February 12, 2025 • 28 mins
Embark on a spiritually enlightening journey with me, the Gentle Yoga Warrior, as I recount my transformative pilgrimage through the vibrant landscapes of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Ever faced a day where everything seems to go wrong? Listen as I share a personal narrative brimming with unexpected discomfort and introspection, from an unpleasant town to missing a loved one’s funeral. Through this, I learned the importance of embracing the broader journey beyond immediate frustrations. In the midst of adversities, I discovered profound personal growth that can inspire anyone facing similar trials.
Explore practical solutions for navigating the pressures of modern life, especially the financial strain of gift-giving during holidays and birthdays. I suggest alternative approaches that nurture deeper connections with loved ones, while sharing personal experiences on the power of spiritual practices, like the mantra dedicated to Lord Ganesh. This mantra, known for removing obstacles and bringing prosperity, profoundly impacted my life, and guided meditation tips for beginners aim to cultivate mindfulness, helping you navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and ease.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody.
This is Awaken ConsciousConversations podcast.
I'm your host, the Gentle YogaWarrior, and this podcast is
about life, life and learningand various self-hosted podcasts
which I've been doing for awhile due to circumstances, but
I have got some guests lined up,I've booked them in and they're
(00:20):
going to be on the show verysoon, but not this week.
This week is a self-hosted show.
I am fresh back from Tamil Naduand Kerala and I had a bit of
an adventure.
I don't know if you heard lastweek's podcast episode, but I
went into a bit detail aboutthat but it was all the emotion.
(00:41):
So there was happiness, sadness, joy, there was reluctance,
there was flow, there was lifeand there was death,
unfortunately, in the, in the,in the seeing like dead animals
on the road, and also kind ofdeath in the sense of the way of
being.
And there was very much, a lotof devotion, um, having the
(01:04):
grace to go into the temples andrespect the traditions and have
the blessings from the variouspriests and and looking at the
deities and getting the energyfrom that which, before I
embarked on this particularpilgrimage, I didn't have so
much understanding about.
Like I've led a fairly yogiclifestyle for at least 20 years
(01:30):
and I have been to India beforea long while ago.
But and devotion has alwaysbeen something that's very close
to me.
I had a period of time when Iwas very devoted to Krishna and
I kind of got it in that way.
But this is like next level,going in and seeing all the
(01:51):
things that were kind ofdifficult for me.
It's kind of standing out in acountry that is it can be a bit
of a culture shock if you're notused to it a very beautiful and
warm country, but also a veryreal country and kind of
everything is appears as it is,which is which is one of the
(02:11):
beauties of the place.
And I've come back and it'squite cold here and the cold
weather I kind of like.
I like jumpers and warmth andthings like that.
But it's also been, it's been abit of a rough transition,
especially now because theemergence of spring is trying to
make its first um signs hereagainst the backlog of winter.
(02:32):
And again, I always talk aboutthe weather on every podcast.
But it has a big significanceand and and to what we're doing
and where we're at and stuff.
So it is of great importance,hence why I always mention it.
Um, so, believe it or not,today is a full moon and it's a
(02:57):
full moon in Virgo, and Virgo isall about practicalities and
really detail-orientated.
One of my favorites, favoritesigns um, my child, if they had
made it for you to birth, wouldhave been a Virgo, and some of
my best friends are Virgos and II think Virgos are such a
lovely, lovely sign.
(03:17):
So it's a full moon in Virgos,it's a full moon and getting
down to practical things and andstuff like that and something
again, that is a good thing tokind of um take into
consideration as we navigatethrough these full moons.
And it's not always easy.
And I'm trying to kind ofdissect my mind as I came not
(03:43):
literally, like philosophically,since I came back from the trip
, because whenever I've donethese big life-changing trips,
one thing is for sure life hasnever stayed the same Because
I've changed.
So life changes and it's likethe stuff that we build our
foundations on from our past andhow it kind of erupts.
(04:05):
You know, we can have thesetriggers that set us off and
erupt us and unsettle us, andthat is part of being human in
many aspects, definitely.
But then there's kind of likethese really frustrating stuck
things and there's all thesetheories of like why certain
people thrive and other peopledon't, and certain families
(04:28):
thrive and other families findit hard, and who knows why that
is.
But I say there's some thingswe can't control.
We can control our reactions tothings and how, how life is,
and that's the only thing, thegrace, really, that we have.
And everyone I'm speaking to atthe moment is struggling.
(04:50):
They're struggling because lifein so many ways is so expensive
.
In the UK, since the year 2020,the cost of living has gone up
by 20 percent, so there's been a20 percent increase in the cost
of living and it's been.
(05:11):
The thing is companies arestruggling so much that they
have not been able to give theirstaff unless you're really
lucky a 20 percent rise, andit's made it very, very hard.
Everyone is kind of living likelike paycheck to paycheck and
people, even people in reallysuccessful careers, are having
(05:32):
or unsuccessful careers.
It just seems from myexperience and the conversations
I've had with people, it seemsto be like everyone, regardless
of your financial um status andthe taxation laws, and there
seems to be just like more andmore laws coming all the time
that make it even harder forpeople.
So it's very easy to getdisheartened when we're all
(05:53):
working so hard and yet we feel,on a material level, perhaps we
may not have as much to show aswhat we wish to show.
Um, and that can be verytriggering indeed because, like,
like, who wants to work thewhole life and kind of be a
slave to this system, thatdoesn't really support us and
then perhaps, when we get old,doesn't support us either, by
(06:16):
either taking the money,sticking us in homes, etc.
So it's very easy.
The reason I'm saying theseworst case scenarios is it's
very easy to see everything fromthat really negative lens.
And I'm not saying that thesethings aren't true.
What my job is to kind of helpreframe our lens, and it's not
to say that we should put it ofall these things that are so
(06:36):
very wrong in this world.
Equally, there's only so muchthat we can change.
We can try and change thingsand perhaps one day things will
change, but the only thing thatwe can change we can try and
change things and perhaps oneday things will change, but the
only thing that we can trulytrain to right this moment is
our attitude and mindset towardsthings.
And I'm going to sidestep backto India, because there is a
(06:58):
link between these two.
So when I was doing thisnighttime pilgrimage and my feet
were so cut because I like tohave my feet covered, like I've
tried walking barefoot I'vealways ended up with either
splinters, glass and ticks,other foreign bodies in my feet.
So generally I tend to keep myshoes on the lesser notes of
(07:20):
surface that I know what's there.
But even then when I've managedto get stuff in my feet, but
that's just something going onwith me and my feet which I kind
of need to deal with.
But anyway, we're doing thisnight time pilgrimage and my
feet were so badly cut I wascovered in mosquito bites.
I had forgot to take malariastuff with me.
I think I touched on this onlast week's episode, but I
really felt like each step feltquite difficult and then, um, as
(07:44):
the journey of of the time awaywent on, I picked up some food
poisoning as well.
Um, and then we're eating inreally remote places and when
I'm kind of doing a bit of achange, I kind of feel like I
need kind of like comfort foodwhich sounds really kind of
(08:04):
delicate, but it is the truth.
So I was kind of skipping a fewmeals, which probably wasn't
the best, the best thing to do,but I was just feeling so ill.
And then you know, when you,when you cook and eating other
people's, you don't know what'snecessarily gone into it and, um
, so what is me?
I was feeling so kind of likefed up at one point because,
(08:27):
like the clothes it was hard toget to the laundry, so I was
having to like try and washthings and it was.
I just found it really kind ofdifficult.
And there was one point where Ijust kind of burst into tears.
It was the day when there was afuneral of a loved one which I
couldn't be there because I wasaway.
The town we were staying in wasvery unfriendly.
(08:48):
All other towns were lovely,but this town just felt so
difficult.
And then, like I was walkingalong and I was getting way more
attention than what I wanted toget, and then, like I was
trying to cross the road, so Iwas just as you he hear my voice
, I'm just describing things andI'm just going like on this
(09:09):
negative spiral.
I was like this is wrong, thisis wrong, this is wrong.
Trying to see it from this lensof perfection of how I wanted to
be, specifically this day whenit was the funeral of a loved
one, I had this idea of goingout into nature and having time
to kind of like, be and reflect,and instead we were in this
(09:29):
really hectic, hectic, hectic,hectic city where it just felt
like I was going to die everytime I was crossing the road and
, um, there was a lot morerubbish on the sides of the
street in this particular citythan other ones.
My I was going through thisreally down spiral because I
really wanted to be with myfamily, and then we're trying to
(09:50):
cross the road and then there'slike this giant pig fighting
with this big cow over some food, and they were like fighting
over it and I was just seeingeverything was half empty.
And then we went to the hoteland the hotel all the other
hotels had been clean, even ifthey were basic, they had been
(10:11):
clean, but this one was notclean, like the.
The room was fine, but thehallways were full of like dirt
and just like left food traysthat were there for hours.
You went up to the?
Um, to the restaurant, and theplace where you washed the hands
was filthy.
So I made this consciousdecision I didn't want to eat
anything in this particularplace because my stomach was
(10:33):
upset.
So again, I'm building thisbackstory.
You can see how negative I'mspeaking.
Of course it was really hot,but what?
The moment that I kind ofmanaged to switch that day when
I spoke to my family and it wasvery moving.
My partner went to thisparticular pilgrimage outside
(10:54):
and he came back with the guideand then we went to this
exhibition before some food andthen this woman pushed me on the
stairs.
I don't know if she pushed meon purpose, it might have been
accident but then it just mademe feel really unsafe and I was
just seeing again.
Everything was half empty.
But then I went to thisrestaurant and I felt so okay,
(11:19):
it didn't bother me thateveryone was staring and the
owner of the restaurant or themanager was so nice that I
really enjoyed my food.
But I've kind of gone on a bitsorry about that, but I was just
trying to really build up how Iwas feeling this particular day
and I was just seeing the worldas this difficult place.
And, yes, that particular daywas one of the most difficult
(11:42):
days on the trip and my leastfavorite where, but it had a lot
of learning in it because I wasgetting so fixed of how I
wanted this day to be, as Iremembered this relative and I
had this vision of like kind ofjust wandering through
countryside etc.
And it just wasn't the reality.
(12:03):
I was stuck in this hotel thatI really didn't like and in the
town where it didn't feelparticularly warm to me and it
was.
It was kind of really tough.
So I couldn't just let thatdictate the rest of the holiday.
But when, as we left the nextday, I just suddenly felt a bit
lighter because I realized thelesson in this is that because
(12:27):
this place was a completely newplace, this town like I, you get
a general feel of all thedifferent towns and all the
towns are very different.
I had it fixed in my mind thatit had to be a set way.
But the good thing was isbecause it was because I had to
stay present all the time, eventhough I found that day, those
(12:50):
well, it was two days actuallyin that town very uncomfortable,
I was able.
I was able to fully be in themoment and, in the end, able to
process what was happening andalso on the fact that I was
upset.
It wasn't where I wanted to be,I wasn't enjoying it and um,
(13:12):
but that image of seeing the pigfight with the cow over the
food, it kind of really is quitea daunting but powerful
symbology.
Um, because the reality was thatthe pig was being reared by
someone for food, obviously, andthe cow for milk or maybe meat
(13:35):
as well um, who knows and butthey were fighting over these
scraps of food.
But, in the great scheme ofthings, um, they both probably
had a very kind of short and sadlife ahead of them in many ways
, and they were too bothered inthe moment of arguing over this
(14:00):
food to kind of see the bigpicture and instead they could
just wander off.
This is a bit romanticized, butbear with me.
They could wander off, maybeinto the countryside and and
kind of live a bit more of afreer life possibly.
And and I just thought that islike my ego in many ways it's
(14:22):
like it's kind of got fixed andset on how it worked.
I wanted to be, as I remembered, this loved one in this town,
which, the thing is right.
Wherever you go in the world,there's going to be some places
that aren't compatible with yourenergy.
Some places are A lot of thetime.
In India, the, the energieswere really beautiful, even in
(14:45):
places that were challenging.
Right.
Someone could come to some townin the UK and think it was kind
of miserable if it's not theright energy or perhaps they
went to the wrong area and itwasn't the right thing.
So it's kind of no judgment onTamil Nadu.
It was a very beautiful stateand a lot of it's to do with how
my mind was feeling andthinking on this particular day.
(15:09):
So has there been instances andcases in your life where you've
had like one of these really baddays and everything just seems
to be stacked against you?
Have you been able to allow theemotions you're feeling but
then step back.
What the lesson is?
Even if it was an uncomfortableday and free, how can you use
(15:29):
that lesson in the future?
So my lesson learned was kindof to not get fixed and not
judge and and also, if somethingisn't to my liking, then just
try and find the things thatlike that one does like.
So I enjoyed speaking to myfamily that day.
The smile from the manager, whomade me and my partner feel
(15:51):
very welcome and in therestaurant, made a massive
difference.
It was so nice because theywould talk to me like I was a
human being in a really kind wayand that sounds.
Not that people hadn't beentalked to be a human being, but
generally people hadn't reallyspoken too much in this town but
then understandably so hadn'treally spoken much to them.
(16:13):
Um, it felt a bit awkward.
And I felt awkward and that'sfine.
You know, some days you'regoing to feel awkward and stuff
like that.
So there's, there's all kinds ofdifferent ways in which life
can bring us lessons, and quiteoften the trend in self-help is
to be like oh yes, everythinghas to be positive, everything
has to be magical, I have to begreat, good all the time.
(16:33):
I have to feel optimistic allthe time.
All this isn't wrong with me,but I think that's denying one's
feelings.
I was not feeling optimisticthat day, but did I find an
optimistic lesson from it?
Yes, of course.
Am I likely to go there again?
Probably not, but never saynever was.
Was this a lesson in life?
For me, for sure, and it was tofind the sanctuary within.
(16:57):
We can't always controlexternal forces.
So, getting back to the moneyside and how much the cost of
living has gone up by 20% andhow difficult it is for people
that my thing is things neverlast forever and things I'm
optimistic things are going tochange.
But in the meantime we can'tall sit around being miserable
(17:18):
until that happens and insteadwe can boldly go through life
and find ways to find joy andfulfillment.
And sometimes I think the worldis quite arranged to bring us
short-term fixes because wethink that will help us.
The most obvious one is andagain I get takeaway decaf
(17:43):
sometimes is the coffee industry.
Sometimes we think, oh, yes,yes, I really want to have a cup
of coffee.
That's going to save my day andperhaps that really does help
you.
If you have a cup of coffee andit lifts your day, fine.
But if you're having a cup ofcoffee every day and you're
trying to save up to dosomething that's better for you
in your life, is that reallygoing to help you in the long
(18:04):
run?
Could you have coffee once aweek out and the rest of time
have your your own hot drinks athome?
And it's just by doing thesemicro habits that we can learn
to change things.
I totally get it.
Some days, you know, you justfeel so disheartened and, like
you, just think, oh, I just wantthis and want that, but is
(18:26):
there a cheaper alternative thatyou can find, and I'm really
open to hear from you, dearlistener, what are your
solutions when you're trying tosave up for things or kind of
economize on things, and couldyou bring a more entrepreneurial
spirit into your life?
Could you set up a smallbusiness on the side, but
(18:46):
something that doesn't have alot of output like upfront costs
?
Is there some sort of skill setthat you can build on?
And again, it can be a bit of aminefield out there these days.
I know the wellness industryfeels so saturated and hard
these days to kind of.
The main reason is, again,people don't have very much
(19:09):
disposable income at the moment.
But is there something that youcan offer to people that
doesn't cost the earth?
Maybe you could do a communitything.
That way people pay a smallamount and then collectively,
then you're helping them andthey are helping you, and it's a
two-way.
It's a two-way situation.
And how much do you valueyourself?
And the value yourself is bysaying no to things.
(19:31):
There's quite often a lot ofpressure, like from families.
You know, when you've got somany birthdays, so many
Christmases to get gifts fromand, um, people, people we love
always having children, and thenthe cost seems to kind of go up
, of finding this, these thingswhich can make a massive
(19:52):
difference, because, like somepeople say, oh it's only like 20
pounds, but 20 pounds can makea big difference to yourself.
So is there ways that you canfind to maybe make some gifts
for these people?
Or, if the kids are gettingolder, just limit, limit the
gift to either just getting forChristmas or for birthdays.
And you know, people might beoffended to start with, but I do
(20:15):
feel like this massive giftgiving thing is a thing just to
help the people at the top rightbig industry to kind of make a
profit out of.
It's like valentine's day, likethe cost of the roses, the cards
, the dinner, and then forpeople may who may have lost
their partner through death orthrough divorce or through
(20:37):
separation, or may have chosento be on their own, but then
feel kind of inadequate.
Or, and then there's alwaysthat thing in the office where
one girl gets flowers, or oneboy, or they or whoever gets
flowers.
Um, there's always that thingin the office where someone gets
flowers and then everyone elsemay think, oh, why didn't I get
(21:00):
flowers in the office?
And again, do you really needthose flowers like it, or, by
all means, if you get them andyou love them.
I'm not like a screw driverthinking, oh no, don't send
flowers or don't receive flowers.
What I'm saying is the thingsthat are really, really
important.
If it was, if it's your end ofyour days now, would it be how
(21:22):
many bunches of flowers I've got, or would it be, rather, how
much of a deeper connection wasI able to make in a
realistically loving and kindand real way with my loved ones,
and I feel that that would beof much more importance.
Another thing that can reallyhelp one navigate through this
(21:44):
difficult terrain at the momentis routines, and there's all
different routines fromdifferent cultures and different
ways of being.
When I've been through times ofgreat difficulty, I've found
like a mantra is something thathas really helped me, and I
can't really verbalize how, butit's kind of just by doing that
(22:08):
same thing every day and,especially for those of you who
struggle with kind of a silentmeditation, by doing a mantra
instead.
It kind of helps to build thatfoundation of kind of
distracting the mind, or ratherfeeling the energy and the
devotion of that particularmantra and as you sound that
(22:32):
mantra and you're in that mantraand you be with that mantra.
Some of these mantras have thepower to change our world and I
know that because there was atime, many years ago, that I was
going through such a difficulttime.
It's very personal to me so Idon't need to share the details,
but I was having like a reallyrough six months and then I did
(22:56):
this beautiful mantra and it'squite a complex mantra.
It was lines and lines long um,and I learned it and I did it
every single day and it didchange my world and just having
the devotion and the trust inthat mantra can can move
mountains.
So maybe mantra is not thething for you, maybe it's a
(23:17):
prayer.
By repeating that prayer everysingle day, but in a way that
you feel devoted, loving andtrue to that, that is going to
have a massive, massive impactupon your world.
So I'm going to share with youright now a mantra that's going
to help.
(23:38):
One of the first deities that Iever connected with was um lord
ganesh.
Um he if, for those of youdon't know and if you already
know, you don't have to listenbut he's he's the god with the
elephant head and helps us getthrough our obstacles.
It's associated with wealth,prosperity and helps us to
(24:01):
remove our obstacles, and italso brings a lot of luck.
And I have this beautifulpainting of Ganesh, which I
bought many decades ago fromIndia, and I always feel it
brings me kind of a sense ofpeace, joy and prosperity.
So for today's meditation we'regoing to chant this together.
(24:24):
Top tips for the meditation iseither sit nice and cross-legged
on the floor with a nice,straight back always nice to sit
on a block or a cushion orthat's not available for you you
sit in a chair with the backnice and straight.
The important thing is you'renot slouching and if you're
doing something that requires alittle concentration, all you
need to do is just pause thisand you can reconvene the
(24:47):
meditation at a time that isgood for you.
If you're doing the meditation,let's begin.
So take a nice, calm, deepbreath as you inhale, a nice,
calm, deep breath as you exhale.
Om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om GamGanapati Namaha, om Gam Ganapati
(25:29):
Namaha, om Gam Ganapati Namaha,om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om Gam
Ganapati Namaha, om Gam GanapatiNamaha, om Gam Ganapati Namaha,
(25:57):
om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om GamGanapati Namaha.
So, slowly, take a nice, calm,deep inhalation, a nice, calm,
deep exhalation, and repeat thatmantra as often as you would
like 108 times is always ideal.
(26:19):
If you can slip it in, you cando it.
You can do it in your head ifyou're not like traveling and
you obviously don't want to sayit out loud, but as much as
possible, and hopefully thatwill help you navigate through
this difficult terrain.
Lovely to hear from you,remember.
I can do online energy healingsessions which may help kick
(26:40):
start your meditation practice,so do reach out to us if you're
interested in that.
Hello everybody.
This is Awaken ConsciousConversations podcast.
I'm your host, the Gentle YogaWarrior, and this podcast is
about life, life and learningand various self-hosted podcasts
which I've been doing for awhile due to circumstances, but
I have got some guests lined up,I've booked them in and they're
(00:20):
going to be on the show verysoon, but not this week.
This week is a self-hosted show.
I am fresh back from Tamil Naduand Kerala and I had a bit of
an adventure.
I don't know if you heard lastweek's podcast episode, but I
went into a bit detail aboutthat but it was all the emotion.
(00:41):
So there was happiness, sadness, joy, there was reluctance,
there was flow, there was lifeand there was death,
unfortunately, in the, in the,in the seeing like dead animals
on the road, and also kind ofdeath in the sense of the way of
being.
And there was very much, a lotof devotion, um, having the
(01:04):
grace to go into the temples andrespect the traditions and have
the blessings from the variouspriests and and looking at the
deities and getting the energyfrom that which, before I
embarked on this particularpilgrimage, I didn't have so
much understanding about.
Like I've led a fairly yogiclifestyle for at least 20 years
(01:30):
and I have been to India beforea long while ago.
But and devotion has alwaysbeen something that's very close
to me.
I had a period of time when Iwas very devoted to Krishna and
I kind of got it in that way.
But this is like next level,going in and seeing all the
(01:51):
things that were kind ofdifficult for me.
It's kind of standing out in acountry that is it can be a bit
of a culture shock if you're notused to it a very beautiful and
warm country, but also a veryreal country and kind of
everything is appears as it is,which is which is one of the
(02:11):
beauties of the place.
And I've come back and it'squite cold here and the cold
weather I kind of like.
I like jumpers and warmth andthings like that.
But it's also been, it's been abit of a rough transition,
especially now because theemergence of spring is trying to
make its first um signs hereagainst the backlog of winter.
(02:32):
And again, I always talk aboutthe weather on every podcast.
But it has a big significanceand and and to what we're doing
and where we're at and stuff.
So it is of great importance,hence why I always mention it.
Um, so, believe it or not,today is a full moon and it's a
(02:57):
full moon in Virgo, and Virgo isall about practicalities and
really detail-orientated.
One of my favorites, favoritesigns um, my child, if they had
made it for you to birth, wouldhave been a Virgo, and some of
my best friends are Virgos and II think Virgos are such a
lovely, lovely sign.
(03:17):
So it's a full moon in Virgos,it's a full moon and getting
down to practical things and andstuff like that and something
again, that is a good thing tokind of um take into
consideration as we navigatethrough these full moons.
And it's not always easy.
And I'm trying to kind ofdissect my mind as I came not
(03:43):
literally, like philosophically,since I came back from the trip
, because whenever I've donethese big life-changing trips,
one thing is for sure life hasnever stayed the same Because
I've changed.
So life changes and it's likethe stuff that we build our
foundations on from our past andhow it kind of erupts.
(04:05):
You know, we can have thesetriggers that set us off and
erupt us and unsettle us, andthat is part of being human in
many aspects, definitely.
But then there's kind of likethese really frustrating stuck
things and there's all thesetheories of like why certain
people thrive and other peopledon't, and certain families
(04:28):
thrive and other families findit hard, and who knows why that
is.
But I say there's some thingswe can't control.
We can control our reactions tothings and how, how life is,
and that's the only thing, thegrace, really, that we have.
And everyone I'm speaking to atthe moment is struggling.
(04:50):
They're struggling because lifein so many ways is so expensive
.
In the UK, since the year 2020,the cost of living has gone up
by 20 percent, so there's been a20 percent increase in the cost
of living and it's been.
(05:11):
The thing is companies arestruggling so much that they
have not been able to give theirstaff unless you're really
lucky a 20 percent rise, andit's made it very, very hard.
Everyone is kind of living likelike paycheck to paycheck and
people, even people in reallysuccessful careers, are having
(05:32):
or unsuccessful careers.
It just seems from myexperience and the conversations
I've had with people, it seemsto be like everyone, regardless
of your financial um status andthe taxation laws, and there
seems to be just like more andmore laws coming all the time
that make it even harder forpeople.
So it's very easy to getdisheartened when we're all
(05:53):
working so hard and yet we feel,on a material level, perhaps we
may not have as much to show aswhat we wish to show.
Um, and that can be verytriggering indeed because, like,
like, who wants to work thewhole life and kind of be a
slave to this system, thatdoesn't really support us and
then perhaps, when we get old,doesn't support us either, by
(06:16):
either taking the money,sticking us in homes, etc.
So it's very easy.
The reason I'm saying theseworst case scenarios is it's
very easy to see everything fromthat really negative lens.
And I'm not saying that thesethings aren't true.
What my job is to kind of helpreframe our lens, and it's not
to say that we should put it ofall these things that are so
(06:36):
very wrong in this world.
Equally, there's only so muchthat we can change.
We can try and change thingsand perhaps one day things will
change, but the only thing thatwe can change we can try and
change things and perhaps oneday things will change, but the
only thing that we can trulytrain to right this moment is
our attitude and mindset towardsthings.
And I'm going to sidestep backto India, because there is a
(06:58):
link between these two.
So when I was doing thisnighttime pilgrimage and my feet
were so cut because I like tohave my feet covered, like I've
tried walking barefoot I'vealways ended up with either
splinters, glass and ticks,other foreign bodies in my feet.
So generally I tend to keep myshoes on the lesser notes of
(07:20):
surface that I know what's there.
But even then when I've managedto get stuff in my feet, but
that's just something going onwith me and my feet which I kind
of need to deal with.
But anyway, we're doing thisnight time pilgrimage and my
feet were so badly cut I wascovered in mosquito bites.
I had forgot to take malariastuff with me.
I think I touched on this onlast week's episode, but I
really felt like each step feltquite difficult and then, um, as
(07:44):
the journey of of the time awaywent on, I picked up some food
poisoning as well.
Um, and then we're eating inreally remote places and when
I'm kind of doing a bit of achange, I kind of feel like I
need kind of like comfort foodwhich sounds really kind of
(08:04):
delicate, but it is the truth.
So I was kind of skipping a fewmeals, which probably wasn't
the best, the best thing to do,but I was just feeling so ill.
And then you know, when you,when you cook and eating other
people's, you don't know what'snecessarily gone into it and, um
, so what is me?
I was feeling so kind of likefed up at one point because,
(08:27):
like the clothes it was hard toget to the laundry, so I was
having to like try and washthings and it was.
I just found it really kind ofdifficult.
And there was one point where Ijust kind of burst into tears.
It was the day when there was afuneral of a loved one which I
couldn't be there because I wasaway.
The town we were staying in wasvery unfriendly.
(08:48):
All other towns were lovely,but this town just felt so
difficult.
And then, like I was walkingalong and I was getting way more
attention than what I wanted toget, and then, like I was
trying to cross the road, so Iwas just as you he hear my voice
, I'm just describing things andI'm just going like on this
(09:09):
negative spiral.
I was like this is wrong, thisis wrong, this is wrong.
Trying to see it from this lensof perfection of how I wanted to
be, specifically this day whenit was the funeral of a loved
one, I had this idea of goingout into nature and having time
to kind of like, be and reflect,and instead we were in this
(09:29):
really hectic, hectic, hectic,hectic city where it just felt
like I was going to die everytime I was crossing the road and
, um, there was a lot morerubbish on the sides of the
street in this particular citythan other ones.
My I was going through thisreally down spiral because I
really wanted to be with myfamily, and then we're trying to
(09:50):
cross the road and then there'slike this giant pig fighting
with this big cow over some food, and they were like fighting
over it and I was just seeingeverything was half empty.
And then we went to the hoteland the hotel all the other
hotels had been clean, even ifthey were basic, they had been
(10:11):
clean, but this one was notclean, like the.
The room was fine, but thehallways were full of like dirt
and just like left food traysthat were there for hours.
You went up to the?
Um, to the restaurant, and theplace where you washed the hands
was filthy.
So I made this consciousdecision I didn't want to eat
anything in this particularplace because my stomach was
(10:33):
upset.
So again, I'm building thisbackstory.
You can see how negative I'mspeaking.
Of course it was really hot,but what?
The moment that I kind ofmanaged to switch that day when
I spoke to my family and it wasvery moving.
My partner went to thisparticular pilgrimage outside
(10:54):
and he came back with the guideand then we went to this
exhibition before some food andthen this woman pushed me on the
stairs.
I don't know if she pushed meon purpose, it might have been
accident but then it just mademe feel really unsafe and I was
just seeing again.
Everything was half empty.
But then I went to thisrestaurant and I felt so okay,
(11:19):
it didn't bother me thateveryone was staring and the
owner of the restaurant or themanager was so nice that I
really enjoyed my food.
But I've kind of gone on a bitsorry about that, but I was just
trying to really build up how Iwas feeling this particular day
and I was just seeing the worldas this difficult place.
And, yes, that particular daywas one of the most difficult
(11:42):
days on the trip and my leastfavorite where, but it had a lot
of learning in it because I wasgetting so fixed of how I
wanted this day to be, as Iremembered this relative and I
had this vision of like kind ofjust wandering through
countryside etc.
And it just wasn't the reality.
(12:03):
I was stuck in this hotel thatI really didn't like and in the
town where it didn't feelparticularly warm to me and it
was.
It was kind of really tough.
So I couldn't just let thatdictate the rest of the holiday.
But when, as we left the nextday, I just suddenly felt a bit
lighter because I realized thelesson in this is that because
(12:27):
this place was a completely newplace, this town like I, you get
a general feel of all thedifferent towns and all the
towns are very different.
I had it fixed in my mind thatit had to be a set way.
But the good thing was isbecause it was because I had to
stay present all the time, eventhough I found that day, those
(12:50):
well, it was two days actuallyin that town very uncomfortable,
I was able.
I was able to fully be in themoment and, in the end, able to
process what was happening andalso on the fact that I was
upset.
It wasn't where I wanted to be,I wasn't enjoying it and um,
(13:12):
but that image of seeing the pigfight with the cow over the
food, it kind of really is quitea daunting but powerful
symbology.
Um, because the reality was thatthe pig was being reared by
someone for food, obviously, andthe cow for milk or maybe meat
(13:35):
as well um, who knows and butthey were fighting over these
scraps of food.
But, in the great scheme ofthings, um, they both probably
had a very kind of short and sadlife ahead of them in many ways
, and they were too bothered inthe moment of arguing over this
(14:00):
food to kind of see the bigpicture and instead they could
just wander off.
This is a bit romanticized, butbear with me.
They could wander off, maybeinto the countryside and and
kind of live a bit more of afreer life possibly.
And and I just thought that islike my ego in many ways it's
(14:22):
like it's kind of got fixed andset on how it worked.
I wanted to be, as I remembered, this loved one in this town,
which, the thing is right.
Wherever you go in the world,there's going to be some places
that aren't compatible with yourenergy.
Some places are A lot of thetime.
In India, the, the energieswere really beautiful, even in
(14:45):
places that were challenging.
Right.
Someone could come to some townin the UK and think it was kind
of miserable if it's not theright energy or perhaps they
went to the wrong area and itwasn't the right thing.
So it's kind of no judgment onTamil Nadu.
It was a very beautiful stateand a lot of it's to do with how
my mind was feeling andthinking on this particular day.
(15:09):
So has there been instances andcases in your life where you've
had like one of these really baddays and everything just seems
to be stacked against you?
Have you been able to allow theemotions you're feeling but
then step back.
What the lesson is?
Even if it was an uncomfortableday and free, how can you use
(15:29):
that lesson in the future?
So my lesson learned was kindof to not get fixed and not
judge and and also, if somethingisn't to my liking, then just
try and find the things thatlike that one does like.
So I enjoyed speaking to myfamily that day.
The smile from the manager, whomade me and my partner feel
(15:51):
very welcome and in therestaurant, made a massive
difference.
It was so nice because theywould talk to me like I was a
human being in a really kind wayand that sounds.
Not that people hadn't beentalked to be a human being, but
generally people hadn't reallyspoken too much in this town but
then understandably so hadn'treally spoken much to them.
(16:13):
Um, it felt a bit awkward.
And I felt awkward and that'sfine.
You know, some days you'regoing to feel awkward and stuff
like that.
So there's, there's all kinds ofdifferent ways in which life
can bring us lessons, and quiteoften the trend in self-help is
to be like oh yes, everythinghas to be positive, everything
has to be magical, I have to begreat, good all the time.
(16:33):
I have to feel optimistic allthe time.
All this isn't wrong with me,but I think that's denying one's
feelings.
I was not feeling optimisticthat day, but did I find an
optimistic lesson from it?
Yes, of course.
Am I likely to go there again?
Probably not, but never saynever was.
Was this a lesson in life?
For me, for sure, and it was tofind the sanctuary within.
(16:57):
We can't always controlexternal forces.
So, getting back to the moneyside and how much the cost of
living has gone up by 20% andhow difficult it is for people
that my thing is things neverlast forever and things I'm
optimistic things are going tochange.
But in the meantime we can'tall sit around being miserable
(17:18):
until that happens and insteadwe can boldly go through life
and find ways to find joy andfulfillment.
And sometimes I think the worldis quite arranged to bring us
short-term fixes because wethink that will help us.
The most obvious one is andagain I get takeaway decaf
(17:43):
sometimes is the coffee industry.
Sometimes we think, oh, yes,yes, I really want to have a cup
of coffee.
That's going to save my day andperhaps that really does help
you.
If you have a cup of coffee andit lifts your day, fine.
But if you're having a cup ofcoffee every day and you're
trying to save up to dosomething that's better for you
in your life, is that reallygoing to help you in the long
(18:04):
run?
Could you have coffee once aweek out and the rest of time
have your your own hot drinks athome?
And it's just by doing thesemicro habits that we can learn
to change things.
I totally get it.
Some days, you know, you justfeel so disheartened and, like
you, just think, oh, I just wantthis and want that, but is
(18:26):
there a cheaper alternative thatyou can find, and I'm really
open to hear from you, dearlistener, what are your
solutions when you're trying tosave up for things or kind of
economize on things, and couldyou bring a more entrepreneurial
spirit into your life?
Could you set up a smallbusiness on the side, but
(18:46):
something that doesn't have alot of output like upfront costs
?
Is there some sort of skill setthat you can build on?
And again, it can be a bit of aminefield out there these days.
I know the wellness industryfeels so saturated and hard
these days to kind of.
The main reason is, again,people don't have very much
(19:09):
disposable income at the moment.
But is there something that youcan offer to people that
doesn't cost the earth?
Maybe you could do a communitything.
That way people pay a smallamount and then collectively,
then you're helping them andthey are helping you, and it's a
two-way.
It's a two-way situation.
And how much do you valueyourself?
And the value yourself is bysaying no to things.
(19:31):
There's quite often a lot ofpressure, like from families.
You know, when you've got somany birthdays, so many
Christmases to get gifts fromand, um, people, people we love
always having children, and thenthe cost seems to kind of go up
, of finding this, these thingswhich can make a massive
(19:52):
difference, because, like somepeople say, oh it's only like 20
pounds, but 20 pounds can makea big difference to yourself.
So is there ways that you canfind to maybe make some gifts
for these people?
Or, if the kids are gettingolder, just limit, limit the
gift to either just getting forChristmas or for birthdays.
And you know, people might beoffended to start with, but I do
(20:15):
feel like this massive giftgiving thing is a thing just to
help the people at the top rightbig industry to kind of make a
profit out of.
It's like valentine's day, likethe cost of the roses, the cards
, the dinner, and then forpeople may who may have lost
their partner through death orthrough divorce or through
(20:37):
separation, or may have chosento be on their own, but then
feel kind of inadequate.
Or, and then there's alwaysthat thing in the office where
one girl gets flowers, or oneboy, or they or whoever gets
flowers.
Um, there's always that thingin the office where someone gets
flowers and then everyone elsemay think, oh, why didn't I get
(21:00):
flowers in the office?
And again, do you really needthose flowers like it, or, by
all means, if you get them andyou love them.
I'm not like a screw driverthinking, oh no, don't send
flowers or don't receive flowers.
What I'm saying is the thingsthat are really, really
important.
If it was, if it's your end ofyour days now, would it be how
(21:22):
many bunches of flowers I've got, or would it be, rather, how
much of a deeper connection wasI able to make in a
realistically loving and kindand real way with my loved ones,
and I feel that that would beof much more importance.
Another thing that can reallyhelp one navigate through this
(21:44):
difficult terrain at the momentis routines, and there's all
different routines fromdifferent cultures and different
ways of being.
When I've been through times ofgreat difficulty, I've found
like a mantra is something thathas really helped me, and I
can't really verbalize how, butit's kind of just by doing that
(22:08):
same thing every day and,especially for those of you who
struggle with kind of a silentmeditation, by doing a mantra
instead.
It kind of helps to build thatfoundation of kind of
distracting the mind, or ratherfeeling the energy and the
devotion of that particularmantra and as you sound that
(22:32):
mantra and you're in that mantraand you be with that mantra.
Some of these mantras have thepower to change our world and I
know that because there was atime, many years ago, that I was
going through such a difficulttime.
It's very personal to me so Idon't need to share the details,
but I was having like a reallyrough six months and then I did
(22:56):
this beautiful mantra and it'squite a complex mantra.
It was lines and lines long um,and I learned it and I did it
every single day and it didchange my world and just having
the devotion and the trust inthat mantra can can move
mountains.
So maybe mantra is not thething for you, maybe it's a
(23:17):
prayer.
By repeating that prayer everysingle day, but in a way that
you feel devoted, loving andtrue to that, that is going to
have a massive, massive impactupon your world.
So I'm going to share with youright now a mantra that's going
to help.
(23:38):
One of the first deities that Iever connected with was um lord
ganesh.
Um he if, for those of youdon't know and if you already
know, you don't have to listenbut he's he's the god with the
elephant head and helps us getthrough our obstacles.
It's associated with wealth,prosperity and helps us to
(24:01):
remove our obstacles, and italso brings a lot of luck.
And I have this beautifulpainting of Ganesh, which I
bought many decades ago fromIndia, and I always feel it
brings me kind of a sense ofpeace, joy and prosperity.
So for today's meditation we'regoing to chant this together.
(24:24):
Top tips for the meditation iseither sit nice and cross-legged
on the floor with a nice,straight back always nice to sit
on a block or a cushion orthat's not available for you you
sit in a chair with the backnice and straight.
The important thing is you'renot slouching and if you're
doing something that requires alittle concentration, all you
need to do is just pause thisand you can reconvene the
(24:47):
meditation at a time that isgood for you.
If you're doing the meditation,let's begin.
So take a nice, calm, deepbreath as you inhale, a nice,
calm, deep breath as you exhale.
Om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om GamGanapati Namaha, om Gam Ganapati
(25:29):
Namaha, om Gam Ganapati Namaha,om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om Gam
Ganapati Namaha, om Gam GanapatiNamaha, om Gam Ganapati Namaha,
(25:57):
om Gam Ganapati Namaha, om GamGanapati Namaha.
So, slowly, take a nice, calm,deep inhalation, a nice, calm,
deep exhalation, and repeat thatmantra as often as you would
like 108 times is always ideal.
(26:19):
If you can slip it in, you cando it.
You can do it in your head ifyou're not like traveling and
you obviously don't want to sayit out loud, but as much as
possible, and hopefully thatwill help you navigate through
this difficult terrain.
Lovely to hear from you,remember.
I can do online energy healingsessions which may help kick
(26:40):
start your meditation practice,so do reach out to us if you're
interested in that.
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