Minal Arora is one of the most well
known Past Life Therapists in India who uses her knowledge of
Past Life Regression & Serenity Surrender (SS) to heal those who get drawn
to her.
Coming from an IT background and having successfully run software businesses in the past, she moved on to her spiritual journey at a young age. She reckons after having begun her journey of unfolding the mysteries of the universe, 12 years of chasing software programs & logics started looking less interesting to her. The inherent search for a soul mate in each one she met, inspired her to find deeper truths to mate relationships & their role in the journey of a soul. Having gone through an intense journey herself & having healed herself & many, she understands love & life from a different perspective. She has now chosen to mentor all those who come to her through her 3 Day SS workshops so that they can feel similarly empowered. Being a way-shower is what she believes is the purpose of her life! A very warm welcome Minal!
1. Your real name and pen name?
Minal Arora is my real name
2. Please share some of the best memories of your childhood
Honestly, I hardly have any memories of my childhood. I have worked so much on healing my past lives that it seems to me that my current life memories or “past memories” have faded away to quite an extent. This infact helps me to stay focused in this moment. Nevertheless, one instance I can recall is that I used to love bossing around my sisters & they would accept what I said. My youngest sister usually got upset with me for having snatched something from her or whatever. Once she and I had this huge fight and she shut herself up in a bathroom for a good 8 hours at a stretch. I quickly forgot about the fight and was busy studying and doing my stuff. When I went to that bathroom & the door wouldn’t open, I asked my mom who’s there. She heard me and was so angry that she opened the door and came to me just to say “What kind of a person are you? I have been shut in that bathroom for hours and you don’t even recall it was because of you!”. I laughed and laughed because I didn’t know the fight was such a big deal that she would shut herself like that. It was amusing for me at least!
I loved reading technical books & playing quizzes when I was a child. I still remember that no one could win an argument with me if it had general knowledge as a part of it.
3. About your education
Formally, I am a masters in pure mathematics from Delhi University. I then went on to study & work in the IT sector.
4. What career did you plan during your education days
I didn’t plan anything while I was studying. I just went with the flow. When I finished my masters, I got a job in IT since I had side by side studied software engineering too. I quickly progressed from being a programmer to a project manager & then a department head in different companies in India & England. Then I started my own software business & run it for a few years. I then managed the IT Development Offshore Centre for a New York based company as a CEO for 2 years. Slowly, I felt I was here to do something deeper. My life presented me an opportunity to study reincarnation through the Past Life Regression Academy in Singapore. I learnt it & started healing people through regression. Slowly, I found my passion & calling in Serenity Surrender or SS. This is a New Age Healing technique that allows one to learn to connect with their sub-conscious & experience & heal their past lives and deep karmic roots. Through regression I could only help others but through SS, I could heal myself too. My entire life changed ever since and finally in 2011, I left my corporate career forever. Now I write, read, heal & am also a jewelry designer. I do whatever I love to do & trust the rest was never meant for me & will be taken care of!
5. What languages you can speak and write?
I can only speak & write English and Hindi. I have travelled extensively and I believe the easiest language to use is that of love & compassion!
6. What is your biggest source of inspiration in life
Well, many have inspired me in my life but the works of Paulo Coelho and Brian Weiss have been instrumental in me changing my direction from externally focused to internally focused. When I read Paulo, I felt that I am not alone and there are others in this world who can feel similarly & that gave me a lot of acceptance of the inner voice I heard but till then, didn't dare trust.
7. What hurts you most in this world
It hurts me when people believe they are victims of life, relationships, bosses, religions or destiny. I believe each of us carries the power within to be able to stand-up for self and create a life we want to live. I can’t relate to helplessness and the need to stay in it by justifying it. I believe everything we experience is a choice. Yes, there might be tough situations, relationships or people but if we trust our own potential, we can stay in grace & pass through it without feeling like a lame victim. I feel it’s the purpose of my life to awaken & empower as many souls as I can.
8. What is the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge I ever faced was when I & my ex decided to move out of our marriage of 9 years. I was unsure if I would be able to do justice to my child & give him all that he deserves being a single mother. On one side I had my own demons to face and on another side, I was responsible for the upbringing & future of a little one. I went through sleepless nights, loads of struggle in my mind, healed & healed myself and learnt to trust the universe. As I healed & became aware of the bigger picture, my fears started looking much smaller. I was guided & helped in so many ways. I attracted the right people & the right opportunities. The most significant thing that I did, which helped me sail through everything was that I trusted that I deserve love & goodness in life. I am a true believer of the fact that we get what we want. We just need to place enough trust in the universe!
9. If you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would it be and why?
I wouldn’t want to exchange even a day of my life with anyone, honestly! In case you insist though, I would want to live as “Osho”. I find his philosophies extremely intriguing & interesting. I feel a connect with him at some level and though I haven’t read too much of his work, I feel at some deep level, I know him well.
10. What is your favorite genre and why?
My favorite genre is “New Age Fiction”, which I know doesn’t really exist as a genre. I love the new age stuff but I would rather read it in the form of a fiction than in the form of a self help. Maaya is also New Age stuff written through a fictional account so that it can relate to all and we can understand how these deep concepts of life & soul can be imbibed in our daily routine lives. I believe when we read a self help book, it helps us but it’s easy to forget the learning. When we read the same through a story, it’s easier to connect with and the impression stays much longer!
11. When did you start writing?What is the purpose of your writing?
I have always been fond of writing & I have been writing for blogs, articles, magazines etc. I have been formally writing regularly almost since 5-6 years I guess.
12. Which of your work has been published so far?Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?
My debut novel “Maaya: A tryst with self” has been recently published.
‘Maaya – A tryst with self’, is the story of a woman, Maaya, who, through her love for a man, Rahul, took on an incredible journey within, where she understood & experienced love in its purest, truest form.When Maaya first met Rahul, he touched a part of her soul that she had suppressed long ago in order to become the perfect girl for the love of her life, Kunal, whom she was engaged to. As Rahul and Maaya realised their feelings for each other, they also realised the futility of it all. A few days of togetherness was all they enjoyed before they accepted that they weren’t meant to be. Maaya gracefully let go of him to marry Kunal and have her happily ever after. Little did she expect that he would show up again in her life, at a point where she had separated from Kunal after 7 years of marriage, and her pursuit for his love would lead her to see love in a light she had never seen it in before. She never knew her inner journey was awaiting to be unleashed. She goes through ecstasy, joy, grief, failure, misery & sadness due to the love she longs to have in her life. On the road she travels to reunite with her twin-soul, unexpectedly leads her to becoming a spiritual healer, the experience of which, opened her up to an infinite horizon where she not only found love, but found herself.
Maaya is the essence of human experience through a woman, beyond time, which began with her loving someone so intensely that she dissolved in whom she loved & then finding herself through what followed. The book carries deep revelations about soul mate & twin-soul relationships including how they have been a source to spiritual upliftment for both the twins and how they can prove instrumental in transcending the limitations of each other. Time & again these lovers meet and part, giving each other an experience so intense that it leaves each in a state where they have no choice but to look within for the void they experience while the other isn’t around. The book carries deeper experiential understanding of what the need for love might bring one to experience. It is a tryst with self facilitated through the twin.
Maaya is a journey deep within, all the way to the sub-conscious & exploring long lost memories from past lives & beyond. In her desperation to be loved by Rahul, Maaya travels into her several past lives, encounters herself as love, as sadness, as betrayal, as grief, as loss, as failure and yet realizes that all these were mere experiences transient in nature and they only led her to loving herself & believing in herself even more in this moment.
I, as a past life therapist & mentor have held the hand of many, to allow their journey within, to explore the explored dimensions of their being, to understand how the soul operates out of human consciousness and how relationships, both good & bad, play a vital role in learning our lessons. All relationships are important but this book is focused on how the relationship with a twin-soul can allow us to reveal deep secrets or mysteries of the universe to live a more powerful or rather magical existence.
Love is the one pursuit that each soul carries knowingly or unknowingly and it’s one experience that can stretch to the depth of one’s awareness & yet seem to bring a longing for more or a need to hold-on to the experience. Whenever love knocks the door of the soul, it is welcome with all the warmth and yet, what it brings along & how it shows us our fears and our inability to be unconditional about it decides how long it stays and how long it gives us joy. Love is the one emotion that has the ability to take us to the highs of ecstasy and the lows of grief in a few moments and many times through the same people. When it stays, it gives is peace, joy & stability and when it leaves, we experience grief, blame, anger & resentment or loss. We want to hold-on to every moment of love because we do not trust it to stay forever, because we fear losing it. This book is a deep understanding of the cycle of love, of how it can impact one’s life & how one can transform their experiences of loss & failure in love to what empowers them with love itself.
13. What are your forthcoming writings?
I am now writing on a very unique subject which is “Prayer”. I am also writing on various New Age topics which I will collate to create a fictional account to bring more understanding & acceptance to them. Since I live an empowered life through the SS healing technique that I practice, I am also writing about it to spread awareness of new age healing. This shall give an opportunity for people to understand that they too can overcome their limitations & feel similarly empowered.
14. What are your future plans?
I am going to write, travel, heal & spread awareness about healing to various parts of the world.
15. What four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
The four topmost things as per me that I take care while writing are firstly that the topic I choose, I should be passionate about it. Secondly, the presentation has to be interesting. Thirdly, the language has to be simple. Lastly, the book needs to be able to convey atleast one message that the reader can carry & imbibe in their life.
16. Your dream destination on Earth?
I would like to visit Egypt once atleast. I wish & hope the problems there get resolved soon. I believe it’s a beautiful land. Would love to visit the ancient temple of Goddess Isis there.
17. Your origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things you liked in these countries around the globe?
My birth was in Surat, Gujrat, India. I was brought up partially in Delhi & partially in Nigeria. I have lived & worked in London(England), New York(USA) & Singapore. Apart from those places I have visited many other countries. The best thing I like about London is that it’s cosy & yet cosmopolitan. The best thing I like about New York is that it’s bold though I prefer Washington DC for it’s greenery & beauty much more. The best thing I like about Singapore is that the people are extremely warm & their food is yummy. The best thing I like about Australia is that whatever happens, each stranger also will give you a smile and say “Hello mate!”.
18. Your favorite time of the day?
I love to have a lavish breakfast with tea in my bed, watching TV. I spend a good 30 minutes in it & I absolutely look fwd to spending that time with self.
19. Your zodiac/ sunsign?
Aquarius
20. Your favorite color and why?
I like all colors really but I like white the most. I think it’s the color of grace!
21. Your favorite book and why?
My favourite is the Harry Potter series. I absolutely adore all of them but specially the 6th one. I feel that its the most amazing example of how an alternate reality can be created / presented & even lived by so many people on this planet. I find it an outstanding work of fiction.
22. Your favorite celebrity and why?
I like Julia Roberts because I find her the perfect combination of style, wits, poise & beauty!
23. Your favorite food?
I love thai food & Singaporean Curry Laksa is my favorite dish.
24. Some quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Moon or Sun, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue, Left or Right, Glance or Stare
Moon, Smile, Evening, Coffee, Mountain, Long Drive, Conversation, Fire, Earth, Jupiter, Moon, Rose, Blue, Right, Stare
25. What three words come to your mind for each – Technology, Life, God, Humanity, Terrorism, Racism, Childhood Abuse, Love, Parenting, Old age
Technology – TV, ipad, iphone Life – Cosy, Meaningful, Love filled God – Unconditional Love, Oneness, Me Humanity – Compassion, Love, Tenderness Racism – Unacceptable, Humiliating, Moving away from love Childhood Abuse – Detestable, Sinful, Shame Love – Myself, The universe, spread to all Parenting – Fun, Responsibility, Delight Old Age – Grace, Acceptance, Journey
26. State your signature line/ tagline/ best quote
A tagline I wrote somewhere in Maaya which I quite like is “Every breakdown is an opportunity for a breakthrough!”
27. The last line of your autobiography would be…
“Fear nothing for you have nothing to lose. That which you believe is yours, also has a journey to make!”
Links: 1. http://www.pastlifeconnection.com (this is for my work as a therapist) 2. http://www.minalarore.com (this is to know about me & my book) 3. http://minalarora.com/?page_id=154 (To download sample chapters of "Maaya: A tryst with self" 4. https://www.facebook.com/MaayaBook (facebook page for the book)
5. http://www.amazon.in/Maaya-tryst-self-Minal-Arora/dp/8184302762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392707113&sr=8-1&keywords=maaya
