For more than two decades, I had the opportunity to be the main speaker at large city festivals internationally. During the early part of this millennium, I was invited to speak in an area where about half the population was Christian and other half was Muslim, including the provincial Premier. Since our events attract tens of thousands of people, it is not uncommon for politicians to attend the opening of the festival, and this time was no different.
Whatever prejudicial judgments we make, whether against ourselves or others, it is always rooted in one of the egoic stages of consciousness. The inner nagging silent whisper of I am not enough for unconditional love looks for ways to become more deserving of love than others by critically condemning those we consider less than us, or complaining about the ones who make us feel inferior about ourselves.
If you observe your thoughts, you’ll soon notice that the mind compulsively gravitates toward negative judgments about ourselves and others. These reactive judgments will often arise out of nowhere and involve virtually anything.
As we discussed yesterday, often the best response to an attack by someone is silence – to not fight back. Yet, at other times, a response is warranted, but not for the sake of winning the argument.
Whenever we are attacked, our immediate response is either fight or flight. This acute stress reaction is usually triggered when we encounter something either mentally or physically terrifying. Our bodies release hormones to prepare us to stay and deal with a threat or run away from it. In the case of a physical threat, such as a fire in the house or a hungry lion about to attack, the fight-or-flight response can be beneficial. The imminent danger causes our bodies to go into high alert, which gives us that extra adrenaline to find a way to stay alive.
