With Covid-19 and physical distancing, many of us are experiencing what it is like to be more physically alone. We may be physically separated from the ones we love. Or, if we are mindfully in each other’s presence, we may be no closer than 6 feet and wearing masks. The very real desire for physical human connection is within us all. I invite you to use this experience of being more physically alone as a practice. How can we re-frame this challenge as an opportunity?
When we say we “feel alone” often we are lonely – and there is a large difference between aloneness and loneliness. Loneliness is feeling the absence of the other and longing for the other. It’s the feeling that it would be better if one could be with friends, family or loved ones, whereas let’s define aloneness as recognizing and embodying the full presence of oneself. When I practice Qigong, meditation, or shamanic journeying, I am almost immediately reminded of an embodied oneness and of the important distinction between aloneness and loneliness. In other words, how to be physically “alone” and not lonely!
How do we experience connection amidst our physical “separation”? We go beyond the physical to the energetic or spiritual state of being - of connectedness, of oneness.
Go within and realize the truth of who you are. As Wayne Dyer aptly said, “You are not a human being having a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being having a human experience.” Start a meditation practice. Try Qigong. Inquire about Transform by Treseler and how it may re-connect you to your state of oneness.
Another way to realize this connection is to find your enthusiasm. The Greek root of the word for enthusiasm is “entheos” or the god within. When you are enthusiastic, you connect with your god or light within and glow from a light that emanates from within you. You are fully connected to spirit. As Gandhi said, “Be a light unto yourself.”
In the past, when I think I’m doing anything alone (e.g., working on a new project or a healing challenge/opportunity), I have exhausted myself as it’s almost like I am a bird who is flapping my wings really hard to get off the ground. I forget that there is a breeze and I can see the ripples on the water, and time my flight to have the wind assist. I forget that I am doing this with spirit. Whenever I feel alone, I am reminded that ALONE is simply missing an “L”: all one.
I do not walk alone, and neither do you. If we engage in a process of inquiry and look deeply, we may come to the realization that we cannot be completely alone. In fact, we never are.
Whether it is the organisms that help make up our functioning body, or the understanding that we are individuated spirit in bodies – we are not alone. Our body is a community made up of trillions of non-human cells which are more numerous than our human cells. According to biologist Lewis Thomas, without them, we would not be able to think, to feel, to speak, to be here in this moment. There are no solitary beings.
I invite you to go within and fill up with presence and feel your connection to the greater whole. As I allow this truth to be embodied within me, I can feel my shoulders relax, my chest open up and my breaths become slow, deep, even and smooth. I invite you to experience the beautiful experience of oneness and incredible lightness of being. You are not alone. You never were. You never will be. ALL ONE.
With love, light and chi,
Michelle
Suggested Practice:
This is a taste of metta or lovingkindness practice. It can help one feel energetically connected despite being physically apart. Take a few deep breaths, gently close your eyes, and imagine someone you love standing before you. Feel the love you have for this person and wish them well. Bring the next person or being (perhaps a pet or a favorite tree) before you in your mind’s eye, and again, feel the love you have for them emanating from you and wish them well. Repeat.