Self Esteem

If you set your sense of self worth (value) on your position, pay and material possessions, you will not have real self-esteem. All of these things come and go, sometimes at the most unexpected moments. This is why almost every single human being from corporate leaders to househusbands, from Kings to college students are not able to have constantly high self esteem. We are all taught by our society, that worth (value) is measured by rank, quantity of possessions and the amount of monetary (financial) income. Dangerous! It creates a life of sorrow and unhappiness mixed with temporary happiness. You cannot allow your self-esteem to be defined by your work, your capabilities at work, your salary level etc. True internal self-esteem comes for realizing the self as a soul and experiencing its virtues (qualities) and specialties.


Exercise:

What external factors is your self-esteem based on? If real wealth is not money or possessions what is real wealth? What could you start doing tomorrow that may help you transfer your sense of self esteem from something you do or have outside your self, to something that you are inside?

“Words are effective when truth is combined with sweetness.”

Projection:


It is usually believed that when we speak the truth, we need to be frank and outspoken. And with this attitude we sometimes tend to become harsh in our words too. We believe that only when we are assertive in this way, will our words be effective. But practically it is found that when our words are without sweetness we will only find temporary results.

Solution:

In order to have lasting effect when we have to give correction to someone we need to take care that there is sweetness in our attitude and voice too. Only then will there be the desired effect in the words that we speak and we will find people bringing about change in themselves.

Soul Consciousness

A human being is soul and body, spirit and matter, working together co-operatively. The body is like the hardware of a computer and the spiritual energy, the soul, is a tiny chip of light, where all things are recorded. When we go into introspective silence, it is in this chip of light, which is actually a point of light energy that we can remember and rediscover.
The tiny chip of invisible light starts to work effectively when it plugs into its original consciousness and reactivates those original qualities, which enable the soul to work and express itself naturally. The connection is achieved through the power of concentrated thought, this is called ‘consciousness of the soul’. The process of experiencing ‘soul consciousness’ is carried out in meditation: gathering all the thoughts of the mind, creating one concentrated thought and very gently running inwards in order to make the connection with the original self, the soul.
To take those first steps in gathering the thoughts, we use the positive consciousness of ?I am’, or what is called ‘Om Shanti’ consciousness. ‘Om’ means ‘I am’, with the deeper meaning that ‘I am a peaceful soul’. With this awareness, there comes the experience of one’s original spiritual identity.

“Anger comes where there is discontentment.”

Projection:


When we don’t get what we want or when people don’t do what we expect them to do we experience discontentment. When there is discontentment, when our desires aren’t fulfilled we experience anger. Then trying to do away with anger without knowing the actual reason, doesn’t work.

Solution:

When we find ourselves getting angry with someone or some situation, we need to first check what is the true reason for our anger. Once we find the cause of it, which is some expectation of ours, we will be able to work at overcoming it. we will then be able to get rid of our anger too.

Consciousness In The Kitchen – Cooking With Love

In today’s information age, we are continuously bombarded with details about the physical aspects of what we eat and the effects that different ingredients may or may not have on us, and naturally this is important. But in this heap of information, we tend to overlook one crucial factor: the consciousness (state of mind) of the person cooking and the effect that this will have upon the food, and thus also on those who eat it. A cook prepares food in a physical place, but also in a spiritual or inner space. And just as the physical surroundings are best kept clean and in order, so should be the state of mind of those in the kitchen. A simple and familiar example of this concept at work can be seen in the way that home cooking, especially that of one’s mother, holds a special place in our hearts. The love and care with which it is prepared sometimes gives us more joy than perhaps food eaten in a restaurant setting where food may be prepared with greater technical skills but where stress, arrogance and greed (in the restaurant environment) may flavour the dish of the day.

Having prepared food with attention (which we have explained over the last two days), the Brahma Kumaris’ practice is then to offer the freshly-prepared meal to the Supreme Soul (we call it offering “bhog” to the Supreme Father). Expressing gratitude in this way serves to increase the spiritual quality of the food and deepen the individual’s personal relationship with the Divine, while also creating a powerful, shared spiritual experience. On a very practical level, it will also help the body to prepare itself to receive and digest food. Of course, the last step is to eat, and this, too, is best done in a peaceful, unhurried and harmonious state of mind and environment: we are what we eat and also how we eat. The information which we have shared in this and the last two days messages does not pretend to be a complete guide to cooking with a spiritual touch, which would be beyond our scope. However, whether you are a new, aspiring or trained cook, we hope that the information, with its emphasis on the soul as well as the body, will bring an added dimension to your kitchen and dining table. Cooking, and eating, should be a joyful and significant experience. So cook and enjoy!