Daily Positive Thoughts: May 05, 2016: Transform Obstacles

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 05, 2016: Transform Obstacles

Transform Obstacles

Is life an obstacle course? Sometimes it may feel like it. If you join the military you will be sent around an obstacle course of increasing degrees of difficulty. Why? To increase your strength and stamina and expand your creative capacity under strain. So it is on the course called 'life' - you can choose to perceive people, situations or events as obstacles, or you can choose to use these things to strengthen and expand your capacity to be creative and to find ways round, under, over. The choice lies in your perception. Obstacles are never ever 'out there', they are always in our own minds.

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Believe It Or Not (Part 5)!

When we come into this world, we were completely full of 36 divine qualities - Accuracy, Appreciation, Benevolence, Carefreeness, Cheerfulness, Cleanliness, Contentment, Co-operation, Courage, Detachment, Determination, Discipline, Easiness, Egolessness, Energetic, Far-Sightedness, Fearlessness, Generosity, Good Wishes, Honesty, Humility, Introspection, Lightness, Maturity, Mercy, Obedience, Orderliness, Patience, Politeness, Purity, Royalty, Self-Confidence, Simplicity, Sweetness, Tirelessness and Tolerance.

If you check the above list, you will realize how today none of us have all these qualities and that too at all times in all situations. Try naming one person in your life who never lacks these qualities and you will find it impossible to find someone who is never missing these qualities in his or her day-to-day living and when in contact with people i.e. while playing different roles in society in their personal or professional life. The devi devtaswhom we call the ones who were perfect human beings had these qualities and that too in every situation of life, when they lived in the world in heaven or paradise. This was because they were completely pure souls without any trace of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego and because of that they possessed all these qualities. That was the most beautiful time on the planet earth when these deities lived together as one small united family and there were no sinful actions performed ever by anyone.  Even founders of different religions and sects are praised immensely all over the world for their qualities and people all over the world are inspired by the actions which they performed when they played their roles right from the time they started being established. Right now is the time to fill ourselves with the 36 qualities mentioned above by listening to spiritual knowledge, remembering God, self-introspection and helping God in the service of mankind.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Responsibility is to honor the role that has been entrusted and to perform it to the best of one's ability. 

Just as the actor accepts whatever role he is given and performs to the best of his ability, in the same way taking up responsibility for one's life is to accept and honor the role so that the performance is the best under all circumstances. The result is that time and resources are utilized to bring maximum benefit. Each day remind yourself that you are a good actor who brings out the best of whatever role you get. Instead of thinking of what you don't have start using in the best possible way what you have. 

Message for the day

To consider problems to be a game is to move forward with lightness. 

Expression: Even when the most difficult problem comes my way, I am able to give my best when I understand the significance of whatever is happening. Because I never experience being subservient to the problem, I am always a master. 

Application: When I understand that problems are just a game, I am able to play whatever part I have to, externally. But internally I will experience lightness knowing that this is the part I have to play. It would be easy to understand the significance of the part that I am playing and remain happy. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 04, 2016: Working on Rebuilding Relationships

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 04, 2016: Working on Rebuilding Relationships 

Working on Rebuilding Relationships 

It’s easy to speak negatively when we do not like something about someone. We often react without thinking and become angry. Our words and behaviour become negative or insulting. This further widens the gap damaging the relationship. When someone does something undesirable, I first need to understand the behaviour. Every person has a reason to behave the way he or she does even if I cannot understand it at the time. The more I react to the other person and the bad behaviour, the greater the distance between us. To mend the relationship I need to remind myself of the other person’s good qualities.

Believe It Or Not (Part 4)!

Whenever the world needs a cleaning up of the collective consciousness of mankind, that’s when an inner awakening is required, a realization that I need to change and clean up the cupboards of my mind and become a perfect personality, but a perfect personality as defined by God and not by the world and mankind in general. Perfection has been defined differently by different religions and people from different sections of society. So, which definition of perfection should I as a person, in the search of perfection, choose? Should I pick Jesus Christ or should I pick Gautam Buddha or should I stick to the Indian shastras or religious books or should I listen to my parents for that matter? The more the different people and their different opinions on perfection, the more I will get confused on which road to take to reach my destination of perfection. In such an atmosphere of unlimited views and opinions on what a perfect human being should be and how he should become that and also a lot of us want to know that what is the need of becoming perfect, especially if we are extremely successful and life has given us everything we need and we search for on a material level.

So, who is the One who can guide me correctly and give me the answers to all these questions? It has to be someone whom everyone rates as being perfect and who is available for me at the present moment. This is not my parent or a religious head or a guru or a deity that has existed in the past on the earth as discussed yesterday. God, who is above the cycle of perfection and imperfection, can only tell me what is perfection and the method of reaching that perfection. Even deities and fathers of religions who were perfect or close to perfect and have existed in the past are no longer there physically to guide me. Only God who does not go through the process of birth and rebirth can show me the way to becoming a perfect human being with qualities which He has inside Him.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

When there is a balance between easiness and reliability, there will be benefit for others. 

When you are truly responsible you will know that what you do effects the life of others. So you will be cautious. Apart from this you will also know to take care of your own well-being because you would know that others will gain form your healthy attitudes. Let this day be dedicated for removing some weakness within yourself that is creating an obstacle for yourself and others. when you do this you will be helping yourself and others will take benefit for others too. 

Message for the day

The virtues of honesty and courage bring success. 

Expression: The one who is courageous is never deterred by challenges, but moves on towards success. Combined with courage, is the virtue of honesty which allows one to be consistent, sincere and true in the efforts put in. So success comes with proper effort and there is also humility visible in such a person. 

Experience: When I am courageous, but at the same time honest in my efforts that I put in for achieving success, I'll never have ego. I will be able to get the cooperation and good will of all, and especially the protection and the help of God. I will find myself moving slowly towards success with everything I do.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 03, 2016: The Happiness Ripple

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 03, 2016: The Happiness Ripple

The Happiness Ripple

When you're happy, your happiness ripples out to other people - at work, at home, even to the strangers around you.

Your happiness gives others hope.  It makes a difference.  So, spread the warmth of happiness.

Believe It Or Not (Part 3)!

We all respect the devis and devtas who are our ancestors and they are our ancestors in terms of time but in reality, they are our initial roles which we played in the world drama.It may seem difficult to believe, but man came down so much in terms of qualities that today it is difficult for man to believe that the ones he has been worshipping since such a long time is his first, second or third birth or his initial births when he first came down in the world from the soul world to play his part. Today, man has declared to the world that his original form was of apes. We all know that monkeys, like all animals, are animals with the five vices inside them – lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment. So, instead of truly believing our original births as deities or devi devtas who were the opposite – the purest human beings with no trace of lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment, we have called apes our ancestors. If we were to believe in the existence of the soul, we would logically realize that the soul comes down in its purity level after many cycles of birth and death, so is it not more believable that we were perfect deities and then we became humans with weaknesses, of today? Today we cannot call ourselves completely perfect unless we are working on ourselves internally to become better human beings. What is obviously less believable is calling apes our ancestors but that is when we believe in rebirth and the soul’s immortality. If we do not believe in the soul and only believe in the evolution on a species level, then we are more inclined to giving apes the status of our ancestors.

Right now is the time to remain above the difficulties of the old world when we have lost our purity on the soul level and connect with the Ocean of Purity – God and regain back our initial status which we have forgotten i.e. a status of the devi devtas. You might wonder that how we will be transformed back into them.  That is the present incognito task of God and it is just a purification of a small number of souls, belonging to different religions, which are amongst us, who will be responsible for the purification of the more than 7 billion souls of the world and to take them back to the soul world and start a new beginning of the world. This will be a beginning where pure souls will come back in small numbers from the soul world and the world will start with the birth of deities or devi devtas on the planet earth, what is called heaven.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

The one who is responsible changes first before he expects others to change. 

The one who is responsible is a leader. He would take up the responsibility to change himself first instead of waiting for others to change. With the change that he brings in himself he inspires others to change too. Think of one situation where you are expecting someone else to change. Now think of one aspect in this situation in which you can bring about a change in yourself. Take up the responsibility of changing this and you will find yourself progressing and others taking the inspiration to change too. 

Message for the day

Faith in God gives you power to face the different challenges that come your way. 

Contemplation: In the difficult situations that come in your life when you have faith in God, the power within you is brought out. With the faith that God is with you, you can transform negative to positive, and impossible becomes possible. 

Application: When any task demands strength beyond your capacity, make the all-powerful God your companion. With the power of His companionship you will find things a lot easier to handle. Because of your faith help automatically comes. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 02, 2016: Good Feelings

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 02, 2016: Good Feelings

Cinderella with her Fairy Godmother

Good Feelings

Good feelings for others are like ointments that heal wounds and re-establish friendships and relationships. Good feelings are generated in the mind, are transmitted through your attitude and are reflected in your eyes and smile. Smiling opens the heart and a glance can make miracles happen.

Believe It Or Not (Part 2)!

There was a time once in the history of humanity when men and women lived in complete harmony and the world was not divided into so many countries as it is today. On the other hand the world was like one small family with a population of only a few lakhs, which later increased as time passed and more and more souls came down from the soul world to accompany the original population of the earth. This one united kingdom is represented by the crown of gold and the one united religion is represented by the aura or crown of purity around the deities or also called as devi devtas in Hindi, the human beings with divine qualities. Even the idols of deities which are worshipped with so much respect are shown as wearing both these crowns, inside temples of worship. They are the most beautiful human beings – both in terms of physical beauty as well as inner beauty i.e. their natures are like God’s nature. Also, they are the richest in terms of physical and spiritual attainments. That is why they are given a status equal to God. Most people do not even consider them as different from God but they are very much human, humans who are the purest and with the highest divine qualities. They are not the one God or the Supreme although they are commonly called gods and goddesses.

Such human beings who are still remembered so much especially by Indians, because it is in India where these devis and devtas have lived and spent the most beautiful moments in the history of mankind, a time which is also called swarg or heaven commonly by us. The other religions of the world have all recorded histories and we know approximately from our history books when they were established. But the first religion, the deity ordevi devta religion, which existed prior to Christianity, Buddhism and Islamism is only remembered in our religious books and not at all mentioned in our history books because the history of those times was not recorded. People do remember the land of devis anddevtas like Shri Radhe Krishna, Shri Lakshmi Narayan and Shri Ram Sita but because their history was not recorded, the dates of their existence are inaccurate. In fact the time when they lived has been wrongly placed at lakhs of years from now, although it is a few thousand years. They existed before the three main religions - Christianity, Buddhism and Islamism were established.        (To be continued tomorrow …)

Thoughts

Thoughts, created by the mind, are the seeds of actions and experience (which are the fruits). When there is the desire for a pure and positive experience, along with the realization of the importance of the quality of thought, then naturally those seeds will be selected which will bear the desired positive fruit.

The desire may be for peace, knowledge, contentment, love, power, joy; anyone of a number of positive experiences may be relished (enjoyed). And of course, there will then be the aim to control or eradicate those thoughts and “sanskaras” which are the seeds of disharmony and peacelessness. The faculty (power) of the soul by which it can select its desired thoughts and emotions to get the desired experience is the intellect. 

Message for the day

You can bring transformation in others when you have faith in them. 

Expression: When you blame others for their weakness they will not able to change themselves. Instead when you have faith in others, it enables them to have faith in themselves too. This will give them the courage to work on themselves and change their negativity into positivity.

Application: Think of one person whom you want a change in. Tell yourself again and again that you believe that he will change. Also whenever you interact with this person let it be with only with the positive in him. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 01, 2016: Celebration

Daily Positive Thoughts: May 01, 2016: Celebration

Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics in Sochi, 2014

Celebration

Every day is a celebration because instead of waiting for happy endings, we open our eyes to the wonder of life, to see the humour and magic in each moment. Delighted in the way things turn out, amazed at the beauty of it all.

Believe It Or Not (Part 1)!

Remembering the time when the world was a united kingdom of peace, love and happiness which lasted till we came down from our throne of purity and started playing with the dust of body consciousness, ignoring the truth of the universe. The truth was - body consciousness attracts sorrow and soul consciousness attracts the opposite emotion i.e. joy. Why does God never experience sorrow although He is also a player in the world drama? The reason for that is simple. He follows the truth of the universe by remaining soul conscious right through the time He plays His role either on earth for a few years or when he stays in the soul world for rest of the time. Imagine thinking about God as someone who is lustful or can you imagine God as revengeful. Does anyone all over the world in different religions every say God is one of these? Many of us have grown up hearing that God created man in his own image, right from our school days. So, a man in God’s image should not ideally be either impure in any way or come under the influence of emotions of jealousy, anger, hatred and ego. Then, why is it that these emotions find a common place in the consciousness of today’s man, so much so that life without them cannot be imagined by many or for most it is unnatural to live without them. Obviously, the saying mentioned above is for how man was in the beginning and not the man which we see today.

We have all also heard of Adam and Eve become sinful after biting the forbidden fruit, which suggests that man in its originality was something else, not an ape, as we have learnt in our education, but according to spirituality, a human right from the beginning. The only difference is that is that he was a human with better virtues – virtues like what God possesses – without any lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment. Believe it or not – man was like God, the way he used to talk, perform actions and come into contact with others. It was as if God was talking through every human being in that paradise or heaven which we talk about very commonly, when man started playing his role on planet earth.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Tolerance enables one to learn from mistakes. 

When you are sure of what you are doing and you are in your stage of self-respect, criticism can be taken in the right way. This will enable you to check yourself when you go wrong. Instead of justifying your mistakes you will be able to learn from them and improve. When someone criticises you, remind yourself that you have something to learn from it. Ask yourself if there is at least a small aspect that you could incorporate in your life. Take this aspect and leave the rest. 

Message for the day

To have humility is to be available for others. 

Expression: To focus not only on the self but on others too brings humility. Such humility allows others to come close. The one who is humble is able to give others what is required. Yet he balances with a certain quietness, so that others don't become too casual and familiar 

Experience: When I am humble, I am easy and light giving the love that I have within. I am free from the sorrow of expectations. Instead I actually become a reservoir of treasures from where others can take benefit. I am constantly a giver being available for others. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 30, 2016: Addicted To Praise

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 30, 2016: Addicted To Praise

Addicted To Praise

We all want to be liked, valued and appreciated. There's no doubt that we're motivated by praise from those who matter to us. But it's easy to become addicted to praise. Savour compliments without needing them. Enjoy performing well even if no one notices. Give your best without expecting validation.

Simplifying The Union With The Spiritual Parent

The easiest definition of the word yoga is union.  When you unite with someone or something, you keep thinking about that someone or something and keep visualizing the same. It is as if you experience a union with the object or the person in your mind.  In this way, there is a subtle (non-physical) communication with them which, when you meet, will turn into a form of words (physical communication).

We communicate with others mostly through physical means, but we cannot do the same with our spiritual Father and Mother - God, as He does not take a physical form.   Our communication or union has to be subtle (non-physical), through the vibrations that we radiate as souls or life energies.  There is deeply rooted belief in many – a belief that goes back to many centuries, that this union takes many births of effort to become a master at, but that’s not true, it just takes a little practice and patience. The reason why it may seem difficult, at first, is that our mind tends to be filled with thoughts, feelings and images related to other people, friends, family members with whom we have interacted or will be interacting, our workplace, the past, the future, unnecessary anxieties and many more issues.  We need to learn to drop these thought conversations with others and creation of subtle images of other people and situations so that we can redirect our mind and vibrations to the Supreme.  This also means learning how to make our mind and intellect quiet enough, and as a result, receptive enough, to receive, listen and feel His vibrations and His thoughts, and to experience His subtle presence.  Ultimately it is an exchange of the energy of pure love between the soul and its Parent.

Go from a 'frog' to a 'prince'.

Morph yourself and transform your personality to be your best possible 'self'. 

Even though it may seem like a terrifying leap, just remember, you weren't born as a 'frog'. All your limitations and shortcomings were picked up along the way.

All you need to do is simply unlock your 'inner prince' and release your personal best.

Message for the day

You can remain stable when you learn to apply a full-stop. 

Expression: In any difficult situation, check if you are having thoughts like, "why do things happen with me like this or why is this person behaving in this way" etc. you can never remain stable when you have such questions. 

Experience: Tell yourself that it is much easier to put a full-stop(.) than putting a question mark(?). understand the difference between worrying and finding solutions and worrying. If there is a solution, find it, if there isn't let things take care of themselves and put a full-stop. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 29, 2016: Live Life with Passion

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 29, 2016: Live Life with Passion

Artist: Alex Alemany: “A painting within the painting being painted by the painter who painted the painting where he is painting.”

Life with Passion

To live life with passion is to discover what invigorates and inspires your soul.  Make time to identify your passion.

When you find your passion, it's then possible to find direction and focus to do what you love.

You don't have to focus on just one passion.  Why not, do a little bit of everything that you love?
When you live with passion, you gain enthusiasm for life as a whole and as a result you're better able to persist through life's challenges.

The Spiritual Seed And The Human World Tree

Spirituality introduces God or the Supreme Being as a seed, a point of reference, the spiritual Pole Star, remembered by all souls all over the world. But over a period of time, with an experience of linking my mind and intellect with Him, we realize that although He is a seed, a point, He is a not a non-living seed but a living one with a unique personality of his own, a personality which no one can match, a personality of spiritual truth, of beauty, of purity, of generosity, of love, of giving, of peace, of humility, of bliss, of power, of sweetness etc. How is this possible? We normally think of a seed as inactive or dormant, despite the enormous potential that lies within it, due to which it gives rise to a complete tree and bears fruits and other products. God is the seed of the human world tree. When I see virtues around me, whether it be in all human souls including deities, prophets, saints and the founders of the great religions or animals or nature, I know that ultimately this comes from God but God is not all pervasive, i.e. he is not present in all humans or nature or in the divine souls, but everything that is good in them comes from the virtues that are present in God or basically from the personality of God (mentioned above), because the tree is the creation of the seed, so all that is positive in the tree has come from the Source, the seed, perhaps sometime in the past. But, despite the goodness which is visible; today, peacelessness and pain do not seem to have reduced, and have probably increased, if we look behind the false covering of material success. The goodness is only in small patches. So what is the need of our times?

To spiritually uplift myself, I, being a part of the creation, a part of the tree, need to catch the positive energy within God, the creator, the seed. This energy is subtle, in that it is non-physical, but it is also glowing like light, and in meditation I can catch that glow, absorb it and feel its spiritual embrace healing me and making me complete or full.  At the present moment, recognizing this need, the Supreme Being is shining the light of His personality through pure thought and vibrations more brightly than ever into the human world tree, inviting us: Oh sweet child, come and reclaim for yourselves your birthright, the inheritance of truth, by absorbing the qualities inherent in me through meditation or a spiritual link with me and making them your own.

True knowledge is that which comes into practice. 

To know and not to bring into practice means there is not the accurate understanding of it. It is natural that whenever there is clear understanding change is brought about very naturally and with great ease. When I am able to bring about a change within myself based on understanding, I naturally change with interest and commitment. I don't feel the pressure of the situations or people for me to bring about a change, but very gently and naturally.

Message for the day

Become the ones who make efforts continuously and experience constant self-progress. 

Expression: Check if there is any doubt within you whether you'll succeed or not. If there is any such doubt it means that your effort is not continuous. Where there is constant effort you experience constant progress. 

Experience: Each day remind yourself of at least one thing that you have achieved for the day. When you make a habit in this way, you will be able to notice and experience the fruit of the effort that you put in. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris