In My Hands Today…

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Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day – Jay Shetty

Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life.

When you think like a monk, you’ll understand:

  • How to overcome negativity
  • How to stop overthinking
  • Why comparison kills love
  • How to use your fear
  • Why you can’t find happiness by looking for it
  • How to learn from everyone you meet
  • Why you are not your thoughts
  • How to find your purpose
  • Why kindness is crucial to success
  • And much more…

Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. His family was convinced he had chosen option three: instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Heavily in debt, and with no recognizable skills on his résumé, he moved back home in north London with his parents.

Shetty reconnected with old school friends—many working for some of the world’s largest corporations—who were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness, and they invited Shetty to coach them on well-being, purpose, and mindfulness. Since then, Shetty has become one of the world’s most popular influencers. In 2017, he was named in the Forbes magazine 30-under-30 for being a game-changer in the world of media. In 2018, he had the #1 video on Facebook with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 38 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos which have amassed more than 8 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked the world’s #1 Health and Wellness podcast.

In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.

Poem: Family

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A family is defined as the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children or a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head and having a common ancestry. But a family is so much more than that. They are your biggest supporters, the people who love you unconditionally and under any circumstance. They are there through thick and thin and show up when you need them the most. This poem is a celebration of those ties and the love they have for you.

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Family

When you are down, they are there for you
When the stakes are low, they are there to pull you up
When you need to get things done, they are your trusted crew
And they are there to prop you up when you need that pickup

They are your family, your loved ones
Who wouldn’t hesitate to go all out for you with blazing guns
Family, a word that brings automatically brings a smile to the face
The anchor in your life, your secret life’s ace

The foundation on which your values stand strong
The close circle of love to which you and your loved ones belong
The people who know you inside and outside
From whom try as you might, but you can’t hide

So, learn to treasure your family, the memories
The ones who knew you at your worst and your best
With whom you may squabble and quarrel and who may torture and tease,
But you have their love, and with that, you know you are blessed.

2021 Week 36 Update

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I’ve been in a kind of funk state all week. And this meant I was barely productive. When I think back, I know it’s because of the surge of cases here in Singapore. From single digit cases a month or so back to more than 500 cases per day this week, it looks like we are all going back to last year. Cases are doubling every two weeks and it looks like the Delta variant will be more lethal than the original variant. The government is predicting that we will hit 2,000 cases daily by the end of the month and that’s more than the peak last year. And last year, it was mostly confined to the worker dormitories, but this time it’sin the community. Every time I step outside, I wonder if that day will be the day I get infected. And what’s worse is that with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated, I am sure a major chunk of the newly infected are those who are fully vaccinated. And so fatalistically I just want this to get over with. If I am to be infected, and the way things are going, I will be infected sooner or later, I’d just rather it be sooner so we can get on with our lives. Am I making sense? I really don’t know and don’t think so, but that’s the kind of mood I have been in.

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This week an article from a UK bedding manufacturer, Sleepseeker came out which reported that Singapore is the most fatigued country in the world. And that’s not surprising, given that from the minute we wake to the minute we lay our heads down in bed, we have to be hyper-connected, hyper-updated and on hyper alert, especially with the pandemic situation. Singapore has outdone traditionally overworked countries like China and Japan, the only other Asian countries in the list. Singapore has worked the second most number of hours on average, only behind Mexico and the country with the third-most time spent on the internet daily, behind Brazil and Mexico.

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The children are in their holidays and their results should come sometime next week. They also turn 18 next week, which in many countries would make them legal adults, but they have a few years more to go to become a legal adult in Singapore.

Today’s positivity quote is from Louise Hay. It’s a very simple one, more of an affirmation, rather than a quote. All you need to tell yourself that you are in the right place, at the right time and doing the right thing and things will begin to fall in place. Maybe this quote resonated with me as I really need this affirmation right now.

In My Hands Today…

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A Knock at Midnight – Brittany K. Barnett

Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever–that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner and, like Brittany, black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s ruthless and devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn from the arms of her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole–all for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of own life, both as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother and the one-time girlfriend of an abusive drug dealer. As she studied Sharanda’s case, a system slowly came into focus: one where widespread racial injustice forms the core of our country’s addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda’s plight, Brittany began to work towards her freedom.

This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was already a successful accountant with her sights set on a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda’s case opened the door to a harrowing journey through the criminal justice system, in which people could be locked up for life under misguided appeals for law and order. Driven by the realization that her clients’ fates could have easily been her own, Brittany soon found herself on a quest to unlock the human potential of those our society has forgotten how to see. Living a double life, she moved billion dollar corporate deals by day, and by night worked pro bono to free Sharanda and others in near-impossible legal battles. Ultimately, her journey transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself. A Knock at Midnight is Brittany’s riveting, inspirational memoir, at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist both at every turn.

Festivals of India: Rishi Panchami

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Rishis are learned sages and the Sapta Rishis or the seven great sages are the seven rishis in ancient India, who are extolled at many places in the Vedas and other Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, though later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so. They are regarded in the Vedas as the patriarchs of the Vedic religion.

In ancient Indian astronomy, the asterism of the Big Dipper, part of the constellation of Ursa Major, is called Saptarishi, with the seven stars representing seven rishis, namely Vashistha, Marichi, Pulastya, Pulaha, Atri, Angiras and Kratu. There is another star slightly visible within it, known as Arundhati with Arundhati and Vashishtha who are married, and together form the Mizar double.

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The Saptarishis included Sage Kashyapa, Sage Atri, Sage Vashishta, Sage Vishvamitra, Sage Gautama, Sage Jamadagni and Sage Bharadwaja. The Saptarishis were created by Lord Brahma to impart education to the human race. They passed down wisdom to the mankind so that it is able to follow the path of knowledge, understand the basic principles of goodness, and become enlightened.

Tomorrow is Rishi Panchami, a very auspicious day for Hindus. Rishi Panchami is celebrated on the fifth day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadrapad, from mid-August to mid-September. It is celebrated two days after Hartalika Teej and the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It is believed that this day honours the entire gamut of sages of ancient India and is especially dedicated to the Saptarishis, the seven great sages. In some parts of Kerala, the day is also observed as Vishwakarma Puja. The festival is very famous in Nepal among the Hindus where in some regions the three days Hartalika Teej fasting ends on Rishi Panchami.

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On Rishi Panchami women fast to pay obeisance to the seven sages and to get purified. Hinduism gives highest priority to purity and there are strict guidelines to maintain the purity of the body and soul. Women are believed to be contaminated during their menstrual cycle and in many families, even today, women are not allowed to enter in the kitchen or to participate in any religious activities and touch anyone during this time. And it is believed that by doing such things, women are inflicted by the Rajaswala Dosha. The fast on Rishi Panchami is believed to get rid of this Rajaswala Dosha.

Rishi Panchami is also celebrated as Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi festival by some Dadheech Brahmins and also the Agrawal and Maheshwari communities of Rajasthan. Sisters tie the Rakhi or a sacred thread and both brothers and sisters pray for the well-being of each other and vow to protect each other.

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The day is so auspicious that it is believed that a fast kept on this day and all the rituals followed will relieve a person from all sins in not just the current life, but also from past lives. The story behind Rishi Panchami was narrated by Lord Brahma himself. According to him, there was a simple Brahmin named Uttank who used to live with his wife Sushila and their daughter, a widow. One night, several ants covered the body of the daughter and the parents were astonished to see this. They became extremely worried and immediately called a sage, so that he could explain the situation and give them a solution. The Rishi whom they called was a learned sage and he explained the reason behind the trouble. He made them aware of the sin that their daughter committed in her previous life which was that she had entered the kitchen during her menstruation. The rishi advised the daughter to perform certain rituals on the day of Rishi Panchami to purify her body and soul, so that she would be relieved of the sin that she has committed. Following the instructions given by the sage, the daughter performed all the customs with absolute devotion which set her soul free from the dosha.

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On Rishi Panchami, devotees wake up early morning and take a bath immediately and then begin their fast. The only purpose of Rishi Panchami is to sanctify a person completely which is why some people do things like the cleaning of teeth and bathing with herbs, which are very pure and are considered to leave the body extremely clean. A mixture of curd, milk, basil and butter is drunk to purify the soul. Worshipping Gods including Lord Ganesh, the Navagraha or nine planets, the Saptarishis and the star Arundhati form the concluding part of the rituals performed. The prayers are offered in order to invoke the presence of the seven sages, with different offerings like food and flowers being offered.