Is there anything in the world that we all perceive in the same way? I’ve been thinking about this, and from the most banal things to the natural phenomena that sustain our existence, I haven’t found such a thing. We take breathing for granted, yet the one who sits comfortably in an armchair does not experience it the same way as someone who is exercising, or someone who is meditating and observing the in- and outflow of air, or someone who is afraid, or excited, or overweight, or living in the mountains, or someone who is so absorbed in their tasks that they don’t even notice it happening. And even if we were to examine many people from any one of these groups—people who are supposedly experiencing “the same thing”—I believe we still wouldn’t find true sameness. Isn’t that interesting?
Here we are, confined together on this planet with eight billion fellow humans and countless other life forms, and yet in our perception and our experiences we are completely alone. Most of the time, even in relation to the moments of our own lives, we walk as if on eggshells. We are so touchingly fragile—and that is perfectly okay.
And yet, there is something in us that is much more than all this. If our only certain knowledge were that we are alone, then the world would be a terribly frightening place, where everyone would be a potential enemy.
But that is not how it is. I believe our existence has been encoded from the very beginning with a constant connection—with an unbreakable bond to the Unnameable. Our words spoken in emergencies bear witness to this, as do our pleas and prayers addressed to “someone” in the lowest points of our lives, in total lostness. And yet, for most of our lives, this connection is invisibly present in the one we think we are. It remains hidden from our awareness until we invite this truth into ourselves and gain certainty of its reality. Then perception changes, and this world becomes a playground populated by countless brothers and sisters, where each of us, dancing our own wonderfully unique dance, celebrates the experience born in the moment—receiving it in lived experience, and then releasing it through sharing.
I experience that these moments of recognition break through the shell of our everyday consciousness and begin, slowly and almost imperceptibly, to expand it. They stay with us for shorter or longer periods, then disappear, only to return another time in another form, until they complete their loving, consciousness-transforming work.
Anyone who has had such a glimpse knows that in that moment there is, in truth, no such thing as “the other.” The world is within; the world exists in the IS. The multitude of forms is perceivable, and yet none of them are separate. How could anything be separate within the one perception? There, harm, exclusion, indifference, anger, resentment, expectation, superiority become incomprehensible. There are no tricks, no one to deceive, manipulate, exploit, or defeat. It is as if our actions and their consequences merge into one. Deeds are carried out through us, but their impact and meaning are far wider. The “I” does not appropriate them; it dissolves in them. It does not want—it surrenders.
In this heightened, inside-out torrent of events we are living through now, it is very important to recognize our connection to the Unnameable. It doesn’t matter what word we use, or in what way, or along what path we find it. Let us long for it as the most important, fulfillment-awaiting story of our lives. Let us be devoted and persistent in this. Let us believe in the existence of this connection—and in the fact that in complete surrender we arrive at a quality greater than ourselves, one that our words cannot reach.
With love,
Your traveling companion
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