Contemplation: August 01, 2020: Self- Mastery

Contemplation: August 01, 2020: Self- Mastery

Self-Mastery

Within each one of us there is a master of the universe. Not the universe out there but the inner universe of our thoughts and feelings, attitudes and actions. Most people realize too late what awaits within and how valuable it is. For too long we allow ourselves to be distracted and bewitched by all that is happening outside. To be the master of your inner world is to be the master of your own destiny. Are you going to be the master or a slave?

Yoga - A Lifestyle (Part 3)

The practice of spiritual yoga or connecting the mind with a higher source of spiritual power i.e. God, causes His spiritual energy to enter our mind and fill our minds with the seven primary qualities - peace, joy, love, bliss, purity, power and knowledge. These qualities nourish all our body systems and make them free of illnesses. Each time we experience an impure or negative emotion, its negative effect travels to all these systems and this causes the birth of illnesses in these systems. Spiritual yoga, which at the Brahma Kumaris is called Rajyoga meditation and is karma yoga, because it can be done while performing any action, does the opposite. Because Rajyoga is a yoga with the Highest power existing in the universe, it is given that name. This Highest power is God and He is the Highest because He is an overflowing source of all these seven qualities mentioned above. So a link with such a source gives us an experience of these qualities and as a result these qualities flow to each cell of all the systems of the body and cause these cells to heal and become full of pure spiritual and as a result physical energy. Also, each one of us has a target organ or system which is most prone to disease. What this organ or system is for each one is connected with the karmas of the soul performed in this and previous births, which reflect in the systems of the body. Rajyoga meditation, as taught by the Brahma Kumaris, because of the mechanism explained above, helps in keeping this target organ healthy and also brings with it mental peace and a stress life.

Lastly, as you follow the path of spiritual yoga, take care that physical health issues are also addressed since a healthy body finds it easier to meditate correctly and also perform actions in the remembrance of the Supreme Being with comfort. On one side the meditation helps in clearing up the negative sanskaras of the soul which are created in the soul when a negative action is performed either in this or previous births, and are the primary cause of all our illnesses. At the same time, on the other side care should also be taken of the physical body through the mediums of a right diet, exercise and sleep, so that the spiritual journey is smooth and obstacle free; a journey on which we welcome all of you.

 

Observing but Not Absorbing 

To observe means we take a new, appropriate mental position in whatever situation, or in whatever relationship, we find ourselves. Observation is a silent skill — a skill we need to learn if we are to assess clearly what positive changes are needed to be made in the self in a particular situation or relationship. 

If we fail to learn this art of observing, we are likely to react and absorb ourselves in the negativity of the person, or event. We get lost in the quicksand of 'what's wrong?' which prevents us from putting things right. As we absorb and fill ourselves with negative emotion, we become heavy and remain helplessly rooted to the ground. The gravity of overload does not allow us to rise above a situation and to understand the reality of what is happening. As a result, we lose perspective and overreact. 

If we wish to understand how the mental position of observation gives us the power of perspective, we can look at the example of the bird and the ant. The ant, extremely busy, running here and there, scrambling over everything in its rush to find and collect food, will see only what is in front of its nose. The bird, on the other hand, leaves the earth and, as it flies higher and higher, starts to see the bigger picture, compared to when it was on the ground, or on the branch of a tree. Seeing the whole picture, it has a completely different perspective. It is only then that it can truly see where to go and what to do. When we get absorbed in a situation or relationship, we lose perspective, we are like the ant, we get too involved in the details, missing the obvious, and cannot imagine, or think of other possibilities.

Message for the day

To have inner strength in all circumstances is to ensure progress. 

Expression: To have inner strength is to be so powerful within that there is a capacity to mould myself in all the variety that life brings. The more I know how to pave my way forward and also have the power to do it, I ensure progress. Like a blade of grass I need to be rooted yet knowhow to mould myself according to the wind. 

Experience: Today I will make the effort to find a way to deal with someone or something that I haven't been able to. I will find something in me that I can use to deal with what is difficult outside. There is surely something in me; I just need to find it. Even if I can't find something, let me at least take the thought that I have the power within me to do it. And as I keep practicing I will surely get success. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Contemplation: July 31, 2020: Co-operation

Contemplation: July 31, 2020: Co-operation

Co-operation

Co-operation is perhaps one of the least recognized but most valuable of human virtues. So, for a person to be co-operative means for them to have a quiet eye for what is needed to bring success, and to supply it (and no more) at the right time, in the right place and then to be off. Someone who co-operates, offers their services and then splashes their name on the achievement is not co-operative. It requires invisibility and precision to do and then to go without waiting for results. It also takes a discerning eye to see exactly what is needed, to be removed sufficiently from your own approach to a task and just to contribute one ingredient. Sometimes not even an idea but, however clever you may consider yourself to be, just lend a hand, a support.

Yoga - A Lifestyle (Part 2)

All of us are living beings with a mind and an intellect, which we use to connect to various objects, people and events throughout the day. This is called our mental energy. This mental energy travels extremely fast and can reach another person in much less than a second. Very often we focus our mental energy on the physical body for mental peace and physical fitness through the medium of yog asanas or yogic postures to attain the desired purpose. That for us is a way of letting go of our stresses and negative energies stored in the body. It makes our mind and body healthy. We also focus our mental energies on our breath through the medium of pranayama whereby flawless and smooth breathing is experienced which benefits our physical body immensely and also gives us mental energy.

If you are new at the Brahma Kumaris, and if you are practicing yog asanas and pranayama for their physical and emotional health benefits, from before, you don’t need to stop them. This is because both these are extremely important mediums for this purpose and widely acclaimed and proven successful techniques which have saved many people from the most serious of illnesses and also reduced the intensity of many illnesses. There are lakhs of people all over the world who share their experiences confirming this. But the Brahma Kumaris add another dimension to this physical side of yoga – a spiritual yoga i.e. connecting the mind and intellect to the supreme source of spiritual energy or God, which is also called yoga or connection with a non-physical pure entity - God. So those who have been practicing yog asanas and pranayama, if they desire, can continue to do the same but add the spiritual yoga in their lifestyles. Those who have not been practicing yog asanas and pranayama concentrate only on the spiritual yoga, which not only purifies the soul but also has immense benefits for the physical systems of the body and helps in purifying them. This is because a pure mind means a mind full of the seven qualities of peace, joy, love, bliss, purity, power and knowledge, which in turn influences the main systems of the body and makes them free of illnesses. The mechanism of how the mind affects the different body systems, in further detail, will be explained in tomorrow’s message.

I Can!

If you find it difficult to have effortless attention for long periods of time, 

you need to build up your focus endurance, just as athletes push past their point of exhaustion.

Gradually expand your attention span by working for slightly longer stretches. 

Regularly give yourself short attention breaks. Every couple of hours, mix high focus intense activity with less intense activity.

When your attention begins to waver, stop telling yourself that you can't focus. 

Start telling yourself: "I can focus." "I can do a bit more."

Message for the day

To make effort and get the fruit is to ensure real progress. 
Thought to ponder: Sometimes, things come easy and sometimes they don't. When we put in a lot of effort and then get the result of it, there is double benefit. One is of course the result as a positive outcome and the satisfaction is much more because I have earned it. The other is the many trials that I had to make would let me gain many experiences and I end up getting richer with these experiences. 
Point to practice: Today I will take up something I had started with enthusiasm or wanted to start. I will give my thought, time and energy to it and make sure that I make it happen. I will take a thought today not to leave it mid way but see it through till I succeed. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 30, 2020: Empower Others

Contemplation: July 30, 2020: Empower Others

 

Empower Others

Empower others by filling your own heart with courage, your thoughts with determination and your eyes with destiny.

Yoga - A Lifestyle (Part 1)

All of us are constantly living a life of yoga, which in spiritual terms is called a link or connection between two entities i.e. the one which remembers and the other one which is remembered. Examples of what we have yoga with could be a person or God (called rajyoga) or your actions (called karma yoga) or spiritual knowledge (called gyan yoga) or bhakti (called bhakti yoga) or your breath (called pranayama) or your physical body (called hath yoga) or even a physical object like a candle flame. So, yoga is life and should not be limited to sitting in a particular posture for a few minutes at a particular time of the day. Basically, remembering anything or anyone is yoga. The word yoga should not be limited to exercise which is a narrow definition of yoga. Focusing on one’s own body is extremely important, but only one aspect of a yogi lifestyle. A complete or comprehensive yogi lifestyle is focusing on pure and constructive sources right through the day including God, because yoga means union or link, a union which will benefit the soul and body positively.

We all live our lives in search of peace, love and happiness and also inner powers which we as spiritual beings are lacking in. So yoga i.e. our mental energy correctly channeled and connected with something positive provides us with that. People also call performing actions as yoga which is called karma yoga, but only performing selfless actions with complete dedication nowadays with the stresses and strains of everyday living can be depleting on a mental energy level unless the karma yoga as it is called is accompanied by a mental union or link with the Supreme while performing the actions, which helps us in remaining unaffected by the stress caused due to being over-busy in those actions. That in the true sense is karma yoga i.e. selfless karmas performed in the remembrance of God. This link between me, the spiritual child and God, the spiritual parent, nourishes me continuously and gives me the strength to perform actions with complete accuracy and get the desired success filled result.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

There's no use crying over spilled milk right? 

But if you don't recognize the importance of the spilled milk, you'll just make the same mistake again.

Leverage the regret to your advantage, by learning from the experience. 

Then harness the lesson learnt by asking yourself: what will I do differently in the future to prevent similar regrets?

Message for the day

To have a powerful intellect is to take the positive and leave out waste. 

Expression: I need to make my intellect powerful like a swan (it only takes jewels and leaves out the pebbles). I need to recognize and accept what is good for me and reject what is not good for me. With practice I find that it becomes a habit to see only that which is good for me. This will make me positive in all my future interactions too.

Experience: Today I will make a conscious effort to find some aspect of my life that is positive. This I need to remember consciously and remind myself from time to time so that I can carry it through the day. This will ensure a touch of positivity to all I do. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 29, 2020: Seeds of Thoughts

Contemplation: July 29, 2020: Seeds of Thoughts

Seeds of Thoughts

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious.

Limiting Ourselves In Comfort Zones

We are basically unlimited beings. But we limit ourselves in many comfort zones. We have a lot of conditionings which, in reality, are mental.

Some mosquitoes were put in a box and they kept jumping a lot. The box was covered from the top and each time they jumped they hit the top of the box, and when they jumped too close to the right or the left they hit the sides of the box. Slowly, to avoid harming themselves, they learned to jump just under the cover and without reaching the sides of the box. One day all the four sides of the box were opened. The mosquitoes were free, but they kept on jumping as far as the limit they had learned. The physical limits were no longer there. But they had become conditioned mentally. The same thing happens to us. We have to open the sides of the box and take off the top, or we can continue to live inside the box created by our own mind.

Given below are some conditionings under which we work, because of which we do not experience complete freedom.

- Beliefs, acquired since our childhood, which limit us.
- The negative images of low self esteem that we have created of ourselves.
- The damaging thoughts of doubt, which does not let the highway of trust to build up inside ourselves and does not allow the creative energy of positivity to flow from inside us to the outside.
- The fear of failure or not being to able to succeed completely. A lot of times the fear exists due to past experiences of failure or not having succeeded as much as you would have liked.

We need to become aware of what our pattern of thoughts is, which brings us under the negative influence of mental conditionings. When that happens, we will be able to become free of these conditionings. While we do not become aware, we will continue to remain under its influence.

Like a Butterfly

Like a caterpillar crawling from leaf to leaf, 
we get too comfortable with the routine of our lives. 
We forget that we were born to be a butterfly.

All we need to do is let go of our comfort zones, 
build a cocoon of transformation around ourselves and 
dream of our true colours.

Like the butterfly, we too can emerge from the cocoon 
to the warm rays of the sun; unfold and spread our wings, 
and discover our capability for flight.

Message for the day

To receive respect from others comes more with responsibility than as a right. 
Expression: 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. 
Experience: 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/