No Separation

One of my first experiences of Oneness occurred when I was sitting beside a creek in my neighbourhood gazing out into the trees.  I soon noticed that the edges of a small branch in front of me had become fuzzy and that the branch had seamlessly integrated itself into the space around it.  There was no longer a beginning nor an end to it.  I knew then that all the energy around me was connected. The physical objects we perceive as separate such as water, trees, stones, and each other is just an illusion, there is no separation.  It is only our perception that makes them all appear distinct from one another. 

Alone or Oneness?

As I was jogging through the forest this weekend, I was struck by two opposing concepts of human existence - being Alone versus Oneness. A common expression I've heard many times and used myself is, "We come into this world alone and we die alone." The other concept which I have experienced many times is that of Oneness, and the understanding that there is no separation between any of us. How could both of these ideas be true? Then I realized that up until that moment, I had unconsciously accepted both to be true without questioning how that could be so. Upon further reflection I understood that the first one, that of each of us being alone in the world, is how we see ourselves if we are Ego based. The second concept, that of understanding that we are all One, is how we understand it to be if we are Spiritually based. Having experienced that aha moment, I now recognize that I am firmly in the Oneness camp and can release the notion that I am Alone as it no longer fits my understanding of life.