Shades of Being Alive

Its been about 9 months since we embarked on a journey to re-dream a function at Youth Alliance that we called Leadership Development Programs. The vision as it got named 8 months ago was - “To cultivate a multi-sectoral sense-making and influencing living network of young org leaders.” As I reflect back, the journey has been an adventure of mainly cultivating a team to nourish this intention, hold complex questions and experiment our way towards collective transformation. The central question we have been holding in my view is - 'How does collective transformation happen?' In this piece, I intend to intertwine my own reflections and the vision of this work as it is becoming visible to me. To begin with, let me start with the context of the group mind and how I see it affects the deeply personal and expansively systemic behaviours. 1. Group Mind I have come to understand that each individual is not a mere individual - having thoughts of her/his own, making her/his decision and...

8 days into 2020, I have been reflecting on the year gone by as much as I seed for the year that has come. Writing this reflection made it more accessible for me and revealed certain aspects of me that I am so fulfilled about for 2019. This in a way also gives a closure to 2019 and letting me open myself to embrace 2020. What shifted? Friendships - Somewhere in the middle of the year I intended to un-plan my life - learn to ride with emergence and give spaciousness to friendships and relationships. Through the last 6 months of 2019, I found myself unwinding in relationships - taking space and rushing through. I experienced warmth, joy of togetherness and a sadhana of discovering deeper together.  Primary Relationship - One key change that I notice is in my primary relationship. Several miles covered with parents getting involved. Feels its way more rooted - we are coming together in deeper ways to engage with life while creating space for each other too. I feel grate...

In me, a museum of experiences, of thoughts, of feelings In you, a visitor, may be a seer You can come in, but only with my permission To have a look at the stills, or the movings The dormants or the actives The painfuls or the joyfuls The hurts and the heals But only at certain times, visiting hours For at other times, I might be seeing it for myself Or my museum might be under maintainence, recovering from visitor shocks And while you visit it, be sure that your imprint shall be left hanging in one of the corners of my museum May be for others to see You are important to me Oh now, that I confessed to you that you are important to me  Let me invite you in an inner chamber I want to be calling it भव You see English is a limited language Anyway, I will say inner world I wonder what's this separation I want to be giving you a lifetime pass to my inner world. I hope you won't hurt it, consciously You are welcome, home.

Dearest Family Member, I hope this email finds you in joy and love.  On this Saturday morning, I have a question for you - Where have you experienced / seen these elements?  Clock   |   Bell    |    Time-table    |      Compartments    |      Uniform      |       Input >> Process >> Output Guessed? Yes, school. Anywhere else? Yes, Factory, Prison, Railway Stations, Shopping Malls and sometimes even in Homes. And if you inquire deeply you would find one or the other combination of these design elements in all modern social constructs we are part of. What have these design done - they have created a story of the world - story of separation, of competition, of rush, of standardisation, of self-limiting survival and of self-interest. What does this mean? Why on a Saturday morning? To that, please allow me to take you away from y...

I have enjoyed this song since Masan came, but last Saturday it occured to me in absolutely different tune. I kind of peeled another layer and a new meaning became visible to me through the song. For me this song, in a simple yet profound way summarises the predicament of the modern human selves, the self which is in incessant pursuit. a search for infinite in the finite world  a search for happiness in material wealth. Not realising that wealth comes from well being and well-being is a state of being and so is happiness. The world has always been an illusionary reality to seek its true meaning, one would need to go beyond it Modernity with its sophisticated ways has just expanded its influence on the selves In a way that we are always running And yet getting nowhere. This song showed the mirror to me See if it does to you? If yes, we will sing it along.. Here's the song, lean in..listen. Beginning with setting the metaphor of musk deer, ...