So, the movie Topgun, in, and in spite of, all its cheesiness has been big in my house for years now. We're all nuts about science in general but esp fireworks, weapons, aircraft and the science and engineering that goes behind them. When we were kids, my mechanical engineer father would ask science-based questions to my sis and I such as, "Why does an aircraft roar when it comes from behind you and not when it's coming at you?" and hungry for his approval, I used to try to come with answers, while my sis would, as usual, go into a day dream of what dessert would she like to eat next!
That love for mechanics has endured in me. The other day, I stumbled upon this channel, "MILI", discovered that it stood for "Military" and ended up watching it for a good 2 hours straight! Must be the forces background of some of my family members popping up in my genes... The Blue Angels practically turn us into groupies! Groupies with strollers, ponytails and fruit snacks!
So the other day, my little one looked into my eyes and asked me in his usual earnestness, "Mommee, what does this mean, 'You never never leave your wingman?'". I got quiet, thinking if it was a good idea to let him watch Jester say that to Maverick. Then, my momm-y resourcefulness jumped in and I said, "Honey, that means that you always always listen to your mommy. Because your mommy is your wingman." My gullible 5 year old goes, "OK MOM!" and that was that. This level of innocence?! How hilarious and how deeply heartwarming!
He used to find girls "yuck" when he was 4. And any kissing scenes on the TV would send him into throes of disgust. He'd run to cover my eyes and his and say with genuine feeling, "Oh no! Gross! Here they go again!", while I would collapse in helpless laughter. Now, he's 5 and the other day he told me, "Actually, I am ok with girls now. And, momme, guess what, I am also ok with kissing scenes on the TV." I smiled and just looked at him. At how he's changing. Still as innocent as ever, but now with different preferences... And then he suddenly goes, "Now, I'm going to hide! You can't find me! Nana-nana-BooBoo" as he bounded off to the sofa, covered himself with a bright red blanket, and sitting there, quivering with excitement, like an oversized, ripe raspberry, waited for me to discover him. Life was pure bliss.
So folks, whether you meditate or not, these foods will effect you exactly the same way as they'll effect someone who is meditating regularly. So, to have optimum effect from them, meditate for 10 mins a day. I can teach you how to automatically get into meditation without standing on your head or changing your lifestyle. And You don't even need to manipulate/try to control your mind! I know. It's pretty amazing. Read on for how to have mercy on your own selves and to start eating right, finally:
Good and Bad Foods For Right and Left Sides:
The Left Side(Moon Channel): Seattle, because of precious little sunshine, leaves us deeply vulnerable to a Cold left side and our behaviors show it amply. It's very easy for us to veg on the sofa, wrap ourselves in shawls, drink tea and dream of California. On Left sided days, we "go with the flow" a little too much, often repressing our true feelings, we tear up easily, we get over emotional, we get too attached to people and things and we find solace in romantic/tragic films/novels. Our superego comes up and we get smug or cynical, thinking we know everything about this sick, hypocritical, no good world. We feel powerless, hesitant about the future. Worry not! Seafood of all kind is here to rescue you from your lethargic, no go, depressed state of mind. Other foods like spicy flavors that "wake" the body up are also good. Caffeine, meats, esp pork, in general, provide tremendous heat to the body, and bring your tired, frozen left channel into balance.
Bad Foods For Left Side:
A predominantly vegetarian diet causes enormous stress on an overworked left side. You need protein to counter the effects of a tired, "cold" Left side. Don't consume too much dairy, esp cold yogurt and cow's milk. Eat Salty foods. Foods that are overly sweet also stress the left side.
Right Side (Sun Channel):
Most people today have a chronically tired, and angry Right side, which needs cooling. It's so, because we spend our days analyzing complex information, some necessary some not so much, that frequently competes for attention with our precious bandwidth. We handle what we can, and go on storing the rest in our clogged Right side. This clog results in a dominating personality, shows up as anger, as out-of-control ego, too much future related actions, inability to relax and generally be a pleasant person. Ever know someone with who its always his/her way or the highway? That's a classic Right sided personality.
Superstar Cooling foods: Sugary, carbohydrate rich fruits such as Grapes, berries, sugar cane are very good for the Right side. Yogurt is excellent. Herbs such as mint are also great. A "tea" made by boiling radish leaves and mixed with white grape juice is very good. Eat simple, easy to digest food like white rice, chick peas, juices, salads. Chicken is a neutral meat and doesn't heat you up much. Traditional Indian jelly made of roses, called "Gulukand" is a super awesome treat to cool the hottest of livers. I know because I happen to get my liver hot frequently, and this jelly is so potent, so mellow, so effective in balancing me that it's like rain on a hot day for my liver!
Bad Food For Right Side:
Seafood of all kinds will fire you up, so completely avoid it on a hectic day. Stay away from caffeine, instead, just sleep well. Caffeine will zonk you into waking, but will also put your liver on fire, proving counterproductive when you need to focus. Avoid chocolates, sodas, spicy food, too much red meat, totally avoid pork products like salumi, and fried food.
A word on Meat: Try to not eat animals that are bigger than you. Have chicken instead of Elk, Cornish Game Hen instead of steak. Your chakras will thank you.
Good Foods for Mooladhar chakra: Pomegranate, Radish.
Bad Food For Mooladhar Chakra: Rotten food like Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola. All mushrooms.
Good Foods for Vishudhi chakra: Sweets, rock sugar, foods cooked with butter. Sweetened Yogurt.
No chakra is isolated from the rest and they all effect each other dynamically. So, think about Food holistically, eat well, sleep well, meditate and you'll find yourself in a position of bliss and power every moment of your life. It's possible. This former migraine-sufferer has done it!
Folks, I am going to be on 710 KIRO, Sept 6 at 6pm as a guest on "Seattle Kitchen"- Chefs Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau's weekly food show. We're talking about "How to Eat Spiritually, Nourish Our Chakras Through Food".
In ancient Indian culture, Food has been treated as being sacred, having deeply valuable medicinal qualities, helping the individual to grow optimally physically, mentally and spiritually. For the last 8 yrs, I've been teaching free classes in Seattle and Bellevue on meditation and eating spiritually. I've also written about it in Indian national press and have prominent doctors attest to the following findings.
An overview:
7 Chakras, 3 Channels in Human Body
The 7 "Chakras" (Nerve Plexuses/Energy Centers): Eons old, and deeply respected Indian schools of medicine and philosophy, such as Ayurveda, have written treatises telling us that each human body has 7 chakras, each equally important, which govern the physical and subtle functions of that part of the body. These 7 centers start from the base of the spine and go up till the top of the head. An optimally functional heart chakra, for example, regulates the heart's physical aspects like building enough anti-bodies, and keeping the heart beating properly, and also is responsible for subtle qualities such as compassion, a sense of security, confidence and fearlessness. Heart related ailments can be cured by strengthening this chakra. Swadhisthan- the second chakra, governs the pancreas, and part of the liver. On the subtle level, it enlightens creativity and critical thinking. In our stressful lives, we put constant pressure on these 7 chakras, thus weakening them over time. The right kind of food, when eaten to give strength to these chakras, can reverse the damage and make them strong and healthy again, thus improving the quality of our lives.
The 3 Channels: In addition to the 7 chakras, the human body also has 3 critically important channels depicting the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous system called, Ida (Left side), Pingala (Right side), Sushumna (Center channel).
1. The Left side supports our emotions, our desires, and our creative imagination. People who are too much rooted in their past, overload their left side, making it tired. Symptoms of a left side overload can be depression, an over emotional nature, lethargy, frequent crying, day dreaming, drug and alcohol addiction, lack of ambition, and a general inability to take proper action to fulfill one's hopes and dreams. Such people like to follow others, and don't assert themselves, repressing their true thoughts and desires. The Left side is cool to begin with, and needs heat and "hot" foods to bring it into balance.
2. The Right side supports our actions, and our ability to think critically about the future. However, if we neglect our feelings, think too much about the future, are mentally and physically over active, we tire out our right side. Symptoms include attention deficit disorders, trouble relaxing, frequently feeling extremely tired, and developing a dominating personality, among others. The Right side is hot and needs cooling to bring it into balance.
3. The central channel: This is the channel that sustains and nourishes us. It gives us a balance between our dreams and actions. It motivates us to have healthy goals, and shows us what actions to take to achieve them. It ends self-destructive behaviors.
Most of us fall into either the Left sided or the Right sided personality, and some of us go back and forth like a yo-yo between the two. Food, in the Indian school of medicine and culinary science, is also classified as being "hot" or "cold". If you have an overload on the Left side, you should eat "hot" foods which will heat up your left side, and if you're feeling right sided, you should eat cooling foods to ease the pressure off it. For example, people who work in overly analytical fields almost always overload their right side. That's why they need extra cooling foods in their diet to keep them performing optimally. But many times, our days are a crazy mix of left sided and right sided behaviors and we stuff ourselves silly, trying to comfort our overwhelmed selves. But that's like putting band aid on an exploding dam.
Seasons matter profoundly. Winter, because it has little sunshine, and warmth, frequently overloads our left side, esp in Seattle. We need extra "hot" foods to keep our left side working properly, for our emotions to stay healthy, and strong. That's why eating seasonally has been given so much importance in older civilizations, because nature gives us foods that are just right for us at different times of the year. We get carbohydrate rich, sweet sugary fruit in the summer to cool the body down, and in the winter, we eat dense, protein rich foods to keep the body warm. Eating locally grown, organic food has been a no brainer for civilizations like India and China for eons.
Liver: Spiritually, the Liver is an extremely important organ because it controls the seat of our attention. A "hot" liver frequently manifests as anger, digestion problems, diseases like diabetes, ulcers etc. We all stress our liver everyday when we indulge in over-thinking, rushing through things, behaving impatiently and not giving focused attention to what life brings our way.
How to diagnose the state of your chakras and channels: A powerhouse energy called the, "Kundalini" resides in each human being, sleeping at the base of one's spine. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, a highly acclaimed spiritual master from India, wife of a senior civil servant and United Nations official, Sir C.P. Srivastava, discovered a way to awaken this Kundalini en masse in 1970. Since then She has been teaching people worldwide, always free of cost, on how to awaken this benevolent energy. True spirituality is beyond money so, you can't pay for this experience.
Once awakened, this energy instantly puts you in a state of meditation. You stay lucid, completely comfortable, 100% aware of your environment, but your mind is still. Your mind feels rested, it feels silent, and deeply blissful. There is no need to concentrate for hours, read tomes, or put any stress on your body or mind to get this state of meditation. In meditation, you start feeling a soothing, cool breeze, and vibrations in your hands. Your 7 chakras are represented in your hands. This cool breeze can tell you right away which chakra and which channel is overloaded in you, by giving you a warm, throbbing sensation in that finger. Like the chakra of good communication is represented in the index finger. Any problem of that chakra will manifest as your index finer going warm, while the rest of the hand stays cool. Furthermore, it can be cross checked by others who meditate because when they put their hands (or focus their attention) towards you, their index fingers will also get warm or hot, depending on the severity of the problem. So, this new language that's happening in your hands helps you to diagnose the state of your ever changing chakras and channels. You just move your hand over the channels and chakras to see if you get cool or hot vibrations from them and eat food accordingly. Amazingly, food that's been cooked properly, will give you cool vibrations even if it's a piping hot curry! Imagine putting your hands on a steaming dish and feeling a gush of cool breeze on your hands!
These "hot", "cold" and neutral foods, spices and drinks are easily available in the local grocery stores. Tune in tomorrow and learn how to eat after right sided/ left sided days, how to stay balanced no matter what, and how to increase the quality of your lives through food. Or come to our free meditation classes taught across town and learn with an instructor. Email queries: quantumjourno@gmail.com
Folks, I am filing a cover story with pictures for The Hindustan Times' Sunday Magazine section on Punjabi-Americans who are involved in campaigning for either the Democrats or the Republicans and some who are running for elections themselves. Anyone attended the huge Obama fundraiser in San Fransisco recently?
Candidates, PR personnel etc interested in pitching me are welcome to email me at their earliest. I am looking for contact info on prominent political players across the country. I will doing phone/email interviews and will need pictures. I also will need detailed info on their roots in India, aside from what they do in America.
My deadline is super tight and I would ideally like to have responses by 12 noon tomorrow, Sept 5.
Email: quantumjourno@gmail.com . Pls put Punjabi-American in subject line.
Tks!
Priyanka
I've been at the receiving end of some heavy duty Hispanic kindness and hospitality lately. It was a fine summer day at Newcastle beach park when I, busy digging sand for my son's sand castle, proceeded to drop my wallet unawares on the beach. This woman walks up to me, asks if I am "Priyanka" (prompting mildly deluded, heat induced sensation of meeting yet another giddy reader of this blog, haha), and returns my wallet to me, with not a slip of paper missing!
On the way out of the park on this dreadfully crowded day, this middle aged guy's walking out with his wife. I wait for them to cross the road before I start taking the car out. He merely looks at me, sees the overfull, chaotic parking lot and and decides that I need help. Usually, any criticism about my driving- (which is PERFECT, people! I drove for years in India of all places with not one accident or a single ticket!)- gets me into the Crouching Tiger pose, nails out and everything. But this man moved soo quick, I was just left laughing at the sheer innocence of his political incorrectness ! I mean who sees a woman with a kid in the back seat, and automatically thinks she needs his help with pulling a car out of a tight spot?! That he didn't speak a word of English, helped the situation quite a bit. He came close, smiled, shouted some directions in Spanish, and next thing I know, he zoomed his arm onto the wheel, moved it this way and that, and 7 seconds later, I was out of the lot! All this while his wife smiled proudly, clutching a habachi full of chorizo. I smiled my best smile, waved a "Mucho gracias" and drove home in mild daze, also laughing at the "private space" interpretation of the Mexican culture. An Indian man will think twice before getting so close to a woman not related to him!
The next Tuesday, I got a chance to interview Pedro Esquivel at the lovely Crossroads Farmers Market. Pedro is a farmer, a class of people deeply close to my heart since I looove to garden and had many many relatives and friends in whose orchards and gardens I've spent some of my best childhood afternoons. However, I don't usually get to interview farmers too much and it's a bit hard to shift gears from talking business with senior UN diplomats to talking shop with a farmer. We both started off a bit hesitantly, he not sure of what to say to an Indian woman holding a dictaphone to his face, and me not sure of what to ask first. But I'm nothing if not tenacious and then of course, a smile is the same in any language! Our interview went very well and ended with Pedro loading me with his prized produce that took 6 hrs to get to Bellevue from this Yakima farm. He refused to take any money from me. I told him to charge me fairly, that I valued his hard work and wanted to pay him fairly for his hard work. What he told me left me with a smile. "In our culture, Priyanka, when we give something, we do it with pure love, without any expectation of getting something back in return. This is our gift to you." I told him we also did the same in the Indian culture, and made a farmer friend from Guadalupe, living in Yakima and selling in Bellevue that day. Growing sweet peas on trellises in Chandigarh, who knew this would happen one day?! It felt so nice to feel like I belonged to a community at the market. Life is good in Crossroads, Bellevue :).
Does anyone else find it surprising that neither party has announced running mates yet? November is weeks away and no debate yet between the candidates either?! I guess the "longest presidential campaign in history" has petered out both candidates, busy still relying mostly on rhetoric, glossy picture spreads in magazines with their families and the occasional sparring with each other, instead of specifics. Where's the meat?
Deborah Bach of Pyramid Communications is looking for South Asian participants to a focus group on philanthropy. This is what she sent me:
The goal of this online discussion group is to learn how members of the South Asian community (those born abroad and living in King County) think about philanthropy and which community issues are most important to them. We're especially interested in talking with people who work in the technology sector.
Participants will receive a one-year family membership to Seattle Art Museum or Bellevue Art Museum for their time and opinions. The discussion will be held over a three-day period, from July 14–16. Participants may log in from any computer and at any time of day, so you could easily participate in the discussion from the comfort of home.
If you or anyone you know would be interested in participating, please click the link below to answer a few preliminary questions.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zfbB6N6v5CE7om_2f2JBIvHQ_3d_3d
You will receive a confirmation email if you're selected for the group. Any information you provide will remain confidential and participation in the discussion is anonymous.
Have fun folks!
This is what my son asked me last night as I was lying next to him, he holding my hand, playing with my hair and nose, as I tried putting him down for the night. It was dusk, the sun bathing his room pale blue, no birdsong, just the calm silence of approaching nightfall. I told him that Shri Ganesha protected all the children, that he was the God of innocence, dharma, morality and courage, and that he was always everywhere. That he had countless hands and countless eyes, and was always listening and watching everyone. Like him all the Gods of all the religions were always present whenever you prayed to them, and they were always there to help him and me and everyone and even Elmo and King Fu Panda!
"But what about the Nazis? Did they have God too? Were there some good Nazis and some bad Nazis, mommee?" For a minute, I was amazed at the questions that a 4 yr old can ask, but that serves me right for letting him watch "DogFights" on the history channel. So, then I found myself talking about the Swastika (which is an ancient Hindu symbol of Shri Ganesha), and Hitler and Schindler. But the specifics oriented right brained child that he is, he just wanted to know if ALL Nazis were bad, or only some of them. And if they were "in between", then where was their Shri Ganesha? I think I found myself in meditation at that point. I got into such a deep state of meditation just lying there with my son, and I felt as if the silence of that profound moment answered him in the language of the cosmos, much better than I could have...
I think I will now start teaching him about Gandhi and his philosophy of condemning the crime and not the criminal.
I found out a little bit ago that Mercer Island native Sameer Bhatia has passed away from complications due to Leukemia. I got to know Sameer when I was organizing a bone marrow drive for him and Vinay recently. I didn't know him or his family, I'd just found out about Vinay and him online and decided to do whatever little I could do to help two people and raise awareness about the lack of enough Asian bone marrow donors in the world today. I blogged about it on Monsoon Masala, talked to people, asked friends and family to chip in, and in doing all that, I thought I would "help" a good cause, but I didn't know that I would be the one who'd be helped manifold through this experience.
I saw how giving and generous people can be, I saw first hand the incredible support that Lori Matsukawa of King 5 gave us, I saw how receptive the rest of the media was in taking our message far and wide often free of cost, but most of all, I was blown away by Sameer's courage and good humor even in his dire situation. When Lori told me she was sending a TV crew to Sameer's home to interview him, I called him up and jokingly told him that he should probably go to the spa and get a facial for his TV appearance. Unfazed, he gave it right back to me and said he was already too handsome for TV and couldn't wait to tell the world about bone marrow donation! That was the moment I decided to go see his man in person. But I didn't do it then, thinking I'd probably end up disturbing him, and thought of meeting him when he'd get better. It never occurred to me that maybe he won't get better...
Sameer passed away this Spring, while I was away to California for a month and I only recently found out I'd missed my chance of meeting him. I spoke to his dad recently and I was so relieved to hear a voice that sounded strong, peaceful and resilient. I am praying for courage and peace of a fight fought well for Sameer and his family.
Tim Russert, dead at 58! What a gigantic loss to the community! It's not everyday we see such strong familial bonds and integrity as Russert had, in journalism, which continues to be one of the most high pressure and low paying jobs in the market today. What gets a journalist out of bed everyday is nothing else but an undying passion for the work. Passion, which when overdone, can prove harmful, even fatal.
A typical day for us involves deadlines that are non-negotiable, we put our names and faces on our work, so that makes everything we do, intensely personal, plus there is that constantly rising golden bar of excellence that we must touch with each story, and when you combine that with the sheer intellectual and many times actual physical hard work to get the story in full view of a competitive, often bitter newsroom, it all makes life very very stressful. I'm tying this post with my last post, on what I think is wrong with America's heart today. When we spend way too much time and attention analyzing information, working too hard physically and mentally, (it might surprise you that even running marathons, folks, will hurt your heart if you do it for too long, and let the pride of finishing get to your head), disagreeing with others, often putting ourselves in conflict ridden situations willingly, with time, we end up weakening our heart chakra. This weakness can show up mentally as a gigantic ego, intolerance to others' view points, aloofness, or cynicism, or lack of forgiveness and lack of pure love for oneself or others. Physically, of course, all heart related problems can be fixed if we lay off negative behaviors and strengthen our chakras. In India, it's common knowledge that true spirituality ensures that either the problem or the "yoga" can stay in the body. So, when you achieve the state of meditation, you heal your physical, mental, emotional problems comprehensively, ousting disease or a pre-disposition to the disease. This state of meditation also guides you on how to stay balanced. It's like your inner meter telling you, gently, on where to put in more work, and where to lay off.
A feeble chakra cannot sustain a strong body. Hence, to maintain a mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy mind and body, it's critical to stay on the the path of Dharma, and to not tax our faculties beyond the point of no repair.
Life is priceless folks, let's not lose it! Contact my free meditation classes for how to get the actual experience of meditation, to diagnose your chakra imbalance, to use vibrations and organic tips on fixing your chakra imbalances. Come as you are, no lifestyle changes are necessary for meditating. Children of all ages are welcome!
Hey all, Wall Street Journal called me Friday to help them find people for a story. They're looking for people who went to college, got their bachelors degrees and are now surprised or disappointed that they're not moving ahead the way they expected to, because it's more difficult for people to get ahead and stay ahead with a Bachelor's degree than it was
a generation ago. Do you agree? Disagree? Have a personal experience to share?
Interested people can contact me ASAP at : quantumjourno@gmail.com with WSJ query in the subject line. Tks!
Hey folks, check my latest Verve mag article
The Verve magazine article for download/viewing:
So, I was at Bell Square mall y'day with a caucasian friend. She's a new mom, harried like all new parents are, and looves to shop for herself and give me advice on "what not to wear"- like I, of all people, need it, but bcoz I see her having 3.25 hrs of sleep each night ever since her baby arrived 8 months ago, I see her coo-coo-kachoo state of mind, and give into her. I pretend I am "so totally" listening to her (often ludicrous) advice, and generally enjoy her sweet, slightly bossy, but well meaning craziness.
So, on we went from one store to another, Express first, where she picked out a lovely necklace and a blouse for me, and where the sales clerk forget to remove the hard tag on it, making me beep like ^%$R# upon entering every single store after that! Can you imagine what that might do to you mental/emotional strength, your sense of security, your sense of "belonging" in town, being in a racial minority and all that? What saved me from total dissolution was that there were a lot of people entering and exiting the stores with me, so no one knew it was I who was beeping. So, trying to solve the beep mystery, we walked into J. Crew and Martin+Osa, and instantly, this racial divide was on display so evidently, it amazed even me and my pretty hardcore, no BS, Journalistic sensibility.
Every single sales person at both stores would only look at my friend and ask, "Can I help you find anything today?" Like I wasn't even there! This, while "I" was the one wearing their clothes, "looking expensive". My dear pal in her "mommy jeans", baby slung out in the snuggly, was surprised at this too.
I remember getting surprised, (deriding even) when I first moved to America 9 yrs ago, to see light skinned Indian women wearing blue contacts, and dyeing their hair light to fit in with the caucasian crowd. But after yday's experience feeling like I wasn't good enough for these sales people just bcoz my skin is darker than theirs, I can see why people would just want to fit in and not get labelled "Asian or Indian".
Dumb. I can't understand why America- the one country founded by immigrants, that everyone flocks to, the "innovation nation"- can be so primitive and tribal? This isn't Alabama or Texas- it's Bellevue! There are 50,000 Indians in town now, mostly on the Eastside, and this is how we get treated! Bravo! I wonder if diversity councils in town are even doing anything to build communication or are just on a vacation on tax payers' expense.
It just ties in soo well with my earlier post on What's Wrong With America's Heart. Lack of Dignity. That's what's wrong with it.
A stranger walked up to me in the Bellevue downtown park today, and told me that he saw me on CNN recently. That reminded me to share the news with you all. I was on CNN 2 weeks back, talking about my forthcoming series on human migrations and the economies of India and America. The reporter had a tight deadline, and since I am a Journalist, I could totally understand his pain. What added to the mix was my extraordinarily casual appearance when he called my cell. I was out and about, glasses, faded blue jeans, Old Navy pink shirt that I sometimes wear to bed, over a 7 yr old lilac sweater. I slam rushed home, mentally preparing notes on this extensive subject over I-90 traffic which I was to traverse again in 35 mins to go to the studio with the remote linkup since the reporter was on the East coast. My immd task was preparing an outfit that'd look ok on TV (hehe, not an easy task, but not too tough either considering my clotheshorse wardrobe, courtesy hubby's patience), and putting my heels on (seeing me in heels, people, is always such a wonder to behold, I sway, I wobble, but I am a Strong, Modern woman, and I CHUG ON. Kinda like Sandra B. in Miss C).
I also did a story recently on makeup for Indian skin tones in America for the PI, and that story had taken me to all the cool salons of town, where ace make up artists gave my face their best shots! So, armed with all that info, and kicky products, I was all ready to rock it, when my eyes stopped on my brows! Overgrown as hell since my regular non-English speaking brow waxer girl had vanished 3 weeks ago without any info on where I could stalk her at this hour! Man, was I stressed for a sec! Then I put all of my meditative power into making the scene better, and got my tweezers out for a die hard 4 mins of pulling action. Oh how I missed my sister, who I've left in India, to both, laugh with me, and complement me on my agility, strength and resourcefulness, going through my mental notes on the subject in between each pull of a brow hair and the second long gap between OUCH! THAT HURT! and Wow, Glad It's Over!
Somehow I made my way to the studio, walking hard in my heels, and resulting from how my phone hasn't stopped ringing ever since the story aired that evening with calls from all over the country, India and Europe, I'm thinking my brows really didn't distract from the subject at hand. Maybe I should even give classes to women on how to maximize productivity under duress. But first I must find another reliable brow waxer in Bellevue.
Heart disease is the number 1 killer disease in America today. I have been observing, for years now, the way people live in India vs. America and how, apart from diet, spiritual (or lack of) behaviors that affect the heart. I've been teaching free classes on living spiritually for the last 9 yrs in Seattle and here are some of my gleanings on what I see is wrong with America's heart today and how to heal and nourish your heart. Indian and other global ancient spiritual traditions teach us that there are 7 chakras (energy centers) inside each human being and 3 channels (governing our past, present and future) that work the same way in every human body, regardless of age, sex or race, or any other man made classifications.
Because we are hardly ever, "in the moment", we are always swinging between thoughts of the past and the future, building stress on our systems constantly at work, on the road, at school, and playing all that out in our family and personal lives. When these stresses get too much to handle, our physical and mental systems start giving out, manifesting in stress induced ailments like anger, emotional imbalances, lack of focus, and many others including diseases that arise from feeling insecure and fearful.
Fear, as we all know, is a direct assault on the heart chakra, driving your sense of security out, and replacing that with insecurity. Take the example of how when we fight in front of our kids, we replace their sense of security with fear and insecurity, weakening their heart chakra right from the childhood.
Another big thing that makes our heart weak is fear of consequences when we do something wrong. In India, it is believed that violating your "Dharma"- cosmic rules of behavior, straying from the straight and narrow, makes the heart chakra weak. That may include being dishonest financially speaking, being dishonest in relationships, violating your duties as a father, as a brother, as sister, or a mom, or a child. You're taught to always be introspective in Indian culture, so you stay balanced, and not go begging for good karma later in life as many do today around us. It also helps that ancient societies have these rules pretty well established in their way of life, and American culture, still looking for moorings in diet pop, crispy kremes, and "Family Guy" or the "Transformers", has yet to find tangible, sustainable role models in pop culture and otherwise, that will help it anchor its rich, hardworking, love starved brain power.
So, coming back to voluntarily dishonest people: How can such people enjoy a sense of security in their lives, knowing well that their dishonesty has caused a strain on their conscience, diminishing their personal productivity, their fortitude, which then affects their relationships, ruining marriages, and ultimately, harming their kids? In the last that 9 yrs I've lived here, I have been hit on a few times by spouses of my married friends, and you'll be surprised to know that these are "good" Church going people and atheists alike! This violation of their chastity always leaves me speechless! How these people who, on the surface, seem to lead well adjusted lives sitting pretty in their manicured lawns; getting an IIT/Ivy league education for themselves and their tots, vacations abroad every summer, and marrying their partners after dating them for years- are so weak in the moral sense! Have they not learned to have self respect? No respect for their sense of commitment, their own bodies, and their chastity? They are just ruled by their ego while their self esteems are precariously low. How pathetic that even after going to all these top schools, we haven't learned basics of sustainable, nourishing behavior patterns?! And, you guessed it, this straightaway negatively affects their heart chakras.
I know of people in their 30s who cheated on their spouses, got divorced, married their mistresses and now can't leave their homes without their hands and bodies shaking every time they go anywhere, without their blood pressures sky rocketing, without their faces going pale every time their ex-spouses are mentioned. They may continue to justify it as anything, but this is a revolt of their heart chakra, against their own selves, against their own actions. But still, redemption is not only possible for them, it is even critically needed, and readily available! (Contact my class for details).
Another factor that affects the heart chakra, and this may surprise you, is overwork. Both physically and mentally speaking. Also, showing off your body, using it as a way to attract attention, be that in running marathons, running shirtless in a park, or at a party, cleavage popping in your Prada gown, trying to wrangle a partner, are equally harmful to your heart. Reducing the body to a performance circus takes away from its dignity. It reduces you to judge other people as evaluating you critically, and then, guided amply by your ego, you start evaluating them, and then starts of this cycle of judging others and being judged and not forgiving either them or your own self! Then you take it a step further, you brag about your organic shopping but get botox in your face, you get hair extensions, then you get a Hummer, and what you never get, is pure love! That love which doesn't want anything from you, it just wants to heal and nourish you. How many people do you give that kind of love to? Do you give that to yourself? Of course it is so hard to give such love if you have never had that kind of love yourself. (It's hard but not impossible! Contact my class.)
Another wide spread malaise that is pure poison for the heart chakra are the balloons of your ego and superego. The ego doesn't let you forgive other people who have wronged you, while the superego doesn't let you forgive yourself for the mistakes you have made. So, if you don't truly forgive yourself, how is redemption to be had? Pure love has to happen for others and your ownself equally!
America has a very very long road ahead if it wants to evolve spiritually. I expect it to be so, since it's a young country and has lots to learn. I think its fixation with carnal pleasure would be a resounding step in the right direction for its heart chakra to start healing.
So, if your whole body is always "tight", wired like a violin wire, your temper is volcanic, your own kids don't want to be with you, and you blame it all on insecurity, pls wake up and smell the green tea. If you gave love, you'd get love. Pls give some honest thought on how you treat others, how many times you face yourselves, how do you love yourself (not by buying expensive clothes and jewelry for your physical body, but loving it enough so it doesn't harm itself in drugs and a-dharmic behavior), it would solve many many problems in your relationships.
If you'd like to learn to heal from your past, how to become strong, secure and joyful, pls attend my free meditation classes.