Daily Positive Thoughts: August 07, 2015: Character

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 07, 2015: Character

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang describes how apparently opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.

Character

When you do not upset yourself thinking about how others must change and instead you concentrate on your own change, good things start to happen. First, you will feel better about yourself. Second, you will start to have positive feelings towards others and start to understand them. Third, others start having a more positive attitude towards you.

Tact

Whether you have to decline a request or give critical feedback, it's important to be honest, assertive and direct.  But you don't want to hurt someone's feelings, especially in front of others.

Instead try a tactful approach.  Be appropriately honest, assertive and direct.  Say the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and you're more likely to get a positive outcome.

Wearing The Crown Of Servant Leadership Gracefully (cont.)

Servant leaders are sacrificial leaders, ready to make the sacrifice when required. We explain with an example -

Jessica and Ruchika were close childhood and school friends. Jessica was the Head Girl of the school. One day there was a home assignment to be completed by the class. Jessica had forgotten to complete her assignment. She was afraid of the consequences and even more of the humiliation that she was not ready to face being in such a respectable post. She was also afraid of Ruchika's assignment as being selected as the best one by the class teacher. Jessica's mind was in a state of turmoil. On one hand was her self identity based on her role of the Head Girl and also the attachment to the same and on the other hand was her friendship and the voice of her conscience. If she chose the former and prevented Ruchika's homework from being selected as the best, she would be seen in the same light as Ruchika and would save herself embarrassment. If she chose the latter and allowed Ruchika's homework from being selected as the best, she would lose, but earn respect in the form of blessings and good wishes of her best friend Ruchika. Finally insecurity and the fear of loss of face in front of the class and the class teacher took grip over her. She chose the former, she harmed Ruchika's homework and prevented Ruchika from submitting it on time and as a result prevented it from being adjudged as the best. She had won. Her 'id' - Head Girl had won. But the servant leader inside her had lost. Her relationship had lost. She did not pay heed to the voice of her conscience and her special relationship with Ruchika. As a result she brought about sorrow to her friend. Later on she repented and realized, that day she had not worn the crown of leadership well enough. She had not heard the voice of the servant leader inside her, a leader who could sacrifice the I and keep her friend ahead of her. She realized her mistake and decided to hear the voice henceforth.

Many times, while playing leadership roles, we are also faced with similar situations as Jessica found herself in, whether it's in school, in the family, in our social circle or at the workplace, when we have to make a choice, when the I has to be sacrificed and the other has to be kept ahead - sometimes we do that easily, sometimes we find it difficult.  There is a servant leader inside each one of us, which favours the sacrifice. We need to awaken that servant leader. Spiritual knowledge helps us in doing the same. 

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past (Part 3)

Correction - Memories inside the soul are like imprints or impressions on the soul. Some impressions are deep, some are not. Negative past experiences leave very deep negative impressions or scars on the soul, which sometimes take a lot of time to heal and sometime an entire lifetime can be sent without them getting healed. Negative past experience imprints and negative emotions like anger, hatred, attachment etc. are closely linked. So, correcting the self or incorporating positive sanskars fills the spiritual self with positive impressions. This, over a period of time, nullifies the effect of these negative impressions and as a result, the related negative memories.

Donation - Donation can be simply defined as the distribution of the invisible attainments one has experienced through spiritual self transformation, to others. It helps one receive blessings or positive energy of those whom we donate to and gives life a focused positive purpose, both of which help us immensely in forgetting our past. People who live only for themselves will find it more difficult to forget their past as compared to ones who spend a lot of time for others. Giving happiness to others helps us in forgetting our griefs.

Interaction - The more we interact with and remain in the company of positive minded people and have positive conversations with them, we give and receive positive energy and the more our past gets erased from my consciousness. Spirituality teaches us to look inwards and experience introvertness, which we haven’t experienced for a long time. At the same time, spirituality also teaches us to keep a balance between looking inwards and outwards. Composed and balanced extrovertness and healthy, happy relationships with virtuous people help us remain more in a present consciousness, not giving the mind to drift too much into the past.

Message for the day

The power of positivity helps finish all negativity.

Projection: When I am faced with negativity in people or in situations, I too usually tend to have negative thoughts. When my mind is caught up with negativity of any kind-fear, anger or tension, I cannot think anything positive. I then find myself totally caught up in the situation finding no solution.

Solution: The only way to finish negativity is to work with positivity. I need to make a conscious effort to look at some positive aspect in the situation or person with whom I am facing difficulty. When I do this I can relate to them with this positivity which will slowly make the situation better again.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 06, 2015: Value

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 06, 2015: Value

Clock by Christian, casting Beck, Augsburg, 1640, gold enameled. On a pedestal is a funerary figurine with a laurel wreath. In his left hand, an arrow, the tip of displaying the time

Value

A bar of iron costs $5, made into horseshoes its worth is $12, made into needles its worth is $3500, made into balance springs for watches, it’s worth is $300,000. Your own value is determined also by what you are able to make of yourself.

A Caring Heart

When I express my care and concern by responding to situations with a cool head and to people with a warm heart, if I remain aware that as fellow human beings we are all part of one family, and that even the smallest of gestures can make a difference in people's lives, I am always blessed with a caring heart. 

It takes so little to show that I care yet it can mean so much.

Wearing The Crown Of Servant Leadership Gracefully (cont.)

A good leader, before orchestrating (controlling) his team members will learn to orchestrate (control) his inner orchestra of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, emotions, moods and perceptions to create the desired tune or team result. When leaders become dictators or start orchestrating (controlling) their team members first, the fall of the team gets certain.  A good leader is characterized by the way he makes his fellow members work as a team with him being a part of it. Misuse of leader power has a negative effect on team members' perceptions of the leader's ability and desire to engage in open communication. Because open communication is vital to any project, these perceptions can hurt team performance. These negative effects of leader power can be virtually eliminated simply by clearly communicating the idea that every team member is individually instrumental for any given task at hand.

Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the "top of the pyramid". By comparison, the servant leader shares power and puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Servant leaders spread an energy of trust in the group, which catalyzes higher levels of engagement of team members, greater involvement of their effort and ideas and greater speed in change and creation of the new, which is the objective of every team. As a result, an excellent team culture is developed.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past (Part 2)

Positive Information and Intoxication - The more we listen or read positive and constructive spiritual knowledge, even if it is for 10 minutes daily, and imbibe (absorb) it, the more our negative memories fade into the background. Also the regular input of knowledge lifts our consciousness to a higher level and gives us an experience of intoxication or spiritual bliss, in which the memory of our past sorrows and negative experiences gets dissolved. Even on a physical level, there are lots of people who indulge in some kind of addiction or intoxication only because it temporarily helps them to overcome and forget the negatives in their life.

Karma Realization - Another benefit of spiritual knowledge is that it makes us realize the various shades and details of the Law of Karma and its application in the World Drama, which helps us immensely in letting go of the past and concentrating on our present so that a bright future can be built, irrespective of the quality of the past.

Self and God Realization - One of the most important benefits of meditation, an important aspect of spirituality, is that it makes us realize and experience the spiritual self and the Father of the spiritual self, the Supreme Soul, accurately. This is an experience of liberation, in which there is no room for past repentances. Past repentances are more a reflection of excessive attachment to the physical or material or attachment to incorrect emotions related to body-consciousness, remembering the damage caused by it to the self and experiencing sorrow due to the same.

Connection and Relation - Also, meditation being a deep connection between me and the Supreme Father, it fills me with immense power and it is also an intense relationship, which fills me with love, happiness and peace. In the experience of these attainments, over a period of time, my past ceases to burden my consciousness.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

The right kind of support makes people independent.

Projection: When I provide help and support to others, sometimes I find that they become dependent on me. They continue to expect the same kind of support that they had got from me before, when I am not in a position to give. Then my good gesture becomes a bondage or difficulty for me.

Solution: When I am providing help to someone, I need to check the kind of help that I am providing. True help is to provide assistance in such a way that slowly the person learns to rely on his own resources and becomes independent. Then there will be no expectations from me.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 05, 2015: Adjust

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 05, 2015: Adjust

A rare photo of ‎Lions napping in a tree in the ‪‎Serengeti, ‪‎Tanzania. Usually not skilled at climbing, they are thought to be escaping the insects that thrive in the long grass after the rains. Photograph by Bobby-Jo Clow Photography

Adjust

The one who knows how to adjust is the one who knows how to survive.

Transform Negativity

The energies of life come to meet us at every moment. Most come from other people who either in the same room or on the flickering, technicolour screens with which we now share most of our homes. The vast majority of these energies are not positive. So how do we handle the 'the negatives', whether it's someone's attitude, their hurtful gestures or our daily dose of world violence and mayhem. There are three cardinal rules. First, do not absorb it - don't be an emotional sponge. Second do not reflect it back. Otherwise you begin a cycle of emotional exchanges which may last a long time. And third, do the one thing which marks us as intelligent human beings - transform it. Even if the scene is a disaster there is some benefit somewhere in it. Even if you are watching two peoples beliefs or opinions slug it out to the edge of violence don't take sides. Instead offer a solution then stand well back. Even if the person hates you, accept their state of being and return the light of love. In time, with patience, it will illuminate their darkness, and return to you by the bucketful! Just wait.
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Wearing The Crown Of Servant Leadership Gracefully

It is commonly stated that perhaps those who are best suited to leadership power are those who never seek it. On the other hand, those who have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, find to their own surprise that they wear it well. This process starts as early as our school life, when we become monitors and prefects and are granted significant responsibilities. We learn leadership at a young age. The type of leadership skills we inculcate at that age are important.

Importantly, a good leader, starting at an early age, should inspire and not aspire. Personal aspirations that are regardless (irrelevant) to others always convert a humble and successful leader into a failed one.  A good leader should influence, not control - controlling i.e. passing orders, policies, rules, goals, targets, reports, visions and changes to force team members to work the way they believe it should be done; failing to listen or only perfunctorily listening (listening with little interest); exhibiting the "Do as I say, not as I do" mentality and providing inadequate support. Negative thoughts, words, actions or inactions expressing emotions like:

* Why aren't they performing better?

* What's wrong with that person?

* Why don't they know their job?

* They should know their job!

lead team members to believe that leaders disrespect them and do not care for them at all. It results in failure of an organization or the task in hand.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past (Part 1)

Almost each one of us carries a heavy or subtle burden of negative events and happenings that have taken place in our life sometime in the past, either an immediate past or a far-off one; which reduce our present contentment levels immensely. The negative past could be of any form – you experienced the loss of a close loved one due to a break-up or sudden death; you went through a serious physical illness or a very lean phase of financial loss, you were abused on a mental or physical level; you were not treated properly by a colleague at office and undue advantage was taken of you; you performed an inappropriate action and you repent up till now, even after many years have passed, and many such similar and different types of incidents.

There are three different types of processes for removing negative past memories from our consciousness:

* Modifying - A negative past event is modified into a positive, beneficial form and then stored in the consciousness.

* Forgetting - Memories of a negative past event are forgotten and do not exist either in our conversations or in our conscious mind or thoughts, but traces of those memories exist in the sub-conscious mind.

* Erasing - No traces of the negative past exist in the consciousness and memories of it are completely removed from the sub-conscious also.

We need to take the help of all the different aspects or techniques of spirituality and not depend on only one or two for these removal processes. In the next two days’ messages, we will explain all these different techniques of spirituality, which if incorporated in our life, help us experience lightness and emotional freedom from the past. All of them have their own unique importance.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

The one who takes inspiration from others keeps moving forward.

Projection: When I look at the specialities of others, I sometimes tend to get discouraged. At such times my own weakness(es) look very prominent and my specialities remain hidden. Such comparision might not actually lead to jealousy but subtly continues to have its influence on me in a negative way.

Solution: At all times I must make sure I am constantly moving forward. Looking at others's specialities I need to take inspiration from them. I need to see what aspect I can imbibe in myself too. When I do this I will be able to experience constant progress being free from negativity.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 04, 2015: Beautiful Manners

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 04, 2015: Beautiful Manners

Amsterdam Netherlands

Beautiful Manners

A person of wisdom and spirituality has very beautiful manners that have grown from genuine respect and love for the whole of humanity. Manners in this sense have nothing to do with culture or education: it is simply a question of humility. When we are at the receiving end of such manners, we feel that some deeper part of us has been honoured. In fact, none of us deserves anything less.

Trustee Consciousness

We all have a relationship with everything. Obviously the relationship we have with the people and objects in our immediate vicinity is more intimate than the rest of the world. For most of us the most common relationship is possession. In our minds we think we own and possess things like cars and houses and carpets and golf clubs etc. This thinking easily spreads into jobs and tasks and positions and perhaps even other people. "I want you", and "You are mine alone", is the essence of many romantic film scripts and song lyrics. What we forget is that this relationship is wrong. It is not possible to possess anything. Care for..yes. Use...yes. But possess...no. You can't take it with you when you go, so we say! And yet it's the idea of possession which lies at the heart of all fear, war and conflict. Can you see it? Fear of loss, fear of not acquiring what we have already decided is ours in our minds. So what is a better relationship we can choose which takes all the fear away. Be a trustee. Everything comes to us in trust, for us to use and then to set it free. The consciousness of trustee sets us free of the tension of grasping and guarding. To see ourselves as trustees of everything that we receive, including our bodies, encourages our innate capacity to 'care for with dignity'. It is a much more relaxing way of relating to the things which we are privileged to receive in life.

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The Faculties (Energies) Of The Soul (cont.)

The intellect is used to assess thoughts. This is the faculty (energy) of the soul used for understanding and decision-making which stands out as the most crucial faculty of the three.  With the deepening and broadening of the intellect, clear understanding and realization of knowledge becomes natural, and the power to decide and reason becomes clear. It is the intellect which remembers, discriminates, judges and exercises its power in the form of will-power.

Sanskaras is a Hindi word which best describes what we could call "impressions". They are the record of all the soul's past experiences and actions. Sanskaras can take the forms of habits, talents, nature, personality traits, beliefs, values or instincts. Every action performed by a soul either creates a sanskar (this is how a habit begins) or reinforces an old one. Whatever impression is etched in the soul remains within the soul, forming a complete collection of all the experiences that the soul has had. When we speak of defects, specialties or virtues we are referring to the sanskaras. The sanskaras are the basis of the soul's individuality.

Soul Sustenance

Understanding What Is Time

We created the concept of time to measure our experience of the space between events. Time passes only because we experience change. What is change? Change is only a series of events. So time is our experience of the speed of events. This explains why time seems to be moving faster today, because both the speed and the number of events are increasing. And it seems even faster if we participate in those events. If the speed and number of events was less, we would experience time to be moving slowly, as it used to be a little earlier in the history of mankind.

Today, sitting in our living rooms and offices, electronic, print and other media allows us to observe hundreds of events from all over the world, every day. To observe them actively is to participate in them. If you want to slow time down, learn to be a detached observer of the thousands of events around you – participate or observe actively only when necessary. If you want to stop time, meditate and be in your original, timeless, eternal consciousness. Meditation is after all an art of shutting down your senses and slowing down. Today, we fear time, as a result we hear ourselves saying many a times, * Hurry up, time is running out! or * I hope to have more time tomorrow! or * I need to save time! Ultimately time, is our life: it cannot be saved or lost, but must be lived now. This is where your will-power is important - we can choose exactly how we spend our time at any moment.

Message for the day

Few words are required when thoughts are positive.

Projection: I sometimes find myself using a lot of words to convey what I feel or to give explanations to others. Yet I sometimes find that others are not convinced with my words. I am then at a loss about what is to be done.

Solution: Positive thoughts actually reach out to others and create the right environment. All I need to do is to create an atmosphere of positivity by maintaining my own positive thoughts. Then I will not have to use so many words to prove my point or to convince others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 03, 2015: Cheerfulness

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 03, 2015: Cheerfulness

 

Cheerfulness

Cheerfulness can make any face look beautiful. It is an inexpensive way to improve your looks!

Flexiblility

While planning and to-do lists are essential for effective time management, no day turns out exactly as you planned it. Something almost always seems to come up unexpectedly to derail your efforts.

It's just as important to be flexible, as it is to be focused about getting things done.

Flexibility allows you to make the best use of everything and at the same time enjoy everything that the day brings.

So, why not be flexible, adapt to the situation and adjust your to-do list to the changing priorities?

The Faculties (Energies) Of The Soul

When the soul is in the body it functions through three faculties (non-physical entities). Although each faculty (entity) can be given a different name, it is actually the same energy, the soul, functioning on three different levels simultaneously. These are the mind, the intellect and the sanskaras.

Mind is the thinking energy of the soul. It is the mind that imagines, thinks and forms ideas. The thought process is the basis of all emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that, in an instant, thoughts can be projected to a far off place (one can travel to a far off place on the thought level); past experiences and emotions can be relived or even the future anticipated in less than a second. It is the mind that experiences the variations of moods. The mind is an energy of the non-physical soul, not to be confused with the heart or even the brain.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Communication (Part 2)

Here are some more common reasons for blocks to communication:

* Lack of sincerity. When our thoughts and feelings are honest and respectful, then the hearts of others will open to us. A positive highway of trust is built and communication flows positively.

* Creating negative perceptions (understandings) and emotions about others i.e. how we visualize or label them. Such emotions, no matter how well hidden, are finally always communicated to others on a subtle (non-physical), non-verbal level, and create an atmosphere of tension and unease.

* Not letting go of negative perceptions (understandings) and emotions. The only method to revive our relationship with others is to let go of negativity on a daily basis, to prevent it from building up. Far too often, the build-up happens without us even noticing it and, we wonder why positive feedback is not coming from the other side.

* Lack of silence. To go deep into the self and put our thoughts and feelings into silence enables them to become positive. The silent relaxation defuses (reduces) anger and the blame and complaints that often go with it. 

Message for the day 

To have equality in thought, word and action is to be successful.

Projection: With regards to what I want to achieve, my thoughts are usually high. I then speak about my high plans to others too. But to bring my plans into action it takes a long time and by then I find that they have lost their intensity.

Solution: I need to remind myself that if I don't implement my thoughts immediately, I will never do it. I also need to check if the thoughts that I have are practical. I need to then plan and speak about it according to my checking. Then I find that my thoughts and plans are not wasted away, but become practical.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 02, 2015: Thinking too much

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 02, 2015: Thinking too much

Artist-Flora Aube

Thinking too much

The biggest disease of the mind is over-thinking, especially too much thinking about others. Thinking too much is like eating too much. The heaviness makes it impossible to remain light and flexible.

To empower words with good wishes is to ensure corrections are effective. 

It is more important to have good wishes for a person than just having the right choice of words. Good wishes become a base on which, whatever I speak is taken positively. There is benefit in what I speak and the person receiving it will surely take it in the right spirit. Today I will check my words and see with what intention I am saying them. If my intention is to only point out something that is wrong, I will not be able to create an impact. On the other hand, if I make sure that whatever I say is for the benefit of the
person, then there will be power in my words.

Ending The Day In The Presence Of God (cont.)

Inspite of the fact that the Supreme Soul already knows whatever I have done right through the day on a physical as well as on a non-physical level; there is immense benefit in meditating for a few minutes, before going to bed at night. It is wise that before I sleep, I have a face-to-face meeting with the Supreme and I become a child, become humble, and put my entire day with obedience, transparency, loyalty and love; before the Supreme. In this stage of transparency, I definitely receive a response from God, which may be in the form of a thought vibration immediately or as soon as I get up from sleep or through some other medium the next day, when I read something positive the next morning or may be in the form of a loved one at home or even a friend or colleague at office, who may become instruments used by the Supreme to communicate with me. The Supreme Being has His ways of responding to your act of honesty and love of sharing the day's happenings with Him.

He is the Ocean of Truth and His response will be one which is filled with the light of truth or wisdom which I make use of, to illuminate the path or road of my life. Using this light, I'll find I am helped to see clearly where there has been progress, and where I failed, with accurate judgment, so that I learn. God, the Supreme Companion or Friend or Beloved is with me, wanting to lead me to my destination of perfection. I want to fulfill my side of the relationship with Him, so His light will help me recognize where I must change, and what I must do to make corrections to any damage for which I have been responsible. Where my actions have been positive and right, the subtle blessings of 'well done child' that I receive from Him, will make me aware that the strength behind these actions came from my relationship with the Him - He is permanently and was my back-bone right through the day. Then there will be neither worry (due to mistakes committed by me) nor laziness or complacency (due to positive actions done by me), but only love and contentment in my dreams. If I do not surrender the day's happenings to Him in this way, although He loves me and is concerned for me, He might and will most probably remain detached and not guide me in any way.

Soul Sustenance

Communication (Part 1)

A great deal of our communication is non-verbal and we rarely realize the effect that it has on others. Our tone of voice, our body language (particularly our eyes and face), our attitudes and our feelings, are constantly in communication with others, expressing anger, fear, love, trust, rejection - in fact, all our feelings and emotions. We cannot hide what we mean; we may do so for a while, but finally the truth emerges.

Communication is not just with others, but also with the self, with the Supreme Being and even nature. Being still, focused and open enables us to tune in to others so that we can respond in an appropriate and meaningful way, not simply in a mechanical way.

Here are some common reasons for blocks to communication:

* Too many thoughts, and an overload of words and actions, results in us being unable to think clearly. We lose the essence of what is trying to be conveyed (transmitted) by the other.

* Being lost in our own feelings or ideas. In such a state we do not listen attentively to others.

* Remembering the past in a negative way. This does not allow us to tune in properly to our present and future. When we do not communicate properly with the needs of the present time, we loose opportunities.

(To be continued tomorrow….)

Message for the day

The art of right decision making lies in thinking less.

Projection: When I am faced with a difficult situation, I naturally begin to think a lot. I tend to feel that the more I think, the more choices I have and the better the decision I will be able to take. But such thinking only creates more and more waste thoughts.

Solution: I need to make the effort of thinking less about the problem. Even a few moments of internal silence helps me develop my intuition and the right decision is made from within; because silence brings solutions.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris