Bonjour my Beauties, here is a post I've been wanting to write for a along time and I've finally taken the time to do it with a peaceful mind while attending my brother's wedding in France, and spending time with my family and friends.
A little note before I start, this is purely from my personal experiences, I believe everyone has their own path. I simply wanted to share mine and hopefully inspire other's through my fashion blog.
Let me start from the beginning, I was brought up in France by Indian parents that immigrated from Gujarat, India. They are Hindu which is the religion I grew up with. My parents made the effort to expose us and educate us as much as they could about Hinduism. Hinduism has so much depth and is very beautiful. As a curious person, I've always asked questions about the different rituals and for some reasons I did not develop a very deep connection, though I always try to keep an open mind.
When I first met my husband, he and his family exposed me to a form of spirituality. To be honest, I first thought it was some kind sect and after sharing my thoughts with him he told me this: "Sects and religions preach from the outside in...and there are very good messages...But this spiritual philosophy speak to you from the inside out...It comes with time and openness..It's your personal spiritual adventure...Not a method written by someone and altered over time...In this way of practice each one has their own adventure and book of living"
Several months later, my family in law took me to Pondicherry India where they often go for spiritual retreats. During this visit, I had a moment of spiritual enlightenment that brought tears to my eyes, the feelings cannot be described. For the first time I felt a deep connection with something greater than humanity.
From that moment, I knew I wanted to pursuit my own spiritual development.
When I reflect back on myself at the start of my journey 7 years ago, I see the positive changes in my life, here is a simple example:
- I use to get irritated and angry very easily, it was something I knew I wanted to change about myself. Today I surprise myself on how much better I can cope with frustrating situation by working on having a peaceful mind. I am not saying the anger is completely vanished but I definitely feel I've made tremendous progress.
What I've learned to do for it: Meditate as much as I can doesn't matter where I am, listen to peaceful instrumental music, take deep breathes when I feel the anger is coming, talk to myself, out loud sometimes, "don't get angry....don't get angry" I call upon a higher power to help.
A quote that inspires me to stay positive during frustrating moments: Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace" ~ 14th Dalai Lama
-Some of the key words that have helped me follow my spiritual path:
-Honesty, be truthful with yourself and others.
-Positiveness, don't let negative energy impact you instead try to envision the world with a positive mind.
-To keep an Open Mind, for me one of the hardest and I believe one of the most important is to not pass judgement. We all do to some extend but we have to keep in mind that each situation is unique and we know very little about.
-Karma: You do something bad, it's coming back to you...simple...
-Jealousy: don't fill yourself with hatred. Be happy with who you are and what situation you are in and most importantly be happy for others.
-Personal growth: love this French say : Ne pas se reposer sur ses lauriers" which means don't stop putting effort in your growth, there is always something new to learn and improve upon.
-Forgiveness, don't carry the past pain, learn to forgive yourself and learn forgive others.
-Love, spread love as much as you can, this world needs it. One smile can start a chain reaction that spreads across the world :)))
Great Book for an introduction: The Power of Now
I am super excited to finally share this personal story with you, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me on Snapchat: alparama
