July/August 1998
Articles on the theme "Pride & Prejudice"
Prejudice Can Kill
by Patrick Plaskett
Why is some pride good and some not
so good. What is the connection between pride and prejudice.
Loving Authority
by Barbara Bedingfield
Teaching children to become selfless individuals, having a sense of gratitude,
and able to show care and consideration for others.
The Same Only Different
by Bob Gonzalez
Of astral travel, contact with the
departed and the interpretation of dream symbols.
Random Acts of Kindness
by Rev. Pat Cross
Discarding human attitudes and recovering
our oneness with God and each other.
The Magic of Differences
by Judith Sherven PhD and James Sniechowski PhD
Maybe it is not what we have in common
but the differences that really make a relationship.
A Threat To Survival
by Cydné Su Battreall
A battle with cancer. How pride and
prejudice can get in the way of making rational decisions.
Forgiveness and Compassion
by David Simon
A discussion of the origins of pride
and prejudice, and the nurturing of their opposite attitudes: forgiveness
and compassion.
No Room for Pride or Prejudice
by Dr. Audrey Craft Davis
On the importance of being able to
stand alone as an individual, so that one can enjoy a relationship free
of pride or prejudice.
Unlimited Vision
by JoAnne Gregory
Freeing ourselves from the limitations
of restricted points of view to create a reality of our choice.
Personal Pride and Legal Prejudice
by Constance Felos
Dreams of the good life, earthly dreams,
bad dreams, possible dreams and the ultimate dream.
Too Much!
by David Findlay
How going to extremes leads to the
negative aspects pride and prejudice. Underlying roles and identities.
Other Feature Articles
Natural Health Q&A
by Elizabeth Fenton and Renee Gillombardo
The psychological and physical benefits
of walking, plus other factors that affect our mental health.
What is . . . Hypnosis
by Alvin Bartz PhD
What hypnosis is and what it isn't.
The benefits of hypnosis. Some common misconceptions.
Forgiveness and Compassion
by David Simon
I believe it was Socrates, or perhaps Plato, who once said, "the uninspected life is not worth living." My spiritual teacher once stated the corollary to this, that, "the unlived life is not worth inspecting". In order to achieve our fullest human potential and to make the most out of the life that we are given we must embrace both of these truths: we must inspect our lives fully, deeply and honestly, and we must live our lives fully, deeply and passionately. "Pride" and "prejudice" are the two greatest impediments that prevent us from living an honest (or inspected ) and a passionate (or fully lived ) life. Let's look at why this is so.
It's one thing to have a strong, confident and powerful self-image based upon a healthy and realistic understanding of one's self: that's healthy pride. But to have a strong, confident and powerful self-image based upon an unrealistic and self-deluded understanding of one's self: that's false or pathological pride. There have been many historical leaders whose charisma, confidence and power were based upon the kind of false pride that is derived from self-delusion. Such false pride is neither the result of a self-inspected life, nor a fully lived life. On the contrary, such false pride is due to the fearful refusal to truly inspect one's life and to take responsibility for what one has inspected. The inevitable result, and source, of false pride is prejudice.
Prejudice is a technique used by the ego to manufacture and maintain false pride. In other words, by dogmatically categorizing certain others as "inferior", the self-deluded individual is able to assert and "prove" his "superiority." In this way pride and prejudice are interdependent attitudes within the psyche: the insecure ego depends upon having someone or something else to blame in order to justify his or her own righteous pride. Prejudice, by definition, is not based upon either clear thinking or direct experience but rather upon a rigid pre-judgment about the way things are and "should be".
So why do we so often do pride and prejudice?
False pride supports the illusion that we are safe, secure, loved and lovable just as we are. In other words, it supports the illusion that we need not change, grow or evolve beyond our present self-image or our world-view. Likewise, prejudice supports the illusion that everything that is threatening, unpredictable and unlovable is "their fault"! Not only do pride and prejudice support the illusion that an individual is safe and secure but they can also function to support the illusion that an entire society or cult-ure is safe and secure. Nazi Germany was a classic example of this: by exploiting the insecurities of a socially and economically depressed and fragmented country, Hitler was able to transform it into a highly organized super-power. All that was necessary was to find a convenient scapegoat on which to pin the blame for the difficulties and insecurities of a nation. This is the common solution that human beings resort to when we are unwilling to take responsibility for the limitations in ourselves and in our lives.
To grow beyond the negative, cultic and destructive influences of pride and prejudice, we must consciously nurture and practice the opposite attitudes of forgiveness and compassion. Unfortunately the more bound up we are in all of our "reasons" for pride and prejudice the more difficult it is to practice forgiveness and compassion. In the case of most people (and most societies), that are deeply attached to all their "reasons" for pride and prejudice, it often takes extremely painful and difficult "lessons" to teach them of the necessity for forgiveness and compassion. Look at family feuds, look at the power of revenge, or look at the ancient and modern conflicts between and within nations all over the world.
It seems that one of the most useful functions of human conflict and war is to serve as a painful reminder of the preciousness of life and of the absolute necessity for cooperation, tolerance, forgiveness and compassion. These noble and saintly qualities are not just "nice ideas", they are necessities for global survival in the nuclear age, and they are also essential for the health and well-being of every individual. The more "successful" we are at deluding ourselves and blaming others for the pain and difficulties of life, the more susceptible we become to dis-ease and disharmony manifesting in the physical body. This is one of the most basic tenets of Holistic, or Mind-Body Medicine, that, who we are and what we do on the higher/conscious levels of our being (psychological, emotional and behavioral) have a direct and cumulative impact on what happens at the lower/unconscious levels of our being (biological, biochemical, and biophysical).
The practice of forgiveness and compassion is by no means an easy or trivial matter. In fact in some ways it is much easier to practice the hateful and destructive habits of pride and prejudice -- that's why they are such common "practices". Pride and prejudice are "natural" responses that have been programmed into our biology since ancient times. They evolved to assist armored egos (and their fellow tribesmen/women) to help them to defend their territories, secure their perimeters, and fortify their positions, so to speak. Of course, there is nothing wrong with defending one's territory and securing one's position in and of itself. It is only when one cannot stop defending one's territory even after it is already relatively secure that it becomes a neurotic and destructive activity. What forgiveness and compassion require is the ability -- to paraphrase the words of Saint Francis of Assisi -- to have the courage to change what is wrong, the humility to allow that which one cannot change, and the discrimination to know the difference.
David Simon, L.Ac., of ReNew Life clinic in Tampa and the Palms of Largo Wellness Center in Largo, combines acupuncture, nutritional and lifestyle counseling, chi gong and yoga in a holistic approach to wellness. For a free consultation or treatment call (813) 871-3200 (Tampa), (813) 518-6008 (Largo).