Author of Whispers of the Soul, Reetu Gupta gets candid with Dolce about her craft, her inspiration, and the power of words.
Q: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
A: I have always loved to write, before I even knew how! I would take a notebook and scribble, and pretend to write out all my thoughts, pretending to be an author!
Q: Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
A: Absolutely! Writing can be meditative. When I write, I ask the universe what message needs to be given to the world, and I write by hand whatever I hear from the universe.
Q: How did your personal experiences shape this book?
A: I have always loved to read and dreamt of having my own books one day! I have been meditating for almost two decades. About ten years ago I started to teach meditation because I felt the world needed more peace. After my classes, I found the students would ask me to send them some of the messages I would give. So I collected everything and felt one day, on the universe’s timing, I will put out these messages in a book.
Q: Many writers describe the strange experience of rereading their work years later. What aspects of this book might surprise your future self?
A: I think years later when I read this I will have evolved, because I’m learning every day. I’m sure I will look back and understand how these lessons allowed me to grow.
Q: What inspired you to write this poetry book?
A: I am inspired by poets like Rumi and Hafiz. Their poetry has uplifted me and so I hope I can now pay this forward and uplift others.
Q: The book cover features a peacock feather. How does this tie into the theme of your book, and why is this an important symbol for you?
A: The peacock feather in Hinduism represents the God of Love. This book is meant to inspire self-love.
Q: Do you have a favourite poem in the book, and if so, why?
A: My favourite chapter is love and mysticism, because it’s about love and magic, my two favourite things!
Q: What do you hope the reader will take away from reading this book?
A: I hope that even one poem or piece of writing will inspire the reader to live life with joy, purpose, passion and love.
Q: What was the inspiration for the title, Whispers of the Soul?
A: The title comes from the fact that everyone’s heart whispers to them, and I would love for everyone to listen to their own soul.
Q: Which poem from your book do you think will be the most popular, and why?
A: What I believe should be popular or impactful would be the pieces on gratitude as I feel that as long as you have gratitude in life, your heart will always be happy and you will attract abundance.
Q: What feelings do you hope readers will experience when reading the poems in your book?
A: I hope the reader will feel inspired and uplifted. I hope the reader will feel like listening to their hearts more and living life with more love.
Q: What are you currently working on that might be interesting and exciting for your readers (e.g., a new book, a play, a movie script)?
A: I am working on book three!!! My first book, Auspicious, published by Dolce Media Group, was released in 2023.
Q: How can poetry help people align their daily actions with their soul purpose?
A: Everyone has a soul purpose. I hope this poetry will spark that feeling, to listen to your heart and soul, because your heart whispers your soul purpose to you every day.
Q: Why is it important to live predominantly in love and faith rather than fear? How does poetry fit into this process?
A: When we live in fear we cannot see clearly and we will not make sound decisions. When we live in faith we live in an energy that allows for change and transformation. Most people fear change. I hope that my poetry, although it may not remove fear, I hope it allows you to think about it differently. That’s the first step.
