This is the translated version, from Slovak, of the interview that took place on 02 July, 2015, about my first published book - a fairy tale called "Piyar & Soleil: In Vintascia's Realm." Mega thanks to Vlado Kral for the interview! :)
YOU WROTE A BOOK CALLED “PIYAR & SOLEIL (LOVE AND LIGHT):IN VINTASCIA'S REALM.” CAN YOU BRIEFLY DISCUSS WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT AND WHERE
THE NAME CAME FROM?
I wrote this book
as a form of self therapy. The story is based on real events from my life recounted
in a fantastical way.
In short, it's about a couple who are reconnected after lifetimes apart. Everything is
perfect until an unseen force of evil comes their way, which causes each of the characters' own shadows and demons to come out, disconnecting them in the
meantime.
Piyar, (the male
character), goes away in effort to deal with the imbalance within him,
initiated by the evil force, all the while hoping that he and Soleil will
reunite.
Eventually she finds her way back to him through her subconscious,
whilst in a dream state.
HOW DID YOU COME TO CHOOSE THE NAMES OF
THE MAIN CHARACTERS: “PIYAR” & “SOLEIL” (LOVE AND LIGHT)?
As writing the
story was cathartic for my soul, it’s much like IT was writing through me. I was writing mostly in the middle of
the night, very intuitively, and without thought. I would awake, pick up a pen
and just write. ( I still have all my night time scribbles :)).
In the morning,
I’d read what I’d written and sometimes even be blown away at what had come up.
That’s it really, the story, (and names included), came to/through me. There
wasn’t any thought involved with ‘Piyar,’ which translates to ‘love’ in
Punjabi, and ‘Soleil,’ which translates to (sun) light in French. I suppose it
was the Indian & Canadian in me, coming out. :)
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR? I ASK THIS BECAUSE
YOU SAID IT’S A FAIRY-TALE THOUGH THE STORY IS BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCES. IT IS
THEREFORE GEERED MORE TOWARDS ADULT READERS OR CAN YOUNGSTERS ALSO READ IT?
I'd liken the
story to Cinderella, I love it, I love fairy tales. For example, Maleficent, is
a fairy-tale ‘for children,’ though I really like it. My story is possible for
older readers who would understand what it is about, but younger readers can
also gain from it. The whole story
is written in rhyme, so it would sing to a child.
As a kid, I loved rhymes. It's one of the things that I remember most from childhood, especially when we moved from England to Canada and I learned English, rhymes
helped me a lot.
YOUR BOOK IS ALL IN RHYME AS YOU HAVE MENTIONED. WAS IT YOUR INTENTION TO WRITE SUCH A STYLE?
No it
wasn’t. I wrote the whole tale in
just a few months, and it contained only two rhyming verses, each about four
sentences. I was pleased to be finished, but when I reread the whole thing, I
knew I had to start from scratch, putting everything into rhyme.
Of course it took
longer, but the process was similar as before. I got up at night and the words
just came to me and I wrote.
WHAT DO YOU DO BESIDES WRITING?
I love food, and
am such a "foodie", so I cook and then share their ideas and recipes
on my Food Blog, though what gives me the greatest joy and love though, is teaching
others how to heal themselves. Everything else is really just an extension of
this. So whether I cook wonderful food, or design a dress, it’s all based on
the love, which I in turn, can give to others.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO 'HELP PEOPLE HEAL?'
Basically it all
comes from my experience, my life's journey. I used to think that fitness and a
healthy diet were very important to us loving ourselves (the only way).
But only through
the process of my own healing, I understood that it's about pouring love into
ourselves, by taking a moment to stop and do something for ourselves. It could be anything, a walk in the park
or meditation.
For me, it
literally means to stop everything, sit or lie down, and repeat ‘I love you
Munjeet Sehra,’ – my personal ‘love mantra.’ It is a simple yet strong show of love & respect to my being.
That's part of what I do. I teach
people how to reach deep into themselves to heal, by learning how to love
themselves, (which actually, my husband and I both do), by way of Tapping/EFT – literally teaching others how to tap into their own
energy to resolve emotional problems.
Tapping/EFT (Emotional Freedom
Technique), goes hand in hand with self-love. It’s worked such wonders
for us that we decided to write a book about it called, ‘Modern Alchemy for
Emotional Freedom.’
You know, I
always ask people when they last said ‘I love you,’ to themselves. And the
answer is usually never. This is a problem, because so often we say things
like: "You're an idiot,” or “what a stupid thing you just said,...etc etc" to
ourselves, so why can we not say “I love you?”
IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET
WITH SOMEONE, WHETHER DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
The first person
to come to mind is Richard Branson, he’s just brilliant. In general, I’m
inspired by anyone who’s ‘self-made,’ who’s broken the rules and made their
own, maybe ridiculed at the beginning, but didn’t give up. Richard Branson is one
of those people for me, regardless of what anyone says.
WHERE CAN PEOPLE LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU
DO?
Website: www.manjcarthigaser.com
Personal
Blog: www.manj-carthigaser.blogspot.sk
Food Blog: www.foodismyway.blogspot.sk
EFT/ Modern
Alchemy for Emotional Freedom: www.kralyurai.wix.com/modernalchemy
YOUR PERSONAL MESSAGE TO THE READERS?
Closing the
circle, the name of my fairy tale is love and light, which is basically my
message to people. Things that we lack are not outside of us, they are already
within us, so if you look inside yourself, you will
find your own love and light.
Peace and love, <3
