Daily Positive Thoughts: May 18, 2017: A Little Courage and Some Letting Go

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 18, 2017: A Little Courage and Some Letting Go

Illusion : Can you locate 16 faces in this picture?

A Little Courage and Some Letting Go

It takes honesty as well as courage to give ourselves a good shake and see things for what they are, not what we imagine them to be. To see is far better than not to see. Without honest vision we will keep being deceived by illusion and trapped by sorrow and game playing. It is time to set ourselves free – it just takes a little courage and some letting go.

Overcoming Possessiveness And Complexes In Close Relationships (Part 1)

We are all aware and we all experience also that close knit family relationships are a constant source of happiness and love. But these relationships, many a times, also possess the capacity of bringing along with this love and joy, many different negative shades of possessiveness and domination, and complexes and dependencies. These are widespread ailments existing in our family relationships today, but which can be cured. Meditation is a very positive healing process which can cure the causes of these ailments, which exist inside the human souls. Once the causes are cured through meditation, relationships become extremely healthy, which provide the self from others and from the self to others, only and only positivity energy, in the form of positive and empowering thoughts, feelings, words and actions.

A common sign of these diseases is lack of respect for people close to us. As a result of an un-respectful consciousness, we sometimes behave with our nearest and dearest ones, like maybe our spouse or children or siblings (brothers or sisters) or parents, in such an offensive manner which we normally never and would not ever even think of showing towards people with whom we are not very close. It's not just a question of mannerisms, but of inner respect for the other. So often in families, a particular fixed order in relationships, positions of higher and lower, positions of senior and junior, become established, leading to feelings of superiority and inferiority, the effects of which start penetrating  in the relationships e.g. the mother-in-law is very dominating and takes it for granted that she will be listened to by the son and daughter-in-law. Or an older brother or sister orders around a younger sibling, not giving him/her enough space in which to speak his or her own mind and express himself/herself, leading to an inferiority complex in the younger sibling. Or a wife is extremely possessive of the husband, not giving him enough personal freedom. Once established, these behaviors become permanent sanskaras and tend to be carried with us through life, so that even when we have left the original family relationships and circumstances in which these behaviors existed, we bring the same personality traits into our new  relationships and circumstances.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Feel Abundant

When times are tough it's easy to feel a sense of lacking, isn't it?  But the feeling of lacking creates unnecessary anxiety.

Instead, consciously choose to feel abundant.  Feeling abundant not only relieves your anxiety but also empowers you to be more resourceful and proactive in how you get through the tough times.

Message for the day

There is victory for the person who opposes the weaknesses instead of the person. 

Expression: Instead of trying to win over a person who displays any negative qualities, one needs to oppose the negativity itself. The one who knows the art of doing this will never do anything to encourage the weakness in the other person but will provide all help to finish it fully.

Expression: Since I am able to look at the weakness only and am trying to finish it, I will be free from negative feelings of dislike and hatred. There would be a genuine feeling of love, which in turn provides the right environment for the other person's growth. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 17, 2017: True Winning Is Accepting Not Resisting

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 17, 2017: True Winning Is Accepting Not Resisting

True Winning Is Accepting Not Resisting

If you ever find yourself defending a position, explaining why, or justifying anything, it means you have been defeated. It means you have not been able to accept the others point of view, or the fact that you may be wrong. Fear has conquered your mind and your heart. Your defenses are up and you are running scared. It's not that the other person has conquered you, it's the self-created fear that is in control. Until you can accept the other (you don't have to agree) and you are not threatened by the other, your victories will be delayed. It's a funny old world when true winning is accepting not resisting, when victory is found in the wisdom to stop fighting and to begin engaging.

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (Part 3)

There is a difference between when we have established our own code of values or beliefs in life, and when we feel obliged (forced) to obey an imposed code of beliefs. It is important for us to accept on an inner level the code by which we think we should be guided and act. When we act out of obligation (compulsion), by following a code of beliefs or behaviors that we feel have been imposed but aren't accepted as our own, we should ask ourselves why we act out of obligation (compulsion), basing ourselves on a code we have not accepted. Are we perhaps afraid that, if we don't do it, we will feel guilty?

When we violate the codes of belonging to a group, family, social class or community, generally we feel guilty. If this guilt leads us to question ourselves about what is right for our conscience, we progress in our personal growth and improve our clarity. It is necessary to respect ourselves, being clear about what the beliefs are on which we base our life, think, feel and evaluate. This will help us to avoid the gap between what we should and what we want to do. Until the should and the want are joined, we leave an open space for guilt.

When we act according to how we feel we should, we will feel guilt for not doing what we want. While we act according to what we want, we will feel guilt for not doing what we should. When guilt warns us that there is something to check and correct within us and we are willing to see it, have a dialogue with the self and clarify, we are on the right path.  Sometimes guilt acts as an excuse for us to apologize without really taking on the responsibility for what happened; we pass on the responsibility to the established norms, norms that in this case we haven't accepted as our own. In any case, the solution to guilt is to take on self-responsibility.

Feedback

The gap between what you say and what you do, between what you promise and what you deliver is like a drain in the road.

The drain is where water escapes, just as your power will seep away if there is a difference between your words and your actions. 

Ask yourself every day, were your thoughts, words and actions aligned?

Ask someone else what they saw in you too. 

Feedback is the food of all positive change.

Message for the day

Faith is the key to the best use of one's fortune. 

Expression: For the one who has faith, in the self and in things, there is only positivity. Under all circumstances, there are only opportunities and treasures seen. Each moment is an inner urge to discover these hidden treasures and make the best use of them. So, the one who has faith, draws out the best from each and every situation. 

Expression: When I am able to move forward with faith, I am encouraged to give my best under all circumstances and am able to enjoy the best fruit of the effort that I put in. Faith gives me the courage to go on even during difficult times and so I have the satisfaction of bringing about constant change and progress in my life. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 16, 2017: Good Feelings

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 16, 2017: Good Feelings

Good Feelings

Good feelings for others are like ointments that heal wounds and re-establish friendships and relationships. Good feelings are generated in the mind, are transmitted through your attitude and are reflected in your eyes and smile. Smiling opens the heart and a glance can make miracles happen.

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (Part 2)

If there are people or situations that lead you to fall over the same stone i.e. they lead you to make the same mistake, which was committed earlier, again, perhaps you will have to avoid them for a few days or a time, until you have strengthened yourself and have the inner security that they will not influence you. This is not running away; it is wise knowing your weaknesses and knowing that to get into similar situations with the same people is only to repeat the same errors and to worsen your wellbeing and that of the other. Trust in yourself. You can overcome these mistakes and stop making them. It is a question of loving yourself and living. Out of love, you stop hurting yourself and hurting the other.

Crying over past mistakes, you don't mend anything. Open yourself to forgiveness. Raise the level of your thoughts so that they don't keep you in a state of sadness and loss of hope. Don't allow your inner judge to sentence (punish) you each time that you act, since that way you won't feel free. Your judge that you carry within makes your life bitter; however, it is you that gives this judge the capacity to exist. If the inner judge is in harmony with our conscience, it is good, because it wants to protect us. On creating guilt it warns us that we have broken a rule of our code of beliefs, values or behaviors. It alerts us to the fact that we are acting against something important of ourselves. At those moments it helps us to observe and question what is real, true, important and even sacred in our life and for us.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

There are no justified resentments.

To resent someone is to fall under the illusion that they are the cause of our suffering. 

No one can die from a snake bite. It's the poison that kills them. You may receive the poison of another’s words, or even just in a glance, but you don’t have to absorb it or allow it free passage through the veins of your consciousness. 

The consequence of not absorbing the poison of others is you never experience enmity towards others. And people notice when you have absolutely no enmity. It draws them close, it empowers them, it builds trust, it enables harmony to break out! It is only because the lion has no thought of killing the lamb that the lamb feels able to come so close.

- relax7

Message for the day

To recognize one's own uniqueness is to respect oneself. 

Expression: To have respect for oneself based on other people's opinion or situational achievements is to have respect temporarily. True respect for the self is based on the recognition of the fact that every individual is unique with its own set of unique capabilities. This understanding enables one to see one's own uniqueness without being influenced or without comparing with others. 

Expression: When I know to recognize and appreciate my own uniqueness and respect myself on this basis, I am able to be free from ego or a feeling of inferiority. I am also able to recognize naturally the uniqueness of the other person and respect him for it. Thus I am able to win the love and respect of others too. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 15, 2017: Good Leadership

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 15, 2017: Good Leadership

 Artist: Edward Robert Hughes  (5 November 1851 – 23 April 1914)

Good Leadership

 Good leadership is based on skills which are incognito, like pure feelings, faith and trust. These keep both your frame of mind and the task moving in the right direction. It is human to err, but your high hopes for someone can actually eliminate errors. Doubting people exactly has the opposite effect. Believing in someone, extending feelings of trust, never telling people what to do but stepping aside and watching, with faith; this is what enables a task to get done in the right way. Spiritual Skills like these are cultivated by avoiding complacency, learning to be sensitive and staying alert. Keep an eye on your own spiritual health, don’t look to others for whatever is lacking, look within, see what remains to be done and do it. Never allow those with a strong personality to tell you what to do especially when you feel something else to be right. This creates depression and you can’t afford to be disheartened. Take care of yourself with understanding and love,  making sure that you never compromise your own spiritual growth.

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (Part 1)

When you free yourself of guilt, you live in peace within. You take on responsibility and stop sentencing (punishing) yourself internally with feelings of guilt. Taking on responsibility is constructive; it allows all your potential to remain awake and flow. You feel free and unburdened. When you get it wrong, you can find different methods to relieve yourself of the burden that it might imply. For example, being sorry for or feeling sad for something that you have done means that you are aware that you have acted against your own wellbeing or that of another. Realizing it is good; it is the base for any positive change. The important thing is not to sentence (punish) yourself. Learn the lesson. Say sorry, if it is the right thing. Put it right.

Remember that yesterday has already passed. The past cannot be changed. You can't swallow the words that you said, since you already said them. You can't repeat the scene from yesterday in a different way because it already happened and stayed recorded on the film of this world drama. Therefore, don't repeat the words or the scene in your mind over and over again; doing that, you keep alive something that is dead, since yesterday already stayed behind. Learn from the error and commit yourself to you and to your life, promising to yourself that you will not fall over the same stone again. You will think about it before speaking or acting.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

When each one is working towards a common task, cooperation becomes easy. 

To get others' cooperation you need to share the task and the information regarding the task with others. When you communicate your motives using easy and simple language, everyone can understand and feel a part of the whole and they would naturally contribute their best. Any new task that you take up make sure you inform all the details to everyone related to the task. Even the minutest details when communicated to others, helps in creating a priority in them to give their best to the task.

Message for the day

True victory lies in inspiring courage in others too.

 
Expression: The one who is victorious enables others to be victorious too. Such a person will never make the other person seem any less. He will never allow the other person to feel defeated because the one who is victorious is a bestower. He has the ability to give courage to others and fill with hope to achieve something better. 

Experience: When I have the feeling of being victorious, I would naturally want others too to experience the same. I would look for ways to give courage and support to the ones who are losing. This will never let me lose hope in myself or in others and will also win the trust and good wishes of others. So there is a constant experience of being victorious. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 14, 2017: The Power of Co-operation

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 14, 2017: The Power of Co-operation

The Power of Co-operation

No matter how capable, talented, efficient or extraordinary an individual may be, without co-operation from others, no single person can develop their personal skills. Neither can we implement a task without the assistance of a parent, a teacher, or mentor. For example, an actor or singer needs musicians, producers and directors and especially an audience in order to express themselves successfully, despite their innate capacity for creativity and entertaining others. Being able to appreciate the contribution of others and being open to that influence always facilitates the fulfilment of task or a talent. It is said that even God - as powerful as God is- cannot accomplish a divine task without the assistance of His angels.

The Psychosomatic Effects Of Fear

The human being is psychosomatic by nature – what that means is that our health is deeply influenced by our behavior, thoughts, emotions and social relationships. Therefore, in order to experience good health, we should care for our life style, our mental, sentimental, emotional and relational world, as well as our communication. Fear is bad for our health. It manifests itself in the form of anger and promotes coronary diseases. Fear suppressed for a long time ends up producing diseases such as cancer. Apart from cancer and heart attacks, there are other illnesses brought on by fear: addictions, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, irritability, nervous breakdowns, memory loss, gastritis, back pains, baldness, diarrhea, sciatica, crying attacks, alcoholism, constipation, hypertension, cystitis (bladder inflammation), vomiting, palpitations, digestive disorders, ulcers and migraines.

When we get old, our neurons do not die, but rather the connections between them disappear, that is what recent scientific research suggests. The neuronal connections or synapses keep us lively and young. When we have pleasant experiences, such as during meditation or when we are on a holiday or are surrounded by friends or while working in a team, some examples of activities in which we feel happy, the neuronal connections are more fluid. However, the lights go out when we feel fear. It is an emotion that is capable of slowing down and blocking the electrical impulses between the neurons. With fear we are less creative and we get older more quickly. If we do not want to suffer illnesses (or want our illnesses to get worse) we should learn to manage and overcome fear.

To never get angry is a tall order for almost any human being.

So, when we see anger as failure, and we try not to be angry and fail, it is so easy to turn the gun on ourselves when our anger comes. 

We blame ourselves and put ourselves down for not being able to control ourselves. Don't turn the gun in yourself. Don't give yourself a guilt trip. We spend our lives learning anger, so we are not going to unlearn all the beliefs and habits which create our irritations, frustrations and angers in a few days, or even a few weeks. (though some who really do 'get it' can change that fast). So be easy on yourself.

Healing the inner scars, forgiving ourselves, transforming those habits, are all aspects of this inner work, and they take a little time. Be patient, be gentle and merciful with yourself. And if you do decide you want to forgive and heal yourself, if you do decide you don't want to be a slave to others words and actions, if you do decide you want to be free of your negative feelings, one of the secrets is not to fight or struggle with those old habits. Accept them when they come, for whatever reason, and you'll be amazed how quickly the habit of those feelings is dissolved. All healing begins with acceptance, including the healing of our feelings.

Message for the day

To be a trustee of God is to use all treasures well. 
Thought to Ponder: When I understand that all that is mine is truly God's, I can use all that I have sensibly. I would not want to waste anything that I have - not my money, resources, thoughts or words and actions. I would use all that I have sensibly as an instrument of God. I would also be detached, whilst doing everything. 

Point to Practice: Today I will take up one resource I have, for example, the resource of thoughts. I will remind myself throughout the day that I am a trustee and God has given me these so that I can look after it well and use them for the good of myself or others. When I do this, I will not let negative or waste thoughts to come in.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 13, 2017: Be Here Now

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 13, 2017: Be Here Now

 

Be Here Now

The past is history, so let it go. The future is a mystery, so let it come. The present is a gift – be truly in the present today and release all your fears (based on the past) and your worries (imagined futures) – this is the work of someone who truly wants to awaken, and break free from the anchors and burdens of dead yesterdays and speculative tomorrows. Be here now they say, easier said than done, I hear you say. But no one can stop us, except for ourselves. There is only now – everything else is avoidance.

The Limitless Mind

If we compare the two entities – mind and matter – the most obvious difference between the two that comes to the forefront is that one is non-physical and the other is physical. Another very important difference between the two is that whereas on one hand, matter has limits, in the sense, that’s its fixed in time and space. The mind, on the other hand, is beyond limits, in terms of physical parameters. It’s not fixed in time and space.

When we take a close look at what is going on in our mind, its power becomes visible to us. Since its not fixed in space, it can link me to a friend in, as far as, Washington or Singapore in less than a second. My mind can even move in many different directions at once. Since the mind is not fixed in time, I can think about yesterday, or about fifteen years ago; about tonight, or the next three years. That’s the reason we can say that the mind is limitless, hence powerful.

Thoughts also have different levels of power. Sometimes they fly past the mind leaving hardly any impact on us. At other times, they are accompanied by such feelings so as to influence our entire perception, even our complete inner mental state. Thinking about a visit to Kashmir I made last year, for e.g., I could find myself carried back mentally into the beautiful experience and its attached emotions. Filled with happiness, I will even radiate this happiness to others nearby, through my thoughts, facial expressions, words and actions. On the other hand, thoughts about the death of my close relative a few years ago will have an opposite impact on me in the present moment.

The mind is where everything starts, the good, the bad and the ugly.  To get the best out of your mind, learn to harness it.  How?  Make it your friend.

Befriend the Mind

Good friends are honest and they very kindly tell you when you might be messing up.  But they certainly don't call you every morning with a list of everything that's wrong with you.  So don't let your mind tell you things that you would probably never accept from a friend.

Start befriending the mind and your mind will be a good friend to you!

Message for the day

To be fortunate means to do everything with love. 

Thought to Ponder: Life gives opportunities constantly to express my qualities or to gain new skills. When I understand this, there is no effort in doing things. Each and every action is done with love. Such a person is truly fortunate, because where there is love, everything becomes easy. No new challenge or demand from the external situation is seen as a threat. It, in fact, becomes an opportunity to express my qualities or discover new qualities from within me. 

Point to Practice: Today I will move forward with courage. Whatever situations life brings me, I am going to welcome them with love. I will deal with all those situations with the right spirit. With love I /find things becoming easy. I also win the good wishes of others, helping me to move forward with more ease.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris