I was the new girl in 8th grade. My family had just moved from Hyderabad to Chennai in the Southern part of India. It was an all girls school and my 8th grade class had quite a few cliques in it. Around half a dozen groups of 3-4 girls, whispering, giggling, and gossiping. I never really felt like I fit into any of these groups, I had my own set of issues going on I guess.

Leaving my besties from my previous school, St. Anne's, in Secunderabad was proving rough. I had been there for three years, 5th through 7th grade and had made really great friends. I really really missed them. Thirty years later, I am still connected with the friends I made then. 

Now in the new school I felt awkward and didn't know how to relate to an entire new class. I took the route I knew best, I pretended to not need friends. But the entire time I was longing and hoping that someone would want to be my friend, laugh, giggle and play with me too. I really missed laughing and was beginning to get...

I hosted the most recent Pause For Power networking luncheon last week on June 19th, a day also known as "Juneteenth". It was on the 19th of June in 1865 that the last of the African American slaves received news of their emancipation. Although the declaration of emancipation happened in 1863, it took almost 2 and a half years for the slaves in Texas to receive the news. If only Twitter or Facebook existed back then!

Rightly called freedom day in Texas, the coincident Pause for Power event on Juneteenth inspired me to lead my audience into an inquiry of the state of our own personal freedom in our lives today. What does freedom mean to us? Is freedom just another word?

History books the world over tell stories about the fight for freedom, and many of these struggles are still ongoing. The fight for freedom from oppression and segregation; the fight for independence from colonization; the fight for women's liberation including the right to an education, the right to vote, the right...

It was the I AM Love and Aliveness Retreat in February 2011. The weather had been terrible for the past few weeks but this weekend was looking great. The snow had started to melt, the roads were clear and the sun was out. But that was in Northern VA where I lived, not in Berkeley Springs, WV where the retreat was going to be held. The cabin we rented was atop a small hill and the roads leading up to the cabin were most definitely covered with thick ice and snow.  Vehicles, a no go!

My team and I always arrive at least one day before the retreat. The retreat began on Friday morning, so my team, Nicol, Mina, Dawn and I were there on Thursday morning. Mina and I were driving to Berkeley Springs together as we received the phone call. It was Dawn. She informs us that the road leading up to the cabin, coincidentally called "Breathrough Way", is covered in thick snow and ice and she can't get up to the cabin.

I am driving my car as Mina turns to her left and looks at me.  We...

Do affirmations really work? Can standing in the mirror reciting one affirmation after another truly attract positive things to your life as the Law of Attraction suggests?

 The answer is yes...BUT simply going through the physical motions of reciting or writing down your affirmations is not enough. In order for affirmations to truly help you reach your full potential, you need to develop a sense of inner awareness.

Ask yourself, "Are there negative things that are going on in my life or in my mind that are actually sabotaging my ability to attract what I want in my life?" If the answer is yes then it's time for you to Pause for some personal reflection; discover who you are and why you are who you are. These discoveries will help bring down the walls that are blocking the power of affirmations in your life, and will allow you to better and more effectively use affirmations to create the success you desire.

Watch on YouTube & Subscribe to Richa's Channel

How many times have you told a little white lie thinking it was no big deal? After all, no one got hurt, right? But we all know that one lie leads to even more lies, and eventually you end up in a situation that spirals out of control and becomes completely exhausting. We tell lies for many reasons, but when we are not speaking truthfully we are not being authentic. We are actually holding back what we really want to say.

Listen as Richa explains what damage not speaking your truth is actually causing in your life. What can you do on a daily basis to live a more truthful and honest life?

 How many times have you told a little white lie thinking it was no big deal? After all, no one got hurt, right? But we all know that one lie leads to even more lies, and eventually you end up in a situation that spirals out of control and becomes completely exhausting. We tell lies for many reasons, but when we are not speaking truthfully we are not being authentic. We are actually holding...

Everyone has baggage in their lives; those nagging, self-limiting beliefs that linger in your mind that keep you from reaching your highest potential. These beliefs can make you or break you. Only you can decide what you want them to do for you. If your beliefs are positive, you will be successful. Likewise, if your beliefs tend to be negative your journey towards success may be a bit longer and more painful. The bottom line is you will have exactly what you believe in! Are your beliefs serving your higher good? Richa explains exactly how excess baggage is weighing us down and finishes with a thought-provoking exercise.

 Everyone has baggage in their lives; those nagging, self-limiting beliefs that linger in your mind that keep you from reaching your highest potential. These beliefs can make you or break you. Only you can decide what you want them to do for you. If your beliefs are positive, you will be successful. Likewise, if your beliefs tend to be negative your journey...

Let's talk about procrastination for a minute. Yes, now, not tomorrow. How predictable! As much as it hurts to admit, if there was a way of putting off doing something for tomorrow or the next week, I've probably tried it! This was a habit that I developed over time and slowly but surely began to master, until....I couldn't afford to anymore. Since I wasn't in the present moment most of the time I hadn't realized what the energetic consequences of procrastination were. I was not only putting off the task at hand, I was putting off the unfolding and conscious creation of a future that I deeply desired. I spent time wondering why I wasn't witnessing breakthroughs and results? While all along my actions had been rather lackluster. A bit unfair, isn't it? To expect our intentions and dreams be manifested while self-sabotaging the very things we yearn the most?

 Let's talk about procrastination for a minute. Yes, now, not tomorrow. How predictable! As much as it hurts to admit, if...

Are you connected to your inner core - the essence of your being? Have events from the past and people in your life caused a disconnect with your inner self, causing a loss in self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth? Today's Pause For Power Radio episode will help you inquire within to see if you are connected to your inner self and unleash your inner power by truly being who you believe yourself to be.

Are you connected to your inner core - the essence of your being? Have events from the past and people in your life caused a disconnect with your inner self, causing a loss in self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth? Today's Pause For Power Radio episode will help you inquire within to see if you are connected to your inner self and unleash your inner power by truly being who you believe yourself to be.

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes & Subscribe to Richa's Podcasts

"Can we please have a weekend where we don't have another social event on the calendar? No birthday parties, no family functions, no work commitments. I would just like to wake up, relax with my first cup of coffee in the morning and have a day where I am not on a schedule!!!" A cry for help by my husband Kash and also a fair request. The weekends tend to get crammed with all the "other stuff" that cannot be scheduled during the week. As a result, all seven days on the calendar sometimes get packed with either work or non-work related activities, leaving little time to do "nothing".

Voila! A weekend we discovered we had wide open! Kash, who works 80/90 hours a week in his software sales job calls the week a "compression chamber". Come the weekend and all he wants to do is decompress, relax and rejuvenate! So here we were with the gift of free play time on our calendar. With a desire to go hiking with the kids weeks ago he had already picked out a place 20 minutes from us. He was so...