A Curated Guide to Slow Living in India
Looking back at Indian summers in the simpler decades I moved to Delhi when I was four. Plucked from the gentrified confines of South Mumbai, I was deposited gently in the wild north, Delhi with its thick swathe of greens and blazing summers. June was…
The lime is the small desi sibling of the more robust lemon, from the Citrus Aurantifolia tree ( Nimbuka in Sanskrit) , found widely in India. The acidic fruit comes from the short, squat, shrub like tree with short stiff twigs and many small prickly thorns. These tiny thorns have a spiritual meaning, says Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium. You can’t just pluck it, it takes mindful appreciation to gather the fruit. This self-protectiveness is reflective of real-life relationships, which one should approach with mutual love and admiration for those around us.
At the cusp of Australia’s north eastern coast lie swathes of ancient, emerald green, tropical rainforests, yearning towards the skies. I’m standing under a canopy of palpable leafy loveliness, looking skywards, when the unthinkable happens. A single sliver of sunlight pierces through the hushed thicket,…
What is Slow Living and why is it so important for the next decade? We reflect on the future. We’ve reached the tail-end of a tumultuous decade. What next? Many people still ask me what is slow living? Here’s why we need to embrace the…
One of our favourite botanical illustrators and authors, Nirupa Rao is out with a new nature and science book. Her latest tome, Hidden Kingdom, features botanical illustrations of fascinating plants native to the Western Ghats—from carnivores and parasites to flowers that smell like rotting flesh. You’ll encounter familiar species (like pepper) as well as the more obscure (like the colourless ghost orchid), all certain to make you see the natural world with new eyes.
Homegrown beauty label Global Beauty Secrets (GBS) brings a deep understanding of global cultures and rituals for skincare and haircare The first girl child to be born in her family, Aishwarya Sawarna Nir was pampered by her grandmother who shaped her values and beliefs. In…
Sumitra Daswani is the founder of Born From The Earth – a natural healing company – and is a holistic health practitioner, trained in Ayurveda, medical botany, nutrition, meditation and sound therapy. She guides others on how to heal themselves naturally and achieve optimal well-being. She writes about her journey to becoming a healing practitioner and how everyone has the innate capacity within themselves to to heal.
Jo Moody, Design Head, La Fleur, takes us through the nuances of creating rustic bouquets, including an arrangement in a fish bowl, a wedding bouquet and rustic chic arrangement that seemed plucked straight from the woodlands. With over 15 years of experience in the horticultural industry — including teaching floristry at Hadlow College in Kent — she has helped develop bouquets for major high street retailers in the UK and brings her love for flowers to La Fleur too using only locally-grown Indian flowers of the highest quality.
We have shortlisted nine mindful brands brands which have tried to revive the nature-human connection through a range of organic deodorants. These deodorants are free from scary chemicals such as Parabens, Aluminum, Silica, Triclosan, Talc, Propylene Glycol, Steareths, and TEA/DEA (triethanolamine/diethanolamne).However, a word of caution, they do not contain aluminum chlorohydrate and aluminum zirconium, ingredients in anti-perspirants that stop you from sweating. These chemicals can clog your lymph nodes which sweat out toxins and accumulate them along with the aluminum, plugging close the gateway to our lymphatic system which is a big no-no.
What is Slow Living and why is it so important for the next decade? We reflect on the future. We’ve reached the tail-end of a tumultuous decade. What next?
Many people still ask me what is slow living? Here’s why we need to embrace the art of slowing down even more than ever in the next decade
There is less than a month left for us to enter the ‘20s and January. It’s the perfect time to stop, reflect and apply the brakes to slow down. For those hurtling to some unknown goal in the rat race, because we feel we need more, because we’re not complete. But as Lao Tzu said, When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
What we’re trying to do at BeejLiving is to help you live intentionally, where you separate the grain from the chaff, discarding those aspects of life which no longer serve you. Because these all distract you from what should be your priority. and your priority is clear: to live in the moment, because that is only what’s real, what’s in your control and what’s in your grasp.
In my Vedanta class we’re currently learning the following: Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-Sampat and Mumukshutva: discrimination, dispassion, the six-fold qualities of perfection, and intense longing for liberation. He who has the good sense to know that temporary pleasures can not lead to permanent happiness will not be attached to the next black Friday sale (I KNOW, right), the next relationship fix or her top dog title.
Can life be perfect? Life can be blissful, happy and joyous. But life can be sad challenging too. But do your let your thoughts of sadness overwhelm you, or are you getting overwhelmed by expectations?
Over the next month, we will help you embrace slow living, discard the non-essentials to live mindfully and intentionally. It is that simple.
Join us on this fulfilling journey of how you can make life joyous right here and right now, without always wanting to escape. Because you’re exactly where you should be to start this journey!
