A life changing encounter that I had in  2016 was with Brahma Kumaris, a spiritual movement which philosophy evolves around the idea that we are beings of energy and our true essence lies in our souls. Brahma Kumaris teaches us that all souls are intrinsically good and have certain qualities and powers that we can cultivate through awareness and meditation.

I did an introductory meditation course in their center in Amsterdam and I found their approach to life reflective, thought-provoking and very peaceful, which encouraged me to attend the follow up weekly classes.

Recently I also bought from their Amsterdam center a calendar with inspirational messages (which btw is a great gift idea!). The message of today that I want to share with you is:

“By seeing life as a game, your lightness of spirit will make problems easier”

Reading it this morning reminded me that being light and playful is something that I definitely I want to cultivate further going forward. I guess it goes naturally for some people to be lighter than others. And then for the rest of us, it is a matter of regularly reminding ourselves that life is not so serious and stressing out about all sort of stuff (especially those things beyond our control) doesn`t make any sense.

Because, as Michael Singer brilliantly puts it in his great book “The Untethered Soul”:

“You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You’re going to die anyway. Things are going to happen anyway. Why shouldn’t you be happy?”

May us all have a light day and enjoy the ride!

When starting the “Stay true and inspired” series I was energized to build momentum and also to discipline myself to post every day. My frustration with the server crash that has made the webpage inaccessible for the last few days was beyond words – “Nothing like this has happened since I started the blog. Why now!?”

Well. It happens. And experiencing it made me realize something very important- it just doesn’t make any sense to brag about it and to let it stop me from following my plan. What makes sense is to think of solutions. And here it is – sharing my posts in Facebook works perfectly fine for the time being.

There are things to worry about and things to let go. The ones which we can`t control belong to the second category. It`s like a mental garbage bin where you through your mental trash. My lesson and inspiration for today is to practice throwing the wasteful worried thoughts in the bin and focus on the solutions.

Today a very dear friend of mine reminded me of an important truth- that distance doesn’t matter when the roots of the relationship are strong enough. Sometimes keeping the roots strong happens more naturally than other times. It is up to us to stay connected to our dear ones so our friendships grow strong and sustain the challenges of distance and time zones!

Today during my yoga class I felt quite tired and went into a resting pose while others were diligently following the sequence of their sun salutations. That attracted the teacher’s attention and he made a joke about me having enough of the class. It was meant as a friendly remark; nevertheless a part of me felt pressurized to end my break and resume the sequence. But another, more self-caring part took charge, so I looked at him, smiled and said “I am definitely not done yet, but right now I`m just gonna enjoy my break” after which I rested for a few more minutes.

Soon after I came back home I came across a video in which Lady Gaga speaks at an Emotion Revolution summit about the importance of saying no where she shares “I started to say “No” to remember who I am. Now when I look at myself in the mirror I feel that I can go to bed with that person”.

I deeply believe that as hard as saying no can be (and this is one of my biggest challenges) it is essential to practice it in order to stay connected with myself and stay on my own path. It is true that we are constantly pulled into other people’s opinions, agendas, there are tons of things that simply “must” be done, but in the end – everybody is in charge of their choices and is free to make decisions for themselves. And we surely have the power to do it- we simply need to exercise it.

Today has been an extraordinary day. One of those days that uplift and energize you like nothing else and make you doubt that coincidences really exist.

It started with a breakfast that my grandmother used to make for me when I was a little kid- a special type of fried Bulgarian pastry that I randomly came across in a breakfast place in Sofia. I had it with my best friend from my childhood with whom we’ve shared it many times many many years ago in our grandparents’ village.

It then continued with running into a childhood friend that I hadn’t seen for more than ten years. His grandmother was one of my grandmother’s best friends and we used to play together when we were toddlers. I met him at the check- in desk of my flight (he is an employee of the airline). Not only was I super happy to see him after all those years, but he also let me check in my overweight suitcase and upgraded me to a business seat!

To end the story, about ten minutes after checking in my friend with whom I had breakfast in the morning sent me a picture with something that she found in a small suitcase that I gave her on the previous day- my favorite coloring book and pencils that we used together twenty years ago during the summer holidays in our village!

Today my inspiration came from a very moving must see video on redefining happiness by the Motivational Philosopher.  A part of it that resonated with me and I would  also like to share with you is:

“Somewhere along the line our definition of succeed became blurred and evolved around money, corporate realization and the ability to supersede our peers. But let`s not make happiness about the size of our homes, but about the size of our hearts. Let`s be human beings, rather human doings. Rather than “To Do lists” can we think of “To Be lists” and think who we want to Be in a situation rather than what we want to Do in a situation”.

While listening, a picture that I took a while ago appeared in my mind. A picture of a graceful swan who doesn`t seem to be focused on doing anything different than being a calm inhabitant of its lake. His whole being radiates nothing but peace. He is my teacher and inspiration for today.

A book that recently made a big impression on me is “My Grandfather’s blessings” by Rachel Naomi Remen who has been counseling patients with chronic and terminal illnesses for over 20 years, and is a clinical professor at the University of California at the San Francisco School of Medicine. Her book contains stories of wisdom about healing, loving and living- stories  that make you think with a calm mind and also sooth and pacify your heart.

In one of those stories the author shares a conversation with her grandfather during which he shared the legend of Lamed-Vov and her subsequent reflections from it:

“ In this story, God tells us that He will allow the world to continue as long as at any given time there is a minimum of thirty-six good people in the human race. People who are capable of responding to the suffering that is a part of the human condition. These thirty-six are called the Lamed-Vov. If at any time, there are fewer than thirty-six such people alive, the world will come to an end.
…

It turned out that Lamed-Vovniks could be tailors or college professors, millionaires or paupers, powerful leaders or powerless victims. These things were not important. What mattered was only their capacity to feel the collective suffering of the human race and to respond to the suffering around them. “And because no one knows who they are, Neshume-le, anyone you meet might be one of the thirty-six for whom God preserves the world,” my grandfather said. “It is important to treat everyone as if this might be so.”

“How do the Lamed-Vovniks respond to the suffering, Grandpa?” I asked, suddenly anxious. “What do they have to do?” My grandfather smiled at me very tenderly. “Ah, Neshume-le,” he told me. “They do not need to do anything. They respond to all suffering with compassion. Without compassion, the world cannot continue. Our compassion blesses and sustains the world.”
…
Remembering how to bless each other is more important now than ever before. The solution to the destructiveness in this world is not more technical knowledge. Repairing the world may require us to find a deep connection to the life around us, to substitute the capacity to befriend life for our relentless pursuit of greater and greater expertise. It has been said that it has taken us thousands of years to recognize and defend the value of a single human life. What remains is to understand that the value of any human life is limited unless there is something in it that stands for the benefit of others and the benefit of life itself.
….

A blessing is a place of refuge, a connecting back to the place in us where we are coherent and whole. A remembering of who we are.”

We all have the power to bless others through our compassion. At the same time, we are constantly knowingly and unknowingly receiving blessings from others.  Being able to recognize the times when life blesses us – for example the smiley cashier receiving your order, or the friendly stranger who held the door for you is something that allows us to form a bigger connection to life around us and to live more joyfully.

When thinking which picture to use, I immediately thought of the moon and clouds that I saw in Kerala last year and that formed a fascinating giant-like shape. Seeing it back then made me think that there are so many beautiful things that are hidden for us unless we look in their direction. I believe the same applies to life’s blessings-  so shall we look for them today?

Today I woke up in a relaxed post-holiday mode. I found time to meditate, made a cup of nice tea and started slowly sipping it. But then the never-ending To Do list in my mind turned on like a loud alarm- “I have to finalize and send out those slides”,”After that I have to make that call”, “And afterwards need to figure out the insurance”… It suddenly stopped feeling relaxing at all.

A passage of one of my favorite books came to a rescue. It is a powerful little book called the “The Miracle of Mindfulness” written by the Buddhist monk Thich Nath Than that gives you an easy to digest introduction to the practice of Mindfulness:

“In the United States, I have a close friend named Jim Forest. Last winter, Jim came to visit. I usually wash the dishes after we’ve finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. I said, “Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them.” Jim replied, “Come on, you think I don’t know how to wash the dishes?” I answered, “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes.” Jim was delighted and said, “I choose the second way-to wash the dishes to wash the dishes.” From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future -and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.”

And this is it. Just wash the dishes to wash the dishes. As simple as it sounds. Simple, yet powerful. Give it a try. Afterwards just drink your tea to drink your tea.  Do one work task at a time. And then- spend time with your loved ones and be with them in your mind. One step at a time. With your full attention.Without being lost between past and future. For me this is what living feels like.

“How many people have you brought joy to?” I heard this question in “The Bucket List” (which by the way is a great movie which you should surely check out) and have been meditating over it in the course of the day.

Isn`t showing appreciation to the people that we love the biggest gift that we can give them? One of the most beautiful examples of this is the monument of love- the beautiful Taj Mahal symbolizing the never-ending love of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She was a Muslim Persian princess and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. He met her when he was 14 and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married. Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of her that Shah Jahan built the phenomenal monument which we today known as the “Taj Mahal”.

Like flowers. Or gifting something you made. Or cooking dinner. Or simply listening and being present. Which one would you like to try today?