17.04.2014

Clean and Tidy
The most important places
to keep clean and tidy are my mind and heart. If I allow
thoughts to flourish that I wouldn't want to see the
light of day, I can never have any real self-respect. By
starting each day in quiet reflection and pouring
positive, loving thoughts into my mind, I gradually
clean out
cynicism and unkindness.
Imagination
The power of the imagination is
extraordinary. The imagination is one of our greatest
resources. It offers us many options and, with the
clarity of our intuition and the power of our intention,
we can use it to bring about abundance and success in
our lives.
It is a matter of using the art of the imagination in a
constructive way so that it does not betray us. The
imagination should be used for our more healthy and
positive intentions.
When the imagination is influenced by our limiting fears
and beliefs, our mind begins to imagine the worst; it
creates fearful scenes that end up generating phobias
and blocking us. Then we turn the imagination into an
instrument to create negative fantasies that distance us
from what is real.
We believe in the fantasies that we have imagined. The
imagination has to used to help us overcome our
limitations and not the other way round, which would be
when the imagination is influenced by our limiting
beliefs and our fears, with which it weakens us and
keeps us locked into the cages created by our own mind.
From a grain of sand it imagines and creates a great
mountain that prevents it from advancing, and this
mountain only exists in its own mind.
When the imagination is used in a positive way, it is
capable of turning a great mountain, a difficult
situation, into a grain of sand. There is nothing too
big that the human being cannot overcome.
The Mental Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope creates beautiful patterns from chaotic
bits and pieces, which are scattered everywhere. When
the kaleidoscope is turned, disorder becomes order,
chaos becomes beauty and symmetry. The Drama of Life is
constantly turning and we are part of its cyclic
movement; sometimes this cyclic movement of life is
supportive, comprehensible (understandable) and
enjoyable and, at other times, it is tense, fearful,
stressful and incomprehensible (not understandable).
There is confusion and fear because we do not understand
what is happening, why it is happening and how it will
get better. Things not only appear chaotic but also
hopeless. If the intellect is able to go beyond the
questions of - Why, What and How and just be still,
without judgments, or pressure, for some period of time,
then things do work out. To do this requires faith.
The power of faith means that we know that somehow and
somewhere right solutions and answers will come in their
own time.
(To be continued tomorrow...)
Soul Sustenance
The Four Pillars Of A Spiritual Lifestyle - Achieving A
Balance
A balanced and
fulfilling spiritual life is like a table. It stands on
four legs and if one leg is shorter than the others then
both balance and equilibrium will be difficult. The four
legs or pillars of a spiritual life are given below in
the form of four subjects. If any of the subjects is not
a part of our lives or is a part of our life, but not to
as great an extent as the others, then the overall
balance of our spiritual life will be affected adversely
(negatively).
1. Daily spiritual study (knowledge or gyan)
Daily spiritual study provides the right quality of
nourishment for our mind and intellect, the two
important energies of the soul.
2. Daily meditation (spiritual yoga)
Daily meditation provides the means to explore, discover
and reconnect with oneself and with God.
3. The inculcation and development of virtues (dharna)
Giving some time each day to the conscious development
of our character (virtue) helps to eliminate any
negative sanskars or personality characteristics (vices)
arid improves our ability to build positive and
harmonious relationships. The quality of our
relationships is a mirror reflection of our dharna.
4. The service of others (seva)
A life purpose based on some kind of service is the
foundation of personal growth through the practice of
giving. Finding appropriate ways to use our increasing
spiritual power and understanding (through the three
subjects mentioned above) for the benefit of others is
the most satisfying way to use our energy today. It also
ensures happiness for the present as well as for the
future through accumulation of positive energy in the
form of blessings of those who are served.
Message for the day
The right kind of
support makes people independent.
Projection:
When we provide help and support to
others, sometimes we find that they become dependent on
us. They continue to expect the same kind of support
that They had got from us before, when we are not in a
position to give. Then our good gesture becomes a
bondage or difficulty for me.
Solution:
When we are providing help to someone, we need to check
the kind of help that we are providing. True help is to
provide assistance in such a way that slowly the person
learns to rely on his own resources and becomes
independent. Then there will be no expectations from us.