Living Unity

I recently began reading Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication by Oren Jay Sofer which I highly recommend. In his book, Sofer combines principles of mindfulness, somatics and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and offers practices intended to help the reader develop healthy, effective, connecting communication.

I was struck by a quote from Marshall Rosenberg, the founder of NVC, which Sofer shares in the Introduction.

“I still get chills when I consider what [Rosenberg] said in 2005, at a retreat in Switzerland.

‘If I use Nonviolent Communication to liberate people to be less depressed, to get along better with their family, but do not teach them at the same time to use their energy to rapidly transform systems in the world, then I am part of the problem. I am essentially calming people down, making them happier to live in the systems as they are, so I am using NVC as a narcotic.’”

As I read the quote, I was dumbfounded when, in my mind, I replaced ‘Nonviolent Communication’ with ‘Unity.’ It touched me deeply to say to myself…

If I teach Unity principles to help liberate people from the limited ideas of separation, encourage them to realize the power within them, and support them in creating the lives they desire, but do not concurrently inspire and encourage others and personally strive to use the Unity principles to transform the world, then I am part of the problem, and I am using truth principles as a narcotic.

Or, if I learn Unity principles solely to liberate myself, create the life I desire, and have a clearer perspective on the world, but do not also apply Unity principles to affect change in the systems of the world to help those who suffer because of those systems, then I am part of the problem, and I am using Unity principles to soothe myself and feel better.

What a powerful wakeup call! I can talk about unity in God (Spirit, Life, Source, Allness) and oneness with all creation; I can believe it; I can teach it; I can preach it, but if I am not doing something to example it in my actions, I am not truly embodying Unity.

Our path to embodying Unity principles begins with an intellectual understanding. While our mental processes are, by their very nature, limited to comprehension, learning begins there. While I use the word ‘learning,’ I do not mean to imply that we are being taught something new, but that we are recognizing (re-cognizing) or making conscious what our souls have never forgotten.

Some Truth students, feeling satisfied with intellectual understanding of Unity principles, do not go beyond this point. However, if one is to embody Unity, Truth must go beyond the mind and into the heart. It is in the heart that true realization happens. Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore describes ‘realization’ as,

The deep inner conviction and assurance of the fulfillment of an ideal. It means at-one-ment, completion, perfection, wholeness, repose, resting in God… The supreme realization is unity with God-Mind, complete oneness with the Christ consciousness. ¹

Realization does not happen in the thinking mind, but within the place of knowing deep within the center of our being. It occurs at the level of the heart. It may be felt in the physical heart as warmth and an expansive sensation, but it is experienced in the even deeper level of the spiritual heart, a place (which is no “place”) in consciousness. It is knowing beyond the mind. It is connection with the Inner Knower. 

While realization is a deeper connection in Unity principle and a point in spiritual development that many seek and then often stop there, it is not embodiment. Embodiment of principle is only complete when we live the principles in our daily lives. 

As Unity’s fifth of the Five Basic Principles states, it is not enough that we know the principles, we must practice them. We practice the principles by first centering our minds on Truth. When you notice that your perspective is out of alignment with what you know to be true, stop and re-cognize principle. Contemplate a truth teaching, word or phrase, such as “I am one with God,” or “I Am That I Am.” Continue to focus on this until the mind becomes aligned with it. Allow the Truth to reveal itself to you. It is there. You do not need to seek it. Relax and let it be.

Once you feel the connection with Truth, breathe your attention and awareness from your thinking into your heart, allowing the Truth to resonate at the core of your being until you experience realization. You will know when it happens. And, you will know that you know. Feel the expansiveness in your chest. Feel your breathing become more relaxed and open. You shall know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free (John 8:32).

Here is a practice that will help you incorporate living and not just knowing the principles. 

In the consciousness of realization, and only when you have achieved realization, bring to your heart any person(s), life situation, system, or structure that has, in your usual waking awareness, stimulated concern, fear or pain for you. In your heart, hold it in love and ask for guidance for what, if anything, is yours to do. It may be as simple as writing a letter or making a phone call. It may be working for human rights and justice issues. It may be working for a political campaign of a candidate you believe in. It may be as big as founding an organization dedicated to addressing a particular issue.

Trust what you receive. Know that the idea is a seed, and that the seed contains all that is needed for its flowering. Your part is to plant the seed in your mind, water it with Truth, fertilize it with love, time and attention, and do what is yours to do to bring it into manifestation.

We transform the world through our transformed consciousness, but also through our thoughts, words and actions that embody that consciousness. Let us re-cognize, realize and practice the principles of Unity in our daily lives and know that together we are co-creating a new world that works for all.

¹ The Revealing Word