Brahma Kumaris

31.07.15 A Benevolent Attitude When you extend pure love to everyone with selfless motivation that is an attitude of kindness. When you send good wishes and pure feelings to those who are in deep sorrow, that is an attitude of mercy. When you see the virtues rather than the weaknesses in people that is an attitude of compassion. When you bless and uplift someone even as they defame you, that is an attitude of forgiveness. When you tolerate a situation and take responsibility as well as give cooperation even when not appreciated, that is an attitude of humility and self-respect. Every second, every moment and every breath of your life is nurtured by attitude. We all have expectations on how we want things to happen. When things don't happen the way you want them to, instead of getting frustrated and disappointed, tell yourself: "I would have preferred 'A', but now that 'B' has happened, it's OK!" Have preferences, not expectations. "I'd prefer if people were thoughtful, but when they're rude, it's not going to ruin my day." "I'd prefer sunshine but rain is OK!" Play this game in your head, and you'll feel more peaceful. Injustices And Suffering In The World - Applying The Law of Karma (cont.) An understanding of the laws of action reminds us that whatever we give we get, and whatever we get is the result of what we have given. When we apply this understanding into our awareness while we watch apparent injustices in the world, it reduces our outrage, lessening our pain. It's not that we sit passively and allow people to bring about suffering upon others, but it helps us to see that the greatest or highest contribution that we can make, to both the victim and the sinner, is to help them remember who they are and help them rise above their anger and fear towards each other. Only in this way can we help them to liberate themselves from an exchange of energy that has perhaps been going on for centuries. But before we can effectively do this for others, it is necessary to try and do it for ourselves. Instead of taking the law into our own hands (the desire for revenge and justice), we can benefit everyone around us by first understanding and living ourselves according to the invisible laws of cause and effect which define all human relationships. Sometimes this is referred to as 'practice what you preach', and it often requires moments of reflection before action in order to judge the consequences of any path of action. This capacity to stop, reflect and consider, in a state of mental calm and with clear intellect, is an essential characteristic of all effective leaders. It is also what makes us all potential leaders in life, every day, who can bring about world transformation through self transformation. Soul Sustenance Negative Control and Positive Influence The power of influence in relationships is extraordinary, but it practically disappears when we try to exercise control and force. You can influence anyone positively in many ways: • encouraging, • sharing, • listening, • communicating in the right way. In negative control we generate stress, frustration and anger. In positive influence the energy flows in a relaxed way with harmony and is not threatening, respecting each one for their specialty and allowing each one to be as they are. In order to influence positively we need the power of discrimination and judgement in relation to what to say and what to do e.g. when you believe that the other person is the problem; generally the problem is not what others say or do, but rather how you perceive them. The way that you judge is what creates your negative feelings about them. We have the choice to perceive others as a threat, as a problem, or as an opportunity; an opportunity for learning, for change, for dialogue and understanding. We can choose to have compassion (kindness); to feel that the other is a problem indicates a lack of compassion. Message for the day The way to control the mind is to talk to it with love. Projection: Whenever I find my mind wandering I try to control it with force. I try to pull the mind and order it not to think about something. Yet I find that, the more I try to force the mind not to go in a particular direction, the more it tends to go there. Solution: The only way to control the mind is to talk to it with love. Just as I would explain to a child, I need to explain to it with love. This will make my mind my friend and I will be able to concentrate even in any undesirable situations.