Daily Positive Thoughts: February 02, 2017: The Wonder of Silence

After the bombing in Bangkok, Buddhists are changing the energy on the bombing site through meditation and prayer, proving that love is greater than hate.

The Wonder of Silence

The disease of anger needs the medicine of tolerance;

the pain of disappointment needs the medicine of hope;

the violence of revenge and spite needs forgiveness;

fear needs courage;

ego needs self-respect;

Through inner silence we receive the strength to heal.

Worry Confused With Concern (Part 2)

We are all linked together at a subtle, invisible level, and communicate with others invisibly. We not only send but also pick up the energy that others radiate, especially the ones that we are close to. We demonstrate with an example how this can work positively as well as negatively when we find ourselves in negative situations in our practical lives. 

Suppose the class teacher of your child (we take the example of your son) calls up and says that while playing in the school playground, your son has injured himself. She doesn’t explain much but says there is nothing to worry. She requests you to come and pick him up from the school. At this point of time your son is radiating his own spiritual energy which is most probably the negative energy of fear, stress, anxiety and sorrow (although the teacher has informed you that he is fine). At the same time he is also picking up your subtle spiritual or mental energy. You are driving to his school to pick him up. At this point of time, you only have a rough idea of what situation he is in exactly at that moment because you are physically far away from him. Guessing about the exact situation is making assumptions and is a waste of your mental energy. If you make negative assumptions i.e. you worry and are scared, then you are sending him the same vibrations of fear, a negative energy, which he is going to pick up and it is not going to empower or help him in anyway but is more likely to weaken and disturb him and even disturb you in your driving. You have been told that there is nothing to worry but still you know he is in a slightly difficult emotional situation and only he knows how he will come out of it. What will help him? He needs your support, but what will support him the most - we are talking about subtle support, because you are going to take some time to reach the school and provide him physical support? Your negative vibration of fear which you may mistakenly call concern or care as you imagine something bad has happened? Or the positive vibrations of your unconditional love and your good wishes, which is true concern or care? What will you send him to support him from far away? Worry vibrations or the vibrations of love in the form of your good wishes for them? Vibrations of love will keep you also in a positive state as you drive through the city. Besides, what is care or concern? It is you sending your positive inner spiritual light to help another and worry is definitely not that.

Kindness

You probably perform acts of kindness without even realizing it. Even so, look out for further opportunities to be kind.

An act of kindness doesn't need to be big; it just needs to come from the heart. Kindness works its way through to the hearts of others. 

Kindness not only makes the person at the receiving end feel good but it also makes you feel good!

Message for the day

To have the ability to smile is to bring solutions to problems. 

Thought to Ponder:  To be worried when things go wrong is to lose the ability to find solutions. But, if I learn to smile at situations, I will be able to see situations in a calm and peaceful way. I will then not only be free from the negativity of the situation in the present, but I will also help find solutions for the future. 

Point to Practice: Today I will find one positive thing from something that I am not happy with. This will help me smile at the situation without being affected negatively. When I remind myself of this positive aspect again and again, I will surely be able to work on the situation and make it better. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 01, 2017: Don't Just Do Something

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 01, 2017: Don't Just Do Something

Don't Just Do Something

Something is going wrong, it looks like there is a disaster in the making, and chaos is emerging fast. In the West we say, "Don't just sit there, do something!" In the East they say, "Don't just do something, sit there!" Now why is this? Intuitively we know that unless it's a life threatening situation, wisdom lies in the Eastern approach, because sitting still in body and mind, even if only for a moment, allows us to discern the right thing to do. It is the difference between reacting and responding. It allows new intuitions to overcome old instincts. Watch for such opportunities today.

Worry Confused With Concern (Part 1)

One of the most incorrect beliefs that we have acquired since childhood is that to worry is to care, worrying is caring. Our parents are the people whom we grow up with and are closest to in our childhood. As soon as we are born, in fact even before we are born, even when we are in our mother’s womb, they start transmitting the energy of this belief through their thoughts and later on when we are physically present in front of them, through thoughts, words and actions; to us, which we catch, because we being a spiritual energy, not only transmit or radiate but also absorb energy. As we grow up, this false belief keeps reaching us from everyone on a subtle as level as physical level from whom we meet and are close to including our friends, siblings (brothers and sisters), spouse etc. and slowly we start accepting this belief as being completely true and lead our lives according to it and even transmit the same to others. That is why it is extremely difficult to find a single person today who does not live according to this belief or does not bring it into their daily lives to some extent or the other.

A very common example of the above belief which we all have gone through sometime or the other is when we are late by just a few minutes in coming back home from office. On reaching home, we are asked a thousand questions and by our family members, perhaps our parents or spouse or children about where we have been and why hadn’t we bothered to call and also informed about another thousand negative assumptions they had made in that much time. Why? Because they had been worried for us. We are normally surprised with the fact they are worrying, because 9 out of 10 times we are late because of a not so serious reason, but our family members explain that we were worrying for you because we care for you. But worrying is not caring. Worry is fear or anxiety and care is love or concern, they are two opposite emotions which can never exist together at the same time.

In tomorrow's message, we shall demonstrate how on a subtle energy level, true love and concern is more beneficial than worry in coming out of negative situations, in which we find ourselves every now and then.

Spiritual Sensibility

Sense is practical intelligence.

Some of it is learned, yet the implication is that we have an inbuilt idea of right and wrong that enables us to act accordingly.

Spirituality is about understanding the self and realigning our sense of self with how we relate to the world around us.

When we integrate sense and spirituality, we engage meaningfully with a spiritual sensibility.

Message for the day

To celebrate is to bring about a positive change.

Thought to Ponder: Celebrations usually last for a day, but true celebration is to sustain the feeling and experience for a long time. When I understand and recognize the spirit of the celebration, I will be able to carry it forward into the days to come. Thus celebrations create a positive impact in my life. 

Point to Practice: Today I will celebrate something that I have in my life. It could be the happiness of having the gift of certain relationships and exchange of values through them, or of having some special quality in me. Let me today experience and celebrate this gift and sustain it through the day. This is true celebration which will create a change for days to come. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 31, 2017: The Power to Accommodate

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 31, 2017: The Power to Accommodate

The Eight Powers of the Soul - Day 8

These are powers that recharge the soul. As the soul comes into action it 

experiences the practical form of these powers. 

A stunning iceberg washed ashore on the coast of Alaska!!

 

The Power to Accommodate

Like the ocean that merges all that flows into it, I merge all that happens; so past is past, and the future seems clear and bright.

The Two Dimensions Of Being A Detached Observer

There are two dimensions of being a detached observer - the inner dimension and the outer one.

Let us look at the inner dimension of detached observation. It is the ability or the technique to stand back from or observe in a detached way our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes and behavior.  We are creators and our thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes are our creation.  In fact, this is the first step to becoming a ruler of the self and making the self powerful. If we fail to detach from our thoughts and emotions then they will be our masters, they will go out of control and will, as a result, leak away or waste our energy.  Practice simply being the witness of whatever you are thinking and feeling. This is an important aspect of any good spiritual practice and after a while you will find it an experience that both, frees you and empowers you.

The external dimension of detached observation is the technique of being a witness to or an observer of the scenes, of the world around us.  As we stand back and watch the scenes of life being played, on the world stage around us, without being actively involved, we can see the big picture more clearly. This makes it easier to judge clearly what is the most suitable contribution that we can make and the most suitable role we can play - through our thoughts, words and actions.

Listen to yourself

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?

Message for the day

To be a master is to win in situations.

Thought to Ponder: There is a long time practice of being a victim of situations. As is the situation, so is the reaction. It automatically results in a loss of strength and hope to make the situation better. On the other hand, to be a master is to understand that the situation is temporary and I have the power to change it. This will give me encouragement to make at least a small contribution to change the situation. 

Point to Practice: Today I will keep a chart of the extent to which I have been a ruler. I will check how many times during the day I have kept the controls with me in the variety of situations that the day brings to me. This will give me a clue to the extent to which I am able to control situations and direct them to a positive way instead of allowing it to control me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 30, 2017: The Power to Cooperate

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 30, 2017: The Power to Cooperate

The Eight Powers of the Soul - Day 7

These are powers that recharge the soul. As the soul comes into 

action it experiences the practical form of these powers. 

 

 

The Power to Cooperate

With the power to cooperate, I do not feel like I am competing against anyone, but rather I am helping all. Here, the surrender of ego is needed.

How Often And Why Do I Need To Meditate (Part 2)? 

As explained yesterday, we regularly and quite easily slip into four main negative habits. So meditation is not only sitting in a quiet corner, and connecting with the self and the Supreme, at a couple of fixed times during the day, but it is also the way to gently remember and remind ourselves, many times in a day, that we as well as others, are souls or spiritual beings not physical beings, by detaching ourselves from actions and also while being involved in actions. These reminders given to the self over a period of time become natural and prevent us from succumbing to these four habits. Given below is a basic meditation, which you could use to remind yourself regularly during the day:
I have a body but this body is not me…
I have thoughts but these thoughts are not me …
I have feelings but these feelings are not me …
I have attitudes but these attitudes are not me …
I have emotions but these emotions are not me …
I have beliefs but these beliefs are not me …
I perform many actions through my sense organs, but these sense organs are not me…
I play many roles but I am not my roles…
I experience joy or sorrow through my sense organs, but these experiences are not me …
I am a soul – a being of energy, which is neither created nor can be destroyed, and my original and true nature is one of peace, love, joy and power…

What does courage mean to you?

Is it being honest with yourself about your mistakes? Being honest about your shortcomings?

Is it to trust that things will work out, even when you can't see how? Is it taking action even when you are afraid? Does it have to be something heroic?

Ask yourself what courage means to you. And then keep pursuing courage in action.

Message for the day

To have the ability to understand a problem is also to have the ability to find a solution.

Thought to Ponder: Just as an expert in any field would notice a deficiency, if I have the ability to recognize a problem, I will surely know what the solution is. I need to focus my energies to find the solution. Then I will be able to use my resources well.

Point to Practice: Today I will only focus on solutions. Whenever a problem comes up, I will spend time thinking about what I could do to change it. When I direct my mind in this way, there will neither be worry nor will the problem remain. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 29, 2017: The Power to Face

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 29, 2017: The Power to Face

The Eight Powers of the Soul - Day 6

These are powers that recharge the soul. As the soul comes into 

action it experiences the practical form of these powers. 

England-Stepping Stones

The Power to Face

Nothing seems like an obstacle, but rather a stepping stone to victory. To lack this power means to be dominated by external dramas. 

How Often And Why Do I Need To Meditate (Part 1)?

As with anything else, the more we practice meditation, the more we feel the benefit of what we are doing. We do need to practice meditation regularly because the habits of: 

i.                  identifying with our physical form,

ii.                 Succumbing to mental and emotional negativity (in the form of waste and negative thoughts) along with negativity in words and actions,

iii.              becoming attached to the physical as well as the non-physical, and 

iv.               being dependent upon the experience of physical stimulation of any sort (from e.g. food, movies, people, sports etc.) for happiness are extremely deep.

These habits have deepened over a period of many many births, because of repeating them regularly, due to a lack of spiritual awareness. As a result, in the present moment also we regularly and quite easily slip into these four habits.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Where there is knowledge energy is saved. 

I put in a lot of effort to deal with the situations I am faced with. But sometimes I do not find the success that I should. I then put in more energies to bring about the desired change, but without any positive result. In order to deal effectively with the situations, I need to understand the situation accurately. If I don't succeed once, I need to check if I have understood the situation accurately or not. With understanding, my energies don't get wasted away, but get focused accordingly.

Message for the day

To understand that I am a creator of my thoughts is to have the power to control them.

Thought to Ponder: To control thoughts after they go out of control is really difficult or almost impossible. But when I understand that I create thoughts, I can have mastery over them. From time to time, I need to remind myself of this, keep a check on my thoughts, steer and stop them whenever and wherever necessary. 

Point to Practice: Today I will take one thought, "I am the master and creator of my thoughts. So, I have the reins in my hands and can guide them how I want.". Even if any other thought comes, I can have a control over them, instead of them controlling me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris