Looking at the mystery & Seeing the magic!

Empathy - To put ourselves in someone else's shoes and see things from their perspectives. While this is the most common explanation for empathy, i think we miss out on an important point here. We forget to remove our shoes before getting in to someone else's shoes. Hence, the struggle to see things from someone else'e point when we are so rigid with our point of views and perspectives. Human beings never fail to amaze me. And one of my curiosities has always been around, what makes people be indifferent to others pain and trauma? Whether it is a celebrity couple who are getting divorced or a woman journalist who has voiced out her perspectives, whether it is a trans woman who has been acid attacked or a gay couple who have disclosed their love in social media, whether it is a rape victim who has decided to have the courage to voice out or a man who has been in an abusing relationship talking about his trauma, whether it is a successful person talking about the menta...

This article was first published in http://infinumgrowth.com/authenticity-mindfulness/   Even as I write down these two words as the topic, I am compelled to add the disclaimer that, I am writing this piece, not from the perspective of an expert on this subject. Rather, from the perspective of a curious learner who strives to explore the full meaning of these two powerful terms. Well…there lies the irony. Will I ever be able to understand the full meaning of such intense words? Will anyone ever be able to comprehend the full sense of what these 2 words offer to this universe? At a high level, the definition of authenticity is being true to self and others. Being genuine and real. And mindfulness is being aware of the self, others and the environment, the impact each of this could have on the other.   While I believe that whatever I may have understood about authenticity and mindfulness is just the tip of the iceberg, even that seems to be a massive piece. A pi...

This poem was first published in http://infinumgrowth.com/move-on-life-let-go/ I am sure, all of us would have been either on the giving or receiving end at least once for the advice “Let it go!”. And we know it’s easier said than done. In a life full of ecstasies and quirks, What is it that we want to let go? The below poem is an attempt to explore this eternal question… Similarly, I would invite all of you to journal/put down your thoughts in your own words, of what it is that you want to let go of. While in certain contexts, letting go of something could be a lifelong journey, this could be the first step towards that journey. Let it go! A traumatic past, An unfulfilled wish, A deep fear, A hurtful moment, A broken heart. Let it go! A twisted turn, A peak emotion, A missed hug, A never expressed yet ever desired love…. Let it go! A living nightmare, A shallow moment, A one-time mistake, A lifetime of guilt… Let it go! Once...

I am starting this blog with this topic because I think grief is one of the most powerful emotions human beings are capable of feeling. It has the ability to heal, transform and inspire. If only we allow it to. In the last 5 years of my journey as a psychotherapist, I have watched and helped people go through grief, handle it and live with it. This has helped me get familiar with this emotion. It became a familiar territory from the unknown and unchartered black hole that it was. While, people may think of grief as yet another phase, it is not. While there are stages of grief articulated for the healing process, grief cannot be put in just phases and boxes. Grief is the deeper sorrow any human being can get in touch within them. As all of us are wounded, we may get in touch with the grief about that wound at some point. For some, it is triggered by an incident in the here and now. For others it is triggered by a long lost memory. However, the question I have alwa...