Daily Positive Thoughts: February 04, 2017: Manners

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 04, 2017: Manners

Namaste:  This gesture is called Anjali Mudra or Pranamasana.

In Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in you"

Manners

When we encounter good manners, we feel that some deeper part of 

us has been   honoured. Truly, none of us deserves anything less.

The Umbilical Cord Of Meditation (Part 2)

Meditation is the creation of positive thoughts in the mind in such a way that the mind starts getting oriented in a positive direction above the routine thinking of day-to-day life. It is not making the mind blank or completely free of thoughts. In fact, it is making the full of positivity, in the form of positive thoughts and visual images of the spiritual self or the soul and the Supreme Soul, who is the Higher parent of the soul. We all know our physical self, who we are, what our name is, what work do we do, where do we stay, what is our nationality and how we look, but this is are our physical identity and is different from our spiritual identity.

The spiritual identity is simple – I am a non-physical being of energy, which is not made up of the five elements and I have seven original virtues – peace, joy, love, bliss, purity, power and knowledge, which is my original nature. I have come into this world from the soul world, also called paramdham or shantidham, to play my part through the physical body, which is like the vehicle which I control. Also, my Father, the Supreme Father and the Father of all souls is an ocean of all these seven virtues. This is my spiritual introduction and so is this the introduction of all the human beings of the world. Now, to link or connect with God, the Ocean of all virtues, I have to remember my spiritual form and emerge my qualities through the power of thought and visualization. This is the first step of meditation. After that, I travel with the eye of my mind to the soul world and visualize my Supreme Parent as a luminous (bright) being of pure light over there and stay connected with Him for a few minutes and absorb His energy inside myself, which is the spiritual umbilical cord. This is meditation, a spiritual union between the soul and the Supreme Soul. Also, the soul empowers itself in this way with a powerful connection and after that performs its actions in the world, full of all these qualities. Those actions will then become pure actions and will inspire others also. This is the magic of meditation.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Let's go from "doesn’t be a lemon" to "be a lemon"!

Have you noticed how a 'lemon' has such a negative connotation?

A lemon looks beautiful, smells wonderful and is incredibly versatile. It can be used as an antiseptic, a disinfectant, a cleanser, a de-scaler. They can be the star of the show, or a supporter; appearing in salads, drinks, desserts.

Be just as versatile as a lemon and make everything delightful!

Message for the day

The key to all treasures is "happiness".

Thought to Ponder: There are a lot of gifts that are hidden in my life, in each day. When I have happiness, and am able to happily move along through the day and am able to get an access to these treasures. This will also make me more aware of the inner treasures that I have within me, like my values, powers, skill and abilities. 

Point to Practice: Today I will make a list of all those things that I am thankful for in my life. This list will only be of what I have and appreciate. Making such a list will make me happy and keep me prepared to recognize and appreciate all other gifts that are coming my way. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 03, 2017: Princes

Gandhiji

Princes

The princes among us are those who forget themselves and serve mankind.

The Umbilical Cord Of Meditation (Part 1)

A bright start to everyday is a revision of the events of the day that you are expecting will happen and setting a time table for the day in which you keep your mind filled with the remembrance of the Supreme Being, whom we call God. He is also the Supreme Father and Mother. Just like a little baby being formed in the womb of its mother, is connected with her through the umbilical cord and receives physical sustenance from its mother, in the same manner I need to remain connected with my spiritual mother or the parent of the soul. This parent is the one and only God, a Being of love, an Ocean of love. Remaining connected with Him is a way of filling myself with that love and becoming pure at the level of the mind and not just in words and actions.

Purity of the soul is gained back when we experience ourselves as a soul and connect with the Supreme Soul. God is not physical. So the key to having a beautiful connection with Him is a spiritual consciousness i.e. I am not this body, but a soul - an energy which is a different entity from the body. Once I don’t exist in the body or in other words leave the body (for which we commonly say that someone has passed away or is no more) the body is like dust, with no life in it. So understanding that I, the spiritual energy or soul, am eternal or constant and the body is temporary, is the first step to opening the door to spiritual treasures, which are present in God. Meditation is a lovely relationship with the Supreme and increases the purity of the soul and makes it more loveful. We all were originally pure but have become impure as time has passed. Meditation is the need of the present time for everyone. We all require this umbilical cord of meditation at every step in our life. Remember, a baby is constantly connected to its mother in the womb with a physical umbilical cord and receives blood filled with nutrition and as a result it grows or matures, ready to be born one day, in the outside world. That is growing up physically and we need to grow spiritually and become filled with spiritual powers. The umbilical cord of the technique of meditation brings that power inside us from Him and as a result we grow or become full of spiritual energy.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

What's your metaphor for life?

Is life like a box of chocolates?

A stage, a river, a mountain to climb, or maybe a battlefield? 

You may even have more than one metaphor.

As is your belief, so is your experience. If you see life as a battlefield, you may feel that everyone is against you or that everything is a struggle, a battle. 

Or if you see life as a stage, you may realize that everyone is playing their role and you just need to play your role.

Why not find an empowering or motivating metaphor to enrich your experience in life.

Message for the day

To understand the value of tasks is to get cooperation. 

Thought to Ponder: It is important to value tasks that need to be done. If I don't have value for what I am doing, others will not too. So there would be minimum or no contribution from others. I need to recognize the true worth of what I am doing. Then, there would be a clear understanding of the significance and the difference I would be making in others' lives through the task. 

Point to Practice: Today I will start each new task with a thought in mind that I am grateful to get to do this task. This is something that is an opportunity for me to express my skills and abilities. This thought will make me do the task in a special way and others are able to get benefit from it too. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 02, 2017: The Wonder of Silence

After the bombing in Bangkok, Buddhists are changing the energy on the bombing site through meditation and prayer, proving that love is greater than hate.

The Wonder of Silence

The disease of anger needs the medicine of tolerance;

the pain of disappointment needs the medicine of hope;

the violence of revenge and spite needs forgiveness;

fear needs courage;

ego needs self-respect;

Through inner silence we receive the strength to heal.

Worry Confused With Concern (Part 2)

We are all linked together at a subtle, invisible level, and communicate with others invisibly. We not only send but also pick up the energy that others radiate, especially the ones that we are close to. We demonstrate with an example how this can work positively as well as negatively when we find ourselves in negative situations in our practical lives. 

Suppose the class teacher of your child (we take the example of your son) calls up and says that while playing in the school playground, your son has injured himself. She doesn’t explain much but says there is nothing to worry. She requests you to come and pick him up from the school. At this point of time your son is radiating his own spiritual energy which is most probably the negative energy of fear, stress, anxiety and sorrow (although the teacher has informed you that he is fine). At the same time he is also picking up your subtle spiritual or mental energy. You are driving to his school to pick him up. At this point of time, you only have a rough idea of what situation he is in exactly at that moment because you are physically far away from him. Guessing about the exact situation is making assumptions and is a waste of your mental energy. If you make negative assumptions i.e. you worry and are scared, then you are sending him the same vibrations of fear, a negative energy, which he is going to pick up and it is not going to empower or help him in anyway but is more likely to weaken and disturb him and even disturb you in your driving. You have been told that there is nothing to worry but still you know he is in a slightly difficult emotional situation and only he knows how he will come out of it. What will help him? He needs your support, but what will support him the most - we are talking about subtle support, because you are going to take some time to reach the school and provide him physical support? Your negative vibration of fear which you may mistakenly call concern or care as you imagine something bad has happened? Or the positive vibrations of your unconditional love and your good wishes, which is true concern or care? What will you send him to support him from far away? Worry vibrations or the vibrations of love in the form of your good wishes for them? Vibrations of love will keep you also in a positive state as you drive through the city. Besides, what is care or concern? It is you sending your positive inner spiritual light to help another and worry is definitely not that.

Kindness

You probably perform acts of kindness without even realizing it. Even so, look out for further opportunities to be kind.

An act of kindness doesn't need to be big; it just needs to come from the heart. Kindness works its way through to the hearts of others. 

Kindness not only makes the person at the receiving end feel good but it also makes you feel good!

Message for the day

To have the ability to smile is to bring solutions to problems. 

Thought to Ponder:  To be worried when things go wrong is to lose the ability to find solutions. But, if I learn to smile at situations, I will be able to see situations in a calm and peaceful way. I will then not only be free from the negativity of the situation in the present, but I will also help find solutions for the future. 

Point to Practice: Today I will find one positive thing from something that I am not happy with. This will help me smile at the situation without being affected negatively. When I remind myself of this positive aspect again and again, I will surely be able to work on the situation and make it better. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 01, 2017: Don't Just Do Something

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 01, 2017: Don't Just Do Something

Don't Just Do Something

Something is going wrong, it looks like there is a disaster in the making, and chaos is emerging fast. In the West we say, "Don't just sit there, do something!" In the East they say, "Don't just do something, sit there!" Now why is this? Intuitively we know that unless it's a life threatening situation, wisdom lies in the Eastern approach, because sitting still in body and mind, even if only for a moment, allows us to discern the right thing to do. It is the difference between reacting and responding. It allows new intuitions to overcome old instincts. Watch for such opportunities today.

Worry Confused With Concern (Part 1)

One of the most incorrect beliefs that we have acquired since childhood is that to worry is to care, worrying is caring. Our parents are the people whom we grow up with and are closest to in our childhood. As soon as we are born, in fact even before we are born, even when we are in our mother’s womb, they start transmitting the energy of this belief through their thoughts and later on when we are physically present in front of them, through thoughts, words and actions; to us, which we catch, because we being a spiritual energy, not only transmit or radiate but also absorb energy. As we grow up, this false belief keeps reaching us from everyone on a subtle as level as physical level from whom we meet and are close to including our friends, siblings (brothers and sisters), spouse etc. and slowly we start accepting this belief as being completely true and lead our lives according to it and even transmit the same to others. That is why it is extremely difficult to find a single person today who does not live according to this belief or does not bring it into their daily lives to some extent or the other.

A very common example of the above belief which we all have gone through sometime or the other is when we are late by just a few minutes in coming back home from office. On reaching home, we are asked a thousand questions and by our family members, perhaps our parents or spouse or children about where we have been and why hadn’t we bothered to call and also informed about another thousand negative assumptions they had made in that much time. Why? Because they had been worried for us. We are normally surprised with the fact they are worrying, because 9 out of 10 times we are late because of a not so serious reason, but our family members explain that we were worrying for you because we care for you. But worrying is not caring. Worry is fear or anxiety and care is love or concern, they are two opposite emotions which can never exist together at the same time.

In tomorrow's message, we shall demonstrate how on a subtle energy level, true love and concern is more beneficial than worry in coming out of negative situations, in which we find ourselves every now and then.

Spiritual Sensibility

Sense is practical intelligence.

Some of it is learned, yet the implication is that we have an inbuilt idea of right and wrong that enables us to act accordingly.

Spirituality is about understanding the self and realigning our sense of self with how we relate to the world around us.

When we integrate sense and spirituality, we engage meaningfully with a spiritual sensibility.

Message for the day

To celebrate is to bring about a positive change.

Thought to Ponder: Celebrations usually last for a day, but true celebration is to sustain the feeling and experience for a long time. When I understand and recognize the spirit of the celebration, I will be able to carry it forward into the days to come. Thus celebrations create a positive impact in my life. 

Point to Practice: Today I will celebrate something that I have in my life. It could be the happiness of having the gift of certain relationships and exchange of values through them, or of having some special quality in me. Let me today experience and celebrate this gift and sustain it through the day. This is true celebration which will create a change for days to come. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 31, 2017: The Power to Accommodate

Daily Positive Thoughts: January 31, 2017: The Power to Accommodate

The Eight Powers of the Soul - Day 8

These are powers that recharge the soul. As the soul comes into action it 

experiences the practical form of these powers. 

A stunning iceberg washed ashore on the coast of Alaska!!

 

The Power to Accommodate

Like the ocean that merges all that flows into it, I merge all that happens; so past is past, and the future seems clear and bright.

The Two Dimensions Of Being A Detached Observer

There are two dimensions of being a detached observer - the inner dimension and the outer one.

Let us look at the inner dimension of detached observation. It is the ability or the technique to stand back from or observe in a detached way our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes and behavior.  We are creators and our thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes are our creation.  In fact, this is the first step to becoming a ruler of the self and making the self powerful. If we fail to detach from our thoughts and emotions then they will be our masters, they will go out of control and will, as a result, leak away or waste our energy.  Practice simply being the witness of whatever you are thinking and feeling. This is an important aspect of any good spiritual practice and after a while you will find it an experience that both, frees you and empowers you.

The external dimension of detached observation is the technique of being a witness to or an observer of the scenes, of the world around us.  As we stand back and watch the scenes of life being played, on the world stage around us, without being actively involved, we can see the big picture more clearly. This makes it easier to judge clearly what is the most suitable contribution that we can make and the most suitable role we can play - through our thoughts, words and actions.

Listen to yourself

Each day is filled with a hundred choices and decisions, and wisdom is our best guide. 

Wisdom comes from three places - experience, learning and our deepest intuition. Each day is an opportunity to gather and use all three.

Experience comes from engaging with life, learning comes from observing, and intuition comes from listening to our self. 

At the end of the day sit down and write down what was the main experience, what did I learn and what did I hear...from myself? You did listen to yourself...didn't you?

Message for the day

To be a master is to win in situations.

Thought to Ponder: There is a long time practice of being a victim of situations. As is the situation, so is the reaction. It automatically results in a loss of strength and hope to make the situation better. On the other hand, to be a master is to understand that the situation is temporary and I have the power to change it. This will give me encouragement to make at least a small contribution to change the situation. 

Point to Practice: Today I will keep a chart of the extent to which I have been a ruler. I will check how many times during the day I have kept the controls with me in the variety of situations that the day brings to me. This will give me a clue to the extent to which I am able to control situations and direct them to a positive way instead of allowing it to control me. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris