The way I see it

I was recently asked to talk about Swami Vivekananda and how his life and works are relevant today. Here are the excerpts from that speech. I would like to start with a sanskrit hymn for the Guru - " Gurur brahma  gurur vishnu  gurur devo maheshwara  gurur sakshat parabrahma  tasmai shri guruve namaha ", which roughly translates as - "Guru is Brahma, Guru isVishnu, Guru is Shiva Guru is the absolute Brahman Therefore I bow down to the Guru" We are here today to celebrate Swamiji's life and message on his 156th birth anniversary. First I want to thank Mataji who has honored me by asking me to talk about my inspiration, my Guru - Swami Vivekananda. I am going to talk about how Swamiji changed my life! I came across Vivekananda in my late 20s when life was extremely comfortable for me. I was married to an amazing husband, had a  great job, house, car, money and everything that a girl my age would need to lead a successful life. I was very happy init...

The new year is upon us. The one thing that is on my mind at every new year's eve are the Resolutions. In the past few years, this has changehd mostly because of the Wheel of the Year that I follow as my Wicca practice. But I still cannot stop thinking of new year resolutions. this year I want to READ... a LOT. It's been several years since I sat down and read a full book consciously and I really really miss it. My plan is to read a book a month. This might be too aggressive and would also depend on how long or intense the book is, but I want to start out with that. This time I don't want to focus on spiritual books completely but I want to read something that makes me think about hte world differently, grow my mind, increase my knowledge of things I am unaware of and overall evolve as a human being...which is always the goal anyways. I intend to update the blog with the books I read and if I have something to say about it. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2019!

The biggest challenge is to not lose passion in your work.

I cannot understand myself sometimes. My need for silence, my need to just stare at the horizon and think about nothing, talk to nobody, just be there. It happened at a family outing yesterday. We were with all of our friends and family enjoying a day out in Payson. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not hot. I did not feel like talking to anybody. I was just there, staring at the grass, staring at the water, looking at the ducks. All the kids were playing, laughing, being silly...it was a joy to watch them. I was my old self, aloof and not wanting to talk with anybody. This has been my natural state of being for the longest time. Recently I have been slowly trying to change myself. I feel the need to connect more with people around me, especially at work. I want to talk to people, have meaningful conversations with them and connect with them at a deeper level. I want to know what moves them, what bothers them, what are their life's values. I want to contribute to their lives and...

Sometimes you will be remembered, sometimes forgotten Sometimes you feel loved, and sometimes ignored Sometimes life seems fuller and richer, sometimes it's empty and lonely Sometimes you feel a connection with someone, and sometimes a cold distance Sometimes you feel like dancing in the rain, and sometimes you use the rains to hide your tears Sometimes someone fills your heart with joy, and sometimes that someone causes your heart to ache But in all those times I remind myself - "I shall be fine, I shall be fine" Just because "I want to be fine"

America, thy name is freedom and liberty Man's endless pursuit of happiness The statue of liberty is thy symbol The Goddess of Liberty I call thee Giving refuge to the oppressed Offering respite from suffering Your heart reaching out to your brethren In love and compassion America, thy name is freedom and liberty thy spirit lifting people's consciousness To rise and embrace their uniqueness Never to harm but to love and include America, thy name is freedom and liberty Thou enforceth laws and doles out justice Thy undying promise of justice and equality To uphold my individuality America, thy name is freedom and liberty Blessed am I to be a part of you And I carry you in me My duty to thee is a promise To be True to myself and help others embrace their Truth Together we lift each other and build a circle of Love America, you inspire me Happy Independence Day!

Visiting my blog site after a long time. The last post I wrote was in 2012, four years back! I was wondering how much life has changed since then. I have changed so much and it's fun to read my older posts. I can see why I am what I am today from those posts,like breadcrumbs. I am a Mom of 2 boys now and that dominates most of my life. I am a Software Engineer and take tremendous joy in my professional life. God knows how much I have struggled with that and here I am today, very much at peace with what I do for a living. And with all these changes I am still that person who wants to evolve, who wants to grow spiritually and who wants to be her best self. I am still that girl who is drawn to religious practices and spiritual traditions from all over the world. My area of study had been Vedanta for all these past years but I have found a new tradition - Wicca. I am busy devouring it right now. Finding books and reading them and understanding what it means to be a witch. It's a...