Daily Positive Thoughts: November 12, 2014: Take Time to Laugh

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 12, 2014: Take Time to Laugh
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***President Barak Obama with President Bill Clinton sharing lighter moments***

★ Take Time to Laugh
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Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to read, it is the fountain of wisdom. Take time to love and be loved, it is a God-given privilege. Take time to work, it is the price of success.

★ Free from Weaknesses
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The normal reaction to negative situations (situations that hold a
threat for me) is to react with negativity (with my weakness). But the
problem with such a reaction is that each time I use my weakness it
only gets further strengthened, and becomes a part of my nature. I need
to remind myself that only when I free myself from my weaknesses can I
bring benefit to myself or to others. This thought will enable me to
constantly check myself and put in constant effort to change myself too
in overcoming my weaknesses.

★ Maintaining Positivity
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When we feel ourselves to be surrounded by violence, suffering and pain, we find it difficult to sustain hope. We need to understand the causes of that suffering, to go to the root that brings it into being, since only thus will we be able to keep the light of hope on. Understand that pain is a sign that indicates to us that something has to change. If your tooth didn't hurt you wouldn't go to the dentist nor would you realize that something in your tooth isn't working. In the same way, emotional and mental pain suggests to us that something is not right. Understanding the signs that suffering brings us helps us to accept the causes of the pain and to generate the power to transform or change it. Out of understanding, acceptance and being willing to change, we relieve the pain and keep hope alive.

In spite of all the international, national, local, family and personal conflicts that there may be, there are many positive things to be happy about. There are more and more people becoming aware of the importance of personal development, and of taking care of oneself on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. There is a list of positive things and situations to be happy about. Be grateful for and discover the benefit that there is behind everything that happens. All of it helps you to strengthen hope in yourself, in others and in humanity.

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation -
The Power To Discriminate
Meditation gives me a discriminating eye - an ability to discriminate between truth and falsehood. It does this by helping me maintain a consciousness that helps me rise above competing claims to truth - the different ideologies and opinions, reasons and analyses, justifications and stories related to a situation - which can be so confusing.

The image of discrimination is the jeweler, who, with the help of his eyeglass, sorts out real diamonds from false. Meditation opens my third eye, the eye of pure consciousness. When I look at the world through this eye, truth is not just an intellectual idea, but an experience of the heart. When I think and act in ways that maintain and deepen this experience of truth, I know I am moving in the right direction. Conversely, I discover that thoughts and behaviours that cloud or hide the experience of truth are coming from falsehood, no matter how much I or others may try to justify them. So, meditation gives me a reliable basis for discriminating the value in different courses of action: will this help me recover my truth, or take me further into falsehood? Will it maintain the flow of love, peace and happiness in my heart, or will it cause a blockage? Previously, I may have been easily swayed by other people's demands and opinions, or by illusory ways of thinking arising from my own negativity. Like a good lawyer, the intellect is very clever at arguing its case, regardless of where the truth may lie. But, when truth is experienced in and from the heart, there is no arguing with it. Deeply experienced truth clears my mind of irrelevancies created due to possessiveness, greed, desires and ego. As I learn to create pure, positive thoughts, and connect with the divine, it is as though a flow of clear, fragrant water gradually displaces the mud and rubbish in my intellect, enabling me to see reality or truth again.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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True royalty lies in humility.

Projection: The one who is humble never reacts but responds in the right way to situations or challenges. Thus there is royalty visible in all words, actions and behaviour. So there is newness visible in the way of responding to situations.

Solution: When I am humble I am able to be beyond the influence of praise and defamation. This is because I am stable in the state of my self-respect. Also because of this I am able to bring about newness and I am able to be creative in responding to situations too.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris
★******★~••★••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 11, 2014: Life is a Work in Progress

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 11, 2014: Life is a Work in Progress
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***As Beiras (Portugal) a CORES !!!***

★ Life is a Work in Progress
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Life is not something that can be rushed.
Things take time, lots of patience and hard work.
It is a continual process of learning.

Build upon each lesson to constantly refine who you are, what you do and how you do it.

★ Count your Blessings!
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What a great blessing it is to have God as a friend, with a heart so
trusting you may safely bury all your secrets in it, who can relieve
your cares by His conversations, your doubts by His counsels, your
sadness by His good humor and whose very looks give you comfort.

★ Being A Good Transformation Agent (cont.)
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If you go inside yourself and observe, with sincerity, your feelings towards someone that you consider unbearable or intolerable, you will see that your perception(way of looking at them), your expectations and your bad feelings make you feel that the other is unbearable or intolerable. You have allowed the other to influence you in the creation of your bad feelings. You have lost compassion (kindness) and the capacity to accept and understand the other.

Being a good transformation (change) agent requires having full control over your inner world. If you are the victim of your rapidly moving mind, your bad feelings, your aggressive emotional states and of your not-very-healthy habits, you will easily feel yourself to be the victim of others, of circumstances, of time and of society. In relationships, the key is in living with your consciousness awake and not to do anything that your conscience does not agree with. In doing so, you don't have to fear the opinion of others. You don't have to feel insecure or doubt yourself. If not, we will continue to act against our own consciousness and we will feel ourselves to be victims. To avoid pain or the unhappiness that arises automatically when we act against our own consciousness, we look for guilt excuses: "Because of... I haven't acted as I should." We blame or we make excuses. That way we suppress the voice of our consciousness until the suffering and unhappiness is such that our conscience scolds us, which increases our unhappiness even more. A good transformation agent will always obey the voice of the inner conscience. By remaining in tune with our conscience and creating right thoughts, words and actions, it becomes easier for us to move from victim consciousness to transformer consciousness (one who brings about change).

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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The Search for Peace, Love and Happiness

We are constantly searching for true values. In consciousness we mistakenly think that the physical world and physical relations can provide us peace, love and happiness. However peace, love and happiness are not the properties of matter, nor of the physical identity, but the true properties or characteristics of the soul. This has to be realized.

Imagine a scene in which you are surrounded by all your favourite things; food, music, fragrance, scenery and companions. Just about to enjoy your meal, the telephone rings and you are told that a person close to you has just died. Instantly, that scene of "favourites" melts into a distasteful and superficial experience. Something has happened that shakes the soul and it can no longer enjoy those things. At the same time it finds itself powerless in the face of the bad news as understanding and power are missing. Life is full of experiences such as this and it becomes clear that physical things are not the sources of peace, love and happiness, but that understanding and inner strength are.

One of the basic facts of human psychology is that we do not seek or desire something that has not been experienced previously. For example, if one has never tasted a mango, there cannot be a burning desire to have a mango. This suggests that desires might be arising from previous life experiences. In fact, it is impossible for a human being to act or desire outside the field of his or her own experience. The search for peace, love and happiness is so fundamental to the human spirit because these are the original and true qualities of the soul itself.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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Accuracy brings perfection and speciality in all that is done.

Projection: To be accurate means to take up full responsibility for every task and do it to the best of one's ability. That means all resources that one has are used in the best possible way for the best result of the task. This naturally brings perfection in everything that is done.

Solution: When I am accurate in everything I do I am able to be free from carelessness and negligence. I find myself bringing specialty and uniqueness in what I do. For having done things with accuracy, I also find myself becoming trust-worthy and I am also able to be satisfied with myself.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris
★******★*~••~*★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 10, 2014: Thoughts, Words and Deeds

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 10, 2014: Thoughts, Words and Deeds
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★ Thoughts, Words and Deeds
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Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.

★ True Contentment
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Many times I find that my words, actions or behavior tend to upset
others in spite of my not wanting to hurt them. I seem to be very happy
with the situation, but others don't seem to be. At that time I am not
really able to understand the reason for this and I consider the others
to be unreasonable. I need to check myself when others are getting
upset with me. I need to make effort to check and change myself
constantly so that I am able to move along with the demands of time.
This is what will bring about true contentment - such contentment that
neither will I be upset nor will I upset others.

★ Being A Good Transformation Agent
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Often, we feel ourselves to be victims of different factors that seem to direct the course of our life without us being able to control them. The world does not seem to dance to our music and our will, and we feel ourselves to be victims because things do not work out or are not as we want. Therefore, we give up and decide to resign ourselves to this reality; to be victims of it and observe passively (non-actively), resisting what comes, getting frustrated and bad-tempered. However, we could position ourselves in another way: beingtransformation (change) agents (the ones who are able to change the external factors like people or situations) by creating a different reality. To do so we have to change our perception. Also, it is necessary to strengthen our capacity to tolerate, accept, let go and forget. Tolerance here also refers to understanding, love and compassion(kindness). Not to put up with people or things, but to remain above them, to go beyond them; to co-operate with trust and motivation. It is difficult for us to tolerate because we have expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how others should act and be. Then we create negative feelings towards them because they are not like that or don't act in the manner that we want. This makes our relationship with them difficult.

When your vision towards others is positive, you see their qualities, their efforts and their values instead of their defects and their errors. You are open to listening to them and to understanding their intentions. That way it is easier to have good feelings towards them. Basing ourselves on a positive and objective vision and on good feelings, we do not have to put up with, or even tolerate the other - the relationship becomes streamlined.
(To be continued tomorrow...)

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Understanding The True Self And The False Self (cont.)

The illusory (false) self is made up of desires that, even when fulfilled, fail to add value, or a sense of worth to the self. In fact, quite the opposite process happens.

Let us examine some of these illusions and how they give us a mistaken sense of value.

Illusion (False emotion): Ego
Thought: I know, I am
Result: Arrogance, inflexibility, controlling others

Illusion (False emotion): Anger
Thought: I expect
Result: Force, aggression

Illusion (False emotion): Attachment
Thought: I own, It's mine
Result: Insecurity, possessiveness, jealousy

Illusion (False emotion): Greed
Thought: I want, I need
Result: Emptiness, wanting, dissatisfaction

Illusion (False emotion): Lust
Thought: I desire
Result: Exploitation, misuse, emotional dependence

These are the five fires that burn away the quality of human life: uncontrolled emotions that once, in their original pure state, gave happiness and peace to the individual but now create only emptiness and sorrow.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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To have the awareness of being God's instrument is to bring about a positive change.

Projection: When there is the awareness of being an instrument of God, there would be the desire to do the best and be the best. So each and every thing I do would be for the improvement for the self. Due to this there would be divinity and specialty seen in everything that is done. This would also bring the awareness of all the resources and they would also be used in a worthwhile way.

Solution: When I am aware of my own role and what I contribute through my specialties, I recognize the fact that I am a beautiful instrument of God. This awareness naturally helps me be in my state of self-respect under all circumstances. I find myself giving my best and making myself more and more beautiful within. So I find that I am able to bring about a positive change with great ease.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris
★******★~••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 09, 2014: Letting Go of Mistakes

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 09, 2014: Letting Go of Mistakes
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★ Letting Go of Mistakes
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When you make a mistake, learn from it, resolve not to repeat it and then let it go.

Do the same with others. Instead of making their mistakes bigger, dissolve them in your mind. This will help the other person to let go of their mistakes.

★ Strength of Character
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Observe how easily the day would pass if you were able to move freely
without being affected by the negative attitude of others. Imagine how
much you can accomplish if you were able to remain constantly in a calm
and peaceful state rather than fluctuating up one minute then down the
next. Every time you lose happiness and go down, just see how much
energy is needed to take yourself up again. If you learn to remain
constant, not only is energy saved but you will find that your mental
strength increases and of course with mental strength and stability
come the development and maturity of character. Strength of character
depends upon my ability to remain unaffected by adverse circumstances.

★ Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation -
The Power To Tolerate (cont.)
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Real tolerance is a state in which, firstly, I have to go inside and check how I can contribute positively to a difficult situation. If the difficult situation requires me to mould my own behavior, I have to be open about that and respond accordingly.

Secondly, real tolerance requires understanding and humility in the self and sympathy towards others: realizing that at the deepest level, everyone's original qualities are love, peace and happiness and everyone wishes to experience these qualities and live with them and that when we behave badly towards one another, it's because we are suffering from a loss of these qualities, a loss which is temporary. That doesn't mean I have to invite another person to continue to insult me, or deliberately expose myself to negative situations. But if I happen to be in a situation where there is continuous insult or assault, understanding will contribute to my power to tolerate and accept it or walk away from it in peace.

Thirdly, real tolerance is that state of contentment, which comes only through the relationship with the Supreme, in which there is no impact from the assaults, other than to cause a response inside me of wanting to give, like the fruit tree (explained earlier). Forgiveness is the healing balm for an intolerant nature. When we move very far away from God, our tolerance level reduces. The nature we express becomes that of wanting, taking, needing, rather than our original nature, which is of giving and forgiving.

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Understanding the True Self and the False Self

Meditation is an attempt to find the true self. It is this self which holds the identity of what I am, an identity which, when realized, gives fulfillmentand direction to our life. This is what we call the consciousness of I am, which emerges in meditation when there is concentration on the present and we focus on the now of I am, rather than the past, or the future (I was, or I will be).

To remind us of this state, we use the word ‘Om’, which means I am a soul, the spiritual identity that acts as a key to human consciousness. As we find and realize the true self through meditation, we become aware of the false self and how deeply embedded it is in our lives, both in our way of thinking and being.

When we understand this illusory (false) self then we can begin the process of dissolving its negative effects on the original or true self.

In tomorrow’s message, we shall examine the various forms of the illusory or false self and its negative effects on us.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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The method to bring about a permanent change is to bring about newness in thinking.

Projection: To bring about a permanent change for the better means getting the mind trained to new ways of looking at the same situation. Only with this new understanding will there be a new response. Trying to bring about change in a superficial way will not bring about a long-lasting change.

Solution: When I train my mind to think creatively I'm able to keep my mind busy. In this way I'm able to free it from thinking negative and waste. Also I find myself enjoying every scene that comes in front of me and I also find myself constantly progressing.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris
★******★*~••~*★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 08, 2014: The Secret to Being Content

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 08, 2014: The Secret to Being Content
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★ The Secret to Being Content
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To be peaceful is to be free from expectations and to want nothing from anyone. Take the initiative and be generous. Lead the way and do something. This is the secret to being content in all circumstances.

★ Attachment
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In life we get attracted and become attached to a particular object,
person, relationship or situation. Attachment seems to be the normal
state of our living experience. We seek it without a second thought. Is
attachment a desirable state? When a person develops a strong
attachment, he is likely to become sorrowful when the attachment is
broken or diminished. His emotional and mental state suffers. The
broken hearted, the vindictive behavior, the hatred, the jealousy and
sometimes suicides are the result of broken attachments. It is a risky
business to make the happiness of others our total happiness; to
experience the difficulties of others as our difficulties. We should
not build our life to such an extent around someone else's life or any
object so that when anything goes wrong we cannot function or we fall
apart. It is healthier, stronger and much more in wisdom to love
everything and everybody, play our roles and perform our duties to the
maximum with everybody and still remain detached. We will be able to
provide more help to others when we ourselves are strong from within.

★ Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation-
The Power To Tolerate (cont.)
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For most people today, if someone insults them, they'll immediately become angry or upset in return, so the situation not only remains unresolved but infact becomes more complicated. Those who are virtuous may be able to remain content and smile for a while, responding with patience, but repeated insults and repeated efforts by the other person to bring them down will tire them until the point come where their tolerance levels are crossed and they will react.

If, however, through my power of spirituality and meditation, I am receiving immense amount of strength from the Supreme Being, my heart will remain open and I won't count how many times the other person has harmed or insulted me. This may sound extremely difficult and may look like an impossible thing to do. Meditation, however, makes the impossible possible. Meditation gives me an experience of a very deep, personal relationship with the Supreme and helps me keep the Supreme as my constant companion, which gives me such power. It's immensely useful for anyone then to move towards that goal.

True tolerance is made possible by openness and acceptance. It doesn't mean clenching my teeth and carrying on, come what may. Suppression of my feelings can cause me internal, physical as well as emotional damage, and end in an outburst which can damage others too.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Where Do Our Thoughts Arise From?
A large percentage of your thoughts are determined by what you perceive through your senses. Everything you see, listen to, smell or feel causes some reaction or other in your mind. See how your senses are connected to your mind. Any negative thing that they pick up or produce will disturb the mechanisms of your mind. If you want to have spiritual peace, then use your eyes, ears and mouth with caution. Other thoughts arise from the impressions that have been recorded in your subconscious (identity, personality and/or character), and they may be positive or negative. The negative ones are often due to deep marks and/or habits caused by past events or experiences, and also everything that is deeply established and settled in your inner self (belief system).

The sight and hearing senses are those used most in human beings, with as much as 80 per cent of the information we receive being processed through these two senses. We should always be on the alert to ensure that nothing negative enters these two doors that might contaminate our mind. We need a guardian to ensure that does not happen. This guardian is our intellect, the part of our conscience that contains the wisdom (knowledge) and capacity to discriminate between right and wrong, beneficial and harmful, truth and falsehood. Observing the mind, we can be aware of the thought patterns that originate in our subconscious. It is important to understand that you are separate from yourthoughts. You are not your thoughts, but your thoughts are created by you. With regular practice of meditation you will be able to choose at any time which thoughts you are going to focus your attention on and which ones you wish to disregard.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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The method to finish waste thoughts is to deal with the mind with love.

Projection: 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.

Solution: 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
★******★~••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 07, 2014: Self-Confidence

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 07, 2014: Self-Confidence
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***Nik Wallenda broke two world records on November 2, 2014, with two high-wire walks between Chicago skyscrapers without a net or harness, doing the second walk blindfolded. As he approached the end of the first walk he said, “God is in control.”*

★ Self-Confidence
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Self-confidence is to know your way around yourself so instinctively, that you always have a strength to draw on. Somewhere inside, from the stillness, you always find something that can meet your need. Self-confidence runs much deeper than nerves.

★ A Thinker
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Who are you that lives in the body? You are a thinker, and what you
think creates the atmosphere in the 'temple', and the atmosphere
determines how much love there is in your life. A poor thinker in a
smart machine attracts friendship with a motive; a rich thinker in a
temple attracts love. And the love that you attract today is the
foundation of your future, so though it is earned slowly, its depth is
worth it.

★ Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation -
The Power To Tolerate
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Visualize a tree with lots of fruits hanging from its branches. When I throw a stone at it, what does it do? It bends its branches low and offers its sweet fruit to me. I enjoy eating the fruit, which gives me inner satisfaction. What happens as a result? My respect for the tree increases.

This is a beautiful image of the power of tolerance and I have lots to learn from it. It shows me that if I want to imbibe the characteristics of the tree, I must become full of the fruits of the spiritual attainments from the Supreme Soul. When I am filled internally with fruits like joy, love, wisdom, beauty and peace through spiritual knowledge and meditation; even when the stones of difficult circumstances come my way I'll still be able to respond positively and creatively, with courage and humility. If I'm empty, the stones will injure me, and I'll react with anger or fear or ego or some other negative emotion.

Also, although many stones have injured me in the past, I must remove any hurt in my heart, which may have developed as a result of injuries experienced from them, when I did not have the Supreme Soul with me. These will prevent me from sharing the unlimited fruit made possible by the company of the Supreme.

Real tolerance means tolerating with pleasure and not with stress. It does not just mean putting up with a difficult situation, and at the same time counting how many times I have had to tolerate it. Tolerance means that no matter what stones come my way, I realize completely that those throwing them are souls not full of attainments, and so my duty is to continue to share my internal attainments with them.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Meditation – A Process Of Renewal (Recharging)

Meditation is an internal process of renewal (recharging) and liberation. When you control the process of moving through the following states of consciousness:
choose a response, detach yourself and go beyond;

You get back the spiritual power, which was trapped or hidden. You learn to channel your energy in order to unblock yourself. You control better what you think and you think better. You free yourself of bad feelings, bad energies and bad influences.

On the one hand, you have to learn to generate positivism; on the other, you have to learn to protect yourself from energies that are unhealthy, sick, weakening, on an emotional level. Meditation helps to do this, to digest situations when they have to be digested and not to consume what they offer when it is not necessary. On a physical level, if you know that something will make you ill, you don't eat or consume it. On the level of relationships, you learn not to allow certain situations, scenes or words to influence you. That way you stay   (recharged) and your energy flows without blockages.

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

Projection: 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.

Solution: 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
★******★~••°••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 06, 2014: A Real Diamond

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 06, 2014: A Real Diamond
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★ A Real Diamond
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To spread the sparkle of your pure and elevated vibrations into the world is to be a real diamond.

★ A Temple
---------------
You live in a body and that has to be known, not physiologically, as a
machine, but spiritually, as a temple. When you know it
physiologically, you cure it with chemicals; when you know it
spiritually you cure it with thought. And when its health is based on
thought, it becomes a thought, it becomes a source of health to others
- a refuge. When its health is based on medicine, it becomes an
attraction to others and so a trap.

★ The Gender Of God
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In a large number of religious traditions, all over the world, God is always referred to as a male entity. But, just as the soul does not have a gender and is neither masculine nor feminine, God's i.e. the Supreme Soul's gender is neither male nor female specifically. Therefore, as a soul, a spiritual child of God, I can come close to God without any inhibitions or difficulty, which I may experience in any relationship in the physical world, due to the gender of the body I am occupying.

We need to take a look at the Supreme Being or God closely. The Supreme Being is the Supreme Mother who provides spiritual sustenance and whose love is full of unconditional acceptance. No matter what has happened, how my nature or personality may be, I experience unconditional acceptance from God. It's a love that strengthens me, as well as it purifies me. At the same time, God is also the Supreme Father, a very powerful entity, who provides protection and fills the soul with the inheritance of divine qualities and powers. It's a question of just being an innocent child and claiming that inheritance. These are the first two relationships that have to be experienced with God. The Supreme is a balance of being feminine, having the qualities of caring, givingand full of good wishes and masculine at the same time, having the qualities of power, authority and fearlessness. He is She and She is He. These two relationships with God, whereby God plays both the roles of both parents are the basis of my spiritual development. Spirituality introduces to us the concept of taking a new spiritual birth to the Supreme Father and Mother. This birth is based on a change of consciousness. One needs to let go of the negative, impure and sorrowful past and develop a new consciousness, based on the present introduction to spirituality, which is positive, pure and blissful. The awareness of the self as a soul changes my way of looking at things immensely, but the consciousness of being a child of God, who is the Mother as well as the Father and seeing others with that vision brings respect and love for myself. Then all these qualities start showing in my actions and interactions as well.

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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The Eternal World Cycle

This world is a vast amphitheatre of action in which souls, in their respective bodies, play their various parts. Planet Earth exists in an extremely tiny portion of the physical universe and is governed by well-defined physical, chemical and biological laws.

In India, the world, which we inhabit, is called karma kshetra (the field of action), because it is here that we sow the seeds of actions and reap their fruits. It is here that the soul takes on flesh and bones and expresses the role that it has hidden within itself, causing variations in the material environment. The state of the material world at any given moment is a direct reflection of the state of consciousness of the human beings, which inhabit it. If there is peace and harmony within the soul this is reflected in nature. If there is conflict and confusion, nature responds accordingly.

It is a world of three dimensions of space and one of time. Its principal characteristics are sound, movement, colour and form. On this immense stage of deserts, forests, mountains and seas; illuminated by the sun, moon and stars; the world drama is enacted. In the drama, the actor-souls move from pleasure to pain, purity to impurity, happiness to sorrow, new to old, positive to negative. A point is finally reached when the process is renewed i.e. all souls and the elements of matter are purified by the Supreme Soul and they move back to their points of origin, only to start again. This is called the eternal world cycle.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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The power of determination brings all thoughts into practice.

Projection: 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.

Solution: 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
★******★~••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 05, 2014: Look for the Silver Lining

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 05, 2014: Look for the Silver Lining
★***************★~••★••~★***************★
*** Kailua-Kona, Hawaii ***

★ Look for the Silver Lining
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Seek to 'see' the benefit in all events. That's not to say, ignore the downside. See the 'reality' but, at the same time, deliberately look for the upside. Find that silver lining.

Look for the lesson. Realize, nothing happens TO us but everything happens FOR us. Shift, "Why is this happening TO me?" to "What is the lesson here FOR me?"

★ Love
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Live in such a way that love informs every action! When we have learned
to live like this, nothing will disturb us. Our contentment and good
feelings towards others remain constant. We become free. The power to
live like this comes from inside, not from outside. That is why we stay
free, with no expectations from others, no frustrations. To live like
this requires us the let go of certain beliefs and habits that drain us
from this strength and interfere with our ability to love. Sometimes
they become so deep-seated in us, that we are not aware of its
presence.

★ The Car-Driver Comparison To Aid Self Realization (cont.)
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If a good driver, while driving a car is distracted by the negative and disturbing scenes which he comes across and his attention is pulled in many different directions, he will make his journey unsafe increasing the probability of meeting with accidents. When the same principles are applied to the soul and the body, I also need to take care that, while traveling on the road of life, I am not distracted by scenes that are not useful to me e.g. when looking out through my eyes and I don't have to take in all the images, scenes and information along the way, otherwise I may meet with an accident. When listening through my ears, I don't have to take in all the words and everything that people say, otherwise I may meet with an accident. I can choose to take in what is useful for me, but I do not have to register distracting, negative and harmful images and words. Just like a driver, I see and understand situations, too I keep my eyes and ears open - it would be unsafe to ignore them completely, I need to be aware of them - but I look only for the positive in them, so that I remain focused and am not deflected from my goal of experiencing inner contentment and bliss, while making the journey.

I, as the driver in charge of this vehicle, the body, also need to take care that I do not drive rashly i.e. I learn to monitor the feelings and attitude that are transmitted outwards through my eyes, my words and my complete body language. Driving rashly i.e. transmitting negative energy in this way could harm any co-traveler on the road of life. When these feelings stay positive, filled with sweetness, purity and respect, that too helps to ensure that my journey passes smoothly and enjoyably. When I stay alert and aware in a driver conscious and drive carefully as explained in this and yesterday's message, my actions bring me closer to my spiritual truth and I am able to share my positivity with others around me. When I lose awareness for even a moment, there's danger either from me to others or vice versa.

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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The Circle of Influence and Worry

Make a list of the things that worry you most and decide if they are in your circle of influence or worry. Think about what you can really do to have an influence on each of them in an effective way. By determining which of these two circles is the centre around which most of your time and energy revolves, you can discover a great deal about your level of positivity. Positive people focus on the things they can do something about. If necessary, they change their attitude. They are aware that perhaps they cannot change the circumstances but they can improve their inner attitude. This is what positive focusing is all about: being creative, thinking differently, being open to listening, being more understanding, more communicative and showing more solidarity.

Reactive people focus on the problems of the circle and on the circumstances about which they have no control. They react to the defects found in other people. From this worrying, accusations, destructive criticism, feelings of blame, a reactive language and feelings of weakness and frustration can arise. They want others or the circumstances to change first and when that happens, then they will change. Whenever they think that the problem is on the outside, this thought is the problem. The negative energy produced as a result of this approach, combined with the lack of attention to the areas in which they could do something to improve the situation, means that the area of influence decreases in size. They give power to what is external so that it dominates them. In other words they think that change must come from "outside towards the inside"; they think that something that is outside must change before they themselves change.

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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Love creates the right environment for others' positive growth.

Projection: 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.

Solution: When I have love for others, along with perceiving their specialties, I am also able to recognize and use my specialties and inner powers more and more. Knowing and using these specialties 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
★******★~••~★******★

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 02, 2014: Freedom

Daily Positive Thoughts: November 02, 2014: Freedom
★****************★~:•★•:~★**************★
★ Freedom
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Freedom is a state of mind. Understanding the self is the key to freedom. The more one understands the self, the easier it is to be liberated from the chains of waste and negativity. Freedom is to be uninfluenced and unaffected, to be at peace with the self. Real freedom is to experience the true essence of one's being.

★ Disappointment
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A disappointment is never easy to surpass. I work hard towards a goal
giving it all I have and still end up empty-handed. 'Where did I go
wrong, what's the use of being diligent and conscientious? May be
everything depends on luck, God didn't help me...' A vision that
was initially strong and focused takes a sharp detour into the by-lanes
of disheartened thinking. On the other hand, by looking at the
situation with a calm, detached attitude, I can locate the faults or
leakages. Even if my attempts were faultless, to refuse to learn from a
set-back is a sign of ego. God helps me back on my feet when He sees
that I haven't closed the doors of my mind to new experiences.

★ Experiencing And Maintaining A State Of Contentment
----------------------------------------------------
To reach, experience and maintain a state of contentment or fulfillment you have to first realize what true freedom is and then learn how to use it so that it strengthens you and also helps you to achieve the full potential of your individual self. Freedom is the key to contentment. You also need to check what brings you close to the state of fulfillment and what takes you away from it. Fears of different kinds are one of the main obstacles in experiencing contentment. Any weakness, inability to apply any virtue or spiritual power required in any situation, lack of focus, inner instability, etc. will cause a leakage of the energy of positivity that is required to feel content. Free yourself of any personality trait that hinders your progress and does not allow your inner being to manifest itself and express itself with all its potential. To live in contentment, you should be in charge of your inner mental and emotional world. If not, you will only be able to experience temporary periods of fulfillment.

To achieve fulfillment you not only have to have inner control, but you also need to check whether there is any door open to allow any weakness to enter the room of your personality. Because if you strengthen yourself on the one hand and on the other you are weakened, you will never reach the desired state of inner power. E.g. you keep a bucket of water under a tap of water. If it has even a single crack, however much water you pour into the bucket, it will never get filled completely. In the same way, this can happen to you. Because of this, you need to check, which cracks are present in your personality through which there are leaks of energy, because of which your efforts to become content do not give you the results you hope for.

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★★ Soul Sustenance ★★
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Churning Spiritual Knowledge

Churning spiritual knowledge or thinking deeply about it makes us a complete authority of that knowledge. What are some practical ways of implementing churning in our lives?

Take 15 minutes out of your daily routine every day to think deeply on any topic related to spiritual self progress (like e.g. each day’s Soul Sustenance message or something else). You do not need to disconnect yourself from action to do this. You could do this while taking a walk, while driving to office, while cooking food, etc. By churning this way in isolation, the mind is able to concentrate immediately. Secondly if you read some spiritual knowledge and afterwards write down the essence (summary) of it for 5-10 minutes as it has influenced the mind, then you will find that essence will remain with you and deepen during the day.

The benefits of churning spiritual knowledge are as follows:

1. Churning makes the soul feel powerful: it makes you aware of your powers and increases your self-respect. Any inferiority complex ends and one experiences oneself as a great and powerful soul. Self-confidence awakens as weak thoughts diminish: * I won't be able to do this. Will I succeed or not? Strong thoughts emerge instead: * The Supreme Being himself is with me. I will definitely be successful. Such confidence and bravery is experienced which strengthens the soul to undertake any impossible task.
2. Natural and unruffled peace in my outlook: Churning takes us to the depths of the ocean of knowledge. The depth of knowledge finishes all our attractions. In the depths there are no storms, but only the peace and bliss of unlimited treasures.
(To be continued tomorrow …)

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★★ Message for the day ★★
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The virtues of honesty and courage bring success.

Projection: 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.

Solution: 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
★******★~••~★******★