There is only one “Spirit” shining, ever-present, through/throughout all beings/forms, and in/within/as all of existence, so, this naturally means that this is so regardless of the form that anything shows up in at any given moment.
But the question is: how fully and deeply can/do you understand and accept this?
Compassion is a sign of inner evolution for one simple reason (it is not a mere sentiment of a moral command or suggestion that “you should” “be this way” or “feel that way” based on anyone else’s authority). True compassion is a natural expression of understanding and integrating (from within) Reality that transcends duality and reflects a knowing (not a mere philosophical grasping) of our True interconnectedness and oneness.
What “you,” in your individual expression, do impacts another (an extension of yourself), and what others do impacts you because all is/are interconnected. This is a basic reality/Reality.
“Non-acceptance” (a personal(ity) problem–in all senses of the compound word) and invalidation of “other people’s” experiences, existence, suffering, and so forth, oftentimes, arises only due to lower ego-self-absorption and delusion, and is a form of ignorance (no matter how subtle) that arises from a mentality founded on the conditioned perception of total separation from others due to a deeper separation that one feels with one’s greater Self. Which is no wonder why it leads to suffering when it shapes Karmas (words, thoughts, and actions) in the world…
“Accepting” others only if they fit into “your framework” of psychological comfort (or are like “you,” or are pleasing to “your way” of being in the world) is a basic animal tribal response that Yamas and Niyamas are emphasized (as the foundational limbs of Yoga practice) to assist with regulating and transcending.
“You” (even in perceived groups that move in “unison” as “one” separated self-identity called “us,” which immediately creates an illusion of “them/” “other”), in your limited, temporary, form, are not here to accept or reject any other. What could possibly give you the idea that you were? (Hmmm?)
You (if “we” agree that “you” are here for any “reason” other than the experience of all that is) are here to learn to come to know and love your Self, in your totality (at least if you are on the “spiritual path”), which includes loving and accepting (not out of command or ritual, but out of your natural expression) all “others” regardless of any temporary form that they show up in, and regardless of whether their experience of perceivable sense-based reality, or any given context of existence, is different from “yours.” This is the piece of “spiritual practice” that that trips most “loving” and “accepting” people up, and, let’s be honest, also gets most stuck in trying to justify the deep-seated hatred that they repress instead of working to transmute/neutralize/shine light upon and actually grow beyond. If “God” has a “form,” that form is this physical existence itself.
We are all unique expressions…literally…yet, still, nonetheless, a part of the one larger and greater same, a greater whole.
Your Challenge Questions
Your challenge for today, therefore, beautiful creator (in order to help you advance on your path, as opposed to getting stuck due to ingrained ideologies–often that come with being infected with the patriarchal, and today colonial, mindset that is the foundational lower conditioned way of thinking that most are born into and never grow out of in modern-day society), is this: Figure out how “you” can Love and accept, with full and True compassion, “others,” in their pain, in their laughter, in their unique expression and context of existence (all of which have a different inner guideline for coming home to the Self than you do since obviously everyone is not “exactly the same” as you) in any condition (without obviously violating your/their life and/or limb)…to get started. But, as always, remember that there is a reason why restraining the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga…The Truth stands regardless of argument, framing, perspective, spin, levels of “acceptance,” and so forth…Whether “you” evolve to a full understanding of your oneness with “others” or not, does not change the fact of this oneness; “your” understanding only reflects your ignorance/limitedness or enlightenment/liberation at any given point on your journey.
The Truth, the eternal unchanging Truth, is not up for debate within human minds colored by all sorts of distortions…Stay grounded in this Truth, and you will not by led astray by any sweet-talking to, or any systematic framing of, your inherent biases, conditionings, and/or other animal impulses, which is, unfortunately, the hallmark of many religious organizations and cults that will surly keep you trapped (even those made up of, mind-you, “well-meaning” people).
Obviously, no one needs “your” or any limited beings’ validation to exist (don’t be delusional), so this practice of extending your compassion and supporting “yourself” (that little lower body-mind attached to form ego-based sense-of-self) to clear away the distortions to reveal your True and full Self, is for “your” sake at its core, which, then, by extension, impacts “others” due to the nature of existence that just is connected to all things (again, remember, you did not make it this way).
So, to make the challenge even more practical, beautiful one, how can “you” Truly “be there” for “others” without running from their “differences” for need of personal psychological comfort that only “validates” your version of existence/reality that is subject to change with new information, stories, maturity, etc? How effectively can “you” bring pure/unconditioned joy to where there is sadness that does not resemble your own? Or, are you only soothing yourself by validating that which “you” can personally identify with (and, therefore, care about in the world)? Are you only concerned with “helping” that which you have been told is (implicitly or explicitly—and you should ask yourself why that would be) “valid” based on another’s (through historical hearsay that you cannot even verify is real or justified) warped/wrong/disconnected/shallow (among other things) perspective? (Remember to question everything…especially what you hold most dear, because you are tasked to evolve, not for functioning in society, but to let it all go and come into your Self beyond it.)
How can you support (true non-destructive) happiness if it does not exist in a way that works well for your current psychological framework? How could your framework be limited, and, therefore, limiting “you” (while simultaneously being oppressive/violent to “others”)? How can “you” get out of the way enough to “let” existence be expressed in unique forms that do not “look” like “you,” as you exist in your fleeting form today, and still be at peace? How good are you at accepting Creation/existence itself when it does not “fit your way” of how things “should be?” And, what, beautiful one, are you going to “do” about it?
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