The first step in harmonious relationships is simple: We need only realize the spiritual truth that we cannot meet someone whom we are not like in some way.
Many times the very thing we want from others is the very thing that we ourselves either lack at the moment or otherwise somehow are withholding from them.
Trying to resolve the pain within us by holding others accountable for it is like looking out at a field we have planted on our own property and wishing, every day, something other than what grows there would take hold and flower. If we wish to have true harmonious relationships with others, then it is we who must change. We must assume responsibility...
Without reverting to their lower level, how do you get people to stop making their hurtful, cut-down remarks? One of the reasons people pounce on or attack us the way they do, is that they are feeding off of us in many different ways, especially when we return a negative energy. For an amazing experience, try sometime consciously refusing your own negativity in the face of someone else's.
In my job I must deal daily with several emotionally dark coworkers. What can I do to handle this situation better, besides getting another job? I know that it is difficult to be surrounded by toxic people; however, as difficult as this is to understand, your present work circumstance is perfect for your continuing development, if you understand how to use it. I say...