blogs, Book Review, inspiration, Motivational, philosophy, Uncategorized

Conversations With God- A Catalyst To Your Higher Self- My Reflection

There are some books meant for something beyond the labelled purposes- educate and enlighten. Some books are not just mere pages, words and experiences (all inclusive) but they are MESSAGES meant for you and Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch is one such book. This book has three parts of which the first part is what this review-experience is all about. I am more convinced than ever that perfect timings exist, from doing or not doing something to reading a book or coming across a message, things happen on time. I would like to first acknowledge and express my gratitude to Shweta, one of my Instagram friends who introduced this book to me for which I’m eternally grateful. I see her as the God sent ‘Messenger’. Something in her post about this book stayed with me and I decided to read it. This book is what connected me to her and developed this friendship or rather connection that I know is meant to be and it is an honour to experience it. Heartfelt gratitude to the author N. D. Walsch himself who chose to write this book and spread the magic beyond him, on people who desperately need it. I believe this book has reached people at the time destined.

Every so often, you may suddenly find a book that was lying in a corner or amidst the stack for years, and decide to read it all of a sudden, only to find how life-changing it is. Conversations With God has been such a book for me at least. If I have to suggest one book to every person, this would be it. The book talks about almost everything and not just praising or defining God. It is more real and serious than it may even sound. People differ in their interests and choices naturally, some may be intimidated by this book or even find this review vague or ‘crazy’. However different our thoughts may be, in the deepest depth and farthest realm, we are all souls. We all have the potential to feel, think and experience similar, collectively and ‘crazily’. It all may direct to one message, one goal or one truth. Truth is, after all, One- with countless or limitless facets, much like us humans or souls or GOD.

Initial Thoughts

Initially, while reading the book, there was a little conflict within my mind. The book did not seem to resonate with my conditioned idea of God. The whole idea of a book speaking to me in the form of God was weird to me. In all honesty, I even thought that, perhaps, the author wants to create his version of God just so that he can give sense to what he is writing and all this he even did effortlessly and rightfully. I was just a thought away from discontinuing until the thought of – KEEP AN OPEN MIND barged in. First Walsch tries to make us comfortable with this idea that it is God speaking to him or us. He seems to be equally skeptical and uncomfortable, almost unable to believe. You can feel the dilemma, the struggle to come out of this conditioned zone. As I started reading further, I forgot that it is a book and is written by someone. I felt as if it were me and God having a dialogue. Despite being the reader, I felt I was the author. This is where I know Walsch has already done a commendable job. Shaking up a reader, un-conditioning the conditioned, making them contemplate and observe what they did not before, making them find their potential and believe in, making them believe that they are LIMITLESS. If this is not what describes a successful writer, then I don’t know what else does.

Knowing Your Creator- who is God?

God’s answer from Conversations With God

Each one of us or factions among us define God in their own way and even conclude that ultimately, ‘God is One’. To some God could be in holy shrines, sculptures or images and even stone. To some God could be nothing or non-existent. The very idea or belief itself of anything, is something. Delving more into the book, I realized how simple and liberal the book is and how the author rather wants you to create your own version of God- call it the Universe, God, Higher Self, or simply Life. N. D. Walsch has simplified the concept of God that seems quite complex, sometimes beyond our understanding otherwise and makes the reader so comfortable with the concept. It may seem contradicting the ancient texts that talk differently about God but is similar to spiritualism. In the entire book there is at least one question that I am sure any person would relate with, the answer to which is, at least for me, thought-provoking and eye-opening. God is your Higher Self and if that does not satisfy you, you are free to find God and define the way you want, ultimately understand that God is not in limitations- neither in the definitions of the world nor in the most concrete form- mostly all of it and nothing.

Communication with God

I have always believed that God does speak to us in different ways and forms. Walsch elaborates it in the book very well with examples. How often we miss on the same messages or signs that keeps popping in front of us! The book, in one way or the other makes us think, helps us become conscious. It is important that conscious living starts defining us. Every conscious thought and action can probably make a better difference than the other and consciousness can differ from person to person, to some it may mean more analytic or calculative and to some it may mean more moralistic. It is mentioned in the book that “God communicates with us through our Highest Though which contains joy, Clearest Word which contains truth and Grandest Feeling which we call love. Anything less is from another source and not God”. If we think deeper this seems true. The first feeling and thought, the purest one, the one that just appears, seems like the one from the Supreme or ‘Unknown’.

God’s answer. An excerpt from Conversations with God

Good and Bad; Right and Wrong

Using examples of casualties or wars, diseases, mental health problems, relationship and life problems and so on, the book takes you off the mindset that either victimizes oneself or blames the other. The book would make you solely responsible for the occurrences in your life. This does not include the bad occurrences that we don’t choose or ask for but the reason for that is better explained in the book. I realized that there has to be good for bad and bad for good. Both are relative. To know the other, the another needs to exist. Without ‘it’ there is no ‘that’. Without bad there is no good. However, in a limitless realm, in the wide whole universe, there is no good or bad. Simply actions or choices and consequences with polarities.

I have never set down a “right” or “wrong” or a “do” or a “don’t”. To do so would be to strip you completely of your greatest gift- the opportunity to do as you please and experience the results of that; the chance to create yourself anew in the image and likeness of Who You Really Are; the space to produce a reality of a higher and higher you, based on your grandest idea of what it is of which you are capable.
God’s answer, quoting from the book, p. 39

What if You are God?

You are LIMITLESS. You create and through you, God experiences. One would wonder what is this ‘God experiencing through his creation’? We believe that we are God’s creation, so how can we think that God’s creation would be any less? Walsch implies that we are Creators and we re-create.

Events are created by the combined consciousness of man. All of the world, co-creating together, produces these experiences. What each of you do individually, is move through them, deciding what, if anything, they mean to you and Who and What You Are in relationship to them.
Thus you create collectively, and individually, the life and times you are experiencing, for the soul purpose of evolving.
God’s answer. Conversations With God, p.37

We have come a long way and all of this has been our creation, with or without the help of God. This way God experiences through his creation’s recreation. It is like humans and AI, to make it simple. The message of this book revolves around the fact that we are limitless, our potential is far beyond we can even think. The book tries to make you question and think Who You Are. This phrase is often repeated. After all, this is what are hunt is all about. We create and we still try finding our purpose and under Who We Are.

The book has done a brilliant job in awakening the urge in me to create, to be the creator that I am already, create better and help others create better as well. Like many spirituality-centric books, this one also focuses on many aspects of spirituality, in a more Western way by quoting the western texts like Bible, and also every now and then the Eastern texts. I noticed, ultimately, I have got similar messages in different words and forms. It is indeed like the God speaking to me in different forms, we know the Universe does this. How different is the universe from God? How different are We from God?

-Pooja Ashokkumar, the creator and the Creator 😉

If you have already made up your mind to buy the book, here is a direct link for the same: https://amzn.to/3qrJAAL

Uncategorized

Best Friend is an Understatement

“Hello, Pooj, I have left for college and I’m taking the bus now. I’ll meet you in the library in 20 minutes.” says Jovis Wilson on call using a PCO (Public Call Office). [Meet Jovis Wilson, my best friend from grade 12, I call her Jo]. Meanwhile, I’m hastily getting up from the bed and thinking how useless my alarm is that fails to wake me up before my best friend reaches college or maybe it’s just me! I have only 20 minutes to take a shower and get ready, eat breakfast, take a bus to reach the east side of my area and go to the west side and walk for 10 mins to reach my college. So I scuttle away, take a shower and dress up, skip the breakfast, take the bus and all this while I’m running. But as usual, I’m late (maybe the worst bestfriend ever) and reach library only to find Jo with her head down on the table, tired and sleepy awaiting me. I stand there palpitating and she somehow senses my presence like Jaya Bachchan (the Mother) sensing Shahrukh’s (Son) entry before even him reaching the door in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham! Raising her head in slow motion and she looks at me like- “what do I do to bring you here on time, you make me wait forever” but doesn’t say a word rather smiles at me. I can’t help but aimlessly and shamelessly smile back at her and be guilty about it. But guess what? I get her chocolates and wafers to munch on and compensate my shameless act (what a compensation!). My paavam (innocent) best friend would in fact make fun of herself waiting there and never even put me in guilt even though I have made her wait for hours several times.

I still wonder how tolerant and patient she was to me the whole time.

Back in 2012, maybe when the world was ahead, we were still those little girls assuming to be mature, roaming around the college hand in hand. Jo would save her lunch box, make sure that I get more of the dosa (Indian style salty crepes) and chicken curry, she would eat less of it and sometimes would not even eat while I would hog on it. Saving each rupee and get a cola and a plate of schezwan rice and share it was a thing back then. Probably we all do a lot of things for our best friend, I was even ready to give her a share in my property and never even regret. But she is just too precious for mere bunch of properties.

There were days when we used to walk a lot, eat Mumbai street food, wait long hours for the bus, sing carelessly in the bus, get drenched in the rain, help each other with studies, bunk lectures to sort boyfriend problems, boost each other’s confidence, teach morals and values, make each other believe in things and ourselves. We still do, maybe not an unusual thing from other friends, but experiencing miracles, supernatural stuff, literally believing in the words of each other to the extent that they would turn true, all of this made the friendship more divine for me.

The best part was knowing that we had both had our first period on the same date. So we wish each other on every anniversary. It’s a special thing for us. Celebrating womanhood together, reminding each other of the potential and the grace and wisdom we attain every year, reminding how equally strong and potent humans we are.

It was only an academic year that we spent together and she moved to Kerala, south of India, permanently. It’s been 9 years for our friendship and countless memories of singing to each other on calls, crying about our failures and heartbreaks, being the most vulnerable and yet believing in each other. She is married now, married the person she loved like crazy. I witnessed how she endured all the pain and suffering for him once. I am amazed at how she kept holding on it, believed in it, kept going, and finally made it with him. Despite all the personal turmoil, she was pillar strong with her academics. Graduated with a distinction and today eligible of getting a doctorate! This is where she inspires me. I know she will win the world someday! All those letters and cards she left me behind before moving is my treasure. I need to archive them for real. They remind me of how the simplest things could bring you joy that no costliest material in the world can.

You don’t need several decades to know your best friend. The true one can be known in a year or even within a day and would stand by you for a lifetime.
pooja ashokkumar

Today is Jo’s birthday and I wanted to do something better. I resorted to this blog. There are thousands of thoughts that cannot be put into words to describe this friendship, to describe her. There are not enough words to define the purity, innocence, unconditional love and goodness that she possesses and radiates. I am not going to wish anything for her because I know and believe the Universe is going to take her to the right places, with the right people, and give her exactly what she needs. I will be right here to hold her, listen to her, give her doses of confidence and positivity and remind her how beautiful of a soul she is and how much she deserves to be the happiest person in the world.

Happy Birthday Jovie! ❤

Inspirational, Motivational, philosophy, Uncategorized

Six ways to keep yourself happy.

Image source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/632474341397257029/

“Happiness is not a product or property to be owned. It is a state of mind that can be created.“- The Sapient Musings
https://sapientmusing.home.blog/

Life has come to a point where an emotion, the basic, has to be reminded and motivated about. We are on the search of those emotions that we feel are lost among the hustle and tussle of everyday life. Emotions are present in each one of us. Some inclining on the extreme side, while some on the mild or least side. When I look around the people around me, I think, I introspect, if they are truly happy. I ask myself, if I am happy. The ones reading this right now, ask yourself if you are happy? Happy about the job you do, about the people you are surrounded by, about the things you do, about the life you live? We are still trying to figure that out.

It is true that many of us are lagging behind the fast pacing world unable to cope up with and find a solution for it. This is continuously repressing us from being happy. Here are five ways that you can keep yourself happy.

Know your needs

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/needs

A lot of people fail to distinguish between needs and wants, this is one of the major cause of distress. Once you know what is your need and work to suffice it, you will be less distressed. Know what you need, what is your instant need and save the rest for later. This process will satisfy yourself which will unconsciously and consciously make you happy.

Acknowledge and focus on the good

Image source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/632474341398629833/

In a day, there are many good things that happen, that usually are ignored or goes unacknowledged by us. Keep a track of the good things that happen with you in a day and count on them. This will help you focus less on the negative and more on the positive side of your day ending up in a happy mood.

Appreciate little things

Image source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/13159023897240289/

Start noticing the little things that you come across everyday. It is the little things that embrace big happiness. Notice and appreciate if someone smiles at you, if someone helps you, if someone appreciates your efforts. We may snub these little things, but these are the reasons that can make your day.

Stop the comparison

Remind yourself that you are good the way you are and doing better whatever you are doing! We often compare ourselves and our lives with others, this is a natural phenomenon but consciously you can remind yourself that you are doing good. The comparison is what makes you feel less and leaves you in a desperate state of owning things and a life that someone else owns. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side. The mantra to be happy is to be happy with what you have and feel happy when others grow.

Achievements are not the only success

https://izquotes.com/quote/orison-swett-marden/achievement-is-not-always-success-while-reputed-failure-often-is-it-is-honest-endeavor-119587

Achievement and success are two different things. You many not always need to achieve something to be successful but you can be successful without achieving big things. It is easy to be happy after realizing this. Achievement and success can differ individually too. For some, success might be money, growth, luxury and achieving other big things, while for some it might be just helping out someone in a day, making someone cross the road or show direction, or help in some task. Knowing what success and achieving means for you will help you in being happy.

Yourself, hard-work and time

https://gomcgill.com/find-your-real-self-by-nisargadatta-maharaj/

There is no other mantra for being happy except for yourself, hard-work and time. When you know your needs, your thoughts and ideas, your caliber, your skills and when you incorporate all this with some hard-work and leave it on time, things will fall on its place. Time is a healer and assents with hard-work. This is the ultimate solution to be happy.