Thought for the Day - The Still Head is the Key

 My main issue these days when I go jogging is not speed or distance but how to keep the mind from being distracted by other thoughts. I want to keep my mind in my body while I run and realise how difficult it is to keep it still for even a few seconds despite chanting mantras and other such stuff.

Another problem I am facing is that of keeping the right posture. Since I am wary of injury I run very slowly so something about my posture collapses. I keep thinking of all the stuff I have read and try it - lift leg, keep hands straight at right angles, look straight ahead etc. I find that I do not do these either.

So my runs are going on without too much efficiency.

Until today I tried this technique after I remembered a line from the book 'Born to Run' where he describes the raramuri runners style as one where one can balance a pot on their head - so still was it. So I decided to make my head the focus of my attention and try to make it still.

Voila, magic.

The moment of made my head still I found myself looking straight out in the distance instead of looking at my feet. My posture straightened. Most importantly I found that when my head was still I had no distracting thoughts.The same principle applies in cricket too. The still head.

There is a connection between a still and straight head and focus and attention and posture. This is the key to all awareness, openness and even happiness. When I started running better thanks to this posture, I could actually find myself smiling.

The book describes the raramuri who smile and laugh their way to 100 mile runs in a day. I do think I stumbled on to something with this. The still head stops distracting thoughts, increases focus, body awareness, absorbs more and as a bonus, also increases joy in the system.

The still head is the central piece around which everything falls into place.

More on this as I experiment some more. Right now I am thrilled with the discovery.

Thought for the Day - Fear and Excitement

 I read this thought the other day - what if it was not fear you are experiencing but excitement?

I wondered what the difference could be.  

Then I concluded that fear is what makes you frozen and not act.

When you take a step forward, or act in anticipation, then it is excitement.

Frozen, is fear. Action, is excitement.

My conclusion - to convert fear into excitement - act, move, step forward!  

Middle Class Melodies - Movie

 Recommended by Krishna, I liked it. It's fully set in Guntur and I got some flavour of it - the food especially and the places where you eat them. But beyond that, I could not make much of Guntur. However, I liked the idea of showing Andhra like the Hindi industry is showing their Bareilly's and Lucknow's and other small towns so well.

The movie itself was quite cute with some unforgettable characters and cute situations. Anand Devarakonda, Varsha, Anand's father stand out. Watch.

Thought for the Day - When People Don't Speak or Open up, It Means They Don't Trust the Space Yet

 So many times I have heard this and perhaps have been guilty of saying it too - why don't you speak up? Why don't you say something? Why don't you share?

And the other person clams up some more. 

When a person does not speak or open up or share, it could be because they do not feel safe enough to speak up and be themselves, to share what they think you might reject. They are unsure of your responses and then on top of it they have to hear you push them into - share, share, share.

Why? So you can say something unpleasant about it?

Most cases I think that's the issue. One way is to make it safe enough to share. 

If this does not work, then probably you are talking stuff the other person does not want to talk about. She is bored or not interested. Change the topic and talk of something they might be interested in.

Do it with love and compassion. Not as a job ticked so you can later say 'I tried my best but she would not speak.'

Canteen Fundas - Paying Attention Pays

 What you pay attention to grows!

https://www.edexlive.com/opinion/2020/dec/12/are-you-paying-attention-to-this-16563.html



Are you paying attention to this? Focus on what makes you happy

Image for representational purpose (Pic: Pixabay)

Bhaiyya, 'I invited my friends for a Zoom party,' said Rahul. 'Those fools didn’t show up. I’m very upset.'

‘No one came?’ asked Rakesh.

‘Rinku, Ali and Kapil came, of course,’ said Rahul. ‘But I’m really upset with the others.’

‘It’s is a classic way to stay unhappy for no reason,’ Rakesh said.

‘Why bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘Your attention is a precious resource, Rahul,’ said Rakesh. ‘How you use it can make you happy or unhappy.’

‘How does it work, bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku.

‘We can focus our attention on what we have and be happy or focus our attention on what we don’t have and stay unhappy. Most of us focus on what’s not there which makes us, and consequently others around us, unhappy. For example, Rahul, you should ask Rinku how she felt about the party.’

‘Oh,’ smiled Rinku. ‘I felt pretty useless when Rahul ignored me and was more concerned about the others who didn’t show up. I wondered why I showed up at all. None of us had a good time.’

‘I’m sorry, Rinku,’ said Rahul. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you.’

‘That’s what happens when we get this simple process wrong, Rahul,’ said Rakesh. ‘Instead of having a good time with those who showed up, you could end up losing them since you didn’t treat them well. Now no one’s happy. Does that make sense?’

Rahul nodded sheepishly.

‘Be it success, money, relationships, health or whatever, first, focus on what you have and grow it instead of cribbing about what you don’t have,’ said Rakesh. ‘What we focus on grows.’

‘That’s the recipe for happiness then,’ said Rinku, ‘To make the best of what we have. Everyone can do it. Wonder why we keep looking for what’s not there and messing up what we have. But how do we know we’re doing it right, bhaiyya?’

'A good indication of where our focus is can be had by being aware of how we’re feeling – happy or unhappy – while doing it,' smiled Rakesh. 'If you’re feeling happy, your attention is on the right thing. Otherwise, change your focus immediately.'

'I get it, bhaiyya,' said Rahul. 'Life’s pretty simple when we look at it like that.'

Pro Tip: What you focus your attention on grows. Focus on what makes you happy. When you focus on what’s not there, you’ll lose what you already have.

The Moaning of Life - Karl Pilkington

 Karl Pilkington has written five books before this one, the most popular of those seems to be 'Án Idiot Abroad.' In this book he explores the moaning of life. Karl is also a TV presenter, producer, actor, comedian, voice actor. What's impressive is his collaboration with Ricky Gervais and I think I detected a similarity in their sense of humour and approach to life.

In this book Karl dwells on five topics mainly - marriage, kids, vocation and money, happiness and death. He travels to places across the globe to find interesting material and experiences, and for those cynics who might not believe that he has actually done those things - he produces proof - through pictures. So he travels to Las Vegas, attends courses on how to pick up women, works in an Indian arranged marriage, registers in a matrimonial site. Its clear he is not planning to marry his girlfriend Suzanne though. Nor is he planning to have kids though he travels to Bali. For his insights into vocation and money he decides to visit a gangster in South Africa who has made pots of money and spends time with a bunch of bikini clad women - Karl does not approve of his lifestyle and thinks more modestly. For happiness he travels to the raramuri, about whom I read recently in the book 'Born to Run' so I was very happy to meet them and even happier to see Karl publishing a picture of him wearing those famous running sandals of theirs. He also meets a man who lives on nothing almost as a choice - no house, no money, lives off whatever he gets. And for death he travels to Ghana and does some work with an undertaker and even orders a coffin for himself - that looks like Twix chocolate. The Ghanaians don't mourn, they celebrate death. In Korea he meets a professional mourner and in another place he hauls a coffin up a hillside where it is hung.

Once I figured that he was actually living these experiences it got more interesting. Enjoyed reading and meeting Karl Pilkington. 

Ludo - Movie

 2020. Anurag Basu. Nice to watch. Complex story that needn't have been so complex because in the end we only take what we need. It's a zero sum game dude with karma playing its part. A cast made up of Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy, Raj Kumar Rao etc. Interesting to watch while it lasts but does not leave any lasting thoughts. Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.