Thought of the day 31/1/2015

Filling Myself And Others With Invisible Treasures (Part 2) 

In yesterday’s message, we had explained how soul consciousness provides us access to the ocean of the qualities of peace, love and joy that lie hidden inside our consciousness. An important point worth noting in this regard is that along with quenching my thirst, I must also have a big heart, and pass on to others the qualities that I am receiving from my inner ocean. Otherwise, over a period of time my spirituality reaches a standstill and although I am making an effort to fill myself I do not feel as content and fulfilled as before. This is because; the vessel with which I fill from the ocean can’t be refilled unless I am also prepared to keep emptying it. That doesn’t mean I have to drain myself spiritually. 

It is just that each time I give or donate a quality from my inner ocean with a positive intention to someone; it flows from inside me and then gets transmitted to the other. Before the person experiences and benefits from the quality, I experience getting filled with it myself. Also, each time the person benefits from or even remembers the benefit in the future, he or she sends me positive energy, which, according to the Law of karma fills me with the quality that I had donated, further. Sometimes a person might benefit or remember the benefit after 10-15 years or even more than that. Even after such a long time has elapsed, I keep receiving a return from the pure donation I have made, and keep getting filled, even if I am not specifically or consciously aware of the same.

Soul Sustenance

Using Creativity and Positive Thinking To Overcome Dependencies 

The correct use of creativity and positive thinking helps us to overcome any type of dependencies or negative tendencies that we may have. Often we live under the illusion (false belief) that we can only be happy thanks to objects, people and places, but happiness is something that we experience when we put our heart into something, and our intention is of giving and not of taking. In the creative activity that we experience greatest enjoyment in, our happiness comes from within and expresses itself outwards, and not from the outside in. Creative personal development helps us to overcome laziness. On overcoming it, we recover the inner strength necessary to free ourselves of certain dependencies, such as the dependency on the creativity of others to entertain us e.g. watching a movie in which actors entertain the viewers. It is fine to enjoy entertainment, but the important thing is that you are capable of spending a good amount of time being creative yourself, overcoming laziness, boredom and the wasting away of our own inner creative capacity. 

Also, let us learn to create thoughts which are positive and creative. They arise out of the spiritual knowledge of the inner self or soul. In this way, thanks to those higher quality creative thoughts, full of peace, harmony, love and happiness, the mind gets strengthened and is able to overcome old habits and negative tendencies which we hold on to or are dependent on. 

Message for the day

The more you are humble, the more will be your success. 

Contemplation: Humility gives you the wings to fly. It gives you enthusiasm based on your inner truth and you can easily move forward. When there is no humility you will find yourself being pulled back again and again. 

Application: When you do something, remind yourself of how much you are enjoying it. Let there be no desire for recognition or praise. Then you will find yourself succeeding in the task that you undertake and you will be appreciated too. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 30/1/2015

Filling Myself And Others With Invisible Treasures (Part 1) 

Soul consciousness or the awareness of the soul is the key to the internal treasures of the original and eternal qualities of the soul. The moment I switch on the awareness of the soul, a spiritual point of subtle light or energy, situated at the centre of the forehead, I start accessing the qualities of peace, love and joy that lie hidden inside my consciousness. Since these are not physical treasures, they are limitless. It’s like suddenly I become an owner of an ocean of these qualities. The ocean is inside me and not anywhere outside. 

When we hear the word ‘ocean’, the first characteristic that comes to mind is limitless. So suddenly I am the owner of an ocean of peace, love, power and bliss. I can draw and drink as much of these qualities as I want and these qualities will never get over, because an ocean is an unlimited, tireless and big hearted provider or giver, never expecting anything in return. The ocean will never refuse me, but, as stated above, the key to accessing the ocean is the awareness of the soul. It is a common experience of many that the moment we are in the consciousness of the body, we suddenly feel empty of these treasures and we experience emotions of peacelessness or sorrow or hatred or jealousy or powerlessness or fear etc., because in those moments, we have lost access to the ocean. 

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation Agent (Part 2) 

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

Message for the day

When you are humble you can bring benefit to many. 

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

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


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 29/1/2015

Tolerance is based on going beyond the superficial things that divide us. It's the result of turning within and coming to know the Self. If I can deal with my own ego, then my own anger can be resolved. This goes a long way in resolving external issues, too. With my own ego out of the way I will be able to handle anything. Otherwise it's just the same old thing - you versus me, yours versus mine, etc - intolerance. If I am unselfish and honest in my heart, and am concerned about others' needs, then I will be full enough to give. 'I should be understood' changes to 'I should understand.' Not 'They should change' but 'I will give what's needed'. Patience, peace and maturity develop. Spiritual tolerance cultivates innate wisdom, the kind you can't get from books.

Soul Sustenance

Being A Good Transformation Agent (Part 1) 

Often, we feel ourselves to be victims of different factors that seem to direct the course of our life without us being able to control them. The world does not seem to dance to our music and our will, and we feel ourselves to be victims because things do not work out or are not as we want. Therefore, we give up and decide to resign ourselves to this reality; to be victims of it and observe passively (non-actively), resisting what comes, getting frustrated and bad-tempered. However, we could position ourselves in another way: beingtransformation (change) agents (the ones who are able to change the external factors like people or situations) by creating a different reality. To do so we have to change our perception. Also, it is necessary to strengthen our capacity to tolerate, accept, let go and forget. Tolerance here also refers to understanding, love and compassion (kindness). Not to put up with people or things, but to remain above them, to go beyond them; to co-operate with trust and motivation. It is difficult for us to tolerate because we have expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how others should act and be. Then we create negative feelings towards them because they are not like that or don’t act in the manner that we want. This makes our relationship with them difficult. 

When your vision towards others is positive, you see their qualities, their efforts and their values instead of their defects and their errors. You are open to listening to them and to understanding their intentions. That way it is easier to have good feelings towards them. Basing ourselves on a positive and objective vision and on good feelings, we do not have to put up with, or even tolerate the other - the relationship becomes streamlined. 

(To be continued tomorrow…) 

Message for the day

When your heart is open and clean you will be humble. 

Contemplation: Humility needs a good home to dwell in. When the mind is filled with negative feelings or biased ideas towards anyone, you cannot use your humility. So fill your mind with positive thoughts towards everyone. 

Application: If you have negative thoughts towards anyone, make an attempt to remove them. Tell yourself that you don't like one particular aspect in that person and not the person himself. In this way you will help the other person also to bring about change. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 28/1/2015

A little bit of self-consciousness is OK, isn't it?  It keeps us on our toes and best behaviour.  But when we're overly self-conscious, we often miss out on opportunities and having a good time.

So the next time you want to do something, but don't, because you don't want to make a fool of yourself, be a little less self-conscious.  Loosen up, embrace embarrassment or awkwardness and go for it.

Soul Sustenance

Adding A Spiritual Vibration To My Actions 

My quality of yoga or meditation is reflected through the karmas or actions that I perform. If I add meditation in my daily routine, whatever actions I perform, start carrying a different quality or vibration to them.Work itself (whether at home or in the office), far from being a routine affair and just a medium of survival, becomes the basis of real transformation or change. After all, it was through actions that the soul came down from its original, pure, positive state. It is through actions that it can return back to the same state. 

It's not just action for the self but action or karma becomes the means through which I can share the experience I have in meditation, with others – be it family members, my colleagues in the office, at the city mall, in the vegetable market, on the street etc. - just about anywhere and everywhere. My meditation isn't an incognito (invisible) process but a very visible one. I can see the results of yoga through my karmas. If my actions are filled with irritation and anger, or are motivated by emotions such as ego, greed, attachment, jealousy, hatred, etc, or if I do not experience constant happiness or my mind still has a high percentage of waste thoughts, these are indicators that my meditation is inaccurate or insufficient. If there is the experience of a link with the Supreme, his peace, purity, love, joy and power will manifest themselves and be visible to others through my actions. 

Message for the day

Your humility enables people to realize their mistakes and correct themselves.

Contemplation: Real humility results in so much power of truth that you don't need to say anything at all in words. The very power of your inner state of being will make the other person realize the error of their ways.

Application: When you are giving directions or corrections to someone, check your own attitude, remind yourself of the humility within and then say whatever you have to say. With humility your words will be for their benefit and this will enable them to learn.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 27/1/2015

Understanding Attachment 

Entertainment industries publicize the illusion that in order to be happy we must acquire "things" and form relationships of attachment to them; that in order to find love we must possess or be attached to the other person. This confusion between love and attachment has entered into all our relationships in a number of ways. 

To our conditioned minds it appears to be a contradiction, but it is a basic spiritual truth - to be loving it is necessary to be detached. Attachment is the root of fear and fear and love cannot exist together just as day and night, winter and summer cannot. The idea and the practice of detachment are found in almost all the paths of wisdom, over the centuries. This is so because attachment is one of the deepest habits that we learn to develop, and we do not realize that anything we attach ourselves to turns into a trap for our consciousness, for the self, the being. We know we are attached when we begin to think about someone or something when they are not present and there is no need to think about them. Our mental energy exhausts itself and we have the sensation that we lack control over our thoughts and feelings. 

Each time that we automatically cling (hold on) to something, we invoke (call for or attract) the presence of fear - whether it be of people, position, power, money or even opinion, any form of attachment means that we will fear harm or loss. Fear takes on many faces (worry, anxiety, and tension); it prevents our spiritual growth and frightens us away from or blocks us from love.

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play Of Thoughts In Relationships (Part 3) 

Parent-child relationships are the foundation of our complete life. The earliest habits that children acquire in their lives are from their parents. Very often parents try and impose positive habits on their children. A very common trend that we see nowadays where parents will scold their child for common negative actions like getting angry, for lying to them, for watching inappropriate stuff on different mediums of technology like television and the internet or for getting involved in relationships with the opposite gender at a young age. Very commonly parents are not satisfied with the change brought about by children by following the rules that they have set for them, causing parent-child relationships to get strained. Why is it that inspite of children knowing that parents are concerned for them, do not pay heed to their instructions and continue with the negative habits? A more powerful medium than words, which reaches children on a physical level, is the personality radiation of the parents which works on children and reaches them faster than and much before the words do. Parents dictate the change but don’t be the change i.e. similar habits of lust, anger, ego, greed, etc. exist inside them which keep travelling to the children on a subtle energy level and impacting (influencing) their minds negatively much sooner than positive words in the form of instructions, leaving the words as good as ineffective. 

Also considering another common relationship that children have, the one with their school teachers; many investigations confirm that teachers' expectations, whether negative or positive, form one of the most influential factors in the academic performance of their students. If teachers expect good results from their students and have complete faith and confidence that they will succeed, their performance will be much closer to their real capacity than if they are expecting poor results. Very often in schools, the teachers’ words regarding the performance of the children are not a direct reflection of their thoughts i.e. words are full of faith and hope in the students’ success but thoughts are lacking in optimism with regards to the same.Negative thoughts of fear of probable failure of the children, in the minds of teachers, inspite of positive words of encouragement, negatively impact impressionable minds of children leading to their poor show in school exams. 

Message for the day

Your humility makes you a learner in every situation

Contemplation: Where there is humility there is willingness to learn. When humility is lacking, ego comes which doesn't let you learn from all situations and people. The power of humility enables you to learn and move forward.

Application: When you face any criticism from someone, see what you can learn from it, instead of feeling bad about it. Even things that go wrong have something to teach, for the ones who are willing to learn. With your humility continue to learn.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 26/1/2015

We all have a past.  And there are things that we'd like to forget, mistakes, bad decisions....  

But if we choose to forget the past, we miss out on its potential.  Instead, extract and take valuable lessons from those mistakes and bad decisions, and the past becomes a story of wisdom and learning. 

Honour what you've learnt by using it to make your present and future brighter.  Then you really allow the past to become the past

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play Of Thoughts In Relationships (Part 2) 

Husband-wife relationships, sometimes, are like castles of sand, extremely pleasing to the eye, but based on weak foundations and susceptible to destruction when challenged by negative tides of clash of opinions, personalities or lifestyles. In such relationships, the castles look good from outside because of energies like acceptance, trust, understanding and letting go existing on the surface i.e. these energies are displayed by both partners to each other in the form of words, gestures and actions but these castles can easily collapse because the foundations of these castles i.e. thoughts and feelings carried by the partners in their minds are filled with expectations, rejection, mistrust, misunderstandings, possessiveness and suspicion at times along with the positive emotions which are displayed in actions. Also both partners feel they have made their respective positive contributions in the relationship and so the same is expected from the other side, which is not fulfilled at times, further increasing the problems in the relationship. At the same time both partners are oblivious (not aware) of the negative emotional, much more powerful forces that exist inside them, which go against the positive contribution and are silently working on the castle of the relationship from below, ready to bring it down anytime. 

Another e.g. - in corporate circles, apart from the external objective of profit making and generation of revenue and jobs, an important internal objective of any good corporate organization is creating a peace, love and happiness filled as well as obstacle free atmosphere in the company, which will be conducive (helpful) to the external objective. One spiritual principle states that the leader or CEO or Managing Director of the organization is like a seed of the organization, whose every thought reaches out to and influences every person of the organization as well as the organization as a whole. A second spiritual principle states that the internal ruling and controlling power of a leader of an organization is directly proportional to the handling (of the people of the organization) power of the leader. If in the inner confines (boundaries) of the leader’s mind, obstacles of waste and negative thoughts exist i.e. the inner atmosphere of the leader’s mind is not full of peace, love and joy, then as per the first spiritual principle, this gets transmitted to the people under the leader and as per the second spiritual principle, such a leader who is lacking in mind ruling power and mind controlling power is automatically lacking in handling power of people under him. Such a leader, due to the application of both these principles, is ineffective in creating a positive environment in the organization. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message for the day

True humility comes when you are in your self-respect. 

Expression: When you are full and in your self-respect, you will be able to remain humble in all situations. When there is no self-respect, any comments or criticism hurts your ego and you tend to lose your humility. 

Experience: When you find yourself getting affected by criticism, check whether you are sure of what you are doing. Increase your own confidence in whatever you do and you'll find yourself humble. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 25/1/2015

The Law of Cause and Effect 

To imagine how the law of karma works, consider what happens when we throw a stone into a lake: it causes ripples that spread out towards the shoreline, before returning to the centre point. 

Human beings constantly emit energy. We create thoughts, emotions and feelings that transmit vibrations. There are people who tend to radiate energy and others who tend to absorb it. The energy we give off hits other people and rebounds back to us. From this law we should understand that if people send us energy that is not very pleasant, perhaps it is because on another occasion we sent out this type of energy, although it may have taken a long time to come back to us. 

If we make an effort to give off positive energy, with love and respect for others, this energy will also come back to us. Positive energy creates a higher vibration than negative energy. Radiating positive energy produces an aura around us that protects us from negativity or from feeling hurt or humiliated. Our ego, which causes the radiation of negative energy, makes us susceptible to criticism, lack of respect and slander. If our ego does not take over, the negativity will not touch our inner selves.

Soul Sustenance

The Role Play Of Thoughts In Relationships (Part 1) 

Relationships can be defined on the surface as a state in which two or more people are connected, the state of being related or interrelated or if the definition is expanded, the way in which two people, talk to, regard and behave towards each other, and deal with each other. Spirituality sees relationships from a deeper perspective – “relationships are not only what we do or say to each other, but are built on the basis of what we think about each other”. So relationships, when seen from a spiritual view point, are an exchange of energy at the level of thoughts and feelings, and then words and actions thereafter. 

Relationships are one of the most important wealth of our lives and one of the most important sources of our happiness. In order to make them successful i.e. to create the wealth of positive relationships and to experience joy through them continuously, it is important to base them on the right belief systems. One major incorrect belief that we carry inside ourselves with regards to our relationships is that relationships are all about behaving and talking in the right manner, because we think people see, know and judge only what we speak and do, they do not sense what we think, and so we don’t give enough significance to our thoughts. But thoughts are more in number and being a more powerful and subtle energy, travel faster than words. When we interact with someone let us take care that along with the right action our thoughts are also right. If we have negative thoughts containing any type of impurity of hatred, greed, jealousy, resentment, selfishness, ego, etc. and we perform pure actions filled with the energy of virtues, neither will we be internally content nor will we be able to satisfy the other person. In all our relationships, it is the intention, the packets of thought energy or vibrations that we transmit, which matter more than the action. Giving significance to the inner intentions while coming into relationships is true transparency in relationships. Performing right actions packaged with thoughts which are coloured with negative emotions, will only transmit pain to the other on a subtle level, even though we did it for their happiness. 

We shall further highlight the significance of thought vibrations in relationships using four examples in the next two days’ messages. 

Message for the day

The power of truth is such that you need never be concerned about proving it. 

Expression: Truth is always revealed at the right moment and at the right place. You don't need to be concerned about proving it. You need only to be concerned with being it and living it. Trying to prove truth reveals stubbornness. 

Experience: When you find that someone is not believing what you say, ask yourself if you believe in it. if you do, then you need not be concerned of proving it to others. Where there is doubt in yourself you'll want to prove it to everyone. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 24/1/2015

The Role Of My Intentions In Shaping My Future 

The word karma has been given many negative meanings. In common language, most people almost always relate it to suffering, but the simplest meaning of karma is action. Newton's Third Law of Physics (every action has an equal and opposite reaction) is a physical law of motion. The Law of karma is the metaphysical (non-physical) equivalent of the Newton's Third Law - it refers to action and its result (fruit) or, simply, cause and effect. The quality of my actions, thoughts more specifically determines my personal level of happiness. Our natures today are the result of everything we have thought; they are formed by our thoughts. It's not so much the act that determines the return or fruit but the quality of the motive or intention behind it e.g. in the simple task of buying a new car, the intention can be different in the case of three different people: 

• I need to buy a good car; it’s an urgent need of my family. (concern) 

• What if I am not able to buy that car model which my wife so badly wants? (worry) 

• With me at the wheel of the brand new car, which I will be buying soon, I will be the talk of the town, my office colleagues will really be jealous of me! (ego) 

Although the action is the same in each case, each of these attitudes will lead to a different result. This role of intentions become clear when analyzing the difference in guilt between an army officer who kills another while protecting his country and another person who plans for months to commit a murder out of personal enmity and hatred. The karma of taking the life of someone is the same in both cases, but the return or fruit of the karma depends on the intention. 

Soul Sustenance

Checking Myself On The Stage Of Action 

Once we become aware of the possible types of thoughts that the mind creates at different times in the span of a particular day, then we are in a position to keep a check on our thoughts and understand where our energy is being wasted. Once we realize that there are patterns of waste and negative thinking at some times during the day, which are usually triggered by certain situations or people, we can apply a brake on the pattern of habitual negative thinking, thereby transforming this energy wastage into something more positive. 

It does happen, that when we are informed about the benefits of meditation for the first time, perhaps in a course or a presentation either in the office, in a center of a spiritual organization or elsewhere; we realize the need for the same but we also feel that, in order to get the house of our minds in order, we need to leave our busy city lifestyles behind and head for the hills. There, we think, we will find the time and the physical and spiritual environment to practice meditation and get our mental state in order, but this is absolutely untrue. While going on an occasional spiritual retreat is certainly useful and recommended for the development of the spiritual self, the real workshop is life itself. Even if I am able to maintain a positive and powerful state of mind in a retreat, it is in our daily actions and relationships with others where the challenge lies, it is on the stage of action or karma kshetra that we have to check whether we can remain soul-conscious i.e. in the awareness of our spiritual identity. It is here where we have to see whether we can apply the brakes on patterns of negative thinking, establish and maintain patterns of positive thinking and test whether we have reached the stage where, no person or situation, however negative, can disturb our state of mind. 

Message for the day

When you are always truthful, you'll have nothing to fear. 

Expression: True courage comes when there is the power of truth within you. When you are constantly truthful, you will have nothing to fear. In all the challenges you face everyday you will be able to maintain your courage because of your power of truth. 

Experience: Make sure your actions are based on truth and when things go wrong, you will still be able to maintain your courage. Keep reminding yourself that you have the power of truth with you and you will be victorious, whatever the challenges that come your way. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 23/1/2015

Every frown line is a sign of the  attitude we bring to our relations with the world and those around us. 

I will let my face express my spiritual attainments today - my peace, happiness, knowledge and joy. 

When the sparkle of all this spiritual wealth is visible to all, everyone benefits.

 

Soul Sustenance

Serving Through Silence 

In meditation you connect to the experience of silence in which both the mind and the heart are calmed. The mental chatter or noise stops. A gentle flow of slow, clear, transparent and peaceful thought is produced. The organs of the senses and the body are calmed and your emotions become peaceful. In this state you can listen to the voice of your conscience, the voice that guides you. That way you awaken the divine intuition. On listening to that voice, you are strengthened. In this way you start to align your life with your purpose, with what you really want. You begin to have more determination to carry out the things that you really want to do, without fear preventing it. 

With meditation you learn to love the silence. A tender, beautiful and sweet silence. That way you value each word more, given that to not lose that experience of the sweet silence, you try to talk less, to speak with sweetness and gentleness. When you generate the love and pleasure in going to the silence, it helps you express the best of yourself. To help others, sometimes it is better not to speak, not to use words; to use the vibration of your thoughts and good feelings that emerge from that state of silence. That way you will enter the hearts that are trapped in darkness. Those hearts are in darkness, they have lost hope, and they are hurt, wounded, discouraged. From your silence you transmit to them the light with which they can find a way out. To receive it, they have to be willing. But if their time has not yet come, at least they will know that there are people willing to help from a silence that does not judge, does not complain. A silence that accepts, appreciates and loves, generating an atmosphere in which one can be oneself and feel free to change at their own speed, without feeling forced, but rather from understanding and love. 

Message for the day

Where there is truth there is victory. 

Expression: As the saying goes, 'the boat of truth may rock but it will never sink.' When you are truthful you might temporarily experience dissatisfaction, but you will ultimately attain victory. 

Experience: When you are going through a time which is difficult for you, remind yourself that the truth within you will ultimately get you victory. This faith will make you face all situations with a cheerful face. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 22/1/2015

A word of encouragement at the right time can boost someone's confidence and courage.  So don't hesitate or hold back in encouraging others.

Your encouragement doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming, simply appreciate someone's efforts, share a compliment or give uplifting feedback.

Go on, be lavish and encourage someone today. It might just energise and elevate their day.

Soul Sustenance

Reflection 

Reflection (thinking deeply) is a necessary step in digesting knowledge. Reflection is an exercise of the mind and intellect that goes into the depths of understanding an idea, or realization, or point of knowledge with the aim of practicing it in daily life. 
Values in my life are a sign that knowledge has been digested; without this, knowledge simply remains a beautiful aspect, appreciated, interesting information in my intellect but without the ability to give me strength because it is still external; it has not been internalised. 

All quality action (quality action is that action which is truly appropriate to person, circumstance and the need of the moment), all newness of perception (understanding), all new insights, or vision, require a space for silent reflection as a preliminary step. Normally, we are lost in the business of action, its routine and ritual that make our life so mechanical and hence dull and boring, or demanding and hectic. A mind and intellect that do not give time and attention to reflective silence (meditation) become lazy, though externally there is lots of activity for hours and hours. No new heights are reached because there is no depth of awareness in what we are doing, no reflection on purpose. As a result, we get trapped by routine. 

To be dictated to by external situations, which make us run around without stopping internally, brings about unnecessary stress on the mind, which keeps us tied to the strings of the external, like a puppet pulled, pressed and pushed by circumstances. To break free from this force, to relieve the mind of the weight of stress and waste and routine, I need to step inside and reflect (think) on who I am and where I am going and reassess my value system. Otherwise, life becomes like a wheel that keeps spinning faster and faster until we become dizzy - we want to get off but it is going so fast we do not know how. Reflection and taking time to understand spiritual knowledge bring us to the essence of everything. 

Message for the day

Your power of truth will enable you to learn from your mistakes. 

Expression: The power of truth within you will enable you to learn from all situations. When things go wrong you will be able to check yourself and improve instead of giving excuses to yourself and others. When you give excuses you will not be able to learn and progress. 

Experience: Take any situation that went wrong today. Check within yourself what your part was in the situation because of which things went wrong. Then correct yourself based on this understanding. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 21/1/2015

The Power To Decide 

Sometimes, there are certain situations where I'm not so much faced with a choice between truth and falsehood where the power to discern (discriminate) is required, but I have to balance competing aims or priorities in deciding on a course of action. There's great value in getting this right, because poor judgment can entangle me in consequences from which it might take years to recover. If I'm deflected because of my attachments or desires, I'll lose my ability to decide accurately. 

Understanding myself as a soul, and keeping my heart full and free through my relationship with the Supreme Soul (meditation) makes my mind free from waste thoughts. Having a clean, clear and concentrated mind helps me remain in the best possible position to judge correctly. I'll be like the Statue of Justice, wearing a blindfold as she carefully weighs the evidence: free from prejudice (bias) arising from superficial appearances, above the influence of situations and the emotions and opinions of others, perfectly centered, she is optimally placed to sense the right way forward.

Soul Sustenance

Reversing The Flow Of Love In Relationships 

If we ask someone who do they think has caused them the most sorrow in life, most will point out to someone they love or had loved a lot. Why is it so? It happens like that because we believe that the energy of love will come from the outside and will fill us inside. The energy of love from the other will fulfill our inner desire for the experience of love. Due to our own need, we attach ourselves and hold on to a particular person whom we love a lot, believing that they will fill us with the love that they possess inside them, which will make us stronger, fuller and more content. So we start depending on the other person for this need. When he/she is not able to fill us, which happens many times, we experience sorrow. Love is an energy, which exists inside us. It always goes from the inside out and reaches out to the other and brings benefit to the other. It does not come from the outside in. 

If we try and reverse the flow of love i.e. we make the energy of love come from outside in, we start depending on the outside for love, which results in the vacuuming effect. When you vacuum to clean your living room, you absorb the good and the bad. If you have dropped something very small, but valuable and of utmost importance to you, on your carpet, the vacuum cleaner absorbs it or takes it away, together with the dust, which is negative and of no value to you and which you do not want inside your home. When you live with the vacuuming effect on an emotional level, you absorb the love, care, concern, virtues, powers, specialties, energy, etc. of the person you love but you also end up absorbing their weaknesses, their worries, their fears, etc. That way, a dependency is generated that is counter-productive and causes emotional pain. That does not mean we become cold and stop accepting love from others, but we are no longer dependent on it for our inner well-being and happiness. Also, on the other hand, we keep radiating or giving love. When we give love, we experience it ourselves first and that's what we want - an experience of love, isn't it? 

Message for the day

When you are truthful, you are loved and trusted by all. 

Expression: When you are truthful your words and actions will become equal. You will do what you say and say what you do. Because of this you will continue to receive love and regard from everyone. 

Experience: Just take up one thing that you have not been able to fulfill and today take up this thought that you will do it. Tell yourself that you have the power of truth within which makes your words and actions equal.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 20/1/2015

When speaking to others we usually speak from our head, or intellect. Words spoken from the head rarely touch the hearts of others. 

This means they don't create any impact and are soon forgotten. 

The solution lies in touching the hearts of others when I speak. To do that, I need to speak with my heart as well as my head and fill my words with love.

Soul Sustenance

The Faculties (Energies) Of The Soul 

When the soul is in the body it functions through three faculties (non-physical entities). Although each faculty (entity) can be given a different name, it is actually the same energy, the soul, functioning on three different levels simultaneously. These are the mind, the intellect and the sanskaras. 

Mind is the thinking energy of the soul. It is the mind that imagines, thinks and forms ideas. The thought process is the basis of all emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that, in an instant, thoughts can be projected to a far off place (one can travel to a far off place on the thought level); past experiences and emotions can be relived or even the future anticipated in less than a second. It is the mind that experiences the variations of moods. The mind is an energy of the non-physical soul, not to be confused with the heart or even the brain. 

The intellect is used to assess thoughts. This is the faculty (energy) of the soul used for understanding and decision-making which stands out as the most crucial faculty of the three. With the deepening and broadening of the intellect, clear understanding and realization of knowledge becomes natural, and the power to decide and reason becomes clear. It is the intellect which remembers, discriminates, judges and exercises its power in the form of will-power. 

Sanskaras is a Hindi word which best describes what we could call impressions. They are the record of all the soul's past experiences and actions. Sanskaras can take the forms of habits, talents, nature, personality traits, beliefs, values or instincts. Every action performed by a soul either creates a sanskar (this is how a habit begins) or reinforces an old one. Whatever impression is etched in the soul remains within the soul, forming a complete collection of all the experiences that the soul has had. When we speak of defects, specialties or virtues we are referring to the sanskaras. The sanskaras are the basis of the soul's individuality. 

Message for the day

The one who is full of love is the one who is always happy.

Expression: When you are constantly having love for everyone, you'll have no negativity. Your unselfish love will make you have only positive thoughts and you'll find yourself in constant happiness.

Experience: Start your day with thinking of all the people you come into contact with. Then take a thought in your mind that you have love for all of them. This thought will help you throughout the day. You'll find yourself accepting others as they are and having good wishes for them.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 19/1/2015

Want to make something happen? 

Well, an intention is a start, but it's not enough.  What is required is determination - from start to finish!

To keep your determination going, regularly revise and reaffirm your commitment.  

Then revive and reinforce determination, with determination.  Then you'll equip yourself with the enthusiasm and power to make your intentions happen.

Soul Sustenance

The Spiritual Concept Of Becoming A Trustee (Part 3) 

In the physical world, one common example of a trustee is when a multi-millionaire does not have any heirs, he or she will leave his or wealth in the hands of a trustee or a group of trustees, to ensure the right use of his/her wealth as per his/her last wish. Another common example is of trustees associated with temples and welfare organizations. All the wealth and ornaments that devotees offer in temples out of faith, love and devotion for God or all the wealth and property that people give in charity to welfare organizations is taken care of by a group of trustees. In all these cases and more, while taking care of the wealth, honest trustees always keep the consciousness that this is not their wealth or property and will always use it in the right way, as they have been directed. This is called keeping the trust of the owner/owners of the wealth, hence the word trustee. 

In this way, now as a trustee, throughout the day I keep a consciousness that the treasures of my mind, my thoughts, words, actions, virtues, powers, time, my physical wealth, physical body etc. are the Supreme Being’s property and I have been appointed as a trustee to take care of them. In this way, I will use these treasures in a positive way, for a positive purpose (as mentioned earlier for a purpose of bringing myself and other close to a state of truth) only; in a way the Supreme Being wants me to and has instructed me to do so. This establishes a relationship of detachment with the treasures I possess and also brings about my spiritual self-growth.