Oneness vs. Separation

December 9, 2007

Dear Friends,

Although there are rarely definitive answers as to why certain tragedies occur in this world—such as the shooting rampage that just took place in a department store in Omaha, Nebraska—I believe that the underlying cause for many of these events is ultimately the same thing: a feeling of separation instead of oneness.

“Oneness" refers to our intimately joined relationship with each other . . . a relationship that arises from the fact that we are all individual expressions of "The One Spirit”—that creative, loving, all-pervading Spirit we call God.

There are times when we sense that holy connection more than others, such as when we pray, meditate, spend time in nature, or hold a tiny baby in our arms. And the natural result of that sense of connection is a wonderful feeling of well-being.

But all too often we feel disconnected, instead. We forget that we are one with God, and one with all of God's children. We feel separate from others, and separate from everything around us. And that sense of separation—of being all alone and on our own in this world—can generate a fair amount of fear.

Sometimes that fear—and the anger that often issues from that fear—can be so magnified by mental illness or negative mental conditioning, we witness the kind of destructive behavior that exploded in Omaha on December 5th.

Although everything that happens in life is an opportunity for us to discover where our blocks to loving are, it may be quite a while before many of us are willing to feel compassion for the lonely soul that orchestrated that horrific event.

For now, let us remember that when we judge others—when we attack them, belittle them, and criticize them—we are not only mentally and emotionally separating ourselves from them, we are also mentally and emotionally divorcing ourselves from The One Spirit . . . from the All-That-Is that is God.

May we remember who we truly are at the core of our being: individual expressions of God, as inseparable from our Source as waves are from the ocean. And may we maintain that conscious connection—and the sense of well-being that comes from that connection—by seeing all of our brothers and sisters as equally beloved members of God's family.

Steven

© 2007 by Steven Lane Taylor