Unity. The evidence is everywhere. The macro level is the most obvious. Just about every challenge we face lies within a boundary no smaller than the planet itself: global pandemic, global warming, global refugee crises. Fires in Canada that blanket much of the Northeastern US and reach as far as Norway. A war in Europe that sends economic and political disruptions around the globe.
Then there’s unity at the micro level, the startling, almost impossible-to-grasp findings that lift the veil of reality itself. Consider this: 99.99999% of the universe is what you and I would call empty space. The remaining .00001%? It’s everything you and I would call material or physical reality. The mountains, the clouds, the chair I’m sitting on.
But here’s where it gets really interesting: Empty space isn’t empty. More accurately it’s a unified field of “energy, frequency and vibration” that flows through and connects all of creation at the subatomic level. And that tiny remnant we call physical reality? That too is a vibration, just at “a denser frequency.”
The mind-shifting implication:
“Since everything is vibration, then everything is formed by vibration and hence there is no individuality, only interconnectedness that evolves and expands by its own interaction with its grand self.”1 [Italics mine.]
Ah, that’s a mouthful, but here’s the point: We’re not just “all connected.” It’s more than that. We are one inseparable whole, a “grand self.” And what we experience as our individuality is, in reality, a manifestation of the universe evolving and expanding through its own interactions.
Still a mouthful, I know. But the bottom line is, it’s all one. And the problem, as the Buddha and other spiritual teachers have pointed out, is we’re not fully aware of our oneness — we’re not fully “awake.” And so we act in ways inconsistent with our true “self” interest, and we suffer.
But what if we were more aware of our oneness? What if we were more “awake”? What difference would that really make?
That’s the question addressed by a series of studies summarized in this article from Scientific American: “The psychological implications of believing that everything is one.” To summarize the summary, people who believe “everything is one” are much more likely to:
Have an identity that extends beyond the individual to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, nature, and even the cosmos.
Have greater compassion for other people, and a universal concern for their welfare.
Feel more connected to others through a recognition of our common humanity, common problems, and common imperfections.
There it is, captured in three short bullet points. Not that dramatic of a shift in human consciousness, is it? Not that unattainable, right? And yet, if more of us fully believed in our oneness, we’d have the power to transform our world — all our problems finally put within the context that we need to solve them.
So what can we do? One thing is to recognize ourselves as being part of this shift in awareness. We can remind ourselves each day that we’re a vibration in a unified field of energy, and that every interaction we have — every act of love and acceptance, every act of hate and intolerance — manifests in and changes the whole, the “grand self,” instantly. And knowing that, we can be mindful then to always choose love. Because every time we do, we’re literally creating the world that in our hearts, we most want to have.
Thanks for reading, and have a good weekend.