Thursday, October 29, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Leadership Crisis!
Is the loss of enthusiasm in
graduating students a systemic failure of Leadership in Organizations!
Recently after a very long time, I was facilitating a program on
Transition from Campus to Corporate for young graduating Turks!
Programs for the mid, senior management take their own time to
evolve in terms of energy in the room for learning. Often the group is
reserved, keeping to themselves and it takes a lot to break the pattern. This
age group probably comes into the program with a goal to complete the mandated
training hours for the quarter, half yearly or yearly requirements and or their
promotion cycles. I often call it the ‘tick in the box’ need!
What needs to be looked at with caution is that this energy is
contagious, just like any other.
The young group that I worked with had tremendous enthusiasm, made a
lot of noise, was eager to learn and had a million questions. All the traits of
an eager mind and body to make a difference. The energy in the room was
palpable and it rubbed off onto me!
It then dawned on me on how this energy gets depleted, almost wiped
out in a very short time, at the most a year and dread of the work world
sets-in. These willing and able bodied group suddenly become lethargic,
dis-interested, just go about doing what is told, maybe not even that and very
soon fall into the emotional pollution trap that is existent all around them!
Why does this happen? I really do not know the answer, but I am
willing to hazard a guess and my assessment is, it is because of the team that
they are currently involved with and more so their current existing Leadership.
Leaders in teams give a clarion call for collaboration, but
recognize and praise individual performance, they ask for creativity and
innovation, but beat down new ideas, there is talk of empowerment but often
micro-manage, emphasis is on flat structures but leaders expect positional
respect, leaders talk of work-life balance as a culture and ask for
unreasonable work hours.
Over a period of time, in fact a very short period of time, the
reality vis a vis practice starts to drift apart and it becomes apparent to the
intelligent mind that the youngsters possess, and then the disillusionment
dawns!
In the race for what is urgently important in terms of deadlines,
bottom-lines and what not, what is fundamentally important with regard to
individual personal development, shared vision, empathy and compassion is
sacrificed by the Leadership.
And then we complain that the new Gen Y are not predictable and
cannot be trusted!
We need to ask, ‘Where does the blame lie?’.
Reverse the order: Look at their personal development, give them a
road map, allow freedom at the work place and become a part of the
transformation! These are the traits of a Emotionally Competent Leader.
That’s the legacy of a true leader.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Reberthing Retreat In France!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.847034252050359.1073741829.713839708703148&type=3
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Reclaim your Sense of Self through Emotional Intelligence!
‘You are just like that, He is just like his father,
and this is how this college is!’
Typical clichéd terms that we use in our everyday conversations,
without realizing the need to make a validation for such statements! We unconsciously
say things for which we have no evidential back up.
Why is this so? It is because we are all victims of the basic fabric
of our social structure that today is influencing every aspect of our being.
We live in an era of information overload through the various mediums
that we have, all at our fingertips. Be it the Television, print, the Internet
or any other medium we are now hijacked by their power so much so that we no
longer have our own identity. We have surrendered our ability to think and act.
The influence of the various mediums is so powerful that we have become a ‘copy-cat’ civilization and it could not
have been better for the czars of this creation. We need not second guess who
they are.
We are told what to eat, drink, when we will fall sick, what
medicine to take, how to dance, walk, talk; in fact every domain our
life-styles is now invaded. We are even dictated as to when we should be sad,
glad, mad et all. If this not hypnosis, what is?
We are so influenced by this that we slowly start talking, walking
and so much so go all the way in conducting ourselves as per their influences.
We become the unconscious ‘brand ambassadors’. We have no original identity. If
you think I am wrong, look around you and pick at least one buying decision in
your environment that has not been influenced by the all-powerful mediums!
Eldon Taylor says, ‘we are no longer our original selves, we are
products of what is being foisted on us’, how true!
Emotional Intelligence has tools that can help you reclaim that
original self, the competencies of Self-Regard, Self-Perception, Independence,
Empathy, Optimism and Decision Making are among a few that can help us on this
path.
They can empower you with the power of personal choice above any
other choice. We are the only species on the planet with the choice of
discrimination and sadly are the only species that does not use it. It is so
because we are being led to choices being made by others!
We can gain all the knowledge that we can at the click of a button;
we don’t have the wisdom of applying that knowledge. We are all literate but
not educated.
STOP right now and reclaim that power of self-choice, tap into the
wisdom of the self that is abundant and available before we are consumed by the
powers that be.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Yoga - The Holistic Practice!
As we approach the world Yoga day on 21st June
2015, here is an excerpt from my Co-Authored book on Yoga, which I am sure will
dispel quite a few misconceptions about the practice!
Yoga is one of the most ancient cultural heritages of
India. The word yoga in Sanskrit means "to unite” and so yoga can
be said to mean a unitive discipline. In this sense it is an exercise in moral
and mental cultivation that generates good health (arogya), contributes
to longevity (chirayu), and the total intrinsic discipline culminates
into positive and perennial happiness and peace. In its spiritual sense, it is
the process by which the uniqueness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul
is realized by the Yogi. It is the union
of all aspects of an individual: body, mind and soul.
Yoga is an all-encompassing way of life, a science of
self-culture and mental discipline that ensures the purgation of the ignoble in
man and brings forth what is most noble in him. It is relevant to all people
irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, and religion. Yoga is for all. Yoga is
universal. It is not a sectarian affair. The practice of Yoga is not
conflicting to any religion. It is purely spiritual and universal. It does not
contradict anyone's sincere faith. It can be beneficial to all - the good and
the bad, the sick and the healthy, the believer and the non-believer, the
literate and the ignorant, the young and the old.
There are too many misconceptions confusing the science of
Yoga. People perceive it to be some kind of black or white magic, sorcery,
physical or mental wickedness through which miraculous feats can be performed.
For some it is an extremely dangerous practice, which should be limited to only
those who have renounced the world.
Yoga is the termination of mental fragmentation.
Yoga: Oneness, yoga. Chitta: mind. Vritti: wave,
the action of rolling, modification, way of being. Nirodha: cessation.
All about Yoga is said in the four words Yogah,Chitta,
Vritti, nirodha. The four words of the second sutra define the “discipline” in
a practical way. But then one should know their meaning and mostly what they signal
to us. Chitta is the mind field, which is the ocean of perception and
reflection. Even deep sleep is included in that world of perception, or
cognitive activity.
The meaning of vritti exceeds what we normally mean
by thought. The idea of something rolling, of a wave in motion, is the first
meaning. It is a more basic procedure than the solitary conscious thinking. We
can say mental activity of form of consciousness, and that’s how we will
translate it most of the time.
The word nirodha carries in itself the complete core
of spiritual understanding, the full grace dawning on the open soul. It is the
cessation, the silence. But what is silence? Silence imposed by thought —“what
we often designate by the word “control”— is not silence”, It is an effort, a
struggle, and uneasiness: in other words, it is still a troublesome thought:
there is still someone looking after a goal. On the contrary, the discipline of
yoga is the cessation of something that has hardly ceased until now and which
we evoke by the expression chitta vritti.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Elementary Living!
‘Simplicity is no longer a convention, it
is an invention’
As soon as I read this, it sat deeply
within me. So true I thought. We now live in a world that is getting more and
more complicated and in the midst of information overload on how we can make it
even more so!
In every dire situation, there is the proverbial
silver lining and that became the case with the family and me. We discovered
the components of elementary living!
Though the awareness drifted in the fringes
of my own consciousness, it never was mainstream. So what’s this elementary
living? I call it living in balance with the elements of nature, that is Air,
Fire, Water, Earth and Ether or space! Do we have a balance of these in our day-to-day
living? Do we use the tremendous healing properties that these elements have to
bring a sense of sanity in the mad rush that we are all in?
Do we use the element of air, our very own
life force in accordance to the need for ourselves? Remember, life force is the
only thing that we carry with ourselves everywhere we go! Are we even aware of
our breath or have we taken it for granted? To balance Air, we need to cleanse
and energize ourselves. Cleansing can be through the various Pranayama
techniques and the Breath Energy Technique to energize.
Fire is that element which defies gravity!
Think about it! It is so light! Fire meditation helps burn and lighten burdens
of every day life, it has the power to cleanse deep. Just observing this
element burn instills warmth and power, so very essential in today’s world!
Water is the universal cleanser! Do we
cleanse ourselves with this divine element as a healing component or do we use
it automatic, without giving it a deeper thought? Having a bath twice everyday
is mandatory in this polluted environment, both emotional pollution as well as
the physical pollution. It can wash away the negative energy that we build around
and within us during the course of the day!
Mother Earth is the provider of our energy
through food, and how we have abused her is beyond imagination! Research now
shows that the topsoil in our country is way beyond repair because of the
rampant and un-regulated use of pesticides. We are also victims of the junk
food, fast food culture that has percolated so deep down that it is no longer
occasional food but daily diet! How balanced is our diet? Do we ‘eat to live,
or live to eat?’ Are we the victims of the corporations that are making their
millions at our cost? Rampant spread of
deadly diseases is proof enough of the poisoning that has happened in our
environment by the elites.
Space is that element that is necessary to
balance all others! Renewal practices like Yoga, Meditation, and Prayer are
necessary to survive in this rat race! We binge renew on weekends, which does
more harm than good! What is your daily renewal practice?
Our living being the planet earth or giai
is the universal possessor and provider of all five without discrimination!
Should we not be grateful?
Think about it! As Sherlock Holmes famously
said, ‘elementary my dear Watson’!
Ask yourself, ‘How elementary is my living’?
A friend once asked me, what is the use? Do
you want to live longer by doing all this? My internal reply was, ‘Add life to
years, not years to life’!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Life and Life-Style!
We are frequently faced with the question
“What is this life?” To understand this question we need to first distinguish
between Life and ‘Life - style’. There is an distinction that between the two.
Most of the time we think that life style and life are one and the same, when
they are not! Life-style is associated with the external while Life is associated
with the internal, which is within one.
We often are in the quest of looking to
make our lives happy, and seek external sources to quench our thirst. In
wanting to make life happy we seek from our material surroundings. We think we
will be happy when we have a secure job, we will be comfortable when we have a
shelter above our head.
When we achieve that, we are not satisfied
and we look for enhancing what we have got, thinking “this will make us happy”.
We look for promotions within the job, are it in position or monetary increment
and we look to renovate our houses thinking the extra room or a better kitchen
is what we need.
Thus this spiral of wanting more which we conveniently
term need, leads to greed, while all the time we are still in search of that
elusive happiness, which is within. Thus we need to understand that what we
think will make us happy in life, is actually our ‘Life-style’ which only
provides a temporary illusion of happiness till we start wanting more.
Life on the other hand requires one to go
within and live in the moment, in complete faith that one will be provided for
without wanting or asking, it prompts one to learn that happiness is not a
destination that we seek but the stations that you get along the path. Being
present in the moment and appreciating the thoughts in the present thereby freeing
us from the thoughts of the past or the future.
Life teaches simplicity which no longer is
a convention but an invention! ‘Life-style’ is getting caught in the outer
noise!, While life is listening to the inner voice. ‘Life-style’ recognizes the
one who has the most, while life supports one who needs the least.
Looking outside we dream, looking within we
awaken, looking outside we analyze, looking inside we realize. We need to
understand that the eyes offer sight while the heart offers insight.
The next time that you are faced with the
question “What is this life”? Distinguish between ‘life – style’ and ‘life’
before looking for the answer, and seek answers from within rather than from
the outside.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
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