Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma

By Anuradha Varma

Listen in to conversations that "swish" or shift your perspective! Journalist and Mindset Coach Anuradha Varma interviews a diverse cast of people who share their expertise and experiences on a range ... more

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How many episodes does Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma have?

The podcast currently has 57 episodes available.

Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma episodes:

September 24, 2024 Ep 37: Fernando Hettiyadura: ‘Used responsibly, magic mushrooms can be more powerful than meditation’
“The one who needs to be loved is the one in the mirror. And if we can love ourselves so deeply, we can love even a stranger and see their suffering,” says Thailand-based Fernando Hettiyadura, a Multidisciplinary Therapist and ICF-designated Master Certified Coach, who leads unique interventions derived from integrative neuroscience, Vipassana and psychedelic plant medicine. He has also launched the world’s first-ever Professional Coaching Qualification for Psychedelic Integration, accredited to the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

A part of the LGBTQI+ community, Fernando faced bullying as a child, along with other adversities. His first encounter with psilocybin or magic mushrooms, he recalls, left him feeling lightheaded and with a sense of abundance, realising for the first time how it felt to be mentally healthy.

He also quotes modern breakthroughs in psychedelic research led by esteemed institutions such as Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London, on the healing and mind-enhancing capabilities of Plant Psychedelic Medicine. While mentioning the beneficial effects in alleviating depression and anxiety, he cautions that the session should be conducted in a controlled setting, following strict safety protocols, after consulting with a medical expert and with the correctly prescribed dosage, in keeping with the laws of the specific country or region. Certain drugs, such as antidepressants, may also interfere with the process, therefore, expert guidance is essential.

Fernando is also the founder of Ignite Global, Evolving Temple, Awaken Mind Guide and the Global Center for Reflective Practices & Consciousness – a group of organisations dedicated for healing and mind development. Currently, he is pursuing a postgraduate degree in Counseling Psychology and conducts research, focusing on “Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Integrated Coaching in Treating Childhood Trauma”.

His message? “Let’s be open-minded; every powerful resource has positive and negative impact, it’s important we pay attention and recognise the possibilities.”

Timestamps:
01:15 Talking about psilocybin or magic mushrooms as part of Fernando’s life coaching practice
07:25 How Fernando discovered the “power” of magic mushrooms16:00 Understanding our default mode network and sense of identity
24:25 Does the experience help you discover who you are?
31:10 Comparing the effect of psilocybin to meditation; experiencing altered states of consciousness
45:00 Dosing and micro-dosing
56:26 Fernando as a “wounded healer”, healing from the adversities of his early life
01:02:54 Overcoming adversity in his early life; facing bullying and assault as part of the LGBTQI+ community
01:05:45 His first encounter with plant medicine, waking up with a feeling of abundance
01:10:00 Fungi as the most powerful ecosystem on earth

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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1h 18min
August 21, 2024 Ep 36: Prof. Tracy Coleman: Krishna stands for women empowerment
As we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna on Janmashtami, we should also honour him as a god who models positive masculinity, says Tracy Coleman, Professor, Department of Religion at Colorado College, US, She says, “Bold, strong, outspoken or aggressive, women are not a threat to him. He loves them as they are. In the Gita Govinda, he even submits to Radha.” Krishna, she believes, can be potentially socially transformative in empowering women by shifting the male gaze, despite being seen as a divine, all-powerful hyper masculine figure.

In her research spanning early texts such as the Harivamsa, Bhagavata Purana and the poet Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, Tracy explores Krishna in various shades, including his playful divinity and the “viraha-bhakti” or the longing of separation he inspires, which is akin to becoming one with the universal divine.

A scholar of Hinduism and its traditions of bhakti (or devotion), especially Krishna-bhakti in the Sanskrit epics and purāṇas, her teaching and research addresses issues of women, men, and gender in religion and society. Tracy has also been the Editor in Chief of Oxford Bibliographies--Hinduism since 2016.

Timestamps
01:00 What drew Tracy to studying Sanskrit and the Hindu “bhakti” tradition; being intrigued by poet Jayadeva's Gita Govinda
05:00 “Kama” (desire) vs “prem” (selfless love): What the early Sanskrit texts say in relation to Krisna, Radha and the gopis
09:50 Krishna as the “Yogeshwara” of Bhagavata Purana vs the sensuous lover of Gita Govinda
13:14 ‘Yoga in action’: Krishna’s “karma yoga” vs Buddha’s renunciation
20:00 The Bhagavad Gita places everyday actions in a larger context, as part of a greater cosmic plan
25:00 Krishna’s childhood, his relationship with both his mothers; the supreme god conceived as a human in the early texts
31:15 Krishna as a symbol of women’s empowerment; loves women just as they are
46:50 Play is an essential part of his divinity, signifying divine freedom and inspiring “bhakti”
52:46 “Viraha bhakti” as devotion during separation, embodied by Radha and the gopis
58:14 There is no Krishna bhakti without suffering
01:05:28 Happy Janmashtami!

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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1h 7min
August 09, 2024 Ep 35: Sachin Chitambaran on suicide prevention: Just listen, don’t try to fix the problem
(Trigger warning: Mention of depression, suicide and suicidal ideation)
What makes India the suicide capital of the world? Did you know that a majority of suicide attempts are made by women, among which housewives figure in large numbers? Mumbai-based Sachin Chitambaran, who started as a volunteer on suicide prevention helplines over a decade ago and now works full-time in the field, talks to us about the importance of mental health, how suicidal ideation works as well as why we need to learn how to listen better and be ready to accept help from others.

The founder of the Connect Hut, Sachin is a passionate mental health advocate with over 13 years of dedicated experience in the field of suicide prevention. Sachin is also Assistant Director of Training and Development at Samaritans Mumbai, a 30-year-old suicide prevention helpline and President of Befrienders India, where he oversees a network of 14 suicide helplines operating nationwide. He also runs his unique Dot Listening workshops.

Timestamps:
00:50 Introduction to Sachin and Connect Hut
07:00 Offering affordable therapy, with free preliminary sessions
09:00 Why it’s important to pick the right therapist
11:40 How Indians listen; good at reading non-verbal cues and intuitive listening
19:38 His “Dot Listening” programme
34:30 Working on the suicide prevention helpline
38:00 Not playing God; “We suffer with our callers”
43:00 India as the suicide capital
52:00 We’re not taught to focus on ourselves; setting boundaries
59:00 Women and mental health; higher suicide attempts by women; endometritis as a trigger in the girl child
01:08:24 Pressure on housewives
01:14:00 Need to build human connection
01:16:52 How suicidal ideation works

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.
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1h 31min
June 26, 2024 Ep 34: Mital Salia: Game therapist and unschooling mom
In this episode, Mital Salia, game therapist and founder of Khel Khel Mein talks about how she prescribes games to teach life skills and for mental wellbeing. A counselling psychologist and educator, she started by curating game nights at home, which were a huge hit. Certain games, whether solo or multiplayer, teach dexterity, stimulate brain function and raise EQ, she informs.

Playing also releases feel good hormones dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, while reducing cortisol, the stress hormone. Games, like physical sports, also teach children to deal with failure gracefully and bounce back for the next round, says Mital.

The Mumbai-based therapist talks about travelling through India, particularly villages in south India, coming across ancient games etched on temple floors. In one Madurai household, she discovered the mathematical game Pallanguzhi (an Indian version of Mancala) being played by generations of women.

Mital also pulled her son, now 21, out of school at the age of 14 as it was not giving him any real life skills. She talks about sending him to live on a Bengaluru farm to explore his interest in reptiles, besides pursuing scuba diving and snowboarding.

Mital is the author of Game Your Mind - All about Game Therapy: Reshape Your Skills and Emotions; Become a Better Version of Yourself by Playing Games as well as Practical Handbook on Brain Fitness: Ways to Reverse The Age of The Brain.

Here are some of her all-time favourite games:
Find it First or Spot It, Top That, Dr Eureka, Marble Solitaire, the Hide and Seek series, Traffic Hour or Rush Hour, Brainvita, Nine Men Morris, Splendour, Seven Wonders, Wingspan, Century: Spice Road and Coup. She recommends neuroscience-based online portals such as Lumosity, Brain HQ and Einstein Riddle.

Listen in!

Timestamps:
00:40 What is a game therapist?
03:25 From counselling psychologist to education and game therapy
07:43 Organising game nights at home
13:15 Getting to know people’s social and emotional intelligence through games
16:00 Happy hormones released through playing games
18:53 Games for families
22:50 Impact of game therapy workshops
27:00 Board games for strategizing, warfare, entrepreneurship
30:30 Pallanghuzhi, the mathematical game from the villages of Tamil Nadu
33:39 Travelling through south India to research ancient games
38:47 Pros and cons of video games
42:35 Decision to unschool her son
50:52 Message for adults and kids on board games

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Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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53min
June 11, 2024 Ep 33: Nidhu B. Kapoor: How to manifest money
We make money everyday and not just at our jobs, according to Nidhu B Kapoor. And we can create more of it using the power of her “WORDS” (World of Retrograde Decrees Switchsentences), she assures. While the results, Nidhu promises, are instantaneous, attracting money has a lot to do with who we are. In this chat, she urges us to question our relationship and belief system regarding money. And yes, she also gives some powerful “switch sentences”, such as “What If”, to unleash the power of positive manifestation. Her decrees, says the WORD doctor, can be adapted to life issues, health problems or even to repair a geyser. It’s no wonder that actor Vidya Balan has her on a speed dial.

Listen in as Nidhu generously shows us how we can, well, attract money into our lives using her decrees!

Time-stamps:
02:00 Making the shift
09:26 Speed as her USP; the two types of people who show up for a money workshop
18:10 Light medicine and Nidhu’s decrees
21:30 Safety is paramount in manifesting money
25:00 Work doesn’t always mean a job
31:20 Our associations with money
36:00 If a Rs 5 crore cheque arrives, what will you do?
42:50 The making of money is very different from getting it
45:25 Two-word medicine to attract money: “What if…”
53:50 The mind thinks in words; releasing blockages
1:01:16 The four-word medicine: “You can leave now”
01:08:10 The Vidya Balan association; what W.O.R.D Medicine means
01:13:30 How it works with Nidhu
01:15:50 Adapting decrees to life issues

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.
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1h 23min
May 30, 2024 Ep 32: Jerry Pinto: 'Murder in Mahim' — Mumbai is like an open-air casino
“Mumbai is like a large open-air casino and we are all putting our stakes on something,” says author Jerry Pinto, whose 2018 novel Murder in Mahim has been made into a series, playing on Jio Cinema.

The action begins when a gay sex worker is found dead, his stomach ripped open, in a toilet at a Mumbai railway station. The plot thickens as good friends Peter Fernandes (played by Ashutosh Rana in the series), a retired journalist and Shiva Jende ((played by Vijay Raaz), a cop piece the clues together even as the body count keeps rising. It also leads Peter into uncharted territory, navigating “gay Mumbai” and coming to terms with the fact that his son may be queer. In some delightful cameos, we have Leslie, a flamboyant and ageing gay man and Unit, a young upwardly mobile sex worker.

The book, he says, was born out of anger when the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising gay sex in 2016. However, on September 6, 2018, the apex court partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising same-sex relations between consenting adults.

Listen in as Pinto talks about how we exist on the spectrum of possibilities and whether we can look forward to more peter-Jende thrillers!

Chapters:
01:03 The book was born out of anger, before homosexual sex was decriminalised
04:00 Eating what he wrote as a child
05:17 Characters Peter Fernandes and Shiva Jende first appeared in the Mumbai Noir anthology; the author as an observer
09:10 “Would you welcome having an LGBTQI child?”
14:50 When a Dalit friend came home for dinner
21:30 The visual thrill of the human body
23:06 His own discovery of “gay Mumbai”: Research is other people
25:35 Many layers to gay sexuality
28:50 Mumbai is like a large open-air casino; physical vs abstract intelligence
34:10 “We are a parade of possibilities”
37:30 Jerry as “Jotin Perry”; writing an honest cop
41:50 More Peter-Jende mysteries?

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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45min
May 21, 2024 Ep 31: Women’s motorbike coach Meghna Khanna: “I like the wind in my hair”
Meghna Khanna, a Bengaluru-based women’s motorcycle coach, is a Limca Book of Records holder for being the first Indian woman motorcyclist to reach Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world. You can have the biggest car in the world, but nothing beats the feeling of the wind in your hair when you ride a bike, she says. “When you ride a motorcycle, you know why a dog sticks their head out of the car,” she remarks.

For her 10-year-old daughter, it’s a surprise when she sees her father park the bike, “Oh, he knows how to ride too?” Begging her dad to teach her to start a scooter when she was barely a teen, Meghna’s story of the first bike she fell in love with — and later owned — is serendipitous with meeting her husband.

While she goes with the flow, running Levitate, a craft store for 18 years, a preloved store for fashion finds and starting the “Bindi Project”, her passion lies in riding her 1994 Royal Enfield Bullet through dirt roads and forest trails. Listen in!

Chapters:
01:00 Her love for bikes started at age 12
06:20 Her first bike – the Enfield 1994 Bullet — and meeting her husband
10:00 No fear when biking; driving as a new mom
13:20 The Khardung La journey, navigating hairpin bends
23:35 Motorcycling is a solo journey
29:20 Helping hand from bikers
34:10 Coaching across age groups
37:25 Driving responsibly; her dad’s advice
39:20 Stories of women riders
44:38 Wearing many hats
47:10 Moving from Mumbai and starting Levitate in Bangalore
53:43 How preloved works
57:15 Empowering women

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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1h 1min
April 23, 2024 Ep 30: Mindful leader Nitesh Batra: The mind is clear & knowing
Living with a negative thought is like chasing a rodent in the house, according to Nitesh Batra, Mindfulness teacher and Certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer (CCT). He is founder of The Mindful Initiative and also runs the Ashtanga Yoga Program in Bengaluru.
Mindfulness, he explains, is focussing on the task at hand, cherishing what you are doing and practising non-judgement. “When you are washing the dishes, wash the dishes,” he remarks. The mind, he says, is clear and knowing. If you sit in stillness, it’ll become calm and you can look through it.

For leaders, he recommends practising to be calm in the eye of the storm to give out the right energy. He also talks about practising compassion on the go, “Be kinder, more loving, more compassionate and it will reflect in the world around you; something subtle shifts in our mind and life is a lot more joyous.”

He emphasises, “We need to put in the effort; without it, nothing will happen.” Simply start by sitting still for a minute in a day, setting a gentle intention.

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Chapters:
01:00 Guided meditation
05:40 Explaining the concept of mindfulness
11:10 Accepting negative emotions in mindfulness – good stress vs bad stress
26:58 The Bhagavad Gita and the power of Om
29:02 We need to put in the effort
32:34: The neuroscience of mindfulness; prefrontal cortex vs the fear centre
36:30 Response vs reaction
38:40 Does mindfulness make us live in denial of problems?
44:45 On his mindfulness for effective leadership workshop with Prof Dinesh Kumar at IIM Bangalore
52:14 Compassion cultivation training and the Stanford course; how compassion works
58:16 Compassion vs empathy
01:04:54 Lojong teachings and the Tibetan Tonglen practice
01:10:35 We are lost in “maya”, we forget there is something beyond ourselves

Reading references:
* The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
* Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
* Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Swami Vivekananda
* Start Where Your Are: How to Accept Yourself and Others by Pema Chodron
* The Great Path of Awakening: The Classic Guide to Lojong, a Tibetan Buddhist Practice for Cultivating the Heart of Compassion by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Ken McLeod
* Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa (wrongly credited in the audio)

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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1h 14min
April 16, 2024 Ep 29: Games2Win CEO Alok Kejriwal: Startups must ask ‘why’
In this episode and a virtual masterclass on the entrepreneurial mindset, Games2Win co-founder and CEO Alok Kejriwal talks about his latest book “Getting Dressed and Parking Cars: The Magical Story of Building a Gaming Company”, published by Penguin Random House India. Alok describes himself as a hands-on serial entrepreneur and someone who loves to help entrepreneurs, especially through his immensely popular #DhandeKiBaat. His last two books were “Why I Stopped Wearing My Socks and “The Cave: An Internet Entrepreneur’s Spiritual Journey”.

He talks about growing up in south Mumbai apartments, surrounded by entrepreneurs and “just wanting to do business”. “Nobody was an employee; people seemed to be creating things out of magic. Somebody was selling cloth, someone else rubber…I remember thinking, ‘Why can’t I do something?’” He adds, “I am a student of life. Business is a great sport, dhande mein mazaa aata hai – money is a byproduct, to be in the flow is more important.”

An Art of Living teacher, he talks about the value of accepting the inevitability of the present moment and moving on from setbacks, although he confesses that it can get tough. For would-be entrepreneurs, he recommends zeroing in on a skill, such as “engagement” that is his strong suit, which he channelled into gaming. Not a gaming enthusiast personally, he narrates how practising his own car games helped him navigate the tricky and unique challenges of navigating US roads.

Success, for him, has gone beyond money, which he compares to a “scorecard”. It’s all about achieving happiness and equilibrium, describing the accumulation of assets such as private jets and luxury cars as just “toys”. “With great money comes great responsibility,” he remarks. And no, the serial entrepreneur, whose previous startup Mobile2win was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, does not own a private jet! Listen in!

Chapters:
01:35 What success means to him; Maslow’s hierarchy
05:28 His relationship with money – the more you can accumulate, the more you can give
08:40 Mega weddings vs frugal displays – just posturing
12:43 Is it easy to make money?
14:25 The importance of profit for a business; the role of venture capitalists
16:54 Opportunistic realism vs pessimism, conservatism and surrealism
18:27 “Neti, neti” and asking “why”; go deeper to go further
23:36 Staying true to himself; the idea of “getting dressed and parking cars”
25:47 Facing lows and betrayals; ownership vs operating a business
28:47 What keeps him going; entrepreneurs never retire
32:08 Bouncing back from setbacks; how meditation helps
35:20 Entrepreneurial mindset is wired to nothing working out
36:28 Where the work ethic comes from
38:00 Choosing a business: Skill vs passion
43:28 His parking games helping in real life situations
45:22 Why an Indian entrepreneur is catering to the US
47:27 On his meditation practice, becoming an Art of Living teacher
52:00 His love for teaching people
56:25 On the ‘knowledge industry’; wealth is a dated asset

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.
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58min
April 08, 2024 Ep 28: Aparna Sanyal: Twisted tales of love & torture

TRIGGER WARNING: The interview contains mentions of mental illness, anxiety, clinical depression and suicide.

In this episode, Aparna Sanyal talks about her new book Instruments of Torture, a collection of short stories published by HarperCollins India and how she has always been drawn to the “dark side”. She talks candidly about battling depression and anxiety, despite growing up as a seemingly happy, “jolly’ child. She shares a delightful anecdote about her friendship with an old man on the street, who kept a monkey for company. Her signature style, she remarks, is telling stories with a twist, exploring the character’s innermost demons.

Aparna lets us in on her creative process, where she often draws from characters in real life and then lets them reach their natural conclusion. Each story seeks inspiration from a medieval instrument of torture, going deep into the dark recesses of the mind. While the execution and resolution may be chilling, there is immense beauty and even love that creeps into the otherwise unsettling narratives.

The full-time mom and writer has dabbled in diverse fields, including animation. Instruments of Torture is Aparna’s first foray into fiction. She debuted with Circus Folk and Village Freaks in 2018, a book of witty, narrative poems that explores the absurd and the bizarre. She holds an MA from Kings College, London and is a recipient of the 14th Beullah Rose Poetry Prize by Smartish Pace. and was shortlisted for the 2018 Third Coast Fiction Prize. She has been awarded a place in the Hongkong Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology, 2020.

Find her work at www.aparnasanyal.in

Some of Aparna’s poems:
The Penn Review: My Husband Eats a Crocodile at the Bangkok Night Market
Visitant: Midnight in My Garden
Autumn Sky Poetry Daily: You, My Love
Poetry breakfast: The Well

Chapters:
02:20 Aparna’s vision for the book; fictionalised accounts of people she knows
04:24 Putting herself in a story; talking about her anxiety disorder, mental health
13:17 Need for mental health awareness
15:00 On social anxiety and how you feel
17:25 The story of the shallow beauty queen
20:00 Human trajectories of characters; love is at the core of the book
22:14 Excerpt from the book; drawing inspiration from agonising instruments of torture
25:20 How the stories came together
27:46 On her book of poems “Circus Folk and Village Freaks”
31:40 On her background; full-time parent and writer
35:30 Where the “dark side” and twisted humour comes from
39:20 A “strange friendship” — the “baba” and his monkey
43:14 Regular folk and the anguish within; family stories
46:00 Her next book – paranormal, feminist fiction

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Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

...more
49min

FAQs about Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma:

How many episodes does Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma have?

The podcast currently has 57 episodes available.