Image by Gerd Altmann
Written and Narrated by Marie T. Russell
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When I am seeking inspiration or answers, I will sometimes let myself be guided to a book and, after taking a deep breath and focusing on what I'm searching for, open the book "randomly" to find a message for me or some inspiration for an article that I am writing..
As I did this, just now, I was led to the book Healing for the Age of Enlightenment by Stanley Burroughs. The page I opened to had this message:
"There is but one body and but one spirit. We are all an extension, or expression, of the Divine. We are all connected together with cords visible only through the spiritual sight. What affects one, affects the whole world and all its people. What we do to ourselves, we do to others. What we do to others, we do to ourselves."
This is why our words and thoughts are so important. What we emit into the world is picked up by others and it affects them as well. So if we go around spewing anger and judgment, that is what we are "feeding" others and their energy is affected. When we emit love, support, compassion, and understanding, this is what others receive and experience in our presence.
What We Can Do About It
Rather than thinking "negative thoughts" about someone who is a challenge in our life, we can instead choose to think of them in the way we'd like them to be... supportive, loving, joyful, etc. It's a bit like a "self-fulfilling" prophecy, or I suppose more appropriately, an "other-fulfilling" prophecy.
Just as children who are constantly told they are stupid, ugly, clumsy, etc. start to believe it, the person that you mentally and spiritually think of in a more positive way, will get the message that they can then accept into their being. Anytime you find yourself falling back on the "negative thoughts" about this person, just say Cancel, and return to thinking of the person in the way you'd like them to be -- loving, joyful, supportive -- which is their true self.
Since we are all connected, our thoughts, our positive energy, will "offer" that energy, that message, that reality to the other person. The more we envision them in a positive light, attributing them with positive, loving, supportive traits, the more they will be able to tap in to that energy. They of course have a choice, but I think most people would choose inner peace and joy if they thought it was an option for them.
The Body is Connected
This also applies to our body. We can also affect the well-being of our body by sending it positive energy and supportive thoughts. Our thoughts and our energy are connected to everything, including the cells in our body. I am reminded of that old children's rhyme and gospel song, Dem Bones, where it is said how all the bones are connected to each other. This is why when one bone is hurt, it affects the rest of the body. In the same way, when an organ in the body is unhealthy, the rest of the body is affected. And this is also true at the level of the cells.
All the cells of the body are connected and have an effect on each other. So what we think, believe, or say about or to our body makes a difference. Paying attention to how we talk to ourselves and to, and about, our body is essential in "feeding" ourselves the right programming in order to heal and to remain healthy and vibrant.
The Universe is Connected
The Universe never ceases to amaze me as it makes its own connections. The day after I wrote the above section in this article about Dem Bones, I received an excerpt from a new book entitled Being Nature and that article submission starts with this quote from Jack Kerouac:
"The neck bone is connected to the head bone, the headbone is connected to the angel bone, the angel bone’s connected to the god bone…."
I had to chuckle at that "synchronicity" of the Universe sending me a nod about the bone connection.
Another example of the synchronicity of connections or "good timing": the day after I had written Tuesday's Inspiration about our all being connected (which is the beginning of this article), I watched the movie Collateral Beauty. It has a great example of being connected. Howard (the main character) builds these intricate models out of blocks which he then sets to tumbling down like a row of dominos. The first block goes down and the whole setup, a roomful, follows one block after the other. An incredible example of things being connected. One small action triggering a monumental, and possibly life-changing, event.
Love Is In Everything
In the movie Collateral Beauty, Love says to Howard (played by Will Smith) that love is in everything.
"...I'm in all of it. I'm the darkness, I'm the light, I'm the sunshine and the storm. Yes you're right. I was there in her laugh. But I'm also here now in your pain. I'm the reason for everything. I'm the only "why".
Don't try and live without me Howard... Please don't."
It's a powerful scene in which we are reminded that love is not only in the wonderful connected moments, but also in the times when we feel disconnected, alone, sad, fearful, and in pain. Love is the underlying energy that connects us all... whether we know it or not, whether we feel it or not. It is everywhere, in everyone and everything.
Yet many of us are just skimming its surface. It takes courage to travel the ups and downs of love. It's not always smiles and giggles. It is anger, pain, sorrow. It is grief. Yet it is part of life's journey and it connects us all. We each have our challenges as well as our successes. We each have our journeys into hell and back. And through it all, Love is there to support us. Love for ourselves, love from others, love for life itself, even the belief in the lack of love. It is all part of our journey back to seeing and experiencing love in everything.
We Are All The Same
Another way in which we are all connected is that everyone shows us a reflection of an aspect of ourselves. Everyone mirrors some part of us. Sometimes the reflection is from a crazy mirror that may reflect something in an enlarged fashion, making it appear much worse than it really is. Yet the essence of the reflection is the same.
This is most difficult to accept when the reflection is not flattering. For example, years ago I was upset with my aunt because she had judgments about my way of life: I married outside of the Catholic church, I later divorced, I did not go to church... She had a judgmental attitude about me and my way of life.
Yet, some years later, I realized that just as she was judging me for my lifestyle, I was judging her for being judgmental. So, she was indeed a mirror for me. The only difference is that I thought I was right in my judgment, and that she was wrong in hers. And actually even there, we reflected each other since she obviously thought she was right in her judgment, and that I was wrong. But judgment it still was.
See what I mean about it not being something we might want to see or acknowledge? It may not shed a favorable light on us. Yet once I saw it, I was able to "catch" myself much more easily when I was being judgmental of others... If you can see it in others, it is being reflected from you. There are some common expressions that speak to that: "... the pot calling the kettle black." and "It takes one to know one."
When we find ourselves reacting strongly to someone else and their actions (or lack thereof), we can ask ourselves, "how is this behavior reflected in me?" "Is this attitude something that I also harbor at times?" While it may be hard to admit, it is also empowering. One cannot clear up a situation if one refuses to see that it exists. And of course, the mirror or reflection applies to "positive" traits as well. That person you admire is also a reflection of you. Everything we see is a reflection in some way...
We Are All One
In my continuing reflection on the connection and oneness of all things, the Universe sent another gem. An article submitted to InnerSelf this week (Gaia’s Own Journey: Unity in Diversity), starts with this line:
"One of our most venerable of wisdom traditions, the Chinese I Ching, tells that: ‘in the beginning was the one, the one became two, the two became three – and from the three, ten thousand things were born…’."
What a lovely picture of connection. We all are descendants of the one... one cell, one thing, or in the Christian tradition of one God. While we may be different and look different, we are all one. Just like your physical body has many different parts, they are all part of the whole body, part of the one. Your little finger is just as much a part of you as your mind, your heart, liver, kidney, lungs, etc.
In the same way, we ourselves are "cells" in the body of Life, of the Universe, of Good/God. We may be a cell in the little finger or a cell in the mind or the heart. Which part we play is not important. None of us is more important than the other. We are part and parcel, puzzle pieces if you like, of the Wholeness of it All. And our role is to love and help, however we can, all the other parts.
The Breath and Water of Life
Connection is essential, innate, and present everywhere. Yesterday, I received a review copy of the book "Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus". Doing the "close my eyes, get centered and open the book randomly" process, I opened to a page with this quote:
"...human consciousness has changed over the past 500 or so years. Our languages, likewise, have changed to reflect the increasing isolation of the self and its alienation from nature as well as from other human beings. Instead of finding a home in breathing that connects to other breathers, we are educated to believe that my breath is mine and not yours, not part of the planet's atmosphere."
On this planet we call home, we are connected in a very physical sense by water and air. These two forces of Nature are in constant circulation on and above Planet Earth. Sometimes they are peaceful, as in gentle rain and soft breezes, and at other times they are tumultuous, as in the case of torrential rains and hurricanes. Yet in either situation they can help create connection. Sitting meditatively by a gentle stream one feels the connection with the All. And, conversely, after disasters caused by these powerful forces of Nature, we see humanity coming together to help each other and increasing our sense of connection and neighborly love. (Read The Spirit of True Christian Living in Action for a wonderful example of this.)
We also are connected through our "inner water" -- blood. Blood is a commonality between all races, sexes, religions, ages, etc. Humans and mammals alike are nourished internally by this "water of life" Without this "water" our body would lose its connection to Life. The Christian tradition refers to the water of life as the Holy Spirit... which is the breath of life. So again, we come around to the two essentials of life: water and air, which connect us all.
The water you are drinking could have very well been in Cleopatra's bathwater many centuries ago. And the air you breathe comes from the breath taken in and released by your neighbor as well as the residents of Earth, four-legged and two-legged, centuries and millennia ago. Thus the air I breathe, and the water I drink, is not mine nor is it yours. It belongs to the All, to the planet's atmosphere. It connects to us all and through us all.
Both water and air are essential for life, just as connection is essential for life. Babies who do not get any human touch (connection) grow up with severe emotional problems. People who feel unloved (unconnected or disconnected) also develop emotional imbalances such as rage (separation from others and from love), claustrophobia (the world being separate and closing in), agoraphobia (fear of others -- things, people, and places who are seen as separate from self), etc. (The definitions in parentheses are my interpretations.)
It Is Time!!!
It is time for us to return to a sense of connection... first by accepting that we are all "the same" and that we not only share the same water and air but we also share the same concerns and needs -- both in our personal life and for the planet.
The more we can see and feel our connection to the All, which includes humans, animals and Nature, the more we will be in harmony with Life itself and find our path clearly defined to create a life of love and harmony for all, here on Planet Earth.
Related Book:
The Noon Club: Creating The Future in One Minute Every Day
by Will T. Wilkinson
The Noon Club is a free member alliance that focuses intentional power every day at noon to create an impact in human consciousness. Members set their smart phones for noon and pause in silence or to offer a brief declaration, transmitting love into the quantum world of mass consciousness.
Meditators lowered the crime rate in Washington DC in the 80's. What can we do in The Noon Club? Participation is simple. Just set your smart phone and pause at noon every day at noon to transmit. For updates on the program and more information, and to connect with other members, visit www.noonclub.org .
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About The Author
Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.
Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com
