Daily Positive Thoughts: April 21, 2017: Circumstances are like objects

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 21, 2017: Circumstances are like objects

Circumstances are like objects. They are not alive; you bring life to them.

The positive is more powerful than the negative. The positive is innate. The negative indicates what is missing inside you. Light exists and its absence is darkness.

Never forget you are a human being who can decide the attitude you take in life. You have an enormous positive inner potential still to be discovered.

These thoughts will help you face any circumstance in life with a different perspective.

Serving Through Silence

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

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

Creative energy

When you lose something that you've really worked hard on, do you get that sinking feeling?  

All that hard work, all that time - lost!  Even though the product of your efforts is no longer in your possession, your efforts are never lost.

If you have to redo the work, take a brief break: to recover your enthusiasm, recall that creative energy and refresh your memory.  

Just think: I get a chance to do this again.  This time I can give an even better performance, an encore.

Message for the day

A step of courage brings multifold help. 

Thought to Ponder: One step of courage is enough to pave the way for something better. If we get disheartened and stop, we will be worse than what we are. So, whatever the situation may be we need to take one thought of making the situation better. This one thought will help us see the hidden opportunities. Also, we find help coming from others and situations too. 

Point to Practice: Today I will take up something that I have given up on, and see where I can start once again. With renewed courage and enthusiasm, I will create a plan and work on it. With the faith that I am going to find a way, I will work on this plan. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 20, 2017: React Positively

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 20, 2017: React Positively

React Positively

Our first reaction to a difficult situation is often negative. There is a tendency to be carried away in a storm of negative thoughts. Such thoughts are of no use and lead us further from the solution.

Thinking one positive thought everyday helps me to maintain stability. Constant practice will help me remain stable even in the most difficult circumstances.

Carrying Forward Of Special Talents

Everything that an individual does i.e. a soul does using the medium of the physical body is registered in the soul as a sanskara.

Sanskaras, therefore, are the foundation of our present personalities and all our special talents and inclinations.  There have been many famous personalities including artists, musicians, engineers, sportsmen, etc. who, before attaining phenomenal success in their respective fields, displayed amazing talents related to their respective field at a very young age. When and where could they have mastered these talents so well? It's obvious that amazing masteries at a very young age are not inherited from our parents. These talents have been developed and brought into practice in previous births, as a result of which
sanskaras of the talents are created inside the soul.  These sanskaras are then carried into the next births, and are brought into actions in the new births.

A more common day-to-day example is the following: A child is born into a family of doctors where, from the beginning, all efforts are made to mould and prepare him to become a doctor, according to family tradition. However, from an early age, the child shows strong tendencies to become an actor, starts to take part extensively in theatre activities at school and the talent starts manifesting itself. This example demonstrates that the characteristics a soul carries from previous experiences of previous births will take it in a specific direction despite attempts made by the family on the contrary. So in short, genius is experience. Some think that it's a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience of many lives. Some are older souls than others i.e. they have been present on the world stage since a longer period of time and have covered a journey of more number of births and so know more. This kind of unlimited, broad vision of life provides us answers to many questions.

Do not be an emotional sponge

Like a sponge, we absorb other people's negative emotions.  And then we feel emotionally wrung out.  

Rather than retaining negative emotions that don't belong to you, release them.

Strengthen your positive emotions and you'll enhance your ability to be empathetic yet at the same time not be an emotional sponge.

Message for the day

Mastery over mind is the ability to concentrate thoughts. 
Thought to Ponder:  The practice of concentrating the mind on one thought even whilst being busy is being truly victorious over the mind. This practice helps in using all powers and qualities that are in me. 

Point to Practice:  Today I will take a thought and remind myself of it from time to time. A simple thought like "I am the creator of my thoughts and so the master of my mind" or "I am powerful" or "I am special". Such thoughts, when reminded from time to time in my busy schedule, helps me practice mastery. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 19, 2017: Staying Peaceful

 

Staying Peaceful

Desires cause peace to disappear. You think that acquiring things will make you feel secure, but the reality is that the more you have the more fear there usually is of losing it, and the further you are from peace. Desires are the cause of all conflicts. When you want something and cannot get it you become frustrated.

Learning to be free from desires is learning how to stay peaceful.

Crossing Negative Situations With Spiritual Power (Part 3)

Situations are to be overcome without them creating a deep influence on our consciousness. It is said that tolerate situations with pleasure and don’t feel their pressure. Pressure of situations has a negative effect on our mind and that can in turn influence our thinking to such an extent that it’s difficult to take away your mind and thoughts from the situation. Someone might say that since the last four days I have not stopped thinking of my argument with my office colleague or another one might say today I am low since the morning because I heard a very bad news of the death of my close relative. Isn’t it almost like a natural instinct? If a situation is there I will feel different and that different is always negative. 

So how do I train myself for a more right or more natural instinct of remaining positive? That will come over a period of time with experience and also practicing stability in every difficult situation we face. It’s like a ship without a rudder, which can lose direction and drown in a rough sea. In the same manner, the rudder of spiritual power will enable us to cross negative situations with ease. It’s also not about saying to yourself that I am powerful and then repeating the same mistakes of thinking negative. Unless power is filled in the soul through the technique of meditation, we will never change into positive thinking individuals even if we are very determined to become positive and remain away from the negative. Power in the mind will also create positive sanskaras of faith, patience, determination, tolerance and stability, which will help us in any difficult situation and we will cross every negative situation with ease and lightness.

Wisdom is power

We can be knowledgeable on just about anything, but when does knowledge become wisdom?

Knowledge is information. When we contemplate information, then apply and integrate that knowledge into our attitude and actions, it becomes wisdom.

Message for the day

The art of getting along well with others is to create harmony. 

Thought to Ponder: To be good to people who are good to us is very easy. But the real beauty of life lies in knowing how to get along well with one and all. That means, I need to know how to empower my interactions so that I am able to get along well even with someone who is not so good to us. Just like notes of music which are different, I need to understand that everyone is different and I need to create beautiful music even in the worst conditions.

Point to Practice: Today I will see what I can do to get along well with one person whom I wasn't comfortable with. It could be some quality that I need to work on. It could be assertiveness or love or any other quality which will help me get along well with the person. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 18, 2017: Co-operate with good wishes and pure feelings

 

  

Co-operate with good wishes and pure feelings

The best way to co-operate is to use the energy of the mind to create good wishes and pure feelings towards others and for the success of a task. When I co-operate with others in this way, I will receive their co-operation when I need it most.

Crossing Negative Situations With Spiritual Power (Part 2)

Looking at different types of difficult problems in our life can make us loose our enthusiasm and also weaken us internally. Life can become a difficult and rough journey, which is when spirituality with all its different benefits can help us immensely. Spirituality is the technique of learning how to rule over yourself not only at the level of words and actions, but also on a more subtle level of thoughts, feelings and emotions. It teaches us the art and fills us with the power of applying a brake to our negative and unnecessary thoughts when a difficult situation is in front of us. It’s not about suppressing your mind and saying that from today I will not get angry or I will behave with love and humility with everyone and then going back to your negative self after some time. This is unnatural. But on the other hand, it’s about gently transforming your negative emotions into positive ones by the use of spiritual power filled in the self by connecting with the Supreme Spiritual Power Source of the world - God. This connection is called meditation in spirituality.

Also, it’s not about just relaxing your mind by reducing the number of thoughts, but it’s about creating the right positive thoughts which replace the negative thoughts which are in our mind, when we are in the middle of a difficult situation. So, spiritual strength is what will give us the ability to change our way of thinking and behaving and not just spiritual knowledge. Remember, it’s our personality which needs to change and that will automatically transform our thoughts and feelings, which are influenced by my personality.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Anger

Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

To be controlled by anger is to repress the soul's original qualities of tolerance and love.

Message for the day

To be a trustee is to use all treasures well.

Thought to Ponder: We do have a lot of treasures. But we need to understand that we are entrusted with these treasures so that we can bring benefit to others too. When we put into use treasures like our thoughts, values, skills etc. for the benefit of others, we are benefited too. So, we need to use all these treasures as a trustee.

Point to Practice: Today I will say everything that is mine belongs to God and is meant for His service. This ensures that I don't waste or misuse any of the treasures entrusted to me. I use it well for others, as well as for myself. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 17, 2017: Exercise the mind regularly

 

To exercise the mind regularly keeps it healthy

 

Whenever we have negative thoughts, we try to stop them. We know they are not good for us and they drain us of energy, so we try to avoid them or change them. Because we are not always able to succeed in doing so, we begin to accept those kinds of thoughts as part of our lives.

I need to get into the habit of exercising my mind in order to keep it healthy. To exercise the mind means creating and stabilizing whatever consciousness is required at that time. That means if I need peace, I can hold on to that thought for however long I want to. This prepares me to deal with difficult times.

Crossing Negative Situations With Spiritual Power (Part 1)

A significant and important sphere of our life which constantly goes away in a direction that we do not want it to is the way we look after our mental well-being and how it influences our overall behavior and the way we perform our actions. E.g. if we are in a positive mood today, automatically all our actions will begin to get influenced by that and positive emotions that exist in our mind, start showing in our interactions. Also, if a negative and difficult situation comes into our life suddenly and our mind moves into a negative direction, then almost automatically our actions go into that direction.

How do we prevent this process from happening? What is the single best method to follow to prevent the mind from coming under the influence of difficult and demanding circumstances? Is there some method which we can use for our mind so that this complete process is stopped at the level of the mind in the first place? Say, you are not physically well today and you do not feel comfortable. So that is a type of negative situation. On another day, your boss at work has not been nice to you and you feel uncomfortable with the situation surrounding you. This is another type of negative situation. Such ups and downs are common in life and they will be there at every step, but do we let them dictate the way we behave or do we ensure that they do not interfere with our regular routine and our dealings with people? Of course, no one wants a burden on them but at the same time situations have to be dealt with positively also. But the main thing to take care of is, that while doing that, you do not lose your inner stability and your actions remain positive and full of peace, love and happiness. 

(To be continued tomorrow …)

As without, so within

We live in the age of ‘busy’.  Busy people not only do a lot, they think a lot. The origins of ‘busy’ are mental. 

Mental tiredness is a symptom of the self-going against the grain of the truth about the self. Being lost in thought, thinking constantly about things to do, what’s been done, what could have been done, what was done wrong, what should have been done but wasn’t, what others did, are doing, should do, must do, is not only tiring and a brilliant way to waste energy, If you would learn to meditate and thereby turn the eye of your attention and awareness within, if you would let your mind be quiet and allow your being to be still, you would rediscover, ‘as without, so within’. You would realize outer space is but a reflection of inner space. Both are vast and infinite spaciousness.

Message for the day

To be content and make others content is the best way to get good wishes. 

Thought to Ponder: Whether others are good to me or not, I need to develop the art of being content. I can be content when I appreciate what I have rather than just expecting from others or situations. When I am content, I can provide others too from my own reservoir. Thus, I will be able to give the experience of contentment to others too. This is a simple way to earn good wishes from others, filling me more.

Point to Practice: Today I will not let anyone go away from me empty handed. I will ensure that every person that comes to me, gets some positive experience or is connected to something positive in his own life. This will keep me busy giving and will make me free from expectations too. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris