Contemplation:No Task Too Difficult

Contemplation:No Task Too Difficult

Liz Arch and Ashika Gogna- Venice, California

No Task Too Difficult

If you do everything with the feeling of happiness, there will be no task too difficult to perform.

Stability

When we are faced with difficult situations, we usually tend to have a
feeling that we have no resources or are not able to make the best use
of the resources within for best results. Thus we are not able to
experience real progress. On the other hand we only tend to experience
a lot of negative feelings. When we learn the art of being stable in
the most negative situations, we will know how to use the treasures
that are hidden within ourselves. Our mind is no longer disturbed with
waste or negative thoughts and we find it easy to face and learn from
each and every situation.

A Spiritual Perspective Of True Love

Emotional love can flower into true love when the fire of emotions cools down and is substituted by a wiser and more mature relationship. True love needs a fresh and renewing atmosphere, without fears. When you feel spiritually full, you feel flowing over with pleasure, happiness, wellbeing, and that state helps you to accept the one whom you love as they are, because from your fullness you give and share and you don't need or expect anything from the other. While you need something that you want the other to satisfy, you will have expectations and the fear that those needs might not be satisfied, and you will get frustrated more easily. When you feel like a being of peace, a being of love, a tranquil being, a being that is spiritually full and satisfied, your relationship with others is a relationship of sharing on a level on which fear is not generated. You are not asking for or taking anything from the other. An elevated sharing of love, of happiness, of knowledge, of wisdom takes place, in which you do not generate a dependency on the other.

Attachments and dependencies, fears and insecurity, block our experience of love, of peace, serenity, freedom, happiness. When you have a feeling of love that takes you to a state of joy, to wholeness, but then you attach yourself to the object of your love, be it a person, or a property, automatically the feeling changes into fear: you fear to lose the object of your love and, instead of feeling wholeness and enjoyment, you feel fear. Over time that attachment turns into a dependency and you start to become inwardly empty: that is, your energy level goes down. Love in its purest form is a like a spring that pours forth for the benefit of others. Learn the art of loving, being free and allowing to be. Pure, true, love is an unconditional love that flows freely. Do not cling (hold on to). Love does not cling.

Soul Sustenance

Creative Visualization

The incorporeal (non-physical) soul, situated in the centre of the forehead consists of three energies. Although each energy can be given a different name, it is actually the same energy, the soul, functioning on three different levels at the same time. These are the mind, which is the thinking faculty (energy) of the soul; the intellect, which is the decision-making and visualizing faculty (energy) of the soul and the personality characteristics, commonly called sanskaras.

In the practice of meditation, on one hand, the mind is used to create pure, positive and powerful thoughts or affirmations based on the basic qualities of the soul like peace, contentment, happiness, love, joy, power, etc. Along with that, the intellect is used to create visual images of the same thoughts, which is called creative visualization. This process brings about a positive change in our sanskaras. This is the basic principle used in the Rajyoga meditation taught by the Brahma Kumaris. Creative visualization may be used in various ways to experience true relaxation of the mind.

Message for the day

With benevolent feelings and good wishes we can free people from worrying.

Projection: When we come across someone who is faced with a difficult situation because of which he is worrying, we too usually tend to think about it. Instead of helping the other person to be free from worrying, we too begin to worry. This doesn't help either of us in anyway but only adds to the negativity of the situation.

Solution: We need to develop such benevolent feelings for the one who is going through the situation that the power of our positive feelings will spread to them too. It will act like the light of the lamp, which helps to dispel the darkness around. Only when there is positivity in the mind will they be able to think of some solution.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: See Only Virtues and Specialties

Contemplation: See Only Virtues and Specialties

See Only Virtues and Specialties

An ant is tiny beside an elephant but as soon as an ant enters the ear of an elephant it goes crazy. The elephant’s ears are so big, the elephant itself is so big and yet a tiny ant makes it go wild. In the same way, if I allow the slightest defamation of anyone go through my ears, I lose all my spirituality. I lose all my value because I start interacting with others on the basis of what I have heard about them. Pay attention to this! We have to be very, very selective in what we allow to enter our ears. Let me learn to see only virtues and specialties. Let me not concentrate on anyone’s weaknesses.

Harmony

Usually there is an expectation from others to have the same level of
qualities or understanding as we have. It generally becomes difficult
to accept or understand the other person's behavior or words if they
are different. At such times there is a tendency to form an attitude
towards such a person and thus we are not able to get along well with
him. We need to recognize the fact that like the notes of music we are
all different. Only when we can harmonize together can we create a
beautiful tune. When we remember this we will not expect the other
person to change according to us but will learn to understand and blend
our personality with his.

Spiritual Vision

In a state of high self-regard, the awareness of oneself as a spiritual being or soul performing pure action, brings the awareness that other beings are also souls performing actions through their bodies. When there is this vision or drishti; this way of seeing another person as a spiritual being, when the attitude of soul-to-soul is maintained, then there is true communication and pure interaction and the desired state of peace, and purity occurs automatically. If you achieve a state in which you are naturally peaceful, pure and happy by being soul conscious, you can be sitting anywhere and, because the thought vibrations radiating from you, the soul, are of such high quality, other beings are necessarily receiving your positive energy.

Soul Sustenance

Reflection (cont.)

To be dictated to by external situations, which make us run around without stopping internally, brings about unnecessary stress on the mind, which keeps us tied to the strings of the external, like a puppet pulled, pressed and pushed by circumstances.

To break free from this force, to relieve the mind of the weight of stress and waste and routine, I need to step inside and reflect (think) on who I am and where I am going and reassess my value system.

Otherwise, life becomes like a wheel that keeps spinning faster and faster until we become dizzy - we want to get off but it is going so fast we do not know how.

Reflection and taking time to understand spiritual knowledge bring us to the essence of everything.

Message for the day

Negative situations can be transformed into positive with the power of stability.

Projection: When faced with a negative situation, usually the mind gets affected. Lot of questions arise in the mind that don't allow me to be stable at that time. Because of the thoughts in my mind, Although it is in my hands to work at transforming the situation I don't make use of this opportunity but only end up adding to the negativity.

Solution: In a negative situation, it is necessary for me to maintain my own inner stability. I need to free myself from wasteful thoughts. Then the negativity in the situation will finish, first in my mind and then in the situation itself. My own internal stability will help in finishing the influence of the external situation.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: No Blame

Contemplation: No Blame

No Blame

By having an attitude free from blaming others, good wishes are received from everyone.

Fortune

There are usually a lot of negative feelings experienced when something
goes wrong. At that time there is no perception of the positive aspects
of life. Then we tend to feel sorry for ourselves and remember only the
negative things. Then there is a tendency to think that we are not so
fortunate. Even in the most difficult times we need to make conscious
effort to see the positive aspects in our life. We need to understand
that circumstances will come and go but our fortune will remain
unbroken. This awareness will keep us happy and make us work harder in
the worst conditions.

Meditation And Health

Each original quality of the self or soul is specially required for nourishing and empowering one human body system. The quality of peace is responsible for taking care of the respiratory system, joy for the gastrointestinal system, love for the circulatory system, bliss for the endocrine system, knowledge for the brain and nervous system, purity for the immune system and the five senses and power for the muscular and skeletal systems.

Each one of us has at least one body system, which is most prone to disease. When our mind is under the influence of stressful emotions, there is a decrease in the flow, from the soul to this body system, of that quality which is required by it for its nourishment, which leads to the development of disease in this system over a period of time e.g. when an individual with a weak respiratory system is in a negative state of mind, there is a decrease in the flow of the quality of peace to the respiratory system which in turn can lead to a disorder like asthma.

Soul Sustenance

Reflection

Reflection (thinking deeply) is a necessary step in digesting knowledge.

Reflection is an exercise of the mind and intellect that goes into the depths of understanding an idea, or realization, or point of knowledge with the aim of practicing it in daily life.

Values in my life are a sign that knowledge has been digested; without this, knowledge simply remains a beautiful aspect, appreciated, interesting information in my intellect but without the ability to give me strength because it is still external; it has not been internalized.

All quality action (quality action is that action which is truly appropriate to person, circumstance and the need of the moment), all newness of perception (understanding), all new insights, or vision, require a space for silent reflection as a preliminary step.

Normally, we are lost in the business of action, its routine and ritual that make our life so mechanical and hence dull and boring, or demanding and hectic.

A mind and intellect that do not give time and attention to reflective silence (meditation) become lazy, though externally there is lots of activity for hours and hours. No new heights are reached because there is no depth of awareness in what we are doing, no reflection on purpose. As a result, we get trapped by routine.

(To be continued tomorrow ....)

Message for the day

Where there is honesty there is flexibility.

Projection: When someone challenges the truth of what we are saying we generally tend to argue and prove our point in order to prove ourselves right. When we argue in this way, it only shows our own stubbornness and doesn't help in any way to reveal the truth. Where silence doesn't help in revealing the truth, argument never will because the other person is not in a position to listen to us at that moment.

Solution: We need to realize the fact that when the other person is not able to recognize the truth, our arguing will not help in any way. When the truth is with us we need not argue but we only need to wait for the right opportunity to talk what we have to say. When we try to talk when the other person is not in a position to listen to us, it only reveals our lack of flexibility.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Be Wise

Contemplation: Be Wise

 

 

Be Wise

You get wise from listening and regret from speaking.

Treasures

All of us have a lot of treasures-treasures of virtues, powers,
knowledge etc., which we normally don't put into use. When they are
out of use for a long time, they get wasted away. So at the time that
we require to put into use these treasures they are not available to
us. At such times we are not able to respond rightly to the situation.
The more generously I use the treasures that I have with me for the
benefit of others and myself too, the more these treasures are
available for me at the right time. Also, for being generous with my
treasures I find myself moving easily towards success with the
blessings that I get in return.

Pure Cooking (cont.)

1. First, it is essential to develop a positive attitude towards cooking. Before undertaking any food preparation, ask yourself. 'Do you consider the project at hand to be an enjoyable, creative activity or an unpleasant time-consuming boring, repetitive karma?' Find a way of enjoying it, by playing spiritual songs or trying new recipes and having deep meditation while cooking.

2. Before cooking, make sure the kitchen is clean and in order. Take out all the things you will need to make the meal and place them where they will be used. This makes the process of cooking more smooth and enjoyable.

3. While cooking avoid doing other work in between. You will actually be saving time and the food will definitely turn out better.

4. As much as possible, remain in silence, paying attention to the quality of the thoughts you have. Try to have pure and peaceful thoughts. This creates a powerful atmosphere that fills the food with pure vibrations and brings personal benefits as well.

Soul Sustenance

Fears And Dependencies In Relationships (cont.)

With dependency in relationships (as discussed yesterday) we enter into an energy of pleasing others so that they might continue to appreciate us. We base our self-esteem and personal security on the appreciation of these people. We stop acting in a natural, free and spontaneous way because we are worried about pleasing the one from whom we are taking mental, emotional or physical support.

Into this energy of dependence enters fear: fear of losing the support of that person, fear they will get angry, fear that they might not like us any more, fear that they might reject us, etc. That fear is a signal that warns us of our emotional weaknesses and of our lack of self-esteem. Fear brings on a greater inner insecurity, which makes us carry on holding on to that dependence.

There are people who, after entering into a energy of dependence and suffering because of it, leave that relationship with the objective of freeing themselves from the pain it brings about in them. Then they begin another relationship, where they generate the same energy. The solution is not in a change of relationship with another person, although on occasions that might help us. If we don't change this energy internally and if we don't learn to have a solid base of self-esteem, we will continue to depend on the appreciation and affection of others in order to appreciate and love ourselves.

Message for the day

The one who has the spirit of service is free from wasteful thinking.

Projection: It is usually thought of as an additional burden to think of serving others. The usual thought is to think of first serving oneself and when one is content to think of serving others. But this thought makes one miss out on the fact that both service to oneself and service to others are complementary to each other, one helping the other in a positive way.

Solution: When we take on the responsibility of bringing benefit to others, i.e., when we consider ourselves as a humble server we will be free from wasteful and negative thinking. We will not waste our thoughts and energy on something that is not worthwhile, something that is not going to bring benefit to anyone. So each thought, word and action of ours becomes elevated.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: See Benefit

Contemplation: See Benefit

 

Matt Molloy is a Canadian photographer behind a beautiful sky photography set called ‘Time Stack’.

See Benefit

Seek to 'see' the benefit in all events.

That's not to say, ignore the downside.

See the 'reality' but, at the same time, deliberately look for the upside. Find that silver lining.
Look for the lesson. 

Realize, nothing happens TO us but everything happens FOR us. 

Shift, "Why is this happening TO me?" to "What is the lesson here FOR me?"

Faith

Sometimes when we are trying for something, we find ourselves losing
hope and giving up midway. Although we do feel that we are trying till
the end, it is usually not so. Sometimes we find ourselves giving up
just before we could have succeeded. Determination to succeed comes
with faith - faith in myself and the faith that things will work out
fine. This faith doesn't let me give up mid-way but gives me
determination that makes me put in effort till I achieve success.

Pure Cooking

A significant part of our lifestyle is to consider the quality of our thoughts required while making food. Living in a family may make it more difficult to have that quiet and ordered state of mind while cooking. Also, children, friends, husbands and wives have the habit of coming into the kitchen while you are cooking. So, see if you can re-organize your timetable so you can cook at a time when they are busy, and then you can properly concentrate on giving pure vibrations to the food. It also helps if you play some gentle, soothing music which reminds you of the Supreme Soul or God while you are cooking. Even better sit in meditation for 4-5 minutes in the kitchen before starting to cook.

If you think of yourself while you are cooking then there will be a vibration of greed created. If you think of others while you are cooking there will be a vibration of attachment created. Think about the Supreme and there will be that feeling of deep love and freedom (liberation).

Physical cleanliness before cooking is important. Walking off the market or crowded roads, into the kitchen and cooking can affect the vibrations of the food. Washing, changing and meditating is a good start for preparation of satwic food. The ideal time for cooking is in the morning, the mind is quiet and if one has read a short paragraph of spiritual knowledge sometime after getting up, the mind is filled with new gems of spiritual knowledge, free of waste thoughts.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Fears and Dependencies in Relationships

Relationships are a source of support for our life, or at least, they should be. Relationships should ideally be an exchange of happiness and love. Peaceful relationships are the foundation from where we create, generate and carry out shared endeavors (efforts). Thanks to cooperation, we achieve our objectives.

When people are asked about what the different causes of stress, worries and suffering are, one of the main answers is relationships. Relationships have become a cause of ties (bondage) and pain. Instead of trust it seems fear dominates in relationships. In a relationship of love - be it family, be it friendship - due to emotional weaknesses and a lack of self-esteem, in order to learn to love ourselves we need another person or people to value us, to appreciate us, to need us, to love us. Even so, we do not manage to learn to love ourselves and we continue to depend on and worry about the opinion of others, what others might say, think or feel about us. You fear the answer of others; you fear they might say something that hurts you. These fears arise out of the emotional dependence on this person or these people. And they (fears) prevent us from developing and expressing all our potential, meaning that we stop being ourselves and we fear sharing ourselves openly.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

True service is to spread the light of happiness to all around.

Projection: In any negative situation, the usual reaction is to feel disheartened and unhappy. With this reaction to the situation, the people around too are affected as the unhappiness spreads around. Focusing this way only on the problem creates such negativity that it doesn't inspire anyone to work for a solution.

Solution: Instead of spreading unhappiness in a difficult situation by seeing the negative aspect, we need to think of how to bring a solution. Even if we can't, we need to look at some positive aspect in it that will enable us to maintain our own positivity. When we keep ourselves happy in this way, we will be able to spread this happiness to others too.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Wisdom

Contemplation: Wisdom

 

Wisdom

You are a wise soul who unlocks the mysteries of life by beginning with the self.

Accept Challenges

In many situations that life brings our way we have two choices -
either we meet them bravely and take up responsibility for our own
lives and the choices we make, or, we just try to escape. Many times we
find ourselves taking the second way, which brings neither external
success nor internal satisfaction. Internal satisfaction lies more in
accepting challenges than in trying to escape them. I need to remain on
the field in the game of life instead of just being a spectator. The
more I play the more expertise I gain. This thought enables me to
accept the different challenges that life brings.

The Practice Of Meditation - cont.

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...

Soul Sustenance

Spiritual Roses of the Supreme Gardener

The main features of physical flowers are their colour, form and fragrance, by which we judge their beauty. All these characteristics have their own unique importance. Introducing oneself to spirituality is like giving oneself into the hands of the Supreme Spiritual Gardener or the Supreme Being (God). Like a physical gardener who possesses qualities of patience, tirelessness, love, far-sightedness, faith etc. on a limited level, the Supreme Gardener possesses these qualities on an unlimited level, which he uses to bring us up. As we remain under his sustenance and care, over a period of time, we blossom and are transformed into beautiful spiritual flowers, and our thorns fall away. When we look at ourselves as spiritual flowers, our colour symbolizes spiritual knowledge. Depending on how we imbibe the wisdom shared by the Spiritual Gardener and bring it in our day-to-day functioning; in our thoughts, words, actions and relationships; the more beautiful a colour we take. Our form is shaped depending on the quality of our connection with the Supreme Being, the Gardener. The deeper and stronger the connection, the more beautiful the form. Lastly, our fragrance refers to divine qualities like sweetness, humility, tolerance, carefreeness, purity and many more, which we develop. Physical flowers with a good colour, form and fragrance, attract everyone around them. Seeing and coming close to them, gives one an experience of joy. The same holds true for spiritual flowers.

Roses are considered the king of all flowers, with the best possible colour, form and fragrance. Spiritual roses are those souls which continuously remain in a spiritual consciousness and spread the fragrance of that consciousness to others. Their thoughts, words and actions get shaped according to this consciousness. They have a deep relationship with the Spiritual Gardener and are always eager to ensure that others also experience that relationship and become spiritual roses, which is a deep wish of the Supreme Gardener, for every spiritual being. They help him in fulfilling that wish.

Message for the day

The one who is aware of the attainments is the one who is content.

Projection: Sometimes, there is a tendency to compare ourselves with others and find ourselevs lacking in some way. This creates unhappiness in us and we are not able to remain content. Comparing ourselves with others or having expectations makes us miss out on perceiving the attainments we have in our life. And we are not able to experience contentment.

Solution: Instead of looking at what we don't have, which is usually the practice, we need to make effort to see what we have attained or what we are attaining. Once we make this practice, we will be able to look at the positive aspect in our life, which will enable us to remain content under all circumstances, i.e., in both positive and negative situations.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: A Breeze

Contemplation: A Breeze

Chidorigafuchi, Japan

A Breeze

Never fight. Wisdom never fights, it waits patiently, speaks positively, releases easily, sees benefit in everything and envisions a future of abundance, knowing that all needs will be met at the right moment, in the right way. If you think life is a struggle you will always be struggling. If you think life is a breeze, your attitudes and actions will convey lightness and easiness. And that's what attracts everything you need, and much more. Make today a breeze not a battle.

Regard

There is usually a desire to control people and also a demand to get
regard from all. In the process there is a tendency to show authority
to those around in order to get things done. Yet this does not bring
concrete results, as there is no control over others or their
behaviour. The best way to get things done is by giving regard to all.
When there is regard, people are able to willingly use their
specialties for the success of the task. Also, when we have true regard
for others, we are also able to receive regard from them. It is this
regard that makes others understand and behave according to my needs.

The Practice Of Meditation

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...)

Soul Sustenance

Emotional Joy And Emotional Sorrow 

We commonly become emotional, either in times of sorrow e.g. at being separated from a loved one, at experiencing failure in an external event, on hearing a negative news, etc. or in times of joy e.g. when our child or spouse or even pet performs a warm act, while watching a movie, etc. While we have always believed that it is absolutely normal or natural to become emotional and some of us even believe that it is good to let go of our emotions and crying once in a while makes us lighter and stronger; on a spiritual level, becoming emotional comes under the realm of dependencies and dependencies always weaken us. This is because when we become emotional, instead of influencing our self on our own, we allow something or someone outside our self to influence us. We bring that something or someone or some event outside our self, inside, in front of the eye of our mind, attach our self to it, and lose our self in it i.e. we let the image hijack our internal world in a way, as we become subservient to it. As a result our thoughts, feelings, emotions, words, actions are influenced in a big way by the image. This is a spiritual definition of becoming emotional. Passing on the remote control of my internal world to the outer world in this way is a sign of a not so strong internal self. 

So what does one do instead? Instead of creating images of external events and people inside our minds and being influenced by them, we still watch these scenes, but instead of losing our self in them and taking from them, we contribute to them by giving them our internal energy, but at the same time make sure that while doing that, we are detached from them and not over-involved emotionally. Internal energy is given in the form of appreciation and love if it’s a positive scene and power, compassion and co-operation if it’s a negative scene, so as to help the scene to be corrected or resurrected. This is influencing instead of being influenced. This is a more empowering experience. In this way we regain the control over our inner world and rise above such emotional dependencies. 

Message for the day

To be seated on the seat of self-respect is to use virtues in life. 

Expression: It usually seems very difficult to use the virtues within us when the people around are not doing so. At such times using negativity seems much easier. In spite of not having that particular weakness predominantly, say of anger, when there is provocation from the outside we tend to react with that weakness. 

Experience: In order to free ourselves from weaknesses and work with the virtues within us we need to make sure we are seated on the seat of self-respect. For this we need to recognise and appreciate some speciality within us. When we are in the awareness of this speciality of ours, we will be able to stabilize ourselves in the state of our self-respect. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/