Consciousness, spirit unite all human beings.Byline: FROM HEART TO HEART By Alan Stein Stein , William Howard 1911-1980. American biochemist. He shared a 1972 Nobel Prize for pioneering studies of ribonuclease. For The Register-Guard Human consciousness and the way we perceive ourselves as human beings in relationship to the Earth has changed dramatically in the past 50 years and will continue to change even more so in the next 10 years. In my life of 52 years, two events have significantly changed my perception of who I think I am. When I saw the first NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. images of the Earth in 1969, I was blown away. That image speaks for itself. The bigger wow was the question of "Who am I in relationship to everything"? The other significant shift was on Sept. 11, 2001. That terrible tragedy left even a deeper conviction for me and, I believe, millions of people like myself, to search and find out "who am I and what is the importance of life?" I feel these two events consciously or unconsciously affected everyone on this planet in some way. I bring this up because I believe that we are all one in the sense that we are all affected commonly by our outer circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or . We all live and we all die, we all laugh and we all cry. We share our humanity, and that commonality com·mon·al·i·ty n. pl. com·mon·al·i·ties 1. a. The possession, along with another or others, of a certain attribute or set of attributes: a political movement's commonality of purpose. suggests we are all one human family! You might then ask, "One with what? And who am I in the larger picture of things?" I believe this has been the biggest question for humanity ever since we became conscious of our own thinking. This compelling question has broken up many a family and even created world wars. Unfortunately, consciousness and spirit cannot be seen, measured or easily defined. However, we are becoming more aware daily that they do indeed exist. The very breath of our lives is a mystery. We appear physical, yet we are also nonphysical. I call that our true spiritual nature. In essence, I believe that one's well-being resides in the heart and is the place where compassion, caring and love come from. When we all awaken and share this, we will all share one-heartedness. Ultimately, my own realization has led me to believe that we are all one in spirit and that I am connected to all of life and part of creation. I am a devout de·vout adj. de·vout·er, de·vout·est 1. Devoted to religion or to the fulfillment of religious obligations. See Synonyms at religious. 2. Displaying reverence or piety. 3. spiritual being. I don't follow a single religion, but honor the true spiritual essence of all of them. I honor and respect all of life. I love people. I love the Earth. Simply put, everything that organically exists has being and has some degree of consciousness, or otherwise would not be. Another way I define one spirit is that everything that exists has God-essence. Then, of course, the question is, "Who is God?" My answer to that is, "God is love." So, in that sense, you might say love is my religion. We can stop our outdated out·dat·ed adj. Out-of-date; old-fashioned. outdated Adjective old-fashioned or obsolete Adj. 1. way of thinking with fear, greed Greed See also Stinginess. Almayer’s Folly lust for gold leads to decline. [Br. Lit.: Almayer’s Folly] Alonso Shakespearean symbol of avarice. [Br. Lit. and judgment, and set an intention for one spirit to awaken (visit www.onespirit awakening.net). Alan Stein is owner of Star Gate Books and has participated in Two Rivers Two Rivers, city (1990 pop. 13,030), Manitowoc co., E Wis., on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Twin River; inc. 1878. Two Rivers is closely associated with its twin city, Manitowoc, both of which are highly industrialized. Interfaith in·ter·faith adj. Of, relating to, or involving persons of different religious faiths: an interfaith marriage; an interfaith forum. Ministries' interfaith dialogue. This column is coordinated by TRIM, a network of more than 35 religious and spiritual traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693 or visit www.interfaith eugene.org. |
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