The Spiritual Life - Attunement with the non dualistic Oneness

Attunement to the non dualistic Oneness

In the description of the components of spiritual health we have discussed the first which was peace and joy, the second which was kindness, the third which was forgiveness, and in this article we are describing the fourth which is the attunement to the non dualistic Oneness.

The non dualistic Oneness is the oceanic existence from which we, as individuals, emerged when our spirit was incarnated in our bodies at conception or some would say at birth. We each are but drops of the ocean and we will merge with that Oneness when we shed our bodies at physical death. This means giving up the ego born from our sense of separation.

Some people have more of  a sense of the transcendent and enjoy more of what some call “cosmic consciousness.” We make jokes about the Buddhist monk who asked the hot dog vendor to “make me one with everything.” Why do some people laugh at this joke while others don’t get it?

There are skills involved in achieving and deepening this attunement. Nowadays, it is often referred to as “mindfulness.” Others encourage a practice of meditation. The more philosophically inclined follow the advice of Socrates who said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

The attunement with the non dualistic Oneness has nothing to do with thoughts, thinking, and cognitive processes. It has nothing to do with external perception and apprehension but rather with the internal letting go of all thoughts, feelings, desires, and intentions. The attunement is achieved with letting go of all external experience and focusing on our deep inner state of pure existence, our being not our doing.

The attunement with the non dualistic Oneness requires a refocusing of our faith from the ego and the things of the world to the spiritual which involves a recovered awareness of our natural inheritance which is Love. Attunement with the non dualistic Oneness is a letting go of all fears and an experience of peace and joy the first component of spiritual health.

Overview of the Grieving Process on Markham's Behavioral Health

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Markham's Behavioral Health entitled, "Overview of the grieving process." If you visit Markham's Behavioral Health to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Taxpayers pay for police malpractice allowing it to continue - Recognizing Systemic Racism

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Recognizing Systemic Racism entitled, "Taxpayers pay for police malpractice allowing it to continue." If you visit Recognizing Systemic Racism to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Does Media Collude With Law Enforcement to Glorify Police Violence? on Markham's Slow News

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Markham's Slow News entitled, "Does Media Collude With Law Enforcement To Glorify Police Violence." If you visit Markham's Slow News to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Time is horizontal. Eternity is vertical.

Osho teaches, 

"Time is that in which we live - it is horizontal. It is from A to B to C to D; it is in a line. Eternity is vertical. It is not from A to B and from B to C. It is from A to more A to still more A. It goes upward. The moment is rare when eternity penetrates time, because it happens only when meditation has reached ripening, maturity, when you have touched your innermost core." 

Osho, Maturity: The Responsibility Of Being Oneself, p. 85

We say, "It was like time stood still." "I lost track of time." "Time goes so fast." "Where did the time go."

In A Course In Miracles, the taste of eternity is called "The Holy Instant."

Psychologists call it "flow."

Osho calls it "meditation."

In the 60s we called it "cosmic consciousness."

Unfortunately, Unitarian Univeralism doesn't have a word for it although the transcendentalists allude to it with Emerson calling it the "oversoul."

In our modern scientific understanding, we call it a hologram which is similar to a mobius strip.

The Spiritual Life - Forgiveness

Topic thirty nine

Forgiveness

The first component of spiritual health is peace and joy, the second component is kindness, and the third component contributes to the first two which is forgiveness.

Forgiveness means different things to different people and its meanings change depending on context. There are band-aid apologies which are used for appeasement and submission, and there are genuine apologies expressing regret and remorse. When it comes to spiritual health, the meaning of forgiveness is a rising above, a turning the other cheek as Jesus suggested, and moving on not getting caught up in attempts to rectify injustice in a vengeful or self righteous way attempting to regain a sense of justice of reciprocity or even domination and superiority..

The rising above the hurt, the injustice, the abuse is a willingness to give up making other people and circumstances responsible for one’s own unhappiness. A person’s happiness or unhappiness is a choice one can make. Does the person want to see themselves and act like a victim or see themselves as a beloved child of God whose natural inheritance is happiness and abundant joy?

As Jesus was tortured and crucified He never played the victim except at the end when He exclaims, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?,” but then as He dies He says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” and “into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus in the end willingly gives up His ego, forgives,  and merges with the non dualistic Oneness from which He emerged when He was incarnated here on Earth.

Gary Renard, the teacher of A Course In Miracles, points out that we all have tens if not hundreds of what he calls “forgiveness opportunities” every day. How will I respond to this injustice  in this situation? Do I want to play the victim with self righteous indignation or rise above it and go about my business?

This type of forgiveness is not about ignoring or avoidance but rather about recognition, acknowledgement and a conscious decision whether to respond from the ego or from the Spirit. We always have this choice although we often don’t realize that we do. Awareness of the forgiveness opportunities gives us a choice. Spiritually healthy people usually choose to forgive.

Over the last few weeks or month what percentage of the time have you risen above injustice and not made it responsible for your unhappiness and allowed this sense of unhappiness to deprive you of a sense of well being? What could you do in the coming month to recognize forgiveness opportunities and choose to utilize them to rise above the temptation to play the victim?

Positive social change takes long term commitment and vision - Do UUs have it?

As a person said to me last week in a wistful tone in their voice, "For the most part I find Unitarian Univeralists to be a group of smug self satisfied liberal do gooders." We both laughed and I felt a bit guilty for being disloyal to a group I have covenanted with even though my commitment to the covenant is wavering.

Then I ran across this artile in 538 by Shom Mazumder entitled "What Protests Can (And Can't) do," published on June 8, 2020.

Political science, it turns out, actually has a lot to say about protests, even though it’s really hard to pinpoint what makes one protest effective and another not. Broadly speaking, though, there are four main ways the literature tries to evaluate a protest:

1. Did it raise awareness?
2. Did public opinion change?
3. Were there institutional changes as a result?
4. Were there electoral consequences, either intended or unintended?

For more click here.

For all the social justice concerns and activities that UUs get involved in, is there any evidence collected that any of it has any impact, any measurable outcomes? I think UUs get involved on #1 but the other three outcomes take skill, patience, and persistance and long term commitment often over several years or even a couple of decades. Who in Unitiarian Univeralism has a long range view and is willing to stay the course? Do UUs have an institution capable of such a long term commitment to positive social change?