​Back in 2011, it was nice and quite adventurous to study for the Private Pilot License. It was fun, but when you think about the difficulties of flying a small plane and all the reporting requirements etc. it becomes tedious. This is why it should be done only by people who are committed to their profession.

It was all about the thrill of flying. After only 15 hours of practice, I was able to do my first solo takeoff. My instructor complimented me and said, shockingly, that he had yet to meet anyone who could fly an airplane so easily during training.

These are some images that I took during my initial flight training session.

​This was my second flight experience. It was just a few feet above the ridge, on my side (at a tilt), and I felt it. Cool, amazing, terrifying, but in reality, I felt like I had experienced many emotions all at once.

One of my most memorable experience was seeing the incredible Rockies in all their glory. It was a great blessing to be so close to the majestic Canadian Rockies. For me, a training flight easily turned into a beautiful expedition.

This was my second flight experience. It was just a few feet above the ridge, on my side (at a tilt), and I felt it. Cool, amazing, terrifying, but in reality, I felt like I had experienced many emotions all at once.

One of my most memorable experiences was seeing the incredible Rockies in all their glory. It was a great blessing to be so close to the majestic Canadian Rockies. An easy training flight can turn into a beautiful expedition.

​In 2012, my trip to The Netherlands included a visit to a cheese farm. I was able to witness firsthand how traditional Edam cheese is made on small farms. These small farms cater to both local clients and curious tourists.

Mild Edam, which is young cheese, goes well with fruits such as cherries, melons and apricots. While aged Edam is good with apples and pears, it can also be mixed well with other traditional cheese fruits like pears. It can be enjoyed on crackers, bread and as a dessert treat as Cheese and Biscuits.

Pinot Gris and semidry Riesling wines, Champagne, Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah, and dry Riesling are all great with Edam cheese.

It seems like slowly travel is opening. Particularly as spring approaches and snow starts to melt, it gives us a great opportunity to explore our neighboring areas. Ofcourse this is in the northern hemisphere. But even in the southern experience, as they experience fall, it is a great time to see nature transform and change color!

​If you are able to travel internationally then that ofcourse is an amazing away to explore life experiences. But even taking local road trips can help to open your heart with the exhilarating experience of travel- it will open your heart to fun, thrill, and joy.

Travel has a way of opening us up to the grandeur of life!! It is not just about getting exposure to various people and cultures, their foods and way of life; but the very act of venturing out into the big world, without the comfort of home and the familiarity of known people, has a way of opening up our hearts to trust and surrender- two important states to initiate any kind of spiritual ascension...

​We all tend to look at travel brochures and wish that we could take some time off and go somewhere exotic. Travelling has a wonderful way of opening our senses. And particularly after having been couped up for most of last year, people are getting ready to explore more… not just places that are far and wide but also typically ignored places in their neighborhood, in this city or state. 
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There is something very powerful about travelling. It makes us forget the drudgery of our day-to-day existence and takes us beyond all the humdrum of daily life to the vast expansiveness of nature’s creation. When we travel to some place amazing, we cannot but admire how our majestic earth must have been created all those millions… billions… gazillions of years ago. 

We cannot help our self but wonder on how all the rocks must have come together to form giant mountains and how all the water vapors must have condensed to form our huge oceans. 

​Machu Picchu is one such amazing place. Located in Peru, it was home to the Incas. At one time they were very wise and powerful and now they are no more. All that remains are merely structures, trails and archaeological evidence of their once grand existence!

There are many such places, for e.g. Rishikesh in India or the great pyramids where we can almost sense all those people who walked this earth before us.

The grandeur of the structure along with the stories of the rise and fall of various tribes and nations, helps us to recognize not just our mortality, but also realize that ultimately all our strivings, all our achievements are one day going to return to dust from where we came!!
 
Seeing this bigger picture, helps us to view our life in the bigger context- i.e the bigger scheme of things. It is great to work hard and strive for that promotion or want to make that extra money so you can afford a bigger house or that Ferrari, but we realize that ultimately these are all short-lived.

Our world exists, because of 'us'… and it is important to recognize this importance of the 'I' not in terms of egoistic demands as we usually do with a false sense of our own importance, but in terms of our deep and complete existence. And needless to say, our total existence is about our connection with each other- i.e. our consciousness with and within the collective consciousness.

As you are probably getting ready to plan your next vacation in spring, try to visit some place amazing. In fact, why wait till then, if you are not being locked down and if you live close to any magnificent park, mountains, oceans or any place beautiful and natural, then plan to go there over the weekend and just sit back and reflect… on how you fit within the grand scheme of things. How your wants and wishes… your aspirations and ambitions fit into the bigger context of your life on this earth and also how your very existence plays its own role, fits within the grand scheme and context of our collective existence on this planet…

Categories: 
Joy And Happiness ,   Life Adventures   and   Tools And Techniques

Keywords and Tags:
#journeytooneness #artofhappiness #spirituallessons #findinghappiness #happiness #becomminghappy #joyandhappiness #joy #happy #consciousliving  #wholisticlifestyle #naturalliving #tipsforconsciousliving #collectiveconsciousness #consciousness #gaia    #motherearth   #maitreyiparadigm

In the last few years, there have been so many wildfires all over the world!! We, in Canada experienced some really terrible ones in 2003, where almost 12% of our beautiful parklands in the Kootenay mountains were scorched down to ashes!! 

Why I am writing about this is- recently I came upon one of my hiking journal entries from back in October of 2015. We had gone into the Kootenays to check out the new growth that had started to take place. As the photo shows- the beautiful little saplings had started to take on their form- with the promise of one day becoming grand and magnificent again- like how they used to be. 
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It was such an inspiring experience to not only feel the pristine energy of these new pine trees but also see them start to thrive again where the ground still was covered in the ashes of their predecessors!!

Life is like that in many ways- we speak of transformation and being like the phoenix. But we need to remember that for new to grow, what is old, what was previously there must get burnt down… and that can be a very painful (dreadful) experience indeed.   (You may want to check out-   Welcoming 2021 with a renewed sense of purpose and exuberance .  Even though it speaks about welcoming 2021, its message holds true for all time.)

Change by its very inherent nature tends to be unsettling to our “security-seeking” life-approach. But when we remember that the very word Samsara, which is the Sanskrit word for our living world, means Change- we realize that change is not only required, but it is inevitable. Change is what allows us to grow and thrive… to constantly evolve and adapt- as if we are in some kind of a game. It is no wonder that in the Vedic tradition, our daily living, our world is compared with a “Game of Life”.

In this past year- it seems like people everywhere are getting angrier day by day- and many are wondering about this world that we are living in!! Even though at the surface level, we may feel a bit sad or even a little apathetic at times- being couped up in the house or being concerned about the world or personal economic situation- It is very important to remember the good that was and will continue to be.

Destruction and re-creation are part of the natural cycle- this is the cycle of time- called Kaal Chakra by the ancient Vedic seers. Literally, it means the Wheel of Time and it indicates the 'Circle of Life'. It reminds us that though we experience time in a linear manner, in reality- the expression of time in our lives and our deeper experience of it in our life has a cyclical pattern to it.

And though experiencing change can be a painful experience, when we keep our focus on the good that has been and will again be- it makes it easier for us to bear a ‘painful present’ life-situation.

After a beautiful Friday, Saturday started with mucky weather in Calgary. Rain, snow and maybe some sleet! So, it was a perfect day to get out into the Kootenays! It was warmer and thankfully no rain or snow... We conducted three short hikes. First to Marble Canyon, second to Paint Pots and third was Fireweed Trail along the continental divide between Alberta and BC. All these places are not just gorgeous, but their history and geography really blows one's mind!

Almost 12% of the Kootenays was burned in a terrible fire in 2003- caused naturally from several lightning strikes. It was great to see nature at work- where new growth was growing from the ashes of the old!

Feels like I left a piece of my heart back in our parks. Cannot wait to go back...

​Categories: 
Comfortable Living,      Conscious Living,    Life Adventures,     Our Path Our Journey   and   Spiritual Lessons

Keywords and Tags:
#change #dealingwithchange   #changemanagement   #dealingwithpain   #painmanagement   #regrowth   #kaalchakra   #cycleoftime   #circleoflife   #samsara   #betterfuture 

Sometime ago, I visited the Postosja Caves in Slovenia. These caves are typically made of limestone. The insides of the caves are amazingly majestic with huge stalagmites that have formed over centuries!! 

When you stand inside these caves- surrounded by magnificence that took centuries to form. You see the amazing and yet unassuming beauty of your surroundings and still there is a bit of harshness to being in a cave. A sense of being cut off from rest of society. And a flash of insight dawned on me.

An a-ha moment- as we strive to build enterprises and businesses, we are quietly away from the world and prying eyes- slowly building our products. We have to continue working at it diligently but also strategically. Simply chipping up does not help to create a masterful artwork, we have to strategically evolve and bring to fruition one plan over another to create the landscape (our final product or enterprise) of our dreams. 

In alternative healing where crystals are believed to contain special soothing and healing properties, Stalagmites are of particular consideration in building strength and sustenance. They take a long time to form and by their presence they instill in us the patience to diligently work at our goals and plans. Not to look for an immediate “return of investment” but believe that in time, we will receive the fruits of our efforts.

It is important to note that, yes, we all should avoid danger as much as possible, but if confronted- we need to face our challenges head-on!!

Standing there inside those immensely wonderful caves me gave a very clear and deep insight- about the act of creation itself!
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When we typically think of creation, we think of all our external actions and what we have created in our life. Have we created a successful career for our self? A large bank account? A successful business or enterprise?? 

This was such a vital lesson, as its guidance is not limited to just creating a successful career or enterprise. Afterall, our most important creation in our life- is our very self!!

Who have we become??- are we happy with who we are, who we have become- our life situation, our state of mind, our relationships and so on… at some level all these makes up our external self. Then there is our faith, our beliefs, our psychological make up, our way of thinking and all the intricacies of our mental dimension, which makes up our inner self. 

It is very essential to remember that, to create a life of immense depth, value and beauty takes time!!

In a previous article I narrated this personal road trip incident where a person showed up almost like an angel in answer to my prayer, to help me thru a very scary/desperate situation!

If you have not read it, here is the link to that article:   An amazing road-trip… a prayer answered almost instantaneously!!

​As I continued driving thru the evening, I reflected on what had just happened. Was it ‘really' for real??

What is real? - that which our senses can perceive, and our rational mind can come up with a clear explanation. But I did not have any of it for what had just happened!! 

This gentleman was someone who showed up literally in the middle of no-where, as a simple and prompt answer to my desperate prayer. 

Desperate because- one, I was tired after having driven thru hypnotic Manitoba- well, the province is surely nice but my sarcastic description- ‘hypnotic’ is for its amazingly straight roads. You can read up on road-hypnotism to understand what I mean.

He showed up almost like an angel to show me the way and then disappeared into the evening dusk. 

I felt inspired to share this story with all of you- because, right now, we all are going thru trying times in our own ways.

It is not just about a health-scare or economic shut-down… bottom-line is that anything and everything we have held as ‘normal’ over the years has been overthrown- and no one seems to know where this is all leading us to!!

Many people today are feeling some level of confusion- with a thousand questions firing in their minds of fear and disbelief and yet- they do not seem to find solace!

Such circumstances reminded me of this road trip, because if you have ever driven in the dark on an isolated road, you know that at-best you are only able to see a few meters or so in front of your car… that is all the headlights can illuminate and you simply trust that the rest of the road is there further ahead.

And it is when it is extremely dark and the road is totally isolated, when our illuminated view can be at it is minimum- which also means we need to maximize our trust that the road continues fine further ahead…

This is such a time in our life- where we need to trust life and its working. The best we can do is to pay attention and traverse today with full exuberance and intension- doing our best, in the best way possible… while knowing, believing that life will bring us a bright tomorrow.

Some of you may wonder, well- her road trip incident indicates of a strange situation where the road ended in the middle of some woodsy wilderness and then continued on a little away and here in this article, she is asking us to trust that the road continues fine- isn’t this a mixed message?? No, it is not!

You see that incident that happened to me back then was an extreme anomaly!! And even in such a situation, the divine providence took care to provide an angel-helper (the semi-truck driver) to show me the way. 

Most of us are not on such a dramatic anomalous path…. 

Because of which, it gets even easier to trust that not only the road we are on, continues fine but that if there are any crazy, unexpected situations that come up, the divine providence will take care of me (us).

What is needed of each one of us is to truly and deeply trust, do the best we can (our actions- what is in our hands, we need to do it the very best) and ensure that we have an active and open communication with the divine. 

This is after all what is meant by awakening up spiritually- it is to live life with awareness, trust, and exuberance.

​#selfdevelopment #lifemanagement #traveladventures #trust #spiritualawareness #answeredprayers #angels #helpfromabove #divinehelp #divineguidance #prayingforhelp #DivineProvidence #dontfear #gethelp #economicshutdown   #panic

I recently posted one of my first abstract visual artwork. If you have not still seen it, then check it out… 

It was inspired after my road-trip across a third of Canada. That is saying quite much- since Canada is the second largest country in the world!! 

So, my road-trip from Calgary to Montreal in Quebec and back was over a total of 3000 kms. Given all the other fun adventures I had ‘not planned’ along the way- it was a five-day trip. Which also means I pretty much drove straight thru each way- with just couple of hours of rest in the car itself by the side of the road, in the middle of Ontario jungles!
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The reason I am giving all these details is that- I have done many road-trips in my life… (you can check out my other Travel-stories) those where I was the main driver and also where I have been nicely driven around. In fact, most of my Europe vacations have been road-trips, so that way, I can get a true feel for the region I am visiting.

BUT there was something special about this road-trip. It was my longest road-trip where I was the sole traveler, driving myself thru hypnotically straight paths (well, you need to drive thru Manitoba, to understand what I mean- hey, my fellow-Canadians get it!! 😊), dirt roads thru dense woods and jungles and also thru large cities all within a span of a few days.

Most of the trip was not planned, but I had some spectacular experiences- like the time where a dirt-road (which is  meant to be Hwy-1, world’s longest road) in the woodsy wilderness of Ontario suddenly stopped and there was nothing ahead.

​I just could not believe my eyes. "Where is the road?? After all, it is supposed to go all the way to the end of Prince Edward Island, the other extreme end of Canada (on the east- Atlantic side)."
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And as always, when I feel stuck, I pray- and it was all almost instantaneous- I asked the Divine for guidance and suddenly I see a semi-truck right behind me. I frantically waved it down- and asked the driver about the road ahead.

He pointed at an area a little off to the side and there was just dirt and some wild grass between where I was parked at the end of this section and to where he was pointing and he said- the road starts again over there!! 

Just the ‘freaked out’ look on my face was a clear indication to him, that I was new in Canada. Most of my road trips before that time were in the USA- and while driving in the USA, I was used to proper paved freeways (as they are called in the USA). 

He smiled and simply said- “welcome to Canada” and indicated, I could follow his truck thru the grass as he was going there anyways and this way- I will not feel scared about driving thru the wild woodsy-jungle area. 
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Within minutes we got back on the highway and though I tried to wave at him thru the window, I am not sure if he caught it in his side mirror… but he did wave at me and drove off.

This road trip was full of such amazing incidents. I will share more of these with you as I feel it helps you as a reader to get a true flavor of what it means to live a fun, complete life- while also being an ordinary person- no guru, no one who claims special abilities- but a simple ordinary person, who has chosen to live an extra-ordinary life. 

Extra-ordinary, since every life which is lived completely with complete presence is always extra-ordinary. It does not need one to swing on a high bridges over some deep abyss or take off a Cessna 185 and fly oneself over the beautiful Canadian Rockies (like I have done)- we just need to feel the fear, wonder what to do, not know how to do it- but still continue on the path with complete trust that the Universe will put the floor down for our next step just as our first foot-step falls to the ground. 

I don’t need to know the way, till I know, I can trust that it is there- even though in the darkness of the night I can barely see a few feet ahead with my headlight.

Birds chirping happily- that is a sound which brings joy to our ears and hearts- at any time of the day. But there is something special about waking up to the sound of birds singing happily at the crack of dawn.
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Those of us who live in cities typically do not get to experience the joy of waking up to chirping birds. I remember couple of years ago when I was visiting Costa Rica- the first thing that I heard when I woke up are birds chirping away happily.

It was as if they were heralding the start of bright new day that was mine to ‘conquer’!! I could make it what I wanted of it… and somewhere they showed what is meant to just be joyful and enjoy the goodness around us. 

After that, the rest of the day, was incredibly joyful. I remember spending the greater part of the day riding an ATV (all-terrain-vehicle) - something I had never done in my life and it was a thoroughly happy experience- going thru various terrains and seeing very obscure places and being in absolute presence and in-sync with nature.

Today, I woke up to the sound of birds and it brought back many joyful memories of the fun time spent to Costa Rica and even before that as a young kid in Mumbai- back then Mumbai (called Bombay at that time) was not as polluted and as we lived closed to the coastline, every morning, we would hear sparrows chirping away joyfully.

How can you bring this joy into your life? Something to reflect on as we start a new week…. 

We all are seeking ‘Happiness’ and it is not some object to be bought or a state to be achieved. Happiness is a process, where we experience life and its beauty as well as bounty with a sense of joy and presence.

​#birdssinging #greenliving #sustainablelifestyle #tipforhappiness #joyfulliving