Anuradha Sridharan

  There were a few questions related to my daily routine in the Q&A session on Insta.  On Youtube and Insta reels, there are quite a many daily routines, morning routines, evening routines, and night routine vlogs. I have watched a few of them and they motivate us to plan our days better. But at the same time, it could also lead to a sense of comparison and guilt, if we are unable to do the 1001 things that people portray from their lives. Very few portray the real days when we feel lazy and uninspired, or when we rush to get things done in the mornings. Most routines are carefully curated and presented in such a manner that it gives the viewer a "wow! I wish I was like him/her!" feeling. Our routine is dependent on multiple factors: What time do you prefer to wake up? What time do you prefer to go to bed? What time do your kids go to school? What time do they come back? What time do you need to leave for work IF you are working from the office? What time do you need to c...

 I first started to read this book in 2017 and managed to finish around 70%. The second half of this book is divided into 3 sections - Body, Mind, and Energy. I got stuck in the "Mind" section as the concepts presented went way over my head. I didn't get back to this book for 6 years. As I re-read this book last week, the "Mind" section made a lot more sense this time, but the "Energy" section had quite a few hard-to-grasp topics. The experience with this book is a fascinating example of how books reveal the areas where we need more understanding. Sadhguru's books have always been super insightful. Loved his other books - Karma and Death . He has a knack for conveying complex topics in a relatable manner - be it his tech/software-related examples, his little anecdotes of Shankaran Pillai, or his hard-hitting phrases with wordplay. Inner Engineering has all of it. The book starts by laying out the foundational aspects of well-being in the first sec...

In 2016, I decided to move from  anura.blogspot.com  to my own domain. While creating the page templates, I started putting together an "About Me" page. The content I wrote back then pretty much remains the same to date. I had listed 5 verbs that describe my interests. My annual review posts are mostly based on these 5 verbs as well. As I pondered over these verbs, I realized that these are not just my interests, but these can be attributed to my purpose. Our Purpose isn't really that ONE large goal that we strive to achieve in the end. Rather, purpose is found in actions that put us into a state of flow, where we immerse ourselves in the process. From an "Ikigai" perspective, purpose verbs help us answer the question - " What do you love to do? " Here are my 5 Purpose verbs Read Write Speak Cook Travel Other possible "purpose verbs" - draw, paint, create, sing, dance, play, clean, organize, etc. There is another category of verbs that I'...

 I remember this incident vividly. I think I was around 13-14 years old. My dad casually remarked, "Look at your cousin. She already has learned to cook and contributes to household work. When will you start learning this stuff? You are always playing outside". Though his intention wasn't to hurt me, that comment did hurt deeply. From childhood, I don't like to be compared with anyone. Since I was doing well in my studies, the comparison was always on other aspects - dressing up, cooking, contributing to household chores, etc. Since I knew the hurtful capacity of comparisons, I have been very careful not to compare D with anyone - either in my words or in my thoughts. In our parents' generation, comparisons were limited to our classmates, neighbors, cousins, or siblings. But in today's social media age, we are comparing our children to kids of parenting influencers and random strangers. Even if we don't verbalize it in front of our kids, we make comparison...

  This book has been recommended to me by multiple people over the past few years. Though I had purchased it last year, it was only around 3 weeks back that I did start reading. The trigger was a video clip from a podcast where actress Vidya Balan spoke about how she faced hormonal imbalances and PCOD. One point she mentioned was that all hormonal imbalances (including PCOD) faced by women stem from thought patterns of rejection of the feminine nature. That's when she linked the concept of mind-body connection to this book. As I flipped through the pages of this book, I came across a 60-page table that listed various physical ailments, the probable cause linked to our mind, thought or behavior, and affirmations for new thought patterns. I looked up some of the ailments and the causes that either I or my family members have faced in the past and it was such an eye-opener. And it made so much sense. The philosophy behind this book can be summed up in these two lines: "We are eac...

 A few years back, I read " The Heartfulness Way " and "Designing Destiny" by Daaji. Both were so insightful, especially the former. When I stumbled upon "The Wisdom Bridge", a book on parenting written by the same author, I was intrigued. It has been a fabulous read and didn't feel heavy for a 290-page book. It is written with such heart-felt experiences and insights that are extremely relatable. There are no SHOULDs and SHOULD-NOTs in a heavy, preachy tone. Rather, the tone of the book is a gentle nudge for parents to introspect various aspects of raising a child. Books that have a well-defined structure and flow are always pleasant to read. This book is organized into nine principles that are relevant to parenting in today's times. Whether you are a parent-to-be, new parent, or parents of teens, you'll find topics of relevance. I wish I had got hold of this book a decade ago, as many challenges I was grappling with could have been handled wi...

  I have got this question a few times - "Why do you buy so many books? Aren't they expensive? How can you spend so much on books?" Firstly, when you look at the pics of my home library, you would see a lot of books, but these are carefully picked and collected over the last 21 years. Secondly, it is all about what we value and what our priorities are. Continuous learning and seeking knowledge is one of my core values. I consider books as an investment.  I have loved reading since childhood, but we couldn't afford to buy books apart from school textbooks. So when I started earning, I wished to have my own home library. Wrote about this earlier in my World Book Day post . Also, when we wish to prioritize certain categories of discretionary expenses (investment for me, but let's consider "books" as an expense category here), the other categories get deprioritized. Below is the list of personal expenses I avoid: Branded clothes Branded accessories (bags, fo...

 When we visited a temple recently, we were about to walk around the "navagrahas" and D asked this question: D: "Shouldn't we do 8 rounds since Pluto is no longer a planet?" Me: "No, we will do 9 rounds. I'll explain why" After our temple visit, while driving back home, I explained to her how the "navagrahas" are not 9 planets, how they correlate with the days of the week, why there is no Neptune/Uranus equivalent in "navagrahas", what is Rahu/Ketu, etc. K then told her the story behind Rahu and Ketu. After a few minutes, D said, "I think you both are also my grandparents as you are the ones telling me all these stories. I never heard them from my grandparents. I read in a book that grandparents tell such mythological stories". I was a bit taken aback since those were the thoughts running through my mind for the past many years. I'm currently reading Daaji's "The wisdom bridge". Fabulous read so far, ...

 One factor that has always been a guiding principle in my decisions and actions is whether it is a balanced approach or an extremist approach. A few years back, I had attended a workshop. The main reason why I couldn't resonate with many of the points of the speaker was that they all originated from an extremist mindset. They neither were practical to implement nor they came from a place of self-love and self-acceptance. While doing the workshop, I had inadvertently caught up on some of the ideas but I'm glad I didn't take them forward. No regrets about doing that workshop. I consider it as a way by which life showed me what I don't want and what is my preferred principle to evaluate life choices. Balance has always been that guiding light ever since childhood. As I reflected, I'm not the kind of person who would push myself hard during exams. I never pulled all-nighters. I would do late-night studying only until around 11:30PM during exams. I wouldn't sift thr...

 I have raved a lot about this book in the past two weeks. It made a deep impact, both from the information learned as well as how it was conveyed so effectively by the author. Though I knew the importance of sleep, the knowledge gained from this book made me understand why sleep is a non-negotiable factor in our well-being. The author has made such convincing arguments backed by science and research, without any complex lingo. Sleep rhythm is governed by two factors - the internal 24-hour clock governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the sleep pressure built up by the accumulation of adenosine. It was interesting to note how melatonin plays a role in signaling the sleep start time and doesn't help much in sustaining sleep. The sleep cycle consists of multiple stages and the author has elaborated the role of each stage. The key takeaway for me was from the chapters related to REM sleep and how emotions are being processed. The recommended sleep for an adult, according to the au...