Profile on Soniyaa Punjabi of Illuminations

"It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly," said the famous poet Oscar Wilde on the subject of beauty. "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder," is another famous saying on the subject. And of course, "beauty is only skin deep." Each of these sayings suggest beauty is either a virtue possessed from within, or an eye pleasing outward manifestation of the physical form- hardly ever both. Anyone who knows Soniyaa Punjabi will agree with me, she completely defies this logic.

Soniyaa is gorgeous. Not just, "pretty girl" gorgeous, but Bollywood movie-star gorgeous. In fact, had life not had other plans for her, that is exactly where we might have seen her- on the silver screen. When Soniyaa graduated from studying Visual Communications at college in London, she moved to India to pursue her dreams of being a Bollywood starlet and a model. It is ironically there that she found Yuvraj Kapadia who introduced her to the world of spirituality and Hypnotherapy, and her life has since, never been the same. Instead of being found on the big screen, Soniyaa can now be found leading meditations, teaching Hypnotherapy or organizing Spiritual events all over the UAE and Oman. She is the owner and founder of Illuminations, a company and a movement that revolves around bringing awareness and joy to people's lives.

My own spiritual journey would not have begun if it wasn't for Soniyaa and Illuminations. Having wondered about the presence and role of God, Karma, past lives, astrology, angels, etc, almost all my life, I had become a voracious reader on the subject, and was looking for answers to my questions that would make sense to me. I met Yuvraj through Soniyaa a few days before my twenty-eight birthday, and as had been predicted by uber-astrologer Suneeta Mennon, a birthday that would represent a major turning point in my life. Our meeting lasted a little over an hour, during which Yuvraj was be able to satisfactorily answer all my questions using science to draw that fine line between fact and popular fiction. While Yuvraj and his wife, Neeta, would return to Dubai every now and then to conduct therapies and workshops on the subject, it was Soniyaa I turned to for guidance and understanding in their absence. A strange occurrence considering, up until then, I viewed her just as being my good friend Aarti's younger (and spoilt) sister.

Soniyaa's name made regular appearances in my Khaleej Times column, as I'd often quote her views on life or small tidbits of advice she had for me. That's the type of friend she is- the one that cares, listens, empathizes and then imparts tiny nuggets of wisdom you can then incorporate in your life... if you so choose. It is not uncommon for Soniyaa to incorporate spirituality into absolutely EVERYTHING in her life, which can be extremely frustrating for some people (ie: Me!). Having a particularly stressful day? Expect Soniyaa to turn to you and ask, "Ask yourself, why are you attracting this?" Nervous about something? "Don't operate out of fear!"  Just the other day I was poking fun at her about an incident that occured in her younger (and more naive) days when she had just been bitten by the spirituality bug. After a few drinks at dinner I was not very happy to find her getting behind the wheel of her car. "Don't worry! My angels will protect me!" was her curious (and frustrating) response. While she's definitely learnt the difference between right action and faith over the years, she has continued to stay on track and bring so much change to the lives of so many people. I've been so fortunate to watch her come into her own and explore the beauty of the Universe, while herself growing more and more beautiful every day- both, inside and out.

- The incident which has had the biggest impact on my life has been... Perhaps when Ali, one of my closest friends in London at the time passed away in a car accident when we were 19 years old. It brought a lot of questions to my mind about life, death the afterlife, past lives. It made me realize how short life really is despite the illusion of permanency we live in by fighting, living in fear and holding on to so many things. His death triggered me to look for answers beyond what we understand in the physical world. I never really got to say goodbye to him, but if I had the chance I would like to thank him for this gift because that is how I began my spiritual journey. 

- The person living, dead or imaginary I'd like to have dinner with is... My future loving husband… :)

- I'd take him/her/it to dinner to... my house to meet my mother so she can stop worrying! My mom always feels that I am too self involved and too career oriented, and I know settling down would make her the most happiest person in the world. I would love to give that to her and of course for me too!!  

- My definition of God is… Everything which is removed from fear…it then allows divinity to shine through every person, place and object! 

- The one aspect of my life which Spirituality has not affected is... my ability to sometimes behave like a brat with my family, or my annoyance at having to share my things with my sister/brother, when they have always been so kind, loving and generous towards me! Not very spiritual of meL but in my defense I am the baby of my family.  

- The most defining moment of my journey in this "work" has been... Every time I have been able to face my greatest fears in situations where I have come out a much stronger, wiser person. For those who know me well, have also known that many times I have allowed a stammering issue that I was born with to define me. Therefore I would use it as an excuse to limit me or hold me back mainly in the area of my work. When it comes to everything else, I act like star!

However, the though of speaking in front of so many people, is probably what scared me the most! So when I gave my first awareness talk in front of 40 people, or when I taught my first hypnotherapy course, and most recently when I was sitting in the private reserve of the six senses in Oman, about to address a group of  40 corporate men from all over the world, I had prayed harder and meditated most sincerely then I have ever done in my life! This was also at a time when I was questioning whether this work with all the drama that I had gone through in the last one year was even right for me. All of a sudden there was a wave of strength that came over me and I went up there to give the best workshop I have ever done. At that moment, with deep gratitude, I knew that I owed this sense of accomplishment at having coming this far despite so many challenges, to this “work”. It was quite a dramatic moment with the sea breeze hitting my face, this lovely yellow butterfly fluttering around me against the beautiful rustic background.

People may define spirituality or holistic healing as a tool which can heal all diseases, levitate, or perhaps a route to enlightenment. I cannot comment about all of the above since I am still apprehensive about my stammering once in a while, I still act like a bit of a brat and I cant move objects with the power of my mind. Forget that, I cant even use the power of my mind to stop me from eating chocolate cake :)

For me spirituality and all the tools I have experienced, has helped strengthen me at the very core of my being, by establishing a deep connection with the divine, and the confidence of knowing that everything that’s happening in my life right now is happening through divine sanction. And most importantly, the power of self love, self belief and self awareness.

So that I can look myself in the mirror every morning and say, SONIYAA YOU ARE DESTINED FOR GREATNESS!   

To know more about Soniyaa and Illuminations, go to www.illuminationsworld.com
Also, don't miss the opportunity to hear Dr Yuvraj Kapadia speak in Dubai at "The Awakening"- A talk on the 27th of April at MOE. Email info@illuminationsworld.com for more info.