Why you cannot get rid of karma and what to do about it

Photo by Ashley Batz

More and more of us are becoming aware of how "karma" is universal; not connected to any one spiritual tradition. I can see that from the stats on my blog. 33% of visitors on my site are interested in my blog post on how to break karmic patterns. Clearly, we are realizing that karma is active in our lives and we want to do something about it. We want to get rid of karma.

One of the reasons we want to do that is because somehow the word has spread, especially in Western countries, that Karma = results of our bad actions in the past or in a past life. Karma then creates fear. Are we then subject to the unknown bad actions of our past life? Are the bad actions of our current life irreparable and we are destined to suffer from its consequences? This is not fully descriptive because it is incomplete and as a result this way of looking at karma is inaccurate. It just creates fear and anxiety and is not really productive.

So then what is Karma? And how can one get rid of it? First, I've got to say that we cannot get rid of karma. Why? Because karma is an inherent part of how life works and we cannot get 'rid' of it. It's like saying, "I keep falling when riding a bicycle. I want to get rid of gravity". Ridiculous, right? In the same way, it would be like saying, "I fell into a karmic trap. I want to get rid of karma."

Once we realize what karma is, then we will understand how silly it is to want to get rid of karma. Karma, in short, is a cycle of cause and effect. What you sow, you shall reap. If you plant a seed for a mango tree, you will get a mango tree (all other conditions for its growth sufficing), not an apple tree. This essentially is karma. It is like gravity. It is part of the structural nature of life. 

So then, instead of getting rid of karma, we can work towards understanding how karma works and how to use it for our spiritual progress. There are ways to lessen the effect of past karma and create a better future for us in this very life and also in the next life. These ways have been identified in many, varied ancient spiritual traditions and written about by many well-known authors of our current time. Deepak Chopra is one of the most read authors and if you like to go deeper on his approach you can read my in-depth blog post where I detail the many aspects of the Law of Karma and how to break karmic patterns.

How does karma work?

How does karma really work? And how can we use our understanding of it to reduce the negative impact of old bad karma?

Simply said, karma just describes the process of cause and effect in our lives. We think good thoughts and take good actions and it results in the appreciation of good actions and thoughts in our lives. (Appreciation, in this context, means expansion of or an increase in). Similarly, when we take on bad actions, we get bad results.

Good thoughts + good actions = good results

Bad thoughts + bad actions = bad results

So the equation is easy to understand, isn't it? And so, to create good conditions for us in the future, we have to sow good seeds of good thoughts and good actions. This is not just about giving a donation or helping out a friend, although those are wonderful things to do. What this also means is how we respond to a certain situation, how we dissolve negative emotion through present moment awareness, how we practice forgiveness, detachment and equanimity and kindness to ourselves and others.

This is about how we think, how we handle stress and how we deal with disappointments. It is about creating a way of life that is wholesome, beneficial to our well-being and of the people, animals and environment we effect. This is not something we learn in school, although some schools in India I have heard are teaching secular values. If we are lucky, this would be something we absorb from our parents, teachers and religious institutions. It's a skill, like a muscle, that can be trained and developed.

When we learn to practice sowing the good seeds, we find that things in our lives develop more harmoniously. Relationships get better, our health improves. And problems get less intense. But problems and challenges are a part of life and they do sprout from time to time. However, because of the good seeds we are sowing, we find it easier to deal with those new problems. So for instance, if we are dealing with a crisis or a challenge, we find that we have more mental and emotional energy and inner-resilience to deal with it. We don't become distraught, overwhelmed or feel helpless like we may have felt before. We find a deep inner-strength and mental focus and resilience that helps us to handle that new situation more positively and constructively.

Reducing old bad karma

Alright, that seems like a recipe for creating good karma. But how about reducing the impact of bad karma from current life or of those from other lives? There are times in our lives when we realize that there is challenge that we are finding hard to overcome. For instance, it could be a health situation that you are facing. Or it may be that you find yourself in an unending cycle of similar situations over and over again. A good example of this is finding a 'perfect' partner but then breaking up, finding a 'perfect' partner and then breaking up. After a while you realize, "hey, this is clearly a pattern", and you begin to research ways to get out of it. This karmic pattern can also take the form of a series of similar emotional challenges. I've in the past, for instance, found myself in the cycle of worry, especially, around my cats. Clearly, my cats and my relationship with them is part of a karmic cycle and I've worked hard on breaking that old pattern I kept falling into. 

Dealing with unknown roots of karma

And what if we don't know what bad karma we did or are continuing to do unknowingly which is causing us to fall in to the same patterns. Is there a way to break this old karmic pattern or are we destined to 'suffer the consequences'? 

Thankfully, from my experience, and from my studies of Buddhist thought and great thinkers and writers, the answer is: yes. Yes, we can influence the effect of our bad karma; both in reducing it's negative effect on us and in making us more capable of handling them.

Before I give you some processes and inspiration on how you can approach this, I want you to consider some people out there in the world who you would not have imagined to be cheerful and happy. I've seen inspirational talks by people who have no arms and legs doing wonderful things to encourage and inspire young people with their stories. And they seem so content with their situation. I can hardly imagine the physical let alone emotional challenges one might face dealing with such a life circumstance. But instead of feeling hopeless and helpless, these inspiring leaders have walked through the tunnel and come out on to the other side. They have made peace with their reality and taken massive steps to make the best of their situation to help and inspire others. They are the shining examples of how we can overcome negative karma and thrive in our lives.

Here's an approach towards healing the effects of bad karma and breaking old karmic patterns. How do you know you are in a karmic pattern? There are two ways to find that out. One: You keep falling into the same problem over and over again. And two: You've been facing the same problem for a very long time.

To break this bad karma, you need to:

1. Recognize the pattern:
Identify what exactly is going on and notice if you keep running into a similar problem.  Do you always find yourself broke? Do you keep falling for the same type of guy and it ends up not working out? Do you constantly get overlooked for a promotion at work? Does your business always seem to be running out of clients?

2. Take responsibility for it:
Once you identify the problem, take responsibility for it. Remember this is not about blaming or criticizing yourself. But it is about recognizing that there were certain knowable or unknowable thoughts/actions you took in your past that is resulting into this situation. Be very kind to yourself in this stage, especially, when it comes to ill-health or other things that we experience, we often fall into guilt, thinking we are the cause of it. No, this is not about making you guilty for it. But it is about helping you see that you can take positive actions to create a more harmonious life for you in the future.

3. Reflect on possible counter-actions:
Now you can take some time to reflect on what counter-actions you can take to turn around the pattern you keep falling in to. So for instance, if you constantly feel broke, brainstorm what actions you can take to break that feeling. One hint in coming up with some counter-actions is the golden rule. Begin by thinking, what could I do for somebody else in a similar situation? So in this example, you might come up with: help my friend who is also dealing with feeling broke to come up with some income-generating ideas, or learn about budgeting and share it on a blog. I'll get really person here and share that I kept falling into a deep negative thought pattern of sad thoughts and depression. So I started this blog you are reading, to help others dealing with a similar situation get out of negative thoughts and cultivate more healthy, mental habits. Thinking about what you can do for someone in your shoes, is a great inspiration for new action. 

One example of this are very inspiring: Denise Duffield Thomas who created the Money Mindset Bootcamp, wanted to create financial abundance for herself and her family. So she started teaching other women how to do so and she broke out of her old pattern of being broke.

4. Take positive action:
Now that you have reflected on what good actions you can sow, you can begin to schedule specific days and times in your calendar to actively take those actions. This is really key because we all have very busy lives and if things are not carefully planned, often they don't get done, especially, things like taking new positive action. Get a friend or partner to be your accountability partner if you need it. But get going on this as soon as you can.

5. Cultivate present moment awareness:
This may be the most powerful of them all along with step no. 3-4. Cultivating present moment awareness is all about learning to be in the present moment. When you are doing something, bring your complete attention to what you are doing. Fully listen to the other person instead of planning the next sentence you want to say. Practicing meditation is great way to learn how to do this because you learn to calm your mind, learn to be aware of your breath and to be an observer of what is.

So this is a good starting point on how to begin breaking your negative karma and build good karma. Remember that karma is not your enemy and you don't need to be afraid of it, just like you don't need to be afraid of gravity, or the sun. Once you understand how it can be used positively in your life, you realize that karma is actually your friend.

In the comments, share with us what repeating pattern are you noticing in your life? And if you've figured out ways to break it?

Create Your Masterplan of Action

To help you find out how you can identify your karmic patterns and then create your custom plan of action to break out of those patterns and build better patterns, I'm starting a new one-to-one offering called the Inner-Peace Chats.

In this session, I offer you my presence and guide you on how identifying what you are stuck at, what the karmic pattern you've found yourself in and how to break out of it. This is one of the key foundations for cultivating deeper inner-peace and sense of resilience.

The Inner-Peace Chat is a comforting conversation during moments where you feel weak, distraught or simply in need of an uplifting boost. And according to what you need in the moment, I will guide you through a process and a meditation to help you deal with the impact of the Karmic pattern and help you move through it.

It will be an hour-long process and you will receive in your inbox a customized plan of action that will help you ground your new realization and create new karmic seeds for greater harmony and resilience in your life.

This new offering, the Inner Peace Chat is in a beta-phase which will be an investment of $149 down the road, after I've done a few chats and refined my process.

One-to-One Guidance for Breaking Karmic Patterns

Right now, you can be part of the founding group with an investment of $45. I invite you to take this opportunity, which at the moment, is the only way to get one-to-one time with me. 

So are you in? Go here to see a bit more detail and reserve your spot. Much peace to you my friend,

Sophia

How to use inner-peace techniques to solve business problems

How to use inner-peace techniques to solve business problems

Photo by Sean McAuliffe

I've written extensively about creating inner-peace in our lives using meditation. Today, I want to share with you some inner-peace techniques that you can use in your business in order to nurture and grow it. You can extrapolate these ideas for applying it to an environment where you are employed as well. And I will have more specific articles for you as well.

The mirror

We all know that a business is a reflection of the people it is made of. How a business is run, how it's customers are treated and what kind of products and services it generates stems directly from the company's people, especially the leadership. This is ever more so true when you are small business owner or what is more and more common today, the solopreneur. (Solopreneur is a business owned by a single individual and perhaps a small team of freelancers). 

Just like life is a mirror of your inner mentalscape, so is your business. Your mindset and attitude towards life will directly affect your income; your impact and reach; and your sense of fulfillment you gain in your business. As they say, to create abundance physically in our lives, we must start with an abundant mindset. Similarly, to create a healthy and happy business, we need to have the right attitude towards our business. 

It all sounds really wonderful - change your attitude and change your life. But when the rubber hits the road, that's when we realize how difficult it is to implement this wisdom. When clients are being over-demanding, when your proposals your send out are coming back rejected, when your virtual assistant (VA) or teammate or business partner does a blunder, when your list is not growing as fast as you want or when your launch falls flat on its face, that's when emotions start flying. That's when stress and overwhelm begin. That's when feelings of, "I am not good enough" start arising. And this is when the seeds of self-doubt finds fertile ground to begin germinating.

Of course, with a daily meditation practice, you can help yourself handle business issues that arise with more calm, and more wisdom. But while you are building that habit and while the benefits of your practice accrue, it may take some time. So in the meanwhile, I've got some a simple tips for you, practical techniques that you can take up in different challenging business situations.

Inner-Peace Mental Technique:
Make peace with the business situation

I'd like to share with you an example from the real world that can help you see how to use this technique of making peace when a challenging situation comes up.
 

The Challenge
 Let's say that your are a web designer and you've started on a project for a client. You've sent her all the instructions on what she has to deliver back to you. Logos, about page text, example of sites she likes, features she absolutely want and all the other little details are to be filled out by her. You've blocked out two weeks to do this when you are not taking up any other client.

But you notice that things are trickling in very slowly and the client is dragging her feet in delivering all the content. You begin to feel a bit nervous about completing the project on time and about this delay pouring into your next project. You send reminder emails but it is not happening. Now it's two days before the start of the project and you still have nothing. You begin to feel strong negative feelings for this client. You start getting thoughts of, "Ah, I wish I didn't have this project. Why is it so complicated to get going on the project! Ah, I never prepared for this situation and so I am bad and being an entrepreneur" and so on...

So this certainly a difficult situation any one could be facing in a business. You've set up processes to improve efficiency because you are a solopreneur and have hundred different hats on. But then here comes a client who derails all that by delaying on just one aspect of the whole process - the starting content you need to begin your work.

Bringing compassion to yourself and the others
All you can do at first is make peace with the situation. The first thing to do is take some deep breaths and make peace with the situation. What this means is that you don't fight what's happening but instead you accept it. Yes, this client is not sending me the info. You loosen up your thoughts towards the client. You also accept the feelings that this is causing in you. Yes, I'm feeling stressed about this. I feel my forehead tightening and my shoulders feel restricted. Bring awareness in this way to what you feeling emotionally and how your body is feeling that emotion. 

When a situation like this happens, there are a couple of players involved. There's you, clearly and then there's the object that is causing the stress or the problem. In this case it's the client and her delay. But it could be a tech failure, or low capital, or miscommunication with an assistant or a collaborator. Whatever the "other" part of the equation is, is the object.
So now what you need to do is to loosen up your mental energy towards that "other" object. In this case, you notice your thoughts towards your client - anger, impatience, frustration, even hurt and disappointment. By observing those thoughts, you begin to loosen their grip. And then you can actively send loving energy to the object, in this case the client.

The way to do this is by closing your eyes and imagining the client's situation. It may be that this client was always told by her family that she will never amount to anything and she's worked so hard to find a niche, and work nights and weekends on this side business while keeping a full-time job. Now she is finally ready to get visible and be found and hence, she's hired you to make her a new website. But her sabotaging thoughts are coming to overwhelm her and become her own obstacle to success. You recognize this as a possible cause for the delay and you remember times when you too have had to overcome your sabotaging thoughts. You realize how challenging that is and there, a light of compassion emerges within you. You send that light to your client. I understand you. I know it's hard. I believe in you. It's alright. You are good enough.

This way, you notice that you are not so upset about the situation. You have compassion for this client. Poor client, how challenging it is to get out of our own way. I understand this. I send you my good, positive thoughts. I send you peace.

How can I help?
Now you've truly loosened your energy towards her. You may find that as soon as you do this, you get an flurry of emails with all the information you need. Or may be that doesn't happen. But then, you've freed yourself of the negative energy this situation caused in you. And now are beginning to get proactive. You start thinking, "What can I do to help this client?" So you decide to give her a quick call to find out what's stopping her. You realize that she herself is waiting on your freelancer to deliver her the logo and she felt too embarrassed to tell you that because she wanted to deliver a perfect report back to you with all complete content. 

Now that you know this, you break things down for her and you tell her the least necessary items you need in order to get going on your tasks. In this case, since you know the color palette and fonts of the logo, you can begin work even if the logo is not complete. This moves the process forward at least and breaks up the stagnant status the project was long sitting in.

You can see how you've now made peace with the situation and saved yourself from further delays. 

But let's say, the client never returns any info to you and you really cannot begin on the project. In this case, you can comfortably tell the client that you will have to push back on her project at the next available slot as you cannot loose time waiting. And these two weeks that you had blocked off, you can now use for taking care of other parts of your business like organizational issues, financial updates, blog content creation, updates on your website, etc. You actually are grateful for this "extra" time to catch up on some things you had to put off because of client projects. And you can then regroup with the client when she is ready.

Making peace with what is, is a piece of wisdom that comes in really handy when you are running a business. There are other tools of inner-peace and equanimity, that you can use in your business to move forward, increase your revenue and have greater impact with your business. As they say, mindset is key for success. If you'd like to learn more practical techniques like the one I shared today, see examples of how you can use it and get live help on your own business mindset challenges, come to my free Live Masterclass. More information on how you can sign up is here: 3 Mental Peace Techniques You Can Use To Grow Your Business.

Look forward to seeing you there. 'Til then, rock on, my friend!

Much peace,
Sophia

PS: Feel free to share in the comments one challenge you've been facing in your business which you know can be changed with some mental technique of dealing with it! 

Building Your Sense Of Self-Worth Using SMST

Building Your Sense Of Self-Worth Using SMST

A powerful way to build a sense of self-worth in your life.

As working professionals, parents and online entrepreneurs with a vision, we all have a never-ending list of to-dos and projects. Running a business or a project, naturally means coordinating and managing multiple moving parts. At the same time, bringing a project to its completion is essential for feeling a sense of progress and a sense of accomplishment about our work which feeds into our sense of self-worth.

But more often than not, there’s a constant supply of things to do. Projects take weeks to complete and as soon as one hits completion, there’s another one on the horizon. When we are also juggling home and family duties along with personal care on top of our business and careers, then there seems to be no end to all the tasks that need to be done. This cycle ends up overwhelming us, draining our energy and over time it can zap our motivation and drive for the very things that we most wanted to accomplish.

Photo by Teddy Kelley

In the face of all of this never-ending lists of tasks, how then do we feel any sense of completion or progress?

Personally, I have felt this exact scenario play out over and over again in the course of last eight years. Thankfully, I have found for myself a solution that works. And I hope it will help you as well in building a sense of accomplishment and a track record that you can look back upon over the course of time.

Every day before I go to bed, I really like the feeling of “Ah, what a good day it was today.” And I noticed that if I had a long open list of to-dos hanging around at the end of my day, even after toiling the whole day to get things done, this good feeling of a job well done would evaporate, no matter how much I accomplished that day. It felt like I could never beat the magically-growing list of tasks. And that left me utterly unsatisfied with myself.

So this is what I came up with:

Choosing A SMST At The Start Of The Day
(or the day before if you can)

SMST stands for Single Most Satisfying Task. So, I started choosing the single most satisfying task to be done that day. Now there are two key parts of this phrase that I want to highlight:

1. Single: Yes, single! You must choose just one thing that you want to accomplish in that day, not any more. Now of course, you will most likely end up doing more than that one thing in that day. However, this is not about the entire list of to-dos. It is about picking the one thing that if you completed that day, will make you feel accomplished at the end of the day. So if everything goes wrong and you are not able to get to do all the things on your day schedule, you can say to yourself: “Ah, thank goodness, I at least got this one thing done.” So your day is always rescued from chaos - because you got at least one important step forward. And most likely, you will do plenty of other things any ways. But this one thing anchors you and gives you the feeling of progress. So it is important that this one thing is important to you which brings me to the next point:
    
2. Most Satisfying: This is a key phrase because not all tasks are created equal. Some will move you forward but you don’t care much about them in the big picture. This task has to be most satisfying in the sense that when, at the end of the day, you look back and see this one thing crossed off, you know that you have made real progress. Of course, this task can’t be too huge that it cannot be done in that one day. It also can’t be so huge that all other obligations and tasks of that day are neglected. There’s certainly got to be a balance.

The critical thing that can make this work is to start with what matters most to you. I’ve got more details on how to figure out what matters most to you in this blog post where you can also download a free worksheet. You can use it for both personal and business goals. After you complete this worksheet, in a matter of minutes you’ll know exactly what matters most to you and this will determine what is the most important task you have at hand.

Once you know what the most important project is, then you can more easily determine what is the SMST or the single most satisfying task is. So for example, from the above worksheet, you find out that writing your first book is what matters most to you. Then, you can set an achievable goal for each day; let’s say that's writing a 1000 words or showing up at your computer from 9am to 11am. There you have this clear goal. You sit down each day for an hour or two and produce these 2 pages (at least). After you accomplish your SMST, record this in your tracking calendar. Many productivity and habit coaches teach that tracking your new habit is a foundational element of building a habit because it creates a visual chain that you can see and don't want to break.

Now of course, during the rest of the day you will most likely produce a lot of other things and complete a lot of other tasks. But even if you don’t, you will have those 2 pages under your belt and you can then go to bed with a sense of satisfaction: “my day was productive. I got 2 pages forward in completing my book”. Then you see the results in your tracking calendar over time and that really makes you feel motivated to keep going.

Why us this SMST tool again?

This sense of satisfaction, completion and accomplishment comes in tiny bits each day and is crucial for a sense of self-worth. And it builds up over time. As you see all the key things you have done over time, you really begin to value yourself more. Why? Because you begin to respect yourself more: Oh, wow, look how I persevered daily for 6 months and created this x (end result such as a book). Of course, in the big picture you are worthy and valuable regardless of what you accomplish, because you are a precious human being. But at times we are not able to recognize that in ourselves and we feel useless or not a contributing member of society and that can bring us down. Or we feel so overwhelmed with everything that we cannot see all the things we are already doing that is of value and helpful to others. And so, such a daily device of SMSP is very useful in building a sense of self-worth and a daily sense of fulfillment with our lives. Not only do you build a sense of self-worth, you also get moving on your goals more easily!

So my dear friends, I have these two worksheets for you. One is to help you figure out what matters most to you. And the other is to help you daily identify your SMSP and then track its completion. You can put this in your bathroom or closet wall or right next to your computer.

Steps for using the SMST Self-Worth tool:

This is how you use it:

1. Find out what matters most to you.

You can choose one for personal and one for business or combine them into one. 
Ex: Being more active. Taking time for mental wellness. Writing a book.

2. Determine what task you can do to implement that into your life.
Ex: Writing everyday or Walking or Meditating everyday

3. Then identify the SMST or the single most satisfying task.
Ex: Walking for 20 minutes from 7 to 7:20am right after brushing teeth. 
(Shower and Breakfast is from 7:30 to 8:30)
Ex: Meditating for 30 minutes from 8:30 am to 9am right after breakfast.
Ex: Writing 2 pages from 9 am to 11 am right after meditating.

Tip: It is important to create triggers. A trigger is something that happens right before your new habit. So 'right after breakfast' or 'right after meditating' are both triggers. So once you have breakfast, you know what happens next. This is not something you have to think of each time, its' pre-decided and because you don't have to decide this every day, the new habit has an easier time to form.

If you create a clear trigger for your SMST then it is more likely to happen. I’ve found that it’s an easier way to build a new habit. As you can see in the above example, with triggers and clear tasks, you can even build three different habits on top of each other. Start with one habit at a time though. When that one's in place, add another. Don't go doing all three new habits at once - that's not sustainable in my experience.

4. Then, record and track it in your calendar (see free calendar download).
Ex: Walked for 20 minutes from 7:15 to 7:35am
Ex: Meditated for 30 minutes from 8:45 to 9:15. 
Ex. Wrote 1.5 pages from 9:15 am to 11am.
The idea behind tracking is to simply see how you did, not for judging yourself for being late or even for missing out on it completely.  Tracking encourages you to pick the habit again and keep going but if you miss, just start again.

Do this for at least a week and see how it feels. Give it a try and if you feel more accomplished continue it for another week. 

I hope my dear friend that this approach of choosing your daily Single Most Satisftying Task is helpful to you and that you will use the What matters most worksheet along with the Record & Track SMST calendar to build your sense of self-worth and a sense of completion and fulfillment at the end of the day.

So after going through the What Matters Most worksheet and the SMST Tracking Calendar, tell me in the comments, what is your SMST for today? I'd love to know!

What is Inner-strength and how do we cultivate it?

What is Inner-strength and how do we cultivate it?

In today's article, I explore what it means to have "inner-strength", whether it can be something we can develop; and if so, how do we go about cultivating it to deal with life's challenges:

What does it mean to have inner-strength?

Resilience, perseverance and tenacity - what all these words have in common is that they give me a sense of deep inner-strength. It’s the power one has to deal with difficult situations; to give their all to a business idea or a goal; or to dedicate everything they’ve got in taking care of their family. It’s the strength one has to fight injustices; or to work for humane treatment of humans and animals. It’s the perceived strength one must have to overcome life’s challenges.

We do need that inner-strength in today's modern life, don't we? From dealing with the cranky child to the colleague who is always running late on projects to the customer who seems to be communicating with us with anger and impatience, to the spouse who seems to us to be nagging us - and then all of this and more happening all at once!

Anatomy of inner-strength
If we look at the anatomy of inner-strength, it’s hard to outline what it exactly entails. But one can see it in those who embody it. These people may not be very tall or physically fit, instead they might be slender and frail-looking. They may not have a fierce look on their faces, instead, they have a kind and gentle face. Inner-strength comes in all shapes and sizes. But what they do embody is a kind of a quiet inner-fortitude with which they calmly deal with whatever comes their way.

This inner-fortitude can take the form of compassion when dealing with an unruly child. Or kind words spoken to a worried stranger.  It can be silence in the face of insulting words. Or it can be in the form of strong action in the face of injustice. It can be the choice of non-violence in response to aggression.

When seen in this way, inner-strength sounds really interesting. Wouldn’t you want to have that kind of strength to handle what life throws at you? I have seen the results in my own life where practicing the action-steps of cultivating inner-strength has greatly helped me deal with depression and lack of enthusiasm for life as well as self-doubt and a sense of overwhelm when faced with obstacles on my path. Truly, developing inner-strength has saved my life. But it can also help one deal with other low-level but can help us keep moving forward regardless of what situation you face - from a difficult boss to an ailing health. 

Is one naturally born with inner-strength? Can this be developed at any age?

We may have a tendency to have a certain level of tenacity or inner-strength that's innate - something we are built with. But, I've found that it is also something that can be developed; it can be cultivated within us just like a new plant can be cultivated from a seed. The reason for this is that the source of inner-strength comes from our mind. The way we train our mind leads to how well we develop our inner-strength, something, I believe, we can do at any age.

Photo by Frank McKenna

Components of inner-strength

Regardless of what form inner-strength takes, the source of it is from within. It’s the inner-capacity to assess a situation, observe our own thoughts and emotions as a response and it’s the ability to respond wisely and compassionately to what we are experiencing. Inner-strength is ultimately the capacity to train our minds and meaningfully harness the immense power of our mind in day-to-day situations. 

The process of demonstrating inner-strength
Here is a trajectory that starts off with mindfulness and ends up with inner-strength showing up as compassionate action:

1. Being mindful

2. Observing emotions

3. Responding instead of reacting

4. Bringing compassion

5. From there bringing compassionate action

So as you can see, the components of inner-strength show up in a certain kind of process of being.

5 Action steps to build inner-strength

What you see above is also then, a path to developing inner-strength. The more we practice the above, the stronger we get from within when faced with challenging situations. So this is how the process translates into action steps along a path:

Building our capacity to be mindful
This way we are more in the moment and present to what is going on. This can be developed with either mindfulness and meditation practices.

Building our capacity to observe
When we are present to what's going on, we can observe our own thoughts and emotions. By staying with those thoughts and emotions, we help take off their edge and as a result keeping those strong emotions in check.

Building our capacity to respond instead of react
When we are able to observe, we are also better able to respond with consideration and forethought instead of impetuously reacting to what's going on.

Building our capacity to bring compassion to the situation
This means bringing in patience, understanding, forgiveness and loving-kindness to ourselves, the event and those involved.

Building our capacity for compassionate action
From this compassionate attitude, we can generate the inner-strength to take compassionate action.

There you have it, each time we practice along this path, we build our capacity to better deal with the challenges of life until there comes a time where things that use to be immensely stressful and distressing, we now find much more easier manageable to deal with. The irate customer doesn't bother us as much. The unruly student is much easier to engage with. The nagging wife or husband is no longer a source of stress. The slow colleague doesn't upset us as much. Instead, in each of these situations we are more gentle and kind, leading from our place with compassion and taking constructive actions to deal with situations. 

This is the power of building up our inner-strength through regular practice!

A Process Worth Developing

Establishing inner-strength within oneself is a process and it is a practice. It entails a journey of self-discovery through introspection, a letting go of negative patterns, a practice of ingesting high-energy, uplifting content daily, a practice of meditation to cleanse and calm our minds, as well as a deep sense of awareness of our body and gentle caring of it. 

This inner-strength is like a rose plant that we tenderly care for daily with gentleness, repetition, and awareness. This skill comes in handy when we are in difficult situations but to develop the skill we must practice in easy-going situations - during times when the pressure is low. Just like the athlete who trains for a big event, we too must train for the big events in life.

I call inner-strength a skill because it is something we can learn to refine and because it is an art form. It is one of those things that we never learned growing up unless we saw adults embodying this invaluable treasure. I’ve always been an optimist never thinking that I would run into a difficult situation. But when I hit a challenging moment, I found myself without an anchor and without the resources to deal with it. By trial and error, I painfully realized over time, that these situations were doubly difficult for me because I had not learned the art of inner-strength. I did not know what to say, how to deal with my thoughts and how to handle my own emotions. I had no knowledge of ways of thinking and being that could help me resolve those challenges and I had nobody I could look to for help. And that is a very dark place to be in. 

Inner-Peace Chats: A New Way To Move Within

That’s why I want to create resources that can help you prepare - not pessimistically expecting a challenging moment, rather realistically understanding that difficult moments do arise and we need to help ourselves come through those moments stronger. I'd love to offer you my presence and guide you on cultivating deeper inner-peace and sense of resilience. I've created something called the Inner-Peace Chat which is a comforting conversation during moments where you feel weak, distraught or simply in need of an uplifting boost. And according to what you need in the moment, I will guide you through a process and a meditation to help you deal with the emotional upsurge you are experiencing. 
 

It will be an hour-long process and you will receive in your inbox a customized action plan to cultivate inner-peace after our conversation. 

This new offering, the Inner Peace Chat is in a beta-phase which will be a higher investment down the road, after I've done a few chats and refined my process. Right now, you can be part of the founding group with at the early-bird pricing. I invite you to take this opportunity, which at the moment, is the only way to get one-to-one time with me, unless you are part of my larger an online program, Happiness Gameplan. 

Want to get started? Go here to see more details on Inner-Chat and reserve your spot.
 

Much peace,

Sophia

---

Why we need to think of expectations differently

Photo Credit: Sophia Ojha Ensslin

I grew up around the notion of "expectation". Expectation followed me around no matter where I went and what I did. I was expected to do good in school. Cross that. I was expected to do great in school. I was expected to excel at work and career. I was expected to be a good, kind person. I was expected to be contributing member of society.

And these expectations ⏤ from family, from school, from society ⏤ all have played a role in who I am. Needless to say, I adopted many of these expectations as my own, to the extent that at one point in my life, I couldn't tell if the things I was working towards were coming from my own expectations or those I absorbed from society. In any case, I always had high expectations of myself and the people around me.

Expectations Are A Trap

This happens to a lot of us. Somewhere along the way, expectation becomes a way of being. We bring our expectations to how our lives should be, how the world should be, how the people around us should be. And too often, these expectations come back to bite us in the you know what! Oh, and I have been bit many, many, many a times! Not so much by society's expectations of me anymore, but my own expectations of the world.

I've come to realize that having expectations of life is a big, dangerous trap. Now, I don't expect you to believe me (pun intended). Reflecting on how I have hurt myself and hurt others because of my expectations, has made me realize that when we set expectations on things and on people, we only create an invisible tension between us and the people or the situation or ourselves.This tension comes from wanting things to be a certain way and then realizing they are not the way we expected them and then feeling angry, hurt or upset or a host of other emotions as a result. 

Waiting Vs. Breathing

Now, don't get me wrong. I do have aspirations. And there is a strong and clear difference between having aspirations and having expectations. Aspirations pull us upwards, they lift us from where we are and help us create for the better. We can aspire to earn a promotion at work and so we take initiatives, stretch ourselves to build our skills or reach out to colleagues to build bridges. We may aspire to a happy home life and so we build presence so we can listen to our loved ones, we invest time to maintain a healthy environment and we care for the wellbeing of our family. We may aspire to create a better world and so we donate our time and resources to worthy causes, we pick up litter in our pristine forests, we hold the door for a stranger. 

"Aspiration" according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

1a : a strong desire to achieve something high or great
1b : an object of such desire
2a: drawing of something in, out, up, or through by or as if by suction: such as
  a:the act of breathing and especially of breathing in

Notice how the definition of aspiration starts with "a strong desire to achieve something high or great". It is positive and uplifting. Just like it's second definition, "the act of breathing"!
Aspiration is also another word of breathing, especially breathing in! 

Expectation on the other hand is "the act or state of expecting : anticipation," according to the dictionary. So I looked up expecting and this is what Merriam-Webster Dictionary showed for it:

1. archaic : wait, stay

2: to look forward

You can notice the difference. Expectation has a more stagnant feel to it. It is the state of waiting and that's an uncomfortable state of being, at least in my view. Waiting vs. Breathing. Which is more dynamic? Which is more alive with life-force?

Aspiration Is Uplifing

Aspiration is a beautiful thing. But when it thwarts itself and warps into expectation, that's when the drudgery begins for you and those around you. Aspiration when coupled with expectation causes heartache, breaks up relationships and causes deep mental and emotional distress.

Whereas aspiration coupled with detachment, frees us. It helps us soar to new heights of creativity, of beauty, of kindness, of wisdom and of compassion. Detachment is an art, a way of looking at things which enables us to take action without being cemented to an end result.

I've written about and created videos on helping you dig deep into the art of detachment with these useful posts:

Deepak Chopra's Law of Detachment (video and blog)
Letting Go Of the Need to Know what happens tomorrow  (video and blog)
My own journey of Showing Up with detachment (video and blog) and
In learning how to Assess Your Efforts Not Results (video and blog)

In relationships with others
So when we aspire for a beautiful relationship with another, we make positive, constructive, meaningful effort to make that happen, but we also let go of how it turns out. What the other person does or how the other person receives our efforts are not under our influence. We can, however, observe and except how they respond to us. This is detachment that frees us because we are accepting of what is and how they are.

In relationship with ourselves
This way of being also applies to how we relate to ourselves. I know that many of us, myself included, have trained ourselves to have high expectations of us. I know many women and many moms who carry very heavy burdens of what they expect from themselves. But when we fall too deep into pasting layers and layers of expectations over us (best mom, best wife, best home care taker, best career woman/ professional/business woman, best community member, etc), then we have only buried ourselves under a ton of bricks ⏤ not freed ourselves to be all that we want to be. That's when expectation thwarts aspiration. 

In relationship with meditation
It's also a trap when it comes to our meditation. We sit down to meditate and have expectations. We all know the benefits of meditation so we sit down expecting to have a relaxed experience. But sometimes, the mind is so active, it is difficult to quickly relax. It may take time. Add to that the expectation and there goes any sense of calm and peace. But instead, if can allow the meditation experience to be as it is, then we have created a kind, benevolent space for our mind to relax. No expectations. Just accepting how things are.

This approach can be applied to anything in our lives. Whenever you find yourself dealing with the pain and distress of having expectations of yourself or of others, remind yourself of this trap of expectation. And then intentionally choose to be kind towards yourself and others. Allow your aspiration for how you want things to be to help direct your words, thoughts and actions but free yourself of attaching to how you expect things to be. 

This is a way to inner-peace. This is a way to relate with our world, our life, the people in our lives and with ourselves with kindness and compassion.

Don't be fooled by the insidious trap of expectations. Welcome aspiration with a detached, kind attitude. This will help you focus on positive thoughts, words and actions and better deal with the reality at hand. 

Don't be fooled by expectations.
Embrace aspiration instead.
Focus on your actions.
Thoughts, words AND actions.
This is a way to peace.
This is way to accept what is.

So, my friend, please share with me in the comments how you respond to this article. I'd really like to know your experience of accepting what is and letting go of expectations.

Much peace,

Sophia

Being Kind To Yourself

Photo by Evelyn Paris

What is kindness?

What comes to your mind when you think of the word “kind”? What does kindness mean to you? 

When I first think of the word kind, I think of action - kind actions done to help others. When people help the homeless or other groups. When people pick up litter in the park. When people hold the door open for someone when entering a building. Or when someone lets another car come into their lane while driving. It’s the kind action a nurse takes whenever taking care of his/her patient. It’s the nice words of encouragement we say to each other.

And all of this is really wonderful and worthy of being associated with the word kind.

But how often do we think of ourselves as kind? We do a lot of kind things for others, but do we consider ourselves as a kind person? If you do, that’s wonderful and please keep it up. But for so many of us, we are so critical of ourselves that we don’t even allow ourselves to think of ourselves as kind. We say, “oh, I wasn’t kind that time when xyz happened” or “There are others who are kind but I do my best to be kind”. We have some variation of that statement in our minds. Why? Because we have really high standards of what can be considered kind. Or thinking we are being humble, we never give ourselves the acknowledgement. This has certainly been my case where I did not see myself as a kind person because all I could see was the times that I had been less than kind.

But what if we began to look at ourself as a kind person - that would be a very kind thing to do. We would recognize and notice all the kind things we've done or said or thought.

A First Step In Cultivating Kindness

Starting there would be a wonderful first step in cultivating kindness towards others - considering yourself a kind person.

Now what exactly does it mean to be a kind person?

After you recognize that you are indeed a kind person, it is time to cultivate more kindness towards yourself.

One of the ways to do this is to say encouraging words to yourself. If you are feeling down you can be kind to yourself and say to yourself, “It’s okay to feel down right now. I am here for you.” If you are faced with doubt about yourself, remind yourself why and how you have demonstrated in the past that you can do it. Say to yourself, “You can do it. I believe in you. No matter how this has turned out in the past, the important thing is that you don’t give up. Keep going”.

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." ⏤ Amelia Earhart

If you find yourself feeling impatience towards yourself, then say to yourself, “It’s alright to feel impatience. It’s just an energy and it will pass.” And then deliberately give yourself more time for whatever you feel impatience about. Imagine yourself to be a gentle cow or a mama sheep and how they take care of their young. Imagine yourself to be just filled with kindness from head to toe. Then say kind words towards yourself.

This is an important practice for cultivating kindness towards ourselves. It is important because it seems like we are our own worst critic and barrage ourselves with non-nourishing, hurtful words. We need to take deliberate actions in changing that. And by doing so, we fuel ourselves with good, encouraging energy which builds our self-confidence and we begin to feel good about ourselves. When we feel good about ourselves, we are more relaxed and when we are more relaxes issues and problems don’t bother us so much. And as a result, we are kind towards others as well.

So today, my invitation to you is to keep “being kind to yourself” in mind. Whenever you hear yourself being impatient, irritated, angry, critical or in any way unkind, bring yourself to some kind thoughts. This may or may not be easy to do since we often are quick to judge ourselves. But with practice, we relax into this way of being. We practice being kind to ourselves and be begin to enjoy being ourselves and even begin to love ourselves more.

So what do you say? Will you be kind to yourself today? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below as I'd love to know.

---

You are invited to join my free email course: 

On being present with our own big dreams

Photo Credit: Sophia Ojha

Why is it that we get distracted? Not when we don't know what we want in our life but precisely when we get clarity and understanding of our life's mission, it seems that distraction rears it head. 

We all know about the writer or creator or blogger who needs to have her home cleaned and laundry put away before she can even begin prepping for her work. She needs to make sure the bed is made, the dinner is prepared and all the other nitty gritty of life is in order first. Only then can she dust off her canvas or bring out her laptop to begin the daily practice that her craft requires.

Do you resonate with this? I certainly do. And I am becoming very aware of this recently as I have become intensely clear about the project that I am committing to.

It's not that all those tasks are not important, on the contrary, they are the foundations of life. But why do we have to do them in order to get on with our life's work? It's as if we are running away from the very thing we want.

Picture this - imagine you see a cartoon figure of a man who wants to reach for the door. His arms are reaching towards the door. At the same time, his legs are moving away from the door. It's a very confusing thing to be experiencing, if you are that man. Because on the one hand, there's crystal clear clarity about what we want in our life. But on the other hand, we are finding other things to do that consume our mind, attention, energy and our time ⏤ leaving us deflated and even more confused about our situation.

So how do we resolve this?

The best way to untie this entangled mess that we find ourselves in, is by going into deep reflection about the situation. By asking ourselves the questions like, "what do I need to understand in order to break this pattern?" or "what steps do I need to take in order to implement the big main task, my current important project?" Questions want answers and your inner-self will guide you with the right answers that will help you specifically move through this.

When I ask myself these questions, this is what I discovered:

What I need to understand is this:

For the longest time, you've been wandering with doubt and confusion about your life's purpose. You've been unclear about your next steps and you've been impatient with yourself in the process. You've also beat yourself up for 'not being there' already ⏤ meaning not having achieved 'it'. 'It' being this nebulous, unclear ideal of achievement that even you don't know what it’s supposed to be. You've also struggled to follow your heart and suffered from the pressures of family and societal expectations about being a successful career-woman and a fantastic housewife with all the i's dotted and all the t's crossed.
 

You've had 15 years of dealing with all of this plus your own pain body filled with pain and suffering both from that of being born a woman and the suffering you've picked up of all the animals in distress along with karmic pain and suffering that has followed you for millennia. All of this and infinitely more you have dealt with while trying to get focused in a world filled with loud distractions of a gazillion kind. 

Remember you had no training or education or guidance growing up for any of this. You are figuring it out as you go ⏤ like the rest of humanity. 

It's been a tall order. But you've tried. You’ve made efforts. You worked on figuring this thing out. This thing called life. You've reached out to books. Watched 100's of TouTube videos, Ted talks and meditation sessions. You've walked countless miles in the forests. You've meditated countless hours. You've searched and finally, you've come to a certain clarity and a sense of purpose.

But that clarity and sense of purpose is all new. It has no real deep roots. All the other things that have become a pattern in you are deeply rooted⏤the distractions, the noise, the doubt.

Once you realize that you are transitioning to a new way of being, it will become easier for you to walk into that new pattern. Just recognize that you are transforming into a different pattern. And this transformation is happening right now. It is happening every time you shift yourself slightly, steer yourself ever so slightly towards the clarity and purpose that you have found.

So all you need to do is to simplify your goals and simplify your life in such a way that all that is loud and distracting, minimizes and fades away. What remains is just you and the task at hand - the task that you chose to have as your main task at hand. 

So what steps do I need to take in order to implement my big, main goal?

Help yourself in these ways:

1. Write clearly in your day plan when in the day you will be doing your work.

This time is just for your writing or creating or whatever you “work” is. Nothing else. All else, unless an emergency, can wait until their turn. This especially applies to doing the dishes, running errands and all the other things of life ⏤ important but not to be done when it's time for you to create.

2. Reduce your responsibilities and tasks in all other areas of life as much as possible.

This will mean that you bring the volume down on your other projects that are not as important as the main one that you've identified. If you can completely let go of other projects, that will simplify things even more. But we do need other engagements other than our main task ⏤ because creativity needs space to breathe and germinate. So let's say you are a painter, when you are doing your other project ⏤ say gardening, that's when you get inspiration on how to resolve something you are working on currently. So don't completely take away those things but certainly reduce other projects.

3. Remind yourself of your goal or task several times a day.

Especially, when you have a newly found clarity about your life, it's important to write it down in your journal or notebook that you keep with you at all times and read from it several times a day. This clarity is ever flickering until it becomes solidified in your consciousness, in your awareness. So write it down and refer to it several times a day so you know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it. This action will also fill you up with ideas and energy for implementing those ideas.

This I hope is helpful to you in dealing with your own distractions. Getting distracted is an old way of being. It’s habitual and has arisen in your life as a way to deal with all the confusion, the sadness, the doubt and the suffering you have experienced. What better way to dim the light of suffering than putting your mind to something entertaining like a distraction? Or so it seems. It does give relief and for that purpose, distractions are a breath of fresh air in our too often sad, difficult lives. But they are only a temporary relief ⏤ not something to get used to as a permanent solution. We recognize the benefit of distractions and use them wisely in times we need to put our minds at ease with something other than what we are dealing with. In the end, we each will find our own way of getting focused and clear.

And I hope the introspection questions I shared here with you will help you find your own unique answers. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you get distracted? If yes, what do you think distraction does for you? What have you found to be your unique solutions to distractions? And if you are not distracted anymore, tell us how you found a way to be present with your own big dreams instead of getting drowned in the noise of distractions?

Much love,
Sophia

5 Life lessons that bring peace of mind

In recent months, I've had many realizations after going through periods of doubt, sadness, frustration and impatience - mostly around work. But only last week have I begun writing things down as part of my daily journaling practice.

The results of this daily writing have been incredible. Not only have I begun feeling greater ease within myself, I am also finding clarity about larger life principles that feed into that sense of ease and inner-peace. And I'd like to share these with you so that you too can benefit from contemplating these ideas and insights. Hopefully, they bring you inner-peace and a calm mind as a result.

5 Life Lessons That Bring Me Peace of Mind:

This insight and understanding that I've gained through my moments of doubt can be laid out as 5 life lessons. These are as follows:
 

Photo credit: Melanie Magdalena

1. Learn to be in the present moment:
Just to preface this life lesson - it is a deep learning and to master it may take a lot of practice, as I am finding out myself. But every moment you are in the present moment, serves as a stepping stone towards deeper peace. 

Being in the present moment is all about being fully focussed on the here and now. Bring your complete attention to what you are doing right now. Whatever that may be, be completely dedicated to that one thing. As if you were nursing an ill animal back to life and your entire being is required to help it make it through. You will drop everything else and just be fully there for it. (Replace "animal" with any loved being in your life - child, husband, friend, mother, etc.)

So you are completely "with" that other person or being. If there's no one with you then you are being fully present with yourself. Being there with your complete attention. Like the teacher and monk, Thich Nhat Hahn reminds us to say, "Darling, I am here for you". Taking that idea towards yourself.  

This is not an easy task as thoughts come in from all directions. But don't try to get rid of your thoughts. Just be present with them as well. You are experiencing thoughts from the past - be with it. You are experiencing thoughts about the future - just be with it. It's completely allowed. And that in itself is the key. Allow them. Allow them to just be instead of wanting them to not be. The side effect of this approach often turns out that the thoughts quiet down. But even if they don't that's fine. At least you were present to them. You showed up to your own party, so to speak! You were the witness to your own life and that's enough. Really. That's good enough.

Being in the present moment = being witness to what is.

I am continuously learning to be in the present moment. And the more I realize I am here, now, the easier it becomes to "tackle" life. How so? Well, then I only have to deal with that which is in front of me, not the barrage of goals, tasks, aspirations and dreams, problems and struggles of my entire life. No, I am present to just this, just this that's in front of me. This one thing. And I CAN handle this one thing. Easy!

Photo credit: Natalia Luchanko

2. Focus on being helpful

This is absolutely powerful. Once I begin to bring this guiding principle into my focus, things tend to change. As soon as I say to myself, "Focus on being helpful", then all the pressures of being perfect, successful and the rest just fade away for me. Try it in your own life. When things start to get frustrating or overwhelming or in any way difficult, just ask yourself, "How can I be of help in this situation?"

That shifts your focus from you and your problems to how you can be of use, of service to others. And don't get me wrong this is not about taking away attention from your problems or ignoring them. Not at all. It's more about shifting your focus to solutions and being of service instead. 

If we bring this idea into our daily focus, not just on those days when we are having a hard time, then we begin to make this a part of our way of being. We cultivate it as a habit and it becomes a part of who we are and you begin to think of yourself as someone who thinks of how he or she can be of help. 

This self-image is very conducing to mental peace. Why? Because you consider yourself in a positive way. Too often, we have a harsh, negative perspective of ourselves - often too harsh! But when we begin seeing ourselves as somebody who is helpful to others, you inadvertently begin to like yourself a bit more. You then learn to be kinder to yourself and can bring more compassion and patience towards yourself. So even though having the focus of helping others is a wonderful virtue to cultivate for its own sake, it has an immense positive effect on us and how we view ourselves. Then this positive view gives us peace and positive outlook for solving our own problems.

You see - this is how the golden rule works! You help others and as a result you begin to help yourself.

Photo by: Saksham

3. Love what you do

This is an antidote to all the confusion that's caused by the sayings "Find what you love " and "Follow your bliss". In themselves these are great sayings that give guidance to many. But to some, including myself, these statements have caused confusion and even frustration. What if I don't know what I love? What if I don't know what is my bliss?

I've felt this many, many, many, many times in my life as I took upon very different things as my work. From being a United Nations Tour Guide to a meditation instructor to working in an office (very short time) to online marketing consultant and so on. 

I'd feel excited for these things for a bit and then over time - sometimes years, sometimes months and sometimes only after a few days, lose complete interest. Part of the reason is because I completely immerse myself into something and then get burnt out. I would ask myself, "If this thing that I am completely immersing myself in is supposed to be my bliss, supposed to be my "calling", then I could never get burnt out. It would keep fueling my interest and my energy because after all, I've found my thing, my purpose! But this way of thinking was not helpful because inadvertently, I did lose all steam for that one thing. I'd lose my drive, interest and enthusiasm. And may be it's just be being a Sagittarius or may be it this way with many others - if I am not interested or excited about something, I just cannot be involved. I've got to get out of there. If there's nothing that pulls me to be engaged in something, I will voluntarily withdraw myself from that endeavor.

So this way of being caused a lot of stress, uncertainty and even sadness because I could no longer be certain that what I do next will hold my attention for any set period of time. I was painfully aware that it could disappear or fade away anytime. So what to do?

First, I had to learn to let go of the notion that there is one life purpose. I had to let go of the idea that there's one thing that I will be doing all my life. That's just not going to work.

Instead I had to learn a new approach: love whatever I am doing now.

Loving whatever I am doing now has a lot to do with knowing the big picture. If I can be aware of why I was doing something, what was the purpose of it and what is the end result I am working towards, then I could more easily learn to love what I was doing. That connects back with being in the present moment and focusing on being helpful. Those two are the building blocks of this third life lesson. It helps to know the big picture - the why. That brings me to the fourth life lesson - Focus on the end results.

But before I share about that fourth life lesson, there's one more thing I'd like to share about loving what you are doing. When you take the approach of loving what you are doing, you remind yourself that this thing that I am doing has a purpose, a reason and some benefit. I remind myself of the benefit this action brings to others. And even if you can't find yourself to love it, remember that only when you are content with what is, can you break free from it and move towards the new reality you want to create. You begin to create a new reality as soon as you are detached from it and accepting of what is currently happening so that you can begin to take conscious, inspired action out of presence and detachment and not out of a negative mind state of resistance, frustration, anger and such.
 

Photo Credit: Luis Del Río Camacho

4. Focus on the end results.

This is something that you may have read or heard from many a new age book or personal development guru. The idea has certainly been made popular by the book and film, "The Secret". The idea that simply resonates with us - visualize the end result.  Most recently, I heard Mike Dooley talk about focusing on the end result in his book, Playing the Matrix. 

I too have found from personal experience that focusing on the end result is very helpful in my day to day life - I will explain more below. But before I share how that is helpful, I've got to share a word of caution.

Visualizing the end result alone is not enough for the everyday person. 

There are countless stories of mystics and saints who have instantly manifested things and situations and healings just by visualizing it. They create an image of what they want to see and instantly it comes into being. You can thing of any of the famous saints, nuns, monks, zen masters, yogis, sufi mystics, shamans and so on, in every corner of our globe where miracles have come to pass.

These individuals demonstrate to us the power and potentialities that each human being has within her/him. They embody mastery of mind over matter, the power of visualization. They were also very advanced meditators - someone who could go into deep states of stillness.

But most of us are not that far advanced on that path. That means, although we too can visualize and work with the still, quiet mind, it is not enough to quickly bring into reality that which we want to create just with the use of visualization alone. We need something more - which I will talk more in detail in the final life lesson below - taking consistent action.

That's why visualizing the end result alone is not enough for those of us who are not very advanced in using our mind's powers fully. That's why we need all these other life lessons to work in sync with visualization. 

So now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about visualizing the end result.

Why is it important to know the end result? There are tons of reasons for this. The most obvious one is this: so that you know where you want to arrive at and so that when you take action you can assess whether you are moving toward or away from your desired end result.  

But focusing on the end result also does one magical thing for you - it frees you from the nitty gritty reality. What do I mean by this? You see, when you focus on let's say inner-peace, or financial well-being, you keep your eyes set on the big picture. You keep your focus on how you want to experience life. And it frees you from the nitty-gritty of the "how" your end result manifests. 

See, one of the great miseries on the path of realizing one's dream comes from our being too attached with how something happens. Let's take for example, Sunita's vision. Her End Result is "living in a state of inner-peace". Now does it matter really if she experiences this through following Christian teachings or Buddhist teachings? Does it matter if Sunita experiences deep inner-peace by going for walks in the woods everyday or by meditating every day? If the end result she experiences is inner peace, it doesn't really matter "how" it came into being, does it?

Take another example. Say for example Alex wants to experience the freedom of being able to write for 5 hours a day. That's all he wants to do and wants to be sustained sufficiently - meaning, he wants that all his material needs are easily fulfilled. So what if now, as he focuses on his end result of being able to write every day for 5 hours, his wife's, Tanisha, online business takes off. She is now, single-handedly, making the income of a two-person household with plenty left over to save for retirement. Tanisha is overjoyed that she can help her husband live a fulfilling life of a writer with her successful business. This leaves Alex the freedom he was envisioning to be able to write for 5 hours a day and not have to go get a day job. Nor does he have the pressure of having to create a New York Times best-seller. All he has to focus on is writing every day.

So now does it matter whether Alex achieved his end result through the financial success of his wife? The same end result could have been achieved in a gazillion different ways:
he gets a huge inheritance,
his real estate investment that he made 10 years ago is suddenly providing a monthly income that pays for all his and his wife's needs,
he gets a book contract which leads to a big success securing his future financial needs,
he gets a part-time job as an editor that pays all his bills and leaves him 5 hours to write daily,
his YouTube channel earns him a monthly income that covers all his family's needs, 
and on and on.

It doesn't matter how the end result manifests, as long as it does. And when we focus on the end result (while taking action and doing the other things I mentioned in Life lessons 1-3), then we are able to be detached as to how our dreams manifest. We give life an opportunity to make things happen with greater freedom. 

It's like the story of the drowning man. Do you know this one? I've heard it a long time ago so some details I have added in to make the story understandable. So here's the story which goes something like this...

Once there was a big flood that filled the streets of a residential area. A lot of people were rescued or were able to flee in time. But there was this one man who got stranded on the roof of his house. This man was a man of faith. He had faith that he would be rescued. He knew that in his heart. 

Soon, a rescue team passes by. They are in a small canoe rowing their way through the streets. The spot this man and offer him to jump into the canoe. The man says, "No, thank you. I have faith that I will be rescued". Surprised, the rescue team moves on to find others to help.

Then, a speed boat passes by. They, too, notice the man and offer him to take him to higher ground. He says the same thing. "No, thank you. I have faith that I will be rescued." Stunned, the guys move on.

The man continues to hope and pray and visualize him being rescued.

Next, a rescue helicopter come by. They spot the stranded man and hurl out a hanging ladder for him to climb up. Again, the man refuses. The helicopter team flies away, astonished.

Unfortunately, to make a point in this story, the man drowns.

The story, of course, doesn't end yet.

The man goes to heaven. He meets God. The man is shocked that inspite of his faith and belief and all the visualizing, he still drowned. So he asks God, "Why didn't you come to rescue me, God? I had so much faith in you and I visualized being rescued so clearly."

God nods and then says, "Boy, I did come to rescue you! I first sent you a canoe, then a speed boat and then even an expensive helicopter. But did you climb on? No! You did nothing!"

The man realizes his error. He did not take action. No matter how clearly he visualized his being rescued, the final step - taking the action to step on the rescue vehicle - was all his job. Plus, he was attached to the "how". I have no idea what exactly this man visualized. But it certainly didn't look like a canoe, a speed boat or a helicopter. Because it didn't match his very specific End Result Visualization, he didn't accept the help that did come his way.

How often do we do that? We don't take action. We just visualize. And we fail to see the help that is right in front of us. We imagine some complicated, struggle-filled, hardship-entailing solution when the simple answers are right in front of us. Do you relate? I certainly have done this and every time I fall into this old trap, I try to remind myself: "Don't judge what is in front of you as not good enough. You never know, this may be your canoe, your speedboat, your helicopter!"

And that's why visualizing the end result and then letting go of "how" that end result manifests, is very helpful in my every day life. Because it is freeing. Because it helps free up the infinite, gazillion ways of how that end result could manifest for us. And isn't that wonderful? Why be attached to how something unfolds when another way may be easier, faster, happier, more splendid and marvelous than what we could have carved out for ourselves?

So let go of the how, and simply focus on the end result, and then take action. More on that next.

Photo by: Cristy Zinn

5. Keep Taking Action

This is the final life lesson which I've mentioned in the last section - keep taking action. Taking action - any "good" action is helpful to you on your path moving forward. Even if you take a misguided or "wrong" action (I don't thing there's a wrong action, only a misguided action, perhaps), you can recognize your ways and make adjustments. It is important to take action.

For instance, last summer, I volunteered at my local real estate association to facilitate a six-week mastermind group for 10 or so committed professionals who wanted to make inroads in their real estate investment goals. My job along with my husband who was the co-facilitator, would be to gather interest in the program, set up the application process to find the most committed people - people who were committed to show up each week, organize the meetings, recruit speakers who were advanced investors and facilitate the flow of each meeting. This turned out to be a lot of fun but also a lot of work. Every participant benefitted immensely - they made new best friends, got partners for their investment projects, got valuable information and mentoring from experienced investors and most of all, the built a sense of confidence in themselves and found encouragement from each other to go ahead. 

As a facilitator, I learnt a lot - both about real estate but mostly about myself, my skills, areas to develop further, dealing with nerves while speaking to a group which were all older than me. ( I am working on dissolving this mental pattern of "I am younger than them - what can I offer them"). But most of all, I learnt that I don't want to immerse my time in the subject matter of real estate. I loved facilitating and organizing the mastermind and the results of success that each participant felt because of joining the group, but I didn't want to be surrounded by the topic of real estate - that one thing became clear.

As much as the subject matter of real estate is interesting to me (I am interested in a lot of topics), and I love to learn about it, I just don't want to spend all my time in that topic. This I would not have known, had I not gone out there and volunteered my time to create this mastermind. It was an idea that I followed through on. I took action. But then I realized I needed to recalibrate.

The important lessons I learnt from that summer is priceless and I know it will help in my next endeavor, whatever that may be. But I had to take those steps. So starting that mastermind was not a wrong action, not even misguided - because it was guided by the intention to help others and learn by experience the art of facilitation. In the end, I realized I needed to move on.

I am sharing all these details to demonstrate that we don't have to know the right steps. We just need to take the next steps with the best intention and the best of our current knowledge and understanding. Then we can recalibrate. 

This reminds me of airlines and how pilots are constantly course correcting. They start off at New York in the general direction of Atlanta. They are headed South but enroute, based on the new information they receive, they adjust their course. Finally, they land at Altanta airport precisely as desired.

Similarly, we've got to have an end destination in mind (Life Lesson 4). Then we've got to start the engine and move forward. Assess what's happening and then based on the best information we have at the moment, course correct and adjust our actions. In the end, we will arrive precisely as imagined, even though the path taken may have been unclear and nebulous!

---

So, my friends, I hope that these five lessons are insightful to you as they have been for me. I wish for you to have a peaceful, happy, life - a life that you want for yourself. If you'd like to discuss any elements that I've shared here, please make your constructive, helpful comments below. 

Warmly,

Sophia


 

My cat didn't come home last night.

Lola, our 3.5 month old kitten went outside yesterday afternoon with all her brothers and sisters and her mama. They all returned but she has yet to come back. It is now the next morning 4 am.

She is the youngest and the smallest and the cutest of them all. 

She has missed her dinner.

I miss her. I kept listening all night to any sound on the door to see if she was back. I called out for her.

Clearly, I am attached. And I know that attachment is one of the root causes of suffering according to Buddhist thought. I am suffering.

Something happens in life. We don’t like it. We want it to be different than it is. We want it to be like we want it to be. And when it is not, we suffer. We are sad, angry, upset, restless and overall feel not so peaceful and content.

This is dukka or suffering. It is also the First Noble Truth. There is suffering in this world. I am suffering because my kitten is not home and I want her to be home. I am suffering because of my attachment to the good feeling I have when my kitten is home with me.

Do you know how this feels? Is there something you are suffering about?

While I am not at ease and sad, I also know in my heart that there must be a way out of this. First I know that things change. Nothing is constant. There is impermanence. Could this fact of life be my lifesaver? My refuge from my own pain?

Impermanence means that whatever I am going through is not going to stay this way for all time. The intensity of what I feel may change and even slowly dissipate. I may overcome this situation and find access to peace and even to joy and laughter again.

So that flicker of hope already helps me in seeing the bigger picture.

That means whatever is going on, there is a root cause for it. The cause is inside my mind. The thoughts, the reactions, the sensations that emerge in response to the things in the world are part of the root cause of suffering. So that means, if I remove the causes, I can remove suffering. 

That’s the Second Noble Truth. There are certain things that cause my suffering.

So how do I deal with these causes of suffering. I must stop these causes that are inside my mind. I must learn to train my mind which is best done through meditation. In meditation, I can train my mind to simply observe. This is a ray of sunshine right now in the middle of my suffering - my yearning for my kitten to return home, my sadness emerging from her absence, my fear of her being in trouble without help, my desire for her to not suffer, my desire for her wellbeing at all times and not knowing if she is well, my inability to help her in case she needs my help - all root causes of my suffering.

But there is a way out.

There is a way out of suffering. That’s the Fourth Noble Truth. There is a solution to it. We CAN dissolve suffering and pain. There is a way out of this.

Does that give you a sense of hope as well? Whatever you are going through, there is a way out of it. It is not permanent and you can do something to change it.

So that means, I can take steps to help myself out of my own suffering. By observing and accepting what what I am feeling, I can dissolve it. By not having craving and not having aversion towards it.

I have to learn how to not crave things - in my case, how to not strongly want Lola to be back home.

I have to learn how to not have aversion to things, in my case, how not to dislike that she has not returned.

No craving, no aversion. 

Does that mean I must walk around like a feelingless ball of rock?

No.

It means I must learn how to deal with reality again. I must learn how to accept life first. I must learn how to be fine with what is. And this comes from not believing all my thoughts. Accepting my feelings and my situation as they are without judging them as bad.

By observing my breath. Specifically speaking, observing how the breath touches the area above the upper lip and below the nose. If I can just observe that area and how the incoming and outgoing breath touch it, I can help myself out of craving. This is one of the practices that the Buddha taught and the main practice that Webu Sayadaw, the Burmese Monk of high stature who was thought to be enlightened, taught.

When I am focussing on the area above my upper lip and below the nostrils, I can feel my mind slowly calm down. It is like a wild, turbulent ocean with big waves going everywhere, calming down slowly and become a serene, peaceful body of water with undulating waves making a soothing sound as they roll across the beach.

When I observe my breath and how it touches that area, I notice that my breath slows down. I take softer and softer breaths. I feel a wave of calm.

When I observe my breath and how the incoming breath and outgoing breath touch the area below my nose and above the upper lip, I feel my body slowly dissolves. I feel vibrations, very gentle sensations at times, at times heaviness in my legs, at times I feel I am floating and without a body. But for this, my body is sitting upright, without any movement - very very still.

These are moments of extreme peace and contentment.

This is the Third Noble Truth. Nibbana, the cessation of suffering.

This is the outline, a script, a recipe, a formula for getting out of suffering and being at peace that the Buddha gave us 2500 years ago. It is not about believing in a God or following a religion. It is about a practical solution to our every day human condition - suffering and coming out of suffering.

Right now, my kitten is not home still. It is 4:49 am the day after she went for a walk. I hope she is resting under some bushes in the forest behind our home. I hope that she will be back home. But right now, I am fine. I know that this is not permanent. I know that this too shall pass.

All I can do is observe my breath. I will do that now. Will you join me?

Update: The little kitten, Lola, came frolicking back home later that same day and began playing with her sister and brothers! As if she had never left :-)

Thank you to all the kind words you have said to me and Reflection Pond!

I am grateful for your kind words and testimonials!

Thank you this made a great difference for us ! - Eric Schwan

Really awesome! Helping with little manifestations and now going for big. - Lisseth Wertz viewer on youtube.

The most effective visualization meditation I've done thus far. - F. F. viewer on youtube.

Just wanted to let you know...once again, how much I enjoyed reading your last piece on "creating happiness". You are so good at motivating people to take action in improving their lives. Keep up the great work you do...using your god-given gift in helping people. It's invaluable to this world. - V.

Very good! Thank you! I had not expected this kind of experience. I am working with a counsellor on mindfulness, and this fit with it very well. - Peter S.

My experience was very similar to watching Yellow Submarine. I started with a migraine and ended with peace. - LS

I come to Sophia for the vivid imagery of her guided meditations.  The insights, the surreal beauty, and deep relaxation are rejuvenating.  When I have personal issues to deal with she is an open vessel that listens and empathizes before her gentle guidance ripples back an insightful response.  She always helps me get to that next level. - Rachael S.

Fantastic!!  Love it! - Kim Smith

Hello Reflection Pond! I wanted to send my gratitude to you on the first day of the new year. I just re-listened to dream manifestation and it was really perfect. Thank you for being such a blessing in 2012 and I look forward to future journeys. :) Namaste - Leah Kuhlman

How clever life is – I so needed this type of meditiation this morning. and there is was. It has helped me and will continue to help me as I struggle with a number of issues at this time. I am going to make myself a beautiful golden globe with colourful ribbons attached and suspend it over my desk. It will be the manifestation of all that this meditation has meant, and will mean for me in the future. - Bev.

As we went into the visualization the imagery and travel was like Alice in Wonderland, going down a rabbit hole, opening up into a flower garden, and eventually I found myself at my place. It was where I belonged, my true self, my high self. I've never forgotten that place or the imagery and it continues to affect me to this day. I know where I am going and I know that everything I do is towards my goal because I can feel that same feeling of arrival and accomplishment. My life has clear direction and purpose towards my future which feels as simple and tangible as a memory. - Rachael Shores, Asheville, NC

Thank you for bringing this into my life. When I got my first mail from Sophia I recognized that writing down things is really important for clarification! For me, it is essential to take the time and bring my objectives into focus. I enjoy getting clear about my intentions and to empower them during the I.M. process. Every meditation session provides an enrichment of my life and is a great experience for me. - Peter, 29, Germany

Focus is so powerful. The I.M. program is a key pillar to keep me focused and give me the confidence that what I focus on, for me, is the right thing to do. - Alex, USA

When I meditate in the morning, it really sets the mood for the day. Any obstacles that are thrown in my direction are easier to overcome with a clear mind. - Joy Kirk, Asheville, NC

I would really let problems and stress effect me. I have learned that all we need to do, as humans, is breathe. Just saying that to myself...really lets me relax and be happy. - Eric Barker,  Asheville, NC

Really enjoyed your Visualization for Manifesting Your Intention you posted on YouTube. It was just what I needed today. Thanks! - Celeste Clevenger

Thank you universe! I really needed this meditation today! - Michelle Snovak

Thank you for the beautiful gathering! - burnthesun, music band from Asheville, NC

Ah, I miss listening to your voice.  I'm so glad you made these recordings. - Rachael S.

Thank you so much for sending me the CD!! It came out great!!! I´m listening to it with my girlfriend right now, it´s so nice and calming listening to you and the wonderful music. What a great job of you guys. - Manuel M.

This is an excellent manifestation meditation! Thank you very much! - Ahawellness

What a touching video you have created once again. It is lovely and inspiring! You brought tears to my eyes with your sweetness and your sincerity and your message of hope and intention. Your workshop in December looks great. Go for it! Nice invitation to join in the event." -Paul Steinkoenig, Washington D.C. 

I loved the Sunday reflection for following the heart.  This was exactly what I needed to hear and this is exactly the message I want everyone I know to hear.  I want to put this some place where I can read it every day. Thanks for a great reminder. -Rachael Shores, Asheville, North Carolina

Vielen Dank fuer diese wunderbaren Worte und die Hommage zum Muttertag, liebe Sophia. Das tut gut.- Martina Lehner, Sardinia, Italy

---

I really enjoyed reading your newsletter "follow your heart"...really inspiring and so very true...thanks for bringing such wonderful insights into my life! Also, just wanted to let you know that as usual, I've enjoyed reading your recent newsletter "mighty flame". Thank you for sharing such insights! I'm going to keep telling myself that whenever I encounter a problem, I should see it as an opportunity for growth and for my own personal learning." - Asmita Barua, New York City

Thank you for sharing your wonderful gift with the world! - The Wilhelm Brothers, Asheville, North Carolina

---

Embrace introspection as way to deepen your inner-peace and happiness

I am all about training our mind to become an ally in our life because a trained, calm mind is a powerful thing. This may be the single most important skill that I have been introduced to in my life. And this skill is best refined through a meditation practice. But there's also something else for us.

You see, I consider myself a beginner in my meditation practice. So, while I am making progress in the meditative practice which strengthens my mind, calms it and builds equanimity (calm-balanced mind in the face of good and bad), I realize that I can also do other thought-cleansing activities. 

And that's introspection. Merriam-Webster's definition goes like this:

introspection

noun  in·tro·spec·tion \ˌin-trə-ˈspek-shən\

:  a reflective looking inward
:  an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

I do not see this word very often in our everyday conversations. I love this word and the idea that it stands for, and hopefully, we can become more of an introspective society that reflects inward and examines itself more closely with compassion and self-love. To me, introspection means becoming aware of my inner-world, especially as it reacts and responds to the outside world. With introspection, we can find solutions to our every day life challenges, because the answers are already within us.

Each one of us has to make our own decisions based on the inner-strength and understanding we have developed. No matter how much an answer is provided ready-made and pre-designed by others, it will only have a real impact in our lives if we live it, embrace it and make it our own. The process of introspection helps us with that.

Introspection - a stepping stone to a deeper meditative experience

Introspection may help us in our everyday life, with solutions for relationships and work and our community. But that's only the beginning. That's still working on the external level - meaning the physical world that we live in that includes people, places, situations, relationships, objects, environment, events and processes of change in nature, and so on. We are just playing in the world of external physical things.

Beyond the external, physical world, there's an entire universe within our inner-world that remains for us to explore. It is full of high potentiality for us as human beings evolving at this time in our history. Within this inner-world lies not only the answers to our current "problems" but also immense transcendental treasures that I cannot even begin to speak about because I have not fully explored them myself.  However, I've read that many mystics, saints, shamans and noble beings have. And they have left for us clues along the path.

How to take the first steps to sipping the transcendental experience?

But the question remains, how can we even begin to get there (non-physical, transcendental inner-world of treasures), if we do not take even the first steps? The first steps include introspection activities and meditation. And taking first steps means consciously investing and blocking of time for such activities daily. If we cannot invest time to do this in our worldly activities, then the fruits within our inner-reservoir will remain illusive. We can only dream about experiencing that which we do not know exists for us within us to explore. We must begin to take the first steps.

And this has to be daily; not weekly, monthly or once in a while. Daily! Just like we shower and eat our meals daily! It has to become a daily practice because the effect of continuity is more powerful than sporadic engagement in something. Whenever we do something consistently, day-in and day-out, we begin to see real progress, real results. You know this yourself from any project you have been involved in. When left alone for a while, the project takes much more effort to get back into in and then move forward, than if you were to consistently work on it, isn't it? That's been my experience and I can personally feel into this idea and see how the consistency transfers over to meditation and introspective efforts.

So how would a daily introspective and meditative practice look like?

Before I go into an example, I must say that having huge goals for me have been very powerful. My school teacher back in Mumbai used to quote, "Reach for the stars. Even if you don't reach it, at least you won't be in the mud either." And I think to have an ideal to work towards is a good thing (especially, if we don't let ourselves be overwhelmed by it).

It is simple:

“Introspection:
15 minutes over lunch

Mediation:
60 minutes in the morning.
60 minutes in the evening.”

The formula:

Introspection: 15 minutes over lunch
Meditation: 60 minutes in the morning. 60 minutes in the evening.

(Just to be clear by meditation I am referring to silent meditation. No music. No words. Just observing your breath as it is without changing it or altering how you breath. Just observing with non-judgment.)

Because I am suggesting this formula doesn't mean that I am a master of it. Here's a little backstory (below) of my new meditative life that started in January of this year (2016). And you'll see that what I am sharing here (Daily Introspection + Meditation) is a big goal for me.

My meditation backstory for the purpose of inspiring you

I began working to establish a daily habit right after I returned from a 10-day mediation retreat in January of 2016 (by the way, if you want to begin a new meditation practice for the new year, go to a retreat in December. You will be helped by the new year energy of new beginnings to move you forward). Since January of 2016, I have been working to cultivate this habit. I ran into several roadblocks and speed bumps and even potholes along the way. I then went to my second 10 day retreat in May of 2016 and found that that experience turbocharged my efforts to meditate daily. By September 3rd 2016, I have more or less cultivated a one-hour-a-day practice (60 minutes in the evening). I meditated for 105 consecutive days and then ran into more challenges to keep up the practice. 

There are still lots of loose rocks on my path right now that I need to overcome. So, I am getting better at keeping the habit daily but not yet perfectly consistent with it. My vision and aim is that by December 31st, 2016, I'll be established in the two-times-a-day-hourly-meditation habit.

Why do we need introspection, then, if we have meditation?

So why do I speak of introspection after having put so much emphasis on meditation in this article so far?

The reason for this is: I've not yet achieved that big goal of meditating twice a day for two hours, which I know is so important for making huge inroads in compassion, self-love, equanimity, focus, perseverance and overall peace and happiness. And many of us are not there yet. So to help me move forward on this path, I rely on introspection. It is an "easier" thing to do which also serves as a stepping stone for greater and deeper inner-work (such as meditation).

With introspection activities, you are able to look closely at your thoughts and emotions, yourself. You are not discussing them with others. Perhaps, you have a journal to help you or a book that has introspective questions. Or you've downloaded one of my free PDFs (see Happiness Forecast blog posts) that has introspective exercises. But it is all you. You are alone with yourself. You get to know yourself. And you learn a ton!

Introspection exercises are important because they help pull out the essence within you. You gain clarity about your life and renewed energy for living, for serving, for following your drams. It is very powerful.

What is an example of introspective exercise?

There are some questions that I ask myself every few months and definitely at the end of each year during an annual introspection period (I'll talk more in detail about this in another blog, remind me if I forget).

An introspective exercise is a process of asking an open-ended question to yourself. Then you either write down what comes as an answer. Or you let that question simmer within you for a few hours or a few days.  

Below are some examples. Notice that they may look similar but it is included here because how a question is phrased will draw you to it in a certain way. So in this way you'll pick a particular version of a question that stirs you deeply.

What is important to me right now?

What makes me really happy?

What is the most essential in my life? If I could have only the most essential things what would they be?  

What are the three key things in my life?
("Things" refers to more than just objects, but you could feel that!)
 

Those are some good questions. Here are a few others that you can let simmer within you:

What do I want to do before I die?

What if I knew I would die in six months, what would I do first?

What would you do today if you knew you will die tomorrow?

And some more:

What does your soul look like? (I got this one from Oprah)

If there is one problem in the world you could solve right now (Aladdin's Genie grants you this wish), then what big global issue would you solve?

If you had no self-doubt and you were fully confident in yourself and your ability to succeed, what project or business idea would you invest yourself in?

And these two are classic questions in the personal development field:

If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?

If you had all the money, time and resources in the world, what would you do with your life?

An introspective exercise is a process of asking an open-ended question to yourself. Then you either write down what comes as an answer. Or you let that question simmer within you for a few hours or a few days.

The idea is to take one question and start contemplating it. You may journal answers to it without censoring yourself. I like to pick a question and take it with me on my walks to the forest. You can also ask yourself a single question daily and each time more and more clarity can emerge.

I think this would be a good time to pick a question that pops-up for you and go play with it. So take a look at the list above and pick one. There is, of course, no one correct answer or wrong answer- it's just an introspective process to get deeper in touch with ourselves and perhaps, to shed away some things that we no longer need or want.

Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments. I'd L.O.V.E to know! :-)

Love,
Sophia

PS: Have you checked our my free ecourse: 5 Days to a Happier Life? It has daily action-steps that you can easily implement to cultivate deeper happiness in your life. Click here to sign up to this free email course.

 Photo credit and big heartfelt thanks for the beautiful images used in this post goes to Teddy Kelley and Ben Duchac, respectively.Thank you both for your beautiful creations! 

---

About Sophia Ojha

Hey there! I am so happy you found us or are revisiting us here on the blog. 
Welcome! So that's me in the photo and I blog and make videos on the topic of happiness and inner-peace. Click here to learn more about me. Enjoy your stay here at reflectionpond.com!

Love, Sophia

My Top 5 Uplifting Books

Hello there!

I first learnt about this idea from Jack Canfield. He suggested that for setting the right tone to our day and in fact to our life, we must begin with a power hour in the morning. Essentially, a power hour includes:

20 minutes of exercise, 
20 minutes of meditation and
20 minutes of reading (uplifting materials).

In one of my Happiness Forecast episodes I recommended adding an hour of power to your day as part of the daily practices that cultivate happiness. There are more suggestions in that post including ten of my happiness boosting activities. 

Back to the hour of power and the reading part of it! So what exactly should we read in the morning? I would say read any piece of positive material that you gravitate towards. Ideally, they must be books so you can read it before turning on any of your devices. So here are my favorite uplifting materials:

1. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra 

2. Turning the mind into an ally by Sakyong Mipham

3. The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (or any of his books)

4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

5. Ask and it is given by Abraham Hicks

There are tons of wonderful writers that I could list here but these are among the 5 books that I have read repeatedly and so they make the cut to be among my top 5. But I will add a bonus # 6 below just for fun because I have read this book several times as well and each time it has filled me up with positive thinking and the light of new possibilities.

6. Write it down and make it happen by Henriette Anne Klauser.

I love to start my day with some uplifting reads. I hope you find this quick list of my top 5 helpful to start off your day on the right tone because the first hour of your day can set the mood for the rest of the day; it's that powerful! 

Enjoy your reads and do share in the comments below your favorite reads!

With love,

Sophia

Do You Know Your Personal Velocity?

Do you know what your personal velocity is?

Your personal velocity — your pace of how you do things, how you live your life that feels just right for you.

It seems that in our fast-paced, hyperactive world, there is this unspoken pressure to do things with great speed. What if we are doing things so fast that our entire life passes us by like a fast-forward motion in a movie and we are unable to take a deep breath and experience it all fully?

This is something that may or may not be happening to you but I urge you to reflect upon your individual pace of life — your own pace of doing things. Not only do we need to know our personal pace but we also need to embrace ourselves and accept whatever that pace happens to be.

This is important if we want to live our lives in alignment with our inner-pace and feel the inner-peace that comes out of being in harmony with it.

Watch this video below that I shot with a message on personal velocity in the beautiful Black Forest area of Southern Germany.

So if you find yourself rushing because of an external pressure to speed up. Just recognize this. Become aware, take a deep breath or two and just focus on your inner-self for a moment.

As we turn the page and welcome a brand new year, I thank you deeply for staying with Reflection Pond and reading my messages and watching my videos. I am eager to see you again in 2016 and serve you with further reflections and personal tools for cultivating happiness and inner-peace. May you have a blessed holiday time and a very happy, prosperous and peaceful new year!

With lots of love,

Sophia
Helping You Live A Happier Life

Success Strategy: Just Show Up

What if despite all that you bring to the table, your original plan does not pan out?

Recently, I had such an experience where I had to reframe what success meant to me. As someone who has ever embarked on completing a project, you may resonate with my story. I put together a short video in which I share a recent "failure" that actually became a success as soon as I reframed it and then, amazingly, this actually led to the desired result I was originally going for. And all it took was: Showing up for the day.

Watch the video below to hear the full story:

I share a lot on this blog about detachment from end-results, letting go of negative emotions and sowing better seeds to reap the virtuous life we want to create. And even though from studying these principles from success literature, Buddhist philosophy and Western mysticism, I am gaining a deeper understanding, actually put these practices is far from easy.

Obstacles On the Path

So this is what happened:

For this month's video installment, I set about my plans to create a video presentation on Deepak Chopra's Law of Karma (part of a book review and interpretation series you can find here). As I began filming in my backyard, I first realized that my camera battery was dying. This was puzzling because I had done the pre-shoot prep the night before and charged all batteries. "Very well", I said and brought out my other battery that was indeed fully charged and ready to go.

Next, as I started to record the video, I saw that my sound recorder (the beautiful H4N) was full in capacity - even though, I had formatted the disk the night before! It turned out that I had not done it correctly (inspite of having used this thing for several years, I still stumbled upon the novice error of deleting the content on the harddrive and not the real thing!) Well, I took a deep breath, formatted the disk and continued.

Then, as I began presenting the content, my lovely young friends (neighbors' kids ranging from 4 to 12 years in age) came hopping along excitedly to see what fun I was up to. Seeing the camera, tripod and my set-up generally excites them as they are all budding artists. And so, I found myself getting distracted, or shall I say rather drawn by their curiosity and fascination with the film process!

Soon, they were gone and I was ready to do the shoot. But now, I fumbled on my words and struggled to find the flow and inspiration. I referred to my notes but nothing! I took some deep breaths after which I began to find my eloquence.

It was not going to be that easy, was it? Because just as I started to speak with ease and rhythm, it started to rain. I quickly brought my equipment into dryland and began moping about! I felt like my day was a total wasted, filled with distractions, technical inconveniences, lack of inspiration and a creative struggle for completion.

The Wise Man Speaks

Thankfully, my wise husband was in the house when all of this was happening. He asked me, "What's going on?" I shared with him the day's experience. He simply smiled and said, "You showed up. That is what matters."

You know how some women are dissatisfied when their partners are "men of few words"? Well, in my case, I am just so blessed. In just a few words, my husband had shed crystal clear light on the message of the day.

You see, on my path of self-discovery and happiness, I have stumbled many times. And often it was because I didn't have the courage to show up. Excuses would mar my progress towards my beloved goals and dreams. Resistance would have an upper hand and self-pity would blurr my vision.

But today, I had showed up to my day, to my life, to my goals and dreams. I had done the preparation. I had set the intention. And I had gotten out of bed one more time to fulfill my dreams. Yes, the video did not get done in the way I had planned. But I did all I could to make it happen. I did what I said I would, put all my effort into the creative process and I showed up. This alone had to be enough. No, I didn't change the world. But once I realized that my success was in showing up, I had accepted what is. I had accepted the present moment. Most importantly, I was happy about it.

This attitude helped me to focus all my attention on what I can do versus what the outcome should be. It helped me to be detached about the outcomes while being more present with the present moment.

This is where detachment flowers into peace of mind. This is where "mistakes" become gifts to share.

I, then, made the above video to share all that transpired during the day and what I had learnt from my experience. That felt good. I had reframed the situation to align with a higher mode of thinking. And I was freed from judgments of success. I was freed from expectations and from results. I was free. And that sense of freedom brought me happiness.

The Goal Achieved Afterall

It so happens that sharing my experience put me in a heightened state of well-being and right after I made the above video, I recorded the video about Deepak's Law of Karma! In the end, I did complete what I set out to do. But it only happened after I had let go of expectations, judgments and attachments!

What an amazing difference it makes to change the way we look at the events of our lives!

I would love to know:

How have you dealt with situations when things do not go as planned and what precious lessons did you bring into your awareness? Share your insights in the comments below because it could be exactly what someone needs and wants to hear. You can make a difference by sharing from your life.

By the way, I send my gratitude to Alberto Restifo for the outstanding landscape image that I used in the thumbnail of this video.

Wishing you oceans of deep mental and emotional peace and prosperity,

Sophia
Helping You Live A Happier Life

PS: In recording this video, I found the inspiration to complete my project - which goes to show that sharing what you learned from your "mistakes" can be the recipe for your healing/success you are seeking.

I am really grateful that you took the time to read this message. Thank you for being part of our Happiness Lovers Family. And if you are not yet a Happiness Lover, join our family now by going here.

How To Turn An Obstacle Into A Meaningful Opportunity

When you are faced with an obstacle or a challenge in life, you can find an opportunity in it and come out of the challenge even stronger. In this video, I share with three steps you can take to make this happen.

Key Insights:
-Our perspective is the key to how we experience life.
-By choosing to see the positive elements/ the gift in an obstacle, we have instantly shifted our perspective and our experience of that obstacle into an opportunity.
-By focusing on the action, specifically what positive actions we can take, we can move into transforming the challenge into something meaningful.

In the comments below, I invite you to share your insights on dealing with an obstacle. Your words here could change someone's life and bring you healing in the sharing of it. So go ahead and make your voice known.

Thank you and peace,

Sophia

I have created a Happiness Lover's Family. You can become part of our virtual family and receive free tips and update on the best Happiness Practices picked from modern science and ancient wisdom. Go here to join.

A secret that will help you shift from resisting to accepting

With Cristof Ensslin

My husband, Cristof Ensslin is a power house of wisdom and inspiration and a big part of my journey from a downward cycle to a rich, happy, uplifting life. I am amazed how he handles things in his life with grace and compassion. So I asked him how he deals with some of the challenging moments, especially that of loss. Listen to this video in which he shares the power of allowing the emotion: truly a big key to moving through the challenge.

Please please share with us how you deal with a specifically difficult moment such as a loss of a loved one. It could change someone's life.

And if you want to be part of our brand new Happiness Lovers Family go here to join in and receive free tips and tools to live a more enriching and happier life.

Peace,
Sophia

How to Keep Your Cool in the Face of Challenges

With Asmita Barua and Voahirana Rakotonaivo

I write and speak in my blogs and videos about ways we can live a happier life. Then there are moments when things get really tough and it becomes a challenge to stay on our positive track. Recently, I had the chance to speak with two of my awesome friends who are also my former colleagues from the time I worked at the United Nations. And I asked them how do they keep cool during challenging times. This is what they had to say:

Have you any tips of how you handle the tough days? Please share in the comments below. What you say and share could be life-changing to someone who reads it down the road. So go ahead and share.

And if you want to be part of our brand new Happiness Lovers Family go here to join in and receive free tips and tools to live a more enriching and happier life.

Love,
Sophia

How To Use Gratitude For Manifestation: 4 Step Gratitude Manifestation Process

What one thing do you absolutely want to create or experience in 2015?

What if there was a simple yet effective process that you can use to create all that you want? Yes, there is.

The Doing Without The Being
We hurry and scurry about with the "doing" of things which has a key role in making things happen, no doubt! But do we realize that all that we want to create on the outside world begins WITHIN? We may even know this rationally from all the literature we have read about starting from within in order to create out there. But is that something we live, breathe and feel deeply in our cells?

To truly create with ease and alignment all that we want to experience in our lives, I believe, we must start by changing the way we perceive, think and feel about that very thing we want to create.

So, how do we do that?

Appreciation Makes Things Grow
We do that by realizing that that which we want to create is already here. It is not some kind of make-belief. This is a way to recognize what is already blossoming in our lives. It is about cultivating the ability to see in small ways (and often in big ways) a presence already in your life of that which you are wanting to bring into your life-experience. And a really fast and simple way to do this is to drop into gratitude-mode.

In today's video, I share with you a step-by-step process, I call the 4 Step Gratitude Manifestation Process which you can use right now and it only takes a few minutes to get started:

By connecting with the energy of gratitude, we shift our minds and hearts into a place of appreciation, love and deep acceptance of what is. We notice the good in life. We begin to see the gifts in the most challenging of situations and experiences. From there, an amazing thing happens: we begin to experience more of that which we appreciate. One meaning of appreciation is "to increase in value". Literally by appreciating a positive aspect of anything, you increase its value to you and you will begin to see, that which you value appreciates in your life. This is why gratitude is such a powerful creative tool or if you like it put this way - a powerful manifestation tool.

Make it a part of your daily routine and in this way you can create your goals into a reality when added to the actions you are already taking towards it.

Sophia
Helping You Live A Happier Life

PS: I have a created an exciting two-part program in January called Intentions Manifested which we will broadcast LIVE with a video feed for you. This is designed to help you set your goals for the year and help you create focus, using guided visualizations as the main tool. I am thrilled to be doing this for you

INTENTIONS MANIFESTED I

JAN 3RD SAT 4PM EST
LEARN MORE >>>

INTENTIONS MANIFESTED II

JAN 25TH SUN 4PM EST
LEARN MORE >>>

Happiness Lovers Family: Welcome! Introduce Yourself

Hey New Happiness Lover!

Welcome to the family. At Reflection Pond, we call each other either a Happiness Lover or Lovely Joy Person. Feel free to start using these terms of endearment. This helps us to feel part of a family.

Now, introduce yourself. In the comments below, share with us:
1. Where you are from and where you live currently.
2. Share with me your #1 thing you are grateful for.
3. Your #1 challenge in leading a happy life.

I also invite you to read the other family member's comments and respond to them. This is for you.

If you want to be part of the Happiness Lover Family and are not yet, go here to join us today. It is free.
 

The Focusing Question: How to transform your overflowing schedule

...into one of ease.

As the year comes to a close, I look back at all the projects and activities I have undertaken. I am filled with satisfaction for the personal and business goals that I have worked towards. But I also have this feeling that as Fall rolled in, things got a little out of hand and I was drowning in work and commitments.

Did you have that experience?

As this realization set in, I asked myself how I could streamline my work and life so that I can truly accomplish my goals without getting lost in the hustle-bustle of life.

And thankfully, I received my answer and I have already begun implementing it. And it starts with one question.

Watch this video to learn about this one question that has helped me ease my workload while up-leveling my productivity. And it has a huge potential to help you.

Click the links below to learn more
1. The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan
2. The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

Plus, last month's Live Video Event, "Happiness Intention" was amazing with wonderful interaction from the audience. We also chose 2 lucky winners for my Happiness Coaching session: Michael S. and Irene S.C. (Yes, we had only announced that we would giveaway 1 session but I spontaneously decided to giveaway another! Yayy!)

Our next Live Event, "The Gratitude Way" on December 28th, 4pm Eastern. A wonderful way to close the year! So do join in!

Till then, watch this video.

Sending you love and blessings,

Sophia
Helping You Live A Happier Life