To view this newsletter in the browser, click here                 Issue #134       A newsletter from Creativegarh to help you live a life of passion, purpose and meaning.         Joy is your birthright. Reclaim it.                     Life asks you to play with it, to not take it seriously and to find joy even in the littlest of things. Life asks you to be childlike, not childish; allowing, not controlling; curious, not serious; present, not productive; free-flowing, not rigid.           Shokhee—unbridled, unapologetic childlike playfulness—is our birthright, a cultural patrimony from our ancestors who found healing and joy in dancing, singing, silence and being enchanted by stories. They sang while planting rice, danced while harvesting it, created music from hollow bamboo stalks and sat around sacred fires as an entire village regaled stories of their ancestors.           There was no fine line between work and play. Work was play and play was work; there was intrinsic joy in just being. There were no fireside conversations about work-life balance, no concept of deep work, no Pomodoro techniques for concentration and productivity and no striving for perfection or specialisation by putting in 10,000 hours of serious effort. Mandala art was a form of expression, not a cure for depression.           Work was work and joy was neither shallow nor deep, serious nor trivial, but something meant to bring us alive—not keep us alive, taking one measured step safely toward our impending death.           The only productivity technique was presence and the only measure of success was joy. Play was not only for leisure and rest was not considered laziness. Passions were about love, healing and finding solace in silence, far from the sensory overload of life. Hobbies were a state of meditation, not side hustles or homegrown D2C brands. Play was something you woke up and did, not something you earned or looked forward to doing every weekend.           When did the world change so that being right became more important than writing for the love of it and when did efficiency start getting rewarded while play was considered childish? While art allowed us to become infinite, we were forced to pursue math and become limited in our desires. Perhaps we did not understand infinity and what we don't understand—including parts of ourselves—we don't love and want to change.           But we can always come back to play. Let's not feel guilty for taking some rest. Let's create with no outcome in mind, give ourselves gold stars for showing up and reclaim the joy that was always meant to be ours. Play helps build new habits faster. Let's build a habit of playing with work. Life is beautiful when you express joy, not when you keep searching for it.           The art of living lies in the art of leaving.                     The art of living a purposeful life of joy, power, passion, endless miracles and fulfillment is to master the art of leaving.           Leaving behind the stories that you have written subconsciously and rewriting them. Leaving behind the narratives that have become your safe space, keeping you in a comfort zone, not wanting to take on the world and find your joys.           Leaving behind the limiting beliefs that have not allowed you to be whole and complete and have taken over every aspect of your life as you live on autopilot, honouring the beliefs that are just that—beliefs, not truths.           Leaving behind the unnecessary drama kings and the tragedy queens, the dysfunctional relationships, the tough competition, the unending need for fame, the need for more of everything—anything that takes away the tranquility of your inner sanctuary.           Leaving behind the feeling of lack, of not having enough, of always feeling that everyone else has been blessed by the abundance fairies except you. Leaving behind the belief that you are a stepchild of the universe and have always been overlooked. Leaving behind the same thoughts on loop that have become beliefs and the same beliefs on loop that have become conditioning, the same conditioning on loop that has become generational trauma.           Leaving behind the fear, the martyrdom, the sacrifices that came from your own conditioning of putting your life on hold, the anger that never chooses to abate, the hate, the shame, the guilt, the rejections.           Leaving the belief that you are meant to be someone else to be loved. Leaving the belief that you are broken, incomplete and unloved. Leaving the belief that only when you show up in a way the world expects you to will you find joy; that you have to armour up every morning and show up as someone who can manipulate being loved, not as someone authentic, for you were never allowed to be that.           Leaving behind the judgment of others and especially the judgment you have of yourself. Leaving behind the doubt that you are not creative and do not deserve a bigger, abundant life.           Leaving behind everything that doesn’t serve you or your evolution as you show up to serve the universe.       Our upcoming retreats                         CG Light Vadodara Registrations Open 12th to 13th April     Join us for the upcoming edition of Creativegarh Light, a 2-day, non-residential program designed to unblock, unstack and reconnect you with your true self.   More details     Reignite conversation     Mandi Last 6 Seats Left 25th to 31st May     Mandi’s tranquil environment serves as the perfect backdrop for personal metamorphosis, ensuring you return home with a revitalised spirit and fresh perspective of life!   More details     Reignite conversation     Andretta Last 6 Seats Left 22nd to 28th June     To reconnect to your inner child at a beautiful hillside retreat with 14+ soulful individuals will make this a life-transforming experience. See you at Andretta!   More details     Reignite conversation           This week, let's revisit     Jodhpur August 2023                         Experience a life full of purpose                     The purpose of my life is to heal the world and its beings through love, compassion and expressive arts.   Sapana Bhavsar Kasauli, April 2023         The purpose of my life is to help understand the territory of your mind, reclaim your inner sovereignty and embody your magic as you work.   Ramya Ranganathan Kasauli, April 2023               For a daily dose of Creativegarh and our retreats, follow us here:                           Swati Gandhi         Alfaraz Laique         Nirali Manchanda               View Our Collabs for Joy                   creativegarh.com             You are receiving this newsletter because either you have subscribed to it through our website, interacted with us by filling an invite form or because you have asked us to put you on the database. 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