Daily Positive Thoughts: April 27, 2017: Contentment

Contentment

The more positive the thoughts flowing through my mind, the more contented I will feel. It is easy to feel contented when we are praised and appreciated but to remain contented when we are being criticized and rejected is the mark of real spiritual strength. The way to develop this level of strength is to learn about God's way of loving. Only when I am in deep contemplation can I see God showing me the kind of love I need to express so that I myself never reject or criticize and always generate good wishes for others. Then I will feel satisfied no matter what life throws at me.

The Gender Of God

In a large number of religious traditions, all over the world, God is always referred to as a male entity. But, just as the soul does not have a gender and is neither masculine nor feminine, God’s i.e. the Supreme Soul’s gender is neither male nor female specifically. Therefore, as a soul, a spiritual child of God, I can come close to God without any inhibitions or difficulty, which I may experience in any relationship in the physical world, due to the gender of the body I am occupying.

We need to take a look at the Supreme Being or God closely. The Supreme Being is the Supreme Mother who provides spiritual sustenance and whose love is full of unconditional acceptance. No matter what has happened, how my nature or personality may be, I experience unconditional acceptance from God. It's a love that strengthens me, as well as it purifies me. At the same time, God is also the Supreme Father, a very powerful entity, who provides protection and fills the soul with the inheritance of divine qualities and powers. It's a question of just being an innocent child and claiming that inheritance. These are the first two relationships that have to be experienced with God. The Supreme is a balance of being feminine, having the qualities of caring, giving and full of good wishes and masculine at the same time, having the qualities of power, authority and fearlessness. He is She and She is He. These two relationships with God, whereby God plays both the roles of both parents are the basis of my spiritual development. Spirituality introduces to us the concept of taking a new spiritual birth to the Supreme Father and Mother. This birth is based on a change of consciousness. One needs to let go of the negative, impure and sorrowful past and develop a new consciousness, based on the present introduction to spirituality, which is positive, pure and blissful. The awareness of the self as a soul changes my way of looking at things immensely, but the consciousness of being a child of God, who is the Mother as well as the Father and seeing others with that vision brings respect and love for myself. Then all these qualities start showing in my actions and interactions as well.

Boost your feelings

When we're feeling down, we get caught up in a cycle of negativity.

To break the cycle, take baby steps to boost your spirits.  

Read something uplifting, watch something funny, call a friend, or just do something you enjoy.

When you feel better, make time to understand why you felt the way you did in the first place and how to boost your feelings regularly.

Message for the day

To say yes is to receive blessings and to ensure progress. 
Thought to Ponder: Life brings certain situations that seem difficult and challenging. When such situations demand something from me (which I feel is beyond any capacity), there is a tendency to either say 'no' or to try and escape. On the other hand, when I say yes to the situation I will be able to discover skills and talents within me, that I never knew I had. I will thus be able to receive blessings from many.

Point to Practice: Today I will one thing that I have been avoiding to do. I will use all my skills and energies to make it happen. I will then automatically receive help and good wishes from others, which would help me further in succeeding. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 26, 2017: Letting Go of Sorrow

Letting Go of Sorrow

If I allow bitterness and resentment to fester inside, it will make my relationships guarded and unsatisfying. The more I close down to others, the more I become a stranger to myself. By letting go of sorrow and negativity, I can keep my nature open and loving. Remaining open to life, with its constant adventures and opportunities to grow, is the only way to reach my full potential.

The Journey Of Purpose (Part 3)

In any success driven journey, in any sphere of life, we need to remember that every difficult obstacle on the journey is there for a reason. Also, remembering that everything happens for a reason, for a hidden benefit, will make you emotionally powerful. And as is the case every time the hidden benefit reveals itself a little later and may not be visible at that time. In such a testing time phase, we require patience and the hidden eye to see where my role or any other aspect of life will show me success on another path. This path could be different from the one I was on. Life is full of different opportunities and is never short of them. Its upto us to remain determined and this power of our determination is the key to our future success. And it will also help us in crossing a temporary setback which may try to take us far away from our destination instead of bring it closer to us. So always remember and keep the simple words in your mind – wait and watch and become an embodiment of that. Time reveals its hidden positive scenes even when a negative scene is in front of us and it may seem temporarily, that all is lost. Also, it depends on us how light we remain in that waiting time period and not lose our happiness at any cost. Also, the wait can be shortened by our mental lightness.

There are some people, who possess the qualities of truthfulness and humility, who are like valuable jewels, who can never be hidden. They will always find a way to reveal themselves and bring their desired success and positive opportunities back to them, no matter what. They will never lack enthusiasm and joy when faced with temporary setbacks. Those who are powerful and determined, they will come back strongly to make a mark on the landscape of life. And they will contribute to it with colours of their specialties and successes in a very big and magical way.

Perfectionism

Perfectionism can be a good thing but too much of perfectionism is not.  So when your perfectionism shows up, use it in a good way.

Put in a good effort without fussing or tweaking things too much.  Relax your high standards without becoming slack. 

And do your best without putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and others.

Message for the day

To be free from weakness means to have the power to mould. 

Thought to Ponder: When there is a weakness, it becomes difficult to mould according to the needs of the situation. Weakness creates hardness and rigidity not allowing the situations to create internal beauty. So the one who is constantly working with one's own weakness finds it difficult to stop the negativity from being expressed immediately. The weakness is revealed inspite of making effort not to and there is unpleasantness created.

Point to Practice: To have the ability to mould means to become real gold. I become as flexible and beautiful as pure gold, which is ready to take beautiful shapes when it comes under the influence of the heat of the situation. So I have no hard feelings for having to adjust, but I am able to enjoy the beauty I create and the joy I spread. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 25, 2017: Creating Thoughts of Benefit 

Artist: Michelle Oravitz: Divine Transcendence

Creating Thoughts of Benefit

Acts of virtue emerge from deep within, from an inner sanctuary of silence from which inspiration flows. Every action has its seed in a thought and every thought is a creation of the thinker, the soul. I choose what thoughts I want to create and as is my thinking so are my actions and also my experience in life. Going within, I touch the stillness and pure love that lie at the core of my being and every thought that I create is of benefit to myself and of benefit to humanity.

The Journey Of Purpose (Part 2)

Life brings with it many different types of surprises that we do not expect. Also, a journey of purpose that we all are undertaking in our respective lives, will bring with it different types of people, with different personalities and natures. On such a journey, there will be times, when the going can get tough, especially when you have in front of you a difficult person. Such a person may not have views similar to what you may have and it may be difficult to adjust to that. Also, such a person may sometimes take decisions or perform actions which you may not expect and this can take you by surprise. In such a case we need to check whether we are prepared enough to face such a person. Also we need to bring about changes in the self that will help us withstand or face such a person.

Very often, a single person can be so demanding that it can at times take long to adjust with that person inspite of constant efforts. Also, we may try and change the person to become like what we want but we may not achieve success in the same. A very common response to such a person is – they need to change whereas the right response is I need to change. I adjust my life journey and the path I am taking accordingly, so that the person does not become an obstacle in me achieving my purpose. Moulding yourself at every step and using your inner specialties and virtues is the hidden self-effort required from me. This is the foundation of achieving success inspite of difficult circumstances and difficult people standing in my way.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

To be enthusiastic is to be free. 

A caged bird has the ability to fly, but is unable to spread its wings and soar. I need to remind myself that  being enthusiastic in all situations is like being a free bird reaching great heights. When I experience this inner freedom and appreciate the joy it brings, I will  be able to sustain it even when things go wrong.

Message for the day

To respect and value time is to use well the treasures it has to offer. 

Thought to Ponder: When I don't value time, my mind remains cluttered. I am not able to recognize the treasures that time has to offer. Drops of time, of pure silence, on the other hand, allows good things to flow and like a rising sun, brings good thing s into life. 

Point to Practice: Today I will make time for time. I will make some time for myself (as the most important person in my life is me). I will take some valuable thoughts, those thoughts that add value to what I am doing. When I combine elevated thoughts from time to time, I would have used my time well. Such drops of time help me recognize the value of time and use it well. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 24, 2017: Let Be

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 24, 2017: Let Be

Artist: Josephine Wall: Whispers

Let Be

Many of us spend most of our life trying to live someone else's life. We are great fixers, and as we watch others we can hear ourselves attempting to 'sort them out'. We hear it in our conversations with others and with ourselves. It sounds like, "They shouldn't...weren't they awful...did you hear about so and so...in my opinion they should".

In these moments we waste time trying to write the script of others and forget to write our own. We have no right to write another's script and any attempt to do so is futile, frustrating and doomed to failure.

So let be, and taste the freedom from the subtle tensions and anxieties about others by letting them write their own script. Don't miss your life by trying to live someone else's.

The Journey Of Purpose (Part 1)

Living a life with a purpose can at times make the journey extremely eventful, with different scenes which may be seen on the way. These scenes make the whole journey, not only challenging, but full of varying types of experiences. These experiences can at times not only provide learning, but also help in increasing various qualities and powers inside us. Every second on a journey of purpose should be given immense value, as it will help you take you to your destination in the shortest possible time. Every different test that comes your way is not a test, but a learning experience that will make you more and more powerful. This is because in overcoming that test you will use your mind in different ways and come to a positive solution.

Some of us have a lot of enthusiasm inside us and are always busy in thinking about how our life purpose will be reached. We even enjoy the journey as it takes us to different places and we also meet different people. It also makes our life full of different types of positive relationships, all of whom help us in achieving our life purpose. Different people will hold our hand at various times in our life and we will learn a lot from them. That would not be possible if life was a predictable and routine filled journey.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Opinions of Others

When someone brings their opinions to a conversation, armed and ready for battle, it's easy to react or get defensive.

How about taking a moment to:

1.   Think through how you can disarm the other person and voice your opinions tactfully.

2.   Decide if you want to continue with the conversation, redirect it or resume it at a later time.

Remember, you don't have to engage in the conversation.  You can always make a graceful exit from the conversation!

Message for the day

Self-respect creates inner peace and harmony.

Thought to Ponder: When I take pride in my own role and have value for the contribution I (can) make, there is self-respect. Self-respect helps me to let go of expecting to be understood, to be considered, to be recognized. It helps me understand that it is my mixed emotions that create dependence, taking away inner peace and harmony.

Point to Practice: Today I will tell myself that everything cannot always happen as I wish. When something unwanted happens, I know I have to deal with it and am also well equipped to do so. This helps me know what I can do to correct the situation, without losing hope, peace and harmony.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 23, 2017: Let God

Daily Positive Thoughts: April 23, 2017: Let God

Let God

Whether you believe in God or not is not important. Belief can be an obstacle to experience. The main thing is to keep an open mind, and be willing to start the conversation. The experience of so many people is that when they engage in a mental conversation, whether it's with a question or simply sharing what is in their heart, they get a reply. This is God as a personal experience, not just a voice in your head. Not your higher self, but the presence of the Source in your life. God is not a concept, or a belief. You cannot have a conversation with a concept. You cannot have a meaningful relationship with a belief. Worth a try? Dear God.....

The Power To Transform Emotions (Part 2)

Thoughts may be temporary. Feelings (either positive or negative), accompanying repeated thought-patterns, stay a bit longer inside us. But when a soul suffers a major setback, loss or failure in life that it is not able to deal with, it becomes emotionally damaged and the results of that can be extreme.

Suppose I lose a loved one all of a sudden. If the feelings that come to me because of this loss can be taken care of at that time, through any means like the remembrance of God, meditation, developing a positive hobby to divert my mind, spending more time in the positive company of other family members, etc.; I will deal with the feelings and move on. If however, I am unable to deal with my feelings through any of the means mentioned, the experience of loss I feel is going to cause a lot of deep damage on the emotional level. Then it will not just be a feeling of loss, but it will actually have wounded the soul emotionally. Until that wound has healed, I'll carry it with me long after the loss has suffered. The emotions linked to it will come to the surface repeatedly, though I may have no idea where my sorrow is coming from. Due to the emotional wound, I'll be unable to stay happy, no matter how positive my circumstances may be today.

Meditation does not require me to go into the subconscious roots of my pain. Instead, through thought, meditation enables me to take conscious control of my feelings and emotions, so as to displace the negative, which brings sorrow; with positive, which brings happiness.  It helps me experience pure, powerful emotions and loveful feelings to such an extent that the wounds left by past experiences are healed. Raja Yoga means royal union - it means having a loveful relationship with God. The experience of God’s love is a soothing balm for my emotions, and a remedy for the emotional pain the soul feels.

Trust life

No matter how it may seem, can you trust life? 

Trust that life knows your potential & it wants to nurture you. 

Start trusting life more & you'll recognize that everything that happens, happens for your growth.

Message for the day

Asking the right questions brings learning and progress. 

Thought to Ponder: When I am too focused on answers, I don't find them. I need to ask the right questions and also letting go of the dependency of wanting answers. Right questions are like brooms that sweep the mind clean. Once the mind is clean, answers flow. There is then, learning, growth and progress. 

Point to Practice: Today I will ask questions that help me progress rather than expressing doubt. There need to be more "hows" and "whats" rather than "whys". These questions will lead me a step forward, instead of getting stuck with difficult situations.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris