When we almost Paraglided !!!!!

Man proposes and God disposes sounds like a cliché …..

But having experienced that twice in the space of few month one can’t but appreciate the profoundness of that . . . Funnily enough both the occasions were when I was all geared for “adventure sports” . In January 2017 my Chadar Trek plans were waylaid by “Mother nature” and now . . in March it was Paragliding which got canceled . . . .

I have noted elsewhere about the Chadar Experience . . . . . so now for the Paragliding one

After having signed up for Tattva Adventures UDAAN . . The paragliding experience . . . . We  (Myself and four others ) were all excited and looking forward to soaring in the skies !!!

After meeting at Dadar  . . . .  we proceed to one of the most happening eateries at Matunga for an awesome breakfast (and caapi )  . . . . and then onward to Lonavala . . . Jaal ( Co-head – Tattva Adventures) informs us that the timing for the Paragliding is 3.15 in the afternoon . . . . . Phir kya . . . aaram se breaksfast .  .and a relaxed ride through surprisingly empty Highways and ghats . Special mention of Antakshari – Bhakti style and the phenomenal memory of our two leads Sai and Jaal in singing full Bollywood  songs from dinosaur ages . . . .

Because of the time available at hand . . . we are given a special preview to the proposed future camping/glamping site of Tattva . . where we end up playihg carrom board . . . hoola hooping (hilarious experience ) and last but not the least . . .Box cricket ! ! ! ! !

You have to do certain activities to experience the sheer joy of doing them . . . . . Slap stick comedy . . . random comments . . . breaking out  into peals of laughter . . just few of the ingredients which make a great day . .and a great session . . . .

After lunch and a very short nap . .we gear up for  . . .the bonus of the day . . . Zorbing!!!  . . . . . . Again something which has to be experienced . For the record , I had to add it to the bucket list and then strike it off :D . Like most adventure sports . .The Zorbing was over far too soon....

 As we proceed to the eagerly awaited Paragliding area we are given a detailed spiel of how the system works . . . . . and the dos and donts by Rambo (!!!)  our friendly instructor.

Here we were . . . all geared up to experience the thrills of paragliding and the first one from our group Tanvi takes off . . . . .As she soars into the skies (camera whirring non stop !! ) few others are also selected for the flights. It is then that we notice all the selected ones are the light weight category since the air currents were not strong enough.

As time passes . . .the intensity of air current either remains the same or decreases . .  .and with it decreases our chances of soaring into the skies . . . . . After a hopeful few hours the Organizers finally confirm that the event is canceled because of the vagaries of weather.

The ‘lighter’ones still manage(d) to fly though . . .

Left me pondering whether a ten kg lesser weight would have let me fly . . . . Just another motivation to lose weight  I guess . . Time to get serious on the fitness front . . . ..

All said and Done ,  19th March 2017 will  be memorable day for me . . . The day when I almost “paraglided” 

Talking to the Self

Talking to the Self

When you talk to yourself in your mind, which self do you address? And how? Usually people do not talk to their divinity, but to the most superficial aspects of their everyday personality. And often it is a stream of fears, complaints and mindless repetition of old things. If we talked that way to another human being, we would have to apologize. Learning to talk properly to the self is a spiritual endeavor. Thoughts from the past and worries about the future do not create good conversation. Instead learn to talk to your mind as if it were a child. Talk to it with love. If you just force a child to sit down, he won't. A good mother knows how to prompt her child into doing what she wants. Be a good mother to your mind, teach it good, positive thoughts so that when you tell it to sit quietly, it will. Love your mind. Stay happy.......

Of course, people matter. But do they know that?

Whether it's your partner, boss, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, domestic help , even the cabbie , the bus driver  . . . . put extra effort into letting them know they matter. 

Why? Because it makes a difference and it matters, to them  . . . . . . . . and to you. . . . . 

Not many of us are comfortable expressing  . . .That is understandable given our backgrounds . . . .

But  . . . the appreciation . . even the acknowledgement . . . . It doesn't need to be long and drawn out, it could simply be a 'Thank you, I really appreciate that' or 'Thank you, that was really thoughtful.' 

For those already doing it . . .great  ,  never ever stop doing it . . . .

And for those who are not doing it . . .it’s never too late to start . . .because life is short . .and unpredictable . . .

Meditation

Meditation is more
effective than sleep in
re-energising the soul.
All forms of meditation
ultimately aim to relax the
mind. Meditation is going
from a state of doing to just
being. We are so action conscious
all through the day
that we never get time to connect to our original self.
Doing something all the time
seems to give us a false sense
of gratification. In this
process, we forget to be our
own selves. It’s like an athlete
running without taking a
break. It’s not possible to
keep running like this for a
long time. Meditation provides us the much needed
break from this process of
doing. It helps us slow down
and experience our true
identity. It gives us a chance
to connect with our inner
world, which is a very
fulfilling experience.