All around me I find opportunities to react — to think thoughts tinged with judgment, to say hurtful things, to act defensively. So many situations in which I am given a choice – to can act upon growing fear or find ways to be courageous. A new world of growing uncertainty is filled with fear and triggers of anger.
How do we acknowledge our fears while confronting the tumultuous vortex of uncertainty? By living from a nonviolent stance. We do not wake up one morning having shed our violent tendencies. Nonviolence is cultivated through objectivity. As an objective observer we practice non-attachment, non-judgment, and non-defensive behavior. These 3nons are not negative; rather, when coupled with the 4non, non-violence, they are ways of being in the neutral, middle ground.
Non-attached, we do not cling to what we want or shove away what we have an aversion to. We are aware of how we cling anxiously or what we push away out of fear. When non-attached, we recognize the roots of our reactions and reframe them into responses.
Non-judgmental, we are aware of how our internal monologue spins stories, draws assumptions, and assigns motives. We recognize that this internal conversation is based upon our reality while acknowledging that it does not represent the realities of others. We seek to understand the realities of others.
Non-defensive, we refashion our personal reality to more accurately depict the world as it is not as we wish it were. We acknowledge the many ways that we defend our illusions while striving to act from our most authentic self. We forgive our self for the many illusions we accepted as real.
Nonviolence doesn’t mean that we passively move through life ignoring the tumult. Being nonviolent means we know who we are. We acknowledge our judgments and defenses. We recognize how we get caught in attachments. We attempt to understand not only our self but the many others around us. This understanding is foundational to how we interact in the world. Within our understanding lays the power to defuse our judgments and defenses and release our attachments. Within our understanding are the roots of our non-violence.
Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is a Mindful Coach, Neural Synchrony™ facilitator, Professional Speaker, and Author who weaves her inner wisdom into all she touches. Vanessa offers Neural Synchrony™ sessions to assist clients in navigating their life paths with intuition. Her books are A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships and Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action. Contact Vanessa @ vanessa@intentandaction.com for keynotes, programs, and consultations.
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