Archive for the ‘Harmlessness’ Category

How can we be unique individuals and also be part of a cosmic interconnected field of energy? Actually, we already have lots of experience at this. For example, we are members of our family and of social groups, communities and nations, each with their own distinct characteristics. Yet we share ideals, views, and emotions that cross any of these boundaries. We all know how heartbreaking it is to lose a loved one, and we can all share that sense of grief. Just as we can feel thrilled at another’s accomplishments in music or sports.

Why does this matter? The more we are able to sense our interconnectedness, the more we understand that others are part of ourselves and so we become less likely to harm them. What helps you feel grounded in yourself and interconnected with others at the same time?

What do we need to do to be harmless? For me, it means taking responsibility for angry or demeaning thoughts about others instead of taking my feelings out on them, either verbally or in my thoughts. This doesn’t mean that I’m “bad” to have such thoughts, just that I need to deal with them energetically rather than let them harm others.

Here’s what I do if I am really angry with someone else: I set up a white light “shower” between myself and the world. Then I get into feeling as angry or frustrated as I wish, while recognizing that the feelings are about me, not the other person. When all that angry energy passes through the white light shower, it comes out “pink” (benign) on the other side.

What about you? What do you do to make sure you don’t harm others when you are angry or frustrated?

When you hear “harmless,” do you think of something dynamic and positive? Or do you imagine a kind of wimpy inoffensiveness? Most spiritual traditions have harmlessness as a positive virtue, and yet most of us view it as an absence (of harm), a lack (of having any impact).

In actuality, living in a harmless manner can be very challenging, especially if we accept that we are all part of an interconnected energy field. So whatever we do or say or feel affects others.

Try this for a week: Each day notice one time when you chose to be harmless rather than harmful. What helped you make that choice? What difference did that choice make in you?