Anthony Hopkins as the father suffering from dementia and his difficult relationship with his daughter Anne, who takes care of him. The film follows Hopkins mind and we get confused about who is who until we realise that his dementia was getting worse and he ends up in a nursing care. His transformation is amazing- from the confident, rude person in the beginning to the sobbing little child who wants his momma to fetch him. He gets into your head.
Brilliant.
I loved this response.
The other day I asked Anjali.
'Anjali, what do you think of me?'
She looked at me.
'Do you think Nanna does all sorts of weird things?' I prodded.
She smiled.
'But I think you like your life,' she said.
Wow. Nothing could be a greater validation for my life, that I like my life.
Thanks so much Anjali.
After 'The Artist's Way' I was gifted this book by Anjali. Julia has started me on the practices of Morning Pages, Artist Dates and Walks. This book is all about listening, or rather, receiving.
Its a practice of six weeks of - listening to your environment, to others, to our higher self, beyond the veil, our heroes and to silence.
Listening to the Environment -The practice starts with acutely listening to what goes on around us.
Listening to Others - This is about inner and outer listening, how to listen with the whole body, active listening, how to listen to learn, listening to the human face, how to surrender control, how to make listening an act of love, how to listen to your inner voice (and how to stop listening to some), ow to take our own advice.
Listening to our Higher Self - Listen to the still, small voice inside, ask queries - what should I do, what do I need to know, what do I need to accept, what do I need to try, what do I need to grieve, what do I need to celebrate. It talks of reading as listening and how listening can quell anxiety.
Listening beyond the veil - Here she talks about listening to those who are in the other side, thos ewho have passed on but who are available to us with their wisdom. Ask - can I hear form X?
Listening to Our Heroes - Write to your heroes and ask, you will get answers.
Listening to Silence - She cites the value of silence, of seeking silence even in a world full of noise.
It's a valid point. That listening is receiving. I will try out some of these exercises. Thanks Anjali for the lovely gift.
Tamil cinema comes up with some startling true life cases about atrocities on the most backward communities by the rich and powerful and the well placed communities. I saw 'Asuran' and now 'Jai Bhim' and the one thing that strikes you is that the super stars in Tamil industry do not shy away from playing the roles of dalits or backward caste people. The cases are also brilliantly chosen and one is amazed at the research the goes into it and the sensitivity with which they portray the stories. Clearly these stories must be told, the way the backward communities are treated shown, the way the entire system colludes to protect their own. It's gripping stuff even at 2 hours 45 minutes - I started watching it at 12 midnight and thought I'd check it out for half an hour. I ended up watching the entire film without missing a moment.
Suriya plays real life hero Justice Chandru who took up this case and plays it well. We need more heroes like him.
Watch it.
Sravya shared this lovely video made by her, Pranathi Iyer and Deekshita Jaligama that they performed for Indian Raga a platform for artistes to share their work, an Online Dance Fellowship.
I loved it and I hope they keep making these heartwarming videos that spread joy and happiness. Fantastic work Sravya and I love the way you are taking your journey forward. The joy is evident in your work. Well done and keep it up. Looking out for more.
On one hand we are averse to risk. Which means we want to control. Now controlling risk is what we are all doing. But when we control it, is it really a risk anymore?
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| Park next to my house |
Risk must make you feel completely vulnerable. It must set the butterflies in your stomach going. We must fear losing something in the quest to gain what we want. Only then is it a risk.
To risk then, is to trust. Trust with no surety or control attached to it. That is the right kind of risk. The type of risk that does not trust in oneself, in the universe around us, but goes in without being aware, is likely to fail badly. But the risk that is based on trust of oneself, on the universe around, and still losing control over the process or the outcome, that is the risk worth taking.
That's the kind of risk that pays off most times because you'll risk for what you want and you're willing to lose for that.
So to me, risk is about trust. Control is about not trusting. Risk pays off. Control keeps you stuck.
Baba Ram Dass was Dr Richard Alpert PhD, a full blown scholar teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, Yale and living the good life when he decided to explore greater levels of consciousness through psychedelic drugs. Unfortunately he found that the high would always go away and he would come down. In search of a permanent high he came to India with a bottle of LSD driving with a friend through Tehran, Afghanistan and finally landed up in India where he met Baba Bhagwan Das. With almost no mention he speaks of Neem Karoli Baba who is his guru. The transformation from Richard Alpert to Baba Ram Dass happened while he was here and he took the message to the world from the West after he returned. Neem Karoli Baba is known as the miracle Baba and his biggest known disciple (actually not because he came to India after Baba passed away) was Steve Jobs.
Anyway, its a fascinating book produced by the Hanuman Foundation. It has an introduction to Richard Alpert's story and how he became Baba Ram Dass and then follow 108 pages (no secret) with messages, thoughts, drawings, almost like a child's personal sketch book. It has I should think the essence of the messages Ram Dass wanted to convey. This part looks like he was in his psychedelic state, free of convention or rules.
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| Sample pages! |
After the brown pages end, starts more organised writing, and he writes in short the cook book for a sacred life. Sleep (go early to bed and wake up early, sleep on a hard surface, small or no pillow, on your back or on the left side, meditate before you sleep), eating (keep stomach empty, do not over eat, half full of food, one quarter water and one quarter air, easily digestible food, no food coming from violence), study (from those who know), Asanas (he drew some fine pictures of the yoga asanas), mantra (to keep thoughts off your mind, Tat Twam Asi), pranayam, sexual energy (brahmacharya or abstinence or tantra), satsang, Being the witness, Bhakti yoga, Money and rightful living, Dance, Meditation, Rational Mind, Time, Psychedelics as a way to achieve higher states (pros and cons), course of Sadhana, The Zen Center, Family Sadhana and Dying, How to practice dying.
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| Putting them here for reference for any lost soul - hope Hanuman Foundation won't mind |
Its a fascinating book and its quite interesting that I had only briefly heard of the miracle baba when M Dhoni visited his ashram before the 2011 World Cup. There was talk about Steve Jobs then. Then in January this year, quite fortuitously, I went to Neem Karoli Baba's ashram thanks to Ranjan on our trip to Nainital. Sagar keeps talking about him and the other day when I was getting the house painted, I visited Rajesh's factory and found a huge picture of Neem Karoli Baba in his office. I asked him how and he said his son Abhishek, a mature, interesting and evolved young boy who reads eclectic stuff, had been visiting Neem Karoli Baba's ashram for the past few years. When I met Abhishek he gave me this book and I read it. Its fascinating.
Thanks Abhishek for lending me the book.
