Whither Go Oneness?
The cosmology presented by this writer suggests that “God-ness” comprises and permeates ALL existence. As such, one quickly wonders what role does evil play, or whether in fact, there is such a thing as evil? The short answer is that “evil is as one believes.” More questions arise. If all is God, then does that include evil? Better yet, then “is God evil too?” I would say that God is not “evil,” that God is ALL. And if God is not evil, but is ALL, then what is evil?
A word.
Evil is a word that holds meaning to many God-fearing people; most of whom would swear up and down on a stack of Bibles that they are NOT God expressing life in human form. Not wanting to piss God off, or have “Him” misunderstand, they see evil in the actions of other people whom they deem to be ungodly, but turn a self-righteous eye when members of their own accepted group do the same kinds of things. Does this sound familiar?
“Our current president, George Bush, is not evil, right?” Well, it depends on who’s doing the observing. He certainly represents the head of the serpent to some in the Islamic world, who feel quite justified in wreaking any and all havoc that they can muster against the United States. Yet, if the destructive actions of Islamic militants against the U.S. are legitimate examples of evil, then how can our lethal presence and actions in Iraq not be likewise, when our fears for being proactive against them are the same as theirs against us? We rationalize our actions by saying we’re defending freedom. We’re still killing people; angry, devout, many who are innocent, people. While they are totally out equipped, we should note that they are not unequal human spirits.
The American Spirit is not really an “American” Spirit. Spirit is an inherent trait of humanity, every human being. If we try to kill the spirit of a people with weapons, it will only serve to dim (not kill) our spirit. It will make our place a darker, more fearful place. And is this not happening? The American Dream is not really an “American” Dream. However, America is still one of the best on earth to be a dreamer, for the freedoms that we still hold; the freedom to express ourselves, and to follow our bliss, is more expansive and pervasive here than virtually any other country, that supports such a diverse population. Yet, if we allow ourselves to be guided by fear, or if we elect leaders who lead by fear, then we fall under its spell, and individual freedoms will shrivel up and atrophe. That would be tantamount to evil, but it is still just a word.
Evil is only a word in actuality, but it holds great power in our consciousness, its meaning born of, and supported by our failure to acknowledge not only the God-ness in others, but the Divinity that lives within ourselves. At the core of our beingness, is God… even the beingness of our perceived “enemies”.
If every action is divine action, then that which results in destructive effect is divine too, and is likewise of God. However, all of our actions are not expressed with awareness of our oneness with God. We console ourselves by saying that some actions (representing the causes that we support) are of God, and some (representing the causes we are against) are not. That’s why we can think that God is “on our side” and not on the side of our opponent. Yet, by maintaining this illusion, this duality, we keep the soil of experience fertile for further conflict.
We tend not to be aware that the harm we do to others we do to our self, and the blessings we give to others, we give to our self. So while ALL actions are divine, as are all thoughts and energies, I’d venture that NO destructive actions are taken with an awareness of our mutual divinity and oneness.
Therefore, the name of the game in our life is awareness, and the expansion thereof. That would be an awareness of our natural, omnipresent spirituality, our unshakable lovability, the unique gift that each being (i.e., “You” and “Me”) brings the world, and our ever-present oneness with God. We gain awareness when we see the futility of duality, conflict, inequality, and oppositionism.
When we become so aware, the regrettable, ill-advised actions that we sometimes take will no longer be evil. They will remain firmly ensconced in the drama and fabric of life, as representative of consciousness interacting with itself in a given way.
All things that occur in our lives and “happen” to us are allowed to happen.or are brought to us by the Creator,to test us to see what our reactions will be,and to provide further inner growth.