Brahma Kumaris

20.02.17 Chiang mai festival of lights, Thailand Celebration Every day is a celebration because instead of waiting for happy endings, we open our eyes to the wonder of life, to see the humour and magic in each moment. Delighted in the way things turn out, amazed at the beauty of it all. Taking Time Off From Busy Lifestyles (Part 3) To rise above the monotonous and busy existence explained in the last two days’ messages, we all require a regular dosage of newness to keep our hearts and minds fresh. How can we define newness? It is a change of thoughts, feelings, words, actions, circumstances – when all or some of these deviate from the normal or are new, they give us an experience of joy. On a physical level we go on a holiday or meet our loved ones to achieve the purpose mentioned above. We then get back to our daily routine of thoughts and actions, with more freshness, which makes the routine more interesting. On a spiritual level, to become silent, to be still in the ocean of hectic, noisy action is a choice many people are now making. When this is achieved, this stillness acts on the mind like oxygen, giving the breath to both understand and enrich life. Of course, action is a necessity, an expression of ourselves through time, relationships and the roles we play. However, if we do not sometimes stop and take a breath of silence, then the mind begins to suffocate, thoughts speed like bullet trains and the brain feels as if it is in a pressure cooker. Emotions erupt like volcanoes, eyes become dizzy with mountains of information and the head feels like a rollercoaster. This is stress. The mind needs to come up for air, to leave the jungle of pressure, deadlines and speed and slow down and find the point of silence within. Also a daily dose of new and different spiritual knowledge at the start of the day does the work of newness and helps us rise above the monotony. Newness in our thoughts then flows into our feelings, beliefs, attitudes, personalities, perceptions, actions, interactions, relationships, etc. bringing newness in all of them and removing the stagnancy of the regular routine. Also feeding spiritual knowledge to the mind benefits silence or meditation immensely, because meditation, which is not just a process of reducing the mind to a nil stage but the creation of positive, constructive thoughts to take the mind to a positive experience of peace and bliss, can then become an interesting, new and creative exercise each time one practices it. Spiritual knowledge is the foundation of good meditation or silence. What happens when you think of a situation as a 'problem'? Tension, worry, disappointment, frustration are most likely to arise. What happens if you were to think of the same situation as a 'challenge'? Now what happens if you think of it as an 'opportunity', or even a 'gift'? Think differently and, all of a sudden, your perspective changes completely. As your perspective changes, not only does it create a different type of feeling and experience, it also affects how you handle the situation. Try it! Message for the day Patience brings solutions to problems. Thought to Ponder: When I am patient, in the face of challenges, I find time heals most of the problems. Even for those which I have to work on, patience helps me be cool and collected and helps me easily find solutions, without becoming panicky or upset. Patience also helps me to understand what I need to work on and what I need to leave for time to heal or correct. Point to Practice: Today I will calm my mind before attempting to find solutions. I will look with detachment at a problem, knowing well the solution has to come. I will not consider it as my problem, but just as 'a problem' that has to be worked on.