About a year ago I learned a life changing phrase.
"I am that."
I took a class with Conversations with God author, Neale Donald Walsch.
I learned a number of really important things but there was one that changed my life.
Neale asked us to wander the neighborhood and to each person we saw, silently say to ourselves, "I am that."
The simple phrase helped me to find the deepest empathy.
As I walked down a crowded NYC street, a man rushed by banging into me.
"I am that." I am a person who has been in a rush."
A woman walking slowly and texting on her phone blocked my path.
"I am that. I am a person who has been in someone's way."
A homeless man grabbed my arm as he asked for money.
"I am that. I am a person who needed help."
The simple phrase changed my mindset, instantly, from one of a little aggravation to one of complete understanding, tolerance and empathy.
I began to use "I am that" with every person I came across.
It was amazing how much more peaceful I felt and how much more tolerant I became.
I have even been able to find empathy for people who I never thought I could understand. Like a person who commits a crime. By noticing that "I am that", I realize that I have also made bad decisions in my life or I have harmed someone else or I have chosen my own selfish needs over humanity. Perhaps my actions are not exactly the same as the criminal, but the degree is not important.
I find using "I am that" to be particularly useful with my teenage daughter.
Her moodiness and occasional rudeness and sometimes laziness used to really make me mad. But now I take a deep breath and note that "I am that." I realize that I too have bad moods that cause me to be difficult to be around. And I too have snapped at others. And I too just want a day off.
"I am that" has significantly improved our relationship.
I encourage you to try this practice as part of your life.
Neale talks about his experience with "I am that" in this video.
His takeaway was a feeling of oneness with everything in the Universe, which was a little different from mine but another wonderful outcome of this exercise!
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