Contemplation: Freedom

Contemplation: Freedom

Freedom

True freedom means to be beyond the influence of others and of possessions.

Fire Extinguisher

The one way to finish the force of anger is to fill with the power of
peace. The one who remains peaceful in times of chaos is the one who
acts like a fire extinguisher. So such a person does not get angry
because the other person is angry, but speaks such words that finish
his anger. When I maintain my own inner state of peace and calm, even
when someone is angry, I am able to be powerful. The power within me
becomes a big asset during such times. My light (power) of positivity
helps to finish the darkness of negativity. All I need to do at that
time is to take a firm thought not to let go of my inner peace.

Role Induced Stress - Part 2

It's not at all wrong to treat what we do seriously, but it's a mistake to believe what we do is extremely extremely important and we are extremely busy people living an extremely busy lifestyle. This kind of consciousness makes us over-serious. A very common sign of this is carrying a lot of thoughts of one role into the other. E.g. Aarti, a young mother, switches roles from a software executive in the corporate sector, a role which she plays in the entire day, to a parent and wife in the evening. If she is over thinking about her day-role while playing her evening-role, it is a sign she is over-identifying with her day role and there is a lack of detachment. As a result she starts becoming over-serious and suffers from role induced stress as a result. There is a deep connection between seriousness and fear. E.g. In this case of Aarti, as a result of attachment to her role, there are lots of fears that she carries regarding her role of software executive - fear of loss of position; loss of love, respect and reputation - either in her company or in general in society, not succeeding, not getting promoted etc. because of which she is over-serious and she carries the role in her head almost all the time, even when she sleeps. That is why so called extremely busy people sometimes complain of sleep problems.

This can happen with us, with any role we play. This kind of stress, just like in the case of the actor (explained yesterday) is generally made up sorrow, anger and fear - one of these three different negative emotions from time to time or more than one at the same time - phases of dejection or feeling low or a lack of enthusiasm or a general disinterest in life events; phases of frustration and experiencing a lack of control of events and people, due to which there are frequent outbursts of anger and phases of immense worry regarding the future, all of which affect our mind, our physical body, relationships and even success of our role; although it is our role itself (our over-identification with it) which is the root cause of this emotional turmoil inside us. So instead of benefitting our role, our over-concern for it starts affecting it adversely.

Soul Sustenance

The Causes of Fear (Part 1) 

Fear can be caused by: 

• Ignorance - When you don't know how your colleague in office is, or when you don't know the intentions of the other, you are afraid. When you don't understand, you are afraid. 

• A lack of inner preparation for the situation - For example, if you go unprepared to an exam, you will be afraid of failing it. 

• A lack of clear knowledge on how to avoid or recognize actions that bring about situations which are dangerous for one's wellbeing. 

• Insecurity in general and specifically, about your qualities and your own capacity. 

• Lack of faith in yourself. 

• Mistrust. 

• The inability to open oneself. 

Tomorrow we shall discuss some more causes of fear. 

Message for the day

The best comparison is the comparison with oneself. 

Expression: The one who is comparing oneself with what he was and seeing how he can improve or how he has improved is the one who is constantly bringing about progress in his own life. On the contrary the one who is comparing himself with others is the one who is constantly finding excuses and leaving behind the opportunities that he gets for bringing about a change. 

Experience: When I am free from excuses and free from comparison with others, I am able to be light even in the most challenging circumstances. I am not caught up with my own mistakes or those of others, but am able to constantly add on to my treasure store of experiences and be richer and richer with every new challenge faced. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Age Gracefully

Contemplation: Age Gracefully

Artist: Salvador Dali (11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989)

How many figures are there in this painting?

Age Gracefully

There is nothing more inevitable than the graying of hair and the crinkling of skin. Resisting it is like trying to hold back the tide of the ocean. Accepting it is the way into a graceful life and the possibility of true Leisure! Our lives are mostly without leisure as we succumb to the marketing men and their determination to convince us that the tide can be beaten back, at the very least, kept at bay. As a consequence we count the grays and measure the length and depth of the wrinkles. We spend our time and attention on the surface of our forms, and create the habits of anxiety and worry as they inevitably deteriorate. But when we truly know ourselves as spirit within the form, all those subtle tensions are dissolved. We never age, never grow old, and never die - only our bodies do. Knowing ourselves as we truly are, is the doorway to freedom and to the graceful acceptance that we are destined to inhabit and play many roles in many bodies. Is that not both a liberating and a relaxing insight? If you play with it, explore it for truth, meditate on it, seriously give it 'house room' in your head, you may actually experience yourself as a free spirit. And when you do you will know true relaxation.

relax7

Balance

To be balanced means not to be caught up with extremities. When there
is balance, there is the ability to get the best of every situation and
move forward with stability. Situations provide a means of learning and
growth. So,  the one who is balanced is safe from negativity. When I
have balance, I enrich myself even with extreme negative situations. I
experience constant progress and am also able to provide an environment
for others' growth. This earns me the blessings and good wishes from
all. I thus find myself moving with lightness.

Role Induced Stress - Part 1

A very common form of stress which has raised its head in recent years is stress induced due to one's role. There was once a famous movie actor, well known as one of the best of all time and he was obviously very much aware of the same. One day as he was shooting for his new film; his director, a very prominent figure in the film-making arena, mentioned to him that there was a general perception spreading in the film industry as well as in the film going audiences that the actor was getting older with time and his performance was dropping and he needed to spruce up his performances if he had to compete with the younger actors. As soon as he heard this, he started taking his acting role and everything related to it over seriously and lost his happiness completely because he had been used to listening only to praises regarding his performances and reputation all his life. He also forgot all that the world had given him all his life, all the love, respect and adulation and became angry, bitter and resentful towards everyone he met, believing that they were no longer held those feelings for him as much as before. Also a general sense of fear and nervousness started developed inside him regarding his next performance.

One piece of information had changed him altogether. What had gripped him - Role Induced Stress. His emotion of stress was made of three sub emotions - sorrow, anger and fear (or worry). What was the cause - he over identified with his role. He believed he was an extremely famous hero actor. But was hero actor what he was? It's what he did. But he learned to believe it is what he is. Even we need to remind ourself that we get to play various roles on the world stage of action and that if we over-identify with any of the roles, which a lot of us do, then just like the actor, our creativity, spontaneity and lightness is reduced and we start to take things far too seriously, more than necessary, and as a result get stressed.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Filling Myself and Others with Invisible Treasures (Part 2) 

In yesterday’s message, we had explained how soul consciousness provides us access to the ocean of the qualities of peace, love and joy that lie hidden inside our consciousness. An important point worth noting in this regard is that along with quenching my thirst, I must also have a big heart, and pass on to others the qualities that I am receiving from my inner ocean. Otherwise, over a period of time my spirituality reaches a standstill and although I am making an effort to fill myself I do not feel as content and fulfilled as before. This is because; the vessel with which I fill from the ocean can’t be refilled unless I am also prepared to keep emptying it. That doesn’t mean I have to drain myself spiritually. 

It is just that each time I give or donate a quality from my inner ocean with a positive intention to someone; it flows from inside me and then gets transmitted to the other. Before the person experiences and benefits from the quality, I experience getting filled with it myself. Also, each time the person benefits from or even remembers the benefit in the future, he or she sends me positive energy, which, according to the Law of Karma fills me with the quality that I had donated, further. Sometimes a person might benefit or remember the benefit after 10-15 years or even more than that. Even after such a long time has elapsed, I keep receiving a return from the pure donation I have made, and keep getting filled, even if I am not specifically or consciously aware of the same. 

Message for the day

To look closely at one's own behaviour is to bring about a positive change. 

Expression: While it is easy to talk about what other people should do to change themselves and their behaviour, it is also important to see what one can do to bring about a change in oneself. When there is the ability to look in this way, effort is put in continuously to change old unwanted patterns of behaviour and replace with more desirable ones. 

Experience: When I am able to take a closer look at myself, I am able to see which trait in my personality is getting in the way of my progress. This knowledge helps me accept myself with my shortcomings and yet have the courage to bring about a change easily. So I have the satisfaction of working on myself. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Appreciate the Gift

Contemplation:  Appreciate the Gift

Appreciate the Gift

When you open your eyes in the morning, sit for a moment and appreciate the gift of a new day, create a peaceful thought and enjoy some moments of silence throughout the whole day.

Faith

When there is faith in others, one is able to provide an environment
for others' growth. All resources are used to give support for others.
There is no interference in others' work and no feeling to take over
others' responsibility. Instead it helps to provide them with the
power to deal with their own problems. When I have faith, I am able to
see what is lacking in others and fill in with it. I don't complain
but am able to see positivity instead. I provide with what is
necessary and I have patience too. I am free from expectations for
them to bring about a change immediately.

Valuing The Physical And The Non Physical

When the soul leaves the body, it's not just the body that dies but it's as if all the connections with the world of that individual are simply switched off. Not only the relationships but all specific plans, projects and desires suddenly have no further means (medium) through which they can be expressed or put into practice. The powers of thinking, deciding and the personality traits ('sanskaras') connected with the life that is being left behind, stop and get hidden momentarily to emerge again in a new body, a new life. All the material things that belonged to that particular individual are passed on to others.

It's interesting to note that even when the body is sick it can only be treated when the soul is still present. If we take out the soul no one remains to look after the body.

On the other hand, the body is a truly marvelous vehicle for the soul to express itself through. No manufactured machine could hope to compete. For example, it is calculated that in just one day, the brain is able to complete a hundred times more connections than the entire telecommunications system of the planet. Or compare the human eye with any manufactured camera or the heart with any manufactured pump. The body's importance cannot be played down or not taken into account.

Soul Sustenance

Filling Myself and Others With Invisible Treasures (Part 1) 

Soul consciousness or the awareness of the soul is the key to the internal treasures of the original and eternal qualities of the soul. The moment I switch on the awareness of the soul, a spiritual point of subtle light or energy, situated at the centre of the forehead, I start accessing the qualities of peace, love and joy that lie hidden inside my consciousness. Since these are not physical treasures, they are limitless. It’s like suddenly I become an owner of an ocean of these qualities. The ocean is inside me and not anywhere outside. 

When we hear the word ‘ocean’, the first characteristic that comes to mind is limitless. So suddenly I am the owner of an ocean of peace, love, power and bliss. I can draw and drink as much of these qualities as I want and these qualities will never get over, because an ocean is an unlimited, tireless and big hearted provider or giver, never expecting anything in return. The ocean will never refuse me, but, as stated above, the key to accessing the ocean is the awareness of the soul. It is a common experience of many that the moment we are in the consciousness of the body, we suddenly feel empty of these treasures and we experience emotions of peacelessness or sorrow or hatred or jealousy or powerlessness or fear etc., because in those moments, we have lost access to the ocean. 

(To be continued tomorrow...) 

Message for the day

True spirituality is that which makes one practical. 

Expression: Usually spirituality is perceived as something that has to be kept separate from the normal daily life. But true spiritual life is that which is very practical. The one who is able to fill himself with spiritual power is able to use this power for being better and better in his practical life. 

Experience: When I am able to recognize the inner beauty and am able to give myself time to be in touch with this spiritual aspect, I am able to be powerful and beyond chaos in all situations. I am able to go within to find the immense power and use it in practical situations. So I find myself being successful in practical situations. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Riches

Contemplation:  Riches

Artist: Josephine Wall

Riches

The greatest good we can do for others is not to share our riches with them, but to reveal to them their own.

Challenges

The one who has the courage to process problems or challenging
situations is the one who faces them with courage. He never tries to
escape the challenge. Nor does he try to suppress the thought about
the problem. He instead uses all the available resources for constant
growth. When I understand why the challenge has come my way, I am able
to remain content. I am free from waste thoughts or questions about
others. I see a solution in each and every problem. So the problem
doesn't remain a problem for me. I don't suppress thoughts that
might emerge at a later time.

Soul Wound Healing Through Meditation

Our connection with the Supreme Soul, through meditation, is the best way of healing the inner wounds and negative traces, inside the soul, which have been left by the negative karmas of the past. Given below is a meditation commentary that will help you to absorb the positive healing energy of the Supreme in order to do the same:

I become aware of myself as a tiny sparkling star of light, situated just above the eyebrows - a soul... In soul consciousness, I experience the beauty of the many qualities like peace, love and bliss; of the spiritual being that I am... Now I turn my mind to the soul world... Over there, I visualize, in front of me - a sparkling Sun of golden light - God, the Father and Mother of me, the soul... He radiates immense spiritual energy... 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...

While I sit and absorb this healing energy from the Source, I also transmit that light and positive energy out into the world... This light touches everyone I know and have ever known... It is a light which also heals my negative vision of them... I now recognize everyone around me as bother souls, playing their own unique roles... With this new soul-conscious vision, I experience unconditional love for each soul and all negative memories and past hurts associated with each of my relationships is consciously released... The past is forgotten, resulting in a deep feeling of freedom inside me...

The beauty of the Law of Karma is realizing that when our consciousness is filled with happiness, peace and love for others today; and we transmit that positivity to others through our words and actions, the energy received back from each of our relationships, as a result of doing that; ensures that our own future will be bright.

Soul Sustenance

Going Back To My Original Nature (Personality) 

Our present personalities are basically the combined habits of this lifetime (birth), built on the combined habits of previous lifetimes (births), all of which have left their mark (sometimes deep and sometimes not so deep) on our consciousness. It may well be that habits such as becoming angry, upset, anxious, stressed, sorrowful or scared, have been with us for so long that, they feel a natural part of our inner world, so natural that when someone says our true nature is not anger but peace, not fear but love, not aggression but acceptance, not anxiety but calm, it does not feel right. And even if it did feel right for a moment, we have become so attached to our old habitual moods, emotions and behaviors that we do not really want to change. It may even be the case that we have become so weak that we need help to change. It seems much easier to stay the way we are. 

As we begin to meditate and develop our spiritual practice, our views on the above subject will fluctuate. When that does happen, imagine you are having a conversation with yourself and teaching yourself. Give yourself permission to be peaceful by nature, full of love and joy by nature, naturally content by nature, wherever you are and in whatever you do. After a while, you won't need to give yourself permission and you will find these states of being are there within you quite naturally at every moment. They are our original and eternal nature. Everything else is acquired or learned. In so many ways introduction to spirituality, like many other approaches to inner awakening, is as much about unlearning (the acquired beliefs) as it is about learning (new beliefs). 

Message for the day

To be clean at heart is to give happiness to others. 

Expression: The one who has a clean heart is the one who always tries to do the best for those with whom he comes in contact. Thus, the person develops the ability to accept others as they are and ignore anything wrong done by them. Instead, he is able to do the right action without losing the balance. So such a person brings happiness for himself and for others through every action he performs. 

Experience: When I have a clean heart I am able to have an experience of my inner qualities. I am able to enjoy the beauty of the different relationships, each relationship and each person being unique. Thus others are able to get in touch with their inner beauty too. So there is happiness experienced by all. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Feeling of Happiness

Contemplation: Feeling of Happiness

Feeling of Happiness

If I do everything with a feeling of happiness, there will be no task too difficult to perform.

Have Faith

The ones who have faith are able to believe in succeeding even in the
most difficult circumstances. They will never say "I will try to do it" but their words reflect the confidence, which make them say, "I will do it". They are able to make best use of the available resources and also find yet undiscovered resources. When I am able to work with faith and believe in the success of a task, I'll naturally fill it with positive and powerful vibrations. This naturally ensures that the task is successful. Also people provide maximum support, as I am totally committed and confident.

Mind Empowerment

Meditation is an inner mental exercise, an exercise not physically visible to oneself and others. Through this exercise we link ourselves to the Source of unlimited and complete purity (the Supreme Being), which not only purifies our mind but also liberates the mind from the limits or various different forms of impurity or body consciousness, like I, my, burdens of the past and negative feelings for myself and others. During meditation the mind let's go of the threads of the limits of the physical body and physical world. Like a bird, the mind, which is impure, experiences a magnetic pull for this pure Source and flies upwards and connects with this Source. This connection is not difficult when the mind is truly in love. Love for the Source emerges inside when we have complete knowledge of God as the Ocean of truth and purity and have an inner spiritual thirst for experiencing a connection with Him, and not just trying to demand, flatter, or beg God for something for selfish reasons. The desire for connection enables the soul to fly beyond all mental barriers such as I can't, How do I? and No time!.

Connection fills the mind with a spiritual strength which we use in our everyday life and keeps it constantly positive, uninfluenced by any external negativity. To maintain such strength, we require a daily connection and recharge every morning; otherwise the using up of the energy of the mind in actions throughout the day causes its spiritual strength to get depleted very soon. In silence, we will find a personal and very loveful friendship with God, who not only listens and helps but, most of all, is just there. At the present moment, a lot of us have completely lost the simple enjoyment of His presence; we feel we have to ask for something, say something, or chant something. It is enough just to be still in the silence of that spiritual meeting and experience its bliss and enjoy the stage of spiritual fulfillment.

Soul Sustenance

Shedding Off The Attachment To A Positive Past (Part 2) 

Excessive attachment to a glorious past is a subtle shade of the negative emotion of ego which colors my present perception of external events and which affects my present actions and responses, as a result of which not only present but my future is also affected. As I hold on to it, my creativity is reduced and I do everything with a limited perspective, not letting myself grow and shape up a glorious present and future. There are some people whose goal is to achieve something so great in their lives so as to ensure they will gain recognition and respect by others in time to come. This is again a subtle shade of attachment and ego. 

But shedding off this type of attachment is not easy and first requires the realization that this attachment is incorrect and damaging. The next step is sitting in silence and becoming aware of how you lose your identity in a story of past thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes and actions and then disassociating or detaching yourself from that story. You do not need to suppress or deny or fight with this story; otherwise its memory gets stronger and more overpowering. You just need to simply see and realize deeply that your past is just a record of a particular set of actions, which you committed at a particular point of time, it is a series of images of previous events that you witnessed and that you were a part of, all of which have left a record in your memory, and in the memories of others, but they are not what you are. This type of practice of disassociation with spiritual understanding fades the excessive memory of the story in your consciousness over a short period of time and these actions then cease to influence you in any way in the present. Here we are talking about an influence, which we have for long deceived ourselves into believing to be a positive one, but which in reality is not. 

Message for the day

True detachment is to be a master of all things that we use. 

Expression: Detachment is usually mistaken as being away from things because usually while using the facilities available we tend to get dependent on them. Such dependency is troublesome and so we sometimes give up using these facilities thinking that this is detachment which helps us to be free from their control. 

Experience: The solution lies in mentally detaching ourselves from the facilities we are using. That means we use them but we are not dependent on them. For this we need to remind ourselves that we are the creator and whatever facilities are available to us are the creation. This enables us to develop mastery and control over everything. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

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tps://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Today

Contemplation: Today

Hardanger Bridge, Norway

Today

Don’t let the distance to be travelled deter you from taking the first step – today

Spread the Fragrance of Virtues

The presence of even one weakness within oneself reveals itself in
words and actions. Behavior is colored with negativity and the inner
specialties remain hidden. So to make effort to be free from the
influence of even this little weakness is to spread the fragrance of
virtues to all. When I pay attention even to the smallest weaknesses I
can take special care not to let it influence my life negatively. I am
able to reach within and be in touch with my specialties. So however
challenging the situations may be, I am only focused on using my
virtues and not my weaknesses.

Forgive To Forget

A key principle to remain light and stable in relationships is - forgive and forget - it's a well-known principle - one that we sometimes find difficult to practice. It can be modified to forgive to forget. Sometimes we spend many years with so much bitterness inside us for a particular person, with an inner violence of wanting to make the other pay (emotions of revenge), the one who has supposedly hurt you. If you don't strike back immediately, you at least want to keep this guilt card in your pocket, to be pulled out at a later date: "Oh yes, well what about the time when you...." We keep this bitterness inside us because we haven't forgiven. It does not resolve the situation; the only thing it does is increase our pain, makes us heavy and does not let us remain in peace. So the key is that if we do not forgive, we cannot forget. When someone has offended or insulted us, the last thing we want to do is to let it go. And yet, if our desire is to have a healthy, lasting relationship, that is exactly what we've got to do.

Sometimes, when it is a question of a broken relationship, it is not only a matter of forgiving the other, but of forgiving yourself for having allowed yourself to enter that experience. It was you that took the step to allow that experience to be entered into. If you hadn't taken that step, you wouldn't have had that experience. You accepted that challenge, that relationship, and what might happen in it - you were aware of the possibilities when you entered in the relationship. So not only do you have to learn to forgive the other, but also to forgive yourself in such situations. Only then will you be able to forget.

Soul Sustenance

Understanding The Mind And Its Functioning 

The mind is a faculty of the soul, the main function of which is to produce thoughts. The thoughts we create are energy. In one day we produce an average of thirty to forty thousand thoughts. How much energy does this represent? What do we do with it? 

The mind works constantly, even when we are sleeping. We cannot separate ourselves from it, it is our inseparable companion. If you study your mind you will see that, as well as thinking, it imagines, remembers, dreams, associates, desires and even produces your feelings. 

If you think about some incident that made you unhappy ten years ago, you will feel that unhappiness again, perhaps even more deeply than before. If you think of something that made you happy, you will also feel that happiness when you repeat the event in your mind. 

If you create positive thoughts about yourself, you will feel good and your self-esteem will be strengthened, and if you create negative thoughts, you will feel depressed, with low self-esteem. The mind opens up the way to the self. By creating the right type of thoughts you can open up your inner potential again, and rediscover that as people we are full of positive qualities. 

Message for the day

To be an embodiment of power is to be free from effort. 

Expression: When we are faced with a difficult situation we usually try to make our mind positive at that time, but we find it very difficult to do so. We then give up making effort thinking that we don't have the power to change our nature. We continue to work with the weakness and strengthen it further. 

Experience: In order to win over our weakness we need to become an embodiment of power. For this we need the practice of a long time of being powerful so that we experience the power within. Then the power that we want at that time will emerge naturally. Like a master we'll be able to order our inner powers and be free from the effort of changing negative to positive. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Less

Contemplation: Less

Less

A rich person is not someone who has more, but someone who desires less.

Inner Treasures

The one who is aware of what he has attained is free from desires. He
is able to recognize what he has and use it for one's own benefit and
the benefit of others too. He is able to give without expecting from
others i.e., he is able to give unconditionally. When I am constantly
in touch with my own inner treasures I am able to experience the
richness and beauty of life. I experience contentment and satisfaction
for what I have. As I continue to use these treasures, I find myself
getting richer and richer with these internal treasures.

Tapping Supreme Guidance (cont.)

In yesterday's message, we had discussed how no human entity can fulfill all the necessary requirements of someone who can guide us correctly in any difficult situation. Thus to proceed in such a situation, it's good to take the guidance from the intellect of someone who fulfills all these criteria. That someone is no one except the Supreme Being or God, who is the entity possessing the most powerful intellect, and intellect with the most perfect judgment power. Sometimes my mind and intellect is absolutely clean and clear and I am 100% sure about my right course of action for the future, but even in those times its good to verify the course of action from a higher authority. So, in those times, it is very important to connect for a few minutes with the Supreme, who is an Energy of Unlimited Truth. Then, the question to ask myself at that time is not what do I want, or what do others want, but most importantly: What does the Supreme want, what is his wish, what is his perception of the situation? The deeper my connection with Him in meditation, the clearer the answer will come.

When it becomes a regular practice, it will be as simple as taking guidance from my physical parent or spouse or friend. I'll know without wasting time and energy, the right course of action. Sometimes it may happen that the answer may not come to me immediately, but by connecting my intellect with the Supreme's intellect my intellect will become clear, which will help me take the right decision. Also, in some cases the Supreme may not respond immediately but may guide me through some other medium, whether living or non-living after some time or even after a day or two.

Soul Sustenance

Do Love And Suffering Go Hand-In-Hand (Part 2)? 

We have the inner belief that love, worry, fear and suffering go together. It is difficult to transform (change) fear until we eliminate that belief. You are love and you need to share that love. Life is a sharing of love, it is loving the body, loving oneself, loving others, loving God, loving nature, loving work. That energy of love in the end purifies us and helps us to go forward. But while the belief exists that love has to be linked to fear and suffering, we will be blocked and will put a brake to the flow of pure love. In the name of love, we worry, we suffer and we are afraid. Instead of helping from a place of freedom in love, we help out of worry and fear, and in doing so we stifle, control, depend, and the other person feels their inner freedom restricted. We do not let them be.

If we review our personal life and see the moments when we have experienced most pain in our lives, we realize that it is with the people we have most loved, and that have most loved us that we have suffered most. We experience pain in a relationship of love, where there is possession, control, submission and dependence. Other times the pain is caused by a loss that generates an inner emptiness. That person filled me, they gave me wholeness, they were the reason for my existence and now they have either left me or they have gone. In the second case, we wouldn't say that they "have died", but rather that they have gone to another level of existence i.e. the soul has taken a new physical costume. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

To make our promise practical is to benefit at each step. 

Expression: Sometimes we make a lot of promises to ourselves and to others. At such times we are very confident of what we are saying but later find that our promise doesn't come into action. So, that promise gets wasted as we don't take benefit from the intensity of that moment. 

Experience: When we make a promise to bring about a change in ourselves we need to immediately make a practical plan that will help us make the promise real. We also need to make sure we understand why fulfilling that promise is important for us. Along with this we also need to remind ourselves again and again about it till it becomes practical. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/