Find peace of mind with Sister Shivani's five-point agenda
So I went to the Brahmakumari Centre for the first time today. I had (and still don’t have) any idea about what they stand for. But I was lucky enough to hear Sister Shivani speak. Before yesterday, I wasn’t aware of her as well. And today I am completely in awe of her. I feel so fortunate that I get a chance to listen first-hand to such knowledgeable people, be it the Dalai Lama or Sister Shivani.
Funnily enough, they both had the same message - that media is responsible for creating negativity in the society. The Dalai Lama had said that we never heard the good news, we only hear of the bad news. This makes us believe that the inherent nature of man is bad, which is completely untrue, because the inherent nature of man is good. Personally, I find it difficult to believe that in a country of 100 crore people, we cannot find one single piece of good news to report.
Sister Shivani also said the same thing. In fact, she spoke about an incident where she had gone to an event to talk about inner peace. There was her, the chief minister and a third speaker. The third speaker sat on the chief minister’s seat by mistake, before the minister arrived, and was asked to vacate his seat. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the minister arrived…everyone spoke beautifully about peace, the event went off really well. The next day, the news was all about how the third gentleman was asked to vacate the minister’s seat. “So essentially a talk about peace was turned into news about ego by the media,” she said. Instead of reporting the positive things the that everyone said, the whole event (about inner peace) turned into a negative circus.
What we read is what we become. Negative news normalises wrongdoings. We have to read positive news to become positive ourselves. Sister Shivani says that information is the diet for the mind. If you read negative posts, news etc then you are feeding your mind with negativity.
So, I’m following her five point agenda for a month to give my fatigued mind some peace. Please join me in this even for a week if you can.
- Do not read anything negative first thing in the morning. This means no newspapers, negative Facebook status or shares, Whatsapp forwards etc. For half an hour and fill your mind with positive thoughts to charge it for the day. Read something positive or empowering. And make positive affirmations - ‘I am a peaceful being’ seems apt, given the subject of this post. This will charge you with positivity for the rest of the day.
- Unfollow negative or critical people. Don't indulge in negative discussions, gossiping, or making fun of others. Do not read any negative shares or forwards.
- Try not to get angry for at least a week from now. If you do get angry then forgive and forget once you calm down. Don’t hold on to it your anger. Even if someone else is egging you on, you stay true to your nature and don’t let their prejudice shake you up. This goes for all social media forums as well.
- After every hour, take a minute to recharge your mind. Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and repeat the affirmation that you made in the morning.
- Avoid prime time news before you sleep. Repeat that positive affirmation at night for 10 minutes. Or read something which empowers you instead of making you more cynical ad fearful. “Your mornings and evenings are sacrosanct - don’t start or end your day with negativity,” she says.