The Cup keeps filling...

Hello folks,

Hope you guys been rocking...

Well mainly as you are aware I like to take you guys on virtual trips through my travel blogs and soon would be taking you to Dehen, Bhandardara which are some exquisite locations to explore in the outskirts of Mumbai, soon after I give you a virtual trip to UK's beautiful Island, Isle of Wight....

But this edition I would like to dedicate to my book and update you of the upcoming event, that is my radio interview with RJ Nitin of 90.8 FM Jago Mumbai Radio.

Yes, thanks to you guys, your constant love, affection and belief, the book  is doing great...

For those of who, wondering, why such a big title, A Journey towards Self Contemplation, I would simply say, coz it was really that....

It all began as chapters finally taking the shape of a book...and all that was possible due to the journey within...that  is why it is aptly called 'A Journey towards Self Contemplation'.

And, the reason I'm writing this  blog is to show, how 'The Cup keeps filling', and giving back to me more humbly and selflessly...and makes me meet wonderful souls...who are also doing great work and are willing to share their stories...

To know more stories about the journey and few more anecdotes, tune in to 90.8 FM Jago Mumbai on 11th November, Sunday between 12 noon and 3 pm and catch my exclusive interview hosted by none other than RJ Nitin on his show Open Mic.

You can also alternatively tune into Jago Mumbai Radio - Live Internet  incase you do not get the frequency on your radios.

Apart from this, do check out the article on Planet Powai newspaper regarding The Cup of Life.

For details kindly visit www.seetarn.com

Until next time, take care and keep reading and also traveling.

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine


Enjoy and do catch the interview on http://www.jagomumbairadio.com/ or tune into 90.8 Jago Mumbai FM radio this Sunday between 12 noon and 3 pm IST, on the show Open Mic with me and RJ Nitin...

Cheers!
Seeta

P.S - Blog on Isle of Wight coming up next.....Stay tuned...

My Pictorial Travelogue - Goa-Belgaum

I'm sure when you think of relaxation and taking time out from the usual rut....you would love the prospect of spending alone time with your loved one...where else would you love to go..but stretch yourself at a nice sandy beach...with a beautiful sunrise/sunset in the backdrop...chilling away with a drink in a shack...listening to your fav...number...slowly grooving with it...and just when you feel you have heard the number a several hundred times before, but its still got you going...and makes you feel nostalgic....that's the power of a good ambiance, mesmerizing music and of course, your beloved..hand in hand with ya...

Hmm....wondering what I'm getting at...well this is how one would describe an evening well spent at a beach...and where else in India would one love to let their hair loose, but at the wonderful beaches of none other than....Goa....where everyday is a Sunday...and time itself is Susegad....

Palolem Beach

For the ones who must have visited Goa for a million times, there is still some more to relish, still an unsung song yet to be sung, still a beautiful poetry waiting to be written, and so many unsaid words yet to be coined...all...not enough to even eulogize the mighty waters, the angelic sunrise, the ever so more entrancing sunset, the soft sand....the list goes on...and this is for the ones who yearn for seclusion...from the mad mad rush of the world...beach could be termed heavenly for them...

Well no matter one must have seen Goa many times and mostly when people think of Goa, it is usually the North of Goa...but for the connoisseurs of good times, sand, sun, beach, seclusion...wining and dining with your loved one...the place to be is...in South Goa...none other than the serene beaches of Canacona, one Palolem and other Agonda...

Palolem Beach is one of the best beaches across GOA, at the onset, one can easily notice the gigantic, magnificent coconut palms on one side, the lush green hills on the other end. Situated on one end of the beach is Neptune point, where one if lucky, can get to see the Dolphins, up close and personal...And on the other end, there is the Dolphin Island for which one has to reach via a 5 min boat ride..If you are lucky, the Dolphins will swim next to you...(only if you are lucky....say luck raised to 100)....haha..well we at least spotted some afar...so not that completely out of luck....

Apart from enjoying ones' time at the beach, for local sight seeing, one can also enjoy bathing in a nearby waterfall, of course during the monsoons, when it looks magnificent..just approximately 10 kms away from Chawdi village in Cancona district...called the Tutsi Waterfall...

Tutsi Waterfall

Since we did not have much time at our disposal and had to get back to Belgaum for Ganesh Chaturti celebrations, we decided to go via Agonda...and that's when we also came across Cabo De Rama, the popular Goan beach fort named after Lord Rama. This is one of the oldest forts in Goa, build here before the arrival of the Portuguese. With the historic significance related with its name, Cabo De Rama has a mythological legend. Lord Rama accompanied by his wife Sita took refuge here during his exile from Ayodhya for 14 years.

Cabo De Rama

 

Cabo De Rama

Below are some views from top and also the beautiful shots of some flora...

Local Fisherman....Near Cabo De Rama

View from Top...Cabo De Rama...

Beautiful Flora - Near Cabo De Rama enroute Agonda

I'm sure one could write enumerable, never ending saga about this wonderland, of a place called Goa...with its exquisitely clean beaches,nightlife = daylife with old and new, upcoming shacks, antic markets, saturday night bazar, dolphin rides, beautiful sea life, scuba diving, water sports like parasailing, speed boats...on one hand..various monuments, landmark sites, exquisite churches, beautiful temples and vast sceneries to entice you ever so more..yet still have some more to blow your mind...but not enough time at your disposal to explore this magical land...in case you are in a hurry to leave...

So next time around, do take time out to explore Goa at your hearts content...as this magical land has the capacity to woo you every single time...and next time do not forget to visit the other end of Goa...where the scenery gets even better with the setting sun...and the nights are to remember...of course in the company of your loved one.....

Cheers!
Seeta

Newspaper Articles about 'The Cup of Life'

Guys, here are some articles in the newspapers, namely Deccan Herald and Tarun Bharat about the book, 'The Cup of Life'. Read On...and share the same...

I thought, I'll share the same here until it pops on my website..(which might take some time though)...

Anyhooo I thought, meanwhile, you can check it out here...

Here's a sneak peak on the same.....

Deccan Herald Article_September 19, 2012

And a detailed write up in a Marathi Daily which gives more insights about the book....

Article on The Cup of Life_Tarun Bharat Newspaper_Sep 23, 2012

I know, some might need a translator for this..but hey what the heck...it should be worth the effort....for the news is interesting and quite useful.

So go ahead read on....and brush up your Marathi literature skills...

And stay tuned....Catch you next time with the further part of my Pictorial Travelogue...

Cheers!
Seeta

My Pictorial Travelogue - Mumbai-Belgaum

9 Days, two road trips, two exquisite destinations...

First One - Mumbai to Belgaum

How do I put it, ever got tired eating delicious, sumptuous chocolates, pastries or any sweet for that matter, ofcourse this question is for the ones with a sweet tooth...Well, no matter how much you eat, your hand will still rush to get that one more piece. ..Isn't it...

Well for me, traveling does the same to my soul, no matter how many times, we might have traveled to various locations, the very thought of traveling and exploring new and old places, revives my soul and readies it for a new adventure...


As usual me and my better half had promised ourselves of not going on any random adventures especially after our spooky adventure from Bhandardara....which almost got us lost on top of a hill, with the road leading towards the jungle 7 in the night, and a dangerous slope running around the curvy road...with not  enough place to turn around...it was hell of an adventure, finally when we turned around, and got signal just for a second in our cell phones...to make us realize, that there is a higher power somewhere, who guides us and protects us...and puts up with our crazy shit....

anyhooooo....now that we are alive and kicking...we thought of embarking on a semi scary adventure...Of exploring a forest and a local waterfall in a quite village of Shundi known as Shundi Waterfalls, somewhere in the outskirts of Belgaum, where there were no clear steps and we had to walk through the stream, only to realize that it is quite slippery and attempting to walk through the flowing stream might lead us not to just see the waterfall at the foot, but actually take us down in full swing with the fast water flowing from atop the hill....

So.......so much so for our crazy adventure, we thought of skipping the unnecessary dare devilry instead settled for a quite snack amidst the luscious fields, caught a shot of a cute bird merrily chirping along and pecking at a grass stalk..









 










While on our way back, we made a point to visit an Ancient Hindu Shiva Temple know as Vaijnath Temple supposedly built by the Pandavas some say 2000 years ago. It was a total surreal experience, as they say this is a "Svayambhu" Temple, meaning Self-manifested or that which is created by its own accord.


And just when we were driving back from a fun filled evening, the rain came pouring down and filled up the air with much needed mysticism...And as we peered our way through the rain slashing on our windshield the car swiftly swirled across the hills and gave us the much needed adrenalin rush...

So I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did...tune in for more pictures and stories from our next road trip from Belgaum to Goa...and Goa to Mumbai...

As of now, relish the exquisite scenery and breathtaking views of some parts of the good old town from Karnataka, Belgaum....

Pictures of the luscious fields, scenery passing along, a friendly villager posing for the camera doing his chores, had fun racing a kid on the backseat of a bike, nice country roads winding towards the village nearby, sight of two blissful trees, and man taking his cattle for gracing...hope you enjoy the virtual ride, as much we enjoyed the real one....

Cheers!
Seeta

How to say no to negative thoughts

Have you ever had thoughts whereby, you think the ceiling would just collapse on you, or suddenly a car would come uncontrollably crashing towards you or your loved one. Or even worse, one of your loved ones is not receiving the call, so he/she must be in danger….all this while we are perfectly resting on a weekend, or taking a nap in the noon, or working our butt out at work, or just plainly reading or watching TV or doing some chore…

My question is, how often when we get these thoughts, do any of them ever actually come true…but the potential of these thoughts disrupting our everyday life is next to gigantic and enormous…and at the time we feel powerless, even if these were to last only for a few minutes, but their effect is way too strong for us to deny them, at the onset…But once these thoughts house themselves in our subconscious, they slowly start growing…leaving us breathless and disarmoured to fight the negative feelings..

 

But there is a way to battle these treacherous monsters…by nipping them in the bud.

Remember when we were kids, our mind was so pure and if at all at night, we used to get any nightmares, and wake up with a sudden shriek, our parents used to run to us and calm us down, and sit beside us and comfort and caress us and tell us that ‘it was just a nightmare, baby, nothing of it will ever come true, you are safe in my hands and no one will ever hurt you, I’m your warrior and you are my princess/prince’..and our childlike innocent hearts used to feel a world of difference when our mom’s/dad’s used to caress us in their arms and subsequently drive our fears away and put us back to sleep…and thus fight the fictional nightmare…with their mere comforting words.

  

So after growing up, why is that we are unable to resort to the same, actually there is not much difference between a fictional nightmare, and negative thoughts, they are all a figment of our imagination, and the subconscious mind is the guard for the same. When our mind plays tricks on us by creating illusionary situations, which may or may not occur, that’s when our subconscious mind should come into picture, whereby we send positive affirmations to the mind to combat these illusionary monsters…and nip them in the bud..

One of the ways to do that is, simply consider yourself in a different place and in a different situation..and immediately engage your idol self in some physical work..If you are in a middle of an assignment, do not pay much attention to the thought, just give an instruction to your mind to shut the thought or even let it pass by and then ignore the same and physically do some activity or distract yourself from the thought. And then back the same with a positive affirmation by saying, ‘You are a child of god, and god will never give you any challenge which you can’t accept, and you are under his watchful eyes and he will protect you and your loved ones’…

Second do not act on impulse, if you are at work or at home, if your mind plays tricks on you regarding your loved ones, then do not succumb to the pressure of calling incessantly to check on your loved ones. As that would account to giving in to the negative thought and encourage it more. Instead engage yourself in some physical activity. Consider the scenario of the nightmare and the comforting words used by your parents, working miracles with you, when you were a child, so shoot the thought down in the same way, that the fear is irrational and none of it is true or will ever come true. Give this positive affirmation to your mind and you will be relieved of the thought. 

Third, do not engage in thoughts of insecurity, trust that you and your family members will always be safe and always give benefit of doubt to the situation, rather than assuming the worst. If someone is unable to attend the call or get in touch with you, then resort to faith and belief in god and yourself, and give the benefit of doubt to the situation the person might be in, say either travelling, the mode of transport might be crowded rendering the person unable to receive the call, or technical difficulty with the instrument, person caught up in a meeting and various other situations. And when your heart is at peace and out of the pounding negative thought, once you are relaxed, give a call to your loved one and speak your heart out, that’s when you would realize that one of your assumptions, regarding the benefit of doubt was indeed true, the person was indeed stuck in a situation, where he/she could not call/or receive calls. This further authenticating the fact about Negative thoughts, just being a figment of one’s imagination..

Just when you feel overridden by the negative thoughts, fill your senses and mind with the thoughts about the good things in your life. When they say diffuse a negative thought and replace it with a positive one, it only means, make the bad feeling go away, by replacing it with all the happy moments of your life, which have actually taken place in your life, and learn to look at your life in retrospect.

Say, when you were a kid, we (believe it or not), for the fear of studies and exams, sometimes used to get nightmares that we would flunk or fail a semester or the finals, but today when you look at yourself, you know that none of those feelings were true. Then as a child, if you used to be gripped with the thought of being taken away from your parents, or the nightmare of losing one of them due to some unfortunate fictional accident, when you look at the situation now, they are all hale and hearty and living well in their 70’s & 80’s, you immediately realize that the fears at the time, were totally irrational, and your parents long life is a living proof of the same. 

About one getting the feeling of never passing a certain professional exam, or never getting the spouse they desire, or never getting their dream home, when we look in the retrospect, we come to realize that none of the fears were rational at the time, after we having received all or at-least some of the above, just to prove to us, that most fears are irrational and negative thinking or thoughts are parasitic seeds waiting to grow on our minds and subconscious, but if we act in time and nip them in the bud, then they would be rendered meaningless and powerless. 

So, good luck my friends, do convey to me, your methods of tackling and battling with this slow yet poisonous monster, which sometimes, render us restless and eventually giving us an anxiety attack, if not controlled at the right time..

 

Cheers!

Seeta   

Useful reads:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_types_symptoms_treatment.htm

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/generalized_anxiety_disorder.htm

My take away from 'I'm Another You'

Hi All,

I had always been fascinated with the Self help section of the book store, for the content and knowledge that is imparted in the same is immense, that's what used to draw me towards this section.

Always wanting to know ways and means to enhance one's life, find hidden meanings and secrets that engulf our whole lives..After having downed couple of  bestsellers from ace authors like Paulo Coelho, Robin Sharma, Ohso and more...I landed myself a simple, yet beautifully narrated book, written by a motivational speaker, Priya kumar, it was some 2 years ago, I had, had my hand over her masterpiece, titled 'I'm Another You' and simply could not resist it and I picked it up and brought it home, by the time it was the next day, I had already devoured the whole book....

And the next two days or more were spent in contemplating what had just occurred, the book was so interesting and wonderfully narrated, it got me thinking about the authors own experiences and the quest that she had been to discover her own self.....the scenarios, the trails, similar to the ones that many of us also go through, hence it was aptly titled 'I'm Another You' but the take away message was, something for each of us to contemplate on, and make the most out of it, so I did..

And two years later I had the result of that contemplation in my hand, my first Book which embodies the life that many of us live today and I thought the apt title for the same should be 'The Cup of Life - A Journey towards Self Contemplation'.

And today thanks to her, and various other books that I've read be it inspirational, philosophical, spiritual and own observations, that I could piece together a little gift for my loved ones to remember me by...As they say, some like to be buried at sea, some like to be immortalized as mummies;

Nonetheless, I would like my obituary to read; She Came, She Lived, She Wrote......

As I've taken this first step in this wonderful journey of the unknown, which may seem intimidating at first, but seems home to me as I move along merrily....

So here is the recount of the event of my book launch 'The Cup of Life - A Journey towards Self Contemplation', beginning with my appreciation to all who came and the ones who could not be physically present, but did send their lovely wishes and blessing along...which meant a lot to me...

For starters let me thank each and everyone who made the book launch a grand success (including the two gracious Chief Guests and the honorable Publisher) and the rest who wished me luck with many more books to come.

It was indeed an evening to remember, along with an overwhelming response and kind gesture shown by various familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some friends, some family and (some strangers at the beginning of the evening but parted as friends).

So a big thank you to every one..who made the evening so memorable, that it has etched in my heart forever...


Here is the link to the video and some pictures from the launch evening....

Hope you guys enjoy the same as the ones present, did...

Book Launch - 'The Cup of Life' by Seeta Rajesh Nawagekar

Some Pictures from the Launch

Writers all over, with their art, keep bringing a glimmer of hope, passion, love, strength to this withering world, which like it or not, is soon getting engulfed by trying times...

So in the quest of self, one will soon realize that in the journey of discovering self, the various elements which shape the earth, also embark upon a new world of change and in the end, stand Altered...

Would like to leave you guys with this thought to marinate..for each one of you to come up with a recipe of your choice to shape and enrich your own life....

Do check out the reviews on Flipkart, as the book is available there for purchase...
Flipkart - 'The Cup of Life' by Seeta Rajesh Nawagekar

Cheers!
Seeta

The Cup of Life - A Journey Towards Self Contemplation!!

Hello folks!!

In case you missed me then I'm back, although the past few days had been tough on me health wise, as I was down due to the case of severe food poisoning coupled with severe gastritis attack, as a result was hospitalized for past 3 days and just got discharged.....Hence as a well wisher and good friend, I would suggest to you to surely take care of yourself this summer, specially in terms of what you eat and drink.

Now enough of this sad talks....let me give you a good news....as the most awaited event for me has arrived and is just two weeks away.....

Yes, the Launch of my very own Book titled 'The Cup of Life - A Journey Towards Self Contemplation', the video on which is appended below for your reference to share with your family and friends..this video will give you a glimpse into what exactly one can expect from my book.

The Cup of Life Trailer - Book by Seeta R. N

Below is the poster created by my publisher for the book.

And I would be honored if you would be able to grace the occasion with your presence at my book launch, which is to be held on 8th June, 2012 at Oxford Bookstore, Churchgate, Mumbai. The invitation for the same is appended below:

Alternatively, my book is also available on Indiaplaza and Infibeam as pre-order facility, do feel free to grab a copy for your self and your loved ones...

Below are the links to the same:
Indiaplaza

Infibeam

Do visit my website www.seetarn.com for more information and to know about me..

Take care guys...and see you at the launch....

Cheers!!
Seeta