just be it It’s about the work involved in establishing a dedicated practice to feelings of a bigger belonging through practices aimed at increasing feelings of compassion, gratitude and forgiveness

Breathing in a Sense of Oneness, a Sense of Wonder

Published on 23/11/10
by randy

Much of the translation of Zen deals with the distinction between the dualistic and the non-dualistic mind.  I’ve found it more helpful to contrast two against one rather than ‘non-two’.  There’s a negative energy when I introduce ‘non’, almost contradicting the Buddhist rule for relief of suffering, the release of grasping.  Within our complete arrival to ‘this moment’ we aim the heart to uncover Oneness.  This is a feeling cultivated to alleviate the suffering from the obstacles of duality we’ve allowed.  The calibration of our consciousness rises to the extent we grow this felt sense of Oneness.  The great spiritual teachers all instructed us to feed this sense of wonder.

“The significance of Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Allah was not their personal presence on the planet but the truths they revealed and espoused, and the calibratable high energy which accompanied the teachings.  All enlightened beings tell the populace to ignore their personality or personhood, but instead, to focus on the teachings.”

from David Hawkins, The Eye of the I, pp. 45-46

These basic teachings are to love one another as oneself, to hold gratitude, to forgive, to not judge, to hold moderation in the material world, and to forever deepen in our awareness to the gift of All.  Our deepest gratitude comes in forever recognizing our opportunity to participate to the fullest in evolving the universe through our awareness to Oneness.  Our dualistic mind wants to fill with ‘doing’, achievements and accomplishments.  It fills with notions of success against another’s loss, poisoning us to ‘have more’.  Interestingly, globalization and the recent economic downtown have given us pause to examine the ‘us against them’ premise.  Suddenly, notions of being #1 evaporate.  We start to review the result in cultivating our notions of separateness (patriotism, nationalism, war, persuasion, etc.).  Our politicians try to persuade us that their actions from the dualistic mind have somehow made things better.  We’ll never know what could have happened had we been less reactive to 9/11.  Spiritual wisdom would have held us from revenge.  Today South Korea was attacked by North Korea.  The news reported that South Korea diligently returned fire.  We’ll never know how the world’s reaction could have been different had they not returned fire.  We do know that Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara held grave misgivings about our decisions to war with Vietnam.  His Academy Award winning documentary, The Fog of War, details how our lack of awareness sucks us into conflict.  He strongly advises those who follow him to find their greatest military strength in ‘empathizing with the enemy’.  This is another way of saying ‘cultivate your sense of Oneness’.  As Christ has advised, “Love your enemy”.  The dualistic mind fights this notion.

We’re often carried away in our need to be ‘right’.  The human race exists today because one man, Tommy Thompson, created a way for Kruchev to back down from nuclear war without losing face.  Ted Sorenson and Robert McNamara both confirm we were as close to nuclear annihilation as we’ve ever come.  In today’s media world we’re fed through angry rhetoric that feeds the dualistic mind.  It’s hard to find those willing to carry a ‘curious conversation’.  Rumi has said, “Somewhere out there is a field…a field beyond right knowing and wrong knowing.  Let’s meet there.”  This is the field of the curious mind filled with wonder and gratitude for what’s presented ‘here and now’.  This is a field that needs a lot of obedience to the cultivating process.  We’re continually fed news from the dualistic mind that forever focuses on ‘what’s wrong’.  The common discourse comes from the judgmental mind screaming what needs to be done, often deaf to any possibility for dialogue and discovery.  Our children are numbed to sleep with TV, cell phones, computer games and social network dribble that moves us further from awareness to our Oneness.  Yet, our great spiritual teachers say we’re here to ‘wake up’, not go to sleep.  In fact, ‘buddha’ means ‘to wake up’.  So back to the top, recognizing that the universe changes when you breath in a sense of wonder, a sense of Oneness.  This is why we’re here, to discover the power of the Divine within each and every one of us.

Can you imagine the power we have when facing our moment to moment experience from a sense of wonder?  Breathing in this moment, sense Oneness with the tree, the plate, the floor, the person in you presence, etc.  Now take it to the next level and breath in Oneness in the presence of your enemy.  This is the strength practiced by Mandela, Gandhi, Dr. King, Mother Theresa, Walesa and other spiritual Avatars who’ve shaped history in our evolution of consciousness.  A sense of Oneness can’t comprehend a calculation of ‘acceptable collateral damage’ in war.  It doesn’t understand the notion of killing for sport and pleasure.  A heart that’s removed the obstacles to Oneness meets All from a sense of reverence.  The deeper we cultivate our felt sense of interconnection the less harm we do.  At the end of the day the real question of success is asked from the position of support.  How have I supported others?  How have I held gratitude for their support of me?  How have I caused trouble from my dualistic mind?

The mind of Twoness is drawn by greed, fear and ignorance.  The mind of Oneness aims to generosity, compassion, love, courage, and the curious mind, the mind of wonder.

So today, how do I feed the mind of Awareness to Oneness?  How do I feed the mind to Twoness?  My peace comes in knowing the Universe expands and heals with each breath in of Oneness, of wonder.  Breathing in you, breathing out me, touching our Oneness outside notions of time and space.

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