Broken! You? Or the mirror?

Aspi Shroff was warned to be careful around them as he prepared to interact with the young inmates at the remand home. “There was scorn and rage in some of those faces as they moved past me to occupy their seats,” Aspi remembered. “The unspoken challenge was: you think you can mend us now, old man?”

The transformation after Aspi finished his activity was unbelievable. “Some of them were in tears. One of them told me that he was a good person inside. But someone in authority had ordered them never to get married even if they were released. They were bad people because their parents were bad; if they got married, their children would also be bad.”

The children were willing to delay lunch (something they always rushed to, given the strict timings at the remand home) just to take one more look at the two mirrors Aspi had used for the activity—one broken, one intact.

​The broken mirror showed a broken person, while the other mirror proved that the person was whole with wholesome possibilities within. What was broken were the perceptions, one’s own and of others.

Possibilities within

The two-mirror activity is one of the several that the Shroffs use as part of their Possibilities Universal initiative. Their objective is to open up and activate innate possibilities of strength, wisdom and peace in all, through interactive workshops.

​After graduating from IIT, Mumbai, Aspi had also taken the “usual path” of employment, business, etc. He went on to marry Yasmin who was a teacher. Their urge to do something different, to give back to society, led them to an orphanage. “It was a very unpleasant experience,” Aspi remembered. But they were not ready to give up.

Then he chanced upon a small book, Thoughts of Power, written by Swami Vivekananda. “That changed my life. So much ancient wisdom expressed in such simple words.” The book encouraged Aspi to absorb even more wisdom from Indian philosophy, and dive into the illuminating ocean of quantum physics, astrophysics, neuroscience and other fields. Soon, Aspi and Yasmin were conscious of their own possibilities and ready to help others discover their own.

Aspi Shroff (right) and Yasmin

Discover positive possibilities

They once happened to conduct an activity for patients at a prominent cancer hospital. At the end of it, a young woman declared her intention to stop all treatment as she was sure the cure lay within herself. “The doctors had to persuade her to continue treatment while remaining positive. Last I heard, she had a remission and did indeed finally stop all treatment. While this may be an exception, I do believe that your state of mind has an important role to play when you are fighting to overcome a difficult obstacle in your life,” Aspi said.

As an artist, Yasmin was instrumental in introducing the use of puppets as a therapeutic activity. During the activity (usually with children) the puppet dons various masks representing negative emotions. “Each mask changes the appearance of the puppet, but it is only temporary. With just a flip, the masks disappear and you become your true self,” Aspi explained.

They were once conducting a street show, when a child ran away with the puppet. He approached a policeman who was standing some distance away. The boy demonstrated the puppet activity to the amazed cop. Later, the cop came back with the boy and the puppet and appreciated the activity.
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At a college event, most students were fascinated by the two-mirror activity. However, one student chose to walk away abruptly. Aspi and his team were puzzled, but they did not stop him. A year later, the student came back, with another student in tow. “Please show him the mirrors,” he demanded. Later, he explained: “You have no idea what I was going through at that time and how that activity helped me rediscover myself. Now, this friend is going through the same things, and I want the mirrors to help him too.”

Celebrate your possibilities

During a session at a hospital, Aspi spotted a bunch of patients sitting some distance away, not at all interested in what was happening around them. “I approached them and showed them a small piece of paper and challenged them to pass their whole body through the paper. They were skeptical but I persisted until they offered some possibilities. At the end of the activity, they were no longer focused on their helplessness but were actually laughing. There was no denying destiny, but at least engaging in some activity helped to ease their pain.”

Possibilities Universal exhorts everyone to “celebrate our possibilities through playful interactions, visualization, meditation, and games that fill our hearts, minds and lives with our possibilities.”

For nearly three decades, their activities have helped promote different aspects of wellbeing including mental, emotional, social, environmental, economic, and spiritual.
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More strength to you, Aspi, Yasmin and team!

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https://www.possibilitiesuniversal.com/                                                              [email protected]