Things that went well

Problem resolution at workplace

The last year began in a difficult note, when I had fend a wrong accusation against me hanging over my head and I was thinking of the response that I needed to draft and the meetings ahead for the year. Some people were particularly disgusting to my experience. I forgot now what we did in the first week of January but I was busy drafting responses and waiting for a hearing with that bastard. Phenomenal help from AH and Mou has been amazing source of support throughout. The best thing that went well was my strong rebuttal and response. One of the biggest lessons learned was how to draft responses without using emotional languages even when people attack you and provoke you; learn to be calm and determined and focus on facts. The focus on facts and derivation was really helpful lesson in many ways. As it happened, the resolution was not entirely to my satisfaction as they still decided to issue a written warning.

Kolkata Visit

I also had to prepare to get the needed documentation from India for my medical and other credentials, particularly the one from the University of Calcutta about my name, that me, Arindam Basu and Arindam Bose are one and the same person. I had to prove who I was.

A trip to India was in order. The best things were to get to know people like Subhasbabu at the Medical College office, who was uber helpful. He not only arranged the nice letters from the Principal of Medical College, but also helped to direct me to the right office at the Calcutta University. I was in India between 4th and 20th

• Departure, 5th April, Saturday at 11:50AM SQ298, then from Singapore it will leave about 20:40 hours their time and reach Calcutta about 10:00PM their time.
• Return, 18th April, Friday from Calcutta around midnight to Singapore and will have to stay at Singapore for all day Saturday for the flight back to Christchurch, SQ297 that will land here on Sunday the 20th April at 9:30AM

On 9th April, I visited Medical College and Calcutta University and it took me three trips to Calcutta University to finally get the certificate and names sorted. Apparently, they go by the name listed on the mark sheet of the last examination that qualifies a student to enter the University and in my case it was the school leaving examination. It was nearly 40 years ago, so there is no way to correct anything at this stage (nor is it perhaps necessary other than satisfying the curiosity of a few people!).

Calcutta University Library was fantastic, and although I had written several emails to the Librarians trying to establish some form of collaboration with us, did not go far. Anyway, but the visit was fantastic, so this was a high point I’d say. Sometimes you do gain unusual perspectives and knowledge. The other nice thing about the trip was my visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram and a short meditation there. Loved it. A few days of tranquility and fun. Anyway, the trip to India was important for many reasons. One was of course this resolution. The second thing for which I am thankful to life is that I was able to connect to old friends and family. Took my cousin and her daughter to lunch, met mum after a long time. Had excellent few days of meditation at the Lake Buddhist Temple. Nice walks around the Lake.

Family Vacation, three times

Three family vacations, one was in the Glaciers and the other was in Australia. Both were unusual in the sense that I did not carry any work when I went on the vacation. It helped to relax and gain new perspectives. Immediately after returning from the India trip, we went to the Glaciers. See www.flickr.com/photos/19… A few days of peace and tranquility in the middle of cacophony of life. In the glaciers we had the first experience of sea kayaking. Beautiful setting and loved it.

In February, we went to Hokitika, Dorothy Falls, and Lake Kaniere, three beautiful places.

Then in December we had visited Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, rather the Whitsundays. Another life changing experience, as we got to be in the depth of the ocean. First time experiences of taking a helicopter ride.

Teaching

Teaching went well this year, with student feedbacks expressing their satisfaction. The aspects where they thought I did well was my kindness with the students. The scores were high. The class strength in all the four courses were higher than the previous years. Not sure how the second semester went, but overall it was well managed.

Research

This year the Human Digital Twin Research picked up pace. Although we did not publish any paper from the research yet, we were able to recruit participants for the first phase of the study. The research proposal at the Ethics committee was successfully defended. The team got started on working. It is time to start building more collaborations. This year, we got started on the research project, we set up a webpage, here: humandigitaltwinstudy.canterbury.ac.nz We started recruiting participants. The team got strengthened as Professor Julia Rucklidge joined us. We submitted two grant applications. One went to the first round of HRC and the other was with the Diabetes NZ. Participant recruitment was successful, we have now about ten participants. I am happy about the speed of progress (see notes on next steps) In other research area, Kai Yu submitted his thesis, so this completion was a good thing. Hamu needs to finish and submit next, on the cards.

Services

I was happy that this year, I was part of two assessing committees with the New Zealand HRC and in 2026, I will be part of the Marsden Assessment committee. Being part of these committees are useful and helpful to understand the state of current research in the country. These are also useful for getting to know other people on the panels and it is in general a good experience.

The second aspect that I am particularly happy about is my drafting of a series of emails to the Selwyn District Council official who thought that they wanted to shutdown our book club. We have run a book club of interested readers for the past ten years (I have bee associated for the past five years or so), and this year, citing their inability to provide Library Staff, and moved us to a private group and we’d have to pay for it. We protested and I helped the group to draft three protest letters.

Starting a series of routines and experiments

This year, I have started a series of seven non-negotiable that I’d do everyday and continued with the process. These, in no particular order are as follows:

• About 24 minutes of meditation in the morning as the first thing on waking up
• Read Sri Aurobindo’s Synthesis of Yoga everyday and note about it. The notes are in Medium here: medium.com/p/a1aaeaf…
• Go for Exercise (about an hour or at least 30 minutes)
• Read and reflect on Alan Wallace’s and Contemplative Resource for about an hour
• Work for 1.5 hours on the Human Digital Twin project
• Cook for at least one hour a meal for the family
• Call my mum

These six things were non-negotiable and had to be done EVERY day. I was happy that I was able to stick through the entire list. There were challenges that I will write later here in the challenges section but overall, I was able to smash through the processes.

I ran this in the form of an experiment and I am happy that most of these things went well. The exercise routine became a habit that’s worth mention. Sri Aurobindo’s Synthesis reading was really useful, and it helped that I also got to read with the group. The recordings are stored here: vimeo.com/114829365… and here www.infiniteconversations.com/t/synthes…

Completing the Contemplative Sixfold

This year I completed the Sixfold Matrix of Mental Balance, offered by the Centre for Contemplative Research led by the team inspired by Lama Alan’s teaching (teachers were Anita Milicevic, Eva Natanya, and others). Six months of fascinating contents, and happily I was able to complete all the modules. They said this was a “teachers' training” programme, and I am not entirely sure what it would mean. But that I was able to finish the programme requirement, I’d like to count as an accomplishment that went well. It involves hours of reading and reflections and discussions. I also tried my hand at leading a few rounds of discussions for the group using Zoom.

Editing the book

This year the book editing project went far better. At least there were moments and at the time, we are gelling as a team, and hopefully the project of at least getting a book by the end of March does seem like a good possibility.

Happiest Moments in 2025

In recounting 2025, there were moments where I was indeed happy. Happiness to me here denotes that I was able to experience a spirit of joy. The first distinct moment this year was in February. We were holidaying in Hokitika and Mou presented me with an iPhone, a device that I particularly “love” and I had this as a gift (a first one!). I was overjoyed and it was a moment of touching the sense of joy, surprise and wonderment. The second moment was in April when we visited Ōkārito Lagoon and as a family we went kayaking in the lagoon. At first I was a bit nervous as I am not a swimmer, but nevertheless the joy of boating and kayaking in the lagoon was such a beautiful experience that it sparked a sense of joy! There were many moments of joy throughout the year, and the next one that I can recall as a happy moment was when we were in the inner reef in the Whitsundays. We were on a small boat and we were in the inner reef region. The small rubber dinghy where we were, Maurine jumped off and had a great swim and watched the coral reefs. Mou too jumped in and soon returned to the boat. Along with two other Chinese girls, I was the only one who did not jump in the ocean water to watch the reefs. But soon I gathered enough courage, went down the side of the dinghy held on to the sides and dipped my head beneath the water. A vista of the coral reefs opened before my eyes, it was beyond amazing as the beautiful, colourful resplendent coral reefs were there. I was transmogrified, surely a moment of joy. Another moment of joy was when I finally received the approval of the Ethics committee that we had the green signal to go ahead with the project to recruit participants and each participant that now signs up is a source of joy and happiness.

Compliments

Normally, I do not get a lot of compliments from people, or at least, I tend not to notice much. I know Mou compliments me and encourages me almost all the time, and I am really thankful to her for her compliments. Outside of the family or loved ones, I was particularly happy to receive compliments from my students in their appraisal where they rated my teaching and me as a kind person. I thought that was great feedback. Other compliments came from my friends of the book club who thought I represented them well.

My positive impact on others

I do not know if I have positively impacted anyone’s life this year, but at the least I tried my best to support my family and students as best as I could. I may have pushed but the push yielded results as KY, the PhD student, was finally able to submit his thesis on time. The other person who comes to mind is TG, a student who successfully completed his Master thesis. So, it does seem that I was able to impact the lives of a few people this year.

Things that could have gone better

These were all great, but the year also had its own challenges for me. I always find working in the winter months as super challenging. The days are short, invariably the temperature, the challenges of getting wood and stacking wood on time.

Challenge number one: managing time particularly during the winter months

This is both a challenge of managing time and energy. I know I am more of a night owl than a morning lark, and there are only so few hours in a day. But this definitely was a challenge this year. It has been a challenge for many years to get things organised during the winter months. Perhaps get better dressed warmly and know that winter will be winter and organise accordingly. Get wood on time and develop a strategy to keep the fire going for longer during night so that when we wake up in the morning the temperature within the house is tolerable and make most use of the limited hours available.

Second one, of organising

I had to change an assignment for a class during the end of the semester and that created a problem for some. This is another thing that I need to pay attention. I need to be super organised throughout the year with moving most of the lectures online and set up everything at least ONE week before the class starts. Also recruit as many guest lecturers as I can this year. Reduction is the mantra. Try to find ways to focus on that ONE thing or a few things at most, no more than two to three projects. Organising and making use of time

Third, low on publishing last year

I need to publish more of my thoughts. Consistently,regularly. I think I found my source of error. I think or tend to overthink too much rather than DO stuff. This is a limitation that I must overcome

Four, inability to watch myself

I need to watch myself doing things, saying things, feeling things. I need to keep tab on my feelings, and sayings. I tend to get distracted far too commonly and this is an area that has hurt me. Set a timer and get things done, do not be distracted. In a way, most of my weaknesses and things that I need to do more and think or research less.

Five, grant applications where I failed

Two grant applications failed. The first one was with the HRC looking to pass the first pass for a one million dollar fund to get the project up and running for a randomised controlled trial. Did not go through the first round. Second failure, a grant with the NZ Diabetes where we applied for funds to continue our current work and do further development. Did not work out quite how I wanted it. I needed to start earlier I suppose

What did I want to happen that did not happen

Those two grants. I wanted to be successful, but did not happen. I also wanted to write more papers out of my experiences and the current work that I am doing, did not quite happen. I wanted to finish Sri Aurobibdo’s Savitri and Synthesis reading this year, did not happen. I needed to be at this game.

Things that happened differently than I expected

I have been working at the book project and I wanted a different outcome for the book project. It irks me that people like SBG are trying to undermine my efforts and are downright rude. But anyway, I did not expect the book project to take off in the direction it has. At least it is not dormant any more and we are working towards a goal. I like it but it was not quite how I wanted it to happen. The other thing that turned out different than how it started out was the work with JR where we were planning a smaller piece of work for the endometriosis but it ended up in a different way. Cochrane editors wanted us to write a bigger piece or bigger project. We will see how it ends up.

Gains and insights

Each disappointment and loss has its own lessons for me. I have learned to focus more on the process, facts, and details. I think I need to start early, connect with people more, show up the work and seek people’s comments, harden my skin to criticism, and be at it with endless iterations. I also need to take charge and move along projects, without any expectation from anyone. I need to be deaf and blind to other people. The two grant failures show quite starkly that I need to work closely and start out sooner. Do not wait for the last minute. Also, make use of the available resources and this is a good time to build up the library and annotations, so that the last minute fight for resources is less. Make use of AI to the best, and let the research sit with the AI tools as I fine tune, check correctness and work through hallucinations. Learn to be less dependent on people and stick to a plan.

Lessons for the year

Insights

First, I need to do more and think less. This is my definite weakness. I tend to spend a lot more time reading, procrastinating, thinking and planning but do less. For example, I have spent a lot of time reading and tinkering and experimenting and dithering whether to use Julia or Python for my human digital twin project, rather than spending time to actually get my hands dirty. I know that there are colleagues that have differing views, but ultimately if I think I am better off using one or other software, then I will need to do so. Second, I need to manage my time better. Anne Laure Le Cunff’s ideas of chronos versus kairos time (where time is measured not in terms of hours but in terms of here and now experience is instructive and this is something that’s worth considering. So, set up experiments such as tiny experiments and stick to a plan. Take time and do nothing else in in that period of time other than the task that is most important. Third, ay attention to the lead measures than the lag measures. So focus more on the work at hand and press or push through. Eliminate all distractions at all times, including now.

What have I or how have I improved myself over this year?

Push the clock one year back. On 2nd January, 2025, I was nervous, and I was still writing and speaking stuff where I was not sure or I was writing emotional stuff. Over the years, I have learned a lot more to frame my thoughts on facts and steer that kind of conversations. So an area where I have levelled up is the use of information and become more assertive. For example, when SSM tried to challenge me late last year, I used the help of a colleague to face and the meeting was postponed. This will come up again but this time I will be better prepared. The second area where I have levelled up is that I can muscle through or push through challenges as they come. For example, later in the year, I set up these six non-negotiable and pushed through. As a result my exercise ability went up, and I was regularly hitting the gym. This would not have happened earlier. Slackness is gone. I am a much better cook now, and I have levelled up my game of cooking good food.

Knowing where I am now, what would I have told myself a year ago?

First of all, I’d have told myself to hold fort and be persistent in everything you do, Arin. Always focus on the facts and not your emotions. Do not pay attention to naysayers, and detractors. If needed, come back harder at them. Gather strength. Be persistent, and be focused. Be stingy with your time as you are with your money. Your time and your energy are finite resources. Set a clock and go by the clock. There is value in chronos time as there is value in kyros time. Read extensively but then write and DO stuff, do not just gather knowledge and sit and mull.

My most challenging moments have taught me to …

First be assertive and do not be afraid. Do not rush, but take things slowly. Third, do not be distracted. Set a timer and stick to the timer and get things done. Be ruthless and focused in what you are doing. Protect your time and energy. Play the long game.

Who will I be next year

Let’s pick three important goals.

• First, I will be a lot more kinder and better individual that I have ever been. This means I will focus on facts, reasonings and less emotions
• Second, I want to be more improved in my time management skills. Measure each moment and measure myself every moment, everywhere
• Third, I want to be more process focused. This means everything I do will need to be done with utmost care. They may not be perfect but at least I will put my heart and soul into every aspect of it.

If there would be a SINGLE WORD that can define or be a guiding principle for me in 2026, that’d be “STAY PUT, ARIN!”. I need to stay put no matter how or what new challenge every day bring on. Bring it on, life, test me!

Three resolutions for the new year:

• Be totally focused on the work and projects that I do
• Accomplish the six non-negotiable tasks every day for the next 365 days
• Manage my time and be more process focused

What do I want my life to be like next year this time?

A lot more organised than it is at this time this year. I want to a tidy workspace. Fewer “stuff”, more accomplished. At least six research papers and a book out and published. I want to live a life that can take in challenges and be ready for all uncertainties. Be focused and determined.