What is the concept of Oneness? It states that… every man, woman and child, every plant, animal, insect, tree, ocean, river, bird, sun, star, planet… all of life on the planet, the planet itself and beyond are essentially one. One and the same.

Accepting this or at least giving it some consideration as a possible truth could be a game-changer. It could be the end to business as usual in every walk of life. That is the power behind this concept.

It can be looked at from two perspectives: scientific and spiritual.

Scientifically it would state that everything is energy and like energy attracts like energy… basic physics. Quantum physics sweetened the pot when it revealed that every thought, word and feeling is energy. Scientific instruments and studies have further revealed the frequencies of thoughts, words and feelings are varied. Loving-compassion vibrated very high; greed, fear, hatred, very low. These studies correspond to the work done by Japanese scientist, Emoto, who studied the crystal formations of words, music and pictures. His work showed beautiful crystal formations of the words like love, compassion, joy, peace and discolored, distorted ugly incomplete crystal formations for words like greed, hatred and fear.

In essence with every thought one thinks, every word spoken and every feeling felt, energy is impacting one’s own energy field. But it does not stop there. It continues its flow into the universal energy field impacting all of life as it travels along. The energy contained in those thoughts, words and feelings causes a ripple effect of positive or negative vibrations affecting every form of life. Every form of life is energy and is impacted by the energy around it.

Spiritually it would propose that all life stems from Source, the Creator of all and the life-sustaining force within all of life. It speaks to all humanity having the same Spirit, the same spark of the Divine, regardless of the name given to it, within one’s very being.

To accept the spiritual rationale would mean seeing all peoples, regardless of age, color, sex, nationality, socioeconomic status, education, religion, as the same—the same within, which is the true essence of each individual, Divine, Spirit, Pure Unconditional Love, with a unique expression. The same in having a desire for love, happiness, hope, peace, prosperity, good health, home, job, family, fun, freedom, beauty, joy, being seen and heard… In varying degrees each person has the same basic needs and desires as the next. This can make for a common understanding among peoples. Each individual can make the conscious decision to see this commonality and choose to relate from this focal point. A mother in any culture is a mother at heart wanting the best for her child. Mothers of all cultures can relate on such a basis. Teenagers in any culture experience the same angst and so have a common reference point.

By considering the concept that within self and within every man, woman and child is absolute Love and Divinity, absolute Perfection, the step can be taken to find at least one world-level commonality. And it only takes one to get the ball rolling for dialogue. Once there is face-to-face contact with the intention to see/relate to the Spirit within, a shift of energy can occur to turn tension into harmony.

So how would the concept of Oneness change things? A person would come to realize that when greedily grasping before anyone else gets it, the supposed competitor or challenger is self. Plus the energy associated with greed would attract more reasons and situations reinforcing the self-imposed need to be greedy. As a man sows so shall he reap. Ultimately it turns out to be a battle with self.

Allowing the scientific and spiritual approaches to explain how life can best be lived, consensus, harmony and do-no-harm would be the driving forces behind all educational, political, socioeconomic, medical, scientific and environmental decisions. Honor and respect would be buzz words.

When it comes to the environment and all issues dealing with Mother Earth, besides honor and respect for all of life, the driving forces would be sustainability and precautionary action. The GNP has directed our energy and resources, but the GNH (Gross National Happiness, as in Bhutan) could be directing our future plans of world collaboration.

Is There A Correlation Here?

~ fracking, the injection of toxic chemicals into the heart of Mother Earth, the very ground that all humanity is standing on and calls home with no real certainty as to the long-term effects to the stability and viability of the planet… with

~ man injecting chemicals, artificial dyes and sweeteners, GMOs, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, trans fats under the guise of eating, feeling better, enjoyment, into his own body, the home of his spirit, the very vehicle that carries him through life, with no real certainty as to the long term effects… until…

Is it any wonder that some have a hard time seeing the inherent and possible irreversible damage fracking could cause to our planet.

As man dishonors and disrespects himself, he does so to everyone and everything else around him. How does man begin to feel differently about himself?

Can oneness turn the tide? Possibly… looking at the bigger picture and considering that no man is an island and man does not live in a vacuum, clichés but truths, and seeing and integrating the interconnectedness of all of life could help a person see deeper into his heart.

Other thoughts to consider… a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So a neighborhood, city, state, country, the world, the planet is only as strong as its weakest aspect of life.

And do unto others what you would have them do unto you. It could take on deeper meaning when “others” are seen as self and self is seen as unconditional love and as energy in the vast universal pool of energy.

The tiniest microbe to the tallest mountain to the vastest ocean, you, me, generations to come are worthy and deserve the consideration.

Maryann Pino Miller, M.Ed., spiritual coach, HypnoCounselor, owner of Consciously Living, co-owner of The Center, Life in Balance, in Medford, and author, encourages respect for self, others, animals, nature and the planet through her work and life. Contact her at 856-912-2087.