Thought for Today 31-03-2013

To transform the ordinary into something special is to be truly fortunate. 
When I respect myself and acknowledge the strengths and talents that make me unique, I connect with my inner self. 

I realise I have power within to make everything I do, even the most ordinary act - special. 

Then I become truly fortunate.

Soul Sustenance

Are You Directing Your Inner Orchestra Well (Part 2)? 

You can direct your orchestra well, which means that you can: 

• Achieve what you want. 
• Reach where you want. 
• Be who you are. 
• Stop being who you are not. 
• Feel what you want to feel. 
• Stop feeling what you do not want to feel. 
• Be. You can be in your space. 
• Do. You can do what gives meaning to your life. 
• You can stop doing what lowers you, is ordinary and you do not want to do. 
• You can reach excellence by crossing inner mental barriers. 
• Let go of that which you have clung on to. 
• Free yourself and fly. 

If you believe that you can, you can. You have to harmonize your inner voices. Listen to those that allow you power, strengthen you and accompany you. Silence the voices that suppress you, judge you badly and limit you. 

Message for the day

To be an inspiration to many is to be a hero actor. 

Projection: When we see negativity in others, we usually think and speak about it. We then take no inspiration to think and act positive. The more the attention is drawn towards negativity, our actions will become negative too. 

Solution: Whatever the situation we are in, we need to make effort to change our own actions and turn them to positive. We will then be free from looking at the negativity in others. And our actions will become an inspiration to those around us, which will inspire them to become positive too. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 30-03-2013

You are what you eat. 
We've heard that expression countless times.

Yes, it's important to eat healthily but it's equally important to pay attention to how we cook and how we eat.

Nourish yourself. 
Cook and eat with care and good feelings. 
And don't forget to add the special ingredient, love.

Soul Sustenance

Are You Directing Your Inner Orchestra Well (Part 1)? 

Our inner orchestra is made up of different music instruments – the different instruments are: our memories, desires, tendencies, mind, beliefs, emotions, feelings, fears, intuition, judgements, creativity, our imagination... 

When you direct your inner orchestra well, you can remain unaffected by external influences without succumbing to them. When the orchestra directs you, you dance from one side to another without a clear direction and with a music that is not very harmonious or sweet; it is noisy and you suffer. Who is the director of this orchestra? You. Who are you? You – the consciousness, you - the soul, you – the being. When your consciousness is in charge, you make the orchestra play according to the inner voice of your being, according to your purest intentions and values. You can. You simply have to be awake, alert and attentive. If the director of the orchestra closes his eyes for a few moments and covers up his ears, what happens to the orchestra? You have to keep the eyes of your inner spiritual vision open; what is called the third eye. And listen with your heart, not with your physical heart but with the heart of your being. If your orchestra rules over you, and you - the director - are stiff, without flexibility, asleep, un-sympathetic, you will not be able to achieve your dreams or arrive at the destiny that you would like to reach. And, to make things worse, when your orchestra dominates you, you are more vulnerable to being dominated by the orchestra of others. Or you will allow someone else to direct your inner orchestra. This is the ideal road on which to get trapped and suffer. Is this what you want? 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

To be humble is to be a source of happiness to all around. 

Projection: Sometimes we find that we don't mean to be negative to others but people seem to be displeased with us. When there is any kind of sorrow experienced or if others are experiencing any negative feelings, it means we are not working with our inner humility. 

Solution: We need to develop regard for all around us. When we work with this regard there will be humility within us. This naturally enables others to experience happiness. To the extent that even in the most negative situations others will experience happiness. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 29-03-2013

To know what I want is to work for it. 

When something happens that I don't like or don't want, I tend to wish for it to go away. I may even pray to God that it should be over. At such times, instead of thinking of what I don't want, it is more important to think of what I want. This will give me clarity of where I want to go and use my resources constructively. Today I will think of one thing that I really want to bring in my life. I will do something constructively for making it happen. When I work on what should be there, it would automatically help me get rid of the heaviness of what I don't want. Eventually, the situation will change anyways.

Soul Sustenance

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. Sanskars, 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. Thesesanskaras 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. 

Message for the day

Happiness increases when given to others. 

Projection: We usually expect others to give happiness to us. We rarely ever think of giving happiness to others. We don't usually get what we expect because the other person is also expecting the same from us. 

Solution: Whatever the kind of person we only have to make sure that we continue to give happiness to others without any expectations. For this we have to increase our own treasure of happiness by continuing to be happy under all circumstances. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 28-03-2013

Do you feel resentment towards another? 
Are you willing to resolve this conflict?

What attitudes are preventing you from making peace? 
Do you want to teach them a lesson? Or do you think that they started it, so they should resolve the conflict?

Why not be the one who takes the first step towards peace and consider resolving a conflict. Just remember, there is always a solution, if you really want to find one.

Soul Sustenance

Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation - The Power To Withdraw (Part 2) 

When I am too open to the world around me, it's as though the arrows of negativity that fly around can easily penetrate my being, so that I lose my power. What others say and do quickly affects me, and I become reactive. This causes a build-up of stress, and eventually burnout, which makes me feel my only option, is to retire from situations altogether, which is not always possible. 

I don't want to react; I want to act with concern and reason and effectiveness. When I develop the habit of making a momentary withdrawal in situations of danger, I'm better able to achieve this. Turning within, I'm able to remember my link with the divine, the link of love, the link that fills me with peace and wisdom and good wishes. It's like an exercise: going inwards i.e. connecting with the self, then upwards towards the Supreme and then outwards (in the field of karma). Doing this repeatedly through the day as a discipline as well as at times of danger, I'll keep moving forward with stability and strength. 

In order to maintain this power, I have to put a high value on introversion. If I'm too extrovert, I'll become caught up in external circumstances, and won't have power to withdraw available to me at the moment of need. 

Message for the day

The one who is royal plays with the jewels of knowledge. 

Projection: Throughout the day several times we find ourselves performing such actions or speaking such words that hurt others. Such behavior actually reflects the fact that we are playing with stones instead of jewels. 

Solution: Real jewels are such words and actions that are filled with knowledge or truth. Knowledge gives us understanding which brings sweetness in our words and accuracy in our actions and this is real royalty. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 27-03-2013

Methods of self-progress brings harmony with people. 

It is normally believed that people who spend time with meditation or prayer or any means of self-progress tend to cut off from others. In reality, it is just the opposite. Someone who really works for self-progress would want to contribute from what he has, to others too. Also, it would bring the ability to deal with others in the right way, bringing harmony. Today I will spend a few minutes with one thought "I am peace", spreading peace to the place and the people around me. I will remind myself of this from time to time. I will then observe my interaction with others. A small little change that I observe is enough to encourage me to continue with my efforts.

Soul Sustenance

Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation - The Power To Withdraw (Part 1) 

The aim of Raja Yoga meditation is to strengthen ones nature so much so that situations, which previously might have defeated us, we now find easy to handle. So, the power to withdraw does not mean running away from life, but the ability to find a safe space inside oneself, even in the midst of life. 

An image used to illustrate this power is that of the tortoise. When there is danger, the tortoise instantly goes inside its shell, which it carries with it everywhere. In the same way, when I am faced with negativity or active hostility from people and situations around me, there is great strength in become introverted, even for a moment, so as to touch base with the point of peace inside my own being. In doing so, I find not only shelter, but also stability, so that I protect myself from any hostile reactions on my part. 

(To be continued tomorrow …..) 

Message for the day

To have love for experimenting is to experience progress. 

Projection: Usually we do things just as we have always done or as others do it. So we find ourselves obtaining the same results over and over again. We hardly ever think of doing things differently or trying our something new. 

Solution: We need to develop love for experimenting. In any situation we have to see if we can think of something different, if there is a better way of doing what we are supposed to do. Such experimenting will bring newness and progress in our life. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 26-03-2013

True introspection is realization of our inner qualities. 

Realizing one's own mistakes and making amendments is usually associated with negative feelings. But true introspection lies in realizing one's own positive qualities. It is to see ourselves with "real eyes" and see the hidden potential and strengths. When we truly realize, there is change and that mistake would never be repeated. Today I will see a strength of mine. This is some quality that I really like about me. In whatever I do today, I will keep awareness of this specialty as a background. This will help me bring quality to whatever I do.

Soul Sustenance

Making Your Dream A Reality (Visualization) 

I relax my body... I let go of all tensions... I reduce the speed of my thoughts... 

I relax my mind, my thinking... I let go of what doesn't let me be well... 

What is it that I the soul truly long for? What do I want in my life? 

I listen to the answer that arises from the inside of the self... I let the answer come out spontaneously... I don't worry about it... 

I visualize what I want and where I want to reach... Now I fly; I fly towards the destiny that I dream of... I visualize myself being what I want to be, doing what 

I want to do... Without fears, without strings that hold me... I am who I want to be... I see myself like that, having achieved it... I enjoy some moments of this experience... I experience my dream... 

I can achieve my dream... I have to visualize it as if I had already achieved it... This strengthens my capacity to achieve it... 

Now I return to the present moment... I prepare myself to enter into action with this conviction... I will make my dream a reality... 

Message for the day

The ones who can transform even negative to positive are the ones who remain cheerful. 

Projection: It seems natural for us to have negative thoughts when we are faced with any negative situation or when we are interacting with someone who is using his negativity. We then try to change the place or avoid the person in order to maintain our positivity. 

Solution: We need to practice seeing positivity in everything that happens and everyone we come across. A long time of practice will help us see the positive aspect of the seemingly most negative situation. This practice will enable us to maintain our positivity in the most negative situation. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance

Meditation For Overcoming Fear (Part 2) 

This meditation commentary is a continuation of yesterday’s message. 

Create the following thoughts: 

I continue to go forward... I only observe feeling who I am... I am a being of light... a peaceful being... like a small candle that lights up a dark room I radiate light and remove the darkness inside. Conscious of who I am... I imagine that I am in the presence of a generous Being of Light that radiates infinite love, peace and happiness... It is a powerful ocean of love that can dissolve all my fears, the pain and suffering that there is inside my soul... 

I open my heart... and mentally I say: "here are my fears... They are yours... They are no longer useful to me... I hand them over to you... I absorb your light... I absorb your love and let it reach each dark corner of my inner self... I feel how your powerful light, full of love, touches my fears... they dissolve and I am freed... I let go of all worries... The weaknesses and problems no longer have power over me... I feel that the Supreme Being is with me... that He accepts me as I am... He comforts me... I feel safe... at peace... in an immense peace... and free of worries..." 

I enjoy this present moment in His company and I share this peace and love with the world. 

Message for the day

To have cooperation, love and mercy is to be a giver. 

Projection: When we see others' weaknesses all we can have generally are negative thoughts about them. We can, then, no longer help the other person in any way as such negative thoughts only further strengthen the others' negativity. 

Solution: Instead of reacting with negativity, we need to have mercy for the ones who are in the control of their own weakness and see if we can help them in any way. And the only way we can encourage the others to change is with love. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 24-03-2013

A personality of royalty lies in being constantly cheerful. 

When we see someone with positive qualities, even during negative situations, we really admire their positivity. It could be patience, wisdom or any other positive quality that comes across. But much more than that, it is the happiness or contentment that is visible in the form of a cheerful face. This is the true personality of royalty, that we too need to make an attempt to imbibe. Today I will smile at whatever happens. Even if something goes wrong, I will find something to learn from it or something positive and be happy for it. Even if I can't find it right away, I'll at least take the thought that this has happened for a reason, because I know whatever happens, happens for the best.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation For Overcoming Fear (Part 1) 

Breathe deeply. You should say to yourself "relax, calm yourself". Repeat until you are peaceful and centered. Become serene and feel a sensation of peace and wellbeing. Maintain this serenity on breathing. Free yourself of worries on breathing out. Now slowly create the following thoughts: 

I sit comfortably like an observer in silence... I let go of every-thing around me... objects, people, responsibilities, places... I focus my mind on the present moment... I let the serenity... the peacefulness... envelop me... In this calm I can see the dark corners of my inner self... Like shadows, I can see the fears, anxieties, guilt, unhappiness, weaknesses that lie hidden there... Fear has poisoned my being; it has stolen my peace, my happiness and my self-respect... 

I accept that there is fear within me... I observe it and I realize that I am not that fear... I am not that weakness... it is not real, it is a shadow... I focus now on what is real: it is love... it is peace... it is wellbeing... it is the purity of the soul, what is real, authentic and true... I only have to access these original qualities and allow these energies to heal and strengthen my soul... To do this, I continue to observe calmly... with patience... I do not allow my mind to judge, or analyze what is happening to me... everything that has happened to me forms part of the past... I have learned from my mistakes... I forgive myself... I forgive others... 

This meditation commentary will be continued tomorrow: 

Message for the day

When there is equality in what we understand, desire and do, there is success. 

Projection: We usually recognise the need to bring about a change in ourselves from the signals we get from different situations. We also feel strongly that we have to change, but most times we find ourselves not taking into action and our change is limited only to understanding and having a desire. 

Solution: As soon as we understand that we have to change, we have to work at bringing about a change in ourselves immediately. We need to tell ourselves that there is no better time than now when we can bring about a change. We, then, find ourselves successful in all we do. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 23-03-2013

Getting away from it all' is something we all love to do. 
Why wait for the holidays! Whenever you need it, make time over the weekend for your very own retreat at home.

Create a sanctuary. Drop the distractions. 
Take the phone off the hook. Listen to soothing music. Simply enjoy the solitude and some unstructured time.

You can even use this time to review recent events, 
create new dreams or retreat into your inner space to renovate the soul.

Soul Sustenance

Marrying Spiritual Practices With Actions 

Spiritual practices and life are interconnected; so are my thoughts and actions. It is not possible to separate them. The immediate influence of any spiritual practice like meditation is on the quality of my thoughts. The quality of my thoughts is then reflected in my day-to-day actions. As the quality of my actions improves, it starts influencing my thoughts positively and the quality of my spiritual practice also starts improving.When I really understand this, it becomes clear that the right way to live is to marry both these sides within my life - meditation and practical life, marry the process of improving the quality of my thoughts with my actions, because both are interconnected with each other. 

Actions performed by being too action conscious, in a wrong, non-spiritual consciousness, have led to a monotonous and meaningless existence, an existence without permanent peace, love and joy, causing feelings of discontentment and an emptiness in many hearts. On the other hand, religious or meditation practices, which were done with the aim of bringing peace and happiness in our personal life as well as in relationships, but were performed in seclusion (by detaching or becoming aloof from society), did not achieve the desired objectives and was unable to influence life positively. This caused spirituality to become disconnected from reality. 

I want my consciousness to become such that I can experience the richness of a life of actions, interactions and relationships of the world, but adorned (decorated) with the jewels of the energy and spiritual power that only meditation can provide. 

Message for the day

To think of solutions instead of the problems is to be in peace. 

Projection: When faced with difficult situations, we see such situations as problems. Thus we find ourselves anxious or tensed and our mind is full of negative thoughts. We can no longer think positive or keep our mind in peace. 

Solution: In each difficult situation we need to see what solution we can find for the situation at hand instead of thinking unnecessarily of it as a problem. When we learn to think in this way our mind will be light and we will be able to maintain our own inner peace. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 22-03-2013

Good planning is always helpful, but time spent stressing and procrastinating about having too much to do or doubting whether you're capable of doing it, just drains your energy and achieves nothing.

Instead of thinking about doing something just get on with it. The faster you get on with it, the fewer problems you create. You'll find that the more willing you are to respond positively to opportunities, the more your capacity will grow.

Soul Sustenance

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (Part 3) 

We are at war with our self when we fail to make the world do exactly what we want, or we believe we have let our self down. An e.g. of a war with one self is – Suppose you are standing in a queue waiting for your chance to arrive, only to discover an hour later, just when your chance is about to arrive, that the time for the counter to close has come and the counter has closed. You get upset, but with whom? Perhaps the person at the counter at first and may be with the other people in the queue and then with yourself, for not having found out the time of closing of the counter. There are two failures that make you uneasy here. First you failed to ask someone early enough, which would have saved you the hour time loss. Second, you failed to control your emotions of anger. Although you might not externally admit that you failed, inside you know. Because of these two failures, you then start to get angry with yourself. The thought pattern that goes inside your mind: to fail is to lose, to lose is to be sorrowful, to be sorrowful causes me to become angry, as you look for an external cause of your sadness which, in this case, is initially the person at the counter and the other people in the queue (who would have known the time of closing and could have told you). So you demonstrate to others your justified anger towards them. But deep inside you know it is you yourself that has made you sorrowful. 

As the anger builds up inside you, again, after a while, you find someone else outside on whom you vent out your anger. You seem to feel better as a result, but it's only temporary. The next time you become angry; interrupt the pattern of your anger by asking yourself two simple questions: Who are you fighting a war with? Answer: Yourself. Who is suffering the most due to the war? Answer: Yourself. And if your anger is directed at yourself for your own supposed failure then just tell yourself, "There is no such thing as failure, only a different result from the one that I expected and results are not going to be exactly as I want, expect or desire. That is a rule of the game of life." 

Message for the day

The one who is free from complaints is the one who becomes complete. 

Projection: When things go wrong it is the usual reaction to complain, against situations or others, and to find fault with them. When we are busy complaining we will not be able to make any effort to make any improvement in ourselves. 

Solution: Whenever we find ourselves complaining we need to see what we can do to bring about a change instead of just complaining. There would surely be something that we can do. Slowly as we begin to implement each thing that we learn, we find ourselves moving forward towards our own perfection. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 21-03-2013

Good planning is always helpful, but time spent stressing and procrastinating about having too much to do or doubting whether you're capable of doing it, just drains your energy and achieves nothing.

Instead of thinking about doing something just get on with it. The faster you get on with it, the fewer problems you create. You'll find that the more willing you are to respond positively to opportunities, the more your capacity will grow.

Soul Sustenance

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (Part 2) 

We are at a subtle war with another person when he/she has done something which we perceive or judge to be wrong and our anger is an attempt to change them or take revenge. This is the second belief (we had mentioned the first one in yesterday’s message) that is embedded very deeply in our consciousness that the world, including its entire people, should do exactly what we want them to, or what we think they should do. Perhaps we have not yet realized that it is impossible to control others and make them change. The lack of awareness and realization of this truth, which we will definitely realize at some point or the other, doesn’t let us become anger-free very easily. People will always make their own decisions and control their own actions, always. They can definitely be influenced, but they cannot be controlled. When our internal desire of a certain type of behavior from people is not fulfilled, or in other words something against the above belief happens, our instant reaction is one of resentment or irritation or frustration or hatred which are all forms of anger. 

One of the most important attributes of a great soul is the ability to not have even a trace of desire for revenge inside and the ability to forgive someone who has supposedly wronged him in anyway. Don’t we all acknowledge that such an individual who has freed himself completely from all anger forms earns our and everyone else’s respect and deepest admiration, and we give him the medal of greatness inside our minds and even physically? So doesn’t that mean we intuitively know that this anger is an incorrect emotion and peace, good wishes and forgiveness are the correct ones, in harmony with the basic nature of the human spirit? 

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

The one who is content is creative and thereby successful. 

Projection: It is usually believed that to be content is to have nothing to look forward to. And the one who is content is the one who tries for nothing new. So it is usually believed that contentment brings hardly any great achievements. 

Solution: We need to ensure our own contentment in whatever we do. Because when we are not content we find that the mind is not able to work to the fullest extent. On the other hand contentment brings creativity. This creativity ensures our constant progress and thereby our success. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for Today 20-03-2013

The ability to bring out strength is to be constantly powerful. 

We normally get to a state of mind, according to the situation. But, we can take inspiration from examples like the incense stick which is full of fragrance, and spreads only that. Also is the example of the candle/lamp. It is fully of light so that is what it radiates. So it is important to connect to my strengths at all times, so that I can give what I have at all times. Today I will remember a positive quality that I have. I will remind myself of this at least 10 times or as many times as I can. And while I do that, whatever the challenge may be I'll believe in my own strengths and continue to use them.

Soul Sustenance

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (Part 1) 

Any time we sense irritation, frustration or anger emerging inside our consciousness, if we take a close look at it, we will notice we are fighting a war in our consciousness with one of these three: either with another person, most obviously or with the past or with our self. 

We are at war with the past because our anger is always towards something that has already happened and looking at it we react emotionally which means we are trying to change it, which is impossible. Any scene that has taken place a year ago, a month ago or even a second ago cannot be changed. We may be completely convinced and we may believe we can. That's because we hold this belief subconsciously. Somewhere and sometime in the past, we have picked up and absorbed the belief that the world and its circumstances should shape up exactly as we want. 

When our internal desire of a certain type of circumstances is not fulfilled, or in other words something against this belief happens, our instant reaction is one of the various forms of anger and we tend to try and change the incident that has happened in a far-off past or a past that has just gone by. We keep replaying a revised incident, with words and actions that we would have liked and that suit our convenience and we also keep nullifying the actual incident or remain in a un-acceptance mode towards it. This is like fighting a war with the incident. We tend to do this inside our minds, repeatedly, even realizing somewhere deep within, that it is impossible. 

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

The sparkle of a true diamond reveals itself. 

Projection: Whenever we make a positive contribution, we expect those around us to recognize and appreciate it. But there are occasions where we do not receive such recognition and we then feel disheartened which in turn doesn't let us give our best in all we do. 

Solution: Whenever we find ourselves expecting people to appreciate us, we need to remind ourselves that the diamond doesn't need to speak about it's own sparkle but is recognized because of its speciality. We, too, need to discover our own speciality and work with it. We will, then, be satisfied whether we get recognition from others or not. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris