28th November 2006

While chasing a dream, you could either fail or succeed. But you must chase aggressively and remain focused. Otherwise, there could be a third result: Not knowing what hit you or where you're going. Failing feels a lot better than this. You can hold your head up and say, 'I'm onto the next big thing. Want to know more?' In other words, you will have something to say, pun intended. Only if you fail or succeed. Not if you don't know what's hitting you.

2nd October 2006

I have had an intense week, and several ideas arrived around the same time. I thank you for your patience, as I present them all within a single Outpour: Love, Life's Questions, Ego Balloon and Works of Art.

My love is as natural as the air you breathe. Your birthright, all around you, inside you. Yes, you can take it for granted, because it seeks nothing in return. It has been around as long as Creation, yet fresh and specially for you, it appears out of nowhere, comforting you, your current needs, your problems, your dreams and aspirations. It is a part of you, your being. It is selfless, from the one Self, which we cannot understand, only experience.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not, nor would it be possesed. Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. For love is sufficient unto itself. And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Kahlil Gibran in 'The Prophet'

Life's 3 questions: What am I capable of? What am I doing? What's going to happen? To pass, you need to answer two correctly. The first two. If you try to answer the third, your 1st and 2nd answer might be unsatisfactory or even dead wrong. Two out of 3 is enough. Because the first two provide the answer to the third over time, outside the examination hall, your complex mind. Out, in the real world.

Your ego is like any other balloon. If you blow too hard, and too long, it will eventually burst and make a lot of noise. Another way to keep your ego in check, without the pyrotechnics, is to consistently, over time, make holes in the balloon. These holes are the precautions you take with your character, your behaviour to ensure your speech, thoughts and action are pure and united. Subsequently, under any given situation, no matter how hard anyone else, including yourself is blowing the Ego Balloon, its never going to inflate and fizzle out very quickly and silently. Be careful not to make so many holes that your balloon completely disappears. Death of self respect is no different to Death, the real thing.

Viewing life as a movie, as a third person is a common technique for the spiritual aspirant to control the monkey mind. Life can also be a modern art musuem. Fascinating at times, dead boring at some places. Confusing most of the time, very erratic and wide ranging. Yet, every exhibit has a reason for being, with a message and a purpose. Every work of art is full of evidence of creative genius, a guiding hand, working through the artist, fuelling his/her imagination, so that you, the musuem visitor ends up having a great time and journey, albeit one full of mixed emotions and experiences.

22nd August 2006

Now that I have returned to Scotland, the next big question: Will I settle down here for life, and which city, and if not for life, how long for? Now, you know why the question is 'big', not because it is profound and thought provoking, but because it is actually 3 questions rolled into one.

You could add more complexity at your own peril. Thankfully, I found the perfect answer today. Though I knew it all along, I was not able to express it this simply. Vision is more important than planning. With a great vision and goal, your planning becomes intuitive and unassuming. There is always wind beneath your wings, so you stop noticing it. But it is nudging you in the right direction. If you are staying calm with a great vision under your belt, you're doing quite well, even if you aren't able to answer the 'big' questions.

What do you want to do with your life? I like this question better folks.

Source: Today's Outpour was inspired, as expected, because of a 'big' question from a friend. Thank you, friend.

10th June 2006

I think at one point in time, it used to be easy to say. I'm not hurt, it's all spiritual. Nowadays, we need a deeper, rational explanation. If consumers have become demanding, so have the seekers of the truth. So be it.

Affection and affected are 2 different words. Of course, they sound the same, but they mean different things. It is very good, very commendable to have affection for someone. But not good to be affected by someone, or anything related to someone. How? When we say namaste, we are not saying hello to the person, per se, but to the soul or spirit within. We are actually bowing down in humility (yeah, so it's not technically a hello or a hi five, but an actual salutation. Try saying namaste with a stiff back and try to really mean it. Not possible. You WILL bend a bit at least). Same thing with affection. Have affection towards a person's spirit. How? Your affection must be genuine and deep. How? It has to be selfless. Why? Because as we all know, if you expect nothing, you're loving for no reason. If there has to be a reason, it has to do with GIVING. When you give, its human nature to be happy. Getting affection confused with attachment? Back to the nature of our good 'ol spirit. The spirit or spark or soul, give it any name, is DIVINE. If its divine, it is all pervasive, it is yours, it is mine, it is ours, it is ONE. We are ONE. We can only be attached to something, if we are separate from something. Therefore, if your affection is directed towards a person's spirit, you will not have to worry about attachment, and hence, the prospect of being affected.

The key to this is practice. Practice with constant prayer. Especially during any conflict in the mind. Focus on the rational explanation. If it still fails (By the way, everyone has a different definition of failure. If you're cool with crying in private, you have not really failed if that's what happens to you, or if that's how you deal with things. Define for yourself.), then you can go back to the good 'ol maxim, 'I'm not hurt. Its all spiritual'. Believe it or not, once you do say it, out aloud or mentally, it becomes the sacred responsibility of the elements to knock some sense into your head.

And knock they do. :)

21st April 2006

Ok..yes, been an amazingly long long time since I last wrote an Outpour. Doesn't mean I haven't felt anything. Maybe I'm just lazy and can't be bothered writing immediately anymore, maybe what I have felt is too gargantuan to bother summarising or maybe what I have experienced is too out of this world to describe. First of all, hello to several newcomers on the list. Please feel free to share what you read as Outpours via email or on the Web at http://www.tno.blogspot.com/ And also, parag@post.com is a fictional email address. So don't write there please.

Ok, this isn't just about a hello, I haven't written in ages, so let's just say hello session. I'm going to describe 3 things, 1 of which is an incident with an attached poem. The other 2 are short, I hope, statements on, well, you'll see..

1. I'll start with the statements: When you meet someone mysterious, you realise they are mysterious, only afterwards, cause you don't see them very often. So don't make the mistake of judging someone mysterious the moment you see them because they look like Manisha Koirala in Dil Se or because their eyes are saying whatever etc. Point is, if by chance, eventually and finally you do realise and really believe (after some time ofcourse), that the person you have met is ACTUALLY mysterious, then I will advise make the most of it. Here's why:

a) The same way, positive people exploit any future uncertainty in their lives by becoming more determined, become more determined. For example, have that drive to know more at face value, and not by judging or assuming. So, try to see that mysterious person more often, interact with that person more often. Find out more.

b) The same way, you don't understand why certain things happen to you, yet you realise you're alive, breathing and still in the reckoning for something, be grateful. For example, thank the mysterious person for making your life more colourful and more uncertain (see reason 1a).

2. Ok, swiftly onto thing number 2. I will make this really short to make up for number 1. 'sometimes, doing something and getting it done is easier than explaining or justifying that something.. saves energy' This is exactly what is written on my unsaved notepad file.

3. Ok, my favourite bit...this Outpour is going to be really super long, only because I am adding a poem at the end. But first, the story:

At the pure sensory level, i.e, what I actually see, feel, hear etc, a lot of amazing things have been happening, and without much effort. The beauty is, now I really believe, the less I try to make sense of my random observations or feelings, the greater the chances those observations or feelings would be put to good use. Today, I was out at Parkway Parade, suburban mall. Before entering the mall, I noticed an employee of Water Rise: Pancake and Burgers, behind the counter. Split second observation, but felt quite weird. When I was leaving the mall, it started drizzling, I was really determined to get home, but something pulled me to that restaurant. And now, here's the poem. What came out of it? This poem, and eventually, some 18 hours later, this Outpour which I didn't think I would write. Also, it stopped raining the moment I finished writing the poem.

Water Rise: Pancake and Burgers

pause to watch the fountain jump from the ground
pause to sip on frothy japanese lemon tea

pause to remember the sparkling confusion in your eyes,
when asked how different is japanese tea?

pause to accidentally meet your glance from afar
I was thinking, you'd be closer,
mopping the wet ground beneath

pause to thank you for your ready response
when asked for a pen and paper to write on

pause to watch the fountain dance forever in mid-air
pause to remember to compliment the japanese tea,
$2.50, but yes, it was different

pause to ask for one more sheet of paper
because you deserve to know why,
and I deserve to remember

20th April 2006

(written on location at Water Rise)

23rd February 2006

How we think, consciously or subconsciously, like a shampoo conditioner, creates the smoothness that we desire in our life. From birth, we are conditioned through what our 5 senses perceive of the world we live in, we learn to judge, form biases and prejudices but unfortunately, forget how to forget. Such complex conditioning seems second nature (read natural) for a highly advanced and intellectual mammal like the homo sapien. Yet, we feel most liberated on days we make a conscious effort to think simple and start to forget our past or worry less about the future. Such is the power of simple conditioning that it is indeed a rare gift from God. It is rare because it need not be used that often. The smoothness of simple conditioning lasts a long time.

But in between application (of simple thinking, non-judgemental attitudes etc.) beware of the dangers of excessive, complicated thinking. Complex conditioning is a slow, subtle poison, often undetected, because its roots lie deep in the subconscious, which we have little control over. Hence, it is also difficult to forget. Therefore, be wary of negative environments i.e. what your senses are put through.

With practice, you'll be always conscious of what experiences you are allowing your mind and body to go through. Then, the way you naturally wouldn't touch an unknown shampoo brand with a mile long pole, it's going to start feeling the same way. Unknown brands require complicated thinking and a lot of stress. Head and Shoulders, on the other hand, as any marketer would tell you is an impulse decision, a simple, worry-free buy. So think simple.

Attached is an image of The Blue Lagoon in Iceland, a natural hot water spring. Chill out and stay warm at the same time.

How this Outpour came about: Several miles of walking