A powerful, yet often misunderstood, aim of spiritual study is purity. Purity of the soul means to return to its original divine qualities. The soul has become so polluted with less than divine qualities, it can hardly enjoy being alive. Purifying the soul puts the higher self back in charge — useless and negative thoughts are removed and annoying habits finish. A pure soul cannot be touched by sorrow; indeed the power of purity is such, it serves to remove the sorrow of the whole world. Purity restores happiness — even bliss. All you need to do, in order to re-establish your purity, is want it. But you need to want it intensely, to the exclusion of everything else. The one thought, "I must become completely pure" sparks a fire of love between you and God. This fire melts away all the pollution, and your purity becomes such a power that it frees you from all battles for ever.

If your days seem filled with unwanted negative feelings, there is only one cure. When they come, choose them. Don't ask why, don't wonder how, don't fight them and never put yourself down for having them. But most of all never blame someone else for how you feel. If you do, it means you are still fast asleep and your choice is to be a victim. When the feelings come, even big disturbing emotional feelings say, "I choose this feeling" and know it comes because of something you have thought or done in the past, perhaps a certain belief that you have learned or an attachment that is threatened. Choice does not mean you want the feelings, but it does mean you are taking responsibility for them. And that is the beginning of self mastery. It is the first step to the healing and resolving of your emotions. But only the first step. Try this today and then ask yourself what the next step might be. If you are really interested to know, you will come to know!

Words! They are all around me! I see them. I use them. Harsh words, soothing words, biting words; words that give pain and sorrow; words that give joy and pleasure. They are vital to communication. When words are spoken there are reactions, negative or positive. Either thoughts are triggered or emotions fired or actions performed. Words color our behavior. And how lovely it is to hear words that are calm and free from rancor and aggression. To hear words that lift the soul and leave it with renewed vigor. Such words come from always seeing the best in people and situations.

Work is only work if you prefer to be somewhere else. Work tends to be a negative perception of a task which we reluctantly approach. Work is only labor when we forget to see our life as it truly is — an opportunity to be creative, enrich others and be enriched ourselves. When we are able to see work in this way, we find something called enthusiasm inside. When we are enthusiastic we work well and we are valued. We are used as a role model. When we work well it is much easier to say no when we need to, for we know our own value, and we are not dependent on others' approval to feel good about ourselves. When we put love and enthusiasm into what we do, it rebounds in the form of opportunities and blessings, two of the most important ingredients of a truly wealthy life.

The one who is constantly full of enthusiasm inspires others. Whenever problems come our way, we tend to feel weighed down by negative thoughts. Heaviness in the mind prevents us from moving forward with enthusiasm and makes it tricky for us to inspire others. Whenever I encounter a difficult situation, I need to make a special effort to remain free and light. The more enthusiastic I am, the more progress I will make. My attitude will inspire others, too.

The one who is wise is free from careless or negative talk about others. When someone is talking about another person's shortcomings, I need to question why I am listening: is this information of any use to me, or can I do anything about the situation? If not, then I need to remind myself that there is no use in listening to such talk. Instead, I need to make an attempt to look at the positive qualities of the person in question, and think about how I can help everyone focus on these instead.

Respect is to recognise and appreciate the unique role of everyone. When I find myself having negative thoughts toward anyone, I need to look at the special role this person has to play. When I look closely, I will realise how talented they are, and will develop new respect for them. Without this particular person, the drama of life would not be complete.

Words! They are all around me! I see them. I use them. Harsh words, soothing words, biting words; words that give pain and sorrow; words that give joy and pleasure. They are vital to communication. When words are spoken there are reactions, negative or positive. Either thoughts are triggered or emotions fired or actions performed. Words colour our behaviour. And how lovely it is to hear words that are calm and free from rancour and aggression. To hear words that lift the soul and leave it with renewed vigour. Such words are the sparks of purity. It is important to remember that my speech indicates what is in my mind. As the thinking, so the words uttered. Mental calmness makes my words calm. A pure mind makes for pure words. It is said that speech may exalt someone to kingship or send him to the gallows. I should never let myself indulge in false, bitter and vicious speech. My words should reflect my true, inner nature, that of purity and peace. Words, once spoken, can never be recalled. They reverberate all around, beyond our control. Today, as I utter words, what effect will they have on those who hear them? Will they be the words that are poisonous and cause pain?

It’s easy to speak negatively when we do not like something about someone. We often react without thinking and become angry. Our words and behaviour become negative or insulting. This further widens the gap damaging the relationship. When someone does something undesirable. I first need to understand the behaviour. Every person has a reason to behave the way he or she does even if I cannot understand it at the time. The more I react to the other person and the bad behaviour, the greater the distance between us. To mend the relationship I need to remind myself of the other person’s good qualities.

True self-awareness, plus the ability to choose our perceptions of life, the universe and everything, is the basis of free will. Every situation and scene in front of us has so many possibilities in terms of how we perceive and interpret. If someone is 10% selfish and 90% generous what should we focus on, what should we perceive first within them? Most of us are now well trained to perceive and focus on the negative, the selfishness in others, and to follow it quickly with accusation and judgement. We forget that what we perceive is what we empower within another and, more importantly what we perceive is what we empower within ourselves in that moment. And what we choose to see is usually what we get. So how important is it that we choose to perceive only the best, the highest, the greatest in another, even if it's only a half a percent? Bosses and parents - take note!! Don't forget - your perception is your reality. Your perception is what you project. And what you project is what comes back!

Never believe anyone who says we cannot change. Vision is one of the secrets of personal transformation. We are all artists, our mind is the arena of creation and vision is what we are constantly creating. What is your vision of yourself today – patient, relaxed, positive or tense, tight and negative? What do you prefer? So be creative — what does patience look like, feel like, what are you doing that is different when you are patient and you are expressing your power to …wait? Always start with vision not action. See it and you will be it. Be it and you will do it. We don’t ‘get a life’ as some would cynically tell us — we create our life.

Positive thinking and optimistic outlook will never produce bad results. Negative thinking and pessimistic approach will never produce good results. Positive thinkers will never fail. Negative thinkers will never succeed.