Contemplation: November 01, 2018: The Great Enemy

Contemplation: November 01, 2018: The Great Enemy

The Great Enemy

The great enemy of peace is ego. Ego makes you judge others and think about them in an unkind way. It makes you force others to do what you want. In this way you forget you are a student and that you are here to learn.

Tiredness

Tiredness spells trouble with a capital 'T'. We become tired and we
fall asleep when we should be awake and the end result is Trouble. Or
if we do not fall asleep, our standards drop and we become careless.
People who have knowledge of the body can avoid physical tiredness. But
what about the tiredness of the mind? The tiredness leaves you without a
will, without spiritual power, which makes you want to give up not only
on others but also on yourself. If we do not have an aim we are not
using our time wisely and become tired because we are going nowhere
fast. In today's world we do not always reap what we sow, but in the
subtle laws every action is recorded and not effort goes unrewarded.
When we forget that, we start feeling we are traveling in the night and
get tired. The reason for this is because we forget who our True Guide
is and do not follow his instructions.

Letting Go Of The Branches Of The Life Tree

A very common habit that has become deeply embedded inside us is the habit of possessing, to which we succumb repeatedly. We come in contact with different people, material comforts, roles, positions, experiences, achievements and of course our own physical body etc. on an external level and our own thoughts, viewpoints, beliefs, memories, etc. on an internal level etc. throughout our life. All of these are like branches that make up our life tree. Possession is like clinging on to one or the other of these different branches from time to time, as we fly from one branch to another, while covering our life journey. The spiritual point of view on this habit is clear and very straight forward. It is not possible to possess anything. If we do try to do so, we lose our freedom. To experience the freedom, we need to dare to let go of the branches, which does not mean to lose or leave them because the branches are always going to be there. We can return to any of them to rest or pause whenever we want. But, it is about being aware and alert, because the moment a pause on a branch turns into a stop, the stop turns into a brake and, after that, the brake turns into a blockage. As a result, like the bird whose flying agility degrades on a physical level if it does the same; our intellectual and emotional agility starts to degrade.

When we learn to let go of one branch at a time, we are always welcoming new positive and empowering experiences in our life, one at a time. Like the birds, by letting go of one branch, we are then able to spend the rest of your lives trying and discovering many other branches, one branch at a time, and so we can enjoy the view from each new vantage point. We can choose between a life of flying and soaring or be stuck on one or the other branch, seeing others as they fly past and enjoy a life of freedom where they do visit their life tree from time to time and their life does revolve around the tree but they don't try and possess it or any of its branches.

Soul Sustenance

Returning To The Inner Seat Of Mental Comfort And Peace

At the end of a busy and hurry filled and many a times even peaceless day at office, everyone goes home, to do what? Even a housewife, who has had a busy day in the kitchen and with the children, will yearn to do want at the end of the day? Sit, lie down, relax and experience peace. Just as each one of us returns home or to the comfort of the bedroom at the end of each day; each time we experience any of the various forms of anger in our words or actions or even in our thoughts, sooner or later, we will try to return to what we instinctively and intuitively know is the truth, what is right and good, to the inner seat of our own mental comfort and peace, which is our original and basic sanskara, peacelessness being an acquired one. It's as if we know when we are set on this seat that we have access to our inner power. It's as if we know that we can only be comfortable, powerful, blissful and content when we are first peaceful.

Sitting on this seat also provides us with the ability and the power to influence others. A proof of the fact is that all of us have, sometime or the other, known someone who lived their life peacefully but assertively (not weakly or timidly). They expressed themselves peacefully and interacted with others free of any traces of anger in their personality, and they stayed, more or less, positively peaceful and peacefully positive. We remember that person for much longer than the one who is always finding an excuse to use the weapon of anger when things or people do not go his way or get things or people to be as he would want. The peaceful nature of another makes a deeper and more lasting impression on our hearts than the angry nature of another. And when we are in the presence of such a peaceful person, we always allow them into our lives much more and for longer periods of time. In the same way, when we function from our inner seat of mental peace, we are able to influence others and make a lasting impression on others much more.

Message for the day

The one who is open to learning always finds an opportunity to learn and change.

Projection: Life has plenty of opportunities for the one who wants to learn. Each situation and person that comes one's way is an instrument for a new learning. Constant learning brings about a deep internal change and progress in one's life.

Solution: When I am able to learn from all that happens, I am able to be content for both what I have learnt and the change that I have been able to bring about. This contentment also keeps me enthusiastic and my mind open for further learning. I naturally become an embodiment of what I have learnt.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 31, 2018: Thought Diet

Contemplation: October 31, 2018: Thought Diet

Thought Diet

Why not make your mind healthier and go on a thought diet!

Cut down on all those unhealthy negative and wasteful thoughts that offer no nutritional value. Start feeding your mind with positive healthy thoughts.

Here's our suggestion for a balanced diet for the mind:
For vitamins, have creative ideas.
For proteins, think powerful thoughts about yourself.
For carbohydrates, have good feelings for others.

Silence

Am I comfortable with silence? Or does the mind get fidgety when I am
physically silent and bring up questions and uncertainties related to
my life and relationships? Silence to some is boring and unproductive
but that depends on my thoughts. I have two magical tools in hand: the
mind and intellect. When I teach both to work in synchrony, I create
for myself unforgettable experiences of empowerment, love, wisdom,
compassion, forgiveness, far-sightedness... In silence, I can detach
from my body, task and relationships and see which next step would be
beneficial for myself and others. The more I discipline the mind with
love, it will become my closest friend.

The Interplay Between Souls, Matter And The Supreme Soul

The forces which interact to produce the phenomena of world history and geography: souls, matter and the Supreme Soul (God), are threaded by the law of karma. When there is mental communion (connection) with the Supreme, the soul's relationship with matter changes. This means that the internal love-link that the soul has with the Supreme is reflected in the performance of the soul in the material world and in the degree to which the soul has mastery over matter; firstly over the sense organs of the body and through that, over the colors, shapes and sounds of the material world.

We have continually sought to understand which way to act, but have lost our sense of direction for various reasons:

* We forgot that we were soul-actors.
* We became lost on the world stage.
* We became over-identified with our costumes the physical body.
* We lost sight of the story of the drama.
* We forgot that we were residents of the soul world.
* Due to body-consciousness the soul severed (broke) its subtle connection with the Supreme Soul.

Soul Sustenance

Creating Positive Habits

To overcome a negative habit, we have to ensure that the intellect is strong and stable enough to lead the mind with knowledge and comprehension. In this way, transformation is more deep and lasting, creates satisfaction and fullness, and greatly improves our self-esteem. Our mind, which is under the influence of an old program, must be left in no doubt that "I", the original personality, no longer wants to go down that old road. We must have the strong determination to create a new thought pattern; this will also be recorded on our memory bank. This new register will help us to avoid taking up the old habits the next time something similar happens. For a period of time the two thought patterns, the old and the new, will exist alongside each other. To achieve a long-lasting transformation, we should not suppress our mind and immediately eliminate all the habits or tendencies to which the mind has become accustomed to. If we do this, the mind will begin to cry and make a fuss, and finally, the moment we lower our guard and stop paying attention, the old habits will emerge again and drag our mind towards automatic thoughts and actions so that, almost without us realising, we are once again immersed in our old way of thinking and doing.

We have an alternative: creating thoughts of a greater quality that emerge from a new conscience. In this way, thanks to these positive thoughts, full of love, harmony and creativity, the mind will start to cleanse itself, replacing the old habits and negative tendencies in a totally natural way. The positive thought that preceded the positive action is still conscious, but the more we repeat the positive action the less conscious we are of the thought that created it. The time comes when we don't know why we are doing whatever we are doing: it has become a positive habit.

Message for the day

The one who is responsible is the one who is always light.

Projection: To be responsible means to do everything with the best of one's ability. It comes with the recognition and the understanding of the importance of the task. No action is wasted, but everything meaningfully connects to the fulfillment of the task. So there are not even ordinary actions, but only those that are meaningful.

Solution: When I take up every task that I need to do with full responsibility, I am able to give my best. Then I will be able to be light having done my task well and in time. There is never the pressure of work, but there is plenty of time for the self and for others. I also find my inner resources being used to the fullest extent.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 30, 2018: Staying Power

Contemplation: October 30, 2018: Staying Power

Staying Power

When you have staying power, you have the stick-at-it-iveness. Like a postage stamp, you're able to stick at one thing until you get there. So, even when there are lots of mini-failures, don't stop! Use your strength, energy and focus to steer your way through the obstacles, and stay with it. Use perseverance and somewhere along the road 'success' will show up.

Enchantment

It's a wonder how God manages to be so enchanting since none of His
uniqueness can be attributed to the parameters human beings normally
associate with an attractive personality such as etiquette, education,
fashion sense, social contacts etc. Though God's purity, wisdom,
power, love... are intangible, when I am soul-consciousness I get
exposed to God's unparalleled magnetism. The more I stay in this
spiritual magnetic field, my mind and heart experience a slow but
permanent change by appreciating myself and others for more than
physical qualifications.

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (cont.)

We are at war with our self when we fail to make the world do exactly what we want, or we believe we have let our self down. An e.g. of a war with one self is - Suppose you are standing in a queue waiting for your chance to arrive, only to discover an hour later, just when your chance is about to arrive, that the time for the counter to close has come and the counter has closed. You get upset, but with whom? Perhaps the person at the counter at first and may be with the other people in the queue and then with yourself, for not having found out the time of closing of the counter. There are two failures that make you uneasy here. First you failed to ask someone early enough, which would have saved you the hour time loss. Second, you failed to control your emotions of anger. Although you might not externally admit that you failed, inside you know. Because of these two failures, you then start to get angry with yourself. The thought pattern that goes inside your mind: to fail is to lose, to lose is to be sorrowful, to be sorrowful causes me to become angry, as you look for an external cause of your sadness which, in this case, is initially the person at the counter and the other people in the queue (who would have known the time of closing and could have told you). So you demonstrate to others your justified anger towards them. But deep inside you know it is you yourself that has made you sorrowful.

As the anger builds up inside you, again, after a while, you find someone else outside on whom you vent out your anger. You seem to feel better as a result, but it's only temporary. The next time you become angry; interrupt the pattern of your anger by asking yourself two simple questions: Who are you fighting a war with? Answer: Yourself. Who is suffering the most due to the war? Answer: Yourself. And if your anger is directed at yourself for your own supposed failure then just tell yourself, "There is no such thing as failure, only a different result from the one that I expected and results are not going to be exactly as I want, expect or desire. That is a rule of the game of life."

Soul Sustenance

Topics For Meditation Thought Commentaries (cont.)

Here are a few thoughts or themes for meditation to help you:

• Like stars shine to bring light during the night, I am a spiritual being of radiant light, like a star in the night sky, reflecting and radiating spiritual light in the present spiritual darkness of the world night. The, light, which emanates from the heart of me is peaceful and loving. It touches each and every being in the world. It is my gift to the world.

• I am just a tiny point of pure energy, of light, situated at the center of the forehead. And within that tiny point lie all my thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes, beliefs and my personality traits. Within the point of light that I am, lie all the qualities of spirit that I have - I am a source of love, peace, power and wisdom for others.

• I am a conscient, miniscule point of energy, at the center of the forehead and I am instrumental in making this body work. This body may be heavy and big as compared to me, but I the soul am so light, and free that I can almost fly. I experience bliss as the soul releases itself from the bondage of matter.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Message for the day

To be a teacher means to touch the heart rather than the head.

Projection: Teaching others means being subtle and explaining in such a way that the mind opens because the heart has understood. The one who truly teaches inspires rather than just becoming the one who teaches others. There is recognition of the positivity that is in each one and so no comparisons  are made with others.

Solution: Once I am able to look at the positivity in another individual and have the pure desire of enabling progress within that person, I am able to feel the love for him. This is like a parent's love whose love for the child is that which makes him grow. So I become a teacher who inspires rather than the one who teaches.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 29, 2018: Keeping a Cool Head

Contemplation: October 29, 2018: Keeping a Cool Head

Keeping a Cool Head

Maintaining a state of inner calmness protects me from becoming a slave to my emotions. It also helps me to keep a cool head when I see others becoming heated or angry. Coolness is not to be distant or uncaring; rather it requires that I develop the deeply caring nature of a peacemaker and serve others in the best possible way.

Courage

Courage comes in a spectrum of colours. On one hand, we commend people who sacrifice their lives for others but do we applaud daily acts of
courage on an individual level? All of us are courageous when we decide
to adjust to, tolerate and accommodate for what is right so that there
can be peace. At times, I need to use will-power to compromise, and
sometimes I have to unleash the same power to be firm and stand by my
resolves. God's help is experienced if I use humility and patience to
judge when to use silence and where to be forthright.

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (cont.)

We are at a subtle war with another person when he/she has done something which we perceive or judge to be wrong and our anger is an attempt to change them or take revenge. This is the second belief (we had mentioned the first one in yesterday's message) that is embedded very deeply in our consciousness that the world, including its entire people, should do exactly what we want them to, or what we think they should do. Perhaps we have not yet realized that it is impossible to control others and make them change. The lack of awareness and realization of this truth, which we will definitely realize at some point or the other, doesn't let us become anger-free very easily. People will always make their own decisions and control their own actions, always. They can definitely be influenced, but they cannot be controlled. When our internal desire of a certain type of behavior from people is not fulfilled, or in other words something against the above belief happens, our instant reaction is one of resentment or irritation or frustration or hatred which are all forms of anger.

One of the most important attributes of a great soul is the ability to not have even a trace of desire for revenge inside and the ability to forgive someone who has supposedly wronged him in anyway. Don't we all acknowledge that such an individual who has freed himself completely from all anger forms earns our and everyone else's respect and deepest admiration, and we give him the medal of greatness inside our minds and even physically? So doesn't that mean we intuitively know that this anger is an incorrect emotion and peace, good wishes and forgiveness are the correct ones, in harmony with the basic nature of the human spirit?

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

Topics For Meditation Thought Commentaries (cont.)

Here are a few thoughts or themes for meditation to help you:

• Like stars shine to bring light during the night, I am a spiritual being of radiant light, like a star in the night sky, reflecting and radiating spiritual light in the present spiritual darkness of the world night. The, light, which emanates from the heart of me is peaceful and loving. It touches each and every being in the world. It is my gift to the world.

• I am just a tiny point of pure energy, of light, situated at the center of the forehead. And within that tiny point lie all my thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes, beliefs and my personality traits. Within the point of light that I am, lie all the qualities of spirit that I have - I am a source of love, peace, power and wisdom for others.

• I am a conscient, miniscule point of energy, at the center of the forehead and I am instrumental in making this body work. This body may be heavy and big as compared to me, but I the soul am so light, and free that I can almost fly. I experience bliss as the soul releases itself from the bondage of matter.

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

To be a teacher means to touch the heart rather than the head.

Projection: Teaching others means being subtle and explaining in such a way that the mind opens because the heart has understood. The one who truly teaches inspires rather than just becoming the one who teaches others. There is a recognition of the positivity that is in each one and so no comparisions are made with others.

Solution: Once I am able to look at the positivity in another individual and have the pure desire of enabling progress within that person, I am able to feel the love for him. This is like a parent's love whose love for the child is that which makes him grow. So I become a teacher who inspires rather than the one who teaches.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 28, 2018: Courage

Contemplation: October 28, 2018: Courage

Courage

One of the highest forms of courage is the ability to face my own negativity without feeling guilty or bad about myself, and then take responsibility for changing it. To begin this process, I first make contact with my deepest spiritual core. Reflecting on the things I care about mostly gives me a glimpse of my innate goodness. Building on this, God will, if I let Him, gently reveal in me a caring and compassionate nature that can even be described as divine. The courage to let go of unwanted thoughts and feelings will develop when I accept that my higher, divine self is not separate from me, but lies at the very heart of who I am.

Acceptance

 Accepting life as it is a multi-faceted concept. While it's good to
accept circumstances and people as they are, it would be unwise to act
out of blind faith or dejection: Either we say things will happen if
God or destiny wills it, or that things are never going to improve so
why bother... Both perceptions spread a negative vibration. Acceptance
means I don't confront a situation or person simply because things
aren't to my liking, as this drains me of energy I could use to
reform the problem. With a clear mind, heart open to the unexpected,
and willingness to make a difference, I link myself to God and take His
energy to be successful in my goals.

The Three Root Causes Of Anger

Any time we sense irritation, frustration or anger emerging inside our consciousness, if we take a close look at it, we will notice we are fighting a war in our consciousness with one of these three: either with another person, most obviously or with the past or with our self.

We are at war with the past because our anger is always towards something that has already happened and looking at it we react emotionally which means we are trying to change it, which is impossible. Any scene that has taken place a year ago, a month ago or even a second ago cannot be changed. We may be completely convinced and we may believe we can. That's because we hold this belief subconsciously. Somewhere and sometime in the past, we have picked up and absorbed the belief that the world and its circumstances should shape up exactly as we want.

When our internal desire of a certain type of circumstances is not fulfilled, or in other words something against this belief happens, our instant reaction is one of the various forms of anger and we tend to try and change the incident that has happened in a far-off past or a past that has just gone by. We keep replaying a revised incident, with words and actions that we would have liked and that suit our convenience and we also keep nullifying the actual incident or remain in a un-acceptance mode towards it. This is like fighting a war with the incident. We tend to do this inside our minds, repeatedly, even realizing somewhere deep within, that it is impossible.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

Topics For Meditation Thought Commentaries

As you start your meditation practice, you need to have in mind some simple topics for your thought commentaries on which you base your meditation. Repeat them gently. Doing that will give you enough time to experience the feelings hidden inside them. Realization of thought commentaries will help your thoughts to develop and your thoughts will slowly expand as you now guide yourself in your meditation. Take up a few simple topics or phrases as the foundation for your meditation. Initially, listening to a guided meditation commentary on an audio cassette or CD, which is available at any Brahma Kumaris center will be extremely helpful. As you get an idea about what thought commentaries are all about, you can gradually start creating your own powerful, positive, thought commentaries. These will ultimately have more meaning for you because they have been created by you and you will easily be able to relate to them. You can continue to take the help of recorded commentaries, though, from time to time. Given below are a few topics for your thought commentaries, which you would find helpful and which you can explore.

• I am a subtle (non-physical) point of consciousness, which resides within this body (situated at the center of the forehead), I am the energy which brings this body to life every day. I am the energy which uses this body to see, to speak, to touch and to hear. I am the energy which experiences everything via the body. But I am not this body

• I am a soul, a being of light, situated at the center of the forehead, radiating pure light into my body, out towards others close to me and the world. As I turn within and remember who I am, I experience my own capacity to have pure love for all others. It is a generous (kind) love that neither wants nor needs anything in return.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Message for the day

God's love brings out the perfection from within.

Projection: The power of God's love brings about change internally. Through His love everything old and unwanted finishes. There is the natural tendency to bring about such perfection that the one who loves Him and gets His love becomes like a mirror - a mirror in which perfection of others too is visible.

Solution: There is such inner strength that I get because of God's love that even if somebody does something to hurt me, I don't allow myself to get hurt. Even if people are saying negative things, they don't influence or touch me in a negative way. I am so full with God's love that it naturally flows out to those around me.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 27, 2018: Sweetness

Contemplation: October 27, 2018: Sweetness

Sweetness

Sweetness is a virtue that searches with patience for the good in every person and situation.

Strong Foundation

When my expectations for a task or another person are unfulfilled, I
sometimes attribute it to my weaknesses or unworthiness. I may accept
the disappointment and even forget the incident but sub-consciously
allow it to hamper my self-respect. Ambitions or relationships are not
appendages of my identity. They are vital in shaping my personality and
taking me ahead, however I need to be prudent in not permitting them to
distort how I see myself. Only my God knows me precisely for what I am
and what I will be. With this faith and confidence, let me see every
experience as a brick thrown towards me to build a strong foundation
for my future.

Being Impressed By Others

To keep our self esteem intact, we need to make sure that we do not have an impressionable intellect. Being impressed by people, in itself, is not bad, but we can fall into the tendency of staying trapped in the superfluous (excessive and unnecessary) and in appearances. What impresses us influences us and even moulds our awareness at that moment. We lose the ability to create our thoughts and feelings and these are influenced by the impression that we have allowed the other person to leave on us. Sometimes the impression is such that we completely give ourselves to it. We give up our power to the other, and we allow them to dominate our emotional world. The results of allowing oneself to be impressed are varied and on different levels.

For example, when we are impressed by the other's position; it is fine to respect the authority and the position of the other, but when we allow their position to impress us, our ability to relate to the person in a smooth way is blocked. This can make it difficult for us to be the authority in our own life. Another example is when we are impressed by the achievements of the other and put them on a pedestal. We compare ourselves with him or her and have weak thoughts of ourselves, such as that we are not as good or effective as them, or we might feel jealousy or guilt. All of this acts as an obstacle on the path towards our own achievement. It is good to recognise and appreciate the achievements and skills of others, but when we allow them to impress us, in some way, we submit ourselves to their influence and we weaken our self-esteem and our respect towards ourselves. Without realizing, we use the other to fill a gap that we feel in ourselves. This will not always work. It will not strengthen us; rather it will create a dependency and dependencies weaken us.

Soul Sustenance

The Negative Shade Of Respect In Relationships (cont.)

In yesterday's message, we had looked at the incorrect and negative side of respect (the energy of fear) in relationships. Today we look at this kind of relationship from that person's perspective from whom respect is demanded. When the boss or the parent or the spouse (please refer to yesterday's message) tries to induce respect inside you for him or her, in return you fear him or her, most of the time thinking it is respect. But, at that point, you need to remember it is impossible to give respect to another if we, at the back of our own minds, fear them. If you are scared of someone or something, it means there is an absence of self -respect, there is a lack of a true realization of your own value, your specialties, your skills and the virtues and powers that you possess. And if you do not respect yourself, you cannot truly respect another. It is only when you are firmly established in your own self-respect that you have no fear of others and are then capable of giving genuine respect to others. Sometimes we are not comfortable with being seen as fearful, because our image will take a beating, so we try to avoid admitting we fear someone by saying we respect them, but internally we are in awe of that person and being in awe is not respecting him or her.

Many a times, two prominent people e.g. two actors or politicians or sportsmen are not on good terms. They accuse and bring down each other publicly and are known enemies in the press. While they do that, they also carry a subtle fear of each other, a fear that the other will outperform them; the other will be more popular, the other will be more powerful etc. This normally happens because of a lack of self-respect. They both will probably hide that and will pretend that they are confident and established in their self-respect. But if their self-respect were genuine, they would not be scared of each other, and they would have the courage and the patience to talk and work with each other and listen to and offer the hand of friendship to each other, whom they perceive to be an enemy. But when they don't have the strength of their own self-respect and when they are unaware of their lack of self-respect, subtle fear for the other creeps in, which they don't realize and if they realize, they do not admit the same. And that's why the restoration of self-respect is only possible when the ego is recognized and no longer nourished. Because, fear always comes from the ego and ego is nothing but an excessive attachment to one's false image.

Message for the day

To receive respect from others comes more with responsibility than as a right.

Projection: The one who gets respect is the one who becomes worthy of it rather than the one who just expects it. True respect comes from how well a task is done rather than what is done. The more one's speciality is expressed, the more one becomes worthy of respect.

Solution: When I go on giving my best in whatever is expected of me, I will start receiving respect from those around me. I will then never expect from others but will naturally be able to give respect to all. This further makes me earn their love and regard.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 26, 2018: How to Get Along with All

Contemplation: October 26, 2018: How to Get Along with All

 

How to Get Along with All

To get along with everyone, learn to adapt.

Whilst maintaining your truth, develop flexibility and you'll find it easy to be friends with everyone.

True Freedom

Occasionally we forget how fortunate we are to have the freedom of
choice: liberty to express our desires, choose our friends, clothes,
religion, music, food, careers, partners..., while a significant part
of our world is oblivious to the same. But are the rest of us really
living a life of independence? Or does my mind suffocate at times with
unproductive thinking? Can I select golden thoughts of positivity,
inspiration, determination, love etc as I wish? True freedom and
self-respect cannot be bestowed externally by God, fate or any human
being. It begins with me liberating myself from unworthy thinking, thus
empowering my words, actions and character for an admirable life and
future.

Becoming Aware Of What Is Ego

All of us are familiar, to different extents, with the emotion of ego. All of us don't even define it in the same way. We are also aware to different extents, about the negative repercussions (effects) of the emotion of ego on us and on others. Depending on how aware we are about the effects, we work to eradicate the emotion from our daily lives, so that it neither disturbs us nor others. Some of us even consider it a positive emotion and feel it contributes positively to our personal and professional progress. To be aware completely of the negative effects of ego and to realize clearly whether it is a positive emotion or not in the first place, it is important to first become aware of what it is exactly. So, how can we define ego?

Ego is attachment, inside my consciousness, to an incorrect image of my self which I then mistake for myself. When the attachment takes place, you lose your sense of identity in the image of the object of attachment which you create on the screen of your mind. That object can be something physical like your body, your physical personality, a relationship, a material possession, your status, money, a particular skill, respect from others, etc. or something non-physical like a belief; an opinion; a mindset, a memory, a particular virtue, specialty, power or a sanskar (positive or negative), etc. Therefore ego is the self attaching to and identifying with an image that is not the self. This process takes place entirely within our consciousness many times in the day, on the screen of the mind. E.g. When we say this is my salary package (something physical) or my opinion (something non-physical), we are (without being aware about it) creating an image of the salary package or the opinion inside our consciousness and becoming attached to it, so that we lose our self identity in the salary package or the opinion, believing that I am the salary package or the opinion. So at that time, the salary package or the opinion becomes an incorrect image of the self to which I am attached. This is ego. If while thinking, feeling or speaking about my salary package or my opinion, we do not become attached to or do not lose our self identity in either of the two, then that is not ego.

Soul Sustenance

The Negative Shade Of Respect in Relationships

Many a times in offices, we find the dominating boss who wants everyone in the office to fear him or her. The boss may not necessarily be a person with a negative personality, but this desire exists inside the boss because he or she holds a negative belief that people fearing him is the same as respecting him and respect is something that any boss would naturally yearn for. This can happen in homes also, with a dominating father or a dominating mother doing the same with the other members of the family.

The main reason why this happens is because the boss or the father or the mother is normally lacking in self-respect, although he or she is unaware of it. Due to this, he or she, without realizing again, is looking for it from others and in fact over a period of time, as the need builds up or increases, he or she will start demanding the same from others, which takes a form of the negative energy of fear in the relationship. The boss or the father or the mother starts feeling that the sign that he or she is successful in achieving in getting the respect he or she wants, would be the other fearing him or her. Simply getting someone's attention or the other being in awe of him or her or the other being under his or her negative influence which are all subtle forms of fear is then mistaken for being respected, and if he or she does not receive respect in this incorrect manner, he or she will even try and bring about the creation of respect in the other and try and pull it from the other using various methods which are violent in a subtle way, harming the relationship in a big way.

In tomorrow's message, we shall look at this type of relationship from the other's i.e. the employee's perspective or the perspective of the other people in the family in the case of the father or mother.

Message for the day

Greatness lies in revealing one's own speciality.

Projection: Greatness means recognising one's own speciality and being a donor with it. It also means being royal and great in what is given to the mind - that means giving the mind only the positive. When there is greatness in this way there is speciality and uniqueness seen in every act of mine.

Solution: When I am able to perceive my inner greatness, I am able to be content because there are no expectations, but there's only a feeling of being a giver. I find myself to be light and easy and enjoying each moment of my life, slowly moving towards perfection. I am also able to attain the blessings and good wishes from others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

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