focus on the release of any hatred or grudge. As a result, even in these horrendous circumstances, they were able to forgive immediately and completely. This is an incredibly powerful and moving story and I highly recommend the film. Anger is raw and reactive while Love is primal and proactive. Our practice needs to be one that breaks the cycle of reactivity whenever our raw spots are touched. We need to take conscious control of our minds. Love is what we are, so it will win out over anger as long as we make the decision that is what we want and we put in the time and effort to change our habit of reacting to attack with more attack. To change any habit, you must first change your mind. The way that the Amish people view life is that they do not need to judge, punish or avenge the acts of others because everyone will stand before the judgment of a just God in their own time. Since the Amish community built their entire lives around this concept and their religious practice, which includes daily reminders to forgive, release hate and dissolve all grudges, they built up their “forgiveness muscles”. Then, when confronted with a tragedy of unimaginable proportions they were able to fall back on their habit of forgiveness, process what happened and release it without letting it destroy them. Of course the Amish view of a just God who takes care of handing out all of the appropriate punishments is not a requirement to be able to forgive, and there are plenty of other ways to look at the world that give the same result. For example A Course in Miracles (ACIM) teaches that the world we experience as our reality is actually an illusion, like a daydream about events that happened in a different time and place. Since it is actually a dream, then there is nobody else, just you as the dreamer, so there is nobody with which to be angry. (Please note that ACIM is a very complex and layered thought system and I
am not doing it justice – you may want to check out Gary Renard’s books for a good introduction to it). Using this thought system, you then take everything that happens all the time and forgive (i.e. release it). In the same way as with the Amish, you will change your habitual way of thinking, heal your old wounds and develop the ability to stay in love and joy no matter what happens in your life situation. I have a slightly different take on it in my Practicing Happy approach. While this world may be a dream, I sure experience it as real, and the meaning that I give to this experience is what matters. I believe that before our souls were incarnated into our current lifetimes, we decided that there were certain experiences that we wanted to have, certain ways we wanted to grow, and certain ways that we wanted to express ourselves to help others. As a result, there is a destiny, or series of destinies, that we planned for ourselves, and of course, since we planned them for ourselves, then they are for our good, not our harm. So every time I face a challenge, or disaster, or other experience that doesn’t feel welcome in my life, I remember that this is a gift that I have given to myself. This experience is not here to hurt me, but to give me an opportunity to learn, to practice, to be an example for others or some other benefit to me. So when I get fired from a job, sued in court, have the bank place a two-week hold on a check that I need now, I look for the beauty in it. I find the opportunity and I live it, fully and completely. Sometimes it takes me longer than other others to find and live the beauty in an event, but when I do, without fail, I am overcome with joy and love for all things and experience the holy grail of life, happiness.
Be a warrior for happiness! (It’s your birthright, you know)
f a l l 2011
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