On Sunday, I was lucky enough to take part in a meditation with the Atlanta Buddhist Meditation Center (Mahamevnawa Atlanta).
The lesson given was on anger. Anger occurs when we feel threatened and/or our joy feels threatened. When we hate someone, we do not want them to be happy or successful. It can escalate to hatred where we wish ill will or evil intentions on the person. It may be the wish of ill health, lack of resources (money), or failed relationship. They taught that by wishing bad for those we hate, we are bringing those bad wishes onto ourselves.
It makes sense. By taking part in focusing on these vibrations (poor health, resources, and/or love), we end up bathing in these vibrations. It can cause us to find resonance with these unfavorable vibrations and attract them into our life..
Their lesson concluded with it’s better to wish good for others because it attracts good wishes to us. In other words, focusing on these good vibrations causes us to bathe in them and it allows us to find resonance with them. By resonating with these good wishes, we attract them into our lives.
So, don’t focus on wishing people bad. Only focusing on wishing people good in life.
Pretty straight forward and it’s something I had been practicing.
Then I dived deeper into my feelings when they had us do a meditation where we thought of three things we desired. Then we imagined someone we didn’t like receiving them. I was stunned by the bitterness I felt about the matter. In comparison, my loved ones or strangers receiving those things are desired was met with joy and warmth.
After reflecting over my response to the meditation later, I realized how nuanced hatred could be. How sneaky it can present. There wasn’t anyone I wished ill, but there have been situations where I felt avenged when a person’s life didn’t pan out well. There were times where I was upset when the person who wronged me had better things occurring in their life than me.
Is it possible that feeling avenged or joyful when a bad situation happens for the other person it attracts those situations into our field and lives?
I knew a person who laughed and referred to a random person as an “idiot” for getting a driving ticket as they drove past that person. Not even a week later, the person who laughed was pulled over twice in that same area. They never laughed at a person getting a ticket again. In fact, they felt expressed sympathy for the person they would see pulled over.
While I haven’t done this, there have been people I felt wronged by who, when things didn’t go well for them, I felt avenged. It felt like the Universe had taken my side in the situation. “They got what they deserved.” I had such powerful feelings in these situations.
Now reflecting on it, it’s not that the Universe took my side. The people who wronged me were doing those things to others as well. Those people were probably wronging themselves too. They were basking in those vibrations and were always calling those vibrations into their being. The Universe was matching their energy. The Universe was neutrally giving them the type of energy they were resonating with.
By feeling avenged and joyful about these negative situations, all I was doing is showing the Universe I want more of that in my life. I was unintentionally calling that type of energy into my field and life. I was unintentionally finding resonance with those vibrations.
Avenged is different than validation.
Avenged is someone does you wrong and wrong happens back to them. This seems to pair up with being vengeful and vindictive.
Validation is “the action of checking or proving the accuracy of something.” To me, validation is you get the ick about someone and they do something that proves it to be true. Or, you get the impression that if a person keeps up with their current pattern of actions, it’ll more and likely lead to X, Y, or Z. Like “if this person keeps showing up late, they are going to get fired.” When the person gets fired, there isn’t joy per say so much as a calm “I knew it.” It is recognition that those impressions and feelings were accurate. It is recognition that their workplace wasn’t going to tolerate chronic tardiness. And a recognition on the importance of time management.
Have someone you don’t like? It seems like the best way to handle it is to be neutral towards them to the best of your abilities. Treat them like they’re some random tree or rock or person in your life. If great things happen to them, be neutral. If terrible things happen to them, be neutral. Don’t feed the situation in any manner.
Have someone you love? Wish them well as much and as often as possible.