Growing up my daughters had a lot of freedoms in the words they used while sitting at the tables on the Maya Express. While we wouldn’t necessarily allow disrespect with the words being used, we didn’t limit the non-derogatory words our girls used. They could use almost every “four letter word” that exists, if in the right context, except one.

hate.

It was the one word that when my kids used it, immediately would tell them to rephrase the sentence.

Normally it was replaced with strongly dislike.

Strongly Dislike

At some point during my oldest daughter’s childhood there was a phase where everyone was using the word hate. hate was being thrown around at everything. I couldn’t stand hearing that word anymore.

So as soon as they would say “I hate …”

I would stop them and say, “What’s that?” and I would hear “I strongly dislike”

Humorously, their tone of voice always sounded like they strongly disliked me making them say strongly disliked.

You see when you strongly dislike something. You actually feel it differently in your body, then when you hate something. Also, when we dislike something, we don’t really dwell on it like we do when we really hate something.

In the Path of Intention, we talked about how our instincts are forged young by those around us most. My youngest exemplified this in school one time when her teacher sent a note home because she refused to read a sentence in class when called upon. Stating to the teacher it contained a word she wasn’t allowed to say.

That word was hate.

Just as children can be taught to Love or hate those who are different than them, they can also be taught to strongly dislike the act of hate itself. (It was later explained to my youngest it was okay to read out loud. Also explained the situation to the teacher.)

Agents of Destruction

I find it interesting that when we express hatred there is a literal warming of the body. Almost as if we have a built-in early warning system. Some of us it starts above the stomach, others in the pit of theirs.

When we express hatred, the warning signs can become a beacon. Afterwards, it’s almost always followed up by the Maya Express releasing Agents of Destruction.

Whether we say things, do things to ourselves, or worse, the more hatred we build the more the Maya Express will fuel the fire with everything it’s got.

This is the best time to really derail you from your Spiritual Path and keep you on the Maya Express forever. If you happen to have fallen into the Path of Complacency or Path of Maya, the results can be destructive and devastating.

Feel the Intention

Here is a practice to add to your Path of Intention. The next time you use the word hate, evaluate your mode that you are in. See what there was, that triggered this feeling while embarking on your day-to-day life on the Maya Express.

Are you in the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance?

Is your “hate” warranted?

Could you adjust and say you strongly dislike it instead?

Recognize the feelings in your body when you express the feeling of hate. As with any feelings, we should never suppress a feeling. We should however reevaluate our feelings to see why we are feeling the way we are.

All You Don’t Need Is

hatred creates a fog and steam that leaves a dirty, cloudy film over the windows of the Maya Express.

Hiding us from our Spiritual Path.

It literally keeps the light of our Spiritual Path from shining through, and we act accordingly to our basic instinctual programming.

Whereas, Love is the true Spiritual Path and Love is what fuels us to keep going in the face of Mayas Adversity tables.

If we all would only stop and focus on the Path of Intention every time we use the WORD hate; then looked on ourselves mentally, emotionally, AND physically to see how we are doing and feeling. Maybe then we would all respond with less anger and vitriol.

We can all keep the Path clear and the Light of the Path of Love shining through.

Along with the Bhagavad Gita 18:47 this quote here is another that is etched in my soul:

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Martin Luther King Jr “Strength to Love,” 1963

Next time you use the word hate. Think about why you used it.

Consider just strongly disliking it instead. Maybe if we use the word less than and used the word Love more, the world could be a better place.

Yours Forever Grateful.