They who see themselves in all
and all in them
help others through spiritual osmosis
to realize the Self themselves.
—Katha Upanishad - Part 2, Verse 8
Man, I’ve been watching this Jeffrey Dahmer docuseries on Netflix. Talk about practicing this “seeing yourself in others and others in yourself” crap. Now that pushes the limits of sympathy right there.
I will say, though, they’ve done a wonderful job of dramatizing the impact on everyone involved. There was this touching father-son moment after Dad found out his little Jeffy was eating people, and boy, a part of you starts to go, “Aww. Isn’t that swee—” Then there’s a pause as you wonder if you should really be feeling that way toward a monster. So now I’m just over here reflecting on all these lessons on love and compassion, trying to put myself in Dahmer’s shoes and debating whether or not there should be room for any of that.
(Speaking of room, the Hannibal series was another recent favorite of mine. You’re lying to yourself if Chef Mads Mikkelsen didn’t make you at least a teensy bit curious about trying a good leg steak. Did you see all those fresh ingredients?? “Find out if I dabble in cannibalism next time on The Devout Humorist!”)
Jokes aside, trying to put yourself inside the mind of a cannibalistic serial killer is a darkeningly enlightening exercise. After pushing those boundaries, it’s much easier to sympathize with that person you bump heads with at work or that guy who was rude in line at the bank. It’s much easier to brush it off and assume they’re having a bad day if there’s not a legitimate fear they might chop you up into bits and eat your liver.
Let’s bring it back to what may be my new favorite term, “spiritual osmosis,” and use this exercise to help others realize the Self by seeing ourselves in others first.