Connecting to Oneness

“Consider your own place in the universal oneness of which we are all a part, from which we all arise, and to which we all return.” – David Fontana

How many times have you thought or said to someone “Oh they are not like us.”  We have a better way of thinking or live a better life.  I have always struggled with being judgemental of myself and others and from this comes the illusion that we are separate from one another, that we are superior in some way.

If we realised that we are all connected and that we are one with the universe, you would find, you would not judge others but embrace them as your teachers.

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”
― Wayne Dyer

Understanding oneness is a difficult concept.  We are all so different and have set ourselves apart from one another in so many ways.  How can we begin to understand how to connect.

Oneness is including everything around you and allowing others to live according to their true nature.   It is the gift to see we are connected to our environment, to earth, to sky to all living energy but if don’t look for it you don’t see it.

This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

It is accepting that we are different and when we allow this difference in others, we learn from each other and live to our true potential.

How we make use of this opportunity depends upon the degree of our participation, how much we are prepared to give ourselves to the work that needs to be done, to the freedom that needs to be lived.

The realisation that every act, every word, every thought of ours not only influences our  environment and each other.

The tremendous responsibility of it is huge.  Most of us believe that this disconnection will not affect our own life.

If all of us only knew that the smallest act of ours, or a tiny thought, has such far-reaching effects as to set in motion forces which perhaps could shatter a galaxy…If we know it deeply and absolutely, if this realisation becomes engraved permanently on our hearts, on our minds, how careful we would act and speak and think.

How precious life would become in its integral oneness.

Don’t try to understand Oneness. You can know it only when the mind is still. When you are present, when your attention is fully and intensely in the Now, Being can be felt, but it can never be understood mentally. To regain awareness of Being and to abide in that state of “feeling-realisation” is enlightenment. – Eckhart Tolle

 

Speak your truth

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” -Albert Einstein
How many of us are willing to share our truth with others?  To let them see who we really are.  Do you honour your personal truth?
Most people are disconnected from their inner reality.  They don’t know what they are experiencing within themselves as they have never been taught to connect to that truth.  It takes a conscious effort to be comfortable with our feelings.
If you feel angry, sad, anxious or joyful we need to acknowledge these emotional states.  Each time we tell the truth about our feelings, we have the opportunity to look at a deeper truth about the nature of reality.
“It’s time to care; it’s time to take responsibility; it’s time to lead; it’s time for a change; it’s time to be true to our greatest self; it’s time to stop blaming others.”– Steve Maraboli
Following your own heart and your own intuition is always right.  Following the opinions of others will always leave you feeling more confused about what you should do.  When we don’t trust ourselves or honour our personal truth and say how we feel, we cannot grow internally.
When we allow others to speak for us or put us down, we disconnect from our truth and self-worth.  Affirming our worth and speaking the truth to others about the choices we have made in our life, allows others to know we are worthy of consideration.
Speaking up no matter how difficult it may seem, helps us grow in confidence and conserves our vitality and integrity.
You can respect what your friends’ are pursuing even if you have no interest in those pursuits for you. You can respect what others highly recommend for you to do, knowing full well that you cannot love those pursuits either. Showing respect to all things while choosing only the things which you love, that is the way to follow your heart and to be true to both yourself and others.
Sadly this week I was told of two suicides, one was a 19 yr old boy and the other was a Father of two.  In light of the pain and shock that is left after a suicide, I cannot help but wonder if both these men had felt they could speak the truth of their deep suffering to someone who could have helped, rather than keep it hidden from family and friends, then they still might be here today.
“It takes strength and courage to admit the truth.”  –  Rick Riordan
Of course we have no control of what others do but if we allow each other freedom to speak the truth and to allow others to share their opinions and feelings, then maybe we can all be comfortable with who we are and allow our dreams to manifest.
The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. –   Elizabeth Foley

Releasing Anger

That which I do not forgive in you, lies unforgiven within myself.

A classic Buddhist proverb states: “Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Forgiveness is one of the most important lessons life has to offer, but it is also one of the more difficult sentiments to learn and practice.

In order for us to even think of forgiveness, we must first try to understand the other person’s emotions, thoughts and feelings, while also realizing that they too have a story of their own and so forgiving their actions can become plausible.

There is nothing easy about forgiveness.  It takes courage and a true consciousness of will to let go and allow yourself and the other person to come to a place of peace.  When I decided to forgive the driver that killed my 9-year-old son, I struggled to believe I could.

Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting, nor does it mean that you have given the message that what someone did was okay. It just means that you’ve let go of the anger or guilt towards someone, or towards yourself.

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Katherine Ponder

We need to forgive ourselves too.  When we have wronged others with our words or thoughts, we need to forgive and let go of our guilt and remorse.  It is never too late to forgive and for those who have died that you still hold anger towards, allow forgiveness to them as well, so that you do not hold onto this pain in your heart, stopping the flow of love and abundance in your life.

It seems that most people need to experience a great deal of suffering before they will relinquish resistance and accept — before they will forgive.

There is such power in forgiveness, that if you knew the release that occurs for yourself and others, the peace and the love within that you start to feel afterwards, then you would never hesitate to do it.

Forgive today.

Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realising, you were the prisoner. – Max Lucado

Practice Stillness

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.  – Deepak ChopraSonia Choquette is a world-renowned intuitive and spiritual teacher who specializes in helping others recognize that we are all endowed with a sixth sense that we can count on. A masterful teacher committed to strengthening intuition in our daily lives, she is the best-selling author of seven books: Diary of a Psychic, The Psychic Pathway, Your Heart’s Desire, The Wise Child, True Balance, Your Psychic Pathway to New Beginnings, Your Psychic Pathway to Joy, and numerous audio editions.  Listen below to her wisdom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwPi33S2yFk&NR=1

When you have accessed a regular time for stillness and emptiness, you are then able to feel how much stress and pain you are carrying around.  You are then able to make a conscious choice in your daily decisions.  You have complete control on how your life is unfolding and complete responsibility.  Once you understand that power you carry within, you will then be able to make the right choices in your life.

When you surrender enough to the moment, then there will not be all this pressure and anxiety that you walk with everyday.  The choice is ours.  Don’t miss out on having a life that allows your full potential to shine!

 “Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.” Eckhart Tolle

 

Worldly Beliefs

I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring. Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall, the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will. What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness? – Oriah Mountain Dancer

Why have we all come to believe that what the world tells us is true?  That there are perfect families and perfect bodies, perfect husbands and wives and perfect children?  I would like to know where they all are, because I have yet to meet any and yet we are all striving to be them.

Media, Television and Radio bombard us daily, on how to look younger, get fitter, feel happier and yet in today’s paper it reads:  “The number of patients in therapy is growing by 20 percent annually.  The Australian Psychological Society reported that this year has recorded the highest rates of patients booking in for anxiety, distress and depression and that one in 10 Adults are on antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills.

We see others through eyes of envy and wish we could be as happy or as rich or as beautiful as they are and then work tirelessly to keep up with them, convincing ourselves it will be our turn one day.

Why do we feel we cannot be ourselves with one another or share the pain of our wounds that we face each day?  Why do we all feel the need to pretend?

Fear always keeps us in the dark about the truth.  Fear blocks us from being vulnerable with one another.  Fear makes us feel alone in our anxiety and stress and we become desperate for a quick fix, so that others will never see there is anything wrong.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everyone wants to be accepted and loved.  We all want people to like us and so we are hesitant to show others the pain and the truth of our life behind closed doors.  We become silent in our suffering for fear of rejection and allow the world to continue to promote perfection which keeps us trapped.

“The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.” – Leo Buscaglia

Trust that we all have our own story and pain to share.  Trust that in sharing honestly with one another, you will find you are never alone and in turn you will allow others to open up and even begin to heal their wounds.

At the end of the day, pretending is exhausting and to no-one benefits from it.  It takes so much energy to keep our secrets hidden.  What needs to be faced is our fear, stepping out beyond the familiar and into the unknown.

Slow down and become aware of who you are in this world.  Accept and love yourself for who you are right now, in doing so, we can become free from the chains of falsehood and begin to live freely in our own uniqueness.

Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be . . . some day. Show me you can risk being completely at peace, truly OK with the way things are right now in this moment, and again in the next and the next and the next. . . Oriah Mountain Dancer