Savvy Raj

Live Life Lovingly!

Category Archives: lifestyle


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On Giving

Have written and dedicated a couple of posts earlier on the topic of Giving.

But here is my dear mother’s philosophical perspectives where she focuses on the the spiritual mindset in giving.

Dhaanam

There is a saying in Tamil.” What ur right hand gives, the left hand should not know”. True. While giving, unknowingly a little superiority, seeps in. To counter our ego secrecy n humility is needed. Giving is called Dhaanam .

There are various types of giving. It can be of anything. Money used unwanted items like clothes or other durables, food items, even sharing your knowledge is a form of giving.

Rules of Dhaanam

Giving new unused things of good quality is the best Dhaanam. This is followed in ritualistic or religious dhaanam.
Always give with humility. Never show attitude.
Give to worthy persons. Donate to needy ones. Giving shoes to a legless person is useless . It will hurt the person reminding his disability. There is a saying ‘pathiram arindhu pichai idu. ‘

While donating unwanted used items see that it can be useful for at least six months or further. Never give throw away things.

Give happily, with a full heart. Anything given with a prayer in mind and lots of goodwill at heart will bring prosperity and happiness to both the giver and receiver.

Another important aspect of giving is never to boast or keep on reminding them. Once given it ceases to be yours… The recipient has all the freedom to use it the way they want. Do not expect a life long gratitude.

Taittriya Upanishad says

Give with faith
Give with sensitivity
Give with abundance
Give with understanding

In Bhagavat Gita, Shri Krishna talks about 3 types of Dhaanam
namely Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic.

Satvic is the one which is given to worthy persons with full humility and without expecting returns in any form.

Rajasic is the one which is given to show supremacy or expecting some favour in return.

Tamasic is the one where one gives with attitude, without respect to place n time to undeserving persons.

Vedas describes dhaanam of 4 categories.
1. Nitya dhaanam which is given daily as part of our routine without expectation.
2 Nymithika dhaanam is giving with the intention to wash away our sins.
3 Kamya dhaanam is giving with a desire to achieve some special favours.
4. Vimala dhaanam is giving with humility, devotion and without expectation of any returns.

The best dhanams are
Anna dhaanam -. Feeding the poor( It satisfies)
Vidya dhaanam Sharing ur knowledge and skill. (It increases)
Kanya dhaanam – giving a daughter in marriage. (I think it’s about letting go of a child be it a son or daughter into their next phase of life)
Raktha dhaanam and organ dhanam-. Saving one’ s life.

Keep giving.
Give wholeheartedly.
Give with a smile.

Anjana

I would simply also like to add that

True giving is when you don’t feel the weight of parting in the giving.

You never know how many lives you are unknowingly touching.

Savvy


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What’s your kind of place?

Every person has a place
On this earth that you call home
Beyond houses made of bricks
The space that is ones own
Are those that nourish and nurture you
Where you find yourself at home

A place that helps you evolve
A place that speaks to you
A place of learning and goodwill
A place that let’s you be you.
A place that is welcoming and inclusive

For me it is the vast open spaces in nature that speaks to me.

Be it the mountains the sea the sand the sky or the fields.

But I am also the happiest when I see a beautiful smooth open dancefloor

For it gives me the joy of endless possibilities of freedom to move…

What place comes to your mind if you are reading this?

Savvy


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Pearls of wisdom

For any person who is much too stressed or confused at the moment…do read this.

A rare conversation between Krishna & Today’s Arjun. Read it loud to family,
it’s one of the best message I have come across…

1. Arjun :- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.
Krishna:- *Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.*

2. Arjun :- Why has life become complicated now?
Krishna :- *Stop analyzing life… It makes it complicated. Just live it.*

3. Arjun :- Why are we then constantly unhappy?
Krishna :- *Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.*

4. Arjun :- Why do good people always suffer?
Krishna :- *Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.*

5. Arjun :- You mean to say such experience is useful?
Krishna :- *Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. It gives the test first and the lessons later.*

6. Arjun :- Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading…
Krishna:- *If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.*

7. Arjun :- Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?
Krishna:- *Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.*

8. Arjun :- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
Krishna :- *Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.*

9. Arjun :- What surprises you about people?
Krishna :- *When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”*

10. Arjun :- How can I get the best out of life?
Krishna:- *Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.*

11. Arjun :- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
Krishna:- *There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.*

Stay blessed and
Stay Happy Always…..!!!


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Reach beyond knowing.

Artwork  by  Russian  Surrealist Painter Vladimir Kush




How are you going to reach the tree of knowing?
The climb is not a cake walk
It is tough to balance  on the way up or down.
You are at the base.
And yet you are not grounded.
In the knowing that sets you free.
At times you climb almost all the way.
But think twice about entering  its core
For it is demanding.

Life never comes with a planbook
All happens in the living.
All is meant to flow along the way.
Things refine or distort
To change or transform 
Into new paths of purpose.
All, a leap of faith
To reach beyond knowing.

Savvy


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Jive Dance Workshops



Hi all,
To all my dear readers  followers and friends.

I will be conducting the Weekend Dance workshops series begining this October 2019 @Pune India . Will be kicking off with the  Jive Basics & Beyond Workshop starting  this Sat and Sun  19th and 20 th Oct.
 
No  prior dance experience  is required  for this workshop.


Dancing the Jive is one of my personal  favorites. And yes this music makes you feel happy and alive. 
You can’t help feeling great!

What it entails.

The course is spread over two days .
Focus will be of course be building on basics of the Dance and partnering skills .
Beyond the basics we will also be focusing on tips and tricks to make your dancing not only easy  but enjoyable for you as well as your partner .

Every dance style  has a special  effect   on us as dancers and  this dance  worshop will certainly keep you  happily dancing.

If you are a beginner and want to learn to dance the basics and get dancing confidently on the floor this is just right you.
If you are a solo dancer but would like to learn  to  dance  with a partner  this is just perfect  for you.

If you are the kind who sits out at parties  for the fear of not knowing  how to dance,  may be this simplifies it all!
If  you are looking to put on your dancing  shoes and dance your heart out… Make sure you are there.

If you are looking to brush up your concepts and  skills, this  would be just right for you too.
Age is no bar to learn to dance.

Dancing  is not just about the steps or how you dance but how you feel and how you make another feel  as you dance.

So put on your dancing shoes and let’s  meet on the dance floor!💃🙂💃

Savvy
Ps. If you are looking to have a session  at your city in a new  venue
Kindly connect and we can also create and conduct special group dance workshops.


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Vibrancy

Be aware that your hands are like antennae, able to pick up currents of energy from space as well as send them out. But for your hands to be able some day to attract and send out only beneficial currents, you must first pay great attention to the gestures you make in everyday life, for every gesture, however insignificant, produces a vibration. Whatever task you are performing, try to make measured, harmonious gestures, in the knowledge that you are activating forces and elements that will allow you to transpose what you are doing onto the spiritual level and therefore attain the higher levels of life. True spirituality consists in using any kind of work as a means to bring your thoughts, feelings and movements into tune with cosmic harmony. Each movement you imbue with a divine idea is recorded in the archives of your higher consciousness, from where all beneficial energies, such as love, hope and joy, will spring. – Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

You are a dance of energy

Every move you make

Every step you take

Every thought you think

Every word you speak

Creates vibrations in space

Make sure to tune in.

Align your mind and body

Make way for harmony

Flow in synchrony

Sense the peace love and joy

Emanate with joy

In and all around you.

Dance on in awareness

Savvy


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Surreal Expressions


Expressions of a beautiful mind  indeed!


This very impressive piece  of work  by Polish artist  Jacek Yerka called the Bible Dam caught my attention…


A few musings on similar lines.
If all the knowledge  of the world
Could be collected and channeled
To flow into a ocean of knowing
Ready to pour out the learning
Crystallized  into books for the reading
Ever ready in the giving
To ease the receiving.
What a wise world it would be!
But is knowing  simply enough?

Knowledge is willing to be shared
But is the learning  enough?
To make the world wise
Without the experiences to practice
No knowledge can be worthy
And no knowing  really useful.

Life is in the knowing, sharing  learning  processing, experiencing & most of all in the living.

Savvy


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What happened to coexistence?

The picture above was shared by a dear friend on social media. It speaks the truth of life today.

Helplessly surviving the carelessness of mankind,

These birds are seen flying after their own once lived homes.

Totally shattered and in deep despair.

Isnt this world theirs too?

As logs of wood are transported
It’s hard to see them fly this way
Searching for their lost homes.
Desperate to find their babies in the woods.

Wooded forests are fast disappearing
Birds are losing their safe havens
They are clueless where to nest
They have no place to roost and rest

Why is the human being so monstrous
It is nothing short of disastrous
It is wrong of us to tamper the ecosystem
And be without any guilt or remorse.

Cutting and felling the trees
Burning the world’s forest cover
Where would we go without the oxygen
How can we survive without clean air?

Why are we playing with fire?

Can we each undo the damage?

In adopting sustainable ways of living.

Every bit will make a difference…

If we only understand
Every element has a purpose
Every matter exists for a reason
Every life is strengthened in the interconnects.

Let’s care and nurture trees
Let’s plant and grow more trees
Let’s help the birds live on trees
Let us learn to coexist, so every life will breathe easy.

Savvy


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A Reciprocal Arrangement

A Reciprocal Arrangement

Sometimes when we question

The very nature of being

On acts of all kinds

In awareness and without

Of stumbles and fumbles

In tethering through

And managing life and living

We awaken to the truth of the matter

Of a reciprocal arrangement.

In the cycle of life

Of nature in its infinite abundance

Of intentions in its infinite expressions

Of unfolding of paths yet known

Of unveiling of myriad patterns

All in the continuum of consciousness.

All is as it is meant to flow.

Trust life to lead your way.

All is well as it is meant to be.

For such is the circle of life.

All goes hand in hand.

Each, of value for the other

In some unknown way.

Know there is an answer to every question.

A solution for every problem.

A clarity for every confusion.

A resolution for every conflict.

And freedom of choice in spite of restraint.

©Savvy Raj


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To Dance…

“To dance is to move with the strength of earth below you, sensing and knowing the grounding beneath you of your convictions.

To dance is to freely be able to improvise your physical and emotional self with the quality of fluidity like the flowing water.

To dance is to ignite the power of passion and fire up your creative movements.

To dance is to be able to glide as if you are as light as the air and soar in grace, as you feel the wind enveloping yet beckoning you to scale new heights of harmonious effusion while dancing with a conscious awareness of your edges and spaces that you occupy in this beautiful amazing world”

Savvy


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Passion Speaks

When passion speaks with positivity

Passion spreads the inspiration.

Along with patience and perseverance

Creating and sending goodwill all over.

How truly wonderful is that?

So as passion pulls the cart, patience and perseverance carries it through to its destination.

Savvy


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Embody Love

My personal mantra…

Live the life you love and love the life you live!

What happens when you embody love…

You reinforce the power of trust

You reiterate the value of life

You reinstate respect for life

Every life that is powered by love

Is tuned into deeper consciousness

Knowing there is always something more…

Than just the superficial nature.

Threaded interconnects that runs across

In this web of life and living.

Love connects us all

As we embody love

All roads leads home.

Such is the path of love.

Embody love!

Savvy


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5 Tips on Anger Management


A story share on Anger Management

There was a saint, who was never affected or angry at anyone, how much ever anyone ill treated or insulted him.

His disciple was intrigued by this nature and wanted to know the secret of his calmth.

When he asked the saint, the saint patiently explains how he conquered his anger.

“I had this long time habit of meditating while sitting in an empty boat on a lake. While doing so, once when I was in deep meditation suddenly another boat hit my boat . I was so angry to know who was so careless to disturb my meditation. But when I opened my eyes in anger I saw an empty boat which was moved by the blowing wind and hit my boat. I realised my anger was unaimed as it was an empty boat .

So when ever I get angry I remembered it n think this is an empty boat too and became quiet.

Our anger affects us in 3 ways.

1.It affects our wisdom
2.It affects our body
3.It affects our behavior.

Now you know the secret of my calm nature.”

The truly strong person is not the one who controls others by physical strength, but the one who can control himself from his anger.

This simple story elucidates  the necessity of  self reflection and awareness  of the negative effects of anger on oneself  as much as others.
Anger is often a result of frustration and feeling blocked . The reactions  can escalate out of control in time.

Uncontrolled Anger ruins life and living.

Anger is  damaging  and destructive.

It is important to  break free from its vicious cycle.

Here are 5 tips for breaking free of Anger cycle.

1. Taking some ‘ me time out ‘ everyday.

2.Thinking before Speaking 

3 Practicing Forgiveness & Letting go.

4 Using Humor to Diffuse Tension

5 Using Relaxation Methods for Calming

There is a need to acknowledge  anger patterns and work on the triggers that affect. So more than prevention by suppression it is better to understand  the loss of control  of words and actions and channelize it well.
Like a  little time out for self  could be about engaging  in physical exercise,  dancing , music  gardening, any hobby or reading a book,  regular meditation or simply witnessing nature .
All are very helpful in bringing back a sense of balance in our perspectives of thinking and creating  a space between  our steps.🙂

Always remember, it is important to know it is completely ok to seek professional help to manage anger when it is affecting our life and the lives around us.

Savvy


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5 steps to Self Care.

Feeling Enmeshed?

1Are you feeling enmeshed in life and living?

2 Do you feel you are often taken for granted?
3Are you feeling you are giving more than you are receiving?
4Are you trying to do more than you actually can?
5Are you feeling criticized for everything good you do?
6Are your kind and benevolent intentions disrespected by your loved ones?
7Are you feeling threatened into submission?
8Are you feeling tightened by your own net of people whom you love?
9Are you gasping to breathe free?
10 Are you feeling a loss of control and confidence in daily life?
If you have answered more yes than no then chances are you are truly enmeshed and need help.
You need to redefine boundaries and clarify your stance.
Often creating boundaries is confused with being unapproachable and seen to be controlling and limiting.
But often it is about creating a space for the self, as much as to draw a line for others so that they dont tread all over you.
Caring for the self matters and one can be empowering and empathetic at the same time.
So it is important to know your needs matters and that it is not necessary to say yes to every thing and every one. You need to to learn to take a stance and set your boundary that allows another to respect your being.
Only when you establish your stance you create healthy boundaries for others to take you seriously and not take advantage of your kindness.
It is important to know where you end and another begins.Then you learn to be in relationships and yet be yourself fully as you are and not full of yourself.
Expanding your sense of self can be challenging as well. Simply understand all of life is valuable in it’s own special way including you . In respecting life and living you convey the value and responsibility of mutual coexistence.
5 Steps to gaining control of your life begins with you.
1.Know you are alive and not simply existing.
2. Be assertive but not arrogant
3. Be confident and speak with clarity.
4. Remember your purpose in life and communicate.
5. Build on your strengths to thrive.

Savvy


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Finding a friend…

Do you work yourself too hard, Searching for a friend
Fear not, for there are many sailing in the same boat.
Finding a friend in another
Is seeing a mutual joy of being
With one another whatever the interest
In seeing not necessarily eye to eye
But sensing the heart to heart in life and living.

Blessed are you to receive a true friendship
And the onus is on you to truly appreciate it.
For no matter the years, friendship never die
If there is value for the friendship

Treasure the blessing of a good friend.
Nurture the relationship the best you can.
Have spaces in your togetherness
So that you gather life experiences to muse upon.

A good friend listens and speaks from the heart and mind.
A true friendship is often blatant to the point of being brutally honest.
All for the sake of evolving for the better
And such are the friendships that withstand the test of time.

Finding friends is wonderful

But staying friends makes all the difference.

Savvy