Self-control Self-control is not about suppressing emotions or tolerating the pressure of circumstances. Self-control is to be the creator of your thoughts and feelings, to be creative and find new answers. This helps you to remain calm and cool. Special Consciousness Sometimes, while doing even a special task, our consciousness tends to become ordinary because of negative feelings for the self or others. Such thoughts make even a special task into an ordinary one. So what has to be done in a beautiful way is done in a very ordinary way. So there is a tendency to just perform action and finish the task at hand, which does not bring specialty and accuracy as much as it should. We need to understand that as is the consciousness, so is the feeling behind the task, and therefore its quality. When we are able to start each task with a special consciousness, like "I am victorious", or "I am powerful" or "this task is for the benefit of all", we are able to experience the specialty of doing the task. We are also able to increase our state of self-respect, whatever the task or however simple it maybe. Internal And External Attachments (cont.) 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...) Soul Sustenance The Flight of Harmony There are two faces to one coin; a person who wishes to live fully as a human being needs to understand that the existence of one's unique individuality has to be acknowledged, as well as the existence of the group or collective. One cannot exist without the other. Individuals who are developing spiritually feel a personal sense of value. They clearly recognize their uniqueness and have the feeling that there is the freedom to be whatever they choose to be. At the same time, their sense of personal independence allows them to come close to others and work with them. They do not have selfish independence. They get close to others because they have found fulfillment in their own self. Someone who has truly found the value of the self above and beyond labels, name, fame and approval can effectively cooperate within the collective or group and interact appropriately. Such people not only feel themselves to be a part of the whole but, even more importantly, the group or collective feels them to be a part of the whole. In nature, when birds have to fly to a warmer climate in winter, they flock together and start their journey as a group. The success of the journey depends on the group: if an individual bird does not join the group, it cannot reach the destination on its own. Birds fly in a particular formation, with an appropriate space between them as they fly. If they fly too close to each other, their wings get entangled; they lose their balance and fall. If they remain too far from each other, the formation cannot be created properly, and they are not able to ride the currents of air, which help to propel them in their flight. Furthermore, the leader of the formation does not remain the leader throughout the whole flight, but moves back and allows another to take its place. This repositioning continues throughout the flight until the destination is reached, allowing individual birds to contribute to the success of the journey. The reality of life is that we are individuals within a collective whole. Just like the birds, we are all a part of an unlimited Flight of Harmony. Message for the day The easiest way to bring positivity in life is to become worthy of God's love. Expression: A simple checking whether to perform an action or not is to see if it would be approved by God. When every action is thus checked, there would be positivity and benefit expressed through everything. There would not be any negative, waste or even ordinary actions performed, but only those that are sealed with the power of positivity. Experience: When I am able to bring about such positivity in my life, I'll not only win the love of God, but also the love, praise and good wishes of all those around me. I also become trust worthy and an image of support for those who are seeking to bring positivity in their lives.