The Rules of Attraction

If we are alert to opportunities that will satisfy our most serious vision
(ambition) in life, it is surprising how often these opportunities will tend
to come themselves in front of us. These are the rules of attraction - the
most mysterious ways by which on one side your need and on the other, its
fulfillment are drawn together.

Create your vision (ambition). Identify your goals, objectives and tasks.

Make yourself a magnet. This means having faith that you will get the
suitable opportunities to fulfill your vision and recognize the signs they
are giving you - which may not be direct. Look out for such signs with
patience, and act on them when they come.
In order to fulfill our vision, we must not become too "attached" to our
targets. This is not a sign of weak-mindedness or a lack of commitment:
rather it is a sign of wisdom. By "letting go" (becoming detached) of our
goals or objectives, we become more relaxed in our attitude toward them. The
journey is no longer tiring and stressful, because we don't have to
struggle, life's circumstances will present us with the right opportunities.

*Enhancing (Strengthening) Qualities With The Help Of Meditation*

The present lives of most people are filled with frequent periods of
upheaval or stress.  The meditation which we are sharing with you in this
message will help you focus on the *quality* or state of inner *peace* and
overcome this stress.

There is an important *principle* behind the success of meditation - *where
attention goes, energy flows; and where energy flows, things grow.*

*As we 'give' our mental or emotional attention to the idea of peace, we
water it with the invisible energy of our mind or consciousness; as a result
it grows from a thought into a deep feeling and the final result is the
experience of inner peace *- our thoughts and feelings become peaceful, and
our words and actions filled with a peaceful vibration which others around
us also experience and absorb.

Inner peace is not a passive, timid or a submissive state.  It is a state of
inner power and you will soon notice how much more creative, efficient and
powerful you become as you learn to calm your mind consciously and take
control of your inner world.   Experiment with the thoughts we will mention
*tomorrow* in our meditation. You could meditate on other qualities such as
*fearlessness, love, humility, happiness, tolerance, flexibility, *or any
other quality you would like to strengthen or enhance within yourself.
*Experience and visualize the following words in your mind so that you begin
to feel what is being described. Soothing music may be played in the
background.  *

I remove my awareness from my physical body and the room in which I sit and
turn my attention inwards...

I become aware of many thoughts going through my mind...

I become the silent observer of my own thoughts watching each thought come
and then move on like clouds in the sky...

As I witness my thoughts, they begin to slow down... I focus my attention on
the idea of peace...

A wave of peace gently washes over me, removing all anxiety and tension from
my mind ...

There is just peace... In this moment, it is as if ... I ... am ... peace

My mind is now calm and clear - peace feels like water that is fresh, still
and clear…

There is deep contentment within... I realize, this is my most natural state
of being...

Having returned to my natural state of peace… I sit for a while, enjoying
these feelings of calmness and serenity...

Now I visualize a situation that I know I will soon face in my office or at
home…

I see how I can maintain my state of inner peace arid how it affects my
thoughts and words... I can feel the power of peace in my actions...

I gently rehearse the scene and begin to see how the power of my inner peace
is transmitted to others around me through my thoughts, words and actions
and then reflected back to me by them...

With this feeling of total peace, I gently return my awareness to this
physical body to this room.

Practice the above meditation for about 10 minutes at least twice a day.  The
best times are in the morning before the day starts and then once again in
the night, before going to bed.

*Stress Management*

*Standing Back, Observing and Steering -**

Standing Back :** We can do this individually or as a team, when stressful
situations occur. We may take a few minutes to stand back mentally and
physically from the situation or scene.  *

*
*

*Observing :** The next step is to re-view the situation, as if we are an
onlooker or a detached observer. Being as silent as possible, we can ask
ourselves if the thoughts we are having are the ones we wish to keep, if
they are going where we would choose them to. *

* *

*Steering : **In the resulting silence, it is possible to steer (change
direction) our thinking to where we want it to be; perhaps to personal
affirmations (positive thoughts) we use to calm us. The affirmations can be:
'I am aware of myself as calm and peaceful' or, '….as happy and satisfied,
etc.   *

* *
*This technique changes our attitudes and feelings, which influences
positively the situation as well as how others respond.*

*Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation - * *The Power To Decide*

Sometimes, there are certain situations where I'm not so much faced with a
choice between truth and falsehood where the power to discern (discriminate)
is required, but I have to balance competing aims or priorities in deciding
on a course of action. There's great value in getting this right, because
poor judgment can entangle me in consequences from which it might take years
to recover. If I'm deflected because of my attachments or desires, I'll lose
my ability to decide accurately.
Understanding myself as a soul, and keeping my heart full and free through
my relationship with the Supreme Soul (meditation) makes my mind free from
waste thoughts. Having a clean, clear and concentrated mind helps me remain
in the best possible position to judge correctly. I'll be like the Statue of
Justice, wearing a blindfold as she carefully weighs the evidence: free from
prejudice (bias) arising from superficial appearances, above the influence
of situations and the emotions and opinions of others, perfectly centered,
she is optimally placed to sense the right way forward.

Repairing The Engine Of Your Consciousness

You can spend your life driving a car and never know what's wrong when it
breaks down. You are then completely at the mercy of others to repair it. At
that moment you probably think to yourself, "God, I wish I knew how this
thing works..." Sounds familiar? Unfortunately, God cannot help with car
mechanics!
It's almost the same with your inner "self". The presence of any stress, or
any form of mental/emotional pain, is a signal that something has broken
down inside the engine of your consciousness. If at that moment you don't
know who you are, and how you work, how will you repair things in the inner
self when they break down? We are not talking about the body here. If you
have something seriously wrong with your body you obviously need to see a
doctor. But even then, if you are a little enlightened spiritually, you know
that the original cause of your physical disease lies within your
consciousness, your state of mind, your feelings and emotions, which, in
turn, lies in your beliefs, most of which lie deep down in your
subconscious. So, if repairs are to be carried inside your consciousness (to
keep the mind and body functioning smoothly) you need to know certain things
- essential things - about your spirit, mind and heart. That's what
spiritual knowledge is all about. Spiritual knowledge is the complete
knowledge of the spirit (or soul) and how it works. Fortunately, the Supreme
Spirit (or God) can help us with this knowledge, that he alone possesses!

Understanding Attachment

Entertainment industries publicize the illusion (false belief) that in order
to be happy we must acquire "things" and form relationships of attachment to
them; that in order to find love we must possess or be attached to the other
person. This confusion between love and attachment has entered into all our
relationships in a number of ways.

To our conditioned minds it appears to be a contradiction (error), but it is
a basic spiritual truth - to be loving it is necessary to be detached.
Attachment is the root of fear and fear and love cannot exist together just
as day and night, winter and summer cannot. The idea and the practice of
detachment are found in almost all the paths of wisdom, over the centuries.
This is so because attachment is one of the deepest habits that we learn to
develop, and we do not realize that anything we attach ourselves to turns
into a trap for our consciousness, for the self, the being. We know we are
attached when we begin to think about someone or something when they are not
present and there is no need to think about them. Our mental energy exhausts
itself and we have the sensation that we lack control over our thoughts and
feelings.
*
*Each time that we automatically cling (hold on) to something, we invoke
(call for or attract) the presence of fear - whether it be of people,
position, power, money or even opinion, any form of attachment means that we
will fear harm or loss. Fear takes on many faces (worry, anxiety, and
tension); it prevents our spiritual growth and frightens us away from or
blocks us from love.

Different Forms Of Anger

*Depending on our basic belief system, past experiences and perception
(understanding) of the present situations we are in, **anger** takes
**different
forms**, which emerge in our mind and get communicated to others through our
behaviour: *
*1. Irritation*
*You create this when day-to-day events don't happen fast enough e.g. your
flight gets delayed, you are made to wait in a queue, etc. *
*2. Frustration** *
*You create this when events don't occur as per your desires and
expectations.*
*3. Grudge** *
*You create this when you believe that you have been wronged by someone in
the past. *
*4. Resentment**
**You create this towards those that you think have insulted or offended you
or when you are jealous of someone. *
*5. Hatred**
**You create this following your deep disapproval of another's actions. *
*6. Rage** *
*You create this following the build up of anger normally in response to
others' actions, which you label as obstructive or interfering, e.g. road
rage.*

Understanding The Mental Laws

The Law of Self-Control
*

The more control we have over ourselves and our lives, the happier and freer
we will feel.

We sometimes get angry with other people. Why does this happen? It is
probably because they have not met our expectations or we were trying to
control them and they have not let us. Sometimes, the simple expectation
that a person should behave as we want them to is in itself an attempt to
control them. When we try to control another person, which is impossible, we
are bound to fail, feel frustrated and stressed.

We are capable of having power over *ourselves*; we can be more responsible
for our thoughts and feelings. We have the capacity to choose how we respond
to different situations and people that we come across in our lives. If we
do not exercise much control over our thoughts and emotions, we easily fall
into the tendency of seeing ourselves as victimized, and we blame others,
making them responsible in our own minds for how we feel. When we do this,
we are forgetting that we create our own thoughts. When this happens, we are
handing over the control of our thoughts to those who influence, criticize,
attack or slander us.

If we want to recover the control over our life, we must learn to control
our thoughts and feelings and not blame anyone else for them. The more
self-control we have over ourselves, the less will we want to control others
and our capacity to influence other people positively will be greater.

Self Empowerment

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Now make up a series of
questions, which will judge how effectively you are using these strengths to
improve your personal and professional life, and what negative effects are
your weaknesses (shortcomings) having on the same. These are some of the
questions that you can ask yourself at the end of each week to monitor your
self-progress:

e.g. Which strengths if acquired would help me improve my worth (value) at
the workplace? Is any weakness of mine proving to be an obstacle (barrier)
in maintaining a healthy relationship with my family? Am I using my
strengths in empowering (strengthening) others? Does any weakness exist
inside me, which if removed would improve my level of contentment
(satisfaction) and lead to greater peace of mind?

Note down three main strengths and three important roles that you play in
your life. Now check if your strengths properly match the roles. If they do
not match, think if there is a new personality characteristic you need to
develop. If a particular role is self-selected, if it does not match your
strengths, is it a good role for you to be playing?

Positive Habits

To overcome a negative habit, we have to ensure that the intellect is strong
and stable enough to lead the mind with knowledge and comprehension. In this
way, transformation is more deep and lasting, creates satisfaction and
fullness, and greatly improves our self-esteem.

Our mind, which is under the influence of an old program, must be left in no
doubt that "I", the original personality, no longer wants to go down that
old road. We must have the strong determination to create a new thought
pattern; this will also be recorded on our memory bank.  This new register
will help us to avoid taking up the old habits the next time something
similar happens. For a period of time the two thought patterns, the old and
the new, will exist alongside each other.

To achieve a long-lasting transformation, we should not suppress our mind
and immediately eliminate all the habits or tendencies to which the mind has
become accustomed to. If we do this, the mind will begin to cry and make a
fuss, and finally, the moment we lower our guard and stop paying attention,
the old habits will emerge again and drag our mind towards automatic
thoughts and actions so that, almost without us realising, we are once again
immersed in our old way of thinking and doing.

We have an alternative: creating thoughts of a greater quality that emerge
from a new conscience. In this way, thanks to these positive thoughts, full
of love, harmony and creativity, the mind will start to cleanse itself,
replacing the old habits and negative tendencies in a totally natural way.

The positive thought that preceded the positive action is still conscious,
but the more we repeat the positive action the less conscious we are of the
thought that created it. The time comes when we don't know why we are doing
whatever we are doing: it has become a positive habit.

Does Greed Fulfill?

The false intention and assumption behind greed, in the form of a thought
and feeling, is *'the more I have, the more I am'*. It is a combination of
trying to add to the value of the self through material possessions,
position, role, talent or achievements and then becoming attached to these
as a form of identity, finally leading to personal collapse. To try to add
to the sense of self in this way has the effect of diverting oneself from
the real self, which is why, in many cases, a person who has everything
material is left with the feeling of being empty, disorientated and even
fearful.

*We cannot accumulate, or rely on the external, to create a sense of
personal value.*

People often try to fill the void of personal inadequacy or emptiness
through greed, but this 'method' goes against natural, universal laws. *All
that I am, all that I can be, all that will make me truly happy must begin
from inside the self. We have to start from the inside out, not the other
way round*, otherwise we create desires that have no end, like the
ten-headed “Ravana” - every time “Ram” cut off one of his heads, another
grew in its place. “Ravana” did not die until “Ram” aimed for his heart.
Desires are created from wanting one thing or another, believing that we
will find achievement when those desires are fulfilled. This pattern of
behavior keeps deceiving us and the proof of this is seen in the state of
discontentment and emptiness people find themselves in.

Open-Eyed Meditation

One of the special characteristics of Raja Yoga meditation (as taught by the
Brahma Kumaris) is that I learn to meditate with my eyes open. The training
of the mind, so that it creates thoughts, to give a positive experience,
helps me in facing not only my daily routine, but specifically, in dealing
with unexpected practical life situations that test my real power. Mastering
the art of meditating with my eyes open can be of immense value to me in my
practical life.

If I restrict myself to seated meditation with my eyes closed, then I am
prevented from continuing the meditative experience in the course of my
normal activities i.e. walking, eating, cooking, working in the office,
moving around and so on.

Meditation is at the same time an incredibly relaxing experience as well as
brings about an increase of perception (judgement) powers and sharper
reaction response. In this way, I can be walking along the street in a
meditative state and yet have a very quick perception (judgement) and
reaction response to the surrounding pedestrians and traffic.

Anger Management And Prevention

Step One –* Never struggle with your anger. Don't fight it, or resist it,
in any way. That only either strengthens it, or suppresses it until it
emerges another day. So face it and accept its presence.
*Step Two –* As soon as possible, simply observe it. In the act of
observation all emotion must die. Why? Because you are standing back from it
within your consciousness in order to observe it. And as you stand back
within your consciousness you are withdrawing (removing) your life giving
energy from it.
*Step Three –* Through the practice of meditation, return to your centre,
that means the centre of your consciousness, the centre of your self. At the
centre you will find inner peace, and that peace is your power. At the
centre of yourself you will find your love, and that love, when you give it
to yourself and others, is the healing balm of forgiveness.

What Is True Love? (A Spiritual Perspective)

Emotional love can flower into true love when the fire of emotions cools
down and is substituted by a wiser and more mature relationship. True love
needs a fresh and renewing atmosphere, without fears.

When you feel spiritually full, you feel flowing over with pleasure,
happiness, wellbeing, and that state helps you to accept the one whom you
love as they are, because from your fullness you give and share and you
don't need or expect anything from the other. While you need something that
you want the other to satisfy, you will have expectations and the fear that
those needs might not be satisfied, and you will get frustrated more easily.
When you feel like a being of peace, a being of love, a tranquil being, a
being that is spiritually full and satisfied, your relationship with others
is a relationship of sharing on a level on which fear is not generated. You
are not asking for or taking anything from the other. An elevated sharing of
love, of happiness, of knowledge, of wisdom takes place, in which you do not
generate a dependency on the other.

Attachments and dependencies, fears and insecurity, block our experience of
love, of peace, serenity, freedom, happiness. When you have a feeling of
love that takes you to a state of joy, to wholeness, but then you attach
yourself to the object of your love, be it a person, or a property,
automatically the feeling changes into fear: you fear to lose the object of
your love and, instead of feeling wholeness and enjoyment, you feel fear.
Over time that attachment turns into a dependency and you start to become
inwardly empty: that is, your energy level goes down.

Love in its purest form is a like a spring that pours forth for the benefit
of others. Learn the art of loving, being free and allowing to be. Pure,
true, love is an unconditional love that flows freely. Do not cling (hold on
to). Love does not cling.

Meditation And Health

Each original quality of the self or soul is specially required for
nourishing and empowering one human body system. The quality of *peace* is
responsible for taking care of the respiratory system, *joy* for the
gastrointestinal system, *love* for the circulatory system, *bliss* for the
endocrine system, *knowledge* for the brain and nervous system, *purity* for
the immune system and the five senses and *power* for the muscular and
skeletal systems.

*
*

*Each one of us has at least one body system, which is most prone to
disease. When our mind is under the influence of stressful emotions, there
is a decrease in the flow, from the soul to this body system, of that
quality which is required by it for its nourishment, which leads to the
development of disease in this system over a period of time
*e.g. when an individual with a weak respiratory system is in a negative
state of mind, there is a decrease in the flow of the quality of peace to
the respiratory system (refer to first paragraph) which in turn can lead to
a disorder like asthma.

A Basic Meditation For Beginners

Sit comfortably in a quite place, which you have chosen for your meditation
practice...

Close your eyes and, for a minute or two, allow your body and mind to slow
down i.e. less active, by remaining still and quiet...

While keeping your eyes closed, take your attention to your toes...

Clench them tightly for a few moments, then relax them for a few moments...

Work slowly upwards, tensing and then releasing and relaxing *all your body
parts*… do this for your calves, then your thighs, stomach, etc...

Be aware that your whole body is now relaxed in the chair and that all your
attention is focused in the centre of the forehead, just above the
eyebrows...

With your attention focused only on your thoughts, experience that your
thoughts are floating to the surface, now imagine that they are
dissolving...

Allow quietness and peace to fill your mind - as if you were listening to
silence inside the temple of your mind...

If any sensation or thoughts come to distract you, simply let them pass
through your mind...

Then return your attention to the quietness in your mind...

Acknowledge your inner tranquility with a quiet thought, "My mind is now
relaxed, and I feel more peaceful"...

After a few minutes, bring your awareness back to the room in the present
moment.
*Tomorrow we shall explain some of the precautions one can take while doing
this meditation, to make it successful.*
Referring to yesterday’s meditation, *when you sit to meditate, choose the
quietest and most peaceful place you can find, either in your home or in
your office or anywhere else, preferably in a place that you do not use very
often.*  If this isn't possible, sit where the objects in the room around
you won't divert your attention. If you can, set this place aside purely for
the purpose of meditation.  You could also choose to sit in the proximity
(closeness) of nature. Start with ten or fifteen minutes.  Then gradually
increase the time. Soft or subdued lighting will help as will some soft
background music of your choice.

The basic meditation, explained yesterday, is simple to do, relaxing and
energizing, and easy to integrate into your busy schedule, whether at your
workplace or home.  All you need are three or four minutes anywhere, any
time.   Note, how you consciously use your mind to relax your body.  Once
your body is relaxed, it allows you to give your mind with positive,
unbroken attention.  The more you practice this meditation, the easier it
becomes.   Eventually you won't need to work through your body, muscle by
muscle - it will relax almost instantly with just one thought. *This basic
mind-body relaxation experience is the foundation for advanced and deeper
meditations.*

Anger Management

Creating Your Inner Peace Room (Visualization)**
**To overcome anger, visualize a house and in that house there is a 'peace
room'. See the room as an empty space. Then, step by step decorate and
finish the room with the colours and objects, which symbolize peace to you.
See the sun streaming into the room, filling the room with light. Then see
yourself sitting in the room and filling the room with your vibrations of
peace. *
*This is now your 'inner peace room'. Whenever you see yourself experiencing
emotions like anger, irritation, frustration etc. - you can go visit this
room using the power of your mind and intellect (visualization) - it takes
only a second - and peace awaits you. To keep it fresh in your mind write a
description of your peace room.

Important Understandings On Reincarnation

1. The soul has a separate identity from any of the bodies it adopts.

2. The human soul does not take a birth/body of any animal species, just as
a lemon seed does not grow into a mango tree. The human soul always takes a
human body e.g. if the soul of a cow was to take the birth of a human,
wouldn’t it carry ‘sanskars’ of performing all actions like a cow into its
human birth – how would it then function through the human body.

3. The various lives or births of a soul are like different episodes of a
television serial, all different, yet connected with each other.

4. The cycle of action and reaction is never-ending. The soul must continue
to play its entire role until all it has received the fruits for all its
actions. This may require more than one body.
5. Each time a soul leaves an old body and takes a new birth, it carries its
‘sanskars’ from the old birth into the new one. Other ‘sanskars’ that can be
present in the new body (apart from the ones *from the previous birth*) are:

·         *‘sanskars’ from parents*

·         *‘sanskars’ accumulated during the new birth* e.g. from siblings
(brothers or sisters) or from friends, also those picked up during education
and more

·         *‘sanskars’ of will power* (the ability to bring about changes in
the self using will power)

·         *original ‘sanskars’* of peace, love, purity, bliss, joy and power
(the ones that were present in the soul when it first came down from the
soul world into the physical world to play its part)

Out of these five types of ‘sanskars’, in each soul, the ‘sanskars’ that are
visible at different stages of life are varied e.g. in some soul, ‘sanskars’
may be completely different from the ones the parents possess, because the
‘sanskars’ from the previous birth are more visible; in another soul,
‘sanskars’ of will power may be intense, the soul may have brought about a
lot of transformation in its personality since the time it was born; in a
third soul ‘sanskars’ from parents and friends may be most visible; in
another soul, practicing meditation, original ‘sanskars’ may be more
visible, etc.
6. The world's population is increasing at such a rapid rate, indicating
that the souls already here are taking rebirth and also that there are new
ones coming down continuously from the soul world.

7. If one believed that one will receive the fruit of one's actions, if not
in this birth, but in another one, a person would surely feel less inclined
to perform negative actions.

8. Without reincarnation, it is impossible to explain how every soul has
reached its present peaceless state. Thousands of sins have been performed
by each soul in its past births under the influence of the five vices –
lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment. Due to this, ‘sanskars’ of those
vices have accumulated over the soul. The burden of these ‘sanskars’ weighs
heavily on the soul and causes it unhappiness in the present. The present
cycle of birth and rebirth is fast approaching its end. It is precisely at
this time that the Supreme Soul can relieve us from this burden.

What Should We Value More - The Soul Or The Body?

When the soul leaves the body, it's not just the body that dies but it's as
if all the connections with the world of that individual are simply switched
off. Not only the relationships but all specific plans, projects and desires
suddenly have no further means (medium) through which they can be expressed
or put into practice. The powers of thinking, deciding and the personality
traits (‘sanskaras’) connected with the life that is being left behind, stop
and get hidden momentarily to emerge again in a new body, a new life. All
the material things that belonged to that particular individual are passed
on to others.

It's interesting to note that even when the body is sick it can only be
treated when the soul is still present. If we take out the soul no one
remains to look after the body.

On the other hand, the body is a truly marvelous vehicle for the soul to
express itself through. No manufactured machine could hope to compete. For
example, it is calculated that in just one day, the brain is able to
complete a hundred times more connections than the entire telecommunications
system of the planet. Or compare the human eye with any manufactured camera
or the heart with any manufactured pump. The body's importance cannot be
played down or not taken into account.

Understanding The Mind And Its Functioning

The mind is a faculty of the soul, the main function of which is to produce
thoughts. The thoughts we create are energy. In one day we produce an
average of thirty to forty thousand thoughts. How much energy does this
represent? What do we do with it?

The mind works constantly, even when we are sleeping. We cannot separate
ourselves from it, it is our inseparable companion. If you study your mind
you will see that, as well as thinking, it imagines, remembers, dreams,
associates, desires and even produces your feelings.

If you think about some incident that made you unhappy ten years ago, you
will feel that unhappiness again, perhaps even more deeply than before. If
you think of something that made you happy, you will also feel that
happiness when you repeat the event in your mind.

If you create positive thoughts about yourself, you will feel good and your
self-esteem will be strengthened, and if you create negative thoughts, you
will feel depressed, with low self-esteem. The mind opens up the way to the
self. By creating the right type of thoughts you can open up your inner
potential again, and rediscover that as people we are full of positive
qualities.