An End To All Abuse

Today is Blog Catalog's Blogging For Hope Day, when thousands of bloggers all over the world will unite to turn the spotlight on all forms of abuse. The hope is that in raising awareness, we can make a difference.

Yet when you think of all the abuse which takes place all over the world, you could perhaps be forgiven for losing heart. We might achieve something here and there - and of course we are right to try - but will this enormous weight of human suffering ever really be lifted? People have abused each other in various ways throughout history. When you look at the big picture, is that ever going to change?

It seems to me that when you get right down to it, all abuse derives from a single mistaken idea: the belief that each of us is separate, that other people are somewhere 'out there' and are different from us, that they threaten us in some way, by hurting us or taking stuff from us, or just by being 'bad people'. From this idea, the impulse arises to get our own back by making these people suffer in return, in the mistaken belief that when we hurt them, we do not suffer ourselves.

Even self-abuse is rooted in this same belief in our separateness: that we ourselves are alone and unworthy, that we do not deserve any better.

It seems to me that what is needed to stop abuse is nothing less than a wholesale change in consciousness: for us all to come to understand that far from being alone, we are all together in this. We are all part of the human race, all part of this great universe in which we live and breathe, that all of us are linked: that we cannot hurt other without hurting ourselves.

Einstein expressed it brilliantly. I've used the following quote before on The Secret Of Life, but I make no apologies for repeating it here:

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein, 1954)

In The Secret Of Life, I try to present some of the ideas and techniques which might help to bring such a 'new manner of thinking' into being. And what I'd like to do here is to take you through an exercise to help you imagine what this change in perspective might be like. Please give yourself a few moments to try it.

The words that follow are not a poem, but you may find them more effective if you read them slowly, which is why I've left gaps between the sentences. As you read, you might find it helpful to pause between each section to see what appears in your mind. I hope you enjoy the experience...

First, think of the people to whom you are close: your family, your friends, the people you see every day.

Imagine that you are connected to all these people by a series of thin, gossamer threads.

White, shiny, almost invisible threads, connecting you all together into one.

Imagine subtle energy flowing along those threads: subtle light, subtle electricity.

Feel this energy flowing through your body.

Imagine that this web extends more widely now, connecting you to everybody you know.

Those same thin gossamer threads, that same subtle energy, flowing through you all, connecting you all together into one.

Now imagine the web extending wider still.

Imagine that all these people you know are also connected to everybody they know.

Those same, thin gossamer threads extending round the world, extending to embrace the whole of the human race.

Now imagine that all your many feelings: your hopes, your fears, your pain, your love, are shared by everyone else.

Your feelings travel along the threads so that everybody experiences the same feelings as you

All of you feel whatever you feel as a single living creature.

All your feelings are shared by everyone else.

Imagine too that everyone else's feelings are shared by you.

And that everyone shares the feelings of each other.

Now imagine the web extends to embrace all living things: all the creatures and all the plants and trees all over the world.

All linked by the gossamer threads, all feeling subtle vibrations traveling along the threads, all linked by the same vibrant energy.

Now the web extends to the whole of the earth: the seas, the land, the mountains, and the towns and cities in which we live.

All linked by the same threads, by the same vibrant energy, in a single living, breathing pulsating whole.

All of us bound together in an intricate matrix of life,

All that vibrant energy shared, and all our feelings too, so that what is good for one is good for everyone.

Just reflect for a while upon these thoughts.

If you enjoyed that, you may like to hear the audio version where the same words are presented as a ten-minute guided meditation.

My good wishes to all those who are taking part in Blogging For Hope. I hope that it makes a difference and I hope that we can all eventually reach a place where abuse no longer figures in our consciousness.

Comments

[pelf]

Thank you for providing some points for us to think about. The audio version makes a very good meditation guide :)

[Chase March]

Great post! I think that if everyone tried to be considerate most of the time that the world would be a much better place. I am reminded of the camper's creed "leave in cleaner than you found it."

We can leave good impressions on people and truly leve this world cleaner than we found it. What an idea.

[genny]

hi its a nice post i will going to write also about different abuse.

[Guilty Secret]

What a lovely post, and a brilliant exercise. I feel so calm and connected now. Thank you. It was great how you took such a positive look at how to blog about abuse.

[Desiree]

Terrific post Simon and wonderful thoughts. Thanks so much for this post!

[Mark]

I love your thoughts on this. True, we must, as a whole change our thought process to change the face of abuse.
Love your excercise. This is excellent. Thanks for sharing.

[genny]

hello thanks for sharing this to us. Very good.

[Grace]

This is my first time to your blog and I'm absolutely thrilled to find this beautifully written piece! How often we want to break everything down into 'me' and 'you' and 'it'....when all along, there is this universal "US" as our true identity. Thank you for sharing from your heart and the meditation on the web was great!

[Malcolm Campbell]

Nicely said. A wonderful mediation for any time.

Malcolm

[Robin Sardini]

Very timely post. I'm going on Wednesday with a friend of mine to a shelter so she can apply for a PFA (Protection From Abuse) order on behalf of her 17 year old daughter who is in an abusive relationship.
Thanks for sharing on this most relevant subject!
Be Blessed,
Robin

[Liara Covert]

Thanks for remarking on such a meaningful topic. So many people forget that they're connected to everyone and everything. As we learn to listen and become more attuned to ourselves and the world, our reactions will focus more on compassion.

[Willem]

Well, actually I was curious if you would mention something about the abuse of science, however I enjoyed this meditation.
Usually imaginations can turn wild when emotions are upset and this 'loving your neighbour' and especially the 'love of enemies' becomes a problem-mountain for an untamed heart.
Wish you a nice day!

[Simon]

Thank you all for this very positive response. It's really good to hear from you - and welcome to newcomers pelf, genny, Grace, Robin and Willem! I've never done anything quite like this before so it's great that people seemed to like it. Thanks for letting me know!

[Simon]

Just a few more words:

Robin - Good luck to your friend with her application!

Willem - As for science, I fully acknowledge that the gossamer threads are allegorical! I'm not claiming any more for them, honest. We could go into the significance of quantum physics, of course, but probably not just now. My head feels sore enough already...

'Imaginations turn wild when emotions are upset' you say. A very pertinent comment. This is exactly the problem. Our imaginations love to explain the story behind why we're feeling such emotions - and stir up more of them in the process. We need to permit ourselves to *feel* our emotions without getting dragged into these flights of fantasy - then our emotions will pass. If you come back here, Willem - as I hope you will - take a look at my previous post 'How To Deal With Difficult Emotions' which addresses this point. And I hope to blog some more about it shortly...

[Sue Ann Edwards]

Ahhhh...emotions dependent upon outer conditions...that's the same a putting our cart before our horse...

[Simon]

Which is why there's so much road rage of course. All those confused horses.

[Liara Covert]

Hope can encourage each person to see life in a more positive light. As we encourage and inspire others, Higher Forces will find ways to reflect back on us in uplifting ways.

[RubyShooZ]

This is my first visit here, hello. Thanks for joining in the Stop Abuse campaign. The post you've written sounds alot like one that someone else I know wrote and the second part about us all being connected sounds like one that I wrote a while back - I forgot what sparked it though.

I just wanted to share that I'm glad to have found someone who is/was thinking along the same lines as myself and some others that are in my blogging "circle" ... I hesitate to say circle since I know that the circles are all connecting somewhere along the line.

Peace to you today.

~ RS ~

[jen_chan, writer SureFireWealth.com]

A lot of people tend to think that establishing connections with others is restricting. Ironically, it's the other way around. Separating ourselves from the world is what imprisons us.

We limit ourselves to achieve certain things. We allow ourselves to explore only a certain part of the world.

I know I'm four days late but still...

Bloggers, unite!

[Simon]

Many thanks for these latest comments - and welcome Ruby and jen! I'll check out your own blogs shortly...