Daily Positive Thoughts: December 05, 2016: Criticizing is an attack on another’s creation

 

Criticizing is an attack on another’s creation

 It could be their idea or their behaviour that is triggering your habit of disapproval. It just means you are attached to your ideas, your way, your ideals. Or you want to stop them getting ahead because you are attached to a picture of your being the frontrunner in the relationship.

That’s when you see their creation as a threat to you. So you fear and fight. You acclaim your superiority and attack with criticism to ensure their inferiority. All the while you are the embodiment of unhappiness, without realizing that you are the creator of your misery.

Can you turn it around? When you embrace, encourage and empower the ideas and ways of others you will instantly notice you are empowering yourself.

A Beautiful Vision Of Love (Part 2)

Whenever you meet someone for the first time, make it a point to see at least one characteristic in the person which you think is unique and different from others. Then begin to see that person regularly through the vision of this specialty which we commonly call perception. This type of vision will travel to the other person through your pure energy of goodwill and the other person will respond to this type of attitude with a positive vision themselves. Never say this person has no specialty or this person is ordinary because everyone is gifted with some specialty which sometimes we do not notice or do not realize because we tend to look at the weaknesses instead. This is our natural habit whereby we very easily slip into the habit of first seeing the weakness and then seeing the specialty in any particular person.

Have you ever wondered how does God look at each one of us? Does He see our weaknesses first and then our strengths? No, He will always look for the good in each one of us and will give us a lot of love because we are special and also see us with a vision of love. God is an Ocean of Mercy because of which He forgives us if we have made any mistake and instead will remember what is special inside us and praise us. Why is God able to forget the mistake or the weakness and not us? Why is He able to move His vision from the negative to the positive so easily and not us? We tend to move our vision from the positive to the negative as soon as someone says or does something negative to us. Before we decide what is right and what is wrong, we are judgmental and label the person based on the negative we have come across in them. This is because of a vision based on physical love for others which sees weaknesses as well as strengths, whereas God has a vision of spiritual love which sees the positive and is able to avoid or not see the negative.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Non-violence

True non-violence means never hurting others even through words. Most of us make a great effort not to hurt people physically, but sometimes we hurt others through our words, often accidentally. 

Today I will really think about the consequence of my words before I speak and consider how they might hurt others, I will also notice how when I do express negativity it makes those around me feel negative, which in turn affects me for the worst too.

Message for the day

You can attain total success by putting an end to all things of the past and also your past attitudes.

Expression: Whenever you begin any task first check whether or not you still remember any past situations that have taken place with others. You cannot achieve total success if you continue to regard or speak to anyone with the vision and attitude of the past.

Experience: Whenever you are dealing with others make sure you put an end to all the past situations and your past attitudes and become totally clean, it is then that you will be able to attain total success. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 04, 2016: The Best in Someone

 

The Best in Someone

When someone’s not at their best, notice the best in them.

How? Ask yourself: What’s the one quality I appreciate in this person? What small success have I noticed this person have today?

Notice the successes and qualities, however small. Keep these in your mind every time you think of them or interact with them. Then you'll slowly begin to draw the best out of them.

A Beautiful Vision Of Love (Part 1)

Loving people for their specialties is something we enjoy doing the whole day. There are many different people whom we meet and love and everyone has at least one specialty which is different from the rest. This could be a quality or a particular skill of the personality like e.g. a way of talking, a way of presenting oneself when coming into contact with others or even a way of dressing up all of which are unique to the person. Also, some people possess skills like knowing a particular art or even being intelligent or good at a particular sport. Some people are just very good human beings and being with them gives you a feeling of positivity and if you meet them just for once in the morning, you will feel they have made your day. Some people just have a good way of carrying themselves in public and their whole personality has an aura which attracts people around them. Have you seen people who are good at say singing or painting or playing a musical instrument or some are gifted with a good voice or some have become big names in the corporate sector with their managerial skills and forming companies at a very young age, which are providing services to millions of people and giving people happiness in different ways. Everyone likes these people for what they have been gifted and there is no doubt that they have performed some good actions in their past lives or births, because of which they have got these specialties in this birth.

Do you know that even God is incognito filling many of us with specialties which are helping us succeed in our personal as well as professional lives as well as any other field of life in which we are involved and are aiming for success. So, realizing that we are all special in some way or the other, looking at everyone with the spectacles of specialties is a way of tying the knot of spiritual brotherhood with everyone and increasing a love based on purity in each relationship.  

(To be continued tomorrow …)

To be powerful means to be stable and unchanging in spite of the changing situations. 

My moods and feelings normally change according to the changing times. If things are going on well, I have a positive state of mind, or else I am not able to maintain my own positivity. So I am actually dependent on the environment for my own state of mind and so I sometimes tend to feel powerless. I need to remind myself that I am the master of my own thoughts. I definitely have no control over the situation, but I do have control over my own thoughts. The more I am able to maintain my own positivity, the more it is easy for me, with my positive state of mind, to change the situation to a positive direction. 

Message for the day

To be detached is to experience freedom.

Thought to Ponder:  Attachment is like a bondage. When I am attached to someone, I will not be able to fly nor will I let the other person progress. On the other hand, love empowers. I will be able to see what is lacking and provide accordingly. I will be able to enjoy the sweet relationship without feeling the bondage. 

Point to Practice: Today I will check and see with which relationship I am experiencing sorrow. I will then see how I can change it into something more positive. I will work on the relationship in such a way that both will be able to experience freedom. There would be, then, be no expectations, but only the ability to give. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 03, 2016: Mindful Moments

 

 

Mindful Moments

 

Most of us are of sound mind, but many of us have trouble maintaining a note of harmony and peace. Most of us know how to think, but few of us are able to control our thoughts. We all have the capacity to be creative, to image new ideas, but few of us are able to do it together and co-create in harmony with each other. We could all do with some mental training so that we may use the most powerful energy in the universe, the mind, which is always at our instant disposal.

We can begin with mindfulness. It's a simple way to gently help our mind go where it is best to go, do what is the best thing to do. It begins by simply being fully aware of what you are doing. Mostly we are not fully aware, as our minds wander into the past and then into possible futures. We spend most of our time watching others and so rarely fully focus on what we are actually doing ourselves.

Next time you sit down to a meal, watch yourself. Be aware of only what you are eating. Every time your mind wants to wander, bring it gently and lovingly back to the action and sensation of eating. Then do the same when cleaning, when writing, when working. The more you do it stronger and more focused and more rational will be your concentration, the more natural will be your actions, the more peaceful you will feel, and the more relaxed you will be, no matter what you are doing.

God And I - The Relationship We Share (Part 6)

Keep in mind some form of remembrance of God once you start performing actions like getting ready in the morning, cooking food, driving to work, taking a walk in the evening and going off to sleep. Do you know that God is not present in every molecule of the world or is not omnipresent or sarvayapi in Hindi, as we think. What that means that He is not actually present everywhere but His remembrance is present in every human being’s heart and that is why we think He is everywhere. There is a difference between what the two ways of expressing the same thing mean. So, we say – God, we love youand we experience His warmth and love immediately at that time. The complete world’s more than 7 billion population can do this at one time and God can respond to each one’s loveful thought with love in return. This is God’s power and because of this power, we thought that God is in each and every molecule of the world. So, we at the Brahma Kumaris, do not deny God’s remembrance in 7 billion hearts but do deny God’s actual presence in those same hearts. There is a difference between remembrance and actual presence.
If God was actually present in the hearts of 7 billion people, they would all be happy and there would be no spiritual ignorance in the world. Also people would never give any sorrow to each other and there would be no misuse of lust or impure physical attractions in the world. If God was present in every molecule of nature, there would be no natural calamities like earthquakes, floods and droughts in the world which give sorrow to everyone. Also, the complete animal and plant life would be in order which is not the case. Are ecological and climatic disturbances which are threatening the safety of human beings a sign that God is present everywhere? Wherever we see, negativity in the world at all levels is increasing, human values and qualities are reducing. All show that God is not actually present everywhere, but His remembrance still exists in human hearts, but not equally in each one’s heart, because of which the world is not a very nice place to live in at the present moment. Our remembrance of God will bring peace, love and happiness back in the world and that is why this remembrance is a lifeline for the world.

Do you find some meetings a waste of time?

We do need to work together & make decisions, share information & generate ideas. 

So how will you make meetings more effective?

Hold a walking meeting, if you can, or a stand up meeting to keep it short.

Alternatively, try a different environment to make things creative. 

Stick to agreed start & end times, & by the end of the meeting identify clearly who will do what, by when.

Go from "Not another meeting!" to "That was a good meeting."

Message for the day

Fortune is in one's own hands.

Expression: To have fortune in one's own hands doesn't mean to have it in the lines of one's hands. It means to have the ability to make the best use of all the resources available. When they are put to the best use, they naturally increase. Through right actions one can draw the line of fortune as long as desired. 

Experience: When I understand the significance of my actions and create an elevated fortune for myself through right actions, I am able to experience constant progress in my life. I also naturally become an inspiration for others too, so that they can discover their inner resources to create an elevated fortune for themselves. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 02, 2016: Heroic Behaviour

 

Christ the Redeemer, Brazil

Heroic Behaviour

The main quality of a hero is courage – not a reckless bravado, full of impulse and ambition, but a quiet, introspective courage.

In that quietness, the hero is able to discern and then decide on a particular course of action. He might see that it is better to let go of another person’s past rather than hold it against them or constantly remind them of it. With humility and courage the past is forgiven; the hero completely lets go.

Only heroes can do such things.

God And I - The Relationship We Share (Part 5)

A companionship with God is incomplete without starting the day with His pure remembrance in your heart and that means experiencing one’s true self and the form of the true self, which is the same as God’s form. Only then can we experience God closely. At the Brahma Kumaris we say realize yourself as a soul or a pure being of light and then connect with the Supreme Being of spiritual light or God. This is called Rajyoga meditation. This is the first connection of the morning. At the Brahma Kumaris, we perform this mental exercise every day at 4 am in the morning, because this is the time when nature is extremely pure and silent. Also at that time a large number, in fact most people are sleeping because of which the overall spiritual atmosphere of the area around you and in your region or country at least is pure, with very little negative activity in the form of thoughts, words and actions which are based on the sanskaras of lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment, which are the five primary vices which influence the spiritual vibrations of the world negatively.

As a newcomer to the Brahma Kumaris, for some, the early morning meditation is the most beautiful experience which they went through over here. They also share their life changing experience of how they connect with God through the medium of spiritual knowledge, with their friends and family members to make them aware as to how one can, with the power of thought and the eye of the mind, experience a spiritual union with God in His home, the soul world which is up above the skies and the sun, moon and stars. So, something which has drawn thousands of people to the Brahma Kumaris is the technique of Rajyoga meditation. It is called Rajyoga because it is a simple union with the Highest being that exists – God. It does not involve any particular posture or difficult physical exercises and is an exercise of the mind and can be done by anyone, whether old or young.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Most of us have the habit of interfering in other people's lives. 

Mostly it's out of concern and care, but sometimes it's because we enjoy meddling or we think that we know what's best.

Is your interference successful, useful or even necessary?

There are times to step in and make a situation better and times to step back and let others handle things their own way and find solutions.

So know when to interfere and when not to interfere. And maybe instead of interfering, try intervening!

Message for the day

As is the consciousness, so are the thoughts, words and actions. 

Expression: To have the right consciousness means to identify oneself with one's own specialities and powers and not to work with weaknesses. When there is such an elevated consciousness, then there is power in all thoughts, words and actions. Effort need not be put for specially making them powerful and effective. Even if they are tried to be made powerful without changing the consciousness the effort put goes in vain.

Experience: As I have a powerful consciousness and I am set firmly on this seat, no outside situation or person can disturb me or my internal state of mind. I am free from negative and waste and also from being ordinary. I am free from labouring and of having to fight with my thoughts in order to maintain the right thoughts. And I find that there is only speciality within. Others too are able to take benefit from this speciality.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 01, 2016: Perseverance

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 01, 2016: Perseverance

 

Perseverance

Learning to enjoy the present moment and give my best, no matter what the situation, protects me from becoming jaded by life.

If when my stamina begins to diminish I remind myself to enjoy whatever I do and pour love into every task, then my energy will be replenished.

God And I - The Relationship We Share (Part 4)

A relationship with God is incomplete without His remembrance in the right way. Of course, there are millions of people in the world who love God and keep Him in His heart in different ways. But as a student of the Brahma Kumaris, we have learnt a lot about God and as many people all over the world share their experience that what they learnt here was a complete description of who they are and also about God and His spiritual form, His qualities and extremely importantly His role of the present time.

You might say that we already know God in some way or the other but don’t forget that there is always room for more to learn, which should not be ignored. So keep your minds and hearts open to new knowledge of the world and the world Father and Mother, whom we call God. God has opened many secrets about Himself, which many people all over the world have learned and made a part of their life by being a part of our introductory course that we offer here at the Brahma Kumaris, which is held for one hour every day and lasts for a week. After that, it is upto you to make a choice whether you continue inculcating more knowledge or you do not but this course will open your mind and give your inner thinking a different point of view and for some it can be a life changing experience. We invite you to any centre of the Brahma Kumaris, which are present in 115 countries of the world and all over India. The course is conducted free of charge and the Brahma Kumaris offer this course to people from all the different religions and irrespective of age, gender and occupation. What that means is that anyone and everyone can take up the course and a time can be fixed up as per your convenience and the convenience of the centre and the teachers at the centre. This will give you an idea of God’s personality and also His present task of world change which is known to a few people only and is something which is being learnt at a fast pace by a large number of people who have taken this first step.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Plan Downtime

We all need a bit of downtime, and if it's getting relegated to the sidelines, here’s a reminder to reserve time for downtime.

How you use your downtime depends on what you need at that time.  Nap, read, sketch or just sit and do nothing, but do give yourself the space to recover and recharge your batteries.

Carve out some time daily, weekly or monthly, perhaps plan for some downtime when you come out of a busy period or finish a big project.  

Just remember, downtime isn’t wasting time, so enjoy it, guilt free - you deserve it!

Message for the day

To end waste means to be free from defeat. 
Expression: The one with faith in the intellect always remains at a distance from waste, whether it is waste thoughts, waste words or waste actions. To move away from waste means to be victorious. The one who is free from waste is busy with the positive and useful. Such a person is constantly searching for solutions and trying to make the best out of the situation. 

Experience: It is because of waste that I sometimes experience defeat and sometimes victory. If I am able to finish waste, I am able to finish defeat. Because whatever the situation may be, however challenging it may be, if I am able to finish waste I am able to recognise the benefit that is merged within it and so I am able to experience being constantly victorious. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris