HOME BAKERS CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT BY PRIYA'S VERSATILE RECIPES

Baking has been my love for as long as i can remember; even before cooking! Even as a kid my mom found it easier to stuff breads & cakes into my mouth than roti or paratha!
And then, when I got the reins of kitchen into my own hands (read: after marriage..!!) all hell broke loose, or should I say "heaven" ??!! (what with that all that beautiful, fulfilling & scintillating aroma of cakes & muffins....yummm).
No, I'm not patting my back on my baking skills; it's just that I love baking too much...so much that my li'l bro calls me "Marie Antoinette"....hehehehe..!!
Anyways let's not digress too much from the topic at hand.....
I've been thinking of starting a baking blog of my own, but couldn't get myself motivated enough to do it. However this Challenge Announcement by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes gave me a perfect opportunity to do so & I am soooo thrilled to be a part of it. For details please visit the link. Thanks to Priya....my baking-blog dream will soon see the light of the day! Thanks Priya for making me a part of it.

Have Faith in Yourself

              Having faith in yourself is that emotional point in the process of your personality development, at which you neither under-estimate yourself nor overdo it. Having faith in one's own self instils a sense of confidence & maturity in all our actions as well as thought processes.

              Knowledge creates faith. Hence the first step to believing in yourself is knowing your abilities, along with your "personal" limitations ( not the social or professional ones!). Because only then will you be able to perceive the extent of your potential, as well as recognize the fact that your potential is finite; that there are certain tasks which you can perform better than the others; and there are also certain tasks which the others can dispense off in a better manner than you. This strengthens your confidence, at the same time nipping its growth into arrogance or pride. It also helps create respect for labour & humanity in general, 'coz when you believe in yourself you also come to believe in every single human soul you encounter, & respect its dignity & existence.

             Thus, we see that having faith in oneself has a much wider & deeper implication. It definitely doesn't imply narrowing the scope of our vision & focusing it only on self or self's desires.

INNER PEACE

We all strive for it....seldom is it found!...& even if found, it's transient. It vanishes as soon as we let go of our conscious effort to achieve it. Understanding some basics behind it can definitely improve the situation & hasten our journey from"practice" to "perfection".

The first step is achieving Emotional Detachment. It implies not letting the events, people & situation around you affect you. It doesn't mean being indifferent. An indifferent person is not involved in the situation & is uncaring but an emotionally detached person is involved in the situation, with the exception that his/ her emotions are in check...he/she's not emotionally involved. He/she is not subject to prejudices & biases; he/she is not a slave to his/her ego. Such persons are not in a reactionary frame of mind. Hence they are able to comprehend the situation more clearly & take more appropriate actions.

To put it in a simple equation:

INDIFFERENCE = Non involvement ( therefore, No Action; therefore, No Initiative)

DETACHMENT = Involvement ( therefore, Action; therefore, initiative) MINUS the Emotions

Now, how to recognize you are getting emotionally involved? Signals are:

a) you take everything personally

b) you allow situations & people to affect your words & behaviour

c) worries, anxieties & negative thoughts

When you start thinking negatively, you start attracting negative energies, leading to manifestation of your worst fears!....this leads us all into a vicious cycle of negativism, triggered by just one negative thought.

Positive thoughts might not always lead to all your wishes coming true but they'll surely never land you into trouble or depression. So as soon as you encounter a negative thought, just shrug it off. If you cannot change something, accept it...don't let it bother you (after all you're not GOD. Let the Higher Authority above play his strings on us mortals!!). NEVER attach yourself to the end result. This way you are saving yourself from:

a) being emotionally involved with the situation

b) having expectations

c) rude shock if the outcome is not as you desired.

How to practise detachment?

a) through meditation

b) through deliberate efforts on our part of analyzing circumstances before reacting to it.

Meditation means focusing your mind on single positive thought; not listening to the inner clutter of thoughts & voices coming to your mind; raising yourself above the chaos of thoughts, feelings & emotions swirling through your mind. In meditation one endeavors not to follow the thoughts & feelings that arise. Gradually you develop the habit of staying calm & emotionally detached not only during meditation but also in everyday life.

Some temporary measures to assist you in your efforts:

a) Get in touch with Nature every now & then

b) Take a walk where you can be alone

c) Get enough sleep

d) Watch programs that make you laugh, feel happy & inspired

e) Read inspiring quotes everyday

f) Be more forgiving & don't harbor grudges & resentment

g) Don't blame/ criticize people

h) Don't postpone doing stuff that you don't like. Finish them off first & get them off your mind

i) Be aware of your thoughts & refuse dwelling on negative thoughts. Don't fight them, just express a lack of interest in them

f) When worried, take a few deep breaths

g) Seek the company of positive & peaceful people.

               Hope your journey is fun & fruitful..!!!