Daily Positive Thoughts: November 20, 2015: Imagine

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 20, 2015: Imagine

Imagine

Imagine throwing a pebble into the Pacific Ocean knowing that the ripples will reach the shores of Japan.

In the same way, imagine sending out one powerful thought into the world knowing that the vibes from that thought will touch someone, somewhere.

Thoughts can travel.  They move at great speed and can have a considerable impact.

Enjoy the Journey

It is a sign of wisdom to be able to set goals and then, having done so, to let them go. 

All that is required for success is a vision of the destination. The journey itself will reveal the means to take you there.

Transforming Reaction To Response

In its original form, anger was not anger, not a negative reaction; rather it was the energy of a positive response to people and situations, but the response gradually changed to reaction. When we return to our spiritual identity, we begin to rediscover that capacity to be still, stable or centred, and we are they able to respond positively even to negative situations, or people. With spiritual consciousness, the energy of this negative reaction is transformed into being able to accept, understand and deal wisely and peacefully with whoever, or whatever, is encountered.

In order to extinguish (overcome) anger, one has to use peace and silence, to understand that peace is the original state of one's being; to remember that 'I am a peaceful being' means to emerge the consciousness of non-violence.

Silence, that is learning to put a brake on the mind and tongue, helps us to think before speaking and, as a result, saves us from many confrontations with others.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation - A Process Of Cleansing, Dialogue And Joining (Part 4)

Meditation can be defined as a process of cleansing, a process of dialogue and a process of joining. Yesterday we had explained it as a process of joining. Today we throw more light on the same:

Joining (cont.)

The Supreme Power is the eternal reference point for all creation, whose task is to recharge and cleanse everything. Being eternally pure and untouched by any trait of selfishness or violence, the Supreme Being is totally benevolent (kind), and through the eternal energies of love and truth is capable of recharging and filling the human soul with all the powers. Of course, each person chooses their own level of cleanliness, recharging or fullness. That personal choice will determine the resulting powers of love, peace, happiness and truth to be found in the individual.

The Supreme Being is like an eternal point of pure Light that resides in the world of eternal silence, beyond time and matter. Through concentrated thought we can reach this source of love and purity. When our mind is synchronized it takes just a second to establish communication. When we reach this place of eternal silence, the world of silent light, we focus our loving attention on the Supreme Being. If our focus is deeply concentrated we can feel the self is filled with the purest peace and love, something we have never felt before in our lives. This is yoga: rejoining the self with the Supreme Being and, in this union, we once again recall all the things of value that had been hidden. So yoga means remembering: remembering the original self, the original and eternal relationship with the Supreme Being and remembering, through experience, the true meaning of love, peace and happiness (as a result of the connection with the Supreme).

Message for the day

Become the ones who make efforts continuously and experience constant self-progress.

Checking: Check if there is any doubt within you whether you'll succeed or not. If there is any such doubt it means that your effort is not continuous. Where there is constant effort you experience constant progress.

Practice: Each day remind yourself of at least one thing that you have achieved for the day. When you make a habit in this way, you will be able to notice and experience the fruit of the effort that you put in.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 19, 2015: Character

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 19, 2015: Character

Character

To forgive and forget is to reflect love. Situations pass, they cease to exist, but they continue to be alive in the mind. Open your heart and be generous, free yourself from that sorrow, forgive and forget and you will live every moment in peace.

To be free from past is to take the gifts of the present. 

When my mind is continuously dwelling on the past, I miss out on the opportunities and gifts of the present. I need to remember that if my past has helped in shaping up the present, then this moment would be the past of tomorrow. So, I need to use the present moment well, so that I can make both my present and future beautiful. Today I will do something that will make me happy. It could be a simple thing like resuming with a hobby or saying hi to an old friend or even spending time with nature. This will enable me to spend time fruitfully with the present moment. By making it a practice to use of all these moments in the right way, I will be enriching myself each day.

 Spiritual Roses Of The Supreme Gardener

The main features of physical flowers are their colour, form and fragrance, by which we judge their beauty. All these characteristics have their own unique importance. Introducing oneself to spirituality is like giving oneself into the hands of the Supreme Spiritual Gardener or the Supreme Being (God). Like a physical gardener who possesses qualities of patience, tirelessness, love, far-sightedness, faith etc. on a limited level, the Supreme Gardener possesses these qualities on an unlimited level, which he uses to bring us up. As we remain under his sustenance and care, over a period of time, we blossom and are transformed into beautiful spiritual flowers, and our thorns fall away. When we look at ourselves as spiritual flowers, our colour symbolizes spiritual knowledge. Depending on how we imbibe the wisdom shared by the Spiritual Gardener and bring it in our day-to-day functioning; in our thoughts, words, actions and relationships; the more beautiful a colour we take. Our form is shaped depending on the quality of our connection with the Supreme Being, the Gardener. The deeper and stronger the connection, the more beautiful the form. Lastly, our fragrance refers to divine qualities like sweetness, humility, tolerance, carefreeness, purity and many more, which we develop. Physical flowers with a good colour, form and fragrance, attract everyone around them. Seeing and coming close to them, gives one an experience of joy. The same holds true for spiritual flowers.   

Roses are considered the king of all flowers, with the best possible colour, form and fragrance. Spiritual roses are those souls which continuously remain in a spiritual consciousness and spread the fragrance of that consciousness to others. Their thoughts, words and actions get shaped according to this consciousness. They have a deep relationship with the Spiritual Gardener and are always eager to ensure that others also experience that relationship and become spiritual roses; which is a deep wish of the Supreme Gardener, for every spiritual being. They help him in fulfilling that wish.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation - A Process Of Cleansing, Dialogue And Joining (Part 3)

Meditation can be defined as a process of cleansing, a process of dialogue and a process of joining. Today we take up:

Joining

We can take the third meaning of meditation from the Sanskrit word yoga. By understanding this word, we learn how to get divine cooperation, or put in another way, a certain external spiritual power that can liberate us and help us to dialogue positively with the self (explained yesterday). The word yoga means bringing together or joining again. Joining again with what or with whom? Firstly, with our original and eternal self: the soul, and secondly, with the eternal Supreme Source of all positive power and energy; this Source helps us to recharge ourselves with energy and to know ourselves.

At this time in the history of humanity, humans have lost the mastery and control over themselves. They do not have continual peace or a sense of purpose, happiness or fullness. The human soul needs to be recharged. Although the soul has great potential in its inner self, it needs a source of external energy for the latent (hidden) powers and virtues to emerge, just as occurs with seeds in nature. The seeds of plants and trees have their own source of inner energy. However, this energy cannot be released without the actions of an external energy source, in this case the energy of the sun. Through the power of sunlight, the seeds in the earth will sprout and flourish. The human body has its own energy, but needs external sources of energy on a daily basis: air, sunlight, water and food. Without these external sources, the human body would die. The external source of power that helps the latent virtues emerge in the human being is not physical, since the human soul is not physical either. This source of power has traditionally been called God or the Supreme Being: in fact it has been given many names.

(To be continued tomorrow….) 

Message for the day

To be flexible is to enjoy everything that life brings.

Expression: When I plan perfectly for the day ahead, I sometimes find that I am not able to implement all that I had planned for. Things seem to be coming up unexpectedly spoiling everything for me. I am then not able to be happy with what is happening and so find it difficult to do my best in the particular situation.

Experience: It is as important to be flexible in my thoughts as it is to be particular about my daily schdule. Flexibility allows me to accommodate the unforeseen situations that come up my way and enables me to make the best use of everything. And so I enjoy everything that comes my way.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 18, 2015: "Help Yourself"

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 18, 2015: "Help Yourself"

"Help Yourself"

Unfortunately these two words tend to describe the generally selfish
and materialistic culture in which most of us live. They result not in
self-help but in dependency. Our education and our role models do not  
encourage us to help ourselves to grow, change and expand our
capacities as human beings. Real self-help means recognising that no
one else is responsible for our thoughts and feelings, and that we are
only ever victims because we choose to be. Our destiny is always and
only in our own hands - despite all apparent evidence which may
indicate otherwise. Learning to help ourselves is also a prerequisite
to extending a hand of assistance to others. We all need a leg up from
time to time, but once there, we are always on our own.

-relax7

Be Enthusiastic

We often use 'complaining' as a social tool to share experiences or as a method to take action.

But when we turn the complaining into positive comments,
it becomes a lot easier for people to listen to us.
And we might just be surprised by how much better life is!

If you're tired and have to go to work, reframe your complaints: "Even though I'm tired, I'm going to accomplish a lot of today."

Replace: "Oh no- I have to cook again!!!" to
"I'm really looking forward to trying out this new recipe."

Rediscover The Essence Of Happiness (cont.)

When you feel stuck in a hard time, jump-start a pro-change attitude by letting go or shedding off your attachment to possessions and people (external attachments) and habits (internal attachments) that no longer work for you. When you get rid of your attachment to physical things and people and emotional habits that 'weigh you down', and start to feel lighter -- you'll witness how by letting go, you're making room for new things, new values to enter your life. As a result, your subconscious will be relieved by letting go of emotional burdens or bondages.

To achieve the above purpose, try the short meditation below. Think as well as visualize alongside the following thoughts:

I become aware of myself as a tiny sparkling star of light, an energy, situated just above the eyebrows - a soul... In soul consciousness, I experience the beauty of the many qualities like peace, love and joy; of the spiritual being that I am... Now, with the medium of visualization, I, the soul, travel beyond the world of 5 elements to the soul world, a non-physical dimension of the subtle light of golden red hue (shade)... Over there, I visualize, in front of me - a sparkling Sun of golden light - God, the Father and Mother of me, the Supreme Soul, the ocean of peace, love and joy, which is His eternal nature... He radiates the immense spiritual energy of peace, love and joy...  I turn my mind and intellect to His light... I feel the warmth of His presence and the light of His love for me gently healing the wounds of the past that are buried deep inside me, the soul... wounds left by ego, fear, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, anger that have reduced my happiness all this while... I feel a deep feeling of emotional freedom inside me, I feel light and my happiness is restored...

Fortunately, being happy is a cakewalk but it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you better stop worrying about it and see what treasures (whether your internal ones or the external ones i.e. from the Supreme and others) you can tap into.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation - A Process Of Cleansing, Dialogue And Joining (Part 2)

Meditation can be defined as a process of cleansing, a process of dialogue and a process of joining. Today we take up:

Dialogue

In Greek, the word meditation is translated as dialogismos, from which comes the English word dialogue. Meditation is a dialogue with oneself, with the true self; a very necessary process for developing self-knowledge and accumulating inner strength.

The basis of spiritual dialogue with oneself is introspection. Introspection is the ability to examine and change oneself, as one wants to or should do. Without a consistent re-evaluation of our attitudes and thought models, negative habits easily dominate our consciousness. A healthy dialogue with our inner selves means that we interact positively with others, without being trapped or lost in ourselves. Introspection involves being an observer: observing and not reacting to situations or people with negative emotions such as anger, hate, fear, resentment and jealousy. Being detached observers helps us conserve our inner energy and keeps us spiritually, mentally and emotionally healthy.

(To be continued tomorrow….)

Message for the day

To be free from the burden of responsibility is to fulfill the responsibility well.

Expression: When I am responsile for something or people expect me to be answerable for something, I tend to feel heavy because of these responsibilities. With the such a feeling of having a burden, I'm not able to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my ability.

Experience: Whatever responsibilities are given to me are according to my capabilities. When I remind myself of this I'll be able to be light and give my best to fulfill all my responsibilities.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 17, 2015: Inner Cleaning

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 17, 2015: Inner Cleaning

Inner Cleaning

Desires and dependencies make us into thieves. Inner cleaning, however, fills our actions with spiritual honesty, and our motives become selfless. There is a steady stream of elevated thinking.  Then God is able to work through us, and our only desire is to become good,an instrument for God. Keeping ourselves in peace, love and mercy is thebasis for being able to talk to God and having Him hear what we say."Don't come into sound too much, stay in the Home, with Me". This iswhat He is signalling to us now. Such signals, filled with His love,endear us to Him very much.

Every change is a means to take one forward for those who are positive. 

For the one who is positive, change brings progress. Otherwise, most changes are seen as threats to our well-being. So, for everything that happens in my life, I need to see what positive outcome is inherent in it. This will help me be open to change in the right way. Today I will make a list of major changes in my life in the past 15 years or so. I will see what I have learnt from it. This will help me appreciate the fact that there is some beautiful outcome for everything that has happened.

Rediscover The Essence Of Happiness (cont.)

Loving your life is about trusting your instinct, taking the odd chance in difficult situations, loving and experiencing joy, enjoying memories of good actions and episodes of life and learning through life time experiences. The birds chirping on the tree, a child nibbling on her mother or merry children spilling out of their homes, all have the capability to make a person feel happy. We just neglect most of these. Nowadays, we try and look for joy in bonuses, promotions or any monetary gain. But can money really buy happiness? Sometimes you see poor people laughing carelessly while they play with their children and experiencing happiness. On the other hand, children from well off families are surrounded with technology today. Technology has created such an influence in an individual's life that people have almost abandoned their family time. The time of the day that bought so much laughing and giggling in the house is now substituted with members glued to television or mobile phones. Festivals that were the major joyful events have now lost their essence. They are merely days of more worry and tensions because of the new trends of exchanging expensive gifts or celebrating them lavishly.

So what is real happiness - perhaps a better way to describe happiness in its true essence is contentment.   This comes from a complete awareness and acceptance of the self as we are now at an internal level, and an acceptance of 'what is' at an external level. Sounds difficult? The highest happiness is bliss which can be experienced only when the self is totally free of all attachment and dependency.  Sounds even more difficult? But this is a real understanding and definition of happiness, which is not difficult to accept and make a part of our life, once there is a deep understanding, absorption and appreciation of the divine wisdom of the self and others as well as the laws of action and time involving both of them i.e. wisdom which is accurate and complete in all aspects. Real happiness is a direct result of this divine wisdom.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Meditation - A Process Of Cleansing, Dialogue And Joining (Part 1)

Meditation can be defined as a process of cleansing, a process of dialogue and a process of joining. Today we take up:

Cleansing

Meditation is a useful method to help human beings redirect their life positively and healthily, and to achieve inner stability. The word meditation comes from the Latin word mederi, which means cure. Curing the inner self is not a matter of taking medicines, but it involves re-establishing the balance through knowing oneself, having the correct attitudes and making the correct use of mental and emotional energy.

In meditation, we learn to observe our inner self and recover the resources that can cleanse (heal) and harmonize us: peace, love, truth, wisdom, purity and happiness. Through concentrated thought we learn to let these positive and pure energies manifest (show) themselves in our conscience and in our day-to-day actions.

(To be continued tomorrow….)

Message for the day

Trust comes when there is mutual respect.

Expression: It is normally experienced that it is difficult to trust people around me. I do want to but the negative experiences do not let me do so. I add up to this negative experience with each incident that happens, which further breaks my trust for people.

Experience: The only way to trust and gain people's trust is by having respect for them. Respect makes me look at the specialities in everyone and I am able to relate to these specialities. The more I look at the positive aspect in others, the more I am able to encourage others to use these specialities and relate to my own specialities too. This is the only way that trust comes.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 16, 2015: Speak Sweetly

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 16, 2015: Speak Sweetly

Speak Sweetly
Nature did not like hardness in speech, so there is no bone in the tongue.

Sometimes life can be like an obstacle course.

Instead of getting daunted by the challenges and hurdles set up before you, see the obstacles as an opportunity to strengthen and expand your creative capacity, and in doing so find ways around, through, under, over....

To overcome the obstacle, identify 1) the obstruction and
2) the instructions as to what you need to do.

Then construct a plan on how you will reach your goal and overcome that which is in the way.

 

Rediscover The Essence Of Happiness

Have you ever wondered - what is the real essence of happiness, what is and what is not real happiness? Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that he has enough happiness provided. Happiness, joy and love hold different meanings for each individual. A person may find happiness in shopping and another may find the same kind of pleasure in social work. But there are some aspects which have the capacity to at least put on a smile on every individual's face. Simple gestures like maybe a hug or a morning greeting. Going to each mate of yours at the work place or to each loved one at home every morning and greeting them with a huge smile on your face will bring you happiness as well as to the other person.

So, real happiness is not an external stimulation by watching an action movie or eating out or buying a new dress; it is not the result of acquiring something - whether it be a new car or a position, or of receiving some good news.  True happiness is not relief from suffering - whether from an illness or a difficult situation, nor is it the achievement of a goal - whether personal or professional.  All these are externally dependent, where happiness is confused with stimulation, excitement, achievement, acquisition or relief. Happiness is not all of these. You commonly say "Well, what I like best," ... just then stop and think. Because although each of the above episodes bring us happiness, there is a moment just before you begin to enjoy the episode which is better than when you are enjoying the episode, but you don't know what its called or what it feels like to enjoy that. Each one of us can experience that joy, we just need to find it. Remember that happiness is not a future promise.  It can only be experienced now, in each and every mundane action of the day.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 3)

Internal contentment or satisfaction is the antidote (neutralizer or healing agent) for jealousy. People with strong self-esteem and self-respect are the ones who remain satisfied or content and away from the emotion of jealousy while coming in contact with different people with their own unique specialties, virtues and attainments.

Self-respect or self-esteem depends on knowing who I am, knowing my eternal (ageless), internal self. When I have found that sense of internal identity, I feel I have a right to be here, to exist. Without this dimension, it is very difficult to really respect myself deeply. If I base my self-respect on identifying with the superficial (artificial) aspects of my being: my looks, personality, wealth, success, my friends, intelligence or my role, I will never have a stable sense of self-respect, because all these aspects are changeable. Thus I will end up fluctuating all the time. To stay stable in my self-respect, I need to have a deeper understanding of my internal self and tap into those riches that are within me forever, waiting to blossom, like the flower from the seed. As I become internally aware, those riches and resources start flowing out of me. The more stable I am in my self-respect, the more I radiate what I truly am. I feel a deep sense of contentment and I am happy to be me, however I am. I accept myself as I am.

Let us be honest a person who is jealous just cannot sit stably on the seat of self-respect – they keep moving i.e. fluctuating. Today they meet a person with lesser specialties or attainments than them and they are on top of the world - they rise above the seat of self-respect and enter the dimension of ego. Tomorrow they meet a person with more specialties or attainments than them and that is a bad day for them - they go underneath the seat of self-respect and enter the dimension of low self-esteem. What a shallow way of living! The ideal way of living – in both cases, remain in self-respect and give respect to the other. Remember that the jealous, the angry, the bitter and the egotistical are the first to race to the top of mountains. A confident and internally content person enjoys the journey, the people they meet along the way and sees life not as a competition. They reach the summit last because they know God isn’t at the top waiting for them. He is down below helping his followers to understand that the view is glorious where ever you stand.

Message for the day

The ability to find solutions comes when I know the art of listening.

Expression: I normally get to hear a lot of things and tend to get coloured by all that I hear. The more I hear about negative things, the more difficult it becomes to maintain my own positivity. Yet I can do nothing to ignore the things that make me feel negative.

Experience: I need to know to listen to people rather than just hearing them. To know to listen means the ability to transform negative into positive. Just as a doctor listens to all the negative aspects about the disease etc and still knows only to give the medicine, I too need to listen in order to give what is required.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 15, 2015: Co-operation

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 15, 2015: Co-operation

Co-operation

To be co-operative means to have a quiet eye for what is needed to bring success, and be willing to just contribute as needed.  To be just a hand, a support, at the right time, in the right place.

Cooperation is to give people what they need. 

We tend to give people what we feel they need. In the process, we tend to advice or force our ideas on them. But, what really works is trying to understand what people need. If someone, is angry, they lack peace at that time. So, I need to give peace. And of course, I need to be peaceful and patient, in order to give the peace that they need. Today I will really help one person, by giving what he needs. I will try and understand what people around me really need and start giving those qualities. This will help me create a habit of providing the right thing at the right time.

The Dynamics Of Greed

Deficiencies inside us bring about a spiritual void or the lack of wholeness (fullness). As we lay the foundation of our lives on deficiencies or weaknesses, the result is suffering, sorrow and peacelessness. If we act in harmony with spiritual virtues and qualities, the result is cooperation, happiness, peace, contentment and finally, wholeness.

A spiritual void leads to selfishness and causes the creation of greed inside us. We want to have more and possess more, which generates a state of expectation and stress. We fill our lives with things and objects to cover up deeper deficiencies. Then we are afraid of losing them. We generate expectations of all kinds, and when they are not fulfilled we react with anger, frustration, fear or disappointment. The inner emptiness makes us become greedy. We fill ourselves with objects, properties, things. We take and consume more than what we can give to the Universe in the form of positive thoughts, feelings, vibrations, actions etc. and this brings about imbalances in the self, in relation to others and with nature.

Something similar happens on a physical level. The body has a capacity to recycle and eliminate waste through different mediums. However, since we consume more toxins than the body can process, it leads to imbalance and we are more prone to feeling physically ill and unfit and developing diseases etc.

Soul Sustenance

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 2)

In the 21st century, there are so many mediums which inculcate the feeling of jealousy in a person. Social Media is one such platform. While Facebook and Twitter rule the roost, commonly people wonder * How does he get so many likes? * How is she so photogenic? * Again a 'check in'! * His life is so eventful. You never know how and when these thoughts start affecting your life, mental peace and behavior greatly.

Jealousy is a complex emotion, which often stems from insecurity or a fear of losing control. Everybody expresses and handles jealousy in a different way, but certain universal techniques can be used to help conquer it. Being aware of jealous feelings is the first step towards keeping it under control. Also conquering jealousy requires an honest conversation about how you feel. It's far healthier to talk about your negative feelings than to reveal them through your actions. The more you communicate with them, and seek reassurance the more your feelings of jealousy will subside.

Hold a strong and determined belief inside yourself that jealousy is an emotion you will never face. Your idol or perfect self just doesn’t deserve the existence of the emotion. For instance, if you have an acquaintance of yours who is extremely pretty and sometimes, you envy her. That is the time when you need to firmly tell yourself that this is just not your perfect self. You can’t feel that way. Take a few minutes to stand back mentally from the person. The next step is to observe your thoughts as if you were an onlooker or a detached observer. Being as silent as possible, ask yourself as if the thoughts you are having are the ones you wish to keep, if they are going where you would choose them to go. In the resulting silence, steer (change direction) your thinking to where you want it to be; perhaps to personal affirmations (positive thoughts) you use to establish yourself on your seat of self-respect. The affirmations can be: * I am aware of myself as a special person with my own unique specialties or * I am aware of myself as internally rich, full of many invisible treasures, * I am aware of myself as a content being and overflowing with happiness, etc. This technique changes our attitudes and feelings and influences us positively.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

To have learnt means to bring about a practical change.

Expression: From all that happens, I usually understand a lot of things and take important lessons. But sometimes I find myself making the same mistakes again and again. So I am not able to bring about real change.

Experience: Once I realise and learn from a mistake that has happened, I need to spend some time in understanding it even further. I need to ensure I don't ever repeat the same mistake. This will enable me to bring about real change.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 14, 2015: Love, Purity, Peace, Wisdom

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 14, 2015: Love, Purity, Peace, Wisdom

Wembley Temple – Shri Vallabh Nidhi

Love, Purity, Peace, Wisdom

When you build a house, every brick counts. When you build a character, every thought counts. You are what you think. Love, purity, peace, wisdom - the more you think of these qualities, the more you will become them.

Helping Others

It's natural to want to help others. But sometimes by giving people too much help, we actually make them dependent on us. Dependency limits people from their own potential and becoming more responsible.

Is the help you give to others', empowering or disempowering? Are you dependent on the dependency of others' on you?

Be independent. Empower others to become independent. We've all heard the saying: don't give them fish to eat, teach them how to fish.

Turning Qualities Into Powers (cont.)

There are interesting spiritual parallels to the way the physical sciences differentiate energy and power. In physical terms, energy is defined as the capacity of doing work. Power is defined as the rate of doing work. 

Similarly, we can look upon spiritual energy as our capacity for experiencing the original qualities of the soul. We all have this capacity, but to different degrees. Spiritual power is then seen as the extent to which we put these qualities to work in difficult situations and in our relationships. Spiritual power helps us remain in a state of truth, in the face of the various tests that come. Also, our actions and relationships give us an opportunity to utilize the power we have accumulated. 

The qualities of God experienced in meditation are also the original qualities of the soul, but the link with God is essential for us to enhance these qualities inside us. In fact God, too, needs the connection with us, despite having these qualities to the highest degree, in order to exercise his power to restore truth to the world.

There are eight key spiritual powers - power to tolerate, power to adjust, power to face, power to pack up, power to withdraw, power to co-operate, power to discriminate and power to judge in terms of their application in everyday life - all of which we have discussed and shared with our readers in earlier messages.

Soul Sustenance

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 1)

Man was handed the master key of the knowledge of good and evil karma by God. He used the key to perform good karma for some time. That was the day of humanity. Over a period of time, while playing the game of different roles in the world theatre, the key was lost and man started to perform evil karma. The evil man started identifying with evil so much that he forgot his original good self and thought that evil is the eternal self. That was and is the night of humanity. That is why in the scriptures, mistakenly it is said that even angels used to sometimes feel jealous. In Indian scriptures, devis and devtas, the original good men and women, have mistakenly been shown to possess the emotion of jealousy at times. Poor perception of the evil men, who made the scriptures and temples in the remembrance of the good men and women, the angels, after they had ceased to exist! The good men and women were nothing but our early births as we started our journey of birth and rebirth as flawless beings.

Today humans are empowered beings who have the capacity to experience so many emotions, both positive and negative. Sadness, anger, happiness, sympathy and the list is endless. Out of all these one very powerful and dominating emotion is jealousy. When we see different players in this game of life playing different roles, sometimes while seeing them with the spectacles of role consciousness, feelings of jealousy or a desire to be like the other are experienced. Comparisons emerge in our minds.

While being competitive and having aspirations to succeed are absolutely fine and there is no doubt that to do that sometimes we have to look at the other or even others and this drive helps us meet life’s challenges also, but when this look at the other is accompanied by comparisons and feelings of low self esteem as a result and takes the form of jealousy; it gets out of control and starts having an adverse effect on our relationships, that steps should be taken to curb those feelings.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

To forgive the self is to have the ability to forgive others too.

Expression: I sometimes find it very difficult to forgive the mistakes committed by others. I do try to understand but am not able to understand the other person's behaviour and so find it difficult to forgive them.

Experience: When I have love for myself and am able to learn from all that happens, I am able to forgive myself. When I know to do this, I can understand the other person too from his perspective and can easily forgive him.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 13, 2015: Be the Example

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 13, 2015: Be the Example

Be the Example

Instead of teaching others by telling them, teach them by doing it yourself.

How can we free ourselves from subtle aspects of anger? 

Keep the aim of making your each and every day – your every moment – victorious. Think: this day, these hours and minutes, will not come again.

We can’t lose another second on this; our immediate attention is needed! If we are still thinking about something we don’t need to be thinking about, it means we are still wasting time and energy.

Turning Qualities Into Powers

An important aspect of God or the Supreme Being, remembered throughout history in all cultures and traditions, has been the concept of God being an Almighty Authority. The interpretation of this concept has been varied, however:

Some have conceived a God who is fearsome and revengeful and one who punishes. That is very different from the experience of God, in meditation, as a gentle, benevolent (generous), merciful parent; as a teacher of absolute spiritual wisdom or knowledge, but a wisdom that has total humility, and is free from the demands of ego.

Yet, it is also the experience of the soul that God is the Almighty Authority, the source of all power and strength. When I meditate and connect with the Supreme, I experience a state of truth in which the combination of all the original qualities of the soul -- peace, love, purity, wisdom and happiness -- fills me with a positive power -- a power that overcomes negativity in myself and others, so that those I am connected with become better able to experience their own truth. This power also extends to my physical surroundings, transforming the atmosphere around me.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

The Law of Focus and Attention (Part 2)

If our attention is focused on people's defects and weaknesses, we transmit energy to these aspects and strengthen these weaknesses in the other person and in ourselves. If, on the other hand, our attention is directed at the positive aspects of others, we reinforce these qualities and virtues and help this person express them, which is also beneficial to us.

Our personality is made up of a series of values, beliefs and habits. If we wish to transfer our energy to new and positive aspects of ourselves, we must choose the personality traits that we want to emerge from us, focusing our time and energy on them and, in this way, this virtue, value or quality will manifest itself in our life. 

Message for the day

The way to bring transformation in others is to have mercy for them.

Expression: Inspite of wanting to bring about a positive change in people and working towards it, I rarely find that kind of change that I expect. People continue to display their old patterns of behaviour and finally I end up only feeling disappointed or frustrated.

Experience: Real change can come in people only when I am able to have a vision of mercy for them. With mercy I am able to percieve and bring out the best in people without actually being caught up with expectations. Once I am able to see the positive qualities I am able to encourage them to use these qualities.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris