MACTREAT – a treat for MACFASTians

Realize the art of silence, understand the power of meditation and unleash the talent within; not an ordinary effort but an outstanding endeavor to unravel the hidden matters awaited to outburst.  The retreat which aimed at refreshing the minds of MACFASTians really turned as a treat. The two day retreat program paved a way to go back and think.  MACTREAT - enriched by enlightening thoughts, inspiring words and motivating deeds that sprinkled as a divine light which was capable to purify the crude matters of mind. 

Fr. Dr. Vincent Kundukulam, a prominent figure in inter religious dialogues, led the retreat program. He is PhD in "History of Religions and Religious Anthropology" from the University of Sorbonne Paris IV and in "Theology and Religious Sciences" from Catholic Institute of Paris. At present doing Post Doctoral Studies in Catholic Institute of Paris. He is the Member of CBCI Doctrinal Commission, CBCI National Executive for Inter-religious Dialogue and KCBC & SMBC Theological Commissions

Triggered with a laugh, gradually reached to the core notion – Life. Life can compare with a river which starts its flow gently, then vigorous and emptying in a certain place. The finishing point may be a great ocean or a dry desert.  It gives green pastures to its bed and feeds others. It always moves forward by overcoming all the obstacles. When it finds any difficulty in its course, it searches for a new way without comprising its destiny.  He passed this theme to the audience for discussion – 'Life and river' that returned with myriad explanations. 

Yes. Life is like a river which starts with drops, eventually great rivers which flows into ocean. River faces so many difficulties during its course but it overcome with its vigor, and moves ahead with a mood – no turning back. It may change its direction, but not its destiny. It gives life, green and everything to the nature. It is life – which becomes meaningful only when it provides something for the nature and society. Sometimes it may get polluted; it may face drought, flood and even exploitation. The river never passes the same point twice and is only at that point for the precise moment it is there. The river does not struggle and strain, it simply flows on until it reaches its destination. During its course, it moves others, gives shapes and refreshes all. At last with great gratification it reaches its destiny.

Enthralling moments:- initiated with a slight song of life. Eventually it became the noise of the crowd and fled in the air like a charming lines that absolutely broke the ice.  In the light of these lines, he invited the views of participants on life. After all, it was clear; life is a series of happiness, grieves, anxiousness and hopes and it is us decide our destiny. 

What all lessons we filter from films? It’s a mixture of situations in life. Story of sorrows, story of happiness, story of achievements; in toto, it tells the story of life. He went across different scenes of the films and explained the relevance of love, friendship, affection, family, relationship etc. Films are not only for enjoyment and recreation but an effective platform to learn different lessons of life. He clarified. 

First day ended with a meditation which recalled the life so far. The ways we passed, the obstacles we overcame, difficulties we faced, moments we enjoyed…..felt like a game, he carried the day. Set for future.........

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With a positive prejudice day 2 started. Students all ears to hear the story of life. But with a difference, he started with Bhagavath Geetha.  Mr. Vijeth and Ms. Reshmi read it and explained; a new version on life and six principles to follow. People laid their hands together to seek the treasure and to unveil the truth in the lines.

He then moved to the core of life and explained different types of personality traits, its drive, needs, negatives and positives. The strategy for dominating any personality first requires satisfying his needs, recognize and admire. It is win-win approach. Fr. Vincent mentioned. 

Description of personality traits are shown below.

Personality Trait	Drive	Positive Traits	Negative Traits	Needs
Hard worker	Be  perfect	Responsible, Logical, Organized, Serious, Rigorous, Demanding, Disciplinarian, Punctual, Capacity to Synthesize, Systematic	Critical, Angry, Go into unnecessary details, Act in the place of others, Trust nobody, authoritative	: Be recognized for his work, obtain degrees, titles, organize time in advance, be respected
Convivial	Make Pleasure	Helping, Loving, Make Harmony, Easy contact, Work well with the Group, Sensitive, Concern for others, Make friends	Worried about others Sentiments, Easily Influenced by others, Not sure of oneself, Undecided, Confused	Be recognized as person, Be loved, Be appreciated, Likes gifts, Sensorial needs
Solitary	Be Strong	Imaginative, Intuitive, Reflective, Far Sighted, Calm, Introvert	Hides His Worries, And Pretends That Everything Is Going Well, Doesn’t Finish Work In Time, Becomes Sick To Escape From Risk	: Likes Space And Time, Withdrawal, Discretion, Respect, Needs Confidence
Convinced	Be perfect; Be strong	Committed, Devoted, Leader, Conscious about value system, Observer, Perseverance, Faithful	Hardening one’s position, Finds out what is going bad, Imposes opinions on others, Suspicious	Recognized for his convictions, Be accepted as a  Model
Reactive	Make effort	Creative, Spontaneous, says what is convenient for him, live the present, original, open to the difference, speaks and acts fast, takes risks	Contesting, refuses the authority, disordered, says no before Yes, lack of continuity, doesn’t follow a project for a long time	Attention, emptying the heart, stimulation, excitement
Challenger	Hurry up, Make effort, Be strong, Make Pleasure	Adaptable, Attractive, Seducing, Abundantly gifted, Inventive, Intuitive, Communicative, Winner, Make wonders of the situation	Manipulative, Opportunist, Agitator, Revolted, Divert laws to his advantage, difficult to accept one’s errors	Excitement, sensations, take risks, have followers

Synchronization of physical and mental features is the founding principle for the success of life. An effort to enrich our talents and an endeavor to develop leadership styles will polish our personality. Our identity in the triple bottom line areas decides our quality. Education, profession, parents and neighbors… they all are influencing our life and fluctuations in any of these will lead to identity crisis. A genuine effort to overcome all these withdrawing factors is the complete solution to overcome identity crisis. Tensions aroused from frustrated feelings can curtail by the tool of meditation. Calm, quiet and peaceful ambiance makes us to relax and that enables us to release our tensions.  Gratified experiences are the stepping stones to a developed personality. A balance between physical and mental situations is the optimal solution for a gratified life. Spend some times for prayer, meditation, yoga, games, exercises and creative works other than your class hours. Integration of spirit, body, emotions, will power and intellect is essential to lead a peaceful life. Variation in any of these factors may create serious repercussions and an intelligent effort is required to keep the balance.He said. 

That was a journey to the hinterlands of life, a voyage to explore our talents, strengths, weakness and creativity, an effort to relive from tension and to bridge the gap between human and God - Memorable two days with enjoyable songs, fabulous exercises and creative tasks. It really marked as a red letter day.