Positive Harmlessness
All spiritual traditions mandate harmlessness, yet the twentieth century was the most violent period in human history. How is this possible? Positive Harmlessness in Practice shows that we have no collective experience of harmlessness because our habits of harm are so pervasive. To build our “harmlessness muscle,” Dr. Riddle details a pragmatic three-step daily practice—a Butterfly Shift. She then points out that, to sustain a practice of harmlessness, we need to strengthen our skills of self-discipline, responsibility, decision making, complexity, nurturance, goodwill, and compassion.
Positive Harmlessness invites us to embrace an ethic of harmlessness, individually and as a human family. Practical exercises and a Harmlessness Scale™ help us learn to model harmlessness in all that we think, say, and do. In closing, Dr. Riddle challenges us, as a human family, to demonstrate our commitment to an ethic of harmlessness by eliminating the rampant violence against women that currently constitutes, worldwide, the greatest single human rights violation.
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Finalist for the following book award:
- 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award (Current Events/Social Change)
