Road Least Travelled - A journey of the Soul

Forgiveness is over-rated. Everyone tells you to forgive. That's BS. It's spiritual bypassing. Forgiveness is not an act, it's not something you do. Forgiveness comes naturally and effortlessly when you take care of yourself. When you make the effort to heal yourself. For yourself. So stop trying to forgive.

Today I want to tell you a story that will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. I was on my way to the Taj Mahal, walking along the busy streets of Agra. The distinct smell of India, hot masala chai, golden deep-fried puri, cloves, aniseed, curry leaves, jasmine, sandalwood, the smell of decay and rotting garbage. Dogs, pigs, donkeys, peacocks adding to the already crowded streets. Cows lying in the middle of the road, the rattling of bells on anything that moves, the endless honking of traffic. Here, beauty surpasses ugliness and ugliness surpasses beauty. I think because India contains the polarities of life it offers us a glimpse into ourselves. I find India beautiful not only because of the physical beauty of its buildings, art, and the richness of its ancient culture, but that it tells the truth, in all its beauty and ugliness. True beauty is not superficial. It’s a mess, a tangle of both beauty and ugliness.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the first shimmering whiteness of the Taj Mahal in the distance. I wanted to prolong this anticipation so I stopped to grab a bite at a food stall.

There was this street kid of about 10 stood nearby, watching

When I got to the Taj Mahal I couldn’t help wondering if this most stunning and elegant declaration of love in history would’ve been so lovely if it hadn’t been for that half an orange.

In my travels to places most would consider filthy, ugly and poor, the one thing that struck me more than anything else was always this – I didn’t return to my comfortable life thinking how lucky I was. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful for what I had, but what kept nagging at me, always at the back of my mind throughout the years, was, what is the secret of these people’s peace of mind and happiness despite having so little?

Now I know. They never drank the Kool-Aid.

When you don’t have a mountain heap of money, no mansion in Monte Carlo, when your clothes are 20 years old and have seen 2 cycles of fashion come backs, when on some days you might even struggle to pay the bills, and yet most days regardless

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We all knew as very young children, what our purpose in life is. So it’s not about searching for your purpose. Rather, discovering it by peeling off all of society’s conditioning, peer pressure, family expectations, of all words that limit the inner knowing of your purpose.

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Here are some headlines on my feed the other day:

"Why highly successful people are prone to depression."

"Highly successful people are at higher risk for depression."

"Why the super-successful get depressed."

Doesn't this sound ludicrous to you? Senseless, weird, odd, strange? Or is it just me? What nonsense is this? We need to re-define what success means in today’s society.

Success is subjective, of course. However, too many people are so caught up in society’s idea of success that we often forget that personal success is the only one that’s truly sustainable.

Here are a few ways to assure you that you are truly successful. If you resonate with most of them, you should be very happy.

1. You feel gratitude for the simplest things.

2. You know yourself and you don’t fear revealing who you are.

3. You have peace of mind.

5. You’re self-aware.

6. You’ve fallen more times than you can remember, and each time you fall you get right back up without compromising on your principles.

7. You are constantly learning about yourself. You don’t rush to improve. You accept that you’ll always be work in progress.

8. You don’t harm people and animals, you’re not careless about the welfare of the planet and people around you.

9. You take care of yourself, you eat well and you take enough rest. You don’t need fancy food or clothes to be happy.

10. You don’t put up a façade to show people a favorable image of yourself. You reveal your real self because you have nothing to hide or fear.

11. Truth that’s unacknowledged, or kept hidden, poisons us slowly. Insidiously. You know that the truth, whether you’re seeking it or revealing it, really does set you free.

12. You take accountability for your choices and actions. You make the most with the cards you were dealt with without whining about how unfair life is.

13. You don’t envy anyone, or resent them for appearing better off than you or luckier than you.

14. You forgive, not because people say you should, but because you really do see the silver lining in the harm done to you. And therefore, your act of forgiveness is actually gratitude.

15. You have faith in something bigger than yourself. And you surrender to that faith. You see God, the universe, source energy, or a higher

16 You’re doing what you truly love and believe in, and you have faith that you can earn a comfortable living doing it.

So you see, society’s idea of success is so effed up. How can success ever be anything but bring you peace of mind, contentment, and

If you resonate with most of what I’ve said, be happy.  Be very happy!

Have a great week ahead, and I’ll see you soon.

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Some of us will continue to perpetuate the cycle of anger, hate, fear and destruction. And the cycle will continue. But for some the time has come for us to turn those emotions into something more powerful. When all external avenues have been exhausted I hope we turn inwards to fight our internal battles and cleanse ourselves spiritually. To heal the world all we have to do is heal ourselves. I know it doesn't seem like much, and it sure doesn't look heroic or proactive

The new year tradition of cleaning your home, re-organising your cabinets, giving away things you don’t need, those are not just physical cleansing. They’re metaphorical cleansing as well. Yes it’s good to have a clean environment to live in, but most people stop there, thinking that their external environment is all there is. 

We need to cleanse our inner world too. Here are 6 ways to wipe off unwanted influences.

1. People who are always there for you when you’re down but not when you’ve recovered, or when you’re happy. Be grateful that they were there at your lowest points. Thank them in your prayers, but move on. Don’t miss the friendship or relationship because it's likely that they enjoyed your misery. They could be living in a low vibrational place that loves drama and complaining about how wretched life is. And they found a perfect partner in you. When you rise above it, they don’t want to follow.

2. People who always pull you down with negative opinions. Follow your intuition and it’ll always lead you to a better spiritual place, and that includes mistakes. Nobody except you knows what’s best for you. And the only thing that can guide you on this is your intuition. Trust yourself. Trust yourself blindly.

3. People who never text or call you unless you reach out to them. Stop

4. Be yourself and say exactly what you mean. Sometimes friendships and relationships are maintained because you play a role that suits them. Be yourself for a change and see what happens. Being our authentic selves is the only sustainable way to keep friendships that support our spiritual growth.

5. Give up something. What will you give up in order to free up the space for something more fulfilling and meaningful? Your spiritual energy is your most precious currency. Give up something to make space for something better.

6. The media. Stop participating in online arguments over politics and current events. The media is owned by a handful of powerful people and is curated to allow us to see only what they want us to see, to

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You start with emotional fasting. There's no point in making new year resolutions when we don't flush out the underlying issues.

1. Minimise the time you spend on watching and reading the news. By all means get an overview of what’s going on but don’t indulge. To know what’s going on in the world and to have an objective view of it, we can be more effective in deciding what we can do, or are willing to do. But to indulge will make us unnecessarily sad, angry, frustrated, and distressed. Compassion is empathy and sadness with a limit. When we go over that limit, we cease to be helpful to

It’s time to examine why we are overly emotional about something. We’ll see a more balance picture about ourselves. When we’re calm, we hear the wisdom

2. Stop engaging in arguments physically, or on social media. Instead, observe without judging. You’ll have a clearer mind when you observe others. This is because it’s very hard to look at ourselves. I’m not saying to judge others, I’m saying observe them and then relate their behaviour to your own. Very often you’ll see that both sides are arguing from their ego. The ego is the biggest stumbling block to awakening.

After eliminating the external noise, you can absorb positive and healthy emotional nutrients in the coming year. There

1. Treat yourself like you’d treat a good friend. You know they’re not better than you. You know they’re flawed human beings too, and yet you’re kind and compassionate to them. So why don’t you do that for yourself? Why hold yourself

Imagine you’re that person who’s your good friend. How would you talk to them? How would you advise them laugh with them or take care of them when they need your support? Do that for yourself.

2. Have forward moving internal dialogues with yourself. Acknowledge a mistake you’ve made, and move on to the solution. This has 3 benefits. You’re teaching yourself to be more forgiving. You’re replacing the voices of other people who belittle you, ridicule you or scold you. And thirdly, you're training yourself to see that many mistakes have simple solutions if you stopped focusing on the mistake

So, that’s it. Just do these 4 things. If you do it diligently, I guarantee you your mind will be so clean and spacious, your soul can finally breath. And all the other resolutions will just fall into place effortlessly. Well, over time if course. Just don’t be caught up in the resolutions themselves. Focus on the foundation, which is a clean empty space, that’s where healthy habits grow.

Remember, big changes happen effortlessly when you make the small changes.

All the best. I wish you a Happy, fulfilling and spiritually rewarding 2024!

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What if I said you can overcome this without having to change yourself? Because being trusting, generous and kind, are good qualities you don’t want to lose. And yet those are the very qualities that create one disappointment after another.

People who are naïve and trusting have 3 choices.

The path you take will either make you a lifelong doormat, a cynic with a miserable life, or a balanced person who can get the best out of every situation.

I want to share with you a very simple way to remain as you are, keep being trusting, keep being kind and generous, and still protect yourself from these grifters.

One, is to love yourself more.

Two, don't be cynical.

Three, liberation from being a doormat or a cynic.  Look at the world for what it is, rather than what you want, or hope for it to be. Look at it without judgment, without emotions. That way you see people for exactly who they are without any negative or positive feelings. It’s just who they are, they’re entitled to that, but you choose not to interact with them. It's not being judgmental. It's being discerning. Cynicism is being suspicious of everyone. But being discerning, is seeing them for who they are, and choosing not to engage. This frees you to engage with people who are genuine.

You don’t have to change a thing about yourself. You just have to be more discerning.

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Here are 8 types of people to avoid when you’re going though spiritual awakening. This depends on which stage of the spiritual journey you’re at. If you’re at the beginning, then you should most definitely avoid them, until you’re strong enough to take them on. If you’re not strong enough, you will be pulled down by them. Stay away from them if you want your journey to be a bit smoother. 

Spiritual awakening is not a one-time thing. We go through levels of difficulty like playing a video game. So at the beginning, it's best to make sure you are surrounded by people who are supportive rather than those that bring you down.

Here are the 8 types of people who are dangerous for your spiritual awakening:

1. People you care about who don't care about you.

2. Fake people

3. The victim.

4. Skeptics.

5. Gossip mongers.

6. People who can't say No.

7. People who thrive on drama.

8. Habitually negative people.

Now, there is a huge difference between being judgmental and being discerning. How they behave is not our concern. But whether we engage with them is our concern.

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