Snapshots frrom our partner organisations around d the world Haiti: Volunteers for The Children’s Voice Foundation taking part in Living Values Education training in Port au Prince on 27th July 2009. LVE is a partnership project of the Brahma Kumaris. www.livingvalues.net
Issue 7: Sept /Oct 2009
The Inner Wave News, insights and experiences from the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) Welcome to this 1st birthday issue of the Inner Wave. A warm thank you from all of us for your support, comments and ideas about the newsletter – please keep them coming to newsletter@uk.bkwsu.org. In this issue we explore what is meant by inner power and protection. Editorial Team
Russia: Dadi Gulzar, Co-Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris, inaugurates the 'Golden Dawn' Festival in St Petersburg on September 17th 2009, along with representatives of the Russian capital’s TV, arts and academic circles.
A Reflection at Dusk
Meeting Life’s Challenges
Ultimately, I only have what I truly am. That is strength. If I have borrowed strength from a name, A role, a position a group or a person There comes a point when it all dissolves and I will feel empty, Floundering for a sense of identity and Desperate for self esteem. I go ‘inside’ and find myself. All support, all wisdom, all solutions are already there. Simply, I need to remember.
Neville Hodgkinson USA: An exhibit at the Peace, Power & Protection Village Fair at Peace Village in Upstate New York, 29th August – 6th September 2009, which celebrated the Learning & Retreat Center’s 10th birthday.
In My Life Bipin Anand I was introduced to meditation while at college. I used to be very shy but, after learning about spirituality, I began to open up, make friends and feel more confident. Later, at uni, I gave up drinking and smoking - not because I felt I had to; it just came naturally. My friends found this weird but cool, as it’s something people find hard to do. It was at uni that I started making films. The first one I made was about how all religions are talking about the same things. I’ve since done a lot of video projects for the BKs and now work professionally as a filmmaker. I want to use film to help create a better world. Raja Yoga has helped me be naturally positive. It’s built me up inside and enabled me to express my true personality more deeply. I’m a fun-loving, enthusiastic person but I can also be serious. It has also helped me organise things in my head. For instance, when I was burgled at uni and my computer with all my work on it was taken, I actually remember smiling at the time. OK, there was an ‘Oh man!’ moment, when I realised what had gone, but then I just made a list of what needed to be replaced and then said to
myself: time to move on. That ability to organise my thoughts means that events don’t overtake me. Meditation is like finding something you never knew you’d lost and then realising: ‘Oh, yes!’ It’s so subtle and very powerful. Meditating for a few minutes isn’t going to change everything. It’s the months and years of practice that are transforming me, making me feel calm and peaceful. I feel I’ve grown and gained strength. It’s fun, down to earth, deep and practical - I use it every day.
Bipin Anand is a film-maker and an active member of the Brahma Kumaris involved in media and youth work teaching practical, values-based living.
© Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) teaches Raja Yoga as a way of experiencing peace of mind and a positive approach to life. For more information about our activities around the UK, please see www.bkwsu.org/uk Registered Charity in England & Wales (269971) and Scotland (SC040512)
Bipin Anand at a retreat for emerging leaders from many professions aged 18-30 entitled Choose, Change & Become at Global Retreat Centre, Oxfordshire, September 2009.
Next issue: Time Learn to meditate For information about free Raja Yoga meditation courses around the UK: www.bkwsu.org/uk/uk/whatwedo/ courses
Visit our online TV channel Watch videos of interviews, lectures and other Brahma Kumaris events (mostly in English) around the UK www.BrahmaKumarisUK.blip.tv
Join our mailing list Sign up to receive The Inner Wave, Thought for the Day or events in your area by email at www.bkwsu.org/uk/mailing_lists
To be able to generate and sustain inner power you need a change of attitude, vision, and perception. This has been my own experience and it has made a huge difference to me. But it is no small matter; you are talking about radically changing your outlook on life. It’s a conceptual shift to understand that there can be space between you, the observer of life, and the part you are playing in it. When you see yourself as a physical being, then, because the material world is in a state of constant flux, keeping up with change becomes progressively draining. You suffer, because your sense of who you are is defined by those things that can be at risk - like your job, your partner, your health. You lose power in the sense that you lose equanimity, happiness and clarity of judgement. You also lose your compassion, your ability to be sensitive to others, because of being needy yourself. My understanding now is that we’ve all come from the Seed, a Source of goodness, peace and compassion - which is our original nature too. When we let go of the thinking patterns that create selfishness, we start to experience that original nature and this puts us on the same wavelength as the Source.
What’s Inside...
Neville Hodgkinson
From Reflections at Dawn, Day and Dusk available from www.bkpublications.com
Divine protection isn’t about helping us pass our exams or earn more money, let alone win a war; it is at a level where what is protected is the flow of goodness, unselfishness and joy that human beings experience when they feel able to live true to their innermost nature. Right now, the world seems to be re-awakening to the need for this kind of power. When we learn to align with Divine purpose, it is as though we ride a wave that carries us over what might otherwise have seemed like insuperable obstacles. This is a powerful way of thinking to help us in our everyday efforts to live by our highest values. Neville Hodgkinson is a writer and journalist, specialising in health and science issues. He has been practising Raja Yoga meditation for 30 years.
Experiencing Inner Protection Power & Prot
”
You are what you think… Love, purity, peace, wisdom. The more you think of these things, The more you will become them. Dadi Janki, From Companion of God, available from www.bkpublications.com In My Life Bipin Anand
Elizabeth Edmunds
“
“
Spirituality gives you strength.
pages 2-3
E is for Elevated Thinking
The Voice of Stillness
Special Feature Spec
“
The A-Z of Spiritual Living
page 3
I do experience protection but I have to tune into it.
”
page 4
Meditation is like finding something you never knew you’d lost and then realizing: Oh, yes!
”
I make a point of “creating thoughts and feelings of happiness, peace and benevolence, which make me feel better – not worse.
”
Experiencing Inner Power & Protection ‘UK society increasingly fearful’ was a story run by BBC News earlier this year, about recent research by the Mental Health Foundation. “The report, In the Face of Fear, found more than a third of people say they get frightened or more anxious more often than they used to, while 77% thought the world had become a scarier place.” (BBC News website 14.4.09 )
5 Steps that can help us to experience inner
Sir Gulam Noon, Founder and Chairman of Noon Products and the Noon Foundation. Sir Gulam was trapped in the Taj Hotel during the terrorist attack in Mumbai, November 2008.
power and protection
“Spirituality gives you strength. A spiritual person does not have to fear. When my brother asked, “What is going to happen?” I said, “Something will happen and then we’ll be saved.” When you are a spiritual person, there is an intuition also, because spirituality and intuition are connected… Call it spirituality or what you like, but you must have the courage of conviction in your own mind and that will carry you through your life.”
Emily Buchanan, World Affairs Correspondent, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, who escaped unscathed from a light aircraft that had crash landed in Zimbabwe in 1992. “I didn’t think I was going to die; it just seemed so unreal. But, when it was over, I did think it extraordinary that I hadn’t. Lots of people had lots of theories afterwards. Was it angels, ancestors, God – I’ve no idea – but it was something. I don’t think I had a strong sense of who I was at the time, I wasn’t particularly aware of my inner power, yet still there was some sense of being protected. My question is: are you safer, if you are aware? Perhaps it’s a case of: these things can happen to you and it is how you tackle them. You are more able to deal with situations, because you don’t panic and so there’s less of that pointless energy of worry and anxiety. In this way I suppose you can protect yourself from all sorts of things.”
Glasgow
Events around the UK September Edinburgh - October 2009 Newcastle
“There are many different types of energy – physical, spiritual, emotional and also Godly energy. Godly energy is when I can link myself with the Supreme, I can experience God’s power around me and the energy of love, truth and light and that protects me from whatever negativity is around me. It also helps me to protect myself from the negativity within me – such as ego, anger and greed. A spiritual practice, such as meditation, silence or prayer, allows me to generate that energy that can protect me personally but also extend out and protect others too.”
Supapong Krishnakan, Chairman of Rayong Purifier PCL, Thailand (Excerpt from the blog: A Life Changing Moment, 27th September 2009). Unemployed for three years with a family to support, he challenges God: For all the good things I’ve done, why am I in this situation? “…At that moment, as I succumbed to the stillness and quiet, the answer came! It was a soft whisper, like a breeze softly blowing in my face. I heard, not through my ears but with my heart, “Of all the things you’ve done, nothing was wrong. The only thing wrong was that you thought you did it all yourself.” This answer made me realize my problem. I had a big idea about myself. I thought I had been successful; everything was always centred on me and how good I was… Suddenly I realized that there were a lot of people, a lot of things, involved with my success and that there was a lot more purpose in life than to be successful in a worldly way. My spiritual eye opened up, I saw the world anew and suddenly everything became very still. I got up, put on my good clothes and faced the world with different feelings…” www.powerandprotection.org
1.
Let every day begin with a ‘good morning’ to the self, to God and to life. The first thought of the day gives me power and peace.
2.
Everything, everyone is my teacher. No matter how difficult, how unexpected, how unwanted, since it has come in my life, I ask myself, “What do I learn now?”
3.
Every two hours I put a brake on my mind and tongue and become quiet; just a minute to be peaceful. I stop, relax, recharge and then re-enter the flow of daily activities.
4.
I ‘put a fullstop’ as soon as I see myself complaining and blaming. These two habits destroy my inner power completely, because they show I am still expecting solutions and changes from others.
5.
During the day I say ‘thank you’ to God, to life, that today I exist, today I can express, today I can share love.
The Voice of Stillness Elizabeth Edmunds
Leeds Bradford Manchester Sheffield
Sister Jayanti, Director, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK)
In September 2009 this project was launched in over 70 countries worldwide to explore these questions, share some simple yet profound techniques of Raja Yoga meditation and encourage people to share their own experiences of inner strength and the support of a higher power in their lives. 56 events took place throughout the UK and people around the world have visited and contributed their stories on our blog: www.powerandprotection.org
Yet people everywhere are facing huge challenges and making the right choices in life by relying their own inner strength and courage – often experiencing a protection and strength beyond human capacity. How do we harness our inner strength? Is Divine protection possible? How do we access this? And what effect do such experiences have on our own lives and the lives of those around us?
Mold - N. Wales Stoke on Trent Nottingham Loughborough Leicester Peterborough Birmingham Bury St Edmunds Coventry Wellingborough Cambridge Haverhill Oxford Chelmsford Rochester Cardiff Reading Gillingham Windsor Bristol Broadstairs Canterbury Sandwich Crawley Tunbridge Wells Brighton Worrthing Eastbourne Newton Abbot Bournemouth London area Blackheath Covent Garden Croydon Ealing Finchley Hounslow Ilford Kensington & Chelsea Lewisham Stanmore Tooting Upton Park Wembley Willesden Green
I do experience protection but I have to tune into it. I am very aware that I am not on my own. Yet it is my own voice – not a great voice coming down from heaven. It’s very internal; it is steady and sure and doesn’t say as much as the moving mind. I meditate twice a day - to somehow access a space beyond the mind, where there is an absence of words, but not of presence. It is as if the joy of God is in that space and at that point you join it. Anybody could access this. It isn’t anybody’s.
Elizabeth Edmunds
Going around my daily duties, I wouldn’t expect to hear voices. It’s more when I’m intent on doing something for somebody else or for the Absolute. In relation to Just This Day, for instance, it will help me, when I think, “Perhaps I shouldn’t do this”, it will take me through barriers, or, when idleness comes, it will say, “Come on, do the next thing.” Elizabeth Edmunds is a member of the School of Economic Science and Founder of Just This Day, a worldwide initiative taking place on Wednesday 25th November, uniting people in creating peace and stillness, which the Brahma Kumaris are pleased to support www.justthisday.org.
RECIPE: Black Velvet Cake 2 2/3 cups flour 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tbsp honey or 6oz sugar 2/3 cup oil
2 cups water 6 tbsp carob or cocoa powder 2 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp vinegar
Mix all together, beat well and bake at Gas 4 for approximately 25 minutes. Ice with carob or cocoa icing. From Simple Vegetarian Recipes available from www.bkpublications.com
Snapshots frrom our partner organisations around d the world Haiti: Volunteers for The Children’s Voice Foundation taking part in Living Values Education training in Port au Prince on 27th July 2009. LVE is a partnership project of the Brahma Kumaris. www.livingvalues.net
Issue 7: Sept /Oct 2009
The Inner Wave News, insights and experiences from the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) Welcome to this 1st birthday issue of the Inner Wave. A warm thank you from all of us for your support, comments and ideas about the newsletter – please keep them coming to newsletter@uk.bkwsu.org. In this issue we explore what is meant by inner power and protection. Editorial Team
Russia: Dadi Gulzar, Co-Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris, inaugurates the 'Golden Dawn' Festival in St Petersburg on September 17th 2009, along with representatives of the Russian capital’s TV, arts and academic circles.
A Reflection at Dusk
Meeting Life’s Challenges
Ultimately, I only have what I truly am. That is strength. If I have borrowed strength from a name, A role, a position a group or a person There comes a point when it all dissolves and I will feel empty, Floundering for a sense of identity and Desperate for self esteem. I go ‘inside’ and find myself. All support, all wisdom, all solutions are already there. Simply, I need to remember.
Neville Hodgkinson USA: An exhibit at the Peace, Power & Protection Village Fair at Peace Village in Upstate New York, 29th August – 6th September 2009, which celebrated the Learning & Retreat Center’s 10th birthday.
In My Life Bipin Anand I was introduced to meditation while at college. I used to be very shy but, after learning about spirituality, I began to open up, make friends and feel more confident. Later, at uni, I gave up drinking and smoking - not because I felt I had to; it just came naturally. My friends found this weird but cool, as it’s something people find hard to do. It was at uni that I started making films. The first one I made was about how all religions are talking about the same things. I’ve since done a lot of video projects for the BKs and now work professionally as a filmmaker. I want to use film to help create a better world. Raja Yoga has helped me be naturally positive. It’s built me up inside and enabled me to express my true personality more deeply. I’m a fun-loving, enthusiastic person but I can also be serious. It has also helped me organise things in my head. For instance, when I was burgled at uni and my computer with all my work on it was taken, I actually remember smiling at the time. OK, there was an ‘Oh man!’ moment, when I realised what had gone, but then I just made a list of what needed to be replaced and then said to
myself: time to move on. That ability to organise my thoughts means that events don’t overtake me. Meditation is like finding something you never knew you’d lost and then realising: ‘Oh, yes!’ It’s so subtle and very powerful. Meditating for a few minutes isn’t going to change everything. It’s the months and years of practice that are transforming me, making me feel calm and peaceful. I feel I’ve grown and gained strength. It’s fun, down to earth, deep and practical - I use it every day.
Bipin Anand is a film-maker and an active member of the Brahma Kumaris involved in media and youth work teaching practical, values-based living.
© Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK) teaches Raja Yoga as a way of experiencing peace of mind and a positive approach to life. For more information about our activities around the UK, please see www.bkwsu.org/uk Registered Charity in England & Wales (269971) and Scotland (SC040512)
Bipin Anand at a retreat for emerging leaders from many professions aged 18-30 entitled Choose, Change & Become at Global Retreat Centre, Oxfordshire, September 2009.
Next issue: Time Learn to meditate For information about free Raja Yoga meditation courses around the UK: www.bkwsu.org/uk/uk/whatwedo/ courses
Visit our online TV channel Watch videos of interviews, lectures and other Brahma Kumaris events (mostly in English) around the UK www.BrahmaKumarisUK.blip.tv
Join our mailing list Sign up to receive The Inner Wave, Thought for the Day or events in your area by email at www.bkwsu.org/uk/mailing_lists
To be able to generate and sustain inner power you need a change of attitude, vision, and perception. This has been my own experience and it has made a huge difference to me. But it is no small matter; you are talking about radically changing your outlook on life. It’s a conceptual shift to understand that there can be space between you, the observer of life, and the part you are playing in it. When you see yourself as a physical being, then, because the material world is in a state of constant flux, keeping up with change becomes progressively draining. You suffer, because your sense of who you are is defined by those things that can be at risk - like your job, your partner, your health. You lose power in the sense that you lose equanimity, happiness and clarity of judgement. You also lose your compassion, your ability to be sensitive to others, because of being needy yourself. My understanding now is that we’ve all come from the Seed, a Source of goodness, peace and compassion - which is our original nature too. When we let go of the thinking patterns that create selfishness, we start to experience that original nature and this puts us on the same wavelength as the Source.
What’s Inside...
Neville Hodgkinson
From Reflections at Dawn, Day and Dusk available from www.bkpublications.com
Divine protection isn’t about helping us pass our exams or earn more money, let alone win a war; it is at a level where what is protected is the flow of goodness, unselfishness and joy that human beings experience when they feel able to live true to their innermost nature. Right now, the world seems to be re-awakening to the need for this kind of power. When we learn to align with Divine purpose, it is as though we ride a wave that carries us over what might otherwise have seemed like insuperable obstacles. This is a powerful way of thinking to help us in our everyday efforts to live by our highest values. Neville Hodgkinson is a writer and journalist, specialising in health and science issues. He has been practising Raja Yoga meditation for 30 years.
Experiencing Inner Protection Power & Prot
”
You are what you think… Love, purity, peace, wisdom. The more you think of these things, The more you will become them. Dadi Janki, From Companion of God, available from www.bkpublications.com In My Life Bipin Anand
Elizabeth Edmunds
“
“
Spirituality gives you strength.
pages 2-3
E is for Elevated Thinking
The Voice of Stillness
Special Feature Spec
“
The A-Z of Spiritual Living
page 3
I do experience protection but I have to tune into it.
”
page 4
Meditation is like finding something you never knew you’d lost and then realizing: Oh, yes!
”
I make a point of “creating thoughts and feelings of happiness, peace and benevolence, which make me feel better – not worse.
”