A Soul-searching Saga to Calm Your Mind

Book Review: Karmic City- The City of Lord Brahma

Author: Hema Myer Sood

Rating: 4.5/5

Amazon link: https://amzn.to/35GvBxk

Hema Sood’s thought-provoking book ‘Karmic City: The City of Lord Brahma’ is deep, soothing, and insightful. It is the author’s first book in the ‘Karmic City’ trilogy. As I started reading this inspiring tale, I was enamoured by the vastness of the subject the author has chosen and the beauty with which she has expressed her points of view on a variety of ideas. The book encourages readers to dream and exercise the inherent power of their imagination. It elucidates how tapping the energies within us and channelizing them in the right direction can lead us to unravel the mysteries that have intrigued people since ages. 

This unconventional story revolves around an entity, aptly called ‘Soul’. The Soul guides the key characters in the book – Aditi, Vaidehi, Virat, and Kartik – towards their path of destiny and encourages them to deep-dive into soul-searching. The story progresses through the spiritual experiences and realisations of the characters and their conversations with Soul. Though the Soul talks about Lord Brahma and gives references from holy Hindu scriptures, this is not a book about religion. It seeks to establish the undeniable bond that exists between an individual and their soul. Each soul has its own journey and with concentration and meditation, one can attain wisdom. The positivity in the book is sure to rub on you.

The references to the Cosmos, the seven auric layers, and the five elements was invigorating. I learned something new and am intrigued to read the other two books in the trilogy now. Though I may not completely agree with all the concepts discussed in the book, I applaud the author on her extensive research, spiritual knowledge, and impactful insights. It is never easy to write a book like this one!

The author’s writing style is captivating and her language is flawless. The writing is powerfully soothing and, in many places, it reminded me of my favourite author Paulo Coelho. I was in awe of the beautiful poetry in the book, all penned by the author herself. 

This book is a guide to positivity and can help you focus on your chosen goal in life. Apart from those interested in spiritual readings and motivational books, I would highly recommend this book to students of philosophy and psychology.

Delighted to receive an autographed copy of
the book from the author :)

Europe Calling!

2014 has been tough. Dealing with the departure of loved ones never happens. Perhaps it takes a lifetime. There were some sparkles of joy amid the tough times. The European vacation was one such breath of fresh air. I am writing this post to keep an account of the fact that we made our first trip to Europe in 2014.

Trinity College, University of Oxford

We travelled to three destinations – London, Paris, and Switzerland over 13 days. Thanks to Kesari Travels for organizing such a wonderful tour and sending such an amazing tour manager like Mr. Kedar Billay with us. My mom always wanted to visit Switzerland and she was thrilled when we reached her dream destination. My husband on the other hand wanted to spend time loitering around the streets of Paris. He did it too. And I had my heart set on London - especially as I wanted to visit the University of Oxford.  Done :)

 

Inside Louvre Museum, Paris

Though it is difficult to choose between any of the three destinations, I would say I loved Switzerland the most. It may be because we spent the maximum number of days there.

While the Trafalgar Square in London is amazing and nothing beats the Paris Eiffel tower, Switzerland is like a dream. Heaven. I haven’t been to Kashmir but now I know what they call it the Kashmir of Europe. 

While we were on a cruise on Lake Geneva, the tour guide told us an interesting story that left me in awe. Am sure aspiring authors would be inspired by this story.

Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Story synopsis: Sometime in the 19th century, the famous P.B Shelley and his wife Mary were on a holiday with Lord Byron and his wife in Villa Diodati, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The weather was too stormy and none of them could go for any outdoor activity. Since they had no option but to stay inside the house, Lord Byron suggested that to keep boredom at bay, each of them write a horror story.  Nobody took Mary seriously as she was a novice amid the great literary stalwarts. Mary was just 19 and took up the challenge to pen her story on that rainy night.


Guess what story she came up with? She created Frankenstein. The rest is history.



Jungfraujoch, Switzerland

Surprisingly, all through this trip, I had my favourite author Paulo Coelho's new book 'Adultery' in mind. When will I get to read it, would it be better than his previous books... I had been wondering. The book had not yet been released in India at that time. I knew I would pick it up as soon as I was back in Mumbai. When I finally got hold of the book a couple of weeks back, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story is set in Geneva! Coelho also mentions about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein in this book!! Besides, currently, Coelho is residing in Geneva! It was a wonderful connect though I was a little upset that I didn't know he was in Geneva when I visited. I feel good thinking I breathed the same air he did for a day at least. Simple joys of life :)

I have to go back to Europe again – to explore the English countryside and spend some more time in London and Paris. Besides, I have always wanted to visit Eastern Europe. I want to travel there, live there, and just enjoy the coffee there.

Till then, I wish all my friends a Happy Mahalaya and a wonderfully fulfilling Durga Puja. May all your dreams come true. Stay blessed.

It's all about priorities!

More often than not, I have seen that the most successful and happy people are the ones who have got their priorities right. After all, life is all about priorities. Setting your goals, prioritising them, aligning them with activities and evaluating the results to see what you have achieved - that kind of sums it up.

Yes, there are those unplanned times when everything goes for a toss and dealing with the circumstance becomes your top priority. For instance, dealing with a sudden loss- death of a loved one, sudden health issues, natural calamity, robbery, infidelity, breach of trust and so on. Coping with the loss, accepting it and springing back to normal takes enormous strength and is time consuming. But it has to be done - nonetheless.

Coming back to planned priorities - I believe each one of us can lead a healthy, happy and successful life by setting our priorities right. Making a decision always makes life peaceful. Setting priorities help in the decision making process too. So when you have a goal and some other peripheral springs up, your top priority irons out your indecisiveness and enables you to make a just decision. For me at least, setting priorities help me decide better.

Sometimes when we are at the crossroads and suddenly have too many things on our plate - we tend to get swayed by the most attractive item on the platter. We look at it as an attractive opportunity and grab it without much thought. However a little later, we realize that in our sudden zest to conquer something we never wanted to, we have neglected the dream that we have cherished for years. We don't even realize when this 'back up' or 'stop-gap' became our life and when we lost track of our 'top priority'. When realization dawns on us, there is resentment and regret. Sometimes, it becomes too late to restart work on the goal we had set for ourself 'once upon a time'. Under these circumstances people tend to get into a depression.

So - the rule is quiet simple. If you have a dream- dont lose sight of it. In my latest favorite book #Manuscript Found in Accra, Paulo Coelho sums it up beautifully. He says, when you are running towards your dream, it is also running towards you and is equally excited to meet you. So, if you love your dream, keep running. If you stop, it will stop coming towards you too. In The Alchemist, there was a further elaboration of this thought. It said, when you really want something, you get signs that show you the path towards it. We call these omens. However, if you keep neglecting them or postponing them thinking you will do them later - after a while they stop appearing. The signs vanish and suddenly you realize after y-e-a-r-s

that you never found the time to do what you always wanted to do. That's because you never had the time to set your priorities.

If love and family is your top priority - ensure you have the time and the intent to do all that you have always wanted to do for a loved one. The most important thing here being- spending time with them and loving them.

If a particular career option is on your priority list - make it happen. Don't subdue it and force it to subjugate under a backup career. Sometimes, taking a RISK is the best decision to make.

It is always good to have a second career option in mind. But sometimes it is dangerous too. Why

dangerous? Because it has a tremendous pull - a pull that can take you away from your top priority. Don't let it happen. If it helps, write down your priorities somewhere. Everyday, just look at them once. It will help you stay focused. It is helping me :)

Good luck to everyone who has a dream and a priority plan to make it happen.

Been a while...

It's been a while since I have written here- in my space. Life has been good and there is no dearth of topics to write about! Yet, every time I open the New Post page, I close it after a while thinking there is nothing meaningful to write about. This has been going on for over a month now. I just realized, I have unnecessarily been curbing my 'want' to write.

When we write, we don't always write about one topic. There is always so much going on in the mind. With the rate of gruesome crimes committed in India going up every hour, it is disheartening to read the newspapers every morning. Today, we have more like-minded compassionate people who take up causes and live by them. I am positive about a better society in the days to come.

On the self front, there is work to finish at office and home, there is right writing to do, there is the Indian Premier League (IPL) to watch and get ovetly emotional at the end of every match! And of course, when you get to snatch time for things you want to do - there is that one good book you want to curl up with before calling it a day. For me, off late - that book happens to be 'Manuscript Found in Accra' by my all time favorite author Paulo Coelho.

I read the book early this month on a flight. I got engrossed and finished it at one go- all in two hours. But since then, I have re-read the book at least 10-12 times. I have pages and paragraphs underlined that I have read again and again. This is definitely not the first time I did this! It started with 'The Alchemist' days. I read Alchemist in 2003 and loved it. I picked up some more Paulo Coelho titles- and kind of got addicted to his books. 'By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept' is straight from the heart and I love the book too much! Simple writing - yet so compelling, so moving. You cannot help but get completely absorbed in the book. I also liked 'Veronica Decides to Die'. And of course, 'Brida' was an instant favorite a couple of years back. I can go on and on about Coelho's books and writing. When I read him, I want to visit Brazil and someday- hope to read his original work in Brazilian. If the translated writings in English are so enticing, I wonder how beautiful the original must be. The people- the places he talks about in his books- I want to visit them. Traveling round the world and staying in East Europe or in Bali, or maybe amid the bountiful nature in our very own Manali... it would be so joyful to reside in these places for a while and write to your heart's content.

For all the honesty and the simplicity in expression - I can connect with Coelho's books instantly. His quotes always have a way of finding a place in my heart. Most of these are timeless... immortal.

If you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it - this line from The Alchemist has changed people's lives. It continues to motivate people to pursue their dreams and realize them.

Writers are dreamers and dreamers make things happen :)