Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 02-05-2014

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Soul Sustenance 02-05-2014
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The Two Dimensions Of Being A Detached Observer

There are two dimensions of being a detached observer - the inner dimension and the outer one.

Let us look at the inner dimension of detached observation. It is the ability or the technique to stand back from or observe in a detached way our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes and behavior. We are creators and our thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes are our creation. In fact, this is the first step to becoming a ruler of the self and making the self powerful. If we fail to detach from our thoughts and emotions then they will be our masters, they will go out of control and will, as a result, leak away or waste our energy. Practice simply being the witness of whatever you are thinking and feeling. This is an important aspect of any good spiritual practice and after a while you will find it an experience that both, frees you and empowers you.

The external dimension of detached observation is the technique of being a witness to or an observer of the scenes, of the world around us. As we stand back and watch the scenes of life being played, on the world stage around us, without being actively involved, we can see the 'big picture' more clearly. This makes it easier to judge clearly what is the most suitable contribution that we can make and the most suitable role we can play - through our thoughts, words and actions.

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Message for the day 02-05-2014
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To make the aim and qualification equal is to bring perfection.

Expression: To have an aim that is high is to naturally bring about the desire to do the best in everything. But also important is to make effort to bring about those qualifications that are needed to fulfill this aim. So the one who has the desire to make the aim and qualifications equal is the one who is able to bring beauty to every action.

Experience: When I am able to make constant effort to bring in those qualities that are necessary for my aim I am able to bring perfection. I am able to experience the satisfaction of bringing a lot of change in a short time. I experience constant progress as I continue to make effort to move on towards my aim.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 01-05-2014

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Soul Sustenance 01-05-2014
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Discover Your Inner Mentor (Guide) – A Meditation

If you can become your own mentor (guide), a mentor that you would always have liked to have, then you will experience life as an exciting adventure. What would happen if you had someone in your life that walked with you each step of your way, loved you unconditionally and supported you without putting conditions, even when you were wrong? What would happen if you felt absolutely safe, secure, cared for and loved? Would you be more willing to accept the challenges that life brings forth in front of you? Would you take on your life with greater responsibility and confidence?

Your internal mentor is a part of you and is always present, always kind, always loves you, is always there for you. If you still haven't met it, take a moment to guide yourself through this meditation exercise:

1. Relax your body and allow yourself to be fully present, here, reading these words, listening to the sounds around you, feeling what you feel. Read slowly!

2. Now send love to each part of your body: your feet, your lungs, your back, your face, your eyes, your nose, until you feel the love from your feet to your head.

3. Now send love to each thought that appears on the screen of your mind, visualize how your energy is concentrated at the inner part of the centre of your forehead. See the screen of your mind, and try to make each thought that you generate full of the energy of love that is slowly invading you. The energy of love is present in each thought that appears in your mind.
Love what you yourself create: each thought.

4. By practicing the above exercise, you emerge sanskars inside yourself of giving unconditional love and support to your own self. This is a way to awaken your inner mentor. As you practice spending time with yourself in this way, you will start to see that your insecurity and your fears begin to disappear and new possibilities open up in front of you.

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Message for the day 01-05-2014
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To appreciate variety is to harmonise.

Expression: When there is recognition that each human being is unique with his own unique set of capabilities, there is the ability to respect him for what he is. Then all attempts are made to harmonise with him instead of trying to make him just like oneself. So energy is channelised in the right direction and one becomes an inspiration for others too.

Experience: To appreciate variety means to see the beauty and specialities of each and every individual. It means to appreciate the natural positive qualities in everyone and learn to blend my own qualities with theirs. This gives me the satisfaction of the beauty of relationships, because there are no expectations and no disappointments.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 30-04-2014

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Soul Sustenance 30-04-2014
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Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 3

Continuing from yesterday’s message, we should not keep the vices bottled up inside us like prisoners. Prisoners are always plotting to escape. If we change them into our friends they can help us. For example, the energy required to be stubborn is almost the same as that required to be determined except that one is positive and the other negative. The soul learns to transfer such energy. Anger becomes tolerance. Greed can be transformed into contentment. Arrogance, or the respect for false identity, can become self-respect. Attachment can be changed into pure love.

The more I inculcate the Supreme Soul or God’s virtues, the closer I feel to Him, but if I allow inner disturbances due to any vice, my high stage is grounded. All the power stored up until that moment will leak away. I must recognize that I really do not like being body-conscious. As I wish for higher experiences I choose to live the life of a meditator with purity in thought, word and action. Obstructions come within and without, but through my connection with God I am drawing so much power so as to remain unaffected. This needs soul-consciousness. So in discarding the rubbish of the vices I have gathered over many births, I become my original form and maintain it through my closeness or companionship with God.

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Message for the day 30-04-2014
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True detachment gives a chance for others to grow.

Expression: Where there is detachment there is the ability to let go. There is also an equal amount of love, but along with it is the ability to give others an opportunity to be themselves. One's own attitude or expectations don't colour the perception and others get a chance to express themselves easily and naturally.

Experience: When I am detached, I am also loving. I am able to watch with inner happiness all that life brings into each one's lives. Neither do I take over other peoples' lives and feel disappointed when things go wrong, nor do I leave them to their fate. I am able to see their inner capabilities and get each one to become self-reliant.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 29-04-2014

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Soul Sustenance 29-04-2014
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Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 2

How many times do we hear, * Oh, he is always in a bad mood..., * It is my nature to be irritable..., * He will never change... This shows the extent to which the soul's own light has faded and been replaced by the dark curtain of negativity. Therefore it is better that we do not try to deal with each vice and defect individually. As the soul fills itself with the power of spirituality, its overall condition automatically improves.

Another significant point is that there is a deep-rooted awareness within the soul of God and His sanskars, however much it may be covered by dirt and weakness. This is because each soul is the child of God and being his children we inherit his sanskars. These sanskars are present in us when we start playing our part in the physical world, but gradually they fade away as we take more and more births. As these sanskars are brought to the surface of the consciousness, automatically our thoughts and behavior patterns change.

In modern psychology it is stated that we must express all our negative emotions and note suppress them. But the fact is that letting it out leads the soul further into slavery to that emotion. Remembering that thoughts, decisions and actions are formed on the basis of sanskars, which are deepened by repetition, the soul can only cause harm by expressing any defect or vice. On the other hand, the psychological effect of suppressing negative emotions can be quite drastic. Suppression can lead to severe personality problems, even madness or insanity. The right path is that we emerge our positive sanskars with the help of meditation and other self-development techniques and the negative ones automatically vanish away.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 29-04-2014
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Patience brings easy solutions.

Expression: What one cannot achieve with pressure can be very easily achieved with patience. Patience brings a state of calm inside which helps in finding the answers that already lie within. It gives courage to work on the problem in a cool and relaxed way till the solution is found. It brings creativity even to mundane things.

Experience: When I am able remain patient even in the most challenging situations, I am able to remain calm. I don't let go of my inner peace but am able to be aware of my own inner resources. I am able to retain my inner strength which gives me courage to find the solution for every problem.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 28-04-2014

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Soul Sustenance 28-04-2014
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Absorbing Spiritual Light - Part 1

Just as darkness is the absence of light, negativity which manifests as vices and weaknesses inside us is merely the absence of spiritual light. Through the influence of negativity, the sense organs waste away the light. The question of vice, or sin, has been of a lot of importance in religion. No matter how much political or religious control has been imposed, nothing has been able to block the internal wasting away of the "light" of the soul. Light has a source but darkness does not. Darkness is not created by any source but is rather the absence of a source. In the same way, the negative forces do not emerge from the real nature of the self, but are simply symptoms of a lack of spiritual power or light. As spiritual power declines, symptoms of negativity such as anger, greed, ego, attachment, hatred, jealousy and related vices appear. On the other hand, as the soul's power and spiritual light increases through a union (meditation) with the Supreme, the vices automatically disappear. In fact problems are not fundamentally caused by a particular vice, it is a question of the extent of one's power. If I am weak, the sanskars mostly related to vices dominate my experience. If I am strong they do not have a chance to affect me.

The negative forces have often been personified as Ravana, Maya or Satan but in fact there is no such entity. Maya describes a level of consciousness. There is no outside being whom we can blame. The vices are symptoms of individual ignorance and loss of power, which appeared only when our original creative powers subsided as we came into the process of birth and rebirth. When the soul's power fell below the level necessary to control matter and the senses; then the vices emerged inside the soul. The soul was more and more propelled by them through many births, until today when they appear to be a basic part of our real nature.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 28-04-2014
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To look closely at one's own behaviour is to bring about a positive change.

Expression: While it is easy to talk about what other people should do to change themselves and their behaviour, it is also important to see what one can do to bring about a change in oneself. When there is the ability to look in this way, effort is put in continuously to change old unwanted patterns of behaviour and replace with more desirable ones.

Experience: When I am able to take a closer look at myself, I am able to see which trait in my personality is getting in the way of my progress. This knowledge helps me accept myself with my shortcomings and yet have the courage to bring about a change easily. So I have the satisfaction of working on myself.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 27-04-2014

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Soul Sustenance 27-04-2014
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Bringing The Consciousness Back In Shape

If we try and find the root causes of all forms of stress, we would find that both lazy and wrong thinking lie behind various stressful emotions. No one right from our childhood to when we are grown-ups puts this into our heads that we are each responsible for our own thoughts and feelings. Instead we are taught that others are responsible for what we think and feel. No one teaches us how to think. We are taught what to think in terms of knowledge of the world, but not how to shape our own thoughts and feelings.

In spirituality the self gets the required training to create positive and powerful thoughts, thoughts:

1. which are connected to true spiritual knowledge of the self,
2. which are beneficial to your own spiritual well-being,
3. that inject positive energy in the form of happiness, love and enthusiasm to those around you,
4. which are absolutely necessary in the context in which you find yourself,
5. which use all your subtle energies in an economical way,
6. which ensure that the result of any response you may create does not result in stress.

When no one teaches us that any mental or emotional discomfort comes from within our own consciousness, we also do not ever realize that any negative state of being is unnatural and a sign that our consciousness is out of shape. The above thought training helps us to return our consciousness to its true, natural and original shape.

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Message for the day 27-04-2014
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To use one value with commitment is to guarantee the use of all values.

Expression: Values are related to each other as if they were members of a great family. For the one who is committed to one value is the one who is able to emerge the other connected values. Such a person is able to add quality to everything he does and speaks.

Experience: When I am able to recognise my own special value and use it with commitment in my daily life, I am able to experience success in all I do. This is because I have the satisfaction of giving my best and of having added quality to everything I do.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 26-04-2014

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Soul Sustenance 26-04-2014
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Factors That Bring Us Closer To Success

Given below are some factors that bring us closer to success:

• High self-esteem.
• Constancy.
• Courage and determination.
• Integrity and honesty.
• Self-acceptance and acceptance of others.
• Believing in what you do, regardless of external factors.
• Responsibility.
• Dedication, determination and tranquility.
• Being positive in the face of adversities (negative circumstances).
• Being consistent with your values.
• Precision in decisions and choices.
• Focus.
• Performing all karmas with love and happiness.
• Giving the maximum of yourself in everything you do.
• Creativity.
• Thoughts and actions in tune with each other.
• Appreciation and blessings (good wishes) from others.
• Gratitude toward oneself and others.

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Message for the day 26-04-2014
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To have an open mind is to be prepared for mistakes too.

Expression: The one with an open mind is the one who is able to see things for what they are and accept them. He is able to take the lesson from each situation that happens and move forward with confidence. He never lets any situation or even his own mistake discourage him, but he is able to move forward with renewed confidence.

Experience: I am able to learn from my mistakes and be ready for the next learning too when I am able to keep my mind open. Each mistake that happens is also a beautiful teaching when I am willing to learn. With each new situation I find myself growing very beautifully within.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris