"We're one, but we are not the same."-Bono, U2
Once I was in a train station waiting for a train with a friend. He pointed to a steel and cement column and said, "at the sub-atomic level, this column is mostly air. So are you. So am I?". And he went on to state we were the same as the column-no difference-and no different from one another. He went on to imply that there was, therefore, no meaning to anything. I stretched my arm out, made a fist, and pushed my fist at the column until it stopped with a thud. I looked at him and I said, "that may be so, AND at the same time, the world we move through is not the sub-atomic world".
Often we are addressed with reminders, assertions, and at times even pleas, that we are "all one". We are all human. We are all the same at some level. We all bleed red. At the sub-atomic level, we are all made up of the same stuff. In fact, at the sub- atomic level, at least at our current level of knowledge [see String Theory for an interesting hypothesis about how we may be very different from one another indeed], not only are we all "the same" as beings, we are the same as a rock, dirt, plant life, our dog, the wall, etc.
Eastern Spiritual traditions remind us that at the ultimate level, it is all vibrations, all wavelets. "Validated" by science, at the "ultimate" level, we are all the same-"just" sub-atomic particles.
And yet, anyone with eyes, ears, a tactile sense, and a mind can tell we are all very, very different. I challenge anyone who says that the ultimate level is the only important level ("we are all one") to Zen his or her way through me the next time we meet.
The problem with this is that most people cannot seem to contain both I.D.E.A.s intellectually, experientially, or spiritually, so then end up ignoring one or the other, or collapsing the informational and the practical. Does our having the same sub- atomic structures mean we are all the same?
Are you "the same" as a murderer? A rapist? A child molester? A terrorist? A priest? A politician? A man? A woman? A tribal leader? A shaman? A grocery clerk? A Fortune 500 CEO? Are you and I "the same" as Mozart, Bill Gates, Socrates, Thomas
Jefferson, or Ayn Rand? Of course not.
And, yes.
We have differing sets of skills, intelligence, symmetry, size, shape, and color. And yet...to paraphrase Ken Wilber, "while we are all perfect manifestations of the divine -of Spirit-yet how we demonstrate that is bound by our current level of development; we are limited to our current depth". Spiritual reductionism [we are all one and we are all perfect and we are all love] is usually accompanied by moral relativism. No act is inherently better than any other act. No world-view is more true than any other-and they are arbitrary.
I disagree.
Setting aside the performative contradiction (if no world-views are any more true than the other, then neither is that world-view-and thus it is false), compassion is better than anger because it possesses greater depth. Love is better than hate for the same reason. Grace is better than vengeance for the same reason-it requires an awareness of greater depth to exercise those choices, therefore, it is better.
Liberty is better than tyranny. Free Enterprise is better that centrally planned economies. In both cases they produce better results. Measurably better. Different beings possess different levels of awareness; different depths that that can reflect back by the development of their own depth. In this, we are very different indeed.
Is there utility in thinking we are all one-all the same? Perhaps. It can assist us in bridging potentially explosive differences in a world where differences in ideology can kill and maim. At the same time, in a world where ideologies can kill and maim, we had better keep the differences in mind as well.
In all things, be discerning, but not judgmental. Keep your mind open-but keep it working. Never allow someone to demand you turn off your common sense for their imagined utopia.
Jason McClain
IDEA
Evolutionary Guide
http://emotionalawareness.com
Far to many people have become "followers" rather than BEING... Read More
As we walk these halls of Life viewing the world... Read More
My fiancee' and I frequent a restaurant in L.A. called... Read More
What could be a scary thought for some? How bout'... Read More
The words 'new age' and 'spirituality' can have people running... Read More
Sometimes you have to see something to believe it. Like... Read More
We as human beings travelled in small bands for hundreds... Read More
The Mind in an Advanced Thought System:The center of our... Read More
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-Excerpt From The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and... Read More
Some of my greatest teachers have taught me that faith... Read More
With another year full of family events coming upon us,... Read More
The Mystical Experience"The mysteries of life become lucid ? and... Read More
There is a specific technique that a Shaman uses to... Read More
A feeling of fulfillment is something we all seek. Here... Read More
There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve ourselves either outwardly... Read More
To many people in the Western world Metaphysical Healing is... Read More
A year ago, a beautiful woman came to see me.... Read More
It's an almost unbelievable thought, but could you be getting... Read More
In my work as a Medical Intuitive, I come across... Read More
What the Animals Tell Us"I am the Sun's son. I... Read More
Acknowledgement of our need of God and reliance upon Him... Read More
Existence of God: facts and figures Does God exist?If you... Read More
John Eldredge writes in his book Waking the Dead, "God... Read More
Matthew 2:16-18Herod Kills the Children16 Then Herod, when he saw... Read More
In your quest for enlightenment, always ask what's in it... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..Our church is infested with lobby lizards. They crawl around... Read More
I have studied many of the great Religions, Quantum Physics,... Read More
It has long been surmised that emotional trauma can lead... Read More
As we walk along our paths in life, we will... Read More
Be filled with the Spirit.? always giving thanks to God... Read More
Spirit - All Around Us, All of Us, Every One... Read More
Sometimes, in traveling a path, we discover a short-cut, and... Read More
One cannot ask why bad things happen to good people... Read More
Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? I'm sure the... Read More
It doesn't matter what magazine or newspaper you pick up... Read More
"This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as... Read More
Imagine for a moment. It's Tuesday night about 7pm. You... Read More
We hear this word so often and have one thing... Read More
Want more peace and joy in your life? Daily stress... Read More
Why do we have an Ego?Almost all spiritual guides say... Read More
Lonely Song"a box of paints - lament for my da"It... Read More
What does it take to live life holistically?It definitely does... Read More
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the... Read More
Far to many people have become "followers" rather than BEING... Read More
An act of selflessness is the highest expression of selfishness... Read More
Every workday, five days a week, I take the light... Read More
Most of our troubles are bought about by exercising our... Read More
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the... Read More
The following article is an exploration of the Spring holiday... Read More
There is a natural tendency to asociate spirituality with religion,... Read More
Spirituality |