Brahma Kumaris

21.12.15 Acceptance When you accept others unconditionally, they can remove their masks and feel at ease with who they are. The security of being accepted gives them the freedom to be themselves. Being impressed by others To keep our self-esteem intact, we need to make sure that we do not have an impressionable intellect. Being impressed by people, in itself, is not bad, but we can fall into the tendency of staying trapped in the superfluous and in appearances. What impresses us - influences us and even moulds our awareness at that moment. We lose the ability to create our thoughts and feelings and these are influenced by the impression that we have allowed the other person to leave on us. Sometimes the impression is such that we completely give ourselves to it. We give up our power to the other, and we allow them to dominate our emotional world. The results of allowing oneself to be impressed are varied and on different levels. For example, when we are impressed by the other's position; it is fine to respect the authority and the position of the other, but when we allow their position to impress us, our ability to relate to the person in a smooth way is blocked. This can make it difficult for us to be the authority in our own life. Another example is when we are impressed by the achievements of the other and put them on a pedestal. We compare ourselves with him or her and have weak thoughts of ourselves, such as that we are not as good or effective as them, or we might feel jealousy or guilt. All of this acts as an obstacle on the path towards our own achievement. It is good to recognize and appreciate the achievements and skills of others, but when we allow them to impress us, in some way, we submit ourselves to their influence and we weaken our self-esteem and our respect towards ourselves. Without realizing, we use the other to fill a gap that we feel in ourselves. This will not always work. It will not strengthen us; rather it will create a dependency and dependencies weaken us. Breaking The Cycle Of Negative Energy Exchanges (Part 5) To conclude, we all know that every individual is inherently good. A little shade of the incorrect or improper personality exists inside each one, however light the shade is. We also know that this shade was not there originally in the soul but is an acquired one. And also the person with the shade does become aware of it in times of solitude and also is making an effort to remove it so that no discomfort or sorrow is caused to anyone because of it. Along with the negative shades every person possesses many positive personality traits which are their strengths. Now when we are having an exchange of negative energies with such a person, what does a spiritually sensible person do, look at those light shades of negativity which are coming into action at that time or focus on so many positive colours of the personality of the other, colours that we have seen or heard about from others many times in the past. Also, an accompanied realization that even I have my share of negative shades which I am working on erasing, makes this vision easy to practice. Practiced consistently, this kind of positive vision accompanied by a deep hearted appreciation of the positive personality colours of the other person is mercy in action, which is a shade of pure soul-to-soul love. Such appreciation makes it easier for others to reflect on and see what they need to do to change. But the first impact of this appreciation is on me, in keeping me free of negative and waste internally. So appreciating the other's strengths in my mind and emerging them in my consciousness at such a time is very important as this not only keeps my perception, which is susceptible to being influenced by the negative at that time, clean, but also reaches the other person on a vibrational level and he/she is inspired and empowered to bring those strengths into action, as a result playing his/her part to end the negative energy exchange. This is spirituality at its most magical. I'll not only have removed a source of pain, which is the negative shade of the other's personality in this case, which is coming into action; I'll have grown spiritually as well. Soul Sustenance Positive Thinking Given below are some examples of simple positive affirmations (thoughts) that you can make about oneself, others, real life situations and the future, which will help you in becoming a positive thinker. The self: I do like myself; I accept my weaknesses; I understand myself; I have special skills and qualities; I value myself; I believe in myself; I am lovable. Others: I accept others as they are; I look for the best in others; there is something good in everyone I meet; I appreciate others. A real life situation: I am capable of handling the situation; I have all I need; I am fortunate; there is a bright side to everything; nothing lasts forever. The future: I look forward to each day; every difficult situation is an opportunity/challenge in disguise; each day brings something new and beautiful, something to learn. Message for the day To listen to others fully is to be able to be free from repeating mistakes. Expression: When there is criticism that comes one's way, it should be carefully analyzed to see if there is any truth in it. If there is correction can be made accordingly. On the other hand, if others' criticism is ignored or there is a tendency to defend oneself, there cannot be any correction and mistakes are repeated. Experience: When I listen to others with honesty, I am able to discover even the most negligible aspect in my behaviour which I can change. So I find myself constantly improving and progressing and moving on towards success. So having brought about a change, even the criticism that comes my way stops.