Someone asked me the other day if I had ever written an article on 'prejudice.' And I answered, no, not directly. Why? --she wondered to which I replied that I probably would make too many politically incorrect statements... to which she replied: since when has that ever stopped you before? 
That became my motivation... Let the political incorrectness fall where it may.
At this moment, I am wondering what you might be thinking... Will I perhaps write things that anger or upset people? That is absolutely not my intention... I just will write from my heart, the way I feel...which I honestly believe is not too unlike what any of you might be thinking or feeling or this somewhat volatile subject.
The word prejudice has both Latin and French roots...basically meaning "to react in a preconceived way' with one's thoughts or feelings... Prejudice, is, for the most part, I believe, is something that is taught to us. It is something we learn...however, if we are willing to suspend the judgement concept of this word for just a moment... I will venture to say that prejudice, in a lesser way, is also somewhat innate.
In our well-meaning efforts to 'think and do and say' the 'right thing' ...we often deny our true feelings or initial reactions. Perhaps if we take more of a detached view of these feelings and reactions, and refuse to judge ourselves so harshly for having unkind thoughts...we would better be able to deal with those thoughts and find a genuinely workable, do-able way of finding our way back to Feeling Good ... which means being connected to our Inner Being, our Source.... In doing so, we would be able to FREE ourselves from any hurt our thoughts could potentially cause. The first year I taught school, my school principal would've been referred to as a really tough ol' broad. She was extremely direct, intelligent and perceptive. This particular school (approx 600 students) was composed of nearly 70% impoverished black students... and the rest were very poor white students. After the first few weeks of school, we had a teachers' meeting. Mrs. V wanted our honest reactions to the students and the challenging situations we encountered. This perky little teacher of 3rd graders, with her ready made Miss America contest speech, said: "Why, I'm at the point where I don't even see any color differences." We all smiled weakly but Mrs. V immediately grounded us with: "What are you...BLIND?"
We didn't end the meeting by standing in a huggy circle singing 'Jesus loves the little children of the world"... most likely dashing Ms Nice Blind Teacher's hopes...Mrs. V was the most FAIR as well as the most forthright principal I've ever known. The somewhat shocking point she laid on us newbies, is still applicable to all of us to this day... in every facet of our everyday lives. If one cannot see the wisdom of Mrs. V's poignant lesson...it means one is not ready to deal with one's own prejudice in a responsible way.
Because we DO see that we are 'different' from each other... what comes automatically to our sensory cells simply says: 'different.' This applies to everything and everyone that we hold prejudice towards. Rich, poor, black, white, Mideastern, Western, gay, straight, educated, uneducated, north, south...and oh MY!-- is prejudice rampid in the wide, wide world of organized religion and politics. 
Prejudice knows few boundaries....and NO ONE is exempt. There is however, nothing "wrong" with observing extremely obvious differences. There is nothing wrong with BEING different. We tend to Fear our differences.Prejudice has its basis in Fear. I believe the spiritual teachers who tell us that everything in life flows from one of two sources: One is Love...the Other is Fear. In the world of Duality, this is expressed as the Yin and the Yang... Overall, it is still One.
Notwithstanding the little justifications our 'stories' are based on, giving us an air of superiority upon the constant retelling of them, we have to start dispensing with those stories! Including all the 'look what's been done to me' angles; encompassing all of history the world over starting from Day One... We hang onto those stories and excuses--with no intent to LET GO of them! Because after all, we are 'right.' Self-righteousness is propped up by both anger and fear ... but of the two, Fear is the stronger.I very honestly believe the vast majority of people I have ever come across have a lot of love in them and wish no harm towards others. There are times we certainly don't act this way, however....a prime example of this being the way some people act out on their feelings of prejudice. The only way one can effectively deal with any kind of problem that we may have is to own up to it. Not necessarily to others...but to oneself. This is imperative if we really want to align ourselves spiritually with what truly makes us Feel Good. Those of you who are familiar with the teachings of Abraham know that to Feel Good means one is aligned with one's Inner Being, The Source, The Expanded Self. You are 'on track' spiritually.
When a person acts negatively towards another human being, be it physically or verbally, outright, or by innuendo, in any way that belittles, harms, or degrades the other...one is NOT aligned with All That Is...with Source...as some would say: with God.I believe I can assume that each person reading this blog has been a target of some kind of prejudice...be it racially or involving the aspects aforementioned that tend to make us targets...OR...by which we make others our targets of prejudice. As I said in last week's article... "the world is saturated with an overall feeling of victimhood." It is perhaps, the singlemost disempowering belief or idea that any individual can possess. Bar none. It's always everybody else's fault. It might be interesting here to take note of what you, yourself, are thinking as the examples came to your own mind. Chances are, those might be one's own biggest excuses, or utmost defense mechanisms, that keep us from admitting to and _owning_ what we need to Let Go of. Funny how we want to chime in with those "Yeah, buts!" eh?
We have all created this world in which we live. This is what we do. We create. We learn. We expand our consciousness. There are those who may still actcompletely clueless...but that is just the way IT IS. I am not writing this to instruct "How To Get Over Your Prejudice!" ... We can each only take care of ourselves. A nice side benefit is when, by the vibrations that we TRULY vibrate outwardly (Not a bunch of high-sounding words) to others...we DO help spread the Love that is in the core of each and everyone of our beings.I can share what works for me... most of the time!
#1) OWN those fearful or angry or disgusting feelings of prejudice that crop up inside of us. Being in denial keeps us trapped.
#2) Don't judge or be prejudiced against yourself!... OWN the feelings...but know you are a much greater being that is capable of making choices that align you with who you REALLY are. A creator.
#3) Admit that regardless of how justified we feel in our anger, hatred, or self-righeousness or victimhood... NONE of it makes us FEEL GOOD.
#4) We never have the right to hurt or harm others by word or deed. These are CHOICES. Our thoughts have NO POWER to create _unless_ we continuously focus on and give attention to them.
#5) Avoid people and situations that feed on hatred or prejudice. If you practice this long enough you will find your inner vibrations changing and certain situations/ people will not materialize in your personal experience!
#6) If the "cause" you are supporting is practicing hate by fighting 'against hate'...know it's self perpetuating and making things worse. The War On is always lost....always.
#7) This one is aimed at those who are striving to do their best on a spiritual, metaphysical path. Know that you CAN trust your feelings. You KNOW the difference between the Ego That Needs to Win -- and Feeling Good, you KNOW when you are aligned with Source, Spirit, God, Inner Being, etc. Let our words towards others not be those of a phony goody-two-shoes... but one that says "I ALLOW YOU to be who you are." Being kind and respectful is actually easier than one might think. Turning the other cheek provides the ultimate win over one's own scared Ego. Political Correstness will never "solve" the problem of prejudice... but it will make the problem deeper and of yet even more concern.
Finally...to bring this to a close with what Seth taught us. "You have lived thousands of lives. _YOU HAVE DONE IT ALL"___ We play ALL roles honoring the Yin and the Yang... Saint and Sinner, Enlightened and Sound Asleep...this is how we expand our consciousness. So basically, NO ONE has the right to point fingers. Twinkle, twinkle, little star...what you say is...mostly likely what you have been in another lifetime...We cannot solve the 'prejudice' problem of the world...but we CAN live our own lives so that it becomes nearly non-existant for us. It really is up to each one of us. You know: "sweep in front of your own doorstep..." That'll work!
Namaste'
