“Accept that in this life.
Blood and sinew define me.
And yet my mind can fly,
Doesn’t come easily.
To find the pivot point,
The sweet spot where form and fancy,
Co-exist in perfect balance,
Eludes me most of the time.
To lose myself in the dreck of daily life dulls my spirit;
To reject the limitations of my reality,
It leaves me stranded in the in-between spaces,
Where discontent, longing and self-doubt flourish.
Engaging in this power struggle,
Between my earth and my ether,
Leads me to gainsay one half of my whole,
Either or, vice versa, within or without.
To find a *** in my own armour,
To prise open the gap,
To embrace the paradox which is this person named “I”,
And walk the tightrope with panache…aha”
——— excerpts from aanh
Harmonic balance is what we strive for and what exactly is “Tula- journey “, helps you traverse through its prompts on life and living. Gunjan Adya the mind behind the visualisation, creation and writing of this beautiful piece of meditative writing called “Tula journey“. She wrote it she envisioned it she nourished it like a baby till Harper Collins finally accepted the manuscript and published
it. It’s way beyond a journal, it’s earthy and basks in the richness of thought that only a well b trained professional could have penned. An artist by profession and a trained art therapist having worked with a plethora of clients Gunjan had an in-depth view of the human mindscape.
But it was only after she came across the works of Dr James w Pennebaker the famous psychologist that she learned and studied and researched the art of healing through journaling.
Q. Why the name Tula?
Gunjan,” well Tula means balance in Sanskrit and happens to be my favourite word because we all strive for balance in life in spoken word in creating even in things like cooking and dressing up. Balance is the key ingredient. And Tula is driving through self-realisation to achieve balance.
Q. How would you explain the journal?
Gunjan, “Tula is divided into three parts that are resonant with our own life. First is the Superficial outer self. Second is your inner life which delves you deeper. And third is the outer life explained by the physicality of the space of your being. To explain it in terms of the natural illustrations in the journal is. First, there is a cocoon that opens to birth to a caterpillar and then the caterpillar blooms into a butterfly just as the Tula journey would help if done in all honesty. Talking about the various beautiful illustrations she explains that the dragonfly is symbolic of the spiritual transformation and lotus as we all know bus about blooming irrespective of the circumstances.
Q. What inspired you?
Gunjan” contemporising the Gita was a big inspiration apart from the influence of psychological studies and her own massive research. This is why there is a nuanced use of several Sanskrit messages.
Samskaara – reprogramming your mind.
Abhivadan – inviting people to heal through journaling.
Alochana – criticism is an important part of our lives because the self-critical mode in us is forever active and redefining our actions and moral compass.
Q. So when and how did you start the Tula journey?
it was during the second lockdown and after a lot of market research, I realised that a prompt led journal which encouraged free flow writing through every emotional experience we go through in life, right from our childhood was much needed. Though I realise the lack of awareness around it yet I’m hopeful that with Tula things will change as I have tried to keep it earthy real and relatable.
Q. What kind of market are you looking at in terms of sales?
Though a very keen interest was shown by Millenials (25-30-year-olds). I would like it to be the point of invite for 16-18-year-old too which are the most crucial years where too many emotions are plying with our mind and being and a right nudge is most needed. Thanks to Harper Collins my publishers and several book houses I’m now holding events and workshops to create awareness around journaling and how it helps when mental health might not be an approachable topic or accessible genre.
Q. How exactly does journaling help?
When you let out the steam when you own out the thoughts in your mind and heart then de-stressing becomes easier. In a simpler way, it’s like once the garbage is out it’s a much cleaner and welcoming inner and a clean inner resonates with a beautiful exterior as well. Well when put like that I’m game for trying out the art of journaling and why not with its beautiful illustrations and prompts and a very competitive pricing it’s definitely a goto book.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY AND EMBARK YOUR WELLNESS
INSTAGRAM: @tulajourney
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