“We are careening towards oneness.†Recently I heard theologian Cynthia Bourgeault use these words to describe the state of our world.
I immediately resonated with the sense of careening. Police are attacking peaceful protesters. Routine traffic stops end in fatalities. Hurricanes devastate coastal communities. Political discourse has lost much of its capacity for dialogue.
Bourgeault is one of many people reminding me to gain a larger perspective. We are actually moving in a direction. We are moving (careening) towards oneness.
We are realizing we share one climate because climate crisis is forcing this upon us. We are realizing we share one economy when corrupt banks in one part of the world destroy the economy halfway around the globe. Science is enriching our understanding of our interconnection even on the quantum level.
We are also breaking out of the false 1950s style oneness where father knows best and everyone falls into line.
The oneness I’m talking about is an emerging perception of the whole and our part in it. Things coming together to create something new – convergence – is part of what drives evolution. Evolutionarily speaking, convergence creates complexity and differentiation, just like a loving relationship helps me be more myself.
Emergent Oneness
We are really careening into each other now. Evolution is afoot.
A native drum and Poseidon, God of water, at the center of a demonstration at Minneapolis City Hall protesting Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department involvement in the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Personnel have since returned to Minnesota).
More and more people are awakening to a sense of oneness and acting from it. This is particularly clear to me as I witness what’s emerging from the conflict between water protectors and the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock. For example:
New solidarity. There is historic coming together of nations at Standing Rock. All of the Sioux nations are supporting each other in a way they haven’t done for many decades. Indigenous nations from across the US including Hawaii have come to Standing Rock in solidarity. Indigenous leaders from South America, Norway, Palestine, Thailand, and New Zealand have all expressed their solidarity. This is an unprecedented standing together.
New information sharing. I heard one elder comment, “How in the world did we organize anything before social media?†The camps in Standing Rock would not be nearly as large or successful were it not for Facebook, Twitter, and crowd sourcing platforms. The information age has given us a new planetary nervous system.
New technology. Part of the potency of this moment comes from the fact that we actually do have technological options. Some say that renewable energy infrastructure is now actually cheaper than fossil fuel infrastructure. I’m coming to see technology as a really important part of what will make it possible to live into our oneness.
Standing Rock is a stand for a new kind of consciousness.
The change in consciousness is the most important thing for us to understand about Standing Rock. We need to perceive water as the source of life, something that connects us in oneness, not a resource to manage and consume. This clash of worldviews is at the heart of the conflict over the pipeline.
Shifting your consciousness is a powerful way to participate in this moment in history. What would it be like to fall more in love with the water? Be curious about the treasure in the water that inspires such fierce protection. Make some time to be by the water and listen to it. Experience it. Encounter it as the source of life. Let it nourish you.
Attuning to the Whole
Falling in love with the water and the earth is a gateway for perceiving our oneness on the heart level. The Whole has a fundamentally loving nature and is moving towards more love. We need to understand this in our bones so we don’t suffer so much in our careening world. When every cell is awake to the whole, we can align ourselves more with life’s desire to come more alive. We can more easily perceive how to lean in and tilt our careening piece of the puzzle towards love.
Your frame of body-mind, your world view is immensely powerful. Keep nourished. Keep inspired. And follow your creative impulse to participate in this great movement towards oneness.
With love,
Emily
What’s up in Standing Rock? Following the Sacred Stone Camp and Red Warrior Camp on Facebook is a good source of front line information.
Need to nourish your connection to the big loving whole?
Drop in to the Healing Waters Qigong Practice Group or the Living Wisdom practice of dance as a community-based sacred healing art.
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I offer individual energy work sessions based in qigong.
