What is the difference between unity and oneness?
On day one of the new year (2017), I have been asked to speak about oneness. Interestingly, the universe is going into a ONE year today (numerologically). We have talked about the illusion, about this physical world being an illusion. And it is a very convincing one. I want to say that you have done a marvelous job in creating it. It is very believable. But there is one part of this illusion that is particularly hard for me to swallow: that is where you consider yourself to be separate from God, and therefore not to be divine, but to be human with all the baggage that includes. To be human is to be with what Christians call “sin”. But even if you don’t consider yourself to be Christian, you probably believe that there is such a thing as right and wrong. If you ever judge yourself or another, you believe in sin. If you believe in judgment, you think that it is God that judges you, whether that belief is consciously held or hidden deep within.
Within this story about sin and judgment and guilt is the illusion of separation. That doesn’t sound like much fun at all. When you choose divinity, and being one with God, there is nothing but love and joy. That is the divine nature. Why, you might ask, would anyone choose separation, pain, suffering, and guilt instead of love? The short answer to that is that your ego doesn’t believe you are divine, and doesn’t even believe there is a choice that can be made. The significant questions become, “How do I opt out of this? How do I choose divinity? What is that like? What is it like to be aligned with God?”
Two terms are often used interchangeably: unity and oneness. Let’s investigate what these words really communicate. Unity suggests that two or more are joined together. Because they can join together, they can also separate. You have the example of the United States of America. There are fifty states that have chosen to unite under one central government. Is there oneness? Do all of the citizens feel at one with each other? This is a rhetorical question. In this case, unity and oneness are quite different energies. Unity means to join together while still maintaining a separation. You have two people united in a marriage. Do they become one person? Some would like to hope so. Given the evidence that over half of the marriages end in separation, we would say “no”. There was a temporary union, but not a oneness. The truth is not that you are united with God and with each other, but that you are all one. The experience of ascension is the realization of this absolute oneness. Some of you may have had a deep spiritual experience where you have felt this oneness, whether through meditation, a psychedelic drug experience, or simply as a spontaneous happening. What you all have in common, no matter how you have had this experience, is that the feeling of oneness did not last. It eventually disappeared and perhaps you have been seeking to replicate that state ever since. But, it is elusive.
You may ask Spirit to bring you into oneness. More accurately, you can ask Spirit to help you realize your oneness, because oneness is your true nature whether you realize it or not. You don’t do something to become one. You don’t earn it. You already are and have always been one with God. While you may not be experiencing this oneness right now, you do experience your separation. The separation is an illusion, but it feels very real to you. You encounter separation when you feel attacked by another or when you judge another or yourself. When you attack out of fear you feel separation. When you feel any negative emotion, you are experiencing the sense of separation. The role unity plays for you is to have it as an intention now, when you are feeling this separation. When you forgive another and you forgive yourself over whatever incident is there between you, your intention is to create a unity between the two of you. When you feel afraid that God is judging you, create unity with God through asking for forgiveness. These are steps that your mind can handle, even though it is in separation. You can focus on forgiveness, so there is no feeling of separation between you and your brother or sister, or between you and God. It is easier to focus on unity than on oneness. Ascension is oneness, and that step will come. In the same way, you focus on forgiveness, even though the absolute truth is that there is nothing to forgive, nothing ever. So, there is no need to forgive, but your mind cannot accept that. It is so accustomed to a state of sin and judgment, blame, and right and wrong. All that you can do now is to notice when your mind goes into guilt or judgment and use forgiveness to help establish a unity between you and others. The truth is that you are one, but first you may settle for unity.
Take advantage of the tools you can use. Use the tool of forgiveness. Aim for unity. Choose to end all separation. Do that until the judgment falls away because you realize there is nothing to judge. The separation falls away because you know you are one. It is no longer just an idea or a belief. You know it. The quest for unity and the act of forgiving are your spiritual training wheels. If you keep using them, you will eventually have no use for these aids whatsoever, because you are absolutely aware of your divine nature. Spirit will remove your wheels without even telling you. You will simply find yourself flying freely in your innocence. We will ask you this New Year’s Day to begin or to continue to forgive and to seek unity throughout this ONE year. And we wish for you a year of unconditional and unlimited love.
God Blesses You,
Sanhia