Although every single person on the planet has a distinct, physical ‘look’ and a unique personal identity, at a deeper level, we are all connected to one other, to nature, and the entire universe.
Many first experience connection as children, when we are cared for, fed and nurtured by our parents. From an early age, we become aware of our family connection – endowing us with security, support and love.
In youth, adolescence and early adulthood, we typically make further connections, as we make new friends and acquaintances at school, college or at work. As time passes, we may connect in a new way, developing meaningful connections and loving partnerships, sharing our lives with another, and becoming a couple. Some couples go on to have children, creating further connections, as they then become parents themselves.
The possibility to connect and to make new connections continues, and at any time in your life, it’s possible to establish new connections be it through family, friends, leisure, volunteering, the gym, pub, clubs, groups or random meetings.
These days, social media plays a pivotal role, allowing people to learn about each other and to make immediate and new connections, but should we look deeper beyond the cyber world, we discover we are not so different after all.
Although there are times when you experience loneliness and separation, you are never completely isolated and disconnected. Disconnection is a state of mind and not a universal reality.
Connection is a spiritual instrument in that the more connected you are, the more you manifest your spiritual nature. You can either be lost in the play of the ego, or you can ‘connect’ with the flow of life, and if you connect with life, oneness is no longer an ideal, but the spontaneous reality of being. It simply is the way life is when you don’t interrupt.
With your mind at peace and resting in (or as) awareness, it is possible to experience oneness wherein no ‘other’ exists. When all distinction and separation fall away, and personal views, opinions, positions and identifies are put aside, human beings have the wonderful possibility to experience an absolute sense of connection and unity.
In this all-encompassing foundational state, we are not just at one with everything; we are the oneness of life with such aliveness that existence appears borderless, boundless and infinite. There is no ‘me’ arising, and no sense of any ‘other’, for existence in its entirety is the one, inseparable whole. The resulting impression is that of wholeness, of the one Infinite Being, the Self.
Remaining at this primary level of consciousness requires no thought or effort, for the mind is in neutral. As soon as the mind goes into gear and the thought of the separate entity or ‘I’ arises, the joy of this universal state melts away.
Universal awareness is available to everyone. Once this anonymous dimension of being is experienced, life changes forever, because the underlying joy and unity of life are undeniable and leave an indelible impression.
When you let go of personal beliefs and opinions and all concepts of who you are, what that remains is your fundamental presence or awareness. This is the same for every single human being, no matter who or what you are.
Enlightened awareness is not something you ‘reach’ as an individual – it is what you already are at the causal level of being. You don’t need to learn it; you just need to be it so it can shine.
When someone masters their mind and rests permanently in awareness, they are effectively ‘enlightened’. However, what no one tells you is that enlightened awareness is within us all, in equal measure. It doesn’t come and go, being here, now, always, and infinitely present.
Which really means it’s you who obstructs this ultimate sense of connection, and should you drop the superficial ‘me’ for long enough, flashes of this illuminating reality appear. People typically experience bliss, joy and freedom in the depths of meditation, or via sustained practices such as self-enquiry, for this is when they most commonly get a glimpse of their fundamental and universal nature.
When you realize the connection to enlightened awareness is the root of being for you and more than 8 billion other human beings, then perspective transforms. The ego shifts and consciousness alters. Your treatment of people and your interactions with all forms of life, become more gentle, accepting and compassionate, as you flow in harmony with the oneness of life.
Imagine a future world where the knowledge and experience of this unified reality is the norm, for then humankind would inevitably work together for the betterment of life and the wellbeing of our planet. We would see beyond superficial appearances, acting from the fundamental awareness of the one life. We would instinctively recognize social boundaries such as looks, gender, language, colour, race, social status, political persuasion, nationality, culture and so on, are layers of connection, and not absolute.
There is one essence connecting us all, which is ever-present throughout the universe. It is one and whole, permeating the entirety of existence. When you glimpse it, in the deepest and most vital connection possible, you and life are inseparable, and one.
You can experience all these layers of connection for yourself today, because your essential nature is already, and always, enlightened.
To find yourself, first lose yourself.
Article by More to Life Elder – Jonathan Harrison
Article published in More to Life – Edition 67
