Daily Positive Thoughts: October 18, 2016: Generosity

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 18, 2016: Generosity

 

Cherries in Hunza Valley, Pakistan

Generosity

Generosity can be defined in many ways but respect, kindness, benefit and accessibility are its key characteristics. Generosity is like a fruit tree in season. All its fruit is available to anyone for the picking. When I am full, complete, when I have conquered selfish needs then I can be naturally generous. My being is open to others to share the best without any obligation.

Empty Handed We Come And Go Away (Part 2)

Continuing from yesterday's message, a soul who does not cling, is easy natured, who wears the clothes of its roles and responsibilities, but not very tightly, experiences constant happiness and serenity and connects with everyone or everything, but yet can disconnect whenever required. This is true inner freedom.  Such a soul always smiles and coming in contact with such a soul is soothing. Such a soul is a liberated carefree emperor and gives a comfortable feeling of liberation to everyone and everything it touches or comes in contact with. On a lighter note, if you are still not convinced about living a life of detachment, you can start with asking yourself, do you enjoy interacting with someone who likes to possess or cling or control or someone who does not? What is a more empowering and comfortable experience for you? The answer is obvious.

Once we get convinced about the idea, we will be courageous enough to challenge internal pressures like old thought patterns, habits, beliefs, past experiences and external pressures in the form of real life challenging situations, the information that we receive from outside and of course our friends and loved ones who will try and convince us to take the opposite path of attachment in subtle or non-subtle ways.  Along with inner conviction, becoming aware of ourselves as spiritual beings through meditation, which will help us rediscover our real and authentic being, will also assist us immensely in this process and will provide us the power for the same. Meditation helps us empty ourselves of all that is unnecessary or excess waste inside us and discover the essential, which is precious, as a result we feel full and complete inside, and we no longer desire to possess or hold on to anything physical or non-physical. Hence, we very naturally, without much effort, start living our day-day life without depending on the crutches of attachment.

Holding a grudge at the moment? 

Still thinking about that comment someone made? 

Well, rather than letting things stew, let it go.

If you're not good at letting things go, then here's a simple method: 

Write down the issues on different pieces of paper. Read them, crumple them up and as you throw each one away, choose to let it go. 

Let go and free up your resources to focus on the important things.

Message for the day

Situations are a reminder to bring out positive qualities. 
Expression: Every situation is an excuse to bring out qualities from us, good or bad. It is up to us what we want to use. If we continue to blame situations to bring out anger, ego or any other negative trait, it will continue to increase. On the other hand, if we use the positive qualities, we find them increasing. So, in any situation it is important for us to remind what positive traits we have and use them. 

Experience: Today I will learn from one situation. I will check if I am able to maintain a positive state of mind or not. I will create a thought, based on a learning from the situation, making my mind positive. I will then be able to add power to the situation, instead of losing my own power. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 17, 2016: Happiness

 Happiness

I open my eyes to the wonder of being. Delighted in the way things turn out, amazed at the beauty of it all. 

I am happy.

Empty Handed We Come And Go Away (Part 1)

There is an old saying that we came empty-handed not only when we entered this particular life but when seen from a broader perspective, also when we entered the world. The same is the case when we leave this life or the world as a whole. Every birth for the soul is a fresh chapter or innings in its journey of life.

Everything that has come to us will definitely go away from us one day. While some may perceive this basic fact of humanity to be unrealistic and not in tune with practical life, but the fact is that attachment or the tendency to possess or cling is a defiance of this law, which leads to a form of fear filled spiritual suicide because the joy and contentment that seems to come from this tendency is only temporary and artificial and between these moments of happiness, there is fear of the loss of the physical or non-physical object that you try and possess, embedded in between and this fear causes the object to start controlling you and you feel suppressed and in bondage. As a result, your inner potential and creativity remains untapped and even starts reducing, without you realizing it consciously. In such a state, you fail to see and accept new ideas, opportunities and people in your life. You inner world becomes closed and chaotic and very difficult to manage and your internal self is weakened and harmed, leading to an internal self suicide. When someone stops clinging to anything, physical or non-physical, they don't become indifferent or cold, but their consciousness just starts becoming broader and functions without any limits, barriers or boundaries.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Our inner orchestra is made up of different musical instruments.

These instruments are our memories, desires, tendencies, mind, beliefs, emotions, feelings, fears, intuition, judgements, creativity, our imagination... 

Who is the director of this orchestra? You.

Who are you? You – the consciousness, you - the soul, you – the being.

When you direct your inner orchestra well, you can remain unaffected by external influences. If you, the director of the orchestra, close your eyes for a few moments and cover up your ears, what happens to the orchestra?

The music is not very harmonious or sweet; it is noisy and you suffer. To make the orchestra play according to the inner voice of your being, according to your purest intentions and values, you simply have to be awake, alert and attentive, and listen with your heart, not with your physical heart but with the heart of your being.

Message for the day

To be unaffected in the mind is true detachment. 

Thought to Ponder: Sometimes due to situations, we tend to move away physically from someone or something. We tend to avoid that person or situation. But that is not the solution. Because, the aspect that is being challenged continues to be there in my mind. It is more important to find a solution to it by understanding it fully. Only then can I do away with that thought. 

Point to Practice: Today I will analyze one situation that went wrong and take a learning from it. I will then tell myself that everything happens for the best and I am richer because of this experience. This attitude would make me detached from that particular situation. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 16, 2016: Remain Cheerful Within

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 16, 2016: Remain Cheerful Within

Remain Cheerful Within

When faced with problems it can seem difficult to maintain inner cheer, the mind gets caught up with more and more negativity, fear or worry. Because of this, the problem seems bigger than it is and we lose the ability to find solutions and work constructively. The first step I need to take when I recognise a problem is to smile to myself. When I make sure I am happy within, I know that every situation will pass and has something to teach me. Then I will find solutions come more quickly and easily.

Frozen Perceptions

Like water, which over a period of time freezes and takes the form of frozen ice cubes, when kept in an ice tray; perceptions of different things, people and events, inside our consciousness, which come onto the surface of our consciousness regularly i.e. we shape our thoughts, words and actions based on them, regularly, take the form of rigid perceptions over a period of time. These rigid or frozen perceptions, which sometimes never liquefy in our entire lifetime, are commonly called our beliefs, which can stick in our consciousness like ice cubes and be difficult to uproot at times. One of the greatest harms that holding to a set of beliefs does is, that it doesn't let us see from other peoples' point of view.

Let's say two people look at the same painting from two different points in a room. One describes what she sees and how the painting looks to her. Then the other describes how the painting looks to him. Both perceptions are bound to be different to some extent. They are different because they look from different angles, different points (places) of viewing in the same room. So who has the right view? Neither. But what both of them see is right from their point of view. Another e.g. is, there is Mrs. A at my workplace, whom over a period of time, I have been seeing from a certain point of view and have started perceiving to be inefficient. Bringing this perception into my consciousness repeatedly has frozen this perception inside my consciousness and it has taken the form of a belief, which may be incorrect or correct, partially or completely. Now even if three different people who have all seen Mrs. A from three different points of view i.e. in three different set of circumstances, and have seen three different shades of the same virtue i.e. efficiency in her; come and share their different, but all positive and right perceptions with me, depending on their respective circumstantial view, I will not agree with them and not respect their perception because a person with unfrozen perceptions would at least give a hearing to others' perceptions, but someone with frozen perceptions, i.e. with fixed beliefs, is not able to that and is not able to empathize with or see from others’ point of view.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" 

Well, now that you've grown up, what do you want to be?

Adaptable, energetic, calm, effective, generous, happy.... there are endless qualities and abilities that we can still develop.

Each day is a new day to decide what you want to be. 

And then just be it.

Message for the day

Introversion brings out the positivity within.

Thought to Ponder: Every human being has an innate positive nature because of the inherent qualities of love, peace, happiness etc. that are within. Introversion, the practice of looking within, enables one to be in constant touch with oneself and one's true nature. It helps express these qualities in everything that is done. Because of having practiced for a long time with them, these qualities emerge very naturally at the time of need.

Point to Practice: The practice of being introverted helps me in experiencing those qualities within me, which otherwise remain hidden during difficult situations. Thus it makes me have true self-respect and enables me to finish my ego. It also gives me the power to recognise and accept my mistakes, thus giving me the courage to work on them successfully. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 15, 2016: Just to give

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 15, 2016: Just to give

 

Just to give

With habits, never give in or we lose our dignity. With the self, never give up or we lose our destiny. With others never give your worst or you will never develop your best. The saying, "What we give is what we receive". The lesson: Just to give.

The Invisible Impressions That Shape Me

While the mind and intellect are two faculties of the soul which play their role on the surface of our consciousness; at a deeper level, hidden beneath these two faculties, there lies a third faculty commonly called the sanskaras. The sanskaras is not only a store house of personality traits, as we commonly know it to be, but a store house of millions and millions of impressions or imprints. Such a large number of impressions are created by millions of experiences that I go through my sense organs not only in this life but in all my lifetimes. Everything that I hear, see, touch, taste, etc. I process or analyze or summarize in my own unique way; basically I give the experiences a unique form depending on my personality, before this form gets stored in the form of impressions inside me. I even process my subtle experiences, which are in the form of thoughts and feelings.

This process of experiencing and processing takes place during each and every second of my life including the time I sleep, when my mind may not be experiencing a lot but it is busy processing the physical and subtle experiences of the day that has gone by and storing the processed information in the form of impressions. From this, one can get an idea of the magnitude of the database of impressions stored within me, the being. These imprints which are unique to me, make up my sanskaras, and shape up my unique personality in acyclic process. My personality shapes what type of impressions are created out of my experiences and the impressions in turn shape my personality, my thoughts, words and actions e.g. if I constantly keep the company of people who gossip, a large number of respective impressions based on the experience of gossiping keep getting stored inside me, which in turn influence my personality, the personality characteristic gets stronger and over a period of time I do not find anything wrong with it and indulge in it more and more. As a result more such impressions get stored. Thus it is a cyclic process.

The bigger Picture

Often when we react, it's as if we grab 'a tiny scrap of life' and fill it with our own meaning. 

The meaning we project is usually based on our past experiences, and it may not still apply. 

We then miss the opportunity to understand the other and experience something new.

Before reacting, consider the bigger picture. 

Understand that there are many layers and dimensions that make up each moment. And then respond meaningfully.

Message for the day

To have self-respect is to get respect from all. 
Expression: Anything that is full will remain stable. When I am in my stage of self-respect, I will be humble. I then need not ask for or demand respect. I will become worthy of receiving respect. People will then automatically give good wishes and respect. 

Experience: Today I will take one point that acts like a practice of self-respect. I will take a simple thought reminding of it from time to time. A thought like "I have the right to success" or "I am special and unique" or any other thought of practice helps. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 14, 2016: Tirelessly Working To Bring About Change

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 14, 2016: Tirelessly Working To Bring About Change

The Appennine Colossus, just north of Florence, Italy

Tirelessly Working To Bring About Change

The one who is tireless works quietly to make changes in themselves and others. When things go wrong, tirelessness enables me to work toward bringing about a change without complaining. Like when we add bricks to build a foundation no one notices the actual work, but the result speaks for itself. Sometimes it can be difficult to adjust, especially when the adjustment required is due to someone else's mistake. When this happens I have to have faith that this is my contribution to bring about a change. When I adjust and adapt to the situation without feelings of negativity, I will find things changing for the better.

Shedding Off The Attachment To A Positive Past (Part 2)

Excessive attachment to a glorious past is a subtle shade of the negative emotion of ego which colors my present perception of external events and which affects my present actions and responses, as a result of which not only present but my future is also affected.  As I hold on to it, my creativity is reduced and I do everything with a limited perspective, not letting myself grow and shape up a glorious present and future. There are some people whose goal is to achieve something so great in their lives so as to ensure they will gain recognition and respect by others in time to come. This is again a subtle shade of attachment and ego.

But shedding off this type of attachment is not easy and first requires the realization that this attachment is incorrect and damaging. The next step is sitting in silence and becoming aware of how you lose your identity in a story of past thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes and actions and then disassociating or detaching yourself from that story. You do not need to suppress or deny or fight with this story; otherwise its memory gets stronger and more overpowering. You just need to simply see and realize deeply that your past is just a record of a particular set of actions, which you committed at a particular point of time, it is a series of images of previous events that you witnessed and that you were a part of, all of which have left a record in your memory, and in the memories of others, but they are not what you are. This type of practice of disassociation with spiritual understanding fades the excessive memory of the story in your consciousness over a short period of time and these actions then cease to influence you in any way in the present. Here we are talking about an influence, which we have for long deceived ourselves into believing to be a positive one, but which in reality is not.

Getting Respect

Do you want people to respect you? If you want respect, respect yourself first. How do you expect others to respect you, if you don't respect yourself?

Acknowledge your value, your talents & all the goodness that is within. At the same time, practice humility & be respectful to others. Respect yourself & others will most likely respect you.

Message for the day

To say yes is to have access to the best of qualities. 

Expression: Whenever life offers something challenging, it is important to just say yes without worrying. Automatically, this new challenge brings out new qualities that I may not be aware of before. If I say yes and yet have worry or tension, I cannot use my qualities. I will also not be able to use others' help. 

Experience: Today I will accept one challenge which I have been avoiding. I will take it up with the firm faith that I can succeed in it surely. I will then use all my resources to achieve what I set out to achieve. I would then find that others too would start cooperating and other resources will be available to me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris