Contemplation: Generosity

Contemplation: Generosity

Generosity

My heart is full and open, flowing with pure good feelings and good wishes for everyone. I follow my spontaneous instinct to give and I am totally happy.

Acceptance

Love makes us free from expectations, which enables us to accept people
as they are. We are then able to understand others' uniqueness and
provide them with whatever is necessary for their positive growth. Let
me think of one person in whom I am not able to tolerate some quality.
I then need to tell myself that just as a mother accepts her child even
with weaknesses, I will accept this person as he is. When I change my
attitude towards that person I can be free in my mind and give them the
freedom to express their uniqueness.

God As The Ocean Of Knowledge

It is believed that God knows the details of every atom and every thought in the universe. It is because of God's ultimate, pervasive knowledge that He can be described as an ocean. Understanding this world does not necessarily mean to be aware of every detail of the movement of every single leaf or every single molecule. All that is required is to understand completely the conditions through which souls and matter pass.

One of the basic beliefs of Christians is that God created man in His own image. God, being the embodiment of knowledge, creates with knowledge. Being the wisest of all, He has the power to change the intellects of human souls. How? When we, the souls, having come in the process of birth and rebirth, become impure, God shares with us the knowledge of the soul and its births; the knowledge of Himself, the Creator; the knowledge of meditation i.e. the method of connecting with him and the beginning, the middle and the end of creation or the vast world drama, as a result of which we are able to appreciate this drama, and imbibe our true qualities of love, peace and bliss. As a result we are liberated from sorrow and a new world order is created. In order for him to perform His work as Creator it is not necessary for Him to listen to our every thought, our every secret. He is part of an eternal, predestined drama that He did not create but in which He finds Himself as the principal actor. Thus He is the only true philanthropist. Human actions, whether good or bad, are dictated by self-concern, whereas God has nothing to gain because He is complete in all respects. He is the perfect embodiment of spirituality. He alone has the right to give knowledge regardless of human arguments. His knowledge is purely spiritual.

Soul Sustenance

Experiencing Spiritual Growth Through Group Interactions (cont.)

As explained in yesterday's message, if you are living in isolation you don't become aware of the dimensions of your ego and, therefore, you cannot overcome it.

Also, the beauty of group interactions or being a part of a spiritual community or any other group, is that in groups, various powers like the power to:

* adapt and mould oneself with people of different personality traits and as different situations in the group demand;
* tolerate;
* face negative situations in interactions;
* forgive and forget;
* become a detached observer of situations and people's actions, not to get over involved, in order to maintain one's stability and calmness;
* co-operate;
* communicate;
* see and absorb only specialties of each one (inspite of obvious weaknesses being visible) and spreading the specialties (not weaknesses) to the others in the group, by way of praising and not criticizing them;
* listen, understand and empathize;
* discriminate and judge different situations and people;
* go into inner silence, whenever required, amidst the actions and interactions of group activity;
* show respect to each one and remain in self-respect;
* remain content or satisfied and make the others content; etc.

are absolutely necessary to experience success in the groups, either within the relationships with others or even with the self. There is a difference between experiencing success with the self while staying alone and within a group. By bringing the above powers into practice in a group, they increase further inside us. This does not happen in isolation, or if it does, then the extent is quite limited. So basically, being a part of a group, brings about greater spiritual growth and empowerment.

Message for the day

To have true faith in oneself is to attain success.

Projection: Sometimes false courage is mistaken as faith. When we take up some task we might be deceived into a feeling of having a lot of courage which makes us over-confident. Then instead of putting in effort to give our best we tend to become careless. Such carelessness will not enable us to achieve easy success.

Solution: We need to check within ourselves and see if we have true faith in ourselves or not. Faith always comes with the recognition of our own specialities. We also need to pay special attention to work towards something that we can achieve. When we do this we will find ourselves succeeding naturally.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Interfere Lovefully

Contemplation:  Interfere Lovefully

Interfere Lovefully

One of the deepest habits we learn is interfering in others' lives. Even if we are not actively interfering there is a good chance it's happening in our heads. Then, when people don't do what we want them to do, which is usually all the time, our ability to relax is non existent. If you want to interfere successfully in someone else's life, try this loveful approach. It begins with acceptance, continues with acknowledgement, is empowered by appreciation and ends in actualization. Only in this way can we help others be all that they can possibly be, and what else is life for, but to help others to be all that they can be. Only by making love practical in this way, can we heal our own habits of criticism, envy and blame. Accept, acknowledge and appreciate. It doesn't mean you have to agree, comply or condone. The paradox is that we ourselves will receive the same in the process, not only from ourselves, as we become what we give, but from others along the way. Why? It's the law!

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Easiness

When we start with something, which has never been done before, we
first have a doubt if we could do it. The task in itself is not very
difficult, but it is this thought that makes it seem much more
difficult than it actually is. This fear doesn't let us use all our
potentials in an easy way. If there is a task, which is considered by
everyone to be difficult, or if I have any fear associated with it, I
need to first take a conscious thought that it is actually easy. And as
I move along I will find the solutions and I will continue to progress.
This thought enables me to be easy and finish everything easily.

Providing Emotional Support To Your Loved Ones

What do we do when friends and loved ones come to us for, and expect emotional support from us? Spirituality teaches us the right technique of providing emotional support - the technique of detached involvement, which is the technique of not being overawed, of not being affected ourselves by the emotions of others. If a friend, colleague or any loved one is upset and we also get upset (because we love them - that's what we normally say), we cannot provide them the necessary support or the assistance to see why they are reacting emotionally and how they might change the nature of their emotions by themselves. True love for someone would mean that I am able to provide them that. While being concerned is fine, but by becoming upset, seeing them upset simply aggravates the situation and adds fuel to their fire.

By remaining detached, we can be more effective in our ability to care, listen and help them think clearly about the situation, they find themselves in. Only if we are stable, and that can happen only when we are detached, will we be able to provide them stability. We can encourage and empower them to change their negative reaction to a more positive response, and thereby generate a healthier energy. If we become over-involved in someone else's problems, there is a risk that our own judgment will be affected negatively. This is why making decisions and choices under the influence of your own and others' emotions is normally ineffective.

Soul Sustenance

Experiencing Spiritual Growth Through Group Interactions

Anyone who is inclined towards growing spiritually will sooner or later feel the need to taking up a particular spiritual path, which provides him/her with an assigned code of leading a spiritual life and helps him/her to incorporate it in his/her life. This also means becoming a part of a spiritual group or gathering or community and participating in spiritual study, practice like meditation or prayer and perform service along with the group. But, on the other hand, there are also many spiritually motivated people who are not very interested in groups and communities and keep a distance from them. They are of the opinion that it is easier to work it out alone by collecting information from other alternate sources by books, the internet, the television, videos, etc. and progress spiritually. But the relationship between spiritual growth and being a part of or participating in a group is clear.

For the isolated and solitary person, growth is limited, since the personality is not activated to the same extent as when it interacts with others. In relationships and in living together, the various forms of hidden ego and the different shades of the personality, positive as well as negative, are stimulated, creating the possibility of being more aware and conscious about them, bringing about greater growth and spiritual development. After all, one of the main objectives of spiritual development is achieving victory over the ego and becoming soul conscious, getting rid of the negative shades of the personality and further enhancing the positive traits and skills, so that they can be used for benefiting the self and others.

Tomorrow we shall explain the various powers that are required to experience success in groups, which as a result, get enhanced in group activities and interactions.

Message for the day

The method to overcome fear is to keep giving power to others.

Projection: In difficult situations, the first reaction is that of fear- of the consequences, of one's own power to face the situation. With this comes the expectation that others should understand and help.

Solution: We need to take a thought to continue to give others even in difficult situations. Then, we will be able to overcome our fear. Since our mind is busy giving others we will be free from any negative thoughts and thus we will be stable.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Let Go and Let Love

Contemplation: Let Go and Let Love

Let Go and Let Love

Just as the bird has to let go of the branch in order to fly, in the same way we also need to let go to experience and express love. The branches we hold on to are our attachments (people and objects). When we mentally hold on to something or someone, we open ourselves to feel fear, pain, anger and possessiveness.

Love is about letting go and letting others be. It's about appreciating and accepting without dependency and expectation.

Uniqueness

There is usually a tendency to want to be recognized by others and we
try hard to make our actions such that others are pleased with whatever
we do. Sometimes we do succeed, but at other times when we do not get
any positive response from the others, we then tend to become
disheartened. We need to recognize our own uniqueness and remember it
consciously in everything that we do. We need to recognize the fact
that there is no human being without any specialty. We too have a
specialty, which makes us special. Using this unique quality of ours
will bring specialty in our actions too.

Experiencing Freedom In Relationships

How much are you influenced by what others think of you and how they see you? The degree to which you act on the basis of what you think others want and expect of you, allows them to have power over your inner and outer world.

Important aspects are how you think others see you, how you want them to see you and how you see yourself. The person who is not conditioned by how others see them, and doesn't even think about how they would like to be seen, but who rather is comfortable with themselves, has a presence that generates comfort. Others feel fine around that person.

Let us learn to free ourselves from the conditionings that generate the thinking of how we want others to see us. Let us feel the freedom to let ourselves be how we want to be.

Try it and you will see that the results are amazing. That way, as you go along, you will take off the masks that you wear due to the fears of what others will say and think.

Soul Sustenance

Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation –

The Power To Pack Up (cont.)

As I progress on my spiritual journey, even thoughts that waste the precious resources of the mind come to be seen as a barrier. Turning a scene over in my mind repeatedly is an example of waste, that will rob me of the mental concentration and emotional stability I need to keep moving forward. Sometimes we do get stuck, like a broken record, in such mental grooves, without realizing what we are doing.

The power of pack up means I recognize the damage caused by such waste, and put an end to it. As I renew the awareness of myself as a soul, in relationship with the Supreme Soul, the needle of my attention is lifted above the groove, letting me come fully into the present.

I also learn to be selective in what I choose to remember or forget from the past. This is not dishonest; in fact, it is being honest to my task. Human beings in any case have highly selective memories. We not only see and understand differently, according to our individual interests and agendas, but our attitudes and perception also determine the memories we choose to store.

Meditation enables me to exercise this option quite deliberately, picking up those scenes from the past that nourish me and help me move forward, and rejecting memories that pollute my mind and slow me down.

Message for the day

The one who gives constantly is a true bestower.

Projection: We usually find ourselves giving only to those who give to us. When someone gives us love or happiness, we too are inspired to give. So we find that unless we get from others, it becomes difficult to give.

Solution: We need to have the aim of not letting anyone go from us empty handed. That means we give them an experience of love or happiness or whatever they need at that time. When we have that aim, we will be able to give even when we don't get anything. And then, we find that only when we give do we get.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Paint a little Peace

Contemplation:  Paint a little Peace

Paint a little Peace

Values are those things, both tangible and intangible, which we care about the most. Most of us demonstrate by our actions that our values are mostly tangible or material. But if we were to reflect for a moment we might find that what we truly value is very intangible. Love, peace and happiness are our deepest values whether we are aware of it or not. So let's experiment. If peace is something you value, then how will you live peacefully today. You experience what you live. So if you want peace in your life...give it and you'll live it. Or do you prefer a bit of anger and stress? We are all artists and it's only when we paint our own life with the innate values of our spirit, which are also our eternal virtues, that we are truly creative. Paint a little peace, love and wisdom into your life today. If you do, and you make it a regular inner activity, the giving is automatic and the living is...easy!

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Special

We do pay special attention to perform actions that are special, but
not always can we perform such elevated actions that we wish to. We
tend to get caught up in the daily mundane things. So in routine life,
there is not a real experience of the specialty that is there within.
The aim is not to perform only actions that are special, but we also
need to pay special attention to make all our actions special. This can
happen when we recognize our own specialty and allow that specialty to
be revealed even in the simplest action of ours.

Understanding The Mechanism Of The Virtue Of Peace (cont.)

To experience the eternal peace of the soul world, I do the simple exercise explained yesterday and then go a step further. Having created the thought about myself that I am a sparkling star-like energy at the centre of the forehead, just above the eyebrows, visualized it and as a result experienced it, now my objective is visualizing my star like form in the soul world. With this objective in mind, I now create a simple thought that I the star-like energy will make a short journey to the soul world and back. So I create simple thoughts and visualize alongside that I, the soul am leaving my physical body and flying outside. Then I, see my star like form, slowly fly past the ceiling of the room I am in and see myself suspended in the sky (night sky makes the visualization more easy). I see myself as a point of radiant light high above many many buildings and lights. This is similar to what one would see from an aeroplane window while landing or taking off. I then see my light form going higher, past the atmosphere and going past a sea of stars and a few planets and the moon. I then take this visualization further and see myself entering the soul world, a region of soft orange-red light (this is similar to how it looks like at dusk). This region is multidimensional and unlimited in size or expanse. I see my star-like form suspended in this region, radiating rays of peace in all directions. I also see other white/golden star-like souls just like me in the same region. I spend some time in this region, in this experience. In this region my thoughts stop completely and I am only visualizing.

This is the eternal peace experienced whilst visualizing the spiritual self in the soul world. The peace experienced in this exercise is greater than in the exercise mentioned yesterday. Thus the sanskara of peace created in the soul in this exercise is deeper. After a few minutes of this experience, I see myself descending in the physical body in exactly the same way as I flew to the soul world. This is just a visualization exercise or experience and the soul does not actually leave the body and go anywhere. The two practical exercises explained in yesterday's and today's message can be used to experience the two types of peace mentioned. At one time, you can choose to either experience both types or only the first one. You can start with a few minutes and increase the time gradually. Continuous practice will create stronger sanskaras of peace and take you closer to your original state of peace.

Soul Sustenance

Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation -
The Power To Pack Up

On the path of meditation, I am a traveler, on a magnificent journey. I have to make some firm choices about I what will take with me on this journey. To pack up means to learn the lessons of the present, then to move on, letting the past be past. It means not carrying the baggage of the past into my present and future, but traveling lightly from one day to the next, keeping only what is most useful to me. That way, I'll enjoy the journey more, and move faster in the direction of my choice.

I'll also be lighter in my relationships. The power to pack up enables me to fill each exchange I have with others with freshness and newness, instead of allowing influences from past encounters with them to affect my present attitude and behaviour. When I carry emotional or intellectual baggage from the past into my present dealings with an individual, I don't give that person the opportunity to express himself freely: my attitude colours him with the paint of my previous experience. It is important to process the past, and learn from experience, but then finish it, so it does not block my view of how things are today.

Meditation helps me to acquire that discipline of finishing negative and wasteful thoughts i.e. inculcate the power to pack up. As the habit of self-observation develops, it doesn't take long to understand how negative thoughts and feelings literally negate my central aim, of re-emerging my true nature. Negativity drains the battery of the soul faster than anything else does.

(To be continued tomorrow …..)

Message for the day

To be responsible for each thought, word and action is to be free from questions.

Projection: When we are faced with challenges we usually put the blame on others or on situations. We justify our thoughts, words and actions. We, then, tell ourselves and others that we have been forced to think that way or say and do such a thing. Such thinking creates a series of questions in our mind about others and situations for which we can never find answers.

Solution: We need to recognize the fact that no one or nothing can force us to do something that we do not want to do. Each and everything we do is our own choice and we are responsible for it. When we take up the responsibility in this way, we will not only be free from waste questions and doubts but will also be able to mould our thoughts, words and actions in the right way.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Your Inner Drama Queen

Contemplation: Your Inner Drama Queen

Your Inner Drama Queen

Some of us have a talent for melodrama. We blow things out of proportion - creating 'dramas' out of little things. All this can get a little too exhausting, for us and others. Try steering your Inner Drama Queen away from over-exaggerated emotions and over-reactions. Being a drama queen doesn't have to be negative, we all need a little bit of flamboyance.  Use your dramatic tendencies to share funny stories, entertain others, to relieve stress and promote stronger interpersonal relationships.

Self-respect

The more respect is measured on the basis of something external, the
greater the desire for recognition from others. On the other hand,
true self-respect comes from an appreciation of our inner qualities.
This then keeps us free from expectations and we will be able to
provide an environment of freedom for each one's growth. I need to
start the day with a thought that brings self-respect. I need to tell
myself that I am special and also use this specialty throughout the
day. I will then not dominate or limit the freedom of anyone but will
naturally treat with humility.

Understanding The Mechanism Of The Virtue Of Peace (cont.)

Yesterday we have explained how the virtue of peace works in human souls through the cycle of life. In today's message we explain (with reference to yesterday's message) how we can experience our original state of peace experienced during the initial phases of the birth-rebirth cycle. Tomorrow we shall explain how we can experience the eternal peace of the soul world. To have both these experiences, the basic principle that I need to remember is that to experience peace, I need to concentrate on it - concentration means creating thoughts about it and visualizing it at the same time. Secondly to access peace, I need to separate myself from my body and surroundings. So how do I bring these two principles in practice?

The first chapter of the Rajyoga meditation course as taught by the Brahma Kumaris in each of its centers states a simple fact and makes me realize it that I am not this body but I am an eternal soul, a non-physical star like spiritual energy, situated at the centre of the forehead, just above the eyebrows, the original nature of which is peace. The body is my vehicle. Now, to experience the peace experienced during the initial phases of the birth-rebirth cycle, my mind picks the above fact or wisdom from my intellect, which is a reservoir of spiritual knowledge and where the above fact is stored. Then, my intellect, which possesses the decision making ability judges the thought as to whether it is a right or wrong one. If my intellect is convinced about the fact, it judges the thought as right. Next, I take this process further. Along with creating this thought I visualize this thought on the screen of my mind i.e. see my star-like white/golden light form just above the eyebrows radiating white/golden rays of peace in all directions. I do this exercise for a few minutes. This exercise then leads me to an experience of peace, as a result of which a sanskara of peace is created. This is the peace experienced whilst visualizing the spiritual self inside the body -it is the peace experienced in the initial phases of the birth-rebirth cycle.

Soul Sustenance

Seeing With Spiritual Eyes

My eyes are the most powerful medium through which I, the soul, not only absorb information from the outside to the inside but also express myself to others from the inside to outside. All that the soul possesses inside it or is made up of in the form of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, positive virtues, even weaknesses, in fact all personality traits, are expressed through my eyes to others and shared with others. As I look towards others, my eyes can be used to shower others with pure love, peace, joy, power etc. and the same eyes, if not used appropriately, can shower others with anger, jealousy, criticism, hatred etc. My eyes also express whatever wisdom or knowledge I possess inside.

When I stay in the awareness that I am a soul, a spiritual being of subtle light, situated at the center of my forehead, my eyes are used to see others in the same way with a spiritual vision. This leads to my spiritual upliftment. When I stay in the awareness that I am a body, my eyes are used to see others in the same way with a non-spiritual or a body-conscious vision. This brings me down on a spiritual level. A spiritual vision helps me see others with a sense of equality, instead of with feelings of comparison or competitiveness. Usually, on a physical level, I create all sorts of impressions of another person from just one glance through my eyes, about their age, gender, looks, position in society, job, how rich they are, their dressing sense, caste, nationality etc. and many a times, very commonly, I make various assumptions about their personality or behaviour. In the state of soul-consciousness, that changes. Looking out I see souls, and I see them as my brothers, on exactly the same level as me, neither higher, nor lower. A spiritual vision reminds me of the original, positive qualities of each soul, instead of their present personality. It also reminds me that each soul has incarnated from the soul world to play its various roles through different physical costumes in this unlimited drama on the world stage. Age, gender, appearances, status etc. which are visible to me today are just temporary ones. The same soul has been in the past and will be in the future in different physical costumes or roles, where all these have been and will be different and the same applies to me too. This makes me rise above comparisons and I am no longer judgmental about the other.

Message for the day

To serve with the heart, with love is to guarantee success.

Projection: When we have to be of help to others, we sometimes find ourselves doing it with force. We don't seem to be really interested in doing it but situations or people seem to be forcing us to do it. We, then, don't enjoy what we do and also don't find the benefit of it either to others or to ourselves.

Solution: We need to consciously make an effort to see what people are benefiting when we are helping them. With this conscious effort we are able to help others with love without feeling the heaviness of what we have to do. Thus, we find our actions to be much more fruitful.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Seeds

Contemplation: Seeds

Hemp Seeds

Seeds
What we see today may not be just the fruit of chance but the fruit of seeds planted in the past. Plant seeds of peace now and create a life of peace in the future.

Trust

It is normally experienced that it is difficult to trust all the people
around us. We do want to but the negative experiences (when people
don't fulfill our expectations) do not let us do so. We tend to add
up to this negative experience with each incident that happens, which
further breaks our trust for people. The only way to trust and gain
people's trust is by having respect for them. Respect makes us look at
the specialties in everyone and we are able to relate to these
specialties. The more we look at the positive aspect in others, the
more we are able to encourage others to use these specialties and
relate to our own specialties too. This is the only way that trust
comes.

Understanding The Mechanism Of The Virtue Of Peace

Each and every human soul's original trait or characteristic is peace. Before each soul comes down on the earth to take its first physical body, the soul is in a state of complete peace, residing in the soul world. In the soul world, the two faculties of the soul - the mind and intellect are complete inactive or dormant and the third faculty, the sanskara or spiritual personality is only that of eternal peace and purity and no other virtue like happiness, love or knowledge. The mind is completely silent, not creating a single thought or emotion or feeling nor possessing an attitude. The intellect which possesses the power to discriminate right thoughts, words or actions from the wrong ones does not exercise its power because there are no thoughts, words or actions in the soul world, so there is nothing there to discriminate. The sanskaras (as mentioned above) are also inactive to a certain extent - there are no thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes, words or actions to be created or processed, which would be based on the sanskaras or personality.

When the soul first takes a physical body on the world stage, it creates thoughts and feelings which are few in number and they are only positive and its words and actions are also limited and completely positive. Its discrimination power is active and completely accurate and its sanskaras or personality come into an active mode (sanskaras other than peace also become active) but only for a positive purpose to create positive thoughts, words or actions. As a result of this, the soul experiences immense peace, but the extent of the peace is lesser than that of in the soul world, where it is completely still and experiences dead silence or peace. It is never peaceless though at this stage. As the soul starts coming into the process of birth and rebirth, its starts losing its energy slowly; its mind, intellect and sanskaras start functioning negatively or incorrectly, it begins to succumb to the vices, leading to the creation of thoughts, words and actions, which are not only large in number but they are mostly waste or negative in nature. As a result, the soul gradually begins to lose its peace, which it experienced in the soul world (eternal peace) and at the start of its journey on the physical world and starts becoming peaceless.

Tomorrow we shall explain how we can return to our original state of peace.

Soul Sustenance

Cooking And Eating With A Spiritual Touch (cont.)

Having prepared food with attention (which we have explained over the last two days), the Brahma Kumaris' practice is then to offer the freshly-prepared meal to the Supreme Soul. We call it offering bhog (or commonly called prasad) to the Supreme Father. As a part of this practice, positive energy or vibrations of love, bliss and peace taken from the Supreme via meditation for 5-10 minutes, is given to the food prepared, by keeping a small portion of the food in a clean vessel kept aside for this purpose only, on a table in front of you. This practice can be followed every day for one main meal at least, or more, depending on how much time you have at hand. It is good to do this exercise in a special corner in the house or even a separate small room kept aside for the purpose of meditation or basically a place where the atmosphere is spiritually empowering as compared to the rest of the house. Charging the food with positive spiritual energy and expressing gratitude to the Supreme in this way serves to increase the spiritual quality of the food and deepen the individual's personal relationship with the Supreme, while also creating a powerful, shared divine experience. On a very practical level, it will also help the body to prepare itself to receive and digest food. Of course, the last step is to eat, and this, too, is best done in a peaceful, unhurried and harmonious state of mind and environment: we are what we eat and also how we eat. It’s good to avoid eating along with the television or newspaper. Eating with the family in a positive setting is a good practice. But talking excessively and sharing negative information at that time with each other should be avoided. Talking quite less, talking very slowly, softly and sweetly and talking about positive and constructive aspects of life, with the rest of the family members, should be the norm for meal eating time.

Whether you are a new, aspiring or trained cook, we hope that the information in this and the last two days’ messages, with its emphasis on the soul as well as the body, will bring an added dimension to your kitchen and dining table. Cooking, and eating, should be a joyful and significant experience. So cook and enjoy!

Message for the day

Where everything is done according to the right method there is success.

Projection: When we don't achieve success we sometimes do get tempted to opt for a short cut method, which might bring us temporary success, too. But in the long run we find that it isn't be so beneficial after all.

Solution: Whenever we are involved in a task specially if it is a difficult one we need to make sure that we are following the right method. Whatever is done according to the right system will surely be successful.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: Maturity

Contemplation: Maturity

Maturity

As we mature spiritually there is less need to have our self-respect bolstered by praise and special attention. As our thought processes become more compassionate and less self obsessed, we feel increasingly satisfied with ourselves and with our lives. We relate to people more easily and feel no need to draw attention to our successes or complain about our problems.

Specialties

When we come into interaction with others we are concerned with their
negative aspects. We are aware of where they are going wrong and we
try to correct them too. But usually the other person doesn't realize
his mistake. The more we try to emphasize on negativity, the more
difficult it becomes to make the other person realize. On one hand, we
find that he is not benefited and on the other hand, we are filling
ourselves with negativity too. The best business in life is that of
seeing specialties and contributing our own specialties for others'
growth. When we are aware of others' specialties, we are able to
encourage them to use them for growth. Also we are free from
negativity. Further, using our own specialties enriches others and
ourselves too. These specialties are easily available for us at the
time of need, for having used them constantly.

Signs Of Depression And Coming Out Of It

You feel depressed when you lack happiness and optimism about the possibilities that you have and a constantly negative consciousness and vision is produced. You lose hope. In depression you lack an interest in things. You are sensitive to criticisms, even if they are very little. You feel sadness, impatience, a lack of perspectives. You try to reach satisfaction through material means, like, for example, eating too much, eating sweet things, etc.

You get depressed because you remember past errors; because you need the experience of love in life; because you have developed the habit of seeing only the negative in each situation, without sensing that a positive side exists. The imagination behaves in a negative way; it is weakening, depressing and even destructive. Nothing seems attractive to you and you feel unmotivated.

To get out of this state it is important to accept yourself; keep a mental state of a detached observer; don't allow the mind to cling to depressing thoughts and tune it into the positive aspects of life. Sometimes negativity and weakness have overwhelmed you to such a point that in order to get out of that state you need a "bombardment" of positivism: go on a spiritual retreat or holiday to a suitable destination; surround yourself by good company; attend a course of personal development; get out of that state in which you are closed into yourself. Take the step. Nobody can do it for you.

Soul Sustenance

Cooking And Eating With A Spiritual Touch (cont.)

When the subtle, spiritual aspect of cooking is taken into consideration, the role of the cook extends from simply creating tasty, nourishing meals with fresh ingredients, to including a spiritual connection with those who will be eating that food. The aim will be to touch and fill the heart as well as the stomach. The love of the cook, and his or her motivation to offer sustenance, will nourish as much as the physical components of each dish. Food cooked by a person who is angry, depressed or full of arrogance or hatred will have a different effect from food cooked with feelings of love, peace and the pure desire to serve. In other words, we are what we eat but also the thoughts, feelings and attitudes that go into what we are eating. Even in today’s hectic lifestyle, when there sometimes seems to be hardly enough time to cook, let alone do so peacefully and caringly, it is therefore definitely beneficial to develop a positive attitude towards cooking. Before undertaking any food preparation, remind yourself that the task at hand can and should be an enjoyable and creative activity or experience, rather than an unpleasant, time-consuming activity. A good practice, then, is to meditate before cooking and then to let preparing the meal itself be a creative, meditative experience which yields a balanced, health-promoting diet for the body as a temple for the soul deity. Food always tastes better when it has been flavored or with love and happiness.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

True fortune comes to the one who recognizes and uses his treasures with an honest heart.

Projection: Sometimes we might be faced with certain situations where we find that we are not very fortunate. We find ourselves thinking about all those things that we need to have in order for us to be able to bring a positive outcome. Because of this kind of thinking, we tend to miss out on perceiving those treasures that we can make use of.

Solution: There are a lot of treasures within us that we can use in our practical life. These treasures could be our talents, skills, or some specialities of ours. Under all circumstances we need to have an awareness of these treasures. When we are aware of them we will begin to use them in our daily life instead of just expecting things to happen right. This is what will create a good fortune for us.


In Spiritual Service,

Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/