Ever been in a supermarket checkout line when the person running the register is involved in a conversation with the bagging person about some personal issue and you’re invisible? Yes, you get your items scanned, tallied and bagged but the only interaction was either “$71.90” or “paper or plastic?” Happens all the time.

The question is: How did you feel?

My guess is not so hot. So what’s going on here? Is your ego feeling dissed? Yes, that would be pretty accurate, but there’s a bigger transgression going on than ignoring “little me” (the ego).

When you ignore another person in your sphere, you don’t acknowledge the divinity of that human being. That’s why the feeling they get is so powerful. It goes much deeper than not tipping your hat to the ego. You have just ignored God.

Aside from being mannerly on the human level, it’s a sacred practice to honor the divine in another. When you acknowledge another, you are also honoring yourself at the same time because you are also animated by the same life giving, life sustaining force.

Think of yourself and others as sunbeams emanating from the same source. You are not separate from that source; nor are you separate from fellow sunbeams – just a different expression of that powerful cause.

Besides having lousy manners, ignoring other people also diminishes you.

So pretend I just made all of this up. Use yourself as a test lab today. If you are out and about, acknowledge as many people as you can. You don’t even have to physically or audibly greet them. Just offer some form of recognition – be it a glance, a nod or something else. Notice what happens – not only in them but in you. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Remember: You don’t have to go to a house of worship to say “hello” to God.