21 Days to Decode Your Dreams - Leon Nacson

Leon Nacson is a Dream Coach based on Australia, a pioneer in the self-help movement, and the publisher of the Planet Magazine. He had written three books on dreams. The book is about how to decode dreams in 21 Days, decoding them one concept at a time. Some of the key concepts he covers are about the language of dreams, emotions, popular expressions etc. He explains the difference between feelings and emotions - emotions being a state of feeling and feelings being a sensate experience of the emotion. 

A few key ideas

We speak in metaphors, but we dream in symbols

We match dream symbols to popular expressions and metaphors

We wake up with feelings

Dreams are like onions - there are many layers to each symbol

We solve problems in our dreams

We live our worst fears in our dreams

Death in our dreams means new beginnings and regeneration

When you're being chased in a dream, you're running away from yourself

If you're falling in your dream, you're feeling unsupported

If you're flying in your dreams you want your spirits to be uplifted, or, you have a desire to get a bird's eye view of the situation

If you dream about celebrities, we are dreaming of symbols of who we think they are

Always recount your dreams in the first person and in present tense

Consider the relationship between your dreams and a situation that's occurring in your waking life

Emotions create dreams, dreams balance our emotions

When you get erotic dreams - most of the time you discover you are only making love to yourself

...

And so on and so forth. Some nice insights that I can show off next time someone talks of a dream or a nightmare.

Anjali - Happy Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day and A sent me flowers, a lovely card with a beautiful message that made my heart tighten. And she sent me some instagram stuff that pretty much made me cry. 

Daughters are the best. Somehow make you feel that they understand you, all that you go through, more than anyone else. 

Love you A.

Unposted Letter - mahatria Ra

Guptaji shares books that he reads and like with me and this is perhaps the 6th or 7th book he had couriered to me. They are all of a spiritual nature. I remember seeing this book in Ratnadeep Stores, maybe a decade ago, and was intrigued by the novel way of distribution - in a grocery store. It was sealed but it did appear interesting. 

Mahatria Ra is a spiritual leader and the founder of infinitheism path which helps create breakthroughs for people in all aspects of life. Born as TT Rangarajan he became a software trainer in Pune at a young age, started a software company, was impacted by the suicide of a friend and went into teaching life skills through a training organisation called Alma Mater. Later on he started the spiritual organisation Infinitheism, wrote three books, publishes a magazine called Infinithoughts and runs spiritual retreats.

Some of the ideas he presents in the book, in a nutshell are:

Today is his gift to you. 

There's no easy way to the top.

You are the most important thing here.

The 80-20 rule holds good everywhere.

The need to be respected is greater than the need to be guided. 

Don't postpone life

Experiences are our teachers

Let the good people make more noise

Be someone's greatest gift

You are the most precious resource you have

Do anything with devotion

Constant and never ending improvement is the key

The end is beautiful - keep at it

Don't take on any labels - you're more than enough

Acceptance is equal to positive emotion

Quality lies in that invisible detail 

Don't bother about having the last word - let go

When was the last time you did something for the first time

Tell the negative in two sentences and the positive in five sentences

Ask the right questions

Happiness is the way

What you don't use, you lose

When ego goes, everything else comes

Be happily dissatisfied 

Let go of hurt, let in peace

I CAN - motto

You don't get what you desire, you get what you deserve

What you resist, persists.

Every good human has the moral responsibility to be rich

Change when sustained and monitored becomes culture

...

Interesting book with some nice insights. I liked what he says about every good human being having the moral responsibility to be rich. And that good people should make noise. And to be happily dissatisfied. 

Thanks Guptaji.

TG20 - Anvita Khammam Aces

The TG20 is the Telangana Premier League. 8 teams, 160 players in the mix. It is the right platform for many youngsters to make a claim for IPL teams. Anvita Khammam Aces is one of the eight teams in the fray.

Grand Arena Days

I have been to Grand Arena once, a couple of years ago, to give away prizes to the Interior Decorators and Architects cricket teams. I really liked the cricket ground, the rooms around it and all the facilities there. I always felt it was a great place for teams to stay together, bond and play cricket in a camp. I remember Vidyuth had once had a camp there with the women's team of the HCA.

Morning walks around the ground or even in the neighborhood - it's kind of isolated. Bird calls, lots of birds, a nice open dining area, good food, lots of playing options, a lovely swimming pool, good friends, conference rooms for meetings - what more can you ask for. 

For cricket, one would have liked a couple of nets as well which were not yet there (under construction), the lights aren't really that good, wicket needs a bit of preparation, but that's a separate story. 

I really enjoyed my stay. Perfect for group outings - corporate, large family outings and so on.

Thought for the Day - The One Champion Quality

The one champion quality which I feel is the most important is this - how quickly they bounce back from a setback. It's a given that we will all make mistakes but how we react to the mistake differentiates the champions from the ordinary.

Everyone talks of a good day, a bad day and all that, but what really makes the champion different is that she is willing to 1) push a good day into a great day and 2) keeps bouncing back on a bad day. A dropped catch, a misfield, a bad ball, a missed shot, a missed penalty - the champion comes back strongly. Most others fall to pieces, go into a downward spiral, but champions put themselves together and come back. 

So the next time you have a setback - think like a champion and bounce back. That's all. Keep coming back, keep trying harder. Don't give in.

Ramoji Film City

A day out at Ramoji Film City. Evening stay at Hotel Sitara. Many old friends and colleagues. A grand function.

Went for a morning walk in the Film City and was amazed at Mr Ramoji Rao's vision in building a film City spread over 2000 acres in 1996 at what they said at that time was an estimated cost of a thousand crores. Vision, execution. Amazing.

This is the Priya pickles Research centre. Quite amazing at identifying market gaps and filling them. Loved all their films under the Usha Kiran banner. Just so nice being in the place.