YOU CANNOT BE HARMED

Consciousness is affected but not harmed. It is the nature of aware consciousness to be
affected by everything it experiences. Every color and sound, every event and experience,
and every passing thought or feeling affects your consciousness. That is why we call it
consciousness. A rock is not as affected by these things, and so we consider a rock less
conscious than a person.
And yet consciousness is not harmed by anything. That is its nature, that it cannot be
harmed. The form of anything can be permanently changed or harmed. Your body can be
harmed, but the consciousness that inhabits your body cannot be harmed.
This is good news. It is like a get out of jail free card in Monopoly. No matter what happens,
you as consciousness are completely unharmed. What a relief! There is nothing that can
harm you. No one and nothing has ever harmed you.
This is not to say that consciousness is not affected deeply by both the good and bad things
that happen to us. Every hurtful and unkind act leaves an impression in the consciousness
of those involved. It is just that the impression does not permanently limit or damage the
awareness of those involved. If something has an effect on us that is permanent, then it
could be said that it has harmed us. But if the effect is temporary, then what is the ultimate
harm? Everything that profoundly affects our awareness, from the painful to the tragic,
eventually passes. It is the miracle of our consciousness that it can heal from any wound,
even if our body cannot.
What you are is eternal aware space or consciousness. You have a body, but you are not
that body. So, while your body can be permanently harmed just like your car or your
camera can be harmed, you as consciousness eventually heal or recover from all of the
experiences that affect you. Even if the affect lasts for lifetimes, eventually the karma or
debt is released. From the perspective of something eternal, even many lifetimes is not that
long.
When you realize that your true nature as consciousness cannot be harmed, that puts all of
life’s difficulties in perspective. Similarly, when someone’s car is totaled in an accident but
they are not hurt, we consider them lucky. This is because we have a perspective on the
relative importance of damage to their car. It’s not such a big deal really, especially relative
6
to a serious physical injury or death. If you realize that you are aware space, then
everything else is like the totaled car: no big deal.
Some things are still more important than others. Physical harm is still a bigger difficulty
than harm to a car or other physical object. But by knowing the truth of your nature as unharmable
space, then the bigger difficulties and even tragedies in life can be seen in
perspective.
A simple question to ask is, What effect does this experience have on my eternal soul? And
while everything leaves an impression on your awareness and ultimately your soul,
nothing can ever permanently harm your soul, your true nature as empty awareness. In
fact, every experience enriches your soul. Every moment adds to the depth and richness of
your deepest knowing. We sense this in people who have faced a lot of difficulty in life and
who are willing to accept their fate. There is a depth and wisdom that only comes from a
wide range of experience, including painful and unwanted experiences.
This willingness to meet and have any experience can come from the simple recognition
that what you are is open spacious awareness. Your body, mind, personality, emotions and
desires all appear within that awareness, but they are not you, and the real you cannot be
harmed.

Essays About True Nature
BY NIRMALA

Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal.... But don't approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain. ~Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois