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On Oct 26, 2023 Prasad wrote on When Winnie The Pooh Was Scared, by Unknown:
On Oct 18, 2023 Prasad wrote on En-Lightening, by Tash Shadman:
On Apr 16, 2020 Prasad wrote on Why We Listen Better To Strangers Than Family, by Kate Murphy:
On Mar 12, 2020 PK wrote on Pandemic, by Lynn Ungar :
On Mar 2, 2020 PK wrote on Releasing Willpower From Movement, by Gert van Leeuwen:
Recently I started table tennis after 30 years of not playing it. Of course, top of the line table, ball machine, membership in a couple of clubs and weekly coaching -- all are essential, right? for laughing out loud, I am trying to find something to entertain and relax me during my retirement. But more attention I paid to TT, less I made progress. In fact, I got worse. Physically I ended up with Tennis elbow (can you imagine getting tennis elbow hitting a less than 10 gms plastic ball?).
The more I willed, less I progressed. The more I thought and strategized, more I got dejected. Only recently, I am learning to just feel and let go and hope one day I relax into it.
Thank you
On Jan 22, 2018 Prasad wrote on Does Life Have A Purpose?, by J. Krishnamurti:
I love the response that JK gave. Life has no purpose. Because it is. It has no beginning and no ending and it including you, me and everything that we love and hate. What it means to me is that when I am full of life, when I am just being in the moment, when I am fully present, there is no purpose, no time or no goal. Only life is present and there is no I or individual consciousness. When I am thinking, planning and mourning, then I have a purpose to make myself whole by doing, feeling and embracing the polarity that I am running away from.
Think about it, just like life has no purpose, death has no purpose either. But we try to find meaning and give meaning to death.
My father passed away last year. His life is fulfilled and death took him away. By mourning, by being upset that he died only makes me unable to participate in life. I am not engaged with life everytime I live in the memories of my father or when I am upset.
When I serve others, when I celebrate other's success as my own, when I laugh and share with others, then I dont need any purpose to my life. Life is service and life is presence and life is joy. They just are.
Thank you for the beautiful passage!
Love, Prasad
On Jun 11, 2012 pk wrote on A Whole New Dimension Of Love, by Tenzin Palmo:
reflecting on her life and death, made me understand more about holding lightly!
On Apr 27, 2012 PK wrote on Response Vs. Reaction, by Adyashanti:
On Apr 15, 2012 PK wrote on Business Lessons from A Quiet Gardener, by William Rosenzweig:
On Mar 4, 2012 PK wrote on Making Friends with the Present Moment, by Alan Zulch:
I have found the same thing again and again. When I am in the moment, there is no language for it. Only after the moment passes, I can think about it, compare it or explain it. but in the moment, there was only experience -- 'I' was not present.
On Feb 17, 2012 PK wrote on What I Learned In Africa, by Henning Mankell:
On Feb 11, 2012 PK wrote on The Great Dictator, by Charlie Chaplin:
Inner GPS are Guilt, Pride and Shame and those are social control mechanisms. Religion, moral traditions help us to stay within societal norms through GPS and they are connected with our greed, violence and hatred.
What I found in my life and that of others is to reframe GPS to mean something meaningful for us -- genorosity or gratitude instead of guilt; passion or purpose instead of pride; and service instead of shame... You see where I am going -- create your own meaning for GPS -- then you have more energy and interest in connecting and uniting with others!
On Jan 22, 2012 Prasad wrote on Why Do Social Work?, by J. Krishnamurti:
A friend of mine lamented: "why do I do what I do? why do I want to help others? people say that I genuinely want to help but do I really? I thought about it a lot because the instinct to help comes very quickly and naturally. But when I reflect, that desire doesn't last when people are not around. On reflection, I realized that I like to help because I want their approval. I also realized that it does not matter who they are, I want their approval. Then it came to me that even they know that I want their approval and they take advantage me and use me as well. Having this self awareness does not help by itself. Because knowing does not give deeper understanding. Until I understand myself and appreciate the games my ego plays, action of right kind does not emerge from just awareness..."
On Jan 2, 2012 PK wrote on How Randomness Rules Our Lives, by Leonard Mlodinow:
Most of my life, i have experienced serendipidy -- I prefer to call seeming randomness this way. i do plan many different things meticulously -- only to see them fall apart and something else magically come alive and take me in a random direction. it always worked out.
in 1980, I had an accident in my laboratory while i was doing my ph.d. and that added 18 months to my graduation. It also meant, the opportunity to work with a double Noble Laureate was gone and after waiting for other opportunities for several months, I decided to accept a job in an Indian company and moved to a remote place in Assam. 20 minutes after I left for the train station, a telegram came from US offering me a position in Salt Lake City. The kind postman who also delivered the telegram, knew what telegram meant and put that in the mail. After 24 days, the telegram reaches me in Assam and I am in US for a post-doc position in a random place.
Then again in 1982, I applied for 172 jobs and because of recession, I could not get even one. I had conflicts with my professor and was ready to return to India. In a random party, i come across another person who recommended me to meet his colleague and before I knew, I had a job offer in my back yard that led me to change my India plans again and stay back.
Samething with Apple job, same thing with quitting that job and on and on...
I call that Randomness that rules our lives -- magic, Grace or God!
On Dec 19, 2011 PK wrote on We Are Between Stories, by Judith Thompson:
I love this piece because it resonates where I see myself -- right in the middle of two paradigms, two worldviews -- neither of them wrong nor right. Neither is fully present nor absent. It is the past that informs me and the future that inspires me. How do i move gently into the future of my choice and honor the past of my tradition...
What worked in a past still has a place in the future -- though not in the exact same way. What is being created and invented is happening on the ground of the past.
In this middle space -- in this gap between the past and the future -- that present exists.
in this time, in this present moment - in the now -- all of the future and all of the past come together and celebrate. And we get to live in that present now and for ever...
it is really exciting time!
On Oct 9, 2011 PK wrote on Giving Somebody Your Heart, by Anonymous:
everytime, I opened my heart, I learned -- sometimes first by getting hurt but many times by becoming surprised and finding out something I had no idea. Whenver I thought I knew, in other words, depended on my brain instead of my heart, I was safe but disappointed -- nothing happened, no magic, no surprise, no fun.
I chose to love and never regretted. Loving means choosing to stay open and vulnerable for me...
On Sep 2, 2011 PK wrote on Difference Between Eah and Oh!, by Jerry Wennstrom:
I am deeply touched by Jerry's words. It is reverence that shows up this passage and I could enter his world and experience the Ohs that he did.
it got me thinking. generosity is a state of consciousness. Samething with reverence. It is an attitude and I have a choice to be reverant. I cannot be on autopilot and reverant.
When am I reverant and what contexts bring reverance in my attitude? Mystery definitely makes me curious and when I stop trying to figure it out and honor the mystery, reverence shows up.
Recently, I was with a professor Fred Luthans on the plane. He is a legend in the management field. His demeanor was very simple, down to earth and curious. We had a great conversation and I learned so much in that two hour flight and am everyday practicing and reflection on that learning. When we left each other, I was deeply touched by his generocity of spirit and presence. Even when I think of him, I experience reverance.
It is easy for us to experience guilt, pride and shame (GPS given by societal norms) but it is worthwhile to consciously develop Generocity (instead of guilt), passion (instead of pride) and attitude of Service (instead of shame). It looks to me that Jerry Winstorm succeeded in transforming his own GPS meeting three souls who are rich in their genorocity and through his writing, inspiring us and strengthening our hearts. Thank you Jerry!
On Aug 28, 2011 PK wrote on I Am Nothing, by Paul Buchheit:
'i am' nothing. 'i' am nothing. 'i am nothing.'
three different ways of looking at the sentence and they mean different things to me. When 'i' is nothing and the meaning associated with who I am is also nothing, it can truly be freeing sensation. Interestingly, I felt that when I am nothing, I am everything as well. By letting go of limited 'i' unlimited 'i' begins to operate and instead of I being in control, I act and observe with no attachment.
For a long time, I played tennis -- 25+ years. There are times I feel that I am stuck -- hit a wall and don't see any progress. The more I play, more I try to improve, even more frustration i experienced. And some times, I just let go of my experience, expectations and the whole stand as a tennis player and just observe while acting. That is when I played my best tennis.
It is not just tennis but also in Carroms. Not just in games but also in class room. Not just in teaching, but also in learning. When expectations, guilt, pride, shame and the identification is let go, I become nothing but beginners mind kicks in and some other door seems to open.
have you tried to consciously let go of your identity and become nothing?
On Aug 20, 2011 PK wrote on You Are Not a Prisoner, by Andrew Cohen:
experience your freedom again and again is related to a concept called 'Anusandhanam' in Vedanta. For example, the Maha Vakya in Upanishads called 'Ayamatma Brahma' is said to be one such sentence that allows you to stay free. Anusandhanam means -- staying joined or connected. it is not just sufficient that we become aware of our true nature but we have to stay connected to it for us to be liberated from the self-doubts and ego struggles.
Think of a small baby. As long as it knows that mother is around, baby happily plays without hanging onto the mother in the same room. the baby is aware that the mother will be there if she needs her. But she keeps looking at her mother once in a while and gets reassured and then engages with her play. The moment the baby notices that the mother is not in the room, she starts crying and will stop as soon as the mother is seen again. This is 'anusandhana Bandham' between mother and the child.
Same is true for us. we are like little children who is unable to stay aware of the fact that we not our body, our mind, our emotions and our ego. When we are aware of our freedom and deeper connection to the larger consciousness, we experience freedom and choice. Meditation is one of the effective ways to stay connected with our deeper self.
Andrew Cohen wrote it much simply and I chose to help you understand it with my complex language. Kapitz! :-)
On Nov 1, 2023 Prasad wrote on The Empty Boat, by Chuang Tzu: