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Let's unravel the mystery of Universal powers! Yes, they exist, and we can invoke and tip into them. Some of these powers are masculine, others feminine. In Hindu scriptures, these powers are brought to life in the form of Devi and Devata. The more we understand the universal laws and powers, the more me we can harness (manifest) them in our hearts and our lives, bringing about a personal transformation!

"Who is She?" discusses the myriad ways we can take inspiration from iconic, multi-faceted images of femininity, and invoke their powers towards a more fulfilling everyday existence be it at work, home, in relationships or with our self-worth.

Self-love isn't a destination; it's a lifelong practice. 💕 Today, let's remind ourselves of the beauty of love—how it transforms, heals, and uplifts us. 📚 Today's task: Dive into "I Love You Letters" by Gurudev H.H. Swami Chinmayananda ji. This inspiring read explores the art of love and reminds us that love is a skill we can nurture and master. The more we understand love, the more we can embrace ourselves unconditionally. 🌈 💭 Why it matters: Loving yourself is the foundation of a fulfilling life. The more you practice, the stronger and brighter your love for yourself and others will grow. Let's carry this self-love journey forward, one step at a time.

Today, let's take a moment to reflect on and appreciate the people who have shaped us into who we are. 🌟 From parents and teachers to mentors and friends, so many individuals have contributed to moulding our personalities and guiding us along our journey. Gratitude isn't just about saying "thank you"—it's about recognizing the impact others have had on our lives. 💫 Think of someone who influenced a specific trait or moment in your life and hold space for their contribution. By appreciating those who've helped us grow, we also learn to admire and love ourselves—because if we value the people who shaped us, then we are undeniably worthy of appreciation too. 💖 Who are you grateful for today? Let them know. 🌈

Like how a flower needs rain and how the ocean needs a shore to break, people need people. We all need each other, not only for us to be able to connect, relate and share, but also for our desire to be recognised and appreciated. Relationships are a key part of this! We have many relationships in our lives, some of which we may easily and unknowingly take for granted. As such, today we will be attentive and try to notice something different about them so we can sincerely be grateful for them. 

Gratitude is the result of appreciation and free will. Our gratefulness comes first from our appreciation upon recognising that something is valuable to us. It then stems from the fact that all of this is freely given to us. We can choose to be grateful or we can choose to take our blessings for granted. When we want to start doing things differently, such as opting for the former option, we need our mind to be alert so that we can make these choices. Today we will focus on our choice to be grateful.

Like we are grateful for the glass being half-full, we can be grateful for the glass itself. The more we feel thankful, the more we can start to express it in our lives. As we practice it more, this gratitude that we feel inside will shine brightly outside. But sometimes, we don't realise that we appreciate something until we lose it. Today, we strengthen our minds by giving up something for the day and consequently, being grateful for it when we use it next.

In prayers, gratitude is shown in the various rituals through different ways. Since the Lord gives us everything, we try to offer the best we have to Him. We praise the Lord, sing meaningful phrases in the Aarti, or provide offerings as an expression of our gratitude. Often when we pray, we ask for something. Today, let us pray to really feel our gratitude for gratitude is, in fact, our best prayer. Follow this session to write your gratitude prayer so you may pray genuinely in gratitude. 

Expand your gratitude with today's session, for gratitude has no limit. There is nothing to stop us from being grateful and it is indeed easy to practice! What is needed is simply the opening up of your mind to find things to be thankful for. Beyond being grateful for the good that happens to us, today we realise how we can also be grateful for things and people that have enriched the lives of our loved ones.

In making us appreciate the value of things and people, gratitude not only empowers us to see the glass as half-full, but also prevents the half-full from leaking away. As we stop to notice that we are constantly getting more, the glass gets more and more full – a concept often overlooked since we tend to forget our previous gains. Today, we note that things are not lost, but simply, forgotten. As such, we must remember them with gratitude.

Our sense of gratitude grows when we understand just how much we have been given. It empowers us to be humble because we realise we are getting more than we give, more than we work for, and even more than we deserve! We have been taken care of since we were in our mothers' womb, where everything had been provided for us without even asking for it. In noticing just how many things have come to us without our request or need for it, we should bask in gratitude for how we have so graciously been taken care of.

We first think gratitude means appreciating all the good. But what about the bad? Like all the positive things we can be thankful for, we can even be grateful for the things that have gone wrong in our life! Let's see these unpleasant, past experiences as powerful lessons that have, in turn, shaped us into the people we are today. When we are ready to be grateful for everything, the good and the bad, we turn what was once our sufferings into blessings.

Awareness is the first step to gratitude. The more we expose yourself to gratitude, the easier it gets. Gratitude is a secret weapon that improves our lives drastically. The more we wield it, the stronger we become. It reduces stress while boosting our mood and self-esteem. By making us more giving and cooperative, gratitude naturally allows us to have healthier relationships and progress in our work.

Did you know that, on average, we blink around 15 to 20 times each minute, amounting to 10% of our day being spent on merely blinking? The act of blinking sounds so simple but its complex purpose serves many functions of protection. Similarly, our whole body is constantly working to serve and protect us, even when we are not aware of it. Today, we centre our concentration on showing gratitude for our body, the important roles it plays and the significantly determinative influence it has over our health.

Physical activity strengthens the body, but what about the mind and soul? Today, let's blend movement with mindfulness by introducing mantras into your routine. Whether you're doing yoga, hitting the gym, or going for a walk, chanting or listening to basic mantras can uplift your mental and emotional well-being. 🌟
Mantras help us shift focus from the physical to the divine, connecting our bodies to our higher selves. They calm the mind, energize the spirit, and create harmony within. 🎧
Start small—play a mantra while stretching or repeat one silently during your workout. Let the rhythm of the words guide your movements and elevate your experience. What mantra will you choose today? 🙏 

When we think of our desire for happiness, we tend to create thought patterns where we consequently postpone our happiness by saying, "I will be happy when…"

But instead of delaying our happiness, we can be happy now by turning our attention away from what we do not have yet and focusing on all the things we currently already have. With gratitude, delve into your meditation by asking yourself "What am I grateful for?", and let your thoughts drive you deeper within in your search for happiness.

Our ancestors, be it our immediate lineage or even the history of the city we are a part of, are pillars upon whom and what we make offerings to. They have worked to create the world we have been born into, and we merely benefit from it. Today, we focus our gratitude in remembrance of them and what they created, ensuring we do not destroy it, but rather, build on it.

When we 'like' others' posts on social media to broaden networking, be effective in commercial professions and increase standards of living, albeit for different intentions, we do a similar thing within spirituality. The purpose of doing so in the spiritual world is to better people, create meaningful relationships and add value to our standard of life. Today, we focus on giving positive feedback and making people feel valued so that we can express our gratitude for others. 

The saying "actions speak louder than words" could not hold more truth, especially in the case of gratitude. Gratitude can only be complete once it has been thought of, felt and expressed. Ponder upon times you have been treated with gratitude – it is usually a pleasant feeling. Now, reciprocate that feeling and express your gratitude by engaging with today's task of volunteering. Once we realise how much we have received, we also see just how blessed we are and how expressive we can be with our gratitude.

Our eyes provide us with the blessing of sight and vision. Beyond observing the sunsets, landscapes, and physical features of our natural world, we can also be grateful for the more subtle yet extremely meaningful and potent sights, expressions, and quite significantly, colours. Notice the influence of colour, their ability to blend in or contrast with each other, their addition to beauty, dimension and structure. Express gratitude to one of our most valuable senses: sight.

We don't normally meet most of the people that contribute to the finished products we consume. We only really meet the last person in the chain. Today, we focus on the people we do meet and acknowledge how we interact with them. How do we progress from automated, transactional interactions to actually showing our gratitude? The answer lies in making eye contact, being physically present, and while saying "thank you" is a start, more statements can be made to elevate our interactions.

The often-asked question, "Do you see the glass as half-empty or half-full?" stands for a few amazing things. While both options hold true, the one each one of us sees makes a tremendous difference in how we feel. Today, we will focus on how perceiving things as half-full can make us feel somewhat complete and content. Try to find your gratitude buddy and message each other three messages with three things you are grateful for in that moment or for that day, three times a day for the next three days. 

Today, we focus on the chain of events that have occurred for us to use things. For instance, buying a cup of coffee appears a simple act, but behind the scenes, someone had to design the cup, someone had to source the material, someone had to build the coffee machine, someone had to keep it clean every day – and this is only just part of it! Remember the many hands that have helped you get the things you now enjoy. With sincerity, send out an acknowledgement of gratitude to all of them from your heart.

Welcome to this year's health challenge on gratitude! There is a growing understanding of the concept of gratitude as being thankful; a readiness to show appreciation. Gratitude starts with the acknowledgement of receiving something or possessing something of value. Upon recognizing the value of something, we can be thankful and grateful for it. This 30-day challenge will progressively go deeper into the process of gratitude and involve a 2-to-3-minute meditation session to broaden our gratitude awareness.

While acting, we often relive memories of the past and create desires for the future. Thoughts of failure or success create emotions that cloud thinking. We also compare the past or future with what's now, thus, losing out on present opportunities. Similarly, in the present, confusion or physical distractions take us away from the current action. So take all of these thoughts, and surrender them at the feet of the Lord. Clear them all away and make space in the mind to be able to stay in the present moment.

They say food is the way to the heart—and today, we're embracing this in the most beautiful way. Cook with your friends and family, or cook for them. 🥘 It's not just about the meal; it's about opening your heart to others, sharing moments, and spreading love. Self-love isn't just about focusing inward—it's also about recognizing our need to feel loved and connected. Love grows when it's shared, and cooking together is a simple yet powerful way to show others they are valued and wanted. 🌟 So, grab an apron, gather your loved ones, and create something delicious while building bonds that will feed your soul. 💖 What will you cook today? 🍲

Efficiency and dexterity in action means acting fast with precision and perfect technique. There is very little waste of time, energy or resources. Also, we do the action in the spirit of Karma Yoga and build ourselves up. When we are present and single-pointed in our action, our mind is less cluttered and detached from the results. In a silent and purified mind, we can feel grace and divinity working through us. This inspires us to focus more on our spiritual growth, taking us closer to our ultimate goal.

Satyam (truthfulness), Ahimsa (to not hurt), and Brahmacharaya (intelligent self-control) are the three pillars of Hinduism because when practiced, they create energy dynamism. With an integrated, kind, and disciplined personality, our energy is not dissipated. Understanding how our energy works is crucial for we can then appropriately generate, conserve, and direct it into a field of our choice. Rather than unknowingly depleting our energy, we consciously adjust to balance it and serve a higher purpose.

Lingering like a smell left behind in a room, our Vasanas are the continuity from lifetime to lifetime. These past impressions on the mind manifest as our tendencies, likes, dislikes, and personality traits. For instance, when something comes very easily to us, we had to have worked at some point to acquire that ability. We create who we are, from the past of this life and that of so many previous lifetimes. So let's put the effort and time in now to master the skills and virtues we value.

Other than nurturing the mind with gentle compassion like we would a friend, we can evaluate it like a mystery series by having a sense of wonder and excitement as we figure it out. For introspection questions, we apply to ourselves the concepts learnt in scriptures and commentaries, podcasts, or books. Most importantly, we rely on our intellect to draw that line when we start overthinking. Today, we take a break and think about how important it is to do that.

It is counterproductive to over self-analyze and fixate on rectifying ourselves. With excessive criticism, we collapse inwards and become smaller, no longer blossoming and unfolding. We introspect to see our personality layer, peel it away, and go deeper into ourselves. Once we see the truth underneath it all, we adjust our behavior to bring out and enjoy that beauty within us. Today, focusing on one weakness, we see its effects on us, think of its substitutes and reflect on our thoughts around negating it.

While self-analyzing impartially, we discover weaknesses that could trigger shame or guilt. But when we see our thoughts as they appear, we realize that we experience every type of thought which affects our personality differently. So we need not judge ourselves harshly when we find and can build a pattern of thinking. Introspection also becomes highly amusing and entertaining with practice as we notice the sneakiness of our mind. Today, we reflect on our speech and the damage control we did because of it.

In contrast to who we are, we all have an image we aspire to be. But in our eagerness to be that ideal, we think up another version of ourselves. We also sell ourselves short when we aren't the ideal we hold. Introspection gives us clarity on who we are as we accurately assess our thoughts, separate from emotions. With detachment, we bridge the disparity between our different images and lift ourselves closer to who we'd like to be. Today, we practice objectivity by looking at ourselves through others' eyes.

The introspection structure explains that the deeper we consciously trace a pattern of thought within our personality, the deeper we can negate and adjust. A successful alteration then leads to our unfoldment as it affects so many of our actions. There is also the development of presence of mind as we observe others to learn and experiment with different ways of doing things before eventually adopting one. Today, we notice our feelings about ourselves, about others and when we compare ourselves with others.

The process of introspection takes openness and time for we simply sit in waiting silence with an incident, thought or emotion. There is no active doing or hunting, neither a general idea nor an obvious answer and no hurry to get the answer. Reflecting on a day's events is a good start for the mind to attune to details. But as we proceed, less specific and more time-pervading questions can be asked. Today, we check our feelings for both the intensity with which they featured and our predominant emotion.

Introspection involves a lot of self-observation and self-evaluation. Introspection also entails staying with an identified mental process to see if it was inspired by an emotion or if it created one. So from our actions, thoughts and feelings, we identify the thought or emotion that led to them and its reasoning. It could be completely irrational or have been brewing for some time. Using the same question as yesterday, today we trace our thoughts and check for patterns in our thinking and feeling.

Art is more than just creating—it's a way of feeling, releasing, and connecting. Whether it's the sway of a dance, the rhythm of words in poetry, or the soothing act of gardening, creative expression is a gateway to your emotions and passions. 💃🖌️🌱 Step out of the routine and explore.

While identifying our actions, thoughts, and feelings during introspection, the mind learns to bear a witness attitude. We develop our ability to simply observe. Our mind is also trained to be alert and wholly tuned into our thought process as we examine all identified thoughts for motivation of our actions. These great qualities help build the frame of mind that is needed for meditation. Today, we look back on our day's actions and reflect if they could have been done any better.

We are who we due to our choices and experiences, most of which, were not conscious. Introspection empowers us to make purposeful adjustments and recreate ourselves with understanding and love. Yesterday, we created a space where we could deliberately choose happiness. So today, we ask if we exercised that choice during our day. With openness and awareness, we also recap on previously posed questions, looking for connections or patterns in our being, acting, interacting, reacting, thinking, and feeling.

Despite its structure, introspection is neither a forced process nor a deliberate action. There is no "have to". When practicing this technique, we stay with an action, thought or emotion for as long as we can before moving on. We go on looking, noticing, and appreciating, when suddenly, something may just become clear since our mind was made available to see and understand. Today, as we look back at our day, we ask ourselves if we made a conscious choice to be happy and introduce that concept to our mind.

Having applied the cyclical technique of detect, negate, and substitute to our lives, the next organic step is to introspect on how well we practiced it. Eventually, a lifestyle change is brought about for we become more aware. We can recall better our actions, thoughts, and emotions during introspection, while also remembering to carry out our substitution strategies during the day. So today, we look back at our choices of yesterday and reflect on today's happenings, gauging how well we implemented them.

As we understand the nuances of our being, we may have found something counterproductive to what we are working towards. It's not something we want for ourselves and naturally, we wish to remove it. This is "negate", the third step of introspection. But eliminating creates a space that cannot be left unfilled. So we consciously substitute our eradicated action, thought or emotion. Today, we find one unpleasant detail to negate and brainstorm on all possible substitutes before choosing one to implement.

In "detect", the second introspection step, rather than simply knowing our experiences, we see the reason or cause-effect relationship behind our daily actions, thoughts, or feelings. For instance, we evaluate a thought as the cause of our speech or as an effect, caused by an emotion or someone else. But what is most important to understand is that we may not instantaneously have clarity and an answer. Today, we introspect on our day's happenings, looking for the connections between our experiences.

Introspection involves 5 steps: notice, detect, negate, substitute, and grow. Today we focus on the first 2. We start by attentively seeing our mind, noticing different nuanced thoughts and details. With the next step, as we look at ourselves, naturally, we detect. But to do so in an objective, practical and pragmatic manner is essential. So as we think back, remembering our day and its sequential happenings, we observe and assess "How happy am I with this action/thought/feeling that I experienced?"

Our BMI tools provide a structured way to think about ourselves. Through the body, we look at how we are perceived and at the qualities of our actions. With our mind, we notice all the varied feelings we feel and the degrees to which we feel our mixture of emotions. With our intellect, we check our voice of reason and the stock of knowledge we use to make sense of world and ourselves. Today, we introspect on the exact same question as yesterday, but going through our actions, feelings, and thoughts instead.

Over the next 8 days, the technique of introspection, or mindfulness, will be outlined. We start with preferably writing something down via the old-fashioned method of pen and paper. Compared to writing on an electronic device, this is less structured, allowing more freedom and flow in the way we express ourselves and our thinking. Writing things down also helps us better identify our thoughts and connect with ourselves. Today, we introspect on the question, "How happy was I, all throughout my day?"

Introspection is a powerful technique to understand and regulate our mind-intellect unit. We start by observing the thoughts and reactions we had throughout the day. Then, we evaluate them and can detect the different types of thoughts we had. As we identify our thoughts, adjusting and negating, replacing them comes naturally. The repetition of this process empowers us to understand ourselves and our motives better. This clarity and growth makes us happier and more free as we make more purposeful choices.

Self-love isn't just about emotions; it's about finding techniques that ground us amid everything happening around and within us. 🌟 And one of the simplest yet most powerful techniques is mindful breathing. Every deep breath you take does more than nourish your body—it slows the rush of swirling thoughts, helping you see them clearly and manage them better. 🌿 Today, take a moment to consciously inhale and exhale. Feel the stillness it brings. This small act of mindfulness is your tool for clarity, calm, and connection with yourself. 💖 Let's start today with purpose—one mindful breath at a time.

Our body, mind and intellect are our purposeful equipment to be worked around or be improved. Via the body and its senses, we act and engage with the world and people in it. The mind pulls us outside, enabling us to enjoy and fulfill our wants. Conversely, the intellect pulls us within, towards our spirituality, empowering us to evaluate, appreciate and understand.

Maintain clarity of the specific functions they serve to objectively accept the tools as they are and not identify with them.

Success can be achieved in the world both outside and inside. We successfully explore and understand the world outside at large, like via science, economics, or politics. Conversely, we find success inside as we reflect and pursue goals related to our personality and wellbeing within. Unfortunately, as we try to find happiness and peace more or only in one world, we dampen the success of the other world. So neglect neither. Maintain a balance between worldly and internal success and thrive in that balance.

For each one of us, success is the ability to be found within and brought out in efficient action, skill, or knowledge. Using religion to turn inwards, we can find that latent potential before awakening it to be actively used and experienced. As we constantly choose to use and think about that discovered wisdom or talent, we become proficient at it, can easily repeat it, and develop it into a habit.