BK STUDY POINT BRAHMAKUMARIES

कम बोलो, धीरे बोलो, मीठा बोलो सोच के बोलो, समझ के बोलो, सत्य बोलो स्वमान में रहो, सम्मान दो निमित्त बनो, निर्मान बनो, निर्मल बोलो निराकारी, निर्विकारी, निरहंकारी बनो शुभ सोचो, शुभ बोलो, शुभ करो, शुभ संकल्प रखो न दुःख दो , न दुःख लो शुक्रिया बाबा शुक्रिया, आपका लाख लाख पद्मगुना शुक्रिया !!!

Contemplation: January 11, 2020: Why Worry

Why Worry

I can make a hobby out of worrying. It is useful to take an interest in what goes on around me, and of course it is always wise to analyse a situation and take the necessary steps to avoid being influenced by anything negative. However, if my mind is tense and burdened from worry, I may not be able to function clearly enough to arrive at a suitable solution to a problem. Maybe I should just do the best that I can and beyond that leave it in the hands of God. To have faith in the self, faith in God and faith in God's plan is a sure way to remain clear and free of burdens.

Master of the Self

The one who is the master is the one who creates positive thoughts
under all circumstances. The one who is the master of himself is
always able to create the right kind of thoughts according to the
circumstance. Never is there the dependency on situations or people
for the right kind of responses. Since there is mastery over thoughts,
there is also mastery over all words spoken and everything done. When
we are able to be a master of ourselves, we are able to constantly
create positive thoughts. We are in touch with the inner resources and
we are able to make use of these resources in a timely way. We never
get confused or pressurized with outside situations, but are able to
be in control in all situations.

Meditation For Overcoming Fear (cont.)

This meditation commentary is a continuation of yesterday's message.

Create the following thoughts:

I continue to go forward... I only observe feeling who I am... I am a being of light... a peaceful being... like a small candle that lights up a dark room I radiate light and remove the darkness inside. Conscious of who I am... I imagine that I am in the presence of a generous Being of Light that radiates infinite love, peace and happiness... It is a powerful ocean of love that can dissolve all my fears, the pain and suffering that there is inside my soul...

I open my heart... and mentally I say: "here are my fears... They are yours... They are no longer useful to me... I hand them over to you... I absorb your light... I absorb your love and let it reach each dark corner of my inner self... I feel how your powerful light, full of love, touches my fears... they dissolve and I am freed... I let go of all worries... The weaknesses and problems no longer have power over me... I feel that the Supreme Being is with me... that He accepts me as I am... He comforts me... I feel safe... at peace... in an immense peace... and free of worries..."

I enjoy this present moment in His company and I share this peace and love with the world.

Soul Sustenance

Meditating With Open Eyes

It is advised to practice meditation with eyes open. When we sit to meditate, if we close our eyes, what we do is that we send a signal to our mind, intellect and our physical body that sleep is close and that signal, in turn, induces sleep. That is the last thing we want to induce inside ourselves, while meditating. Meditation is a way to wake up and stay awake, not only physically, but in terms of being conscious and alert about what is happening internally and externally. It is therefore good to practice with eyes open, so that during your meditation, you can become used to going beyond the physical inputs of what you see, hear, feel and smell and at the same time, remain exposed to these inputs.
By practicing with open or semi-open eyes, it becomes easier to create the accurate state of consciousness while still being faintly aware of our surroundings. This will be essential in day to day activities when we want to stay connected to our inner peace while others around us may not necessarily be very peaceful. It will also help us to move deeply into our peaceful consciousness during conversations which at the same time, require alertness to go into the depth of ideas and concepts. When we are established in our peaceful, spiritual state (as a result of meditating), it is as if we are keeping our third eye, the eye of our intellect, open, which gives us the ability to see, in actions and interactions, what is true and false, and to make the right decisions without being influenced by others or our own emotions. All the above abilities are required many times during the day. We obviously can’t keep closing our eyes to meditate each time any of these abilities are required.

Message for the day

You can always be successful when there is a desire to serve others.

Checking: At the end of each day, check if you have done anything for others. Also check if there is any consciousness of 'I' in all the things that you do for others. When there is even the slightest trace of a desire for benefit for yourself you cannot experience either contentment or success.

Practice: Each day take up at least one thing that would bring benefit to others, irrespective of whether it will get you anything or not. When you serve with no selfishness you will find yourself succeeding in all you do.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 10, 2020: Appreciate the Gift

Appreciate the Gift

When you open your eyes in the morning, sit for a moment and appreciate the gift of a new day, create a peaceful thought and enjoy some moments of silence throughout the whole day.

Self-respect

Every reaction to situations is a reflection of one's own self-
respect. To the extent that there is a high degree of self-respect, to
that extent there is a positive response to even the most negative
situations. If there is low self-respect, even the smallest situation
brings forth a strong negative reaction. This reaction only makes
matters worse. When I am able to maintain my own self-respect even in
the worst situation, I am able to have a hold, control over these
situations. But if I have a low self-respect I continue to blame
situations and use them as excuses to feel helpless. So I am not able
to do anything about these situations and just continue to have
negative feelings.

Meditation For Overcoming Fear

Breathe deeply. You should say to yourself - "relax, calm yourself." Repeat until you are peaceful and centered. Become serene and feel a sensation of peace and well-being. Maintain this serenity on breathing. Free yourself of worries on breathing out. Now slowly create the following thoughts:

I sit comfortably like an observer in silence... I let go of every-thing around me... objects, people, responsibilities, places... I focus my mind on the present moment... I let the serenity... the peacefulness... envelop me... In this calm I can see the dark corners of my inner self... Like shadows, I can see the fears, anxieties, guilt, unhappiness, weaknesses that lie hidden there... Fear has poisoned my being; it has stolen my peace, my happiness and my self-respect...

I accept that there is fear within me... I observe it and I realize that I am not that fear... I am not that weakness... it is not real, it is a shadow... I focus now on what is real: it is love... it is peace... it is well-being... it is the purity of the soul, what is real, authentic and true... I only have to access these original qualities and allow these energies to heal and strengthen my soul... To do this, I continue to observe calmly... with patience... I do not allow my mind to judge, or analyze what is happening to me... everything that has happened to me forms part of the past... I have learned from my mistakes... I forgive myself... I forgive others...

This meditation commentary will be continued tomorrow.

Soul Sustenance

Making The Journey With The Right Realization

It’s so easy to become caught up in my physical role - my name, physical personality and looks; the social setup or family I’ve been born into, my friend circle, the school I went to, the person I married, the organization in which I work, the various material objects I own or possess. I forget my true identity, the spiritual being, and that it is me, the spirit or soul, who is experiencing life through this physical body and surrounding circumstances. The physical, human side is essential, but it’s the spirit, the being, the energy, which makes the journey. The physical body is the vehicle through which the journey is made. The people who exist in my life are also energies making their journeys through their respective vehicles. Looking at myself and others, when I realize who is making the journey and I remember this and maintain this spiritual consciousness throughout the day, I'm able to access spiritual treasures of peace, of power, of love and joy and see the same in others. It is because of not remaining in this remembrance; I remember and identify with the vehicle and experience my false identity. That is why we find ourselves empty of these treasures today. As a result there is a tremendous increase in interest in meditation throughout the world. Unlike in the past when this interest was seen primarily in the East, today relaxation and meditation is a blooming industry in the Western countries.

The more I become trapped by a materialistic consciousness, and the more I lose contact with my inner self, the less freedom I experience. The search of happiness through the physical senses brings temporary, short-lived gains. My life lacks depth when the only things I know, realize and feel are related to the loads of information I receive from the physical sense organs, and I become disconnected from the spiritual dimension.

Message for the day

Where there is zeal and enthusiasm, success is guaranteed.

Expression: If you are not able to experience success in all that you do, check if you are filled with enthusiasm or not. Also find out the reason for not being enthusiastic. This helps you to realize and overcome your weakness.

Experience: In order to increase your own enthusiasm throughout the day, create an aim for yourself and see that you work towards this aim each day. When you find yourself progressing towards the aim you will become enthusiastic.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 09, 2020: Adjust

This palm tree bent over from a hurricane reached for the sun and kept on growing in South Florida

Adjust

The one who knows how to adjust is the one who knows how to survive.

The Spirit of Giving

To have the spirit of sharing is to be constantly happy. There are
lots of resources in each one's life that can be shared with others.
The more there is the consciousness of giving there is the ability to
give and share these inner resources with others. New treasures are
discovered and used for the benefit of all and also for the self.
There is constant satisfaction in our lives when there is the spirit
of giving. There are no expectations from others, but only an
awareness of what we have. Life becomes more and more satisfactory and
we feel richer for having given unconditionally. There are also
constant good wishes that we receive from others.

Detached Observation - A Spiritual Skill

Detachment is the basis of our ability to be positive and affectionate with others while we interact with them. This is what is known as commitment and the relationship of detachment and it begins with what is known as a spiritual skill: the skill of being a detached observer.

One needs to be a detached observer in two dimensions: one within and one outside:
The inner art of detached observation is the ability of separating ourselves from our own thoughts, emotions, attitudes and behavior. On the external level, the art of detached observation is the art of being witness to the scenes that take place around us. While we detach ourselves and observe how the game of life develops, without being active participants, we are able to see the big picture with greater clarity. That makes it easier to see clearly what role we have to play and where our contribution lies. We are creators, and our thoughts, emotions and attitudes are our own work.

In reality, detached observation is the first step towards personal strengthening. If we don't manage to detach ourselves from our thoughts and emotions, they will turn into our owners and will consume our energy.

Soul Sustenance

Spiritual Roses Of The Supreme Gardener

The main features of physical flowers are their colour, form and fragrance, by which we judge their beauty. All these characteristics have their own unique importance. Introducing oneself to spirituality is like giving oneself into the hands of the Supreme Spiritual Gardener or the Supreme Being (God). Like a physical gardener who possesses qualities of patience, tirelessness, love, far-sightedness, faith etc. on a limited level, the Supreme Gardener possesses these qualities on an unlimited level, which he uses to bring us up. As we remain under his sustenance and care, over a period of time, we blossom and are transformed into beautiful spiritual flowers, and our thorns fall away. When we look at ourselves as spiritual flowers, our colour symbolizes spiritual knowledge. Depending on how we imbibe the wisdom shared by the Spiritual Gardener and bring it in our day-to-day functioning; in our thoughts, words, actions and relationships; the more beautiful a colour we take. Our form is shaped depending on the quality of our connection with the Supreme Being, the Gardener. The deeper and stronger the connection, the more beautiful the form. Lastly, our fragrance refers to divine qualities like sweetness, humility, tolerance, carefreeness, purity and many more, which we develop. Physical flowers with a good colour, form and fragrance, attract everyone around them. Seeing and coming close to them, gives one an experience of joy. The same holds true for spiritual flowers.

Roses are considered the king of all flowers, with the best possible colour, form and fragrance. Spiritual roses are those souls which continuously remain in a spiritual consciousness and spread the fragrance of that consciousness to others. Their thoughts, words and actions get shaped according to this consciousness. They have a deep relationship with the Spiritual Gardener and are always eager to ensure that others also experience that relationship and become spiritual roses, which is a deep wish of the Supreme Gardener, for every spiritual being. They help him in fulfilling that wish.

Message for the day

You can always be successful when there is a desire to serve others.

Contemplation: At the end of each day, check if you have done anything for others. Also check if there is any consciousness of 'I' in all the things that you do for others. When there is even the slightest trace of a desire for benefit for yourself you cannot experience either contentment or success.

Application: Each day take up at least one thing that would bring benefit to others, irrespective of whether it will get you anything or not. When you serve with no selfishness you will find yourself succeeding in all you do.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 08, 2020: Calm and Clear

Giving Correction:

At some point, we all have to correct someone about something.

To give corrections without offending and insulting, isn't just about when, how, and what you say.

To ensure corrections are sincere:
1) Check your intentions. If your intention is to support the person, then there will be power in your words.
2) Have good wishes for the person and fill your words with good wishes. Good wishes help your corrections to be taken in the right spirit.

Providing Emotional Support To Your Loved Ones

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

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

Soul Sustenance

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.

Message for the day

When you are content you can give the experience of contentment to others too.

Expression: Each day check if you are content with what you are doing. Also check if others are content with what you are doing in your life. If there is an experience of contentment within yourself others will be content with you.

Experience: At the end of each day, make a mental list of all that you have attained for the day, things that you are happy about. This will enable you to be content even during the phase when things are not going so smooth, because you are able to look at the positive aspect too.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 07, 2020: Week or Weak - it’s a choice!

“Adam and God” Artist: Michelangelo Buonarroti (March 1475 – 18 February, 1564):

the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome

Week or Weak - it’s a choice!

Without GOD, our every week would be:

Sinday,

Mournday,

Tearsday,

Wasteday,

Thirstday,

Fightday &

Shatterday.

Remember seven days WITHOUT GOD makes one WEAK!!

Self-trust

We all have moments of doubts when we question our abilities. It's when we start to believe and accept our self-doubts that they can sabotage our performance and overshadow our enthusiasm.

Every minute that we spend in self-doubts is a minute that could have been invested in planning, preparing and thinking constructively.

Get over self-doubts and get really good at self-trust.

Think: "I have the capacity to do whatever comes my way." Take an action with trust, and move forward!

Providing Emotional Support To Your Loved Ones

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation (Change) Agent (cont.)

If you go inside yourself and observe, with sincerity, your feelings towards someone that you consider unbearable or intolerable, you will see that your perception (way of looking at them), your expectations and your bad feelings make you feel that the other is unbearable or intolerable. You have allowed the other to influence you in the creation of your bad feelings. You have lost compassion (kindness) and the capacity to accept and understand the other. Being a good transformation (change) agent requires having full control over your inner world. If you are the victim of your rapidly moving mind, your bad feelings, your aggressive emotional states and of your not-very-healthy habits, you will easily feel yourself to be the victim of others, of circumstances, of time and of society. In relationships, the key is in living with your consciousness awake and not to do anything that your conscience does not agree with. In doing so, you don't have to fear the opinion of others. You don't have to feel insecure or doubt yourself. If not, we will continue to act against our own consciousness and we will feel ourselves to be victims. To avoid pain or the unhappiness that arises automatically when we act against our own consciousness, we look for guilt excuses: "Because of... I haven't acted as I should." We blame or we make excuses. That way we suppress the voice of our consciousness until the suffering and unhappiness is such that our conscience scolds us, which increases our unhappiness even more. A good transformation agent will always obey the voice of the inner conscience. By remaining in tune with our conscience and creating right thoughts, words and actions, it becomes easier for us to move from victim consciousness to transformer consciousness (one who brings about change).

Message for the day

To be in the awareness of our own specialty is to be free from negativity.

Projection: When we perceive negativity in others, we find ourselves very easily influenced by it. We then react negatively to them and are not able to maintain our own positivity. All our specialties remain hidden in such a negative atmosphere and we continue to be negative too.

Solution: Like a rose we need to maintain our originality and uniqueness while being amongst the thorns. Instead of blaming others and their negativity for our own negativity, we need to practice being positive and working with our original qualities. Then we will never complain but will always use our own specialties.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 06, 2020: Self Manage

Self-Manage

There is a huge hole in the heart of all our educations. It is where the skills and abilities of self-management should be. No one teaches us how to manage our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour, so we find it hard to manage the four Rs – relationships, roles, responsibilities and resources. So let’s get started. Consciously choose the quality of your thoughts today – accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and clean up the waste. Everything, which means everything in your life, begins with your thoughts.

relax7

"Us"

When I perceive myself as separate and disconnected
from you, there emerges a feeling of "you and me." When we operate in this mode, life becomes a big scoreboard.

We choose to make situations a win-lose contest as we
try to gain points through "winning." The big question is, was there really a contest in the first place?

Why not, try to change your perception and
build a connection by creating a feeling of "us."
And then build bridges and create a win-win situation!

God As The Ocean Of Knowledge

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

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

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation (Change) Agent

Often, we feel ourselves to be victims of different factors that seem to direct the course of our life without us being able to control them. The world does not seem to dance to our music and our will, and we feel ourselves to be victims because things do not work out or are not as we want. Therefore, we give up and decide to resign ourselves to this reality; to be victims of it and observe passively (non-actively), resisting what comes, getting frustrated and bad-tempered. However, we could position ourselves in another way: being transformation (change) agents (the ones who are able to change the external factors like people or situations) by creating a different reality. To do so we have to change our perception. Also, it is necessary to strengthen our capacity to tolerate, accept, let go and forget. Tolerance here also refers to understanding, love and compassion (kindness). Not to put up with people or things, but to remain above them, to go beyond them; to co-operate with trust and motivation. It is difficult for us to tolerate because we have expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how others should act and be. Then we create negative feelings towards them because they are not like that or don’t act in the manner that we want. This makes our relationship with them difficult.

When your vision towards others is positive, you see their qualities, their efforts and their values instead of their defects and their errors. You are open to listening to them and to understanding their intentions. That way it is easier to have good feelings towards them. Basing ourselves on a positive and objective vision and on good feelings, we do not have to put up with, or even tolerate the other - the relationship becomes streamlined.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Message for the day

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

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

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

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: January 05, 2020: Ego Alert

Ego Alert

How do you know if you're reacting from a place of ego? If you feel insulted on any level, if a criticism hurts - it's your ego reacting, rather than you responding!

Understanding The Process Of Birth And Death

When the body has become unserviceable due to age or disease, or it suffers a fatal injury, the soul leaves the body. At the moment of death, the soul withdraws its energy from the organs of the body and vacates its seat in the middle of the forehead. Like a bird, it leaves the cage made of skin and bones, and taking its sanskaras, it enters into another body, in the womb of the new mother. From the very birth, the sanskaras of a soul are apparent; whether the "new-born" baby is happy, unbothered, sad, shy, mischievous, quiet, violent or agitated.

Death occurs at the precise moment when the account of giving and taking with other souls through a particular body is finished. The new birth is determined by the soul's account of karmas with another set of souls. One may be born into a cultured, wealthy family, another as a beggar, one may be born deaf, dumb, blind or crippled, another with a strong supple body. The type of body and the conditions of birth are determined by the thoughts and actions performed in the previous births.

Three Components Of Change

In order to bring about a fundamental (major) change, three elements need to exist simultaneously:

Focus: A clear sense of purpose in life and clear goals to guide your life's activities.

Will: The motivation and enthusiasm to introduce and sustain the actions.
Capabilities: The skills and abilities to fulfill your purpose and goals.

But where do you start? There is definitely a right place to begin and that is with your focus. Why? Because if your focus is powerful and based on a very deep sense of your inner most purpose in life, then that will provide you with the will power you need to keep going. Then if you have a clear driving focus in life and lots of will power to back it up, you will soon develop the skills and capabilities you need to make it happen. You may not have them yourself, but your enthusiasm and passion will certainly inspire others who do have them to join you.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation And World Transformation (Change) - cont.

Yesterday we had explained how one can become a medium of world transformation by sitting in meditation.

To become a world transformer, while performing actions, the following method can be practiced - when dealing with others, continually maintain the internal feelings of being a spiritual rose flower, spreading the fragrance of divine qualities through good vibrations and good wishes. When viewing others, look not at the eyes, but look at the point of light in the centre of the forehead whose original qualities are peace, bliss, love, joy, power, etc., and remember that it is the eternal (beyond life and death, timeless) soul talking to the eternal soul, through the body. Also, while maintaining this type of spiritual vision, sprinkle other souls with the energy vibrations of the same virtues.

Message for the day

Perfection comes to the one who is open to learning.

Projection: When we realize having made a mistake, we usually have negative thoughts about ourselves. This is because we expect the best out of ourselves, i.e., we expect ourselves to be perfect in everything we do. But this expectation prevents us from taking naturally the learning from the situation.

Solution: We need to realize that perfection does not come by thinking about it but by being busy in whatever we are doing. With every action of ours comes a learning and this automatically brings perfection.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

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