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A Wonderful Pear, Okemos, MI (2026)

03/13/2025

If you have been reading my content this past year, you already know that my spiritual journey began with a mindset shift spearheaded by the simple practice of gratitude (if you’re not already doing this, why not bruh? Aren’t you the least bit curious about what it has to offer?😜)

While cultivating this positive mindset has been the main driving force in moulding my physical reality, I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface. I will be the first to admit that I had completely neglected my physical health and giving my body the nutrition it needs. I would always complain about this to my sister and friends but never actually took any action to change anything about it. Instead, I was extremely skilled at fabricating plenty of excuses as to why I hadn’t had the time to cook a decent meal for myself.

My poor sister tried relentessly to inspire me with tons of quick and easy recipes but all I did was thank her, save them and then proceed to order takeout. I love cooking for others but didn’t feel like putting in the time and effort (and love) to cook for myself. It’s funny that I felt this way because I’m actually a really decent cook. My sister and I bond over hosting dinner parties for our friends but somehow over time, cooking began to feel like a painful chore rather than the act of love that it used to be for me.

Surely, I was intelligent enough to know that I am what I eat and it’s so important to give my body the right nutrition it needs in order to thrive but for the past couple of years, unless my sister generously shared her creative and delicious meals with me, I mostly survived on takeout. I was addicted to being lazy and clearly I didn’t love myself as much as I thought I did. Why else would I neglect myself so?

Reading the Energy Codes by reminded me that I am ✨mind, body and spirit✨ and one simply cannot survive without the other. Let’s just say her book bitch-slapped me into a new reality! It was time for me to stop fu***ng around and dig deep into why I was so willing to take care of others but not myself.

Deep down, I have always felt that I have a bigger purpose in my life, a future that is waiting for me to get my s**t together. Even though I cannot see all the steps laid out in front of me, if I am to start walking this path, I knew I needed to take much better care of myself. If not now, when? I would rather do the work now and become a healthier version of me rather than take the easy way out now, only to end up in a hospital before I'm 50.

To help change the world in all the little ways that I can't stop dreaming about, I should first change myself and practice what I preach, right? I cannot imagine waking up one day and not being able to walk to the beach and enjoy a beautiful sunset, taste the amazing meals my sister creates, listen to my favourite music in the shower, smell the Sri Lankan butter cake baking in the oven or feel the warm embraces of my loved ones. I would be devastated about having taken my body for granted resent myself for procrastinating on loving myself fully and wholeheartedly when I still had the chance.

After all, cooking is one of my many love languages so why was I unconsciously CHOOSING not to extend that love to myself? Reflecting on my mindset and actions at the time helped me figure out the why. When I discovered many new topics in spirituality (all of which I was previously oblivious to), I felt an obligation to share them with everyone I knew, because I wanted them to use these tools to change their life as they see fit. I still do, it's why I continue to write here.

What's different now is that instead of siphoning off all my time and energy into trying to convince others how magical life can be (if you allow yourself to notice it), I've decided to lead by example and just go after what I want. If you are still reading this right now, I knnow it's only because you are energetically aligned with it. Those who are not, will receive it if and when they need it. If you are here now, let's vibe and learn from each other.

I declared to myself that 2025 is the year of my rebirth and that I will embody all of the valuable lessons that I learned in 2024. Like most people, I set New Years resolutions every year but I'm lucky if I make it to the end of the 1st week of January without completely falling off track. This year, I took a different approach because, as all of us are aware, insanity is expecting different results every time without ever changing your strategy.

Instead of overwhelming myself with a big list of goals that I would tackle head on, I decided to incorporate small habits over time. It's now March 12th and I've been able to maintain good habits like cooking delicious meals, practicing some form of meditation daily, creating, reducing screen time and being out in nature, reading and working out more consistently.

A neat little trick I picked up from 's Feel Better Live More was to tie a new habit to one that is already part of your routine. For example, I always try to write in my gratitude journal while having my morning tea or right before going to bed. This way I never forget to do it and it always sets the mood for the day ahead of me. I get to be intentional about how I want my day to flow instead of fumble my way through it.

It's amazing how willful our minds can be once we become aware of our self-destructive patterns. If there's anything I've learned, it's that attitude and perspective is everything and ultimately determines our vibe or frequency. Now, when I enter my kitchen, I put on a podcast or some great music and start chopping away. It feels so good to love myself again. ✨

Since starting to take care of my body, I have noticed a significant increase in my overall energy and well-being and honestly feel that I am able to create my life more intentionally. If you have been going through similar struggles, I hope this piece will inspire you to take a look at your own self-destructive thought patterns and behaviours and replace them with ones that will serve your highest good. ✨😊

When you told yourself this year would be different, did you mean it or are you just going to try again next year? The time is NOW. Remember to embody . It is not selfish. On the contrary, it is neccessary in order for you to become the best version of yourself for others and also experience the best version of them in your reality (because it's nothing but a reflection of our inner world).

If you start embodying main character energy even if you don't feel like it right now, you WILL become it and it will be the most familiar feeling you have ever felt. It will feel like coming home to yourself. MOVE LIKE THE UNIVERSE IS CONSPIRING IN YOUR FAVOUR, BECAUSE IT IS. ✨

P.S. At the end of the work week, I used to feel exhausted and convince myself that I deserve a treat (even though I knew my body would feel awful after). A couple of weeks after I started cooking again, I was driving home around late at night and I caught myself thinking about making a salad and putting some chicken thighs in the air fryer. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself and beam with pride as I realized that the girl who survived on DoorDash was NO MORE!! Let's rewire our neural pathways together and change our lives! 🔥🙌🏽😍

- AS

01/05/2025

Late last year, I took part in a Dale Carnegie training at work. Each week, we were tasked with speaking in front of our class of 30 people who were all there to enhance their communication skills and learn how to connect better with others. I will admit, with a busy work schedule, I typically only worked on my speeches a few minutes before class or while I was in session. For our last task, we had to talk about something that has had a monumental impact on our lives. Our goal was to inspire others and of course, after spending 8 weeks with my coworkers and learning about their silent struggles, I came to care for them and I immediately knew that I had to tell everyone about the power of gratitude and how it will help them overcome these struggles. That night, out of sheer excitement and all the ideas that kept rushing into my head, I hardly slept. There was so much I wanted to say and I knew my real struggle would be fitting everything into 1.5 minutes! This time, I wanted to plan my talk carefully, I worked through several versions and even practiced the final one in front of a friend.

However, when the day actually arrived, the nerves started kicking in and there was a voice in my head telling me I should just skip it and work from home. I was making a ton of excuses; I was too tired from a lack of sleep and no one would even care or bother to try what I had to share with them. My mind raced back to that one time in high school when I joined the broadcasting club and announced in front of the entire school at a morning assembly. It was my first time and it was a complete disaster… I’m soft-spoken and even with a mike, the audience could barely hear me. After the assembly, I remember one of my favourite teachers joking about how he didn’t hear a word I said. Needless to say, that was the last time I willingly spoke in front of a large crowd. He repeated a similar comment to me after I sang at our school talent show with my friend. According to him, although I was loud enough this time, my friend was louder. I didn’t realize it then, but that’s when I just stopped singing altogether, even though I really do enjoy it. Without knowing any better, the teenage me had decided to agree with his opinion and made it part of my belief system. Although both times were only my first attempts, I didn't want to keep embarassing myself further. Reflecting on these incidents now, I realized that it had affected me so much that I started to really dislike my voice and became extremely conscious of it. In college and grad school, I had no choice but to be okay with speaking in front of my department if I wanted to graduate. In grad school, especially, I had to be tactful and hide my nerves because I knew from attending seminars that the moment faculty members sensed my fear, they would pounce on me like bloodhounds. So on the outside, I think I appeared quite confident, but on the inside I was s**tting my pants. Since then, I’ve met good friends who’ve motivated me to see myself in a better light but this Dale Carnegie assignment was the first thing in a very long time where I was excited to talk to a large group of people.

The brave side of me knew that my fear-based conditioning was coming up with many excuses as to why I shouldn’t bother trying. I remembered the excitement that I felt the week before when we were first assigned the task. That excitement wasn't forced, it was real and I knew I owed it to myself to at least try before giving up altogether. I knew that the universe was giving me an incredible opportunity to share what I had learned with a wider audience outside of my inner circle and that I would regret it if I didn’t make use of it. I would feel like a fool if I didn’t grab this opportunity that practically landed at my feet. After all, I already know that this is what I want to do with my life. Learn new things and share it with those who are ready to hear it, while also learning from them so we can all contribute towards making the world a better place. I do not want to live a life full of regrets and I do try to push myself outside my comfort zone, even if its scary and uncomfortable because I know that it is the only way for me to grow.

I mustered up the courage and went to work that day. Perhaps to some, it may seem that I was making a big deal out of a small talk, but you have to understand, I had a limited belief system that my voice wasn’t loud or impactful enough to deliver the messages I had to share. So yes indeed, this was a very big deal for me. If I was going to do this, I decided that I would grab the attention of every single person in the room. I asked to go first that day and I walked to the front of the room, full of nerves but never once letting it show. I took command of the room and delivered my story about how the simple practice of writing a daily gratitude journal was an instrumental tool in raising my vibes and reinventing my life, quite literally. At the end of it, my fear was nowhere to be found and I felt nothing but pure joy. A quick scan through the audience told me that my story made an impact that day.

At the end of each week, the class votes for the speakers with the biggest breakthroughs and best performances. There have been weeks where I wondered if I might win a DC mug or pen because a talk I gave was not too terrible. On this day though, the thought never crossed my mind because it simply didn't matter. I suppose it was more impactful than I realized because I got the class vote for the biggest breakthrough. The DC pen is nice but its not really about the pen, is it? It’s about what it represents. For me, it’s a reminder of a time where I gathered the courage to face my long-standing fears and venture into the unknown. It’s loud and clear to me that my only purpose is to keep living my life with passion and do the things that excite me the most. In our innocence, how often do we make silent agreements with the opinions of others who tell us we aren't enough? Far too often, I think. We make ourselves feel small and hold back from pursuing opportunities that the universe brings us because we have subconsciously agreed that we are not worthy of them. I wanted to share this story as a reminder to trust in yourself and do the things that scare you, especially when it scares you because there is always something beautiful waiting on the other side. I'm trying to be mindful about it because I think I have finally come to the realization that anything that comes my way is only able to do so when I am energetically algined with it. Some might ridicule you if you don't get it absolutely perfect the first time but know this; people get bored and they will find someone new to talk about in a few weeks so just do it anyway.

P.S. A few weeks later, a couple of coworkers from my class reached out to tell me that starting a gratitude journal was one of the best things they had done and they were already beginning to see the positive impact it had on their mindset and their ability to view their 'problems' from a completely new perspective. I encourage you to try it, and WHEN it works, tell everyone you know. ;)

- AS.

11/10/2024

Do you believe in baby steps? I do, wholeheartedly. It’s what got me here today. This flu sea*on, instead of spreading germs, how you would you like to be a part of a movement to infect each other with kindness? Ever since COVID hit, I know that many of us struggled in isolation. I’m not so sure that we’ve all bounced back to our ‘normal’ lives since then. Sometimes, I feel like people don’t know how to interact with each other anymore, or simply don’t even care to. Because the truth is, many are struggling to survive and make it to the next day. Over the last several years, the global community has also suffered the effects of countless natural distasters, inflation, political uprisings, genocide, displacement crises and the list just goes on. It’s not at all surprising that we feel frustrated, angry and even helpless but I don’t think enough of us realize that the true power to manifest our desired reality lies within us and I am fully committed to spreading the word, even if it means being dismissed by the skeptics. We are a social species and we need to encourage each other to be kind to one another so that we can start changing the trajectory of our lives, one step at a time. Don’t you ever underestimate how impactful a simple act of kindness can be!

Do you ever notice how your mood can instantly change when someone walks into a room, whether they’re walking in with the weight of the world on their shoulders, or with a big smile and ready to conquer the day? That’s because everything in this universe is energy, vibrating at different frequencies. I’m a strong believer that we put out into the universe, we attract more of. Challenges and stressful situations can drain us of our vital energy... It's only natural to battle feelings of anger and despair about certain situations but I have learned that ultimately, what you resist, persists simply because we are directing our attention and therefore our energy towards an outcome that we do not prefer. Constant feelings of worry, frustration and anger, will attract more situations that are in alignment with such frequencies. We all have the ability to change that trajectory every split second with every decision we choose to make. When we resist a 'negative' situation, we're trying to change our physical reality without really making any changes to the energy signals that we are transmitting into the universe. That's why it is crucial that we focus on what we can control and incorporate simple practices that can raise our vibration. Your physical reality can then begin to gradually but surely alter to match the new frequencies you're emitting. Like magic. I know this based not just on my experiences, but countless testimonies of those who have improved their lives dramatically, by using simple but highly effective tools such as daily gratitude practices, to influence their state of mind into one that is in alignment with higher frequencies such as love, compassion and joy.

While I try to slide these topics into conversations with my family and some of my close friends whenever I get the chance, I really want more people to witness for themselves how impactful a mindset change can be on the physical reality that we get to experience on this Earth. This isn't woo-woo, it's the real deal and I would stake my life on it. In this day and age, where most people have constant access to social media, I thought that might be an excellent way to get people to direct their attention towards the good happening in their everyday lives. Any act of kindness, big or small, tell others about it, using . When you notice an act of kindness, whether it's someone holding the door open for you, buying coffee for a friend, or just a simple compliment, if it made someone smile, it's worth talking about. I guarantee that when you start doing this, you will start to realize that it's everywhere, all around you, you just weren't directing your attention in the right direction. The ripple effect is not to be underestimated. After all, if you want to change the world, the best place to start is with yourself right? BE the change you want to see in this world. It's so easy to succumb to our problems and turn a blind eye to the good of this world and I think it's high time we change that. Don't you? Create your own ripple and help others notice what a beautiful world we're already living in. If you see something, say something.

May all your delulu come trululu. Kbyeeee. ✨❤️

- AS.

11/08/2024

For my first post, I wanted to share a home remedy that I have been using a lot during flu sea*on. It’s a honey and onion concoction that I stumbled upon on many social media platforms. This also seems to have been a generational practice to fight cold and flu symptoms among our ancestors and many different medicinal practices such as Traditional Chinese Medicine. I love learning from people’s real life experiences and my family and I have personally benefited from it as well. While I do try to look for reliable scientific sources validating such practices sometimes, in some instances I don’t always look for modern scientific studies backing up these claims because I firmly believe there is so much holistic knowledge that our ancestors applied to their lives, that modern western science has yet to dive into. I’m also not a scientist who always requires validation via modern science. After all, much of modern science is based upon observations of Mother Nature and many tend to forget thaat we cannot exist without it. If I have the option of using a natural remedy that’s known to work, it will always be my first choice over pharmaceuticals. Since this home remedy only uses two whole ingredients that can be found in almost every kitchen, I had no hestitation in giving it a chance.

Layer thinly sliced or chopped onion (I used red onion) and 1 tbsp of good quality honey alternatively in a glass jar until the entire jar is filled. Seal and let it sit on the counter for 24h. After 24h, filter off the liquid into a separate glass jar. When flu/cold symptoms arise, simply take 1-2 tbsp of the filtered honey. This can be stored in the refrigerator (I have stored it upto 2 weeks with no issues). You can also use the onion in a salad/omelettes if you wish. It really works and helps my kids stay snot-free during the colder months. Many of my friends have also tried this remedy and had pleasing results.

For my own interest and the sake of our audience, I did try to find peer-reviewed scientific evidence in support of this remedy for alleviating cold/flu symptoms. While I didn't find any that studied the benefits of a combination of honey and onion, there are a few resources that touch on the effectiveness of these ingredients in alleviating upper respiratory symptoms when taken individually (see below). I'm not a physician so this is not medical advice and is solely intended for educational/informational purposes only. Note that these publications are from outside the US but that does not make them any less reliable. I say this because many people I encounter in STEM seem to have a bias that leads them to believe that scientific research published outside the US is not reliable and let's just say, I agree to disagree 🙂

I would love to hear the results of this remedy from anyone who has tried it before or after reading this and any background information on this that I haven't mentioned that might be helpful for all. I will update relevant sources as I receive them from my good friends who I have reached out to with this regard. Thank you Siddhee Sahasrabudhe, Ishani Goonasekara and Chengcheng Wang for your input and feedback.

AL-Masaudi, S.; AL-Bureikan, M. O.; Life. Sci. J. 2012, 9(2), 775-780.
Abuelgasim, H.; Albury, C.; Lee, J. BMJ Evidence Based Medicine 2021, 26, 57-64

- HS
*on

11/07/2024

It’s been a while since I have written a long post like this but here’s my contribution to our repurposed page in our humble attempt to help in any way that I can. I have always had a deep interest in traditional/ancient medicinal practices and home remedies since middle school, if not earlier. I owe it to my late Podi Bappa (uncle) who was an Ayurvedic doctor and visited us often. My siblings and I loved to engage in all kinds of conversations with him from science, medicine, nature and really just everything around us. I think he is one of the biggest rea*ons I pursued science. Much later in life I developed a keen interest in healthy eating and my parents, especially my father, played the biggest role in influencing us to eat nutritious meals. I say much later because when I lived in Sri Lanka, none of us really cooked much because my mother and Nada (she helped raise us and is pretty much family, well-known by our family and friends) prepared us healthy meals from scratch 3 times a day, almost everyday, unless we pestered them for chinese takeout or some other කඩචෝරු. Although my father has been preaching to us about healthy eating all our lives, I really started to put in more conscious effort after starting a family of my own. I must also mention Prof. Dilip de Silva, for his inspiring guidance and excellent mentorship in pursuing natural product research during my time at the University of Colombo. It truly was an honor to work under his wings. I strongly believe these times spent with our loved ones in my precious motherland, the pearl of the Indian Ocean, laid the foundation and contributed immensely to who we are and all things we would grow up to be passionate about. I’m grateful for that privilege we had growing up and thankful for everyone who was a part of it and my little island for providing healthy produce for its inhabitants in abundance.

For as long as I can remember, both my parents have been givers all their lives. They were extremely generous with us, their families and friends, and even strangers with zero expectations. All 4 of us grew up witnessing this and we've come to realize that it has become an inherent part of all of us. It gives great pleasure to help anyone in any way we can. I'm humbly proud of us for that and this is exactly how we raise our kids, as I see how much of an impact it has on others and how much joy giving brings to us, whether it's something material, or simply a kind word. When it was time to choose an academic path in high school, I decided to pursue Science over Arts because back then, I thought I could be of better service to humanity through science (my views have changed since then). While there have been times where I questioned my decision to not pursue Arts (languages, fine arts, history etc) simply because they bring so much peace to my mind and I value it above a career), I have absolutely no regrets about pursuing science as it has equipped me with knowledge to make informed decisions that impact my family's lifestyle, more so than a career path that I enjoy. My interests above and my passion to help others drove me to take on this journey with my sister to share everything we learn that we think others might benefit from on this platform.

Our family has made many lifestyle changes that have benefitted us greatly over the past few years. While my sister is more focused on her spiritual growth, I have in addition, devoted my time and efforts towards building a healthy lifestyle for my children. I'm grateful for the privilege of being able to cook meals from scratch, using a minimal amount of processed ingredients and opting for whole food ingredients. We have found that this has massively impacted our mental and physical health and it is my hope that all people have access to healthy food to nourish their bodies, for it is their right. I look forward to sharing what I have learned so far, as well as learning from you all as well. Let's work together to build a healthy society that isn't at the mercy of big pharma and insurance companies. If not now, then when?

P.S. Thank you to my awesome sister for smoothing out my sometimes too blunt writing.
- HS

10/28/2024

Last week, I came to understand what a positive impact my gratitude journal has had on the overall quality of my life. Funnily enough, I only realized this because I had stopped doing it altogether. Over the past couple of months, I was feeling a little meh on most days. I found that I was starting to isolate myself from family and friends again, starting to complain about work, feeling lethargic and uninspired. I have so many ideas and things I want to write about and share with you all but simply could not find the motivation. I do not want to be someone who just talks the talk. I am someone who wants to walk the walk too. So when I share motivation and inspiration on my socials, I am not doing it just to pretend I’m living a good life, it’s important to me to apply those practices into my own life as well. I want to model a healthy and balanced lifestyle, not just preach about it. In general, I do not like sharing anything that I do not practice myself because it feels like a lie and my credibility is very important to me. For the better part of this year, I was very good at keeping myself motivated, learning something new everyday and having open-ended discussions with my friends and family about the nature of life. So what changed?

The beginning of this summer was off to a great start. I was getting back from a work trip and finished reading "The Power" by Rhondha Bryne on my flight home and as corny as this might sound, it filled my entire body and soul with an overwhelming sense of love. I remember driving back home and sending out thoughts of love to everyone I drove past. The contruction workers who were tolerating the high heat and building roads for us to drive on, the reckless driver speeding by and cutting me off (who was probably just having a bad day)... I felt elated and so full of love that even though I was stuck in traffic for over 1 h, it really didn't bother me one bit. I was just singing out loud to some of my favourite music and enjoying the sun. Everything was peachy. A day or two later, a few people I used to know and cared for, came into my home and accused me of something I did not do. At first, I was confused, then furious, then disappointed and then really fu***ng confused again. I thought what the heck universe, I know I definitely felt a deep energetic shift this week, so why this sudden upheaval? Overall, it was a very hurtful experience for both parties, no doubt. I do not wish to go into details because it is irrelevant for the overall message I'm trying to convey, which is that, challenges are inevitable, but you are the alchemist who gets to decide how you come out it.

Before all of this drama unfolded, I maintained a daily practice of writing ten things I am grateful for each day. A typical entry in my journal starts like this: "I am so deeply grateful for because, . Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the abundance flowing into my life." Because I'm thinking about the WHY as I write, I was giving myself time to really think about the thing that made me happy and FEEL the gratitude in my heart and body (this part is really important). Writing with gratitude helps me elevate my emotions and my overall energy and and I was always able to maintain this energy for the rest of the day. Since the incident, for weeks, I walked past my journal lying on my coffee table thinking, "Oh I'll just write in it tomorrow, I'll just do it in my head today..." While that was still some effort, it a*o made me less receptive and aware of the magic happening around me. Last week, I finally decided to take action and get back to writing and I noticed an immediate shift in my energy. It was like a domino effect, I received one great news after the other and ended the day on such a high! That's when I realized what an important tool a gratitude journal is for me. It's also why I feel like I am finally able to start writing freely again. Since that day, I made a promise to myself to spare ten minutes everyday to take the time to be mindful and aware of everything I am grateful for. The more I am grateful, the more I receive to be grateful for.

I encourage you to incorporate this simple but powerful practice into your life. Maybe it doesn't have have to be ten things, maybe it's just a list of two to start off with. Maybe you type it in your phone, instead of writing it down. Just make sure you're paying attention during this process and FEEL the emotions of gratitude. See what works for you :) As someone who struggles with maintaining habits, I learned from an episode on "Feel Better, Live More" by .chatter that an effective way to build good habits is to tie it with a habit you have already established. I write in my gratitude journal while I'm drinking my morning tea, so this way I don't ever forget to do it. Because I do this at the start of the day, I usually start my day on an extremely positive note and like a domino effect, good things keep coming my way :) My only hope is that you all feel a deep desire to experience this bliss as well. We are all magnets, we attract what we put out into the universe, whether or not you believe in that kinda stuff. ;)

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who takes the time to read these posts. Thank you for reaching out and sharing your personal experiences with me. Honestly, your messages are the best thing to wake up to and it warms my heart to know that these stories are inspiring you to adopt similar positive changes in your life. I am truly excited for all of us, as we work on ourselves to become better individuals so that we may help the collective shift and build a prosperous and abundant future for everyone.

A Wonderful Pear

03/13/2025

01/05/2025

11/10/2024

11/08/2024

11/07/2024

10/28/2024

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