Brahma Kumaris

18.05.17 Illusion : Can you locate 16 faces in this picture? A Little Courage and Some Letting Go It takes honesty as well as courage to give ourselves a good shake and see things for what they are, not what we imagine them to be. To see is far better than not to see. Without honest vision we will keep being deceived by illusion and trapped by sorrow and game playing. It is time to set ourselves free – it just takes a little courage and some letting go. Overcoming Possessiveness And Complexes In Close Relationships (Part 1) We are all aware and we all experience also that close knit family relationships are a constant source of happiness and love. But these relationships, many a times, also possess the capacity of bringing along with this love and joy, many different negative shades ofpossessiveness and domination, and complexes and dependencies. These are widespread ailments existing in our family relationships today, but which can be cured. Meditation is a very positive healing process which can cure the causes of these ailments, which exist inside the human souls. Once the causes are cured through meditation, relationships become extremely healthy, which provide the self from others and from the self to others, only and only positivity energy, in the form of positive and empowering thoughts, feelings, words and actions. A common sign of these diseases is lack of respect for people close to us. As a result of an un-respectful consciousness, we sometimes behave with our nearest and dearest ones, like maybe our spouse or children or siblings (brothers or sisters) or parents, in such an offensive manner which we normally never and would not ever even think of showing towards people with whom we are not very close. It's not just a question of mannerisms, but of inner respect for the other. So often in families, a particular fixed order in relationships, positions of higher and lower, positions of senior and junior, become established, leading to feelings of superiority and inferiority, the effects of which start penetrating in the relationships e.g. the mother-in-law is very dominating and takes it for granted that she will be listened to by the son and daughter-in-law. Or an older brother or sister orders around a younger sibling, not giving him/her enough space in which to speak his or her own mind and express himself/herself, leading to an inferiority complex in the younger sibling. Or a wife is extremely possessive of the husband, not giving him enough personal freedom. Once established, these behaviors become permanent sanskaras and tend to be carried with us through life, so that even when we have left the original family relationships and circumstances in which these behaviors existed, we bring the same personality traits into our new relationships and circumstances. (To be continued tomorrow ...) Feel Abundant When times are tough it's easy to feel a sense of lacking, isn't it? But the feeling of lacking creates unnecessary anxiety. Instead, consciously choose to feel abundant. Feeling abundant not only relieves your anxiety but also empowers you to be more resourceful and proactive in how you get through the tough times. Message for the day There is victory for the person who opposes the weaknesses instead of the person. Expression: Instead of trying to win over a person who displays any negative qualities, one needs to oppose the negativity itself. The one who knows the art of doing this will never do anything to encourage the weakness in the other person but will provide all help to finish it fully. Expression: Since I am able to look at the weakness only and am trying to finish it, I will be free from negative feelings of dislike and hatred. There would be a genuine feeling of love, which in turn provides the right environment for the other person's growth.