Meditation - The First & The Last Freedom

Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. But many meditation techniques exist. So how do you learn how to meditate?

“In Buddhist tradition, the word ‘meditation’ is equivalent to a word like ‘sports’ in the U.S. It’s a family of activity, not a single thing,” University of Wisconsin neuroscience lab director Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., told The New York Times. And different meditative practices require different mental skills.

It’s extremely difficult for a beginner to sit for hours and think of nothing or have an “empty mind.” But in general, the easiest way to begin meditating is by focusing on the breath — an example of one of the most common approaches to meditation: concentration.

Concentration meditation

A concentrative meditation technique involves focusing on a single point. This could entail watching the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong or counting beads on a rosary. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.

In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.

Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation technique encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.

Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge experience as “good” or “bad” (“pleasant” or “unpleasant”). With practice, an inner balance develops.

In some schools of meditation, students practice a combination of concentration and mindfulness. Many disciplines call for stillness — to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the teacher.

Other meditation techniques

There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditations techniques, such as tai chi, chi kung and walking meditation.

Benefits of meditation

If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often one result of it. Back in the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, a researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term the relaxation response after conducting research on people who practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Benson’s words, is “an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.”

Since then, studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:

1. lower blood pressure
2. improved blood circulation
3. less perspirations
4. lower respiratory rate
5. lower blood cholesterol levels
6. more feelings of well-being
7. deeper relaxation

Contemporary researchers are now exploring whether consistent meditation practice yields long-term benefits, and noting positive effects on brain and immune function among meditators. Yet it is worth repeating that the purpose of meditation is not to achieve benefits. To put it as an Eastern philosopher might say, the goal of meditation is no goal. It is simply to be present.

In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate benefit of meditation is liberation of the mind from attachment to things it cannot control, such as external circumstances or strong internal emotions. The liberated, or “enlightened,” practitioner no longer needlessly follows desires or clings to experiences, but instead maintains a calmness of mind and sense of inner balance.

How to meditate: Simple meditation for beginners

This meditation exercise is an excellent introduction to meditation techniques.

1. Sit or lie comfortably. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair.

2. Close your eyes.

3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.

4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation.

5. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage and belly.

6. Make no effort to control your breath; simply focus your attention.

If your mind wanders, simply return your focus back to your breath. Maintain this meditation practice for 2–3 minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods. 

Mindfulness is a quality that's always there. It's an illusion that there's a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you're either mindful or you're not.

At one point I learned transcendental meditation. I was in that state of oneness with creation and it was as if I didn't exist except as a part of everything. Meditation is to dive all the way within, beyond thought, to the source of thought and pure consciousness. It enlarges the container, every time you transcend. When you come out, you come out refreshed, filled with energy and enthusiasm for life my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

Happiness is a State of Mind

Happiness is the status of our mind in a given condition. Everybody goes through their own struggles. They may vary depending on who you are, or the way you take on life. Some go through silent struggles, kept away from people and often concealed inside of them. But others go through loud struggles, meaning the battles in which the person is fighting can be easily heard by others. No matter how successful a person is, or may seem, they too have had their own battles to fight so that they can reach their happiness.

A tip to winning your battles, no matter what it is, is to cancel out all the negativity around you. In life, there is always going to be people who will try to drag you down and destroy you. It could be because of their own personal struggles and problems, or envy and fear. Just remember to always believe in yourself and stay strong. At times it may be hard but, be good to the people around you. They may not necessarily be good to you back, but i assure you that it will pay off.

Life is not easy and reaching your goals is not either. We as humans tend to put so much unnecessary weight, and stress, and planning on our shoulders. Too much of that can prevent from easily perusing your dreams. I know when i was younger, all i wanted to be was happy. When people ask me what i wanted to be when i grew up, i would answer with 'to be happy'. So always think of what makes you happy or what you enjoy instead of thinking about what you're good at and over planning. Anything can be improved and polished, anything can be learned.

So it's all up to you. To follow you're dreams and reach your goals.

It is like any other human emotion that we undergo yet profoundly influence the human life on the earth.

Ask anybody around you, for what they want to live. The ready answer is "Happiness". But everyone seek the happiness outside. When it is related to the mind activity we can emanate from inside.

Now the million dollars question is when or by which or in what conditions we become "Happy" But it varies with person to person and conditions they live in. It is completely a relative factor that makes us happy. So when conditions influence our Happiness we shall not subject our happiness to conditions or materials. Then we agree that "Happiness is absolutely an inside job."

It is quite obvious that, happiness is largely dependent on the following,

1. Abundance of what we desire physically.

2. Contentment over material possessions psychologically.

3. Accomplishment in a given task.

4. Winning among all the competitors.

5. Successful in a chosen profession or job.

6. Achievement of a life long purpose or dream.

The list goes on, it is never ending. But all these are the outside things that become reasons for our happiness. What they imply? There should be always a reason for us to become Happy. We can be happy without a reason. When we think about God's wonderful creation and innumerable blessings each day and each moment we receive unknowingly from him, more over an invisible light always shows path to our souls when ever we miss our direction,this kind of thinking stimulate our inner peace it would be reflected on our faces. It is more than happiness and it is "Bliss" which is eternal. When this kind of mental status is achieved, there is no need to seek happiness from outside.

We see many live examples as evidences to corroborate that happiness is not linked to material possessions. Despite getting success or achieving something many people are not happy for the only reason that they change their priorities to become happy. Always pursuing or haunting something makes us restless and ultimately it removes what ever the remnants of happiness from our lives.

Take a minute from your busy life to think about the beauty of the God's creation and just have a inner look for while to appreciate what we possess today, it gives immense pleasure. Make yourself oblivious of what will happen tomorrow, be cheerful about today and save this moment to become "Happy" my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

I Choose Abundance Over Scarcity

Live a Life of Abundance

Everything originates from the Self. This is the life we feel within us. The same life is expressing through all. The Self wants to explore its highest possibilities through man. For this there needs to be a setting, an arrangement.

So what is the setting of this Play Field? What is the arrangement?

This arrangement is a framework of laws called the Laws of Thought which are the cause for all creation, and the Law of Abundance.

The Law of Abundance

The Law of Abundance states that, “There is abundance of everything for everyone”. There is abundance of love, peace, happiness, wealth, health and avenues for expression in your life and everyone’s life. There is a natural flow of money, time, happiness, and harmony in your life and everyone’s life. Nothing less than abundance will do to provide for exploring the highest possibilities.

There is no limit. Abundance is one of the qualities of the Self. It is an inherent part of the functioning of Nature. Nature is inherently positive. There is no lack or scarcity of anything.

If this is so, then reflect on what is it for which there is a feeling of lack. The cause for the feeling of lack is always a core thought, a wrong belief. By any chance are you thinking that you have got less because an other person has more? Such a belief could be created in childhood when some siblings get more and some get less. A notion forms that our money is stuck with the rich. Do not think that Nature is so stingy. It wants to give generously to everyone. There is no lack there. But if you have received less then there is a core thought somewhere within you which says something like, “Money is less. It is hard to come by. Even if it comes, it does not remain.” Somewhere in your thoughts it is embedded that it is difficult to earn money. You have probably heard this in your childhood from your parents. “This is very difficult… this does not work… It is not easy… one has to go through a lot of hardship.” So much has gone into your psyche that it keeps working on you. Now that you want to break this framework, tell yourself this law. “There is enough.” If you feel you have less, it only means that it is stuck on the way. Why? Because you have taken off your ‘happy hat’. This is the hat of assurance that there is enough whenever and where ever you need it. The laws of thought imply that you will see everything in your life according to how your thoughts are. So wear the hat again and what is stuck will be released. It is stuck because of your chanting, that there is less. “My height is less… I am less beautiful… I am not so smart… I lack these qualities… Something is lacking… I am incomplete…” This thinking arises because of the core thought where one thinks of oneself to be the body. So imagine the feeling generated when even a single hair turns grey. “My God! Am I getting old?… Now my body will deteriorate… these ailments will begin… I will soon die…” The cycle of thoughts begins.

To a women who is childless and wants a child, there is no other topic for her in her life. “Till this happens, I am incomplete… I am inferior…” She remains in this feeling of lack. Her happy hat has come off a long time ago. But there is no need for this feeling. Be in the feeling that everything is available in abundance. Now when such a woman adopts a child, the feeling of lack has now gone. It has been seen in many cases that now this woman bears a child of her own as well. It appears like a medical miracle. But it was actually her own feeling of lack that got released.

The Source of Abundance

The missing link in the practice of Law of Abundance is that, “Things flow into your life according to the feeling you are in”. Happiness is at the source of abundance. The happier you are, the more abundance flows into your life. Be connected to this happiness simply through acceptance, gratitude, meditation and spiritual understanding. No external cause is required. Wear the magical hat of happiness to bring forth abundance. The “happy hat” makes you a magnet. Otherwise you are like bronze. Bronze here is a metaphor standing for a lifeless statue that does not attract anything. Become a relaxed magnet. Release your restrictive thought pattern. Let it go. Remind yourself that there is enough and remember to keep your “happy hat ” intact my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

सुख और दुख की परिभाषा

ऐ "सुख" तू कहाँ मिलता है..
क्या तेरा कोई स्थायी पता है..

क्यों बन बैठा है अन्जाना..
आखिर क्या है तेरा ठिकाना..

कहाँ कहाँ नहीं ढूंढा तुझको..
पर तू ना कहीं मिला मुझको..

ढूँढा ऊँचे मकानों में..
बड़ी बड़ी दुकानों में..

स्वादिष्ट पकवानों  में..
चोटी के धनवानों में..

वो भी तुझको ढूंढ  रहे थे..
बल्कि मुझको ही पूछ रहे थे..

क्या आपको कुछ पता है..
ये सुख आखिर कहाँ रहता है?

मेरे पास तो "दुःख" का पता था..
जो सुबह शाम अक्सर मिलता था..

परेशान होके रपट लिखवाई..
पर ये कोशिश भी काम न आई..

उम्र अब ढलान पे है..
हौसले थकान पे है..

हाँ उसकी तस्वीर है मेरे पास..
अब भी बची हुई है आस..

मैं भी हार नही मानूंगा..
सुख के रहस्य को जानूंगा..

बचपन में मिला करता था..
मेरे साथ रहा करता था..

पर जबसे मैं बड़ा हो गया..
मेरा सुख मुझसे जुदा हो गया..

मैं फिर भी नही हुआ हताश..
जारी रखी उसकी तलाश..

एक दिन जब आवाज ये आई..
क्या मुझको ढूंढ रहा है भाई..

मैं  तेरे  अन्दर   छुपा   हुआ    हूँ..
तेरे  ही   घर  में  बसा   हुआ  हूँ..

मेरा नही है कुछ भी "मोल"..
सिक्कों में मुझको ना तोल..

मैं बच्चों की मुस्कानों  में हूँ..
हारमोनियम की तानों में हूँ..

पत्नी  के साथ चाय  पीने में..
"परिवार" के संग जीने में..

माँ बाप के आशीर्वाद में..
रसोई घर के पकवानो में..

बच्चों की सफलता में हूँ..
माँ की निश्छल ममता में हूँ..

हर पल तेरे संग रहता हूँ..
और अक्सर तुझसे कहता  हूँ..

मैं तो हूँ बस एक  "अहसास"..
बंद  कर दे तु मेरी तलाश..

जो मिला उसी में कर "संतोष"..
आज को जी ले, कल की न सोच..

कल के लिए आज को ना खोना..

मेरे लिए कभी दुखी ना होना..
मेरे लिए कभी दुखी ना होना..

How do I define Motivation ??

What Is Motivation and How to Strengthen It?

What is Motivation?

It is the inner power that pushes you toward taking action and toward achievement. Motivation is powered by desire and ambition, and therefore, if they are absent, motivation is absent too.

Sometimes, you might have the desire to get something done, or to achieve a certain goal, but if the desire and ambition are not strong enough, you lack the push, the initiative, and the willingness to take the necessary action. in these cases, you lack of motivation and inner drive.

A motivated person takes action and does whatever it needs to achieve his or her goals.

Motivation becomes strong, when you have a vision, a clear mental image of what you want to achieve, and also a strong desire to manifest it. In such a situation, motivation awakens inner strength and power, and pushes you forward, toward making your vision a reality.

Motivation can be applied to every action and goal. There can be motivation to study a foreign language, to get good grades at school, bake a cake, write a poem, take a walk every day, make more money, get a better job, buy a new house, own a business, or become a writer, a doctor or a lawyer.

Motivation is present, whenever there is a clear vision, precise knowledge of what you want to do, a strong desire, and faith in your abilities.

When there is lack of motivation, you either get no results, or only mediocre ones, whereas, when there is motivation, you attain greater and better results and achievements.

Compare a student who lacks motivation and who hardly studies, to a student who is highly motivated, and who devotes many hours to his studies. Each student will get absolutely different grades.

Lack of motivation means lack of enthusiasm, zest and ambition, whereas the possession of motivation is a sign of strong desire, energy and enthusiasm, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve what one sets out to do.

A motivated person is a happier person, more energetic, and sees the positive end result in his or her mind.

What can you do to strengthen your motivation?

1. Set a goal. If you have a major goal, it would be a good idea if you split it into several minor goals, each small goal leading to your major goal.

2. By dividing your goal into several, smaller goals, you will find it easier to motivate yourself, since you will not feel overwhelmed by the size of your goal and the things you have to do. This will also help you feel that the goal is more feasible, and easier to accomplish.

3. Understand that finishing what you start is important. Hammer into your mind that whatever you start you have to finish. Develop the habit of going to the finish line.

4. Socialize with achievers and people with similar interests or goals, since motivation and positive attitude are contagious. Associate with motivated people, who share your interests.

5. Never procrastinate anything. Procrastination leads to laziness, and laziness leads to lack of motivation.

6. Persistence, patience and not giving up, despite failure and difficulties, keep the flame of motivation burning.

7. Read about the subjects of your interest. This will keep your enthusiasm and ambition alive.

8. Constantly, affirm to yourself that you can, and will succeed.

9. Look at photos of things you want to get, achieve or do. This will strengthen your desire and make your subconscious mind work with you.

10. Visualize your goals as achieved, adding a feeling of happiness and joy.

Remember, if a certain goal is really important, going through the above steps will strengthen your motivation, and keep you going forward my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

Why Spending Time Alone Helps Unlock Your Potential

We live in a social world. It’s a rare occasion in which we find ourselves to truly be alone anymore. Even when none of our friends or family members are physically near us, they’re only a text message or Skype call away. While being so connected does have its benefits, we’ve all but forgotten the importance of alone time. Sometimes it’s necessary to shut the world out and live on your own terms.

When you’re alone:

1.You get creative and productive

When you’re alone, you don’t rely on other people to entertain you or otherwise enhance your life. It’s all up to you. Not only do you not rely on others, but you also don’t hold yourself back when working on a project, and will be more likely to try new ways of accomplishing a task that you might not have tried had you been working in a group. 

2.You work harder

Remember in school when you were assigned to work in groups? I bet you also remember when three of the five members of your group would let the other two do all the work, right? This group mentality that “someone else will do it” doesn’t exist when you’re alone. If you don’t do the work, no one else will. And, of course, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to, you’re going to be the only one taking the blame. Not only that, but when you’re totally alone, you’re completely free from distractions and can actually focus on getting work done in the first place.

3.You branch out more

This sounds a bit counterintuitive, but hear me out. When you go places with friends, you more than likely stick with them at all times. Since you have people around to interact with, you’re more than likely not interested in meeting anyone new. But if you’re alone when you’re out and about, you might find yourself striking up conversations with anyone who piques your interest. You never know when a new connection you make could end up changing your life in some way.

4.You clear your mind

We all need time to recharge – and if you say you don’t, you’re only kidding yourself. We’re constantly inundated with busyness, whether work- or “leisure”-related, so when we actually get time to ourselves, it’s important to use it wisely. Like I said earlier, even when we’re alone, we’re still a phone call away from our loved ones. But sometimes it’s necessary to shut off our phones and just live completely in the moment for once.

5.You get to do what you want to do

I mentioned this a bit earlier, but when you’re alone, you’re completely responsible for your own entertainment and enjoyment. You aren’t relying on other people to make plans or make things happen. Not only that, but you’re also free to do what you really want to do with your life. Everyone gets to a point where they’re tired of doing what their friends are doing. And we all have guilty pleasures that our friends would find corny or cheesy. When we finally get time to ourselves, we can actually enjoy these pastimes and hobbies without criticism from the peanut gallery.

6.You learn about yourself

When you’re alone, you can truly be yourself. You might be surprised to realize that, all this time, you’ve never actually taken the time to get to know yourself. Like I said, when you’re alone, you can explore new interests without caring what others may think. You may find yourself trying out new activities that you never would have given a second thought if you were with other people, only to discover a new passion.

Being alone doesn’t mean being lonely; it means being free to discover who you really are my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

Stay Motivated & Never Give Up

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Do you ever feel there’s a greater being inside of you just bursting to get out? You can feel its presence sometimes, can’t ou?  It’s the voice that encourages you to really make something of your life. When you act congruently with that voice, it’s like you’re a whole new person.  You feel like a god in a human body. You’re bold and courageous. You’re strong. You’re unstoppable.

But then reality sets in, and soon those moments are history. Where did that powerful voice go? Were you merely suffering from delusions of grandeur?

It isn’t hard to temporarily put yourself into an emotional state of power. The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Put on your favorite fast-tempo music, stand tall, breathe strong, chest out, shoulders back. Strut around like a superhero.  Shout, “Yes!”  Pound your chest a few times for good measure. You’ll look like a dolt, but this does actually work.

But then you go home, and the emotional motivation fades away. Your great ideas now seem impractical. How many times have you been temporarily inspired with an idea like, “I want to start my own business,” and then a week later it’s forgotten? You come up with inspiring ideas when you’re motivated, but you fail to maintain that level of motivation through the action phase.

So how do you reach the point of high motivation and stay there?

Emotional motivation

I say the key to motivation is state management. This means conditioning yourself to feel a certain way via techniques like anchoring (connecting an emotion to a physical trigger). You need to keep firing off these anchors as well as periodically reconditioning them to keep your motivation up. That means lots and lots of chest pounding.

As another motivational method, I suggest writing down the pleasure you associate to a task as well as the pain of not doing it. Again the idea here is to stir up your emotions, so you’ll be motivated to take action. This type of motivation is usually short-lived, even when the emotions involved are very intense.

I studied and practiced these kinds of emotional motivation techniques extensively during my 20s. In the long run, I didn’t find them particularly effective.  My intellect saw right through all the chest pounding.  The logical part of my mind was ultimately dissatisfied with attempts to induce motivation through emotional manipulation.

Have you ever seen one of those rah-rah motivational speakers?  If the speaker is good, s/he will have an emotional effect on you and get you to feel motivated. But within a day or two, that emotional boost fades away, and you’re back to normal. You can listen to hundreds of motivational speakers and experience an emotional yo-yo effect, but it doesn’t last. I think this is especially common with technically minded people. We’re accustomed to thinking with our heads. We’re still emotional creatures on some level, but our emotional B.S. detectors periodically scrub our minds free of anything that doesn’t satisfy our logic.

Intellectual motivation

I used to get frustrated when my emotional conditioning fizzled out after a while.  Eventually I realized that being guided by intellect, not emotion, wasn’t such a bad thing after all. I just had to learn to use my mind as an effective motivational tool. I stopped using emotional motivation techniques and decided to see if I could motivate myself intellectually. I figured that if I wasn’t feeling motivated to go after a particular goal, maybe there was a logical reason for it. Perhaps I just wasn’t taking my logic far enough to see it.

I noted that when I had strong intellectual reasons for doing something, I usually didn’t have trouble taking action.  I’m motivated to exercise regularly because doing so is intelligent and reasonable. I don’t need to emotionally pump myself up to go to the gym. I just go.

But when my mind thinks a goal is wrong on some level, I usually feel blocked. I eventually realized that this was my mind’s way of telling me the goal was a mistake to begin with.

Sometimes a goal seems to make sense on one level, but when you look further upstream, it becomes clear the goal is ill advised. Suppose you work in sales, and you set a goal to increase your income by 20% by becoming a more effective salesperson. That seems like a reasonable and intelligent goal.  But maybe you’re surprised to find yourself encountering all sorts of internal blocks when you try to pursue it. You should feel motivated, but you just don’t.  The problem may be that on a deeper level, your mind knows you don’t want to be working in sales at all. You really want to be a musician. So no matter how hard you push yourself in your sales career, it will always be a motivational dead end.  You’ll never convince your mind to give up on your more important dream of being a musician.

When you set goals that are too small and too timid, you suffer a perpetual lack of motivation. Try all the emotional conditioning techniques you want, but you’re wasting your time. Deep down you already know the truth. You just need tosummon the courage to acknowledge your true desires. Then you’ll have to deal with the self-doubt and fear that’s been making you think too small. There’s no getting around that if you want to experience lasting motivation. Ironically, the real key to motivation is to set goals that scare you.

I recommend working through these kinds of blocks in your journal. Type a question like, “Why am I feeling unmotivated to achieve this goal?” Then type whatever answer comes to mind.  You’ll often find that the source of your block is that you’re thinking too small.  You’re letting fears, excuses, and limiting beliefs hold you back. Your subconscious mind knows you’re settling, so it won’t provide any motivational fuel until you step up, face your fears, and acknowledge your heart’s desire. Once you finally decide to face your fears and drop the excuses, then you’ll find your motivation turning on full blast my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

Why FEAR is IMPORTANT for us ??

It’s not all about fear.

The upside of my motivation is a strong desire to learn and explore new ideas. Following curiosity energizes me.

1. Learning new skills

2. Success

3. Being cool

4. Feeling like you’re contributing

5. Seizing opportunities

6. Have Fun

Lots of people give you advice on getting past fear, suggesting if you can break free of the shackles of fear, you will be unstoppable.

OK, all well and good. It is important to master fear in order to feel free and to get things done. AND, I want to tell you that a world without fear would be simultaneously more dangerous, less rewarding, and just plain flat.

Acknowledge: It’s better to acknowledge fears than pretend they don’t exist.

1. Failure

2. Disrespect

3. Poverty

4. Losing customers

5. Insignificance

6. Meaningless Existence

So, given that we have spent so much time wishing that fear would just GO AWAY so we could get on with things, why would we actually want to cultivate fear as a friend? I'm sharing the same in Three reasons, actually.

The first is, fear is an excellent guide to opportunity. Think about it. Do you get more flustered and tongue-tied when you meet the girl (or guy) of your dreams, or someone who is just not that attractive? Which is scarier, making a presentation to the CEO of your company or to a bunch of your peers?

Which feels worse, the thought of failing at your dream job or failing at some temp job? (Hint, that’s why some people NEVER chase their dreams. Sad, no?) What’s the common thread here? Fear is showing you what is important, what matters to you. If you didn’t have fear to guide you, you might not know that! Not so bad, right?

Next, fear motivates us to action. The way I see it, those of our ancestors who didn’t run away in fear when they saw a tiger running toward them simply didn’t survive to reproduce. Fear is a call to action.

Now, most of us don’t face serious physical threats like hungry tigers every day, but we do face crazy bosses, angry clients and public speaking. In these cases, our fear is still motivating us to DO something to enhance our chance of survival. The trick is being able to transcend our primitive Lizard Brain and do something useful. Running away or throwing a spear may work on tigers, not so much on bosses.

So, what can you do? Practice your presentation so you know it cold. Build your network so you hear what’s going on in the office and avoid trouble. Prepare for a meeting with a cranky client, maybe even set a backup plan with your colleagues. Let fear provide the energy and motivation to do what needs to be done to ensure your (metaphorical) survival.

Lastly, fear lets you know you are alive. Why do we like roller coasters? They scare us (in a mostly safe way). Same for suspense movies.

What exactly is a “thrill"? It’s doing something scary and surviving. Without “scary,” you don’t get “thrill,” it’s a package deal. Imagine life without thrills. Pretty dull, eh? Is it worth losing thrills in order to avoid facing fear? I’m thinking “No.”

So, bottom line, fear can guide you towards what’s important for you to improve your odds, and you give you a rush from staring into the Dragon’s maw and living to tell the tale. Don’t we all need that kind of friend?

For the creative person, fear is always nearby. But in spite of the close proximity, it’s usually a very strained relationship. Fear is one of those emotions that most of us are trying not to have. Because it doesn’t feel good, it’s been coded as a so-called “negative” emotion. And we’re so keen to avoid this negative emotion that we find ourselves avoiding situations that elicit fear for us, so we code the fear-inducing situations as “negative” as well.

What happens then is we end up being afraid of fear, so we start building meta-levels of fear. And then we’re no longer just scared, but we’re scared of feeling scared. And we can even make ourselves scared of feeling scared of feeling scared… can you see how easy it is to end up with more fear, instead of less fear, when we see feeling fear as a bad thing?

But, fear isn’t bad at all. All emotions have a positive purpose that serves us. Have you ever thought about the positive purpose of your fear?

Fear alerts us to threats

Sometimes our fear can be a really useful gut-response that helps us anticipate and respond more quickly to a genuine threat. If something is unfamiliar, it might be dangerous, so, whenever we’re in unfamiliar territory, fear crops up and alerts us to pay attention. And of course, from a survival point of view, that’s really useful.

Fear is a signal you’re learning

Because we’re designed this way, we tend to respond to ALL unfamiliar experiences with fear – even if they’re not dangerous. So long as you’re taking yourself into new territory, and growing, you’ll always feel some fear along the way. From a creativity point of view, fear is useful because it makes you more alert when you’re learning and growing. And fear is a signal that you’re learning. In fact, if you’re telling yourself you’re learning in a particular area of your life, yet you’re not feeling any fear in that area of your life, you’re probably not learning.

Fear lets you know what’s important to you

A third purpose of fear is that fear let’s us know what’s really important to us. Think about it: when something isn’t important to you, you probably don’t care what happens with it, and you won’t feel fear then. It’s the stuff that’s closest to our hearts, that we really care about, that we feel the most fear about – because it matters to us how things work out. With so many choices available to us these days, alot of creative people find it difficult to figure out what’s really important to them and decide what they want in life. A really counter-intuitive, but easy way to figure whether something is genuinely important to you is to notice how much fear you have about it. The more important it is to you, the bigger your fear will probably be.

Fear holds creative tension

When there’s an unresolved problem or a gap between where we are and where we want to be, a tension develops. The bigger the gap, the greater the tension, and fear we’ll feel. Alot of the time, in order to relieve the tension, we change our vision of where we want to be or stop asking that unresolved question. Successful creatives embrace this tension, knowing that tension is an important part of the creative process. Creative tension motivates our unconscious mind to continue searching for a resolution, even while we go on with our other tasks or go to sleep at night, those epiphanies that you have, where the idea just seems to have popped into your head out of nowhere.

So next time you feel afraid, stop and remind yourself that fear works. And then check which purpose your fear is serving, and ask yourself, “Knowing that this is the purpose of my fear, what would I love to do next?”. Thank your fear for working for you, and honor it by taking the next action you’d love to take my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

दिल आज शायर है

ऐ जज़्बा-ए-दिल ग़र मैं चाहूँ, हर चीज़ मुकाबिल आ जाए..
मंज़िल के लिए दो गाम चलूँ और सामने मंज़िल आ जाए..

ऐ दिल की ख़लिश, चल यूँ ही सही, चलता तो हूँ उनकी महफ़िल में..
उस वक़्त मुझे चौंका देना जब रंग पे महफ़िल आ जाए..

ऐ रहबर-ए-कामिल, चलने को तैयार तो हूँ पर याद रहे..
उस वक़्त मुझे भटका देना जब सामने मंज़िल आ जाए..

हाँ याद मुझे तुम कर लेना, आवाज़ मुझे तुम दे देना..
इस राह-ए-मोहब्बत में कोई दरपेश जो मुश्किल आ जाए..

अब क्यूँ ढूँढूं वो चश्म-ए-करम, होने दे सितम बाला-ए-सितम..
मैं चाहता हूँ ऐ जज्बा-ए-ग़म, मुश्किल पस-ए-मुश्किल आ जाए..

इस जज्बा-ए-दिल के बारे में इक मशवरा तुमसे लेता हूँ..

उस वक़्त मुझे क्या लाजिम है, जब तुझ पे मेरा दिल आ जाए..

ऐ बर्क-ए-तज़ल्ली, क्या तू ने मुझ को भी मूसा समझा है..

मैं तूर नहीं जो जल जाऊँ जो चाहे मुकाबिल आ जाए..

आता है जो तूफां आने दो, कश्ती का खुदा खुद हाफ़िज़ है..

मुश्किल तो नहीं इन मौजों में, बहता हुआ साहिल आ जाए..

शिक़ायत

अपनी नींद के कारण ही कभी भोर नहीं देखी मैंने,
सूरज से शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों जल्दी तू आ जाता है..

खुद बरसात के मौसम में ख्वाबों के दीप जलाये थे,
बादल से शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों पानी तू बरसाता है..

मेरी नादानी के कारण जो हाथ से मेरे फिसल गया,
उस दिल से शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों काबू में न आता है..

वक़्त कि खिल्ली बहुत उड़ाई थी तब तो मैंने यारों,
लम्हे से शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों वापस तू न आता है..

खुशियाँ जितनी मांगी थी, उस से ज्यादा मैंने पाई,
फिर भी मैं शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों गम हिस्से में आता है..

नजरें आसमान पे थी जब ठोकर खायी थी मैंने,
पत्थर से शिकायत करता हूँ, क्यों रस्ते में आ जाता है..

और...

ठोकर खा कर भी न संभला, उसी पत्थर से फिर टकराया,
खुद खुदा से शिकवा कर डाला, क्यों दुनिया गोल बनाता है...
खुद खुदा से शिकवा कर डाला, क्यों दुनिया गोल बनाता है !!!