Flashback to my world that was governed by the three demons of corporate life: power, pseudo-intellect and pride (in the ‘arrogant’ sense). Fancy titles. Indulgent tags. Egos. Survival. Insecurity. Fleeting emblems of success. Dance with frivolity. Slander of the more blessed. All this and more compelled me one day to look at another way of being.
And in the manic world of media and entertainment where you are slapped with rejections, high octane emotions and the volatile temperaments, it became more and more imperative to be able to find some way to cope.
A way that would ring more authentic than this ‘superficial package’. Was it possible?
In a structured world where ‘being popular’, ‘hanging out at the right places’, ‘networking’ meant ‘you have arrived’, was there a tool that enabled one to just ‘breathe easy?’ So was it possible to be within the chaos and yet be still?
I questioned as I carried on a verbal WhatsApp war with a colleague—minus the glory and the medals of course!
The truth is that in the mad race for corporate success, I was becoming a person I didn’t like. That was not me. And the me-ness led me to search for tools that would enable me to find myself again.
Cut to me opening Gary Zukav’s book The Seat of the Soul that changed my perspective of who I really was. And all the drama that I was engaged in dropped and plunged into the abyss of meaninglessness. I began the search that led me like a sponge through various spiritual modalities. Whether it was Reiki, transcendental meditation, Sudarshan Kriya, the Lotus Sutra or mentors and tools, they all led to one goal: raising consciousness and the how was in going inward. Meditation then became an integral part of my daily life.
Staring and engaging endlessly with my inseparable phone—iPhone 6S inspired me that day to devise my life’s model—The 6S model for living—Silence, Serenity, Stimulation, Service, Sympathy, Synchronicity.
Cut to the power of now.
My morning begins with a feeling of gratitude—for everything around me—my environment, my body and mind. And an affirmation: “All of life comes to me with joy, ease and glory”. It’s a tool that I have learnt in my spiritual journey that sparks off a vibe of positivity, inviting the forces to work with me rather than against.
Having filled my inner reservoir with gratitude, it’s the time to feel that inner silence. Meditation centres me and allows me to connect with the most important person: the self. It’s important to first get social with the self, to feel the serenity within.
Meanwhile, the tweets and posts wait. I move on then to energising myself with some physical workout regime and food for thought. And then some EQ (emotional quotient) with my pet beagle who has been the greatest destressing tool and also the greatest teacher in the most fundamental life lessons: happiness and unconditional love. He helps me unplug and connect with a more gratifying part of life. True stimulation.
After having recharged my body and mind, it’s time to take the smart aid of the phone in connecting with the outer world. It’s my work companion, but I don’t allow it to rule me.
As I go about my work, interacting with ideas, people and situations, I remind myself to be of ‘service’ to anyone who may need me.
That goes beyond the JD (job description) of course. But it is my soul’s KRA (key responsibility areas) to be of some use and make a difference however minuscule to another. Nothing could bring greater joy.
And of course, using the greatest tool of all—listening. That to me is the real definition of sympathy—being able to listen with the heart, not the ears.
Technology is slowly eroding that emotion, but I make a conscious attempt to unplug. Now when in conversation with another, I always look up.
That has been a determination ever since I noticed the first signs of addiction—I once had someone say: “You are not just looking down all the time, you are looking down on life and the human being in front of you!” That was my lesson in cultivating regard for the human being. Delivered by the greatest master—life.
Fortunately having been schooled in one spiritual modality after another, I have developed a healthy detachment. I can zoom out whenever I feel I am getting sucked into the vacuum of negativity—either by someone’s tweet or opinion or absence of ‘like’. That has never bothered me.
In fact, the more I zoom out, the more I feel the events orchestrate in my space with such effortless harmony—call it synchronicity. It’s like the universe conspiring to meet my desires—however clichéd that may sound.
Now, I enjoy my work, being one with it and blank out everything else. For me, that’s a ‘working meditation’ that is more orgasmic than the seduction of success.
So yes, the 6S model has given my life a different POV! Besides the other side-effects like joy, creativity and freedom.