Brahma Kumaris

27.12.15 Inner Peace Where attention goes, energy flows; and where energy flows, things grow. This is the blueprint behind all meditations. For example, if we focus on inner peace and 'give' mental attention to the idea of peace, we water it with the energy of our consciousness. It then grows from a thought into a deep feeling, resulting in an experience of inner peace. Intrinsic qualities Turn your mind away from distractions and have it face inwards to the inner being. Like a perfectly calm lake when all whispers of wind have stopped, the inner being shimmers, quietly reflecting the intrinsic qualities of the soul. Analyzing Success And Failure (Part 1) You feel positive and joyful when you realize that you are successful. However, when failure comes to you, you feel defeated. The definition of success and failure varies from one person to another and according to the stage of life that you are in. It is important to have success and failure well defined for yourself, because, based on your definition, you feel greater or lesser inner well-being, happiness and wholeness. There are also different levels of success and of failure. For example, for some the greatest success is to be happy and radiant, whatever happens inside or outside. If one manages to keep happy in the face of failure, for them it is a success. Because to be happy means that I am connected with my essential worth or inner self, my being is awake and alive. Failure does not reduce my vitality, my contentment levels. The greater or fewer external achievements do not reduce the quality of the inner being or of being happy. The important thing is that you believe your own definition of success and failure. Some ideas can be shared that can act as guidelines, but, in the end, each person has to create their own guidelines, definitions and factors leading to success and failure. Basing ourselves on these guidelines and beliefs, we evaluate our successes and failures. You can reflect on what true success and failure mean for you and, according to those meanings, centre your attention on the values and efforts that lead you to achieve your objectives. (To be continued tomorrow ...) Soul Sustenance Taking The Path Of Spirituality (Part 3) The religious mind-set is sometimes threatened by the approach of spirituality (discussed over the last couple of days) and sometimes calls it a self-absorbed approach. Spirituality calls it the awakening of the self or the soul so that it can realize its true form and nature. It also reminds us that everything and everyone are interconnected. While we are all unique and have individual characteristics, we are also members of one spiritual family. If each one of us wake up spiritually and restore our personal link with the Source, with God, then that in itself will benefit all others around us. Seen in this way the enlightenment of the self becomes a spiritual service to others. This does not mean that the religious person is not spiritual. Many are naturally spiritual and carry a healthy and positive criticism about organized belief systems and the institutions which are built around them. They are often attracted to the universal truths found at an intellectual level in all religious philosophies. But an intellectual understanding is not enough, as the saints have reminded us through the ages. Having had direct experiences of a Supreme Being, they remind us that God can never easily be put under scientific investigation, but rather will be found in the personal experience of spiritual communication/connection. For this reason, in spirituality, there is always an emphasis on the practice of meditation/contemplation and the purification of the soul. Message for the day When you are content you can give the experience of contentment to others too. Expression: Each day check if you are content with what you are doing. Also check if others are content with what you are doing in your life. If there is an experience of contentment within yourself others will be content with you. Experience: At the end of each day, make a mental list of all that you have attained for the day, things that you are happy about. This will enable you to be content even during the phase when things are not going so smooth, because you are able to look at the positive aspect too.