Our mainstream media do a thorough job of indoctrinating fear of strangers into our world-view. Secure in our locked homes, we watch atrocities on television and wonder how our world has become so insane. Our response to these fears is to construct walls, fences, borders, and prisons to keep away anyone who isn’t quite like us.
The one meaning of the word “alien” is simply “other.” When we add judgment to our perception of others we create a separation between ourselves and these other people in our own minds. Rather than perceive clearly, our judgement becomes a convenient stand-in or representation for what actually IS. How many times have we judged someone based on appearance and later discovered that they were really very different?
We choose how we perceive the world. When choosing to perceive separation, we project resisted aspects of our own consciousness into the world. One step on the path to integrating and creating an enlightened planetary civilization is to let go of judgement and perceive the divine in every person. Some people radiate an unconditional love into the world, these people are easy to admire. Others keep their divinity wrapped within many layers of hatred, bigotry, and nationalism. It is these others that can benefit most from our understanding and compassion. On this page you’ll find an exercise from the Avatar Materials designed to increase the amount of compassion in the world. Enjoy.
Warmly,
Tony
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The Compassion Exercise
Honesty with one’s self leads to compassion for others.
Objective: To increase the amount of compassion in the world.
Expected result: Increase in understanding and a personal sense of peace.
Instructions: This exercise can be done anywhere that people congregate (airports, events, beaches, etc). It should be done on strangers, unobtrusively and from some distance. Try to do all five steps on the same person.
1: With your attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me, this person is seeking some happiness for his/her life.”
2: With your attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me, this person is trying to avoid suffering in his/her life.”
3: With your attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me, this person has known sadness, loneliness, and despair.”
4: With your attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me, this person is seeking to fulfill his/her needs.”
5: With your attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me, this person is learning about life.”
Variations of the Just Like Me process:
1. May be done by couples and family members to increase understanding of each other.
2. May be done on old enemies and antagonists still present in your memories.
3. May be done on other life forms.
This is one of thirty exercises that can be found in
ReSurfacing®: Techniques for Exploring Consciousness by Harry Palmer. Excerpted with permission. ©1994, 2010 Avatar® and ReSurfacing® are registered trademarks of Star’s Edge, Inc. All rights reserved.
About Tony Cecala
Tony is a business strategist. He publishes the Holistic Networker and produces the Wellness Expo. In his spare time he reads about technology and the mind.
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