A Toastmasters journey into spirituality and the unknown
My Mom sends me a voice message to write on something so that it can be inserted into the digital magazine. I did agree, although internally, and didn’t reply to her till the next day because I was not sure what to write.
And so I decided to write about my trip that took place from the 2nd week of March, a trip so trans-formative that sometimes, some feelings are difficult to write or express them into words. The toastmaster that i am, let me give this a try.
About 3–4 years ago, I had decided that every year since then, I would go back to India and explore a different side of India to the one never experienced. The need to experience difference, is my need to learn and explore new things that life has to offer. The essence of these trips is for me to become a more evolved and get better with everything I do with life.
In this process, unknowingly, I became a more spiritual being in my own way. I did not realize this, till someone put this into a word by telling me, “Varun, you seem to be a very spiritual person?”
If and when someone terms you in a certain way, at first, we probably become very defensive, but then when if and when we think deeply, if that person had to say ‘that’ to you, there was, and there is, a reason why it was told to you at that point in time. Constructive critical feedback is something we can all embrace, and most of us now have learnt with toastmasters.
Spirituality is not what I would like to highlight in this article, but about my recent trip. A trip which I took to India, hoping to be back in Dubai after three weeks. Certainly, as fate and destiny would have it, the universe as its way.
And so I stayed on, not for one, not for two, but for almost 5 whole months. And the process took place whereby there were courses that were happening in the yoga academy and let me call this a ‘sanctuary’.
This sanctuary was in the foothills of the Himalayas with a river crossing right next to it and right after it, an expansive mountain with trees covered all over it, and may wonder where is the mountain in the first place.
A place that did seem like heaven on its own with its greenery, birds chirping away their songs, cows whiling away and grazing along the rivers, ever so peacefully and so gracefully.
Everything did seem clean and clear around me with no one wearing any masks and we were very oblivious with what was happening to the world around us. It’s only when i left for Dubai after the 5th month, did i realize how lucky i have been, and how much i have gained spiritually, emotionally and physically in this place of captivating, awestruck beauty.
The sanctuary that I stayed at, had people from all over the world. We were all ‘stuck’ together and all this time, we didn’t bother where we came from, or what we did, or who we were, all that mattered at that time, was we were together, and helped each other to heal our mental/ emotional scars.
Everyone had their scars, some more than others, and everyone in this world hid it, deep within, not wanting to expose themselves of their vulnerability. In this place that we were staying, there were no egos, no judgments, no fears that we could not overcome.
Through our course and journey of helping each other with Yoga and meditation practices every single day in and day out, all of us came out reinvigorated and re-energized to face this world, finally.
The world that we knew when we came into this sanctuary is very different to the world we now re-enter.
It’s then one realizes the importance to be part of communities. Communities that help each other, unconditionally without expecting anything back. Apart from being a part of the Yoga and meditation community, I had realized how toastmasters has molded me the person that I am today, unknowingly.
I was connected to my home club in Dubai thanks to the online platforms that got adopted and realized how adaptive and flexible we are as a toastmaster. Once again, a great life skill, we learn unknowingly.
In this process, as I got connected to my club in Dubai through our meetings, I realized the similarities of being a toastmaster and the practices i undertake as a yogi and meditation initiation teacher.
Finally when the 3 weeks turned into 4 months of self-transformation, I decided that its time to go back home. The whole experience seemed so surreal and as though this whole pandemic took place for my well-being, but I know that there are people around me who would think otherwise. It’s a question of how we can turn our challenges into opportunities and the way I did so, in the last 18 months.
As I recollect these past 5 months, I cannot write enough on how grateful and humbling an experience it has been. In this fast-paced world, it is the very few, who can experience and immerse themselves with a spiritual guru for this long, and yet be present with the realities and demands of a modern world.
I can only conclude this short article and thoughts to say the importance of being part of communities and more importantly, to be open to the possibilities to realize your immense potential that already exists, simply recognize it.
You can find me on www.varun.life and connect to my various social media channels at the bottom icons
Please don’t forget to clap for this article and will encourage me. Stay blessed.