Oneness Experiment Stories from "Be the Light, Be the One" Winners

I share my story not to win a t-shirt but to revel in the beauty of the oneness experiments and the power that lies within us all to be the light for others.

At my job there is an employee who one day would smile and say hi and the next grumble and bark at me. On the days he would sneer I always gave him the benefit of the doubt and thought, he must be having a rough day today. I would smile anyway trying to stay in my loving. He happened to be sending out daggers instead of hearts, when one day I noticed him avoiding me but giving great big hugs and greetings to others.  This opened my eyes!! He wasn't in a bad mood, nothing had happened to upset him, he was angry with me.  Hurt and befuddled I stopped saying hello and avoided him at all costs.  Until I started the oneness exercises.

I remember specifically the Heart of Oneness exercise.  Before work I thought of this man and knew I needed to open my heart to him. I repeated "knock and be open" over and over again on my drive in to work.  When I saw him I wanted to run up to him and ask him to forgive me for upsetting him. I dearly wanted to know what I had done to upset him and how I could fix it.  But I stayed quiet. "knock and be open," I repeated to myself.  Days went by and I desperately wanted to be brave enough to express my loving to him but I was afraid. Then came the Seeds of Oneness exercise and asked myself what seed did I want to plant for this planet and my answer was simple - love. "knock and be open" I repeated to myself at work that day, as I did every other day since that first exercise.  

I am kindergarten teacher and on this particular morning I was living in such oneness with all 23 souls.  I was in complete harmony and bliss.  Then, he passed me. And without thought, without any consideration, words exploded from my entire being... "GOOD MORNING" I shouted with the biggest, happiest smile!  My ego asked, Hey, what are you doing?  Where did that come from?  but I knew where it had come from.

He turned with a blank stare on his face, and then, He hugged me.  He thanked me. He said God sent you to me, he knew what I needed.

As tears of thankfulness stream down my face I know that the oneness experiments not only help to heal me but they are helping me heal others.  I am open and I can only do my best, I ask for nothing more than that.  Just an opportunity to expand in joy, love and bliss and to share and inspire this within others.

I am so very grateful for the Proof and the Oneness Experiments, to James and to Anakha. Words cannot express my gratitude.  I have shared this story with my family and they are anxious to start the next 40 days with the rest of the world.  I know there is power behind the collective energy we create each day. 

Kasey King 

***

I did a shamanic journey just yesterday that was amazing.    I was all of nature at once.  I was an eagle soaring. I experienced what it was like to land and take off as an eagle.   I felt as though I was the forest, the ground, the trees, the deer running through the forest all at the same time, seeing the perspective of each as well.  I could see the trees rushing past me as I was the deer running and felt the ground beneath me. As the ground I could sense the deer and trees. I felt solid and felt my roots deep in the ground as the tree and sensed the deer rush past me.

 I sensed I was moving around as a monkey, feeling my long arms and the movement of the monkey.   I was the moon and also the stars.

 I sensed myself being in the body of a cougar, and being the mountains and the plains.   A waterfall, a snake wrapped around the tree.  It ended with feeling I was the ocean.   My body/energy felt fluid, I could feel and hear my waves crashing onto the shore.

 It was the most beautiful and wondrous feeling to sense the Oneness; to sense my energy and even my physical body so large and all-encompassing.   To experience the movement of the animals and see from their eyes..  To feel the movement of the waves as the ocean.  I struggle to find words that can adequately convey the feeling of it. 

 Thank you for allowing me to share!
Blessings,
Lisa Dieken

***

My Journey To Oneness

My journey to Oneness likely began years ago, though I was not completely awake then. 

In October, a friend showed me a book, The Proof, by James Twyman and Anakha Coman, and told me of the experiment in which she had become a part, to join with others on a journey to connect to the Universal intelligence and directly impact outcomes for our world.  About this time, I had been listening to David Sereda and Gregg Braden, two men who eloquently connect our individual spirits to the Universal spirit as described through quantum mechanics.  I had also been led to read Bruce Lipton’s Biology of Belief and given a list of similar books, including Eckhart Tolle’s, A New Earth, and Uell S. Andersen’s, Three Magic Words, among others.

As someone who has always been very connected to the earth and compelled to work for environmental protection and health, I was excited to learn that the Oneness experiment would continue in the New Year.  Perhaps I could help bring a positive outcome to the earth during a time when nothing else seemed to make a difference.

Then in November, I attended a health and nutrition conference in Chicago and felt the energy of a thousand like-minded people surrounding me.  I felt like I’d come home, to my people.  It was an overwhelmingly empowering feeling. And I signed up for my first energy healing.  It was an action that would change my life, I believe. 

After the healing, and without too much thought to it’s effect on me, I began to notice amazing synchronicities. I felt like a kid again, spontaneous, free, joyful. Conversations flowed easily and instant connections were made. I did not want to leave the conference when it ended two days later.

Upon returning home, I awoke to my own awareness, and to something I had known all along, but had been suppressing. An eye-opening event showed me that I had been denying my authentic myself in an important relationship.  A light had been turned on and my mind was suddenly open and clear, like I’d had a good brain massage. And with this awakening, I realized that I could not go back to my previous perceptions.  I had transformed almost instantly.

That night I had what can be described as a Kundalini awakening. Kundalini (spiritual) energy is said to active the chakras and produces the pure-energy etheric brain, shifting brain physiology.

As I slept, I awoke to intense waves of energy flowing through the core of my body, from my heart through my solar plexus to my root chakra.  An overpowering feeling of love, near ecstasy, so sweet - like chocolate syrup over butter pecan ice cream.  It seemed to take hold of my entire core in warmth and burst to overflowing.  There is a feeling of being lifted from the heart, as one might experience on a roller coaster just before the descent from the highest point. I felt an abundance of love.  I was an abundance of love! 

From my readings and understanding of energies, I knew these energy surges or "high," is sometimes described as a “quickening,” sometimes described as Chakti, or Sumati. Whatever the name, it comes directly from God; the Universe.  These experiences began to come to me every night, waking me up.  The feeling of intense love lasted for two to three hours before I was able to fall back to sleep, and awaken fully refreshed.  I’d learned from others that this could extend for twenty-one nights or more and that I was raising my vibrational frequency to a new level.

As I began meditating regularly and focusing on the breath, I noticed a balancing of the energy to a more sustained level of over the entire day. I began to feel a stronger awareness and insight. Throughout the day I felt peace, space, calm.

I ordered the book, The Proof, and began the experiment, focusing on the daily intentions, listening to the podcasts, feeling my connection grow, feeling gratitude for my growing awareness, and gaining knowledge and understanding of the significance of my own true self and the meaning of Presence. 

Things happen for a reason. I believe the energy healing I experienced provided an opening for my consciousness to transform and connect to Oneness. Only in the last few months have I been aware that the people in my life have been instrumental in helping me awaken.  Even the readings have given me important messages of why this has happened to me at this time.

Eckhart Tolle describes a spiritual awakening as happening when it is meant to happen, for the greater whole and its purpose. Tolle talks about the “disruption of outer purpose” and describes the dark side of connection as necessary to bring about a deeper awareness, to finding one’s inner purpose and the arising of a deeper outer purpose that is aligned with the inner. “What is lost on the level of form is gained on the level of essence,” Tolle writes.

Similarly, Twyman and Coman describe the “Shadow of Oneness” where our dark and constricted places are brought to the surface and release a gift of Oneness as they are healed and transformed. As the pain is revealed and surrendered, there is more room for love to infuse itself.

I find that as I read The Proof with others, and meditate daily, I feel a calm silence about me.  I feel my connection strengthen. I see the signs of my impact on others visibly and daily.  I have no doubts about the power of being Present and my place in the Universe, connected to everyone and everything. I am aware that I draw people into my life who help me and who I help. I am transforming as the earth transforms.

I also know this connection to the Universal energy is a gift that comes with responsibility.

I am empowered and look forward to a future of our conscious making. The energy that flows through me and everyone else is a gift of awareness, intuition, and unconditional love, and with these gifts, we can affect each other and the earth upon which we live, in profound ways.

As waves of love flow through me, I send them out for the earth’s greater good and healing. I send love to those in need, and to my loved ones. I envision and feel peace, love, compassion, and strength.  

I am connected. 

Rosanne Lindsay

***

MY ONENESS EXPERIMENT EXPERIENCE

As a single mother of 4 teen-agers, I sometimes find myself  feeling a sense of aloneness. Therefore; in December, 2009, I made a commitment to do two things in the New Year.  One was to participate in the ‘oneness experiment’.  The other was to join the Global Volunteer Network to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro; in Africa, as a fundraiser for African orphanages.  I had hoped that I would be able to juggle the reading of my 2-3 page daily oneness lessons with hiking a mountain.  It did prove difficult when I got altitude sickness and was plagued with pounding headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness and sleeplessness.  Each night, I would lay in my tent; wearing my headlamp, trying to turn the pages with my mittens on.  It was sometimes hard to focus; but, I always felt a sense of hope after reading my daily lesson.  I felt a oneness with the beauty of the mountain, my new hiking friends (from countries around the world); as well as my African guides.  The sense of belonging that I felt carried me to the top of the mountain, back down; and, into the arms of African orphans.  I felt a kinship to every baby and child that I held.  I am unsure if is my oneness experience or my African experience; or, a combination of the two; but, I am forever changed.  I do not feel alone.  I am not alone.  I have traveled to another continent; and, have experienced a oneness with the people and the place.  I now know that we truly are connected.  We are one!  I love you all!  I am!

Lori Taylor

***

Early in the experiment, by day 7 I had become very busy and missed reading day 7 and 8. On day 9 I caught up with it and realized that I had practiced 7 and 8 unknowingly on their respective days. I found that to be very interesting. Since then I have had to, on occasion, read that day’s practice at the end of my day and I always find something that pertained to that day relating to the practice...hmmm...

I'm thinking there has to be some kind of powerful connection for that to be happening.

Patricia Vrana

Oneness Experiment Stories from "Be the Light, Be the One" Winners

I share my story not to win a t-shirt but to revel in the beauty of the oneness experiments and the power that lies within us all to be the light for others.

At my job there is an employee who one day would smile and say hi and the next grumble and bark at me. On the days he would sneer I always gave him the benefit of the doubt and thought, he must be having a rough day today. I would smile anyway trying to stay in my loving. He happened to be sending out daggers instead of hearts, when one day I noticed him avoiding me but giving great big hugs and greetings to others.  This opened my eyes!! He wasn't in a bad mood, nothing had happened to upset him, he was angry with me.  Hurt and befuddled I stopped saying hello and avoided him at all costs.  Until I started the oneness exercises.

I remember specifically the Heart of Oneness exercise.  Before work I thought of this man and knew I needed to open my heart to him. I repeated "knock and be open" over and over again on my drive in to work.  When I saw him I wanted to run up to him and ask him to forgive me for upsetting him. I dearly wanted to know what I had done to upset him and how I could fix it.  But I stayed quiet. "knock and be open," I repeated to myself.  Days went by and I desperately wanted to be brave enough to express my loving to him but I was afraid. Then came the Seeds of Oneness exercise and asked myself what seed did I want to plant for this planet and my answer was simple - love. "knock and be open" I repeated to myself at work that day, as I did every other day since that first exercise.  

I am kindergarten teacher and on this particular morning I was living in such oneness with all 23 souls.  I was in complete harmony and bliss.  Then, he passed me. And without thought, without any consideration, words exploded from my entire being... "GOOD MORNING" I shouted with the biggest, happiest smile!  My ego asked, Hey, what are you doing?  Where did that come from?  but I knew where it had come from.

He turned with a blank stare on his face, and then, He hugged me.  He thanked me. He said God sent you to me, he knew what I needed.

As tears of thankfulness stream down my face I know that the oneness experiments not only help to heal me but they are helping me heal others.  I am open and I can only do my best, I ask for nothing more than that.  Just an opportunity to expand in joy, love and bliss and to share and inspire this within others.

I am so very grateful for the Proof and the Oneness Experiments, to James and to Anakha. Words cannot express my gratitude.  I have shared this story with my family and they are anxious to start the next 40 days with the rest of the world.  I know there is power behind the collective energy we create each day. 

Kasey King 

***

I did a shamanic journey just yesterday that was amazing.    I was all of nature at once.  I was an eagle soaring. I experienced what it was like to land and take off as an eagle.   I felt as though I was the forest, the ground, the trees, the deer running through the forest all at the same time, seeing the perspective of each as well.  I could see the trees rushing past me as I was the deer running and felt the ground beneath me. As the ground I could sense the deer and trees. I felt solid and felt my roots deep in the ground as the tree and sensed the deer rush past me.

 I sensed I was moving around as a monkey, feeling my long arms and the movement of the monkey.   I was the moon and also the stars.

 I sensed myself being in the body of a cougar, and being the mountains and the plains.   A waterfall, a snake wrapped around the tree.  It ended with feeling I was the ocean.   My body/energy felt fluid, I could feel and hear my waves crashing onto the shore.

 It was the most beautiful and wondrous feeling to sense the Oneness; to sense my energy and even my physical body so large and all-encompassing.   To experience the movement of the animals and see from their eyes..  To feel the movement of the waves as the ocean.  I struggle to find words that can adequately convey the feeling of it. 

 Thank you for allowing me to share!
Blessings,
Lisa Dieken

***

My Journey To Oneness

My journey to Oneness likely began years ago, though I was not completely awake then. 

In October, a friend showed me a book, The Proof, by James Twyman and Anakha Coman, and told me of the experiment in which she had become a part, to join with others on a journey to connect to the Universal intelligence and directly impact outcomes for our world.  About this time, I had been listening to David Sereda and Gregg Braden, two men who eloquently connect our individual spirits to the Universal spirit as described through quantum mechanics.  I had also been led to read Bruce Lipton’s Biology of Belief and given a list of similar books, including Eckhart Tolle’s, A New Earth, and Uell S. Andersen’s, Three Magic Words, among others.

As someone who has always been very connected to the earth and compelled to work for environmental protection and health, I was excited to learn that the Oneness experiment would continue in the New Year.  Perhaps I could help bring a positive outcome to the earth during a time when nothing else seemed to make a difference.

Then in November, I attended a health and nutrition conference in Chicago and felt the energy of a thousand like-minded people surrounding me.  I felt like I’d come home, to my people.  It was an overwhelmingly empowering feeling. And I signed up for my first energy healing.  It was an action that would change my life, I believe. 

After the healing, and without too much thought to it’s effect on me, I began to notice amazing synchronicities. I felt like a kid again, spontaneous, free, joyful. Conversations flowed easily and instant connections were made. I did not want to leave the conference when it ended two days later.

Upon returning home, I awoke to my own awareness, and to something I had known all along, but had been suppressing. An eye-opening event showed me that I had been denying my authentic myself in an important relationship.  A light had been turned on and my mind was suddenly open and clear, like I’d had a good brain massage. And with this awakening, I realized that I could not go back to my previous perceptions.  I had transformed almost instantly.

That night I had what can be described as a Kundalini awakening. Kundalini (spiritual) energy is said to active the chakras and produces the pure-energy etheric brain, shifting brain physiology.

As I slept, I awoke to intense waves of energy flowing through the core of my body, from my heart through my solar plexus to my root chakra.  An overpowering feeling of love, near ecstasy, so sweet - like chocolate syrup over butter pecan ice cream.  It seemed to take hold of my entire core in warmth and burst to overflowing.  There is a feeling of being lifted from the heart, as one might experience on a roller coaster just before the descent from the highest point. I felt an abundance of love.  I was an abundance of love! 

From my readings and understanding of energies, I knew these energy surges or "high," is sometimes described as a “quickening,” sometimes described as Chakti, or Sumati. Whatever the name, it comes directly from God; the Universe.  These experiences began to come to me every night, waking me up.  The feeling of intense love lasted for two to three hours before I was able to fall back to sleep, and awaken fully refreshed.  I’d learned from others that this could extend for twenty-one nights or more and that I was raising my vibrational frequency to a new level.

As I began meditating regularly and focusing on the breath, I noticed a balancing of the energy to a more sustained level of over the entire day. I began to feel a stronger awareness and insight. Throughout the day I felt peace, space, calm.

I ordered the book, The Proof, and began the experiment, focusing on the daily intentions, listening to the podcasts, feeling my connection grow, feeling gratitude for my growing awareness, and gaining knowledge and understanding of the significance of my own true self and the meaning of Presence. 

Things happen for a reason. I believe the energy healing I experienced provided an opening for my consciousness to transform and connect to Oneness. Only in the last few months have I been aware that the people in my life have been instrumental in helping me awaken.  Even the readings have given me important messages of why this has happened to me at this time.

Eckhart Tolle describes a spiritual awakening as happening when it is meant to happen, for the greater whole and its purpose. Tolle talks about the “disruption of outer purpose” and describes the dark side of connection as necessary to bring about a deeper awareness, to finding one’s inner purpose and the arising of a deeper outer purpose that is aligned with the inner. “What is lost on the level of form is gained on the level of essence,” Tolle writes.

Similarly, Twyman and Coman describe the “Shadow of Oneness” where our dark and constricted places are brought to the surface and release a gift of Oneness as they are healed and transformed. As the pain is revealed and surrendered, there is more room for love to infuse itself.

I find that as I read The Proof with others, and meditate daily, I feel a calm silence about me.  I feel my connection strengthen. I see the signs of my impact on others visibly and daily.  I have no doubts about the power of being Present and my place in the Universe, connected to everyone and everything. I am aware that I draw people into my life who help me and who I help. I am transforming as the earth transforms.

I also know this connection to the Universal energy is a gift that comes with responsibility.

I am empowered and look forward to a future of our conscious making. The energy that flows through me and everyone else is a gift of awareness, intuition, and unconditional love, and with these gifts, we can affect each other and the earth upon which we live, in profound ways.

As waves of love flow through me, I send them out for the earth’s greater good and healing. I send love to those in need, and to my loved ones. I envision and feel peace, love, compassion, and strength.  

I am connected. 

Rosanne Lindsay

***

MY ONENESS EXPERIMENT EXPERIENCE

As a single mother of 4 teen-agers, I sometimes find myself  feeling a sense of aloneness. Therefore; in December, 2009, I made a commitment to do two things in the New Year.  One was to participate in the ‘oneness experiment’.  The other was to join the Global Volunteer Network to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro; in Africa, as a fundraiser for African orphanages.  I had hoped that I would be able to juggle the reading of my 2-3 page daily oneness lessons with hiking a mountain.  It did prove difficult when I got altitude sickness and was plagued with pounding headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness and sleeplessness.  Each night, I would lay in my tent; wearing my headlamp, trying to turn the pages with my mittens on.  It was sometimes hard to focus; but, I always felt a sense of hope after reading my daily lesson.  I felt a oneness with the beauty of the mountain, my new hiking friends (from countries around the world); as well as my African guides.  The sense of belonging that I felt carried me to the top of the mountain, back down; and, into the arms of African orphans.  I felt a kinship to every baby and child that I held.  I am unsure if is my oneness experience or my African experience; or, a combination of the two; but, I am forever changed.  I do not feel alone.  I am not alone.  I have traveled to another continent; and, have experienced a oneness with the people and the place.  I now know that we truly are connected.  We are one!  I love you all!  I am!

Lori Taylor

***

Early in the experiment, by day 7 I had become very busy and missed reading day 7 and 8. On day 9 I caught up with it and realized that I had practiced 7 and 8 unknowingly on their respective days. I found that to be very interesting. Since then I have had to, on occasion, read that day’s practice at the end of my day and I always find something that pertained to that day relating to the practice...hmmm...

I'm thinking there has to be some kind of powerful connection for that to be happening.

Patricia Vrana

Holiday Gift: The Blessing of Oneness

My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from
God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
~ Yeshua

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware,
joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.”
~ Henry Miller

"I could only believe in a God who could dance…
And now a God dances through me."
~ Friedrich Nietszche

Exercise

In the blessing of Oneness we become available to the immediacy and potency of Divine Grace that is seeking to flow to and through us in each moment. We become present to the atmosphere of blessing that surrounds, enfolds and uplifts us. We embrace our wholeness – our imperfections and failures as well as our successes and talents as equal blessings from the Divine – each containing a hidden blessing of Oneness.

For today, allow your heart to flower in Oneness and become an active blessing for yourself and for the world. Throughout the day whisper the mantra: “just to be is a blessing, just to live is holy” – and fully embody the truth that your essential nature is a beautiful and nourishing blessing.

Everywhere you go and with everyone you meet, perceive and receive the blessing – intending from the deepest chamber of your heart, abundant good for others and for the Universe. Acknowledge the omnipresent and omnipotent, universal beauty hidden from the material eyes revealed by the Gaze of Oneness.

The Blessing of Oneness is a bridge between Heaven and Earth. Call forth the vision of goodness and illuminate the world with your unique Blessing of Oneness today. Be awed and amazed by the miracles created when you know for certain that everything and everyone is holy now.

Affirmation

I share the blessing of Oneness – creating an atmosphere of blessing and conferring happiness, well-being and joy to every being I meet.

Practice 2 -- The Breath of Oneness

Practice 2 ~ The Breath of Oneness

“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.”

— Morihei Ueshiba

“Ancient lovers believed a kiss would literally unite their Souls,
because the spirit was said to be carried in one’s breath.”

— Eve Glicksman

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness,
which unites your body to your thoughts.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

***

Exercise

Begin this practice by becoming aware of your breath, expanding it throughout your entire body. Allow your breathing to organically circulate, connecting cells and organs, blood and bones. Feel the beauty and elegance of your body’s intricate design. Through each inhale and exhale, allow yourself to be filled by the Spirit and filled with Oneness . . . then permit yourself to become empty, in Spirit and in Oneness.

The Hebrew word for breath is ruach, but it also signifies spirit and wind. It is your breath that connects you with Spirit and your Soul. It sustains your Soul. Now, with your breath, animate and give expression to your Soul, knowing that breath and Soul are from one origin. Allow yourself to be filled with the breath of Oneness, which is love, joy, peace, and unity. Exhale separation; inhale Oneness. Exhale fear and anxiety; inhale God’s loving presence and power.

Imagine that you’re breathing with every living being and organism on the planet and in the cosmos. Breathe with the trees and with the ocean. Breathe with the children in Africa . Breathe with the monks in Tibet . Breathe with the saints and mystics from the past: Jesus, Buddha, Krishna , Moses, and Muhammad. Breathe with your friends, family, and community. Breathe with those you consider “different.” Breathe with the planets and stars. Breathe with all of creation and know the truth of “I AM One. We are One.” Come alive with the breath of Oneness! Dedicate your breathing as a prayer for all sentient beings. Allow a single word or phrase to arise on your lips, and send it out to the world through the breath of Oneness. In this practice, your breathing becomes a prayer and a profound act of sacred activism.

Practice the breath of Oneness for at least five minutes at the beginning and end of your day and your Soul will settle into a heavenly peace. Return to it often throughout the day in order to practice the presence of God wherever you are and in whatever you’re doing.

Affirmations

I AM breathing Life, and Life is breathing me.

I AM forever connected to my Soul in the Spirit of Life. I AM, I AM, I AM.

*** ***
James: Following one’s breath is one of the primary focuses of almost any meditation practice. It’s also a wonderful way to understand Oneness. We breathe in and out, and although these are separate actions, we need to do both to survive. If our breath went in one direction only, we’d die. Yet they are really the same. If we follow the breath and use it as our focus throughout the day, it can help us stay in a state of active relaxation; thus, we can sense Oneness to a greater degree.

Anakha: The breath of Oneness connects us in all directions. It connects us in the present moment to ourselves, to those who have come before us, to those who are here with us now, and even to those who will come after us. It’s a beautiful process: connecting internally and vertically by breathing in the Spirit of God; and also experiencing a horizontal, external link to each other through our breath. We come together through the simple awareness that we’re all actually breathing in life together.

For all the differences we might experience on the planet today, there are basic experiences we share. Everyone, in this very moment, is breathing in life. That’s really beautiful when I think about that . . . about really connecting in that sameness, in that Oneness, to my brothers and sisters around the world.

James: I like your explanation of “breathing in life together.” When you think about it, every time we breathe we’re taking in at least a million atoms that were also breathed in by Jesus, the Buddha, Gandhi, and every other person who has ever lived. Every single breath connects us with every other person and every other being who has ever lived on this planet. So each breath we take literally links us to a state of Oneness, not just in theory, but in actual physical practice. So we can use our breath throughout the normal course of our day to remember Oneness . . . just by being aware as we breathe, acknowledging our connection with every person who lives now or has ever lived.

Anakha: That’s beautiful. If I’m consciously breathing with and even for different people or places around the planet—I’m thinking of Israel, for example—then through this awareness, through my love-filled breath, I can begin circulating my compassion to Israel or to any of the areas on the planet that are experiencing separation, conflict, or war.

What if I’m able to circulate love just through my conscious breathing? You’ll notice, when you start to breathe with another, that you can actually change and regulate the pace and depth of the other person’s breathing. As I was practicing this morning, I started to become aware of different places on the planet. I could actually feel my heart soften as I experienced genuine compassion being born out of Oneness through conscious contact with my very own breath.

James: So the breath of Oneness is a tangible way we can begin the softening of our own hearts in order to feel this state of Oneness that’s all around us . . . something we can apply to the most ordinary moments of our lives.

Practice 1: The Rhythm of Oneness

Practice 1 ~ The Rhythm of Oneness

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance and order
and rhythm and harmony.”

— Thomas Merton

“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

“Even in the middle of a hurricane, the bottom of the sea is calm. As the storm rages and the winds howl, the deep waters sway in gentle rhythm, a light movement of fish and plant life. Below there is no storm.”

— Wayne Muller

Exercise

Returning to your natural rhythm and moving with the pace of the universal heartbeat restores you to Oneness. Slowing down connects you with the rhythm of Life, with your essential self, and with other people. Holding yourself in this way brings you into the very heart of Oneness.

There’s a close connection between the rhythm of Oneness and the rhythm of your footsteps, your breathing, and your mind. Today, practice finding a pace that connects you with your breath, heart, and mind . . . truly connecting with your natural rhythm and flow. Notice when you feel your movements becoming forced and harried. Within that gentle awareness, take a moment to pause and return to your center. Breathe and rest for a moment in the stillness. Repeat the word ahimsa (meaning nonviolent actions) as a mantra throughout your day as you continue to return again and again to the rhythm of Oneness.

Imagine this practice as a moving meditation, like tai chi, or as a flowing dance, such as ballet. Allow one action to create and flow effortlessly into the next. Every breath, step, and thought is connected. As you engage in this practice, the frenetic pace of your thoughts will become slower and calm down; and your breathing will become fuller and more relaxed. You’ll experience the beauty, vitality, and energy of life. You’ll feel connected to your own deep personal integrity and to the integrity of life that surrounds you. In this place, you’re moving within ahimsa—expressing compassion to yourself and others—and you’re in union with all things. Paradoxically, when you slow your pace to your natural rhythm, your movements become more graceful, powerful, and focused—thus, more is accomplished, created, and received with less effort and energy.

For today, experiment with pace, rhythm, and movement. Discover the Rhythm of Oneness for yourself and share it with others.

Affirmation

I AM moving with the rhythm of my heart, in harmony with the purpose of my Soul, vibrating with all of creation.

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Dialogue Between James Twyman and Anakha Coman

James: There is a natural rhythm to life that gives us a tangible experience of Oneness. We felt it when we were born and when we were young, but as we grew, we realized that the evidence around us painted a very different picture. This evidence led us to believe that we’re in competition with every person and situation we encounter. This is how the ego was born, and we nurtured it because we thought we needed its protection. But in reality we were simply out of rhythm, and Oneness felt like a distant dream. Now that we realize this, we can enter back into the stream and sense that natural rhythm again.

So, Anakha, earlier you were speaking about the Oneness we felt when we were born and when we were small . . . and that we had to actually learn separation. I’d like us to talk about that a bit more. This was a natural condition—something we needed while we were young, wasn’t it?

Anakha: Yes. When we watch children, we see that they are certainly in, and are accepting of, their own rhythm. They’re deeply in touch with their basic needs, whether it’s for food, attention, comfort or rest. They’re also wide open to the flow of their emotions. One minute they may be sad, the next minute mad, and the next, joyfully laughing and playing. Children allow themselves to move at their natural rhythm and pace. They accept what arrives from moment to moment and then allow it to spontaneously flow into something else.

It’s quite a beautiful experience to observe children in that place of Oneness. Yet what happens when we’re young is that we start to interact with the world, our parents, and our primary caregivers; and in that process, our experiences tell us that we’re less than whole . . . that something is wrong with us, we’re not enough, or we’re not doing “it” right. And from those events a core belief of fear is created. We start mistrusting our inner rhythm, our essence, our natural state, our emotions, our truth . . . and we begin trying to fit into something that will guarantee our safety, security, acceptance and well-being.

The journey into Oneness includes identifying and dissolving those limiting beliefs that were created early on. Most often they aren’t even in our conscious awareness. They live just below our awareness in the subconscious; and they have a powerful impact on how we show up in the world, and how we act and relate to others. When we begin slowing our rhythm and discovering our natural pace—our automatic way of moving, speaking, and breathing—we reconnect to the state of Oneness.

James: One of the things I’m feeling right now is the importance of not judging these natural rhythms. We must know that they’re natural and vital to the evolution of our Souls. Allow the state of remembering and forgetting. We came here to forget who we are for a moment so that in remembering Oneness we may appreciate it more deeply.

I think this is really the journey of the Soul. So we don’t want to look at the way that we’ve lived—our ego existence—as wrong or bad because that actually makes it difficult to release or transform it. I think we have to accept and love ourselves exactly as we are. At that point, we’re ready to remember, ready to step out of that state of forgetfulness and think back to why we were born, why we’re here. And then we can activate that knowledge in our lives and in the world.

Anakha: Beautiful . . . yes! It’s a process. The rhythm of Oneness will bring us back into love and tenderness for ourselves and one another. And yes, there’s already enough pain surrounding how we’ve lived within the illusion of separation—we certainly don’t need to add insult to injury. Compassion is absolutely necessary as we allow those beliefs that have manifested as separation in our lives to actually begin to heal and dissolve.

Oneness and Defying Gravity

Incredible it is how many layers there are to this oneness work. So Anakah seeds the beginning of her Oneness work inside Carolyn Myss' work, and now after reading Defy Gravity I see Carolyn's work and our oneness work equally integral to the other's entelechy, all part of a greater whole.

Carolyn describes how we need to work through the potentially destructive shadow passions of our bodyheartmindsprit not by overthinking our problems but by opening ourselves to the graces of our bodyheartmindsprit.

While reading Genesis 22:8 this morning from the Biblcal portion discussing Noah and the Flood, it became clear to me how aligning with the One is absolutely central to the kind of processes Carolyn is talking about. Genesis 22:8 includes the Hebrew phrase "Ki Yetzer Lev HaAdam Ra MiNeurav;"/meaning "For the yearnings/desires of the heart of the human are "Ra" from the time of their youth." Now "Yetzer Ha Ra" sometimes translated as our evil or shadow inclination also refers in Jewish tradition to our inclination towards aggressiveness, sexual urges, and ego assertiveness, all basic ingredients for healthy creative life as long as they're aligned with the One Who is the Source of all life, blessing, and grace, instead of being aligned with ego-centeredness. These issues of Yetzer Ha Ra in turn are very close to some of the areas Carolyn Myss looks at and are also directly tied in with the chakra system in our bodies and the kabbalistic Tree of Life.

A parallel powerful connection that also came to me today was in a central chant used with the Jewish New Year Holidays: U-t'shuvah, u-t'fillah, u'tz'dakah ma'avirin et ro'a ha-g'zeirah But [Teshuvah]Repentence/Return/Realignment with the One, and [Tefillah] heartfelt prayer, plus [Tzedakah]righteous action [Ma'avirin]transform/cause to pass to another place [Ro'a (same root as Ra)]the harshness/shadow side of [Ha-Gezerah] the decree of how we're written into the Book of Life.

So all of this is part of the One, and to become fully manifested in our lives only requiring our continuing and ongoing active participation in aligning ourselves with the One, and with the manifesting of the One in our interactions with other people and with the entire universe, and through our doing this in all the four worlds of our bodyheartmindspirit.

The Entelechy of Oneness

When I was on my 40-day silent retreat in July/August 2007, I was guided one afternoon to pick up some pods that I had been calling “the seeds of new life” (blessing and dowsing with the daily Eucharistic wine) — and take several of the seeds and acorns and drive 20 miles to the nearest Barnes and Noble bookstore. Upon arriving at the bookstore I was guided to place the seeds on the shelf that I wanted to have my book appear on. I looked around and found the “Mysticism” section, and noticed that there was a woman cleaning and dusting the shelf. I obviously needed to wait to place the pods/acorns/seeds so I wandered into the children’s section and immersed myself in a Bible picture book. After awhile, I went back to the shelf. As I browsed the titles, I noticed Carolyn Myss’ book Sacred Contracts on the shelf and pulled it to me. I placed one single acorn in the book sleeve and put the book back on the shelf with a few seeds and pods around it. I whispered a silent blessing for Carolyn and “the seeds of new life.”

Today (October 20, 2009, approximately 2 years and 2 months later), if you visit www.hayhouse.com you will see the book I co-authored with James Twyman on the “e-shelf” right above Carolyn Myss’ new book “Defy Gravity.”
The Proof: A 40-Day Program for Embodying Oneness. Miracles do happen…every moment we tune into and act upon the subtle guidance of our soul!

I am reminded today of two quotes:

“Trust in the Slow Work of God”
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

and

“It is the entelechy of the acorn to grown into the oak tree. The entelechy of a caterpillar to grow into a butterfly. And yes, every single person is born with the entelechy of greatness.”
~ Jean Houston

And so it is. It’s in every one of us. Amen.