2017 - My Intention

2016 has been a great year! Never before have I felt so deeply connected with myself and with my loved ones. Never before have I felt as grateful as I do now, especially after the birth of my child.

As I step into 2017, I sense a shift within me. The obsession that I have had over so many years to improve, to transform, to become somebody more than who I was, this obsession, I am sensing now, has subsided. I feel at peace with who I am. I feel connected to who I am. I feel that I am enough.

In 2017. the only intention I have is to be me, every single day, every single minute. I pray that I continue to connect with my sense of self, and step into my power, my potential. To continue to live my values. to continue to love fully, to be curious, to listen, to learn, and to serve. To be playful, to be present. To be courageous. To live my purpose, more than ever. And to be kind and gentle, above all.

2017 - I welcome you with all of my heart!   

Becoming Vegan

I have often thought about becoming a Vegan. I experimented with it briefly last year and went without dairy for about 3 months. At that time, I definitely felt more energetic and would have continued, but for some recurring stomach aches. I was having way too much spice and not having curd, I think contributed to the stomach aches

Now, I feel ready to be vegan. I plan to limit salt/spice intake and this should help with my continuing vegan diet. This shift in my diet directly contributes to some of my most important 2017 goals:

1. This will help me become the healthiest and fittest version of myself

2. This will definitely boost my energy levels - I want to be my most energetic version in 2017

3. Instead of talking about Animal Cruelty, I get to act and take a stand on it

It feels right turning vegan and I hope this helps in 2017 becoming my best year so far

3 Step Process to Self Transformation

I believe that there are 3 fundamental steps that is required if we want to transform our lives. 

1. Discover our values and tune into them

Our emotions are governed by what we feel at a particular point in time. When we are not in tune with our deepest values, we let our emotions drive our behavior. This would mean reacting as opposed to responding from within. For example, if we are not in tune with a deep value (Eg: Love), then we would respond to differences with anger. On the contrary, when we are deeply in tune with ourselves, we can learn to look at the situation from a different perspective. We will still feel the initial emotion but will move over to your higher sense of self.

2. Re-wire our beliefs through perspective shifting

By operating from our highest sense of ourselves, we can tune in to our beliefs and check as to whether the beliefs are empowering or dis-empowering. For example, if we believe that the other person is completely unreasonable and/or that the situation has no solution, guess what, there will be no solution. But instead, if we can believe in our heart of hearts, that any problem or issue can be solved, then we will learn to see through differences and genuinely try to find common ground. Most importantly, we will be able to operate from a sense of compassion, even for those we disagree with. Overall, we will start discovering the freedom to take action, even in challenging situations.

3. Change our Habits to step into Action

Once we re-wire our beliefs, we need to identify habits that are holding us back and replace them with empowering habits. For instance, if we have been habituated to not taking action and express our voice with those we disagree with, even after our beliefs change, we will wait and question ourselves on whether we need to express ourselves. We need to change the way we perceive pleasure and pain and associate pain with not taking action and pleasure with taking even the tiniest of actions, however difficult it may be. 

When we do this on a consistent basis, our habits will start reflecting our beliefs and our values and eventually change us into the person we want to become. 

Learning from Babies

Ever since I had my first born kid a few weeks back, I have been seeing baby videos all over facebook. It got me thinking about the amazing qualities of babies that we can imbibe as adults.

1. Babies express their emotions fully

Be it frustration, anger, sadness or joy, kids express each of their emotions fully and without any inhibitions. There is no self judgement and there is no need to judge other kids! As adults, we often bottle up our emotions within ourselves and often judge ourselves, almost all the time! This leads us to not enjoy the full feeling of our emotions apart from causing issues in our life. We can truly live your life to the fullest by imbibing this quality. Of course, we have to choose the right outlets to vent out your emotions (For example, you do not want to shout at your boss, right :P)

2. Babies do not carry any grudges

Have you seen babies fight? They push each other, cry, shout but within minutes they are back in each other's arms! How amazing would it be, if we can do that in our adult relationships? Of course, we need to swallow that elephant in the room called ego. Considering the upside, why not? If we can completely be comfortable in our own skin without seeking any approval from the outside world, then we can develop the ability to reach out and heal relationships.

3. Babies live in the Present

This is a no-brainer! Of course, considering the way our mind ebbs and flows, this is obviously the toughest quality to imbibe! There are many ways with most folks prescribing meditation, being in silence, being focused on whatever we do. I for one, find it only when I am in flow, doing something with all of my focus and energies. There is a long road ahead, but so completely worth it!

As my baby grows, I hope to grow the child within me and also trigger the child within you, when we connect :) Lets say aye and enter the world of babies together!