MY FIRST ENCOUNTER
I think it was October 1996, when my Dad walked into my bedroom with a whole bunch of the monthly magazines. As Papa called out to me to take my share of magazines, I browsed through the whole pile to see where my stuff was and instantly this magazine titled Life Positive caught my eye...never heard of it, I thought...and the cover was even more amusing...a white notepad with a red pen blot tingly saying Save Your Life. It said in sweet italics—“Pick up your pen, pour your heart on paper, It could change your life!!”—I picked it up and started browsing through the thin shining pages of the magazine.
Whatever little I read in that issue made little sense to me—spirituality, perception, body language...I closed it with a slap, and continued with my own stuff...But, curiosity took the better of me, and in just four months I was an addict to this invigorating piece of work...of course, in my addiction, it was my Mom who helped me see the other side of life, the other side of myself...
ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT LIFE POSITIVE?
Practically everything is special here. Right from its dynamic content to its vision about everything connected to us, Life Positive impresses in a unique way. When it was launched way-back in April 1996, it was the first Indian publication in the body-mind-spirit category. Nothing much has changed in the seven years that the magazine has been around...its only consolidated its position as one of the benchmarks when it comes to creative, positive reading.
WHAT’S LIFE POSITIVE ALL ABOUT?
Well, here comes the meatiest part...Actually you cannot define Life Positive’s contents or the way they are presented. You cannot define the magazine’s sections, because quite simply each and every issue is masterfully customised to get the right feel. From describing the power of Yoga, Meditation, Spirituality, Pranic Healing, Ayurveda, Reiki, Crystal Healing, Stress Management, and alternative therapies to exploring the world of space-research, modern genetics, medicine and nanotechnology, the magazine achieves a perfect balance between the ancient and modern. For a look at the content, I’ll profile one year of Life Positive (2002), and you’ll automatically see the dynamism that this magazine carries:
PROFILING A YEAR OF LIFE POSITIVE (2002):
Jetting off with the January issue, the magazine peeked at the different ways to master change and healing with the energy of pyramids. Then, the February issue had a wonderful description of Jainism on account of the religion’s 2600th birthday. It also provided a wonderful insight into the two faces of Islam and the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. The March issue again surprised when a detailed analysis was done on Martial Arts and its power. A special March issue had a fantastic title “God-A Quest”, and looked at different ways of God’s realisation and answered masterfully questions like “Who, or what, is God? Why is the concept of God so integral to humanity? Where did the concept come from? What does the future hold?” The April issue looked at the growing popularity of spirituality amongst teenagers while the issue of May took the readers on a quest to find everything about acupuncture and acupressure. The next three issues gave an insight into hypnotherapy, urine-therapy, prayer-therapy and naturopathy. And then there was this awesome cover story on the future of Medicine in September followed up by Unani Medicine, Dream Interpretation in October and November. The year ended with two fantastic special issues, one overlooking at the futuristic face of humanity while the other had a detailed account of Gandhiji’s life, their principles, their relevance and people’s views on the father of the Nation.
The best thing about Life Positive is that it doesn’t just list out the facts and create unnecessary alarmism. If there’s a cover story, there’s masterful build up of facts from the ancient days, and its development which has led up to its presence, as of today. Be it a science, a spiritual teacher, or a therapy being written about, everything is backed up by interviews from experienced professors, doctors, film-writers, film-stars and healers, which gives the magazine a logical as well as a scientific edge, which instantly leaves an impact on the reader. The reader also has the opportunity to contact with all the doctors, healers, authors personally, and their full contact details are provided in the magazine, which besides helping the reader cure his ailments, also lets him explore life with people of a different perspective.
What is further praiseworthy is the way the magazine is scripted, and presented. Besides the lucid language used and hypnotic images used all through the magazine, there are interviews with celebrities (film-stars, small-screen stars), who explain their experiences with spirituality, God, yoga, and how these therapies have affected their lives. Then there are spiritual jokes and a moralistic story at the end of each issue, all of which makes reading such a wonderful experience. Even a novice in the field of spirituality will find himself easily cosseted into this beautiful world of positivity.
RATING THE LIFE POSITIVE:Coming to my usual ratings, here’s how the magazine fares in the mandatory areas:
General Quality: The quality of the magazine has risen from the day of its launch, and the pages plus the cover reek of quality. Print and image quality is excellent—so very important for a spiritual magazine.
Presentation: Simply fabulous. The cover-designs and new-concepts every month are refreshing, and the in-issue presentation of facts and images is even better.
Content: I would have given this 10 out of 5, so excellent is Life Positive in its content.
Price: At Rs.35, Life Positive remains accessible to all and sundry, and only the occasional special issues are high-priced, which makes it terrific value for money. Available at any news-stand in India, it can also be subscribed online at https://lifepositive.com.
ON A POSITIVE ENDING NOTE...
“Positive” is the key word here. Right from the concepts to the content, every alphabet written here lurks with positivism. Life Positive has helped identify millions of people of their own strengths, culturally and physically, emotionally and psychologically. It has let them explore the power of positive thought, power of emoting oneself, and the power of exploring oneself. True to its name, it brings together the power of body, mind and spirit, and gives numerous options to the readers to tap these powers.
And its not limited in its vision either. Geographically, it brings together positivity from every nook and cranny of the world and conceptually, it amalgamates ancient practices with futuristic visions making the present, all the more pleasure to lead. For the sheer dynamism, universality and variety that this magazine radiates in its vision, its nothing short of highly recommended.
So rejoice into this world of positive ness and you’ll definitely come out as an enlightened individual...and that’s a promise!!!
......Hope you find this review helpful....Do leave a comment if time permits....
© Karan 2003
