I'm a Global Change Maker
It was truly an honor to be
invited by the National Central University (NCU) to conduct two workshops at
their 2017 Global Change Maker Youth Camp to inspire and empower the students
to engage in Social Entrepreneurship.
The two workshops that I
conducted were “Be Super Positive” and “Discover Your Life Purpose”. I really
had a wonderful time interacting with such an enthusiastic group of students.
About the Workshop
Today, we are
facing a population explosion, climate crisis, lack of resources, inflation,
increased competition, and a lack of integrity. Many of our corporate and
government leaders are only interested in their personal agendas and do not
care about the well being of society.
During these
times of confusion, turmoil, distress, and chaos, the role of a leader is
crucial to restore calm, order, and confidence in society. Expecting the
leaders of our countries to restore confidence has clearly shown to be a
failure.
Therefore, it
is up to us as individuals to unleash the leadership traits within us and
transform the future generation and ourselves.
This is a
double-session workshop that will unleash the leader within you.
Session 1: Be Super Positive
Duration (50 minutes)
Master your
thoughts, emotions, and energy to manifest the life that you truly desire and
deserve.
In this session you will learn:
·
The benefits of being Super
positive
·
Three energies that determine
your positivity
·
Four types of thoughts and
how to manage them
·
The effects of seven major
emotions
·
Technique to instantly clear
unhealthy emotions
·
Technique to enhance positive
emotions
·
Tips to avoid negativity
within and around you
·
The power of purpose
·
Q&A and much more…
Session 2: Discover Your Life Purpose
Duration (50 minutes)
In this session you will learn:
·
Evaluate the different
aspects of your life
·
Create the New You
·
Move form Motivation to
Inspiration
·
Ask yourself empowering
questions
·
Group breakout session to
discover passion and purpose
·
Group sharing and discussion
Categories: About Dino , Courses , Empowerment , Leadership , Life Coaching , Watch and Learn , Workshops
Why Do Good People Suffer?
Before you continue reading the rest of this article, I would like to invite you to ask yourself this question “why do good people suffer?” and then pause for a moment. Allow the answer to emerge from within you. The answer you get is what you believe.
When I was around the age of 13, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes with a dangerously high sugar level of 700+. I remember that after my soccer practice, my Dad came into the classroom to ask the teacher for a leave, as I needed to be hospitalized for a few days. At the time, I had no idea about the intensity of my “sickness”, and I was just happy that I would get a holiday from school for a few days.
The first two days in the hospital weren’t too bad; just a few pricks of the needle didn’t bother me. Although, I did enjoy all the attention I was getting as my friends came to visit and brought me flowers. Of course, in addition to their flowers each friend and family brought me a piece of their advice, and said they would not offer me chocolates again.
However, one guest decided to bring me a book called “Why do good people suffer?” Up to that point, I had no idea that I was suffering, or was going to suffer in anyway. But, since I was only 13 years old and was enjoying my time away from school, I really did not pay much attention to that book. In fact, even today, decades later I never read it. Why didn’t I read it? Because I did not need to, since my friends, family, society, and religion all gave me the same answer. Karma.
Today, I want to shed some light on this question “why do good people suffer”, not based on any religious views or other peoples opinions, but based on my introspection, or inner reflection.
I was raised with the belief that either we enjoy or suffer based on our karmic deeds. It’s that simple, do good, and good will return to you. But what happens when you have no idea why you were born with a disability, or you become sick for no reason? The answer your religion will give you might be something like “it’s residue from the past life”. Can that be proven or is it just an answer to satisfy oneself?
The truth is that very few people have experienced their past lives in states of meditation or dreams, so for a majority of the people, they have accepted a reason for this suffering which they cannot prove.
Another perspective of Karma is that it’s not designed to punish the soul based on its negative actions. It simply teaches the soul that some actions can cause pain and suffering; and in the future, the soul should choose to act positively. Through the lessons taught by negative karma, one can gain wisdom, and cultivate love, compassion, and a sense of unity.
Again, this is also just a perspective, which cannot be proven until one goes into deep meditation. Therefore, if you have decided to accept a philosophy of karma, I would like to invite you to adopt a different philosophy, at least one that serves you.
The reason I’m inviting you to change your belief about why people suffer is because if you believe that you are suffering due to negative karma, you will experience a victim mindset. You will blame karma for the situations of life, and will take very little action. In addition, you may harbor negative thoughts about yourself and life in general.
So, when you experience an unfavorable situation, instead of asking the question “why did this happen to me?” which often the answer will almost always be “karma”, ask yourself these questions:
- What can I learn from this situation?
- What is trying to emerge from me?
- Who can I become based on what I learn from this situation?
- What is trying to emerge from me?
- Who can I become based on what I learn from this situation?
And the most powerful questions that I ask myself are:
- How can I turn these wounds into wisdom?
- What suppressed emotions are surfacing?
- What suppressed emotions are surfacing?
If you ask yourself the above questions, you will rise above the victim mindset, and you will seek to find the blessing in your pain. Remember, fate is what happens to you, but your destiny is what you make of it.
Today, at the age of 36, my body is still diabetic and my vision is low. But, I have never been happier, simply because I changed my beliefs and started asking the question “Why Not Me?” instead of “Why Me?”
As I conclude, I would like to share a quick example of this belief. Most people would consider my situation (low-vision) as a tragedy. But, after I surrendered to the Universe, I realized that it is more of a gift. I have gained such profound experiences in the past 6 years, that if I had a choice I would maintain the low-vision, simply for my consciousness to keep expanding, as well as actually feeling and “recognizing” the grace in my life. Whenever I do feel low or helpless, I ask myself, is it better to walk alone in the light, or walk with the Divine in the dark?
Ultimately, how you feel and the rate at which you heal depends on what you believe is the reason for your challenge. From now onwards, I invite you to search for the blessing and wisdom that the challenge has brought into your life.
Categories: About Dino , Empowerment , Healing , Health , Inner Thoughts , Leadership , Spirituality
Why Did Shirdi Sai Baba Push Me Away?
For those of you who personally know me or who
have read a few of my articles would know that I always share my experiences,
miracles, interactions (dream and awake) especially about Shridi Sai Baba.
I was raised in a very religious family. The
temple in our house looked like a shop where we displayed all the deities as
statues, pictures, and calendars, along with their holy books. As a young child
this was extremely confusing for me, as I did not know whom to pray to. So, I
was taught that I should pray to all of them. Like an obedient child after my
shower every morning, I paid my respects by touching the pictures without any
intention, simply not to disrespect any of the deities.
Once I started encountering challenges in life,
I was encouraged to pray more. Chanting, singing, reading the holy texts, and
visiting temples became mandatory, because I must please the deities, and in
turn they would bless me and “forgive” my sins.
However, this did not satisfy me because I did
not feel the blessings pouring down upon me. And when I would ask my parents or
Gurus why not, they would say have faith and patience. It seemed to me that
they did not know the answer, and were just stalling me. So, I wanted to talk
to God directly. No one in my family had ever communicated with God directly,
it was always through some deity or Guru. I felt a resonance with Shirdi Sai
Baba, so I figured that He would be my bridge to God.
This was the first time in my life I felt that I was
communicating with God. I did not chant His name or read His scriptures back to
Him. All I did was talk to Him as if I was speaking with my father or my best
friend. I poured my heart out to Him, and questioned every belief that I was
raised with. It was only a matter of days later that I started receiving my
answers. The biggest misconception I had was that I was being punished for my
partial vision loss. I was visited in a dream by Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba,
and was told that I had to go through these challenges, and that they were
holding my hand at every step of the way. This was extremely comforting and
insightful. Since then, I have had numerous interactions with beings of higher
consciousness and gained insights that have transformed my life.
However, today I want to share with you something a little
different, although, this may not resonate with the belief system that you were
raised with. Therefore, please understand that my intention is never to change
your belief, but to simply offer you another perspective.
Even though my connection with Shirdi Sai Baba is very strong,
for a short period of time, I felt that he was pushing me away from him. I
could not understand why. Without a doubt he was always on my mind, but I did
not get any attractions of cravings to read his Holy text or to chant his name.
Although, I would always bow down in front of his statue, there wasn’t a
feeling that I was bowing down to God. It was more like greeting my best friend
or father. In fact, very few people know this, but I even have a nickname for
him, I refer to him as “Babz”.
Initially, my parents would become upset about this because I
was so called “dis-respecting” their Shirdi Sai Baba, or should I say my
“Babz”. But, consider this for a moment, don’t we have nicknames for the
friends and family that we love? Overtime, I guess they realized this, and now
my mom also sometimes calls Shridi Sai Baba, Babz, our Babz.
So, why was my “Babz” pushing me away from him, or was this only
my perception? After all, who could answer that question besides my Babz? As I meditated
on this, the answer I received was “Don’t seek me outside of you.”
Now, many of us believe or say that we believe that God is
within us? But allow me to ask you this question, do you truly believe that in
every part of your being, or is in just in your head? For me, at that time,
“God is within me” was only cognitive, meaning just in my head.
I realized that this was the reason that Shirdi Sai Baba, or my
Babz was pushing me away. He wanted me to discover him within myself, truly
within my being, not simply in my head. As this happened, I remembered one of
his quotes which said “either I AM in you, or you are in you”. This gave me
another realization that if I wanted to fully experience Shridi Sai Baba, “I”
or who I believe “I” am must get out of the way.
From that day onwards, the way I started to pray was completely
different. I would not pray for blessings or grace to come from outside of me,
or any higher power. Instead, I would pray for the strength to get out of the
way and be receptive to guidance. Now, I feel that I’m becoming a better
instrument of the Divine each day, while allowing the music to play through me.
Of course, although the musician (the Divine) is perfect, this instrument (myself)
isn’t. This means that I have a tremendous amount of inner work to do, in order
to become a graceful instrument for the Divine.
As I discussed earlier in this article, my intention is not to
change your belief. However, I invite you to discover this level of
consciousness for yourself. If you continue to believe that God is outside of
you, then you will also believe that happiness, peace, and grace our outside of
you. When you believe that God or Divinity is within you, then everything that
you believe that the Divine represents, such as bliss, grace, forgiveness, etc.
will be created from within you.
So, Shirdi Sai Baba did push me away, but it was for me to discover
Him within myself. Today he is so deep within me there is absolutely no
separation. This has offered me so much inner peace, clarity, strength, and
courage to speak the truth regardless of what people may think of me. This
feeling is what I truly call Freedom.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is
hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt,
faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where
there is sadness, joy.” – St. Francis of Assisi
Categories: About Dino , Bliss with Sai , Dreams , Empowerment , Faith , Shirdi Sai Baba , Wisdom
The Gratitude Walk
One of the greatest benefits of being a Mind Transformation
Coach is that in order to help my clients transform their lives I must have the
courage to transform my own life first. This means that I must explore the
depths within my being and test out any tools and techniques on myself before
sharing them.
I am silently, yet constantly exploring these depths, and
I’ve noticed that the deeper I go, the more fascinated I become about myself.
Instead of this leading to arrogance of knowledge, it leads to humility, and a
sense of wonder. Because the more I learn, the more I realize how little I
know, and this sets me off on an even deeper journey of self-discovery and
exploration.
I do not share many of these insights in my articles because
they are fairly deep, although I do share the simple ones, which the readers can
adopt into their lives.
Recently, my dreams have been guiding me towards exploring
the idea of oneness. I do not know the reason for this, but whenever I get a
message in my dreams, I always follow it. So, as I set off on my early morning
walk, I set my intention on oneness, even though I had no idea what it was. I
simply walked with my highest level of mindfulness or awareness for three days.
That’s for about an hour each day, I did not walk for three days straight.
By the third day, as I embodied the sense of mindful walking,
it triggered a sense of gratitude and oneness for all that I could perceive. I
noticed that my level of awareness was raised to such a point, which would be
so difficult to describe in words. The only way I could express it is through
the words of the Persian poet Rumi where he writes, “witness the blessing
dropping their blossoms around you”.
This experience was so wonderful that I simply wanted to
hold on to it as my consciousness kept on shifting from the experiencer to the
experience and back. Whenever I would experience 100% presence, my mind would
jump back into experiencer-mode. For example, as I looked at the blade of grass
near the bench I was about to sit on, I felt a sense of oneness with the grass,
there seemed to be no separation. I realized that the grass, air, earth,
sunshine, the people passing by, the singing of the birds, the sounds of the
traffic, and everything else that was happening at that very moment was one
with me. The moment that I acknowledge this oneness with creation, I bounced
out of experience-mode to experiencer-mode, where I was now the witness of this
creation. I started to enjoy this fascination and started to play around with
this idea of experiencer and experience.
This was very similar to my experiences of meditation and
lucid dreaming where I am a witness to my thoughts, emotions, body, and dream
interactions. This is why witnessing is expressed in terms of the meditator
being the sky, and the thoughts and emotions being the clouds. The meditator
experiences oneself as the sky, simply without judgment observing the clouds
passing by. However, the difference is that now, I was not experiencing this in
a state of meditation or dreams, but in wakefulness, or could I say almost
full-wakefulness?
I would like to share a technique that you could easily
adopt so that you can experience a sense of oneness that is right for you. For
the next three days, I would like to invite you to make a commitment to
yourself – it’s called the “Gratitude Walk”.
Set aside 15-20 minutes for the next three days, preferably
at the same time each day. Also choose to walk down the same road each day.
Before you start your walk, set an intention that you will walk with “absolute
gratitude and mindfulness”. This intention will program your mind to focus on your
intention for the next 15-20 minutes. As you walk, observe life around you with
a sense of wonder and gratitude. You will suddenly notice objects, places,
trees, etc. that you’ve never noticed before, even though you’ve walked on that
path many times.
For example, as I walked with mindfulness and gratitude, I
noticed fire hydrants that I had never seen. As I passed by these fire
hydrants, I felt a sense of gratitude. After all, if there is ever a fire in a
building; the fire hydrant would be responsible for saving so many lives. All I
could say was “Thank you fire hydrant”. In the same manner, there was so much
more that I noticed during this walk, which I was never grateful for before.
Ultimately, whether you experience a similar sense of
oneness like I did or not, you will benefit from the positive energy that you
gain from the Gratitude Walk. Although, I am sure that if you continue this
practice of the Gratitude Walk for a few weeks, you will have an experience
that is far beyond your imagination, yet just right for you.
Finally, I would like to empower you with the powerful words
of Rumi – “wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your
life”.
Categories: About Dino , Appreciation , Empowerment , Faith , Mindfulness , Quick Wisdom , Spirituality , Wisdom
Passion & Purpose Talk
It was an honor to be invited to the English Speech Contest of the University students in Taiwan, which was hosted by the Rotary Club of Taipei at the Taipei European School.
I gave a 40-minute inspirational talk to the students and guests about how to “Create a Life of Passion & Purpose”. I had a wonderful time presenting my talk as well as a thought-provoking Q&A session with the audience.
I gave a 40-minute inspirational talk to the students and guests about how to “Create a Life of Passion & Purpose”. I had a wonderful time presenting my talk as well as a thought-provoking Q&A session with the audience.
Categories: About Dino , Empowerment , Leadership , Life Coaching , Wisdom , Workshops