“Singin' in the Rain” at the Palace Theatre, New York Complaining about the Weather When it's too hot, we complain, too wet, we complain, too cold, we complain, too windy, we complain. The next time you catch yourself complaining about the weather, stop. Remind yourself to enjoy the change. Appreciate the gradations within the heat, cold, wet etc. When you stop complaining you can then do something to make the situation more bearable. For example, if it's too hot, pour yourself a cold drink and then continue with your tasks! Live by Values The highest discipline is to live by the values that are dearest to us. To do so we may have to sacrifice something, for example, praise, money or status. However, the rewards are enormous: self-respect, self-confidence and an ability to face adversity with courage and optimism. Seeing With Spiritual Eyes My eyes are the most powerful medium through which I, the soul, not only absorb information from the outside to the inside but also express myself to others from the inside to outside. All that the soul possesses inside it or is made up of in the form of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, positive virtues, even weaknesses, in fact all personality traits, are expressed through my eyes to others and shared with others. As I look towards others, my eyes can be used to shower others with pure love, peace, joy, power etc. and the same eyes, if not used appropriately, can shower others with anger, jealousy, criticism, hatred etc. My eyes also express whatever wisdom or knowledge I possess inside. When I stay in the awareness that I am a soul, a spiritual being of subtle light, situated at the center of my forehead, my eyes are used to see others in the same way with a spiritual vision. This leads to my spiritual upliftment. When I stay in the awareness that I am a body, my eyes are used to see others in the same way with a non-spiritual or a body-conscious vision. This brings me down on a spiritual level. A spiritual vision helps me see others with a sense of equality, instead of with feelings of comparison or competitiveness. Usually, on a physical level, I create all sorts of impressions of another person from just one glance through my eyes, about their age, gender, looks, position in society, job, how rich they are, their dressing sense, caste, nationality etc. and many a times, very commonly, I make various assumptions about their personality or behaviour. In the state of soul-consciousness, that changes. Looking out I see souls, and I see them as my brothers, on exactly the same level as me, neither higher, nor lower. A spiritual vision reminds me of the original, positive qualities of each soul, instead of their present personality. It also reminds me that each soul has incarnated from the soul world to play its various roles through different physical costumes in this unlimited drama on the world stage. Age, gender, appearances, status etc. which are visible to me today are just temporary ones. The same soul has been in the past and will be in the future in different physical costumes or roles, where all these have been and will be different and the same applies to me too. This makes me rise above comparisons and I am no longer judgmental about the other. Soul Sustenance Revising My Purpose In The Professional Sphere A young entrepreneur once thought that, in the corporate world, if you earn this much amount of money successfully in a short span of time, you are considered better than the remaining entrepreneurs and you reach the peak of fame. A time arrived when he said to himself "This is stressful. Is this what I want? Working so hard to reach the top, so that you become famous in the entire country and are known amongst the fastest growing businessmen. No, I want to excel in my career, but in another way, without stress, without fighting to reach and maintain fame and power." He then revised his purpose: "What do I want? Why do I do what I do? For what and for who do I do it? What is the price that I have to pay for this dependence on fame?" Aspiring to be famous causes continuous stress and anxiety. You participate in a race in which you compete and are comparing yourself constantly. You stop taking care of yourself and nourishing your inner self. You take care of your image but not your inner being. This brings about an inner emptiness and loneliness that, sometimes, is unbearable for us. Reaching fame, financial wealth, the power of a visible position, and reaching it with a broken soul, a broken apart family and a sick body, causes anxiety and depression. We need to look inwards and ask ourselves – does our life’s purpose revolve around the search for fame and power? If yes, then we need to revise our purpose suitably by realizing the negative effects that this search can have on our lives. Message for the day To have love for God means to have love for all. Expression: When there is love for God, there will be automatically love for all human beings, the children of the One God. There will be recognition of the speciality of all who come into contact and so words and actions will be beneficial both for one self and others. There will not be love for only some or love only sometimes. Experience: When I am connected with the seed, God, I naturally find myself becoming an instrument for God's love reaching out and touching the lives of others. I will not have love only for a few people, but will have equal love for all. I will then be in a position to help others too, to get rid of their negativity.