Brahma Kumaris

07.08.15 In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang describes how apparently opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Character When you do not upset yourself thinking about how others must change and instead you concentrate on your own change, good things start to happen. First, you will feel better about yourself. Second, you will start to have positive feelings towards others and start to understand them. Third, others start having a more positive attitude towards you. Tact Whether you have to decline a request or give critical feedback, it's important to be honest, assertive and direct. But you don't want to hurt someone's feelings, especially in front of others. Instead try a tactful approach. Be appropriately honest, assertive and direct. Say the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and you're more likely to get a positive outcome. Wearing The Crown Of Servant Leadership Gracefully (cont.) Servant leaders are sacrificial leaders, ready to make the sacrifice when required. We explain with an example - Jessica and Ruchika were close childhood and school friends. Jessica was the Head Girl of the school. One day there was a home assignment to be completed by the class. Jessica had forgotten to complete her assignment. She was afraid of the consequences and even more of the humiliation that she was not ready to face being in such a respectable post. She was also afraid of Ruchika's assignment as being selected as the best one by the class teacher. Jessica's mind was in a state of turmoil. On one hand was her self identity based on her role of the Head Girl and also the attachment to the same and on the other hand was her friendship and the voice of her conscience. If she chose the former and prevented Ruchika's homework from being selected as the best, she would be seen in the same light as Ruchika and would save herself embarrassment. If she chose the latter and allowed Ruchika's homework from being selected as the best, she would lose, but earn respect in the form of blessings and good wishes of her best friend Ruchika. Finally insecurity and the fear of loss of face in front of the class and the class teacher took grip over her. She chose the former, she harmed Ruchika's homework and prevented Ruchika from submitting it on time and as a result prevented it from being adjudged as the best. She had won. Her 'id' - Head Girl had won. But the servant leader inside her had lost. Her relationship had lost. She did not pay heed to the voice of her conscience and her special relationship with Ruchika. As a result she brought about sorrow to her friend. Later on she repented and realized, that day she had not worn the crown of leadership well enough. She had not heard the voice of the servant leader inside her, a leader who could sacrifice the I and keep her friend ahead of her. She realized her mistake and decided to hear the voice henceforth. Many times, while playing leadership roles, we are also faced with similar situations as Jessica found herself in, whether it's in school, in the family, in our social circle or at the workplace, when we have to make a choice, when the I has to be sacrificed and the other has to be kept ahead - sometimes we do that easily, sometimes we find it difficult. There is a servant leader inside each one of us, which favours the sacrifice. We need to awaken that servant leader. Spiritual knowledge helps us in doing the same. (To be continued tomorrow ...) Soul Sustenance Seven Techniques To Let Go Off The Past (Part 3) Correction - Memories inside the soul are like imprints or impressions on the soul. Some impressions are deep, some are not. Negative past experiences leave very deep negative impressions or scars on the soul, which sometimes take a lot of time to heal and sometime an entire lifetime can be sent without them getting healed. Negative past experience imprints and negative emotions like anger, hatred, attachment etc. are closely linked. So, correcting the self or incorporating positive sanskars fills the spiritual self with positive impressions. This, over a period of time, nullifies the effect of these negative impressions and as a result, the related negative memories. Donation - Donation can be simply defined as the distribution of the invisible attainments one has experienced through spiritual self transformation, to others. It helps one receive blessings or positive energy of those whom we donate to and gives life a focused positive purpose, both of which help us immensely in forgetting our past. People who live only for themselves will find it more difficult to forget their past as compared to ones who spend a lot of time for others. Giving happiness to others helps us in forgetting our griefs. Interaction - The more we interact with and remain in the company of positive minded people and have positive conversations with them, we give and receive positive energy and the more our past gets erased from my consciousness. Spirituality teaches us to look inwards and experience introvertness, which we haven’t experienced for a long time. At the same time, spirituality also teaches us to keep a balance between looking inwards and outwards. Composed and balanced extrovertness and healthy, happy relationships with virtuous people help us remain more in a present consciousness, not giving the mind to drift too much into the past. Message for the day The power of positivity helps finish all negativity. Projection: When I am faced with negativity in people or in situations, I too usually tend to have negative thoughts. When my mind is caught up with negativity of any kind-fear, anger or tension, I cannot think anything positive. I then find myself totally caught up in the situation finding no solution. Solution: The only way to finish negativity is to work with positivity. I need to make a conscious effort to look at some positive aspect in the situation or person with whom I am facing difficulty. When I do this I can relate to them with this positivity which will slowly make the situation better again.