In today’s technological era, Vikram is dedicated to keeping the tradition of storytelling alive. Calling it “an art form as old as human existence itself,” this former software engineer uses storytelling as a bridge between the young and the old. Vikram is the mind behind Around the Story Tree, a conservation initiative through storytelling, and the main contact for the marketing and publicity of Tahatto, a Bangalore-based theater group. He is a frequent TEDx speaker.

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Vikram Sridhar

<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller2_a42e0971d4.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:04:29.191Z"><h3 style="text-align:center;">… THERE WAS A STORYTELLER</h3><h4>VIKRAM SRIDHAR is a modern day storyteller from Bangalore, India. Here he shares with MEGHANA ANAND some insights about the art of storytelling and how it is an enabler of the wisdom bridge.</h4>Q: Hi Vikram. Tell us how you came to be a storyteller.VS: Storytelling connects three broad areas of my interest – theater, conservation and social work – though my academic qualification is in engineering and management. Theater for me meant acting, production, backstage, and ticketing; basically producing a play. I used to work with wildlife organizations in the rescue space in Bangalore, rescuing kites, monkeys and snakes. I also used to work with children, senior citizens and others in the social sector.Storytelling first happened once when someone asked me, as a theater person, to come and tell a story. But when I looked at the story world a little more deeply, I understood that actually every folktale has flora and fauna deeply embedded in it. And if you extrapolate that into Indian mythology also, every deity has an animal or a bird and a tree or a plant. That means conservation is not outside, it’s already there in our households and folklore, and these stories are what we today call folktales.Conservation is not only about flora and fauna. It can be about our languages, the textiles we wear, and even our emotions. For example, how do you express anger? How do you use it? That is conserving your own emotions. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham,” meaning, “Arrogance, strength, pride, lust and anger.” These are all part of our emotional palette. Every story has these emotions. Either as a listener or as a teller we are going through these emotions. That’s what makes us human beings.What I love from a theater perspective is that it is not about performing on stage, where I need to learn lines by-heart. Storytelling is more candid and more open. Second, I can see the audience’s reactions and change or adapt, by listening to their voices. And third, now I had a tool for social work, and in today’s times you definitely need a tool to make a change. That’s what happened.I realized that I love being in spaces with children, telling them stories. Who doesn’t like to laugh? So from the Spastic Society to an old-age home to an orphanage, even in hospitals sometimes, story is a medium that I use. It is not only about going to different spaces; even speaking to another human being itself is social work. In today’s times, when people need a lot more of a human voice, just listening itself is therapeutic.Q: Absolutely. So what kind of stories do you narrate? From where do you get your inspiration and what is the source of your stories?VS:&nbsp;In today’s world, a huge chunk of what we call folktales, which connect us from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Arunachal, are found only in the children’s section of bookstores. That is my source. A lot of revival has happened in poetry today, but these folktales that have come down to us through generations, are today to be found in books in the children’s section mostly. Of course I give credit to the writers who have documented them. But this is an oral tradition of our country, and when it is no longer orally transmitted, there is no longer life in it.So my source is just these pure simple tales – The Panchatantra, The Jataka, and even The Stories of King Vikramaditya. If you go deeper into the Vikramaditya stories, there is so much more from an adult’s emotional perspective. Today who knows these stories? They are profound, and told in a simple language which can be understood. For a child it may be just a joke, but for an adult it’s such a strong thing.So my source is digging the folktales of our country itself. Every state has thousands and thousands of folktales, and that’s where I start my collection. The word ‘folklore’ means ‘wisdom of people’, so it could be anything from Tenali Raman to Birbal, Rabindranath Tagore to Bharatiyar. It could be stories from the history of known people and unknown people, stories about the origin of food and so on.So one source is definitely folktales, and the other is listening and digging deeper, questioning. When I question, I discover that everything has a story.Q: Who are your audiences? How do they respond to your sessions?VS:&nbsp;My assumption is that human beings like to listen to stories. We assume that children are the ones who love stories, whereas I feel that anybody who is emotional will love stories. And I think everyone is emotional.It’s also a journey for me. Even if I don’t achieve a certain emotional response today, it may happen tomorrow. I am not a storyteller; I am trying to be a storyteller. I may be a storyteller tomorrow and then I will connect more with someone.Each person responds based on their baggage – on their mindset, how their day passed, and so on. For children there is absolutely no yesterday, today or tomorrow, and that’s the ideal state that we all try to reach. As adults, we are constrained by the traffic, what we are going to make or eat for dinner, and in that, how we express our emotions. So, depending on the day people react to the stories differently.Q: Storytelling for children is popular, but what triggered you to reach out to adults through this medium?VS:&nbsp;One trigger was definitely discovering a deeper meaning to the stories we generally tell, like The Hare and the Tortoise. It’s a story we tell children about life, but if you look at it deeper, are we a mammal like the hare or a reptile like the tortoise? Are we running life like the hare or are we walking life like a tortoise?The original story is in <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-tale-of-tales" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aesop’s Fables</a>; Aesop was a somewhat romanticized character who is depicted as a Greek slave who was freed because of his cleverness, and ended up becoming an advisor to kings and city states. From the little bit of travel that I have done, I have come across the phrase “Haraka haraka haina baraka”, which is a proverb in Swahili that means “Haste makes waste” (Literally it means “Hurry, hurry, no blessing”). In Hindi, it’s dhire dhire (slowly, slowly); in Tamil, arakka parakka (hurry-burry).<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller3_ac6a5b8a1f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:06:02.968Z">And in Sevagram, where Gandhi lived, there’s a huge placard which says “Mad Rush,” and he talks about how the world will keep running. He quotes Aristotle, Socrates, Vivekananda, Buddha, and says that every generation will have people running, running, running. There will only be a few who run slow. And when these runners look back in life, it will be an empty road. Now if you look at The Hare and the Tortoise story from this perspective, it’s symbolic of this fact of life. And that for me was a trigger.The second trigger was when I went to the Sabarmati Ashram about two or three years back. I was at their bookstore, and there were these three monkeys that Gandhi is famous for. A grandparent was showing the three monkeys to the grandchild, asking, “You know what these three are?” And the grandchild said, “Speak no evil; hear no evil; see no evil.” I wondered, “Is the child seeing evil, hearing evil or speaking evil? Shouldn’t we be instead asking ourselves? That means the stories we are trying to tell our children are actually meant for ourselves.”That for me was a big trigger. Maybe that is why adults tell stories! It was not for the children but for the sake of themselves. We are telling stories to ourselves and the children are merely spectators. We are bombarding the spectators today and expecting children to know everything, whereas us adults have lost the charm of relating to something wonderful.Q: How far does this tradition of storytelling go back?VS:&nbsp;&nbsp;I think it is from the time we had to do time-pass. Somebody told me a beautiful thing, “Life is between birth and death, and in between we are time-passing.” And if you look at our basic needs, and you take them away, aren’t we doing just storytelling in between? For example, apart from hunting and gathering, our ancestors did storytelling. You can see it in cave paintings and cave architecture.If you look at storytelling as plain art, it has a start, an end, and in between there’s a curve of adventure, and we either go to a new state or we come back to the earlier state, transformed. That is a simple way to look at a story.Q: Storytelling is an age-old tradition: it’s a pity we see it dying today. How do we keep it alive for the future generations?VS:&nbsp;I think as long as human beings are there in this world, there will be arts. The mediums for these traditional arts will definitely adapt and go on. Unfortunately the word ‘storytelling’ is skewed, because today everyone is a storyteller. A moviemaker is a storyteller, a photographer is a storyteller. I don’t have a word for myself; I sometimes wonder what I should call myself. I am just a storyteller. The media have changed. There is now a movie maker and a storywriter.What storytelling means etymologically is ‘something told by a human being orally’. So as far as human beings are there, and as far as there’s a need to listen to the human voice, storytelling will exist. The media of course will change based on distance and time.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">Storytelling is an educational tool. It is a performance.&nbsp;It is connecting. When you do any art form – not only storytelling – you express&nbsp;and touch others with your emotions.</h5><hr>Q: How is storytelling therapeutic?VS:&nbsp;Storytelling is an educational tool. It is a performance. It is connecting. When you do any art form – not only storytelling – you express and touch others with your emotions.Why do you feel so relaxed when you listen to a song? You may not have even seen the person in your life, but their singing immediately triggers something within you. It is because the human voice is a deeper connector than a visual. So when you throw it on the mike, you are touching the audience in some way – it’s a comfort. And comfort is a therapy in itself.If I go deeper, when I am performing the story live in front of an audience, it has something to do with Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Sound, which is the bhava, the voice from within. This voice from within is why we do a satsangh or sing together. And as much as there is silence-soundsilence, there is sound-silence-sound. Nada comes from different parts of our body.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller4_0994a1377f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:07:12.267Z">The Indian system of Nada is from our nabhi, the navel. When you listen to someone’s voice, you are receiving that voice, that energy, and cleansing your own self with it. Your voice takes a form with your riyaz, your practice, your energy. That is why when you speak to people, you find some energies are positive and some are negative.And because storytelling itself is an oral tradition, I believe Nada Yoga is a sublime part of it. It means that the sound which comes from me has to be with the right mindset, with positivity, with the right lifestyle. My own riyaz has to be solid, because when it is expressed through the voice, there are at least 20 pairs of ears listening. The voice is flowing into their body and doing something to the listener.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">“Once upon a time” for me is simply going into your own self, away from everything else.&nbsp;It’s detoxing in a different way, because in that one hour,&nbsp;how many people are actually thinking of something else?&nbsp;It’s just my space, my spiritual space.</h5><hr>Q: You have practically covered almost all parts of India with your storytelling performances. Do you have any plans of taking your stories abroad?VS:&nbsp;I want to cover the country more, because I think this country itself is so large. I traveled abroad in my professional life when I was working with an IT giant, but as far as storytelling is concerned, this country itself is enough. If in the process I have to go outside, it’s okay, but the number of children in India itself is humongous.I can be myself here. When I was in Srinagar in Kashmir, it was amazing to see the children there laugh aloud. I find joy in that. There is enough work to be done here as a storyteller, I feel, and I am happy with that. I think it’s an ocean.I’ve started to also look at the lullabies of our land. Lullabies are such important oral traditions, which don’t have words. In a recent session I tried this lullaby that I’d learnt for the first time, and the children said, “Can you sing it again? We want to lie on your lap and sleep.” And they slept! One child was lying on my lap while I was singing. It was really beautiful.Q: Is there any single underlying message that you carry through your stories?VS:&nbsp;If at all anything, I would like my stories to inspire children to just love being in this world, instead of saying, “Why am I born into this world?” Children should be allowed to celebrate life. Everything is a celebration. Today is a celebration; this moment is a celebration.And for the adults my message is that no one is perfect. That’s something I have accepted a long time back. I find the perfect in the imperfect. Who has not been guilty? We are human beings, and the idea of presenting ourselves into this world is maybe just to understand this and come back. Imperfection is something very beautiful.Q: That’s very motivating. What does the art of storytelling mean to you personally?VS:&nbsp;It’s my mode to fulfill my spiritual, emotional and financial needs. Some people do three different things in life to satisfy these three needs, and I used to do that once upon a time. But today my spiritual, emotional and financial – everything is storytelling. I don’t bring in anything and I don’t take back anything. I am there for today and in that sense I am not cluttering the world.Q: That brings us to the last question: As a storyteller, what does “Once upon a time” mean to you?VS: “Once upon a time” for me is simply going into your own self, away from everything else. It’s detoxing in a different way, because in that one hour, how many people are actually thinking of something else? It’s just my space, my spiritual space. I go completely gaga, and I don’t know what’s happening on any side. When I say or hear “Once upon a time”, it’s a different form of meditation in that space. And when so many people come together in that space, it’s a journey that can happen only once in a lifetime.Q: Thank you so much Vikram, and I wish you all the very best.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Interviewed by MEGHANA ANAND</h4><hr>

Once upon a time ...

Vince Lombardi 

Catching Excellence

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Vinoba Bhave

Nothing is so powerful as love and thought

Violeta Chamorro

Reconciliation

Virginia is a multi lingual intercultural relations consultant, health, wellness and neuro language coach, with over 25 years experience. Virginia helps professionals cultivate language skills and adapt to new environments and lifestyles. Virginia explores the role of neuroscience in learning, evolving value systems, and the significance of inner alignment for outer change.

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Virginia Cutchin

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual intercultural consultant and neurolanguage® coach who helps professionals cultivate language skills and adapt to new environments and lifestyles. Here, JAYATI DESAI of the Heartfulness Institute interviews Virginia about the role of neuroscience in bridging intercultural differences and learning new languages.</h4><hr>Q: Welcome Virginia. Despite the globalization of the workforce, there are still differences in the attitudes and ways we work around the world. I am curious to understand how neurolanguage coaching helps us to collaborate more effectively.VC: Sure. First, let me thank you for this chat.Neurolanguage coaching was developed and registered by a wonderful woman named Rachel Paling, who established a worldwide network of neurolanguage coaches. It is a method of language acquisition and learning that places heavy emphasis on neuroscience – how brains like to learn.All brains are basically the same, but with subtle differences that play out in how we interpret challenges – what happens when we feel anxious or threatened. This happens when we learn something, like learning to drive or learning a new language, especially when the pressure to learn is great.Neurolanguage coaching is a process of co-creation with the learner, considering every learner as a unique case and discovering how best they learn. We present information to them accordingly and keep them as engaged as possible from the very beginning. An absolute beginner who doesn’t know anything about the language can speak and remember in a short amount of time, just by knowing how the brain accesses different blocks of information.<hr><hr><h4>Neurolanguage coaching is a process of&nbsp; co-creation with the learner,&nbsp; considering every learner as a unique case and&nbsp; discovering how best they learn.</h4><hr><hr>Q: Our understanding is that children absorb information and learn new languages faster than adults. Does this method specifically cater to children or adults?VC: It’s for both. My clients include 7-year-old children and 60-year-old adults. We do take into consideration that children learn faster, so our approach is tailored to their energy level, their brainwave patterns, the development of the physical brain, and the physical capacity to learn the language. It’s fascinating, because it allows us to engage at such a personal level that it builds closeness and trust very quickly, and that’s lasting.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_culture3_700x466_823e75f57d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T12:44:02.687Z" alt=""><hr>Q: So, is this method faster than traditional methods?&nbsp;VC: Yes, there is evidence that those who use neurolanguage coaching learn the language faster. Neurolanguage coaching focuses on mechanical skills, such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, and also mastery skills, such as subject matter and target audience? What do you need to learn about? If you’re using it for business, you don’t need to know how to ride a bicycle, you need to know how to negotiate.Neurolanguage coaching is tailor-made to the specific needs of the learner. It’s dynamic, so the learner stays engaged throughout the coaching, as they help identify what is to be learned. It is meaningful and relevant for the learner.I lived in Italy as a teenager, and I’ve forgotten most of my Italian, so I’m going to re-learn it using this method. There are language families across the world, and we are constantly building bridges from your native language to the target language that you want to learn. And even though it could be wildly different, say English and Chinese, there are connections to be made, and the brain loves connections and patterns, and to be as efficient as possible. When we can build those bridges – we call it scaffolding –starting from a good foundation, connections between languages are made quickly.Q: Scaffolding and building bridges between languages was the crux of the cultural counseling you provided me. But there is still a blind spot when we move from one part of the world to another, and work with people who have a different primary language and a different understanding of the language spoken.In your role as a cultural awareness counselor, how do you enable people to make that link between different cultures?VC: That’s a great question. We know that when people feel anxious or incompetent, when they don’t know what their role is, or where to buy socks in a new country, the learning part of the brain shuts down. Not completely, but we have less access to it, because at that point the brain wants to survive and protect us. Whether it’s protecting us physically, emotionally, or protecting our self-esteem, it is one of the components of culture shock or transition stress. The harder we try to learn in fight-or-flight mode, the less effective we are.My background in intercultural training informs my activities as a language coach, and vice versa, because we learn best when we are calm and centered. Different brains accomplish calm in different ways, but physiology is physiology. When we practice techniques to keep the brain calm, it’s fascinating how much we can learn.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_culture2_700x466_2407ae9dce.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T12:44:45.346Z" alt=""><hr>Q: Are there any specific hacks we can apply? When we onboard new staff into their roles, I see them panic or become nervous when they’re being presented with a lot of new information. What are some techniques we can apply to calm down?VC: You can’t be anxious and relaxed at the same time. Many years ago, I was in the dentist’s chair. I was already anticipating the drill in my mouth and I was getting anxious. So, I focused on relaxing my hands on my lap and I laser focused on feeling relaxed. I did some deep breathing because oxygen in the blood is key to relaxation. If the mitochondria in your cells don’t have oxygen, you don’t have energy. I’m in the dentist’s chair and I’m actively practicing relaxation, and all of a sudden the procedure was done.It’s not that we must use consciousness that way, but just two minutes of relaxation and deep breathing can change your brainwave patterns. It’s a paradigm shift. I do it when I’m practicing coaching or training, or whenever someone is anxious. It’s such a simple technique that’s 100% effective.Q: I can totally relate because Heartfulness Relaxation is recommended when you feel anxious or need to center yourself.VC: It’s often passed off as trivial, but it’s truly effective. Everyone can try it out intentionally.To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by JAYATI DESAI</h4><hr>

Language and Culture

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual, intercultural relations consultant, a health and wellness coach, and a neurolanguage® coach. In part 2 of her interview with JAYATI DESAI, Virginia talks about how values evolve.</h4><hr>Q: You have spoken about acquired versus core values, and how they are likely to shift when we move from one place to another. We are taught a set of values by our family and immediate surroundings when we are young, and as we maneuver though different stages of life those core values may evolve. How can we differentiate between the two, and develop a better understanding of ourselves and our values?VC: Great question. When I encounter difficulty and confusion in identifying an underlying value, I ask myself, “What is it that you can’t not do?”What is it that you can’t help but do every day? How is it that you must show up in the world, because not doing that creates such discomfort. This is different from your comfort zone. A core value is something you can’t not do, whether it’s an activity or a way of thinking. Sometimes, it has to do with your DNA, and what’s passed on.If it is not something you have to do, then it’s probably an acquired value. Acquired values come early in life. We learn them from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, the neighborhood, guests, and television. We evaluate everything that comes into our world, and sense it as a possible acquired value. Because we are constantly bombarded with external influences, we owe it to ourselves to manage the incoming assault of influences and to take time to really untie the knot of what is a core value and what is an acquired value.When people move to different countries, or when they acquire a new language and the idiosyncrasies of that new language, sometimes confusion, disappointment, or anger can come from the clash of their core values versus incoming influences.I’ve rejected some of my acquired values because they conflicted with my core values. Some acquired values served me well, helped me serve others – so I keep those. I’ve lived in other countries and I’ve been able to evaluate a lot. You can’t choose your core values, though. You can modify them, but you can’t reject them, because they are so essential to your being. Personal reflection is essential to keep your values in check.Q: I’m curious – based on the number of people you’ve coached over the years across the world, do you see any patterns in the way values are evolving or shifting in the last few years?VC: Yes, absolutely. In the past couple of years, as the world has been impacted by the pandemic, I see a couple of things happening. Those who benefited from the pre-Covid materialist world want to hang on to it and rebuild it into what it was before. For others, there’s more willingness to explore core values, consciousness, and to question our willingness to adhere to the old ways. There are those who say, “Wait a second. This doesn’t feel right, look right, or serve me anymore.”We are willing to be more discerning. We are willing to assert what works and doesn’t work for us anymore. According to me, this comes from a long history of self-reflection and growth. It boils down to alignment with the inner Self.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Evolving_social_values2_700x466_03e6e6b017.jpg" alt="">Q: In an earlier conversation, you mentioned our relationship with nature, and aligning our core values to the internal and external environment. Can you elaborate on that?VC: It’s been liberating for me to go small. A huge revelation for me has been the recognition that when we are in the present we aren’t thinking about anything else. I am aware of my feet as I walk, the breeze and the sunlight on my face, and the feeling of my dogs’ leads in my hand as I take them for a walk. I became aware of the fact that I have enormous power to affect my immediate environment with my energy level. We are exchanging energy with the environment all the time, and I want that energy to be positive, because that’s what I want from the universe.I start every day by breathing in the goodness of the universe. The universe is governing without any judgment. I breathe out what I’m willing to do on my part. It could be showing gratitude, or it could be acknowledging fear and embracing the protection of the universe and my well-wishers.&nbsp; I’m willing to go very small and realize that I can only affect my little world that fits inside a hula hoop. That’s all I can influence. If we all uplifted our world with good energy, the world would be uplifted.Everything we see in nature has the whole universe inside of it. One of my favorite quotes is “Even the smallest flame has all the qualities of fire.” Whether it’s a little child or the trees, the entire universe is inside them. It’s right there, it’s limitless, it’s accessible, and it’s limited by our willingness to tap into it. If I’m in alignment with myself and the natural world, eventually it translates into better alignment with society at large, with the people around me.<hr><h4>Everything we see in nature has the whole universe inside of it.</h4><hr>Sometimes people don’t want change, don’t like realignment; but I am under no obligation to perpetuate that which does not work for me anymore – if it doesn’t allow me to show up as my best self in the world then I can reject it. That’s my obligation. I’m a part of many different communities, as we all are. My strongest, most meaningful community is with those people who are showing up, trying to be their best selves so they can help others be their best selves. There is so much ego-less ness in that, it’s absolutely intoxicating. Everyday, I wake up with this energy, this determination and gratitude to show up in the world and do what life expects and asks of me that day.To be continued.

Evolving social values

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual intercultural relations consultant, a health and wellness coach, and a neurolanguage® coach. In part 3 of her interview with JAYATI DESAI, Virginia talks about building trust-based relationships and building community through communication.</h4><hr>Q: How can we make conscious changes in the ways and means we communicate, in order to develop authentic connections?VC: It comes down to core values and acquired values, and making adjustments. We need not negotiate on core values, but we can be flexible with acquired values, regardless of how strong they are.I love what you said about communicating versus connecting. Language is much more than words. Take a look at the communicative heritage between humans and other animals. They communicate well – they exchange a few words, but it’s mostly tone of voice and how they approach, whether it’s welcoming or menacing. We have this enormous communicative power and a large part of it is nonverbal. Our presence speaks for itself.Because of the world we live in, we often lose touch with our core values. We get on the treadmill, and we run to try to keep up. I have done that, too, in the past, but I know that I am a product of my choices. Habits are choices that are repeated. If I want to be a different product, I change my choices. I change my habits. Right now I am a product of that effort,and there is a lot of “been there, done that” in my past. Not all of it is pleasant. So I am changing the choices I make today. I focus on the end goal and on the systems in my life that support that goal. If I fail, it’s not because I’m a horrible person, it’s because the systems don’t support that goal effectively. I have learned this from James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. It’s helpful to focus on the systems that support my progress.Q: A lot of our readers are young professionals, constantly working to evolve in all aspects of life. Do you have any suggestions on how to overcome stereotypes, and how to cultivate empathy, alignment, and connection when building authentic relationships?VC: The first thing is to develop a sense of curiosity about others and yourself.The second thing is the suspension of judgment, which is one of the most effective skills anyone can develop, including young professionals.What do I mean by that? When we witness a situation or have an experience with another person, so often we jump to an evaluation, largely to protect ourselves so that we know how to respond. We are constantly evaluating because our brain is constantly scanning the environment for threatening situations. Some of that is physiological and we can’t completely escape it, but we can override it by developing a healthy sense of curiosity to find out why it is happening. We can use that curiosity and test the boundaries of our own vulnerability. We are a lot stronger than we think we are. The brain is going to protect us regardless. So while trusting that it will continue to do what it does best, we can test the boundaries of our own vulnerability.The third this is developing self-confidence, which comes from knowing what your core values are, knowing what your boundaries are, and knowing that sometimes your boundaries can be flexible and sometimes they can’t, and that’s okay.It helps to know that people from different cultures behave, respond, react, and initiate differently, so developing curiosity without judgment is really important. At the same time, if we are going to live in the world we have to adapt to certain things like credentials, education, etc. We don’t need to reject those things, we just have to choose the life we want to live. When we suspend judgment, we don’t have to criticize, we just have to discern.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Building_Community_Through_Communication1_1_700x303_b5dd2fd8fc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:28:57.773Z" alt="Building-Community-Through-Communication1-1"><hr>Q: Any final messages for our readers?VC: Don’t be afraid to participate. We’re all involved in a lot of meetings and networking events, and we are sometimes tempted to say, “I’m not going to say anything. I’m just here to learn.” That’s great, but what if everyone did that? We’d all be sitting around looking at each other. An affirmation I set for myself many years ago is, “Today I choose to participate in the abundance of life.” If it resonates, you’re welcome to take it.Today, make a conscious choice to participate in the abundance of life that is there. Whether we stay home, unable to go out, we are connected through the energy of the universe. When we recognize that, we welcome it into our lives. Participate means to show up. Be an active participant in your own life. You don’t get to judge the value of what you contribute – you just have to put it out there with a positive intention.Q: That was incredibly inspiring, Virginia! Thank you so much for sharing that.VC: Thank you, it’s been an absolute delight.

Building community through communication

Virginia Woolf was an English writer. She is considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.

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Virginia Woolf

Creative power

Vivan is the Managing Director of Yesha Electricals, is a trained pilot and was the President of the Gujarat Flying Institute for 15 years, and is currently chairman of an industry association in Gorwa Vadodara. He has been a Heartfulness trainer since 2015.

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Vivan Patel

<h4>VIVAN PATEL decided it was time to build cognitive reserve in his brain by doing a few simple tasks. The results speak for themselves: he became much more aware instead of functioning on autopilot.</h4><hr>In order to build and retain cognitive reserve, our brain needs fresh challenges almost on a daily basis to keep our neural pathways open and maintain a healthy central nervous system. I decided to take up this challenge by practicing a few simple exercises I learned in the Brighter Minds Restart program for adults.One of the things I took up first was to take a different route to work and try to take only left turns to get to the office and … well, it’s not always possible! I was able to make it eventually but I had to get quite creative and think of different options while I was driving. I was fully aware rather than operating like we normally do from the subconscious mind and following our habitual patterns.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Jump_Start_Your_Brain2_187006091a.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:15:37.620Z" alt="jump-start-your-brain"><hr><hr><h4>In order to build and retain cognitive reserve, our brain needs&nbsp; fresh challenges almost on a daily basis to keep our neural pathways open&nbsp; and maintain a healthy central nervous system.</h4><hr><hr>The other thing I tried was cycling to work, which is actually quite amazing because I was able to observe things minutely as well as engage all the senses. For instance, cycling behind a fruit vendor’s cart I could actually smell the bananas. Curiously, depending on how ripe the bananas were, I could perceive different smells on different days – I began to understand the different stages of ripening and whether they were ready to eat simply by cycling in their wake!The olfactory experience is really something you cannot ignore when you’re on a bike. I would pass by some popup shops and street vendors, each selling a different snack with its telltale aromas. I learned about other people’s eating habits on a working day and, more interestingly, how the different vendors engage with their clientele. I missed all this from the car with the windows rolled up and the AC on. I became more observant of the faces of these vendors as I passed by, noting their expressions. When you do this for a few days, they start smiling at you because they see you every day, and you form a connection by this gesture of acknowledgment!You see, and you can hear the birds, especially early in the morning, something that you miss out on completely while driving. I observed that some birds had a preference for certain trees – some trees were teeming with them and others not as popular. Maybe it was the berries or fruit that attracted them.At the same time, I began to appreciate the difficulties that cyclists face. One of the biggest disturbances I found was the constant honking of vehicles. In a car you are insulated from even your own honking, because cars nowadays are so well sound insulated. It’s actually very irritating for other people out there, cyclists and pedestrians. Another appalling discovery was how some people don’t take cyclists into consideration, and instead tend to “nudge” them aside and not give way. It actually felt somewhat disconcerting to be riding a bicycle in peak hour in the hurtling traffic.The other activity I took up while cycling was alternating finger exercises with my hands on the handlebar. I could only do this when the road was empty, as I didn’t want to risk running into something, ha ha! I rediscovered my neighborhood by noticing different signs, even the little ones stuck on trees by vendors, for example someone selling coconuts or an advertisement for after-school tuition.Another challenging thing I did is to use my less dominant hand to do the daily tasks. I used my left hand to brush my teeth, shave, and eat my food. I would walk backward whenever I had the opportunity, especially when going up stairs. I would wake up to a different alarm tone, and this would surprise me awake rather than make me groan. Something fun we tried as a family is eating a meal in silence, using only visual clues. Another was trying to use the mobile phone upside down – this was frustrating and hilarious at the same time.All this made me more mindful, aware of every activity. I didn’t operate on autopilot in a habitual manner. Instead, thought went into every moment. Just this recalibration stimulated my neural pathways!<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Jump start your brain

Wakanyi is a Global Education Specialist, writer, editor, storyteller, and founder of the African Folktales Project. The theme of peaceful, cross-cultural cooperation is a common thread in her writing and personal life. For more than a decade she has lived in 7 countries, on 3 continents, as a global nomad, developing a rich intercultural intelligence built upon her training as a journalist.

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Wakanyi Hoffman

<h4>WAKANYI HOFFMAN is a Global Education Specialist and founder of the African Folktales Project. Here, she speaks with SARA BUBBER about the value of storytelling and passing down wisdom through generations, her Kikuyu culture, and how all of us are indigenous people contributing to the world.</h4><hr>Q: Hello Wakanyi. It is a pleasure to meet with you today. I love listening to stories, reading them, and meeting people who tell stories, so I’m very happy we are talking.WH: Thank you! I’m also quite excited to have this conversation with you, Sara.Q: In the Heartfulness community, we often talk about the Wisdom Bridge – the transfer of wisdom from elders to youth, and from youth to elders, because learning is a dual process. It signifies the relationship between traditional cultural heritage and wisdom, and the present. What is the importance of the Wisdom Bridge from your perspective?WH: Wow, that’s a really important way of framing it! Off the top of my head, the Wisdom Bridge is a rite of passage from one generation to another. It signifies the idea of passing the baton from the old to the young, so that they become custodians of knowledge, whether that is cultural knowledge, spiritual knowledge, or values.Of course, there is reciprocity as well. Children offer wisdom to the old, so there is a kind of remembrance for our elders that wisdom is an ongoing pursuit, and that they can gather wisdom from the young as much as they can gather from their peers. Then, the other way around, elders are passing down wisdom to the younger generation, signifying, “It is our task to carry you forward.”To some degree, I see the Wisdom Bridge as a reminder that we are all indigenous to this planet. It is very important to hold that in our hearts, to understand that we’re all human beings and our knowledge is ancient. It has been growing. It never ended. We tend to put indigenous people to the side and have parallel worlds going on. I think it’s important to recall, and to recall from each other, that we are all indigenous to our planet.For me, the Wisdom Bridge is a symbolic movement of knowledge from one generation to another. It is also a symbolic movement from one culture to another. That way, we’re not stuck. You can take the wisdom and knowledge that has been passed down to you and recreate it, using it to learn about others. It is also a bridge to other worlds. There’s a lot there. I see it as a rite of passage from one generation to the next, and a way to connect with others who do not come from your cultural background.It is the gift of elders to the next generation, and it is a way for elders to recall who they were when they were younger, receiving that gift from others. There’s a whole exchange of knowledge that goes on when that is allowed to happen.Q: I really like what you said about it being a rite of passage and a gift. It’s a wonderful gift! As you said, we often keep indigenous people aside, so we are losing out on their wisdom.The Wisdom Bridge is creaky and in need of repair. The relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, tribes and urban populations, are not so strong now. Many of our ancient cultures are either being absorbed into modern urban life, or people are moving away from them. So we are losing a lot of wisdom from our past. This affects all areas of lifestyle. What can we do to save and preserve the bridge that we have?<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens2_3a54c866bc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:42:44.502Z" alt="Indigenous-Global-citizens2"><hr>First of all, I want to start on a hopeful note. I’d like to think of this as the audacity of hope – we are all human beings, and we are all indigenous to this world. Yes, there is a crisis around how much of our old oral traditions and cultural knowledge have been passed on, whether it’s to global modern culture, or national modern culture. There is definitely a big divide between indigenous knowledge and the rest of the world, however, I believe that all the knowledge is carried in every generation. Like we started off with the idea of the Wisdom Bridge, I believe my mother holds within her heart the knowledge of the past. Now she’s living as a modern woman, but that knowledge lives somewhere in her.It’s less a question of where to find the knowledge, and more an issue of how to open up the path; for people to open their hearts to share the knowledge. It’s a living thing. And we can recover that knowledge through storytelling. Telling stories is something inherently human.We all tell stories. You and I are telling stories now, and we’re telling stories on social media, and we’re telling stories on the news. We’re telling stories with friends when we gather, and when we’re at the supermarket we’re telling a story. I believe a story is a living thing, and it lives from one person to the next. As soon as we have a conversation, we exchange some form of story. You will carry part of my story with you, and I will carry part of your story with me. That’s the link.We can bring storytelling into classrooms, so that children who no longer live in their indigenous communities, or rural communities, where a lot of this culture and wisdom is practiced don’t have to lose it. We just shift it to the masses.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens3_700x400_8e8a660169.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:52:13.020Z" alt="Indigenous_Global_citizens3"><hr><hr><h5>The Wisdom Bridge is a symbolic movement of knowledge from one generation to another. It is also a symbolic movement from one culture to another.</h5><hr><hr>Also, indigenous knowledge and wisdom is not something that is stuck in the past. It is not lost; it is living in modern populations. It’s just not being utilized in the same way that it was in its indigenous settings. There’s a need to recall it from each other. The power of storytelling is such that we can recall the past by beginning from where we’re standing.If you know a folktale from your own community, that is a way to recall some part of your indigenous heritage. The more people are telling stories from the past, the more we are recollecting that knowledge and bringing it into the present. We don’t necessarily need to move backwards. In fact, that’s what the hesitation usually is.There is the challenge of how to embrace indigenous cultures in the modern world. I think that’s the wrong question to ask. We are all indigenous. We’re indigenous to this planet. The question should be, “How do we work together? How do we bridge the gap?” One good way is to open up the avenues of storytelling, whether it’s digitally, through social media, or orally. Create storytelling sessions. In that way, we begin to discover where we have deviated, and the cultural values and principles we’re still applying to our modern world that are from the indigenous past.Don’t forget, also, that indigenous folk have been moving on. They’re not stuck in the past. They are using knowledge that they have refined over time. Through storytelling and openly wanting to learn about each other, we create the space where knowledge is considered as another source of being, rather than separate from who we are.I think storytelling is the answer to your question. I have realized that we are made up of stories; it is our stories that feed us. If we’re able to understand that and bring indigenous wisdom into schools, without distorting the way knowledge is passed down (usually, orally is the best way to do it) then we will regenerate and recollect this wisdom.Q: This dialogue is breaking a lot of myths: for example, indigenous people are not stuck in the past, we are all indigenous, and we are not separate from each other. These are great insights.WH: There are age-old traditions all over the world. What are the initiatives you are taking up in your culture as a storyteller to bring them back, to tap into them, and to open things up?I’m a Global Education Specialist, and through my research I discovered the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I discovered that there’s a lot of talk about how to engage children in classrooms to understand and embrace the SDGs, and how they can become better-informed global citizens who can find solutions to the challenges of achieving these goals.But the SDGs are complex for young children. So how can we package them for young children who just want to be children? They want to play and learn and be happy. They don’t want to be bothered by big ideas about what the world looks like, and what the problems of the world are. Take climate change, for instance. Even though we’ve seen an amazing movement of children around the world protesting for climate justice, there’s still a big question mark around how they truly understand the crisis itself. They can understand that there is a lot of pollution, there are a lot of fires and earthquakes, but to what extent do they understand that this major crisis could signify the end of times as we know them?As a result of my research, I founded the African Folktales Project. I collected African folktales that contain ideas about sustainability, and through that process I discovered that all folktales have some lesson or idea about the future. A lot of stories are about conflict between humans and wildlife, and about climate issues like drought. There are a lot of African folktales related to climate change. This was a very exciting discovery for me. I realized that storytelling was one of the ways I could bring the Sustainable Development Goals to the classroom, so as to help kids understand them and get inspired to do something.So, I started taking stories tied to the 17 SDGs and reimagining them. For example, I have taken a story about a big fire that happened, and how the fire was put out and the land was regenerated and recovered. I’ll use the same characters, the moral of the story remains, but I reimagine it in the present time. Often, folktales are set in the past, so they are not relevant to kids growing up in today’s world, especially when you’re telling stories to children in modern settings versus indigenous settings. As I tell these stories, I ask the children to take them and remake them, recreate them. It is that Wisdom Bridge you were talking about initially – passing down stories and leaving them incomplete, so they can have ownership of the stories.<hr><hr><h5>I’m trying to create an environment in which we can embrace&nbsp; the idea that these are our stories – all of us indigenous people on planet Earth.</h5><hr><hr>I’m deconstructing the idea of folktales being held by a certain group of people. I’m trying to create an environment in which we can embrace the idea that these are our stories – all of us indigenous people on planet Earth. I don’t discount the fact that the stories came from a certain space, but even within an indigenous population there is a clear understanding that stories never had an original storyteller anyway. A story was always meant to be passed down. When I heard a story from my grandmother, she couldn’t possibly tell me where the story originally came from. The objective was for me to take the story, use it in my own life, and pass it on to my children. That keeps the stories going.This is one of the ways I’m trying to promote storytelling, promote indigenous wisdom, especially in my country, Kenya, where there is a rich oral tradition from indigenous cultures that is not seen any more in classrooms.I’ve transformed the stories into podcasts, and next year I will publish a book of the first series of UN SDG folktales. I’m trying to use as many forms of communication and media as possible – digital, audio, and live sessions in schools. These stories can become our stories, not stuck in one space.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens4_700x428_3887ecdec5.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T13:02:46.494Z" alt="Indigenous_Global_citizens4"><hr>Even within indigenous communities, there is a concern that children are not always told stories by their elders, because of the formalities of going to school and the way in which the culture has been separated from formal education. So, I’m hoping that these storytelling sessions will also engage indigenous elders in the process of recollecting, retelling, and recreating their stories. Then we’re all learning from each other, and we’re doing something relevant for the times with what we already have.I’m trying to bridge and marry cultures through storytelling, using folktales as a pedagogical approach to learning more about who we are.To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by SARA BUBBER Illustrations by SANTANU CHATTERJEE</h4><hr>

We are all indigenous global citizens – part 1

<h4>WAKANYI HOFFMAN is a Global Education Specialist and founder of the African Folktales Project. In part 2 of her interview with SARA BUBBER from the Heartfulness Institute, Wakanyi shares the value of storytelling, passing down wisdom through generations, her Kikuyu culture, and how we are all indigenous global citizens.</h4><hr><h3>We Are All Indigenous Global Citizens – Part 2</h3><hr>Q: A lot of change has taken place from previous times to modern times. But one thing that really stands out as central in this dialogue is storytelling. What is the role of stories in the transfer of wisdom?WH: That could be another session, couldn’t it? Storytelling is a living thing. It is who we are. We tell stories using all forms of communication: Through song, through dance, through nonverbal communication, we use the art of storytelling to communicate our feelings, our ideas, our fears, and our concerns. And so, the role of storytelling in communicating wisdom is central.Children are like sponges: They are very good at receiving a story, and then interpreting it for themselves and reenacting it. Whenever I hold a storytelling session with a group of children, I will hear the story later on from another child who was not part of the group, because that story was shared. That’s clearly the way we’ve always passed down knowledge. Even in schools, whenever I speak to educators, especially teachers involved in global citizenship education, every single discipline that children are taught in school, whether it is mathematics or science or music or art, is a form of storytelling. If children imagine it as a story, there’s a lot more retention; that has been scientifically proven.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/indegenous_global_citizens_part2_2_f3532515cd.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T12:48:34.467Z" alt="indegenous-global-citizens-part2-2"><hr>The role of storytelling in passing down wisdom is key to understanding how to do it, and there is no one way that is better than another. Take oral storytelling – I could claim that stories are best told orally, but that’s just one way in which indigenous communities have done it. Now we have other tools, and we can use the digital tools we have. We can use any space in which human beings are gathering to tell stories. We need to open up our minds to what is available to us, and get excited that we can scale the process of telling stories with these tools.Q: Storytelling has been going on for a long time in oral form. We’d like to know about the oral traditions of Africa.WH: There are so many! I think I will focus on my own culture. I come from a tribe known as the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The communities of the Kikuyu are based around the mountain region. We border the Masai and other tribes, and there’s a lot of intermarriage. My maternal grandfather was part Masai, so there’s a bit of Masai blood in me.Some of the oral traditions are reflective of this intermarriage and intercultural exchange, but there are also certain ways of the Kikuyu I can speak to, for example, the oral tradition around naming. We name our children after ancestors; for example, my name, Wakanyi, is my maternal grandmother’s name, and she was named after either her maternal grandmother or paternal grandmother. It really depends on the line and the birth order. I’m the last born, and the second daughter of my mom. My sister is named after my father’s mother. That’s one of the very strict traditions of the Kikuyu culture. You know the birth order and you also know if it’s from your mother’s side or your father’s side.<hr><hr><h5>Our indigenous cultures are so important,&nbsp; and we need to honor their importance to this world.&nbsp; They provide the map to show us where we’ve come from,&nbsp; and where we’re heading.</h5><hr><hr>There’s a creation myth: The first Kikuyu that settled around Mount Kenya climbed up the mountain. From there, he experienced a spiritual awakening by encountering the God of the Kikuyu, and he was presented with a wife. The wife then bore nine daughters, and the nine daughters started the Kikuyu’s nine tribes. We are all descendants of those nine tribes. Depending on your name and your clan, you can trace your ancestors back to one of those daughters.There’s also a tradition of building houses, which is an interesting one. According to the Kikuyu, a house – a round hut – had to be built in a day. That doesn’t happen anymore, but in the olden times, each hut was built from morning till evening. A lot of organizing had to go on to complete the task. The reason? An incomplete house could invite the wrong kind of energy, evil spirits. To avoid them, you had to build your house, move into it immediately, and begin living in it. Then you’d have the blessing of the right kind of spirits.There are a lot of stories around ancestors, and how the ancestors live with us, in us, and around us. There’s a lot of respect for ancestors who have departed, as well as rules and ideas about how not to upset the ancestors. You cannot invoke certain names or people in any old way. You must pay your respects to certain people that have passed before you. And the naming culture also has a lot to do with respecting those who have left, and showing the continuation of life, in a reincarnation kind of way.A lot of traditions are still practiced within modern Kikuyu culture, such as traditions around marriage. When you get engaged, you go back to your home and stay, and perform a ceremony, which is basically a marriage ceremony, before you do the formal modern wedding ceremony.<hr><hr><h5>We’re all living on the same planet.&nbsp; We are experiencing the same changes,&nbsp; and the same landscape,&nbsp; on the whole, and we breathe the same air.&nbsp; So, I think it is important for us to understand&nbsp; that we are called to work together&nbsp; as indigenous citizens of this planet.</h5><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/indegenous_global_citizens_part2_3_a16c47ec3d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T12:50:44.267Z" alt="indegenous_global_citizens_part2"><hr>Q: As you were talking, it reminded me so much of the similarities in my culture, like what you said about naming. In India, the first son in many cultures is named after the paternal grandfather. Regarding marriage, you cannot marry someone from a certain village because they are your brothers. You should marry someone from seven villages away. These traditions are still followed – the ones with ancestors that live on, and the rites after death, also continue.As you were talking, the thought that came that these stories are unifying. There are so many things that are similar: The folktales are similar, the rituals are similar, and we all feel a sort of brotherhood. We resonate with each other. The whole circle of storytelling is complete.WH: I agree completely. Which is why we need to start embracing the idea that we are all indigenous to this world. Our indigenous cultures are so important, and we need to honor their importance to this world. They provide the map to show us where we’ve come from, and where we’re heading. If we ignore this, it’s like taking off to sea without a compass. We don’t know where we’re going.It’s not to say that we need to be like they used to be, or that they are better than us. There’s no “us” and “them.” We’re all one. Like you say, there are so many similarities that bring us together. There are more similarities than there are differences, and the reason for that is because we have originated from the same kind of indigenous populations. The way to bridge that gap is to tell our stories. And when we find a point of difference, that’s an opportunity to recall a story that might bring about the connection.It makes me excited to hear that within Indian cultures there are similarities to my own Kikuyu culture. And I know this is true for my own people back in Kenya, where there are 50 to 60 tribes. Within those tribes, there are many ways in which we are interconnected, but we tend to differentiate ourselves based on something as abstract as language. When we overcome the language barrier, we discover that we’ve all intermarried.We obviously share some of these ideas and ways of being. Ultimately, we’re all living on the same planet. We are experiencing the same changes, and the same landscape, on the whole, and we breathe the same air. So, I think it is important for us to understand that we are called to work together as indigenous citizens of this planet.Q: I’m so happy to end on the note that stories connect, and we are all indigenous to this planet. Thank you so much for talking with us today. It was wonderful to have you.WH: It was my pleasure. I hope that we get to talk again sometime soon!<hr><hr><h4>Interview by SARA BUBBER Illustrations by SANTANU CHATTERJEE</h4><hr>

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