The Post

A celebration of friendship

TAMASHA KHANYI tamasha.khanyi@inl.co.za

NASSEEMA Taleb and Abhi Indrarajan will collaboratively launch their debut, self-published books on October 1 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in uMhlanga.

Taleb, a 40-year-old life coach, said her book, Living Awake, was a collection of reflective essays on various aspects of growth, realisation and personal development.

“It is divided into five sections which each focus on aspects of growth. These are breaking open, learning to let go, courage and the conquest of fear, faith and surrender, as well as transcending.”

She said the aim of her book was to kickstart a conversation around consciously creating the life you want.

“As I became a transformation life coach, I realised that unless I showed the courage to share my own stories, I could not expect my clients to do the same.

“This book is about understanding the nature of our psyche, our years of conditioning and how these have led us to habits of thinking and feeling and therefore getting the results we are currently getting.”

She said the book was for every adult who felt stuck and wondering how to start again.

“I hope readers will find inspiration and the courage within themselves to step up and awaken. I hope that my readers will be able to relate to my writing and will be able to find solace in my words and understand that growth is non-linear.

“In fact, it is sometimes messy and unforeseen, and sometimes the hardest challenges become the most heart-opening ones.”

Taleb, currently based in Dubai, is a single mother of two teenage boys and a two-year-old cat.

“I am originally from Mauritius, but I left home when I was 18 and went to South Africa to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

“I lived in South Africa for five years. After that, I left for the UK at the age of 24, and lived there for nine years. I

moved to Dubai in early 2014 and have lived here since.”

Taleb is a qualified life coach from the International Coaching Federation and a relationship coach with the Robert Simic Coaching Institute.

She is also a qualified Reiki practitioner, who focuses on energy healing, and holds a Master’s degree in modern anthropology.

She said publishing her book on her own allowed her to step up for herself.

“Having trained as a master coach and having experienced deep transformation personally, I knew that my gift for writing had to be shared with others to inspire them to taste what it felt like to lean into life, accepting with gratitude and having the patience to look at the seed and know that the roses are on their way.”

She said the co-launch of her book and Indrarajan’s photo book was a way to celebrate two years of collaboration and friendship.

“Abhi and I are great friends. We connected in October 2020 at an arts event through a common friend. We started chatting and realised we had a lot in common, including our common experiences in this beautiful country of South Africa.

"As we became friends, I also started my formal training to become a transformation life coach, and we started piloting several workshops combining mindful photography and intuitive journaling in Dubai with several wellness centres.

“I remember telling Abhi in October 2020 that I wanted to write a book… and he replied ‘so why don’t you?’, and I did just that. Once my book was written, he created his photo book as well.”

Indrarajan was born in Sri Lanka. He is a 45-year-old photographer and visual artist based in Dubai.

“Nasseema and I didn’t know each other before 2020 but we both studied in South Africa at the same time. When she wrote her book, I was inspired to create my photo book as well.”

Indrarajan’s photo book, A Landscape of Memories, features images he had taken around the world over 15 years. Destinations include Indonesia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Dubai and South Africa.

“It also features quotes from a number of my friends. I wanted to have those quotes as something that could resonate with people and derive inspiration from.”

Quotes featured in his photo book are from Darren Maule, a radio presenter; Sorisha Naidoo, a socialite and businesswoman; Jason Goliath, a comedian; Robby Collins, a comedian and Alan Khan, a radio personality, to name a few.

Living Awake, and A Landscape of Memories are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kindle and Takealot.

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2022-09-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thepostza.pressreader.com/article/281595244406204

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