LIFE MUDRAS

1......Be Impeccable With Your Word – Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. 2......Don’t Take Anything Personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering. 3......Don’t Make Assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life. 4......Always Do Your Best – Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regr

“Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. But it won’t wait for you. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.” “Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action.”

“Ego takes everything personally." Emotion arises, defensiveness, perhaps even aggression. Are you defending the truth? No, the truth, in any case, needs no defence. You are defending yourself, or rather the illusion of yourself, the mind-made substitute. It would be even more accurate to say that the illusion is defending itself. If even the simple and straightforward realm of facts can lend itself to egoic distortion and illusion, how much more so the less tangible realm of opinions, viewpoints, and judgements, all of them thought forms that can easily become infused with a sense of “I.” Every ego confuses opinions and viewpoints with facts. Furthermore, it cannot tell the difference between an event and its reaction to that event. Every ego is a master of selective perception and distorted interpretation. Only through awareness—not through thinking—can you differentiate between fact and opinion. Only through awareness are you able to see: There is the situation and here is

On a flight recently,  I noticed a young girl of seven request the stewardess for an orange juice. The stewardess was probably over-worked and responded quite curtly with ‘I will come by later if I remember’.  The young girl smiled and got up to follow her to the galley. I noticed that she came back after a short while with a glass of orange juice.  As she was seated by the aisle next to me, I struck up a conversation with her. I asked her what she did when she went to the galley! She said she offered to help the stewardess if she had too much work. The stewardess apparently hugged her and appreciated her offer and gave her the orange juice. So, I asked her why she did that. Her response was absolutely magical! She said, my mum always tells me that when people are upset, it has more to do with them having to carry the world on their shoulders. During these moments, she says, I should help offload the world from their shoulders.  I wish I had had her wisdom when I was her age.

On a cold December Monday night the telephone rang. It was a call from his mother. He answered it and his mother told him, "Mr. Salaskar died last night. The funeral is on Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. "Arjun, did you hear me?" "Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Arjun said. "Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd remember the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him. "I loved that old house he lived in," Arjun said. "You know, Arjun, after your father died, Mr. Salaskar stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said. "He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I would

What a gift it would be if we were able to drop all of our desires for perfection. And I’m not just talking about some of our desires for perfection—I mean all of them. The desire to look perfect; to have perfect grades/ outcomes/ performances; to be perceived as perfect by others; to have perfect answers to questions; to be the perfect mother/ father/ spouse/ sibling; to have the perfect circumstances; to live the perfect life… Why? Because every single one of these desires creates suffering. They create unattainable, unrealistic goals that lead to constant disappointment, self-judgement, and less acceptance of your self and others. And in this world—in this reality—there is no such thing as perfect. Perfection is the standard that will drive you mad in its pursuit. Trying to look perfect is the standard that takes positive intentions from being constructive to being extreme and destructive. “Healthy eating” escalates into extreme dieting and/or fasting. “Workin

Your Life Task is your career/ your creative work/ your mission/ etc., that puts to use your strengths and aptitudes and brings to life your unique visions and goals for the world. Along the way, there are going to be times when you feel incredibly rewarded and times when the journey is going to absolutely suck. The ebb and flow of any long-term pursuit is inevitable and unpredictable and it’s important that we brace ourselves for the days that we know are coming. There will be victories along the way that will be worth celebrating and there will be failures, setbacks, struggles, challenges, and hard times that are going to require grit, focus, and a game plan. Being mindful is the key practice that will guide us along the way. With mindfulness, we can identify moments of frustration as opportunities for growth; moments of criticism as opportunities for skin-thickening; moments of laziness as excuses — and in each of these situations, find creative ways to get back t