Thought of the day 30.06.2015

Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past (part 1)

Almost each one of us carries a heavy or subtle burden of negative events and happenings that have taken place in our life sometime in the past, either an immediate past or a far-off one; which reduce our present contentment levels immensely. The negative past could be of any form - you experienced the loss of a close loved one due to a break-up or sudden death; you went through a serious physical illness or a very lean phase of financial loss, you were abused on a mental or physical level; you were not treated properly by a colleague at office and undue advantage was taken of you; you performed an inappropriate action and you repent up till now, even after many years have passed, and many such similar and different types of incidents. 

There are three different types of processes for removing negative past memories from our consciousness:

* Modifying - A negative past event is modified into a positive, beneficial form and then stored in the consciousness.

* Forgetting - Memories of a negative past event are forgotten and do not exist either in our conversations or in our conscious mind or thoughts, but traces of those memories exist in the sub-conscious mind. 

* Erasing - No traces of the negative past exist in the consciousness and memories of it are completely removed from the sub-conscious also.

We need to take the help of all the different aspects or techniques of spirituality and not depend on only one or two for these removal processes. In the next two days' messages, we will explain all these different techniques of spirituality, which if incorporated in our life, help us experience lightness and emotional freedom from the past. All of them have their own unique importance. 

(To be continued...)

Soul Sustenance

Finding The Destiny Maker (Part 1) 

All of us are players in the world drama with fixed roles, which we play in different births. At the same time once in the world drama we get a chance to re-define or re-shape or in other words re-write our roles with the pen of spiritual wisdomgiven by the Supreme and as per his subtle (non-physical) and physical directions given, when He comes down on Earth and is with us. So, we are indebted to God because of this, because our complete fortune and the roles we play would not be possible if the Supreme would not shower on us his love, his presence, his knowledge and his company. 

You might ask that is destiny already made and we are merely playing the roles given to us? Also, are these roles given to us by God or are they just eternal and fixed? This is partially right. Roles are fixed and eternal but the roles are not given by God to us. As mentioned above, God only shares with us the way of re-shaping our roles when our roles are no longer happiness filled and our physical body, relationships with others as well our minds along with the roles that we play in our families as well as in our professional lives are no longer permanently happiness filled. On the other hand, there is sorrow in every sphere of life and if happiness exists also, it is not secured or safe. It is the time in the world drama when we can no longer say for sure that tomorrow will bring no negative surprises in the form of disturbing situations. So, we have to thank God because it is at this time when He comes down to help us and brings back happiness in all our life spheres. So, our roles are fixed i.e. destiny is already made and we are also given a chance by God to make our destiny once in the world drama. Love for the Supreme who is the destiny maker of our lives should flow from our heart and we should make God a part of our lives and find Him in the world at the present moment and take the pen of writing our destiny from Him. This is because the time for doing that is now. In fact, it is now or never. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message of the day

The ones with faith in the self will be able to make their thoughts and actions equal. 

Contemplation: When you have faith in yourself you will be able to have a high aim and you will be able to put into action all the thoughts that you have according to your aim. Your plans will then not be limited to thoughts only. 

Application: With the firm faith that you are special and unique, start putting into practice all the special thoughts that you get without postponing them. Slowly you will find yourself doing all the things that you think you should be doing. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 29.06.2015

ABCD of Change

Here's the ABCD for making personal change happen:

A: Awareness. Identify what you would like to change in yourself.

B: Belief. Recognise & challenge the belief(s) holding you back. For example,

    believing 'I can't change', 'It's too difficult.'

C: Commitment. 'I'll try' isn't good enough. Work out an effective action plan,

    as well as things you will do to sustain the commitment.

D: Discipline. Establish the purpose, why this change is important. Then with

    love & enthusiasm you'll sustain the discipline to make the change happen

Soul Sustenance

Living Life On The Surface 

In an ideal situation, the thoughts that run in my mind, should be exactly those that I would like and I want. We do exert this control, that we possess, over our thoughts, but it is not complete and it is only sometimes. The more we become completely engrossed in our daily routine, the more our thoughts tend to become reactions to what goes on outside us. That’s when they go out of control and our lives move in an unfocused way. As a result things don't work out as we might have desired. Then we develop a habit of blaming other people and circumstances, or we justify our pain by telling ourselves we are not very worthy or powerful enough. Often, these two inner strategies go together. The trouble is, both are cover ups, preventing us from going for a long-term solution. 

In this way, we tend to live our lives on a very superficial level, without taking the time to find the solution to what is going on wrong inside. Deeper difficulties remain hidden inside. I move from one scene of life to another - eating, watching television, studying in college, getting married, changing jobs, buying a new car or house, etc. without ever stopping. All these are part of living, but if I make them my whole and sole, my foundation, it’s as if I skate across the surface of life without being in touch with the core. As time progresses, an inner shallowness develops. Then the feeling keeps growing inside that there must be more to life than this. I then, find that my relationships are not working out as I would have hoped and they are lacking in depth.

Message of the day

Understanding brings happiness. 

Expression: Happiness lies in understanding the secret of whatever is happening. When one is able to remain happy in this way, he is able to spread this happiness to those around too, influencing the lives of all. 

Experience: When I am able to remain happy under all circumstances, I am able to be free from the influence of others' negativity. Instead I will be able to become a major source of positive influence to those around me. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 28.06.2015

Going Beyond False Identifications 

The more I identify with the physical factors of my life, the more I become a prisoner to my destiny or the various up and downs of my life. E.g. if my self-respect is attached to my beautiful new car, how will I feel about myself when the car becomes old and its beauty and shine reduce? Or if I my car is stolen or gets immensely damaged in a road accident? Then, I shall find myself in an identity crisis. The same will be true if my business or job is everything to me. If one day, I am in a good financial state and I enjoy a very respectable and dominant position, and the next day I find myself in a dispute in my profession and I suddenly lose all of that, and nobody wants to know me, I will feel as if I have lost my soul and have almost died. The problem is sometimes so great that people do, literally, lose their desire to live. It happens, too, in relationships, when your partner leaves you either due to a separation, a divorce or even death - a partner in whom you have invested all your love and emotions. Or if my identity is tied to my back balance or property, and suddenly I am broke. 

All of these are actually false identifications, and the crazy part of living this way is that I can never be satisfied, even if I succeed in maintaining my false identity. These kind of false identifications do not keep me placed stably on my seat of self-respect and either bring about an inferiority complex or a superiority complex - both of which are false, so both bring insecurity. Even while I am externally successful, having my identity based on that success means I am a slave to them. I've handed over my self-esteem to them. I become addicted to it.

Soul Sustenance

Crossing Negative Circumstances (Part 3) 

In order to have a wider perception and not to drown in any negative situation i.e. not to get affected by it, you can position yourself in a positive way. Instead of losing respect for the self and developing a negative consciousness, if you make your consciousness positive and stabilize yourself in respect towards yourself, in maintaining your positive and powerful self-esteem and a healthy distance (not necessarily physical distance, but rather by not letting the situation absorb you), you will be able to have an eagle's vision. From above, everything looks smaller. It is easier to get over something small. You can. I am a victorious soul or I am a destroyer of obstacles are examples of positive consciousness.

Whatever happens, it is important to always be aware that you create your thoughts and you allow the situations to have greater or lesser impact inside you, according to how you see them. Learn to create thoughts full of courage, trust and determination. Spirituality and the practice of meditation helps you do just that. Those thoughts, charged with positive energy, will help you to allow each situation to pass; to really overcome it and leave it behind; for it not to remain alive in your thoughts or in your memory.

With the power of a mind that creates thoughts full of good energy, wherever you go, you will create a pleasant atmosphere. Your vibrations will create spaces full of beauty, love, trust and peacefulness; spaces where all those who enter will remove their masks and will connect again with their true self. 

Message of the day

You'll be able to do your best when you have respect for the tasks that you are involved in. 

Expression: Even the smallest task that you do becomes special when you understand why you are doing it. It then enables you to have respect for whatever you do. When you work with this respect you'll automatically do the best. 

Experience: Check what your feelings are in all the tasks that you are involved in throughout the day. In case you find any task as unimportant don't do it. Also tell yourself at the beginning of the day that today you will take the time to do everything properly. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 27.06.2015

We are normally kind to people who are kind to us. But when someone is not behaving well, we tend to change our attitude, response and behaviour toward that person. We wait for the other person to change before changing ourselves. So we do not find change in others nor in ourselves.

When I see others’ inner qualities I connect to them more easily. I will not be dependent on another person’s behaviour for my own growth today. 

I will see each person’s positive aspects and take them within myself. In this way I will become richer with each interaction.

Soul Sustenance

Crossing Negative Circumstances (Part 2) 

The challenge lies in knowing what the strategy is to learn to live through negative situations without allowing them to influence our emotional and mental state. 

In order to achieve that, in the first place, we should change our interpretation. Instead of interpreting the situation as an obstruction, interference or barrier to our path, we need to change our perception. We can ask ourselves questions like: What has this situation taught me? What does it say to me? Remain detached, observe and listen before reacting immediately. From detachment, observation and listening we can have a more practical and wider perception. 

We are the creators of our realities. Reality, in itself, does not create for us stress, pain or unhappiness. It is our way of looking and interpretation of reality that brings about these reactions. Therefore, we have to review how we perceive situations and with what beliefs we interpret and judge them. Reinterpreting the situation, the concrete reality, implies allowing the old perception to die in order to make room for a new vision. Without the old dying, the new cannot be built correctly. Instead of seeing people or situations as obstacles on the path, we can see them as opportunities to practice patience and tolerance, to know how to listen, thank and love. They allow us to widen our capacity to co-operate and enlarge our heart so that we might be more generous. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message of the day

The power of transformation brings all attainments 

Expression: When there is the ability to transform negative into positive, and waste into useful in a second there is the ability to be useful for the self and others. There would not be just complaints against the situation, but the best would be made out of all situations and move on to the aim set out. 

Experience: When I am able to use the power of transformation to finish negative and waste, I am able to experience being free from obstacles. So I am able to experience contentment under all circumstances for having made the best use of everything available. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 26.06.2015

When someone is complaining about someone else to you, you can:

- change the subject or try to lighten the mood

- stay quiet & not say anything

- step away graciously from the person complaining, without hurting their feelings

- share something positive to change their perception & feelings for the other person

What makes the difference is realising that we don't have to engage in the complaining & add fuel to the negativity.  We can positively influence the person complaining.

Soul Sustenance

Crossing Negative Circumstances (Part 1) 

There are periods of life in which it seems to us that there is someone or something who gets in the way of our path. Circumstances, instead of going in our favor, go against us. They are barriers that make it difficult for us to reach our objectives; they are interruptions that prevent us from feeling satisfied; they are situations that seem to reduce our feelings of success. 

When we find ourselves with these scenes that appear to block our progress towards the aims and objectives that we have set out for ourselves, we tend to have negative thoughts; we feel anger and rage, or we feel sad and unenthusiastic, as if we don't have the strength to either overcome or transform the situation. Rather it is the situation that overcomes or overpowers us and leaves us exhausted. Some people are not prepared for this to happen and put all their strength into fighting the situation. They do so with feelings of anger, revenge and injustice. Often it becomes a process that wastes their energies and leaves them exhausted, without achieving a true solution. 

It is possible to live through situations without them causing such an emotional energy loss. That does not mean that we become cold and insensitive to what happens around us. It is a question of living through situations without drowning into them. If we drown ourselves in them we won't be able to help others or ourselves.We will be lost, like the shipwrecked, at the mercy of the waves, the tides and the winds. We will have lost the control of the steering wheel of our ship – our life. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message of the day

To be free from guilt means to ensure quick and easy progress.

Expression: Blaming oneself for all that happens and taking the mind to extreme levels of guilt takes one to a sense of unworthiness. Such a person loses the strength and is unable to look for solutions in difficult situations. Hence there is nothing new that can be thought of, and the situation doesn't get any better.

Experience: When I continue to blame myself, I believe that I deserver neither happiness nor love and that the sorrow that I am experiencing is a deserved punishment. So I lose all enthusiasm to improve the situation and have no awareness of the treasures that I have. So I experience no progress in my life.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 25.06.2015

Freedom From The Dependency On The New (Part 2) 

In the market, there always appears the novelty (newness) of the same product wrapped differently. There always seems to be a new soft drink, a new kind of chocolate, but they are really the same products as always. The only thing that changes is the packaging and their image. Some children, whenever they go to the market, want the new kinds of biscuits, pastries, etc. They always want new things that then stay in the fridge. We encourage this by telling little children that happiness is stimulation, the new is stimulating, and comes from the outside or you get it from the outside. We create an addiction to the new; in this case, to the newness of the packaging. What kind of newness is that! 

When, in order to be happy, you need to go shopping, you try to fill yourself with something that isn't you. You try to find wholeness by filling your life with material things. A soul who is spiritually awake knows that they are already complete and they do not need to depend on the purchase of something new regularly for feeling full internally. The only effort is in remembering and reconnecting with their whole self, their complete self; reconnecting with their inner treasures of spiritual wisdom, virtues and powers.

Soul Sustenance

The I Inside (Part 3) 

If we continue to love our specialties, our personality or our role for the most part of our life, then over a period of time we forget the real self which is waiting to be recognized. Every time I think I am one of the above, I become more and more disconnected with my real self which is going to give me a more permanent self-esteem or pride and as a result a permanent happiness. The personality skills, the sparkling education success and the way I dress up, these are all temporary because don’t forget life is a roller coaster where success can easily leave me within a short period of time. So, enjoy all of them because even they are attainments and enjoying attainments is not being materialistic or non-spiritual but don’t become dependent on them for your happiness.On the other hand, the source of all the specialties and personality – the real I is a sum total of the basic qualities of the soul – peace, love and joy and all that is good inside which is eternal and also the relationship of the I or myself with a higher source which is also imperishable (un-destroyable) is what I need to be dependent on because it will never leave me. 

Don’t forget, in our earliest births as pure deities, we were extremely skilled, very beautiful and very rich, so much so that everything good that a human being can have physically was with us, yet we were completely detached from all these attainments, enjoying all of them. That too at a time when these attainments were imperishable, because that was the original world, a world of happiness. But, now all these attainments in our life are no longer permanent and can very easily go away from us in a split second because we live in a world which is unpredictable and with many ups and downs. No skill or role has with it the assurance of being permanent. On the other hand, it is the time when the imperishable I is the one which stands by us permanently. So, it is this I the hand of which we need to hold tight permanently and also connect the I with a permanent source – the Supreme Soul and enjoy every moment of life with complete security, surety and safety. 

Message of the day

The ones who see specialities become special. 

Expression: To see specialities and ignore negativity is to take a step ahead by imbibing those specialities. This creates a habit of seeing, taking in and expressing only positive qualities. So whatever the person may be, whatever his qualities may be, there is only a connection of positivity with him. 

Experience: When I am able to relate to everyone in this way with only specialities, I become special. I also find others responding positively to me and using only their speicialities while in contact with me. There are also a lot of good wishes that I receive from others because of my positive attitude. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 24.06.2015

Freedom From The Dependency On The New (Part 1) 

One of the dependencies that the consumer society promotes is dependency on the new. You have a car but today a new, better one is coming out. You have a mobile but the new one on the market today has more features and yours is now obsolete. The same thing happens to the television, MP3 players, DVD players, etc. Today you have some clothes but tomorrow the fashion will be different. We find the need to fill ourselves with more and more. This way an addiction to the new is generated. We get bored quickly and we need something apparently new and different all the time. 

Some people need to buy new clothes all the time because it makes them feel better; they ‘feel’ the newness, is this normal or is it actually an addiction to the new out of boredom, is it discomfort with oneself and the inner need to impress and please others that sometimes some people seem to possess. It is actually living in the superficiality of the pair of jeans or the saree, not in the inner essence of being or soul. It is to use time to distract oneself and not to construct creatively. It’s not as if buying new stuff or going shopping is wrong but when it becomes a dependency, when it becomes a source of boosting your self esteem, that’s a sign that you are going wrong. 

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

The I Inside (Part 2) 

We all are used to seeing ourselves with the spectacles of others’ perceptions which are all based on physical attitudes and clouded by the worldly view. Today, we look at ourselves with a lot of respect for all that we think is good in us and based on what others tell us about us. And then, suddenly someone criticizes us and we become depressed and lose our mood to the other person’s perception. All this because we have learnt to identify with things other than the real I. Suppose I identify with what specialties I possess e.g. I am a good debater (speaker) and this specialty has bought me a whole lot of praises from people around me all through my academic career. Over a period of time people start praising you regularly for that and the identification gets stronger. Identification means losing yourself in the object of your attachment so much that you completely forget that this is not the real you. In this case, the skill of debating (speaking) with confidence is a characteristic which I possess, which can easily lose its importance if I don’t get an opportunity to express it as I become older or am out of school or college. So, what happened to the object of my attachment with which I identified myself? Suddenly it gets back at me and the same object starts giving me sorrow if the praise that I am used to receiving because of it is no longer available. In this situation, wouldn’t it have been better that I shouldn’t have attached myself so much to this characteristic in the first place. The more the identification, the more the sorrow experienced. 

So, a simple way of not experiencing sorrow in the above case is being happy and feeling lucky for what we possess but at the same time keeping a relationship of detachment with the characteristic of how we express ourselves through our words and deliver our ideas through our voice. A relationship of detachment means not losing myself in the characteristic but playing my role with it and even keeping a pure pride that I possess the characteristic which can also be called self-esteem, but at the same time not get over-awed or over self-impressed by the characteristic. That would lead to a healthier relationship with my attainment, which if it is reduced or is lessened by any chance or not praised any more as much as before, it will not harm my self-esteem and give me unhappiness at any point of time. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message of the day

To be victorious means to pass obstacles with ease. 

Expression: The ones who aim to become victorious never think of not being faced with obstacles. Instead they look at each obstacle as a chance to use and express their own inner powers. So there is constant progress visible in them. 

Experience: When I am prepared for the inevitable challenges that life brings, I will not experience fear, tension or anxiety but will always be confident and fearless. Apart from actually being victorious in the situation, I also experience winning over my weaknesses and discovering new powers within me. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 23.06.2015

When someone disbelieves us, we usually argue back and try to prove our point. Yet we find that the more we talk, the less people listen. Unable to convince them, we end up frustrated. 

Instead, when someone challenges the truth of my words, I should think about whether they might be right. Rather than stubbornly clinging to my point of view, I could embrace this as an opportunity to learn. Even if I am correct in my thinking, if I become able to understand someone else's point of view without getting angry or refusing to listen, I become tolerant.

Soul Sustenance

The I Inside (Part 1) 

We all live our lives at a fast pace, finishing one scene and entering the next one after forgetting the first scene and sometimes carrying its memories into the second one. But have we wondered or stopped to ask ourselves that is our identity which we use to perform our actions one of our profession or role or how we look or dress up or carry ourselves or for that matter our gender or the country or caste which we belong to? When we use the term self-identity, two words come to our mind – one is what we call self or me or I and the other is identifying with what i.e. I, the self, am identifying with what? Very often I am identifying with what I am not or what I seem to be but I am not in reality. The looks and the personality as well as the education are acquired but what I am really is what I am before I learn my education and shape up into the features that I have. You might say that this is an old story of spirituality, but what we need to train ourselves from today to do is to start seeing ourselves in the mirror of spirituality and start observing the real I or me – the one that is invisible to the physical eyes but is the core of what we call ourselves – human beings. As in a coconut, the softer inner surface or the core or center is what gives us strength whereas the hard exterior is what is not eaten or is lesser important. 

People who are used to the common practice of seeing in the physical mirror before starting their day are reminded of so many physical characteristics mentioned above that they forget that behind the acquired exterior is a non-visible interior that also requires cleaning up and being dressed up. This is because that is what comes into contact with people’s hearts – people whom we meet everyday, and also it is the inner face that will impress people after they have temporarily been impressed by the clothes we wear and how beautiful we are. After all it is the smile that is more important than the shirt. What use is a good looking suit if the person wearing the suit is egoistic and jealousy filled? Living life in the essence of the inner self is the way of reaching out to others with love and compassion and remaining contented yourself also. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

Message of the day

Concentration develops when the intellect is clean and clear.

Expression: For the one whose intellect continues to wander, concentration becomes difficult or impossible. On the other hand, for the one who is focused on one thing there are no other distractions at that time and there is easy concentration.

Experience: When I am able to remain focused, I am not troubled by distractions which lessen my concentration. Instead I am able to increase my discrimination power and am able to decide and judge well. This happens because my intellect becomes clean and gets cleared of waste.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 22.06.2015

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time (Part 2) 

In yesterday’s message, we had mentioned the main type of distractions that you might face in your journey to the destination of peace. The secret of not getting affected by each of these distractions is very simple –do not interact with any of them on a subtle level by giving them your mental energy of attention, but avoid them, detach yourself from them, just observe them and let them go, remaining completely focused on reaching your destination. 

Imagine you are driving to your office on the highway and you are very late. There are a large number of different vehicles which you pass, either travelling in the same direction as you are or coming at you from the opposite side. You are even familiar with a lot of these people sitting inside these vehicles, because you see them every day, but you don’t even spare a second to glance at them because if you did you would lose your focus and be delayed, you would fail to reach your destination, your office in this case, on time. Meditation is exactly like this. Just as you cannot empty the highway full of vehicles, because you are in a hurry to reach office, you cannot empty the highway of your consciousness of all thoughts, emotions, beliefs, worries, opinions, desires, memories etc. some of which are even very familiar to you, just because you want to get to the destination of your inner peace. Let all of these, like the vehicles, come and go, but all you have to do is avoid them and focus on reaching your destination on time. It's as if, by the way you are driving, your body language, in this case the subtle energy of your determined thought, word has spread through the highway of your consciousness that you will not be sparing a second to even glance at any one of these on your way. If with a momentary loss of self-awareness, you do start giving attention to them, and you get lost in one of them, remind yourself subconsciously, "I am on my way back to the destination of peace, peace that I am." This will help you regain your focus and before you know it, you will realize you have arrived; you will experience your destination i.e. the peace within, and will completely believe that you are that. And it will be the most blissful experience that you have felt in a very long time.

Soul Sustenance

The Relationship Between The Soul And The Body

Human being means the consciousness, the soul or being (living energy), experiencing life through the physical body, the human (non-living). The body is perishable and temporary, whereas the soul is eternal and without physical dimension. • The soul is the driver; the body is the car. • The soul is the actor; the body is its costume. • The soul is a diamond; the body is the jewelry box. • The soul is the musician; the body is the instrument. • The soul is the guest; the body is the hotel. • The soul is the deity; the body is the temple. I can use a knife to chop vegetables. I can use the same knife to kill someone. The knife neither decides (outwards) nor experiences (inwards), but can be washed easily under water. Now look at the fingers which held the knife. They neither decide nor experience the actions. They too can be washed under water. It's easy to realize that the knife is an instrument, but it is more difficult to realize that the fingers as well as the arms are instruments too. The legs are instruments for walking, the eyes for seeing, the ears for hearing, the mouth for speaking, the tongue for tasting, the heart for pumping food and oxygen (via blood) around the body, and so on. Even the brain is an instrument used like a computer to express all thought, word and action programs through the body and to experience the results. If every physical part of the body is an instrument, who or what is it that is using this instrument? Very simply it is I, the self, the soul. The soul uses the word I for itself and the word mywhen referring to the body; my hands, my eyes, mybrain, etc. I am different from my body. 

Message of the day

To have tolerance means to be stable. 

Expression: When one is faced with defamation or insult, tolerance gives the power to be stable and cool. And so there is the ability to smile even when there is negativity that comes. Tolerance means to see beyond the insults because of being stable in the stage of self-respect. 

Experience: When faced with criticism, if I am able to be stable in my stage of self-respect, I am able to learn from every negative remark that comes my way. I will never become defensive, but will be able to see clearly what new learning I could take. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 21.06.2015

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time (Part 1) 

The objective of meditation has always been reaching the destination of inner peace. The process of meditation is like a journey to that destination, which many human souls have undertaken since thousands of years. After a life and in fact many lifetimes of indulging in habits of anger, fear, ego, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, greed etc. all of which blocked our access to this inner pure emotion and made us believe that these are normal emotions, believing completely that our true nature is peaceful, which is an experience opposite to all these; might seem difficult at first. Only our own experience can lead to a change in our deeply held beliefs, which then makes it easy for us to incorporate peace as an integral part of our personality. 

As you dive into you own consciousness, with the objective of searching for and reaching your subtle destination of inner peace, you will encounter some distractions in your journey. Some of the most important of such distractions include: 

* thoughts in the form of negative memories of the past; over-thinking about the present scenes and day-to-day actions in your life; desires, worries and unnecessary thinking related to the future, waste thinking about the natures and actions of people whom we come into contact with the most, etc. 

* the inner, subtle voices of the many incorrect beliefs, which we have picked up from people by whom we have been surrounded since we were small; 

* thoughts and emotions related to deep habits of identifying with and getting attached to things we are not, like the physical body, material possessions, people, our role in society, money, places, opinions or viewpoints, hobbies or interests etc. 

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Soul Sustenance

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 4) 

The third mirror is the mirror of your own thoughts, words and actions – What you think and feel about yourself and others is invisible to others and only you know what it is. But you radiate your thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes through your facial expressions, your eyes, your words, your body language and your actions when you interact with others. That way your words and your actions act as a mirror in which to see yourself.You achieve this when you are a detached observer and you become aware of your responses, your reactions and how you express what arises from within you. This awareness of being an observer needs to be maintained sub-consciously throughout the day and consciously in the night by filling a daily chart before sleeping, on any three personality traits of your choice. Your main weaknesses or strengths you want to enhance should be included in the chart. We have explained the different types of traits that can be covered in a daily chart in our older messages. You could either evaluate these personality traits with a yes or no or perform a percentage wise evaluation like 50% or 80% for e.g. So it is a good practice to look into this mirror once in the night, before sleeping. This mirror will give you a review of the day that has gone by and make you careful for the next day. The daily chart is useful for this purpose. Filling a daily chart does not take more than a few seconds. 

Finally and most importantly, always do remember that those who use these three mirrors actively and use them well to ensure that their internal self looks good and beautiful all the time become living mirrors for others. People who come in contact with them are able to see accurately what their internal self looks like. On seeing how beautiful and perfect they are, other people quickly realize their shortcomings or weaknesses and also take inspiration to become as beautiful, clean and virtuous beings as them. 

Message of 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 of the day 20.06.2015

Ending The Day In The Presence Of God (Part 2)

Inspite of the fact that the Supreme Soul already knows whatever I have done right through the day on a physical as well as on a non-physical level; there is immense benefit in meditating for a few minutes, before going to bed at night. It is wise that before I sleep, I have a face-to-face meeting with the Supreme and I become a child, become humble, and put my entire day with obedience, transparency, loyalty and love; before the Supreme. In this stage of transparency, I definitely receive a response from God, which may be in the form of a thought vibration immediately or as soon as I get up from sleep or through some other medium the next day, when I read something positive the next morning or may be in the form of a loved one at home or even a friend or colleague at office, who may become instruments used by the Supreme to communicate with me. The Supreme Being has His ways of responding to your act of honesty and love of sharing the day's happenings with Him.

He is the Ocean of Truth and His response will be one which is filled with the light of truth or wisdom which I make use of, to illuminate the path or road of my life. Using this light, I'll find I am helped to see clearly where there has been progress, and where I failed, with accurate judgment, so that I learn. God, the Supreme Companion or Friend or Beloved is with me, wanting to lead me to my destination of perfection. I want to fulfill my side of the relationship with Him, so His light will help me recognize where I must change, and what I must do to make corrections to any damage for which I have been responsible. Where my actions have been positive and right, the subtle blessings of 'well done child' that I receive from Him, will make me aware that the strength behind these actions came from my relationship with the Him - He is permanently and was my back-bone right through the day. Then there will be neither worry (due to mistakes committed by me) nor laziness or complacency (due to positive actions done by me), but only love and contentment in my dreams. If I do not surrender the day's happenings to Him in this way, although He loves me and is concerned for me, He might and will most probably remain detached and not guide me in any way.

Soul Sustenance

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 3) 

In the last two days’ messages, we have explained the first mirror for inner beauty. 

The second mirror is the mirror of meditation – In the silence of meditation which is a connection or the experience of a relationship with the inner self and the Supreme Soul, each day you come close to and dive deep into both of them. When you create powerful, positive thoughts about the self and you also visualize your true spiritual self, you feel and experience your true virtuous being, what you are - radiant and free of all influences. That experience helps you to see yourself as you really are and in contrast to how you are now. Perhaps you feel peaceless, disturbed and dejected today, but by creating thoughts of peace and contentment in meditation you quickly realize that in reality that is your true nature. In that way, it serves as a mirror for self realization and checking and changing. When you visualize the Supreme Soul during meditation and experience His virtues, it helps you to see and quickly realize yourself in contrast to Him and make the required changes in yourself because the child should reflect the qualities of the Father. 

So a good practice then is to look into this mirror and check yourself once in the morning before the day’s activities and once before sleeping for 10 minutes each time. Also, since this is the most powerful mirror, it is extremely vital to carry this mirror with you throughout the day and check yourself in it for one minute after every hour. This may sound too much time given to the inner self to many, but all of us are aware that like an untidy, unkempt external self is not pleasing to the self and does not create a favorable impression on those who come in contact with us, in the same way that applies to the inner self also. So one minute spent in looking into this mirror and doing some self-introspection and checking and changing will keep us looking good for the next fifty nine minutes and if we do mess up internally during those fifty nine minutes, then corrections can be made quickly in the next one minute break – it’s as simple as that. 

(To be continued tomorrow ….) 

Message of the day

The one who is aware of one's fortune enables others to experience their fortune too. 

Expression: To be aware of one's own fortune means to appreciate and use all that one has. Also when there is the awareness of one's own fortune, there is a natural tendency to help people become aware of what they have and how they can benefit from it. So the one who is fortunate becomes a giver. 

Experience: When I am able to recognize my own fortune, I am able to have the joy of being a giver constantly. Whatever the circumstances, I am able to give knowing that I am fortunate. But never is there dependency created on me, because my help is to make them aware of their fortune too and make them independent. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 19.06.2015

Ending The Day In The Presence Of God (Part 1)

On a physical level, there is complete transparency in a parent-child relationship. When a child is born to a mother and father and the parents see the child for the first time, the child is completely bare. As the child grows in the canopy of the parents, the parents see and know everything about the child, not only in a physical way, but also the child's personality or nature right from childhood. Sometimes, there are certain things about the child that even the child himself does not have an awareness of, but the parents are aware of the same. So, in short, there is nothing that the child can hide from the parents. 

In the same way, the Supreme Being, who is a permanent resident of the soul world, has seen from that world, each soul right from the time when it was completely bare or bodiless residing in the soul world with Him, to the time when it took its first physical costume or body on earth and then changed many costumes in the process of birth and rebirth. He not only knows the soul's original sanskaras, which were there in the soul in the soul world, but also each and every costume that the soul wore. He also knows every soul's different relationships while wearing each and every costume; every thought, word or action created while wearing each and every costume and the different personality traits or sanskaras of the soul while wearing each and every costume. That is on an unlimited level. On a limited level, there is no doubt that the Supreme Soul who is the Supreme Parent of all human souls and is said to possess a thousand eyes; very well knows the mental, emotional and physical activity of the complete day of each soul. Thus, there is nothing that is hidden about the soul from this Parent. 

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 2) 

In yesterday's message, we had discussed the first mirror, the mirror of spiritual knowledge. Elaborating further, this mirror will also show you the Supreme Soul and it will remind you about His virtues and actions which will help you check where you stand in comparison to Him in terms of virtues and actions and will influence you to follow him by imbibing those virtues and performing actions in the similar way. Lastly this mirror will remind you of your relationship with the Supreme and forging a deep and personal connection with Him in different ways which will benefit you and others. 

The knowledge read every morning will help you see and realize what mistakes you have committed in the last 24 hours while performing actions and also in maintaining a connection with the Supreme and also see what you have done positively in the same regard during the same time, which will encourage you further to do the same in the future. The mirror of knowledge will also help you remain careful for the day ahead and perform actions and experience a relationship with the Supreme based on what you have read. It is a common experience of a lot of people that the spiritual knowledge read in the morning is always what the need of the moment for them is. The spiritual knowledge read is very commonly an exact reflection of the activities and mental state of your last 24 hours and/or something which you require for the coming day for the self, for your relationships, for facing different types of obstacles in your personal and professional life. This is the Law of Spiritual Attraction that works in each one's life, but to different extents. Our consciousness and inner requirements attract towards us the spiritual knowledge of a similar nature. 

(To be continued tomorrow ….) 

Message of the day

To be careless means to misuse specialities. 

Expression: To be careless means that there is no awareness of one's specialitites and so there is the inability to use them for the benefit of the self and for the good of others. On the other hand there is also a tendency to become overconfident because of these specialities and not to work on self -transformation. The one who is careless is not able to recognize the need for self change and so is not able to bring about transformation. 

Experience: When I am able to be free from carelessness, I am able to understand the importance of the specialities that I have , and am able to use a particular speciality that I have , and am able to put them into use. So I find that the more I am able to use a particular speciality that I have, the more I am able to bring out and use the latent specialities that are within me. So I am able to experience quick transformation and constant progress. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thought of the day 18.06.2015

Good Morning! What are your first thoughts when you wake up in the morning? Scattered, random...? Are you complaining, mapping out the day...?  

Our first morning thoughts set the tone for the day.  So don't overlook your morning thoughts.  Notice them as you brush your teeth or take a shower.  

If they're negative or unhelpful, curb them or turn them around.

Think positive, motivating, empowering thoughts and start the day right.

Soul Sustenance

The Three Mirrors For Inner Beauty (Part 1) 

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? are famous words. To check our external beauty or tidiness, we look into the mirror on the wall each day. But on a mental, emotional and spiritual level, what is the mirror that helps you to see if there is anything wrong with your inner face or self or to realize what is happening to you and what you have to do to maintain your inner fairness or beauty? 

There are three types of mirrors, which one can use to see or check the internal self: 

The first mirror is the mirror of spiritual knowledge – Spiritual knowledge is the knowledge related to spiritual self-development i.e. of the soul and also of the Supreme Soul. Each day, in the morning, you can look into this mirror for 5 minutes at least.Looking into this mirror means listening to or reading a piece of spiritual knowledge for at least 5 minutes that connects you to your inner essence, increases your emotional and spiritual intelligence as well as reminds you of your true purpose. 

You will see yourself very clearly in this mirror as this mirror will show you:
- the knowledge of the original and ideal virtues of the soul like peace, love, bliss, purity, power, joy etc.;
- how these virtues can be imbibed in the self to benefit the self and others;
- the knowledge of the different types of weaknesses that can arise in the soul like anger, greed, ego, hatred, fear, attachment, jealousy, sorrow, etc., the roots of all which lie in mis-identification with the physical self and forgetting the spiritual self and how these weaknesses can harm the self and others; 
- the knowledge of overcoming these weaknesses. 

All of these things which you see in the mirror will help you to check where you stand in comparison to the right code of conduct for thoughts, feelings, attitudes, emotions, words and actions, where you are going wrong and how you can make the required corrections in the same. On looking into this mirror you will be reminded of the Law ofKarma (the Law of Action and Reaction), which will motivate you to make these corrections. 

(To be continued tomorrow ….) 

Message of the day

The habit of thinking positive finishes negative. 

Expression: Just as it has become a habit of thinking negative, a positive habit when created will naturally bring about a change. A little practice and attention to form a habit of thinking positive will reveal its result of creating an influence of positivity. The situations will not change on their own, but the habit that has been formed will bring about a change in the response and will change the situation too. 

Experience: Usually it becomes very difficult or sometimes impossible for me to think positive in difficult situations. At that time, although I want to, the response that emerges from within is based on the habit that is formed previously. So when I make the habit of constantly and consciously thinking positive, I then become free from the struggle of having to change my mind to positive in difficult situations. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris