To the unenlightened, death comes but once a lifetime. To those who have chosen to become enlightened there are a thousand chosen deaths before it’s time to leave the body and move on. This kind of death is the releasing off all our attachments, from false identity to opinions, from people to possessions. Cutting the subtle threads of attachment frees the spirit from fear, and when the time comes to move on, it’s like ‘shooting the breeze’. Dying alive is simply letting go of all you hold fast to in your mind. It doesn’t actually mean losing anything, simply changing your relationship with the things in your life today. The greatest pleasure for every soul is the result of choosing the living death called detachment. Why? Because attachment is a form of slavery, and it all takes place in our own minds. And the result of detachment?  Real freedom.
Stability
When we are faced with difficult situations, we usually tend to have a
feeling that we have no resources or are not able to make the best use
of the resources within for best results. Thus we are not able to
experience real progress. On the other hand we only tend to experience
a lot of negative feelings. When we learn the art of being stable in
the most negative situations, we know how to use the treasures that are
hidden within ourselves. Our mind is no longer disturbed with waste or
negative thoughts and we find it easy to face and learn from each and
every situation.
Self ResponsibilityÂ
Because we have forgotten the principle of karmic returns (discussed yesterday), we have learned to avoid taking responsibility for many of our actions. We fail to see the impact of our actions upon others and we fail to see that the real meaning of responsibility is ‘responding correctly’. Life can be seen as a series of responses which we each create in our interactions with other people and events. As is the quality of our ability to respond (energy given), so will be the quality of the return (energy received). The Laws of Karma also serve to remind us that the situations in our life, the quality of our body, wealth, relationships etc. and the type of person we are today are the result of what we thought and did yesterday, last month, last year, perhaps in our last birth. Many people do not like this idea or find it difficult to accept because most of us have been taught that our destiny lies in someone else’s hands or in the hands of fate or luck, about which we can do nothing. The Law of Karma or the Law of Reciprocity teaches us that there is no such thing as luck and that whatever happens to us today is the result of our positive or negative actions in the past. If you spend a few moments reflecting on events in your life, without being judgmental, you will begin to see connections between actions and results, causes and effects. When you see how all effects have their causes, you will then be convinced that this universal law is at work in your life at all times.
Soul Sustenance
Different Shades Of Attachment To Opinions And IdeasÂ
The attachment or detachment to one’s ideas not only comes into play while giving an idea or opinion, but even when accepting or receiving or listening to an idea from another person from the group. The more the attachment to one’s own ideas, the more will be the tendency to resist or reject the other’s idea. A particular person, with the objective or resisting or rejecting the idea:
* might try to do the same through different means like putting up a seemingly valid or even an invalid objection to the idea in front of the whole group which may seem very reasonable to the group and may be taken or accepted by the group or the person objecting may try to ensure that happens or
* he/she may quietly disassociate from the group if the group begins showing interest in the idea (sometimes the influence of the position of the person is such that this kind of disassociation very easily manages to reduce the energy of interest of the group in the new idea) or also
* might present a new idea to the group, which manages to divert the attention of the group, etc.
Sometimes the person rejecting the idea is aware of the fact that he/she is rejecting the idea because of the inner attachment to his ideas, but will not admit it in front of others and sometimes he/she might not even be slightly aware of the fact; the attachment is too subtle to realize. Others might realize their attachment, but they might not themselves. And if someone to point out their inner attachment, they might even react, because where there is attachment, there is fear that the other’s idea will be accepted and yours will not. Attachment to one’s ideas fills the energy of ‘I am right’ in any situation. Overcoming all sorts of attachment to ones ideas is one of the foremost steps that we can take to bring about harmony in all types of relationships.
Message for the day
To have tolerance means to be stable.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris
