18th June
Good morning!
Yesterday, as I was chatting with a friend, she told me that her shoulder is troubling her a lot. We often hear people talk like this, don’t we? Someone says, ” My knees are troubling me”; somebody else says, ” My back is killing me “. At times, people accuse the part which is hurting, as if this body part is troubling them purposefully. I too , have been guilty of doing this in the past, before I started meditating.
But these days, I have changed my approach. Now, whenever I have a knee pain or a backache, I caress that part and talk to that body part….I tell the body part, ” You have been working for me all these years. Thank you so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your work. And is there anything I can do for you to reduce the pain? ”
…..and when I am talking to my body in this manner, I can actually feel that body part relaxing and feeling happy. (We have a wonderful word for this feeling in Marathi….सुखावणं….)
So, rather than blaming the body part for the pain , if we treat it as a friend and thank it deeply and sincerely, it responds to the gratitude and starts functioning better.
Do try out this technique whenever you have aches and pains anywhere in the body and let me know the results.
Love,
Anjali Bhatawekar

19th June
Good morning!
I was re-reading a Rumi quote which says, *”Never miss an opportunity to show your love. Apart from love, everything passes away.”* Though I have read this quote many many times; today for the first time, I realised that I have been missing the opportunity to show Love almost every day.
When I don’t listen attentively to what my son is telling me, I have missed it. When I answer a phone call of a patient without empathy ; when I get angry with my family for stupid reasons; when I hold on to my anger for long periods ( with the thought that I am right and the other person is wrong ); when I don’t appreciate the other person ; when I jump to conclusions and judge somebody without any understanding about his/ her situation in life ; when I blame others for what is happening in my life……..all these are missed opportunities for showing my love; and I seem to be doing one or many of these things every single day !

When I started thinking about these lost opportunities, I thought of how I could grasp them and use them to improve myself…..and I realised that I just need to be more alert, more aware, more empathetic and tuned in to Love for this to happen !

I am hoping and praying that I can imbibe Rumi’s Mantra of Love into my whole being, can make it a part of me so that I don’t miss out on a single opportunity to LOVE. To begin with, I wish I can be successful at least a few times a day…..

What about you ? Are you ready to embark on this path of Love?

Love,
Anjali Bhatawdekar

20th June
Good morning!
I read this quote a few days ago —-
*”Sometimes we are tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths”* ……and it set me thinking. As I reflected back on the past two and half months, I realised that I have indeed discovered quite a few strengths in myself and my family. And I am quite sure that I would not have become aware of these strengths if we did not have to go through this Lock down.
I am not talking of just physical strengths here, though I have discovered them also ; but I feel blessed that I have been able to connect with my inner strengths, my inner treasures during these trying times. Though I have had my moments of sadness or fear in these times of uncertainty; I have experienced my Inner Light and Inner Peace. As I got in touch with my innermost being, I realised that my strengths are far more than my weaknesses and that has boosted my morale tremendously.
Staying happy and creative while going through this crisis has given me the confidence that I can emerge victorious in any other crisis in future.
What about you ? Which of your strengths have you rediscovered?
Love,
Anjali Bhatawdekar