Contemplation: July 26, 2020: Freedom

Contemplation: July 26, 2020: Freedom

12th March 1930: Gandhiji begins the Salt March (Namak Satyagraha) from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad accompanied by eighty satyagrahis to a coastal village called Dandi, located about 390 kilometers south of the ashram. As one of the most structured revolutionary moments for the Indian independence, Dandi March was a planned protest and a large scale civil revolt against the salt tax laws set by the British Raj in India.

Freedom

Freedom means that no one can stop you from doing what is right or persuade you to do what is wrong.

Awakening The Positivity Within (Part 3)

In yesterday’s message, we have already shared examples of situations which are self-created i.e. created by my own mind, sometimes triggered by an external situation and sometimes there is no external event responsible for the situation. Then there are other situations of the physical body, relationship based situations and situations related to my workplace and home.  All these situations are partly external and partly internal i.e. there is an external event present which is a reality and cannot be overlooked except in many cases when the situation is perceived as a situation but that is just a perception of a person with a negative perception, but in reality the situation does not exist. In all other cases, the situation is present and that is a fact accepted by even a person with a positive perception. Depending on how we perceive the situation, how we react to it and what thoughts we create on seeing it, the situation becomes big or small in our own mind first. But there is another aspect – sometimes some life situations are threatening in nature and can disturb the most powerful of souls – of course the intensity of the fear varies from person to person depending on the perception. A calm mind with a powerful intellect can face all these situations and of course techniques like meditation which are taught by the Brahma Kumaris will help you in doing that.  

Meditation is a process of thought training - just like a cricketer will practice very carefully how he will time each ball that he faces to achieve the desired result of a run or runs scored. In the same way, I learn how to give each thought of mine value and create only positive thoughts for those few minutes of meditation. These positive thoughts are based on spiritual knowledge and are thoughts about the spiritual self and the Supreme Being. These positive thoughts are created very slowly, step by step and carefully. This meditation practice of about a few minutes everyday is our training for actual negative situations, in which we, due to this practice, then remain calm and create only positive thoughts and keep the negative thoughts away which cause disturbances in our mind.

How often do you reply to "How are you?" with "Busy, very busy"?

If being busy is taking over your life, stop! 
Be productive and effective without being 'too' busy.

Avoid taking on too much by learning to say that two-letter word, "no". 

Rather than say "no" to everything, think about what you want to say "yes" to. 

Get clear on your priorities and know your limitations.

Message for the day

The power of cooperation enables the most difficult task to be successfully done. 

Expression: To have the power of cooperation means to have the ability to see and use the specialities of others in any task that is to be done. It is the ability to respect and use the suggestions and ideas of each and everyone which contributes for the success of the task. So the one who is able to use this power is able to be successful in any task that he takes up.

Experience: When I am able to give cooperation and take cooperation from those around me, I never experience fear for any task that has to be done, but am able to be at ease, knowing that everything is possible. I am also able to earn the respect of those around me for having made the best use of their specialities, which further facilitates the success of the task.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 25, 2020: Stability

Contemplation: July 25, 2020: Stability

Light House in Portugal with a High Wave from a Hurricane

Stability

Amidst the earthquakes of unexpected situations, the hurricanes of unreasonable behaviour, when fortune strikes against me, I will remain unmoved, knowing that finally all will be well.

Awakening The Positivity Within (Part 2)

Do you know that on an average we create a new thought every 2 seconds or even less that? This speed increases very regularly when we panic and are in discomfort or under the negative influence of an external situation. We call it external because the me or I which is internal is not the creator of the situation. Even the physical body is external. Except for situations from my own negative personality characteristics, which are completely the creation of the internal me or I, all other situations are external. Examples of situations in the form of negative personality traits which are completely internal are – on a particular day I feel gloomy or sad without any particular reason or on a particular day I experience thoughts of ego of my own nature or positive qualities or powers which are all internal. Sometimes I experience fear but there is no particular person or object or situation which I fear, it is just a passing phase and I am just frightened for no particular reason or on another occasion I feel I am unsuccessful although everything in my life is going fine. On another day I am worried about falling ill, although I am completely fit and nor have I met someone who is ill or listened to any news regarding poor health, but my worry is completely self-created. These are examples of situations created completely by me.

Then, there are situations from my own personality characteristics which are triggered by outside situations, where something that I read, saw or heard has caused a negative personality characteristic to emerge inside me. Examples of such situations are – my friend has been more successful in his or her academic career and seeing that causes thoughts of jealousy to emerge inside me. In this case, this is my self created situation but it was triggered by another person or external event. He or she did not cause me any harm and did not create the situation but I created the situation only because of my thinking. Another example of such a situation - I fear my boss at office solely because of his position being superior to me. He or she is a very nice person and is extremely polite with me and never tries to dominate me, but I feel dominated because of my thinking. Or another day, I heard a piece of news about how people are dying of heart attacks and this creates thoughts of fear inside me although I don’t suffer from any symptoms like uncontrolled high cholesterol or high blood pressure which could possibly lead to that.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Do you have the habit of rehashing decisions already made?

If the decision is not working out for you and you're not happy, then see if changing your decision is an option. If it is, then change it.

If you don't have the option to change your decision, then like with anything else, just take the opportunity to make it work for you!

Message for the day

You will be truly successful when you are loving and detached with the ones you come into contact with. 
Expression: With all the people that you come into contact with throughout the day, check if you are able to have a balance between being loving and detached. Detachment doesn't mean to stay away from people, but to be with them and yet be detached.

Experience: Make the practice of seeing only specialities, your own and that of others. This will enable you to maintain your self-respect and you will be able to find yourself both loving and detached.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 24, 2020: Love

Contemplation: July 24, 2020: Love

Love

Sow seeds of peace by remaining rooted in the awareness of how loved, loveable and loving you are.

Awakening The Positivity Within (Part 1)

Positivity is our nature which we sometimes lose in our busy lifestyles. It is like the necklace which is around our neck, but we don’t realize that and we search for it all around. When we start the day, we need to fill our minds with a positive source of points of information which strengthen our mind and protect it from the negatives which surround us. Very often like the necklace, positivity is lost temporarily and is very easy to find, but the negative influence does not let me think of the ways of becoming positive and regaining it.

There was once a rich trader who always found a reason to become upset because of the smallest of reasons during the day. Every morning he would decide to remain positive during the day and would promise himself that he would not let his mind be influenced by any difficult problem he faced, but as soon as he used to start his trade or business, because of the complicated nature of his work, he would fall prey to one or the other problem either from the work itself, or through the money he handled, or from his work associates or sometimes due to a problem created by his own mind. A mind that easily succumbs to difficulties can be compared to a home where a little problem in the form of a little mouse enters and brings disturbances in the whole house. When the house owner manages to get rid of the mouse and thinks everything is okay, a cat enters and adds her side of troubles and has the house owner go busy in trying to get it out of his premises. The cat is then followed by the dog’s entry and the whole day the house owner spends in this way. The moral of the story is - the one who remains disturbed attracts disturbances, which he keeps trying to send away and this process or mindset of trying to keep problems away and becoming over-involved in doing that, in turn attracts more problems. So, remaining calm when the first problem of the day comes and not becoming over-involved in trying to keep it away is the primary step to keeping problems away for the whole day. Calmness attracts a problem free environment around me and also keeps me content, powerful and peaceful.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Competition, when used positively can motivate us to grow and learn. 

But we can easily become too focused on beating competitors and get affected by their performance. It can discourage and distract us from focusing on improving our game.

Instead of competing with others, compete with yourself.

In your daily routines, at work, home, in exercise, challenge yourself to better your previous efforts. Raise your own personal bar higher and build on your capabilities. Harness your personal strengths and compete with your own potential.

Message for the day

A powerful stage is like a switch which finishes darkness of negativity in a second. 
Expression: Darkness is dispelled when a light is switched on. Similarly, a powerful stage is also a light switch. When this switch is on, one can put an end to all wasteful darkness and no longer have to labour to stop any wasteful thoughts. By becoming powerful, one can naturally become a donor, as there is nothing waste within. 
Experience: When I am aware of my positive qualities and what I can contribute to others, I am able to be powerful. This naturally enables me to be light and spread the inner light to others. I am never influenced negatively with any kind of waste or negative, but am always able to maintain my own positivity and that of others too. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 23, 2020: Bothersome Person

Contemplation: July 23, 2020: Bothersome Person

Bothersome Person

If something bothers you about what someone says about another, you are recognizing an attitude that is actually within you. When you feel it does not affect you and you can respond calmly, it means that this weakness is no longer in you.

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.

Can we change another person's behaviour? 

We can make them aware of their behaviour and make a polite request for them to change. 

When they don't make the necessary changes, accept that you can't change others. 

The only person you can change is yourself. Adapt, be flexible, and adjust your expectations to accommodate their behaviour.

When there is change in yourself, you can become a catalyst for changes in those around you, but don't expect others' to change.

Message for the day

The one who has the courage to face is the one who can bring about a change. 
Projection: When there is a challenge which brings out a negative response, there is an immediate desire to move away from the situation so that the negativity finishes. But the real challenge is not the situation itself, but the expression of a weakness within. The one who has the courage to face this weakness and work on it is able to bring about a change accordingly.

Solution: When I am able to face the challenge of working on my own weaknesses, instead of moving away from the situation I am able to experience progress at every step. Then there will be no feeling of helplessness but I will be able to have full control on the situation. So there is the ability to learn from each situation and move forward constantly.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/

Contemplation: July 22, 2020: Good Relationships

Contemplation: July 22, 2020: Good Relationships

Good Relationships

In order to create good relationships...with your mind, think about what you have to learn from others;  with your eyes, look into good qualities of others; with your words, recognize, value and appreciate their accomplishments; with your actions, cooperate and do something for others.

Improving Your Responses By Moving From A State Of Doing To Being

This is a meditation exercise which you can practice anytime in the day when you are busy interacting with someone or a group of people. At that time, create the thoughts below, very, very slowly in your mind.  Experience the essence of each thought –

I am a soul and at peace with myself and the world around me... This scene, in which I find myself in, is one of many scenes in which I play a role... Now, I disconnect for a few seconds from what is happening around me... Mentally (not physically), I take a step back and just watch, as an observer, what is happening... I make no judgments - I just observe... As I observe, I see that each soul in the scene is playing their own unique role, according to their capability and understanding, because of which I accept each one completely without any conditions...

I remain patient in allowing this scene to develop in a natural way... I wait for an invitation to participate - it always comes finally... I have no desires from the situation... But, at the same time, I am happy to contribute towards achieving the most positive and effective result... In the meantime I maintain my peace and share the energy of that peace with all around me as this is the most important contribution that I can make... I realize that simply by observing peacefully I am participating positively in this scene…

If you dedicate time to consciously practice the above meditation for a few moments in many actions during the day, you will finally find that you move into this state of just being (while yet doing) very, very naturally.   You are not avoiding life or the world around you. Instead, you are learning to take control of your awareness and involvement, disconnect when you want, be more mentally sharp in understanding (what is visible as well as subtle or non-visible) all that is happening around you and give yourself the time and the personal space to respond accurately and positively.

Bring Hope

When things look bleak, bring back hope. How? 
Find a bright spot and shift from bleak to bright. 
When you feel brighter, you feel hopeful.

Have hope. Hope for a brighter future.

Hope doesn't sit around 'hoping for the best'. 
Hope allows you to be clear eyed, so that you can recognize opportunities, and take action - because your future begins with what you do today.

Message for the day

Time is saved when every action of mine is positive. 

Thought to ponder: When the intention is pure and elevated, actions become positive. When there is no meaning and purpose in actions, they tend to become waste or ordinary. Such actions only waste time and further contribute to future wasteful actions.

Point to practice: Today I will make sure I have the right consciousness while doing actions. For today, I will take up the thought that I am a leader and whatever I do is an example to others. Others are learning from me and today I will make sure I will not do anything that is waste or ordinary. I will only do those actions which are positive and elevated. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

https://astudypoint.blogspot.com/