Experiencing Radical Oneness
I spent the day yesterday in reflection and rumination. (Translation: I took a couple of naps and spent a lot of time staring at trees. ^&^) A very kind member of the Shift had reminded me of something very important and I really needed to find alignment with the fullness of my thoughts on the matter before I tried putting finger to keyboard. (Pen to paper…kkkk)
I strongly believe that radical oneness as an intellectual pursuit is valid and has great value. Clarifying our concept and image of radical oneness helps to illuminate our path: the direction in which we are intentionally evolving in consciousness. Our human minds may not be able to conceive it in its entirety from our present evolutionary state, and honestly only God and by extension our Selves (rather than our materially created selves) could have a complete understanding of radical oneness, but envisioning it as clearly as possible and continuing to refine our vision, particularly in conversation, is beneficial. However, intellectual pursuit is not the ultimate goal and if we stop there, we are missing the point. Real knowledge is also experiential. There is a thought experiment called Mary’s Room developed by Frank Jackson. In the experiment, Mary is a brilliant scientist who was raised in a black, white and grey environment. Her body is also coated to be in shades of black and white. Though she has perfect vision, she has never experienced color. She has, however studied everything there is to know about color and is an expert. One day she is allowed to leave her room and walk out into the world of colors. She see’s color and exclaims, “Oh, so that’s what red’s like.” The point is that many philosophers believe that experience is crucial for complete knowledge. I agree with them. So, the question I was contemplating was how can we gain some experience of radical oneness.
I wish that I could say that I have had a radical awakening to oneness as Wonhyo did after he discovered he had drunk water from a skull in a cave. I’m not sure if I have even had an experience that gave me a glimpse of oneness. I have had some expanded consciousness experiences, however, and draw on them when I try to conceptualize radical oneness. One of those was a time when I was doing some hiking. I had almost reached the peak of a mountain, but the remaining few feet were covered by small boulders. My footing felt unstable and the wind was very strong. I’m not afraid of heights per se, but I do have a fear of being above ground on something unstable. So, for example, I could be at the top of a very tall building and walk to the edge and look down and feel O.K. once I got past a little vertigo. On the other hand, climbing up a couple of feet on a ladder takes a lot of willpower. So, going those last few feet was really difficult for me. I was clinging on to the rocks as I went. When I finally got up to the peak, I got up the courage to let go of the rocks, turn around, and look out at the view. At that moment, the sun peeked out from the middle of a large expanse of clouds. I could see rays streaming forth from the sun and suddenly felt in communion with the sun and everything I could see around me. There were also a couple of times when I was pretty sick but still had to go to work. As I walked down the halls at school, it seemed as if the boundary between myself and what was around me had dissolved, or at other times I felt like I were walking through a 3D movie. Those feelings of expansion and also the feelings of the illusion-like appearance of material reality can be useful in conceptualizing radical oneness but they are far from a feeling of unity with the entire universe from the macroscopic to the submicroscopic to the non-physical. Though I don’t claim to be an enlightened being, I do have some ideas about an individual path to experiential awareness of radical oneness.
Probably the most commonly spoken of method is also the most useful. Meditation is the core activity that will draw us closer to experiencing radical oneness. The methods of meditation are surprisingly diverse and all forms of meditation have their own traditions and purposes. I have no desire to indicate preference for one over another. I think it is possible to categorize them into overarching groups: inwardly focused and outwardly focused, Some forms of inwardly focused meditation would be breathing meditation, mantra chanting, light (or image) meditation, moving energy (or chi from China or gi from Korea), centering prayer, and ultimately no-mind meditation. Forms of outwardly focused meditation might be walking meditation, mindful action, and mindful-compassion meditation, While it is very possible to experience oneness using one practice alone, I believe doing a practice from both groups would be very helpful in cultivating a sense of and ultimately an experience of radical oneness. Experiencing Self and also cultivating an awareness of non-separation at the same time would, to my mind, be … the most efficient? (Wow, efficiency applied to meditation and awareness just doesn’t seem appropriate, but for now, efficient will have to do).
Imagining radical oneness could be another useful practice. Cultivating our sense of oneness by repeated and diverse use of our imaginations can help to expand our awareness. For example, I mentioned I had spent some time yesterday staring at trees. I was doing a little more than that. First, I brought my awareness to my body as a whole as I was looking at a tree. Then, I tried to sense the tree’s awareness at the same time. I wasn’t trying to imagine I was a tree, which would be something akin to object identification. In radical oneness there is no object opposing subject. I tried to feel awareness of human/me being aware of the tree and tree/me being aware of the human simultaneously. Then, when I got a feeling sense of that, I tried to include our surroundings: the building and the balcony of the building I was standing on, the other trees surrounding tree/me the breeze, the sunlight, the shadow, etc. As a first step exercise it took quite a bit of focus and some stretching. I think with practice, I might be able to include more in the awareness relationship, but for now, I’m satisfied with just one other awareness source. I could also foresee a time when I would be able to include non-biological entities: stones, water, soil, stars, etc. Doing an exercise like this with another human partner that we feel a comfortable connection with would also be very powerful. Developing a sense of me/me being aware of you/me and you/me being aware of me/me simultaneously could help to crack open many of our constructed barriers. I would like to distinguish this practice from a more intellectual kind of imagination in which I might be describing to myself what the experience would be like. I would also like to add a word of caution. This is not a process of imposing will over another entity, it is an attempt to break down the false distinction of subject/object. I think that experience of radical oneness is a feeling and awareness based one, rather than being intellectual and descriptive. I also think, at least for me, starting with the physical plane is much more productive than trying to imagine non-physical entities, thought that may change over time.
“Be the change you want to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi) We hear that often and I think it applies here perfectly. We cannot wait for the rest of the world to come to a realization of radical oneness because there is no rest of the world. There is no other. Every step I take in my growing awareness of oneness is a step of the whole. Every realization and every awakening is an awakening of oneness to itself. And the closer we come to an experience of that oneness the more aligned we are with our Selves and the more love, joy, and awareness we will experience and ultimately the more creation we will be able to attain.
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Thanks for sharing your experience with the tree. Yes, knowing of the truth of onenss and allowing that to be our continual experience is an experiement that requires practice so that we can clearly see the dualistic thoughts we entertain that need to be reconciled. I and the tree are one is also an admission that we are two. Perhaps the Korean version of Zen and ‘no thought’ is a hint. If I am just with the tree and do not rationalize that we are one then, perhaps, I will experience something beyond thought.
I keep a rock on my desk to hold when my mind gets dualistic and begins to strive and struggle and I just hold it and feel it and my mind returns to peace. The mind of the rock does not struggle, so in a simple way it teaches me more about oneness and about going with the flow. And it does it without fancy words and I am intimately addicted to words.
The path of discovery is an alive and amazing path. I look forward to reading your journaling. Perhaps the tree enjoyed it also. Thanks.
Yes, I think there was much enjoyment. ^&^ You are very right when just speaking of joining or connecting presumes separation and so rather than conceptualizing two things joining, I am suggesting feeling for the existent non-separated field of awareness by beginning with a first step of mutual observation that can naturally merge and expand.
There is a challenge to expressing some of these things in language, particularly English which is so strongly subject/object oriented. That is why any discussion of meditation is, as they say, a finger pointing to the moon. ^&^
I am grateful for your reading. Very grateful.
(So is the tree. Tree likes being talked about. ^&^)
An insertion to the above post:
Another process that could be helpful for developing our experience of radical oneness is deliberate movement toward a more positive emotional base. I know for myself that, though I have not attained pure love or the bliss of the enlightened, I have had experiences of great love and joy. At those times I felt a kind of much greater openness than I usually do. I have hard and believe that most adults have had at least one experience similar to that during the course of our lives. Feelings of elation, joy, love and that feeling of being on top of the world is an indication of lowered resistance and increased openness. Those feelings could help us to shift to an experience of oneness. I also remember being told that I let my emotions control me when I was in my twenties. I had no idea of what that meant. At the time, I thought that it was just a fact of life that our emotions were automatic responses and they were what they were. I have now come to understand that I can choose my emotional response, and that I can let any emotion rising up pass before I identify with it, before I attach myself to it. I slip from time to time, but I know it is possible for me and for all of us. If we can start to be more deliberate about our emotional state and reactions, if we can step-by-step, make the choice to feel better and to release resistance, we can move ourselves closer to the more positive and open emotional states no matter where we are starting from. By first acknowledging where we really are emotionally and accepting ourselves we can then make the choice to move a little closer to joy and love. The closer we get to the pure positive, the more open we become and the more possible it is for us to have the experience of oneness.
I’m certain I am preaching to the choir with this addition to this post on this site, but…. I felt I had left out at least one important piece to the above entry.
All Peace, Love, Joy and Compassion to all of Us.
It makes sense that if we are to experience oneness with another that we will experience it in openenss because to be closed is exclusive. My belief is that the essence of Being is like the creator: omnipresent. We are one with God and God is everywhere, and everyone is in God for God, as Paul said, is above all and in all and through all. Hence distance is not an obstacle to experiencing oneness with another. To experience oneness with all things means, therefore, to be completely open. Good point, share as often as you can. I look forward to reading what you write.
Your posts have me thinking. You commented earlier that the tree also appreciated it. It seems true that everything in the universe responds to being recognized, appreciated and accepted. Also you commented on the ‘I in you and you in me’ for the sake of experiencing oneness that Jesus spoke of. These two things you wrote about have lingered in my mind and it seems that there are two ways in which the tree was in you: One is the mystical knowledge that there is only one essence and this essence is life itself and that same essence in you is the same essence in the tree so the essence of the tree was and is indeed in you. On the level of ‘feeling’ you and the tree experienced that. And the second is when you looked at the tree you were imaging the tree and contemplating the tree in your mind and so it was in you through your power to image it and your contemplation of it. That you were fully focused on it multipled the effect. And in its own way the tree, noticing that you were noticing, felt you in its own ability to conceive/feel/know. Powerful stuff, keep exploring and writing, please.
Thank you. And then there is the whole consideration of optics from the classical perspective. The eye shooting out beams to see and ocular consumption…. and all that. Actually, I hadn’t thought of that until I read your above post. You explain what I was trying to express beautifully.
I was also curious, and was planning on asking about your rock. I’ve used stones for several purposes in the past – as a focal point for prayerful expression, for example – but I was wondering how you see your use of your rock. How do you see yourself in interaction or in relation to the rock? How do you experience the physical interaction effecting a shift in awareness? Are there also any symbolic associations surrounding the rock that draw you? Just a couple of directions that my mind goes in, but these questions may not even be appropriate to your experience. I’d be grateful for any description you feel appropriate.
Hi Derek, my most powerful (and long lasting: about a month!) experience of oneness started when i was spending time meditating in nature. i was focusing on compassion and would always start with metta bhavana (or tonglen), then i would sit silent but with my eyes open. i realise it’s not easy to do in winter, but you can do it from a window if you have a views of trees for example. also sitting in the garden and playing with the dogs was part of it. i kept my awareness in my heart. hope this helps.
Thank you for your insights, Cristina. It is indeed helpful. I have also done some metta bhavana(we translated it as loving-kindness meditation) when I was getting ready to teach a course on meditation at school. It is a powerful/power-filled practice indeed. Bridging that with a gazing meditation practice does sound like it would lead very naturally into a sense of oneness. That’s great information. ^&^
Oh, and I also spent a little time on tonglen meditation as well. I think I got it conceptually but didn’t really feel like I “owned” it as much as the metta bhavana meditation. I felt like my mind was doing a lot of work – if that makes any sense.
Be warned though that it is a very powerful experience and it might strike you in ways you had not predicted.
(kkkk) Thank you for the cautionary statement. I will keep it in mind. ^&^
When Jesus was riding the donkey into Jerusalem the priests told him to quieten the crowd and Jesus replied if these should hold their peace immediately the stones would cry out. That prompted a realization back in my younger years that life was even in the rocks. But, to simplify it I have found that when thought and physical feeling are aligned that a shift in awareness results. Feeling the rock in my hand I bring the thought into my mind that God is in the rock and what I am feeling is God manifesting, and God is omnipresent so I am feeling omnipresence. Therein my thought and physical feeling alingned in one truth moment have ‘shifted’ me back into truth and helped me let go of the false idea that all things are not working together for good. I usually pick up the rock and do this when stress begins creeping in at work and within seconds I am recentered and re-empowered in the truth of Being. Due to many years of Tai Chi my hands have become sensitive to Chi energy and when I feel the Chi in the rock I know I am feeling God Omnipotence. So the rock helps me in a lot of ways. The rock, in a mystical sort of way, has become a helpful friend. But, I could realign myself with any object felt while returning thought to the truth of the oneness of all things. The rock is there on my desk also as a reminder that indeed all things are working together for good. Perhaps I should get real quiet and listen to the rock cry Hosanna.
Thank you for the chance to laugh with a deep truth realization. Yes, getting real quiet and listening to the rock cry Hosanna is a wonderful idea.
Thank you also for describing your rock ritual (I am a liturgist so please understand when I say ritual I am including form, repetition, meaning, symbol and transcendence). I think having a long term connection with the rock is very beneficial. While you are right that you could use anything since there is nowhere God is not, why not make use of the ease and flow of the familiar? There are certainly other advantages to using the same rock, such as tactile memory, size, weight, familiar vibration…. There is so much depth in the simplicity of the action that it is quite beautifully mystical. Thank you.
If a butterfly flaps its wings in Katmando, does it affect me here in Texas? I am not sure, but when Derek laughs in Korea a divine laugh happens here also. Thanks for the laugh, I needed that!
Yes, and I think the rock even enjoys the communion of incarnating the Logos.
Now you have me clapping along with a good laugh. ^&^
Bravo!!!
Ahhhh, yes, the sound of “One” hand clapping. Have company here and we are getting ready to break bread together. Such a joy to have a laughing, clapping day. Thanks!
Have a wonderful communion. Peace and Thanks.