Peace Is Not Just a State of Mind

Peace is not just a state of mind. Peace is not just an attitude.  Peace is not a commodity that can be purchased for a piece of silver. Peace is a philosophy.

Peace is the total understanding, total tolerance, and total love of all that surrounds you. If you understand and appreciate what is happening without resentment, even though you disagree, and if you tolerate the actions of others, find positive qualities in their mistakes, you will be much closer to peace.

Peace is not the renunciation of the spirit in any one situation. For even in a peaceful state it is healthy to question. It is also necessary to see the other side of the coin, and understand that if a situation is not suitable for us, our situation may not be suitable for another; yet either situation may be suitable in its proper respect.

Peace is found in loving that which is around us, not blindly or thoughtlessly, but with the full realization that it has value and is there for a reason, that it spiritually fits, that it is part of us and our world.

Our life moments and experiences are here to teach us something. Life is a string of good and difficult experiences. If we pay close attention and keep an open mind, even the difficult situations that hurt us can also teach us important lessons that we may not have learned otherwise. These may be the lessons we value the most when we look back.

Peace is another name for forgiveness. Some think forgiveness means we have to condone bad behavior or that we have to forgive and be friends with the person who has hurt us. Although it is sometimes possible to forgive and reconcile, peace and forgiveness means to find a way so that a difficult situation or person does not hurt our present or future. We must find a way to forgive the one who hurt us but we must not forget so we do not let them ever take our peace again. If we know a person or a situation is harmful for our peace, we may have to forgive and move forward without that person. We have to be okay knowing that we do not have to see that person again.  It is our responsibility to keep our lives happy and peaceful.

Veera

*****

Buy for Kindle

Buy On Paperback

The Universe Knows and Delivers

Opportunities come our way all the time. We have to be ready to accept them and make the most of them.  We may not recognize them, and let them pass by.

I like to wake up early and start my day with a cup of tea and some spiritual reading

even though I do not get to do it all the time.   A long time ago, someone told me that the angels come around early in the morning to see who is awake and ready for their blessings, and if they see you still sleeping, they fly by and take the blessings to someone else who is ready to appreciate and enjoy them. Those wise words made a huge impression on me and still remind me, on the days when I am too lazy to get out of bed, to start my day on a healthy note. Don’t get me wrong, some days when I have done all that I need to do and I am caught up with all my deadlines, I enjoy the luxury of staying in bed a little longer.

I want to share a simple story from my favorite book, Vedanta Treatise.  This story always reminds me that the Universe does know better.

Once there were two brothers who wanted to grow olive trees. One lived in the woods and the other in a cave. They both got two olive saplings and planted them in front of their homes.

The one living in the woods made a nice topsoil bed for the sapling and asked God for sun, rain and food for his plant. God granted him sunshine, rain and healthy soil, but the plant over time still died.  One day he went to visit his brother who lived in the cave and saw his plant growing big and beautiful.  He asked his brother how did his plant survive so wonderfully in the middle of rocks?  His brother told him I just put the plant between two rocks and asked God to take care of it. He told his brother, “I figured God made it, so he must know how to take care of it. There was no point telling Him what my plant needed.” 

Just like the brother in the cave, I feel I am living in this world of surprises, so while I do what I have to everyday to make sure I do my part and not be lazy or demanding of the Universe to take care of me, I do believe the Universe knows what I need everyday.

In these last few weeks I have been working a lot trying to close the Feb./March issue before I take off to India to receive the Hind Rattan award on Jan 25^th.   I was feeling tired physically and missing my workouts and massages. I have been missing meals and eating at odd times.  All this was making me a little off-balance physically and emotionally, but I didn’t complain because I have to do this every deadline for every issue and especially this one since I will be leaving before the magazine comes out.

While my focus was on the magazine and deadlines, the Universe knew I needed some TLC as well. So, a wonderful woman Alana Littler called our Director of Sales Dawn McCarthy to invite the publisher of Malibu Chronicle to enjoy a retreat they were holding in Malibu.  I was able to accept the invite and attended the retreat. 

I am so glad I went. I met the most wonderful people including three beautiful women; Brooke from http://www.renewjuicery.com, Sophia from http://spasophia.com and Laurel from http://sweetlaurel.com. They and their staff put up a wonderful retreat. They took care of all the guests attending with utmost care and respect. I learned a lot from them and I look forward to working them in the future.

I highly recommend the raw organic juices and shakes from Renew Juicery.  Try the healthy and delicious recipes from Sweet Laurel, and enjoy the different spa treatments and skin care services from Spa Sophia.

I look forward to calling them when I get back from India. I know I’ll need the wonderful care they are so capable of providing.

It feels good to enjoy the blessings when they come my way! 

Thank you, Universe, and I thank all the people that these blessings come through!

Veera

 

*****

 

 

Buy on Kindle

Buy on Amazon 

Just a Few Kind Words Can Make a Big Difference

I was working and watching TV at the same time as I sometimes do when I’m not in a hurry.  I like to laugh watching comedy shows like Friends, Seinfeld, Modern Family or serious shows like Law and Order and NCIS.  It’s nice to have the TV on just to glance up at once in a while and take a break.  Recently, I’ve realized the ads are the same no matter what shows you watch. Lately, I see ads that for some reason make fun of moms calling at very inappropriate times and doing silly noisy chores when their children are either sleeping, studying or busy in one way or the other.

I am a mother of two grown sons and we talk everyday.  I guess I don’t always know if they are busy when I call them just like they don’t know if I am busy when they call me. I expect them to tell me if they cannot talk. I hope they don’t feel I annoy them or bother them calling at inappropriate times. Watching these mom bashing ads didn’t help. I admit they were funny in the beginning, but then I started wondering if I am really annoying like the mothers in the ads.

Today, I decided, instead of calling my sons, I would text them to find out if it was a good time for them to talk.  Texts are easy in many ways. You don’t have to respond instantly and you don’t have to make the caller feel like you rejected their call. I sheepishly sent a text feeling a little bad about possibly being the mom on the ads inquiring if it was a good time, and just happened to mention that the ads had made me a little hesitant.

A few minutes later I received this beautiful message back from my son: “A busy time can be considered a bad time to talk to your mom because you want to give her more attention than you can at the moment, and that makes you feel bad.”  I was in awe! Wow! What a thoughtful message. I could not have felt better if he had time and could talk to me. I felt very loved and appreciated. I felt like a mom who has two wonderful sons who don’t think I’m annoying.

It’s fun to be a mom no matter how old and busy your children are!!


Available in Bank of Books in Malibu

Buy on Paperback

Buy On Kindle

Clear communication to save the day and relationships!!

It is so important to say what you mean and say it clearly so there is no confusion or chance for misinterpretation.  It is also very important to double-check when listening to someone to make sure you heard what you think you heard.

Many miscommunications and problems happen because we think we heard something which was never said, or we’re very sure we said something and the other person either did not hear

it or heard it completely differently than what we intended to say.

I know the importance of perception checking and I try to practice it as much as possible. I plan to make better communication an important part of my everyday lifestyle this year.  

I realize that sometimes it isn’t possible to have good communication with some people because they assume things before they even hear them and that is all they want to go by whether you said it or not.  Even when you try to be as nice and as clear as possible, your efforts are disregarded. They just want to fight. In those cases I am learning to just give them space to figure it out for themselves and remind myself that it is Not My Chaos. I can only do my job and try to do it well. Some relationships are not worth fighting for. It is okay to walk away from some relationships, at least temporarily.

If I can, I try to clarify any misunderstanding as soon as possible.   If my communication was not clear and was misunderstood, I try to look from the other person’s point of view and see how I could have been heard or perceived incorrectly.  I have no problem apologizing for being wrong or being unclear.

In this New Year, I am committed to enjoy new and existing relationships in business and in personal life and maintaining those relationships through mutual respect and clear communication.  If I need to end some relationships, I need to communicate that clearly as well.

Year 2015 has been great and exciting on many accounts! Looking forward to an even more wonderful and prosperous 2016!

Love and light to all!

Veera

*****

Available in Bank of Books in Malibu

Buy on Paperback

Buy On Kindle