Respectful Speech: An Expression of Love

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There is never a moment when the Love-nature can be "turned" or shut off, closed, ignored or neglected safely. For this Way of Love is not a mere religion; it is a pervasive Way of life. As such, it permeates our very thoughts; it saturates our thoughts and words, our very behavior.

It is a real part of the mind, even of the Soul. So, we can never "vacation" from Love. It guides us all the Way, all the time, in both matters large and small. This implies that in even our joyful, carefree "playing," we cannot conscientiously deny or ignore It. That is why the person of Love decides not to pass along jokes that are harmfully directed to hurt people. She will never make fun of a person's racial heritage, or in other ways mock the blameless and the harmless.

She shows equal respect for all good and honest people, all the time. She adamantly refuses to use words of disrespect, putting down others because of their racial heritage, neighborhood, educational levels, friends, or imperfections.

This does not mean that, for example, political parody or satire is "off limits," for it can be a relatively harmless form of political expression and/or freedom. But all mockery or evil condemnation of people of a certain national heritage is out of bounds, for it hurts innocent people. And, in reflective (karmic) psychology, it also condemns the joker who is poking fun. So, as in all things, we must live as honorably as possible.

For the people of Love, this includes the principle of ahimsa, or harmlessness (non-injury). This means that we have taken an interior and private vow, to ourselves, to create deliberate harm to no other living creature. (This includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harm.) We especially want to avoid harming, or threatening harm, towards the innocent, minorities, the harmless, or the powerless. For in many societies, these people (or creatures) are already victims, and to add to their pain will definitely create negative karmic consequences.

We want to live reasonably, so as to avoid the creation of any bad or hurtful karma for ourselves. But this desire (or need) to avoid bad consequences is not the reason that we strive to live in goodness, without any deliberate or voluntary evil. No, we do this because we are committed, heart and soul, to becoming a higher life-form. We are not-- none of us-- just "naked apes" in a "human zoo." No, we are the children of God (Love); and, like genetic children, we truly want to reflect the qualities and characteristics of our spiritual Father/Mother, Who is Love. We want to be good, or improved, people not because of the fear of karma, which is negative, but because we long to become beings of purest Love. The becoming of pure, unmixed Love is still in our future, but, at unconscious levels, as the Buddhist sisters and brothers remind us, we are "already the Buddha."

To reach for this splendid, glorious goal is the Way of the wise and enlightened. It is the Way of growth, development, and spiritual evolution. So, it is inevitable. Love pushes us in the right direction, always. Each must love maximally-- and there are different "maximums" for each and every Soul. So, do not work towards a flawless perfection. Instead, work for improvement-- to be and do better today than yesterday, or last week, or last month. This helps us to avoid fanaticism and perfectionism-- both of which are psychological disorders-- and to reach instead for a realistic and reachable goal.

So, at all times, even in humor and lighter conversation, do not allow yourself to fall into the "grime" and "sludge" of disrespectful or hateful talk. We do not have to respect all behaviors, for some are evil and do not deserve respect. But still, we must respect the tiniest spark of God (Love) even in the most ignorant, cruel, or stupid. We can criticize their activities, but we can never "send anyone to hell
forever." For that is to judge them-- evaluating their total being as forever irretrievable and irredeemable. For if we do this to others, it is only a matter of time until we do it to ourselves. And a negative selfesteem is the root of almost all psychological hells.
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