Contemplation: September 10, 2018: Get Past Your Past

Contemplation: September 10, 2018: Get Past Your Past

Artist Shiloh Sophia

Get Past Your Past

Let the past be the past - both my past and the past of others.
There's no need to keep repeating the past in my head.
Think: Whatever happened, happened, it's OK for me to move on. Let me be supportive and make it easy, not difficult - for myself and others.
When I stay in the present, everything is pleasant.

Helping Others

We usually want to do a lot to help others or serve them in some way or

the other, but sometimes we find that we don't find the right
opportunity. At other times even we do find such opportunities we
don't real find that they are according to our desire. We need to
keep the thought in our mind constantly to be of help to others. Then
we will not just wait for bigger situations or things to provide help
to others. Instead we will be able to extend our help to others in
little ways. Even such help provided in little ways will get us the
opportunity to serve in bigger ways.

Are You Directing Your Inner Orchestra Well?

Our inner orchestra is made up of different music instruments - the different instruments are: our memories, desires, tendencies, mind, beliefs, emotions, feelings, fears, intuition, judgements, creativity, our imagination...

When you direct your inner orchestra well, you can remain unaffected by external influences without succumbing to them. When the orchestra directs you, you dance from one side to another without a clear direction and with a music that is not very harmonious or sweet; it is noisy and you suffer. Who is the director of this orchestra? You. Who are you? You - the consciousness, you - the soul, you - the being. When your consciousness is in charge, you make the orchestra play according to the inner voice of your being, according to your purest intentions and values. You can. You simply have to be awake, alert and attentive. If the director of the orchestra closes his eyes for a few moments and covers up his ears, what happens to the orchestra? You have to keep the eyes of your inner spiritual vision open; what is called the third eye. And listen with your heart, not with your physical heart but with the heart of your being. If your orchestra rules over you, and you - the director - are stiff, without flexibility, asleep, un-sympathetic, you will not be able to achieve your dreams or arrive at the destiny that you would like to reach. And, to make things worse, when your orchestra dominates you, you are more vulnerable to being dominated by the orchestra of others. Or you will allow someone else to direct your inner orchestra. This is the ideal road on which to get trapped and suffer. Is this what you want?

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (cont.)

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

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

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



Message for the day

The one who checks himself constantly is the one who experiences progress.

Projection: The one who keeps checking himself is also able to bring about a change in himself. Such a person takes each situation as a chance to learn something new and bring about some change for the better. So there is constant improvement in his life.

Solution: When something goes wrong, if I learn to check myself and bring about a change immediately, I will be able to experience constant progress. No situation will make me have negative feelings or make me stop, but I will be able to enjoy everything that comes my way.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 09, 2018: Quality Spotting

Contemplation: September 09, 2018: Quality Spotting

Quality Spotting

A compassionate person develops an eye for spotting the qualities that make each person special. Even when others are at their lowest ebb, it is possible to help them restore their self-belief by keeping a firm, clear vision of their goodness and specialties. Taking a gently encouraging approach, I must never give up on anyone.

A Free Bird

When everything is going on well there is enthusiasm and interest to
move forward. But when even a little thing goes wrong, we lose all
enthusiasm to do anything else. This creates bondage and there is
difficulty or inability to put in effort to move forward. I need to
remind myself that to be enthusiastic in all situations is to be like a
free bird reaching great heights. That means no situation makes me
like a caged bird, which has all the opportunities but does not know or
does not believe in using them. When I am able to experience this inner
freedom at good times and appreciate this joy constantly, I am able to
sustain this even when things go wrong.

Meditation Commentary For Good Health

Given below is a simple meditation commentary which can be used to heal the physical body. Think slowly and visualize side by side each positive thought given below before moving on:

I sit quietly and turn inwards........
I visualize a pinpoint of light, a sparkling star, the source of pure energy that I am........
located in the center of my forehead........
In this awareness, white rays of the divine light of purity from me extend into my entire physical body in the form of a laser beam........
These vibrations of purity soothe, heal and energize my physical system........
The impurities, toxins and illnesses in the body are being washed away and thrown out from the extremities (corners) of the body........
The body starts experiencing its original inner beauty........
It returns to a state of harmony (peace), to a state of good health......

Soul Sustenance

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (cont.)

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

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

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

To stamp every thought with the stamp of determination is to be victorious.

Projection: When there is determination in thoughts, there is naturally the ability to give the best in spite of all the obstacles. Situations will not deter such a person from achieving what he set out to. And so there is naturally constant victory for the one who is always determined.

Solution: When there is determination in my thoughts, I am never afraid, whatever happens. In fact obstacles only serve to strengthen determination. I never give up what I have started. It is determination that enables me to add power to my thoughts and make them practical.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 08, 2018: Within Me

Contemplation: September 08, 2018: Within Me

Within Me

Even in today's world, beauty and truth can still be found and the first place to start looking is within my own self.

Palace of Silence

One who lives in a palace of silence and peace has the power to send
positive vibrations outside, yet prevent the negative vibrations from
outside from reaching inside. If you move yourself into your personal
'Palace of Silence' and create beautiful feelings in your palace, these
will become lovely vibrations which spread outwards. Sound travels
like an echo and comes back. But when you have the power of positivity
or the attitude of silence, it does not work like an echo which comes
back; it travels very far away. It goes to a very subtle place.
Otherwise the atmosphere or upheaval outside affects you very quickly.

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (cont.)

Exercises of Silence

Exercises of silence help you concentrate your mind and intellect, and go within yourself to recover the positive and eternal energies. With the appropriate concentration of the mind and intellect towards your constructive inner forces of peace, love and happiness, you can strengthen yourself. Being strong means staying positive when faced with negative situations, peaceful when everything around you is chaotic: in other words, not being influenced negatively but influencing the situation with your positivity. When you stay calm in your inner power of peace, you can transmit this to others and help them to calm themselves. When you begin exercises of silence, concentrate primarily on peace. This is the basis of the practice, as when there is inner balance and harmony it is easier to build over these the other values love, happiness, truth and sincerity. The experience of deep peace calms you, clarifies you and fills you with energy to think and act positively and achieve your purpose that you have set for yourself.

Soul Sustenance

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt

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

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

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

To be free from wants is to be free from waste.

Projection: The one who is free from wants is the one who is free from expectations. When there are no expectations, there is not too much thought about what is not there or what should be there. Since the mind is free from all these kind of waste thoughts, whatever is done is the best.

Solution: When I am free from wants or desires, I am able to always remain content. I can then appreciate and enjoy everything that comes my way, and do not expect anything both from situations and people. So the mind is free from waste thoughts and questions.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 07, 2018: Quick, Patience

Contemplation: September 07, 2018: Quick, Patience

Quick, Patience

Instead of rushing around, talking fast, walking fast,
thinking fast .... practice patience.

Patience doesn't make you slow. With patience, you'll be able to do 10 hours of work in 2 hours.
 

You'll do what's needed, easily and quickly without over doing things or wasting time in things that don't matter. The result: you save both time and energy.

Royalty

If you allow yourself to think negatively and do not think positively
and use your power of silence, it is as though you are trapped in a
jail. One who is in a jail has no freedom and has to do what others
dictate. One who has the power of silence lives in a palace and
experiences royalty. Both the palace of silence and jails have high
walls. But the difference between the two types of walls is that the
jail's walls keep the prisoner trapped inside while the palace walls
keep out anything the palace resident does not want to come in. Living
inside the walls of a palace protects the person inside from the
negativity outside.

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (cont.)

Visualization

Visualization consists of creating positive images by means of the ability to imagine, and in this way reinforce positive thoughts and strengthen your will to achieve positively what you affirm for yourself in your mind. With visualization you manage to intensify experiences of positive affirmations and self-motivation, and it also helps you to specify and clarify your goals. The basic principle of using images in our mind is to act as if the desire we have in our mind has already been achieved. If we place images of success, health, wellbeing or inner peace in our mind, these will materialize in positive situations and experience, and this image of success will become real in our lives.

(To be continued tomorrow .....)

Soul Sustenance

Meditation for Experiencing Soul Consciousness

Read over the following words slowly and silently. Using the power of visualization, aim to experience them in your mind:
I withdraw my attention away from the physical limbs and sense organs........
I focus on myself........
I am listening through these ears........
I am looking through these eyes........
This instrument of mine, the physical body, is a precious vehicle........
a valuable instrument, a medium........
But, that which is more valuable and more precious is the being (soul) making this instrument function........
Within this assembly of bones and muscles and amazing organs is a being of light........
In the centre of the forehead is a point of light ……
I am this being of light........
I the being of light express myself through this body........
But the body is not I........
I am light........
I spread rays of peace in all directions........
I become aware of the power within this point of light........
Within I the being of light is everything that I am and everything that I have........
Within my own being are my qualities, my powers, my talents........
In the awareness of who I am I radiate this light within........
and in the awareness of this inner light........
I hold my head held high in self-respect........

Message for the day

Specialty  lies in experiencing one's fortune.

Projection: When there is the awareness of one's fortune, there is specialty seen in every word and action, because of wanting to make the best of everything. There is also the pure desire of sharing with others, which also makes one special.

Solution: When I have the recognition of my own fortune, and am aware of what I have, I find myself content. I have no expectations but continue to make the best use of what I already have, for my benefit and that of others. So I find myself being special and making my own fortune.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 06, 2018: Detached Observer

Contemplation: September 06, 2018: Detached Observer

Detached Observer

Peace ends when you are emotionally involved in a situation. The practice of being a detached observer helps you stay stable and calm. It is the best way to approach a decision in any circumstance.

Do with love

When we start with something new, we usually achieve success for
sometime, but we do not experience long lasting success. This is
because we only did the task on being told or being forced by the
situation. External force makes us use resources with commitment for
sometime only. Love brings constant success because once we've
experienced the joy of doing the task itself, we'll never give it up.
Because we have love for the task, we'll put in all our resources
and do our best. So we'll experience constant success.

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (cont.)

Conscious Disassociation

A useful method for transforming habits is that of conscious disassociation. This involves avoiding the situations that give rise to the habit occurring automatically. For example, if you often smoke after a coffee, you have to make sure there is no coffee. By breaking your habit, you will be less likely to have a craving to smoke. Instead of your habitual coffee, you can create a new pattern and have a cup of herbal tea and sit down to think or read, instead of smoking.

Rajyoga Meditation

Rajyoga meditation is an efficient method for transforming habits. By connecting with the Supreme Soul (who is the purest conscient energy) in the incorporeal (non-physical) world of divine light, which is called paramdham or shantidham, the soul purifies itself and one experiences a natural disinclination from negative habits that we have been trapped in for a long time.

(To be continued tomorrow .....)

Soul Sustenance

Meditation And Health

The soul has seven original positive qualities - peace, joy, love, bliss, wisdom, purity and power. In meditation, we create an awareness of ourselves as a soul, which leads to an experience of these qualities. The non-physical soul is closely connected with each cell of the physical body. These qualities of the soul flow as spiritual energy to each cell and nourish them. The mind acts as a sieve (mesh) between this spiritual energy and the body. When the mind creates negative thoughts, the sieve of the mind gets blocked thereby blocking the flow of this spiritual energy to the cells, which leads to disease in a particular organ. Also, as a result of a negative mind set, the immune system gets damaged which attracts toxins, viruses, bacteria, etc. towards cells of the diseased organ, which contributes to the development and worsening of the disease further. Positive thoughts have the reverse effect i.e. an increase in the flow of spiritual energy to the cells of the body and strengthening of the immune system, both of which have a beneficial effect on the body.

Message for the day

Freedom means accepting the rules of freedom.

Projection: The one who wants freedom naturally accepts the rules that go untold. He is willing to take responsibility for all his decisions and choices. Such a person will never blame others but try to check his own mistakes.

Solution: When I take decisions with freedom and take responsibility for them, I am able to learn from anything that goes wrong. I'll feel light and free yet with a base from where I can work. Thus I find myself experiencing constant progress. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 05, 2018: The Power of Thoughts

Contemplation: September 05, 2018: The Power of Thoughts

The Power of Thoughts

Thoughts are more powerful than actions because they are the creators of actions. You have to keep in mind that the thought-waves of your good wishes and pure feelings, your vibrations of peace and love, can once again bring harmony in nature and happiness in the world.

Look at Specialties

 Most of the time, we are caught up in looking at people's negativity.
When we see some negative quality in someone, we immediately make his
specialties a background and start focusing on his negative traits.
The more we think of these negative qualities, the more they occupy the
conscious mind, changing all reactions too. It is natural to be
coloured or influenced by what we see. If we see specialties, we'll
take on a little of that and if we see weaknesses, we'll take on a
little of that too. So we need to make an attempt to look only at
specialties and encourage others too to use their specialties.

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (cont.)

Positive Affirmations

Affirmations are promises that we make to ourselves. They are helpful for breaking negative habits or weak thoughts that have been created as a result of mistaken attitudes. Affirmations help to strengthen the mind, although to be effective there must be acceptance and understanding behind them. It is interesting to begin experimenting with them and, later on, we can begin to create variations of new affirmations, according to our individual needs.

Here are some examples: 

* Today I will experience peace through positivity. I will see what is good in others and will not think about what is negative or harmful. I will see others in the way I would like them to see me.
* From now on I will not judge others.
* Today I will speak peacefully and share peace with everyone around me. I must speak as softly as I can.
* Today I will make the past the past and look towards the future with a new vision.
* Today I will not react angrily. I will stay calm and in peace and will not sacrifice this for anyone or any situation. I must not allow anything or anyone rob me of my peace.

For the affirmation to be effective, we must repeat it to ourselves often, so that it becomes recorded in our subconscious. It is also important to proclaim the affirmations with feeling, believing in them and not in a monotonous and impersonal voice. As a minimum, you should repeat each affirmation at least five times a day. If we listen to something repeatedly, we begin to believe in it. In reality, this is the origin of the majority of our beliefs, when as children we heard our parents tell us things over and over again. Advertising uses this technique constantly. They create a phrase, a slogan, and repeat it over and over again in the media until, finally, people believe it. To be able to control your life, first you must know and dominate your beliefs. One way of doing this is through affirmations.

(To be continued tomorrow .....)

Soul Sustenance

Understanding Fear And Its Effects

The reason we sometimes cannot see the other options, when faced with a challenging situation, is because our deepest learned habit is to create fear and then react from that fear, and it's fear that shuts down our ability to create choices, not to mention paralyzing our ability to assess the strengths and weakness of each option and make the right choice. We have been taught to believe that the fear is normal and natural. But the truth is that the fear paralyses our ability to create what may be much more appropriate and effective responses. Fear is a learned habit and very soon we are generating fearfulness at the slightest perceived threat. Contrary to popular belief, fear has absolutely no value to our well-being. E.g. You don't even need fear to respond effectively to the unexpected encounter with a thief late at night or an unexpected outburst by your boss in the office. You need the cool, calm and concentrated focus of a gymnast and the creativity of a skilled sculptor to respond effectively. It's not the thief or the boss that scares you, it's what you do with the thief or the boss in your mind that generates the fear. Who or what are such fears in your life? What are you doing with them in your mind?

Message for the day

The beauty of things lie in the ability to appreciate them.

Projection: Nothing is positive or negative in itself, but the one who has the eye for positive things sees only positively even when there is negativity around. Such a person is like a swan, which separates and picks up only pearls from stones.

Solution: When I am looking only at the positive aspects, I am able to remain happy. If I am able to appreciate everything that comes my way, even if it is visibly negative, I find nothing to be a problem, but everything becomes enjoyable for me.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: September 04, 2018: Depth of Humility

Contemplation: September 04, 2018: Depth of Humility

Depth of Humility

Humility means to understand the self and through that to understand others as well. Humility is the attitude where a person is not attached to his or her opinion and feelings. Humility is the most natural expression of truth. It helps in better understanding of truth. Humility is the basis for maintaining self-respect. Humility does not mean bowing down and being subservient to others. Humility allows you to see benefit in everything. Developing humility brings a lot of comfort and ease into your life.

Give your Best

We normally tend to expect the same kind of results constantly.
Although the effort put in is not so constant, we expect good results
always. Yet we do not find it happening all the time. When we do not
get the desired results, at that time we don't remember that it is
our lack of effort that actually brought us poor results. The only way
to experience constant good results is to put in effort constantly.
Whether the situations are bad, or even if we do not get any
encouragement from others, we need to go on giving our best. Only with
this will we be able to experience constant success. There would be the
satisfaction of giving the best even when the results take time to
come.

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs

Motivation for Change 

An important factor to start positive change in our lives is for there to be a passion, a powerful force that leads us, a final goal that keeps us motivated. It is important to set yourself goals, to be convinced and to have the confidence and faith that one can reach them, since in this way we will make a daily effort to achieve those goals. There needs to be a clearly defined sense of purpose to your existence, clarifying the values that must guide your life in order to achieve these goals and establish the steps you must take for inculcating these values. If, at a subconscious level, you allow a mistaken purpose to be created, or there is a lack of true purpose in your life, then you will not be motivated to know and change yourself. Many people think that the purpose of their life is to survive and they use the language of survival in this way: * Life is hard out there, * You must get whatever you can. They are not aware that they have chosen this purpose, but subconsciously it is what they believe they are here for, and this makes them think that they must accumulate, take, create barriers to protect themselves and compete with others.

(To be continued tomorrow .....)

Soul Sustenance

The Filtration Process In The Soul


The mind and its creation i.e. thoughts, in these times, in most people, are controlled by three main factors:

i. their habits or sanskaras
ii. their past experiences, and
iii. information which they are exposed to and which they imbibe.

The intellect is like a filter which has the function of discriminating, of judging the thoughts and deciding which ones to put into practice and which ones not to, basically filtering them.
Presently the filter of the intellect has become weakened, confused and unsure; it has become blocked by many incorrect beliefs, due to which this filtration does not take place properly – as a result many wrong thoughts get converted into actions. A lot of times during the day, thoughts become actions so fast, that the filter of the intellect does not even come into play i.e. thoughts become actions bypassing the filter.

The beliefs that we have today are related to our cultural, physical, social, religious, political identity associated with our age, gender, occupation, wealth, role etc. of our body. Beliefs connected to materialism, to having rather than being, are living based on the perception of the sense organs, and not on the intuition and the wisdom of the spirit. There are beliefs that block you, or brake you, others break you, they bring about fears in you and a limited perception of reality and of yourself. However much you try to generate positive thoughts, if you do not change these beliefs, their influence on the intellect will be so strong that it is almost impossible to maintain a positive state of mind. Even if you experience it, it will be short-lived and temporary.


Message for the day

True treasure is the treasure of contentment.

Projection: We, sometimes, find that we do not always have with us everything we want. When we are faced with this thought again and again, we naturally begin to have negative thoughts. We, then, are not able to appreciate and use what we have. Instead we are left wishing for something else.

Solution: Instead of thinking of what we don't have or need, we need to make effort to use whatever we already have with us. For this, we need to make a conscious effort to check what treasures we have, then, we will be able to use them in a worthwhile way. Then, we will be able to be content whatever the situation may be.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/