Wise people have said that we should try to see ourselves in others and then we would not be unkind. What if everyone you meet is actually the embodiment of some aspect of yourself? This could be either because
(1) That’s how life works or
(2) That’s how our perception works in that all we can see is reflections of ourselves.
When you can see some part of yourself – some representation of yourself – in others, I think you treat them differently. I tried this. I meet many people of all kinds and I could see in them parts of me: a woman that represented my past tendency to allow abuse, a man that represented how I can fall into judging others, a child who represented how I love to wonder about the world, a teenager who represents how I can fall into feeling unworthy, etc.
If it is true that I am the one consciousness and the physical manifestation in one and there is no difference, then not only is everyone I meet the embodiment of some aspect of me, but everyone I meet IS me, and I am them. But it can be very hard to look at someone who is not behaving nicely and identify with them one hundred percent. It’s a little easier to ask yourself what part of you or a past you this person is showing you.
The kind and compassionate result is the same – once you see some part of you that they are showing you, and you see their purpose in your reality is to show you that, you cannot be mean to that version of yourself. And If you find that you CAN be mean to that version of yourself, it is a sign that you have not yet forgiven that part of you; and need to spend some time working on that.
