Scheherazade lV Pt lll. A Self Portrait
To Win. Amera Ziganii Rao
You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. Zig Ziglar
Wise are they who have learned these truths: Trouble is temporary. Time is tonic. Tribulation is a test tube. William Arthur Ward
Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to Love. Virgil ♥
I hear notes, my own notes. Maria Anna Mozart
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain. Shakespeare ♥
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Victor Hugo ♥
You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back. Barbara De Angelis ♥
You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions. Adlin Sinclair
What brings order in the world is to love and let love do what it will. Jiddu Krishnamurti ~
Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all. Toni Morrison ♥
Unconditional Love ♥ .. that's the perfect definition for my feelings for you.. ♥
Our Man in Havana (Artwork)
Beyond Mastery - Lies Artistry: The Artistry of Being.
Christopher Howard
"The most invisible creators I know of are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible - without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither point nor sculpt - their medium is their being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don't have to draw They are artists of being alive." J. Stone
There are a few people who stand out in my mind as having been role-models in my life. Each of those individuals are as different from one and other as one could imagine. From the french resort manager who was so charismatic and had the ability to connect with all of the guests while simultaneously being an incredible entertainer and most importantly running a huge organization, to the well-known billionaire who was completely at ease, doing business from a hammock while simultaneously purchasing the island next door to the one he already owned, running 400 companies and still having the ability to connect with customers on his own private island.
As I think of these various role-models it's clear that while the way they have expressed themselves in the world have been different, they ALL had one similarity underneath their exteriors which I believe is the most powerful attribute of all.
They had a powerful powerful presence. They were connected in the here and now.
In the book The Power of Now the author, Eckhart Tole, makes a strong case for the importance of being in the here and now vs. in the past or in the future in our mind.
Most people live in the past digging up their past baggage and rehashing events over and over again. These people often wallow in anger, regret, sadness, guilt, fear etc.
On the flip-side of the coin these same people also live in the future imagining or worrying about all sorts of unwanted future scenarios which creates the state of anxiety.
I don't know if you can relate...
When we live not in the past or the future but rather in the present we discover that the present really is the present....the gift. The gift of living in the present and living in the here and now is that we get to be connected to what is occuring and inherent in doing so we find that the negative states of past and future obsessive thinking disappear.
This is the purpose of meditation. To help us be fully present in the here and now. To stop the obsessive self-talk in regards to the past and future and to be connected instead to our moment of power.
I have practiced many forms of meditation over the years, having first been trained in Transcendental Meditation or TM when I was just 9 years old.
Meditation is a powerful tool to assist us to learn to be fully present.
There is another less talked about "tool" that is equally powerful. And that is to remember to live in a state of gratitude.
When I think of the role models I spoke of earlier, they weren't running around frantically, they weren't struggling or in their heads in 5 different places other than where they were at the time. They were in the here and now as they moved from moment to moment.
What's not immediately obvious is that truly being in a state of gratitude is only possible in the here and now.
So forget the power of now, wake up to the power of gratitude.
When you move throughout your life and give thanks throughout your day, and really give thanks throughout your day, where you actually feel the state of gratitude - it draws you into the present in a very powerful way. When you give thanks for the food that you have to nourish your body, or give thanks for the fact that you are clothed and you have a roof over your head. Or give thanks for any of the opportunities you have before you, or the fact that you have a job or a business or the fact that you're following your dreams, or the fact that you're even contemplating it - your states of mind and emotion change.
When we really feel the emotion of gratitude it anchors us in the present. And gives us a powerful presence. When we share our gratitude with others it connects us to them in the present moment.
Many people avoid saying "thankyou" to others and really feeling it because it connects them not just to the moment but to another human being. It creates intimacy. And for people who live compulsively and perhaps even obsessively in the past and the future, slowing down and actually connecting with another human being could be the thing they fear the most.
Learning to allow our selves to become intimate through gratitude with the present moment as well as intimate with other human beings is where we experience the gift; and it's the secret to a charismatic presence as well as far greater levels of joy and happiness.
Living with gratitude and connection allows us to create and grow with ease and grace.
It allows us to experience the Artistry of Living.
Love Deeply and Shine Brightly,
Chris Howard
Thank you to Christopher Howard for this excerpt.
Amera Ziganii Rao
Amera Ziganii Rao is a philosophical writer, essayist, social commentator, prose writer, dramatist and photographer artist as well as a consciousness explorer, self actualiser and emotional healer. She is a former journalist who is now turning professional with her art forms and indeed, her healing forms, after a long journey of inner searching, self teaching and exploring many layers and areas of both craft and wisdom. She is now working on her first book of philosophy and esoteric thought, and social and cultural commentary. She is also showing her first photography collections. And last but most definitely not least, she is building a business to share her consciousness and empowering explorations to reach as many people as possible across the world. She is 46 years old and currently lives in London.
.jpg)
