On the Beautiful Oneness of It All

“I Am” is a place where only silence and emptiness exist - yet is if full of life. It is so vast - so distant but also so intimate - that a person, the manifestation and interactions of life, the energies of the entire universe are not even registering or leaving a trace. How do we understand the joy, the peace, the happiness, and the light in this discovery? We do when we accept that we do not have to control life, adjust it or know it all: we already are All That Is - effortlessly.

All That Is, is exactly everything as One - our highest Self. It is the entire play of life - the Life Force in its full creation and manifestation. Nothing can slow It down or affect It. Our Self - pure Beingness - is not impacted by or does not experience the individuality of things - big and small - nor does it influence universes and planets alike. The Self knows it all as Itself - as an indivisible whole. Our Self is the invisible within the visible - the unmoving within the moving - and the silence within the sound current of it all.

Upon discovering the beauty of Oneness, the function of focusing on (attention) or perceiving things (awareness) - feelings, thoughts, experiences objects etc. - and these things themselves dissolve into the merging with the Self. There is no separation - there is only God. Ramana Maharshi said: “The universe does not exist. Only God exists. God is the universe.” A “place” where people, experiences, and objects - where the awareness of these things - and where the background within which all these things exist are all One.

So how do we apply this discovery in our everyday lives? We surrender and accept life as it is. When we surrender to What Is, we are letting go of the control over the content of our experience. When we surrender, we are not rejecting all experiences - we accept All That Is as it is. We also surrender the one who wants to control and manipulate life. This is the end of suffering. Suffering is our own activity of resistance to All That Is. We need to take responsibility for our suffering - we only suffer because we are resisting or fearing life and because we allow the experience of suffering to take over what we truly are.

On the beauty of Oneness. When we realize the Self, we come to the realization that the play of light and darkness - and of good and evil - does not leave a trace and does not require our intervention. All is balanced exactly as it should be - as reflected in Taoism (Daoism) which provides guidance for one to find balance and harmony with existence. We discover that the beauty of our wisdom is to know that the light we shine and vibrate within is balancing the darkness that also exists within - without the need for corrective action and thus creating an endless cycle of karma. As such, Oneness truly is freedom.

Photo by Taj Joti Kaur: Porto Inglês, Ilha do Maio, Cabo Verde