My experience with Buddhist Chanting- NMRK

Happy New Year all! If you've been following my blog for a while (by which I mean, if you read it when I actually posted on it- apologies for the absence!!) you will know that spirituality has been a huge part of my life. I am a certified clinic hypnotherapist, having studied under the amazing Yuvraj Kapadia (who teaches at Illuminations in Dubai), have studied Reiki, am a Theta Healing Teacher (unfortunately that didn't work out too well for me), have gone to Pranic Healers, done Angel Healings, studied a bit of I Ching and went through a phase where I pretty much read any book on spirituality I could find. In the beginning I found I just couldn't get enough of the stuff.. it felt like this whole world had opened in front of me, a world I knew nothing about, a world that gave me a glimpse into other worlds, of worlds we will go to after this world ceases to exist. Needless to say, I was fascinated.
This went on for a few years and the whole point of "healings" really is as the name suggests, to heal. The more into healing modalities I got, the more disappointed I'd get with the people involved. Worse than an individual who is completely oblivious to their shallowness, is one who thinks they are very evolved and are completely blind to their faults, or justifying in their nature of it. A lot of the people involved in this business (make no mistake, it is a business) have money issues, ego issues, think they are better than others, and are riddled with insecurities. Of course there are exceptions, but having studied these modalities I realized I was very unqualified to be a healer, and besides, I HAD a day job. Many others around me studied for the sole purpose of then becoming healers and charging people absurd amounts of money per hour after investing in a few weeks of courses. There is no exam and no sifting process, and unfortunately with the stigma surrounding psychiatrists and psychologists in this part of the world, a lot of people opt to go to extremely unqualified and very immature "healers" for some serious issues in their life- be they medical or emotional. While you may think it unfair for me to bash them, please know that is not my intention. Please heed this as a warning if you're looking to go to one of them, find that you're paying crazy amounts of money to someone without any changes occuring or if you're obsessed with them thinking they have some extra ordinary powers. I need to reiterate again here- I could have been one of them so also feel I'm in a safe position to comment, and while there are some really great ones, they are few and far between. Also, despite the thousands I paid in not only undergoing, but learning different modalities, I found things in my life for many years just stuck, unmoving, and I guess it would be safe for me to use the word, unhealed.
I had completely snapped out of all things "spiritual" for a few years and had embraced living my life daily and accepting myself and my problems for what they were. In hindsight I'm SO happy I went through that phase, as that path of acceptance was more "spiritual" than the part where I was constantly trying to figure out the "why" behind things and trying to change them (although I'm extremely grateful for the knowledge I accumulated too as I'm able to make an informed decision for myself about what works and what doesn't). And one day, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo was introduced to me, and that's when the miracles began to happen.
A friend of mine who was not one of the most positive people I know (to put it politely) was visiting town and she was absolutely beaming. So much had changed about her, yet outwardly nothing had changed at all. "What happened to you?" I kept asking her through our meeting, and she kept saying, "I'll tell you!" I finally managed to pin her down for a coffee and said, "TALK!" when she told me about the chanting she had been doing. I was riveted. She was peaceful, positive, hopeful and had an amazing amount of clarity and insight about her life, something I'd never witnessed in the decade and a half I'd known her. "Try it," she said to me, and that evening itself, I did.
This meeting happened in Novemver 2012 and around January 2013 is when I really got into chanting properly, so have been practicing it for around a year. While my friend lives outside of Dubai where there are many meetings and an amazing support system of SGI (the organization), I have been practicing it for the most part alone by myself. It is said that in the beginning you see amazing changes and great victories and there is a name for it called "beginners benefit." As I didn't have anyone to tell me that, I think I blocked the fear that my beginners benefit had a cut off period, and honestly 2013 was a year of magnificent miracles. Don't get me wrong, I had many, many low periods and many struggles, with some amazing circumstances and learnings come out of it. For me, as I said earlier, the biggest problem I had in my life was of being "stuck"in many aspects, and things sort of flowed from one to another. These happened almost after Day 1 of me chanting. "It's a coincidence" I kept saying... how could 5 to 10 minutes of chanting every couple of days make such a huge difference to my life? It did. And it kept happening.
To give you a few examples- My relationships in my life dramatically improved. I wrote my first novel in a month over the summer of 2013 (fingers crossed for it to get published in 2014... and in case you're wondering how good a novel written in a month can possibly be, the fact that I actually FINISHED something I started was victory enough for me). I had random things happen like Bentley offering me a free car for 6 months, or the Manager of an extremely high end boutique here calling me out of the blue to offer me HER discount for a ridiculously expensive crocodile skin bag I had passed up on because of the price tag. Crazy, weird, amazing experiences!! And these are the tip of the iceberg as I don't want to get into stuff that happened in my personal life. I have since talked of my experiences and gotten a lot of people into chanting too, and it overjoys me to hear of their victories and miracles they are experiencing!
So how exactly does one even start, you ask? Well, sit straight in a comfortable position with your eyes open, and in a clear voice say "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo"... and repeat. That's it :) It helps me greatly to chant along with a YouTube video that I use (you can try using this one as its a lot slower) and start with just a couple of minutes a day. Also know that you don't have to be Buddhist or convert to chant, and there are a lot of sites that talk about chanting and give you more information- http://www.sgi.org/ is a great one.
If you have more questions about NMRK or my experiences with it I'd be happy to answer them in the comments below (please do not send me emails), and of course, if you'd like to share your experiences if you chant too I'd be thrilled to read them. Good luck!

Theta Healing and Me- Part 2

As you may know, a few days back I celebrated my blog's one year anniversary during which I had asked people to tell me more about what the favourite parts of my blog were. A lot of people wrote in appreciating different parts of my blog and a few wrote in with requests on particular subjects (Thanks to everyone who wrote in or Tweeted by the way!). Two people asked me to go more into detail about the subject of spirituality, specifically quoting back to the article I'd written on Theta healing- "Theta Healing and Me" which was one of my first few posts upon creating this blog. While over the past year my take on spirituality has completely shifted, that will be another post for another day. Today I wanted to clear up a few things that I'd talked about in my Theta post, and my experience with this particular mode of healing only. While only two people referred back to it, my previous post is one of the first few that come up when you google "Theta Healing Dubai" and I didn't want readers of my blog or random people that were guided to it it to be misguided after reading my first post.
If you haven't read my original post, I'll give you a brief synopsis about Theta in my life- It was something I learned, fell in love with, proceeded to fly to Vegas to take a course with Vianna Stibal (the one who discovered the modality and is the Founder of Think) and then on to become a Teacher of Theta. I never intended on teaching, but I like being thorough with subjects that interest me and since I happened to be in the US a month or two after I'd learned the course, I decided to do the teacher's training while there. Momentarily, it brought my life a lot of peace and joy and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone I interacted with. I wrote the blog post and was the biggest advocate of Theta around, intended to study it further (there are many different levels and many different courses) and was then spending thousands on Theta Healers in Dubai who had taken the higher courses than me. A friend of mine had with my permission even used my post on her blog too, which is where the second part of my story of the unraveling begins.
One day while generally surfing on the net, I came across my post on my friend's blog, which had a lot of comments below it. The first comment itself made me sit up and take notice and this is what it had to say-
Hi there, I came across your blog & had to comment. I was Vianna Stibal's daughter-in-law for 7 years, and after her son, Josh, left me pregnant w/ our 4th child (for a mistress welcomed into "THInK"), I did some research. Not only did Josh con people out of over $100,000, but ThetaHealing is a well orchestrated lie. Vianna is not a naturopath, as she claims. They've given out illegal Doctorate Degrees. (Vianna didn't even graduate from high school)And, from my research she did NOT heal herself of cancer (and it looks as though she never even had it). She is a charlatan. TH is a well orchestrated pyramid scheme, with deceit at its core. There is a major lawsuit currently... people are asking for their money back. Please just look around before you invest anymore time or money. If you still choose to use ThetaHealing, then I only wish you well! I discuss this on my blog if you care to look... Best to you in everything, Lindsey Stock 

Along with this comment, she had posted the link to her blog- donttreadontruth

I was quite taken aback with this comment and figured that this woman is obviously very disturbed and full of hate and spite to be googling random sites on Theta and posting comments with the aim of discrediting her ex- Mother in Law and must obviously have serious head issues to have created a whole blog dedicated to bringing her down! I've watched enough saas-bahu TV serials on Star Plus (or heard their story lines anyway) and figured the lady was probably just extremely, extremely bitter. Since I have Vianna Stibal as a friend on Facebook, I immediately sent her the email regarding this comment and made her aware if she wasn't already, that such a blog existed. Curiosity got the better of me and I began to check it out myself and read through a lot of her posts. I expected them to be just rants and complaints from different people for whom Theta might not have worked, or worse, from people who hadn't even tried it but were non-believers. What I found however, were some very relevant posts that asked a lot of pertinent questions about Vianna and Theta- Basic ones, that I had not even bothered to ask. Starting with the basic, How do we know for sure she even HAD cancer? (she claimed to have cured herself of the disease) to questioning about witnesses or documented scientific proof that there was some truth to Theta Healing. I felt (and feel) like a real idiot. After spending so much time, money and effort into a modality that claimed to cure cancer and HIV, turn water into juice, move physical objects and nature's elements, and TELEPORTATION (yup, that's a biggie!) I never even bothered to ask for some PROOF that any one single person who had done the highest of levels, or that Vianna herself, had had any success in performing any of these miracles. The students who had completed the highest of levels simply said they were not allowed to demonstrate these special powers, and recently a family member of mine who has gone through all the levels admits that he himself has not been able to perform (for lack of a better word) any of these, but that others in his class were. He also added that even they, despite being his classmates, were "not allowed to"show him their abilities. Back to the night I read the lady's blog, I spent a few hours going through her posts before finally relenting and going to sleep. The next morning I'd received a message from Vianna on Facebook that I'm copying and pasting here-
 Vianna Stibal

• yep shes my ex daughter in law my son left her for another woman I dont know why she pulled me in to this but hes taking her to court soon so I guess it will get interesting. You know I gave her so much money it wasnt even funny.I took her to hawaii .she was such abad daughter in law. She is as strange as she sounds she took the grand kid and moved to vagas poor little kids.

Ok so now I'm thinking, I get crazy lady who is vengeful after being left while she's pregnant with her 4th child but THIS?! This email coming from a person who is a spiritual leader to TENS OF THOUSANDS of people following her, and who has specific courses in Theta that help in getting people rid of prejudices against specific people, races and traditions (it is called Theta World Relations) and who has started a healing modality, the basis of which is "Creator's Unconditional Love"??!! From that moment on, I had nothing to do with Theta Healing again.

I understand when a lot of the Theta practitioners tried to explain to me that "she's only human" and had all different types of excuses for this message. I just couldn't help feeling like a bit of chump, given that I was looking for someone to help me grow spiritually and was paying money to people to take courses from them or go to them for "healing" while I feel I should have gone back to the basics- meditation and prayer. I today believe that meditation gives a person the same type of "high" that I was feeling during those weeks. Moreover I know a whole bunch of people who used Theta heavily for "manifestation" including using it for every day use like finding parking spots or winning at Poker to using it for bigger things like attracting their soulmates or increasing the flow of money in their lives. Most of these people that I know personally, have not seen any massive changes (if any) in their lives and in the long run, neither have I. Mind you, I don't want to receive hate mail from believers, neither am I saying that the Theta Healers are frauds. This post is just a continuation of one I'd written a year back, as I only think it's fair for me to finish the story and not have someone take a course or have anything to do with Theta only after reading my rave review. I just wanted to present all my facts and then let you make of it what you will.
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And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html

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Is the Japan earthquake the begining of 2012?

By now you would have all heard about the 8.9 (on the richter scale) earthquake in Japan and followed the news, horrified to see the massive destruction that followed the quake and tsunami it caused. In fact, since the beginning of 2011, you might have noticed that a whole host of natural disasters have occured in various parts of the world, usually to disastrous effects. I recently read online a chronicle of natural disasters within the first 12 days of this year, which I thought was quite scary:

• Earthquake magnitude 6.9 Argentina-January 1
• Earthquake magnitude 5.2 - Southern XinJiang, China-January 1
• Earthquake 7.1 magnitude Chile-January 2
• More Than 1,000 Dead Birds Fall From Sky in Arkansas-January 2
• Dead fish cover 20-mile section of Arkansas River-January 2
• Uganda yellow fever outbreak kills more than 40-January 3
• Earthquake Near Japan Triggers Tsunami Warning-January 3
• Powerful earthquake hits south-east Iran-January 3
• Earthquake 7.0 magnitude hits northern Argentina-January 3
• Hundreds of dead blackbirds found in Louisiana-January 3
• 10,000s of Birds found dead in Manitoba-January 3
• Thousands of Birds fall from the sky in South America-January 3
• Major Flood in Rockhampto,Australia-January 3
• Dead Birds Found In Kentucky-January 4
• 100 tons of dead fish wash up on Brazil's shores-January 4
• Hundreds of dead birds found in East Texas-January 5
• Dead birds in Sweden, millions of dead fish in Maryland, Brazil and New Zealand-January 5
• Shift of Earth's magnetic north pole affects Tampa airport-January 5
• 40,000 crabs found dead on England beaches-January 6
• Heavy floods leave at least 35 dead in Brazil-January 6
• Earthquake 4.5 magnitude in California-January 12
• Huge Waves Destroy Homes in E. Indonesia-January 12

(Source- Copied from here)
So much destruction has a lot of people questioning, is 2012 really the end of the world? Is all this massive destruction a sign of things to come? Is the myth of 2012 something real and not just an entertaining movie?
In my own life my introduction to spirituality came around 5 years back with my introduction to a man by the name of Dr. Yuvraj Kapadia. Yuvraj is the Founder and Head of an organization in India called the California Hypnosis Institute of India (CHII) and often comes to the UAE to give talks on various subjects and teach Clinical Hypnotherapy to eager students under the banner of Illuminations World. Over the years, Yuvraj has gone from being a teacher (I studied hypnotherapy with him and am a certified Clinical hypnotherapist) to being a friend and I often call on him to chat about life, issues or questions I may have. Since the first time I'd heard about the idea of 2012 was also from him, he was the person I wanted to call to talk about the idea of this phenomenon being a reality. Luckily for me, I found out he was coming to Dubai and I then requested if I could have him dictate his responses for a blog post to which he readily agreed. The following is his take on what it all means-

Hi Yuvraj.. You've been talking about 2012 waaaay before the movie came out. How is your take different from the movie's?
For centuries as man has evolved from the animal, we have always suffered from a hangover of animal traits in our being, which means we are still competing, feeling threatened, we still believe that power and territory are vital to our sense of self worth and the shift is prelude to moving away from the animal state in us, and allowing much more of the divine human to take charge, which in short defines 2012 as a huge shift of evolutionary consciousness. So in terms of human behavior, what we are focusing on is a shift from a fear-based existence to a love based existence. From a competitive survival environment, to a cooperative thriving environment. We are shifting from benchmarks of one upmanship to a state where we acknowledge that everybody is unique and everybody is fine the way the are.
Sine in any shift the environment and the human mind are linked together, a shift in human consciousness will necessary accompany a shift in our environment. This is unique from the movie, because the movie only focuses on the destructive elements of the environment but doesn’t focus on the shift of consciousness.

A lot of conspiracy theorists are pointing to the most recent earthquake in Japan and are looking at it as a sign of things to come for next year. What is your take on it?
The physical environment as we see it today is a manifested expression of our old consciousness. Simply because no matter how prosperous a country is in terms of its physical structure, they result of that prosperity is largely a duality of disparity. So you will see structures going through huge shifts so that a cooperative structure emerges for everyone, a win-win situation for everyone on earth. Other changes we are looking at are change of climate, the equation of water and land being realigned, where the sea will take back what man has vicariously claimed from it.
Other changes include a major uprising of governments, like in the Middle East as we have witnessed, because people are waking up to disintegrity of disparity.
The layman will not be finding himself embarking on a journey of questioning for the purpose of understanding without blindly following doctrine simply because forefathers lived by it. People are waking up to their own power which they have lost through fear, control and suppression.

How can the layman work towards these changes?
With awareness and understanding knowing that this is part of an evolutionary program which will open up into something much better, one will actually let go of the panic and look at the whole shift as a welcome change in the way of life. Should we do that, the transition will be very comfortable for everybody to handle. It is about handling change with maturity and understanding. Change is inevitable. Our response to it is always in our hand. Finally, as we observe one major destruction in a country such as Japan, you will find the world coming together to support the country in crisis, irrespective of cast greed color, which simply shows that these events trigger us to open our hearts and mind which allows us to move towards oneness, which is all what ascension is about anyway!
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Whether we believe that 2012 is an energetic shift to something more positive like Yuvraj says, or whether it is the end of the world as foretold by the Mayan calender, we cannot deny that SOMETHING is going on to which there is no explanation.

Coming back to Japan, most of you would have already seen the video footage of the tsunami on the news, but here are some videos I found online that I thought I'd share with you-

Tsunami in Japan from Jean Labelle on Vimeo.

(Courtesy- Russia Times)
Here is a video of the buildings swaying back and forth-



Another extremely interesting link is a post I found on the Japanese Nuclear reactors and whether or not it will pose a threat to the country's safety. It is the view of an MIT research scientist and can be found here.
It has been heart wrenching for me to hear about all the destruction taking place as Japan has a very special space in my heart. It was one of my Father's favourite countries and is where his career successes began beginning from his association with Sony. My high school roommate is Japanese and my best friend is originally from Kobe, Japan. Fortunately for me, all my friends and their families are well, and I received my last confirmation from my ex-roommate earlier today, letting me know she is fine. My prayers go out for all those who've lost someone they love to this terrible tragedy.


If you're interested in learning more about ascension or want to watch Yuvraj talk about the shift taking place, he will be giving a talk later today on the "Eight Steps to Ascension." Here are the details listed below-

Intention: ‘The eight Steps to Ascension’ outlined by Dr. Yuvraj Kapadia, will bring you further clarity, purpose and enlightenment as you continue your journey during these transitional times on Earth.
Date: Monday, March 14th, 2011
Timings: 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Location: MEETING ROOM, HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AL SAFA PARK, NEXT TO GULF NEWS OFFICE
Investment: AED 250/- per person
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Story of Another's Miracle!

A few days back I posted a story here about a miracle I believe I've witnessed. A really amazing thing happened after that.. I had a lot of people share their own stories of their miracles with me. Some narrated it when they met me, while some wrote in to tell me theirs, and one of the most mind blowing ones was shared with me, unprompted, without the person having read my blog or knowing anything about my experience. I was attracting miraculous stories from everywhere, which in itself I considered to be a mini miracle in itself!
Another incredible story was sent in from a reader of mine whom I've never met, but whose story has absolutely blown me away! She was kind enough to let me share it with you, as long as I changed a few details to keep her identity under wraps. I have changed a few things where possible, and in other places I've just blocked out the names of cities and places so as to not to spoil the flow of her writing. Hope you guys enjoy her marvelous story...


Dear Kiran,

So here is the story from my own life of what I consider a
miracle. It's not an appearance like your miracle but it is still
wonderful and supernatural occurence.

Just as I was finishing high school and preparing my university
applications, my father was keen that I take a year off between school
and uni and go travel, work, experience something new.  He felt that a
gap year would give me a little perspective before going to
University.  I used that gap year to travel and teach.  I spent 6
months teaching in a school in xxx. During that time. the
headmistress grew very fond of me and gifted me with a beautiful small
silver statue of a hindu deity.    I have taken that small statue with
me everywhere over the years: to university in xxxx and in xxxx, to
xxxx where I went to University, to xxxx when I studied for my Masters,
back to xxx and xxxx and now I have it with me in Dubai right next
to my bed in our home.  In most of the places I've lived, it's been
alone and away from my immediate family.  I am a very "spiritual"
person but I'm very private about it.  I will go to temple on Diwali
and on my birthday but most of my interaction with religion takes
place in the privacy of my home.  So I've often found myself praying
to the little silver statue and over the years, as it followed me
everywhere, when I missed my family, felt sad or upset, prayers
started becoming discussions with the silver statue deity.  I would
ask it the questions I would ask God when praying and speak to it like
I do with close friends and my family.

One day, as I asked one of my many questions, I noticed a change in
the facial expression of the deity.  From an impassive look, I noticed
a smile.  I thought I was dreaming and assumed it was my imagination.
But I looked closely and i knew it was not imaginary, the deity
smiled.    From then on, I would pay closer attention to the deity's
facial expressions, occasionally impassive but quite frequently I
noticed a smile.    The only person I ever shared this with was my
mother.  Quite frankly, I am not sure most of my friends, religious or
not, would find it normal that I base some of my important decisions
or reassurances based on the smile of a deity.   Anyway, the miracle I
experienced happened much later.  In 2005, I was switching companies
and asked for my new employer to give me a month off between jobs.  I
took off to Mauritius on my own, rented a beach house and spent a
month, travelling around the island, reading, writing, resting ect.
I'm a very keen photographer and I always say the two most important
things when I travel are my passport and my camera.  At the time, I
had a manual Nikon SLR which I loved.   Usually before a trip or a big
decision / event, I speak to my deity.  I mentioned my trip to
Mauritius and prayed that my month on my own would go well and that I
would be safe....  The deity didn't smile back but just remained
impassive with a stern look. It was the kind of look that inspired
fear / concern.  I looked again and just couldn't see that reassuring
smile of approval that I was hoping for.   I got nervous as this was
the day before my departure.    Now I travel a lot and quite
frequently to some far fetched places but i have NEVER bought travel
insurance. Mainly because I'm a careful traveler and nothing had
happened to me and i didn't feel the need to get insurance.  However,
this time around, seeing that I wasn't getting the reassurances of my
deity, I freaked out a little and ran out to a travel agency and
bought an insurance from them just as they were about to close.   That
travel insurance turned out to be an extraordinary blessing....  I had
a boating accident in Mauritius and my camera went overboard. I was
devastated by the loss of my expensive photography gear.  As soon as I
returned to xxxx, I contacted my travel insurer and what do you
know, camera replaced within a week!

Now I know this story has a material side to it: I lost equipment but
didn't have to pay for its replacement....but I look at the greater
picture and see that my deity had warned me that something bad was
coming my way.    The above is just one illustration of my miracle
deity.  As a matter of fact, I have many examples (too long to
enumerate on email) where my deity has been a silent guide and has
given me clarity on what direction to take when at a confusing
crossroad.  I consult my deity for everything and i when it doesn't
smile, I wont' take that course of action.

To date I can honestly say, I have only had nice things happen to me
and I am in part grateful to my deity....Your story today confirmed to
me that miracles happen, we just have to believe in them.

On a last note, let me take this opportunity to tell you how much I
love reading your blog. It's insightful, witty and so well
written...please continue to find the time to share your ideas /
thoughts / miracles with us.

 I would love for you guys to share some more of your stories of miracles you might have experienced or witnessed or heard of. Please feel free to email them to me if you don't want to post them here, or write about them in the comments field below. And remember, miracles happen to those who believe in them! It's like one of my favourite writers, Paulo Coelho said, "We have to stop and be humble enough to understand that there is something called mystery."
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Powerful speeches and the men who gave them

Last night while out for dinner with friends, the topic turned to timeless speeches. While Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" remains probably the most powerful and timeless speeches of them all, these are more recent, more relevant, and much more basic.

My favourite is Steve Job's commencement address given to the Stanford students in 2005. I was surprised that a friend of mine hadn't heard it. If you've gone through my blog at all, you'll know I'm a die hard Jobs fan, and I find the man absolutely fascinating and brilliant. If you haven't already, you HAVE to hear this.. and if you have, take 15 minutes out of your day and give it another listen-



The following was written by Mary Schmich in an essay titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" and was published  in the Chicago Tribune in 1997. It was later used in a commencement speech by authour Kurt Vonnegut, to whom it is often believed to be derived from. The most popular for of the essay is the one set to music where the lyrics are used and remixed by Baz Luhrmann in the popular single, "Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)."



The third one is one of my favourites- "The Last Lecture," by Randy Pausch. Randy Pausch was a Professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, when in 2006, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. On September 18, 2007, he gave a lecture called "The Last Lecture" as a legacy he wanted to leave behind for his children. The lecture was recorded, became a YouTube sensation, got published into a book that became one of the New York Times best sellers, and got Pausch to go on and give the lecture again on Oprah. This video is a little over an hour long, but is a MUST SEE. You're going to want to make your kids and parents watch it!


Pausch died of complications from Pancreatic Cancer on July 25, 2008.


If you have any other favourite speeches that you love and that inspire you, email me and I'd love to post them up as well. 
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Jim Carrey and Spirituality

Jim Carrey is by far one of the funniest and most talented actors in Hollywood today. He's acted in roles only he could take on, and the way he the way he morphs his body or contorts his face on film, is really magnificent and unparalleled. One would think that that's all there is to him- humour, and that he must be a funny guy off screen too.
Just last night someone forwarded me a video of Jim Carrey speaking on the spiritual "awakening" of the world taking place, and I was very surprised to know he read Eckhart Tolle, or even knew who he was! Then today I came across this painting he had recently done and posted on his Twitter page, and was further surprised to know he was an artist too! While there were a lot of negative responses to his piece, as someone who dabbles in art myself, let me tell you, it's not exactly easy to do abstract, and this painting is pretty good! Either way, how many people do you know, who despite being THAT rich and successful, take time out to paint or further any of their hobbies? That's what I thought.
Here are two of his videos that you might find interesting to watch:

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. 

  

Theta Healing and Me

I could say I found Theta Healing or I could say Theta Healing found me, and both would be true. For those who don't know what Theta is, it's a quick, easy and very beautiful way to connect with God, the Creator, Universal life-force energy, or whatever other name you'd like to call it by.

Having studied Reiki and being a Clinical Hypnotherapist, I was very interested in the workings of the mind and of Spirituality in general. I'd heard about Theta, done a bit of reading on it, and decided to go take the basic course that was taking place in Dubai. That was when I found Theta. I wish I could say I was amazed by its teachings and its ease and simplicity, but the truth is quite the opposite. I couldn't understand how it worked, how one could actually heal instantaneously, "scan" peoples bodies or the most ridiculous of them all, change beliefs instantaneously!  While I'd seen Faith Healers on TV and even believed that maybe Vianna, the pioneer of Theta Healing, had healed herself instantaneously of cancer, I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea of changing a persons BELIEFS. I believed that my beliefs were MINE.. i'd given them birth, raised them, nurtured them, fed them, and lived with some of them, for better or for worse, through most of my life! And someone was now claiming I could change my negative ones instantly? How does that even work? I'd decided Theta Healing was definitely not for me.

Almost a year later, I was going through a bit of a rough emotional patch, and was looking for something or someone to help ease that discomfort a little bit. A friend of mine told me about this amazing therapist she was going to, who did Pranic Healing as well as Theta, and I decided to give her a shot. I went in having zero expectations and was hoping to feel a bit better, if only momentarily- like a therapeutic massage for the soul. After my sessions, I realized I was feeling a lot less chaotic in my mind, and I found my negative thought patterns.. those beliefs I had clung on so dearly to... suddenly not hold true anymore. It's a strange feeling when you say out loud something you've believed for too many years for you to count, and then smile because you realize the energy around your words and feelings had dissipated. This is when Theta found me.

Those sessions empowered me to the extent that it made me want to take the course again and understand all that I'd missed the first time around, so I could work on myself. Armed with an open mind and the benefit of experience, I went in and sat with wide eyed wonder through the same course that I'd once scoffed at. So impressed I was with what I learnt, last month I actually flew to Vegas to do the Teachers Training with Vianna for the basic and advanced courses. While I am still unsure as to whether I will ever teach Theta, learning from her, the Source, was an experience that was indescribable! Theta has helped me not only reconnect with my deceased father, but also our ultimate Father, the Creator.

I was telling a friend of mine recently, about how a week after my course was done, I'd sat alone in my quiet hotel room in New York, and felt a bit of a strange feeling come over me. "I wondered what it was," I said to her, "till suddenly I realized what it was I was feeling!" It was contentment. My whole journey would have been worth it, if only for that one fleeting moment.

To find out more about Theta Healing, go to www.thetahealing.com.
To find out more about Theta courses in Dubai or the UAE, go to www.illuminationsworld.com

UPDATE: To read of my most recent experiences with Theta (a year after writing this post) please read my post "Theta Healing and Me- Part 2" here- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/theta-healing-and-me-part-2.html
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