Thought of the day 27/11/2014

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in North America.  But no matter where we are, we can all infuse our lives with more thanks.

Count your blessings & good fortune.  Recognise the abundance not just during the good times but also during the tough times.  

Appreciate all the little annoyances like traffic, bad weather....

Why restrict Thanksgiving to one day a year?  Be thankful every day & you will feel better, work better, play better, sleep better....

Soul Sustenance

Is It Necessary To Renounce (Leave) Society To Experience A Spiritual Lifestyle?

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

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

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

Message for the day

Become the one who is special by seeing only specialities.

Checking: Throughout the day, among all the people you meet check if you are seeing any negative quality in them. Also check if you are seeing specialities in others or not.

Practice: Each day tell yourself, "I am special and I only see the specailaties in myself and others." Then practice seeeing only the good qualities in others and you will become good too.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 26/11/2014

No matter how it may seem, can you trust life? 

Trust that life knows your potential & it wants to nurture you. 

Start trusting life more & you'll recognise that everything that happens, happens for your growth.

Soul Sustenance

Detached Observation – A Spiritual Skill

Detachment is the basis of our ability to be positive and affectionate with others while we interact with them. This is what is known as commitment and the relationship of detachment and it begins with what is known as a spiritual skill: the skill of being a detached observer.

On needs to be a detached observer in two dimensions: one within and one outside:
The inner art of detached observation is the ability of separating ourselves from our own thoughts, emotions, attitudes and behavior. On the external level, the art of detached observation is the art of being witness to the scenes that take place around us. While we detach ourselves and observe how the game of life develops, without being active participants, we are able to see the "big picture" with greater clarity. That makes it easier to see clearly what role we have to play and where our contribution lies. We are creators, and our thoughts, emotions and attitudes are our own work.

In reality, detached observation is the first step towards personal strengthening. If we don't manage to detach ourselves from our thoughts and emotions, they will turn into our owners and will consume our energy.

For the practice of meditation it is essential that you act as a witness of everything you think and feel, and, once some time has passed, you will find that the practice simultaneously frees you and offers power.

Message for the day

The one who does not wait for others to change to bring a change in the self is the one who really brings benefit to others.

Checking: Think of all the things you would like to change but are not able to. Now ask yourself why you are not able to bring about a change - is it because you are waiting for others to change before you change yourself.

Practice: Take any one thing that you would like to change and tell yourself, " I will change and seeing me the others will change too. I am the leader who inspires others to change, I will not wait for others."


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 25/11/2014

The qualities of love, mercy and generosity are  known as having a big heart. 

To have a big heart means to feel everyone belonging to you. A big heart flourishes with success in body, mind, wealth and relationships. 

Those who have small hearts have to work hard and experience less success. 

Those with a big and generous hearts are loved by all.

Soul Sustenance

Spiritual Vision

A simple definition of spiritual vision is that I see the best in others. A parameter of proving to myself that I have a spiritual vision and I am seeing the best in others is that I naturally thank and praise rather than criticize those with whom I interact at home or at the workplace on a daily basis – even though I may see obvious negative characteristics in them and experience negative behavior from them. Keep a daily chart of the three points, for three people close to you, below for one week. Every night, fill this chart up for the day that’s just gone by.

1. Name of person and relationship
2. How did I thank or praise him/her?
3. What was this person's response?

Remember that although you may be constantly positive with others, constantly seeing their original spiritual qualities, it may take time for your positive energy to transform them and for them to start transmitting positive energy back to you and start behaving positively with you. At the end of the week, check what benefits did you and others experience from this exercise.

Message for the day

Become a true well-wisher who transforms others' attitude with your good wishes.

Checking: In your interactions throughout the day, check if your feelings towards someone are negative. Also check if you are expecting someone to change his or her attitude or behaviour.

Practice: Tell yourself each day, "Just as a powerful bulb when switched on transforms darkness into light in a second, there's so much power in my good wishes that they can transform others' negative attitude into positive in one second."


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 24/11/2014

Punctuality matters.  It's a sign of respect for yourself and others.  So if you have the habit of running late, it's time to be punctual.  

Value time and manage it properly.  Prepare beforehand and avoid leaving things to the last minute.  Aim to arrive early and then if there are delays or any unexpected problems, you'll still arrive on time.

Soul Sustenance

The Relationship Between Anger And Attachment (Part 2) 

Attachment is a negative attraction that we succumb to, inside our consciousness, regularly and it gives rise to ego, which in turn is the root cause of all suffering. Suffering, in turn, is experienced at an emotional level through the various different forms of anger. We need to realize this phenomenon very deeply because this happens many a times in each day of our lives inside our consciousness. Then we can see exactly from where our anger arises and we can correct it. 

So if we don't want to suffer from anger, the solution is simple - we don’t get attached to anything or anyone, to any expectation, any particular desired result. Sounds difficult at first, but the same solution can be put in a way that would seem easier to achieve, we don’t lose our spiritual identity or individuality in something we are not, in anything or anyone that is physical. That does not mean we shouldn't possess any material objects and not experience joy by using them. It also does not mean we start remaining aloof from people that we love. Nor does it mean we don't have goals and ambitions at the workplace etc. We do. But our relationship with them changes. Our relationship becomes one of detachment and not of attachment. And what is a relationship of detachment? Detachment means that we possess all of them but we are no longer dependent on any of them, for our peace, contentment and happiness. We choose to be peaceful, content and joyful irrespective of whether they are there with us or not. So when cars get banged into (which can happen at times) and when people close to us are harmed or insulted or they leave or are separated from us due to any other reason (which is also bound to happen) or when jobs are lost (which is inevitable), we don't react angrily and suffer as a result. We have realized everything in life comes and goes; everything is born and comes to an end. We also realize that every process taking place in life is unpredictable and not always controllable, and must end. Things do and will happen. We know this is a reality. Every time we get angry it means we are having an argument with this reality of life. 

Message for the day

Become a jewel of contentment and you will become a bestower. 

Checking: During the day, check if you were always able to remain content whatever the situations you were faced with. Also see if you were able to be a giver in all the situations or if you were expecting something from others. 

Practice: At the end of each day, make a list of all that you have attained during the day. Your list could include even little things that made you happy. This practice helps you see what you are attaining and you will become a giver. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 23/11/2014

To be enthusiastic is to be free. 

A caged bird has the ability to fly, but is unable to spread its wings and soar. I need to remind myself that  being enthusiastic in all situations is like being a free bird reaching great heights. When I experience this inner freedom and appreciate the joy it brings, I will  be able to sustain it even when things go wrong

Soul Sustenance

The Relationship Between Anger And Attachment (Part 1) 

Most of us logically understand that all forms of anger are worthlessness emotions, but when we enter into the field of practical actions, we tend to argue that there are some situations where the weapon of anger has to be used and where it is justified or allowable. When someone tries to harm me personally, like giving sorrow to a friend or loved one, send a complaint about my work to the higher ups in the office or simply insult me or bang into my car at the street crossing for that matter, it would seem that our anger is justified, on such occasions. But the basic principle is the same in all these cases. We are, in our own mind, trying to control and change what we cannot change - the past or other people or events.

In all the above cases above we suffer a lot when these things that are close to us are changed or lost. So why does that happen? It is because we keep all these things too close to us or in other words we are over attached to them. When someone tries to bring me down at the workplace, or in other words tries to harm my position in the office and I suffer because of the same, it is because I identify with my role in the office, I think I am the role. When someone bangs into my car, the emotion of anger emerges inside me, because I identify with the car, I think I am the car! This is the deepest mistake. It is the deepest cause of the negative suffering called anger. We are not aware of this of course, but if we were to take a moment and see what we do in our minds, we would see we emerge the image of our role or our car on the screen of our mind. We have then gone into that image in our mind, and we have lost our spiritual identity or individuality in that image. In effect we have identified completely with the role or the car or are too attached to them. So if the role or the car is harmed in any way, it feels like it is happening to us and, as a result, we become disturbed or angry. 

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

Use the power of your thought and you will find negative situations changing into positive.

Checking: When things are going wrong, check what kind of thoughts you are having - are your thoughts positive in spite of the negative situation or are they negative. The more you have negative thoughts, the situation will only worsen.

Practice: When things are going wrong, take a thought that it is not the thing itself that is going wrong but it is your perception that makes it look negative. Also remind yourself that you have the power to transform negative into positive. When your thought changes the situation changes too.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 22/11/2014

When you lose something that you've really worked hard on, do you get that sinking feeling?  

All that hard work, all that time - lost!  Even though the product of your efforts is no longer in your possession, your efforts are never lost.

If you have to redo the work, take a brief break: to recover your enthusiasm, recall that creative energy and refresh your memory.  

Just think: I get a chance to do this again.  This time I can give an even better performance, an encore.

Thought of the day 21/11/2014

Like a sponge, we absorb other people's negative emotions.  And then we feel emotionally wrung out.  

Rather than retaining negative emotions that don't belong to you, release them.

Strengthen your positive emotions and you'll enhance your ability to be empathetic yet at the same time not be an emotional sponge.

Soul Sustenance

Effect of Food On The Mind (Part 2) 

Three categories of foods are defined corresponding to the particular energy that exists in them. 

The first is Satwik or sentient food (explained earlier). 

The second group is Rajasik or mutative food - it contains a mutative energy of restlessness, constant movement or change. When this force is consumed, the mind and body become agitated and nervous, unable to calm down and relax. These foods include caffeinated drinks such as coffee and many teas, hot spices, fermented foods and some medicinal drugs. 

The third group is Tamasik or static food - this type of food has a static force of dullness, inertia, intoxication, and attraction towards sensuality (body-consciousness), decay and death. Death occurs when the other two energies (sentient and mutative) are spent and the static force is the only dominant force. Static foods include meat, fish, eggs, alcohol, mushrooms, onions and garlic. 

Message for the day

To be successful is to be able to fly over the clouds of situations. 

Checking: When there is any obstacle that comes up in your way check if you are afraid of it or if you are able to see it only as an obstacle that you must overcome. 

Practice: Each day take a thought in your mind, "All these obstacles that I am faced with are like clouds that come in the journey of my life. I have to go on flying and not stop in the clouds of situations." 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 20/11/2014

We can be knowledgeable on just about anything, but when does knowledge become wisdom?

Knowledge is information. When we contemplate information, then apply and integrate that knowledge into our attitude and actions, it becomes wisdom. 

Wisdom is power.

Soul Sustenance

Effect of Food On The Mind (Part 1) 

All foods have their own subtle (non-physical) vibrations or energy levels. Food feeds more than the stomach; it not only affects the working of the body but its subtle energy influences the mind.Consumption of food allows the energy levels to have an effect on our system, for better or worse. 

Experimenting with the effects of different foods, three categories were defined corresponding to the particular energy that existed in them. 

The first is Satwik or sentient food – this type of food if filled with vibrations of purity, self-awareness, love, peace and joy. This category of food includes fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, milk and dairy products. It helps our emotions and mind to remain in a stable and peaceful state. This in turn affects our thoughts, attitudes and behaviour. 

(To be continued tomorrow .... ) 

Message for the day

Where there is determination there is success. 

Checking: Think of all that you wanted to achieve in the past few days. Now check if you have achieved it or are still trying for it. Check if you have left anything midway. 

Practice: Pick out one of the things that you wanted to achieve or create an aim for yourself and think, "I am the one who is victorious and I will achieve whatever I set out to. I will not leave any task unfinished." 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 19/11/2014

Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

To be controlled by anger is to repress the soul's original qualities of tolerance and love.

Soul Sustenance

The Power Of The Imagination 

The power of the imagination is extraordinary. The imagination is one of our greatest resources. It offers us many options and, with the clarity of our intuition and the power of our intention, we can use it to bring about abundance and success in our lives. It is a matter of using the art of the imagination in a constructive way so that it does not betray us. The imagination should be used for our more healthy and positive intentions. 

When the imagination is influenced by our limiting fears and beliefs, our mind begins to imagine the worst; it creates fearful scenes that end up generating phobias and blocking us. Then we turn the imagination into an instrument to create negative fantasies that distance us from what is real. We believe in the fantasies that we have imagined. The imagination has to used to help us overcome our limitations and not the other way round, which would be when the imagination is influenced by our limiting beliefs and our fears, with which it weakens us and keeps us locked into the cages created by our own mind. From a grain of sand it imagines and creates a great mountain that prevents it from advancing, and this mountain only exists in its own mind. 

When the imagination is used in a positive way, it is capable of turning a great mountain, a difficult situation, into a grain of sand. 

There is nothing too big that the human being cannot overcome. 

Message for the day

Where there is the faith that everything happens for the best, you will remain happy and cheerful. 

Checking: When things are going wrong, check your thoughts to see if there is any kind of fear or negative feeling. When there is either fear or disappointment you cannot remain happy. 

Practice: Each day pick out one thing that didn't happen in the right way and see what good has come from that. Make the practice in such a way that you will automatically see the good out of each and every situation. Even if you can't, there'll at least be the faith that things will turn out to be the best. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 18/11/2014

We live in the age of ‘busy’.  Busy people not only do a lot, they think a lot. The origins of ‘busy’ are mental. 

Mental tiredness is a symptom of the self going against the grain of the truth about the self. Being lost in thought, thinking constantly about things to do, what’s been done, what could have been done, what was done wrong, what should have been done but wasn’t, what others did, are doing, should do, must do, is not only tiring and a brilliant way to waste energy, If you would learn to meditate and thereby turn the eye of your attention and awareness within, if you would let your mind be quiet and allow your being to be still, you would rediscover, ‘as without, so within’. You would realize outer space is but a reflection of inner space. Both are vast and infinite spaciousness.

Soul Sustenance

Analyzing Success And Failure (Part 2) 

For many, society has conditioned us to look for success through the path of our career, achievements, profits, praise, financial wealth etc. That way, we have learned a narrow view of success. Running in search of this kind of success and pursuing it, we come to exhaust ourselves, get burnt out and depressed. In order to achieve these successes we have stopped caring for the inner being (the soul) and relationships. That has meant and means stress, pain, anxiety, family break ups, personal and relational disintegrations, the destruction of the environment and planetary and climatic imbalances. As a consequence, we feel empty. Although we achieve the applause, the income and other successes, the soul is malnourished and has the sensation that it is lacking something. Reaching fame, financial wealth, the power of a visible position, and reaching it with a broken soul, broken up family and a sick body, causes depression which explains why, in our recent history, famous people have ended up committing suicide. 

If we want to redirect our personal and collective lives toward true wellbeing and wholeness, we have to re-evaluate and redefine our beliefs and factors that lead to success and failure. Before asking yourself what success and failure mean for you, it is important to be clear what context you want success in. Depending on the context, the dimension and the meaning of success and failure will be different. For example, in the work context, a failure will be different to that in the family context. In the personal context or in life in general, the way of perceiving success or failure varies. 

Message for the day

The way to overcome your weakness is to feel that the weakness is not yours.

Checking: Check what weakness within you is not enabling you to attain success in the way you want to. Also check how many times during the day you have felt caught up with that weakness.

Practice: See yourself in your perfect form and let there be the thought in your mind that the weakness is not yours and you are the one who has developed it in yourself. This thought helps you to gain mastery over that weakness and gives you the control to overcome it.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 17/11/2014

One of the ways through which you can give others hope, is to Have Only Positive Expectations of them.

When you see beyond their shortcomings, and only see their strengths and potential, 

your vision of hope allows them to discover and use their strengths and potential.

Soul Sustenance

Analyzing Success And Failure (Part 1) 

You feel positive and joyful when you realize that you are successful. However, when failure comes to you, you feel defeated. The definition of success and failure varies from one person to another and according to the stage of life that you are in. It is important to have success and failure well defined for yourself, because, based on your definition, you feel greater or lesser inner wellbeing, happiness and wholeness. There are also different levels of success and of failure. For example, for some the greatest success is to be happy and radiant, whatever happens inside or outside. If one manages to keep happy in the face of failure, for them it is a success. Because to be happy means that I am connected with my essential worth or inner self, my being is awake and alive. Failure does not reduce my vitality, my contentment levels. The greater or fewer external achievements do not reduce the quality of the inner being or of being happy.The important thing is that you believe your own definition of success and failure. Some ideas can be shared that can act as guidelines, but, in the end, each person has to create their own guidelines, definitions and factors leading to success and failure. Basing ourselves on these guidelines and beliefs, we evaluate our successes and failures. You can reflect on what true success and failure mean for you and, according to those meanings, centre your attention on the values and efforts that lead you to achieve your objectives. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

To receive a chance to serve means to accumulate your account of blessings thereby guaranteeing your progress. 

Checking: In all that you do for others, check if you are able to feel satisfied. Also check if there is any kind of expectation either for recognition or for facilities for the help that you have given. 

Practice: Each day make a list for yourself of the things that you are doing that you feel is bringing benefit to others. Also make sure you realize in your mind that you are doing it for the sake of bringing benefit and not out of expectations. This will ensure everyone's blessings for you. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 16/11/2014

Try to control the uncontrollable, & you end up feeling more frustrated & stressed.  

Realise:  There are aspects that you can control, & there will always be aspects that you can't control.

Let go of what you can't control.  And focus on what you can control. Then you'll reduce your stress & increase your response skills.

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 7)

Conclusion 

The experience shared in yesterday’s message in which we feel the Supreme Being’s love in the soul world is a very powerful and overwhelming one. The soul doesn’t actually leave the body. It is only a visualization exercise, a journey through levels of consciousness; we simple change our consciousness from one of the physical world to one of the non-physical or soul world. 

On the physical level, the memory of our physical home and our childhood experiences in this birth is always within our sub conscious mind right till the end of our lifetime. Sometimes we go back to see the place where we were brought up and played as children. We re-experience the special feelings and important moments. On the spiritual level, the call of our spiritual home and our original state of consciousness is always there in our sub conscious mind in every birth. For every soul in the world there is a spiritual home (where the soul stayed before it came on the earth) and a spiritual Father that calls us to return. For every soul in the world there was a spiritual childhood in the company of the Supreme Father in the soul world - filled with joy, purity, love and bliss. It is a place of pure peace and contentment, a dimension beyond time and space. It is a journey of no distance and it takes only one second to experience it through the medium of meditation! 

Message for the day

Be enthusiastic and make the best use of your fortune. 

Checking: When things go wrong, check if you ever have the thought, "It's my fate that is stopping me from progressing." If there is any such thought you are stopping your progress. 

Practice: Each day start the day with a thought, "I will make the best use of everything that comes my way. The future is in my hands and I will make the best use of the present to make the best fortune for myself." 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 15/11/2014

★ A Better Atmosphere

Whether at work, at home or at any other place, the surrounding atmosphere affects us.

If the atmosphere is stressful or negative, you can choose not to absorb the stress or the negativity. Instead, generate a calm, positive atmosphere through your calm, positive thoughts and feelings.

Contribute to creating a better atmosphere, and you will positively affect yourself, the place and the people around you.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris ♥

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 6)

Experiencing The Supreme Soul 

Read over the following words slowly and silently. Using the power of visualization, aim to experience them in your mind: 

I focus on myself, a soul, a golden star like point of light........ 
I reside between the eyebrows, in the middle of the forehead........ 
I radiate golden rays of peace, purity and love in all directions........ 
In this awareness of I the soul, with the power of my mind I can travel beyond the limits of my physical senses........ 
I visualize myself gradually going beyond this physical body........ 
I, the sparkling star like energy, fly into the night sky........ 
I see myself floating above a vast ocean of buildings and lights........ 
Slowly I rise higher and higher to enter space........ 
I am surrounded by millions of stars and planets........ 
Slowly I see myself flying beyond the physical world of five elements........ 
I, the golden star, full of peace, enter another dimension, a soft golden-red light world........ 
A world of sweet silence and peace,........ 
full of peaceful light stretching far far away........ 
I feel pure warmth here, surrounded by light........ 
I the being of light sparkle in this element........ 
I am free of all tensions, extremely light......... 
This is where I belong, 
This is my home........ 
I recognize this place........ 
I had forgotten it, but now I have rediscovered it........ 
In front of me there is a brilliant point of light just like myself........ 
I come closer and closer to this Supreme Being of Light........ 
The Supreme Soul radiates golden rays of the light of unlimited peace in all directions........ 
He is an Ocean of peace........ 
I feel the waves of peace passing over me, I absorb the light of sweet peace........ 
I bathe under the shower of golden peaceful light........ 
All burdens are being washed away........ 
It is so soothing, calming and relaxing........ 

Spend a few minutes in this positive experience and then gradually come downwards to take your seat back in the physical body. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

Continuously fill your intellect with good things and it will be empty of waste. 

Checking: Each day check how much of good things you are giving your intellect as food. Also check if you find yourself thinking of waste, of things that are not necessary. 

Practice: Each day take out some time for yourself and make it a point to read and think of good things. When you continue to fill your intellect with good food in this way, there will no place for anything waste and it will remain healthy. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 14/11/2014

Do you get defensive when being criticized? Get defensive and you stop yourself from taking useful suggestions from the criticism.

The next time criticism comes your way, try this: get your focus away from the negative tone of the criticism and focus on deep breathing.  Breathe away any heightened emotion and watch your defensiveness fade away.

Now think about the criticism and keep the useful bits and filter out the rest.

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 5)

Our Basic Experience 

Spirituality teaches us how to practice the art of Soul Consciousness and Supreme Soul Consciousness in our day to day lives. We have through our daily practice perceived and experienced the soul to be a conscient being of light, a tiny pin point of sparkling star like energy full of peace, bliss, love, purity and power residing in the centre of the brain, an entity completely independent of the physical body, containing a conscient mind, an intellect and a definite personality. On the other hand the Supreme Soul or God is perceived and experienced to be the same in form as the soul i.e. a golden white pin point of spiritual light and might, but an ocean of the above mentioned virtues; containing a conscient mind, intellect and personality of his own. 

The world in which we play our part and the one on which we are now living is known as the physical world. This is because all living beings here have a physical form. Here the laws of science come into play and time, history and geography are important parameters of life. It is a world of action, experience and expression. 

Beyond the physical world of action lies an infinite, timeless dimension of complete silence. This is the original home of all souls, the non-physical soul world, a soft golden red light world where we once stayed, as a soul in a state of total peace and bliss. In meditation we turn our mind and intellect away from the material world and travel to the incorporeal or soul world, the supreme region of highest consciousness with the eye of the mind or the ‘third eye’ and connect them with the Supreme Soul, a resident of the soul world and the fountain of eternal peace. Through this mental exercise or connection we harness his vast resources of spiritual energy and experience super-sensual bliss. This experience is similar to an Out of Body Experience and Near Death Experience. The experience will be explained in tomorrow’s message. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

You can remain stable when you learn to apply a full-stop. 

Checking: In any difficult situation, check if you are having thoughts like, "why do things happen with me like this or why is this person behaving in this way" etc. you can never remain stable when you have such questions. 

Practice: Tell yourself that it is much easier to put a full-stop(.) than putting a question mark(?). understand the difference between worrying and finding solutions and worrying. If there is a solution, find it, if there isn't let things take care of themselves and put a full-stop. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 13/11/2014

We live in a world that tries to explain everything.  But does everything need to be explained?  Should all of life's mysteries be unravelled?

Well, life is a mystery.  And mystery matters!  Search.  Seek.  Wonder.  And bask in the mysteries of life.

Keep interested in life and it keeps life interesting.

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 4)

The Existence Of The Supreme Soul 

Near Death Experiencers identify the being of light which they encounter or meet in various different ways depending upon their religious and cultural background and existing beliefs of this life. They normally say that they did not hear any physical voice or sounds coming from it, nor did they respond to the light through sounds, but there was a direct, uninterrupted transfer of thoughts and emotions in such a clear way that there is no possibility whatsoever of misinterpreting what the light has to communicate to them. This uninterrupted exchange does not even take place in the native language of the NDEr, yet, he understands perfectly. He cannot even translate the thoughts and exchanges which took place while he was near death into the human language, once he returns from the experience. 

The Being of Light, as if an all knowledgeable entity, makes a presentation of sorts in front of the dying, in which a complete review of everything they have ever done in this life is projected. Interestingly, some of the common thoughts that the light (being) directs to the person are: * Are you ready to die? * What have you done with your life that is sufficient enough? * Is it worth it? and * What have you done with your life to put across to me? 

A very important point to note though is that all NDErs insist that these questions, though emotionally very strong, are not at all asked as if to accuse or threaten or criticize the dying. On the other hand, no matter what their answer may be, they feel an extraordinary acceptance coming from the light, which they have never experienced in any human relationship. The light, rather than being a ‘checker’ (or having a strict personality) shows an all loveful personality, which is highly overwhelming. The light sometimes tells the person that they must return to life. Sometimes, they are given a choice of staying or returning. In either case, the NDErs as taken over as they are by this experience are not willing to return. Some people who do not believe in the existence of God actually come back from this saying very strongly that although prior to this they had no religious or spiritual beliefs, now they believe that there's a God, and there's a life after death. 

The above experiences strongly suggest the existence of a Supreme Being or Supreme Soul or God and points to the form of this Supreme Energy as being a spiritual point of light with qualities like unlimited peace, love, bliss and power. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

Become the ones who make efforts continuously and experience constant self-progress. 

Checking: Check if there is any doubt within you whether you'll succeed or not. If there is any such doubt it means that your effort is not continuous. Where there is constant effort you experience constant progress. 

Practice: Each day remind yourself of at least one thing that you have achieved for the day. When you make a habit in this way, you will be able to notice and experience the fruit of the effort that you put in. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 12/11/2014

When someone upsets you, it's so easy to react.

But if you want to stop the relationship from a downward spiral, first, take care of your upset feelings.  Then extend yourself and see things from the other person's perspective.

This doesn't excuse why they upset you, but it does give you a starting place to try and mend the relationship.

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 3)

The Meeting With A Being Of Light 

The most incredible common feature in the majority of NDE and OBE experiences, as stated by the ones who go through the experience, is a meeting with a very bright light. This light is normally a highly radiant golden-white light, a powerful spiritual being of light. Usually, the experience involves being drawn into darkness through a tunnel, at an extremely high speed, until reaching this light. This feature, without doubt, has the deepest impact upon the Near Death Experiencer (NDEr). 

In the medical research studies conducted, very different kinds of tunnels are described by NDErs. The commonest one is a void, a blackness: a floating, a moving, a going towards the light. The structure of the tunnel, if anything, is minimal. One person had a tunnel in the form of a great big pipe. Other people go through swirling, whirling tunnels, but they themselves do not turn; the tunnel simply turns around them, while they themselves float through it. 

This light that all NDErs encounter appears dim at its first appearance, but it rapidly gets brighter until it finally reaches a supernatural brilliance. They normally express in their experiences that it was a being, a very very personal being of light, with a very beautiful and sweet personality of its own. The warmth and love which radiate from this being to the dying person are just unimaginable and very difficult to describe. They feel extremely secure and loved in its presence and experience an uncontrollable magnetic attraction to this light. 

It is important to note that this experience of meeting with a bright light is at the consciousness level, which functions outside the physical body in an Out of Body Experience. The physical body in these experiences is unconscious or in a coma or seemingly dead (as perceived by the medical team). The experience is shared by the Near Death Experiencer after regaining consciousness. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

When you are full with the treasure of good things that you have imbibed you begin to donate to others too.

Checking: Check if you are expecting either from others or from situations or you are yourself a donor. Where there is any kind of emptiness within there is expectation and you will not be able to give others.

Practice: Practice looking at your own specialities and see what you can contribute to others from this treasure. When you make the practice of sharing the good things you have, you'll stop expecting from others.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 11/11/2014

Approach everything you do, with love.  And when you come across any difficulties or tasks that you don't like to do, remind yourself: I love what I am doing!

Do things with love and you begin to develop an interest, a love for what you do.

Love just makes things seem easier, more like a game to be enjoyed.  With love, even difficulties stand aside to let love in.

Soul Sustenance

A Spiritual Perspective Of Near Death Experiences (Part 2)

The Existence Of The Soul 

During a Near Death Experience (NDE), the dying often have an Out of Body Experience (OBE), in which there is a sensation of rising up and floating above their own body while the body is surrounded by a medical team, and watching it down below, while feeling comfortable. While people are dying, they may be in intense pain, but as soon as they have this experience i.e. they experience leaving the body, the pain goes away and they experience peace, joy, bliss and a feeling of complete wellbeing. 

Doctors who have been conducting research on NDE over the past few decades have in their studies noted that in the Out of Body Experience (OBE) state, many who have ‘physically’ died can, on revival, tell the doctors, nurses, operation room team and relatives exactly what they were saying or doing during the revival process from apparent death or from unconsciousness – both conditions in which a person is not physically active enough to see or hear what is going on around them. Many actually hear the doctors announcing them dead. 

Many of the patients who have been revived are able to describe in great technical detail exactly what went on in the operating room while they were supposedly unconscious or dead. e.g. A 44-year old patient, while in a deep coma, later told the doctor that a particular nurse had placed his dentures on the side. The patient accurately described the revival room, those in the room, as well as describing the attitude in the room that everyone was close to giving up on revival efforts. 

All this suggests the existence of the consciousness (soul) as a non-physical energy independent of the physical body – in the Out of Body Experience, the consciousness is active and can hear and see, while the physical body is inactive or unconscious or in a coma or apparently dead (as perceived by the medical team). 

(To be continued tomorrow …)