What's your story?

Stories. We all create them. Myriads of opinions, thoughts, beliefs about us, everyone and everything else. And they are intricately woven such that we can never get to the real issue. We are smart, aren't we?! To me, stories are nothing but layers and layers of crap that we create in order to not get to the heart of the problem or to acknowledge what we are aware of. Stories are also reasons that we use to justify the choices we made in the past or making currently. It is simply a way of distracting ourselves from what is real and true....As long as you are with that distraction it's like a dog chasing it's own tail. You will be stuck in a loop forever until you choose to get out of that story....

 

A couple of days back someone pinged me asking for guidance. He spent 15 mins giving me the entire details of the situation and how he was wronged, how he felt awful, used and disappointed etc. At the end of the conversation what I realized was that the entire thing was a nicely crafted story and the heart of the matter was just that he didn't trust himself and didn't want to acknowledge his strength and capacities. Instead he was trying to prove the rightness of his point of view and entire focus was on how someone else betrayed him, didn't stand up to his expectations et.al. He enjoyed being in the victim space. The moment I brought this to his awareness and we destroyed and un-created the entire story, he immediately felt light and joyful and his entire energy shifted. All this in a matter of 20-25mins! How does it get better than this?! It is all about accessing the power within you and acknowledging how valuable you are.

 

How many of us actually spend days, weeks, months and years telling the same story to others or to our own selves ....so much so that it starts feeling real and true? The more you tell stories, the more you buy into it and start abusing yourself by going into the victim space which makes you feel like you have no other choice. So how do you know when you are getting into a story? Usually whenever you use the words "because..." or "but..." what follows after that is a story/reason/justification. Example.. I can't do this because.... , or I would love to do this but..... etc. So it just takes a certain amount of awareness and being present to notice when you do this. The moment you become aware, you just destroy all those stories and make a different choice which will open up infinite possibilities!

 

Another question that might pop up in your universe is...how do I know when I am telling a story and when I am just using it as an example to explain something to someone? Well, in my point of view, when you are in a story, there is a "charge" associated with it and when you are giving an example, it is just an interesting point of view with no 'charge'. What do I mean by charge? Anything that makes you feel emotional/ heavy/ uncomfortable/contracted etc. So all you need to do is be aware of where the charge is...and destroy and un-create it and let it go as it comes up. Is it as simple as that? Yes! We love to make things complicated and hence assume that what is simple doesn't work. Welcome to a different possibility! You are the creator of your life and you have the power to change anything and everything! What would it take for you to acknowledge that right NOW? :)

 

We may also assume that stories are usually negative reasons/justifications/beliefs. We can create stories that are positive too...like having Utopian ideals. It's like living in 2 ends of a battery. Positive or negative, both are polarities. So stories that appear 'positive' can also create a limitation. For example, I had a story where I had done certain things in my business that created a good result once upon a time and I had assumed that was the right process to follow to succeed each time. With this story, I eliminated all other infinite possibilities of creating my business in a totally different way. The moment I gave up that story, my business started growing in a way that was beyond what I had imagined!

 

Stories are like carrying heavy baggages everywhere you go.... Imagine when you go on a nice walk in nature, you have to drag around huge and heavy bags with you (this could be anxieties, fears, worries, old wounds, losses, regrets etc). How much freedom would that give you to enjoy the scenery around and have fun?! Get the point? :)

 

If you are still wondering how to work around with this, here are 4 golden questions from Byron Katie's "The Work" which really helps you break out of a story. It has helped thousands of people around the world and it is AWESOME!

 

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1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?

After answering the four questions, you go back through each one again and experiment with turnarounds: (1) State the opposite of your thought; (2) State the thought as if the positions between you and your problem person were reversed; (3) State the thought toward yourself, as if it is you that you are having the problem with. Turnarounds help you consider alternative perspectives to consider whether they reveal a truth you've been missing.
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So what would your life be like if you gave up ALL your stories/reasons/justifications today?!
Who would you be without your story?

 

Lots of love, ease and joy!
Pratima

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To know more about me and what I do, my sessions and workshops, visit
www.reviveholistic.com

www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com

Connect with me
Facebook - www.facebook.com/pratima.nagaraj
Twitter - www.twitter.com/pratima_nagaraj
 

 

Living by BEING...

While I talk about the paradoxical state of BEING vs DOING, I am reminded of this 47th verse of TAO and I absolutely love the way Lao Tzu has explained what it is like to just BE. Tao means 'The Path' or The way of life. Not religious, no dogma attached, no rituals...just connects you to the infinite being that you are.

 

Without getting out the door,
know the world.
Without looking out the window,
you may see the ways of heaven.

The farther one goes.
The less one knows.

Therefore the sage does not venture forth
and yet knows,
does not look
and yet names,
does not strive
and yet attains completion.

 

In this reality, we are all focussed mostly on 'Doing' rather than 'Being'. Heck, we are even called Human 'Beings' and not Human Doings and yet it is all about effort, striving, hard work, fixing things et al. It took me a while to actually get that BEING is just a space, a vibration, a frequency that you embody. It is what comes to you naturally. As an infinite being, we all are unique; there is no one else in this universe who is exactly like you. You have your own set of capacities, talents, abilities and potency. But in this reality people are busy trying to out create others, compete, mimic other people's thoughts, feelings and emotions rather than just be who they are. Mimicry is a huge thing. When I started asking the question - 'Whose reality am I living?" and "If I were to live my life the way I desire, and not based on other people's points of views, how would it be?" , I realized how much, unconsciously, I was mimicking other people, which includes my parents, friends, teachers, culture, society, religion etc etc. Once you acknowledge this and stop buying into other people's fixed points of views, you start to show up as more of YOU, who you truly be.

When you do things because you think it is right based on what society or family has told you, you are shifting your life into 'Doing' rather than 'Being', because you are not tapping into your own awareness or knowingness and instead getting into a path which is not natural to you. BEINGness is not a force. It comes to you effortlessly. If you feel as if your life is like an uphill climb, then it is time for you to shift from DOING into BEING. Keep choosing what makes you feel lighter, joyful & happy and expansive and you will tend to show up as more of who you truly are.

This one powerful tool of Access Consciousness, founded by Gary Douglas has helped me tremendously to let go of the crap that I had bought into from everyone and everything else around me so that I could figure out what Being me actually feels like. It is this simple question -
"WHO DOES IT BELONG TO?"
Every belief, point of view, thought, feeling, emotion that you have , just ask who does it really belong to? Is it yours or are you just being aware of what is going on with someone else? If it is not yours, just return to sender, whoever it is, doesn't matter! The more you return, the more you step into being YOU. You may dismiss it thinking it is way too simple so it won't work. I had thought so too because we love things to be complicated. You only know if it works when you use it :)

 

Very often I get asked, what is it that I actually do to have a successful business and live a fun filled life, as if my life is a long vacation. My response is always the same. It is not what I do but who I BE that actually creates a life that I desire. We are so used to logic and analysis that the mind always looks for a step by step process or a formula to create everything. But BEINGness does not have logic or a "how to". It is just a vibrational frequency that you operate in. Hence even my effort to define it here is futile! So just keep following your awareness/intuition/knowingness which usually comes like a feather touch and stop mimicking this reality, to get started :)

This doesn't mean you don't take action, but you never give up on your internal knowing. Awareness is always there, even when your eyes are closed and you are sitting still....

 

 

Happy BEING!

 

 

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To know more about me and what I do, my sessions and workshops, visit
www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com
www.reviveholistic.com

Connect with me
Facebook - www.facebook.com/pratima.nagaraj
Twitter - www.twitter.com/pratima_nagaraj
 

 

 

Japan Travel Diary: Kamakura & Nikko

This is a continuation from the previous post - click here

 

We kept Tokyo as our base and did day trips on the last 2 days of our journey, to Kamakura and Nikko - which is a UNESCO world heritage site. These 2 cities do have good hotels to stay if you want to explore the place more, but we were quite happy just spending a day each.

 

KAMAKURA

 

The fastest and best way to reach Kamakura is by train. While you are in Japan use the trains everywhere. They are super fast and super easy!! Take the JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo station which takes about 90 mins. If you feel adventurous then get down at Kita Kamakura then you can trek down the next 2 places till you reach The Great Buddha statue, Daibutsu. It may take about 3 hours. While we were there it was raining due to Typhoon, so we chose not to trek and changed over to the Enoden train line to see the Buddha statue. Daibutsu statue has it own charm. You can just sit there and keep looking at the peaceful Buddha and you won't realize how time flies. The energy of the place is very positive, peaceful and serene. If you are going all the way to Tokyo then I highly suggest visiting this statue; energetically it can contribute a lot to your life :)

There are 3 really beautiful Zen temples near Kita Kamakura station (Engakuji, Kenchoji, Tokeiji) and the most important Shinto shrine - Hachimangu shrine and the Hasedera temple near the Buddha statue. These are a must see. Engakuji is right behind the train station and it is surrounded by a canopy of lush green trees as it built on the slopes of the forest trails. The moment we entered the temple it felt like the temperature dropped down by 2 degrees. It is extremely peaceful and truly Zen like (pun intended) inside!




Engakuji Zen Temple Main Gate

 

 

If the weather is good and you love beaches then you can continue your journey all the way to Enoshima on the Enoden train line where there are popular beaches for surfers. But we skipped it due to lack of time and not so favourable weather.

NIKKO

Nikko is a world heritage site which is about 125kms north of Tokyo and can be easily covered in a day trip. Again, the easiest and fastest way to reach is by taking the Asakusa line from Tokyo/Ginza station to Asakusa station. From here, there are hourly rapid trains to Nikko which take about 2 hours. There are also few limited express trains which take only 105 mins, if you want to reach faster.

All of Nikko's shrines and temples are clustered around the Nikko main station. So we just took a bus from the station and got down 10 mins away and explored everything on foot for the next 4-5 hours.
The temples are worth a visit and the carvings and gold colour decorations are extremely intricate and very impressive! It is a treat to the eyes. Some of these temples allow you to go inside the prayer room and there will be a monk to explain the history/culture inside. If you can understand Japanese then you can follow him else you can just admire the beauty inside (like we did) ;-)

If you keep sufficient time (shops usually close by 4pm), then on your way back to the bus stop to go to the train station, you can do a lot of shopping in Nikko. Apart from the usual good luck charms and souvenirs, you get a wide variety of green tea, ceramics, incense sticks, kimonos, antiques and more!

Don't forget to visit this famous red bridge. I have no idea why it is famous or why you need to buy a ticket to walk on it, but nevertheless, when in Rome be a Roman! :)

The temperature in Nikko can be much cooler compared to Tokyo, so make sure you carry some warm clothes if you are on a day trip (lesson learnt from experience!). Nikko also has some traditional Ryokans, Japanese guest houses if you wish to spend a night there but I felt a day was good enough to explore the entire place.

 

Being the Gift that You are

 

 

Just a couple of days back I did an interesting exercise, where I picked about 25+ people who know me pretty well - among friends, clients, acquaintances and asked them some of these questions about me.

 

What am I an invitation for you? What is it about me that invited you to choosing my classes/sessions?

What about me do you enjoy and like the most?

What is it that is unique and different about me that you connected with?

What space and energy did I create that allowed you to shift and change and choose a different possibility for you?

 

I had no expectation of what should come out of this and I was literally bowled over by the comments/feedback that I received! Sometimes we just assume that who we be, what we do and what we contribute to people around is a very common trait and everyone else probably functions the same way, so we take ourselves and our talents/abilities/gifts for granted and never acknowledge that we are unique, definitely different and what a gift we are being to everyone around us.

 

Interestingly all 25+ people I asked these questions to, had 2 things in common to say - (i) that they don't feel judged when they are with me, which gives them the space to be who they are without judging themselves and (ii) that I embrace a very feminine nurturing energy in my classes & sessions which is assertive but not aggressive and this is what created the space for them to choose greater possibilities and change. Wow! and some more wow! In these 30+ years of my life I had *never* acknowledged that this part of me was actually a gift and an invitation for people to choose change! I am so darn grateful for this!!!!

 

Doing this exercise changed a lot of things for me and shifted perspectives drastically. First of all I realized I am the one who least acknowledged my talents/capacities/unique gift that I have and be. Secondly, I learnt how to actually receive these flooding acknowledgements from people and their gratitude towards me, without getting overwhelmed. Thirdly, now that it has come to my cognitive awareness and I have fully acknowledge this, I am now being more of this and including this energy more in the invitation I am creating for people through my sessions, classes or just by BEING :-) Completely shifted my space and gratitude overflowing in my universe even at this moment. How did I get so freakin' lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people?!

 

 

So how many of you truly acknowledge the contribution and gift that you be to the people around you, to this world, this planet?

 

What if what you be and what comes to you naturally and effortlessly is actually a unique talent/capacity/ability that you have that creates an invitation for others to change and choose something greater for themselves? Are you willing to acknowledge that TODAY?

Are you willing to be unique and different, even if that means to be seen as a weirdo?

 

What would it take for you to try this exercise and see what shows up and how it rocks your world? I am keen to hear what shifted for you. You can leave comments below if you choose to :)

 

 

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To know more about me and what I do, my sessions and workshops, visit
www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com
www.reviveholistic.com

 

 

Journey to Awareness: #3

When something doesn't exist when you stop thinking about it then it is not real. It's just a mere projection of the mind. How many such projections, expectations and inventions do we create every moment in life that keeps us trapped in future or past and never allow us to be present fully for this moment?! What if you chose your life every moment? If it doesn't work then choose something different...because there is no right or a wrong choice....it is just a choice!

So For today would you be willing to let go and destroy all the projections, expectations and inventions you have about what/how your life, relationships, job, business, body, finances etc should or shouldn't be like and allow it to show up as something far greater than you could imagine?

 

I wonder if this would change something for you!

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To know more about me and what I do, my sessions and workshops, visit
www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com
www.reviveholistic.com

Japan Travel Diary: Tokyo

This year has been adventurous in terms of travel. We managed to squeeze in a 2nd vacation to visit the land of the rising Sun. I have been lazy to write the travelogue for the Europe trip and I am positive that I will get to it before this year ends :-)

 

The best time to visit Japan, obviously, is the Cherry Blossom time in April/May. But we missed it, hence chose the 2nd best which is during Autumn season in October. The leaves become colourful while the trees are preparing for winter and it looks vibrant and a gorgeous treat to the eyes. And the best thing is it is still not full blown winter, so it is not too cold; just pleasant and perfect weather!

 

Japan is a huge country and definitely you can't do justice to experiencing it all in 1 or 2 weeks. So for a week's travel we chose Tokyo as our base and visited Mt.Fuji, Hakone, Nikko and Kamakura.

 

Tokyo is the current capital of Japan and interestingly there is no airport in Tokyo. So you have to either land at Narita or Haneda International Airports which are a couple of hours train ride from Tokyo. And considering the super fast trains in Japan, this surely isn't something you would mind :)

 

How to get around?

The best way to get around in Tokyo (or anywhere in Japan for that matter) is by trains. Taxis are way too expensive and we saved it only for occasional use. It does take a while to comprehend the complicated maze of the train map. So make sure you have done your research on how to get to your hotel from the airport, well in advance :) Also if at all you end up in the trains during peak hours then trust me, you will not miss Mumbai!! There is such a huge crowd that when you are walking and you happen to stop for a second or change direction suddenly, someone will bump into you.

 

Where to Stay?

We chose to stay in Tokyo's most upmarket Ginza district which is the shopping centre. So it is no surprise where literally every brand name in fashion and cosmetics can be found here. Ginza is also the most expensive real estate area in Japan. I loved it. It has a very vibrant energy and feel. You just walk out of the hotel and there are loads of restaurants, cafes, shops, bars etc. And every street seems to have an exit to the train station. But prepared to pay a lot for a room that is less than the size of a matchbox! We stayed in the Ginza Nikko Hotel which was way too small than even words can explain but the Courtyard Marriott was at least worth the money.

 

What to do?

Some of the must see things in Tokyo according to me are

 

1. Metropolitan building, on top of which there is an observatory to get a lovely view of Mt.Fuji and the entire Tokyo city skyline

 

 

 

2. The Asakusa temple, has a Shinto shrine and definitely worth a visit

 

 

 

3. Some of the freshest seafood is found right here in Tokyo. So what better way to savour them all than to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market?. Although certain areas have now been made off limits to tourists due to sanitisation and food safety, you’re allowed to visit after 9am and have the freshest sushi breakfast or lunch at the local restaurants there. If you are keen (and lucky), you may be one of the 120 visitors allowed into the tuna auction area to view the transactions. Supposedly Application can be done at the Osakana Fukyu Center at the Kachidoki Gate, starting from 5:00am on a first-come, first-serve basis.

4. Meiji Shrine /Yoyogi park - the moment you enter, temperature drops by 2-3 degress due to the thick green cover of the trees. The park is very peaceful and the Meiji shrine is 1 or 2 kms walk inside the park.

 

 

 

5. Shop for electronics - visit the Sony showroom in Ginza district and the Yodobashi camera/ Bic camera shops for great deals on electronics. Sony has an international section where the gadgets are tax free and have good promotional offers.

 

6. Roppongi area is one of the popular party areas but you are warned to be careful as you can get mugged there. The recommended club in this area is NEWLEX Edo, 1 3-13-14 Roppongi, Minato-ku, 03-3479-7477, though we did not visit this place. It is also apparently one of the best nightspots to spot international celebrities and models alike.

 

7. Tokyo tower (Skytree) also has some breathtaking views of Tokyo

 

 

 

8.Do Not Miss Shibuya Crossing

It is said to be the world's busiest crossing where all 4 traffic lights go Red at the same time and people cross in all possible directions. As a friend of mine pointed out, for a directionally challenged person this can be the toughest challenge! You definitely should experience this well organized chaos (pun intended)!

 

 

 

And if at all you are a vegetarian like me and end up with least options for food, you can try this really good Indian restaurant called MUMBAI in Ginza, which is few blocks away from the Courtyard Marriott Hotel. They serve absolutely delicious food and trust me it's a treat to your taste buds when all you can get is margarita pizza!

 

 

 

Journey to Awareness: #2

What if you could create a new beginning for all your relationships without having to destroy or get rid of…with out having to punish…without having to be punished?
Would you be willing to ask for more? More of you. More for You.

If you were to stop cutting off your awareness, your capacities, your caring, your kindness, how different would that be for you and all those around you?
Imagine what it would be like to never deny you or your knowing again?





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To know more about me and what I do, visit
www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com
www.reviveholistic.com

Journey To Awareness: #1

How many of us are truly willing to be responsible for our lives? The extent to which you deny your creatorship in creating your world, to that extent you actually rob yourself of the power to create your life the way you desire.

It simply ...means, no matter what shows up in your life, you no longer come from a place of being a victim...no blame, no complaining, no justifications. Rather you take responsibility and ask 'What points of views did I have that created this situation' and 'What can I be or do differently now to change this'?

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To know more about me and what I do, visit
www.reviveholistic.com
www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com
 

Addiction to Perfectionism

Addiction need not necessarily be to a substance, we can be addicted to certain type of behaviours, feelings/emotions or thought processes like addiction to being right, being wrong, being perfect, to judgements etc.

A couple of weeks back I was listening to some of the talks by Marilyn Bradford, who has created The Bradford System of Right Recovery for overcoming addictions. Some of clearings made me realize that I have been addicted to perfectionism for a large part of my life. I have heard Gary Douglas (the founder of Access Consciousness) say that one of his daughters wanted to join the beginner's Ballet class but she wanted to have private ballet lessons before she even went to the beginners class. Oh my gosh, I was like that too! How many of us want to be perfect at the things we do even before we start doing it?

Perfection is a lie, it is not real. It is a judgement that we buy and then defend for or against it continuously. Because of this point of view I realized I had limited myself so much with starting new things. There were so many ideas to implement but it was not done simply because I was not sure that it would be perfect. It was almost like my life was put on hold. When I realized that I was defending this perfectionism, and cleared my beliefs around it, life has been unfolding in a different way. With every new idea I now look at it as how imperfectly can I do this?! That just takes away all the projections, expectations and conclusions out of it and interestingly things turn out far greater than I imagine it to be. Many of us limit our potential and what we can achieve because we want it to be perfect and if it isn't perfect then it isn't good enough for us. If you are one of them, then maybe it is time to change the belief and let go of that judgement NOW?

What if your imperfect self were the perfect invitation you’ve been looking for?  The very imperfections that you judge and allow to stop yourself could be your best selling point!  How could that change your life and what you create?

"How would my life expand if I was willing to do things terribly?" is a question I have started asking everyday and that has allowed me to simply jump into create new things in life. How does it get better than this?

Here is a tool you can play with. If you could pick ONE thing that you could do terribly this week, what would you try? when you start doing this by picking one thing each week, you open up your potential to explore your talents and abilities and do all those things which you didn't start just because you thought you won't be perfect at it :-)


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To know more about my work and what I do, you can visit my website www.reviveholistic.com or www.pratimanagaraj.accessconsciousness.com

What is Access Consciousness?

"Access Consciousness is a set of tools and techniques that allow you to create a dynamic change in any area of your life and change anything in your life that isn’t working for you. It is one of the most transformative healing modalities which is not widely known in the East compared to other techniques like Reiki, Pranic Healing or Hypnotherapy. Access Consciousness was developed by Gary Douglas about 25 years ago and has been co-created by Dr Dain Heer along the way. The target of Access is to empower you to know that you know! There is nothing new that is being taught here.

 

It is all about realizing that you are an infinite being with infinite potential and empowering you to realize your potency and power so that you can create a life and reality that YOU wish to"

CLICK HERE to read more of this article that I wrote -
http://www.glad2bawoman.com/category/spirituality/access-consciousness



You can also visit my website www.reviveholistic.com for details

Being Grateful...

This famous quote by Phil Collins -
"In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn" is what I always have believed in and live by it as a facilitator of various healing modalities. But it made even more sense to me when I facilitated a class recently. It is so amazing to witness the insights that I personally received from teaching these classes that I really felt like I have to return the course fee to all participants as I seemed to have got deeper learnings from the sessions than them! :)

As a healer/therapist/trainer I am already aware that there is a reason why I attract the clients and participants to my sessions and classes. This time the learning for me was very subtle and came in a totally uncanny and an unexpected way and there were a couple of participants who were catalysts to trigger that within me at a very deep level. It took me some self-exploration and going within to figure out that it was all about Being Grateful to myself , to show immense gratitude to ME just like I am grateful for everything and everyone else in my life! Contribution is a two-way street...it has to have a balance of giving AND receiving. So I realized the imbalance I was creating in my life by being grateful to others whereas I had forgotten the most important person - ME!

Strangely, I teach Gratitude as one of the 'Five elements of intimacy' in my classes and I was always under this impression that I am grateful for myself, for who I am, the way I am. But the love & respect I have for myself was not necessarily the element of gratitude. When I was just being present there receiving the gratitude from everyone I was extremely overwhelmed. It was totally unexpected and it bowled me over completely. It got me thinking - if I can be so easily grateful for people showing up in my life and they are grateful for the contribution that I am in their lives, why am I not willing to show that gratitude to my own self, for who I am?! I had cut off my receiving in this aspect completely, without even being aware of it. This realization was the beginning of self-love without judgements and I feel absolutely awesome after this revelation!! This is one of those things that you think you know and do but when it finally happens, it is a completely different experience.

So....if u desire to change a relationship, then for the next 7 days write down at least 3 things u are grateful for, for the person you are in a relationship with, even if that person is YOU :-) . If it is someone else then you can write down the things you are grateful for to that person and for you, both! At the end of the week you have a huge list of items in your gratitude box which you can keep referring to for the rest of you life!

In order to create a great relationship you need to have the intimacy with YOU and gratitude for YOU to start with because every relationship that you attract is just a mirror of the kind of relationship you have with yourself.

So where are you unwilling to be grateful for yourself today?

What would your life be like if you could truly have intimacy with you and gratitude for you?!

What if you being YOU truly are the gift and change that the world requires?!

Enjoy some food for thought! :)



**The questions referred here are from the tools of Access Consciousness™ by Gary Douglas

Music - A powerful trigger for past memories

Have you ever heard a specific song or a piece of music which has instantly triggered your past memories? Am sure a lot of us have, and it is scientifically proven that just thinking about a particular song can trigger vivid memories of your past or certain special events in your life. I have always loved music and have several favorites which take me back the memory lane, to my teenage years...

But it's only yesterday I had this incredibly weird experience of listening to a specific tune from a Bollywood movie I watched yesterday, composed by A.R.Rehman, which instantly triggered some deep emotions and memories from a past life. I always knew this is possible and I do regressions day in day out as part of my job but I had never experienced it this way. Spontaneous regressions are possible if you have had special connections with people, places, languages, smells and even music. Certain movies can trigger the past life memories too, if you have experience similar emotions, situation or relationships before. We may have been inclined to like or dislike these elements and they serve as a bridge to our past and help us uncover a part of ourself that is distant, yet familiar.

A lot of us dismiss such things thinking it is just imagination, because we see such things happen in movies (even I used to be a skeptic few years back) but if you actually follow it through and allow the memories to come up completely and absorb it, you will be amazed at how it can put the pieces of the puzzle together in your current life and give more clarity to issues you maybe facing. You will be amazed at how powerful the sub-conscious mind is. It know exactly what we need to see at this stage in life and shows only the relevant memories...so it all happens for a reason, if only you can trust your instincts and tune inwards to explore further...!

So if you have any specific songs or tunes that evoke such an intense response, maybe you should spend time and indulge in it to allow the memories to come up and you never know what wisdom may come out of it! :-)

 

Autobiography in Five Chapters

I found this wonderful poem by Porta Nelson in the book Autobiography in Five Chapters. It explains so well, the recurring patterns that we fall into, life time after life time! A soul chooses the same path across several lives, to learn the same lesson, over and over again and how do you recognize that lesson? Check for the patterns in your life...in all areas!

 

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole.

I fall in.

I am lost...I am hopeless.

It takes forever to find a way out.

 

 

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place.

But it is my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

 

 

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in...it's a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

 

 

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Understanding what the lesson is, absorbing it, and working out the reason for it not to be repeated is an important part of healing a pattern (or Karma). That's where a past life regression therapy helps...to trace back to the original source in the current or past...

 

Food for thought

A friend shared this on Facebook recently and I couldn't stop myself from posting it here.. This is something that I share with all my clients, in every session that I do. Each time you see the learning from a situation (whether challenging or not), the situation completely shifts, because we all choose the challenges/problems at a soul level, only to get the wisdom & learnings. So rather than getting frustrated and stressing over the problems in life, why not take a moment and think about what learning the situation has to offer or 'what is this person/situation trying to teach me?'. As the wisdom comes into the conscious mind, the situation shifts! If you see it metaphysically, karma is all about learning lessons....so the faster you learn, the sooner you clear your karmic baggage and the challenges fade away...

What stops us from doing this? Well, we all are great problem solvers, in fact most of us love doing that. But we don't realize that, as per the law of attraction, the more you love solving problems, the more you attract them! Being in allowance and looking for the learning is what changes the situation. (More about being in allowance in another post...)

So if you are reading this, why not think about a challenge that you are facing currently and spend a few minutes in silence to find out what is the learning from it? Dont worry if you don't succeed in the first attempt....do it a few times or for a couple of days. The moment the learning comes, notice how your vibrations change and the challenge doesn't seem like a challenge anymore!



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Visit www.reviveholistic.com to know more about my work

Time for some poetry!

I was going through my journal today and found this poem that I had written 5 years back while I was studying in ISB.. Showed it to 'N' for the first time today and I was surprised that he got inspired to reply to it with a poem, that too spontaneously. So I couldn't help it...had to share it here!!

Photo I clicked in Phuket...fits the mood!

As I lie down beneath the skies in solitude,
I am gazing at the stars, thinking of you
Reminiscing those wonderful moments and the passionate mood,
I wonder if you are thinking of me too…

When we met, I knew there was something about you,
I still remember that friendship, so pure and true.
Never once did I speculate, my Mr. Right, is it you?
I wonder if you are thinking of me too…

I believed our friendship held us strong and close,
That our love bound us and endlessly grew
I was glad that you were the one I chose,
Now I wonder if you are thinking of me too…

Never knew what the days ahead would bring,
I just wished and prayed it would be only you.
An everlasting bond, I was longing!
Now I’m just left wondering, if you are thinking of me too…
--Pratima



This is what 'N' wrote...I love it! What do you think? :-)


As I read these words so true
Pure like the early morning dew
Like a sea breeze so fresh, a whisper so light
I wonder as I think about you, If I am the Mr. Right 


As the days turn longer and my hair turns grey
I pray in my life you stay
To my lonely heart you are the cure
Of this I am sure


I wonder as I think about you
If you are thinking of me too

-N

 

South America Travel Diary: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

This travelogue is continued from the previous post

 

Rio is definitely one of the most popular travel destinations these days. So we would not go all the way to South America and not spend time in Rio! I especially wanted to visit this city after I watched the animated movie "Rio" where it was shown so beautifully! Little did we know that it would turn out to be insanely expensive and not live up to our expectations.. Heck.. I didn't even know that it is pronouced as 'Rio de haneiro' and not 'Janeiro' till I went there!  That's some intro to Portuguese for you :)

 

After spending 3 days in rainy Santiago de Chile, we were happy to catch the flight to Rio. It was a long flight (considering the countries are adjacent) to Rio...about 8 hours with a short stop over in Sao Paulo. I was already getting claustrophobic getting anywhere close to an airplane, with flying almost once every 3 days...South America is one gigantic continent! It will probably take you 3 full months to visit just the main cities all over the continent..

 

We spent 4 nights in Rio and I felt that was good enough to see the main attractions. There isn't much to do there if you go in the non-carnival season. If you are there for the carnival then its a different story!

 

Where to stay?

I had heard and read about Rio being a very high crime rate city and that it isn't very safe for tourists and locals equally. So we were very apprehensive of booking just any hotel. We were warned of staying in Copacabana as its supposed to be not too safe in the nights. So we restricted our stay in the upmarket areas like Ipanema/Leblon/Lagoa though they are friggin expensive. The cheapest hotel you may find in non peak season will cost 200USD for a Double bedroom. Anyway we chose the Ipanema Inn which was a block away from the Ipanema beach. Was happy with the service but the hotel was too old and rustic with very basic amenities and we were paying through our nose!

 

 

Things to do

Of course you would not miss 'Christ the Redeemer' whether or not it is worth seeing! It is definitely over-hyped and when I went all the way up and stood near the statue, I was dumbstruck as I was trying to figure out one reason why it was chosen as a new wonder of the world!! Personally, I feel there is nothing great about the statue (no offense meant, to anyone!). The view from the top of the Corcovado mountain (which is where the Redeemer statue is) is absolutely breathtaking. You reach there in a cogwheel train through the Tijuaca Rainforest, where you can choose to trek as well. You definitely have to go there for the view and not to see the statue. So have your expectations set right else you will be disappointed like I was..

 

 

 

Sugar Loaf mountain is another thing you might want to see. Take a cable car to reach on top of the mountain from where you get a lovely view of the copacabana beach and the city of Rio. You can also see the Christ on top of Corcovado, from this mountain top.

 

Sugar Loaf Mountain

 

 

We booked  a day tour through Viator and did Sugar Loaf + Corcovada on the same day as we did not want to venture out alone for safety sake. At the end of the day we realized that the total time spent at the venue was just about 1.5 to 2 hours and remaining 5hrs was wasted in picking up & dropping people and having lunch and what not! So I highly recommend doing it by yourself, and not wasting time & money on any travel companies...Wish someone was there to tell us that 'before' we went! Lessons learnt through experience!

 

 

View of Copacabana beach from top of sugar loaf

 

 

We also did the Sepatipa Bay cruise for another full day to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary! It was a nice chilled out, lazy day on the cruise with not much activity. It's good if you love the waters and wanna lie down at the beach and get some sun. Well, we did that at the Ipanema beach as well, the next day :)

 

Sunset from top of Corcovado mountain

 

 

Samba Dance is another attraction. The most popular one is the Plataforma Samba show which happens in the night 9pm to midnight and is combined with dinner. It's crazy but you should definitely watch it for entertainment!

 

Plataforma Samba Show

Food

Be prepared to spend a lot on food as restaurants are very expensive too. If you are a non-vegetarian then you have no problems in finding some amazing cuisines out there but if you are a veggie, like me then your options are *very* limited. Survive on pizzas/pastas/salads as long as you are there! But we did find a lovely Thai Restaurant called "Nam Thai" in Leblon, which surprisingly was EXTREMELY GOOD! I highly recommend it.

 

Drink

And while you are in Brazil, try their national alcoholic drink Cachaca (pronounced as Ka-sha-sa), which is a cocktail made from fresh sugarcane juice (not molasses) distilled & fermented. Contains about 38% to 48% alcohol. And Brazil's national cocktail is Caipirinha which is made from Cachaca and Lime. Extremely strong and it goes straight into your head with the first sip! You cannot go there and not try this :) And make sure you buy some at the duty free as well to carry back home ;-)

 

Shopping:

I cannot complete this travelogue without talking about shopping! Rio is a shopper's paradise, especially for a woman, as you will find amazing jewellery, accessories, clothes etc at throw away prices...and very unique designs! It's also a crystal lover's paradise. Huge raw crystal clusters, geodes, caves are available on the road side market for dead cheap prices! Just carrying it back home is a problem due to the weight. Else I would have bought lots more. You should definitely visit the Sunday Hippie Fair at Ipanema and also the daily night market at Copacabana if you love to shop... 

 

 

 

 

And last but not the least, learn some basic portuguese or carry a dictionary or a phrase book to translate the basic words so that you can get around, if you are on your own. Even airports do not announce any instructions in English. So best advice - follow the crowd ;)

 

 

 Disclaimer: Do not reproduce this post or the photos without giving due credits or linking back to this post

 

South America Travel Diary: Chile

None of our vacations can be complete without a Wine Tour & Tasting!!! So after visiting the amazingly beautiful Machu Pichu, we headed down South to Chile, the wine country! I badly needed to rest, after all the travel, altitude and treks and lack of vegetarian food (sigh!). We flew from Cusco to Lima and then to Santiago de Chile (There is another Santiago de Atacama, mind you!)

Santiago de Chile
Stayed in a serviced apartment in the heart of the city of Santiago, right next to the MRT and all the restaurants. It pays to do a lot of research before booking the hotels!

Chile was extremely 'chilly' as it was winter in May/June and on top of that it was raining all 3 days we were there. What a spoil sport! Anyway, there is nothing much to see in the Santiago city, its just like any other city in the world. So off we went to the suburbs to visit the vineyards, the place of our interest. We chose the Concha y Toro Winery as its among the top ones out there. Booked the wine tour online, by ourselves and it worked out cheaper than going through an agent.
Here is the link if you are interested http://www.grayline.com/Santiago/Concha_y_Toro_Winery  . There wasn't much of a taste I could get out of the wines, in that freezing weather! But this winery is highly recommended!!

Useful Tip: Travel in the Metro, cabs are way too expensive and of course they dont speak English :)

  Visit the Delhi Darbar restaurant for "authentic" Indian food in Providencia district. A small restaurant hidden in the centre of the city but serves amazingly tasty North Indian food! We were surprised to find such a restaurant in our entire trip!

One of their wines that you must try!

 

Valpraiso & Viña Del Mar

These are the coastal towns of Central Chile, on the line of Pacific Ocean. Just A couple of hours drive from Santiago and can be seen in a day. We had booked a day trip with Viator but unfortunately it was pouring heavily the whole day and we could hardly enjoy the trip. But these 2 towns are very beautiful and it's worth spending a night over if the weather is good. While you drive down to the garden city of Vina Del Mar, you travel through the wine country and can stop over several vineyards for wine tasting if planned in advance.

 

 

 

Valpraiso port is extremely picturesque and built in the 16th-century on a total of 43 hills which are reached by narrow windy streets, staircases and a series of lifts (funiculars). This area has been declared by UNESCO as patrimony of humanity due to its eclectic architecture and urban development.

It's disappointing to say that I have no photos of the beautiful view of the Valpraiso port due to the heavy rains that day :-( You can google it to see how beautiful the city is!!

Few other things that you can do while in Santiago, which we didnt do (but I had researched on it!)
1. take a trip to Cajon de Maipo
2. go on casablanca valley/san antonia valley wine tour and stay overnight at casa marin in vineyards
3. Go to San Pedro and Visit Atacama salt lake & Moon Valley (in Northern Chile)
4. Santiago city Hop on hop off tour
5. Visit Easter Island




 

South America Travel Diary: Machu Pichu (Peru)

This travelogue is continued from the previous post.

 

After a day's rest in Cusco, at 11,000ft and going through some altitude sickness, we headed off to Machu Pichu, by Peru Rail. Finally, we were on our way to see another wonder of the world, which was the highlight of our trip!

 

We took Peru Rail from Cusco to Agua Calientes, which is about 4 hours of journey. You can actually do a 4 day trek from half way through Cusco till the top of Machu Pichu but you have to book it a few months early as it gets filled fast. I was happy taking the train to the base and then trekking up! Wouldnt want to do the 4 day trek after spending 30hrs in flight :) It seriously drove me crazy!

 

 

 

 

Agua Calientes

 

This is a small town (or should I say one small road between a railway track and a stream ;-)) at the base of the Machu Pichu mountain. We reached here and spent 2 nights in a hostel and kept this as our base to go visit the Inca city and trek the mountain. "Agua" in Spanish means Water and "Calientes" means Hot, so literally the town is called Hot Water! Don't expect anyone to speak in English here. If you want to survive here on ur own, learn basic Spanish. And if you are going to stay in a hostel, then be prepared to be visited by all kinds of insects and flying creatures and if you forget the mosquito repellant, then god save you!

 

There is a good shopping market at the train station where you get lots of local handicrafts and crystals at a very cheap price. So make sure you have some time dedicated for shopping!

When in Peru, you should definitely try their cocktail - Pisco Sour, that originated in Peru itself. A very unique drink which you wouldn't want to miss at any cost!
 

 

 

 

Inca City & Machu Pichu

 

From Aqua Calientes there are buses every half an hour that go half way up the mountain till the entrance to the Inca City Archealogical Site. It's a 30min ride up and you will be amazed at the way those bus drivers drive without honking, on the hairpin bends and the scary mountain terrains...doesn't matter if u feel the bus is going to collide or fall off the cliff, but they refuse to sound horn! Some talent I say!

 

Inca City & Wayna Pichu in Background

 

The Inca city is absolutely splendid, it is surreal, astonishing, beautiful, brilliant, super awesome and all other adjectives that you can come up with! It lies between the Machu Pichu and the Wayna Pichu mountains and it is architecture at its brilliance. It's now the UNESCO world heritage site and has been restored and preserved. Wonder how the Incas built such a cool city on top of a mountain!! The best time to visit is when it is bright and sunny. We tried to catch the sunrise on top but we were greeted by the rain gods and heavy clouds, so we explored the city for a few hrs in rain and clouds.

 

We visited again in the afternoon when it was bright and sunny, so caught the city in both rain and shine ;-) We hired a local tour guide (who spoke English, of course!) and go the history of the civilization from her as we explored the city. I highly recommend hiring a guide at least in your first visit to the site, else u may feel lost and not understand much or appreciate it. It will take approx 3 to 4 hours to explore the archaeological site and I suggest you visit the site twice if you have the luxury of time, else you may not get to see everything around there. There are multiple short treks that you can do there too...

 

View of Inca city from top of MachuPichu

 

 

You can start the trek up the Machu Pichu mountain from the archaeological site and the trek up takes about 2 hours and return another 2 hours. If you also want to trek the Wayna Pichu mountain, you will have to buy the ticket a few weeks or a month in advance as they allow only 400 people a day there. For the Inca city and Machu Pichu, tickets can be purchased on the spot..

 

The best time to visit Machu Pichu is when it is not raining, that is when it is winter time at the base or in the plains. When it is summer down, it will be raining in the mountains..

 

After exploring the mountains and the Inca city I felt it was totally worth the effort of travelling 30hrs in flight + 4 hrs of train + 1/2 an hour of bus to reach this place!! This is one of those must see places in a lifetime. If you dont see this, you really miss out on something splendid!!

 

 

Disclaimer: Do not reproduce or copy the photos & travelogue without linking back to this post or giving due credits

South America Travel Diary: Cusco (Peru)

The travelogue is continued from the previous post..

After resting for 2 nights in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil and also its Business capital, we headed towards Machu Pichu, the main highlight of our trip. But it was still a long way to reach there! After about 6 hours of flight we reached Cusco, via Lima. There is no direct way to reach Machu Pichu. You have to either trek from Cusco or take a train to the base of the mountain and bus to the top.

Plaza de Armas

Cusco (or Cuzco) is a small city in Peru in the south eastern part and at one point it was the historical capital of the Inca Empire. It was also declared as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983 and it's also the historical capital of Peru. It's a very small & laid back town (I wouldn't even call it a city). There are cobble stone streets, not even proper roads. It is quite filthy and looks very ancient. Since we went in the winter time, it was super chilly! If you have to see Machu Pichu, you have to go there when it is winter in the base, so it is not raining at the mountain top. Hence we had no choice but to bear the cold! We stayed in Hotel Terra Andina which was extremely posh compared to the city standards! Their service was superior and the food was good too. I highly recommend this place if you are visiting Cusco.

Even though it is very touristy, there wasn't much to see in the city itself. Visited their famous Cathedral, Iglesia del Triunfo which was a short walk from the hotel and got a short glimpse of the city's Plaza de Armas, the main central square. The cathedral is supposed to look very beautiful in the night under the lights but we were too tired to stay up as we had an early morning train. The cathedral is known for a Cuzco School painting of the Last Supper depicting Jesus and the 12 apostles feasting on guinea pig.

This image below is courtesy google. Just wanted to put it up here to show the panoramic beauty capturing the cathedrals and the Plaza together.

And wherever you go, there seems to be a "Bata" store :-) I was suprised to see it in a city as small and remote as Cusco!!

Cusco is a necessity on your itinerary if you plan to visit Machu Pichu. It's a good way to break your journey and stay over, but not much to do there.