Can We Perceive Oneness?

Think about how the mind perceives the world; the things which thought has put together; literature, poetry, painting, gods, and time itself. These illusions are the reality that has been created by thought.

Is time an illusion?

Time is the invention of thought which we use as a means of achieving enlightenment. The concepts of time and change may emerge from a universe that, at root, is static.

Our understanding of time is based on its relationship to our environment. Oddly, the faster you travel, the slower time moves. Past, present, and future are merely figments of our imagination, constructs built by our brains so that everything doesn’t seem to happen at once.

Time isn’t like other dimensions — we only move one way within it.

Is truth an illusion?

Over the years I have been disillusioned by public figures and institutions ‘telling lies’ or twisting the truth, in order to manipulate a people’s way of thinking. I have thought a lot about truth and lies in order to gain some peace with this common reality, and in my philosophy I separate reality into truth and illusion, equating these terms with the real and the unreal. While these are valid distinctions in themselves, they cannot apply to the in the manifest world. They are only as valid as of our perceptions.

Perceptions can either be superficial or deeply insightful; Truth is a perception of depth in which we perceive more of what is there, while illusion is a superficial perception of reality. Truth is timeless, and can only exist through love and compassion.

Is oneness an illusion?

Anything that vibrates is an Illusion of Separation within Oneness. Oneness free from Illusion is the state of total balance and stillness. Once Oneness vibrates, it becomes an Expression of its own Self, unique in its own right within the Illusion of Separation but at the same time encompassing all of Oneness in its entirety.

The Separation perceived by an Expression of Oneness only exists in Illusion, since energy that vibrates creates a parabolic oscillation of the One energy.

Is separation the reality or is oneness the reality?

As I see it, they are not separate things.   You see, the universe is holographic, and that everything exists here and now, but we experience it, one facet of at a time. Every expression of the hologram exists in the same location at the same time.

Nothing is disconnected from anything.

To see different expressions of the hologram, you simply change your perspective relative to the source hologram. So it would make sense that if we want to see different things in our world, we change our perspective relative to it. By changing thought, we change our perspective of the world and determine what version we experience. We have the ability to experience any version of the infinite.

What is most important is the understanding that no ‘thing’ is separate from any ‘thing’ in any way whatsoever. The one is the all. The all are one.

Can the mind, with its network of all the senses observe this oneness?

In the act of perceiving, nothing is permanent. It’s self rising, or arising as it were, in the moment. So when you become conscious of that, you observe this immense energy, and there is no ‘person’. There is just this oneness; spontaneously arising consciousness with no ‘self’ to be found, just consciousness.

So would it be arrogant to believe that all things are God, including yourself?

The definition of arrogance is to think oneself superior to another. I mean, if one sees all things as different forms of ‘One’ thing, then where is the room for arrogance? To view others as inferior to self would be an oxymoron, since you would be viewing yourself as separate.

But if there is only unity and singularity, then everything would be seen as One. This Oneness would be seen as love, and everyone would be seen in this light. Such a view of seeing everything as part of one consciousness is mistaken for arrogance by people who have been taught these various god/human religions.

This god/human is pictured as being up in heaven or somewhere far far away.

These religions teach separation and within the dogma of these religions, god must be appeased before humans can come close. If you take a closer look, you can see the harm and damage this sort of perception has created. The very trappings of religions have kept great souls locked in small boxes; oppressing their true purpose of experience and discovery.

How can one tell if Oneness has been perceived by a perceiver?

I would imagine when Oneness is perceived, a great appreciation for oneself and others is observed. There can be no abuses or misuses of others. There can be no harm brought about to the natural world, because consciousness is seen in all things.

All life is seen as equal value.

There are no judgments, nor are there any objections. The complete elimination of arrogance based on superficial differences.

This is the view that Jesus the teacher had and it was only after his death that this god/human religion was created, and in this paradigm, humanity is in the position to see itself as the creator of its own destiny.

I have had visions that have contained formulations about the ultimate nature of reality in which ‘all is one’, and in which duality is transcended, and that is suffused with meaning; goodness, righteousness –Nirvana

You’re not just hearing this “all is one” tendencies of Hinduism and Buddhism, but also in the testimony of Christians who declare the fundamental sense of ‘Oneness’. 

I don't believe there is room for Oneness within the Christian religion.

I believe, at the core of the issue of whether my perception of things in terms of good and evil is, as Dr. Jeffrey Eisen suggests, in his book, 'Oneness Perceived: A Window Into Enlightenment', is a more important, more true, transcendental level where a deeper Wholeness embraces all of existence.

In his book, Dr. Eisen speaks about Oneness, offering his deepest truth about the force involved in our existence. His introduction of nondual consciousness to the psychology of perception is something that hasn’t been touched on much, in my opinion. It seems like I am just starting to hear about this.

Dr. Eisen believes the relationship between Oneness and duality is wholly a matter of perception. Whenever there is perception, Oneness divides into a perceiver and a perceived, a subject and an object. In other words, Oneness becomes dual.

Oneness and duality are the same thing from different points of view; as are reality and illusion.

More precisely, Dr. Eisen believes duality and illusion rise, or better yet, arise from any and all points of view, whereas Oneness and Reality exist only from no point of view.

It’s very simple; you need to have some point of view in order to perceive because perception without a point of view is a contradiction, and meaningless, as is perception without a perceiver.

“The dualism engendered by the sheer act of perception is an unbreachable wall, an irreducible fact, and impenetrable illusion that limits the human condition and, in fact, the condition of all bounded entities.” –Jeffrey S. Eisen, Ph.D

Which is it? Seeing things as if there were no good and evil, that there’s Oneness in everything or seeing that there are light forces that build and dark forces that contend?

How are we to decide which to consider the most valid?

For me, I look at the evidence of the world, and what it shows about the nature of the forces that shape it. Also, to arise from the illusion, and awaken to the understanding that what the world shows me today, leads me in a different direction from that intuitive sense I have of the cosmos; well-ordered, and just as it should be.

One.

Now if you reject or wish to go beyond the definitions of dogma, saying that you are not satisfied in believing that God is everything or in everything, that God is Oneness.

Then what more could God be?

"God must be greater than the greatest of human weaknesses and indeed the greatness of human skill, that God must even transcend our most remarkable attempts to emulate nature in its absolute splendor." –Ramtha

There is another definition of God that Dr. Eisen advances, which is God as a perceptual process. The idea stems from the concept of original perception. The basic premise of original perception is that although Oneness cannot be perceived or known (without rendering it illusory), it can be the locus of perception.

God has been created in the mind, thus God is a human experience, therefore God must be an individual perception, which is illusory.  In the real world, any event that has not happened is so improbable as to be impossible.

What is the possibility of arriving at a predetermined event in a field of infinite possibilities?

The significant offering of Dr. Eisen’s book, 'Oneness Perceived, A Window Into Enlightenment'  is his teaching in what is call non-dualism. If your not familiar with this, then perhaps you may want to enlighten yourself.

Its the 'neither-nor' approach to philosophical questions. Monistic religion tends to talk about the One, the One God, or the Whole or the Buddha Nature, or the One Mind, and that's very inspiring. We still end up with a type of controlling belief –Monistic Doctrines.

I believe to be inspired is only one level of religious experience, and you have to outgrow this. You have to let go of the desire for inspiration, or the belief in a God or in the Oneness or in the One Mind or the all embracing benevolence or in the universal fairness.

I’m not here telling you to disbelieve in those things either. But the non-dualistic practice is a way of letting go of all that, of seeing attachment to the views and opinions and perceptions, because the perception of one's mind is a perception, isn't it?

The perception of a universal benevolence is a perception I have held onto for a long time.  This is also a Buddhist perception.

I mean the one God, one universal system, all is one and one is all and everything is fair, God loves us; these are perceptions which are very nice, but still they are perceptions which arise and cease, as with perceptions of monistic doctrines as well.

Sometimes I feel as though people are being pushed into believing in something, and if they don't they get scared. Now what does that do, as a practical experience? 

People fall back on fear, and start looking outside of themselves:

'Tell me about the universal benevolence!'

'I need something to believe in!'

'I want to know that everything is all right.'

'I want to attach and believe in the perceptions of oneness and wholeness.'

And so there is still that operating system which you may not notice and may still be attached to. You may need an upgrade. 

I believe religious experience is one of despair. As in the story of the crucifixion, with the statement of Christ:

'Father, father why hast thou forsaken me?'

What happened to that Father that was protecting Jesus? Even God left him. This oneness perception suddenly ceased in his mind.

And after that there is the Resurrection. From this attachment to God, from the attachment to the doctrine, from the attachment to the highest ideals, and to the finest values; being born again would be to be born anew –free from all that illusion.

I have reverence for Dr. Eisen, but I believe that his insight, while valid, must be less complete and encompassing than others. I respect the visions of those religions that propose this “transcendent” Wholeness, but I cannot find a way to reconcile those insights with my knowledge of the how the world has unfolded, actually.

Although I believe these things are still very good, and noble, it is through attachment that we suffer, because if we attach to any perception, we are not realizing the truth.

We are just attaching to a symbol, and grasping the symbol to be the reality.

What can be dangerous is our attachment to a perception, of self, of others, of Buddha, of God, of Oneness, of wholeness.

I see forces at work in the human system, through civilized history, that are destructive and cruel. They are dishonest and sadistic. They besmirch the record of humanity, with its slaughters and exploitations, and degradations.

What I have done during my life’s work is to consider what the evidence is about how the world is working –in terms of producing good outcomes or bad outcomes—and what makes sense to me is that we are caught up in a cosmological process that both does and does not work as it is supposed to.

There are more than one set of forces at work.

When you can actually free your mind from attachment then all these particular angles are valid. I am not condemning monism as a wrong, yet having an attachment to a monistic doctrine is limiting and blinding. Just like attachment to non-dualism. The purpose of non-dualism is really a tremendous pointing to and at attachment.

I suppose if you’re a philosophical non-dualist you can be attached to any kind of annihilation attitude.

Folks, I am not asking you to attach to a position of non-dualism but I will ask you to try to inspire your mind and read Dr. Eisen’s book, 'Oneness Perceived, A Window Into Enlightenment.'  

Dr. Jeffrey Eisen is the founder of PsychoNoetics. PsychoNoetics is an ontological endeavor. Ontology is the study of being and by extension, the science of consciousness. PsychoNoetic science is a deep investigation into human nature and even more, into human evolutionary potential. Specifically, PsychoNoetic science is the science of human nature which is composed of two consciousnesses, separative survival consciousness, and Oneness, unitive God consciousness. Oneness is absolute consciousness – de-void of any programming. Survival consciousness is absolute consciousness programmed by the evolutionary, collective, past life and personal histories of both the human species and the individuals that make it up.

Most people, even those that are religious, are in denial of their God consciousness and these people intend to be godlike, but often find themselves undermined by powerful survival impulses.

PsychoNoetics offers itself as a particular tool; in which you must do what it says to observe the results. It works on the principle of clearing up identity confusion on the psychophysical level as a way correcting our metabolism so that it can function optimally. Thus corrected, our metabolism can heal our body, sometimes very quickly, by restoring it to balance and strengthening the body as a whole.

Instead of that path, maybe we have to learn to accept the emptiness, the silence, the loneliness, the lack of warmth and not ask for benevolence and kindness. Just maybe we have to open up to the silence and contemplate it, learning from it rather than run away from it. Maybe it’s time that we grow up and stop looking for a nice warm mother, or a nice safe father.

Then one way you can describe this Holy Life is a growing up of an individual being to that maturity, where we no longer linger in the warmth of adolescence or childhood, or in the pleasures of the world.

What I have been shown over time is a clear-eyed analysis of how the world has operated, and that the way things are is not perfect, and there’s no reason to think that it would be.

The evolutionary process is one that looks as if it is exposed to chance, not governed by an overarching Oneness. And this is so because the Oneness is still in the process of being created.

How can we begin to experience this wholeness when we have this disparaging relationship among all living things, from nature, to human nature, to the exchange between this so called civilization and biosphere.

Before we can experience Oneness, we must experience wholeness within the human system itself, from justice to a universal intrapsychic harmony. When the perception of the self ceases, then all the doctrines, all the inspired teachings, all the wise sayings …cease.

We all have perceptions of God and Oneness. 

Maybe upon death when our consciousness has detached from the individual level, maybe then, and only then, we will know true Oneness.

Related Articles

Oneness and the Attachment of the Illusion of Separation
I Am Expression of the One
Oneness With The Machine