The pursuit of happiness takes conscious effort, and a bunch of entrepreneurs are making creative tools to help you get there
Awarness calendar
White Light Elements
In the 86,400 seconds that we breathe in a day, the mind is thinking, non-stop. And most of our thoughts today stem from low-quality feelings of fear, anger, insecurity and selfishness. The team behind White Light Elements, headquartered in Ahmedabad, thought, why not make a shift in this internal energy, and focus instead on 'high quality feelings' of love, peace, happiness, gratitude and selflessness.
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In a telephonic interview, co-founder Kainaz Postwala, says, "The shift is possible to achieve through positive mind-engaging activities." The activities Postwala refers to range from awareness and relaxation to visualisation and affirmation, meditation and breathing, and finally, forgiveness and letting go. Practicing these feelings consciously, she believes, can lead to a happier you.
Now cube
White Light Elements believes it can nudge you towards these practices via a series of tools. "These are made of seasoned, reclaimed teakwood, have an unmatched finish and are the outcome of ancient wisdom and modern technology. So, it's unique craftwork that serves a meaningful purpose in your life," says co-founder Poonam Arora.
While successfully handling healthcare portfolios through their careers, Arora and Postwala realised that health was incomplete without inner wellbeing, and happiness was an essential ingredient. "It is scientifically proven that people who remain happy attract more happiness and lead healthy, fulfilling lives. The more people we make happy, the more collective happiness affects the Universe's vibration," says Postwala with sincerity.
Kainaz Postwala, Poonam Arora and Dinesh Arora
The Now is a solid teak dice that has one mindful practice etched on each of its sides. Roll the dice, and follow what it says, from thinking three thoughts of gratitude to having three sips of water. The Meditation mat is a folding and portable teakwood meditation mat that lets you set up a dedicated meditation corner at home or office instantly.
The Bell stand is a brass bell encased in a teak frame with laser-cut lotus design. Ring the bell and bring your focus to your breath; while trying to think nothing. It could instantly bring you to the present. The Dream wheel is a teak-wood cylinder based on the practice of visualisation, a powerful medium to turn your dreams to reality. And the classic vintage-looking Awareness calendar, apart from the dates and months, gives you eight modes of mindfulness to choose from; and to remain in them through the day.
For: Priced at Rs 600 onwards and delivered across India
At: whitelight elements.com
Gratitude diary
The Woodgeek team in Kolkata is in love with, well, wood, and looking to recreate most objects they see around them in the material. Customised for you, with a message of your choice, the range includes the Gratitude Journal (R799), a diary where you jot down all that you are thankful for, making it easier to deal with the knocks of life. The front and back covers can be customised, and are available in mahogony, bamboo and okoume shades.
Happiitude: Happy By Choice
A few weeks ago, this writer distributed a pack of cards among the Sunday mid-day team. Each had to return their card with a hand-written note for every member, explaining why they "wow" them. By the end of the exercise, which we took on the last day of the workweek, everyone was beaming. "I think when someone gives you a gratitude note, you feel seen. It's appreciating what you bring to the world every day," a colleague said, after receiving four gratitude notes from the team. "Happy to know that someone I admire, thinks this way about me," another said.
Gratitude, Let's Connect cards. Pic/Satej Shinde
You Wow Me!, as the card is called, is part of a happiness kit, created by Karan Behl, founder of Happiitude: Happy By Choice. The Mumbai-based start-up aims to spread positivity in the workplace through customized kits. Research shows that our ability to appreciate people, things and events make us happy, says Behl, who has worked with 150 firms in the last one year. "Today, bring stressed is fashionable, especially among corporates. If you aren't, others think you are not doing anything significant. I wanted to counter this narrative."
Apart from Gratitude Cards, the happiness kit also includes the Let's Connect pack, which could prove to an ice-breaker before important meetings. From questions like, "What is your best childhood memory?" to something more unsettling—"If you died tonight, what would you regret not doing?"—the cards make you introspect, and open up in an environment that wouldn't permit conversations about the personal. "The boss-employee relationship has become transactional. Questions like these help you connect on a deeper level," Behl believes.
Karan Behl
Behl has also introduced a happiness tool-kit and board games for children. This can be used by Certified Happiness Educators (CHE). To become one, you need to register for an online course on positive psychology, designed by researchers and educationists from Happiitude India and Berkeley Institute of Well-Being, USA.
For: Priced at Rs 1,500 (Gratitude cards)
At: happiitude.com
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