Review of 2014 – Best Wishes To All

Review of 2014

Dear Friends, Family and all ‘It’s Time’ readers,

Seasons Greetings to you all!

Each year so many of us arrive at this point in the calendar and exclaim with surprise and disbelief that another year has gone by already! Time these days’ seems to move at such speed that we hardly have time to take a breath or to reflect.

Speed and haste have become a disease of our times, which is forcing us to react and respond ever faster. Like a car going continuously at top speed, there is bound to be an accident sooner or later.

It’s another one of those reminders that we cannot afford to delay our spiritual effort until tomorrow or even, for that matter, the next moment. If there is constant attention and awareness on our inner being then it’s as though we live in another realm and not the one the clock on the wall dictates. If we do pay attention, time really does slow down.

For me, this past year has been an effort to simplify my life and my thoughts. That does not mean to become inactive, but to slow down and minimise my thinking. Yet, in terms of action, it has perhaps been one of the busiest years ever, with a lot of travel and speaking engagements related to ‘It’s Time’. This is on top of the usual work I do with the Brahma Kumaris of running a meditation centre, organising retreats and conferences, visiting other centres and managing projects.

So it seems that time is urging me to increase my inner capacity and that is what I have also been consciously working on internally this year. And for that, one doesn’t really need to do a lot except to maintain an attitude of learning, allowing and not resisting. Notice and pay heed to the opportunities to stretch and build one’s inner powers and virtues. For example, to consciously be more patient and to pay attention to pause and wait; to resist speaking or writing on a whim and to remain silent or quiet; to keep pushing the limits of the body to do more, especially when people are wanting your time and attention. In this way we cooperate with life and life begins to cooperate with us.

2014 has been an eventful year for ‘It’s Time’, with the launch of a second book. As I have mentioned before, there is always a personal story that is the catalyst for the articles.

‘Fix Your Crown’ was an article inspired by a student who would often joke with me and others when he saw someone go off course, by saying; “fix your crown now”. It was funny, yet it brought the message home very vividly.

There was the ‘Let’s Meditate’ series which included 10 articles between April to June intended to help people to incorporate meditation into their busy lives in practical way. At that time I was making the effort to wake up extra early for my first morning meditation, for example 2.30am or 3am, to deepen the experience of silence, stillness and inner power.

‘Live with the End in Mind’ in August was as a result of hearing the news of a few deaths amongst fellow students on the path.

As troubling news was emerging literally around the corner in Iraq, I was inspired to write ‘Raise the Vibration of the World’ in September.

‘Amrit Vela – Time of Nectar’ was inspired when I was spending more than the usual amount of time in Mt. Abu and absolutely enjoying the early morning meditations on the holy mountain.

‘Touched and Moved’ was inspired by my time with Dadi Janki, the Head of the Brahma Kumaris. At age 99, she can sit daily on her armchair and from there she can inspire and touch the lives of thousands around the world as a result of her spiritual mastery.

‘When the Honeymoon Ends’ was written after a ‘death’ of a relationship; a reminder of how every relationship goes through its different stages and how important it is to always maintain spirituality in our connections.

‘It’s Time’ is growing…

Thank you to all who take the time to visit the blog every week. The blog was viewed 63,000 times in 2014.

Recently I was in Vietnam for the launch of the translation of ‘It’s Time… for Relationships’ into Vietnamese. It was my first such experience and I was overwhelmed at the queues waiting for a signed copy of the book. I heard later that approximately 500 copies were sold over five programs in two cities.

An agreement has been signed with Ocean Publishing in Delhi for the first book, it is already translated by Pavitra Sangwan and awaiting printing. Arabic is soon to follow with Dar Al Moulef, a publisher in Lebanon. ‘It’s Time… for Relationships’ has also been translated into Spanish and is awaiting printing. And the Chinese version of ‘It’s Time… for Change’ is due for release in the first quarter of the year.

Book 3 Coming Soon – It’s Time… for Self EmpowermentThe third book, ‘It’s Time… for Self-Empowerment’ is due to be released 31^st Jan 2015. In it, I talk about the need to develop a spiritual attitude, awareness and then offer tools for the application of these.

I was invited to run a two-day course on Conflict Resolution at the Brahma Kumaris University on Mt Abu. As a result of that course I created and then self published the subject matter in a book format, ‘Conflict Resolution’ which I am giving as a gift to all. You can go to the blog and download your free copy. My wish is that people really benefit from some of these soft skills, and have the means to manage their difficult relationships.

I was also really grateful to the universe to have the opportunity to visit one of my most favourite places on the globe, Tofino on Vancouver Island. It just shows that when you do what you love, and give rather than take, then the universe responds by fulfilling your purest wishes.

So much more good stuff has happened that it’s not possible to put it all into writing. Looking back on 2014, I feel only gratitude and a true sense of fulfilling my purpose as I am able to keep doing more of what I love.

If ‘It’s Time’ has inspired you in any way, then my hope is that you will experiment with the ideas and put to use what you have learned in your practical life and inspire many others.

And as for doing the spiritual work, there is no time like the present so they say. So whatever you want to do, do it now! Now is the time. You have it in your hands to make 2015 your best year ever!

Many thanks to Carol Lipthorpe, Viannie Chua, Girish Wadhwani and Jaymini Patel and other incognito helpers for their continuous support, help and dedication to ‘It’s Time’. I couldn’t spread the word without you all.

All the very best to each of you from the heart…
in the remembrance of the One above,

Aruna and the ‘It’s Time’ Team