Daily Positive Thoughts: August 27, 2017: Sorrows Song

Sorrows Song

Have you ever noticed how we spend our life pursuing happiness and completely mistake it for sorrow? It's true, everything you do is motivated by the desire to attain a moment of happiness. Spend a few moments reflecting and you will see. And yet what we consume in order to be happy is very often sorrow! We often rate a good movie by the amount of violence and destruction. The scriptwriters know we will surrender our emotional state to the emotions of the characters, and then enjoy the rollercoaster journey between elation and depression, love and fear. And in the end they have convinced us to say "wonderful, loved every minute". And then listen to the music we buy - is it uplifting, does it empower us? Does it encourage our spirit to soar high, free and happy. Not a chance. We hear the music of melancholy, and the lyrics of suffering and pain dressed as love and fulfilment. But the illusion is now so powerful that many of you, as you read this, will be resisting the idea already, convinced that the music you love is uplifting and inspiring. How can violence, depression, sadness and pain uplift and inspire? How can you get happiness out of sorrow? Wakey Wakey!!

Limiting Influences On Your Decision Making Ability (Part 1)

It is extremely important to realize that, in any situation, you have the power to choose whether your response in that situation will be passive or pro-active, positive or negative, indifferent or attentive etc. You choose what action you take and how you feel. But do you exercise your power of choice all the time? You need to check which factors influence your decision making and push you either in one direction or the other? There are many factors that control and limit your power to make the right, and more importantly, free choices. These factors primarily include influences of people that dominate your ways of thinking, your beliefs, your attitudes, even your complete personalities, etc. You are also limited by the influence of your own fears, attachments, desires, biases or other negative and waste thoughts, which result in a lack of focus.

There are a lot of people who are not used to thinking for themselves or even prefer being a yes man going along with what others think and say, without having an opinion of their own. Also as you pass through your childhood and teenage life and enter adulthood, you acquire many preconceived ideas or beliefs from your family and social and cultural environment; that is why you assume inside that some things or people are always positive and others are always negative when, in fact, that’s not necessarily true. This directly affects the type of decisions you make, each time there is a requirement for one. In any particular situation, courage, wisdom, high self-esteem and focus is required to sit down calmly and make an assessment about the possible choices before you, and then finally make the right decision. The more you practice relaxation, positive thinking and meditation, the more you rise above all the negatively influencing factors mentioned above , the more you experience the positive qualities and powers mentioned above and exercise your power of choice accurately and with confidence.

(To be continued tomorrow ….)

Humility

Humility brings excellence.  Humility means there is no expectation of
being perfect always. So whatever is done comes naturally.   There is
no feeling of threat about others' opinion, but the one who is humble
is able to express inner talent without any fear and expectations.  So
humility takes one forward towards excellence:  When I am humble, I am
able to stabilize myself in my state of self-respect always.  This
naturally is felt even when I am not able to bring perfection in my
actions or even when others are not satisfied with me.  Internally
there is a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that I am constantly
learning and moving forward.

Message for the day

The one who is calm and cool is the one who makes the right decisions. 

Expression: The natural nature of the human mind is to come under pressure and tension during negative situations. When there is a challenging situation, there is naturally the tendency to find it difficult to maintain an inner state of calm. But the one who has the ability to go within and find the inner calm is able to be clear in thinking and is able to make the right decisions. 

Experience: When I am able to experience the inner state of calm, I am able to be clear in my thinking. With this clarity I find the right decisions and solutions emerging very naturally within my mind. I will never have the difficulty of having to make decisions, but all decisions are made with ease and they are right too. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 26, 2017: Conscious Choices

Conscious Choices

Everything in our lives is chosen either consciously or unconsciously. All your choices yesterday, last year, ten years ago, have resulted in where you are today, what you do today, what you have around you today. This is hard for many people to swallow. They prefer to see life as fateful, or luckful, and therefore avoid responsibility for their own destiny. There are many random, uncontrollable and unpredictable events, but our destiny is not defined by these events - it is defined by how we respond to them. And our responsibility - ability to respond - is always in our own hands. If we respond with desire we will likely be disappointed at some future stage when we do not get what we want. If we respond with expectation we will again, at some stage, be let down. If we respond with annoyance or frustration we only disempower ourselves. Desire, expectation and getting upset are never the best choices. Until you can see this, you will not choose how you live. Life, circumstances and events will likely choose for you!

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The Mind In Control (Part 3)

A very good practice in your everyday life is to connect your mind with a peaceful source of spiritual energy. God is such a source and not someone with a physical form. His form is a being of spiritual light which is invisible to the physical eyes but can be experienced through the mind. So, connecting with this being of light which is full of spiritual qualities like peace and power at regular intervals in the day will help your mind become silent. This is because the moment you connect with this Supreme Energy, His spiritual energy starts entering the mind. As a result, your thoughts which are related to your physical body and physical role in life and relationships start becoming less and we become calm and peaceful. This is called silence of the mind and not only silence of a physical nature, in which you don’t do anything physically and don’t talk. Remember true silence is few thoughts and only positive and necessary ones with no unnecessary and negative thoughts.

Also, this technique of remembering God, who is a point of spiritual energy and light, makes you more and more powerful also. The ability to create only those thoughts which are necessary in any difficult circumstance of life is sometimes difficult for some people. The moment we are faced with difficult situations, different types of thoughts which are related to the situation but are negative and unnecessary in nature come into our mind. How do I prevent that and what is spiritual power? Spiritual power means creating only those thoughts which are positive and necessary in any situation. This brings silence of the mind. So peace and power along with joy and love also, absorbed from the Supreme, keep us not only light but also full of contentment, which is our original nature.

A worried mind filled with waste thoughts cannot find the right solution.

Whenever we are faced with a problem, we naturally begin to worry.
This worry makes us have a lot of waste thoughts. We don't find the
solution, yet we can't stop worrying. The only way to find the
right solution is to keep the mind free from worry. For this we need
to first have the faith that there is a solution and we will find it.
When we thus keep our mind free, our intuition works well and we are
automatically able to take the right decision.

Message for the day

To pay constant attention towards positivity is to be free from tension.

 

Expression: To pay attention means not to think, speak or do anything waste, negative or even ordinary. The one who keeps attention in this way and also allows no negativity from outside to go within, is always free from tension. There is also the proper use of everything that is available. 

Experience: When I am able to pay constant attention and also use the inner treasures within for a positive purpose, there is the use of the inner potential. When there is the recognition and use of this potential within in this way, negativity finishes; just as sunshine finishes darkness. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 25, 2017: Understanding

Understanding

A big-hearted soul does not sentence others on the basis of a single act, but appreciates others through understanding their entire journey.

The Mind In Control (Part 2)

We all live our lives with lots of aims and objectives and sometimes these life purposes can dominate the mind and its creation of thoughts. So always give the mind some positive thoughts to think of and experience those thoughts to nullify the influence of life’s different situations. These are those situations which require the use of your mind a lot. So, choose some positive thoughts depending on life’s different situations and strengthen the mind using them. E.g. if you work on a computer the whole day, say to yourself that – I am a pure and peaceful soul, which is performing the action of working on the computer using my eyes and hands. This consciousness will make you detached from your work and not let the work influence your mind. You will perform your task but not come under any type of pressure or stress of the work. Another e.g. is you are driving a car and you have to give the energy of your mind in doing the same. In this case talk to yourself – I am a powerful spiritual being or energy which is controlling the steering wheel and other parts of the car, using the hands, feet and eyes. This type of remembrance in the mind will make you empowered mentally and spiritually and you will drive the car in a very positive consciousness without being affected by the different challenges of driving safely. 

These are different examples of a higher consciousness which keep us disconnected from negative situations and their pressures. As a result our thoughts of an unnecessary nature reduce. As a result our mind remains silent and focused on the task we are performing instead of thinking about many other things when they are not necessary.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Gratitude

The intention and the action of gratitude is the inner symphony of the
heart. It opens to sing with thanks for the smallest of things. To
hear a bird sing, to see a child laugh, to receive a friend's
affection - are all invitations to practice the attitude of gratitude.
Gratitude is the kind of loving thanks which touches another's heart
in a place where they will allow you to reside for a long time.

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Message for the day

The virtues of honesty and courage bring success. 

Expression: The one who is courageous is never deterred by challenges, but moves on towards success. Combined with courage, is the virtue of honesty which allows one to be consistent, sincere and true in the efforts put in. So success comes with proper effort and there is also humility visible in such a person. 

Experience: When I am courageous, but at the same time honest in my efforts that I put in for achieving success, I'll never have ego. I will be able to get the cooperation and good will of all, and especially the protection and the help of God. I will find myself moving slowly towards success with everything I do. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 24, 2017: Banish Ego

 

Banish Ego

Ego is not just having a big head. Ego is present every time you feel any kind of fear, or hear yourself saying "That's mine". The truth tells us that nothing is 'mine' or 'yours', we are all trustees, and fear is only present where there is the voice of attachment. Detach from everything, and you will banish ego, fear will be no more, and only then can true love return.

The Mind In Control (Part 1)

A very important and challenging part of our lives is managing our thoughts and feelings as per how we want them to be. Very often, our mind is full of scattered thoughts which we have to reduce and focus on a task. This is because when we are working on a particular task of work we need to have a few thoughts only which are related to that particular task. Sometimes these few thoughts are accompanied by thoughts of the past actions or of future actions to be done or of other people and their words and actions. Then we take greater amount of time to perform the task at hand. Also, it is seen that efficiency at the workplace or in offices is greatly reduced because of this. It is said that if a person works for 8-10 hours in a day in his or her office, the actual time being given to the work is less than 100%. Because of this, there is a great need of techniques like meditation and mind relaxation, which will help in reducing the speed of thoughts and hence as a result the number of thoughts. 

 Presently, we are all in touch with technology a lot. The more this is happening and the more different media touch our minds constantly, the more our mind becomes filled with thoughts. These thoughts are difficult to stop at times for many of us. So, a connection at regular intervals during the day, with a peaceful source of spiritual energy is required. It is said that there are two sources that we are disconnected from at the present moment of time. The first source is inside us and is our own spiritual self and the second source is outside us and is the Supreme Soul or God. The spiritual self is originally very peaceful and by remembering it, we experience peace and the Supreme Soul is an ocean of peace.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Acceptance

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.

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Message for the day

The one who is open to learning always finds an opportunity to learn and change. 

Expression: Life has plenty of opportunities for the one who wants to learn. Each situation and person that comes one's way is an instrument for a new learning. Constant learning brings about a deep internal change and progress in one's life. 

Experience: When I am able to learn from all that happens, I am able to be content for both what I have learnt and the change that I have been able to bring about. This contentment also keeps me enthusiastic and my mind open for further learning. I naturally become an embodiment of what I have learnt. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 23, 2017: Be Reluctantless!

Daily Positive Thoughts: August 23, 2017: Be Reluctantless!

Be Reluctantless!

We have a tendency to make significant choices in our lives and then forget that we actually made the choice. Work is such a choice. If we forget to choose the work we do then each day of our life can easily be an experience of continuous reluctance. Would you choose to live your life reluctantly? Every time you use the words ‘have to’ you are telling the universe you would rather not be where you are and you’d rather not do what you are doing at that moment. And if you keep thinking in this way in one area of your life, it becomes a habitual thought pattern which you soon find turning up in your attitude everywhere in your life. And if you keep thinking, feeling, saying and living with this pattern of reluctance you can be absolutely sure the universe will eventually grant your recurring wish. But you will like the result even less. Nothing positive, fulfilling or empowering was ever created with the energy of reluctance. Don’t be reluctant about anything in your life today. Re-affirm your presence and your choices every day.

The Significance Of The Power Of Thought In Meditation

Meditation is not a process of emptying the mind of thought. In meditation I use the natural power of the soul – the power to create thoughts, as a take-off point (or as a spring-board) to finally experience the consciousness of the true self. In meditation, I climb a ladder of well-prepared, positive and spiritual thoughts and eventually climb beyond the ladder into the pure experience of what I really am. Pondering over these pure and real thoughts can occupy the soul for long periods of time.In the most basic stage of Rajyoga meditation, first comes the realization: I am a soul, the energy of consciousness made up of a mind, an intellect and a collection of sanskars. My eyes, ears, nose, mouth are just the organs, which when used correctly, help me, the soul, enjoy life. I now possess the knowledge that will free me from my cage. I have the key, spiritual knowledge is the key - I am a soul, a being of light, a bird which has the power to fly freely. Knowing this, I am not bound by physical laws. I can detach and fly at the speed of a thought, to the soul world, where I can easily experience my original state. I must realize that it is impossible to have peace of mind if I cannot detach from the body. I must look upon all my family members, friends, colleagues, also as souls which have come from the soul world. We are all fellow souls.

Be Introvert

It is extroversion that wastes our energy and makes us feel weak. In a
state of introversion we think less and speak less. We then have the
power to put into action whatever we think and whatever we need to do.

Message for the day

The one who is responsible is the one who is always light. 

Expression: To be responsible means to do everything with the best of one's ability. It comes with the recognition and the understanding of the importance of the task. No action is wasted, but everything meaningfully connects to the fulfillment of the task. So there are not even ordinary actions, but only those that are meaningful. 

Experience: When I take up every task that I need to do with full responsibility, I am able to give my best. Then I will be able to be light having done my task well and in time. There is never the pressure of work, but there is plenty of time for the self and for others. I also find my inner resources being used to the fullest extent. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris