Daily Positive Thoughts: February 07, 2016: Wisdom From Within

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 07, 2016: Wisdom From Within

Wisdom From Within

Each day is filled with a hundred choices and decisions, and wisdom is our best guide. Wisdom comes from three places - experience, learning and our deepest intuition. Each day is an opportunity to gather and use all three. Experience comes from engaging with life, learning comes from observing, and intuition comes from listening to our self. At the end of the day sit down and write down what was the main experience, what did I learn and what did I hear...from myself? You did listen to yourself...didn't you?

The best dress is humility

I need to always wear the dress of humility. When there is arrogance or ego of any kind, there is no beauty in anything I do. On the other hand, humility brings the willingness to learn and grow. It also keeps me cheerful at all times. So, there is beauty in all I do. Today I will wear the dress of humility. I will consciously watch myself if I am caught up with ego of any kind. Feelings of inferiority or rigidity also come from ego. So, today I will be free from ego and do whatever I have to with the consciousness of being humble.

Serving Through Silence

In meditation you connect to the experience of silence in which both the mind and the heart are calmed. The mental chatter or noise stops. A gentle flow of slow, clear, transparent and peaceful thought is produced. The organs of the senses and the body are calmed and your emotions become peaceful. In this state you can listen to the voice of your conscience, the voice that guides you. That way you awaken the divine intuition. On listening to that voice, you are strengthened. In this way you start to align your life with your purpose, with what you really want. You begin to have more determination to carry out the things that you really want to do, without fear preventing it.

With meditation you learn to love the silence. A tender, beautiful and sweet silence. That way you value each word more, given that to not lose that experience of the sweet silence, you try to talk less, to speak with sweetness and gentleness. When you generate the love and pleasure in going to the silence, it helps you express the best of yourself. To help others, sometimes it is better not to speak, not to use words; to use the vibration of your thoughts and good feelings that emerge from that state of silence. That way you will enter the hearts that are trapped in darkness. Those hearts are in darkness, they have lost hope, and they are hurt, wounded, discouraged. From your silence you transmit to them the light with which they can find a way out. To receive it, they have to be willing. But if their time has not yet come, at least they will know that there are people willing to help from a silence that does not judge, does not complain. A silence that accepts, appreciates and loves, generating an atmosphere in which one can be oneself and feel free to change at their own speed, without feeling forced, but rather from understanding and love.

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation Agent (Part 1) 

Often, we feel ourselves to be victims of different factors that seem to direct the course of our life without us being able to control them. The world does not seem to dance to our music and our will, and we feel ourselves to be victims because things do not work out or are not as we want. Therefore, we give up and decide to resign ourselves to this reality; to be victims of it and observe passively (non-actively), resisting what comes, getting frustrated and bad-tempered. However, we could position ourselves in another way: being transformation (change) agents (the ones who are able to change the external factors like people or situations) by creating a different reality. To do so we have to change our perception. Also, it is necessary to strengthen our capacity to tolerate, accept, let go and forget. Tolerance here also refers to understanding, love and compassion (kindness). Not to put up with people or things, but to remain above them, to go beyond them; to co-operate with trust and motivation. It is difficult for us to tolerate because we have expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how others should act and be. Then we create negative feelings towards them because they are not like that or don’t act in the manner that we want. This makes our relationship with them difficult. 

When your vision towards others is positive, you see their qualities, their efforts and their values instead of their defects and their errors. You are open to listening to them and to understanding their intentions. That way it is easier to have good feelings towards them.Basing ourselves on a positive and objective vision and on good feelings, we do not have to put up with, or even tolerate the other - the relationship becomes streamlined. 

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

When your heart is open and clean you will be humble. 

Contemplation: Humility needs a good home to dwell in. When the mind is filled with negative feelings or biased ideas towards anyone, you cannot use your humility. So fill your mind with positive thoughts towards everyone. 

Application: If you have negative thoughts towards anyone, make an attempt to remove them. Tell yourself that you don't like one particular aspect in that person and not the person himself. In this way you will help the other person also to bring about change. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 06, 2016: Forgiveness

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 06, 2016: Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the

future.

To make the internal stage powerful is to be protected. 

Situations and challenges will continue to challenge me, but when I am strong from within I am able to withstand and move forward with every challenge. I need to work on making myself stronger at each step. When I have weaknesses, even a small little challenge will make me weak and vulnerable. I will, then, not have the strength to move forward. Today I will strengthen myself. Strength comes from faith. When I believe that I am strong, I am. So, today I will practice a simple thought like "Victory is my birthright" or "I have the power to transform" or "God is my companion at every step". Such thoughts silently build strength into me.

Life Beyond Life (Part 3)

What type of mindset and consciousness should one keep on being faced with the death of a beloved relative or a close associate, so that one remains protected from the shock related to such a sudden demise? If, we at the Brahma Kumaris, say that it’s not death but a life beyond life and a shift to a new life existence or reality, you might question and might ask something that we agree with also, but how do I fill the void (emptiness) left in my life and how do I not remember the loved one, with whom I spent millions of minutes, sharing and receiving so much love and happiness, something which have left deep impressions on my heart, which are difficult to erase.  On one hand, we at the Brahma Kumaris, on being faced with the death of a close one, conduct group meditation, and pass on the vibrations of peace and power to a departed soul, which help it to go into a life setting with the best of the four pillars of existence - nice sanskaras to be received from the new set of parents, a healthy body, plenty of wealth and beautiful relationships and also adapt easily and in a short period of time to the new environment along with slowly coming to terms with the shift that it is making and also easily forgetting what it has lost. On the other hand, people who lose such loved ones, apart from contributing through vibrations, which help their loved ones in their shift; through a deep loveful relationship with the Supreme which helps them to be strong and reading spiritual wisdom as shared by the Supreme which helps them to become content, get used to the sudden emptiness created in their lives when such events happen. Also love for serving each one whom they meet, with virtues and powers and being absorbed in the Supreme’s task of the present moment of self change and world change helps them rise above the difficult time phase. They do remember the relative they have lost, but from an empowered consciousness.

To end on an empathetic (understanding your feelings) note, we confess that the reality of life beyond life is something that many of us knew or had heard of, even before joining the Brahma Kumaris, but at the same time, we were not empowered enough to accept the reality and live the reality. Spiritual understanding empowered us to do that and we wish from the bottom of our heart that you are able to do the same. All the best.

Soul Sustenance

Adding A Spiritual Vibration To My Actions 
My quality of yoga or meditation is reflected through the karmas or actions that I perform. If I add meditation in my daily routine, whatever actions I perform, start carrying a different quality or vibration to them. Work itself (whether at home or in the office), far from being a routine affair and just a medium of survival, becomes the basis of real transformation or change. After all, it was through actions that the soul came down from its original, pure, positive state. It is through actions that it can return back to the same state. 

It's not just action for the self but action or karma becomes the means through which I can share the experience I have in meditation, with others – be it family members, my colleagues in the office, at the city mall, in the vegetable market, on the street etc. - just about anywhere and everywhere. My meditation isn't an incognito (invisible) process but a very visible one. I can see the results of yoga through my karmas. If my actions are filled with irritation and anger, or are motivated by emotions such as ego, greed, attachment, jealousy, hatred, etc, or if I do not experience constant happiness or my mind still has a high percentage of waste thoughts, these are indicators that my meditation is inaccurate or insufficient. If there is the experience of a link with the Supreme, his peace, purity, love, joy and power will manifest themselves and be visible to others through my actions. Message for the day

Your humility enables people to realize their mistakes and correct themselves. 
Contemplation: Real humility results in so much power of truth that you don't need to say anything at all in words. The very power of your inner state of being will make the other person realize the error of their ways. 

Application: When you are giving directions or corrections to someone, check your own attitude, remind yourself of the humility within and then say whatever you have to say. With humility your words will be for their benefit and this will enable them to learn. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 05, 2016: Recipe For Happiness

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 05, 2016: Recipe For Happiness

Recipe for Happiness

 Two heaped cups of patience,

One heartful of love,

Two handfuls of generosity,

One headful of understanding and a dash of humour,

Sprinkle with kindness, add plenty of faith and mix well.

Spread over a period of a lifetime and serve to everyone you meet.

Meditation

Many people feel and complain that their intellect is not as clear as they would like. One of the aims of meditation and spiritual knowledge is to make the intellect strong, clear and clean, by which there is an increase in the power of discrimination. This helps us maintain a sense of what is right and wrong, helps implement that awareness. 

Meditation brings about self-realizations whereby you realize what is happening inside you. Sometimes we use the phrase: "He/she doesn't know what he/she is doing", referring to someone who is acting in an incorrect way. If we are to act in an appropriate way, we need to be aware and be awake to the consequences (results) of our actions. The voice of the conscience brings with it that state of awareness, awakening, realizing and discrimination. This is because, in meditation you feel quiet and you focus your thoughts inwards. In that state, the sound of the voice of the conscience is perceived and heard. It is a voice that is not affected by material worries or a preoccupation about one's image and public appearance. During meditation, you are completely focused on the present moment of spiritual empowerment and not distracted with things that are necessary but unnecessary to be thought of that time, noise, unrelated ideas of the past and the future, mental chatter, etc., basically everything that separates you from your true spiritual self. In this way you can listen to yourself within and as a result ensure to the maximum extent that your “karmas” are appropriate and accurate.

Life Beyond Life (Part 2)

A new born child is a new entrant in a new home with new parents. Each day thousands of new-borns get new homes and new parents. These births are accompanied by celebrations and greetings of congratulations to the parents and other family members. But have you ever stopped to wonder that behind the curtains of these celebrations lie tears in the eyes of those family members and dear ones where these souls or spiritual energies leave old physical costumes, what we commonly call death. We, at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, call it Life Beyond Life. The concept of birth and re-birth or life beyond life has been a topic of debate since time immemorial. Over the ages, many philosophers, the spiritually inclined, the religious minded, psychologists, the medical fraternity and scientists have talked in favour of this reality, which they believe is embedded in the fabric of life while some have been non-committal or unsure in their approach and some have even expressed disbelief at the idea because of lack of ample evidence. Though today, evidence in its favour has surfaced in various corners of the world through past life regression (hypnosis), near death experiences and case studies by medical journals, accompanied by records of a significant number of people who have remembered their past birth or births, some of whom have even gone back to the families they were once a part of. Some even remember the circumstances accompanying their death in their past life.

So, living in a world giving ample proof for the concept today, accompanied by deep experiences of the existence of the soul and its immortality (it never dies) by good meditators and people who are strong adherents (followers) of different religions all across the world, one needs to develop strong faith in the fact that my family member or my dear friend, who has left me, has transferred himself/herself to a new reality, a new joy filled and love filled existence, a new Mamma, a new Papa, a new prosperous family, a new healthy body, a new set of positive sanskaras (including thesanskaras of the previous birth) and a new set of friends, relatives and brothers and sisters. So it’s not death but a beautiful new life beyond this life. This is a more positive perception of an event, which for all of us is the most sorrowful and negative of all life events.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play Of Thoughts In Relationships (Part 3) 
Parent-child relationships are the foundation of our complete life. The earliest habits that children acquire in their lives are from their parents. Very often parents try and impose positive habits on their children. A very common trend that we see nowadays where parents will scold their child for common negative actions like getting angry, for lying to them, for watching inappropriate stuff on different mediums of technology like television and the internet or for getting involved in relationships with the opposite gender at a young age. Very commonly parents are not satisfied with the change brought about by children by following the rules that they have set for them, causing parent-child relationships to get strained. Why is it that inspite of children knowing that parents are concerned for them, do not pay heed to their instructions and continue with the negative habits? A more powerful medium than words, which reaches children on a physical level, is the personality radiation of the parents which works on children and reaches them faster than and much before the words do. Parents dictate the change but don’t be the change i.e. similar habits of lust, anger, ego, greed, etc. exist inside them which keep travelling to the children on a subtle energy level and impacting (influencing) their minds negatively much sooner than positive words in the form of instructions, leaving the words as good as ineffective. 

Also considering another common relationship that children have, the one with their school teachers; many investigations confirm that teachers' expectations, whether negative or positive, form one of the most influential factors in the academic performance of their students. If teachers expect good results from their students and have complete faith and confidence that they will succeed, their performance will be much closer to their real capacity than if they are expecting poor results. Very often in schools, the teachers’ words regarding the performance of the children are not a direct reflection of their thoughts i.e. words are full of faith and hope in the students’ success but thoughts are lacking in optimism with regards to the same. Negative thoughts of fear of probable failure of the children, in the minds of teachers, inspite of positive words of encouragement, negatively impact impressionable minds of children leading to their poor show in school exams. Message for the day

Your humility makes you a learner in every situation 

Contemplation: Where there is humility there is willingness to learn. When humility is lacking, ego comes which doesn't let you learn from all situations and people. The power of humility enables you to learn and move forward. 

Application: When you face any criticism from someone, see what you can learn from it, instead of feeling bad about it. Even things that go wrong have something to teach, for the ones who are willing to learn. With your humility continue to learn. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 04, 2016: Do Something Different

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 04, 2016: Do Something Different

Do Something Different

The world is filled with worry and sorrow. Just for today, do something different. Create thoughts and words that give only happiness.

Why do we delay doing what we know we need to do? 

Is it because we feel we 'have to' to do it? Is it because we cannot clearly see the benefits? 

Is it because we will need to move some twigs in the nest of our comfort zone? 

Is it because we fool ourselves into waiting till we feel like doing it? 

Is it because someone else might be more advantaged than us? 

Is it because we are just plain lazy? 

It's probably a bit of all of those. But one thing is for sure - you've already done it in your mind! And as long as there is a gap between your thoughts and your actions then there will be an inner tension which is draining your power - whether you are aware of it or not. Do it, delegate it or dump it!-relax7

Life Beyond Life (Part 1)

Have you ever looked at a new born child and glanced at the expressions on his face? Why is there a magnetic aura about a baby’s features that attracts one and all? The innocence, the sparkling smile, the beautiful eyes, the angelic cheeks, the shining forehead, the round, cherubic (pretty) face and the soft whispering sounds makes one wonder what is so special about the spiritual energy inside such a baby that talks to us and tries to convey so much as to move us and even bring tears in our eyes. Such a spiritual energy is in a state of nirvana or a meditative state or a soul conscious state, a state which we as adults, practice to achieve.

We would like to share with our readers that in the nine month gestation (pregnancy) period of a mother, the spiritual energy which has to own a particular physical costume, enters the womb of a mother and adopts the physical foetus (which is semi-developed) as its own in the fourth or fifth month. A wonder of nature is that a spiritual energy that has been exposed to different types of situations and relationships and played different roles as an adult in its previous life in a state which is not really spiritually self-aware, more of a state which is focused towards the gross or material existence, suddenly forgets all that and becomes a very pure and divine being temporarily as soon as it enters the foetus inside its mother’s womb, a being that is cut off from physicality and almost in a thoughtless state of meditation – here by meditation we mean a state that is self-aware or soul conscious, not in body consciousness. It even forgets its past life almost completely and starts adopting itself to the new environment inside the mother. On one side its physical body continues to receive physical sustenance from the mother as before its entry and on the other side it vibrates its mental energy to its physical body which also helps it grow physically. As the personality of the spiritual energy, so is the energy radiated, resulting in a healthy or unhealthy body. Once the baby is born, a few subtle traces of consciousness or remembrance of the past life do remain inside the spiritual energy, because of which sometimes when these remembrances surface inside the minds of babies, they smile or become sombre (serious) or even cry in their sleep, depending on the type of past remembrance. 

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play Of Thoughts In Relationships (Part 2) 

Husband-wife relationships, sometimes, are like castles of sand, extremely pleasing to the eye, but based on weak foundations and susceptible to destruction when challenged by negative tides of clash of opinions, personalities or lifestyles. In such relationships, the castles look good from outside because of energies like acceptance, trust, understanding and letting go existing on the surface i.e. these energies are displayed by both partners to each other in the form of words, gestures and actions but these castles can easily collapse because the foundations of these castles i.e. thoughts and feelings carried by the partners in their minds are filled with expectations, rejection, mistrust, misunderstandings, possessiveness and suspicion at times along with the positive emotions which are displayed in actions. Also both partners feel they have made their respective positive contributions in the relationship and so the same is expected from the other side, which is not fulfilled at times, further increasing the problems in the relationship. At the same time both partners are oblivious (not aware) of the negative emotional, much more powerful forces that exist inside them, which go against the positive contribution and are silently working on the castle of the relationship from below, ready to bring it down anytime.

Another e.g. - in corporate circles, apart from the external objective of profit making and generation of revenue and jobs, an important internal objective of any good corporate organization is creating a peace, love and happiness filled as well as obstacle free atmosphere in the company, which will be conducive (helpful) to the external objective. One spiritual principle states that the leader or CEO or Managing Director of the organization is like a seed of the organization, whose every thought reaches out to and influences every person of the organization as well as the organization as a whole. A second spiritual principle states that the internal ruling and controlling power of a leader of an organization is directly proportional to the handling (of the people of the organization) power of the leader. If in the inner confines (boundaries) of the leader’s mind, obstacles of waste and negative thoughts exist i.e. the inner atmosphere of the leader’s mind is not full of peace, love and joy, then as per the first spiritual principle, this gets transmitted to the people under the leader and as per the second spiritual principle, such a leader who is lacking in mind ruling power and mind controlling power is automatically lacking in handling power of people under him. Such a leader, due to the application of both these principles, is ineffective in creating a positive environment in the organization.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

True humility comes when you are in your self-respect. 

Expression: When you are full and in your self-respect, you will be able to remain humble in all situations. When there is no self-respect, any comments or criticism hurts your ego and you tend to lose your humility.

Experience: When you find yourself getting affected by criticism, check whether you are sure of what you are doing. Increase your own confidence in whatever you do and you'll find yourself humble.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 03, 2016: Opportunity

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 03, 2016: Opportunity

Extreme Walk by Brian Mosby on a Tightrope – Rio de Janeiro

Opportunity

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Breathe Right

Do you take breathing for granted? Are you so caught-up in activities that you just forget to breathe properly?

Why not post a stick-note with the word 'breathe', near your desktop or on your steering wheel. Then when the computer is slow or you're sitting at the traffic lights, take a minute to breathe.

Breathe in through your nose and hold your breath for three counts. Breathe out through your mouth for a count of five or eight. Pause and repeat. Relax your shoulders and breathe deeply and breathe slowly. Breathe away the tensions and center yourself.

Meditation For Personality Transformation (Part 2)

Decide on a habit that you want to change e.g. impatience. We will focus this meditation on changing impatience. You can apply it to other habits also:

I relax and prepare to look inwards...
I am aware of the unwanted habit of becoming impatient...
As I sit in meditation, I relax my body.
I become the observer of my own thoughts and feelings...
Realizing my true identity as soul - a subtle point of light situated at the center of my forehead, just above my eyebrows, I remember my real nature is one of calmness, peace and power...
I focus on the power of peace, inviting it in and welcoming it into my thoughts and feelings from deep within.... enjoying the calm contentment which it brings...
On the screen of my mind, I begin to visualize patience...
I see myself in a situation where I normally become impatient...
I now see myself as being completely full with the virtue of patience...
I shape my feelings around the idea and image of patience.... unhurried and relaxed... calm and watchful...
If necessary, I can wait... forever.... with patience
I am free of the desire for certain outcomes...
I see how I respond with patience...
I see the effect of my patience in others within the situation...
I now know how I will speak with patience, walk with patience and act patiently in the real life situations...
I maintain this peace, which generates serenity and patience in me...

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play of Thoughts in Relationships (Part 1) 

Relationships can be defined on the surface as a state in which two or more people are connected, the state of being related or interrelated or if the definition is expanded, the way in which two people, talk to, regard and behave towards each other, and deal with each other. Spirituality sees relationships from a deeper perspective – “relationships are not only what we do or say to each other, but are built on the basis of what we think about each other”. So relationships, when seen from a spiritual view point, are an exchange of energy at the level of thoughts and feelings, and then words and actions thereafter. 

Relationships are one of the most important wealth of our lives and one of the most important sources of our happiness. In order to make them successful i.e. to create the wealth of positive relationships and to experience joy through them continuously, it is important to base them on the right belief systems. One major incorrect belief that we carry inside ourselves with regards to our relationships is that relationships are all about behaving and talking in the right manner, because we think people see, know and judge only what we speak and do, they do not sense what we think, and so we don’t give enough significance to our thoughts. But thoughts are more in number and being a more powerful and subtle energy, travel faster than words. When we interact with someone let us take care that along with the right action our thoughts are also right. If we have negative thoughts containing any type of impurity of hatred, greed, jealousy, resentment, selfishness, ego, etc. and we perform pure actions filled with the energy of virtues, neither will we be internally content nor will we be able to satisfy the other person. In all our relationships, it is the intention, the packets of thought energy or vibrations that we transmit, which matter more than the action. Giving significance to the inner intentions while coming into relationships is true transparency in relationships. Performing right actions packaged with thoughts which are coloured with negative emotions, will only transmit pain to the other on a subtle level, even though we did it for their happiness. 

We shall further highlight the significance of thought vibrations in relationships using four examples in the next two days’ messages. 
Message for the day

The power of truth is such that you need never be concerned about proving it. 

Expression: Truth is always revealed at the right moment and at the right place. You don't need to be concerned about proving it. You need only to be concerned with being it and living it. Trying to prove truth reveals stubbornness. 

Experience: When you find that someone is not believing what you say, ask yourself if you believe in it. if you do, then you need not be concerned of proving it to others. Where there is doubt in yourself you'll want to prove it to everyone. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 02, 2016: Bring Light

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 02, 2016: Bring Light

Bring Light

There is some darkness in most human minds today, so there is a darkness component in most scenes and situations. Why else is there so much unhappiness and sorrow in the world? So how much value can be given to someone who is able to bring light and lightness to a place or a moment, where others have brought their dark? Like a crown of sparkling jewels, their presence and their words are priceless. It may only be a gentle smile of comfort, an attitude of genuine interest, some words which diffuse an awkward moment. Those who stay light in spirit while others weave their dark are both illuminated and illuminators. Watch out for such a moment today where you may illuminate. Make that moment momentous!
relax7

Imagination

Your mind is a canvas, your thoughts and feelings are the brushes and the colours. Be bold and take time to imagine.

Go to the next level; turn your imagination into action. Imagine the steps, the solutions, the actual results. 

Give yourself benchmarks and a framework, without overestimating your ability.

So what are you waiting for? Put your imagination to work?

Meditation For Personality Transformation (Part 1)

At the heart of every human being or soul there is a spiritual energy, pure, of peace, love, truth and happiness without dependence. Being aware and experiencing this energy provides you with the inner strength necessary for change. Meditation is the method of access in order to allow that energy to come to the surface of your consciousness and in your mind in order to color your thoughts and feelings. In a way very similar to that of a volcano whose melted lava, hot, flows from the centre of the Earth to the surface, we, on meditating, can create volcanoes of power (which emerge in our conscious minds) required for personality transformation.

You can do an exercise, a meditation whereby you choose a habit or sanskar that you don't want, and you will replace it with a characteristic that you would like to incorporate, like a thread, into the cloth of your personality. For example, replace impatience with patience.

Tomorrow we shall explain a meditation with this theme: changing a habit or sanskar.

Soul Sustenance

Checking Myself On The Stage Of Action

Once we become aware of the possible types of thoughts that the mind creates at different times in the span of a particular day, then we are in a position to keep a check on our thoughts and understand where our energy is being wasted. Once we realize that there are patterns of waste and negative thinking at some times during the day, which are usually triggered by certain situations or people, we can apply a brake on the pattern of habitual negative thinking, thereby transforming this energy wastage into something more positive. 

It does happen, that when we are informed about the benefits of meditation for the first time, perhaps in a course or a presentation either in the office, in a center of a spiritual organization or elsewhere; we realize the need for the same but we also feel that, in order to get the house of our minds in order, we need to leave our busy city lifestyles behind and head for the hills. There, we think, we will find the time and the physical and spiritual environment to practice meditation and get our mental state in order, but this is absolutely untrue. While going on an occasional spiritual retreat is certainly useful and recommended for the development of the spiritual self, the real workshop is life itself. Even if I am able to maintain a positive and powerful state of mind in a retreat, it is in our daily actions and relationships with others where the challenge lies, it is on the stage of action orkarma kshetra that we have to check whether we can remain soul-conscious i.e. in the awareness of our spiritual identity. It is here where we have to see whether we can apply the brakes on patterns of negative thinking, establish and maintain patterns of positive thinking and test whether we have reached the stage where, no person or situation, however negative, can disturb our state of mind. 

Message for the day

When you are always truthful, you'll have nothing to fear. 

Expression: True courage comes when there is the power of truth within you. When you are constantly truthful, you will have nothing to fear. In all the challenges you face everyday you will be able to maintain your courage because of your power of truth. 

Experience: Make sure your actions are based on truth and when things go wrong, you will still be able to maintain your courage. Keep reminding yourself that you have the power of truth with you and you will be victorious, whatever the challenges that come your way. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris