“Tat Tvam Asi…… I Am That, one of the the four principal Mahavakyas. Three Finger Exercise”
What if all the holy, enlightened spiritual beings who have lived throughout the ages, like Buddha, Jesus, and Gandhi, are merely reflecting back to you the potential of your human spirit? What if they lived to show you the vastness of your divinity, to model for you what’s possible when you stand inwardly unified, accepting and loving of all of who you are? You claim another degree of responsibility for your life when you take back your light.
The Buddhists have a trick they use for taking back a projection. They have you think about somebody you have a judgment about – in this case, somebody you have a positive about one imagine than this person is standing right in front of you. Now take your hand and hold it directly out in front of you. Point your index finger toward the person whom may judge as being brighter, more lovable, or somehow holier than you. In pointing your finger at what you love and admire in them, you have just identified an unclaimed aspect of yourself. As a human, you do not have the ability to see yourself unless you are looking in a mirror, but you are ingeniously designed to see yourself in another. What stands out when you look at another-whether it is positive or negative-is a reflection of yourself.
As a human, you do not have the ability to see yourself unless you are looking in a mirror, but you are ingeniously designed to see yourself in another. What stands out when you look at another whether it is positive or negative is a reflection of yourself…
What qualities do I see in him that light me up? After reflecting on this, I see that it is Dr. King’s fearlessness and courage that I find so inspiring. Having identified these qualities, I then imagine Dr. King standing right in front of me. I hold my arm out, point my finger directly at him, and say, “You are fearless and courageous.” Then I look out at my hand and I see that one of my fingers is pointing at him but three of my fingers are pointing back at me. So, what does this tell me? Dr. King is reflecting back to me my denied fearlessness and courage….
And it doesn’t even matter if some people already see me as being fearless and courageous, because it’s not about anyone else seeing my light; it’s about me seeing my light. I am the one who has to own it and claim it. I have to be willing to open that door to my castle. So, I breathe into it, allowing myself to feel the fear of being fearless.
(Excerpts from Debbie Ford’s book “Your Holiness” Chapter I am That pp158-162)
However, the opposite may also be true. “If you point one finger, there are three more pointing back at you”. It’s simple: if you point out one fault of someone, he or she will cite a number of your own faults. There are hardly any human beings free from faults.
(Genesis 3:13) What the woman didn’t realize is that it wasn’t the devil’s fault: she was the one who ate the fruit. She thought she could divert the blame to the devil, but there were three fingers pointing back at her. Perhaps this is a trait we have inherited from Eve. People love to blame the devil or who they call the “devil”.
