Brahma Kumaris

25.02.17 The Influence of Gossip I cannot afford to overlook the influence that other people have on me. There are cases where people quarrel, fight and even commit murder because they are influenced by gossip, influenced by the words of others. To what extent do I check that I am not being influenced by gossip? Negativity in the mind is like poison. Negative thoughts are the seeds of negative actions. It might seem like a simple everyday occurrence - my friends tell me in the strictest confidence that such and such a person is like this and does so-and-so. I listen and accept without question because of the friendship. My attitude and actions now become influenced by my friend’s words, and I find myself acting and reacting in accordance with the information fed to me. Gossip and guessing bring sorrow, heaviness and distrust. Poison can come in many disguises, but poison is poison whether from an enemy or a friend. At Peace with Time – The Key To Relaxed Living (Part 2) Not only is your strength reduced by the way that you live the past and project onto the future, but also how you live in this moment. When, for example, you oppose the present and have resistances, these consume your energy and cause you stress. If you accept the present you can flow flexibly without wasting your energy. Accepting does not mean submitting yourself or feeling a victim of what is happening now. From acceptance, you confront and transform. If we learn to live the dimensions of time in a healthy way we will keep up our vitality, we will heal the past and we will feel at peace with it. Accepting the present and trusting in the future helps us to be well. Accepting the present means stopping comparing yourself with others; you want what the other has, their money, their talents, their beauty, their personality, their achievements, their virtues, etc. So, instead of being grateful for what you have and accepting yourself as you are, you try to have and be like the other. In this way, you are never satisfied. The dissatisfaction causes you a constant unhappiness that reduces your vitality. When you feel happy and satisfied your energy flows more easily. The most important thing that you should do in this moment is to feel content. Next, what is the most important thing? To be content. Therefore, the priority, and what is essential, is that whatever happens in the moment, the most important thing is to be content. So, tell your mind - Oh, mind, be quiet and don't think so much. Oh, mind, kindly trust that everything is and will be fine. Give your mind the basic instructions and the key thoughts with which to be content. Don't let your own mind create the thoughts that trap you. It is we ourselves who create our emotional cages. (To be continued tomorrow …) To be free from negativity is to be truly free. All of us like freedom and we expect that others should give us the chance or opportunity to express ourselves as we like to. But sometimes this type of freedom is misused and I am not able to do the right thing. Such actions based on false freedom are harmful to others and myself too. True freedom is to be totally free from negativity. When I can free myself from the negative influences I will be able to take up responsibility for my actions and everything I do will be right. This will automatically give me the freedom to do what I want to do without misusing it. Message for the day Powerful service is when there is service without pity. Thought to Ponder: When we serve through our words and actions, we also need to serve through our mind. Only then will it be powerful service. If I get affected by the negativity of someone or something that is happening, I cannot be powerful. There will be pity, but I will not be able to empower the other person. Point to Practice: Today I will empower someone with my words and also with my good wishes. I will help someone with a feeling of positivity. For this, today I will maintain a positive state of mind throughout the day, so that I can give rather than be influenced.