Swamiyeee! Sharanam Ayyappa!

Its Sabarimala season again. The lent season for Malayalees. The thing that comes to my mind when someone says lent is - fasting. The events during the last few days and the beginning of the Vrishchikam month today(as per Malayalam Calendar) put me into thinking.... Why not take this holy month & see if I can improve of certain things that had been at the back of my mind since long....

1) Move to respectful form of you
I use the informal way to address my friends & close ones. Rite now, I am incapable of writing down why I want this shift. But yes, I feel somewhere, sometimes... some negativity is being generated when I use the informal 'You'.

I had started this project earlier on. But had failed miserably. I understand I cannot make this switch overnight. But I feel this is worth the attempt.

2) Wanna talk? Ring up!
Yaaa... I know! High time!

Well, its not news that using textual medium for communications has ruined a lot of relationships for me. I want to reduce both the short-messages & chats. These textual messages only results in irking ego & misunderstandings. So, if you want to get in touch with me, call me. And, if I want to update someone on whats happening with me, I will call you, irrespective of the place and/or time ;)

Again, I am not saying I will never ever use text messages. But yes, I am working on a significant reduction.

3) Start working out - DAILY ;)
Had stopped with my daily workout since June. I was feeling extremely tired & exhausted during those days. That was when I decided to go easy on myself. I remained active, but completely stopped my evening workout. I think, I have regained sufficient 'health' to restart my old routine.

4) Go Veggie
I still am not very keen on it. But if this happens, well & good. Let me see, if this will have any effect on me. The moment I sense that missing those yummy non-veg food is having a negative effect on me, I will call this off. I am considering this to just align with the Yoga thingie. Lets see... As of now, this is of low priority.

5) Reduce tamarind intake
I was able to reduce the chilly aspect of spice that goes into our food. In fact, I have started enjoying these non-chilly Indian food. Now, the next form of spice I would like to reduce is Tamarind. Like many other things in my life, I have no explainable reason for this :-)


I am not saying, I will be sticking to this for 41days. But yes, I would love to see how it goes on a weekly basis.

Picture Courtesy : naturallyengineered.com

Detachment vs Dispassion

He{after the demise of his grandmother} : I was able to go through the process because I was able to detach myself from the scene and observe what was happening. If, even for a sec, a stray thought had come in that this is my grandmother, I might have collapsed.

All what I heard of what he said was the word 'detachment'. I was not very comfortable hearing that word. Why was I uncomfortable? Is it because the first image that formed in my mind was that of attachment? I had to negate something to get detachment.

Would a better pick be dispassion? I have absolutely no clue. Maybe I will... when I evolve some more... :-)

Picture Courtesy : katiessweatylife

Kill Him

Read this bit in the paper today. I know I am not in a position to explain this, but the fact is... I don't want to ;)

..... that is why in Buddhist teachings, at the end of the whole teaching, in one section of Buddhists, they say, 'if you come across a Buddha, kill him' - in the sense, let not Buddha become an ideal which you start imitating and so destroy your uniqueness.... 

Picture Courtesy : killingthebuddha.com

stars have run away

Kiddo wanted to celebrate Diwali with her sister(my bro's daughter) who stays at a stones throw from our place. Thanks to the lazy day at home, it was already dark by the time Kiddo & I started our walk towards bro's place. We both were enjoying various forms of fireworks that were lighting up the night sky. That was when Kiddo made an interesting observation...

"Amma.... I think all the stars have run away so that they don't get fire!"

Yes! The sky was devoid of stars tonight.... :-)

Picture Courtesy : www.bigfoto.com

No Marriage

Kiddo : I don't want marry.
Me{could hear people going in the background, "I TOLD YOU SO!"} : Whyyyyyy?
Kiddo{high pitched & over dramatic} : You have to always keep working if you are married. Keep wake uping everyone. Always make lots of food. It is better to be alone like aunty. She doesn't only have to cook.
Me : But baby, won't you feel lonely if you don't have someone?
Kiddo : I will stay with a friend.

Kavilammeeeeeeeee............................

Picture Courtesy : emotional-intelligence-education.com

classes for guys

"WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING HIM??????"

Asks Kiddo in her shrieking voice, full of surprise.

I was conducting yoga class for my first official guy student. When she woke up, I was in the middle of the class & pushing & kicking a guy. As such I was feeling a little awkward as it was the first time I was actually helping out a guy with his yoga. If it was not for my ego, I wouldn't have been able to hold my fort. Thats when my dear lil one shatters it all for me.

Well after a moment of awkwardness, I was able to answer her question...
"Amma is the teacher here. Amma can touch anywhere other than his private parts!"

Now that the jinx is broken, I can actually start with my own classes... :-)

Picture Courtesy : goodmenproject.com

to do or not to

He : I want to do it! She wants to do it! But....

How many times have we used similar excuses? The most common I have heard is related to starting with an exercise regime.

I want to start with exercises, but I do not get time after the office & other commitments.

I myself have used it. I used to safely hide behind this excuse and I did that for many years too. But now, I have a completely different take on this. If you are 100% into it, nothing can stop you from doing it. I understand the occasional breaks & delays. But, if you really want it, you will make it happen.

But, until that moment, we can all feel safe under the warmth of this 'but'. I just pray that this moment comes to whoever needs it without having to wait for long..... :-)

Picture Courtesy : Focus-Adolescent-Services