#AtoZChallenge Create your Zendo by @kaushiva

In our daily busy-ness of lives, consciously or subconsciously, we create our own little pockets of ‘me’ time. A place where we go to when we are feeling a little stressed, tired, angry or upset. For some it may a hot cup of chai in the company of the early morning rays, for some their fitness regime, for others a meaningless hour of TV surfing or that devoted bedtime reading to fall asleep with wonderful fantasies in their heads. For me it was always dancing; I called dancing my meditation. But a few years back, when on a very upsetting day dance couldn’t bring me out of my sulk, I turned to something else. Pen met paper, word flowed, my feelings outpoured and just like that I could disconnect with the unhappy event and move on. Thus started my tryst with writing and blogging.

At first I was a passive blog reader, content to know that there people out there who feel and think in the same way. Strangely, I felt more connected to these strangers than the people around me in real life. Inspired, I decided to shed away the shyness, clicked on blogger and created my blog. My blogspace has since then come to be an almost spiritual space. Blogging has helped me not only to rediscover myself, but also reflect on my life and make few changes for good. It has also, on the way, taught me a very important life lesson, one that people call ‘Zen’ism – to learn to be present at all times, to live in the moment.
I am still a learner but as they say if you know your goal, half your work is done. And my aim is for my blog space to be my ‘zendo’.

Zen-dō (Chinese: Chántáng) or senbutsu-jō is a Japanese “meditation hall”. In Zen Buddhism, the zen-dō is a spiritual dōjō where zazen (sitting meditation) is practiced. However, any place where people go to practice Zen can be referred to as a zen-dō.

So how, you may ask, I plan on creating my Zendo? Well, by following few very basic practices, which at some point have crossed each of our minds. It is just that at times the implementation of it lags behind our very good intentions.

1. Don’t stress – Write for the love of writing. You’ve perhaps heard this a million times, but this truly is the commandment to stay happy. Blogging is a huge community and when you first enter it can become quite overwhelming. You see bloggers entering contests, getting freebies and you jump right after them…some may swim, some may sink. Well, as for me, late night one day when hubby came from office and pointed out my frantic behaviour as I was tapping away to finish a post in the nick of time for a contest, I decided that was it. I was cranky and not happy, no point in writing when you don’t feel the love.

2. Be yourself, know yourself – So personally I haven’t entered many contests since then and I am not a fan of freebies. Having said that there are a few bloggers who write sponsored posts so so well, without loosing their individual essence, that I can’t help but admire them! Creating your Zendo, will help you rediscover yourself.

3. Be in the moment – One of the essentials towards creating your Zendo, being in the moment, can be practiced by being aware of what you are doing and avoiding distractions. If you are writing a post, try not to think of what will come after you hit publish. Thinking about increasing your readership, number of likes and shares, and comments may not be productive. Try not to let your mind wander. Easier said than done, right? I struggle with this too, with so many distractions (read scrolling down your Fb page) it gets difficult to put a leash on those urges. But those who have successfully managed to disconnect, concentrate and perform their tasks being ‘in the moment’ will tell you how satisfying it is. Ask Zen Mommy Shailaja!

4. Live – Being in the moment, also means that you know when to switch off from blogging and go live. Go out, travel, be with your family. Enjoy idleness too, refresh your minds and come back renewed. And during this time, remove the words ‘guilt’ (of not writing or visiting blogs) and ‘fear’ (of losing)  from your dictionary.

5. Spread Love – Last but not the least, give some love and share fellow bloggers posts. Sharing helps you grow as a person, teaching compassion & empathy along the way. It expands your zendo to create a community of like minded people who will make the journey a lot more enjoyable.

Now, not so difficult to create your Zendo, is it?

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Blogger Bio:  Aditi Kausiva

A dreamer. A believer. An enthusiast. I’m in love with Life and I strongly pursue ‘Life is what YOU make of it‘. A banker by profession and a blogger by chance, I’m here to share my world with you. It may not always be perfect but I certainly strive to make it beautiful. If you happen to visit my space do leave a comment…share your life’s snippets…I’d love to strike up a beautiful conversation with you!!

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