नवम्बर - Abundance

The theme of the meeting was around "Attracting Abundance" into our lives in the areas of relationships, career, health and wealth. It was a mini-workshop which was a preview of an upcoming day long workshop we will be doing in December.

Nandini started with a guided meditation for 10-15 minutes about noticing abundance in our lives and in Nature all around us. Rohit took everyone through the principles of Law of Attraction and how putting out positive intentions often creates our reality. One of the quick tips to break the cycle of negative thoughts is to write down 10 of your favourite things - taking the cue from Julie Andrews in Sound of Music. Then go out and do these things which make you happy.

Special Bengali eats were enjoyed by all!

अक्तूबर - Humour

As we go through the manifold divine qualities exploring one each month and see how we have connected with them in our life experiences, this months topic was HUMOUR. The meditation was about taking ourselves less seriously and seeing the funny side of things even when the going gets tough.

A very inspiring experience was shared by Neera who talked about having an accident which laid her up in bed for 3 months and caused a lot of pain in her leg. Yet, it was during this painful time that she was able to detach from her physical body and transcend to seek healing from a higher source. One of the key things she spoke about was having fun with her freinds when they came to visit her in hospital or at home. Laughing a lot and sharing jokes and all the good things that makes life pleasurable. She went on to say that those were the 3 best months of her life!!!

While many people may have felt defeated or depressed going through so much pain and being immobile, Neera used this time for self-reflection and creating a deeper connecting with herself which invited divine grace to flow into her life and cause her healing.

We welcomed a new member amidst ourselves, Gagan also a like-minded seeker. Tea and cookies were enjoyed by all.

SEPTEMBER - आत्म विश्वास (SELF-BELIEF)

The meeting started with a meditation on self-belief. Discovering the vast and limitless resources of our inner Self which is a spark of the Divine. A beautiful song played in a voice akin to the Mother Divine herself gently serenading us, "How can anyone ever tell you. You are anything less than beautiful. Your loving is a miracle. How deeply you're connected to my soul." Then the supreme quality of Love was used to wash through any conditioning about negative beliefs that we may harbour ourselves.

After the meditation, Rohit led a discussion about current beliefs that we have, both positive and negative. He taught us how our beliefs practically run our lives and often may cause strained relationships because we may be inflexible and refuse to see another's point of view. He helped us replace some of our negative beliefs with more positive ones. e.g. "I should be doing more", which puts undue pressure on the person (should) while being vague (do more). Instead if we replace this with whatever the person enjoys doing, she can say. "I want to write as I enjoy it so much." A question of prioritizing what we enjoy doing also was talked about so our life is not filled with chores, obligations and responsibilities but moments of connection, joy, being in the moment, laughter, spontaneity and a fair dose of "silliness".

Rohit also led a mini-process about loving a part of ourselves that we may be currently hating, a physical part of our body or behaviour or character trait or emotional response. By transposing the love of someone we love unconditionally and accepting this part of ourselves in the same loving embrace, we can have more self-love which strengthens our self-belief.

Tea and biscuits were then put out. Sarbari brought some delicious home made chocolates that were enjoyed by all!

Nandini

अगस्त - Gratitude

Once everyone had a chance to settle down in silence, I began with dedicating the meeting to my younger sister Shilpa who was with us at the last meeting in May. Her physical body passed away in early June. Although I miss her terribly, I know she watches and supports me from other planes and realms.

This meeting was attended by 9 people and began with a meditation to the soothing chants of Manish Vyas, a disciple of Osho. Mini-processes related to forgiveness and letting go of negativities were interspered with inspiring music. Kirtana was first with "Only this love" which was followed by "Tu hi sagar hai, tu hi kinara, dhondhata hai to kiska sahara". You are the ocean and the shore, whose support are you looking for? A short meditation followed inviting us to look for the completeness within ourselves and in the silence asking, "Who am I? Where am I going? What do I want to be happy?" The meditation concluded with the beautiful song, "There is so much magnificence near the ocean."

A very inspiring discussion followed about how we can simplify the sources of happiness and make it so easy for us to be happy as opposed to the usual and sometimes impossible conditions we impose on our own happiness. Sarbari shared how she makes herself happy by waking up early, watching the dawn, hearing the birds chirping and on moonlit nights leaving her curtains ajar to allow the moonshine in.

Asha shared her gratitude ritual where she wakes up every morning and thanks the earth below and the roof above, for being there. Rohit suggested keeping a gratitude journal (a beautiful notebook) where we write down 5 things we are grateful for, each day. These maybe as trivial as the maid arriving on time or things we take for granted, like being alive! :-)

We concluded with yummy sandwiches prepared by Deepika and some Dhokla and chaina murgi. Looking forward to the next one already.

JUNE/ JULY : MEETING CANCELLED

Due to the sudden and untimely death of my youngest sister on June 6th, I am not in a frame of mind to conduct these sessions at this time. They are suspended until further notice via this blog.

May : What is HAPPINESS :-)?

The May meeting was attended by 9 people who shared variously what happiness means to them. Discussions ranged from happiness related to material comforts, relationships, health, career, children and spirituality. A very profound comment made by the newcomer, Tarun had us all thinking when he said, "Life is uncontrollable... trying to control it brings unhappiness." Daphne made a compelling case for inner happiness which is the only lasting joy compared to conditional happiness that is hinged on external factors.

The meditation delved into the nature of things that make us happy and whether they are temporary and conditioned upon something or someone else or independent and free of external factors. Discovering the fountain of joy within us is a goal of the spiritual seeker.

Posted on the walll of a dear friend was this simple quote, "IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY, BE!"

April: Bring out the Kid in You!

“Children” was the theme this month – clearly a topic close to everyone’s heart! Balloons, wax crayon pictures and a sense of light heartedness embraced the room and those in it.

8 people gathered and everyone shared something that touches them. There were poems, a short story, an article and an observation of living. Everyone listened openly and intently, sometimes with a lump in the throat and moist eyes. “Encouraging children to take flight”, “Parenting values”, “To be or not to be a mean mom?” and “The joy that radiates from children who live simply and in tune with nature” were key topics, encouraging sharing of experiences, discussion and contemplation of new approaches.

Nandini then led the group in a long “movement, sound and stillness meditation” giving everyone the opportunity to re-connect with their inner child, feel the innocence and wonder of being in that place and enter into a healing dialogue. Everyone’s inner child (joyful and wise) gifted each person two Balloons full of specific quality of value as well as sharing with them a message full of light to guide them in their life now.

After the meditation a short prayer led by Pramod brought the meeting to a close and popcorn, iced coffee and cake were enjoyed by all.

Daphne

Theme Based Meetings

As suggested in the previous meeting, it has been decided to have a specific theme for each meeting in order to be more focussed. The theme chosen for the next meeting is "Children". The session will loosely be structured as follows:

1. Group Discussion about contributions on the theme of children. You can bring a song, story, own experience, picture, poem anything that evokes what we as adults can learn from children or how they make us feel or how to bring them up or deal with them.

2. The long guided meditation which always includes music will be related to the theme e.g. remembering the child within who we often tend to forget in our busy "adult" lives. Since the meditation happens very much in the moment, I will leave the rest to that moment.

3. A suggestion was also made to do mini-processes related to the theme that you can later do yourselves. We will do that and as always end with some snacks and tea.

Please feel free to invite anyone you know who maybe interested in this meeting.

Much Love.
Nandini

March meet with krishna energy

The second meeting hopscotched to a saturday to accomodate the festival. We were welcomed with jasmine scents amid glass beads with candles. The introductions showed such honesty among the new friends- from no interest in particular to spirituality to different searches that convinced us that we are all sailing in adventurous waters.

While we waited for everyone to collect, there was a photo exhibition to look at with images taken by Nandini - to raise money for two projects- education of under privileged and support a shelter for old and abandoned animals.

We began with a short Tibetan singing bowl meditation that set us up for the introductions followed by sharing experiences. Nandini read a piece from Vinoba Bhave's Geeta interpretation where he lucidly explains the saatvic way to work and encourages us to develop dispassion towards the fruits of labour. I chose to share another piece from Satish Kumars 'Three Gunas' which talks of saatvic powers and how they manifest internally and cannot be judged by the external material trappings.

Deepika shared a lovely piece on forgiveness and the difficulty we have in letting go of our anger and resentment. It also sensitised the group to our need for looking at our own actions that call for forgiveness. Saroj sang a Bahadur Shah ghazal in her melodious voice.

The long guided meditation had a krishna theme and we were lead through a series of music pieces where we danced with Him and created the energy of joy and festivity. I have no idea how the 40 minutes just whizzed by. The last song was a rock and roll meditation to a great music track by Prem Joshua.

Tea, cookies and gulab jamuns were the finale where we asked for suggestions and having theme based meetings met with approval. Next months theme will be put up on the post.

Cheers to the hazaar rangs of Holi!!
Bulbul

Saroj's Spiritual Journey

At the last meeting on Feb 4th, Saroj shared a lovely piece about her spiritual journey so far. Since we all loved it, by popular demand it is posted here...

My Enlightenment Experience

Seeds of spirituality were sown in me while I was still in school.I grew up listening to the strains of Gurubani at home . I also regularly visited The Ramakrikshna Mission to participate in the recitation & speech competitions .On Sundays’ I went for a discourse on the Gita by Swami Ranganathan Nanda along with my father.But my actual journey started in 1991 when I lost my husband and decided to live by myself.Besides the emotional truama of my loss and the choice of an untraditional way of life,my health problems made my journey more difficult.

In the eighties ,after struggling with allopathy for two years to treat my sciatica pain I gave a try to naturopathy.The results were amazing.The discovery of the healing powers of my body with the help of just food, water,mud and Sun therapies and yoga was the best thing that happened to me in years.So I decided to walk on this path of natural healing once again much to the consternation of my family and my friends.

As a first stepI went to Sivanand Ashram , located on Neyer Dam in Kerala to learn yoga.In a week’s time of yoga,right diet and meditation I could climb stairs without the mandatory Sorbitrate.

I came back to Delhi and to my job- feeling much better.Next I attended a camp on reversing heart disease through lifestyle changes organised by AIIMS in collaboration with Sadhna Kendra. I gave up coffee,became a vegetarian and followed completely whatever I learnt at the Ashram.In three months there was a remarkable improvement in my condition.

After my first initiatives the path unfolded on its own.I was being led and I was only responding.I participated in workshops etc at Sivanand Ashram- Delhi. Went for a Bhagvatam Saptah to Uttarkashi.An old friend – took me for Diksha from my first Guru-Shakuntalaji(Maa) of Ramsharnam . Another friend gave me the Talks on the Gita by Vinoba Bhave.I read this simple yet profound book again and again for two years.Then I read The Divine Romance by Yoganand.During this time Life Positive also played the role of a friend and a guide. In 1995 I went for a trip to south all by myself.It was a very special journey of self discovery.

In 1996 I moved to Gurgaon and retired in 1997.I was lonely ,my health was at its lowest.I could not even go to Panipat At this juncture Art of Living basic course came my way.I attended the same.This was the beginning of the most beautiful and important phase of my spiritual journey.I have done almost all courses of AOL.

Initially I could not accept Sri Sri Ravishanker as my Guru since I already had a Guru.But His Grace kept pouring in despite my reservations and hesitations –now Guruji’s photograph along with Maa’s photoraph adorns my little temple.

I can’t say I am 100% happy and there are no slips in my health or emotional state but I am surely on my way.At 67, I live alone, lead an active life and live life on my own terms.What more can I ask for!

starting out...

Nandini & I felt a great desire to have a community of spiritually bonded people and so out went an invitation to those we knew... on the afternoons of the first sundays of a month we would gather in her home to share, exchange, meditate and grow.

The first session, on the 4th of Feb 2007, brought in six interesting people - a pranic healer, a student of Indian classical music and philosophy, two writers, an executive from a pharmaceutical company and a spiritual psychotherapist. Each shared their unique spiritual experiences and set the mood for a short meditation done to a Tibetan singing bowl. Saroj read out a piece recounting the spiritual quests of her life and her contentment at the way they shaped her. Bikram shared his understanding of pranic healing and metaphysical concepts from Theosophical thinkers. I shared my learnings from the Satish Kumar workshop - the three gunas when applied to Time. This led to a lively discussion about Ascetism versus material abundance in pursuing spiritual life. Everyone jumped into it with experiences and views culled from their lives.

Nandini lead a guided meditation on the theme of abundance in nature she created a wonderful imagery of the sea with words and music. It took all of us a little time come out of the deep levels we were swimming in. The look on everyones face reminded me of the Cheshire cat after a bowl of cream had been smacked clean!!

The candles, the fragrance, the flowers, the swirling sufi cushions, the music created a space for good energy to flow . This made Bikram want to redirect this abundant energy towards Mother Earth, the group, family, friends and people at large. I certainly felt a warm flow of current from the centre of my hands, particularly the left on.

Finally we had herbal teas and Dhoklas and Sandesh- all colour coordinated in yellows and white! And mighty yum too. Looking forward to the fourth of march now.

Bulbul

An Introduction

>Mission
We aim to create a friendly, informal and intimate atmosphere to share our joys and sorrows on the spiritual path with other seekers. We will all offer what we know and be open to what we can learn from others as we pursue our own unique and individual journeys. This is an opportunity to cross-pollinate in the hybrid world of spiritual matters.

Philosophy
Everyone is welcome - all ages, castes, communities, religions, backgrounds, physical shapes, sexual orientations, professions, culinary tastes :-)... We do not believe in labels nor subscribe to any particular ideology, religion or Guru. We believe all paths are equal and valid ways of realizing our Source and every individual journey is uniqe and special.

Format
We propose 3 core aspects:

1. Share and Learn - Everyone shares a little piece from their own recent spiritual quest/ realizations - a story, a poem, a song, a chance meeting, a piece of art, a strange co-incidence, a spiritual experience, a person who influenced their life, a book they read or anything that contributed to their growth and was very meaningful and why. Everyone contributes and discusses.
   
2. Soak in the Presence - A guided meditation with recorded music and possibly chanting and lots of silence.
3. Future Visualization
   

When/ Where?
The next session will be for 3-4 hours on Sunday, March 4th at 3.00 pm at my place 501/3, The Palms, South City I, Gurgaon, Haryana Ph:9871620526.

What Next?
If the above interests you, please leave a comment on this blog or send me an e-mail (nandinigulati@gmail.com) or call to confirm your participation. If you think anyone you know would be interested in participating, please feel free to forward to them.

Who are we?
I (Nandini) am a 38 year old trained spiritual psychotherapist, NLP Master Practitioner, past life regressionist etc. and Bulbul, 45 is an author and a media professional but above all we are spiritual seekers just like you.

We hope to see you as part of this group and even if you decide not to join, we wish you much growth on the spiritual path.

Sunny Wishes,
Nandini & Bulbul