Washington DC ( USA ): A photograph of BK Sister Jenna, Director of Brahma Kumaris centers in Washington, DC, is featured on the cover page of EDEN magazine in the month of September 2021.
“I connect my energy to God, I ask him what He wants from me for that day; for me, God is Love, so sometimes I’ll ask God, ‘Tell me what does love want me to do today.’ ” – Sister Jenna, A Spiritual Mentor, Author, Lecturer, and founder of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum, sits down with us for a very enlightening conversation.
Sister Jenna, Thank you for your time; please tell us how you chose your life path?
SJ: I wouldn’t say I chose it. Honestly, this path chose me. There is no way that, when I was younger, I envisioned a life for myself of service and helping people’s lives to be better. This path definitely chose me. It’s funny how we think we have so much control over our destiny and the truth is that we don’t. We just don’t. And so, my answer is: this path chose me.
As founder of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum, would you please tell us the mission behind the Meditation Museum?
SJ: I wanted a place people could come to where they didn’t feel they were being preached at. I wanted to create an environment where, the moment you walked in, you could feel the essence of who you really are, in a way that you might not be able to feel when you’re out there in this world of chaos and distraction we live in today.
I know the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum has become a place of solace — a place of respite, a place of comfort and personal growth to many. It aims to help people discover their gifts, helping them realize how strong they are, giving them insights into the things we need to embrace about ourselves and the parts we need to let go of.
The Meditation Museum is all about becoming more of a service for our humanity because, once you understand the essence of who you are, there is no way you’re going to hold yourself back from giving back to society. This Meditation Museum has been a gift. I cannot begin to tell you the thousands and thousands and thousands of lives that have been transformed as a result of the Meditation Museum, and I am so honored to have played a role in that.
I know the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum has become a place of solace — a place of respite, a place of comfort and personal growth to many. It aims to help people discover their gifts, helping them realize how strong they are, giving them insights into the things we need to embrace about ourselves and the parts we need to let go of.
The Meditation Museum is all about becoming more of a service for our humanity because, once you understand the essence of who you are, there is no way you’re going to hold yourself back from giving back to society. This Meditation Museum has been a gift. I cannot begin to tell you the thousands and thousands and thousands of lives that have been transformed as a result of the Meditation Museum, and I am so honored to have played a role in that.
As we see tragedy happening every day worldwide, how can we move forward with all the negativity around us?
SJ: One of the things that I love about the teachings of the Brahma Kumaris and the philosophy of Raja Yoga meditation is that it turns the attention to you. You become the one that will change in order for the world to change. If we continue to hold on to three Cs — comparing, criticizing, and complaining — there will be no change. Once you recognize that the change that needs to occur has to start within you, then you stop worrying about the direction the world is going in. The world is in the state that it’s in because people are not paying attention to themselves and the energy they bring into the world. In our spiritual philosophy in meditation, there is a very important quote we live by. I use it all the time. “When I change, the world has to change.” If I keep looking at the doom and gloom, that’s what I’ll feed. If I look at what’s transformative and what’s right and light and pure, well, that’s what I’m going to feed. In our philosophy, we want to feed the light and what’s right so that we can elevate consciousness and elevate our future.
You mentioned in one of your speeches, “No one is born full of hatred, and only a person in great pain, confusion or distress would harm another. At the soul level, we are all perfect, and the souls that do us harm are also grieving, for they will have to come face-to-face with the results of their actions. The Karmic debt does not go unpaid.” Is this concern for all living beings or only if we are in the human body? Would you please explain?
SJ: We need to have the awareness to recognize that there are things we’re doing at the energetic level that create these karmic results. There isn’t another answer that makes sense. It doesn’t make sense that some people are born into certain conditions. It doesn’t make sense that some have a golden spoon in their mouth while others live in a state of poverty. There has to be something that we’re missing – or maybe it’s right in front of our eyes. The more we recognize that the soul’s original nature is pure, peaceful, loving, and powerful, than a person in that mindset will not give suffering to another person. I have found that when I show up less than my best self, I either give sorrow or take sorrow. When I’m in that body awareness, fed by an acronym I speak of, ALGAE — anger, lust, greed, attachment, and ego — we find ourselves contributing to suffering. Peace, love, purity, bliss and truth do not. So yes, hurt people hurt people. Pure people inspire purity in others.
Would you please share with us your daily basis practice? And tips for mindfulness.
SJ: Back in the day, I used to own two-night clubs in south Florida. I used to go to bed around 7 a.m. in the morning, and now I’m waking up around 4 a.m. every day, listening to the deepest thoughts that are emerging at that time. I connect my energy to God; I ask him what he wants from me for that day. For me, God is love, so sometimes I’ll ask God, “tell me what does love want me to do today.” That helps me a lot. In the spiritual teachings of the Brahma Kumaris, we have the Murli, which I conduct at 6:30 a.m. every morning, during which we talk to the students about the soul, God, karma, and time. Following that, we have breakfast, and my meetings happen after that. Regardless of what the day has in store, every hour, we have a nice practice in the Brahma Kumaris called “traffic control.” I pause for 2-3 minutes every hour, and I go into the experience of Om Shanti. “Who am I? I am peace, am I not?” Alternatively, I’ll check where my thoughts are and see if they are connected to the values of God and love. Checking in every hour on the hour is essential in helping me preserve the energy of light and might that I received. In addition to that practice, I do service. I try to be available for people’s hearts and minds. As my day comes to a close, I aim to turn in at a reasonable hour, usually around 11 p.m., and then I am up again in the morning. I love the morning rise. I can feel myself unlike any other time of the day. I can feel God’s presence, which is important to me. That’s my day.
Many of us are dealing with our loved ones who have Alzheimer’s. What was the single most challenging experience you had when your mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and how did you find a spiritual path to accept her as who she is and respect all her differences?
SJ: This is such a sensitive area for me right now because now that we have recently relocated to a new home, I actually share a bedroom with my mother, even though we have nine bedrooms. I’ve done that because I’m concerned she won’t be able to take care of herself alone. I did it to protect her, but I’ve had really rough days because of it. In regards to the original question, the hardest thing for me was to accept that she’s changed. I lost my best friend, my mother, a spiritual teacher, my business partner. That’s a lot of important relationships that have all now been transformed into only one – that I’ve gained a child. I’ve never had an interest in having children, and now the universe and destiny have given me a child that I have to take care of. The hardest thing for me was to accept that change. On some days, she just seems so normal. But on 95% of the days, she’s just entertaining. I’ve had to accept that.
How can we be in peace within ourselves and the world around us?
SJ: To be at peace with yourself and the world around you – something I use for myself, is to check in a lot with how I’m feeling. Based on how I feel, it gives me some insight into what I am thinking. I think that’s essential. The second thing that’s really important is to observe your thoughts, words, and deeds to see if they are connected to a vibration of peace and love. Look, I talk so much throughout the day, but I am still able to maintain my peace. So, even in my speaking, I am conserving my energy by speaking from the awareness that my original nature, my original religion, is peace. So, I continue to weigh that, and I support that connection with myself to that understanding and belief that I am a peaceful soul. I am Om Shanti. Whatever the world wants to do around me, it can do what it needs to do. But the person in charge of how I choose to feel is me.
Is the diverse spiritual, cultural, and faith impacting our self-being with the Divine?
SJ: You cannot squeeze God into a religion. He is much too big for that. One of the reasons people are fighting so much with themselves and each other is that there’s a need for a deeper understanding and deeper experience of the Divine. Our diversity is a must. That’s what makes the world beautiful – we don’t want everyone to be the same. I don’t want everyone walking around in a white Sari. That would be so boring. Let me be the one walking around in a white Sari. The point I’m making is that if you feel that your connection to Source is an intimate one — and it’s personal, and it’s yours, and it’s pure — it doesn’t belong to any religion, but the experience is yours. I think we would get along much better with each other. I think we would accept each other’s culture and diversity and connect at a soul level much more honest with each other. There would be a Golden Age. We wouldn’t have to put so much money into wars or end famine. We would put money into growth and light and the future. So yes, I think we should stop squeezing God into a religion and start experiencing more of his love.
You have traveled to over 90 countries to provide practical life tools and solutions that empower people to foster and build stronger relationships. Can you share with us the most influential moment that you experienced?
SJ: Wow, there has been so much. I don’t know where to begin. One memory that’s coming up was a trip I took to India early in my spiritual growth. I went out on what’s known as the Village Outreach Service for the Watumull Global Hospital and Research Centre. While I was there, I went out with the doctor in an ambulance, and I remembered holding a baby. He was two years old, but he was so malnourished that he was like a newborn baby. I remember holding that baby in my arms, and I witnessed the baby’s soul leaving the body. He died in my arms. I remember the doctor saying, “Jenna, you can put him down. He’s gone.” And I said, “No, No, you can shake him, right? Can’t the soul come back if you just shake it? Maybe give him some milk or something.” And she said, “No, Jenn. We lose a lot of children like this in this village.” There was something about that moment when I saw that the light of the baby was gone. That has stuck with me all these years. It helped me deepen my belief in being soul-conscious and knowing that I’m a soul. And so, whatever thoughts, conversations, or actions I choose to perform, I became more committed to performing these thoughts, conversations, and actions with love. And with the best of intentions. So, I guess I would say it was one of my trips to India that did it for me.
A special thank you to Sister Jenna for her time and grace.
By Dina Morrone
