Contemplation: Smile

Contemplation: Smile

Smile

When I smile, not only do I feel happy, but also I bring a ray of light into the lives of others

Enthusiasm

Without enthusiasm life becomes a dry and tasteless experience. Anyone
can become enthusiastic for a little while but to keep enthusiasm
steadily flowing through our life is a great art. The secret is
remarkably simple; live in a state of appreciation; appreciate the
special qualities within everyone; appreciate the wonder of nature and
give thanks to the cycle of life and everyone's contribution to it.
Enthusiasm is infectious, especially when it is based on an
appreciation of, and love for life itself.

Understanding And Expressing Your Potential

A free being is the one who recognizes their potential; they care for it, nourish it, use it and express it. It is an awakened being. It has stopped blaming, complaining and making excuses. It has taken on its full responsibility and has an attitude of gratitude at each moment. It is a relaxed being, but it does not get too comfortable in comfort zones or laziness. Out of peacefulness and spiritual strength, it rises above beliefs that limit their potential to grow and shine.

Its energy is full of love, courage and determination. It is a concentrated energy that governs their mind and emotions; it is not distracted by the unimportant, it does not lose sight of the important and does not allow itself to be trapped by anything or anybody. Therefore, their energy is fully centred and has great power. Not the false power that comes from stress, adrenaline, pride and ego, but rather the power that arises from a being whose conscience, decisions and actions are aligned. From a being that knows that nothing or nobody can prevent it from being free and express their full potential.

A free mind is a mind without limits, open to everything and closed to nothing. It is a mind that clings on to nothing and, because of this, is relaxed with everything. A mind is closed because it gets stuck on something; it is blocked by fears or disturbed by worries. A person with a busy, closed and clinging mind will get disturbed, they will fluctuate, they will lose their emotional stability and they will be easily offended. This doesn't happen to a person with a free, open and relaxed mind because they never lose sight of the true meaning of who they are.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

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.

Message for the day

To be a master means not to be cheated by one's own weaknesses. 

Expression: When there is any weakness working within me it means that the internal power is not working at that time. To be a master means there is total control over all the internal powers. Whether it is the power of concentration, or the power to decide or the power to be stable, whatever power is required is used according to the right time. So no weakness is expressed but only inner strength is revealed. 

Experience: When I am able to use all my powers at the right time, I experience mastery – over situations and over others. But most of all I find that I am a master of myself and my own feelings and emotions. I am always in control of my emotions, however challenging the situations outside may be. So I find that I am never cheated by my weaknesses. 

Contemplation: Contentment

Contemplation: Contentment

LAKSHADWEEP BEACH-INDIA

Contentment

Contentment is a great virtue, though it may not attract one's attention at first. Those who are truly content are usually quiet about it. It is a pleasure to be in their company, because they are full, peaceful, and generous.

Personal Experience

Whether you believe in God or not is not important. The main thing is
to keep an open mind, and be willing to start the conversation. The
experience of so many people is that when they engage in a mental
conversation, whether it's with a question or simply sharing what is in
their heart, they get a reply. This is God as a personal experience,
not just a voice in your head. Not your higher self. But the presence
of the Source in your life. God is not a concept, or a belief. You
cannot have a conversation with a concept. You cannot have a meaningful
relationship with a belief. Worth a try?

The Life Jacket Of Hope

In the midst of the constant changes of life and confusing or chaotic situations, hope, becomes our life jacket, which helps us to keep afloat and not to drown in the hurricane that at times causes unexpected or sudden changes. Without hope, we expect the worst. Our vision gets cloudy; we do not find or see any ray of light to see by. The mind fills with questions, allowing it to be overpowered by doubts and insecurity. Fear takes control of us and everything turns into a mountain or an un-climbable wall. It seems to us that we will not be able to get out of the difficult and critical moments, or it will be difficult for us to get out of the "hole". We feel incapable of going forward. Fear and doubt paralyze us and prevent us from deciding with clarity and acting with determination. We need to find support or help and, when we don't get it, we go even further down.

Living with hope keeps us awake. With hope we are open to the opportunities that life offers us. We overcome fear and expect the best. With hope our forces are joined in order to deal with and overcome difficulties. We maintain the vision that everything will get better and things will streamline themselves, giving out benefits to all. Hope helps us to keep the meaning of our life alive.

Soul Sustenance

Meditation To Experience My Inner Beauty 

Experience the following thoughts one after the other: 

I sit in a relaxed position, I am comfortable… 
I let my body relax, keeping my back straight, my legs supported comfortably on the floor, I breathe deeply... 
Now I begin to carefully observe my mind… 
What kinds of thoughts arise in my mind? Are they positive, negative? How are they moving? Slow, fast... 

I carefully observe my mind and remember that I can choose my thoughts… 
Consciously, I begin to redirect my thoughts... 
I create positive thoughts about myself... 
I think about my good qualities, I identify a specific quality that is special to me and which I feel makes me a unique being… 
Perhaps the quality is being tolerant, sweet, patient or affectionate… 
I create a space in my inner self to discover my best quality, and for a few moments I think about it… 
In my mind I see the beauty of this quality and observe how I feel... 
I am sweet, I am kind, and as I experience these special qualities, I begin to feel better about myself… 
Now I imagine using this quality in my interactions with others. How do I feel when I express and put this quality into practice? 
Using a quality makes me grow, at the same time the good feelings I have about myself as a unique human being also makes me grow…
I enjoy these feelings for a few moments and little by little, breathing deeply, I am aware that I am here; I express my inner beauty… 

Message for the day

There is magic in each day for those who have the eyes to see. 

Expression: The ones who are happy, always find something new. Even in the most ordinary and routine situations, they are able to find something interesting. So they are able to use everything that is with them in the best possible way. They are the ones who bring newness with enthusiasm and make the best use of the resources available. 

Experience: When I have the eyes to see the magic of each day, I have the ability to appreciate even small beautiful things of life. I constantly find myself content with whatever is happening and whatever I attain in my life. My contentment also brings creativity and I am able to experience progress by making use of all that is with me. 

Contemplation: Protect Yourself

Contemplation: Protect Yourself

Volcanic Island of Aogashima, Japan.

Protect yourself from useless and negative thoughts by maintaining a positive attitude.

Faith

Faith means that there isn't the slightest form of doubt in any
situation or at times of obstacles. Situations have to change and they
will continue to change. The supports that your faith has now will be
removed, and even after that your foundation has to be strong. If your
foundation is not strong, then supports are necessary. Therefore you
need to maintain your peaceful, loveful state and your love and faith
for God has to remain unshakeable.

Other recipients:

Understanding Anger And Its Many Forms It is easy to understand how anger is one of the greatest fires in the human mind. Anger may take the form of yelling, shouting and verbal abuse, such as threatening, accusing, demanding, giving ultimatums: 'Do

Understanding Anger And Its Many Forms

It is easy to understand how anger is one of the greatest fires in the human mind. Anger may take the form of yelling, shouting and verbal abuse, such as threatening, accusing, demanding, giving ultimatums: 'Do it or else!' But anger is also seen in the irritation when we do not speak: it is that silent smouldering (burning) where we emit fumes and fires of stored resentments (anger) and hatred, which effectively cuts real communication with others and ultimately ruins relationships. We get angry because we expect a certain type of behaviour from someone and when the behavior is not according to our expectations we become violent, convincing ourselves that others deserve to be punished.

However, this result is an unresolved violence, which keeps emerging according to time and circumstance. Angry people feel too self-justified to even think about forgiveness, or letting go, in order make a person or situation peaceful - they are too attached to fact that they are right and the other is wrong.

Soul Sustenance

Self Esteem

Self-esteem comes when I really value myself: When I place value on myself, then others, too, will value me. When I don't value myself, how can I expect others to value me? If I continuously put myself down, saying 'I'm no good' or 'I am not capable', other people who hear this will start believing it. So what do I do? The key word is 'consciousness'. As I start to become make my consciousness positive by creating positive thoughts many times in the day about myself like “I am the most fortunate soul in the universe” or “I am a victorious soul, I cannot experience failure in any step in life” or “I am a self sovereign soul, ruler of my sense organs” or “I am a destroyer of obstacles” or “I am a spiritual rose flower who spreads the fragrance of divine qualities” or similar thoughts, I become spiritually alert, then I am in a position to start valuing my life and as I start valuing myself, I develop self-confidence. The effect of this is that I start valuing others, understanding that everyone has their own position: not higher or lower, just different. Each one's uniqueness has its value.

Message for the day

The one way to change others is to deal with them with love.

Projection: When you have love for others, you will have good wishes for them. Your desire to change them will then be for their good and not for your own selfishness. Others will quickly respond to your unselfish love and you will find them changing.

Solution: Think of one person you want to bring about a change in. Before you think of changing that person let there be a lot of love for that person in your mind. Also make sure the change you want in the other person is for his own good and not for your own selfish reason.

Contemplation: Attitudes

Contemplation: Attitudes

Artist: Abdalieva Akzhan

Attitudes
When you extend pure love to everyone with selfless motivation that is an attitude of kindness. When you send good wishes and pure feelings to those who are in deep sorrow, that is an attitude of mercy. When you see the virtues rather than the weaknesses in people that is an attitude of compassion. When you bless and uplift someone even as they defame you, that is an attitude of forgiveness. When you tolerate a situation and take responsibility as well as give cooperation even when not appreciated, that is an attitude of humility and self-respect. Every second, every moment and every breath of your life is nurtured by attitude.

My Mind

It is said that the mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
At every moment we have the opportunity to choose our company; thoughts which bring oxygen to the spirit or those who bring pain. If I am
loyal to myself, I will continually strive to go back to my inner core
of positivity. I will be patient and loving, and increasingly my mind
will reside in this positive inner truth. When I am able to be loving
and loyal to myself, I can then help others in this same unconditional
manner.

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (cont.)

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.

Soul Sustenance

The Search for Happiness and a Perfect Relationship

Throughout history, human beings have desired and searched for two things, happiness and a perfect relationship. There is an old truth, ''You cannot search for what, you have not already had or known." In other words, our search is motivated by a deep subconscious memory of the original, perfect and eternal relationship with our Friend, Guide and Parent, the One remembered as God, Allah, Ishwar, Jehovah, etc. It is only when our relationship with this Being is restored that we can experience true happiness or bliss. Bliss is the deepest spiritual happiness we can experience. It is experienced only when we are free of all attachment, when we no longer misidentify with anything physical and when our inner mental state is not dependent on anything or anyone.

At its highest level, our relationship with God is pure and non-dependent, and therefore blissful. Deep within the soul, there is a memory of the bliss of this perfect union and it is the deepest motivation in our search for the perfect relationship, for the perfect happiness. However, instead of seeking at the level of spirit, we seek at the level of mind (personality) and body. We search in those around us for the perfect partner - our soul mate. It is not incorrect to have worldly relationships, but there needs to be a deep realization inside each one of us that our true soul mate, is the One with whom we can have an ever-lasting, eternal relationship, the One with whom we have the deepest eternal bond (over a period of many births), the One from whom we will experience everlasting, eternal, unconditional attainments.

Message for the day

The one who is responsible is the one who is satisfied.

Projection: When responsibility is taken up and fulfilled with commitment, there is efficiency and effectiveness in the work. This results in satisfaction and contentment at having made a significant contribution.

Solution: Each day let me take up the responsibility of contributing something significant to any task, even if it is a simple one. Having done this, I will find that I am able to be happy with whatever I am doing, for having made some contribution.

Contemplation: Balance

Contemplation:Balance

Balance

The indication of balance in life is a sense of well-being, optimism and a clear conscience. The foundation for achieving this is to look after myself spiritually - making my mind peaceful, loving and thoughtful. Then I will instinctively know how much time to spend on my own well-being and how much on fulfilling other responsibilities. I can only give my best to others when I am myself at my best.

Dependency

We can retain our positivity by working to remove worry and sorrow from

our heart and mind. It helps to recognize that negative feelings are
triggered by dependency on one or another physical aspect of existence;
the body, relationships, wealth, or circumstances in the world around
us. If any one of these is in a state of upheaval, we are liable to
become troubled. But it is our dependency on these things, not the
upheaval in itself, which causes deep distress. If we become free
inside, worry and sorrow will finish.

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (cont.)

As explained in yesterday's message, in the hierarchy of the three entities around which the whole World Drama revolves - the Supreme Soul is right at the top, the human souls are in the middle and nature is at the bottom. So, the process of restoring the balance of the spiritual and physical elements has to be initiated from the top i.e. by the Supreme Soul. The human souls which are in the middle of the hierarchy benefit from this process directly. The human souls, by transforming themselves i.e. by filling themselves up with the five spiritual elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy from the Supreme Soul and restoring their balance in their personalities, then bring benefit to nature which is at the bottom of the hierarchy.

This is because their doing this causes the positive energy of the five virtues to spread in nature, which results in the balance restoration of the five physical elements earth, air, water, fire and sky and the five spiritual elements or virtues in the personalities of animals, birds, insects (the same principle as explained yesterday). This entire process, explained above, takes place in the Confluence Age which is a small Age between the Iron Age and the Golden Age, which is again the present time. So, the Confluence Age is an Age in which positive transformation takes place. Thus, at the present moment of time, the two Ages - Iron Age and Confluence Age co-exist.

The Supreme Soul does not bring direct benefit to nature, He does that via human souls, who are intelligent enough to catch his directions and connect with Him and as a result transform themselves. So, the human souls when seen with respect to the Supreme Soul, who is the Creator; are the Creation, who benefit from Him. But the same human souls, when seen with respect to nature can be called the Master Creator and nature can be called as the Creation. Here the phrase Master Creator means children of the Supreme Soul, the Creator, but at the same time those children who possess the power to perform the task of balance restoration for the self as well as the Creation, similar to the Creator, under his guidance and by absorbing power from Him.

We shall explain the actual process of imbibing the five spiritual elements from the Supreme Soul in tomorrow's message, which is the last of this series.

Soul Sustenance

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.

Message for the day 

When there is a balance between easiness and reliability, there will be benefit for others.

Projection: When we understand our responsibility we would understand that what we do effects the lives of others too. So we will be cautious. Apart from this we will also know to take care of our own well-being because we would know that others will gain form our healthy attitudes.

Solution: Let this day be dedicated for removing some weakness within myself that is creating an obstacle for others and myself. When I do this I will not only be helping myself but there will be benefit for others too.

Contemplation: Courage

Contemplation: Courage

Courage

Do not become discouraged in the face of adversity. Understand that the bigger the heart, the bigger the obstacles it is asked to accommodate

Knowing the self

Other recipients:

Knowing the self and knowing God brings light into the darkness, and brings love back into our lives whereby we can reach out to others. The world will change when we are able to share this Godly light and this endless love. When I know myself I can

Knowing the self and knowing God brings light into the darkness, and
brings love back into our lives whereby we can reach out to others. The
world will change when we are able to share this Godly light and this
endless love. When I know myself I can really meet others. My vision
will not be disturbed by our differences but I will recognise the same
essence in others.

The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (cont.)

There are three entities around which the whole World Drama revolves - the Supreme Soul, the human souls and nature. Nature includes everything non-living like mountains, rivers, seas etc. and living things like plants, trees etc. It also includes living beings like animals, birds, insects etc. which are souls with a lesser evolved intellect than human ones. The human body also comes under the category of nature. These three entities are in the form of a hierarchy, the Supreme Soul is the most powerful at the top of the hierarchy, in the middle are the human souls and at the bottom of the hierarchy is nature. The Supreme Soul always remains an Ocean of the five virtues peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy and is the only entity in which the balance of these virtues is always maintained right through eternity.

In human souls, as explained yesterday, in the beginning of the world cycle, in the Golden Age, these virtues are in balance. As human souls come down in the birth-rebirth cycle and start becoming influenced by body-consciousness or the five vices - anger, ego, greed, attachment and lust, all spiritual building blocks or virtues - peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy start getting depleted. In each soul, some virtues get depleted more, some less.

In each and every soul the depletion is different depending on its actions e.g. in some soul the depletion of peace is immense compared to the other because of picking up sanskaras of anger on its journey and bringing them into actions or in some soul the depletion of joy is immense because of picking up a lot of attachment on the way etc.

This depletion of the five spiritual elements or virtues upsets the balance between them. This depletion and imbalance causes negative spiritual energy waves or vibrations of sorrow, anger, impurity, hatred, fear etc. from human souls to spread in nature and starts having a negative influence on the five physical elements earth, air, water, fire and sky and even the five spiritual elements peace, purity, wisdom, love and joy in the souls of animals, birds, insects, etc. upsetting the balance of both.

This is because nature (as defined in the above paragraph) is lowest in the hierarchy, lesser powerful and easily influenced by the energy that human souls transmit or radiate. This double imbalance of spiritual and physical elements results in peacelessness, sorrow, illness, poverty, natural calamities, accidents, ecological imbalances etc. When all of these reach their maximum extent, that Age is called the Iron Age. This is an interesting principle which needs to be understood clearly.

How do we restore the balance of the spiritual and physical elements? We shall explain that in tomorrow's message.

Soul Sustenance Defining Success

Given below are some definitions of success:

. Feeling yourself to be full of inner contentment and happiness, with an optimistic mental state, without fear, happy and in a good mood. Being fine, in balance and at peace with oneself.
. Finding meaning in what you do.
. Discovering what will bring you closer to your dream.
. Success is about more than just possessing; it is facing all situations, even the negative ones, transforming them into the positive and feeling yourself realized, personally and emotionally.
. Having courage to take forward what you want, in spite of what you find against it.
. Achieving in each moment the desired objectives at all levels of the inner being. Fulfilling set objectives and adopting a positive attitude.
. Being able to be beyond noise i.e. experience silence wherever and whenever you wish to . silence being the key to all spiritual treasures.
. Remaining humble in the wake of all achievements and glory that may come your way.
. Not being afraid of failure.
. Satisfaction at work.
. In harmony with one’s inner conscience (while performing all actions).

Tomorrow we shall discuss some factors that bring us closer to success.

Message for the day

The one who works in coordination with others is the one who can fulfill responsibilities well.

Projection: Responsibilities can be fulfilled well when there is the recognition that each one can contribute something to the task. It is also essential to create a cooperative rather than a competitive environment. Then there would be no feeling of superiority or inferiority in anyone.

Solution: When I am responsible to complete some task, I need to involve all the people who can help in it. When I do this I will find my task finishing faster. Also I would find that I would get the good wishes of all the people involved in the task.