Daily Positive Thoughts: November 04, 2016: Think In a New Way

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 04, 2016: Think In a New Way

Japan

Think In a New Way

Your thoughts guide you to your destiny. If you always think the same you will always get to the same place. Think in a new way and you will be a new person. Give happiness to all and you will live in peace. Create peace in your mind and you will create a world of peace around you.

Fulfilling Desires By Changing Your Belief System (Part 1)

One most important characteristic that differentiates the Supreme Soul from human souls is that the Supreme Soul is the only entity that exists in this World Drama that is completely desire-less and remains that way eternally. If we were to make a list of desires that human beings have, we would name a lot many and various different types of desires. Whatever karma or action any soul performs at different points in the World Drama, whether positive or even negative, pure or even impure, they are all performed to fulfill these different types of desires. But when seen from a spiritual perspective, whatever the external form of the desire may be, the internal desire is always very simple – to go back to its eternal (or inert) state of peace or original state of peace, love, joy and power. The eternal or inert state of each soul is the state in which it exists before it begins its journey of birth and rebirth, when it resides in the soul world and the original state of each soul is the state in which it exists when it has just begun its journey of birth and rebirth i.e. at the beginning of the birth-rebirth cycle. Even negative karmas based on the personality traits of anger, greed, ego, lust, etc. may externally seem to be filled with violence or impurity, but internally, each time any soul performs such karmas, all it desires is a return to its eternal and original state (we shall explain this in tomorrow’s message). But it does not realize how these karmas take the soul away and not close to these states.

This is where the role of the Supreme Soul comes in. The Supreme Soul is completely desire-less and possesses the capability, knowledge and power to fulfill these desires of the soul. Being the Supreme Teacher, He guides and teaches us what are the right karmas or actions that can help us fulfill our desires and take us closer to our eternal and original state and which actions, take us away from it. Also He is the only one who can teach us how to connect with Him so that these desires are fulfilled, because he is the Ocean of all the qualities that exist inside us in our eternal and original state and connecting with Him fills us with these qualities. The connection and the right actions, both, are vital for our progress.

(To be continued tomorrow…)

Settling of Debt

If we recognize that all inner and outer effects or results in our lives have causes which can be found within ourselves, then we understand karma or the law of sowing and reaping. 

If we are aware that we have just awoken to this law, and that we are consciously live with this law in our awareness we will also be aware that we were asleep to this law before - perhaps for a long time, possibly many births. It is therefore highly likely we tried to break the law. What we did not know was we cannot break this law. We cannot take anything without having to pay it back at some future stage. We may receive but we may not take - there is a difference. If we have taken then we must payback. Any form of pain or discomfort - mental, emotional or physical - means it is payback time. The universal debt collector has come to knock on our door. Accounts are being settled. If you can regard all pain, from a bump on the head to an emotional crisis, as the settling of a debt, you will be using the oldest wisdom to respond to life in the most enlightened way. The destination, once all accounts are settled, and all debts paid, is true peace and real freedom. Peace of mind and freedom from all pain.

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Message for the day

To be free from weaknesses is to make difficult things easy. 

Thought to Ponder: The real difficulty of a task lies in my own weaknesses. No task is as such difficult or easy. But when it is challenged by any weakness of mine, it seems difficult. Instead of having fear or negativity in any task, it is better to work on my weakness. Once I am free from my weakness, tasks seem easy too. 


Point to Practice: Today I will check if any weakness is interfering with my tasks. If I find a task difficult, there is surely some weakness interfering. I will then work on any such weakness, once I recognize it.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 03, 2016: Discovering Spirituality

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 03, 2016: Discovering Spirituality

Discovering Spirituality

Faith in spirituality enables us to trust ourselves. With trust we can let go of the past and have the courage to dare. To dare with courage gives us the confidence to know that we can achieve what we set out to achieve. If we begin with doubt then we have sown the seed of possible failure. Faith in spirituality always allows us to win. Every step of faith opens another chapter in our lives.

Rising Above Limits And Mental Barriers (Part 3)

When a mental limit has been set in our minds, the first thing one needs to do is look inwards and check it. The next step is to change it with the help of mental strength and spiritual power, without which the limit continues to dominate our personalities. This process is commonly called at the Brahma Kumaris as – check and change. So, the weak personality characteristic in the form of a mental barrier which is influencing our thought patterns is first checked and then erased (removed) or transformed (changed) into a powerful nature characteristic which then is able to dominate the limit set and bring it down. Also, standing back from the weak thought patterns, observing them and steering or changing their direction from a negative frame of mind to a positive one is another method of working on winning or lifting the barrier.  A person who is constantly thinking about failure needs to check that personality characteristic and the number of thoughts that he creates in one particular day which are focused on the possibility of failure in his life. He then needs to change them to affirmations or positive thoughts of success accompanied by visualizing the success repeatedly in a complete day with no room for the weak thoughts and images of possible failure to enter his mind.

There are 3 types of people – the first type are neither able to check and as a result they are not able to change. The second type are sensitive enough to check but they do not have the power to transform or change the direction of the thought patterns either due to lack of the power of determination or they are determined but lack the mental  strength to do that. The third type can check and change both and overcome the limit and mental barrier with their mental strength. We have talked about various methods of increasing mental strength in our previous messages. Some of them are – creating positive and powerful thoughts related to the virtues of peace, love, joy, bliss, purity, power and truth or thinking deeply or churning spiritual knowledge listened to or read in the morning or meditation which is a connection between the soul and the Supreme Being or God at the Brahma Kumaris.

Take Action

Are you avoiding or hesitating to take valuable opportunities because of fear of failure? 

The longer you avoid or hesitate, the more the fear increases. You can reduce the fear of taking action.

Remember: it's not important whether you succeed or not. What is important is to take action. 

Taking action helps you to overcome a little of your fear.

Message for the day

The biggest service is to give hope to the hopeless. 

Thought to Ponder: The one who gives hope is the one who does the greatest service. When someone is negative and weak, instead of pointing out and making him weaker, it is important to give him some hope so that he can overcome that situation or weakness. 

Point to Practice: Today I will check my words. I will see if I am being positive and encouraging or not. I will also make sure I speak words that give hope to at least one person. This will help me inculcate a habit of speaking positive encouraging words. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 02, 2016: Strength to Continue

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 02, 2016: Strength to Continue

 

Strength to Continue

Determination brings the strength to continue, the steadiness to succeed, and the wisdom to slip past difficulties undisturbed.

Rising Above Limits And Mental Barriers (Part 2)

A significant reduction in our success rate in coming out of difficult situations is brought about by confusion or a lack of positive conviction. This lack of positivity is caused by different types of positionings of the mind which are harmful to our power of determination or faith. You know the story about the elephant whose one leg used to be tied using a small rope since the time he was young and he used to experience a lack of freedom in moving around wherever he wished. At that age, the small rope was enough to tie the elephant. As the elephant grew bigger, he possessed the physical strength to break the rope and wander around freely but instead of making use of his strength to break the rope, he did not do so and remained confined to the same small region where he used to be tied because his mind was conditioned that he cannot break the rope, which is an example of a mental limitation. In a similar manner, the inner region of our mind is the place where we as children got used to being tied with the different types of ropes of a lack of optimism or positivity – I cannot do well or I am not good enough or I am not as successful as others or I am low on self-confidence or I am an under-achiever. These ropes in many people are so strong that even when situations of success have arrived in their life in different forms as they have grown up and they have achieved reasonably in different spheres of life and they can easily break these different ropes, they still remain low on optimism. This lack of optimism restricts their freedom to succeed and ability to achieve bigger and up to the potential they possess and as expected by their friends and people whom they are close to.

The reason why our hidden potential remains untapped in most cases is a weak consciousness and this weakness is caused by emotional limitations in the form of weak thoughts and feelings over the years. These thoughts and feelings have been expressed sometimes without us realizing how each thought and feeling is having a powerful negative effect on the situations around us and coming back to us negatively in the long term. Limits are self-created and not imposed by society or circumstances on us as some of us might think and seem to experience from our life journey. We often say I feel I am weak because the following person has dominated me all my life. The dominating person is not the cause of our low self-esteem but it’s what shape we have given to all his words and actions in our minds since we have been with him, is the cause of us seeing ourselves in a poor light and feeling under-confident.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Do you track your success by others' achievements? 

Instead of thinking, you are less than anyone else, or that anyone else is less than you, be proud of what they've achieved.

Get enthused by others' success and learn all you can from how they got there. 

Not that you have to climb Everest, invent the internet or replicate what they've done.

Claim their inner resourcefulness, determination, courage, creativity or whatever else as your own.

Feel empowered by their achievements and let that propel you forward to your own success.

Message for the day

To get a real award, avoid waste and negative. 

Thought to Ponder:  If there is a long time practice of avoiding negative and waste, I will be able to appreciate fully the gifts of life. This is the reward I get. Also, since I am not sowing wrong seeds, whatever fruits I reap are positive too. Even when life brings different situations, I still am able to receive positive fruits. 

Point to Practice: Today I will check my own thoughts at least 10 times today. I will check the quality of my thoughts. If I catch myself having negative or waste thoughts, I will create one single positive thought like "I am the master of my life" or "I choose my destiny with my actions" or simply "I am happy today". 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 01, 2016: Useful Things

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 01, 2016: Useful Things

Useful Things

Remember only useful things and there will be no need to even think about forgetting anything painful.

Rising Above Limits And Mental Barriers (Part 1)

Rising above mental limitations, which are obstacles in our life journey and slow our progress towards our life goals, is an important spiritual skill that we need to be trained in. A limitation or a barrier is a self created thought which reduces our power of determination and power to succeed in any life sphere. Suppose I have a broken relationship with a loved one, like a parent or a sibling (brother or sister) or a life partner and that causes a belief to set inside my mind that I have been unsuccessful in handling a relationship well. The belief can result in a negative perception that all relationships are sorrow giving and that perception then starts flowing in our actions and people whom we are close to do not receive the positive energy from us which they should, the energy which will make that particular relationship work.

Also, sometimes we do not know why a particular person is distancing himself from us when our words and actions towards the person are what they are expecting? In these cases, our mind has been imprisoned by an incorrect belief like the one shared above and that has affected our perception of the other person negatively. The energy of that perception constantly travels to the other person and hits him or her which causes the other person to respond to us in a manner which is different from what we would like them to.  So, the mental limit is in the background in these cases. It is a self-limiting thought or series of thoughts which we constantly create either consciously or sub-consciously. Suppose, I have fared badly in a school exam in one year. As a result, I have formed a series of mental barriers in our mind like – I am not so sharp or competitive or I am a nervous exam giver or I am not so intelligent or I cannot succeed. Such barriers are strong mental forces which are like hammers hitting on our mind and personality and causing a negative impact on future events of the same nature, in this case the giving of another school exam.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Don't engage yourself in thinking about others because of jealousy. 

If anyone tells you wrong things about others, then hear but don't hear. 

Don't speak about such things and spoil the hearts of others. 

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, and think no evil.

Message for the day

To pass with honor is to enjoy the journey of life. 

Thought to Ponder:  Just passing through a situation is nothing great. Even the most difficult situation has to end some day. But the one who makes effort and is prepared beforehand, passes through the situation with his head held high. It is like traveling in air conditioned class, that means I am comfortable. The journey is as important as the destination.

Point to Practice: Today I will sail through the day with the right consciousness. In all that happens through the day, I will keep my mind happy and comfortable. Even if things go wrong, I will not let anything go wrong inside. I will resolve what comes my way and if I can't, just for today I will make sure I'll postpone worrying about it for tomorrow. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: October 31, 2016: Purity

Purity

A powerful, yet often misunderstood, aim of spiritual study is purity. Purity of the soul means to return to its original divine qualities. The soul has become so polluted with less than divine qualities, it can hardly enjoy being alive. Purifying the soul puts the higher self back in charge - useless and negative thoughts are removed and annoying habits finish. A pure soul cannot be touched by sorrow; indeed the power of purity is such, it serves to remove the sorrow of the whole world. Purity restores happiness - even bliss. All you need to do, in order to re-establish your purity, is want it. But you need to want it intensely, to the exclusion of everything else. The one thought, "I must become completely pure" sparks a fire of love between you and God. This fire melts away all the pollution, and your purity becomes such a power that it frees you from all battles for ever.

Negative Control And Positive Influence

The power of influence in relationships is extraordinary, but it practically disappears when we try to exercise control and force.

You can influence anyone positively in many ways:

- encouraging,

- sharing,

- listening,

- communicating in the right way.  

In negative control we generate stress, frustration and anger. In positive influence the energy flows in a relaxed way with harmony and is not threatening, respecting each one for their specialty and allowing each one to be as they are.

In order to influence positively we need the power of discrimination and judgement in relation to what to say and what to do e.g. when you believe that the other person is the problem; generally the problem is not what others say or do, but rather how you perceive them. The way  that you judge is what creates your negative feelings about them. We have the choice to perceive others as a threat, as a problem, or as an opportunity; an opportunity for learning, for change, for dialogue and understanding. We can choose to have compassion (kindness); to feel that the other is a problem indicates a lack of compassion.

Irrelevant thoughts come in abundance. 

They take your attention away from the present moment, into the past or the future, as you imagine problems, create doubts and confusions. 

And before you know it, you're caught in a spider's web of thoughts.

The next time you find yourself stuck in a web of your own creation, untangle yourself from irrelevant thoughts, and be free.

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