I recently read something from Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault about oneness that blew my mind. Yoga is about union and connection, which means there is both no separation between your mind, body, and spirit, AND there’s no separation between you and other humans. On this subject, Cynthia reflects on Jesus’ teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “This is NOT about loving others as MUCH as yourself,” she notes, instead “if you listen closely to Jesus … there is no ‘as much as’ in his admonition. It’s just ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’–as a CONTINUATION of your very being.” I don’t know about you, but my mind is blown.
Another way we can think about this is to see yourself in others and others in yourself. For instance, we ALL want the same thing in life: To love and be loved. It really is that simple. We all desire joy, crave safety, and so on. At a deep, fundamental level we’re all the same. Look closely and you’ll see yourself in others. IMHO this makes helping, caring for, and giving of ourselves for the benefit of others even MORE AMAZING. Instead of being individuals, competing for a scarcity of resources and LOSING out when we GIVE, we are “simply two cells of the one great Life. Each of them is equally precious and necessary.” Which means when we lay down our life for another’s, instead of LOSING our life, we experience an incredible EXPANSION of it, realizing Love is our True Self and nature. We’re made to love and be loved, to give and receive care and kindness.
So today, I invite you to practice oneness, no separation, seeing yourself in others, and realizing YOU are Love.
Mind blowing indeed.. Thanks for sharing!