There are two paths to oneness. One way is a direct experience through meditation. The other way is to achieve freedom with the analytical mind. The great sages say we should take both paths. We are here to discuss the analytical journey to oneness with the higher self.
Most people want to live in peace in a world filled with friendship, love, and compassion, but this utopia always seems out of reach. Our society often fails to reflect the higher values we desire.
One approach is to change the world one person at a time. If you are reading this article, we hope you take up the personal challenge and quest for oneness that takes us to the highest aspects of the human spirit.
Understanding Oneness
The goal of oneness is to achieve the realization of the higher self. This is our true essence beyond ego, fear, or limiting beliefs. Many spiritual traditions view the higher self as the soul. So, it is better for the observer to be in the driver’s seat rather than the ego. When the high self is in the driver’s seat, we enter the state of inspired living. Inspired means “in spirit.”
The Experiential Aspect
The first path is the direct experience of the transcendent, which shifts us to a higher level of awareness. Meditation with Japa or Transcendental Meditation builds a relationship with transcendence. Practicing this meditation on a regular basis cultivates peace, friendliness, and compassion. Eventually, it connects with the inward experience of oneness. This path is most pleasant. We bypass any harmful cultural programming.
Oneness can be described as a “personal eureka spiritual revelation” that opens our hearts and awareness to the higher self. This experiential aspect can last after the emotional experience ends. This “carry over” is what leads to greater understanding and higher states of consciousness. Reaching this experiential plateau is unpredictable. It takes regular meditative practice to develop the necessary grounding. Some achieve this state quickly. Others never reach it.
The Analytical Approach
The second path is the analytical journey to oneness with the higher self. Using the intellect to achieve this goal requires inner work.
Inner work is often a destructive process. We must remove unnecessary attachments with harmful beliefs, which can be scary. This path enables the beautiful expression of our transcendent nature to come forward. This transcendent peace is the thread of consciousness that connects us to other people and living things. It is a universal perspective that connects us to all living things.
The Emotional Check-In Process
Engaging in this kind of work can evoke powerful emotions. So, we recommend using the emotional check-in process to reduce your discomfort and accelerate your progress. It’s simple. Anytime you feel strong negative emotions arise, take a break. It’s a good practice to pause every 20 minutes to assess your emotional equilibrium.
Why is this process necessary? When we encounter ideas that conflict with ours, it can trigger powerful feelings that prompt our “fight, flight, or freeze” response. When primitive instincts kick in, we lose our higher thinking functions. So when this happens, we must take steps to regain emotional equilibrium.
It is easy to get thrown out of our comfort zone when we move into exercises that confront closely held beliefs. It triggers the “fight, flight, or freeze” reaction. It’s the fear that we might be wrong about what we believe.
The Analytical Journey to Oneness with the Higher Self
The analytical approach forces us to confront harmful beliefs about ourselves and others. Harmful beliefs are our true enemies. We just learn how to separate a person’s values from their beliefs and actions.
We recommend using both approaches. Meditating is not enough. Even if you meditate, you can still carry a great deal of bias and prejudice. Our culture exposes us to religious and political propaganda. These tools can override our moral compass and program harmful beliefs. The analytical approach reveals this programming.
This analytical framework has four levels. Realizing that resistance exists at each level is essential. This process surprises some people, revealing their biases and prejudices. To achieve this state, you must unblock your way to oneness.
Step One – Coexistence
Coexistence is the first step on the analytical journey to oneness with the higher self. To coexist with someone who has different beliefs, you need to recognize their spiritual views, even if they clash with your own. Seeing their value as a person is the key. Their value as a person supersedes their opinions.
To coexist doesn’t mean accepting another person’s opinions, especially if they are harmful. Sadly, some toxic people are comfortable with their bias and prejudice. It doesn’t mean you should tolerate destructive behaviors. Instead, it’s a conscious decision to withhold animosity.
If you feel they are worth the time and effort to help them change their minds, understand that it may take considerable time and effort. We recommend a process we call the unconventional approach to help the believer. This approach can be successful.
Tools to Process Conflicting Beliefs
To do this, you need to write down the beliefs and values of the other person that you feel are harmful. Then, try to find out how they justify these beliefs and values. This process will help clarify why they believe what they believe. Make a conscious decision to separate their beliefs and values from their spiritual being.
The goal is to see their value as a person. You must empathize and attempt to see their struggles. You will understand why they distrust or hate you. Communicating at this level of transparency is scary. It makes you both vulnerable. It takes courage, but your vulnerability allows you to change your perspective. It will also help those with a different mindset see things from your perspective.
Understanding the impact of your Efforts
You may never see the other person change their opinion. It doesn’t mean you have failed. When you show compassion and attempt to understand why they believe what they believe, you are planting seeds. The seeds you plant may grow in the future. Your friendship may be the catalyst for them to let go of their harmful beliefs and values.
Learning to coexist with others who think differently is the first step. You must learn to listen to others. It can be challenging to listen to someone who is spreading hate or crazy conspiracy theories. However, it forces us to confront how we view others.
Remember, the goal is for you to see the value in humanity. You aren’t trying to become one with something you hate. Otherwise, you will hate yourself.
Step Two – Inclusion
The second step beyond tolerance is inclusion. It is a conscious decision to find value in the other person’s belief system, even when their beliefs differ or conflict with yours. This second step on the analytical journey to oneness with the higher self is also challenging.
When there are few redeeming values in the other person’s belief system, it becomes harder to look past the unhealthy aspects. Here’s a helpful quote to help you find the good in any system of thought. No one said achieving “inner higher self” would be easy.
The argument goes like this. No one thinks their beliefs are wrong. Yet, most would agree that strongly-held beliefs confine your perspective. When you have a narrow perspective you only feel safe with those who believe exactly as you do.. This is called the the trap of belief. When someone asks what you belive they are judging you based on the boundaries of their beliefs and values.
So, to align with them, I say I believe ijust like you. Say, I believe the good of all paths. Say, I am a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and Hindu plus many more. This point of view may be acceptable. Others may say that you must pick one path. When they say this, I ask them why? Isn’t it more prudent to believe the best in all, than confine yourself to one point of view? — Guru Tua
The decision to move past your judgments is a conscious decision. It isn’t an easy step, and many people get stuck here. It’s hard to tolerate bias and prejudice in someone you are trying to cultivate a friendship with. It forces us to dig deep for compassion that is not deserved.
Realize, it’s impossible to remove another person’s negative programming. But we can focus on the way we judge them. If negative bias and prejudice exist in your own beliefs, you need to convince yourself that these values are inappropriate. If the other person holds discriminatory or biased opinions, point them out with compassion, without blaming.
The journey to oneness is a balancing act. It requires you to remove your own biases while acknowledging the other person’s.
Here are examples of blaming and non-blaming statements—first, the wrong way to do it.
- “So, you f—ing believe it’s okay to kill someone if they have an abortion.”
Now, the non-blaming way,
- “Am I correct in saying you believe you have the right to take the life of another person if they have an abortion?”
The non-blaming statement is phrased as a question. It omits name-calling and words like “you.”
Learn to listen with your full attention to understand their point of view. Don’t formulate a rebuttal while they are still talking. Listen to what the other person is saying and cue into their non-verbal communication as well. If this seems impossible, then you would benefit from instruction on enhancing your listening skills. There is also sensitivity training, which can help you unlock your ability to empathize with people.
Even if you fail to bring the other person to the level of inclusion, you win. Your efforts achieve oneness with your higher self.
Step Three – Acceptance
The third step is moving from tolerance and inclusion to acceptance. Acceptance occurs when you feel empathy for the other person, regardless of their beliefs.
True acceptance matters. It helps stop negative feelings about others. There is still distance because of your differing views, but you can accept them because of their intrinsic value.
By this time in the process, the other person will also learn about you. If you are an example of inspired living, they will notice.
You still go your separate ways and have your different worlds, but now you can feel comfortable with them in your personal space. You value them enough as people and can openly discuss their points of view.
Don’t assume you’ve beaten the cultural programming that built the bias and prejudice. Unless you have done some serious “inner work” with the Enneagram, you need to avoid slipping into old thinking patterns. The journey to oneness will plow up all your sacred ground.
You may not have changed the other person’s beliefs, but you have set a good example and given them something to think about. They may not accept your perspective, but they acknowledge you as a valuable person.
You should feel comfortable in helping and sharing with the other person. Please do it. Don’t allow cultural or social barriers to build walls. Keep planting seeds filled with facts. Facts overcome fear.
Step Four – Convergence
The fourth and final step from tolerance through inclusion and acceptance is convergence. When you “See” another person and value them for who they are and not as a label, you finally transcend the conflict. You made it. You found the path to unlock your way to oneness!
By this point, all artificial boundaries have disappeared. Oneness does not “happen” on its own—it results from actions based on decisions to move beyond one’s own beliefs, judgments, and assumptions.
You notice that each of these steps requires you to make the changes, not the other person. It is a constant struggle in any society that perpetuates social and cultural barriers. Many cultures encourage social inequities, which is why this process is so complicated. You must have the courage to go against the grain if you want to live in a society free from discrimination and prejudice.
Achieving oneness with the higher self is a process of acceptance. You can only be an agent of change if the other person accepts your advice.
In Conclusion
These four steps in the analytical process for achieving oneness aren’t easy. They require inner work of self-assessment.
Our journey to oneness is meant to be shared. If we do our part, bringing oneness into mainstream culture is achievable, not just an aspiration. Start by meditating and bathing in the transcendent. When you meditate, you are creating positive vibrations that radiate outward. You are literally creating peace and harmony in the environment.
Reach out to others who are entrenched in religious dogma and plant the seeds that will help you bring them into the light. It takes courage and persistence. Everyone benefits when we undertake our journey to oneness.
References
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- The biological dimensions of transcendent states: psychological and physiological effects of meditation and self-transcendent experiences. Frontiers in Psychology (Open Access).
- Centering and flourishing: an online intervention study assessing the effects of a religiously framed contemplative practice on stress-reduction and human flourishing. BMC Psychology (Open Access).
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