L Monthly E-Newsletter of
BRAHMA KUMARIS CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LEARNING
COMEDIAN Steve Martin once
joked at the Oscars that when
media makes people think,
they are resistant.
To Toronto-based lec-
turer and author Denise Law-
rence, mind power is vital for
self-growth. Some years ago,
she espoused the importance
of exercising the mind in her
the Diploma in Educa-
tion,Values and Spirituality,
based on the teachings of the
Brahma Kumaris World Spiri-
tual University. To deepen our
values and defend them, we
have to take a good look at
ourselves. She encourages stu-
dents of life to keep a journal
to track the depth and the
quality of their thoughts for
personal progress.
“Initially, it brings you
face to face with yourself,” she
says. “It can be disturbing be-
cause normally people don’t
want to do what it takes to
come to terms with them-
selves. It’s a way of bringing
the self to say, ‘Hey, look at
yourself.’ Most people are not
deep, but I want them to go
inside and know that people do
have opinions and issues… and
it’s everybody’s right, but we
have to back up these opinions.
I’d like to them to learn the
difference between having a
Visit the Center for Spiritual Learning at 1020 Magallanes Drive, Silang Crossing West, Tagaytay City. Contact us at (046) 483 2128
See our local website www.bktagaytay.com, our blog site www.bk-tnt.blogspot.com and our international website www.bkwsu.org.
Psychology student takes time out for journal writing.
Thin k—
for a change
It brings you face to face with yourself
considered opinion and ex-
pressing a prejudiced precon-
ception.”
How can one convince
people to think if they are pre-
occupied with mundane talk?
“You provoke them,”
she says. “Everybody has ex-
perienced difficulties. Everyone
has been betrayed; everyone
has lied, been afraid, yet they
don’t have the vocabulary for
it. Once you start pushing
them, some naturally break
down; others get angry. A
space is created which says,
‘It’s okay. Let’s go through this
and come out the other side.’
People get in touch with their
emotions, with their pain, with
their ego defenses—and grow.”
However, people pre-
© Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University 2009.
The Point
Volume 3 Issue 30 November 2009
fer to be safe and sometimes
shallow because of social con-
ditioning.
“They have grown up with
friends and relatives whose
ways and views they’ve ac-
quired. Once they start think-
ing deeply, they will realize a
lot of things they may not want
to realize such as hypocrisy,
prejudice and vices in the
world—that they have become
enmeshed in these. They will
have to pull themselves out of
it, and it’s not so easy. They will
have to start working on them-
selves. They have to emerge
from self-deception and that’s
painful for a person.”
Nowadays, it has be-
come fashionable to broadcast
one’s superficiality (as in “I’m
ditzy.”) . Lawrence calls it self-
deception. “The pain of coming
clean with one’s self is great. If
you claim you are fluffy, you
are defaming yourself. You are
denying your validity and val-
ues by not developing your in-
tellectual and cultural skills.
Making yourself very superficial
is painful for the soul.”
Time will come, she
said, when these people will be
confronted with aging or by
some serious ailment, and they
will find themselves alone.
“They will have no inner re-
sources to deal with them-
selves, so they will feel void.
It’s like being on drugs. They
are disassociated from their
essential self. This is suicide.”
Laurence said journal
writing teaches people to ar-
ticulate, so that when some-
body argues with them or chal-
lenges their values, they can
defend these.
“People just don’t
change and become better.
That’s a cliché,” she says. “The
objective is to give people tools
with which to conduct them-
selves and live their lives they
way they want, and take re-
sponsibility for who they are
and what they are doing. It
teaches people to interact with
others on a level of integrity.”
 2 The Point Volume 3 Issue 30 November 2009

Peace 101: Enroll now!

WHEN the Living bly touched by the
Values program pure atmosphere,
was introduced to and learned the
Mater Dei Acad- greeting, “Om
emy in Tagaytay shanti.”
City, the faculty AFFIRMATIONS
understood more Cha Bonus, Aca-
deeply how demic Affairs Super-
peace, love and visor:
virtues could be “With a smile on my
applied in the face and the refresh-
curriculum and ing peace that I feel
harnessed in life. in my heart, I am
To maintain able to face the chal-
The school principal, Sister Loi Nemis gives sweet Young pupil expresses his happiness after
its high standard lenges of each day.
and blessings to students after a Peace Talk. Raja Yoga teacher conducted meditation.
of education, Ma- The experience with
ter Dei Academy the Brahma Kumaris
has been conducting activities to develop qual- story about the demons and the deities who is a most precious gem that makes me rich,
ity teachers whose lives are imbued with spiri- were instructed to eat without bending their not in financial terms but in spirit—something
tuality. The school and the Center for Spiritual elbows. The demons went hungry, but the I have always wanted to achieve.”
Learning have developed a partnership aimed deities, arms fully extended, fed one an- Kim Simon N. Delos Reyes, sixth-grader:
at creating an institution where every individ- other—an illustration of sharing and cooperat- “I have learned to relax and be quiet
ual finds purpose and meaning in life. ing that imparted to her listeners insights on even for just a moment. I enjoyed the relaxing
In a Power of Positivity session in CSL, empathy, compassion and kindness. meditation exercises done in our gym, which
the MDA faculty and staff got to take a good “It is very important to note that this gave me strength to finish my day. I will always
look at themselves, thus discovering their culture (of caring) must begin with us. We remember to meditate and feel God’s pres-
virtues and values. Sharing their experiences must desire to be channels of blessings for ence in my life. May this peace experience
strengthened the bond among the partici- others, to effect a change of heart in every bring me to a higher level of faith in God and
pants. They were further empowered by bless- person, and therefore influence the ways of deeper level of spirituality”
ings, gifts of sweets and an exchange of posi- the world,” said Annabelle delos Reyes, a Christine Joy Rimorin, computer teacher:
tive energy through the eyes. Everyone left school representative. "The world today is a place of chaos
the retreat center with calmness in their During the international Day of Peace and noise. What we learned has made us real-
hearts and smiles on their faces. held at the school, Brahma Kumaris teachers ize that, with peace ruling our emotions, we
In an inspirational talk delivered by formed a Peace Circle at the academy, through can choose the appropriate action in every
Indian senior lecturer B.K. Sheilu at the re- which students where enjoined to experience situation, and that we can always choose
treat center, the staffers were touched by her meditation. Even the pre-schoolers were visi- peace because we are peaceful souls.”

P R O G R A M S
Know Your Fortune, 4pm Sat - 4pm Sun, Nov 7-8
Ego: Let it Go, 5:30-6:30pm Sun, Nov 15
Solace for the Soul, 4pm Fri - 4pm Sun, Nov 20-22
We’d like to hear from you. Write us at thepointfeedback@gmail.com.

Happy employees keep clients satisfied

ORGANIZING a retreat for employees
of various beliefs was a major achieve-
ment for the human resources teams
of BP Waterworks, Inc., Plus Cable
Network and Goodhands Water Spe-
cialists. These companies believe that
to better serve subscribers and con-
sumers, every employee should appre-
ciate his/her role in society by recog-
nizing his/her value as an individual.
The managements of the
three firms report that, since the re-
treat, the employee-participants have
become more enthusiastic at work and
always greet each other by saying, Sweet
“Om Shanti (I am a peaceful soul.)” For surrender
their part, the participants say the
retreat made them realize that their There's a science behind the adage, " Eat sweets to make you sweet." A research
from the University of Cincinnati reveals that sweets control the production of
employers really take good care of
stress-related hormones that have been associated with obesity and weakened
their wellbeing. immune function.