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I had the opportunity to assist someone with shopping this Sunday, the 20th of March 2022. I've always been a great advisor when it comes to fashion but this time I also wanted to try energetic shopping using tools of Access Consciousness for Money and tips by Marie Kondo for Joy. Money and joy may not always go hand in hand but they are so corelated. You follow joy and you find money on the way. You receive money and joy comes for free. I am not saying that money can buy happiness. Happiness is more of a mindset than a milestone or an object to buy. But having money brings joy because you have one thing fewer to worry about. Sometimes, you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, I found myself lucky to be assisting someone rich (who can afford any suggestion without worrying about the price-tag) with shopping and trying energetic shopping. I always wanted to do this. I always expected myself to be doing this in Mumbai though (because all the rich and artsy people are there) but life ...

I was looking for home and for so long. I traveled to countries I've never heard of before in search of a place I could call my home. I was always told that someday I'll be able to live in a city, settled, and create my own home. I looked for that city in all the countries I could see. My Google timeline says I have been to 24 countries, 257 cities, and 1315 places. If you ask me, I would say Google Maps didn't exist when I didn't have a phone. And even then, I was looking for home. If you ask me, I can't tell you which city was for me to stay. I have spent years wondering if I could ever be able to find my place. If I were to create a home where would that be? Eventually I stuck to the phrase - the world is my oyster. And maybe someday I would travel the entire world. This suited my narrative of being an explorer, belonging to the entire world than to one place. When I was locked down in one, I finally began to wonder what was I really running from? I made my house...

Okay, this entire de-cluttering exercise hasn't been a roaring success. Not yet. The donation bags need to be relooked at again. I am kind of running out of clothes to wear in this attempt of minimalism. I haven't fully adopted the Spark Joy or Access Consciousness method too. I will recheck the bags and perceive the energy the next time. The good thing that has come out of this as that my stuff now takes up space in one room only.  De-cluttering of bags is done. It is quite evident that I will not use some bags no matter how good in shape they are. They need to be donated. De-cluttering of documents and other items is to be resumed once I am back at my place. I am writing this from my sister's place now. How are the energies these two days? Yesterday was fun. Also, there was an automatic decluttering that happened- the exact thing I was writing about in 2 blogs or more. If this remains that way, it would be a huge outcome of this entire KonMaring exercise. I'd be glad ...

 What the hell have I been doing with 21 pairs of shoes? Too much for someone who keeps wearing the same pair of sandals or goes out wearing slippers. We are real hoarders. Understanding the value of money and being more mindful in my futuristic spends is the goal. I just realized while talking to a friend that I have reduced smoking thanks to the constant question that even though I can afford one pack what's the value of buying that pack? Does it help me in anyway except for a couple of minutes of pleasure and taste? The shopkeeper keeps trying to sell me a full pack and I keep pushing it back. My life and health has no meaning to them, of course. :-D But it need not be the same for me. I have 21 pairs of shoes but why? What for? Buy few things but make them memorable and usable. So many clothes and nothing to wear is a waste of time, space, energy and money. So many shoes and still picking up the comfortable slipper too is a waste of space and money. This helps me understand one...

 I am loving it now. This entire exercise is getting so much fun that I skipped lunch to pursue categorizing of clothes a little more. The amount of clothes I now have to donate is giving me sheer joy too. There's some satisfaction in giving. When we give to others we actually give to ourselves. When we help others we actually help ourselves. But we need to give without expecting things in return. Expectations can only brew discontentment and complaints. Unconditional giving creates so much joy and mental space. And guess what? I finally had the energy to empty the remaining closets too. The only thing remaining is emptying two suitcases and I am sure I'll do that by the night is over. What surprises did I find? A beautiful dress that comes with the tag which means it was never worn. Not sure who bought it. Don't remember myself buying it because it is not even my style. But I can wear it in Goa. Anything goes in Goa. All body image issues disappear in Goa.  I asked my sis ...

 So I've decided to mix KonMari methods along with Access Consciousness methods of How to Become Money Workbook and employ this KonMaring Consciously method in de-cluttering my house. I intend to write this every day to notice the energy shifts and record the same. Today was supposed to be day 1 and as KonMari method suggests - to de-clutter one category at a time starting with clothes. Well, to be honest I have not started de-cluttering today. Not yet. However, I can't help but notice myself pulling out one of the tops to wear today which I usually don't. It's a cotton semi-shirt semi-kurti my parents bought for us in 2019 from their visit to the ISKCON temple. It hardly goes with my fashion sense and I had told them not to buy anymore clothes for me. I did get a few compliments when I wore it to office back in 2019. But the kurti mostly remains unused except for some occasions when I was pretty sure nobody I knew would wear it. Today I find it comfortable to wear. Why...

I am writing this because I'm angry and my anger is slowly receding. I want to write this before I lose my anger and my memory of the incident. I want to write this because once I write this, I will flush it out of my system too. There are inherent patriarchal remarks we have to walk through every day and it goes unnoticed. It's my last day at work today, having worked in an organization composing of 80% men above managers and maybe around 95% men as a whole, so I believe it is now safe to bring to notice some of the workplace remarks by men here: When a woman is angry about some work, men don't take a lot of time to jump to one of the two following conclusions- 1. If she is young/unmarried - she must be sexually frustrated / PMSing. 2. If she is older, above 45-ish - she must be going through menopause. Regarding PMSing and Menopause- I don't want to deny that hormones don't play a role in our emotions. They do. But concluding it like that in a workplace is totally...