Blue.

It all started with a hook in the middle of the wall. I had been away for almost two years and when I returned my folks had put this hook. (In what used to be the balcony, now extension of living room and still have'nt asked them about the hook)

Being inclined to making improvisations to my surroundings I had been thinking of hanging some kind of lamp. My most favourite corner to sit in happens to be dressed in stripes of blue, and one evening while ambling down colaba causeway (where else!) I stopped by at a stall selling these lamps and other curios mostly for tourists...and decided on this Blue one.

Somehow the atmosphere of my favourite corner is evolving into hues of blue, sea green, mauve....and the blue-ness of the glass acts as a accent. It's nothing expensive but I'm deeply into 'living' colour and my most sincere apologies if I ramble on and on about it. :)

Firstly, Blue is the colour emanated by your throat chakra which has a lot to do with expression. Add a little red then you get indigo which is the colour of your brow chakra.

Colours do have a deeper meaning and a function in our lives other than adding an easthetic value. So, let's see what does S.G.J Ouseley say of the attributes of BLUE in the book 'Colour Meditations'

BLUE.The Symbol of Inspiration and Devotion.

The spiritual nature.

Deep clear blue, pure religious feeling.

Pale ethereal blue, devotion to a noble ideal.

An excess of blue in the aura signifies an artistic, harmonious nature and spititual understanding.

Bright blue, loyalty and sincerity.

A little tip I learnt from Pauline Wills book Colour Therapy is you can breathe in colour into your aura. Now, this is my improvisation - When you are outdoors and you see the sky, imagine you are taking it in - it's beautiful blue colour. Isn't that simply wonderful?

I found Pauline's book when I was living in Leh at Leh-Ling bookshop. (the only bookshop open in winter!). It was my first book about colour therapy and since then much abused from caryying about, underlining sentences and the likes. Pauline Wills has given a set of asanas to perform to enhance each chakra, where you visualize breathing in the colour while you stay in the pose. My favourite part though is *'Pink Rose Contemplation'. I experimented a bit and tried it with various fifferently coloured flowers , since in Leh during summer flowers grow so well in the garden. Although the meditation/contemplation lasted only for a few minutes it was exciting to note how each flower triggered a flow of energy in a different direction, also the intensity varied, was it the colour? it was exciting to practise and discover nonetheless.

* ( I suppose Pink is recommended as it is the colour of unconditional, universal love, just as in crystals, rose quartz is advised)

Returning to the colour Blue, Pauline says,

This is the colour which symbolizes inspiration, devotion, peace and tranquility.

If you have ever done a course of Vipassana ( as taught by S.N.Goenka) , if not you can always ask a freind who has, you will notice the meditation cushions at all centres are always a deep blue...I think as I read elsewhere blue helps you in your spiritual aspirations.

May we all have blue skies and calm hearts

Happy Diwali!

Love + light!

Fishes, hers and mine.

Minam Apang's "War with the Stars" at Chatterjee & Lal .
It is very rarely that one sees such a distinctively creative body of works. Minam has certainly been doing better with each show and I predict she will soon leave the realm of the 'contemporary art scene' and join the league of masters.

I am no art-historian so feel free to disagree with me at large. I found the mood of the show to be very oriental - the colour and texture of the paper, the dark richness of the ink, , the imagery - organic and fluid. I was also reminded of the varied, illustrative styles that have emerged, dating back to Hokusai and then Manga. The delicate, finer than hair-strands pen-manship defy and her imagined creatures intrigue.

I looked up C&L's website and found no images of the paper-works that speak for themselves (I intended to paste a link to her show)......would love to see the show go on a little longer....inspiring, truly indeed.


Now, you must must be wondering what are these images about? Well, this is the fish I made in pottery class, and I have juxtaposed it with Minam's invitation card - the thought just came to me in a flash of artistic inspiration. You see, fishes appear in my art-works as well, they just do. Perhaps, I feel drawn to the water element. Apparently , I found out a while ago I am a Piscean by my Moon-sign. At first I said , no! that can't be , and then I saw the signs!.. goodness! Now Im making peace with it. It's true I do walk around in shops guided by some unseen force and never have a shopping list....I am dreamy and I love the colours- turquoise, purple...sea- blue, sea green...and the list goes on....all attributes of a Piscean gone mad (in a good way). So, I've decided to use it, to embrace this side of me rather than try to be 'practical', I have some lovely friends who complement this dreamy nature of mine.

In conclusion, hence proven, even if you are a dreamy, apparently 'head in the clouds' person (Believe me I have been told that!) you can thrive in this dog-eat-dog world, in Bombay! or any where else! :)
Love + light! (Incidentally, today the first lamps of Diwali were lit)

Doing my bit for peace- Lao-Tzu shows the TAO Way.

Open book

what do I read?

Lao Tzu speaks

the watercourse way

If you cannot trust yourself, you cannot even trust your mistrust of yourself – so that without this underlying trust in the whole system of nature you are simply paralyzed. So Lao-tzu makes the sage, as ruler, say:

I take no action and people are reformed.
I enjoy peace and people become honest.
I use no force and people become rich.
I have no ambition and people return to the good and simple life.

(Excerpt from TAO The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts with collaboration of Al Chung-Liang Huang.)

***************

On a high

-er vibration

They say we are moving from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius (Satyug) and Kalyug is apparently not going down without a bang. But that is no reason for people to give in to their baser instincts. It is infinitely better to tune into higher vibrations and not to fall in with the prevalent atmosphere. We always have a choice to walk on the noble path. I suggest , (that first includes me!) no more complaining, send out positive vibrations in all directions, the first person to benefit will be ourselves :)

**************

Saturday Shopping

Saturday evenings after work, are alway liberating. From the first step outside I feel relaxed...my weekend off begins ( I work ony three days but I work hard!) and this Saturday I treated myself to a nice coffee (read Capuccino) and a great sandwich.
The gallery is at Colaba which is quite a hip place. It so vibrant as you walk down colaba causeway with all the wayside stalls - a girls delight...silver jewellery , bohemian bangles, scarves, clothes, cafes, books...
and so naturally I shopped!

After coffee, sandwich and my tummy satisfed I realised now would be a great time to find a white T to wear as a backdrop to all the jewellery I collect. (The red necklace is from an earlier find at Colaba). Also on my wish list was a cool T. The dark blue T-shirt with the phoenix print immediatey caught my eye and we went home together! love the oriental look.

This bangle reminds of tribal jewellery, the thick anklets that women wear. My hands are thinnish so it isn't very often I find a beauty which fits...after I tried it on this one just stayed on my wrist. I like to shop intuitively, that is, when you just know this piece is for you.

The embossed/relief (?) pattern reminds me of leaves, foliage :)

Wishing everyone a great Sunday !
Love + Light

When you need binoculars with your tea

Andheri used to be wooded in *Salim Ali’s autobiography, “The Fall of a Sparrow” , it must really hard for anyone to believe I manage to do any bird-watching!... as a matter of fact, it is one of my most enjoyable and rewarding things to do...while sipping tea to lookout for birds!...or gaze without purpose into the canopy of the trees ......you see there are gorgeous little sun birds..with their curlew beaks..that come feeding in the morning for nectar from fersh flowers, weaving birds...pied crested bulbuls..babblers...oriental magpie robins (depending on the time of year)...you can hear the coppersmith barbet’s tok!tok!tok! heard the coucal (Bhardwaj) a while ago and once a trio of drongos were merrily flitting from tree to tree!

What’s for breakfast? roti to be had with fruits, cheddar cheese and some earl grey tea...
*Salim Ali is synonymous with Bird-watching and BNHS (Bombay Natural Historal Society).

Over Breakfast

Morning musings - Breakfast... garden creatures - not a garden really ! ha ha.. just plants outside the window and an assortment of shells and stone! and little light for Buddha inside...
Peace! :)

A Bowl of Serenity

"Nothing special" things to do on a Sunday- pick a flower fallen on your path, take it home, place in a bowl of water in the sun.

Sacred Corner

We all love to create little arrangements of our favourite objects, a favourite photograph, some flowers... which slow us down, allow us to pause, remind us of our goals or what is simply sacred to us, objects which we feel happy to look at.

For me, I love to create ‘still lifes’ which reflect my mood. What’s in my sacred corner says a lot of different stories, for instance, the little shrine is really meant to hold a time-piece, I bought it in Kochi, Kerala and the Sakyamuni Buddha living inside I found through serendipity. It is from Thailand and has a beautiful ornate oriental look.

Sigh! I just feel peaceful looking at the arrangement. On a deeper level I think we can’t help create symbolic offerings, it seems as if everything has a secret life of its own and a deeper meaning.

Love + Peace !

Water for Life

While going through a site I read About Dr.Hado and his photographs of Water-crystals..it is beautiful and insightful to see the effect words, prayers have on water. It has been re-affirming for me to see this - I have long known that one can charge the water they drink with reikhi, but to see pictures! it does blow you away, it is magical. Follow the link below and see for youself.

Love + light to all!

https://www.hado.net/index.php-

One stem of Pure-Heartedness

It is said that there were eighty-four thousand virtues of perfection practised by all Bodhisattvas, but they are no more than so many leaves and branches growing from the one stem of pure-heartedness.

-Soyen 1987,78

from Simple Zen by C.Alexander Simpkins PH.D, Annellen Simpkins PH.D

From the one stem of pure-heartedness....is there such a thing as a pure heart? we all think we are pure-hearted. In India we are all brought up to believe there is goodness in everyone much like we believe the Ganga to be pure and have curative properties. We have so much faith in it, even if it may carry deadly pollutants, it is sacred!

So is the notion of a 'pure heart' the same with us? an illusion? or is the 'pure-heart' like the Bodhi seed, buried deep somewhere waiting to germinate, to grow into a tree , a forest of enlightenment.

Dunno ......till then it is enough to try and be pure.

"It is the emptiness wthin that must feel comfortable."

The Boundless Room
No walls and there is no dwelling place. The room that is too small cannot be lived within. It is the emptiness wthin that must feel comfortable.
The place that houses a man and a woman's togetherness must define but not constrict, enclose yet be spacious. In the dwelling of two together, find the boundless room.

-The Tao of Relationships
by Ray Grigg.

The verse I quoted is from one of my favourite books I love to dip into...often one needs to be reminded of the poetry in life. Taoism's dual way of looking at things holds a timeless appeal- both qualities are always present in a pair of, let us say opposites - emptiness, fullness.
When I bought this book from a second hand, way-side bookstall, near my home- I thought I was being sentimental- The Tao of Relationships!! look at the title! Wrong.
I have read this verse to my freinds and they have fallen silent while listening to it.

Sometimes I forget about the book- at others I remember, I suppose "It is the emptiness wthin that must feel comfortable."