Understanding—and experiencing—oneness
The search for deep connection with the universe
In tumultuous times, we are invited to seek our whole selves — the best parts of us— the parts that still represent the perfect state in which we were born. As sentient beings with consciousness, there’s something pure, authentic and undying within us — as Zen teacher Norma Wong describes it: the light of our original beingness. Throughout the course of life, that light can become dimmed—engulfed by our habits and our conditioning.
How do we unearth our original energy—our consciousness—and find oneness with the universe? How do we understand and experience the concept of oneness? What does this look like in daily practice? If you are spiritually curious about these questions but find them perplexing or paradoxical, you’re among many.
In an episode of the Ten Percent Happier podcast, Norma walks us through the inherent, spiritual simplicity of oneness. She reminds us that the world we live in isn’t one, or whole, at the moment—even though it longs to be. “We seek wholeness in our divisions rather than our oneness” she notes, “a paradox that requires deep meditation.” Our divisions reduce us to transactional relationships. We create separation and “stay in our lanes” rather than cross into deeper connection with one another.
Oneness is achieved when we scrape away the layers that obscure our original beingness. It’s a difficult concept for the mind to follow—and it takes discipline—but oneness can be achieved through conscious breath. Norma notes, “if you bring yourself into the discipline of conscious breath it lessens your risk of falling into a marginal condition. It allows you build up a reserve. You become more generous because you are less easily triggered. It invites a sense of relaxed concentration and removes the binary between being relaxed and having more focus.”
Oneness is less an analytical process than it is an experience. In fact, Norma discourages people from reading excessively about beingness and oneness because this can pull the mind further away from the essence of it: the experience. “To be present is to be present in your senses, not in the cogent thought of your mind.” The body is a much more accessible portal to the reconnection of who you are—your original being.
“Oneness is experienced from that place—and only from that place can we tell the story anew.”
Listen to the full Ten Percent Happier podcast featuring Norma Wong, here.
