Daily Positive Thoughts: November 12, 2016: Living in Peace

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 12, 2016: Living in Peace

Living in Peace

In order to live in peace, try not depend on anyone and at the same time try to help others not to depend on you. Help them become independent, free and responsible for their lives. In the same way, ensure you do not cause anyone sorrow, and do not allow others to be a source of hurt for you.

The Spiritual Concept Of Becoming A Trustee (Part 3)

In the physical world, one common example of a trustee is when a multi-millionaire does not have any heirs, he or she will leave his or wealth in the hands of a trustee or a group of trustees, to ensure the right use of his/her wealth as per his/her last wish. Another common example is of trustees associated with temples and welfare organizations. All the wealth and ornaments that devotees offer in temples out of faith, love and devotion for God or all the wealth and property that people give in charity to welfare organizations is taken care of by a group of trustees. In all these cases and more, while taking care of the wealth, honest trustees always keep the consciousness that this is not their wealth or property and will always use it in the right way, as they have been directed. This is called keeping the trust of the owner/owners of the wealth, hence the word trustee.

In this way, now as a trustee, throughout the day I keep a consciousness that the treasures of my mind, my thoughts, words, actions, virtues, powers, time, my physical wealth, physical body etc. are the Supreme Being’s property and I have been appointed as a trustee to take care of them. In this way, I will use these treasures in a positive way, for a positive purpose (as mentioned earlier for a purpose of bringing myself and other close to a state of truth) only; in a way the Supreme Being wants me to and has instructed me to do so. This establishes a relationship of detachment with the treasures I possess and also brings about my spiritual self-growth.

To celebrate achievements is to get the motivation to do more. 

Normally, we expect great achievements from ourselves or from what life offers. As soon as we sow a seed, we expect instant fruits. In fact, that is not possible. We need to first celebrate small little achievements, which will of course lead us to bigger things. But, first it is important to acknowledge those little steps and appreciate them. Then, I will be able to enjoy the journey of life. Today I will move forward. Whatever is my aim, I will make effort to go one step closer to it. Today I will do something to take me closer. Not only that, I will also watch with detachment and see the beauty of my journey and the milestones I have already achieved. So, today I will take the inspiration to keep moving forward.

Message for the day

To have the awareness of being God's instrument is to bring about a positive change.

Expression: When there is the awareness of being an instrument of God, there would be the desire to do the best and be the best. So each and every thing I do would be for the improvement for the self. Due to this there would be divinity and specialty seen in everything that is done. This would also bring the awareness of all the resources and they would also be used in a worthwhile way. 

Experience: When I am aware of my own role and what I contribute through my specialties, I recognize the fact that I am a beautiful instrument of God. This awareness naturally helps me be in my state of self-respect under all circumstances. I find myself giving my best and making myself more and more beautiful within. So I find that I am able to bring about a positive change with great ease. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 11, 2016: Unshakable

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 11, 2016: Unshakable

Mount Pinatubo eruption in the PHILIPPINES, 1991

Unshakable

If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, these adverse situations that look like they could bury us, have within them the very real potential to make us unshakable.

The Spiritual Concept Of Becoming A Trustee (Part 2)

While it’s important to realize that the treasures mentioned in yesterday’s message are my treasures and they possess immense potential since they help me grow spiritually by their right use, it is also important to maintain a relationship of detachment with them, because we live with these treasures all the time and it is very easy to get caught up with them and become attached to them. Where there is attachment, there develops ego and the treasures start getting misused. An important concept in this regard is that of trusteeship. The Supreme Being while sharing the knowledge of these treasures and the method of using them, also shares, that for our benefit, once we realize what these treasures are, we should surrender these treasures to Him. This is an invisible or non-physical surrender, not a physical or visible one.

Once these treasures are surrendered to Him, unlike worldly surrenders, the treasures don’t remain with Him, because being an Unlimited Donor and being Incorporeal (bodiless), the Supreme doesn’t keep them with Himself and returns them back to us. Anyways, the surrender is deep but is on a mental level and not on a physical one. But, while returning the treasures back, the Supreme Being presents a condition in front of us. He says that since these treasures now no longer belong to us, we need to remove any sense of ownership over them and become a trustee while taking care of and using these treasures only for the purpose instructed by Him, the purpose of bringing the self and others closer to a state of truth (as explained in yesterday’s message). The word trustee comes from the word trust. In this case the Supreme Being says that He wishes and hopes that we keep His trust and don’t breach it at any cost, at any point of time, in taking care of and using His treasures, because don’t forget, although the treasures are with us, there are no longer ours.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

To recognize my own uniqueness is to bring beauty to all I do. 

Each one is unique and special and so am I. when I recognize the beauty of who I am, and what I can contribute, I will be able to appreciate myself. This is not ego, but it is talking positively to the self, encouraging and motivating to discover further specialties. When I learn to appreciate myself, I will also have the humility to learn from everything that happens in life. Today I will appreciate myself. I believe I am like a jewel. No matter where I am, whether in a box or in a gold ornament, my worth remains the same. So, today I will recognize my own worth and make time to appreciate it in all I do.

Message for the day

True honesty to the self brings the power to bring about change. 
Expression: To be honest is not just to be truthful. It is more to be honest with the self. The one who is honest with the self constantly has the aim of bringing about a change for the better. Each situation is used as a chance for the betterment of the self. So there is always the aim not to repeat the mistakes that are committed once. 

Experience: When I am honest with myself I am able to feel the constant progress and experience the happiness of moving forward under all circumstances. I have the power to understand the situation, not just from my point of view, but more in a detached way. So I am able to understand and accept whatever the situation holds for me and learn from it humbly. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 10, 2016: Think BIG

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 10, 2016: Think BIG

The Highlands of Iceland

 Think BIG

Rise above little things. Be a big thinker. You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, dream big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, image big, love big, live big. Carry that list and you'll start feeling big. Be a believer and you'll be an achiever.

The Spiritual Concept Of Becoming A Trustee (Part 1)

Spirituality introduces to us a very beautiful concept of trusteeship. At first, I realize that as a spiritual being or soul, I possess the treasures of my mind, my thoughts, words, actions, virtues, powers, time, physical wealth, etc. Even my physical body is a treasure. While I may have many a times misused these treasures earlier, now I learn how to use them correctly for my spiritual upliftment or the long term benefit of me, the soul. As per the Supreme Being’s instructions, I use these treasures for a positive purpose of bringing not only myself but others also, closer to a state of truth, a state in which the soul experiences its original virtues of peace, love, joy, purity, power, wisdom, etc. By doing that, I, in return, experience spiritual self-growth.

Each time I deviate from this purpose, I come down spiritually, or I do not grow spiritually. This is a different type of existence as compared to before when I did not even realize that these were treasures in the first place. A treasure can be defined as something of immense value. So, these physical and spiritual energies or resources (mentioned above) which I own or possess, become treasures because by the right use of them towards myself and others, I can increase my value. Here we refer primarily to the spiritual self’s value. Once that is increased, the physical self’s value also increases as a result.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Do everything with love and love everything you do!

From the mundane chores to the projects that really interest you.

Do everything with love, and you're able to accomplish the task with ease, simply because there's no anxiety or tension about what you have to do.

Love everything you do, and you transform work into entertainment. And when you're enjoying yourself, others will want to be involved in everything you do.

Message for the day

The one who has the courage to face is the one who can bring about a change. 
Expression: When there is a challenge which brings out a negative response, there is an immediate desire to move away from the situation so that the negativity finishes. But the real challenge is not the situation itself, but the expression of a weakness within. The one who has the courage to face this weakness and work on it is able to bring about a change accordingly. 

Experience: When I am able to face the challenge of working on my own weaknesses, instead of moving away from the situation I am able to experience progress at every step. Then there will be no feeling of helplessness but I will be able to have full control on the situation. So there is the ability to learn from each situation and move forward constantly. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 09, 2016: Enjoy Everything You Do

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 09, 2016: Enjoy Everything You Do

The Four Seasons Garden in England, has been coined as one of the most beautiful home gardens in the world, containing over 3,000 plants in a small space of 9,900 sq. ft.  

Enjoy Everything You Do

Most of our time goes into pleasing others and making them happy. Often despite our best efforts we find that people do not appreciate what we have done. When we have tried hard to please someone we feel disheartened and upset. Whatever I do is for myself. When I recognize this fact, I will never do anything just to please others. When I am content with the effort I put in, I will never be dependent on others' recognition of what I have done. When I enjoy everything I do, I will be truly happy. The more contented I am, the more others will start appreciating my effort.

The Energy Of Give And Take In Relationships

Love, more than any other virtue, is an extremely positive energy; it is an invisible prime mover and foundation of each one of our lives, a source of motivation and inspiration. People lacking love in their lives are normally lesser motivated and happier than those who have positive and healthy relationships full of love and an immense amount of love in their lives. But when the same energy of love, possessing immense positive potential, is negatively focused and is not used correctly, it leads to many dependencies which are negative in nature. How?

When you love someone, that could be your parents, your spouse, your children, your siblings, your friends, any relationship for that matter; there is a invisible and positive emotional and mental attraction between you and that person which keeps you connected to him/her, but the moment the love turns into attachment and becomes a dependency, that person starts dominating and controlling your inner world of thoughts, feelings and emotions and your mental and emotional freedom is lost. It is as if your inner world succumbs to the influence of the other person and you are no longer yourself. Everything that goes on inside you and that comes out of you has an impression of the other. This kind of love is not empowering, energizing and healing, because in this kind of love, over a period of time, desires, wants and expectations from the other start emerging. All these emotions place you in a mental mode of taking instead of giving.  Also in such a kind of love, where love is mixed with a desire to possess, over a period of time you start wanting to control the other. From this control, you start exercising a power to influence the other. At first you are under their influence. As more attachment builds up, this is followed shortly by your desire to bring them under your submission and influence them. That way, you feel that you have them and that they belong to you. This is love that wants to take and not give. In this kind of relationship of love, there is suffering and sorrow.  Even if joy exists, it is extremely short lived. Unconditional love or love that only wants to give and not take or expect, strengthens and is healing, it never hurts or inflicts pain on the other.

Adjust unreasonable expectations

Expectations are important. They define our boundaries & ground rules on how we allow others to treat us.

But often we assume others understand our expectations, so when our expectations are not met, we're hurt & disappointed.

To maintain healthy boundaries, learn to communicate expectations clearly & adjust unreasonable expectations.

Message for the day

Accuracy brings perfection and speciality in all that is done. 

Expression: To be accurate means to take up full responsibility for every task and do it to the best of one's ability. That means all resources that one has are used in the best possible way for the best result of the task. This naturally brings perfection in everything that is done.

Experience: When I am accurate in everything I do I am able to be free from carelessness and negligence. I find myself bringing speciality and uniqueness in what I do. For having done things with accuracy, I also find myself becoming trust-worthy and I am also able to be satisfied with myself. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 08, 2016: Trust Yourself

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 08, 2016: Trust Yourself

Trust Yourself

In any relationship trust is the first thing to leave and the last to return. And if you recognize that the most important relationship is with yourself, then perhaps it's time to start some trust building close to home. Make and keep a promise or a commitment to yourself, however small - in fact, start very small! Make one and keep one today, and then notice the surge of inner power as a result. See how much more you like yourself as a result. Trust is being built.

Positive Thought Based Living (Part 3)

A very easy technique of radiating good wishes at the level of the mind is looking at others as a spiritual being of light i.e. looking at the spiritual form of others. We all know from our previous messages that the soul is a spiritual energy which constantly radiates energy to the world. When I look at the star like form of others which is the form of the soul at the centre of the forehead, which is the same as my spiritual form, I radiate my original qualities of peace, love, purity and joy to others. It’s like empowering others with my vision. This again is to be done in complete humility and remembering that the other person is my soul brother and we are children of one Father - God and we share a common bond with Him. Also since we are children of the one Father, we have the same original sanskaras or qualities mentioned above. Every day you meet so many people. Look at them as soul brothers at the centre of the forehead – the sparkling star of spiritual energy, full of pure qualities. This way they will return what you share with them through your vision. God looks at all of us with this type of vision. God has the knowledge of your physical body or role but always looks at your star like spiritual form or the soul, which is your eternal form. The physical costume which we call the human body and the role we play is temporary and keeps changing.
Lastly, never think negative for any person. The busier we become, the more negative we get at times for others because we do not have time for introspection or looking inwards. Very often, we have got into the habit of having a negative mindset especially when we talk to our loved ones or close ones about others. We commonly say such and such person is not so nice and we mention some negative personality characteristic or weakness of the other person or a certain negative way in which he or she has behaved. It is so common.. You come home from office and talk to your family members about all the negative things that took place in your office and all the negative behaviors of everyone there. And all that you talk or discuss far away from the other person on a physical level but it all travels to others on a non-physical level, which creates barriers in relationships. So think positive and think good, spread the energy of positivity to others all the time and enjoy what we call positive thought based living.

Feel Light

When your mind feels heavy, give yourself a moment to let go. 

Like a bird, use the wings of your thoughts to take off, letting go of the branch, the things of the past, the way you thought yesterday...

Rise up into open space and notice the weightlessness of the moment. Notice how seconds don't weigh much as you enjoy the weightlessness and the lightness of your being.

Feeling light, slowly bring your thoughts back down to your surroundings and return your mind to the task at hand.

Message for the day

Contentment brings discipline in life.

Thought to Ponder: To be content is to appreciate everything that is in my life. When I life live well, I will make use of everything that I have. At the same time, I will be open to new things without getting overly ambitious. This will ensure that I respect everything I do. This automatically sets a pattern and a discipline in my life and within this pattern itself there will be margin for new things. 

Point to Practice: Today I will set up my routine for the day. While I set up a routine for the physical tasks that I do, I will also set up a routine for the mind. I will ensure that internally I appreciate everything that I do. That means, I am clear about the significance of the task and what quality I need to use while doing it. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 07, 2016: Life Is Nurtured By Attitude

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 07, 2016: Life Is Nurtured By Attitude

Life Is Nurtured By Attitude

When you extend pure love to everyone with selfless motivation that is an attitude of kindness. When you send good wishes and pure feelings to those who are in deep sorrow, that is an attitude of mercy. When you see the virtues rather than the weaknesses in people, that is an attitude of compassion. When you bless and uplift someone even as they defame you, that is an attitude of forgiveness. When you tolerate a situation and take responsibility as well as give cooperation even when not appreciated, that is an attitude of humility and self-respect. Every second, every moment and every breath of your life is nurtured by attitude.

Positive Thought Based Living (Part 2)

Blessings from every person you meet will make your life more beautiful and free of difficult situations. Living a life of giving joy to others through the simplest possible ways like a smile or a warm greeting or a gesture of appreciation is a beautiful way of gathering blessings from everyone. It is said very commonly – give blessings and take blessings. That means the more you keep good wishes for others the more full of good wishes you will be which you will receive back from others. A good practice whenever you meet someone is to ensure that you have shared something with the other person e.g. If a person comes to you and he is lacking love, just look at him and create a pure and positive thought in your mind that may this person experience his original quality of love and may he share the same with others. Do this with a humble consciousness. This is like giving a blessing to the other. This will inspire the other person to change and imbibe the quality of love which he is lacking. You may think this won’t work, but the power of a positive thought created by you is immense, which can transform the other person completely. After all our thought energy does touch the other person’s consciousness on a subtle level. It’s like whispering into the other’s ears a message of pure love which he is lacking, listening to which is an inspiration for him to change himself. In the same way, if someone has a habit of becoming angry very easily and you pass her on a particular day on the street, look at her and send her a good wish that may you experience lots of peace which is your original sanskara. These are blessings which work magically. Powerful thoughts have immense power, much more than words.

The pure love that you carry in this incognito way for others is like a healing balm for others which can make people more beautiful and bring them closer to you. Try giving a good wish to every person you meet in the day for one week and you will see how all your relationships with people become more beautiful and how everyone around you start becoming better individuals. It’s a beautiful practice.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Auto-pilot Mode

Often we go through the motions of life on autopilot, not fully aware. 

That's when habit takes over, and we react to whatever's going on around us. 

Accidents occur as we say things we didn't intend, crashing into other people's feelings...

Switch off the 'auto-pilot mode' and take back control.
Stay fully aware and choose how you think, feel and respond.

Message for the day

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

Point to Practice: 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.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris