Grandmother Spider, The Weaver of Life
Move yourself into the idea of unity in the universe thereby allowing yourself to become fluid to all the experiences of the universe. Gregge Tiffen
The threads of wholeness, oneness, unity wove tightly into my week as I was reminded that the unity I seek in and for our world lies within my own journey to knowing that I am One with all Life. It’s as if every event that life presents points to this truth. Within the discord that I experience internally and witness in the world lies the potential to know.
Among the many threads in the weave was a reminder, sent by a dear advisor and friend, of a transcript from a talk that Gregge Tiffen offered decades ago, ‘United You Stand’. Much that I encountered reading and from varied media echoed the theme.
In a world whose systems are built on the rocky foundation of separation and division it is challenging to move beyond unity being more than just a concept that sounds and feels good but isn’t ‘realistic’. Yet in the words of Anodea Judith, “We can no longer afford the old, tired wars of you and me, us and them, this and that, instead of celebrating the amazement of each other’s differences. We must no longer see Heaven and Earth as separate concepts, as if the cosmic mother and father had filed for divorce and were splitting up the property, instead of being the ultimate lovers of eternity that gave birth to everything we know.”
She continues, “A world chosen for love is evolution’s next enterprise.” Love, it seems, is the path to unity just as recognizing unity is the path to love. Unity and love. Wholeness and Oneness. All is One. One is all. Time to upgrade realistic.
There are countless paths to bring the reality of the truth of unity to fruition here on our planet home. While each is different, the paths begin at the same choice point: Here. Now. Me. You.
As just one way to bring the idea of unity into practice, Tiffen suggests an experiment imagining oneself as the true nature of water. Think ocean. Think drop of water. He says, “It is a matter of saying to yourself, I exist everywhere. I do not only exist here. Then allow yourself to pull apart and become like a drop of water in the ocean.” He concludes, “You are the ubiquitous soul.”
Living in the high desert mountains, sand is a more apt and accessible metaphor for me. I am a grain of sand. I am the sand. Putting my bare feet in a sandy wash deepens this connection. Simply being present to the wonders in the woods that present themselves each day: the wispy gossamer of a spider web strand, nuthatch revealing a tiny hideaway in a tree trunk, a spider with barely visible legs, the twists and turns made by limbs over time. Each an opportunity to remember, ‘I am that. I am.’
Another of my practices is to intentionally seek and tune in to messages and examples of individuals and groups who choose this path. Examples abound, like the intrepid 96-year-old woman who shares the wisdom and awe of her “second childhood” in this short video To Be In Awe. (Watch it here.) As I watched and listened, I felt a sense of awe wash over me. She is living, fully it seems, into the unity, the Oneness that is Life beyond the illusions of division and separation that are all too often labelled ‘reality’.
For me, in her wisdom she knows that she is the ubiquitous soul, demonstrating her SOULution, with each choice she makes and step she takes.
I am the sand … AND the ubiquitous soul …