Levels of Oneness

Oneness IS.  Yet, in the realm of time and space why is it so easy to forget this?  Why the tendency to identify with the various parts instead of the whole?  Or, to simultaneously see and appreciate the parts and the whole at the same time?

Perhaps it is like the mystical tradition of Islam known as Sufism states, we just tend to forget!  The same has been said about the Christian Garden of Eden story, that what was symbolized by the Tree of Good and Evil that Adam and Eve ate from was the movement into duality, with a focus on separation (what sin really means), instead of on unity, leading to the Tree of Life.

To help us remember our Oneness many spiritual traditions have used the notion of a ladder and speak of different levels of descent and ascent in regards to our forgetting and remembering who we really are as the One.  To over-simplify it a lot, they speak of being overly identified with our physical impulses, then our emotional desires, then our lower factual mind cogitations, then our higher abstract mind theories, and then at some point a realization and livingness of the Oneness that is.

Sticking with this over-simplification the livingness of Oneness can easily fall away if I keep forgetting who I am and slip into duality (good and evil). Instead of sharing the abundance with all aspects of “me” (including all life), I hoard it.  Though I at times feel Oneness when I am not in the mood, it rapidly fades out of the picture.  I can think Oneness, and talk Oneness, but though my words may sound logical and my theories be amazing, when it comes to my actions, my living this concepts of Oneness goes out the window.

So, what does it mean to live Oneness?  One way is to simply start to observe and recognize when we have dropped levels (into body, feelings, concrete mind “facts,” abstractions), and are not in the state of living Oneness anymore.

Now, I am far from a person who lives Oneness at all times.  Still in these posts to come I am trying to convey my sense of it when I am actually there, living the Oneness, not just talking about it.  For me the Peaceful Self Process helps along these lines because it helps lift me to the point where I remember who I really am (as Oneness) and then can start to bring livingness (the Tree of Life) to myself and others.

That livingness is demonstrated through acts of kindness and compassion.  It materializes when I have more of a desire to understand and gain insight into others (who are really me, though they seem different from me), than to make them good or bad somehow.  Living oneness requires me to approach that Oneness with a wholeness of my being (actions, feelings, thoughts, ideas) through wise inquiry.  It is active and dynamic and leads to a loving heart.  Love is what unifies after all.  It builds the bridge that was broken in our forgetting who we are as Oneness.

How to live it practically in my own life?  Look for more posts to come.

Peace – Love – Light,

Lisa

NOTES ABOUT COMMENTS ON THESE POSTS:  When we come from the heart we are seeking understanding, insight compassion, wisdom and empathy.  I welcome your comments and insights.  For the sake of living oneness on this blog I ask that any posts also seek to 1) shed light, 2) speak from a place of understanding and empathy, 3) reveal an attempt to come from a compassionate and wise space.  Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you in this post and in posts to come.

DR. LISA LOVE trains people in the path of Living Oneness by utilizing the Peaceful Self Process. in her counseling with them and through her Peaceful Self Retreats.

Questions about Dr. Lisa Love, her work, and retreats? Call 805-233-4291!

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