There has been an article on CNN where an interesting experiment has been carried out in a school in Baltimore, the USA.  This is a school in an impoverished area and has had many discipline and behavioural issues with the children.  Instead of detention for the children who misbehave, they started introducing mindfulness meditation and yoga to the children.  This has had amazingly positive impact.  It reflects a very important principle, our usual approach to a child who is misbehaving is to punish them.  In punishing them we are creating the perception, that since the child has done something ‘wrong’ that means that they are bad.  And because they are bad they need to feel bad.  I am saying this very simplistically but it has an interesting impact on our lives.  We are not bad, we just behave badly. 

Our behaviour and ability to respond to situations is a cultivated response – meaning it is a learned behaviour.  Being able to distinguish helps us to recognise that bad behaviour means that a person is unable to draw on their positive innate qualities.  We can only strengthen our higher values and qualities when we learn to self regulate ourselves and this means learning to self reflect and learn empathy.  So teaching a child to be more mindful and transform the emotions of anger to peace by breathing out the anger and meditating a child learns to become more reflective and learn to develop alternative ways to respond to situations that may trigger anger.  Taking time to reflect, to pause and become peaceful and calm will help us to draw out and strengthen within ourselves our deeper more positive qualities.  We are aware, that in any situation we have a choice.  common wisdom tells us, that in the moment don’t react but respond.  Reacting is automatic and habitual.  Being responsive is more powerful.  This ability to respond and not react needs to be developed within the self, and that begins by creating the practice of being more mindful, reflecting on yourself and meditating on positive and life affirming attitudes. 

How different our world would be if people really thought about the impact of what they were saying or doing rather than reacting from fear, anger or greed.  Perhaps we would be able to have more constructive dialogue, be creative in exploring solutions and live with greater harmony.  We all desire a more peaceful world, however that begins with ourselves.  In order for me to be more peaceful I need to invest in myself and in daily routine time and space to pause, reflect and redirect myself.

Most of us begin our day with a good cup of coffee.  The story I would like to begin with today, will offer a new perspective for you to reflect on each time you drink your morning coffee. 

A professor once invited his students over who had qualified already and were working.  As they came he made a pot of coffee and offered the coffee in various cups and mugs.  Some were old, some plastic, some were porcelain etc.  As they were sitting and sharing many of them were commenting on their challenges and how stressful life was .  After some time the professor shared his observations…. he told them that they all chose the more expensive looking mugs and cups for their coffee.  That reflects how we tend to give priority and focus to in our lives.  The mugs or cups represent our positions, acquisitions, fame, prestige and wealth.  The coffee represents life.  A mug or cup is just a container that holds the coffee, it isn’t the coffee itself.  Irrespective of which container holds the coffee it doesn’t change the taste of the coffee. 

Similarly in life, our roles, positions are simply containers for our life but they are not the essence of our life.  How often our priority shifts to the container – that we forget to taste the coffee.  The container will also never be permanent and hence we end up striving to preserve something that is constantly changing.  It is no wonder that we  end up being stressed and strained.  It is like chasing after an ever moving goal post.  It is so vital to pause for a moment and taste the coffee.  Step back and enjoy the present moment… the simple things like enjoying the singing of the birds in the early morning, the beautiful jacaranda trees lining our streets at the moment, the laughter of your child.  Pause and acknowledge what you have around you rather than what you don’t. 

As we become more present to what life has to offer us now in the moment, we learn gratitude.  The power of gratitude is that it creates within us a feeling of contentment.  We must pursue goals, but we have the option of chasing after things from a place of emptiness or from a place of inner attainment.  When we create this approach of acknowledging what we have we live life with a feeling that it is blessed, and this sustains our enthusiasm and love for life.  The alternative is that we end up experiencing life simply as a struggle, and with time this drains one and you begin to feel tired and ultimately depressed.  The quality of our experience in given time depends on our attitude.  By consciously teaching ourselves to inculcate this attitude of gratitude we shift our experience.  But more so we shift our capacity to deal with things. 

Keep this affirmation with you… that in everything that happens there is something positive that I can draw from it.  There is something in this moment or situation that serves me.  By holding that as an attitude, perhaps you will taste the coffee of life more rather than worrying about the mug that is holding it.

A simple meditation to return to Inner Peace – extracted from The Man who loved Angels by Anthony Strano

A second is a unit of time, just as thought is the basic unit of consciousness. A body has many cells, and so do time and consciousness. Whether we measure time in terms of eternity, ages, cycles centuries millennia, years, seasons, months, days, hours or minutes- the basic unit, or cell, remains the second. We may measure consciousness in terms of awareness, attitude, feelings, behaviour, choices, aliveness, responses but the basic unit, or cell, is always a thought.

If these two basic units of time and consciousness are weak, then the whole of time and consciousness suffers.

Just as cancer begins in a single cell and spreads to other cells, so the same happens in human life as the infected seconds and thoughts spread. Ultimately this results in emotional, mental and even physical disease in the human body and mind, since our conscious life is acted and expressed within and through time. … How can we begin to heal ourselves?

If we take one second, the tiniest unit of time, and one thought, the tiniest unit of consciousness we can make them work together.

Take one second to think one thought
Slowly and faithfully think:”I am”.
Add another second and another thought: “a soul”.
Add another second or two and think: “I am peace”
Add another second or two and think: ”I am a being of peace”.

Repeat:
“I am a soul
I am peace
I am a being of peace.”

Repeat these thoughts gently to yourself, paying special attention to them. There is no need to rush, no need for second thoughts or ideas going anywhere else. Just focus on these thoughts about the original self.

Throughout the day, gently but deeply repeat this one second one thought meditative exercise.

Empowering oneself is a life long journey. For eons, human beings from all across the globe have employed tools to empower themselves from the moment of birth until old age. We empower ourselves by interacting and forming meaningful.relationships with others. We gain power by learning about our immediate world, our culture, the religion we were born into etc. We learn from elders, peers and significant others.

Later we empower ourselves throughout childhood and early adulthood by way of education. Further still we perpetuate this sense of empowerment by passing on what we know to the next generation.

A feeling of internal power gives a human being an innate sense of dignity. Each one of us needs a sound grasp of internal and external reality. Without this we cannot feel that our lives have a structure.

Only when we have created a life that has deep roots and build upon this life by employing whatever tools we can, can we say that we have a life of substance.

When any individual senses that their lives are not what they would like it to be, he or she requires the power of introversion to make an assessment of what is wrong and also to establish what needs to be fixed.

All human beings have an internal barometer by which we can establish whether all is well in our internal world or not. It is this intelligence that lets us know that we are spiritually depleted. By way of analogy, when our cellphone batteries are almost  dead, it bleeps to let us know that it needs to be charged urgently. By the same token, human souls are ” bleeping ” . Many feel a sense of emptiness . We find creative ways of filling the holes in the soul. We use other people, hobbies, our jobs, our pets, mother nature, technology etc for this purpose. The problem is that none of these mechanisms can do the job.

How does one fill the empty battery of the soul ? There is only one answer to this and that is the relationship with the divine. Just as it is only by plugging your cellphone in so that it can be charged by electricity, so too there is only one Source that can give power to the soul.

A spiritually aware person knows that all the external supports he or she enjoys offer one a temporary distraction but not a real sense of power. Only a sound knowledge of the spirit and the divine equals an acquisition of real power

By acquiring a deep and abiding knowledge of ones spiritual identity, one can reconnect with oneself and to God so that one can obtain the power one needs to face whatever life brings your way.

On behalf of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University community of South Africa we would like offer our sincere condolences to the family, friends and members of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on the passing away of Dr Kathrada.

Dr Kathrada will be remembered for his dedicated selfless service towards the eradication of racialism and the building of a society where human dignity is upheld. He will be remembered not only for the way he spear headed initiatives in the country but more so for the person he was. For all the challenges he faced in his life he exemplified, like Madiba the spirit of forgiveness and the commitment to move forward in building a value based and harmonious society. As a leader, he was courageous, consistent, caring and humble so that all people in the community felt his care and concern.

Our understanding is that the soul is now surrounded and held in God’s light and love. Our meditations of love and gratitude for his life will support his onward journey. May this offer comfort to his family, friends and comrades who will surely feel the loss of his presence and support.

The Brahma Kumaris community will continue to offer our support in the work of the Kathrada Foundation.

The aim in Raja Yoga Meditation is to use the technique of meditation as a method to deepen our understanding and begin to experience the self as a soul.

Method of Meditation: Begin meditation with the aim to experience yourself as a soul.

Open eyes: The eyes are the most powerful organ of the body and the energy of the mind is transmitted through the eyes. Raja Yoga is an open-eyed
meditation, because we need to learn to develop inner awareness to such an extent that we can maintain it whilst in action.

Sit comfortably: The body’s position needs only to be balanced and comfortable. If you sit on a chair keep your back straight, feet together and legs uncrossed so the subtle energies of your body may flow unobstructed.

Focus attention: Sit in a comfortable position; try to forget about/ let go of the sounds and sights around you and turn your attention inward. Focus your attention on that point in the forehead where you the soul sit. If your mind is running with many thoughts or memories, just observe and watch them come and go. Gently keep bringing your attention back to yourself in the here-and- -now, sitting on your seat of consciousness. Gradually your mind will become more peaceful and your thoughts will slow down. If you experience a headache or tension, you’re trying too hard. Relax completely.

Create specific thoughts: Create the thought of peace, concentrate your attention on that thought and gradually peace will become your experience. As you concentrate on peace you’re able to bring the feeling of peace into your consciousness. You are elevating your consciousness, becoming soul consciousness. When you’re in peace consciousness only then can you deal with anything negative. One has to go above negativity to see the truth of things. If you want to change a person, you don’t keep telling them what’s wrong with them because then that’s what you are emphasizing in their consciousness. This is especially important in working with the self. If you want to change, to move from puppet consciousness to master consciousness, to be a king of the self, you have to focus on your original good qualities. This empowers the self and it has to be done daily, because it’s very easy for one negative thought to come and destroy everything.

It’s a daily practice. How often do you breathe, do you eat? They are daily practices otherwise the body doesn’t function properly. In the same way, the health of the soul requires the oxygen of daily practice even 5-10 minutes will do. Start with this and naturally it will increase.

Try out this next meditation exercise..