Thursday, May 22, 2008

"Teach Oneness"?

I was surprised recently by a friend introducing me as a "Teacher of Oneness". Not wanting to get my ego involved, or probably it was just that my mind was too busy, I quickly changed the subject.
Seriously, though, looking back at it, I am grateful that I was introduced that way, for it has led me to inquire about how to teach oneness?

Teaching Oneness
Ron Alexander
It would be as if teaching a wave that it is part of the ocean,
a flower that it is part of the earth,
a bird that it is part of the sky,
or a fish that it is part of the water.
Being Oneness is The WayTo teach Oneness.

Inspire oneness (?), hopefully, would be about the best I could do, but only for the experience of oneness. The best a teacher could do would be to set up conditions to experience oneness. What "conditions" would that take?
Encourage an open mind, a "beginners mind" as the Buddhists call it. Encourage a sense of wonder, of freshness, of surprise and spontaneous joy.
Teach meditation - help guide one to a still mind, a silent place inside where all is new. Where there is the end of knowing and the start of realizing that there is no separation.
Encourage exploration, adventure Inside allowing Reality of our shared Spirit to be our guide.
Inspiring the grateful mind, the interdependence of us all - givers and receivers alike.
Encouraging the spontaneous spark of the joy of a shared heart with each other and/or nature, the ever-widening circles of mindfulness of presence of nowness of newness that make our world come alive.

A friend/teacher of mine, Don Johnson wrote:
"...I walked out onto a dock in the Gulf of Mexico. I ceased to exist. I experienced being a part of the sea breeze, the movement of the water and the fish, the light rays cast by the sun, the colors of the palms and tropical flowers. I had no sense of past or future. ...
I did not experience myself as the same as the water, the wind and the light, but as participating with them in the same system of movement. We were all dancing together.........."

I have had a similar experience on a sailboat, except it was at night..." the stars were sending rays......".
And I had another joining experience with a wise friend of mine at the gift shop at church. It was a depressed time for me, and the "oneness" I felt with her was very helpful in moving out of the "valley of the shadow".

Tonight our group will be an inquiry, meditation and dialogue group. Come dialogue and inquire about your experiences of oneness (or not) and hopefully the meditation will help us find that still Perfect Reality and realize that the great dance of life where the giver and receiver are one.

Yours in amazing wonder, Ron
Response from Sally who was the friend:

Hi Ron,

Well you are a teacher of Oneness.....because it is something you KNOW and want to share. At this moment, you are gathering together others who also believe in Oneness - each coming from our own perspective, seeing that small part the "elephant" in that old folk story. From my perspective, we are one with eyes on different parts so the more who acknowledge their connection - the more vision we have.

But you hit on something in your email..... the letting go of ego. Because differences only appear to be there because we tend to hold tightly to our beliefs which causes conflict. We tend to connect with "like-minded" people. And then there are people like me who have felt like aliens from the very beginning because few people saw things the way I did. After reading The Highly Sensitive Person I realize that society NEEDS the diversity, the warriors along with the peace makers, the pragmatic along with the dreamers.

I have felt Oneness with all of creation any number of times - and connected with a man to the extent that he can be (and is) across the country and he'll know when I'm troubled or in pain - and visa versa. It was hard for me to understand that you can have a "soul mate" who isn't a lover or partner - but it exists. Now I realize that is what I have when I make that "immediate" soul connection with people. They may be in my life for a moment or for years, but they bond with my soul.

Thanks for writing.....my son and I are dealing (again) with having only one car, but barring the unforeseen, I'll be there tonight. It's 7 or 7:30?

sally