Vet Judy

Whenever we are entrenched into negative behavior, the yoga sutras suggest we increase the amount of time and energy we spend on positive behavior.

This week is a week to practice Ahisma. The essence of Ahisma is the practice of non-judgement and non-harming. We have carried this into the subjects of judgement of oneself, judgement of others as individuals, and judgements of others as groups and on  day 4, the practice of non-harming in regards to the enviroment.

Today the practice of Ahisma is with extension into compassion and forgiveness.

It is one thing to have a mind that is currently free from a negative thought or words. It is another thing to extend compassion not as a response following a negative thought you want to replace, but compassion just for the sake of it.

For today: “open up your heart to all living things” just for the sake of having a compassionate heart. I heard a story the other day, that I think represents the practice of Ahisma in this context.

A woman was in a car accident and was about to die, having an out of body experience. As she was experiencing this phenomenon, she could hear and see the thoughts of different people in the cars who were being retained by the traffic jam caused by the accident.

Coming out of various cars were the following thoughts: I’ll be late for work! I hate when this happens! I should have stopped for a bite to eat before I got on the road today, now I won’t have time. I hate when they don’t have enough help at the scene, because traffic is blocked a lot longer etc etc.

Strangely enough though, out of a single vehicle was the following thoughts: I pray for the safety of the people in this accident. May they be healed, may their pain be resolved. I pray for their families. May they not suffer.

The woman then explained that in that very moment, she was taken back into her body and the licence plate number of the car where the prayer originated was permanently melded into her mind. Pretty strange stuff I know, but it gets better! She was then ushered into the ambulance only to spend months in hospital, physiotherapy, in and out of various surgeries etc.

It was not until over 1 year later, that the woman in the car accident tracked down the woman who sent prayer to her during the accident. She just wanted to say thanks. She felt that the woman’s prayer was the reason she didn’t die that day.

So, in that moment, not only did the woman in the car refrain from negative thoughts-she extended Ahisma even further and extended love and compassion towards someone she didn’t even know. Who would have ever thought, her actions would impact the life of another just by the extension of thought.

It is said that all actions and thoughts are recorded in the energetic universe forever. So what will be the impact on the world of the thoughts you had today? Let it be love and compassion. It may impact someone you don’t even know, in ways you cannot even understand. So for today, practice Ahisma in the context of love and compassion extended to someone else for no reason. Just walk by someone in the hall and in your mind send them compassion and a prayer that says: may their life by happy and joyous, may they not suffer and have everything they need.

You can even try it right now. How about sending this man a prayer. We don’t know him, his situation, or even if he is alive. Let us extend compassion and love in a prayer for him, his family, his pets or whatever. Just practice Ahisma, the exact content doesn’t matter, it is the compassion that counts.