As the rivers flowing east and west
Merge in the sea and become one with it,
Forgetting they were ever separate streams,
So do all creatures lose their separateness
When they merge at last into pure Being.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that!*
The Chandogya Upanishad is a spiritually significant piece of Literature. It offers an essential reminder that we are one with each other and one with the Divine. We are all interconnected. This interconnection extends between all beings, all animals, and all matter. It is unbreakable and undeniable.
Think of the ocean in the Upanishad as an ocean of Divine consciousness. That ocean has within it the knowledge of everything that has happened and everything that will happen. It is within our interconnection to the Divine that our psychic, empathic, and telepathic abilities exist. In our connection with the Divine, we are linked to all that ever was and all that ever will be. We tap into that ocean of Divine consciousness with our intuition and are able to access the intuitive information available there.
We can think of our interconnection with each other as cookies being made out of the same dough. Our personality may make us seem different, like cookies with different colored sprinkles. Some of us might even have some chips or nuts added. But in essence, we are all made out of the same dough. The dough is the essence of Divine consciousness. In this way, we are made of Divine consciousness and this is our interconnection.
When we accept our interconnection with all things, we allow ourselves to release our need to feel independent from others and the Divine. We let go of clinging to our limited personality. It is like we release our colored sprinkles that make us feel different from each other and from the Divine.
It is through this process of letting go that we immerse our self in the ocean of Divine Consciousness, gaining access to the intuitive information that guides our daily lives, while leading us to the goal of the mystics, union.
How can you open your self to your interconnection with the Divine Consciousness? Start by opening yourself to the interconnection of those around you and to nature. When you walk through a crowd, silently acknowledge that the Divine residing within them is the same as the Divine within you. See them as that essence of divinity rather than as their human personalities. Many of you may recognize this as the essence of the saying "Namaste." See the crowd of people as a stream of Divine consciousness flowing down the street or through the halls. Imagine you join the stream as you join the crowd. You can also do this while in nature. Take a walk in the park, imagining that the energy of the trees merges with your energy. Imagine that the wind blowing through the tops of the trees is blowing through you.
It may seem odd to think of your self as interconnected, but in truth, what is truly odd is thinking of your self as separate. Just as once the river has flowed into the ocean, one can no longer separate which water droplets are river and which are ocean; you are similarly an integral part of the Divine consciousness. Once you allow your mind to release your preconceived separateness, you too are that... one with the ocean of Divine consciousness.
Cindy Griffith, Psychic, Spiritual Development Teacher, Blogger, and Author of Soul Soothers: Mini Meditations for Busy Lives is excited about her new book, Grow Your Spiritual Business, co-authored with Lisa K. Coming Fall 2015. Cindy teaches Spiritual and Psychic Development throughout the US and Tokyo. Find more about Cindy, her articles, books, Meditation CDs, and Psychic readings at CindyGriffith.com and SpiritualSimplicityBooks.com
*Translated by Eknath Easwaran in The Upanishads (Petaluma, California: Nilgiri Press, 1987).