In the recent issue of the Bleeping Herald , one of the filmmakers of What the Bleep, Will Arntz, talks about Connectedness.
http://www.bleepingherald.com/mar2008/filmmakers
My response:
Dear Will
Thanks for the great article in the latest Herald. I wanted to suggest something. The concept of perspective. If you define the process by perspective and how they shift, it makes the process even clearer. If we study human development and the awakening process, we can define a series of stages or states of consciousness people will pass though in their growth cycle. For example, when a baby is born, they feel one with the mother. As they begin to mature, they develop a sense of independent self. What we call the ego. The child develops an idea of separateness so that they can grow into a self-sufficient being. For a period of time, they are in transition, so the world views or perspectives are in conflict – an attachment to mother, yet a drive to be unique. The typical ‘terrible twos’ result.
As we grow into adults, a more normal path of development would be what is often called the awakening process. The development of awareness of our deeper Self. However, due to the nature of the time, we have remained in the ego perspective and this leads to our perception of the world as self and other. Due to the nature of the ego, it makes other wrong to make itself right. And that in a nutshell is the reason for the problems you describe in the article. Indeed, the cause of suffering itself.
While we may recognize intellectually that we are connected, until it is our experience we will not naturally act from that place on a consistent basis. This is the conflict of our current generation. We see the sense of connectedness but still see the world as other. So we vacillate in our effectiveness. With time and the continuing waking cycle, many people will make the shift from separateness into connectedness.
What is this connectedness? Connectedness arises when we come to know who we really are and begin to experience the interconnectedness of the world. The ego has lost its grip and our perception begins to see the connectedness directly. The sense of other is still present, but it is other like kin rather than other like enemy. It is coming closer.
There is 2 main perspective changes to get to connectedness. The first, the first waking. The loss of the ego idea which happens when we become Self within. Or rather fully accept this experience and become what we already are. We become the detached witness to the events of our lives. Attachments fall away. We enjoy the deep peace and happiness of who we are. But we are still separate.
With time in that place of peace, we begin to see the flow of life and awareness in everything around us. The world literally comes alive. It is also the flowering of the heart and love to a richness beyond any idea of the mind. Thats when true connectedness dawns, when it is our reality rather than an intellectual idea. Of course many people have had experiences of this. What the Bleep touched on some of this. But there is an important difference between experiencing it and being it. Being it is the test of the change, of its permanence. Who are you and where are you? These questions help define your current perspective.
But that is not the end of it. Theres another perspective in your article. You mention the idea of oneness, of Unity. This is not the same thing as connectedness. Connectedness is the stepping stone to oneness. To be connected still requires other. If there is no other, what is there to connect?
Through natural human development, all the values of identity as separate fall away and the division of “inside” and “outside” is lost. There is no longer a world “out there”. Everything is happening within consciousness which is ourselves. This leads to a deep sense of intimacy with everything. That is the true oneness or unity. Not connectedness, but sameness or unity.
What is very remarkable is that these states of being are natural and normal. While they may sound strange or theoretical, the experience is one of ordinariness. Yet infused with peace, bliss and love. For a long time, they have been fairly rare. But not anymore. There is a quite revolution underway. Its happening inside. There are occasional symptoms, like What the Bleep, The Secret, and Tolle’s program with Oprah. But the real changes will start to show a little further along. The movement into Unity is a movement from the Self into expression. That’s when it will really be fun.
We could of course explore this in much more detail, but I thought at least an overview would be helpful.
Yours,
Davidya
Last Updated on December 11, 2013 by Davidya