Thought for today 30-4-2014

We have to develop this hobby and practice going into the depths of silence. Practice this, make it your hobby and see how much you then enjoy it. 

The tiredness of the soul will then be removed. We will feel that we are able to remain carefree and restful. 

When the soul is tired it is restless and there is a lot of worry; we think I have to do this, that and so we cannot feel restful. 

All actually I have to do is to remain peaceful and there will be the feeling that everything will be ok...

Soul Sustenance

Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 3 

Continuing from yesterday’s message, we should not keep the vices bottled up inside us like prisoners. Prisoners are always plotting to escape. If we change them into our friends they can help us. For example, the energy required to be stubborn is almost the same as that required to be determined except that one is positive and the other negative. The soul learns to transfer such energy. Anger becomes tolerance. Greed can be transformed into contentment. Arrogance, or the respect for false identity, can become self-respect. Attachment can be changed into pure love. 

The more I inculcate the Supreme Soul or God’s virtues, the closer I feel to Him, but if I allow inner disturbances due to any vice, my high stage is grounded. All the power stored up until that moment will leak away. I must recognize that I really do not like being body-conscious. As I wish for higher experiences I choose to live the life of a meditator with purity in thought, word and action. Obstructions come within and without, but through my connection with God I am drawing so much power so as to remain unaffected. This needs soul-consciousness. So in discarding the rubbish of the vices I have gathered over many births, I become my original form and maintain it through my closeness or companionship with God. 

Message for the day

True detachment gives a chance for others to grow. 

Expression: Where there is detachment there is the ability to let go. There is also an equal amount of love, but along with it is the ability to give others an opportunity to be themselves. One's own attitude or expectations don't colour the perception and others get a chance to express themselves easily and naturally. 

Experience: When I am detached, I am also loving. I am able to watch with inner happiness all that life brings into each one's lives. Neither do I take over other peoples' lives and feel disappointed when things go wrong, nor do I leave them to their fate. I am able to see their inner capabilities and get each one to become self-reliant. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 29-4-2014

It's so easy to complain about the world around us. But it's just as easy to care and make our neighbourhood a better place.

Doing simple things can make us a better guardian of the environment, dropping litter in the bin, printing double-sided, using reusable shopping bags, unplugging appliances at the wall when they're not in use.

What will you do, that's easy and doable? Remember, your contribution counts and inspires others to care.

Soul Sustenance

Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 2 

How many times do we hear, * Oh, he is always in a bad mood..., * It is my nature to be irritable..., * He will never change... This shows the extent to which the soul's own light has faded and been replaced by the dark curtain of negativity. Therefore it is better that we do not try to deal with each vice and defect individually. As the soul fills itself with the power of spirituality, its overall condition automatically improves. 

Another significant point is that there is a deep-rooted awareness within the soul of God and His sanskars, however much it may be covered by dirt and weakness. This is because each soul is the child of God and being his children we inherit his sanskars. These sanskars are present in us when we start playing our part in the physical world, but gradually they fade away as we take more and more births. As these sanskars are brought to the surface of the consciousness, automatically our thoughts and behavior patterns change. 

In modern psychology it is stated that we must express all our negative emotions and note suppress them. But the fact is that letting it out leads the soul further into slavery to that emotion. Remembering that thoughts, decisions and actions are formed on the basis of sanskars, which are deepened by repetition, the soul can only cause harm by expressing any defect or vice. On the other hand, the psychological effect of suppressing negative emotions can be quite drastic. Suppression can lead to severe personality problems, even madness or insanity. The right path is that we emerge our positive sanskars with the help of meditation and other self-development techniques and the negative ones automatically vanish away. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

Patience brings easy solutions. 

Expression: What one cannot achieve with pressure can be very easily achieved with patience. Patience brings a state of calm inside which helps in finding the answers that already lie within. It gives courage to work on the problem in a cool and relaxed way till the solution is found. It brings creativity even to mundane things. 

Experience: When I am able remain patient even in the most challenging situations, I am able to remain calm. I don't let go of my inner peace but am able to be aware of my own inner resources. I am able to retain my inner strength which gives me courage to find the solution for every problem. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 28-4-2014

Most of us have forgotten how to dream. We have exchanged our creativity for security. The current state of the world is a wake up call that brings us back to our dreams and hopes. This is the time to realise that beyond us there is another, unlimited, energy in action. This energy will surpass our expectations, if only we trust. 

The more we remember our dream, the more we become alert for the coincidences and synchronicity that will bring us in its direction.

Soul Sustenance

Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 1 

Just as darkness is the absence of light, negativity which manifests as vices and weaknesses inside us is merely the absence of spiritual light. Through the influence of negativity, the sense organs waste away the light. The question of vice, or sin, has been of a lot of importance in religion. No matter how much political or religious control has been imposed, nothing has been able to block the internal wasting away of the "light" of the soul. Light has a source but darkness does not. Darkness is not created by any source but is rather the absence of a source. In the same way, the negative forces do not emerge from the real nature of the self, but are simply symptoms of a lack of spiritual power or light. As spiritual power declines, symptoms of negativity such as anger, greed, ego, attachment, hatred, jealousy and related vices appear. On the other hand, as the soul's power and spiritual light increases through a union (meditation) with the Supreme, the vices automatically disappear. In fact problems are not fundamentally caused by a particular vice, it is a question of the extent of one's power. If I am weak, the sanskars mostly related to vices dominate my experience. If I am strong they do not have a chance to affect me. 

The negative forces have often been personified as Ravana, Maya or Satan but in fact there is no such entity.Maya describes a level of consciousness. There is no outside being whom we can blame. The vices are symptoms of individual ignorance and loss of power, which appeared only when our original creative powers subsided as we came into the process of birth and rebirth. When the soul's power fell below the level necessary to control matter and the senses; then the vices emerged inside the soul. The soul was more and more propelled by them through many births, until today when they appear to be a basic part of our real nature. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

To look closely at one's own behaviour is to bring about a positive change. 

Expression: While it is easy to talk about what other people should do to change themselves and their behaviour, it is also important to see what one can do to bring about a change in oneself. When there is the ability to look in this way, effort is put in continuously to change old unwanted patterns of behaviour and replace with more desirable ones. 

Experience: When I am able to take a closer look at myself, I am able to see which trait in my personality is getting in the way of my progress. This knowledge helps me accept myself with my shortcomings and yet have the courage to bring about a change easily. So I have the satisfaction of working on myself. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 27-4-2014

Being vague can save time but when communication lacks clear information, it may lead to mistakes or vague results.

Being vague with certain people can limit their interference in our life. But they may take advantage of unclear expectations and boundaries.

So watch out for vagueness. Know when to be vague and when not to be.

Soul Sustenance

Bringing The Consciousness Back In Shape 

If we try and find the root causes of all forms of stress, we would find that both lazy and wrong thinking lie behind various stressful emotions. No one right from our childhood to when we are grown-ups puts this into our heads that we are each responsible for our own thoughts and feelings. Instead we are taught that others are responsible for what we think and feel. No one teaches us how to think. We are taught what to think in terms of knowledge of the world, but not how to shape our own thoughts and feelings. 

In spirituality the self gets the required training to create positive and powerful thoughts, thoughts: 

1. which are connected to true spiritual knowledge of the self, 
2. which are beneficial to your own spiritual well-being, 
3. that inject positive energy in the form of happiness, love and enthusiasm to those around you, 
4. which are absolutely necessary in the context in which you find yourself, 
5. which use all your subtle energies in an economical way, 
6. which ensure that the result of any response you may create does not result in stress. 

When no one teaches us that any mental or emotional discomfort comes from within our own consciousness, we also do not ever realize that any negative state of being is unnatural and a sign that our consciousness is out of shape. The above thought training helps us to return our consciousness to its true, natural and original shape. 

Message for the day

To use one value with commitment is to guarantee the use of all values. 

Expression: Values are related to each other as if they were members of a great family. For the one who is committed to one value is the one who is able to emerge the other connected values. Such a person is able to add quality to everything he does and speaks. 

Experience: When I am able to recognise my own special value and use it with commitment in my daily life, I am able to experience success in all I do. This is because I have the satisfaction of giving my best and of having added quality to everything I do. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 26-4-2014

There are times when we feel lonely even when we're in a crowd. At those times, make an extra effort to connect meaningfully with people.

Sometimes, the feeling of loneliness comes from being disconnected from ourselves. 

That's why it's important to develop a healthy balance between spending time with others and time alone.

Get over the feeling of loneliness and get better at being alone without feeling lonely.

Soul Sustenance

Factors That Bring Us Closer To Success 

Given below are some factors that bring us closer to success: 

• High self-esteem. 
• Constancy. 
• Courage and determination. 
• Integrity and honesty. 
• Self-acceptance and acceptance of others. 
• Believing in what you do, regardless of external factors. 
• Responsibility. 
• Dedication, determination and tranquility. 
• Being positive in the face of adversities (negative circumstances). 
• Being consistent with your values. 
• Precision in decisions and choices. 
• Focus. 
• Performing all karmas with love and happiness. 
• Giving the maximum of yourself in everything you do. 
• Creativity. 
• Thoughts and actions in tune with each other. 
• Appreciation and blessings (good wishes) from others. 
• Gratitude toward oneself and others. 

Message for the day

To have an open mind is to be prepared for mistakes too. 

Expression: The one with an open mind is the one who is able to see things for what they are and accept them. He is able to take the lesson from each situation that happens and move forward with confidence. He never lets any situation or even his own mistake discourage him, but he is able to move forward with renewed confidence. 

Experience: I am able to learn from my mistakes and be ready for the next learning too when I am able to keep my mind open. Each mistake that happens is also a beautiful teaching when I am willing to learn. With each new situation I find myself growing very beautifully within. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 25-4-2014

Those who have the power of transformation are loved by everyone. 

They have the power to mould themselves. They never say: Why were my ideas, my plans not accepted when they were so good? 

They bring about transformation in themselves and are then loved by everyone and become a number one victorious soul.

Soul Sustenance

Defining Success 

Given below are some definitions of success: 

• Feeling yourself to be full of inner contentment and happiness, with an optimistic mental state, without fear, happy and in a good mood. Being fine, in balance and at peace with oneself. 
• Finding meaning in what you do. 
• Discovering what will bring you closer to your dream. 
• Success is about more than just possessing; it is facing all situations, even the negative ones, transforming them into the positive and feeling yourself realized, personally and emotionally. 
• Having courage to take forward what you want, in spite of what you find against it. 
• Achieving in each moment the desired objectives at all levels of the inner being. Fulfilling set objectives and adopting a positive attitude. 
• Being able to be beyond noise i.e. experience silence wherever and whenever you wish to – silence being the key to all spiritual treasures. 
• Remaining humble in the wake of all achievements and glory that may come your way. 
• Not being afraid of failure. 
• Satisfaction at work. 
• In harmony with one’s inner conscience (while performing all actions). 

Tomorrow we shall discuss some factors that bring us closer to success. 

Message for the day

To be a giver is to be flexible. 

Expression: The one who does not expect from others, but is able to give others from whatever resources he has, is the one who is flexible. Being flexible means to be able to recognize the other person's value system and moulding one self according to it without losing touch with one's own value system. 

Experience: When I am a giver, I do not expect others to change according to my value system, but am very easily able to find a way to adapt to the other person's value system. I never expect from others to understand me, but am able to understand others. So there is never any feeling of negativity for anyone. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 24-4-2014

May you be an embodiment of love who transforms any fearsome volcanic form with your cool form of love. 

At every moment, with every soul, in every situation, 

never leave aside or forget your loving image, your face of love, your loving interaction and your relationships and connections of love. 

Create a world of love with your vision, attitude and actions of love.

Soul Sustenance

Performing A Spiritual Audit At The End Of The Day - Part 2 

Yesterday we had explained how self evaluation at the end of the day is extremely vital to one's progress and development. A useful exercise in this regard is keeping a daily chart for about 3 personality traits or pointsand filling it up every night (lesser than 3 is also fine, but not more , because then you might feel lazy in keeping the chart after a few days and also you might lose focus and the personality traits may not transform as much as you want). You could either evaluate yourself with a yes or no or perform a percentage wise evaluation like 50% or 90% for e.g. We have mentioned below, some of the common traits from which you could select the traits to keep a daily chart for. You could incorporate some other specific traits (not mentioned in this list), which you want to change or develop, depending on your personality: 

In the entire day, today; not only in my words and actions, but also in my thoughts: 
* Did I see everyone's specialties and keep good wishes for each one, in spite of obvious weaknesses being visible? 
* Did I remain free from all forms of anger, like irritation, frustration, grudge, revenge, etc.? 
* Did I ensure that I neither give nor take sorrow, hurt, pain from anyone? 
* Did I remain free from waste and negative? 
* Did I remain ego less? 
* Did I remain untouched by name, fame, praise, insult? 
* Did I remain stable? 
* Did I remain free from judgments, criticism, jealousy, comparison, hatred, etc.? 
* Did I keep a conscious of serving each one whom I met? 
* Did I bring the 8 main powers into practice and experience being powerful? 
* Did I remain in self-respect and give respect to everyone? 
* Did I practice being soul-conscious in actions and interactions? 
* Did I take a one minute break every hour to reflect, meditate and control the traffic of thoughts in the mind? 

Message for the day

Humility is to respect everything that comes our way. 

Expression: To love simple things is humility. It teaches to respect all that life brings. That means there is an ability to appreciate and value everything appropriately. So one is able to use everything that comes one way to the fullest extent for the benefit of the self and that of others. 

Experience: When I am humble I am able to remain focused on my inner peace and not lose my sense of personal well-being. I am able to simply learn from everything that happens to my life and add on to this sense of well-being. No situation is difficult or impossible to work on, but I am able to overcome all challenges with ease. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 23-4-2014

In our lives there are probably activities we dislike, people we don't like.... 

Most often, irritation and anger arises from being rigid about what and who we like and dislike.

The next time you find yourself saying, "I don't like..." pause and ask yourself, "Can I like this dislike? 

Can I find something positive about this dislike?" If you can't, then maybe dislike a little less!

Liking your dislikes might just make you calmer and an easier person to be around!

Soul Sustenance

Performing A Spiritual Audit At The End Of The Day - Part 1 

Our normal day at the office or/and at home is filled with lots of actions and interactions. On a normal day, without realizing consciously, we create almost 30,000-40,000 thoughts. So, not only are we active physically but extremely active on a subtle or non-physical level also. Imagine sleeping with all this burden of thoughts, words and actions which have been created throughout the day, many of which have been waste and negative in nature. What would be the resulting quality of my sleep? So it is extremely important to perform a spiritual/emotional audit or evaluation at the end of each day. 

In a lot of professional sectors of life today, people recognize the need for reflection and audit, not only of financial records but also a general evaluation of the respective sector, to maintain and improve both the service to customers and the job satisfaction of people working in the sector. Checking my own behavior, as a daily exercise; not just checking, but also bringing about respective changes for the next day, enables me to continue to develop and grow, as a human being and in the quality of my work and personal and professional relationships. Have gone through the self-evaluation, it is also advised to become completely light by submitting the mistakes made and heaviness accumulated in the day to the Supreme Being. Doing this helps me put a full-stop to the same and settle all my spiritual accounts at the end of the day. I need to put an end to all commas (when looking at scenes that caused me to slow down and reduced the speed of my progress), question marks (when looking at scenes which caused a why, what, how, when, etc.... in my consciousness) and exclamation marks (when looking at negative or waste scenes, which were unexpected and surprising) which were created in the day's activities. Along with remembering what all good happened during the day, what did I achieve and what good actions did I perform, there is lots to forget at the end of the day, which should not be carried into my sleep at any cost. Disturbed, thought-filled, unsound sleep, will result in a not so fresh body and mind the next morning, which will cause my mood to be disturbed, adversely affecting the following day. 

(To be continued tomorrow...) 

Message for the day

To be clean at heart is to give happiness to others.

Expression: The one who has a clean heart is the one who always tries to do the best for those with whom he comes in contact. Thus, the person develops the ability to accept others as they are and ignore anything wrong done by them. Instead, he is able to do the right action without losing the balance. So such a person brings happiness for himself and for others through every action he performs.

Experience: When I have a clean heart I am able to have an experience of my inner qualities. I am able to enjoy the beauty of the different relationships, each relationship and each person being unique. Thus others are able to get in touch with their inner beauty too. So there is happiness experienced by all.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 22-4-2014

Discover your amazing breadth and depth as a person. 

Recognise the variety of qualities that are within you, right now. 

Acknowledge the valuable abilities that are intrinsic to your uniqueness.

Each day put into action some of your vast array of qualities and actively contribute your abilities to the world around you.

Soul Sustenance

Your Identity is Your Destiny 

There is a direct connection between identity and destiny. It's a simple process to see and understand, even on a daily basis. If you wake up irritated (in a bad mood) it means you are seeing yourself as an irritated being (soul). Perhaps you even think and sometimes say to your self, “I’m irritated today.” 

It means your self-identity is negative. So you filter the world through your negative filter and the world actually looks like an irritable place. As a result, you think negative thoughts, generate a negative attitude and give negative energy to others. They in turn will likely return the same negative energy, which you are sending to them and perhaps avoid you altogether. So your destiny of the day becomes …. Not so positive! Now see the same principle and process in life on larger scale. Look around outside you now, and you will see a reflection of how you see your self inside. Your circumstances, your relationships and even the events of the day reflect back to you how you see yourself.

Message for the day

The one who is able to discriminate well is able to bring about real benefit. 

Expression: Everyone naturally works for the benefit of the self and others. But the one who discriminates well is able to understand the other person's need and give accordingly. So whatever is done naturally brings benefit for others and also for the self. 

Experience: When I am able to bring benefit for the right person at the right time with the right thing, I am able to win the trust of the other person. I expect nothing in return, but have the satisfaction of helping at the right time. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 21-4-2014

Turn "me" upside down, and you go from 'What's in it for me?' 
to embracing a broader perspective of "we."

When you focus less on 'me', and more on 'we', you're able to collaborate and engage with others to accomplish something altogether better.

As a result, you leverage both your personal talents and relationships to a greater success.

Soul Sustenance

Qualities, Virtues And Powers 

Innate or basic characteristics are properties that are unchangeable. It's impossible to take the heat out of the sun or sweetness out of sugar. Heat and sweetness are part of the unchanging make-up of the sun and sugar respectively; they are the basic properties of each of them. In the same way, in spite of whatever I have become as a human individual, my deep basic characteristics are still the same ones that have always existed in me. It's my inner core of qualities that in fact inspires me to seek the ideal in whatever I do. The impulse to seek and to dream comes from my own store of innate attributes that is just waiting to be found and brought into practical activity. 

The innate qualities of the soul are those that are the most basic: Peace, Truth, Happiness, Love, Purity, Power and Bliss. They are so basic that they themselves are the foundation of all virtues and powers.They are like primary colors and virtues and powers are secondary colors. Just as orange (a secondary color) is made of red and yellow (both primary colors) and blue is made of yellow and green, virtues such as patience, tolerance, courage, generosity etc. and powers, are obtained by mixing the basic qualities e.g. 

Patience - peace, love and, power Humility – love, peace and truth 
Courage - power and truth 

The aim of meditation is to emerge and enhance my qualities so that my behavior becomes full of virtues andpowers. 

Message for the day

To do something altruistic each day is to ensure happiness. 

Expression: When there is the thought to do something altruistic for someone every day, there is the ability to give happiness unconditionally. Whatever the relationship or whatever the personality of the other person, the one who develops the habit of doing this, is able to remain a source of support for those around. 

Experience: The best gift I can give is to give happiness and to finish sorrow. When I am constantly thinking of this, not for any reward but just for the sake of it, I am able to discover and enjoy the fruit of that action. I am free from expectations and am able to enjoy the action itself. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought for today 20-4-2014

The Way of the turtle is to be slow. Slow down to savour the small things in life, to stop and smell the roses.

Slow down to relax more and stress less. Slow down without procrastinating and you'll be more productive.

Remember, 'slow and steady wins the race'. So, keep pace with your inner turtle and it'll take you through to the finish line.

Soul Sustenance

Understanding And Expressing Your Potential - Part 2 

A person with a free mind (discussed yesterday) can use all of their creative capacity in order to live out their dreams. 

To use one's creative capacity fully means: 

• Being aware of the power of the imagination and channeling it in a constructive way. 

• Being able and to be open to discovering and to learning. 

• Becoming aware and dissolving self-limiting beliefs. 

• Being attracted by excellence, embracing the experiences of superior quality and letting go of the desires and experiences of lesser quality. 

• Having good discrimination power thanks to which one has a good power of decision. 

• Having the will power and discipline to apply decision. 

• Having the courage to be different and to overcome obstacles. 

Message for the day

To forgive is to give correction. 

Expression: When there is forgiveness, the harm of the mistake is forgotten. The mistake itself is remembered only to the extent that the correction is to be given. So there are no negative feelings expressed even while giving correction. And the words that are used are few but prove to be very effective. 

Experience: When I learn the art of forgiving I am able to be free from the burden of negative and waste thinking. So there is never any difficulty in giving correction when necessary. The mind is free from the attitudes of the past and it creates harmony in relationships even if the opinions or personalities don't match. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Message for the day

To forgive is to give correction. 

Expression: When there is forgiveness, the harm of the mistake is forgotten. The mistake itself is remembered only to the extent that the correction is to be given. So there are no negative feelings expressed even while giving correction. And the words that are used are few but prove to be very effective. 

Experience: When I learn the art of forgiving I am able to be free from the burden of negative and waste thinking. So there is never any difficulty in giving correction when necessary. The mind is free from the attitudes of the past and it creates harmony in relationships even if the opinions or personalities don't match. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris