SOULspace

                                                                                                     (image courtesy You Tube) While searching for an appropriate story to tell at a corporate event, I came across this story; "The Most Incredible Thing of all" by Hans Christian Anderson. Read it here: http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheMostIncredibleThing_e.html and watch it here by Diane Wolkstein: https://vimeo.com/18037595 The story talks about the most incredible thing that a man (woman) can do and that is: to find joy in another's achievement without envy or jealousy! Simple, yet such a powerful tale that made me sit up and observe myself. Can this be a healing story -  it is. Every time I am faced w...

Watch : - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBlufHQ_L2o Oh I how I wish I could translate this word for word! Shri Subbu Arumugam is proponent of the storytelling art form Tamilnadu called VILLU-PAATU which means Bow-Song ( Song from the Bow) Here he shares the Creation Story of the Art form: A Raja went into the forest and killed animals for fun...by evening he regretted his act, so he asked his Minister how he could was his sin away. His minister suggested that the Raja should sing!! So the Bow that was the symbol of violence was turned into a musical instrument by the creative Raja, and then turned the pot upside and place the Bow on it and started singing. The first note he uttered went like this : THANDANA THOM - which means I give myself to my art. So sing, play music, tell stories for the sake of the art itself...and not for the appreciation you could or want to get! Give Your Self to your Art , Give Yourself, Give : Thandanan Thom , Thandanana Thom! ...

Mullah Nasiruddin had never seen a falcon before and spotting it on the window sill, he caught the bird and cut its talons, clipped its beak and trimmed its feathers. "You poor thing, how did you get into such a bad shape" he sympathised, "Now you look better." ( from a collection of Hodja Tales by Idries Shah) All of us have to clip our feathers, trim our beaks and cut our talons...to fit into a framework that exists in another person's view or in the view of society. Lucky are those who are able to remain a falcon and fly the sky and be recognised as one. I have spent the last 10 years reattaching my feathers, beak and talons. To be the person I always thought I was and thought I wanted to be. Still I find a few feathers are missing and the beak may be more crooked than it used to be, but that moment of recognition when you realise you can regrow your talons, feathers and beak is priceless... I know I clipped my sense of fun and boxed myself into ...

Finding Humour in life situations is a skill for the 21st century!! If we can learn this one skill then I feel we have learnt the most effective coping mechanism that will help us handle all the arrows aimed at us by Maya the seducer -  illusionist! Humour helps us see others and ourselves through a lens of tolerance and acceptance. It includes and helps us gain perspective....as long as we don't get carried away by our own sense of humour! Here goes: Once there was a mullah, a wise teacher, named Nasreddin Hodja. Everyone, from beggars to kings, sought the mullah's teachings, for people said he was the wisest man among wise men. One summer day Nasreddin was wandering through the great covered bazaar of Isfahan. This was one of Nasreddin's favorite activities, for everywhere he saw people he knew. Some had just returned from long journeys, others were selling wares. It was a friendly and inviting place. As he walked along he happened upon a group of men arguin...

A healing fable Turtle was in love with Rabbit. Her family was shocked. This is unheard of; we cannot allow such foolishness to prevail, they said. How can a turtle love a rabbit so? Yet, she left the water to be with him. She bid farewell to her mother and father, sister and brother and crawled onto the land. Somewhere in her soft heart underneath that hard shell she wore, she felt great love for rabbit, the Prince of Shore. She had seen him run and adored his pace. The way he combed his hair, took her breathe away. She had seen him feast on carrots and cabbage and felt she shared the same passion.  Made for each other she felt, so they married. Rabbit insisted on moving fast. He was always in a hurry. He darted in and out of holes and chewed his food rapidly, while looking at turtle with eyes impatiently. “Move faster” he would shout back angrily. “Wait for me” she would yell. He ran ahead and she plodded behind on feet that now had cuts and scratche...