experiences that we learn from. Sometimes, nothing seems to happen, no matter how hard we try – be it our career plans or personal relationships. And if it continues to be so for a long time, we get frustrated with life and believe that we are unlucky. Unfortunately, during such times we allow several unfortunate events in our life to affect our feelings about ourselves and to dictate our future. Because we believe that we are unlucky and that bad things happen to us on a regular basis, we attract the very things we wanted to avoid.

It is important to realize that each of us have the power to be successful at anything we put our mind to. The Laws of Attraction, will explain how what one focuses on is what one attracts. In actuality, we are very powerful at manifesting things and our "bad luck" is proof of that. The problem is that we keep focusing our energy in the wrong direction.

For those amongst us, who are going through a trend explained above, I wish to propose a little exercise. Allow yourself some time; sit quietly for a moment and look into your heart to find the thing you most desired to do with your life right now. You will have to think about things that might help speed up your path of being what you wish to be. Come up with a list of daily activities to move towards your goal. And finally it is important to realize that gratitude has the power to attract abundance into one's life. It is important that you frame your daily routine as follows:

1. Spend several minutes every morning before getting out of bed imagining your life as someone you wish to be.

2. Then be thankful to the universe that you were good and well-paid at what you want to be, even though it hadn't happened yet.

3. And at some time each day, try to do at least one activity that will move you towards your goal.

It is a six weeks experiment, which you will have to follow and you will come to see how you can make your own magic happen, if you just continue to focus your energy in the right direction. Anyone who chooses to follow the three steps outlined above can create their own magic. So the next time you experience a burning desire in your heart, I suggest you give it a try and watch the magic happen

- Abhijith Jayanthi, 25 May 2011

Formulae : To Unlearn

Rachel,

Friendships and emotional connections have an influential role over our health. In fact, our relationships are apparently even more important to our psychological well-being than our careers. Such relationships for the elderly who remain emotionally active boost their cognitive functions and help them to stay healthier and live longer.

However, we all can enjoy the benefits, but we have to invest time and energy into developing and maintaining them. I know that sometimes this is easier said than done, but it is well worth the effort.

I am going through a transitional thing now. After you called, I decided to get on the plane and get here and get you back. I hate to fly often, but I told myself that there is no way that everything we built will come crashing down just because of someone, who wants to steal my woman. I bought the ticket, got on the plane and somehow made it across the big blue ocean.

Then the most extraordinary thing happened…everything went wrong...I was on the street feeling cold, without a hope in the world and let me tell you, you can do a lot of soul searching in a time like that. I realized I spent most of my adult life trying to protect myself from exactly this situation and you can’t do it.

There is no home safe enough, no country nice enough, there is no relationship secure enough, you are setting yourself up for a even bigger fall and having an incredibly boring time in the process...

Continued....

P.S.: This blog post presents a first view/glimpse of the chapter titled 'Formulae: To Unlearn' of my book (not yet published) titled Precocious Truth: Unrequited Love. You may read the prologue for the same here.

Life : Social Butterfly

Disclaimer: If you are here expecting to read about an inspiration - As butterflies flutter, so does the freedom to see our dreams take flight, this post will be of little or no use. 

About couple of years ago, I was 22 years old and had many ambitions. I was standing in the bathroom looking at the mirror on the blank white wall, with multitude of thoughts in my mind; I was confused and did not have a sense of direction. Then I thought, “Well, what do you expect? You are just 22 and you still have to learn a lot, before you can declare that you have arrived! It is supposed to be challenging path ahead.”

Now, as I stand in front of the same mirror; mosaic of words, emotions, and feelings fill my mind. But, I am not confused anymore, about what life is about and about me – I. It was no longer just a blank white wall. Now it was a wall holding the mirror reflecting my personality – solutions lie within us. I’ve always believed in emotions. I’ve always believed – and been interested in – the emotions that most people pay no attention to; ordinary emotions – including emotions that frame casual relationships with strangers. We all experience them every day, but give little or no thought to how much power they carry. We can all agree that inspirations happen from everyday experiences and change our lives, but we usually take emotions for granted. There is a necessity and you’re supposed to study your own emotions and when it’s time, it’s time. This is what I believe in. Two years… and I understood, the only lesson to learn is to understand emotions. It’s my religion.

SimplyJITH Partners: Zillion Arts

It gives us great pleasure to announce that SimplyJITH is now partners with Zillion Arts. The partnership will provide subscribers of both SimplyJITH and Zillion Arts with opportunities of creating synergies through the various joint projects that will be rolled out in the near future. Adding to our existing array of programs, this effort of ours will help nurture the creativity of youth, give wings to their imagination and transcend the skies. We invite our subscribers to explore possible opportunities through this partnership.

About SimplyJITH

SimplyJITH is an ethics and belief enterprise with emphasis on youth engagement and empowerment. It is a collection of various initiatives and partnerships, including a Blog which remains our flagship project, now enjoying readership in around 158 countries, with over 32,000 subscribers from various countries; a  Grant – Partnership Project and SimplyJITH Finishing School.

About Zillion Arts

Zillion Arts is a central hub to all the concept artists. Zillion Arts offers a single stop gallery for beautiful and inspiring works of various artists from all round the world. Zillion Arts also has a collection of insightful interviews to learn from. This is the place where you can learn, discuss and participate in topics related to concept art and nothing else!

Staircase to Heaven

Today, I like to write about my personal thoughts on dignity based approach towards destiny. I have been practicing it for a number of years and have always found it a useful tool for becoming more aware of our environment and for learning how to make it more harmonious.

    

This approach can be especially helpful for creating balance and harmony in relationships. I have yet to come across someone who hasn't been interested in either having good relationships or attracting the right relationship, and it is nice when I can help them do that, so I wish to write about it. 

It is important to realize that when we are to follow dignity based approach, it is important to understand that it should be our only choice. You may probably think, when I say it should be the "only choice", it means one thing to do, then how can "choice" be true? We are talking about the approach, but not the means. To follow a certain approach, you may subscribe to various means, suitability and necessity of each of them are to be evaluated and it is our choice.

I wish to draw your attention to one of the areas, where we can begin and learn the difference. When dealing with a relationship area, it is good to think in twos. If you are to place dignity of being a couple ahead of yourself, you will not have to wait for long to see what effect it might have. Without the clock ticking away in regard to forceful existence, you will begin to cherish the emotion.

While my article may make this approach sound like a quick and easy fix, it is an ancient practice that works in mysterious ways. If you are curious about it, why not take a look at your own relationship corner. Give it a good cleaning out. See if it seems cozy and if  it is well represented. All the best!

-abhijith

Date: May 15, 2010

Place: London, UK

Flavors of Life

When we are children, people say to us, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" At that age, we usually have dreams. We know that we want to reach the Moon, or learn to fly the fastest aircraft in the world, or save endangered animal species, or make some brilliant scientific discovery that will transform human lives. We are not yet old enough to worry about job markets and balancing budgets and supporting ourselves and our families. We are true to our intentions and so we find many admirers. We have only our dreams and the secret certainty that we are unique and have a very special thing to do in life. Even if our parents have different dreams for us, we know the difference between their dreams and our own. When we are children, we are still capable of hearing the voice of the soul.

As we grow older, the questions change. People say to us, "You had better start thinking about what you want to do with your life. How will you make a living?" There is no longer time for dreaming; we must now "face reality" and think about how to survive in the big, bad old world. The inner sense of specialness fades before the numbing evidence of high unemployment figures, stiff competition for every job application, and economic swings and downturns which make us feel we are fortunate to get any kind of work at all. And if we find ourselves discontented in that work, or we lose our jobs, we feel demeaned, devalued, and unable to trust our deepest dreams and aspirations, because there might not be any other work. And even if there were, we have probably long since lost that inner connection which could tell us what makes our heart sing and restores the sense of having a very special thing to do in life.

Each of us sees the world differently, and feels strong and competent in some areas and uncertain or ill-equipped in others. No person is perfectly adapted to every sphere of life. Finding the right direction may depend partly on your knowing how you evaluate and adapt to life, and finding an outer situation which matches your fundamental outlook. Of course it is not as simple as just looking for a place where you can exercise what you believe to be your strengths and avoid what you perceive as your weaknesses. Sometimes, working to develop sides of your personality where you feel unsure can generate the greatest feeling of accomplishment. But it does help if your perspective on life is in harmony with what you do, and you can therefore feel confident and able to meet the challenges which your work offers. It can also make a difference if you are able to remain loyal to your values, people in your life and needs, rather than accepting a situation where you believe neither in what you are doing nor in the people you care for. 

Lessons of Higher Consciousness

In this post, I wish to share few lessons of Higher Consciousness. And when I say lessons, these are not observations of myself - a single individual but by a group of individuals, for lessons can only be appreciated by a collective approach to understand them. I invite you to read, participate and comment on them. The process of learning is an eternal one and your comments will definitely help us learn more from our experiences.  

Lesson # 1

We are not here on earth to struggle for a satisfying existence, or just exist aimlessly to the whims of our destiny. The Vedic view is that cessation of all misery is the purpose of human birth.This can be achieved only through complete liberation of our consciousness. Good and evil, happiness and misery only exist in the mind of the observer. The conditioning of the mind is dictated by the manner in which we live. No one on earth can live a self-indulgent, indiscipline and want-on life and hope that this lifestyle will not affect his state of mind, for it would impact all his perceptions and circumstances.

Even our subsequent departure from this world would not alleviate our distress, because the cycle of birth and death is endless. Only Self-knowledge can free us from miseries. Self-knowledge can be achieved by living right. According to the Vedas, there are four values that are to be cultivated by any individual for living right.That is, there are four main purposes to human life. They are: Moral perfection, worldly attainment, fulfillment of legitimate desires and liberation. The first three values have meaning only when they are aimed at the fourth one. Only when the major aim is liberation, can an individual remain centered while following the other three tenets, else he may tend to become arrogant, greedy, power-hungry and immoral.

Lesson # 2

We live a life of moral perfection when we live in tune with our real Self, thereby always being in tune with the rhythm of life. We discover how to function in an optimum manner, and have the full support of Providence to evolve because Nature is always inclined towards progression. This is also known as 'the righteous way to live'. Our behavior then becomes constructive, life enhancing and appropriate. When we have a harmonious relationship with the Universe, it provides for all our needs. Whatever is required to make our lives satisfying, unfolds spontaneously. We are always in the flow of harmonious relationships and supportive circumstances. But we should also cultivate the faith that whatever is showing up is for our highest good. Impatience does not have spiritual virtue. With unshakable faith in God, we should be joyous and enthusiastic always.

When our life-enhancing, legitimate desires are fulfilled, life is fulfilling, enjoyable and we can devote ourselves to higher learning and practice. As spiritual beings we have this ability to have our desires fulfilled by gentle intention. We do not have to apply great effort or struggle to have them fulfilled. As our awareness increases we are naturally in a state of fulfillment. We only need to acknowledge our desires and have complete faith that they will be soon fulfilled.

Lesson # 3

As spiritual beings we cannot be satisfied only by living a life of contentment, worldly attainment and having our desires fulfilled. Without spiritual unfolding of our consciousness, we would always remain disgruntled and despite the fulfillment of the first three ideals, we would still be prone to getting waylaid. The first three practices make our lives satisfying so we can devote ourselves to the fourth and most important ideal. All four resolutions are interrelated and work in conjunction. We can demonstrate commitment to spiritual practice by making it the focal point of our lives. All actions and thoughts should be conducted from that platform. As we keep progressing on our path with full dedication, we are forever assured of a graceful life.

More to come...

Dignity March

Rachel closed her eyes, and was gasping for breath. The letter she was holding in her hand was the last that Albert wrote to her. She struggled to breathe normally, her pulse rate was high, and she could feel her heartbeat. She thought about how she put Albert repeatedly through emotional pain - with her blatant lies. The painful days after every discovery of her ways of life, were blur to her now. Now, what she has done is beyond repair. Rachel, slowly turned over the envelope, and opened it. She pulled out the letter, and immediately stuff it back. She was fragile, and did not have the guts to read through the letter.

She started breathing heavily, as if she needs to catch up with her pounding heart. Well, the very least she could do to understand the pain she has put Albert through was to read the letter. That is all that she has to go through. She pulled out the letter... 

Dear Rachel,

Our relation has been a gripping portrayal of my courageous struggle to deal with a vicious cycle of your conscious prejudice. It is the journey of how my tolerance is sniped at both by your acts of indecency and desire to live an imposturous existence. I approached our relation as a temple of trust, seeking refuge from the falsehood all around me. Ultimately the trust I sought was met with revelations that the differences that blind us both actually span a far smaller divide than we could have ever recognized. Yet, your intention not to reveal widened the gap, which underlines the clichés influencing your sensibility of and respect for my emotions.

Continued...

P.S.: This blog post presents a first view/glimpse of chapter titled 'Dignity March' of my book (not yet published) titled Precocious Truth: Unrequited Love. You may read the prologue for the same here.
Photo Credit: Kelly Kumi