Ekta | wisdomekta

Book Review- Many Lives, Many Masters Author- Dr. Brian L. Weiss Disclaimer - This book review is majorly a self-contemplation. The personalized meaning derived from book vis-à-vis life experiences. The quotes are used directly from book. Background of book The book documents the excursion of Dr. Brian L Weiss from disbelief to belief in regards to messages from the supernatural world and reincarnation.  The various ideas which float in this book include spiritual conversion, connection with the dead and the importance of universal religious teachings such as charity, faith, and love.  Book revolves around one of Dr. Weiss’s patient named Catherine who was a twenty-seven-year-old woman with major anxiety issues. She also suffered from depression and a wide array of phobias. During several sessions, which included c onventional therapy, hypnotizing, etc. we get to be part of the transformative saga of both Catherine and Dr Brian Weiss.   Catherine recalls...

While working on my next book review, a thought struck and remained stick in my head till midnight. And I just couldn't resist to share on my blog. Sometimes our egos make us think and act as if we are immortals. Few of us show as if all others are beneath them and they are above all. But what we forget is, there is some natural power above all who is viewing all our intentions, actions and continuously making a checklist. One of the powerful natural tool is Law of Karma. The root of the word Karma comes from the Sanskrit word kri: कृ . It means “ to do ” or “ to act ” . 12 Laws of Karma Researching on topic led me to 12 Laws of Karma. They are not laws but rather more like lessons.  Karma can be compared to Newton’s law of cause and effect. These laws are constituents or links in the circular chain life. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.  Karma is a belief that whatever we do will come back to us, either in this life or the next. It is embr...

  Holocaust Survivor Victor Frankl in his book ‘Mans search for meaning’ stated: (Check my Book Review on the book)  A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how.” Covid situation have us struck hard. Living in fear seems to be new normal. Questions like whether any hard work means anything to anyone or even to me? Or childhood lessons of speaking honestly are still relevant!! I asked myself “Imagine this was your last day on earth and you could write down your last article with something meaningful and important to pass on, what would it be?” Thoughts of lying on my death bed, family around me awaiting the dreaded moment, whilst I, nonchalantly uttered the last few words that would render me of value to the world. The precise words would then ...

Even if fathers are shouldering their fair share of chores, it seems that many women of my generation (including myself) still carry the mental load, and believe that if they didn’t the household would fall apart. If you read the last sentence and thought to yourself “well it would”, there’s a good chance you’re struggling under the weight of the mental load yourself. It’s known as the  “mental load”  - the burden of remembering, and usually also executing, the myriad tasks required to keep a household ticking over. In all cases (with exception of very few) the mental load is shouldered by the woman of the house, no matter how demanding a career she may also have. What Is The Mental Load? The mental load is the total sum of responsibilities that you take on to manage “the remembering of things.” It has to do with  emotional labor , defined by Arlie Hochschild in the 1983 book  The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling , as the process of managing emotions...

  Disclaimer - This book review is self-contemplation of book’s content. The personalized meaning derived from book vis-à-vis the current Covid scenario. The quotes are used directly from book. Where has true emotional warmth disappeared? Why are we all indulged in our own selfish modes and drama? Why the real approach of living is in switch off mode? Hey, don’t judge. The air may be gloomy with C+ virus but spirits are not. I am not pessimistic. And no… I am not nagging. But don’t we all wonder for the reason of our existence. Our sayings and actions don’t match. Sometimes, they are on totally different dimensions. The talks of hearts have lessened. The ears are filled with assumptious noises. The warmth of eyes shrieking cold gaze. We are living as if we are immortals. This current situation urges us to once again become HUMAN. Man’s Search For Meaning (book) is a beacon of light which helps peeping into soul. It rejuvenates meaning of life.  Soul-opener ...

Professional life is just a scheduled array of tasks. Reaching office, switching on computer system, drinking a cup of coffee, reading daily reports and completing jobs. During this pre assigned routine, sometimes it happens that we get to touch some peoples’ lives and make a little difference in the world.  Mine is not a unique story but it is very close to my heart.  ONGC pays its part of contribution to the society towards building a better world in form of CSR. During my posting in CSR Section, Ankleshwar (Gujarat), we used to mainly focus on the projects prioritizing education. Several schools, majority of which located in remote locations sent their proposals for either school building renovation or RO plant establishment etc. This one request came for funding for construction of library in the building of a school. The proposal was sent by a Junior Teacher and not the Principal of the school. I could not meet this teacher during school site visit although pr...

Covid times may sometimes be frustrating but it is teaching the best lesson of practicing  "Patience". Here is one short Zen story. A rich man, fond of felines, asked a famous Zen ink painter to draw him a cat. The master agreed and asked the man to come back in three months. When the man returned, he was put off, again and again, until a year had passed. Finally, at the man’s request, the master drew out a brush, and, with grace and ease, in a single fluid motion, drew a picture of a cat—the most marvelous image the man had ever seen. He was astonished; then he grew angry. “That drawing took you only thirty seconds! Why did you make me wait a year?” he demanded. Without a word, the master opened up a cabinet, and out fell thousands of drawings—of cats. My learning from this - Excellence is a function of time and practice. Don’t rush: Those of us who are always pushing hard, running up the mountain, may reach the top first only to realize we forgot to enjoy the cl...

Here sharing an interesting keynote from #SAPHRConnect2020 in partnership with People Matters wherein Devdutt Pattanaik was host. Hope this adds to our insight in Covid times. The current pandemic has hit us with the realization that, honestly, nothing lasts forever, no strengths, no weaknesses. BUT also, no challenges, no threats. Organizationally nothing lasts either-no structures, no processes, and no frameworks. We live in a world as Devdutt reminded us , where no gurus, no prophets can predict the future.  As an HR community, Devdutt invites us to be Krishna. On the battlefield, Krishna is the one that enables, motivates, and guides. That is the role that HR needs to play in these times.  However, like in the Mahabharata, there are no guarantees, there are no commitments. While the pandemic may have an expiry date, nobody knows how long and the impact that may have. Every day is a new day. Decisions will be changed, payrolls will also change, and this will ha...

  Harvard Business Review defines resilience as “the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep going in the face of adversity.” Essentially, it’s our ability to keep calm and carry on in the face of any adversity life throws. Resilience is really important . Why? Because there’s only one thing we can control in life: ourselves . Tough times are inevitable. It’s how to get back up after being knocked down…. that’s tricky to nail. Here sharing seven tips on how to build resilience workwise - 1.       Seek understanding from setbacks Sometimes, I feel that my sincere and honest work gets unnoticed. I am ‘not-buttering’ and ‘no-non-sense type’ which is in not-in-alignment with the ever going office culture. Succumbing to despair after being reprimanded (in form of change of undiscussed change in assignment), or getting some unexpected scathing feedback is easy. I learnt that switching gears in my mind from reacting to stre...

Ever wondered how it is possible that what we once thought long ago comes back and gives us that feeling of déjà vu. How the smallest of things triggers a flash of memories that we didn't even know existed and makes us nostalgic? They say that the smell is the first thing we forget and amazingly it is the first thing that instantly connects us with the memories of the past when again encountered upon. Like petrichor never fails to bring the childhood back when the scent of dust after rain sends us to those evenings when going out and playing was the most religious thing to do.Those late nights when sleep betrays and we are lost in a reverie, involuntarily glaring at the moon which somehow entraps us into its illusive beauty throwing us back a couple of decades... almost making us believe that life is still so full of wonders to be explored and opportunities that we can still exercise again. The early morning scenery which blissfully takes us away from the reality into a ostensible ...