Life in isolation

Photo (c) Harish Davda

Photo (c) Harish Davda

Photo (c) Harish Davda

Life in isolation: At one level,
it appears a life of luxury.

No disturbance from the routine,

no one comes to your door to disturb.

You can sleep as long as you want,

and watch news on TV until you are
overloaded with information,
misinformation and disinformation.

You feel tired, and lose focus.

At another level, lack of routine,

takes away the purpose...daily, weekly,

monthly, yearly and long term.

You can feel lost, unmotivated, anxious,
even depressed...your freedom is gone.

You visualise life beyond Coronavirus,

of misery, poverty, struggle and effort.

Fear is working its way to your unhappiness.

My answer to isolation: To accept what's
happening, then surrender.

Have trust in human species; we are strong and
capable of overcoming anything.
We are designed to fight illness.

Keep a healthy routine...exercise, eat well.

meditate few times, everyday.

Pray for yourself and other people.

Reach out to those who need help.

Think of creative ideas, put them into practice,
to keep the mind and brain healthy,
and help the immune system to remain strong.
Coronavirus will pass. Nothing is permanent!

How are you coping with isolation?
Drop me a line.

                                  ===

"It is not impermanence which make us suffer.
What makes us suffer is wanting things to
be permanent, when they are not."
                        
- Thich Nhat Hanh
                                ===
(c) Harish Davda 2020

harish.davda@gmail.com
Instagram: @harish.davda

What is Covid 19 teaching us?

Photo: Harish Davda

Photo: Harish Davda

Photo: Harish Davda

If we can send a man to the moon,

and create miracles in science, arts,

engineering and medicine...surely,

we can prepare better for future viruses,

make sure that people do not go hungry

anywhere in the world... and everyone has

access to descent housing, water, health care and

education.

What Covid-19 is teaching us is to 'awaken'

ourselves, to reveal who we truly are, get

deep into our essence, become

selfless and reach out to those in need at

local, national and global level...because

we are all one!

Once we awaken, we will begin to change 

our broken economic, business, political

and financial systems for the benefit

of all. Not just for 1% of people who control

a high percentage of world's net wealth!

(c) Harish Davda 2020 - harish.davda@gmail.com

"If you want to change the world, you start with yourself."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Some statistics (before Covid 19 hit the world)

The world’s richest 1 percent, those with more than $1 million, own 44 percent of the world’s wealth. Their data also shows that adults with less than $10,000 in wealth make up 56.6 percent of the world’s population but hold less than 2 percent of global wealth.

Source: https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality/#global-wealth-inequality

Of the 822 million undernourished people in the world, 113 million face acute hunger meaning they are in urgent need of food and nutrients.

Source: https://www.theworldcounts.com/

Approximately 3.1 million children die from undernutrition each year (UNICEF, 2018a). Hunger and undernutrition contribute to more than half of global child deaths, as undernutrition can make children more vulnerable to illness and exacerbate disease (UNICEF, 2018a).

“For the world’s hungry and undernourished people, climate change is an increasingly relevant threat multiplier”.

- Global Hunger Index.

My power: affirmations for 7 energy centres

Image: (c) Harish Davda 2020.

The following words are based on the 7 chakras or energy points which we all have in our body and are influenced by them. The 7th chakra is above our head and does not occupy the body.

(1 - Base chakra)
My strength come from the wisdom

And will of my ancestors

Who not only nurtured me

But also prepared me for my life

With their love and blessings.

(2 - Sacral chakra)

My strength comes from my survival instinct

And will to stand on my feet

To be creative, to produce

To be responsible

And protect myself and my family.

(3 - Solar Plexis chakra)

My strength comes from being wilful,

To be strong, courageous

And contribute to the world

Based on what I have learnt

And leave a lasting legacy.

(4- Heart chakra)

My strength comes from my heart

I care, I'm compassionate,

I'm learning to give unconditionally,

At the same time, my heart is intelligent

And helps me to listen to my inner being.

( 5 - The throat chakra)

My strength comes from my voice,

I speak with authority and authenticity

I listen attentively and without judgement

I see with my eyes and my ears

And respond purposefully.

 (6 - The third eye chakra)

My strength comes from my wisdom

Collected from this life and many more

Which let's me experience things

Beyond my mind and feelings

To bring harmony in what I do.

(7 - Crown chakra)

Finally, my strength comes from a source

Outside of this world, and universe.

I have a feeling, and I know

Why I'm here, where I'm going

And what I need to do.

Meditating on the seven energy points/chakras and using the above affirmation for each chakra is a good way of attaining strength and balance in our body and beyond.

(c) Harish Davda 2020

Instagram: @harish.davda

harish.davda@gmail.com

Power of discomfort

The first reaction to discomfort

is to run away from it, to feel safe.

Often, there is no safer place

than where you are now. Stay put. Observe.

Experience your power within.

If you recognise a pattern of over-eating,

observe yourself, see the effects on yourself.

Identify healthy choices. Take action gently

to become healthier, however discomforting.

Enjoy the results. Experience your power.

If you experience difficulties in a relationship,

at work, in business, with friends and family,

look beyond your conditioning.

Identify causes. Take a decision. Act.

Feel your discomfort. Experience your power.

Real power is what you do with yourself,

How you grow and change to who you really are.

People around you will then change

or leave you alone 'cause they are not ready.

Be the change. Experience your power.

Experiencing discomfort takes you deeper

into your inner self.  To connect to your essence.

Beyond the automaton-like behaviour.

That is where real freedom, liberation, is.

Buddha knew this. He experienced his power.

Finally, feel the fear, experience the discomfort,
Prepare, plan, take calculated risks.
Feel your adrenalin, do it. Experience your power,
For greater things to come in future...

The video above is a good example of how Simon and his friend Dave successfully completed their adventure and gained power from their fear and discomfort.

Video credit: Simon Riddell, Photographer.
www.simonriddell.co.uk




(c) Harish Davda 2020

harish.davda@gmail.com

Observe...and grow!

This blog is not about Gautama Buddha or amazing views on Isle of sky  It is about observing, learning and growing.

In my long career as Management Development Trainer and Coach, I have always been interested in how people grow and create greater happiness for themselves and other people.

We all have habits, some of which we have formed for a long time. Some habits, eg, being tidy and organised, work for us. Other habits may be working against us...it can cause difficulties in our relationship with other people, it can even ruin our career or stop us in recognising new opportunities. 

So, what about observing ourselves? In your behaviour, begin to observe yourself. For example:

- do you get angry easily?

- are you controlling?

- do you listen to other people?

- do you talk too much?

- are you always competitive?
- do you aimlessly do things to get a buzz?

The next step is to observe what effect you are having on other people, and

yourself.

When you see and understand this, you will be motivated to change some of the behaviour which is dysfunctional. You will then begin to change your behaviour by changing your habits. For example, by listening more to other people, your relationship with other people will improve. You may even advance your career and get paid what you deserve.

It's amazing how your life changes when you change. You may access your 'inner world' beyond your ego. More on this in a new blog soon!

As Gandhi said,

Be the change you want to see in this world.

And, as Socrates said,

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy,
not on fighting the old but on building the new.

(c) Harish davda 2020

harish.davda@gmail.com
Instagram: @harish.davda

This or that: duality or breaking into freedom?

On a cloudy and rainy day.

Calmness after the storm.

Late afternoon.

On a sunny day, nearly.

Look at the above photos taken on different days, in different weather conditions. Photography students and those interested in photography will go to town in analysing the photos and select the best one. This will be justified if it was part of their assignment and they were learning photography skills.

In our day-to-day life, we are hard wired to judge, mostly through our mind. The hard wiring has happened in the past. So, many of our judgements, assessments, and preferences are based in the past. And, through the judgements, we go into the future. No wonder we often feel powerless. The 'outer' world does not serve us much. We often remain unsatisfied, disappointed, and lacking in freedom. Welcome to the world of duality!

So, what is non-dualistic thinking or awareness?  See the explanation below:

Source: http://www.zenthinking.net

How do we get there? Well, I don't have many answers, except that we need to be in the present, in the now. I'm still scratching the surface. Being mindful, experiencing our presence, is a good start. This is the reflection of our 'inner' world. Regular practice of mindfulness and meditation is a good start to release ourselves of the past and our judgemental character. 

In the now, we experience our presence powerfully. There are infinite possibilities which we are able to see. The past is dissolved. We feel free. In this state, positive thoughts will unwire our brain of past negative thinking, even trauma. We begin to live. We begin to create happiness for ourselves and all around us. 

My deep namaste!

(c) Harish Davda 2020

Insta: @harish.davda

harish.davda@gmail.com

Every thing and no thing

I live on Isle of Skye, Highlands, Scotland.

In winter, it can be stormy here.

In between storms and high winds, when it is calm, I often go in my garden to experience nature. I did the same few days ago and took these photos:

A view over a mountain.

A view over Loch Snizort.

I love this Buddha. His positive energy makes me feel energised.

A view over Loch Snizort.

After I had taken the above shots, I wrote this...

Have you ever felt and experienced...
Nothing and everything,
Nothing matters...and everything matters,
Bliss is upon you as well as a burden,
The past shows up in your mind,
And then you are in the present, here and now.

Have you ever felt and experienced...
Momentary joy, peace and freedom,
When your body feels energised,
And you are beyond your mind,
Your body becomes the flow,
And takes you where you need to be.
Then the mind takes over,
And the thinking process begins.

Have you ever felt and experienced...
That the mind and body coexist,
They need each other.
Sometimes the body becomes the mind,
And does things both good and bad,
Generating feelings to act upon.
Perhaps the answer is to learn
To manage the mind, body and feelings,
With the help of consciousness.

(C) Harish Davda 2020

harish.davda@gmail.com
Insta: @harish.davda