Daily Positive Thoughts: July 18, 2016: Get Grateful Now

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 18, 2016: Get Grateful Now

Get Grateful Now

Even when you feel as though things aren't going well in your life, you have reasons to be grateful. Today, take time to appreciate the gift of life and all its wonders. Count your blessings and cherish what you have.

The Law of Cause and Effect (Part 2)

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 focuses primarily on the Law of Cause and Effect (explained yesterday), 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.

Carry on

When little children stumble and fall, they may cry for a bit, 
but then they stand up and carry on. In the same way, we too have to be persistent like little children.

Get over your embarrassment and self-consciousness. 
Pick yourself up and carry on.

Message for the day

It is on the basis of actions that praise is received. 
Expression: The one who only talks but is not able to put his talk into practice does not become worthy of praise. On the other hand, the one who is able to bring his good thoughts and words into action becomes worthy of praise. Such a person's actions become inspirational for others and encourage them to follow him. 

Experience: When I am able to act according to my thoughts and words, I am able to take inspiration to do more. For every positive action that I do, I experience support and good wishes from others which encourage me constantly. My account of positivity is always full and it takes me further to a cycle of positivity making it a habit. So I find that I don't have to work hard for performing positive actions. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 17, 2016: Canned Success

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 17, 2016: Canned Success

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa (L) runs next to Greg Nixon of the US

Both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win a non-disabled world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.

Canned Success

Success comes in cans, failure in cant's.

The Law of Cause and Effect (Part 1)

To imagine how the law of karma works, consider what happens when we throw a stone into a lake: it causes ripples that spread out towards the shoreline, before returning to the center point.

Human beings constantly emit energy. We create thoughts, emotions and feelings that transmit vibrations. There are people who tend to radiate energy and others who tend to absorb it. The energy we give off hits other people and rebounds back to us. From this law we should understand that if people send us energy that is not very pleasant, perhaps it is because on another occasion we sent out this type of energy, although it may have taken a long time to come back to us.

If we make an effort to give off positive energy, with love and respect for others, this energy will also come back to us. Positive energy creates a higher vibration than negative energy. Radiating positive energy produces an aura around us that protects us from negativity or from feeling hurt or humiliated. Our ego, which causes the radiation of negative energy, makes us susceptible to criticism, lack of respect and slander. If our ego does not take over, the negativity will not touch our inner selves.

Tomorrow we shall explain the benefits of realizing this law.

To have the right understanding is to have the ability to finish the past. 

What happened in the past continues to bother me, unless I make an attempt to resolve it. When I bring understanding to the incident, I am able to finish the pain of the past. That means I need to learn something from it, or see some benefit that has come from it. Either way, once I resolve, I would find myself moving forward with lightness, without the burden from the past. Today I will resolve one thing of the past that is bothering me. I will take some time and try and bring meaning to what happened. There is surely something that it was trying to teach, if I am open to learning. So, today I will get to the bottom of the situation and take the learning.

Message for the day

Understanding brings happiness. 

Expression: Happiness lies in understanding the secret of whatever is happening. When one is able to remain happy in this way, he is able to spread this happiness to those around too, influencing the lives of all. 

Experience: When I am able to remain happy under all circumstances, I am able to be free from the influence of others' negativity. Instead I will be able to become a major source of positive influence to those around me.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 16, 2016: True Determination

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 16, 2016: True Determination

True Determination

When the quality of the mind - peace, happiness, depth, purity - can remain still and uninterrupted by the bumps of life, that is true determination. Inverted determination is battering at life from the outside, trying to change what is visible.

A Gauge To Check How Spiritually Powerful Am I

The territory of spiritual understanding is both infinite and unlimited.   Simply put, spirituality can be defined as the rediscovery of the deepest values, virtues, positive sanskars or characteristics of the human soul.   The innate attributes or characteristics of the soul (peace, love, truth, purity and happiness) give the soul its power. The power of the soul cannot be quantified either on a physical or a non-physical level. The power can only be experienced and revealed to the self and others through the quality of the above characteristics and the different forms they are given by the soul itself.  

For a practitioner of meditation, whether a beginner or an experienced once, patience and a gentle persistence guarantee two aspects of self-progress (in varying degrees in different souls):

1. rediscovery and revelation or expression of one's spiritual attributes and secondly, but very importantly

2. the ability to give them an appropriate form internally or externally, depending on the requirement of the situation.

A particular soul might be good at both aspects, another one very good at the first aspect and not so good at the second one.  When we choose to be peaceful, we reconnect with our inner peace and create the spiritual form of peace within our self. This form created is different for different souls, depending on how powerful the soul is. So what is the quality of that form, what is the quality of our peace?   Is it a superficial quality that is easily disturbed with unexpected changes in our external circumstances, or is it a deep peace which is stable even in the face of fierce criticism from others? Only we know the quality of our spiritual forms.

To be a light house is to show others the right path. 

                                 

A light house is one which is stable even in the worst storm. When I am able to have this quality of stability, I will be able to show others the right path in all kinds of circumstances. The negativity of the situation may trouble or affect others, but I continue to provide the right direction to all. Today I will give hope to someone who is hopeless. I will provide support, direction or encouragement to help this person move forward. I will also ensure that I am moving forward too, learning from all situations.

Message for the day

You'll be able to do your best when you have respect for the tasks that you are involved in. 

Expression: Even the smallest task that you do becomes special when you understand why you are doing it. It then enables you to have respect for whatever you do. When you work with this respect you'll automatically do the best. 

Experience: Check what your feelings are in all the tasks that you are involved in throughout the day. In case you find any task as unimportant don't do it. Also tell yourself at the beginning of the day that today you will take the time to do everything properly. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 15, 2016: The Secret of Immeasurable Wealth

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 15, 2016: The Secret of Immeasurable Wealth

The Nobel Prize, first awarded in 1901, was created by the Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, in Oslo, Norway. The tradition continues to this day.

The Secret of Immeasurable Wealth

The secret of immeasurable wealth is to need less. The wealthiest human beings ultimately give away vast amounts of the money that they have spent half their lifetime acquiring; this suggests that the motivation behind all their efforts was not the pursuit of wealth but something else. The need to prove something to oneself, for instance?  Replace need - whether it be at an emotional or physical level - with an unshakeable faith in one's self and in God. Neither will ever let you down, if you hold fast to this faith.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 4)

The third mirror is the mirror of your own thoughts, words and actions – What you think and feel about yourself and others is invisible to others and only you know what it is. But you radiate your thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes through your facial expressions, your eyes, your words, your body language and your actions when you interact with others. That way your words and your actions act as a mirror in which to see yourself. You achieve this when you are a detached observer and you become aware of your responses, your reactions and how you express what arises from within you. This awareness of being an observer needs to be maintained sub-consciously throughout the day and consciously in the night by filling a daily chart before sleeping, on any three personality traits of your choice. Your main weaknesses or strengths you want to enhance should be included in the chart. We have explained the different types of traits that can be covered in a daily chart in our older messages. You could either evaluate these personality traits with a yes or no or perform a percentage wise evaluation like 50% or 80% for e.g. So it is a good practice to look into this mirror once in the night, before sleeping. This mirror will give you a review of the day that has gone by and make you careful for the next day. The daily chart is useful for this purpose. Filling a daily chart does not take more than a few seconds.

Finally and most importantly, always do remember that those who use these three mirrors actively and use them well to ensure that their internal self looks good and beautiful all the time become living mirrors for others. People who come in contact with them are able to see accurately what their internal self looks like. On seeing how beautiful and perfect they are, other people quickly realize their shortcomings or weaknesses and also take inspiration to become as beautiful, clean and virtuous beings as them.

True Compassion

Compassion in action is to stay in a positive emotion whilst understanding where the other person is at.

Compassion in action is to help others move from pain or suffering to joy or happiness, without absorbing their pain.

Message for the day

The power of transformation brings all attainments 

Expression: When there is the ability to transform negative into positive, and waste into useful in a second there is the ability to be useful for the self and others. There would not be just complaints against the situation, but the best would be made out of all situations and move on to the aim set out. 

Experience: When I am able to use the power of transformation to finish negative and waste, I am able to experience being free from obstacles. So I am able to experience contentment under all circumstances for having made the best use of everything available. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 14, 2016: Meditation

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 14, 2016: Meditation

Meditation

Meditation is the process of getting to know yourself completely, both who you are inside and how you react to what is outside. Above all, meditation is enjoying yourself in the literal sense of the word. Through meditation, you discover a very different "me" from perhaps the stressed or troubled person, who may seem superficially to be "me". You realize that your true nature, the real you, is actually very positive. You begin to discover an ocean of peace right on your doorstep.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 3)

In the last two days’ messages, we have explained the first mirror for inner beauty.

The second mirror is the mirror of meditation – In the silence of meditation which is a connection or the experience of a relationship with the inner self and the Supreme Soul, each day you come close to and dive deep into both of them. When you create powerful, positive thoughts about the self and you also visualize your true spiritual self, you feel and experience your true virtuous being, what you are - radiant and free of all influences. That experience helps you to see yourself as you really are and in contrast to how you are now. Perhaps you feel peaceless, disturbed and dejected today, but by creating thoughts of peace and contentment in meditation you quickly realize that in reality that is your true nature. In that way, it serves as a mirror for self-realization and checking and changing. When you visualize the Supreme Soul during meditation and experience His virtues, it helps you to see and quickly realize yourself in contrast to Him and make the required changes in yourself because the child should reflect the qualities of the Father.

So a good practice then is to look into this mirror and check yourself once in the morning before the day’s activities and once before sleeping for 10 minutes each time. Also, since this is the most powerful mirror, it is extremely vital to carry this mirror with you throughout the day and check yourself in it for one minute after every hour. This may sound too much time given to the inner self to many, but all of us are aware that like an untidy, unkempt external self is not pleasing to the self and does not create a favorable impression on those who come in contact with us, in the same way that applies to the inner self also.  So one minute spent in looking into this mirror and doing some self-introspection and checking and changing will keep us looking good for the next fifty nine minutes and if we do mess up internally during those fifty nine minutes, then corrections can be made quickly in the next one minute break – it’s as simple as that.

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

Be Optimistic

If you have the habit of seeing things from a pessimistic viewpoint, 

then all you need to do is broaden your scope for a moment and step outside of your negative perspective.

View the situation from a different light. See the opportunity in every difficulty, not the difficulty in every opportunity. 

Focus on the possibilities and not the impossibilities.

Be more optimistic and you'll be healthier and less stressed than when you were a pessimist.

Message for the day

To be free from guilt means to ensure quick and easy progress. 
Expression: Blaming oneself for all that happens and taking the mind to extreme levels of guilt takes one to a sense of unworthiness. Such a person loses the strength and is unable to look for solutions in difficult situations. Hence there is nothing new that can be thought of, and the situation doesn't get any better. 

Experience: When I continue to blame myself, I believe that I deserve neither happiness nor love and that the sorrow that I am experiencing is a deserved punishment. So I lose all enthusiasm to improve the situation and have no awareness of the treasures that I have. So I experience no progress in my life. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 13, 2016: Sparks of Purity

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 13, 2016: Sparks of Purity

“The Nightingale and the Wild Rose” Artist : Kitty Grimm

Sparks of Purity

Words! They are all around me! I see them. I use them. Harsh words, soothing words, biting words; words that give pain and sorrow; words that give joy and pleasure. They are vital to communication. When words are spoken there are reactions, negative or positive.  Either thoughts are triggered or emotions fired or actions performed. Words colour our behaviour. And how lovely it is to hear words that are calm and free from rancour and aggression. To hear words that lift the soul and leave it with renewed vigour. Such words are the sparks of purity. It is important to remember that my speech indicates what is in my mind. As the thinking, so the words uttered. Mental calmness makes my words calm. A pure mind makes for pure words. It is said that speech may exalt someone to kingship or send him to the gallows. I should never let myself indulge in false, bitter and vicious speech. My words should reflect my true, inner nature, that of purity and peace. Words, once spoken, can never be recalled. They reverberate all around, beyond our control. Today, as I utter words, what effect will they have on those who hear them? Will they be the words that are poisonous and cause pain? Or will my tongue be like that of the nightingale, sweet and so, so very soothing and lovely to the ear?

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 2)

In yesterday's message, we had discussed the first mirror, the mirror of spiritual knowledge. Elaborating further, this mirror will also show you the Supreme Soul and it will remind you about His virtues and actions which will help you check where you stand in comparison to Him in terms of virtues and actions and will influence you to follow him by imbibing those virtues and performing actions in the similar way. Lastly this mirror will remind you of your relationship with the Supreme and forging a deep and personal connection with Him in different ways which will benefit you and others.

The knowledge read every morning will help you see and realize what mistakes you have committed in the last 24 hours while performing actions and also in maintaining a connection with the Supreme and also see what you have done positively in the same regard during the same time, which will encourage you further to do the same in the future. The mirror of knowledge will also help you remain careful for the day ahead and perform actions and experience a relationship with the Supreme based on what you have read. It is a common experience of a lot of people that the spiritual knowledge read in the morning is always what the need of the moment for them is. The spiritual knowledge read is very commonly an exact reflection of the activities and mental state of your last 24 hours and/or something which you require for the coming day for the self, for your relationships, for facing different types of obstacles in your personal and professional life. This is the Law of Spiritual Attraction that works in each one's life, but to different extents. Our consciousness and inner requirements attract towards us the spiritual knowledge of a similar nature.

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

Willpower is what keeps you on track.

 
Willpower is what stops you from giving in to temptations.

So, strengthen your willpower, not by removing the temptations but by facing them and choosing not to give in!

The next time you find yourself lacking in willpower, refocus on your aim and why you want to achieve it. 

Remind yourself: I am in control of my choices.

 
I am in charge of my behaviour. I am the master of my life.

Message for the day

The ones who see specialities become special. 
Expression: To see specialities and ignore negativity is to take a step ahead by imbibing those specialities. This creates a habit of seeing, taking in and expressing only positive qualities. So whatever the person may be, whatever his qualities may be, there is only a connection of positivity with him. 

Experience: When I am able to relate to everyone in this way with only specialities, I become special. I also find others responding positively to me and using only their speicialities while in contact with me. There are also a lot of good wishes that I receive from others because of my positive attitude. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 12, 2016: A Free Mind

Daily Positive Thoughts: July 12, 2016: A Free Mind

Artist: Claudia Tremblay

 

A Free Mind

A free mind is a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing. Most people spend much of their time looking for reasons to be offended. An open mind is never offended because it is free of any attachments. It is never the self that is offended but always the illusion that the self has of itself that is affected by insult! If you can really understand this, deeply grasp its truth, live it each day, then pain will be no more. Next time you ‘feel’ offended look closely within yourself at yourself and ask yourself what was offended? If you remain aware you will see that it was only an image of yourself which you had become attached to, and that image did not resonate with the image contained in the insult. If you weren’t attached, if you didn’t identify with the wrong image of yourself then there would be no offence taken. You would then remain free and therefore happy.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 1)

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? are famous words. To check our external beauty or tidiness, we look into the mirror on the wall each day. But on a mental, emotional and spiritual level, what is the mirror that helps you to see if there is anything wrong with your inner face or self or to realize what is happening to you and what you have to do to maintain your inner fairness or beauty?

There are three types of mirrors, which one can use to see or check the internal self:

The first mirror is the mirror of spiritual knowledge – Spiritual knowledge is the knowledge related to spiritual self-development i.e. of the soul and also of the Supreme Soul. Each day, in the morning, you can look into this mirror for 5 minutes at least. Looking into this mirror means listening to or reading a piece of spiritual knowledge for at least 5 minutes that connects you to your inner essence, increases your emotional and spiritual intelligence as well as reminds you of your true purpose.

You will see yourself very clearly in this mirror as this mirror will show you:
- the knowledge of the original and ideal virtues of the soul like peace, love, bliss, purity, power, joy etc.;
- how these virtues can be imbibed in the self to benefit the self and others;
- the knowledge of the different types of weaknesses that can arise in the soul like anger, greed, ego, hatred, fear, attachment, jealousy, sorrow, etc., the roots of all which lie in mis-identification with the physical self and forgetting the spiritual self and how these weaknesses can harm the self and others;
- the knowledge of overcoming these weaknesses.

All of these things which you see in the mirror will help you to check where you stand in comparison to the right code of conduct for thoughts, feelings, attitudes, emotions, words and actions, where you are going wrong and how you can make the required corrections in the same. On looking into this mirror you will be reminded of the Law of Karma (the Law of Action and Reaction), which will motivate you to make these corrections.

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

To be in the present is to experience the beauty of who I am. 

Life takes place in the present moment; past and future exist only in our imagination right now. So, I need to experience the present moment. Past and future can hold threats or negative experiences. But the present offers only the beauty of this moment. When I experience the joy of this moment, I would be able to experience and express my inner qualities. Today I will spend at least a few minutes to relish the experience of being in the now. I will feel the flow of energy in my body and the beauty of thoughts in my mind. I will relish the joy of being alive, the joy of having the ability to express and experience who I am and what I can do. Just for these few minutes, I will keep aside what happened yesterday and what would happen tomorrow.

Message for the day

To be victorious means to pass obstacles with ease. 

Expression: The ones who aim to become victorious never think of not being faced with obstacles. Instead they look at each obstacle as a chance to use and express their own inner powers. So there is constant progress visible in them. 

Experience: When I am prepared for the inevitable challenges that life brings, I will not experience fear, tension or anxiety but will always be confident and fearless. Apart from actually being victorious in the situation, I also experience winning over my weaknesses and discovering new powers within me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris