Daily Positive Thoughts: February 28, 2016: Completionist

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 28, 2016: Completionist

Completionist

A task left undone remains undone in two places, the actual location and inside your head.  Incomplete tasks, in your head, consume the energy of your attention as they gnaw at your conscience.  
Are you delaying because you're a perfectionist?  Maybe, try being a completionist.

To recognise weaknesses is to have the ability to transform them. 

We do try to work on weaknesses to remove them, but most times we are not able to understand what is the real cause for them. So, we do not find any marked difference, i.e., we are not able to bring about much of a change. The method to find the real weakness is to keep introspecting as to why the weakness is working. This needs honesty in the heart and clarity in the intellect. Today I will pick out one weakness of mine and check what is the real cause of that weakness. When I try and understand, I find that I am much more easily able to work on removing my weaknesses. I then don't have guilt or negativity but am able to work on it with confidence.

Cooking A Meal – Subtle Energies At Work (Part 2)!

When cooking a meal, switch on the role of a beautiful creator of the divine sustenance for the mind and body, a loving God Mother and switch off the role of a hard-working homemaker, say to yourself - I love making a meal using the creations of nature, the ingredients that are given to me by the wonders of nature, the elements of nature, so pure in their original state, that they are also given the status of different Gods or deities actually (although being non-living), like Vayu Devta (the god of wind), Surya Devta (the sun god), Indra Devta (the rain god), Agni Devta (the god of fire), Prithvi Devta (the earth god) etc. Nature is also commonly called Mother Nature or Dharti Mata , which reflects its purity, gentleness and softness. These elements reflect all that nature has to offer us through different sources.

So making a meal is respecting and loving these elements to the fullest. Also, although nature’s elements are eternal, it is important to know that when nature loses its sanctity (purity), it’s the Supreme Power of the Universe, incorporeal (non-physical) God who purifies them and returns them to their original state. That is why God is mistakenly called the creator of nature, which he is not per se (exactly), although he is a transformer of nature. So the nature’s elements also, when in their pure state, giving pure energy to the soul and its temple, the physical body. But, today as we all know, these elements have lost their purity on a physical level i.e. because of causes like pollution, emission of poisonous gases from manufacturing units, deforestation, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and other man created issues like the use of improper materials to grow vegetables and fruits that are harmful to the physical body; and they have also deteriorated on a subtle energy level, the spiritual energy level. So it’s important to purify your meal ingredients through meditation before their consumption.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Soul Sustenance

 Understanding The Inner Mechanism Of Anger 

If we think, speak and act in an angry way, we leave an impression or memory of anger within our own consciousness which results in sanskara of anger to be born. Within thesanskara is the recorded emotion and experience of our expression towards the object of our anger. The object is a particular person or situation. If we encounter the object of our anger the next day, it will trigger the emergence the recorded anger from within the sanskara. We then deepen the sanskara as we express more anger, even if we only think anger. The emergence of this emotional energy from within our consciousness then stops us from interacting in a positive way. It clouds our mind and confuses our intellect, weakening and distorting our thoughts, decisions and behaviour. This often explains why we find it harder to connect and communicate with certain people in our life. Essentially we are carrying a negative image of the other person within our sanskara from a previous interaction with them. And when we see them again it emerges the energy within the sanskara, which then influences our ability to respond to them.

Message for the day

Where there is faith there is victory 

Expression: When someone has faith there are no doubts or questions about the self, others or situations. Faith also enables a person to see and understand simple things in life with a new understanding. It shows direction and courage to go on. 

Experience: When I have faith, I experience myself to be lucky and thus receive cooperation from many others. I would also be able to experience success at every step. There is then no worry for me and am troubled less by aspects that keep changing around me. My thoughts then would always be positive and I experience victory. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 27, 2016: Sweet Words

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 27, 2016: Sweet Words

Sweet Words
A bitter tongue makes life bitter, a sweet tongue makes life better.

When interacting with others, be REAL: 

Respect: notice the positives about others and recognise their intrinsic value.
Empathy: understand another's point of view and where they're coming from.
Accept: instead of trying to control others, let people be themselves.
Listen: be present in the moment and listen with your heart, without judgements.

Cooking A Meal – Subtle Energies At Work (Part 1)!

Mother, what are you making for dinner tonight? Do make something delicious! The ordering children often dictate the menu for a meal to their mothers, hoping for a mouthful. Mothers are often in a hurry to finish their cooking tasks for the day and also eager to fulfill the tastes of their children and other family associates. Often mothers relax at the end of the day after having spent their energies on the minutest details of their meals – the vegetables, the salt, the turmeric, the spices, the oil, the pulses, the wheat flour and the water – taking care that food is prepared precisely, leaving no room for error. The objective – satisfying the palate of everyone and also earning the blessings from the family expressed in the form of many - yummies, wows, lovelies and thank yous. How come, inspite of this warm exterior feel to this family setting, there lie underneath not so warm subtle energies, which prevent the food from being not only pleasing to the tongue and stomach, but also spiritually fulfilling. This is the message of the Supreme’s children, the mothers, wives and even the young sisters and brothers, who cook food at the Brahma Kumaris in different settings - at their homes or at the official spiritual service locations.

Love filled food, pure vibrational energy filled food is not only healthy, curing ailments but also spiritually, emotionally and mentally soothing, because of the subtle bridges that exist between the body and the non-physical mind causing both of them to influence each other. You have heard of how food cooked by a mother tastes better than the food cooked by a maid. Why? Because of the purity of purpose. The mother is absorbed in the love of her children while working on the meals and the maid cooks because she earns from the task, which she experiences as tedious many times.  The mother will cook with a higher purpose which reflects in the food quality and the energy it’s every morsel (bite) carries invisibly. So food should be cooked in love, but let’s change this to a higher love, say a higher love for God and not the worldly love which carries with it dependencies, attachments, possessiveness and fear.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

Adopting A Wiser Perception 

Depending on my choice of perception, I may see life as a battleground, where I face a constant battle from morning to night. The constant to and fro between family and work may tire me emotionally and mentally. If I let it and see it that way, life can also itself become the cause or source of my tensions. It may even seem as if the path of life is scattered with rocks blocking my way. Instead of stepping around or over them, I perceive them as being obstacles. The thoughts may come easily to my mind - If it was not for so-and-so or such-and-such, I would be able to.... I may mention the same to my loved ones. Instead of bringing me any benefit, these complaints take me away from the power that I, the soul, have within of changing anything. I simply pass on my capacity to change, to persons or objects over whom or which I obviously have no control. 

If I am fortunate to have a wiser perception which spirituality can give me, life can become a great place to learn and grow. Behind seemingly difficult situations are my major lessons. Disguised in routine tasks are the sign boards that point me back towards truth. Relationships that bring with them repeated scenes of negativity with the same person and for the same reasons show me the weaknesses I have to work on. Indeed, until I work on the eradication of my weaknesses, I keep repeating them. Challenges do come, but they help to bring out the best in me. If I have the subtle eyes to see and the courage to go forward... life is a constant experience of reminders and benefits to progress along the road to my highest consciousness.  

 Message for the day

Stay in constant peace by becoming an embodiment of solutions. 

Contemplation: Situations do bring a lot of challenges for us, but where there is fear or worry while facing them, there cannot be peace.As long as we continue looking at the problem instead of searching for solutions we cannot remain in peace. 

Application: Think of some problem that you are thinking a lot about. Now see if you can find a solution for it. If you feel you cannot, it is better to leave thinking about it rather than to worry about it. When you keep the mind free in this way, you will get the solutions automatically. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 26, 2016: Full-Stop Mind

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 26, 2016: Full-Stop Mind

Full-Stop Mind

How do you manage the unending stream of thoughts that flow through your mind?  Do you put a comma, an exclamation mark or a queue of questions?  Why not apply a full-stop and begin to master your mind.

Contentment is to be satisfied with what we have & who we are.

This doesn't mean that we have no ambitions or goals. 
It means that we have our eye on the goal, but at the same time, we can be content.

Be content & you'll have the power to achieve & be more.

Resisting False Attractions In Actions

All that glitters (shines) is not gold. Life presents you with many illusionary scenes, scenes in which what may be visible may not be the truth. These scenes cause desires to be born inside you to achieve something unnecessary for your prosperity or other types of fulfillment.  These can be illusions that make you believe that you will gain something from a situation or person, without the same being true. Thus, you waste time going down a path that not only leads you to disappointment; but you also waste the resource of your thoughts and energy and as a result you tire yourself out emotionally and mentally.

If the intellect is polluted, you make incorrect judgments and are easily deceived by situations or people. Thus, you will make incorrect choices, dishonest or illogical decisions. You will justify dishonesty and improper actions and you will be incapable of differentiating between the real and the imaginary. A person with a pure, clear, clean and powerful intellect will act with honesty and sincerity. When your intellect is polluted, you may act against your own conscience or against your better judgment; you also may be insensitive. A person with a doubtful intellect will always justify a dishonest act. Meditation is the process of purifying and cleaning the intellect, because in meditation we connect with the purest intellect, the intellect of the Supreme Soul or God. Meditation is also a process of inner awakening and strengthening of your conscience. Being awake means to realize, and being strong means to act according to what you have realized. 

Soul Sustenance

Life Beyond Life (Part 3) 

What type of mindset and consciousness should one keep on being faced with the death of a beloved relative or a close associate, so that one remains protected from the shock related to such a sudden demise? If, we at the Brahma Kumaris, say that it’s not death but a life beyond life and a shift to a new life existence or reality, you might question and might ask something that we agree with also, but how do I fill the void (emptiness) left in my life and how do I not remember the loved one, with whom I spent millions of minutes, sharing and receiving so much love and happiness, something which have left deep impressions on my heart, which are difficult to erase. On one hand, we at the Brahma Kumaris, on being faced with the death of a close one, conduct group meditation, and pass on the vibrations of peace and power to a departed soul, which help it to go into a life setting with the best of the four pillars of existence - nice sanskaras to be received from the new set of parents, a healthy body, plenty of wealth and beautiful relationships and also adapt easily and in a short period of time to the new environment along with slowly coming to terms with the shift that it is making and also easily forgetting what it has lost. On the other hand, people who lose such loved ones, apart from contributing through vibrations, which help their loved ones in their shift; through a deep loveful relationship with the Supreme which helps them to be strong and reading spiritual wisdom as shared by the Supreme which helps them to become content, get used to the sudden emptiness created in their lives when such events happen. Also love for serving each one whom they meet, with virtues and powers and being absorbed in the Supreme’s task of the present moment of self change and world change helps them rise above the difficult time phase. They do remember the relative they have lost, but from an empowered consciousness.

To end on an empathetic (understanding your feelings) note, we confess that the reality of life beyond life is something that many of us knew or had heard of, even before joining the Brahma Kumaris, but at the same time, we were not empowered enough to accept the reality and live the reality. Spiritual understanding empowered us to do that and we wish from the bottom of our heart that you are able to do the same. All the best.

Message for the day

Become an embodiment of peace and a bestower of peace. 

Expression: People in the world only want peace and happiness. When you experience peace yourself you can give others this experience too. Where there is peace there would naturally be happiness too.

Application: Spend a few moments each day in solitude. Practice stabilising yourself in one powerful thought. Let the experience of peace from you flow to others too. During interactions too, keep your mind free from waste thoughts and you will find that others will be free from them too.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 25, 2016: The Greatest Jewellery

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 25, 2016: The Greatest Jewellery

This Emerald and 101.27 carat Shizuka Diamond Tiara belonged to Swedish Countess Consort Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck who was known for her rule Ostfriesland as Regent. Sold by Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels.

Anger finishes all wisdom.

Ego finishes regard.

Worry eats away your life.

Bribery finishes all justice.

Greed finishes all honesty.

Fear eats away a human being.

The greatest jewellery in the world is your own nobility.

Your own best companion in the world is your determined thought.

To respect and value time is to use well the treasures it has to offer. 

When I don't value time, my mind remains cluttered. I am not able to recognize the treasures that time has to offer. Drops of time, of pure silence, on the other hand, allows good things to flow and like a rising sun, brings good things into life. Today I will make time for time. I will make some time for myself (as the most important person in my life is me). I will take some valuable thoughts, those thoughts that add value to what I am doing. When I combine elevated thoughts from time to time, I would have used my time well. Such drops of time help me recognize the value of time and use it well.

  Letting Go Of The Branches Of The Life Tree

A very common habit that has become deeply embedded inside us is the habit of possessing, to which we succumb repeatedly. We come in contact with different people, material comforts, roles, positions, experiences, achievements and of course our own physical body etc. on an external level and our own thoughts, viewpoints, beliefs, memories, etc. on an internal level  etc. throughout our life. All of these are like branches that make up our life tree. Possession is like clinging on to one or the other of these different branches from time to time, as we fly from one branch to another, while covering our life journey.  The spiritual point of view on this habit is clear and very straight forward. It is not possible to possess anything. If we do try to do so, we lose our freedom. To experience the freedom, we need to dare to let go of the branches, which does not mean to lose or leave them because the branches are always going to be there. We can return to any of them to rest or pause whenever we want. But, it is about being aware and alert, because the moment a pause on a branch turns into a stop, the stop turns into a brake and, after that, the brake turns into a blockage. As a result, like the bird whose flying agility degrades on a physical level if it does the same; our intellectual and emotional agility starts to degrade.

When we learn to let go of one branch at a time, we are always welcoming new positive and empowering experiences in our life, one at a time. Like the birds, by letting go of one branch, we are then able to spend the rest of your lives trying and discovering many other branches, one branch at a time, and so we can enjoy the view from each new vantage point. We can choose between a life of flying and soaring or be stuck on one or the other branch, seeing others as they fly past and enjoy a life of freedom where they do visit their life tree from time to time and their life does revolve around the tree but they don't try and possess it or any of its branches.

Soul Sustenance

Life Beyond Life (Part 2) 

A new born child is a new entrant in a new home with new parents. Each day thousands of new-borns get new homes and new parents. These births are accompanied by celebrations and greetings of congratulations to the parents and other family members. But have you ever stopped to wonder that behind the curtains of these celebrations lie tears in the eyes of those family members and dear ones where these souls or spiritual energies leave old physical costumes, what we commonly call death. We, at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, call it Life Beyond Life. The concept of birth and re-birth or life beyond life has been a topic of debate since time immemorial. Over the ages, many philosophers, the spiritually inclined, the religious minded, psychologists, the medical fraternity and scientists have talked in favour of this reality, which they believe is embedded in the fabric of life while some have been non-committal or unsure in their approach and some have even expressed disbelief at the idea because of lack of ample evidence. Though today, evidence in its favour has surfaced in various corners of the world through past life regression (hypnosis), near death experiences and case studies by medical journals, accompanied by records of a significant number of people who have remembered their past birth or births, some of whom have even gone back to the families they were once a part of. Some even remember the circumstances accompanying their death in their past life. 

So, living in a world giving ample proof for the concept today, accompanied by deep experiences of the existence of the soul and its immortality (it never dies) by good meditators and people who are strong adherents (followers) of different religions all across the world, one needs to develop strong faith in the fact that my family member or my dear friend, who has left me, has transferred himself/herself to a new reality, a new joy filled and love filled existence, a new Mamma, a new Papa, a new prosperous family, a new healthy body, a new set of positive sanskaras (including the sanskaras of the previous birth) and a new set of friends, relatives and brothers and sisters. So it’s not death but a beautiful new life beyond this life. This is a more positive perception of an event, which for all of us is the most sorrowful and negative of all life events. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

The power of silence can bring peace to any situation. 

Contemplation: The instruments for the power of silence are pure thoughts and pure feelings. You can give others an experience with the power of your silence. When you understand and experience the power of silence you will become more powerful. You will then be able to experience peace that you will be able to spread to others too. 

Application: When you have to correct someone in any situation remind yourself that words will not work but silence based on pure feelings and love will surely work. When you accept the person as he is with love you will be able to bring about a change in him. Remember that the lesser you talk the more the peace that is created. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 24, 2016: Listen-ability

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 24, 2016: Listen-ability

Listen-ability

To really listen, we have to filter out both inner and outer distractions to get the WHOLE message.

Self-respect creates inner peace and harmony. 

When I take pride in my own role and have value for the contribution I (can) make, there is self-respect. Self-respect helps me to let go of expecting to be understood, to be considered, to be recognized. It helps me understand that it is my mixed emotions that create dependence, taking away inner peace and harmony. Today I will tell myself that everything cannot always happen as I wish. When something unwanted happens, I know I have to deal with it and am also well equipped to do so. This helps me know what I can do to correct the situation, without losing hope, peace and harmony.

The Psychosomatic Effects (Effects On The Body) Of Fear

The human being is psychosomatic by nature – what that means is that our health is deeply influenced by our behavior, thoughts, emotions and social relationships. Therefore, in order to experience good health, we should care for our life style, our mental, sentimental, emotional and relational world, as well as our communication. Fear is bad for our health. It manifests itself in the form of anger and promotes coronary diseases. Fear suppressed for a long time ends up producing diseases such as cancer. Apart from cancer and heart attacks, there are other illnesses brought on by fear: addictions, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, irritability, nervous breakdowns, memory loss, gastritis, back pains, baldness, diarrhea, sciatica, crying attacks, alcoholism, constipation, hypertension, cystitis (bladder inflammation), vomiting, palpitations, digestive disorders, ulcers and migraines.

When we get old, our neurons do not die, but rather the connections between them disappear,that is what recent scientific research suggests. The neuronal connections or synapses keep us lively and young. When we have pleasant experiences, such as during meditation or when we are on a holiday or are surrounded by friends or while working in a team, some examples of activities in which we feel happy, the neuronal connections are more fluid. However, the lights go out when we feel fear. It is an emotion that is capable of slowing down and blocking the electrical impulses between the neurons. With fear we are less creative and we get older more quickly. If we do not want to suffer illnesses (or want our illnesses to get worse) we should learn to manage and overcome fear.

Soul Sustenance

Life Beyond Life (Part 1) 

Have you ever looked at a new born child and glanced at the expressions on his face? Why is there a magnetic aura about a baby’s features that attracts one and all? The innocence, the sparkling smile, the beautiful eyes, the angelic cheeks, the shining forehead, the round, cherubic (pretty) face and the soft whispering sounds makes one wonder what is so special about the spiritual energy inside such a baby that talks to us and tries to convey so much as to move us and even bring tears in our eyes. Such a spiritual energy is in a state of nirvana or a meditative state or a soul conscious state, a state which we as adults, practice to achieve.

We would like to share with our readers that in the nine month gestation (pregnancy) period of a mother, the spiritual energy which has to own a particular physical costume, enters the womb of a mother and adopts the physical foetus (which is semi-developed) as its own in the fourth or fifth month. A wonder of nature is that a spiritual energy that has been exposed to different types of situations and relationships and played different roles as an adult in its previous life in a state which is not really spiritually self-aware, more of a state which is focused towards the gross or material existence, suddenly forgets all that and becomes a very pure and divine being temporarily as soon as it enters the foetus inside its mother’s womb, a being that is cut off from physicality and almost in a thoughtless state of meditation – here by meditation we mean a state that is self-aware or soul conscious, not in body consciousness. It even forgets its past life almost completely and starts adopting itself to the new environment inside the mother. On one side its physical body continues to receive physical sustenance from the mother as before its entry and on the other side it vibrates its mental energy to its physical body which also helps it grow physically. As the personality of the spiritual energy, so is the energy radiated, resulting in a healthy or unhealthy body. Once the baby is born, a few subtle traces of consciousness or remembrance of the past life do remain inside the spiritual energy, because of which sometimes when these remembrances surface inside the minds of babies, they smile or become sombre (serious) or even cry in their sleep, depending on the type of past remembrance.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

The actions performed with happiness become a means to draw the line of fortune as long as you want. 
Contemplation: The more actions are performed with a feeling of happiness, the more they will bring benefit to yourself and others. Thus it becomes a basis for creating your elevated fortune.

Application: Instead of blaming fate when things go wrong, it is good to remember that to create our line of fortune is in our hands. Take the thought to be happy in whatever you do. This practice will enable you to change your situation into a more positive one.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 23, 2016: Look for Goodness

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 23, 2016: Look for Goodness

Look for Goodness

In everything, goodness is there. Our goal is to find it. In every person, the best is there. Our job is to recognise it. In every situation, the positive is there. Our opportunity is to see it. In every problem, the solution is there. Our responsibility is to provide it. In every setback, the success is there. Our adventure is to discover it. In every crisis, the reason is there. Our challenge is to understand it. By seeing the goodness, we'll be very enthusiastic and our lives will be richer.

Asking the right questions brings learning and progress. 

When I am too focused on answers, I don't find them. I need to ask the right questions and also letting go of the dependency of wanting answers. Right questions are like brooms that sweep the mind clean. Once the mind is clean, answers flow. There is then, learning, growth and progress. Today I will ask questions that help me progress rather than expressing doubt. There need to be more "hows" and "whats" rather than "whys". These questions will lead me a step forward, instead of getting stuck with difficult situations.

Loving The One (Part 3)

Dedicating love to the One whom we have many a times disrespected out of ignorance, not to take away the fact that we have loved Him also, but true love for this sweetest and nicest One in the universe is recognizing Him with the eyes of spiritual wisdom, who He is and what are His virtues and how He uplifts mankind from the claws of impurity and wrong beliefs which continue to bring human instincts to the lowest levels, as we see today in society, where lust and other negative illnesses in the human psyche have brought it down tremendously, which man had not even dreamt of, just 100-150 years ago, all under the garb of advancement and modernity. So let us just stop for a minute and reflect on all the qualities of purity that the world possessed a few thousand years behind, on the world time line, which was the world that the God had made with His own hands, which we spoiled due to our self created beliefs and attachment to physicality. The world lost its sanctity (purity) and that was the time when we had disheartened God and broken our promise to Him, made to Him in our prayers and other forms of worship, to take care of what He had created and not to let it destroy our inner selves, which it did. They say, God is above sorrow and joy but God isn’t unemotional either. He watched the decline in a mode of detachment and He was above it, but at the same time He wasn’t liking it happen. The same world children, who had loved Him and left Him in the soul world, which is above the physical world of 5 elements, when they stayed with Him there, had abused that spirit of love and fallen down.

So, if we were to realize this deeply, we would say – Yes! Today I will give the return to the Spiritual Father of Humanity, the Highest One; I will make myself so pure, as He would like me to be. This would be dedicating my true love to someone who has lived by His word of helping us every time even though we did not keep our word to Him that we would remain the purest and the most virtuous beings and keep His creation – the world in the same light.

Soul Sustenance

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (Part 3) 

There is a difference between when we have established our own code of values or beliefs in life, and when we feel obliged (forced) to obey an imposed code of beliefs. It is important for us to accept on an inner level the code by which we think we should be guided and act. When we act out of obligation (compulsion), by following a code of beliefs or behaviors that we feel have been imposed but aren't accepted as our own, we should ask ourselves why we act out of obligation (compulsion), basing ourselves on a code we have not accepted. Are we perhaps afraid that, if we don't do it, we will feel guilty? 

When we violate the codes of belonging to a group, family, social class or community, generally we feel guilty. If this guilt leads us to question ourselves about what is right for our conscience, we progress in our personal growth and improve our clarity. It is necessary to respect ourselves, being clear about what the beliefs are on which we base our life, think, feel and evaluate. This will help us to avoid the gap between what we should and what we want to do. Until the should and the want are joined, we leave an open space for guilt. 

When we act according to how we feel we should, we will feel guilt for not doing what wewant. While we act according to what we want, we will feel guilt for not doing what we should. 
When guilt warns us that there is something to check and correct within us and we are willing to see it, have a dialogue with the self and clarify, we are on the right path. Sometimes guilt acts as an excuse for us to apologize without really taking on the responsibility for what happened; we pass on the responsibility to the established norms, norms that in this case we haven't accepted as our own. In any case, the solution to guilt is to take on self-responsibility.

Message for the day

Happiness comes when there is self-sovereignity. 

Expression: Being a self-sovereign enables you to have total control over yourself. If not, when there are negative or difficult situations, there would be sorrow. When you are in control you will not expect situations to change but you will have the courage to change yourself. 

Application: When things go wrong, instead of worrying or waiting for things to change, tell yourself that you are a self-sovereign and you can bring about a change in yourself. When you work on yourself and change you can be happy. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 22, 2016: Self-Trust

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 22, 2016: Self-Trust

Self-Trust

When there is respect and love for the self, there is trust.  When you believe in yourself, then you have the courage to maintain your strength even in the face of disappointments and setbacks.

Give Good Wishes

The festive season gives us opportunities to meet up with many more people. 

If you find that you have negative feelings towards certain people, than take a moment to transform your feelings.

Follow your spontaneous instinct to give. The heart gives and is full of grace. So, don't just limit your good feelings to just one or two people.
With an open heart, greet everyone with sincerity and love. Make your heart big and silently give good wishes to everyone you meet.

Loving The One (Part 2)

Remembering God whom we respectfully call the One, because He is unique in the sense that He is the only spiritual energy in the entire Universe who has never experienced lust or anger or ego or hatred. God is faithful to the eternal laws of humanity which state that soul consciousness is the right karmaand body consciousness is the opposite; soul consciousness will give and attract joy and body consciousness will give and attract sorrow.

There have been instances in history when God was mistakenly called omnipresent or present in every molecule (whether pure or impure), although He is a permanent resident of the soul world. This was ridiculing Him in a sense. Also, sometimes God’s status and qualities were given to humans, like the worship of deities, whom we started calling gods and goddesses and founders of religions like Christ and Buddha were worshipped as if they were God, although they all were pure and divine human beings and not the One i.e. God. If that wasn’t enough, some people called lust as the eternal component of the world drama and also went to the extent of saying that lust was God’s creation, which even gave birth to many shastras and essays on lust in India a few hundred years after the time of Christ, although lust did not exist in the pure world, which existed hundreds of years prior to Christ, which God had created. These shastras were given undue importance, instead of being banished (discarded) from society which God would have desired, since they sowed the seeds of sin in the minds of humans and were the cause of the moral degeneration of society. Even deities, who were God’s creation of the past, were shown mistakenly as lustful in some temples of India, which was an indirect insult of God, the purest and the most innocent One, the Supreme Father of humanity. God was also called by us, mistakenly, as the One who gives sorrow as well as happiness, forgetting that it was our own actions which brought us both of them. The worst insult for God was by those people of scientific temper who gave God the status of a man created concept and his fantasy, saying God is an imagination and not a reality. So, God was a detached spectator to these insults, never taking them to His heart, but on the other hand He showered sweet mercy on each one of us through His blessings and sweet vision of love, all that time.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

Taking Responsibility, Overcoming Guilt (Part 2) 

If there are people or situations that lead you to fall over the same stone i.e. they lead you to make the same mistake, which was committed earlier, again, perhaps you will have to avoid them for a few days or a time, until you have strengthened yourself and have the inner security that they will not influence you. This is not running away; it is wise knowing your weaknesses and knowing that to get into similar situations with the same people is only to repeat the same errors and to worsen your wellbeing and that of the other. Trust in yourself. You can overcome these mistakes and stop making them. It is a question of loving yourself and living. Out of love, you stop hurting yourself and hurting the other. 

Crying over past mistakes, you don't mend anything. Open yourself to forgiveness. Raise the level of your thoughts so that they don't keep you in a state of sadness and loss of hope. Don't allow your inner judge to sentence (punish) you each time that you act, since that way you won't feel free. Your judge that you carry within makes your life bitter; however, it is you that gives this judge the capacity to exist. If the inner judge is in harmony with our conscience, it is good, because it wants to protect us. On creating guilt it warns us that we have broken a rule of our code of beliefs, values or behaviors. It alerts us to the fact that we are acting against something important of ourselves. At those moments it helps us to observe and question what is real, true, important and even sacred in our life and for us. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) Message for the day

The one who is truly happy knows the importance of taking happiness as much as he knows how to give happiness to others. 

Expression: In order to be fully happy, it is important not to take sorrow from situations or people. Usually we pay attention not to give sorrow but it is now equally important to just take happiness from whatever happens. 

Application: Today take the thought in your mind that you will just give happiness and take happiness from each and every person you meet. Think of something nice to say to every person you meet. Then you will find that you are constantly happy because you are not expecting from them but you are giving. 
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris