The Values Workshop

A breezy, easy conversation on topics which are seriously worth contemplating on. Modern day stress, the ways we numb ourselves to sleep, fear of the future, our need to have good relationships, our expectations of validation, the unhealthy focus on achieving perfection on the job, learning to 'live through it', finding the path to peace through our journey...there is a wealthy storehouse...

The Productivity Paradox: We start talking about learning to be productive in the times of Artificial Intelligence. With AI entering so many aspects of our lives, and the ease with which we can access it, this is a question taking up a lot of mind-space. The Perception Gap: Before we know it, the topic veers between the overall impact of AI, our understanding, our lack of information about the use...

Have you wondered how Alice felt when she went down that rabbithole? In this episode, you will know at least some of it. Light and heavy, madly creative and scientifically precise, emotional or rational, whatever tickles your fancy, this episode might be fulfilling, or then again, it might have you asking for more, as we delve deeper into each and every small and big thought-way which seems entici...

Deepa speaks passionately, happily, excitedly, deeply and evocatively about all things under the sun. And she does this with a lot of old-world wisdom. I have heard this kind of world-view after a long time, and it is so heartening to see pockets of moving slowly, deliberately, engaging with the moments exist like she describes. This conversation has depth and stories in equal measure. Do check it...

The fast pace of life seems important, especially with technology being a part of our existence in many ways. Yet, there is some real substance to this digging into the reasons why and what we should slow down, allowing the moments to be lived fully and teach us what we are supposed to be learning. We speak about the times we need to rush, the times we need to pause and respond slowly, the difficu...

There are conversations which have a clear drift, and then there are those which keep on moving without an 'exact direction'. This is one such, which draws you into its mystery, its unsure parts, its incomplete answers. And why not? We have Mustafa Chharchhoda for a guest, and he speaks vivaciously, using his arms to complete sentences, or his expressions to convey helplessness at saying t...

The question is simple enough: How do we get happiness to stay longer or even permanently? The answer opens to one point of query and then another till we keep going to the core of what our question is, along with other possible pain-points like: finding who the responsibility of our unhappiness lies with, discussing threadbare the role of others and the circumstances which lead us to disappointme...

Youth means parties, shopping, the traditional version of the 'good life', as we see it today. And yet, here is a young girl, walking a different path altogether...early nights, early mornings, Yoga, working with truthfulness, talking about so many deeper things simply that it is uplifting. A beautiful casual kind of chat, and yet the topic, the Q & A, and the implications are anything...

Once more Hemant Gupta joins me in a deep introspection on one of humankind's most incisive challenges: Our relationship with Grief. And once more, he brings in a perspective which challenges our 'definitions' as also our easy acceptance of them as factual. He reminds us of some of the points he has made in the past, and I for one, think, instead of being repetitive, they seem to stand...

The discussion starts on a fun term 'Insidely-Outsidely' and immediately, my guest, John Britton provokes another look at the binary version of how we see life. He explains why assumptions are necessary and how we need to hold them loosely. Inner reality and the external manifestation are also looked at from different angles. He is a trainer of artists and therefore, has a methodical expla...

It is a conversation with Hemant Gupta again, and like always, we manage to skim beneath the many layers of meaning/s and are able to discuss the contemporary usage and understanding of sincerity, presence and the spaces they represent. We discuss many aspects, including the importance of both sincerity and insincerity and when one uses what. We also discuss states of mind and the work involved in...

Throughout my career, I have been lucky to work with a few professionals who have been absolutely no-nonsense and straightforward. It has always been a pleasure to interact with them for their earthy outlook and their ability to help ease the pressures of the job on hand with clear thinking and wise decision-making. Oh, I forgot to add, they were all proud women, celebrating their being in the bes...

Ummeimman is a revelation. A #teacher a #mother and a re-invention of her own self from a difficult time only a little while earlier. She sticks to basic ground level understanding, a reminder of how the deepest wisdom some times is in simple every day living. She keeps repeating #acceptance many times in the episode and it is not by chance. It is her go-to in all her moods, be it acceptance of he...

When alone, or lonely, or with people, or in darkness, or at times, when something seems 'off' we are often left to deal with the silence that comes from either outside or inside. There are so many aspects of #depression , #anxiety , being #unsure #sadness #discomfort that come along visiting us when this silence is imposed upon us...well, there are times when we choose to remain silent, b...

We tend to crystallize #success . As if it is some kind of unmoving, unchanging, ultimate truth. As a first of sorts for me, I get a successful friend, Niren Bhatt, screenwriter of some of the biggest recent hits in #Bollywood including #balamovie and #stree2 . He speaks so simply and elegantly about the humanity of it all, completely bypassing the awe most of us look at fame with. For the video,...

Roohi is a bright school going kid with a wise head on her shoulders. Endearingly honest about her love of knowledge, since she is a voracious reader, she specifies though, it is the perspective of others that one learns and that is what is her biggest takeaway from reading. It is an engaging straightforward chat, till you realize she is clear most times, and honest when she doesn't find the w...

One thing leads to another and it keeps moving on - as if it has a life of its own. Yet, as human beings, all of us like to know the start, the middle and the end of things. Or so we claim. The pace of our modern lives leaves us little time to finish what we start and we keep building on this sense of dissatisfaction without even realizing how we are causing it, moment by moment, day after day. He...

It is a classic day for many of us: We start scrolling on our #cellphones and time passes us by...minutes turn into hours and we seem to be needlessly losing track of time and none the richer for it in experience, in attention or in wisdom. In fact, we feel wasted or clueless about our initial purpose of scrolling if there was one. For the video, check www.youtube.com/c/thevaluesworkshop

Hemant Gupta is fearlessly willing to go down any rabbit hole that many of us would fear. It is this quality of his which drove me to ask the important questions, 'What if we are less than perfect? How does one make peace with one's own imperfections?' What comes out is pure exploratory territory and unsurprisingly, some beautiful practical to-dos are shared as well. What a pleasant su...

Mustafa is a remarkable person. When quite a few would shirk away from exposing their vulnerability in the face of a close relative's death, he actually proposed we speak about things he is experiencing internally and externally leading me to ask questions which touch a chord within me too, making me sensitive during the conversation. It is a mindful and heartfelt chat, where we pause, honour...

I embark on a journey which questions the destination. Not necessarily out of my provocative habit :) but so that I can probe into a mind-state which learns to differentiate reality from imagined versions of #happiness #peace #enlightenment or whatever you choose to call a place where there is no sorrow. Uday Kiran, my guest is not only unafraid in exploring areas which would be concerning to many...

'A series of destinations, not a journey' was my thought. Aren't we different people at different ages, and change our minds about how we view things in new spaces and times. This may seem like an idle thought till we started going down this rabbit-hole and realised there was much to explore and marvel at. Our view of ourselves, our perspectives, our limitations, our interactions, our...

#Knowledge is literally at our finger tips. Perhaps much more than what we would want. In that sense, how do human beings use curiosity as an element of growth in this brave new world? We talk about #neanderthals, good and bad kinds of curiosity, the need for this aspect of development in us, the advantages and disadvantages. Personal examples, inter-personal relationships, #family, #friendships,...

Preeti Gupta has been a practical person for all the time I have known her. This episode does not change my view of her at all, and yet, her evolution is a pleasant revelation. She talks about her emotions with so much passion and yet, warns us about being attached to them. She has allowed Life to guide her well, and she is flowering, as is evident in her answers about how 'being #happy is an...

Roopa and Hemant join me in a conversation which evolves with every sentence spoken almost. 'Who am I?' one of life's most fundamental questions was never an easy discussion, but we seem to grow in and out of ourselves constantly in this Q and A, where the answers go deeper and the queries from our own selves demands we acknowledge the limitation of words even as we understand that Tru...