Bless the Water

 

Another fantastical yet scientific bit of knowledge that I come across is that water has intelligence, it has memory.

Japanese scientist Dr Masaru Emoto brought to light the tendency of water to hold feelings, words and thoughts in his book, The Hidden Messages in Water. He further stated that since human bodies and the planet earth are composed of water to the tune of 70 to 80 %, thus, a lot can be changed and accomplished by blessing water that we drink with positive thoughts and feelings.

So, I have begun using this knowledge to start my day with a draught of positivity, literally, everyday. I always commence my day by drinking two glasses of warm water. Since, the time I have come to know of this phenomenon, I have consciously used it to bless the water that I am about to drink with the goals or targets that I have planned for myself for the day.

I wake up very early, and I am the only one in the kitchen at that hour. So, in the solitude of the setting, I look with intention and love at the water boiling in the kettle and say out aloud, or sometimes, repeat in my heart words such as, harmony, success, good health, abundance, happiness, companionship and so on. As I pour the water into a glass, I continue to hold strong this intention and repeat the words to the water. I also sit on a stool in the kitchen itself, holding the glass of lukewarm water in my hands, repeating the words to the water, before finally drinking it. I like to believe that the water blessed with these attributes will spread these sentiments through every cell of my body. This morning ritual fills me up with confidence at the beginning of each day.

I also use this ritual to reinforce these feelings, sense of accomplishment of these gals during the day, especially when I am feeling dejected or out of sync with my inner being.

I have found offering a glass of water that is blessed with feelings of joy, peace, love, and other positive emotions, to anyone who is not feeling good, helps to uplift them.

I have advised many of my acquaintances and clients to employ this technique when they are about to enter an important meeting, call, interview, and even when they are in midst of a difficult discussion with a spouse or an argument with their teenage child. It has always helped.

Thus, being mindful of the water that I drink has helped me to accomplish many dreams. Let me know how your experience was with this ritual.

You may like to watch a video on this concept here:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZqpxjUJ2yN/?utm_medium=copy_link

Daily Dose of Wellness Chemicals

 

 

I came across this image that is shared above this blog-post, a few years back on a social media platform, and it made me realise that there is so much that I can do to keep myself feeling inspired and uplifted throughout the day.

There are four different types of chemicals that boost the ‘wellness quotient’ within us. We simply have to choose one activity from each of the boxes above and make it a part of our daily routine.

I like to club my energy levels and the course of my day, while scheduling these activities for myself.

Therefore, I always begin my day with meditation. The serotonin, a mood stabaliser grounds me for the day. I am more aware and connected with my physical, emotional, mental and etheric body, as I gradually ease into a new day. I am not such a fan of diving right into a day. I like to first know the emotion that is pervading my senses, manage it, become aware as to how I am planning to employ it and thus, carpe diem.

After the passage of a few hours, in order to have a gush of endorphins in my veins, I begin my exercise regimen. I practice it four to five times in a week. This helps me to get over minor physical inconveniences of daily life. A stressed neck from the previous day’s numerous online meetings and sessions, is quickly taken care of in the gym. I am renewed as I launch myself into the remaining day which comprises mostly work.

Love is a drug that I cannot get enough of! I uninhibitedly express love, and primarily compassion more than love, towards all I meet. My work requires me to be alone at most times, so to experience the benefits of Oxytocin, I have incorporated two activities in my daily schedule. First, I make a video call to my children every day from work around lunch time. Seeing them, blowing them kisses and also cuddling them virtually, immediately fills me up with joy. Second, I have kept two bird feeders on the ledge of my office window. I have a routine to fill them up with food and water two times during the day. I have birds from the neighbourhood visiting me, singing their melodious bird songs to me throughout the day, throughout the year. It is as easy as that.

Finally, I work towards rewarding myself regularly to have a shot of Dopamine in my system. I take out time to celebrate my small wins which can include five days of workout in a week, practicing my sitar, eating a clean diet, and many more. I have developed a routine for myself and follow it with as much precision and discipline, as possible for me.

There are many other activities, such as connecting to my breath, making a gratitude list, and so on that help me feel energised and well through a day.

In a nutshell, one does not really need to perform complex exercises to get a daily dose of these extremely vital wellness hormones. With a bit of planning and preparation, we can work towards getting a systematic infusion of these in our day and our life and be happy and healthy.

Let me know, what all you tried and how it has benefitted you.

Connect to your breath

In midst of a busy or stressful day, I have often found comfort and solace in my breath.

Often when we are preoccupied, rushing through our day and/or worried, we close our bodies. I feel that this is a natural coping mechanism for us humans, to close our heart chakra. What this does is that it spoils our posture; our backs are stressed, rounded, we develop a hunch, our shoulders droop and move inwards, and our lungs are constricted for open space within the ribcage. There are other changes in the body as well, and these changes differ from person to person.

All this change in our posture directly affects our breathing. We automatically begin to take shallow breaths. These breaths do not carry as much refreshing oxygen, as is required for our body, especially when it is working harder than usual. I feel all this adds to the stress and tiredness that we feel in difficult or harsh situations.

Connecting with my breath has always brought me respite immediately. I find a quiet corner to sit or I go out in an open area where I can sit alone and begin work with my breath.

I immediately straighten my spine, open out my shoulders and pull my chin up. I then close my eyes and take in a deep breath that fills up my abdomen and make it bulge. I hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale. I exhale for longer than I inhale.

I also add visualisations of colours to energise and heal chakras as the situation may require. A simple technique for all can be to visualise inhaling pure whitish blue light and exhaling black/grey breath. As our system gets stabalised, we will find that the colour of our exhale turns to white or transparent. This is a good way to decide that we are now in a composed state of mind to tackle the tasks at hand. I sometimes, also like to receive messages or keywords to address the situation at hand. This is the first thought or word that comes to my mind immediately after I connect with my breath.

You can also connect to your breath otherwise, and not wait for the day to run you rather than you running the day. In fact being connected with the breath is a powerful tool to remain in the present and fulfill your tasks with grace and joy.

Everyday Miracles: Gratitude List

 

Everyday Miracles: Gratitude List

 

It is easier said than done to wake up each morning with a high voltage charge of enthusiasm and motivation gushing through our bodies. In fact, I have always found it more helpful to wake up feeling refreshed, calm and composed.

The most part of my day is already planned the previous day, yet I allow space for my emotions to decide my barometer of ‘happy, motivated, need inspiration, do not want to be bothered today’. Over the years, I have developed a morning ritual for myself that always helps me to slide into a new day with vigour and zest.

A part of this morning ritual is reading my ‘gratitude list’ after I get ready for work and before I take my breakfast. I usually maintain two copies of my list, one in the handwritten format in my handbag and the other in my mobile phone. I shall share the reasons for this later in the blog.

Many of my clients find it unbelievable when I advise them to reach out for their gratitude list before they read their to-do list for the day. However, once they follow my advice they become converts to the school of thought.

Here is what happens when we read our gratitude list in the morning:

·         We become aware of all the resources that are available at our finger tips. This repository includes not only tangible things like a bed, a roof above our heads, platefuls of food, and so on, but also the rarer and dearer bounties of love of our family and friends, sound counsel of our mentors, clean fresh air to breathe, a refreshing walk in the neighbourhood park, and I can go on.

·         Gratitude releases in us the hormones –  dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins; together these are referred to as happy hormones. What actually happens is when we read about these blessings of our lives, we relive these experiences, and this triggers the release of happy hormones in our systems. So, when a difficult day is unfolding itself, it is always helpful to steal a few moments and read our gratitude list which is saved as a picture or a document on our mobile phone.

·         This exercises also creates a habit of thankfulness within us. I believe that a habit has the quality to be universal in nature. So, it will touch every aspect of our life, if not immediately but eventually. Hence, when we find it atrocious to be grateful for the irritants and challenges in our life, the primary sentiment of gratitude for all the graces of our lives, prepares us to be thankful always, for everything.

Since, I have talked enough about reading the gratitude list, you must be wondering when do we write it, right?

The best time to write our gratitude list is at night before we turn in to sleep. I have found through experience that it is best to initiate a ritual of winding down as we prepare for sleep.

I like to turn down the lights of the room, turn off all technology, keep my mobile phone away, curtail conversation with everyone and prepare to be with myself and my thoughts.

I add two or more things to be grateful for every night. Thus, the list is ever-evolving and ever-growing. I use a notebook and a fountain pen to write. Writing it puts me in a state of bliss. I can focus on the positives as I drift to sleep.

Try this and tell me how the experience has been for you.

BUDDY WILL YOU WRITE WITH ME?

BUDDY, WILL YOU WRITE WITH ME?

Writing is a skill and creative writing is not only an individual need but it is also a collective desire: there are writers who want to write together and readers who want to read together. We therefore, have writers’ workshops, collaboration among writers, and readers’ clubs.

However, there is another aspect of this exercise that I explored and gained immensely from, during a particularly stressful period of my writing journey.

While I was pursuing my studies in Durham, I was required to write a lot of content, of different variety. The demand to produce good content with narrow deadlines, was a stressful period for me. I am a person who likes to take her time to be ready to write and to write what I feel like writing, writing to a brief was new and difficult, initially at least.

The practice that came to my rescue at this time was, developing a schedule with a friend who happened to take to writing around that time. Navjot had landed in a situation where she had to write a book, much to her discomfort. We were in constant touch with each other despite the distance and the difference of the time zones that separated us. So when she took up writing, she would sometimes ask a few things about how to write a certain portion of her book in a better manner. I remember that more than the technique, we would discuss the suitability of a particular content for her target readers.

I too began brainstorming with her about the ideas and themes that I would want to or have to write about, in my creative compositions at that time. We would discuss and debate for hours about our pieces, and before we knew it, we would have settled on something very different from where we had initially decided in the beginning. However, this was not the case every time.

I am fortunate to have my sister and my father to review my work. Their inputs have helped me immensely, always. I believe my sister who is an intelligent reader with a refined taste, truly understands my sentiments in my writings. I attribute a lot of my transformation in my writings lately, to her review of my work. Despite this, I felt that my interactions with Navjot aided my writing process to a great extent.

While my sister reviewed the drafts of my work, Navjot helped me to crystallise my thoughts on a theme before I began writing. Navjot, also gave inputs from the situation of a writer who is not a stickler for technique, my peers in the writing course are, and thank God for that. Navjot’s circumstance of being in a challenging position of beginning to write was similar in a way to my situation of writing under duress, this helped us become each other’s buddy in writing. We planned our writing schedules together and ensured that we adhered to them. We pulled each other out of procrastination or the fabled writer’s block (we never had the luxury to experience one, in fact not even now). We kept each other in an environment of writing, in order to elicit the best writing from both of us. We became each other’s writing buddy much like ‘gym buddies’. In fact Eli Roth, an American media personality who is also a writer has said, ‘Creative writing and shooting are muscles that atrophy. But when you work them, you become a self-generator who can branch out.’  

So, we need to workout our creative writing muscles and who better than a buddy to workout with?

Masterclass with Shiv Khera Part - 3

The final part of my interaction with Mr Shiv Khera. I have sneaked in a question that he has answered brilliantly.

#Monday_Motivation #Motivational_Speaker #You_Can_Win #Everyday_Motivation #Life #Life_Skills #Leadership #Leadership_Skills #Leadership #Management_Guru #Shiv_Khera #You_Can_Achieve_More #Love_Life

IT'S AN INSIDE JOB

It’s an Inside Job

It was a couple of months ago when I had the opportunity to interact with Mr Shiv Khera; he was in town to promote his latest book, You Can Achieve More - Live by Design, Not by Default. I was part of a small group of journalists, representing my newspaper Asian Lite. What was a media interaction turned into a masterclass with the celebrated motivational writer and speaker.

I was fortunate enough to develop a video of the event which I am sharing in this link. It will be a three part video as my meager subscription does not allow me a long upload.Hence, I am not summarising the talk with him into a written piece. However, there is one aspect of his interaction with us that stood out the most for me, and I share that below.

I had posed at a later stage, a question about how does one know when things are right or not, in one’s life. By the way, the question is not in the video because chai-nashta had been served by then, and the later scenes were more of gupshup over a cuppa, far removed from the more formal tenor of the interaction in the previous part of the video.

When asked this question, I had taken a cue from his TedX talk, he replied that the others know when things are amiss in our life and so do we. The barometer for that is our happiness. So, it is an inside job whether we want to be a millionaire or a saint who gives up every material possession. The test to know whether we are doing the right thing or not is to know our own happiness quotient. In fact, as I reviewed the tape before posting, and  number of times at that, I realised that this is the crux of everything.

If I am happy, independent of every outside factor, then I am doing the right thing. The same stands correct for choices v/s compromises. If I am happy with my choice, it stops being a compromise. It is so easy to not to end up compromising. If am happy with a work or a job, my passion shines through, and in some cases the other capabilities, their presence and absence, may not even affect my performance at that job. I will acquire the requisite skills out of my own volition, and will become actually competent to do the job. The list goes on.

Being the unabashedly spiritual person that I am, I feel this is the mantra for living life. For why else does God place us on this planet, but to indulge in its joys and be happy? We just have to work on our inside happiness to live life the way we intended to at the beginning, as nothing else is ours to keep.

A good note to begin the new year with.

MY TOOL KIT

An artist’s tools are the most precious and the most important thing in the whole wide world for her/him. I know of so many home cooks who like to cut and chop with their favourite knives; the much acclaimed chefs are known to travel with their own set of knives, custom-made and heavily insured. Similarly, pen, paper, and the suitable place are a writer’s prerequisite for expressing her/his thoughts and ideas.

I too, am partial to my pens and notebooks, and my den. I have a penchant to write with fountain pens. I developed a taste for them when I was as young as 12. I picked it from my mother’s side of the family and passed it on to my children. Although, I usually write all my prose, academic, journalistic, and other forms of writing on my laptop, yet my poetry always takes form on a paper first. It is then that I use my fountain pens. I do not hesitate to use my pens with a flourish during busy meetings and quick note-taking. In fact, I find writing with a fountain pen or a pencil very therapeutic.

I was introduced to handwriting mediation and writing affirmations by a psychic healer when I was overcoming my depression. It is since then that writing in a particular way with a fountain pen or a pencil, has soothed me and calmed my nerves.

I have an exquisite and an ever-growing collection of fountain-pens; most of them are gifts, from my husband who has taken after me only in this aspect. After I completed my masters in creative writing, a long cherished dream, I gifted myself a limited edition Ted Baker pen (refer to the picture). Quite an expense, but I always see such expenses as investment. I have been complimented for the pen many a times, and many have been drawn to writing with a fountain pen after interacting with this beauty. I am happy about this effect, writing with hand, taking time to form our thoughts and then the effort to write them down in a neat and beautiful hand on a pristine sheet, without the expectation of instant gratification, are virtues that we are losing touch with in our fast-paced times. I like to encourage writing with hand whenever and wherever I can.

In the same vein, I have shared a video about my tool-kit or my pouch in which I carry my essentials for writing. I talk about why everything that is there in the pouch, is there, and how I use it. I have suggestions for putting to use a few other pieces of stationery too.

I hope you enjoy the video. Tell me about your ‘tool-kit’ and any eccentricities whatsoever, attached to it and its usage.

READY TO WRITE - II

Continued from READY TO WRITE - I  

It so happened around this time that people around me began gifting me beautiful notebooks. They came in all shapes, sizes, colours and patterns. So I carry a small pouch of different fountain pens (because I have an ink pen fetish) and pencils in my handbag along with two different notebooks. I have a few notebooks to write on my office table, on my bedside table, in my laptop bag, in my handbag, and a few spare ones in my cupboards in my bedroom and my office. There was a time when books and notebooks would tumble out of my almirahs at home!

Another practice that I have found handy is recording my thoughts. I often travel by road to different cities for work. I am usually alone during such sojourns, and this allows for a lot of ruminating and enough of thinking. I receive many creative expressions and ideas on these trips. So, I prefer to record them in my mobile phone as audio clips with date and time. It is a little cumbersome to write in a moving vehicle, especially the one on a bumpy ride. Before I end my day, I remember to note it down in one of my notebooks.

Also, I try not to use more than three notebooks at a time. It makes my work easier to locate a particular phrase or expression. One can even write into a device directly, but for me, it has posed two specific problems. Firstly, I cannot carry a decent sized device around with me at all times and to all places. Secondly, I feel that the cold blue screen saps me of all feelings and emotions. My thoughts become sterile immediately and so the flow that has just commenced, comes to an abrupt halt. This generates feelings of frustration, very much in opposition to relief emerging out of writing.

So, my writer friends carry a notebook and pen always with you. You never know when divine inspiration visits you. Also remember that you are allowed to retract from the trappings of an ordinary life to daydream and note your precious and elusive words.

READY TO WRITE - I

For a very long time, I felt that writers and other artists made unnecessary hullabaloo about their states of being inspired. I felt that they used receiving inspiration as an excuse to escape tricky situations of ordinary life, to retract into their cocoons or dens, and to indulge in their personal ‘creative’ whims.

But, I was proven wrong. It was around the time I started writing my first novel. I was then the mother to two very young children, who demanded my constant attention and supervision. However, I had to write and there was no escaping this overwhelming urge within me. I had not yet begun working as a trainer and a facilitator, and I was a stay-at-home-mother. So, most of my time was spent in the household chores. I was secretly wishing to buy a laptop to fulfill my need to write, and the opportune moment when I happened to receive the gift of lump-sum money, I treated as a sign from the heavens above.

But again, there was a glitch. I could write when I was alone or when I was able to take out time to write. However, the story kept swimming around in my mind the whole day. And there were moments when just the right expression to convey the exact sense popped up in my mindscape. Alas! I had no laptop or pen and paper with me at that very moment, to save the words.

A few years later, when my children were fairly independent and I did as I pleased with my time (which I still do), I began writing my second novel. I had begun working by this time, and I was keeping very busy too. Hence, again my time was not my own at all times. I again faced the issue with catching the words as they came to me. My mentor Prof Lal, once even hinted at catching the thoughts in the now, as they rarely returned in the later. Still, I could not find my way around this obstacle.

A few more years later, as I was pursuing my masters, my professor Dr Claire Harman whom I hold in high regard, shattered my misconception of using sudden inspiration as an escape route from normal living. She showed all of us eager writers, a copy of Thomas Hardy’s Poetical Matter Notebook.  So, the truth came out. Every creative person does actually live in a world of her/his own, and she/he has the right to retire to this personal sanctuary and collect the divine download as it happens into her/his system.

I have thence, begun to treat my thoughts and words more reverently. I too carry a notebook at all times now. In fact, I love the whole act of transferring the thought and the expression to the paper, enjoying myself thoroughly, reveling in the moment. I feel that writing is therapy and when one is stealing moments from a hurried and harried day to pen down thoughts of a faraway land, the catharsis is immediate, efficacious, and long lasting.

(To be continued...)

WRITING GIBBERISH

As a writer and a facilitator, I come across many stumbling blocks to writing. Today, I shall talk about one of such hesitations to write.

Just the other day, a student of mine who happens to be an exceptional writer and an intelligent voracious reader, said to me that the whole day thoughts, phrases, ideas, and verses kept coming to him. But he found them 'not good enough' to pen down and compose a poem. 'Please help!'he said.

I immediately corrected him. I asked him to write down these random phrases in his notebook. All my students are advised to carry a notebook at all times. I have a lovely learned soul as a student who has a notebook fetish; more on her in another blog. Life is teaching us, demonstrating profound truths for our knowledge at all times, and the least we can do is take notes. 

Also, words have a life of their own and a mind of their own. They should be respected. So, when they come to us, we must write them down or else they escape from our grasp, buried somewhere in our subconscious only to be retrieved much later than the opportune time. So write people! Write as soon as a thought comes to you, etch it in our psyche, and then play with it; whole day long or for a lifetime.

Another important practice is not to judge our composition or work, and for that matter anybody's work. And to assign it the quality of being 'good', ''good enough, or 'not good enough', even before the whole composition has taken shape and form, is jumping to uncalled for conclusions. Simple words are powerful too. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", said Leonardo da Vinci. So do not hesitate to write your random thoughts.

Furthermore, writing is a skill that needs practice. The more regular our practice, the better our skill. So writing at least 500 words everyday, even of gibberish is essential for writers. Who knows, this is the chaff that needs to be peeled away before the golden grain can shine through. Thus, it is all the more important for you to write everyday, even that which you think is 'not good enough'. 

Additionally, one can return to these ramblings at a later stage, with heightened inspiration, to tackle the gibberish and compose a piece of scintillating prose or verse. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, so is a composition which is the release of energy. 

It is for this reason that writing, creative writing, and writing gibberish are important tools of therapy through creative writing.

At our centre 'Philyra Training and Consultancy' where we hold workshops for creative writing and personality management through creative writing, we have a host of exercises for evoking gibberish from writers, both aspiring and established, at the beginning of each session. We have been surprised many times to find that our gibberish has made sense at a later time, that our gibberish has shown up in our writing after many days or weeks.

So write on! Even if it seems gibberish.

TROUBLING QUESTIONS

So my friend from another city texted me in the morning saying that she’ll be in my town, and would I like to catch up for coffee? I of course, jumped at the opportunity. Well you know, living like a cavewoman for four months now, completing my dissertation and all, I could do with a bit of fresh air and actual face-to-face talk. I texted her saying, ‘Definitely! What a lovely way to wake up J’. I looked up from the screen of my mobile phone, at the clock on my study table that told me that in another three quarters of an hour it would stop being morning, at least in my part of the world. I had slept fitfully, my mind plagued by dishonest words and my spirit weighed down by broken promises.

But today was going to be a glorious day! As I stretched, dang! My eyes fell on my legs. Or were they really mine, they certainly did not look the part. There was thick fur on them and I’m not exaggerating. The white skin which we Indians are so proud to possess and flaunt, was covered in hair so thick that I could braid it. So what do I wear now? All my custom-made summer dresses that I had brought from my recent trip to India, were wallowing in neglect in my cupboard, when day after day I had pulled out a comfortable pair of pajamas and a sweat-shirt, my work clothes for getting all the writing done. Believe you me, when I say that 5 denier stockings did nothing to conceal my body hair and add an unnatural sheen to my legs. Besides it is summer, I cannot, to save my life, wear denser tights. No amount of make-up can hide the hair of my face too, that is why I change my profile picture the day I get a bleach and threading done.

Living in India, I had taken these things for granted. It was always easier and cheaper to look freshly scrubbed and squeaky clean. Had I been in my city now and meeting a friend for coffee, I would be wondering if my dress was appropriate or would it get me undue attention, and god knows what trouble? Because last night I came across a newspaper report that talked of a woman DJ being chased by drunk men at midnight, in my very own city. A Facebook post urged netizens to show support for the woman and somehow prevent the influential men walking out scot-free. It’s that easy, sadly but true.

So while living here(Durham, UK), the matters that drive me up the wall are about my body hair and looking civilised, women in my city are tackling questions if it is safe for them to leave work a little later?

A realisation dawned upon me and I texted my friend, ‘But all the cafés close by five in the evening.’ She replied, ‘So, we’ll have a drink.’

I wish it were that simple to solve problems for women in my city.


http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/how-a-chandigarh-girl-almost-got-kidnapped-but-got-her-stalkers-arrested-shares-horror-story-on-facebook/story-mZGBU19jpCJfOCi3bd4AHM.html

Literary Agent- A Writer's Ally

As part of an optional module in MA in Creative Writing at Durham University, the students are exposed to fortnightly seminars, where various practical applications of creative writing are explored through interactions with people from publishing industry and other related fields. This week there was a visit by two literary agents, from a reputed international literary agency based in UK.

An interesting and informative discussion on the writer-agent relation developed in the course of the seminar.

“There are as many rules to this relation as the number of agencies, writers and novels.” one of the agents professed.

A writer –agent relation can commence in two ways- when the writer approaches the agency/agent or when the agent approaches the writer.

A writer approaching an agency has to keep in mind some specific and some general rules.

A writer can approach as many agencies as she/he may choose. It is certainly not mandatory for a writer to reveal which other agencies/ agents they have contacted while making an online/ in-person/ postal/ email submission. In fact a writer can choose not to divulge any information about it at all when posed a direct question on this matter; and even ask the reason behind such a question.

A submission to an agency comprises of a covering letter, a plot summary and the entire manuscript. It is very rare for an agency/ agent to ask for only parts of the manuscript for submission these days. If that is the case then it is best to submit the first two chapters of the proposed novel.

A covering letter has to be very short and crisp. It should reflect one’s passion and professionalism as a writer. A writer can include only hints for a guided reading but not deep explanation of the novel. The work is expected to speak for itself. Many agents are put off by the severe mental steering in a covering letter. If a novel has a typical audience group like a fantasy-fiction for young adults, then it helps to mention so in the letter. The plot summary is the overview of the novel in 3 to 4 paragraphs. Since the writers are submitting complete manuscripts for submission, it is therefore advisable to research the agencies/ agents well before making a submission. The list of authors with the agency/ agent, the types of literature represented and the trend or inclination of the agency/ agent to select writers, are points that go a long way in finalising an agency/agent.

A writer should make a submission only if the work is ready and agents prefer to receive the entire manuscript in submissions. It helps them to decide more clearly whether they want to represent the author or not.  Besides, the agents do not want to raise hopes of a writer by asking for more of a piece of work, only to reject it later.

The time taken by agencies/ agents to respond is dependent on many factors like work-load, free time to read, prior commitments and so on. Hence, the response can be expected till the time it is received. A refusal is never the end of the story. The same book may be published in its original form after the passage of some time. It is really a matter of opportune timing and happy coincidences, besides good writing of course.

The literary agencies and agents are also on the look-out for fresh talent, hence a best–selling author is more often than not, spotted in a minor publication. It is always a good idea to try to get published in a journal or a magazine where one finds writer worthy of admiration or liking. The agents prefer to follow their tastes and instincts while approaching a writer. Their intuition of what might be a best-seller is trained by experience and sadly there is no secret formula to it! The agents also keep in mind the expertise of their firm or themselves while deciding to represent a writer. The presence of the writer in the literary world is also taken into account. This simply means the frequency and nature of the author’s response to and participation in other writers’ work. Agencies/ agents like to view the writer not as a one-time-wonder but a writer with a long-standing career with many books in her/his kitty. Agents almost always take a second or a third opinion even if they like the manuscript, therefore patience is the bedrock of this relation.

ETHOS OF THE WRITER-AGENT RELATION

The agent makes room for the writer to write. She/he takes care of the non-writerly aspects of becoming a published writer, and enables the writer to pursue her/his passion uninhibitedly. The agent is the only person who supports the writer in the entire journey of getting published and even after it. A good and resourceful agent is instrumental in securing not only a good publisher for the writer but also other platforms where the novel/story deserves a showcasing. So, a movie deal with a production house, wielding greater influence in conversion of the novel in to a script, approval of the script, choice of the script writer, the director, so on and so forth; can be brought about by an efficient agent.

If one is desirous of becoming an agent then a few points can be kept in mind. Graduation in literature or a related field is acceptable qualification. One has to be an avid reader with a knack to know what may resonate with the larger audience. One should be prepared to start at the entry-level as an assistant to an agent or an editor. It is a vocation that requires a high degree of self-motivation, so one should be prepared to walk the extra mile.

A few tips that can be helpful for writers while choosing an agency/ agent to represent them are:

1. A writer should take herself/himself seriously as a writer.
2. One should research the various agencies/ agents and make a careful and well-informed selection.
3. A covering letter should not be professional to the extent of being cold. It should reflect a writer’s passion.
4. Literary Agents work only on commission basis. One should not accept any other type of arrangement.
5. The concept of reading fees charged by an agency is also not a good idea and one should steer clear of it.
6. One can directly approach a publisher but then the nature of work that one invites into one’s purview because of such a step, is above and beyond plain writing. It may steal the bliss from writing.
7. Self-publishing for a new writer is still a stigma. One may consider self-publishing after having successfully published a few titles with a publishing house.
8. Micro-publishing or getting published at a smaller level with a smaller publisher, is a good way of entering the publishing world.
9. MA anthologies of universities are read by the agents but not as a priority. It is always better to be supported by a publication outside one’s university.
10.  Some agencies are better placed to provide more exposure to the book because they also represent actors, directors, technicians and other artists.
11. It is always a good idea to ask questions from one’s agency/ agent. They can be called upon to help at any stage of getting published or getting screened.
12. Writers' & Artists' Yearbook is an exhaustive source of information about all the literary agents in UK, with detailed information about their contact address, submission guidelines and specialisms.  The list also contains information about literary magazines, newspapers and related publications. One can access it at the following link:
     https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Artists-Yearbook-2017/dp/1472927656

       

It is the aspiration of every writer to get published and literary agents make this aspiration more achievable, this dream more real.

Learning to Ride: A Bicycle and Life

I learnt riding a bicycle after trying for three long years. I was initially nudged into the practice by my elders who felt that it would be a great exercise for me to lose weight.  However, my practice lacked all the zeal and enthusiasm of an interested learner. I was rather guarded and restrained in my attempts to control the simple machinery.

The first phase of perfunctory effort fizzled out without much or any accomplishment on my part. My father the preferred guide out of the two parents, left no stone unturned to train me. I was taken to the air force runway to make the ride smooth for me. Strong pair of arms of the most trusted and patient orderly pushed my hefty weight on the bicycle many a times. Expert riders who were a little older than me accompanied me at the crack of the dawn, just to motivate me to push the paddle. The whole drama ended with numerous frustrated attempts with the entire bevy of trainers giving up on a disinterested learner that was me. 

The ordeal was re-visited the following year when again my elders decided that I should learn riding a bicycle because it simply had many benefits for a growing-up girl of 9-10 years who was actually growing out of proportion! There was a replay of events of the previous year which again ended in a fiasco for all those who had pinned their hopes on me.

The succeeding year something different happened. My only friend and constant companion had learnt to ride the bicycle and she was no longer available to play with me. Her vivid stories of early morning rides to explore the vast fields within the air force campus, evening races on the abandoned part of the runway or post-dinner night sorties to the hostile camp in search for a stolen ball or frisbee; made me feel deprived and left out of all the fun she was having with the other children.

It was time for me to get down to work. I decided out of my own volition to master the art of riding the bicycle. My earlier enthusiastic and encouraging trainers expressed lack of free time on their hands to guide me on this occasion. I turned to my mother and beseeched her, whose loving heart gave in to my teary-eyed pleas.

I began my practice not on the smooth tarmac of the runway but on the ordinary road outside my home, embellished with numerous pot-holes. My mother a strict and vociferous task-master did not spare me any abrupt turn of the handle while I tried to maintain my precarious balance on the bicycle. Ten-minutes into the first session, I experienced my worst fall of the entire episode of learning to ride a bicycle. The bleeding knee on that day and the stiff one on the following day, did not deter me from practicing. The results were extra-ordinary. I was riding the bicycle on my own within a week.

A mammoth sense of achievement engulfed me and I rode high on the surge of new-found confidence. Perched on my bicycle, I played with the wind. I even won a single-ride and a double-ride race with my former companions. The whole ordeal had also opened my heart to the experience of bliss in solitude. I had learnt some anticipated and some unanticipated but beneficial lessons during the process.

I always draw upon this episode whenever I am faced with a challenging and new task in my life. This is how facing a new challenge or crisis is simply learning to ride the bicycle for all of us:

• ·        Nobody can force me to face and overcome a challenge or crisis till I want out of my free will to do so.
• ·        I learn to overcome and defang the challenge after persistent efforts, paying no heed to small and big falls that I experience in the process.
• ·        Nobody and not even I ever assumed that riding a bicycle was beyond my reach. I mastered the skill and similarly I can master any task that I set my heart, mind, body and soul to.
• ·        I became a better or an expert rider not because I was able to practice on a better road, in better surroundings, with a better trainer or a better piece of equipment. It was all because of my will and determination. In fact the old bicycle became a better ride because of the cyclist riding it.
• ·        So in a challenging or crisis situation, it is for me to step up to the plate rather than pointing fingers at the factors outside me for causing such a situation. The situation is not a problem but just an opportunity for me to grow.
• ·        Till the time I do not accept the challenge and overcome it, the same or similar situation will keep confronting me, forcing me to take action.
• ·        The results of overcoming a challenge are multifarious and multidimensional. I not only garner the apparent benefits but also unravel some concealed advantages which may be exclusively available to me, because of who I am and how I deal with situations in my life.

I can only conclude by saying that every challenge or crisis in life is as easy as learning to ride the bicycle. Every time I am confronted with a challenge, I look for the lesson in it for me to learn, rather than the difficulties in the changed scenario. I simply have to move out of my comfort zone to pleasantly surprise myself and the others. 

It is all about me- always has been and always will be.

The Biggest Lie Told to All Mothers!

I am taking a break at my parents’ place these days and this comes after a long spell of incessant action marked by a book launch, revamping my academy, starting two new projects and working towards the accomplishment of a personal aspiration of years.

There! I think I have established my case well of needing and deserving a break. And there could not have been a more opportune time to go for one, which I am seriously questioning now, than the summer vacation of my two children.

Well, let me tell you this: it is the BIGGEST LIE being sold to every mother across the globe that she can go on a BREAK accompanied by her children! And innocent, blinded by love, gullible mothers readily pop this candy of a lie into their mouths and minds, all the while believing that they will actually get a break from the fist-clenching, hair-pulling and teeth-gritting job of motherhood.

The reality of this farce was rubbed into my being in a rather bizarre manner last night.

After having given up on spending quality time with my children at night when no go-to-bed curfews were imposed, I decided to sleep alone in peace. Everything was perfect as I retired to my solitary room to finish the novel that had reached its gripping climax. Let me inform you, I was able to do so with much relish and undisturbed engagement.

I decided to savour some old melodies on my play-list and allow them to gently serenade me to halcyon sleep. I was able to achieve this as well. The catastrophe struck after this.

As I was drifting into deep sleep, I felt through my closed eye-lids, a beam of blue light move around in my room. ‘I am seeing the Divine! Such peace…’, I thought. I settled further into my comforter and let out a deep sigh of relaxation. However, now the blue light was fixed at a spot and that was my face. I opened my eyes to find my nine-year old son standing tentatively in front of my bed.

“What is it?”, I snapped.

“There’s something ominous brown and green in colour with huge prickly legs flying around in our room!” Fear writ large on his charming face and popping out of his huge naughty eyes.

‘There goes a night of rest! Now which demons will I have to slay before I can rest my head peacefully on this welcoming pillow?’, I thought. I reluctantly climbed out of my bed and followed my son who was carrying his sister’s mobile to serve as a torch in the dimly-lit 20-step long passage from their room to mine. Let me mention here that he crossed his grandparents’ room on the way to mine.

My daughter 13 years of age, tried to salvage the situation as soon as I entered the room. “I told him, it is just a small insect. We could sleep just fine.” She said this to me while standing on the bed and her eyes following the exuberant cricket’s hops around the room.

Exasperated with the whole hullabaloo at the midnight-hour, I took a plastic tumbler from the kitchen, trapped the brown-green fiend and dragged it out of my children’s room. The whole drama ended without any casualties and desired and undesired violence.

“I can’t sleep here now! I’ll sleep with you mamma.” My son was marching out of the room ahead of me, with his pillow and comforter, sans the torch, as he said this.

I resigned to my destiny and went to bed with him. I was happy just to be asleep.

P.S.- Despite the travails and exasperating tests of motherhood, every mother basks in the UNCONDITIONAL LOVE of her children. And such episodes become fodder for the following day’s animated conversation, blog-posts and vibrant repository of bitter-sweet memories. Like my mother remarked to my sulking today, “Have you forgotten your own childhood, when a broom was always kept by my bed-side instead of my favourite book?” 

Helpful Tips for Budding Authors

As a budding writer in my childhood days, I was often riddled with questions and doubts as to what I should write. A few days ago I was yet again confronted with the same dilemma mirrored in the minds of young aspiring writers, with whom I had started the ‘Budding Authors’ Programme’. I was able to bring some clarity and order in the thought that we put in to shape our creative expression.

I share below a few practices that have helped me to hone my skill. I hope they will be of some use to the ‘Budding Authors’ as well.

• ·        Read to write- An aspiring writer should read books from a diversified bibliography. By reading I do not simply mean the uninvolved act of consuming the words. It should be a mindful activity engaging all our senses and faculties. If I can draw an analogy here, then I would say that conscious reading is like savouring a delicacy. The presentation, look, smell, touch, taste and feel of the dish overwhelm and arouse all our senses. We are so involved with the act of eating that we are able to break down the dish to its very minute ingredients. We are so inspired by the sumptuous feast that we intend to recreate it at the next available opportunity. Some of us are even able to accomplish the feat with a great amount of success.

And that is how we should read. We should read to write, contemplating continually the thoughts and feelings that the writer harboured while writing the piece. Revisit the writing to absorb it completely – appreciating the use of various tools of writing, figures of speech and the overt and covert expressions. This is how we become ‘creators’ as opposed to ‘consumers’.

• ·        Be a listener – A good writer is a keen listener, not only of the ear but also of the eye. We should observe patiently the elements in our atmosphere – living and non-living both, and their interactions with each other. For example, the way a door is slammed in anger or softly closed during an act of stealth. These observations are the fodder for our writing, and engaging our minds and that of the readers.

• ·        Get inspired easily – A writer should not wait for inspiration to pen down words. Even the mundane should be inspiring enough to write about. In fact the simpler the premise of writing, the better is the creative expression. Great writers have been able to describe with vivid imagery the banal stuff of life. However, I am not recommending that we write about only boring subjects; a writer should talk about beauty as well but not be limited by it.

• ·        Catch the thoughts- Thoughts are like balloons, if we do not catch them at the right moment, then we lose them forever. A certain expression may remain etched in meaning but not form, in our memory. So we should always keep handy a writing pad and pen to write down whatever unfolds in our mindscape. We should also write every day, giving no thought to the purpose of our writing. It is a skill that improves with practice. So we should develop a habit to write every day about everything and anything.

• ·        Details are captivating – We should take our time in weaving a beautiful web of words. A writer can prolong the gratification from a single moment by elongating it into a verbose composition. We do get entangled in our own web at times and lose the way. The way out in such a situation is to go through drafting and re-drafting our work. Write a piece and leave it at that. Return to it after some time, some days and rework it, but not too much.

• ·        Right to write – It is our right to write what we want. We should not let others and even readers decide for us what we want to write, how we want to write and when we want to write. Hundreds of writers from time immemorial are writing the same stories, yet the readers are enamoured by a good piece every time. It is the writer in us –the nature, character and attitude - that makes the difference to an old story.

• ·        Work in progress – No writer can claim that she/he has reached the pinnacle of her/his craft. In fact the day of such a claim is the beginning of the descent. Hence, we should all evolve like a continuous work in progress- improving, modifying and honing our craft and skill with every word we write. The focus for us should not be on having arrived, but on being in forward motion.

• ·        Review of work – it is essential to learn of our shortcomings as a writer. I advise writers to meticulously select a mentor who can objectively review their work. It is of vital importance that we absolutely relish the work of our mentor. She/ He can be an intelligent reader with deep thoughts and efforts invested in reading. We can try to sharpen our skills according to the broader perspective shared by our mentor but diligently retaining our identity and individuality in the bargain.

I would like to conclude by emphasising that like me, this piece is also a work in progress. You all are welcome to share and add to the views here.

It is not the idea of perfection that captivates a reader. It is the idea of uniqueness that elicits strong affinity bordering on unshakable attachment from our loyal fans.

How Do I Love Myself?

Love is not a selfish emotion. Love is unbiased.  If I want to truly love anyone, I must love impartially, beginning with loving myself!

How do I love myself?

I love myself by being neither selfish nor self-centered. I cannot love myself by restricting every living act that I perform to myself alone. In this way I will stifle the life within myself.

I love myself by becoming the center of my existence, though not the circumference. I become conscious of the fact that my existence is a derivative of the Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient God – Love.  The Supreme Power that does not create any negative entity or energy has created me and everyone else. So, when I remain conscious at all times of this identity of myself and continuously hold this view of myself as emanated by the Immaculate One - I love myself.

As I am a part of the pure and divine energy that is, I am incapable of being impure at any time. So, the negative emotions like anger, fear, doubt, jealousy, sin, sickness and death are not any part of my true identity and being. Whenever I find myself drenched with these negative feelings, I love myself by asserting that these are not a part of me. I correct my thoughts, thus my actions get corrected. This correction of thought is, loving myself.

As I continue to love myself, I move closer to my origin - the Divine Source. I am refined and metamorphosed to become transparent. I reflect my creator- Love, to the extent that I holistically become one with the ONE.

Hence, I love myself by consciously viewing myself as a reflection of Love-God and losing my false ego or mortal-self in the process. I become the center, the hub of Love, loving myself so much that the love overflows to everyone who comes into contact with me. In the end in this love-story, only LOVE remains and the false pretentious I, perishes.

LOVE- OUR TRUE IDENTITY

What is our TRUE IDENTITY? This question has perturbed many a moment of peace and bliss in my life! And I am sure it must have often plagued your thoughts as well.

Is my identity defined by my name? Is my identity the aggregate of my physical and mental being - as the others perceive me? Is my identity defined by the many roles I play? Is my identity that of a daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, writer, entrepreneur, or all these taken together? So, was my identity incomplete when I was not a sister, a wife or a mother? Strangely, I never felt incomplete or lacking in any which way when I was not playing any or all of these roles! So what is my 'True Identity'?

My true identity is that of a seed that has within itself the tree – pure and complete.

 My true identity is the same and reflects that from whom I originate. All creation - living and non-living (so called) - originates from GOD. So, my true identity is Godlike – wholly spiritual. My true identity naturally and continuously follows the God's law of progress. Love a synonym for God, enables me to progress at all times. It keeps at bay the negative emotions of fear, anger, anxiety, depression and even sickness. The presence of Love allows me to grow and fulfill the purpose of my life. Thus, Love is my 'true identity'. Dwelling in unconditional Love that is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, I am the image of my Creator - perfect, pure, pristine and potent. 

Love is the only substance that fulfills the scientific law that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Hence, I continue to receive love (which each of us reflects as His image and likeness) from my dear ones even when they are separated from me, through time and space. I still feel the love of my grandparents enveloping me, even when they have passed on. I still feel the love of my parents surrounding me, although they live physically away from me.

So, the litmus paper test for me to know whether I am able to understand and manifest my true identity of Love is to check my state of living. I am separated from my true identity when I experience anger, fear, hatred or anxiety or any of the non-godlike emotions.  I can then and there, overcome these errors by focusing on Love thereby dwelling in my true and natural identity and live the life of bliss.

 Charity begins at home, so before I project Love to those around me, I have to manifest Love for myself. I have to remember at all times that despite being a drop in the ocean, I carry the ocean within me. As each drop in the ocean projects the traits of the ocean, likewise, we all as His creation, reflect His quality of LOVE – our 'True Identity'.

(P.S.- Next time we shall talk about How to love ourselves?)