Sunday, May 30, 2010

Are you with the right MATE ??

Tensions and stress…arguments to perpetual nagging from elders…you get everything if you are of a marriageable age and not married. Tough questions like – Are you waiting for mesmerizing Gerard (Read: Gerard Butler) or angelic Kim (Read: Kim Kardashian)? Guess you have some magic wand with age defying miracles? So you believe in celibacy? Are you normal or there is recent radical transition in your interests towards a gender? From emotional melodrama to ground realities, you go through everything almost every day. Then comes turn of suggestions, why don’t you find someone nice and fall in love, I can help you meet someone really good, I know of a nice girl in my relation, he is our family friend’s son…and the list goes on. As human beings we all want a relationship but paranoid of the fact that I may end up being with the wrong partner.

We all want to fall in love and get blessed with a blissful life with our partner but have lot of apprehensions about this love relationship. A Relationship that will make us feel that we are loved to the core. I believe every relationship has a cycle...In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You understand, know, become friends and get mushy with. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "He swept me of my feet" or “She drives me wild and crazy”. Now, picture this expression, it implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then somebody pulled the ground below your feet or I am a disguised lunatic when she is around (PUN intended). If you have ever fallen in love you would agree that falling in love is spontaneous. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades away. It's a natural cycle of every relationship. Gradually sweet cute ever elating whispers of your spouse would intensify into endless yap, driving you nuts. Most certainly, I would agree that there is a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much subtle or even intolerable subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start introspecting, "Am I with the right mate?"

And as you reflect on the fairy tale of love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when relationships breakdown. People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. But the answer to this dilemma does not lie outside your relationship. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could and TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few months/years later, because the key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found. Like falling in love, sustaining and building love is not a spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It squeezes of your time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it. It is a compound total of emotional, spiritual and physical intimacy which can only be felt and not tangibly expressed. Love is NOT a mystery. Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know and apply these laws, the results are predictable. Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Almighty determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let GO!!

Yes, I am on a qui vive now !!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A brush with … 3 Angels

Throughout history angels have inspired poets, artists, writers, prophets and all of us in some way or the other. Angels are associated with great nature, joy, beauty, fulfillment, laughter and peace. So today what happened was no different, an inspiration from not just one but three angels (The NATURE angel, the WILD angel and the PRACTICAL angel)…A brush with... 3 Angels.

When I was young and dependent on my mum for the lullaby to doze off, I use to often hear that angels are creations of God, the Divine Creator. Angels are celestial beings of a higher vibration and warmth level. They are loving, kind, gentle and wise. Today my knowledge domino makes me believe that Angels who I have met, follow a very important law, that of Free Will...a staunch believe in who they are …a law of being BINDAAS.

An average Saturday, some small time chores and never did I realize that I’ll get my way through to 3 angels … beaming with contagious energy, having best of time in each other’s company and exchanging choicest of humor, gossip and in vogue trends. Pronto I thought that for a lazy bum like me it was a fresh blow of oxygen. You need not wreck yourself too much to figure out how I discovered the angels in my life. Though the numbers of occurrences of angelic visitations is plenty in my life (ya right!!!) still there are different ways to tell if you are in the presence of an angel. Often the pure scent of flowers accompanies their presence. Sometimes an angel will announce its presence with a slight breeze even if all the windows are closed. The breeze is the flutter of angel wings (read: warmth). Sometimes you’ll hear the faint sound of bells or chimes or trumpets (even though nothing like that exists miles away physically). The most common way to tell if you are in the presence of angels is by the warm wave of love that washes over you. Like a leaf falling softly on the still pool of our consciousness we will recognize their presence. Too philosophical, so who inspired me to be this philosophical, well they are my Nature Angel, Wild Angel and Practical Angel.

The Nature angel is sensuous and very close to nature, but at first glance she's every man's grade school valentine. I might as well admit that she is like the modern, emancipated woman, with her cast-iron image. She is eter­nally feminine in all seasons. At the risk of making an un­derstatement, men are drawn to her like bumblebees to a honey pot. Almost all the times she is delightfully vague, dreamy and womanly; adapts beautifully and quietly to conflicting situations that would turn other women into nervous Nellies. She's terribly sentimental, and when her feelings are wounded she can cry buckets and feel that she is hopelessly unequipped for the fierce battles and driving ambition re­quired to survive. She is all girl, one hundred per­cent.

Wild angel has deep, mysterious beauty. She's magnetic, proud and totally confident. She certainly has enough glamour and she's enormously seductive. It's just that, unconsciously, she would prefer to be a man; Less restriction-more oppor­tunity. She is no kitten rather a human X-ray machine. Unless you mean business, you're wasting her time. I'm well aware that this dangerous femme fatale can hide her power of retaliation with a tremulous smile, gentle mannerisms, and the most breathless voice. There's a private part of life to this angel you'll never touch, a part of her mind and soul that belongs strictly to her, and there's absolutely no trespassing there. No relation should be disturbing her secret individuality. She can be overbearing and domineering, sarcastic and frigid- then turn as hot as an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. One thing you can be sure of- she's never wishy-washy.

Razor sharp features, pleasant smile and a practical outlook towards life is how is would like to define my last but not the least angel, The Practical angel. You have very little chance to escape, once her eyes meet yours. She looks for ambition and courage. A high degree of intelligence is required to match her own excellent mind, more than a passing acquaintance with abstract and philosophical wisdom. She's brimming over inside with passion, though it's kept under rigid control by a poised, frosty attitude toward strangers ‘coz she is very practical. She's never just slightly interested or casual. Her dignity in human relation­ships can make her seem aloof and snobbish as she is highly selective in friendships. They'll keep the worthy companions through an entire lifetime, and freeze the shallow, the common or the unworthy. There's an immense store of perseverance and determination buried in the nature of this angel. She obeys one law…her own law.

While introspecting how my life have been touched, I figured out that these angels are heavenly. They made me affirm my belief that angels are so close to all of us, they are just like us yet full of conviction, being there selves and bindaas. If their faces shine with unearthly light, it is because they are filled with that one Light. A light called charismatic divine.

Expect a miracle. Expect an angel.

By - Vikram Singh
(inspired by 3 girlies )

Monday, November 30, 2009

Robots are from Mars and Dolls are from Venus

Undoubtedly, I strongly believe Robots are from Mars and Dolls are from Venus.
On popular request of some of my follower friends I thought of taking plunge on this ironically sensitive topic. Needless to say I have greatly admired the studies of John Gray's series Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus but I have a different perspective --- I think both are from planet earth the only way they could ideally be separated is by saying that Robots are from Mars and Dolls are from Venus (read : when the men are on their ulterior self and women on their beautiful self or vice versa)

People have behavioral patterns. Those patterns are unique for each of us. I agree that some patterns too intense and could be a reason to behave in a particular way but trust me most of human beings would behave in the same way, in a given situation irrespective of their gender. Men and women both get profoundly disturbed by rejection, disapproval, or feeling alone and abandoned. ‘Women are more caring’ -- does that mean that men aren't caring? That's offensive to me. Guys can have a need to share their feelings as much as women have an occasional need to hide in their cocoon. Although men and women value love equally and place the same emphasis and importance on finding and sustaining a close union, there is generally a difference in the way they relate to intimacy.

The intriguing clash between men and women is always present. Men continue to dance between the desire for autonomy and the desire for intimacy. Women continue to seek affirmations of intimacy. A woman's bonding zone, the position where she feels comfortable and fulfilled, is very close to 100% attached. Men alternate between a wish for attachment and a wish for separateness. They feel most comfortable and willing to bond in the middle; they want to be between separated and attached. When men reach a state of attachment, they experience anxieties about engulfment and weakness. Conversely, when they move too far in the direction of separateness, they begin to feel subtle but nagging fears about abandonment, isolation, and aloneness. "When you compare this with women's ideal zone for bonding, it becomes clear that there is a built-in clash between what women want and what men want."

"We may mistakenly believe that differences exist only during the early stages of love and that with sufficient caring, trust, and time we eventually will become one with our lover and will experience no more conflict." It won't happen. So the bad news is that "Love with a capital L" will not magically alter. However, "Love" doesn’t simply materialize. It gets its own contours by all life's experiences. So the good news is that if "Love" is learned, it can be changed. It is possible to understand the differences between men and women and then learn to deal with them. Men need recreation in order to relax. Women need loyalty in order to feel secure. Both need their own interests but they also need interests that overlap. They need playtime together. Both need their own space and privacy but they also need to come together and support each other. He needs a lot of recreational time together. She needs the support and loyalty that makes her feel secure.
When a woman usually goes her way while a man usually goes his way, the "ways" often part. When he does not support her, she may look for security elsewhere. When she doesn't act as a recreational companion, he may look for a playmate elsewhere.

But if books advocating the notion of gender differences are so not believable then why do they sell like hot pan cakes? "People like to hold on to their conventional thought process because they make life efficient. "If you can look at a man or woman and not have to understand them or decide anything about them, but instead just apply a kind of shorthand to them, then it makes life easier for you." I think it is less to do with gender and more to do with your personality. It's a great thing to realize that everyone doesn't think like you, but that it's not because they're a man or a woman, it's because they're human.
Understanding the opposite gender means understanding that gender differences, intimacy factor, attached and separate, gender roles and gender correctness are magnified by relationships. Both genders are important to nurture life in this universe and hence my reasoning in favor of both Robots and Dolls.

Why it is great to be a man!
· A 5 day vacation requires only one suitcase
· You can open all your own jars
· When clicking thru the channels you don't have to stop on every shot of someone crying
· People never glance at your chest when you're talking to them
· You don't have to lug a bag of "necessary" items with you everywhere you go
· Your last name stays put
· You can be showered and ready in 10 minutes
· The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades
· You don't have to curl up next to some big, hairy guy every night
· If you're 34 and single, no one notices
· Chocolate is just another snack
· You never have to miss a sexual opportunity because you're not in the mood
· You can buy condoms without the shopkeeper imagining you naked
· You need not pretend you're "freshening up" when you go to the bathroom
· You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt
· You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes

Why it is great to be a woman!
· A simple "smile" may add divine value to guy’s stupid one-liners.
· You can have shoes of different heights
· The bedroom is yours, the living and dining rooms are yours.. infact the whole house is yours
· If you said : "I love my mother" no one thinks it sissy
· If you said : "I love my father" no one thinks you have homosexual tendencies.
· When you cause driving accidents, no one beats you up.
· My mind not only wanders, it sometime leaves completely…short term memory loss.
· I know what Victoria's Secret is. The secret is that nobody older than 40 can fit into their stuff.
· We pout better (those puppy dog eyes always work!)
· We always get to choose the movie
· Men unlock our side of the car first - a real bonus when its cold
· PMS is a legal defense for murder
· 2 words- multi orgasmic…I wonder if any guy doesn’t know
· Sweat is sexy on us
· We have a higher tolerance to pain
· We don’t have excessive amounts of body hair …exceptions exist though
· We can throw a punch at a man and not get hit in return
· Women smell better
· Women make their boyfriends mad, we don't have to waste money on flowers or cards - a good 'make out' fixes all
· When women are short, we're petite, when men are short, there are dwarf
· Last but not the least, just a simple yup..yup..yup is enough to drive a man crazy

By:-
Vikram S Bhatia

Monday, April 20, 2009

Know your Balls !!!

Yeah….i know it is cricket season…and most of you would be glued to the idiot box trying to know the in’s and out’s of each ball in IPL season. Though I am not an avid cricket buff but the sheer engagement of the masses to this game gives me a bloody rush. While looking at one of the high performance bouts I did some introspection on something which influences our life’s more than that ….our body language. Like in cricket once the ball is released, the trajectory of the ball is influenced by all of the nuances of bowler’s stance, approach, aggression, intention, contact and follow through because they are all connected in one swift motion. Similarly, each interaction we engage in conveys a different body language which is a function (read balls) of facial expressions, verbal tone and the words we choose.
We’ve all heard the saying “Never bet against the person with passion.” Similarly, even the most skillfully worded communication falls flat without the key ingredient of positive body language. All of us on an average have atleast ten interactions in a day in our lives; each interaction creates a new file folder in our brains where a new file lands in one of the folders …a good interaction or a bad interaction folder. Many times we begin to enter into the interactions based on the beliefs formed from our previous experience however the in true sense the resultant consequence of an interaction is based on our own body language in an interaction.
As a spouse we ignore or become incensed by transgressions depending on whether we believe the bodylanguage. Think of a time when a friend behaved in a way that appeared insensitive or inconsiderate. Did you give her the benefit of the doubt? Why or why not? Our body language shapes our world just as the presence or absence of follow through influences the flight of a ball that has been released by the bowler.
If you engage with positive body language as the starting point, you can concentrate on getting the desired outcomes. Listen actively to the other person’s viewpoint. In most conversations we focus on getting to the answer instead of really understanding the other points of view or truly clarifying our own. When you understand where someone is coming from, you can perhaps find common ground to begin a neutral conversation that can progress in a healthy way rather than indulging in the “ain’t it awfuls” or finger pointing interactions.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

“Don’t hate the player hate the game”

Ever wonder why our perceptions about people their deeds and actions make us opinioned about them..opinions which don’t take time turning into a perception and gradually we start believing that it is for real. How many times do we think that we are holding a brutal ego evolving ourselves to be egoistic in our approach to relationships close to our heart? An approach which breaks those tender hooks which binds us together in beautiful relationships as individuals, we tend to ignore THEM who were in the past our lifelines. In most of the instances when people tell me Perception is reality…I disagree ‘coz I believe it’s the big daddy Super Ego which has crucified our sense of thinking, behaving and conditioning to a situation..no wonder Ego in our interpersonal transactions blankets our approach towards other beings and life in general morphing a perception which is really not us. An interpersonal interaction minus ego would give a different perception as compared to one with ego serving royally. So how can we say that perception is a reality when it is engulfed with fine prints of EGO, it’s the EGO which is the culprit. It is not the small player Perception but the big game called EGO.As a mature human being (read soul) what is expected out of us is that we must relinquish control. We should shrink our ego and concentrate on our altruism, a feat difficult in present world but certainly not impossible. Who likes to be called egoistic, who wants to be known as snob, you may portray a picture but your true conscious may mirror an altogether different…could be your flamboyant lifestyle which is pleasing to many and abrasive to many concerned.
But all ego’s are not bad… ever heard of a term “Positive ego”…(trust me I have not coined it). It’s about that fire which you need in whatever work we do. It is all about that balance in life. It is about being simple and egoistic and not simple or egoistic. Extremism is never good, you tend to get exploited or made an outcast.As they rightly say personas evolve and get crafted with experiences of life, patches of life display footprints of your interactions with life and viola.. you would be able to nurture a new self in urself ..atleast kick start the initial crafting to become somebody…somebody great and admired by all.
"It is difficult to be simple" and "One who has mastered that art is the real winner"

By - Vikram Singh Bhatia