How to Experience Oneness or Advaita
by Nirmala
Advaita means nondual or not two. This oneness is a fundamental quality of everything. Everything is a part of and made of one substance. Often the question arises, If it is all one thing why dont I experience it that way? This is confusing oneness for the appearance of sameness. Things can appear different without being separate. Just look at your hand for a moment. Your fingers are all different from each other, but are they separate? They all arise from the same hand.
In a similar way, all of the objects in the world including plants, animals, and people are all quite different in appearance and function. But they are all ultimately connected at their source. So, this ultimate Oneness has an limitless different expressions that are experienced as different objects.
Isn't it true that your fingers are all made of the same stuff? As you explore more deeply the nature of your own hand, you may discover more ways the fingers are actually the same. They consist of similar tissues, cells, and ultimately atoms. As your experience of becomes more subtle, you find everything is a different expression of one Being.
What about right now? Can you find this subtle oneness in your present experience? You can, if you let go of any expectation of a profound experience of oneness and instead explore a little bit of oneness at a time. Every single drop of water is wet, and so you can experience Advaita or oneness in every little part of existence. This oneness is fundamental to everything that exists.
As an experiment, just notice your fingers and the palm of your hand. Can you really say where one starts and the other ends, or are they one thing? To take this further, where does your hand stop and your forearm begin? Can you experience the oneness of your hand and your forearm?
If these are not separate, then what about all the other parts of your body? Are your feet and your ears really one even though they are so different? Now notice if there really is a separation between your thoughts and your head. Where does your head stop and something else called thought begin? What about feelings or desires? Are they really separate from you or your body?
Now, notice the simple sensations you are having: the sounds you are hearing, the sensations of touch, and the objects and events you are seeing. If you are seeing something, where does the seeing stop and something else called the eye begin? If you are hearing sounds where does the sound start and the ear stop? Perhaps the hearing and the sound and your ear are all one thing. Yes, the ear is different from the sound, but in the act of hearing they become one thing.
Now let's look at the source of the sound. If some leaves are rustling in the wind, where do the leaves end and the rustling sound begin? Or are they connected also? If leaves and rustling are really one thing, and then the rustling sound and your hearing are also really one thing, then it would seem that you and the leaves are one thing also.
Advaita, or oneness of Being, has often been thought of as something hidden or difficult to experience, when it is quite ordinary and available in every moment. Of course a big experience of oneness, where you directly experience the oneness of everything, is a rare and dramatic event. But why wait for something so rare when this sweet and satisfying oneness is right here, right now?
Nirmala provides free ebooks & online videos at http://www.endless-satsang.com. He's been a spiritual teacher in the Advaita tradition since 1998, and gives satsang (gatherings for truth) and individual spiritual mentoring sessions on the phone. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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