Spirituity is within

Good morning friends. They said that spiritually is within. I agree with that. It should start within us. We have all different theology in our life but the important is that we know the divinity of it. It’s our faith and belief that made us closer to God.

I believe in a Supreme Power, which is more powerful than human beings.

I love life and am thankful to the Supreme Power for being so benevolent. Every night, I pray to Him and thank Him for all that He has done for me. My life has never been just a bed of roses. I have had my share of traumatic experiences. Whenever I am in a spot, I seek His intervention. However, I do not believe in any rituals. For me, the Supreme Power stands in the form of a dot - like Omkara. You do not have to abandon material things to engage in spiritual practice. Even if you are totally materialistic, you will find that there is already a part of your mind that is flowing in a spiritual direction . It might not be your conscious philosophy; but in the depths of your consciousness there is a spiritual stream of energy constantly in motion. There is no value to life without joy. There is a joy that pierces through every moment of our lives. Love is the reason to act even when no final purpose can be perceived. I believe we should live with a free-flying emotion that allows us pure clarity and energy to work without self-interest . It's a simple task, but very difficult. – The Times of India

More leisure time means more health and happiness

Good morning friends. More leisure time means more health and happiness. I did agree with this. Because if we have more free time to ourselves and to others, we can feel the difference of being always busy in our daily routine all the time. There are things that should be given priorities but whatever it is, we should always think of time to be in our best time and best moment.

A new study has confirmed what many people already knew: the more time spent doing different types of enjoyable activities, the better a person's health tends to be.

The study says taking time for leisure activities apart from the demands of work and other responsibilities helps people function better physically and mentally.

"People who are engaged in multiple enjoyable activities are better off physically and psychologically," said study co-author Karen Matthews, Ph.D. She is a professor of psychiatry, epidemiology and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The study appears online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.

To reach the conclusion, 1,400 adults reported how often they participated in a variety of leisure activities, including spending time unwinding, visiting friends or family, going on vacation, going to clubs or religious activities or playing sports.

Adults with higher scores - indicating the most time spent in different leisure activities - had lower blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index and cortisol measurements, all markers of good health.

"When one is under stress, the usual thing is to cut back on enjoyable activities because you're feeling uncomfortable and you need more time to deal with the stress. But these data suggest that is the wrong thing to do and that continuing enjoyable activities you do can be helpful," Matthews said.

People who spent more time doing diverse leisure activities also reported stronger and more diverse social networks, more feelings of satisfaction and engagement in their lives and lower levels of depression. Those who logged the most leisure time also slept better and exercised more consistently, the authors say. – The Times of India

Just enjoy life! (2 of 2)

We believe that these differences should not only be respected but celebrated as well. Hence, as a family we celebrate all festivals. Our friends tease me that Parsis just need any excuse for celebration!

We are often puzzled and sometimes amused at the arrogance of some of our fellow humans. Sometimes, on account of wealth or knowledge or power — men behave as though they were God themselves. Ordinarily, this would be so amusing were it not to have tragic consequences on the lives of others. We thank God for granting us humility and pray for His guidance in ensuring that we never become arrogant.

Rajesh believes that God has a great and sometimes naughty sense of humour. He believes that God created megalomaniacs who go about strutting their wealth and power for His own amusement as well as for ours. Sometimes when I try to coax Rajesh into sneaking out for a movie, he says, “Life is such an ongoing spectacle full of entertainment, let’s enjoy it instead!”

Secularism permits us to live in harmony and we should celebrate our similarities as well as our differences. Besides, we should treasure the sanctity of every moment and show gratitude to God. – The Times of India

(Dr Firuza R. Parikh, director, department of assisted reproduction and genetics, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai)

Just enjoy life! (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. I read an article. It’s nice and I believe on what it was written there. It says that “God has a great and naughty sense of humour”. Look what was written.

As a devout Zoroastrian, I try to live by our prophet’s adage of ‘good thoughts, good words and good deeds.’ I have learnt the profound truth of this guiding principle.

Good thoughts are important for filling ourselves with positive energy. Good words make our interactions with the world pleasant. Good actions such as work and charity are what make our time on earth worthwhile.

I begin my day with prayers to God thanking Him for all the happiness my family and I have been blessed with. I know that God listens to all our prayers. That is the foundation of my spirituality.

My husband Rajesh is the most secular human being that I have come across. Curiously, we started discussing religion and spirituality in one of our earliest evenings together when we were teenagers. Over 35 years of close friendship and 25 years of marriage that discussion still continues.

Swappy, Manu and Nikki our three children and our numerous friends have over the years often contributed towards these conversations. Rajesh has an in-depth knowledge of the major religions. We dwell not just on the similarities between religions but on their differences as well.