Category: Wisdom@Living

How Rich Are You? Ask yourself these questions – How free are you to live the life you want to live? How free are you to make decisions about your day? How free are you to spend your time in activities that matter? How free are you to say No to things and people? How free are you to gift someone something you want? How free are you to travel when you want to travel? How free are you to live an authentic, abundant life? You could be a Wall Street Banker, a Billionaire with a significant net worth – and still be poor. To be Rich –  Is to be the master of

There is a difference between suffering and pain. There is a difference between happiness and pleasure. Pleasure can be a source of suffering. And pain can be a source of liberation. If you are an athlete, you will be in pain sometimes. But you don’t experience that as suffering. You may even experience that as joy (marathoner’s high). You might think pleasure is a source of happiness. But pleasure can be a source of suffering too. It can be an addictive association – a trigger for suffering. Suffering and happiness are not external and objective. They are internal and subjective. And the subject

Humans are perhaps the only species that eat the stories they cook. Even our closest cousins – the chimps – live in the world “as they find it”. We humans are the only ones who – live in a world “as we make of it”. And we make of it through many stories – Religion, Nation, Money, Status, Happiness, Morality, Afterlife… We can go on… We made stories to make sense of the world. Now we are caged in them. Wisdom is – to separate the story from reality. Mind cooks stories. Mind can’t be the anchor of wisdom. Beyond

Who am I? What is God? Who decides what is good and evil? Is this all a projection of my mind? Why is religion essential? What lies beyond all this? Not asking questions – Offers safety and certainty. It takes a mystic to ask the forbidden questions. That’s why – Mystics are Misfits. Physicists, philosophers, psychologists, inventors… Navigators who move humanity forward, Start by asking the forbidden questions. Knowledge takes us that far. Wisdom Starts Where Knowledge Ends. It starts with asking the forbidden questions.

Imagine a billiards championship where two people reached the finals – Father and Son. There could be many permutations of that idea – Mother-daughter, sister-sister, friend-friend…. As they go into play – What would the father want as an outcome? What would the son want as an outcome? We play three kinds of games – Zero Sum  – where one player wins, and one loses. Positive Sum  – where all the players win. Infinite Game – where the players play to play. Finite games are played to win. Infinite games are played to play. Winning is the opposite of Losing. Perhaps PLAYING has no

Imagine yourself in these situations – A healthcare worker in the ER room A soldier on the frontlines A doctor in refugee camps A scientist trying to invent a vaccine A firefighter in a burning building Then, in that situation – Pause for a minute and ask: What is my religion? What is my social status? What is my caste? What is my political affiliation? Something bigger takes over. Mission. Purpose. Meaning. A common goal. Introspection: Why can’t our identity in crisis Be our identity beyond a crisis? PS: Humanity is in crisis.

At 5000 ft: We will read the news, fight the argument, review the day. Sweat the small stuff and the short term. At 10000 ft: We will innovate, think of projects, learn new concepts. Think about the next episode of life. Plan and invest in the retirement fund. At 30000 ft:  We will step out of the game. Go for a retreat, ask the big questions about life. Search for the next big thing in our lives. Act at planetary and post-human scales. Think eras beyond decades. 5k ft: Management. 10k ft: Improvement. 30k ft: Transformation. Distance creates perspective. Perspective shifts

If we think we are spiritual, chances are we are not. If we think we are kind, chances are we are not. If we think we are intelligent, chances are we are not. Thinking is rooted in perception, biased by judgement. It’s the biased mind forming an opinion of itself. Water doesn’t know it’s wet. Fire doesn’t know it’s hot. A wise person doesn’t know she is wise. Knowing is one thing. Living our nature is a whole different thing. We know. Or we are. Being has no thinking in it. If it’s our nature, it will feel natural.

The goal of dancing is… The goal of playing music is… The goal of playing with a child is… The goal of travelling is… The goal of indulging in one’s hobby is… The goal of education is… The goal of parenting is… The goal of working is… Achievement is important. But in some cases – ‘Savouring’ is way more important. The Goal Of Dancing Is – Dancing. Remembering that while dancing is – Wisdom.