Evil Can Be Undone For Ultimate Good

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Sculpture of Edith Stein, Aylesford Priory
 
Teilhard de Chardin saw the cosmos as permeated with the energies of Love guiding it toward its culmination and destiny in ‘Omega’, (Love/Christ). This would include evil within the world, too. Every scheme of egoic, separate human consciousness is being re-destined to fulfil the purposes of Love, in ways which we cannot possibly comprehend. Edith Stein saw the suffering of her people under the Nazis as somehow having redemptive power in the broader context of salvation of the world. Evil has within itself the power to awaken humanity to the greatest good. The ultimate paradox. Free will, however negatively used by the egoic structures of consciousness is ultimately going to lead all things back towards the ends of Love. We can especially apply this concept to the evil being done throughout the world today by the free will choices of human beings in positions of power. Their evil deeds awaken us to the evil within us all so that our psychic energies can ultimately be turned into the most powerful agency of Love and defeat evil with Love. The very tragedy of Christ being betrayed, tortured, unjustly judged and murdered, had within it the seeds of resurrection and hope. The cosmos was reborn as a result of the Christ event. We all have our part to play in the drama of salvation, even when we seek to do the worst possible harm. Divine providence can and does turn around evil for Loves endeavour.

The Cathars of Languedoc: The Blooming of The Laurel

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Originally written for the Lynn News, Thought for the Day
 
The Cathars of Languedoc were a group of medieval Christians who have been very close to my heart since I first learned of them in 2011. The Cathars were called the good people by friends and neighbours. They were a Gnostic Christian community who lived in the South of France in the 12th century. Cathars were divided into two groups: the parfait (perfected) who were men and women who lived a strict life of simplicity, celibacy, prayer and vegetarianism and leading activities of worship and faith. Men and women were equals in Catharism. The second group of Cathars were the ordinary followers who did marry, but attempted to live according to the Cathar ideals as best they could. Most, however, would usually wait until being close to death before committing to the rigors of becoming parfait. Becoming parfait happened through a ritual called the consolamentum.
 
My sense of closeness to this medieval group has grown considerably over the past few years, driven by a sense of sadness at witnessing the growing polarisations within our own society and the progressive breakdown of a palpable sense of interdependent community. The Cathars were able to be a community in a very real manner. I have deep respect for their commitment to peace at a time when war was bloody and unmerciful; for embracing simplicity, compassion and cohesion. They were respected and loved by their Catholic friends and neighbours, despite having very significant theological differences with them.
 
The Cathars loved their spiritual beliefs despite the growing threat to them from the increasing power of the Inquisition. The Cathars had not been silent in confronting the corruption of the medieval Church which made them especially vulnerable. Over a century, a million Cathar men, women and children were exterminated, many burned at the stake. The inquisition said of them the smallest trace of ‘sin’ had to be extirpated and the corrupt body had to be destroyed and evil exorcised in the flames.
 
On March 16, 1244, around 200 Cathar perfects at the Montségur Castle embraced death rather than renouncing their faith; murdered by the Inquisition, they faced death by fire.
 
On the 21st August 1321, Guillaume Belibaste, the last of the Parfait, was burnt at stake. While dying he proclaimed this prophecy of hope:
 
After 700 years, the Laurel will become green again on the ashes of the martyrs!
 
Those words were spoken 700 years ago. The awakening of consciousness he proclaimed is happening now.
 
My intention is to visit Montségur as a pilgrim in order to honour our martyred Cathar brothers and sisters, to especially pray for an end to war, violence, persecution and division on Earth, and for an increase in compassionate, resilient communities to flourish and spread the fragrance of loving-kindness. At this moment I send my prayers of peace to Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Myanmar and all places where there is conflict. I pray for the victims of trafficking, modern day slavery and violence; for all children hurt and abused, for all refugees and migrants. My hope is we bring them all into safe, loving and resilient communities where they can heal and recover from trauma and loss.

The Gift of Mindfulness for You

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Mindfulness is a form of meditative practice which focuses upon our mind and attention. In Mindfulness we notice bodily experiences, such as our breathing, sensation, and our energy. We notice external things such as sounds near to us, smells, taste and touch. Mindfulness draws upon a knowledge base of cognitive behavioural psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhist philosophy and psychology

Mindfulness draws our attention to the fluctuating nature of the mind with its many thoughts, ideas and images that flit across our awareness. In mindfulness we notice thoughts, perceptions, feelings, reactions and emotions but we do not identify with them as the self, but recognise them just for what they are; hectic intrapsychic activity. The hopeful fruits of mindfulness for our lives through our focus on the here and now, in the present moment, is to help us to be more aware generally in our lives of the beautiful things we might miss in the morass of our many thoughts, e.g., the beauty of a sunset or sunrise; the scents of nature, or the delicious taste of something we are eating or drinking. The busyness of our mind and its many thoughts and distractions can draw us away from joy and peacefulness, right here and right now.

Busy and habitual thinking can make us lose contact with our bodily sensations. which are an important anchoring in life in the present moment. Through noticing our senses such as vision, hearing, olfactory senses, taste and touch, we can enjoy our senses more profoundly.

There are nine attitudes of mindfulness based upon Jon Kabat Zinn’s original 7 attitudes of mindfulness: beginners mind; non-judgement; trust; letting go; non-striving; acceptance; patience; gratitude and generosity.

Beginner’s mind – witnessing the present moment with the mind and eyes of a beginner. In terms of mindfulness this might be recognizing the flow of thoughts that pass through our mind, the judgements that arise within us or our conditioned reactions, in relation to particular phenomena. Through noticing these mental and somatic reactions, we can choose not to give them central stage in formulating our perspective on our experience. The beginners mind might potentially make room for something new that might arise from our creativity; allowing ourselves to be surprised by this innate creativity. For example, if I bring a beginner’s mind to my role in my job, I might see ways of developing the role emerging with a fresh and creative perspective rather than using a mind conditioned by past, experiences and narratives which might limit my vision. This happened recently in some interfaith work I undertook as a chaplain in the hospice where I work. I outreached to the local Islamic community the week during the UK riots (August 2024) and came to this meeting and encounter with empty hands and an open heart, to listen, to try to understand and to allow this listening to enrich the conversation.

Non-judgement – in terms of mindfulness this is attempting to cultivate a mind that can look at a phenomenon or phenomena without being overly influenced by our mental or social conditioning. A mind which is non possessive, not driven by one interpretation or set of beliefs, nor driven by a desired outcome, and is willing to tolerate uncertainty, and be open to multiple possibilities, can approach life in creative ways and from a more compassionate position.

 Trust – In terms of mindfulness let’s remember, that when we sit in a chair, we don’t anticipate that the chair will collapse under us; when we walk on the pavement we trust that the ground under our feet will not suddenly give way and cause us to fall into a chasm. We trust that our heart will beat and our lungs will breathe. The quality of trust in terms of mindfulness practice is about cultivating a mindful sense of our ability to trust ourselves and life in a way that is similar to how we trust the chair or the ground. This trust is not done naively (e.g., if we noticed the chair had large cracks in the legs we wouldn’t sit down on it). It is not undertaken by refusing to listen to our natural fight, flight or freeze evolutionary capacities for detecting risk or danger and responding to it (e.g., not walking in proximity to an angry and vicious dog). Trust, however is attempted by witnessing, but not identifying with our conditioned memories, thoughts, feelings and responses from the past to our experience of witnessing. For example, if you have been let down in previous romantic relationships, this does not mean you can’t ever trust romantic relationships, but through mindfulness you can learn to trust the wisdom within you to help you to discern what can help you with trusting people with wisdom rather than falling prey to strategies of control. Trust is about becoming more in-tune with our creativity and intuition, which could be described as our hearts ability to wisely guide our mind through discernment.

Letting-go –  Mindfulness can help us to detach from ego driven over management of aspects of our lives (e.g., relationships, work, health, etc.,) in which we might have come to believe requires our absolute and dedicated control. This desire to control can often arise from previous adverse experiences in our lives such as a betrayal, abuse, a career loss, a divorce, a bereavement, and many other life events. The desire to control is understandable and definitely calls for mindful compassion; but controlling strategies are not something we want to determine our decisions or behaviour, now.

Non-striving: In terms of mindfulness, non-striving describes how we can become aware of our capacity to do life in terms of achieving, acquiring, attaining, succeeding, etc., Non striving invites us into the ground of being rather than doing (striving). Mindful non striving can create space for making room for deeper wisdom to arise by our slowing down and stopping. This can enhance our doing because it can potentially release our creativity, wisdom and deeper knowledge. I have heard it said that geniuses very often had their eureka moments, not in the laboratory but whilst in the shower or enjoying a cup of tea.

Acceptance – with respect to the mindfulness of acceptance this refers to a shift in perception from being overwhelmed by our resistance to what is happening in our lives, and gently allowing ourselves to accept that an issue for what it is, right now. Acceptance is not passive relinquishment of responsibility or action. If I needed to prepare myself for demanding and difficult experiences, a position of acceptance could help me to allow my mind to calm, and for my resilience, stamina and coping skills to come online.  

Patience – in terms of mindfulness, acceptance and non-striving are strongly linked to patience. Cultivating mindful patience can consist of accepting the reality of something in a given moment (e.g., a health, social or financial problem) and putting a pause on doing something immediately, and just allowing the issue to be for a while. Sometimes, (not always) remaining calm when events may seem to be in flux, and delaying wanting to react or act (i.e., immediately engaging with problem solving) can help me to be less stressed and overwhelmed (which might undermine my effectiveness needed with managing a phenomenon) possibly allowing more helpful perspectives to arise from wisdom. 

Gratitude – in terms of mindfulness, whatever problems we face in life, if the mind with which we are going to face these problems is dominated with thoughts of complaining and dissatisfaction, this will impact on our experience of these problems. These negative responses can ruin our potential for peacefulness and happiness. Gratitude in comparison is a mind-set that looks upon our lives in terms of what is good, helpful and fulfilling in our lives, which cultivates peace and balance. The mind when honed upon what is wrong, tends to exclude from our mind what is good and beautiful.  There is psychological and neuroscientific research into the benefits of cultivating gratitude for our lives which suggests many therapeutic benefits from cultivating gratitude such as peace of mind, greater stress reduction, increasing self-esteem, increased personal happiness, positive mind states and medical benefits such as lower blood pressure, better sleep, stronger immune system, etc. The research suggests positive neuroplasticity in terms of our brain wiring for happiness.

Generosity – in terms of mindfulness, generosity and compassion belong together in the same domain. Cultivating a generous, giving heart towards others, can make us experience ourselves in a positive and meaningful way. The golden rule from most religions and philosophies of life, is do unto to others as you would want to be done to you. What we do to others affect how we perceive ourselves. Our actions of generosity help define our attitudes towards ourselves and others. Grasping and over-attachment to impermanent things that will disintegrate are strongly linked to craving. Grasping can only be satisfied by the constancy of getting things and holding on to them. Generosity in contrast, is a quality of being that is lasting and takes joy in the happiness and fulfilment of others.

Embodiment of mindfulness is the goal of practice.

Embodiment is the result of embedding mindfulness practice into the very fabric of our lived existence and experience. Repetition of mindfulness practice is key. It must permeate every aspect of our lives, with our becoming a more mindful person. It is not the supplanting the person I am with a different identity. It is our leaning close to our deepest true self underpinned with the qualities of patience, compassion, cooperation and acceptance. Being mindful with humility, is what enables us to become authentic mindful practitioners, because we are in contact with who we truly are at the deepest level of our being. Professor Paul Gilbert identifies these deep qualities of being as emerging from our evolutionary development for survival which has helped humanity to survive as a species, especially through cultivating capacities for caring, attachment, cooperation, and extending warmth and protection to the vulnerable, especially children. This deep reservoir of our consciousness is capable of compassion, service, creativity, innovation and many other positive qualities of being. Not perfect, but imperfectly perfect.

The psychological wisdom drawn upon from ancient Buddhism to inform mindfulness practice are multi-form: (1) recognising the nature of suffering and the causes of suffering; (2) recognising there is a way to end suffering and the path that leads to the end of suffering; (3) the importance of mindful detachment; acceptance of the reality of the present moment; observing the nature of the mind and emotions and  understanding how the mind can be complex and tricky, etc. (4) practices such as loving kindness meditation and the cultivation of warm heartedness. All of these inform the nine attitudes of mindfulness: non-judging, patience, the beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, gratitude, generosity, and letting go.

The Importance of Meaning

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Originally written for the Lynn News, Thought for the Day
 
Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist who was a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. He spent three years in the infamous concentration camp, Auschwitz. This experience led him to write a transformative book called Man’s Search for Meaning. The book describes how finding deep meaning in his life, despite the horrors surrounding him, gave him the resilience to survive. Frankl later went on to found a school of psychotherapy called logotherapy, which helped patients transform their psychological suffering through developing a deep sense of meaning. He believed that meaning enhances our spirit and our will, to both survive and thrive. Frankl once said:
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
For Frankl his source of meaning whilst in Auschwitz related to the completion of a manuscript that he had started before his internment. Meaning does not need to be anything grand or radical. It is most often related to the capacity of the human heart to care about something that is important to us. It might be about what we do for a living, a close relationship, our creativity, or anything that warms and inspires our heart. Maya Angelou, the Black American poet, political activist and writer, tells us that she suffered a terrible trauma in her childhood which stopped her from speaking from the age of 8 until she was 11. As a Black woman in the pre-Civil Rights era of the U.S., she was well acquainted with the experience of racism and sexism. In one of her most famous and profound poems Still I Rise, she says:
 
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
 
The poem continues to describe the reasons why Maya will rise from oppression. There is humour in this poem that weaves through the verses:
 
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
 
What gives you meaning in your life? Does it make you smile? Do you want to befriend it and hold it close? Whatever it is, your meaning is about your unique and precious self, held safe and nurtured as a citizen of the Cosmos.
Jesus once reassuringly told us:
 
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
 
The Buddha once advised us:
 
We are what we think…with our thoughts, we make the world.
 
Our capacity for thought, reason, reflection, story-telling and creation, borne from both our heart and mind, are our tools for creating meaning. Let our hearts and our thoughts, anchored in a deep and loving respect for ourselves and others, lead us to make deep meaning in our lives.

Compassion And Self Compassion

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Originally written for the Lynn News, Thought for the Day
 
When we think of the word compassion, we associate it with the attribute of kindness. Compassion does consist of kindness. However, it also consists of far more. Professor Paul Gilbert (OBE) is a renown clinical psychologist who has made significant contributions to the field of compassionate mental health care. He speaks of compassion as being an antidote to the effects of chronic self-criticism and toxic shame. He describes compassion as a sensitivity to suffering both in ourselves and others and a commitment to alleviating and preventing our own or others suffering. It is also composed of qualities such as wisdom, courage, strength, non-judgement, warmth, tender heartedness, and caring.
 
Often we associate compassion with something we benevolently offer to others. However, according to Gilbert’s definition, compassion is something we offer to ourselves, too. He says that it can help cultivate peace of mind and promote good mental health.
Compassion for self does not fit well within our ingrained western habit of self-criticism. Our societies are often driven by the importance of productivity, success and consumption. If we believe that we are not perceived by others to be hard working, making a contribution, achieving, or keeping the economy going, then we can feel as though we are valuable only according to what we do, rather than for who we are. Doing becomes more important than being. Failing an exam, not getting the job, not having a relationship or not progressing in a career, can evolve into a harsh, internal, shame based self-dialogue which promotes personal suffering.
 
We often learn to be harshly self-critical early in life, and usually inadvertently, through well-intentioned parents, teachers, friends, relatives and others. We can learn it from the harshness of stories told in the media and on social media. Sadly, religion has at times encouraged harsh and relentless self-criticism too, with an overemphasis on sin and badness rather than human goodness. Our inner-critic often jabs us with words such as not good enough, could do better, you’ve failed, and so forth.
 
Love and compassion for ourselves is essential to good mental health and emotional flourishing. If we can learn to dialogue with ourselves and others, without attack, blame and besmirching, we heal both ourselves and others. Learning to forgive ourselves for mistakes is fundamental to being self-compassionate. To forgive is to forgo a harsh perception of ourselves or others, and not to magnify it. To forgive ourselves acknowledges our mistakes and wants us to do better, and importantly asks, what have you learned from this? In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells his disciples that they are light and salt for the world. Sometimes it can be difficult to recognise our inherent light and beauty in the midst of so much internal and external harshness. But recognising light in ourselves through self-compassion can be a key to transformation.

Trauma and Compassion ~ Gabor Mate

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Originally written for the Lynn News, Thought for the Day

The internationally acclaimed medical doctor, Gabor Maté, is a bestselling author, teacher and public speaker whose pioneering compassionate work with people suffering from addictions and their causative underlying traumas, has been a very important voice in the development of global humanitarianism and compassion. Gabor was born in Hungary in 1944 of Jewish parents during the time of the domination of Nazism in Europe. Gabor says he was born into a traumatised world and a traumatised people, and as a result experienced early trauma himself.
 
He emigrated to Canada in 1956, worked as a teacher and then obtained a medical degree and became a physician. In his career, Gabor came to understand that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed in creating a stable, compassionate, healthier and sustainable world. These issues include supporting good nurturing parenting and secure and safe attachments for children in early life; creating better lifestyle and living conditions for people; lowering of stress and anxiety that creates nervous system activation and overwhelm, and teaching people to work with their emotional and psychological scars through a process of compassionate self-inquiry.
Gabor has made the bold assertion that trauma is endemic in human society, negatively impacting upon most of us, and perpetuated by a western materialistic agenda. He considers our current culture and society to be harmful to human good, of which he says:
 
…Illness in this society, physical or mental, they are not abnormalities. They are normal responses to an abnormal culture. This culture is abnormal when it comes to real human needs. And.. it is in the nature of the system to be abnormal, because if we had a society geared to meet human needs.. would we be destroying the Earth through climate change? Would we be putting extra burden on certain minority people? Would we be selling people a lot of goods that they don’t need, and, in fact, are harmful for them? Would there be mass industries based on manufacturing, designing and mass-marketing toxic food to people?…
 
As we look upon some of the massive problems facing humanity today, it is easy to lose hope, including the devastating loss of life in Ukraine, Gaza, Myanmar and many other countries; mass third world hunger and destitution; the growing inequality and poverty in western nations created by poor wages; the rising cost of food, energy and housing prices; the ecological crisis threatening our very future on the planet and already eroding our lands and oceans; the growing wealth of a minority at the expense of the majority; the duplicitous and dishonest politics we have seen paraded before us, and many, many more issues. Gabor Mate would point to the need for us to compassionately de-traumatise our world. He would suggest that we treat ourselves and others with compassion, and to firmly, but compassionately, hold accountable those in positions of power and privilege who exploit the world for selfish ends. With compassion we can heal. With compassion we can create narratives about ourselves and others – especially those whom we might judge as being “failures” “losers” “idiots”- and recognise our common humanity. We can appreciate that life is hard for us all and that we cannot know what it is like to walk in the shoes of another person.

We Are Light

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Holy Spirit of Creation, Save us

There is light that is more luminous than billions of stars. This light resides deep within our consciousness, but remains largely unseen in this universe because the egos eyes cannot comprehend it. The light is manifest in this world through the giving and receiving of love and compassion. These radiate our true luminous nature into the dreamland of separation. These rays warm and heal others. When we clean the faeces of a dependent other who can no longer manage their dignity; when we listen deeply, very deeply, to a hurting other, and try not to judge or fix them; when we notice the struggle of another person and acknowledge that we have noticed, from a place of genuine compassion; these are the rays from the inner light, which creates heaven on earth. The breaking through of Heavens love into a world of fear, scarcity and separation is the greatest miracle on earth. This world, although not created by God, receives divine creative goodness through us. The bad dreams of this world such as war, grasping, tribalism, insularism, nationalism and projection are not Gods dream, and though unreal, cause us nightmares of suffering. Love is our nature. Love is our origin. When we return to love we return to our true nature.

St Francis of Assisi ~ Being of Light

In a few days we celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi. Francis exuded light. He was consciously united with Eternal Light and this light shone on all whom he encountered. This Divine Light dwells within each one of us, and which is our deepest true self (but which is dormant in most of us). He was a mystic, healer, teacher, Bodhisattva and a dear father to the despised and disposable of his society. Francis is an icon of our own journey towards illumination. He is a pointer to our spiritual awakening. When we heal from our internal fear, judgment, harshness and violent self-criticism and embrace simplicity of heart we strip away the ego and superego, and fear-based defences such as cynicism, pessimism, chauvinism and narcissism. When we become light we warm and illuminate the lives of others. Francis can be a dear companion to us on the journey, gently helping us to deconstruct the unreal to reveal the real. Allow him to draw close to you.

Infinity Can Transform Us

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Dr Iya Whiteley is a Space Psychologist & Director for the Centre for Space Medicine, at University College London. She works with the psychological needs of astronauts who must to acclimatise to the strange environment of space for long stretches of time. She described to author, Dr Diana Pasluka, how most astronauts who for the first time look down upon the Earth from space, experience major ontological disequilibrium. Seeing the Earth as a big blue marble floating in the vastness of infinite, limitless space, is not a neutral experience. It has a powerful impact on the mind. Often, the astronauts need psychological support to integrate the experience (so profound that it is). Seeing the Earth like this often changes the consciousness of the astronaut … expansively. It creates a sort of cosmic awe that permeates into the ideas, beliefs and perceptions of the astronaut. And how could it not have such an effect? The cosmos has so much potential to transform us. Our minds and capacity to imagine are such a wonderful gift

The Energy of Violence

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The pages of Twitter and Facebook have swelled with bile concerning the current Middle East crisis. Twitter especially is a toxic swamp. The grandstanding, often accompanied by ad hominem comments, misses the fact that human beings have, and are, dying horribly. Too many lives – Israeli and Palestinian – have been destroyed already. This alone should render us, stunned and speechless. The same is happening in Ukraine and elsewhere; innocent bloodshed, and for what??
 
We are now in the third decade of the 21st century and humanity still has not learned that warfare and violence is folly. Our governments perpetuate war and the Arms Trade grows fatter and fatter through war, whilst lives are ripped apart. There is nothing to debate about. There is nothing to argue about. But there is so much to weep about. Those who want to debate online would do well to go and spend a day in Gaza or Yemen and experience the horror and terror of air raids, and then come back to Twitter to describe their thoughts.
 
Pope Francis said:
 
“War is the suicide of humanity because it kills the heart and kills love”. He says: “Wars shatter so many lives. I think especially of children robbed of their childhood”.
 
Thich Nhat Hanh said:
 
“…To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration and fear that will be passed on for generations to come…”
 
Thich Nhat Hanh wisely advises
 
“…If we are at war with our parents, our family, our society, or our church, there is probably a war going on inside us also, so the most basic work for peace is to return to ourselves and create harmony among the elements within us – our feelings, our perceptions, and our mental states…”
 
This latter point is fundamental. When we work at our own inner peace we change the external world too. War creates a living energy that once created, takes on a life of its own. Our miscreations have volition and power. The psychic energy of hatred and violence does not dissipate.
 
There are mystic souls on earth who for the sake of others, absorb and mitigate the toxic energy of hatred. Our world would have been destroyed long ago without these souls. But love is an energy too. It doesn’t reside in the left hemisphere of the brain. It emerges from the intelligence of the heart. We can be love creators. We can be emissaries of light. We can get angry, but anger driven by love, not ego.
 
I found this prayer online. It will be my mantra:
 
Let peace fill our hearts, our world and our universe. Let us dream together, pray together and work together, To build one world of peace and justice for all

I will not judge

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We are a fractured, fragmented and dysfunctional humanity in many ways. We are also an incredibly good, compassionate and creative species. We oscillate between these. Our global history bears witness to this. Most of us don’t intend to cause harm, but we do. Some of us have been twisted into narcissism by destructive formative experiences. We are all stunted in our emotional and moral development. Our evolutionary brains and emotional systems are prone to reactivity and problematic dis-regulation, especially after trauma or childhood attachment wounds.
 
We also project our pain onto others because our fragile ego identities can’t bear guilt and shame. We have been trained by our societies to be shame prone so that we conform and obey. But we also have divinity hidden behind these false selves that we buried out of existence in an ancient existence. Because our true selves are not these egoic identities (whom we believe we are) the divine impulse within us propel us towards conscious evolution.
 
Who we truly are is not these identities (including Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Vladimir Putin). We are not our false identities. Our true nature wants to transform us. Whilst we continue to be drawn into polarisation, hatreds, projections and unforgiveness, we perpetuate our own and others suffering.
 
I will try not judge the lives of politicians, royals, co-workers or celebrities. Why? Because when I judge these, I judge myself. We are all one. I am responsible for the transformation of my shadow. The hurt I have caused to others in the past and the micro aggression that I create now, are my responsibility to heal. Whilst I fixate on the moral failure of others and project my own guilt onto them, I keep this disordered world from healing.
 
People are capable of messing up, causing pain and thus leave suffering behind them. Jesus warned us not to judge for very good reasons. Judgement perpetuates suffering and keeps us locked into this dualistic world. We have all hurt people and caused harm. Whilst we avoid healing ourselves by looking at the sins of others, we continue to suffer. Be merciful as we desire mercy. You and I are not the same person we were 30 years ago.