New Year Resolutions

The time has come to make New Year Resolutions. Don’t make resolutions like the mom who resolved to give up all her son’s hair at Tirupathi. Make ones you can keep. There are four areas of your life where resolutions could transform your year.


Personal
Family
Work
Social


The space where you have the most control is the most important personal quadrant. I know guys who have given up smoking, because it can add atleast 7 years to their life. But then they give it up atleast once a month. Which really is the problem with resolutions. They are so difficult to keep for a whole year. Here are some simple resolutions

• Every day is a celebration. I will do something every day that I have never done before.
• I will enjoy one week day evening and weekends with my family with cell phones and laptop switched off.
• I will learn something totally new, professionally
• I will keep in touch with old friends and meet them at least once a month.

Creating a positive interpersonal field.

A drug addict once explained the difference between sympathy and empathy. He said, ‘You can never feel anything but sympathy for me and what I need is empathy. Empathy is the capacity to feel my pain in your heart.’ To be ‘socially tone-deaf’, a term coined by Peter Solovey, can lead to a life littered with broken relationships. Develop the capacity
to pick up subtle verbal, tonal and non-verbal signals from others. Learn also the ability to send out soothing, nurturing signals to others, thus creating a positive interpersonal field. In order to develop this skill, practice working with people and listening to them with the same attitude as you would a beloved child, or respected parent. Your word, tone, glance should be completely focused on the person. When you are with someone, pay complete attention. Anything less will only elicit a lukewarm response. Those who can create positive fields around themselves attract and build lifetime relationships.

A recent happiness survey shows that hairdressers have the highest levels of happiness at work! The reason? They are in direct touch with their customers. Chris Humphries, Director General of City and Guilds U.K., says: Nowadays, job satisfaction and happiness is about fulfilling your potential, tapping into your own creativity and feeling that you can make a difference. Many are exchanging their desk-bound jobs for vocations that enable them to be hands-on, use their brains and be in charge of their own destiny.
In a Guardian article by Laura Smith, two out of five hairdressers
described themselves as extremely happy. She gives two reasons:
1. Creativity
2. Contact with customers

A study commissioned by the Qualifications Authority of City and
Guilds published the following results:

Happiest

Clergy
Beauticians
Plumbers

Unhappiest

Social workers
Architects
Estate agents
Insurance Agents
Secretaries

Those in practical jobs enjoyed a lot more social interaction.

Towards Personal Happiness

The world is in your drawing room, it is clamoring to change your life with more and more sophisticated toys. As a popular saying goes, ‘What separates the men from the boys is just the price of their toys.’ Simplify and go home to what you really need.

Any of the big five emotions—kama, kroda, madha, lobha, matsarya (lust, anger, arrogance, greed, jealousy, respectively) can flood the body with the chemicals of stress. Stress is destructive. To recreate the garden of your mind, creates happiness, you have to get rid of the anger, hatred, fear, greed and jealousy. If you really want to be happy, you need to plant the flowers of love, the fountain of companionship, liberate the butterflies of laughter.

On the Cusp of Change

* Take care of your health. You cannot deliver a prize-winning performance with a broken-down body.
* Force the world to look at issues like: What kind of world are we leaving for our children? Where have leisure, poetry and caring been banished? Why has the door been shut on the smiles and joy of our children? Why do we have no time for our friends or small acts of kindness? Why are deadlines so terrible that they extract death as the price? None of us would mind dying for great causes, but to die for a power-point presentation, seems slightly frivolous.
* Do not get stereotyped into how others see your role: as a mother or an all forgiving rescuer in the workplace. Encourage men to discover their so-called feminine qualities of sensitivity and caring. Do not stereotype men!
* Affirm women who are role models instead of trying to find chinks in their armour. Network with them. There is a queen-bee complex, which causes successful women managers to surround themselves with male managers and discourage the entry of women. Identify this and speak up when required.
* There are points in a woman’s life-cycle when her intensive physical presence is needed. There are high priority interactions which cannot be delegated. Build a support system with family, household staff, neighbours and friends to help you enjoy these
times. Men too have been deprived of active participation in these peak experiences in the past. Make your company recognise and respond to these realities.
* Hitch your wagon to the pursuit of daily and consistent learning. Be Saraswati. Bring your heritage of creating wholeness from leftovers, and wealth from waste. Be Lakshmi. Call forth the courage to speak, write and act for what is true and good for all.
Be Shakti. Be all woman. Be all human.

Pleasant Music to Empower Your Mindspace

‘Music has the power to purify the emotional field like nothing else,’ Our mindscape trembles with the joy of old songs half-remembered, snatches of tunes hummed by our mother. Every day we could choose the sounds we allow into our field. Perhaps we could set a song for the day in our mind. Those who meet us would see the sparkle of that song in our eyes and feel the rhythm of its harmony in our limbs.

‘Shabdh or sound is Vani Saraswathi, the Goddess of Learning. Words are sacred to her.
Choose to say beautiful words, to hear lovely words. Banish harsh, angry and foul language from the inner spaces of your heart,’ Pour music into your soul. Touch people who love you. Explore new places. Reach into great books and study alternate futures.
Pamper yourself and ask your loved ones for hugs. Meditate. Be silent. Plug into the universe. Let go. Let God catch you. Your sankalpa or intention must be pure. Be clear about your goal. Be non-judgemental. Love and seek to understand with tenderness.

Healthy Environment for healthy living!

In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our wellbeing or otherwise. Emotions like love, courage, humour, compassion wonder and peace create a positive and energetic environment . Meditation helps you to achieve these energy and contribute enormously to an individual’s psychological and physiological wellbeing.

How to create a positive and energetic environment around yourself, your home and office?

 A mental process which draws a magic circle of love around all those who are participating.

 A prayer or mantra said together.

 A common exercise, a company song, common goals.

 A handshake, a friendly look, an encouraging word.

 Thinking, believing and acting in a positive manner.

 Laughter and shared jokes.

Every Day is a Celebration!

Celebrate the positive in all interactions. Sprinkle the pure waters of prayer on your soul and prepare afresh for a brand-new day. Go peacefully amidst the noise and the haste. Enjoy the sweetness of everyday things. When we say namaste, we say ‘I bow to the Divine in you’. ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ say, our holy book – the whole world is your family. Imagine the rich network of love you could create, where your children can be nurtured if you believed and practiced this.

The most inexpensive ticket to happiness is not found on makemy trip.com. It is found in helping others and making others happy. You don’t have to visit Aids victims in Africa and make them happy. You can start with your own family, neighbours, cook, cleaner and friends. As the slogan at the Paro Airport in Bhutan says, ‘Gross National Happiness begins with a smile’. So spread happiness like Amul butter on bread. It will stick to your fingers.

Creative Marketing

To create teams and understand simple implementation skills that are crucial to the success of marketing plans.

To analyze the innovative ways in which the marketing mix can be restructured for higher Profitability.

To develop new products and services that can provide the cutting edge for competitive advantage.

To recreate the concept of place and access and make distribution channels more customer friendly through creativity tools.

To add value to the concept of price through consideration. This module will enable the company to increase the price without losing customers.

Shangri-La

There is a place in the distant mountains which is always calm and peaceful, where the earth is laden with luscious fruit and wholesome grain, where people are vital, healthy and happy. Where every edifice is artistic and beauty clothes every home in the loveliness of hand made artifacts and the community is one happy family. Shangri-La is the result of Mankind’s effort to create this happy town, city and finally nation. Shangri-La is not really a place. It is inside everyone’s own heart. The dream city is only a reflection of our own peaceful, happy heart.

Action plans to make happiness ‘infectious’ in your Shangri-La

1. Make many friends, who get together to laugh, work, read and share.
2. Plant more trees.
3. Clean up the roads.
4. Start walking and playing together with the kids on the street.
5. Share the knowledge, play, beauty and wisdom. Create the ‘village’ which is needed to raise a child in your community.
6. Use garbage to create gardens and get everything bright and blooming.

Today, start making your own street or building a Shangri-La…

Divine forces of the Universe

We draw energy from the wind, air and sunlight, from water, earth and things grown on the earth. We also draw energy from the divine forces of the universe which pour into us through the chakras. The sun pours heat, light and vitality, which greatly improves health and wellbeing. People who are deprived of the sunlight suffer from depression during winter months, especially in the Scandinavian countries and the Arctic. A place can have a positive or negative field. You can feel it when you enter a temple or church where regular services are performed. That is why people go to places of pilgrimage like Tirupathi. The feeling of prayerful sacredness envelops all those who go there. The reason was that the whole silent congregation was prayerful and there was none there with evil intentions in his heart

We must also learn to handle our failures with confidence and grace as it is only an event, not our whole life. We must learn from failure. We should tap into the peace and silence of the universe which is always available to us. The world is a positive and healthy place.

Reciprocate love

You are the mirror in which all your loved ones see themselves. You can soothe and inspire them by reflecting back an image that is lovable and competent. Calvin Cooley, renowned sociologist has described the Mirror Image thus: ‘I am what I think you think I am.’ If you constantly put down others, you can destroy them mentally. Their unhappiness can harm your mindscape. Accept your family as they are. Unrealistic expectations about your child can put unrelenting pressure on him/her. Mills and Boon expectations of your spouse can make them feel unloved and inadequate. They can then become cranky and difficult. Compete only with yourself. Take pleasure in others’ growth and achievement. Keep the child in you alive. Cuddle, nurture and liberate the child in you.

Mindful Parent

Children need the security of a simple, dependable schedule. Ambiguity or lack of dependability in family life is known to affect the individual’s capacity to live in a secure long-term relationship in the future. The family provides the love and nurturing required for the survival of children Affirmation is important when people in our lives appreciate us and express it verbally, tonally, non-verbally. The opposite of an affirmation is a discount. You need at least ten affirmations for every discount for the maintenance of a healthy relationship. A home filled with discounts becomes a torture chamber instead of a sanctuary.

Healthy diet is very important for children’s growth. Forget grandma’s belief that fat children are healthy children. The Zero Heart Attack Path (ZHAP)diet is just as good for kids. A ZHAP home will provide the foundation for a healthy adulthood. These years are dangerous years when unhealthy emotional patterns are learnt. Food often becomes a source of solace. Be a mindful parent.

Emotional Environment for Happiness

In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our wellbeing or otherwise. Meditation can clean up the field and contribute enormously to an individual’s psychological and physiological wellbeing.

How to create a positive field around yourself, your home and office?

Ø A mental process which draws a magic circle of love around all those who are participating.

Ø A prayer or mantra said together.

Ø A common exercise, a company song, common goals.

Ø A handshake, a friendly look, an encouraging word.

Ø Thinking, believing and acting in a positive manner.

Ø Laughter and shared jokes.

Give yourself happiness breaks every day: call an old, lonely relative and take her shopping once a month. Schedule a beauty parlour date for yourself, once a month. Read a great book. Listen to fabulous music.

Healthy Networking for Happiness

The world is in your drawing room, through television and internet it is clamouring to change your life with more and more sophisticated toys. As a popular saying goes, ‘What separates the men from the boys, is just the price of their toys.’ Simplify and go home to what you really need. The world is like a buffet counter at a five-star hotel. Let’s not grab everything on our plates. Let us be choosy, so that we may avoid spiritual indigestion and physical exhaustion. Let us put family first. Finding a job you love is one of the ways you can immunize yourself against health problems. A good marriage is a protective shield against health attacks. One should consistently cultivate the positive emotions of love, compassion, courage and peace, not merely avoid negative emotions in the family.

1. Budget for family time every day

2. Plan for meals together

3. Pray together

4. Plan an annual get together of the extended family.

5. Create a family face book page

Healthy Networking for Happiness

The world is in your drawing room, through television and internet it is clamouring to change your life with more and more sophisticated toys. As a popular saying goes, ‘What separates the men from the boys, is just the price of their toys.’ Simplify and go home to what you really need. The world is like a buffet counter at a five-star hotel. Let’s not grab everything on our plates. Let us be choosy, so that we may avoid spiritual indigestion and physical exhaustion. Let us put family first. Finding a job you love is one of the ways you can immunize yourself against health problems. A good marriage is a protective shield against health attacks. One should consistently cultivate the positive emotions of love, compassion, courage and peace, not merely avoid negative emotions in the family.

1. Budget for family time every day

2. Plan for meals together

3. Pray together

4. Plan an annual get together of the extended family.

5. Create a family face book page

Build Family Bonding

‘The family is the shock absorber of society, to which the bruised and battered individual returns after doing battle with the world,’ wrote Alvin Toffler in his classic ‘Future Shock’. The breakdown of the joint family has led to a loosening of extended family relationships. The large, amorphous, supportive joint family that supported a wide variety of people and bestowed unconditional love for the crippled, the old and the helpless, has been reduced to the nuclear family where everyone is in sharp focus.

It is our mission to restore the family to its traditional role as a place of rest and healing, in a new paradigm. There should be one person in the family who can cushion the blows of the outside world. Someone who is not too busy to listen, give support, and manage the daily tasks of living. This could even be a paid caregiver or cook. Networking with parents, in-laws, neighbours, domestic help and friends is the key for working couples.