Our journey to oneness is an essential step in our personal and spiritual development. There are two paths. All you need are the right tools. Here’s how to do it.
Achieving Oneness with Higher Self
Most people want to live in peace, where our world filled with friendship, love, and compassion, but this utopia of always seems out of reach. That’s because the higher values we desire not reflected in our socieity.
We want the higher self, the Observer, soul, or spirit, to be able to come to the forefront of awareness. We want to be in the driver’s seat instead of the Ego. When the high self is in the driver’s seat, we enter the state of inspired living. Inspired means “in spirit.” You won’t see love and compassion in the world unless you learn to unblock your way to oneness.
The higher self is when we live the Observer rather than the Ego in control. It means being a freethinker, someone who can see through the harmful cultural noise and clutter. The experience of this higher self is a state of perfect integration and harmony opening the door to the virtues of the spirit. It’s when achieving oneness with high self is a reality.
Achieving this state essential for the world to move beyond its current state of conflict. Let’s examine how to get there. We can do this!
Why is it so hard to find room for these higher virtues? It’s hard because our culture contains many sources of negative social programming designed to separate us and trigger our deepest fears. These negative emotions prevent us from progressing on our journey to oneness.
So the first real roadblock is dealing with the harmful programming that we acquire. We get these negative thought scripts from our family, friends, and social groups. We also get this programming from electronic media.
If you were indoctrinated into a biased and prejudiced as a child, it is something you need to correct now that you are an adult. If you choose to support a system which promotes this kind of harmful bias, then you are one of the roadblocks. You are preventing humankind from achieving oneness with high self. You are part of the problem, not the solution.
The Two Paths For Our Journey to Oneness
Achieving oneness with higher self is a destructive process. We must remove unnecessary attachment with harmful beliefs. Removing these can be scary. However, this is the path that leads to peace and silence, it allows the beautiful expression of our transcendent nature to come forward. This transcendent peace is the thread of consciousness which connects us to other people and living things. It is a universal perspective that connects us to all living things.
How To Unblock Your Way to Oneness
There are two pathways to achieving oneness with higher self, the first method is the analytical approach we will discuss here. The second path is the direct experience of the transcendent, which shifts us to a higher level of awareness. We recommend the use of both methods. Meditation allows us to bring the peace, friendliness and compassion needed for the analytical work.
The analytical approach forces us to confront the negative and harmful beliefs in ourselves and others. Harmful beliefs are our true enemies. We just learn how to separate their value as a person from their beliefs and actions. Not an easy task.
The second path is a direct experience of the transcendent. You reach the partition using the proper meditation technique. This will unblock your way to oneness. The affects are immediate. The process we recommend to reach this partition of awareness is Japa Meditation, or Transcendental Meditation (TM). They are the same technique, Japa is the generic version of the process which is sold by the TM organization. Either form is safe and provide immediate results.
Bathing in the experience of transcendent heals mind, body, and spirit. That’s the up side. The downside is when you meditate regularly, your awareness will grow, and it will expose your own biases and prejudices. You cannot hide from this internal illumination. You have the option to ignore them or remove them and reprogram your mind with positive scripts.
We recommend using both approaches. Meditating is not enough. Even if you meditate, you can still carry a great deal of bias and prejudice. We are exposed to religious and political propaganda which can override your moral compass and install harmful beliefs. The analytical process will help you see the programming you need to fix. Achieving oneness with higher self means doing the inner work to remove the roadblocks holding you back.
The Analytical Path on The Journey to Oneness
The analytical approach is the first of the two paths. This process takes willpower, courage, and persistence, it will force you confront beliefs, prejudices, and fears.
There are four levels or degrees in this analytical framework. It is essential to realize that there is resistance at each level. This process surprises some people. It shows them where they hold bias and prejudice. To achieve this state, you must unblock your way to oneness.
When we engage in this kind of work, it can bring up some powerful emotions. Because of this, we recommend using emotional checks to minimize your discomfort and speed your progress.
Emotional Checks
Using emotional checks will make your research more accurate. It will save you time in the long term and reduce stress. These short breaks are a mental quality check. They help to think clearly and keep you on track. It’s an essential skill to incorporate into our journey to oneness.
When we face ideas that conflict with ours, it can bring up powerful feelings that trigger our “fight, flight, or freeze” reaction. 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 their comfort zone when we move into exercises where we 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.
Step One – Coexistence
To coexist with someone with different beliefs, you must acknowledge and tolerate their spiritual beliefs even if they conflict with yours. Seeing their value as a person is the key. Their value as a person supersedes their opinions. Remember, you can change what you believe, and they can change what they think.
If you are to coexist, you’ll need to go beyond bias and prejudice. It doesn’t mean you should accept another person’s opinions, especially if they are harmful. It doesn’t mean you should tolerate destructive and behaviors. Instead, it’s a conscious decision to withhold animosity.
Coexistence is the first step on our journey to oneness. A warning here. If you are using this process with someone who has a personality disorder, you won’t go beyond this step until they deal with their issues. It doesn’t mean you have failed—your attempts to understand and show compassion plant seeds. Some toxic people are comfortable with their bias and prejudice. Perhaps the seeds you plant will grow in the future. Your friendship may be the catalyst for them to seek help. Or perhaps another person will move them farther along on the continuum.
If you feel they are worth the time and effort to change their minds. Understand it may take a considerable amount of time and effort. We recommend a process we call the unconventional approach to help the believer. This approach can change the minds of some people.
Learning to coexist with others who think differently is the first step unblock your way to oneness. It’s a huge step. It makes us face the boundaries of our judgments. It also forces us to confront the opinions of others with tolerance. Remember, the goal is for you to achieve this state of perception and integration. You can’t become one with something you hate. Otherwise, you hate yourself.
To do this, you need to write the things you hate about the other person. Next, write the justification for your hate. Now, decide that this hate is destructive for everyone. So, you make a conscious decision to set aside your feelings. Putting these thoughts down in writing is a powerful tool. It makes your prejudices easy to see, giving you the power to change them.
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.
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 though their beliefs are different or possibly in conflict with yours.
This second step on the journey to oneness is also challenging, especially when there are few redeeming values in the other person’s belief system. It can trigger safety issues for both parties. The culture programs us to judge people based on their religious beliefs. Here’s a helpful quote to help you find the good in any system of thought.
“The argument goes like this. No one thinks their beliefs are wrong. Yet, most would agree that their beliefs confine their perspective. They only feel safe when someone believes what they do. It’s the trap of belief. This is why people need to ask what you believe. They need to know so they can judge you based on the boundaries of their beliefs and values.
So, to align with them, I say I believe in the good in all religions. I am a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and Hindu plus many more. Some people are okay with this answer… Others tell me I must one religion. 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 a lot of 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.
It’s impossible to remove the negative programming of another person. 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 and biased opinions, point them out, but do so with compassion, in a way that isn’t a blaming.
The journey to oneness is a balancing act. It requires you to remove your own biases while acknowledging those of the other person.
Here’s an example 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 in the form of a question. It omits name-calling and words like “you.”
It is critical to see the other person’s value apart from their opinions. Seeing past their beliefs can be difficult. An excellent way is to ask them things about themselves that do not relate to sensitive issues.
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 communications 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 at bringing the other person to the level of inclusion, you win. Your efforts are achieving oneness with 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 is significant for the absence of negative emotional feelings toward the other person. 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 learned 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 a person and can openly discuss their point of view.
At this point, don’t automatically think you have overcome the cultural programming that installed 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 you are giving them food for thought. They may not accept your perspective, but they acknowledge you as a person of value.
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, which is the last step in the analytical approach. It does not “happen” on its own—oneness results from actions based on decisions to move beyond your 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 higher self is a process of acceptance. You can only be an agent of change if the other person accepts your advice.
The Second Path ― A Direct Experience
The second approach is a direct experience of the infinite transcendent. Again, this is the approach which uses meditation to reach the transcendent state of awareness.
An intermediary step would be to learn the process of mindfulness mediation. This simple process will provide a foundation for the more advanced technique of Japa Meditation.
In Conclusion
If you are not already on this path, we hope you will join us. Our journey to oneness is meant to be shared.
The goal of bringing oneness into the mainstream culture is not an aspirational goal, it can be achieved if we do our part. 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 that 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.
