Wisdom Nuggets

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The first step in the journey towards maintaining a healthy body and a peaceful mind is to keep expressing reverence to the food while we eat. I have written about the sanctity of the food which we partake in the Gyaan Nugget # 17 in Chapter 1.

Plastic pollution has started affecting life forms adversely right from the deep oceans to the highest mountain peaks. While cooking our dishes in a Kadai in our kitchen, we also add ingredients of care and affection to it. Our natural inclination is to serve a delicious meal to our family every time without getting bored. Similarly, Mother Nature tirelessly wants to give her best to her Universal family by enabling the growth of variety of vegetables, plants and fruits. Throwing plastics recklessly on this sacred Kadai (Land) is akin to putting pieces of plastic into the kadai in our kitchen, while cooking the best for our family. Reflect on this deeply and visualise how the recklessly thrown plastic parts may spoil the land for millions of years to come. Are we leaving a healthy legacy for our children?

It is time for us to get into action by disposing off plastic responsibly rather than talking endlessly about the policies of world environment forums. FRIDAY GYAAN is available in Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions – Visit Website http://www.authorshankar.com)

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Today morning, I was having a chat with my mentor over a cup of freshly brewed coffee and discussing some aspects related to the leadership yarns given in Gyaan Nugget 2 of Chapter 1. I thought of sharing the summary of the discussions in this micro blog.

Living beings have 5 input devices which are called as sense organs. Out of these, eyes and ears assume maximum significance since they enable us to communicate effectively with the external world. Seeing and Hearing actions become useful only when these actions are backed up an alert mind and intellect.

When the mind and intellect fully backs up the seeing action, it is known as Observation. When the mind and intellect are aligned behind the hearing action, it is called as Listening. These two habits are a must, if one has to strengthen the 2 leadership yarns. A true leader always observes and listens to learn from every individual or experience.

Think of your favorite leader in any field. Assess their level of listening and observation which keeps them on a learning mode in their respective area of expertise. FRIDAY GYAAN is available in Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions – Visit Website http://www.authorshankar.com)

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Let us continue from where we left last week highlighting the relationship between the actor and the multiples roles that are played.

Is there a litmus test to evaluate whether we are maintaining a cognitive ‘distance’ between the Actor and the Role?

Ego refers to our sense of individuality. Ego need not be or cannot be eliminated. Rather, we need to harness the power of the ego in constructive pursuits. When we interact with the world with an intention to build, then we are playing the respective role appropriately. When we cognitively maintain a distance between the actor and the role, our acting skills are honed with every experience..

On the other hand, if our thoughts, words and actions are being executed with an intention to destroy people, objects and/ or relationships, then it is clearly a sign that we are displaying poor acting skills. Such a person wrongly thinks that the problems of the role belong to the actor. It also indicates the level of emotional immaturity in that person.

This could be one of the contemplation themes after you complete reading Chapter 1. FRIDAY GYAAN is available in Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions – Visit Website http://www.authorshankar.com)

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Myself and my friend who lives in Switzerland were reliving the good old memories of our days, when we joined an Engineering giant as Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET) in the previous millennium. The locus of our discussion was Gyaan Nugget # 3 given in Chapter 1. One memorable part of our training program was that we played the role of an assembly line worker for 4 weeks. We easily mingled with the blue collared workers, coming in shifts to get hands-on experience in assembling the excavator machines. During these 4 weeks, although we had our share of tough times as workers in many aspects, the entire role play was enjoyable. This was due to the fact that cognitively, we were always aware that we are the GETs (Actor) playing the temporary role of an assembly line worker. We clearly understood that the problems of the role do not affect the actor in any manner.

In life also, we are playing different roles like father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter and so on. We have to switch between the roles instantly, in many situations. We have to face many challenges and experiences in our lifetime. Reflect on the assembly line worker – GET analogy and self assess your skills as an actor in your various roles.

Create a distance between the actor and the role cognitively. Always remember that the problems of the role can be utilized by us to become the best actor/ actress. FRIDAY GYAAN is available in Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions – Visit Website http://www.authorshankar.com)

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The food we partake becomes the input for a strong body, mind and sense complex. During these difficult times, we should consider ourselves specially blessed since we always had access to good quality food on our plate on time even though the global supply chains went for a toss.

As I was reviewing the Gyaan Nugget # 17 in Chapter 1 about the sacred fuel, I realized that we should be ever grateful for having access and affordability to buy and consume food to our liking. One of the best mindfulness meditation themes during eating would be to remember the thousands of people in the invisible supply chain who work for us tirelessly. Let us make it a point to transmit our powerful mental blessings of gratitude to them quietly as we relish our food.

The more we are grateful while eating, the lesser the health complications. You will see it when you believe it. (FRIDAY GYAAN is available in Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions – Visit Website http://www.authorshankar.com)