Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 07-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 07-03-2014
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Internal And External Attachments - Part 2

We had explained some common examples of external attachments yesterday.

Some common examples of internal attachments are attachments to:

* your ideas,
* your beliefs,
* your opinions or viewpoints,
* your memories,
* a certain way of thinking
* a particular virtue/virtues or specialty/specialties,
* a particular power/powers,
* a particular sanskar/sanskars - either positive or negative, etc.

Whether the attachment is external or internal, the act of attaching is always internal. e.g. if you attach yourself to your job, you will say "my job". Your job is something external, but you hold on to it inside you - inside your consciousness.
(To be continued tomorrow...)

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Message for the day 07-03-2014
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To be free from attachment of one's own qualities is to have the ability to work on the self.

Expression: The main form of attachment of the self is the attachment to both one's own specialities and weaknesses. When there is the ability to free oneself from this kind of attachment there is the ability to work on both. There is the awareness of them, but not bound by them. There is the ability to use specialities with love and according to the need. There is also special attention given to finish weaknesses.

Experience: When I am free from attachment, I am aware of them, but there is neither arrogance of the specialities nor any inferior feelings for the presence of the negativity within me. I am able to experience detachment from them and able to use my specialities with ease. I am not disturbed with the presence of the weaknesses but am able to win over them with ease.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 06-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 06-03-2014
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Internal And External Attachments - Part 1

Attachment can be on two levels - either internal or external.

Some common examples of external attachments are attachments to:

* people,
* objects,
* your physical body,
* your position or role in your family, society or in your professional field,
* money,
* places,
* physical comfort/comforts,
* the way you look or dress up or carry yourself or your physical personality in general,
* a particular skill/skills,
* a particular interest or hobby like watching movies, online social networking, etc.
* your routine or a certain way of working at home or at the workplace,
* respect from others,
* how people see you or behave with you or what they think of you, etc.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

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Message for the day 06-03-2014
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True honesty brings clarity about the self.

Expression: Honesty doesn't mean just speaking the truth. Honesty means being clear with oneself. Then it naturally brings clarity about one's own capabilities. This clear understanding enables one to do the best according to the capacity. It gives the recognition of a higher step that can be climbed and brings the humility to learn from the different lessons of life.

Experience: When I am honest I am able to know my own limitations and accept them with love. This acceptance keeps me busy with what I can do and also silently makes me ready for the next step. When time comes, I am able to do it, because I have already prepared myself for it. I don't stop when situations demand more from me because there is total clarity within.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 05-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 05-03-2014
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The Invisible Factor

The most powerful things are invisible. For example, the roots of a tree cannot be seen; they are underground silently nourishing the visible tree. A house is supported by its foundation deep within the earth. If the foundation is weak the building will fall when there is some kind of strong pressure, like an earthquake. The essence of matter is the atom; it holds a tremendous amount of energy but cannot be seen by the eyes.

Can we see the Supreme Being (God)? You will never meet someone who has seen Him. People have experienced, or felt God's presence but no one has actually seen a personal form, yet millions believe in such a Being! In the same way, when it comes to knowing the true self, we ask, 'What does the soul look like? Where is it situated?'

Spirituality leads us to the answers related to the invisible i.e. answers to what is the form, location and virtues of the soul as well as the Supreme Soul.

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Message for the day 05-03-2014
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To use the gift that one has is to be powerful.

Expression: Each one has surely been bestowed with a special gift, a gift that is unique to each one. The one who recognizes this fact is able to use it for the purpose of bringing benefit to one and all. Under all circumstances there is the ability to bring out the best from within the self. So there is the influence of that on all around and everyone is benefitted.

Experience: When I recognize my own uniqueness, I am able to remain free from comparison and competition. I am able to be in the state of self-respect of knowing who I am. This then keeps me content and peaceful. Along with this, I have a lot of enthusiasm to use this special gift of mine. So there is a constant experience of contentment along with progress.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 04-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 04-03-2014
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Providing Emotional Support To Your Loved Ones

What do we do when friends and loved ones come to us for, and expect emotional support from us? Spirituality teaches us the right technique of providing emotional support – the technique of detached involvement, which is the technique of not being overawed, of not being affected ourselves by the emotions of others. If a friend, colleague or any loved one is upset and we also get upset (because we love them – that’s what we normally say), we cannot provide them the necessary support or the assistance to see why they are reacting emotionally and how they might change the nature of their emotions by themselves. True love for someone would mean that I am able to provide them that. While being concerned is fine, but by becoming upset, seeing them upset simply aggravates the situation and adds fuel to their fire.

By remaining detached, we can be more effective in our ability to care, listen and help them think clearly about the situation, they find themselves in. Only if we are stable, and that can happen only when we are detached, will we be able to provide them stability. We can encourage and empower them to change their negative reaction to a more positive response, and thereby generate a healthier energy. If we become over-involved in someone else's problems, there is a risk that our own judgment will be affected negatively. This is why making decisions and choices under the influence of your own and others' emotions is normally ineffective.

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Message for the day 04-03-2014
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To understand the power of positivity is to finish negativity.

Expression: All it takes to finish darkness, is a little light. What is real is light and what needs to go away is darkness. In the same way, negativity is nothing but a lack of positivity. The one who is able to use positivity in situations, is able to finish negativity very naturally. There is a very powerful influence of this inner positivity, where no negativity of the self or the others remain.

Experience: When I am able to enable myself to use the power of positivity, I experience myself to be free from the influence of negativity. I am powerful in all situations, and deal with them with great ease. Others or situations don't have an influence on me. Instead I am able to influence others with my own commitment to positivity.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 03-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 03-03-2014
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Meditation On Self-Forgiveness

Sit comfortably and relax. Recall the feelings associated with some mistake or mistakes you have made in the past. Connect with any feelings of hatred and revenge; connect with any feelings of guilt and how you felt you had let others and yourself down; the shame and the humiliation you may have felt...

Now ask yourself:
What good is it doing me or others by holding onto these feelings...? What benefits does it bring me? How does it help me, or the other people affected...? (pause for 30 seconds).

Now, say the following to yourself inside your mind:
I decide that I have held onto these feelings long enough and it is time to let them go... This is a matter of reason as they no longer serve me, and a matter of my will at a deep level to release them... I feel all these negative feelings and let them go... I release them... let them go...

Now, unconditionally, forgive yourself... you have made a mistake... you have learned from that mistake... there is nothing to be gained from having feelings of guilt or shame... let them go... forgive yourself... forgive everyone else who may have contributed... it is time to let it go...

Now focus on your true self - a divine being of spiritual energy situated at the center of the forehead... focus on your inner feelings of peace... Think of and feel your inner qualities of honesty, tolerance, kindness and generosity. Focus on them, as this is who you truly are... a peaceful, compassionate, forgiving being of spiritual light... radiating these qualities to the world...

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Message for the day 03-03-2014
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As is the seed so is the fruit.

Expression: Several times we find things happening unexpectedly. Yet, there should be the understanding that nothing is unexpected or a matter of chance but everything depends on the seeds previously planted. When there is this understanding there is no passiveness but there is an ability to take responsibility and better the situation.

Experience: Every thing I do has a deep significance and an importance for what I have to attain. When I understand this fact, I am able to make the most out of what I have. I am never discouraged by the negative results that I get today, nor do I take myself to a great height for the positive things that I get. I remain stable and make the best use of what I have.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 02-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 02-03-2014
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Experiencing Positive Thoughts

Positive thoughts emerge from your values and may be experienced as:

Confidence
Contentment
Cooperation
Enthusiasm
Generosity
Happiness
Harmony
Honesty
Hope
Love
Mercy
Peace
Respect
Solidarity
Tolerance
Trust

Let's look at some examples of positive thoughts (with respect to the above values):


Happiness: Happiness raises the spirit of whoever possesses it, and brings out a smile in others.
Love: Be as enthusiastic with the success of others as you are with your own.
Honesty: If I am honest in all my actions, I will never be afraid.
Respect: The only way of receiving respect is to give it first.
Mercy: Do not lose hope in those that have lost hope.

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Message for the day 02-03-2014
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To make big things small is to remain in peace.

Expression: Many times life brings situations, which are difficult and seem impossible to work on. But there should be the ability to transform something as big as a mountain into something as small as a grain of sand. To do this means to look for solutions instead of looking at problems. It also means to make effort to find the right answers for the problems.

Experience: When I have the ability to look at things lightly, I will be able to make even big things as small. This gives me the courage to deal with situations with ease. Then I am able to remain in peace. Such a state of mind is naturally able to bring out the best solutions under all circumstances.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 01-03-2014

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Soul Sustenance 01-03-2014
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The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (Part 4)

As we have explained earlier in this series, the Supreme Soul always remains an Ocean of the five spiritual virtues or elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy right through eternity. The soul is made up of three faculties - the mind, intellect and personality. Meditation is a direct connection in which a human soul, using the two faculties - the mind and the intellect, connects with the most powerful Supreme Source or Soul and draws spiritual power from it. This absorbed spiritual power then transforms the third faculty - the personality, filling it with the five virtues mentioned above. The more the spiritual power absorbed the greater and faster is the filling up of virtues. These virtues then become a balm which heals the many different types of wounds of ego, anger, hatred, hurt, jealousy, possessiveness, greed, criticisms, desires, etc. which have left their mark on the soul in this and many past births of the soul. They gradually restore in the soul the confidence to emerge from the shadows of negativity and to live in the light of its original nature. It is amazing, and heart-warming, when one rediscovers these qualities beneath all the other impressions formed during this and previous lives that have probably been peaceless and sorrowful at times. The journey of meditation bypasses all the negative tendencies and allows the soul to touch these original qualities, experience their truth, and express them in its life.

The other three factors which help us in understanding as well as experiencing peace, purity, wisdom, love and lasting happiness or joy are:
1. The understanding and inculcation of the complete spiritual knowledge of the soul, Supreme Soul and the eternal world time cycle.
2. Attention on the self and checking and changing the self during the entire day and also keeping a daily chart of the main weaknesses or negative personality trait in the self, which is filled every night before going to sleep.
3. Sharing the five spiritual virtues along with spiritual knowledge with others through thoughts, words and actions. Treasures shared with others will bring about a direct increase in the treasures in the self. Also, blessings received from others, by serving them help in the same purpose.

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Message for the day 01-03-2014
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To understand is to be easy and light.

Expression: Life brings obstacles and difficulties. They do not come to stop or hinder progress. They can strengthen and help in bringing progress with more experience. To understand this is to keep advancing. Understanding this aspect means to know that it is not always necessary to find a solution, it is enough to keep moving forward, leaving the obstacle behind.

Experience: True understanding is to understand what the solution of the problem is and bring it into my own life accordingly. When I am able to understand this instead of focussing too much on the problem, I am able to remain happy. This brings a lot of inner lightness and ease and thereby I am able to use all my strength in bringing about solutions.


In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris