Part 15: Unity

This article is part of the Unified Consciousness Framework series. To gain the maximum benefit from reading this series it would be wise to read them sequentially.

In this chapter we will look specifically at the concept of unity and, closely related to it, the concept of the Truth. This is a key concept that we will find repeatedly being brought up throughout the framework. Having said that, the concept of unity is something which is not so uncommon and abstract for us to come across, even in our day-to-day lives. The reasons for us constantly coming across this concept, not only finding it in philosophical or spiritual discourses, is because of the foundational nature of it existing within every individual phenomenon. It is for this reason that we see the concept rooted in the foundation of every phenomenon, quite simply put because it is what lies at the very foundation of the cosmos and at the root of every individual ‘thing’. Any readers who have actively engaged with philosophy, religion, or any spiritual practises for that matter, will have come across the concept of unity on a regular basis, often being reminded of its importance through the various daily practices and rituals that they partake in. In some of these traditions it is referred to by different words and phrases, however these all fundamentally relate to the same principle that will be discussed in this part of the framework.

If the internal realisation of the true nature of reality was such an easy task, then it could be completed by simply informing someone that ‘everything is one and exists as this unity’. This act alone would not necessarily result in them perceiving this unity and then experiencing it though. The fact that simply saying this to someone does not have this effect on them reveals to us that there must be something else going on which is beyond our perception of things. In other words, we see once again that there is a difference between hearing about the concept of unity and perceiving, and therefore directly experiencing, it for ourselves. These must be two very different things if each of them does not produce the same results. It may even be the case that, as we significantly progress along our path, for brief moments at a time, this unity becomes something that is able to be directly experienced by us. Once again though, brief glimpses of the existence of this unity in our perception does not necessarily mean that the complete internal realisation of this unity has occurred for us.

Therefore, for the true seeker, simply brushing over the concept of unity in order to arrive at an understanding of it is something which will often not suffice in bringing about the internal realisation of this principle. If this more superficial approach is taken, the deeper implications of this concept’s existence at the foundation of the cosmos are likely to be lost to that individual, or perhaps become something that is never even glimpsed by them. In this framework then, we will look at this concept in far more detail. To that end, we can start off by first becoming aware of a certain number of internal questions that most of us will have that are related to this concept. What does it really mean to say that everything is one, and how do we resolve the conflict that arises within us when saying it? 

Although this internal conflict is something which is often not held in our awareness, if we take a moment to become observational and contemplative, its existence will soon become apparent to us. The root of this conflict could be summarized by the fact that, although we may understand that everything is really one, our interaction with the world around us would seem, at first glance, to be diametrically opposed to this stance. We interact with a vast variety of different ‘things’ every single day that seem to be completely different from one another. It would seem illogical to say that everything is one and, at the same time for instance, identify that there is a ‘here’ and a ‘there’ or even, more practically, that there are a variety of different cakes on the shelf at the bakery. It appears as though the cosmos is really a variety of different and distinct phenomena all interacting with each other. Therefore, these two positions would seem to be contradictory, one talking about unity, whilst the other clearly defines distinct phenomena and the individual nature of these phenomena.

It is by resolving the inherent ‘gap’ that exists between these two perspectives, which is what we often recognize as an internal conflict, that we end up clearing a major block in our conscious perception. In many ways, it is this block in our conscious perception which is what many other blocks in our conscious perception find themselves being built upon. Therefore, resolving and removing it will often result in those other blocks in our perception either disappearing, resolving themselves, or becoming far easier to resolve when we finally come around to becoming aware of them. In a subsequent part we will expand upon the experience in the tropical forest, the one which was outlined in the method section. This is because this particular experience was, in many ways, the direct experience of the two ‘opposing’ positions mentioned here and the resolution of the conflict which inherently exists between them.