Help me understand that everything is connected

[quiethumir]

that there is no separation, and there is nothing outside of me.

What does it mean to you and please explain so I can understand it

[royster]

If i had to choose ONE member to work with you on this, it would be ALLisWELL.

My short two-cents is this: virtually everything that exists is thought. Understanding the fibers of the universe are all connected to the other threads/fibers gives you some idea.

I'll also wager inri has some good insights. Translating spiritual metaphysics is an art, and few master it.

[Arcanum]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

that there is no separation, and there is nothing outside of me.

What does it mean to you and please explain so I can understand it

Everything is not connected. It is one. The idea that things are connected assumes that there are parts, which is already the splitting of wholeness. From that split, we try to connect the parts, and that isn't how it is so it can't be done.

One never becomes two, which implies there are never any separate parts, which implies that you are not the apparently separate person that you appear to be, and that you must be that One.

Nightly dreams work well as an analogy. What actually happens in dreams is that a mind creates a dreamscape of apparent separate objects, and persons with (apparently) thoughts, feelings and sense perceptions, moving about in a dreamscape, and yet all of those parts and sensations, and even the space in which the dream plays out, are all occurring only in that one mind, and in fact ARE that mind, since mind IS it's content. The dream is literally mind only, and the dream character that seems to be you, is just an appearance. You (in this context) are the mind in which the entire dreamscape plays out.

Of course, I'm suggesting that you are not the dream character in the waking dream, but rather the Consciousness in which the entire waking dream and all of it's characters, thoughts, feelings and sense perceptions play out.

Maybe you can see how you can't understand how the nightly dream is one mind as long as you are trying to find connections between the various parts of the dream. The dream is One because it is the fully integrated expression of a singular mind/Mind.

[ButterflyWoman]

This is not something that can be explained or taught. While it can be expressed in various ways (some more successful than others), it's not an idea, a concept, or a belief, but a realisation. So there may be people who will come into this thread and try to express it, until you realise it for your own, it's not going to be of much use to you.

[bodi]

A myriad bubbles were floating on the surface of a stream.

'What are you?' I cried to them as they drifted by.

'I am a bubble, of course' nearly a myriad bubbles answered,
and there was surprise and indignation in their voices as they passed.

But, here and there, a lonely bubble answered,
'We are this stream', and there was neither surprise nor indignation in their voices,
but just a quiet certitude.

---wei wu wei

[bodi]

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

--Albert Einstein

[Prinie]

When I went to the psych ward for nursing school, I met many patients who suffered from schizophrenia, psychosis, and depression. Observing their behavior (talking to themselves, getting angry, temper tantrums, laughing to themselves) I saw myself, my own nature. I talk to myself, I get angry over little things, I've had temper tantrums, I laugh with myself when no one else is there and when people are there. There are qualities about us that show our own connectivity. The dog that ♥♥♥♥♥ his head to the side when we call him, or jumps and wags his tail when his master comes home, the cockroach that dodges and runs when something heavy is put in its path.

Simply put, there's something inside of us that keeps us all connected.

[Apresto]

There are a lot of differences between us all that are seen by everybody. There are also differences between us that are not seen by most of us. If you see our planet from outer space you will think "that is just a green and blue sphere" but there's a lot more to it as we all know. On Earth there are so much different species and plants that it's hard to count but they are all part of one big thing that is the planet. Maybe in the same way we are part of something bigger. How come you can suffer when you see someone else that is hungry or poor? By compassion we feel for other beings and thus they feel us that we are compassionate for them. Like 1+1 equals 2 but in a more abstract way.

[nothuman]

Originally Posted by ButterflyWoman

This is not something that can be explained or taught. While it can be expressed in various ways (some more successful than others), it's not an idea, a concept, or a belief, but a realisation. So there may be people who will come into this thread and try to express it, until you realise it for your own, it's not going to be of much use to you.

Absolutely. If everything is separation for you than that is your experience and it is a valid one. Harping on about a realization that one has yet to be manifest is a waste of energy and a diversion from what is in front of you now.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by nothuman

Harping on about a realization that one has yet to be manifest is a waste of energy and a diversion from what is in front of you now.

Perfectly stated. You get a lot of harping on around these forums, too. It's good to recognise it when it happens (I've probably done my own share of harping, until I figured out it was a big waste of energy. ).