The Oneness in All of Us
The moment we are placed on this earth, life has a way of creating our experience of this lifetime as being separate. In the most apparent way, I am Me and you are You. We are separated at birth from our mom. We learn over time that our likes and dislikes are different from others. We gravitate towards people we feel connected to and move away from the people we do not. We experience triumphs and failures, love and heartbreak all creating a feeling of separation from who we were before the moment everything changed. As if we were once there and now we are here. As we move forward moment by moment, experience by experience, we transform. We soften or we harden, we open up or we decide to hide away, we choose whether or not to let love in. Yet who is making these decisions for us? Not only do we feel separate living in this life, somehow behind the scene we can allow life to make us feel separate within ourselves. All the while a piece has been forgotten, quite possibly the one most important piece of all.
We came from a place, a space, an essence of Oneness one of wholeness.
It is said that thoughts give rise to feelings and emotions. And these feeling and emotions carry different vibrations or energy. For example the feeling of love resonates with a higher vibration compared to the vibration of doubt. And when looking at moments in our lives wouldn’t you agree that in the times that we have felt love we have also felt more connected, more expansive? And in the moments of doubt possibly fear this has taken us to a place of separation, a place of disconnection, a place on our own.
In Yoga we get to experience the practice of connecting our breath with our movements and our moments of stillness. This connects our mind to our body and us to the exact moment we are in. This Now.
Breath connects us to Now.
Love connects us and expands us.
Bringing us closer to oneness and wholeness once again.
Moment by moment,
Breath by breath,
Loving thought by loving thought.
I have a 17 year young Pug named Lily (I like to tell myself she is young and wise to make my heart feel better about her age). She has so many nicknames, one of my favorite being LoveBug.
Not sure when I called her this for the first time and also unsure of what I was thinking when I gave it to her however, I know how I feel when I say it. To me, it feels like I have been touched by a precious little angel, and in an instant simply by looking into her eyes or placing my hands on her I see, I feel, I experience complete love. In an instant I am completely connected to innocence, something so pure, something so expansive, something whole. It’s a feeling of Oneness. We understand each other without even having to speak. She, a compassionate witness in this lifetime sending me gentle reminders that it all simply comes back to Love.
Have you ever considered that we too can have a compassionate witness, a “LoveBug” within. It’s an awareness, sometimes a voice reminding us that all is well, even when in doubt. In the good moments maybe we experience it as more of a feeling. The sun is out, the birds are chirping and in an “everything about today went perfect!” kind of moment, it is easier to become aware of the compassion we do have and the sudden expansiveness and wholeness we can feel.
And in the moments when separation creeps in, the day did not go as planned, the unexpected happens, sometimes making it more difficult to remember. And a more intentional reminder to pause and notice what we are thinking as the thought will always lead us to a feeling and give ourselves a moment to listen for a whisper from within. As we widen the gap between our reactions to the thoughts it is possible to come back to the place, the space, our oneness, our wholeness and here is where our compassionate witness resides.
Our own personal Lovebug.
Reminding us that all is well, this too shall pass, what you feel you lack you never lost.
Whether it is from the eyes of your four legged LoveBug that reminds you or from your LoveBug within, consider taking a pause. Widen the gap just long enough in the good moments and in the moments you need it most, to sense the unconditional, gentle and compassionate Oneness in all of us.
Love,
Leah and Lily