'Can you tell us how I get to the PATH?', I asked the nice lady with lovely curls at the travel aid assistance in Union Station in Toronto. We have been to Toronto a gazillion times and never visited the PATH, so this time I was determined, be it Sunday when the shops are closed,...
'Anu, I am bringing my son to Bring Your Kids To Work. Can I swing by to say Hi?'
'I told them that you were an author.'
'Do you see all these people in the room - they all report to her (Me).'
'I am bringing my daughter and son to work - and would love for them to meet you...
It is so heavy - how am I supposed to hold it with both hands, turn pages and snack on the side? Just holding it, my hand is aching. And the worst thing is that I have to turn the pages physically, and to add to the injury, I cannot just tap a word to figure out what the nuanced ...
It's been two weeks since my last blog - one weekend I was not in the mood, and the other I was fighting a cold. One of those colds that make you wish you were home - haven't had one of these in ages. Congested head, no appetite or energy to do anything, body aching - you get it....
I had dinner with fifteen other Indian women last week. It was a women's day dinner organised by a work group, and I was invited. Now, it was a novel experience for me in more ways than one. First, I cannot remember the last time I went out for dinner with people other than my fa...
Like peeling layers of an onion, some lessons also reveal their depths when you are ready. One such lesson for me, which I am unravelling now, is the dismissiveness. I cannot tell you when I started this; probably at a young age. If I am not interested in what the other party is ...
I needed to breathe - what I mean by that is, given the routine at work and need for diverse city life and food scene, we decided to do a weekend getaway to New York. Yes, I am a city girl at heart, and unless I see skyscrapers, hear sirens, and walk amidst people hurrying, I fee...
My friend and I waited two hours outside the Louvre for the discounted ticket holders to be let in. Once inside, we ran to the Mona Lisa section - walked from one end to the other. We confirmed that she was looking at us regardless of where we were in the room; she had no eyebrow...
A secret club that nobody knows about - because it would ruin your reputation.
I completed my first 30 days in my new role and met with the finance partner about expense pressure. She joked, 'Are you having fun yet?' I laughed and said, 'Would you believe me if I said Yes?' It w...
I remember my driving instructor telling me to keep my eyes on the middle of the road so the car wouldn't keep swerving from side to side. When I first started driving, I did not know where to keep my eyes, and the car/hands followed where my eyes went. Once I got the hang of dri...
I have a fascinating habit pattern.
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_dear future worry: I have met your cousins before. they all said I couldn't make it and guess what? They were wrong every single time. Signed - your track record._
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This is a continuation of the last blog(https://www.anumorris.com/2026/01/do-not-pray-for-a-simple-life-true-or-false/), where I said I would explain why I am attracted to Data, unwillingly, because it has qualities I want in my life. What I really want to say is that Software ...
Right, here we are, readers. I quite don't have a charming topic to regale you all with but having just watched a quintessential, terribly British netflix series called Seven dials I am inspired. Seven Dials is a novel by Agatha Christie that features Superintendent Battle and th...
So, the meditation I practice - Vipassana has two modes of participation, generally speaking. One is as a student, taking the course, and the other is as a server, volunteering to serve the students. All the courses are run by volunteers/servers - no money is asked up front. (And...
I have always been in a hurry - not sure why? Even as a kid, I was in a hurry to read books, finish homework, and play. There were times when I was content biking on the sidewalks in the noon sun, much to mom's chagrin, but they had nothing to do with my need for speed. So, one s...
Secret - is an adjective that means 'known about by only a few people; kept hidden from others'.
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_There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you._
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What I am realising ...
I went to the Mall with my parents, and on the way out, I hugged them both close to me - only to realise that their heads are at the same level as mine.
Similarly, I went to visit our neighbours from Delhi, where I grew up, and it's been a while since I had seen them. When they...
Female Voice: Last night, Mom had a stomach upset. She had the mutton gravy for dinner, and it did not sit well with her.
Male Voice: If she takes gas medicine, she will be ok
Male Voice 1: If you drank less, you would remember that you were supposed to pay the bill...
I just watched the latest Knives Out Mystery on Netflix—a good one, with a great cast of characters, especially Father Jud. A few of the themes in this movie were secrets, confession and vengeance - and recently vengeance or revenge has been on my mind too! So, it was a good open...
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_Instead of complaining, focus on gratitude when feeling underappreciated._
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Imagine you have had a great insight, an excellent idea, or a brilliant solution to a ...
You know when you hear or see something, and it comes back at you? I have a lot of things like these, quotes, books, shows, etc. And sometimes I don't realise that this was in my backlog until I actually see that item again. So, the Peaky Blinders show was one such thing. I have ...
The most important question to ask yourself in any situation is, 'Who are you being at this moment?' I can hear my professor's voice saying this in the Creativity and Personal Mastery course(https://www.theraoinstitute.com/) (CPM) I took at London Business School. The course is...
One of those days when I show up at the page and have no idea that is coursing through my fingers into words on the blank slate. It's been such a long time - for the past year or so, there has always been a niggling thought or a burning problem that I have been grappling with, on...
I re-watched the Queen's Gambit series on Netflix again. It is about a fictional female chess prodigy who tends to self-destruct despite her genius. It is a well-done series, great actors - one of those series which has integrity, so it hits you where you need it the most. Isn't ...
Even on grey or rainy days, the sun still shines. I was reminded of this while walking in London. A brief break in the clouds made everything light up. Over time, I started to appreciate grey, rainy days, and now I actually prefer them. My husband jokes when it’s sunny, ‘Not a go...
Imagine you are diving into the sea or any water body. After a specific time, you gasp for breath and must break to the surface. Then you take big gulps of air, and your breathing becomes more regular. You take another big breath of air, and down you go to explore, all refreshed....
Do you remember the time when you were young and older people told you, 'You will know when you are old.' And you ignored the statement because even though you knew people get old, you thought it wouldn't happen to you at a subliminal level?
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When You Take Care Of Something - It Lives Longer: Natalie Goldberg's Zen master says when she sees him watering an orchid he got three weeks ago at a wedding.
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_Once I realized the problem was not with you, but within me, I fo...
Integrity is such a powerful word. The dictionary definition is _the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness_. Just like everything in life, integrity has shades of grey.
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_An alligator tel...
Yes, did you know that unicorns eat cupcakes three times a day and poop glitter? When they are happy, rainbows appear magically, which they glide over. What a life! And as far as my cute nieces are concerned, I can even get a unicorn poop glitter-flavoured ice cream from their sh...
I remember that time when I realised that people who drink are not bad. And this realisation came to me quite late in my twenties, when I was in Phoenix sharing a house with two other girls. I remember walking into our living room one Saturday morning, filled with boys and girls ...
I am a paradox. I talk a lot with the people I know and consider in my inner circle, and with others, I keep quiet or talk enough to get the work done. With my inner circle, there is an underlying assumption that they will listen to me - they do not have a choice. It started as a...
I asked one of my female mentees, a manager looking to become a director, 'Why are you asking permission to become a director?' In my conversation with her, she was trying to convince me, or rather herself, that she deserves to be a director, while she needed to talk about what s...
I came back from one of my ten-day Vipassana meditation courses. These courses are run on a donation basis - either money, time, or both. When I sit (as a student) in these courses, I am served by servers who donate their time to the course. Every other year, I also serve the cou...
When I was in London, one of the Harry Potter movies was going to be released in theatres. I was a huge Harry Potter fan—I would drink tea at midnight to stay up and finish the book. So, when I knew the movie would be released, I had to go - now my friend had no interest, and my ...
I recently read Robert Jackson Bennett's fantasy murder novels - Shadow of the Leviathan Series. It is a nicely written series that makes you think. First, two books are out, with the next one supposed to be released in April 2026. As an avid reader, there are many things I love ...
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" This is a philosophical question and can be interpreted in many different ways. The questions that pop into my mind are - does it matter that nobody has heard? Does it matter if the tree is the o...
"If you think you are special, so is everybody else," Eckhart Tolle said in one of his talks. The first time I heard this, it shocked my ego because I thought I was special, and it hurt to know that I wasn't the only one. Don't get me wrong; I know we are all unique, but the feel...
We live near a retirement community, making for a long walking trail. As we were walking, we met an older man who started talking to us. He mentioned that he had to go to funerals, and he did not like them, but they were happening quite a lot.
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Here is a clip of humanoid robots(https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c5ylkyrkjnzo?at_campaign_type=owned&at_medium=emails&at_objective=awareness&at_ptr_type=email&at_ptr_name=salesforce&at_campaign=techdecoded&at_email_send_date=20250707&at_send_id=4401745&at_link_title=https%3a%2...
I read In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. It is one of those books that tugs at your heart and has plot twists that keep you wondering. This book is about love, or at least that's what I am taking away from it. Here is a quote from the book: _You mistake love. You think it has to h...
I love Winnie the Pooh. I cannot tell you why, but it was later in my life, too. I ordered my first Winnie the Pooh from Disney in Phoenix, where I realised for the first time I was homesick—my first time away from home. Since then, Pooh and I have always been together. He was th...
So, in a long time, I do not have a topic as I write the blog. You and I will discover what wants to flow through me as I continue typing - Surprise! I will start with a surprise. A few years ago, I decided to surprise my parents by visiting them in Sydney while they were visitin...
I watched a YouTube video of a music maestro in Bollywood - Ilayaraja. He is a music director for films, possessing a natural talent so exceptional that he can guide people in real time. In the video, a violinist played a tune - and within five seconds, with some tweaks from Ilay...
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_We never really grow up_, _we only learn how to act in public._
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I was walking down the streets of Florence, Italy, with my friend. It had been a nice day - we had walked, people-watched, had a lo...
I just watched Department Q on Netflix. As I watched the trailer, I was intrigued by where it was filmed. It was hauntingly nostalgic, so I clicked the unmute button to hear, and I listened to the lovely Scottish accent, and I recognised Edinburgh. One of my criteria for selectin...
Imagine you wake up in a different city where residents do not speak your language, the signs are all in a different language, the people around you look different from what you are used to, the dress they wear is also different from what you are used to, the weather is different...
A long time ago, when I was living with roommates during my MBA at London Business School, I decided to run around Regent's Park. My roommate had told me to check with her the previous night, so I went into her room to check, and she was still sleeping.
Me: Hey, you want to go f...
'Give Me A Hand.' What does that statement mean to you? Usually, it would mean helping somebody get up, right? Now, what if a robot heard this statement - What would the robot make of it? It would be the literal meaning of unscrewing the hand and giving it to the requestor.
And ...
She said, 'I got 99 out of 100 in Maths.'
Her mom said, 'Where did the one mark go?'
That's the life of a typical child in Asia and India. With a population of billions, even one mark counts. There is scarcity everywhere. So, what does this mean for the kids growing up in the ...
I am leading a focus group at work titled 'Make IDS A Great Place To Work'. We were trying to figure out how to do that, and one person on my team said, ' Let's ask them what stops it from being a Great Place. 'My answer was, 'We cannot solve this problem.'
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Have you ever made a decision that did not make any logical or analytical sense? When the rest of society tells you that it has not worked, it is not working and will not work. They will give examples of people who made the decision which did not pan out. But, for you, it is like...
I just watched a nice movie—Rekhachitram, a South Indian Malayalam language movie from Kerela. Malayalam movies are one of my favourites, maybe because one of my first crushes was a Malayalam guy, but the movies are very real. When you watch them, you won't know if you are watchi...
I saw a video interview between a talented writer and actor on YouTube. The actor was telling his story - his first film was a big hit, and then he got a lot of offers. He looked at the script, picked the ones he liked, and made those films. But, four of those films did not do we...
My husband and I sat in one of the new Starbucks Roastery in Chicago, a four-floor building dedicated to coffee, chilling out, and lovely food. We had gone to Chicago over St.Patrick's weekend, oblivious that the river was dyed green, which was a pleasant coincidence as we hadn't...
A few days ago, I attended a week-long intensive leadership training. It was excellent, and I got a lot out of it. One of my takeaways was that leadership is a full-time job. You are always under a lens; what you say and how you say it matters a lot. Nobody wakes up in the mornin...
I was back home in India, talking to a relative on Skype. She looked at me and said, 'Are you going out anywhere?' I told her no—I was just staying in. She responded, "You might as well, as you are dressed for it."
We had a release over the weekend at work, so we had a call on S...
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_Every Woman Is A Rebel._
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I did not get where I am today by saying YES. I have questioned the so-called authority for as long as I can remember. I did what I thought was right, which was ...
I made an appointment at Best Buy today to install Google Chrome on my laptop. I felt so silly telling the technician that I wanted Chrome installed. After all, I am a software engineer who built personal computers during my time. A few weeks ago, after a Windows update, my Chrom...
I attended an online writing retreat over the weekend. I was one of the few non-members who attended and also one of the younger attendees, even though I do not consider myself young anymore. One of the speakers actually read to us from the book(s), which was unusual for me - I f...
We had a Diwali Dance Party at our office last year. Diwali is an Indian festival that celebrates the return of a famous king (also a God). For me, it is time to dress up, eat good food, and hang out with friends and family. My friends and I did a Bollywood Dance routine for the ...
I am haunted - by some quotes I heard once, and they remain lodged in me until clarity arises, which frees them to flow through me. Some of those quotes are - 'If Budhha Was A Barber, Getting A Haircut Would Be Enlightenment' or 'You Cannot Travel The Path Until You Become The Pa...
When I moved to London for my MBA at London Business School, I was exposed to swearing a lot more. Up until then, I had led a very sheltered life in which swear words never made their way, I guess. My friend used to swear a lot, and she switched to saying 'Fish' for a while befor...
Chatterbox—that is how people would describe me when I was a kid. Apparently, I drooled a lot as a baby, which was a sign that I would talk a lot—and it is true. As a kid, I never stopped talking to people. As an adult, I learnt to behave in public and be myself in private. This ...
I am reading 'Wind And Truth', Book Five of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203578847-wind-and-truth). It is an epic fantasy series. This book is three hundred and forty-four pages long and, with my reading speed, will take me t...
Death is not the opposite of life but an innate part of life. This quote came twice in the book I just read - Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It is a weird book. It has a lot of death and unexpressed feelings as if the characters are trying to find out how they feel about thin...
In October of last year - I wrote this blog - The Importance Of Being Earnest - Did We Lose It Along The Way? - Anu Morris(https://www.anumorris.com/2023/10/the-importance-of-being-earnest-did-we-lose-it-along-the-way/). And almost a year later, my views have changed one hundre...
"It does not matter how well you played. It matters when you stop."
This is the quote from a movie I watched on Netflix: Lucky Bhaskar. It is a fictionalized movie about an actual crime in India by Harshad Mehra, who scammed the banks into giving him loans.
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I love talking nonsense. It's a pity it is not a common practice and is underestimated. Sometimes, I speak so much logic and sense at work that I must be loopy. And I tell people I feel loopy, so they must bear with me. I don't know what they make of it, but I talk nonsense.
It ...
As I sat down to write today, I could not find the right starting words. But the gist of what I wanted to talk about—where I am with my role at work—was clear, so I looked at my old posts. As I perused the posts since July 25th last year(https://www.anumorris.com/2024/02/am-i-r...
It's been quite a week—filled with insights. The writer's retreat(https://awritingroom.com/) last weekend in Hollywood, LA, was the beginning of it all. When a group of people who want to honour their creativity get together for a weekend in a room - it is impossible to come ou...
Why do we create? What is it in me that propels me to write a blog almost every week or work on a book? Writing a book is a massive undertaking - you get an idea, then you get snatches of some scenes, write some chapters, and then scratch most of it and write it again. All becaus...
I thought I would walk up to the bridge, have a couple of people tie the rope around my legs, dive gracefully like a bird from the ledge, land on a boat and emerge victorious from the experience.
What happened was just a tad different. The day we were booked to go, it was rainin...
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_In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you._
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Imagine a room with six or more people in it. The conversation goes like this.
Person 1: So, what else do we need from the Indian g...
I feel like I am sinking into murky waters of stillness. The outside world, with its humdrum routine and daily dredge of activities, is fading away. I am losing the energy to do the activities I thought necessary, like Wordle, log into Two Dots, and go to work. Even though the th...
A few weeks ago, I ran a half marathon. To be honest, the actual run seemed a letdown compared to the training leading up to it. So, this was my first time doing any kind of a run officially- I was a little surprised by how it unfolded. To begin with, there is a line for the loo....
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_Vulnerability is not winning or losing. It's having the courage to show up when you cannot control the outcome._
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For once, I have no topics to start writing this blog about, so it...
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_Photo of the lobby in the former Candlewood Suites_
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I sat in the lobby in the photograph above almost two decades ago and told my manager I was resigning.
I had been working on the project fo...
The past few weeks have been more reflective than usual. Refer to one of my previous blogs about levelling up in life(https://www.anumorris.com/2023/12/how-to-move-to-the-next-level-in-life/). It's like I am peeling back the layers of onion—and the onion is me. This blog explor...
_"There is no explaining this simple truth about life: you will forget much of it. The painful things you were certain you'd never be able to let go? Now, you're not entirely sure when they happened, while the thrilling parts, the heart-stopping joys, splintered and scattered and...
I did not know this about myself—I let go of grudges by making the other party suffer, even if it is mock-suffering. And who else can bring this to light except my husband? Who knows which buttons to push for me to be a better version of myself?
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This blog is another variation of one of the previous blogs(https://www.anumorris.com/2024/07/body-and-mind-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/)—I cannot get enough of this concept. It is really simple—the only place where change can happen is NOW. By NOW, I do not mean this day, this ...
I ran this morning, prepping for my half marathon in four weeks. I use my phone to track my miles, laps, etc. I planned to do twelve miles today but set my target to ten miles on the phone. I wanted to protect myself from disappointment in case I could not make the twelve miles. ...
A few weeks ago, in this blog(https://www.anumorris.com/2023/12/how-to-move-to-the-next-level-in-life/), I spoke about moving to the next level in life. Now, it has been a while since I moved levels, so I have forgotten what I did when I levelled up—in fact, I am not even sure ...
Imagine walking 40 km (sometimes 50 km) every night for five nights on tar roads when the weather is 40C. The heat (104F) is one reason the walking is done at night, among other reasons like traffic, etc. So, this is what I did a few years ago—walk a pilgrimage south of India. It...
Love - so much more than a four-letter word. For some, it's like - what do you mean, Love? I have a life to live. For some, it is that magical feeling that will cure everything. For some, it is an image of what movies and books talk about. For some, it is what runs the world. Eac...
A couple of weeks ago, we were on our way back from Montreal and got stranded in Philadelphia. Three hundred flights were cancelled, and there were no hotel rooms. After being on a tiny flight with three seats per row, circling the airport for hours takes a toll on your tolerance...
We have a close friend who is a musician and a pianist; that was the first time I spent so much time with a musician. Those were my MBA days - so I had time to loiter in one of our residences. And it was on those times when just for a lark - I sang a Bollywood song, and he would ...
I am sure all of us have been in a position where we have been offended by something someone said or did—and even hours, days, or years later, we still get riled up. In some cases, we can remove such people from our lives, and in some cases, we cannot.
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I am watching a Netflix Series called 'Panchayat'. It is based in rural India, a bit like my ancestral village. Imagine mud huts, the Baaing of goats, rooster crowing, water from hand pumps, and people resting under the Banana tree in front of the temple.
Anyways, in this series...
"I am going to Chicago for a city fix..." I told my colleague just before the Memorial Day long weekend kicked in. It took a while for reality to sink in that I do not think of Columbus as a city. My definition of a city is tall buildings with only bits of sky visible, loads of p...
I binge-watched a Netflix series last night: Bodkin, a murder mystery set in an Irish town/village. A group of podcasters goes there to solve three disappearances from decades ago. I just wanted to let go, so I chose this as it called out to me, and it was also in the top ten on ...
My brother and his family are visiting India right now, and I am a little nostalgic because I am not with them. It is the peak of summer in India, which means time for mangoes and 'nongu', or ice apples. When my family was eating them in the village this time, one of our family f...
I have been reading this series of cosy mysteries set in the Cotswolds, UK, with Agatha Raisin, a fifty-year-old prickly woman, as the main character. I recommended this series to my father-in-law, and forty pages in it, he told me, ' She is not a nice person.' I responded that s...
I saw this movie on Netflix called - 'Laapata Ladies' roughly translated into 'Missing Ladies'. It's about rural India in the North where women, after marriage, wear a veil over their heads, cannot utter their husband's name, and follow their husband. Since new brides wear the sa...
I took a break for two weeks. In the weeks leading up to the break, I kept asking the universe how can I take care of myself more. And the universe provided - my husband was travelling for a week, and while I was talking to one of my best friends from London - she said why don't ...
Imagine an elastic thread being pulled at both ends - when the first round of pulling happens, it's okay; after all, that is the purpose, right? The second round of pulling is still good, but with more rounds, there has to be a point where the thread snaps in two.
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When you serve at a Vipassana course, you listen to a talk on how to serve. Every time I have listened to it, different things stand out to me—based on what I am ready to hear. The statement that stands out feels as if it is the first time I have heard it despite having listened ...
I just returned from my Vipassana course, and this time, I was a server. For those of you unfamiliar with Vipassana, it is a meditation technique taught over ten days. I have been doing it for decades, and it continues to change my life. This time, I was serving on the course, as...
I have lived in Ohio for more than a decade now. And I still resist it - it's a love-and-hate relationship. I came to Columbus, Ohio, from London with a bit of resentment about the move. London, for those who don't know, is where people who do not belong anywhere fit. I don't bel...
Not have any expectations or expect them to be met. Yes, it's that simple.
In our heads, we come up with a scenario that should happen - it starts with a thought, and with repeated thinking, it becomes a reality in our heads. And when the universe/outside world does not follow o...
I was a born rebel—one of those rebelling without a cause. Do not ask me why, but if you ask me to do something, my first instinct is not to do it, even though I will do it eventually. I have always been making my own rules - rules are meant to be broken sort of mentality. Undern...
As some of you know, I took on a new role at work and completed six months on Jul 25th with great appreciation for what I accomplished. So, when I found the words 'I am afraid of failing' coming out of my mouth, I had to step back and see what was happening.
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I meditate, journal, and breathe consciously throughout the day as much as I can. I exercise regularly, set my intention for tomorrow, and do a mini retro at the end of the day. I listen to speakers like Tolle and Ram Dass and have regular conversations about how to be a better v...
I Whatsapp-ed with my parents back home. They were at my cousin's wedding, so I got a peek/participated in the celebrations as the phone got passed to all my uncles, aunties and cousins. And, of course, I got to spend a few precious minutes chatting with the lovely bride, admirin...
'If you push something away to get rid of it - you are still in touch with it', says Ram Dass. Ram Dass was a spiritual teacher. But before he became Ram Dass, he was Dr. Richard Alpert, and you can read more about his fascinating journey at this link(https://www.ramdass.org/ab...
So, those of you who know me know I don't use swear words. I don't see the point - if swearing could work, we would have conquered the universe. Imagine when I found these words coming out of my mouth involuntarily - I want your blood NOW, you bloody sucker. And I have taken a pr...
I finished watching a Netflix film titled, 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' meaning - Where did we get lost? It seemed apt, as I have recently found myself wondering that, too. Well, I take that back - it has been a recurring theme in my life that surfaces its head now and then.
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Some context for what will come next: In Indian culture, the women (Daughters and Daughters-in-law) are expected to cook and take care of the house even if they are working. This has started to change a bit, but many older generations would frown if the women didn't do that. And ...
So, I am back home in India - in body, soul and spirit, I am complete. There is no other way to describe it - I am not a foreigner in India. Nothing is 'foreign' to me - I am not trying to figure out if this is the right dress, weather or food; I just am.
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_Pic of Chess board with the quote around how life is like a game of chess - you have to make a move to win, which comes with insight._
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I have been practising Vipassana meditation for more than a deca...
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_Picture that depicts 9 ways life has become boring - like being on autopilot, social media etc_
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I don't remember how old I was when I decided I wanted the corner...
I decided to give myself the gift of a five-day weekend instead of a four-day one, as I just needed it.
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_Man jumping off a train_
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I am pretty good at dropping everything when it comes to se...
The one thing that is taking root in my psyche is that - Writing, like all creative endeavours or anything good, comes from a different source. That source can be called God, Universe, Faith, etc., but it is not of this world. It is genuinely an out-of-world item that needs me to...
Somebody at work was talking about rules, etc - and my response to that was - 'I follow the rules if I like them.' Everybody laughed, but I was serious. I do things if they make sense to me - now, don't get me wrong. I have lived in the real world long enough to know that some th...
I write about what's current in my life - and right now, it's all about work. And also writing. Since the writing retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with A Writing Room, writing has become a more natural part of who I am. So, when I write scenes for my fiction book, what comes thro...
As some of you know, I am in a new role. Fortunately or unfortunately, four managers have left in the last five years - while that is a problem in itself. An impact of that is that my team was left rudderless to fend for themselves in the corporate jungle. They did the best they ...
Your Joy Is Your Sorrow Unmasked.
The deeper the sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
These are a couple of lines from Khalil Gibran's poem(https://poets.org/poem/joy-and-sorrow) that refuse to leave me. The beauty of that poem and the above lines is t...
As promised last week, here is a snippet of our trip to Costa Rica. We went to a small strip of land surrounded by ocean, canals and forest called Tortuguero. It is named after Turtles which use the black sandy beaches of Tortuguero for the nesting/hatching session.
I chose this...
This blog will be a detour from travelling chronicles - watch this space in the coming days to discover my magical journey through the Costa Rican rainforest. This blog is about my current role at work. Believe me when I say it is super exciting as we will talk about a secret tri...
Right after the Tuscon retreat, I attended a writer's retreat - my first one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. How did I find out about it, you ask? This year, one of my goals was to get serious about writing. I had no clue what it meant, but I knew I had to do something about writing thi...
It's been a while since I blogged. Life got busy - after an eating binge in Toronto, we jetted off to Tuscon, Arizona for a delightful retreat with Alumni from a course I had taken at London Business School - Creativity and Personal Mastery. The retreat was like food for the soul...
Eat, Pray, Love and Eat More!!! That's precisely what we did on our weekend trip to Toronto, apart from hanging out with family. Food and family, what else do you need?
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_Pic of a samosa in a small bun with the quote - Eat, ...
So, I recently took a new role at work. One of the reasons I took the position was because it had severe challenges. My predecessors had managed to stay in the role for only one year - so far, four people have come and gone in the last four years. It remains to be seen how long m...
By nature - for the most part, I am a tidy person. And that means I like to keep things where they are. I arrange things so that they do not look disorderly. I don't remember where it started. But, before studying for exams - everything had to be perfect, like my table, books on ...
I saw the trailer for 'Deepest Breath' a few weeks ago and added it to my list on Netflix. However, it took me a few tries before I could get myself to watch it as it has a lot of peril involved, and I wasn't sure if I could take the tension of watching the divers go so deep that...
Do you think it is easier to clean the house after a deep clean? Or is it easier to clean it every day?
The answer to that can depend on many factors - what was the state of the house? Is it in a location which gets more dust? Do the people who live in the house care about keepi...
I just finished the enterprise-wide hackathon that I was leading at work. Hackathon is an event where participants get together with their teams over 24-48 hours and go from an idea to a finished product. Even though the event takes place over hours, the planning for it takes mon...
Growing up, I would follow my mom or my grandmom to the local vegetable markets in India. And in India, they are street markets where the vendors would sit on the ground or have a small table (with wheels) where they would sell vegetables or fruits. If they had watermelon or some...
Imagine a situation where you are secluded in a remote location with twenty other women. The location is self-sustaining, as in you have your room, your bathroom - food is provided. All the basic amenities are provided. And for nineteen days, you do not speak to each other, keep ...
Bollywood Music was the only kind of music that existed in the world - for me. Or it had until recently. I grew up listening to Indian movie songs - either on the radio, cassette tapes, CDs, and now streaming. For reasons, I cannot explain, Hollywood or English songs never made i...
I had added 'Chimp Empire' - a docuseries about chimps in Ngogo, Africa, to my Netflix list as something that called out to me. And I ended up watching it yesterday. It is a four-part series, each about forty-five minutes long. It is fascinating to watch - given my default inclin...
One of my favourite quotes is - I was born intelligent; Education ruined me. And similar to that, there is another quote which states that - we are our highest self when we are born, and then it's all downhill from there. I am paraphrasing, but you get the gist.
Let's hold the a...
Consider this address
_Anant Apartment,_
_Opposite Asha Mangal Karyalaya,_
_Near Traffic Park,_
_68, Khare Town,_
_Dharampeth,_
_Nagpur, Maharashtra 440010, India_
Consider this address
_No 11, Carlton House,_
_87 - 125 Cleveland St,_
_London W1T 6PJ,_
_United Ki...
As some of you know, I had a love marriage and not an arranged marriage as per the traditional Indian family customs. It was not a well thought or planned decision. As in, I did not grow up thinking - oh! I want a love marriage. If somebody had told me that I would end up marryin...
'Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try.' - the famous words by Yoda have more to them than just dawdling over a decision. Before we peel that layer of onion, let's talk about decisions.
But a small anecdote: I was talking to my Dad about his summer holidays. They were a big joint famil...
I was watching the Indian Matchmaking series on Netflix. It follows an Indian Matchmaker - Seema, who trots around the world setting up people. In some ways, she is arranging marriages by setting up people. How she works is she visits the boy or girl - gets their requirements and...
We are all trying to get to the next thing. It may be as small as wearing slippers so that you sit on the couch or finish up an interview for your next job. Most humans are in a hurry, but nobody can explain why? Because all that is waiting for us, in the end, is death.
There ha...
Some people travel to escape life, and some to experience them. I am the latter kind of traveller. However, it wasn't always the case. At first, I would check everything in the top ten to-do list, so the trips were hectic but satisfying. And at that time, it was all new to me, bo...
_It was a bizarre day. We were in a quaint village about to pop out for a walk. The air was nippy when we stepped out. And the drizzling rain turned into a pi\\ing rain. And we squirrelled away under an awning. I was miserable but still enchanted by my company._
If the above ...
Even if I were blindfolded, my feet would find their way. That's how it was when I went to one of the regular haunts in Oxford Circus, London - Roti Chai. My feet found their way to my usual spot and the loo. It is a restaurant - food is sort of the standard fare that you would f...
I found this new cafe in Columbus called Joyas - opened by a Bengali-American chef. And today was another one of my favourites - grey, rainy day, so I thought, let's check the cafe out and get something spicy Indian _ishytle_.
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I remember this one time asking my younger brother what he did do that day - and his answer was oh! I was just surfing for a couple of hours. And I was quite baffled at that time - since I had not realized the addictive nature of browsing the web. The word 'Browse' originates in ...
I have two nieces who are two and four years old. They are fascinating creatures - out of this world. There is so much purity and innocence in how they look at the world; it is incredible.
Here are a couple of examples.
My brother told me how one of them likes to be patted to ...
Most of us remember playing hide and seek as a kid, where everybody would hide except the one person who was supposed to find others. Imagine if you were the seeker and had to find others - except they could be anywhere in space. Woah! Right? Let's add another dimension to it and...
Aki - our Shiba Inu pup, and I had one thing in common, among others. Our snobbery when it came to others of our kind. Aki would stand at the side of the dog park and decide which dog he wanted to hang out with - and he would go for a run with them. And if they ran with him, he's...
I watched a video at work discussing the top five trends in 2030. And one of the sections in that video was titled - 'Follow The Babies'. It talked about how the world population has changed and continues to change. A few decades ago, it was necessary to have multiple children as...
There are times in life when it just hums along smoothly, with no significant humps. You wake up, go through your day and go back to bed. And then there are times when it feels like a storm is shaking your life ship. We have all experienced those, right?
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I just finished reading the book, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. And in case you are wondering, the title is not a CTRL C error but the book's actual title.
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_Pic of the author and book cover of the...
I have always been a writer.
I have published three books(https://www.amazon.com/Books-Anu-Morris/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AAnu+Morris) and am grateful that another one is in the works. And then there is this blog which you all are reading. I have also started submitting entrie...
'Keep The Drama On The Page.', says Julia Cameron in her book - The Right to Write(https://www.amazon.com/Right-Write-Julia-Cameron/dp/0874779375/ref=asc_df_0874779375/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=266149135190&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17003752409644412540&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hv...
While returning from Vipassana Course, I got stranded at Dallas airport. The usual reasons - were holiday time, the pilot was on a delayed flight, and the flight had maintenance issues, so they put us up in a hotel. Around midnight, they realized that the flight could not take of...
As I mentioned in my last blog(https://www.anumorris.com/2022/12/what-is-the-difference-between-choice-and-a-calling/), I completed a ten-day Vipassana course. This was a special ten-day course. And that means this was only for old students who have done the course before. And ...
I just came back from a 10-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat. I met up with a couple of good friends after almost decades on the way to the retreat. And they asked me why I attend these retreats - as they are more austere than spa retreats. They are silent retreats with no electro...
I had a colleague at work tell me - 'I watched your language's movie.' I was taken aback by the 'Your language' comment because I had to think about what he meant by that.
A bit of context: India is a small country with great variety. Every state has its language, culture, f...
'Your generation cannot boil an egg without going online.' - is a line said by a grandad to his grandson in one of the Slow Horses books I am reading right now. It is a great book series and also streaming on apple.
I read the book, but this sentence stayed with me for some reas...
I talked about Andor - Star Wars Spin-off on Disney with my peers. And being a budding author, I was mesmerized by the storytelling. I told them that Disney knows how to tell a story. Response back was - yeah, when it works, it works. And my instant reply was - that's creativity ...
Let me tell you a story of a young boy bullied as a child in South Africa in the apartheid era. The boy was born into a wealthy family and went to a traditional private boy's school. He does not quite fit in with his sensitive nature and dreams - he likes reading sci-fi books. An...
I recently saw a Tamil movie - PS-1 (Ponniyan Selvan - Part 1)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4qAQYlgZQs). It is historical fiction based on events that took place centuries ago in the south of India. In short, it is about a kingdom and how it retained or lost its empire. One...
Peeling The Layers Of The Onion. Let me state upfront that this blog is like peeling the layers of the onion, and depending on where you are in your journey of knowing yourself - you may see a different layer.
I have a little series of meetings at work titled - The empowered clu...
I had my team do a eulogy as an activity to get to know each other better and also get to know oneself better. And my entry referred to my fascination with morbid things in general. One of my colleagues asked me - what is the reason you are so fascinated by Death?
I thought abou...
Recently, I have been on a spate of watching shows or books about the 60+ in our world. The show I watched was - Green Glove Gang, a polish show on Netflix. It's about three 60+ ladies who are sort of Robin hood and also excellent heist thieves. Well, for one, they are super tech...
COVID-19, a phrase that the entire human population was unaware existed, has become a part of daily life. In our household, we managed to avoid COVID until last week - when my husband tested positive. And at that time, I braced myself for the inevitable of testing positive myself...
So, I just saw an adorable movie about a kindred spirit - Catherine Called Birdie on Amazon Prime(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiztxYR9sU) (surprisingly). Kindred Spirit means - a person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one's own. She is a fourteen-year-old from ...
'I want to play various roles - I don't want to be typecasted in one mould.' You will hear this statement frequently from actors in interviews etc. Very rarely will you find an actor who wants to play only one kind of role. The audience may love them in that role, but secretly th...
Boston was my port of entry into the US. After spending the first twenty-four years of my life in India - the US was the first foreign country I landed in. I spent about seven-nine months in Boston before moving to Phoenix. And I remember the feeling of never settling in - I neve...
We had one of our regular town hall meetings at work. And our wellness consultant mentioned a session on Sober-Curious. My mind tucked that word away for more research - Lo and Behold next day, an article on Sober Curious shows up on bbc.com. The best definition of Sober curious ...
This year one of my cousins got married back home in India. He opted for arranged marriage which means horoscopes had to be checked etc. etc. When the marriage date was finally confirmed, it created a buzz in cousin's WhatsApp chat as we are all spread worldwide. We were so busy ...
In Indian cultures, temples and gods play a significant part - almost sacred. My parents are visiting us. And to play it safe and not incur the wrath of angry gods, we decided to make at least one visit to a temple so that we were covered. We went to the New Vrindavan, Golden Pal...
Throughout my life - I have conquered things—from small ones like climbing a monkey ladder to big ones like marrying a foreigner or acing a test to win a competition. I have written books, choreographed dances etc. The list of accomplishments is never-ending.
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I have a confession to make - I have lots of time. I never run out of time, and it feels like I still have time despite everything I do.
Did I hear a few people reading this gasp, gulp or sputter in astonishment? For the life of me - I struggle to understand why people are so ov...
The last two weeks at work have been interesting. Every day there is something new - an important customer threatening to leave, a death in a colleague's family or a spam mail sent to a customer.
I also recently watched the Season 2 of Indian Matchmaking. This time for every epi...
I just finished watching a Netflix Dark Comedy - 'Darlings'. It is an excellent movie - I recommend it. Without giving away too much, the story has a revenge element. One person aggravates the other person so much so that person wants to take revenge. When I watched the movie, I ...
A lot of things have changed in my lifetime. From no computers to smartphones. From dial-up to Wi-fi everywhere. From arranged marriages to live-in relationships.
And some things have come full circle. From reusable glass jars my mom collected to reusable glass jars sold in shop...
I recently watched - The Lost World - Jurassic Park movie. The first movie that released in 1993. And I remember watching it in theatre and being horrified when the scientist leans on an arm to realize it is just an arm of a dead man.
Have you ever wondered how things always com...
I am afraid that my neighbours will find out - that my dog prefers their grass and leaves over mine. Watching my dog devour my neighbour's plants made me wonder if he thinks the foilage tastes better on that side. To be honest, dogs are far superior to humans when looking after t...
I told a couple of colleagues at work that my parents are staying with me. And there is a hesitant pause as they ask with a questioning look - 'Is that a good thing?' And one of my colleagues even gave me a look of sympathy - when I offered that they cook food - she said, 'Well, ...
I was talking with my colleague at work about the point of doing what she does? The conversation was about spending time with family and work. Her point was we do work so that we can do non-work items, but we spend so much time doing work that we don't get time for everything els...
My parents just arrived from India. The flights from India are super long-spanning more than a day with multiple stops. My parent's flight schedule was from Chennai -> Abu Dhabi -> Chicago -> Columbus. I diligently tracked it on the FlightAware app, which gives a real-time visual...
I was listening to a 90's famous Bollywood song - Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctJI7pCbxAo), whose lyrics roughly translate as - 'When we are new, why should our style be old?' And this movie - 'Dil Chahta Hai(https://www.google.com/search?q=dil+chahta+...
It seems to be the wedding season. We just returned from attending my cousin's wedding in India and went straight into an Indian wedding in New York. Now off to another Indian wedding this coming weekend. We may have a couple before the end of the year. It's one of those seasons ...
Adam and I had come back to Chennai early as we had an early flight to catch. And this was the first time in a long time that I was at Chennai home without my mom - and that, in other words, means practically rudderless.
For starters, we decided to do laundry and started the was...
We just got back after a blissful but hot two weeks in India. Trips to India inspire my creativity because there is so much happening. And I don't usually have a plan when I am there, which is the right space for creativity to strike.
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As a kid, summer holidays were the highlight of my school year - a super long break where I could play as much as possible. I remember being outside at noon with the sun beating on my head, completely disregarding my mom's warnings about it being too hot. If I had a friend who al...
We were coming back home from volunteering yesterday evening, and at the traffic light, there was a big black pick-up truck in front of us. There was a sticker on it which I read as - 'I love guns, titles and America(https://www.google.com/search?q=I+love+titties+guns+and+ameri...
A few years ago, Adam, my husband, had won first prize in Give Back Hackathon - for social enterprises. And as a part of it, he started Wild Tiger Tees(https://wildtigertees.com/) - work with youth experiencing homelessness in the art of screen printing. We were about five or s...
I send many emails at work. I have to convey information, and some things have to be done by a specific date. I do not do this because I like to write (no pun intended). The primary purpose of sending emails is so that people read them. It is a means of communication.
The statis...
Our understanding of certain long-established rituals like Weddings has evolved as society has evolved. In India - weddings are a big deal. More than the actual event, it is a place to connect and bond with others. The best part about my wedding was time spent with my family and ...
I woke up this Tuesday feeling disoriented - like not sure where I was. And as I continued with my meditation, exercising, that feeling persisted. And when I went to walk Aki, it hit me that I was in Columbus and had just returned from a stimulating three day weekend in New York....
The lesson about mould (fungal growth) is one that we have all had first-hand experience with - right. I remember as a kid we had gone on a trip, and when we returned, we found the entire bread loaf covered in grey/blue/black things. Cheese is another such example. I am sure we h...
I am sure most of us are following the Russia-Ukraine situation. And that probably brings up a range of emotions from fear to outrage, disbelief to despair. For me, I cannot get over the fact that we have humans (like you and me) in this day and age who believe that marching tank...
We are all busy. People have so much going on in their lives that they have no time to stop and stare. You meet people on Monday, and the most common comment is that the weekend went by so quick. It can be personal stuff like kids, groceries, household chores, work stuff, or glob...
As some of you know, I have a daily meditation practice - and I follow the Vipassana(https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index) technique for meditation. When I tell people about meditation, one of the most commonly asked questions is, so can you stop thinking? Do thoughts go away whe...
WYSIWYG - is the acronym for What You See Is What You Get. In the old days of web design, the web page's appearance is precisely the way you see it in your editing tool. Of course, technology has evolved into apps and so on, but the acronym has remained.
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Tinder Swindler is a Netflix series that is based on actual events. Women find this guy on Tinder who charms them, takes them on private jets and later, at some point, asks them for money. And afterwards, they also get threats from him if they expose him.
Inventing Anna is anoth...
When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade - we had words and their meaning as a question in our English Exams. The idea was to write down the meaning of difficult words in English. I was an avid reader at that age, reading books above my grade level. I was able to do so by getting the word'...
Yesterday was one of those days at work. When I planned my day on Thursday evening - my Friday work calendar was a dream come true. I only had a couple of meetings where all I had to do was listen. So I wake up Friday morning, meditate, exercise and get ready for work. And when I...
I need a taste of my own medicine. The old saying that the advice we give others is often the advice we need ourselves is true. All this great wisdom that I spout in my blog is evident proof of that. So, today I decided to make that the purpose of this blog.
The advice that I ne...
'If everybody minded their own business, the world would be a better place to live.' I am paraphrasing a quote from Ramana Maharishi. I came across this quote a few years ago, and like all things with unfinished business, it stayed with me.
When you hear this quote - Mind Your O...
I recently went to India for a four-week-long vacation. Some people might argue it is too long to take time off and not the norm. People's reaction to my holiday was more of a surprise - Oh! Wow, is that even possible. When we lived in London, it wasn't that big of a deal because...
I watched a Netflix Movie - Minnal Murali(https://www.netflix.com/title/81497215), recently. It has got excellent reviews and is a regional Indian film like non-Bollywood. This film is from Kerela - a state known for churning out good quality lifelike movies. However, this movi...
So, Fake News has been in the news for the last few years. What is fake news? The Wikipedia definition of fake news is - _Fake news is_ _false or misleading information presented as news__. It often aims to damage the reputation of a person or entity or make money through adv...
The last blog of the year is about nostalgia. It stems from my growing old blog, my trip to India and honestly, it is a culmination of the underlying theme in the COVID years.
The India I grew up in is no longer there. And I cannot alter the reality as it is how much I want it....
So, I recently came back from spending a month in India. It was my annual trip back home - spend some time with my parents, visit relatives, live in a place where people look like me, speak like me, advertisements are in a language I know, listen to the radio in my native languag...
So, I just finished watching the movie - 'The Judge' on Netflix. At a high level, it's a very simple story about a son who returns to a small town from where he ran away but comes back to defend his father, who is the judge. But what stood out to me was the human drama and emotio...
My dad was telling me about his violin teacher's car. Rats managed to get under the hood and chewed off the wires. And this happened so many times that he ended up selling his car. In a tropical country like India, this is a common phenomenon. Our next-door neighbours also have t...
I am re-reading Dune books by Frank Herbert. They are a must for any fantasy fan worth her salt. Like a true work of art - every time you read them, you see a different angle. In the book, there is a group of people called Fremen who thrive in the desert. They have stillsuits tha...
I was reading about this Indian Doctor in Norway. He goes to India, gets married and brings his wife to Norway. They have two kids, and the wife is having a hard time doing everything by herself and adjusting to Norway culture, which is nothing like what she knows. They get repor...
I did my last Townhall meeting of the year with my department. And I decided a long time ago that I will not organise boring meetings, so I make sure that I enjoy the ones I set up. And in a moment of creative stillness, an idea came to me about doing a Quiz which one of my assoc...
This is the last of the blogs from me attending the Grace Hopper conference. You can read my previous two blogs here - Haben Girma(https://www.anumorris.com/2021/10/deaf-and-blind-but-harvard-law-graduate/) and Timnit Gebru(https://www.anumorris.com/2021/10/omg-what-is-the-wo...
I will continue from my last blog about the inspiring deaf-blind graduate from Harvard Law - Haben Girma(https://www.anumorris.com/2021/10/deaf-and-blind-but-harvard-law-graduate/). Another inspiring female at the conference was Timnit Gebru(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timn...
At work, I was selected to attend a conference called Grace Hopper(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper). It is named after a woman computer professional who went to write the initial code for COBOL.
The main theme that I took away from the conference was 'Diversity and...
I like doing icebreakers at work in all my core meetings. How it works is each meeting, one person gets to ask everybody else a question. And the idea behind it slowly but steadily you get to know the other team members. Also, I have found that the question that people ask says a...
'I am here to serve'. I remember saying that when I went for my first meditation course as a server in London, Hereford. I had been doing Vipassana for the last three years before the desire to serve arose in me. Since then, I have been doing a sit and serve every other year.
!...
My ancestral home is a tiny village in the south of India, Sevvur. Unless you are from there or know somebody from the village, there is no way you would have heard about it. It is a sleepy 2.5 street village with a population of less than 1000, and at a given time, there may be ...
Would you ever consume a year-old fruit? Or, a bread that somebody sold to you decades ago? No, right. And I am sure some of you are wondering why would anyone even ask these questions.
The reason is that - we are all consuming rotten stuff - not food but thoughts, behaviour pat...
Let's walk through the following scenarios.
A manager at work has just become a people leader for the first time. And he is having a hard time getting this team to do what he wants and how he wants it.
A lead in a company is struggling to find the balance between doing the work...
I spent the weekend over in Maine - in the midst of nature. The more time I spend in nature, the more I begin to appreciate the wisdom nature has to impart. For example, every morning, we would go for a kayak ride in the lake. It is so beautiful in the morning, sounds of water la...
Let's look at a few examples from the past.
BP's historic oil spill in the Gulf Coast in 2010—the largest oil spill in U.S. history—could have been prevented, employees warned. An employee who worked on the well warned BP officials that their plan to expand the well increase...
I watched this Chinese period drama once - 'The Empress'. The entire series revolved around concubines - more than the emperor. And in one of their secretive plots, they feed another concubine a poison in such small quantities that nobody even suspects that she was murdered when ...
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on ea...
Temperatures in North America have smashed all previous records this year. Death Valley in California, described as the hottest place on earth, was touting 55 degrees Celsius (132 F). \I quote temperatures in C as I still cannot get F\. It was so hot that you could 'supposedly'...
I had just joined British Telecom after my London Business School MBA. MBA was a lesson in humility for me, but there are levels in that too - so, when the time came to lead my first ever workshop to identify root cause issues of incidents, I was super elated. It was a three-day ...
The last year taught us all that change is natural and inevitable. Who would have thought that the entire world would be working from home? I remember I was not very happy about working from home all the time - but some weeks in, I loved it and then earlier this year, I was ready...
Imagine a bucolic scene and lush green farms surrounding a tiny cluster of villages. This scene is set in a time when horse carriages were the primary mode of transport. And in the villages where most dwellings are made of mud and thatch, there is a concrete building. And the bui...
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I love Winnie The Pooh - there is something about this bear that appeals to the genuine and innocent self in me. I don't remember how I came about this quote from Pooh, but I have had it on my office cubicle wall forever. And like all profound things ...
My parents and I were reminiscing on the old days. We had just moved to Delhi when I was about four years old. And none of us except my dad knew the language Hindi. And my mom mentioned that she had done a correspondence course to learn Hindi. I expressed my shock that I had no i...
I am fascinated by my royal, regal, adorable, handsome five-year-old Shiba Inu pup - Aki(https://www.instagram.com/iamluckyaki/?hl=en). The long list of adjectives with the name of his royal highness only goes to prove how much we love him. There is no doubt that he is of a roy...
Continuing from my last blog(https://www.anumorris.com/2021/05/those-were-the-days/) - a student in the university describes how his lab partner and others got into the university. In India, if you have to get into one of the prestigious engineering schools, you have to 'crack'...
I just watched the Netflix Series - 'Alma Mater - Inside the IIT dream'. It was a trip down memory lane - nostalgic, and I did not want it to end in some ways. So much packed in those days, just like peeling the layers of the onion.
I did my engineering and then did my MBA. Both...
I am my Father's daughter. I have so many of his mannerisms that I can predict with almost 99% accuracy what he is thinking or saying. Growing up, I looked up to my dad, and he was/is my best friend. I would tell him everything and still, to this day, do so. And he never judged m...
Eckhart Tolle tells the story of his dad, who in his older years remarked that the quality of mirrors has deteriorated since his younger days. I am sure most of us have looked at the mirror and wondered what happened? Or, go for reunions and somebody remarks on how young we were?...
Have you ever been in a situation where you did something without remembering you just did that? Take a shower without realizing it or driving home from the office or travelling on a tube and may be missed your stop. Your mind was so engrossed in something that you forget what yo...
A few weeks ago, we saw Mr and Mrs Duck looking for suitable accommodation for producing ducklings. They looked far and wide, from our sidewalk to the pond few blocks away. And our dog Aki was always excited to play with the ducks.
And then we did not see them, so we assumed the...
March 18th, 1990 - St Patrick's day in Boston, 13 priceless art pieces go missing (Robbed) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner's Museum. Fast forward almost thirty-one years later - paintings are still missing. The empty frames are still hung in the museum expecting the art pieces ...
As some of you may know, I took a new role \Read a bit about it in this blog(https://www.anumorris.com/2021/01/trickster-mind/)\. I changed my profession. And being the kind of person I am, I read a book called 'The First 90 Days' as I transitioned into my job. One of the exe...
How many times in your life have your plans gone awry? You wanted something to happen, and it does not happen. You did not want something to happen, and it happens. This is the basic definition of Suffering. So, as per this definition, we all suffer and - we have all suffered a l...
Imagine an intricate tapestry made of a rich fabric of vibrant colours. It is so huge that it covers the entire wall. You have never seen the wall behind the Tapestry. For you, the wall does not exist. You spend all your time admiring the Tapestry - so beautiful, so breathtaking....
'I was born into the Hebrew persuasion, but when I got older, I converted to narcissism' is a famous quote by Woody Allen.
He is more aware of the core belief than most of us, who harbour the belief that we are not in love with ourselves. The truth is we only love ourselves - t...
'There will always be a$$\0\\$ at work. You have to learn to deal with them.' My first ever mentor told me - and I did not see her as a mentor then, but now I am very grateful. I learnt a lot, A LOT from her.
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I was in my late twenties and my first job...
We might all think we run our lives - and we are all wrong. Time runs this entire world. The little watches we have on our wrists, calendars on the walls, or our electronic devices rule the world. From the time we wake up to the alarm to the time we go to bed - all we do is run a...
I watched a cartoon movie called Rio- about a domesticated macaw named Blu who goes to Rio from Minnesota to mate with a female named Jewel and produce more offsprings of his kind.
Jewel is free-spirited and literally 'wild', and Blu does not even know how to fly. And in the cl...
A young woman lost touch with her dad as a child when her parents divorced. As she grows up, she desires to meet him - she finds out that he is dead. She wishes she had made an effort to reach out to him sooner.
A woman's in-laws shun her because she could not produce a male hei...
In the ten-day Vipassana(http://dhamma.org) retreat, Goenka Ji tells us a story about Kisa Gotami. Kisa Gotami was the wife of a wealthy man of Savatthi(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savatthi). Her story is one of the more famous ones in Buddhism(https://en.wikipedia.or...
I recently watched the movie - 'The White Tiger' on Netflix. It is one of those movies which has more than just a basic storyline. It depicts India, and it's culture - things that probably most Indians don't even think about anymore. But it goes a lot deeper than that. I have not...
For the last eighteen months or so, I had been on the path to get a new role at work in a different profession. I had gotten a couple of interviews but never made it into the second round. Subconsciously, I lived in a world where I want the role but was never going to get it. Thi...
When you read a book, do you wonder about the blank spaces around the words? Do you wonder about the blank pages on which the letters appear?
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When you enter a room, do you think about the space in the room? When you use the furniture, do you think ...
Have you ever seen a new-born baby? For the first six months or so they have no idea of who they are, they are not aware of their legs and arms. One of my nieces used to pull her hair as a baby and start crying - unable to tear her hand and stop the pain.
Babies live in the NOW ...
I just watched the latest Pixar animation movie - 'Soul'. It is a must-see even though not at the same level as their other movie - 'Inside Out'. Before we get into the actual blog a word about the creation process for these movies. Pixar movies generally speaking come from a ver...
Make Your Life Easy(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BTF2LLD), and You Can Do It(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086986YFL) are two of the books that I have authored. And they both start with the chapter on Suffering. My preference was to begin them with Grim Reaper, but my husband ma...
Imagine you are in a theatre watching a string of movies. The movies and the actors cater to all the emotions you can think of - fear, sex, violence, love, family, patriotism, terrorism, heist - the whole gamut of life as we know it.
Let's say that the movies are so fascinating ...
I had a dream that I was in a marketing office with my friend. My friend was having issues with her peer, and we were walking down the corridor to the boss's office. All of a sudden fire alarm start - annoying kind, Kiiiiii-Kiiiii Kiiiii. We look at each other and assume it is so...
It is time for my annual Vipassana retreat blog.
Like all things this year, Vipassana retreat centres(http://dhamma.org) have been closed in most places. At the beginning of the year, I thought I might be able to do it in a centre - but as the year progressed that possibility...
I love solitude, the difference between being lonely and alone. Nature and a crowded city both let me be - which is why I find them both very soothing to my soul. I enjoy watching movies alone, eating by myself, going to cafes on my own. Best of all, I like to travel alone becaus...
Let's start with THE NEWS of the day. Biden has won the elections in the United States of America today. Depending on which side you support, you are either relieved or disappointed. For the most part majority of the population is happy that the election rigmarole is all behind u...
One's progress in childhood is marked by how soon you can answer the question, 'What's your name?' And if you are also aware of your parent's names - you are going places.
As a newborn baby, you are utilizing your five senses to the fullest. Your understanding of your mom is thr...
I just finished watching, 'The Queen's Gambit' on Netflix, based on a novel by Walter Tevis. To summarize, it's about an orphan who is a chess prodigy and how she battles the demons of her mother's death and wins at chess - dealing with drugs, addiction, loneliness.
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Yesterday I stumbled upon some old hard drives from my London days and beyond. I ended up watching videos of events/moments/experiences that had a meant a lot to me at some point - and now are only memories.
My friend's hen night, Mine and Adam's dance performances, Dance partie...
I just finished a week of an exciting event called - Give Back Hack. It is an event where strangers come together and form teams around something they are passionate about - and then turn it into a working idea by the end of the weekend. And due to COVID this year it was a week-l...
I am participating in a hackathon this week - called Give Back Hack(https://givebackhack.com/). In essence, it's about a group of strangers coming together to launch a business by the end of it. The caveat is that the company has to have a social impact.
I chose to work with ...
Meditation, Spiritual, Journey, Self, Isha, Tolle, Yoga, Consciousness, Presence - these have become buzzwords today. Almost everybody I know is aware of these things even if they are not actively practising. There is an aura or mystery around the whole spiritual journey which fe...
Saying YES to the moment is a buzzword these days. Surrender to what is will ring true if you are on a spiritual or self-growth path. And like anything profound and straightforward - we have managed to complicate it because we think with our minds. Our mind is flawed when it come...
"I certainly do not think. Hence, I hear the words that come out of my mouth at the same time as you hear them. This means that there is nobody teaching anybody here."
This is what Eckhart Tolle says to his audience in one of his retreats. It is funny when you hear it the first ...
Imagine you have gone to watch a fantastic play in a lovely theatre. The actors are supposed to be so good that it's almost life-like. It is a very engaging drama with all the trials and tribulations of human life that we all go through in our real lives.
Now, let's suppose that...
How many of us daydream every day to escape from our daily grind? Imagining about writing a novel, buying your dream house, creating a reading nook in your home, your job as a CEO, your successful business, having kids, going to exotic places for vacation.... the list is endless....
I recently saw the movie, 'Stand and Deliver' based on the real-life story of Jamie Escalante, a math professor. He is famous for teaching calculus to high school students in Garfield High School in East LA. Most of the students are of Hispanic origins who passed the test.
There...
I had given a talk to OSU - MBA students last year. And one of them asked me a question, 'I have seen the movie Dangal in which Aamir Khan had to fight with society and sometimes even his daughters to make them into national wrestling champions. I want to know how the experience ...
Have you ever been in a situation in your life where it felt like 'THE End Of The World'? Like, nothing would be ever right in your life again. What will people think of you? How will you ever get out of bed and face life again?
And here you are, reading my blog hale and hearty ...
All of us have been part of at least one of the following scenarios.
SCENARIO 1: Seen a kid, niece or nephew and commented on how much they have grown? - 'Oh My God - she has grown so much.'
SCENARIO 2: An uncle, aunt or somebody older than you comment on how much you have gr...
I just finished watching a movie called 'Is Love Enough? SIR' by Rohan Gera. It is a love story set in Mumbai revolving around a prosperous guy who falls in love with his maid. There is a scene where his friend says, 'You cannot date your maid.' The guy responds with, 'Keep that ...
I recently finished reading the book - 'Girl On The Train' by Paula Hawkins. She is also the author of 'Gone Girl' which is also a movie. She is one of the rare authors who use unreliable narrators in her stories and does it well too.
This book is also very similar. I got caught...
Have you ever wondered why the CEO gets the corner office on the topmost floor? Have you ever wondered why everybody has to rise when Judge enters the room?
There is a distinct hierarchy everywhere - in hospitals, airports even in Restaurants: head chef and a sous chef, Pilot an...
Adam and I were walking with Aki - our fabulous Shiba Inu pup one day. It was a hot summer day, and Aki was dragging his feet. We ran into another couple with their Shiba Inu pup. We exchanged notes, and they continued walking with their white Shiba Inu pup leading the way, happi...
'Stay hungry, Stay foolish' is a quote from Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford in the year 2005.
As per Quora, it means that one should never be content with what is, nor consider oneself an expert. There is always more to do/gain ("stay hungry" for knowledge) and m...
There is a lot of news about the suicide of the Bollywood Actor - Sushant Singh Rajput. It has raised questions on the powerful few who own most of the industry - which movies make it, who is the hero etc. Soon after that, there was another post from a singer stating that it is t...
Before 2020 I was living my regular routine - going to work, getting things done and accomplishing the goals I had set for myself. I also spent a considerable amount of time with Wild Tiger Tees. Wild Tiger Tees is a social enterprise which Adam, I and three of our friends formed...
A few days ago, NASA launched astronauts to the space station. And a few days ago George Floyd was killed as a result of police brutality or racial injustice as some of us would say it.
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Somebody in your team made a m...
Coronavirus seems to have crept on us from something that was happening elsewhere to becoming a global pandemic. When it first started, I never anticipated the impact it will have on the entire world. Even after we discover a vaccine, I suspect life as we knew it might not return...
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function - a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
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It is hard to see both sides of a situation - understand the tru...
When Adam and I got together, he used to hang around me and my Indian friend Ranjani. And we both used to talk in Hinglish which is Indian's way of using English with Hindi. And one day he asked me what did we mean by timepass. And that's when I realized that Indians have a diffe...
I am currently in the seventh week of lockdown. Who would have thought? I had just published my book - 'You Can Do It' when all this was beginning. And I had sent out emails to the few folks I know to do my marketing.
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If something is unfair and nobody is aware that it is unfair - is it still unfair?
I am writing this blog right after watching the Bollywood movie - 'Thappad' which translates into - 'Slap'. And I am writing this caught up in an emotion which can only be described as 'Outraged h...
My dad has been talking about this guy called Sri M for a couple of years. Sri M has written a few books, and my dad has read them all. The topic of Sri M came up again recently, and I decided to give his books a try. I share my dad's kindle - clicked on the book and voila downlo...
The dictionary meaning of normal is 'conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.'
Like, as an Asian child growing up - to be 'normal' was to work super hard, get excellent grades and a get a good job. Continuing further, it also meant that you married a nice boy that ...
So, I have been watching a standup comedy show called - Comicstaan on Amazon Prime Video. This is an Indian show featuring Indian comedians. I stumbled upon it - watched the trailer, loved the jokes and got hooked to it.
I have watched other standup comedians too, mostly western...
I have recently discovered Self-Compassion. I knew it was the right thing to do; it is something we should practice. But as we all know, there is a vast difference between knowing and knowing, right? When the student is ready teacher appears.
I watched the video by Kristen Neff ...
With the coronavirus shutdown, I am finding it easier to go inward. I had already started an introspection journey this year, so the lockdown came as a pleasant addition.
I wanted to share some experiences with you.
Engineering Days: I was not happy about the fact that I got ad...
We are living in interesting times - something that is making history right now even as I write this blog.
India is in a 21-day lockdown, and some of the temples shut down a bit earlier. My parents told me that within a few days of the lockdown, wild animals started roaming in ...
Recently, I have started noticing different things.
There are a lot more people who are walking their dogs.
I see father/son going on a walk.
I see mother/daughter running with their dog.
I see families going on bikes together.
I see couples walking around the park.
Wi...
Coronavirus - Let's start with THE topic on everybody's mind. Even if you do not want to hear about it you have no choice - it is impacting almost everything. We finally gave in to the fear that we might have no food at home (which made no sense) and Adam decided to make a trip t...
Adam and I recently finished level 1 Improv Class. It was something that we were always curious about, and I was personally very interested in learning how to go with the flow. So, we did the class and finished it successfully as well.
There is an activity in Improv called Dr.Kn...
I have mentioned in the past that I do run a Bollywood Dance Class as a side hustle. It is my creative outlet for me, given the rest of my work is pretty organized.
It so happened that I choreographed wedding dances for three couples and one of them included proposal as well. An...
I just watched the movie Parasite. (Disclaimer: there might be some spoilers below). It is a Korean oscar-winning movie. The premise, plot and complemented with the acting. It is not a light watch - instead, it left me feeling very heavy in my heart for reasons that I cannot arti...
We had one of our leaders come and talk to us at a work meeting. He was talking about expense pressure and how it is a given. He made a comment that stood out to me - 'You do not walk around thinking about Gravity, do you?'
His point was expense pressures will always be there - ...
For reasons unfathomable at this point, I had watched Karate Kid sometime ago, and the line that stood out for me from that movie was - 'We think with our eyes.' We see something that feeds into our mind, and we create our lives through that.
It is very much like a computer - yo...
When I started my Bollywood Dance Class - I had no idea that it would be so much more than just dancing or driving Monday Blues away as I said on my website. What do I mean by this?
One of my very first clients was a hen night or Bachelorette party. It was the bride and her frie...
Two little kids decide to have some fun and go and roll in the mud - pretending to be pirates saving their ship amid a storm. When they go back home their faces covered with grime and their clothes dripping mud.
The mom tells one child, 'How could you behave like this? These are...
In the old days, farmers would let a piece of land be without crops for a season as it would regain its fertility. This land which was left as it is was called fallow land. There was another technique called crop rotation which involved rotating crops in a fashion to replenish th...
I am sure all of you have used rubber bands - they are very elastic. If they were stiff, then there is no point in using them. Each rubber band has its breaking point, but for the most part, they are flexible when it comes to holding things together - be it a small bundle of pens...
Have you ever seen somebody do tightrope walking? They are very alert every moment when they are walking on the rope. And they should be as their life depends on it, literally. Whereas on either ends or the extremes they are more relaxed. Even after a lot of experience, they migh...
It is 2020, a new day, a new year, a new decade. Technically speaking, this is just another day with twenty-four hours in it. Non-technically speaking it is a big deal. People stay up till midnight to usher in this new dawn. Resolutions are made, relationships are built or broken...
Imagine you are an observer at a wedding. The wedding celebrations have just started - the stage decorated with flowers. The priest, groom and the bride's father are performing the religious rites. A handful of people can be spotted sitting in the audience. You see an elderly man...
While growing up at home in India, I was not very observant. But now that I am away and I come back - I see more and more. Like my parents make tea for the watchman and our maid everyday. My parents went to our neighbour's wedding, who also happens to be the Ruby Fruits shop' own...
During the ten days Vipassana Retreat, Goenka Ji tells the story of a little kid and his favourite dish. His mom makes his favourite dish - rice pudding and to add flavour she adds cardamom to it. The little kid sees the cardamom seeds, thinks they are small stones and refused to...
I landed in India after twenty-three hours of flight time. I enjoy long flights however gruelling it may seem - there seems to be something about being suspended in the air - which is very freeing. And I look forward to landing and coming out of the aeroplane. Not only my mind bu...
As some of you know, we have the most gorgeous, most handsome, loveliest of all pups - Aki. His Instagram handle is iamluckyaki. Some would say that he is a little spoiled and they would be right. He gets daily massages, owns the house. He goes to daycare a few days in the week....
I am an avid fan of Downton Abbey. For those of you who are not familiar with the show here is a quick synopsis.
The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domes...
I recently signed up to be a Beta Tester for an online course 'Employee Happiness' created by an excellent friend of mine - Raj, McCombs School of Business _at_ The _University of Texas at Austin_. Raj has also written a fantastic book along the same lines, 'If you are so smart,...
When I was in London, there was one topic that would come in almost every conversation - Greta Thunberg. Who is she you ask? She is a 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden. She is fighting for a normal life for her generation and the generations after hers. She wants the plane...
I was a little down when we were leaving London - it is almost a physical tug on my heart. It gets harder and harder to leave London, much like India. Such is life - and we ordered a Uber to get to the airport.
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I got into the cab all pre...
I have talked about this topic in a few of my previous blogs. But every time I am in London, I am reminded of my global nomadic tribe despite living in Columbus. I cannot deny the almost visceral feeling that I am home while in London. Every fibre of my being relaxes knowing it h...
I have an 11-month-old niece. She is a fascinating creature. She makes me a question and re-think about how I view the world and my mental models around it.
In India, we have a few rituals/customs that have a forgotten significance to them. And a couple of them are piercing kids...
We were lucky enough to meet a lovely couple friend of ours while at the wedding of a common friend in the charming city of Pas Robles. We literally ran into them and decided to have a very relaxing brunch. While the food did a great job of satisfying our appetite, it was the con...
Let's start with a story this time
_Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen._
_Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow unti...
Adam and I were discussing cartoon movies we have watched in the past like Cars, Toy Story, How to train your dragon, Kung Fu Panda and Up. The storyline for these movies except Up is primarily based on personification. Up is truly an outlier - 'a little out of this world', espec...
Montessori Mafia - is a nickname coined for the people like Google's founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, not to mention Julia Child and rapper Sean "P.Diddy" Combs. These are well-known people...
At work, one of the peers has this annoying habit of forwarding emails that I have already received - and these emails are more of the provocative nature (focusing solely on issues or highlighting where things are not working). I used to respond to these emails. But, as things go...
During our trip to Turkey, we went to visit the ruins which were just outside the city. The guide took us to the ruins where the hospital had once stood, and he said, 'This hospital was famous for not having a single patient die on them.' We all looked at him expectantly and then...
I did a couple of Bollywood Dance workshops for kids at a library during the summer holidays. The library staff had been reaching out to me for a couple of years, but the timing worked out this year, so I said yes, mostly out of guilt and also at the happiness she expressed when ...
How many times do you go through your pantry and throw away stuff that has expired or gone bad? The things you thought you would use but have forgotten or no longer need.
How often do you go through your closet and select clothes to throw away or donate? Clothes that do not fit ...
We recently played a game - Dayam, it is popular in the villages of South India. I had played it as a child growing up and recalled fond memories of playing it with cousins and other friends to pass the time in the long hot summer holidays. I had got the board and the dice years ...
During my first Vipassana Service, I served in the kitchen. And we usually cook for like about 70-90 people - breakfast, lunch for these many people. And it means everything we do is in huge quantities like potatoes - 4 Kgs, cucumber - 2 Kgs. One of the tasks that I was assigned ...
At lunch, I was telling my family about an amazon prime video I had watched. It's called 'Spotlight' and is based on real events depicting the Boston Globe newspaper's journey in exposing the child abuse by priests. It led to a lively discussion around institutions, power, giving...
This blog is a little bit different from my other blogs in the sense that it is a collection of various bits of information about Japan that I find fascinating. For a while, I have been fascinated by Japan. Not only because our Shiba-Inu pup is from Japan but because of the demog...
Have you ever wondered at the sheer variety in nature? It is unbelievable, even in one tree, no leaf is the same. I am sure there are many other species of animals and trees in existence that we are unaware of. Nature is at peace with it - the tree does not wish it could get rid ...
How many times in your life have you heard - 'Don't take it too personally.' Have you ever wondered what it means?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English to take something personally is to get upset by the things other people say or do because you think that their remar...
When I was trying to get a job after engineering, I remember talking to my seniors to understand what kind of questions to expect. One of them telling me that one of the students had written writing as a hobby in her resume. The interviewer asked her, 'You want to be a software e...
When I was a kid - the most persistent common thing I remember being told is to get good marks (grades) so that I could get a good university. So, all through my school, it was about getting admitted to a good college. Then it was getting good marks in college to get a good job. ...
I recently watched the movie - 'The boy who harnessed the wind(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPkr9HmglG0).' If you have not had a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. There is a scene between two brothers in the movie which caught my attention.
TThe village they live in ...
I love traveling and with traveling there comes a certain adventure because you never know what happens - delay in flights, missed connections. I was telling somebody that I loved being on planes and in the airport because while I am there, I am nowhere - I have nothing to do, an...
If you poke your finger in a lake or ocean what do you get? More Water.
If you poke your finger in a desert what do you get? More Sand.
If you poke your finger in a watermelon what do you get? More Watermelon.
If I was to poke you - what would come out of you? Now, I do not ...
I taught five-year-olds science during a volunteering project. I was nervous because I did not know what to expect, but I enjoyed it. The main reason was I left the class feeling hugged (not Physically but general vibe). I often wonder why that is - my take is because with kids t...
My brother and sister-in-law had a baby a few months ago. Until the day she was born - she was a concept. We spoke about her; we figured out her names, her traits - who will she look like. And then one day she was born - she was there in reality. And now she is a human being who ...
Some of you might know that I have a dance class that I teach as a side hustle. I have been doing it for five years, every Monday teaching a class. At the end of last year, I could feel my interest in dance class waning. So, I decided to call it quits - I did float the idea with ...
I recently watched an amazon prime series, 'Made in Heaven.' It is about a couple of wedding planners whose clients are the elite of elitist in Delhi, India. The show was ok overall, one-time watch. But, there was a thread in that show that got me worked up a bit - and not a lot ...
At work, we go through a lot of assessments - leadership, personality, etc. You will find a few statements common across these assessments and today I want to talk about one of such statements - 'I have high expectations of myself and work hard but should be careful about expecti...
I gave a talk on Leadership yesterday at an undergraduate class, my first ever talk as a leader officially. The students asked a lot of questions at the end of the, and on my way back I was thinking about the talk and life in general. That's when I realized the difference between...
When I lived in London, I was introduced to a multitude of dishes and most of them I was open to trying and loved for the most part. The one sort of meal that I could not digest was the one that had both sweet and spicy flavors. I could not understand why you would put honey on c...
In the ten-day Vipassana(http://dhamma.org) course, Goenka Ji tells us lots of stories. My mind wandered over to the following story today.
Goenka Ji asks that the light bulbs we have in our houses - they appear to remain the same for a long time, if they do not change then w...
I was discussing with my parents on our weekly skype about a talk from Sadhguru about love and relationships. He talks about relationships in this quick 10-minute video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwiWFQSDriI). And what he said made me think. He says that these bonds do not...
In India when I was growing up, corporal punishment was allowed (it is illegal now). I still remember the punishments where one had to stand up with both hands up - straight and other was to bend down and put your hands underneath your knees and touch your ears (Called as the Mur...
Check out this article first at this link(https://www.inc.com/magazine/20061001/column-guest.html)
The idea that it is life's job to keep moving the salt shaker off the center of the table and my job to keep putting it back at the center - is so to the point.
I knew about thi...
Scenario 1: Do you brush your teeth every day? Do you floss every day? Do you take care of your teeth religiously, making sure that they are healthy?
Scenario 2: Do you skip brushing your upper teeth because you can do it the next day? Who cares whether you brush your teeth or ...
_'I want to meditate and exercise but have no time to do it.'
'I have so much to do and no time to do them.'
'If only there were more hours in the day._
Do the above statements resonate with you? Now, have you heard of the quote that time is an illusion? See what Tolle has t...
Imagine if you could hear a tree talk like us humans. What do you think the tree would say?
Option 1: 'Oh! My God. It started snowing again. How can it snow again when it just snowed yesterday? And the tree next to me - why cannot it just stick to its own space always leaning i...
While doing the annual house cleaning, I decided to watch some Netflix to give me company. I was not looking for something particular, so I did a quick browse, and the name 'Watership Down' sounded familiar, and it was an animation with rabbits - I pressed play and settled down t...
Humankind has made tremendous progress in the last century than ever before. In our lifetimes, we have seen the journey of the internet from its birth to becoming the digital oxygen. Connecting across borders is easier than ever - we have come a long way from letters/steamer ship...
I am sure all of us have heard the Aladdin's song - A Whole New World. And I am sure they could see a whole new world and a fantastic view from the carpet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1Rb9hC4JY
A few of us also believe in the parallel universe theory, where we might be do...
Life as we know is very fleeting, but we live as we are immortals. Do we ever wake up in the morning feeling so grateful because we are alive, our dear ones are alive? No, we take it for granted that we will wake up in the morning every time we go to bed.
I am not proposing that...
As we were driving down the roads in India, my husband commented that he sometimes wonders what all these people on the road are doing or not doing?
There are a lot of people in India who sit and wait or wonder or do something so complex that it is beyond a simple mind like min...
At our village market a cow got free and was trying to eat the vegetables off the stalls - the owners and the customers shooed the cow away, and then life went back to normal.
During the cyclone in Tamilnadu, a few of the trees just fell.
During winter the trees shed their leav...
India has started a new system where every Indian is required to get an Aadhaar card much like the Social Security Number (or SSN) in the US. Now, India has a population of 1 billion and the USA about 328 million. While I was in India, my parents suggested getting my Aadhaar card...
All of my paternal grandmothers have breathed their last in our ancestral village - the village where they were married into not the village where they were born. This topic was the talk of the town for quite a while. Even now somebody will say - it is very curious that all the d...
I practice Vipassana Meditation(http://dhamma.org) - Vipassana in Pali means "To see things as they are".
And in the book Non Violent Communication(http://www.cnvc.org/) by Marshall Rosenberg he also talks about "Observing without judgment".
At one level it makes perfect se...
Have you ever had an experience where you had met a good friend(s) and left feeling more energized than when you entered the conversation? Have you ever watched a movie or read a book which inspires you to be creative and leaves your mind buzzing? Have you ever watched somebody s...
This year I become a Vegan. It has honestly been a journey. I gave up chicken because I stopped enjoying it, next year I gave up fish, last year I gave up milk and this year eggs. Before I go any further let me say that I believe in the Chinese proverb -"80% is perfect for me". Y...
Have you your tried to clean something which has been covered with grime and dirt? One single swipe of the finger will not do it - neither will one single swipe of a cloth. It takes time. First, you might have to let it soak in some liquid for hours and then clean it layer by lay...
Yesterday Wild Tiger Tees(https://www.wildtigertees.com/) (a social enterprise of which I am one of the co-founders) went to festival for good(https://www.evensi.us/festival-good-columbus-ohio/265829671) in Columbus Ohio.
It is a cool festival about 'Doing more good' - all t...
Do you remember something you wanted as a child? A toy, teddy bear, candy. And what about now? Do you still want it? Do you remember the first time your heart broke over love? Do you still feel the same angst? Do you remember the time when you fell as a child? Do you still have t...
I had written a post about Diversity and Inclusion(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=16339) a while ago. And I am still fascinated by the power of diversity.
I like to travel as some of you know - and I realized that for the last few trips we have always stayed at an Airbnb. I reme...
In Creativity and Personal Mastery(https://theraoinstitute.com/) course, prof.Rao tells us a story. A baby is happily drinking his bottle of milk. Let's say you take it away. The baby's face gets all red, and he bawls his little lungs out. There is no mistaking that he is upset...
Have you ever been in a situation where there is so much going on that you wonder how you are going to get it done? And every activity on your plate is the one that you love and one that energizes you. I am talking about a situation when despite your best prioritization and time ...
A visit to Hong Kong reminded me how much I miss living in a city - a real city with lots of people and buildings so tall that you cannot see the sky.
There are two kinds of people in the world: City dwellers and non-city dwellers. They are very distinct breeds. As a city dwelle...
Have you ever been a situation where 1. Let's say you have had a bad experience with somebody - for example, you had to ask for directions and that somebody shouted at you for asking the directions. So, now you are afraid of asking directions. You use your previous interaction to...
Let's say you are a kid in a small town. As a kid, you are fascinated by every nook and corner of the town - the towering candy stores, the super busy traffic, and the tall adults that you look up to. Whether you want it or not you are exposed to new experiences and people.
As a...
As some of you know, I teach Bollywood Dance once a week. My students are from varied backgrounds, some Indian - some American, Spanish, Korean...The songs are in Hindi - the national language of India. So, the students regardless of whether they know the language or not dance to...
My favorite city in Europe is Paris. You might say that it's a cliche or there are better cities than Paris in Europe, and you are probably right. The way I classify favorite is to ask the questions - Did I have fun? Did it satisfy my curiosity to explore? And the primary reason ...
I have been fascinated with the Socratic type of questioning since I heard about it first in Creativity and Personal Mastery Course.(https://theraoinstitute.com/) I am also captivated by zen Koans like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" These are questions which do not h...
I did my first 10-day Vipassana course(http://dhamma.org) in Delhi, Gurgaon. Vipassana meditators run all the Vipassana courses on a volunteer basis - nobody is paid. They do it because they want to and genuinely too. I had to do two more courses before the desire to serve aros...
I am not talking about your physical location like home, town or state but the one place where you are present constantly - you never leave that place even for a second: Your Mind.
What comes to your mind when you listen to this song(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udra3Mfw2oo...
STORYLINE: Prisoners are made to work in inhuman conditions and have to produce a certain number of shirts by the end of the day. If one of them falls behind either that person is killed, or the entire unit suffers. The authorities approached one of the prisoners to become a supe...
How many times have you heard yourself think or say the following statements about yourself or others? - She is lazy or I am lazy. - She is always late or I am always late. - You or I never do this. When we make such statements, we are very harsh/critical and judgemen...
I recently attended a Non Violent Communication workshop, and they used a couple of metaphors which I loved. First one was a Giraffe - there were things about Giraffe that I discovered. 1. Giraffes have an 11-Kg or a 26-pound heart. 2. Giraffes have a 1.8m or 6 feet long neck. 3....
A scenario from work: Let's say I have an employee reporting to me and let's say there are some performance issues. And it is impacting her peers as well. I have a constructive conversation with her and feedback is received well. After a week I check in with her peers. Feedback i...
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I remember somebody telling me about their best friend who has known them since childhood. Most people will probably say, 'Awwww, that's so nice.' Not you, you are thinking - 'That is so scary, why would I want that?'
You have lived in a place for f...
The Four Rules state: Whoever come are the right people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. Whenever it starts is the right time. When it’s over, it’s over. and The Law of Two Feet states that:
“If during the course of the gathering, any person finds themselves ...
For selection into an orchestra, the potential candidates were asked to perform behind a screen so that the examiners had no idea who was playing - a carpet was placed behind the screen to prevent the heels of the women to give them away. RESULTS: The number of women in orchestra...
Have you ever said to yourself - "If only, I had done it this way - it would have worked out." or "Why did this have to happen?" Have you ever been able to get things executed precisely the way you planned?
Neither have I - best-laid plans gone awry, right. I am a project manage...
We had an open space session in one of our CPM retreats. And the topic was Silence - I went to the breakout room, and the session leader was there. He asked me, 'Inside or Outside' and I replied, 'Does it matter?' and he said no. We had just started a conversation when another pe...
Let's imagine a conversation between trees: A baby Plant called Plant, Young Sapling called Sapling, Mature Tree called Mature. Baby: I am tired of just taking in water and sunlight - I want to produce fruits. Producing fruits is so cool - it's the coolest thing in the world. You...
The Artist's Way(https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B006H19H3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523487489&sr=8-1&keywords=artist%27s+way) is a book by Julia Cameron. It was a lifesaver for me. I grew up in India where getting a job is more important than follow...
An elephant and its rider are trying to get somewhere 1. The Rider has no clue where he wants to go - he and the elephant meander needlessly. 2. The rider knows his destination, but cannot decide which route to take - he and the elephant stay in the same place. 3. The Rider knows...
Let's start with a story first. A group of carmakers from the US went to study the car making process in Japan. In the US, there is a stage where the engineer uses a rubber mallet to fit the doors into the car. The US group kept waiting for this to happen in the Japanese cycle bu...
I was watching one of the episodes of Law and Order, and this scene jumped out at me. Ben Stone: The father really believed that he loved his son. Adam Schiff: And, you don't. Paul Robinette: Well, history has shown that sons will go to extremes to please their fathers. Ben Stone...
Before we begin: Vegetarian: No meat including chicken, fish (eggs - Maybe) Vegan: Vegetarian and no dairy products (including eggs) Whole Food Plant-Based Diet (WFPB): Vegan plus no refined or processed foods or sugar and limited oil
I turned WFPB (Vegan) this year. I still hav...
I have been watching episodes of Law and Order Season 2, which aired in 1990. Apparently, it was the first series to introduce the forty-five-minute episode format and also the first to include both sides of the story (Law and Order). I am enjoying it - if you remember reading my...
Incident 1: I turned thirty years old, and I remember talking to my dad who is a realist in all sense. I told him, "Can you believe it I am thirty years old?" And his response was, "Yes, and in another ten years you will be forty and another ten you will be fifty."
Incident 2: I...
Across the world, there are a lot of different ways of saying Hello. In England talking about the weather is a way of starting a conversation - even though the weather doesn't change - it is just gray, gloomy and dark. In most places - "How are you?" is the common greeting. At wo...
Apology - I am not sure I understand its real purpose or meaning. Of course, some of you might say there is no need to understand it - follow the norms, and I will be fine. But, I am sorry - I have to explore this whole apology concept. (Pun intended).
When to say sorry? The dif...
I am reading this book called "How Good People Make Tough Choices?(https://www.amazon.com/Good-People-Make-Tough-Choices/dp/0688175902/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518359318&sr=8-2&keywords=how+good+people+make+tough+choices)" And Rushworth Kidder the author makes an excellent point...
Have you ever woken up in the morning deciding to make someone's else life hell? If yes, then it is better that you don't get out of bed. Jokes aside, earnestly when have we wished to hurt another person. If you are like an average person then your thoughts will be focused more o...
I would like you to meet our Shiba Inu pup - Aki (which means Bright Prince in Japanese). He is two years old, and honestly, I don't know what life was like without him. All the secret to success mantras like positive thinking, the power of thought Aki knows them all instinctivel...
I sat down to write my blog, and I didn't know what to write. Usually, I have an idea that I have been toying with and then its just a matter of letting it all flow on the paper. This time was a little different. I looked at my backlog, racked my brains, but nothing came up, so I...
Empathy - seems to be the buzz word these days. Notably, in management - empathy for your customers, for your business partners, for your team. And if that's not enough, three people who I know well and spend quite a bit of time with have Empathy as their top gallup strength. Now...
Happy New Year All. This year we were in Sydney for the New Years and decided to do what we never did even once in the seven-year we lived in London. Watch the fireworks in person. A well-organized event in Sydney. There are different vantage points. The one we chose was the McMa...
I just finished reading the Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny. It is a series of murder mysteries set in the fictional village of Three Pines in Quebec. It is an excellent read if you read fiction books. Louise Penny does such a great job of describing the characters that ...
"It is easy to fight a war, but it's the day to day life that wears us out." Like all things that have something to teach us this quote stayed with me. The words might not be the same, but it does convey the message. It is easier to tackle a big crisis than with the minutiae of o...
A bunch of us were talking about our holiday plans for the year-end. The person sitting on my left was telling me about how he and his wife had gone to Brussels and spoke to this young girl who was traveling Europe with just a backpack. And I responded with, "I didn't like Brusse...
Have you ever been in a situation where the person you consider the bane of existence is the apple of the eye for another person? Have you ever heard a different experience from somebody you trust about a familiar friend? Why is that we all have different experiences with the sam...
Story 1: For almost a year in a row I had two apples for breakfast every day. I would wake up in the morning, use my apple corer, fill up a plastic cup and eat them during the car ride to the office. It was convenient, healthy and kept the doctor away. I don't really care for app...
Last Saturday our two year old pup - Aki decided he wanted to experience freedom. He wiggled free from his collar and went for an hour jaunt around the neighborhood. My husband, Adam trudged behind, coaxing Aki to come back. Aki is a shiba inu and they are known for their stubbor...
Adam and I were walking to a coffee shop downtown. I saw this lanky young man with a head full of thick curls walking towards us. He was talking non-stop and was holding onto his pants. As he walked past us I realized that he was talking to himself and not on bluetooth as I had a...
I have a hard time listening to others. I am very good at listening... to myself - I am beginning to realize that I love the sound of my own voice. And recently with the change in my role as a people leader I find myself coming back to the listening more and more. Maybe, its beca...
Breathing - one of the activities in life which we don't think about much (mostly). Breath is unique in many ways and is actually the life force that drives us. The day you stop breathing is when you die and the day you started breathing is when you started living.
First thing a...
I recently attended a CPM(https://theraoinstitute.com/) alumni retreat in London. And it has been a decade since I took the course first at London Business School. In the first class Prof. Rao invited us speak about what we want from the class. And at that time I was at crossro...
Let's take two scenarios. Scenario 1: You are having a really busy day - rushing from one thing to the other. You have had a whirlwind day - and you have got 15 minutes before you get on tube. You have been looking forward to the 15 minute break all day long and one of your old a...
In our recent trip to London I could not help but wonder on how different my mind and body react to being in London. The tall buildings - crowds of people around you - the buzz of the tubes, buses which you do not notice anymore. I automatically start to walk fast, whiz through t...
We lived in London for seven years before moving to Columbus. I am fortunate enough to have explored London in different phases. You experience a different London when you are a student - a different one when you are working - a different one when you are on paid holiday. London ...
Before I start this blog I want to suggest checking out these blog posts. Aki - A Free Fellow(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15633) Journey of Discovery with Aki(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15615)
As you have probably guessed this post is about our pet dog - Aki. !(/images/...
We recently visited Ashville, NC. And this is our second trip. First time we were passing by and spent a day here exploring the downtown and cool eating places. To be honest it was a)Dobra Tea House(http://www.dobratea.com/) b)Chai Pani(http://www.chaipaniasheville.com/) that...
I am reading this book called 'Ego is the enemy(http://egoistheenemy.com/).' One of the speakers at my work mentioned this book and like all things that are on your path call out to you - this book did too. I have been fascinated by ego and always wondered if I have a big ego o...
Let's take a scenario: You have a early morning meeting at work. And for some reason you slept late the previous night and woke up late. You forgot to make your lunch and it's your turn to take the puppy out for a morning walk.
I am sure all of us have experienced the following ...
The story goes - Abraham Lincoln's brother wrote him a letter stating that he wanted to move from his current location because he didn't like the people, didn't like the place. His brother moved places and after a few months the same story and the same letter to Lincoln. Lincoln ...
When I was in London I took up Bikram Yoga and took it up with a vengeance - I went almost daily for two years until one day I decided it was too much and stopped doing yoga for six months. And now I practice Ashtanga Yoga at a more moderate pace. It is all about the golden mean ...
In one of my previous blogs(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15715) I had talked about the 10 Paramis or Virtues. Today I want to talk about one of them which is
6\. Khanti: Patience May I ever be patient. May I be able to bear and forbear the wrongs of others. May I ever be toler...
As some of you know I am a big time bookworm - fantasy being my favorite genre.I devour good books like there is no tomorrow. I recently read the Demon Cycle series by Peter V.Brett(http://www.petervbrett.com/). Reason I like fantasy books is because they all have a spiritual, ...
In my current role I have to manage a team of people - mostly project managers. And every month we have a strategic meeting and some kind of a fun activity either within ourselves or with other teams we work with. If I chair a meeting it has to be fun at least for me - otherwise ...
Let's say you have a poisonous tree in your backyard - it is infected by some insect which is causing it to be poisonous. The infection is in the roots of the tree. You keep cutting the tree down and telling yourself that the problem is solved. At a superficial level it does look...
Imagine that a friend of yours has sent you a gift via Fedex. The Fedex guy rings the bell and SCENE 1: You accept the packet and thank the guy. SCENE 2: You invite him in, wash his feet, garland him, offer him the best sweets - do whatever he wants so that he will bring you more...
At a CPM(https://theraoinstitute.com/) reunions, one of my friends suggested the idea of a improv - one of the first things he said is that you have to start with an Yes. I found that exercise very difficult because it meant I needed to put the BIG "I" behind and go with the fl...
"A problem is a problem only if you define it as a problem."
I remember when I was doing my engineering in Bombay - I had to take a share auto to my college from train station - Santa Cruz. And during exams or important classes that used to be my prime worry. I did not want to s...
My parents were visiting me in London while I was working for British Telecom. It was around that time when I had told my parents that Adam and I wanted to get married. We were discussing the details and we had an disagreement. I remember my mom walked off and I was so angry that...
This is a different blog than usual - it's about our trip to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw). I am done with my quota of touristy things like visiting every point of interest, going to all the top restaurants. Thanks to my stint in London, UK, my friend Ranjani and my husba...
As some of you know I have started learning swimming. I can swim now - except the breathing part. I still use a swimming snorkel but I am more comfortable in water and have more stamina. When I first started off I couldn't even take 2 strokes and I was swimming next to little kid...
Growing up in India words like Gurus/Meditation/Yoga are white noise because a) they are so common- it's like asking a fish what is water (we might not know what it really means but we know) b) there are a lot of charlatans and you are always wary when these words are mentioned.
...
For a while I was into these quotes thing and I had picked up this greeting card at the yoga studio - it called out to me at that time. _"I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms ...
I remember when I moved to Columbus from London - it was an identity crisis of sorts. The first step was to recognize that my identity was tied to working as a Project Manager in British Telecom and having a MBA degree from London Business School. I identified myself with these t...
This blog follows the last one(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15938) where I talk about the different ways in which we can accept or not accept other's judgements/opinions.
In this blog I am going to talk about how to increase the "effort" factor in implementing the different wa...
This blog follows the last one(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15932) where I talk about the choice we have in accepting or not accepting the judgements from others.
In this blog I am going to talk about how we can exercise that choice. I will start with the quote from Ramana Mah...
In the 10-day Vipassana(http://dhamma.org) courses Goenkaji tells us some stories during the discourses. The one below is similar to the one Goenkaji narrates during the course.
_There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. Hi...
I remember my hindi teacher at school telling us this story. It went something like this: _There is a bus that is going from A to B. On the way to B it runs into a oncoming truck and everybody on the bus dies. People come running to the accident to help any survivors and all they...
We have a mentoring event at office and one of my friends is on the panel. He asked me if I could speak at the event for a few minutes and give my testimonial from last year. I obviously said yes - I love being in the limelight even if I obsess about it before. !(/images/Mentor...
An apple tree knows its purpose in life - its purpose is to give apples. From the time the seed is planted till the first apple grows on its branches that's what it does. It does a lot of other things too like - provides shelter for birds, squirrels, provides shade and oxygen, he...
It's Sunday evening and you are thinking about all the things that you haven't done. You have a busy day ahead and want to get to bed early but at the same time you have not had a break. Anyways you go to bed with the unfinished business hanging over your head.
You wake up in th...
As some of you might know I run a small business on the side which is teaching Bollywood Dance. As a part of that I got contacted by Bollywood Musical Company Taj Express(http://www.tajexpressthemusical.com/bollywoodmusical/) asking if I wanted to partner with them.
It was on ...
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It was summertime and I remember very vividly that my dad who is usually very fit kept sleeping for an entire weekend - non-stop. He had just made a trip to Delhi or some other city for business and when he came back all he did was sleep. His...
When I first met Adam one of the my very emphatic statements to him was that I am not going to cook. Coming from India where it is assumed that girls will grow up and cook for their husbands and family, I assumed that Adam had similar notions. I was all set to make it straigh...
This blog is dedicated to all the priceless entities. !(/images/16-priceless.webp)
Vipassana meditation(http://dhamma.org/) retreats that I keep mentioning in my blogs are free - they are run on a pay it forward or donation basis. You pay with what you can and pay only i...
Raymond Fiest(http://www.crydee.com/), one of my favorite fantasy authors writes in his book, "The Magician"
> we are the architect of our own prison
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What does he mean by that? Let me tell you a story.
A rich couple are blessed with a baby boy aft...
I practice Ashtanga Yoga - Mysore style. I started it in London at Hamish's studio(http://astangayogalondon.com/ayl-teachers/hamish-hendry/) who is one of the most content people I have ever known. And I admire people who are content - truly content with what they have because ...
Let's start with a scenario simulation. You have got this nice trip on cruise ship. You are enjoying yourself and all of a sudden the ship starts sinking due to a large hole. What do you do? Option a) Leave the Sinking Ship Option b) Dig the hole faster
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As some of you may recall from last blog(https://www.anumorris.com/?p=15782) that I just finished a MasterCleanse(http://themastercleanse.com/) detox. It's a liquid diet. You don't eat any solid foods at all. The minimum you can do it for is 10 days and I did it for 15 days l...
> If you don't take care of your Body where will you live?
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This is one of the quotes on my kitchen boards for this year. There's a lot of talk and in general awareness about body image, healthy diets - vegan, gluten free, plant based diet foods, la...
1. An Adult is trying to learn gymnastics and during the back flip practice which she was able to do so well last class - she falls down.
2. An adult is trying to learn swimming and is having trouble blowing bubbles into water. So she does the bare minimum she can and then lea...
I was telling a colleague about my Belize trip and I mentioned about the delicious virgin mango-coladas. And his question was "How come you don't drink?" I thought it would make for a good blog post. Here we go.
Growing up in India in 80s and 90s in a middle class family, I just...
Trip to Belize was the best break I could have ever asked for. It was a complete switch off from our daily routine which forced us to just chill out. Life on an island is so quiet and calm - all you hear is the sound of the birds and water. Now I know why Island time is different...
My Dad is a big fan of reading all the self-help materials he can get his hands on. And as a child he encouraged me to do the same. I used to take the clippings from the newspapers/magazines and file them away. I lost the folder but I still remember a few things or quotes that st...
The idea of the Belize Series is to give you a taste of the key things we did mixed with my thoughts. As you probably remember from last post that Belize is a tiny island which you can walk from end to end. It has about six over water bungalows and six cabanas and few villas - so...
Time has been flying super fast for me since 2013 actually and this year has been a whirlwind literally. Around October I realized that unless I do something I will be just stay-actioning my entire vacation days. So did some research and settled on an overwater bungalow in Thatch...
The plan for Belize was to do nothing. It did not mean that we will just sit on the beach and drink virgin coladas all day long. What it meant was rest and relaxation and I believe we succeeded. First night in, I had a plan on what I was going to wear, when to meditate and when t...
This is in some sense a continuation of the last blog - this time I want to talk about the five precepts. Before we get into that let's talk about Sila, Samadhi and Panna.
!vipassana(/images/vipassana.webp)
The picture above depicts the three groups of the Noble Eightfold Pat...
I just got back from serving at a 10-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat. Vipassana means to "See things as they are" and it's one of the many ways to reach enlightenment or at least get started on the journey. It was bought to India by S.N.Goenka to whom I am very grateful.
!gji-...
This post is about the following quote from Steve Jobs. !connectdots(/images/connectdots.webp)
An example from his life: _He dropped out of college due to various reasons \Read the prestory here(http://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/)\.Reed College at that time o...
> If Buddha was a barber getting a haircut would be enlightenment.
This is one of my favorite quotes which I heard in the Creativity and Personal Mastery(http://theraoinstitute.com/programs) retreat a few years ago. And it remained with me like all the things that have a deepe...
After I have published my book - The Lifepod(https://www.amazon.com/Lifepod-Anu-Morris-ebook/dp/B01E2UPL98?ie=UTF8&keywords=the%20lifepod&qid=1465161060&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2) I am making a conscious choice to buy books as opposed to using other means of which I am guilty. And as ...
We are always running, whether we know it or not. The question is to where. Are we running towards a better job, retirement, soulmate, kids or even enlightenment. There is another destination beyond all these mini goals and that is where we all finish our race or start a new one ...
Right, before we get into the article let me say something overarching about almost all the posts that I write - that we all have a belief or a mental model of how we live our life. We might think we don't but we do, the fact that we think we don't is a model too.
In this post I...
I did a volunteering for a local temple teaching kids science for a few months. It was not only entertaining but also very comforting - there's something about their innocence which gives you a warm and cozy feeling.
I thought I might share a few stories from those days today
!...
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When we moved from London to Columbus I decided to take a conscious break to do nothing. I found it quite hard to do 'nothing' that is and not to mention that I was driving Adam crazy with all my ideas on what I can do.
As a part of doing _nothing...
> Leap and the net will appear !leap(/images/leap.webp)
Right, \Let's out a heavy sigh\. So, I am a published author now. And you can search for my book in Amazon under Anu Morris or The Lifepod. Further details can be found on the details page.
Before we go any further I w...
Another post in the series of Aki - the majestic pup. Life with Aki is never boring - Now I understand why there are so many posts/posters about what we can learn from dogs.
!Aki sleeping(/images/Aki-sleeping.webp)
Aki gets scared easily - any loud noise or unknown objects ar...
I am pleased to announce that my book, The Lifepod, was published today as a ebook by Amazon and Paperback by Createspace. As many of you know, the book is called 'The Lifepod' and is about two different races in future earth.
I hope you’ll take time to check it out at Amazon, w...
Last update on the book publishing update was that I had found a brilliant copy-editor(http://www.michaelmandarano.com/). My book came back proof-read and polished like a real book - not to say that it's not real, but as I get closer to my goal it just feels more and more surre...
Here's my print copy cover- the spine is for 210 pages. And now you know The Lifepod is 210 pages. The white blank space on the back cover is for ISBN.
!The Lifepod print cover FINAL(/images/The-Lifepod-print-cover-FINAL.webp)...
Every day, every moment is a journey of discovery with Aki. Some are funny, some educational, some entertaining and some well just embarrassing. I thought I will share some of them with you today.
Taking Aki on a walk means arming yourself with lots of patience. Why? you ask. Ak...
!Aki Selfish move(/images/Aki-Selfish-move.webp) VIDEO LINK: Aki -- Chasing his tail(https://www.instagram.com/p/BBbT4ZcLbkY/)
As you all know that we got a puppy - Aki a few weeks ago. And it's been fascinating to look at life from dog's eye literally. _Any leaf that moves ...
This is a classic among most of my friends and family.
During my college days my roommate and I were up talking quite late. As we were about to retire to bed I told her I was going for a run next morning. She said "Sounds, good. Wake me up also." I nodded. Next morning I went to...
The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itse...
I am pleased to announce that I have finally found a copyeditor who will do the final touches on my manuscript before it can be published. The final manuscript will be available to me on March 22nd which means I can publish my book in April - exciting!!
And if you were wondering...
SUPREME BEING, the ruler of the lifepod, has set up an investigation committee to examine the calamities. He is an evil person and strongly believes that killing the ungifted humans will save the Lifepod.
KALA is a human who works for the Beings. She wants equality for humans bu...
\contact-form to='anuradha.sundaram@gmail.com' subject='Feedback on Book'\\contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/\\contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/\\contact-field label='Please add me to the mailing list for updates' type='checkbox' requ...
This is the first of the series about British Humor. It's in a different class of it's own. And even after seven years in London I am not sure I quite get the hang of it. Here is one snippet from my life in UK which still elicits a quiet chuckle.
_I was in a meeting with my Boss...
Continuing the series on British Humor:
I was explaining to my boss about how the testers blame it on developers and vice versa. To that my boss replied, 'See, I am really good. I always take blame.' I thought about it and said, 'Yeah, actually that is true. It must have somethi...
> "You cannot travel the path until you become the path."
This quote took me quiet sometime - literally a year on my kitchen wall before I began to understand what it meant. As usual this is my take on it.
For example, if you are writing a book, then everything that you do you ...
!(/images/Creativity_Mandala1-e1454550575905.webp)(https://www.anumorris.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Creativity_Mandala1-e1454550575905.jpg) !Creativity_Mandala2(/images/Creativity_Mandala2.webp)(https://www.anumorris.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Creativity_M...
Message from my friend :
Let’s Skype this weekend and honking about you a lot!!! When she really meant Let’s Skype this weekend and Thinking about you a lot. Well now we have another word in our vocabulary – Honk.
Signing off with lots of honks....
“You display the same behavior and aren’t aware of it so you project your disowned behavior onto others and dislike it “out there.”
Everyone has encountered the second cause at some point. Someone is complaining about a friend or acquaintance and you think to yourself, “That’s f...
> If Buddha was a barber, getting a haircut would be enlightenment.
Your true nature shines through regardless of what you are doing. Buddha's main purpose was to help others on the path to enlightenment. So even if he was a barber he would be doing the same.
What is your true ...
This is a real life incident with one of my friends who refuses to acknowledge that she has a hearing problem. Why don't you as a reader read the following and decide whether it's true or not.
We are in Nandos, our favorite chicken place in London - this was in the Baker Street ...