for what it's worth # 7

The Universal Law of allowing

The Universal Law of Allowing means dropping all judgments and all emotional attachments to what others are, have, or do. This is quite different from being tolerant. Being tolerant is not liking what someone else is or does and holding emotion-laden, negative thoughts about them, but letting them be or do it any way. Practicing The Universal Law of Allowing requires granting to others the same rights you ask for yourself -- the right to be, have, and do whatever you choose. Here's one interpretation of that law:

I am that I am and You are that which You are. I accept, honor, and respect you as you are. I honor, allow, support, and respect your right to be who you are, do as you do, and have whatever you have. I honor your right to live your life as you choose, to worship God, or not, as you choose. I honor those same rights in me and call for you to do likewise.

I honor the Golden Rule, “Do onto others as they would be done onto” and call for you to do likewise. As long as you avoid violating others, violating the rights of others or destroying our collective environment, I will honor your right to be, do, have, express, and experience whatever you choose.

Here’s another way of expressing this law:

Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself.

This concept may be vitally important because if the reincarnation belief system is correct, God, your neighbor and you are all one and the same thing.

Christian tradition has done well at teaching about love for God and your neighbor. Unfortunately, it has been a dismal failure at teaching people to love themselves, and as you may already know, if you don’t love yourself, your ability to love anything or anyone else is drastically reduced.

Some Expression of this Law: Most Buddhists are quite skilled at practicing this law. You might also notice that Buddhism is the only major religion that has never started a war.

You've probably also heard the Native American saying: Before you judge a man, you need to walk a mile in his moccasins."

Here is a way to practice the Law of Allowing: When you have an emotional reaction to someone else’s behavior, stop and tell yourself: "He (she) is neither good nor bad. I neither like him or dislike him. He just is. He's another human being doing the best he can. Given his conditioning, his beliefs, his circumstances, his present needs and desires, I’d probably be doing pretty much as he is."