Unity & Energy

It is said in the Vedic tradition that we come into this world with three misconceptions we must learn to rectify. The first is that we are separate, the second is that we are unworthy, and the third is that we are doers. For now I will focus solely on this first misconception.

The idea that we are separate is a tempting idea. From where our perception lies within ourselves, it appears that we are separate from those around us, that the table is separate from the chairs, that the world is made of parts, that our thoughts are contained within our minds. The truth is that this is just a perception that helps us to navigate in a material world. We are not truly separate from anything within the reality of creation. We are, in fact, united with all that is.

In days gone by, there was a belief that if you broke something down into its smallest parts you could then understand the whole. When the atom was discovered we thought we had found the answer to what everything was made of: tiny particles with electrons, neutrons, and protons. As we have entered the age of quantum physics, we have discovered that atoms are not the smallest particles and in fact, when we go as small as we can, we find that everything is made up of energy. Energy is continuous without separation and all the energy that makes up the particles that make up you are connected to all the energy of all the particles around you and beyond. This is truly a revolutionary idea and one that has yet to fully permeate our current paradigm.

If everything is energy, and everything is connected, then separation truly is an illusion. So what makes things appear physical? This is a matter of the vibrational density of the energy. The more dense the vibration, the more physical it seems, but seems again is the operative word. Because as you go smaller into any seemingly physical object, more and more space appears, and the seemingly physical components, such as atoms, become waves of energy as you go even smaller.

The interconnection between us and all that is can even be demonstrated in examining the elements that make up our form. All of the elements have been formed within stars, from hydrogen to oxygen to carbon to iron. In fact, all of the iron that exists within us, performing the vital work of oxygen transport throughout our bodies, came from the explosion of supernovas millions of years ago. This means that the fundamental forces and elements needed to create our lives were formed eons ago and our very existence is interrelated through time and space.

Not all energy vibrates into physical density. Much of the energy in existence remains etheric, meaning it does not manifest in a physical form. Examples of this are light, sound, and thought.

Yes, thoughts are energy too and they interrelate and interact with the physical environment around you. When you are in a positive state of mind, things around you seem to be positive as well and go smoothly, but if you are in a negative state of mind, such as feeling frustrated, what is around you is also filled with opportunities for frustration. At times, the response of our physical environment is instantaneous to our thoughts. And sometimes, our thoughts mold our environment over time. It is known that stress is related to disease and many disease states come from stress. This is an example of the physical energy of our bodies changing over time to meet the energetic qualities of our thoughts. I encourage you to go around for a week repeating the phrase “I love you” in your mind over and over. Say it to yourself in the mirror, say it to strangers on the street, say it to the graffiti on the walls, say it to the smell of trash in the air. If you repeat this powerful phrase often, it will change the vibrational quality of your thoughts and emotions and this will in turn begin to change the physical manifestations in your reality. You may find people treating you better, your luck improving, or your pain diminishing. Thoughts are very powerful because they attract similar energy. When there is enough mass to energy, it can shift from the etheric to the physical and thus your thoughts affect your physical reality.

Many of our diseases begin in the etheric realm of energy and become physical over time. Many of these same diseases can be alleviated when we change the etheric energy of our thoughts and feelings thus attracting higher vibrational energy.

As you begin to relate to your thoughts as energy and the world around you as an interrelated energy, you will begin to see coincidences appear in harmony with your vibrational state.

Several years ago, I began saying, “I love you” repeatedly in my mind. Over the course of two short weeks I noticed I felt better, I smiled more, and people began to treat me differently. They were kinder and more friendly towards me. Additionally, my performance reviews at work improved.

Even seemingly trivial coincidences began to happen more.One evening, I went to a karaoke bar with some friends. As I entered the bar, I caught a view of myself in the mirror and I thought passingly, “I wish I had put on some lipstick.” Moments later, I saw a tube of lipstick on the floor. I looked around, picked it up, whipped it off with a tissue, and tried it on. It was the perfect color to complement my look in the lighting of the bar. I recognized this as a divine coincidence of my thoughts coming into harmony with my reality. It may seem trivial, but that lipstick heightened my night. I felt more confident, more powerful, and most importantly, I felt blessed.

Since discovering the truth of unity, there have been several experiences in my life that have reaffirmed for me the connection between thoughts, feelings and the manifestation of reality.

But then this begins to beg the question, “If I have been having good thoughts and feeling good, then why do bad things happen?” My explanation for this is that the primary reason we are here on earth is to learn lessons in this physical realm that has time and space. Often, the lessons we need to learn must be learned through change and challenge. Our thoughts and feelings then serve as indicators of what lesson we need to learn to come back into harmony with our spiritual selves and purpose.

In my own life, some of my most challenging experiences, such as losing my mom at a young age, taught me the deepest lessons. It taught me about compassion, about strength and courage, about perseverance, and perhaps most importantly, about the continuation of life after death. But that is a lesson for another blog.

When we open ourselves to the truth of unity, it has broad implications for ourselves, society, and the nature of the divine. We no longer look at different groups of people as being other than ourselves. We recognize that the human struggle affects us all. When we help one person or group of people do better, we are helping the collective by helping part of the whole. The fallacy of racism no longer has a hold and prejudice begins to disappear. The lessons great spiritual teachers have taught on charity and compassion take on deeper meaning and the potential for a better world starts to emerge within the actions of the individual and the collective. It opens up the awareness that we are all manifestations of the Spirit. You are not apart from God. You are one with God. You are not apart from your fellow man. You are one with all of humanity. Circumstances are not happening to you, they are happening through you and in harmony with you. When we bring our own energy into harmony with the Great Spirit through love, peace and joy, the world around us begins to harmonize too.

I will close with a quote from a great teacher, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, from his Paris Talks:

Put all your beliefs into harmony with science; there can be no opposition, for truth is one. When religion, shorn of its superstitions, traditions, and unintelligent dogmas, shows its conformity with science, then will there be a great unifying, cleansing force in the world which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggles -- and then will mankind be united in the power of the Love of God.