Category: Philosophy

5 ways in which I improved during the lockdown

Warning bells had started to ring long before the first week of March. On Feb 10th, at the LAX airport, a significant number wore face masks while meandering their way through the busy airport. Were these snobby germaphobes or was it something in the air that I, as usual, was blissfully unaware of? Little did I know, that my world was about to change.

As the cloud of Coronavirus descended upon us and forced us to revisit and rethink our ethos, here are 5 ways in which I improved during the quarantine:

Healthier

In a matter of days, I went from being the person who eats 100% of the time, outside, be it coffee, sandwiches, soups, salads or a greasy mish-mash of potatoes and meat to being the person who only eats home-cooked meals, which includes eggs, turmeric milk, whole wheat cracked, oatmeal, tea, stir-fry vegetables, and pumpernickel bread. Now, every morning I get up, I feel more energized.

Spunkier

I became more social, er, I mean on social media. Suddenly, I went from having just a Facebook presence for keeping in touch with family and friends to serenading my own blog, and an active presence on Instagram and Twitter . Ironically, the more time I spent on social media, in a time of social distancing, the more I discovered some amazing people out there, whose only mission appeared to be to get up every morning and make a difference in other people’s lives, COVID-19 or not. For me, it was during lockdown that I discovered that I was no longer afraid to be seen for who I was. It is true what they say, happiness comes from within.

Cleaner

I developed a system of personal hygiene. My cleanliness levels, traditionally speaking, have always been average. But, with the specter of mortality looming over us, I was forced to develop a ritualistic approach towards staying clean – washing my hands every time I touched a questionable surface, having hand sanitizer in every nook and corner of the house, swiping my phone with antiseptic wipes, washing my towels and bed sheets every week, instead of every month. Macabre as it may sound, this was one of those do or die improvements.

Sincere

I used to pooh-pooh at the whole work from home gig. I realized that sometimes, all I really did was put in an appearance for the sake of appearances. Now, I was forced to think out-of-the-box. 9 to 5, became 7 to 6, with healthy detours in between. In-your-face office politics took a nosedive, for the better, and I was able to focus on the tasks at hand and say goodbye to unnecessary distractions. Not only did I begin to understand the true meaning of work-life balance, but I also began to live it. Earlier, I would come from the office, crash on my sofa, and binge watch TV. Now, I sign out and get to focus on things that bring joy and pleasure like writing, reading, sketching.

Wiser

If today was your last day on this planet, what is the one thing that you would say to someone you care about? My parents and I connect on the phone like bears sharing hugs. I tell friends and strangers alike to keep calm and stay positive. The other day, I spit out two paragraphs on a Whatsapp group of my school friends – they probably thought I was sick or something. I was already that person who knows how to move forward but now I am the person who prays and hopes of a better and brighter future for all humanity, kind of like a Mahayana thing.

Having been through steep troughs in my life, I am a firm believer that every storm that comes our way has a purpose. That purpose is to transform us into a better version of ourselves. I think Coronavirus and all that it entails, which albeit quite harsh, is proving to be “the” sanitizer that will clean our bodies, minds, and souls so that we can be better human beings.

Till we tide this storm over, stay home, stay safe, stay positive.

Batty about bats

When does superstition trump facts, science? When you look back and connect the dots and the empirical evidence is so overwhelming that you have no choice but to ingrain a belief that defies logic and yet becomes one of the many guidelines that you use to navigate life.

I have this thing about bats. Since childhood, I always thought that these creatures lived in the wild, in comic books, in movies and I would never have to cross paths with them. And although I was proven wrong and though I can count the number of times these creatures have made my acquaintance on a single hand, they have never failed to be ominous.

When my father relocated to the Middle East, and our family had no choice but to follow suit, I was quite resistant to the change. I wailed and cried, because I was leaving behind the folks who had been my lifelong friends. But who cares, I was just a thirteen year old, too young to choose my own life path. And that is when bats started to appear. One day, as I was getting ready to go to school, I put my right foot into my boot, and felt my feet phalanges press on something spongy and soft. I withdrew my foot and put my hand inside the boot like a hand in a glove and there it was – a bat hidden inside the dark recesses of my shoe.

It shot out and flew out and it was the closest I have come to a bat, by touching it with my foot. A couple of these bats even started to regularly haunt our house in Mumbai. My super superstitious Mom, told me that it was a sign that we were meant to vacate the house, and we did. Her line of thinking was that bats tend to inhabit ghost houses. We moved to the Middle East. I can’t really complain of my life there, but I did feel that my overall freedom was restricted and there were few things that I could do of my own choosing. For one I was expected to be dressed in black garbs in public places, because that was the dress code for women in Saudi. It was more like making the best of what you already have – which is not a bad life skill to develop, and yet…

The second time I encountered bats was during a visit to Bali. These creatures are to be found literally everywhere on the island and are as common as stray dogs in India. I was walking down a narrow, cobbled alley, seeking espresso, and there it was, next to the entrance of the coffee shop, a two feet long bat, hanging upside down and swinging off a metallic stand. I actually noticed it when it attempted to stretch out its black wings, then folded these back lazily and settled down, without a sound. There are numerous temples on the island and bats love to take refuge in their sheltered, dark interiors. Do not be surprised, if a bat, appears out of the middle of nowhere, hovering over you like a giant, ugly butterfly, flapping away its wings with the alacrity of a fly. In the end, I guess you see what you believe, because less than two months later I was diagnosed with a serious illness, which if not managed properly is usually fatal. I survived it but it led me into a prolonged period of introspection about the sins of my past lives. Can you spot the bat in the adjacent picture?

The third time I encountered bats was inside the caves in the state of Missouri in USA. For those of you who are not aware, Missouri is also known as the Cave State, on account of the number of caves the State has both above the ground and below it. Bats reside in these caves and are considered a star attraction for the tourists who take the effort to visit these caves. Within a week, my car, that I had purchased just 4 months ago, was in serious need of repair. I was informed that I had been taking a major safety risk by driving it around with all the damage that had been done to the radiator of the car. Suffice to say that I ended up spending a fortune just to get it all fixed. I eventually lost this car in an accident within the year – it was a total loss. Thankfully, enough I was not too fond of this car and now drive a car that I absolutely love.

The reason I am writing this article right now is because rumor has it that both Ebola and Covid-19, have their origins in bats. Given my personal experience, I have come to construe and accept bats as harbingers of change. And while I don’t mean ill will to this species, I wish there were less painful ways for bringing about needed transformation.

Moving forward, I know that if a bat were to make an appearance in my life, I would have no choice but to take it as a sign of an oncoming – an oncoming marked by a painful shedding of the old, so that I can make way for the new.

A manifesto for New Age Expos

New Age expos, are becoming, alarmingly frequent, in occurrence. This is a good sign, as it indicates to me, that the demand for such events is increasing and that more and more people, are intrigued enough, by the concepts brought forward at such gatherings.

As we become more and more conscious, about who we are as human beings and what code of conduct would best serve us and humanity, I thought it would be worthwhile to put together a simple manifesto for people visiting these exhibitions. My hope is that, these pointers, will be useful, to all those who choose to attend the expos, as part of their journey towards becoming more conscious, regardless of whether you are just starting out or are already an Ascended Master.

When you visit a New Age expo:

  • Seek practices, tools and methods that will help you achieve and sustain, tighter integration with your higher self.
  • Listen to what speakers have to say about where they are in their journeys and how they got there. If it doesn’t resonate instantly, realize that, a few years from now, it may all come together.
  • Be curious, open and adopt an overall respectful lens for the ideas and concepts discussed at these meetings – remember you have the choice to select (or discard) that which feels right to you, for you.
  • Seek answers to the questions that plague you the most, you may not immediately take to the responses or embrace the solutions offered, but you will become more aware of the significance and possible root causes of the quagmires and the vagaries in your life.
  • Definitely try the vegan food stalls – it may tilt your perception, or should I say palate, favorably towards food that naturally charges you for sustained periods of time.
  • Plan ahead – go through the schedule of sessions and come up with an itinerary of events that most interest you, or should I say attract you?
  • And lastly, do not beat yourself, if you don’t get the point the first time. It took me at least 5 visits to realize that I had barely scratched the surface and that things had just begun to come full circle.

I would love to hear from you, about what you think of the above pointers and if updates to the manifesto would help you (and others) in your quest for yourself.