Stotra Happiness Studio

We all have dreams of reaching some milestone or the other. We prepare to achieve something by imagining a particular goal or outcome. For example, somebody wants to be a Champion athlete, somebody else wants to excel in academics or business, somebody wants to achieve health goals or financial goals. At the heart of any such journey is to have a very clear idea of what we want to achieve. It is important to have a very clear idea of what we want to achieve. It is also important to understand that achieving a large goal is part of a long journey. Having smaller goals will set us off on our way to bigger, more epic achievements.

Very often we are surrounded by unknown fears - fear of rejection, fear of loss, fear of failure, of uncertainty, change or maybe fear of loneliness. These fears are like Gremlins which hold us back from moving forward with ease, restrain us to dream big and scare us all the time. This will not happen, there is a roadblock ahead, this will fail, that person cannot be trusted – they have their roots in some fear or the other. What if we don’t listen to these negative whispers that hold us back and make us anxious? Just imagine there is absolutely nothing to be scared of – no fear of loss, no fear of failure. When we eliminate fears we do awesome things, we take off on a free-wheeling journey, ready to fly without the fear of falling.

Imagine a life without friends. Friends are co-travellers in our journey of life. In today's age of distraction, we perhaps do not nurture friendships the way we used to, a generation back. We simply don't seem to find enough time to catch up with friends, share stories of life or just be ourselves. In this episode of Stotra Happiness Studio, we experience the warmth of friendship in our unique guided meditation practice. Let us make life happy again with friends. Happy listening.

Sometimes, the unexpected turns of life surprise us and we have to start afresh. We could either accept and welcome change or resist change. But change is inevitable. During such times, we need to stay firm and still so that the waves of life don’t sweep us away. Meditation helps us stay firm even when difficult situations tend to alter the course of our lives. As Lao Tzu says, "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

From time to time our natural flow of life will be disrupted. Instead of instantly reacting to such disruptions it would perhaps help to just pause a bit and look at the situation objectively, see it from a distance. Very often, seeing a situation pass is often a great learning experience. Because not very often will we be able to control the flow of our life. What we can do is create a better experience. As Roy Benett has said in The Light in the Heart “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy what you can create”.

What is that enduring memory of your childhood that has continued to live with you? Why is it still with you? How did those days look like? How often did you doubt yourself, then? Did you ever do things without reason? Let's travel back in time into the age of our innocence, when life had more meaning in little or nothing. We also get inspired by the incredible story of Subhasini Mistry who built a hospital for the poor, with her sheer will and the desire to serve people like her. And finally, as usual, we get into our meditation practice and discover the magic of returning to our age of innocence. Let this magic of innocence lead you to happiness.

In this episode, we reflect on the meaning of happiness and how we can craft beautiful stories in our lives to source happiness. We also meet an ordinary man who has spread extraordinary happiness in the lives of little children. Ravi Katapady is an inspiration for many, who are in search of happiness. We also get into a meditation practice to start our journey towards happiness.

Stotra Happiness Studio is a celebration of life and its immense possibilities. It uses the art of storytelling and meditation practices to find answers to the various questions that we seek answers to. Written and Narrated by Subha Sankar Chatterjee, a Voice Actor, Author and Life Coach, it takes the listener through an experience that looks at simple ways to spread happiness. This is an introduction to the series.