Daily Positive Thoughts: April 20, 2016: Inner Sanctuary Retreat

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 20, 2016: Inner Sanctuary Retreat

Inner Sanctuary Retreat

“Getting away from it all' is something we all love to do.
Why wait for the holidays!  Whenever you need it, make time over the weekend for your very own retreat at home.

Create a sanctuary.  Drop the distractions.  Take the phone off the hook.  Listen to soothing music.  Simply enjoy the solitude and some unstructured time.

You can even use this time to review recent events, create new dreams or retreat into your inner space to renovate the soul.

Carrying Feelings Experienced In Meditation Into My Interactions

If I keep close contact with my internal self, to check what my feelings are like and I maintain the meditative awareness at many moments during the day, even if it is for very short periods of time, I will find that the good feelings I have experienced through conscious choice, in meditation, I carry them with me into my interactions with others. Then, in any exchange, although the other person's thoughts, words or actions may not be as I would like them to be, I'll be better equipped to maintain a good feeling towards that individual, and towards myself.

For example, I meditate in the morning and then leave home and find myself in a situation in the office where two of my colleagues are arguing over an issue. When I try and intervene, one of them gets aggressive with me as well, but the feelings of peace I experienced in my meditation a couple of hours ago are still with me, using which I do not reacting angrily or fearfully. In fact, if my peace is powerful enough, it will make the other one also peaceful.

So the key is to emerge and collect positive feelings through meditation at regular intervals during the day. And then become a donor of positive feelings to negative situations as discussed above is an invaluable achievement. It is good for my own well being, and for contributing to the creation of a peaceful atmosphere wherever I am, whenever required.

To have faith is to have the ability to bring solutions. 

Faith enables me to see the positive aspect both in myself and in fate. Whatever happens, it is surely for my benefit and I only need to work at adopting that benefit into my life. Faith makes me free from worry. And a mind that doesn't worry is a mind that is powerful. I can then surely bring solutions even in the biggest problem. Today I will pick up a problem that has been bothering me from a long time. First I will tell myself that I am sure there is a solution for this problem. I will also believe that I have the ability to bring about the solution. After talking to myself in this way, I will try and find at least one thing that I can do to change the situation. It need not be a full solution but at least a step towards a change for the better.

Message for the day

The one with zeal and enthusiasm is constantly tireless. 

Expression: Zeal and enthusiasm brings the willingness to move forward under all circumstances. Never are there are any excuses given, whatever the difficult situations or challenges that one might be faced with. Instead whatever has to be done is done without any tiredness. Also the best is made out of all situations. 

Experience: When I am able to be enthusiastic under all circumstances, I am able to be tireless. This tirelessness gives me the courage to move on and experience constant success. I become aware of my own resources and make the best use of them. So I also experience internal progress, constantly. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 19, 2016: The Secret of Good Health

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 19, 2016: The Secret of Good Health

The Secret of Good Health

The secret of good health is good nourishment and exercise. We need daily nourishing food and exercise to maintain a healthy body and it takes care and attention to fulfil this responsibility. Making the effort underlines our value and importance as a human being. However, the human spirit needs the same attention in the form of the thoughts we have and how the mind puts them to use. Feeding both body and mind with nourishing food gives a powerful and consistent message to respect and co-operate with one another. This is holistic good health.

Going Beyond False Identifications

The more I identify with the physical factors of my life, the more I become a prisoner to my destiny or the various up and downs of my life. E.g. if my self-respect is attached to my beautiful new car, how will I feel about myself when the car becomes old and its beauty and shine reduce? Or if I my car is stolen or gets immensely damaged in a road accident? Then, I shall find myself in an identity crisis. The same will be true if my business or job is everything to me. If one day, I am in a good financial state and I enjoy a very respectable and dominant position, and the next day I find myself in a dispute in my profession and I suddenly lose all of that, and nobody wants to know me, I will feel as if I have lost my soul and have almost died. The problem is sometimes so great that people do, literally, lose their desire to live. It happens, too, in relationships, when your partner leaves you either due to a separation, a divorce or even death - a partner in whom you have invested all your love and emotions. Or if my identity is tied to my back balance or property, and suddenly I am broke.

All of these are actually false identifications, and the crazy part of living this way is that I can never be satisfied, even if I succeed in maintaining my false identity. These kind of false identifications do not keep me placed stably on my seat of self-respect and either bring about an inferiority complex or a superiority complex - both of which are false, so both bring insecurity. Even while I am externally successful, having my identity based on that success means I am a slave to them. I've handed over my self-esteem to them. I become addicted to it.

To experience power I need to experience inner silence. 

During conflicts, there is a tendency to either get very vocal or to become silent. Both really don't work, because just to be silent and not speak anything is not sufficient, but it is more important for the mind to be silent. Otherwise, there would be no power in that. So, I need to work on making my mind silent. So, today let me sit for a minute in silence and practice feeling the stillness within. Let me repeat this practice 3 times at least. If there is chaos within, how can I expect calm and peace outside?

Message for the day

The method to finish a weakness is to be detached from it. 

Expression: When there is some weakness working within that has to be overcome, it is very essential for one to get detached from it that means not to identify with the weakness. If there is identification with the weakness, it is further strengthened and there is the inability to get rid of it. Since it is there in the consciousness, it is visible in the words and actions too. 

Experience: When I am free from the identification with the weakness, I am able to bring about a change very quickly. I find it very easy to stabilise myself in the awareness of my strength and allow that strength to be revealed in all my words and actions. There is no heaviness of the weakness nor is there the feeling of having to give up something, but transformation takes place very easily. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 18, 2016: Conflict Resolution

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 18, 2016: Conflict Resolution

Mikhail Gorbachev, President of USSR and Ronald Reagan, President of USA -1986

Conflict Resolution

Do you feel resentment towards another?
Are you willing to resolve this conflict?

What attitudes are preventing you from making peace?
Do you want to teach them a lesson?  Or do you think that they started it, so they should resolve the conflict?

Why not be the one who takes the first step towards peace and consider resolving a conflict.  Just remember, there is always a solution, if you really want to find one.

Enjoying My Stay Inside The Physical Body

An interesting comparison to understand clearly the relationship between the soul and the body is that the soul is the resident of a house or an apartment which is the physical body. It's the awareness of who is the resident living, which is separate from where he is living. I need to realize, that like a resident of a house cannot be the house; he does not and cannot identify with the place in which he resides; in much the same way, I am not my body, the place in which I reside, but I am a resident. A resident of a physical house may or may not stay in the house for 24 hours, depending on his/her role. But I, as a spiritual resident of this physical body spend all my time inside it, in fact a complete lifetime, then I move in to another house or apartment. Since I spend so much time inside it, I need to maintain the body, take care of its upkeep and the kind of physical and spiritual atmosphere that exists inside it. When I keep it clean, fresh and vibrant, only then can I live in it comfortably.

Do not forget, there's plenty of rubbish and dirt waiting to enter the apartment. My apartment's windows are my eyes and ears, through which rubbish can come in. This rubbish can be in the form of negative information, scenes, images and words. Rubbish dirties the resident, in this case my consciousness, taking me away from my true, positive, spiritual state. My nose, facing outwards, is like the front door of my apartment: it's the first part of me that faces the world. If harsh winds of difficult circumstances blow, and I don’t know how to protect myself, I will catch a cold or fall sick i.e. my front door will be harmed and I’ll become vulnerable. The living room of the apartment is my tongue which makes the first impression on anyone, whether it be positive or negative. There will be constant attacks on our windows, doors, living room, etc. But if I am aware and alert, I will keep my house in order. If any rubbish does get in, I need to soon clean it out again, so that the atmosphere inside the house remains positive and I, the resident can enjoy my stay in it.

To experience power I need to experience inner silence. 

During conflicts, there is a tendency to either get very vocal or to become silent. Both really don't work, because just to be silent and not speak anything is not sufficient, but it is more important for the mind to be silent. Otherwise, there would be no power in that. So, I need to work on making my mind silent. So, today let me sit for a minute in silence and practice feeling the stillness within. Let me repeat this practice 3 times at least. If there is chaos within, how can I expect calm and peace outside?

Message for the day

Greatness lies in revealing one's own speciality. 

Expression: Greatness means recognising one's own speciality and being a donor with it. It also means being royal and great in what is given to the mind - that means giving the mind only the positive. When there is greatness in this way there is speciality and uniqueness seen in every act of mine. 

Experience: When I am able to perceive my inner greatness, I am able to be content because there are no expectations, but there's only a feeling of being a giver. I find myself to be light and easy and enjoying each moment of my life, slowly moving towards perfection. I am also able to attain the blessings and good wishes from others. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 17, 2016: Say Goodbye

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 17, 2016: Say Goodbye

Say Goodbye

The most powerful anchor on our potential to soar high in life is the past. The past contains the dead weight of experience, learned beliefs and all our mistakes. Life cannot truly begin until we are able to say goodbye to the legacies of yesterday at will. Like a filing cabinet, the past is a resource of information for learning, but it is not a place to live. When you go to work do you spend your day in the filing cabinet? How often will you/did you live in the past today? Say goodbye and make it final. Saying farewell to yesterday, last month and last year is the sign of a person who wants to live for today and is truly alive to all the possibilities of “the moment”, while fully aware that all they think, say and do right now, creates tomorrow.

Accept Change, Don’t Resist It (Part 3)

The third power shared by the Brahma Kumaris to Mr. Rai was the power to let go of all the memories of the negative events that he had been exposed to, since childhood, by taking out time to indulge in pure service in his corporate circle - share all that he had learnt at the Brahma Kumaris with one person everyday. He made a principle of his life called Each One Teach One Each Day. This became his hobby and all the negative incidents that were negating (reducing) his ability to perceive positively a negative situation and as a result accepting it were pushed in the backgrounds of his consciousness and he became a new person, from one with a cupboard full of files of a negative past to one with an unfilled cupboard eager to fill new positive experiences in itself, which would help him in crossing an uncertain present and constructing a positive future.

Also, another power to achieve success in the change of perception and then accept was the power to think correctly based on beliefs based on spiritual truths e.g. the belief - I will be unable to emerge victorious over this negative event in my life was replaced by – Every negative situation is a boon or blessing to achieve significant transformation in the self and to bring about progress on a spiritual level, which is not possible without the existence of the negative event. These spiritual truths were a part of the complete spiritual knowledge of the Brahma Kumaris which is in the form of a week-long, an hour per day, introductory study course, which Mr. Rai undertook.

The last power was the power of an everyday morning input of holistic and pure knowledge after the week-long introductory course was undertaken, at the nearest centre of the Brahma Kumaris, which as discussed earlier went a long way in creating an environment inside Mr. Rai’s spiritual self, where positive perceptions surface inside the conscious mind and also settle in the sub-conscious mind and getting over the sorrow connected with the worst of circumstances became easy.

The Five Senses

Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are the five senses. 
Your senses are connected to your mind.

Anything negative they pick up or generate will disturb the mind's workings. Your senses can over-stimulate, over-load and over-tire your mind.

To maintain peace of mind, use your five senses more sensibly!

Message for the day

To receive respect from others comes more with responsibility than as a right. 
Expression: The one who gets respect is the one who becomes worthy of it rather than the one who just expects it. True respect comes from how well a task is done rather than what is done. The more one's speciality is expressed, the more one becomes worthy of respect. 

Experience: When I go on giving my best in whatever is expected of me, I will start receiving respect from those around me. I will then never expect from others but will naturally be able to give respect to all. This further makes me earn their love and regard. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 16, 2016: Traffic Control Your Mind

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 16, 2016: Traffic Control Your Mind

Traffic jams of Mumbai

Traffic Control Your Mind

The mind thinks many thoughts, leading us in different directions.  No wonder there is so much chaos in the mind, creating traffic jams and even a few accidents!

Now imagine the state of the roads if we didn't have any traffic controlling mechanisms!  So, what's needed is a traffic control system for our mind.

At regular intervals throughout the day, stop and control the traffic of your mind.  Change negative to positive.  Where there are waste thoughts, put a full stop and let it go.

Accept Change, Don’t Resist It (Part 2)

Taking the message further from yesterday’s example of Mr. Rai, who resisted change, accepting a difficult situation wasn’t easy in his case, which is a real case of a person who was impressed by the teachings of the Brahma Kumaris. He was given a five point spiritual power formula by one of the sisters of the Brahma Kumaris, who was playing a role of spiritual service at one of the Brahma Kumaris centres. Mr. Rai later shared his experience as to how the five powers had helped him reshape his perception into a positive one and as a result accept a life-strangling situation.

The first power was the power to transform one’s thoughts as per one’s own desires using the power of meditation, which at the Brahma Kumaris, is a connection between two minds – your own mind and the mind of a higher potent (powerful) force – the fountain of spiritual strength – God. This connection is commonly called manmanabhav in the Gita, which means connect your mind to me, where me refers to God, the Supreme Being of spiritual light and might, invisible to the physical eyes but visible to the eye of spiritual wisdom or what we call third eye. This connection causes spiritual energy in its purest form harnessed (taken) from God and flows into one’s sanskaras and works on the sanskara of thinking too much, when faced with a difficult situation. All the spiritual wisdom in the world, which can be found in thousands of books of the famous authors on self-management of our times, cannot change our way of thinking, what a few seconds of powerful manmanabhav can do.   

The second power was the power to discriminate between negative and positive information that one is exposed to throughout the day. Very often a negative piece of information received from the daily newspaper can flood the mental perception of a negative and tight situation with confusion and a lack of clarity and cause us to become emotionally disabled or weakened. So, Mr. Rai was given a simple advice – read the newspaper during mid-day or in the evening and not the first thing in the morning; when the mind is not so fresh and the absorption capability of the sub-conscious mind is lower than what it is during the morning.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Tackle your worries effectively, instead of pushing them to the back of your mind. 

Check in with your worries: What am I anticipating? 
Can I do something about it?

If you can't do anything about it, then remind yourself that you'll find a way to handle things when they happen.

If there is something you can do, then do it! 

If you're worried it's going to rain today, then pack an umbrella. If you're worried about a meeting, then plan and prepare well. Do something and stop worrying.

Message for the day

Your humility enables people to realize their mistakes and correct themselves. 

Expression: 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. 

Experience: 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: April 15, 2016: Aim High

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 15, 2016: Aim High

Aim High

Each one of us is capable of so much more than we currently believe possible.  Every day, create an aim for yourself.

Rather than aiming at what you know you can do, challenge yourself to aim higher than where you are at right now.

Go on, aim high and set yourself a high standard.  Stretch, and make effort to reach that aim.

Accept Change, Don’t Resist It (Part 1)

Change resistance or the inability to adopt to change is the most common reason for the life stresses that all of us are faced with. There used to be a time when change was not so sudden as it is now, but modern lifestyles have made change so sudden that we have reached a point where change resistance has almost become like a syndrome or illness. There was once a businessman named Mr. Rai (name changed), who was very successful in everything he did, whether it be his profession, relationships, earning wealth, earning a name for himself and with a superb personality. It was all great going until one day came when suddenly the government’s policies bought the stock market crashing down and his company, which he headed – its stocks (shares) took a dip and at the same time the fall in his professional stature saw an egoistic life partner turn away from him out of dissatisfaction. These two downs in his life saw his self esteem nosedive (fall down) to its lowest. Life was not the same again. His teenaged children developed bad habits because of a rocked marriage and Mr. Rai was struggling with the sudden changes in his life so much that he took to drinking excessively and even resort to gambling, causing emotional instability and depression.

This can happen to any of us, a sudden change of fortunes, where suddenly one single negative event, only a single change, can rock your life boat and cause it to become unstable in the life ocean and even sink. What should have Mr. Rai done so that he could have prevented a downslide in his fortunes – from extremely successful, one of the wealthiest and the very best to be seen as unsuccessful. A change of perception you would say. That’s what all self-help books talk about. But how? And here we also throw light on the golden principle of acceptance, which follows the change of perception and also cannot take place without the perception change and is an opposite emotion than the one which we commonly experience – that of resistance, when faced with a difficult situation.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Like a lighthouse, stay stable through the storms of life.

The storms of life may trouble or affect others, but if you maintain hope and light, then your stability provides direction and encouragement to others to move forward.

Message for the day

Fulfill your promise instead of just keeping it in a file and you'll find progress. 
Expression: In all that you do throughout the day, check to what extent you are able to fulfill the promises that you make to yourself. Also check the reason for not being able to fulfill some promise that you have made recently. 

Experience: Think of that promise that you had made to yourself recently that you had not been able to fulfill and think of the reason why you had made that promise and how important it is for you to fulfill that promise. When you practice in this way you'll find yourself getting enthusiastic to fulfill that promise. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 14, 2016: In the library of your mind

Library at St. Florian Monastery in the town of Sankt Florian, Austria

In the library of your mind

Have you ever wondered why libraries have special atmospheres? They are places where many congregate but where silence is the code. Quietness in an atmosphere means there is the presence of quiet minds, and quiet minds are not only relaxed, they can concentrate easily and create more freely.

Imagine you are in the library of your mind, browsing the accumulated wisdom on the shelves of your life - listen to the silence, be aware of the stillness. Now you can really listen. Now you can really hear. Now you can really think. Now you can create. And behold, you are an artist. Did you not know that silence and creativity are lovers?

Adopting A Wiser Perception

Depending on my choice of perception, I may see life as a battleground, where I face a constant battle from morning to night. The constant to and fro between family and work may tire me emotionally and mentally. If I let it and see it that way, life can also itself become the cause or source of my tensions. It may even seem as if the path of life is scattered with rocks blocking my way. Instead of stepping around or over them, I perceive them as being obstacles. The thoughts may come easily to my mind - If it was not for so-and-so or such-and-such, I would be able to.... I may mention the same to my loved ones. Instead of bringing me any benefit, these complaints take me away from the power that I, the soul, have within of changing anything. I simply pass on my capacity to change, to persons or objects over whom or which I obviously have no control.

If I am fortunate to have a wiser perception which spirituality can give me, life can become a great place to learn and grow. Behind seemingly difficult situations are my major lessons. Disguised in routine tasks are the sign boards that point me back towards truth. Relationships that bring with them repeated scenes of negativity with the same person and for the same reasons show me the weaknesses I have to work on. Indeed, until I work on the eradication of my weaknesses, I keep repeating them. Challenges do come, but they help to bring out the best in me. If I have the subtle eyes to see and the courage to go forward... life is a constant experience of reminders and benefits to progress along the road to my highest consciousness.

Do you find yourself apologizing, a little too often? 

Over-apologizing can reflect a lack of self-confidence and, as a result, lower your impact and influence.

Cut down on unnecessary apologies. Express yourself assertively and politely, without devaluing yourself.

Apologizing is important. Know when it's appropriate to apologize, and make your apology sincere by not repeating similar mistakes in the future.

Message for the day

The one who is responsible is the one who is always light. 

Expression: To be responsible means to do everything with the best of one's ability. It comes with the recognition and the understanding of the importance of the task. No action is wasted, but everything meaningfully connects to the fulfillment of the task. So there are not even ordinary actions, but only those that are meaningful. 

Experience: When I take up every task that I need to do with full responsibility, I am able to give my best. Then I will be able to be light having done my task well and in time. There is never the pressure of work, but there is plenty of time for the self and for others. I also find my inner resources being used to the fullest extent. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris