What is prayer?

Enter the words define prayer in Google, and lo, you get the dictionary definition of prayer! Well, it says, 

a solemn request for help addressed to God 

And yes, conventionally that’s what we understand as the meaning of prayer. If we have problems in our life, we turn towards God, pour our woes and ask that the problems be resolved.

Let us look into it more deeply and ask ourselves the question Is this right? 

The answer would be Maybe, yes. During trying circumstances, it is appropriate to look upon something that is beyond our reach hoping that we gain mental succor. 

However, is it not stupid to routinely get into this mode for every silly problem that we come across? 

If the so-called God must take care of each and every difficulty that we face, then what is the significance of our “own” life? 

It is in this essence, the English saying goes “Self-help is the best help” .

Sadhguru clarifies that true prayer is not an act but being prayerful is a quality.  He says that prayer, when understood in its real sense, is a means to open our lives to new possibilities. 

However, he also warns that people may succumb to hallucinatory fantasy. People start making up stuff, it is not real. He indicates that when the real experience of being prayerful occurs, a dialogue develops between the one who is praying and the divine that is omnipresent. When that state is reached, he says, the experience brings great joy.  

Watch this video in which Sadhguru explains this phenomenon of being truly prayerful. He narrates a beautiful story in laymen terms to drive home the point that prayer cannot be acted and rather should be a quality in our life.

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How do you eat?

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Are your sleep habits indicating anything?

All of us spend our day in different activities and go to sleep in the night to get a well-deserved physical rest. During the night, the body gets sufficient time to replenish the energies, our batteries get charged so to say. 

Depending on the nature of work that we are engaged in our daily lives, we would need different number of hours of sleep. The body knows it very well. When it cannot go on further without the required duration of rest it resists to cooperate with the physical or mental activity and shuts the system down. 

Well, while it is true that it automatically takes care of providing us the required energy to continue our work the next day, is there anything to take away from the sleeping pattern that we possess?

Here is an infographic that depicts what might be going on based on the way you sleep.

Click here to see the entire article which provides detailed information about each of the categories. Suggestions are also available based on the pattern that you identify yourself with.   

Happy sleeping & waking up!

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Fear Of Unknown?

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Fear of Failure

Humans have the innate ability to ask questions, seek and explore the unknown. However, with civilizations advancing, this natural instinct to gain an in depth understanding about something unknown seems to be diminishing. 

The society in which we perform our daily activities plays a major role in defining how we operate our lives. To know the unknown, to cross uncharted territories, to seek an answer to the mind-boggling question, one may have to go outside the boundaries set aside by the society. 

One may have to try out different things, experiment stuff that may not become successful in the very first attempt. History shows us incidents where such people were ostracized and made fun of for being part of the failure. Thus, one of the reasons for people not to question the status quo is the fear of failure.

It goes without saying that fear incites other negative emotions such as anger, frustration, disappointment, shame, confusion. Consequences of a backlash by people from all walks of life including closest family members deter one’s pursuance of their instinct.  

Click here to know the signs of fear of failure. 

Now that we acknowledge that fear of failure is something that is not good for us, we need to identify ways to overcome the fear. 

What methods that we can adopt when faced with situations where we stare at failure and more importantly dread the fear of failure. 

One simple thing to keep in mind is to be aware of the fact that not everything is in our control. 

And at the same time, there are some aspects that are very much in our control. It would only do good if we focus on those details that are within our reach. 

We also need to strengthen our mind to selectively listen to others criticism. 

This link helps you to look at some of the TED videos that address this topic. 

Let us only pay attention to constructive criticism and let not the fear of failure bother us.

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Focus and Determination - Alexander Graham Bell

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