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 ...
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?
<figure>
!(/images/Life-can-be-und...
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....
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...
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...
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.
<figure>
!(/images/quot...
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 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 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 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...
'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...
<figure>
!(/images/9WaysYouAreBoringYourselfToDeathIn2020-scaled-1.webp)
<figcaption>
_Picture that depicts 9 ways life has become boring - like being on autopilot, social media etc_
</figcaption>
</figure>
I don't remember how old I was when I decided I wanted the corner...
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...
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 ...
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?
<figure>
!(/images/St...
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 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 ...
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.
<figure>
!(/images/WY...
'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.
!...
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...
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...
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...
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?...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 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.
!(/images/...
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 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...