We don’t intend to cause harm, but we do just that through harmful words, angry thoughts and thoughtless actions. Often our harm is directed at ourselves and so that is a good place to start – being kind to ourselves in thought, word and action.
I’ll share an example of this. When I came out of a damaging long-term relationship, my self-confidence was in tatters and I had internalised the critical and demeaning voice of my ex-partner. I knew deep down I had to heal this truly awful pattern to reclaim my life and any semblance of peacefulness. How? The answer came to me one morning as I was getting ready for work. I made myself look at my world-weary face in the mirror with kindness and compassion, then I leaned forward and kissed my reflection . “I love you” I whispered to my reflection/myself. It felt a bit odd! But I kept going with this simple little ritual and over time I think it contributed to helping me turn around the anger and shame I had been directing at myself, (along with the love of my wonderful friends and the direct experience of a loving and deeply nurturing connection).
You can also simply notice how you talk to yourself in your own head. You might be surprised how harsh and judgmental you are with yourself. Be a friend to yourself, be your biggest supporter!
The highest expression of ahimsa is universal love for all beings. But there are small steps we can take toward what seems like a very lofty goal (but is actually our true nature).
Yoga leads us to the understanding that the essence of you is the same as the essence of me, or when we say ‘nasmaste’, we say ‘the divine in me recognises the divine in you’.
What can you do to cause less harm to yourself or to the planet?
Donna Farhi reminds us that “Cultivating an attitude and mode of behaviour of harmlessness does not mean that we no longer feel strong emotions such as anger, jealousy, or hatred. Learning to see everything through the eyes of compassion demands that we look at even theses aspects of our self with acceptance. “
Furthermore: “Paradoxically, when we welcome our feelings of anger, jealousy, or rage rather than see them as signs of our spiritual failure, we begin to we begin to understand the root causes of these feelings and move beyond them… Underneath these feelings we discover a much stronger desire that we all share – to be loved. ” (Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, p 8).
Practising yoga will help us to develop ahimsa teacher Rolf Sovik says: “At a deeper level, ahimsa is less a conscious process than a natural consequence of yoga practice. As our journey unfolds, it leads to awareness of the peaceful and enduring core that is our true nature; the desire to prevent harm is a spontaneous expression of that awareness. We begin to realize that the inner self in others is identical to our own inner self, and we wish no harm to come to any being.” (https://yogainternational.com/article/view/yoga-philosophy-basics-the-5-yamas).
Inspiration
On practising non-violence in the world
Soldiers Without Guns – https://soldierswithoutguns.com/
Since its launch it has won 6 major international awards. It is currently the highest rated New Zealand film ever according to IMDb the world’s largest film database at 9.5 out of 10.
Crash course in non violent movements
Make a submission to the Climate Commission (NZ) – resources
Breathe Aotearoa 