Steve, why separate the principles of "Oneness" from "Love"?

[Jack Christopher]

What were the reasons for separating the concept of "Love" from "Oneness"? Why do you think that's useful?

You define the difference as love being a choice to connect, and oneness being as recognizing the preexisting connection.

Would it be wrong to say one is unconditional love of self, the other unconditional love of all things? I'm having a hard time figuring out why the two must be separate.

[Savage]

The short answer is that Oneness = Truth + Love. The long answer would be chapters 2 and 4 from my book.

[Plato]

I understand the difference like this:

Love is choosing to engage with certain aspects of reality and disengage from other aspects. This includes people, places, activities and parts of yourself. It's about creating an environment that supports you.

For example, I can choose to engage with my parents, or largely ignore them. I can break away from these friends and form new relationships with these people. I can live here rather than there. I can embrace certain thoughts and perspectives or I can disconnect from them. I can embrace certain emotional states.

A highly conscious person can choose the tone of the voice they speak to themselves in. You might choose to engage a nurturing and supportive inner dialogue over an authoritarian and critical inner voice.

The principle of love is about taking conscious control of our connections.

Oneness is recognising that we are already connected, and honouring that connection. It means aligning ourselves with contribution, behaving ethically and fairly as default behaviours. It means identifying with the whole of reality. Taking on the role of a cell in the "greater body" of the world. By aligning with oneness you choose to be a cell that works towards the greater health of the body.

For example, when setting a new goal to earn more money, you will concern yourself with how achieving this goal will also benefit the world. When setting new relationship goals you think about how this will make other people happy and other ways it can serve e.g. by sharing what you learn. Attending a personal development seminar you might think about how you can contribute to it's smooth running and the other participants.

The principle of oneness is about aligning our intentions with the good of the world and actively contributing. The benefit of aligning with oneness is that life becomes deeply meaningful and fulfilling. Motivation peaks, and the world seems to want you to succeed rather than being a thankless struggle.

So to sum up, love is about what you choose to connect with in your life. Ideally you choose to connect with things that support you in your goals and make you feel good. Oneness is about acknowledging that we're all in this together and contributing to the good of the whole.