Unity Is Powerful

To see comments on recent posts, click here for Halloween, here for The Need To Be Right, and here for Disorientation.

I'd like to kick off this time with a quote from Einstein:

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein, 1954)

You can find the above on Geoff Haselhurst and Karene Howie's remarkable website spaceandmotion.com along with a wealth of other quotes and information on scientific and theological themes. If you have the time, it might be interesting to contrast this with a recent article on management from The Sunday Times entitled "A Fakers' Guide to Mastering Office Politics".  If you haven't time, don't worry - suffice it to say that it reviews a book called "The Rules of Office Politics" by Rob Yeung  which provides helpful advice on how to further one's career by making appropriate cooing noises round those colleagues who are considered important and either ignoring or evacuating the contents of one's bowels upon those who aren't. Working away to the best of one's ability for the benefit of society or even of one's own organisation don't get a look in here. "It's all about me..."

(Note: Rob Yeung wasn't too happy about the way I described his book! Please see this post's comments for clarification.)

Using this book to characterise the way in which our world presently functions may be looking a bit on the black side, but I suspect it applies more often than not. Most of us are brought up to further our own interests - or, at best, the interests of those who are close to us - rather than the interests of humanity or our society at large. This is because - as Einstein observes - "we experience ourselves... as something separate from the rest".

But try to imagine for a moment if it were different, if everyone acted according to Einstein's vision: for the benefit of the universe instead of just for ourselves. Then, during our working lives, we'd all focus on how to produce better widgets: sharing our knowledge instead of keeping it to ourselves, working like we're on the same team as our colleagues, instead of pretending we're all taking part in The Weakest Link. Or, if we felt that the widgets our firm produced were a nett drain on the universe, we'd go and work for another firm which produced a more wholesome product. That way, we might have cars that ran on clean fuel, shorter queues at call centres, and maybe even trains that ran on time. Everyone would pull together, and because everyone believed in what they were doing, they would do a better job.

Just imagine...

OK, so this all sounds like something out of a John Lennon song, but just pretend for a moment that the universe really is the way that Einstein suggests: that we are all part of a single unified whole, but we can't see it because of what he calls "an optical illusion of the mind". Pretend that a tiny shift in our mental perspective would be enough to change all that - and so to change the world.

Comments

[Maurits]

Yes, you are right, if everyone would commit to making the universe a better place, we'd be off a lot better. It's unfortunate that what's rooted in everyone's mind and heart is not the succes of the world, but their own, people are only happy if they succeed, and other people fail. Sad but true, to them life's a contest, either you win or you lose. That's a pretty Black and White way to think about it, don't you think?

[thethinker]

That post reminded me of both a John Lennon song (Imagine) and an Eric Clapton song (If I Could Change the World). Anyway, enough about songs.

As Maurits said, the only obstacle in our way is everyone's selfish tendencies. Imagine what it would be like if we could devote a little bit of time to others. Such a revolutionary idea...

[Andy]

I read an interesting quote on the net once which completely changed the way I thought of helping others "To change yourself is to change the world. Trying to change the world without self-change is unskilful, fruitless and at worst harmful. To begin to bring peace to yourself is to begin, really begin, to bring peace into the world. "

[Chana]

we are all part of a single unified whole, it is God..dr. John sent me here.

[Jan Miraglio]

Dr. John says hello.

[Margie]

If only we could insert trust, that would make the world go round much easier.

-Margie
(Stopping by via Dr. John's mini-marathon today.)

[Stacy]

So, basically it's a book on how to suck up? I'm here on Dr. John's marathon trail.

[Sunflower Optimism]

What vision Einstein had! This would have been a great post for Mimi's day of "Dona Nobis Pacem" (Grant Us Peace) on Nov. 7th. If you click on the globe graphic on my blog it will bring you to her wonderful idea.

I was pointed here by Dr. John and have enjoyed reading your posts - I will be back. I have to say, this is the second blog I have read today, written by a chronically ill person. Both posts have been extremely thoughtful and delve into matters from a different angle, then let's say, the book, above. Peace.

[Cuppojoe]

That's pretty deep...

Dr. John sent me by for a new perpective...

[Simon]

Thanks to you all for your comments. Welcome to newcomers Maurits and the Thinker, and also to Dr John's athletics team. I've never met Dr John so it's especially nice of him to route his mini marathon though my blog. I'll be taking a look at some of your sites in return.

[Dr Rob Yeung]

Hey - at no point do I recommend ignoring or 'evacuating the contents of one's bowels' on those who aren't important. In fact, I have a section in my book to say that treating others badly has a way of coming back to haunt you. But then you'd know that if you'd read the book rather than just a review about it?

[Simon]

I certainly would and I'm sorry if I misrepresented your book. If it's really not as rooted in cynical self-advancement as The Sunday Times appeared to suggest, then I'm very relieved. I wonder if you feel that they also misrepresented you?

[Dr Rob Yeung]

I wouldn't say that the Sunday Times misrepresented me. To be fair, the writer did not misquote me a single time. And all of her comments and quotes from my book are accurate.

The thing with the media is that they always have to take an angle. And the writer decided to focus on some of the more cynical aspects of office politicking. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather have a piece that writes me up in a slightly different way to the way I would present my book - rather than not have a write up in the Sunday Times at all!

[Miguel]

It sounds like you would get a kick out of reading a book called "Spiral Dynamics." by Dr. Don Beck. Most people don't realize that religions, just like government, are constantly evolving. Consider that 800 yrs. ago Christianity undertook the crusades ago and instated the inquisition to torture its citizens. Now there is no longer a need since it has incorporated new information and become the drivng force behind democracy. One day islam will be producing the same level of cooroporation that christianity is now. How ironic to mention that, according to Dr. Beck, a new level is emerging being lead by monks out of India. :-)

All the world's great sages have mentioned the fact that is necessary to advance beyond the ego. Consider that Jesus said:

"Who am I? What am I? As I am I am NOT" - It is not a huge stretch of the imagination to consider what he is saying is: Once I define who I am, then I am no longer the person I set out to be.

The Boddhiharma said:

To study the buddha way is to the study individual-self.
To study individual-self is to remove the self.
To remove the self is to be enlightened by all things.
To be enlightened by all things is to study the buddha way.

This is one of my favorite TRUE stories:

A chinesee king named Emperor Wu once assigned a monk to be his personal adivsor. One day, the king asked that the monk be brought to his capitol in front of a court of elders. The king asked: "I have built many grand temples, fed the poor and opened up new centers of learning, how much karma have I erased?"

The monk could only answer: "none." The king asked: "How can that be? What is the first principle of Buddhism?"

The monk answered: "Vast empiness and nothing holy."

The councial gasped. Pure silence ensued before the the king torted back "Who are you to talk to me like that?"

The monk replied "I do not know."

[Secret Simon]

Your story reminds me of the response I was just writing to babe in the woods on the 'How To Have It All' post. I shall look up that quote from Jesus. I wonder if you have read the Gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus talks explicitly about the need to quench ahamkara (aka the ego)? That's something else I need to get round to posting about!