For me Gandhi is one of the most inspiring historical figures – starting with the huge impact that he made, going through his amazing approach to conveying his point and inspiring others (through non-violence and leading by example) and ending with his humble personality and desire for constant self improvement. His autobiography “My experiments with truth” is not just a smooth and interesting read, but a compilation of invaluable  lessons.  Gandhi has a number of simple yet incredibly deep and thought provokin thouhts – the one above is one of the two most favorite ones.

On the 1^st of March one of the most beautiful Bulgarian traditional holidays is celebrated. Its name is Baba Marta and it signifies the ending of the winter. 

According to the legend, on that day grandmother March (‘Baba Marta’ in Bulgarian) scolds her brothers -January and February and commands them to put an end to the harsh winter times.The legend also says that she is a quite short tempered lady and it’s important to improve her mood, because it determines whether the spring will be good or bad.

On that day, we wear and also gift each a thread in red and white – Martenitsa, with the wish to be healthy and happy. The thread is worn until we see a stork (symbolizing the upcoming spring) and is then put on a blossomed tree so it grows healthy and fruitful. We give each other red and white threads called Martenitsa with the wish to be healthy and happy 🙂 It is a really nice activity to make your own Martenitsas and make good wishes for the recipients while making them.

This tradition is a great example of the uniqueness of the Bulgarian culture and holidays and also brings back happy childhood memories. 

Happy first of March!

“The Secret” tells us that our current reality is the product of earlier thoughts and feelings. We are then shaping our future with our today’s thoughts and feelings. The conclusion is that the more we feel good right now, the higher the chances of usfeeling good in the future.

The book also describes a “framework” for accomplishing our goals:

• Ask for it- make a wish for something you want to accomplish
• Believe it will happen- it is important not to be doubtful. Replace doubt with faith
• Receive- try to imagine a reality where you have already received what you wished for. Visualize it as detailed as possible and most importantly – try to experience the feeling of accomplishing your goal. Practicing this continuously will put you in the frequency that you want and will “attract” ideas and solutions that will help you to make it into a reality.

It may sound like a super easy thing, but visualizing requires practice, effort and persistence. Nevertheless, from my personal experience I can say that it works, so I can only recommend giving it a try.

 And here are a few more practical insights from the book:

• Try not to dwell on negativity. As you feel you are “taken over” a negative loop, try to reverse it by doing things that you like- taking a walk, talking to a friend, playing your favorite song.
• Expect good things to happen to you and they will.
• Never beat yourself up if you fail at something- that will only attract more failure. Instead, affirm positive qualities and outcomes, for example -“I am calm, focused and successful”.
• Create a vision board where you put images of your goals and spend time looking at them- for instance, your dream house, life in nature, family , etc. This is can be a fun thing to do and it will really energize you to visualize your goals.

So these were the main learnings that I gathered from “The Secret”. Once again, I can`t say that I am the biggest fan of the book for two reasons. First of all, the examples in the book are influenced by the very materialistic “American dream” – a car, a house, money and inevitably come across as simply shallow. Second, I don`t think that wishful thinking can solely make you accomplish your goals. What matters is action.

Nevertheless, the insights into the power of visualization are extremely valuable. Additionally, all the great things that we accomplish in our lives first take place in our minds, and the book sheds light to how this process work. I don`t see it as a solution, but rather as a tool. A valuable tool :).

Today I was revisiting “The Secret” – a book that sort of “boomed” a few years ago and received a lot of commercial attention and that I have read myself and I believe some of its messages helped me a huge deal when I was struggling with a massive health problem with a very gloomy prognosis. 

The book is an interesting mix of spirituality and working with your mind. Something about it that initially turned me off was that the some of its lessons are focused on how to obtain possessions and wealth which in my view partially defeats their purpose. Nevertheless, it conveys important messages which could potentially make a big difference in one`s life that I think are very inspiring.

The main message of the book is that we have the power to manifest what we think and  as a result our thoughts have the power to  “attract” our reality – this is the so called “Power of Attraction”. For instance, if you are scared that something will happen, it is very likely that it will actually happen compared to a situation that you don`t think about it. The opposite is also valid- thoughts of prosperity, health and fortune will attract these to you. Following this logic our current reality is an outcome of our earlier thoughts and beliefs while our current thoughts are shaping our future.  Quite fascinating and empowering, isn`t it?

While going through an old issue of the Amsterdam Enjoy magazine I came across the mesmerizing surreal paintings of the Russian artist Boris Indrikov. What further captivated me was a part of his interview that was also on the pages of the magazine:

“My painting process goes like this- first I use a random texture on canvas using a special technology. After this I read the canvas looking for shapes and patterns. These images will be the foundation of the future painting. This is similar to the meditation process. But instead of sitting with my eyes closed in the lotus position, anywhere on a top of a mountain, I am in front of the canvas. I scan the surface of the material for natural changes that occur on the canvas surface and transform them into a harmony of lines. The outcome of this is almost unknown, an adventure that is intriguing and exciting.”

Apart from being a fascinating art-making process I found this to be a great metaphor to getting the best out of life.

• Life is a canvas that consists of seemingly “random” patterns that a great Artist made for us.
• These random patterns form the beautiful paintings that are our lives.
• It is up to us to transform the random patterns into to a harmonious structure, but its exact nature is always unknown.
• We enable this transformation by exercising the greatest power that we have – the power of Love.
• The key is not to lose hope even though we can`t imagine the final outcome – it is the adventure and the process that is intriguing.

The beauty of art and life lies in trusting and enjoying the process without being attached to the final outcome. And of course this is one of those things that are easier said than done. That is what makes inspiring reminders such as the paintings of Boris Indrikov so important.

The inspiration for today is an illuminating quote by Oprah Winfrey 🙂

My inspiration for today comes in the form of a beautiful short video showing the power of inspiration and its ability to add color to our lives. Enjoy it and stay inspired!

One of my favorite Bulgarian traditional holidays – the 1st of March is approaching (more about the tradition here). It is is the time when we give Martenitsas and wishes for health and happiness. 

This tradition is so dear to me as it brings me back to my childhood and the times spent with my grandparents. It also reminds me how small gifts given with love (like Martenitsas”) can be much more meaningful than expensive gifts made because there is an occasion and something needs to be bought.

This year I am planning to make Martenitsas on my own and give them to the people who I love together with a piece of my heart.  Just like my grandma would have done.

It has been scientifically proven that music has stress reducing properties and can have incredibly relaxing effects on our minds and bodies. Especially when it is soothing and calm. This is the type of music is exactly my discovery of today –  the name is of the artist is Shatam Kaur and she performs new age Indian devotional music. 

For more musical inspiration have a look here.

“The Happiness Hypothesis” by Jonathan Haidt is a synthesis of wisdom from different cultures and times. It analyzes ten ideas that have been validated throughout centuries and integrates insights from recent scientific research to come up with a comprehensive set of valuable lessons that can be applied in our every day life.

Something that I read in the book today and that gave me food for thought and inspiration is:

“The world we live in is not really one made of rocks, trees and physical objects; it is a world of perceptions, opportunities, status symbols, saints and sinners. All of these are human creations, which although real in their own way are not real in the way the trees and rocks are real. These human creations exist only because you believe in them, like the fairies in Peter Pan”.

The world as we see it shaped by not only what physically surrounds us, but also how we perceive it, feel about it and respond to it.  And that’s where the main challenge lies. We can choose to follow our often judgmental and biased minds. Or to work towards achieving more peace and harmony. By choosing the second option you’ll embark on a journey. A journey to yourself.