Three Components Of Change 

In order to bring about a fundamental (major) change, three elements need to exist simultaneously:
Focus: A clear sense of purpose in life and clear goals to guide your life's activities.
Will: The motivation and enthusiasm to introduce and sustain the actions.
Capabilities: The skills and abilities to fulfill your purpose and goals.

But where do you start? There is definitely a right place to begin and that is with your focus. Why? Because if your focus is powerful and based on a very deep sense of your inner most purpose in life, then that will provide you with the will power you need to keep going. Then if you have a clear driving focus in life and lots of will power to back it up, you will soon develop the skills and capabilities you need to make it happen. You may not have them yourself, but your enthusiasm and passion will certainly inspire others who do have them to join you.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Positive Newness

A Daily Experience Of Positive Newness

A very important aspect of each one of our lives is newness. We all require a regular dosage of newness to keep our hearts and minds fresh. How can we define newness? It is a change of thoughts, feelings, words, actions, circumstances - when all or some of these deviate from the normal or are new, they give us an experience of joy. On a physical level we go on a holiday or a party, watch a movie, etc., all of these and many more such activities achieve the purpose mentioned above. We then get back to our daily routine of thoughts and actions, with more freshness, which makes the routine more interesting.

On a spiritual level, a daily dose of new and different spiritual knowledge at the start of the day does the work of newness, it rekindles our creative spirit. Newness in our thoughts then flows into our feelings, beliefs, attitude, personality or nature, perception, actions, interactions, relationships, etc. bringing newness in all of them and removing the stagnancy of the regular routine. Meditation, which is not just a process of reducing the mind to a nil stage, but the creation of positive, constructive thoughts to take the mind to a positive experience of peace and bliss, can become boring or less interesting for many over a long term, if the thoughts created each time one meditates are the same. So feeding spiritual knowledge to the mind benefits meditation immensely, because meditation can then become an interesting, new and creative exercise each time one practices it, instead of a routine affair. Also, the speed and enthusiasm of bringing positive transformation in the self can slow down, if the methods used for the same are not changed regularly. Fresh spiritual knowledge everyday helps us see transformation from a different perspective each day and work on it differently, which increases its speed and also helps us realize new aspects of our personality which need to be worked on. Swift self change then also brings benefit to everyone whom we interact with, all of which are significant aspects of spirituality.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Humility

Humility helps us maintain good relationships with others

Projection: When involved in something that we are doing, we naturally come into contact with a lot of people. We sometimes find that we are not able to get along with certain people. We find it very difficult to maintain a good relationship with them and finally avoid dealing with them all together.

Solution: The first thing to do is to avoid thinking that we cannot get along with someone because of their personality. When we remove this first block in our mind we will be able to see the good in all. We will no longer think that we are here to teach them but will humbly learn whatever we can from them. 

[bkshivani]

The Law of Action

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 karmic process, 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

[bkshivani]

At Peace With Time

Many worries have to do with how we live time: the past, the present and the future. Worrying about what might happen (future), when the moment has not yet come for it to happen, takes away from us the necessary energy to deal with it when it finally arrives. Living in memories drains our energy; the past already happened and no longer exists, except in our memory. We feed memories, not realizing that emerging the memory in our mind distracts us from the present and weakens us. It is like being a plug that connects to a socket with no current passing through. We lose our energy. We want to relive an experience that already happened, and in the end we feel disappointed, feeling a mental and emotional waste.

Not only is your strength reduced by the way that you live the past and project onto the future, but also how you live in this moment. When, for example, you oppose the present and have resistances, these consume your energy and cause you stress. If you accept the present you can flow flexibly without wasting your energy. Accepting does not mean submitting yourself or feeling a victim of what is happening now. From acceptance, you confront and transform. If we learn to live the dimensions of time in a healthy way we will keep up our vitality, we will heal the past and we will feel at peace with it. Accepting the present and trusting in the future helps us to be well.

Accepting the present means stopping comparing yourself with others; you want what the other has, their money, their talents, their beauty, their personality, their achievements, their virtues, etc. So, instead of being grateful for what you have and accepting yourself as you are, you try to have and be like the other. In this way, you are never satisfied. The dissatisfaction causes you a constant unhappiness that reduces your vitality. When you feel happy and satisfied your energy flows more easily. The most important thing that you should do in this moment is to feel content. Next, what is the most important thing? To be content. Therefore, the priority, and what is essential, is that whatever happens in the moment, the most important thing is to be content. So, tell your mind, "Oh, mind, be quiet and don't think so much. Oh, mind, kindly trust that everything is and will be fine." Give your mind the basic instructions and the key thoughts with which to be content. Don't let your own mind create the thoughts that trap you. It is we ourselves who create our emotional cages.


To live in freedom you have to live at peace (harmony) with time; live the dimension of time as a creator of time and not a slave of time; live without being either a prisoner or victim of time. To live at peace with time is to live in harmony with nature, beginning with your inner nature. When you plant a sapling today, you cannot accelerate the process so that the next day you have a tree. When it is summer, you cannot make the earth revolve around the sun quicker or slower for winter to arrive before or later. Everything has its rhythm in nature. We have distanced ourselves from the natural rhythm and our accelerated mind exercises pressure, creates stress and causes anxiety. We plan the future, we are stuck in the past and the present escapes us.



Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

Thoughts

"Don't worry at all about negative thoughts, and don't try to control them. All you have to do is begin to think more good thoughts each day. Think as many good thoughts as you can in each day. As you do you will attract more and more good thoughts, and eventually the good thoughts will wipe out the negative thoughts. "
- From THE BOOK : The Secret Daily Teachings

 

 

Personality Radiation

 

Each thought that we create, every word we speak and every action we perform is responsible for the radiation of non-physical energy or vibration into the universe; towards other people, to the surroundings or the atmosphere as well as to physical nature. A very important aspect of our consciousness which influences the quality of this vibration is the intention or hidden meaning behind each thought, word and action.  When the intention is pure, positive and unconditional, positive packets of the energy of peace, love, good wishes, happiness and truth get transmitted. People who experience this positive energy from us are reminded of their personal positive qualities, even if these qualities are different from ours, and get inspired to imbibe the same and put them into practice, although this may not even be our conscious intention in the first place, but we just have a general pure, positive, intention towards everything and everyone around us. But this giving oof f inspiration happens automatically. On the other hand, when the intention is negative and impure, it is as if we bring other people, surroundings and nature down i.e. in a way we absorb positive energy from these entities, instead of filling them. People, without realizing, will come down from their positive personality state on receiving this energy and become inclined to thinking and speaking against their basic, positive nature; thus it is a negative inspiration. Both are energy exchanges, but one is positive and the other is negative.

The above process happens even when we are quiet, not creating any thoughts and not speaking or performing any actions. Depending on the kind of nature or personality we have, those type of vibrations keep getting emitted from us all the time. The higher the quality of the activity inside the mind and intellect during the day and in general in our life, even if they are inactive at a particular point of time, the higher the quality of the energy radiated at that time. It's as if we are constant spiritual energy radiators and radiate our personality all the time, even while we sleep. The purer our personality, the purer this radiation is.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The Energy Of Thought And Feeling

Like so many other energies like sound energy, light energy, electrical energy, etc. which are primarily invisible forms of energy and come under the realm of matter or the 5 elements, the energy of thought and feeling is also a form of invisible energy. The only difference is that it is an energy which transcends the limits of matter or the 5 elements and is metaphysical or non-physical and extremely subtle in nature. It is a living or conscient energy which originates from the conscient soul, as compared to the other energies which are non-living or non-conscient in nature. But at the same time, it is important not to forget that it is closely connected with the physical body and can only express itself through a physical body. The other energies cannot express themselves since they are non-living. Also, we perceive this energy only when we are inside the physical body.

It is an energy which has kept going and going for as long as we have lived, life after life, in many wrong directions a lot of times. It is this energy which we need to learn to channelize, control, manage, discipline etc. because by doing that we experience our original virtues of peace, love, joy and power, which is our only and only desire, for which we use various different methods, but many times is not fulfilled, because we forget this basic and most important method. This is something which we have not been able to do since a long time, and something which a lot of people have desired to achieve since thousands of years. The technique of meditation is one technique which helps us in doing that. The channelization of this energy will also improve the state of our physical body as it has a positive effect on the various body systems, the quality of all roles that we play and the success we achieve while playing them and very importantly our relationships - not only with others but with our self and the Supreme Being or God also.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The Pledge Of Responsibility

A very important aspect of progress in the self and my relationships, which we all desire is restoring a sense of responsibility in my inner world, so that by doing that, I and others around me are benefitted. Even on a physical or non-spiritual level, someone who is responsible while playing his/her role or performing his/her duties either in the family, at the workplace or in some other setting e.g. a club group or a team in a particular sport or a social service group, not only feels content with his/her actions himself/herself but spreads ripples of contentment to others and receives similar energy from each one he/she is involved with. In the same way on an emotional or spiritual level, when I start my day I need to remind myself of my responsibility towards myself. I need to remind myself that I am responsible for the choices I make in my life which influence and color everyone around me. So do my thoughts, feelings, the way my personality functions internally and externally the whole day and my responses to people and situations, for all of which I am responsible.

It is like taking a pledge of responsibility with the self in the morning that today I will not create a single thought, word or action which is against the texture of my innate, positive nature i.e. irresponsible. And what will provide my pledge the much required strength of determination? An injection of positive thoughts, emotions and sanskaras within me in the morning, using a suitable technique of self empowerment like meditation or spiritual study or some other. By taking such a pledge of responsibility and by watering it with the energy of my attention from time to time during the day, I am able to implement it and can make a difference to not only the people around me, but to a lot more than that. In this way, as I change, the world around me changes, because the energy I create in my inner world starts flowing into my circumstances, my interactions, my sphere of karmas, etc. to make them positive, which benefits me in return in the form of a cyclic process. As I take this pledge and abide by it for a few days, I start realizing the immense potential that it possesses.

 

Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris  

The Method Of Realizing Your Purpose 

(Part 1)

Throughout our daily routine right from the time we wake up till we go to sleep at night, we all always have something to think about, to say and/or something to do. We are occupied and are busy. The question is whether everything that we do forms part of our life purpose or whether we are simply occupying time spaces and using our mental, verbal and physical energy in activities, tasks and conversations that do not lead us to anything substantial or whole. We simply pass time doing and talking, but without a sense of purpose. Although the things we do and/or speak about are necessary to be done, if they do not make up part of our life purpose, they will tire us. We will feel an inner emptiness and dissatisfaction, as if we are missing something.
The most authentic purpose is that of fulfilling our ideal, our dream in life. What happens is that, sometimes, we haven't worked out what our true purpose or life dream is. We have to ask ourselves what our true purpose is. There are two purposes – one is a purpose related to the self and the other related to what we want to offer to the world. During the day we are exchanging energy - each one of us is different and can give something to the world during this exchange; each of us can play our musical note in order to contribute to the orchestra of the Universe. 

 

            [BKSHIVANI]

 

Turning Qualities Into Powers

An important aspect of God or the Supreme Being, remembered throughout history in all cultures and traditions, has been the concept of God being an Almighty Authority. The interpretation of this concept has been varied, however:

Some have conceived a God who is fearsome and revengeful and one who punishes. That is very different from the experience of God, in meditation, as a gentle, benevolent (generous), merciful parent; as a teacher of absolute spiritual wisdom or knowledge, but a wisdom that has total humility, and is free from the demands of ego.

Yet, it is also the experience of the soul that God is the Almighty Authority, the source of all power and strength. When I meditate and connect with the Supreme, I experience a state of truth in which the combination of all the original qualities of the soul -- peace, love, purity, wisdom and happiness -- fills me with a positive power -- a power that overcomes negativity in myself and others, so that those I am connected with become better able to experience their own truth. This power also extends to my physical surroundings, transforming the atmosphere around me.

There are interesting spiritual parallels to the way the physical sciences differentiate energy and power. In physical terms, energy is defined as the capacity of doing work. Power is defined as the rate of doing work.

Similarly, we can look upon spiritual energy as our capacity for experiencing the original qualities of the soul. We all have this capacity, but to different degrees. Spiritual power is then seen as the extent to which we put these qualities to work in difficult situations and in our relationships. Spiritual power helps us remain in a state of truth, in the face of the various tests that come. Also, our actions and relationships give us an opportunity to utilize the power we have accumulated.

The qualities of God experienced in meditation are also the original qualities of the soul, but the link with God is essential for us to enhance these qualities inside us. In fact God, too, needs the connection with us, despite having these qualities to the highest degree, in order to exercise his power to restore truth to the world.

There are eight key spiritual powers - power to tolerate, power to adjust, power to face, power to pack up, power to withdraw, power to co-operate, power to discriminate and power to judge and in terms of their application in everyday life - all of which we have discussed and shared with our readers in earlier messages.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

Applying The Law Of Balance To Anger

We are all very much aware of the law of gravity. It keeps us grounded on the earth. Gravity ensures everything returns to a state of balance. This is the law of balance on a physical level.

The law of balance can also be applied on a mental and emotional level, to the emotion of anger e.g. Too many angry thoughts of revenge and animosity (hatred) inside our consciousness can emerge in two ways:

a) either externally as toxic, violent behavior, which will attract toxic, violent responses from others, or 

b) if these thoughts are kept bottled inside, they will eventually, after a period of time, emerge as some disease or the other in the physical body. This is because our consciousness then tries to find a way to get rid of the mental impurity, which enters our physical body and restores balance to the mental and physical system, which has been upset due to the creation of the toxic thoughts, in the first place.

The above e.g. is an application of this law on a micro level. We can apply this law of balance on a macro level, on the world at large, where we watch groups of people, even countries exchanging negative energy.

The same law can also be applied on a larger level. Each time a group of people transmit the negative energy of anger physically to another group of people - at that time, either:

a) one party is disturbing the balance temporarily, which will be restored sometime in the future, by the second party indulging in similar behavior, or 

b) balance is being restored at the present moment (because negative energy had been transmitted from the opposite party to the first party sometime in the past). This balancing must take place, because it's an unbreakable law. This is the law of balance.

This law that does not need to be enforced by us, the police or even by God. It is a natural law like other laws of nature. It gets enforced itself and cannot be broken by anyone. Understanding that this law is embedded in the human state of affairs at all times makes us careful and detached so that we don't hurt ourselves with violent, toxic thoughts, when someone acts negatively. We create these kinds of thoughts because we believe this is revenge that is justified. Also, knowing that anger that is radiated comes back doesn't mean we don't have any laws within society – they are required, but it helps us not to take the law into our own hands. We cannot force justice to take place before its fixed time. We cannot force the balancing of energies of anger. If we trying doing it, it is being egoistic and we only upset the balance of our energies as a result. Even to criticize those who try to take the law into their own hands is to take the law into our hands.

 

     [BKSHIVANI]

 

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Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past

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.  


Positive Information and Intoxication - The more we listen or read positive and constructive spiritual knowledge, even if it is for 10 minutes daily, and imbibe (absorb) it, the more our negative memories fade into the background. Also the regular input of knowledge lifts our consciousness to a higher level and gives us an experience of intoxication or spiritual bliss, in which the memory of our past sorrows and negative experiences gets dissolved. Even on a physical level, there are lots of people who indulge in some kind of addiction or intoxication only because it temporarily helps them to overcome and forget the negatives in their life.

Karma Realization - Another benefit of spiritual knowledge is that it makes us realize the various shades and details of the Law of Karma and its application in the World Drama, which helps us immensely in letting go of the past and concentrating on our present so that a bright future can be built, irrespective of the quality of the past.

Self and God Realization - One of the most important benefits of meditation, an important aspect of spirituality, is that it makes us realize and experience the spiritual self and the Father of the spiritual self, the Supreme Soul, accurately. This is an experience of liberation, in which there is no room for past repentances. Past repentances are more a reflection of excessive attachment to the physical or material or attachment to incorrect emotions related to body-consciousness, remembering the damage caused by it to the self and experiencing sorrow due to the same.

Connection and Relation - Also, meditation being a deep connection between me and the Supreme Father, it fills me with immense power and it is also an intense relationship, which fills me with love, happiness and peace. In the experience of these attainments, over a period of time, my past ceases to burden my consciousness.

Correction - Memories inside the soul are like imprints or impressions on the soul. Some impressions are deep, some are not. Negative past experiences leave very deep negative impressions or scars on the soul, which sometimes take a lot of time to heal and sometime an entire lifetime can be sent without them getting healed. Negative past experience imprints and negative emotions like anger, hatred, attachment etc. are closely linked. So, correcting the self or incorporating positive sanskars fills the spiritual self with positive impressions. This, over a period of time, nullifies the effect of these negative impressions and as a result, the related negative memories. 

Donation - Donation can be simply defined as the distribution of the invisible attainments one has experienced through spiritual self transformation, to others. It helps one receive blessings or positive energy of those whom we donate to and gives life a focused positive purpose, both of which help us immensely in forgetting our past. People who live only for themselves will find it more difficult to forget their past as compared to ones who spend a lot of time for others. Giving happiness to others helps us in forgetting our griefs. 

Interaction - The more we interact with and remain in the company of positive minded people and have positive conversations with them, we give and receive positive energy and the more our past gets erased from my consciousness. Spirituality teaches us to look inwards and experience introvertness, which we haven't experienced for a long time. At the same time, spirituality also teaches us to keep a balance between looking inwards and outwards. Composed and balanced extrovertness and healthy, happy relationships with virtuous people help us remain more in a present consciousness, not giving the mind to drift too much into the past.

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Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris

- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

What Are Thought Vibrations?

The word atmosphere has two meanings. One refers to the physical air around us and the other to the more subtle effect that thought vibrations create in a particular space. No one can deny that the atmosphere of a crowded restaurant is different from that of a temple. This is mainly because of the effect of different types of thoughts and feelings in that space. Even someone deaf and blind would have the ability to pick up the difference. Sound vibrations are invisible but their impact isn't. A pneumatic drill or a jet breaking the sound barrier jolt both our minds (non-physical effect) and the walls of our houses (physical effect). Thought vibrations can't be seen but their non-physical as well as physical impact is even more powerful and influential. The panic that people generate during a stampede or an earthquake and the euphoria (absolute joy) of victory in a World Cup final cricket game are examples of how thoughts create an atmosphere.

On a subtler level, many of us have the experience of basic telepathy - ' I was just thinking of you and you called'. Thoughts connect individuals over large distances. Doctors inform us that over 90% of the physical body's illnesses have a psychosomatic (mental) origin i.e. they are a direct or indirect result of our state of mind. That makes the human body the prime example of how thoughts affect matter.

Since the world is made up of the collective, personal worlds of all individuals, then it's easy to see how the international political, economic and social atmosphere is nothing more than the collective effects of all our thoughts.

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Positive Reflections For The Day are messages sent by Awakening With Brahma Kumaris. If you are not receiving Positive Reflections already and would like to receive it daily, please send an email to the email address awakeningwithbks@bkmail.org requesting us for the same.


Warm Regards,
Awakening With Brahma Kumaris


- Watch Awakening With Brahma Kumaris daily on Headlines Today at 6:30 a.m., Aastha at 7:10 p.m. and Sanskar at 10:00 p.m. Also watch in English, every Sunday, on Aastha from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

 

The Creations Of The Mind

Scientists have learned a lot about our physical functioning, but most admit that what actually keeps a human being alive is a mystery not completely solved. Rising above being just a product of chemical and electrical activity in the brain, as believed by many of us, spirituality orients me and trains me to come close to my real self, my spiritual self. Before I was a stranger to my own self, unaware of what is going inside my consciousness and distant from my own self. The first step in coming close to myself is that I learn to use the energy of my mind in the most effective way possible. For this, I decide to find a place where, each day, I can sit for a few minutes without interruptions, in order to focus on the self and explore the inner world of the creations of the mind - my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions.

There has been a lot of conflicting views in the world about what the mind is and how it works. In the teachings of meditation by the Brahma Kumaris, the mind, which gives rise to my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions, is seen as a faculty of the soul, not the body. It is rather like the difference between a television set and the movies seen on that set. The movies originate in the minds of the directors, not in the television set itself. The television set is just a medium for displaying the movies. So it is with all these four creations (thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions). These originate in the non-physical consciousness and not in the physical brain. The brain is just a processor of them and the body is a medium via which all four are displayed or brought onto expressions, physical gestures, words and actions. When I realize this, and really understand this difference, it very empowering. I am then able to use the power of discrimination to make choices between thoughts, feelings, attitudes and emotions that are useful and empowering for myself and others, and those that bring me down.

To think less is to remain happy

Projection: Usually there is a tendency to think more than normal when there is a challenging situation. Although it is considered to be good to think more, we usually miss out on the fact that thinking more means having lots of waste thoughts along with those that are necessary.

Solution: When we find ourselves thinking a lot we need to ask ourselves if all these thoughts are really necessary. We need to recognise waste thoughts and replace them with something more positive. With this practice we'll find ourselves thinking less and at the same time having powerful thoughts which will keep us cheerful under all circumstances

 

 

[BKSHIVANI]

The Art Of Thought Training

There is a common impression that meditation means to empty the mind of all thoughts in order to experience the stillness or peacefulness of the mind. The mind is not to blame for our existing distress or confusion. It is really only a screen upon which thoughts are projected. The waywardness and naughtiness of the mind is due to the quality of thoughts that arise in it and not due to some problem inherent in the mind itself.

Though this emptying of the mind may bring temporary relief, it's not a natural part of living to have no thoughts. Instead, the mind has to be trained to create the types of thoughts that lead to harmony and peace. Thus, each session of Raja Yoga meditation (as taught by the Brahma Kumaris) can be seen as one of thought-training in a similar way to a tennis player who, seeking perfection, practices his serve, back-hand and volley in order to improve them.

Meditation is the journey towards soul-consciousness and god-consciousness guided by the use of the thoughts created in the mind and the deep and inner memory of the original and basic state and virtues of the soul. I first have to withdraw my attention from all outer circumstances and direct it within towards inner dialogue. 

To be an embodiment of power is to be free from effort

Projection: When we are faced with a difficult situation we usually try to make our mind positive at that time, but we find it very difficult to do so. We then give up making effort thinking that we don't have the power to change our nature. We continue to work with the weakness and strengthen it further.

Solution: In order to win over our weakness we need to become an embodiment of power. For this we need the practice of a long time of being powerful so that we experience the power within. Then the power that we want at that time will emerge naturally. Like a master we'll be able to order our inner powers and be free from the effort of changing negative to positive.   

[BKSHIVANI]