Contemplation: October 22, 2019: A Long and Healthy Life

Contemplation: October 22, 2019: A Long and Healthy Life

Dadi Janki, Administrative Head of Brahma Kumaris, celebrates her 103rd year

A Long and Healthy Life

There are three ingredients for a long and healthy life: live with attention but without worry, use time in a worthwhile way, keep your thoughts pure, positive and filled with strength.

Inner Peace

When I begin to create new thoughts in challenging times, I am able to be happy and peaceful. 

I don't have questions related to the situations, but I am able to find the solutions in my mind. 

This inner peace naturally creates a peaceful environment around me. 

Action And Purpose

In the day-to-day routine you can have different desires and want different things: what you want for today; what you want to do at the weekend; what you want to achieve with your professional career; the results that you want to get this year; what relationships you want to focus on. But, at the bottom of all this, what is your purpose? What are you doing here? What do you want? Where do you want to go and how far do you want to get?

When you open yourself within to answer these questions, you will see that the inner voice that answers you is the voice of your own consciousness and is connected to some value: what you want is to discover how to live in the truth and not appearances, what you want is to live from an inner space of love, what you want is to be free, you want peace. If you listen to and follow this voice, you will come close to your wholeness and your contentment, because you will then align your energies: your vision, your intention, your motivation, your consciousness, with your action and your life. Each morning, on looking at yourself in the mirror, ask yourself: "If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do?" And if for various days in a row the answer has been no, then it is a sign that you have to change something, given that your action is not aligned with your purpose.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance 

Making Your Dream A Reality (Visualization)

I relax my body... I let go of all tensions... I reduce the speed of my thoughts... I relax my mind, my thinking... I let go of what doesn't let me be well...

What is it that I the soul truly long for? What do I want in my life?

I listen to the answer that arises from the inside of the self... I let the answer come out spontaneously... I don't worry about it...

I visualize what I want and where I want to reach... Now I fly; I fly towards the destiny that I dream of... I visualize myself being what I want to be, doing what I want to do... Without fears, without strings that hold me... I am who I want to be... I see myself like that, having achieved it... I enjoy some moments of this experience... I experience my dream...

I can achieve my dream... I have to visualize it as if I had already achieved it... This strengthens my capacity to achieve it...

Now I return to the present moment... I prepare myself to enter into action with this conviction... I will make my dream a reality... 

Message for the day 

The one who is a giver, has attention constantly on giving fully.

Expression: When the system that I am working in doesn't let me give maximum benefit to the people around me or deprives them of their natural right, I tend to react negatively. I tend to become upset which doesn't help either of us in anyway.

Experience: When I remember and maintain the awareness that I am a giver, instead of complaining about the restrictions that society or people around me impose I continue to give those around me something that will make them happy. This could be in the form of kind and supportive words or at least an understanding smile. When I give in this way, it will make others too free from negative thoughts.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 21, 2019: Change your Life

Contemplation: October 21, 2019: Change your Life

Change your Life

The world is how you think it is.  Think of it differently and your life will change.

To be strong is to ensure positivity in life. 

When I am weak, I am actually inviting wrong and weak things to enter my life. If I am strong, I only know to move on with self-respect and pride. Even weakness will hesitate to come my way. I will be able to use my strength under all circumstances. Today I will make a list of my own specialties and keep that in my awareness through out the day. I will remind myself of this at least 10 times during the day. So, today I will move forward with an awareness of my strength.

Observing But Not Absorbing

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

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

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

Soul Sustenance 

Ending The Day In The Presence Of God (Part 2)

Inspite of the fact that the Supreme Soul already knows whatever I have done right through the day on a physical as well as on a non-physical level; there is immense benefit in meditating for a few minutes, before going to bed at night. It is wise that before I sleep, I have a face-to-face meeting with the Supreme and I become a child, become humble, and put my entire day with obedience, transparency, loyalty and love; before the Supreme. In this stage of transparency, I definitely receive a response from God, which may be in the form of a thought vibration immediately or as soon as I get up from sleep or through some other medium the next day, when I read something positive the next morning or may be in the form of a loved one at home or even a friend or colleague at office, who may become instruments used by the Supreme to communicate with me. The Supreme Being has His ways of responding to your act of honesty and love of sharing the day’s happenings with Him.

He is the Ocean of Truth and His response will be one which is filled with the light of truth or wisdom which I make use of, to illuminate the path or road of my life. Using this light, I'll find I am helped to see clearly where there has been progress, and where I failed, with accurate judgment, so that I learn. God, the Supreme Companion or Friend or Beloved is with me, wanting to lead me to my destination of perfection. I want to fulfill my side of the relationship with Him, so His light will help me recognize where I must change, and what I must do to make corrections to any damage for which I have been responsible. Where my actions have been positive and right, the subtle blessings of ‘well done child’ that I receive from Him, will make me aware that the strength behind these actions came from my relationship with the Him – He is permanently and was my back-bone right through the day. Then there will be neither worry (due to mistakes committed by me) nor laziness or complacency (due to positive actions done by me), but only love and contentment in my dreams. If I do not surrender the day’s happenings to Him in this way, although He loves me and is concerned for me, He might and will most probably remain detached and not guide me in any way.

Message for the day 

The one desire for perfection ends all other desires.

Expression: The desire for perfection brings the capacity to keep on learning from all situations. There is something new to learn and so there are no other desires. Since the mind is busy with bringing about perfection, there is no time for waste and negative. There is the ability to transform negative to positive.

Experience: Love for perfection makes me experience constant progress. I have no thought about what I have to get, but continue to attain from each moment and each situation. I am then naturally free from all other desires.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 20, 2019: Meditation

Contemplation: October 20, 2019: Meditation

Meditation

At the core of your being, you are deeply peaceful, immensely loving, infinitely wise and profoundly contented.

Lotus 

Rise above negativity, like the lotus flower. Rise above the muddy waters and grow into something more beautiful.

Yet at the same time, be fully grounded. Just as the muddy water sustains the lotus flower, in the same way, the gritty realities of life helps you to bloom and reach your potential.

So, don't just look at the muddy water; notice the beautiful lotus that grows out of it.

The Need For Meditation (Part 2) 

As explained yesterday, we regularly and quite easily slip into four main negative habits. So meditation is not only sitting in a quiet corner, and connecting with the self and the Supreme, at a couple of fixed times during the day, but it is also the way to gently remember and remind ourselves, many times in a day, that we as well as others, are souls or spiritual beings not physical beings, by detaching ourselves from actions and also while being involved in actions. These reminders given to the self over a period of time become natural and prevent us from succumbing to these four habits. Given below is a basic meditation, which you could use to remind yourself regularly during the day:

I have a body but this body is not me...
I have thoughts but these thoughts are not me ...
I have feelings but these feelings are not me ...
I have attitudes but these attitudes are not me ...
I have emotions but these emotions are not me ...
I have beliefs but these beliefs are not me ...
I perform many actions through my sense organs, but these sense organs are not me...
I play many roles but I am not my roles...
I experience joy or sorrow through my sense organs, but these experiences are not me ...
I am a soul - a being of energy, which is neither created nor can be destroyed, and my original and true nature is one of peace, love, joy and power...

Soul Sustenance 

Ending The Day In The Presence Of God (Part 1)

On a physical level, there is complete transparency in a parent-child relationship. When a child is born to a mother and father and the parents see the child for the first time, the child is completely bare. As the child grows in the canopy of the parents, the parents see and know everything about the child, not only in a physical way, but also the child’s personality or nature right from childhood. Sometimes, there are certain things about the child that even the child himself does not have an awareness of, but the parents are aware of the same. So, in short, there is nothing that the child can hide from the parents.

In the same way, the Supreme Being, who is a permanent resident of the soul world, has seen from that world, each soul right from the time when it was completely bare or bodiless residing in the soul world with Him, to the time when it took its first physical costume or body on earth and then changed many costumes in the process of birth and rebirth. He not only knows the soul’s original sanskaras, which were there in the soul in the soul world, but also each and every costume that the soul wore. He also knows every soul’s different relationships while wearing each and every costume; every thought, word or action created while wearing each and every costume and the different personality traits or sanskaras of the soul while wearing each and every costume. That is on an unlimited level. On a limited level, there is no doubt that the Supreme Soul who is the Supreme Parent of all human souls and is said to possess a thousand eyes; very well knows the mental, emotional and physical activity of the complete day of each soul. Thus, there is nothing that is hidden about the soul from this Parent.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Message for the day 

Love makes all tasks easy.

Expression: Where there is love, there is interest for whatever I do. When my heart is in what I am doing, it seems very easy to do even the most difficult task. It is easy to have love for the task, when I understand its importance.

Experience: When I begin to love everything I do, understanding the significance of my contribution, I experience lightness. I find nothing difficult to perform and I naturally enjoy everything. No task seems like something difficult to do, but seems more like a game to be enjoyed.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 19, 2019: Failure

Contemplation: October 19, 2019: Failure

Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920

Failure

Failure doesn't mean - you'll never make it, it means - it will take a little longer.

To pass with honor is to enjoy the journey of life. 

Just passing through a situation is nothing great. Even the most difficult situation has to end some day. But the one who makes effort and is prepared beforehand, passes through the situation with his head held high. It is like traveling in air conditioned class, that means I am comfortable. The journey is as important as the destination. Today I will sail through the day with the right consciousness. In all that happens through the day, I will keep my mind happy and comfortable. Even if things go wrong, I will not let anything go wrong inside. I will resolve what comes my way and if I can't, just for today I will make sure I'll postpone worrying about it for tomorrow.

The Need For Meditation (Part 1)

As with anything else, the more we practice meditation, the more we feel the benefit of what we are doing. We do need to practice meditation regularly because the habits of:

i. identifying with our physical form,

ii. succumbing to mental and emotional negativity (in the form of waste and negative thoughts) along with negativity in words and actions,

iii. becoming attached to the physical as well as the non-physical, and

iv. being dependent upon the experience of physical stimulation of any sort (from e.g. food, movies, people, sports etc.) for happiness are extremely deep.

These habits have deepened over a period of many many births, because of repeating them regularly, due to a lack of spiritual awareness. As a result, in the present moment also we regularly and quite easily slip into these four habits.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance 

Radiating Positive And Powerful Energy

You will notice many people in your life who are very much in need of love but they attract the opposite energy. This is because the negative energy of lack of love for the self and low self esteem which they continuously radiate causes them to attract that same negative energy from others. In the same way, there are many people who are very much in need of success but they attract failure repeatedly. Failure is directly related to the quality of energy we radiate i.e. how positive and powerful our expectations of success are. Once we set the goals that we wish to reach, we need to be careful that we move towards our aim without creating the negative energy of fear inside our consciousness. Failure appears when we make an effort to achieve those goals and we damage the result or attract failure without us desiring so, simply because of our fears of failure. Even then, if at that step we feel that we have failed, we need to have a positive and constructive attitude.

We need to emerge the power to face and power of acceptance inside us. That way our creative energies will flow and we will carry on going forward without the failure (whether real or only perceived by us to be real but actually not real) becoming an obstacle in our path from doing so. Although at that time it may seem as though we have missed an opportunity or that some openings have closed for us, have faith and be fearless. If we are fearless and radiate positive and powerful energy, other possibilities will open up. We have this deep rooted belief that our fear will keep us safe, and we treat it like a comfort zone, a red signal that tells us that we should stop. Creating a time every day to do something that you fear, helps you to re-condition yourself internally to begin to see the fear as a green signal and to develop inner courage, so that you can move towards your goal of success. Each day, do what you fear and the fear will soon be removed.

Message for the day 

Understanding brings happiness.

Expression: Happiness lies in understanding the secret of whatever is happening. When one is able ot remain happy in this way, he is able to spread this happiness to those around too, influencing the lives of all.

Experience: When I am able to remain happy under all circumstances, I am able to be free from the influence of others' negativity. Instead I will be able to become a major source of positive influence to those around me.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 18, 2019: Rethink your Thinking

Contemplation: October 18, 2019: Rethink your Thinking

Rethink your Thinking

To get different results in life, we have to rethink our thinking.  This is not just a matter of positive thinking; it's about reconnecting to our well-being.  We then recapture our vitality and resilience and have greater capacity to change the way we think.

Respect

When I learn to respect myself, other people will respect me. How can
I develop respect for myself? By keeping my mind positive and
encouraging myself to grow and change for the better. Demanding
respect because of my position or background is simply arrogance. On
the other hand, listening with humility and valuing other people's
advise naturally earns me respect. I get back exactly what I give out.

The Lamp Of Hope

You create the future basing yourself on what you think, feel and do in the present. If you act according to your values, it is easy for you to trust in your destiny. That strengthens your hope that all will go well, and, if it doesn't, you know and trust your inner resources or treasures to be able to deal with things and change. That trust feeds the enthusiasm, the motor energy that, along with motivation and passion, helps us to advance.

When you lose courage and you feel weak, when you feel insecure and do not see with clarity where to go towards, hope lights the way for you to carry on going forward. If you fall, get up again and carry on looking ahead. Don't look back. Don't let your past be a burden that is too heavy and prevents you from advancing. Focus your vision on your objective and on all your potential to achieve it.

Whatever happens, keep the lamp of hope lit. You can. You will achieve it. Change will become reality. You will free yourself from the shadows of fears, blockages and the other limitations that weaken you.

Live each situation as an opportunity. Learn from criticism and failures. On living life as a constant opportunity for personal growth and learning, you keep hope always alive.

Give yourself moments of silence on beginning each day, during the day and on finishing the day, to connect with your inner self. That way your awareness stays awake, the lamp of your hope, your motivation and your values remains lit.

Soul Sustenance 

Natural Qualities and Acquired Qualities

When we look at ourselves from outside we can only see the surface of what we have become. We can't see or perhaps cannot even imagine the inner core (center), which, like in the example of the coconut, is the only part that really can nourish us and give us energy. The shell (in the case of the coconut) serves as a protection but we certainly can't eat it.

In our case, the core (center) consists of natural or inner qualities such as peace, love, power, truth, happiness and so on. The shell is the ego which consists of features or personality characteristics we have acquired through the journey of our lives such as experiences, abilities, memories, learning, habits and beliefs – in short, all that we are referring to when we say: 'I am so-and-so, from such-and-such family or organization or city'.

While we are limited to these acquired characteristics, our true qualities remain inaccessible. Through deep reflection and meditation we can break the shell and activate our inner qualities from which our values or principles are born.

Message for the day 

Creativity comes when there is happiness.

Expression: Happiness touches the heart and enables the creativity to come from within. The one who is happy doesn't wait for the right opportunity to be creative, but uses each moment as a chance for using creativity - for bringing newness.

Experience: When I am happy I am able to enjoy and make the best use of each and every moment of my life. I will want to do something new, unique and different. So I also have the satisfaction of having done my best.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 17, 2019: Detachment

Contemplation: October 17, 2019: Detachment

Detachment
Detachment is being close to what you most want to be free from and using it to make you grow.

Patience

Patience is a virtue and a power too. Patience tells us that the
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and that we get
over there one step at a time. Patience teaches us not to rush.
Knowing that there is a reason and a season for everything it enables
us to smile at the challenges, realizing that there is an answer to
every problem. And, even though we cannot see it, yet there is
awareness that within every crisis lies an opportunity.

The Art Of Forgetting In Relationships

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

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

Soul Sustenance 

Meditation For Personality Transformation (Part 2)

Decide on a habit that you want to change e.g. impatience. We will focus this meditation on changing impatience. You can apply it to other habits also:

I relax and prepare to look inwards…
I am aware of the unwanted habit of becoming impatient...
As I sit in meditation, I relax my body.
I become the observer of my own thoughts and feelings...
Realizing my true identity as soul – a subtle point of light situated at the center of my forehead, just above my eyebrows, I remember my real nature is one of calmness, peace and power...
I focus on the power of peace, inviting it in and welcoming it into my thoughts and feelings from deep within.... enjoying the calm contentment which it brings...
On the screen of my mind, I begin to visualize patience...
I see myself in a situation where I normally become impatient…
I now see myself as being completely full with the virtue of patience...
I shape my feelings around the idea and image of patience.... unhurried and relaxed... calm and watchful...
If necessary, I can wait... forever.... with patience
I am free of the desire for certain outcomes...
I see how I respond with patience...
I see the effect of my patience in others within the situation...
I now know how I will speak with patience, walk with patience and act patiently in the real life situations...
I maintain this peace, which generates serenity and patience in me…


Message for the day 

To pay attention to every act is to be a hero.

Expression: A hero actor is one who has great attention for every act of his. He makes sure that none of his words or actions are ordinary or waste. He ensures perfection in everything he does. This naturally brings the best out of him.

Experience: Since I pay constant attention to everything I do, I find that I am able to give my best. I am then satisfied with whatever is happening since I know what I do is not as important as how well I do it.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: October 16, 2019: Perfect

Contemplation: October 16, 2019: Perfect

Perfect 

Practice makes you perfect, so be careful what you practice!

Understanding

To have the right discrimination is to save time. When we find someone

doing something wrong, we immediately start giving corrections and

directions. Yet we find that the other person is not in a position to

listen to us. In the process of explaining to others we find our time

getting wasted. When we give directions to others we have to first see

if they will understand what we are trying to say. We need to

understand the other person before we speak. Then our words will make

their full impact on others.

Taking Charge Of Your Responses

In relationships with your loved ones, when looking at the other, sometimes positive emotions are generated and sometimes negative. On the one hand, joy, love and happiness is generated on being with them; but then attachment, dependency and expectations are generated. In such situations, you are more focused on others and are always looking at the other person's behavior, you stop seeing yourself and being aware of your reactions and taking the responsibility for the responses that you create. You get frustrated when the other person does not meet your expectations. As you depend on them, if they don't act as you would like, if they don't reach home or call you at the time you would like; all this frustrates you. You radiate this energy to the other: "they are not doing what they should be doing," and so you feel frustrated and discontented. 

All the while that you hold the other one responsible for your frustration, you are not in charge of your own reactions, because you have given power to the other to dominate your emotional world. It is there that you lose your freedom. You lose your freedom because you give to the other, in the name of love, power over your own moods. You allow the other's energy to enter your inner world and cause inside you frustration, bad moods, irritation, sorrow and a mental and emotional dependence where you are constantly thinking about where they are, what they have to do, what they have to say, where they have to go, and all this consumes a lot of your mental energy. Wanting to control the other and the frustration that it brings with it uses up a lot of emotional energy.

Soul Sustenance 

Meditation For Personality Transformation (Part 1) 

At the heart of every human being or soul there is a spiritual energy, pure, of peace, love, truth and happiness without dependence. Being aware and experiencing this energy provides you with the inner strength necessary for change. Meditation is the method of access in order to allow that energy to come to the surface of your consciousness and in your mind in order to color your thoughts and feelings. In a way very similar to that of a volcano whose melted lava, hot, flows from the centre of the Earth to the surface, we, on meditating, can create volcanoes of power (which emerge in our conscious minds) required for personality transformation. 

You can do an exercise, a meditation whereby you choose a habit or sanskar that you don't want, and you will replace it with a characteristic that you would like to incorporate, like a thread, into the cloth of your personality. For example, replace impatience with patience. 

Tomorrow we shall explain a meditation with this theme: changing a habit or sanskar. 

Message for the day 

To consider problems to be a game is to move forward with lightness. 

Expression: Even when the most difficult problem comes my way, I am able to give my best when I understand the significance of whatever is happening. Because I never experience being subservient to the problem, I am always a master. 

Experience: When I understand that problems are just a game, I am able to play whatever part I have to, externally. But internally I will experience lightness knowing that this is the part I have to play. It would be easy to understand the significance of the part that I am playing and remain happy. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/