Oneness — remembering our divine essence
People see God every day, they just don’t recognize him.
~Pearl Bailey
I sometimes think I’d like to be God. You know, have the power to have things just like I want them, make people do what I think they “should,” prevent the occurrence of things that I believe are unfair, unjust, or unexplainable in a bad way. Of course this desire stems from my own ego that says that I am omniscient and omnipotent.
Other times, I remember that I am God…and you are God…and my cats are God…and Iraqis are God…and Republicans are God…and criminals are God…and trees are God…and so on. This connection to our holiness is not an ego trip, it’s a reminder that we are all divine light and we are all part of an interconnected divine presence.
In the first mode of being, I feel superior, righteous, and apart from others. Its as if my thinking I’m all powerful clouds my brain and numbs my nerves, cutting me off from the truth of life. However, when I’m in the second way of being, I feel intensely connected to all life, see myself as neither above nor below, and actually have an acute sense (physically and spiritually) of the web of life in which I am at home.
I share all this as a preface to this video I found called Becoming Me. I think this story beautifully illustrates what I’ve attempted to say in my own words. I hope you’ll enjoy Becoming Me (which is, of course, about becoming “you” and becoming “we”).
If you don’t know what’s meant by God, watch a forsythia branch or a lettuce leaf sprout.
~Martin H. Fischer
When what you know won’t help — the problem with omniscience in relationships
Has your omniscience ever gotten in the way of one of your relationships? I can almost guarantee that it has even if you don’t think so. I’m certain of this because all of us have a God-complex where we “know how things should be.” We don’t know this, of course. At best we know how we want things to be. It’s this all-knowingness that can create barriers in our relationships, walling us off from the people with whom we’re trying to connect.
I was reminded of this concept when I read Pyrrhic Victories, by Jan Matney, in which she wrote, “We begin our conversations with others, having predetermined the relationship, projecting onto 
them what we know to be true. ‘I know’ is an immediate disconnection from others. Not knowing, being curious and open is a state of being that is both humble and alive with possibility.” Her story reawakened me to the fact that sometimes I too, unintentionally create a disconnection from others when I forget that I don’t know. So now I’m doing my best to remember that I do not know what others think, believe, feel, want, or need unless they tell me.
Steps to build relationships from a place of not knowing
- Remind yourself that you do not know what others think, believe, feel, want, or need unless they tell you
- Be open to learning what you don’t know and show your curiosity
- Ask others what they think, believe, feel, want, or need (Or verify what you think they think, believe, feel, want, or need)
- Be willing to share what you think, believe, feel, want, or need because others are no more omniscient than you
“‘I know’ is an immediate disconnection from others. Not knowing, being curious and open is a state of being that is both humble and alive with possibility.”
~ Jan Matney
