The spiritual principle of Oneness states in effect that, at a fundamental level, literally everything in the Universe is connected to everything else. This is not merely some idealistic spiritual tenet; rather it has been an accepted scientific fact ever since Albert Einstein and other prominent physicists first established that the atom was not creation’s lowest common denominator. According to Deepak Chopra in his book “How to Know God”:
“The material world is full of familiar objects that we can see, feel, touch, taste and smell. As big objects become small, shrinking to the size of atoms, our senses fail us. Theoretically the shrinkage has to stop somewhere, because no atom is smaller than hydrogen, the first material particle to be born out of the Big Bang. But in fact an amazing transformation happens beyond the atom – everything solid disappears. Atoms are composed of vibrating energy packets that have no solidity at all, no mass or size, nothing for the senses to see or touch. The Latin word for packet or package is quantum, the word chosen to describe one unit of energy inside the atom, and as it turned out,a new level of reality.”
It is not my intent here to move into a comprehensive discussion of quantum physics as it relates to spirituality; that subject is thoroughly elaborated upon in the works of highly respected authors such as Deepak Chopra, Gary Zukav, and a number of others. Rather, my point in referencing this information, is to demonstrate that there is hard scientific evidence which unequivocally proves that all things in the Universe are composed of the same basic stuff, namely energy.
Essentially what this means is that at the quantum level, you and I are in effect no different than a rock, a tree, empty space, or for that matter anything else in the Universe. More importantly, this raw material of creation does not simply manifest as separate three-dimensional objects, but is, in reality, a field of energy that permeates every square inch of the Universe, and as such, connects everything. As a visual analogy, think of this basic raw material of the Universe as resembling the essence of the Terminator character that appeared in those very popular movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This pervasive energy field can manifest in countless numbers of ways, creating the illusion of separateness. Yet in actuality, all of its manifestations share the same basic nature, and are in fact linked. Now if that analogy leaves you feeling somewhat uncertain about the nature of this field, consider this additional one from Stuart Wilde in “Infinite Self”:
“Imagine a large beach ball that’s pumped full of air. Take a few Lego bricks and figures from your kid’s toy pile, and glue them on to the surface of the beach ball. Now, imagine that you could turn the ball inside out. The outside of the ball would be smooth, and all the Lego buildings and people would be stuck to the inside skin of the ball. A little Lego person living inside the beach ball would say, “I am over here, and the red Lego building is over there, so the building is external to me.” But in fact, everything is inside the ball — the building, the air, the Lego figures, with all their thoughts and feelings.”
This is a challenging concept for the human mind to comprehend, as obviously it is much easier to see the separation that exists between us and all other aspects of creation. Therefore, seeing things from the perspective of Oneness requires that we accept as true that which we cannot in actuality verify via our senses. This is a difficult task for most people, yet is worthwhile noting that we human beings have also learned to accept other notions that are not directly verifiable by our senses. For example, we cannot see the infrared signals that are emitted from our television remote controls, but we know that something must be flying through the air or the channels would not change.
Another relevant example is cellular phones, as we are now well aware, they enable us to have conversations with people all over the world, but once again we cannot see the actual connection that exists between the phones. The difference with Oneness is that although definitive scientific evidence exists to support it, people automatically tend to default to the perception that each of us is separate from everyone and everything else as well. Yet, when you are willing to make an effort to step aside from that viewpoint, at a minimum you will see some very obvious indications of the connection that exists between human beings. For example, according to Wayne Dyer in his book Manifest Your Destiny:
“Notice that everyone breathes the same air, walks on the same ground and thinks as an organism, just like you. You are, indeed, connected to all of these beings. It is not an accident that someone living in a distant country, with different outward physical characteristics and separate language, could die and donate his or her liver or kidney or cornea to you, and it would accommodate the life force flowing in you.”
As the preceding passage points out, the evidence of Oneness or ‘connectedness’ between humans is quite convincing. So why is it that the majority of people aren’t able to truly sense that connection? The answer is that all of us have been strongly conditioned to see separation instead. Just look around you, and you will see indications of it everywhere you turn, as we literally place labels on everyone that we encounter (e.g., white, black, American, Catholic, conservative, liberal, etc.) The truth about labels is that they really say nothing about the essence of the person to whom we apply them.
They are merely arbitrary descriptions that serve to keep us from seeing everyone as who they really are — individual “sparks of the Divine” that are, at the most fundamental level, no different than us. What is particularly paradoxical is that of all the labels we humans apply, it is perhaps the ‘religion’ label that serves to move people away from Oneness and toward separation more than any other. It really is astounding to me that the same religions that commonly use terms like the “brotherhood of man” and “children of God” are also quick to remind their members of the superiority of their own dogma.
It is also a historical fact that religious issues have been, and continue to be, at the foundation of both minor and major military conflicts all over the world. For that matter, it has even been estimated that more than one billion people have been killed in wars related to Christianity alone. When you consider the centuries-old religious conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, the Balkans, and many others, one literally has to be amazed at the irony of it all. All of this can make one appreciate this classic comment from Mahatma Ghandi all the more, “In heaven there is no religion, thank God.”
(The preceding article is an adapted excerpt from Spirituality Simplified, Copyright 2002 & 2014, by Jeff Maziarek.)
About the Author
Jeff Maziarek is an inspirational speaker and author. His first book, Spirituality Simplified is an easy-to-understand and entertaining work that provides an ideal starting point for anyone with a sincere desire to pursue a path of personal and/or spiritual growth. His second book, Codi’s Journey, is a memoir about his beloved Border Collie who passed away in 2005.
Spirituality Simplified is available on Amazon.com in both print and eBook formats. Codi’s Journey also can be purchased on Amazon.com in both print and eBook formats and on BarnesandNoble.com in eBook format . To subscribe to Jeff’s free daily inspirational emails called “PONDER on THIS,” please visit his Pondercentral website.