Daily Positive Thoughts: September 01, 2014: Protect Yourself

Daily Positive Thoughts: September 01, 2014: Protect Yourself

Beachy Head, England

Protect Yourself

Protect yourself from useless and negative thoughts by maintaining a positive attitude.

Control

Usually when I talk about control I only think of controlling others or
situations, I rarely ever think of self-control. Again controlling the
self is understood as something difficult and painful. So I force
myself to change or adapt my thoughts, words and behavior with a great
deal of difficulty. This further makes it difficult for me to have the
interest for self-control. To have control over myself means to be a
master. My thoughts, words and behavior need to be according to my
orders. This is real self-control. For this I need the practice of
being a master and not to become a slave to anything, even if it is
mine. The more I practice the consciousness of being a master,
everything that is mine will naturally obey my orders.

Experiencing A Spiritual Lifestyle Without Renouncing Society

A good meditator is one who has a mental link or union with the internal self and the Supreme Soul or God who is the source of all goodness. This, along with an understanding of the laws of action or the laws of karma, which govern the behavior of souls, means that one does not have to renounce or leave society in order to achieve enlightenment. Rather, the soul filled with spiritual illumination faces society directly with understanding and the generosity to serve it and to elevate (improve) it.

The soul becomes elevated not by the renunciation of responsibilities or worldly duties but by a renunciation of the negativity that exists within the role being played by it in society. A good meditator does not try to escape social obligations (duties) but rather purifies those duties by becoming filled with light, love, peace and happiness. The stage of self-awareness and God-communication injects a subtle richness into one's life-patterns.

There are those who believe that the elevated state is beyond society and its duties. They find a quiet spot in the jungle or an ashram and contemplate (think about) deeper things. There are others who are stuck in the quicksand of their problems, and believe that those who leave society and take up a spiritual lifestyle are saints. However, holiness and virtue are qualities attained in one's life situations, not in running away from them. The elevated state is not merely a matter of elevated thoughts (which can be experienced in a sanyas), but elevated actions also, for the benefit of the self and the world. We are what we do and not so much what we imagine ourselves to be.

Soul Sustenance

The Spiritual Sculptor and The Piece Of Art

A sculpture is a three-dimensional artwork created by an artisan, a sculptor, by shaping materials which may be hard like wood or stone or soft like clay. God or the Supreme Being also has been remembered as the spiritual sculptor. With that consciousness, I being like a rough living block of wood or stone or a plain piece of clay, place myself in his safe hands. There are three types of faith in this consciousness:-

1. the faith in the Sculptor,

2. the faith in myself and

3. the faith in time.

It's my first faith, my faith in the Sculptor, in his vision of his finished work i.e. a perfect and complete me, which he foresees, waiting to emerge from my present imperfect self, that allows me place myself in his hands. His vision of perfection is so clear that knowing it, I feel I must regain my original condition. Also when I come in front of God, who is a perfect spiritual being, his love and the knowledge he gives me makes me aware of myself as a spiritual being similar to him. This awareness then reminds me of my original qualities and the spiritual beauty and perfection hidden inside me, which helps me in having the second faith, the faith in myself. I am able to trust the Sculptor, knowing that the knocks I receive will chip away at my weaknesses, and restore my truth and beauty. Initially, I may not know myself completely or have full faith in myself, the second faith, but God, the Sculptor, knows me and has full faith in me, all the Sculptor wants me to do is to be still and patient. Being still means having complete faith in myself and him and being patient means having the third faith - the faith in time. His knowledge and power gives me the strength and courage to be still and patient i.e. strong in all three faiths while he continues his work on me. I should not move or be impatient i.e. not let any of my faiths waiver, otherwise I will not become perfect. There is a vast difference between how God sees me, and how I am at the present moment. Holding the vision that God has of me, I have to just surrender my mind to the Spiritual Sculptor and keep myself in his hands.When I do that, the thoughts inside my mind get focused spiritually on him and as a result I receive his spiritual energy, which reshapes and transforms me.That which is highest and most beautiful in me begins to emerge gradually.

Message for the day

To become worthy of blessings means to make success easy.
Projection: Thinking of benefit for the self increases to such an extent that it sometimes takes on the form of selfishness. When we are selfish we stop thinking about others or the effect that our action is going to have on them. Then we are not able to move forward with lightness because the good wishes and blessings of others are not with us.

Solution: In each and every action of ours we need to first check if it is going to be beneficial for us as well as for others. As much as there is benefit for others too in the task that we are doing, that much the good wishes of others will be there for the task. With these good wishes we will be able to move forward much faster and achieving success will be easy.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris