Daily Positive Thoughts: December 09, 2016: Decisions

 

Decisions

 

‘My decisions, or lack of decisions, determine the reality of my life' - If we do not take responsibility for how we live, life will feel unfair and oppressive. Making a decision not to live like this anymore is to realize that, at last, we can choose our life's direction - and this brings a feeling of empowerment.

What Is Clean Communication?

With the self-covered by the clouds of so many external influences and many of its own negative beliefs and past experiences, the self is normally unclear about its own self. The light of spiritual knowledge brings clarity to the self, about the self. This helps me to communicate with others much more clearly than when I am not sure or clear about what is going on inside me. There is a direct connection between the quality of subtle activities in the form of thoughts and feelings going on inside me and the quality of my interaction and communication with others.

Very importantly, relationships are also connected with attitude and vision. Sometimes, I may feel I have said and done the right things to someone, yet still someone is not behaving towards me as I would wish. At such times I need to check my attitude towards that person and the vision with which I am seeing them. I may find inside a slight feeling of disapproval towards that person, a feeling of discomfort, a resistance to something in their personality. Neither of us may be conscious of it, but my negative feeling casts a shadow on the other person. They are not receiving the acceptance or respect from me, that they should (on a subtle level), although externally I may be showing them a lot of respect. This subtle lack of acceptance and respect from my end influences their ability to hear me clearly (on a subtle level), and the way they behave towards me. The practice of meditation enables me to clean out my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and vision, ensuring that what I share with others on a physical and on a subtle level is positive. Then it is much easier for me to connect with others and for others to connect with me in a positive way. This is called Clean Communication.

Experiencing God's Presence

I need to understand that God is a person (although the Supreme Person), like us, and not some formal or non-personal energy, with whom we cannot communicate and have a relationship. If I know God's form, location and sanskars, I can direct my thoughts towards that One and immediately start experiencing the connection. The sun is the source of our physical necessities. It purifies the water, makes the plants grow to produce food and oxygen and provides a suitable range of temperatures for our life here. To give life it doesn't need to be present in every particle. Its effect in the form of light and heat is felt throughout the solar system. God is seen as a sun of perfect sanskars, the source of spiritual qualities and powers and, as such, doesn't need to be present in everything. Even though His residence is the soul world, God can be with me since the sense of closeness is beyond physical dimensions. One thought and I can experience Him in the soul world and be in His presence!

Message for the day

Where there is contentment, problems finish. 

Expression: Contentment enables one to have a positive outlook towards life. So the one who is content always works towards solutions, as he is never disturbed with situations, but is always relaxed. This automatically brings the ability to contribute to others and give them the support to bring progress within them. Such a person works for his own self-progress too.

Experience: When I am content with everything that is happening, I am able to be light in all situations. So even in the biggest difficulty, I am never caught up with the problem, but am always thinking of the solution. My mind is busy with finding the solution, so internally I remain unaffected with the problem. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 08, 2016: Don’t miss the essence!

 

 

Don’t miss the essence!

Silence increases the quality and the level of our ability to discern, allowing us to use our time, thoughts and qualities effectively and thus benefit all. In the silence of inner quietness, the intellect makes everything clear and then we just know how to act for the best.

Too much analysis and mental processing pollutes the clarity of discernment; an overload of details makes us miss the essence.

Injustices And Suffering In The World – Applying The Law of Karma (Part 2)

An understanding of the laws of action reminds us that whatever we give we get, and whatever we get is the result of what we have given. When we apply this understanding into our awareness while we watch apparent injustices in the world, it reduces our outrage, lessening our pain. It's not that we sit passively and allow people to bring about suffering upon others, but it helps us to see that the greatest or highest contribution that we can make, to both the victim and the sinner, is to help them remember who they are and help them rise above their anger and fear towards each other. Only in this way can we help them to liberate themselves from an exchange of energy that has perhaps been going on for centuries.

But before we can effectively do this for others, it is necessary to try and do it for ourselves. Instead of taking the law into our own hands (the desire for revenge and justice), we can benefit everyone around us by first understanding and living ourselves according to the invisible laws of cause and effect which define all human relationships. Sometimes this is referred to as practice what you preach, and it often requires moments of reflection before action in order to judge the consequences of any path of action. This capacity to stop, reflect and consider, in a state of mental calm and with clear intellect, is an essential characteristic of all effective leaders. It is also what makes us all potential leaders in life, every day, who can bring about world transformation through self-transformation.

Many things in life are like baking. 

Baking cakes, pies, biscuits, bread.... it's a messy process.  And when you're in the in-between stages, it often also looks a mess.  But when it comes out of the oven, it looks good and tastes good. 

Even if it doesn't look good, it still tastes good.  And if it doesn't taste good, you can always adapt the recipe or try again.

If where you are in life, right now, is looking a bit messy, say to yourself, "If it's not good now, it's because it's not the end yet!"  

And if it's still looking messy when you get to the end, it's OK; you can always adapt or try again.

Message for the day

The one who works to remove the sorrow of others is the one who is loved by all.

Expression: When there is the one aim of helping to remove the sorrow of others, there will be nothing negative while dealing with others. There will also be no expectations from others. Working with the natural desire to bring benefit to as many as possible, enables one to continue to contribute to whatever extent possible. 

Experience: When I am able to have this one desire of helping others be happier, I am able to make a contribution for others' happiness and progress. I then find that others naturally appreciate my selfless contribution and their good wishes help me feel light and experience progress. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 07, 2016: Letting go and restoring inner peace

Artist:  Elina Trance

Letting go and restoring inner peace

To let go means putting a full stop to all the mental activity with one simple thought: 'I am a being of peace'.

Thought creates consciousness, so if we repeat this phrase slowly and attentively, our thoughts and emotions stop expanding and inner peace is restored. The essence of our being is peace - complete freedom from overload.

To return to this essential peace means observing the minds antics and deciding to put a full stop on them now; no lingering. Of course, the mind does not listen at first. We have to gently and firmly repeat the direction 'stop'. If we do not, those wasteful thoughts will continue to take away our peace.

Injustices And Suffering In The World – Applying The Law of Karma (Part 1)

We are presently living in a closely connected world where everyone knows what everyone else is doing, as they are doing it. Each day brings scenes and images, through the media, in front of us, of many apparent injustices and suffering of individuals or groups of individuals. Whether it's in the office, or in the market or on the television news, we hear and see reports of people suffering tremendous pain and sorrow at the hands of others. At these moments, our sense of injustice is stimulated and it becomes easy to rise in outrage against the sinners. In the process we ourselves suffer from our own self-created anger and perhaps hate. This process then becomes a habit and an inner pattern we begin to repeat, not only when we encounter scenes of global peacelessness, but the moment someone in the family or at office does something similar. A panic button is pressed and we react with the same pattern.

What we forget in both global and local contexts, is the history and geography of karma. Every scene and situation has a variety of related causes in both time (history) and space (geography) e.g. emotions of hatred and revenge amongst various countries and religions (in different parts of the world) and the actions connected with these emotions has underlying hidden causes, related to the Law of Karma (Law of Cause and Effect) which go back sometimes to hundreds of years – X is doing something with Y because Y had done something similar with X sometime in the past, but in different physical costumes, sometimes quite some time back in history – this is the reason, we often fail to take these causes into consideration when viewing these negative scenes and situations, because we see the situations with a limited perspective of present physical costumes and circumstances.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Have you noticed the connection between the mind and the body?  

Think anxious thoughts and your muscles tense up.

Worrying thoughts affect your digestion.  

Angry thoughts increase your blood pressure.  

Stress triggers headaches. 

Notice the mind-body connection and think positively for better health.  

You can't necessarily think your way to better health, but your thoughts can make a difference.

Message for the day

A pure state of mind brings tirelessness.

Thought to Ponder:   A pure state of mind means being positive in spite of the situations. When the mind is clean and pure, there is energy in the mind and so the body too. Even there is exertion in the body, the power of the mind can recharge the body. On the other hand, negative thoughts drain us of energy and enthusiasm. 

Point to Practice: Today I will keep my mind clean. I will not let any negative thought creep in. I will focus on what is positive. Even if I am exhausted physically, I will take some time off to make my mind positive, peaceful and powerful. This will help me rejuvenate and re-energize. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 06, 2016: The ability to bend without breaking

 

The ability to bend without breaking

True tolerance makes us flexible. And when we are flexible we can accommodate and adjust to anything and anyone and maintain well-being. The ability to bend without breaking is linked to the amount of tolerance we develop. When we are fully flexible, we become able to adjust to the most unexpected, negative and difficult situations and people.

A Beautiful Vision Of Love (Part 3)

A beautiful vision of love is for me to practice the whole day with everyone I meet. Loving each one with a pure attitude and consciousness is a way of experiencing this vision. When you look at each one inculcate the habit of seeing the spiritual being, the soul, at the centre of the forehead and not the physical form, which will remind you of the many weaknesses that the other person has. Remember looking at the body reminds you of many negative karmas or actions and other negative events related to the other person. So be aware of the other person’s physical personality and looks and the way they dress up when you come into contact with the other person but remember that the other person is a being of spiritual light or a soul first and a physical form later. Look at the beauty of the soul first and then come into contact with the other person as a human costume or body. This does not mean you are not aware of the other person’s nature, their specialties and their skills of any type and how they look and what role they play with the physical body and also what their educational qualification is. Be aware of all the physical characteristics and appreciate them a lot also. But don’t forget all that they are on a physical level is because they are a spiritual being or soul which has performed good or bad actions in their previous lives because of which they have got everything on a physical level, whether positive or negative.

A pure vision of love means not getting attracted to the physical form of the other person, which is God’s vision. The ones who are completely in love with God find it very easy to have such a vision, where there is no lust in their eyes when they come in contact with the opposite gender. Such a vision is the original vision of devi devtas or deities who are none other than our original births as we came into this world from the soul world, the same devi devtas or deities who are liked so much in the world and given a status as high as God.

Love & Logic

When we work only with our heart, success is fleeting. But if we work only with the head, relying on logical thinking, we get the task done but somehow the beauty is missing.

To be successful throughout life, I need to balance love with logical thinking. 

I am then better able to see all the options available to me, which will lead to greater success.

Message for the day

Real contentment spreads happiness to others too. 

Expression: When one feels contentment but the others are not able to perceive that contentment, it means that it is not true contentment. Real contentment is visible in such a way that others too are able to feel the happiness that is created. When there is real contentment, all thoughts, words and actions are filled with quality. 

 Experience: When I am content, others automatically recognize the contentment within me. They are able to take benefit from my state. Even in the most hopeless state, I find that I become a source of support for those around me. I am able to give hope to the hopeless and help them get back to a state of happiness. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

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