Contemplation: November 10, 2019: The Optimism Filter

Contemplation: November 10, 2019: The Optimism Filter

The Optimism Filter

Optimism can be a filter to everyday letdowns.  It's a language that explains our life experiences to ourselves.  Optimism impacts our ability to perceive strength, new opportunities and varied options.

Live to the full

They say 'only fools live to the full'. Because only fools go where most of us fear to go, only fools do what many of us spend our lives avoiding. You don't have to climb Mount Everest, or cross the world in a hot air balloon to live to the full. Simply enter each day with a commitment not to avoid anything or anybody who comes your way. Then your Everests will come to you, in the form of difficult people and challenging situations, and the only thing you will need to conquer is our own fear and evasions. And when you do conquer, you will know that you have lived fully, for there is nothing more exhilarating than overcoming our own obstacles which, if the truth were known, are always only in our own minds. When you turn to face these inner obstacles and challenges some people call this real courage and you certainly are no fool.

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At Peace With Time (cont.)

Not only is your strength reduced by the way that you live the past and project onto the future, but also how you live in this moment. When, for example, you oppose the present and have resistances, these consume your energy and cause you stress. If you accept the present you can flow flexibly without wasting your energy. Accepting does not mean submitting yourself or feeling a victim of what is happening now. From acceptance, you confront and transform. If we learn to live the dimensions of time in a healthy way we will keep up our vitality, we will heal the past and we will feel at peace with it. Accepting the present and trusting in the future helps us to be well.

Accepting the present means stopping comparing yourself with others; you want what the other has, their money, their talents, their beauty, their personality, their achievements, their virtues, etc. So, instead of being grateful for what you have and accepting yourself as you are, you try to have and be like the other. In this way, you are never satisfied. The dissatisfaction causes you a constant unhappiness that reduces your vitality. When you feel happy and satisfied your energy flows more easily. The most important thing that you should do in this moment is to feel content. Next, what is the most important thing? To be content. Therefore, the priority, and what is essential, is that whatever happens in the moment, the most important thing is to be content. So, tell your mind, "Oh, mind, be quiet and don't think so much. Oh, mind, kindly trust that everything is and will be fine." Give your mind the basic instructions and the key thoughts with which to be content. Don't let your own mind create the thoughts that trap you. It is we ourselves who create our emotional cages.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance 

Understanding And Overcoming Repetitive Thoughts

Repetitive thoughts are mental dependences that arise due to a badly channeled imagination, false beliefs or mental weakness. For example, this happens when the pattern of negative repetitive thoughts makes us experience continuous feelings of guilt. Or we think, almost obsessively and continuously, that someone wants to hurt us or are after us. Or we create continuous thoughts of jealousy, hatred and violence with regards to another individual. They are negative and self-destructive habits. We fall into repetitive thoughts, which make us live in constant unhappiness.

We spend a lot of time during the day with these types of unnecessary thoughts. They are leaks of energy that weaken us. We have created the habit of thinking like that and, therefore, it is in our hands to learn to change it. We can free ourselves of these dependencies and the result is to be freer, mentally, of negative and repetitive thoughts, which are like a constant hammering. It is a question of learning to control what we think, thinking positively and in a focused manner, meditating and exercising the mind. We exercise to keep the body healthy and strong; in order to have a healthy and strong mind we have to learn exercises like meditation and relaxation that help us to free ourselves from repetitive thoughts which are nothing but bad positions or postures of the mind. 

Message for the day 

To be free from weaknesses is to move forward constantly.

Expression: Most of the times I do win over my weaknesses and achieve progress but sometimes I find that I am defeated at the wrong moment by my own weakness and I experience failure. So instead of finding the progress that I should I find that I am moving back.

Experience: In order to bring benefit to others and to myself, I should recognize and remove even the last trace of weakness that is working within me. For that I need to have a constant checking about the real cause of the weakness and remove it. Such checking and changing helps me to overcome my weaknesses.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 09, 2019: Resilience

Contemplation: November 09, 2019: Resilience

Resilience

Where there's resilience, irritation and annoyance disappear ...... 

and nothing disturbs the mind.

Loving yourself is the best gift you can give yourself.

Be your own best friend. Be attentive to the little details that make you unique.

Treat yourself as you would treat anyone who is special to you. Pamper yourself to a treat of your choice.

Give up negative self-talk. Speak to yourself, respectfully.

At Peace With Time

To live in freedom you have to live at peace (harmony) with time; live the dimension of time as a creator of time and not a slave of time; live without being either a prisoner or victim of time. To live at peace with time is to live in harmony with nature, beginning with your inner nature. When you plant a sapling today, you cannot accelerate the process so that the next day you have a tree. When it is summer, you cannot make the earth revolve around the sun quicker or slower for winter to arrive before or later. Everything has its rhythm in nature. We have distanced ourselves from the natural rhythm and our accelerated mind exercises pressure, creates stress and causes anxiety. We plan the future, we are stuck in the past and the present escapes us.

Many worries have to do with how we live time: the past, the present and the future. Worrying about what might happen (future), when the moment has not yet come for it to happen, takes away from us the necessary energy to deal with it when it finally arrives. Living in memories drains our energy; the past already happened and no longer exists, except in our memory. We feed memories, not realizing that emerging the memory in our mind distracts us from the present and weakens us. It is like being a plug that connects to a socket with no current passing through. We lose our energy. We want to relive an experience that already happened, and in the end we feel disappointed, feeling a mental and emotional waste.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance 

Limiting Influences On Your Decision Making Ability (Part 2)

With whom does the choice to make your decisions lie? Are you going to be dominated by your fears and others’ negatively powerful influences, which paralyze your judgment power and confuse you sometimes or are you going to exercise your choice? When someone dominates you, they control you and make you feel irritated, frustrated and weak; they satisfy their own ego like that by controlling you and bringing you under their influence. You need to decide if you are comfortable being a victim of the other by being the one who satisfies the egos of others. It is not a very healthy attitude, on their part, but it happens in many relationships and we fall prey to that, because of a lack of spiritual power. Get back your personal ruling and controlling power and do not be afraid to be free and responsible for your choices. From today on, promise yourself that you will not allow your husband or wife, or children, or your friend, or mother-in-law, or your office colleague, anybody for that matter, influence the power of choice, the power to decide, that you possess. In the end, that way they will be happier; perhaps not at first, because a power game is created. Your personal freedom will lead to a healthier relationship, in the long run. Its fine to take an opinion or a viewpoint or support from someone, but there is a fine line between that and being controlled by someone, which we, many a times cross, and become a victim.

You are free when you take responsibility for what you are and how you feel. In meditation you can realize everything that has influenced you and know how to clear it, so that only the highest, the most positive influence you. This depends on each one of us. In our present society, there are many influencing factors, from the most negative, violent, corrupt and mediocre, to the purest, highest and most spiritual. It depends on each one what you want to consume and allow to be influenced by.

Message for the day 

To bring equality in whatever I understand, desire and do is to be truly successful.

Expression: Although my understanding of right and wrong is really good, I am not usually able to be or feel successful. This is because I notice a mismatch between what I know and what I want. So I am not able to bring that knowledge into action.

Experience: A conscious effort needs to be put in from my side to compare and see which is better for me - what I know is right or what I feel I want. When I compare in this way, I will be able to change my desires in keeping with the right thing. When these two match, I will be able to bring it into action too. So I will be able to be successful.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 08, 2019: Spiritual Language

Contemplation: November 08, 2019: Spiritual Language

Spiritual Language

To create the future we desire we need a spiritual language; we must speak from the heart and in the language of the soul - a language of trust, faith and higher values, of inner growth, love and listening.

The more I sow seeds of effort, the more I reap the fruits of result. 

When I go on putting in effort in the right direction, I will keep gaining qualities. I will be able to keep drawing the best from everything around and also keep receiving cooperation from people. If, in between anything or anyone hinders this, effort needed to be put in at that time will be not so much because I am continuing to put in my efforts anyway. Today I will put in efforts towards my aim, without worrying about the results. I will at least do 3 things that can take me towards my aim. This will ensure that I have a practice of continuous inputs. For, I know the result will come anyway, at its own time.

Being a Lighthouse For The World

Sit in silence and visualize the following thoughts:

In a deep meditative state see yourself sitting in front of the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Being of Light, in the soul world. I a point of light, experience golden rays of spiritual light and bliss descending on me... and through me into the whole world (globe) below... I feel these rays charging the atmosphere with vibrations of purity, love and spiritual calm... I am bathing in golden light... strong currents of spiritual might are radiating from me in all directions... I am a spiritual lighthouse... I have the deep realization of being separate from my body. .. I feel that I am a brilliant point of light with rays of very high intensity bursting and darting forth from the soul for the service of the whole world. .. There is no feeling of my body and no conscious thought except that of being absorbed in the peace and bliss of the Supreme's love... I feel completely filled and that I have obtained the ultimate... the final and highest destination - satisfied that through this stage of fulfillment, I serve others.

Soul Sustenance 

Limiting Influences On Your Decision Making Ability (Part 1)

It is extremely important to realize that, in any situation, you have the power to choose whether your response in that situation will be passive or pro-active, positive or negative, indifferent or attentive etc. You choose what action you take and how you feel. But do you exercise your power of choice all the time? You need to check which factors influence your decision making and push you either in one direction or the other? There are many factors that control and limit your power to make the right, and more importantly, free choices. These factors primarily include influences of people that dominate your ways of thinking, your beliefs, your attitudes, even your complete personalities, etc. You are also limited by the influence of your own fears, attachments, desires, biases or other negative and waste thoughts, which result in a lack of focus.

There are a lot of people who are not used to thinking for themselves or even prefer being a ‘yes’ man going along with what others think and say, without having an opinion of their own. Also as you pass through your childhood and teenage life and enter adulthood, you acquire many preconceived ideas or beliefs from your family and social and cultural environment; that is why you assume inside that some things or people are always positive and others are always negative when, in fact, that’s not necessarily true. This directly affects the type of decisions you make, each time there is a requirement for one. In any particular situation, courage, wisdom, high self-esteem and focus is required to sit down calmly and make an assessment about the possible choices before you, and then finally make the right decision. The more you practice relaxation, positive thinking and meditation, the more you rise above all the negatively influencing factors mentioned above , the more you experience the positive qualities and powers mentioned above and exercise your power of choice accurately and with confidence.

(To be continued tomorrow ….) 

Message for the day 

To be free from negative thoughts is to be free from punishment.

Expression: Whenever there is a negative situation I tend to react very negatively to it. I tend to have a lot of negative thoughts and experience a lot of difficulty at that time. I then begin to blame the situation and feel that I am facing punishment because of it.

Experience: I need to understand the fact that the biggest punishment I experience is through my own negative thoughts. The more I can free myself from these kind of negative thoughts I can free myself from experiencing any kind of punishment.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 07, 2019: Attraction

Contemplation: November 07, 2019: Attraction

Kaleidoscope

Attraction

Like attracts like. Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes, the subconscious identically creates.

"See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil." 

Do not even think evil, because first you think of something, then you speak of it, then you see it.

Changing My Thought Patterns

Why is it that we can't change the pattern of our thoughts so easily? Imagine a bird being so comfortable in its nest that, though perhaps sometimes it stands on the branch of the tree to inflate its chest and adjust its feathers, it never wants to fly and does not even realize it could fly. It never knows the blissful freedom of flight, never feels the wind through its wings.  It thinks the other birds that are flying around are unwise or foolish.  In much the same way, we never really leave our nests of old thought patterns. Our habitual thoughts become our comfort zone and each repetitive thought pattern is like a twig in the nest, which makes the nest stronger and our stay in the nest seemingly comfortable and permanent.  We never experience our true spiritual freedom or flight or feel the breeze of our inner beautiful nature.  Even the thought, "I am a soul" has to be realized eventually, so that we can actually experience its deepest truth. 

In the world of spirituality, thoughts are like the map, but they are not the territory nor the reality of the experience.  Thinking * I am a peaceful soul or * I am a loveful soul or * I am powerful soul is not being soul-conscious, it is only theory or knowledge, but it is definitely an essential start.  Maps are important and necessary, until we know the way home to experience. Reaching this final destination of experience makes it easier for us and empowers us to transform or change our old thought patterns.

Soul Sustenance 

Overcoming The Fear Of Interaction Or Socializing

There are various activities that you are perhaps afraid of doing, but that you know they are very useful activities to indulge in e.g. if you are afraid of socializing or interacting with people, either on a one-to-one basis or in a group. In a party or a situation where lots are people are enjoying the company of each other or in a meeting with your boss for e.g., you feel out of place and uncomfortable. The problem might lie in a negative image of the self or low self-esteem, lack of confidence, fear of the other’s opinion about you, lack of spiritual strength, past failure in having done so, being influenced by the other person’s role or position etc. How do you overcome this fear? By interacting with more and more people. The more you interact and mix up with them and express your viewpoint fearlessly, you realize that it is not a problem. Even if you make a mistake or you feel unsure, with practice you will see that there is no problem.

Most of our fears are overcome with the practice of doing what you are afraid of. If you do not make a brave step forward in order to overcome the fear of expressing yourself, you will continue to be the victim of this fear. This fear is then a negative energy that paralyses your intellect as a result of which your concentration and your decision-making power reduces. It also disorganizes your ideas, and confuses you whenever you express yourself in front of a person or people. What is more, fear produces clumsiness in your words, body movements and actions and makes you lose your image of credibility. It gives an impression of nervousness and low self-respect to the other. You have to overcome it, and you will manage to do it with practice and by changing the vision that you have of others: they are not a threat, they are not judges who are going to pass a judgment against you, they are offering you the opportunity to express yourself. If you value yourself, you will not be afraid of not being appreciated by them and others will finally appreciate you. If you do not value yourself, the opposite will happen.

Message for the day 

The one who is free from expectations is the one who is constantly cheerful.

Expression: Usually I am quick to perceive my own desires and I do realize that desires give sorrow. So I make effort to overcome them. But most often I am not able to recognize my own expectations that I have from people which destroy my own cheer. My expectations from others prevent me from bringing about a positive change in myself.

Experience: I need to recognize that each and every individual is unique with his own unique specialties and values. When I recognize this uniqueness I will not expect people to behave according to what I feel is right but will respect them for what they are. Thus I'll be able to be constantly cheerful.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 06, 2019: Love Work

Contemplation: November 06, 2019: Love Work

Downton Abbey

Love Work

You always have a choice but you forget that you have it. Do you remember the energy and enthusiasm you had on the first day of your first job? You consciously chose to do the work you had gladly accepted to do. But then you gradually fell asleep to the choice you made, and the day became "I have to" go to work, instead of "I want to" go to work. You forgot to see all the opportunities which come with work - opportunities like learning, nourishing and being nourished by others, developing new relationships, expanding your personal capacity. Instead you decided it was just something that you had to do to 'get the money'. This is why most people are sleep-walking through their lives, and they don't know it. The solution, choose your work every day, put the energy of love into your relationships...every day, even if you don't particularly like your job or the people around you. And you'll be amazed at how your life transforms. When you choose to put love into what you do, the universe will move heaven and hell to let you do what you love. 

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Learn to say "no"

Are you having trouble keeping on top of everything in your life? Is it because you've committed to more than you can handle? The next time a request comes your way - give it a little consideration before deciding whether or not to commit to it.

Double-check your time and energy. And remember, you also won't be doing anyone a favour by promising more than you can deliver, or by accepting social invitations that you're too stressed out to enjoy.

But if the commitment is important to you and high on your priority list - then accept it. If not, then do consider saying "No." Learn to say "no" without feeling guilty. Explain why you are refusing, but try not to be overly apologetic.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage (cont.)

Sometimes the pressure we are carrying is related to the situation we are in, sometimes we even carry a pressure of one situation in another situation i.e. it is unrelated pressure. All this continues throughout the day, day after day. What all this pressure does is increase the quantity of thoughts that we carry in our mind, which in turn reduces our efficiency and discriminating and judging power. The words and actions coming out from such a state of mind are improper and lacking in power, conviction and clarity. To ensure that we do not carry pressure baggage on our emotional back, as per our pressure equation (shared in the first message of this series), we need to change the incorrect beliefs that we carry, which are the root cause of our pressure and at the same time increase our ability to bear the different life forces. We carry thoughts that are determined by our belief of what success is and what failure is, what winning is and what losing is. Although we perceive such beliefs to be true, they are not true; they are like a facade that influence our perception of reality and generate in us feelings of pressure.  The truth, on the other hand, is deeper than beliefs.

While meditation will serve as an important tool to increase our inner power to tolerate or resist life forces; spiritual knowledge, understanding and wisdom will serve as an immensely important tool which will help us in correcting our beliefs. So in times of pressure, stopping yourself for a minute and assessing your thoughts, then going backwards, and checking the beliefs which are the root cause of the thoughts at that particular moment and then changing them requires strength and clarity, which we will obtain through the medium of spiritual wisdom. Once the beliefs are corrected, the thought patterns will change. Thoughts like - * Maybe I won't arrive on time, * If I don't finish this assignment successfully, I will lose my next promotion, * If I lose my money in this financial investment, my family will stop appreciating me etc. which we create all the time - will be replaced by more positive thoughts of security, fearlessness, patience, peace, faith, determination, certainty etc.

Soul Sustenance 

Overcoming Frustration In Relationships

There are two things in life that we can never change:

• the past and

• other people

This often brings us one frustration after the other, especially when we do not get the results that we want. Frustration is also a sign of failure, and every time that you fail in getting what you want from the other, your self-esteem and self-confidence are reduced.

Frustration is a form of anger. You allow the negative emotion to control you, and therefore you lose control. Most times situations will not be as you want them to be and neither will people behave as you want them to. Therefore, you can decide now if you want to continue allowing the other to dictate your reactions according to how they behave, which results in the loss of your rule, control and personal power, or you can decide that no matter how the other behaves, you rule over your responses; you decide what you want to think and feel.

When another tries to control you and then gets frustrated because you don't do what he or she wants or you aren't who he or she expects you to be, they get in a bad mood with you; they look at you with anger and what do you do? You then place an invisible barrier between you and him or her. In such a way that they cannot 'enter' into your world and you do not leave yours either, they lose their influence over you. In the same way, when you try to control people you lose your influence over them and distance is generated. 

Message for the day 

True service is to serve equally through thoughts, words and actions.

Expression: Whenever I think of serving others, I think of only serving through actions or maybe even through words. I never think of serving through my thoughts too. So sometimes I do find that my service is not complete and doesn't have a true impact.

Experience: Before I can think of helping someone through words or through actions, I need to make sure I have good wishes for them. Only when my feelings for them are full of positive and powerful wishes can my service create its impact on others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 05, 2019: "I love myself"

Contemplation: November 05, 2019: "I love myself"

Art by Tanya Torres

"I love myself"

Loving yourself is more than being pleased with the self. 
It begins with self-acceptance; where you consciously stop rejecting yourself.  Accept & then appreciate.  Appreciate your limitations & your uniqueness, & then say "I love myself."

Powerful service is when there is service without pity. 

When we serve through our words and actions, we also need to serve through our mind. Only then will it be powerful service. If I get affected by the negativity of someone or something that is happening, I cannot be powerful. There will be pity, but I will not be able to empower the other person. Today I will empower someone with my words and also with my good wishes. I will help someone with a feeling of positivity. For this, today I will maintain a positive state of mind throughout the day, so that I can give rather than be influenced.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage (cont.)

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

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

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance 

The Creations Of The Mind

Scientists have learned a lot about our physical functioning, but most admit that what actually keeps a human being alive is a mystery not completely solved. Rising above being just a product of chemical and electrical activity in the brain, as believed by many of us, spirituality orients me and trains me to come close to my real self, my spiritual self. Before I was a stranger to my own self, unaware of what is going inside my consciousness and distant from my own self. The first step in coming close to myself is that I learn to use the energy of my mind in the most effective way possible. For this, I decide to find a place where, each day, I can sit for a few minutes without interruptions, in order to focus on the self and explore the inner world of the creations of the mind - my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions.

There has been a lot of conflicting views in the world about what the mind is and how it works. In the teachings of meditation by the Brahma Kumaris, the mind, which gives rise to my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions, is seen as a faculty of the soul, not the body. It is rather like the difference between a television set and the movies seen on that set. The movies originate in the minds of the directors, not in the television set itself. The television set is just a medium for displaying the movies. So it is with all these four creations (thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions). These originate in the non-physical consciousness and not in the physical brain. The brain is just a processor of them and the body is a medium via which all four are displayed or brought onto expressions, physical gestures, words and actions. When I realize this, and really understand this difference, it very empowering. I am then able to use the power of discrimination to make choices between thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions that are useful and empowering for myself and others, and those that bring me down. 

Message for the day 

Truth is effective when it is combined with tact.

Expression: I usually react when something goes wrong. In the heat of the moment I give corrections and others don't seem to understand. Then I tend to become confused, as it is difficult to make a choice whether to leave the situation as it is or to prove my point to the others.

Experience: Unless truth is combined with tact I cannot make people realize their mistakes. When I find something going wrong, I need to wait for the right time for saying what I have to. I also need to tell it in a way that the other person can understand. Only then will my words have their impact on others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: November 04, 2019: Seeds of Thoughts

Contemplation: November 04, 2019: Seeds of Thoughts

Seeds of Thoughts

You are the master of your mind so you can choose to create the results you want.  Remove the weeds of unwanted feeings & undesired outcomes & plant seeds of positive thoughts.  Then sit back & watch the fruits appear...... 

Tip: be patient, otherwise unripe fruit only causes indigestion!

Criticism

When faced with criticism, do you get defensive and fire back justifications?

Let's face it; we are not as perfect as we think we are, so some of the criticism is probably valid. Why not use criticism as a constructive feedback to improve yourself?

Try to steer clear of criticism which are NOT helpful. 

Don't take it personally and let the criticism slide.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage

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

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

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance 

Saying Goodbye To Anger

'I expect' is the great illusion, which converts itself into demanding rights without due respect for others.

Anger in all its forms is a direct result of an expectation not being fulfilled and brings cries (although sometimes silent ones) of * They should have done this * Why did this happen? or * Don't you know better? Disappointment, accusations and demands are violent energies, which we throw around very naturally and easily in our daily life when our expectations are not fulfilled. They are like a burning fire that eats away at our original spiritual qualities, turning them to a dust that pollutes the self and others.

Instead, let us continue to practise returning our thoughts to the self and remembering our original source of peace. In that experience of deep, natural peace, we will find balance and clarity and the ability to tolerate and adjust to the unexpected.

One of the keys of meditation practice is to quickly gather our thought energy and take it inside to connect to our original qualities, no matter what may be happening outside, or even inside!

Let me disconnect from the external and plug in to the internal energies that support me and then I will be able to say goodbye to anger very easily.

Message for the day 

The one with contentment is neither upset nor upsets others.

Expression: Many times I find that my words, actions or behaviour tends to upset others inspite of my not wanting to hurt them. I seem to be very happy with the situation, but others don't seem to be. At that time I am not really able to understand the reason for this and I consider the others to be unreasonable.

Experience: I need to check myself when others are getting upset with me. I need to make effort to check and change myself constantly so that I am able to move along with the demands of time. This is what will bring about true contentment - such contentment that neither will I be upset nor will I upset others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/