Oneness

Joseph P. Kauffman
Practice being grounded in your silent awareness. See if
you can remain there, and remain aware of whatever is
happening in this moment, without trying to cling to what
is happening.
Practice it in your daily life. See if you can become aware
of the thoughts that arise when you are around others, or
when you are in certain situations. What thoughts arise in
your mind? What does your mind initially think when
someone enters the room? Does your mind judge that
person or state some opinion about them? Do you really
believe that opinion to be true or even necessary?
Do you worry about the opinion that person might
have of you? One of the biggest fears of the ego is the
opinion of what others think. This is because the ego
needs to uphold the image it has of itself, and if others do
not strengthen that image, the ego feels threatened. If you
are identified with your self-image, you will always fear
what others think of you. But if you realize who you really
are, you will not care what people think of you, because
you will know who you are, and you will not depend on
their opinions for your sense of self-worth.
Someone’s perception of you is a reflection of who
they are. It has nothing to do with you, so there is no need
to take their opinions personally. Respect that they have
their own perspective and send them love. People who
judge others judge themselves, and that is because they do
not know who they really are, and so they depend on
judging others in order to strengthen their image of who
they are.
You are not your self-image, your ego, or your
thoughts. You are the awareness in which these mental
forms arise. You are consciousness itself. Only the
conditioned mind and the thoughts that it produces can
distract you from feeling and living this truth.
Our conditioned mind causes thoughts to arise
automatically out of habit. Often these are thoughts that
are not peaceful or loving, but are thoughts that were
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