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Rani and Bagheera

Rani is a brown dog who lives outside my house. She is about 7 years old. I made friends with Rani when I moved to this neighbourhood three years ago. She was scared at first, watching me warily as I made ‘tch tch tch’ sounds at her, but we were friends soon. It is not difficult to make friends with a dog. Smile at the…

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Psychotherapy as a political practice

For any idea to mean something substantial for a human being, it must be rooted in a deeply and honestly felt emotional experience in the present moment. Else, the idea is only an intellectual entity that doesn’t touch anything at the core of us, even if it may provide us the gratification of exercising our cognitive functions and engaging in debates. Often, we are willing…

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The art of listening

Unlike what some may consider a quality of effective writing, the purpose of this post is not to grab your attention. Often what our attention is offered exists on a spectrum from boring to grabbing, and the more it veers to the latter, the better it is considered. This applies to the gripping film, the grabbing social media post, the ‘unputdownable’ book, and to much…

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The mystery of human relationship

This article was originally posted on this blog on 25 October 2021. It was lost because of a technical error, and hence I am posting it again. Kirti is a 51-year old woman. She sits on the sofa, looking forward, towards you. She is fair, thin, with curly hair. Her eyes and face reveal a tenseness, as if they are perpetually in motion, jittery, unsettled….

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Everyday life

As you begin to read this post, let us start with a small exercise. Bring your attention to the quality of light on the screen, which is generated by an electrical process. Now, bring your attention to the quality of light in the room you are in. This may also be created by electricity, or it may be light from outdoors. Notice the difference. Is…

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Space

Let us undertake an inquiry into the spaces we inhabit. Take a look at the space you are sitting in. Look at the walls, if you are indoors. Look at their adamantine quality – how strong, impermeable they are. See how they enclose you from the space outside. See the light that comes in from the window, how different it is from the light that…

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Progress in therapy, and similar journeys

The meaning of progress  Therapy is a journey of continually expanding self-awareness – in relation to one’s own psyche, and also in relation to who one is with other persons. By practising being with emotions and sensations that emerge in us in the therapy session, we nourish our capacity to stay with uncomfortable emotions and sensations generally in life, both in our solitude and in…

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Images of awareness

On a walk today morning, some images offered by various psychologists, spiritual teachers and artists came to mind. Coming to awareness is like taking a walk in the forest, where two friends walk together and talk of what matters the most in their lives. The aliveness and fullness of the forest offers them a space of infinite possibility – anything new can peek out from…

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