Posts in category Blog

“No Taj Mahal?!” My crew sighed as we flew past the Taj Mahal on a flight down to Bangalore to meet Sri Sri in his Ashram. We were originally scheduled to shoot at the Taj Mahal, however, the synchronicity of how my interview with Sri Sri happened, compelled me to take us on a 9 hour journey to meet Sri Sri. Before I left for India, my daughter said,” Mom, you should interview Sri Sri. He has a festival where 4 million people are coming together for peace while you are there.” The sheer thought of 4 million people coming together because of something a living person is doing, sounded …

When I was taping in India, I saw the wooden sandals in which Gandhi walked for hundreds of miles in the house in which he stayed in Mumbai. No doubt, they hurt to wear them. I asked my guide,”why would he do that? Wasn’t walking hundreds of miles not enough?” Her reply, “Mahatma was always trying to master his mind.” I couldn’t really say he was nuts because at times I chose to wear the most uncomfortable high heels and my motive is self centered rather than for the purpose of gaining freedom for all from an oppressive government through nonviolence, which, btw, he achieved.  The only thing I achieved …

Congratulations to Oberoi Hotel Group for winning the Best Hotel Group in the World! Check out this clip from our India special to see these masterpieces for yourself.

While in Bangalore, Linda stopped at the Art of Living Ashram to meet a man that is bringing together millions for the purpose of peace. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, humanitarian, spiritual leader and ambassador of peace has been practicing a life a peace since the age of 4. Among his numerous honors he is also the Chancellor of Sri Sri University and the Chairman of the Quality Control of India Yoga Certification Committee. With Ashrams in India and in the United States in North Carolina and speaking engagements all over the world, Sri Sri is taking his message of peace all around the world. As a spiritual teacher, he developed …

Dera Amer is situated behind the hills of the famous Amer Fort teaming with wild-life, the thickly forested Aravali Hills of Salwara-Kukas were for long a part of a much favored Royal Hunting Preserve around the historic Amer Fort of Jaipur. Along with getting you up close and personal with some amazing wildlife, the camp also provides meals, or just high tea. The majority of the ingredients are fresh and grown organically on the farm, while the elaborate bar serves the most exotic cocktails in a rustic yet luxurious atmosphere. The elephants, camels and cows at the camp are closest to their natural habitat and tread on soft ground, the …

Bikki Oberoi is the leader in luxury as the CEO and chairman of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts. After growing up in the hotel business with his father leading the way with several hotels,he went out into the world after he finished his studies, and visited almost every major country in the world and stayed in their best hotels where he had the firsthand experience of sampling their best, from great food to awesome services. He took back the experience with him to his fathers business and strived to boost it to another level and the results speak for themselves. ” My father said to me, Why don’t you build and …

Jantar Mantar is a monument located in Jaipur, Rajasthan and is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments, built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, and completed in 1738 CE. It features the world’s largest stone sundial in the world, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The instruments allow the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. “As soon as a child is born, first thing they do is get the horoscope out and the horoscope tells us from which letter the name of the child will start. When we grow up and get married, the horoscope of a boy and girl, if their stars are favorable, …

What is Mallakhamb? Well, it’s the 5,000 year old Indian sport that is still being taught daily for the last 50 years in Mumbai by the one and only, Uday. Mallakhamb derives from the terms “malla” which denotes a wrestler and “khamba” which means pole. Mallakhamb is where gymnasts perform feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole and rope. “You have to pull, exert yourself overtime when you climb on the rope, climb on the pole…and different yogic posture. Give exercise not only for dexterity muscles like biceps and triceps, but the internal systems like respiratory, circulatory, diet are best toned up on this apparatus.” It’s the …

The Gem Palace was established in 1852 by the erstwhile Kasliwal family of Jaipur. Jewelers for over eight generations, the Kasliwals even have the distinction of being court jewelers to Mogul emperors. Linda stopped by to meet with Samir, sixth generation of the company and of course to see some of the magnificent work. “Originally, my family was working for different royal families in Rajistan. And what happen is, as we pass our job from father to son, the same thing happened to our artisans, because we tried to keep the skill inside the store, shop, inside the workshop. And everything is done locally. Totally handmade. Elephants, statue figure, necklaces, …

While staying at the Oberoi Rajvilas, Linda had a cooking lesson with Chef Varun to learn a staple in Indian cooking, Naan bread. Naan, Nan or Khamiri is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread found in the cuisines in West, Central and South Asia. He explains there are several types of Naan and one he eats daily is called Roti. Roti is made from whole wheat flower as apposed to the all- purpose flower this Naan is being made. After the ingredients are added and the dough was thrown around a bit by Linda, it needs to be spread. So you take one of Chef’s nifty cushions and stretch before popping it …

In a Hindu wedding Ceremony, a couples wedding day has many steps before getting to the actual ceremony. Linda had the pleasure of renewing her vow’s with husband Ian, of 31 years at the stunning Oberoi Rajvilas. The day started with Linda getting some help getting into her traditional Sari. Red saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, color options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crêpe, Georgette, tissue and satin are used, and colors have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well. Next ladies cover their …

I am on my way to Mumbai, India to tape for next show and I am looking forward to all of the signs I did not expect that will present themselves. The coincidences are the signs; “guiding lights.” I mentioned we are like computers in a previous blog. Let’s say we are programmable and like your laptop or mobile device, the results come when it is programmed specifically. We allow so many others to program our thoughts we become reactive to the next thing that happens so that doesn’t make us happy. The real happiness or inner power come when we accept that the ultimate program designer is ourselves. So, …

There are doors that are just waiting for you to open. Things are going to crash down around us while we are moving along with our “I had this so thought out!” plan. But as they say, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him/her your plan.” Every time we react in anger, frustration or defeat, the doors stay hidden. We cannot find these because our attitude is our latitude.   Setbacks hold the keys to hidden doors and the keys will not show themselves without a positive response. It is like if you do not have the correct password for your computer, it will not let you in. …

Imagine that we are like computers. We are programmed by others and our experiences but the program designer who has final say in our happiness is us! Get an orange and hold it under your nose and breath in the scent while you think about where you see yourself being happier several months away. What are you doing? What happened in the summer? Did you finally take that road trip, change your job, fix that relationship issues that were troubling? Be specific because like a computer, if you google,”How can I be a happier in September?” all sorts of things will pop up which confuse your inner ‘Siri.” We will …

What? It is probably the last wish we want to think about for the New Year but maybe the very thing that brings us the most happiness. Where does a New Year’s resolution go without discipline? South! They all do. What happens when we get off track? I believe, all sorts of things that don’t make us happy. I am planning on being more disciplined when it comes to Yoga because I love it and I get off track when travel for work. Oh, I have heaps of justifiable reasons but they don’t make me happy, just less fit. From age 7 to 17, I was scared to death to …

Training your brain to think of humbling experiences is a great exercise for the ego. One for me is Ta Prohm in Angkor, Cambodia, made famous in Lara Croft; Tomb Raiders with Angelina Jolie. This amazing temple which dates back to the 12th century was made to withstand the test of time yet again, nature outsmarts. The trees, some, 400 years old, send their roots down from a seed caught in the roof and grow for hundreds of years using the temple as support so when the trees die, the temple crumbles. Then one day the only record of this amazing structure will be what we capture on camera and …

As I watched the rhino grazing in the African plain, I wondered if my grandkids would be looking at photos of rhinos in a book one day like we look at dinosaurs. Their extinction would be much more palatable if it were due to an ice age. However, they are being killed off in staggering numbers now for their horns which happen to be made of the same thing as our fingernails, keratin. So, if biting our fingernails doesn’t cure our ills or make us feel “horny,” killing rhinos won’t do the trick either. Rhino horns are also in high demand for dagger handles, a long standing status symbol of …

Hi, Thanks for tapping in to our website. We hope you like the show!  This is the beginning of Tapping IN and we hope to be a happiness generator for you and from you. Please allow us to share your valuable insight into what you have found brings happiness through your own experience. We all have this amazing ability to learn from the experience of others so our need to share information is built in. We also have a key ingredient necessary for a happy world and our journey is to tap into this and be fearless moving forward with it, happily. It’s  different strokes for different folks. We resonate …

“The tension between opposites is a challenge to resolve, but when this tension is successfully balanced, electricity is generated in the hand and in the heart — it is an expression of the soul. When a maker knows who he is in relationship to his world, the object made with this existential awareness will carry this knowledge into the hand and heart of the user; with eyes closed essence is still apparent.    Working mostly with porcelain , bronze glass and steel, I am carrying a tradition forward that traces back many thousands of years. I want the user to feel the wisdom of the past and promises from a future yet to unfold… with past and …