Notes of Harmony is a periodic publication of Global Harmony House

Rakshabandhan

We are brothers and sisters and we have common parents. It is a very beautiful awareness to think this way, because then our thoughts stay protected from negativity.  The mind has really beautiful energy. It is very creative, makes you cheerful, and keeps you strong. It is good to protect the mind, from getting disturbed, getting distracted, losing some of it’s good qualities.

If something is not taken care of, then what happens after some time? It doesn’t stay in that beauty. So that is what happened to our mind. It has lost its beauty. So what we can do is to remind ourselves, that it is beautiful, it is peaceful.

To have inner strength or a strong mind, then what has to be done is to learn to remind yourself, that peace is our natural quality. It only takes a second to get upset; therefore it should take just a second to be peaceful. We have lost that quality but just remind yourself and then with practice, experience the mental strength will return.

 We need to nurture life. We need to learn, be reminded, practice, and then integrate that peaceful experience while at work, talking, during the actions we are doing. I need to create that state of mind and then I can walk in peace, talk in peace. So this way we are peaceful but we are also sharing a lot of peace.

To nurture life, and we all know about survival, but how to spiritually nurture life is important, too. Nurturing starts with the beauty of your own mind. Increasing the inner power, inner strength. The second important quality needed, is moral strength. Call it principles or what is believed, but also what is practiced. Whenever there is any stress or test or adverse situation, what helps then is inner strength and moral strength.

When there is moral strength, nothing shakes you. Otherwise, there is fluctuation and shaking, the lack of ability to discern, and not being clear in deciding because the lack of moral strength. Moral strength is personal principles. Personal principles are such that they need to be maintained. They need to be nurtured; you don’t let go of them.

When there is external pressure, it is then we compromise, we say forget about principles. Life means progress, ascending, moving forward; it is energy and needs to be enhanced. If we want that ascending life, our energy needs to be enhanced, to grow constantly, to progress. It is then important that we keep increasing our moral strength, and not to compromise for any reason. It is not a question about being rigid. It is taking strength from your own principles. So that when the time changes, situation change, people change, how will I adjust to those changes and feel that these changes don’t effect me? I can build on my principles.

How do thoughts of trust for the self come? From inside. When you believe in something that is morally high or spiritually high, then your inner voice will always answer you, advise you, and tell it is going to be okay. Otherwise, when we have or think in doubt or out of fear, the mind starts to think very negative. This is how we know if we are nurturing ourselves or not. When we have these high thoughts, what we are also doing is sending vibrations. When you send those vibrations, it can protect others, too. Anyone who is connected at that time can feel like they are getting some very powerful vibrations, very positive vibrations.

So we can know how much spiritual strength we have, based on how we think. What kinds of thoughts come in the mind? Are they thoughts of faith or thoughts of fear? Are they thoughts of certainty of thoughts of doubt? Confusion or clarity?

The future is unpredictable, but when you have that spiritual strength, it is not an extraordinary power to foresee something. It is because your natural quality, what you will foresee is not trouble but something very positive.

If you remain strong, powerful, and stable so that even if a ‘storm’ comes, then there is no damage in terms of your faith, and your beautiful but delicate qualities.  Sometimes you can manage alone, with your spirituality, with knowledge, with practice of meditation, and the practice of staying positive. But there are many, many times that you need more protection than that. You need more power than that. And that’s where our practice of forging a relationship with God comes.

Sometimes it does happen that your strength is less than what the situation calls for. Or the task is bigger than your strength is. Sometimes responsibility or an initiative undertaken is bigger than what you can handle. So that’s the time for one’s own relationship with God. As soon as you bring in your thoughts that relationship with God, there is extra power, protection, direction, companionship.

There are two aspects to   address; one is to strengthen my own inner powers, inner strength and second, to forge my relationship with God. So that when I am unable to do it, I take that protection, companionship. From there, my relationship with others is beautiful by sharing powers, through our thoughts, words, or even actions.

What it requires is determination. I don’t use the word promise much, because when we don’t fulfill a promise, it can bother us. Why promise anything, just increase your determination.