Daily Positive Thoughts: October 28, 2016: Patience

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 28, 2016: Patience

Mumbai Traffic

Patience

Patience is a virtue and a power too. Patience tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and that we get over there one step at a time. Patience teaches us not to rush. Knowing that there is a reason and a season for everything it enables us to smile at the challenges, realizing that there is an answer to every problem. And, even though we cannot see it, yet there is awareness that within every crisis lies an opportunity.

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time (Part 2)

In yesterday’s message, we had mentioned the main type of distractions that you might face in your journey to the destination of peace. The secret of not getting affected by each of these distractions is very simple – do not interact with any of them on a subtle level by giving them your mental energy of attention, but avoid them, detach yourself from them, just observe them and let them go, remaining completely focused on reaching your destination.

Imagine you are driving to your office on the highway and you are very late. There are a large number of different vehicles which you pass, either travelling in the same direction as you are or coming at you from the opposite side. You are even familiar with a lot of these people sitting inside these vehicles, because you see them every day, but you don’t even spare a second to glance at them because if you did you would lose your focus and be delayed, you would fail to reach your destination, your office in this case, on time. Meditation is exactly like this. Just as you cannot empty the highway full of vehicles, because you are in a hurry to reach office, you cannot empty the highway of your consciousness of all thoughts, emotions, beliefs, worries, opinions, desires, and memories etc. some of which are even very familiar to you, just because you want to get to the destination of your inner peace.  Let all of these, like the vehicles, come and go, but all you have to do is avoid them and focus on reaching your destination on time. It's as if, by the way you are driving, your body language, in this case the subtle energy of your determined thought, word has spread through the highway of your consciousness that you will not be sparing a second to even glance at any one of these on your way. If with a momentary loss of self-awareness, you do start giving attention to them, and you get lost in one of them, remind yourself subconsciously, I am on my way back to the destination of peace, peace that I am. This will help you regain your focus and before you know it, you will realize you have arrived; you will experience your destination i.e. the peace within, and will completely believe that you are that. And it will be the most blissful experience that you have felt in a very long time.

Identifying Pain

Some people don't know how to identify pain. They have been in pain for so long they have come to think of it as normal, even beneficial. Some even become addicted to their pain. 

All these emotions (anger, irritation, frustration, rage, anxiety, tension, fear, terror, sadness, depression, hopelessness, powerlessness, worry) are different forms of pain, and each one is telling us there is something we need to learn in order to make changes in the way we create our life experiences. 

Our belief systems have taught us that they are a natural part of life, but they are not. They require healing. We also need to know how not to create them in the first place.

Message for the day

Let there be a positive record of always talking with regard. 

Contemplation: When I have regard for others, there are good wishes expressed through my words. Such words are totally free from the slightest bit of negativity and bring a very positive result. When words are positive, they are few but essenceful. So they have a lot of impact on others. 

Application: When I have regard for others, I will be able to keep myself free from negative and waste words. So I'll naturally find every word of mine being used in a positive and powerful way. So I find only accumulation and no waste through my words. My energy is saved and others too would have only good wishes for me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 27, 2016: Life

Artist: Hans Zatzka (1859-1945)

Life

Ignorance makes you believe that life functions haphazardly. Wisdom teaches you that everything that happens in this theatre of life has profound significance. What you see today is not the fruit of chance but a fruit from seeds planted in the past. Plant seeds of peace now and you will create a life of peace in the future.

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time (Part 1)

The objective of meditation has always been reaching the destination of inner peace. The process of meditation is like a journey to that destination, which many human souls have undertaken since thousands of years. After a life and in fact many lifetimes of indulging in habits of anger, fear, ego, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, greed etc. all of which blocked our access to this inner pure emotion and made us believe that these are normal emotions, believing completely that our true nature is peaceful, which is an experience opposite to all these; might seem difficult at first. Only our own experience can lead to a change in our deeply held beliefs, which then makes it easy for us to incorporate peace as an integral part of our personality.

As you dive into you own consciousness, with the objective of searching for and reaching your subtle destination of inner peace, you will encounter some distractions in your journey. Some of the most important of such distractions include:

- thoughts in the form of negative memories of the past; over-thinking about the present scenesand day-to-day actions in your life; desires, worries and unnecessary thinking related to the future, waste thinking about the natures and actions of people whom we come into contact with the most, etc.

- the inner, subtle voices of the many incorrect beliefs, which we have picked up from people by whom we have been surrounded since we were small;

- thoughts and emotions related to deep habits of identifying with and getting attached to things we are not, like the physical body, material possessions, people, our role in society, money, places, opinions or viewpoints, hobbies or interests etc.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Stop Worrying

Start today hoping to make mistakes! That doesn't mean you're giving yourself permission to be sloppy or careless. No!

It means that you stop worrying about getting things right and you're more willing to try new things and meet new challenges.

So, go on, stretch yourself and give yourself permission to make mistakes, learn from them and grow.

Message for the day

Your generosity in putting others forward will automatically place you in front. 

Contemplation: When you say 'you first' instead of 'I first' you will be placed forward. For having done the selfless service of putting others forward and encouraging them, you will get plenty of blessings. This will take you forward very quickly. 

Application: When there is a conflict with someone, become generous. Instead of expecting the other person to understand you and do according to what you want, listen to what he is saying. When you give a chance in this way you will move forward very quickly. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 26, 2016: Wisdom

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 26, 2016: Wisdom

Jaipur

Wisdom
The essence of wisdom is using what we know and confessing to what we do not know.

Forgive To Forget

A key principle to remain light and stable in relationships is – forgive and forget - it’s a well-known principle – one that we sometimes find difficult to practice. It can be modified to forgive to forget. Sometimes we spend many years with so much bitterness inside us for a particular person, with an inner violence of wanting to make the other pay (emotions of revenge), the one who has supposedly hurt you. If you don’t strike back immediately, you at least want to keep this guilt card in your pocket, to be pulled out at a later date: Oh yes, well what about the time when you…. We keep this bitterness inside us because we haven't forgiven. It does not resolve the situation; the only thing it does is increase our pain, makes us heavy and does not let us remain in peace.  So the key is that if we do not forgive, we cannot forget. When someone has offended or insulted us, the last thing we want to do is to let it go. And yet, if our desire is to have a healthy, lasting relationship, that is exactly what we’ve got to do.

Sometimes, when it is a question of a broken relationship, it is not only a matter of forgiving the other, but of forgiving yourself for having allowed yourself to enter that experience. It was you that took the step to allow that experience to be entered into. If you hadn't taken that step, you wouldn't have had that experience. You accepted that challenge, that relationship, and what might happen in it – you were aware of the possibilities when you entered in the relationship. So not only do you have to learn to forgive the other, but also to forgive yourself in such situations. Only then will you be able to forget.

Labeling

When we put labels on people, we're categorizing them with a single word, without considering complex factors. 

Labels get in the way of reality. In reality, people are so much more than a label.

Remove the labels. Take a peek below the surface to see, understand and accept others as they are. 

And keep the labels where they belong, on cans and jars, not people.

Message for the day

To be a leader is to lead by example keeping a watch on every action. 

Expression: When someone is clicking a photograph or recording a video of us, there is care taken about every action of ours. We make sure we are able to portray our best. In life too, if we have this consciousness, that I am being watched and I am a role model to everyone, I will be able to set the right example for others.

Experience: Today I will check my actions. I will do at least one thing today that can be as an example for others to follow. For example, when someone shouts or doesn't behave well, I will smile and have a thought of good wish for them. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 25, 2016: Exploring Silence

 

Exploring Silence

Human beings often think about things that don’t concern them and about other people. When you think a lot you will use the word 'why'. To become silent means to emerge wisdom from within. To move into dead silence means to go beyond the consciousness of the physical body. This is a very wonderful experience for the soul; it empowers and refreshes the soul.

The Pledge Of Responsibility

A very important aspect of progress in the self and my relationships, which we all desire is restoring a sense of responsibility in my inner world, so that by doing that, I and others around me are benefitted. Even on a physical or non-spiritual level, someone who is responsible while playing his/her role or performing his/her duties either in the family, at the workplace or in some other setting e.g. a club group or a team in a particular sport or a social service group, not only feels content with his/her actions himself/herself but spreads ripples of contentment to others and receives similar energy from each one he/she is involved with. In the same way on an emotional or spiritual level, when I start my day I need to remind myself of my responsibility towards myself. I need to remind myself that I am responsible for the choices I make in my life which influence and color everyone around me. So do my thoughts, feelings, the way my personality functions internally and externally the whole day and my responses to people and situations, for all of which I am responsible.

It is like taking a pledge of responsibility with the self in the morning that today I will not create a single thought, word or action which is against the texture of my innate, positive nature i.e. irresponsible. And what will provide my pledge the much required strength of determination? An injection of positive thoughts, emotions and sanskaras within me in the morning, using a suitable technique of self empowerment like meditation or spiritual study or some other. By taking such a pledge of responsibility and by watering it with the energy of my attention from time to time during the day, I am able to implement it and can make a difference to not only the people around me, but to a lot more than that. In this way, as I change, the world around me changes, because the energy I create in my inner world starts flowing into my circumstances, my interactions, my sphere of karmas, etc. to make them positive, which benefits me in return in the form of a cyclic process. As I take this pledge and abide by it for a few days, I start realizing the immense potential that it possesses.

Change your emphasis

When you have one of "those" days, when the pace steps up, when things get hectic, or when everything seems to go wrong.... Do you instantly declare it as a "bad day"?

Try this instead: change your attitude. Put things into perspective. Look for any silver lining. 

Maybe you expanded your own boundaries or discovered that you can get more done in less time. 

Change your emphasis and you change the impact of the day and how you feel.

Message for the day

A true diamond reveals its sparkle wherever it is. 

Expression: Sometimes, we tend to get affected by the negativity of the situation. We then lose touch with our inner qualities. But reminding myself that I am like a true diamond keeps me free from negative influences. I then continue to sparkle with my inner qualities wherever I am. I can thus help get in touch with their qualities too.

Experience: Today I will smile at myself and be proud of what I am. I will remind myself that I am the true diamond that can never lose the sparkle of my inner qualities and happiness where ever I am. This practice will help me be prepared to deal with the variety of situations that life brings my way. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 24, 2016: Power to Tolerate

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 24, 2016: Power to Tolerate

Power to Tolerate

To tolerate does not mean to die, but to live in everyone's heart with love. No matter how much against you someone is, even if you have to tolerate not once but ten times, nevertheless, the fruit of the power of tolerance is imperishable and sweet.

God And I – The Task We Share (Part 6)

Living a life of service is as simple as living your daily routine in which you perform the simplest of tasks. Presently, God is choosing people from all over the world who will help Him and it is upto us, the selected ones, to fulfill His dream, a dream where everyone has the basic spiritual wisdom and is extremely noble and pure in his thoughts, words and actions and the world is like a magical place of peace, love and joy. A few lakhs or millions will awaken the billions and then we will be in the middle of an inner awakening wave where slowly, over a period of time, a percentage of the world population will get at least the basic introduction of the true knowledge of the soul, God and the history and geography of the world, as given by God. And also the whole world will atleast know about God’s present task of world change and know that God is presently changing the world from a sorrow filled hell to a happiness filled heaven, where there is no sorrow.

To bring this time close soon on this planet where God’s presence is experienced in each and every heart with a spiritual belongingness i.e. a spiritual wisdom filled love for the Supreme, we need to work hard now. Also,bring a time close where everyone says – My Supreme Father has come to liberate me from sorrow. When everyone says mine with love and respect for God, the Supreme Father of humanity, that’s when the flag of God’s glorification will wave in the entire world and in every human being’s heart. We are looking at that future and it’s the future which God has already mentioned, will come on this planet soon, where every spiritual child will hold the flag of his or her spiritual parent’s love, based on spiritual knowledge, in his or her heart and will celebrate a union with their spiritual parent.

Enjoy the Game of Life

If life is a game, then be a good sport, not a sore loser. 

Be a good cheerleader, a loyal supporter, a good teammate.

Know when to sit on the sidelines and when to get off the sidelines and get into the game. 

When the game gets tough, rise to the challenge. When it gets too easy, take the game to the next level.

And remember, the goal is to have fun. So, get into the spirit of play and enjoy the game of life.

Message for the day

The power of stability enables to cross over all obstacles. 

Expression: The one who is stable is not influenced by one's own old habits and tendencies to react, but is able to think and act properly under all circumstances. The power of stability brings forth the best decisions in the most difficult times, brings solutions and helps in lessening the impact of the obstacle itself. 

Experience: When I am stable on the seat of a master, I am able to be free from the influence of my own old habits, those that are of weakness. Instead I am able to transform old habits into new ones, making them into those of power. Learning to be stable in the most difficult situations enables me to cross over all obstacles very easily. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris