Thought for Today 31-12-2012

Seek to 'see' the benefit in all events. 

That's not to say, ignore the downside. See the 'reality' but, at the same time, deliberately look for the upside. 

Find that silver lining.

Look for the lesson. 

Realise, nothing happens TO us but everything happens FOR us. 

Shift, "Why is this happening TO me?" to "What is the lesson here FOR me?"

Soul Sustenance

Emotional Joy And Emotional Sorrow 

We commonly become emotional, either in times of sorrow e.g. at being separated from a loved one, at experiencing failure in an external event, on hearing a negative news, etc. or in times of joy e.g. when our child or spouse or even pet performs a warm act, while watching a movie, etc. While we have always believed that it is absolutely normal or natural to become emotional and some of us even believe that it is good to let go of our emotions and crying once in a while makes us lighter and stronger; on a spiritual level, becoming emotional comes under the realm of dependencies and dependencies always weaken us. This is because when we become emotional, instead of influencing our self on our own, we allow something or someone outside our self to influence us. We bring that something or someone or some event outside our self, inside, in front of the eye of our mind, attach our self to it, and lose our self in it i.e. we let the image hijack our internal world in a way, as we become subservient to it. As a result our thoughts, feelings, emotions, words, actions are influenced in a big way by the image. This is a spiritual definition of becoming emotional. Passing on the remote control of my internal world to the outer world in this way is a sign of a not so strong internal self. 

So what does one do instead? Instead of creating images of external events and people inside our minds and being influenced by them, we still watch these scenes, but instead of losing our self in them and taking from them, we contribute to them by giving them our internal energy, but at the same time make sure that while doing that, we are detached from them and not over-involved emotionally. Internal energy is given in the form of appreciation and love if it’s a positive scene and power, compassion and co-operation if it’s a negative scene, so as to help the scene to be corrected or resurrected. This is influencing instead of being influenced. This is a more empowering experience. In this way we regain the control over our inner world and rise above such emotional dependencies. 

Message for the day

To be seated on the seat of self-respect is to use virtues in life. 

Expression: It usually seems very difficult to use the virtues within us when the people around are not doing so. At such times using negativity seems much easier. In spite of not having that particular weakness predominantly, say of anger, when there is provocation from the outside we tend to react with that weakness. 

Experience: In order to free ourselves from weaknesses and work with the virtues within us we need to make sure we are seated on the seat of self-respect. For this we need to recognise and appreciate some speciality within us. When we are in the awareness of this speciality of ours, we will be able to stabilize ourselves in the state of our self-respect. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 30-12-2012

To begin the day with a powerful thought is to ensure the day is filled with positivity. 

Any machinery, once it is set, remains set and automatically continues to work according to its setting. To have the right thought right in the beginning of the day is to ensure that the whole day is filled with power and positivity. Every thought, word and deed will automatically continue according to that setting. Situations might come to disturb, but because the machinery is set, the influence of the situation would be less. Today I will begin my day with a one powerful thought. It could be even a simple thought like "I am happy today" or "Whatever I set out to do today, I will be successful" or "I am fortunate". Such thoughts act as magnets attracting positivity from everyone and everything
around.

Soul Sustenance

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (Part 5) 

Exercises of Silence 
Exercises of silence help you concentrate your mind and intellect, and go within yourself to recover the positive and eternal energies. With the appropriate concentration of the mind and intellect towards your constructive inner forces of peace, love and happiness, you can strengthen yourself. Being strong means staying positive when faced with negative situations, peaceful when everything around you is chaotic: in other words, not being influenced negatively but influencing the situation with your positivity. When you stay calm in your inner power of peace, you can transmit this to others and help them to calm themselves. When you begin exercises of silence, concentrate primarily on peace. This is the basis of the practice, as when there is inner balance and harmony it is easier to build over these the other values love, happiness, truth and sincerity. The experience of deep peace calms you, clarifies you and fills you with energy to think and act positively and achieve your purpose that you have set for yourself. 

Message for the day

The more we experience peace within the more there will be positivity in our life. 

Expression: We usually try to change ourselves and our negativities by working on each of them separately. We might be able to overcome them also but being connected to the other weaknesses we find that they reemerge again. Then we find that the negativity remains in our life influencing all our thoughts, words and actions. 

Experience: We first need to make a promise to ourselves to maintain our own inner positivity. Once we do that we also need to make an attempt to practice relaxing our mind and remaining calm before we do any important thing. When we practice in this way we will be able to keep our mind calm and this calmness will bring contentment through which there will be positivity in all we do. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 29-12-2012

Faith in others enables them to be powerful. 

Faith in others is usually mistaken for blind faith – observing helplessly, only hoping for the best in our heart. We, then, don't consciously do anything but just hope for the best. In such a situation we subtly experience fear or tension. But this is not true faith nor is the outcome usually right. Faith in others means to remain alert to what is going on and then to fill the other person with the strength of our faith to such an extent that they feel able to do whatever needs to be done. Our
faith will fill them with confidence and they will be able to give their best to the task.

Soul Sustenance

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (Part 4) 

Visualization 
Visualization consists of creating positive images by means of the ability to imagine, and in this way reinforce positive thoughts and strengthen your will to achieve positively what you affirm for yourself in your mind. With visualization you manage to intensify experiences of positive affirmations and self-motivation, and it also helps you to specify and clarify your goals. The basic principle of using images in our mind is to act as if the desire we have in our mind has already been achieved. If we place images of success, health, wellbeing or inner peace in our mind, these will materialize in positive situations and experience, and this image of success will become real in our lives. 

(To be continued tomorrow …..) 

Message for the day

To keep the aim in front of us is to move forward with contentment. 

Expression: Several times there are situations that are negative where we have to face things that are not really what we are expecting or wanting. At such times we tend to get disheartened and experience discontentment. Our state of mind becomes such that we can no longer experience peace. 

Experience: The solution at such times is to keep our vision clear on our aim. When all our thoughts and energy are concentrated on our aim, we will be able to consider any negative scene that comes our way as only a side-scene. We can easily ignore all such situations and so our mind is at rest or peace. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 28-12-2012

Never come into conflict with anyone's personality traits, but harmonise personality traits. 

Even if someone else causes a disturbance, just remain silent. 

You must not create any complications, but instead give them the co-operation of peace.

Soul Sustenance

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (Part 3) 

Conscious Disassociation 
A useful method for transforming habits is that of conscious disassociation. This involves avoiding the situations that give rise to the habit occurring automatically. For example, if you often smoke after a coffee, you have to make sure there is no coffee. By breaking your habit, you will be less likely to have a craving to smoke. Instead of your habitual coffee, you can create a new pattern and have a cup of herbal tea and sit down to think or read, instead of smoking. 

Rajyoga Meditation 
Rajyoga meditation is an efficient method for transforming habits. By connecting with the Supreme Soul (who is the purest conscient energy) in the incorporeal (non-physical) world of divine light, which is called paramdham or shantidham, the soul purifies itself and one experiences a natural disinclination from negative habits that we have been trapped in for a long time. 

(To be continued tomorrow …..) 

Message for the day

To be a donor means to give at each step and increase one's own stock. 

Expression: Usually it seems very difficult to be a donor - to give from whatever resources we have. The thought often arises in the mind that we cannot give because we are ourselves not complete or full. We find ourselves constantly trying to fill ourselves and we then have no time or thought for giving to those around us. 

Experience: We have a lot of treasures within us which we can give to those around us, our virtues, our specialities etc. Even if we have just a little and give to the others, we will find ourselves benefitting. For having given from whatever we have, we find that these treasures begin to increase within ourselves too. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 27-12-2012

To bring elevated thoughts into actions is to ensure powerful progress. 

All of us, at some point, have had thoughts that are positive and would bring about a change for the better. Such positive thoughts sometimes go unnoticed but when translated into action can bring a lot of benefit. For example, when we see someone working hard to achieve something, we admire him/her. But, if we catch this thought and pick out one point in our life for which we can really work hard, we would find great benefit. Today I will spot and catch one positive thought that I can bring into practice. It could be some fleeting thought of positivity. Normally, there is a doubt if it would be successful, but I need to catch this thought and put into practice with great resolve.

Soul Sustenance

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (Part 2) 

Positive Affirmations 
Affirmations are promises that we make to ourselves. They are helpful for breaking negative habits or weak thoughts that have been created as a result of mistaken attitudes. Affirmations help to strengthen the mind, although to be effective there must be acceptance and understanding behind them. It is interesting to begin experimenting with them and, later on, we can begin to create variations of new affirmations, according to our individual needs. 

Here are some examples: 
* Today I will experience peace through positivity. I will see what is good in others and will not think about what is negative or harmful. I will see others in the way I would like them to see me. 
* From now on I will not judge others. 
* Today I will speak peacefully and share peace with everyone around me. I must speak as softly as I can. 
* Today I will make the past the past and look towards the future with a new vision. 
* Today I will not react angrily. I will stay calm and in peace and will not sacrifice this for anyone or any situation. I must not allow anything or anyone rob me of my peace. 

For the affirmation to be effective, we must repeat it to ourselves often, so that it becomes recorded in our subconscious. It is also important to proclaim the affirmations with feeling, believing in them and not in a monotonous and impersonal voice. As a minimum, you should repeat each affirmation at least five times a day. If we listen to something repeatedly, we begin to believe in it. In reality, this is the origin of the majority of our beliefs, when as children we heard our parents tell us things over and over again. Advertising uses this technique constantly. They create a phrase, a slogan, and repeat it over and over again in the media until, finally, people believe it. To be able to control your life, first you must know and dominate your beliefs. One way of doing this is through affirmations. 

(To be continued tomorrow …..) 

Message for the day

Patience brings harmony in relationships. 

Expression: When there is a misunderstanding in a relationship we hardly put in any effort in order to understand the other person. We tend to become impatient and we don't listen to the other person to understand them. Because of which we start inventing things about them. This only further increases the misunderstanding. 

Experience: When we have a difference of opinion with someone, we need to give some time to understand and listen to the other person. Only then will we be able to understand the other person's point of view. This practice will enable us to finish any misunderstanding we have with others and bring harmony in relationships. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 26-12-2012

To see things with the right vision (third eye) is to ensure that I am not blind to the opportunities that life offers. 

Wisdom is to see what is not seen. When I only see what is visible to the two eyes, I miss out important details. To open the third eye of wisdom and see through to the reality of things is to create opportunities for oneself. Wisdom is to see benefit, positive and opportunity in everything. I need to give this training to the third eye. Today I will look at things differently. When something happens to me that I am uncomfortable with, I will see what positive there is, hidden in the situation. Negativity remains even after a situation is over, when I think negative about someone, myself or something. So today I will make sure I change my thinking to positive in these three aspects.

Soul Sustenance

Practical Ways of Changing Old Habits or Beliefs (Part 1) 

Motivation for Change 
An important factor to start positive change in our lives is for there to be a passion, a powerful force that leads us, a final goal that keeps us motivated. It is important to set yourself goals, to be convinced and to have the confidence and faith that one can reach them, since in this way we will make a daily effort to achieve those goals. There needs to be a clearly defined sense of purpose to your existence, clarifying the values that must guide your life in order to achieve these goals and establish the steps you must take for inculcating these values. If, at a subconscious level, you allow a mistaken purpose to be created, or there is a lack of true purpose in your life, then you will not be motivated to know and change yourself. Many people think that the purpose of their life is to survive and they use the language of survival in this way: "Life is hard out there. You must get whatever you can". They are not aware that they have chosen this purpose, but subconsciously it is what they believe they are here for, and this makes them think that they must accumulate, take, create barriers to protect themselves and compete with others. 

(To be continued tomorrow …..) 

Message for the day

Where there is humility there is the give and take of love. 

Expression: Usually we don't even know when we are working with our ego because it is deeply concealed. Even when someone points out our ego, we don't want to accept it and we continue to work with it. Ego finishes the ability to learn and negatively effects our relationships because there is no give and take of love. 

Experience: The method to overcome ego is to develop humility. Humility means to be strong within yet to be gentle and flexible. This enables us to bend i.e., to bow. When we bow it doesn't mean we are defeated, but reveals our own victory. It is only when we bend and forgive that we will be able to allow the flow of love in relationships. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 25-12-2012

Sometimes, we feel trapped in circumstances or relationships. 
We think we lack choices or that there's no way out.

Are we really trapped or are we like a bird 
holding on to a branch saying 'I am not free, I'm not free'? 
The branch cannot let go of the bird! 
To be free, the bird must let go of the branch.

To stop feeling trapped, we too must let go of the 
attitudes and perceptions that keep us feeling 'trapped'. 
When we shift our perception, we can experience a 
new freedom that allows us to see the choices before us.

Soul Sustenance

The Invisible Impressions That Shape Me 

While the mind and intellect are two faculties of the soul which play their role on the surface of our consciousness; at a deeper level, hidden beneath these two faculties, there lies a third faculty commonly called the sanskaras. The sanskaras is not only a store house of personality traits, as we commonly know it to be, but a store house of millions and millions of impressions or imprints. Such a large number of impressions are created by millions of experiences that I go through my sense organs not only in this life but in all my lifetimes. Everything that I hear, see, touch, taste, etc. I process or analyze or summarize in my own unique way; basically I give the experiences a unique form depending on my personality, before this form gets stored in the form of impressions inside me. I even process my subtle experiences, which are in the form of thoughts and feelings. 

This process of experiencing and processing takes place during each and every second of my life including the time I sleep, when my mind may not be experiencing a lot but it is busy processing the physical and subtle experiences of the day that has gone by and storing the processed information in the form of impressions. From this, one can get an idea of the magnitude of the database of impressions stored within me, the being. These imprints which are unique to me, make up my sanskaras, and shape up my unique personality in a cyclic process. My personality shapes what type of impressions are created out of my experiences and the impressions in turn shape my personality, my thoughts, words and actions e.g. if I constantly keep the company of people who gossip, a large number of respective impressions based on the experience of gossiping keep getting stored inside me, which in turn influence my personality, the personality characteristic gets stronger and over a period of time I do not find anything wrong with it and indulge in it more and more. As a result more such impressions get stored. Thus it is a cyclic process. 

Message for the day

The one with true mercy fills hope even in the ones who are hopeless. 

Expression: When we see someone who is in need or who is totally negative, a case that is totally hopeless, there are a lot of feelings aroused within us. What we feel is pity or hatred, which are only negative feelings. Such negative thoughts don't help in anyway and the person remains as he is, unable to take any benefit from us. 

Experience: Instead of having pity or hatred we need to develop true mercy for others. To have mercy means to have good wishes with love - combined with hope for them. It is our hope that enables them to develop faith in themselves too. This is the method to bring progress even in the most hopeless case. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 24-12-2012

To have a big heart is to find solutions easily. 

To have a big heart, during upsetting times, is to be above the feeling of what is mine and what I have to lose. It is but natural to see what I have to gain, but added to this I also need to see what others are going to gain from this. When I am caught up with my needs and apprehensions, there will be blocks which will not help me create solutions. Today I will work to find solutions in such a way, that there is benefit for all. I will not only look at benefit for myself (I will not worry about what I have to lose), but I will also see in what way it can benefit others. This practice will help me find an easy solution and also win the support and good wishes of all around me.

Soul Sustenance

Spiritual Education 

Spiritual education leads us back to the understanding and the experience of our holistic existence as human beings, to the knowledge that we are spiritual, as well as physical, mental and emotional beings. 

A true spiritual education could be described as: 
• learning from others
• growing through others
• integrating with others
• contributing to others
When we are genuinely learning, only then can we experience spiritual growth. When we grow, we integrate with others and it is in that integration that there is a natural and mutual contribution to nature and other souls. These four processes of education are constantly at work, but only happen in a way that is enjoyable and meaningful when the spiritual resources of the self like peace, joy and love are activated and creatively used. 

These resources, along with the mind and intellect, enrich the way we see the world, the way we interact with it and the way we individually create our place in it. These resources are the original qualities of the self, which we have not properly used for a long time. By become spiritually aware, we start to harness and use these positive energies. 

Message for the day

True fortune comes to the one who recognises and uses his treasures with an honest heart. 

Expression: Sometimes we might be faced with certain situations where we find that we are not very fortunate. We find ourselves thinking about all those things that we need to have in order for us to be able to bring a positive outcome. Because of this kind of thinking, we tend to miss out on perceiving those treasures that we can make use of. 

Experience: There are a lot of treasures within us that we can use in our practical life. These treasures could be our talents, skills, or some specialities of ours. Under all circumstances we need to have an awareness of these treasures. When we are aware of them we will begin to use them in our daily life instead of just expecting things to happen right. This is what will create a good fortune for us. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 23-12-2012

To be powerful is to be a support for others at all times. 

When we face challenges, we may not look for solutions from others, but we definitely tend to look for support from others. Yet, we find that most people today are unable to give support. We then tend to get disappointed, further increasing our negativity. Yet, we need to understand that each one has their own problems and they too are in some way looking for support. We need to be internally so powerful and self-reliant that we can become a support for others, instead of expecting from them. Today I will create a simple practice for myself. At least 5 times today, I will tell myself "I am powerful and self-reliant. I am the master, the creator and this situation is just a creation. So I the master will find a way to maneuver and change the situation". This practice will help me stop expecting from others, not even support.

Soul Sustenance

The Thought-Destiny Cycle 

The process by which we create our own destiny is quite easy to see in theory; however it requires some checking to see how it matches the reality of our practical lives. Here is the process in brief: 

• As our intentions, so will be our thoughts. 
• As our thoughts, so will be our feelings. 
• As our feelings, so will be our attitudes. 
• As our attitudes, so will be our actions. 
• As our actions, so will be our habits. 
• As our habits, so will be our personality. 

As our personality in all our relationships on our journey through life, so will be our destiny. So watch your thoughts! Be aware of your intentions! 

Our intentions are based on our beliefs about who we are, where we are and why we are here. If we believe we are the physical form, our belief will we be that we need to survive as long as possible. This leads to the intention to get what we think we need before others, which leads to competition, which leads to feelings of fear. Our destiny gets shaped accordingly. When you know you are the non-physical and immortal (which is neither created nor can be destroyed) energy, a soul, then survival is no longer an issue and your intention is one to include, connect and co-operate with and enlighten others. The service of others at a spiritual level becomes the highest intention in action. It is fully free from fear and can be seen as an act of love. This is why competition and authentic spirituality can never be found together. 

Message for the day

The one who is detached is the one who is happy. 

Expression: When difficult situations come our way we tend to overreact because of our attachment and expectations. Because of this we experience much more unhappiness than what the situation actually holds. The understanding lacks that it is not the situation, but our own thoughts that are giving us sorrow. 

Experience: We need to look at the situation just as we would watch it happen to someone else - with detachment. When we learn to detach ourselves from the situation in this way and see what it holds for us, we will not experience unhappiness but will be able to remain happy under all circumstances. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 22-12-2012

What is unconditional is always cherished to the point of worship, which is why the entity God is respected and idolized in all parts of the world. 

Spiritual light from the Source reveals to us our forgotten realities, our hidden potential and our original goodness. It reveals our true selves.

Soul Sustenance

The Original Ingredients Of The Soul 

Our original resources are very simply - peace, love, purity, knowledge and happiness. In Raja Yoga meditation these are called the five original qualities of the soul. When we return our consciousness to these five qualities and remember them, then the following feelings arise in us, which finally get reflected in our actions: 

• Love: I care and I share. 
• Peace: I harmonize and reconcile (adjust). 
• Purity: I respect and I honour. 
• Knowledge: I am and I exist. 
• Happiness: I express and I enjoy. 

To understand and remember these qualities, we need to recognize the heavy deep shadows or personality traits (sanskars) which have blotted them out, or polluted them. Sometimes we don't recognize the pollutants because they have ingrained themselves so deeply into the personality that we say ‘I am this’. True, complete spiritual knowledge, makes us aware of these pollutants and the practice of meditation empowers us to dilute them and get them out of our consciousness. 

Message for the day

True love is felt by all who receive it. 

Expression: Sometimes we do find ourselves in situations where others are not responding to the love we are giving. We are trying to be understanding and accepting as much as possible but others don't seem to be recognising it. In such a situation we begin to blame others and their lack of feelings and concern. 

Experience: Instead of blaming others when our love and concern is not being reciprocated, we need to check the quality of the love that we give. If there is even a trace of selfishness or if it is mixed with expectations, our love will not be able to reach out and touch the hearts of others. So we need to make sure that our love is pure and unselfish. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris