Brahma Kumaris

21.02.17 An artist's representation in 1899 of Angkor Thom located in present-day Cambodia, during its heyday in 12th century CE. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII and was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Love Has Many Faces Love can never be exclusive. The sun does not choose to shine on some flowers in the garden and not others. Loves is inclusive and has many faces - caring, listening, sharing from the heart, just accepting someone for what they are right now, are all acts of love, as long as you seek nothing in return. It all starts with acceptance of yourself - you're just fine as you are right now, warts and all. It's not that you will stay that way for ever - but you might, if you don't accept. The secret key to the greatest door called love is acceptance. First yourself, then others (especially the ones you currently resist) and eventually ...all Love And Suffering (Part 1) There are two things that touch or move us in life: pain and pleasure. Both create addiction. We feel pain in the body, and sometimes it is even emotional. But suffering arises in the mind. The suffering in the mind arises from thinking negatively towards the self, towards others, looking at them with a vision or attitude that causes grief, sorrow and suffering. Both extremes, pain and pleasure, can create addiction. On creating addiction it can start to form part of someone's identity. Later if one tries to stop the addiction of pain or suffering, it can almost feel like a threat towards the self, and towards one's own identity as one perceives it, because suffering is identified with. It is too hard to see oneself as no longer suffering. An e.g. in this regard is that of a mother, with three children, who was undergoing a meditation course at one of the Brahma Kumaris centers. Her daughter had learned to meditate and became very happy and joyful. Seeing her happiness the mother came to learn to meditate. With a few sessions she felt much more at peace and had very good experiences, but all of a sudden she decide to stop the meditation practice and leave the course because she was starting experiencing a positive detachment, which she perceived as negative. Now, she was no longer feeling afraid of what might happen to her children. The meditation was awakening in her a love free from fears, but it brought on in her an inner clash of beliefs between the old and new beliefs. Her old belief was that to love someone is to suffer about them or create pain related to them. (To be continued tomorrow …) Using your qualities With the sheer pace of life, plus the habit of looking outside of ourselves for approval and validation, it's easy to forget that we all have unlimited qualities within us. Here's a simple exercise to kick-start the process of recognizing and using your qualities. On your morning commute, take a couple of minutes to ask yourself: What personal quality would make a difference to my day, today? Pick one or two qualities that will be relevant, eg. efficient, empathetic, energetic.... Think about why it resonates with you. Identify how and when this quality can be best used today. Finally, truly feel and believe that you have the capacity to be this. Message for the day Remove the darkness of the mind and the world around will be illuminated. Thought to Ponder: If I am seeing negativity, it is an indication that there is something negative in my own mind. I need to work on that which is in me, rather than trying to change others. Self-checking helps me become better and better and I start noticing that I am able to see more and more of the positive that is around me. Point to Practice: Today I will check what aspect in me is making me see in others/situations. I will work on changing this. However, it is also important to do this checking and changing with a feeling of self-respect and not being caught up with guilt or negativity for the self.