Unity: A Four-Dimensional Vision

Unity: A Four-Dimensional Vision

As I reflect on the idea of unity, I recall experiences when my awareness zoomed out from a particular object or circumstance. The scale was somehow changed and from this new vantage point of awareness I was able to perceive individual details of what was happening no longer as separate or divided components, but those details merged and became an integral part of a larger whole. When I look back in time at my life from a far enough distance, I see it as a patchwork quilt where every small square and painful stitch was necessary to bring me to this present moment.

All parts of the universe are interwoven and tied together with a sacred bond. And no one thing is foreign or unrelated to another. This general connection gives unity and ornament to the world. For the world, taken altogether, is but one. — Marcus Aurelius

As it turns out, through self-observation and efforts of trying to continually retrieve the present moment, I have realized that I do not have to wait for time to pass and look backward to stitch together the quilted squares of my life into a unified whole. Right now – in this moment – when I divide my attention or self-remember, a state of awareness is created where I step back from identifications or imagination – arouse my four-dimensional vision, so to speak – and then I am not only able to see a larger whole, but also I am able to perceive how perfectly everything fits into the picture – including my Self as a harmonious part of the whole – a guest or observer in the universe.

When one identifies with the many ‘I’s, one ceases to be unified; when one separates from them, one becomes more unified. The greater part of unifying one’s thinking is to ignore most of the ‘I’s. The many ‘I’s are not one, but what observes them is one. You are what observes – Real ‘I.’ — The Teacher

Another way to think about developing an observer that gravitates toward unity might be illustrated, for instance, by standing in front of a large landscape painting hanging on a wall. If my viewing distance is too close, I might see the details of a flower or a bird and only those images directly in front of me. But if I step back a sufficient distance away from the painting, I experience the grandeur of the painting as a whole, including the frame, the room, and myself – Real ‘I’ – looking at the painting. The connection and relationship between the elements of the painting and the experience of receiving the impression create an organized and unified encounter.

In a higher state, I may even be able to notice that the person standing next to me is also experiencing the work of art with presence. Sometimes a certain comradery occurs in heightened states of consciousness with another individual. It can feel like a harmony or unity of spirit between two people who recognize the miracle of a moment – a gift from higher influence. This is a state that I experience more often when I am with students at gatherings in my School because they, too, have an aim to make consciousness more permanent and connect with Higher Centers.

Those who truly work for harmony immediately recognize each other. And it is upon their recognition that the great harmony grows … the great work of harmonizing all the apparent contradictions of human experience and human knowledge … all memorials of truth in all ages of the earth belong to the same plan and come from the same source. It is the same work of harmony. — Rodney Collin

When I attend a concert, and the musicians sensitively express an exquisite, quiet and subtle passage – perhaps a single phrase of a flute – or maybe even during a dramatic, silent pause – do I let the predictable shuffling or coughing in the audience offend my expectation of that perfect moment? Or is the moment perfect taken as a whole, including and beyond those distractions? The observer or steward helps me choose consciousness over mechanical reactions.

Rodney Collin writes about studying the attitudes of the ancient Greeks and of how they understood music. He explains that the Greeks thought of music as “a way in which all parts of the organism could be united.” He goes on further to say that “music penetrates deep into people’s being. Some of it comes from another world, trying to tell its hearers, and perhaps the composer himself, about things which cannot be told in words … the great music exists even when no one is playing it.”

Once you arrive at a spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness, remember: it is not necessary to struggle to maintain unity with it. All you have to do is participate in it. — Lao Tzu

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Youth from The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole