Oneness Awareness: Preface
Erin sat at the piano. He opened his music score and slid it an inch to the left. He wiggled on the piano stool. He adjusted his glasses. This was the time to do all these things, to make sure he was comfortable and ready for, in a moment, he would begin to play. Then, his hands would be busy on the keyboard, his mind would be engaged with reading music, his focus would be on performance. Whatever might be left undone would remain undone. And if it were major, it would affect his performance--and the audience's enjoyment.
So it is with the journey. Now is the time to pack and prepare, to sort and store, to sell or give away. Once on the road, the focus will be on the road. Ready or not.
So it is with the journey. Now is the time to pack and prepare, to sort and store, to sell or give away. Once on the road, the focus will be on the road. Ready or not.
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA: The belief and the beginning—early 2010
I believe that all people are connected; that we are all members of the Human Race, our only race; that we are all equally essential children and adults of God, connected through what A Course in Miracles calls the Sonship; that we are all eternally and infinitely loved by our Creator with whom we share and experience all creation.
I have always believed this, although it is only within the last three or four years that I began to express this belief. I have always had a desire to travel, although most of my previous trips have been short and continental. So, in early 2010, I began to make plans for a four-month journey that would take me half way around the world.
I had three primary destinations: a friend’s wedding in Barcelona, Spain, in May; the 300th birthday celebration of Pushkin, Russia, where I would join other Kalamazooans in June; and a meeting with a client at an ultramarathon in the Indian Himalayas in July. But these were simply catalysts. In truth, I set out to take the first step of a dream.
And I wanted to experience my belief. I wanted to witness connectivity in faraway lands.
I traveled alone. I stayed in peoples’ homes. I interacted with people on ships, streets, trains, planes, and buses. I dined with people I hadn’t previously known. I engaged in international, sometimes multi-lingual conversations.
I found that whether the ancient global connection we share stems from Adam being cast from a lump of clay and Eve formed from one of his ribs or from Australopithecus africanus and her inquisitive, wandering descendents or from the indigenous legends of Turtle Island and First Mother or the Biblical Abraham and the Twelve Tribes is irrelevant. What matters is that we, today, recognize the beauty of being in total love with all beings and aware of our Oneness with God and with each other.
The stories that follow are my contribution to that awareness. Many other writers, photographers, philosophers, and humanitarians have done and are doing likewise. Together, we are adding to humanity’s collective, connective consciousness. To paraphrase American cartoonist Walt Kelly and his lead character, Pogo, “We have met the others, and they are us.”
I believe that all people are connected; that we are all members of the Human Race, our only race; that we are all equally essential children and adults of God, connected through what A Course in Miracles calls the Sonship; that we are all eternally and infinitely loved by our Creator with whom we share and experience all creation.
I have always believed this, although it is only within the last three or four years that I began to express this belief. I have always had a desire to travel, although most of my previous trips have been short and continental. So, in early 2010, I began to make plans for a four-month journey that would take me half way around the world.
I had three primary destinations: a friend’s wedding in Barcelona, Spain, in May; the 300th birthday celebration of Pushkin, Russia, where I would join other Kalamazooans in June; and a meeting with a client at an ultramarathon in the Indian Himalayas in July. But these were simply catalysts. In truth, I set out to take the first step of a dream.
And I wanted to experience my belief. I wanted to witness connectivity in faraway lands.
I traveled alone. I stayed in peoples’ homes. I interacted with people on ships, streets, trains, planes, and buses. I dined with people I hadn’t previously known. I engaged in international, sometimes multi-lingual conversations.
I found that whether the ancient global connection we share stems from Adam being cast from a lump of clay and Eve formed from one of his ribs or from Australopithecus africanus and her inquisitive, wandering descendents or from the indigenous legends of Turtle Island and First Mother or the Biblical Abraham and the Twelve Tribes is irrelevant. What matters is that we, today, recognize the beauty of being in total love with all beings and aware of our Oneness with God and with each other.
The stories that follow are my contribution to that awareness. Many other writers, photographers, philosophers, and humanitarians have done and are doing likewise. Together, we are adding to humanity’s collective, connective consciousness. To paraphrase American cartoonist Walt Kelly and his lead character, Pogo, “We have met the others, and they are us.”
The people of this tiny roadside collection of yurts, serving food and providing shelter for travelers, are typical of Himalayans encountered on this journey. Their expressions and generations exemplify people of other nations, too.
This concrete road marker
in the Himalayas is but one confirmation of my belief
in human connectivity.
The marker was erected
by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), a branch
of the Indian military responsible for carving
and maintaining roads in these high mountains.
The words read:
"We cut mountains
but connect hearts."
-- Photo taken July 17, 2010,
by New Delhi sports physician, organizer
of The High ultramarathon, and traveling companion
Rajat Chauhan
(shown below)
in the Himalayas is but one confirmation of my belief
in human connectivity.
The marker was erected
by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), a branch
of the Indian military responsible for carving
and maintaining roads in these high mountains.
The words read:
"We cut mountains
but connect hearts."
-- Photo taken July 17, 2010,
by New Delhi sports physician, organizer
of The High ultramarathon, and traveling companion
Rajat Chauhan
(shown below)
