Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 28.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 28-11-2017
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A Journey To Happiness Or A Journey Of Happiness (Part 2)?

It is worth wondering that obstacles on the life journey can be temporary obstructions in our achievements, but not obstructions in our happiness. Only then the journey of life will be a journey of happiness and not a journey to happiness. One of the most important ways of remaining happy during the journey with many challenges co-existing at the same time is increasing the wealth of our thinking. The right type of thinking will make us happy even if there are unfinished tasks or goals or life events which we are keenly anticipating to get over. Raise the bar of your thinking on a challenging day and see how rich and full you feel internally. This will make you pure happiness conscious and not challenge conscious and also not date conscious, the date when the challenge will be overcome which you waiting to see unfold in front of your eyes. The source of rich thinking is a choice for you to make. You can make a good selection, you can choose the message that we send you everyday and feed that source every day to your mind before leaving for work or starting any day-long activity which keeps you occupied.

Also, have you heard the story of the woodcutter who used to work very hard the whole day but used to not cut much by the end of the day without realizing the reason for the same. This went on for many days until one fine day someone suggested to him that why don’t you sharpen your axe? He did that and his tiring days got over. Likewise we go on and on the whole day in search of different life purposes without ever sparing a thought that our axe which is our strengths, specialties and skills, needs to be sharpened. Not a single day should pass without experiencing our strengths, positives and special personality traits including our unique talents. You might wonder how we will experience these? The path is simple – by bringing them into practical action. This will make you fuller. But along with that, both - the practical application of these unique positives inside you and the pure happiness due to the high self-esteem experienced as a result of that, will make it easier to fulfill your ambitions faster.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 28-11-2017
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The method to finish waste thoughts is to deal with the mind with love.

Expression:When there are waste thoughts in the mind which one tries to stop, it becomes difficult to do that. There is discomfort and difficulty experienced. On the other hand, when the mind is taught to take the right direction with love, there is a quick and dramatic change.

Experience: When I learn the art of speaking to my mind with love, I am able to free myself from waste thoughts without any feelings of suppression. Concentration too becomes easy and all thoughts are directed towards the right direction.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 27.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 27-11-2017
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A Journey To Happiness Or A Journey Of Happiness (Part 1)? 

We commonly express the following incorrect words in our everyday interactions - Wait till I achieve this particular goal, whether it be a promotion, success in a particular exam, marriage, retirement, a birth of a child or an end of a difficult situation and I will be happy. Why are all of these incorrect words? Aren’t these all life is all about? Isn’t calling all of them incorrect unnatural? Try remembering a single moment in your life without these and you will be left wondering. It is important to realize the futility of waiting for goals to be achieved and then becoming happy. So it is good to introspect that is it a journey to happinessor is it a journey of happiness? The wait for happiness is futile because one goal is followed by another challenge; the challenge is followed by another unexpected phase, leaving us without any moments to experience our desired happiness amidst so many uncomfortable pressure points. 

Happiness can be defined as a state of being created, while working towards a goal, not a feeling to be experienced after achieving the goal. This is simply because life is a journey with a series of goals, sometimes one after the other and sometimes with two or even more than two goals co-existing with each other. So should one anxiously wait for the goals to be achieved or should one take the wait for goals to be achieved, in one’s stride accepting it as an integral part of our life journey. For very long, we have associated happiness with achievement and this has become an integral part of our modern day belief system, as the speed of life has become faster and more challenging with each day. We suggest a change in this ideology and associate happiness with experiencing each day – (i) experiencing creative ideas (ii) experiencing your strengths, specialties and skills by bringing them in action. (iii) experiencing beautiful relationships with the self, with God and with others. (iv) experiencing goodness and beautiful virtues and giving others the experience of the same. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 27-11-2017
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Self-respect brings constant learning and an experience of success. 

Expression:Where there is self-respect, there is naturally a positive and elevated state of mind. There is openness and enthusiasm to bring about progress in one’s life. Everything that is done is towards this end. So, the one with self-respect naturally reveals one’s speciality in all thoughts, words and actions. 

Experience: When I am able to maintain my own state of self-respect, I am able to enjoy the beauty that life brings. I’m able to understand, accept and make use of all situations in the right way. So, whatever the situation may be, for me there is a constant experience of progress. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 26.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 26-11-2017
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The Location Of The Soul Inside The Body 

The soul has the following basic functions to perform: 

- to give life to the body and to maintain life inside it,
- to express and experience its role through the body, and
- to receive the rewards or fruits of past actions performed in previous births, through the body.

These functions are controlled and monitored by the soul via the nervous and hormonal systems from a particular point in the area of the brain which contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary and pineal glands. This region is known as the seat of the soul, or the third eye. The connection between the physical (body) and the non-physical (soul) is by the medium of thought energy. Many religions and philosophies place great importance on the third eye, or eye of the mind. When viewed from the front, this region appears to be between and slightly above the line of the eyebrows. It's for this reason that Hindus use a tilak, a dot in red or sandalwood paste in the middle of the forehead. Christians also make the sign of the cross in this region. Even when one makes a mistake or expresses tiredness it's to this region that we put the hands in the gestures of self-dismay or exhaustion. After all the soul subconsciously knows that it makes the mistakes and not the body. When people are concentrating deeply in thought it is this area of the forehead where creases or lines are formed on the skin. 

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Message for the day 26-11-2017
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The power of determination brings all thoughts into practice. 

Expression:There are a lot of thoughts that come into the mind that should come into practice immediately. These thoughts come according to the demands of time or according to the kind of people that one comes into contact with. But the only way to bring all these thoughts into practice is to use the power of determination. Where there is determination there is the commitment to use all the resources for the realisation of that thought. 

Experience: When I am able to use the power of determination, I am able to realise my inner potential and use it in the right way. So I am able to experience constant progress, because all my thoughts are for my own self progress and all these thoughts naturally come into practice. I never give up anything with temporary setbacks but am able to do everything for the constant progress of the self. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 25.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 25-11-2017
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Let’s Co-operate, Not Compete 

True co-operation means extending unconditional support to everyone in every situation, with a feeling of belongingness and an intention of empowerment. It strengthens our original qualities of humility, love, compassion and empathy, thereby helping us overcome negative sanskars of ego, jealousy, resentment and competition. Co-operation often does not need us to do anything, we just need to be our self - calm and stable. Our vibrations give co-operation and support to ease people around us and make those moments a beautiful experience for them. Our vibrations help them to emerge their divinity in response to situations. 

Co-operation is an antidote to Competition. Many of us have lived with the belief that life is a competition. We created stress, anger, jealousy, hatred and at time had to compromise on our ethics to get ahead of people. Let us internalize and finalize today - we are not in competition with anyone. Each one receives a result of their past and present karmas. Each one is getting what is fair for them. We can enhance our achievements only in reference to our self not in reference to others. When we co-operate or help someone we experience enormous satisfaction and contentment, increasing soul power. We also earn blessings from the person who received our co-operation. If we reject people because our sanskars or opinions differ, our energy of love, sharing and caring gets blocked. Whenever we co-operate let us check our intention behind the act - whether we expect to get something in return. If so, the energy of cooperation gets adulterated with the energy of greed. Also, we need to check for ego or a feeling of being superior to the person who receives our co-operation. Ego dilutes the energy. By accepting and adjusting with different sanskars, by sharing and caring, we are radiating pure vibrations into the world. Our vibrations are influencing the collective consciousness of the world. When we change, the world changes. 

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Message for the day 25-11-2017
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Love creates the right environment for others' positive growth. 

Expression:Where there is love, a natural environment for others' growth is created. Love gives the ability to perceive the positivity in others and gives the encouragement to others to bring about that positivity and use it for the benefit of the self and others. 

Experience: When I have love for others, along with perceiving their specialities, I am also able to recognise and use my specialities and inner powers more and more. Knowing and using these specialities is naturally for the benefit of those around me. This gives me an inner experience of power which makes me a constant giver and a support for those around me. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 24.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 24-11-2017
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Choose Your Actions Right (Part 3) 

4. Good and bad actions are both prevalent in society. It is worth wondering that while performing different actions in life, do we ever stop to think that how many of our actions are positive or good and how many are negative or bad. E.g. You have visited your office today and met lots of people over there in your work sphere. Everyone you meet, you share something different with them at the level of thoughts and feelings as well as at the level of words and actions. With some people, you share more qualities, with some you are just neutral and with some others you can be negative. So, in the middle of this, do you review your actions everyday and then make corrections for the future. First, the knowledge of good and bad is important and then based on that knowledge, your actions begin to get shaped accordingly.This is what should be our homework for everyday, because we are all students and our teacher is we ourselves.

5. We are all spiritual travelers also and we are carrying sanskaras of everything we do today into our next births, into the future. Do we want to carry a lot of baggage of incorrect and bad sanskaras due to negative actions or do we want to travel light with lots of blessings received from good and correct actions is our choice. We do not take our relationships, our physical body, our wealth or even our roles into our next birth. All these change when we leave this physical body. What remains is our sanskaras, which we get filled with, based on our actions. Positive actions will fill us with positive sanskaras and negative actions with negative sanskaras. And if our sanskaras are positive and beautiful, we will get a beautiful and healthy body, perfect relationships, lots of wealth and very nice roles to play in our next life or birth.

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Message for the day 24-11-2017
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The one who is calm and cool is the one who makes the right decisions. 

Expression:The natural nature of the human mind is to come under pressure and tension during negative situations. When there is a challenging situation, there is naturally the tendency to find it difficult to maintain an inner state of calm. But the one who has the ability to go within and find the inner calm is able to be clear in thinking and is able to make the right decisions. 

Experience: When I am able to experience the inner state of calm, I am able to be clear in my thinking. With this clarity I find the right decisions and solutions emerging very naturally within my mind. I will never have the difficulty of having to make decisions, but all decisions are made with ease and they are right too. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 23.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 23-11-2017
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Choose Your Actions Right (Part 2) 

2. Good actions and negative actions are two sides of the same coin of life. The more our life is full of positive and nice actions, the more happier and lighter we will feel. Very often people who are unhappy and discontent with life are ones who have a negative past of bad actions, either in this life or previous lives. Also, the more we perform positive actions now, the more we become important mediums to radiate goodness in the world, which is like our true religion and duty given to us by God. Do we live our life only for ourselves or do we fulfill this task of – Be nice and spread niceness, be positive and spread positivity? It’s worth asking ourselves. So positivity does not remain hidden and positivity should be shared with others. This is a beautiful benefit of performing good actions. Bad actions on the other hand make us loose respect in society, in our own eyes and in the eyes of God, as we inspire other people towards negativity instead of goodness. 

3. Good actions are the original actions of the world. As the world has become older, negativity of various types through the mediums of lust, anger, ego, greed, attachment, hatred, jealousy, revenge and many other negative emotions has become prevalent. The original good men and women of the world were not under the influence of all these negative emotions. That is why there is a saying in the world that God made man in His own image. The original goodness of the world is a reflection of God’s nature and today’s negativity is a reflection of the Devil or Ravana as they say. The Devil or Ravana is nothing but our weaknesses which are inside us.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 23-11-2017
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To pay constant attention towards positivity is to be free from tension. 

Expression:To pay attention means not to think, speak or do anything waste, negative or even ordinary. The one who keeps attention in this way and also allows no negativity from outside to go within, is always free from tension. There is also the proper use of everything that is available. 

Experience: When I am able to pay constant attention and also use the inner treasures within for a positive purpose, there is the use of the inner potential. When there is the recognition and use of this potential within in this way, negativity finishes; just as sunshine finishes darkness. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 22.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 22-11-2017
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Choose Your Actions Right (Part 1) 

Life is a beautiful journey with a number of twists and turns and it brings with it different scenes in which our ability to face them with strength and stability is tested. This is because uncertainties in life are immense and challenges in life are to be overcome regularly. A negative situation in our present life is a sign of an incorrect action or actions performed in past lives or in this life. Also, good actions performed at the present moment of time will nullify the influence of these negative actions of the past and help reduce the sorrow or discontentment that they might cause.What are good actions and what are negative actions and how can we differentiate the two? Let’s look at their meaning in this message.

1. Good actions are those actions which are based on the original qualities of the soul – peace, joy, love, bliss, purity, power and wisdom. On the other hand, any action which takes us away from these qualities at the level of the personality or sanskarasis a negative action. Let’s say, today my office colleague is angry with me and I have lost my temper back at him. After becoming angry, how do I feel? I feel a lack of peace, love and joy and I also know that my action lacks wisdom. In the same manner, today I have been very egoistic and shown false pride while talking and behaving with others. In such a case, I can never feel powerful because the one with false pride will also feel insulted easily, if someone talks negatively about him or her. Also, the one with ego is bitter and critical, which is a sign of lack of love and wisdom.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 22-11-2017
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The virtues of honesty and courage bring success. 

Expression:The one who is courageous is never deterred by challenges, but moves on towards success. Combined with courage, is the virtue of honesty which allows one to be consistent, sincere and true in the efforts put in. So success comes with proper effort and there is also humility visible in such a person. 

Experience: When I am courageous, but at the same time honest in my efforts that I put in for achieving success, I'll never have ego. I will be able to get the cooperation and good will of all, and especially the protection and the help of God. I will find myself moving slowly towards success with everything I do. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 21.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 21-11-2017
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Benefits Of Realizing The Law Of Action 

Suppose a person from India goes to America for the first time and rents a car over there. He then parks his rented car on the wrong side of the road. He will be charged a fine because parking laws are different in both countries. He cannot simply say I didn’t know, I am ignorant. It should have been his responsibility, if driving, to find out the laws of the new country but he didn’t take enough care. 

In ignorance, we have done many things against the universal laws of creation – especially the Law of Karma. We did not have the complete knowledge of what are good/bad karmas, what are right/wrong karmas; what different types of effects different karmas would have on me, others and nature. But we cannot just say I didn't know. It was our responsibility to know. If we look at the state of the world now, there may be a few sparks of light or spiritual enlightenment but, generally, there is a great amount of darkness. That gives us an indication of the sorts of karmas the vast majority of us have been performing, due to ignorance, to have produced the situations or circumstances in the world. 

The complete knowledge of the karmicprocess, which we learn when we are introduced to spirituality, helps us:

• reduce the burden of the past
• remove any type of suffering or sorrow in our present life
• change our future as well as that of the world, to make it better and more positive
• experience a positive return from our spiritual efforts
• understand all the why’s, how’s, what’s and when’s which surround our life 

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Message for the day 21-11-2017
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The one who is open to learning always finds an opportunity to learn and change. 

Expression:Life has plenty of opportunities for the one who wants to learn. Each situation and person that comes one's way is an instrument for a new learning. Constant learning brings about a deep internal change and progress in one's life. 

Experience: When I am able to learn from all that happens, I am able to be content for both what I have learnt and the change that I have been able to bring about. This contentment also keeps me enthusiastic and my mind open for further learning. I naturally become an embodiment of what I have learnt. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 20.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 20-11-2017
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Leading A Stress-Free Life

Till about 20 years ago, the word stresswas only a term in Science. It was not a part of our conversations to refer to our state of mind. Even during those years we worked as hard as we are working today, situations were equally challenging as they are today. Yet we never said I feel stressed. Slowly we started using it commonly as an emotion to describe our state of mind. We like to say that we are stressed, as an indicator that we are working very hard, even going above and beyond our regular duties. Let us check our understanding about stress. We are originally happy, peaceful and powerful beings. Stress is a result of our creation of wrong thoughts. It is an emotional pain that indicates that something in us needs to change. But seeing everyone around us also going through stress, we tend to believe that experiencing a little stress is fine, natural, obvious and common in today's times. That is not true. Stress has an impact on our physical and emotional well-being. It impacts our efficiency, memory, decision making ability and reduces our performance. Hence, any amount of stress is damaging.

In Science, Stress is equal to Pressure divided by Resilience.
Applying it in our lives:
Pressure = Our Situations (like targets, deadlines, exams, goals, issues in health, relationships)
Resilience = Our Inner Strength (like purity, peace, power, happiness, bliss, wisdom, love)
Therefore Stress is equal to Our Situations divided by Our Inner Strength.

So when we increase inner strength, we reduce stress. We become stable, peaceful and happy beings. But when our inner strength is low, even a small pressure creates high stress. Our first responsibility in any situation is to take charge of our state of mind by increasing inner strength. It is the only entity in our control and not the situation, and gives us the power to face any situation.

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Message for the day 20-11-2017
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The one who is responsible is the one who is always light.

Expression:To be resposnsible means to do everything with the best of one's ability. It comes with the recognition and the understanding of the importance of the task. No action is wasted, but everything meaningfully connects to the fulfillment of the task. So there are not even ordinary actions, but only those that are meaningful.

Experience: When I take up every task that I need to do with full responsibility, I am able to give my best. Then I will be able to be light having done my task well and in time. There is never the pressure of work, but there is plenty of time for the self and for others. I also find my inner resources being used to the fullest extent.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 19.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 19-11-2017
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Enjoying My Stay Inside The Physical Body 

An interesting comparison to understand clearly the relationship between the soul and the body is that the soul is the resident of a house or an apartment which is the physical body. It's the awareness of who is the resident living, which is separate from where he is living. I need to realize, that like a resident of a house cannot be the house; he does not and cannot identify with the place in which he resides; in much the same way, I am not my body, the place in which I reside, but I am a resident. A resident of a physical house may or may not stay in the house for 24 hours, depending on his/her role. But I, as a spiritual resident of this physical body spend all my time inside it, in fact a complete lifetime, then I move in to another house or apartment. Since I spend so much time inside it, I need to maintain the body, take care of its upkeep and the kind of physical and spiritual atmosphere that exists inside it. When I keep it clean, fresh and vibrant, only then can I live in it comfortably. 

Do not forget, there's plenty of rubbish and dirt waiting to enter the apartment. My apartment's windows are my eyes and ears, through which rubbish can come in. This rubbish can be in the form of negative information, scenes, images and words. Rubbish dirties the resident, in this case my consciousness, taking me away from my true, positive, spiritual state. My nose, facing outwards, is like the front door of my apartment: it's the first part of me that faces the world. If harsh winds of difficult circumstances blow, and I don’t know how to protect myself, I will catch a cold or fall sick i.e. my front door will be harmed and I’ll become vulnerable. The living room of the apartment is my tongue which makes the first impression on anyone, whether it be positive or negative. There will be constant attacks on our windows, doors, living room, etc. But if I am aware and alert, I will keep my house in order. If any rubbish does get in, I need to soon clean it out again, so that the atmosphere inside the house remains positive and I, the resident can enjoy my stay in it. 

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Message for the day 19-11-2017
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To do what is right for all is to remain happy. 

Expression:The one who is always concerned for others is the one who can do right for others. There is constant benefit for others merged in every action of such a person. Because of having given without expectation, there is happiness in everything that is done. There is also uniqueness and speciality revealed in every action. 

Experience: I experience double benefit, because there is happiness in the effort as well as in the result of that effort. There is constant success experienced by me. I am also able to receive the good wishes and blessings from others and I further get encouraged to use my speciality. So I constantly experience progress in my life. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 18.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 18-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 6) 

A life full of relationships will make your life a smooth ride and not a difficult journey and a tiring one. We all know that relationships are valuable and precious and we need to take care of them so that they help us at all times and at every step. Distance in relationships at times causes situations to seem bigger than what they are. Love in relationships is the basis of a life full of strength and power. They say a person with spiritual strength can overcome difficult situations but the spiritual strength comes very largely with the love not only experienced from human beings but also from God. The one who is close to God is able to defend himself against negative attitudes, words and actions of others which very commonly come to test us in our lives. Also the one with the power of the non-physical love of God is able to remain stable when the physical body creates problems and is not the way it should be. Some people are able to remain stable and happy in a challenging illness much more than others because they are always under God’s canopy of protection which is full of love. Also, the person who is always holding the hand of God at every step is able to cross all problems of wealth and the role in personal and professional life and other challenges in family and at the workplace, with the power of his or her relationship with God. There are people who have lost their complete wealth in difficult financial situations of the world. But they came back with their faith and love for God in a big way and recovered their lost fortunes and damaged roles in the financial sphere of life. 

Lastly, if there is one relationship which is equal to all the relationships with others in your life put together or even higher, it is your relationship with God. A beautiful relationship with God makes all the other relationships beautiful and that in turn makes life full of joy and happiness and a beautiful obstacle-free existence. Relationships are thus the primary wealth of our lives and the key to a content mind, illness-free body and a successful personal and professional role.

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Message for the day 18-11-2017
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To be a teacher means to touch the heart rather than the head. 

Expression:Teaching others means being subtle and explaining in such a way that the mind opens because the heart has understood. The one who truly teaches inspires rather than just becoming the one who teaches others. There is a recognition of the positivity that is in each one and so no comparisions are made with others. 

Experience: Once I am able to look at the positivity in another individual and have the pure desire of enabling progress within that person, I am able to feel the love for him. This is like a parent's love whose love for the child is that which makes him grow. So I become a teacher who inspires rather than the one who teaches. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 17.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 17-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 5) 

Life without relationships is like living without strength. People who are loved a lot by others will be stronger and they will be able to cross different situations with this power. They say love can move mountains. That can be further expanded to say love from different relationships can change the circumstances of your life from negative to positive. It’s as if relationships are a treasure and the richer we are with the treasure the more strength we have inside us. We can also challenge the world and say that when the world is with us, we will never drown deep in any situation, however demanding it may be. It’s as if so many people are holding your hand and helping you cross different types of situations which otherwise would not have been easy to cross without the power of their blessings. 

So never ever feel you are alone. This will make you susceptible to different types of situations of all types much more than if you were accompanied by many like-minded people in your life journey. People carry positive energy inside them which helps you remain stable when you are with them at every step in your life. Life throws different types of challenges at us and they can unsettle you. But people whom we love, help us in overcoming these challenges sometimes directly with their physical help and sometimes on a non-physical level through the power of their love and support on a mental level. It is different when we do not have real life tests and we do not realize the importance of our close loved ones at that time. Its only when we are tested when we realize the same. Take the example of a difficult physical illness. Knowing that you have a test paper of life that is in front of you is the first step of realization. Take two people with the same illness. The one with thousands of people’s love in his heart will at times emerge victorious sooner than the other one who has lesser love in her life but access to more and better medical facilities. That is why it is said - blessings make you fly. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 17-11-2017
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God's love brings out the perfection from within. 

Expression:The power of God's love brings about change internally. Through His love everything old and unwanted finishes. There is the natural tendency to bring about such perfection that the one who loves Him and gets His love becomes like a mirror - a mirror in which perfection of others too is visible. 

Experience: There is such inner strength that I get because of God's love that even if somebody does something to hurt me, I don't allow myself to get hurt. Even if people are saying negative things, they don't influence or touch me in a negative way. I am so full with God's love that it naturally flows out to those around me. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 16.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 16-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 4) 

Dealing with people in the right manner requires giving attention to the self at every step. E.g. if you have to interact with others in a company meeting, you will look after your external appearance and the way you look and keep yourself tidy before beginning it. At the same time, you need to look at your internal self and how tidy it is and see whether you are looking your best in terms of qualities and powers. You also need to check whether you are spiritually empowered enough to face the situation. It’s not just about the physical appearance but also about remaining focused and stable. It’s also about performing the right actions which make you worthy of praise and respect in your family and at your workplace. They say a good personality makes all the difference. Change that to – a good person makes all the difference. So personality is important but person is even more important. Role is important but soul is more important. The shirt is important but character is more important. That will make relationships work. Why are some relationships not working today? The reason is simple. Less attention on the inner self and more attention on the outer self. 

Also, whenever you talk to someone, ensure that the words are not only smart but also soft. Also, check that they are not only full of energy but also enthusiasm. Bring power in your words but also peace. Make them sweet and not only sharp. Also, check your words and see that are not only full of authority but also loveful. Also do not forget to make your words full of respect and not ego. This way people will appreciate you not only for how you present yourself physically but they will also be impressed by your spiritual self. A life rich with relationships will happen when you remain polished in not only everything you do but also in how you do it and what is the energy of your actions on a subtle level.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 16-11-2017
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To receive respect from others comes more with responsibility than as a right. 

Expression:The one who gets respect is the one who becomes worthy of it rather than the one who just expects it. True respect comes from how well a task is done rather than what is done. The more one's speciality is expressed, the more one becomes worthy of respect. 

Experience: When I go on giving my best in whatever is expected of me, I will start receiving respect from those around me. I will then never expect from others but will naturally be able to give respect to all. This further makes me earn their love and regard. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 15.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 15-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 3) 

Loving everyone for their specialties is the best way to create beautiful relationships. It’s good to see one specialty in everyone you come across and interact with each day.
Suppose your parent has a virtue of loving everyone at home and remaining quiet amongst little issues at home, that is the virtue of tolerance. Learn from him or her and become like that. This is the art of imbibing or picking up virtues. It is not only seeing others’ qualities which is also a sign of love, but making that quality yours. Also, suppose your brother or sister is good at dealing with people, make that quality yours and become like him or her. This is not bowing down in front of the other person. But, on the other hand, it is remaining in your self-respect and giving respect to the other person. The other person will do the same in return. This is called true love and it is what brings people together in a beautiful bond of togetherness. It’s not about copying people but making people feel valuable by making their qualities yours. It is commonly said – give blessings and take blessings. But another and similar act is - give qualities and take qualities. It binds people together and it creates an energy of trust wherever there are groups of people, whether in the family or at the workplace or in friend circles. 

Also, whenever you meet someone, it is important to greet people with a warm smile and beautiful gestures. By doing this, people experience happiness not only from our words but also through our actions. Your beautiful smile can make another person’s day. Also, remembering each one’s specialties and telling them to others is a beautiful way of gaining love and respect from the other. So make it a point to praise everyone with a deep heart and with a pure intention and not just artificially. You will see how people will respond by offering you their co-operation and help at every step. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 15-11-2017
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Greatness lies in revealing one's own speciality. 

Expression:Greatness means recognising one's own speciality and being a donor with it. It also means being royal and great in what is given to the mind - that means giving the mind only the positive. When there is greatness in this way there is speciality and uniqueness seen in every act of mine. 

Experience: When I am able to perceive my inner greatness, I am able to be content because there are no expectations, but there's only a feeling of being a giver. I find myself to be light and easy and enjoying each moment of my life, slowly moving towards perfection. I am also able to attain the blessings and good wishes from others. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 14.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 14-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 2) 

Relationships are made of gold, one could say i.e. they are extremely valuable. They can be stolen easily if we do not take adequate care of them. Remember it is the child’s relationship with its mother in the womb which nourishes the child and brings it into this world. Later it grows up and comes into different relationships like ones with its father, brothers and sisters, friends, life partner, children, office colleagues and many more. So life is all about building the right relationships at the right time and taking forward one step at a time. It’s not about living alone and at the same time to make relationships work, a good relationship with oneself is extremely important. They say that a good ruler of the self is able to achieve success in handling relationships well. What that means is that techniques like meditation and mind relaxation make you better equipped to handle relationships with others properly. People whose minds are relaxed and focused because of these techniques, are able to concentrate their mental energies on improving their relationships and make them full of love and happiness and free from obstacles. 

Loving others is only possible when we love ourselves and loving ourselves means that since we are our own best friend first, we take care that our thoughts, words and actions are not only right but extremely perfect. Such people then naturally tend to love each one in their personal and professional groups. Don’t forget that God is loved so much by everyone universally all around the world because He has such a beautiful personality and a nature full of love for others. So perfect people will automatically attract love from others. They will easily and absolutely naturally make others comfortable and content with their way of talking and performing actions. Live well and love well is the slogan of their beautiful lives. 

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 14-11-2017
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The method to finish a weakness is to be detached from it. 

Expression:When there is some weakness working within that has to be overcome, it is very essential for one to get detached from it, that means not to identify with the weakness. If there is an identification with the weakness, it is further strengthened and there is the inability to get rid of it. Since it is there in the consciousness, it is visible in the words and actions too. 

Experience: When I am free from the identification with the weakness, I am able to bring about a change very quickly. I find it very easy to stabilise myself in the awareness of my strength and allow that strength to be revealed in all my words and actions. There is no heaviness of the weakness nor is there the feeling of having to give up something, but transformation takes place very easily. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 13.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 13-11-2017
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Living A Life Rich With Relationships (Part 1) 

We all live a life full of relationships of different types. Starting from the morning till the night, relationships are a constant support system for us and almost like a lifeline. Imagine for once that you were alone in this world and you would have to spend a complete lifetime with no one to share your love and joy with. How would such a life be and how does it sound? Interesting? Not at all. So relationships are like life’s oxygen. They are a source of strength for us and of course a source of love, that a life without them cannot be imagined. Also, it is relationships which give meaning to life, whether it is relationships with people or even with God.

Love is the primary virtue of the world and it is the most liked emotion of the world.Even God brings change in us on the basis of love. The soul changes itself because of love for God. Even power in the soul is filled by God, because He loves us immensely. All the work that God does on us and helps us become better human beings is because of His love for us. We are indebted to Him for that and then in return for all the love He showers on us, we become further determined to bring change in ourselves. So love with God works both ways and is the basis of a beautiful relationship with Him. Also, people whom we come in contact with in our relationships come close to us primarily because of the virtue of love. Love is the foundation of strong and stable relationships.

(To be continued tomorrow …) 

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Message for the day 13-11-2017
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The one with zeal and enthusiasm is constantly tireless. 

Expression:Zeal and enthusiasm brings the willingness to move forward under all circumstances. Never are there are any excuses given, whatever the difficult situations or challenges that one might be faced with. Instead whatever has to be done is done without any tiredness. Also the best is made out of all situations. 

Experience: When I am able to be enthusiastic under all circumstances, I am able to be tireless. This tirelessness gives me the courage to move on and experience constant success. I become aware of my own resources and make the best use of them. So I also experience internal progress, constantly. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 12.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 12-11-2017
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The Relationship Between Virtues And Vices

When we are internally strong, our nature characteristics and skills are reflected, from inside us to the outside, to everyone we interact in, in the form of virtues. If we are internally weak, those same traits emerge and radiate as vices. Vices are just qualities or virtues that have lost their focus and strength. For e.g. if we take the quality of love - when a strong soul radiates love, it is unlimited and without any conditions. Such a soul respects and has good wishes for everything and everyone and under all circumstances, irrespective of whether love and respect is coming from the other side or not. When a weak soul radiates love, he/she tends to restrict the love to limits e.g. the love would vary from person to person and from situation to situation. In a sense, if spiritual might (strength) and spiritual light (understanding or knowledge) are taken away from the virtues, they get transformed into the six vices, which make us spiritually unhealthy or weak: 

Ego - developing an image of the self that is false, temporary or imaginary.
Greed - finding short term fulfillment by acquiring material goods, a role in society or money or through the physical senses – eyes, tongue, ears, etc.
Attachment - finding security by developing a feeling of possessiveness over loved ones and material objects.
Lust - using excessive satisfaction through the senses as a means of fulfillment.
Anger - the feeling of hatred and revenge when any of the other vices are threatened or being taken away from us.
Laziness - becoming inactive on a spiritual, physical or mental level.

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Message for the day 12-11-2017
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True courage brings benefit to the self as well as to others.

Expression:When there is fear, there is some kind of danger, either for the self or for others. The one who fears, or the one who doesn't have the courage to accept and face situations, is not able to bring out the best form within himself. Such a person is constantly thinking of excuses and is trying to blame others for the mistakes that happen.

Experience: With courage, if I am able to take up responsibility for every situation that I am faced with, I am able to be free from worry or tension. I will then be in a position to learn and so I find progress at every step in my life. I find others giving me a lot of good wishes for my sincerity. I also become an inspiration for all others too to bring about a positive change.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 11.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 11-11-2017
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Overcoming The Fear Of Interaction Or Socializing 

There are various activities that you are perhaps afraid of doing, but that you know they are very useful activities to indulge in e.g. if you are afraid of socializing or interacting with people, either on a one-to-one basis or in a group. In a party or a situation where lots are people are enjoying the company of each other or in a meeting with your boss for e.g., you feel out of place and uncomfortable. The problem might lie in a negative image of the self or low self-esteem, lack of confidence, fear of the other’s opinion about you, lack of spiritual strength, past failure in having done so, being influenced by the other person’s role or position etc.How do you overcome this fear? By interacting with more and more people. The more you interact and mix up with them and express your viewpoint fearlessly, you realize that it is not a problem. Even if you make a mistake or you feel unsure, with practice you will see that there is no problem. 

Most of our fears are overcome with the practice of doing what you are afraid of. If you do not make a brave step forward in order to overcome the fear of expressing yourself, you will continue to be the victim of this fear. This fear is then a negative energy that paralyses your intellect as a result of which your concentration and your decision-making power reduces. It also disorganizes your ideas, and confuses you whenever you express yourself in front of a person or people. What is more, fear produces clumsiness in your words, body movements and actions and makes you lose your image of credibility. It gives an impression of nervousness and low self-respect to the other. You have to overcome it, and you will manage to do it with practice and by changing the vision that you have of others: they are not a threat, they are not judges who are going to pass a judgment against you, they are offering you the opportunity to express yourself. If you value yourself, you will not be afraid of not being appreciated by them and others will finally appreciate you. If you do not value yourself, the opposite will happen. 

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Message for the day 11-11-2017
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True knowledge brings humility. 

Expression:True knowledge inspires and encourages one to bring about a practical change in one's life. The one with knowledge naturally imbibes it, which is also revealed in his practical life. This is because he is humbly willing to learn from all situations. As much as there is knowledge, so much there is divinity and elevatedness revealed in all words and actions. Also such a person keeps learning from all life's situations. 

Experience: To have the ability to learn from all that life brings is to have love for knowledge. Since I have love for knowledge, I am able to experience self-respect. This self-respect gives me the humility to accept situations and people as they are and keep learning. So whatever the situation or whoever the person I come across, I only find myself enriching myself and moving forward. 

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 10.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 10-11-2017
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The Role Of Emotions In The Functioning Of The Soul 

Inside the soul, there are four components – thoughts, feelings, emotions and sanskaras. Thoughts and feelings are present more on the surface of the soul in the conscious. Emotions and sanskaras on the other hand are less easily perceived and lie below thoughts and feelings. 

Sanskaras can be defined as the traces left on the soul due to actions performed by it and also due to its interactions with others in relationships. 

Emotions, on the other hand, are impulses associated with the sanskaras and are very close to these traces. 

The internal functioning of the soul is cyclic - thoughts gives rise to actions, actions give rise to sanskaras, and sanskaras give rise to further thoughts.This description becomes complete, when we add an additional component – emotions. The deepest component inside the soul is the sanskaras. Next up from sanskaras are the emotions, above that are feelings and then finally the uppermost component inside the soul is the thoughts. 

Thoughts can be caught instantly. Feelings can be seen and perceived if I stop for a moment and check. Emotions are deeper than both of them and are very close to the sanskaras, and just as its difficult to see all the sanskaras of an individual, we can't always see their emotions. Feelings, being more towards the surface, can be clearly identified, but you have to go deeper to see the quality of emotions a person is creating and the quality of his/her sanskaras. 

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Message for the day 10-11-2017
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Introspection enables one to be free from the influence of negativity. 

Expression:Introspection means the desire to be good. Introspection brings the ability to look within and see the true self in the mirror of the heart, thus enabling one to activate the inner spirituality. Then all effort made will be towards activating this inherent goodness. And slowly one finds that the behaviour associated with negative traits are no more expressed, as they begin to lose their hold. 

Experience: When I am able to introspect and look within, I can find the goodness that is there within me. Because of this, I naturally am free from expectations from others that they should recognise my goodness or consider me good. Instead I find myself content with what I am and continue to bring out the best from within me. I also continue to learn from all situations and experience progress. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance and Message of the day 9.11.17

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Soul Sustenance 09-11-2017
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Love Will Heal The World (Part 3) 

Today, there are very few people in the world who are living by God’s definition of love. The two main negative emotions of lust and attachment bring with them other negative emotions. Common examples of such emotions in relationships are - lack of freedom, expectations, feelings of superiority and inferiority, domination and possessiveness. Other examples are a lack of control over emotions, feelings of jealousy, even depression or immense sorrow due to separation or loss of someone. You might question that do we stop loving our friends and family and detach ourselves from them? You do not have to do that at all. Do not forget, the world in its originality, where pure love that existed, the magnitude and depth and also the cleanliness of that love remains un-comparable to the love of today’s world. The love of today’s world has brought with it so much insecurity and pain. Relationships today are like two sides of the same coin. As long as everything is okay in the relationship its heads for happiness and relationships like any other coin don’t always fall on heads. The same relationship does fall on tails repeatedly i.e. it brings with it sorrow repeatedly. 

Pure love, which is the original love of the world, is not an impossible love. In fact, it is true love. It is the love God is full of and we can fill ourselves with it also. God is actually pouring that pure love, presently into humanity which is healing humanity incognito and giving rise to a new tree of humanity. The new tree will be full of the different flowers of pure closeness, belongingness, concern, respect and good wishes amongst everyone and without the thorns of excessive lust and attachment which hurt negatively. A connection with God, who is an Ocean of Love, is the key to filling ourselves with that love. This will not only make our lives happier, but we will also become an instrument or right hand of God, in healing the Universe.

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Message for the day 09-11-2017
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The power of cooperation enables the most difficult task to be successfully done. 

Expression:To have the power of cooperation means to have the ability to see and use the specialities of others in any task that is to be done. It is the ability to respect and use the suggestions and ideas of each and everyone which contributes for the success of the task. So the one who is able to use this power is able to be successful in any task that he takes up. 

Experience: When I am able to give cooperation and take cooperation from those around me, I never experience fear for any task that has to be done, but am able to be at ease, knowing that everything is possible. I am also able to earn the respect of those around me for having made the best use of their specialities, which further facilitates the success of the task. 


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris