Mind Yoga: Take time out right now. How can we become better people?

What powers do we all have?

1. The power to change our awareness: Anyone who tests us is our teacher. We are the students, so we must listen to everyone who speaks to us because they have a lesson. Pay attention, especially to those who really annoy or anger you. They are reflecting something about yourself that you would like to change.

2. The power to become the leader, not the follower: Don't speak the language of a follower: "If she apologizes I will apologize", "If he changes I will change", "If my situation changes I will change"... Many people come out of bad situations and change their lives. A leader is the one who takes initiative. Do not wait for leaders- you are the leader.

3. The power to react with calmness: Every situation can be changed simply by our reactions to circumstances. We have a choice in how we react in every case. When our personality, looks or ability have been attacked we can either get upset and take it personally, or realize that the reason people are launching the attack is about them, not us.

4. The power to play a fair game: Everything in life is a game (even though it looks and feels like real drama). If we lose a game, but played fairly we cannot feel like a loser, but if we won a game and did not play fairly then we cannot feel like a winner.

5. The power to feel worthy: People from all walks of life feel unworthy and have low self-esteem, no matter how hard they try to present themselves. This comes from feeling defeated by their own weaknesses, whether it's anger, greed, ego, dishonesty or intolerance. These things all lower our energy and make us feel bad about ourselves, but we are the cause. When we become honest, humble, calm and giving (giving something as simple as a smile or helping someone who needs it), we gain strength so self-respect and self-esteem grows.

6. The power to become an extraordinary person: Become a hero-actor, not just an actor... our roles are created by the actions we perform. Maybe our old self-portrait put us in the role of a martyr, victim or follower, but now we are changing it all. Why? Because how it was before just did not make us happy. Life is a play- we can change any scene we want, add or remove any drama, and choose what character we want to play.

7. The power to not gossip or defame others: Not only do these things give us a heavy feeling, but they create complication and a feeling of being trapped. If we talk about negative things or join in on gossiping it leaves a bad taste in our mouths and can affect our mood for the rest of the day. By changing the subject or saying something nice about someone we can change our day from bad to good.

8. The power to be alert: If we know that anger or impatience etc. are our weaknesses we have to be aware of when we are being triggered and instantly go inside of ourselves to calm down. Otherwise circumstances can become out of control when they don't need to.

9. The power to control our words, thoughts and actions: If a car does not have powerful breaks it can cause accidents. Sometimes small, sometimes big, which can cause a lot of damage. Watch where our thoughts take us- they can cause the greatest damage to ourselves. Our words and actions can be uplifting to other people or hurtful.

10. The power to not be absorbed in the problem: Concentrate on the solution, not the problem. As we focus on the solution the problem will lose it's edge. There is always a solution.

If you'd like to practice this more (how to become the best person you can be), go to the Brahma Kumari website to find the free meditation classes that are nearest to you. They have centres all over the world so I'm sure you will find one! I've taken all sorts of meditation classes from different groups of people, but I connect most strongly with the genuine, kind Brahma Kumari sisters and brothers. You can belong to any religion or race and you will be welcomed with open arms. These people practice what they teach. The same goes for the Krishna Conscious Organization. They are giving and kind people who teach very similar lessons on how to live a meaningful and satisfying life.