Substack Newsletter

 Hello, 

I have started a new newsletter on substack. If you enjoyed the content on this block, I would love it if you visit and subscribe to my newsletter on substack ( and also post nice comments :D ) 

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A filter for thought and action

 A filter for thought - Will dwelling on this thought put me in a more resourceful state of mind ?

A filter for action - Will doing this enhance my experience of life, the experience of being alive ?

A Random Thought

 The question is not whether we are religious or not.. 

The real question is - Are we capable of devotion ? To something...? To someone... ? 

Maybe to our art, to our work, to our role as a parent, to our own parents, or to some force for good .... ?

When we are capable of devotion, we are capable of humility.. we are capable of surrender.. We realize that there are bigger things that shape what happens in the world. 

Devotion keeps our ego in check.

Believe in yourself. And. Be devoted to something.. to someone.   

Vaseegara - An Instrumental Piece

 I had been planning to record Vaseegara( Zara Zara, in Hindi ) , for many years now, and finally made it happen ... The left hand was tricky, and I think this is overall my best recording so far ..  One improvement I  definitely need to make is for me to smile more while playing the keyboard :D I am usually so engrossed while playing , that I forget to smile. 

If you would like to watch it , you can find it here

Kite flying in Kapu beach

In the middle of our trip to Udupi and Mangalore, we got an hour to spend at the Kapu beach. 

Just as we entered the beach, I saw a board that said "Kites for sale".. I had tried flying kites a few times as a kid, and they never really took off :) But it had always been a dream of mine to fly a kite with no help from an expert :) 

I sensed that this was the moment. I had been waiting for. 

I walked over to the store, bought a kite, and asked for some kite flying tips. The owner assured me that no tricks were necessary ; the ocean breeze would take care of everything, and all I needed to do was to keep releasing the thread that held the kite. 

And sure enough, he was right. Within a few minutes, my kite was soaring beautifully in the sky. I was beaming with happiness and pride, and really enjoying myself.. My son held the string for a few minutes, gleefully running around with the kite string in his hands, watching the kite follow him anywhere he went :) He soon got back to collecting his sea shells, and the string was back in my hands. 

My wife was amused to see me so happy with the kite, that she asked he how much it cost. "50 rupees" I said.. "Total paisa vasool ", she replied :D 

It was time for us to leave. I knew that this beloved kite of mine would never fly this way in Bangalore. 

I decided to hand it over to some kid in the beach. A noticed a couple of kids marveling at my kite, high up in the sky. I walked over, and offered the kite string to them. They replied with "No, thanks"... I get it .. I used to be that kid. 

Just then, my wife pointed to a bunch of government school kids arriving in the beach with their school teachers, for an outing. I headed to one of the teachers, and said I wanted to give away my kite. The teacher seemed confused. No one had offered a kite in any of the previous school picnics :D.. A school kid, meanwhile,  overheard the conversation, came over, and grabbed the kite and the string. He called his friend to join him, and within a few minutes, he had the kite well on its way to its earlier peak :) 

With that sense of initiative, I'm sure he will soar in life, just like that kite... 

And just like that, one of my long held fun dreams was fulfilled ... 

A Random Thought

 A part of one's purpose is to convert their struggle and suffering into strength and service. 

Through the process of overcoming our struggles, we develop unique strengths. 

By enduring our suffering, we develop unique sensitivities. 

By combining those unique strengths and sensitivities, we can serve in a truly unique way..

updates on sleeping better

 After my sleep related experiments, I can now confidently attest to the fact that keeping the phone out of the bedroom is an excellent idea. 

I also discovered one very important principle to making this rule work - Resist the temptation to make "reasonable" exceptions to the rule :D The moment you allow the phone in for a day, for what seems like a very valid reason, it will soon make persistent and persuasive efforts to become a permanent resident in the bedroom. 

I have also got myself  a pair of genuine blue-light blocking glasses. More on that later ! 

Sleeping better

One of the topics I am really interested in these days is sleep. On days when I don't sleep well, I realize I am just waiting for the day to somehow be done with. To cut a long story short, I'm 100% convinced that optimizing sleep is an extremely important part of living the good life, and sleep, in general, to a great degree influences our life experience. 

Anyhow, I have recently developed a tendency of opening youtube before going to bed - which leads to me spending 30 minutes browsing random youtube videos. I also realize that overcoming this tendency isn't going to be easy, but it's essential so that I can wake up a tad fresher the next morning. 

So far, I've been telling myself that I need the phone near me as I sleep, to set the alarm for me to wake up to, in the morning. And just a couple of days ago, I came up with this brilliantly simple idea - Of getting myself a small alarm clock. My brain briefly considered the idea of buying 2 alarm clocks - When one of them runs out of battery after 276 days, the other one would wake me up that morning ... lol :) 

I proposed this idea to my wife, and she immediately gifted me an alarm clock.... 

So, here's my plan 

• At 9 pm everyday , my wife asks me for my phone. and I hand it over, and she leaves it somewhere in the hall
• My phone is henceforth banned from entering my bedroom. 
• I use the alarm clock to wake me up. 

I trust this will work well and help me sleep better.  Will report back in a few weeks :D 

That which you are dependent on, controls you.