Do no harm. Inconceivable
The nuances of Ahimsa
Inconceivable! A lovely story about this iconic word from the movie The Princess Bride can help us understand the concept of Ahimsa in a fun and nuanced way.
Actor Wallace Shawn spent hours upon hours saying the word “inconceivable” in every conceivable way until he finally hit upon the pronunciation he was looking for. However, on the movie set his confidence was shaken when he noticed fellow veteran actors mimicking the word behind his back.
Ahimsa is non-violence, but can also be thought of as “do no harm”. And as we all know, making fun of people can certainly do harm.
But the harm that Ahimsa refers to is even more nuanced. Wallace’s confidence was shaken because, understandably, he thought that the mimicking was intentionally making fun. But making assumptions about someone’s intent (especially if you assume that their intention is negative) is also Ahimsa. It’s crazy to think about it this way, but you are actually causing harm yourself - by making assumptions about someone’s intent. And taking this even further, you are also harming yourself. Allowing someone’s words to take preference over your own clear experience, causes your emotional safety and self-confidence to suffer.
Thankfully, Shawn decided to straight-up ask. He admitted that he was worried they were mocking him. His vulnerability paid off. Shawn recalled, “I thought they were making fun of me, but it turned out they loved how it sounded. It was the ultimate compliment.”
Had Shawn not had that candid conversation, he might have spent the next months replaying that mimicking moment over and over in his head. Replaying negative moments in our heads is yet another nuance of Ahimsa. Psychology research supports that replaying negative scenes brings up those same negative emotions as strongly as if it just happened. Now that is certainly harmful!
What about the harm this all does to our relationships? How would this have changed the emotional trust Shawn had with his fellow actors?
And what about the ripple? This word became iconic. It rippled out into the world! But what if Shawn, now self-conscious, would have subtly changed the way he said the word? It’s crazy to think this one moment could have a ripple-effect, but yoga speaks of every moment having a ripple-effect.
It’s inconceivable that we will go through our life never causing harm. But now that we have conceived a more nuanced way of viewing Ahimsa, we have a little more space to think (and maybe rethink) our actions and the actions of others.
Until next time,
Laura
Want more about Ahimsa?
https://www.yogatrailtalks.com/fall-themes/be-brave-67s9g-hs7lp?rq=ahimsa
Curious to hear more about this Prince Bride story?
