At the beginning of this year, I jetted out to India for a week because my dad’s uncle had suddenly passed away. It was worthwhile spending time with the family out there and being there for my little cousins.

I later found out that two blind people had been given the gift of sight, because my dad’s uncle had his eyes donated.

Although inspired to sign up as an organ donor, I forgot to do it, until a leaflet jumped up at me whilst I was sorting out some paperwork today.

Immediately I visited www.uktransplant.org.uk, and within minutes I was registered to have any of my organs donated when I pass on. Easy peasy! When I’m dead, I won’t be needing my body, so someone else might as well make use of the useful bits.

Did you know that thanks to the miracle of cornea transplantation, more than 2,000 people in the UK have their sight restored every year?

Yet there is still a serious shortage of donated corneas. Will you consider cornea donation when you sign up - and give the gift of sight?

From a comment at Alex Kjerulf’s blog post about Global Belly Laugh Day, I picked up a link to the following video showing a baby laughing from the depths of it’s soul.

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When was the last time you laughed this purely?

Inspired by the layout of Monopoly, this Jain twist to the game gives all teams the chance to shine out with their knowledge and understanding of Jain Dharma, in a typically warm, supportive, and light-hearted Young Jains setting.

Facilitated by the creator of Jainopoly, Deepa M Shah used quizzes and party games to elicit the qualities required to playfully embrace the often challenging life we come across in our every waking moment.

My personal favourite game involved coming into a circle, catching a tennis ball from someone, and then whilst throwing it to someone else, shouting out a Jain word or phrase. Then, remembering who you threw the ball to, the next time a ball would come your way, throwing it to that same person, shouting out the same phrase as last time.

For me this really helped me build focus, awareness, attentiveness, vigilance, and persistence to keep going, even in moments when the ball dropped. Repeating that one phrase helped keep the main thing the main thing.

The lesson was: if the ball drops, and you go to pick it up, don’t forget to stay alert for the next ball coming your way, otherwise it’ll hit you on the head! It may be better to let the ball roll away rather than get knocked out by trying to do it all. Alternatively, let all the tennis balls come to you, pick up the one you dropped, and with all the tennis balls in your hand, continue the game by releasing each ball out to the group one at a time.

Recently I have found myself following my usual habit pattern of taking on loads of projects, and can sense myself collapsing soon by trying to meet all these expectations I’ve been overloading myself with. I have one of two options to relieve this pressure:

1. Release some of the projects into the world so that other people receive the opportunity to take them on, whilst I can focus on the projects that I need to be working on the most.
2. Continue to oversee all the projects, focusing only on what I’m uniquely qualified to do, and then delegate all the other tasks and sections of each project to other talented individuals who generate much greater value than what I could do on my own.

I do like the sound of the second option, and it gives me the opportunity to be involved in projects that really mean a lot to me, whilst offering the chance for others to get involved. As it is, I love collaborating with other creative individuals, so what a great way to stop hoarding and continue GIVING!

If you’re reading this and fancy working with me on one of the projects I’m currently immersed in, get in touch, and I’ll fill you in on what you can get involved with. It’ll be interesting to explore the special talents you can bring to the mix.

What a truly educational and fulfilling Wednesday evening!

In today’s class, Harshadbhai gave us the low-down on Mahavira and Early Jainism. He started the class by showing the Timeline of India and putting Jainism into temporal perspective.

Here are the key messages (fused with my prior knowledge and experience) that I took away from the class:

• Anekantvad: Every being has the right to have their own belief. This doesn’t mean that you have to accept EVERYTHING. Rather it indicates that you can respect other people’s views, and allow them to respect yours. Afterall, our view of the world is only limited by what we know to be true, and the biggest hurt is created when we do everything in our power to defend that view. What if, although your view may be different, it actually complements the view of the other person? What synergistic solution could you both create, rather than putting up the barriers?
• Ahimsa: Every being has the right to exist without fear of being killed or harmed in some way. However, Ahimsa doesn’t mean inaction. By all means, take action if you’re faced with an adverse situation and the need to protect yourself and others arises. Be pragmatic about it in a minimal-violent way. Wherever possible, do it in an absolutely non-violent way. It’s been said that sitting back and allowing injustice to take place is a cowardly act and is in itself an act of violence – although I’m still unsure of where I sit with this (i.e. if life’s about just observing situations that arise, with equanimity, without getting caught up in delight or anger towards it, then if you’re detached from witnessing an unjust act, is action really necessary?). Gandhi objected to wrong activity that he witnessed, and carried out that objection with minimal violence.
• Anarambha: Avoid starting anything unnecessary. As I understand it, parigraha (the desire to own) leads to arambha (the starting of an unnecessary act). Also, I wonder if this lines up with the Taoist principle of Wu Wei, which is non-doing / non-action. According to Wei Wu Wei, the philosophy of non-dual action, when wu-wei (non-action) is done, nothing is left undone. It’s about following the flow of nature, without trying, behaving completely naturally and in tune with the natural order of things. From a karmic viewpoint, it’s about letting karma come to fruition, without forcing specific situations to take place, and so by not fighting and controlling situations, you embrace what you experience fully, and bind no further karma – so long as you have no raag (attraction) or dwesh (aversion) to it. This philosophy kind of sheds a whole new light on the general message in society that “you MUST make plans and make them work to be successful in life!” What do you think? Should you force life down a certain path, or should you just be an observer of whatever comes up for you in life? How do YOU see the game being played?
• Samayik: This is not so much about the ritualistic 48 minutes sat down in complete isolation, in one spot, reading religious books, praying, worshipping, reciting rosary, or doing meditation. No way! It’s actually about coming closer to the true beautiful reality of our soul, whereby you express ZERO excitement (raag / attraction), and ZERO anger (dwesh / aversion) to any situation that you come to experience in your life. It’s just about equanimity, and practicing equanimity. It’s about observing yourself and the world around you, clearly responding to it, but not reacting to it. It’s about letting karma come to fruition, without binding more karma on top. So samayik as a ritual is INCREDIBLY helpful for us to come closer to our soul, because it keeps us focused on what reality is, penetrating through all the layers of distractions and delusions that hold us back from the truth.
• Aparigraha: Restraining the desire to accumulate more and more. When you want something enough, chances are that you’re going to do what it takes to get it. You might fight someone for it, you might kill for it, you might steal, you might tell a lie to get it, you might negatively influence someone to get it for you. You might even harm yourself to get it. All these things, in the name of accumulation, you’ll do, and as you do them, you bind more karma, that of course keeps you tied up in the cycle of birth and rebirth. Beyond non-accumulation is non-possession. What if you have something, and you hold onto it so tightly because you’re afraid of losing it. Grabbing hold of it, not letting it go, is a result of a deep fear of change that you have within you. You anticipate change, and fear it. You hold so tightly onto things, onto people, because you don’t want it to change, and you end up suffocating these very people. So Aparigraha is not just about restraining your desire for accumulation. Aparigraha is also about not being possessive about what you do have, and releasing it from your grip so that it can flow naturally. There’s a story about two little boys playing in the garden. They see a pair of incredible butterflies, and walk closer to them. The first boy reaches out and catches a butterfly in his hand. The second boy does the same. The first boy, not wanting to lose this butterfly clenches his fist so that the butterfly doesn’t escape. Oops, too late – he’s just crushed it. The physical shell of the butterfly is still there, but he’s squeezed the life out of it. He wanted to keep it forever and now it’s no more. The second boy, however, faces his palm upwards and opens his hand. The butterfly floats out and playfully returns to the palm of his hand within moments. Have you noticed that when you want something enough, but you don’t obsess over how to get it, that before you know it, the very thing you want comes flooding into your life? There’s a brief personal example of that at my post on Travelling Alone But Never Lonely.
• Ahimsa and the Environment: Wow, for me probably the biggest lesson of all! You know what, I’ll let Harshadbhai fill you in on this one. Read the full transcript of Dr Harshad Sanghrajka’s talk about ‘Ahimsa and the Environment’ given on Ahimsa Day at the House of Commons on 1st November 2006. In essence, if we gave enough importance to the elements of nature (earth, water, wind, fire, etc..) as we do to ourselves, then we’d understand that they are also life forms (types of Jiva). By us practicing ahimsa towards the elements, and have restraint in our activity with these life forms, then we wouldn’t be crying so much today about the state of the environment, pollution, and the ozone layer. Seriously, check out the link to his article – you’ll get it!

Following the class, a bunch of us went down for a social at a local place called Spice Rack on Honeypot Lane in Queensbury - the food there is terrific! We talked about our various professions, about yoga & meditation, about 6.30am walks, about the ‘Jain Jigsaw Puzzle’ and about what we each want to get from the classes.

Looking forward to week 3 of the Foundation in Jain Studies course…

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.

But without deeper reflection, one knows from daily life that one exists for other people; first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’, a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Only a life lived for others is worth living.”

- Albert Einstein

And on the topic of compassion, let me highlight the true meaning of compassion…  Com-passion: Com (with) - passion (strong feeling, enthusiasm); to be with another in strong feeling and with enthusiasm.

So we do not need to limit compassion as a response to suffering.  Compassion is life itself!  A quality which could be lived out in every situation, with anybody, instead of just with those who are in distress.

Thank you to Albert Einstein for your powerful words earlier, to Jay Litvin for this gem on compassion, and Kishor Bhimji Shah (editor of Oshwal News) for bringing the messages from both people to my attention.

In Steve Pavlina’s most recent post about The Dark Side of Financial Abundance, he highlights the practical implications of going from making a little amount of money to making loads of money.

Steve writes about:

• how financial abundance affects your accounting and tax situation
• what financial mistakes can cost you (and how it’s all relative)
• how people will treat you differently
• how you’ll feel pressured to develop better money management skills
• how, by facing up to the dark side of financial abundance, you’ll become less fearful, more flexible, more responsible, more organised, and more confident.

In his closing paragraph, Steve states “To attract more abundance, you must create more value for others, which requires that you recognize, accept, and embrace your own value.”

This to me is probably the most important statement that I’ve needed to read in recent times. I’ve known that attracting more abundance involves creating more value for others. Little did I realise that to create more value for others, you must certainly recognise, accept and embrace your own value. Afterall, how else will you keep serving others consistently in the best possible way?

Earlier today I received an email from a friend who shared with me his strategic plan for 2007. He’ll comment here if he’d like to make himself known. His objective is “To directly impact the lives of a million people by November 2007″. He’ll know he has achieved this by having sales of £1 Million + through all his various websites and projects. How powerful that he recognises not only how much he’ll have received in sales this year, but also that he’ll have made a positive impact on the lives of a million people. He has a strong belief in himself of how he’ll be able to recognise, accept and embrace his own value so that he can directly and positively impact millions of others.

So on MY path to financial abundance, how am I recognising, accepting and embracing my own value?

What I’ve recognised is that I directly add most value when I’m sitting face-to-face with an individual, over a cup of coffee, discovering what their raw, unique talent is, and co-creating a strategic approach for how they can tap into their existing resources to serve more people, to serve their people better, and to make loads of money to keep on serving.
I have proof (!) Here’s what guitarist Tim Stone has to say about a recent effortless session I had with him:

“I recently signed up to a 3 month package with Kavit Haria, a musician’s coach who helps you focus and market yourself and your music. (Incidentally, I’ve been round a block or two and am not convinced easily! ). Anyway, part of that package is an hour’s consultation with Sol Shah to develop what they call the marketing funnel, which I had recently. Sol is a very warm guy and the hour turned into quite a few more! He’s dead easy to get along with and I learned a lot. The funnel seems to be about recognising what resources you do actually have and how to order and maximise them. I came away from the meeting with quite an update on what I have to offer and how to go about it. Sol listened closely and his feedback allowed me to see some very positive steps that were probably staring me in the face, but that I was missing. I also saw that a lot of stuff I already have nailed is a lot more useful to my marketing plan than I had previously thought. Wicked.”

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Tim Stone on the Bedford Bandstand

So I’ve recognised where I add most value to others, and I am able to accept and embrace it by continuing to consult talented individuals, effortlessly over a coffee (or herbal tea), whilst exploring opportunities for serving more people at any given time, either in person, or via the web. As you’re reading this right now, how would YOU like me to serve you and more people through the work we’d do together?

There has been one dominating factor that’s kept me single all these months. My father’s love for my mother has been so strong ever since I’ve known, that I could never imagine them both separating. As my mum’s health declined over the last decade, and as I witnessed mum’s state of health dramatically drop over the past year, I realised that when her spirit heads out into another dimension, dad would be left alone. I imagined that he would be devastated under such a situation, and that for me to avoid any pain myself, it’s best if I do not find someone to share my life with, just in case I lose her. I guessed that detachment meant not sharing my life with someone.

So mum passed away 3 and a half months back, and you know what, dad’s doing ok. Yes he misses her, we all do, but what’s important here is that we’ve all recognised the transient nature of reality. Everything changes, constantly. People come and people go. I no longer need to be looking out for ‘Miss Right’ - the permanent one who will be with me forever. No, I just need to keep an eye out for ‘Miss Right Now’ - the one who I can share my current life experiences with, the one who’s life I can enrich through my unique understanding of the world, and who can enrich my experience through hers.

So where are you, ‘Miss Right Now’? Where are you hiding? Come on out - make yourself known to me. It’s ok, now is all that matters.

Having travelled alone on several occasions over the last few years (India Oct 2004-Jan 2005, Italy June 2005, Switzerland Jan 2006, and India Jan 2007), I have found that although travelling alone, I am rarely ever lonely. Either I have my own company, or I end up meeting some of the coolest people to ever have the pleasure of travelling with.

Take my most recent trip to India for example. I flew out on New Years Eve and returned just over a week later (on Mon 8th Jan 2007). Every single step of the journey, outbound and return, I met and connected with creative individuals from across the globe.

Fly Gulf Air - Meet Cool People

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