Meditating With Priya

Last week during my Money and Meaning of Life class with Professor Kate McKeown, we had a very unconventional speaker that fits the description for an unconventional class. Guest speaker Priya as we all know her as, is a woman beyond her years. She as acquired much experience and knowledge that can surpass any yeomen or guru. Madame Priya as I have begun to call her, is in my opinion the best thing that I have ever come across.

A brief background of Madame Priya...she started out as a journalist, then sought to surpass her male competitors by becoming a photographer in just two days through the help of a good colleagues. Madame Priya, with her lovely British accent had the opportunity to follow the Beetles around when they toured in the United States. Just when you think think women has done it all she slaps you with the fact that she had direct dealing with the lead singer John. Much to my amazement, Madame Priya is by far one of the most outspoken individuals that I have had the esteem to meet. Never in a million years would I have guess the thing that Madame Priya told us in class last Wednesday.

Personally, I feel that Pryia was a little eccentric for my taste but, in more ways than one the eccentricities game together as real life advices that most of us just brush off normally. I think the hardest thing that I had difficulty accepting is that we should not idolize our parent. Madame Priya felt that no one in general should be idolized. If your parent wanted to have you then it was their problem and that you should not feel guilty and idolize them for doing so. Typically, in a Guyanese household, the children are made to feel guilty for any and everything that they do. They are always made to think that their parents are like Gods and Goddesses and should be honored accordingly. Madame Priya would say that this is a bunch of horseshit (for a lack of a better word). Parent brought you into this world because they wanted to do so. It is for this reason that they should not use guilt to make the child surrender to the will of the parent.

Madame Pryia goes on to talk about several other issues, such as...

1. The world today is caught up in idolizing each other. Priya wants people (us) to begin thinking and using our own minds in order to get things done. Do not rely on the will of other, when your will is stronger than most people that we idolize.


2. What we need to do is stop idolizing each other and begin looking at ourselves, as well as the world that we live in. There is so much going on around us both mentally and physically that needs to be acknowledge than just mere people.


3. No one person is better than the other. For this reason we should not categorize people by class, race, color, religion, etc. Life is life and we all need to begin to see that no one person, race, religion, etc can surpass another in this life.


4. Do onto other as you would have them do onto you. This statement is simple, the way you want to be treated is the same way that you treat others around you.


5. Ambition is what kills the heart. When this happens the person is no longer enjoying whatever it is they are doing. In order to avoid this I think respect (a closer examination of one self) needs to be accomplished.


6. Life is the only force in the universe, according to Madame Priya. When we are one with the universe we are at one with the soul. For a Hindu like me, reincarnation is a big thing. This means the when my body is no longer functional, I will be free from all the responsibilities of the world. Madame Priya, talked about being free from all obligation. For me freedom will come when I can separate my self from my shell (this body) and from this life (the world). Only then can I obtained freedom. The world we live in is full of negatives and the mind is constantly soaking up these negativity. So how do we rid ourselves of these negativity when the world is a major influence. We don't. Learning to separate the soul from the body and mind is key. When we have amount to this level only then can we sever this connection between body, mind, and soul.


7. Finally the last thing that Madame Priya cover that I think applies to everyone in some way or another is the act of being courageous and taking risks, in order to live life without the obligations that are imposed on us.

Life is a strange thing, what we make of it is up to us. We can lead a life of pain and suffering or we can alter it according to Karma. The decision is up to you. Make the good choices and lead the life of a 'free person' or make the wrong decisions and you may find your life in a hole...whatever it may be make a choice. Mistakes happens. It's only human to make but, its also the actions that you take to correct them that makes a bigger difference. So live, love, and take risks. The biggest risk is one that you will never regret.

With that said let me know what you think.

Nerina

How to Make Meaning In the World?

What I liked most about The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki is by far the valuable lesson that Guy teach young entrepreneurs like myself. I think by alleviating what every entrepreneur feel (the fear of failure) not only makes this book valuable tool but, one that every entrepreneur should utilize. What I liked the most is the concept of GIST (Great Ideas For Starting Things). GIST are tools that most people do not know about and as a result are bound to failure. Ignorance is by far man’s greatest downfall. What we do know now has the potential to hurt us later on down the road. I think for me this is what makes me different from other entrepreneurs in the events planning industry.
Do not get me wrong—there are people within my industry that has made it. However, in my opinion it was just sheer dumb luck. I think in order to make meaning in the world, one has to fist make a meaning for themselves. In blatant terms, if you do not know what you want to do in life how do you expect to make the world better. The average person goes about life thinking that they can better the world by doing fifty different thing, but most do not realize the state of their own lives. They forsake one thing to better the world never realizing that they are adding to the problem not helping to extinguish it.
In terms of making meaning for one’s self, I think my meaning comes from a variety of things. Firstly, I think I draw my inspiration from my passion for life and family. I love to dream and make other’s dreams come true. This is why I choose events planning (specializing in weddings). Weddings in today’s society are taken for granted in more ways than one. Most weddings are view in terms of its splendor rather than the meanings that are associated with it. I think this how I intend to make the world better--by instilled the original values along with the splendor that is associated with today’s weddings and other events carrying special meanings.
I grew up with very specific values of what marriages is all about. Growing up in a Guyanese-Indian household, I was taught that marriage is very sacred and that it was unbreakable because every pair was made in heaven. (I guess you can call me a hopeless romantic.) Anyways, as I grew up I kept believing this and I think in some part of my mind this is still in play. How will I make the world better—I intend to combine my personality strengths (achiever, relator, focus, woo, and input) [1] along with the values that marriage contains to enhance whatever events I plan. I feel when couples who are tying the knot, it should be for all the right reasons. For this reason, I want to combine my services with the values of marriage to make my client’s weddings and events something that they dream about and not what they just settle for last minute. By keeping this or a similar ideology and customer value this is how business men and women are going to make the world better for us all—and like Guys states, “preventing the end of something good.”

[1] These personality strengths were the result of reading: Buckingham M. and Clifton D. O., Now, Discover Your Strengths. After finishing the book I used the code provided by the distributor to do the Strength Finder’s Test.