Oneness Ministry

The discussion of awareness continues and relates back to listening because listening is a form of awareness!

Awareness is about consciousness and being aware that we are aware. Try this little exercise. Imagine you are a person on the other side of the room and you are watching yourself sitting at your computer reading this article. Just relax and close your eyes if this helps and let your mind go. Can you see you? It may take a few minutes or just seconds, but with practice anyone can do this.  How you may ask? It is simple; consciousness is more than your body and as you become aware that you are aware your consciousness grows. Most of us are aware of the world seen through the eyes, but what I am suggesting is that there is far more to it. Spirit is another word we use to describe this universal consciousness and we are individuations of this one Spirit. This is how a psychic can see things that some people cannot.

In the words of Ernest Holmes, “there is but one mind, the mind of God, and that mind is my mind now”. What you believe; you experience, so if you do not believe in ghosts for instance then we will not see ghosts. If someone swears to you that ghosts exist and shows you enough “proof” then you can choose to believe and thus see ghosts, but that choice is always yours. What we are aware of in this world is largely due to our perspective which is based on cultural and personal beliefs. It can also be due to our experiences and work in just the opposite fashion. Say you have the experience of seeing a ghost but have never really thought about them and so had no opinion, but now you are a believer due to your experience. This is because you did not make the choice not to believe in them in the first place, and this lead to your awareness of ghosts.  If you were to say that you do not believe in ghosts and yet you saw one, then the evidence is proving otherwise.

Awareness is possible on several levels and by this I mean levels of consciousness. We are aware of our bodies and the bodies of others, we are aware of our thoughts, we can be aware of the thoughts of others, and we can be aware of the Great Spirit/Universal Mind/God. From a more complex point of view science has identified by the use of string theory up to 11 dimensions or levels of awareness. I will leave this more in depth study to the big boys, the physicists and scientists that have taken their entire lives to discover the vastness and complexity of all there is. Many good books exist on this subject, but for our purposes just know that this is an introduction.   A good example of shared thought is the parallel development of inventions. Take the radio for example, both Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi both developed radios at basically the same time in an era where communication took a long time and they did it from different continents. There were others too that were involved in this process and they were all working with the same mind. Remember “there is but one Mind”(Ernest Holmes). This same parallel thought can be seen in plants that evolve very similarly on different continents, the agave and aloe plants are a good example. When we start to look for similarities in the world we find them everywhere. The beauty of the process is no two things are identical, and yet similarity exists everywhere! Snowflakes are the classic example and this can be found in many things in our world. Whether we see the similarity or the differences is our choice. Try looking for the similarities in the world for a whole day while being aware of your feelings along the way. At the end of the day write down your thoughts and the next day look for the differences and do the same at the end of the day by writing down your thoughts.  What you will discover is that not only is there a whole world out there that you were unaware of, but you will have gotten to know yourself better in the process.

This applies just as well to listening, because we are all One, the person you are listening to is an aspect of this One, just as you are.  When this is fully appreciated the act of listening takes on a new importance and makes compassionate listening so much easier!

Life is a journey of discovery and holds many wondrous gifts that we need only be aware of. Listening is the key which completes the circle of communication in divine oneness. When we do this we exist on a whole new level which I call Peace. Consider this quote from A Course in Miracles,

                                      Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

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Today I offer my perspective on the importance of listening and being aware.  The message is targeted to young counselors and therapists but really applies to us all in whatever pursuit we find ourselves in.

The first thing to remember is simply, it is all about them, not me.  Listening honors the one speaking; it connects you to them in a divine way.  This is simple respect.  Going beyond this communication is actually beside the point although we often think it is primary.  All Communication is about connection or unity.  We are expressing our Oneness!  With this in mind we hear their words and respond in a mindful way, expressing compassion, caring, and courtesy.

Second is to be present fully in the now.  This means you focus on the person speaking and put other activities or speaking aside.  You do not think about how to respond.  Empty your mind and allow them to fill it.  Then when they are done, you speak your mind.  Take your time, consider your words carefully.  Even if they anger you, remember to take your time.  It is not a race or competition, it is a sharing.

Listening is more important than speaking because without someone to listen we cannot say anything.  The role of the counselor and therapist is to listen above all else, it is not about giving advice or anything like that.  Simply hearing the client, patient, or friend validates their existence and connects you both in unity.  This is what it is all about!

Awareness is another key in the process of listening, so please consider this carefully.  A state of elementary or undifferentiated consciousness defines awareness in the dictionary but what does this really mean? To be conscious means that we are aware of our surroundings, what is happening to us so to speak, but to be more accurate it is what is happening through us! This is something that many people take for granted but I would suggest that it is very important to be aware of as much as possible.  Each person brings a different perspective of awareness to the world and that is what makes us all unique.

We are each valuable for the views, experiences and opinions we bring to this world. Let me explain by offering this example. Three people walk up to an apple bin and pick up an apple and take a bite. What each person notices, feels, and experiences will be different. In fact every time the same person does this same action their individual experience will be different! If you took only one bite out of the apple you might never realize that the apple has seeds. Can you remember the first apple you ever ate? Is it possible to experience eating an apple for the first time every time you eat an apple? The more we experience one particular thing the more we expect the experience to be the same, hence the expression “been there, done that”. Is it really possible to experience the exact same thing over? I don’t think so, but it is possible for us to imagine it so. The number of factors that make up our experience in life boggle the mind. Take the apple scenario for instance, the elements that make up that experience include all the five senses, the details of the physical surroundings, the time of day, the location, the circumstances leading up to the experience, the type of apple, the condition of the apple, our expectations of the experience, our cognitive abilities, and on and on. I am sure you can add to this list, so just realize that for every experience you have the number of things to be aware of is endless. It is possible on the other hand to eat the apple and not remember doing so, we can all relate to this as well. So what if we are unaware of the experience? Well, If we go through life unaware then we are missing the point and some would say we are not even living.   We would be zombies in a divine world!

“Heaven “is merely an awareness of perfect oneness, and the knowledge that there is nothing else; nothing outside this oneness, and nothing else within” (text, p. 359; T-18.VI.1:6). This fact alone is true, and only this truth is Reality.” (Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick discussing A Course in Miracles)

To continue in the next blog…

🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

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