Contemplation: March 07, 2019: Take Time

Contemplation: March 07, 2019: Take Time

President Barack Obama with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Take Time

Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.

Take time to think, it is the source of power.

Take time to read, it is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to love and be loved, it is a God-given privilege.

Take time to work, it is the price of success.

Focus

While moving towards my destination, I tend to get distracted with
even the little things that happen. Even a small negative or positive
incident is enough to distract my thoughts from my destination. I am
sometimes so busy with such things that my vision moves away from my
destination and I stop moving forward. I need to first clarify my
goal. Once I have done this, I need to take care that my vision is
focused on it. Even when situations come by, trying to distract me I
need to remind myself that these are only side-scenes which are not
important for me. It is more important to keep my energies focused
towards the goal.

The Alphabet of Change

Awareness - First, become aware of what you need to change in yourself. What is preventing you from attaining contentment? What habits are blocking the way to realizing your full potential?

Belief - Many people think that a change in their personalities is extremely difficult. But in fact it is a reality that lies within your power. It might be useful to ask yourself questions such as * What has held me back from change in the past? and * What are the stages by which I can bring change about?

Commitment - Motivation is the key to commitment. We need to want to change, rather than feel it is a duty to ourselves. Try writing down a list of commitments in the form of statements beginning with "I will". They should come directly out of, and be connected with, your overall vision.

Discipline - We cannot change unless we are able to maintain a steady course over time. Think of each sign as a major landmark passed. Even if we find ourselves slipping into old habits, that achievement of even a little bit of change cannot be taken away.

Soul Sustenance

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (Part 4)

As we have explained earlier in this series, the Supreme Soul always remains an Ocean of the five spiritual virtues or elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy right through eternity. The soul is made up of three faculties - the mind, intellect and personality. Meditation is a direct connection in which a human soul, using the two faculties - the mind and the intellect, connects with the most powerful Supreme Source or Soul and draws spiritual power from it. This absorbed spiritual power then transforms the third faculty - the personality, filling it with the five virtues mentioned above. The more the spiritual power absorbed the greater and faster is the filling up of virtues. These virtues then become a balm which heals the many different types of wounds of ego, anger, hatred, hurt, jealousy, possessiveness, greed, criticisms, desires, etc. which have left their mark on the soul in this and many past births of the soul. They gradually restore in the soul the confidence to emerge from the shadows of negativity and to live in the light of its original nature. It is amazing, and heart-warming, when one rediscovers these qualities beneath all the other impressions formed during this and previous lives that have probably been peaceless and sorrowful at times. The journey of meditation bypasses all the negative tendencies and allows the soul to touch these original qualities, experience their truth, and express them in its life.

The other three factors which help us in understanding as well as experiencing peace, purity, wisdom, love and lasting happiness or joy are:
1. The understanding and inculcation of the complete spiritual knowledge of the soul, Supreme Soul and the eternal world time cycle.
2. Attention on the self and checking and changing the self during the entire day and also keeping a daily chart of the main weaknesses or negative personality trait in the self, which is filled every night before going to sleep.
3. Sharing the five spiritual virtues along with spiritual knowledge with others through thoughts, words and actions. Treasures shared with others will bring about a direct increase in the treasures in the self. Also, blessings received from others, by serving them help in the same purpose.

Message for the day

To understand is to be easy and light.

Expression: Life brings obstacles and difficulties. They do not come to stop or hinder progress. They can strengthen and help in bringing progress with more experience. To understand this is to keep advancing. Understanding this aspect means to know that it is not always necessary to find a solution, it is enough to keep moving forward, leaving the obstacle behind.

Experience: True understanding is to understand what the solution of the problem is and bring it into my own life accordingly. When I am able to understand this instead of focussing too much on the problem, I am able to remain happy. This brings a lot of inner lightness and ease and thereby I am able to use all my strength in bringing about solutions.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 06, 2019: The Weightless Mind

Contemplation: March 06, 2019: The Weightless Mind

The Weightless Mind

When your mind feels heavy, give yourself a moment to let go.  Like a bird, use the wings of your thoughts to take off, letting go of the branch, the things of the past, and the way you thought yesterday...

Rise up into open space and notice the weightlessness of the moment.  Notice how seconds don't weigh much as you enjoy the weightlessness and the lightness of your being.

Feeling light, slowly bring your thoughts back down to your surroundings and return your mind to the task at hand.

Expectations

Usually in relationships we begin to expect from people whom we get
close to. We feel that because we have love for them we have a right
over them. Because of our expectations we are not able to give the
other person freedom to move forward or progress. When we have true
love we are able to provide the right environment for people so that
they can bring about progress in their life. We will not hold on to
them and expect them to do everything according to our needs, but give
them real support.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (cont.)

The third mirror is the mirror of your own thoughts, words and actions - What you think and feel about yourself and others is invisible to others and only you know what it is. But you radiate your thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes through your facial expressions, your eyes, your words, your body language and your actions when you interact with others. That way your words and your actions act as a mirror in which to see yourself. You achieve this when you are a detached observer and you become aware of your responses, your reactions and how you express what arises from within you. This awareness of being an observer needs to be maintained sub-consciously throughout the day and consciously in the night by filling a daily chart before sleeping, on any three personality traits of your choice. Your main weaknesses or strengths you want to enhance should be included in the chart. We have explained the different types of traits that can be covered in a daily chart in our older messages. You could either evaluate these personality traits with a yes or no or perform a percentage wise evaluation like 50% or 80% for e.g. So it is a good practice to look into this mirror once in the night, before sleeping. This mirror will give you a review of the day that has gone by and make you careful for the next day. The daily chart is useful for this purpose. Filling a daily chart does not take more than a few seconds.

Finally and most importantly, always do remember that those who use these three mirrors actively and use them well to ensure that their internal self looks good and beautiful all the time become living mirrors for others. People who come in contact with them are able to see accurately what their internal self looks like. On seeing how beautiful and perfect they are, other people quickly realize their shortcomings or weaknesses and also take inspiration to become as beautiful, clean and virtuous beings as them.

Soul Sustenance

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (Part 3)

As explained in yesterday's message, in the hierarchy of the three entities around which the whole World Drama revolves – the Supreme Soul is right at the top, the human souls are in the middle and nature is at the bottom. So, the process of restoring the balance of the spiritual and physical elements has to be initiated from the top i.e. by the Supreme Soul. The human souls which are in the middle of the hierarchy benefit from this process directly. The human souls, by transforming themselves i.e. by filling themselves up with the five spiritual elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy from the Supreme Soul and restoring their balance in their personalities, then bring benefit to nature which is at the bottom of the hierarchy. This is because their doing this causes the positive energy of the five virtues to spread in nature, which results in the balance restoration of the five physical elements earth, air, water, fire and sky and the five spiritual elements or virtues in the personalities of animals, birds, insects (the same principle as explained yesterday). This entire process, explained above, takes place in the Confluence Age which is a small Age between the Iron Age and the Golden Age, which is again the present time. So, the Confluence Age is an Age in which positive transformation takes place. Thus, at the present moment of time, the two Ages - Iron Age and Confluence Age co-exist.

The Supreme Soul does not bring direct benefit to nature, He does that via human souls, who are intelligent enough to catch his directions and connect with Him and as a result transform themselves. So, the human souls when seen with respect to the Supreme Soul, who is the Creator; are the Creation, who benefit from Him. But the same human souls, when seen with respect to nature can be called the Master Creator and nature can be called as the Creation. Here the phrase Master Creator means children of the Supreme Soul, the Creator, but at the same time those children who possess the power to perform the task of balance restoration for the self as well as the Creation, similar to the Creator, under his guidance and by absorbing power from Him.

We shall explain the actual process of imbibing the five spiritual elements from the Supreme Soul in tomorrow's message, which is the last of this series.


Message for the day

To move towards perfection is to have commitment for goodness.

Expression: The one who has a desire to move towards perfection is constantly busy trying to add goodness and positivity to everything he does. The aim is not just to keep out negativity but it becomes more important to add positivity. So such a person finds constant progress in his life and slowly moves towards perfection.

Experience: When I find little excuses to bring about positivity, I am able to enjoy each and every moment. I never find anything ordinary or waste but everything is meaningful and beautiful. I am able to enjoy the richness of each and everything and discover the hidden treasures in each and every moment. I find myself slowly moving towards perfection.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 05, 2019: Healthy Expectations

Contemplation: March 05, 2019: Healthy Expectations

Iguazu Falls, Boundary of Brazil and Argentina

Healthy Expectations

Expectations are important.  They define our boundaries & ground rules on how we allow others to treat us.

But often we assume others understand our expectations, so when our expectations are not met, we're hurt & disappointed.

To maintain healthy boundaries, learn to communicate expectations clearly & adjust unreasonable expectations.

Hero Actor

Normally it is understood that to get the best role is to be a hero
actor. So we are more inclined towards a role where we can get
people's praise. If people praise us we feel good about it and if
they don't we are disappointed. We are usually dependent on people's
appreciation. Yet it doesn't come by so consistently. We can be a
hero actor at all times when we have attention on every act of ours.
We make sure that none of our words or actions are ordinary or waste.
Since we pay constant attention to everything we do, we find that we
are able to give our best. We are then satisfied with whatever is
happening since we know what we do is not as important as how well we
do it.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (cont.)

In the last two days' messages, we have explained the first mirror for inner beauty.

The second mirror is the mirror of meditation - In the silence of meditation which is a connection or the experience of a relationship with the inner self and the Supreme Soul, each day you come close to and dive deep into both of them. When you create powerful, positive thoughts about the self and you also visualize your true spiritual self, you feel and experience your true virtuous being, what you are - radiant and free of all influences. That experience helps you to see yourself as you really are and in contrast to how you are now. Perhaps you feel peaceless, disturbed and dejected today, but by creating thoughts of peace and contentment in meditation you quickly realize that in reality that is your true nature. In that way, it serves as a mirror for self realization and checking and changing. When you visualize the Supreme Soul during meditation and experience His virtues, it helps you to see and quickly realize yourself in contrast to Him and make the required changes in yourself because the child should reflect the qualities of the Father.

So a good practice then is to look into this mirror and check yourself once in the morning before the day's activities and once before sleeping for 10 minutes each time. Also, since this is the most powerful mirror, it is extremely vital to carry this mirror with you throughout the day and check yourself in it for one minute after every hour. This may sound too much time given to the inner self to many, but all of us are aware that like an untidy, unkempt external self is not pleasing to the self and does not create a favorable impression on those who come in contact with us, in the same way that applies to the inner self also.  So one minute spent in looking into this mirror and doing some self-introspection and checking and changing will keep us looking good for the next fifty nine minutes and if we do mess up internally during those fifty nine minutes, then corrections can be made quickly in the next one minute break - it's as simple as that.

(To be continued tomorrow ....)

Soul Sustenance

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (Part 2)

There are three entities around which the whole World Drama revolves – the Supreme Soul, the human souls and nature. Nature includes everything non-living like mountains, rivers, seas etc. and living things like plants, trees etc. It also includes living beings like animals, birds, insects etc. which are souls with a lesser evolved intellect than human ones. The human body also comes under the category of nature. These three entities are in the form of a hierarchy, the Supreme Soul is the most powerful at the top of the hierarchy, in the middle are the human souls and at the bottom of the hierarchy is nature. The Supreme Soul always remains an Ocean of the five virtues peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy and is the only entity in which the balance of these virtues is always maintained right through eternity.

In human souls, as explained yesterday, in the beginning of the world cycle, in the Golden Age, these virtues are in balance. As human souls come down in the birth-rebirth cycle and start becoming influenced by body-consciousness or the five vices - anger, ego, greed, attachment and lust, all spiritual building blocks or virtues - peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy start getting depleted. In each soul, some virtues get depleted more, some less. In each and every soul the depletion is different depending on its actions e.g. in some soul the depletion of peace is immense compared to the other because of picking up sanskaras of anger on its journey and bringing them into actions or in some soul the depletion of joy is immense because of picking up a lot of attachment on the way etc. This depletion of the five spiritual elements or virtues upsets the balance between them. This depletion and imbalance causes negative spiritual energy waves or vibrations of sorrow, anger, impurity, hatred, fear etc. from human souls to spread in nature and starts having a negative influence on the five physical elements earth, air, water, fire and sky and even the five spiritual elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy in the souls of animals, birds, insects, etc. upsetting the balance of both. This is because nature (as defined in the above paragraph) is lowest in the hierarchy, lesser powerful and easily influenced by the energy that human souls transmit or radiate. This double imbalance of spiritual and physical elements results in peacelessness, sorrow, illness, poverty, natural calamities, accidents, ecological imbalances etc. When all of these reach their maximum extent, that Age is called the Iron Age. This is an interesting principle which needs to be understood clearly.

How do we restore the balance of the spiritual and physical elements? We shall explain that in tomorrow's message. 

Message for the day

Cooperation creates space for learning and growth.

Expression: The one who cooperates and inspires cooperation is able to create a conducive environment for the progress of all. To inspire cooperation means to be able to relate to the positivity in those around. Relating to the positive aspect naturally inspires others to use their specialities for the success of the task. Their good wishes for the task too emerge very naturally.

Experience: Since I am able to relate to others' positivity, I find myself enriched with it. I subconsciously imbibe what I perceive. I get a chance and a space to learn and progress. The journey towards success in itself is a joyful experience and there is harmony in working with others. Thus I find success too easy to achieve as there is the contribution of each one's speciality for the task.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 04, 2019: Everything You Do

Contemplation: March 04, 2019: Everything You Do

Broadway and West End classic, “Annie”

Everything You Do

Do everything with love and love everything you do!  From the mundane chores to the projects that really interest you.

Do everything with love, and you're able to accomplish the task with ease, simply because there's no anxiety or tension about what you have to do.

Love everything you do, and you transform work into entertainment.  And when you're enjoying yourself, others will want to be involved in everything you do.

Sharing

Normally there is a tendency to think of what we need and what we have

to acquire. So we tend to think of ourselves alone. We think of
sharing with others only when we have sufficient for ourselves. This
creates expectations from others and there is disappointment when
these expectations are not fulfilled. There are lots of resources in
our lives that we can share with others. The more there is the
consciousness of giving there is the ability to give and share these
inner resources with others. We discover new treasures and use them
for the benefit of all and also for the self. Then there is constant
satisfaction in our lives. There are also constant good wishes that we
receive from others.

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (cont.)

In yesterday's message, we had discussed the first mirror, the mirror of spiritual knowledge. Elaborating further, this mirror will also show you the Supreme Soul and it will remind you about His virtues and actions which will help you check where you stand in comparison to Him in terms of virtues and actions and will influence you to follow him by imbibing those virtues and performing actions in the similar way. Lastly this mirror will remind you of your relationship with the Supreme and forging a deep and personal connection with Him in different ways which will benefit you and others.

The knowledge read every morning will help you see and realize what mistakes you have committed in the last 24 hours while performing actions and also in maintaining a connection with the Supreme and also see what you have done positively in the same regard during the same time, which will encourage you further to do the same in the future. The mirror of knowledge will also help you remain careful for the day ahead and perform actions and experience a relationship with the Supreme based on what you have read. It is a common experience of a lot of people that the spiritual knowledge read in the morning is always what the need of the moment for them is. The spiritual knowledge read is very commonly an exact reflection of the activities and mental state of your last 24 hours and/or something which you require for the coming day for the self, for your relationships, for facing different types of obstacles in your personal and professional life. This is the Law of Spiritual Attraction that works in each one's life, but to different extents. Our consciousness and inner requirements attract towards us the spiritual knowledge of a similar nature.

(To be continued tomorrow ....)

Soul Sustenance

The Five Spiritual and Five Physical Elements (Part 1)

There are various ancient teachings in the East including India which describe the five physical elements - earth, air, water, fire and sky as the five pillars of Creation or the building blocks of Creation. These teachings suggest that every particle of the physical Creation is made of these building blocks. The human body is also made of these five primary elements. These elements need to remain in balance for the Universe to stay in order and the human body to stay in order or good health. Bad health generally means one or more of these elements is out of place. There are various techniques mentioned in these teachings which are used to create this balance, including ancient Indian mantras. The popular ancient Indian Vedic Vaastu science, used by many to build homes even today, also works on creating a balance between these five physical elements.

According to spiritual principles given by the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul, in the same way, on a spiritual level, the soul also comprises of five original constituent qualities or building blocks or elements– peace, purity, wisdom (or truth), love and joy. When the soul first comes down from the soul world and starts playing its part on the physical world, there is a complete balance of these five qualities in its personality. This is the reason that at the beginning of the world cycle, in the period that we commonly call the Golden Age or Paradise or Satyuga, there is complete happiness, love and peace within the self and even in relationships. The balance of the spiritual elements in the souls, causes the five physical elements earth, air, water, fire and sky also to remain in complete balance; hence in the Golden Age, there is complete physical prosperity and richness; there is no trace of illnesses and natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, etc. Due to the double balance, nature is not only in order but very very beautiful. Even the physical bodies are not only healthy but very beautiful. Even the animals and birds are completely full of all virtues and live in absolute love and harmony with each other. So the balance of the five virtues in souls reflects itself not only on a subtle level i.e. in the personalities and interactions but also on a physical level i.e. in the physical bodies, flora (plants) and fauna (animals), nature in general, etc.

In tomorrow's message, we shall explain the reason for this. 

Message for the day

To have a positive outlook is to remain in peace.

Expression: The more one hears and talks about positive things, the more one is able to be free from negative influences. The environment today doesn't give much of a chance for hearing to positivity because of the continuous flow of news about conflict and violence. But changing the theme of conversation and talking about what life gives is to change the responses to the world in a more positive way.

Experience: When I have a positive outlook, it creates in me hope and enthusiasm for the future. I also have a more positive view of the present reality. I remain in peace, whatever the challenges or negative situations I may have to face. I am able to be in touch with the inner peace and maintain this state of mind under all circumstances.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 03, 2019: Free Mind

Contemplation: March 03, 2019: Free Mind

  

Free Mind 

A free mind is a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing. Most people spend much of their time looking for reasons to be offended. An open mind is never offended because it is free of any attachments. It is never the self that is offended but always the illusion that the self has of itself that is affected by insult! If you can really understand this, deeply grasp it's truth, live it each day, then pain will be no more. Next time you 'feel' offended look closely within yourself at yourself and ask yourself what was offended? If you remain aware you will see that it was only an image of yourself which you had become attached to, and that image did not resonate with the image contained in the insult. If you weren't attached, if you didn't identify with the wrong image of yourself then there would be no offense taken. You would then remain free and therefore happy.

Watch Yourself

Most of us are of sound mind, but many of us have trouble maintaining
a note of harmony and peace. Most of us know how to think, but few of
us are able to control our thoughts. We all have the capacity to be
creative, to image new ideas, but few of us are able to do it together
and co-create in harmony with each other. We could all do with some
mental training so that we may use the most powerful energy in the
universe, the mind, which is always at our instant disposal. We can
begin with mindfulness. It's a simple way to gently help our mind go
where it is best to go, do what is the best thing to do. It begins by
simply being fully aware of what you are doing. Mostly we are not
fully aware, as our minds wander into the past and then into possible
futures. We spend most of our time watching others and so rarely fully
focus on what we are actually doing ourselves. Next time you sit down
to a meal, watch yourself. Be aware of only what you are eating.
Every time your mind wants to wander, bring it gently and lovingly
back to the action and sensation of eating. Then do the same when
cleaning, when writing, when working. The more you do it stronger and
more focused and more rational will be your concentration, the more
natural will be your actions, the more peaceful you will feel, and the
more relaxed you will be, no matter what you are doing.

relax7

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" are famous words. To check our external beauty or tidiness, we look into the mirror on the wall each day. But on a mental, emotional and spiritual level, what is the mirror that helps you to see if there is anything wrong with your inner face or self or to realize what is happening to you and what you have to do to maintain your inner fairness or beauty?

There are three types of mirrors, which one can use to see or check the internal self:

The first mirror is the mirror of spiritual knowledge - Spiritual knowledge is the knowledge related to spiritual self-development i.e. of the soul and also of the Supreme Soul. Each day, in the morning, you can look into this mirror for 5 minutes at least. Looking into this mirror means listening to or reading a piece of spiritual knowledge for at least 5 minutes that connects you to your inner essence, increases your emotional and spiritual intelligence as well as reminds you of your true purpose.

You will see yourself very clearly in this mirror as this mirror will show you:
* the knowledge of the original and ideal virtues of the soul like peace, love, bliss, purity, power, joy etc.;
* how these virtues can be imbibed in the self to benefit the self and others;
* the knowledge of the different types of weaknesses that can arise in the soul like anger, greed, ego, hatred, fear, attachment, jealousy, sorrow, etc., the roots of all which lie in mis-identification with the physical self and forgetting the spiritual self and how these weaknesses can harm the self and others;
* the knowledge of overcoming these weaknesses.

All of these things which you see in the mirror will help you to check where you stand in comparison to the right code of conduct for thoughts, feelings, attitudes, emotions, words and actions, where you are going wrong and how you can make the required corrections in the same. On looking into this mirror you will be reminded of the Law of Karma (the Law of Action and Reaction), which will motivate you to make these corrections.
(To be continued tomorrow ....)

Soul Sustenance

Fear And The Law Of Attraction

You should be careful with what you are afraid of, because you can invoke (call for or attract) it.

Fear is like a magnet. If you are afraid that something will happen to you and you get obsessed about it happening, you are effectively invoking it to happen.

If you are very afraid that something might happen to you and you begin to visualize that it might happen or how it might happen, this terrifies you and it closes you into a phobia and a state of fear. What you are doing is invoking it to happen, because the power of the mind and visualization is very great. If you are afraid that you might be robbed, or of meeting with an accident, or of losing, you are invoking the robbery, the accident and the loss. Fear of rejection produces rejection.

That is how extraordinary the power of our mind is. That does not mean to say that we should not take the necessary precautions. An aged woman knows that to fall can mean her bones might break more easily. She should not be preoccupied with a fear of falling; she simply needs to apply attention and precaution when walking. But when precaution is confused with fear, it is not a healthy precaution or one that is free from worries. 

Message for the day

Words that do not give courage are waste.

Expression: When someone is facing a problem, if the words are not those that give courage to the one facing the problem, then such words are wasted. There would be no use of speaking such words. In fact, to speak such words is to discourage the other person further. So when attention is paid to speak only those words that are for the benefit of all there is a positive and a powerful impact on others.

Experience: Even when I keep attention on a simple thing like speaking only positive words, or words that bring benefit to others, I find myself having only powerful thoughts and words. I am neither discouraged by others' behaviour nor will I ever discourage others. I continue to have faith in others and allow this faith to colour my words and actions. So I find that there is benefit in whatever I speak.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 02, 2019: Tranquil Mind

Contemplation: March 02, 2019: Tranquil Mind

Tranquil Mind

You are a gentle soul who can speak to what is in the heart of others without saying a word.

Correction from Criticism

When there is criticism that comes one's way, there is a tendency to
ignore or to defend oneself. Naturally we then lose the power to
listen. We then find that we are not able to correct our mistakes and
so they repeat. We thus find that we are not able to experience
progress. We need to carefully analyze to see if there is any truth in
any criticism that comes our way. If there is, correction can be made
accordingly. When we listen to others with honesty, we are able to
discover even the most negligible aspect in our behaviour which we can
change. So we find ourselves constantly improving and progressing and
moving on towards success. So having brought about a change, even the
criticism that comes our way stops.

Creating Positive Habits

Some habits do not upset us, but others can cause irritation, frustration and desperation. We want to rid ourselves of them: but how? When we look at the creation and fulfillment of thoughts, it looks like a closed system: the thoughts lead to actions, the actions create a series of impressions (sanskars), and these impressions are responsible for similar thoughts, which lead us to similar actions, this is a vicious cycle. If we want to change a habit, then where do we start? In other words, where do we change the system or how do we get out of the cycle? First of all, we can try changing our negative actions: for example, stop a mental negative habit like anger or a physical one like drinking. In many cases, although we change our behaviour, but because we have not understood deeply why we wanted to do it, is quite possible that one day we will go back to this old habit.

We can try changing this system in our subconscious. By analysing what is recorded in our subconscious, through different therapies, the results are not altogether satisfactory. There is always some traumatic event, or painful experience behind a fear which causes us to cling on to a negative habit. And although we can see and recognize our fears and anxieties, if we do not replace them with something better, with a more beneficial and healthier alternative, very often we will feel tempted to cling on to these old systems, even though they do not work and they make us unhappy. To eliminate certain things we have recorded in our subconscious, meditation and silence are the most effect non-violent methods.

Another method is to try and change our beliefs with positive affirmations (thoughts) that strengthen our willpower, and thus introduce a new habit to replace the old one. It is vital not to repeat this affirmation mechanically, but to introduce it into the system of beliefs we hold, and act as if we already were what we express in this affirmation.

Soul Sustenance

Self Confidence

Self-confidence is very much linked to the understanding that I definitely have something to contribute to life through my own uniqueness. Each one of us is unique. That goes without saying. Unless a person has a sense of contributing, or offering, something to life, they cannot really be happy. I cannot be happy and confident when I am just taking; it simply doesn't work. I can only be happy when I am sharing and offering the best of myself. In that way, I don't feel depleted. When I offer the best of myself in an unselfish way, my happiness and confidence increases - the more I give, the more I receive. We start to understand that the well-being of individuals begins when they can contribute what they are, and what they have, to others. To be a truly self confident human being means to have true spiritual powers, like love, peace and happiness, which are brought into daily life - not just appearing as words or emotions, but truly displaying themselves in our behavior and bringing benefit to others. 

Message for the day

To be fully responsible is to inspire responsibility in others.

Expression: When there is true responsibility, there will be freedom given to others too to be responsible. Ones ideas are not forced on to others but there is full freedom for others to make their own choice. Support and guidance of course are given and people are able to become independent and responsible.

Experience: When I have learnt to take up the responsibility of my own life, I am able to become self-sufficient and independent and also constantly be available for those around me to become independent and responsible too. There are enough resources in me for those around to take benefit from.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: March 01, 2019: Responsibility

Contemplation: March 01, 2019: Responsibility

“The Wizard of Oz”:  Dorothy, Toto the dog, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Lion on the yellow brick road to Emerald City

Responsibility

The world is a stage and we are all actors. Each actor plays a unique part and is responsible for his/her own actions. Responsibility means doing the right thing no matter how big or small the task may be. Each one of us has a special role to play in the making the world a better place.

Being Yourself

How fast can life become? How much can we do in the corporeal amount
of time we have? There are only 24 hours in the day, but we're trying
to fit 26 hours into it. If we could watch a movie of our average day
we'd probably be amazed at all the things we try to do. And then there
is the exact opposite. Some of us spend our lives watching others
doing and achieving, and from these images we build such high
expectations of our own life, and then sit around feeling utterly
powerless in our attempts to meet these expectations. That
powerlessness becomes hopelessness and hopelessness becomes
depression. If we can just see this process and release these
expectations, if we can at least be detached from any expectations, we
will get back some of our inner power and self motivation. It helps to
stop watching others and their lifestyles, especially in the media,
and then comparing yourself to them. It helps to eliminate all but one
'I wish' from your mind. There is only one valid and useful 'I wish'
and it is simply "I wish to be me". For, that is all you can ever be.
It is all you can ever have. It is all that you are. And when you know
it, you will be free of all expectation and desire, and able to enter
the most relaxed state of being, at will.

relax7

Going Beyond

If the quality of my thoughts can influence my physical health, the atmosphere around me and my relationships, it will definitely affect my relationship with God. Unlike physics in which dissimilar forces (positive and negative) attract each other, the basic principle of spirituality is that similar forces attract each other. If my mind is caught up in cycles of negativity, the dissimilarity between me and God will create distance between me and Him. With the awareness of being a soul, a being of spiritual energy, spiritual light, I begin to have a certain amount of mastery over my own thoughts and their quality. Also, the process of finishing negativity is accelerated. Just stepping away from the limited consciousness of the body and bodily connections (not leaving them) stops negative thinking in the same way as by just putting a switch on, a light is turned on and darkness finishes.

If explorers had never ventured beyond their home countries, they would have remained firm in the belief that the rest of the world simply didn't exist. In the same way, if I allow myself to stay only within the physical and limited sphere of thinking, then I would declare that there is nothing beyond. It is when I make the effort to go outside the boundaries of my previous thinking, that I have the chance of discovering more. The quest for a source of love, truth and beauty - the Supreme eventually brings me to the necessity of looking beyond not only my own body, but also other human beings and matter itself. Through the practice of seeing the self as an eternal soul and disciplining my mind I create the possibility of discovering the existence and nature of God and having a deep relationship with that One.

Soul Sustenance

Discovering Inner Compassion (Kindness) –Part 3

When we try to describe compassion, it is worth looking at the words sympathy, empathy and interpathy.

Showing sympathy towards another person's suffering is acknowledging their suffering, for example, 'I am sorry that you have hurt yourself'. We recognize that they are injured or ill without really engaging at a feeling level.

Empathy is when we literally share a feeling with someone, we walk in their shoes, for example, 'I feel really upset that you are so depressed about losing your job'. This can bring great comfort to the person we are empathizing with, but the comfort to them can be at our expense and leave us feeling emotionally drained or sad. If we identify too closely with them, it can also make it difficult for us to help them.

An expansion of empathy is a word called interpathy where we relate to another's suffering although we may not understand why they are suffering. This may be because they are from a different culture or because their feelings may seem inappropriate given the situation, but we are curious, we try to understand.

Compassion is all these words — sympathy, empathy, interpathy - yet it is more and it is less. We acknowledge someone’s sorrow, we sense how they feel, we try to understand how it affects them, yet with compassion we do not become emotionally involved. We are engaged yet detached. We are standing back and looking on with kindness. By showing compassion in this way, it allows us to be compassionate without suffering from compassion fatigue or emotional burnout.

Message for the day

To change means to experience progress.

Expression: Whenever there is a desire to bring about a change, there is also a simultaneous intense feeling to find a change instantly - and fully. Yet this does not always happen. However, true change is that in which there is at least a little change. When there is constant effort put in to be better and to do better, then naturally the best results are visible, even if there is not perfection seen overnight.

Experience: When I bring about a change constantly, in whatever little way I can, I am able to experience constant progress. I do not have great expectations, but will be satisfied with the little changes that I make and will have the confidence to go on putting in effort. Even with the little results that I attain I will be able to take encouragement constantly. I am thus able to move on towards perfection.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

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