Daily Positive Thoughts: October 09, 2015: Abundance

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 09, 2015: Abundance

Artist: Alexander Averin

Abundance

When surrounded by challenges, sometimes we all need a little extra nurturing, and that gentleness can come from loved ones; or just to experience a life of abundance focus on what you have, rather than on what you feel is missing in your life.  Count the good things, the riches in your life and give thanks for them.  This begins to create a feeling of abundance.

Positive Material

Just as you would nourish the body with a healthy breakfast, in the same way, start your day on the right foot by feeding the mind with positive material.

Prior to starting your work day, either on your morning commute, or as soon as you walk into the office - take a few moments to read or listen to uplifting, encouraging, and mind-stretching information, words, music or podcast.

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 1)

Introduction

A very interesting phenomenon that closely points not only to the existence of the soul and Supreme Soul but also to their form and qualities is the phenomenon of Near Death Experience (NDE) and Out Of Body Experience (OBE).

What Is A Near Death Experience (NDE)?

A near-death experience (NDE) is the experience reported by a person who nearly died or who was medically dead and then revived or in a situation where death is likely or expected. Some of the common circumstances in which an NDE can occur are:

* serious illness such as cardiac arrest or brain hemorrhage;
* complications before an operation;
* injury, such as from a car accident, shock, electrocution, asphyxia (condition which results from interruption of respiration due to suffocation or drowning);
* suicide attempt;
* coma;
* serious depression, etc.

The most important feature of an NDE is that the person's consciousness is not in his or her physical body. It might function independently of brain activity, which suggests the existence of the soul. The physical body is usually stationary, while the consciousness of the person experiences an extraordinary freedom of movement, completely independent of the physical body.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Motivation – The Life Driving Force (Part 4)

When surrounded by challenges, sometimes we all need a little extra nurturing, and that gentleness can come from loved ones, or just  from ourselves. Also, enjoying watching television, enjoying the hot chocolate and the coffee, enjoying the cold drink and the ice cream, enjoying the brisk walk and the gym, enjoying the picnic and the party, enjoying the holiday - these are all things that help us replenish our energy and remain motivated to some extent when we've had a rough day. But remember that to remain constantly motivated you need to also take a look at the non-physical dimension of thoughts and feelings. Physical treatments, therapies and relaxation strategies will help you but they cannot change the way you think. Your thinking is the cause. And behind your thoughts, your beliefs are a deeper cause. We need to pay much more attention to our thoughts and feelings, learn to manage them, learn to fill them with peace and calm, and then our personality will change for the better, as we restore our mental and then physical well-being and learn to remain motivated and fearless amidst challenges. Remember no one else creates our thoughts and feelings, and they don't just happen, though it feels that way sometimes. When you learn to identify and assess the quality of your thoughts and feelings, you can begin to choose the ones you know are positive and that in turn keeps you motivated.

Also, remember there's virtually always something positive that can be found in the challenges we face. Bear in mind that the period of challenge is short and you will soon overcome the challenge. On a lighter note, spend a little time each day thinking of all the things you are looking forward to doing once you are free from these exams that life has to offer - though don’t daydream for hours about this! Also, when you long for life without difficulties and challenges and you want to keep yourself motivated when faced with them, remind yourself that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure. Challenges are not here to stay and while they are there, they bring about self empowerment.

Message for the day

To be seated on the seat of self-respect is to be truly great.

Expression: The one who is constantly in the stage of self-respect is constantly stable. And because of this stability he always has the right authority. This brings about right decisions too and he moves forward with ease facing all situations.

Experience: When I am aware of my own specialities and work with them I inspire others too to recognise my positive qualities. I also never have ego but am able to remain humble. This humility enables me to win the respect of others too.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 08, 2015: Dance In Happiness

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 08, 2015: Dance In Happiness

Dance in Happiness

The easy way to remain happy is to remain constantly light. Pure thoughts are light and waste thoughts are heavy. Therefore, keep your intellect busy with pure thoughts and you will become light and continue to dance in happiness. 

To be free from weaknesses is to make difficult things easy. 

                 

The real difficulty of a task lies in my own weaknesses. No task is as such difficult or easy. But when it is challenged by any weakness of mine, it seems difficult. Instead of having fear or negativity in any task, it is better to work on my weakness. Once I am free from my weakness, tasks seem easy too. Today I will check if any weakness is interfering with my tasks. If I find a task difficult, there is surely some weakness interfering. I will then work on any such weakness, once I recognise it.

The Power To Co-operate (cont.)

The more I practice meditation, and develop and live with the consciousness that I am a non-physical soul, a being of light, the quicker the ego associated with all the physical factors (explained yesterday) melts away. Coloring myself with the Supreme or God's company, I see others as the children of the Supreme Soul. I know myself as part of the family of human souls who have the same original qualities as me. In soul-consciousness, there is no way I can feel superior to others, though I'll value their specialties. We are brothers - equal yet different.

In this consciousness, a natural humility or egolessness develops, a genuine respect for each other. There is a strength and happiness in the awareness of being a child of God, but I'll see others also as the same. There is neither the ego of feeling superior, nor the inverted ego of an inferiority complex. I am not negating myself, I am recognizing the value of the self, but I'm also appreciating the value and qualities of all others around me. In that spirit of mutual respect, it becomes easy to work together.

The future of the world and the transformation of the planet actually depend on this transformation in each one of us, from ego and self-glorification to humility, respect and co-operation. Meditation, by lifting me beyond the factors that divide us, makes me deeply aware that we are one family, sharing one home, this beautiful planet, for which we have a common responsibility. In the awareness of where we are, and to whom we belong, there also comes the recognition of what we as a family must do together - create a world which is filled with the virtues of the Supreme Soul, by first imbibing those virtues inside us.

Soul Sustenance

Motivation – The Life Driving Force (Part 3)

"Challenges are like spice – in the right proportion they enhance the flavor of a dish. Too little of them produces a bland, dull meal; too many of them may choke you at times.”

Have you ever noticed some people only work a few hours a day and are hardly ever confronted by deadlines or other pressures, but they are more stressed and less motivated than those working long hours to tight deadlines. Have you ever watched two people doing the same or similar work, to the same deadlines? One tears their hair out with a lot of anxiety. The other is completely relaxed while doing it. Some people are trailblazers, they love challenges. They love it when they are occupied and bottled up with challenges at hand and passionate about overcoming them. They work hard on themselves to overcome challenges and are not overwhelmed by them. What really reinforces them to do that is the motivation that they have to overcome the challenge and become successful. Challenges motivate them. At the same time, there are times when there are too many challenges to overcome and deadlines to meet and the same people who have overcome challenges earlier are not able to cope up with them and keep themselves motivated. That is the time when they realize that what they are going through is stress and challenges have affected their motivation levels adversely. Why the difference between two people, why the difference from challenge to challenge or situation to situation? Perception. So it's not what you do, or when you have to do it by, that causes your stress and brings down your motivation; it's how you perceive the whats and whens of daily life that generates your stress and affects your motivation levels. It's how each one perceives what they do and the possible outcome. And your perception is based on your beliefs and beliefs don't come built into your genes. All beliefs are learned. We learn them, send them into our subconscious and they then pop up and out through our thoughts, emotions and words. The problem is we not only hold beliefs, we identify with them. But beliefs are not the truth.

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

Message for the day

To give regard to others' ideas is to be a learner.

Expression: The one who is open to the ideas of others is the one who is able to learn from everything. He is humble and has respect for all. He has the authority over what he does, he is the master and is yet open to learning.

Experience: Even when my best plan and ideas are rejected or criticised, I am able to remain cool and light because of my regard for others and their ideas. Because of this I am able to constantly learn and experience progress.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 07, 2015: In Silence and Stillness

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 07, 2015: In Silence and Stillness

In Silence and Stillness

                                            
In the silence of my being, in the stillness of peace, I ponder the greatness of my existence, and the truly endless love and power I have within me.

Inner Peace and Harmony

My own perfection moves away from me when I look at the weaknesses of others. If I indulge in looking at the weaknesses of others it is very likely that my inner peace and harmony will be lost.

Others move forward on their journey when I see their strengths. It's time to see strength and nothing but strength in others, so they move forward on their journey and my inner peace and harmony remains intact.

The Power To Co-operate

                                                                                         
In India, there is a saying that when everyone gave a finger of co-operation, the mountain of sorrow was lifted. If we look with open eyes at the world of today, and at current social, financial and environmental trends, it's clear that there is widespread suffering and sorrow, that it is likely to get worse, and that to remove this sorrow will be a task like lifting a mountain. Meditation ignites a conviction inside us that the task will be done. Although we have such different backgrounds, cultures, personalities, and so on; meditation shapes our personalities in such a way that it becomes easy for us to share our resources, work together, and give our own finger of co-operation in the task.

The way meditation achieves this is interesting. Look at the other side - at what prevents co-operation: it is ego, where I am in a state of self-glorification, hungry for personal praise or fame, and not concerned about the wellbeing of the team. In ego, I think I am the only one who knows, the one who is right. Ego kills co-operation. Ego is closely connected to body-consciousness.  An enormous 'I and my' factor comes in when I think of myself as this body, and lose sight of the soul. My race, my color, my gender, my physical appearance, my education, my family, my job, my position, my possessions - all these become part of the build-up of ego. Working with others with co-operation, who may at any moment challenge my ego with their own different agendas and needs, then becomes stressful.

(To be continued tomorrow ....)

Soul Sustenance

Motivation – The Life Driving Force (Part 2)

Life throws different types of challenges at us. A difficult relationship with one particular person, we have all experienced, can at times have the potential to completely overpower our thoughts for days and even for years. Most of us will have endured the trauma of exams at some stage in our lives, usually at school, college or university. The looming prospect of having to answer questions on your most hated subjects often meant that even the most laid-back of personalities will have experienced feelings of anxiety, worry and exam stress. A sudden physical illness can at times have the destructive ability to not only bring about physical discomfort but make us dejected, discouraged and sorrowful for days until it subsides. A deadline at work or a sudden crash of the business market are types of challenging situations on the professional front. A difficult personality trait which constantly hinders our progress and harms our relationships is an example of a challenge on the personal front.

So challenges can be unpleasant, even scary, but they are important as in the process of overcoming the challenge, you work harder on yourself and they make you more determined and powerful. If you are not spiritually equipped to rise to these challenges, these tests of your internal strength, when they come about, it is unlikely you will be motivated enough to cross them. When faced with challenges, people can find that they are able to go the extra mile and pull from the backs of their minds answers to questions they did not realize they had ever learnt or ever knew. So, challenges can be helpful – but only if you turn the challenges into internal positive energy, you remain motivated while crossing them and by doing that you transform the challenges into blessings or gifts in disguise which will help you advance ahead and become more experienced and wise.

(To be continued tomorrow ….) 

Message for the day

                                                                                       
To know the fruit of efforts will surely come is to remain happy and healthy.

Expression: To know that the fruit of my effort will eventually come one day, is to understand the importance of making effort. Once there is this understanding, it becomes easy to continue making effort, which is like nourishment that keeps one happy. So effort is never stopped till what has to be achieved is achieved.

Experience: Knowing that my effort will surely be fruitful makes me enjoy everything I do. It makes me remain happy, keeps me enthusiastic and free from tiredness, even when things are not going right for me. My mental happiness and well being thus keeps me healthy.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 06, 2015: Making a Life

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 06, 2015: Making a Life

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century.

Making a Life

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

To spend the day with God as a Companion is to add quality to all tasks. 

For the one who keeps God as a Companion in every task, there is quality and meaning in everything. Even when we are faced with something difficult, we still are able to do it with ease. Each task becomes special too. Today I will say "good morning" to God and make my day beautiful. I will start the day with this consciousness and throughout the day keep Him with me. This will keep my mind carefree and easy, whilst doing and facing everything.

The Subtle Body Of Light

Apart from our physical form (body), each one of us also has a form of light - a subtle light body.  It is referred to as the aura, and can be seen by some sensitive souls. All of us might not be able to see it, but we can become aware of the aura of others' through the vibrations they emit. The purity of our subtle, light form is dependent on the purity of our thoughts or mental vibrations.  Given below are some thoughts for a meditation to help experience your subtle form and serve through it.  Think and visualize each thought alongside:

I become detached from my physical surroundings... I consciously create only the purest thoughts... Now I visualize my true form... I am a subtle being of pure spiritual light, a sparkling star situated at the center of the forehead... Gradually, I become aware of my subtle body of pure, white light surrounding my physical form... In my body of light, I, the soul, the sparkling energy, consciously stand up and step away from my physical form, which remains seated... I, the soul, inside my subtle body, observe my physical body in a detached way... Now I slowly fly outside the room I am in... I visualize myself, in the subtle form, suspended in the sky... White rays of spiritual light radiate from me, the soul, and my body of light into the world...  like that of an angel... In this pure awareness of myself in my form of light, I realize that the greatest gifts I can share with those around me are the light of love, peace and truth.

Sitting anywhere, this meditation exercise can be done to visualize oneself in a hospital, on the site of a natural calamity, accident, next to a friend or relative in pain etc., basically anywhere where vibrations  of positivity, peace and happiness are required - the location of visualizing yourself can be hundreds of miles from where you may physically be.  As you practice the art of being aware of your subtle body, you will begin to sense how you can have a positive effect on others simply radiating good wishes, pure thoughts and pure feelings.

Soul Sustenance

Motivation – The Life Driving Force (Part 1)

Motivation is the driving force behind our thoughts, feelings, words and actions which transfers us from one reality to another, from where I am to where I wish to be. It is an inner positive energy, a combination of enthusiasm and clear perception that enables us to accomplish a task or overcome a challenge. It is the desire to be continually interested and committed to a task or to attain a goal or cross a difficult situation.

Our thoughts really do color our perceptions, and affect our motivation levels in many ways. What thoughts are serving you today? Which thoughts are weighing you down? Have you ever turned over the exam papers of life - challenging situations, overpowering situations, disturbing situations, de-motivating situations; looked at the questions that life throws at you and wondered if you are sitting the right test? Or glanced through these papers of life and only see questions or aspects you aren’t equipped at handling? Or worse still, know that you once knew the answers to these questions but frustratingly, those nuggets of spiritual wisdom, required to overcome these situations are now out of reach no matter how far into the back of your mind you grope, causing emotions of worry, frustration, fear, anger, discouragement, depression, panic and hopelessness to erupt inside you?

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

Message for the day

The beauty of things lie in the ability to appreciate them.

Expression: Nothing is positive or negative in itself, but the one who has the eye for positive things sees only positively even when there is negativity around. Such a person is like a swan which separates and picks up only pearls from stones.

Experience: When I am looking only at the positive aspects, I am able to remain happy. If I am able to appreciate everything that comes my way, even if it is visibly negative, I find nothing to be a problem, but everything becomes enjoyable for me.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 05, 2015: The Art of Doing Nothing

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 05, 2015: The Art of Doing Nothing

The Art of Doing Nothing

Do you find that your mind chatter follows you everywhere?  To work, to a party and even into sleep? 

So, why not practice doing a little bit of 'nothing' everyday.  Instead of 'Don't just sit there, do something' try 'Don't just do something, sit there.' 

Simply let all thoughts pass through your mind and gently replace that inner restlessness with inner calm.

To be mature is to understand the importance of the task in hand. 

The one who is mature would know what his duty is, according to the time. If an adult plays with toys, it would not be right. In the same way, the one who is mature would not get distracted with tasks that are waste or unnecessary. He would do the right thing at the right time. Today I will keep a check on my actions. I will check if I am wasting any time in matters that are not useful. I will make sure that I will do the required tasks according to the need and time.

Intentions Behind Actions

The word karma has been given many negative meanings. In common language, most people almost always relate it to suffering, but the simplest meaning of karma is action. Newton's Third Law of Physics (every action has an equal and opposite reaction) is a physical law of motion. The Law of Karma is the metaphysical (non-physical) equivalent of the Newton's Third Law - it refers to action and its result (fruit) or, simply, cause and effect. The quality of my actions, thoughts more specifically determines my personal level of happiness. Our natures today are the result of everything we have thought; they are formed by our thoughts. It's not so much the act that determines the return or fruit but the quality of the motive or intention behind it e.g. in the simple task of buying a new car, the intention can be different in the case of three different people:

* I need to buy a good car; it's an urgent need of my family (concern).
* What if I am not able to buy that car model which my wife so badly wants (worry)?
* With me at the wheel of the brand new car, which I will be buying soon, I will be the talk of the town, my office colleagues will really be jealous of me (ego)!

Although the action is the same in each case, each of these attitudes will lead to a different result. This role of intentions become clear when analyzing the difference in guilt between an army officer who kills another while protecting his country and another person who plans for months to commit a murder out of personal enmity and hatred. The karma of taking the life of someone is the same in both cases, but the return or fruit of the karma depends on the intention.

Soul Sustenance

The Role Of Emotions In The Functioning Of The Soul

Inside the soul, there are four components – thoughts, feelings, emotions and sanskaras. Thoughts and feelings are present more on the surface of the soul in the conscious. Emotions and sanskaras on the other hand are less easily perceived and lie below thoughts and feelings.

Sanskaras can be defined as the traces left on the soul due to actions performed by it and also due to its interactions with others in relationships.

Emotions, on the other hand, are impulses associated with the sanskaras and are very close to these traces.

The internal functioning of the soul is cyclic - ‘thoughts gives rise to actions, actions give rise to sanskaras, and sanskaras give rise to further thoughts’. This description becomes complete, when we add an additional component – emotions. The deepest component inside the soul is the sanskaras. Next up from sanskaras are the emotions, above that are feelings and then finally the uppermost component inside the soul is the thoughts.

Thoughts can be caught instantly. Feelings can be seen and perceived if I stop for a moment and check. Emotions are deeper than both of them and are very close to the sanskaras, and just as its difficult to see all the sanskaras of an individual, we can't always see their emotions. Feelings, being more towards the surface, can be clearly identified, but you have to go deeper to see the quality of emotions a person is creating and the quality of his/her sanskaras.

Message for the day

Freedom means accepting the rules of freedom.

Expression: The one who wants freedom naturally accepts the rules that go untold. He is willing to take responsibility for all his decisions and choices. Such a person will never blame others but try to check his own mistakes.

Experience: When I take decisions with freedom and take responsibility for them, I am able to learn from anything that goes wrong. I'll feel light and free yet with a base from where I can work. Thus I find myself experiencing constant progress.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 04, 2015: Assertiveness

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 04, 2015: Assertiveness

Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter Presidential Debate Oct 28, 1980:  In his closing statement, Reagan asked the American people a question that has resonated for over two decades: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

                         

Assertiveness

Assertiveness is the ability to directly and honestly express your opinions, feelings, attitudes and rights.  It is to do so without anxiety and in a way that doesn't infringe on the rights of others or violate another person's integrity.

Pressure

Often, it's not really people or having too much to do that creates pressure in life. It's your working and living habits that need tweaking.

No one and nothing can make you feel pressured without your permission!

Work out why you're feeling pressured and what easy changes can you make to take the pressure off.

Self Conversations

A very important subtle activity that we all indulge in for a lot of time in the day is having conversations with the self, sometimes consciously and a large number of times without even being conscious of it. We need to be extremely careful about what the quality of our conversations are because self conversations very strongly influence our perception i.e. the way we see ourselves, others, situations as well as our personalities and also mould them. If channeled properly, they can be constructive i.e. ones that empower the self; if not, they can be destructive i.e. ones that bring the self down or weaken it in some way or the other. They possess immense potential, both positive and negative, if we want we can use them to liberate us or they can even limit us.  We can judge, criticize and threaten ourselves or praise and encourage the self in a positive way. It's important to create thoughts of acceptance, respect and approval for ourselves, even if situations don't go the way we desire or expect. Such positive conversations help rise above the dependence on what how people see us and what they think and talk about us, making the self extremely powerful.

Positive self conversations are not fantasies or disconnecting from reality and a few minutes given to the activity do a lot of benefit and no harm at all. They can be done by detaching oneself from actions when we have an emerged conversation and our complete focus is on the conversation and we do nothing else at that time or whilst being involved in actions. Some actions like going on a drive, cooking, having a meal or simply taking a walk or going on a jog allow self-conversations to take place alongside. At these times we give less mental energy or attention to the conversations i.e. we can have a merged conversation so that the respective action is not affected adversely in any way. We can choose how much mental energy to give to the activity, depending on the karma alongside.

Soul Sustenance

Benefits Of Realizing The Law Of Action

Suppose a person from India goes to America for the first time and rents a car over there. He then parks his rented car on the wrong side of the road. He will be charged a fine because parking laws are different in both countries. He cannot simply say ‘I didn’t know, I am ignorant’. It should have been his responsibility, if driving, to find out the laws of the new country but he didn’t take enough care.

In ignorance, we have done many things against the universal laws of creation – especially the Law of Karma. We did not have the complete knowledge of what are good/bad karmas, what are right/wrong karmas; what different types of effects different karmas would have on me, others and nature. But we cannot just say 'I didn't know'. It was our responsibility to know. If we look at the state of the world now, there may be a few sparks of light or spiritual enlightenment but, generally, there is a great amount of darkness. That gives us an indication of the sorts of karmas the vast majority of us have been performing, due to ignorance, to have produced the situations or circumstances in the world.

The complete knowledge of the karmic process, which we learn when we are introduced to spirituality, helps us:

• reduce the burden of the past
• remove any type of suffering or sorrow in our present life
• change our future as well as that of the world, to make it better and more positive
• experience a positive return from our spiritual efforts
• understand all the why’s, how’s, what’s and when’s which surround our life 

Message for the day

Speciality lies in experiencing one's fortune.

Expression: When there is the awareness of one's fortune, there is speciality seen in every word and action, because of wanting to make the best of everything. There is also the pure desire of sharing with others which also makes one special.

Experience: When I have the recognition of my own fortune, and am aware of what I have, I find myself content. I have no expectations but continue to make the best use of what I already have, for my benefit and that of others. So I find myself being special and making my own fortune.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

                                       

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 03, 2015: Build Bridges

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 03, 2015: Build Bridges

 

The Ambassador International Bridge:  Suspension bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan, in the United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Build Bridges

Even when another person seems a world apart from you, don't stop looking for the bridge.

              

To get an opportunity to do something difficult is to gain a quality forever. 

Most times, when we are faced with a difficult task, we tend to get confused and afraid. But, this does not allow us to use the resources at our disposal in the right way. On the other hand, when we look at it as an opportunity, we are able to not only complete the task, but also discover a new quality of ours. Recognition by others, may or may not come, but that will not bother us. Today I will take up something that I have never done before. I will either do it by myself or will take the help of others. To take help from others itself is an art. So either way, I will be richer with one new quality by the time I finish the task.

Spiritual Vision

A simple definition of 'spiritual vision' is that I see the best in others. A parameter of proving to myself that I have a spiritual vision and I am seeing the best in others is that I naturally thank and praise rather than criticize those with whom I interact at home or at the workplace on a daily basis - even though I may see obvious negative characteristics in them and experience negative behavior from them. Keep a daily chart of the three points, for three people close to you, below for one week. Every night, fill this chart up for the day that's just gone by.

1. Name of person and relationship
2. How did I thank or praise him/her?
3. What was this person's response?

Remember that although you may be constantly positive with others, constantly seeing their original spiritual qualities, it may take time for your positive energy to transform them and for them to start transmitting positive energy back to you and start behaving positively with you. At the end of the week, check what benefits did you and others experience from this exercise.

Soul Sustenance

Busy – Press The Stop Button! (Part 3)

To rise above the monotonous and busy existence explained in the last two days’ messages, we all require a regular dosage of newness to keep our hearts and minds fresh. How can we define newness? It is a change of thoughts, feelings, words, actions, circumstances – when all or some of these deviate from the normal or are new, they give us an experience of joy. On a physical level we go on a holiday or a party, watch a movie, etc., all of these and many more such activities explained earlier in this message series, achieve the purpose mentioned above. We then get back to our daily routine of thoughts and actions, with more freshness, which makes the routine more interesting.

On a spiritual level, to become silent, to be still in the ocean of hectic, noisy action is a choice many people are now making. When this is achieved, this stillness acts on the mind like oxygen, giving the breath to both understand and enrich life. Of course, action is a necessity, an expression of ourselves through time, relationships and the roles we play. However, if we do not sometimes stop and take a breath of silence, then the mind begins to suffocate, thoughts speed like bullet trains and the brain feels as if it is in a pressure cooker. Emotions erupt and react like volcanoes, eyes become dizzy with mountains of information and the head feels like a rollercoaster. This is stress. The mind needs to come up for air, to leave the jungle of pressure, deadlines and speed and slow down and find the point of silence within. Also a daily dose of new and different spiritual knowledge at the start of the day does the work of newness and helps us rise above the monotony. It rekindles our creative spirit. Newness in our thoughts then flows into our feelings, beliefs, attitudes, personalities or natures, perceptions, actions, interactions, relationships, etc. bringing newness in all of them and removing the stagnancy of the regular routine. Also feeding spiritual knowledge to the mind benefits silence or meditation immensely, because meditation, which is not just a process of reducing the mind to a nil stage but the creation of positive, constructive thoughts to take the mind to a positive experience of peace and bliss, can then become an interesting, new and creative exercise each time one practices it. Spiritual knowledge is the foundation of good meditation or silence. 

Message for the day

To be free from wants is to be free from waste.

Expression: The one who is free from wants is the one who is free from expectations. When there are no expectations, there is not too much thought about what is not there or what should be there. Since the mind is free from all these kind of waste thoughts, whatever is done is the best.

Experience: When I am free from wants or desires, I am able to always remain content. I can then appreciate and enjoy everything that comes my way, and do not expect anything both from situations and people. So the mind is free from waste thoughts and questions.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris