Contemplation: Faith

Contemplation: Faith

Faith

When I am continuously being battered by the storms of life, and my very spirit is ebbing away, then all I need to do is hang onto that gift called 'Faith', that one support which will weather the storms. Faith does not depend on a clever head, only belief: belief in the self and the strength that lies within. Faith is the seed of victory and the foundation of making the impossible possible.

Keep Smiling

When difficult times come by it seems very difficult to remain happy
and keep smiling. Only when the situation passes by, are we able to
smile again. So it is but natural that we are usually waiting for the
situation to get better for maintaining an internal state of happiness.
It is only when we have the ability to smile will we be able to face
the situation with courage and confidence. Then we will not waste our
thoughts on 'whys' but will be able to search for the right solution.
So the effort lies in the ability to keep smiling in all situations,
which brings maximum benefit for us.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage (cont.)

Can we experience freedom only when there is an absence of outside pressure? We feel pressured from many sides. At work, we feel the pressure to do tasks as per fixed guidelines of set systems and within boundaries of time, of keeping up our performance as per others' expectations and as good as our compatriots. In relationships, we feel the pressure of experiencing success in them, of satisfying others and gaining respect from them. In studies, we feel the pressure of having to excel in them, not only because that is instrumental in building our future but because of the desire to be seen in a positive light by others. We feel the pressure of having to earn more and more wealth to satisfy the necessities, comforts and luxuries of the family and to maintain a certain image in society. In the face of problems, we feel pressure when we are not able to solve them quickly or in the way that we want. Failure or its fear, in any sphere of life, generates pressure in us. Sometimes we experience pressure because the mind is not functioning as per our desires or directions or we are not able to transform our negative personality to a positive one as much as we want. When we believe that something harmful can happen if we don't reach our set objectives on time or in a certain manner, we feel pressured. Physical illnesses or their fear can also create pressure for some of us.

And so life turns into an endless amount of pressure crests, like speed breakers that appear one after the other, unsettling us and not giving us time to relax. When we feel pressured, it seems that the life forces rule our life and we do not feel free. In the long-term, this repetitive habit of creating feelings of pressure and carrying such baggage ends up leaving us exhausted on an emotional and spiritual level.

(To be continued tomorrow...)


Soul Sustenance

Being Impressed By Others – Is It Beneficial?

To keep our self esteem intact, we need to make sure that we do not have an impressionable intellect. Being impressed by people, in itself, is not bad, but we can fall into the tendency of staying trapped in the superfluous (excessive and unnecessary) and in appearances. What impresses us influences us and even moulds our awareness at that moment. We lose the ability to create our thoughts and feelings and these are influenced by the impression that we have allowed the other person to leave on us. Sometimes the impression is such that we completely give ourselves to it. We give up our power to the other, and we allow them to dominate our emotional world. The results of allowing oneself to be impressed are varied and on different levels.

For example, when we are impressed by the other's position; it is fine to respect the authority and the position of the other, but when we allow their position to impress us, our ability to relate to the person in a smooth way is blocked. This can make it difficult for us to be the authority in our own life. Another example is when we are impressed by the achievements of the other and put them on a pedestal. We compare ourselves with him or her and have weak thoughts of ourselves, such as that we are not as good or effective as them, or we might feel jealousy or guilt. All of this acts as an obstacle on the path towards our own achievement. It is good to recognise and appreciate the achievements and skills of others, but when we allow them to impress us, in some way, we submit ourselves to their influence and we weaken our self-esteem and our respect towards ourselves. Without realizing, we use the other to fill a gap that we feel in ourselves. This will not always work. It will not strengthen us; rather it will create a dependency and dependencies weaken us. 


Message for the day

Faith enables the creation of elevated fortune.

Projection: Usually there is a tendency to leave things to destiny. When something goes wrong, we blame fate for it. Then we feel the situation to be totally out of our control, which prevents us from taking responsibility for our own life. And we will not be able to work in any way for bringing about a change and improving the situation.

Solution: Instead of blaming fate for whatever is happening, we need to take up responsibility for creating our own fortune for the future. When we have faith in ourselves, we will take up responsibility for our own life. We will, then, be able to work at making our each thought beneficial, contributing to our success, making a better future for ourselves.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Change

Contemplation:  Change

Change

It is wiser to bend rather than to break. Those who change will get spiritual wisdom. Conversely, those who have wisdom will decide to change. Change is the first law of Nature.

Conscious Effort

As part of the daily routine, we do a lot of things, of which sometimes
we find ourselves having to do something that we don't enjoy doing.
Then we tend to force ourselves to do these things. In spite of all
the effort, we really cannot find any benefit in it. And we constantly
look for something else we enjoy. We need to make a conscious effort to
pick out something that we like in the task at hand. Only when we begin
to love the task will we be able to enjoy what we are doing and get the
maximum benefit from it. This is how we can accumulate, both with the
process of the task itself and from the result too.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage

On a spiritual level, pressure can be defined as an external force acting on us divided by our ability to bear the force or resist it. Thus, force and resistance capacity are two variants in the equation of pressure. Everyone has different resistance capacities. Two people with different resistance capacities will experience different amounts of pressure on being subjected to the same magnitude of force. A feeling of pressure absorbs our freedom and gives us an experience of being ruled by an external entity. There are a lot of people who hold the belief that they can experience freedom only in the absence of an external force, which is almost impossible, since there is almost some force or the other exerted on the soul by ups and downs that takes place in the role that it plays through the physical body; which includes the physical body itself; profession; family; wealth, all types of relationships, etc. Even our own personality, thoughts, feelings, emotions etc. exert pressure on us at times.

Apart from the resistance capacity, the other variant in the equation of pressure is not only force but our perception of what the magnitude of the force is. This depends primarily on the beliefs that we carry. Two people will perceive the same situation in their role (as explained above) as forces of different magnitudes. While we hold the belief that life events, people and their expectations from us, are the forces that are the causes of our pressure, we will be able to do little to change the habit of being pressurized. It is we who pressurize ourself and allow the outside to pressurize us. We can either go through our life journey while experiencing feelings of being emotionally imprisoned, confused, rushed and hurried, or we can do the same with the power of faith and determination, at the same time remaining patient and maintaining our inner emotional stability. In some cases, some of us put pressure on ourselves, because we carry the belief that a bit of pressure is good in order to achieve what we want; it provides us with positive energy and motivates us. So this is an example of perceiving a force in our life, a force which does not exist. Such kind of pressure can deceive us and give us a feeling of being beneficial in the short term but it can have harmful effects on us in the long term. Some others might not experience this pressure because they do not carry this belief at all and don't invite this force.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

The Art of Forgetting In Relationships

Sometimes, someone says something in two minutes that makes you feel really bad - they said it in two minutes but it is still there inside the register of your mind two months or even two years later. How could they! Who do they think they are! Something happened in two minutes and you remember it, you repeat it again in your mind and in your words during interactions with others. You keep replaying the scene repeatedly in your mind. Just like an action replay of a cricket match, you see the replays from different angles and judge the scene in many different and negative ways and come to different conclusions, most of which are negative in nature. With this you strengthen that experience in your mental register. Memories and the experiences associated with the memories replayed continuously in the conscious mind enter your sub-conscious, so that even after a long period of time you remember what they said to you. The other person unburdened themselves and forgot it straightaway.

It's like your neighbour who takes out rubbish, throws it outside his house, into your compound and forgets about it and you allow that rubbish to remain there, without thinking of getting it cleaned. Someone throws a few words at you and they forget, but not only do you not forget but you repeat them in your mind to such a point that at times these action replays do not even let you sleep. We need to learn the art of forgetting memories that generate shadows of hurt or pain in our present. The past has already gone and what you have now is the present moment.

Message for the day

The one who is powerful shows the practical proof of success instead of just talking about it.

Projection: It is usually very easy for us to talk about how to do things best, it is as much easy to tell others and give directions. But the one who is powerful is not just satisfied with mere words or proving to others about his success. He is more concerned more about being successful.

Solution: We need to check if we are applying in our life what we are talking about. We need to see to it that whatever we speak about, we must put into practice. Only then will we find improvement and progress in our life. Then, there will be no more the need to talk about our success but our life will reveal how successful we are. We will, then, be an inspiration to many.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: The Spirit of Generosity

Contemplation: The Spirit of Generosity

The Opening Ceremony at the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi, Russia

The Spirit of Generosity

Generosity means more than just giving. It also means to cooperate with others. The greatest act of generosity is to see beyond the weaknesses of others, helping them to recognize their innate value.

Determination

Several times we find ourselves attributing our failures to our
incapability and tend to feel disappointed. However, the failure is not
because of lack of capacity to achieve that task, but because of lack
of determination. We tend to give up without trying till the end. When
we keep in our mind that the task at hand is important and it has to be
done at any cost, we find some or the other way to get the task done.
Because of our determination, we find receiving help from outside too
and we are successful in whatever we take up.

Spiritual Vision

A simple definition of spiritual vision is that I see the best in others. A parameter of proving to myself that I have a spiritual vision and I am seeing the best in others is that I naturally thank and praise rather than criticize those with whom I interact at home or at the workplace on a daily basis - even though I may see obvious negative characteristics in them and experience negative behavior from them. Keep a daily chart of the three points, for three people close to you, below for one week. Every night, fill this chart up for the day that's just gone by.

1. Name of person and relationship
2. How did I thank or praise him/her?
3. What was this person's response?

Remember that although you may be constantly positive with others, constantly seeing their original spiritual qualities, it may take time for your positive energy to transform them and for them to start transmitting positive energy back to you and start behaving positively with you. At the end of the week, check what benefits did you and others experience from this exercise.

Soul Sustenance

Stress Management

Worry is triggered by any negative memory of the past. It means, you are suffering, and you are probably under the illusion (false belief) that you are enjoying your suffering. It also means you are not living now. You are missing your own life by living in your worries, which are always in the past and in the future. Your worry habit has trapped you in the past where you get the raw material for your worries, and a non-existent future, where you focus that material, and the result is you miss your life now. All this won't change until you choose to change the worry habits that you have recorded in your consciousness (mind). That will require the removal of the illusion (false belief) that you hold inside that it's good and necessary to worry. It's a waste of time and energy. It means replacing the desire to create images of negative futures with positive responses to what is happening in your life right now. Otherwise your worry karma will keep you in permanent pain (sorrow). 


Message for the day

To contribute selflessly is to move forward with the blessings of all.

Projection: Many times we find ourselves in situations where there is a problem, where we seem to be part of the problem too. We try defending ourselves but people do not always understand. At such times there is no solution to be found, and we find ourselves talking again and again about the problem.

Solution: We need to become part of the solution instead of just being part of the problem and talking about it. To be part of the solution means to make some contribution in order to better the situation. When we do whatever little we can, we continue to receive blessings from those around us.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Stability

Contemplation: Stability

Stormy Seas due to a Hurricane in Portugal

Stability
Amidst the earthquakes of unexpected situations, the hurricanes of unreasonable behaviour, when fortune strikes against me, I will remain unmoved, knowing that finally all will be well.

Positive Qualities

When we make mistakes or when we are not able to keep pace with the
challenges that come our way, we tend to see our own negative aspects.
The more we tend to remind ourselves of these negative aspects, they
further get strengthened and so there is the tendency to use them again
and again. Instead of focusing on our negative qualities, we need to
pay more attention to our positive qualities. The more we remind
ourselves of these positive qualities and use them in a conscious way,
the more these qualities will begin to be visible in our life. Then
there would be no space for negativity.

The Internal Voice Of Our Conscience (cont.)

An angerholic (one who gets angry repeatedly) hears the internal voice telling him to stop creating mental unrest, harming his body, hurting others and being addicted to the habit and the hormones that get created inside the body due to the habit, but then ignores the voice or drowns it out. This only adds to the inner disharmony (peacelessness) already present and both self-respect and self-esteem are slowly reduced. Any action we do which springs from forgetfulness (body-consciousness) will trigger this inner, spiritual discomfort. Following the action, we might feel guilty for doing something we internally knew was wrong. Any form of guilt except the one that is caused by another person i.e. except the case when guilt is caused inside you because another person is emotionally blackmailing you, is the voice of our conscience calling to say that we are acting against the essence, something is out of sync. Our level of guilt acts like a thermometer (an indicator). It shows us when and to what extent we are not aligned to truth. If we learn to pay attention, listen closely to this inner discomfort and the message it conveys, we will also hear why and how to make corrections, so that we no longer create negative karma.

Soul Sustenance

Anger Management And Prevention

How often has your anger ever made any positive difference to situations? Probably never.

Have you ever noticed that when you get angry with someone it seems to push them away, they go into hiding, they go underground, and then it’s not possible to influence them and help them to change.

Then some people think, that if you don’t get angry about anything and with anyone you might as well lie down and be a doormat, one on which anyone can walk over. Well you could if you think doormat is a role you would like to play, but it’s not compulsory. You could be assertive (confidently aggressive in a positive sense or self-assured) instead of angry. You are fortunate to have an intellect that knows the way to differentiate between right and wrong, you are human so you have the ability to be understanding and compassionate (merciful), and you have a unique contribution to make to this game called life. So why not do something to help situations become better by applying the qualities of generosity, kindness and mercy instead of becoming angry? If you care about the situation so much what are you waiting for? Trouble is, the angry person is a bit like the compulsive complainer about situations. If you complain (get upset) about situations it means you have an image of how you would prefer things to be but you are not prepared to actually do something about it. 


Message for the day

The one who has the power of realization is the one who can bring transformation.

Projection: When something goes wrong we immediately begin to look for excuses why that mistake happened. This finishes our power of realisation and we will not be able to recognise our own mistake. Then we will not be able to work at improving ourselves and we will not be able to bring any transformation.

Solution: Instead of looking for excuses for what happened, we need to take the opportunity to check within ourselves and see our own mistake. When we recognise our mistake, however small it may be, we will be able to work on it. Only when we are able to realise our own mistake, will we be able to bring about transformation in ourselves.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: People

Contemplation: People

 

Artist: Harry George Theaker -The Anticipated Letter

People

If you always understand that the people in your life are there for a reason, you will never be angry.

True Non-Violence

Normally we pay a lot of attention not to hurt people physically but
sometimes hurt others through our words. We use words without really
thinking of the consequence and they tend to hurt others. This creates
negativity in others, which in turn affects us negatively too. In order
to bring true non-violence in our life, it is equally important to pay
special attention to what we speak. The basis of this is to change the
pattern of our thinking. If the words shouldn't hurt others we need
to have positive thoughts-thoughts based on good wishes and benevolent
feelings for others.

The Internal Voice Of Our Conscience

At the heart of our consciousness, we have a conscience. Our conscience is essentially our basic awareness of truth. From a spiritual point of view, the truth of who we are as spiritual beings is core and eternal truth. If we consider ourselves to be anything other than soul or spirit then we will be thinking and acting against our conscience, against our truth, which is like going against the essence of spirit. We will feel something is not quite right. If one of the pistons in our car engine is out of sync with the others, the engine will sound slightly different from normal. We immediately have it fixed, because we know that if it continues it may destroy the engine. If we do something that is out of sync with the truth, the voice of our conscience speaks to us. But we tend to ignore or suppress it, especially if we are having a seemingly pleasurable experience - we then create the sanskars or habit of ignoring our own conscience. As a result we keep repeating the negative karma and the sanskars of the negative karma are deepened, further ignoring the voice of our conscience. It is a vicious cycle, to come out of which is extremely difficult.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Experiencing The Natural Qualities Of The Soul (Meditation)

This meditation commentary will allow you to experience the natural qualities and nature of the soul. This is what we call soul consciousness.


I sit relaxed and comfortable… I become aware of my breathing…
I become aware of the thoughts passing in my mind…
I bring my mind towards thoughts of myself… my true nature…
Who am I…
I am a tiny sparkling star of light in the center of the forehead… energy, concentrated energy…
I radiate light through my body - my costume…
I feel myself different from the body... A point of light, energy using the body, directing the body…
I am a being of peace… A loveful being…
A being of light… A being of power…. I am light…
I am energy… I am alive, vibrant, sparkling, divine…

Now I use the powers of meditation to serve others:
I am separate from this dense body of matter, my vehicle… I am peaceful and stable…
I am powerful… I radiate the qualities of peace and love to other souls around me…
These are my natural qualities… In my real nature I am tranquil…
Radiating light and love into the world…



Message for the day

To become worthy of blessings means to make success easy.

Projection: Thinking of benefit for the self increases to such an extent that it sometimes takes on the form of selfishness. When we are selfish we stop thinking about others or the effect that our action is going to have on them. Then we are not able to move forward with lightness because the good wishes and blessings of others are not with us.

Solution: In each and every action of ours we need to first check if it is going to be beneficial for us as well as for others. As much as there is benefit for others, too, in the task that we are doing, that much the good wishes of others will be there for the task. With these good wishes we will be able to move forward much faster and achieving success will be easy.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Get Busy

Contemplation: Get Busy

Cherry blossoms, Fuji Volcano, Japan

Get Busy

Instead of losing sleep over whatever I have done wrong, let me get busy doing something right.

Lightness

When we are faced with any difficulty, we usually tend to carry the
entire burden of it. Although we know that we can do nothing about it
by worrying, we are not able to let go of the feeling of worry, tension
or anxiety. So we tend to retain this burden with ourselves and feel
heavy about it. The way to feel light even during difficult times is to
pass on my burdens to God. When with faith I give the burden to Him, I
begin to experience lightness and this will enable me to search for the
right solutions (that are already within me). When the mind is busy
looking for solutions, it is further able to experience lightness.

Understanding What Is Real Happiness

Real happiness is not an external stimulation by watching an action movie or eating out or buying a new dress; it is not the result of acquiring something - whether it be a new car or a position, or of receiving some good news. True happiness is not relief from suffering - whether from an illness or a difficult situation, nor is it the achievement of a goal - whether personal or professional. All these are externally dependent, where happiness is confused with stimulation, excitement, achievement, acquisition or relief. Happiness is not all of these. You also know that happiness is not a future promise. It can only be experienced now.

So what is spiritual happiness - perhaps a better way to describe spiritual happiness is contentment. This comes from a complete awareness and acceptance of the self as we are now at an internal level, and an acceptance of 'what is' at an external level. Sounds difficult? The highest happiness is bliss which can be experienced only when the soul/self is totally free of all attachment and dependency. Sounds even more difficult? But this is a spiritual understanding and definition of happiness, which is not difficult to accept and make a part of our life, once there is a deep understanding and absorption of spiritual knowledge, but spiritual knowledge which is accurate and complete in all aspects. Spiritual happiness is a direct result of spiritual knowledge. Without complete knowledge of the self, one cannot remain ever and truly happy (happy as per the definition above).

Soul Sustenance

Adding A Spiritual Vibration To My Actions

My quality of yoga or meditation is reflected through the karmas or actions that I perform. If I add meditation in my daily routine, whatever actions I perform, start carrying a different quality or vibration to them. Work itself (whether at home or in the office), far from being a routine affair and just a medium of survival, becomes the basis of real transformation or change. After all, it was through actions that the soul came down from its original, pure, positive state. It is through actions that it can return back to the same state.

It's not just action for the self but action or karma becomes the means through which I can share the experience I have in meditation, with others – be it family members, my colleagues in the office, at the city mall, in the vegetable market, on the street etc. - just about anywhere and everywhere. My meditation isn't an incognito (invisible) process but a very visible one. I can see the results of yoga through my karmas. If my actions are filled with irritation and anger, or are motivated by emotions such as ego, greed, attachment, jealousy, hatred, etc, or if I do not experience constant happiness or my mind still has a high percentage of waste thoughts, these are indicators that my meditation is inaccurate or insufficient. If there is the experience of a link with the Supreme, his peace, purity, love, joy and power will manifest themselves and be visible to others through my actions.


Message for the day

Success comes to the one who understands the importance of time.

Projection: When we are working at a task, success doesn't come as much as it should because we have not been able to recognise the importance of time. Because of this sometimes carelessness sets in which makes us lose valuable time and interferes in what we are doing. Then, we cannot give our best to the task.

Solution: We need to recognise the importance of time so that we never postpone what we can do now. We will then always have the slogan 'now or never' in our mind. Knowing that what we can do now, we cannot do it as well in the future, we'll give our best to all we do right now. This will enable us to use our time in a fruitful way and success will come very easily to us.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Dive Deep

Contemplation: Dive Deep

1,300 year old city submerged virtually intact underneath a man-made lake in China

Dive Deep

The mind that rests only on the surface of things will be tossed about in every storm. Let me dive deep to where peace can always be found.

Stability

Whenever there is a difficult situation, the first reaction is usually
negative. In spite of not wanting to, there is a tendency to be carried
away with a storm of waste thoughts. Such waste thoughts are no use and
further take us away from finding the right solution for the problem at
hand. The practice of one positive thought everyday helps us to
maintain stability constantly. It takes a long time of practice in
order to experience stability in a difficult situation, because it is
not possible to bring stability after the waste thoughts have come in
our mind. Our constant practice keeps us ready with the right weapon to
combat the situation.

Observing But Not Absorbing

To observe means we take a new, appropriate mental position in whatever situation, or in whatever relationship, we find ourselves. Observation is a silent skill -- a skill we need to learn if we are to assess clearly what positive changes are needed to be made in the self in a particular situation or relationship.

If we fail to learn this art of observing, we are likely to react and absorb ourselves in the negativity of the person, or event. We get lost in the quicksand of what's wrong? which prevents us from putting things right. As we absorb and fill ourselves with negative emotion, we become heavy and remain helplessly rooted to the ground. The gravity of overload does not allow us to rise above a situation and to understand the reality of what is happening. As a result, we lose perspective and overreact.

If we wish to understand how the mental position of observation gives us the power of perspective, we can look at the example of the bird and the ant. The ant, extremely busy, running here and there, scrambling over everything in its rush to find and collect food, will see only what is in front of its nose. The bird, on the other hand, leaves the earth and, as it flies higher and higher, starts to see the bigger picture, compared to when it was on the ground, or on the branch of a tree. Seeing the whole picture, it has a completely different perspective. It is only then that it can truly see where to go and what to do. When we get absorbed in a situation or relationship, we lose perspective, we are like the ant, we get too involved in the details, missing the obvious, and cannot imagine, or think of other possibilities.

Soul Sustenance

Creating A Positive Atmosphere

Instead of expecting external situations to always be giving some personal benefit to us, the soul should see how it could give benefit in any situation, thus creating a powerful atmosphere of benefit. Where there is expectation there is always the possibility of disappointment thus creating a negative atmosphere, but where there is an attitude of giving benefit there can never be disappointment. When the soul has the power to maintain its chosen positive experience in the mind, it generates a powerful, pure atmosphere. The more powerful the soul, and the greater the number of other souls experiencing the same, the more powerful the corresponding atmosphere.

The original nature of the soul is to be peaceful. Through Rajyoga meditation, we develop the power to maintain an experience of peace for long periods, even when speaking or performing action, and this very naturally has an effect on the immediate atmosphere wherever we may be; in a room, a office, at home or on the street. Ultimately I can influence the entire world in a positive way.

Message for the day

True service is to be free and make others free from obstacles.

Projection: When we are involved in a task, we totally think about ourselves irrespective of what effect it has on others. Such an attitude sometimes takes on the form of selfishness to the extent that we become an obstacle for others.

Solution: We need to check ourselves whenever we are involved in a task if what we are doing is effecting others positively or negatively. Whatever we do, only if there is benefit for us as well as for others, can we call it truly successful.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/