Oneness

Joseph P. Kauffman
path because they had a glimpse of what exists beyond the
ego, but end up strengthening their ego by clinging to
spirituality for a sense of identity. They feel as if they
belong to some kind of “spiritual” group, and would have
no sense of belonging without reference to those who do
not share their same understanding of life.
They are still one with those whom they view as
separate from them, only their minds are conditioned to
perceive reality differently. Often people in this class will
cling to things that strengthen their sense of spirituality—
crystals, spiritual music, stimulating scents and herbs,
psychedelics, etc.—but this is still just extroverting their
attention and keeping them distracted from observing the
ego within themselves.
These things are all beneficial and wonderful things
that can aid one on a spiritual path, but the real spiritual
work happens within. It comes from being aware of the
patterns that your mind has formed due to its
conditioning, and retraining the mind to perceive life in a
more natural and wholesome way.
It is a process of unlearning, of unconditioning,
detangling the web of thought patterns that form your
perception of life, and replacing them with new patterns
based on truth. It involves letting go of the illusions that
you have identified with in the past in order to come to a
greater realization of who you really are.
You are not your thoughts or emotions. You are not
the one that thinks, “I am suffering, I have been wronged,
I am this or I am that,” you are the one that is aware of
your thoughts and emotions. You are the “I Am.” You are
the consciousness in which these sensations arise. You are
the witness that lies in the background of thought, the very
essence of life itself.
The more that you understand your identity as
awareness, the less you identify with the impermanent
forms that arise in your awareness, and the less you suffer.
You suffer less because you realize that these forms are
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