President Barack Obama with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Take Time 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. Focus While moving towards my destination, I tend to get distracted with even the little things that happen. Even a small negative or positive incident is enough to distract my thoughts from my destination. I am sometimes so busy with such things that my vision moves away from my destination and I stop moving forward. I need to first clarify my goal. Once I have done this, I need to take care that my vision is focused on it. Even when situations come by, trying to distract me I need to remind myself that these are only side-scenes which are not important for me. It is more important to keep my energies focused towards the goal. The Alphabet of Change Awareness - First, become aware of what you need to change in yourself. What is preventing you from attaining contentment? What habits are blocking the way to realizing your full potential? Belief - Many people think that a change in their personalities is extremely difficult. But in fact it is a reality that lies within your power. It might be useful to ask yourself questions such as * What has held me back from change in the past? and * What are the stages by which I can bring change about? Commitment - Motivation is the key to commitment. We need to want to change, rather than feel it is a duty to ourselves. Try writing down a list of commitments in the form of statements beginning with "I will". They should come directly out of, and be connected with, your overall vision. Discipline - We cannot change unless we are able to maintain a steady course over time. Think of each sign as a major landmark passed. Even if we find ourselves slipping into old habits, that achievement of even a little bit of change cannot be taken away. Soul Sustenance The Five Spiritual And Five Physical Elements (Part 4) 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. Message for the day To understand is to be easy and light. Expression: Life brings obstacles and difficulties. They do not come to stop or hinder progress. They can strengthen and help in bringing progress with more experience. To understand this is to keep advancing. Understanding this aspect means to know that it is not always necessary to find a solution, it is enough to keep moving forward, leaving the obstacle behind. Experience: True understanding is to understand what the solution of the problem is and bring it into my own life accordingly. When I am able to understand this instead of focussing too much on the problem, I am able to remain happy. This brings a lot of inner lightness and ease and thereby I am able to use all my strength in bringing about solutions.