I recently came across the concept of Subjective Reality. It is a belief system which claims that there is only one consciousness. You are that singular consciousness, and everything and everyone in your reality is a projection of your thoughts.

None of the other people you encounter are conscious in a way that is separate from you. Nobody else can have intentions. The only intentions are yours.  You are the only thinker in this universe.

There is only one source of intentions in your universe – YOU.  The walking, talking bodies that you observe in your reality all exist inside your consciousness.  In simpler words, the concept of Subjective Reality claims the life is just another type of dream. A dream that seems solid because you believe (intend) it is.

When understanding the concept of Subjective Reality it is important to correctly define ‘You’. You are not just your physical body. You are the single consciousness in which this entire reality takes place.

If you were having a dream, are you the physical manifestation of yourself that you see in the dream? No, that’s just your dream avatar.  You are the dreamer.  The entire dream occurs within your consciousness.  All dream characters are projections of your dream thoughts, including your avatar. You can even switch avatars in your dream by possessing another character. In your dream you can do anything you believe you can.

Physical reality works the same way.  This is a denser universe, and hence changes occur a bit more gradually here.  But reality still conforms to your thoughts just like a sleeping dream.  The idea that other people have intentions is an illusion because other people are just projections.  Of course, if you strongly believe other people have intentions, then that’s the dream you’ll create for yourself. But ultimately it’s still an illusion.

Believing and the Law of Attraction go hand in hand. You have to believe you’ll get what you desire most in order to manifest, on the physical plane, those things you want and those goals you want to accomplish. Unfortunately, many of us have grown up surrounded by a lot of disbelief. We internalize this negativity, which blinds us to the infinite possibilities in front of us. We are literally stiff and crippled by the beliefs that have been handed down to us.

To break free, we need to stretch our minds, much like we stretch our bodies when we do yoga. Stretch our minds to believe that we can get what we want, believing that we deserve the good things in life.

What is the one thing you want more than anything? Concentrate on that. Stretch your mind to encompass actually having that which you want. See it. Feel it. Breathe it in and believe. Stretch your mind and believe you have it. Practice this whenever you think of what you want, but make sure you envision yourself having that which you desire. By believing and using the Law of Attraction, you will generate a positive attitude. Believing is one of the steps in achieving what you desire most in life.

Speak to yourself as if you already have what you desire. In this way, you are kind of tricking your body into believing you really do have it. Once you have such positive belief patterns established in your life, you’ll start attracting other positives – be it positive people or positive events. Being surrounded by positives will attract even more positives into your life. You will then achieve what you’ve desired all along.

Believing and the Law of Attraction means stretching your mind and encompassing the possibilities. Believe and achieve.

We’ve all grown up listening to fairytales. Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and so many more. Aren’t they typical? The prince always gets the princess, the step mother is always evil, the witch always pays for her deeds, the poor wolf always gets killed and of course, everyone lives happily ever after.

Fairytales are important for a child’s development. They have their own charm, I don’t dispute that. My only complaint is that they are too one dimensional. Good is always good, and bad is always bad. This may be true in magical kingdoms far, far away, but it is far from the truth in the real world.

The real world is not black and white. Things are not what they seem, nor are they so cut and dry. There is so much more to our lives than just happiness and sorrow, good and evil.

There is anger, hate, passion, love, lust, greed, joy, mercy; the list is endless. The world is made up of the seven colors of the rainbow and grey. Good people sometimes do bad things, and bad things happen to good people. Bad people can sometimes do incredibly nice things and good things happen to them too.

It is not always clear what the right thing to do is. Growing up is about making some very difficult decisions. We can’t always guarantee that our actions are going to have a positive effect. With so much moral dilemma, what code of conduct should one follow?

I say, forget ‘codes of conduct’, the only thing you should worry about, is doing the best that you can do. Always do what is right in your opinion. Sometimes, it’s best not to worry about the bigger picture.

Generation after generation of migrating birds will follow the same flyway to their destination. Each new flock of geese is guided by their elders on their first journey and after that, they always know their way. It’s fascinating to think about the great journeys that these birds take year after year, like clockwork.

I mention geese because I recently came across a beautiful movie that I had seen a while back. Fly Away Home is a 1996 film, directed by Carroll Ballard. It is about the young daughter of a widower (Jeff Daniels) who, with her father, leads a flock of Canada geese from Canada to a wildlife refuge in the US.

When the geese hatch the first living being they see is young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin). They believe that she is their mother and start following her around. As the geese grow and mature, it becomes obvious to Thomas (Jeff Daniels), Amy, and all their friends that the birds must migrate or the game warden will return to pinion their wings.

Her father, Thomas Alden, comes to the rescue. He devises a plan, to get the geese to follow Amy in an air craft, and so begins their great journey. Amy is not happy to lose her companions but she realizes it is for the best.

The movie is an absolute delight to watch. With spectacular visuals and stunning performances from the entire cast, it is no wonder that Fly Away Home was the most critically acclaimed movie of the year. There is a lot to love about this evocative family oriented film.

What I love most, is the message of the film. More than taking care of someone, sometimes the best thing you can do is teach them how to take care of themselves.

A sculptor needs a chisel to sculpt. A carpenter needs a hammer. A painter needs paint. A golfer needs a club. Without these tools they would not be able to complete their tasks. So how important are the ‘tools’ for the ‘trade’?

They say only weak players blame their equipment. This statement is both true and false. Tools cannot make up for the lack of talent, but it would be foolish to say that they don’t make any difference. Superior equipment will give superior results. Let’s say you were trying to make patterns on a sheet of paper. You could either use a knife to cut the sheet or a pair of scissors. Do I need to point out which would give you a better result?

It is not enough to have the correct tool. You need to know how to use it. A carpenter would not use sandpaper to hammer nails. Always use the right tool for the right job. Every business man and business woman needs a host of tools to conduct his/her business.

The quality of a business man is not judged solely on how good his tools are but also on how well he can put those tools to use.  The best equipment in the world won’t do you any good, if you don’t know how to use it.  With the rate at which technology is progressing, it is important for everyone to learn how to use the amazing new inventions that science is constantly throwing at us.

If you are in business, you need to take the time to find out what tools are available to you.  You need to know how and when to use each and every tool in your tool box. The tools do not make the man, but they certainly make his life easier.

There is something riveting about a court-room drama. Lawyers are very good at putting on a show. The arguments that go back and forth, the multiple interpretations of a simple statement, gently guiding a witness to a carefully laid trap, all of it requires a great deal of skill.

My favorite part and the most important in my opinion, is the close. The final statements made by both, the prosecuting and defending attorney. The closing statement is always worth hearing. It’s witty, clever and passionate. It is with this statement that both lawyers hope to make their case.

This got me thinking about a business case. Granted, drafting a business case can never be as entertaining as watching an episode of Judging Amy. Still, I firmly believe that a business case should be witty, clever and passionate. Just like a lawyer’s closing statement. When I mentioned this to a couple of friends, I was surprised to find that a lot of them did not even know what a business case was!

A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It can be a formal well structured document or it could be a verbal argument. For example you could justify a software-upgrade by saying that it would improve system performance, but the “business case” is that better performance would improve customer satisfaction.

Formal business cases are written to ensure;

•    That your investment has value and importance
•    That your project will be properly managed
•    That your firm will have the capability to deliver the benefits
•    That the firm’s dedicated resources are working on the highest value opportunities
•    That all projects with inter-dependencies are undertaken in the optimum sequence.

So take some time and evaluate. Make your case.

The term singer-songwriter has become a part of everyday vocabulary. It is a term that refers to musicians who write, compose and sing their own material including lyrics and melodies. We all remember Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, and Dolly Parton. These were the singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s.

In the early 1990s Mariah Carey rose to fame and became one of the most successful and well known singer-songwriters of all time. Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Victoria Williams, Patty Griffin, Jewel and Lisa Loeb were all hugely successful in the music industry.

Then came the beginning of the end of ‘Great Music’, in the early 21st century, a massive frenzy of “bubble-gum pop stars” were created by record labels. With limited vocal abilities, these artists sold records to young fans via a marketed image.

The fans loved them. They enticed such frenzy wherever they went, that they were regarded as modern day royalty. Artists like Britney Spears, the Back Street Boys and Christina Aguilera rose to super stardom. These artists, who merely performed songs given to them, were given the status of living legends. They were blamed for the difficulty of achieving success, faced by singer-songwriters of the time.

Then artist such as Spears and Christina Aguilera began writing their own material and taking further control of their musical careers. They were no longer seen as the puppets of the dollar making record industry. Today, massive success and credit has been given to artist such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift who write almost all of their own material.

It has been proved that the image of a star can be used to sell records. People have a tendency to believe what they see. The same is true when it comes to business. So, have you checked to see, what is your corporate image?

Weltanschauung: world view. It refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts with it. If it were possible to draw a map of the world on the basis of Weltanschauung, it would probably be seen to cross political borders.

The world view of a person doesn’t take into account the imaginary line drawn by politicos. A person’s world view is not something that can be built in a day. Our outlook of the world, as a whole is created over millennia. It is influenced by the experiences, beliefs and ideas of the generations that came before us.

We have a lot in common with people who share the same world view as us. This does not mean someone with a different world view is wrong, it simply means that we relate better with people who think like us.London and Ireland are vastly different. Yet, a person from London would never describe Ireland as exotic. Breath taking and beautiful but not exotic.

The two places share a common world view. Subconsciously, we do not feel a huge difference. If that same Londoner was to come to Mumbai, he would say that he was in an exotic land. Both Mumbai and London are densely populated urban sprawls, not very clean and very fast paced. The difference is not in the obvious. The difference is in the way a Londoner and a Mumbaikar looks at the world.

With the world becoming a global economy, it is important to understand different world views. It is important to know one’s own world outlook. If we can understand the ancient influences on people’s thinking, we can relate to them better. Understanding our own thinking helps us grow. So, do you know your Weltanschauung?

I see myself as an ordinary human. I have two legs, two hands, average mental faculties and a pair of eyes. I see myself as an ordinary human capable of extraordinary things. I see myself walking into a grand tower that is the seat of my empire. I see myself holding document after document, which prove my success. I use simple logic to chart my future plans. I see all of this and more. I see so much with eyes that are closed.

I open my eyes. I am an ordinary human capable of extraordinary things. I believe that I will build myself a sprawling empire. I believe that I will build a piercing tower, to be the centre of all my work. I believe that I will have everything I saw, when my eyes were closed.

I am an ordinary human who has accomplished extraordinary things. With the help of trusted colleagues, friends and simple logic, I built my empire. Today I sit in my glass tower and think of all that I have done and all that is left to be done. More than anything else, I am here because of my hard work. I am and will always be an ordinary human, living the extraordinary.

Visualization is so much more than just a motivational tool. Only when you visualize your objective, can you hope to achieve it. If you are not working towards something, any accomplishment you achieve will be an achievement that life gave to you. If you drive down a road, you will eventually reach somewhere. If you plan on going somewhere, you won’t just be driving down a road; you will take the best route. Inspire yourself to find the best route. Visualize your objective. See, Believe, Become.

It is a well known fact that moth’s are attracted to light. What is it that draws these creatures to any form of luminescence, even if it means fiery annihilation? It is the warmth and the security offered by the flame that pulls a moth to it. If the things that you want are moths, then you need to be the flame. By thinking about the things that you want and believing that you have them, you can attract the things you want into your life.

The power of your mind can bring about profound changes in the world around you. By thinking positively you can affect the fabric of the universe, and attract the things you want into your life. All you need to do is imagine that you already posses the things that you desire and this will pull them towards you. After all ‘nirvana’ is only found by those who seek it. If you want something you have to believe that you will get it and then work towards fulfilling your desires. You cannot win a battle if you think you’ve already lost. It is the belief in victory that helps you attain it. So it’s time that you became the shining light that will illuminate your life and bring to you all that you desire. Always remember that just like you are what you eat, your life is what you think. So it’s up to you to make sure that your thoughts reflect the life you want. There is no limit to the things you can accomplish simply by believing that they are already accomplished. As my favorite quote from one of my favorite movie goes, ‘When its dark all you need to do, is turn on the light!’