Daily Positive Thoughts: February 08, 2016: Keep It Simple

Daily Positive Thoughts: February 08, 2016: Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple

Live simply so that others may simply live. It's a nice idea, but our lives are more complicated and complex than ever. What can you simplify today - your desk, perhaps your thoughts, a meeting? Simple means easy. Simple means asking, "Is this really necessary?" Simple means keeping it short but sweet. Simple means keeping the focus of your attention on what you need to do now. Today's mantra is, "lets keep it simple."

To be impressed is to imbibe virtues. 

When I see someone whose qualities I like, I tend to admire them. But, this is not enough. If I really admire them, I need to make an effort to bring those qualities in my life. Inspiration always leads to transformation. It becomes easy for me to see an example and follow. Today I will pick up one quality in the person I admire and make a conscious effort to bring it into my life. That is the tribute that I would be paying to that person. When I keep doing that with every person who is important in my life, I will be free from feelings of inferiority, jealousy or any other weakness.

Carrying Forward Of Special Talents

Everything that an individual does i.e. a soul does using the medium of the physical body is registered in the soul as a sanskara. Sanskaras, therefore, are the foundation of our present personalities and all our special talents and inclinations.  There have been many famous personalities including artists, musicians, engineers, sportsmen, etc. who, before attaining phenomenal success in their respective fields, displayed amazing talents related to their respective field at a very young age. When and where could they have mastered these talents so well? It's obvious that amazing masteries at a very young age are not inherited from our parents. These talents have been developed and brought into practice in previous births, as a result of which sanskaras of the talents are created inside the soul.  These sanskaras are then carried into the next births, and are brought into actions in the new births.

A more common day-to-day example is the following: A child is born into a family of doctors where, from the beginning, all efforts are made to mould and prepare him to become a doctor, according to family tradition. However, from an early age, the child shows strong tendencies to become an actor, starts to take part extensively in theatre activities at school and the talent starts manifesting itself. This example demonstrates that the characteristics a soul carries from previous experiences of previous births will take it in a specific direction despite attempts made by the family on the contrary. So in short, genius is experience. Some think that it's a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience of many lives. Some are older souls than others i.e. they have been present on the world stage since a longer period of time and have covered a journey of more number of births and so know more. This kind of unlimited, broad vision of life provides us answers to many questions.

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation Agent (Part 2) 

If you go inside yourself and observe, with sincerity, your feelings towards someone that you consider unbearable or intolerable, you will see that your perception (way of looking at them), your expectations and your bad feelings make you feel that the other is unbearable or intolerable. You have allowed the other to influence you in the creation of your bad feelings. You have lost compassion (kindness) and the capacity to accept and understand the other. 

Being a good transformation (change) agent requires having full control over your inner world. If you are the victim of your rapidly moving mind, your bad feelings, your aggressive emotional states and of your not-very-healthy habits, you will easily feel yourself to be the victim of others, of circumstances, of time and of society. In relationships, the key is in living with your consciousness awake and not to do anything that your conscience does not agree with. In doing so, you don't have to fear the opinion of others. You don't have to feel insecure or doubt yourself. If not, we will continue to act against our own consciousness and we will feel ourselves to be victims. To avoid pain or the unhappiness that arises automatically when we act against our own consciousness, we look for guilt excuses: "Because of... I haven't acted as I should." We blame or we make excuses. That way we suppress the voice of our consciousness until the suffering and unhappiness is such that our conscience scolds us, which increases our unhappiness even more. A good transformation agent will always obey the voice of the inner conscience. By remaining in tune with our conscience and creating right thoughts, words and actions, it becomes easier for us to move from victim consciousness to transformer consciousness (one who brings about change). 

Message for the day

When you are humble you can bring benefit to many. 

Contemplation: Like the tree laden with fruit bows down, the one who is full is the one who is humble. Such a person can bring benefit to all those around. Your humility makes you a giver in all situations, also making it easy for others to take what you have to offer. 

Application: In all your interactions with others, see what you can give them, instead of expecting from them. Then, even when you have to follow others' directions there would be no difficulty. Your humility will help you give in very easily. In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris