Daily Positive Thoughts: December 15, 2016: Benefitting others

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 15, 2016: Benefitting others

USA President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after the Camp David Accords were negotiated on September 17, 1978. Sadat and Begin were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

Benefitting others

If someone is doing something wrong, instead of risking your peace by raising complaints in your mind, ask yourself

"What can I do to benefit that person?"

Viewing Situations Positively (Part 1)

If you look at the world around you and judge people based on how they respond to different situations, you will realize and know that there are some people who will look at situations from a negative view point very easily. A view point literally means – viewing from a point a particular scene in your life. Obviously the point of view as we say is different for each person i.e. the point from where someone views a particular scene is different for each person. It’s like a painting on a wall. I can see the same painting by standing at different points and I will see the same painting differently. That is what we mean by perception or the angle of viewing or the point of view. Sometimes one painting of life or scene in life will be seen by ten different people from ten different positions of the mind and they will see it differently or in other words they will react differently. And because we look from different viewpoints or have different perceptions, life for some is like a joyride and for some it can be a roller coaster ride i.e. a ride with ups and downs where you are shaken up and down very often or in other words become unstable emotionally.

When looking at situations, choose the most positive mind position to look at them from. That is the secret key to having a mind space which you own, in which the experience of virtues like happiness, contentment and power exist and express themselves freely. How to choose the best mental position to look at a scene of life or in other words how to have the most positive perception for a situation? This depends on your personality, which the good news is, can be changed. Meditation is the most beautiful technique of connecting yourself internally using the power of visualization to the sweet personality of God and absorbing His virtues. This brings the virtues inside your mind space in the form of good quality thoughts and on the basis of that creating positive perceptions or positive view points when looking at situations.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Inner cheer is destroyed by a conscience which bites.

Learn to do everything in a worthwhile way. It's an art which teaches you to appreciate your inner beauty (It makes you think twice about ruining it, too)

Don't be hard on yourself when making a mistake. Its much more effective to be handles with love. Telling the self off is a terrible habit, it subtly shapes a nature of sorrow.

Finish the business of thinking of rubbish and instead take delight in all that you've found

Message for the day

The one who has faith is always victorious

Expression: The one who has faith, has total faith in the self and in the progress of the self. The one who has faith is always successful because he gives his best in everything he does. He is never deterred by obstacles but progresses constantly. 

Experience: When I have complete faith, I am able to experience lightness even when I am faced with my weaknesses, because I have the faith that I am progressing. I am able to learn and improve from everything that happens. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 14, 2016: Your attitude creates the atmosphere

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 14, 2016: Your attitude creates the atmosphere

 

Your attitude creates the atmosphere

Your attitude is the result of the way you think and feel.

You communicate your attitude constantly with those around you.

Create a positive attitude, filled with good feelings, and even just your presence will do wonders in situations.

The Inner Awakening Wave

Our beliefs either put us to sleep or cause us to remain awake. Even if are awake on a physical level, when we are asleep internally, without even realizing most of the time; we don't see others, situations and the world as a whole in their true light. We see, perceive and interpret reality incorrectly, which causes us pain. We perceive any sort of pain on the mental or emotional level to be normal and think that others and circumstances are responsible for the pain. All this, because of the incorrect beliefs that we carry inside us, the most important one being that we are physical bodies and not spiritual energies or souls. Only when the subtle pain becomes intolerable, do we look for a remedy for the same, or think we have to do something about it. Most of us go through life asleep and hence in pain. An inner awakening is one in which we realize the incorrect beliefs and are not scared to challenge them. Once we do that, our pain starts receding. We then very naturally look to wake up others, so that they are relieved from their pain.

The present time in the history of humanity is such that while the sleep of some souls is getting more and more sound and pain increases in the world, on the other hand, an inner awakening wave is taking many souls in its tide as more and more souls are waking up from their deep slumber and waking up others. This is the time when late night and early morning exist side by side. It is the same time, but late night for most and early morning, a time of getting up, for a few. This is happening due to a consciousness shift or shifting of beliefs inside many through spiritual knowledge. Such souls, whose number keeps increasing everyday, are experiencing more and more happiness in their lives. Both these groups of souls have similar circumstances and people in their life but the shifting or correction of beliefs inside the second group is causing souls in the group to remain stable amidst these circumstances, free from spiritual pain, depending on how much the shift is.

No Regrets

We've all had days when we’ve said things in the heat of the moment that we regret later.  But once words escape our mouth, we can't rewind or take back what we've said. 

Next time you're heating up and you find yourself speaking too much, too fast, try to take a deep breath and slow down.

Consider the full impact of your words and phrase them carefully and kindly. You'll thank yourself for it.

Message for the day

To be a self-sovereign is to be in control.

Expression: The one who is a self-sovereign never finds difficulty in being in control. He doesn't have to go out of control and then bring himself back in control. The moment the order is given to the self, every thought, word and action is immediately in order.

Experience: To be a self-sovereign means to be aware of my own specialities and work with them. When I am a self-sovereign I experience myself to be free. This is because nothing binds me but I am able to win over my weaknesses too. Thus I find myself to be in total happiness in all situations. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 13, 2016: Response Able

Response Able

We now know that the true meaning of responsibility is response able or ability to respond. Whatever we may think, say, do, or feel - these are our responses for which we, and no one else, are responsible. This is easy to see but hard to live, for we have been taught to believe and think the opposite. So we don't consciously choose our response, we react instead, and then we blame others for our reaction. No wonder we feel imprisoned by others and our circumstances. The enlightened, on the other hand, have broken the spell, they see the illusion. They take full responsibility for their response abilities and as a consequence, they always hold their own destiny in their own hands. They are free spirits.

The Search For Success Through Desire Fulfillment

The false intention and assumption behind greed, in the form of a thought and feeling, is - the more I have, the more I am. It is a combination of trying to add to the value of the self through material possessions, position, role, talent or achievements and then becoming attached to these as a form of identity, finally leading to personal collapse. To try to add to the sense of self in this way has the effect of diverting oneself from the real self, which is why, in many cases, a person who has everything material is left with the feeling of being empty, disorientated and even fearful.

We cannot accumulate, or rely on the external, to create a sense of personal value.

People often try to fill the void of personal inadequacy or emptiness through greed, but this method goes against natural, universal laws. All that I am, all that I can be, all that will make me truly happy must begin from inside the self. We have to start from the inside out, not the other way round, otherwise we create desires that have no end, like the ten-headed Ravana - every time Ram cut off one of his heads, another grew in its place. Ravana did not die until Ram aimed for his heart. Desires are created from wanting one thing or another, believing that we will find achievement when those desires are fulfilled. This pattern of behavior keeps deceiving us and the proof of this is seen in the state of discontentment and emptiness a lot of people find themselves in today.

Why do you go to work - for the pay or to play? 

Money takes the L out of PLAY and we forget that life is just a game. The game is just an exchange and interplay of energies, a divine dance. You give the energy of your head and hands, and you receive money in return. Misery comes when you live only to receive. This is how we kill the fun in life. Every scene in our life is a game requiring certain skills and abilities to play it well. When you do, and you taste success at playing, you’re having fun again. Put the L back in PAY, and watch work transform itself into a game, a dance. Go to play, not for the pay. Pay is just a bonus!

Message for the day

Greatness lies in humility.

Expression: The one who is humble is always willing to learn - from others and situations. So whatever happens, a humble person never reacts to the situations, but acts positively whilst being in a stage of self-respect. So there is greatness visible in the one who is humble.

Experience: Humility brings an experience of being full and complete. So naturally I am available for service, and have always the thought of bringing benefit to as many as possible. Humility also gives an experience of being a master, because no situation or person binds me, but I am able to experience freedom. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 12, 2016: Drama of Life

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 12, 2016: Drama of Life

Scene from “Gazab Teri Ada”, a tribute to World War I,

 performed by the National School of Drama Repertory Company.

Drama of Life

Every passing moment is like a passing act in a play. Each of us are actors playing out parts very well. An actor is never focused on another actor’s part, continually criticizing it. He just gets on with his own part, playing it as best he can. This Drama of Life is eternal, predestined and accurate. Whatever anybody else says and does is their role, not mine. My task is to play my part right.

Right thoughts restore rightness to the whole play. Practice detaching yourself from your role and experiencing the truth, behind the role and you will find yourself loving every instant of your role and the Drama, too.

Increasing The Power Of Discrimination To Improve Actions

Many people feel internally and complain that their intellect is not as clear as they would like. One of the aims of meditation and spiritual knowledge is to make the intellect strong, clear and clean, as a result of which there is an increase in the power of discrimination. An increase in this power helps us maintain a sense of what is right and wrong while performing actions and implement that awareness. 

Meditation brings about self-realizations whereby you realize what is happening inside you. Sometimes, while observing someone, we use the phrase: He/she doesn't know what he/she is doing, referring to someone who is acting in an incorrect way. If we are to act in an appropriate way, we need to be aware and be awake to the consequences (results) of our actions. The voice of the conscience brings with it that state of awareness, awakening, realizing and discrimination. This is because, in meditation you feel quiet and you focus your thoughts inwards. In that state, the sound of the voice of the conscience is perceived and heard. It is a voice that is not affected by material worries or a preoccupation about one's image and public appearance.During meditation, you are completely focused on the present moment of spiritual empowerment and not distracted by: karmas which are necessary but unnecessary to be thought of that time, noise, unrelated ideas of the past and the future, mental chatter, etc., basically everything that separates you from your true spiritual self. In this way you can listen to yourself within and as a result ensure to the maximum extent that your karmas are appropriate and accurate.

Focus on Positivity

When I notice a weakness or mistake in someone, instead of drawing attention to it by speaking to others, I need to make a special effort to focus on something positive in that person.

When i think about this person's good qualities, my love for them will grow.

When I speak about the weaknesses of others, it spreads from one person to the next.

Instead of speaking, I have to merge it into love. This then sends blessings to others, which helps them to improve.

Message for the day

To be ever ready means to guarantee success.

Expression: The ones who are ever ready are active and so when a task comes up, they quickly understand it and attain success. They do not waste time and energy thinking too much about it. They recognize the importance of the task and involve fully in it and attain success.

Experience: When I am ever ready I am able to be easy. Because I am easy, all tasks seem easy for me and effort put in for the success of the task also becomes easy. So I don't have to do a lot of effort but give my best. Thus I experience success every moment in all situations. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 11, 2016: To be a giver is to experience constant happiness

 

To be a giver is to experience constant happiness

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations in which we try to make others happy, even though in doing so we neglect ourselves and experience sorrow. We often do things for the sake of others, even though it is difficult. And if this gift is not recognized or appreciated we tend to get upset.

I will experience the greatest happiness if I give without expecting anything in return. I have to learn to give wisely. When I give with a pure heart I will experience happiness and make those around me happy too.

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 2)

In the 21st century, there are so many mediums which inculcate the feeling of jealousy in a person. Social Media is one such platform. While Facebook and Twitter rule the roost, commonly people wonder - How does he get so many likes? How is she so good looking? Again a check in! His life is so eventful. You never know how and when these thoughts start affecting your life, mental peace and behavior greatly.

Jealousy is a complex emotion, which often stems from insecurity or a fear of losing control. Everybody expresses and handles jealousy in a different way, but certain universal techniques can be used to help conquer it. Being aware of jealous feelings is the first step towards keeping it under control. Also conquering jealousy requires an honest conversation about how you feel. It's far healthier to talk about your negative feelings than to reveal them through your actions. The more you communicate with them, and seek reassurance the more your feelings of jealousy will subside.

Hold a strong and determined belief inside yourself that jealousy is an emotion you will never face. Your idol or perfect self just doesn’t deserve the existence of the emotion.  For instance, if you have an acquaintance of yours who is extremely smart and good looking and sometimes you envy her. That is the time when you need to firmly tell yourself that this is just not your perfect self. You can’t feel that way. Take a few minutes to stand back mentally from the person. The next step is to observe your thoughts as if you were an onlooker or a detached observer. Being as silent as possible, ask yourself as if the thoughts you are having are the ones you wish to keep, if they are going where you would choose them to go. In the resulting silence, steer (change direction) your thinking to where you want it to be; perhaps to personal affirmations (positive thoughts) you use to establish yourself on your seat of self-respect. The affirmations can be: I am aware of myself as a special person with my own unique specialties or I am aware of myself as internally rich, full of many invisible treasures or I am aware of myself as a content being and overflowing with happiness, etc.  This technique changes our attitudes and feelings and influences us positively.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

If your mind has any limited desires, they will not allow you to become content. 

When you are walking in the sun, your shadow goes ahead of you and if you try to catch it, you won't be able to. When you turn around, your shadow will follow you. 

In the same way, desires attract you and make you cry. Let go of them and they will follow you. Those who ask for something can never become full and complete. To chase any limited desire is like trying to catch a mirage.

Message for the day

To recognize the uniqueness of my own personality is to be free from negative influence.

Expression: The one who is aware of one's own uniqueness is able to create a strong influence on others of his own personality. So, such a person is not negatively influenced by anyone's personality traits. Even when there is a person with a very strong personality, he is still able to be free from negative influence. 

Experience: When I am able to recognize and use the specialities that are within me, I am able to remain powerful within. In all circumstances and with all people I experience this innate power. Because I am constantly in touch with my own specialities, I am able to be light and happy. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: December 10, 2016: Spiritual tolerance cultivates innate wisdom

 

Spiritual tolerance cultivates innate wisdom

Tolerance is based on going beyond the superficial things that divide us.  It's the result of turning within and coming to know the self. If I can deal with my own ego, then my own anger can be resolved. This goes a long way in resolving external issues too.

With my own ego out of the way, I will be able to handle anything! Otherwise it's just the same old thing - you versus me, yours versus mine, etc. - intolerance. If I'm unselfish and honest in my heart and am concerned about others’ needs, then I will be full enough to give.

When you know the self in this way, then you can know others. "I should be understood" changes to "I should understand". Not “They should change", but "I will give what's needed". Patience, peace and maturity develop. Spiritual tolerance cultivates innate wisdom, the kind you can't get from books.

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 1)

Man was handed the master key of the knowledge of good and evil karma by God. He used the key to perform good karma for some time. That was the day of humanity. Over a period of time, while playing the game of different roles in the world theatre, the key was lost and man started to perform evil karma. The evil man started identifying with evil so much that he forgot his original good self and thought that evil is the eternal self. That was and is the night of humanity. That is why in the scriptures, mistakenly it is said that even angels used to sometimes feel jealous. In Indian scriptures, devis and devtas, the original good men and women, have mistakenly been shown to possess the emotion of jealousy at times. Wrong perception of the evil men, who made the scriptures and temples in the remembrance of the good men and women, the angels, after they had ceased to exist! The good men and women were nothing but our early births as we started our journey of birth and rebirth as flawless beings. Today humans are empowered beings who have the capacity to experience so many emotions, both positive and negative. Sadness, anger, happiness, sympathy and the list is endless. Out of all these one very powerful and dominating emotion is jealousy. When we see different players in this game of life playing different roles, sometimes while seeing them with the spectacles of role consciousness, feelings of jealousy or a desire to be like the other are experienced. Comparisons emerge in our minds.

While being competitive and having aspirations to succeed are absolutely fine and there is no doubt that to do that sometimes we have to look at the other or even others and this drive helps us meet life’s challenges also, but when this look at the other is accompanied by comparisons and feelings of low self-esteem as a result and takes the form of jealousy; it gets out of control and starts having an adverse effect on our relationships, that steps should be taken to curb those feelings.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Slow down Thoughts

One of the aims of meditation is not to stop your thoughts but to slow them down so that you may find and enter the silence between and behind your thinking. This is a little challenging at first but the more you practice the easier it becomes. 

Think of your thoughts as trains, just as in the common saying we sometimes use the phrase, 'train of thoughts'. Each thought is a carriage of the train and in between the thoughts/carriages is a small gap, a space. The train can arrive at different speeds. Our aim is to slow the train down and become aware of the space between the carriages, in other words between our thoughts. You may even be able to increase that space so that there is the experience of no thought. In this moment you reconnect with the silence (and experience it) that exists always between and behind your thoughts. Don't try to hold it, or you will lose it.

Message for the day

Introversion brings out the positivity within.

Expression: 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.

Experience: 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 recognize and accept my mistakes, thus giving me the courage to work on them successfully. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris