Stories by sethi (18 matches)

The Secret To A Lasting Marriage

When I was a little girl, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burnt toast in front of my Dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!  Yet all my Dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad,for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said, "Baby I love burnt toast."  ... Read Full Story >>

The Seven Wonders of Love

Love is the highest emotion in life. When one practices love, one can love the self first and from there the love flows to your most cherished life members, family members , forever friends, and extends to your neighbors, your community, strangers, your city, your country, your continent, and ultimately, the universe. Here is a love prescription, or rather a compilation of love exercises that I assembled which I hope can be a fruitful source of love generation for you:  The seven ways to love oneself are: 1. When you wake up in the morning,give yourself three loving compliments.  2. Before you go to sleep, think of three good things that happened to you that day.  3. When you brush your teeth in the morning, look into your    eyes and say, "I love you" and mean it.  4. During the day, pay attention to any subtle energy shifts     and ask your heart for guidance, when anything is off      balance.   5. Put ... Read Full Story >>

Walk My Path: Love, Respect and Compassion

I am a male who has been egoistic, dominating, angry, jealous, suspicious, and have had a lack of respect for myself and others around me.   I have been on an emotional roller coaster.  I participated in various transformation workshops, however it made no difference, I remained stuck in my life. As a result, I became separated from my family and reached rock bottom in my life. Having reached there, I resisted transforming myself . After some time I realized the law of  universe: what one resists, persists.     I then thought to myself, start believing in yourself and it will make a difference in you life.  I first started loving myself and then all those around me.  I started respecting myself and then others around me.  My self worth increased. The  universe supported me and the law of attraction started working for me.   In my life I connected to people with similar energy.  One such energy was ... Read Full Story >>

The Traffic Warden's Toes

I was recently on a working trip to Mumbai. One evening I took an autorickshaw home from work. It was around 6 p.m. and there was heavy rush hour traffic. Because of this the rickshaw was traveling at a snail's pace. I was lost in my own thoughts, thinking about the day's events, when a Mumbai police traffic warden materialized as if from nowhere. He ran alongside the rickshaw and slapped the driver three times, quite violently, across his face.    I was shocked by this sudden turn of events! I asked the driver to take the rickshaw to one side of the street and stop. I asked if he was hurt and he said his eyes were sore because of the slap. Other than that, he said, he was fine.    I asked what had happened. He said that, by mistake, he had  run over the traffic wardens shoes. I told him he should ... Read Full Story >>

Sterling Performance For Your Eyes Only

There was once a skinny young boy who loved football. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, all his heart and effort couldn't make up for his physical shortcomings. At every game, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever got to play. However, the determined young man decided to hang in there.  He hoped that maybe his body would grow to match his heart and dedication.  All through high school, he never missed a practice nor game, but he remined a bench a bench warmer all four years.  His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him . When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a " walk on.".  Everyone doubted that he would make the team, but he did.  The coach ... Read Full Story >>

A Season to Renew

As the new season of autumn approaches, let us consider not only the outward changes of renewal in nature as we see the color of leaves change, but also look to the renewals in our relationships and honoring the needed changes that need to take place within them.  Listen now, to the words of a revered sage, as he imparts wisdom on refreshing our relationships. Our thoughts,words, and actions often cause harm to others and to us.  Renewing our relationships on a regular basis is an important practice. Without reconciliation,  we cannot deepen our understanding and we only cause  more suffering . Every week we have the time to go to the cinema, to go shop, but we rarely find the time to renew the relationships with the people who are close to us.  " Begining Anew " is a practice of reconciliation. It involves three steps - sharing, appreciation, expressing regret ... Read Full Story >>

Envelopes and Smiles

A couple of months ago, I made a promise with myself. I had put some money in an envelope in my wallet and set an intention to give this envelope away to the first eligible person I came across. Months passed by, and as I got busy with my daily life, I was unable to keep own promise. Whenever I opened my wallet and saw the envelope, I was reminded of my intention for it, and I would feel a little disappointed for having not acted upon it. The voice within pulled me to do something. Today, while walking to work on a busy street, I passed by a blind elderly lady with her hands outstretched on the sidewalk. Seeing her weathered face and sightless eyes, I stopped dead immediately. Waves of compassion washed over me, and I remembered the envelope of money that had been lying dormant in my wallet all these months. I ... Read Full Story >>

A Surge of Compassion For An Old Lady on the Streets

One afternoon, as I was driving back home, I stopped  at a busy intersection as the traffic light turning red.  I waited patiently for the light to turn green, so that I could resume my journey. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an old woman appeared and started asking for money. That day , I had unknowingly switched off the   air conditioning in the car and my window was down. The old woman was standing very close to the car.  As she begged for alms, I closely observed her weather-beaten face, which had lots of wrinkles on it.  Her eyes showed lots of sadness and her whole body was shaking.  I instinctively sensed that this elderly lady had  seen some incredibly hard times in her life and at this time there was no one to look after her, which forced her to beg on the streets.  Seeing her condition, I immediately felt from within my being a tremendous surge of compassion for ... Read Full Story >>

The Two Rupee Miracle

Some years ago, when I was touring Rajasthan (one of the Northern states in India), I learnt one of the most important lessons of my life.   We were on the last leg of the tour, in a city called Pushkar which is the only city in India which has a Brahma temple.  When we went to visit the temple, there was a long queue of people waiting to go inside.  Some of my friends decided to search for a quicker way to get in, whilst others took the opportunity to get a cup of tea, a paan(betel leaf) or smoke a cigarette. Like in other temple cities we had encountered on the tour we were surrounded by beggars asking for alms.  We usually just tried to ignore them.  I was standing near a paan shop with my friend as he lit his cigarette when an old grey-haired, spectacled and wrinkled beggar  woman approached ... Read Full Story >>

The Gift of Love, Strength and Endurance from an Amazing Sister

From the Soul Curry Column in the Times of India (April 9, 2010) My mom was nearing 40, my dad a few years older and there were their three lovely children just getting out of their teens — it was picture-perfect, that is, until I decided to come along. She was just 20 when I arrived, but from the moment she put her finger into my little palm, I cottoned on to it and knew I had found a friend. She smothered me with love, sang sweet lullabies, soothed a fevered brow, gently scolded and cajoled me out of the cradle and into the walkie-talkie world. My first words were little songs and bits of nursery rhymes. School was a bit hard, because my parents were always mistaken to be my ‘grandparents’, much to my dismay. But she was there and told me that I was not to worry about what the ... Read Full Story >>

A Helping Hand

I had gone today to complete some unfinished business . It was a hot, sunny afternoon.  I parked the car and was walking towards to my destination, when from a distance I saw an elderly man walking towards me in the opposite direction . As we came close, I saw that he was walking slowly, in measured steps and there was a look of pain on his face.  He was not feeling comfortable, that I could clearly see. I glanced at him and then moved on, wanting to go quickly and complete my unfinished work.   I soon reached my destination,completed my work and was returning to where the car was parked , when again from a distance I saw the same man sitting on the road .I quickly walked across to where he was sitting.   I bent down and saw that he was tired and exhausted.  I was concerned and asked ... Read Full Story >>

A Whisper For You To Hear

Deep within my heart, I know it's often painful when we grow , into another chapter of this life filled with anger and with strife, the passage should be smooth and clear the way is possible and very near so sit down beside me while I speak very close now my voice is weak let me whisper the secret of living while I 'm still in the mood for giving the answer that you desperately need in this world of poverty and greed in all the time i've spent this time the best were the ones where i  could rhyme the balance of words gave my  soul a lift perked up my senses when I needed a shift out of my self-created misery and pain, cleaned out the chakras and kept me sane the answer you see is crystal clear find one thing that you hold dear and in that one thing that gives you pleasure you'll find an everlasting treasure so sit still my friend and close your eyes block ... Read Full Story >>

The Promise Proclamation

While we often tell others we love, such as our family, friends, and relatives, those comforting thoughts to warm up their hearts inside, we forget that this gift of friendship and affection we give to others is something we can give ourselves too. Remind yourself that as you help others, you are also allowed to help yourself along the way. Here's a gift to give yourself as you get started. Make the following promise proclamations to yourself today: 1. I will become friends with myself and realize that it is a  worthwile friendship just as are the friendsips I have with others.   2. I will look for sunshine in everything, so optimism becomes my reality not an elusive dream. 3.I will create thoughts of the best in mind, give my best to meet my goals, and expect only the best results, so that the best is manifested in my life.  4. I will understand ... Read Full Story >>

Don't Say You Are Not Important

Don't say you are not important,

It simply isn't true,

The fact that you were born is proof,

The universe has a plan for you,

The path may seem unclear right now,

But one day you will see,

That all that came before you and me,

Was truly meant to be,

The book of life is one that you are writing,

That's all you need to know ,

Each day you are alive,

Is meant to be a best seller,

So be proud of who you are,

Your character is important,

In this book you are the star.

A Dialogue with the Universe

Here is an exchange between myself and the universe that I thought would be a helpful transcript to share with all of you. Question 1: What is most difficult in life? My Answer: Discovering its purpose. The Universe  Answers:  Don't look for purpose. You won't find it. Create your purpose. Purpose serves as a principle around which to organize your life. You should give meaning to life and not wait for life to give meaning. Question 2: What is most challenging to deal with in life? My Answer: Staying positive The Universe Answers: Everyday may not be good, but there is something good in everyday. It is not your position but your disposition that makes you happy or unhappy. If you are busy looking for gold, you miss the silver lining. Question 3: What is hard to let go of in life? My Answer: My ego. The Universe Answers: Most of the shadows of your life are caused by standing in your own ... Read Full Story >>

The Invitation to Life

It doesn't interest me what you do for a livingI want to know what you ache for,and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing It doesn't interest me how old you areI want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive                                                                                                        It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moonI want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,if you have been opened by life's betrayals or become shriveledand closed from fear of further pain I want to know if you can sit in pain, mine or your own,without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you tothe tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning ... Read Full Story >>

Sacred Space

When walking down the path of life,

Remember what I say,

That every man must feel the thorns,

That grow along the way,

And every soul will stumble,

For every man is weak,

And the road of life uncertain,                                                                     

It's prospects often bleak.

But always give a helping hand ,

A word of love, a smile, a hug,

To help the soul beside you walk

Across each weary mile.

 -Kate Furman

Alms And More At The Gas Station

There was an extraordinary long queue at the gas station yesterday.   I wound the window down  as the air conditioner had been switched off. That's when I saw the old woman begging alms from the occupants of the car in front of me .    Old age had stooped her, she was wrinkled and weather-beaten. She stood silently by the car with her hand extended. She waited for some time and got no response. Then she walked over to my car.    As she approached I got a better view of her. There were wrinkles around her eyes, but it was her eyes that struck me the  most. There seemed to be a lot of hurt and pain in them. There was a strong feeling within me that this woman had struggled a lot in her life, and in that struggle she had been reduced to this state.   There arose in me a deep feeling of ... Read Full Story >>

The Story of Karen

I Am Hungry For Peace

The Interviewer Becomes the Interviewee

This is Love

A National De-Monetization of Currency Leads to Issues at the Petrol Station

Her Kindness Saved My Girlfriend's Life

How We Met

When she found herself without a home at 16, her best friend didn't let her down

Aren't We All Family?

The woman who went up a mountain and came down different

A New Start for Their Friend

Aruna Shanbaug

Helping A Mom Get To Her Destination.

An Unusual Christmas Gift For Me

An Unusual Christmas Gift For Me

Smiles For Remaining Days

87 Year Old Woman Named Rose

The Sandwich that Changed My Life

A Young Girl Stranded

Tip from a Boy Who Doesn't Speak