Realize "Oneness"
And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, And I understood more than I saw;
For I was seeing in a sacred manner The shapes of things in the spirit, And the
shape of all shapes as they must Live together like one being
- Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
The sense of our “oneness” is something spoken about across all cultures. This sense is very much intuitive, and can be developed with practice.
Here, Black Elk speaks almost Zen-like in referring to seeing more than he can tell. A very deep insight into the nature of existence, and it’s clear here that Native American wisdom was very deep and very profound.
In our everyday lives, we encounter this same intuitive feeling of “oneness” as well, albeit most of the time it’s far more subtle. During these moments, it’s important to not identify this feeling as nonsense and realize that it’s our ability to connect with the greater truth of existence on a deeper level.
We are one, like a large organism. And in the same way that organs, tissue, veins, nerves, and the other parts that make up our body can sometimes seem separate, but are always very much an inseparable part of the same one greater system, we too are intrinsically connected and should live in a way that we become more and more aware of this interconnected nature and seek to express it in our daily lives.
And this always results in more love, compassion, kindness, and greater peace.
[From a blog post by Matt Valentine at Buddhaimonia.com]
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Commentary: We as Jedi have found the universe to be inherently interconnected to the
Nth degree through the Force, and I do not just mean through Obi-Wan's quotable explanation. We can see the imprint of ourselves upon everything we interact with, we can feel the imprint of all we interact with upon ourselves. We share common pains, joys, frustrations, and victories with all matters of our universe. We have come from the Universe through the Force, and will return through the Force to the Universe. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
If I recall this passage from
Black Elk Speaks correctly, he was referring to the dream he had as a nine year old boy. Incredibly powerful to become aware of such things at that age. No, Black Elk did not fully understand all of his dream at that age, and most of it he never quite fully understood. This is not to say he did not try, or that he did not appreciate the power of what he did understand.
So when we ourselves are out and about in daily life, lets look for these sensations of "oneness". Lets keep ourselves open to that intuitive spark that resonates across all things through the Force, that proves to us the interconnectedness of all things. It is there. We may not always feel it, we may not always sense it, and we may not fully understand the complexity of it all. Black Elk never gave up to recant on what he had been shown through his dreams, even in the face of invasion and oppression of his people. I can hardly think of worse conditions I might find myself in when trying to develop my own understanding of the Force. Could you?
