“All know that the drop merges into the ocean, 
but few know that the ocean merges into the drop.”  
-Kabir

The Mystery of Oneness

Imagine climbing to the top of a mountain, looking out over the peaks to take in the powerful monument of trees; a hawk gliding gracefully through the vastness of the sky; the awe-inspiring movement of the clouds…

Did you ever feel a sense of being One with it all—the sky, the mountains, the trees, the clouds? This is an experience of Oneness, a glimpse into the reality of our true being “the ocean in one drop.”

Hard to describe in words, but our body knows it and our cells recognize it; we become peaceful, even as our heart seems to expand beyond the limits of our chest.

I have this same bodily sensation when, visiting my son and daughter-in-law, my grandson comes running to meet me, excitedly yelling, “YaYa, YaYa!” I can’t contain the joy that uncontrollably bursts out of me like the sun pulsing effortlessly through the clouds.  

Falling in love is said to be like that, too. A powerful energy erupts without thought, and all is right with the world. Listening to beautiful music, looking at a work of art, sitting in meditation—all of these human experiences remind us of the invisible heart connection we are capable of when we pay attention to the moment. 

A Human Experience

When we let go of the mind’s constant chatter, its judging and assessing, we can actually begin to lose the sense of the limitation of our body and become one with all around us. We can allow ourselves to just “Be Here Now”—as spiritual writer Ram Das reminds us—to let go of our personality, our ego, our sense of self, and feel at one with all of life.

It is an awe-inspiring moment that may pass just as quickly as it came. But, it is one we will always remember, because it awakens something in us about the truth of who we really are.

French philosopher, paleontologist and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's work uniting science and spirituality asserts that we are really “spiritual beings having a human experience.” Our world, however, has us moving at such a fast pace that we often don’t take the time and space to be in touch with that part of us.

We move along with our days, constantly checking devices that tell us how well we are keeping up with our schedules, goals, and obligations.

We become fragmented as we continually find ourselves compartmentalizing different parts of our day, of our life.

We make a habit of obsessing about the past or worrying about the future.

No wonder we are so exhausted, anxious and confused about what is missing. 

Blessings of Guidance

I have been on both sides of this challenge. I can work until I drop, often forgetting to take time to sit quietly, to exercise, to read, write, and reflect on my day, never mind my life. I can easily get caught up in obsessing about what I haven’t accomplished, what someone meant by a comment they made to me, or how I am going to avoid disappointing others when I can’t live up to their expectations.  

Thankfully, I have also had the blessing of being led to stop, look, and listen to the movements within me. I have felt the sensations from my body working to inform and direct me to more wholeness. I have participated in retreats that pulled me away from the din of daily life, offering time to just be, without that internal pressure to get one more thing done.

In addition to my own therapy, I have had ongoing spiritual direction that has guided me to seek a deeper connection to that voice within, and encouraged me to identify the purpose of my life beyond getting things done.

Inherent Connection

Most recently, over the last 17 years, I have been part of the Constellation world. This world has more concretely confirmed my belief in the movement of energy beyond what we generally pay attention to. It has shown me many times over that there is an invisible interconnection between all living beings, most especially our family system.

Many spiritual traditions have affirmed this, from the indigenous peoples to the Wisdom traditions throughout the world. These groups see no separation in creation; even death is believed to be just another dimension of life. And so, the relationship between the living and the dead continues, with the dead ready and willing to intercede on daily matters impacting the living.

Most people would agree that we inherit qualities from our parents and other relatives, whether it be our blue eyes, tall stature, or fiery temperament. In Constellation work, we too, respect the influence of our ancestors on our relationships, health and well-being. This is taken a step further, making the invisible, visible. We see the inherent connection between all sentient beings and the internal dynamics that we unconsciously inherit from our family of origin.

In the next segment of this mini-series, we focus on how these show up in a Constellation workshop.
What experiences have you had that gave you a glimmer of the mystery of Oneness?
What did you notice about that experience that was surprising?
Share your comments at the bottom of the page.

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