Daily Positive Thoughts: June 26, 2017:  If you start it, finish it…

Arjun’s dilemma at Kurukshetra

If you start it, finish it… or forget it

A task left undone remains undone in two places – at the actual location of the task, and inside your head. Incomplete tasks in your head consume the energy of your attention as they gnaw at your conscience. They siphon off a little more of your personal power every time you delay. No need to be a perfectionist, that’s debilitating in an imperfect world, but it’s good to be a ‘completionist’. If you start it, finish it…or forget it.

Following God’s Footsteps (Part 1)

We all look upto Him. He is the one whom everyone remembers and is the one common Supreme Power that connects all of us together through a common relationship with Him. God is the Father of Humanity and the one whom we all love and respect the most because He is there with us eternally. He never stops taking care of us and helping us in our time of trouble or sorrow. There is never been a single moment in our life, when God is not available to us, when we have wanted His care and support. His love is a constant companion of ours. Even as a child, we were taught by our parents and other elders to always respect God and take His help right from the morning to the night in every little action we performed. Although as elders, sometimes we forget Him when we are busy in our daily routine and sometimes we give greater importance to our worldly loved ones.

God is the spiritual father and the loving parent of each soul or human being in the world. In fact, every specie of the world and even nature’s seed is God. He is called the creator because He transforms every human being and the entire planet from impure or old to pure or new. This is His task which He performs for the world. And because He is the creator in this way, everyone remembers Him so much because of all that He has done for us. This is the task which makes Him so worship-worthy and the most respected One in the entire Universe.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Are you a showy peacock?

We all have talents & skills, & when we use them they're like a peacock's feathers on full display. 

Be proud, but watch out for confidence turning into arrogance.  Otherwise we end up being like a showy peacock.

So celebrate your talents & skills but keep yourself grounded by remembering that just like a peacock's ugly feet, there's always something about ourselves that we can improve!

Message for the day

To be a light house is to show others the right path. 

Thought to Ponder: A light house is one which is stable even in the worst storm. When I am able to have this quality of stability, I will be able to show others the right path in all kinds of circumstances. The negativity of the situation may trouble or affect others, but I continue to provide the right direction to all. 

Point to Practice: Today I will give hope to someone who is hopeless. I will provide support, direction or encouragement to help this person move forward. I will also ensure that I am moving forward too, learning from all situations.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: June 25, 2017: Near to contentment

Freedom, the Intention of Life; By Nancy Oakes

 

Near to contentment

When you can think of yesterday without regret and tomorrow without fear, you are near contentment.

Connecting To The Qualities Of Others

Meditation adds immense value and depth to my relationships. It also brings closeness in them. Many obstacles and barriers, both on a physical as well as a subtle level, come between me and others when my consciousness and as a result, my perception are struck primarily in the physical dimension. If I hardly know five to ten per cent of myself, and that too mostly on the surface, my relationships are going to be similarly superficial. With my self-respect built on very weak foundations, it will tend to be delicate and I'll be prone to trying to maintain it by thinking about and focusing my energies on others' weaknesses, sometimes real and sometimes even imagined. I'll also find it hard to realize and appreciate their qualities. Such is the state of so many human relationships today.

In meditation, I go into the depths of myself, and deep within my inner being, I find the beauty of peace, love and happiness that is there inside me. I also realize that this same beauty lies inside each soul. Then naturally and very easily, without any effort, I get connected to the same qualities in others. I also find the strength to do the same. I am no longer judgmental seeing others’ temporary sanskaras of negativity. I find qualities that are basically there inside every soul: the original qualities or sanskaras of each spiritual being. It’s like a basic prototype for the whole of humanity, which I deeply see and realize.

Passing Clouds

Determined thoughts disperse the clouds of negative situations. A lot of negative situations are bound to come our way, resulting in grief, pain and disappointment. At the time, such difficulties feel insurmountable and seem to last forever. I need to recognize that the difficulties I face are like passing clouds. These clouds gather around me at times, are only temporary - sooner or later they will fade away. Understanding that no problem lasts forever will help me develop the determination I need to work on my problems. I will then be able to face any situation with ease.

Message for the day

To have the right intention while performing actions is to bring success. 

Though to Ponder: When the heart recognizes the need to do something, there has to be reasoning in the intellect, why I want to do it and with what intention. Without the right intention, feelings can make me get carried away, not able to contribute my best. For example, if I want someone to change (feeling) because I want to be more comfortable, it will not work. But, if I bring the thought that I want them to change, because they would be happier. This is the right intention, which would bring success to my feeling. 

Point to Practice: Today I will do actions with the right intention. All the major tasks that I do, I will first take a thought about why I am doing it. I will then do that action. This will enable me to bring quality to the actions that I do. So, whatever I do, I will be successful in that. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: June 24, 2017: Peace, love and wisdom

 

Artist: Ali McNab

Peace, love and wisdom

There is an immaculate eternal and constant space within you hidden under different appearances. In that space there is only peace, love and wisdom. Let go and free yourself from the layers that cover that space and you will uncover the secret of a life of fullness.

Marrying Spiritual Practices With Actions

Spiritual practices and life are interconnected; so are my thoughts and actions. It is not possible to separate them. The immediate influence of any spiritual practice like meditation is on the quality of my thoughts.  The quality of my thoughts is then reflected in my day-to-day actions. As the quality of my actions improves, it starts influencing my thoughts positively and the quality of my spiritual practice also starts improving. When I really understand this, it becomes clear that the right way to live is to marry both these sides within my life - meditation and practical life, marry the process of improving the quality of my thoughts with my actions, because both are interconnected with each other.

Actions performed by being too action conscious, in a wrong, non-spiritual consciousness, have led to a monotonous and meaningless existence, an existence without permanent peace, love and joy, causing feelings of discontentment and an emptiness in many hearts. On the other hand, religious or meditation practices, which were done with the aim of bringing peace and happiness in our personal life as well as in relationships, but were performed in seclusion (by detaching or becoming aloof from society), did not achieve the desired objectives and was unable to influence life positively. This caused spirituality to become disconnected from reality.

I want my consciousness to become such that I can experience the richness of a life of actions, interactions and relationships of the world, but adorned (decorated) with the jewels of the energy and spiritual power that only meditation can provide.

Reacting and Responding

Something is going wrong, it looks like there is a disaster in the making, and chaos is emerging fast. 

In the West we say, "Don't just sit there, do something!" In the East they say, "Don't just do something, sit there!" Now why is this? Intuitively we know that unless it's a life threatening situation, wisdom lies in the Eastern approach, because sitting still in body and mind, even if only for a moment, allows us to discern the right thing to do. It is the difference between reacting and responding. It allows new intuitions to overcome old instincts. Watch for such opportunities today.

Message for the day

To have the right intention while performing actions is to bring success. 

Though to Ponder: When the heart recognizes the need to do something, there has to be reasoning in the intellect, why I want to do it and with what intention. Without the right intention, feelings can make me get carried away, not able to contribute my best. For example, if I want someone to change (feeling) because I want to be more comfortable, it will not work. But, if I bring the thought that I want them to change, because they would be happier. This is the right intention, which would bring success to my feeling. 

Point to Practice: Today I will do actions with the right intention. All the major tasks that I do, I will first take a thought about why I am doing it. I will then do that action. This will enable me to bring quality to the actions that I do. So, whatever I do, I will be successful in that. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: June 23, 2017: Kindness

 

 

 

Kindness

Kindness in words creates confidence.

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love.

Regaining The Lost Paradise (Part 3)

 

We all know about the day night cycle and the cycle of four seasons. Day is always followed by night and then day after that and the four seasons always repeat every year. In the same way, the day of happiness of the world has existed in the past and was followed by the night of sorrow. In fact the world has also passed through four stages – the morning, afternoon, evening and night. And as the world passed through these stages, sorrow kept increasing and happiness kept reducing. In fact, the first two stages of the world history, which is the unrecorded history, the knowledge of which is known only to God, have been of complete happiness. These two stages are called heaven or paradise or often referred to as the day of humanity. The last two stages saw negative karmas or actions being performed and the fall of human virtues happened, not all of a sudden but gradually. These two stages are often referred to as hell or the night of humanity.

As souls went through the process of birth and rebirth, they forgot their original spiritual identity and instead started considering the physical body as their identity. This wrong identification caused souls to come under the influence of different types of weaknesses or negative personality characteristics. I am a soul was forgotten and I am this body which I occupy became our incorrect belief. This is how we started falling down over the steps of the sorrow and sin and came to the end of the night of humanity, which is the present moment. Today, inspite of immense scientific advancement, there is enough sorrow of the mind, body, relationships and role in the world. Lot of people feel that we cannot go further down anymore. It’s at this moment when God is performing His role of changing the world and bringing the day of humanity back because the cycle of time repeats itself. Day was followed by night and night will be followed by day. This is also the objective of the Brahma Kumaris – to change the world, make it a beautiful and joyful place to live in and regain the lost paradise.

Enthusiastic Greetings

Have you noticed how enthusiastically most dogs greet?  

The tail wagging, leaping, jumping, bounding around you, it's bound to put a smile on your face.

Let's all try and improve how we greet and meet people.  

Be more dog and greet with more enthusiasm, more smiles, more heart, more hugs, more nods.

Message for the day

To have the right intention while performing actions is to bring success. 

Though to Ponder: When the heart recognizes the need to do something, there has to be reasoning in the intellect, why I want to do it and with what intention. Without the right intention, feelings can make me get carried away, not able to contribute my best. For example, if I want someone to change (feeling) because I want to be more comfortable, it will not work. But, if I bring the thought that I want them to change, because they would be happier. This is the right intention, which would bring success to my feeling. 

Point to Practice: Today I will do actions with the right intention. All the major tasks that I do, I will first take a thought about why I am doing it. I will then do that action. This will enable me to bring quality to the actions that I do. So, whatever I do, I will be successful in that. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: June 22, 2017: Get Grateful Now

Cordoba, the City of Flowers

Get Grateful Now

Even when you feel as though things aren't going well in your life, you have reasons to be grateful. Today, take time to appreciate the gift of life and all its wonders. Count your blessings and cherish what you have.

Regaining The Lost Paradise (Part 2)

Let’s go back into the history of the world. We are not talking about only recorded history. Let’s talk about those moments of the world which are not in our history books. Who is the one who knows those moments the best and with complete accuracy? Not any of us, but only the One who has seen those moments without playing a part in them. God has seen those moments. He has seen us play a role in those scenes which took place in the world. Those moments are called by different names – Paradise, Heaven, Swarg, Garden of Eden, Garden of Allah, Bahist in different religions and countries of the world. This world existed before our recorded history. It was a world where the seven basic virtues of humans – peace, joy, love, bliss, purity, power and truth existed in abundance. Also, because human souls were full of these qualities, they never experienced sorrow because no negative actions were performed. This is the world, where richness and health were also present in complete positivity with no trace of poverty and illness.

This is the world that was created by God and that is why God is also called the Heavenly God Father and the world that He created is called heaven. In this world, there was complete unity and love amongst humans and no wars were fought and no natural disasters ever took place. This is because nature was complete pure. Also, the physical bodies made of the five elements of nature were not only very beautiful and pure but also completely free from any type of disease or illness. Even animals lived in complete harmony and peace amongst each other. Also, everyone in this world was holy. This is our unrecorded history which is never spoken about so much. It is only mentioned in our scriptures or shastras.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Finding Solutions

When something is going wrong for someone.... we often start providing solutions, simply because we want to help them work things out.

However, what they may need and what may work best is our support, not our solutions.

That doesn't mean you can't help them.  Ask questions that lead them towards a solution.  Help them find their own solutions and they're more likely to apply those solutions and work things out.

Message for the day

To water seeds of positive thoughts is to bring it to fruition. 

Though to Ponder: Every seed needs the right amount of water at the right time to help it grow. In the same way, when I have a good thought, I need to provide with what it needs to take it fruition. Understanding it in a deeper way, by churning about it; adding it with good wishes and pure feelings; reminding of this thought again and again... these are the things which help the seed grow fully. 

Point to Practice: Today I will take up a good thought and provide the right environment for it grow. I will not do anything that will take me away from that thought. On the other hand, I will do every possible thing to help it grow. I will repeat that thought to myself, not only as a reminder, but also as an experience. This will help me sustain it. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: June 21, 2017:  Subconscious Mind

 

Subconscious Mind

Our subconscious mind has no sense of humour, plays no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives.

Regaining The Lost Paradise (Part 1)

We live in a world full of different types of people belonging to different countries and religions. All of us aspire to create an existence for us, which is very beautiful and completely free from any sorrow and peacelessness. We all want to live united and share peace and happiness with each other. Also, all of us want to live like a big family, where there is no difference of opinions amongst people and everyone loves and respects each other a lot. Sometimes, many world leaders, in the world’s history have tried to create a world of peace and joy and even today many countries aspire for that. Even organizations like the United Nations aim for that. 

So, one thing is certain that the desire is there in everyone’s hearts. Most importantly God is the world’s Spiritual Father, who wants His every child to be happy and free from any sorrow or the pressure of difficult circumstances. But it is also true that there are certain factors like the existence of many people with very negative personalities in the world, natural disasters and also terrorism which stop this from happening. Also, wars are being fought in certain corners of the world along with the existence of other anti-social elements, which prevent this from happening. Along with that, the deteriorating natures of people in general, where anger, ego, greed, jealousy and hatred have become a part of the personality of a lot of people is also not letting this purpose to be achieved. So, what should be done so that what we want, we are able to fulfill. This dream cannot become a reality without spiritual power. And the only one who can provide spiritual power is the One who is completely full with it i.e. our Supreme Father or God. He is called the World Almighty or the most powerful one and here we are referring to spiritual power and not physical power. Physical power cannot achieve this purpose, as we have already seen happen in the world in the past.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Smile  

A smile from the heart is the best accessory you can wear.  

So if you're not smiling from the heart - why not?  What's stopping your heart reaching your face? 

Add that warm, wholehearted smile to your appearance and it will make you feel good, look good, and do good!

Message for the day

To watch with detachment is to give the best performance. 
Though to Ponder: Any actor would like to portray his best on stage. He would have utmost attention to every small action or expression. When I become an audience to my own act, I would be able to give my best performance too. Then, I also need to watch my act as the audience. Then, I can applaud my best performance and improve upon what is not good. 

Point to Practice: Today I will imagine being photographed at every step. I will see myself as a camera would see me. This detached perspective will give me a clear indication of what my behavior, actions and expressions are and what I would like them to be. Then, I would be able to make an attempt to portray my best. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris