A Butterfly spreading its silvery wings full of magical colors fluttering and dancing on the sweet scented flowers is an unforgettable sight. It etched a deep image in my mind remembering which frequently brings joy. Why am I so enticed by a Butterfly? And why my heart wants to hold on to this beautiful image and the feeling of blissful joy it brings? Deep in introspection the answers flashed, the Butterfly brings a message of Universal truth. Butterfly goes through metamorphosis which, in simple and mundane terms means change. Yes change, life changes but does the core change? No, we keep living in the same set ways of our lives day in and out. Metamorphosis is the change of the core…from the egg to caterpillar to pupa to a butterfly. No state is similar to the previous one, no behavior is similar to the previous one. This is change in…

Sleep -- the universal experience of restful time when the subconscious takes over and a time when the body and the mind go into a cleansing mode. The mind transforms into an efficient editor and sifts through the files of memories and experiences,  discarding, storing or incubating the required experiences for future life moments. This process helps the human to quickly associate with the past lessons and adapt to whatever life brings in the future. In sleep this process can also lead to dreams. Oneirology or the study of dreams suggests that dreams can invoke sensations, emotions, ideas, images and positive or negative feelings. Dreams can stir the conscious mind’s imagination and one can spend hours trying to analyze the meaning of these lucid images and sensations. Dreams are usually out of the control of the conscious mind and thinking. The subconscious mind’s activity in the dream state also activates…

Eyes on blinking screens, ears with ear-pods feeding the mind with constant stimulation of images and sounds, attributing to the restlessness and increasing sensory phenomenon of the mind and body. Strange new syndromes and diseases are engulfing the new age humans and mental illnesses are breaking records! The recent lockdowns and lifestyle changes have forced all to reconsider their present state of being. It’s almost like nature is providing a second chance, but why would anyone of us take this opportunity to reassess our status quo habits? All await the miracles of vaccine so old ways can be glorified again! Humans are beasts of habit, familiar habits and ways, so why change? Exploding Head Syndrome, ever heard of this? Sounds scary, and it should, as we humans are heading towards similar states where even in sleep which is physiologically the most restful time the mind cannot and will not stop…

“Change is the only constant” quote our ancient texts. Change leads to growth and evolution influencing societies and science. Sadly, enough the ‘Selfie Culture’ and ‘not looking beyond one’s nose’ seems to be trending in the modern age. Spirituality and morals are diminishing like blood losing its nutrients leading to an anemic state! The new species of human is running in a race of materialistic values and feeding off the ever nourishing ego! In this race, basic morals and values have limited and self-centered meaning. It’s like the world is turning into a melting pot of selfies. So what defines a person with values and morals? To summarize its three things, first the core values or sanskaras, then internalizing or inner understanding of these core values and lastly the behavior. One is born in an environment or society with its core values, thus from birth one is unknowingly under their…

While watching the amazing BBC documentary ‘The Life Story’ and reconnecting with nature was mesmerizing along with the photography and the anecdotal commentary! Watching evolution through a lens jolted me to ask a question, why the most evolved and intelligent animal--the human being has disassociated from the very simple principles of nature? Every creature of the animal kingdom emotes and relates to both positive and negative feelings. They go through the cycle of life without worrying about what their fellow creatures will think.  They live in the moment for that moment!  And although they display emotions of love, caring, anger, jealousy and fear yet their reactions surface and ebb in that moment. None of the creatures display ego or consistently live in their past or future.  All are doing their karm without worrying about the outcomes. On failure they either learn their lesson or abandon and move on to the…

While walking towards the gate to catch my flight on Vande Bharat, the rescue mission Air India flight to New York. I stopped at the book store to pick up some magazines to occupy myself on the fifteen hour flight which was offering minimal in flight services. At the bookstore I also spent time looking for some healthy snacks for the flight. Ignoring my temptation for eating salted potato chips I settled for some roasted lotus seeds (makhanas) reading the label careful for the rock salt content, zero fat and protein along with an apricot almond bar and fresh juice. Tucking all the goodies in my bag I rushed to the gate for the flight. As expected the flight was full but the sight of the airline staff covered under the PPE suits was a bit surreal. Struggling to maintain the social distancing, dragging all the carry-on bags and feeling…

I was fastening my seat belt and getting ready to land after a long haul international flight when my attention was caught by the announcement of spare change. The airline was collecting spare change . . . coins in any currency for charity to feed under-privileged children. I quickly and mindlessly looked in my wallet and came up with a few dimes and nickels. I hurriedly threw them in the envelope and handed to the hostess, feeling good about my generous gesture! The plane landed and I reached my destination, quickly getting back into the motion of things; however, the fleeting feeling of doing something good remained. And I felt I should have put in the dollar bill too along with the coins for a better donation! Then I started thinking how much does this airline usually collect and how many mouths are actually fed? In my contemplation, I thought…

Dhyan and Energy Lying still on the examination table and feeling the movement of the probe on my abdomen for the ultra sound gave me moments of awareness. I was in a state of complete surrender and trying to go into dhyan but the consistent heavy breathing of the technician distracted me. After bearing the pain of constant pressured grinding of the probe on mystomach and listening to the deep frustrating sighs of the technician, I finally opened my eyes and looked at her. I gently asked her if she was tired as she was using her left hand and trying to operate the machine with her right. After a long moment of silence, she replied that this was a doppler test and getting the right images of my aorta was frustrating. She indicated that she was going to bring her supervisor to take the right images as she was…