Don’t take for granted freedom of speech

Words are so powerful. They have the ability to make or break any situation.

I’ve seen so many use words so powerfully to create such an impact in society. That is what I call inspirational.

In contrast, there are people who use the term ‘freedom of speech’ to talk bad about others and harm/hurt others. This is what I call an embarrassment to humanity.

If more and more individuals understood the power of their words and how to tailor it to meet the needs of society, we would all be growing at an exponential rate!

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Love with no judgement

Spiritual practice is not easy. It takes time. Praying, meditating and chanting mantras are a fraction of this vast world.

I believe spirituality comes from a place of love, where our thoughts, words and actions are positively in line with each other.

Spiritual practice and spirituality is truly tested in the way we think of and treat those who have done harm to us, or those we have a reason to dislike. If we turn to them and embrace them with love and forgiveness, that is when our spirituality is truly rewarded.

Materialism is TOXIC

We are the generation that is obsessed with things: clothes; make-up; cars and technology; home decoration; skin and hair-care; branded bags, watches, accessories, jewellery; ultimately ‘products’ of any sort.

We are have come together to create this world of materialism which I believe is a vicious cycle. Products and goods have taken over our lives, our way of thinking and ultimately our souls.

We are living in the age where we literally worship anything that looks beautiful, new and expensive. We take photos/videos with it, share it onto social media and feed into this materialistic world even more.

I have fallen victim to this. I have seen so many around me fall victim to this. We have been drawing attention to the clothes we wear; the cars we, or others, drive; the accessories we have; the homes we live in. Ultimately, our lives have become so much about the stuff we own or wear, than about us.

Our economy is very much built on our addiction to material possessions and I have to admit that social media has not made it any better. People get more likes when they share their ‘obsession’ with things. If we keep liking, the world of materialism will only grow more. More businesses will start throwing more products and luxurious services in our faces, which will entice our senses; we will invest more and get more obsessed and…you get the point.

Now I am not saying we need to throw everything we own away and live in a shed. No. I do believe that we have the potential to live more minimalist lives; this way we can truly tap into our souls and serve those that need it more.

Life comes to this. What is our purpose? Are we serving our purpose? Are we serving this planet in any small way that we can? The ultimate spiritual goal is to live a rich life with less stuff. Let’s come together for that.

Love,
Praveena

Tips on how to sleep well

Sleep deprivation is becoming so much more common which undoubtedly has a negative impact on our health and well-being. So here are a few tips that I am trying to practice to ensure I can sleep well.

1) Meal times – I aim to eat at least 2 to 3 hours before I go to bed, and I drink plenty of water before bed.

2) I try to have a shower before bed or at least wash my face with warm water before going to bed. I am a morning shower person, so more commonly I wash my face with cold to warm water before bed.

3) Sometimes, I light a non-scented candle when I go to bed. It really does help to calm the atmosphere and myself down.

4) I aim to not not touch anything for the last 5 minutes before going to bed. On work days, I set your alarm before getting into bed, keep it aside and go to bed. I do struggle with this the most because I do a lot of planning for the next day on my phone, so I need to get better at doing this. Somedays are better than others, but I am working on it slowly.

5) I set calming alarm tones in comparison to the loud ones. The reason being I want to wake up calmly; as a result, I look forward to waking up the next day knowing that I will start it peacefully. I might try out a mantra or chant.

6) Finally, I wake up with a smile and feel grateful for waking up alive and well.

I practice some of these tips more often than others, so I am working towards slowly incorporating most if not all of it into my night/morning sleep hygiene routine.

If you do practice any of these, let me know what you think. If you have any other tips, please do share!

Love,
Praveena

Walk yourself to Peace

Who else likes going on walks on your own?

I do!

I get moments when my mind feels very cluttered and I therefore find clarity by taking time to spend time with myself. This can be via walks, temple visits, reading, colouring… It gives me an opportunity to breathe and embrace the beautiful world we live in.

Truly grateful!

Love,
Praveena

Lost in thoughts

‘The MIND acts like an enemy for those who do not control it’ ~ The Bhagavad Gita

The power of our mind is just unbelievable. When we can control the negative and feed the positive, we can truly feel empowered mentally and spiritually.
A few years ago, I decided to feed my mind in the form of prayer, good people, memorable experiences and gratefulness.

When you have got that clarity, everything looks that much more beautiful.

Love,
Praveena

Cosmetic Surgery – A hindrance to self-confidence?

I had a very interesting conversation with my sister today about celebrities who have done cosmetic surgery and how it may have changed their appearance.

Celebrities have a huge following which means they have the possibility of creating huge social change a lot easier than others. Yet there are some who have fallen victim to the pressure of it all and started changing their appearance to gain more ‘acceptance’ (this may be self-acceptance and/or that from others). As a result they have added fuel to a whole new culture of cosmetic surgery. Obviously they are not the only ones responsible but they have created this notion that having certain facial features is what makes one beautiful. This, in turn, means more of the general population have resorted to such means more easily. Shouldn’t such celebrities be encouraging everyone to embrace themselves for who and how they are? I’ve seen it all being said, but again actions speak louder than words.

Everyone is entitled to have insecurities. However insecurities, in the spiritual sense, represent a bigger problem. It means one is not accepting themselves for who they are and how they look. Cosmetic surgery (unless it has a medical purpose) fixes the ‘effect’ but not the ‘cause’. We need to work on figuring out the cause of this insecurity. Surprisingly, in most cases, the ‘cause’ of this insecurity is down to ‘what others do/think’ or ‘what we define as beautiful’. If it’s a former, it shows that we are not living for ourselves but for others. If it is the latter, we need to question what made us define beauty the way we do.

Confidence is an inside job, so if we are relying on the external appearance to give us confidence, which is an internal trait, where does the problem lie?

Think about it,
Praveena

Study tips for Finals

Finals were a super stressful time for me. However, having all my notes prepared and at the ready to go for when revision started made my life that much easier.

REVISION NOTES

I am usually very last minute with everything, however organised I try to be. I wanted to change that in my final year so I started preparing typed notes from day 1 of final year. Therefore by the time I got to the end of my final rotation, I had just about all my notes typed up.

When it came to revision, I went through these notes and created key cards of points I know are new content and I will struggle to remember first time round. By doing so, I avoided the need for me to have to go through my big pile of typed notes. Instead I had bitesize summary key cards!
Then I started going through these key cards and as I did so, I created my post-it notes (discussed below), which I went through the day before exams.

Overall I went through all my notes for everything at least 3 times before exams.
Everyone has their own way of studying and revising. For me, creating/writing and repetition of notes is important especially will the breath of knowledge I have to acquire for exams.

REVISION SNACKS

I do not know about you guys, but I tend to eat very badly when it comes to revision. I do very little cooking and just eat whatever is available to me. Little did I know then that my eating badly had a knock on effect on my revision productivity, until I changed my eating habits.

When I eat something a bit too filling, I tend to feel sleepy and cannot carry on with revision. For this reason, I began to stick to fruits and vegetables which I would snack on. My favourites have been cucumbers and carrots.

I just wash them and then eat it raw! I find it a lot lighter yet filling. Overall my concentration improved, alongside my productivity and my skin!! A win-win.

I guess the message I am trying to convey is that it becomes easy to neglect our diet when we have revision, but if we took a few extra steps to take care of what we ate, it will have a positive impact not only on our revision, but our body and skin as well.

THE DAY BEFORE AN EXAM

I like making summary post-it revision notes. Why? I end up make pages and pages of notes and revision key cards. The day/night before the exam, I physically cannot go through all the notes so these summary post-it notes are great.

I usually just write the bits that I commonly forget – minute details like certain drug names and doses for particular conditions.

I find it a perfect way to cover everything quickly, provided that I still remember major key concepts and medical presentations/conditions.

Hope you found this useful. I will be sharing more of my revision tips soon so keep your eyes peeled. For the time being if you have any questions or would like revision coaching, give me a message!

Love,
Praveena

My journey to better skin

Skincare is very important for me. Now that I am older, maturer and wiser my attention to my skin is more important than ever. I have decided to share some of the things I do!

My morning routine: I cleanse my face using the Simple Foaming Cleanser; I then Simple moisturizer SPF30 mixed with the Simple hydration booster; and finally I use the Simple Age Resistant Eye Cream.

My night time routine: I remove make-up if I have worn any with the Simple cleansing wipes. I then cleanse with the foaming cleanser (mentioned above); I moisturize with aloe Vera gel at night, rather than creams/lotion.

Two to three times a week I use the all-natural Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Mask, which was recommended to me by a friend. It is absolutely amazing. It not only leaves my skin feeling soft but trust me it has removed my black heads like magic – I have tried so many masks but this is honestly something else.

When I am at home for the whole day, and do not plan to go outdoors, I do not wear sunscreen or moisturizer. I just cleanse my face and if my skin is dry, apply aloe vera gel to cool and moisturize my skin. I believe in giving my skin time to breathe.

I have very sensitive skin which means the less products I use, the better it is for my skin. For this reason I keep my skincare routine very minimalistic and natural, but I ensure I use all the essentials and keep it consistent. The Simple brand products are the only ones which I can use daily without any problems. I decided to commence this brand products when I become a fan of their wipes. I loved how the wipes made my skin feel and look. I knew then that their products were ideal for daily usage.

The products I have mentioned have worked well for me. I cannot guarantee that it will do the same for you, because each person’s skin is different. Therefore it is important to do adequate research into each brand, their methods, their values and their ingredients, before you invest.

Lots of Love,
Praveena