SheilaApplegate.com
Last year I wrote this Book Review: Inferno by Dan Brown in which I stated “Dan Brown has been an inspiration to me for years. His novels always seem to expand my understandings and help me to bring words to the very things that I am processing at the time.” This post is a perfect example…”
As a human race we have become infatuated with creating a world of black and white, good and evil. This polarized view helps to justify acts of war and segregation.
It is our desire to be understood, coupled by our unwillingness to understand that is reflected in the current state of our world.
Whether it is a bombing, a shooting or any other desperate act, people immediately say “I don’t understand how anyone could do that…”
When I express compassion and understanding for the multitude of factors that lead the violence it makes people uncomfortable. It is as if my ability to understand is interpreted as an acceptance or endorsement of the behavior. Even more it is interpreted as a disregard to the identified victims.
I would say that we are all victims and we are all perpetrators of each of these acts of violence. And this is the very reason many people refuse to understand others’ point of view. If we take the time to understand all the levels that influence those we wish to label Evil, we will in fact find that what we see in others is also within us.
Perhaps it is the fear of understanding ALL the layers of ourselves that shields us from understanding others and keeps others from understanding us.
This is not just about understanding extreme acts of violence. This happens on a daily basis in our relationships. Most struggles in relationships are a result of one or both people feeling misunderstood. But how can we understand another when we do not even fully understand ourselves?
In order to understand both ourselves and others we must acknowledge the many layers of our being.
As humans we are all the vibrations from the cells of our bodies to the vast oneness that is All That Is.
In the awareness of All That Is we remember that we are pure energy. As Reflections of Oneness, we are simply experiencing various aspects of ourselves and therefore no one is separate from us. Each one of us at our core is simply moving towards this remembrance and therefore at the core all actions are within this Divine Reflection.
At the other spectrum we have the cellular level. In this space our decisions are simply based on a primitive instinct to survive. If one acts out it is a fight or flight response to a perceived threat.
Most of our behaviors are influenced primarily from the many levels of vibration within these two extremes and this is why understanding ourselves and others and feeling understood by ourselves and others becomes tricky.
Sheila Applegate
As a clinical therapist, motivational presenter, author & teacher, Sheila’s passion is to provide a forum for people to process emotion & integrate spiritual understanding into their daily lives. Her new book, Enchanted One: The Portal to Love, provides readers with a guide to embracing love in every moment. “Moving into a harmonic union between your heart and mind allows you to embrace life to its fullest.“
