PLEASURE

Seeking pleasure takes many forms. Rumi says ‘God has gifted us with many wines’, but he also asks us to choose the one that is the best quality and not one that is driven by the ‘need of the moment’ or by fear or anxiety. Chasing pleasure can lead to it becoming an empty affair. But a life without pleasure is dull indeed. So, we discuss pleasure in healthy and unhealthy forms.

MINDFULNESS

What does it mean to be here? The act of meditation does not exist in sitting down and observing one’s breath. It can exist in any activity where we give it our full presence. Presence, as a state of mind, does not involve seeking to get something out of an activity. Rather it involves giving one’s attention completely to the activity. Here we also discuss, flow state, non-action (Wu Wei) and process orientation vs outcome orientation.

CONTROL & SURRENDER

Is there any end to control? Trying to control gives us a headache, but not controlling anything gives us a headache too! Control can be done in a healthy way, but only if we trust first.

On the other hand—When we find ourselves controlling things too much, we may not realise the value of surrender. If we let go, we are able to change our attitude to our circumstances and what was once a problem then becomes an opportunity for growth and learning.

TIME

Time runs. But does it run us? For this topic, we explore how time has evolved, historically, as a concept and a convention. Time exists more in our heads than ‘out there’. This talk explores the nature of time, how it can be understood better for our mental health. More importantly we need to allow ourselves to be humans with clocks rather than machines driven by the demands of a ticking clock.

MEDITATION

A common misconception about meditation is that its aim is to silence the mind. Meditation as an act is simply about connecting to your whole being. Meditation as an act could almost be considered voluntary and involuntary. It is voluntarily done, but it only works if you let go, which means letting your involuntary instincts take over while you observe what happens. When we look at our thoughts from a distance, we realise we are not our thoughts.

SPEAKER BACKGROUND

Anubhav is an Author, Public Speaker, Poet and Activist. He has previously founded an NGO in the Netherlands focused on Food Sustainability and an Event Company. He is an ex-chef, engineer and sustainability consultant. He has been practicing meditation and been an avid explorer of philosophy, spirituality and psychology for the last 12 years. He currently resides in Mumbai but splits his time between Europe and India.