Continuing her progression of reason from: Principles
of Abundance for the Cosmic Citizen: Enough
for Us All, Volume One, Dr. Dorothy I. Riddle astounds the reader with
cognitive awareness in her sequel, Positive
Harmlessness in Practice: Enough for Us
All, Volume Two.
Harmlessness, a 12 letter word; etymology defines it to be
compounded in the 13th century by the concept of what is harm and
suggesting ways to avert such action. Dr. Riddle expands on “Harmlessness” from every conceivable angle. She begins with analysis of human psychology
interleaved with social situations, addressing in particular violence to women. We all need a cognitive awareness of each
other as being an element of our own existence. With her combination of logic, research and scientific observation,
Dorothy I. Riddle concisely postures a unique platform of transpicuous insight
to the fundamental core of human behavior. She challenges our own beliefs as she humbly outlines courses of action
for us to further gain self-awareness through many provocative “exercises”
strategically placed throughout her book. With kindness in her written voice, her book pages like a novel however
is organized like a text book. Complete
with a comprehensive table of contents, footnotes, web links and an index, she
promotes further reading on tangent topics.
As I read Positive Harmlessness
in Practice, I typically would bend a bottom corner of a page for retuning
to cite an example. I must admit this
book looked like an origami carnation with so many corners indexed of astonishing
details I wish to convey. Hence I
certainly recommend Positive Harmlessness
in Practice for all. It is a
challenging, thought provoking and inspirational book, one worthy of multiple
readings and sharing among friends and loved ones. This is an excellent continuation of the
theories presented in Dorothy I. Riddle’s first book, Principles of Abundance for the Cosmic Citizen: Volume One, with
much anticipation to what may come in Moving Beyond Duality: Enough for Us
All: Volume Three.
An excerpt which especially lingers in my mind is about the
heart and the brain. Dorothy I. Riddle
quoted the Institute of HeartMath: “The heart is not just a muscle. It’s also a sensory organ and a sophisticated
information processing center. The heart
actually has its own nervous system, which gives it the ability to sense,
learn, remember and make functional decisions independent of the brain …The
heart is part of the emotional system and … plays an important role in how we
feel and think … Emotions are reflected in the patterns of our heart rhythms …
Positive emotions like appreciation, care, compassion and love lead to a more
ordered and coherent heart rhythm pattern.” I call this a “Wow” realization; never have I quite understood this
in such this way before.
Another concept embellished and reflected in multitudinous
ways is the “Butterfly Shift.” Dorothy
Riddle appropriately credits the work of mathematician and meteorologist Edward
Lorenz in popularizing the term “Butterfly Effect” in his 1972 paper titled,
“Predictability: Does the flap of a Butterfly’s
Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?” The Butterfly Shift refers to slight nuances
of social behavior which affect each other and become amplified. As exemplified by minute eye movements
perceived by infants resulting in characteristic behavior, or subtle body
language during conversations; a culmination of our individual changes of behavior
becomes the vibration resonating societal change to mankind. As an inspirational empowerment for all of
us to seek importance in one’s own desire to rid the world of harm, Dr. Riddle
quotes Gandhi as saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Buy this book at Barnes & Noble
