ON A QUEST OF UNLEASHING THE INNER POWER OF HER PRISTINE SELF

Author Interview: Minal Arora

In this week’s edition of Authors Now, we are elated to bring for you the inspiriting journey of Minal Arora, a published author and Serenity Surrender Therapist, whose Ikigai is to spread happiness among others and bring meaning to her life by channelling all her subconscious energies for the betterment of the society. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, she discusses about her latest book “Infinity”; her work as a Serenity Surrender therapist; her awe-inspiring personal and writing journey; and also gives her luminary insights on themes as diverse as feminism to the use of Serenity Surrender in both external and internal conflict zones. She also articulates her quintessential motivational messages for those wanting to author books or try Serenity Surrender as a holistic healing modality. Here, we present excerpts and literary glimpses from the inspiring conversation with this eminent personality.

Born in Surat, Gujarat and having travelled to many places in her childhood, because her father was a professor in engineering colleges in Surat, Jaipur and Nigeria; Minal Arora finally settled in Delhi after her dad joined a private consultancy firm there. Being an obedient child from the start, she used to pretend that she’s studying every time her father came home from work, and thus always remained in his good books. Reminiscing about her childhood, she says, “It was a carefree time and I had a fun-filled childhood with my two younger sisters.” Her father is also a published and celebrated author of three technical books on Building construction, Roads & highways, and Bridges. She says this with a glint of pride, and also reiterates that he has been her inspiration throughout.
She did her B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Delhi University and then joined an IT company, taking advantage of the IT boom and of India becoming the Outsourcing Capital for IT services in the post-liberalisation era. Thereafter, she lived and worked in London for two years post marriage but moved back home, for her heart was in her own country- in the labyrinthine lanes and mesmerising familiar locales of Dilwalon ki Dilli.
From being the CEO of an IT company, a Past Life Regression Therapist, a Serenity Surrender therapist and a published author of two books, not to forget the numerous chapters and articles authored by her in various magazines and books, Minal Arora has donned many hats in her illustrious career. Coming from an IT background to having run software businesses, she found solace in the esoteric spiritiual books and spiritual teachings of her mentors, the notable ones being Andy Tomlinson, Brian Weiss and Shivi Dua.
About Serenity Surrender, she says that it is the most powerful New Age methodology that helps one heal themselves at the deep sub-conscious and soul level to eradicate past life karma and also helps in freeing the present moment in one’s life of the negativities of the past. Serenity Surrender is based on the belief that on the path to transformation within, both aimed at self and helping others, it is imperative that one learns to connect with the source that has the potential to bring about that transformation.
Minal is also of the view that Serenity Surrender can be used for managing both internal and external conflicts. When being asked about the low-zone conflict in Kashmir, she says, “I think Jammu & Kashmir or for that matter any conflict that we live outside of us also reflects some inner conflict we carry. SS can help resolve any conflict because the starting point of resolving anything external through SS is to first find its root within. If there is no lesson to be learnt from a situation, it cannot be there in our lives. If it is there, it wants to tell us something. I feel the message through these conflicts for all of us is to recognise the source of our differences within. We are all created from the same creator, we carry the same emotions, we eat the same food, we have the same skeleton and the blood of each of us is red. This separation that we experience externally is a reflection of the separation from others internally. It is in fact a separation from other aspects of the same creator on the name of religion, caste, gender, geography, values, etc. I believe we all have the power to go beyond our situations by listening to that inner voice that only understands and conveys love.”
On being asked about her idea of feminism and to give a message for our women readers, she says, “My idea of feminism is for women not to compete with men and become like them. I believe that men and women are differently wired and their differences help them complement each other and that’s how they can grow together. I believe that the beauty of a woman is in her acceptance of being different from a man and loving herself for being herself”.
Talking about how a day in her professional life goes like, presently Minal conducts SS (Serenity Surrender) workshops, both basic & advance levels, for 2-4 days almost every week. In rest of the days she writes; and spends time with her son, her parents and friends. Recently, she has also been involved in some IT consultancy work and devotes her technological expertise to that. Other than this, she indulges in her own spiritual practice, in which she heals herself, meditates and does yogic kriya. Being extremely popular among her students and owing to being the quintessentially people’s person that she is, she also spends a lot of time in responding to emails and messages by her few hundred students, asking her for guidance on their life issues.
About the SS 3 day workshop, she says, “The workshops have been designed such that anyone, even with no prior spiritual background can learn them and practice the work. It is meant to make our day to day life simpler and much more enjoyable.” She conducts both adult and children workshops, which find many takers across the globe.
However, she also likes to take out time for leisure and her other personal pursuits. On being asked about a ritual that she tries to follow each day, she gives the prompt answer about going out for a coffee almost every day. Being not much of a planner, she likes to go with the flow and manages to complete all the work that she intends to even on an extremely busy day. She also loves lazying around and doing nothing once in a while, and feels lucky to be able to afford that whenever she thinks that there is a calling.
Coming to the part that our readers are most interested about, Minal’s writing journey is very intriguing, yet interesting. Funnily, she was never a reader. The first 15 pages of any book could put her into sleep. She started reading when she was in UK, because while travelling in London tubes, if one is not reading, one can get into big trouble. She shares an interesting anecdote where once she was apprehended by a lady for staring at her, while she was lost in her own subconscious thoughts. She then decided that even if it is extremely boring, she must read. This was when began her quest for reading the Harry Potter books, of which she is a big fan.
She also really admires Paulo Coelho for all this earlier books. Apart from that, she still loves reading Mills & Boons and Barbara Cartland, because they give her a sort of love filled break from life and she also loves them for all their happy endings.
Her first book was “Maaya: A tryst with self”, which is revered for its profound insights into twin-soul relationships. In it, her writing is inspired by her life experiences and those of her clients and students. The book carries deep revelations about soul mate and twin-soul relationships and how they have been a source of spiritual upliftment for both the twins and how they can prove instrumental in transcending the limitations of each other.
After Maaya, she has also co-authored a chapter on SS in another book “Holistic Wellness in the New Age: A Comprehensive Guide to New Age Healing Practices: Volume 1”, which was also the Amazon best seller for a few months in the New Age section.
Talking about her latest book “Infinity”, she labels it as a non-fiction wrapped in a fictional beginning and ending. It is the crux of all that she has learnt through her inner journey in a decade. In this book, her writing style has certainly matured. This book explains all about life, love, relationship and nirvana. She also tells that this book is a pathway which takes the reader through an enthralling ride into their consciousness. The book "Infinity" is being launched on 8th July, 2018 in Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place, Delhi and has been published by Ocean Paperbacks.
She’s also in the process of writing her next book, which is a fiction like “Maaya: A tryst with self” and can be considered its sequel, but in it she forays into a masculine perspective.
On being asked about her other interests apart from writing, she replies, “I have been an IT geek, then a jewellery designer, I used to create enchanted mini-gardens, I write here and there, and these days my latest interest is Cryptocurrency. I really believe that we are moving into a world where Crypto currencies will be the way money will be transacted or used. I am a huge fan and enthusiast, so I do some reading and writing on them too”.
She is also an avid blogger and puts posts on ourpastlives.blogspot.com, her blog. She also has a website www.pastlifeconnection.com where interested readers can know more about Serenity Surrender and the SS workshops that she conducts.
Giving her message for people who want to delve into the realm of writing and author books, Minal says, “I think one can write only by starting to write. Thinking about writing doesn’t work. Just pick up that nice notebook and pen that you’ve bought for that one day when you’ll start and just start writing. Will it make sense, will anyone read it, will you be able to do it, and all of this can be dealt with later. I feel that writing with a physical pen and paper works better since one’s energies are more into the writing itself. Just going with the flow and following the gut- that’s what works for me”.
When asked about a motivational quote that keeps her going, she comes up with “Kisi ko mukammal jahaan nahi milta, kisi ko zameen kisi ko aasmaan nahi milta”, adding that this is something that helps her deal with anything since it reminds her that for each and every one, there is some incompleteness that is faced by them at some moment and which needs to be dealt with. So one should just keep swimming, and keep swimming! She is also quick to add the line from the movie ‘Stuart Little’- “Every cloud has a silver lining!’ which has stayed with her throughout. She likes to take her focus to the silver lining whenever she sees a cloud and that’s where, according to her, the opportunity always is.
With her heartfelt endeavours for her family and friends, and an unflinchingly committed personal and professional ideology; Minal Arora is a source of inspiration to many. We certainly hope that after reading this write-up, the inspiring story and the fascinating literary oeuvre of this personality will act as a source of motivation for our esteemed readers.


Updated On 6/26/2018 1:44:55 PM