Why we suffer pain twice

I was listening to meditation teacher Larry Rosenberg’s audiobook ‘Breath by breath’, in which he relates this story. He was attending a 3-month Zen meditation retreat in Asia. After 45 days, the Zen master running the retreat made a surprise...

The only life is now

I once went to University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, one of the world’s best, with severe chronic back pain. Years ago, I had injured my back. It was a payback for all the long hours of working while ignoring my fitness. The MRI clearly showed the damage...

Calm productivity

Productivity is not (and should not be) about extracting the most out of your life. We are not toothpaste tubes to be squeezed till the last drop. Joyful, calm productivity is about three things: A deliberate life: Working on things that matter — the things you...

Experiences add value to life

CNN’s founder, Ted Turner, owns millions of acres of land and forests. Naturally, the idea of owning all that property seems quite exciting. But hypothetically, what if you owned the Himalayas? What would you do with the ownership? Go for treks? You can do that...

Embrace the journey

Columbus missed India by a few thousand miles and landed in the Caribbean. But we don’t call him a ‘failed explorer.’ Then why do we call people failed entrepreneurs? Or failed in their careers? Even if you did not get to your original destination,...